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.


Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device via Vodafone-Celcom Mobile.

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.