The Brown Binge

It's nice to know that there still exists books that can keep you riveted and glued and transported to another temporary world for a certain amount of time. Finished Dan Brown's Digital Fortress in about 6 hours - the fastest I've ever finished a book of about the same size. And yes, that means I'm now one of those proud people who have completed all of his works! :) Now, if only someone would get me that collector's edition of Da Vinci Code complete with pictures for Christmas - haha, day dreaming indeed!

Yes yes, seem to be on a binge-ing spree on books - not that I buy any of them, thankfully, or I'd be totally broke now. I just started on the Shopaholic series and a whole lot of chic lit ... nice to indulge in that hare-brained, fluffy, superficial world ever once in a while and pretend that we're actually not all that hare-brained, fluffy or superficial. Ah.

Sari and Sins by Nisha Minhas (author of best-selling Chapati & Chips) is also another delightful chic lit book, along with Shopaholic Ties The Knot by Sophie Kinsella. Ooh, indulge indulge :)

And now, have to get back to work. Naughty to steal time off work to blog - tsk tsk. But it's been awhile, hasn't it?

News news!

I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence.
There's a knob called `brightness', but it doesn't work.

How cute is that? I found that while surfing for info on Hanoi vs Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh city. Planning / thinking of going there this Christmas holidays. Trying to decide between the beautifully tranquil Hanoi or the bustling cosmopolitan Saigon.

Also got myself a brand new toy - the Sony Ericsson T630! Camera, bluetooth, 65K TFT screen ... enough features for a pretty affordable phone :)

AND, right before I left for the Raya break, my dad brought back another stray dog! It's a Spitz also but a more beautiful one than Daisy, the one we brought back from SPCA. We've named him Max, with lotsa brown and white fur. So now Max and Daisy rule our garden :)

Yes yes, pictures pictures - coming right up after I get back from a wedding dinner in Tapah, of which I'm leaving for in a couple of hours. Busy busy - haha ...

Pre-hols frenzy!

YESSSS! Just handed in an assignment ... got lotsa work left in office but I don't care ... a whole 6 days away!!! :) Going to be spending it away from the city, so no blogging for 6 whole days - away from all the frenzi-ness of city life! Best of all, it's not just me who's on holiday, but it's practically the entire nation - everyone on holiday mode! What with Deepavali tomorrow ... Raya on Sunday and Monday ... I think most of the nation stopped work today and will only resume running on Wednesday! Well, at least for office workers like me la ;)

I've been looking out for a handphone. Decided to get a Nokia, although Nokia doesn't have the most flattering designs. But, they have cheaper spare parts. So I've decided on the brand. Yet to decide on the model. Want one with a camera, and if the budget fits, maybe an MP3 player?? Haha ... frivolous stuff yah I know ... not a must-have, just a want. Have you seen the latest models by Nokia?? Yummy!

Between The Incredibles and Shark Tale ... which one's better? Haven't seen either ... I'll tell u later. Gonna have a DVD-fest and maybe fit in a cinema outing during the long LONG weekend! :)

IF you found a digital camera on an LRT train (with pictures in the memory card), what would you do?? Keep it? Hand it over to the police? What would you do?? This question is not pure rhetoric, it happened to a friend of mine. We have different views on what's best. And I realised that one should take better care of their own possession in the future :P Tell more later.

Meanwhile, have wonderful wonderful holidays - have a great weekend stuffing yourself with muruku and rendang ...!

Movies to look out for

I've just noticed that Ella Enchanted and Jersey Girl is only going to be showing in December in GSC. Saw both those movies on the way to London (or was it on the way back from?) ... and Jersey Girl is a very sweet movie. Stars Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler and a cute little girl. Synopsis : Ben Affleck is Ollie Trinke, a man who has to give up a successful high-flying career to take care of his little girl when his wife (incidentally, it's Jennifer Lopez) dies at childbirth. Liv Tyler is the girl he meets later. A very good DVD movie - not really one you watch in the cinemas unless you're out on a date.

Ella Enchanted is a weird kind of movie, not something I liked at all. Maybe the cabin air was getting me really drowsy and irritable, but the movie did not interest me much. It stars Anne Hathaway as the title character (she's the princess in Princess Diaries). Something about Ella being subject to a curse of obedience - having to obey anyone who gives her a direct command, no matter how silly it is. The movie's about her quest to throw off that curse, with many cartoonish characters and fairytale-like scenes along the way. I guess it's a good movie for little kids who'd like the colours and the not-so-funny comical acts :P

Now, the DVD I just recently watched - Love Actually. Beautiful beautiful movie about the different definitions of love - sweet, happy, sad, forgiving, sacrificing, indecisive, bittersweet, the works! Stars a whole host of people including Hugh Grant, Kiera Knightley, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth and even Rowan Atkinson! It's a Christmassy movie and makes you feel all nice and tingly after that. Great happy-ending kind of movie :)

And if you check out the next change of GSC movies, there are a few I'm quite excited about :

Phantom of the Opera
Ooh la la! After watching the real thing, I also get to watch this on the silver screen! Happiness is me! :) Must watch, must watch, must watch! Definitely! This is :)

Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason
I didn't catch the first installment, but I think I'll catch this one - on DVD, that is. Doesn't seem like a cinema kind of show, considering what premium rates KL movies cost. But, Renee Zellweger's always a joy to watch, and this time with 2 men fighting over her :)

Ocean's 12
I think star quality is a huge factor in blockbuster movies. And I guess this is one of them. Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia. The sequel to Ocean 11, of which I didn't watch too. I'm starting to realise I missed out on plenty of movies - time I rebonded with my DVD player :P

Vanity Fair
Just because it stars Reese Witherspoon. The trailer shows she doesn't look as pretty in traditional English costumes and super Maggi-mee curls as she did in Legally Blonde. Set in the early 19th century (and I love all movies that reflect that period), it appears to be something I'd thoroughly delight in, but of which most guys would fall asleep watching. A trifle like Shakespeare in Love, of which I believe very few guys watched :P

I shall be back with more reviews, hopefully after the Raya break when I've spent the beautifully long break devouring all the DVDs I can get my hands on :)

Hunt down the murderer!

Anyone read the Star on Friday morning? If you didn't, here's an article and a picture that goes well with your Sunday morning breakfast - not! :P

I read the Star diligently every morning over breakfast. And I immediately lost my appetite after seeing the picture. An elephant cruelly left to die without her trunk. What happened to compassion, respect for others, kindness? And for that horribly cruel act, the murderer may only be fined RM3,000?? The judiciary ought to re-evaluate the punishments meted out, noting that the laws were made decades ago when RM3,000 was substantial then, but not now.

I've got no particular liking for animals and don't fancy getting my hands dirty to play with or wash them. But I'm soft-hearted and can't bear to see cruelty to animals, because most animals rely on human compassion to survive. Humans, being one of the beings with a supposedly rational brain, should never abuse that power to overcome helpless animals. And the thought that the elephant trunk is going to be sold off to decorate someone's living room, or to be boiled into soup ... I hope the horrible person gets caught and put into prison, although it isn't nice to think such things on a beautiful Sunday morning.

The O.C. fan

I accidentally stumbled on this blog site "The Pool House" by this OC fan and boy was I excited! Honestly. I was totally devastated when I realised one Sunday that Friends was showing instead of the OC! Argh! It's been ages since I got hooked to something on TV. The last time I can remember it was probably in the days of Beverly Hills 90210. Goodness, am I being downgraded to a brainless high-school flick?? Oh no, horror of horrors! But ah well, the people look good, have the usual ups and downs of typical Americans and basically lets me space off to a fiction world for an hour every Sunday night. Well, at least, it used to - until I realised that the OC had stopped!

I am a fan, yes I profess to be one. It's a great show, really. And after checking out the official site, and reading the summary of the first episode of Season 2, I'm hanging on tenterhooks waiting and waiting to see when 8tv's gonna air it. It went live tonight in the US, according to the official OC website by Fox TV. Lucky Americans :P

Fox TV's smart ... they ended Season 1 on a thoroughly depressing note, with everyone going separate ways, and the 2 protagonists splitting up. Urgh. Horrible. But left me craving desperately for more - for a happier ending. Feeling a bit better now that I've read the synopsis for Season 2's beginning ... it seems to be heading in the right direction :)

Btw, I somehow think that the Theresa character in the OC is the same girl as the one in Smallville, the one that Clark Kent likes. Is she?

A nice group picture from the OC gang ... boy do I miss seeing them on TV :P

LASIK eye surgery

The figure - RM10,552/- at promotional price, for both eyes, using the best systems they have available, some Platinum Wavefront Zyoptix thingy.

Gee.

But, apparently, in Malaysia, they're the best - Vista Laser Eye Surgery.

Very very interested. Another want :P

But ooh, it's a want that's definitely above all other wants! Not having to pre-calculate the hours before a late night so my contacts don't dry out ... no need to worry about water games splashing chlorine to my lenses ... no more nose bridge scars from heavy glasses ... having to see everything clearly first thing in the morning ... no more worrying about forgetting to pack solutions and specs when travelling ... the pros seem to be more than the cons huh?

But of course, the cons are there. Money, for one - a whole ten grand. That's a heckuva big con. Although they offer a 0% interest 12-month installment program via your credit card. Which comes to about RM879/- per month. Oh wow! That's practically the monthly installment for an apartment!

There's also other risks which, according to the percentages on the website, are very minimal. Glares in bright light, halos, problems with night driving all appear to be consistently mentioned in most websites discussing LASIK risks. But, there are testimonials as well from people like Lucy Leong, Ross, TJ (all Astro DJs) and a few other people who all seem to harp on about how this surgery changed their lives!

I sound like I'm sold, right? I am, almost. Hmm, anyone know anyone who used LASIK?

TAG!

Yes, I've just added this new feature to my blog! You can drop little messages there, if u hate the "complexities" of dropping comments :)

And check out the "smilies" hyperlink ...

Suddenly, I feel like a kid with a new toy :)

Wants

A laptop ... a new handphone ... a car CD/MP3 player ...

All huge and expensive things. Hmm ...

I'm not the kind of person who wants things. But my colleague had this theory that everyone has wants. He then forced me to think of my wants that were reasonably attainable - which meant that a huge palatial bungalow was out of the question.

Then, since I was forced to think, so I thought. And now it's playing and replaying in my mind. Now I know what to do with my bonus when it comes in next year :)

I guess my colleague's theory is true. And, it further proved another point - that the human mind is very flexible and teach-able.

Trip down south

It was an amazingly satisfying trip - albeit utterly tiring for someone who seems to be aging :P

Alcohol plus lack of sleep make for very ineffective public speaking the next morning - as Pei Ping and I realised the when we had to speak to the NLDS juniors as alumni. Urgh - remind me never ever again to do that - goodness knows if we were even legible to those gullible kids :P

Very nice trip though, excellent way to spend the weekend. And being able to spend it with some people you don't see much of too. And realising that the friends you make when you're studying are the friends who will be there for the rest of your life :)

Got some great pics below of the "fun" part of the trip down south. Haven't got any pics of the NLDS part until someone uploads it from their camera and I can get hold of them. Meanwhile, a peek at the great bunch of people who made my weekend :)

The crazy cocktail concoction after dinner

Dinner at Restoran Tepi Pantai 

Us - after seafood and "cocktail" :)