Homely Weekend

Hey guys, do you know that I've been here in KL already for more than a year? I got here on the 17 November 2007! Amazing, but true. Time has flown by (with many tuition sessions, pigging out sessions, Cantonese DVDs, and cheap movies) and I hardly realised that it was my "one-year anniversary" until afew days ago! hahaha. Thank goodness I am so versatile and at the same time thank heaven's it's KL and not some ulu pandan country that we are living in :D

The next visit back home is only during CNY, for all you who are asking. Since we will be spending X'mas in Jakarta, we will not have any other opportunities to travel back to the sunny island of Singapore till reunion dinner. Dad has already booked us for dinner at the raffles town club and we will be feasting (again) on 25th January.

And good grief, I will be spending my birthday fending off questions from the kaypoh uncles and aunties about me bringing a Tan into this world to join the other 34million Tans in this world fighting for survival....Unless we can take a short trip AWAY!!! It's my BIRTHDAY god damn it! And if I were to add a few wrinkles on my already crinkled up face, I DESERVE to CELEBRATE this once in a year occasion HAPPILY!

After CNY, we will be looking for a cheaper accomodation to stay in in KL. In recent economic times, everyone has been seen to be tightening their belts and therefore we too are no exception. This decision also stems from Alan's expat package being cut as his company is trying to cut costs leaving us less money to spend ostentatiously. :P

A change from this apartment will also be good. We are incredulous to find out that rental can be THAT cheap (like RM1+K / month) for a two-storey house! Of course, we are not compromising on safety and security. I hope to find a gated community near at least a shopping complex. Of cos, if the house is near an international school or two that would be great. I will go a job-hunting again! :P

Anyway last weekend was spent saving money. ahahaha.

After Dania left on Friday, we went to the under the bridge stall to have bakutteh and steamed fish for RM40. and Saturday, before our facials, we had only meesiam and a drink each to sustain our bellies. After the facial, we went grocery shopping as we had to wait for our car wash to be completed. Then, we went home to bring the doggies for a walk downstairs and to later
commence on a HK DVD. :D

Dinner was aglio olio pasta - Alan's speciality. It came with clams and squid. Yumz!

30 November 2008 (Sunday)
We woke up late (and I mean LATE). I wasn't feeling too well since Friday and I felt especially on SUnday morning. We lazed around the house and then started our DVD watching. In between, we cooked porridge (dried oysters and scallops and peanut) for lunchThe plot for this show is pretty predictable but at least there is a hunkie on the small screen.. :P

Dinner was also home-cooked. hahahaha. It was basically us lazy to get outta the house to fill our bellies. We baked two chicken thighs with potato and I cooked pilaf rice with raisins and also Indian raita (yoghurt with tomato and onion finely chopped and mixed inside). All items were deeeeeeelicious! :D

p/s: :Ladies and Gentlemen, I've been too lazy to upload the below pix till today but please take a look at what we all have been putting into our stomachs.

The below pictures depict food that has been bubbled with oxegenated water and that has produced a layer of toxic chemicals-not unlike plastic. After bubbling meats for approximately half an hour, this solid, dirty, plasticky layer of foam was collected. Apparently, if you try to burn this foam, it will not burn. Some scary shit. We got this because we have a friend whose dad passed away from cancer and he is very passionate about living healthy and eating well. The brand of the machine is Okamizu- made in Japan and it can be used to bubble anything- from rice to vege to meats to your own feet! hahahaha. Go take a look. Homecooked food is not as healthy as we THINK it is! So now, I can live to a ripe of old age and retire in KL :P

I'm Sore'ry

I went to bed with a very bad throat and woke up with a very bad throat. At least this thing is constant in life. ;p now... HOW did I develop this sore throat? I really do not know.
I took Shireen's car to The Gardens last evening, after tuition and had a bowl of beancurd (good for throat right?) whilst they had some yummy porridge. We shopped around abit then I left them to do some grocery shopping before Alan arrived.
I went to CarrerFour to pick up some stuff and before I was done, Alan told me he was arriving. I hurried to pay and then met him at the carpark to dump all the stuff into the car.
Dinner was a novel experience at yet another taiwanese restaurant. I had spicy ramen (sore throat causing?) and he had crispy chicken noodle soup and we shared steamed dumplings and a bubble green tea.
Quarrantine was v interesting. Thankfully I was motion sick because the show was about a camera man and a reporter covering a night out with firemen. If you havent watched it, there are no spoilers in here ( I don't believe in being a kill-joy) but for thriller fans and men who want your girlfriends hugging you in the dark whilst in the cinema...this is the show for u!
Today, 26 Nov (Happie Birthday Trish G2!!) -
I will be having tuition with Hayden (again) later and also Dania tonight. It will be a longggggggggg Wednesday, esp since Alan gets back late. But I must say, the time is flying us by and so is the week. Dunno whether to be happie or sad?

Gripes

I realised my days are getting less and less busy and my students are getting fewer and fewer. ahaha. I must increase my opportunities by advertising more widely. It can get boring with nothing concrete to do. Most of the days, I only have scheduled either 1 or 2 max students. *sigh*
Anyway, today's Tuesday and I am counting down to my family visiting me from 7/12 till 14/12. hahaha It will be one exciting week filled with good food, fantastic shopping, facials and massages! Malaysia will be on SALE from Novemeber end till start of January as well as EMBRACE this opportunity, everyone and hop across the causeway for a great time. ahahhaha. Now now, I ain't turning Malaysian (unlike my husband ;p) but savings (while shopping) during such a turbulent time is fantastic....sure beats stopping shopping ya?
Today, ALan and I will be checking Quarantine at Mid Valley. Hope I don't develop a headache cos it's kinda like Blair Witch Project ya? I better bring a plastic bag in case I get motion sickness in the cinema. ahahhaha.
Anyway, today is a relaxing day (again) for me because I've only got Hayden as my student today. :) We are going to write about Cinderella - as requested by The Mum, since his school teacher will be asking them to write that fairy tale in class on Thursday. hahaha. It's brain-washing the kids to believe in the "Happily Ever Afters" again!

All the above are photos taken by MY bedside of the two furry brothers. Da Bai and Xiao Bai. They can co-exist harmoniously (although in general, Da Bai is the one giving in to XB) and XB gets his way most of the time. hahaa.

DVD watching and a Jab in the ass.

Ahhhh.. Iphone games can be quite quite addictive. I've downloaded quite a few and they have kept me gainfully occupied. There's flick fishing...china mahjong...bejewelled etc etc... That's why my blog has been empty since Wednesday, I guess. ahahhaa. New interests beckon!
Anyway, this weekend was quite fulfilling..

Saturday 22nd November 2008 (Happy Birthday Fe Mei!)
We woke up at 10am (we had slept late on Friday, at 2am, after watching The Strangers on dvd. It's a thriller about how a couple get stalked and tortured by three psychotic mad people. Very chilling and creepy and we were gripping each other throughout the show. The ending was a bit lame though *warning* and Liv Taylor is HUGE!

So..anyway... we left for The Gardens to meet the Kua family for Magadascar 2! Alan and I bought in popcorn and hotdogs for our brunch and we enjoyed the show. hahaha. I like the little fella Morty or something. He is doleful eyes and is so darn cute!
After the movie, we all had Jap at the gardens and left around 4+pm to bowl at our KLGCC. We had promised our godson, Hayden to bring him bowling.

Whilst the adults played 2 games each, our avid bowler of a godson threw ball after ball into the lane (the gutters were up) and he totalled FIVE games when we were done. ahahhaa. He had to use two hands and his whole body weight to fling the bowling ball but that didn't stop him! hahaha. It's really cheap to bowl at this club but sad to say, they will be demolishing this wing for renovation at the end of the month. Sigh.

After the game, we went our separate ways and then Alan and I went home to stone. We watched another dvd. This time a Chinese ghost thriller.

23rd Nov 2008 (Sunday)
I had tuition this morning from 10-1130am to prepare Su Li for her examinations on Wednesday and then we brought the two little fellas to Ikano. Both of them had their baths and trimming before we brought Coco to get jabbed (his 2nd vaccination). Alan and I sneaked in some lunch at Absolute Thai (tomyum noodles soup, mango salad, thai fishcakes) and also shopping at Ikea where we picked up some drinking glasses, wine glasses, a big glass bowl to bubble our foodstuff etc.
I finally bought my vacuum cleaner as well so that I can suck dirt up from the tuition table after each lesson. ahahhaa.
By the time we got home at ard 5pm, we were exhausted. Alan fell asleep on two dining table chairs and snored promptly whilst I curled up on the sofa and cuddle my osim blanket.
Dinner was at the fishhead beehoon place we always frequented but today we tried their steamboat admist the thunderstorm. perfect weather for such food. It was yummy. :)

We are going to visit our Daughter!

oK, so the REAL tai tai cancelled tuition (again) today because she was rushing to the hospital to see a relative. and my appointment schedule is free until 6-8pm. Ahhhh.. I've been kicking back and relaxing (since when haven't I been- u'd say?) after the silly interview. Now I'm hooked on this game I play on the iPhone. ahahhaha China Mahjong... ahhhhh. I play it with three "uncles" and I am one old man as well.. For those who enjoy this game and who have iPhones, go and download! it's addictive! Hahhaha I no need 3 other people, a mahjong set and a table anymore! Hahahaha.
Btw, I think I haven't mentioned but Alan & I will be spending X'mas in Jakarta. O yeah. We are going to visit our daughter in the orphanage there. Remember Melissa? :) We will leave on 24th afternoon, once Alan knocks off and joins me at the LCCT and fly Air Asia to Jakarta.
Hopefully, on this trip, we will get to meet Gary and also Hema as well! Hahah We can't meet our other daughter (ginna #1) already since she is so busy and will be jetting around asia during her hols :P
I am looking forward to this trip and I think it will be special because we will be spending 2 nights in Mama Sayang, the orphanage there. Check out this website:
http://www.talitha-cumi.org/ for more details.
I think the weekend before we leave, I will also want to go down to Ti-ratana as well, to give out some lil goodies to spread the x'mas cheer. ;D What do you think?

SHEESH

Hello hello... I wasted my Monday morning showing up for an interview for which the interviewer had absolutely NO INTENTION of employing me. ahhahaha. fuck.

I showed up early for the interview (scheduled at 10) at 940am and the p kept me waiting till 1045am. :P
After I was ushered into the room and before I could even sit down, the first thing he said to me was "actually we don't hire teachers with no training and teaching experience in Primary School". hahahaha.
I was like ???!!??? then why the hell did you even call me in for an interview? Luckily I didn't sit at home the whole weekend preparing hor! Anyway, the long and short of it was that he pointed me in the direction of afew other schools and encouraged me to give him an email if I needed any advice. O well...

Looks like the Tai Tai is here to stay... muahahahahah.

My Weekend

I was supposed to prepare dilligently for the interview tomorrow over this weekend. I'll let u be the judge of whether I had...

On Saturday, yesterday, we woke up late and then went for dimsum breakfast at Jalan Imbi. Oooo We havent been there in a while and e'thing tasted marvellious. I treated Alan becos I had a wad of RM50 in my wallet untouched (from tuition) and we ate and ate and chalked up Rm80 bill! hahahhaa. The PIGS!

Then, we decided that going back too early was just gonna spoil the weekend, so we headed to Sungei Wang so that I could make a pair of spectacles (Rm509- There was a motive for treating him to bf afterall) and Alan could buy his PS3 game. hahaha. We also bought more stuff from Alan's best friend and then headed home exhausted. We arrived home at 4pm.

Ahhhhh.. I tried... I really did... to prepare for the interview and played model answers in my head to potential questions.. until dinner time (early 6pm). We checked out this jap rest near our place suggested by Alan's colleague and were sorely disappointed. My sukiyaki (I only order that when i eat jap) was miserable in portions and the beef was overcooked. Alan's orders did not tantalise the tastebuds too.

Then it was back home to stone again until I suggested watching a DVD - GHOST HOUSE, a Thai movie that did not do justice to the title. I mean, there was no horror, and no ghost also. My tian ah. AND The sex scene between a thai hunky and a middle-aged lady was just WRONG. yiKeS!

It was 1am when we went to bed.

Sunday 16 Novemember 2008
We brought the two doggies down for a walk in the garden - that's our weekly ritual. This was Coco's first time out of the house (we can't bring him around because he hasn't even had his 2nd jab) and he was sniffing around for a while before he settled on the ledge to stone. Jay Jay was busier and marked his territory a couple of times and barked at a Chinese man and a security guard.

After that, I tried again to prepare for my interview but soon it was time to shower. We had lunch at the Gardens and tried the (very good) Shilin oyster meesuar (the same franchise from spore too) and the shilin chicken.
Then we went to MPH to buy some folders for my interview tomorrow (finally - some preparation!) and also to had a drink at the CB.
Lastly, we headed to Jusco to pick up "grapes" but as per normal, ended up with a whole trolley of stuff.

Then, it was HOME sweet HOME.