sooyindotcom

4.51 pm on a Sunday afternoon. 2 days of holidays behind us, and 4 working days (at least for me) to go before the next weekend. Ho hum. Just got up from a nap. Had a really bad headache this morning…worse than the one that I’ve been experiencing the past 3 (already?!?) weeks so hubby took me to a doctor who diagnosed it as a migraine. Wasn’t too convinced as I don’t have any of the classic migraine signs that I’ve researched on Internet, neither do I eat any of the usual migraine triggers (nuts, dairy products, caffeine, red meat). Anyways, muscle relaxant and pain killers again. Right after that, we stopped by at Nam Chuan coffeeshop @ Lucky Garden to buy an early lunch. Managed to see the kuih store that was recommended in Makansutra….hubby bought 3 pieces of a weird brown colour cake-like thingy…Ma Lai Ko (I’ve just snitched a piece and it tastes yucky!) while I traipsed off to Ipoh Old Town to buy white bread and kaya. Met back at Nam Chuan’s economy rice stall (very highly recommended…the food is great!), bought lots and lots of vege and sweet and sour chicken.

Back home, spent 2 hours slumped in front of the TV watching National Geographic’s Seconds To Disaster. The first episode featured the Concorde crash, while the second featured the 1995 Oklahoma Bombing. The show deconstructed the final few seconds before the disaster occurred, using computer imaging to get right to the heart of the crash/bombing. It’s extremely interesting and it just makes you feel how much fate plays a part in the lives of the victims and survivors.

In the Concorde crash, it was a series of events that caused the fire, starting with a rogue piece of metal lying on the runway. A couple who had saved for 20 years to take a ride on the Concorde perished. 3 generations of a family whose grandparents were taking for a holiday of a lifetime perished. And it only took 2 minutes from take-off to the crash…the realization that you are stuck in the plane and the fear that you are about to die must have been unimaginable for the passengers.

In the Oklahoma bombing, the homemade bomb using airplane fuel and fertilizer caused 9 stories of the Murrah building to come crashing down. The deconstruction showed that the initial blast may not have killed as many as the 150+ people. It was the ensuing collapse of the 9 floors that cause the death toll to be so high. It was interesting to watch from a structural point of view (maybe there’s still abit of civil engineers left in us!)…but again…the wreckage was horrifying to see. More than ten children were killed, all of them less than 5 years old. A lady had her leg pinned beneath concrete blocks and had to endure an instant amputation before she could be freed. Another lady was conducting a meeting when 8 of her colleagues suddenly disappeared, falling down as the floors collapsed. She was saved as she happened to be sitting on a cross-beam. Fate? Who knows?

And the floor vibrations….haha…while watching Seconds To Disaster, hubby and I felt our floor actually vibrating. Quite scary…didn’t know what was causing the vibrations….and not something you would like to feel while watching a show on crashes and bombs. Eek!

Managed to catch National Treasure on Friday. The roads leading to Midvalley was totally jammed. Surprisingly, we still managed to make it into the cinema in time! The show was so-so…I felt that it lacked action. Can’t be compared to Indiana Jones at all! The story was interesting…very Da Vinci Code-like…it just lacked the necessary suspense, fight scenes and narrow escapes that one would expect from a show produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

Finally went to check my eyes on Saturday. Didn’t feel too well in the morning, so skipped my golf lesson. Hubby got back about 11.30am and we went to Kin San Kichi for a nice lunch. Following that, I finally FINALLY went for an eye examination. To my relief, my power just went up by 25 (25 what? never knew the proper term). Phew! Utter relief…really! With that over, I had a nice time searching for new spectacle frames…planning to change from my rimless silhouette ones to a half-rimmed Burberry one. We then walked down to a nearby DVD shop…joy! 7 new shows to buy…: Vanity Fair, Blade Trinity, The Forgotten (more about that later!), Kung Fu Hustle (definitely not my choice!), a dance show starring Neve Campbell, urmm….hmm…can’t remember what were the rest! Finally, went to try the new tong sui store called Black Sesame, White Sesame…I had red bean paste while hubby had peanut paste. Mine tasted really funny cause they put some kind of sour plum in it…and I had no chance to try hubby’s choice cause he finished it too quickly…=( Will have to go back to try other dishes….

And right after that was when I got royally tricked. Hubby had earlier said that we’ll go to 1 Utama after lunch. I ended up in the Cycle and Carriage showroom looking at the latest Peugeot 407, followed by the Toyota showroom to view the Toyota Camry….and finally, the Volvo showroom for the latest Volvo S40. But it’s all good…I managed to buy my favourite Jackson’s hot dog along the way…=) Fyi…Jackson’s hot dog has been around for ages and ages…I remember eating it as a small kid after my swimming lessons and it’s just plain sausage in between a sausage buns with the usual condiments, but it’s just utterly delicious. Back to the cars…don’t like the Peugeot, don’t like the Camry…totally love the S40. Very sleek, very neat…and best of all, they have this colour called blackcurrent (I now call it Ribena-berry!)…it really is the colour of the Ribena drinks that we used to drink as kids…but from afar, it looks almost black and it’s only when you go really near that it changes to a dark maroon colour. Gorgeous!!

Reached home just in time to start changing for BY and LL’s wedding dinner at Eastin. Wore my Salabianca pink gown…must have lost some weight again…it felt pretty loose. The wedding was really fun and well organized. Luckily, we were at the same table with my old form five friends…some of whom I haven’t seen for ages. Conversation was funny and witty, food was good (would’ve been better if someone had peeled all the butter prawns for everyone on the table…considering he had the fork and spoon…), BY and LL looked lovely together, KP and WS looked good in coats (guys…you definitely fulfilled your duty in preventing people from sneaking in early into the hall…bravo!) the speeches by BY’s father and the bride and groom were touching and funny at the same time….all good!! Pictures will be up soon!

We left about 11pm…took a quick drive to Taman Tun’s Secret Recipe…I was hoping that it’ll still be open…Frozen Orange Cheesecake! Unfortunately not…=(. Took a quick bath once home and settled down to watch The Forgotten. If you haven’t seen this movie…word of advice…: don’t. The show sucks. Really! I totally hated it….and the worst thing about watching a bad show is the realization that you’ve just wasted 2 hours of your life watching it. Sigh.

Bookwise…managed to finish both Bridget Jones’s Diary and Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason on Friday/Saturday. Maybe it’s just me, but I really preferred the movie to the book (the first one, haven’t managed to watch the second one yet). Did not find the book funny at all…it was even draggy at some places. I think I probably had too high expectations for the book…I don’t know. What a letdown.

And that about ends my long weekend. With any hope, will get my headache sorted out by Monday or Tuesday…after three weeks of intermittent pain, it’ll be a relief to know the cause and hopefully, it’s not anything serious or life threatening. Have two lunches on Wednesday and Thursday and a Bazi lesson to look forward to on Friday…and another public holiday next next Tuesday…yippee! =) M is starting her new job this coming Monday…so, if you’re reading this….all the best!! =)

I am, for the moment, absolutely head over heels in love….with Secret Recipe’s frozen orange cheesecake. It all started when hubby bought a piece and I decided to steal a bite. From then on…it was a classic love story with me pining for the cake everyday. I have, for quite some time now, refused to patronize Secret Recipe because I felt that it’s becoming too commercialized and the cakes are getting smaller and prices bigger….but I just couldn’t resist! The tangy taste of the orange peel in the cheese complemented the not-to-sweet-yet-not-bitter chocolate base…totally yummy. Well, I bought two slices from KLCC’s new Secret Recipe branch today…one now, one for later. Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry to leave office this evening that I forgot my one-for-later piece. Darn!!

Managed a quick hop-in hop-out at Kinokuniya after lunch today…grabbed 3 new storybooks, 4 of Lilian Too’s 2005 Chinese Astrological animal horoscopes (one for hubby, one for my mum, one for my dad, and one for me!) and a book named Makansutra….containing all the ‘Die die must try‘ eating places in Malaysia! Although I’ve been faithfully buying the ‘50 Best Restaurants in Malaysia’ book every year, this one caught my eye because it not only contained restaurants, but hawker stalls and coffee shops that would never qualify for the ‘50 Best Restaurants..’. I’m really looking forward to going through this book and seeking out new places to eat…=))

My four new books: The Queen of Subtleties, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason and Makansutra (die die must try, people!)

Had dinner at my parents place again…soup with cabbage and mushrooms, fried vege and one of my favourites…tomato and dark soya sauce chicken. Heaven!

Tomorrow’s a public holiday for Malaysia…..so no work! Am really looking forward to sleeping late and getting a good rest. Been feeling so tired lately…hubby says it’s probably because I’ve slacked off at the end of last year and I’m probably stressed out due to an influx of work the past 2 weeks. Anyways, tomorrow will be my rest day. Will sleep till noon, get up, take a bathe, and off to Midvalley to watch National Treasure…=) Been eagerly awaiting this movie…so really hope it’s good!

And the best thing about today….we all received our Performance Bonus! Our BB came around sometime after lunch with a handful of envelopes and started handing them out. It was quite a surprise as I did not expect the bonus to be announced so early in the year…was expecting it (if any!) to be announced sometime late February. Without disclosing too much, all I can say is that it’s more than I expected, I’ve recouped my losses from my recent big purchases…and dear hubby is going to have a really nice treat for his birthday this year! =)))

I finally decided to do something about my headache…dropped by at the clinic at Citibank on Friday. The doctor said it’s probably a sprain or something and he gave me some painkillers and muscle relaxant (muscles…? what muscles?!?) and asked me to come back for a follow-up on Wednesday…which is today. Unfortunately, after dutifully taking the medicine, the pain is still there whenever I cough, sneeze or bend over. Which is why he decided to send me for a neck X-ray today….groan.

Dear hubby sneaked out to accompany me over to Ampang Park. The wait was agonizing. First we had to wait for my turn to take the X-ray. Then we had to wait for the X-ray to be printed. Goddddd….we spent almost one and a half hours there! The good news was that there’s nothing growing inside my neck…the bad news is that I’ll have to go over to Gleneagles next week to let another doctor take a peek at my brains. I just hope I don’t have to go through those tunnel-ly machines…MRI? CAT? Did a quick search on Yahoo!Health on brain tumours (yes…I’m really THAT paranoid. touchwood.)…well, on the bright side, I don’t have ALL the symptoms…..just the headache. Fingers crossed, yah? =)

And a quick recap of my week so far….

Sunday was a really lazy day…woke up late, took my time to pack for our short trip back to Ipoh (another wedding!), slow drive back, slept in the car as usual…=) Didn’t get to take much photos during the wedding though…

Monday morning was spent driving around Ipoh to buy stuff back for a friend, TI…had Ipoh Sar Hor Fun (was originally supposed to go to this really old coffeeshop called Coliseum…they have the best food there…but it has apparently closed down…), bought two packets of rojak (mixed fruit with peanuts, a sticky paste thingy and chilli) for TI, went to buy Ipoh White Coffee (also for TI), salted chicken (for parents and TI) and kaya puffs (for parents and TI). Loaded with food, we set off back to KL at about 2pm. Reached at 4+pm, took a quick bath after unpacking and off we went to the Peugeot car showroom to take a look at the Peugeot 307. I was initially not too keen on this car cause it’s pretty pricey. but it really does look nicer than the Honda Jazz, plus there are all sorts of safety features and cute gadgets. Still…it’ll take quite a big chunk out of my salary to pay for this car…so I’m taking my time to think this through. Would love to have it in apple green though….*grin*

Went over to my parents place after leaving the Peugeot showroom to drop off the salted chicken and kaya puffs. In exchange, I brought back a big huge bag of ‘jambu air’ (guava..but the soft ones..), 2 papayas and yummy….seedless grapes!

Dropped by at Midvalley to find a pair of running shoes at Nike…and lucky me (reason I say that is that I have unbelievably bad luck when I set out with something in mind to buy…I will usually never ever be able to find it…or if I do, the colour isn’t right, the size isn’t right…etc…)…I found one in baby blue! The right size too! =)))

Dropped by at MPH after that and picked up two new cookbooks…one on Nyonya food, another on bread (yes…I haven’t given up on bread yet!!).

Dinner was fish porridge with vege, while hubby had fried rice and the salted chicken. Tried a bit…it turned out to be surprisingly nice and not too ‘herb-y’…could taste a bit of dong quai (a type of chinese herb), the saltiness was just right…really wouldn’t mind eating it again!!

Watched Shall We Dance starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez after dinner….it’s a lovely lovely show and I’m now all hyped up about starting dancing classes!

Tuesday was a busy day at work….felt tired and headachy…

Today was another busy day, visit to the X-ray place notwithstanding. At least we managed to leave early today….rushed home to watch American Idol 4! Yes…it’s back…and it’s funny! You really can’t sympathize with those people who think that they are god’s gift to the music industry yet actually sound like a cat drowning in boiling water…their cockiness is too annoying to be true. That guy who was Toni Braxton’s cousin….yeuch….my poor ears. And Mary Mary Quite Contrary…indeed. She really needs to re-examine her friendships…and her hearing. One of the best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) was the girl that sang Hanky Panky….definitely a good spanker (is there such a word?!?)…brings back memories of that guy in too short shorts who sang one of Kylie’s songs while spanking himself silly when auditioning for our local Malaysian Idol!

Highlight of today (other than American Idol) was a packet of rock candy left on my table by TI (thanks, dear!!)….sticky sweet yummy sweets. Lovely!

A funny incident happened last night at Parkson. I was at the counter paying for some baking trays and this couple came up behind me. I thought they were queuing up to pay as well…then they asked me if i have a Bonus Link card (it’s one of those reward card thingy where you collect points, etc.)….and seeing that I didn’t, they asked if they could use theirs to collect points on my purchase. Unfortunately, the cashier had already punched in all my purchases so they couldn’t collect the points. I handed the card back to them and they said never mind and WALKED OFF. Yikes! Do these people trawl the cashier counters in search of people without reward cards so that they can claim points?!?!

Anyways, went to Bangsar Village for a mani/pedi and some grocery shopping this morning. That little shopping centre is fast becoming one of my favourites. The grocery shop - Village Grocer - is more than adequately stocked, there are cute little shops selling all sorts of stuff, ie. candles, decorative items, there’s a small MPH, my favourite Cafe 1920’s…methinks I’m going to be a frequent visitor there.

Preparing the ingredients

As soon as I came back, I started preparing all the ingredients for my first attempt at making banana honey bread. Am currently waiting for my dough to double it’s size before punching the air out of it and kneading it all over again. I wonder who’s face should I imagine on it while doing the punching….

…probably the person who ruined my Friday night outing to 1 Utama last night. It’s a long story…..

Before and after….

3.45pm
Punched and pummeled my dough for a good 1 minute before leaving it double in size again.

5.05pm: Proving the dough…second round.

Just got back from the Honda and Chevrolet showroom…took a quick peek at the Jazz and Aveo respectively. The chevrolet is almost 40% cheaper than the Honda Jazz, but the interior was so plasticky and disappointing that I didn’t even bother to hang around to wait for the salesperson to come. The Jazz looks pretty good though…the interior is better than I expected. Unfortunately, they only have a Silver VTEC model right now…I’d much rather black.

Anyways, the buns have now been generously drizzled with honey and are baking in the oven now. Fingers crossed!

5.20pm
The buns are looking abit burnt right now…another 5 minutes to go before it’s done…smells good though!

6.00pm: Voila! abit burnt on the top…

Review: Probably did not knead the dough long enough…the texture is a bit dense and the base was quite hard. Not a bad first attempt at making buns…still, it’s far from those light and lovely ones you find in the bakery! =)

11.00pm
Went to The Curve @ Mutiara Damansara for dinner with hubby and my parents. Surprisingly, there were quite alot of people there (the first time Eric and I went, the whole place was rather empty)! Most of the restaurants were already full, but we managed to find a place at Little Penang Cafe. Not my favourite restaurant…the menu is limited and the only thing I can eat there is the 5-spiced chicken set. Unfortunately, this branch used alot of pepper in the dish, so it kinda spoilt the taste for me.

Went to Ikea after dinner to grab some containers…really love going to Ikea. I would just love to furnish an apartment solely with Ikea furniture!! =)

Off for my DVD date with Eric now…

After about six months, I finally decided to brave the hot sunny weather and follow my hubby and another two colleagues, T and K over to Ampang Park for lunch. The other reason was a really good nasi lemak shop awaiting me over there (fyi, it’s the small corner shop right in front of the LRT exit…sells laksa and other stuff too but so far, I’ve only tried the nasi lemak).

Hubby, K and I proceeded to pack the nasi lemak to join T up at the food court. As soon as we reached the food court….pop! All the lights went out! Undeterred, we found T and proceeded to have a candlelight lunch. On our way back, we heard a couple of people saying that there was no electricity at Sungai Wang, Low Yat Plaza and the whole Berjaya Times Square! Hmmm….rumours? True or not?!?

Well, with no idea that it was actually a major blackout that would last for 2+ hours and affect Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Putrajaya, Johor, Malacca AND Negeri Sembilan…we happily made our way back through the extremely dark LRT underpass, praying that our office electricity would be down and we could get a half day off! What we didn’t expect was that only 3 out of 8 lifts were functional, we had to wait almost 10 minutes for the lifts to reach us…and when we got it, it smelt of stale sweat from the occupants before us. Ewww. Office was also stuffy, AND worst of all….our computers were all connected to back-up generators. Sigh…so much for getting the day off!

The power came back about 2.30pm. From the latest report at Star Online, the power cut was apparently due to a switchgear failure at a power station in Kapar, Selangor. Well, luckily it was about an hour or two else we would probably have suffocated to death in the office!

Not putting this power outage in the same league as major disasters…but have you noticed lately that following the tsunami, we’ve had major floodings in Europe and UK, mudslides, floods and snowstorms in parts of America, bush fires in Australia…it’s just strikes me as a not too good omen for the beginning of the year…

On the lighter side of things…am seriously considering getting a new car. For the first time in my life, I’ve actually been surfing the net searching for car reviews. As mentioned before, I really do like the Mercedes A-class but it’s really too pricey. Soooo….coming down a notch…colleagues were recommending the Honda Jazz…but I was thinking, hmmm…Honda? Sigh. Though it IS within my purchasing capacity…any other suggestions, people?!?