Yes I'm alive M. Charly

I was on my way to Penang on the 26th of December when my stepmom's friend called from there. I picked up the call and I thought I heard her wrongly... she said that there'd been a tidal wave in Penang! I didn't want to ask her to repeat it, so I just said okay...

And later we got other calls telling us about it and then we heard about tremors felt back at home. I didn't feel it because the ground was supposed to have shaken at about 9am but I was in church (thank God!) and at about 1pm when the tsunami struck Penang, I was on my way up there.

However, being in Penang wasn't much. It was rather quiet and everyone was going about their normal business. Only the area around Tanjong Tokong was quite destroyed but the authorities had cleared them all up. Didn't manage to get pictures of that. I didn't go up to Batu Ferringhi either... heard it was closed up because there was quite serious damage up there and further up at Balik Pulau. I saw the papers this evening and a bus driver who'd taken his family up to Balik Pulau for a picnic holiday had all 5 of his children killed! And another man lost his wife and 4 children. I just hope their other family members give them the support they need and help lift them out of this sad time.

And in the other countries, accumulated death toll of over 20 000! That's massive! And think of all the families, children and grandparents who've been separated...

We must pray for their souls and for their surviving family members and friends.

Anyway, my family and I were already on our way to Penang so we arrived safely and the Penang Bridge was FINE!! Contrary to some stupid SMS rumour people were spreading around saying they were expecting seismic activity around that area. This country does NOT have seismic activity! The tremors were only from the huge earthquake experienced just off Sumatera. (And by the way, I was just looking at the map and thinking that if Sumatera wasn't where it is, we'd have the same situation as Sri Lanka.)

Oh and tragedy for Phuket Island as well. 40% of their US dollar revenue was from Phuket Island. Now that it's destroyed, what are they going to do? It's all really quite terrible.

Okay okay, back to me :P

I took some pictures of the beach in front of my hotel...





Here's a cool one, showing how people are still brave enough to walk on the edge of the sea.



A study of light as Claude Monet did... the top one was taken in the afternoon, the bottom in the evening. Notice how the afternoon sun is yellower and more orange, while the evening sun is more white and grey. Just a note hehe...





The notice stuck on red and white striped tape to stop people from wandering out to the beach. However, as shown in the first picture, it don't make no difference, mate.



Me, little sis and Dad.



Penang is the Land of the Motorcycles (and most horrendous drivers, I might add). We've coined a slogan for this Pearl of the Orient : "Make your own rules." To be related to driving, riding motorcyles, hawker stalls and just about everything else.



I love taking pictures of motorcyclists. This is a smashing picture I took of this lady while I drove past her. So glad she didn't come and bash me up after glancing in my direction.

The Smell of Brownies... mmm...

The scent of the brownies I just baked are wafting up the zig zag staircase and into my room... YUM! I can't wait for dessert. Mumsy's cooking the dinner now with the help of Mr Ho who charges an outrageous amount for his meat. Talk about taking advantage of the season! This is the season of giving, n'est ce pas?? BOYCOTT MR HO!

Hehe... don't sue me.

Anyway, I feel the urge to lead a peaceful existence in merry old England. Having tea and scones at a little café blablabla... and at night maybe a trip to Leeds which supposedly has good clubs? Well that's what my friend Jap-Chick-Krazy Dale says anyway.

Listening to electronic/ambient music from online radios always makes me feel like being in Europe dancing and drinking the night away. No idea why. So not me. Right, Grandpa G? :P

Here's 2 pix from Christmas Eve do at my aunt's place:

Me and me sis being reindeer for the night. NEIGH!!!!!
Poor baby getting cameras flashed in her face. Photographer's fault. My cousin's cute little daughter. If anyone wants a facial done, contact me. She's very good! My cousin, that is.

I heard it's snowing up in North England. How nice. But apparently not enough snow to build me a Calvin-type snowman. Bah!

Les Commentaires

Sometimes I wonder if I've made a mistake by putting a Flooble chatterbox on my page. This stops people from actually leaving real comments for my posts and leaving the number of Parisians who love me to a measly zero :( Boohoo...

So if you have any comments for my individual posts, do click on the underlined number under my posts to leave a comment because the Flooble comments get deleted very often as I set the limit to display 10 only.

Thank you.

And as a token of my gratitude, here's a joke from FHM's Best of Bar Room Jokes 2 page 28:

A man comes into work on Monday with a black eye. His fellow workers ask him what happened. "I was in church yesterday," says the man, "when a young woman came in wearing a summer dress and sat in the seat in front of me. When she stood up the dress was caught between the cheeks of her bum, so I leaned forward and plucked itout. And she hit me!"

The next Monday he comes in with two black eyes. "I was in church yesterday," he explains, "and the same young woman in the same dress sat in front of me. When she stood up her dress was caught between the cheeks of her bum again, and the man beside me leaned forward and plucked it out. I knew she didn't like that, though, so I pushed it in again..."

:P

HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT CHRISTMAS!

I'm EMPLOYED!... and Merry Christmas!

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I am officially EMPLOYED.

Gonna clean toilets and stuff like that, ain't that fun?

Well, that's not the only thing I'm doing of course. In fact, I'm gonna be working in Cat's Whiskers (the place where I found the totally great bracelet) and guess when I'm starting work? NEW YEAR'S EVE! Haha... what a life. Doesn't really bother me actually. This year I don't seem to be in a festive mood, I wonder why...? Maybe because there's no one special beside me :( Boohoo...

Anyway, I'll be getting staff discount so I've a feeling I'll be quite popular with my girlfriends this coming new year.

Oh, and if I don't see you this Christmas, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

GMAIL

I've been finally awarded the supreme privilege of giving out 6 Gmail accounts. However, I feel like everyone already has one. But if any of you happen to swing by this blog, do write me a nice plea for the Gmail account and I just might give it to you, stranger!

My Wish List #1

Okay I know it's a bit late for Christmas, but here's my wish list so I'll remember what I'm aiming for : (and as you can see it's Wish List #1 meaning there's more to come in the future. No more asking what I want as gifts!!)

...in no particular order...

1. Calvin and Hobbes (post a comment if you want to know which ones I already have)
2. La Senza gift vouchers (if they had any)
3. iMac or iBook/PowerBook
4. New branded PC (sick of custom made ones)
5. Air ticket to England (or Stockholm, Amsterdam and Prague)
6. Baby doll high-heeled shoes
7. Very nice bracelet in Cat's Whiskers
8. A temporary job for January 2005

Boyfriends' mothers

I'm afraid to say, boyfriends' mothers really freak me out and scare me to pieces! You never feel that you're good enough for her son from the way she looks at you.

She probably looks at every girlfriend of her little boy and automatically judges if she's going to be as good as the mother in looking after her darling. And of course the answer will 99% of the time be 'No'. Daunting, isn't it?

This post didn't come out of any particularly recent experience of mine. I was just thinking about it one day.

Anyway, if any of you are in the mood for posting comments, can anyone give me any recommendations for books to read? I like most sort of books, like suspense and crime (Agatha Christie), preferably fiction.

Another way to live?

I was reading The Count of Monte Cristo last night and there was a couple, Emmanuel and Julie, who had planned their life out in the way I was talking about a few days ago. About happiness being more important than working your whole life for money to be happy.

Emmanuel and Julie had gotten married, then worked in their own business for about 6 years (maybe a few more... these classics use language in such a confusing way) and saved up enough money for them to live moderately in comfort and never have to work anymore. She was only 26 when they settled down.

Well, it's not always possible to be like that, maybe you'd need more time, and of course it won't work if you're the ambitious type. But if what you're looking for is happiness and an easy, simple kind of life, I'm sure there's a way.

London

More pictures from London!

Big Ben at night... so beautiful. It was amazing actually being there. I had to pinch myself 11 times.

Me and this really cool dude outside a reggae shop. He's so cool!! And he kinda looks like Bill Cosby too.

Me and Nobita in front of the London Eye, the big ferris wheel, for great views of London. Apparently one turn takes half an hour. I can think of better things to do, mate!

On Portobello Road where the famous market is. Nice looking front for the bar.

The scene from the bridge of Big Ben (no, it's not London Bridge) and the Houses of Parliament. The view is really beautiful at night of the buildings along the Thames.

Couldn't resist taking a picture at the tube station near Sherlock Holmes' dwelling!

Life and Death

It's true that one has to experience life to know about it (what Malaysian Devil said on the Flooble - by the way, he's not even Malaysian!!) but then your whole life would've passed you by before you knew what it was about, isn't that right?!

So I figure my understanding of it is useful to me so far as it sort of puts my goals and wants in perspective.

Talking about death too, I used to get really scared and upset when I thought about dying. Well I still do now sometimes, but two things give me some comfort. One is that when you're old (assuming you don't get into an accident, which I hope none of us ever do) and your body's shutting down, you just want to die and stop being reminded how you're not young anymore. So it turns out to be a blessing, huh? Secondly, I've started seeing Life as a journey and Death as a sort of 'portal' to Heaven.

I heard once that dying is a very liberating feeling. You die but at the same time your soul is released from your mortal body and you just get a tremendous feeling of freedom like everything's stretched. I don't know how that person managed to get that story, but to me it makes sense, and it also comforts me, knowing that this life is merely a journey to our freedom eventually. And that's hoping all of us make this journey worthwhile and good.

Treasure Hunt

I actually came to my blog to write that I'm going for a treasure hunt tomorrow on the monorail! Woohoo! Then I got sidelined reading the interesting flooble entries. Thanks for your participation guys!

I don't think I'll be bringing my camera tomorrow so sorry no pics from the amazing race! But just cross your fingers my team do well (I'm teaming up with Sharry Berry).

To Grandpa G

I miss you lots! You make life so much more worth discovering.

The Meaning of Life

I hope I can put it in words eloquently.

You know how when people start out as kids, they play, then they go to school and study, first primary school then secondary school and then college, uni... maybe go overseas to get that degree. After studies, of course naturally comes work. So you work every day 5 days a week, maybe more, maybe less. But generally you work. You get your salary to pay bills, eat, buy things.

This is the normal routine people follow and that's all fine and dandy. But do they know why they're doing this? Sure, you can say I work to get money to eat. But I think most people think of work as something that has to be done. As in... we breathe, we work. Do you get the meaning? This is not easy to explain. It doesn't seem to come out right in words.

Basically I think that a lot of people, especially in Asia, think of work as a need in life. It's like eating and drinking. It's a part of life just like walking and talking.

It actually isn't.

I believe that life is for us to enjoy and be happy. It doesn't mean that if you don't work, you'll be unhappy. I think a lot of people would enjoy life much more if they didn't feel obligated to work. Okay that didn't come out right again. I know people will be arguing with me saying that people should work so they don't snatch old ladies' handbags.

But work is here to serve a purpose, and that is to feed us and to make us happy. Not the other way round. We shouldn't feel fulfilled by having a job. Or a job that pays well. We should be USING work to work for us. If we want to go on a holiday, we should be using our work to give us that. And not work so hard for promotions and money and awards, thinking that that'll make us happy.

Remember ourselves as kids feeling free and happy? That's when we're free of obligations. We can still achieve that as adults when we go on holiday. Even when we work.

I also realised that many people feel that they've shut their eyes and suddenly opened them 30 years later. It's like life flew by, isn't it?

That's because many adults live life in the tomorrow. They plan what to do. They can't be satisfied if they don't know what they're gonna do tomorrow. Of course planning meetings for businesses are important but it shouldn't take up your whole week. It'll fly by before you can realise it's arrived. If it's not possible to relax during the week, at least do it during the weekends.

Don't sit at home and laze around during the weekends. It doesn't make the day longer, it shortens it. The secret is to wake up and then plan what to do for the day and do it. The less time you've planned something and the more time you spend doing things, the more time you seem to have. That's the secret little children have. Remember feeling that you were gonna be 9 forever?

Now I know this is getting boring so I won't keep going on and on trying to clarify my statements. I know what I realised and I hope that this renaissance will come to you guys soon too.

Just remember not to force yourself to do something. Life is a gift for us humans to enjoy and make the best of our senses, feelings and emotions. It shouldn't just be stress and nerves. We're capable of so much more happiness if only we'd realise what's truly important (and I don't mean only boring stuff like family (which is of course very important) but I also mean having fun, being in love). And somehow, the days will lengthen magically.

Bound for Hell

I watched two movies this past week. One was Supersize Me, the other The Polar Express. Both really broke my heart.

In Supersize Me, there was one part where a few young kids about 6-8 year old were shown portraits of famous people. The first picture was of George Washington, whom most of the kids didn't recognise but a few found his face familiar. The second portrait shown to them was totally unknown to them. All heads were shaking in ignorance. The photo was then shown to the camera and guess who? World's Most Unrecognisable Face (to young Americans today anyway) - Jesus Christ! Last portrait shown was instantly recognised and called by name - Ronald McDonald.

I don't have any objections to all kids knowing who Ronald is. What I AM really worried and disturbed by is that none of the kids even recognised a picture of Jesus! Please, anyone out there who reads this. Make sure your children (or sisters/brothers etc) know who Jesus Christ is and what Christmas is really about. Even if you don't follow Christianity, surely you know that Christmas is the day Jesus Christ was born on this earth as a baby boy, and isn't just a day we get presents from Santa Claus, or a day we stuff ourselves with food, or get drunk and stoned out clubbing and partying.

The Polar Express movie never even mentioned anything about little baby Christ. But apparently it's because they are a movie and shouldn't promote Christianity. What??! Unbelievable. People will believe what they want to believe whether you promote something or not.

On the subject of promoting Christianity, apparently Sydney has decided not to decorate itself with Christmas decorations because they don't want to "impose" Christianity on anyone. If that's really true, then - HOW DUMB!

All this subject of religion is getting so overboard nowadays. What happened to Love Thy Neighbour? You can love your neighbour regardless of his religion or race. We are all humans at the end of the day.

Some HTML help please?

By the way, can someone help me figure out why my posts appear so low down the page after my sidebar has ended? The posts should appear next to the sidebar on the left, but it's just all wonky now. Please let me know if you can help me. Thanks!

A quiet day

Just having a nice relaxing time at home today. Sent my poor laptop to the hospital this morning. Hope I get it back on Monday.

I went for a facial yesterday!! Boy that was really relaxing... I always love the massage parts the best. And I love when the mask is peeled off your face. It's so... liberating.

The Phantom of the Opera

The charity premiere is on December 10!! I've so gotta get tickets for this event!! Yippee!! I hope it's exactly like the onstage musical. The pictures seem to look like it. YAHOO!!

Lotsa pictures and stories

Lots of pictures today!! A real feast for everyone!

Also I wanted to let my readers know that I'll be sending my laptop off for servicing either today or tomorrow. But don't fret, I still have other means to write in my blog! Just wanted to share the good news!

Lots of things happened these past few days, on Saturday night, went out for dinner with Sharry Berry, Gary Giggs and Nobita to Little Havana (I think it's called) opposite Le Bouchon in Bukit Bintang.

Gagging at the horrendous food. Or was it the pricing?
Giggs and Nobita before they got the bill.

Umm... can't remember exactly where this was taken but it was near the resto. Havana - all the whites supporting Arsenal while Giggs mumbles curses under his breath every time they cheer.
Considered dropping by here after dinner to listen to some music. In the end, we just walked by... they lost some rowdy customers that night.
Nice lanterns. Very Asian. Malaysia. Truly Asia.
Me and Sharry Berry doin the nice gal pose. Not that we aren't nice.
Can't remember this place either, but I liked the lighting. Very cosy and intimate. Boy, I'm not doing very good advertising, am I?
I don't know how traditional it can get if the prices are so high. Boy, you can get traditional Malay food for 1/4 of the prices here, I bet. Oh right, we're paying for the AMBIENCE (pronounced om-bee-yonce)

Sharry Berry pretending to be interested in the football match. She's actually biting her fingernails. Giggs is just not ready to give up the limelight. He and the oyster are trying to get into the picture. Tsk tsk.
Um... this place looks better in real life. I think.
Right... me and my mom at lunch at a hotel on first day of Raya. Hi Mummy!!

Well, then, time for me to bid adieu to my trusty laptop. See you guys soon!

Excerpts from my trip

Since this is a sort of diary, I really should record my trip to Europe in August this year. And it'd be nice for you guys to see some pictures again, wouldn't it? Hehe...

10th August Grandpa G came down to London to visit and we went to several places, like the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall in Kensington. Saw Kensington Gardens and Palace too.


Statue of the man himself, Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert. Impressive, eh?
Very grand and commanding posture, eh? This is at one corner of the memorial statue.
Royal Albert Hall just opposite the memorial.
Grandpa G studying the map to see where to go next. Very studious, isn't he?
The Diana and Dodi memorial at Harrods. So difficult to get a picture!! People's heads sticking here there and everywhere trying to get a good shot too. Luckily I'm tall. HAHA.

Travel

So are many of you guys travelling this holiday?

If you're planning to go overseas and money's a problem (especially with our exchange rate nowadays!) try visiting airline pages and see if they have a 'special offers' page. Those are really good, but they don't wait for you to decide! They keep changing, sometimes daily, sometimes even by an hour! Make sure you've decided thorougly and usually dates can't be changed with special offers like these.

Another problem with our declining currency is spending money overseas. When I went to Paris I ended up spending triple the amount I thought I would because, not only is the exchange rate high, their stuff are so wackily priced! I mean, you can buy a Dior perfume for the same price as dinner!

So my recommendation is to find online websites that give discounts on visiting touristy places. When planning my trip to London, I found this site http://www.londontown.com which gives great discounts and offers. Also there are other things you can do like country walks etc and you can usually find these at www.visitbritain.com which also has a great route planner if you're planning to drive around. Some other great ways to save money on travelling is by using the actual railway network website, like http://www.escapebytrain.co.uk which gives discounts on its services.

These are some ideas to help you save money on travelling in these economically and financially challenged times for our country. Unless, of course, you're loaded and drive around in a limo. In that case, you can leave me a name and number in the Comments section.

Working Holidaymaker

I have a question to ask, hopefully someone who knows these things comes across my site. Does anyone know how long it takes to get a working holiday visa approved for the UK?

Salesgirls @ Sungei Wang

You walk into a shop and start looking at clothes.

Salesgirl Type A : Ignores you from the moment you walk in and even if you glance at her to greet her or ask her for help, she looks away. Usually ugly and grumpy looking.
Verdict : A little irritating.

Salesgirl Type B : Looks at you and sometimes acknowledges your presence. However, you KNOW she knows you're there because she starts tripping over your heels no matter how many zig zags you take up and down the aisles (sometimes blocking your way). Never says a word. Usually young, blur and not so good-looking.
Verdict : Pretty darn irritating.

Salesgirl Type C : Greets you when you walk in with a big smile, asks you to try on all her clothes. Usually well-dressed (in the Sungei Wang style) and takes out every single skirt and shirt for you to try. Asks you how it fits once you enter the changing room. Asks you how it fits once you come out. When you say it's not suitable, she suddenly doesn't seem to know you're there. Has a grumpy face when you leave. Usually an older woman.
Verdict : Most irritating. Hello? Manners? Two-faced *toot*!

Salesgirl Type D : Perfect, unobtrusive, speaks when she needs to, helps when she needs to. Basically 0.01% of salesgirls in Sungei Wang. But I did meet one at Kojiki Fashion House at the rooftop. She also speaks both Cantonese and English very well. A definite plus sign in my book.
Verdict : Wish all salesgirls were like that.

Everybody shout...1...2...3...FREEDOM!!

Yahoo!! Finally I can relax!!

"If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."

It makes sense, doesn't it? Always sound like you know what you're talking about, even if you don't. That way, everyone will eventually think you're the genius you really are.

So what's up with the world nowadays? I'm so happy everything's done and over with. Tonight's CSI and I'm NOT gonna miss it like I always do. Best show in the world. Way to go CSI people!!

Some news from poor Grandpa G who's not feeling at all well today. Poor Grandpa's puking! :( Hope he gets better soon so Binks will have a healthy and hearty competitor in paintball! Thinkin' of ya, Grandpa! Hope you get better soon.

Ms Chevrolet owner wants to go party'n this week since we're all free. Let's! But no smoky, poorly ventilated areas! Any ideas, just leave it on the comments or the flooble. That thing seems to be temporarily down now.

Beach Babe has decided that she wants to defect from this country. She says the loony bin in Australia is so much better than the one we were at. Where's the loyalty, I'm asking you? Harrumph! (Yes, horses make that sound) Anyway, that girl is so ungrateful! I took so much trouble to get her out of that hospital and destroyed her records and she just wants to go back to another one. Oh wait, she's reminding me that that's the only way she can go to Australia. Oh well... the measures one will have to go through to reach one's dreams.

The Woman is celebrating her birthday today. Yippee! I think she's giving out free limo rides to anyone who reaches her house and wishes her Happy Birthday in 20 minutes. In that case, I'm off for my free ride! WAHAHAHOOHOO!!

Holidays are approaching...nearer...nearer...nearer.......

It'll be so good just to kick back and sit on the couch watching DVDs the whole day... SIGH...

Yesterday was exciting!

Mom called in the morning and said I can't go out because there's "a snake in the garden"!! Yes!! A snake! Our third one, I believe. Oh gosh... anyway, it was rather exciting to have DBKL come over and get the snake. They kept kicking and kicking the snake and it was so reared up to bite them. It did cross my mind to get a video or some pictures of it, but it was just so exciting. Anyway I guess the snake got tired and his head was still up, and that's when one of the guys grabbed his head with his hand and subdued it. BOYS AND GIRLS, PLEASE DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!

Don't think I live in a snake-infested area okay! These things happen...

Anyway, thanks K for your help with my PC problems... I did try Shareaza but I can't find what I want there. I guess after I send my laptop for its long-awaited overhaul I'll install Kazaa Lite.

And Pocky Man!! Thanks for gloating about your PC!! Actually, I do have one other custom-made PC at home, but that's pretty sucky as well. I have Ad-Aware on that, so no popups, but there must be something disturbing it because sometimes it gets really really slow and even though my laptop has more memory, it runs games faster! WEIRD.

Maybe you're wondering why there're so few pictures nowadays, but I just feel lazy to upload my pics to Geocities. I'll do it when I have more time. Right now I'm still rushing on my final assignments and feeling a little stressed.

You know what? One of my group members quit! SIGH... means extra work for us. Even last semester we had one member quit. Remember, Bea?? What's this, a pattern or something?

SHOPPING!

Yes! I went shopping! (And, yes, I know I don't have time, but my mom invited me out after all...hmm hehehe).

Grandpa G went paintballing yesterday. Tsk tsk... he shouldn't be doing such rough activities at his age.

Oh if [Chia Chia] Binks is reading this, he might want to plan a paintball outing for end of November. Let me know!

The perfect PC

Why can't there EVER be a single PC that works properly? Or maybe I should ask why there are some people out there, so MEAN to make popups that live in your PC? I'm so SICK AND TIRED of closing extra windows, also FED UP of my PC crashing all the time, especially now that all my final assignments are due. It's such a waste of time having my laptop restart over and over again. CAN'T ANYONE MAKE DECENT PCS? OR SHOULD WE ALL SWITCH TO MACS??!

I'm so so so pissed. As in angry. Not drunk.

I don't know what's wrong with my IE now, but when I want to go to a website sometimes it just gives me that 'page cannot be found' error and some funny address in the url place, like res://shoc blablabla... i dunno. It's just irritating. And when I try to click on certain links, it doesn't go to the link! I can't read any of my comments... does anyone know how to fix this?

And you know, if I use Ad-Aware, my Kazaa will then not work at all. What a dilemma. I'm sending my laptop in for a complete overhaul after all my assignments are in. So I might be missing for a bit next week.

Useful facts

Here are some useful facts for you people out there. Fellow mates in Henry's class will have read about this already, but this is so important that I really have to put this here for the benefit of the others.

You may think you know this already, but trust me, it's more serious than you thought. TRUST ME. Read on.

What is Secondhand Smoke?

• Mainstream smoke : smoke emitted at the mouthpiece and exhaled from the lungs of smokers
• Sidestream smoke : burning ends of a cigarette, pipe, cigar etc
• Sidestream smoke has even more carcinogens (cancer causing).
• Only 15% of smoke is inhaled by the smoker. The other 85% goes directly into the air to be inhaled by nonvoluntary nonsmokers.
• The general public’s exposure to secondhand smoke is much higher than most people realize.

How SHS affects people

• Tobacco smoke directly damages the lining of the lining of the arteries.
• It reduces the capacity of the blood to carry oxygen to the tissues.
• It increases the stickiness of the blood
• The best part is that the same thing is happening to the bodies of people who inhale second-hand smoke.

Unborn babies

• Cancer-causing chemicals in cigarette smoke pass from mother to unborn baby through the bloodstream, whether the mother smokes or not.
• Babies of smokers have much higher levels of the chemicals
• The compounds can cause genetic damage and may be a prelude to childhood leukemia and other cancers
  - lung and skin cancer
  - bladder cancer
  - liver cancer
• All three substances attach themselves to hemoglobin, the Oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. The carcinogens continue to circulate through the babies' blood for the life of the red cells -- about four months.

The Dangers of Second Hand Smoke!

• direct health threat to people who already have heart and lung diseases.
• Increases the risk of serious lung disease during the first two years of a child's life.

Did You Know?

• Nonsmokers who live with smokers are more likely to develop lung cancer than other nonsmoking adults.
• If you have asthma, secondhand smoke can make your breathing problems worse.
• Young children are especially sensitive to secondhand smoke.
• A baby who lives in a home where one or both parents smoke is more likely to have lung disease serious enough to need treatment in a hospital during the first two years of life.
• Children exposed to secondhand smoke in the home are more likely to cough and wheeze and to have middle ear problems.

Diseases

• increased risk of lung infections, such as asthma, bronchitis, and allergies and ear infections
• ear infections, sinus problems, heart disease, strokes, nose, eye and throat irritation, nausea, dizziness and headache.
• If you live with a smoker, you have a 30% increased chance of getting lung cancer or having a heart attack.

Smoking and Impotence

• Impotence, or penile erectile dysfuntion, is the repeated inability to have or maintain an erection.
• Smoking is related to an abnormal decline of blood pressure in the penis.
• Smoking leads to artery damage where plaques form on their inner lining, slowing the flow of blood to the penis.
• Nicotine causes the constriction of blood vessels. This means that blood supply to the penis will be further compromised in a man who smokes
• Full or partial recovery of erectile function is possible by quitting smoking. Men who lose their erections before orgasm have completely reversed this situation by quitting smoking.

Smoking and Male Fertility

• Reduces sperm density and motility compared with that of non-smokers, increasing the risk of infertility.
• May also result in more couples having baby girls than boys, suggesting that sperm cells carrying the Y chromosome are more vulnerable to cigarette smoke toxins.

So guys please check out some health websites for symptoms if you do live in a smoking environment. I'd like to do my bit to help people protect themselves.

The information above was gathered and summarised from a variety of great sources :

• http://www.smoke-free.ca/Second-Hand-Smoke/health_kids.htm <-- this is the most important
• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/may97/smoking_5-20.html
• http://mo.essortment.com/secondhandsmok_rxgs.htm
• http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=19930
• http://www.man-health-magazine-online.com/smoking-and-impotence.html
• http://www.fensende.com/Users/swnymph/refs/smoke.html
• http://www.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/standard/0,3182,3172_13127_262972_langId-en,00.html

Movie Gripes

Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera is being made into a movie! YAHOOOOO!

I heard the first strains of the absolutely brilliant Overture when I was 9 years old going on 10. My mom had bought the Highlights cassette and had just started playing it when I was walking down to throw the rubbish into the big bin. I was so struck by the dramatic melody and orchestration I instantly fell in love with the musical.

Throughout the years I learnt the lyrics by heart, sang along to every part there was and finally, one day I found the complete album with lyrics. I bought a copy, promptly lost it, bought another copy, found the first one and sold it for a measly RM40 (2 discs, you know!).

So a few nights ago when I was at the Apple Trailers [http://www.apple.com/trailers/] website looking for the trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia (another movie which promises big things), I saw the trailer for Phantom of the Opera. Of course I watched it and it looked amazing! The costumes were superb and the trailer used music from the musical and watching the trailer, I think that the movie will be a complete and direct adaptation of the musical.

A tip for you guys out there who haven't watched the musical : Don't watch it in London! The people there have staged the performance so many times that they've just become pretty slack and lazy with their performances. They don't sing well and they don't look inspired anymore. If you do want to watch the show though, watch a touring production. They'll definitely be more spirited and put more effort into their singing and acting. The Christine I watched in August 2004 London acted like a complete soap opera star. She made Christine look like a crybaby (which she's not of course!) and she was so irritating with all her sobs and whining. However, the show I watched in Singapore in 1996 was amazing. So take my advice and spend your money on The Lion King in London which is just incredible. Truly.

*all the above is just my opinion, I don't want to be sued for defamation or anything! Phantom is still my favourite!

Where's the party?!

Looks like no one's going to party tonight... at least no one from GDD6A! This last week and next week is going to be so busy for us. As for me, I just don't want to start on Henry's work. I haven't done any research on the No Smoking poster and I'm so so so so so lazy to do it. SIGH. Looks like there'll be no trick or treating pour moi ce soir.

Dubbed Movies

Are you one of those people who love movies dubbed into English (or your mother tongue) from foreign languages? If you are, then it's YOU I have to blame for dubbed movies!
I simply can't stand movies that are dubbed from their original language because :

1) the voice actors suck
2) the actors' mouths can never be in sync with the words
3) the show completely loses its character eg. Fong Sai Yuk in English totally doesn't give the comedic feeling that the original Siu Fong Fong and Jet Li's voiceover (he rarely speaks in his movies) give it
4) the translated words/sentences never have the exact same meaning and feeling as the original language
5) for people learning a foreign language, they'd wanna watch movies in that language and not dubbed versions. It's usually not easy to find original versions if there are dubbed ones available, AND
6) subtitles are not that difficult to read after all.

If a movie has appeal and is in a foreign language, why not just make an English version of it? Like what they did with Taxi, originally a French movie (and an amazing one too) and now out as an English movie starring Queen Latifah. By the way, I really have to recommend the French Taxi to you guys. It's so funny and Samy Naceri as the taxi driver is SO COOL.

Another gripe about dubbed movies is when they make Cantonese movies into Mandarin. It's so totally off-putting. I know you can switch the languages using DVD functions nowadays, but what about those...um...'unauthorised' DVDs that don't have those functions? HEHE. You know what I'm talking about.

Here's a nice cosy picture for you to relax.

This is a string of lights I bought in Paris near the Centre Georges Pompidou. I have no idea why I bought these lights, and they were so difficult to pack in my luggage. Now that I think back, I should've bought the furry ones...

Daylight Savings

Wonderful.

England's reverting back to their normal clock, which means we're GMT+8 again. This means even later nights for moi! SIGH.

Relationships

I told myself I'd never get into a long distance relationship because it's just too much work.

You know how when you say you'll never buy a car because it's so ugly, then a few years later you end up buying that car because it's suddenly very convenient. Or you tell yourself you'll never stay in a particular area of the city and a few years later, that area is developed and you find yourself with that address?

I think these kind of things are very humbling. Life's telling you not to be so proud that nothing's good enough for you.

It seems that many people are having long distance relationships nowadays. I don't know how they make it work. They're just amazing. Honestly, I think I'd find it really difficult after half a year or a year. But I know people who've been together nearly 4 years! And it's not the sort of 3 years together then one of them moved, but they actually got together while they were apart! They're incredible.

Loyalty is not easily found nowadays with people partying more, drinking more and taking life less seriously. According to the Durex Global Sex Survey [http://www.durex.com/], people are having sex earlier each year and having more sexual partners than before.

All I have to say is, life is not all about satisfying your desires. In the end, we still need the love of a partner because let's face it, we ain't gonna be having sex when we're 80 years old now, are we?

The arrival of Halloween

I'm pretty excited and looking forward to this year's Halloween. Why? Cuz it's on a Sunday and I can go partying! Yahoo! Well, I have to beat up that niggling voice in my head first telling me that I have assignments due on the Tuesday after.

Anyone else going to a party? Come along to Zouk on Oct 30 in costume and you get in free. Let's all go! Whack those little voices of righteousness!

Indian Voice Talents

In my opinion, Indians have the greatest talents of making a radio ad funny. Their accents are so wunnerful! Even saying something simple like, "I'm gonna eat you up, you small, crunchy, delicious muruku!" sounds so GREAT with an indian accent.

So tell me, why do people still insist on using voices which have so utterly FAKE indian accents??! They're spoiling the greatest accent of radio ads!! Ok maybe in this country it's difficult to find Indians, right? TAT! WRONG! Second, even if the voice DOES belong to an Indian, why does it sound so darn fake??! Third, why oh WHY can't they find an Indian with a REAL indian accent?! They're a dime a dozen, I tell you! These Indians with the delightfully funny fast-speaking ways of theirs. Ah, just can't help giggling every time I hear them on radio. Maybe that's why Lil Kev's so funny.

Starting to feel stressed

Deadlines for all assignments are getting nearer and nearer. Now I'm beginning to feel a little worried. Enough playing around! I've been going out so much I haven't had time to do work, and when I AM at home, I just stare at the laptop and convince myself that I can't do any work at that moment. BAD BAD BAD!

Oh by the way, I love that song by Michael Jackson. What's happening to him now anyway? I hope he's alright. I really think he's genuinely talented. What a guy. And I won't accept any criticisms about him!! He may be weird, but we should appreciate all the good he's given us and the music industry.

One last thing before I jump into bed in my satin pyjamas - I wanna say a big HI to my German viewers. I do believe I have some who've been to my site a few times already? If this is true, do send me a comment or chat with me on the flooble. I'd love to know what you're thinking when you read.

If the above is not true, disregard that paragraph and drink a bottle of Radeberger Pilsner (see I did my research).

ps. Shark Tale's hilarious!!

Call the paramedics, I feel faint!

*Woo woo! Sirens going!

Is this pic too hot for you gals out there? HAHA... thought I should give you guys some excitement after so much partying. The partying never stops!!

And best of all, gals... I KNOW THIS GUY! Haha... for privacy (and security - I can see the thinking bubbles popping out of your heads now : "Boy oh boy oh boy I'm gonna rush over to this guy's house as soon as I finish reading this GREAT blog and I'm gonna claim this MAN!")reasons, I shall not disclose his real identity.

Anyway, maybe... just MAYBE... he's not a man??!! GASP! Hahaha... I'll leave it for your pleasure.

(I promised the star of this post today that I wouldn't distract my readers from this delightfully...stimulating? *wink ...rendered photograph. So that's it for today honeys.)

The simple & unadulterated truth (aka The Story pt 3)

I feel that it is my duty, hereby, to let you all know the truth about what's been happening. As you all know, there was a fire at the mental hospital where I escaped from. What I never told is what happens INSIDE the hospital.

First of all, an introduction to some of the inmates. This is me and Director Noo. We were at a group therapy session for thinking we were celebrities. I thought I was Austin Powers. Director Noo thought he was Phua Chu Kang.

Here's another inmate. No one knows her real name, so she's known as Iwga, short for "I wanna go also".

Ah, those were the days. I do miss being in the loony bin sometimes. Everyone is so kind and thoughtful. And days were exciting, what with Beach Babe, Director Noo, Iwga and the others. But the outside world is just as fine! Look at the sky! In the hospital we were never allowed to go out and we never had any windows. No wonder we stink so much.

Nick Warren @ Zouk

On to more 'normal' stuff, it was great at Zouk last night, the crowd was doin' their own thang and not bothering each other, they were friendly and very into the music. Not really what I feel when I go for those Ghetto Heaven and other R&B nights (sorry R&B advocates!). And the music had so much energy... well, I've never been to a trance party before, but I felt really good in there last night. Here are some pics. Met some classmates and other friends there, which was great.

Does the guy behind in the specs look UNDERAGE? Hoohoo...

About 20 people told him what a great necklace it is. It lights up and twinkles. Cool!

Went out for a breather from all that smoke. BLECH!! Now you can see it isn't my camera that's not good, it's the smoke that makes our pics blurry and our lungs black.

Woo woo!

Beautiful KLCC in the background. I just love the KLCC. It's my local Eiffel Tower. So romantic.

"Purple rain!" by Prince (I'll just call him that for simplicity reasons).

Talking about Prince, I do like some of his songs. And Boy George. Does anyone still remember Boy George? I can't remember his songs now but my parents said I used to love him so much when I was smaller. Boy! Guess I like slightly effeminate males. OOPS for Grandpa G! HAHA...

All I can say is that I'm glad I didn't grow up during the 80s (you know what I mean!) or I'd have to wear shoulder pads and what-nots with awful hair and what-nots and awful coloured tights and what-nots. YAY!

Oh yeah going back to Nick Warren night, I saw a couple doing the WORST on the podium, no less! There I was, enjoying myself and I turned around and I saw this guy standing behind his girlfriend (or mistress!). Her back was towards him and he was holding on to her boobs while dancing!! AAAHH!! So of course I had to look at her boobs, right? RIGHT? And she was a pretty hot lady but the guy was the pits! The ARMpits! Anyway, that wasn't all, he started feeling her and then she turned around and they started kissing (I feel sorry for the people dancing next to them... I wonder if Nick saw this??). Well, of course I wasn't STARING at them ("Porn movie right in front me! Come on guys, have a drool!") but occasionally I'd turn around and look... so the last time I looked, he had his hand in her pants!! And I mean WAY DOWN her pants!! And she was in ecstasy, I bet! EEW, man!!

Friday night out!

It's supposed to be anyway. But yet when I came home after dinner, there were no parking spaces outside at all! Why's everybody in??!! Is going out not happening anymore? I thought it was way cool to go out for the sake of going out...??! Or is this an aging society we live in? Maybe the place I live in is just not cool enough.

Or maybe everyone's waiting till 1am to go out and party. Bet that's the cool thing now. Even though clubs give cheaper rates before 11pm, cool people HAVE to go after midnight right?? Why? Because it's cool! And subsequently take up all the parking spaces and make me WALK REALLY FAR IN THE RAIN!

Anyway I shouldn't be angry. I had a good day today. I received a cheque for some money... and I won tickets for Nick Warren @ Zouk tomorrow night! Haha... imagine. Just entered a contest and I got it. Hope I get the phones too. And the iPod. Even though I have one. HAHA being greedy. Evil me.

Couple-dom

Was just talking to the Woman (the one with the limo) about how none of my friends are single so how am I supposed to get 2 tickets for an event and choose a guest? Maybe when my blog becomes more popular I'll put them up for grabs! HAHA!! Win a date with Boobs. HOOHOO...

But there are couples who are couple-couples and single-couples. Know what I mean? The couple-couples are always together and if one watches a movie without the other, the other will moan and groan. Then there are the single-couples who say "Okay baby you go do your shopping and go home yourself ok? I'll be with the guys at a strip club." Those are the kind of friends I need!! Seeing how I'm so lucky winning tickets here and there. Did I mention I won a cruise in a lucky draw before? Oh what am I talking about, of course I haven't mentioned it. It was the 2nd prize. Just missed out on the trip to Sydney. Darn.

Excuses SEXcuses

A lecturer once told me that SEX sells.

Anyway, this is NOT about sex. Grandpa G is looking for (s)excuses to miss work to go to a party!! Bad boy! But at least he's being cool, eh? Yeah! Be a rebel! Miss work and go party your heads off!! What he really should do is go in the next day and tell his supervisor, "Hey, mate, I came to work yesterday but there was no space to park because it's a Friday night and everyone was here working instead of partying. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and go to a party. Sound? Right, cheers mate."

Anyone able to help Grandpa G out with other excuses? He'd appreciate it. And so would we!!

YIKES! I just dropped white chocolate all over my table. Great.

A new identity

This is a continuation of the post "A story to tell...". If you haven't read that, please scroll down. Or you won't know what the heck's happening here. And it's SO important you do. Because you're here... so you might as well stay. Right?

Well now that I'm in the outside world you'd think I'd be safe from those men in white coats, don't you? Au contraire! I may have removed my mental records but they still wanna make me suffer! Talk about mental prejudice.

So obviously with today's technology and all, people can find you anywhere by scanning your retina right? You can walk into a subway station and they'll know you're there immediately. Advertising billboards yell out your name the minute they scan your eyes. Oh boy are my eyes painful. It's been such a long time since I was out.

Or am I talking about Minority Report?

I figure the best way to escape these jokers in the white coats is to change my eyes. Look at the result.

Old eye, new eye.

I got it off this guy called Arnold Schwarznegger. I'm pretty sure they won't realise I'm not him.

Men vs Women?

I love this quote I got in an email about Marriage.

"God may have created man before woman but there is always a rough draft before the final masterpiece."

Boys, you HAVE to agree. Hehehehehe... this quote is so so good.

The benefits of satin pyjamas

Yes it's true.

How many of you just go to sleep in normal shirt and shorts? Pyjamas? Ultra sexy transparent see through barely there lingerie? Nothing at all?

Well, I have this set of satin pyjamas I bought in Melbourne years ago and I always thought of it as an inconvenience because of the long sleeves and when I brush my teeth I'd get it all wet so I never wore it much. But recently I realised that when I wear it, I don't wake up in the middle of the night clutching the double layered quilt and shivering like a dog having a bath.

Really! It's true! So if your room is like an icebox and people who open the door and walk in immediately get icicles hanging from their nose, go get yourselves some satin pyjamas!!

Or you could get a really hot hunky dude to share body heat with you.

A story to tell

A fire broke out at the mental hospital today. Yes that's me and Beach Babe running for cover from the smoke. Like the clever gal I am, I grabbed our mental records (in my right hand) so no one will ever know we just escaped HAHAHA!

And that's Beach Babe copying my pose as usual. It's part of her mental illness. Don't ask anymore, she's very touchy. The only time she doesn't copy people's poses is when she's surfing at Venice Beach.

Sometimes I wonder if we're better off at the mental hospital. Look how happy we are doing our thang.

Anyway as we were running out a discreet pink limo nearly knocked us down and flattened us to the texture of the tar road. Then the friendly Woman wound her window down and asked us to hop in. She promptly proceeded to sleep.

I guess people in limos have nothing else to do.

As Beach Babe and I marvelled at the outside world, she excitedly pointed to the clouds and commented on how it looks like someone we know. Yes, I told her. It kind of looks like a sweet potato. And she sighed and said how cute the lyrics are about walking into the sunset. Yeah. Maybe we shouldn't have left the hospital.

Okay enough crapping.

For the moment.

--- ooo --- ooo ---

I'm back! Just had dinner and felt so guilty about it considering I've been eating the WHOLE day!!

It's a girl thing

Guess what? I bought nail polish!! Hah! It's been ages, and I usually buy nail polish, use it once then leave it to rot. This time I bought a smaller bottle. Hope I finish it. And you know what? I actually left it on the counter and walked out of the shop! And did the cashier come running after me to give me the polish? NOOOOO... I bet she wanted it for herself! Sheesh! Get one yourself, aunty!

All she said when I went back was, "Forgot to take ah!" and she was just sitting there comfortably behind the counter. Of course I forgot to take it! But did you behave like a responsible cashier, aunty?? I don't think so!

Wow I feel so ladylike now with my nails all painted.

Of all the nerve...!

A kind little bird whispered into my ear that when she opened up my blog, horror of horrors! A popup appeared! The powers that be are watching, I tell you. No one's safe anymore. Write about how you hate popups, and the next thing you know, a popup appears on your site! Tsk!

Naturally, the little bird did the common sense thing and closed the popup without even seeing what it was advertising. Are you listening, popup advertisers?!

HELP!

By the way, does anyone know how to get rid of adware that has installed itself on your PC? Mine irritates me by putting a search link on my words. And that's really irritating because IT'S NOT WHAT I ASKED FOR!

Also does anyone in KL have a DVC I can borrow to transfer my video from the cassette to my laptop? I just need it for one day. It has to have a DV output. (DVC = Digital Video Camera)

Lastly, I'd like to recommend this food to everyone : MARKS & SPENCER'S ALL BUTTER CHOCOLATE BITES! It's the most heavenly food after Le Cake from Pangkor Laut Resort. Slurp!!