Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Little Taiwan CIneleisure a.k.a e@curve

I'm not a food connoisseur, but I can tell what's good and what's not, according to my own tastebuds, and this place is NOT.

It's a new halal Taiwanese food franchise that seems to be popping up. I didn't bother with pictures because I suck at them.

The food looked absolutely NOTHING like the pictures.

I mean, look, I know that it's hard work to reproduce picture-perfect cuisines, but this is ridiculous. The pictures displayed proudly on the walls shows dishes which are full of food. In fact, the beef shank looked huge and juicy. What came was a tiny little dish with pathetic think strips of meat, if you could call it that lah. Most of it was fat aje anyway.

And the noodles are depicted as huge bowls of slurpy goodies, but what came out was a huge bowl (at least they got that part right) with a few sorry strands of limp noodles which I couldn't even finish anyway because the broth was tasteless. The spicy noodles basically tasted like mee bandung without the actual taste.

All in all, the food was AWFUL.

And don't even get me started on the drinks. A glass of R.O Water is sold for RM2.80. Bukan mineral water ye kawan2, RO WATER. Yang kita boleh pegi isi botol dekat tepi jalan for 20 cents ke 50 cents for one big bottle ke entah tu.

Don't try the jasmine teas, even. Macam nak terbakar tekak tak sedap langsung.

I guess their only redeeming quality is their bubble tea, which is NOT BAD, but I can probably get better elsewhere, and their snacks. Tak ingat la what I ordered but they're not bad. Not really worth the price though if you ask me.

So I give this place a THUMBS DOWN. Tak payah try. Buat rugi duit je.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Jennifer's Body

I'm currently house-sitting for my mom-in-law while she's off in Dubai (envy envy envy) after barely a week having touched down from our trip to bali. Man I kinda wish I could afford that kind of jetsetting life.

Anyway, while browsing through her DVD collection, I found a copy of Jennifer's Body and decided to watch it, since I refused to watch it missed it at the cinema.

Prior to this, trailers I had watched and that annoying soundtrack videoclip where two guys are walking through the halls of a school told me that I did NOT want to spend money to watch it at the cinema. The other part of me, however, was a slight bit curious.

Having watched it, my curious half is giving my better half a pat on the back for not letting myself spend money to subject myself to that kind of torture.

Bloody and gory, the movie had a storyline that a two year old could come up with. "Monster eats people, girl kills monster". That's it. None of the characters had any substance, and, at best, it's a show that was built around trying to show off how "hot" Megan Fox is. And since I'm neither a guy nor a fan of the girl, it doesn't work well for me.

This movie has made it to the top of my "I can't believe I wasted two hours of my life on this" list,sharing the top spot with Kung Pao, Blood The Last Vampire and Twilight. The fact that three of the four movies I just named has something to do with vampires, I reckon that it is probably trying to tell me something very important.

Pfft.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Fun in the Sun

By the time you read this, I'll be on my way to having some fun in the sun!

Bali, here I come! :)

Friday, December 11, 2009

Things I Don't Get To Say

I've always been pretty introverted. I don't find pleasure in telling the whole wide world how I feel about things. When someone does something that angers me or makes me uncomfortable, I usually keep it in because I don't like confrontations. In fact, I used to spend my whole life running away from such things.

Lately, I've been trying to change that about myself. Sometimes, it's better to make yourself heard and risk hurting people than it is to just keep quiet and let others hurt you again and again. At the very least, they know how you feel.

But then there are just some things I still don't get to say. With certain people, I bite my tongue because I know the consequences of letting my mouth run would be too grave to even consider.

But I still hate it when someone tries to make me into a puppet. When they pull on the invisible strings that they somehow attached to my mind and body and make me do things for their benefit. I hate it when someone uses me in order to get to someone else and make them do exactly what they'd like them to do.

I'm not a puppet, not a doll, not your dog. I am a human being, with feelings, desires and my own brain, which I use to determine what is right and wrong by my own standards, which I have been taught to do by my parents. And I believe that what my parents have taught me are wonderful things that are to be praised, not ignore. They taught me to respect, which is why I hold my tongue. They taught me about free will, which is why they have never forced me to do anything that I don't want to do. They've taught me really well.

So I don't think there is any need for anyone to come waltzing into my life and deciding that they've got the right to control in according to their whims and fancies. I am who I am, and maybe some people should respect that as much as I respect and love them.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

TV Shows

A few weeks ago, my mom-in-law was telling me about a show she was addicted to on TV. Nur Kasih, katanya. Obviously at that time, dengar acuh tak acuh aje la, because I thought that I was too cool for Malay series (ayat berani mati, memang nak kena sumpah kot). No offense to anyone, but I found a lot of them cliche and plot dia somehow susah nak lari, mesti orang2 kaya yang corporate yang dengki mendengki antara satu sama lain, make up and hair wajib over the top, sampai nak tidur pun rambut 'big hair' the nanny cantik gila and make up 3 inci.

And so my mum-in-law asyikla remind me to watch because she loves it so much, but I kept putting it off, expecting the same things that are always on tv. On Raya Haji, we made our way back to my husband's kampung in Muar, and it turns out that everyone there are Nur Kasih addicts and it just so happened that they were airing the last episode that day, and everyone was excited about it so I finally decided to see what the hype was all about.

The moment I saw that the director was Kabir Bhatia, I realised the folly of my earlier judgments. I had watched Sepi earlier this year and I absolutely loved it. Similarly, Nur Kasih was indeed a wonderful tv drama.

The cinematography was awesome. I thought each scene was filmed carefully, and the effect? beautiful and breathtaking.

I loved that instead of the usual 'oh help me I'm a damsel in distress and I'm just gonna keep quiet when someone does something bad to me' protagonist, this one had spunk and while she was the poster girl for the type of woman every muslim man would want to marry, she did not let anyone step on her head and is known to deliver lines akin to a slap in the face.

I loved the storyline as well. It made me cry, laugh, smile, in fact I probably went through all the emotions I have stocked up during the whole 26 episodes. Oh and for the absolute FIRST time, I LOVED Jalaluddin Hassan's acting. First time ever. I've always thought he was ott and stiff, but this time around, it was effective enough to make me cry.

I rarely ever sing praises for Malaysian made films, but I have to admit that the quality of our films are improving a tremendous lot. I find this particular series meaningful, and, for the first time, considering this is a Malaysian made tv series, when i watched the last episode I felt the same way I usually do when I finish reading a great book or get to the end of a wonderful movie. The feeling of slight sadness that it had to end.

So, Team Aidil or Team Adam (boleh tak apply Twilight punya kat sini? ;p )?

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Revamping

A few days ago, I asked myself what the point of this blog was. Is it so that I have a place to rant about the things that happen to me or others that I feel strongly about? Well, yeah, sorta. But I realise that I've been very secretive with a lot of my posts. I rant all I want but for the most part, the specific details are things that only I know. I don't reveal all that much, and I'm certainly not one of those bloggers who take the time to post up pictures. Im guessing I never will be one of those, but recently, after a significant amount of blog-hopping, I am attracted to the idea of this being a keepsake of sorts.

I imagine myself, a few years down the line, rereading my entries and reminiscing everything that's been happening to me. Or better yet, should blogger stand the test of time, having my future kids read through my posts in order to see what kind of life their mom had before they came around, or even to get to know me from the point of view of other people.For them to see me as a person, instead of just 'mum'.

So I'm thinking of doing a bit of revamping. No doubt, I will keep on using this space to rant whenever my heart wishes it. But I'll try to fit in some stories from my life as well. So that some time in the future, I'll be able to read this and cherish those moments that are so important to me that I actually felt compelled to write about them.

I may not post pictures, but that's ok. I'm not much of a picture person anyway.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Long Overdue


Contrary to the date, I wrote this almost a month after the fact. I've been meaning to write it earlier, telling myself that I need some time to turn my feelings into words, but day after day, it just gets harder, so here it goes.

If you're not a big fan of someone raving about their relationship, then I suggest you stop reading right now. This is not a practical post, it's not informative, it's just my a release of everything I have pent up in my heart and my brain. So if you're one to get nauseated by declarations of affection, then go on at your own risk. This is written solely as a reminder for the way I'm feeling at this moment: Friday, 25 December 2009.

On the 2nd of December, we celebrated our 2nd anniversary. Two years together. A lot of people might think that we had it easy, and in some aspects, we did. Getting married during our studies was probably one of the best decisions we've ever made because we helped each other through the toughest times when others had to slog through them alone. We didn't have to worry about finance, not before, during or even after the wedding.

Emotionally, though, we went through a lot. Ups and downs and downs again. The starting of the first year was particularly difficult, with outside influences and the start of our careers and financial freedom often getting in the way of our sensibilities. There was a time when I almost wondered if I made the right decision in getting married so early, but I'm glad to say that that time has definitely passed.

One thing I noticed, though, was that throughout these two years, good terms or not, I never fail to look forward to seeing him again at the end of a long day, to be able to talk to him and let him engulf me in one of those comfy hugs.

These 24 months seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and yet they also seem like forever to me. I know that's an oxymoron, but it's a blink because it seems like we just got married, and it's forever because I don't think I remember what it was like before I had him.

Here's to the rest of our lives together. I don't know anyone else who can stand seeing the real me the way you do, who can smile through my mood swings, who can remain quiet through my tantrums. You may not be a perfect being in other people's eyes, but you're absolutely perfect for me. I love you EpoL, and Happy Belated Second Anniversary.

P/s: Thanks for Ninja Assassin and dinner at Tony Roma's :)