Desert or dessert?

I just got an email from my trusted editor-in-chief for my blog (my mama!) about my spelling blunder :P This was what the email said, among other things: "By the way I hope you did not have padang pasir (desert) at the end of your meal at Sir Crazy but instead had pemanis? (dessert)". Opppsss... My bad.. I can still taste the sand in my mouth from my 'desert'! hhehhhheeh...

I am my mama's number one fan (Itos get in line..you'd have to fight me for the position! ehhehehehh). She is the most intelligent person I know and so knowledgeable. Itos and I used to tell her to join the 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' show when they were taping the Malaysian version of it. But she never did. If she did, we'd be millionaires by now *sigh* hehehh...

I remember back in my uni days when mama would edit all my assignments. She would do it even late at night (since her beloved daughter likes to finish her assignments last minute!). And I know for a fact that she was the main reason for me getting mostly A's in my assignments! She's the best editor ever!! I love you ma.. As I write this, I miss you so so much.. I love you ma..Thank you for all that you have done for me.. I could not ask for a more perfect mother...

Picnic

Oooh, just to give you guys an idea, this was where we had our picnic. It's pretty much a huge field and people set their own stuff down (lawn chairs, blankets, tables, etc) and chill. People come with their families and friend, bring food, games etc and just have a nice evening together while they listen (we can't see the stage, it's too far!!) to the concert.

Backstreet Boys (Like ten years ago!)

Last Sunday Itos, Becs and I went to watch the Backstreet Boys (they should really think of revamping their name to something more age appropriate!! haha) concert. There we met with Mari and Lorraine. Before the concert, we headed to Dominicks (ala2 Giant, Tesco, etc.) to pick up some food for our picnic at the concert grounds. We picked up a whole roast chicken, buns, salad, crackers, hummus, as well as chocolate cake for desert. I must say that we were very satisfied with the food :)

We arrived at about 5 pm. The original plan was to arrive at 4 pm to get a good spot but that didn't work out :P Anyways after we arrived and found a spot to lepak (chill), we spread out a blanket, placed our chairs and food, and began our picnic. At around 7 pm, the concert started with Girlicious as the opening act. They performed for about 20 minutes. After that we were made to wait till about 8 pm when BSB came out to perform.

The funny thing about this concert was that Itos and I only caught a glimpse of the BSB because we were at the lawn sitting area a.k.a. cheap seats where you can't see a thing! Anyways, we had a blast. We sang along to their songs which brought back lots of memories from high school. I remember being in Form 4 (16 years old) when I was pretty much obsessed with the group.

It was a really really fun and enjoyable outing. Great food, great music (some might disagree), and great company..Who could ask for more?

Not so crazy about Stir Crazy..

Since we couldn't take Itos out last night for her birthday, Becs and I decided to take her to Stir Crazy (a Chinese/Thai restaurant) today. When it comes to Asian food, Becs and I love this place the best. Believe me, we've done our fair share of eating at Asian restaurants, so our opinion counts! ehehhehehe.. Anyways, confident of our choice, we took Itos here. We ordered our usual 'kung pao chicken noodles' and another dish which I forgot the name. We've never ordered this dish before but it's like a yellow curry kind of dish with noodles and chicken. The food was good and was gone fast :) We gals love our food ;)

So, trying my best to surprise Itos (even though I know she knows), I stood up and told them I was going to use the bathroom. Instead, I went to talk to the waiter and told him that it was Itos's birthday and could he put a candle on the desert and sing when he sends over the desert? To my surprise, he told me that they used to have sparklers (alah, bunga api with the blue cover and a black cat in front of it.. remember?) but now they don't. They didn't even have candles and they don't even sing happy birthday! I was kind of disappointed as I was trying to make the event a little more festive. *sigh* Sorry Itos, I didn't know they don't do that. I thought every restaurant does this. I know for a fact that TGIF, Red Robbins, etc does this. Cis, bedebah :P

Then our desert minus the candle came. Immediately, Becs and I knew that there was something not right with our 'Fried Wonton Banana Fritters' (not sure of the name but you get my jist). We've been there often enough and have ordered the same dessert each time so they couldn't fool us. First of all, there was no caramel drizzled on top. Also, the presentation was kind of awkward. We told this to the waiter even before he placed the plate onto the table. He told us that they've already kept the caramel (It was 9.27 pm and they close at 9.30 pm). That does not give them a reason to short change us on our order! The waiter knew that we were not very impressed with the whole desert thinggy and as a peace offering, he sent 3 vanilla ice creams our way. Still not impressed :P

And when we got home I also realized that he did not give us our fortune cookies! Aih...

Fun read..

Want a fun read? (besides reading my blog of course..muahhahahahah)..If the answer is yes (you better say yes :P) go here: http://annahitabakavoli.blogspot.com/

This blog belongs to none other than my one and only sister Annahita a.k.a. Itos :) On your marks, get set, go.....

Isn't this nice?

Wow! I just love this picture of Itos and I. It is so so amazing. Mari, a friend of ours took this picture yesterday when we were at Ravinia watching the Backstreet Boys (more like Backstreet Men according to Itos and I agree 110%!! hehe). It's a great picture and I love it. Thanks Mari!!

Happy Birthday Itos!!

Dearest Itos,

Happy birthday to you..Happy birthday to you..Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you!! Love you loads Itos.. Muacks... Have a great year in the States Itos...I know that you'll enjoy your stay and learn so much from all the experience that you have/will gain here. You will leave this country with so much more wisdom and maturity. You are an amazing and wonderful person now. You'll grow stronger and be better and better, each passing day . I am so proud of you my dearest sister. I love you with all my heart.

Love,
Nasheh

Saturday updates..

Last night I went out for some Chinese food at a nearby restaurant. Itos was with me. We had chicken pot stickers and kung pao chicken noodles. The pot stickers were really good but the kung pao noodles were so so. Being the klutz that I am, I spilled a whole glass of water even before the food arrived. Hehehhe...Man, I made a mess. How embarrassing :P

The waiter was a very nice, handsome Asian looking dude. Itos and I was trying to figure out which part of Asia he originated from. So I guessed Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. We were curious and wanted to see whether we guessed right. To cut the story short, after he came back with my bill/check, he asked us: "Are you guys Malaysian?". We were in total shock! How could he have guessed? It's not that my name sounds anything Malaysian.. So then we asked him, "How did you guess?". Then he told us that he has a Malaysian friend and the words that we used such as 'hand set' instead of 'cell phone' etc. gave it away :) Also our English accent had a British tint to it. Aaaahhhh.... Interesting..All in all, dinner was enjoyable :)

Later we drove to the movie theatre a.k.a. cinema to go see 'The House Bunny' at 10.30 pm. I was so tired and after 5 minutes we decided to go home instead of watch the movie. Heheh..I figured that if I was to stay I would be paying to go 'tidur' (sleep) instead of watch the movie.

Happy to report that I had a good night's sleep and today I feel rejuvenated :) wohoo!!

oh btw, the dude is Filipino. Yay, we guessed right ;)

First time..

The baby (kiddo I take care of) had his first haircut on Tuesday :) After being on this earth for more than 19 months, he finally had some of his lovely curls snipped off. He was definitely due for a haircut since his hair was getting really long. Because he has massive curls it would get all poofy and wild after he wakes up in the morning. To eliminate poofiness (I personally like poofy cause he looks so so cute!!) his hair needs to be combed through and put a little gel to let it hold. But I also feel bad for the little child having to endure the 'torture' of having his hair combed on a daily basis. I remember when I was a child and hated to brush my hair because it was so painful!



I know it's crazy but it was very bitter sweet for me. Having his haircut meant that he was growing up and won't be a little baby anymore. I want him to be that cute little baby with wild crazy curly hair forever :) But I guess babies grow up and my little baby is now a little boy *sniff*

Happy Birthday :)

Happy Birthday Rob. I know it's a couple of hours late but here's to you :) Have a great year ahead and many many more to come! Eat that cake for me will ya ;)

Duh...

Today I had another packet of Maggi Mee (asam laksa flavor). And I realized something, I had mispelled the word 'Maggi' in my last post.. I spelt it as 'Maggie' instead of 'Maggi'! Man... It's a sign that I've been away for too long from my dear friend Mee Maggi. Heheheh...

I'm addicted to it right now and only have 8 packets left!! nooooooooooooooo................. :O

I had Maggie Mee today..

Alas, after a year and a half, I had Maggie Mee (curry flavor) today.. I must say that Maggie Mee never fails in providing a delicious yet unhealthy meal :) Itos brought me 10 packets of Maggie Mee from Malaysia (5 Asam Laksa and 5 Curry flavor). I am sure I'll be going through those packets in no time.. slurrrrppppppppppp.....

Talking about all time Malaysian favorite foods, below is a list of food that I crave for (in no particular order):

1) Nasi kandar (Kampung Melayu and Globe)
2) Koay Teow Soup (Taman Tun Sardon)
2) Nasi lemak
4) My own chicken curry
5) Nasi ayam (Bukit Bintang)
6) Nasi padang (PKNS)

***********************************drool**************************

Itos is finally here!!

After a long grueling trip from Malaysia to Illinois, US with stops in Korea, Los Angeles, and New York, my darling sister is finally here! With her twisted ankle (which forced her to be pushed in a wheelchair at the Incheon Airport), and the delays and surprise..surprise..flight being cancelled, she made it in one piece :) Compared to her, my trip to the States was a breeze. The only hiccup to my trip was the delay I had when I was flying out of New York to Chicago.

I met Itos for the first time in 1 and a half years last Saturday..I must say that it is really nice to have family around :) It's still sinking in though..It's all still very surreal.. I am very very happy and can't wait to show her around :)

Itos, I hope you have a great year in America.. I love you and am so excited that you're here! muacks..

Texas de Brazil vs Brasil 68

Last weekend after having wanting to go to a Brazilian barbeque restaurant for ages, Rob, Okaka, and I joined a couple other au pairs and their friends for a big feast of non-stop meat eating! (For those who are not familiar with this concept, it is pretty much a buffet of meat on skewers. The waiters walk to your table with these skewers and carve the meat that you want. They'll keep coming back with different kinds till you tell them, I surrender!!) Yum..yum..

People who know me well know what a carnivore I am :) So I did any well respected Malaysian would do..Starved myself before hand so that I would be able to gorge and make my money's worth (hehhehehe)..I did eat a little here and there beforehand cause being me, I just needed to munch! The time moved so slowly as I was awaiting 6 pm. I was salivating just thinking about the glorious steaks that I was going to encounter and gobble up :)

The time finally came and we were waiting outside the restaurant because some of the girls were fashionably late (I only thought Malaysians were always late but I guess not :) We waited for about 45 mins or so and my stomach was crying for some juicy red meat. Alas they arrived and we were shown to our table and thus began the battle of BB vs Steaks. There was a spread of salads, soups, sushi, etc too that was part of the dinner. I could't be bothered as I was eager to start with the star of the show, the filet mignon :)

Then the unexpected happen..Man, I was so mad...My stomach was not cooperating...It was not acting its usual cheery-i-love-food self. Man, then I remembered...It must be the 'angin' accumulated in my tummy since I didn't really have a good lunch...*arrrrrrrggghhh** Oh, well...It wasn't too bad and I managed to chow down quite a bit of food.. And it was delicious and worth the wait...

Going there reminded me of Brasil 68 in Penang. Man...The food there was good too..I remember going there for the first time with Aten and Ajiji. We ate so so much we couldn't walk! ehehhe...Good times..good times.. We need to go there again guys (Is it still open though?)

Spoiled Rotten!!

Having the priviledge of living in an area which I would classify as upper middle class, I am in awe as to what I encounter. Let me further explain this. When I first stepped foot to this area, I was just amazed as to how huge their houses are. And having been into a number of these gigantic houses, rest assured the interior is just as lavish as the exterior. Never in this life time or next (unless I marry a rich old fart!!) would I ever be able to afford and live in such houses. Oh well, I am happy with what I have and that is all that counts (me trying to console myslef! hehehhe)..

So in these houses live families of humans and pets as well as pests :) Hey, pests have high standards too okay ;) In the neighbourhood I live in families have children ranging from infants to college going kids. So these kids pretty much live in their very own little Buckingham Palace. To top that, when I am out walking with the kiddos, I see all these young teenagers (they get their driving licence at 16 here) speeding away in their very own fancy-schmancy car which a normal working guy wouldn't be able to afford even if he worked his ass off for a million years..yea..yea..I'm exagerating, but you get the point right? They drive really nice cars which are given to them by mommy and daddy..

So today before I left the house, I saw the neighbour accross the street purchasing a nice black 4WD for his son that just got his drivers licence. Funny enough his older son (I think he's 18 now) got a Hummer when he turned 16.. So I guess daddy had to be fair and give both his kiddos expensive birthday gifts..Mind you these are not chepo cars but really posh ones. Damn lucky!!He's just 16!!!!!! So now, they have in total 6 cars shared between the parents and 2 brats (2 Hummers, 1 Mercedes Convertible, 1Range Rover, 1 Porsche, and the new black truck which I am yet to see what model it is)..

p.s. Ma...You still owe me a Hummer for my 16 birthday..I'll be 28 now so please upgrade it to a Lamborghini if you must :)

I am back...

Hey..I must..I must...I must.. start blogging for real!! I was talking to my best friend Shereen the other day and she was persuading me to blog. So I am once again fired up..yay!! Stay tuned for more fun/silly/sad/angry stories and my obseravations of the world around me... And yes, will try to put in pictures too!! Woohoo!!