Subsidy cuts

Notice that they don’t call it a price hike but subsidy cuts or subsidy rationalization. It seems that they had a press conference with the media to tell them not to use words like price hike. That’s what my colleague told me. Hmmm…. But there is a increase in price because subsidy has been cut so its not lying, just a better choice of words…

RON95 increased by 5 sen, sugar 25 sen per kg, RON97 increased by 5 sen (so far, price is not fixed) and more.

Why is sugar subsidized in the first place? It’s not a basic necessity. Personally I can live without sugar. So I wouldn’t mind paying a bit more for sugar. Besides, It’s not like it cost Rm100 per kg, and you only use a little at a time. What’s the big deal?

Hopefully there will be less diabetics in this country.

For now 5 sen increase in petrol is not much. It will cost me maybe RM10 more per month. Not too bad. At least its done gradually so that we don’t get shocked. Hmmm…

Someday I’m gonna cycle to work, like how I used to cycle to school. My colleagues will think im insane. But its ok, I’ll be saving the environment a little and also get some exercise hehe ;) Or maybe get a place to stay which is nearer to the workplace :P

Still there?

Hi faithful readers (those of you who are still here :P)

Sorry for the lack of updates..as usual, so much to say, so lazy to type :P

A friend asked for help to book a one way flight ticket from KL to Russia (No direct flights but transit at DEL, Dubai or Abu Dhabi are a few available). As usual, we always want the cheapest ticket available! So I had to ask my good friend Google for some suggestions. ;) Some of the usual cheap flight ticket websites don’t permit credit cards outside US or Canada to be used so I had to be creative. So I checked the cheap flight ticket websites and got the flight carriers and times as well as their transit airports, and checked out their websites, checking their prices and flight times. They don’t have MAS or Air Asia on the list and I thought: why not try our local airline websites and see if I can get a suitable flight time for KUL to DEL/BKK/HAN (transit). So after checking em all out and deciding that DEL-SVO was the cheapest flight (Aeroflot – Russian airline), I checked out the price for KUL-DEL thru MAS and Air Asia. Managed to get Air Asia ticket for half the MAS price. (Always check both because sometimes you can get a cheaper MAS ticket :)) And by doing this, I managed to save approx RM650 =D

All this done by just sitting in front of the computer. I love it! =D

I actually had fun doing all this researching. Weird? Maybe. But now I know more about each airline company I checked. Hehe. I had so much fun during my short trip to Miri to visit a friend, and I can’t wait to go on another holiday! Even if I have to go alone! hahaha desperate! :P Oh and the short trip to JB and Singapore was also so much fun! I wanna go again! Still have some cash from the last trip hehe :)

Near future destination ideas: Vietnam, Sydney

Future destination ideas: Paris, Italy, London (Let’s see if i can save enough money :P)

 

Oh and a note to myself to blog about these topics:

1) Work & back to life in a small town (Nov onwards)

2) OBM for 2 weeks! (Jan)

3) Trip to JB & Singapore (End of February)

3) Trip to Miri (End of April)

 

It feels like a productive day so far, and i’m feeling good! :)

Italian Meatballs

It was a long weekend so I decided to do some cooking. I was home alone because my parents went to Penang. On my list of things to cook were meatballs, chocolate cake (from Nigella Lawson’s cookbook) and raisin scones.

Here’s the recipe I used. Made Italian bread crumbs from scratch because I don’t think we have ready made ones here and anyway its not that hard to make, as long as you have the ingredients.

Basically I think you can put anything you want in the meatballs (some recipes had Parmesan cheese) so this is the best part about making your own food – you make it according to your own taste! :)

Italian Meatballs – So easy I don’t think its much of an achievement :P Anyone can make these! :D

Italian Bread Crumbs – I didn’t have parsley, and used fresh garlic and onion instead of the powder version.

How to make Bread Crumbs – I used gardenia wholemeal bread and toasted it in the bread toaster instead of baking it into the oven. worked just as good :)

I got 10 decent-sized meatballs from using 280g of minced beef. The size is totally up to you, but if you wanna be fair to all the meatballs its better to use an ice-cream scoop as suggested ;)

Bread crumbs

Italian meatballs before baking

Ta-daa! :D

Spaghetti and Italian Meatballs! :D :D

So yummy!! And tastes better since I know what’s inside :)

Next step is to make Swedish meatballs. The only thing stopping me from making those are the lack of ingredients needed to make them. If only I had a pantry with rows and rows of herbs and spices neatly arranged in glass jars…hmmm…wanna get one of those like what the chefs on Asian Food Channel have :D

Spot the difference

My spectacles lens cracked after I dropped it for the ????th time, and I guess it was time to get a new pair anyway as the last time I checked my eyes was almost 4 years ago! I seldom wear contact lenses to work because the environment is a dusty when I go on site, so its not so good when dust gets stuck between the lens and my eyeball! hehe..

Went to the shop, got my eyes checked and my power increased!! But by a little only hehe :) So all the staring at the laptop hasn’t done my eyes much damage :P

Anyway when it was time to pick a frame I asked them to help me pick one that’s similar to my old one. Boring right? But I don’t like specs that are too obvious, I like the simple ones that make me look smart, not dorky :P I find it odd that people actually want to wear spectacles…although some people do look better with spectacles…hehe..or maybe wear specs = look smart = look good?

 

Old specs with V-shaped crack

New specs

New specs cost me RM220 (plastic photogrey lenses) which I think is not bad, considering my old pair cost much more if im not mistaken..must be because I didn’t know the owner and that shop was recommended by a friend. Took me a few days to get adjusted to the new power but its ok now :D

Pink Martini

Pink Martini finally came to Malaysia to perform!! I was so happy when I saw DFP KL in their list of concert performances! (I subscribe to their email updates, and this email was in early January).

I was so happy I think I jumped around my room for a while before calming down and checking MPO’s website :P I was super excited as I haven’t been to a concert of my fave band! :D

 

You could tell which songs are the crowd’s favourite as the crowd cheered after the song title they were gonna perform was announced! They got especially loud cheers for Sympathique (my fave) and Amado Mio (also my fave!). The songs are in many different languanges, mainly English, French, Italian and Spanish.

Autograph session (only half of the band):    With Thomas Lauderdale, band leader and awesome pianist! 

One thing that really makes me mad is that DFP is quite strict when it comes to picture taking. I understand that we are restricted to take pics in the hall, but outside also?? Sigh…we were told no pictures during the autograph session, only afterwards we can take pics with them. But when they’re autographing also we can’t take their pics? Why?? At least they didn’t ask us to delete the pictures that we already took :)

Autographed albums :D

  Autographed program booklet :D

Couldn’t find any of their albums in stores, so I bought all 3 of the ones they sold that night (they didn’t sell Hey Eugene!).. RM157 in total! Wahhh!! Their latest album, Splendor in the Grass cost RM67 and the rest RM45.

Some of the band members were really glad to see us and kept thanking us for coming and supporting. Like China Forbes (lead vocals) said before the concert started, they didn’t know they had so many fans in Malaysia! :)

They have another album coming out soon. Looking forward to that :D Hope they come again!

p.s. Datuk Paduka (?) Marina Mahathir was there also, wonder if she’s a fan or someone invited her to go :) She was sitting in the row in front of us :)

Showstoppers!

 

As usual, when the new MPO calendar comes out, I scan through for performances that I think my parents will like, and squeeze in performances when I go down to KL (alone or I’ll beg somebody to come along with me LOL!).

So among the list of performances I wanted to go for, this was one of it as they were gonna perform Broadway songs - and it was awesome!!

Stephen Rahman-Hughes is a good entertainer (and dancer!) and included the audience. Its always more fun when you get a response from the audience instead of the usual one-way communication..hehe..

Stephen currently performs with his vocal group Teatro (which is Italian for theater)

The show was really good, and Stephen was quite the entertainer. Occasionally cracking jokes and poking fun at himself…hehe.. The orchestra was brilliant, as usual! :D I especially enjoyed the selections for orchestra from My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music. :D I felt like I was floating! On cloud 9 perhaps ;)

 

Both Stephen and John had great chemistry, they were joking around and Stephen claimed that the glittery purple shoes he was wearing was John’s! John is so far my fave conductor, and the first MPO concert I went for was conducted by him. It was 2007’s annual New Year’s Concert (old post here) and it was fun because he always tried to include the audience, for example clapping along to the music. In this performance we were asked to sing ‘Luck Be a Lady’ at certain points of the song :)

I’m pretty sure all the ladies were swooning over him and wondered if the men felt insecure for a while :P But I think everyone wanted to be ‘Maria’ (from West Side story) for that night ;)

They made us work for it, but it was totally worth it as they did perform 2 songs for the encore; Can You Feel The Love Tonight and Luck Be A Lady (after more screaming and applause) . I heard from a friend that on the 1st show on Friday he performed 3 songs for the encore, singing Over The Rainbow. They were supposed to perform ‘Memories’ from Cats but someone forgot to send over the sheet music from London…hmm…

Pics taken during the autograph session:

  So cute! :P

He asked me if I was from KL, and I explained how that we’re from Ipoh and love MPO so much that we come down so often.. And then it hit me.. Did he ask me that because I look foreign? Or because I look Like I could be from KL but cannot be confirmed? Hahaha... Anyway we have something in common which is that we are often identified wrongly, as he has been cast as an Indian or Puerto Rican, and people think that I m Thai/Indonesian/Malay/ceylonese(!!!) LOL….that’s what you have to deal with when you’re of mixed parentage!

Article in the New Straits Times (they had a press conference!):   

Autographed program booklet and ticket :D

 

Someday I’ll watch a Broadway play live! West Side Story is coming to Malaysia but tickets are so expensive!! :S

Until then I’ll replay this performance in my head ;)

Just in case you don’t believe me, here’s evidence I was there :P

Books!!

Now I’m not a nerd, but I do love to read. I used to read a lot when I was younger (ahem ahem) and had lots of free time (ahem ahem). Sometimes when I find a really good book I can just sit for hours and finish off the whole book. One sitting! Nowadays my concentration has reduced thanks to countless hours of watching all those TV Series…hmmm…

Here’s a few of my latest reads:

 

Hugh Laurie’s The Gun Seller (You know, that ruggedly handsome lead actor from that TV Series House MD). Written in 1996. He actually wanted it to be published under a different name but his publisher said ‘Do you know how hard it is to sell a book as it is??’ Hehe…pretty good, its a spy thriller, very British, very descriptive (but not too much). Very witty and would make a great movie if done properly! :)

Stephen Clarke’s Merde Actually. I’ve read Merde Happens (which is a sequel to this book) and Talk to the Snail, essentially a survivor's guide to the French language and the French themselves. Read this book and you’ll be prepared to go to France.

What? They were on sale! Haha!

1. Nigella Lawson’s fifth, Feast Food That Celebrates Life has tons of mouth-watering recipes which I would love to try out when I have a decent kitchen!! Also so many nice pics of the food! And even organized by meal types! eg. Sunday lunch. Very English. Maybe I’ll start with the chocolate cakes first for now :D

2. Kickboxing because I need to work out & know self-defence, and also cause it was super cheap! :P Just started reading about the intro..don’t wanna get hurt by immediately kicking away! hehe.

3. Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom shouldn’t need any introduction, but is one of those books which inspire you. Have A Little Faith is another very good read which is his latest book.

4. Who’s That Girl? by Alexandra Potter because it sounds interesting (although there are quite a few novels out there about very successful women who are extremely busy and have odd experiences…hmmm…) and I read her previous book Me and Mr Darcy and liked it (because im a hopeless romantic). In case you didn’t know, Mr Darcy is the archetype of the aloof romantic hero, and a romantic interest of Elizabeth Bennet, the novel's main protagonist in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. If you’re too lazy to read the book (which has a widely quoted first line), watch the BBC adaptation of the novel starring Colin Firth. But it’s always better to read the book :P Anyway a nice read, but also some similarities with Sophie Kinsella’s Remember Me?.

Time to curl up in bed with a good book! :)

iPhoebe

I have a new phone!! Finally!! After months of using my sister’s old phone which cannot scroll down! Hehe…sad wei…but I’m glad that I didn’t give in and get a cheaper phone but stuck to what I wanted over 3 years ago when it first came out! :D Totally worth the money! Signed on the Maxis’ 2 year contract of RM50 per month with 500MB of Data. (For Facebook, Google Maps, Checking cinema times, web surfing, etc). It also has WiFi capabilities so I don’t have to lug my laptop to the free WiFi spots like I used to :D

 

 

Mine is the iPhone 3GS 32GB in Black

So I finally joined the many people who already own an iPhone, but they’re mostly located in KL, so in a small town like Sitiawan I’m still in the lead :P  Hahaha….I am so glad I got the iPhone…It’s so me! With all the applications it’s so convenient to get information or organize my data and most useful so far, the Google Maps application :D So easy to use and has been a huge help for me to find locations based on addresses. Like when going to JB and Singapore…Also since you can pinpoint your location and add it to a bookmark or a contact, you’ll never be lost again! hehe! And I can facebook, surf the net wherever I am and find my location! It even has a compass so I can find my way based on bearings! hehe…since I already learned how to do that in Outward Bound Malaysia :) Also I can check my email (even work email) anytime, everywhere and even view word, excel and pdf attachments!

It might be big, but it’s slim and quite light and fits nicely in my pocket :D I love the fact that it’s a whole touchscreen and not half screen-half keypad like the Blackberry (The blackberry is cool too but not as fun, unless I need a second phone :P)

Just found a website with 15 handy tips for iPhone. Cool! Didn’t know #4,5,6,7 & 15!

So far spent RM170 for a car kit (includes vent mount, windscreen mount, car charger and audio jack) and RM98 for a black cover with screen protective cover. Also downloaded a bunch of free applications and slowly exploring them :)

The only cons so far are the Bluetooth function which does not support phone-to-phone file transfer, only as a remote control for devices and also i have to create ringtones and not use music files directly. Another downside to the iPhone is I can’t upload videos unless I convert the files. But these are just small issues that can be overcome so the iPhone is still awesome :)

So happy!! :D

CNY 2010

This year CNY has been quite eventful, with 2 reunions. One reunion in Ipoh (with mom’s half-brother’s side) and one in Penang (mom’s dad’s side). Yes, my mom is from my paternal grandfather’s second wife. Pretty common in those days, but i think there was no ‘i am leaving you for another woman’ via SMS. Oops sidetracked pulak! haha!

As usual I was the only crazy one with a big DSLR in hand (dad’s camera) so I was the only one taking tons of pics (people and food)

Here are some pics from the Ipoh reunion (CNY eve lunch):

  Cousin with her husband and daughter. Braised Crab Meat Shark’s Fin Soup Kampung Chicken With Chinese Herbs Steamed Red Snapper in Soya Sauce

   Mixed Vege with CNY Style Nyonya Glutinous Rice    Nyonya Glutinous Rice unwrapped  Yu-Sheng Tossing the Yu-Sheng!   Dad asking for one sheet of Erica’s angpow money. She doesn’t look amused. hehe  All in the family

With Mom and Dad :D

Penang reunion (3rd day of CNY lunch):

          I whacked quite a few prawns. The chilli sauce is nice! Yummy!  Table 1   Table 2 Table 3 preparing for photoshoot Still preparing Group photo! :D Jam tarts! Mandarin Oranges!

Fried Sticky Cake (forgot how to say in chinese :P)

 

I took 3 days off so I had the whole CNY week off! :D So that was my CNY for 2010. It was fun to meet all my relatives..although I don’t know if we will see each other again because most of them are in KL, and this reunion is also after a really long time, possibly 20 years or more…

Oh and I am kinda dark in these photos because I just came back from Outward Bound 2 weeks before CNY..hehe

I ate quite a lot, because there was so many dishes and the senior members of the table don’t eat much (muahahaha!)

And last of all, the best part of not being married (only during CNY):

Angpow!!!! :D

Have a prosperous year ahead!