mythirdeye

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

2008-03-05T09:24:00.003+08:00

It was like a reckoning, a premonition if you may (I was tutoring Zimmie with his Romeo and Juliet the other night and now I've got stuff like premonition, fate, and other malarkey I don't otherwise believe in all wrapped around my head), that I would have two weeks of flues (thankfully incapacitated for only two days of the fourteen) before the third week would sprout out the motherfucker of all fucking, fucking illnesses i.e. the asthma attack.

So despite being one four different kinds of pills from three different clinics, one type of which is a steroid base thing that I'm supposed to swallow all six of with my breakfast (that I can hardly eat anyway) and makes my heart race like wild horses at the same time makes my limbs all shaky and tired.

Plus, I missed out on Baby Mimi-the-cutest-kebonut-intheworld-intheWORLD's function last Sunday.

But I refuse to be swallowed by the jaws of self-pity (although pity now and then is nice when your lungs hurt), and to battle it henceforth (plus to give my lungs a bit of exercise), I've been watching 'Extras' - this fucking marvelous BBC TV show starring Ricky Gervais (of 'The Office' face - Brit version, natch).

Watching him, and mostly, watching his utterly idiotic best friend Maggie (the true star of the show, in my opinion), the latter who possesses a natural charm of getting what she almost wants at the beginning of the show and then screwing it up royally by putting her foot in her clueless mouth. Each time she manages to make me cringe into a ball of crumped limbs yet giggle non-stop until my lungs get pissed at me and starts hacking out the most annoying kinds of coughs (the kind when you start hacking and your brain literally hurts).

Plus, the guest stars (Robert DeNiro, Samuel L. Jackson, Kate Winslet, Orlando Bloom, Ben Stiller, hell, even Harry Potter)? Rock.

Big, massive thanks to the Hazel for introducing me to this big cheer-upper.

Another good sideline in ignoring the fact that your lungs are wheezing for air (and henceforth successfully blocking the issue that maybe, just maybe, quitting smoking might stop all this asthma crap) is the book Emma has insisted on my reading: The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie. An excellent, plus profoundly, plus hilariously good read.

Oh, I do get by with a little help from my friends.

Who Needs Happy Drugs When There's Soto Rosmini?

2007-12-21T11:49:00.000+08:00

On the drive back home from... somewhere, The Buzz and I were ecstatic to find a Soto Rosmini opening not too far from where we live!

You must understand, from a person living in the boondocks, what a pure unadulterated lift it is to find that you don't have to travel miles just for a taste of your favorite soto. Which makes Soto Rosmini one of the two things I'm inordinately thankful for this month.

And I have to be thankful. This year definitely making the top of the list of the all-time suckiest year ranking (not to mention the all-time most visits to the hospital), it moves you enough to sit your ass down and realize maybe it's time to stop thinking about why your life sucks and start thinking about why your life doesn't suck. So despite all the trips to the hospitals and the surgeries and whatnot, it's time to be thankful for a few things.

Like survival. Of your loved ones. The joy of baby Aman Zarina and the likewise joy of baby Adam. And nearby soto, definitely.

Oh, and how I started a post on soto and ended up with gratitude for the world is beyond me too. Think I'm just a little emo this month.

SHOUT-OUT!!!

2007-12-17T15:50:00.000+08:00

.... to Finbo.

It'll all be okay.

What's Going to Work? Teamwork!

2007-12-17T15:35:00.000+08:00

I don't know how it happened, but my humble abode in Mentiri, in terms of animals mostly renowned for feeding stray cats, has become a home to five pets.

The first, Mr. Norris, our flowerhorn fish, a gift to my mother from E and family, and attention hogger and water splasher when late with his meals. The second, Mr. T, our turtle, and although maybe hygiene declares it complete wrong, swims with The Bear in late afternoon kiddie pool activities. The third, Barbarella, our blue fighting fish that really does nothing but look pretty.

Two kittens have joined us, and not continuing in the vein of names from 70's and 80's TV icons and action stars, a white one named Pippa (named by the Bear) and a black-and-brown named Dian (smuggled in from Miri via Fid, who had three other kittens there, all named after the tenants of the house).

When I see them all together sometimes I think about Wonderpets (for those of you not in the know i.e. for those of you who aren't forced to watch Playhouse Disney Channel, it's an animated kid's show about a turtle, chick and hamster who don capes and saves other little pets), except for Mr. Norris obviously because he's a bit of a showy bastard, and think about taking a picture of them with capes on, except maybe that borders on animal cruelty.

Til next time amigos.

P/S: Yes, I've had a few months' hiatus for several reasons and non-reasons, but instead of apologizing like an idiot, I'm just going to pretend it never happened.

For The Buzz and The Finbo

2007-08-25T10:19:00.001+08:00

To my two compadres The Buzz and Finbo, on that slow drive back to Mentiri from Muara, chilling to P. Ramlee songs.

Definitely a moment on my 'Good Times' list.

Tribute to The Bride

2007-08-25T09:27:00.000+08:00

Mrs. Aidy, we've been through loads together. Me, you and Finbo grew up together, went out together, dressed up together, danced together, sang together, watched movies together, cried together, partied together, yelled at each other, forgave one another over the span of so-bloody-long. But we always knew we'd be there for each other, no matter how far we strayed away, or how many friends we made or fought with, it always came back down to the fact that when the fun starts thinning and 11pm is considered a late bedtime and it's very very possible that we would be asleep before midnight on a Saturday night, we would be there to grow old with each other.

And now you're married - it was a topic of endless expositions from when we were teenagers and now the aisle has been walked. Despite the fact that the wedding is done, it still seems a bit unreal to me!

But you were a beautiful bride, and a pretty damn cool one too:

Best wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Justin :)

"She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain"

2007-08-20T14:47:00.000+08:00

I have been on a reading marathon. The sad kind. Where I started with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to gear me up for the movie, then moved on to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (which I loved, by the way, and got really upset about in the end not for any reason to do with the ending just the fact that it had, in fact, ended, and there is no more Harry Potter to be expected so it was sort of like losing a friend; I know I'm putting myself at the risk of sounding like some kind of young-adult-angst-driven-sap but what the hell), then moved on to Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, the third in a trio which Hazel very kindly bought for me, then thought what the hell I'll read the first in the trio and went to Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, then had my thumb up my ass and thought well the hell with it and reread Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (one of my fave books of all time - if you haven't read it, then get it and bloody read it), finished that, thought damn, what to do now, and reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (risking myself again to the power of two hundred).

So now, for the first time in a month, I've got nothing to read while I have my smoke break.

Very, very soon, I'm going to be picking up Pride and Prejudice. Just you wait.

Note: subject title above as quoted by Louisa May Alcott, the chick we may thank for 'Little Women'.

My Mother, She Is A Spartan

2007-08-15T15:48:00.000+08:00

So I haven't been posting in a gajillion years, no matter.

Something happened to my family and I last month, and it was serious enough to render me speechless and wordless. I don't have words for it, and so I'm not sharing the full extent of it, although apparently all this blogging kerfuffle has a lot to do with sharing, but that course of action would require the candidness of a bigger and probably better person that is, quite literally, polar opposites from me. Well, that, and the fact that I ain't no expert in the language of medical, er, things and therefore will not attempt to try and word it out at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot.

So my extreme apologies to my readers (er, I do have readers, right?) out there for the Hiatus That Came With No Warning, as what happened came with no warning.

So allow me to dispel with a few shout-outs and then I'll be on my merry way:

A big, huge thank you to all those who were great enough to show us moral support, never forgetting to include a certain incredible Auntie who went out of her way to make my mother comfortable.

A big thank you to the staff at Ward 9 and SICU.

A great big thank you to Dr. Ng. I know we're just a family out of a million other families that he has helped, but yowza, we owe you one. In fact, we owe you more than that.

And lastly, a big, huge, ginormous, stupendous, splendiferous thank you to the Man with the Plan, the Man of Our Eternal Hour, the Dude Who's Too Cool For School: Dr Selvam, you so rock. You know you do.

And after all that is said and (not quite) done, the only words of wisdom I can impart on you is this: riding in the back of an ambulance with the sirens on and watching traffic part like the red sea is hella fun!

My mother, she is a Spartan.

Anchorage by Michelle Shocked

2007-07-18T16:19:00.001+08:00

I heard this on my way to work at lunchtime in my sister Emma's car.

She admits her husband has a quirky taste in music that she herself has gotten roped into (Leonard Cohen, anybody?) and, after spending lunch in RIPAS singing it with Bobby and Zimmie, insisted that I hear it too.

And I must say! I dig it!

Big shout-out to my lovely currently-bulbous sister and my brother-in-law with his quirky tastes for introducing a little folk rock into my life.

Happy Belated Birthday To Me!

2007-07-06T23:41:00.000+08:00

The Buzz surprised me recently with this belated birthday gift:

Wireless headphones!!! Which means I can hear the television at whatever volume I want and, this being the cream of the crop, whatever distance I want. And if there are those of you out there who are thinking, meh, I could think up better gifts, then you were not part of the group of girls who had to listen to me whine about being unable to watch DVDs if they had no or bad subtitles because I watch TV with pretty much no volume on (The Buzz and The Bear alike are light sleepers whereas I sleep like the very contented dead).

Hence, couple my love for watching DVDs with the only available time of day when I can watch it i.e. when The Bear is asleep, and my dear readers you will find the wireless headphones a very savvy gift indeed. I broke them in watching Inside Man and marvelled at the fact that I didn't need to decrease the volume in a panic every time something loud went on.

And now here's a picture of The Bear. Just because.

He looks like he's got a master plan in mind.

Until next time dudes and dudettes.

Return of the Axl Rose

2007-07-05T23:49:00.001+08:00

So okay, f1d7 sent me this link about a gajillion years ago (or you know, two months) and me being the spokesperson of all procrastinators have yet to post on it. But right now, this late into the night, Text Twist on in the background, hair flattened against the head from a Tahlil that I just came back from and Red Hot Chili Peppers on the iShuffle, finally FINALLY I sit down to write down my opinion on it.

I listened to the song with two people who I thought were equal parts masters of old, modern and pop rock music, as well as Guns n' Roses fans: Zimmie and The Buzz. And.... we couldn't come up with an opinion. Truth is: we were confused. It didn't sound like Axl Rose. It didn't sound like Guns n' Roses. In truth, it kinda sounded a little bit country.

So I listened to it again, without the aid of my two musically inclined compadres, and tried to forget about Welcome to the Jungle, or November Rain, or Don't Cry, or Knocking on Heaven's Door, or even Since I Don't Have You. I think I kind of dig the song, and after reading several articles in reference to the recent Guns n' Roses' gigs around the USA concerning the decibel of Axl's voice now with age (the dude just can't screech it out like he used to), I think this kind of tune does Axl best. He still has the scratchy uniqueness, without having to belt it out. So he definitely did himself justice.

Truly honestly though, if this is the first song that comes out of the Chinese Democracy (if the album will ever bloody come out, oh and if it does, apparently it probably won't even be called 'Chinese Democracy'), I would have been disappointed. This is not the bang you would expect from a melodramatic dude like Axl Rose.

Anyway enough rambling, just a quick shout-out and massive apology to f1d7 for my taking so bloody long to answer a comment! Thanks muchly for your patience and the link.

Until next time dudes and dudettes. Off to bed I shall go. After one last game of Text Twist, that is.

My Little Drummer Boy

2007-06-30T11:28:00.000+08:00

He's the cutest little munchkin (not that I'm biased or anything) to ever grace a mini drumset. The Buzz (who was a pretty good drummer himself some years past) is inordinately proud.

He'll be a big star one day. I can just feel it in my bones.

Until next time party people. I gotta find The Bear a mini bass guitar.

Cooking with Incubus

2007-06-30T11:27:00.001+08:00

I cook dinner some nights for The Buzz, and I kind of consider it my 'alone time'. So sometimes I love to get into the cooking groove, you know, chopping and slicing and dicing and frying and whatnot.

So some nights, picture me with an mp3 player, singing and bopping along (more like singing and head banging along) to music while cooking. And while that may sound like a sad image, it's contentment at its easiest. It's a time to reflect, my fellow blogreaders, and if you don't have a particular time of day that is all to yourself despite children, husbands, family, work and the like, then I suggest you find time.

And this is my featured favorite song of the week. It goes well with chopping onions.

Enjoy the weekend. And the video.

Renegades of Funk

2007-06-19T15:15:00.000+08:00

Rage Against The Machine are BAAAACK together again, repeating one-time reunion at a festival after yet another one-time reunion and finally deciding to release a live album come September this year (by the way, this isn't exactly news, but it's news to me, so lets just roll with it).

And while I love me some Chris Cornell (why can't they just grab Matt Cameron back from Pearl Jam, find Kim Thayil and unearth Ben Shepherd from wherever they are and do a Soundgarden reunion - coz baby I'm all for that), and I felt the demise of Audioslave (actually I didn't even know they disbanded - I'm not exactly on top of the news here - but when I found out I felt a little tinge that might have been regret or might have been too much green tea in my system), it wasn't quite the same as the all-out "WHYYYYYYY???" when RATM originally disbanded.

But never fear! They are back again complete in political form, although whether or not they are really and truly 'back together' and will actually release a studio album and all is not quite confirmed (I think).

At any rate, any of you lucky fuckers happen to be in US and anywhere within driving distance of Alpine Valley Music Theater on August 24th 2007, you can catch them performing there.

Until next time party people, and remember: "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!"

Not Being Emo Or Anything But...

2007-06-14T15:04:00.000+08:00

... I love this poem:

I would liken you
To a night without stars
Were it not for your eyes.
I would liken you
To a sleep without dreams
Were it not for your songs.

'Quiet Girl' by Langston Hughes

Gotta Love Them Bargains

2007-06-14T14:09:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I bought the last two discs for Supernatural Season 2 at Chong Hock. Was instantly swayed by the curt salesgirl’s info that you can get three TV DVDs for $10, and hence bought the entirely unnecessary last disc of Heroes – seeing as I could just be patient and watch it on TV. Except that my patience can be measured by a very short string.

Hazel bought three discs of Eureka because she hates to pass up on a bargain. Likewise a gorgeous brown kain from Firoz Jaya when we were specifically told to buy green, purple and blue-grey for the upcoming Wedding of Aidy in July.

We ended the shopping spree by haggling the poor folks at Firoz Jaya for further discounts. We left Delima two very happy bunnies and retired to Mentiri, where we watched Volume 3 of SPD Power Rangers with The Bear doing his flying kicks and pondered the chemistry between the Green Ranger and the Yellow Ranger.

Later that night, The Buzz, The Bear and I took the half-hour drive down to Hua Ho Tanjong Bunut to find a shopping mall so deserted that were it not for the salespeople, it would be a haunted complex where dumb teenagers would go to to make out and see a ghost and be dumb and the Winchester brothers would have to come and exorcise the damn place. Which is a pity, because the stuff there - if you look hard - is really not bad. Why the hell else would we trek (okay, drive) all the way down to Bunut?

All in all, an eventful day, I thought.

Until next time dudes and dudettes, and remember: a bargain is a bargain and a good buy is a good buy no matter what your mission in shopping. Remember that, folks. That’s wisdom.

Awesomeness

2007-06-13T14:25:00.001+08:00

An online dictionary for Brunei lingo. Effing awesome.

Note: all credits to my finding said website goes to Affy (dude's definitely too cool for school). Due to my renewed addiction to Text Twist, I haven't been doing anything particularly industrious internet-wise other than trying to beat Finbo's highest score (a large, unfathomablelike number) and deleting my junk mail (likewise a large, unfathomablelike number).

Until next time, party people. Be good, and for the love of God, hold your child's hand when you're walking across the road.

Sunday Splash

2007-06-12T16:30:00.001+08:00

...and I don't mean the Empire Hotel variety.

I mean the cheapo 30-bucks-a-pop kiddie pool thing that makes The Bear so happy it makes every single cent (such as it is) worth it.

As an added plus, the average sized adult could get a nice soak out of it too.

Tennis Woes

2007-06-12T16:21:00.000+08:00

Another tennis tournament done, leaving a dissatisfied Buzz. Ana Ivanovic, his current love in a tennis uniform, lost. Badly. Heh.

And Federer lost. To Nadal. Didn't see that one coming.

Note: There is no point to this post other than my verbal promise to The Buzz that I would make amends for the last Tennis Hottie post by putting up a pic of his ultimate Tennis Hottie. So I hope you like it, my Buzz.

The French Open and the Tiny Skirts It Brings...

2007-06-07T14:57:00.000+08:00

...makes The Buzz a very happy man indeed.

Yes indeed, the French Open is upon us and very soon finishing. And while there are disappointing losses and wins as per the usual grueling tennis matches, on the whole, The Buzz has been quite content with its selection of women players.

And because I love my husband, and I'm that good a wife, it would be remiss of me to not dedicate a post to his favorite tennis-ball slamming skilled beauties.

(From left to right: Daniela Hantuchova from Slovakia; Ekaterina Bychkova from Russia; Maria Sharapova - as if anyone didn't already know seeing her mug on all those sodding Canon adverts - from Russia)

(from left to right: Nicole Vaidisova from Czech Republic - The Buzz's current fave; and Sania Mirza from India, who isn't in the French Open, but still The Buzz loves him some hot-tempered tiny Indian chick).

By the way, it is true with these ladies as it theoretically is with all tennis players male or female alike (I should know, I had to surf for these pictures) - they're just not as sexy in real life as they are on the tennis courts, are they?

For you, my Buzz.

Go Go Power Rangers!!

2007-05-25T10:32:00.000+08:00

Despite many warnings from different mothers insisting that I prolong the inevitable for as long as is humanly possible, The Buzz and I have succumbed and bought The Bear his very first Power Rangers VCD.

Before that was a Power Ranger/Ultraman rip-off by the name of Beukogen (I think) which was in Japanese and so fricking annoying that we thought it in our best interest (as The Buzz and I invariably get sucked into watching the thing) that we buy him a more original (and English speaking) Power Rangers.

Which was why SPD Power Rangers was bought last night, with The Bear jumping around the room imitating flying kicks while The Buzz and I watched the show with avid fascination.

Intense conversations of the plot made during the show:

Me: Ohhhhh so they made him the Red Ranger instead!
The Buzz: Blue Ranger's gonna be soooo pissed!

Am envisioning a lot of Power Rangers in my future.

Happy (Belated) Birthday Aidy!!

2007-05-24T14:25:00.000+08:00

I'm a bit (more like one week) overdue on this birthday wish to my other comrade of May birthdays.

And since I'm cheap, and enjoy this possibly more than any of my girls do, here's some gratuitous eye candy for you:

In commemoration of Pirates of Caribbean 3, which we'll be watching this weekend.

(I think if I had any difficulty at all in this post, it was choosing a picture. He's not going to win no Oscars, but he's hella pretty.)

And because it just doesn't seem right to not include your rock star true love Mr Brandon Boyd:

Happy Belated Birthday, Aidy :)

HIV/AIDS Awareness Walkathon

2007-05-23T14:36:00.000+08:00

I know, I know - don't hear from the chick in fucking weeks and suddenly she posts up three things in one day. And posting up multiple posts in a day makes my blog format thing do weird stuff like that inexplicable strip of yellow over the first paragraph of the first two posts. But aaaaanyway.

The Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council (BDAC) will be organizing an HIV/AIDS Awareness Walkathon come Sunday, 27th May 2007 (wait, that's this coming Sunday isn't it? Jeez how the month flew by) to - you guessed it - raise awareness on the disease to our little country, which is, I need not add but I will anyway, a worthy cause. Think a good deal of us need to shelf away that Nietzschean mentality of ours that think our little spot on the Borneo Island in any less danger of the disease than other countries.

But I'm not here to rant, I'm here to promote. So.

The starting point will be at Taman Sri Omar Ali Saifuddien and will start precisely at 6.30 a.m. It'll be a 6km walk and will begin and end there.

And wear RED. That's a must.

For more info, contact:
The Brunei Darussalam Aids Council
c/o 1st Floor, D'Anggerek
Kg Anggerek Desa, Mukim Berakas BB4313
Negara Brunei Darussalam
Tel: (+673) 234 5573 / 2345222 ext. 806 or 810
Fax: (+673) 234 5380
Email: enquiry@bdac.ws

Get it? Got it? Good.

Yay for Movies of a Non-Mentally Crippling Nature!

2007-05-23T10:29:00.000+08:00

While entertaining, I have to say that Spiderman 3's ultimate saving grace was James Franco's big-as-the-world smiles. Hominahomina.

Advice to the creators of Spiderman 4 - do rid Tobey Maguire of his second chin.

Next third sequel of an entertaining movie with hot actors in it (ref: Spiderman, X-Men) will be Pirates of the Caribbean 3, with the magnificent Johnny Depp (though has decidedly horrible downside in the form of Keira Knightley's pucker-dem-lips-for-the-screen face), the always hot Orlando Bloom (though it pains me to say his acting skills usually leave much to be desired) and the always great Bill Nighy. Am watching the movie this Saturday, two days after its premiere, which is amazing in itself considering I only watched the 2nd one two nights ago.

A friend of mine was raving on and on about 28 Weeks Later. I've never even watched 28 Days Later. There is one very good reason for this, and it is the same reason why I don't watch Dawn of the Dead, hell even Shaun of the Dead, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Resident Evil, or anything flesh-eating oriented: I DON'T DO ZOMBIES. Give me flying women in white. Give me vampires. Give me werewolves. Give me the boogeyman. Give me that creepy kid Toshio and that scary ass chick crawling out of the television. But the walking undead with low-guttural moans all ganging up on one person (and in 28 Weeks, they fucking run, okay?) - dude, I'll pass.

Then there's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. No way in hell am I missing that. Which has nothing to do with the quality of its predecessors (I only enjoyed the fourth one), mainly to the loyalty served to JK Rowling and her imagination of splendiferous magnitude.

Oh, and The Buzz refuses to miss Transformers. The trailer. It. Kicks. Ass.

So here's me, all set for the summer movies. Fluff baby. I'm all for it.

On a side note, I really wish the radios and television channels would stop playing Rihanna's new song 'Umbrella'. That song is like a fucking leech - sucks into your ear drums and braincells and refuses to relinquish its hold until you're robotically singing the chorus in the same nasal tone Rihanna employs with all her other songs. It's worse than Avril Lavigne. Almost.

Channel 76 - Therapy for the Soul

2007-05-23T10:22:00.000+08:00

Been having the nothing-in-particular stress. You know the drill: the kind of stress where if you share it with someone and actually verbally acknowledge it, then you realize that it's not really 'stress' per se, and more like self-pity, so you feel the need to just hide it instead of sharing it because every now and then, you need a little self-pity, so you just corner yourself in and coccoon yourself in its self-esteem munching comfort.

To this I say, thank God for E! channel. I have a new respect for Ryan Seacrest. And I know now that brushing my teeth with strawberries will make them whiter.

Supernatural and That Lucky Towel

2007-05-12T14:38:00.000+08:00

Right.

I could just get into the reason why I had the hiatus but that would involve a lengthy exposition on work and the no inspiration that sometimes arises from having too much of a hectic life, but that would also just be a half-truth, so instead of lying about it to you, or exaggerating, or making half-truths, I'm just going to puff my chest out and say a big WHATEVER to the guilty conscience I don't need for not posting the requisite once-a-week and leave it all up to you, the readers, to imagine what I was up to that could not get my ass down in front of the computer to type in a few measley words on how my day went.

So anyway.

One thing I can report back to you on what I've been doing is this:

A show about two brothers - both cute (but one is a little too pretty boy for my taste and the other needs a haircut), neither of whom looks very much like the other, but never mind - pursuing a yellow-eyed demon who killed their mother about 23 years back by sticking her up a ceiling like a tasteless chandelier and then immolating her like a glorified barbecue.

The show itself (I took a crash course and watched it from the beginning of Season 1 to Part 1 of Season 2) is aaaaaalright. The plot mmm-kay. The starring actors both have their separate moments of extreme hotness (there's a towel scene, and oh my dear God it's a towel scene to remember forever), but if I wanted to watch hotness, I'd watch Prison Break (which is next on my list), and if there's one thing Supernatural has over Prison Break (though they will have nothing over Wentworth Miller ever), it's the chemistry between the two brothers.

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki make their brotherhood work, possibly because they really are close in real life (I'm guessing), or possibly because the scriptwriters are better, I don't know, but despite the lack of similar facial features, they work really well together.

Oh and another thing Supernatural has over any other television show I've watched recently? The fucking soundtrack, man.

If you're into mullet rock, check this tv show out. They don't have a soundtrack (durr) but you don't have a tv show with two hot guys in it without a huge fanlisting of sorts so there are many websites out there that refers back to each episode's playlist, and the choices (ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Styx, Ted Nugent, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and 'Carry on My Wayward Son' from Kansas which is a song of complete and glorifical rocking perfection, Cheap Trick, AC/DC, Black Sabbath Journey, oh and other great shout-outs like REO Speedwagon), the timing of which they play the song, the scenes in which they choose to play them, are holy genius.

Or if you're not into guys or rock music, you can always check out the 1967 Chevy Impala the boys use as transportation.

Or, you know, the scary stuff. That's fun too.

So watch it (but don't make the mistake I made, which is buying Part 1 of Season 2 without realizing or bothering to check that Part 2 of Season 2 isn't even done yet, hence making me go through that tiring business otherwise known as The Waiting Game, and my patience is but a short string).

Oh, and Quick Note to F1d7:

Try as I might, I haven't been able to download Catcher in the Rye by Guns n' Roses. Every time I do, another song comes out. But I did check out the lyrics, which was interesting, because it was supposed to be from the viewpoint of John Lennon's assassin (hence the song title I guess), and from that fact alone it promises to be a good song (oh, and Brian May played guitar for it apparently, which is pretty cool). Anyway, as soon as Limewire decides to play nice and catch me a break and actually give me the damn song, I'll be sure to post up my opinion on it.

In other news, it's my birthday tomorrow! Birthday presents of a bling nature will be received with heartfelt gratitude.

Happy Birthday Hazelnut!

2007-05-12T14:18:00.000+08:00

Quick shout-out to Miss (soon to be Mrs) Hazelnut who turns, ah, 25 today.

Since I can't afford you naught this year (and since it's our long-standing agreement to just not buy each other any present any year), I'll give you Mr. Jake Gyllenhaal for a bit of eye candy.

Damn but how easy it was to find pictures of him. Might have been one of the easiest things I've ever done in my life!

Happy birthday, Hazel Basil.

Just Whistle While You Work

2007-04-21T14:09:00.000+08:00

I don't get some people.

Beg for a job, even get their parents in to do some humble begging, fill an application form out meticulously, promise in your cv that you'll be a hardworker, yet nine times out of ten you'll find they'll be the exact opposite. They'll beg for a job in an interview, work the earnest I - need - this - job - to - support - my - family work, and when you do concede (mostly at the thought of what you yourself would do when you have no money to support your own family) and hire the buggers, they'll start working in a way that represents the character they portrayed of themselves in their cv but in the direct opposite. Hire them, and they sure as hell don't act like they need a job. Most of them quit after two days. Most of them just won't do what a supervisor tells them to do because the international commandment of the working life (Thou Shalt Do As Thy Supervisor Instructs Thee To Do) just does not apply to them. So they come in, dressed like shit, with the personality of a petulant 18 year old who has never taken orders before and ain't going to start now, with no manners and no bloody work ethics and I swear to God and all that is kind in this world, they just don't act thankful.

Give me a good, hard-working person (local, foreign, I don't give a crap) who comes into work, actually does their work, and actually has the grace to be thankful for the opportunity that has been given to them. Because, hand me a piano and slap me some dreads, I'm not seeing any of the sort.

So please, be aware that working experience, in whatever shape and form be it from being a bank teller to waiting tables, is important. It's a stepping stone to your career, because remarkable or not, you would gain something from it, however small or insignificant the job may be from the world's perspective. Don't act like you're better than the job, because when you're working, you're there to do a job.

I have had the blessed opportunity to work with a fair number of youths who recognize this, at the same time I've worked with a lot more who don't.

Trust me, a working place don't need sulkers, baby, they need workers. Comply to the rules and respect your superiors (who gives a shit if you like them or not), and if you still can't get it, then leave. Efficacy doesn't run when operated by half-assed idiots.

In other news, The Bear has tapped into Spiderman 1, and The Buzz and I will have to go DVD shopping for a copy. Am envisioning a lot of spiderman watching this weekend.

The Snog Between Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett

2007-04-18T10:54:00.000+08:00

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I luurrrrrvvveeeee Pride and Prejudice (possibly more than I love most people), so naturally, I tend to grab any movie adaptation of the book and feast my eyes on it like a greedy whore. Obviously loving the book as much as I do would mean that I would be disappointed in the movie in some way or other. The BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is supposed to be the best damn adaptation of the novel like, ever, and stays true to the book, and it helps tremendously that Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy because I. Love. Colin. Firth.

I haven’t had the opportunity to actually watch the mini-series (for one thing, I don’t have the copy, and for another, The Buzz is not very into periodic pieces as I am, and hence would cringe at a five-hour marathon of the sort, and as he doesn’t force me to watch ‘Blood In, Blood Out’, I can’t force him to watch men in curly wigs), but out of all bad luck of the monstrous variety, I’ve watched the ending. At my friend Hazel’s house, while she was getting her make-up on for her engagement, the movie was on her television set, and I saw what has never been portrayed in the book: Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennett kissing.

I shouldn’t have liked it. As a lover of the book, I couldn’t have liked it. But I did! You’re gonna have to understand my line of reasoning here: I’ve read the book literally hundreds of times, and nothing satisfies me more than a good snog at the end, and the book, while stellar in every other way, does not provide that sort of entertainment.

Then the other movie adaptation of the book, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen played on HBO. It played on a Sunday at 9pm which meant, truly, that I would never be able to watch it, as The Bear has since decided that while he’ll be in bed by 9.30, he won’t actually be asleep until way past ten, as he has decreed himself a grown-up. When he finally drifted off at half-past ten, I set the Astro remote on number 40, settled myself in, and was just in time to see the last part.

Which was, a scene completely out of text of the book, Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett kissing!

The last DVD copy I had of Pride and Prejudice was neither clear in imagery nor clear in sound, so I wouldn’t have been surprised if that last scene was cut out completely. Not long after I watched it on TV, I bought the DVD (because I’m sad that way), the so-clear-it’s-practically-original kind of copy, settled myself in again, and watched the whole thing.

And while I hate fricking Keira fricking Knightley, and I only seem to love Matthew MacFadyen as Mr. Darcy (I watched his TV show, ‘Spooks’, and was disappointed to find how I so did not have the hots for him without his hair extensions and riding breeches), and they didn’t do the plot of the book to any justice (it was supposed to mean so much more than that), I was digging the movie. It looked fantastic, for one, and the chemistry between KK and Mr. Darcy was pretty sizzling (the mark of any good movie), and I’m a big fan of Brenda Blethyn (who can make any movie watchable). So I was all happy and set to watch that very last snogging scene, when to my surprise and disappointment, the credits rolled up instead.

What?? Why?? How?? WHY?????

It was made obvious to me that while there is a Pride and Prejudice DVD out there in the world that has Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett kissing to our satisfaction, I had bought the wussed-out version instead.

My Whole Point To The Story: if anyone happens to have the DVD copy where there is, indeed, a scene where the famous duo in the world’s most famous love-hate relationship finally get some lip-locking action, please, call me.

Damn Those Ribena Berries

2007-04-16T16:31:00.000+08:00

Upon being clued into the mass hysteria that is Ribena not being chocked full of vitamin C as per their advert but instead chocked full of flavored sugar water, I've been suspicious about other drinks.

Not that I care what I put into my system, but with the drinks on display now proclaiming Chocked Full of Vitamin C!!! on all of their respective containers, I usually shrug, go "Ngeh", put it in the basket, and mosey along safe in the knowledge that at least The Bear won't be drinking plain sugar water (coz believe me, the kid doesn't need anymore energy supplements other than the 24-hour natural sugar high he was born with). Now I'm thinking, "Ngeh?" What if it really is plain sugar water? What if they're just bullshitting us? If a major conglomerate ala Ribena can do that to the millions upon millions who consume them (me included), any old drink can!

These are the lengths people go through to sell their products. And us the voluntarily blind consumer taking their word for it.

Imagine if it was Milo? All of Brunei would go into Milo-withdrawal (that means you, Finbo).

Where Have All The Good Songs Gone?

2007-04-11T14:33:00.000+08:00

It has been a long time since I've downloaded songs, for a few very good reasons: firstly, The Buzz has gone deep into the forests of Purevolume and there seems to be no hope for him to get out; secondly, Limewire has been a pain in my ass; thirdly, there hasn't been a song that I've heard recently that would make me go through the trouble of sitting my ass down, typing in a few measley words, and clicking. Conclusion? Not good. I've been using Limewire solely for the purpose of downloading tv shows, rather than music, a complete 180 turn from the person I was a few years ago, and I wonder what happened.

A few days ago, I sat down in the front of the computer, clicked open Limewire, and started a downloading frenzy. The songs that I downloaded, however, were from Van Morrison. Oldies but goldies. Timeless music. The kind where I can listen and drift off into la-la land. Music akin to Valium. And when I thought about downloading new songs, I typed The Fray and stopped at that.

Is it that I'm so choosy over music now that I can't seem to get into any song? Is it the choice of music now? Or is it that my generation has been replaced by a new generation and I didn't even realize it was happening?

A review of all in my head confirmed the latter.

Much like how my parents dislike the music I was into, I've started to dislike the music of now.

But seriously. No one should have to listen to Hilary Duff. Or rock groups who are actually boy bands with instruments. Or botoxed has-beens who crave the spotlight once more. Or fifteen year olds spewing out their theories of true love. Or the inhumane massacre of classics not unlike Brittany Murphy's version of 'Boogey Wonderland'. Come on.

Maybe this is just the decade where good music has finally reached a standstill. This is the decade where good music has come to die.

Or maybe I'm just getting old.

Shout Outs

2007-04-09T14:07:00.000+08:00

2007 has not been faring well for me. Two asthma episodes were bad enough. The Bear had two flu episodes, and then a quite - common - but - shoot - me - I - ain't - ever - heard - of - it skin condition called Impetigo. Then came the creme de la creme (except it's only April, so does this mean there's more to come??) of all illnesses to bite my ass this year, the last hole on the proverbial belt of sucky things to piss on me this year: gastric ulcers.

Which is why I haven't been posting lately (well that, and a definite lack of eventful things in my life, as attributed to being unable to do much except sit in a comatose position wincing every five minutes while re-reading Pride and Prejudice and drinking iced tea or milk). But I'm okay now. I might be able to type that calmly, and sound all good and calm about it, but I was close to whooping the roof down when I finished a Nescafe Tarik and didn't cringe in pain.

So anyway, as I've missed a few things this past week, I'd like to do me some quick shout-outs:

Shout Out #1: to Ainul! Was lovely to hear from you, woman. Have been trying to leave a comment on your blog but so help me, the Internet's wonky today and the frigging window won't open.

Shout Out #2: to Jane Austen, who was able to write a fricking masterpiece like Pride and Prejudice at the age of 20. Only thing I knew how to do at 20 was, er, nothing much at all.

Shout Out #3: to my cousin who came up to me at a birthday party yesterday and asked if I was 'my 3rd eye'. With distance and a noticeable age difference, we rarely (if ever) talk, but it was nice to be recognized. Don't forget to leave me the url address of your blog.

Shout Out #4: to Aidy, my Cranium compadre. You so rock. Yeah you do.

Shout Out #5: to Finbo, who has been working herself steadily towards non-existence. Wish you'd stop working so hard dude, as we don't get to hang out as much anymore, but I dig it. News doesn't sleep.

Shout Out #6: to my ulcers. You've taught me the perils of eating too much spicy things and being stressed out over the idiotic things, and now that I'm able to, I run after The Bear (who takes much running after) with ease and relief. It was a hard lesson, but damn I'm glad that you've buggered off.

Shout Out #7: to The Buzz, for being patient with your invalid wife.

Shout Out #8: to Tini, for taking The Bear completely off my shoulders.

Shout Out #9: to The Bear, because he's just too damn cute for words.

That's all folks. And remember: ease up on the spice and the coffee and the stress to avoid gastric ulcers and also to avoid getting a tube stuck down your throat (I managed to avoid that, but dear God it was close, it was so close).

It's Friday and I'm Ready To Swing

2007-03-30T16:07:00.000+08:00

Fridays are good days for me. They mean Weekly Girls' Lunch, which is a great way (for me anyway, as I am both unsociable and a tired mom - a terrifying combination) to ensure that I get my regular doses of girly company. The people sometimes change in accordance to availability, but usually my nearest and dearest (and as a huge bonus, my sisters) would be around to terrorise the waiters/waitresses and venue of choice with loud regalings of what has happened with us since last we met.

Today was no different. My closest nearest and dearest were there, and I could very happily note the appearance of one Mrs. Mellings. Stories, as usual, were shared. Cigarettes smoked in abundance, and Finbo had her staple Teh-C Ping, Aidy had her staple Kway Teow Goreng Ayam (my style), Yanchan had her staple Ice Lemon Tea, Hazel did not have her staple Nasi Ayam Goreng but she topped it off with her staple Nescafe Tarik (actually we all did), and Mrs. Mellings had her staple Iced Cappuccino, and all was well with the world.

Today's story? Weddings. Husbands. What a wife's gotta do and why she's gotta do it. And after a recount of all our collective women friends, the realization that most of them get paid more than their significant others. The wonderment of how women could take charge in their respective careers and still be fully capable to be a wonder-woman in the kitchen and a whore in the living-room at the same time.

Woman. Glad to be one.

Anyway, other speculations of the day include:

1. I'm madly in love with The Buzz's iPod Shuffle and (following Aidy's example with her fiance) I'm thinking of stealing it.

2. Will The Bear ever take his new Spiderman suit off? After a phonecall from The Buzz, I learned that he wreaked havoc when Tini wanted to change his pampers as it involved taking the suit off.

3. When you have an interview (I was the interviewer, not interviewee) at 10 am, for the love of God and all that is good in this world, come at 10 am. Not at 10.30. Is being late not verboten in the rules of Job Interviews or did I miss a memo?

4. Misato does not allow smoking in their restaurant anymore. Mama of Four had to change lunch venue at the news to accommodate her girlfriends. Will others follow suit? (Please God no).

5. 300 kicks ass. I watched it three nights ago and I still can't stop thinking about it. And for those who don't like it, please, if you're looking for plot, don't go to a movie that involves 300 Spartans kicking the ass out of a gajillion Persians.

6. Why is Sanjaya still on American Idol? I mean, never mind the Indian Power and votefortheworst.com, that Mohawk he sported two nights should have been enough for all punk rockers to unite against him. If you don't got the attitude, don't sport the 'do. I cringed, covered my eyes, and it didn't make his performance any better.

Have a nice long weekend all. I'll be at Lambs with the in-laws. Better have one last cigarette.

My Little Monsters

2007-03-22T16:10:00.000+08:00

School holidays tend to get boring. In the personal life, it gets pretty hectic. I've got the complete set of niece and nephews taking over the Mentiri residence, and while I enjoy the fact that my loved ones are near, the energy levels of the restlessness of teens, pre-teens and children during the school holidays is mind-whacking. Not mind-boggling. Mind-whacking. Bottle that shit up and you've got the solution to the energy crisis right there.

Plus you've got the two year old Bear going extra hyper with these companions. Imagine the TV room, the adults trying to settle down to watch American Idol (it's a family thang y'all), with a Zimmie whizzing past with the Bear's toy golf club, a squealing Imah right after, a shouting Amansterr getting in between, and an excitable screeching little Bear trying to catch up with his elders. And that's before they invade my room and start quarreling over the Astro remote.

And don't even let me get started on what goes on at the dinner table.

I wonder sometimes how they'd turn out when they're older. Will they always get along? Will they be really close, like my cousins and I are? It's the future generation of my family, and as close as I am with my sisters, I'd like to think that they'll always be there for each other.

But until that time rolls around, and until school opens again, I'll have no peace and no quiet. And a definite lack of stock of Milo, Indo-mie and Traffic Light ice lollies. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Search with K-Fed

2007-03-22T11:41:00.000+08:00

It's a mark of how uneventful my life is when the only news I've got for the whole week is the fact that Kevin Federline (aka K-Fed, aka the Ex Mr Britney Spears, aka Golddigger, aka talentless attention whore) made his own search engine.

Check it out.

It's pretty dubious. Not just because it's a Kevin Federline search engine (seriously, what marketing genius came up with that??), but because the idiocy that is K-Fed is mirrored in the opening page with the opening lines:

"Everytime you search the web you have a change of winning a prize from Kevin Federline. It's that simple. Really."

With a picture of K-Fed himself with a deck of cards and poker chips. Because.... using that search engine is a gamble?

And what the hell could you possibly win from K-Fed? A book called 'Tips to Marry and Then Destroy America's Pop Princess'. Or 'How To Become a White Gangsta Rappa'. Or 'How To Remain In The Public Eye By Being An Attention Grabbing Idiot'. I could go on all day.

For the Past Four Days...

2007-03-15T14:27:00.000+08:00

1. I have been sick (again).

2. Cursing Meredith's constant simperings over her existential angst on Grey's Anatomy (Season 2 - I love Grey's Anatomy but shut up Meredith).

3. Giggling like an idiot (not so good for the asthma) watching Scrubs (Season 3).

4. Wondering if I can get a henna tattoo and if I did would it look like that while watching reruns of Miami Ink.

5. Watching a lot of Cartoon Network and MTV in between.

So next time you're sick, make sure you're armed with DVDs of shows that you haven't seen or wouldn't mind watching over and over again (I have Buffy for back-up). And if you're really sick, make sure those TV shows are medical-oriented, as will surely make you feel better about your situation (asthma not such a big deal next to a blocked heart valve, now is it?).

Cheerios party people.

Af 5, or was it 6?

2007-03-10T10:50:00.000+08:00

Yep today’s The Day. Tonight’s The Night. The season where the eyes of three-quarters of Asian viewers will remain locked on the television screen every Saturday night the same way my eyes are locked onto the screen every Wednesday and Thursday nights, except with a lot more enthusiasm and a slight hint of fanaticism that borders on pathological.

That’s right. Akademi Fantasia starts tonight.

Aznil sodding Nawawi, Akademi Fantasia and their prancing ponceys/diva wannabes with their synchronized dancing and not so synchronized singing have come back to haunt me.

Just when The Bear started hero-worshipping Spiderman instead of Mawi. Just can’t catch a break, can I?

Quick note to my favorite Akademi Fantasia fan:
Sorry mom.

It's A Dumb Joke But I Love It

2007-03-10T10:49:00.000+08:00

How many surrealists does it take to screw on a light bulb?
BANANA!!!

Hee.

American Idol Rejects

2007-03-03T10:10:00.001+08:00

Generally the thought going through my head with each kick-out was 'meh', except for that Nicholas Pedro dude who so didn't deserve getting eliminated in favor of Sanjaya, but in retrospect (and I'm not being racist in any way or form), there has to be about a million American-Indians compared to Filipinos in USA so, well, let that figure speak for itself.

As for the chicks, really didn't care about the two that got eliminated. That said, I cared even less about Antonella Barba, and thought she should have been the one out (especially with the 'you guys kicked Jennifer Hudson out' dumbass comment. Idiot). But what with the recently surfaced semi-nude pictures of her and the fact that she's pretty and defiant (though dumb), guess she's gonna remain in for some time.

Am as dispassionate as a fish. American Idols got no thrill for me this year, though I gotta give props to Melinda Doolittle and Jordin Sparks.

From a note completely out of context, check out Dave Matthews Band up above. A band far too good for American Idol. And Carter Beauford kicks drum ass.

Meet The Beckhams

2007-03-02T23:00:00.000+08:00

It has just been recently confirmed that Victoria Beckham aka Posh Spice aka Mrs Beckham aka living evidence that you can survive on skin and bones and no blood and give birth to a bunch of jocks too has signed a deal with NBC to make a reality show centered around her.

Proof that there is nothing these people won't air. Way to get the world anorexic.

Though there's always the added bonus of learning how to dominate the husband with the sheer force of scary, bulging, zombie eyes. And it'll teach the young ones how to keep their famous husbands by getting themselves knocked up. Like, always.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

2007-03-02T15:17:00.000+08:00

Why is the new RTB building about a two second walk away from a dumpsite?

Why is there no guy as worthy as Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry or Taylor Hicks on American Idol this year (yes, yes, I like the Geek in the Pink T-Shirt dude but that beat-boxing thing is gyrating on the nerves)?

Why is it taking my Limewire a million fricking years to download the 17th episode of Heroes?

Why can’t mama of four find a National brand vacuum cleaner anywhere in Brunei?

Why do men with pumped up arms feel it a necessity to wear sleeveless t-shirts (size XS)?

Why doesn’t anyone anywhere sell Spunkmeyer muffins anymore?

Is the music nowadays degenerating into such low quality that people would think that Simple Plan are pop rock when they’re really just a glorified boy band with instruments?

And why can’t Bon Jovi just fricking quit already?

These and more questions dudes and dudettes…

Blogging Nation

2007-03-02T15:08:00.000+08:00

If you're a blogger and Bruneian (or a permanent resident of) and not listed yet, check out their website. If you join, you can win an iPod shuffle. Bought The Buzz one, and it kicks mp3 ass.

I added the link on my Exit Stage Lefts. Yes. I want that iPod shuffle. I want it.

I Want It

2007-03-01T22:12:00.000+08:00

I found the perfect wallpaper:

This is Pixelnotes. The idea being that it's a whole wall consisting of four layers of varying gray tones. Meaning that if you take one out, a darker gray one is underneath, so the whole thing will start looking more and more pixelated. Hence the name.

Seriously. It's a glorified Post-It Wall. And goddammit I love it! Literally, it's like The. Best. Invention. Ever.

I know a bunch of Post-It nuts out there (that means you Finbo, Fid, Aidy and Dee) who would love me forever if I got them this baby as a gift (that was not an offer, by the way).

But my choice for The Buzz:

Humanscale's Freedom chair is an office chair that adjusts itself automatically to the weight of the user. So no snapping off the reclining control lever that always fails to work after about five goes at it. There are also other cool technological stuff about it geared towards the comfort of the necks, shoulders, spines of the poor sods who have to sit behind a computer all the lifelong day.

It's comfortable. And it's groovy.

I know you want it.

An Ode To Fid

2007-02-28T15:36:00.000+08:00

Usually when I get home you're there.

Sometimes, you want a ride somewhere. Usually though, you bug The Finbo for it.

Sometimes, I cook dinner, and you as my apprentice gal helpfully take all the things I need out for me.

Sometimes, we eat dinner, and you compliment my meals and give me constructive criticism ("not too thick next time I think") and you're no Nigella Lawson but I appreciate it.

Sometimes, you go out on a complimenting limb and call me The Domestic Goddess. It's light years away from the truth, but I love the ego boost.

Sometimes when I go out for a cigarette, you're there to keep me company.

And sometimes when I go out for a cigarette, you're there to keep The Bear at bay for me.

Sometimes when I go upstairs in the wee hours of the morning, we stop by your room because The Bear is pounding on your door and screaming "DAHHH!!!!!" before you open looking at us groggily but you always have a smile for The Bear and you always let him terrorise your stuff.

Sometimes when The Bear is doing a little jig, you're there snapping away on your camera (actually, most times).

Sometimes you say things and I turn it around so it'll sound like an insult and like the sister you are, you appreciate a good burn.

Sometimes you knock on my door in the middle of the night to get the Internet cable.

Sometimes I get home and you're sprawled in front of the television with Mom, usually half-asleep.

Sometimes we get together and discuss conspiracy theories about Heroes.

Sometimes I borrow your clothes.

Sometimes you borrow mine.

Rarely you get a little weak and do a bit of crying.

Usually you're a pretty strong chick.

But now, you're all the way over there, and I'm all the way over here. And I miss you loads.

It kinda, sorta, sucks.

Granted, Mom misses you a million times more (yes, she has been moping and worrying).

Anyway, hope you're doing well three hours away in Amirica. The Bear misses you, The Buzz misses you, The Fin misses you, Tini misses you, E misses you, Mom really misses you, and I miss you too.

Be good Fidmer.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid

2007-02-24T10:58:00.000+08:00

Look.

I've been hearing about babies. Dead, newborn babies. Found in the trash. Found in a shoebox buried. Found floating in the river. Found on the side of a highway. A shunned away responsibility like the report card you hide from your parents. Dismissed to make some person's life easier.

The shoebox found a few nights ago. Picture taken from Borneo Bulletin.

I'm not here to knock a person's problems. Yes, definitely, it has to be some form of extreme desperation that would make a woman turn to extreme acts.

But are you extremely stupid?

I don't care what the issue is. I don't care if you're too drugged up to live in the real world. I don't care if your parents will beat the living crap out of you or even kill you if they found out. I don't care if it's the baby of another woman's husband. I don't care if it's the baby of your uncle, your brother, your father or your grandfather. I don't care if you were raped. I don't care if you're a foreigner who can't afford it or who'll get kicked out of the country. I don't care if you're too young to understand. Yes, they are pitiable circumstances, but I don't give a shit.

So all I'm saying is this:

There is no excuse available in this world for killing your baby.

I'm not saying it's easy. Of course it's not easy. The act of giving birth is hard enough as it is. Obviously it would be a million times harder and a million times more trying in the case of an unwanted baby. But this is not your life you're dealing with anymore. It's your baby's life. And your baby deserves every little inch of strength that you have.

I'm not asking that you keep it. I'm not even asking that you brave the people who will oppose you for it.

All I'm asking is that you have the decency to cover your baby up, put him or her on the doorstep of a decent house, ring the doorbell, and just leave. Or bring him or her to the hospital, near people, and leave. All I'm asking is that you give your baby a chance to live.

And ask for help. If there aren't any friends or family who can help, the Community Development Department at Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (tel: 2382911) are an excellent team who can help and will help if you ask for it.

You may not have the means or the strength to handle a little person, but there are millions out there, even in this country, who would kill for the chance to take care of your baby.

No one deserves to be a victim of your stupidity.

Agree or disagree my fellow readers, I really don't care.

Equus Caballus

2007-02-24T10:13:00.000+08:00

First, I must insist to all those who actually take the time out to read my blog that I have no weird perversion to horses. Although, yes, I am born in the year of the Horse, and yes, I respect the strong four-legged hoofers (one broke Madonna's leg in three places, I don't think I'd be able to successfully hurt Madonna in three places), the reason for all the postings of the Horse has nothing to do with an odd-but-passionate loving for the Horse.

And while we're at it, nothing to do with me fancying little Harry Potter either. C'mon. Oliver Wood was miles hotter.

1. Harry Potter and his gonads

A third and yet more revealing (and when I mean revealing I mean bare naked as God intended) picture of the Harry Potter with the same horse. It's a promo poster for the same Equus play. And now I'm wondering how I'll be able to watch the fifth Harry Potter movie this year without shuddering.

Credits to The Superficial for the info and the picture of Mr. T (who's awesome).

2. Zoo

It's a movie.

What kind of a movie, do I hear you ask?

Words fail me. And words don't usually fail me.

Check it out.

* * * *

Note: For all you dirty-minded people out there, Equus Caballus is a fancy word for horse. It has nothing to do with a horse or its balls.

For All My Girls

2007-02-21T17:03:00.001+08:00

Bananarama. You just gotta love it.

The Grammys vs. American Idol

2007-02-20T16:27:00.000+08:00

The Grammys vs American Idol facts and speculations:

Fact: The Grammys aired the same time as American Idol did last year and lost viewers by the millions.

Speculation: Is that why they played it on a Sunday this year?

Fact: They have this whole My Grammy Moment where there are auditions and a final three and the winner gets the dubious honor of being overshadowed by Justin Timberlake.

Speculation: Kind of American Idolesque, no? Trying to beat the competition by taking a chip off the competition's block?

Fact: the My Grammy Moment contest winner was one Robyn Troup, who was also an American Idol reject (apparently she passed the first auditions and got axed at the Hollywood Trials).

Speculation: So not only did the whole My Grammy Moment thing stink of American Idolesque intentions, the chick who won was someone The Three Wise Ones (or you know, Cowell, Jackson and drunk-but-in-denial Abdul) thought was not worthy enough to go on the sacred and blue neon American Idol stage.

Fact: Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, both American Idol winners, have won a Grammy.

Speculation: Makes you wonder if John Mayer would have gotten past the auditions. I would like to think so, as I love John Mayer, but I can just see Cowell going: "Yes, you're very talented but you're just not star material. Sorry."

On a non-Grammy-award-nominee turn, check The Magic Numbers out. They weren't nominated. But I likes em.

The Bald and The Britney

2007-02-20T14:17:00.000+08:00

Um.

Reasons why this was such a bad idea:

1. She already looked like a crack-whore with hair. Now she still looks like a crack-whore except now she doesn’t have hair to hide her face behind.

2. You don’t have to be a professional hairdresser to know that when a woman decides to take that step to shave her head, she should at least look like a woman. With womanly face features and shapes. And a chin for the love of God. Then people wouldn’t think that she’s a male crack-whore.

3. You would need to be either extremely beautiful or extremely cool to pull off the bald look, and Britney Spears is only extremely bleurgh.

4. There is no better way to tell the public that you’re on your way to a hella bad breakdown. You might as well have a failed suicide attempt. At least then the world might pity you.

5. It confirms the theory that you can take the woman out of the white trash but you can't take the white trash out of the woman.

I didn't know whether to laugh or to scream in horror.

Now if you’re still feeling antsy for a little bit of horrifying viewing, go check out Harry Potter’s bare ass. It looks barely legal.

Another Long Weekend

2007-02-17T11:33:00.000+08:00

Another long weekend has cometh, and there is no free time in the near foreseeable future. The plans I have consist of things that have nothing to do with Chinese New Year, which works, seeing as I'm not Chinese.

What I do have this weekend however, is one free Saturday afternoon. Calculating that in percentage, I'm thinking about 50% of that will be dedicated to The Bear, maybe 20% dedicated to packing (for the long weekend, we're off to exotic Lambak), another 5% getting my baju kurong + tudong ensemble ready for the early trip to a wedding tomorrow morning (a sightseeing tour of exotic Labi), and the remaining 25% wholly dedicated to doing absolutely nothing (which means I'll be loafing around watching Scrubs, or maybe if the damn Internet has been nice today, watching the 15th episode of Heroes).

Funny how the long weekend - never mind if I have plans or no - always manages to expand my wishlist. My own personal wish list would be a list of items amounting up to zero. I'm far from being the chick who needs a bunch of expensive gadgetry, and I can always make do with what clothes or make-up I have until they deteriorate into nothingness. But the long weekend is always a stretch of the imagination, and being a chick who does not like having nothing to do when there's nothing to do and will not have the Internet and Astro at her disposal for times like these, my wishlist suddenly notches up to two:

1. A laptop.
2. An iPod video.

Really, either one will do. That iPod video would help miracles on the trip to Labi, I'm telling you.

Until Tuesday dudes and dudettes. Have a nice long weekend, and for all those who celebrate it: Happy Chinese New Year.

V-Day

2007-02-14T15:07:00.000+08:00

Today is a day that I have been dreading for some time now : the day that The Bear takes his flu Vaccination #2 (V-Day = vaccination day. Yes I'm a sad lover and abuser of syllables). I'm pretty sure most mothers understand me on this, especially when considering the time The Bear took vaccination numero uno two months ago:

1. He refused to sit still (not for the injection, but for the sake of not sitting still).
2. The nurse seemed especially flappy that day (I'm not complaining - the nurses over at the Sungai Besar clinic are usually very calm, attentive and lovely ladies).
3. The Buzz did not take kindly to the flappy nurse and decided to tell her so (in not so many words).
4. I had to forcibly pin The Bear down amid all of this lunacy which in my experience, from the day The Bear discovered he has muscles, is no easy task.
5. As we had no idea there was a flu vaccination to be taken that day, we were not armed with any form of candy or toys to calm The Bear down.

So this morning, armed with The Bear, The Buzz and a lollipop stashed away, we took in a collective deep breath and braved the medical masses, with a plan The Buzz formulated over the past two months:

1. Don't be sitting down in the Chair of Needle Fury right until the very second the nurse is ready to administer the shot.
2. Keep The Bear distracted and out of sight of anything remotely needley until then.
3. Wear a t-shirt with sleeves easy to pull up so to not have to be bothering about a tight sleeve on top of all else.
4. Bring a form of distraction when comes the moment (The Bear's current love - strawberry Chuppa Chupps lollipops).
5. Bring Tini for muscle reinforcements.

Note : We were hesitant about No. 5, even though that was my idea, not for any reason to do with Tini being inefficient, far from it. It's just that with Tini taking care of The Bear the whole day and the parents only taking the nights, we've already formed this habit that whenever we take The Bear out, we never bring Tini along (unless she wants to, but she never usually does). It's Our Thang with The Bear - much like putting him to bed at night. Despite what a handful The Bear can be, essentially, he's just A Kid, so well within our realms of capability (we have to take turns to shop, as it's impossible to concentrate on yourself when The Bear is trying to lock himself in the dressing room or making a beeline for the escalators).

However, after the trials of the first V-Day, I have decided that this definitely was not within our realms of capability.

So we went. Went through the weigh-ins and nurse check-ups with minimal drama (The Bear does not do sitting still, and spends most of the clinic time zooming around like a hyper bird, only stopping to attempt to climb something monstrously unsafe or dismantle something monstrously expensive). Then came vaccination time.

And this is why Tini is such a star. Very unlike the flappy mother, we went through steps 1 to 4 before she clamped The Bear down and the nurse (an unflappable version) administered the shot as easy as pie. It was so un-melodramatic, in fact, so unlike the nightmares I have been having, that The Bear squeezed out two tears only and by the time we were leaving the room, he was able to say a chirpy, "Thank you! Bye bye!" to the bemused nurse.

Then we went home, and went through the whole medicine ordeal at home, and everything was right as rain.

So pretty much, I was worrying for nothing. I think I might be able to handle the next one alone with The Buzz. Just do as Tini does: give lollipop, clamp down, administer, release.

Til next time lovelies, and remember: do take the Internet line away from your Internet-addicted little sister at all times for purposes of downloading Heroes episode 12, 13 and 14. It's well worth it.

The Grammys

2007-02-13T15:46:00.000+08:00

So the Dixie Chicks have won their three hundredth Grammy (it feels like), and the extremely coveted Record of the Year and Album of the Year, so despite the fact that I am no country fan and have subsequently not heard one warbling song in 2006, the rest of the world obviously did. So well done, Dixie Chicks.

Rock disappointed. Not that I don't love Red Hot Chili Peppers, I just wish the new blood had come into play this year. Much like the rest of the years. Especially whenever U2 wins something. I mean, I love U2 and all (although, admittedly, I'm loving the Joshua Tree U2 more than the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb U2), but give the kids a chance, eh?

And unlike the weirdness that was the 'Across The Universe' performance last year, I loved the performance by Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend (yummy) and John Mayer this year.

So, rounding up the grammys:

Happiest Win of the Night:
John Mayer's Continuum for Best Pop Vocal Album

What-The-Hell-Was-She-Doing-There Celebrity of the Night:
Natasha Bedingfield

The Hunkiest Hunk that Hunked of the Night:
John Legend (natch)

'How on God's Green Earth Could That Crap Even Be Nominated' of the Night:
Smack That by Akon featuring Eminem nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

'Dude Who Didn't Win Though Nominated a Million Times Despite Having a Voice That Either Makes Me Fall Into a Nightmare-Infested Sleep or Turn Suicidal' of the Night:
James Blunt

Favorite Performance of the Night:
The Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and John Mayer performance

Most Amazing Performance:
That little Chinese chick played the hell out of that violin

'Thought She Was Dead But She Won Best New Artist' of the Night:
Carrie Underwood

'Chick Who Sang Good But Screamed The Hell Out Of My Ears' of the Night:
Christina Aguilera

'So Happy He Won As He's One of The Few Rap Artists I Like Although This Is Not Because of His Music But Because of His Role in Crash' of the Night:
Ludacris' Release Therapy won Best Rap Album

Revelation of the Night:
Had no idea that Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli in 'Heroes' - flying dude) was married to one of the Dixie Chicks.

Undeniable Music Category of the Year:
Country

Just my two cents, dudes and dudettes. Time for a Nescafe Tarik.

Harry Potter's Last Stand

2007-02-08T11:12:00.000+08:00

Found out that the 7th and last book in the phenomenally successful Harry Potter series will be officially released at midnight, 21st July of this year. About a whole bunch of years and a whole bunch of million copies sold after the first one.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's the last one. The. Very. Last. One.

At the risk of sounding like a sap, I'm both an excited bunny and a sad rabbit at the news. Excited because it's the new book and after being a faithful follower for so long, getting excited about it is like a built-in reflex action. And I'll love the book regardless of whether or not I actually do love the book. And sad because it's the last one. No more Harry Potter. No more Ron Weasley. No more Hermione Granger. No more Lord Voldemort. No more Hagrid. No more Professor McGonagall. No more... okay, snapping out of it.

So, it's February, about four months to go until July, which gives me ample time to do what I usually do pre-new-Harry Potter book-release i.e. to reread the last two books to jog up the old memory before I start on the new one.

In other news, I find that my memory has gotten worse. I had to double-check the title of the 7th book about three times while writing this post. Was it Harry Potter and the Deathly Gallows? No, Death Gallows. Death Hallows? Dead Hallows?

Can't wait to find out who R.A.B. is. I've got my conspiracy theories. I'm sooo ready for it.

Diamond, Bloody Diamond

2007-02-07T16:04:00.000+08:00

Congrats to me for successfully watching yet another three-hour long movie without falling asleep!

Damn.

There aren't a lot of movies out there who has me sitting back, saying "My word!" (complete in uppercrust Brit accent), and thinking about the movie hours after it's finished.

What can I say about 'Blood Diamond'? Well. Watch it. Understand it. Be informed. Allow for each brutal and tender scene to rape your eyesight into submission (there were a lot of scenes I just did not want to watch, at the same time I couldn't help but watch).

Not that it's a perfect movie. There were times, for sure, that I thought maybe Edward Zwick's message to the world (somewhere along the lines of "wake up and do something already you dudderingly dumb and ignorant fools") came across a little too strong and disrupted the flow of the script, and sure, sometimes Solomon screamed too much, and sometimes Jennifer Connelly looked a little too pretty for someone who has been knee-deep in a godforsaken jungle in the middle of a godforsaken civil war, and sometimes Leo's accent confused me (not always though, it was usually spot on), and sometimes I understood that Leo wouldn't win an Oscar for this movie, but overall?

Well done, Mr. Ed Zwick. I get it. I get the gist. I'm looking at my engagement and wedding rings suspiciously.

But aside from the film's underlying message, it's a good and entertaining movie, and shouldn't be missed for that fact alone.

Warning to all smokers: Leo smokes in almost every scene. And it's a long movie. You will get antsy to spark up. The Buzz and I had a break into its first hour for nicotine relief.

Until next time party people, and remember: avoid conflict diamonds, no matter how pretty they look.

Tagged once more

2007-02-06T11:11:00.000+08:00

All this tagging palaver.

"Each player of this game starts out by giving 6 weird things about themselves. People who get tagged need to write in a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rules clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names."

Anyway, I was quite willing to ignore this whole being 'tagged' business but unfortunately, I live with the person who tagged me and she will quite possibly not let up until I tell the whole world (or the world who reads my blog) 6 random facts about myself. Because 70 questions two weeks ago wasn't already too much info for anyone.

Righto.

1. My tongue is a thermometer. No, actually, it's more like an indicator. I can tell when I'm going to get sick before I even have an inkling of a notion that I'm getting there by reading the blotches on my tongue. It's weird.

2. I was Scrabble Champion in the Scrabble Championships three years in a row at my old school. Yes, that does make me a nerd. Despite this, I have never beaten my sisters at the game.

3. The closest people in the world to me are my sisters. We talk the same, laugh the same, say the same things, and despite not always being around each other, always find that we tend to have the same opinion about everything.

4. I. Hate. Onions. Onions are to me like garlic is to a vampire. If you ever have the misfortunate to meet me in the middle of the night in a dark alley in a bad mood with no make-up on, throw an onion in my direction and run for your life.

5. I'm a klutz. I might not look it, but I am. If there was a grade for klutzes, I'd say I average at a B- (The Buzz begs to differ - he thinks I could be the valedictorian in the University of Klutz, and student council president to boot).

6. I've read Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice at least nine times, from front to back (not including those other times when I went straight to my favorite parts). The result of this being that I've had about four copies of the book, one more dilapidated than the next, and begging for release from my Mr. Darcy hungry fingers.

Right, so this is the part where I tag six other poor bastards, but I'm not going to. Mostly because most of the people I know have already been tagged, partly because I'm just not that cruel.

Until next time ladies and gents.

Mawi truly is... World

2007-02-05T15:04:00.000+08:00

Through circumstances completely beyond my powers, I watched the Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian last night.

I paid little to no attention to what was going on, but a few things did manage to catch my interest.

1. Misha Omar is a firm user of botox. Who is she trying to kid?
2. Through means that have nothing to do with beauty, talent or personality, Mawi's ex-fiance has gotten pretty famous (and her eyebrows, thank the stars, have been separated into two).
3. They're all on drugs. All of them. I leave no exceptions.
4. Siti Nurhaliza is pregnant. That's the best excuse I can come up with for her outfit.
5. Mawi will win any award that has his name up in the running.
6. Mawi was dressed like Colonel Sanders ready to take his lady friend out for a delightful evening out at the opera, and then perhaps to Captain Smith's mansion afterwards for a spot of brandy.

So Mawi won three awards (that I watched, he might have won more) - Best Male Singer, Best Duo, and the coveted Most Popular Artist (the names are quite apt - it felt like a prom). The first two awards I saw, the last one I guessed from Tini and my mother's happy screams.

The Bear, though failing to understand any of it, jumped up and down in ecstasy when Mawi went up to receive his awards. He was the happiest Bear alive. I defy any Mawi fan to have been as happy as The Bear was last night.

Which leaves The Buzz and I with this question of the week:

If Mawi came to Brunei (which, lets face it, is possible) - do we (for the sake of The Bear) or do we not (for the sake of our sanity) take The Bear to watch his concert?

In other news, I have a massive splitting headache. I use this as the reason why I cannot be arsed to go surfing for pictures of the event to post up. The other reason being that I'm at work and how embarassing if my colleagues saw me surfing for pictures of Mawi??

Harry Potter and his Goblets

2007-02-03T12:29:00.000+08:00

The way I see it there can only be a few logical reasons behind this:

1. He's trying to show the world that he has hairy pubes and is hence, a man.

2. He's trying to shed the Harry Potter image.

3. He's wild for horses.

4. He's a serious thespian and hence needs a serious thespian image with a serious thespian horse to project this serious thespianage.

5. He's starring in a London revival of a play named Equus; a play with a scene which calls for Daniel Radcliffe to get completely nekkid while simulating sex whilst riding a horse. And that poor white horse is it. I can only imagine fans of Daniel Radcliffe squealing in delight (from outside the theater, as there would be an age limit, and all fans of Daniel Radcliffe range from ages 9 to 12).

So if you're in London, like theater, have cash, and have an interest in seeing Harry Potter's goblets portrayed for the world to see, it'll be playing at the Gielgud Theatre in London from 16 Feb.

Or if you're not in London and do not have a pre-teen girl crush on Daniel Radcliffe, then close your eyes, stick your fingers in your ears, go lalalalala and attempt to tuck that image away into the dark recesses of your mind where it will never ever see the light of day, ever again.

Things I gotta do

2007-02-01T16:04:00.000+08:00

1. Buy belated birthday present for The Buzz.
2. Remind The Buzz of wedding anniversary on February 7th.
3. Buy The Bear something big and expensive (swing or playhouse? hmmm).
4. Buy a Terry Pratchett book.
5. Bake cupcakes with Finbo for Sunday bash.
6. Find appropriate jim-jams for hen night (meaning find old t-shirt without a hole in it).
7. Make excuse to not attend staff dinner on Saturday.
8. Visit Mel and her new baby.
9. Watch Blood Diamond.
10. Finish antibiotics.

Seems pretty do-able, no?

On a side note, ate at re-vamped Aranda Cafe at D'Anggerek which re-opened this morning. Tiramisu and chocolate cake delish beyond words. Am not biased. I only speak the truth.

February Stars

2007-02-01T15:10:00.000+08:00

January is gone. And I'm quite happy to see it go. Obviously I don't know how January fared for the rest of the world but for me, it was a hell of a rollercoaster ride. And not the fun kind either.

I did manage to read Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters, Hat Full of Sky, Carpe Jugulum, Witches Abroad and then Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys and American Gods, all of which deserve a two hearty thumbs up each, all in one month (in two weeks, really, because when the books are that good, you make time for them). That was fun.

Mental note to self: traipse along to Ickle Books to stock up on more Terry Pratchett books.

But other than that, February, come on down!

An amazing thing happened to me yesterday. It was really fricking unbelievable. The postman came, and he delivered the Astro Guide for February!! The Astro Guide for February! One day before February! Watching a man give birth to a goat under a red moon and then spontaneously combust into flames before little green men come to pick up the ashes in front of my house would have been more believable than this.

But seriously, after getting my Astro guides at the very last week of its actual month for like, um, years (which apparently is nothing compared to others, who only receive theirs like once every three months), I've pretty much stopped using it completely. They're just collecting dust. Yesterday I was drooling all over it. Glad to see America's Next Top Model will be back (come on, you love it), and I see Scrubs will make an appearance on 28th February but it's at 5.30pm so I'm not sure if it'll just be a rerun or what.

Anyway, my point being that February's looking good so far, two public holidays and all, plus I've filled my sick quota for the next six months at least (I hope).

To follow Hazel's example: rabbit, rabbit. Didn't do that last month. Look where it got me.

On a side note, I watched Heroes last night, at 12.30 midnight. And except for the part when Nikki with the delayed reaction reflection ran out the backyard with cowboy boots over her jeans (Why? Why would anyone put cowboy boots on over their jeans? Why would people do this?), I was pretty pleased by it. I shall deign to watch it more often (will try to anyway; the only reason I was up at midnight was because the pills I took did not so much make me sleep as much as it made my bones feel like they were grinding into each other - oh precorts, you are the paradox of Heaven and Hell).

and I feel so much depends on the weather

2007-01-31T16:39:00.000+08:00

The rain. Oh my God. It's like trying to prove a point or something.

It's great in the mornings, feels like autumn in London (minus the hacking coughs and forced trips to the bathroom). But in the late daytime it feels like it can't make its mind up. Should I be hot? Or should I be cold? But oooh, lets make it interesting by not giving the sun some airtime and jazz it up with a few grey clouds instead and really make those buggering little humans confused, eh?

Still feel like crap after it's been crapped on. But with the new stock of precorts, I'm feeling a lot happier. I mean, like, a lot a lot. A lot.

The fact that The Buzz came by this afternoon armed with Season 4 of That 70's Show and a pretty little red T-shirt for me helped truckloads too :)

I almost feel good enough to have a cigarette. I mean, of course I won't, but I almost feel like it'll be okay. Like it won't end up with a lot of hacking coughs and curses to otherworldly beings. I mean I won't though, obviously. That'd be bad. Wouldn't it? No, no, bad. Bad.

Anyway, I'm feelng very cheery with American Idol in a few hours and Heroes on just after that - and although I probably wouldn't be able to watch Heroes as it's on at 9pm which is about the time when The Bear winds down with the good folks at Shrek, but hey, I'll just catch sneak glimpses. Or if I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll wait until 12.30 midnight to watch the repeat. I won't though. I'm just saying.

On a side note, I haven't washed my hair in three days. So I'm gonna say a great big HELLO to a bottle of shampoo tonight. And The Buzz will probably be a lot happier for it.

I've got a bad disease

2007-01-30T16:24:00.000+08:00

Am sodding sick.

I'm runny nose-talking funny-bad headaches-wheezing lungs-sore throat sick.

One of my fave chicas Mellings called me this afternoon and the moment I said, "Hello?" her reply was a definitive, "Woman, you sound like shit."

Durr and double durr.

Although being sick, also gives me some free time, which I rarely have. But free time comes with this annoying karma package whereby when you daydream of free time and what you would do once you have free time, that when you actually get the free time, you're standing around dubiously thinking, what was it I wanted to do again?

So I've been alternating with sleeping and channel surfing. And dudes, Astro has nothing good on in the daytime. Which means the Astro remote invariably goes back to number 63 (that's Playhouse Disney Channel for you non-parents), which The Bear loves, and which, I have to admit, gives me more entertainment value than reruns of the orange-tanned people at 'Bold and The Beautiful' or 'Desire: Table for Three'.

In other news, I haven't had a cigarette in two days. Not including the nine-month hiatus as of when I was preggers, two days is like, a world record.

A Birthday Ode to The Buzz

2007-01-29T10:10:00.000+08:00

Dear Buzz,

I swear I won't get sappy.

But there are things that you should know.

From the first time we met (to borrow the words from Aimee Mann):
"You look like a perfect fit."

Which progressed to (to quote from Bob Marley):
"Is this love, is this love, is this love, is this love that I'm feeling?"

To our happiest times (from the golden words of Stone Temple Pilots):
"If you should die before me, ask if you could bring a friend."

And to our most frustrating (as Lenny Kravitz put it):
"So many tears we've cried, so much pain inside, but baby it ain't over til it's over."

But no one knows you better than I do (concise and accurate from Radiohead):
"I know all the things around your head and what they do to you."

And no one knows me better than you (Alice in Chains aptly sings):
"I have been guilty of kicking myself in the teeth."

But you are the truest person I've ever known (said Red Hot Chilli Peppers):
"I could never change just what I feel, my face will never show what is not real."

And now I know (from the immortal words of The Beatles):
"It's real love. It's real."

And lastly (from the irrepressible Marvin Gaye):
"Let's get it on..."

I love you, my Buzz.

Happy Birthday :)

With love and hugs and kisses from,
your Love

A plague on both your houses!

2007-01-27T11:41:00.000+08:00

Or in this case, a tag on three of your blogs.

I've been tagged.

There are questions involved. And sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln, there's seventy of them.

I'll try and do 'em justice. I still have some caffeine in me and half an alert mind so, what the hell.

1) Are your parents married or divorced?
Divorced, and that ain't a bad thing.

2) Are you a vegetarian?
I hate onions too much to go over to the other side.

3) Do you believe in Heaven?
Yes.

4) Have you ever come close to dying?
Thankfully, no.

5) What jewellery do you wear 24/7?
My engagement ring, my wedding ring and my gold-star necklace that my sisters and lovely mom bought for me when I turned 18.

6) Favourite time of day?
After work.

7) Do you eat the stems of broccoli?
Totally.

8) Do you wear makeup?
It'd be an act of inhumanity to show my naked face to the world. So yes. But not so much.

9) Ever have plastic surgery?
Never.

10) Do you colour your hair?
No. I quite like my hair color the way it is.

11) What do you wear to bed?
An old shirt and The Buzz's shorts.

12) Have you ever done anything illegal?
Yep. This is Brunei. We all have.

13) Can you roll your tongue?
Yes.

14) Do you tweeze your eyebrows?
Definitely.

15) What kind of sneakers?
Converse and Nikes.

16) Do you believe in abortions?
Only in extreme incidents. And I mean extreme as in The Cider House Rules extreme.

17) What is your hair color?
Dark brown. Just because I like my hair color don't mean it's pretty.

18) Future child’s name?
I choose if it's a boy and The Buzz chooses if it's a girl. So if it's a boy, Omar. If it's a girl, Nadia or Rania.

19) Do you snore?
Apparently I do some pretty bad-ass snoring. I could give a lot of dudes out there with sinus problems a run for their money.

20) If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?
Tuscany. It's quaint and I love it.

21) Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
No. I sleep with The Bear's foot in my stomach.

22) If you won the lottery, what would you do first?
Pay off all the bills, take my loved ones for a cruise around the world, take The Buzz to Amsterdam, take The Bear to Disney World, then buy land in Tuscany and retire there. And make cheese.

23) Gold or Silver?
Silver.

24) Hamburger or hot dog?
Burger. The double-cheese variety.

25) If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Fried mee hoon, my mom's style.

26) City, beach or country?
For a holiday - city.

27) What was the last thing you touched?
My keyboard.

28) Where did you eat last?
Home.

29) When’s the last time you cried?
Last week. Sometimes I get my bouts of emo.

30) Do you read blogs?
Religiously.

31) Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex?
Do that all the time.

32) Ever been involved with the police?
Sure. Was raised by one.

33) What’s your favourite shampoo conditioner and soap?
I don't have a favorite shampoo conditioner, but I love the Waitrose shower gels.

34) Do you talk in your sleep?
No. I used to, though.

35) Ocean or pool?
Pool.

38) Window seat or aisle?
Aisle seat for the convenience. I go to the loo a lot. Apparently that's healthy.

39) Ever met anyone famous?
Err... yes (wondering if the Alleycats and that Freedom singer count).

40) Do you feel that you’ve had a truly successful life?
Can't complain.

41) Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?
Twirl - with tomato-splattered results.

42) Ricki Lake or Oprah Winfrey?
Oprah.

43) Basketball or Football?
Soccer.

44) How long do your showers last?
10 minutes, but during a leisurely day, I can go 15.

45) Automatic or do you drive a stick?
During the rare times I get the chance to drive, it's always automatic.

46) Cake or ice cream?
Ice-cream.

47) Are you self-conscious?
Usually.

48) Have you ever drank so much you threw up?
Unfortunately.

49) Have you ever given money to a beggar?
Yes.

50) Have you been in love?
Yes.

51) Where do you wish you were?
Home.

52) Are you wearing socks?
No.

53) Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
No.

54) Can you tango?
No, but I wish I could.

55) Last gift you received?
A rose from The Buzz :)

56) Last sport you played?
Pool. Billiards, I mean. The one that requires the least amount of muscle work.

57) Things you spend a lot of money on?
The Bear's creams.

58) Where do you live?
Mentiri.

59) Where were you born?
At the old hospital, BSB.

60) Last wedding attended?
It was some do in Labi, at one of the in-law's.

63) Most hated food?
Onions. Especially fried.

64) What’s your least favourite food?
Lumpy and cold Quaker Oats porridge.

65) Can you sing?
Not in public. The shower gel bottles really appreciate my tenor, though.

66) Last person you instant messaged?
Aidy.

67) Last place you went on holiday?
Kota Kinabalu.

68) Favourite regular drink?
Coca-cola! Oh, and Nescafe Tarik. I'm a sucker for the caffeine.

69) Tag 3 friends:
So who else do I unleash seventy questions to? Erm.... zimmie, mama and bex (sorry dudes).

70) Current Song?
That I'm currently listening to? Little Sister by Queens of the Stone Age.

Big thanks to the lovely Emma for tagging me :)

Medicinal Tactics 101

2007-01-25T17:03:00.000+08:00

1. Arm yourself with a syringe.

2. Fill syringe with medicine.

3. Bring victim out for a walk. Hide syringe behind back.

4. Point out things that he loves to see (e.g. lizards - I hate em, but a mother's gotta do what a mother's gotta do).

5. When victim is at his least watchful, aim syringe at mouth and inject a bit of the medicine (not all, just a bit).

6. Victim blinks like what just happened there?, decides to ignore it, and continues trying to bat the lizard off the wall.

7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 until all of the medicine is finished.

It works! I swear it does! It takes about twenty minutes longer than the hold-down-arms-force-down-throat routine, but it's just so much easier on the nerves, plus, you can be sure that he actually swallows the whole thing.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work on antibiotics. There is no tactic in the world that would work when it comes to thick orange gunk antibiotics. Not even on adults.

Until next time, good people, and remember: slow and steady wins the race.

Fever!

2007-01-24T15:22:00.000+08:00

Not the fabulous kind. More the runny nose, high temperature, sore throat, constant coughs variety. Which is cool, because I can handle fevers. What makes it difficult though, is when you don't have a fever but instead, your son does.

And seeing as The Bear is no friend to medicine (not that any kid is), The Buzz and I obviously have our work cut out for us. I mean I thank God for the fact that The Bear so rarely feels poorly (and even if he does, it rarely deters him from his energy streak - few things slow that kid down), and when he is ill, he's such a strong little boy about it, and hardly gives his parents any trouble.

But... when you're onto his second medicine (the thick pink one, the one for the fever, I'm sure every one of you are shuddering from the memory of that one), and he's cowering in the corner shaking and crying and pleading, "No mama no mama no mama".... it just tears you to shreds. All I can say to this is: thank God for Tini's perseverance.

Motherhood, it has to be said, cannot be for the weak of will. But if you are weak-willed, it helps if you have a strong-willed Tini on board.

In other news, Andy Roddick and The Federer will be playing each other in the semi-finals. And one week to go to Heroes. What would I do without television? Possibly rock back and forth in my couch potato position imagining images on a blank wall. Or you know, read.

a review six months too late

2007-01-23T16:13:00.000+08:00

My faith in Leonardo DiCaprio has been restored.

About six months after my first initial promise to watch the movie (procrastinators never say die), I finally watched 'The Departed'. And I have to say, it was goooood.

If you were a normal person (which is about 33% of the world's population right now, I think - all us freaks came out to play in the new millenium), you would possibly judge a movie by how good the action/drama/script/acting/direction/camera-angles/buggerall is, and while I still do think the direction, cinematography and script is the primo factors of the overall quality of a movie, nowadays, I tend to judge by whether or not I'll be awake by the end of it. Watching it from 11.30 pm and still shaking like a leaf for Billy's life by 2 a.m. told me, surely, this movie deserves a five star rating.

And aside from the fact that the movie made a good alternative to caffeine, the movie would have been nothing without the actors, and I have give props, props and more props to Leo, the dude who was going bonkers from paranoia, and Jack Nicholson, who scared the living crap out of me.

Not to mention the man behind the camera himself, Martin Scorsese.

And now I wanna watch Blood Diamond, never mind the negativity surrounding Leo's South African - sometimes - British - sounds - American accent.

Oh, and I watched the Da Vinci Code too. I read the book, and will make no comparisons, but the only few facts I could gather from the whole thing was:

1. Tom Hanks shoulda been Russell Crowe (or Clive Owen)
2. Tom Hanks should cut his hair
3. Audrey Tatou has no chemistry with Tom Hanks because he's Tom Hanks and who the hell would have chemistry with Tom Hanks?
4. After three hours, I really couldn't give a rat's ass about the Holy Grail

Otherwise, not bad.

American Idol tomorrow (yayyyy!!)

Oh, and Henry sucks big ugly eggs.

Zimmie is the bestest nephew in the world!!

2007-01-21T23:50:00.000+08:00

Why, I hear you ask?

Well, a) because he just is.

And b) because he set-up, designed, re-designed, chopped off unnecessary bits to make this spankingly new (not to mention a little too frighteningly hip) blogger template layout thing!

Which took up most of the Sunday afternoon and a little bit of Sunday evening to accomplish. Which he volunteered to do, because he's got such a good little heart (background noises of auntie getting down to do some major gushing).

With a little instructional help from Le Fidbit, natch.

And so now, my template is orderly, my fonts are all the right size, and I get this cool little banner thing on top too.

One last big thank you (I have to be shameless with the gratitude you see, seeing as I'm not paying the kid, and I, as auntie, know firsthand how hard it is to get the boy to get you a glass a water, much less a whole new template, so you just gotta be gracious) to the biggest deshky in the world.

Love you loads, punk.

Okay. It's 5 minutes past 11 pm, which means it's way past my bedtime, which means I'm knackered, but at the same time, I wanna watch the Man United vs Arsenal match. I mean, my heart's really into it, but my eyes are so not, but what the hell, maybe I'll just try to watch the first half or just get The Buzz to wake me up when someone scores a goal (because nothing cheers me up more than the downfall of Arsenal).

I need good news. Chelsea got trashed last night. By Liverpool. Words.... they just... they can't describe the utter humiliation. They can't. There are no words.

Three cheers for sweet television shows

2007-01-19T16:29:00.000+08:00

TV days are here again!

Not that TV days ever actually left.

But you see, there has been nothing really truly good on TV for a long time. Lost? Give me the third season already, and sometimes, the conspiracies can be a bit TOO conspirational, okay? Alias? Nearly there (and just as nearly losing interest quick - Sark the hottie shows up mostly at the last two episodes only, durr and double durr). America's Next Top Model? Done - and damn it I really wanted Joanie to win, but at least Jade didn't, so that's okay. Oh, and shut up Tyra. Project Runway? Shut up Heidi - wife - of - Seal - who - looks - like - she - could - never - have - birthed - two - children - must - have - sold - her - soul - to - the - devil. Amazing Race? Don't get me started. Smallville? Lex Luthor is its only saving grace; even Clark Kent annoys me now, and Clark Kent shouldn't annoy anybody.

But, with the last good show saying its farewell this Monday (bye House MD), I thank God and all the little angels above for giving me American Idol again.

Yes. I like American Idol. No, I love American Idol. I love all the goofiness, the obvious set-up of bad singers, the bad jokes, the cruelty, the paradox of the occasional graciousness... I love it even though it has gone less reality show and more made-for-tv. And while I think Randy tries too hard and Paula Abdul's still a drugged up/drunk lush on crack and that maybe, just maybe, Simon needs to employ just a little bit more manners, I love the criticisms.

And don't lie, you love the criticism too. You might hate Randy, Paul and Simon Cowell, but once The Simon tells the contestant the very same criticism you thought up in your head, you swell up a bit, look at Simon with a smile and say, "Yes, that's my Simon. We're on par, you know. We think alike." Or at least, I do anyway.

The best part about American Idol? Reading the recap on Television Without Pity the day after.

And with Heroes, Scrubs and That 70's Show coming up, and the lovely reruns of Friends (you can't beat the first two seasons) they've been airing, I'm pretty much set.

And while we're at it, The Buzz is quite thankful for the Australian Open.

Now, kind people at Astro, if you could just hurry up with Prison Break, that'd be nice too.

Sleepless nights...

2007-01-18T12:06:00.000+08:00

... are a fricking major pain in the bum.

The Bear, possibly in collaboration with the turning-two-years-old event, has decided to not sleep at nights.

And yes, I know what all the mothers in the world would say: it's not that he decided it. It's due to some psychological nature of the pre-school kind, and the little tyke can't help it if he's not sleepy during the times when most rational adults are.

No, I'm pretty sure this little Bear thought it over in his head, weighed the pros and cons, and decided for himself that sleeping at nights are hereby out of the question. Because I see him, lying in my arms, about to drift off to slumberland where all the little tykes meet to play some more, and just as quickly as his eyes threaten to close, he gives a little shake of his head, shakes off his fatigue, gets up, and starts zooming around the room like a toddler on speed.

Then he wants us to play Akademi Fantasia, and alternately, Mawi's new album. And this is barely reaching the limits of 'okay' at 9 p.m. at night. Please just imagine what this could do to a person's brain at 2 a.m. I swear, I've found the most effective form of torture EVER. You have some questions and someone won't give you answers? Lock him up in a room with a kid who refuses to sleep, play the Akademi Fantasia theme song about thirteen times, alternate with first three songs on Mawi's new album for about five times, and repeat pattern until kid sleeps. He'll cave. Trust me.

For answers of the baffling-toddler variety, I always look upon my trusted Babycenter for help. From pre-pregnancy to pregnancy to birth to babies to toddlers to preschoolers, Babycenter has proven to be the, um, center of all questions baby related. And the best part of it is that they come with viewer comments, which usually come in the form of equally-frustrated mothers seeking or giving advice of the same problems you yourself are going through.

Their answer to Bear's nocturnal habits? This, too, shall pass. It's a transition most toddlers go through, and while they give tips to help urge the little 'uns to sleep, they give no promises that they would work (and no, they didn't work), only persisting that the efficacy of the clockwork that spins the relentless and arduous never-ending challenges of parenthood takes resilience and patience, and if you don't got that, then what the hell kind of parent are you anyway? (although not, of course, in those very words).

Meaning, for the meanwhile, I can cross off 'drink less coffee' from my list of New Year's resolutions and stock up on those Nescafe 3-in-1's. And buy some eye-gel. And more concealer. 'Coz baby, mama's gonna be needing it.

The Blogosphere is a large one

2007-01-16T15:44:00.000+08:00

Not to mention confusing.

I'm a relative newbie in the world of bloggers (or just plain 'newbie'), meaning that while I can talk the talk I'm still a little shaky on walking the walk. There are things about blogs that just... simply... baffles me back to ten years ago when the Internet was not such a big thing then and I was still on top of the barely modernizing world (my talents may not be much, but I knew things about Microsoft Word that Microsoft had no idea about).

So I started a blog. And along came an influx of information that my still-backward mind is still finding difficult to come to terms with.

Like:
What the hell are 'hit counters'?
'Technorati'? Ngeh?
How did he/she know that I linked him/her when I had no idea that he/she linked me?
Register then post video on YouTube so you could post it up but HOW?
And after you've done so, how do you put the video at the bottom of the blog instead of the very top?
Why is my blogskin the most disorganized looking template ever known to mankind?
How do people know my IP address and why don't I know theirs?
I can blog through my mobile phone??
... these, and more questions

Then I try to get the savvy ones to explain it to me, but the downshot of this being that they're explaining it like you should explain it to a twenty-eight year old, instead of a two-year old, which is my mental capacity for the Internet at this point.

But I'm not one to give up when the going gets tough (or when the going gets more technologically baffling), so, little by little I try.

Ladies and gentlemen, position your eyes on the right side of the screen, below the interesting blogger sidebar (as I said before, me + templates = cold war fusion), at the very unimpressive amount as displayed by my new hit-and-miss-and-hit again hit counter!

I think I might have put a little too many zeroes on it.

In other news, I can't wait to go home to The Bear and ambush Zimmie's Guitar Hero. See, that's stuff I can actually do.

Kool with a K

2007-01-16T14:50:00.000+08:00

Despite three back-to-back meetings this afternoon, I can't seem to get my mind around work. This is due, largely, to the renovations that have been taking place in the area and in my head. The drilling, it just don't stop. I mean it does, for a while, and then, yup, there it is again.

The sounds, barely within hearing distance in the public areas, seem to be trying their darndest to make up for this fact by amplifying ten-fold in my little office.

The upshot of this is me, doing the otherwise unrecommended and simultaneous mind-fuck job of doing my work whilst surfing at the same time (a talent, I know, lies in many employees).

And I came across the Visit Brunei blog. Do check it out, even if you are Bruneian, as the pictures there are so good that it makes you sit back for a while, start imagining going on holiday to a place as beautiful as this, until your brain catches up with you and reminds you that that's your country that's looking good there. Then you puff up with pride a bit. Which is always nice.

The drilling has started. Sounds like a good time for a smoke break. Or a Nescafe Tarik. Or both.

The Bear's Birthday Bash

2007-01-16T13:03:00.001+08:00

Both uneventful and perfect in that sense.

We had decorations. Decorations committee consisting of The Buzz, Fid and I. Head of committee being The Buzz. This involved a lot of balloon blowing and tying and sticking up on walls. After all, what's a two year old boy's birthday bash without the prerequisite loss of lung air and sellotape in hair?

Then there was the birthday cake.

Thankfully, The Bear did not, as I anticipated, get up and kick it and then scream GOALLLL at the top of his tiny lungs. He did, however, manage to get a couple of fingers into the cream before the candles got blown out. He did so like the cream.

Then, with a lot of planning and discussing and brain-bashing between adults (yet it was 12 year old Imah who figured it out), we discovered the optimum way to cut the cake.

Then there were gifts.

And then there was the monster gift, a slide as tall as me (note: must have competent adult supervision) a surprise from his doting Nana.

Then there was general merriment (read: chaos) all around.

Note to self: next year, The Bear gets less cake. Being the kind of kid who zooms around on a natural sugar high, the mass amount chocolate moist cake accelerated it to levels unknown.

What a cutie though.

A special mention to The Buzz, without whom, as he possesses the analytical skill for good delegation (Fid got to blow the hard way while he got the balloon pump), the eye for good (and cheap) decorating, and the love to by hook or by crook, make it a birthday for The Bear to remember, this birthday bash would perhaps not have been such a success.

Right, and thanks Fid, for the pics.

All in all, a good birthday. Tiring, but satisfying. Can't wait for next year. Ish.

The weekend ahead...

2007-01-13T11:36:00.000+08:00

... is a long but happy one.

First off, there's Zimmie's birthday/bouncer-with-pool do in the afternoon.

Then there's Ilham Bear's Nike football cake presentation in the evening.

And onto the next day where the lovely Aidy is getting officially engaged.

The weekend promises to be a good one.

However, being the kind of person who likes her private down-time, in fact, goes so far as to create opportunities for a little private down-time, picture me at the end of all of this, feet up on the table, cigarette in hand, Terry Pratchett's Witches Abroad in the other hand, and an ice-cold orange squash on the ready (not the orange cordial Sun Valley stuff, no, I'm talking about the old-school masam orange squash variety). Although, depending on how hectic this all turns out to be, just dead asleep with make-up on.

Or I might venture on to watch The Departed, which I have not gone around to watching yet, or Little Miss Sunshine, which I also have not watched yet. Life of a mother: mentally difficult DVDs take a back seat, yet I can quote you from the beginning to the end of Toy Story 1 & 2, Monsters Inc., Shrek 1 & 2, The Incredibles, and a bunch of others (I kid you not).

I have not, however, gone so far as to memorize the lines of the Akademi Fantasia theme song. That's one point for motherhood, baby!

Have a nice weekend, dudes and dudettes.

Happy Birthday Bear!!

2007-01-13T11:26:00.000+08:00

The Bear (unless through some genius genetic thread that would him a prodigy on top of being the cutest kid in the world) obviously cannot read, but how unmotherly would it be of me to not do the prerequisite gushing of the Birthday boy.

Hence, Happy Birthday my handsome Ilham Bear!! Mama loves you a million trillion squillion billion more than anything ever in the world xox

And naturally, what kind of mother would I be if I were to not post up pictures of The Bear as proof of what a handsome deshky he is?

What's with today, today?

2007-01-12T14:26:00.000+08:00

First off:

Happy birthday to my beloved meshke angel fluff deshky angel wuszhe love-of-my-life-aside-from-The-Bear little drummer punk Zimmie!

And a little less enthusiastic (coz that ain't cool) but equally heart-felt Happy Birthday to my comrade in the Intellectual Debutante category Zippy.

And even though you're not reading this Han, happy birthday dude.

And because January is so chocked full of birthdays (The Buzz on the 28th, other good friends on 19th, 27th and 31st respectively), the fact that The Bear's birthday is tomorrow does not make life easier (nor does it make my life cash-abundant). But as the little dude is only turning two years old, so just a little OTT cake and closest family members need apply.

The OTT cake? At 46 bucks a pop, I get a replica of a Nike ball, and a forced use of imagination on how to cut the damn thing.

Of course, with The Bear's love for all things sphere-shaped, he might just get up on the table and attempt to kick it instead.

Pasti berjaya di Akademi Fantasia!

2007-01-11T15:50:00.000+08:00

Usually on weekdays, The Buzz drives down to my office, picks me up, and we go back home all the way over to the boondocks i.e. Mentiri just to spend lunch with The Bear.

This has nothing to do with that weird obsessiveness some working parents tend to have when, in particular, feeling guilty about the tyke spending more time with an emotionally detached amah than his loving parents, as our amah is quite possibly the equivalent of a super-amah and loves the tyke like he was her own. Sure, she has her ups and she definitely has her share of downs, but on the whole, I can easily say that I trust her with my son's life more than I would trust anyone else. And I say this with confidence. Having raised my oldest nephew to my youngest nephew, really, you can't doubt her.

One drawback to my wonderful Tini however, is her immovable love for Akademi Fantasia (season 3 - the Mawi season, oh yes, the Mawi season). Which might not be a drawback in itself, if this lunchtime The Buzz and I had not witnessed what we did.

Which is: The Bear dancing and singing along in perfect sync to the Akademi Fantasia theme song.

There was a time, yes, I will own there was once a time when The Bear was, beyond all reasoning, crazy about Akademi Fantasia and specifically, Mawi. The number of times my relatives burst into the 'Gadis Melayu' song while my son shook, rattled and rolled... it's enough to make any mother - who was once a heavy head-banger in the depths of the alternative era - want to scratch the Astro Ria channel out of their Astro channel list and throw it up like a brick to the unknown universe where it, and all the of Akademi Fantasia clan, could sing and prance along to no one's ears. Especially my Bear.

But he got past that. Especially since AF4 came and went like an unsuccessfully bad dream. He forgot about it.

Then Tini purchased the Mawi album and the glory days have come rushing in once more, and now my son, my precious Bear, refuses to sleep at night until he hears the AF theme song played at least thirteen times repeatedly, which is roughly around the same time when The Buzz and I reach a point past the madness level and are still accelerating ahead into oblivion.

While we watch him with an acidic mixture of equal parts goo at what a cutie he is and equal parts horror, and The Buzz tries to compensate by getting him to headbang along to the gang at Roadrunner United.

Say it ain't so, my dear Bear, say it ain't so.

But oh well, if that's what The Bear loves, that's what The Bear will get. If anyone sees The Buzz and I at a DVD shop next time, ducking by the Akademi Fantasia section and dressed incognito for fear of anyone recognizing us, just walk away dudes. For the love of God and all that is kind in this world. Just walk away.

Tis I, Sir Guy

2007-01-10T18:16:00.000+08:00

Like I said, there'd be proof:

Emma's Brunei Online 2006 is up and about, and I'm flattered that I'm one of them.

And as an added bonus, good fun and good food was on hand. But I gotta say this: no more making fun of models. Trying to keep your face in a stationary position while a mosquito is buzzing near your legs is no task for the weak-willed. Gotta support the tough work those gals are doing for the fashion industry.

This might be detrimental to this one and only picture of me that I would ever post up on this blog, but I wonder if anyone else notices how huge my ears look in this picture. Seriously. They look like bionic ears. Like they could start flapping and whisk me away to Timbuktu. Which would be cool. Imagine how much cash I could make out of being the One and Only Woman Ear-Flapper. I could charge people for rides, even. Hand out some peanuts and play an inflight movie. And really get that money-making venture sucker going, you know? Fly 3rdEye!

A million thanks to Emma for the grand idea and another million thanks to Fidbit for the awesome picture-taking and another million thanks to Mellie for making me look good and yet another million thanks to Emma, Fidbit, Mellie and Wen for making it all look so glamorous - zit-free, towel turban, mosquito bite on knee and all.

Weird Weekend

2007-01-06T11:41:00.000+08:00

Today, ladies and gentlemen, I have a photo shoot. I'm going to get made up and dressed up, and, there'll be a photographer, and then pictures, hence there will be evidence of myself done up to the nines. And you need evidence. Because no one I know can conceive of the idea of me in a lot of make-up. Hell, they had trouble believing it on my wedding day.

I never thought I'd ever say that I'd be having a photo shoot. Finally, the steps toward my life ambition to be a supermodel is underway!

In other news, my nail-biting record has reached a new high. I can't even boil water without the steam stinging the hell out of my fingers.

Welcome 2007!!

2007-01-04T13:53:00.000+08:00

.... about 4 days too late, but oh well.

Hope everyone had a good time welcoming the New Year, and for all our fellow Muslims, a good time during Hari Raya Aidiladha. And while I've heard the very opposite for the former (watching Star Wars for some people - which sounds like a good enough New Year's Eve to me, and just plain hanging out for others, which also sounds pretty good), I guess it doesn't matter in the long run. As long as it's spent with someone you love, someone you're cool with, or someone you can snog at midnight, then that's more than good enough.

Thankfully, with the very unfortunate exception of those really close to me who was not able to come along, I was able to spend it with The Buzz and a group of our closest friends in Kota Kinabalu. A place that scores high in the shopping category. And who needs to party when you can shop??

Although, truth be told, I wouldn't have minded crashing Oprah's shindig in South Africa (accommodation and party expenses paid for), apparently you'd actually have to BE somebody of substance in the world to do that, so dreaming ain't hurting either.

Anyway, I'm not sure how 2007 looks to the rest of the world, but it's looking like any ordinary old year in my book (and trust me, that's what I'm hoping for). But a year doesn't start off without the resolutions that you so steadfastly aim to achieve at the start of the year (which then dwindles and dies in that hole of unachieved goals by the end of the year), hence, here are my resolutions:

New Year's Resolutions:

1. Start exercising again.

2. Smoke less.

3. Read more books to The Bear (regardless of how he pointedly closes my lips with his fingers and shuts the book every time I try to do so).

4. Find, buy, read and conquer every Terry Pratchett book out there in this world.

5. And...

... Keanu, you will be mine. Oh yes. You will be mine.

Why I Love Thursdays

2006-12-28T15:17:00.000+08:00

Though to be honest, I've never been all crazy about Thursdays since Buffy decided to make all the Slayerettes actual Slayers hence obliterating any good storyline and hence leaving my Thursday slots thereby empty.

But last week, as an active member of the 'nothing good on tv so we'll just channel surf until we find something decent' couch potatoes club, I happened across Alias.

Now, Alias is something I used to watch on a regular basis, mostly thanks to the excellent acting by Jennifer Garner, the excellent face of Michael Vartan, and their undeniable chemistry, and the fact that I wholly respect JJ Abrams as a director.

But their scriptwriters! Holy cow. I'll tell you exactly why I stopped watching Alias, because over the space of five years, this is what has been happening:

First, there was this grad-student-by-day and government-agent-by-night kickboxing sweetheart by the name of Sydney Bristow who has a fiance named Danny. Then she found out that the government department SD-6 that she was working for was not so much, government, and more, terrorist, run by a sleazy character (and over five years the sleaziness don't stop) named Arvin Sloane. Then her fiance got killed. Then she found out her daddy was a part of SD-6 too, but was also a double-agent working for the CIA. Then she became a double-agent too. Then she had a really, really hot handler named Vaughn (who provided the necessary good-looking dude that she'll have the jones for to a T, as anyone who worked with him would have the jones for him). Then a shitload of shit happened. Her mommy, who was presumed dead, came back. And then she was evil. Then she was not. Then Sydney and Vaughn got together. Then her best friend Francie got cloned by an assassin and got killed and the Francie clone killed Sydney. Except she didn't. Because Sydney woke up two years later in Hongkong wondering fuck all and Vaughn had married a little tart with a bad accent. Then, as it turns out, that little tart was on the bad side after all and got killed, pretty unceremoniously, by Sydney and Vaughn. Then there was a half-sister who was also an agent, but in Argentina, whose father was Arvin Sloane and whose mother was Sydney's. Then Vaughn died, but not before saying his real name was not so much Vaughn and more Andre Michaux. Then Sydney got pregnant. And peppered along the way were lots of baddies, a couple of clones, a hot dude named Sark, and some old dude named Rambaldi who prophesized a lot of shit that started the digging of the grave hole where all decent plots go to die.

And that's just a summary. So as much as I did, initially, like Alias, after Vaughn made less of an appearance, I figured, what has this show got to offer me?

But last week came the appearance of this dude:

This is Julian Sark, played by David Anders. He's been a baddie since Season 1, but after Season 4, did not make much of an appearance anymore. He is, in a word, EVIL. But he packages it in such a manner that if it were on a sale, I'd buy it by the bulkloads and give them to my girls as presents so they could indulge in a little bit of yummy evil too (don't say I ain't generous).

Seriously. If he's evil, then I'm going on over to the dark side baby!

As this is the last season of Alias, and in some effort, maybe, to tie up all the loose strings (and there's a lot of them) or you know, loose plot, some old characters will be showing up. And David Anders is one of them.

Picture me on a couch, Astro remote in hand, AXN channel on, and David Anders smoldering at me through the screen. Sigh. Hence, I would like to thank David Anders and his seriously yummy serious face, for giving me something to look forward to on Thursdays.

Long live AXN.

R.I.P. Godfather of Soul

2006-12-26T14:26:00.000+08:00

On Christmas Day yesterday, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, died from severe pneumonia at the age of 73.

I'm going to play 'I Feel Good' in the office and crank it up loud, out of due respect to the awesomeness that was once James Brown (get down).

Rest in Peace, Mr. James Brown. You will be missed.

Merry Xmas!!

2006-12-25T12:34:00.000+08:00

To those out there who celebrate Xmas:

Hope everyone has fun tonight with whatever it is that you plan to do, whether it's a party, family dinner or just watching tv (which is what I'll be doing). And if you drink too much, don't be stupid enough to drive either.

I'm at work right now, but before any of you dispel any pity upon my person, tis not a bad thing. I've got my Nescafe Tarik, and I've got John Mayer on the mp3. That's considered a good day.

Lets just hope it remains quiet and peaceful, but if it doesn't, ain't no thang either.

Happy Xmas-ing/partying/dinner-ing/tv-watching everyone! Watch out for the road blocks.

Aquasurf Activities

2006-12-23T11:46:00.000+08:00

Aquasurf has got a great thing going with their watersports activities these holidays (and every other day). My sister, Kewpuss, has been going there on a regular basis (until a fever took over and told her to cease with the saltwater activities already) and I've seen the pictures and heard comments from other people who have gone there, so safe to say I've heard nothing but good things.

By the way, that Flying Fish activity, though not for the faint-hearted, looks like a fricking blast. My sister E, however, who has actually participated in these sports, is terribly partial to the parasailing. Up there in the sky with no one but company but the dude sitting next to you. I'd probably bring the mp3 and listen to Incubus' new album up there.

Anyway, call 8800002 (damn that's a cool number) or e-mail aquasurfwatersport@yahoo.com for more details.

Holidays!!

2006-12-23T10:54:00.000+08:00

Feeling a little extra festive this month, for more reasons to do with good TV than Santa Claus, but hey the idea is there.

I don't actually have any plans for Xmas holidays, having that plague that is one of the top causes for people staying home: Being Broke As Hell. But I have every intention of spending the holidays to the hilt with fun-filled activities that include swimming, sleeping in, eating, swimming, sleeping in, eating... (repeat until desired effect is achieved).

Not to mention some extra quality time with The Bear and The Buzz :)

Might spend some quality time with the second season of Prison Break too. Wentworth Miller and I have not been together for far, far too long. Although as The Buzz is not keen on Prison Break and even less keen on Wentworth Miller, we might just end up watching the third season of That 70's Show instead, which is all good.

And if you're reading this and are thinking, there is no point to this post, you're absolutely correct.

Have a nice long weekend, everyone.

Top Ten Guilty Pleasures

2006-12-22T10:33:00.000+08:00

A few nights ago, Finbo, Kewpuss, E and I got together at my house porch (the venue for a good pow-wow, or you know, good gossiping) for a few cigarettes and a cup of tea and, for the hell of it, listed our guilty pleasures in the form of movies.

Because while collectively, our favorite serious movies lean toward the ‘Braveheart’, ‘Goodfellas’, ‘Aliens’ and ‘Strictly Ballroom’, we must never, indeed should never, forget the in-between easy money fluff pieces with hardly a storyline, hardly a script, but a lot of good intentions that always, always, helps to put us in a good mood.

And so, with a big cheer to the readers while we toast our pride away, we have deduced, compiled, selected and then short-listed (yes, the amount of movies stopped, startlingly, at number 30) our Top Ten Guilty Pleasures.

(Due to our inability to come to an agreement as to which guilty pleasure should hold the numero uno spot, these movies are not in any order).

10. Can’t Hardly Wait

Added bonus: Seth Green. Ethan Embry’s cute and all, but Kenny, Seth Green’s character who wishes he was black, goes beyond all definitions of perfection.

Favorite scene: Any scene with Oz (I mean, Kenny) and Denise locked in the upstairs bathroom. Oh, and of course, the prerequisite happy ending when the two lead characters Preston and Amanda finally get it together, not because of Amanda though, but because Preston looks like a damn good kisser.

Favorite line: “Yo, I gotta have sex tonight!”

Sore point: Jennifer Love-Hewitt in extra simpering mode with an outfit that makes her resemble a Ventolin Inhaler with a wig. An annoying one, at that.

9. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Added bonus: Seeing Sarah Jessica Parker still wet behind the ears (this was way before she became 'Sex in the City' fabulous) doing cartwheels and Helen Hunt dancing that white chick 80’s lots-of-hopping-and-finger-snapping groove thang.

Favorite scene: That last dance ‘showdown’, natch. Oh and Helen Hunt (Lynne) breaking into song during choir (because for some reason that would make it easier for SJP to escape).

Favorite line: “You move, you bleed,” droned the tailor. I don’t know why it's my favorite. It cracked me up many times back then.

I used to have a huge crush on the main actor, Lee Montgomery. He has, since then, disappeared completely off the face of the earth.

8. The Cutting Edge

Added bonus: It’s about figure skating. Really, there’s no need to explain further.

Favorite scene: Oh the confession. Doug Dorsey’s first ‘I love you’ is quite possibly, the best scene in which the three-letter word is first uttered, ever. For. Real.

Favorite line: Being one of those movies that we could recite from beginning to end without any help from any script, it was hard to choose, but I narrowed it down to: “I bet you look pretty good from a few thousand miles away” and “Toe pick!”

7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie)

Added bonus: All of us ended up loving the television series as much as we loved the movie. And the novelty of seeing Hilary Swank playing a popularity queen bitch (“Get out of my facial!” hee) and not a role geared toward an Oscar (see Karate Kid 3).

Favorite scene: There’s just… too many. I can’t even begin! I can’t. It’s too hard.

Favorite line: Joss Whedon is the almighty King of backtalk, but if I had to choose: “Does Elvis talk to you? Do you see spots?”

6. Bring It On

Added bonus: Seeing cheerleaders in a completely new and respectful light. Oh, and recognizing most of the actors as extras from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the tv series).

Favorite scene: I would like to say the last two final acts by the Toros and the Clovers, but I’m terribly partial to the scene at the swings with Cliff and Torrance.

Sore point: Sometimes, Eliza Dushku annoys the living crap out of me. Not in this movie, per se, just, ordinarily.

Favorite line: “Cheerleaders are dancers who have gone retarded.” Hee.

5. One Fine Day

Added bonus: George Clooney at his dreamiest.

Favorite scene: Michelle Pfeiffer looking through her bag and coming up with two, hand made on the spot, costumes for both kids while George Clooney looks on in wonder.

Favorite line: I don't have a favorite line. I do have a favorite part of the script though so, hence:

Melanie: Your Peter Pan complex is so 90's.

Jack: What Peter Pan complex?

Melanie: The one you're so proud of.

Jack: Do you have any friends?

Melanie: I don't have time for friends.

Jack: That's because of your Captain Hook complex.

Hee.

4. Empire Records

Added bonus: The music. Oh, the music. The memories! Not to mention the excellent Maxwell Caulfield (that’s Michael in Grease 2 – another excellent fluff piece) playing the bleached-teeth, chest hair revealing and so-smarmy-he’s-gotta-be-cool Rex Manning.

Favorite scene: AJ, Lucas and Warren’s homage to ‘You Want Blood’ by AC/DC outside of Joe’s office. Fricking hilarious.

Favorite line: “What’s with today, today?” Oh, and, “Why don’t you all just fade away?” Hee.

3. Grease 2

Added bonus: Michelle Pfeiffer at her best. It’s her best work. Ever. Really.

Favorite scene: Stephanie Zinone singing ‘Cool Rider’. Nothing but class all the way. Even the bowling scene can’t hold a torch to that.

Favorite line: “The Pink Ladies pledge to act cool, to look cool and to feel cool. Til death do us part. Think! Pink!”

Note: Grease, the original, would have been a huge contender if not for the argument that it’s such a famous fluff piece that it’s turned classic.

2. Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?

Added bonus: The smolderingly hot Nicholas Saputra (we would learn later that this would be the only movie that he would look smolderingly hot in), and the added benefit of being the only Malay-speaking movie I would see more than once. Oh, and the newfound appreciation for Malay poetry (never mind that I don't understand it).

Favorite scene: Any scene Rangga and Cinta are in together. Their chemistry was mind-blowing.

Favorite line: His last poem to her, ‘Apa Ada Dengan Cinta?’, was like, genius, or something. And symbolic. And pretty much sums the movie up as a whole.

To be fair, this movie isn't so much 'fluffy' as it is, sometimes, quite 'angsty'. But the reason we watched it had nothing to do with angst and everything to do with fluffy intentions so hence therefore thus, why not.

1. Supergirl

Added bonus: She’s Superman’s cousin. This whole movie is an added bonus.

Favorite scene: Her first flight. It looked uber-cool back then.

Favorite line: “I’ve just… outgrown you, Nigel. These things happen.”

Other contenders for the Top Ten list included Charlie’s Angels (ashamedly 1 & 2), X-Men 2, Mighty Ducks (again, ashamedly 1 & 2), Practical Magic, Hocus Pocus, Drumline, Get Over It, Step Up etc., and never forgetting to mention the Classics, which have turned out so Classic they had to be taken out e.g. Dirty Dancing, Sixteen Candles, Some Kind of Wonderful, Tremors etc.

To be noted:
The only unfortunate thing about this list compilation was the absence of the Other Sister, Emma, whose insights to each fluff piece would have been greatly appreciated. We did compile the list with her in mind, though, so here’s hoping you'll approve :)

To be noted again:
We didn't include any Keanu Reeves movies as we love him and hence would consider any movie that he's in as a guilty pleasure. Even the Matrix.

Next time: Top Ten Guilty Pleasures in Songs! Although having compiled a list already (sap is hard to deny), my pride might just take a stand for what it believes in and prevent me from actually doing this. But then again, after reading the list, it’s quite possible that I have no pride left to speak of.

Until the next available time, dudes and dudettes. Am gonna have me a Nescafe Tarik.

The Next Generation

2006-12-18T16:10:00.000+08:00

(from left to right) Princess Imah, Ilham Bear, Zimmie and Amansterr

a.k.a my beloved niece, nephews and son.

You can't see it from the picture, but the boys are sitting in a basket. Who knows why. But look how cute! :)

Return of the Boy Band

2006-12-18T15:51:00.000+08:00

I was watching TV the other day (like every other day), channel surfing the way people who would prefer not to engage in anything mentally difficult do, when I came across this:

This band is named Upper Street. They are the result of an MTV reality TV show called Totally Boyband. So what this little reality series is attempting to do is bring back five ex-members of now-defunct boy bands to make up a new boy band.

My first reaction being: Hahahahaha. Hahahaha. Ha.

Seriously. I mean, why? Why would anyone? Why? I just don’t get it. There’s a reason why those boy bands went defunct.

Out of a strange fascination (and nothing else good on tv), I watched it. And with growing horror I realized that the chiseled short one with the inappropriate goatee (who was evidently making up for his lack of height and good looks by being the most manipulative one of the lot), was none other than Danny Wood! Danny Wood! The shortest, most expendable (next to Jon Knight – no I did not have to look up his name to remember it), dude with the weird tail and baritone voice from the granddaddy of all boy bands: New Kids On The Block.

Which pisses me off. Because I was a New Kids on the Block fan (and I say it with pride), and nothing pisses me off more than the ex-members of which shaming themselves in such a manner. I mean, really, wasn’t Joey McIntyre bad enough? Danny needs to get into the driver’s seat now?

Plus, aren’t these boys a little too old to be in a boy band?

Other than Danny desecrating the New Kids on the Block Hall of Fame, other ex-members include some dude from Another Level, another dude from Steps, another dude from 911, and another dude from S Club 7.

Return of the Boyband airs on Channel V. I don’t know when exactly. If pressed, I’d probably remember, but really I can’t be arsed. Probably Tuesday. Or something.

Zimmie (the Deshky) : Rock Star!

2006-12-18T14:17:00.000+08:00

Had a funny weekend. I don't think anyone on this earth should ever experience spending a Sunday with no electricity and then no water all in the same day, but there you go. There's a first time for everything.

There was a highlight to the Sunday though, which came in the form of the Borneo Bulletin Sunday paper where halfway through you can catch a picture of our Zimmie grinning at you with three other members of his band looking like the most handsome of all handsome skinny boys with a Japanese emo haircut.

The article, written by Zowy Costa, was an introduction to the underground community of local talents, featuring 'emo' and 'metal' bands, a community of which has grown so large it soon cannot and should not be ignored anymore. But truth be told, I wasn't really reading the whole article. I was too busy listening to my mother wax lyrical on what a talented and handsome boy her grandson is (of which, it has to be said, I agree with wholeheartedly).

Anyway, click on the article to read the whole thing, or just to take a look at Zimmie and his band Evillive: from right to left is Hafiz (guitar), Syukri (bass guitar), deshky angel fluff punk Zimmie (drums - The Buzz is a proud uncle) and Arif (vocals).

Evillive, on top of being so young (and having a sasau band name), plays metal songs by Metallica, but not the washed up version of the Metallica we know now, more the old school oldies but goldies rock anthems that Metallica was once so respected for e.g. Master of Puppets. Kind of awesome, the idea of my nephew playing songs from my generation.

On a side note, I'm listening to Bon Jovi's 'Have a Nice Day' right now. Not by choice. You couldn't just stop at These Days. You couldn't just retire gracefully, could you you botoxed bastards?

Happy Birthday Mellings!! :)

2006-12-16T11:18:00.000+08:00

Birthday shout-out to Mellings (who is still recovering from giving birth, but does not stop her from being of milf quality).

Happy Birthday!!! Here's Brad Pitt for you (picking the pictures was a breeze; there is no picture on this earth that The Brad does not look good in).

I mean, like, The Snakes, right?

2006-12-15T15:25:00.000+08:00

I just found out – about 300 minutes later, that is – that the group ‘I Mean, The Snakes’ will not be representing Brunei at Hard Rock Café in Singapore.

While that sucks majorly, I have to give props to the band that will be representing us (I’m not sure of the band name but I’d love to know so The Buzz could download some of their songs) because you would need to be a damn good act to have beaten those boys.

At any rate, I have no doubt over the talent of ‘I Mean, The Snakes’ and their future success. Put us on the proverbial global map of music, guys.

Check out their profile and songs here. The Buzz is especially partial to 'The Best Dressed Bet' and 'Neon Love'.

Random Rant Alert:
Being one of those people who used to jam on a regular basis (until adulthood came and took over the recreational life – well, that, and laziness, the disease that plagues us all), I’m aware of what talents there are here, and I’m extremely pleased at how the musicians of Brunei have turned out. Seriously, these dudes have talent. And I think it’s definitely high time to step out of our comfort zone and the regularity of our lives, and start aiming for the sky. Because while it’s true that we should do as we’re taught and value what’s important – like family and stability and religion – we gotta remember that art is important too, and it’s time our local talents step out there and take a chance for this little country.

In other news, I'm sipping on a Nescafe Tarik right now and damn if it ain't good caffeine.

An Ode to The Fin

2006-12-15T14:50:00.000+08:00

The Fin is having a mental breakdown at work, so for a little pick-me-up, check out the pics of Johnny Depp in all his resplendently cool and hunksome glory.

While surfing for Johnny Depp pictures is always fun, do note chica that I do it all for you :)

Hope you get all cheered up dudette. I feel a little cheered up already.

64th Golden Globes 2007 Nominations

2006-12-15T10:55:00.000+08:00

The nominations are out! And although I love watching the Golden Globes and, later on in the year, the Academy Awards, it's to be noted that while I've been watching a crap load of cartoons this year, I haven't seen most of the movies nominated. Safe to say I've only seen one. And I didn't even finish it. But I fully intend to. As I fully intend to watch them all. Some day.

Anyway, cutting to the chase:

Best Motion Picture:
Babel, Bobby, The Departed, Little Children, The Queen

Best Actress in a Movie:
Penelope Cruz (Volver), Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Sherry Baby), Helen Mirren (The Queen), Kate Winslet (Little Children)

Best Actor in a Movie:
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed & Blood Diamond), Peter O'Toole (Venus), Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happiness), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)

Best Comedy or Musical:
Borat (go Borat!), The Devil Wears Prada (the one movie I watched), Dreamgirls, Little Miss Sunshine, Thank You For Smoking

Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical:
Annette Benning (Running with Scissors), Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine), Beyonce Knowles (Dreamgirls), Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada), Renee Zellweger (Miss Potter)

Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical:
Sache Baron Cohen (Borat - go Borat!), Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: Black Man's Chest), Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Kinky Boots), Will Ferrell (Stranger than Fiction)

Best Director:
Clint Eastwood (Flags of our Fathers & Letters from Iwo Jima), Stephen Frears (The Queen), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel), Martin Scorsese (The Departed)

And the television nominations (one I'm more at home with as does not involve leaving the house):

Best TV Show (Drama):
24, Big Love, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Lost

Best Actress (Drama):
Patricia Arquette (Medium), Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Evangeline Lily (Lost), Ellen Pompeo (Grey's Anatomy), Kyra Sedgewick (The Closer)

Best Actor (Drama):
Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Hugh Laurie (House - go House!), Bill Paxton (Big Love), Kiefer Sutherland (24)

Best TV Comedy or Musical:
Desperate Housewives, Entourage, The Office (US version - go The Office!), Ugly Betty (Salma Hayek's show), Weeds (go Weeds!)

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical):
Marcia Cross & Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine), Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds - go Weeds!)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical):
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Zach Braff (Scrubs - go Scrubs!), Steve Carrell (The Office - go The Office!), Jason Lee (My Name is Earl - never seen it, but go Jason Lee!), Tony Shalhoub (Monk)

Right, there's the main list (or the one I care about at any rate). You can check out the Hollywood Foreign Press Association website for the complete list or JoBlo for more info.

Be good.

K-Fed's Latest

2006-12-14T15:43:00.001+08:00

So in K-Fed's latest endeavor in getting the cash he married The Britney for (and custody of his two kids as a side-note), K-Fed has decided to um, (okay, this may not be believable given the usual IQ prerequisite to write more than two pages) write a book.

Not just any book. It's a book about how unfit a mother The Britney actually is (because we would need a book to know that) by describing her wild partying, substance abuse and lesbian tendencies. Although I can't blame her for the last one as I would probably sign myself up to a lesbian convent too if I had a K-Fed to deal with.

To illustrate his point further, he released a video that he shot of The Britney one week prior to their divorce, looking, acting and talking like a crack-whore. There's some weird stuff about time travel in there too.

The K-Fed, predictably, said he will not release any book if The Britney gives him 20 million that he doesn't deserve and custody of their two kids. Of which he's obviously hoping for. I can't imagine K-Fed reading a book much less writing one. I can't even imagine him writing down the alphabet. I can't. I just can't do it.

And I don't know who's worse, Britney or K-Fed, but I gotta pity the kids. I mean, really. Do we live with crazy mom or gold-digger dad? It's quite possible that two raccoons on a stranded island and coconut shells for toilets would be better guardians than either of those two nutzoids.

No Water at Kg. Anggerek Desa

2006-12-13T16:52:00.000+08:00

There has been no water here since (it feels like) the Beginning of Time.

There is no relief to be seen for miles, except for the mildly satisfying act of calling the Water Department three hundred times per hour with emotions starting with polite, slightly less polite, not polite at all, demanding, more demanding, damn right rude, less demanding until it graduates to the helplessness of begging and pleading.

Apparently, there's not much the water tank lads can do about it, having only a few water tank trucks (is that what they call them?) on hand and a speed limit to drive them with and all of the Anggerek Desa and Serusop area calling as many times as I have.

Just show me the nearest functioning toilet, please, and I'll stop sending evil thoughts their way. Really. I promise.

Happy Belated Birthday Amansterr

2006-12-13T16:42:00.000+08:00

Amanster and his sister Imah

A quick note to my terrorizing-yet-completely-lovable nephew: Happy Belated Birthday Amanster!

The Buzz

2006-12-11T15:26:00.000+08:00

(Yes, this is Snoop, no this is not my husband The Buzz, but due to the fact that he was a great fan of him in the past, and also due to the fact that I can't think of any other celebrity worthy enough to represent my husband, you'll just have to make do with Snoop.)

Right, The Buzz is:

A music lover of all things music. There really isn't much he wouldn't try to listen to, save for Click Five (who no one should listen to), and his influences broaden the longer he hogs the computer - because unlike this sorry wife who goes on the net for no better reason that to see what else Britney's got to show for herself aside from her puks, The Buzz sets out on a musical journey, downloading everything from Trivium to Cliff Richards to Slipknot to Black Sabbath to Take That to Stone Temple Pilots to Iklim to Stevie Wonder to Wings to Ludacris to Jay-Z to Korn. He will not abide cheesy and unoriginal boy bands (come on, Take That weren't so bad in their hay-days) and especially cheesy and unoriginal boy bands posing as pop rock groups (listen, Click Five: holding a frigging guitar does not make you rock).
An astoundingly good father.
A pretty damn good driver (rolling while driving is no easy task).
A movie lover (although his, like my own, tastes are now limited to The Bear's tastes, which means while Flushed Away was a very good show, it doesn't compare to the originality of Toy Story or Shrek).
Very passionate about what he believes in.
Buyer of Men's Health magazines.
Always trying to get healthier despite how he can never quit smoking for good, but if he does, it's going to be a long time coming.
Someone I want on my side at any time.

The Buzz is currently unaware of this little blog expedition of mine, but should he ever happen to chance it, I would never pass up the opportunity to give him a little show of pride-compressing embarrassment:

I completely and utterly love you, no matter how much reality bites us in the ass.

Right, enough of the emo stuff.

An Introduction to The Bear

2006-12-11T15:14:00.000+08:00

Meet The Bear.

Despite the nickname, he is only 3ft high and has a tendency to eat M & M's until his saliva turns color which he then uses to paint on the floor.

There are few people I love completely and absolutely and with no equivocations, and The Bear is on the very top of that list.

And never mind his new habit of head-butting people on the bridge of their noses (somehow he gets the spot just right) until you actually blank out to an awe-striking vision of dancing stars; I have an unshakeable confidence in the theory that this boy could pretty much do anything and it would never make me love him less.

They say everyone has a true love.

Well, I found him. I just happened to give birth to him, that's all.

Pleased to meet you...

2006-12-04T16:32:00.000+08:00

I started out with many theories to start off an anonymous blogger type journal. Not being the kind of person who usually publishes information on the web, and being a borderline loser to boot, I thought perhaps a blog should start the way you would start a class, or you know, anonymous group meetings where everyone is expected to share their secrets and shames in order to help complete strangers progress away from their own current and similar secrets and shames : by introducing myself. Properly. With a firm handshake, if necessary.

And then I'm thinking, well, anonymous group meetings see you right in the face and for people like me who cannot lie spontaneously to save my life, if I were to meet anyone who reads this (aside from anyone who already knows) I would greet you with that firm handshake and my honest name. But this is not that at all. I'm not gonna see any of you guys, and hopefully, none of you guys are gonna see me. And maybe it should just stay that way.

What I will share with the World Wide Web, however, is something I will never share with people I actually meet. Which appeals greatly. But lets get a few basics out of the way.

I'm a mother of one very hyperactive and perfect boy, wife of a husband who air drums, daughter to the most wonderful mother ever, sister to a group of beautiful women who are not losers (borderline or no), employee to a boss I actually love , an unsociable friend to a group of fantastic chicks, part-time lover to Keanu Reeves (although, not actually, unless you count the dreams).

And sooo....

Guess I'll see you guys soon eh.

Pleased to meet all of you.