♥♥ Peek A Boo.. I See You ♥♥

Bad Hair Day?

2011-02-22T12:40:00.005+08:00

Can't get any worse than mine...

Rinsing my face,... norm... all I could hear was the splashing of water on my face.

Ten seconds later,... there was this strange sizzling sound next to my ear... weird.

Looked up in the mirror, and my hair was on fire, literally!!!!

How smart of me to place the aroma burner next to the basin....

Bad hair day? Can't get worse than mine.

.
.

Under the Weather

2011-02-11T04:29:00.007+08:00

.
.

Liken my previous visit to Hongkong, I've caught another bug this trip.

Three days of nightmare, hopefully I'd be seeing a glimpse of sunlight after this.

The weather in Amsterdam is getting warmer by the day, more sunshine than any of the days since I've been here. And yet I'm trapped in the hotel, how sad you said? Nah, I'd be fine.

Side note, travelled up to Valkenburg last weekend for the Redbull Crashed Ice 2011. Bad idea.
We've only managed to catch a few heads swinging by the course.
As a hobbit, I've missed all the actions. Even with Cow being a massive 6"2 , he could hardly see anything. Hence no pix to show and tell for the event.

Weekend's on the way, planning to head down to Zaanse Schans. I've this thing for windmills. Might post some pix here if I'm not too butt lazy.

Inspired

2011-01-10T16:50:00.007+08:00

It's not often a certain movie or drama can inspire or relate to its audiences.

Two days of drama marathon later, I missed my flute. I missed those times in school when I skipped extra lessons for practices. I missed that passion that I used to have for music.

A mere sixteen episode of drama, I'm driven again to embrace even more things that comes my way.

A lesson to take home from the drama "Life has chosen me, and I've chosen happiness". I hope to bear that sentence in mind for a long long time.

God Spilled a Bowl of Icing Sugar

2010-12-21T16:56:00.007+08:00

... a very very large bowl of it.

Just wondering around the other day in the pure whiteness and chanced upon Bloesempark (Amsterdamse Bos) on the way down to Amstelveen, the sheer size of it is amazing.

Icing sugar? Snow on logs,... isn't that how Christmas log cakes came about? Staring at logs made me hungry, even snow on twigs reminded me of pretzels with icing on it... sigh. I'm such a glutton.

Christmas in Winter Wonderland

2010-12-18T07:45:00.008+08:00

My first week into the cold weather here in Netherlands and am enjoying every minute of it.

Though we are not experiencing as much snow as England, which too much of anything could be a disaster, it's sufficient to build snowman and have a jolly good time throwing snowballs.

Spent five hours walking in the park/ snow today, everything from scenery to passerby, the atmosphere just felt so surreal and calm. As if it's hasn't been totally polluted by modernization.

Did I mention that winter's my favourite season? lol Guess it's not hard to tell.

Missing and Missing Outs

2010-12-04T02:22:00.009+08:00

.
.
.

Mood: Sentimental/ Empty

Have I been away for too long? I welcome changes, we grow along side with changes. Some of us change for the better, few stays in the same spot.

Changes, one of my girlfriend's leaving next year... I can't help but start missing her already. Since I might be flying earlier than I thought, it would be less than a week of us being in the same country before her departure.

Despite feeling the void, I'm glad that she's finally taken on the challenge to further her studies. It contradicts that both the sense of sadness and happiness can both occur at the same time. Sigh.

Mood: Shitty

Missing out on a buddy's visit home end of this year, feeling shitty.

Though I've gotten used to being away from friends most of the time, even more reasons for me to hold on to our friendships even more dearly.

Friends, they watched me laughed, they watched me cry. They walked with me, shared memories with me. I can't imagine what I'd be without them.

There are some whom I'd only acknowledge as aquaintances, they passes by quietly.

There are some who leaves deep footprints, and those I acknowledge as friends.

Missing out on the departure and arrival of two friends, I'm more sorry for myself than to them. I'm sure they'd do fine without my presence, but I can't say the same for myself.

Goodbye G, and D, enjoy your trip home.

내 생각엔 당신이

.
.

Melancholy

2010-11-19T23:10:00.004+08:00

最后一晚，丝毫有点伤感。

沉重的心情或许一阵子才能安抚。

窗外吹起带着雨味的风，好舒服。

还没说再见，我已开始还念。

悲。。。

Finally its coming to the last night, the room just seemed to be overwhelmed with sadness.

Such a heavy heart might take some time to calm.

The smell of rain is soothing, it took my mind off the departure for a minute or two.

Though still here, yet I've started to miss.

Melancholy . . .

Aunt Rose makes me evil (and childish)

2010-10-22T23:19:00.000+08:00

After my last entry, I'm convinced that it's fully justifiable slacking off for this entry,... pure rant and no photos.

Just like a mythical werewolf transforms every full month, when Aunt Rose visits, my predatory instinct surfaces, on the look out for a prey to insult/ vent my frustration. Can't seem to find much fault from the Cow today,....

A short conversation with Pea, it seemed that the person who's been making random comments on her most recent status on Facebook turned out to be her class' outcast. It doesn't take more prompting to find out that he's in fact the same numbwit who kept insisting that my sis had been having a crash on him back in school. A nerd with an ego too big for his head.

Pea was curious as to why I'm even entertaining his replies, when he clearly clings onto the slightest bit of attention given by anyone with an opposite reproductive system to his.

I've found my candidate. Thanks to this stunots, it made me feel like a class bully... ending the stream of spamming on Pea's status with sarcasm. Certainly the point was made, the thread ended after my last full stop.

Did I feel childish? Extremely. He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But at least that puts the Cow back into the safe zone, and I felt better releasing some stored frustration after all the cramps. It's not easy being Venus.

Hopefully this is not one of those karma thingy that comes back and bite me... This is the second person I've "offended" in such manner, all thanks to Aunt Rose.

Taipei Dogs

2010-10-20T03:38:00.029+08:00

' Taurus are reliable, focused, practical, and usually right on time.'

Practical definitely a yes, judging that this batch of photos were backlogs from last Christmas, I'm not so certain about my other horoscope traits.

Taipei is an absolute heaven for dogs, owners being city dwellers love to bring their pooches everywhere they go. They get all the oohhhs and arhhs from passerby, many of canines gained frame overnight with people asking for a snapshot with them. All it takes is one person pointing the camera at any one of pooches to gain instant attention. As I found out, the moment after these photos were taken, the admirers just flocked in like bees to honey.

Next to Switzerland, this is the second country I've visited where dogs roamed freely off-leash. Many a times we thought we saw a stray, the next moment the owner turns up...

Once we saw a pooch in the wee hours of the morning, sitting by a road. Just as we wanted to grab it, it strolled back around the corner, down the alley back into this shabby looking shophouse.

Dog heaven it is, where they roam carefree.

Much unlike where we are at staying at the moment. Just this afternoon I was chasing and hunting down two little brats who threw stones at Yumi. She goes bonkers when the postman and garbage collector comes too close to the gate, and there she is sitting in the porch staring at these two monkeys throwing stones at her... and she's still smiling and wagging her tail. One might say that she's naive, but I choose to prefer the word "stupidity".

Hopefully those two won't be doing that anytime soon, while I'm still holding grudge against them. If not, with my last straw, I'll soon be dealing directly with their parents.

My 1st flying lesson

2010-10-17T06:26:00.002+08:00

Six in the morning, lying on the couch with an ice pack on my forehead.

Had my first flying lesson, it didn't turn out well.

It was just turning 6 am, still wide awake from the whole night of overdosing with caffeine. How about a game of chase with Yumi. Wahooooo, genius, what a great idea..... not.

Half way around the living room, this genius tripped and flew head on towards the dog crate. The only thought that crossed my mind was, Ohhhhhhh, shittttt!!!!

When cow finally got to the scene of the accident, all he saw was this lifeless body collapsed on the dog bed next to the crate.

I had had my first flying lesson and I crashed horribly. Aftermath, huge bruises on my forehead and knees, swelling and blood on my nose bridge. As I sat up reeling from the shock and pain, Yumi came over, not to comfort me, but to get me to throw her toy so she could fetch it. Cow took it from her and threw it away, to get the insensitive dog out of my sight. But none the less she came back happily, toy in her jaws. Only to sit down and lean up against me, chewing happily at her toy.

Lying down with an icepack pressed to my face, Yumi is totally oblivious to the incident despite being the only eye witness... she's happily using my belly as her play table for her favourite chew toy.

Sigh...

Venus, Mars and Jupiter

2010-10-03T18:15:00.025+08:00

"Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars.
Dogs are from Jupiter, Cats are from the Moon."

Venus and Mars Pillow Talk

Venus getting comfortable, ready for bed.

Mars' youtube clip on his phone echoed in the bedroom.

Mars, "Dear, would you like to watch this clip with me?"

Venus mumbled, "What clip?"

Mars, "A demo on quark."

Venus, "Quartz?" (Wondering what's so interesting about stones at this time of the night)

Mars, "Ya, quark."

Venus sensing there must be some miscommunication in between, "Define quartz to me."

Mars, "Oh, it's an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Rather interesting. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. ..."

Venus, "... Ahhhh alright, dear, enjoy your clip, I'm too tired." (Snore)

Venus' not a material cut out to be a scientist (though graduated with a diploma in engineering), nor is she cut out to be a mechanic (though she excel in her electrical and electronics back in school).

On the other hand, Mars' all about cars, planes, science, maths....

That might be why Venus is attracted to Mars, opposite attracts and likes repel.

Venus and Mars on the Road

Mars, "Dear, look at that XXX (random name of a car)."

Venus, "Which one? The yellow car?" (trying to spot any none protons)

Mars, "Ya, that one. It's got the XXX body kit and blah blah blah."

Venus feeling relieved,... cars comes with four wheels and could only be differentiated by colours....

In Venus' invisible pictorial book, she's now able to spot MR2, RX8, RX7, MX5, Fairlady, Scoobies, Beetles, Minis... and a few others thanks to Mars. (Pat on the shoulder for Venus)

If Venus could drive, she'd be seen in a classic Beetle or even touring around in a baby blue volkswagen van with Mars and Jupiter.

Venus' dream car is a RX7 FD Spirit R (white of course).

If Mars could have a car now, it'd be an FD Spirit R.

Mars' dream car is a triple rotor NA RX8.

Our definition to cars just amplified our differences even more.

If Jupiter could drive, it would be a van full of dog biscuits.

Jupiter's dream vehicle would be a van made entirely of chocolate... (forbidden food always taste the best). Doubt that van is going anywhere but her stomach.

Things are just way simpler with Jupiter....

HK Day 2 (Back log)

2010-09-04T15:31:00.003+08:00

Feeling better after much needed rest, I'm sure many out there understand that once the flow of work gets interrupted, it's a bitch to get back to it seeing all the back logs. Yes its one of those days.

On the first day of arrival I've uploading my first batch of photos, while on the second day Cow actually hogged my laptop... and hence from then all updates are nothing but painful back logs...

Second day here in the land of Dim Sums (ironically we've yet to try them) managed to meet up with Ian and his missus, she's such a gem. If only they stayed longer, some girly time around here would be nice.

Since we were still recovering from the two flights, strolled around the habour area down at the cultural hall followed by supper and ended our day out short.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there's one word to describe what type of traveller I am, ... I'd say I'm a rat.

I like to explore alleys rather than grace through high street,I prefer local delights rather than sitting in some fancy restaurants sipping champagine, I would rather stay in a B & B than in some posh five star hotel.

I'm a rat, one of those rat with more guts than sense.

Since this is a back log (lol) I'd like to fast forward time to our fifth day here. Walking down the back streets and unwittingly stumbled upon the night market down in Temple Street, one Indian fella mumbled "copy bags?" and the Cow lost sight of me. After ten minutes of calls from him, I reappeared from a dark corner. Yes he gave me a good scolding, but that was just fun.

That's how I like to travel, like a rat....

I never liked travelling with tour groups, walking around gives me a better feel of the country I'm in. Free and easy IMHO is the best way to travel if time allows. Next week I might just make plans to venture out on my own when the Cow's in school.,provided I can drag myself outta bed early enough to do that.

Hk Day 1

2010-09-03T11:53:00.002+08:00

Perhaps I'm purely sleep deprived, if not then then only excuse left is that I'm growing so old that I prefer solitary...

Landed in Hong Kong in the morning, after a whole week of research online getting outta the airport and making our way to our guesthouse hasn't been too much of a hassle.

Our accommodation is surrounding with restaurants and malls in Tsim Sha Tsui.

All being said, just being here for one day exhausted me to the bone. Every corner we go we've to squeeze and swim through the large swarm of people. I've stopped using the term "There's too many people around" to "There's just too MUCH people". Raining the whole day, my jeans was totally dranched. A hot shower and some rest, hopefully I won't be catching any cold for this trip.

Coincidentally, one of Cow's ex-colleague is over for a short holiday with his missus as well. Meeting up with them both for a short catch up tomorrow.

I'm slightly too negative with my opinions of my whereabouts at the moment, hence keeping all comments to show and tell and avoiding my personal opinions on this entry.

More updates tomorrow since I've free wifi in our room. Laterz.

Let the Molting Begins

2010-08-18T17:37:00.002+08:00

It's that time of the year, let the shearing begins...

Yumi has been pretty cooperative during the "furminating", hence a treat... well not quite, its time for her Interceptor med. Since she takes her meds quite happily as you can see from the last photo, might as well consider it as a treat then.

2 Minutes Midnight Snack

2010-07-25T19:27:00.013+08:00

Quick and simple, just the way I like it.

2 Minutes Later...

Just liken waiting next to the microwave while hearing all the pops, that's how our last month seemed to have flown past.

Things were gotta happen, but after careful consideration, didn't.

There's alotta talks and discussions, not to mention, unease.

What's gotta happen next is still unknown, but we will get through it.

Troubled Times

2010-06-23T23:05:00.003+08:00

Things that I've learnt after three glasses of port,... I can actually type faster and more accurately than normal. How weird.

For the past few months we held hopes, we dreamt.
After that few months, reality stroked and we have to prepare and make plans for the worst.
At these troubled times, I need even more strength, I prayed even harder through the sleepless nights.

Ever since I gathered my courage and took the plunge almost eight years ago, my life has never been short of changes. Changes in faces I met, changes in living environment and changes in my beliefs and mentality. Tired, weary, and yet again I'm confronted with yet another phase of changes. It's a challenge to my adaptability as well as my fighting spirit that's growing old.

How are we gotta get through it? I'm still holding on hopes of seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I've sighed too many times for the past few days, vision misted with tears, I've to be even stronger during bad times. I won't be giving up to reality just yet, for I'm a Taurus, and Taurus are bornt to be hardy and strong.......

原来我不是个好女人‏

2010-05-28T22:43:00.004+08:00

最近又被摸偶像剧给缠上身，从主角甚多的名言当中就有这么一段：

没有女人是完美的，
漂亮的不下厨，
下厨的不温柔，
温柔的没主见，
有主见的没女人味，
有女人味的会乱花钱，
不会乱花钱的不会打扮，
会打扮的不放心，
放心的肯定不能看。

妈哟，好想上吊。
小女不下厨，不温柔，超有主见，又不会打扮。
幸亏那头老牛没眼光看上了我，哈哈哈哈。

那摸摸偶像剧也给雄性动物来了一段名言：

男人嘛，
有才华的长得丑，
长得帅的不会赚钱，
会赚钱的不顾家，
顾家的没出息，
有出息的不浪漫，
浪漫的靠不住，
靠的住的肯定是个窝囊废。

哈哈哈哈，原来我有俩个妈。(笑翻了)

Translation:
Recently I've went back to my drama marathon, extracting one of the many famous quotes from one of the drama :

No woman is perfect,
Beautiful ones don''t cook,
Those that cook ain't gentle,
Gentle ones lacks opinions,
Those with opinions lack femininity,
Femininist ain't thrifty,
Thrifty ones ain't fashionista,
Fashionistas isn't assuring,
Assuring ones are often ugly.

OMG, feels like hanging myself.
I do not cook, nor am I gentle, ultra-assertive and worse my wardrobe sucks.
Thank god Cow's taste isn't too high, ha ha ha ha.

The drama has a quote for guys as well:

Well man,
Talented ones are often ugly,
Cool-looking does not make money,
Those that brings back the cash ain't family orientated,
Family orientated ones are unpromising,
Promising ones ain't romantic
Romantic ones are unreliable,
Reliable ones must be a worthless wretch.

Ha ha ha ha, I have two mums. (PMSL)

Kid at Heart, Responsibilities of Adult

2010-04-27T06:20:00.005+08:00

Kid at Heart

Life is too short to be wrapped in a social cocoon. When I was growing up, my folks once told me to look for a good job after I graduate. When I was dating, my folks told me to save up for a flat, get married and bear them a grandchild. Basically, that's their definition of life. To them, life is a cycle, nothing too adventurous nor too risky. They nag, but ultimately still pamper me and my sister. All the chores at home have been taken care of, hot meals on the dinner table when we are hungry, even down to the laundry... they took responsibility for our well-being.

But seeing them age in such a way made me think otherwise, perhaps I've received more education than they did, or the society has shaped me into a different generation than they were used to. They made growing old seem painful and depressing.

Few years back I took the risk to venture out, leaving behind the comfort of home and friends. It was the greatest risk I've ever taken in my entire life. Down that rocky road, I've found my soul-mate, traveled, met new friends from different walks of life and when the time felt right, I exchanged vows with the love of my life. Having children can wait, we're keen to enjoy a few more years without smelly nappies.

We're only given one go with life, it's too short to let others run it on our behalf. We choose to keep life fun as we age.

We keep game consoles in our living room, portable consoles in our drawer, stay up late at night, laugh over silly jokes, eat ice-cream after midnight. Who said growing old has to be boring?

Responsibilities of an Adult/ Parents

Recent visit home, I've discovered that Bubble (my miniature pinscher which I left in the care of my family) has developed a skin problem. My folks provided him with food, baths, walks, the very basic necessities to make him feel comfortable. And when he's sick, they hardly noticed.

I see a close resemblance in that aspect with my childhood. They provided all we need to grow up, but hardly spend any time to play with us. They have never asked for our opinions or what we want in our life. In a way I could bluntly put it that they have neglected our feelings. My childhood hasn't been quite the holistic kind. And when I took up certain interests, be it asking for piano lessons, drawing classes, etc they turn me down flat saying that those were not necessary. I've seen children of my age forced to go for extra classes which they hated, whereas I'd die for to be in their shoes.

My relationship with my parents made me think hard on a lot of things. Looking from a more positive angle, I thank them for setting a bad example. At least I know what to do and what not to do when I eventually have kids of my own. At least I know what I want in life and not age with misery. At least I know that life is too short to waste on obsessing over things which we should have done rather than just doing it.

Feeling Crap

2010-04-22T09:14:00.004+08:00

Feeling rather crap at the moment, punching myself in the chest for something I've done earlier. I knew I had to say it, trying to put it in the most polished manner, but it seemed to have made matters worse.

What only meant to be a word of cautious made my friend worries even more.

Was in a dilemma, if I don't speak my mind, he'd might still be able to walk into the interview room with confidence. But if I choose to remain silent, I'd hate myself for not stepping in if otherwise.

On many occasions I've been stuck in situations whether to choose silence. But in this case, something so important, I choose to hurt. Have I done the right thing? If I'm given a second chance, I might choose to speak my mind still. Only because I care.

Fingers crossed all will work out fine for him, and so would our issues. For we both have a common goal.

Smoking John & Jen's Kitchen

2010-03-23T07:10:00.005+08:00

Copyrighting

2010-03-20T23:24:00.001+08:00

I believe I've never mentioned before, but since I'm sitting here while the boys are gaming, I've a void this evening for me to rant.

Yes I put my name stamp on the small lil corner of my photos, not because I'm proud of them, well not that I'm ashamed of them either. I don't consider myself a photographer, just a hobbyist merely trying to keep a record of things that I see in my daily life. Be it to share with my family or just keeping it and going through it one day reminding myself of those beautiful moments.

Right, here's the story to why I started stamping my photos, bear with me.

Quite a few years ago when I switched to a slightly better camera, we took a series of photos during a party. The series of snaps were circulated amongst friends, and just like a note in a bottle, we have no idea who else it floated to.

Few months down the road, someone actually showed us the pictures, the very same ones we took and claimed it the person who took it was someone else he knew. Despite us defending ourselves, the other party just wouldn't believe us. I felt like I'm been accursed... as if someone is saying that I'm a liar or something.

Not that I mind sharing my pictures, but I don't like being called a liar either. I tried my best to give credits to pictures I've obtained from sources apart from my own. It's just peeps out there that doesn't respect it. So therefore it concludes my story of why on earth I actually "copyright" most of my pictures.

In fact recently I'm in the dilemma of whether to stop using © on my photos or even stop putting my name on altogether, the low self-esteem side of me is trying to convince myself that my photos are not good enough nor even qualify for a copyright.

Anyone reading this post, please kindly give me suggestions please?

Dinner @ Nana's

2010-03-19T21:36:00.006+08:00

A visit to Nana's isn't complete without a nice roast dinner.

Cow's heating the kitchen again, and The Chef's speciality of the day "Roasted Pork Belly".
And as usual, Cow's the chef with his two little kitchen hands.

Stuffed our faces in Mr Pig till we couldn't eat any more, and the boys are now burning the calories off on xbox.

Things that I Missed (1)

2010-03-18T09:57:00.006+08:00

The next few posts are gotta be way overdue, The Cow and I had been busy since we came back to England, running errands.

Apart from dealing with a particular troublesome individual, which I almost tore my hair off, things are good.

Coming back made me realised the little things I missed about this place. Be it a little robin dropping by the garden for visit, to a dead badger by the side of the motorway (though I prefer to see a live badger and never had that luck).

A drive down the motorway admiring all the con-trails, staring at the night sky making wishes upon shooting stars. Those were the little things I missed.

Feeling clever

2010-02-04T21:09:00.002+08:00

or just pure luck. Finally managed to solve the lappy's wireless connection problem. Deprived of sleep din't help the fact that I lost my thinking cap, after a much needed nap, my tiny brain started working again. Thank God.

We've landed safe and sound in sunny Brisbane. I know I should really enjoy the sun while I still have the chance, since the weather Forecast mentioned to expect rain the next few days. But I can't help running to the nearest shelter, be it a lamppost, a tree, or even Cow... I was Oscar the Grouch of the day.

Sitting on the balcony now, sipping coffee while I blabber, the stars in view, enjoying the tranquility, blanking out the noisy aircon unit just above me. Haaa and the mozzies won't be expecting a buffet from me, I've got my trusty mozzie repellent on. I'm glad we survived the flight and heat.

More pix coming up soon. Far too exhausted to take any today, which is pretty unusual for me.

Moo Moment (5) - Death Talk

2010-02-01T21:08:00.003+08:00

Me: Having a quick and painless death, to me is considered a blessing.

Moo: ... (continued walking Yumi)

Me: I'd be a happy corpse to be able to die in my sleep.

Moo: That's not difficult!

Me: Huh?

Moo: You spent majority of your time sleeping anyway, so on theory, the probability of you dying in your sleep is actually,... pretty high.

Me: ... ... ...

Taipei Day Five

2010-01-17T05:51:00.013+08:00

Am glad to be able to meet up with a girlfriend of mine up here in Taipei, popped by Ximending for dinner before heading out to Shilin night market for supper ... how convenient.

All the walking makes us crave for food where ever we go.

Despite Unjust, Time to move on

2010-01-15T03:22:00.004+08:00

Given a few years younger, any injustice done to me or my family, I'd have blew my top.

Wine ages with time, and through time I've grown wiser to know that this world isn't fair.
Further pursue might just bring on more unnecessary headaches, as long as those dear and near knows the truth, it's useless disputing with troublemakers who point fingers at all but themselves.

Such precious enlightenment learnt from all the trouble we went through years ago, I do hope that Cow's next assignment (still searching) would go without a hitch. Whatever our next endeavour is, I really hope that Yumi's included in it as well.

Anyone reading this entry, I'll humbly ask for a lil prayer that our search would go smooth and well.

Taipei Day Four Part II - 101

2010-01-13T04:44:00.016+08:00

Captions credited to THE COW .... again.

Taipei Day Four Part I

2010-01-10T04:20:00.006+08:00

I'm finally managed find enough will power to edit more pix from the trip.

We were at the right place, at the right time.
A carnival passed by before we made our way up to the 101.

PS: Captions credited to the Cow, my sense of humor is as dry as a bone.

Taipei Day Three

2009-12-25T23:39:00.007+08:00

Dropped by Wufenpu shortly to pick up some T-shirts for the Cow, hoping that I'll bump my way back to the shops I lost yesterday. Sadly I had to leave waving my white flag to the maze and empty handed without any bags.

Next stop, Ximending.
Picked up a cheap pair of jeans outside the Red House, ahhhh the Red House, the shops in there were just superbly zakka style (did I mention I love zakka?). The merchandises in there are pretty expensive, but every item is well worth the price. We came out with a bagful of items ranging from T-shirt to postcards, cell phone pouch and stickers.

Crossed the street and we've reached the heart of Ximending, overwhelmed with neon sign boards, eateries, hawkers and shops. Dishes we tried here, stinky tofu (臭豆腐), local pancake (車輪餅), local style kebab.

The stuff in the shops are reasonably priced, otherwise... cheap. Despite the low prices, bargaining with a bit of small talk, the prices dropped even further.

Once again, din't manage to grab any bags there, they are more for teenagers, PVC slings and haversacks doesn't really go for me. But I did bagged another pair of boots which is pretty cheap IMO, SGD 28.50.

Last stop, Shi Da night market.
Mainly food and cheap kawaii and girly stuff. Had high hopes for it since I've heard so much good reputation about it, rather disappointing in terms of shopping, but the food is pretty good there. We managed to try the cold salty chicken (鹹水雞), herbal duck vermicelli (當歸面綫), oyster omelette (蚵仔煎).

Taipei Day Two

2009-12-24T22:31:00.006+08:00

Agenda of the day: Wu Fen Pu (五分埔), shopping arcades: NY NY, Neo 19 Shopping Center.

Started off the day trying to find the nearest metro so we could get to Wu Fen Pu for some clothes shopping. In our stumbling about trying to get to the metro station, we found Taipei's Suicide squad... investigation squad I should say.After a little confusion we made it there ok.So many shops to choose from and so easy to get lost. Mainly got boots and a few T-shirts and tops. Sadly only bag I wanted to get I couldn't find my way back to the shop once lost in the maze.

Rather than spend the whole day at 1 venue, we made our way to Taipei city centre to try find my beloved Daiso at the New York New York shopping centre. I've said before part of the fun of exploring a new holiday destination is the getting lost. As such we had a lot of fun making our way there. On the way finding out how to get to Taipei 101, currently the tallest building in the world.

Cow decided to make a note of the showings of "Avatar" in 3D as hopefully we'll be able to catch a showing while we're here. Also while at it, managed to finally activate our prepaid WiFi card. just SGD$20 per month for unlimited and pretty fast internet access!

Had to make a move before midnight in order to catch the last train back to he hotel and rest up ready for another day. Well that was the plan but I guess the excitement of being here got the better of us and we didn't get to sleep till way past three in the morning!

Day One Part II

2009-12-23T22:50:00.002+08:00

After ranting on day one of our trip, the rest of the evenings once we reached our hotel, there's hardly any energy left to blog. Hence apart from the first entry, the rest are post entries.

Day One
We were pretty adventurous, despite this is our first trip here, we opted for a bus and finding our way to the hotel rather than taking a cab. It was a pretty long walk (and aimless one as well) to our accommodation from the Taipei main station.

With a map in hand, the two helpless souls finally reached our destination. Well, not forgetting to snack as we wandered along. The night market outside the station served the best BBQ squid outta all the ones we tried during our entire stay (damn do I miss it).

Dropping off our bags at the hotel, the two of us (still with plenty of energy left) headed off for more food. Walked for half an hour and we landed at the "Zhong Xiao Xing Shen Station" (忠孝新生). Yes, the rest of the night would bore you, more food, more spending on random shit, which I'll spare you the details.

Day One in Paradise

2009-12-23T09:41:00.001+08:00

Alighting the flight, it was like I've stepped into ghost town. The terminal was empty,... apart from my fellow travellers on the same flight. A sigh of relief after seeing another crowd waiting to fly out, other than that, occasional small number of staff at the DFS...

Took a bus from the terminal to town, Taipei Bus Terminal. The buildings that flashed passed seemed gloomy, cold, lifeless, drab.

While trying to figure out our way to the hotel, we landed ourselves with a nice bowl of mee suah (面线), stinky tofu(臭豆腐), BBQ caramelised squid (鱿鱼), corndog and a nice hot cup of almond tea. One word to describe the food,.... nice XD.

The roads here is relatively easy to figure out for newbies like us, though the traffic takes a bit of time getting used to, the swamps of scooters are pretty intimating at first, but that was ok.

Checked into the hotel and off we went again, more walking and more food as we walk some more.

Along the way, we adopted some ophans, fried chicken bits (香酥鸡)(no pix, the food was all gone before my hands can reach for the camera), zhu xue gao (豬血糕 pig's blood cake, with peanuts, shallots, ginger -- not that great), tea egg (茶葉蛋) from 7-11. Oh picked up a nice pair of boots as well.

As you can see, we've take the approach of eating which ever food that appears in front of us, pretty random. No room for main course, we just wanna try EVERYTHING.

Despite the cold looking buildings around us, I totally fell in love with this place. Reason? I love the people here, everyone I spoke to (be it asking for direction, salesperson, passer-by on the street) are so genuine, helpful and friendly. Even the gal who was giving her boyfriend a good tongue leashing, sounds pretty civilised lol.

The service level here is excellent as well, they don't push sales but are more than willing to answer all queries.

Side note, the temperature is around 17- 19 degree, alright for me. The only thing is that my immune system is still pretty weak, and great thanks to the cabin temperature on the flight over, I'm down with a cold. The drug I took caused drowsiness, but that is not gotta ruin our holiday, even if it means I've to walk with my eyes closed. Chao for now, more food awaits us.

Apologizes for the poor quality of the photos, its winter here (short daylight), and also we were more pre-occupied with what goes into our mouth rather than our view finder.

Cats on the Loose

2009-12-22T23:55:00.005+08:00

My security canine had been busy on patrol before she left for her nanny's, now that she's not around, the annoying felines are on the loose.

All those noise, those cat fights, all the commotion just at our doorstep, just because Yumi wasn't around.

My head has been killing me since this afternoon, fingers crossed its not another ear infection or something, I've been downing loads of pills to help me nap over the pain, and the aspirin did help a lil, thou not a great deal. I'll be away for a couple of days, hope I can get wifi to upload pix for the Christmas holiday.

If not, then here's an advance Merry Christmas to which ever bored soul is reading this entry.

Ungrateful

2009-12-22T14:15:00.002+08:00

She's gone, without even turning back, without even realising that I'm not beside her.

The ungrateful gal galloped off when her nannies took over her leash.
The ungrateful gal hopped into the back seat once the car door was opened.
The ungrateful gal didn't even look back when they drove off.

I'm glad she enjoys the company of her new friends, but can't change the fact that I'm a nobody to her... sigh.

Moulting

2009-12-21T21:24:00.001+08:00

At the dinner table, Cow found Yumi's fur in his soup,... went to the washroom and he can easily pick her fur off his underpants.

Yes, I'm glad its coming to the end of Yumi's moulting season, no more tumble weeds hoovering across the living room. I'm quite certain that with the amount of fur I collect throughout each season, its enough to make another of her.

That's the thing about having a canine companion, I've grown too accustomed to her furiness, finding fur on my lips as I sip my morning coffee, in my rice, wallet, the magazine I'm reading, on my keyboard, you name it.

Sigh, side note, Yumi's nanny is dropping by tomorrow to pick her up for her vacation camp. Oblivious to it all, the canine is snoozing away, not knowing how much I'm gotta miss her...

This is why I'm getting fat (Dinner)

2009-12-20T23:40:00.006+08:00

A month of MIA and now three entries in just one day... I'm finally getting back on my feet.

Yumi got poked

2009-12-20T15:32:00.006+08:00

Poke, poke, today is the day Yumi got poked by needles again.

Much to our (more of mine) relief, her blood test came back negative for heartworm. Has place order for her Interceptor tabs.

Following that, she got poked yet again, this time for a rabies jab.

The vet was happy that our gal is so "healthy" that she has no problem what so ever when she tried to pinch the canine for fats to inject the shot. Yes, our gal is in fact overly "healthy" in the field of body fats, so much so she might need to go on diet soon.

Just outside the vet's was this lil pup for adoption, its overpowered with cuteness and I couldn't resist taking out my digital cam.

Changes

2009-12-20T12:23:00.003+08:00

This space has been due for a face lift for more than a year, its only now that I've managed to get any sorta motivation to start some work. Am still trying to come up with a decent banner to go with it, and the pain of going through the previous entry to move all those photos that are outta alignment.

I've got another three days to complete the spring cleaning in amidst of all my errands. Hope all goes well. Nope, no photos for now (another load piling up on my memory cards), maybe later tonight perhaps?

Truly peek a boo

2009-11-25T18:26:00.004+08:00

Just another ordinary day (almost), interrupted by an uninvited guest, clearing the drying rack and out jumped this fat gecko.
As much as it managed to scare the daylight outta me, I'm pretty sure he suffered even more.
Jumping off the kitchen counter and landed with a pretty loud "splat", that fella is now hiding under my stack of garbage bag.
I'll leave him alone to reflect on his misconduct (more like I'm too much of a wimp to chase it away), before I get Cow to send him packing.

Heartache

2009-11-18T17:02:00.000+08:00

Password please, the usual

Moto GP Nightmare

2009-10-29T21:13:00.007+08:00

To describe my weekend, it would just be a bucketful of swear words. That's not one sentence without the F-word the whole 50 mins spent trying to get outta the bloody carpark on Sunday.

Where did I go? To one of the MotoGT down at the circuit. The preliminary on Saturday went through like a breeze, the crowd I would say as compared to Sunday was nothing. When it comes to the actual day, only one word to describe, CHAOS. The poor management, the lousy logistics, even down to the cleanliness of the place just left me with a very bad experience.

In terms of cleanliness, ... went to the ladies and thought it might be my lucky day coz there's only one cubicle left. To my disgust, the toilet bowl was filled with faeces. Fine, I gave it a flush. Further horror,... the by product started oozing out and flooding the tiny space, I had to crawl up the tiny enclosure like I'm the next casting for spiderman,.... GROSS!!!
Queuing up for food and drinks is a nightmare. There's no shelter for the customer under the scotching sun, and even more unfortunate for me, it started pouring when I was queueing for food. Since I'm next, I had to stand there under the rain while the sellers rush to keep their merchandises before serving me. The walk back to the end stand just made me hate the management even more, there's no straight shelters that I could use to walk back. Yes there are temp shelters which I can take, but that means I've to wait till the weather spares mercy (which the rain might not stop till the end of the race). Since I'm already drenched, running back to the stand seemed a better option.

Right,... back at the stand, cold and wet, grab the spare cardi in my haversack and headed to the ladies once again to change outta my wet clothes. Went to the cubicle next to that horrible one which I mentioned earlier (there's only 3 cubicles per toilet in that stand). Disgusted again coz there's just chunks of POO everywhere,... on the wall as well as the flooring... Left with no choice, I started changing, making sure I do not touch any part of the wall. Went out to have my food,.... and saw this brown thingy on my knee... the Cow though it was mud from running back in the rain,... but I knew better.........................

After the race, headed back to the carpark to get outta the damn place. Some (plural) mutha *BEEP* *BEEP* SOB decided to park where ever the hell they please. Some places the cars were stacked 3 deep with no means of getting out, basically everyone was blocking everyone else in. So its not as if we could leave if 1 of the arseholes turned up, we had to wait till every mutha *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* came back before anyone could leave. The peeps being trapped I would say its like 40- 50 cars? (could be more). Yes, peeps started getting frustrated, we have to wait till all those *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* arseholes decided to find the auspicious time they wanted to leave then we can go..... *BEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

50mins,... that's how long after the race we had to wait till those bastards returned to their cars... bear in mind that it took us 5 mins to park up.

Out on the main road, the first lane was taken up by taxis and mini buses waiting for their passengers, third lane were parked up cars. AND SOME *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* driver stopped and parked his bloody coach in centre of the middle lane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Never again over my dead body would I turn up for next year's race!!!!

Private Rant again,...

2009-10-06T21:15:00.002+08:00

Damn I'm so gutless,... password please. The usual.

New Nestlings

2009-10-04T20:10:00.011+08:00

Paid my dear couple friend, Mel and Kerin, a visit when I was back home. Congrats to the proud home owners, they have found themselves a great place to start their family in. Hope I can find time out for their wedding dinner next year.

Shame I din't bring my dslr back this trip, hence unable to take shots of the interior. It's only then I really appreciated my wide angle lens.

Just Today

2009-09-21T03:33:00.005+08:00

Just today, I found out that Yumi has developed a fetish for mooncake.
Just today, Yumi ran away from home,... and came back after her adventure round the estate.
Just today, I finally added some extra touch to my two very important assets.
Just today, we've moved on, it didn't take much for us to fell for it.

But it's not just today that I rant.

PS: Finally manage to get online again after our last ISP failed us, haven't got the chance to thank Mr K for fixing my script. Thanks Mr K, ya a genius.

And Mr LKH, thanks for your identity lol, if not for you, I won't even be posting this entry.

My Dogs are (were) big babies

2009-09-18T03:26:00.000+08:00

They are indeed.

Cocoa
My very first dog, found her on the street.
My family has the habit of reading the papers on the floor, spreading out the double pages making it easier to read.
Cocoa hated it when our attention wasn't on her.
She'd put her front paw on the corner to prevent us from turning the pages.
If that doesn't work, she'd put both front paws.
If that still fails, she'd simply walk to the middle and plant her butt right on our morning news.

Bubble
My second baby, the famous pinscher who won't hesitate to bite your fingers off if offended.
He loves to curl up sleeping beside us. We in turn became his possesion.
If anyone is to tempt to disturb his sleeping cushion (the human next to him), he will, deffo bite your fingers off.

Yumi
My new member, is the babiest outta all.
I've decided to start this post thanks to her.
Watching a dvd on the laptop with my headphones on.
She got bored watching me, hopped off her throne and tried to nudge off my headphone,... she failed and was shafted aside.
The queen/ Biatch (with a captial B) then walked in front, blocking me from the screen (I'm lying on the floor watching) and refused to budge. That failed, I started watching through the gaps of her legs...
Last resort,... she started typing on my keyboard.

SIGH, I've to stop watching and play with her... threw her a rawhide, which is why she graciously gave me some time off to finish this entry.

Dogs, they are big babies indeed.

Yumi Moment

2009-09-08T04:39:00.008+08:00

Yumi's old toy box (a waste paper basket) turned out to be a nuisance.

Instead of training her to get her own toys, she deemed every bin in the house to be her toy basket,...
The moment any waste went into the bins, out it comes again.
Time for a replacement, she got her very own toy box.
All I can say is, she absolutely hates it. She loves her toys scattered around the house.
She loves the convenience of her toys at every corner of the house, easy access.

Little helper folding the laundry? I wished!!!
She's upset that I'm paying more attention to the laundry than to her.
So as she discovered, the only way to get me to play with her was to stop me from my chores.

And the lil one got bored, and ohhhh the softener the humans used on the clothes smells good.
Ohhhh and the laundry is soooo soft. Ohhhh Zzzzzzz....

Moodlessness

2009-09-05T15:27:00.005+08:00

Bad idea to do your nails and type at the same time...

Sidenote, haven't been able to pick up the blogging mood, even as I "speak". Moodlessness, if there's even such a word.

Spent my last trip home goofing around with Pea as usual, and in between those goofing, I've managed to meet up with several friends. Friends who has just given birth, another leaving the country and last but not least someone whom I've totally lost contact for like five to six years. It has been fun catching up with them.

No, I'm still not quite in the mood to blog, so I'm just gotta dump another lot of pictures for you.

Deathnote L

2009-08-22T03:47:00.007+08:00

Latest to my collection, second favourite character from Death Note is,.... L.

Out running errands today and curiously popped into an anime store. Saw the Deathnote DVD set giving away a replica death note and a quill pen. How can I resist? (Despite already having all the episodes on my HDD).
Apart from the DVD, another somehow impulse buy, L. He's just too cute not to bring home.

Now my lil Ryuk has a friend.

Disappointment

2009-08-11T09:46:00.007+08:00

Facebook, entertaining, burning much of my hours on games and random stuff.
Keeping in contact with my friends and family online, sharing all the ongoings and gossips.

Not to mention showing off the great vacation pictures with everyone.

Received a call from Cow this morning, saying that he saw a friend of ours being tagged in an album.
Disappointment, they were in town, just a stone throw from ours.
Despite we've opened our doors to him, sending out our invitation if he ever wanna drop by, he's always welcomed, he hasn't got the time.
He's passed by once, but as he mentioned that he's not familiar with the area, therefore dare not leave his group to wander around.
Fair enough, that's absolutely understandable.

This time he's just a stone throw away, and not even a call.
Are we really such a pest? I felt as though we were not wanted.
It's pretty difficult to describe how I'm feeling at the moment.
A friend of more than 15 years,.... that's all I can say.

On several occasion when I went home, he asked as if with great interest if Cow's going back with me.
I thought he missed him, or maybe I've just read it wrong.

At least now I know.
============================================================

***** Responding to some tag on my chatbox in defence:

No I did not expect that friend to come over to ours knowing the fact that he's not familiar with the area. That's just inconsiderate.

I got bad grades for Geography, but I still know that KL is bigger than Singapore. But still, thanks for the reminder.

And if all can be based on assumptions, that it would be convenient for me to assume that from now onwards this friend of mine is either busy at work/ on course/ doing his assignment/ blah blah blah and and not call in case I trouble him.

And yes I'll stop asking, if I do, it just seemed that we're desperate and begging him to come over. No, we are not running a bed and breakfast, we are not desperate for customers. Door closed... Being a homemaker doesn't necessary means I'm boring my mind off, I can jolly well use that time to do things of my interest. It doesn't make a difference if he comes over or not, just felt like pinching myself over why on earth am I getting my blood pressure up over it.

Sigh, case close, I shall speak no more of this matter on my blog. I don't wanna wake up tom with white hair. Vented my anger, off to bed...

Dog IQ

2009-08-06T21:41:00.006+08:00

Picked up a book from the stores yesterday,... "Test your dog's IQ". Did a small lil experiment before I start going through the book, this is to just give me a rough idea of what to expect from Yumi.

Pre-test 1 :
Place treats in cup and see how the canine would react.

To be honest, I've high expectation with the result for this test, since she's so food driven and all.

Result :
She ran around the cup, barked, ran, bark, ran,... you get the idea.
Tired, she just sat there staring at the forbidden food, and started whining... Test failure.

Pre-test 2 :
Place treats under cup.

Well this might be easier than the first test I suppose.

Results :
She proved me wrong,...
The test subject started with running around the cup, more barking and running,... then she surprised me.
She attempted to dig her way under the cup!!!! *Speechless*

I'm not pinning my hope too high with the scoring in the next few days...

I've been busy

2009-08-05T20:07:00.000+08:00

As Nana puts it, he can see tumbleweeds on my blog.

I've been rather busy for the past few weeks, went home for a while and Pea came visit straight after as usual.
Then Adam came over to stay for a day before flying back to UK. Our landlady's planning to sell her house, and her business partners and agent has been coming in rather frequently. Hence more cleaning for me.

The next week or two isn't gotta be much better. Heading to an endurance race this weekend at the circuit, more errands, then a possible dinner appointment when my cousin whom I've not met since I was like five. Looking forward to some catching up. Have to make a trip down to Yen's to collect Yumi's chicken for her barf diet as well. With so many things going on, I've no choice but to push back Yumi's grooming at the vet's.

Germaine's gotta visit next week as well, planning for a short girly trip to Genting. And shortly after, I've to fly again to renew my visa.

Sigh, why the rant? Well if I'm to vanish again, at least you know I'm not dead. Just busy that's all.

Here's some totally random pix of Pea and Bubble during my trip home. Nothing beats spending time with my two favourite beings.

What oh What am I to Her?

2009-07-14T22:03:00.004+08:00

The house feels empty without the rascal and Cow.

Flying home tomorrow, and since Cow has no time this week for Yumi, she was sent to Yen's (our home boarder) till Saturday.

Wondering if she'd miss me,... my worries were for nothing, in fact I felt used. All this while she might have just taken me as her food cum treats vending machine... *sob*

The moment she went into her vacation camp,... I was nothing. The sight of her doggie friends and all the new smell,... she totally let her fur down and ran around like some lunatic escapee from a mental institute!!!
She din't even come to the gate to bid us farewell, ermmm, when Cow sticked his hand through the gate to pat her, she actually ducked!!!

I was taken aback,... sigh, what am I to her?

I ♥ Bargains

2009-07-08T03:44:00.006+08:00

Left the shop with a big grin, the initial bill was over rm180,... but after discount,... rm80+.
I can't help but grin all the way home. XD

Chickpeas

2009-07-05T18:12:00.003+08:00

** This is a private rant **

Uneventful Week

2009-07-04T19:16:00.004+08:00

The week that passed was simply stale, apart from ISP leaving me with a dead connection for more than 24 hours,... the customer care was friendly, but that doesn't take away the fact that I know more than them,....

Since I was left outta cyberworld for a whole day, picked up my needles and started sewing again. Made two new pouches, one for my fags and another for my keitai which I got months ago but never got the chance to write about. The latter (laugh hesterically), I've always wanted a 903,... *drool* (even when 903 was such an old phone, it has became such a classic that the price still remained high). Nevermind that, I've got a replacement now *still laughing*. I know I know, its from last season, 8MP is enough for me, the new 10MP would be too much to handle. Not sure why but I just love white clamshells with rotating screen...

More updates on my four-legged furby. We've put her on a barf diet (raw meat) but worried that her stool is way too hard, she's now on barf every alternate day. She's not taking the veggie and supplement mix (credit to Yen, our homeboarder) very well, but hunger speaks louder, so she has no choice but to chow them down.

Oh and recently she's brushing her teeth as well, *ahem* abit of an obsession actually. She takes her toothbrush wherever she goes. *The brush actually belongs to Bubble, but its way too big for his tiny jaws and he left it in a corner to collect dust*

Super GT 2009

2009-06-27T04:46:00.002+08:00

PS: Please wait for all thumbnails to fully load before clicking.

Super GT 2009 - Misc

2009-06-27T04:13:00.004+08:00

PS: Please wait for all thumbnails to fully load before clicking.

Super GT 2009 - Race Queens

2009-06-23T02:09:00.004+08:00

PS: Please wait for all thumbnails to fully load before clicking.

Cameron Highlands Trip Part 1

2009-06-12T03:48:00.002+08:00

This trip has been a real adverture, from getting a cab to Puduraya station, to finding a coach to the Highlands.
The journey there took half a day, thought we could recoop with an early night.
Spoken too quick, woke up in the middle of the night all swelled up.
Mozzies,... those blood suckers.

But the 3 days 2 night trip has been fun. Travelling with Pea was a bonus. Can't wait for our next trip.

Cameron Part 2 - Butterfly Park

2009-06-12T03:20:00.006+08:00

It seemed that our guide likes hanging around the two of us (me and Pea) along with another Brit.
Everytime he takes out a reptile or insect from the tank, he'd pass it to one of us.
My hands were all stretched out before he even managed to get the gecko out.
But the Brit had his eyes on it as well, sigh, had to pass it to him shortly after.

Pea on the other hand reacted kinda slow towards his approach.
To those insect that creeps me, I'd jump to the back of the crowd when Ravi, our guide, took them out.
Pea still on the same spot, spacing out, had scorpions placed on her,... while the crowd behind her stared in disgust lol.

Cameron Part 3 - Boh Tea Plantation

2009-06-12T02:57:00.003+08:00

Finished the short tea factory tour, our guide released us for a bit of RnR.
Two of us made a mad dash for the souvenir shop and got tonnes of tea leaves and tea soap.
Oh, and the view from the cafe balcony was just breath taking...

Cameron Part 4 - Rose Garden & Bee Farm

2009-06-12T02:46:00.003+08:00

Murmurs

2009-05-28T19:19:00.006+08:00

Taking a brief moment to babble, Pea's arriving in half an hour and we've gotta go pick her up. So murmur twitter style (even though I can't stand it).

Murmur 1

Spotted this rather "interesting" display,...
the shop assistant in MPH might either have a sense of humour or she's illiterate.

Well I certainly don't wanna have one of those as a pet...

Murmur 2

Despite having a twin cylinder 1.5 metre water filter in the porch for the house, the quality of water that we've been consuming still alarms me.
As proven from the state of our tap filter,... gosh,... even after the tap filter,... how safe is the water that I've been drinking?
(yes I only drink water from the kettle after boiling,... but still I can't help but worry).

Murmur 3

Flash your password

Meditating

2009-05-25T12:53:00.005+08:00

One on my left, one on my right, and one in front.

Six mozzie bites later, swelling up like a balloon, showered and floured myself with talcum powder. Went to bed feeling a tad better.
Tossed and turned, in totally darkness danger lured at a corner. Five minutes later, another bite on my arm and one on my finger ... It's just impossible to sleep with eight bites. Frantically scratching non-stop, I'm like a monkey filled with ticks.

Now sitting here in the living room, the house's smoking with three mozzie coils, one on my left, one on my right and another in front.
Meditating with mozzie coil, my eyes are starting to mist. The price to pay for a "itchless" nap, hope I don't die from intoxication.

Never Fails

2009-05-24T18:50:00.004+08:00

... to surprise me. A dog, a weird dog.
This is the first dog I've ever known who takes her tablets like treats.
This is the first dog I've ever known who drinks "Bitter Yuck" like water.
This is the first dog I've ever known who prefers to whine and howl than bark.
This is the first dog I've ever known, who's more fascinated by kites and aeroplanes than screaming kids and kitties.

She's desperate for a wee, out the gate, and ohhhhhhhh kites,... (half a minute later) pee,... need to pee.
(Finished business)
Ohhhh kites,.... (another half a minute) ohhhh aeroplane.... (and she's completely in her own world).

PS: Bitter Yuck is sprayed on stuff to prevent your canine from chewing it, it's supposed to taste REALLY REALLY digusting.

Pea Day

2009-05-24T03:43:00.000+08:00

Happy twenty one lil Pea. Don't feel old, for you still have a long way to go.

Updates

2009-05-23T19:44:00.001+08:00

The past two weeks had been a nightmare for both canine and humans, canine has to be confined from reaching for her toys and jumping around, not to mentioned she's banned from the porch area as well. Humans? Well we'd to put up from the grumpy spayed bitch, oh and her whines.

At long last, she's been given the approval (by moi) to have her torture device removed. She once again a free canine.

What ya about to see or hear in the clip below is just a small taste of what I've to face everyday. Yes, she's once again managed to score a ball in the hole under the couch. No, I dunno what she's managed to kicked in, coz this is the sixth time that night and I can't give a crap.

Password Please

Last bit of energy

2009-05-14T12:28:00.003+08:00

I'm now writing this entry with my last remaining bit of energy . The exhaustion accumulated during the past few weeks (especially the last) is now taking its toll.

Starting from senior's visit, to Yumi's operation, Cow's friend's short visit, and now the worsening of Yumi's wound. As for senior's visit, well I won't go into anymore details, those trusted friends you should have the password, go read for yourself. Cow's friend is a really nice chap, that's all I'm gotta say. So leaving Yumi's operation and her recovery progress, that oh boy I'll write an essay with my last breathe.

Right, to begin with my essay, Yumi was sent in for spaying last Saturday, well I'd no problems with my vet back at home, but here,... the vet just somehow made things worse for us.

If you'd like to see how bad Yumi's current condition is (that's if you have digested your last meal), just click on the link below and key in password "Please gross me out".

Show Me the Photos

______________________________________________________
Day 1: Sent her in for operation at noon, was told to call back at 4pm to check if we can fetch her home that night. Rang up and was informed that she's still under surgery!!! . Fine, called them back at the time I was told. "They" informed me that she's still drowsy from the anesthetic no choice but to keep her for the night. I've strictly asked for them to walk her before the clinic shuts at 9.30pm as first of all she's outdoor trained, and secondly the drip during the operation might be too much for her bladder to take (that's if they even gave her a drip)... Called again at 9pm with the same set of instruction. Oh before I forget, asked them how's Yumi taking her experience being caged up,...... the caller on the other end of the line reply, "Oh she's taking it really well, in fact she's more eager to play than anything!" It doesn't help that everytime I called, with the self introduction of, "Hi I'm XXX, I'm checking on my DOG which was sent in this ...." and they would come back to be after 15 seconds of putting me on hold and ask if my pet was a cat or a dog. Cow advised that I should have told them that it was a goldfish. At that point, I was starting to get really worried.

Informed them that I'll pick Yumi up at 10am the next day (since the clinic opens at 10), lady on the line explain that the staff needs to clean up the cage before Yumi can leave so I can only pick her up at 11am,... WTF since when does the patient in hospital has to wait till the nurse and cleaner clean up the room before discharge? What kinda screwed up logic is that?
After much negotiation, they agreed to let me pick her up at the time I requested.

______________________________________________________

Day 2: Went to the clinic at half ten, giving a 30 mins leeway for them to prepare for her discharge. Was asked if I wanna get a E-collar for her,... the counter staff shut up after my comment, "E-collar,... isn't that an absolute MUST after a surgery? So you are telling me that its optional?" Lady then asked me to wait as they try to fit the collar I just "bought". Fine, told them I'll be running to the shops opposite the street to pack some lunch. Back at 11am, asked them where Yumi's at and ... was told she's now taken out for a pee... ... ... ... don't think they got my instructions from last night, well, and from 10am till 11am,... one hour,... really felt like strangling that *BEEP* behind the counter.

Asked for a letter of proof for the spay, "Oh you have to wait for 2 weeks, come back in 2 weeks' time." Err.... do you need a solictor to write it for ya?

Finally I get to see the distressed canine. Outside the clinic, questioned the assistant if Yumi's nails had been trimmed as requested, her reply just made them look even more unprofessional, "Oh it still look abit long" Ya, underlying statement, "Oh *BEEP* !!! forgot to do that". She then dragged out the poor groomer and trimmed her nails outside the clinic. Not the groomer's fault since he hasn't been given the task in the first place.

One BIG mistake I made, asked her how's the wound. She got the groomer to lift my canine up. Thinking she's just trying to point to me, I din't think twice to stop her. Before my brain can catch up with my eyes,... she peeled up the med tape on the wound, liken tearing off a piece of waxing tape,... and it sounds like it as well ... YOU *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* ,... do you have to go to such extend to show me? Speechless, I left as quickly as my wounded canine could walk.

Back at home, canine drank a whole bucket of water. Can't help but to be convinced that she hasn't been given food nor drinks the whole stay with them.

______________________________________________________

Day 3: Yumi's doing ok I suppose, she finished all the food I cooked for her. Mixed veg, tofu, pork, and some kibbles. She's drinking alot too, But her wound is slightly sore. No problem on the whole.

______________________________________________________

Day 4: Her wound isn't looking good, its swell up even more and it's reddened. Oh did I mentioned that the vet refused to give me any antibiotics for her? They said that being such a MINOR operation, giving her a dose after the operation should be sufficient... BULLOCKS!!!

Brought her back to the clinic, vet tried to squeeze her wound to see if that's any fluid from the swell. Nope, none so ever. The *BEEP* vet wasn't convinced, squeezed a few more times, now I see blood. The vet felt my laser beam eye and quickly stopped. Was given a course of antibiotic and some pills to relieve the pain and bring down the swell *FINALLY*. Kept Yumi under supervision to prevent further licking of her wound and most of the night she's alright. Her e-collar has been off since yesterday and she has been doing well.

Just as I turned my back, she sneaked quietly to the porch. Went out and found her licking her wound.
*Flash back to few months ago* When Yumi was having her first heat, she diligently licked and cleaned every trace of blood. Now with the blood from the wound *all thanked to her vet* she's starting to clean it.

From that incident on, blood just kept dripping like a leaking tap. I've no choice but to put the e-collar on her. With the device, the dumb canine din't dare to lay down, so sleeping was somehow outta the question. I had to cradle her like some baby till she's too tired and totally off guard, then gently pushing her to the ground with the head resting on her bed. But even with that, the longest she'd sleep was not more than 30 mins. It's gotta be a long night.

______________________________________________________

Day 5 (Today): There's still a bit of blood from the wound, I'm starting to apply the cream given more often than asked. The bleeding went down. She's refusing to drink, eat and pee with her e-collar on. Nope, the hunger strike isn't gotta work for her this time. Beaten by exhaustion, managed to get force her to lay down next to me, her legs are starting to kick, good sign of her resting and dreaming. Sigh, I'm gotta get some shut-eye before the four-legged wakes up. Will rant more on her post-op recovery progress when I'm slightly more recharged.

______________________________________________________

PS: I've just tried taking her e-collar off (had to bring her out for a quick relief), despite its necessary, I totally regrated it. All the yelling and screaming just to stop her from licking her wound. Putting the e-collar back was a nightmare, spent *BEEP* *BEEP* 30 mins to do it and not to mention she's totally freaked out yet again *sigh*. Manage to get her some treats and medication before popping the lampshade back on her.

Moo Moment (4)

2009-05-08T14:52:00.003+08:00

... (Continuing our dialogue on my guilt for sending Yumi for neutering)

Moo: What if you have kids, would you be so worked up as towards Yumi?

Me: Nope coz I love dogs more than I love kids.

Moo: Then the kid is so gotta hate you.

Me: Well then the kid has to learn not to talk back just like Yumi doesn't (smacking face coz Yumi talks back all the time... change statement) Well she doesn't verbally abuse me.

Moo: She does, she's taught me the art of doggy language,... ohh I tell you, some of the statement she made is pretty vulgar,.... for example Ahhhhfuuuu means *Beep**Beep*Beep*....

Me: *Speechless*

_____________________________________________________________________

Me: Dammit,... if only that's a way to stop Yumi from jumping around after the operation.

Moo: Ya,... dream on.

Me: Maybe we can ask the vet if he can put a body cast on her,... just like the one in "Something About Mary"??

Moo: Not a bad idea.

_____________________________________________________________________

(conversation five minutes ago)
*Pooof*

Me: *Busy spreading medicated oil on my nose*

Moo: *Running away from crime scene* OMFG it smells bad,... *BEEPING* Bad...

Me: I can't smell a thing *thank god*

Moo: *Returning to crime scene* Oh no, the second round is coming,... and I fear this time its not just gotta be just a fart but actual poo might pop out... *unplugged and grab lappy running up the stairs*

Mobile Shots

2009-05-07T07:30:00.003+08:00

Bygones not gone

2009-05-05T10:08:00.002+08:00

Password please...

Wrong Frequency

2009-04-30T14:11:00.003+08:00

Password holder only

Canine and Cow updates

2009-04-14T01:26:00.004+08:00

It has been a week of destruction in the house, Yumi destroying each and every of her toys and the Cow hammering the buttons on his "sexbox". While the Cow was busy killing zombies and aliens, Yumi planned a surprise attack of her own. Muahahhahaa she gave the nerd a forceful french kiss!!! Well that's her sweet revenge, bearing grudge from the spanking she got from killing the herbs in the porch.
Oh PS: I'd be flying home tomorrow night, then off to the dentist,... not an appointment I'm looking forward to though.

Holding Back

2009-03-27T06:42:00.003+08:00

the plan of my visit home due to a new toy, the thing which I'm not fectis most, would I get a chance of stroking its smooth white body? Only time will tell, the thought of it is making me all excited again. Fingers crossed it will arrive by next week, can't postpone my trip too much due to time constrain.

3 Hours of Powerlessness

2009-03-20T16:20:00.005+08:00

I've survived to tell the story...

For the past two nights the emergency light in the hallway has proven its worth. One black out the night before, three the previous. It's kinda obvious since all the street lamps were dead, so once those peeps got the hint, the power came back within less than half an hour.

The worst I've to say would be today, a hot sunny (really sunny) late morning, with no fan, no air-conditioning, no cold drinks (din't wanna risk bringing down the temperature in the fridge). For a whole straight 3 *BEEP* *BEEP* hours. To make it even more unbearable, I'm stuck with only one *BEEP* cup of coffee coz I can't use the electric kettle to make another .... Why do I have the bad feeling that those fellas didn't even notice that the power's off?

Without electricity for 3 hours, even Yumi's complaining about the heat. What can I do without TV and internet? Sigh.... Finished the latest edition of my photography mag which was sitting at the corner collecting dust and started off the first few page of this book I bought which I never had the motivation to turn the pages. Oh and some mango to distract me from the rashes on my body from the heat.

Cow's kinda oblivious to all our torture, he's resting his back in slumberland. I've managed to convince him to skip work today. Since returning to work (which I did warn him not to) the condition of his back hasn't improved, instead it took a turn for the worse. Well I did had a go at him last night with all the "See!!!! I TOLD YOU SO!!!!". As for today, I'm glad he heed my advice.

A Week of Climbing

2009-03-19T12:31:00.006+08:00

The Ups

It has been a week of good food, well sorta. Even my horoscope was warning me to watch my waistline. Finally managed to relief my crave for dim sum last weekend, thanks to Lee who's ever so nice to bring us to one of the local deli.
To repay his kindness, we prepared shabu shabu cum terpanyaki with a recipe I've got for shabu stock. Wasn't too bad, well at least its pretty healthy in the other sense, no msg involved.

The Downs

Cow's having back problem for the past week, went to a chinese massage parlour recommended to us. Pulling a "I'm ok face" while paying the bill, he almost collapsed once outta the door. Even driving home was a bitch for him, my heart aches.
Anyone who's worked with him should have experienced his attitude towards absences, ever since starting work in this country, he's not taken a single day off even on those days he's unwell. Money always comes first before his health, in a way that if its not too serious, he'd still drag himself off the bed. But this is an exception, he can hardly pay a visit to the loo without my help.
With me being the nurse, its kinda tiring. Every little small errands from switching the lights on, fetching a glass of water, to assisting him down the steps, I've deffo burnt loads of carbs this few days. Once tired, I'd turn grouchy, but I tried not to show seeing his tortured face. Let it off by calling him "OLD MAN". Think that nick is gotta stick around for a while.

Downhill Challenge 09

2009-03-11T01:05:00.006+08:00

A few more spots on the face, a mid-day tan, those were the souvenirs from my weekend. Despite all that, it has been rather rewarding.
Went to the Downhill Challenge just around the corner of the neighbourhood, surprised that we can even stay awake to attend.
Climbing the muddy hill was tough, but not as bad compared to making our way down. We used the bike track to go up, but since the event was still ongoing, heading down we had to find alternatives. Almost made a fool of myself trying to jump off one of the ninety degree slope, avoiding the stream but landed on soft ground instead. Boy did I burnt of the carbs from my heavy breakfast.

Sweating the hell out, would I do it again? You bet!!!! It has been a fun afternoon. And loads of pictures to show and tell.

Collecting Dust

2009-03-03T09:22:00.003+08:00

*Huff**Puff* And there's still a thin layer of dust in this blog.

Hasn't had the motivation to pick up the camera nor jot down my thoughts recently.
The past two weeks were pretty slow, and mainly boring to the core.

Supposed to drive Yumi to the vet's for spaying, battling the comfort of slumberland. With only four hours of sleep, we made it in time for the appointment, to only be sent home.
Her dear vet said she has to wait another month coz she just had her first heat a month ago. *Agony*

Apart from that, all's well. Finally clicked on the shutters again. Cow's wired up the lights for me to play around with.
Therefore here are the test shots.

Passing storm

2009-02-18T16:33:00.003+08:00

Roaring thunder, drumming of raindrops on the roof, 'castle on a cloud' playing at the background. I'm at peace, staring into Yumi's eyes I see the contrary. I see fear.

The bubbly side of her has been overtaken by fear, loud noises startled her. For comfort and assurance, she now rest by my feet under the table. There's little I could do, quietly I sat beside her, waiting for the passing storm to subside.

Presents

2009-02-15T01:57:00.000+08:00

Plane Spotting

2009-02-14T00:18:00.000+08:00

On the way to collect Cow's stuff from work, he suggested stopping by the plane landing route for some snaps.
... ... ... ... ... as it turned out for me, its kinda boring. The only enjoyable part was chilling out with Super Cow.
No I can't even identify the difference between an Airbus or a Boeing, its just another plane to me.
During the interval of which landing, I discovered how charming Cow's legs looked lol, oh another finding, I'm more interested in rocks and pebbles than planes. Ultimate conclusion? I can never be a plane stalker!!!

Saint Valentine's

2009-02-13T20:13:00.004+08:00

Cow, *grin* Happy Valentine's. *Hugs* Thanks for the flowers my Super Cow.
And to all out there, may you all have a great one.

Too lazy to cook

2009-02-08T23:31:00.000+08:00

Dug up some frozen lamb chops from the freezer and dinner caveman style. BBQ under the moonlight sounds romantic,... not really when the porch is filled with choking smoke and left over coals on the floor to clean up the next day.

Thankful that I don't have to cook, Cow did all the dirty job inhaling all the soot on my behalf. Nevertheless dinner was as usual yummy, as he always puts it, cooked with love lol.

针孔中的另一个世界

2009-02-04T03:44:00.004+08:00

每當看見可愛或充滿美感的事物，不然地就有一股衝動拿起相機想把那一幕捕抓下來。

按快門的那份快感仿佛就把我帶進了另一個世界，那個世界沒有任何人，只有我和手裏的相機。
身邊所有的人一瞬間都變透明了，那個世界好安靜。

我不是個專業攝影師，拍的照也不完美，我只是利用相機把個人覺得美麗的事物記錄下來。
不料慢慢地這種陶醉就上癮了。

我忠於原味，喜歡簡單舒服，
吵雜讓我慌，也這樣不時會被誤認爲孤僻一族。

不覺地我愛上了针孔裏的那個無聲的世界。

Whenever I come across an object that interests me, there is an impulse to pick up the camera.
The excitement with every click of the shutter, absorbed into the pinhole, it brings me into another world.
At that very moment all the people and hassle around me just vanished, that world is silent.
I am not a photographer and my photos are not perfect, I'm merely writing a pictorial diary.
It slowly became an addiction.
I love raw elements, simplicity and comfort,
Noises make me nervous, from time to time I've been mistaken to be unsociable.
Naturally, I fell in love with the silent world in the pinhole.

My Blah Week

2009-01-31T16:45:00.005+08:00

This entry started with a burst of giggles in amidst of the ratting of machine guns and the sweet aroma of coffee. Haven't had the motivation to pen down all the thoughts this week, might be due to my soap opera obsession again.

I've to say, my life is still simple enough compared to many of my friends. As they hassle around their jobs, family, children and other errands, I'm sitting here blogging, sipping my coffee with my headphones on.
Chatting with one of my dear girlfriends the other day, unfortunate news arrived that her husband has been retrenched on that very same day. With a new flat and her baby princess who just started school, she hasn't lost a bit of her optimism. Back in school she's pretty strong, and she hasn't lost a bit of that virtue.
With recession floating around, many had asked about our well-being. Grateful that I'm still in their thoughts, yes I do worry at the same time I prayed and kept my faith.

Back to my week, it's been pretty blah, it would just bore you to death listening. Dog-sitting Pluto while the Lees were away was sadly the only highlight of the week and Cow's long gaming session with Ads. Other than that, Mr Mailman paid me a visit. I've been waiting for my parcel the whole week, and with fear that I might miss him, I've appointed Yumi as my faithful doorbell (Our cheap doorbell has been very temperamental). Fenced her up in the living room and left the front door opened, making it really obvious to Mr Mailman that we are home. Yesterday afternoon, her howl echoed the hallway, I flew down the the flight of steps and there he was, laughing. Throughout the signing of the parcel, he kept laughing and pointing to the door. Seemed to me that he found Yumi's weird whining noises entertaining (giggles).

Sighing

2009-01-24T22:11:00.003+08:00

Sighing is as natural as a yawn to me, just a ball of gas that needs to be let out.

It's a habit that takes place subconsciously, to the point that I might not even notice it's happened.
The sigh count mostly increased when my mind isn't stimulated enough, meaning I'm bored. Or those times when things were beyond my control, sighing is like a way to relieve my mind.

Never have I experienced being blamed for such a small gesture. It's not like I'm kicking a fuss over nothing, or smashing stuff when I'm frustrated (my way of venting anger, it worked all the time, I'm pretty destructive when my mood gets really bad). Got the blame for someone else's assumption, my sigh was taken as the last straw,... an issue of bad timing when the ball of gas was let out.

Unjustified is all I can say. Apology accepted, but still the fact that such a small gesture ended me up with a bad migraine and not to mention wasting forty minutes to resolve the issue which wasn't even started by me,.... I can't control myself but to let out another silent sigh.

Bad Habit

2009-01-24T19:49:00.002+08:00

Everyone has some sorta bad habit, what's yours?

Mine? Ask Pea and Cow, they would tell you that I've got a cup 'collecting' problem. I'm a soda and caffeine addict, starting off the day with a nice cuppa coffee, and that's the first cup entering the study. Few hours later, walked into the kitchen to grab another,... "Oh holy crap, left my cup upstairs",... lazy to walk up again, took another cup off the rack. That's another cup added onto the table. Slightly later went down again to walk Yumi, feeling the thirst as I reached home, ahhh some soda would be nice to beat the heat. When upstairs, and now there's three cups resting next to me..... *SIGH*

It's not surprising that I run outta cups very quickly. Instead of kicking the bad habit away, the problem's solved by creating more cups. Turned one of the flower pots from Ikea into a nice big coffee mug just by adding some floral stickers on it. It looked great, and holds more caffeine compared to my norm mugs, saves moi from running down to fetch for more.

Cow came home shaking his head commenting that I'm turning the study into some sorta internet cafe.... some habits are hard to kick indeed.

Food Talk

2009-01-23T23:48:00.001+08:00

The kitchen has been smoking, Cow stir-fried his preserved mushrooms and fennel. Not willing to lose out, I attempted to bake some potato balls,... not a great hit, but still edible.

An deary sent some peanut cookies over last evening, displayed some on the plate to take a shot. Just as the first cookie's butt rested on the plate, Yumi started begging for one. A stern 'NO' set her back to her frog squatting position, she resolved to her puppy eyes attack. Owner gave her a short lecture on how peanuts are bad for dogs then moved on to the living room where there's better lighting for the photo. The canine's struggle got worse as now the cookies are within her reach but the other side of her vaguely remembered the stern 'NO'.

As the cookies sat on the table for five minutes, she howls to vent her frustration,.... at three in the morning,... howling,.... yes, she howled for straight five minutes, circling the coffee table. She got tired, and rested her head on the sofa... before coming back to the table again. For the food orientated machine she is, its a sad morning.

On a side note, there seemed to be a great increased in lizards in the house. I'm ok with lizards, but it still makes me jump when they pop outta no where. Just the other morning, while moving the microwave to make space for our new oven,... one fat fella jumped out from the back of the unit. Just as I recovered from my missing heartbeat, moving the unit further, another one jumped out again. The ordeal kept me awake the whole morning.

As I'm writing this entry, I'm not alone. There's another one of them sitting next to me in the study, with prying eyes on a bug on the wall.... Just as long as there's no body contact, and Yumi doesn't get any of them as her chew toy, I'm happy to live along side with the cold blooded, wall climbing reptilians.

Say Cheese

2009-01-22T05:26:00.003+08:00

One way of recycling empty cans

2009-01-22T04:03:00.003+08:00

The little cupboard in the kitchen is piling up with empty tins from my addiction of condensed milk, waiting for an idea to strike to breathe life into them again. Light bulb started blinking mad the moment I saw some nice printable designs.

Just as everyone in the neighbourhood snoozed their way into slumberland, I slaved away making measurements, photoshopping the dimensions required and off my printer went.

A bit of cutting here and sticking there, I've got myself a brand new set of stationary holder.
Wow.... fifteen minutes was all it took and I'm feeling contented, boy do I love recycling.

======================================================

More printable designs [here] if anyone's interested.

Happy 牛(niu) Year

2009-01-20T06:53:00.005+08:00

With Cow working night shift, my poor bio clock is suffering yet again. Just as I'm recovering from my poor sleeping pattern, nowadays would be reversed to nights and nights to days.
Found this really simple paper toy, my motor skills don't function very well at this time of the day, even cutting the pieces out is a challenge. Despite the toy wasn't not meant for Chinese New Year, its closed enough I guess. Well, its got a cow and its year of the Ox in a couple of days.
So to all friends and well, Pea, who's so bored and kind to visit my blog, Happy Niu Year in advance. May it be a great year ahead for all of you.

=========================================================================

Paper toy template Mansel Co Ltd.

Volunteered Models

2009-01-18T23:55:00.001+08:00

The Lees were really nice to pop round this evening, passing us the discount booklet for the new supermarket around the corner.
Bless An who's feeling poorly after her trip to Genting, hope she and Scott will get well soon.
Having them round, took a few snaps, well not really a few, but half a gig's worth.
And Cow, I'm afraid there's more work for you now *puppy eyes*.

All about Poo

2009-01-17T20:00:00.009+08:00

Strange Habit

In the loo, zen moments, spare you the details. With her psychic power, Yumi sensed the dark aura of ,.... poo. In amidst of reaching my enlightenment state,... her nose plied open the bathroom door, poked her head through the gap and entered without invitation. *Sniff* *sniff*, everything's alright, end her patrol and headed back to her throne downstairs, next to Cow.

It's like a normal routine for her, to inspect everytime I go through my important loo businesses. God knows why, but she just does. Irritating at first, but as time goes by, it just became a norm.

=======================================

Walkies

Went out for a short walk with Cow and canine, grabbing the camera with me. I'm in love with the new lens, not only did it help me with my problem of having shaky hands, I even managed to walk and snap at the same time.
Oh, why did Cow looked so surprised when Yumi did her business? Let's put it this way, for her to do her business is a tricky issue. It's like trying to located the ultimate fengshui patch kinda thingy. And not expecting much from this walk, he was surprised nevertheless. And no, he doesn't scoop up the leftovers, that's my job,... he just holds the leash...

Paper Toys

2009-01-16T21:53:00.003+08:00

my new found love.

Just can't get enough of it at the moment. For the past three days, I'm only managed to complete three toys. As I get busy with my new hobby, printed a set of paper toy for Cow as well.
When I rang him up at work telling him I found the template for Master Chief from Halo, he enthusiastically urged me to get it for him.

*Twilight with flashback to two days ago* We sat down at the dining table with scissors, penknives, gluestick and our paper toy templates. After cutting out a tiny yet complication piece from his set, he announced that he's calling it a day .... leaving me alone to complete my lil Rommy robot. Till now his set sits on the table, quietly counting down the days till its remembered again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Credits]

Transformers Optimus Prime paper toy by nicebunny.com.

Rommy the Robot paper toy template by Sloth Paper Toys

Bento Lunch Box template by sanwasupply.co.jp.

Scattered Thoughts

2009-01-14T13:17:00.006+08:00

Reduction

of what? The amount of trash photos I have, well I'd prefer to call them "artistic" shots in the past, all too blurred to make out wtf I was taking. My hands just shake too much to take any descent enough shots to be used, frustrating it is, even more for Cow who had to go through everyone of them to delete and organise coz I can't give a damn.
Almost at the verge of giving up, a saviour came along and suggested a different lens. And also thanks to another saviour who's willing to empty his pocket and invest on a new one for me,.... but before he departed with his hard earn cash, his repeat this question no less than 5 times, "Are you sure you are gotta use it?" LOL. Yes dear, I certainly am!!!

==============================================================

Pumped up

with caffeine. That's my usual morning routine anyway, nothing beats a nice hot cuppa to start off the day. As if that's not enough, even the chocolate snacks I'm having at the moment is in the shape of coffee beans,... Not sure if there's any coffee involved at all, the packaging's in Japanese, and I can't understand a word of it.... Nevertheless it taste good, that's all that matters XD

==============================================================

Rain

Yesterday was a torture for Yumi, went for a stroll but had to make it short due to unexpected weather. Whining and bitching, the whole afternoon had been tormenting the four-legged PMSing canine. Standing on twos at the window, constantly checking on the weather... it disappointed her everytime I announced that it's still drizzling.

The photo of her did not justify her mood, she's only two set of expressions, her hush puppy eyes when she's guilty and her smiley face. It's her noises that tells you how she's feeling, when her photo was taken,.... her cry actually echoed down the hallway....

==============================================================

Growth

Its nice to have green fingers, without getting dirty of course. The herbs Cow planted are doing extremely well. He's looking forward to re-potting the seedlings soon to give them a lil bit more space. Hopefully they won't die like the previous batch we planted when we were back in the desert.

Anniversary

2009-01-08T23:59:00.001+08:00

How time flies, its our third anniversary. Through An's recommendation, we booked a table in a Korean BBQ restaurant in Taipan.
Not knowing what's coming, we ordered two sets of meat for the BBQ and a small portion of hotpot. An did mentioned that they set a good number of side dishes which made the figures at the end of the bill seemed worth it, but that's all she said.
The waiter tried to stop us from ordering the hotpot,... well he's got a small build, maybe his appetite wasn't as big as ours, so we went ahead with our intended order. One after the other, the side dishes arrived. By the end of our meal,... 15, well, 14 side dishes and dessert in total. We were stuffed, .... paid to torture ourselves....

Overall, I loved the place, they have the best service I've ever experienced. Not only did they BBQed the food for us,.... they even took the trouble to fetch our shoes (we had to remove them before stepping onto the platform), oh,.... the manager even went ahead of us to get the lift ready before we even reached the exit.... That place left me speechless and Cow feeling bad for not giving enough tips lol.

PS: Happy Anniversary to my Super Cow. Muacks.