Overwhelmed....

Sometimes I have so much in my head that I don't know how to tell someone, to share and get comforted. In this world that I kinda lost some hope on it, I just choose to keep quiet and ignore. But it's just too overwhelming that at some point I feel like giving up on mankind, on humanity. I guess writing it out like this is considered sharing with the world instead of talking to a person face to face which I sometimes are not that brave to do.

A few weeks ago I was at a point where I felt that this world needed an apocalypse, a major disaster to wake everyone up. Something to shake the world up and let them have a feeling that they themselves are not the world, they are not everything and I hoped that those arrogant people will feel useless and helpless instead of strutting around acting like King. People these days are very selfish and all they think about are themselves, benefits for them and more power. Some even use other people as excuses for doing what they're doing.

That day when I felt that way, a few things happened. I was on my way driving to a place and I needed to pass by a shopping mall area. There was 5 lanes and the furthest 2 right lanes are for other drivers to head to a different location. As usual at a place like this there were minor traffic jams and these are caused by people who drive at the right lanes and cut into the left lanes. I am an ethical driver and I know where I am headed so I always queue from the start before the lanes diverged. There are many who cut in on purpose because they don't want to queue at the long line, if however a person really took the wrong lane in the first place have the courtesy to put a signal light and say thank you or sorry at the driver you squeeze in, but no, nobody did that. That pissed me off because when I cut in because I had no choice I will apologise I don't drive like a ruffian and just squeeze people. This act is just so selfish, what have the world become of. I know I sound naive but since they are doing this kind of act I am sure they have done worse, it just shows what kind of a person you are even though it's just driving.

Another thing that happened on that weekend was my family and I went to dinner at a food court. For a weekend it was packed like hell and so we took quite some time to find a table. After finding a table we had to find a worker to clean the table, and so I courteously ask a person who was pushing a cart, " Please can you  help clean this table". That person just continued to push his cart and nearly hit me with it. What kind of an attitude to portray when you are in this service line, I was mad and I wanted to complain to the manager for his attitude. I wasn't even demanding rudely to have him clean my table. This made me feel that sometimes some people don't deserve gratitude because they don't even serve you with gratitude. I have always say thank you to waiters who serve food, to people who just doing a bit because it's gratitude that I want to give from the bottom of  my heart. I don't say it for the sake of saying it because I meant every word.

I get so piss and tired thinking about this world, figuring people out on their intentions. I agree some people have good intentions but this just seems to be getting less and less. Everyday I see this and I feel overwhelmed because there's nothing I can do about it, people don't act on inspiration or influence anymore, they all act based on selfishness.  If only someone could prove me wrong but we all know this is so what's happening in this world. One day when all hell breaks loose, people will be "Every man for himself" and it's just not I want to see in the future.

Twenties Girl

We are now living in the twentieth century therefore us girls can be called the twenties girl, another person who could be called that way would be someone who was living in the 1920s. That person would be old now with the age of 90 and above. Girls living in the 1920s adore dresses and for this century we adore jeans, shirts, short dresses, short skirts and many more.

Lara Lington quit her job to be a headhunter just like her best friend but she was caught in a bad position as her friend decided to quit and spend her time with another person in a foreign land. Lara herself have no experience in head hunting and was struggling to meet the demands of her clients. Other than that she just broken up with Josh who she can't get over with and thinks that there is still a chance with him. 

There was a funeral for her great aunt Sadie and her family attended along with her uncle and family. Her uncle Bill Lington is a celebrity for he made millions starting with two cents. Bill owns a big chain of coffee shops and made a name for himself. He also published a book on his path to success and gave seminars to teach people that they can do the same as him. Bill and family live a lavish life and his daughter is a spoiled brat. All of them did not give much thought to the funeral and just wanted to get it over with. 

During the funeral, Lara keeps hearing a person talking and it was asking where her necklace could be. Lara was annoyed and answer loudly but there was no one else in the funeral but her family. This girl who was dressed in the 1920s keep yelling at Lara to stop the funeral and find her necklace. Lara couldn't stand it and stopped the funeral by saying she suspected that her great aunt Sadie was murdered. Lara had to go to the police station to report her statement and why she suspected the murder. She was scared that she will be caught in an offense for making a false report but that was the only way to stall the body being buried. The girl ghost who kept haunting Lara was actually Sadie and she wanted her dragonfly necklace buried with her. It was a special gift that was given from Sadie's parents for her 21st birthday.

Day and night Sadie would pester Lara to find her necklace and on the way they met a wonderful chap called Ed. Sadie really liked his type of looks and so she forced Lara to ask him out on a date and soon they became friends. It was odd but somehow Sadie could convince people to do things by yelling at their ears continuously until they give in. Sadie's lost necklace leads to a mystery and a lie being discovered. The past of Sadie was also unraveled eventually.

This book is full of laughs and I dare say it's now my favourite work from Sophie Kinsella. I have never read so much humour in a book that seems like a ghost story but turns out to be funny. The funny parts are what Sadie manage to convince other people to do and also Lara herself. It was also interesting to read on more about how the Lara try to find a necklace that she have not seen before. The relationship between Lara and Ed was odd at first and it turned out to be something good. But the main thing of this story is the relationship that was built between Lara and her ghostly great aunt Sadie, how they found out where the necklace went to.   I really enjoyed this book but I wished the ending could somehow different on how things ended for Sadie an Lara. I recommend to those who wants a good laugh from a chic lit genre.

House of many ways

Ever gotten lost in a house? You will be if you went to live in a wizard's house that has many ways. Charmain loves to read and hopes to enjoy her summer reading more and more books. She also wrote a letter to the King to offer her help to sort out his library. She was expecting to have a fun summer but her Aunt Sempronia signed her up for a small task which is to look after Great Uncle William's house while he is away. The reason for him being away was he is sick and the elves took him away to heal him up. Great Uncle William is the Royal Wizard Norland and what's special about his house is that it bends space and time. One door can lead to different rooms.

As Charmain got there she wasn't given any instructions and she arrived just to see Uncle William getting carried away by the elves. Luckily the wizard prepared for a stay and there is a voice who answers to her questions such as How to get food, where is the bedroom and such. Uncle William's voice will be there to answer her questions to help guide her around. Certainly when she got lost in the house she would just ask and get the directions. In the house lives a magical dog and which became attached to her and along came a young boy Peter who was suppose to be the apprentice of the Royal Wizard. 

It seems like a disaster where they had many troubles in the house. Charmain also manage to get an offer from the King to help sort out the library. At the same time, the princess of Norland seeks Sophie's help in searching for the missing gold of the royal family. Sorting the documents, letters and books in the library helps the King find a clue in the missing gold. Uncle William also left a bag for Charmain which contains directions and instructions on moving around in the House. 

Somehow or rather Charmain is involved in helping to find the missing gold along with Sophie and family's help. The truth about the gold and the relatives of the Royal family is also revealed. Howl has also transformed himself to hide his true self for the investigation.

House of many ways by Diana Wynne Jones sure has many ways just to get to the bedroom in a small little house. This sequel to Howl's moving castle isn't as exciting as Castle in the Air where there was many roadblocks for Abdullah. This book had more of what happened inside the house and a bit on Sophie's family involving in searching for the missing gold and resulted to an ending that you can quite expect it to be. Throughout the book you read up on Charmain and Peter on how they manage in the house. How they did things and how they discover routes in the house which connects them to certain places. I think this story is just fine in the adventure department because not everything that happens is exciting. But when it comes to the last few chapters it gets a bit more interesting. Definitely not her finest work but good enough for me to finish the book as I wanted to know how Howl and Sophie is involved. I really hoped the writer would have sequel on the couple itself as they both have interesting personalities and also magical abilities. My favourite is still Howl's moving castle.

Castle in the Air

Living at a place where mostly you see is sand, it's hard to avoid dreaming away in the daylight. Abdullah lived in a country where when you walk out of the city it's the desert in front of you. He is just a carpet merchant and considered as a failure from the eyes of his relatives. Abdullah himself is happy with his business which was was some money left from his late father for him. He manage to get a booth at the Bazaar which is quite nicely situated where it is not too far from the rich people's house. Once in a while he manage to buy carpets from young merchants and sells it as his booth earning a little bit of profit. Most of the day Abdullah can happily daydream away where he is a prince and he marries a princess. Sometimes his father's first wife's relatives would come and complain about how he is a failure but that didn't bother him a bit.

One day Abdullah bought a carpet that was claim to be magical. The owner demonstrated that it could fly and needed to sell because he needed money quickly. Abdullah was suspicious but still the carpet was quite good quality. Abdullah was not able to summon the carpet to even float, he was upset and fell asleep trying. His dreams became wonderful where he went to a beautiful garden. At that garden was a beautiful girl and she thought that Abdullah was a girl because of the sleeping robe he was wearing. Everything felt real to him the next morning he woke up and he realised that the carpet had moved him there while he was sleeping.

Determine to see the girl again Abdullah tried all he could to summon the carpet to fly. That night itself Abdullah went to that garden again and the girl said that her father would marry her to a prince but he aged quite old. He decided to show her all kinds of man around in the world and so he bought every picture of different kind of looking man available. The people in the Bazaar thought he has changed his business into art itself. Abdullah carried all the pictures onto the carpet and went to sleep and after he woke up he showed her all the pictures and she was shocked and accepted that he is indeed a man.

The girl told him that she had a prophecy when she was born and that she was to marry the first man she sees excluding her father. That is the reason why she was only let to be out at night. The girl decided that she would marry Abdullah since he was the first other man that she saw, and so they decided to elope the next night.  In preparation Abdullah sold all his carpets to get as much money as he could and he went to buy something nicer to wear. He also got a haircut. Before he left his relative came and told him that they will reveal his prophecy that was given when he was born.

Abdullah went with him and read the prophecy which was he will be raised above others in this land. And so his relatives know that a great future will come to him and tried to set him up to marry one of the relative's cousins. Those two ladies were fat and ugly and he had to politely reject for he was going for the princess. That night he flew there happily and just about he was going land, he saw with his very own eyes that the princess was kidnapped by a djinn. He was powerless and was captured by the Sultan's guards. The sultan demanded to know where his daughter was and after they found they will fulfill the prophecy and kill him afterwards.

Abdullah manage to run away with the carpet's help and many trial and tribulations came for Abdullah to save the princess. In his journey  he met with interesting characters and met with Sophie and family unexpectedly. Abdullah will find a castle in the air and save his princess for sure.

This book is the sequel to Howl's moving castle (the one that Studio Ghibli made into a major motion picture) written by Diana Wynne Jones. Though Sophie, Howl and their baby only have a few chapters of involvement but it was fun to read how their lives had changed since then. I really like how the author inserted Howl and Sophie as they were from different lands. I really enjoyed this book as there were many trials faced by Abdullah and it was overcame unexpectedly. Although the ending can be easily predicted but how it got there was just interesting and fun. I dare say it's the second best story after Howl's moving castle.

LeSportSac Spring & Summer 2010

As we enter the summer season many fashion industry will introduce their new designs to suite the season. When it comes to summer, it's a season of vibrant colours, thin materials in clothing to suit the hot weather, slippers and shoes that doesn't cover the whole feet.

I'm not a big fan of LeSportSac as the money you pay for those bags can be used to buy a nice leather bag too. But I do like the designs they offer, it's cute, colorful and you don't get those kinds of design patterns printed on leather, it just spoils the leather. Last month while I was browsing around in Kinokuniya I came across the catalog for the Spring & Summer designs. I couldn't browse because it was wrapped up and reason being that it has a free gift if you purchase it. The free gift was a pouch and a strap is given to change it into a small sling bag.

It had a wonderful design therefore I bought it plus there was a 20% discount on it when I purchase another item. It's a win-win for me as I have other books and that magazine with the free gift only cost RM 50++ after discount. After purchasing it, I went to Isetan as they were having a sale and went to look for that pouch. That pouch cost RM 210 and Isetan was giving 50% discount resulting it to RM 105 but still I got mine half of the price after discount. It was one of my best buy that I have ever made. Eventually my sister saw how nice and she bought the magazine too but with a different design pouch. This is the first time that I bought a LeSportSac and at a cheap price too.

It was my good luck day as I flip through the magazine the design pattern that I chose for my pouch is a design that can only be found in Japan. In Malaysia you won't be able to get the design I have unless you fly to Japan and bought it there. What a wonderful day it was.

My pouch design

My sister's pouch design

Pacman 30th anniversary

It's already been 30 years since Pacman came into the gaming world. A classic game that has been played by different ages. Even though it's a simple game but it's challenging as you eat up the dots and avoid your enemy. As you pass one level, the enemy moves faster and many years down the road there are many more new maps created.

I didn't know about the anniversary until I went to Google.com. There you will see a beautiful banner displayed, what's more surprising you'll find an insert coin button. Once you clicked it, the Pacman theme starts and you see the monster moving about. What Google did was to allow users to play the game after you have clicked the insert coin button. Once you have lost it will redirect you to links related to Pacman's anniversary just like clicking any innovative banners they have.

I'm grateful that Google is doing this much to honor Pacman. It takes effort to do this and Google is certainly showing its uniqueness and that it is not merely a company that wants money but a company that wants to make a change in the IT world.

My Trip to Singapore part 2

2/5/2010 (Sunday)

Today I woke up early again because I have an appointment to have lunch with my WoW (World of Warcraft) friends that I've known since 2003. It was a hot day and before meeting up with them in Vivocity, I went to Sim Lim Square aka The Low Yat Plaza of Malaysia. I search for the directions on google maps and drew it on a paper.

My sister and I walked out and took the MRT from Kovan to Little India. Upon reaching we just follwed the map, after 10 minutes of walk and 800 meters I realised we were lost. So  my sister asked a passerby and apparently we went the wrong direction from the station. There were actually two exits at the station and we took the south one which was wrong, and so we continue our walk in the hot hot sun. The 500ml water is already finished before we reach the building since the weather was so hot and dry. Sadly when we reach our destination many of the shops were not opened because of Labour day holiday, what luck I have. After asking around for the item I wanted which was out of stock but they still printed it on the price list, we left and went back to the station.

Upon exiting the building we took the wrong exit and walked around the building until we found the right path, this is definitely a bad day for me. From Little India we took the MRT to HarbourFront and exit to Vivocity, piece of cake since the station was linked to the complex. We were one hour early so we walked around and looked at clothes, shoes and stuffs. It was time for lunch and it was at a Brazilian restaurant called Carnivore. The food was served buffet style, the reason that it's called carnivore because they keep serving meat, grilled beef, lamb, pork, sausages and chicken. The meat was cooked really well, it was so juicy and you didn't need any sauce for the meat. It was an enjoyable lunch meal and it was fun catching up with my friends.

Around 4 something we had to leave because my parents were going back to KL first. My sister and I were staying until Tuesday. We did some shopping before we left, my shoes was hurting my feet from all the walking so I bought a pair of Crocs =P. We went to Novena Square to send my parents off, there we waited for the bus to arrive and then my parents said their goodbyes to my grandparents. After that we went to dinner at a place called Yum Cha. The food was good and tasty, we had Lotus soup, pork, taufoo, and fried Min Sin which was good. Dinner was over and we went back home and called it a night.

3/5/2010 (Monday)

We woke up around 10 something and my sister helped my cousin sister with her homework. After that off we go to Orchard Road, as usual we took the MRT and there were many people as it was a public holiday for the Singaporeans. After we exit the station we found ourselves inside a shopping complex (Ion Orchard) and we have no idea where we were. So we just walked around and we found many expensive brands in this place. We went out to Orchard Road to find that the building had a very unique design and figured this was a new complex as I don't remember it 10 years ago.

On the walking street itself there were many display items for people to take pictures, we wondered around taking pictures and headed for Takashimaya for lunch. The place was just like I remember and there were many Japanese food there for sale. We bought takoyaki, Korean pancake, yakitori and some drinks and looked for a seat at the food court area. The food was good and we left to find Forever 21 in a different shopping complex as we decided to come back here for tea on the dessert later.

The Forever 21 store that we were looking for has 4 floors as described by my sister and so we walked and walked and followed a direction where many ladies was holding the bag. Somehow we got lost again and we asked a young man but he seemed lost too. Then a lady overheard and pointed us to the right direction of 313@somerset. The moment we walked in, the atmosphere was different, it was another new shopping complex and was nicely built. Everything inside was new and we could see that the brands there were also more expensive. The Forever 21 store had 4 floors and was crowded with many ladies, even the dressing room had a long queue. My sister and I looked around and had a few pieces of clothing to try on. I think we spent about 30 minutes or more there and I bought a tunic type shirt.

We went back to have tea in Takashimaya and went to Kinokuniya. We spent some time exploring the book store but didn't buy anything as the books in KL were cheaper after the exchange rate was applied. We continued walking around and waited to meet with my sister's friend for dinner. Since we were so tired we decided to eat at Ion Mall food court because it was next to the MRT station. We tried the Singapore laksa there and it was delicious wished I could eat another bowl but maybe next time. There was also Japanese food for sale at the same floor the food court was located and we bought Hokkaido steam cakes to bring home and share with everyone. We went home and tried the cakes and it was delicious, I'm definitely trying other flavours the next time I came back. It was a fun day walking and shopping at Orchard Road, too bad it wasn't the sale season as things will be cheaper. And so the night was over and we packed a bit before we went to bed.

Ion Mall

4/5/2010 (Tuesday)

 We woke up feeling sad as it was the day to go home. My cousin sisters were in school and my uncle and aunty were at work. I spent some time chit chatting with my grandmother asking her whether she had gotten used to this new home. We talked about my aunts who were living in Belgium and Paris and that they were coming to visit my grandmother this summer.  My grandmother asked my sister and I to go out and buy McDonald's which was nearby. We had lunch together and I went upstairs to finish up my packing. While half way packing my grandmother suddenly went "EH??" and I went downstairs to check what's up. Apparently my cousin sisters convinced the bus driver to send them home first because they wanted to say their goodbyes to us, so adorable. We took some pictures before we left and took the MRT to Novena Square. We felt sad that we were leaving and my grandfather said the next time we visit, we should visit longer. This ends the journey of our visit and we reached KL at 9:30pm.

 For more pictures visit: Singapore Trip

My Trip to Singapore part 1

The last time I went to Singapore I was 15 years old, so now after ten years has passed I went there again. This time it was to visit my grandparents who have moved there. It was a four day, four nights stay and to me it wasn't enough. 

30/4/2010 (Friday)

6:30 p.m. was the time the bus was leaving and at 6pm my family and I have yet to get a taxi to where the bus departs. My parents drove out to the streets to find a taxi, luckily by 6:15 we got one. Once we were there we just rushed onto the bus and then my dad's phone rang, First Coach was asking my dad to register first. It was funny because this is the first time we took a bus to Singapore and we didn't know what needed to be done. Our 1st trip to Singapore as a family started with anticipation and excitement. The journey on the bus took more than 5 hours, my sister was watching the movies provided by the bus, my mom was recalling her time in Singapore when she was younger and I was sleeping as I couldn't watch any show from my seat.

We reached the Singapore customs after 11:30 and went into Singapore, it took about 30 minutes to reach the drop off point for the bus. My aunt and uncle also came at the same time to pick us up where the bus drops us, Novena Square. My grandmother was inside the car waiting for us, it's so good to see her, missed her so much. My grandmother insisted to look for food for us as we have been on the bus without dinner. We passed by a place selling chicken rice and so decided to pack it back to eat.

At home we all shared the food and it was good and tasty. The packaging was really clean and neat, the chili was in a sealed plastic bag. In Malaysia the rice and chicken are packed in polyester packs and in Singapore it's inside nice plastic box.  We were all tired and so we went to bed in the third floor.

1/5/2010 (Saturday)

Early in the morning I could hear my cousin brother crying, but I continued to sleep until 9 something my sister and I woke up. We got ready to go to the nearby market for breakfast, one thing good about Singapore's area structure, every housing area have a market, food court and a train station that is walking distance. It took less than 10 minutes and less than 1 km to reach the place, my aunt, cousin sisters, my mom, sister and I walked there, it was fun. We had beef ball noodles and my aunt showed us more of their new home and the area. There was a small shopping mall and the MRT was very near too. We walked home to rest as lunch time we were heading to Resort World Sentosa.

At 11:45am, my uncle drove all of us to Resort World Sentosa, my aunt's new work place. My aunt treated us lunch there at a VIP restaurant, the food was good and special. After that, we walked around the hotels and took some pictures, in our next trip we decide to visit Universal Studios, for there were many people as it was a public holiday in Singapore. It was a hot afternoon, we also went in the casino. The casino was so crowded, many gamblers at roulette table, blackjack table and poker table. Even the slot machines were full of people sitting there and gambling. My grandmother gave my sister 10sgd to try her virgin luck, she won back the 10sgd and then lost it to the classic slot machine. It was a confusing game as we don't understand how we got points. We went home tired and took a nap until dinner.

For dinner we went into the city to a restaurant that had the same reading sound as my grandmother's name. The food that was served was Hainan style, the pork chop was very good. After that my uncle drove us around town awhile and we passed by Little India, there were many people there and mostly are Indians, it's like looking at Brickfields, KL that is 5 times bigger and more crowded. My parents went to visit my grandaunt who lived nearby after that and all the children and my grandfather went to bed. 

Trip to the market

Resort World Sentosa