DOT Comes to Stay :)

It's 10pm on a sunday, after a really fulfilling and exciting weekend.

Thursday 20 March 2008 was a public holiday. Something about a malay Prophet's birthday or something. I question little, as long as it gives my man a rest. :D We woke up later and then decided to go to Pavilion for a movie (Rule #1). After the movie, we had a light bite at Food republic and then went to Corus Hotel to fetch Dorothy, my good friend who had travelled by Aeroline to visit me.

We picked the tired gal up at around 9pm and carted her away to begin her 3 day 3 night KL City Tour. hahaha. It all started with Robson Height's steamed fish, vege and honey chicken...and we sipped sake and had the lana cake the Dot had brought and chatted till Alan's eyelids gave way and he begged to be excused to hit the bed at around 12+, 1am. dot and I continued our catch-up chat till around 2am.

friday 21 march 2008

We woke up very early. Poor Alan had to work and Dot and I had a light breakfast at home of Breadtalk munchies. At around 11+am, the two of us caught a cab and headed to Pavilion for Dot to understand what shopping in KL was truly about.

In the end, I joined in the shopping frenzy, as though I was a tourist who had barely touched down in Malaysia. I bought 3 tops (all on sale) and a tie rack for the dear husband. Dot also helped the Malaysian economy by pumping in SGD, buying shoes and assessories etc etc.

We went for lunch at dragon-I and chomped down Xiao Long Bao and Ra Mien at around 2pm. Our movie was Horton- Who-Movie at 245pm. I enjoyed it but fell asleep due to the lack of sleep the night before. I had to buy a cuppa coffee in the middle of the movie! After the movie, we continued to shop. We also bought some cheese pies from The Loaf (6 for Rm30-earl grey, berries, strawberry, milo, chocolate) and savoured 2 before Alan picked us up.

Next on our shopping list was Sungei Wang where Alan and I picked up our Redken hair paste for a steal. Dot also stocked up on a year's supply of contact lenses because of her discovery that it was MUCH cheaper here than in Sing.

the best part of the day was yet to come. A massage at Liang Xin, Bukit Bintang! We were prodded, kneaded, stepped on etc for 1.5hrs. The PRC lady was very professional and very friendly. We were served fruits and fruit juice as well.

We left Liang Xin feeling utterly refreshed and pampered and hungry.

Ahhhh a great dinner was in store for our guest. Steamboat and salted egg crabs at Taman Maluri! We happily stuffed our faces.

At home, we opened two bottles of wine that had been given to Alan and they sadly failed to live up to our expectations. The cheese pies did their trick at about midnight whilst we tried to watch some DVDs that did not make much sense. At about 2am, we decided to call it a night and conserve our energies for the next day's outing.

Saturday 22 March 2008

Tired to the max, all of us woke up late. Breakfast was served at home with egg rolls, cheese pies and hot drinks. We headed to 1-Utama after that for more shopping! Alan bought a golf shirt and a pair of golf pants at a steal, I got myself a new pair of shoes and Dot bought MORE contact lenses and shoes etc. hahaha

After an hour or two (and after Dot had asked "Aare we eating lunch?" a couple of times, we brought her to the restaurant that served great Malaccan cuisine. We had a set (ponteh chicken, sambal belachan kangkong and sizzling egg toufu) and added assam laksa, kuay pati and honey sotong to our order. Delicious!

More shopping was done until we rested our feet and had a drink at the juice bar. We then left for Mid Valley Mega Mall (after buying a bottle of merlot for the night).

Whilst Dot was shopping, we hopped into Osim and made our purchase. Oooolala. How delectable! Then, we went to Yan Yan restaurant near home for a feast of Hokkien noodles, bakuteh, vege and drunken prawns.

Later that night, entertainment was Mahjong accompanied by donuts and that bottle of red. What a life! Alan was the BIG Winner, earning Dot's 5ringgit and my 7 which I eventually didn't pay. ahahaha. All in the name of fun ;) We then watched our wedding photograph display late into the night. :)

Sunday 23 March 2008

We sent Dot to Corus Hotel where the coach was already waiting. We bade each other farewell sadly and promised to catch up in Spore before she left for Brazil to live with her husband. No No, her hubbie's Singaporean lah. hahaha

Then Alan and I went to Imbi Palace for a lovely dimsum breakfast. After that it was home sweet home till 3+pm when we left to Mid Valley Mega Mall again for a movie (Gone Baby Gone). A provocative movie that set you thinking. Our enjoyment of it was marred though by the great pains the censorship board had gone through to remove any 'unsavoury' content. Even though it was rated 18+, the f-word was removed along with other vulgarities which were actually quite necessary in the movie. The cutting was badly done and there were parts of the movie which actually irritated me because of the censorship. ;p

We headed to Carrerfour next and picked up some stuff that would allow me to cook dinner over the next week. Then we settled dinner at Din Tai Fung before heading for home.

Zombiotic Mode *ON*

It's approximately 1pm on a gloomy Tuesday and somehow I can't find the urgency to "Wake Up". I've been in a sleep-like state for the past few hours. Could it be my blocked nose? The aftereffects of the 2 white pills I took last night? Hmm perhaps it's just boredom. hahaha.

After tuition last nite, my head was spinning. Not just with the experience of having to share what is a Noun, Verb, Adjective and Adverb over and over again but also with the amazement of how local education standards for the English Language are so very lacking.

My student, a HR Manager, enrolled herself into the TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) course to improve her English. There is a great diversity amongst the students in her class in terms of their aptitude and academic backgruond. There are those professionals who have no experience whatsoever in teaching and those teaching in pre-schools all the way to teachers from international schools of tertiary levels.

Ironically, this HR Manager is taking tuition with me to improve her English to take TESL to improve her English. Get it? I don't! Especially since she ain't thinking of teaching English to begin with! My goodness! *slap forehead*

The scanner component of our spanking new printer is not working. The service man , who was slated to arrive by 11am today, obviously has not shown his face yet. In Malaysia, when someone says "11am", I think you can add another 3 or 4 hours to it. ;p

There's tuition again this afternoon and tonight. And since I had burnt dinner last evening, whilst baking cookies, Alan has kindly offered to bring home dinner for me. hee hee hee! The advantages of having a nice husband (who doesn't enjoy burnt dinners).

My New Student

Oh yah, how could I have forgotten to mention? I have accepted a new student. Her name is Stephanie and she's an Indian HR Manager! hahaha. We will be starting lessons this evening from 7-9pm and she has graciously agreed to come all the way to Sri Tiara for classes.



The End.

The WEAKend

Father and Son Bonding The Ladybird Gang!

Dearest all,

Sorry for the lack of updates. I have been feeling under the weather again. *sigh* Think I've been cooped up too much in this house. Need to get some fresh air. I shall stand for 2.34 hours at the balconey today and contemplate about Life. :p hahaha

Anyway let's recap what this tai tai was up to all weekend:

Friday 14 March 2008

I went to MVMM again by myself. Met Fernando and his whole entourage of drama troupe managers from Uruguay on board the 2pm shuttle bus and we chatted. Apparently they were off to central market and chinatown. I forewarned them of the boredom that hits you once you reach central market but they were interested in the puppet performance there. I also told them that Chinatown was not known to be the world's safest and told them to watch out for their bags and belongings.

I lined up for a couple of minutes to purchase a ticket to watch 10,000 B.C. and munched on a 1901 ground beef hotdog for lunch during the movie. Ahhhh the storyline was fantastical and itneresting and the main actor's abs and pecs kept me riveted to the screen. Good Movie!

Then I headed to CarrerFour to buy special ingredients. I wanted to whip up a Vietnamese Beef and TangHoon salad for my baby. In the middle of queueing to pay for my purchases, Alan called and told me that he was not going for his golf session to spend more time with me today! Awwwwwww... Of course, chauffeur services were volunteered so I headed to Coffee bean to grab a sunrise whilst I waited for his arrival.

Home Sweet Home. Alan played LOST whilst I quickly made the salad- easier than I thought-and that sufficed as dinner that night.

Saturday 15 March 2008

Alan made bf for me this time and I headed off to tuition from 9-11am. The donuts I had bought for my tuition kid and her brother put a smile on their faces. :D hahah the mother also told me, at the end of the session, that Anviksha enjoys my lessons tremendously. hahaha. How nice!

Alan was running away from the Black Smoke as I got home and I quickly cooked ee-mee and kuniako jelly for lunch. Then, we lounged around the house until around 5+pm when we decided to go to KLCC to wash the car and also to catch a movie.

After queueing for a short while at the ticketing booth, we realised that Rule #1 ( the one with Eekin and Fiona Xie) was shown in cantonese. And becos I was not feeling well, I didn't hv the energy to strain and read the subtitles , so we called it off.

Dinner was at Chilli's and Alan had his N.Y. Strip and I, the Lamb Shank. Nice!

Then it was back home again to rest and recuperate.

Sunday 16 March 2008

We made fluffy pancakes (with cheese, strawberry jam, honey and butter) for BF. And then proceeded to shower and leave for Low Yat. We were on a MISSION!

Maxis was having a road show there at Plaza Low Yat and I signed up for a Malaysian No. at last! Since I am getting more and more tuition enquiries and students, it's high time I become more contactable!

Alan also bought this much-coveted Sony Vaio (Blazing Red) for office use. The virtues of being a Boss! *wistful sigh*

We also went to the hypermart to purchase a canon printer (for text and photos) for our usage. I would need to print out more stuff (notes / worksheets etc) soon and Alan? His photographs, of course! hahahah.

Lunch was at this eatery downstairs where I tried to stomach my porridge and Alan had his Jiar Jiang noodles.

We needed to Mattress World as advertised in Expatriate Lifestyle to buy pillows for our aching necks. But realised, to our dismay that it was actually Tempur. A few years ago, I had bought a Tempur for a hefty SGD $269 , and it had left me, not only with an aching heart but also aching shoulders and neck and a pounding headache after a while. No more tempur for me!

We headed to bangsar Village next to check more pillows out but stopped at Coffee bean for a camomile and cafe latte first. Next stop was Simmons' but the pillow though comfy was even MORE EXPENSIVE than tempur's. hahahah RM650! They must be MAD!

We left for home disappointed and damn exhausted.

I took a short nap to rest my feverish self whilst dutiful Alan set up the printer and tackled all the gadgets he had bought afew hours ago.

Then we drove to Robson Heights restaurant to have a quick bite of Fishhead Beehoon soup and some vege.

A friend from Uruguay!

12 march 2008 (Wednesday)

I made a friend today. His name is Fernando. Hahaha. He's one of the managers of a theatre and drama group that is touring the world. Their last stop was Singapore! He's from Uruguay! Cool! I'm sure most of us don't know anyone from Uruguay! Hhahaha.
Anyway, we shared a shuttle bus together down to MVMM and I found out that the managers from the troupe are all residing at Sri Tiara and that their troupe will be performing at Bangsar Shopping centre till 22 march!

After forming making that aquaintance, I ventured into the mall and walked around. Most of the shops were on SALE (again) and I bought a nice top at Island Shop for 50% off! After the discount and the conversion, I paid only around SGD$12!ahhaha. Oh yah, the conversion rate is getting real good nowadays. SGD$1 can fetch RM2.30!

Then I went into MPH and bought two more books to aid me in teaching Conversational English. The prospect of teaching adults is very interesting and I am confident I will enjoy it.

I went to the dry-cleaner's next and dropped Alan's stained tie off. The dry-cleaning of that tie cost only RM3.50! And winter jackets and business suits cost only RM9.50!!! Wo de Tian Ah! Mummy, remember how much we used to pay to dry-clean our winter jackets after use?? Never again!!!!

Next, after a (too) Crispy Pohpiah lunch, I went to JUSCO to pick up groceries. This shopping expedition was long over due as I had been eating bread and bread and more bread over the past few days. And this time round, with time on my hands, I leisurely browsed and stocked up my larder.

The bags were heavy (RM62 worth) + It was drizzling (my 2 excuses to take a cab home)

Then I spent the next 2.5hrs in front of the google box trying to outwit some dark smoke in the jungle and a monster in the cave.

Alan finally called at 745pm to announce his arrival at the lobby downstairs. I trotted down and we abolished the idea of eating at the same steamed fish/ bakuteh restaurant we always dined at . Instead, we tried Yan Yan Seafood Restaurant and ordered the world's healthiest dinner.

A big steamed pomfret, a dish of kailan and bittergourd with egg soup. Of course, we couldn't resist the dimsum as well. All for a mere RM90+. It's a good life!

PS3 I Love YOU!

10 March 2008 (Monday)

After sleeping off the aftereffects of the trecherous journey back home the night before, I proceeded to bum around the house all of today. Did some light housework and convinced myself that my body needed a rest from all that bumpy suffering - yes, all 5.5hrs of it.

We went to fetch Jay Jay at Robin's in the evening after Alan knocked off. He's knocking off later and later and I can truly see his business taking off! I'm P-R-O-U-D of you my dear! :) (Now can I have more allowance please? hahahah)

We picked Robin up after a long drive to Kepong and he brought us to this eatery along the roadside which served up delicious Hong Kong cuisine. We shared (big) prawn noodle soup, Jar jiang noodles, some fried dimsum and also mango with iced shavings and honeydew with white fungus. The dinner was, as Jean would put it, AWESOME, especially since both Alan and I had skipped lunch. ;p

11 March 2008

I did some clay figurines today in anticipation of selling them and got hooked on the series HOUSE. It's about a truly BITCHY doctor who dishes out wisecracks faster than you can say "Tang's is on SALE!" and how he terkans his subordinates and screws with their psyche. hahaha Very flavourful. I like!

Then it was off to tuition to make that miserable RM50.

Subsequently, I took a cab to Rohas Perkasa and was stuck in the jam for an hour. My God! I almost wanted to get down and WALK! the office was SO NEAR yet SO FAR!!!! I felt like tearing my hair out. Thankfully, the cab driver was a nice fella who didn't give me the creeps. I commented that his English was good and he told me that he had worked in the Hotel Industry before as a BARTENDER! hahahaha He also confessed that he always went home drunk in those days. hahahaha btw, HE IS MALAY. *claps*

When I finally reached Alan's office, I was ushered into his new room. Ahhhhh Very nice darling! It has a view of the KL Tower as well. Very befitting.

Our next destination was Sungei Wang and we got there admist the traffic jam again. (I could feel myself ageing as the car crawled along..) We collect the PS3 which had been sent for SIX MONTHS for repair. Apparently, it had to be sent back to Hong kong for repair..dont' ask me why. Nothing makes sense around here!

Then we headed to our fav stall in Jalan Alor for dinner. My Jar Jiang noodles disappointed me thoroughly but Alan's penang laksa provided him maximium satisfaction once again. haahha. Then we tried to buy stuff from Alan's BEST Friend, but what we wanted was not available. Oh well...

We shot to a new hairdressing salon called Michael Ling in Sungei Wang after that. The salon''s window displayed many photographs of HK celebrities like Tong Leung , Andy Lau etc. And we dashed it to get our hair cuts. I just wanted a trim but ended up treating my hair too after much cajoling from the lady who washed my hair for me. The bill? A mere RM80 for my hair and RM50 for Alan's (peanuts compared to the one we always pay for at Mid Valley!)

Then it was home to connect and play LOST on the PS3!

Decadence with a Capital "D"!

Friday 7 March 2008

I packed my bags and took a taxi down myself to Corus Hotel at Jalan Ampang where the Aeroline coach would be awaiting. Alan met me at the hotel from work and we boarded the bus which left a tad late at around 345pm.

Alan had wondered inwardly why The Wife had chosen to travel via coach instead of air this time around, especially since Mas was still lurking and malaysia would be speaking through polls during the duration of our trip home.

Don't ask me why too? Reason seems to elude me once in a while....

Anyway, the journey was smooth until we hit a many-car-pile-up along one of the jungle-roads in Malaysia. And because of the rain, the traffic was slow and heavy. We toiled on and arrived at Harbourfront centre at around 940pm, instead of the scheduled 830pm. *faint*

Quickening our steps, we flew to Bakerzin where Jean and a NY Cheesecake were awaiting our arrival impatiently. Alan whipped out his D300 and then we were READY. Mummy's mouth formed an 'O' shape as she strolled into the cafe unsuspectingly. hahahaha. We burst into song and wished her A HAPPY BIRTHDAY! hahahaha.

After the birthday celebration- a culmination of a week of MSN discussions and a flurry of emails- we all left Bakerzin with huge satisfied grins on our faces and more calories and fats in our bodies.

Alan and I hadn't had dinner then and so we proceeded by taxi to East Coast Road and had our Mee Pok tah fix. The lady serving us (with a smile) generously put the whole bottle of vinegar on our table for our personal consumption! Then, we took a bus back to my place.

8th March 2008 (Satuday)

We got up early and the whole family had breakfast at Marine Parade. I had been craving for the famous mixed pork porridge for the longest time (you can't find decent pork-related cuisine in Malaysia) and it was finally time to satisfy my cravings. We also shared a plate of (white) carrot cake and some soya bean milk.

Then it was off to Parkway Parade. We strode into the recently opened Borders and browsed for a long time. I purchased Asian Geographic which Alan and I will be endeavouring to submit photographs and articles (respectively) to for publication in our free time. :) Then we hit the arts and craft bazzar at the atrium. There were afew clay figurines and interesting stuff online. We "took some notes" and left.

Petlovers Centre beckoned next and we shopped for stuff to pamper our sons. I filled my shopping cart with biscuits and jerkys etc for Ash to savour whilst we were not around.

Then it was time to hit home for a short nap as Alan and I were still suffering from the aftereffects of the previous day's journey.

Dinner was at Hua Yu Wee a big bungalow which housed a very popular seafood restaurant. Starving from the lack of lunch, we ordered and ordered and ordered. Our dinner menu consisted of 2 huge crabs (chilli and tomato ketchup) with man tou, sambal mussels, yam basket, fish slices with spring onion, thai toufu, fried baby kailin with garlic, fried you tiao with sotong. just enough to feed 10 hungry people.

I adjourned for drinks with Gary at Mel's Place Katong. Although the wine was not as appetising as expected, the company and conversation made up sufficiently for it and we stayed there till 1am! The understanding-husband-who-did-not-impose-a-curfew was still up by the time I got back and we cheered like Malaysians at the polling results.
9th March 2008 (Sunday)

I awoke with slight depression at the thought of going back to Malaysia today. We brought our baobei for a walk in the linear park near our house and Alan of course took countless photographs of Ash.

Then Jean and Mum joined us for another sinful meal at Kiliney Kopitiam. We all shared Penang Char Kway teow, Laksa, Mee Siam, eggs, toast, otah and drinks and a hearty conversation. Then, it was MORE SINS (you understand my entry's title now?) at the next-door Gelare outlet.
We shared some scoops of icecream and waffle biscuit to round off the meal.

Alan and I quickly headed home and took a shower. We then jumped into a cab (after biding e'one a tearless farewell) and went to Bukit Merah to visit Ah Ma. The poor ol'lady had her back plastered with medicated plaster due to a fall she had had a month ago. I massaged her and applied the deep heat pack for her to soothe her achining back.

My in-laws returned home just as we were about to take our leave and they sent us to Vivo City to redeem our Tang's voucher. Alan and I had a light Deli-france lunch and then headed into the coach for another long journey home. *grimance*