Biatchy Bloggers

WE HAVE MOVED TO PASTURES GREENER...

2007-01-05T02:36:00.000-08:00

so that slight technical glitch has turned out to be an irreversible mistake. SORRRRYYYYYYYYYYY... we are now blogging at http://biatchybunch.blogspot.com/

x
suannie the IT guru/muppet

christmas eve special

2007-01-03T03:57:00.000-08:00

My dearest biatches,

I think the pics say it all. We had a good time catching up and posing for the paps.

x suannie

ps: still desperately trying to undo my little technical faux pas. arghhghghg...a thousand apologies to those who are itching to blog but can't access our blog just yet.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2007-01-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone is well and all the best for the new year..! :)

We went to see the Rose Parade by our house. It was very fun.. Even better when we walked out 20 mins before the parade started while ppl camped out since yesterday to get good seats. It's a yearly tradition in Pasadena and this year we had a Star Wars entry! Everybody loveeddd the Storm Troopers.. (More pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/allisonchinlilin/RoseParade)

Anyway, why is everyone so quiet? Where is all the blogs???

~al

Seasons Greetings

2006-12-16T06:54:00.000-08:00

~al

2006-12-11T23:56:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALLISON!!!
Wishing you all the love, fun and chocolate cake on your special day.
Here's something for you to shake and stir to...

Love always, The Bitchy Bunch

Steamboat in Pasadena

2006-12-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

Best steamboat ever. The live shrimp was excellente! The chee-yau-chaa.. well.. u know, nothing beats pork fat. :)

~al

black friday

2006-12-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

our first thanksgiving turkey - all 23 pounds of it

black friday - day after thanksgiving. queue outside of Coach

'normal' sized seafood platter - wonder what the 'large' seafood platter would look like

alvin, happy after his baked lobsta

My dearest biatches,
Apologies for being absent for the past 2 weeks - I was away on my annual trip to Boston. It was a great trip - loads of fresh seafood (can't get enough
of them littleneck clams), shopping & quality time with my aunt. We had our first thanksgiving turkey (delicious!), all 23 pounds of it - my aunt's neighbour kindly invited the lot of us to spend thanksgiving with them. It's very much like CNY where you just eat eat and eat. In most cases, you start eating at about 4pm and don't stop until about midnight! hahaa...

For those who are a bit ignorant (like me) to a term called 'Black Friday', let me introduce it to you...it's basically the day when businesses who are in the red make enough profits to get their books back into the black, ie. SALES BONANZA. Alvin & I never did this before, but since the stores were opening 1 minute past midnite (to avoid trading on Thanksgiving day, which is against the law in the US), we were there, at the retail outlet, at 4am, ready to shop, BIG TIME. As you can see from the picture of the queue outside of Coach, we weren't the only ones cashing in on the bargains!

It was a great trip - enough time to recharge those batteries and also go broke. I will have to work for the rest of my life to fund my shopping trips, I reckon.

x suannie

Ee Kee's Wedding (29/10/06)

2006-11-30T23:26:00.001-08:00

What else I did in KL

2006-11-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

Weddings galore

2006-11-15T12:48:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Am finally back in Ithaca, after a 7-week trip to see my brother get hitched...twice! Fortunately, it was to the same girl. Yup, the bloke has finally tied the knot. I'm just waiting for him to start procreating now. Here's a photo of the groom and bride at the Brisbane wedding:

And one of them at the KL wedding (sorry, should have used red-eye reduction, I know):

The KL wedding was also the first wedding I've been to that featured a drinking competition: Australia vs. Malaysia:

First round--one jug of beer, went to to the Aussies...Oi Oi Oi!

Second round, vodka shots (notice them lined up all in a row)--to the Malaysians: Malaysia boleh and all that...

Third round, submarines (vodka shots in glasses of beer)--believe it or not, a draw. And in case anyone recognizes the Malaysian--that's our very own Derrick Kong from Cempaka:

The tie-breaker was back to vodka shots--and Malaysia won, but my camera ran out of batteries, so I have no photos of that!

/J

Fess up!

2006-11-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

Ok.. who messed around with the template for the blog?!?! It's all wacko now. Fess up now and i might be nice! :)

~al

My All Time Favorite Pictures 1

2006-11-05T22:38:00.000-08:00

Angie's foot + KL traffic + Creativity = Great Memories of KL

~al

Project Road Trip

2006-10-31T02:32:00.000-08:00

Our little VW polo did us well - we travelled 402 miles and back (the little thing was flying at 120 miles an hour) and it didn't break down!! Well deserved rest for Lil Polo outside the lodge where we stayed...

River Eden that runs through the Lake District

Check the angry clouds out - view from my seat window during take off

Up, up & away - view of Keswick (part of the Lake District) - looks like a scene from 'Lost' doesn it??

Treated 'the man' to his first flying lesson & a long weekend away at Carlisle (which is really close to Scotland) for his birthday. Had a fantastic time soaking in the great outdoors & countryside. The two 4-hour drives were well worth it. 'The man' enjoyed his virgin pilot experience & no doubt will be doing more of those!! I may join him soon enough (got to work on my co-ordination skills first) - the plane will be painted with a bright red 'WARNING: RETARD FLYING' sign.

x suannie

cuti-cuti pooh-ket

2006-10-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

went on 4D/3N holiday to phuket with esta and wan chin. had a great time lazing about and hangin' by the beach. here are some pictures (all purely PG-rated).

i'm holding in my tummy for this shot... how la to compete with miss taiwan and miss china flanking me?? ever wondered why miss sri lanka never made it far in any beauty pageants. haa haa haa!!!

miss taiwan is ready for her close-up!

the only pink tuk-tuk we ever saw... don't ask me why esta and wanchin had to bend over behind it...

"i throw you in the water!" "no, i'll strangle you first!" "not if i grab your leg!!" "never!!!"
we settle all our differences very maturely.

trying out as barmaids at the local inn.

View from my lounge chair in Patong.

mings

Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain

2006-10-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

The girls and I went to Magic Mountain last Sunday for Fright Fest - an annual event sempena Halloween where they are all decked up with spooky stuff, monsters creeping out of no where, roller coasters going backwards and riding in total darkness and etc.. etc.. (Six Flags is a chain of theme parks featuring roller coasters only)

We had a GREATTT time... weather was warmer then we all expected or maybe I am getting old and couldnt take the roller coasters as much as I did before. Stomach was gurgling in protest after the Riddler coaster... But.. definately a MUST go when we do the roadtrip.. Don't be scared ok.. I know Jian is not really a coaster fan.. but should try it lahh.

TATSU, the newest ride in the park, featured the riders in "Superman" flying position! (see pic below and more pics of ride at http://themeparks.about.com/od/sixflagsphotogallery/ss/TatsuPixPre.htm ). You will never experience anything like it.. definately a once in a lifetime experience.

~al

Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain!

2006-10-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

name your kids well..

2006-10-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

name on tag: BAI, JIE

poor guy..

~al

Website

2006-10-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

Folks,

Check this out: www.cempaka.edu.my

Is it not the most vomit-inducing thing you' ve ever seen?

/J

My office farewell partaaaaayyyyy!!

2006-10-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

last wednesday my colleagues took my out for dinner and dancing . went to zouk for mambo jambo... had a great time. going to miss those guys - most of whom are close friends.

so next thing on my agenda is a trip with wan chin and esther fot phuket, spend time with my mom & dad, weddings galore in december, and then off to sydney to mooch off steph...

so here are some pics taken from my office farewell... as you can see , there aren't many guys in my office.. . on reason i'm quitting this agency.... hee hee....

dinner at california pizza kitchen, klcc. the desserts there are at least 99% pure sugar!!!

three was a crowd...

but seven was a party!

the best boss i've ever had, geraldine, the cute one with freckles...

mings

Sydney and Sydneysiders

2006-10-12T00:18:00.000-07:00

Since Steph's computer can't upload photos, I said I'd do it for her. So here are some photos I took during my time there.

Strange Fruit in Sydney: What does this mutated strawberry remind you of??? No prizes for guessing!

How Sydneysiders compact the trash: taken from a cafe in the city. The guy told me not to take a photo, but I did anyway!

Steph the alcoholic: Count how many bottles of alcohol she has!

Sydney Cats: The cat adopted Stephanie's backyard as its home, but Steph was mean and didn't want to let it in!

And now the best for last:

GASP! WHO IS STEPH IN BED WITH???

/J

Roadtrip!

2006-10-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

It all started when I asked Janice when she was coming to visit. Janice the big mouth suggested driving up to Seattle, Washington. Then, everyone started jumping in the bandwagon. Both Suan and Jian are already asking when so they can take time off from work! So.... if you're interested, you better speak up! :)

So here is the deal. Both me and Suan got no personal time from now til Sept of 2007. (Yeap, I have already planned my trip for next year! Coincidentally, it is also a roadtrip and maybe a little of south america. God knows what Suan is up to next year!) Anyway, since we are all so busy and have our own rat race to be in, planning way ahead is a good thing, no? Also road trip in winter is not a good thing (most National Parks close and Ca is not so pretty in winter), I think the best time would be Spring '08 - in late April or early May. (Definately before the peak Summer period begin in June!) Rent a minivan and hit the road! I suggested to hit to see the california coastline, Napa Valley, Yellowstone, San Francisco and such - maybe even detouring in Las Vegas and Grand Canyons. But, most definaly to stop in Camarillo for the EXTENSIVE shopping outlets. :) To save time - i know you guys are all very busy - we can disperse in Seattle. I'm gussing this is going to be at least 10 days! And since its in 2008, thats plenty of time for you guys to plan!!!

So, WHO'S IN?????

~al

Back home..

2006-10-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

View from the Eiffel Tower, Paris

So.. am back in L.A. now. Am finally a little more settled. Been jet-lagged for a week! I've been sleeping at 8pm everyday and waking up at 3 to 4 am. Only last night did i finally force myself to sleep later and woke up at 5 am... which is my usual waking-up time. Am also finally more settled with work - and a little more caught up with work.

It was a great trip.. and a nice break from work. Been really hectic at work - especially the couple of weeks before i left for the holidays. We visited London to Cambridge to York to Beverly to Edinburgh to Musselburgh to Kent (which was 7 hours drive!) to Dover to Calais to Paris (4 nights) to Tours to smaller towns in the Loire Valley like Villandry, Chanonceau, Orleans, Chambord, Chatres and such then back to London. Will send you guys pictures!

Anyway, should go now.. talk to you guys later.

~al

Blogging 101

2006-10-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Hey folks--am in Sydney now, and Steph claims that she "doesn't know how to blog," so I am showing her how to right now.

Hey guys! Finally after 5 months, my very first blog. Apparently it is very easy to do so cause throughout my entire blogging tutorial, the phrase 'its really quite easy' was repeatedly said to me by Jan. She's been here for a week, and her trip have been a food and photo taking fest. She has photographic evidence of every single dish that we've had. And yes, she can cook! Made pasta that was damn spicy, damn nice but nearly killed my friend.

That was Steph, in case you haven't figured it out. Anyway, Steph's computer is cacat and can't download photos from my camera, so this will have to remain a photo-free blog entry. Steph just typed two sentences and said she was too "tired to think anymore" so I don't think she'll be blogging too frequently! Anyway, will blog photos once I get to Brisbane, so you'll see what's been happening. Back to Steph.

Back to me....yes Jan can do the technical stuff like upload freaking photos. I'm somewhat in a dazed state at the moment with no mental capacity. Have had 3-4 hours of sleep every night for the past week, as been down with pharyngitis and larnygitis and been have 3 hours coughing fits at night. So not much brain cells left. Beside, Janice made me sit through a 3 1/2 fucking hours of hindi love song and dance last night- a bollywood movie with a title translated to 'Crazy Love', and even crazier audiences who would sit through the whole entire movie! Apparently India to Germany is a day trip according to this movie!

ok guys, this is it for now....both of us too tired to blolg anymore and need to shower and eat more food.

adios!

J & Steph

They love me in the office.

2006-10-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

Before:

After:

They love me so much in the office, some genius in the office decided to do some spring cleaning box up all my stuff. As if i don't have enough to do coming back from a 2 week vacation. So much for support! At least i had it good, some guy got his CPU hidden when he came back from his holidays. Hehehe.

Thanks guys!

~al

SexySuan

2006-10-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

was spring cleaning my picture folders when...

2006-09-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

i found these...

dude who was stealing a bit of our thunder!! hahaaa

another playful one - esther was more interested in the contents of 'Horse & Hound' Winter edition 2005

one more for the road...

2006-09-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

after our weekly lip collagen shots - do we stand a chance of getting onto FHM now, dahling??

al can't make up her mind!!! - at 'de la creperie hampstead' for some good ol' fashioned french crepes

al the alcholic with her banana, dark choc & rum crepe.....

cannot wait to dig in - dark choc & banana - THE BEST combi for the teetotaller...is this enough to entice you lot to london now??????

hope al & austin had a great time - have a safe flight back, guys... x

dumb & dumber (2)

2006-09-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Toilet antics #3 - perfecting the art of pouting

Toilet antics #4 - perfect pouts? there is a reason why we're not on the cover of FHM

Toilet antics #5 - having perfected the art of pouting we move on our dance routine

The WCs at the Trafalgar (swanky joint selling alcohol at rates where they might as well be robbing you) were the perfect place to show off our 'exhibitionist' sides. Good thing there weren't any witnesses to our antics - we were thisclose to being kicked out for being/acting too damn drunk for this established joint!

and finally...awwww...al sobered up to take this really good pic with austin...how sweet..

Al in London Oct 2006

2006-09-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

Our ONLY 'proper' picture of the night - it goes downhill from here...

al was a bit tipsy, and i was just, um, being me...

Toilet antics #1 - feeling a bit bored in the loo

Toilet antics #2 - "i like big butts and i cannot lie..."

BIATCHES...

I feel like I'm talking to the walls these days looking at the (lack of) comments that you guys have been posting - WHERE ARE YOU PEOPLE??

Al & Austin are around for a few days in London (last stop of their Europe tour after York, Edinburgh & France) doing the touristy thing and I'm sure, having lots of fun. Good thing for Al that Austin's around - she is one hopeless biatch when it comes to navigation (she could get lost IN a tube station). She ONLY remembers anything and everything to do with food!! She even forgot that I'm a teetotaller - poor Austin had to lug back 2 bottles of bubbly champagne from France because Al bought it to celebrate my birthday. Poor dude.

Met up with Al & Austin (& Melissa, Ian & Ong) for dins @ Chinatown (Al & Austin were probably too tired of rich French cuisine) yesterday - you can see from the pics the night went progressively downhill as Al downed the alcohol and I was just getting high on air. Needless to say we both had a great time. I shall post more pics separately (blardy picassa only allows you to upload 4 at a time) so that you can see what stupid antics we were up to!

Wherever the hell you guys are, I hope you are keeping well and enjoying life.

x suannie

hova! hova! hova! hova!

2006-09-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

Best pic of the lot - Jay-Z & his 99 Problems

but his Biatch ain't one..."OH oh OH Oh OH OH..you got me looking crazy right now!"

Jay-z & one of his sidekicks

Totally chuffed at the end of the night!!! The £55 was WELL WORTH IT!

BIATCHESSSSS!!!!!

I just back from seeing Jay-z & his crew live @ the Royal Albert Hall and am totally energised right now, I can't sleep! I guess you can tell that I had a great time!!! The audience was GREAT - very responsive, rapping & dancing the whole night long (ok, maybe not dancing, more like BOUNCING - 'i say bounce wid me bounce wid me')...Jay-Z had a few sidekicks for most of the night (Nas, Memphis Bleek & opening act gang such as Kano & Akala) and I think it probably wouldn't have been that good a concert had he been alone. His 'Hustler Symphony Orchestra' & DJ Green Lantern held their own too! There were also surprise appearances from Chris Martin & wifey Gwyneth Paltrow who can surprisingly sing (no rapping from Gwynnie - she did back up), and i've-got-thunder-thighs-but-i-can-shake-my-big-booty-Beyonce, so I got repaid a few times over the £55 I paid for the ticket !!

I was kept entertained throughout and found myself bouncing and shouting "hova! hova! hova!" (one of Jay-z's other nicks, after "jay-hova") & swaying my arms high in the air , I think Alvin was quite surprised (don't think he's seen me in my 'dancing queen mode' before- maybe a good thing!). I'm still kicking myself for not bringing my camera though - blardy RAH was supposedly very strict with their 'No cameras' rule but every DeShawn, Dewayne & Laetitia were going trigger happy tonite. Well at least my phone camera did me proud today and took some reasonable pics for you guys to have a look at!

can i get a 'what what' suannie (bounce wid me bounce wid me)

28 going on 16

2006-09-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

baaa baaa white (dog?)

The sheep that thinks it's a dog - let's name him FluffyBallz

Wandering in the farm with my pink wellies & the lovely man

Having a go on the 40-year old tractor - I can be a farmer!!

'I wandered lonely as a cloud'...who said clouds were lonely!! What a glorious day...

My fellow biatches - Thank you thank you thank you for all the birthday (and unbirthday in J's case) wishes !!! It was so thoughtful of you busy lot to call and send me the text messages/emails/cards/pressies. So thanks again for remembering.

Seeing that I had been working my arse off, A decided to reward me with a weekend trip to a farm near Oxford (not for the faint hearted) as a birthday pressie in hopes that I get to have some relaxation. The weather was so perfect throughout (although it did rain Malaysian-monsoon style all of Saturday night). We had great fun making friends with the farm owner's dogs & hens (the horses were kept quite far away) and some random sheep (Fluffyballz) which acted more like a dog. Fluffyballz was christened as such because (surprise! surprise) it had the largest and fluffiest knackers we had ever seen on any living creature!!! haha...I had such a relaxing weekend and didn't want the it to end, but alas, I have to work to pay the bills etc, so here I am, back in mad London...

Meeting up with Al during the latter part of the week - she's somewhere in Europe now, doing her annual touristy thing...will update you lot when we finally meet!

x suannie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUAN!

2006-09-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well, this really has been Allison's thing, but since she's rendezvous-ing in Europe, she probably doesn't have e-mail access or the time to do this. So:

HAPPY 28th BIRTHDAY, SUANNIE!

(Were this done by Al, it would have a nifty graphic etc., but you all know that I failed art throughout school, so no such thing will be attempted here. But I'll leave you with a favourite passage of mine from Alice in Wonderland):

"I mean, what is an un-birthday present?"
"A present given when it isn't your birthday, of course."
Alice considered a little. "I like birthday presents best," she said at last.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" cried Humpty Dumpty. "How many days are there in a year?"
"Three hundred and sixty-five," said Alice.
"And how many birthdays have you?"
"One."

Have a great day, Suan--but have a great 364 other un-birthdays also.

/J

28 and lovin' it

2006-09-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

hey girls... since most of you guys are not around, except for val and esta... here are some pics from my 28th do at the Attic, Bangsar (stone's throw away from Ali's place).

3 flamings, 2 cocktails, 2 wines later that night and i was wobbling down the stairs. Thanks to esta (and kevin) i got home safely. and got lovely perfume from val and about 5 pairs of earrings from other friends (i think my earring count has reached 50 plus pairs by now).

wan chin organised the whole thing, and it was great - i remembered most of the night, but just not in order... would have been great to have you girls there, but knowing us, we would have made hell a 'lotta noise and gottten kicked out! and if history repeats itself, jian would have been blamed for it!

mings

Birthday Shout-Out

2006-09-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

~Al

Suannie the football hooligan

2006-09-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

(super) frank lampard takes the corner

chelsea team regroup after their 2nd goal

mad chelsea fans - can you spot suannie???

biatches - with the exception of dear ol aliku and jian, WHERE the hell has everyone been?? i have been quite busy with (eek!) work. i know, i know, 'no excuses' right? well it wasn't just work - my mom and aunt (which means double dose of madness) came to visit me for about 2 and half weeks and just left about a week ago...so you can say that i've been kept busy with them too...alas, i got my freedom back and became a football hooligan during the weekend. it was the first ever football (or them american gits like aliku may refer to the game as 'soccer') game i went to spectate...it was quite an experience - towards the end of it, i joined in and started chanting 'super super frank super frankie lampard' with the rest of the chelsea fans!!! i can say now that it's well addictive!!! it was really fun too. i never realised how much frustration i had to vent (largely due to - you guessed it, yep! mom & aunt visiting!!) until the game!! i totally suggest a good session of shouting till you lose your voice completely (OK, maybe leave some of your voice for dealing with phonecalls and general conversation, and in j's case, tutorials)..
time to sign off. suannie is totally without voice but totally happy with it!
x

Poor Lil Pluto

2006-09-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

~Al

Secrets and Plans...

2006-08-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

Don't we all huh..?

~jian~

Cheers to Mings..

2006-08-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

~Al

Blog virgin no more...

2006-08-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

girls....

thought i drop a blog to see what its all about. writing this in the office now... so will k.i.s.s.

still working as a lowlife of the advertising industry a.k.a. account management... but not for long. leaving my current agency in mid oct to take a break, be a bridesmaid in december then in jan onwards i will metamorphosise into beach bum on the shores of bondi. well in my dreams i will be a beach bum. but going to probably stay in advertising in sydney.

that's pretty much the concise version of my life so far. will take note of all those recipes you girls put on the blog - and make steph cook it for me!

oh... was in hong kong recently and met up with jian. JIAN! did not take any pics with you there. but we sure shopped alot... how's the shoes and handbag?

here's a pic of my company trip to hong kong disneyland. we were probably the only all-adult tour group there. and it was sooooo crowded and sooooo humid! and space mountain broke down... and i was already waiting in line for half hour.

anyways it was a fruitful trip, shopping wise.

until my next blog...

take care.

mings

To Jian...

2006-08-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

~Al

BTW everyone.. I moved

2006-07-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know if i told everyone.. but just to let y'all know, I moved. So, that Monterey Park address you have - TRASH IT!

This is a good chance for ALL of you to come visit! So, this is an OPEN INVITATION for all you to visit LA. And yes, i know i know, LA is kinda crummy place to visit - no beautiful beaches (like Val's recent visit to errr.. errr.. Perhentian, was it?), no gorgeous gorges (like Janice's suicidal walk route to class), no hundreds of years of history and culture (like Suan in London and Europe), no excellent food (wherelse but in KL!!! wooo hooo), no cute roos and koalas (like Steph's Down under) and since i'm not much of a clubby person - you can forget the nightlife (But we do have the IVY!). BUT, LA is still THE place to shop ok. Don't believe ask Jian. She don't make a annual stopover to LA for no reason - equipped with huge empty Samsonites (sometimes she even buys more Samsonites) filled to the brim (til she has to sit on it to close it) whenever she comes. She even rents herself a car for a day, drive 50 miles north and spend 8 hours outlet shopping. Plus, we are now close to a hip shopping area with Tiffany & Co, Kenneth Cole, H&M, F21, Banana, Jcrew, AX, MAcy's, FCUK, Ghost, MaxMara, Victoria's S, ... and on and on and on and on.. so, do come! :) My fav part of that shopping area is Ghirardelli! Yummy! :)

Oh Also.. I need someone to go to Six Flags - Magic Mountain with me! Who's up for it?

~Al

Dissertations and Waterfalls

2006-06-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

Yo folks,

Sorry I haven't been blogging--I've been swamped reading up on British political history between 1880-1945, and that's literally all I have been up to the past few weeks, in preparation for writing the first chapter of my dissertation. Man, if you think politicians these days are inept, check those guys out! As Oscar Wilde didn't say, "To have one world war may be regarded as a misfortune; to have two looks like carelessness."

I won't bore you with all that stuff, but it does account for the fact that I've done nothing at all besides sit in the library and read for the past few weeks, so I have nothing really to blog about. It's not bad being stuck here, though--Ithaca is super-nice in summer, or, as they say here, "Ithaca is Gorges." So I'll leave you all with the trail that I take up to campus whenever I feel like an uphill hike (about 20 minutes, through 5-6 waterfalls):

OH OH OH, and before I forget, check out this indie Swedish pop singer, who has written the catchiest song I've heard in ages, featuring...wait for it...HAND CLAPPING! Download or play "The Quiz" from Hello Saferide's myspace: www.myspace.com/saferide

Ok, so the lyrics are a bit rough, but give her a break--she's Swedish!

Race for life - give give give!!!

2006-06-26T04:49:00.000-07:00

me and my apt "i Love fat boys" t-shirt, running on the ex-Fiat factory test track

doing my stretches - i am becoming so inflexible these days!

futuristic looking helipad on the test track

ex-fiat factory test track - take 4

my fellow generous biatches,

i will be running two 5km races in early july - the second is for cancer research. if you feel like i deserve a bit of encouragement, please sponsor me - all the money goes to a very good cause and don't feel as if it's not enough. even £5 helps!

you can sponsor by clicking http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/suanong

thanks for your help and support!

suannie

Turin - home of the Shroud

2006-06-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

suan trying to get on a Vespa gracefully...

Resting place of the Holy Shroud - thought it was a hoax???

Reproduction of the Shroud

happy hour @ the bars - free tapas from 5-7pm!

hellOOooo my laksa making biatches,

how are you lot doing? i know you must be busy as usual, but please, please don't forget your friends here who regularly check the blog and always go away slightly disappointed because nothing new has been published...

i have been pretty shafted at work, but i managed to get away for 2 whole days to visit historic turin...it's a lovely city built mostly on baroque architecture - most of it is untouched - imagine, an ex-synagogue is now a museum of cinematic history, and an ex-Fiat factory now houses a huge shopping mall and a hotel. more about the Fiat factory later...

i managed to see where the shroud of turin is resting - it's not accessible now, apparently, they will display it in 2020. think it's because too many people have breathed on it or something - it is deteriorating fast!!

OOhh. the best thing about turin is the FOOD. yum yum yum. pasta galore!!!! a must try - squid ink pasta. it's THE BEST!

i had a good time walking around the city - it is very dispersed, so public transport is essential. it's pretty cheap though - i bought one of those touristy cards which allows you to travel and access to all the museums (there are 104 of them) free of charge...

let me know if you plan a trip there - i have all the travel books/maps/good advice on restos!

suannie

Laksa Schmuksa

2006-06-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

Ok. I promised Janice this. It’s no surprise everything is agak agak. But J said it was ok. She will agak agak til she gets it right!

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
Bean sprouts
Noodles – Mihun, Mee
Curry powder (about 2 cups)
Belacan (toasted and pounded to powder form)
Shallots (minced) LOTS!
Garlic (minced) LOTS!
Buah Keras (pounded)
Curry Leaves (bout 10)
Chili powder or paste (to your spiciness liking)
Tau-Fu-Pok
See-Ham or Mussels
Shrimp
Lemon Grass (one stalk)
Coconut milk or cream
Oil

Broth – Place chicken in pot and fill with water til cover chicken. Cook chicken, breast side down. Once water boils, turn down to medium heat and cook for half hour. Turn chicken and cook for another fifteen minutes. Turn off fire. Remove chicken from pot and let cool. Shred or chop chicken – to your liking.

Make a Curry Paste with curry powder, Salt or fish sauce (once again this is another recipe that should not use soy sauce), chilli powder, curry leaves, coconut milk or cream (about 3 tablespoons) and water – til a thick paste is formed.

Heat oil, cook garlic, shallots, buah keras, lemon grass and curry leaves til fragrant. Add Curry Paste and more coconut milk (another 3 tablespoons or so). Cook til red oil oozes out. (the coconut milk causes the red oil phenomena). Add belacan and fish sauce or salt. It’s okay to be a little salty here. Turn fire off. Save ¼ for dipping later.

The rest of the ¾ to make the Laksa soup.Add the cooked paste in broth. Add the rest of the coconut milk to taste. (Add as milky/thick as you like) Let boil. If you shredded the chicken, you can add the bones back in to the soup to boil for more taste. If you cooked mussels, add the broth in the soup. You can also add shrimp and you should also add the shrimp broth in. Add salt or fish sauce to taste. Add tau-fu-pok and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serving – Cook noodles and bean sprouts. Place in bowl, add Laksa soup. Add chicken, mussels and shrimp on top. Don’t forget you still have the ¼ cooked paste. You can put some on top or add it with lemon/lime juice as a dipping thing.

Enjoy!!!

~Al

Andrea Bocelli at the Bowl

2006-06-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

When I first heard that Andrea Bocelli was to perform at the Hollywood Bowl, I knew that it would be an experience.. The Hollywood Bowl is an amazing amazing place to have a concert. Located in a valley, amidst the Hollywood mountains, the natural surroundings is simply beautiful. It's an old old place with hard wooden benches and abosolutely ancient numbering system. Even the font they use for the seat number is retro. But then, its also a very casual place to have a concert. The gwailos will bring their picnic baskets - filled with wine, plastic wine glasses, cheese, salads, sandwiches, cold fried chicken and some will even go the extent of bringing flowers in a vases! While the Asians will bring the Sushi and wine combo. (Me and Jian did that last August and we had an absolutely amazing time) As for me, we brought Chinese pastries - cakes and coconut buns. Then had peanuts and Chardonnay. Yums. :) Since its in the open, it's also cool when the sun sets (You can just imagine the view when the sun sets!), ppl bring blankets, coffee and hot chocolate - bundle up and get nice and cozy. All said, having a concert in summer at the Bowl is a MUST! :)

BTW - i didnt take the picture above. My trusty Sony camera was not sophisticated enough to take any clear pictures at dusk without a tripod. And sorry, no other pictures.. Damn hard to take ok with that dusk lighting!

The icing on the cake was that this time, its Andrea Bocelli kicking off his World Tour at the Bowl. I bought my tickets 3 months ago, 2 minutes after it officially went on sale. And even then, I didn't get the seats I wanted (I had originally plan for the $150 tickets - but ended up with the $75). Seems like the Bowl is so popular, the expensive tickets sell out first. Anyway, back to Andrea. I'm not sure if any of you guys are fans of his.. but after last night, I'm a way bigger fan then I ever was. He sounds truly truly raw and amazing.... and it seem to come so naturally to him. Without any extra effort, his voice overpowers anyone else singing with him. He sounds exactly like he does on CD. And last night's program was well chosen and gave me goosebumps (but maybe that was also because i had no blankie and the wind was blowing) He sung works from La Boheme, Tosca, Carmen and Il Trovatore. And to top that icing with powdered sugar, Katherine McPhee (WOOoooHHhhoooooo!!!) made a surprise appearence and sang two songs with him. Hehe. You can imagine how happy I was. And then, David Foster played the piano and Donald Trump made a short short apprearence. He then sung newer works like Funniculi, Funicula (which is not very new but got everyone hopping), Mamma, Besame Mucho (oOOohhh.. which was so so so romantic), The Prayer, Can't Help Falling in Love (which was very different but lovely lovely rendition), A Time to Say Goodbye and finshed off with my all time favorite - Nessum Dorma.

Sighhh... sigh sigh sigh sigh sigh.......

~Al

Rugby Sevens @ Twickenham!

2006-06-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

This is no optical illusion - there was this GIANT inflated rugby ball which one of the event's organisers decided to throw at the spectators to keep us a bit distracted from the game!!! (Fijians are playing in the pitch)

Tunisians @ half time strategising. They lost unfortunately.

Kiwis - favourites to win - they have been series champions for the last 6 years. They lost to the Samoans who got into the finals against the Fijians.

Fijians - Series champions during the practice break. These are one bunch of FIT boys!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My fellow biatches,

It has been a loOOoonng time since anyone blogged, and I'm guessing work is the mother culprit of all. I have been pretty busy too - a certain person I had been working with suddenly took off (suspected nervous breakdown) and I was left to clear the shit. Three weeks of running around trying to make things work, I am NEARLY at the end of the job (but not quite seeing the light at the end of the tunnel) . I am looking forward to next Thurs, when I'm off to Turin, Italy to check out the shroud that Leornardo supposedly made, and just to relax and enjoy Italian coffee (whoop dee doo - nothing but a caffeine fix every hour!).

Last weekend was spent at the rugby stadium in Twickenham - home to the England rugby players. Alvin, his dad & I were there for an average of 9 hours for both Saturday & Sunday, from about 11am to 8pm, watching 24 matches in all. The Rugby 7's are quite good for rugby virgins because they sort of keep you at the edge of your seat - the games are all very fast, about 15 mins each as there are 7 to a team...I had quite a lot of fun and was surprised that I actually enjoyed my time there, cheering for the underdogs of all games and just listening to banter of the crowd...the atmosphere is definitely so different compared to when you watch it at home - granted, you don't get SUNNED on for 6 hours straight leaving you looking like a red lobster (the guys at work asked me whether i spent the whole weekend tanning myself on a sunbed!)....

The weather in London has been exceptionally good - it has been so warm for the past week and a half and although I would love for it to last, I absolutely feel like a baked potato when I'm travelling in the tube - it's about 5-10 degrees warmer down there in the tunnels, and 100% more stuffier. People have been fainting (these kwai los obviously cannot deal with heat) and we've been advised to keep a bottle of cold water with us when we're travelling in the tubes.

It's about 1130pm now, and I've got to get back to work before I my early start at work tomorrow (SIGH!)...I will leave you with a big "HELLO, WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO?". This silence is NO GOOD. Al's last entry was about voting for some McPhee bird on American Idol!! C'mon guys, I'm sure you have something you want to tell your fellow biatches????

x
suannie

My Vote's on Katherine!

2006-05-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

Don't know if any of you follow American Idol. But my vote is on Katherine! Her rendition of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" was amazing!! (Even if she's nowhere as consistent as her competitor!) GO KAT! Plus, she's gorgeous ok!

~Al

24

2006-05-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the last episode of Season 5 of 24. What on earth am I going to do until January??????

Forget terrorism--save me from boredom, Jack!!

What I do really do for a living

2006-05-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

I think I have had several of you guys ask me what I actually do. It's really hard to explain. But basically it involves cooking and feeding people. Yup. I'm the office chef. I even have a couple of sous-chefs to help me out. Here are some pictures to illustrate my job.

This is me attempting to teach my sous-chefs how to make the perfect scrambled eggs. We used 240 eggs for this event. They are really good assistants... always ready to go. (The guy on the right is our CFO)

This is me checking on my sous-chefs.. who are obviously more worried about how they look in the picture then their job of cutting the fruits. (We only use freshly picked fruits - we have a garden in the back of the office building for that)

So. There you. That's what I get paid to do at the office. I also do a little H.R., so let me know if you are interested in getting a job.

:)

~Al

Nyonya in NYC

2006-05-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

So, I was in the City for a few days last week, and realized that, despite my having been there quite a number of times now, this is the absolute FIRST time I've seen Central Park with LEAVES on the trees, since all my previous trips have been made in winter. The City in summer is so much nicer--especially since you have to walk everywhere, and it helps to not be freezing your arse off. Here's a part of Central Park just outside of the Strawberry Fields, with some random cyclist obstructing my composition (it's Tuesday at 11:00 a.m.--don't these people have to WORK?)

Anyway, Al asked that I post some non-pasta-related photos, so perhaps this will count. Anyone who is in the City (well, anyone not currently residing in Malaysia, where there is no shortage of such dishes) should make a visit to Nyonya on 194 Grand Street:

From right to left: clams in chilli black bean sauce, beef rendang, salt and pepper squid, a bowl of (hainanese) chicken rice, kangkung belacan, and an empty plate for discarded clam shells.

Excluded from the photo (because it had already disappeared into my stomach) is a roti canai, served with a bowl of curry chicken that, I swear, I nearly wept upon tasting, since I don't think I've had curry chicken Malaysian-style (with lots of coconut) for yeaarrrrssss.

The food was fabulous generally--not spicy enough (only to be expected, I suppose), but beggars can't be choosers. I wanted to order chilli crab, but they had just run out of crab (literally--the next table to ours ordered the last one, the BASTARDS!).

Sorry there are no more photos--I did take my camera (as evident from above), but I keep forgetting to use it!

/J

So close..yet so far

2006-05-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

So big typhoon approaches Hong Kong having devastated Manila over the weekend. The weatherman says it's the biggest typhoon yet in May for us - so what do you do? Hope and wish real hard it blows into Typhoon 8 --> that's when everything is closed, work is cancelled, schools are closed - the whole city just becomes dead!
Monday - Typhoon 1 is raised - there is hope
Tuesday - Weatherman says they will raise Typhoon 3 by end of the day --> becomes more like wee hours of Wednesday morning.
Wednesday - Typhoon 3: winds roaring, buckets of rain pouring - you would think we are so close to an 8 and you start being really hopeful.
Wednesday pm - Typhoon is moving away from the South China Coast near Hong Kong and moves towards Southern China to hit Guangzhou.

AAARRRGGGHHHH....why couldn't the big winds save me from this big mess called work?!?!?

sigh..~jian~

A compas!

2006-05-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

A COMPAS!!!
The flamenco boys had really nice behinds. This pic doesn't really do any justice!!!!
Check out the lovely motion in this picture!

Last Saturday I went to a flamenco show presented by Paco Pena & his flamenco dance company.

I was COMPLETELY bowled over. I've been to a few flamenco shows before in Spain, but ironically, the show in London happened to be the best I've ever seen. The music was excellent - I can't remember the last time when the guitarists were so technically good and played with such passion. Paco Pena is a well-renowned flamenco guitarist and now I know why...Oh. and the DANCERS. fuh fuh fuh. They had such a flair and were very expressive whenever they took the stage..

I had a great time - if ever they tour LA/NY/KL/Sydney/HK, do go!!!

suannie

Jakarta trip

2006-05-16T04:28:00.000-07:00

i went to jakarta last weekend of april 2006. here are some pics. just went to visit a friend who works there, Suan has met him, Cindian fella name Arul. I went there with another guy - Fairus. Here is our trip.

Oh i got a poo poo story to tell. I took some laxatives cause I couldn't poo, and the very next day i had stomach upset. While i was in a restaurant, just when the food arrived, i was like OH OH. so my friend Arul had to call his driver (apparently everyone who lives in jakarta has a driver) to take me to the nearest mall. Near my ass... i was doing some heavy meditation. you should see my face, it was white or maybe greenish. just my luck, we had to stop for a train, and indonesians have no urgency either, he took his sweet time to get me there, when i needed him to hull ass, maybe he was a sadistic man secretly enjoying my pain. Then i forget that there is normally a line to even get into the bathroom. Anyway i made it just in time ok, And the following monday when i got back to KL , it was even worst. I was out for a day. i flew back in sunday. So all i can say is even that holiday was lame.

MO PICS

2006-05-16T04:06:00.000-07:00

ok how come val can post a million pictures on the same posting, and i have two duplicates of the same pic. Help,.,.
ok ok ok i figured out now you can post like up to like 4 or 5 pic.. this uploading picture thing is dumb.
anyway here are more pics of langtengah trip

Long weekend at Lang Tengah

2006-05-16T03:46:00.000-07:00

lazy to write lar, but after coaxing from suan.. ok ok i'll do it.
Last Friday was wesak day, so got the long weekend to go to LANG TENGAH, it is the island between perhentian and redang island. This trip was planned about 6 months ago, when Air Asia was giving out 2 million free tickets. We paid for fuel charge or sales tax for 80 ringgit

all i can say is if you are one who are optimistic, like some of my friends were, you'll call the island experience " exclusive" as for me i said it was like being dropped off at alcatraz, like jail there was no escape, and meal times are fixed. if you miss your three meals at the specific window of time, that's it buddy you go on starvation.

i wish i took the picture of my triple sharing en suite bathroom, it was like the tornado that hit it. for the exclusive price we paid, we sure as hell did not get better service, or variety food as my last trip i did with VAL and Malcolm, perhentian kecil is still the bomb. At least there was a working, cooking kitchen.
you know me.. don't mess with my food man.

ok i should stop whining about it. Hmm. well i guess the company was pretty alright, so when desserted on an island, it is a good thing to bring along your friends, or else you'll really go insane..

so Island vacation anyone?

Happy Mother's Day

2006-05-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been blogging much. Been quite a hectic with work and we've been looking for an apartment. (We being me, mum and brother.) So, we found a really nice 70s retro place in Pasadena... very spacious and quaint. Can't wait to move in end of this month or beginning of next month. Also can't wait to go furniture shopping! Oooohh yea. As for work, for the past two weeks I've had two 2 hour meetings daily!! I only spend eight hours at work and when half of the goes to meetings, the other half i have left is ARGGH!

Mother's Day is this weekend you guys.. So, don't forget! We had a little fund raising in the office (for our Annual Party) yesterday - selling roses sempena Hari Ibu. Went to the flower mart (which is heaven on earth), bought roses for 83 cents each and sold them for $3! What a rip off huh! Made a whole bunch! Kekekek!!

So, happy mother's day y'all! Have a great weekend

~Al

Romey, Me, Karina and Ashley selling flowers

have we aged at all??

2006-05-12T04:50:00.000-07:00

ok - time for a bit of voting. this was taken way back in 1999 or 2000 (does anyone know when???). do we look 7 years older???????? comments please...

one more!!!

2006-05-11T05:16:00.000-07:00

a bit of girly fun - don't ask what i was doing yanking esther's hair...trying to ger her to look at the camera probably. val looking like she was half gone already - the girl can drink.

esther feeling a bit 'hungry'. ngap ngap ngap. go get a room!!!!

the most hilarious thing ever!!!!! i saw this in singapore when i was there and HAD to take a picture of it. short for poontang = tang so you guys go figure!!!!

back in London - yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

2006-05-11T04:51:00.000-07:00

my fellow biatches,

i am now back in London after what seemed like FOREVER - take it from me, looking after a sickly mom is very very very hard work. at times, i wished i was back at my desk, working. didn't really have 'me' time, which was what i was looking forward to since i was supposed to be on a break. but i guess the 'duty of a daughter' was top priority for the last 2 weeks and a bit and i am now totally KNACKERED.

my mom is now recuperating - there was a slight mishap post her surgery, which meant that she had to take the same flight as I to singapore (i use SIA to fly back to london now that MAS is not the best airlines in the world) and stayed in the hospital where she was operated for observation, but she is now in a stable condition. thank you all for your kind wishes throughout, and thinking of her during the whole course...

i DID have time though, to meet and catch up with val and esther (lara, no where to be seen or heard - she's really busy at work)...and we had good fun catching up on gossip (mostly about our love lives) and general chit chat, and me offloading about my mom's nagging...it's so good to know that, after all these years, we can still talk to each other and not wonder what the hell we're all on about...

where the hell is esther looking?? FOCUS girl, FOCUS!!!!

yay! finally a 'proper' pic!!! ahahaha...i overdosed on virgin spanish strawberry slushes (they were sooOooo yummy. thanks, val for introducing them to me!!!)

esther & val feeling a bit cheeky.

we finally coaxed esther to start blogging - taught her how and she's got a draft blog somewhere. hopefully she'll start blogging soon!!!

i hope all are well. keep the blogs coming ok guys?

jetlagged and in need of a proper night's rest.
suannie

Whore's Pasta

2006-04-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

AKA Pasta Puttanesca ("Puttana" = prostitute in Italian)

Ingredients:

1/2 pack linguine or spaghetti
1/2 bulb garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 habenero pepper or 5 thai red chillis
8-10 anchovy fillets (not talking ikan bilis here--they're sold in tins/jars; you'll find them in the italian food section)
3/4 cup black olives, chopped roughly (I use kalamatas)
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
Either 1 1/2 pounds fresh roma tomatoes or 1 large tin peeled tomatoes (tinned tomatoes are better here because they make a richer sauce)
fresh parsley, chopped roughly

Directions

1. Bring water for pasta to boil. Add oil. Add pasta. Do NOT add salt to the pasta water--the sauce is very salty, so you want the pasta to be bland.

While cooking pasta:

2. In a sizable saucepan, fry garlic, onions, chillis, and anchovies in olive oil. Stir frequently and anchovies should break down.

3. When onions and garlic are thoroughly cooked, add tomatoes (either fresh or from the tin). Simmer for about 20 minutes until tomatoes break down into a fairly thick sauce.

4. Add olives and capers. Note: do NOT mince olives as that will produce a purple sauce. Make sure that olives are in largish chunks. Simmer for another 4-5 minutes (or until pasta is ready).

5. Drain pasta when cooked. In a large mixing bowl, add sauce to the pasta, plus fresh parsley. Mix thoroughly and serve.

Preparation + Cooking time: 1/2 hour
Serves 2

/J

Sepet

2006-04-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

Has anyone seen Yasmin Ahmad's 2004 Sepet, a film about an inter-racial love story between a Malay girl who likes HK kung-fu flicks and a Chinese boy who sells pirated VCDs?

It showed at Cornell Cinema yesterday, as part of our International Film series. Like a dutiful Malaysian, I went to see it.

All I can say is that I want my 4 dollars back.

And someone kill the scriptwriter.

/J

Blue & Green

2006-04-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

Introducing Blue and Green... the two new addition to the family. Right now, they are listening to Michael Buble with me and making alot of noise... and hopping around as if they are doing the waltz.

We got them mostly for my aunt.... who had an unusual and depressing experience nursing a baby hummingbird - who died of a fall when it was learning how to fly. Aunt was devastated. So, we got Blue and Green two weeks ago. (very original names, huh?) We think that Blue might be a little girl and Green a boy - coz he's a big chicken.

For Jian. :)

~Al

my work space

2006-04-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

Ok. I admit, I have nothing to blog... but this. This is my office workspace. I share a huge room with another chic who is forced to hear whatever music I play and all my whining and sometimes bad words when I'm stressed. Yeap. Work space is pretty messy... It's always like that... cause i never do filing. Oh yeah.. that's my mum gossiping with Romey.

So there, Suan. I blogged! :) hehehe.

~Al

B&J's on a Friday Night

2006-04-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have never truly appreciated how a tub of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie can really be a source of comfort until tonight. Lame isn't it? Had what must have been the worst couple of days by far at work - on top of suffering from insomnia as a result of which I completely lost my voice. But does that stop people from asking stupid questions at work? Clearly not! And the icing on the cake? Receiving the most disrespectful and inconsiderate email from a client person telling me that I do not how to do my job right! Things are still not all perfect but being able to vent to a sympathetic listening ear, a sushi dinner and B&J to end it off does help a lil...
Hope things are better with you fellow biatches.. ~Jian~

biatchybiatchybiatchybiatches!!!!!

2006-04-21T02:57:00.000-07:00

I do go out with you lot - just not enough!!!!!!

Looking really pale next to sun-kissed Val...

I like this photo of Al & Jian - they seemed so happy!!!

My dear fellow biatches,

Judging from the ‘inactivity’ from the half of you lot (lara, stephie,esther & val), but who’s naming names, I gather you must be ultra ultra ultra busy. I know what that feels like – worked my arse off during the last few weeks and didn’t have a proper break during Easter because of (guess it!) work! I’m off to KL tomorrow morning – I’m going to be back for about 2 & a half weeks – most of the time will be spent with my mom who will be recuperating from her operation…It’s not that serious, so hopefully I’ll have teeny weeny pockets of time to see the KL gang – would love to catch up this time around as it was a rather failed attempt the last time to have proper girlie chit chat sessions due to CNY (my mates regard me an ‘anti-social’or ‘recluse’ or even worse, a‘snob’, unfortunately due to my various family commitments). Give me a chance ok – I sneak out whenever I can, it’s not like I secretly like hanging around people who are twice my age.

Anyway long story cut short (I still have THAT stupid report to write, and NO, accountants cannot go on strike because we’re apparently white collar employees – whatever, talk to the hand!), I may not be connected to the internet in the next 2.5 weeks or so – it’s not because I’m abandoning you lot but because I live in a house which still uses dial up (FARK THAT!) and it takes half an hour to connect, another half to open ANY website page and probably an hour to load pics up! BUT I will try my best to sneak off to the nearest Starbucks or any place offering wireless broadband to catch up on stories in the biatchybunch circle. I love all your stories/pics/comments! Haha. And also the fact that we’re keeping in touch this way!

Right – I’ve got to get back to work now – wish me luck – report goes out in 6 hours or so, and I’ve got maybe, half of it to write (BOREDOM!).

Adios muchachos. Buenos diaz.

Keep the stories coming!

X suannie

Kill me now

2006-04-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

Because I have to grade this stack of papers by Friday.

/J

Schmuck Case #000001

2006-04-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

Presenting schmuck case#000001

R2D2?!

This is so inspiring that I will be souping-up my Accord to Batmobile as soon as I get my tax returns.

~Al

SCHMUCK!!!!!!

2006-04-18T05:10:00.000-07:00

A store sign on Bahnhofstrasse (a shopping street in Zurich) which I found particularly interesting...

SCHMUCK - what does it REALLY mean??

Slang of the Week: schmuck (noun) obnoxious person or fool
Example: Not only was I late for the movie, but some schmuck had parked his Corvette diagonally across the last two parking spaces. I'll bet it was the same guy who answered his cell phone during the love scene.

Celebrity quote: "I see it more as a silent comedy in the style of Buster Keaton, the kind of film where you see a poor schmuck trying to go with his life despite all the humilations and disappointments that come with it."-Jack Nicholson on the movie About Schnmidt
My charming colleague Michele recently took a trip to Austria, where she was shocked to see "schmuck" stores. After asking a friend, she discovered that they don't sell schmucks there (at least not the American kind) - they were jewelry stores. But both of these meanings come from the same root.

Originally, schmuck meant decoration or ornament in German. It's easy to see how that would become a word for jewelry, but what about the other meaning? In Yiddish (a language related to German, spoken primarily by European Jews), schmuck means penis, and you can still use it this way, though it's less usual than the first meaning. Apparently at one time, a man's schmuck was considered decorative. This is similar to the slang expression family jewels (testicles.)

Many Yiddish speakers moved to the United States, and we adopted a lot of their slang. Eventually, like other "dangerous" body parts (ass, dick, etc.) schmuck became an insult for people. Of course, because of it's Yiddish meaning, it is considered offensive by some people (though not very.) If you're concerned, you can always use the more polite variation schmo (also schmoe) instead for fool.

SO, would you want to name your store 'Schmuck'?? I'd think again, mate....

x suannie

Zurich - private banking capital of the world?

2006-04-18T04:46:00.000-07:00

Pic 1 (top): Chagall stained glass at the Fraumunster cathedral
Pic 2 (bottom): Dwarfed - Liz & midget suannie (the pic is quite deceiving - I'm MUCH SHORTER!!!) @ Limmat River

Guten tag my fellow biatches! I’m back from Zurich – nice, relaxing holiday but I had to work some, which was a pain in the ar*e. I went with my mate Liz (I know now, what a dwarf feels like – check out the pic) whom I hadn’t really seen in the last year since she started working for a bank (bankers!!! What are they like – I bet you worst than accountants!). We had good fun touring the rather small city – it’s basically divided into two – the north of Limmat River (which is the old part of the town, ie the ‘soul’ of the city) and the south of the Limmat River (which is basically the financial district, ie the ‘engine’ of the city). The Limmat River runs into Lake Zurich, which apparently is the third largest in Switzerland, or Europe ( I didn’t pay much attention during the tour!).

Cafe Odeon -Legendary Bohemian landmark that's had countless eccentric artists and intellectuals in its red leather banquettes - not to mention the odd fascist. Mussolini apparently knocked them back in here before the Second World War. (And Lenin did before the first.) It's a cosy, classy, intimate café that does great lunches and fine cocktails Style is turn-of-the century art nouveau; there are cute banquettes to sit in; a curved wooden bar to order at, and pavement tables outside for summer sun.

Shopping in the old part of the town - cobblestoned pavements and all...

The city is small, and with that comes less pollution, better air to breathe and drink-able water from taps. We thought we got quite a bargain – 4 days for £300 inclusive of flight & accommodation, BUT we didn’t factor in the cost of living there – 0.5 litre of Evian bottled water costs CHF3.40 which is c.£1.60 which is around US$2.80 which is around RM10.30. On average, our meals cost about £30 (US$54/RM 200) per person (fuh fuh fuh CRAZY!!!!) All the translations are for the benefit of you lot who are all over the place. Sorry I didn’t include Aussie dollars or HK dollars – too much maths for me!!! (Hey J, are you still working on the suduko puzzles??? Let me know when you’ve run out & I’ll get you more! Eheheee)

Fresh water from the Alps....

All in all, we had a great time – money well spent. We got our relaxing girly-girl holiday, and the freshest air to breathe for 4 whole days!!! No rich old men/private bankers in sight (they were pretty discreet if they were there!!), but then again, it was the Easter weekend - they must be splurging in Milan or NY or some exciting place. So no nice catches for both Liz and I. Sigh. Maybe another time.

x suannie

My new mug

2006-04-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

So, I went to Josh Ritter's concert a few days ago at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY and all the tickets sold had numbers on them because they were going to conduct a raffle, and they actually called my number. It's the first time I've actually won a raffle (or anything, for that matter), so I'm very proud of my new mug:

My new mug in front of a nut roll (is it a Jewish dessert? I think it's for Passover).

Isn't it lu-ver-ly?

/J

Yummy-Greasy-Gooey-Hit-the-Spot-FrieEEeedd-Oysters

2006-04-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

Check in Al

Firstly, Happy Easter Sunday everyone. It's also the Pope's birthday.. so Happy Birthday to him too. :) Wish i was in Rome to celebrate it with him. :P

Anyway, the upcoming week is gonna be one heck of a week. Meetings, datelines and datelines. I foresee overtime galore. So, what better to prepare oneself for a new week of work, work, work and work. with a nice hit-the-spot plate of FRiiieeedddd Oysters. Yumms. I wanna say that it's Penang style (thats the only style i know btw), but it's not. For one thing.. the oysters we get here are bigger then my head. Hehe. I know i know, i was suppose to bake the chocolate ganache cupcakes. Instead, atr some cocoa puff to soothe my chocolate cravings and decided on Oysters! I don't understand why some "people" don't like oysters. OYSTERS, ok! It's sexy, one of a kind and has such depth of flavor...!! (Not crazy on oyster shots though.)

Hope you guys are all well.... (I think the Malaysian biatches are too bz eating good food to blog, whilst all of us have to make it ourselves..!)

Ok, so here's the recipe. FYI to everyone, I cook based on the "agak-agak" theory. So.. use ur measurements to taste!!

Ingredients:
Oysters, Eggs, Starch, Spring Onions, Oil, Garlic, Fish Sauce (or salt) and white pepper

Preparation:
Oysters - rinse and drain oysters. Cut them if necessary. Oysters should be the size of ur thumb. Sprinkle a tablespoon of starch powder to oyster and mix. (The starch helps the oysters to stick to the eggs)
Starch Water - Add more starch and mix it with water, spring onions (chopped), fish sauce (if you dont use/have fish sauce use salt. Try not to use soy sauce. Since its a seafood dish, fish sauce makes alot of difference) and white papper and put aside. The starch water should be runny. A cup of water to a large tablespoon of starch or so.
Eggs: Beat Eggs (Use about 1.5 eggs per serving), add some fish sauce/salt and white pepper to taste.

Cooking:
Heat oil in a large flat skillet. Add garlic (Yes, Suan, more the better). Add one cup of starch water. Take the skillet handle and move/spread the starch water around. Let it cook for a minute. It will bubble bubble a little.. Do not touch it, ok. Add oysters - spread it individually all over the starch on the pan. Let it cook. Then, if you like it crunchy.. let it cook longer till the bottom browns. If you like it runny and gooey, immediately add eggs. (this is entirely optional, but, my brother adds Tabasco sauce right here with the eggs. Sounds weird, but i swear, its really extra yummy) Let it cook another minute. Now you can take ur wok chan and move things around. When eggs are cooked (maybe even a little brown), its ready. Voila. For garnish, sprinkle chopped spring onions on top.

Voila!! Yummy-Greasy-Gooey-Hit-the-Spot-FrieEEeedd-Oysters...!

Enjoy!

my little incident

2006-04-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

check in : Al

So. This isn't even funny. Things like these only become funny after the fact. And, i should point out, it was only 75% my fault (the 25% being my brother).

Last Sunday, was in my car getting ready to go out to the market with mum, when i realized something amiss - that being the key to the stering lock/club was missing. dang. (Before i go on, i should tell you that i had already misplaced the spare key when i first bought it in 99) And so, ran back to the house in a panic.... couldnt find the dang key of course (Used the Maxima to go out instead - with my brothers beady eyes staring down at me of course). So, spent a couple of days trying to look for the dumb key. A couple of days being 5 days that is. We wouldnt give in to the the FACT that the key is gone. Asked the TWO office janitor and the security guy (who looks like the guy from Green Mile btw) and the garage guy. Brother even posted up posters. All to look for the dumb key. Finally, we gave in on Wednesday. I called AAA asked them to come to fix this dumb problem. Of course AAA thought i had problems with my ignition and such - the usual car couldnt start problems. But nope, my problem was far stupider. (In the meantime, had a collegue from the office asking me to drive over the his house and he can somehow magically pry it open. HELLO! Stering lock!?!?! Gosh. Like i didnt have enough stress.)

And so, AAA came.. i should say the "special" locksmith guy came in his little AAA van, backed up near my car, whipped his AAA electric cutter thing out..asked for a wet towel to cover the stering from the sparks... starts zipping through the lock. In 30 seconds he's done. My stering lock is in two. Ask for the $20 payment (AAA pays $60 - Imagine, if i didnt have AAA, i'd have to pay $80 for 30 seconds work. !@#!!!!! What a rip off) and zips out. And that it.

Moral of the story. If you loose the spare key.. replace the dang stering lock. If still in the unlikely event become as dumb as me, REMEMBER, you need a wet towel to protect the seat too! (Have a little black mark on my seat now from the sparks. Luckily it's just the Accord. If it was the Maxima, i would have been skinned alive like those frogs i see in the Chinese supermarket.)

Of course, since my Honda got broken into once (some stupid cow tried to steal my car. Broke my ignition and everything.. but the stupid cow was not successful at it. Left a BIG mess for me to enjoy when i came back from KL last yeaR), my beloved brother insisted i get another stering lock immediately. Now I have a new $30 stering lock that is heavier then an anvil from Road Runner, summore got blinking red LED lights to stimulate a car alarm system. Heheheh. Are theives really that dumb? hehehehe..

Ok. Talk to u biatches later.

My AAA guy zipping through the lock.

My stering lock in two after 30 seconds. Makeme think.. does these things really work????

FTS!!!!!!!! I want to go on STRIKE!!!

2006-04-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Check in: A very bored accountant git

Can accountants go on strike??? Anyway, my fellow biatches, it's close to the end of the day, and I have SO MUCH MORE WORK TO DO but I don't want to do it.

This is how I feel at the moment:

up your big fat ar&e!!!

Feck this shit (FTS) - our office motto.

I don't think I can take this any longer. My report is WAY overdue and I just want to go home & sleep. HELP. I'm going to do a bit of research about accountants going on strike.

x suannie

Bored at work....

2006-04-13T03:44:00.000-07:00

CHECK IN: SUAnNie

Oi, biatchy lot, WHERE THE *BEEP* ARE THE REST OF YOU???????

Am so very bored at work at the moment (again, AL, I DO NOT SECRETLY LIKE MY JOB!) and since I’m going to be in Zurich during the Easter hols, thought of a short contribution before I get back to writing this report that was due yesterday (ack!!!!!!!).

Here are some pics of my workmates & I, after a particularly heavy night of drinking...sorry, no pics of us dancing the electric bugaloooooooooo...ahahaah

SLOSHED #1
SLOSHED #2

My very very sloshed mates and I…absolute funny ass people when they are drunk out of their wits. However, ability to be hilarious is near NIL when at work. Boring accountant gits. (Check Mary out -she's the girl in black).

And finally...

Check out al's lovely legs (don't play play, she won the 'miss hiao por international' OK?) -We were both back in KL for Chinese New Year, and coincidentally, Austin (al’s luvva boy) is a Lotus car owner, AND jamie (who’s now in the car industry and learning to love cars like a typical boy’s obsession) both had invitations to some ‘meet the Lotus car owners’ club at the Sepang F1 circuit. Obviously that was TOO good an opportunity to pass, and I went along with Jaims (like a scrub, but at least I'm admitting it OK) and met up with Al & Austin there….check out our BEST modelling shot of the DAY.

OK - Suan’s on the food blog bandwagon! All on board???

2006-04-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

my fellow biatches...how are you lot? i am working like a mad-ass dawg here, but i thought this was too good to miss - i'm so craving for some now!!!!

Alvin’s yummy hokkien fried mee (slurp slurp)

Ingredients (don’t worry too much about the weight etc, I just put what I feel like, so this may not be 100% accurate):
· 6-7 cloves of garlic (depending on how you love garlic – I absolutely LOVE it)
· 500g fat yellow noodles (tai lok meen – you can use Udon as a replacement, they’re good too! Remember to boil them in hot water first and then soak in cold water so that they retain their shape/form)
· 150g meat (pork or chicken)
· 150g medium prawns, shelled (leave tails intact)
· Optional - 100g other seafood, like squid
· 200g choi sum ( you may want to pre-fry with garlic & oil if your wok is not big enough – that’s what I do)
· 100g pork fat, cut into cubes and fried till crispy (keep the oil) – if you don’t like this, you can leave it out, otherwise, it does give the taste an EXTRA ZING!!!!

Seasoning:
· 1 tsp light soy sauce
· 1 tsp dark soy sauce (it has to be the Cheong Chan brand – the one with the orange label, you can’t miss it – Jan, that’s the one Stephie brought over for you)
· Salt to taste
· 1 tbsp oyster sauce
· 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine

Method
1) Marinade the meat in the seasoning above, and for the prawns, use a little bit of rice wine & pinch of sugar & soy sauce.
2) Use half of the lard (from frying the pork fat) & a bit of the garlic to fry the meat and prawns. Take out of wok & leave.
3) You can then clean the wok if you want to, but I don’t bother – all the juices are stuck onto it now, so it’ll make the noodles extra yummy!
4) Use other half of lard & garlic to fry the noodles. Add dark soy sauce (thick & goo-ey) – I usually pour the bottle around the noodles twice (you see-lar how black your want your noodles to be). Add cooked meat & prawns & pre-cooked veggies into the wok, and GORENG!!!! You can add some oyster sauce if you like, but the secret from the Ah Kau from Petaling Street, is a small lil pinch of sugar after you’re through with frying the noodles.

VOILA!!!!! Cooking DONE!!!! Add the crispy lard cubes before dishing up the noodles.
HOW easy is that????? It’s so yummy though. Definitely my FAVE of FAVES!!!! OH and remember the cut red chillis/scotch bonnets/whatever spicy thing you can get your hands on & soy sauce. Better yet, if you have the 'lat chiu yau' (chilli oil), it goes best with this!!

- NO PICS YET OK? I’m sure you all can imagine what it looks like – for those ppl NOT in KL, I’m sure you can even TASTE it now…

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

2006-04-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

Check in : Al

Okay.. Janice is a genius.... hence, i think she deserves a nobel prize. And, no offence Jan, but, i didnt you could cook so so well. Your pasta looked EXTRA yummy (especially when i only had a piece of toast this morning. Oh shoot. Which reminds me, i have my multivitamin in my coat pocket. Was rushing this morning.. didnt have time to eat right.) So, back to Jan, just looking at the yummy pasta (and yes, Habanero is one killer ingredient. We grow them on my balcony. Also grow curry leaves - very essential stuff, tomatoes, thai chilles, spring onions, basil leaves and attempting to grow rosemary) Oh yeah.. the yummy Pasta... it's really enticing me to come visit you! :) YUMS!!!!! And yeah, it's really all about food with me. A true true wai-sek-gwai.

Today is the 15th of the month - chinese calendar.... so, got to eat vegetarian... So, dinner tonight would either be some taufu dish or some loh-hon-chai dish. Which is all good with me. As for lunch, we have a kitchen in my office. It's also a pretty private kitchen - only about 5 of us use it. But, i use it the most and try to make the most of it. I eat in everyday (only the occasional extra thick and yummy chocolate milkshake from jack-in-the-box, which i should also write a blog about "Milkshakes at Fast food joints".) So, lunch is usually a supped-up ramen. Since we don't get Maggi here, only Nissin ramen ok! No cheap ramens for me..! And don't anyone dare say eating too much ramen ain't good for u... because my ramen meal will also include some sort of protein in the ramen (chunks of chicken breasts or egg) and definately lots of veggies. Sometimes as a treat, some enoki mushrooms. YUMSSSS :) But today, lunch menu is pesto and artichoke pasta with garlic bread. (I make one helluva garlic bread) Will try to get a picture and post it.. if i remember that is.

Anyway, since Janice posted one heck of a pasta recipe (which i till try VERY soon, thank you very much), I saw this recipe on TV last night. It looked extra good and I know Suan will definately enjoy it. I will probably try it this weekend (coz baking takes a little more effort.. we don't usually have baking ingredients like heavy cream at hand). But, I'm posting it for anyone else to try. It's a recipe for Chocolate Ganache cupcakes. It's from a lovely lady on Food Network and her name is Ina Garten and her show's name is Barefoot Contessa. (Janice, don't know if you have cable, but Food Network is one heck of a channel) So here it is. Enjoy!

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes
1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup (recommended: Hershey's)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

For the ganache: 1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
Candied violets, for decoration, optional

Line muffin pans with 12 paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cupcakes will be tough. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly in the pan.

For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Dip the top of each cupcake in the ganache. Decorate with candied violets, if desired. Do not refrigerate.

Today's dinner

2006-04-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

Why don't we turn this into a food blog, since Al likes food so much, and Val only posts about food or alcohol, and Suan and Jian take photos of their lunch? Maybe more will jump on the bandwagon then.

Linguine in White Clam Sauce:

6 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic bulb
1 habenero pepper or five thai green chillis (Yes, one of these is equivalent to five chili padis. Super potent stuff)
1 bunch parsley
1.5-2 cups white wine (I use a cooking chablis, which is already salted)
3/4 pound clams (you're really supposed to use little neck clams for vongole, but I used steamers and they turned out fine)
1/2 pound mussels
6 plum roma tomatoes
1 packet linguine

1. Mince garlic and chilli. Fry thoroughly in olive oil on medium heat (make sure garlic doesn't burn).
2. Throw in diced roma tomatoes.
3. Add white wine.
4. Add clams and mussels (make sure you've cleaned them, or you'll be eating sand. To clean: soak for an hour in cold water and lift them up carefully. Sand will have dropped to the bottom of the bowl.)
5. Add half bunch of the parsley (chopped roughly). Close lid of wok/pot and wait until clams and mussels fully cook. (They're fully cooked when opened. If any don't open, chuck them--they were dead before the cooking began.)

While doing step (1) of above, put large pot of water on boil. Add plenty of salt and some oil. When boiling, add one packet linguine. Boil till al dente.

Ideally, clams and mussels should finish cooking at the exact time when pasta turns al dente.

6. Drain pasta, reserving half-cup of pasta water.
7. Chuck drained pasta into the wok with clams. Add the rest of the chopped parsley. Mix thoroughly.
8. Taste broth--if not salty enough, add pasta water.
9. Serve with plenty of fresh black pepper.

Serves 4
Preparation + Cooking time: 45 minutes

/J

Slowly jumping on the blogging bandwagon?

2006-04-09T15:46:00.000-07:00

Check in: Suan

Another week passes and more sh*t happens at work, but what can I say? Life as an accountant is as boring & uneventful and I’m not going to bore you guys with that crap so I’m not going to go on about my job now!!! A good mate at work was leaving (on to greener pastures, perhaps?) so we reserved a whole floor of a club/bar last Thursday and had a great time silly dancing to really cheesy music. We had to BEG the DJ to play cheesy pop – apparently they “don’t play that type of music in this bar because it seemed ‘uncool’” yea, whatever…a little coaxing and ‘sweet talking’ and 10 minutes later, a bunch of boring accountant gits were dancing to madonna’s ‘Hung Up’…I had a great time dancing the electric bugaloo, moon walking, disco & robot dancing (you would have thought I was so drunk out of my wits, but really, I wasn’t) I was just being goofy (yes, I haven’t changed at all!)… Went to a few comedy gigs this weekend – went to see ‘Raw – American Comedy Uncut’ at the UCL Bloomsbury & Margaret Cho at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Raw was bloody amusing. There were 4 stand up comedians who were just absolutely hilarious, Alvin and I were pissing ourselves silly. I like the fact that I grew up to American TV and am working in London right now – you sort of get the best of both worlds in terms of sense of humour. I love the dry wit of british humour, but American comedy can be so funny, especially if you don’t want to think too much and want to just forget about the crap around you! Here's something I thought was funny:

Little boy goes round to neighbour’s house, knocks on door.

Woman opens door.

Little boy: Lady, can I have some coochee?

Woman: No, you may not.

Little boy goes back home.

Next day, little boy goes round the neighbour’s house again, and knocks on door. Woman opens door.

Little boy: Lady, will you give me some coochee today?

Woman: No, you may not, now go home and don’t ask me that again. Same thing happens for the next 3 days.

Fast forward to Day 5, when little boy goes round the neighbour’s house. Woman tells her hubby that little boy has been coming round for her coochee. Hubby who doesn’t believe, takes the day off to hear little boy ask the question in person.

Little boy: Lady, will you give me some coochee today?

Woman: No, you may not. Why do you keep asking me that? (her hubby is behind the door, listening)

Little boy: Oh, I don’t know what a coochee is, but your husband always comes around asking my mommy for hers, so I thought I could ask for yours!!!!!

Totally unrelated, but this joke reminded me of the boy: http://www.wimp.com/funnyfatty

Anyway, before I go, here’s quite a good ‘sweet revenge’ tale by Margaret Cho who was re-telling a story of when she was at some lesbian get together, and there was all this ‘Bush bashing’, eg how Bush was very much like Hitler, and Margaret was like, hey, Bush will ONLY be like Hitler if he applied himself’, after which, apparently she got all these hate emails from every Bush-loving American (BLA) saying she was a ‘chink* c*nt & a fat dYk*’ and she retaliated by posting their emails, ALONG with their contact details (ie email adds/ phone numbers etc) on her website…if anyone here knows Margaret Cho, she has a big big big support system in the form of the gay & lesbian community who obviously did not sit their as*ses down & watch their fave comedienne get slated, and so, they then bombarded emails to these very rude BLA’s until the BLA’s couldn’t take it anymore and begged her to stop the flood of gazillion emails from her loyal fans defending her righteousness. she calls this the al-gay-da movement. haha. Serve them BLA's right. Revenge can indeed be sweet huh?. She’s a funny lady – certainly had us in stitches. Check out her blog – it’s quite an interesting read if you guys have nothing to do (although, looking at the rate this everyone’s blogging, I can tell that you guys are too busy to even Sh*t!!!)

Now to go back to doing my yearly appraisal (cr*p, cr*p, cr*P) – al, I do NOT secretly like my job OK? :P

The Travel Bug Blogs

2006-04-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

Check In: Jian

I have to confess - jetlag is the only reason driving me to write this! :P Since it was so well publicised by Suan and Al - I just got back from my travels once again. Everytime I make a trip like this and return to the real world - I kick myself for not having the guts to make travelling my career! Yes, alright I am already travelling quite a bit for this job but not enough!!!!

So I started my travels in San Francisco for about 2 nights. Was my 3rd visit there - last time I was there was with Al and I'm sure she won't make me forget how I coerced her into walking all those uphills and downhills!! But Al - you have to admit all those views we captured were well worth it!!! Anyhow, this time around I finally made it to Alcatraz which was a truly one-of-a-kind experience!

Then it was off to Chicago for a week's worth of training. Back to good ole St Charles which is about an hour outside Chicago. Training was really useful this time around - it is always refreshing to get together with people from offices around the world because you start to realise that the same shit happens everywhere!!! PLUS had some serious good fun the whole week after hours too - the training centre's well equipped with a 'Social Centre' which is essentially an inhouse pub - believe it or not the best fun was watching the newbies (who were there for some other training) making a fool of themselves!

I happened to be in Chicago/ St Charles on the first official day of spring and guess what - it snowed! So believe you me, Jan, I know how it's like for you! Anyway, after training, spent a night downtown Chicago and then it was off to see Al in LA!

Always good fun to visit Al - you guys should do it sometime really!! She's a great host - knows where best to shop, eat but doesn't really know how to make dining reservations at popular restaurants!!!! :P So she gets all excited that we might try Monday lunch at The Ivy - and I ask her if we should call ahead to make reservations. She says nah, lunch on a weekday we should be fine. So Monday 12.30pm we call the restaurant - can we make a reservation for 1.15 (now she calls!!!) ? Silence on her end...then oh nothing till 3??!?!? Lesson learnt huh Al?

Darn thing was I got seriously sick once I arrived at LA - must have been the cold and late nights in Chicago! Never been so ill in the last 5 years and I had to fall so ill on the first day of my holiday!!!!#$^&%

Then after about 4 nights I think it was off to Madrid transiting in London for about 2 hours. If any of you get a chance to access the British Airways Lounge in Heathrow - try the showers!! They have 'Hand Showers' - ahhaha..I'll leave it to your imagination to figure out what those are!

Madrid was interesting - was a little trying since I was still sick but I still walked about as much as possible despite coughing and sniffing away! Good thing the Europeans and Americans are not as hung up on Bird Flu as they are in this part of the world - else I'd have been quarantined! But me being me, I covered the Old City from north to south, east to west in 2 days!!!

Then me and my 2 big luggages (:) - refer to Suan's entry) made our way to London which was my last stop on this round-the-world trip of mine.

Suan's the funniest hostess ever - if you ever need a good laugh and break from the mayhem of the world - head out to Suan's!! Just 2/3 nights in London with her and you're guaranteed to forget the worries of the world - like that 'spoonful of sugar' shit from Mary Poppins y'know? I finally managed to catch The Producers this time around so I was glad - tried to get tickets when I was there over New Year's but as it was peak season then, I couldn't get any! Other than that, Suan's entry pretty much summarised the highlights of my stop in London.

All in all it was a much-needed break and I could have done with more time in each stop. Had originally planned for a full week holiday in US and then another full week in Europe - making it 3 weeks away from work but sigh..work being work wouldn't let me have it so I had to cut it short.

So my bank account's much much lighter thanks to this trip but worth every penny, euro, dollar! (p.s. a word of travel advice, if you ever make a trip overseas covering many cities, make sure you let your credit card company know where you are - or maybe it's just a stupid KL thing - it's the 3rd bloody year I've had to call them up a few times during the trip to assure them my card was not used in fraud!!!)

Suan and Al, thank you both so much again for putting up with me - I seem to bug the both of you almost every year and I hope I'm not becoming too much of an annual bother!! :D. You should come out to HK sometime and let me play host for once!!

(OK - so there - I have contributed to the Blog, Al & Suan!!)

Check in @ 12.24 p.m.

2006-04-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

Since Allison and Suan have gone to all this trouble, I figured I should post something. So:

Trivia #1:

I have to attend a lecture by a guest speaker, Simon Jarvis (Senior Lecturer at Cambridge), at 5:00 p.m., titled "Is there a Philosophy of Verse?"

Trivia #2

I am currently listening to Unkle Bob's "The Hit Parade" and Josh Ritter's "Girl in the War," introduced to me by my favourite radio programme. (OK, the only radio programme I more or less religiously follow: Iain Anderson of Radio Scotland.)

Trivia #3

The night before last, a group of friends and I gathered for the express purpose of improving our French auditory comprehension--in other words, it's pretty much a French movie group. We watched a movie misleadingly titled Look at Me (misleading because the original French title is Comme Une Image), a gem of a comedy about a charmingly self-centered, neglectful father, and his fat, neglected daughter whom he characterizes as "anger on wheels."

Last night, I watched Brokeback Mountain. After having missed it when it was released in the cinemas, missed it when it was re-released in the run-ups to the Oscars, and missed all the angry hype about it when it didn't win Best Picture at the Oscars, I apparently also missed its point after finally watching it. Can anyone say slow (read: boring), sappy, and sentimental? Heath Ledger's mumbling, so widely-acclaimed, also meant that I couldn't hear half of the film (the Heath Ledger half). For those interested, Ang Lee's other gay movie is much better.

Trivia #4

I sleep at home, but live here:

OK, not in the tower. The building to the left, which is Olin Library, one of the two humanities libraries at Cornell.

Trivia #5 (best for last)

Upon doing some research into Malaysian restaurants in NYC, on account of a quick upcoming sojourn there to catch the last of a Goya exhibition at the Frick, I discovered a restaurant there named Proton Saga. Should I risk it?

Trivia #6 (post-scriptum)

It's friggin' April and still barely more than zero degrees here. Where, oh where, is global warming?

Check out: 12.43 p.m. /J

tuesday nights..

2006-04-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

check in: Al

So, suan was telling me there were problems uploading pictures. It was way too long.. and she had problems uploading multiple pictures... I think i might have found a "slight" solution. For those of u using Picasa, you can select the pictures you want (use ctrl for multiple pics), and click on "Blog this" at the bottom of the page.... sign in.. and it will go straight to this blog site. A little faster and a little easier....but it still takes relatively long to upload. (Thats how i uploaded the pic above - that was when i was in Florence last Sept.)

Just had a chance to chat with Steph... and we both agreed that we had nothing to blog about... Blogless. Life here is pretty much just work, eat, sleep, work, eat sleep and some shopping in the weekends.... but, sometimes i do try to sprinkle in some brushing teeth and watching tv inbetween the work, eat sleep. Still, i am happy - that i'm even able to sleep. From the looks of it, jian and suan don't even have a chance to sleep. :P Those two biatches are truly workaholics. :) For me, a 10 hour workday is an eternity....!!

So, i know jian works like heck and shops like hell...! Is the eternal globe trotter.. and looks a helluva lot better now that she put on some weight.. (she's one hot chick now! watch out Malaysia's Next Top Model!) She no longer just eat cornflakes and actually enjoys a good bown of yummy pasta. She came to visit me about two weeks ago.. actually.. she came to shop.. and just needed somewhere to crash! :P She also brought a chinese virus and because of her i had to call in sick (which btw has never happened since i started working... at least not intentionally that is). As usual, we had a blast shopping.. spent a years pay in one day and probably now have to apply for welfare.... but luckily.. they were all great buys! So.. am not even a little bit regretful. :) (Jian, still cant wait for this darn rain to stop, the sun to come out and wear those hot skirts we got from Max studio!!!) :)

As for Suan, the last time i saw her was in KL. Shes working her bootie off at her accounting job.. and looks like she's having lots of fun... though she'll never admit it. Everytime when i get a chance to chat with her.. she gets caught by her boss.. and out comes her tiu nia mah chau hais. heheheh. I finally went to visit her in london last year.. before going to Europe.. as usual.. we had a blast.. eating great food (if you guys go visit her... you should ask Alvin to bring u eat crabs with that salted egg stuff.. YUMMY!), shopping and did a wee bit of culture... culture not as important as food and shopping..hehe. In KL, met up with her and jian a couple of times.. mamaking (great fried fish) and we went to a track day at sepang and had also met up with Jamie. We were quite goofy then... suan and jamie were modelling like those jap chics.. u know? Also went to visit her house for CNY... actually the real reason we went there was for the Ang Pows and good food lah. (Yes, it's still always about the food with me).

Now to Esther.. met up with her a couple of times too in kl. As far as i know, she's still busy consulting. When i was in KL, if you go out with her, must make appointment wan u know. :) Had asked her out for lunch once, but ended up having breakfast a la bodega in bsc.. cause she had to go for a seminar and pick up a check. Made me feel so inferior lah.. i never get to say things like, "sorry, im booked. Seminar at noon. Pick up my big fat check too!" hehehhe. :) Oh, for those of u who don't know, Esther straigtened her hair.. and looks like another hot chick.. That chick got manicure, pedicure... spend a FORTUNE on foundation... and looks hot hot hot. VaVaVoom! :) I consider myself pretty lucky lah.. hair oredi straight.. can't imagine going through all that beauty regimen.. :) Pedicure and manicure for me consists of my scholl nail clipper and my brother hanging around to nibble on my cut nails.. hehehehhe.. kidding kidding.. must add a little drama, no? :)

I met with Lara once in Telawi Street Bistro. Another bz chick i tell u.... whats with you all lah.. work so damn hard... take it easy mannnn.. laze around lah.. do nothing.. waste your life abit mah.. don't make me feel so bad about myself :) Anyway, Lara doesnt look like she aged one bit.. she still have that youthful look and still looks so adorable :) Lara, hear you're doing the big move to Sydney to the end of the year... bests of lucks!!! Try not to kill stephanie too quickly, ok? Make sure you use all ur CSI skills to the best.. remember to wear gloves and all u know.. dig a shallow grave.. so that the dingos can smell her and hopefully eat up the evidence.. know what i mean? :P Nyway... best of lucks.. hopefully will able to see you before u leave? maybe?

Hmm.. who else.. I don't know what the hell happened to Janice. I only hear from her when she is transiting in LAX and want to meet up for lunch/dinner. We catch up for two hours, she leaves her jacket at the restaurant, just before she's about to give the officer her passport i'd scream at her asking her where her jacket is, she'd jump in absolute shock, speechless for a bit then will realize she left it in the restaurant, we'd run back to the restaurant, the jacket would usually still be there, we'd pick it up, and go back to her boarding the plane again. HEhe.. from the looks of it, despite being the next nobel prize winner, janice is still janice, will always leave a jacket and a little bit blur-blur. :) Good ol jan!

Then there is steph.. i have not talked to her for AGES.. until 2 hours ago that is. :) She's all happy that Suan knighted her with Honorary Bitch. Don't get to excited ok Steph.. honarary bitch means u are the lowest ranking bitch, meaning, you run errands for us.. u know.. buy nasi lemak for us in the morning.. steal ciggs for us when we are low in cash.. do all the dirty jobs. OK? As usual.. she's still dorky as ever. I havent talked to her in years maybe, first thing she said was "I want a polo shirt. With a big big horse!" If i didnt know Steph as well as i do, that would have sounded like she was flirting with me. :P hehehe.. But, she is only an honarary bitch for a reason.. her innocence and dorkiness. :)

As for Val, errr.. i keep up with Val's life from her blog... purejade something something. (I bookmarked it u know.. u better be honored) I don't know 90% of the ppl she talks about though.. but her blog is pretty interesting lah.. and she always talks about food.. so thats a big plus. Hehe. Keep up the good work Val.. i especially like ur pasar malam foods. :) Val also looks helluva great.. she looks like one of those SEXY japanese anime.. always with the big eyes and the sexy pose... and the boobages lah.. the boobages are essential element lah :) Val, i don't really know what u are doing now.. i know ur not with BI anymore.. so.. no more employee discount. DAMN! :) You should go work for Forever 21 lah.. i hear they are opening one in KL..... if you do and get a employee discount.. i swear i'd be ur best friend for life! :)

ok.. thats all i know about the comings and goings of everyone. As for me.. next blog lah.. :) tired oredi.. I AM still sick ok.. remember that darn chinese bug jian brought???!!!!

oh, one last thing, YOU GUYS BETTER DAMN START BLOGGING!

lotsa love, al

rainy days and sundays

2006-04-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

Check in: Jian & Suan

jian's here in london for a few days (the eternal globe trotter just flew in from chicago-LA (where spent time with fellow biatch al)-madrid and is feeling a bit sh*te coz she's down with the flu)...how she managed to lug her 2 huge bags from LA to madrid to London totally amazed me...anyway, this is a post from the both of us, to start the ball rolling - we would LOVE to see some entries from the rest of you lot...) Check out Jian's luggage - all 41 kg's of it!!!

today was a typical day in london - REaLLY REALLY wet, dull and grey (although we were blessed with intermittent sunshine) - so we decided to do a bit of museum hopping (being the very cultured biatches) we are...HOWEVER, we woke up at around noon and only got to leave the flat at around 2pm hungry... and so started a series of detours... Detour no. 1: Carluccio's, italian resto, somewhere off oxford street..we had spaghetti vongole (yum Yum)... there was a particulary gorgeous maitre d' who caught suan's eye (yum yum yum). lunch was good, but it wasn't quite enough, so we both shared more yummy dessert - chocolate and kahlua pudding with vanilla ice cream & some sorbet too...

Detour no. 2: By the time we left Carluccio's it was already 4pm...walking towards Trafalgar Square from lower Oxford Street can be quite a bore so we decided to go into Zara (a picture of a dress caught both our attention) - that was when it started going downhill...we spent more than an hour looking and trying on clothes and when we finally paid up (jian got 2 pairs of shoes, a shirt dress and a satin top, and i got 3 tops which i will never be able to wear in british weather, a dress and a work blouse) it was nearly 5.30pm - time flies when you're having fun!!!!! we were never going to make it to t-square by 6pm, so on to the next stop (which was 2 mins away!) we went!!

Detour no. 3: H&M - last minute shopping frenzy before the store closed - we managed to still buy 3 items each (jian got pj's and 2 tops and i managed to find a lovely skirt, PJ's and some sleveless kimono-inspired top)..arghghghg...i ALWAYS go mad when i'm shopping with jian - it's like some force (the shopaholic force of jian) comes over me and i just buy buy buy!!!!

Highlight of the day: In the evening we went for a 'Haunted tour of london' which started off at the Monument tube station and then ended at st. pauls...it was quite an interesting walk lasting about 2 hours - the guide was a willem dafoe lookalike who was a very detailed storyteller - the word "tips" apparently originated from the first coffee house in london, which was quite popular in those days (nothing has changed then!) and they had to leave a box outside the coffee house which was labelled 'To Insure Prompt Service' for customers to put some money in so that they could get their coffee ASAP...there were other random bits of 'oh, how interesting' facts such as the phrase 'saved by the bell' came from when people were afraid of being buried alive and so, coffins were made to have bells which were connected above ground and if these bells were rung, it meant that whichever coffin they were connected to had an alive person in there...can't remember all the random snippets, but we won't bore you guys any longer!! OK, so it wasn't exactly a SCARY tour, but we had some fun nonetheless

Spooky...

check out suan's jap tourist wannabe pose)...

All in all, a good day spent - when are the rest of you lot coming to visit suan??

Biatchy Blogging

2006-04-01T09:53:00.000-08:00

check in : Al

OK, so this was not my idea. Her biatchiness, aka Suan, suggested it. But, let's see how it goes. So far, there is only Suan and me, but her bitchiness asked to contact the Bitchy Bunch and hope they are up to it. Haven't been able to keep in touch with everyone much...

So, the picture is us in errr.... where were we again? Suan, help me out here..Some art museum in London lah. That's all I can remember. I am helluva bad with names. That chic is one dumbass biatch btw....

My mission this weekend is to get this thing up and working and getting in touch with the girls..

So be it..

o&o