Glamer dik non!

How many people can say "My face is on a billboard?". Not many eh... Anyways, as mama and I were driving past a row of shop houses close to the Stadium Shah Alam a couple of weeks ago, I saw something that caught my eyes. I wasn't sure the first time around but then when we drove past the same road the next time around, the person I thought was on the big billboard was in fact the person I thought it was.

Lo and behold! None other than my very own jaju aka babu my beloved sister Annahita. Glamer mak ayam....Kelas gitu ;)

This bilboard is at the De Wajah head office in Shah Alam :)

Was it worth it?

I began to dread the fact that I agreed with mama the night before to go to the Pasar Tani, Shah Alam at 7am. It didn't help that I only fell asleep at around 4 am. I was so engrossed in this book that came highly recommended by mama entitled 'Fragrant Rice'. Initially I told myself that I would only read a couple of pages. Well, those couple of pages ended up being 117 pages. Hahahahha...Talk about a page turner. Anyways, as mama knocked on my door, I was so tempted to cancel our plans and continue on sleeping. But then I thought, what the heck, I should just get my lazy behind up and go. Mama has already before that told me about this famous 'gerai' at the Pasar Tani that sold 'Sup Gearbox'. Being me, I can't say no to food.
On our way to the Pasar Tani (tried to capture the sunrise but obviously failed. hahhaha....Sunrise behind coconut tree)

So off we went to the Pasar Tani. We got there at around 7.20 or so and got a good parking spot. Oh I forgot to mention that one of the main reasons why we wanted to get there early was to secure a good parking spot. If you arrive later, there is a possibility that you would have to park far and walk for quite a bit.

Mama at one of many vegetables store. Love the petai hanging in the background :)

The Pasar Tani sold pretty much everything. They had plants, clothes, fruits, vegetables, the freshest seafood, chicken, beef, lamb, etc. As well as my all time favourite, the reason I am up so early on a Sunday morning... Cooked food. Yummmm...Roti canai, nasi lemak, kuih-muih, fried koay teow, bihun, keropok lekor, roast lamb and chicken, and the list goes on. I was salivating and was spoilt for choice! In the end this was what mama and I settled for: the famous 'sup gearbox', soto ayam and nasi lemak. hehehhehhe... Yes, when people dine with me we tend to over order. hahhahaha... Food was good and I was stuffed. And no, we did not finish all the food in one sitting. We ended up 'bungkus-ing' leftovers from the soto and sup gearbox.

Sup Gearbox (RM13.00and worth every penny). They even give you a fat straw to suck out the bone marrow...sinfully delicious!!! The happy faces of yours truly when she is presented with oh! glorious food...

The reason to love breakfast! Nasi lemak with fried egg, kelempung, daging goreng, sambal. All for an affordable price of RM4.50! Yummmmm!

So was it worth it? 1,000,000 percent yes!!!

When you have too much time on your hands...

As most of you know, since I got back home, I have been (and still on) a very very very very long vacation *sigh* A vacation is great but when you've been well rested for over 3 months now, it bugs you and all you want to do is go to work and work and work and work. You hear that employers? If you hire me, rest assured, you will get an employee who is going to work so so hard for your company that you would have to ask her to go home when she insists on staying after office hours to complete her work for the next year or so. hahahahha...So believe it or not, I have applied to well over 300 jobs. Yes, you read that right. 300 (and counting)... Never in my wildest dreams that I ever thought it would come down to this. I am starting to doubt whether anyone would give me a job. Will I end up having to mooch of my parents (and sister..muahahha) for the rest of my life??? I hope it does not have to come down to this :P Anyways, I truly hope that sometime soon I hope...real soon that I will eventually get the job I have always wished for *wishing hard...real hard*

Anyways, I have been experimenting on some recipes to kill time. The fridge now is stuffed with food! hahhaha... Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the food I made. So I'll just have to tell you and you'd have to use your own imagination. hehhehe... I have made chicken rendang, chicken curry, bubur cha cha, jellies, baked cup cakes and even made pineapple upside down cake. The list continues...

So please, someone, anyone, please give me a job so that I don't gain 200 pounds!!!

As promised...

Hey...My apologies for the delay in posting up the pictures. I was away and did not have Internet connection there. So here you go... :)

Cuppy Cakes...

It has been ages since I last updated my blog. I just didn't have anything to write about (actually I did but never came around to do so...hahaha). Anyways, life is good. Am heading to Penang in a couple of hours (yay! food!) so I am pretty excited about that. Still searching for my 'dream' job (where is my fairy godmother??). Been applying to lots of potential places. Hopefully I'll get some calls soon (hoping and wishing real hard).

I've always been curious as to how some people come up with great looking cup cakes. So on Thursday after yet another fun filled day (not :P) I decided to bake. Baking the cup cakes were not hard but I've always wanted to see whether I could actually decorate the cup cakes and actually turn out good. So I googled how to decorate cup cakes and discovered that the secret to all those pretty looking cup cakes is fondant icing (a.k.a. baker's playdoh). Aaaaah... I was so glad I finally discovered that. Yay! So I read a couple of websites and after about 1/2 hour I pretty much knew what to do. So off I went to the store to get all my baking needs. It was fun baking again (not that I was much of a baker to begin with). I always find cooking/baking very therapeutic and fun.

After baking the cupcakes came the fun part of decorating them. It was kinda nerve wrecking because I did not know what to expect and whether I would succeed or fail miserably. Mama was in the kitchen while I was starting the process of decorating and was intrigued by the whole thing. Initially she just wanted to see how it was done but then ended up decorating all the cupcakes with me. I must admit it was tons of fun especially to have mama do it with me. She enjoyed it too! Here are some pictures of our masterpiece! hehehhe... Doesn't taste too bad too.. Yay...Mission accomplished...

Opppsss...Just realized that my cousin is sleeping my room. My camera's in there. Guess I'd have to load the picture tomorrow ;)

Jakarta and Bali Pictures

I was in Jakarta from the 18 till 21 of February. I was there with my parents and 4 of their friends. After that we flew to Bali and stayed there till the 24th of February. Jakarta was ok, but I will never go there again. It was a good experience to see it at least once. Bali was great. Tons of tourist (even though it was the low season). I can't imagine it during peak season. I pictured Bali to have clean beaches with crystal clear water. To my disappointment this was not the case. I guess nowadays it is hard to find such beaches. You'd have to go to the middle of nowhere for that. We were lucky to be in Bali at that time because there were tons of rituals that were being performed leading to the Balinese Hindu new year called 'Nyepi'. All in all, Bali was great and the people were so so polite. They smile a lot too... :) More to come of Penang and Singapore....ciao...

Home sweet home...

It has been almost a month since I got back from US. I landed at KLIA on March 7 in case some of you were wondering about my whereabouts. It has been a crazy few weeks though and I have not had a chance to actually just sit down and catch a breath. I was in Jakarta, Bali and Singapore with my parents and a few of their friends. It was my first time to all these places and each place was unique. I will blog about this soon hopefully. Haaaa... I promised to blog about Disney World and till this day have not done so. My apologies people. Hopefully I will one day (better late than never right?). All in all I enjoyed my trip very very much. My favourite place would have to be Singapore and Bali. Jakarta has nothing much to offer and I would never go there again on a vacation. It is kind a place where you go once and that is all you need. Unlike Bali and Singapore where you can visit a couple of times. Shopaholics like myself would die in excitement in Singapore where shopping is in abundance. Man, you can literally shop till you drop here. Special note: Maini S and A, imagine if the 3 of us went to Singapore... Hahhahaha.... Habis kedai kena borong! hehehhe....

Wow...

I can't believe that my road trip in the US is about to end soon. Real soon. I didn't realise that I will be flying back home on March 5 and arriving KLIA on March 7. Wow...This would be my last weekend spent here. I am going to miss some very special people that I have had the pleasure and honor to meet. I am going to miss them all very very much. This past 2 years have been a great learning experience for me. If I had to do it all over again, I would...

Disney World

I was away from the 22 to the 26 of January in Orlando, Florida. Never in my wildest dreams that I imagined that I would ever step foot at Disney World, but I did! So now I can check that off my 'Things to do before I die' list. It was a great time and I am happy that I managed to spend this magical time with Itos :) We were a great team! wohoo!! Will upload pictures and write about our adventure soon! Tunggu.......

My addiction...

I have a problem... I know I should kick this bad habit of mine but I just can't help myself. I have no willpower or maybe perhaps it is too good an indulgence that I refuse to quit. Hmmm... You see, I am addicted to this sinfully delicious beverage called Caramel Frappucino and also to the many items on the McDonald's menu namely the fries, filet-o-fish, vanilla iced coffee, and the Egg McMuffin.

Thank God these will be readily available to me in Malaysia. Imagine life without it... muhahhahaha...

Mexican American??? Indian??? Martian???

Having been in the States for almost 2 years now, I have come to accept that a lot of people think I am Mexican, Brazilian, Peruvian, etc etc. So pretty much people think that I come from South America. So in most cases Hispanics would start to speak to me in Spanish and I would have no clue what they are saying. I would have to just smile and politely say, "I am sorry, I do not speak Spanish. Can you please repeat that in English?". Sometimes I feel as though they think I am being a snobbish Hispanic that refuses to speak her mother tongue...Hahaha...Little do they know that I eat sambal belachan and ikan kering and that mak saya cakap Melayu (my mother speaks Malay)... hahaha... I also get these extra attention from the Hispanics senors who in most cases would stare at me when I go to a Mexican restaurant or just walking around the mall. They are always surprised when I say that I am not one of them and that I come from Malaysia (where the hell is Malaysia is what they would be thinking to themselves! muahhahahha).

People have also thought that I am Native American. Hahaha... Once, Itos and I were at a Museum in Chicago that so happened had a Native American exhibition going on. Coincidentally, I had my hair in braids that day and looked like a Pocahontas wannabe. So a couple of people came up to us and asked us what tribe we belonged to. ehehhehehe...Pretty funny eh.

It is so funny that people can never guess what I am. Even in Malaysia most people assume that I am Indian or Eurasian. Which I am neither. I am Malay/Persian. I remember once when I bought a drink from a roadside stall near Puduraya. I asked the person mending the stall how much the drink cost in Malay and he did not respond. At first I thought he could not talk or something. Then I asked him again and he was just in shock that I could speak in Malay. He said "Kakak boleh cakap Melayu"? (You can speak in Malay?). Hahahah... That was a funny incident which I will never forget.

I wonder whether I would be considered Iranian if I was in Iran... hmmmmm...

2008 vs 2009

Wow, I can't believe that 2008 is coming to an end... It has been a relatively good year for me. I did some of the things that I never thought I would ever do.

I swam with the dolphins in Hawaii.
I went to Las Vegas.
I rode on a roller coaster.
I started blogging.

Hopefully 2009 will bring more first times. On my wish list:

Visit Europe.
Visit Japan.
Maintain a healthy diet and look good in jeans.
Join a gym and actually make full use of it.

Happy New Year everyone... xoxo

Updates

Hey everyone..It's been quite some time since I blogged. No reason whatsoever. Hahaha..

1.

It was quite a stressful week last week when I found out that some @$$ stranger had stolen my credit card number and racked up such a huge bill. Still working with the bank on this matter. They say it will take 4-6 weeks for them to carry out the investigation. Hopefully everything will be ok. I am just so furious! Seriously people, why steal from other people? How bout go out and get a job??

2.

The weather now is so so cold. It is so cold that if I leave a water bottle in the car overnight, it will freeze. That's how cold it gets. *sigh* I love the boots but not too crazy about the weather

3.

aaaahhhhh...I feel so relieved... I am done with my research paper for the Social Problems class I am taking this semester. That was a major contributor to my stressful week too :) One more to go though. I have to take the final exam.

4.

Been eating too much lately. Seriously, I am never full!

5.

Counting last night and today, I have had 8 Ferrero Rochers (p.s. having one right now as I type)

6.

It is starting to sink in now. I am leaving and coming back home. It is definitely bitter sweet...

Surprise...surprise...

I woke up this morning and this was what I saw...

It finally snowed a lot :) I love the snow but hate it when I have to brush the snow off the car in the freezing cold. My fingers go numb...brrrrrrr.....

I was out in the snow twice today. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I love playing in the snow. Makes me feel like a kid again... Snowball fight!!!

Thanksgiving and Black Friday...

I had a blast on Thanksgiving (ate a ton) and went shopping the next day (Black Friday). Wohooo!! Eating and shopping, my two favourite things to do :) Will blog about it soon... xoxo

Boo!

This year for Halloween, I decided to fork out a decent amount of money and got myself a costume. Initially I was kind of reluctant to get a costume which I was only going to wear once. But heck, I thought. I have to get into the spirit and this was going to be my only chance to celebrate Halloween here in the States. Also, I am not as creative as Itos in devising my own costume (which by the way, she did an awesome job!). So on the eve of Halloween, Becs and I decided to do some last minute costume shopping. After several hours of trying on different costumes, we ended up buying the same ones. Hehhehe... It was a close call between becoming a Devil or Robin Hood. I decided on the later because it was longer and was not as tight as the Devil costume. And yes, of course being me, the Robin Hood costume was much more expensive than the Devil one. *aih, susah ada taste mahal nih.... hahahha..*

I was lucky enough to get the day off on Halloween. So Itos and I had a great day. We started our day by having some Indian buffet. Yum, the food there is so good! Then off we went to get some last minute Halloween stuff at Walmart. We got some white face paint, decorations, candy, etc. It was so much fun seeing everyone doing their last minute shopping! Then we went to a bakery to get some cupcakes as well as dinner (we got Popeyes fried chicken..yum!) to take to our friends house. Then off we went to start our Halloween celebration.

This year for Halloween, I went for trick or treating (and no, we didn't bring kids along.. we were the kids! muahhahahha). It was fun going from door to door getting candy. Later that night we went to a nearby club to check out the Halloween celebration there and enter a costume contest. It was fun seeing all these adult dressed up in really cool stuff. All hoping to win that $500 cash. I was hoping Itos would win since she was as scary as hell as Hantu Susu (complete with baby that talks in tow). But the winner was a guys dressed up as Michael Jackson with a boy on his crotch... hehhehe...I must admit that's pretty cool.

I must say that it was a great day. I am glad that I got into the spirit and bought a costume that I'll never wear again. But then again, whose going to arrest me if I show up at KLCC dressed up as Robin Hood right?

It's been a long long time...

... since i blogged. I don't know. *aih* There's so much to write about but I just can't seem to put it down. I want to blog about my trip to Great America (where I actually got on a roller coaster!), Halloween, Medieval Times, etc etc. I will... I just don't know when... I'll leave you guys with some pictures though... Stories to come...

Remember the Stratosphere?

Remember my previous entry on the Stratosphere? Ala, the one where I wrote about the hotel that has 3 pee-in-my-pants rides? Here's a picture of it. So those rides I was telling you about is on that very top of that tower... Care for a ride???

Vegas - September 21, 2008

Oh no....It's Sunday! Good bye Vegas, hello reality... Oh.... Why do holidays have to end? Why can't it go on and on and on? *sigh* Woke up early...Wanted to explore Vegas one last time before heading back to Illinois. Honestly I don't know where I get the extra energy from when I'm on vacation. I'm like an Energizer (or is it Duracel?) Bunny that can move it, move it (compared to when I'm home and like a Bateri jenama X Bunny!!!)... Muhahhahahha...

Asked whether anyone would like to come with me to explore but they were all not up for it. So off I went on my own with a mission of getting to see as much as I can without missing my flight. Looking at my watch I had approximately 3 hours or so before we had to leave. Armed with my camera, I walked to the Caesars Palace Hotel (ala, yang Anita Sarawak and Celine Dion pernah perform dulu) which was literally 5 minutes walk from the Mirage. And in case you guys were wondering, it is Cher that is performing at Caesars now. Caesars is gorgeous and very opulent. It's cool that they have the Pussycat Doll's club as well as a PDC themed casino. The dealers were all hot (and some so-so) girls clad in PCD style outfits. It was very pink and it was cute! Also, like The Venetian, Caesars has an indoor mall with the same kind of ceiling (clouds) and a huge indoor fountain. Again, my mind was confused and thought that I was outside! Roamed around the mall for a while, got lost in the mall, didn't know how to exit, asked a lady for directions (whom I must say was very nice and polite) and finally found my way outside. hehehhe... Time was running out so I walked back to the hotel and after a couple of minutes all 4 of us took a cab and off we went to the airport.

The flight back home was good. Slept for at least half way through the journey. Was reluctant to leave Vegas but happy to be back to Illinois (really? :P) muhahhahahhhaa...

That's it folks...Finally, I'm done with my Vegas stories. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it... And a word of advice, when you can, do come to Vegas and don't forget to get me a plane ticket too...

Vegas - September 20, 2008

Oh no... Today was my last full day in Vegas. I didn't want to leave. There was so so much more to see and do. So many places, so little time! Oh no, no, no... I want to stay for another month or so. I wish *sigh*

Oh well, got to make the best out of the situation and move it..move it.. So woke up and got ready early and ventured out into this great massive concrete jungle called Vegas. I love you Vegas... You are awesome!!!

In order to cover more of the Vegas strip, Itos and I decided to purchase the unlimited day pass on the monorail (which turns out to be worth every penny spent!). This was a great move since we saved a lot of time having to walk the entire Vegas strip. The strip is pretty much a long stretch road filled with rows and rows of hotels. We saw the MGM Hotel (massive!) and also the lion habitat located in the hotel. It is pretty cool since the only thing stopping the lions from attacking all of us are glass walls. The lions looked pretty sedated though. I guess they drug them or something (tak pun kasi panadol! haha). We also saw the Mandalay Bay Hotel (and saw a lesbian couple getting married at the chapel there! only in Vegas!). New York New York (it's so cool with the replica of the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, NY Public library etc.). Paris (yes, you guessed right, with a replica of the Eiffel Tower). We also saw Excalibur Hotel (which looks like a castle), Luxor Hotel (resembles the pyramid), Monte Carlo Hotel, etc. We also stopped by at the M&Ms store. It's so cool in there and way bigger than the one in New York with tons of yes, M&Ms, other candy, souvenirs, etc.

Oh, and we saw the Stratosphere Tower Hotel from the Sahara Hotel (which by the way is the most cikai on the strip...Note to self: never stay at the Sahara if I go back to Vegas ever. But tell sworn enemies to go to Sahara! muahhahahhaha). The main attraction of the Stratosphere Hotel (http://www.stratospherehotel.com/thrills/) is the 3 thrilling rides which is located more than 1,000 feet above the Vegas strip. It's crazy!!! Never in a million years would I ever do any of those rides even if someone paid me a million bucks...It looks so so scary! The description of the rides are as follows:

Big Shot - Shoots passengers straight up 160 feet at 45 mph (over 4 Gs) until they are 1,081 feet above the Strip.

X-Scream - A giant teeter-totter that propels you 27 feet over the edge of the Tower, 866 feet above the ground.

Insanity, the Ride - A massive mechanical arm extends 64 feet over the edge of the Tower and spins you at a force of 3 Gs for a truly mind-bending experience.

C.R.A.Z.Y!!!

That night Itos and I went to see The Crazy Horse Show at the MGM Hotel (highly recommended). Becs and Baz went to see a Cirque show 'Love' at The Mirage (also was spectacular).

A tiring (having cramped all those sight seeing in one day!) yet enjoyable and always exciting day in Vegas...