A selection of pictures from my birthday dinner - no idea what they are as I can’t see it on flickr! Yes, I am bringing photologging to a brand new dimension. Nothing naughty though :). Taken with my new macro lense.

Just a quick word of warning; my tour group’s arriving today so there will be no regular updates in the next week or so. We’re off to Edinburgh tomorrow, and then London next weekend. They’re off to Amsterdam sometime middle of next week as well; giving us some respite in this craziness. Wish me luck…we were cleaning the house yesterday and it wasn’t until it was 10pm that we realized we haven’t eaten dinner.

So everything’s on hold at the moment, not to mention I’m crazy busy at work.AAARGH.

is where I landed today! And it also signals my third birthday blogging.Has it really been more than three years since I spilled my guts to the world???

Yes, happy birthday to me…

No cake this year because my so called lovely bacon has run off to join the circus instead of baking the weekend away. He’s back today,but it kinda spoils everything don’t it?

*bawwwwl*

Do you feel sorry for me yet? heehee.

I am, however, happier this birthday compared to the last. Mainly because I have got out of the toxic work environment that was my last workplace. With bacon moving jobs as well, we’re both better off financially as well, which is always helpful.

I am thankful for little joys, for friends made over the past year, little changes made in my own lifestyle and an inner happiness that I seemed to have acquire over the past year. I no longer look back in anger or strive for things I cannot achieve. I guess I am at peace with myself, another sign of old age! I used to believe that you can achieve anything that you put your heart to, but I have learnt that it is not nessacarily true. You just need re-routing, which is what I am doing with my life - re-routing.

So far I’ve got a watch, some gift vouchers and a toileteries gift set. I’m not materialistic at all with presents, all I ask for is that if someone’s giving me a present to be thoughtful about it and actually get me something you think that I will enjoy, rather than some crap shit even if it is expensive. Not to sound ungrateful, but giving a crap present just shows how unthoughtful and uncaring the giver is. Bizzarely enough my parents and the mil bought me a very similar card. Hmm. I’m off to work today, but am looking forward to my buffet lunch. Not sure where bacon’s bringing me tonight, but it better be somewhere really, really nice! And I want a really, really nice suprise present as well! *HINT HINT*. Yes, he reads this blog, he just never leaves any comment. Just like a stalker.

So, happy birthday to me. I have grand plans for celebrating my next in the land of Mars milkshake.

Probably my own fault for accidentally scratching it

Sorry for my encore performance of no updates. Have been crazy at work - but what’s driving me even crazier is the fact that my parents have confirmed their trip here.

No, my parents are not the pain in the ass. It’s the fact that they are bringing 10 other people with them. Yes, TEN. Sepuluh. Dix. And ALL staying at my place. This is taking mi casa su casa a little too far! I also have to basically plan their whole trip, from trips to Edinburgh to trips to London and airport pickups and car rentals. Also pre-pay for all their trips first on my credit card and have them pay me back when they get here. Thank goodness for 0% on purchases credit card ;). I am seriously considering charging a commission for all this hard work .Failing which, I would settle for the transportation of my collection of shotglasses. They even wanted to go to Paris at which I drew the line. As the only person speaking any French whatsoever, I am not losing anyone in Paris - finding them would be absolutely horrendous. Glad my dad’s done more travelling than them, so I’m sending them off to Amsterdam for two days with my dad in charge.

Nearly confirmed now, should get everything sorted out by end of next week. I am so glad for this weekend, I really do need a rest from work.

And oh, I have at last applied for a L license. Yes…omg again. I did it in California and I am doing it again. I gotta go through the whole 9 yards of doing my theory exams and passing my driving exams. I really can’t be bothered, so I will be doing the exams in automatic transmission / stick shift. No point doing it in stick shift anyway, which is what all driving licenses in Malaysia is issued on. I don’t understand people that drives manual transmission, as city driving of stop-start traffic jams surely calls for an automatic car??? We were stopped at a traffic light the other day when some old fart in a manual car in front of us nearly crashed into us as he was in the wrong transmission and reversed at least 10 feet before I started honking the horn like crazy. Automatic transmission should be made compulsory!

Again the efficiency here impresses me to no end. I sent off my passport and application on Monday. It takes about 3 weeks to process the license and for them to send me a probationary drivers’ license. I was thinking that I will probably be without my passport for three weeks, but I received it back today in the post, with a note that they are still processing my probationary license. Excellent! There is still red tape here, but I have no doubt that if I were to post my passport off in Pos Laju, that would be the last I see of it - ever.

Anyway - haven’t started yet as I just received my book from Alicia this week (thanks!) but will definately slot it in for May - and the practical test in June.

I know I have been abandoning my blog - and nothing says more than WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU??? than getting two smses in one morning from different parts of the world asking if I am still alive and kicking. And I just found out as well about the comments with putting my face on a milk carton and the likes

SORRY LOR!

pix stolen from amazon.co.uk

This is the bane of all my problems. Now I understand how blokes get addicted to game consoles. I can’t help it, me and bacon have been having competitions on a nightly basis with yours truly always losing. I had wanted to get a wii ever since I saw it launched in Melbourne just before christmas 2006 - could not really fanthom forking out the moolah for it until last chrismas - when it wasout of stock since October. We went to Toys R Us one sat morning looking for it as the salesman had told us that they would be getting some in the next morning -at 7.30am on a Saturday, there was already a queue going around the building!

So anyway, after I got news about my happy bonus, I promptly went out to buy one and had not stop ever since. I had even pre ordered Wii Fit just like a proper little geek - no, I seriously don’t know what is wrong with me, other than the fact that I find doing yoga with a game console fascinating. At £69.99 for the game and board, it better be. We only had been playing with two games thus far - Wii Sports which came with the console, and Wii Play, which gave us a free remote. And YES, I do realize this is a lame excuse! Yes, I am a Loser with a capital L.

SORRY LOR!

On other news, spring’s well on its way!! Look at the weather from BBC! Yes I know, not like it’s really warm, but the sun’s been rising around 6am and its cheering me tremendously waking up to sunshine instead of gloominess

I now have my fleece on instead of my winter jacket (even though that was slightly too cold) , and very soon my pretty wedges and sandals will be out as well! Painted my toes yesterday so that they are well primped for summer - I don’t care come rain or shine this weekened I am letting my feet breathe! I buy quite a lot of shoes, but what you may not know is that I actually hate wearing shoes, preferring to go barefoot or in sandals. In summer I practically live in my two pairs of birkies and nothing else. God knows why I like buying shoes if I can’t be bothered to wear them..:).

OK, with power comes responsiblities, so I promise from now onwards I will update at least twice a week ok? Heh - not like as if I have any powers, but I do feel extremely guilty abandoning the blog; everytime I Wii I will feel like I’m cheating on my blog - not a good feeling. I hate dissapearing acts and I pulled one myself. And of course, the long lost roti canai chronicles will be back soon!!A little teaser:

Deep fried baby crabs at Sepetang, Taiping

Tomyum @ Koh Samui, thailand

Cendol @New World Park. Penang

My favourite Cheese Baked rice, with pork slices & preserved vegs, red sauce and baked with cheesy goodness. Kim Gary @ Sunway Pyramid, where else!

Fav minced meat with deep fried pork fat Koay teow soup, lorong ceri (aka chit long) , Butterworth

Since moving in I had not taken pictures of the house - well, until christmas, when we had spent the day cleaning the house and it looked inordinately spick and span. So pics, before I forget all about it

Living room…love my hanging santas!

Yes, I DO iron….

Kitchen….probably not as clean as it should be, but we were continuously cooking for two days before christmas!

The ‘master’ bedroom. Yeah, I just love my matching bedroom sets.

On the left is the wardrobe bacon built me - I like the matching circles

Spare/cat’s bedroom. Erm…yeah, not as spick an span after all

Going back to the other ‘home’ soon, so see you next week, my beloved nasi lemak!!!!!!!! Will hopefully be blogging all the way - should have internet connection. Lets just hope my plane takes off in this lovely blow-you-to-the-middle-of-the-street winds

….and most of it is not even mine!!!!

I have been frantically shopping for clothes that would fit my completely bloated big fat body and not disgust everyone that I met. Not easy searching for summer clothes smack in the middle of January, and no sight of bikinis other than leftovers from summer. So no new bikini for samui,thank god the black one I bought for ibiza still fits..:D.

Jeans+underwear+shoes+makeup+toileteries are not even in yet. More than half my bag is filled with Jacob’s cream crackers - apparently my granma is addicted to them, along with other members of my hugeass extended family. PJs for the godson, lippie for dreybee and I haven’t even bought a whole ham for my mom yet. And not to mention I have eyed a lovely dress at miss selfridges. Funnily enough, I think it looks like dresses that my mom used to sew for me when I was a toddler.

I will now need to raid bacon’s bag when he’s packed and replace his clothes with mine…..Wish me luck!

all he does all day is poke,poke, poke on his tablet……wish he’ll put the poking to better use…

When I see this at 4pm, I know that the dark nites are slowly but surely comming to an end.

I am adverse to early darkening of skies. Growing up in Malaysia, the sun sets around 7-7.30pm daily. With sunset comes dinner - my regular dinner time for as long as I can remember had been when the chinese serial starts at 7pm. During my first winter in CA, I had dinner at 5pm (watching Simpsons) in Nov & Dec - my body clock tricking my mind that its late. The problem with having dinner that early is that I am hungry again by 10pm!

The past two months or so in the UK had seen the daylight savings timing enforced, which means the sun have been setting just before 4 each day. It doesn’t really matter as most of the time its gloomy and grey here anyway. But I know from experience that when the skies starts to look blue at 4pm, longer days are on their way.

Incidentaly, it had actually been getting colder with typhoon-like winds lately…don’t let the skies fool you. So yours truly is sick now - I had a flu jab this year and was hoping I won’t be sick. I don’t think I’m sick with flu though, it looks like I’ve missed the main part of the flu and skipped straight to the sorethroat-cough part. Hmmm.

In other news, it is now 30 days to Chinese New Year…:D. I hope cookies are currently being prepared on anticipation of my return…I am partial to home made choc chips - failing which I am VERY partial to Famous Amos freshly baked cookies. Yummm. And KFC mashed potato. Or Ramly Burger Special with ketchup.

Ahh…season of giving and all that nonsense. Online shops have started their clearance sales ith 50% off all gifts - trick is you don’t get it until the new year, rendering it obsolete as a chrismas present. Just makes me feel a tad prissy; so I will be buying gifts for myself now online. Yes, consumerism is the death of Christmas..

Making most of the food to be served tomorrow today so that I get a little time to myself tomorrow to just graze on snacks. Aren’t I clever. Bear in mind that this is the first time I am making all parts of a Christmas dinner myself being one of the brats the grew up with maids; my menu for tomorrow is:

Starter
Glass noodle salad with mixed seafood

Mains
Turkey with sausagemeat stuffing & bacon wrapped sausages and hotdogs
Baked marmalade ham
Brussels sprouts
Mashed carrot & swede
Roast king edward potatoes
Mulled wine red cabbage

Dessert
Christmas pudding with brandy custard and cream (store bought)

Menu with pictures to follow after Christmas. Let’s hope I don’t blow it k! Have a great Christmas all, remember, Christmas sales starts on 26th December!!!!

Have a purrfect Christmas!

Because I am.

All presents bought and prettily wrapped up, with bacon’s present of a dishwasher arriving tomorrow. Bacon’s been apparently hiding my presents from me under his underpants. Christmas day menu all drawn up and house all decorated. Having a mini fake tree this year as I can’t stand cleaning after dropping pines this year.

and mooiness had received his pressie

so have sen hon, who had dissapeared into his closet to enjoy his pepperami.

My favourite glass bauble from habitat

We bought this from the Sunday market at the Rock @ Sydney…

Tell me the back of it does not look like an mini durian!!!

This Friday I’m off to the visa office to palm £950 off them and hopefully will return with a permanent visa - therefore no more trips to the home of the Beatles and Cavern Club @ Liverpool. I am going to try to get on the yellow duck marine though..hehe

…ago I woke up to find both my parents had dissapeared,WITH luggage

I remember tapping my mother’s stomach to feel the kick

I remember the michelin man arms that didn’t go away until he was 7. You had to scrub between the cracks

I remember being extremely annoyed for the next 10 years of my life as everything he does its because ‘he is too young’

I rememeber his first steps…drooling away in his nappy

And he gets a present for his birthday AND mine as well

And I had to share my room with him because he was ‘too young to sleep alone’. Basket..

But there it is. Today my little bro turns 22.

Wahliao.