New Sandwich Combination

If you've been following my posts, you'd probably remember I was all excited about BAWANG herbal shampoo from China, endorsed by Jackie Chan. It gives me real smooth, healthy and manageable hair.

Ever since I returned to Malaysia, I had been trying to find a replacement for it. I tried everything under the sun that claims to be all natural and chemical free. However, non is as good! Most shampoo gives you a nice, soft and shiny look after washing but eventually fade out the next day you wake up and look into the mirror. Nothing like BAWANG where your hair is really nourished and the goodness do stay on.

So you could imagine how excited and happy I was today when I found the familiar face of Jackie Chan bizarrely smiling at the hair care section of Watson's.

Bought it right away.

Yoohoo, Bad hair days will now by gones!

Another good buy of the day is the unusual black Bamboo Charcoal Bread @ Lavendar. I've been eyeing on them ever since they started selling it. Well, I decided to give it a try today (if not for the taste, at least the colour).

I proudly present to you Ying Yang Sandwich Combination!

How halloweenish!

The bamboo charcoal bread tastes like your usual soft bread. However, the sight of the colour really conjures one's wildest appetite!

Fillings:

1) Chopped straw mushrooms sauteed with French butter.

2) Sliced chestnuts

3) Good quality Kim Chi

4) Cheddar cheese

Now, not sure if you trust me if I were to tell you it's one of the best creation I've ever whisked up. Uberly delish and light enough for supper. Most importantly, it's very healthy. I bet you've never tried sandwich this way before!

Since we are on the topic of food, here's what I had for breakfast.

Sometimes, I do feel like opening a restaurant to share all my "creations"... I want to give you good food and good health.

It's been a while...

Ive been following blogs from a few active female Singaporean celeb bloggers of late and they have inspired me to lift my lazy fingers to blog again.

Partly also due to the fact that Ive had a great night out with a few dear friends of mine to celebrate on my birthday eve. As usual, Ive had too much food and therefore too energetic to sleep.

As I laid on bed being too conscious about the new RM100-pillow I just conquered (aka purchased) wondering whether it will give me a good night sleep, at the same time, my mind was restless (in a good way) as an after effect of the repercussion from the first chapter of a book I was reading before calling it a night.

I was too inspired to sleep. I was in awe because how could an elite scientist could be thinking exactly what I believed and wanted to preach all these while and managed to get all research done, with strong support from authorities, concrete evidence sampling from many countries, write with simple English, with a passion to benefits all beings and subsequently published? and landed on my hands?? I mean, truth is usually NOT ACCEPTABLE in any account by the majority or any administration in power, be it health authority, publisher etc! He managed it all and got respected! All the reason why I should get my Phd now!

Moment like this is (awe-inspiring) hard to come by. It used to happen a lot while I was a student, esp. while in art school. I was always awe-inspired by things as insignificant as the movement of an insect or whiteness of a blank wall and thought they thought they same as me... weird eh? I would be so inspired and head filled with creativities and ideas that I had to jot down everything and start making art doggedly lest they will go away.

I will reveal more of this book in later posts.

For now, I just thought it'd be a great idea to start blogging again by commemorating the tough and unforgettable 2009 that is (major reason I was not blogging).

May you R.I.P and leave me alone.

Uniquely 2009

1. Barack Obama's presidency (we thought he won't make it pass 1st day)
2. Michael Jackson's death (no more great hits)
3. Tiger Wood's shocking sex life revelation (another proof that getting married early is not a good idea)
4. Britney Spear's come back (when we all thought she's a goner)
5. Adam Lambert sang Mad World (most divine entertaining moment televised in my opinion and almost bordering evil)
6. Malaysian Prime Minister pronounced "1Malaysia" vision (yet to see any sincerity and progress in abolishing biased policies against non-muslims). The problem is not races, it's religion!
7. Another level of bonding with my siblings (both deteriorated and elevated)
8. I learned to view from a parent's point of view (tried to be a better daughter)
9. I learned to not speak when in anxiety and anger (so that I won't regret later)
10. Discovered and fell in love with Zee Avi's music (very happy abt this)
11. Pavillion elevated as the no.1 hotspot in Golden Triangle making the area more happening
12. I enjoyed and sampled so many good food from good restaurants
13. Facebook eats up my life
14. I spent three quarter of 2009 in Bangkok imprisoned in 4-5 star hotel rooms and come to understand what "bird in a golden cage" means
15. I watched around 10 high quality porns (for work, OK!?)
16. Because of 14) I gained 5-6 freaking KGs
17. Met up with friends I haven't seen in years (and felt good)
18. Being misunderstood and defamed by my people I hold dear most
19. Realised that it is possible for one to meditate continuously for more than 2 years
20. By observing others, realised the danger of a pre-fixed mind possessed by those who BELIEVE what they know instead of what they come to know and how this can destroy ones life
21. Realised and been through that there really is only 8 kinds of sufferings in the world:
• the 4 inevitables in human life (pain of birth, aging, sickness & death)
• the stress and hardship of not getting what one seeks
• the pain of parting with your loved ones
• the anxiety being brought about by the 5 skandhah (material, feelings from the 5 senses, thoughts, actions, habits --- because the world is ever changing)
• the aguish of meeting those that we do not like
22. Found my swagger in fashion
23. Bravely eliminated Taboos and lead a SENSIBLE and fearless life without all the nonsense
24. Realised how dangerous and deadly a JEALOUS, GREEDY & LOWLY EDUCATED fat woman can be (for she learnt all tricks from chinese dramas)
25. By observing others, realised how true is "祸从口出，病从口入" and will remind myself time and again abt this and guard my mouth as a SACRED temple for the rest of my life
26. Do not EVER believe in SWEET WORDS or offering of HEAVENLY enrollment because they say "You are the special one"

2010's Resolution

1. BE HAPPY
2. to lose 3 KGs (find a decent boyfriend, blog more etc)
3. hire more people, esp for 'adult' department
4. visit Chris in Melbourne
5. spend CNY in the UK
6. complete another hotel project
7. realise listing the new company on stock exchange
8. after 7. can hire a driver
9. finish at least 5 medicine books
10. hang out more with friends in CHEAPER restaurants
11. cut down on facebooking
12. sort out my massive wardrobe
13. compose at least 1 song with my guitar
14. remember at least 2 birthdays complete with presents

Pondering Luck...

I am writing this with tiny weenie bit of resentment and also in an attempt to let go of this incessant same piece of shit defilement that existed in my head which has been bothering me since beginning of year. i.e. unhappiness. I’ve finally decided it’s stupid and unnecessary and I wanted to be free. Free from the discontentment from being judged.

Recently, I have been judged and found pitiful that I am having extreme bad luck and now going through the lowest point in life (or so they thought) therefore it was concluded that I have lost all my senses, conscience and direction to life, despite 30 years of incessant education and self improvements, and have had hopelessly became a mannequin that is under control by some evil forces.

That’s not the worst comment I've ever heard in my life. Listening to harsh comments due to misconceptions and shallow minds are all part of EVERYONE’s life. I’ve heard it all. Especially for an eccentric person like me who always strives to be outright different. I was always being criticised for being nice and sweet to all. They say I am a slut because “she reads english books”. Haha! That’s really absurd. Well, back to the point. However, to be hearing this kind of comments coming from the people you thought trusted and understand you the most has the same impact of a ‘cultural shock’.

A very BIG question mark shoots up above one’s head following these 3 letters W H Y.

Yes, this BIG WHY? has been bothering for so long.  WHY? the people I always find comforts in… can suddenly have a complete NEGATIVE understanding of me as if they have never known me before? I didn’t know, the belief in LUCK is so important that it can break a relationship just as bad as money matters. For the life of me, I’ve never thought that’s possible.

First of all, the question falls on: What is Luck? and why others assume luck can play such a role in determining one’s happiness and success. We all pretty much have an idea of what luck is. However, its very definition is as abstract as asking the innocent question : what is Love?

Don’t we all, for all of our entire life, been doggedly searching for the impossibility of true LOVE, GOOD LUCK and SUCCESS? Little do we ever think that they are all subjected to one’s understanding for the true meaning of life and what constitute happiness. Depends of your religion and upbringing, luck can generally be understood as the followings:

1. Luck is god's gift. Now, by god I mean, something you cannot control. Luck presents itself with no invitation, or rather it doesn't even show by invitation at all! ha! 
2. Luck is your own doing. A good example of the own doing of bad luck is, you have very bad temper and pisses everyone's off. You don't get to share the cake, because nobody likes you. Eventually, your 'good luck' for enjoying a nice piece of Durian cake for the day is automatically disqualified. This is an example of man-made luck. Another example is one has no control of his/her own wicked mind. Or no, let’s say a person with a restless mind who’s rushing to a meeting with his mind all occupied about the argument last night with his girlfriend and at the same time trying to cross a road and has the ‘bad luck’ of being hit by a car. Is this bad luck? No, careless is not at all bad luck, OK???

Of course, the above 2 is too general an explanation to luck.

What I really do believe in is, there’s no such thing as luck. There’s only ‘the condition’.

Why?

Nature does work in a miraculous way, but certainly not in a random mini mine more way. There is a hidden formula beyond the comprehension of our 6-7 inches humanly brain, in any chance, that this formula is understood and mastered, we are already a free man and no longer under the governing of this rule, or so I thought.

There’s a bit of nature, a bit of your own doing and a bit of other people’s doing. That is what I understand as luck. I also believe, if you work really really really hard with all your might, all the time, and with a selfless heart and attained mindfulness, nature really does work together with you in harmony. Reason? That’s the chord that nature plays!

God whispers to you the moment your mum brought you to this world, here, this is the inventory (your body) and condition (your family) I give to you, carry on and pave our own path, I am busy.

Let’s forget about the question why god gives him more and less to you. This is the same stupid LOVE question. Just consider the fact that, did you use your inventory and condition the right way? And AHA, can you see now? The point is what is “the right way”!???

Play any deadly addictive Facebook Playfish apps, then you will know what I mean. Restaurant City, Country Story…etc. You have to take care of the game your own way. You can never die in these games… only how you sustain it. And there’s no way to judge, whether you are ‘dead’ in these games, only abandonment. And no one can say you are ‘dead’. Certainly, nobody can claim their restaurant is better than others none other then the voting of all other anonymous users (your friends are not allowed to vote for you).

There’s no absolute “right way” agreeable to all.

So, at the end of the day, what I wanted to say is to judge and assume others having BAD LUCK, or not enjoying good life, or not choosing the correct spouse, or has nothing in life, or any eye rolling regarding other’s people life based on limited understanding and firm grasp on the true nature of life or happiness, is as bad as saying “my restaurant in Facebook is better than yours.

I rest my case.

True genius shattles expectation...

That's the comment given by Paula Abdul to Adam Lambert after his performance in week 9 of Americon Idol rocking the stage with his rendition of "Play that Funky Music". I was watching from 8TV across the globe from Malaysia. This week, he has Simon giving him a standing ovation for a touching "Mad World".

Have you ever wonder what would it be like to have the talent and charisma of Freddy Mercury, Elvis Presley and Mick Jagger all merged into 1 body? That's Adam Lambert. He is taking the stage to the best advantage, total self indulgence, showing off his talent and artistry in full power. Which artist in history has such opportunity to show off his talent week after week on TV to over millions of viewers? I once saw a photography contest excerpt that says "we are looking for photographs that make one couldn't comprehend how you managed to shoot it". That is the most common description of sublime in layman terms. It is something so wonderful it's beyond comprehension.
In Lambert case, one couldn't help but to be mesmerized and fall in love with his singing and performances. They are all unforgetable. He knows how to bring the meaning of a song and genre to it's fullest and made you like it even if it's not your cup of tea. If it's a rock song, he totally rocks it. If it's a sensual song, he melts your heart. Johnny Depp has this charisma in the movies and now there's Adam Lambert. Blowing the mind off every audiences.
It has reached a point where I had to visit americanidol.com, for the first time, and unawares, keep repeating his performances on and on and on. It's really magical how he could gain your total attention throughout the performance and for the life of me, how did he made me click "PLAY" so many times??? And how is it each song is so unforgetable in your head? It's so beautiful and bordering evil! And I don't know how to explain, I've never thought such talent could exist! Whether he wins or not, he's one extraordinary talent.

Visit http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/adam_lambert_mad_world and judge for yourself.

KL Taxi, Very Scary

Read this from the STAR, a concern of which is has been something bothering for quite a while now... I wonder if we'll ever see the day when you get NICE taxi drivers????

Tuesday March 31, 2009

Losing battle against cabbies

PUTRAJAYA: The Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) has admitted that it was out of solutions in its war against rogue taxi drivers.

Board chairman Datuk Markiman Kobiran has likened the situation as a “war with no ending like the war between Israel and the Palestinians” despite continued measures to curb the menace.

“Until today, there is no absolute formula to solve this problem. Do we cancel their permits, step up on enforcement and urge passengers to be more proactive in making complaints? We have done all that. You tell me,” he told a press conference at the CVLB office yesterday.

Despite the increase in the number of errant taxi drivers, Markiman said the board was not giving up because it involved the country’s reputation.

In an undercover operation conducted by the board, only 15 of 627 taxis were found to be following regulations.

“Media reports on ‘samseng’ (rogue) taxis, drivers who refused to pick up passengers and those who overcharged were quite disappointing. Upon investigation, we found them all to be true,” he said.

Sixty JPJ (Road Transport Department) officers boarded 627 taxis in the Klang Valley this month and 612 taxi drivers were found guilty of various offences.

The operation also showed that a taxi driver committed on an average of three offences.

“An enforcement officer boarded a taxi from Pudu to a hotel early one morning. He was overcharged and at the end of the trip, the taxi driver told the officer that he ‘dah agak pegawai’ (could guess he was an officer). But yet, he overcharged the officer,” said Markiman.

During the operation, 432 taxi drivers did not use meters, 192 did not display their driver cards, 144 overcharged their passengers and 103 refused to pick up passengers.

A total of 502 taxi drivers were caught for not having driving licences, not wearing seat belts and driving recklessly.

“Five Pakistanis were found to be driving the taxis. We view this matter seriously as foreign nationals are not allowed to drive taxis. We will be calling the taxi operators to explain,” he said,

Markiman said it was important for the passengers to be more pro-active in reporting errant taxi drivers as it would help with enforcement.

Meanwhile, a taxi operator said undisciplined taxi drivers would not only tarnish their company’s name but also cause losses in income.

“The CVLB may cancel or suspend the licence of our taxi drivers if they keep committing offences,” she said.

She also said the company would seize the taxi or forfeit the driver’s deposit if it received too many complaints from passengers.

Happy Valentine's

I was forwarded a wonderful flash which has Kelly Chen's beautiful A Lover's Concerto song embedded. I've put it up here. Go on, have yourself a soothing Valentine's, be it alone or with your darling. :) Hope you like it.

Grandma's Talent

My grandma is about 85 years old. She's an all-rounder.

She's our family doctor.
When I was young, I live pretty much like a Jungle girl. We hung out in the forest, played in the rivers, climbed the trees, treasuring all the nuts and flowers and feathers and bones we found there, made certain trees our 'houses', ran away from turkeys, monkeys and wild boars, scared of crocodiles, tigers, pythons and elephants... ate as much durian and smelly stinky fruits as we like... In those times, nature is our best friend, our best source of medicine. Whenever we felt sick, grandma just had to go and pluck some wild leaves and we would try to chew our life away trying to get these deadly bitter greeny into our stomach, and then... you got cured. Just like that... magic.



Grandma's the best cook on earth.
I maybe biased, but the best fish I've ever tasted was cooked by grandma. The best Shark-Fin Soup I've ever tasted was made by grandma. The best Plum flavoured Sweet and Sour Roasted Duck was served by grandma. The best Hakka stew Pork with Yam, also by grandma. I'm most proud of her Zong Zi - bamboo wrapped glutinous rice dumplings. If you've ever witness her making a batch, you'll be found jaw-dropping. Because it's like magic. You see her start up everything, preparing the pork, mushrooms, chestnuts, salted egg etc, then the next ... err... what? She wrapped 30 of them. And... my god... the rice is so soft and tender and white... it's virtually the dumpling version of J.Co donuts!


Grandma's an artist.
She could just made anything with anything. Look at all these little birdy photos I put up. She made them... recently! She used to make for me, using bamboo, beautiful animal shaped lanterns to showcase to at the yearly Mooncake festival at school. She would decorate our homes with beautiful and unique red lanterns for new year using recycle Red-packets. She will just made anything out of anything.


Don't you think these are cute? :-)
I've always said I want to make an effort to learn all that I could from her... but... it's always the same lame excuse...too busy. I've better start negotiating with my ass now... coz it's really hard to get it to go do some meaningful things nowadays... ha!