Oops!

Mmmm...that's hot.

Funny but sizzlin' XD

It's Coming Soon!

Ah! The big day looms. I'll be having an early b'day dinner with a friend at Autocity tomorrow. Then, I plan to head back to Queensbay to do some gift shopping. Not for myself lah, it's for the other person that I'll be having a joint birthday BBQ with on Saturday. Paiseh, getting the gift quite late. Besides, I'm more indecisive than a kid in a candy store when it comes to gift shopping. I think THAT'S why I put it off to the last minute. Most of the time, I'd just share cost with others if they were getting gifts for a friend's birthday, saving myself being so damn fickle-minded in thinking what to get. Can't do that this time, coz the other birthday boy might decide to stick my face on the barbie later XD

Saturday's bash isn't something glam or huge. We're just gonna improvise our own barbie in a rather secluded beach area behind Naza hotel. Anticipating about 15 people or so to attend at this point, could be more or less. Mwahahaha, we'll be going food shopping on Friday and the preparations needs to begin. It's scheduled to start as early as 7pm. And seeing how it goes, we'll either wrap it up earlier, head back to freshen up and go club our asses off. OR, we'll just continue with the barbie till late at night or until there's no more hot meat (to grill!). Oh, and Brendan is FINALLY gonna bring one of his cheesecakes, after I practically (or with amicable sarcasm, which I know he enjoys) bugged him about it since I knew he could bake really well. Boy, that foodie can really cook. And he knows most of the good places to eat. Oh and he's single...any takers? XD

Sunday might be spent lazing at home depending if my friends are planning anything else. Another session of karaoke at Red Box? I wouldn't mind, last one was fun although it almost killed my throat and ears! Oh ya, I might pester coax persuade mum to take me out makan XD

YZ might be able to make it back from KL. I hope he'll be able to...coz I still miss him that way. Having said that, I'm just glad that I get to spend it with my good friends. I don't even mind if there are no gifts for me, but it's the quality and fun time with them that I'm after =)

OH, and if any of you wanna to come, lemme me know in the comments. You can leave your email add and I'll contact you but do let me know before Saturday, k? Don't just crash, k?

Happening October!

Oct has been quite eventful and happening month for me. Seriously, a lot of people are born towards the end of the year, what gives? Anyways, here's what's happened and what's going to happen ^^

2nd to 5th: Went to Malacca for an awesome trip that I wrote about here and here.

10th: Martin's birthday when we raved at Redbox. You can be sure we brought the house down! Damn, we were freakin' loud =)

19th: Wilson's lavish birthday dinner at Jade Palace restaurant. Brought a new Australian friend, Cody, there too. Apparently someone in our group has the hots for him =P

24th: PLU BBQ gathering at a Wave Runner Beach chalet near the beautiful Sunset Bistro (beautiful place). Won't be staying over, just going for the barbie.

31st: Joint birthday celebration in the form of a BBQ by the beach. Birthday boys will be me (turning 29 T.T) and another friend of mine. Our b'days are just 5 days apart, so we decided to do it somewhere in the middle. Just a small bash with our mutual friends plus a few more. Isaac and JL will be coming down from KL for this and for that, I'm happy =)

Wilson and the gang might be planning a Halloween party/apartment stay on the 31st, still tentative. Actually I wanted to celebrate my birthday with the gang separately, since the joint celebration thingy is just a small bash. Don't wanna scare people away from the beach with all our noise, k?

So, I might make the Halloween thingy part of my b'day with the gang. See how it goes lor.

Also, I haven't been clubbing for almost 2 months. See? I told you I'd get over it! *dances to Lady Gaga's Paparazzi* =P

Btw, my b'day is on Nov 2nd. Just to let you know XD

Ah, good times, LOTS of good eats and good friends, doesn't get any better than that...

PS: Gained more than a kilo already, wonder how much of that went to muscle and how much went to fat...=/

Nick Vujicic: Absolutely Inspiring

I've posted about Nick before, and I've just come across a longer clip where he talks about his life, thoughts and emotions. And I felt really touched and compelled to share it again.

Nick is inspiring beyond words. Like anyone else would in this extreme disability, Nick has felt utterly hopeless, alone, bitter and depressed. All those bad feelings that made life seem as if it is caving in on you and you just wanna find a hole, curl up in it and die. In really bad times, it's normal to feel that way. But, it's more important that you move past those feelings and find the strength to get up and move on.

Nick CHOSE not to give up.

He CHOSE to keep pick himself up, and found tremendous strength in doing so.

He CHOSE to be thankful and appreciate what he has, not be bitter and dwell on things he doesn't have.

We CANNOT choose how we start in life, nor control what life throws at us along the way. Too often we focus on all the bad things that have happened, however minute it might be, or how deprived we are compared to others. But we ALWAYS have a choice. It is SO EASY to keep whining and blaming life, luck, fate, whatever or whomever that put you where you are right now, or ARE you going to do something about it? Are you going to choose to change what you can and make a difference in your life?

"If I fail and I give up, am I ever gonna get up? No!"

We also tend forget how strong we really are. Life is easy when you have everything, but what really makes you strong is the difficult and trying times that you've been through and survived. What doesn't kill you, will only make you stronger. I truly believe that.

"The challenges in our lives are there to STRENGTH our CONVICTIONS. They are NOT there to run us over"

It doesn't matter how many times you fall in life, all that matters is that you KEEP GETTING UP and keep going. That is what makes you stronger than yesterday.

"The human spirit can handle much more than we realize. It matters HOW you are going to FINISH. Are YOU going to finish STRONG?"

Nick may be physically weaker than all of us, but spiritually, emotionally and mentally, he is a giant amongst us. May God bless him for the rest of his life, and continue to use him to inspire and motivate countless others who needs it.

A Good Life?

In about 2 weeks time, I will be turning a year older. Time DOES fly when life is good. Wait, HAS life been good to me till this point? Hmmm, let's see:

1. I have never starved severely in any point in my life. I've always had enough to eat.

2. I have always had a roof over my head. Never once have I had problems finding a place to stay or been homeless.

3. I'm never been destitute or stricken with poverty, despite my average earnings and my savings dwindling lately, due to a series of unfortunate events or life's changes that demanded monetary support. I still have enough for me to spend, although not lavishly or as indulgently as I would like.

4. I'm fit and most importantly, have a clean bill of health. VERY rarely am I down with any illness or even the common flu, thanks to healthy eating habits, regular weight-training and exercise.

5. I have a car to move about as I please, although 'she's' a bitch sometimes, demanding a lot of maintenance or repair.

6. None of my immediate family members have been stricken with any serious illness.

7. I still have a job and able to earn my monthly wages.

8. I'm not a hot or handsome guy but I'm not handicapped from birth or crippled from a ghastly accident. I have my health and all my limbs, organs and senses are intact. A lot of people tend to forget that when comparing themselves with other people. Nothing beats being able to move freely. I grateful that I can see, hear, feel and taste everything around me.

9. I have great friends who care deeply about me and I have no enemies (I think so).

Seems from what I've listed, I DO have a good life. I don't have a great or glamorous one, but I definitely don't have a bad one. I have all my needs met, and more often than not we forget how vital they are, until we lose them. Needs are what you can't do without or life will be very difficult, and I'm lucky to have all the basic ones. I just hope God will continue smiling down on me in the years to come =)

The Verdict

I had a talk with him last Thursday, which was a day before the Oct 9th deadline he gave me. We went out for a casual dinner at Queensbay, bought some stuff and had the short conversation in my car on the way back. Before this, YZ and I were just dating and kept our options open. At that time, he wasn't sure if he could put himself fully into a relationship, hence the deadline so that he could really think about it.

Long story short, he's decided that we won't be in a relationship. It was bad timing for him, coz he still misses his ex and he's extremely busy with his studies from lots of assignments, exams and activities. Since he told me what he did, I can do nothing but accept it right? Can't really force my hand here and I have to respect his decision. Instead, I became his godbro...

If you're wondering, I'm quite fine. Ever since he told me that we might not end up together, I was already emotionally prepared. In the end, we would be attached or end up as friends. I guess godbro is something smack in the middle of both. But, I still had that sinking feeling in my heart when he announced his decision. I still felt that I had lost something and felt mildly saddened. Worry not though, I'm prepared to move on, although a little heavy-hearted. He treated me well when we dated and he was pretty honest with me most of the time. And for that, I'm grateful. We're still in good relations and nothing bad happened.

However, during the course of the month, I had begun to look at him differently every time I saw at him. I had begun to think of him more often. I would miss his embrace. I would miss him being in my arms, just enjoying each others company. Sometimes after not seeing him for a while, I would feel a tingle when he touches me. I would fondly think of his habits and the way he talks. I would sometimes grin to myself when I picture his adorable face and expressions. Gosh, I sound like I'm smitten. Perhaps a little, but I should put it in the past. I shouldn't let myself fall too far if it was uncertain to begin with.

Time to move on...

Awesome Trip To Malacca! - Part 2

On Sunday, we went lunch at the Portuguese settlement at some place called De Lisbon. You know, I stayed in Malacca for more than 5 years, never stepped foot at that place...it's sad right? T.T

Opposite the restaurant, then newly built Lisbon hotel.

Finally, a photo of EVERYONE! XD

All the tasty Portuguese we had!

Devil Chicken Curry

Sweet and sour prawns were fresh!

First time I had otak-otak sliced and placed on a plate this way.

Sambal sotong with petai was spicy and really good.

Fresh ginger mussels.

Okra stir-fry with sambal.

Portuguese baked fish was good too.

After lunch, we headed back to Jonker Walk again. But, this time in the afternoon and with food in mind.

Found this nice T-shirt shop at Jonker.

This is a famous tart shop at Jonker. It's usually quite packed...

A variety of cheese tarts and fruit pies.

Portuguese and other types of egg tarts. Most of it was finished when we arrived though.

Oh-so-good, thick, DENSE and absolutely DELISH cheese tarts. Gosh, thinking about them now just makes me wanna go back Malacca just to buy them again. Can still remember the taste in my mouth...*buckets of drool*

Portuguese eggs tarts, which I didn't get to eat any coz it was finished by the time we got back to the apartment T.T

DURIAN CENDOL! I miss this SO MUCH! Had this in a new corner shop at Jonker (forgot to take pic) right down the street near the tart shop. Only can get durian cendol in Malacca, at least the really good ones *drools*

I LOVE this picture of us ex-MMUians. Took this after we got back to the apartment.

That night, can you believe it? We went to Jonker yet again! This time, it was to have a quick dinner and hang out having drinks and playing gin at the nice and quaint Geographer's cafe located in the middle of Jonker =)

We ended the night having duck noodles for supper. We checked out on Monday, had a quick vegetarian lunch and headed back to KL before I boarded Aeroline back to Penang. It felt like the trip passed be really quick, but time flies when you're having a great time right? Hehe, next destination...they might plan something for Penang =)

Awesome Trip To Malacca! - Part 1

Sorry I didn't update since Oct started. I just came back from an awesome Malacca trip from 2nd to 5th Oct. Seriously, what could be more fun than a road trip with great friends back to a nostalgic place? (Since I remembered to bring my camera along this time, plenty of pics ahead!)

I had to meet my friends in KL first, so I took Aeroline down to Kl last Friday. My best friend Joe came to pick me up at Sunway before we headed for dinner at The Curve. We ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp for the first time! I just loved the extensive but quaint decor there.

Food there was pretty awesome too =)

This was the seafood platter thingy we ordered just to try more things.

Blueberry smoothie and Bourbon Street Barramundi (I think I got the name right).

Being Bubba Gump 'virgins', the nice (and cute) waiter stopped at our table to explain the restaurant's unique concept. The BLUE sign meant that waiters could ignore us and just pass us by, while the RED sign meant they had to stop to take orders or entertain our requests.

After dinner, met up with the girls and some other friends for drinks before I headed back to Ash's place to spend the night. Next Saturday morning, we were headed to Malacca in 2 cars! Gosh, I was excited coz I hadn't been back to Malacca since I graduated from MMU, which was almost 3 years ago. As SOON as we got to Malacca. It was LUNCH time and a nostalgic one too. We ate at Family Heritage Cafe in Bukit Beruang, which serves REALLY good Nyonya, Western and Chinese cuisine. Forgot to take pics there T.T

After that, we headed to our service apartments called Garden City, located in Melaka Raya, pretty near to Mahkota Parade and Dataran Pahlawan. The place was nice, clean and spacious enough, with 3 bedrooms capable of accommodating at least 6 people.

That night before we headed for dinner, we were for a stroll at Jonker Street first. Gosh, I missed it so much! I gotta say, they've really refurbished that place and lotsa new shops opened too.

Damn famous dessert shop there, the LONG queue should justify it. IMHO, desserts like cendol or ais kacang taste MUCH better in Malacca coz they use gula melaka which is more fragrant, thick and oozy as opposed to normal brown sugar. YUM!

Place was so crowded, we didn't bother to go in. We were going for dinner anyways, to seafood at Umbai! Another DAMN crowded place.

Seafood we ordered that night.

Deep friend calamari (sotong goreng tepung) was awesome.

Look at them prawns!

Everyone at the table, except me taking the photo. I forgot to have someone take all of us T.T

After dinner, it was back to the apartment to celebrate Ash's birthday with a homemade cheesecake! Love you loads Ash! Yes, I did 'tapau' a lot of the cheesecake masuk perut throughout the stay there XD

Apartment was crowded in a GOOD way that night. There were already 8 of us staying there, and we had more friends come over...so BANYAK bising lor =)

Hehe, later that night, the girls were gorgeously dressed up ready to go out clubbing...

...only to be disappointed when one of our friends informed that clubs were being raided by the police. Very potong stim leh, dumb ass cops nothing better to do is it?

Too many pics, so stay tuned for Part 2 =)