will i am's delayed diary

Beta carotene & Capsaicin , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. My wet market excursion on Saturday took a modern twist. Instead of the traditional places, mum decided to shop at NSK , Kuchai Lama. That wholesale market feels just like a hypermarket with loads of fresh produce and other groceries. Open twenty four hours a day and hires loads of workers to man the counters and sort out the goods. Air-conditioned and clean with prices that are sometimes even lower than the pasar ! Forklifts zip around near the parking lots and they even have Zamboni-like machines keeping the floors dry. After shopping, we had breakfast at the shops nearby. Rushed home to attend a 1:30pm wedding mass. Since the bride wasn't Catholic, it was a half mass and although the rite was predominantly in mandarin, the groom made his vows in English. It was the funniest wedding march I ever saw, with the bride walking slightly like a lurching zombie. During the ceremony, an old aunty asked me, "Do you ha

Waiting , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. This kid is all alone waiting for his grandmother outside a shop in OUG. Guess what his grandmother was doing: Buying groceries in the Chinese medicine hall Smoking a ciggie Taking a dump Buying Magnum 4D Playing mahjong Getting her hair done Gossiping with her gaggle of friends Tapau-ing breakfast Truth be told, kids shouldn't be left all alone. Some goldfish uncle could just come by and spirit the kid away. I have heard of horror stories in Disneyland HK where a parent lets her kid go into the loo alone. For a long time, the kid did not come out, so the mother went in to look. In her panic, she asked her other child to wait outside. When she came out empty handed, she found that her other kid had also disappeared... Never let kids out of your sight!

Hawk , swiped from BradWilke on Flickr. Out of the blue SkyHawk messaged me and asked about some work-related matters. As quick as can be, he arranged a lunch meeting near my office. Very efficient and decisive. Recognized him immediately. Had an imposing stature ( and a face that looks a bit like it was chiseled from stone ), but luckily that was somewhat softened by his smile. Quickly ordered and went straight to business. With that out of the way, we talked about lighter matters of love and life. After sharing each other's stories, I find that we have much in common, especially the fact that our lives are very family-centric. Although our circumstances are different, we can actually draw parallels. We both have our commitments and leading a double life in pursuit of our personal happiness can be quite stressful at times. With quality time being a premium, it is sometimes very difficult to juggle things. Most people take for granted the fact that they have much freedom in what t

September 11th Shoes , swiped from eyes of disarray on Flickr. Today marks the tenth anniversary of the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York and three other coordinated attacks. That episode elevated the word "terrorism" into a household term and cranked up the paranoia against Islam. Ten years is a long time, but I remember I was home alone watching TV. My show was interrupted and footage of an airplane crashing into one of towers was shown. Vaguely remember having my jaw drop open and scooting closer to the TV set. When a second plane crashed into the tower, I was really stunned. Do you remember what you were doing when disaster struck?

Snow Lotus , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. Home-made enzymes are all the rage these days. Here's a documented effort at producing some snow lotus enzyme. My colleague gave me a box of those jelly-like bits as a starter kit. They're lighter than they look and will float. Smelled very much like those oils used by Chinese bone-setters. Most probably alcohol from the earlier fermentation. According to wikipedia , the snow lotus is a type of plant that is traditionally used to relieve inflammation. I don't see how the jelly corresponds to any part of the plant. To kickstart the process, one has to dilute five hundred grammes of brown sugar. Apparently, it only works with the usual brown sugar. Use any organic sugar and it fails. Too clean? Haha. Just dump the jelly into the diluted sugar with 1.5 litres of filtered water and leave it in a big glass jar for four days. Sounds simple right? NOT. My mother was complaining the whole time. The sugar is bloody hard to dilute in co

Old Dining , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. Right after mass on Sunday, I visited Cahaya Puri to help SK look for a statue of Christ the Redeemer for her altar. They only had one, and the design wasn't very nice. I think she would have to opt for the Sacred Heart instead because Christ the Redeemer isn't a very popular choice among the artisans. Or perhaps anyone here has any idea where I might source for one? Thanks in advance! Every Sunday I make a random decision on where to eat lunch. My latest whim brought us to Kota Damansara for Nyonya food near The Strand. We were actually deciding between two shops, Kung Fu and The Wok . Both had very attractive interiors and business seemed brisk. Finally chose Nyonya over Chinese. The boss was telling us that his shop was among the first to have opened in the area three years ago and that his neighbour changed every five months or so. Supposedly the best Nyonya food in Petaling Jaya with authentic Penang taste. Lots of ant

Fresh Produce , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. On Saturday, my wet market schedule was back on track but luckily a chunk of the normal market-goers were still out of town so I got a choice parking spot with ease. The pace was easy and mum didn't buy much as well. Noted that "Angry Birds" have invaded the mid-autumn items. MYR8 for a battery-operated lantern. Even paper lanterns cost MYR2 each. I remember when it just cost MYR0.50 for a medium-sized lantern. Inflation! and mooncakes from the usual manufactures cost MYR15-17 this year. That's obscene pricing in my opinion. And to overcome it, discounts of up to 30% are offered even BEFORE the festival. For breakfast, mum and I had soup noodles at one of the side lanes. So ching right? But we couldn't resist ordering a pair of curry chicken legs feet to go with them. Haha. Back home, I mostly surfed the net, read and watched "Fringe". Feeling like a couch potato, I decided to go for a swim. Just as I

putrajaya , swiped from gigibiru_kukuning the cats ♥♥♥♥ on Flickr. In the evening, we left for Putrajaya to makan-makan at SK's friend's place. Let's call her Laura. She was SK's coursemate during university. Her parents were down for a month, so she invited us over for a simple open house. With the help of the GPS, it was quite easy to find her house. It was my first time visiting any residential area in the administrative capital. In her area, all the houses were unfenced and identical. Apparently the disallow any external renovations and even the colour of the paint must be standardized. A dictatorship! According to Laura, she even received several warning letters from Perbadanan Putrajaya for not cutting her grass. Haha. The design of the house was quite weird with the toilet right beside the front door. And in the kitchen, there's a small metal door that opens to the side of the house. Laura shrugged when I asked her about the use of the door. Her mother gril

Minions , swiped from noticiana on Flickr. Breakfast was leftover ketupat and rendang . And as I opened the front door in the morning, I found two tenacious kittens outside dashing for the door. I immediately shoo-ed them! Had to close the door. Guess they were hungry seeing that all their usual benefactors were away for the long holidays. Fed them some bread. Was quite surprised to find that the kittens were quite blur. Had to practically lead them to the food. Later, SK fetched us to IKEA. So much parking available. Such a rare occurance. Mum and SK did most of the shopping, I just went with the flow. I was never very aroused by IKEA. Some steals due to old stock clearance. Put everything in the car and we continued shopping at IPC ( it had been so long that I did not know that Ikano was rebranded ) and The Curve. Did more shopping at Daiso and Metrojaya after lunch at Pho Hoa . Truth be told, that bowl of beef noodles was quite expensive, but it was really healthy. Could not dete

On the first day of Aidilfitri, we made a bee line for the Selangore State Government Open House at Bangunan Sultan Salahudin Abdul Aziz Shah , Shah Alam. At first, I had wanted to go the Agong's function at Istana Negara, but decided against it after pondering about parking and the short slot for the public. Arrived at the place before 11:00am and walked in through the kitchen area. Heavy duty food preparations were going on and truth be told, better not to be scrutinized before actually eating. Haha. Food was abundant-- nasi briyani , grilled mutton, lemang , beef rendang , rojak buah , fried noodles, fried bihun , CKT, cendol , satay and biscuits. Luckily, it wasn't too crowded and seating was ample. While eating, we were entertained by a group of musicians called "Balle Balle". Dressed in straw hats, tie-dyed clothes, sarong and clogs, they entertained the crowd with classic Raya songs thrown in with a middle-eastern song that really got the middle-eastern v

Seafood Stadium , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. For a change, I ( almost ) did not go to the market on Saturday morning. Why? Cause Cyan, Sis and BIL would be away for the whole week, so there's no real need to buy a lot of groceries. At about 9:00am, mum and I headed to the Salak South new village to have pan mee . Was expecting to eat the famous crystal pan mee ( the old lady washes each piece in water before cooking, eliminating the flour taste and making it super thin ), but it turned out that the woman had abandoned her stall. Fortunately, her replacement at Taman Naga Emas was quite good too! I had the tear variety and I must say it was quite thin and had no yucky flour taste. The soup was clear and the pork balls were nice. After that, I drove mum to Seri Petaling to buy 4D, and we ended up at the wet market there. Hahaha. Cannot really escape that routine. The market was quite big. Not bad at all. Striking that off our list, we headed to Hotel Seri Petaling to check

Naan , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. The reclusive ChatMate finally returned from his retreat in Kuching. As with the last time, he stayed with his cousin in Serdang, so it was easy arranging a meet up. On Wednesday night, SK and I brought him to the Restoran Kheng Heong , that's located just in his neighbourhood. Luckily he had never dined there before. Ordered their famous claypot tilapia, beancurd with gourd, fried sweet potato leaves and marmite ribs. He was all dressed up in his tight-fitting A&F t-shirt and shorts, complete with a cloud of EDT. Blocked though my nose was, I could still smell his fragrance. Hehe. He looked well. Definitely happy. I would be too if I had not been working for half a year, and have no visible money problems. :P. And he was so sweet to bring me raw mee kolok . :D. We grilled him about his activities in Kuching and about potential boyfriends. That guy definitely needs to be pushed! Also found out that his itinerary in KL was a bit sad, s

20091221-wrist-pre02 , swiped from Cat Moloney on Flickr. For a few days I had been experiencing a pain in my left wrist. Holding things a certain angle would bring about some loss of strength too. I thought it was a result of fiddling with my iPhone a little too much. But after talking to KH, I think I hurt it while masturbating the other day. Too challenging a position? XD

Tealight Candles , swiped from David J. Gray on Flickr. At a cafe in Bandar Seri Begawan. The cafe's boss was complaining that the waitress did not light the tealights on each table. Boss: Maria! It's already 8:30pm and all the lights are not distributed. Gonna close shop already, better not light. Maria: Sir, I was busy. Boss: Busy? Busy doing what? Maria: A lot of customers just now. Full house. Boss: Wah... full house ar? Then good lo. A perfect excuse. heh. The boss was very sarcastic and sceptical. Actually I also don't quite believe it. I have never seen that cafe with a decent crowd. The last I was there it took them forty five minutes to handle eight orders. :S. Such is the business turnover in Bandar Seri Begawan. Really wonder how they survive.

Ceremonial cannon , swiped from Safwan S. on Flickr. Repeat for ten days { 7:30am - Bangun pagi, gosok gigi 7:55am - Breakfast at the cafe 8:25am - Get ready for work 9:00am - Start Work 1:00pm - Lunch break 6:30om - A ceremonial cannon is fired marking the breaking of fast ( !!! ) 7:00pm - Dinner break 10:00pm - End work 10:05pm - Back at the hotel. Shower. 10:30pm - Astro. Online. ( Rewatched TVB's "Journey To The West II" on Astro. Forgot how funny it was. ) 12:00am - Zzz } Any time for TFK? XD

The Brunei Hotel , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. Life in Brunei was more positive with a new lodging arrangement at The Brunei Hotel . According to my Project Manager, it was recently refurbished, so everything was spick and span. However, there are rumours of spirits on the third floor as it's a very old building. Judging from the condition of the abandoned building at the opposite side, I can imagine. The room comes with free laundry service ( four pieces a day ), daily newspaper, free canned soft drinks ( three a day ), decent WiFI and free breakfast ( MUCH better than the old hotel I stayed at ). Other attractions include transvestite escorts ( according to my colleagues, they look like a burly bunch ) and the nearby Tamu Kianggeh , a market by the side of a river. It makes working from 09:00am till 10:00pm everyday a little bit more bearable. At least I can walk back to the hotel, without having to arrange for the driver. Another plus is the fact that the place is just

Hi guys and gals! Instead of "LRT Celebrities", we have "MRT Celebrities" today. Why you may ask? Cause today's contributor is none other than KH! His skill also not bad hor? Look at the two guys in the collage. I prefer the twink on the left. Hidung mancung . Gotta love his arms too. Is it just me or do you find that both of 'em are giving out a gay vibe? But perhaps the guy on the left is just a bit confused like so many other Singaporean boys. So, what do you think? Are they gay? 1, 2, 3... Discuss! P.S.: In just a few years ( and if the project doesn't go under due to massive corruption ), KL would have its own version of "MRT Celebrities"!

Coconut water , swiped from soumit on Flickr. At Restoran 83 : Moi: Ada jual kelapa ke? Myanmarese Waiter: Takde. Coconut adalah. Moi: =_=" Aku kena perli ke?

Petaling Street , swiped from cheeseong on Flickr. Simonlover's recent post about Petaling Street prompted me to write a short post of my own. Truth be told, it was a favourite haunt of my besties during university days. They would drive down from UKM and we would make an excursion there. We would usually dine there, be it the old Kam Lun Tai with their cranky waitresses or the super tongue-numbing BBQ fish stall. It amazes me that when they tell you to come back after thirty minutes, there really would be a table open when you come back. After food, we would brave the Saturday night crowds. On Saturdays, stalls would be open in the middle of the road, making it very tight to navigate around. If someone in front of you stopped to haggle, you would have to squeeze by. In those days, the stalls were still manned by Chinese, not like today's Little Bangla feel. My bestie loved to purchase the counterfeit watches and jeans. Haggling was also like a pasttime for him. He had it dow

Comming home , swiped from joningic on Flickr. Recently, JJ told me that he had a job offering for KH in Kuala Lumpur. He called KH and explained that his friend was looking for someone to help out in corporate planning at a certain insurance company. And so, KH started exploring the possibilty and made some inquiries. One night, during our phone conversation, he asked my opinion about it. KH: Baby, what do you think about the job offer? Moi: I'm quite surprised that you're interested. Thought you were only coming back next year? KH: My timeline is flexible one ma... Moi: Oh, that's news to me. Thought the earliest is 2012. KH: Nolah. Can be earlier de. So what is your opinion? Moi: In my mind, I set it to the worst case scenario-- end of 2012. You want to come back, ma come back lo. The boyfriend wasn't happy with my response. Was I too blunt? Was I wrong for not wanting to say too much about his return plan? I probed him further about it as he felt tha

Anatomy of the Human Heart Embroidery Wall Decor , swiped from Spec-ta-cles on Flickr. Early Saturday morning, mum told me she did not want to go to market. She wanted to do a medical checkup instead! She thought that something was wrong with her heart. Said it felt weak. Gulp! Hearing that at 7:30am really swept all the sleep from my eyes. So I brought her to Taman Desa Medical Center for a check-up. Met the MO and he asked me what was wrong. Explained the situation, and he ordered up an ECG. Thank goodness it was normal. Since mum mentioned increased heartrate, he ordered up a thyroid test. She did have the problem some 31 years ago. The blood test was normal too. Perhaps she was just feeling a little under the weather. With that cleared up, MY heart was definitely lighter and we went to the Anlene booth there to get a free bone scan. According to the test results, I'm at the borderline of the high risk group to develop osteoporosis! My results were worse than my mother's!

religion is an imperative statement. , swiped from anna.marie.morgan on Flickr. "I studied Malay literature and Islamic History in Form Six and went on to enrol in the Malay Letters Department of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia where Islamic Civilisation was a compulsory subject. Some non-Muslim students grumbled about this requirement, citing subtle conversion, but I took it in stride and felt proud as I got to understand and appreciate Islam better. I didn’t convert." An excerpt taken from Wong Chun Wai's "On The Beat" column in The Star. Yes, he wasn't converted, but the crux of the matter lies in the fact that the inverse cannot be implemented for the fear of conversion! Try asking them to take it in stride. Hahahaha.

Not exactly a great entry for "Damn You Auto Correct!" , but its passable I guess. For your information, Tampopo is a Japanese Restaurant in Singapore that serves one of the top ten best ramen in town. Also known for their tonkatsu and black pig varieties. Actually the most annoying this about iPhone's auto-correct is the fact that it will always turn my "muacks" into "muscle". And it never learns to accept "muacks". Ugh. So most of the time, we wish each other "muscle". Unfortunately it doesn't help me to gain any at all. :(. My arms are still spindly and my tummy happy. Oh well. So what's your most hated auto-correct word? Oh yeah, I'll be flying off to Brunei again tomorrow. Will be there till the 19th of August. Hopefully I will have the time and energy to blog during that period. See you when I see you.

On Sunday morning, I woke up a little bit earlier than usual to have breakfast with mum at a nearby coffee shop. After that, we went home to change and headed out to Viva Home at Jalan Loke Yew with SK and her granny. It's KL's latest home and lifestyle mall. The ikan masin that was UE3 ( never been there ) was renovated and given a new lease of life. Even the toilets had a Moroccon feel to it. Took us an hour to get there cause we had no idea how to cross to the other side of Jalan Loke Yew. And trust the Garmin GPS to have poor reception there. Garmin really sucks. The place was huge without much human traffic, but at least most of the shops were occupied. Just the night before, the had their grand opening with a few artists from Hong Kong and Malaysia. With all the specialty shops there, things do look promising. A good place to look for ideas. Hopefully business can be sustained. In addition to the usual furniture and interior design shops, there's plenty of food the

St Ignatius of Loyola , swiped from Lawrence OP on Flickr. My church recently celebrated its feast day-- the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The 31st of July marks the anniversary of his death. For three days, talks were arranged and on the last day, a carnival and a bilingual mass followed by fellowship. On this special occassion, mum and I skipped marketing and went to church instead. Spent about four hours at the carnival. Took us about an hour to get there because the LDP was all crazy due to the rain. The jam had started right from BK5! Not wanting to rot at the Sunway Toll, I took a U-turn and approached from Kerinchi Link instead. By the time we got to church, the rain had stopped. Whopee! Had $130 worth of coupons to spend cause SK's boss bought ten booklets. Breakfast was yam cake, chai kueh , nasi lemak and coffee. The rest of the coupons, we spent on some Johnson & Johnson Baby bath gel, corn and a bouquet of roses. Also tried my luck guessing the numbers of peanu

Siap Sedia , swiped from zamanizubir on Flickr. I went to Brunei for a short trip of three days due to some office politics and screwed up resource allocation. As you can guess, it was a show-face kinda deal. Upon arrival at 09:30, a colleague picked me up from the airport and sent me to the office. However, I could not work on that Sunday morning because the Sultan's "Meet the People" session was being held at the parade grounds opposite my client's office. Why? It was done in conjunction with His Majesty's 65th birthday celebrations. Two snipers had went up the building to ensure His Majesty's safety. As a result, we had to loiter at a nearby restaurant to kill time. Bumped into an old uncle who stared at my colleague: Uncle: Where are you from har? (eyes bulging) Colleague: Malaysia. Uncle: I hate Malaysians! They are all bad people! Humph! He actually left his table for another that was further away. Wah. I suspect his ex-wife was Malaysian and h

Keluar , swiped from Ron-Dorothy on Flickr. Oops. A leftover post from my Europe trip. Something random about exit signs in the countries that I visited. Please take note that the photos are not my work. Click on them to visit the photographer's photostream on Flickr. This is just a post about my observations on public transport in Europe. :) London - Underground - Way Out Barcelona - TMB - Salida ( Spanish ) / Sortida ( Catalan ) Cologne - DB - Ausgang Paris - Metro - Sortie P.S.: The most common road name in Cologne is "Einbahnstraße". Hahaha. "One Way Road".