the master of ceremony..sophia

the stage

the entrance decor of the lantern festival in TIS

heeeeebat! great recipes frm missy v who was, well, not present during the cooking for the feast. serina and ad cooked up the storm!

rabun

mooncake festival eve @ home

so far..

phuhhh... the sofa finally arrives. we had it customed-made in olive green. i was pretty anxious for the past weeks after we had placed an order cos we really do not know how it would turn out. fyi, they do not have a showroom piece. so, i must admit i am very brave to order a design that is based entirely from a catalogue.

my bravity didnt exactly pay off when the sofa was literally unwrapped from the corrugated boxes, plastic and cling wraps. it turned out to be higher than expected and the throw/loose cushions are missing. i was, of cos, astonished and appalled both at the same time but i din make a big fuss out of the poor delivery men. i let them go and said i will deal with the office people. till monday i will know... more waiting.

tho' i don quite find the sofa va va voom, i realised i could actually adorn it with lotsa stuff such as colorful throws i.e. silk, cotton, pashmina (did i spell that correctly?) and of cos throw cushions in assorted sizes. and what is missing will be replaced with more interesting colour combinations and/or material. i still like the idea of having a shaggy rug...now where do i store the other two lazy chairs, contributed by our dear frens and husband and wife to be, Caroline and Reuby.

on a diff. note, i had been, of cos, bz over the past weeks. not bz at work but bz outside of work. i took up a freelance job to decorate a school for the Mooncake Festival. My fren's mother looked me up and gave me the job. I was really involved with 30% of the entire event. It was friggin stressful and tiring but it is all worth it when you received good feedback. AND, i learned a great deal. I do not mind doing more of such events if there are opportunities.

moving on/up

it has been a pretty busy week cos i had jus moved into a new place in kelana jaya. not an easy feat but i managed to do it... i mean, making the decision and taking the big leap to move out from my family house/s - first was ma n pa, then, sis and now, all on my own.

well, not entirely on my own per se. i moved in to this new place with a good fren of mine, adrian. we also rented out the other room to a very close fren of ours. her/his identity should remain undisclosed. anyways, when i first told ma about moving out from sis place, she didnt take it too well. she was frantic ... fanatic, actually. she went on lecturing me about getting married first and that it is not a good idea to move out cos you can become 'bad'. i was like, "jeez, ma. first of all, i wasnt even talking abt getting married. the subject here is about me moving out and as a courtesy, i feel that i should inform you and not really needing your consent. Second of all, at such ripe age, you actually think i could turn into a criminal? shucks!" she didnt heed. she went on bombarding me about moving out and not getting married which i should and moving out will make me a bad person. shocking, i knw; nonetheless, she toned down much later and actually listened. i got my so called 'green light' eventho i am 28 yo, can u believe that? no matter how old you are, i am still the 'baby' in the family. my sis was a little less dramatic but she offers me to move back if i decided to - that is, when everything didnt work out living outside. i shall prove everyone wrong.

anyhow, all was well. we moved in to this new place on the 27th of august but had it painted red, literally ;) the sunday before. it was very tiring but i must extend a BIG thank you to Missy V (see 5 pics below) for her great help. Thank you so very much and of cos, Adrian for being so patient. the place looks pretty messy still cos we lack storage spaces such as chest of drawers, cabinets, consoles etc. we need furniture and we're targeting to organise a housewarming party sometime early next mth. crossing my fingers that everything goes well by that time. we really hope to impress our guests with whatever furniture we could find/dig in town. trust me, that is not easy at all! Klang Valley lacks 2nd hand furniture shops. it also lacks funky, trendy furniture shop. even if there are, they usually over priced their goodies. sigh...

meantime, i've posted some pics of my room which ive stayed in (with my sis family) for almost 3 years. sad to move on but never regret a single bit.

boxed up

trainspotting...travelling without moving

tags, mags... zapped

naked bed, heavy sack

boxed up belongings

emptied corner

char chan teng in petaling st

siao lee ying enjoyin d delicious dim sum

petaling street @ 8am

the pussycat dolls

i simply love their first single, 'Don cha'. So darn catchy and sexy...

'don cha wish ur gf is hot like me/ don cha wish ur gf is freak like me / don cha...'

so hot! anyways, here are some songs that i really like: -

• 'you're beautiful' - james blunt
• 'wake me up when sept ends' - green day
• 'behind the hazel eyes' - kelly clarkson
• 'lose control' - missy elliot feat. busta rhymes
• 'outta control' - 50 cents feat. mobb deep
• 'perfect' - alanis morrissette (acoustic version)
• 'beverly hills' - weezer
• 'tears & rain' - james blunt

and i love fly fm. so cool cos no commercials!

you're beautiful

My life is brilliant.
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Fucking high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.
You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

james blunt

ps: i love this song so much so that i could play it till i got sick of it and then play it all over again and get sicker

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

caught the show last wknd with my pal, adrian, and it was an engaging, entertaining and sweet movie! i especially enjoyed watchin' johnny depp playing willy wonka, the owner of the chocolate factory. his potrayal of the character was flawless and if he doesnt deserves a nod at the oscar next yr, he's got us givin' him a standing ovation for his wonderful performance. and not to forget tim burton's direction that's dark, yet it manages to charm the audience with the multi-faceted characters. but the quirky and darn corny characters, such as the oomhpa lam pa and their dance sequences (very bollywoodish) sorta made u go like, 'wat the hell?' then again it is really some of the movie's special moments.

of bluntness and ... sadness

ive recently discovered james blunt. i am not sure he hails frm which part of the world but i do hv a hunch that it's UK; tho' i am darn lazy to google him. i esp love the track, 'tears and rain'. it's full of emotions and his powerful vocal delivers the song with so much impact so much so that you will be sad listening to it.

why do ppl enjoy being sad? hmm... but, sometimes, i do wish i am. ha! funny isnt it?

anyways, on a happier subject, it has been a darn bz month and an exciting one, too. i cant say what it is now cos i do not want to jinx it and also that ppl who read this mite jinx it for me, yaknw? yeah, u could say i am a little ... cautious these days abt whom to trust and wat to say. even to closest of frens.

and of lately, i bumped into some pretty interesting websites. personal website of ppl i knw but not close. not even acquainted. i admire their creativity in designing and maintaining it (their websites) and also the honesty they shared to the world out there. i wish i could do that .. but i simply do not hv the time.


peace out!

Miserably yours,

i think it makes me sick to think that there are actually ppl who spread unhappy vibes to others, even to their closed ones, just so they will be as miserable and unhappy as they are. and then they are the type of ppl who think u shud not be excelling in life or be happy simply because they have a miserable and depressing life. fyi, they are unwell and they will just make ur life miserable, two-folds.

did i try to understand them? u bet.

at the end of the day, they just dont see it. and they want more of you. just like the haze in KL now, they're "clouded and polluted". stay far away.

on a happier note, the wong family has got a new addition in their family tree! ive got a new baby nephew! havent got the time to see him, yet; think i will do it this sunday.

so much for my happy ending

it has been a while since the last time i checked and updated my blog. and to my surprise, i received a comment to my prev post, "Freeloader". it was by an anonymous person and it was short and poignant. he/she said that i shud not defend if i am not a freeloader. right. i take that with positive stride. i did reply to that comment stating that i am not interested in defending myself. in fact, i was merely expressing my feelings about what had taken place and what followed as remarks that was shot at me, point blank. it was hurtful remarks coming out from a fren that you actually think is ur close fren. but i guess since day one, it never was and it just got worse. the ego side of me said, "what the hell! fuck it, man!"

but the softer side of me like to think that ppl say things, sometimes, without thinking. and if i tried to be less sensitive about their remark/s, it is probably harmless. it has been weeks and months already and i had happily moved on. i'd like to put that behind me and start to trust ppl again albeit with extreme caution. it is so hard to be able to trust someone ever again after what had happened between my ex and a certain ex-fren that i'd rather wished he'd disappear frm my life - completely. naive, yes, i knw. but he oughtta get a life. truly.

back to this "freeloader" issue. things hv changed so much over the period frm then till now i no longer feel the need to defend myself cos just so you knw, ms/mr anonymous, i do not get anything from it (by defending myself). did i make you think i am really not a freeloader from my article? am i trying to clear my guilty conscience? and does the world needs to know that i am a petty person for bringing that up? no, no, no and no.

at the end of the day, i live, i learn. i am who i am and i never pretend to be complicated or wish that my frens think i am (complicated).

on a happier note, i think a lot of good things are coming my way. i just have to ensure that i am happy and continue to live life to the fullest.

the blonde ambition......or at least until she decided to dye her hair black. but i can bet my fortune with you that she'd rather be blonde. anyways, that isn't the point, really; it is more about her latest single and that sell-out mtv which i had just seen - 'This Boots are made for Walking' (What the hell?)

i saw the mtv with the speakers turned off cos i can't stand her whiny voice. i watched it cos it was touted as the "hottest" mtv. hmm... that i could not attest cos it was really a very johnny-come-lately or in this case, jessica-come-lately? the fake tan, her oh-so-hot body (fab abs i must say), the dirrrty, sleazy get-up which it has been done so many times i.e. britney in 'im a slave for you', janet in 'if' and christina in, you guess right, 'dirrrty'. and i cant help but to think that the cowboy dance scene was really straight out frm madonna's 'don't tell me'. oh and did i mention also that she looks like shakira?

so jessica, what's new? ur red boots? did steven tyler hand it over to ya?

music, travel, food, eat, sleep, gym, music, eat, drink, be merry, music

sixteen things i dig lately: -

1. fiona apple's 'The First Taste'
2. lychee & pessimon (no, not in juice form but fresh ones)
3. olive green & peach
4. tan, as in tan body :D
5. carrot cake frm dome
6. roti canai & teh tarik for breakie
7. adrian
8. jamiroquai's 'Dynamite' album
9. beaumonde's gift wrapper & greeting cards - fabric design
10. bagel @ bagel station in avenue K (finally!)
11. adidas original boutique in klcc (finally!)
12. my digital camera!
13. anything from mac
14. "A Very Long Engagement"
15. Suzuki Swift
16. fresh flowers

"doughnuts"

captain romeo

hustlers

char "siaw" pao

nap time

frm the top

beautiful morning

quiet evening

"lower upper" ...chillin' out at the jetty

''illegals" ... @ merang jetty

'nasi pelbagai' ...breakie @ KT

the sun, the sea & the beach!

18 more hrs before i am skinny dippin' by the beach side of lang tengah island off terengganu - the east of malaysia. i am not sure what to expect but a lot of fun ... cant fawking wait!

woo hoo!!!

"char chan teng"

bling bling

illumination

freeloader

what exactly is the definition of a freeloader? someone who takes advantage of other ppl's wealth and/or generosity? Or someone who clear the buffet table cos they think they paid a relatively high price for a buffet lunch (see, the idea of buffet is like a "free" food galore concept, no?).

well, i was called a freeloader the other nite by a ... guess what? a pretty close fren. i was upset. very upset... i tried not to show it cos in the first place, my actions in the not very far past had led her or anyone else to call me a freeloader. in other words, i deserved to be called as one.

granted. however, the next day, i still couldnt get over it. i told a fren. she said it was not nice of her to say such a thing to you. she's known me for quite a long time - coming to ten years soon; yet, she could say such a thing to you. it just goes to show how much she knows about you (me).

i think it is funny that when a human being does less of what is deemed wrong, they're a better person. she hung out at this place which i was given the right to babysit lesser than i did didnt make her less a freeloader, does it? how about doing a your homework first before you really called me that, my dear? kinda pissed me off there... sigh. another fren said, isnt it better that she said it in front of you than behind of you? yes and no. God knws what else these ppl talk behind your back, right?

i personally feel that the trust and the camaraderie of this group of frens that i usually hung out with is slowly and gradually diminishing. ppl, naturally, like to finger point and many a time, i was the "victim" for breaking the "dynamic of the grp". funny no one come to me and thank me personally for including them in plans such as movies, drinking sessions, partying, makan-makan, shopping etc. not that everytime i plan, i'd like to do that. no. i did it cos i want to, period.

i guess at the end of the day, ppl are very selfish. and if they are insecure, they're unable to see the bigger picture. or maybe i'm being over-sensitive. but i do think that my life goes on. if they cant appreciate my generosity, and my sincerity and that they need special attention, then, i'm sorry. no one gets special attention except those that deserved it.

lookin in frm the outside...
i've recently discovered the wonderful iPhoto in the latest kick-ass mac operating sys, Tiger. While fondling it, it struck me that i could do a picture within a picture and voila! sorry ad, i have to use this cos i think it's darn cool ;)

da nerd-next-door

i've recently got myself a pair of new glasses cos my old glasses is currently being "held up". why held up, one mite ask? long story, i'd rather not go there.

anyways, this is my first time wearing a thick-rimmed, dark frame glasses. The type that many ppl coined it as 'designer glasses'. Designer not in terms of brand but designer as in profession i.e. graphic designer, interior designer ... u get my drift.

boss spotted me wearing my new glasses two days ago and she was like, "Whoa, Ethan! That's very nice! You should wear glasses." Lookin at my glasses close-up now, she went on to say that i do look good without glasses BUT i look more like a designer with one. Ooo kay. my partner said i look sexy. hmm... so far so good until the kitchen staff said i look old. Well, EVERYBODY suddenly seems to be interested to give comments. Hahaha... it is interesting to get mix reviews.

Studious, 'designer look', sexy, matured, old... it's all good. I like my new look as of now cos i feel like the nerd-next-door

8-)

i am not gonna review the movie. just want to say that i truly enjoyed the latest batman flick directed by christopher nolan (one of my fav directors). i sat thru 2 hrs and 15mins of the show albeit tired from the early morning drive to PD & 2 back-to-back classes at the gym. everything was worth it cos we managed to get the tics at the very last minute. gotta thank the dude behind the counter who gave us the tics and the damn good seat at tgv one utama.
go watch it. it didnt make a fool outta batman and yes, christian bale looks every bit the part as batman and as bruce wayne (kinda made george clooney like the "joker" for his parts :p). so does michaiel caine as alfred. in fact, every God damn actors in the movie was brilliant.

canto-licky-pop

last sat was a taxing weekend cos i had to drive down to Port Dickson to supervise a delivery of 60pcs dining chairs to Avillion Hotel. Thru out the drive, i was accompanied mostly by leo ku and jacky cheung. some of u might go, 'whuuuu???'

hahaha... recently, im quite fond of listening to cantonese/mandarin songs. it's been a while since when i was a teen back in the 90s which i listened a lot to sandy lam, the 4 heavenly kings etc... aw c'mon, cut me some slack. we ALL have been there and done that, havent we? like, listenin and singing to new kids on the block or debbie gibson or even tommy page! man, im cringing now alrite. tommy page...who am i kiddin'

ok back to canto-pop. during the 90s, it was all about canto pop, that is, if ur a chinese, no? the ubiquitous (four) heavenly kings, and the rise of the quaintessential and my all time fav chinese female singer, faye wong. many of whom were enthralled by her melodic and mystical voice and still am to certain some. she might not possess the most powerful vocal in the likes of ah mei or sally yeh or the legendary anita, but she's got her own style and is adamant to stick to it. fck conventionality. i recently read an article on a local daily that she is contemplating to quit the entertainment biz and this writer, whom is a die-hard fan, begged her not to. and i hope she will not (any chance she is reading this?hmm...)

and if ur still interested to find out who is leo ku, his canto name is, ku kui kei, he is THE artist to look out for in canto-pop. great talent - a singer, a writer and a comic artist - whom alan tam named him as one of the 'new' 4 heavenly kings recently (i dont beg to differ, mr tam). i got really hooked to his 'keng kor kam kok' (translated, "greatest hits") medley after a fren sorta "sang" it in a karaoke not too long ago. it's a collection of old cantonese and mandarin songs from as early as the 80s to current top hits. the kinda music u listen to during long drive outstation ;)

never say never

it was quite a hectic and stressful day yesterday
it was like a going to the beach all prepared to have fun but it rained, instead;
the rain brought a lot of gloominess and chaos

the day began rather peacefully with lotsa of work in the office and appointments later in the noon
somewhere between appointments, i received a call frm a fren that somethin' urgent needs to be sorted out
i didnt think much about the "urgent matter" cos it was simply 'manageable' as i was chattin with her over the net
until everythin' turned bad to worse...
like an episode of the Bold & the Beautiful
absolutely dramatic and unnecessary
however trivial i think it was,
some ppl might beg to differ
...and it did.

nonetheless, everythin' was sorted out
sighs were heard frm both parties, happy and sad, angry and frustrated
it was a good lesson learnt to everyone's involved
...that never take anything for granted

as the downpour slowly turned to drizzle,
i discovered rainbow when i looked up

houseandco.com.my

Some might think I am over-promoting this website, http://www.houseandco.com.my, which incidentally, is where I work; but don't get me wrong. Fact is, I am quite proud of the "final-product" and I absolutely would like to share it with a lot more people. It took me a long time to come out with the designs (fyi, this is the 2nd "issue") and a lot more time to capture the right images and settings. Of cos, I've to thank my boss, Pauline for the assistance and some of the shots that she had taken. There are plenty of room for improvement in terms of "browsability". Will look into that...meantime, do drop by for a cuppa teh tarik :)

taking baby steps in blogging and digital photography. bear with me ;)

from l-r: adrian, serina, karen, johnny, wan lee, jasmine & vivian siaw (missing: juwene, janice & ethan)

some changed, some chatted, and the hyperactive ones posed

Caving: Gua Tempurung

I think it is fun to sometimes be in touch with mother nature.

I went caving last Sunday with a bunch of my friends in Gua Tempurung, Perak - approx. 2hrs drive from Kuala Lumpur. At the beginning of the excursion, we had to climb about 500 over steps and at each stop the guide will show us the formation of stalamite and stalatite (I hope I got that right), that he interestingly and rather creatively pointed out to us some of the stones formation which resembles animals such as tiger, elephant, anteater to "Dei Chi Gong" (Chinese Taioist God) and a woman's leg!

A couple of my frens were clearly bored incl. myself cos we were really there for some "actions" which began as soon as the lights were out, literally. Thankfully, we were all equipped with a torch light. A lot of walkin' thru narrow paths and unexpectedly, there were no roaches or many creepy crawlies in sight. I suppose it being a tourist spot, many of these creepy crawlies had "moved" out to somewhere less intervention from the crazy bunch, that's us, the human. The walking, however, turned out to be quite dull at times cos like I said, we were REALLY there for “actions”! The suspense came when we had to crawl on small river streams (it’s not mucky or grimy) a la Rambo or GI Jane. I could see amidst the faint light from our torch lights that some of the gals were quiet wary of crawling tho’ there were informed by the guide prior to entering the cave.

Vivien Siaw was, however, the eager-beaver amongst the bunch and was absolutely thrilled to do it than "just climbing steps". She was also the first to volunteer to get down into a “hole” about the size of a man-hole (abt 1.5ft x 1ft) which is part of the route leading to the exit. Before climbing down, I promptly reminded her of the mafia penguins from Madagascar, the animation flick recently shown on the big screen, and how one of them “hypnotized” the zebra that he didn’t see them plotting to escape the Central Park Zoo (fyi, it was super hilarious, the penguins). This, in turn, inspired her to re-enact the scene which she did with much gusto and absolutely cheered many of us whom were visibly uneasy of the descend.

We exited the cave at abt 1.30pm with a lot of sighs (of relief) and many lookin' like crap - imagine jail convicts who escaped and went thru drains and rivers. Haha... We were all starved but managed to find decent food in nearby Ipoh town (tho the service of the restaurant was pretty bad- imagine shouting and cursing waitresses/waiters; Ong Kee Chicken rice - be warned).

It was overall, a great weekend, rather than my usual Sundays which I'd spend in shopping malls sipping coffee. Oh btw, if you are that sort that like to sip coffee in a trendy cafe in town or shoppin' with friends in upmarket shoppin' malls or have buffet lunch in 5-star hotel on a lazy sunday, then, this might just not be ur cuppa tea - although, I must confess I sometimes indulge all the above...C'mon, I'm born and raised in Klang Valley! Anywaysss, I am lookin' fwd for another similar excursion. In fact, it is already in the planning...until then, I'm outta here.