Movies: You've Got Mail

I do not remember the last time I watched a romantic comedy and went 'awwww...... oh my God...' when the two leads finally get together in the end. I have not watched 'You've Got Mail' in ages. This is absolutely one of my favs and I am glad to be reminded why.

They don't make romantic comedies like this anymore. Let's take some recent ones shown as examples. 'Ugly Truth' concentrated too much on the sex jokes to remember that it's supposed to be romantic too. 'The Proposal' had two leads which I think have zero chemistry between them, and the whole feel of the movie just fell flat. 'Ghosts of Girlfriend Past' had some of it all, good leads, nice story, funny jokes, but the thing is, it's nowhere near memorable.

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks together is simply too good. There's this scene in the movie when Tom Hanks is supposed to finally meet Meg Ryan in a coffeeshop. But he stood her up upon realizing she's the girl he has been chatting online with. I used to think the reason for that is he got disappointed coz the girl he liked turned out to be the one he's always fighting with everytime they met. But watching this again after so long, I had a different point of view. He didn't back off coz he's disappointed in her. He backed off, coz he's afraid that she's going to be disappointed in knowing he is the online guy.

Maybe I was too young to realize all the little subtleties in the movie. But I am certainly enjoying and appreciating them now.

*Yawn*

Mom should be in the States by now. The last message I got from her was from Taipei, preparing to go to the night market. Darn. I miss mom. Hooi Fong was here from last night till afternoon today. Had lunch with her and then sent her off in a taxi. She's going home to Penang. Dank. I miss home. Noooo...... this bout of homesickness is ambushing me.. catching me off my guard. T.T

I am broke. So broke. I need to hold off on spending any money at all. My 'helpline' is temporarily down. So there's no way for me to make any magical calls and have money 'magically' transferred into my account. Makes me feel so insecure.

But thinking on a good side, that means I am stuck in my room for the weekend. No money=no going out. Yea~ can finish off my report. If I don't start writing, I might as well just flunk my internship semester.

Ramblings done. Thanks for reading. Aihhhh...........................................................

Movies: Departures

"Academy Award® Winner for Best Foreign Language Film of the year, "Departures" is a delightful and sensitive journey into the heartland of Japan and an astonishingly beautiful look at a sacred part of Japan's cultural heritage.

A premiere symphony orchestra in Tokyo disbands, leaving Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) suddenly unemployed. With wife Mika (Ryoko Hirosue) in tow, he moves back to his home town in the northeastern prefecture of Yamagata.

Spotting a Help Wanted ad featuring the word “departures,” he is excited about the prospect of trying a new career in the travel industry. The company owner, Sasaki (Tsutomu Yamazaki), hires him on the spot. Daigo finally ventures to ask what is involved, exactly, and is stunned to learn what he has gotten himself into: the ceremonial “encoffination” of corpses prior to cremation.

In desperate straits, Daigo overcomes his initial trepidation and begins to travel around Hirano with Sasaki. True to Sasaki’s expectations, Daigo develops a deep respect for life in all its variations, and a profound empathy for people trying to make peace with the finality of death.

Too embarrassed to tell his wife about his conversation-stopping profession and admit that he has fallen in love with the townsfolk, Daigo vainly tries to keep his new life secret. As their relationship hangs in the balance, the big question is how he’s going to react to surprising news she brings, as an encoffineer, as a husband, as a son and as a human being. It is Daigo’s turn to deal with life and death among the people who are dearest to him."

I do admit I was a little nervous about watching this film. From the beginning, I didn't know what it was about besides a story about a guy who works in a mortuary (in the end, it was not a mortuary, but an "encoffiner" - someone who cleanses and dresses corpses prior to cremation).

I figured my discomfort stemmed from a life long learning that death itself is a taboo. In my lifetime, I have been to funerals of relatives and strangers. Most of these ceremonies are filled with rituals and protocols. For Chinese (Buddhist/Taoist), when a body is lifted into the coffin or when the coffin is moved in any way, spectators have to turn their eyes away or turn their backs facing the scene. Everytime when something like this happened, there was this slight irrational fear that if I managed to sneak a peek, what would happen to me? Eternal bad luck?

I was in awe of the ceremonial “encoffination” of the Japanese portrayed in the movie. Their deep respect for the deceased moved me so much.

I haven't shed tears in a movie for a long time.

Of Contraceptions and Virginities

Let's talk about sex.

I had a pretty interesting conversation with a friend recently. To him, if a guy were to look for a future wife hoping she's still a virgin, well, good luck. I kind of resented his tone for it seemed to me that if a girl's no longer a virgin on her wedding day, or if her future husband's not the first guy whom she had sex with, this will somehow devalue her. How archaic is this thought?

I got an interesting forwarded mail from U-Jean a while back. It's about how a woman's value is determined not by what society deemed is right, but by her own choice. An excerpt from the article below:

"Typically, there is a whole lot of talk about a woman's honour and 'worth' (and again described in archaic terms), but very little on her choice.

Tell me something new. Tell me about a woman's choice to choose, a woman's choice to interpret her dignity and self-worth in her own terms. Why have we not heard much about men being virgins? Why is a woman's Self-Worth being defined by a tiny piece of skin, a few inches of cloth (either too much / the lack thereof) ?

Tell me about a Woman's Right to Choose what she wants to do with her Body. Tell me about a Woman's Right to Decide how she wants to express her Self-Worth. Tell me about a Woman's Right to Honour Herself in a way she seems fit. Tell me about a Woman's Right to Determine for Herself."

All along, it has not been about what people say is right, or what is deemed as appropriate. It is about a woman knowing her choices, and knowing what is best FOR HER.

Sex and worth talk aside, I'd like to share a link with you: World Contraception Day

It is the first website that I have been involved in from the beginning stage to the launching of the live site. The template of the site was designed by my Senior Art Director. I played a part in laying out the content and designing some of the headers you will see in some of the pages. It was a good experience to learn and see how a major site come into form from the initial planning stages, to design, to developing, to endless changes and lastly, to reality.

Do go to the site, make a pledge on contraception. Spread the word. Safe sex happens by choice, not by chance (plus, STIs are really disgusting, I should know, I was the one who layout all the disgusting pictures).

IT'S ALIVE!!!! (the site, I mean. Pardon me, but it is a pretty exhilarating feeling.)

Haagen Daaz Eat Your Heart OUT!

Whoa.. I am so full and bloated right now. I just came back from the Haagen Daaz ice cream buffet in Solaris Mont Kiara! Yea.. it's my first time going for an ice cream buffet. RM33.90++ for an adult, after tax and all that, it amounted to RM 40 per pax. So if you had Haagen Daaz ice cream before, you'll know that a scoop cost about RM 10. My target was five scoops, getting a little bit more than what I've paid.

I went with Juniour who enthusiastically responded to my invite. When I told him of my plans, he said, crazy, have more laaa!!!

In the end, I had 12 scoops of Haagen Daaz ice cream. Flavours were rum raisin, vanilla, macademia nut, mango and passion fruit, apricot, belgian choc, choc, some choc, some cherry stuff, strawberry cheesecake, and I think that's about all. Buahahah~ pretty proud of myself. My fifth plate consisted of three different chocolate flavours. I couldn't finish them at all. Anymore and my stomach would turn itself over. In the end, I passed them over to Juniour, who finished...

30 SCOOPS!!!

The employee there talked about how a lady before did 25 scoops. I was also very proud of Juniour for breaking the record! The guy ate ice cream like nobody's business! One regular scoop, he could simply pop the whole ball into his mouth and munch. 0_o

Pardon the horrible quality of my camera phone. Hee~

The incredible Master Juniour, King of ice creams!!!

The promotion is only available at the Mont Kiara outlet until further notice, but definitely will still be ongoing until the end of this month. You'll probably wouldn't find any advertisement on this. If the whole of KL knew, I think they'd empty out in a jiffy. Just look at the long line in Baskin on every 31st. So get you butts over there and eat your heart out!

After this, I swear my craving for ice creamS is over.

That is, until the next craving wave comes.

Imageries

There is no fear in being alone. Being alone is a good time to reflect upon yourself. I'm pretty good company, I think, that's why I like being by myself. Alone, is never synonymous with loneliness. People often mix these two things up.

There is no fear in walking. No matter the distance, no matter the hardship, reap joy in the fact that you're healthy enough to walk. Feel the security of the ground beneath your feet, laugh at the little stumbles and falls along the way. It might hurt sometimes, real bad, but rest assure in the fact that you can, still walk.

I took a whole load of pictures from Singapore. Truly random stuff. Check them out in my Facebook!

The Ice Cream Hunt

I do not know why, but recently I had this insatiable ice cream craving. One of the agendas for the Singapore trip was to eat ice cream. Not as a dessert, not as something to do whiling the time away, but as a SERIOUS BUSINESS. That's why I stuffed myself and nearly had an overdose of ice cream. Nearly. But not really.

Here, I present to you, the TOP 5 ice creams I had in Singapore:

WARM UP: ROAD SIDE ICE CREAM - COCONUT, CHOCOLATE, CORN, STRAWBERRY

All for the price of one dollar. Awesome, yes??

#5: TURKISH ICE CREAM - PISTACHIO

It tasted kind of weird at first coz pistachio was not a stable flavour of mine. Though full with nuts, the pistachio flavour was not strong enough. Maybe it's part of its Turkish ice cream characteristics, the texture of the ice cream was thicker and slightly different from normal.

#4: BEN & JERRY'S - STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE AND CHOC SOMETHING

I asked Rui, why is it not "Tom & Jerry"? She said, the founders are really these two guys, one named Ben and the other named Jerry. Oh.

I had the strawberry cheesecake. It was actually alright but not the best I had. The strawberries were not big chunks like the ones in Baskin. The cheese cake bits were a little distracting and didn't blend in as well with the strawberry.

I had a little of Rui's choc. VERY nice~ It's bitter enough without being overly sweet.

#3: UDDERS - BAILEY'S & BOURBON

When I surfed their site, I saw the list of flavours. The moment I read Bailey's, I knew what I wanted. And got it, I did. It's very rare to find alcoholic ice creams here. At the most, there's Rum Raisin, which I love. The alcohol in the ice cream was very strong. For a non-drinker like myself, my face went red and flush from it. But no worries, we still walked a straight line after that.

#2: AZABU SABO HOKKAIDO ICE CREAM - BLACK SESAME

So good. The moment a spoonful went into my mouth, it was just too flavourful for words. It's surprising how much of a punch this unassuming flavour could pack. Very smooth, very flavourful, and not overly sweet. I could finish a tub just like that.

#1: MOVENPICK ICE CREAM - CARAMELITA

It's the most beautiful flavour thus the most beautiful name. It might seem like something common, caramel ice cream with caramel bits. But come on! Who on earth could resist caramel? I sure as hell could not!

It's sweet, just like how caramel should be. But the truth behind its excellence lie in the bits of caramel. Every single bite of the grainy bits was like exploding a little universe of bliss in my mouth.

One scoop of this was just perfect.




It had been a very good hunt. If I intend to this again, I'll make sure I have more than this. But mean while, just let me rest and recover first.

The Little Red Dot

Just got back from a trip to Singapore. Only a short weekend, but I have realised the promise made to Rui. Better late than never!

The current exchange rate is 2.47. The last time I went to Singapore, the exchange rate was 2.00. It hurt so bad to give RM 300 over the counter and only got back SD$ 120. You can easily draw your own conclusion that this might as well be the first time I go down to that tiny red dot on the map since the last time I went eons ago.

Since waaaayyyyy before I went down, the wise lady gave me a very wise advice:

"Don't convert."

Very wise words indeed. Thus, for the rest of the trip, I spent the dollars, thinking they were ringgit. All the time, keeping the mantra of the wise lady in mind.

For breakfast, Rui took me to this dim sum place in a back road. The star of the meal: Portugese Egg Tart. Crisp pastry with a soft egg custard on the inside. All warm and fresh from the oven.

She asked me to think of where to go. I said, I don't know. Do you want to go see the Merlion? she asked, rather reluctantly. Err.. no. Can we not do anything touristy? I could almost hear her sigh of relieve over the sms.

That's why, knowing what you want is very important. I knew it that I wanna fill this trip with a whole lot of walking, shopping, and eating. Nothing touristy. Just money-spending and each other's company.

And it was really just that through it all.

Check it out: HUNK!!! THREE O'CLOCK!! So gorgeous, so shiny, so adorable.. sigh....~ Don't you think the blue is just such a handsome colour?

We started off with some pretty good bargains. I got myself a new pair of pants, a black leather bangle and a journal. The journal cost me the most. It has this rough fabric cover and unlined acid free paper on the inside. My fingers trembled slightly as I ran my hand across the paper. It was love at first sight. I had never been good with journal. I really really hope I can make a difference with this one.

As for Rui, woohoo~ she had a field day.

She had been looking and staring and trying it on... an obvious goner. Sigh.

I have never tried MOS burger. I got myself the rice burger with unagi. It was not bad. But maybe too early in the day and was still full from dim sum. Didn't really see what all the hype was about.

After a looonnngggg day of walking on the streets, and from mall to mall, we finally sat down for... soup. Tangy tomato soup with basil. Different. Second time? Hell no.

For dinner, we went to Clarke Quay for this Japanese place, Waraku. The curry udon was not bad, but so far, the one from Pasta Zammai reigns supreme.

Between us, we shared this sizzling squid on a hot plate. It was pretty good. But the combination of the sauce and squid reminded me of the sotong bakar in Gurney Drive. Ah, home.

Clarke Quay's a nice place at night to just sit and chill. The place overlooked the river and across from where we sat, there's this row of bars and restaurants. Everything was lit up prettily. A good night for people watching. A lot of ang mohs and smartly dressed guys walking around. Is it any wonder why we sat there for so long?

Ooooo!!! The extreme drop! There's another reverse bungee jumping kinda thing too!! Soooo scared looking at it. We were wild eyed and excited just by looking. So where are we going on it?? Next trip! Pull Hooi Fong along. Lalalla~

Overnighted at her hostel in NUS. Finally, a peek into Rui's life in Singapore. I'd have to say, am impressed by her campus and hostel. Look! It looked just like a condo!

Our new bangles~

Wearing her new shoes, all black and white. Me? Mine's just ciplak. Her's the real thing.

The next day, I only had a few hours before catching the bus ride home. She brought me to Marche, a Swiss Market Restaurant. The theme of the restaurant is a market place where they cook in the open and the materials are laid around. There's a branch at the Curve. Never been to one before this. The presentation of the food was really tantalising. Mantra: Don't convert. I didn't. That's why the meal was so cheap. Repeat mantra: Don't convert.

Would really like to go this place again. Chia Yinn!! Up for a round of Marche?

She had root beer. Very cold and refreshing. I had banana shake. The milk shake was totally over priced, but then again, I was not converting.

Rui battling with her lamb!

I was so spoilt with choices, that I didn't know what to have. I ended up with chicken wings. Kinda lame, I know. But they were good!! And yeah, I had roesti. It's strips of potatos being fried flat in a pan. Just oil and potato and sour cream on the side.

Let me end this post with a tutorial on how to eat Roesti with chicken wing:

And the appropriate eating behavior:

Thank you, Rui, for an awesome weekend!!!!

Rui: And you're just going to leave like that? Just come and go, just like that?
Quin: And you're just going to let me go? You're not doing anything to make me stay!


So gay.

Eason Chan's 上五樓的快活

Official site - Official Release Date 23/09/09 - Mandarin Album




OMG.. OMG.. OMG..
money.. money.. money
*flip over mattress, ah, ten cents! flip open all books, ah, the hidden ten bucks! check all jeans and shorts pockets, over turn all bags... need more to buy the album!!!*

999

I just wanna post on

9 September 2009.


Very rare for this to happen okay? Almost never. Just like how 10 September is also rare, but you get my drift. Hah!

Movie: The Ugly Truth

Is it me, or am I talking a little too much about irony these days? I had these two FREE movie passes to the screening of "The Ugly Truth". The movie was good, but I have a feeling a major factor of it being good was due to the crowd in the cinema. Anyway, prior to the movie, I had dinner with Chia Yinn at Bubba Gump. It cost a freakin' bomb and far.. far.. far.. from being satisfying. There. The irony of the night.

And oh, since we spent so much on dinner itself and stuffed ourselves full on shrimps and nachos, I could only stare with longing at the pictures of desserts in the menu. I don't care.. will go back there for the dessert, if not the food.

Anyway, the main reason for this post: THE UGLY TRUTH

I was oh-so-fortunate to be blessed upon by Mr-busy-busy-but-still-got-time-to-win-tonnes-of-radio-contests-who-is-also-a-blogger. Thus two free passes to the movie.

I have wanted to watch this movie since I saw the trailer. Main reason: Gerald Butler (like, duh, hello?!). So utterly mesmerizing in Phantom of the Opera and incredibly charming though sounded kinda funny with the fake Irish accent (or was it real?) on P.S: I Love You. He looked pretty good with Katherine Heigl on screen. The trailer was just sizzling with the chemistry between these two.

I like the second poster. Goes to show how women rationalize love with the brain while to men, love is all about going down south.

The movie, was in truth, a disappointment. Take away the great crowd from the cinema, take away the willingness to simply enjoy the flick and put in those expectations from earlier, the movie was nothing to shout about. I can go into how I find Katherine Heigl's acting was a little too forced, how the jokes were not really that funny, and how this supposedly romantic chick flick was not romantic at all. But then again, what for?

I am not saying that the movie was a total flop. It did have its moments. The chemistry between the two leads, a delectable eye-candy who is destined to never get the girl, plus some sweet moments that though did not make the movie, but were good enough that they were there. Oh, and don't forget the fact that I laughed non-stop. The movie was only a disappointment in the romantic sappy sense.

Anyhow, it was a great night out. It was my first time seeing so many bloggers gathered at the same spot. My first time sitting in a couple seat (albeit with CY; her first time too, mind you, albeit with me). The first time I have seen CY ever since she dropped me off at my place when I first got into Damansara eons ago.

Ah... if only I could end the night with hot chocolate pudding with melted center served with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with caramel. Yum~

Something Silly for Someone Silly

You should know what I am doing. Notice my failed attempt in recreating our drawing style back in primary school? Those big bug eyes and rounded cheeks? Well, more your style than mine anyway.

You're getting me worried here. I wanted to drop on your FB page and and give you a little pep talk on positivity and all that crap. But I figured this might be a lil' more efficient in putting that smile back on your face.

Take a deep breath.

Focus on what really matters and go from there. Chin up and smile, silly!