totally wicked!

We couldn't be happier..
because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true!

Had the most awwwwwesome weekend down in Singapore. Been looking forward to this for MONTHS! And when it happened, it was every bit as amazing as I had hoped it would be.

Except that I wish Fiyero was better looking. Oops! :) Hehehe.. We got some pretty good seats too, for SGD145. But I forgot my glasses again! I mean, I have not work them in years, but I don't see super well in dim places. So yeah, I might have missed out on some details.

The theater was in Marina Bay Sands (where the casino is), and the whole place just screams MONEY!! In fact, the whole of Singapore (at least where the shopping is) screams MONEY. It's the spirit of the city I guess: insatiable want of material possession.

I was singing along (verrrryyy softly) to all the songs, cos I know them so well! I've been listening to the CD forever now (now to weaning myself off it) and it really helped in getting into the mood of the show. I practically could see the whole show in my head (except the non-singing part).. and it's better in my head, cos Fiyero is much better looking (sorry!)..
I just love the storyline, the "untold story of the witches of Oz".. the friendship shared by the girls, and songs, oh the songs were just lovely. *contented sigh*

At peace.

Psalm 131:1-3 NIV
My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. 
Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

i don't usu recap the year: too shy to brag about the good things (though i must note that i flew the most this year compared to previous years: i was in tawau, bangkok and philippines for holidays, and miri, kuching, hong kong (twice!) for work.. that's not counting driving destinations like singapore (twice!), penang and PD -- i can't wait for next year!!)(and yes, a thousand times yes, there has been so more to my life that just the travelling), and not really wanting to relive the bad. i'd just say this: 2011 has been a good year, and i'm beyond thankful. if i were to pick a word to sum up the year, it would be settled. it's been a rough past few years prior, but things have been falling nicely into places.. and i can say this unflinchingly: i'm happy! :)


derek webb's lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

[ala Robin] holy matrimony!

married at last! hehehe.. i gained a new sister over the weekend as my bro took my SIL's hand in marriage (well, they were officially married on 09.09.09 but only got to performing all the ceremonial rites + dinner the past few days - dinner on Christmas, no less!)..i didn't take many pics the past few days as we used the family camera for the pre-wedding day activities, and had engaged a photographer for the wedding day itself.. will post more pics when i get the whole batch! :)

the wedding was a mainly family affair.. it's been a tiring past few days but it was so fun to meet all the relatives from yonks (srsly, i won't recognise 60% of them if i were to bump into them on the street on any given day).. my cousins and aunties (and hubby!) were a big help in getting the day going.. i was there to show my face for most part hahaha..

my first time witnessing a 上头 (hair-combing) ceremony.. i didn't know people still do it haha..

the vicious chee-muis and sacrificial heng dais jip-ping the san leong (lit. fetching the bride (?)).. my cousin sis led the chee-muis into torturing the heng-dais and it was really fun to watch! haha.. i got to be there as i had to lead the in-laws from Penang to my cousin sis' place where the bride was waiting.. the chee-muis really put a lot of thought and efforts into entertaining the crowd and making the dudes suffer :D

the dashing groom and blushing bride
白头到老 oh! ;)

left: my baby bro with the angpow he received for opening the door for the bride.
right: me and sis and our dinner 'do. ;)

my parents were delirious with joy, striking a pose with "cool" hand signs.. and later with the newlyweds.

we won't be celebrating christmas this year, as it coincides with my brother's wedding. it's a mixture of feelings of missing out one of my favourite days to celebrate the couple's big day. i've taken to cheering myself up by listening to christmas tunes and having a small virtual tree on my desktop. i must have an christmas open house next year! and you are invited ;)

The King and I.

I liked durian when I was young. Durian dinner was a family affair, with all of us sitting round on the living room floor; dad would deftly open one fruit after another, faster than we could pop them into our mouths.. That, or we'd mix the flesh with a hot bowl of rice. We'd also be keeping an eye out for a good piece of shell to end dinner with the drinking of water straight from the pipe onto the shell, to "cool off the heatiness" of the durian.

Then one day, I think I was 17(?), I just decided that I don't like durian. I'd sit out from the makan fest, and just watch while they eat. I wasn't turn off by the smell -- I still don't get how gwailos would describe the fragrance of the King of Food as vomit-inducing stench -- I just abstained. The family couldn't understand it and neither did I, but I didn't begrudge it. And the idea of durian and rice? Major turn-off!

Then I got married to a durian lover.

I'd know when the fruit is in season. His cravings would start and my house will carry the lingering smell. That saying, if you can't beat them, join them? Haha.. Well I did. These days, I can't describe my rship with the fruit -- one day I'd eat it, and the next day I won't. Back and forth, back and forth. I guess it's "complicated" eh? Haha! Anyways, for the record, today I had three biji of thick sweet flesh ones. And dare I say, yums? :)

Yours.

Psalm 139:1-10 NIV

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

向昨天说再见.. not so soon!

when my colleague cj out of the blue yesterday told me she downloaded a couple of jimmy lin's songs for me,  the first thing i did was to thank her, and then giggled, and then giggled some more. ah, the good old days of idol crushing. *giggles*

if you did not know already, i was a HUGE fan of 林志颖!  i think he was the only singer i've obsessed over. i had all his albums and newspaper cutouts and posters (not pasted on my walls thou') and all his songs painstakingly translated into pinyin word by word and memorised. i'd buy Chinese magazines just for an article with him - i've a ring file full of everything him. i was taken in hook, link and sinker by his boyish looks and cute pop songs (which incidentally, are a PAIN to watch now. i looked up some songs over youtube just now and seriously, they are cringe-worthy ahahahahhaah).. it was intense. and then he went for his national training, and just like that, the crush was over.

today, i asked cj to download several more songs. it has been a fun day listening to him.. and being 14 again!

我的知己是谁 我的心情谁体会

谁说少年的我 不懂愁滋味

也许这是成长的感觉

我也曾经流泪 我也曾经徘徊

其实我也需要 一点点安慰

带我走出封闭的空间

一起向昨天说再见

寻找属于我们的世界

年轻的梦都将实现

只要我们用心去追

一起向昨天说再见

写下属于自己的明天

所有界限都将穿越

等待我像展翅高飞

林志颖 - 向昨天说再见

20.11.2011

It's an auspicious day to be 33 [LOL!] so happy birthday to me.. ^_^

May I find what I I'm looking for, whatever it is.

Thank you God for your love and blessings and mercy and grace that overflows in my life.

I'm walking down a well-trodden path, yet feeling rather lost and somewhat lonely. It looks like I might be here for a while; peering suspiciously at what appears to be complacency or is it calibration. But for most part, I'm actively idle.

When I'm behind the wheel, I don't mind, and sometimes even welcome, getting lost (but I hate the snag that's the traffic jam when I'm looking for a way out).. I always learn a new route or bad one in getting back on track, and it's kinda exciting when the aha! moment strikes (again, just no traffic jam please).

That's when the previously greyed out area in the map that's in my head reveals itself when the dots and destinations connect.

It's 11.11.11 11:11AM right now.

Just thought I'd commemorate the moment (yeah I do this, but I still haven't posted anything about my anniversary two weeks back.. Tsk tsk! Hehe..)(Btw, we turned NINE on 26.10.11 -- Yay us! =)(and I'm happy to be happy)(and I miss the hubby now that he's away..comebacksoonhubby!!)..

Anyways, I love November - it's the most awesome of months, only because I was born this month. We Novemberians are a loving, cute bunch ahem.. really. I haven't met a Noverian I don't like, have you? ;)

Nov signifies the time to start winding down (I know, it's like we've just started and somehow the year went over us like, whoosh!) and reflecting on the year gone by.. and going for holidays with the AA flight tix you book last year.. and weddings to attend.. and scrambling to finish off off the to-do or to-achieve list. And erm.. shopping for Xmas (dread dread dread!).. It's nice, cos the year is not year over and at the same time, somewhat behind us.. Thanks Nov, for being gentle. 

Away.

I want to be somewhere somewhat (far) away. I want to feel at home in another place; to be a foreigner then maybe a friend. Just for a week, a month or a year.. not too long, I still belong here.

Her Majesty The Big Headed Prawn Highness

I should start a new label to tag all the posts chronicaling the many times I royally screw up. Sigh.

My mind must have left home for the day before my body did that evening. Maybe it was never really there in the first place. All the receipts from my recent work-related travelling and daily parking which I meant to submit to accounts had been neatly stuck on several sheets of paper and painstakingly labelled, all these.. I threw them away and I left for home. Yeah you read that right. Sigh.

I didn't realise they were missing til two days later in the middle of the night when I thought I would just go thru them again before sending them in. They weren't home and after a sleepless night I found they were not in the office either.

The thing is everyone in the office has been uprooted from our place due to
a renovation which took place ove three weeks and we've been in and out of the office throughout. But I looked and looked all over, retracing steps and all. I could only surmise that I'd discarded all RM700 into the bin (it was actually wayyy more but to console myself I put the loss to 700).

I just wanted to belasah myself for this act of sheer carelessness. Alligator tears were shed. I thought of ways to get some of the receipts reissued but the bulk of it seemed irrecoverable. I can only say... PADAN MUKA!!!

Hubby suggested that I talk to the Audit ppl to work out something. I pooh-poohed the idea. And continued to miserable. And decided to work put how much the actual damage was so I cld further self-bash. Thankfully, one good habit I kept a record of most expenditure. One brownie point. Minus 100 for everything else.

So, it came up to RM1,300+. That's friggin' substantial, no?

But it turned out, the man had it right all along. I finally did speak to the Audit person on charge and she reviewed my claims and declared it reasonable so asked me to submit my claims without receipts. And I did so unhesitatingly. So yay! :)

[Haven't gotten the cheque yet so not popping any champagne bottle yet.. all ready nevertheless ;)]

It's the little things.

Ought to be shot.

I'm being openly judgmental here but there is this divorce that's all abuzz online right now that everybody saw coming (probably not so soon but if you thought it was gonna last, you must be the last of the dinosaurs) that I frankly have nothing nice to say about the marriage and the breakup. I buy nothing of the sobs and geez, I'm just so so annoyed at how irreverent their view of the institution of marriage is, and I sure was thinking unholy thoughts when for some reason E! thinks that there are still milkable moments from the wedding episode and I happened to tune in when the bride uttered the til-death-do-us-part part of her vow. Obviously it meant nothing to her. That, or she's dead now. Heart broken? Boo-xxx-hoo.