Do you know him?

Did you look twice at the guy on the left??

I did! I thought "Omg, what's Daniel doing in that video?!". And although I knew it couldn't be him, I just had to really look hard at it to convince myself.

What do you think?!

PHOTOS: Mogwai in KL

I've recently signed up for Twitter, recommended by Schrobbenmaster Rik... and after I heard that Chris Moyles was also on it, I just had to join.

Search for me if you're on Twitter - you should know my nickname.

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I went to watch Mogwai at the KL Convention Centre some time in January. I'd never heard of them or heard any of their music before that... I had to get on to Youtube to listen to a couple of songs. Sounded pretty good so decided to go. Good concert!






The only thing I saw out the corner of my eye was this white blob going up and down. Imagine my surprise when I suddenly found myself standing to this beanpole of a Singh, with a bright white turban and bushy black beard, headbanging next to me.

PHOTOS: Recent Gatherings #1

My stupid internet has been very picky over which sites I get to visit over the past weekend. Luckily for them, everything's up and running again today. So here are some photos from a few of the get-togethers over the last week or so.


First off was my CNY party at the end of January (5th day). Here's Stryker Nins helpfully cleaning up my house cuz he was just so grateful to be invited to my party. Okay, he's actually mopping up the beer that Kenny T spilt. I didn't manage to get a pic of him wiping the floor with a rag, looking like Cinderella. Dang.


Just check out the sultry expression on his face in both pictures!


At the end of the night it was just the 5 of us left: A, Schrobbenmaster Rik, Dan The Drinker, Tequila Lin and me. Since the two of them are looking so civilised, I'm guessing the infamous *ahem* incident hasn't happened...


This looks more like it.


No comment. I don't remember this photo being taken.

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The day before Valentine's, on Friday, Tequila Lin and I hung out at Dan The Drinker's for some board games. Here's Dan The Drinker and Schrobbenmaster Rik having an argument on how to draw the word "downstairs". I know... quite intellectual, aren't they?


"I'm sorry we argued, Daniel, please sit a little closer to me."


Gotta love their expressions!


I think Tequila Lin was feeling a little exhausted from all the text messaging with a certain someone. Hehe...


Schrobbenmaster Rik was the one who started the portrait drawing frenzy!


Dan's laughing at the drawing... but can he do any better? Let's scroll down...


That's Dan The Drinker's representation of Tequila Lin (top) and me.


Schrobbenmaster Rik's attempt at drawing Dan. This is my favourite!! Check out the walrus nose and receding forehead. Plus the schoolbus-shaped profile.


Schrobbenmaster Rik by Dan The Drinker. I love this too.


Me by Schrobbenmaster Rik. Hmm...


Tequila Lin by moi. She finally succumbed to her boredom at our drawing game.

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Oh gawd, there are more??!!

On Valentine's Day, I had dinner with the girls at Sharry Berry's place. We had special Singlong Fried Rice, courtesy of Mumsy Bumsy's recipe.


Sharry Berry was Professional Long Bean Cutter. I was Professional Fryer, and Quebec Jo was Professional Recipe Reader. Look how seriously she's taking her job! :P


Quebec Jo and Teng, who's boyfriend was off for a 2-hour massage that night. Don't ask, I don't know either. Hehe.


I know... not the best picture of Ryan, but I realised I didn't have a photo of the special Fried Rice, and by the time we yelled at him to stop eating... he'd already wolfed down most of it.


Our reward for all the cutting and frying - Sara Lee Chocolate Bavarian.

After a nice and filling dinner, we headed to town for some alco-fueled cheer :)

Birthday Wish List 2009

It's a little over a month more to my birthday, but since I always can't think of what I want when people ask me, I thought I'd put up my Wish List a little early this year. I'll probably be updating it as time goes by, but if I don't, just use this initial list as a guideline or inspiration when you go shopping for moi.

• Wine glasses (at least ONE matching pair)
  
• A billionaire sugar daddy
  
• Comfy, soft, thick bathroom rugs (the larger the better)
  
• A short break to Bangkok, Thailand
  
• 3 months in Paris, France
  
• La Senza shopping vouchers (a gal can't have too much lingerie)
  
• Vodka or whisky (as stock for my next party - which the giver will most definitely be invited to)
  
• *NEW! A large living room rug, preferably dark (black/brown/grey) and furry/hairy
  
• *NEW! All-white plain/textured (NO patterns) tissue box covers
  
• *NEW! Big white artificial flowers (roses/lilies/etc) - 20 of them would be lovely :P
  
• *NEW! A shower FM radio
  

So Randoms.

It's amazing how Jay Manuel can keep bleaching his hair and still have hair.

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I was having coffee with Sugarlips Nat this evening at Starbucks 1U, when the couple behind him caught my eye. Well, to be technically accurate, it was a male and a female, and they weren't a couple... yet.

The girl was attractive, fully made-up, dressed in hotpants and a stylish top, and 'f**k me' slip-on heels. She clearly wanted to impress this boy... this boy who thought it would be appropriate to go out for coffee with a hot girl dressed in board shorts and t-shirt.

You know what... boys are lucky that (most) girls are not completely into appearances and always look for the inner man.

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I finally had my car washed yesterday and picked up some groceries. Sometimes it's fun sitting in the Car Wash machine and watching the thing do its thang... yesterday though, it was boring. Cuz I was in the mood for Radiohead, and I can't sing along to Radiohead. Thank goodness for groceries. Had a nice little picnic in my car.

Unfortunately, after that, I left Bangsar at a bad time... rush hour! Some of you know I really hate being in traffic jams. But it's not nearly so bad when you have a tube of Pringles and a big bottle of water in the car.

I wonder if... we were in a really bad jam on the highway, say, and we called McDonald's McDelivery... would they deliver to you right there? I think people would be a lot more patient if they could have a picnic in their cars while stuck in a jam. Maybe McD's could even make it a sort of charity thing. A "Do your bit for road rage and road accidents" kinda thing.

PHOTOS: Deutsches Gasthaus @ TTDI

Forgot to post these photos up from Friday night at Dan the Drinker's new place. We went over for gambling and a DVD, and then the guys wanted to continue gambling while Tequila Lin, Rik the Dutchman and I wanted to drink/socialise, so the three of us walked out to Sid's, but their bar was already closing, so we went to the German bar a few doors down and had some beer!


Emm... what an interesting way to walk down the stairs, Rik...


Rik wanted to capture my first sip of the frothy, huge Hoegaarden.


Lin regretting not ordering the pint.


Apparently we were too smiley in the first photo together, so we tried being a little more serious... for two seconds.

Back to my routine Saturday!

I realised last night that I hadn't been out clubbing/barring in a long time when I had my first lychee martini at Luna and found it to be extra strong. Took me far too long to finish it, but then, I was also trying to make it last as long as possible so that I didn't have to order another drink before Regs (who's back from Australia for a few days) and her boyfriend Lorimer arrived.

However, I had such a great time chatting with A that I just ended up finishing it - and received a snobby dirty look from the bartender when I told him I wouldn't be ordering another.

The four of us who were there first, Tequila Lin, Rik the Dutchman, A and I, were sat at the bar, and our friend If the bartender gave us a round of tequila shots, much to Tequila Lin's delight, I expect! Then after I finished my martini, the snobby-dirty-look bartender served up a delicious milky liqueur-filled cocktail for me... and a more manly drink for A. How brilliant... three drinks for the price of one!

When Regs and Lorimer arrived, they got their drinks and took a little tour of Luna and its spectacular views of the KL Tower and Twin Towers. It wasn't very happening up there so we left soon after to Changkat, where we met Sharry Berry and some other friends at Werner's.

I'm not a fan of Werner's so we only stayed for a glass of beer (which A amazingly - or worryingly? - chugged down in a couple of gulps), and adjourned to, where else... twentyone.

Great night!! Ooh, and a public holiday for Selangor tomorrow... sweeeeet!!

Screwing the little people over

You know how all the tollbooths now have little boxes for motorists to conveniently donate to Palestine's aid? They even announce it on the traffic report signboards on highways.

But I just thought to myself... is this another way to extort us motorists?? Yeah, I know their need is great and we ought to help them in any way we can. But... I dunno... you guys already know how I feel about toll operators. Look at the bloody Kerinchi Link which is RM1.50... pretty pricey! And Touch 'n' Go also charges 10% extra when you use it to park in BSC. Why can't the toll operators and Touch 'n' Go donate a percentage of their toll earnings to the Palestinian fund, instead of (or, as well as) making it convenient for us - the little people - to donate?

It's Friday! It's Friday!

Was rudely awoken early this morning by someone from UOB Bank telling me that I had to bank in some money for my mum to top up the balance so her cheque wouldn't bounce. Apparently they couldn't get hold of her all morning so they contacted me.

Was a little suspicious so kept calling my mum to confirm it. And yes it was true, so it wasn't a scam. But what a good scam it would have been! Call at 9.15am and say that I have to bank in a small amount of money, say RM10-50, and that I have to do it by 10am. So there's hardly any time to double check anything even if you are suspicious.

Anyway, I had my hair cut yesterday... not sure what to think of it. I don't instantly love it, but I think it's better than the overgrown mop I had before.

Leaving my place in a bit to pick up two cheques... TWO CHEQUES!!! Yayy... I can finally pay some people back. Tequila Lin's brother is coming back from Langkawi today and hopefully he brought back a bottle of Grey Goose for me. I asked for Chopin as well, but poor thing probably can't bring back so many bottles. One's good enough, anyway!

Gambling at Dan the Drinker's tonight... la di da!!! It'll be my first time at his new place, and I'll try to remember to bring my camera so at least this blog has some pics from CNY this year.

Okay shucks I have to go get dressed now for cheque collection - and a brief (hopefully) meeting with Slavedriver.

Money talks, not dresses.

I'm just about to leave the house to get my hair chopped off. No idea what style I want yet, but William had better be having a good day today.

The initial plan for today was to visit a (relatively established) fashion designer to help her out with some patterns she wanted redone digitally, and to tutor her a bit in Adobe Illustrator. She was ever so long-winded when I spoke to her last week, but we finally settled on a day to do it. Then she calls a few days later to tell me that she has to postpone it a day later, so I said that's fine, but where are the patterns you were supposed to email me prior to our appointment? I needed them in order to write up a quotation for her.

When she heard that I had yet to give her a quotation she hesitated and said "Quotation?" and I was like, yes... a quotation for my services. And she said "I thought I'd give you a dress to contra your services".

Okay... if you're Donatella, Giorgio, Alexander, Marc or John, I'd be right in there and say wahooey yeah, that sounds great! But no, you're not... so please... give me money! Well, I just told her that I would have to look at her latest collection and decide for myself. I'm not going to do work and then be given any dress that I might never wear (unless it's a piece from any of the above designers). Not a fair deal, in my opinion!

No word from her since.

Reflection on a Dancer's character

Been watching some ballet videos on Youtube... read some of the comments below those videos, and found an interesting note.

There was a ballet called Afternoon with a Faun by Jerome Robbins, and in it, a male and female dancer dance very closely with each other, they dance as though they were in love with each other... but according to Robbins, they are actually looking at mirror images of themselves, and all their feeling is poured into the mirror image instead of the person dancing with them.

Here's a quote from Wiki on how the ballet is staged: "A ballerina enters and they dance facing the audience as though looking into the mirrored wall of the studio. He kisses his partner on the cheek, and she bourrées out of the studio and off-stage. He returns to his initial supine position."

Apparently, he's claiming that dancers, most especially ballet dancers, are narcissistic and rely on the mirror image of themselves to feel beautiful and loved.

It is true that ballet dancers (as are other dancers) have a close relationship with the mirror because it helps reveal the perfection or the flaws in their own movements. On that point I'd have to agree, since I look in the mirror often to see if the position of my body and limbs look like how they're supposed to. And when they do, I can't help but feel self-satisfaction that I've done it.

But I don't know if I'd go so far as to say I love my mirror image more than I love another person.

Thinking of supper?

So now I know that if I feel like having supper, mamaks are not the only places to go. Just found out last night that Kimgary at Mid Valley is open till late as well. I think last orders are at 11.30pm? And they still serve proper food too... I had their Baked Cheese Curry Pork Chop or some such name. Not too bad. And my companion had some sort of pork thing with corn sauce. That wasn't too bad either.

Looking forward to try more things on their menu in the future. Much easier to go there for supper than for dinner when you have to wait 2 hours for a table!

A CNY quickie

Firstly, a shout-out to Lapsap Kel for leaving a one-liner of encouragement. It was such an effort and I appreciate it.

Okay, it's Chinese New Year and there's nothing else to do when you visit people's homes than to gamble.

I lost my own money when I played it, but strangely, people seemed happy to give me their money to play with. So I did. And I won a decent amount with their money and got a share in the profits. So on the whole, I did get quite a bit of money this CNY. How awesome is that? It's like profit-sharing... you don't bear the losses but you get the profits.

On Friday night (30 Jan) I had a gathering at my place. Loads of people turned out which was really great! They split themselves into the blackjack group and poker group. I had no time to gamble since I was hosting, and I also really wanted to talk to the people who weren't playing since I hadn't seen some of them in years! The most interesting dude who turned up was ex-schoolmate Wes who at one time we all thought died of drug overdose... but who is now actually a Muay Thai welterweight champion in Canada! What a change, eh?

It was really great catching up with everyone who came that night and I'd like to yell a big THANK YOU to you guys!

Unfortunately, no pictures.

CNY is actually a great time to catch up with old friends... last night, I went to visit Nat Sugarlips at home (haha... I wonder if you'll like that nickname, Nat!) and ended up playing lots of poker and winning him some moolah. Also met a couple of ex-schoolmates there, one of whom is a kinda local celebrity... and I'm a tad embarrassed not to know that, but in my defence, the local entertainment scene is not very well-promoted.

Okay, I'm bloody hungry now and Quebec Jo wants to meet up for coffee in 2 hours so off I go. Photos from my Penang CNY trip coming up shortly!

PHOTOS: Penang Dec 2008

Oh, I almost forgot these pics from our family trip up to Penang to visit my grandmother.




I just love the eccentricities of Penang-ites.




"We know your taste better". Superb tagline.




On the balcony at the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, one of the heritage buildings in Penang.

Happy CNY!

Nearly got hit by a bloody P driver this morning. IDIOT!!

Anyways, I'm off to Penang for Chinese New Year, so I won't be posting anything till I get back next week (note how I don't state the exact day I'm back, so I don't have to start posting immediately. Hehe. I'm too smart for myself sometimes).

On another note, I've finally updated Goodputty::Paperie with a new notepad design. Sorry to all who keep checking the blog and not finding any new designs.

Time to pack my bags!! Watching Inkheart tonight as well... hope it's good.

Oh goodness what boring posts I do write these days.

Wasn't supposed to be a rant... but it is.

Why the heck is KL traffic getting worse and worse the more supposedly 'developed' we become? If more people are buying cars, why can't the authorities improve public transportation to help alleviate the pain of driving... or do like Singapore and restrict vehicular movement boundaries? Or take away the stupid tolls which have been repaid a hundred times over so that more people can use them and spread the traffic out?

So freaking irritating.

* * *

I'm heading to town this evening to have dinner at 7atenine (there, I've spelt it in full once again... my fingers deserve a reward for this extra effort) before rocking it up with Mogwai.

Mogwai is a Scottish post-rock group, for those who were asking me about it. Yes, it means ghost or devil in Cantonese... apparently they got it from the movie Gremlins (according to Wikipedia).

I haven't been to 7atenine in a really long time, so I guess it'll be good to go back again for some good food. And it'll also be good to get down there early so I don't have to rush for the concert, which is at the Convention Centre.

I hope Mogwai (and the venue... what a strange place to have a rock concert) is worth the RM130. JUST LIKE I HOPE RIHANNA IS WORTH THE BLEEDIN' RM288 I'm paying.

Brainless copywriting

I'm sure most of you who watch TV must've heard this commercial before. Well, maybe non-Malaysians won't know it, but how many of those read my blog? :P Cue non-Malaysians clicking on 'Leave me a kiss!' to prove me wrong.

Just tell me this isn't one of the strangest and most brainless pieces of writing you've heard on TV...

"... Siapakah Alexander The Great?
Dan siapakah Zulkarnain?
Adakah mereka orang yang sama?

Saksikanlah jawapannya dalam...
Alexander Bukan Zulkarnain."

Translation:

"... Who is Alexander The Great?
And who is Zulkarnain?
Were they the same person?

Watch the answer unfold in...
Alexander Is Not Zulkarnain."

Kinda defeats the whole purpose of watching the programme.

I listen to Capitol FM

I've been listening to Capitol FM on 88.9 quite often now. I've never really enjoyed Hitz FM cuz they always play the same tunes and it just gets so mundane. Thank God for CD players. Even worse than the track repetition, actually, is that the DJs on Hitz are pretty mindless. They sound so upbeat and enthusiastic ranting along, but they're actually not saying anything at all.

The DJs on Capitol FM aren't more intelligent or wittier, but they (most of them, anyway) just say what they need to say in a normal tone of voice. They don't shout at you or try to appear hip if they're not. I mean, I do get that the DJs on Hitz have to cater to the young audience and have to be hip, but if they need to talk a lot more than other DJs, at least FIND something to talk about! Do some research, come up with some quizzes... just do something that isn't mindless, enthusiastic yelling!

I also like the variety of music they play on Capitol. It's not a mix of eras like Mix FM (which is another mundane station), but a mix of genres and I love that. It reminds me that the world is full of things, other than RnB, hip hop, rap and other black music.

Which is worse - karaoke 'Killing Me Softly' or karaoke rap?

I know, I know... it's been a long time.

But no one's left any comments in a while, and if you guys can't even write a one-liner, don't give me an earful for not writing several paragraphs! :P

I seriously need to go shopping for clothes. I dunno what happens to all the new clothes I buy, cuz every time I open my wardrobe, only the old ones are staring back at me. How very strange!

Gah... I've nothing interesting to write. Be happy with these few lines for now, homies.

Welcome to 2009

Does 2009 feel any different to yesterday?

For me, I think... in a way, yes, because it sorta feels like I can make a fresh start and forget whatever happened last year, last month, or yesterday. And no, because I still have the same thoughts, same feelings and am in the same situation I was yesterday. Yet... I don't have to be in the same situation because it's a new year and it's the perfect time to forget things you want to forget and move on.

Enough 'philosophising' about old and new years. You really wanna know how I made the transition from 2008 to 2009, don't you? :)

As I mentioned yesterday, I went to Phuture (one of the rooms at newly-renovated Zouk, in case it flew past anyone). Quebec Jo had told me that her friend had a table there so we could join them. Apparently she only knew that one guy, so I figured we'd be in the same boat, since I only knew her. And it's always fun to meet new people.

But when she told me she'd met this person at Zlynn's party, little warning bells started to ring in my head. I thought, omg do I also know this person? And could it be the person I'm thinking of?

Alas, yes, when over dinner I finally asked her for his name and she told me, I couldn't help swallowing my words and stuttering for a while when she asked me if I knew him and what I thought of him.

This guy, several months ago, was - as I now realise - the first of a few who would start eroding my positive and trusting attitude towards the opposite sex. Perhaps it's just the male/female differences of thinking. When I meet a guy who seems interested in me, I give him a chance if he seems decent. If it doesn't work out on my side or his, I still don't mind being friends. It seems that it's different for guys though. Once they've decided you're not who they're looking for, or not gonna give them what they want (or already gotten what they want from you), they'll just drop out of the scene.

Okay perhaps I'm generalising, and only guys not worth my time are like that. But it's too bad that I have to give them my time and energy first in order to find that out.

So anyway, this guy hadn't been nice to me, and I got over it. I did try to make things work for us as friends, but he made it clear that he didn't have that in mind, so I moved on.

Imagine me trying to answer Quebec Jo then, when she asked what I thought of him! But whatever came out of my mouth (eventually), she did agree with. So I'm not just imagining these things, and it hadn't happened to only me! What a relief. Although she did get an invitation from him for New Year's so she fared slightly better than I did :)

I told her what had happened between us and she agreed that the situation would be a little weird, but she assured me that I had nothing to feel weird about. I was worried that this guy would think that I had invited myself to his do! Which was obviously NOT the case.

But I couldn't help smiling strangely to myself at the way things work out. This person who started my erosion of faith was with me to say goodbye to 2008...! I should probably take it as a sign to forget the others.

Other than weird goings-on in my head about the situation last night, the night itself went well. We had a table in the VIP area, overlooking the floor below. Great spot for crowd-watching! I also met a few nice girls, and caught up with some other people I knew from before (who're much nicer people than Mr Erosion).

I also managed to get myself drenched in champagne at midnight. Okay, it was Moët so I couldn't have been doused in more prestigious champagne... except maybe Mumm... or Dom Perignon... or Perrier Jouet Cuvee Belle Epoque... okay, I digress. Now that I think back, it's rather silly to run away from the person who's about to pop a champagne bottle. He's obviously going to pop it away from him, and he will probably also have that extra New Year oomph in him to create more pressure for spraying further. I must remember that little pearl of wisdom for the next New Year celebration.