2007 in Retrospect … Closure.

I was looking back at all my posts from January until today and I am quite impressed with the amount of articles I've posted and pictures I've shot. I have to take this opportunity to thank you all for keep coming back. I can't promise much if I could keep up next year but as for now, I know I will not be stopping blogging so soon. Perhaps, there will be a big change coming your way sometime mid-year or earlier.

Few posts before this (part I), I was reminiscing all that had taken place on Jan and Feb of 2007. I have another 10 more months to reminisce and all that has to be done within the next 3 days before the year 2008 embraces us with an Earthy Rat – ok, technically, that's not true until CNY and yes, there are actually another 5 more days to 2008 but I won't have the time to blog when after the 29^th… So. No monthly reminiscing.

On the hindsight, I have always wanted and salivated for a Nikon DSLR (I'm not going over the "Why Nikon not Canon" and the whole literature on which is better) way back in 2006 and most recently, in April 07. I didn't have to wait too long (thankfully) and acquired it in June 07. The secret is, "You have to believe" was what I have been told. Believe I did and worked hard I did, too. And I must say that was one of the happiest moments of 2007. The other is having to complete the ID for a cafe from ID work to consultation to graphic designs and even assisting them in teaching the staff on customer service (with ad assistance of cos :) ). Also recently did up a salon.... Not bad for a year, really.

Turning 30 this year was another turning point for me. First, there was the denial, then anger then depression … Ok, ok, nothing that serious. It was really more psychological than it is an age thing. I supposed I've learned to accept it and embrace it. I've to say, I am proud to be 30 and yes, the next couple of years will be a kick-ass-year for me. I am super excited.

New Year resolutions, I haven't exactly thought much of it. Maybe, instead of terming it as Resolutions, I'll call it Goals. Before setting my goals, I have a few closures for the year of 2007: -

1. I am not switching gym – I still enjoy working out at Fitness First. Seriously.
   
2. I am not buying Viewty because I still fancy the "Minority Report" inspired iPhone. Yes, I eat my own words.
   
3. I am not giving up Lomography. Watch out.
   
4. I am not giving up my dreams
   
5. I am not changing my car contrary to popular "beliefs"
   
6. I am not changing my religion
   
7. I am not going to tolerate lies
   
8. I am not going to tolerate superficial divas
   
9. I am not slacking
   
10. I am not obese :)
    
    

Here is a presentation in pictures (some pics are missing from here) …

Meantime, wishing everyone a Fantastic 2008! Keep rocking...

Joyous Christmas

Yearly Christmas party that almost didn't get to go. The girls kept the spirit going and had organized the party well much thanks to Janice and family. Great food, great host and most of all, she made it work.

Some pictures from last night.


Gift exchanged put a lot of smiles on everyone faces.


Group photo shot by Missy V


Jasmine, Janice (host) & missy V


"Hello, gorgeous! Woof" Elvis & missy V

That STUPID NINJA GAME. Me, Eve & Serina doing her version of the "Crane"


Janice, Jamie & Nick

We're pretty pleased with our gifts. Esp moi


Mini sausages. Dont ask.

Jump attempt #108!

"It's me and Elvis again!"


Juwene, me and Jasmine more ...

Xmas Eve's eve also Mom's Bday

My nieces & nephews who drove all of us nuts that night. The pics tell a thousand words.

Wishin' all my readers and friends a joyous Christmast!

xoxo

its getting itchy...

i think i may switch my blog to another webblog. i'm bored using blogspot although i still fancy much my blog address. how? its an itch. me and my fickle mind and itchy bum.

maybe it is cos im attracted to the other webblog's themes. blogger's themes are oh-so-borring. how? does anyone know if i parked my blog at the new webblog, can i still retain my blogspot address?

or, or i have an alternative photoblog? hmm...

damn itchy.

Chi-Wa-Wa

So I was playing catching up with my niece and nephews some one week back. We were discussing the boys trip to Hokaido – yes, HOKAIDO as in JAPAN! Jealous much but yeah *shrugs* - and what gifts they have to get me upon returning. If you remember correctly, they are 10yo and 7yo respectively.

Me: "Boys, I heard you guys are going to Hokaido, huh? Do you know where it is?"

Patrick the oldest one replied, "Of cos! It's JAPAN, dude!"

I rolled my eyes and said, "O-K, Mr. Smarty Pants. Are you looking forward to it, then?"

Pat: "No lah. I don't know what's there. Last time we went to Tokyo, it was bo-ring. So much walking to do." (Tour, that's why)

The youngest boy, Shawn chipped in, "YEAhh. So boring."

{Tokyo? Boring? I think adrienz will keel over and die now. Sorry adrienz J}

Me: "Right. But unlike you two, many of us do not get to travel as much they get to, you know. You should feel blessed."

Silent ensued. I guess they do not know what to say until I broke the silence, "Anyway, so what are you boys getting me from HO-KA-I-DO!"

Pat whimpered, "Urghh… I don't know. Fish?"

Me: "Ha, ha! Ok I want Hello Kitty."

Shawn laughed and said, "You like HELLO KITTY?" But it's for girls!"

Hahaha… we all laughed.

Me: "Ok, maybe a Chihuahua. "

"CHIHUAHUA?" Pat looked at me puzzled and wrinkled up his nose.

"Yeah, what is chi-wa-wa?" asked Shawn.

"Oh I know! It's some monkey flower. Monkey monster flower!" Pat said eagerly.

"No, no! It's chicken flower flower!" chipped in the unusually quiet niece, Janice.

I couldn't help but laughed out loud. Pat and Shawn were lost.

"I think she meant CHI being the chicken and HUA-HUA being the FLOWER in Mandarin."

The boys burst out laughing till tears came out. As for me, I was trying to imagine a Chicken with flowers all over.

Almost A Bad Day

It doesn't count, I know. But it was bad enough to stress me out for the 4 hours or so when my precious wallet of 4 years was missing.

It all started right after gym and lunch at a local fav. chinese restaurant in Bangsar - favorite because I like the pan mee stall which I patronised much back when I was still with my previous company. After finishing my delicious pan mee, I very quickly left the place to start my journey to Putrajaya to see a client. My missing wallet, of cos, went unnoticed until I was at the first toll plaza.

That was when I started to panic. It was embarassing enough that I took FOREVER to pay RM1.60. I searched for a good 5 minutes - alas, it was not in the car. What was perculiar was the cars behind me were pretty patient. Malaysian drivers, I tell you. Anyways, I had to parked up my car and continue to search - this time, for money! Thank God for loose change, it saved the embarassment and of cos, my life. I was so demotivated to proceed after discovering my missing wallet cos EVERYTHING was in my wallet it is like missing a part of me. Worst fear is that I had to go thru license and ID card applications when in less than two weeks I will be traveling. But, I told myself I had to get it done even though my gas was running low. All THAT had to happened when I lost my wallet with my credit cards and money in it.

After meeting the client, I asked if they could borrow some money to me.

Ok, ok, seriously, I was kidding. I took chances and continued my journey back to KL half of the time I prayed that my fuel would last me till when I see Ad. Seeing Ad was plan B. Had to scrap plan A when the noon traffic in KL was chock-a-block - that didn't help but further aggravated me, of cos.

Of cos, seeing Ad was a relieved and having him saving me was inexplicable - I will save the mushy stuff :) When I returned to the chinese shop, I walked right straight to the counter next to where the bar is. I asked if they've seen a wallet and the lady boss checked for authenticity and boy, I was so relieved to see it. You have no idea. I had to thank the other lady who've picked it up for me and when I did that, I felt like a boy who've done something bad and profusely apologising for my mistake. Daft.

This consequently will teach me a lesson or two - not to be so forgetful and believe to always do good cos it will come back to you.

AIDS : Still Positive?

I had just watched the latest episode of Project Runway S#4 - spoiler ahead. Jack, the HIV+ contestant for 17 years had to quit because he had a nasty infection on his upper lips. He was unwilling to quit cos he came a long way but doctor advised he needed a more serious treatment for the infection.

Left with not much option, he quit, completely devastated. The departure was very emotional especially to all the other designers. Inadvertently, it affected the morale of the designers at the set. Of cos, I was sad to see him leave because you could tell he really wants it, badly. Besides, he is also one of the better designers.

Just how many of us are aware that 1st of December is World AIDS Day? How many articles or events were organised on 1st December 2007? A writer from The Star pointed out that our country had completely missed the date, hence, the lack of articles, events, were contributed to that day.

Today, an article on The Star newspaper caught my attention. Two very young youths who in addition to participating in the fun of the Starwalk over the weekend in Penang, they walked the walk carrying placards around their neck that say, "I am HIV positive. Walk with us” and “My kawan (friend) with HIV/AIDS is still my kawan”, to grab the other walkers’ attention."

It was a very clever move to raise HIV/AIDS awareness at a much publicised event and more so that it is carried out by two very healthy teenagers who do not have any agenda but to hope that the public and the government will pay more attention AIDS/HIV+ infected people including kids.

Walk for AIDS awareness

PENANG: Starwalk means different things to different people. To a couple of teenagers, it is a platform to raise HIV/AIDS awareness.

Youth Advisory Centre (YAC) president Oh Chin Eng, 19, and his Starwalk partner Nur Faizah J. Jayakumar, 17, were just like any other fun-loving teenagers, except they were wearing placards bearing HIV/AIDS messages throughout the walk.

Although they do not have the virus, they were willing to carry messages like “I am HIV positive. Walk with us” and “My kawan (friend) with HIV/AIDS is still my kawan”, to grab the other walkers’ attention.

Oh said the purpose of their walk was to stop discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS and to raise public awareness on the disease.

“It is a very common illness but many are still ignorant about it and respond negatively towards people living with the disease.

“We came across a man who said that as long as people did not come into contact with those with HIV/AIDS, they would be fine.

“But there were some young people supportive of us and offered us advice. They thought we had HIV/AIDS, which we do not,” he said.

He said they had been hoping that people would be drawn to their cause and join them in the walk, but were disappointed that the older generation did not respond positively.

.........

I truly applaud the two youth for their courage and selfless attitude.

Happy Ending (Part 3)

8. Macy Gray's Finally Made Me Happy. This song deserves more spinning on the radio.




9. One Republic's Apologize feat. Timbaland. Great collabo. Great Song. Deserves a Grammy nom.




10. Mary J Blige's Just Fine. No more drama, that's just fine :)




11. Amy Winehouse's Tears Dry On Their Own. I like this a lot more than Rehab to' Rehab is still a great song that I hope she wins at least a Grammy next year.




12. Mark Ronson's Valerie. feat. Amy Winehouse. I love this song. I love, I love, I love.




13. Feist's 1,2,3,4. Nice. Very nice.



14. Lily Allen's Littlest Things. Did not appreciate her song much intially but I've grown to like her better.





15. & 16. Robyn's Konichiwa's Bitches & Handle Me. She returned looking slightly more matured and made pop darker and sometimes disturbing. Love all them videos. Just look at Konichiwa Bitches.






17. & 18. Robin Thicke's Lost Without You & Can You Believe. Smoooooooth operator.






2 more to go...

2007 In Retrospect (I)

The year is coming to an end. Hurray? Ad asked me what have I achieved the past 11 months or so few nights before and I turned to him and said, "I think I want to sleep now than thinking of what I have achieved in 2007". So, I slept it off. But not for long, of course, which in turn, made me blog this.

I read with much admiration the interviewed NST did with Dato' Tony Fernandez of Air Asia fame yesterday. Who is Dato' Tony Fernandez? You have got to be kidding me. Anyways, I admire him for having dreams and I admire him for his tenacity and his strong will to fight. The year ended with a big bang with Air Asia winning the coveted "Airline of The Year Award" by CAPA. The other person that I've recently idolized is Tan Sri Gnanalingam who was not born with a Silver Spoon but worked very hard to be where he is today. Since the winning he received from Malay Mail crossword puzzle, there was no turning back for him.

To really sum it all, I think 2007 has been a very busy year for me. Looking back 2007 in retrospect…

JANUARY

We celebrated the new year at the Curve cos we were opened for business at the weekend market. We, then, headed back home and feasted on a lot of FOOD! Glorious food, I still remember. It was pretty fun. The following day, we drove to Kuala Selangor for more food! This time, it was seafood. This year, well, we will be celebrating 2008 with a big bang *grin*


Yes, EAT ME!


"We are FABULOUS!"

Jennifer Hudson won Best Supporting Actress for her singing role in Dreamgirls at the Oscar and Golden Globe. We've gotten an aquarium and started "PROJECT AQUARIUM". Of cos, ALL the fish had RIP, and have recently acquired a few new ones – don't ask me how they die they just did. Business at the ABC weekend bazaar was flourishing and made a few friends. To reminisce, I still like the "old" ABC market much cos I guess that was where we started it all.

A girl in Kelantan (or is it Terrengganu?) claimed that gem stones grew from her toe! I wonder what happened to her now. Probably wearing them gemstones on her ears or something. Eew.

FEBRUARY

Bangkok, here we come! With a few friends, we shopped till we dropped. It was a very fun trip but I'm sure the upcoming one will be a blast J



The month where TV shows from US of A took off, especially the sensational "Heroes" and the uproariously funny, "Ugly Betty". Well, we started loving them much then.

Muse bags new range took off and we had some CNY décor on our display. The sales was the best ever. Hmm that got me thinking. Japan discovered two species of pre-historic sharks, known as Goblin shark and Frill shark. Damn scary looking.

America Idol fever… my predictions didn't come through but I am truly happy for Ms. Jordin Sparks and her "Tattoo".

We went to Malacca for a day trip during CNY holiday and took some pretty funky pictures.

To be continued…

Viewtilicious

I'd said that I will wait for Sony Ericsson's W960i some weeks back and guess what? The wait is apparently over. I have just received an email from SE that the phone has arrived. When I called up the nearest SE shop in town, the girl replied:

"Notchet come out".

"When will it be released then?"

"I also dunno. But Mister, waitaminute."

Some 1 minute later, she came back to the phone and said, "Next year maybe."

NEXT YEAR? But I've got an email from Sony Ericsson telling me it has been released? Ah, forget it. I am not arguing with her. It's pointless. I will find out soon, I suppose.

I've sidetracked my attention to other phones, as usual. That is just typically me, the kiasu consumer who likes to check out other options. The brand spanking new LG's U990 Viewty phone. VIEWTY, as in QWERTY? Duh. Its kinda like the Prada phone predecessor.







This baby is packed with 5MP camera, Xenon camera flash - those used on Canon digicam - and it shoots 120fps for video recording. These are some really obscene features that I dig besides the touch screen function and the supercool image browsing and video recording feature. Sure, iPhone is cool and all that but it hasn't reached out shore just yet and it has got the coveted BEST GADGET of the year on Times magazine recently. But, seriously, when is it arriving and if it does, will it be the same as the US version? By then, it has become obsolete ... 2MP? No Wifi or 3G?

The other telco honchos are quick in cashing in the cows, of course. Afterall, Asia is the biggest market for mobile phones. So, I guess LG released this black beauty and totally pique my curiosity - honestly, when someone mentioned an LG phone before Prada phone, I'd cringe. Now there is one problem. How much exactly is it retailing at? I must go to the nearest LG phone reseller, urm...

LG VIEWTY KU990
Uploaded by WORLDGSM

To be continued...

Happy Ending (Part 2)

Favourite 2007 Songs continued. Let the music play...

4. Rihanna's Please Don't Stop the Music. EXACTLY. Hot. She's definitely the reigning music diva of 2007.




5. Maroon 5's Won't Go Home without You ... Mmm. Me too, Adam Levine. Hehehe.




6. Maroon 5's Makes me Wonder, sorta cos I still haven't got sick of this song. Another gem.




7. Daughtry's Over You ... the-supposed-American-Idol. Whatever it is, he rocks.




To be continued ...

Art imitates Life

I had a bad day.

No, the day didn't start off having me breaking my bones in the morning. Nor, did I quarrel with Ad. In fact, the morning kicked off pretty fine with us having our breakfast at our regular place near home. It was nice cos we both appreciate moments like this.

In retrospect, it started with me having a strange pain in my abdomen. In the wee hours of the night causing me getting up to poop pop some gastric pills. That did help but not much cos the uncomfortable feeling carried on till morning. I shall spare you guys the erm, loo details :) I managed to make it to the office in one piece, nonetheless. The morning went off with me checking on emails, catching up with my staff and looking at what is coming up in the next couple of days. It was, in fact, a pretty peaceful day at work except...

Wait. I did walk quite a fair bit to the friggin' car park management office which is located in the basement - pretty scary considering I was carrying quite a bit of moolah with me to pay for the season car park. And, of cos, me wanting to save on alteration cost after having shopped at Zara. Hehe...

Still not too bad, right?

Yeah, so there was nothing seem out of the ordinary stood out until when I got to the Curve to gym. I fucking forgot my gym shoes and to make matter worse, I fucking could not withdraw any money from the ATM! WHY? I had exceeded the amount for the fucking day! (It was a new bank account and I havent got the time to amend the "configuration"). So with only a few bucks with me and no gym shoes, I went home rather distraught and angry with myself for being so foolish.

Fine. I thought I should order in McDonald's since that was easy and I called before I got home. The trip back home took longer than the delivery and the guy was a little peeved with me having waited for more than 10 minutes outside my house. He left and told me to call him once I am home again. I felt like shit.

I got home and saw a note on the floor. A red A4 size note with the content facing down.

"Damn! They produced red card now? Blacklisting me from ordering?" I thought. I was wrong when I found out it was from TNB - yes, my electricity got cut off. For how much?

RM167.50.

You have no idea how angry I was but I was more humiliated for having the McD delivery person waited for me. He arrived shortly after and I apologised profusely and tipped him, too; well, whatever I could dig from the house. Thank God for coins and loose RM1 notes.

Oh in case you're wondering how I get to blog, well, I drove out to the nearest Starbucks and started to go online. I got bored looking into the darkness in the entire house. I pity my little fishes in the aquarium. And, believe you me, I fucking hate TNB.

Well I guess the old adage, "Everything happens for a reason" is quite right. At the cafe, I'd discovered Marina Musa (http://mrana.typepad.com/bitbybit) and her art. There is something about her art that makes it so ... special. It speaks directly to me, the emotional depth of each piece is really mind bogging.







At least I'm quite happy now ...