Monday, January 30, 2012

方炯镔 - 坏人 (Fang Jiong Bin - Huai Ren)

Chinese New Year 2012: Reunion Lunch

It was on Chinese New Year Eve that we had our farewell meal at Kampachi Equatorial. Whether the lack of crowd was the result of the restaurant's recent price increase or the long festive weekend, I wouldn't know.

Here are a handful of pictures that Mama Carrie had managed to capture while she was going around, looking for interesting dishes to pounce on. Not that she's a glutton, anyway.

Simply said, the meal can be considered as this year's reunion meal. =D



Fruits



Salad



Salad #1



Chicken Sukiyaki



Beef Sukiyaki



Vegetarian Sukiyaki



Tuna and Salmon Sushi



Egg and Inari Sushi



Grilled Salmon



Tempura



Sashimi



Futomaki and Soft-Shelled Crab Sushi



Sushi



Sweet Cake

Address: Kampachi by Equatorial
Mezzanine Floor,
Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur,
50250 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia

Phone Number: 03 - 2101 7777 (Kindly remember to ask the operator to transfer you to Kampachi)

Sunday, January 29, 2012

A Written Confusion

Our school was different in such a way that it houses a convenience store and a book store for the students and teachers who stayed back after classes for revisions and require related materials and tidbits. I wish there was such a school in real life~!

It was on one fine mid-morning that I wanted to rush down to the toilet and the teacher asked another classmate to accompany me. To be on the safe side, you know.

Something terrible happened on the way back. The same classmate who had accompanied me to the toilet turned into someone possessed and wreaked havoc on everything around her using magic. The clouds had turned dark grey and there was powerful thunder and lightning. She didn't look like the person that we all knew; her hair covered her face and she was walking like a Chinese zombie.

I feared for my safety and hugged a statue of Mother Mary in tears and pleading, "Forgive me, Mother Mary, for I have sinned."

The irony of it was that I've been made to understand in Catholicism that it is the priest that one confesses one's sins to, and not to Mother Mary as She only intercedes one's prayers through the Rosary. Up until now, I do not understand the meaning behind this dream.

Does this mean that I'll have to have a word with the priest on this?

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Post Chinese New Year

Hey there, I'm now back from my break with some updates of the festivity.

I had been asked whether I had returned home for the reunion dinner and to visit both sets of relatives but I had chose to stay behind in the city instead. Both sets of grandparents are buried six feet under and all the relatives had been busy welcoming both the God of Fortune and the Water Dragon into their homes with their families, to which I'm not complaining about.

Yes, you heard that right; not all share the same religion.

Sunset at One Avenue

The city was not deserted to the point where it was eerily quiet but there was less traffic than normal. I'm not sure about the shopping malls because I had refused to be squashed by both the weekend and holiday crowd.

Yeah, try going to the Curve or Sunway Pyramid during a weekend afternoon and you'll see what I mean but that's for another post another time. Now, you may be wondering how I spent my Chinese New Year (CNY) in the city. Well, it was pretty mundane.

The Curve
  • The eve was spent at Kampachi Equatorial having a farewell meal and watching the live broadcast of the special Taiwanese programs.
  • The 1st day was spent lolling at home and catching the reruns of any programs that we had missed.
  • The 2nd was spent hiking Bukit Kiara where we caught a glimpse of an old acquaintance leaving with his wife just as we arrived.
  • Mama Carrie tried and failed miserably to bake an egg and spinach quiche on the 3rd night as the egg refused to be cooked in the oven. I must thank God that the raw egg didn't give us any issues the next day.
  • And life pretty much returned to its normalcy on the 4rd day when we swung by the organic store to purchase the week's worth of groceries. Except that some of the shops have remained closed up until now. I hope they open tomorrow because business needs to be back to usual.
CNY has never been a big deal in my life except for the red packets, I reckon. As a young girl, I had always looked forward of swinging by my late grandparents' place to receive red packets from them. The amount never bothered me; what mattered was that they appreciated this grandchild of theirs coming to visit them. What's funny is that I've done a drink company's commercial in the 90's that represented just that: one big family congregated at the matriarch's home.

Now, I've found no interest in celebrating the festivity and especially after Papa Carrie left to reside on the farm that he had bought, festive seasons are merely bleak reminders. I don't think the busy relatives would even notice my absence this time 'round. =D

IPC Shopping Center

Even as I type this post, both neighbors have invited family members and friends over for a meal and bonding. I can hear them laughing in a conversation and enjoying a glass or two of alcoholic or merely fizzy drinks.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Chinese New Year '12

Happy Chinese New Year!

The Meteorological Department's prediction was right; it's going to be a wet festive season. Even though it's only the morning of the eve, it's heavily raining at my place and exuding a sense of coldness to it. You know how cold the rain can be.

I'm taking a week off from the blogging world. And until then, stay safe and let the Water Dragon bring out the inner Dragon in you this year! =) 恭喜发财! 万事如意!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

1/18/2012

Something's not adding up, I know, but I'm retaining my silence on it. Of course I'm unhappy that I've been ignored or replied to in such a way but I'm aware that there are reasons behind the sudden cold shoulders that I'm not interested in unearthing. I'm not the busybody like the folks out there who constantly pepper the poor soul with questions ranging from A to Z. And that brings me to a matter that has been infuriating me for a quite while.

Dude, where in the world are your manners? I can understand why you're pissed, but I don't see why you should even dare to blow one's top when it's you who's constantly seeking for help. It makes me wonder if you truthfully appreciate the inconveniences one has to go through just to appease your deepening anger and disappointment or if you're merely taking advantage of the unsuspecting soul.

To tell you the truth, I'm fed up with those including you who are nice only when they're in need of help and not at all times. Maybe you can tell me why the true colors and personalities will only emerge when the issue has been resolved.

Oh, let me warn you. You might want to have second thoughts about screaming at people. It might actually backfire on you.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

1/17/2012

You wouldn't believe how shocked I was when I woke up after this dream!

Since there were four hungry and growling souls (me included), Papa Carrie drove his baby silver MyVi to Sunway Pyramid and found a vacant parking bay not too far away from the entrance.

Golden Palm Tree Restaurant

There was a new restaurant, Maria mentioned, in the mall and it offered buffet-styled dishes at prices that were tremendously cheaper than the buffet rates. We were seated at different tables as the restaurant ran out of those round tables for big groups of five, six or ten people.

Maria sat with Papa Carrie, Stephanie sat on her own and I sat with Steff, who helped me to buy something from her hometown way, way down east.

I mean, like, seriously?!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Five Frequent Facts

1) Red wine has been a favorite of mine but I rarely have a glass of it.


Credits to Kangarrific Tours for the image


2) My mood, at times, may swing the way one is being hypnotized.

3) I need to listen to music at least once a day.

4) I can easily be found zoning out and into the world of my own thoughts.

5) I've a penchant for accessories but my wardrobe is full of those pieces that I rarely wear.


Credits to Padini for the image

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

A beautiful song

My Thoughts

There are many times when I want to hide from everyone and gather thoughts about life.


A beautiful morning at Gurney Drive, Penang

It's a ruthless world that we're living in where it has gone from bad to worse. Gone are those days when children could walk to the shops or anywhere without any worries. It's so dangerous now that one has to look over one's shoulder once in a while for suspicious human beings. Even the Carries are worried whenever I'm out with friends but I understand their concern and it leads me to another matter.

I've been harrassed by idiotic buggers so many times that I really want to bark at them for being funny. I really do but I don't want to bring more problems onto myself by telling them off but I don't want to bring more problems onto myself by telling them off. I can never be downright honest and straight like Ms. K.

To be honest, I'm not the tad bit surprised that folks will enter and leave one's life at different phases. It's damn difficult to remember someone with little or no contact unless there is something unique to the person. Every 7 years was what I read and it mentioned that those who stay behind are the true friends. No wonder I heard someone mentioning that communication is vital in a friendship too.

Readers, what do you think of life? Has it treated you well or has it given you hell on earth? For me, the situation is not so dire until I cry myself to sleep. No, it merely needs some changes and tweaks to it.

Feel free to tweet me at @thetempremental if you wish. =)

Monday, January 9, 2012

(Paid) Traffic Congestion

The reason why drivers are willing to pay the toll concessionaires to drive on their roads is because the Federal Highway can be exceptionally congested but if the toll highways are congested as well, what's the point of paying to be stuck?

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Cake-y Dream


Since Mama Carrie was off at the adjacent building with her friend, I wandered alone to the coffeehouse and ordered a plate of Chicago cheesecake, a mug of cappuccino and a tall cup of iced Swedish Berry but the barista revealed that the cake had been taken off the menu for a long time.

And on the return drive home, Bya sent text message to her cell instead of mine by mistake. I immediately rattled my reply and deleted them, mentioned that it was just spam mails. I wasn't ready to answer the questions that she may ask.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

A late welcome to 2012

Please pardon me for not posting exactly on New Year's Day as I was under the weather, battling a cough. Here is a recap of some happenings that happened last year.

February

I swear, I'd have hunted down those fellows who let off the loud firecrackers even after midnight. Sorry, folks, just because it was the Chinese New Year festival didn't mean that you could be let off the hook. While a majority of the festive songs had pounded on my head, something so petty that can be avoided had brought the wrath out of me and sealed the deal.



No more cheaper flight tickets from now on, you hear me, Mama and Papa Carrie? If she hadn't chose to listen to their advice, we could've canceled the trip with ease.

March

I was secretly elated that God listened to my pleas or I'll have had to unleash on my fury on that specific person and with that behind my mind, Leigh and I hung out in Sunway Pyramid shortly before the news of her deployment knocked on her door.

April

I don't know who to credit as it came in an email forwarded to me

Holy Thursday rained with such fury that the drive to Church suddenly turned precarious. Man, the windscreen had been painted with the intense raindrops and the water licked at the car wheels, ready to kill the engine. I couldn't help but wonder if it was a wet blessing or merely the work of a tropical storm.

Easter Vigil was not fun as some of us parishioners struggled to stay awake during the Baptismal process. Believe me; some of them were brave enough to steal forty winks under the Celebrant's nose. See what I mean? When a Mass ends late, that's what you'll end up seeing. Sleepy eyes.

As for me, I only crawled into bed at 3 am on an Easter Sunday due to Mama Carrie's problematic cell phone and forced myself to arise 6 hours later.

June

It was on one fine weeknight that I wrote a dedication to someone while Mama Carrie was busy with a client elsewhere; sensed that the person behind the inspiration was honored and flattered by the poetry. Did my part in contributing to Missy Cheerio.com's post and wrote a little behind the start of this little blog and my own "curves in blogging" had led me to where I am in the blogosphere.


I'm not going to say much about the trip to Port Dickson, but it was an absolute waste of time and gas. The only good thing that I was able to take away from it was the discovery of an iced blended lemon tea from the Lounge Gallery.

September

Warehouse sales are never great if and when the organizer doesn't pour lots of details into the layout and traffic organization and the execution of it. I had enough of it after the horrendous experience of queuing under the burning hot sun and being shoved around for ninety minutes until my pair of ears was reddened, almost to the point of being burnt. You should've seen the intense traffic that had poured out of the industrial park and into the main roads.

Pfft... =.="

And once again, water licked at the wheels while we wracked our minds as we tried to cross the flash flood without drowning the car engine to death. Thank God for that bright genius who had played the part of a traffic cop for the day and diverted the traffic in the rain.

Really, where are the traffic cops when they are most needed?

December

There's one person I shall hold responsible for this.

NAPBAS was within reach and yet I declined the invitation because Mama Carrie isn't familiar with the roads leading to Putrajaya. Papa Carrie on the other hand had some prior work commitments to deal with. For what those attendees had written on their blogs, the event had been exceptionally lovely and pictures were exchanged.

Hmm, I wonder whether I'll have the chance to present myself when the next one comes around.


The Church

Empire Gallery's Christmas decoration

Maybe the fact that the Christmas Vigil always ends late annoys me a lot, but I don't think I've ever regretted attending it. The atmosphere will leave me high until the next morning. Unlike the Easter Vigil, the organist will drown himself in the music and the choir had sang their hearts out, leading the parishioners on its course and lifting the hearts and spirits of the congregation.

As much as I hope the whole of this year would have more bang to it, there's a part of me that knows that it'll be the same, old mundane. I'm not writing resolutions because I know I can never achieve all of 'em or even at least half of it. Sigh.
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