what i miss most...

Ayu and I were talking over a plate of sinful nachos (loaded with the works) at Las Carretas on the things we miss most when coming back home from overseas. Ayu was in Perth but I suppose it's the same darn thing the world over. Well for me, it's the convenience of cooking. I can whip up world class meals in a jiffy, thanks to...
1. Swanson's TV Dinners - the Hungry Man range is awesome, just pop one in the oven and I'm a happy puppy when the timer rings. Country Fried Steak's my fave.
2. The genius of Betty Crocker - Hamburger Helper's da bomb!!! Just add beef (or tuna or chicken) and voila - homecooked goodness, baby!

3. Bottled Sauces - from Prego to Leggo's to Pace to god knows what. Yeah it's available here but it's dirt cheap in the States that you can use them like there's no tomorrow. Excellent for my baked ziti, lasagne and good ole bolognese. (but I do make my sauces from scratch on good days ok!)
4. And if you want a nice, romantic candlelit dinner and to impress a loved one (ahem, ahem), there's always Williams Sonoma.
The shrine for my late night munchies...
5. If everything else fails, there's always Taco Bell, the cheapest (full meals for less than a dollar!) form of edible food during my college years. Who cares about the mystery meat? The tacos, burritos, quesadillas are sinfully addictive.

"Iye, saya katok. Nak buat macam mana, five years in the States, who can stand the fake vegetarian burgers and fish fillets."

birthday saturday

Took Ali and Yunus to Adian's birthday bash today at Ayu's mum house in Ampang Jaya. Such a treat for them. It was also nice to meet her mum whom I haven't met since Ali was a tiny tot (maybe 4 years ago!)...

Before that I was at Low Yat with Namy buying her macbook, then to Sg Wang to get Adian's birthday gift (a Spidey stationery set!). And after that we were stuck in a typical Saturday bumper-to-bumper at Bkt Bintang. That is why i SO HATE going out on weekends.

And yes, an unabashed confession, I will watch the extremely lame Akademi Fantasia finals tonight. I've become a victim of popular culture without even knowing it.



If you ever wonder if I ever vote for the AF kids, consider this. Last two weeks Namy and I were watching AF at my place, and she wanted to vote for Mila (shown here in a sappy rendition of that god-knows-what Indon song with Ebi). And we were both like "Macam mana nak vote AF ah?". Duh....

Slap me silly if I ever become a member of any AF kids fan club!!

emotional lethargy

Have you ever experienced emotional lethargy?

Today is a prime example. Well for the past two weeks or so I've been acting overly sensitive to everyone. Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting old. You know how old people tend to get freaking depressed over every goddamn thing - not being acknowledged, not being said hi to, etc.

Well anyway today I became upset over something stupid in the morning. Then I realized, by lunchtime my brain was not functioning at all... and I can't seem to feel my emotions. Was I upset? Numb? Angry? Sad? Vengeful?

Inside I feel as bland as the fibre cracker that models eat to lose weight. Bland. Blah. Blah. Blah.

The photo of this stressed out feline is courtesy of my talented sister, Zaza.

i see fake people

There's nothing worse than a bunch of fakers. See the only time I ever become a hypocrite is when my life depends on it - with my boss (the dreaded appraisal) or my parents (when in need of blessings!). Other than that, there's no reason to fake it.

And worse of all, when you're in love, don't ever fake it. For me it's all about being real - when you're in love you're in love, there are no two ways about it. If you're not, then you're not - there's no use saying that you are because by doing so you're just faking it, and everything in that relationship will not work however hard you try. That is why it really bugs me to the core when someone says "I love you" and they just can't deliver.

Don't say I love you just because everyone else says it. You're just being FAKE.

Get real, people! There's more to life than being fake.

decipher the cipher...

A woman and two of her long-lost male friends were having this conversation while having MO's wonderful scones with rose petal jam, strawberry conserves, lemon butter and clotted cream. Utterly orgasmic (the scones I mean).

ManFriend1: So.. tell lah... how? Best ke?
Woman: What's there to tell?
ManFriend2: Oklah kita ikut macam flight. Ni macam KL - Bangkok ke? Or KL - Hong Kong?
Woman: Haha. KL-Hong Kong how many hours?
ManFriend2: 3 1/2.
Woman: Aaa.. around there lah. A bit more. Hee hee.
ManFriend2: Huyooo!
ManFriend1: But my question is, what the hell for???!!!
ManFriend2: But if you want old boyfriend, cannot even take off! Let alone KL - Hong Kong. How?
ManFriend1: Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan... harap maaf :)

And soon after...

ManFriend1: Tapi dia tak nak jadi subsidiary, jo.
ManFriend2: Abih dia nak jadi parent company jugak?
Woman: Ya la, I can't settle being a subsidiary!
ManFriend1: So bila nak delisted?
Woman: End of year.
ManFriend1: You sure you don't want to be subsidiary?
Woman: SURE
ManFriend2: Ala, if not subsidiary, can be SPV!
ManFriend1: Sekarang ni pun dah SPV...

Yes, the conversations are not meant to be understood by you!

mama's day

Everyday is mother's day for me... because Ali will always say "you're the best mother in the world" every day before he goes to sleep. Yes, my loving eldest son who is just the most adorable little thing in the world.

Every night it would be ali and me doing homework (well office work for me) and we'll race on who will finish first.


And people ask why he wears glasses at a very young age... look at his mama lah!

Shame on me...

Shame on me for only doing one posting each month. Ha ha! Anyways, I didn't realize that it's already May... and coming to middle of 2007.

I think 2007 has been an eye-opener for me. First of all, I love my new job although I have to take my laptop home to do work at nite in between CSIs. Secondly, I realize that I finally learn to say no to people, and to open up more so that people understand me more. Especially opening up to my dad on the problems I have, finally, after 32 years on this planet. Third, I finally caught up with my long lost school friends and we're having this monthly all-girls get together!!! So much fun!!! And finally finally, telling people what I really want instead of just adapting to situations. This has been my ultimate forte all these years. But the downside of telling people what you want is that you won't exactly get what you want in the first place, then you end up being dissapointed with them.

So telling people what you want is actually good or bad?