meichieng, weiwei, aili and chye teck birthdays

ryThank gawd for Star World and its Sunday night for movies. Being an Astro subscriber who does not subscribe Movies Channel, I am deprieved of watching rerun movies of my choice. Last weeked I watched "The Black Dahlia" and I lurve that era (and Josh Hartnett). Loosely based on a true event which still remains unsolved till today.

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This has been a week filled with events here and there that I am soooo glad to be at the haven of my four-walled enclosure known as my bedroom right now. Well, just like I predicted. When you have so many birthdays in a week, with the upcoming Pesta Tanglung UKM (Saturday night, which I will be absent) and shopaholics roommates, you know you will not be able to study much once you return to Setapak after two weeks of hiatus.

First off, Monday night was the day we celebrated not one, not even two, but THREE birthdays of 3 of my good friends in Pharmacy, one being my housemate.

Before that, on Sunday night, there was also a small celebration at our Setapak home for Ah Wei who just came back from Kapit. Read it *here*

The venue was Cannes Tea House, Setapak and four of us planned this out. Tze Im (Ai Li's present), Janice (MeiChieng's present), Jia Ying (cake) and myself (Wei2's present) were all given our respective duties before the mid-sem break.

Since this is only the first part of my week and has tonnes of pics, hence I will write less and allow the photos to do their jobs.

First up is what we ordered...

Ah Wei with her Italian Omelette

My Chicken Spaghetti

AiLi's Otak2 Rice

Janice's Cheese Baked Rice

Playing UNO whilst awaiting our food - Lolz, I like Ah Wei's face here

And so the cake arrives...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEICHIENG (30TH SEPT) WHO TURNED 21 AND WEIWEI (5TH OCT) AND AILI (13TH OCT), WHO BOTH TURNED 20!!!

Our ice-cream cake

Group pic!!!

Making wishes

Birthday babies: AiLi, Ah Wei and MeiChieng

The naked cake, stripped off its toppings

With their birthday presents - Ah Wei got a bag and MeiChieng got a cropped jacket

Close-up of AiLi's cute cute present

Yours Truly having cake

Moi (looking like crap) with the bday girls


Our table and cushions...lolz

Last bday pic of the night!


Back at home, reading her bday dedications from her coursemates, housemates, roommates and her two little buddies

Read the bday girl account of that night *here*

Another birthdy to note here is my little buddy, Chye Teck's 19th birthday on 9th October. But due to hectic schedules of buddy line, we just settle for mediocre lunch on his bday. Hence, no pics. Maybe next time when he moved to Setapak, then we will have a celebration.

Next up: Shopping at One Utama

Later: Shopping at Petaling Street

it isn't always about the money

My hols have officially come to an end. I am going back tomorrow. Goodbye freedom and pleasure and Hello Finals T____T

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I know I don't write much in my blog, I prefer to post up pics rather than words. Well, because for one, I am lazy and two, I cannot find anything intelligent enough to write.

I know in that last sentence I just make myself sound like I am faking my intelligence all this while. But to be fair, I never said that I am smart.

Saturday night is always an emotional night, because it is Oprah's Big Give at 8pm. I never missed it, every week at the same slot. And I am glad for that.It never ceases to moved and to touched me whenever I watch this show. And in more ways than one that I do not even know where to begin. Tonight's show is again filled with heartwarming scenes but one in particular that remained in my head until now is the scene where Steve helped out a shelter.

In that scene, after serving food to the people in the shelter, Steve offered to help wash the dishes as well. In the kitchen, he met this young African-american man who shared his own life story.

This man got into drugs after college but decided to sober up for the sake of his four children. And after rehab, he is now 7.5 months sober. Steve congratulated him and even offer to help him in any way he can.

At first, I thought this will be another scene when Steve will give money to this man, since he looks like he could do with some extra cash. But surprisingly this man just answered that Steve had already helped him by just listening to him, by not judging him and by not looking down on him. Of course, Steve was also equally shocked by his answer and Steve realized that it all comes down to this: "It isn't always about the money."

When one watches this show, sometimes we think that oh this people can afford to do all this charity stuff because they have money that can be donated. So if I don't have money, then I cannot help them.

But it is inaccurate, isn't it? Sure we are not filthy rich, but there are still so much we can do even without donating money. There is our time, and our strength, and our words, that all can also be donated. Even a simple gesture of respecting people around us and treating someone with respect already makes a whole lot of difference. By not judging someone as we talk to them, by not judging them as we look at them and by not judging them as we treat them.

I have never emphasized enough the consequence of judging someone. It happens so frequently and sadly, so blatantly in human nature that it becomes such a norm nowadays. Especially when we judge people of other races. When you judge someone, you already build a perception of that person in your head and it will be hard to change that perception.

I am sure everyone is guilty of that. I know I have.

And another thing that man said was that when you feel like you had a bad day, think about others that might have it far worse than you. So take each day as a blessing. Count your blessings and appreciate them.

He is right. All this while, I like complaining this and that. When truth is, others might have been worse off than I have. At least, I have food to eat and a bed to sleep in. I think this world could be a happier place if people complain less, and act more. What a small change it can make if all of us just try to not complain. I am sure we will even be happier.

This show has truly influenced me to give back to society, no matter how small it is. I know I may not be able to do much but during these times, I remember the story about the boy and the starfishes. I received this story through a email some years back. (some words have been edited because I don't remember the exact story now)

One night, a huge storm hit a beach and in the morning, all the starfishes lay on the sand because of the huge waves that washed them there. And there was a little boy who took each starfish and threw them back into the sea. A man saw what this boy was doing and told him that he will never be able to save all the starfishes because the beach was so huge and the shore so long, and that he is wasting his time. The boy said, that is true but it means something to the starfishes that he rescued.

It took me awhile to get the story but he is right. We cannot help every single person in need but maybe for each person that we helped, we create a small difference, and a small difference is better than no difference at all.

This show has helped me realized that no matter how rotten the world and his inhabitants has become, we can at least hold on to that little hope that there is some goodness out there. No matter how small the hope is, but to believe in that is so much better than to not believe in anything at all.

I guess it is time that I learn to give back as well. I don't know where to begin but at least I have equipped myself with awareness. I am taking baby steps now but I hope that despite all the workload that bombard me and rob me of my time, I will never ever forget to give back.

I also watched the Hallmark premiere of "Human Trafficking" tonight and it scares the hell out of me. 800,000 people are trafficked between international borders as sex slaves. That is such an awful and despicable thing. To me, any sex without consent is a disgusting crime and there is nothing that can ever justify it.

I am not in the position to tell anyone how they can help stop human trafficking because of my ignorance all this while but there is one thing I know. This business would not be so lucrative if it was not because of the demand. Just think about the women and girls around us. What if those sex slaves were someone we know?

I would elaborate more but I am too sleepy now. I know I won't be able to stop thinking about both these shows tonight because of the impact it had on me.

And I hope YOU won't stop thinking about it too. *Spread the message, pls*.

damn that mother-chucker

Yes, I could not wait for Season 2 of GossipGirl so I downloaded. But not all coz my freakin' laptop is so freakin' slow! So I saw the first episode and fourth episode. Chuck is effin' hawtt (but so is Shia)

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This one is for the girls.

Still fresh from last night's movie, here are some hawtt pics of Shia I found online. Lolz. There are tonnes of sources but I took these from Shia LaBeouf's myspace.

The guy is a Jewish, a smoker, a drinker and has three tattoos. But those green eyes are so damn mesmerizing...dammit! It is guys like Shia that makes me sometimes wish I was born in US of A. I hate to admit this, but I think there is a small part in girls that are particularly attracted to a certain type of male species feebly termed "badboy". Goody-two-shoes kinda guys (no offense, but this is the best term I can come up with that has a clear anatagonistic meaning associated with badboys) are dependable and responsible, but sometimes mundane in contrast with guys like Shia. Every girl wants some little excitement in their lives, whether they will admit it or not. And yes, like it or not, I admit I am particularly fond of rebels, some of my epic crushes have always NOT been the stereotypical prince charming.

I think I have been watching too much GG. I am beginning to imagine GG's voice as I am typing this post. Crap.

Awww...this pic with megan fox is so cuteeee...*swoons*

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Here is a question I have been pondering today: Let say A likes B but B doesn't like A. Would you tell A to give up or keep becoming persistent and continue going after B?

I hate to say this, but if a girl rejected you and you are still pining after her, then you are quite pathetic. Sometimes I just don't get it, all this fairytale romances shit have definitely poisoned some people's mind. Sometimes I just want to screamed "move on and get over this shit, loser" but I hate to give the wrong advice that will lead to unfavorable consequences. Fear has always been a person's worst enemy since prehistoric times. The way I see it, you will only attract a girl's attention if you are having fun and being yourself. But how to have fun if you are being such a pathetic loser?

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Okay, emo crapshit aside, I have been doing quite a LOT of shopping. Not proud of it, since I am not the type of girl who has lots of free-flowing cash in her purse. But I just cannot help it. Shopaholicism it is. Hopefully I can save myself from going to therapy or rehab. So these are some of the stuff I bought ever since new term started, about three months ago. I cannot really recall everything I bought so I will just list out some of my very favourites.

Brace yourselves for a bimbo post. (And sometimes I justify myself as not being the girly kind of girl)

Shoes shoes shoes...coz you can never go wrong with shoes (well not always). And all these shoes were for RM20 each. I am such a sucker for bargains

Mom thought I should add more heels to my collection since I am so fond of flats

Bling bling sandals

The new BUM sneakers that I am ecstatic about

Earrings all from Momoe. I lurve earrings!

I got this tee coz it reminded me of the time when I had braces

Cheap tee for only RM15

Cool sweater...because I am a Queen. Lolz. Not a princesssss.

Bought these from a boutique all the way at Sg Long. So far, my fave formal clothes

Wore this to Val's bday party

Wore this to Lunch with wooying

This one I didn't buy. My mom bought it but decided she didn't like it after all. Hey, any hand-me-downs are still good clothes

Cute cardigan

The grey knitted dress that did not look good on the hanger but look cute (on me!...ROFL)

Ever since I got hooked on GG, I have been obsessing after dresses. They have such great-looking ones on set that I simply cannot help myself

Something that looks so manhattan-ish

mama mia! it's eagle eye!

For those who did (or did not) watch the recent 60th Emmy Awards delayed telecast, here is my favourite part of the event - the showdown between funnymen Ricky Gervais (British "The Office") and Steve Carrell (US "The Office")...I practically laugh my jaw off!!!! LOL!!!

Another youtube vid - Big Bang is Back!!!!! And more gorgeous than everrrrr!!!!

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I know I haven't been updating these few days. Holidays are coming to an end, but my assignments are just only getting started. Yup, these are the sad consequences of procrastination. BWA-WAH-WAH!!!T___T !!!! Those freakin' bloody Pharmaco assignments are driving me mad!!!! I simply dunno how to do it. Serves me right for not listening attentively in classes.

Plus, I am so so so devastated because my loyal camera of a hundred and fifty years (sarcasm here) is broken! Literally, broken. There is a huge crack across the LCD screen now. BWA_WAH_WAH!!! T___T!!! This makes a good excuse for me not to go shopping anymore. I need to save money to buy a new camera...unless money starts growing or dropping from the skies or okay, I am desperate wtf

Despite not updating about moi, I did update the blog widgets and other miscellanous stuff. I deleted a lot of links since, either because the owner of the blog doesn't update anymore or I myself rarely visit those sites anymore.

This week had been pretty melancholy, what with myself feeling pangs of guilt every time I am tempted to go out. No siree, I am staying at home, finishing my assignments and refraining myself from shopping (I need a new camera T___T)

Btw, Selamat Hari Raya to everyone (eventhough it is kinda late already), regardless if you are Muslim or not. Because even if you are a non-Muslim, you still get a few days' off right? And this calls for a reason to celebrate.

Enough with the ramblings, and on with the updates.

These two days of Raya, I spend by going to the movies with me Mom.

On 1st October 2008, we went to KLCC to watch a movie of Mom's choice, MAMA MIA.

Meryl Streep was incredible as always, although I felt she kinda went too OTT at some parts. This movie ain't really an actual movie since the music conquer pretty much the whole airtime. You get talking for like 30 seconds and then they suddenly break into a 5-minute music scene.

But that it is the point of this musical slash movie right? The characters look like they have a lot of fun and at times you cannot help but enjoy as well when they sing and dance. And the location was absolutely breathtaking, especially the ocean.

Other than the fun singing and dancing routines, pretty much everything else is kinda crap. Sorry. Especially the storyline. Really, one more time I hear this poor son/daughter looking for his/her long-lost father/mother storyline, it is a just a bitching post awaiting. That has got to be the most overused storyline I have ever known in the world of movies and television.

Not all single-parent children are like that, mind you. I should know. Why bother searching for someone who has been missing for so long? Bygones should be bygones, y'know. I think the parent should be the one looking for their long-lost children. And why not? If the parent had any sense of responsibility, he/she should go search, not the other way around. Which is why you will not see me doing this absurd thing.

Speaking of absurdity, really, the costumes? Definitely out of this world. Too much, I tell you.

Other than all that, the cast not bad. Julie Walters, wow, she was in "Educating Rita" the movie, which is also the title of one of the novels I had to study for my SPM English Lit. That definitely brings back memories.

Lunch was at Manhattan Fish Market. Mom's surgery had sparked a new healthy eating regime in my family. Non-oily food, and grilled fish preferably. Y'know what they say, once bitten, twice shy.

My Hot Cappucino

Mom's catch of the day with rice (that is the actual name of this dish) - Magnifique!

My King Norwegian Grilled Salmon Fish (or something like that lar) with chips - I LOVE salmon!

At Marks & Spencer

Mom had been nagging me about not wearing some of the clothes I bought. So I pulled out this dress (from Harajuku @ Jusco MV) that I last wore during CNY. Hehe, yeah, I don't wear much dresses.

Bag and shoes were also bought for CNY. I go especially crazy during CNY shopping. The wedges are cute but it's about two inches high and gawd knows, I walk horrendously in heels. Wedges are like the training shoes for heels. Lol. Go figure. The sporty bag I got from Maple @ BTS. I only pulled it out now because last week waiyin asked me why she haven't seen me using that bag before (I bought it during one of our shopping outings together). Earrings from Momoe.

And the jacket I have owned since prehistoric times. Being sarcastic since I am lazy and cannot remember where I got it from. I think me Mom bought it for me.

Twiggy!!!

And on 2nd October 2008, we went to watch Eagle Eye!!! Yay, finally, the movie I had been waiting for. But Mom and I were kinda lazy that day so we just went nearby, to Leisure Mall.

I am not really an action flick chick. But this movie had a great storyline, plus a hottie like Shia LaBeouf, really, why not?

Now I know why half of the female population is in love with this guy. No I did not watch Disturbia, or Transformers or Indiana Jones. In fact the last time I saw anything with Shia in it is probably Even Stevens, oh, and a small cameo in Charlie's Angels II.

Yes, I used to watch Even Stevens on Disney. Back then, Shia played the vexing little brother part very well. His prebuscent character, always in bermudas and oversized hawaiian shirt, plus his curly hair. How that geek had blossom into such a regal heartthrob!

Okay, back to the movie. Absolutely mind-blowing!!! I love this flick! I was practically in suspense most of the time and could not take my eyes off the screen. It really, "keeps you sitting on the edge of the seat". Literally.

The only thing I would complain is that the plot is pretty obscure in the beginning, because of all the politics and military elements. But as the movie progresses, I start to understand and everything falls into place. My mom still don't get the story though. Lol.

And the effects, especially the car-chase will leave you in awe, and a little dizzy. Amazing what technology can do to us, in more ways than one.

Plus, Shia was absolutely amazing. He is just waiting to get an Oscar nod. Not only does he do great being deadpan serious most of the time but the guy got humour and emotions. Kudos man. He makes Jerry Damon Shaw so believable.

Okay, I am done promoting. And I am not even getting paid for it. But seriously, this is one suspense action thriller you don't want to miss.

My Lamb Stew @ Delifrance's for dinner

So I guess that is all my updates for now. Back to my assignments;)