Las Vegas, Nevada

I realised that I have been neglecting my blog over here for quite a while and have only been updating my Multiply blog. I thought I better start posting more stuff here before the end of December... otherwise I wouldn't have any entries for the month of December at all. I really can't believe that 2006 is ending in just another week!! Around mid-December, my company organised a company meeting/trip to Las Vegas in Nevada. There were loads of excitement about it when it was first announced and everyone was predicting that it would be one weekend to be remembered. I have to say that it was phenomenal and there is just no other city like it in the world.
After all, how often can you say that you have visited New York, Paris, Rome, Venice, Egypt etc in ONE weekend???

Even though I don't gamble, I have to say that there are loads of stuff to keep you entertained while you are here. I signed up for the balloon ride on Saturday but it was cancelled but luckily I managed to go for the helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon on Sunday and that was lovely!

Besides outdoor activities like biking, hiking, tours, etc, Las Vegas also have fabulous shows. They have so many lovely Cirque Du Soleil shows here and some of them are extremely grand and they don't have it anywhere else because the stage is so difficult to set up. I wanted to catch one of it but unfortunately, on the free day that I had, they didn't have any shows available during that time.
However, this is one show I regret to catching when I was in Vegas - "Australia's Thunder from Down Under".


OMG! I think it was really unforgivable for me to miss this one... Sigh... I'll just have to have my hen's night in Vegas next time...

Interested to earn some money?

When Jenny, Maxine, Chee Onn and myself were walking around the Yale campus in New Haven, we walked into one of the colleges and saw loads of advertisements being posted up to subject yourself to certain experimentation and get MONEY for it as well. I guess if you are too lazy to work to help support your studies, you can just submit yourself to one of these things:

Look at this! Even if you are depressed, you can get money for it! Let's say the session lasts for 1 hour, after an hour, you are $30 richer. Cheaper than going to a psychiatrist but not sure whether this will actually help you or drive you to commit suicide.

Hmmm... as if I need some more things to feed my hypochondraic tendencies. If I get a brain scan, I will most probably start seeing tumours everywhere in the scan. It looks like they only want people who are having problems "eating and sleeping". I think I am qualified. Sometimes I have a problem controlling what I eat at night and then I cannot sleep because I am too full. Kakakakaka!!

You can even make money on past traumatic experiences... I wonder how they decide on the amount to give you.

1. Got your handbag snatched - $40?

2. Husband smacked you around a bit - $100?

3. Step-father raped you - $200?

How do you put a figure on it?

Ohhh!! This is the highest! With this, I'll have enough to pay for my apartment rent, cable, high-speed internet and my lovely TiVo!! Woo hoo!!

Hahaha! Female smokers earn more than male smokers. I guess this is economics of scale for you - demand and supply. More supply, value goes down... More demand, value goes up.

Ok... no money for this but... ASIAN IDOL!! WOO HOO! I would LOVE to see the auditions for this...

Car gadgets

I forgot to include this in my last blog when I was raving about the car I rented. This must be the coolest rear-view mirror ever created! What's cool about it?
1. The mirror is tinted so at night, there won't be any glare from other cars.
2. It is a miniature compass. It will tell you which direction you are driving to.
3. The first button is to switch on and off the compass.
4. If you press the second button, you will hear a voice booming in the car... "Welcome to Onstar... blah blah blah" followed by instructions on how to make a call from your car using only your voice. OMG!! So James Bond-like!! Wheee!
5. The third button will take you to Onstar help and you can get assistance if you have difficulty making a call.
6. The fourth button is the Emergency Hotline. I didn't know what it was so I just pressed it and suddenly it said it was dialing the Emergency Hotline. I hung up immediately but they called me back!! I pressed the second button to pick the up the call but I panicked and quickly hung up again. Then they called again "Hi ma'am, is there an emergency in the vehicle?" I told them that my kid was messing around with all the buttons. Hahahaha! Luckily they fell for it!! Phew!

Anyway, I've already returned this car and got something similar. No more cool buttons in the car though... well... it was fun while it lasted... kekekeke!!

Sexy cars and sexy girls...

Ahhh... occasionally I manage to get a really nice car. This car is so cool!! I was in love with the Pontiac Grand Prix before this but this one, the Pontiac G6, is a cool, cool, cool alternative as well. It is perfect for winter. I can start the car when I am still in the apartment so that it will heat it up nicely while I saunter down slowly and enter a lovely warm car. Oh... if it is still too cold, I can turn on the seat warmers on the buttery soft leather seats... Ohhhhh... such a good feeling especially if you have a backache or if it that time of the month!!

I managed to get the upgraded version with all the extra trimmings - auto start, heated seats, auto seat adjuster (up, down, front, back) and car phone. It also came in this funky blue colour that makes it look so sporty and so damn cool.

I'm going to Toronto on Thursday and I will have to return this car... Boo hoo hoo! My heart is already breaking!!

Hair colour anyone?

For those of you who knows me, you would know that I have been colouring my hair for the past 7 years. I guess with short hair, it just looks a bit better if you have a bit of colour in your hair to add some texture into it. Red, green, blonde, lowlights, highlights, headlights (???), I have done it all. Just recently I made my usual pilgrimage to the hairdressers to get my hair cut and coloured since I was back in Malaysia. Got a brownish base with platinum blonde highlights. Unlike some of my friends who colour their hair and try to make it look like they didn't colour it at all, I can carry off really obvious colours.

I thought my hair colour was pretty obvious but when I stepped into Midvalley Megamall, I was accosted by a sales lady from Guardian pharmacy who shoved some hair colour from L'oreal into my face - "Eskew me miss... hair colour... velly easy to use!!". Bloody hell... Do I look like I still need more hair colour??? I had enough foils in my hair to operate a satellite dish! Do these sales people actually look at the people they are trying to sell their products to and what are they thinking? Do they think to themselves:
1. Oh!! She has coloured her hair! I think she will want more hair colour!
or
2. Just keep shouting to everyone and hopefully someone will bite on the bait?

I reckon its the latter...

Watching paint dry...

Argh!!! The internet connection back home is so slow... I have been trying to upload some photos and to update my blog but it is taking forever! I find myself playing spider solitaire while waiting for something to load up. I can only upload one or two photos at a time on my multiply site and I can't even upload a full size photo on blogger. I miss my high speed internet!!!
Looks like when I am back for good, I will have to update my blog in the office. Hahaha!! Don't really have much of a choice. Oh well...

Keeping warm...

With winter coming soon, it is a good idea to wrap yourself up like a "bak chang" so that you won't catch a chill. I don't mind wrapping up but I have ridiculously short fingers and I hate wearing gloves. Whenever I wear gloves, I feel extremely clumsy because half of the finger tips will be filled with air as my fingers are just not long enough to fit nicely into a pair of gloves. Sigh... anyway, why waste money on gloves when there is an easier way to warm your hands... just sit on it and the heat from your butt will warm it up nicely... hahaha!

Overburdened

I don't know why but when I walk from my car up to my apartment, I don't like making a couple of trips to carry all my packages up. Instead, I pile everything on my arms, my back, my hips, etc and try to bring it all up at the same time. I observed what I bring in to work everyday - my Crumpler laptop bag (with my laptop), my handbag, my sports shoes (packed in a Terget plastic bag) and occasionally my packed lunch. OMG! So auntie!! Just the other day, I was carrying all this plus 2 extra packages that was delivered from Amazon. I know it looks really bad but I am just so lazy to make 2 trips down so I end up carrying everything up all at once.

New Year resolution:
Try to be a bit more patient and take things easy.

The cliffside scenic drive...

Newport in Rhode Island has a reputation for glamour and beauty. It boasts fantastically opulent mansions (usually used as summer homes for the extremely rich families). It is just a pleasure to walk around the cliffs and admire the seaside.

Homo erectus

I was at the Museum of Natural History in Washington DC and I saw this. Somehow it just reminded me of Friends - the episode where they were all in Bahamas listening to Ross's speech about dinasaurs and Joey kept giggling everytime Ross said "Homo erectus". Heh heh heh...

The World according to America

I got this from Sammy... hahaha! Its hilarious... thanks Sam!

Darth Bear

I was just going through some of my old photos and I came across this photo with Darth Bear... HOW COOL IS THAT?? The moment I saw him... I knew... KODAK MOMENT! Woo hoo! Being one of the rabid fans of Star Wars, little things like this excites me... heh heh heh!
What do you think Darth Bear would say???

3. "And now your highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden rebel beehive"

2. "Hmmm... the Force is strong with this bee..."

1. "Pooh... I AM YOUR FATHER!!

Kill thy neighbour

Urgh... my neighbour has a really bad habit! We share a common wall - in the bedroom. He sets his alarm clock to just before 5 am and then when it rings at 4.55 am, he hits snooze and it will keep beeping every 5-10 minutes and he will keep on snoozing it until around 6 am!!! ARGHHHH!!!! The worse thing is that I wake up when it beeps all the time!! Why can't that idiot just set his alarm for 6 am?????

It has annoyed me for a while but I have been so tired this week that I am at the brink of going crazy!!

How to hook bait

I just went deep sea fishing today... first time fishing in my entire life!! I thought that fish would eat worms but it turns out that fish eats... FISH! Hmmm... not sure whether I wanted to participate in encouraging fish cannibalism but what the heck... I'm here for the experience...


1. Take the little hook and unhook it and then poke the fish in one eye and pull it out on the other eye.

Note: There will be a squishy sound when you jab the fish eye. Ewwww... I was grossed out at first but after that, it was kinda amusing and I kept poking my bait's eye.

Note2: If you don't insert in the hook on the top part of the eye, you might just poke the entire eye out and your poor bait will be "eye-less".

2. Take the bigger hook and measure it down the fish and see where the point touches. Then, turn the hook sideways and shove the hook into one side of the body and out the other side of the body and turn it so that the chain remains flat on the fish.

Note: This was not as gross as poking the fish eye. At first, we didn't really want to touch the bait but after a while... squish squich squish... poke poke poke... muahahaha!


Taddah!! Yummy bait all ready on the line!!

Extreme weather - urgh

A warning has been issued by the weatherman:

"AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT WEDNESDAY.

TEMPERATURES SOARED WELL INTO THE 90S THIS AFTERNOON. THE COMBINATION OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY RESULTED IN HEAT INDICES AROUND 105 DEGREES... WITH HEAT INDICES AS HIGH AS 110 DEGREES IN HARTFORD COUNTY CT.
WEDNESDAY WILL BE THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE WEEK...AS HIGH TEMPERATURES APPROACH 100 DEGREES OVER MOST OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND. HEAT INDICES ARE LIKELY TO REACH AROUND 110 DEGREES WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...WITH ISOLATED VALUES NEAR 115 DEGREES POSSIBLE.

PEOPLE WHO REMEMBER THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST 1975 WILL FIND SIMILARITIES TO THIS SPELL OF HOT WEATHER. THIS WILL BE AN EXTREME EVENT FOR SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND. THE HEAT WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE A SERIOUS LIFE THREATENING SITUATION IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN...ESPECIALLY FOR THE ELDERLY...CHILDREN...AND THOSE WHO WORK OUTSIDE BETWEEN 11 AM AND 6 PM EACH DAY.

PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND SHOULD PLAN ON ALTERING THEIR DAILY ROUTINE... IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE RISK OF HEAT EXHAUSTION...OR WORSE...BEING A CASUALTY OF LIFE THREATENING HEAT STROKE.

AVOID STRENUOUS OUTDOOR ACTIVITY... ESPECIALLY FROM LATE MORNING THROUGH THE EVENING...AND SPEND TIME IN AIR CONDITIONING IF POSSIBLE.

MAKE SURE ROOMS REMAIN PROPERLY VENTILATED IF AIR CONDITIONING IS NOT AVAILABLE...BY OPENING WINDOWS AND USING FANS. THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR THOSE IN THE URBAN CENTERS.

NO PERSON OR PET SHOULD EVER STAY IN AN ENCLOSED VEHICLE EVEN FOR THE SHORTEST AMOUNT OF TIME. TEMPERATURES QUICKLY RISE TO LIFE THREATENING LEVELS...EVEN IF THE WINDOWS ARE PARTIALLY OPENED.

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN HIGH HUMIDITIES ARE EXPECTED TO COMBINE WITH HOT TEMPERATURES RESULTING IN HEAT INDICES OF 105 DEGREES OR GREATER. AVOID PROLONGED WORK IN THE SUN OR POORLY VENTILATED AREAS. ALSO...DRINK PLENTY OF WATER AND TRY TO STAY IN AN AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENT."

It is too hot here. I don't like summer. Bad summer! Bad summer!

Workaholic tendencies

I am definitely a freaky workaholic. I complain about how much work I have but even when I am officially on holiday, I am checking my email and fixing stuff for work. I guess it is my sense of responsibility... *saint*

10 signs that Hsiu Pin is a WORKAHOLIC:
10. Gives boss my mobile number.
9. Answer calls from boss even when I am on vacation.
8. Answer work emails even when I am on vacation.
7. Carries work documents in my carry-on instead of a spare change of clothes.
6. Send detailed instructions to my replacement but end up doing the work instead.
5. Bought an anti-social device so that I can use it at work.
4. Remembers all object codes by heart.
3. Goes online and IM work colleagues about work!!
2. Leaves the office and head off to the airport and immediately check work email AND continue working until I board the flight... *I am so sad*
1. Applies for vacation and END UP WORKING WHILE ON VACATION... *I am sadder than sad*

Ok... how much is it to buy a life?

Comments are working now...

Dear Gentle Readers,

I was recently informed that comments on my blog were not appearing. It was obviously due to my own itchy fingers. I saw an option that said Moderate Comments and I thought, wow... what a great idea! Unfortunately, I don't get an email saying that someone posted a comment on my blog and is waiting for my approval. So I opened it up again. Can't be bothered moderating the comments... I want lots and lots and lots of comments! Keep them all coming...

Love,
Me

ASD

Yay! Guess what? I finally own my very own ASD (anti-social device)!! Yes, being anti-social is just so "in" right now...
Basically I usually condemn the use of ASD. I just don't like it when people use it at work (although I have now decided to be anti-social at work and use it). After all, it gives the message "Do not talk to me, I do not want to talk to you"...
However, being in America has finally taken its toll on me and has transformed me into an anti-social ball. I never thought I would buy an iPod but with the long flights, I just want to avoid making conversations with people on the plane so I just plug it in and voila... the message comes across to people. Woo hoo!!

Yes, 7 months in America and Hsiu Pin = Anti-social Person (ASP).

Not so indie and other things...

Got this from Jigsaw is an indie chick. Decided to post up my results as well then...

You Are 45% Indie

You're pretty indie, but you don't make a fuss letting everyone know. You just do what you like. You enjoy many types of things - from trendy to bizarre.

How Indie Are You?

Your Dosha is Pitta

You have a quick mind, a gift for persuasion, and a sharp sense of humor. You have both the drive and people skills to be a very successful leader. Argumentative and a bit stubborn, you have been known to be a little too set in your ways. But while you may be biased toward your own point of view, you are always honest, fair, and ethical. With friends: You are outgoing and open to anyone who might want to talk to you In love: You are picky but passionate To achieve more balance: Be less judgmental of those around you, and take cool walks in the moonlight.

What's Your Dosha?

Flat head?

I found out that I have many special talents. Check this out!!! Hmm... I guess doing yoga really helps with my posture. Heh heh heh! Otherwise, it just means that I have a flat head. Hmph! Me thinketh I can visit Africa and balance lots of fruits on my head. Yes... carry all the fiber around with me for my 7 portions of fruits and vegetables a day.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - The Treehouse

For fans of the hit series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, here's the usual tagline: In a race against time on a project that would ordinarily take months to achieve, a team of designers, hundreds of workmen and even the neighbours, have just seven days to completely renovate an entire house - every single room, plus the exterior and landscaping...

Before: An ordinary treehouse with barely any furnishing and no room to move around is just not enough to sustain human life.

After: An exquisite house is build around the trees. In fact, no trees were harmed in the making of this house...

Flashdance... What a feeling!

First, when there's nothing... but a slow glowing dream...
That your fear seems to hide deep inside your mind...
All alone I have cried silent tears full of pride...
In a world made of steel, made of stone

Well I hear the music, close my eyes... feel the rhythm...
Wrap around... take a hold of my heart....
What a feeling!! bein's believin'!!
I can't have it all, now I'm dancin' for my life....
Take your passion, and make it happen....
Pictures come alive, you can dance right through your life


Yes... flashdance... my style...

The corn blog

Since this is a slightly x-rated blog, I have changed the names of all the characters involved.

How much entertainment can an ear of corn give? This dehydrated corn costs only CAD$3 but it provided days of entertainment!! Funny and Shopaholic bought this and they brought it with them to Humming. The trunk of the car was so small and we were trying our best to fit everything (girls just can't travel light...) into it but decided to just pass the corn to La Mer to keep... BUT... SHE LOST IT!!

This opened up hours and hours of corny innuendos... Let me just list down some of it:
1. La Mer, are you using it as a sex toy? - It is ribbed, for your pleasure...
2. I guess you won't be lonesome tonight....
3. La Mer: I really dunno where it went!!!, Pirate: Wow... you can keep it in there for so long?
4. La Mer (making more excuses and drinking water at the same time): maybe it popped out... Pirate: Are you so hot down there until you got it to POP??? La Mer (choking on water and spraying it all out)... Funny: Ooh... you got her all wet now...
5. La Mer: All of you can go out and enjoy the view! I will stay in the car and look for the corn!! Pirate (under the breathe): Well... looks like you'll do anything to be alone with the corn!



Heh heh heh... I am sure you can come up with more... I welcome any additions!!

By the way, Pirate finally found the corn at the back of the car and La Mer was so relieved. I guess the corn helped relieved frustrations?? Hahaha!!

By the way, the second picture shows what happens to the corn when it gets HOT HOT HOT!!

Lavender

Do you actually know what lavender looks like? Or is it just a purple flower thingy in your mind? Well, there were heaps and heaps of purple flowers in Vancouver. On the way to Whistler, we passed quite a few purple flowers. Linda and I thought they were lavender so we were exclaiming "Lavender! Lavender!"

Jenny brought us crushing down to reality by informing us that it was NOT lavender. Hmph!

Oh well... it was purple anyways!

Words of wisdom

My project manager is half-baked... if you take a bite, you might get indigestion.
~GC: 29 May 2006

The wrong side of the bed...

This is a tale of the sadistic, killing alarm clock. With the advancement of technology, it has been quite a while since I used a proper alarm clock. After all, who needs one with our mobile phones at our side most of the time? We just need to set a time and bingo! Some smart person also created a button called “Snooze”. It is definitely one of the better creations of all time. However, if you are not used to the sound of the alarm clock, you might either:
1. Not wake up at all or
2. Jump out of the bed with your heart pounding

The Sheraton Wall Centre in downtown Vancouver provides each room with a radio alarm clock. We got a room with 2 double beds but the beds were slightly smaller than a queen size bed. Georgie and Jenny shared a bed and lucky me - I got a bed all to myself.

Since Georgie was the closest to the alarm clock, she was in charge of setting the alarm in the morning. The silly clock was 1 hour fast so she set it at 6 am. However, somehow during the night, she adjusted the time to the correct zone. At 6 am… the bloody alarm went off blaring and scared the shit out of us. Jenny jumped up in the bed (and promptly just turn over to sleep again) and Georgie, in her haste to switch the bloody thing off, fell off the bed and hit her head on the side table and landed with a loud *thump* onto the floor.

I panicked like mad! I shouted “Georgie!!! Georgie!!!” and she didn’t reply! I thought she died or something. Finally Jenny decided to roll over and join in the shouting match as well. So the 2 of us were shouting at poor Georgie who was just lying so still on the floor. Finally she moved one arm and rubbed her head… and said… “Ya… none of you bothered to even switch on a light!!!”

Whoops!

Araxi

YAY! I'm finally on a holiday! This is my first real holiday for the year. I'm over in the Land of Maple Leaf. CANADA! Woo hoo! I am finally utilising my Canadian visa which I managed to get done when I was rushing around in Malaysia the last time I was back. Met up with Linda, Georgie and Jenny over here. Linda drove us all to Whistler.

It is just so gorgeous! So picturesque and just so many things to do around here. We did a hike to the Lost Lake yesterday and after that long walk, we decided that we could treat ourselves to a good meal. Kekekeke! The food here is great!! Took a couple of really good shots. We went to Araxi and it was kinda like a fusion between western and Japanese cusine. The Hamachi was soooooo good. I can easily get addicted to it. You can eat it with some sprouts and I don't really know what that orange stuff was but it is slightly crispy and the combination of tastes and the freshness of the fish was just phenomenal. I am now drooling over my keyboard. Hahahaha!!

Jenny ordered the lamb and it was just nicely done. So tender and delicious. It was still red in the middle (I LIKE) but cooked to perfection. Hardly any fat and it was just pure meat! It is so satisfying to pop a piece in your mouth and enjoy the experience. I know I can definitely not be a vegetarian. With food like this around.... it is almost a sin not to eat it. I had the chicken and it was stuffed with goats cheese and in a red wine sauce. Ohhhh... It is just so good. The skin is cooked until it was crispy but the meat (chicken breast) was still very juicy and tender... The chicken here is slightly different. It is more soft and tender.

The piece de resistance was the two tower seafood platter thingy. Check it out!! They had a sushi roll which I think contained crab meat, sweet juicy prawns, some ahi poke (raw tuna marinated with some stuff that is super yummy), smoked salmon, seared tuna and the bottom tower was a dozen raw oysters!!! They had so many different types of oysters. It is like selecting a bottle of wine from the wine-list. You can pick and choose what variety of oysters you like.

Vancouver is just so good for food. To hell with the Special K diet.... I'm now on the SEE FOOD diet!!!

Corny CSI

This is from H... another laugh out loud joke that embarrassed me in the office:

Apparently there was this episode in csi where they found wheat on the barrel of a gun... And Grisom went "This guy must be some sort of 'CEREAL' killer".

I love statements like that....

Jekyll and Hyde

Awww.... look at this cute little squirrel eating.... so adorable!!!!


Aiks! Transformed into a psycho killer squirrel!!!

I want to be back home... just chilling...

Sigh, I was looking through some of my photos and I just want to go back and hang out with my friends and just talking crap and eating a lot... Not a worry in the world... I really felt the difference the last time I was back... Felt like a huge load was lifted from my shoulders. Gosh... I have only been back here for a month but it feels like an eternity... I am so exhausted and just feel so old... Whenever the weekend comes around, all I want to do is sleep. Good morning, good afternoon and good night.... zzzzzz....

My thongue ith thore

I ate pineapple the other day. Bad mistake. I think I have cuts all over my tongue now!! It is so sore. I might start talking with a lisp now. Sigh.... my thongue ith thore....

On my way back

I'm just hanging around Changi airport waiting for my flight. This really is an impressive airport. There are free internet kiosks everywhere and also a place for you to set up your laptop. No free internet for your personal laptop though so you have to go to the kiosks for internet. You are given a 15 minute timeslot to use the internet and after 15 minutes, you are automatically logged out and you have to login again to use another 15 minutes. I guess this is another Singaporean government tactic to control/brainwash the minds of their people. Malaysia's tactic for a peaceful society is to close down the news agency if they publish anything controversial and the bloody censorship board working overtime to censor the movies shown in the cinema. I reckon that there is no use censoring stuff because people already know what is going to happen. Romantic music, soulful gazes, the couple move closer together... *CENSORED* - They wake up together in the same bed. Puh-leeeze... do u think we don't know what happened? Are u raising a society of morons? It also baffles me that the simplest kiss gets censored while violent scenes where a person's head gets chopped off and his guts are scattered all over the ground remains in the movie. Does this mean "a simple kiss" would incite a rampage while "guts-all-over-the-place" helps keep peace? Go figure...

Edit: I stand corrected. If you find a laptop area with ethernet, you can just plug it into your laptop and get free internet on your laptop as well. No 15 minute restriction as well!! Brilliant! Wish I had a longer layover in Changi!

Stress ball

When I got back home, my mum told me she bought something back for me from Sydney. It was a stress ball. In a way, I think this is a very appropriate gift for me as I have been feeling very stressed and stretched (not yoga stretched but work stretched) at the moment. I guess instead of feeling so irritable, I will start using this stress ball and see if it actually has any thereupetic effect on me. This is to replace the dog I wanted to get. The apartment complex I am living in don't allow dogs. They allow cats but I need to put in a deposit for having a pet. Hmm... I am not a cat person and I don't want to die and have the cat eat me since no one is around to feed it. Urgh... I just don't do cats!
Anyway, back to the stress ball, it is actually quite cool. At first I thought it looked a bit like the "hard nudibranches" that you find underwater but obviously, it is soft. I was fiddling with it and I decided to use a lot of force when I squeeze it. To my horror (although I was secretly thrilled by it), these pus-like pustules started popping out!! Eeeeek!! It looks really gross! My brother has one as well and his is orange in colour and when you press it, green bubbles will pop out and that really looks like pus!!
I reckon that some people feel relieved after pressing stuff out. For example, popping a pimple (although I don't do that because I don't want to leave scars on my face). Eeeps... so this must be their concept when they created this stress ball. It even has a squishy sound when you press it. Kekekekeke!! After the initial shock, I am kinda addicted to the ball now. Just can't stop pressing it.... *squish* *squish* *squish*

I'll be back home soon...

Yay! I actually started this blog a couple of days ago in anticipation of going back home to Malaysia. But I was just swamped with work this week that it was really hard to find time to blog. It has also been quite a while since I wrote a lengthy blog. Someone commented once that I write a lot in my blogs but recently I have just been putting up a couple of pictures here and there only. I have to say that I am really looking forward to going back home. I have so many things to do back home though. The problem about travelling for work is that when you actually go back home, you spend a lot of your time doing administrative and just every-day errands that just can't be done while you were away. For me, I am just looking forward to a good night rest. I haven't been sleeping well for the past few weeks due to work commitments and my brain is just too active at night to shut down for a bit. Yes, even my expensive La Mer cream is not helping the dark circles and the fine lines around my eyes. Dammit! I guess I can't pass off as a 22 year old anymore!! Oh well...

HOME SWEET HOME...

If you look really closely...

You can probably spot the Axon office in New Jersey. Do you see the tallest building in the picture? Well, that's not it. It is probably one of the 2 small ones to the right of the tall building. I haven't been there yet since I am based in CT. Apparently, the board room in the office has a magnificent view of New York with the Empire State building and all... I wonder whether they have a fish tank?? I remember someone telling me that we have a fish tank in the Malaysian office because they have one in the UK as well. Hmm... the fish tank in the Egham office is much more impressive than the one in Malaysia. Also, the fish in the Malaysian office keeps dying and sometimes the fish tank looks absolutely filthy... oh well....


It was foggy and drizzling slightly as well. I didn't actually take the boat trip out to see the Statue of Liberty but here's a picture from afar...

Driving Drama

Sigh... I was driving down to New Haven to catch the train to NYC but just 10 minutes into the trip, I heard a soft thud and then a knocking sound. Hmm... I thought if I drive a bit slower and ignore the sound, it might go away. Unfortunately, I started seeing smoke emitting from the back of my car through my rear-view mirror. I had to quickly stop the car on the side of the road. At first I thought it might have been the exhaust which caused all the smoke but when I got out and inspected the car, I had a flat. Luckily I had my rental documents with me and I called up the roadside assistance and waited around 45 minutes for the guy to arrive. An old man stopped by and asked me whether I had a phone to call for assistance. What a sweetie! Eravi also came down and kept me company for a while. Phew! I was glad it happened during the day. The roadside assistance came and changed my tyre to the donut. I could only drive a maximum of 35 miles/hr to the rental agency to get a new car. I was not in the best of moods when I got to the rental agency but everyone was really nice. I got a lot of "Are you alright, honey?" and "We'll upgrade you for your inconvenience". Hehe! I got a cool car now... it is a Pontiac Grand Prix. The only problem is that it says it has 0% oil life. Hmm... it is probably due for a service. I just hope it last for another 2 weeks and then I am heading back home!!!

Dog rice

When I was young, we always had a couple of dogs at home. They usually get fed once a day and their meal consists of chunks of meat and rice. We had 2 rice bins at home. One for us to cook and eat, and another one consisting of "dog rice". Basically, dog rice was just normal rice but a bit unpolished and cheaper. Thus, the texture is a bit more coarse. As the years go by... white rice gets a bad rep especially with the Atkins, GI diets around. And guess what? Unpolished rice is now healthier. Hmmm... Well, I decided to give brown rice a try. No harm trying... I don't usually eat much rice but I did buy a small packet of jasmine rice and brown rice. I mix them up when I cook it. It reminds me of dog rice though... just can't get that image out of my head.... It looks just like the rice Sweetie, Jojo, Puteh and Capri use to eat!!

Ice ice baby

I am such a water baby. I drink loads of water, I love swimming, I love scuba diving, I just love water!! I don't do soft drinks, coffee or tea though. Just good, pure, clean (well, as clean as you can get in Malaysia) water...

My chinese element is actually Fire. An excerpt from one of the chinese astrology website: "Those of you born under the influence of the Chinese Element Fire burn through life with your fierce charm, your impulsive enthusiasm and your restless emotions. A natural leader, you inspire with your decisive action and dramatic expression; people can't help but be magnetically drawn to you. Where will you lead your followers? Likely into an exciting adventure of some sort. You're instinctual, but your mind sparks with new ideas and clever solutions."

Water actually douse out fire. Hmm... does that mean we should be enemies? I think not. After all, we all need a little bit of balance in our lives. I definitely can't live without water. I have a bottle of water wherever I go. Back home in Malaysia, I keep a fresh bottle of water in my car all the time. Unfortunately, I found out that i can't do that over here. It is so cold outside that the water in my bottle freezes up (Refer to pic). Lesson learnt: Buy a big handbag so that you can stuff your water bottle in there. Looks like I have to make another trip to the premium outlet to buy that bag from Coach! Haha!