An Open Letter to Khairul Fahmi

Dear Khairul Fahmi,

If you ever read this, please know for a fact that I don't really watch football, unless it's the World Cup finals. I don't really have a favorite team (like Arsenal, Chelsea, Kelantan or Negeri Sembilan). Well, I thought I was a fan of MU, but I figured out I only liked them because Beckham was there back in those years. I only know the faces of famous players whom I think look cute (like Kaka, Michael Owen and Cristiano Ronaldo), but I know of some too, who are not quite as good-looking, like Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Carlos Tevez. And I only know 2 coaches: Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, and that's only because the newspapers kept putting their pictures in the sports articles at the last page, with a jacket/coat/blazer and sporting a grim/snarling/serious-looking face.

My definition of a good footballer is being able to score goals from a long distance, making a "free-header", tackling a ball from an opponent with ease, and expertly catching a very fast-moving ball, for a goalie. Unless the ball comes anywhere near the goal posts, you can count on me to be somewhere else not watching the game. I thought watching 11 individuals running after one ball, kicking it towards a big erected net at the end of the pitch, well, darn taxing. It's such a wide expanse of grass-covered land, why would you tire yourself scrambling all over it, trying to outrun each other to get the ball? And I don't get it why people (especially the male species) would be willing to hang out at those crowded mamaks, watching the game projected onto the big white screen oh-so-conveniently brought out during football seasons (blurry, much?), when they can comfortably watch at home with friends and family, without the extra charges of overpriced teh tarik and mee goreng mamak?

But my perspective on football might have changed a little (for the better, in a way) with the Malaysia v. Indonesia final match for the Suzuki Cup. I was visiting my cousin in the hospital, your teammates' glorious goals in the first leg made me shout out in glee in the ward, forgetting I was in a hospital. I don't remember seeing you in action much in that match, but I sure got a whole lot of glimpses of you in the final leg. Boy, were you marvelous. You jumped, crawled, rolled over and stretched to the max to prevent our neighbor from scoring. You put out your neck and left the goal area to try and catch the ball. That was brave. And you did catch it, most of the time! I think it's safe to say that we Malaysians gratefully thank you for those saves. If it wasn't for you, we'd be toast right now. (Psst, between you and me, from a non-football fan of view, I think our defenders could use a bit more training. I felt pity for you last night, because it looked like you were the only one working to stop the opponents)

Initially, I wanted to write a longer letter, but with my limited knowledge on football playing techniques and skills and strategies, that would be a big and daunting task for me.
Just know that you made me believe that Malaysian football can soar to greater heights with you as the goalie. And that you made me watch a football match involving the Malaysian team. Your performance was GOLD. You really deserved being one of Twitter's trending topics!

p/s: Harimau Malaya rocks!
p/p/s: Did you know that Kim Kardashian tweeted about you last night?
p/p/p/s: Is Safee still single and available? If he is, please ask him to Facebook me ;)

The 7-Day Challenge [Day 7]

[Day 7]

One story of a memory I have

2001; Sekolah Tun Fatimah.

My best friend and I used to fight over stupid, little things in high school. I still remember we wouldn't talk to each other for quite some time. We would pull our desks as far apart as the class seating layout would allow us to, so that our elbows wouldn't clash. It's like there's an imaginary line with a signage saying 'PRIVATE PROPERTY: TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED'. I wouldn't cross over to her side of the desk, and she wouldn't cross over to mine. It was like we didn't know each other. We went to the school canteen for recess with other girls, in separate groups. Say that our mutual friends were laughing about a joke or something and we happened to be there with them laughing along, and suddenly we'd catch each other's eyes, we'd immediately stop laughing and pretend we didn't know each other.

Looking back, I can't even remember why we even fought in the first place!

But now we have gone our separate ways, doing our own thing, but we still keep in touch from time to time. She's pursuing medicine right now. She'll make an awesome, ass-kicking doctor, because she's brilliant, and she's made of tougher stuff (unlike me). Although we don't see each other much right now (okay, maybe once or twice a year at a wedding reception or a batch gathering), she'll always be my Minnie Monkey, and I her Koala.
 

And that is one story of a memory I have - the ridiculous fights with my best friend.

:)

And that about wraps up my 7-day challenge!

The 7-Day Challenge [Day 6]

Wow, this is gonna be a tough one.

[Day 6]

2 things I want:

1. A pair of gold-ish heels appropriate for dinners/wedding receptions, à la Louboutin's Pigalle.
2. Exchange rate of British pound to drop, so that I can shop with my BFF in the UK, without worry.

Where's Mine?

via oh love, love, love

The 7-Day Challenge [Day 5]

[Day 5]

3 things that I miss.

1. Standing at the edge of the beach (wtf? shore line? water line? coast line? gigi air/pesisiran pantai!) at night - used to do it when I was an undergrad. Yes, just standing there, letting the darkness envelops you and the water rushing in at your ankles, soaking the frayed hems of your jeans.
2. Slathering a thick glob of mayonnaise onto a piece of white bread at 2am and eating it because you're famished.
3. The best 5 years of my teenage life in high school. We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun (okay so that was a line from a Westlife song, but I really did have fun).

The 7-Day Challenge [Day 4]

[Day 4]

4 things I wish I could say, but might never.

1. Stop being so darn perky. Your optimism is nauseating.
2. You will always have my heart. If only you're rich(er).
3. Where did we go? Seven years ago, we used to be so good together.
4. I've never liked your husband. But you seemed happy with him, so I kept my mouth shut.

Ooh, snap!

The 7-Day Challenge [Day 3]

Okay, so I didn't really post anything yesterday for the 7-day challenge. But in my defense, I was busy at home, because the relatives from Jelapang visited. And we all know absolutely nothing can be done when your uncles, aunties and cousins are over.

So, here's my [Day 3] challenge:

5 songs that I like

1. Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra - perfect song for a happy occasion, such as a birthday party 
2. Let Me Hear Your Voice (Koe Wo Kika Sete) by Big Bang (a Korean boy group) - the MV is simply breath-taking. Love all the bokehs. Go watch it!
3. October Skies by Waking Ashland - the kind of song that will make you reminisce.
4. Satellite by Guster - the Martian Child dance, anyone?
5. My Heaven by Big Bang (yes I'm kinda obsessed with this group) - it has that summer-feelin' to it, and the boys looked good in white!

The 7-Day Challenge [Day 2]

 

[Day 2]

6 things I love (in no particular order).

1. The color yellow of blooming sunflowers on a sunny day. Gorgeous!
2. That feeling you get when you are famished and you bite into a freshly-prepared salmon sashimi.
3. The way a person's face lit up when you do something nice for them.
4. The small diamond ring my mom bought for me. The size doesn't matter.
5. That super clean feeling you get after a long hot shower. Heaven!
6. My love for fabulous shoes. Do I even need to mention this?

Have a fun weekend, people!

The 7-Day Challenge [Day 1]

I'm resurrecting this blog to life (again). And thus, I've decided to do a 7-day challenge.
It's only for a week (for now). I don't trust myself that much to attempt a 30-day challenge.
Let's see if we'll get 7 posts in 7 days from today. I could learn a thing or two about myself in the process. You too.


Here goes nothing.

Got it from here

[Day 1]

Seven (7) things that cross your mind a lot.

1. Seeing how I'm turning *gasp* 24 in a few months time, I wonder if I'm ever gonna find someone (or anyone for that matter) that can stand (and preferably financially-support, but that's optional) my obsession for shoes (proof, proof , proof , proof , oh and this proof too) and individually-independent nature. The non-stop barrage of Facebook invitations and picture uploads of wedding receptions of my own little circle of friends and acquantainces does not help with my current status of being single-and-available-and-still-looking. So does being the voluntary nanny of Ean on family trips to the mall/favorite eatery. This can happen before you can admiringly say 'good mommy material'.
2. Do I really belong here at my current work place? A government agency? Really? Since high school, I've always thought that I'd end up in a corporate place, where I get to wear serious-looking suits and toting professionally chic handbags large enough to fit in the documents and folders that I would take home to go through in bed before sleep. I've always thought that I'd be firing up my wits and negotiation skills in the boardroom, charming the socks off every guy in the room. Yes, it's a non-changeable fact that I was a science student, having taken Biology, Chemistry and Physics for my SPM in 2003, and it's highly-unlikely that a lab nerd like me would end up in a boardroom of a corporation, but there's still that 0.9% possibility right? Now, I go to work daily, constantly dressed in baju kurung. The only thing that spices things up would be my choice of footwear. Seriously. Initially, I wore baju kurung on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The other two days I would wear conservative work pants and shirts. I was my happy self for a few months (not yet a permanent staff, still in training), when a kind colleague pulled me aside and told me a senior staff once snidely remarked to her "kawan awak tu tak tau etika berpakaian pejabat ke?" I immediately made the much-needed trip to Jalan TAR that weekend to stock up on baju kurung fabrics. I only had about eight wearable pairs of baju kurung at that point of time.
3. Foodstuffs. I think about food ALL. THE. TIME, it's frustrating.
4. My choice of footwear (see #1). Do they repel the general public? More importantly, do they repel straight, available guys? Okay, this doesn't cross my mind that much, but I do think about it sometimes, when I see a couple walking together. They are about the same height, and the girl wears flats to be able to look at him at the same eye-level.
5. Why can't the nights be longer?! I badly need a social life.
6. I really should get LASIK done soon. It's painful having to spend RM200 every month for your contact lenses - I could get a really, really fine pair of Charles & Keith with that much money.
7. Baby boy names for Ean's little brother, who's coming soon! ;)

Dainty Chic

All pictures credited to this blogshop

Money like water

Facial wash dah nak habis.
Moisturizer pun.
Stock contact lenses dah nak habis (I can only wear daily disposable ones).
Teringin nak pakai Body Shop's Oceanus semula.
Mascara dah lama habis.
Fave black kohl pun sama.

All the above need money, but I simply don't know where my money's gone to.


Oh wait.


I bought 3 pairs of shoes in the past few weeks.


-___-'



Note to self: Carry out shoes inventory.


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13kg and Counting

Two reasons why I loved being warded for dengue:

1. Amazing weight loss
I lost about 6kg because I wasn't eating much the whole six days I was in the hospital (plus the first three-days I was bed-ridden at home). No matter how tantalizing the hospital food is (haha), if you're a patient and you are attached to an IV drip, don't count on seeing the food being touched. Even Gordon Ramsay/Anna Olson/Rachel Ray will spectacularly fail at this task.
I'm about 55kg now (I was at my heaviest when I was an undergraduate - superflabby at 68kg), and I intend to make it stay there at the 55kg mark. Now I'm trying hard to eat in moderation (and avoid late-night snacking). Exercising is still such a hard thing for me, heh.

2. Change of pace
It has been a mundane work-home-work-home routine for me since I started working in July 2010. It goes without saying that contracting dengue and being warded for it allowed me to slow down and simply do nothing. I'm on leave until Saturday, and I start work again on Monday. I'm excited to go back to work, because I'm getting two new 20-inch computer monitors! So much easier not having to squint while browsing through the blogshops reading the PDF patent files.

One single reason why I hated being warded for dengue:

It was a horrible, sickly feeling, being hooked up to an IV drip, every second of the day. Having to buzz for the nurse every single time I wanna go pee felt awful (although they do get paid to tend to me), and bathroom trips were a definite surety - there's an IV drip, remember? I kept waking up in the middle of the night. I kept getting poked at with needles (for daily blood tests). I was in a state of self-neglect that I was silently cursing those student nurses who kept waltzing in and out of my room smelling all flowery and nice. I only showered once every 2 days. I felt filthy, but there's nothing I could do. I was too weak to even raise my hands to take off my PJs.

p/s: I'm flying solo now, haha.

That Swell in Your Heart

That swell in your heart.

That alien, dull, indescribable ache,

that leaves you short of breath.

Like your chest cavity is filled to the brim,

with something that you can't pinpoint,

what it exactly is.

It happens everytime,

he says 'I miss you',

or when you simply think of him.

You fight,

you feel that dull ache.

You merajuk,

you feel that dull ache.

You make-up,

you feel that dull ache.

How do you know for sure,

that the ache comes from your heart?

You don't.

But everytime you think of him,

that ache comes,

your heart thuds slower,

and it feels heavy.

Heavy, with that feeling,

you simply can't describe.
That dull ache.

That swell in your heart.

picture credit here

Matters of the Heart

He calls her 'sayang', 'baby' etc.

She thinks he really does.

He gets jealous if she tell him she's going for a movie with another guy friend.

She thinks he's really jealous.

He pulls out her chair when she gets up from the table.

She thinks he's not faking it.

He lets her go on the escalator first.

She thinks he's really a gentleman.

He sings to her in the morning, just in time for her to wake up. While playing his acoustic guitar.

She thinks he's a real softie.

He says he's looking for 'cinta mati'.

She thinks he's really looking for it.

He says he's looking for a girl who can accept him for who he really is.

She thinks he's sincere.

He says he's not a good guy.

She thinks he's telling the truth.

He says he wants to change for the better.

She doesn't know when (or if) he's going to change, at all.

So, the question now is:

To jump, or not to jump?

picture credit here

A woman has got to love a bad man once or twice in her life to be thankful for a good one

Charles & Keith made me update

They are my third pair this month (the first two are both covered 4-inch pumps - nude/tan/brown and chilli red).
They are extremely comfy.
They are about 5 inches high.
They make me feel as if I'm one of those circus people going around walking on poles, tremendously TALL.
They make me feel like a superwoman.
Most importantly, they make me happy :)

p/s: Anybody reading noticed where this picture was taken?
(hint: somewhere a shoesaholic would hide her stash, not wanting her mom to know about her recent purchase)

Down Memory Lane

It's like high school all over again. It hurts to know that you are being excluded from the get-togethers your friends are having, even if you aren't besties before (but close enough to have affectionate nicknames). It feels like shyte, actually. Yes, it's year 2010 now, 10+ years post-zit attacks and all. Yes, we are all working people now. Yes, we are on separate paths now. But at least have the courtesy to ask whether the girl can join or not. She realizes that she's not in your clique, but she's a friend, no?

Pardon the bitterness. That time of the month is approaching.



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Rekindling Past Love

picture credit here

Just a few years back, I read on average about 2 books (novels) every month. I would spend hours at MPH, Kinokuniya, Times or Borders browsing through Sophie Kinsella, Jane Green, Anne Rice, Nora Roberts and many more. I would go wandering between the book shelves, wondering which titles I should get for that month. There were simply too many to choose from, I would sometimes leave the store empty-handed, because I felt it would be unfair to the other books if I only chose two or three. You see, my allowance back then only allowed me to purchase at most three titles per month, with each priced at RM40, max. I could spend more, but I was really bad at keeping the receipts to be used for tax relief (Dad's). I would either lose/misplace the slip of paper by the time I got home from the book store. So basically, I would have to pay for the books using my own pocket money. And I'm a girl who don't really like to spend my own money, unless it's really necessary.
My book collection at home is sorta big, for a then-20 year-old girl. I remember so vividly this one day back in 2008 when my heart almost stopped because my brother sold off my Stephen King (yes, Stephen King!) collection to the newspaperman, among many many other titles. His reason? He thought they were a waste of space (they were on the book shelve in MY room!) and no one would ever really want to read them anymore (I re-read my books every few months, fyi). I knew that he did it because he needed money. Served him right for being so evil, he only got RM14 from the whole lot of Stephen Kings, when I've spent years and a fortune purchasing them! If the newspaperman was wise, he would have sold the books to a used books store and get back that RM14 and more. I didn't even want to think of the possibility of him sending the books to a recycling centre. That's equivalent to literary murder.
Today, I only have The Shining with me. I miss my Skeleton Crew like crazy.

picture credit here

Since that fateful event, I kinda stopped buying books and stopped re-reading the ones that are left. I admit that they've been collecting dust ever since. Even when I do buy books every now and then during visits to the mall (buying books during mall trips was a 15-year old habit of mine), I simply couldn't find enough enthusiasm to get back into reading. Soon, they would be lost among all other thingamajigs in the house.
Fast forward to 2010, I'm trying to fulfill my mid-year resolution of going back into reading. I realized that I need to start reading again, because my English is getting rusty (being a government-employed person does not help with it), and I can no longer write a good sentence in one try. So now, I'm in the midst of interviewing the vampire (Interview with the Vampire, page 13) and we're still at the New Orleans plantation. I simply cannot recall the story line, and I'm glad. It'll be like reading an interesting new book, which I love!
Here's to an enjoyable experience of rekindling past love.

picture credit here

I hope someone else who finds him/herself falling OUT of love with reading magical printed words on a page, will decide to pick up a book, and fall IN love all over again.

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Power to the Ladies!

Wife: I need a black dress.
Husband: You have a black dress.
Wife: I need a wide range of black dresses.
Husband: You have three black dresses.
Wife: Three is not a wide range; 20 is a wide range.
Husband: You are not buying 20 black dresses.
Wife: Okay, you win. I'll make do with 10. Actually, seven or eight should be plenty.
Husband: Right. I should think so too.

By the time he realised that he had okayed five new black dresses, she was halfway to Zara.


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Peekaboo

This is Ean. My Ean :)

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Taken

Tall? Check.
Cute? Check.
Good manners? Check.
Nice teeth? Check.
Ability to match tie and shirt? Check.
Soothing voice? Check.
Funny? Check.
Polished shoes? Check.
Ironed shirt and pants? Check.
Nice hairstyle? Check.
Smart? Check.

Everything's there. If only he's not married -_-'


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Blogging when you're in the toilet

No, I am not in the loo right now. Just testing out blogging on the Crackberry. Its supposed to be super easy: send an e-mail to a secret e-mail address that only you know of, and the e-mail will be your blog post. The subject is your blog post title and your body is your, err, body. Let's see how this turns out.

I'm on my lunch break at work now. Its freaking cold here, it's illegal. Those cute polar bears are drowning because KL-ites just can't work at normal room temperature! Global warming is our own doing. If we continue living like this, KL will be experiencing its first snow sooner than expected.

And I'll be the first one to celebrate it, haha.
The snow, not the global warming.


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Alive and Kickin'

Hello peeps.
Guess who's back?