you glow, girl!

A friend of a friend exclaimed, after not seeing me for 1.5 months at least, "Wow, you look so radiant!"

My Senor, who hasn't seen me in broad daylight for weeks, met me for drinks and asked, "Did you just get a facial?"

And he also said I glowed like the first time "we fell in love".

I'm not a sucker for compliments la. Some people say that I'm such a cynic and I should just thank people for their compliments. But anyway, back to the above. I have reasons to believe that there are the reasons for my luminescence:

1. I've gained 5 kgs since Raya. Puasa month I was such a frail ragdoll - buruk gila. So I think all the compliments are just people trying to tell me, hey you're chubbier these days. It's an euphemism, really. Radiant=Chubby. Thanks to my almost weekly visit to Tip Top Ikan Bakar and all-you-can-eat porridge at Malayan Aromas.
2. The cheap skincare set I bought at Ampang Park must be doing its wonder. I don't see the logic behind this but I used Clinique when I was 17, Origins right after I graduated and Chanel up till about 2 years back. Then I went on the off-the-shelf solutions (Garnier, Body Shop, you name it). Even after spending that amount of money I never got any "glowing" praises. Lo and behold, 4 months back someone introduced me to this Melayu product with a name that sounds like Tia Maria. And it worked. My pigmentations are lessened. My face has a angelic glow (heheh). Let's hope it's not skin cancer. And oh, the finishing cream is made out of turmeric, I feel so like gadis melayu kampung. Damn.... gimme that kain batik and t-shirt right now. Eat your heart out, Siti!!!
3. I am happy. Nothing beats happiness. I cook almost every weekend. I entertain, and I'm entertained. I have friends that can make me laugh all night. I have a certain suitor who knows how to make me feel like a queen. I have my Senor who's still very very muy caliente. I go out a lot. I karaoke, something which previously terrified me even by the sheer mention of the word. I listen to live music. Music soothes the soul. And with a beautiful soul comes out that beautiful glow? Oh puke.
4. I've been receiving mysterious emails from a mystery man who works in the same building. F&CK! I don't know how this guy looks like (but I know his name!) and I don't intend to find out. But it's just creepy to know that someone's actually watching you and you don't even realize it. So no picking my nose in public, or betulkan my boob-parking too. Just in case someone's watching. OH yeah, how is this relevant to the glow? I suppose I have this obligation to smile all the time, I used to have this sulky face. So now, smile, smile and the world will smile with you. Just in case mystery man is watching... smile, goddammit!
5. I'm still on the rose quartz. This bloody thing really works, man. Please Google this up people, I don't have time to write on the healing properties of rose quartz in this entry.

So there, that explains the glow. And no Senor, I am not in love with anyone else but you, fire of my loins.

my latest project, yo!

Giving JCo a bit of free ad space there.

No mystery patty, just good burger.

I am in the midst of an R&D for my latest pet project - The Burger. Lemme give you a sneak peek.

I'm gonna create Malaysia's very own Fatburger, and I'm calling it The (pronounced "thee")Burger. It's gonna sell for RM7 a piece, but lemme tell ya. It's worth every sen.

The Burger is a piece of gargantuan 150gm all-beef patty (no mystery meat here!!!), seasoned with my proprietary blend of herbs & spices, grilled to perfection. It's topped on a soggy-resistant sesame seed bun, toasted and heaped with grilled tomatoes, onions and green peppers. You can opt for a slice of cheese (extra 50 sen). Then choose to have it with Barbecue sauce or ketchup. No Lingam's chilli sauce please - you can go to Ramly burger for that.

For those who want a taste, buzz me. I'll whip one up for you and you can tell me what you think.

I'm working on a few variations for now (sauteed mushroom & onion toppings, etc... Check back for more updates. And of course, better pictures :)

8 random things about me - tagged again!

SeaDemon and My Sistah tagged me. I can think of more than 8 but let's not go overboard here.
The rules are to list out 8 random things about yourself and then tag 8 people after that. So here goes....

1. I am a chameleon. If you ask my family members about me they'll describe me as quiet and pensive, you'll get different answers if you ask my officemates, my STF friends, my college mates. It's either I blend in so well or I'm suffering from multiple personality disorder.



2. I have never watched a Hindustani movie in my life. The longest that I can tahan is probably 10 minutes. HOWEVER...



3. I will normally fall in lust with someone that has *ahem* Hindustani (some say Tamil - damn you people!) features. I really cannot explain this sick fixation.



4. I only eat tomatoes if it's sliced very thinly or diced. If it's not that I just can't take it!!! But I love bruschettas.



5. I only know 2 Budak Koleqs from my batch but more than a dozen from Brother Bear and SeaDemon's batch. Yes, you know I have this thing for uncles.
   
   
6. I can be really not attracted to someone, but the instant they do the jual mahal thing, I do a 180 degree turn. Ya I'm sick like that. I went out with this guy on a first date, had coffee, he hated my smoking habits, I realized that there was no chemistry, then I came back and thought.. Naahhhh.. he's SO not my type. Then he did the hot and cold thingy, the tarik tali thingy.. then suddenly I couldn't stop thinking about him. Oh god, you should so see him. He is definitely not my type. Ooohh.... this merits a new blog entry by itself!



7. I love to cook and feed people. A friend has christened my apartment as the charity house. If only I had more money, I'd be entertaining every weekend.
   
   
8. I can be really not attracted to someone, but the instant I know that they are keeping their options open and seeing other people besides me, I will play along just for the sake of competition.

I'm supposed to tag 8 people but I think all my blogger friends have been tagged. I don't know why but after doing this I felt like I'm suffering from more than one emotional disorder.

"can't you see i'm very busy sucking?"

... and NO, it wasn't me who said that. It was our Siput Queen! And I think in all her lifetime, she has never uttered the word "sucking" more than that Saturday nite at Tip Top Ikan Bakar. Yes, you're right, the good ole Siput Sedut has the same aphrodisiacal property as its cousin, the oysters.

Anyway, had a gastronomical nite out on Saturday with Spena, Esty and Fikah at Tip Top Ikan Bakar in JB. And no, that's not my sole reason of going to JB - I had to prepare for an event on Monday at Hyatt. We had Char Kueh, Sotong Kangkong, The Infamous Ikan Pari Bakar, and superlicious Siput. And the drinks/desserts were equally fabulous.

Fikah - don't be fooled by her size.

Sorry Siput Queen, my hands were trembling while we laugh our butts off.

Esty waiting for her Nasi Goreng Ayam that took soooooo long to siap.

See how happy she was after that?

I love this pic that Spena took - it has all my favourite things in it - fave t-shirt (Chicago The Musical), favourite accessory - my rose quartz bracelet and all my favourite FOODS!!!! And oh, favourite pastime - SUCKING. On siput sedut la you perverts!!!!

"I'm DONE SUCKING!"
- The Siput Queen -

Well actually the main reasons why I went to JB were:

Organising the IG1S launch at Hyatt.

And...
Meeting my babykins! I miss ya Medina!

stressed out punya hapdet

Tissot asked me to hapdet, so I hapdet la. Although I don't have anything scandalous to write except for FOOD, glorious food.

Oh gosh. I have an event on the 14th and nothing's done. Everything's a draft, from the press release to the souvenir programme. And I'm having butterflies in my tummy cuz the opening multimedia presentation is still in the oven. We just did a video shoot yesterday in JB - my last feeble attempt to use the clips in the presentation to spruce it up a bit. Oh well...

BUT, I had a good meal the night before the video shoot. Had dinner with the crew at the super old school Tip Top Ikan Bakar - the best place for ikan bakar on planet earth! Nothing beats, or even come CLOSE to this one. Forget Umbai ok - that place is just.. LAME and a disgrace to ikan bakars the world over. Tip Top is now located at the Food Court behind the Straits View Hotel, they used to be in front of Hyatt and prior to that at Tepian Tebrau (way back in the 80's).

Deep Fried Baby Soft Shell Crabs (heavenly)

The best ikan bakar in the world - we had ikan pari that nite.

If you guys go there, order the Ice Jelly drink - shaved ice with soursop, a jelly base, peaches, sea coconut and a few other interesting stuff. It's so refreshing and complements the ikan bakar taste really well.

Thank you cuties.

By the way, this is my way to bodek the boss. The day I brought the cupcakes he whacked me left and right in the morning (he freaking micromanage everything, that perfectionist STAROBA dude!). Damn. But the cupcakes saved the day eventually.

Moral of the story: Food keeps my sanity in check. All the time.

december in a nutshell

If only your love were as fiery red hot as the flowers you gave me...

The birthday lunch at Alexis - ai frutti mare pizza, my absolute favourite. And banana and peach crumble, somebody else's favourite.

The birthday cheesecake from my colleagues. Fresh cheesecake from the bakery under the escalator at City Square. This is one cheesecake that really strikes a good balance of moisture, fluffiness, sweetness and creaminess.

The karaoke session with forlorn friends.

Eww. Hahah. I shouldve moved the camera slightly to the right for something Chilean.

That was December in a nutshell. Festive, fcked up, fun, freaky.

it was the best of times...

New Year's Eve 2007 / New Year 2008

I wish Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities won't revisit but it did. Again, my new year's eve was the best of times, it was the worse of times.

The eve started off with my boss actually letting me off a tad bit early (rightfully so since I had spent half day of my LEAVE on Friday at the office!). Went for a quickie hair wash followed by a sweet lunch at Aromas with mister mister. In the evening I treated myself to a gorgeous and un-sleazy lingerie which was on crazy sale at Blush! This AND a private dinner at Porto Romano of Tomato and Clam Soup AND Braised Lamb Shank really made my evening.

Had a blllllassstttt at Crown Princess' junior suite with my best of buddies - Rina, Dalina, Fynne and Ayu. Thanks guys for such a lovely time. I didn't bring the camera so had to make do with the phonecam.

This was just for show :P

"Look at my big asssss zit" ... Just kidding Fynne. I love you and you have the complexion of an angel.

This is what happens if you forgot to turn off the flash when taking picture from behind a glass window.

This is for stealthily taking my picture under the pretext of sending an SMS. Padan muka gambar awak masuk dalam blog saya! Dan saya malas nak rotate gambar awak!

The smackalicious Ox Tail Soup.

"The chicken is really juicy" says Rina. "Macam kaulah, juicy tapi tak spring lagi" says everyone.

The fireworks at KLCC.

Idiots getting stuck in traffic.

So why was it the worse of times? "I'm not going to talk to you if this is turning into an argument". Click.

Do you think I REALLY CARE?