My Own Mr Pink-Whistle

I blogged about Mr Pink-Whistle recently and who would have ever thought I'll encounter my very own?!

It has been a rough week of fighting all kinds of imps ands a sudden influx of additional work outside my league. So it was wonderful to head out to dinner on Friday night to unwind a little. Being a little adventurous, we headed out to a new area for dinner. It was a whole long row of open-air stalls with wonderful smells and very affordable food!

After dinner, I headed back to the office to collect some files I left behind and coming back to our unit 2 hours later, I freaked out when I found that my pass wasn't with me! Panicking, I turned my car and handbag upside-down hunting for it but it was nowhere to be found. Taking a stab at luck, I decided to head back to our dinner venue to see if the stallowners had found it. I wasn't hoping for much as at least 3 hours had lapsed since I lost it.

They said they didn't see it but the lady took my number and promised to call me if she found anything. Without having much hope, I turned back to our unit with the painful thought of having to shell out some more money for a new pass. Just then, a small miracle happened! She called and told me that she had found it!

Upon collecting it from her, she told me that she had actually rummaged in her garbage bin to look for my pass and later found it lying on the road by the side of the road! I didn't use to believe in miracles but this little incident just restored my faith in people!

So, yes...there are Mr Pink-Whistles out there! :) Just pray they're there when we need them most!

Ka-Soh Seafood Restaurant

I've been having a terrible craving for fish-head noodles but all the good ones I read about seemed to be only open for lunch! My cravings had to be satiated someway or another so Ka-Soh Seafood Restaurant famed for their fish-head noodles was a fast and easy choice. Ka-Soh actually originated from Singapore and although they sound quite ordinary and look simple, lots of famous Hong Kong and local celebrities frequent the place.

They're so famous for their fish-head noodles that a picture of it graces their menu cover, lest you forget!

I opened the menu and Egad! Their prices have gone up since I last ate there before Chinese New Year! They used to charge RM7 per pax for their fish-head noodles but now it's gone up to RM8.30 per pax. Ditto with the small portion and large portions. Luckily their medium prices remained the same.

Wat-tan-hor yin yong (RM16.50, medium)

Bro who ate here once said their yin yong (kuey teow mixed with fried beehoon in a starchy egg sauce) was not too bad so we gave it a shot and was pleased to find that service was pretty fast as we were all starving! It was quite tasty and they were quite generous with the vege, lean pork and prawns accompanying it. The sauce was nice and eggy with a nice starchy texture - perfect comfort food! Our only grouse was that the fried beehoon base was a little hard and it took some whacking with the spoon to get it to break up.

Kangkung stirfried with sambal (RM9.00, small)

The necessary vegetable dish with a nice fragrant aroma from the sambal.

Prawn paste fried chicken (RM13.00, small)

We got tempted by the photo and ordered it without realising that it was one of their specialities too and we weren't disappointed! Small yielded about 6 pieces of chicken which was seasoned in prawn paste and deep-fried. Served piping hot, it smelt gorgeous and was equally good! Tender from the marinade, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, it was a dish we really enjoyed.

Fish-head beehoon (RM23.00 , medium)

Finally the piece de resistance! It was a huge bowl for a medium portion and swimming in the milky broth was a generous portion of thick vermicelli noodles, slices of fish and large pieces of fried fish and fish-head. According to them, they don't cheat by adding milk into the broth to get the milky texture. Instead, the broth base is created by boiling Toman fish which is also widely believed by the Chinese to have curative powers. It was good! Best eaten when hot, the soup is delicately flavoured but a little fishy, to us. A little bit of salted vegetable might have added a little more flavour and tang to the soup while killing its fishy smell. The sliced fish was fresh while the fried fish pieces were nicely fried, giving it a delicious flavour.

The bill came up to RM70.73 for 4 of us which wasn't too bad considering the portions of the noodles. Service was quite fast but that could have been because the place was relatively empty when we arrived.

So the next time you're craving for some fish-head noodles or good unpretentious Chinese dishes, head over to Ka-Soh! They have 2 more outlets in the city; one in Jalan Bukit Bintang (opposite Ritz-Carlton Hotel) and one in Medan Damansara. And as I was leaving, I saw a printed copy of a review done by KY of KYSpeaks.com! Impressive!

I was rather amused to see Restoran Kak Ipar on the bill until sis pointed out to me that Ka-Soh was Sis-in-Law in Cantonese! Oops...pink fluffy moment! :p

Snore No More

A recently married friend complained that she wasn't aware marriage meant having her sweet slumber wrecked by her partner's incessant snoring every night! Well, they say that marriage is a package - both the good and the bad!

However, hope isn't lost for her and for the millions out there who have to put up with interrupted sleep from snoring, either their own or their sleeping partners. A US-based wholesale distributor of CPAP supplies have been providing relief to sleep apnea out there.

Snoring is apparently caused by blocked airways and CPAP distributes Continuous Positive Airway Pressure supplies (CPAP) machines, masks and humidifiers which are easy to use. All the user needs to do before bed is to turn on the machine, wear the mask while ensuring a tight fit and hop right into bed for a good night's sleep. The system will blow air through the user's nostrils to ensure their airways remain open and to keep away any snores.

You will need a prescription for sleep apnea before you're allowed to purchase a CPAP product. So if your partner has been shooting you dagger stares and looking panda-eyed in the morning, get yourself tested and snore no more with CPAP!

Manta No More

1,000 kg manta ray gets caught in fishing net off Labuan shores

LABUAN:

A group of fishermen with a manta ray, or giant manta (Manta birostris) weighing more than 1,000kg that got caught in their fishing nets in the waters off Sungai Pagar, Labuan, at about 10.30am yesterday.

The creature was found by Awang Japrin, 35, and four of his friends. With a distinctive "horn" (from which the common name devil ray stems) on either side of its broad head, the manta is a prized sighting by divers.

I read this in the NST Online this morning and it made my blood boil. Firstly, I don't proclaim to be a conservationist and secondly, I'm a diver.

Yes, I eat my sharks fin occasionally because I know that in Asia, walk into the wet market and you'll find fish sellers hawking fresh shark cutlets to be cooked. In Australia, go into any local fish & chippery and you'll find flake offered. That's shark so eat it. Here, sharks aren't just killed solely for its fins. The meat is sold just like any other fish meat.

But what makes me mad is when a graceful beauty like this manta ray which isn't used for food or any other form of use is mercilessly left to die and hauled up on to shore like a prized trophy. Yes, I'm sure seeing a 1-tonne manta in anyone's fishing net is every fisherman's dream but before rejoicing and pulling it up to die without a thought, maybe a fleeting question they should have wondered is whether there was going to be any commercial use for it. I know that didn't cross their minds because all these fishermen thought was the fame this manta was going to bring them.

No thought of how many decades it must have taken for it to grow to that size, no thought of what joy it might have brought divers catching a glimpse of it in the shadows of the sea or any thought of how a magnificent and gentle creature like that should have at least the right to swim freely wherever it chooses.

Recently, I read another article about a giant sting-ray being hauled up too in East Malaysia and the fisherman posing next to it grinning in glee. It saddens me to see this. There must be drastic changes happening in our oceans if giants like these have started to come towards the surface. I makes me wonder if our future generations will see these denizens of the deep only in the pages of a glossy magazine.

Squeeeek!

I blogged about my heels giving me trouble not too long ago. This morning, I was very tempted to put on my trusty ol' boots again but since I was wearing a skirt, I had to ignore my dear boots' calling and hunt around for my pair of black heels.

They didn't give me much trouble and my feet actually felt quite comfortable in them...that is, until lunch. I stepped out of the lift and cringe...every step I took was punctuated by a loud squeek! With a sinking heart, I took a few more steps to find the squeek cheerfully accompanying me every step of the way! Even attempting to walk model-style, ie lift your leg completely off the ground and put the whole foot down in front of you, did nothing to lessen the squeeks. It was mighty embarrassing to have a little mouse attached to my feet! In the end, I had to resort to walking on the paving stones in the hot sun which lessened the little squeeks.

Checking my shoes, I found nothing wrong with the heels nor the base of the shoe. So pray tell me, shoe, what is the source of your embarrassing squeeks?!

I so so so need a pair of new shoes!

Sweet-smelling Meme

Paris tagged me on her Women Stuff some time back. Yes, my glam sis has her own little glam site with beauty reviews! I may be a "make-up in 15 minutes" person but I can never leave the house without spritzing on my favourite perfumes. So here they are!

Inez de la Fressange - I stumbled upon this one in the Bangkok old airport during their sale. I'd never heard of this French designer before and only picked it up because it was a steal plus it had a really pretty box and bottle. Yes, I'm a sucker for that! I do like the gold bottle it comes in with the embossed gold leaves and its light, floral fragrance. Quite an easy perfume to wear and rather unusual. I don't think I've seen it in KL before.

Alexander McQueen's Kingdom - Okay, this is sis' which I liberally borrowed while bunking in with her. Shh..don't tell her! :p It's got a unique round bottom bottle which makes spraying a little hard sometimes. You've got to get the angle right otherwise nothing comes out of it. I like it's strong musky smell. It lasts all day and will make a great night perfume. Gorgeous! Time for me to get one of my own!

Cerruti 1881 - This brings back memories of Harvey Nicks in a cold London where I was fretting over whether I should buy it. I finally did at Heathrow and am glad I did! It's another heavy, musky perfume that's great for evenings. Very distinctive smell in a nice round bottle.

Bvlgari BLV - Picked this gem up in Bali. Another great perfume for evenings out with its strong and unmistakable undertones. A nice sexy scent although the bottle makes it a little hard to handle at times if in a hurry!

Givenchy's Very Irresistible - This was one of my earliest perfumes. I was feeling dead depressed during a working trip to JB and got it as a pick-me-up. I love the fresh, floral scent and who can't help but love the tall, sexy bottle?! I've been using it sparingly...not wanting it to run out!

Lancome Miracle - Another everyday perfume that I like. Light, sweet scents in a nice peenk bottle! Funnily enough, the new Miracle So Magic doesn't smell as good on me!

Most of my perfumes come from airports or my trips abroad. I used to tell myself that I'll buy a perfume each time I travel. It worked well until last year where I got free AirAsia flights to too many places and then it got a bit expensive! I wonder what I should buy this year!

Now tag-time! Over to you:

• Soo Yin - have fun with the meme! :)
• Lyrical Lemongrass - what other favourite fragrances do you have besides lemongrass?! ;)
• Alan Ang - from a guy's perspective!

Mr Pink-Whistle

I found another Mr Pink-Whistle fan in Lyrical Lemongrass when she left a comment in my earlier post on imps! Imps away, I googled and found this in the Enid Blyton Society site:

I used to have all 3 books in these exact same covers so I was pretty excited to find them while googling! So who's Mr Pink-Whistle?

Mr Pink-Whistle's a dear half-brownie and half-person little man who loves nothing more than helping others in need. Best of all, he can turn himself invisible to allow him to nip around places bearing help and comfort to others. He lives with Sooty, his talking black cat who helps him carry out his noble deeds.

I remember one particular story where a poor widow had spent the entire day working and came home to wash and hem her childrens' clothes for a party. But when she took a much-needed nap, her washing line broke and all her childrens' clothes were soiled! Mr Pink-Whistle happened to be passing when he heard her crying and in true Pink-Whistle fashion, he bought them new clothes, a nice cake and tea for the widow. He left them on the table and watched, invisible, while his buttons almost popped at the pride and pleasure he felt at being able to help them!

What nice memories of an innocent childhood! Maybe what the world needs, today, is a few more Mr Pink-Whistles!

Beach Baby

I'm a puteri lilin and don't like the sun much so people are usually quite shocked to hear of me going on beach vacations. Little do they know I slather on layers of my SPF130 sunblock, wear my big Jackie-O sunnies, plonk on my extra wide-brimmed hat and sit under the shade! Why bother then, some ask? Well, it's fun hearing the crashing waves and watching the fashion parade in the skimpiest bikinis and Speedos!

I've only ever been to local beaches, Phuket and Australia, which was too cold to do much! So I was pleased to discover Family Vacation Resort, a spanking new website with fantastic savings and features for beautiful and popular beaches in Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico. It has gorgeous images of the available resorts together with virtual tours, detailed information on resorts and rooms available, ratings by real-time travellers and best of all, great deals of even up to 50%! It's a great nifty site for beach babies who are looking for new resorts to explore or savings on a much-loved favourite resort.

So what are you waiting for? It's time to pack your bags and head off to sunny paradise and enjoy the sun, surf and sea! I'll be the one in the shade with the hat and huge sunnies!

I got paid!

I logged into my email this morning and woohoo! :D

I got my first ever payment! Whee...oklah, it was a paltry sum, nothing compared to the earnings that 5xmom or Pablo get but it's hopefully a start towards better things! I only find that opportunities are a lot less for Blogger users and it seems to be shrivelling up day by day.

Well, let's just make hay while the sun still shines. Otherwise, Paris...HELP! Heh...

Home Brand Evening Gowns

I was in our local hypermarket when this pink contraption caught my eye. I was amazed...our hypermarkets have even started selling their own value version of evening gowns! Move over, Beatrice Looi, Daniel Yam and Carven Ong! We now have our own home-brand evening gown!

Alas, the sign above it disappointed me. It was just a novel way of displaying their towels! I was so looking forward to wearing that fluffy pink tube to my next wedding dinner!

But if any creative and imaginative person out there is looking for a nice evening gown, do hop over to our local hypermarket and you could be pleasantly surprised! Gowns in a unique terry material, available in at least 12 different colours and at a fraction of a couture gown!

*Pins to hold up dress are not included

Small-Hearted People

Nothing better tells you that you've grown up when you realise that the world isn't the nice, rose-tinted world with talking bunnies, kind-hearted people like Mr Pink Whistle and good deeds ala Enid Blyton. Instead you begin to realise that the world actually has quite a few small-hearted people in it. Small-hearted...I like this phrase I picked up from my aunt - it conjures up the image of a small, wizened imp with malicious eyes.

They do exist out there, sad but true, and they seem to derive great pleasure in making their "lucky" subject's life a misery. No, not physical in this crime-ridden age but through harsh words, nasty thoughts or deeds which at times wound a lot deeper than any knife can.

I've had my fair share of small-hearted imps in my life. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way that the world isn't as rosy as it appears to be and trust between others is something so hard to earn, yet so easily broken.

So what to do with a small-hearted one?

I used to be filled with ill-feelings when wronged by a small-hearted imp. But recently, I've come to the conclusion that life's a bit too short to allow myself to be filled with so much negativity. It only made me into someone I didn't like so I've learnt to tell myself they weren't worth my time nor my emotions and after a while, their presence ceased to matter to me anymore.

Of the two - hate or indifference, I would have to say that the latter seems a lot worse. At least hate is still an emotion.

Lumut/Pangkor Getaway - Part 2

What's a blog without food? So here you go...some stuff I ate!

Seafood

Upon recommendation by the staff at Swiss-Garden, we gave this restaurant, Hailam Seafood Restaurant, a try. Exit the resort at the main road, drive past Lumut Port and head for Sitiawan. At the traffic light after Lumut Port which shows a left for Sitiawan and straight for Lumut, take a sharp left into the restaurant which is just off the main road.

I recalled a yummy dish I once ate in Kampong Koh some time back. It was bittergourd nicely cooked with salted egg with a delicious creamy gravy. With this in mind, I ordered it again and imagine my horror when the server plonked this down and proclaimed it to be the same dish! Taking a bite, it wasn't all that bad. It was slices of bittergourd coated in a salted egg batter which gave it an interesting combination of sweet, bitter and salty tastes. A bit jelak though towards the end and I can't say that it is the healthiest way to eat your veggies!

What's seafood without crabs and this were 2 medium sized ones cooked in their "speciality" of salted egg which were cooked in exactly the same style as the bittergourd (surprise, surprise)! The crabs were quite meaty and the salted egg combination was really not too bad - very dry and crispy. Can someone say cholestrol :p

Finally a little steamed grouper to round it off. This was quite a small fella and I found that it tasted a bit hard, maybe due to over-steaming. I found that it had a touch of fishiness too. I should have gone with my instincts and ordered a sweet & sour instead of their steamed style.

The bill was about RM67 for two with a plate of fried mee sua (vermicelli). Their mee sua wasn't the thin, fragile type I'm used to here instead was thick, a little like thick beehoon. I think it's a local home-made speciality for I saw shops selling the uncooked form everywhere in Lumut and Pangkor.

Photo borrowed from Eat First Think Later

I found that the seafood wasn't as cheap as what everyone raved about but maybe I ate in the wrong place. Their prices of RM35/kg for the crabs were in fact more expensive than some seafood places in KL which charge only RM20/kg or RM28/kg. I found this rather surprising considering that they are a seaside town. Maybe it was the out-of-towner look as well that added a premium to the prices!

Satay Fish Galore!

What's a post on Pangkor without this icon?

A ride through the picturesque one-main-street Pangkor town will turn up dried seafood shops everywhere. Almost every shop there deals in dried seafood products, easily identifiable by the tubs of dried anchovies and oysters at their entrance to entice you in.

Go on in and have a wander. There's a lot more lurking on the shelves of the shops ranging from satay fish to my favourite keropok. Prices don't differ much from shop to shop due to the high competition. There are a few factories dotted around the island where you can buy these seafood products in the air-conditioned comfort of their shops but from what I found, the prices in some of these shops can actually work out cheaper than buying from their factories.

I came away clutching bags of keropok and had to stifle a laugh when we rode the evening ferry back to Lumut. Everyone leaving Pangkor had an ensemble of plastic bags stuffed with all varieties of dried seafood to eat or to be given away as souvenirs. Was it cheap? Well, personally, I didn't think it was that much cheaper than buying it in KL or on the mainland but when on holiday, do as the tourists do!

Lumut/Pangkor Getaway - Part 1

I recently went on a weekend break to Lumut/Pangkor Islands. "Is there anything else there besides satay fish?!" were some of the questions I got. So, I'm sharing some tips on what you can do for your next Cuti-cuti Malaysia holiday!

Getting There:

1. The trunk road from KL to Lumut is actually a pretty nice and wide road and some say, faster than using the toll roads. I got fantastic directions from Alan (thanks!) and I got there with no problems at all.
2. From KL, get onto the Federal Highway to Klang and turn off at Jalan Kapar heading for Teluk Intan. It's a straight road all the way from there, passing quaint little fishing towns like Kuala Selangor, Sekinchan and others where you can stop for a delicious seafood brunch or lunch!
3. Do be careful of the Bagan Datoh junction (where you have to turn right towards Teluk Intan) as there are no clear signs to Teluk Intan and we went on a scenic drive to Bagan Datoh! After Bagan Datoh, you'll start seeing signs to Lumut and Pangkor.

Accommodation:

1. We stayed at Swiss Garden Damai Laut. You'll see lots of signs leading to the resort from Lumut. Basically you'll have to head for Kg. Acheh towards Lumut Port and over 3 bridges before coming to the main turnoff into the resort. Be careful, the road is rather winding going into the resort.
2. Swiss Garden is a pretty little place with lots of activities, some paid and some free. You'll need to check with the front desk what activities are on for that day. It doesn't have much of a beach but there's a lovely tiny strip of shady beach just a flight of stairs down from the pool.
3. The road to and from the resort to the main road is rather narrow and winding and there are hardly any streetlights (sneaky!) so you'll probably end up having to eat within their resort if you don't fancy a drive out at night.

Surroundings:

1. Lumut's a small town which most people use as a hop-off point to Pangkor. However, a short drive away from the town will take you to a nice little cove called Teluk Batik which was filled with locals when we were there. It has lots of stalls selling ice-cream, all kinds of snacks and beach stuff. The best part for me were the free deckchairs scattered all over the beach. Nothing like the ones in Phuket which you have to pay for!
2. A short drive in the other direction will take you Sitiawan, another small town. What I loved here were the mango stalls lining the roads in an area aptly named as 'Mango Paradise'. Perak is famous for their mangoes and you'll find all kinds here for a pretty decent price.
3. Nearby is the predominantly Chinese Kampong Koh area, famous for none other than the lip-smacking, garlicky Kampong Koh chilli sauce which goes so well with dim sum!

Off to Pangkor:

1. Swiss Garden runs it's own ferry service (RM28) for a return to Pangkor which is about 15 minutes away. Otherwise you can head into Lumut Jetty to have a choice of 3 ferry companies (Mesra Ferry, Duta Pangkor and Pan Silver) for RM10 for a return trip. Mesra Ferry is one of the best ferry services and I found it very comfortable and stable during the 25 minute ride.
2. The ferry will make a stop at Sg. Pinang Kecil, a little fishing village on Pangkor before stopping at the main Pangkor jetty.
3. There are heaps of motorcycles for rent and pink Barbie taxi vans lining up to take you around. The vans were offering RM40 per pax for 2 hours while we managed to get a motorcycle for RM15 for approximately 5 hours. It was an experience indeed as the last time I'd been on a motorcycle was when I was a wee tot!
4. If you opt for a motorcycle, RM2-3 will be more than sufficient to take you around the island! The good part about having a motorcycle is having the flexibility to stop off at any beach you come across. The roads can be a little winding and the northern part of the island has a little hill which can be a bit of a steep incline.

Pangkor Beaches:

1. We stopped off at 3 main beaches - Pasir Bogak Beach, Teluk Ketapang and Nipah Bay Beach.
2. Pasir Bogak is the nearest beach to Pangkor town. I believe it's usually crowded during peak periods but while we were there, we had the entire beach to ourselves! It's the closest beach to Pangkor Laut Resort - the 6 star award winning resort by YTL and allows us minions a great view of the very expensive resort! It being off-season, there weren't any stalls open. There are some big trees on the beach which provide a nice shade for those not so keen on burning themselves! If you're bored, there are some boat rides and snorkelling trips available.
   
   
3. Teluk Ketapang is my favourite beach! Nestled in between Bogak and Nipah Bay, it's set away from the main road by a grassy field. It's very quiet and isolated but beware of monkeys who might steal stuff from your motorcycle if you're not careful! There are some nice rocks around and a small little pool where you can dip your feet. And some kindly people have strung up hammocks between the trees so have a lie-on while watching the day go by.
4. Nipah Bay Beach is touted to be one of the most beautiful of all beaches. Boat trips, kayak and snorkelling are available and quite a number of stalls line the street. If you're lucky, you'll see the famous Pangkor hornbill. Otherwise, relax on the shady beach in a hammock or on one of the few swings made by the local. It's a lovely playground and a nice way to re-live your childhood while swinging!
   
   

Stay tuned for Part 2 - food and more :)

Useful links:

http://www.damailaut.com/ - Official website of Swiss Garden Damai Laut
http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/index.html - Fantastic reference point for Pangkor and more!
http://www.pangkor.com.my/ - Official site for Pulau Pangkor

Friday Funnies

A few funnies to see you on your way to a fun Friday night!

Girls, don't fall for this one!


Always make sure the other can catch you before you let go!


Too cute!

Have a happy and great weekend! :)

New Template Up!

It's been ages since I left the world of html coding and understanding computer language but as they say the only constant is change so...

Ta-dah! I'm unveiling my new template! :)

Please do let me know if there are any bugs in it or any way I can make it more fun and comfortable to your eyes!

Thanks for dropping by!

p/s Thanks ParisB for all that bugging! Buy you lunch!

Movie Review: 300

Caught this new movie recently. I was initially a bit hesitant to watch it, thinking that it'll be a typical guy-sy movie with lots of blood and gore. And true enough, it was! But nonetheless, it was quite a good watch for even a girly girl like me (though there weren't any cute pink fluffy creatures singing while dancing in formation!)

So what is it about besides men (lots of em!) with really sculptured bodies and fantastic six-packs trotting about the screen with loincloths and cloaks to show off their bodies? It's actually a story of courage, team spirit, strategy and valour. It's a story of how this legendary King Leonidas (now I know how the chocolate got its name!) of Sparta led 300 of his best soldiers to fight against a marauding wave of Persians intent on conquering the whole of Asia and Europe. His valiant act inspired the rest of Greece to unite and fight against the Persians, hence foiling their ambition to take over Europe.

I was very impressed at their fighting strategy and how they fought as one, each always looking out for and protecting his neighbour. The way they have been solely trained for combat to protect their country and their freedom allowed them to laugh in the face of impending death and to embrace it, each fighting to die a glorious death for their country.

300 inspired me to google up Sparta and I found some interesting facts about them on Wikipedia:

1. It was a very tough military country with no luxuries and laws regulating everything - hence the term Spartan which we use today!
2. A child was examined at birth to see if it was weak or small. Any form of imperfection meant death for the child as only the perfect and strong were allowed to live to ensure no imperfection entered the society.
3. Male children were taken from their mothers at 7 to be trained; very brutally, physically and mentally.
4. Spartan women enjoyed a status, power and respect that was unknown in the rest of the classical world. They were educated and allowed to hold properties.

Those times were tough times in Ancient Greece! Overall, the movie is pretty gory at certain parts with limbs flailing all over the place, blood spurting everywhere and heads being cut off. It has it's LOTR moments too with Persian mammoths and strange beasts running at our poor Spartans.

But having said that, it's still a pretty good watch if you can stomach the gore. Look beyond the video-game like killing and you'll see a fighting spirit in the little team of Spartans which I'm sure the world or Bolehland would be a much better place if we all had but a fraction of the spirit they did.

Meme about me-me-me!

Paris tagged me for this blogger meme some time back. I've been procrastinating this meme and now she's threatened not to tag me anymore if I don't do what she tagged me earlier so I better get down to it!

I left the blogging scene some time ago and recently just came back again but while I was away, I've still been an active lurker on my favourite blogs. Confession: It sometimes takes me about 2+ hours just to go through all the blogs bookmarked in my Favourites list! *blush* Makes me wonder where the day goes sometimes! Hehe...anyway, here's to you, Paris! The first meme I've done in a long long while!

1) Who is the first blogger you met?
Hmm..I must say it has to be Paris! I probably met her when I was...um...1 day old?! Hehe...ok seriously, I've never really met any blogger but I've seen some famous bloggers like KimberlyCun, ShaolinTiger and KidChan (who used to be in one of my college classes before he became THE KidChan!) around before.

2) Who is the ‘Most wanted to meet blogger?’ for you?

Hard question. There are so many of my favourite bloggers I'll like to meet. Pass for now.

3) Who is the ‘I can meet, want to meet but somehow never got to meet’ blogger?

None yet

4) Who are the group of bloggers you most wanted to meet?

Some would definitely be LB, Little Miss May and their Hughug Club!

5) Do you have any bloggers/blog readers that you wish to meet right now?
Right this moment? None for now.

Who do I tag next?

This is seriously hard! I haven't been blogging much but I'll try tagging some of my favourite bloggers on whose blogs I lurk on: Masak-masak, Soo Yin and Precious Pea

Contractor Woes

We've recently moved into our new place. We were originally scheduled to move much earlier but our contractors were giving us so much trouble in remodelling the kitchen that it had to be delayed. It was a pity that we didn't discover Kitchen Remodelling Contractors earlier.

That would have saved us the stress and headache that came with our kitchen remodelling. Through their network of prescreened, high quality and elite contractors, I'm sure we would have found one that would have been able to meet our requirements. Their licensed, insured and professional contractors would have also been able to deliver our remodelled kitchen within our specified timeframe and budget with their existing pre-negotiated discounts for customers.

So, if you're planning on building your dream kitchen or remodelling your existing one, just fill out a form at Kitchen Remodelling Contractors and I'm sure you'll be able to sleep well knowing your kitchen will be exactly the way you wanted it!

Midvalley's Rates Up!

Good things don't last forever. This is especially so in the case of Midvalley's parking! I remember when Midvalley was newly opened and their parking was free while they were testing out their system. I used to make several trips there on my way back just to enjoy the new mall while sitting out the traffic jams.

Their parking rate of RM1 per entry was still pretty tolerable even when they raised their weekend per entry rate to RM3. Every weekend would see a massive traffic jam just trying to get in and out of the mall, not to mention hours circling for parking which caused me to avoid it on weekends after a while.

Recently, I saw notices up informing that their parking rates are now going up! Here are their charges:

Weekdays:

• 1st hour - RM1
• Every subsequent hour or part thereof - RM1
• Maximum - RM7

Weekends:

• 1st hour - RM3
• Every subsequent hour or part thereof - RM1
• Maximum - RM9

So there you go...one less benefit in coming to Midvalley!

Deal or No Deal?

Do you remember watching this popular game show? It used to be one of my favourite game shows. So I was pleased to discover "Deal or No Deal" online on Winzy! This game is a highly exciting game which tests how much you're willing to give up! You'll be given cases at the start of the game containing different sums of money which you'll need to pick and open at random to look for your potential prize. At intervals, you'll be offered money by the bank to buy back the chosen cases from you. So will it be Deal or No Deal?!

Winzy is a free online games site with great prizes you can win. It'll cost you nothing to join and you can win great stuff like Ipods, Nintendos and best of all, cash! So go check it out at Winzy's Deal or No Deal!

Hold It There!

I was extremely tempted to skive my usual yoga class last Thursday night. I didn't really have enough sleep the night before and was having the twang of slight gastric pains. But the reminder of exercise being good for you and more importantly, the fact that I had already paid my fees for that month made me drag my sorry self down. And what a class it was!

Our instructor put us through a punishing routine of sun salutations, standing warrior positions and downward dogs non-stop! Getting into a pose isn't that hard. What's tough is when she tells us to "Hold it there!" I used to be quite happy that my feet could finally touch the floor when doing the downward dog but last night, she pulled my body into the correct position and every muscle screamed in agony. Now I know, when a pose is comfortable, it's not correct!

Towards the end of the class, my body just gave up and I couldn't go on anymore. I was enveloped in exhaustion and taking a shower after that required sheer willpower! Needless to say I slept very well and woke up this morning feeling fantastic! I do love yoga! However, lesson learnt: Always, always have enough rest and a good night's sleep before the yoga class!

The UN family

So Angelina Jolie has done it again! She recently adopted a little Vietnamese boy from a Vietnam orphanage. Article here.

She's definitely building her own little UN family with her adopted children Maddox (Cambodia) and Zahara (Africa) and her own baby, Shiloh. In fact, she once said that she felt more for her adopted children compared to her own because they had been through so much more! I wonder what Shiloh would make of that when she grows up!

I think she's a breath of fresh air in Hollywood. Instead of running off and having many children with different fathers, she's choosing to adopt children from poor nations in a bid to give them a a better life. At least, they'll be able to enjoy a far better life, materially, than they would have in the orphanages in their own countries.

It'll be interesting to see what funky name she'll give this little new Vietnamese son of hers!

GSC Buy 1, Free 1

A treat for all you movie-goers out there! I saw this promotion on GSC's website. It's a Buy 1, Free 1 promotion for some movies (asterisk movies only). I tried using it for Ghost Rider last Wednesday and I got 2 tickets for it at RM7! Which made it only RM3.50 per ticket! I love deals like this! Hehe..plenty of spare change left for pop corn!

It's valid till 31 March so go check it out! Happy watching!

Achey Feet

I've been having lots of trouble with my shoes recently. I'm not sure if it's because of the height or the quality of the shoe but it's been killing me most nights with sharp pains shooting up from my feet especially after I've walked a far distance in it. Thank goodness I have my Clarks boots which look a little like this:

They're stylish enough to wear to work yet comfortable enough for me to walk in them without having the terrible pains at night.

It isn't easy being a woman. We want to have nice sexy stilettos and pretty heels but with that, we've got to take the pain and discomfort that come with it. I've also learnt my lesson of not getting tempted by the plethora of cheap shoes out there in Vincci, Nose and others. While they may seem pretty and cheap, the quality that comes with them is equally cheap and at the end of the day you'll only be hurting your own feet. I must say, though, that it's really difficult to find nice and comfortable shoes here in KL, even when you're willing to pay more. I used to like Nine West shoes but recently their designs and quality has been rather crap. If anyone has any good shoe places they go too, please do drop me a line!

This is probably the reason why people buy Jimmy Choos despite the expensive price tag it comes with. After this recent episode, I'll pay for comfort and style too!

Anyone care to donate to my Jimmy Choo fund?! ;)

Dating's a click away!

Recently a friend of mine called to say she was getting engaged. I was very surprised as this friend was just lamenting, not too many months ago, the fact that she was still single. Curious, I asked her how her whirlwind romance happened and she was very happy to share about how she found her Mr Right onJustSayHi.

JustSayHi is a great online dating website that's totally free which makes it so much easier compared to Yahoo Personals! Just sign up with them, no credit cards or payment required, and a whole new world will open for you!

So, if you're tired of relatives nagging at you to get married, keep meeting the wrong people or tired of dates that always go nowhere, click and JustSayHi!

Free Coffee!

I was thrilled to see this advertisement in the newspapers yesterday:

So this morning, I thronged to the Starbucks opposite my office to see that a long queue was already starting! Malaysians and their freebies!

We all didn't have to wait long though because they had already anticipated the crowd and prepared a steady supply of coffee cups to distribute. So all we had to do was to go up to the counter to be given a nice steaming hot cup of coffee!

I don't usually drink coffee, what more Starbucks which I don't believe in paying for. So this freebie was a nice one indeed! :) If nothing else, I could pretend to be like one of those busy executives on TV scurrying to work with that famous coffee cup in their hands!

p/s I must say their cardboard sleeve is pretty good in keeping the coffee hot and your hands cool! But it still isn't enough to turn me into a Starbucks convert! RM10 for a cup of coffee is still a bit too hot to swallow.

Lasik Tips

ParisB pinged me early this morning with this news: Centre stops all Lasik Ops. Moosey over to her blog to read the full article she reproduced if you can't open the link.

What scary news! I did my Lasik about 2.5 years ago and actually encouraged Paris to do it as well. Before I did it, however, I did lots of research and talked to a lot of people to find out more. Some advice to all of you out there who are considering this is:

1. Understand the potential side-effects and risks that come with it. Personally, I didn't have much problems with haloes, starbursts (porcupine lights) or impaired night vision but I do know of some who did. However, I did have quite a bit of trouble with dry eyes.
2. Talk to people who've done it before. It sometimes helps to know the procedure so you're well-prepared for the cold room and the operating table which can be pretty scary.
3. Ask around for recommendations. Paris and I did ours at Optimax, the pioneer in Malaysian eye care industry, and we were both very happy with the services and treatments they provided.
4. Talk to the eye doctor about your fears before you commit to doing it. If the doctor can't even bother to spare some time to explain and reassure you of the procedure, I suggest you make a quick getaway!
5. Follow their advice after the procedure - drop the antibiotics and eyedrops at the prescribed time and take the allocated MC they give you to rest your eyes. Don't run to the TV or computer immediately after your operation!
6. Don't forget your sunnies as your eyes may be a little more sensitive to sunlight after that. Invest in a good pair with adequate protection. I personally like my polarized lenses which cut out most of the glare.

The fun I get out of wearing sunglasses (vain me!) and the thrill of not having to fumble with glasses and unwieldy contacts makes me glad I did mine!

Love Actually

Unique Advertising

I often pass a small market on my way out to work. It's nothing grand...just a few vans or stalls lined up against the road that services the local community. I often just spare it a cursory glance on my way to work but this morning something caught my eye while I was stuck at the traffic light.

A little van was parked outside the 7-11 selling all kinds of paper offerings for the coming Ching Ming (Chinese grave-sweeping Day) festival. Loud catchy Chinese music was blasting from the van but the funniest sight was the owner of the "stall" - a little fat balding man. He was dancing energetically to the catchy music, swaying his hips and waving his hands to the beat! And as I watched him, he grabbed some paper ties in his hand and was waving them around his head as he jived and bopped. I couldn't help laughing at him and his jovial expression as he waved to the amused market customers.

Call it a unique form of advertising but he sure made my morning!

Wise Investments

The recent months have seen our local share market like a roller-coster with exciting highs and terrifying dips. This uncertainty coupled with the high gold price in the market has seen many turning to gold for investment purposes instead. The Chinese especially have always believed in the beauty of gold and it's ability to preserve one's investments and purchasing power and protect one's wealth. Not everyone has the ability to purchase ingots or bullions but still every special event for the Chinese is often marked with a gold item. I guess in the present times of rising inflation and increasing gold prices, it pays to diversify your assets with Monex Precious Metals - a leader in America's gold and precious metals investments.

Insurance Agent Woes

Don't you just hate it when a friend you haven't heard of in at least 10 years calls out of the blue and asks to meet up for a business opportunity? When you do meet up, you'll be presented with a depressing picture of your state of health or finances and harrassed into buying insurance. Hence I was pleased to discover Insurance Portal Online!

It sells all kinds of insurances - term life, auto, homeowners and so much more. I can browse various options and obtain quotes for any insurance I want at any time of the day without constant harrassment from insurance agents who can't take "No" for an answer.

So if you're as tired as I am of insurance agents chasing you, drop by Insurance Portal Online to take a look and to get a quote today!

It's Up For Sale

Our house and home for the past 7 years is finally up for sale. We spent a hard day yesterday cleaning it out of all the bits and bobs. It's amazing how much junk a family can accumulate in every corner of the house! Bits of paper, ribbons and stuff that we always kept thinking we'll re-use them again some day were unceremoniously throw out with bags and bags of rubbish.

It feels sad saying goodbye to a home that has seen us through all our ups and downs of the past 7 years. We've grown in our careers, accomplished lifetime goals, seen through adversity and most importantly bonded closer as a family in this home. Well, they say the only constant in life is change and there will always be better things for us to look forward to ahead.

We all just pray that our home will go for a good price to a family who'll have just as many happy memories in it as we did.

Dream Wedding Invites

No, I haven't been bitten by this bug yet there's never any harm in planning early! Some couples tend to overlook their wedding invites in their planning and settle for the customary Chinese red and heavily perfumed wedding cards.

When my day comes, I'll definitely consider Gold Wedding Invitations for my wedding invitations. It'll add a nice and sophisticated touch to the wedding and an elegant change from the usual Chinese wedding cards. Their golden wedding invitations come with beautifully designed cards and poignant words that are sure to make the giver and the receiver feel special. Plus for the magpie in me, they come with lovely gold stars and shimmer!

So, if your special day is just around the corner and you're contemplating your wedding invitations, do consider to buy gold wedding invitations. I'm sure it'll add an extra-special touch to your wedding day.

When I Grow Up I Want To Be...

An astronaut? A doctor? A scientist?

Do you remember those little cards we had to fill out when we were in school? It had your height, weight, personal details, etc and one last section was always dedicated to 3 of your ambitions. Honestly, how they expected little children of 6 or 7 years to know what they want to be when they grow up is beyond me! Thinking back, mine was liberally peppered with "grand" ambitions like astronauts, doctors, scientists, marine biologists...you get the drift!

But now that I'm older and hopefully, wiser, I think I've finally got my ambition down pat. All I want to do when I grow up is to be a...tai-tai*! What fun to be a lady of leisure and going for spas, teas, window shopping, blog-surfing and holidays! Better still, to be a financially independent tai-tai just like Chan Lilian of 5xmom fame!

Unfortunately, till that day comes, I can but dream and work harder to be one! ;)

*Lady of leisure

Earn Money

I didn't get an increment this year *cries* and toll rates went up. That only reinforced my current ambition in life to be a financially independent homemaker like 5xmom!

So I jumped onto the bandwagon when I saw the fantastic opportunities Blogsvertise offered to bloggers! It's really simple. All you have to do is to register your blog with them and wait for their approval. Once approved, they'll email you a website URL and you'll have to write approximately 75 words in 2 to 3 paragraphs about that website while mentioning it at least 3 times in your post. The best part is that you don't even need to endorse the advertisement you're blogging about! You just need to mention or discuss it in your post. Once done, you just submit it back to Blogsvertise and wait for their approval. Have your Paypal account ready because once it's approved, Blogsvertise pays you within 30 days!

As the saying goes, every little drop will make an ocean so here's to my first little drop!

Smoke gets in your Eyes

Face, lungs and every other part of you too!

Ok, this is a ranting post but after I had to sit through a meeting last night where the attendees cheerfully chain-smoked their way through whole packs of cigarettes, I've had enough! Smoking if you wish to kill yourself by way of a slow and painful death is fine. Dragging others along with you with your secondary smoke isn't.

I've always found smokers rather selfish in that respect. They light up everywhere and anywhere as long as they have the urge with nary a thought for the others who are frantically fanning the cigarette smoke away from their faces and gulping for a breath of fresh air. Worse are those who happily smoke in the car with their kids or babies around them.

Having been brought up in a family of non-smokers who abhor smokers of any sort, we've become pretty sensitive to cigarette smoke. We'll deliberately move our chairs away from smokers or move to get a better table if we're near any. In fact, when we first went to Izzi without a reservation and had to be put in the smoker's area, we practically rushed through our dinner just so that we could leave before anyone in there chose to light up! I personally too hate the smell of stale smoke on a smoker. It's a certain distinctive smell that is a big turn-off.

I must say, though, that it can be quite amusing to watch those puffing away hungrily in the glass enclosed room of the smokers' lounge in airports. They always have this hunted look in their eyes as if they're on their death row which I guess no cigarette on a 20 or 30 hour flight is close enough to death for them.

I think Hong Kong has set the right move in banning smokers in most public places, even parks and main areas. We should do something similar here. It'll probably lead to cleaner air and healthier people. I know smoking is an addiction but I always believe that wherever there's a will, there's a way. And if you want to stop smoking bad enough, you will because your inner resolve will be stronger than any outside influence can be.

Maybe all we need here are glass smoking booths strategically placed at various spots of the city. That way, all smokers can cram in there to smoke and breathe in each other's toxins and secondary smoke without killing the rest of the population who wish for a breath of fresh air.

Oodles of Noodles

I've been having a hankering for instant noodles but the hidden health freak in me has been trying very hard to avoid the MSG-laden and high fat noodles swamping the market. So, on a trip to Singapore last December, I was very excited to find Koka Low-Fat and MSG-Free instant noodles there!

So, last night's dinner was the instant Chicken Pho which I had with my favourite poached egg white and DoDo ngoh hiang fish rolls.


The packet came with dried hor fun type noodles, a packet of seasoning, oil and a small pack of garnishing which provided the green sprinkles above. The brown stuff were the fish rolls which I drained in hot water first so the oil on it wouldn't contaminate the noodles.

And the verdict? It actually tasted pretty good! It had a subtle chicken taste, unlike some brands of noodles which come strongly flavoured. The noodles were silky smooth and the dried spring onions and chilli garnishing gave it a bit of a spicy kick. The best part, was of course, not having the terribly thirsty feeling one gets after eating instant noodles.

Curious about this brand, I googled it and was surprised to see that it's popular in places as far as Ireland and UK! I've recently seen the labels in our local supermarkets but sad to say, I've never seen the low-fat ones available here. Perhaps it's time we start being a little more health-conscious too especially with the recent health drive and move to ban fast-food advertisements.

I can't wait for my next trip to Singapore to stock up on more of these! :)

Estrogen Overdose

They say that our brains are partly male and female, in varying proportions. I think in my case, when my hormones were dosed out, I got an overdose of estrogen! Hence, the name of this blog - PinkElle...pink because female me loves pretty pink and glitter and Elle after dear blonde Elle Woods whose blonde moments I often find myself in!

I have a terrible sense of direction and need to hopelessly rely on landmarks to get me to my destination. I can't tell left from right :p My dad can tell me "Turn right up ahead". I'll say "OK" and promptly turn left. I can't fix things to save my life. And best of all, I can't install or uninstall anything electronic - Manuals scare me!

This came to mind when our new telly came last night. I went home to find that only TV3 was visible. I glanced at the manual, pressed some buttons in a feeble attempt to tune into the other channels and when it didn't listen, I did what I always do - Call Sis! Where I'm utterly useless at fixing stuff, she's an expert at figuring out how to make a TV, DVD, camera, etc work! And true enough, she didn't let me down and had all channels tuned and running within half an hour! Just in time for me to catch my weekly dose of Desperate Housewives!

What'll I do without her?! It's times like this when I feel I'm not much bigger than small ball of pink fluff. Heh..

The Bug That's Going Around

I've noticed a bug that's been going around my various groups of friends. It seems to be spreading faster than the flu virus could. What is it? It's the wedding and baby bug!

I guess it must be due to that "right age to get hitched" but the past year or so have seen wedding invites flying all over the place which leaves me agonizing over my meagre cupboard looking for the right dress to wear to the various wedding dinners. Even hard-core "I'll never get married till I'm 50" friends are catching the bug and whenever I do my customary annual social event, I get hit with another wedding card!

And if it's not weddings, it's babies! All around me, friends are in various stages of pregnancy. I think I've got them covered from those who are trying to those who are on the brink of delivery.
I guess babies are a natural progression from the wedding bug which is a natural progression of growing older but while I'm happy for them, it's a little disconcerting sometimes. A friend last night just lamented that our conversations now are all going to be about babies, weddings or anti-aging creams and yes, it does seem to be heading into that direction.

No surer sign than these life-changing events to remind us all that we're getting older!