You-know-what

Finished in 8 hours over a span of 2.5 days. Would have finished in one sitting, but remembered that I can't afford panda eyes which take agesssss to get rid of. Like I promised, no review, only "I absolutely love the book!"

Even more reason to love it : Popular called me up yesterday to inform me that they're giving 25% discount for HP7, which makes it RM82.43. They will refund me the additional RM16.48 I paid earlier if I show them the receipt. That's absolutely great! That means I only paid an additional RM12.53 from what the hypermarkets are selling at. I wonder if MPH and Times are offering the same discounts to its members. Not like it really matters since in the first place I was already prepared to buy the book at RM109.90 - but discounts are, of course, always a pleasant surprise :)

Finally, I got my white shoes at Metrojaya. Not my preferred pair, because most of my preferred choices were not available in my size. I scoured the entire, and I really mean entire, 1 Utama and Mid Valley to finally find this pair.

And oh, the treasure hunt up to Cameron Highlands was great! Our team "Nasi-lemak-on-the-go" (only thing off the top of our heads) got 3rd prize! We're natural treasure hunters, being first-timers, haha. I loved the treasure hunt, although it really squeezed my brain juice dry, and made my eyes get really fed up with the huge masses of signboards stuck everywhere. And I absolutely loved Cameron Highlands! First time up there, see. The long winding road uphill from Simpang Pulai seems quite easy to drive, not steep at all. Weather was fantastic. Breakfast at Equatorial was actually quite filling. The market was a thoroughly apt place to become an "auntie". The Boh tea plantation was superbly English. So many places I didn't get to go, because my colleagues have all been there so many times. The next time I go up, I want to pick strawberries, buy more flowers, eat more fried mushrooms, stay a little longer, drink a little more tea :)

The end of Harry

This shall be the reason I am going to be holed up from Sunday onwards.

Reminiscently, I can remember that when the 6th book came out, I was whisked away to PD Avillion to enjoy the book - free from spoilers divulged via the papers, the radio, the tv, or the Internet. KF patiently waited for me to finish the book, to be completely antisocial, and then when I was done (after being completely devastated and reduced to sniffles), I wanted to read the book all over again, but of course, it was then his turn to retreat from the world.

Unfortunately, I can't do the same thing this time.

I hope, I really truly hope, I do not hear any spoilers from the radio on the way down from Cameron Highlands, or glance upon intruding headlines on the Sunday papers. Please let me make it home safe in the knowledge that I'll have a few days of pure joy (or horror) when I eventually get my hands on this book. And, I will not be blogging any review of the book at all. But I'll shout out when I'm done, so you can call me and we can rant about the ending together.

On an unrelated note, I cannot believe that Tesco and Carrefour are selling the book at RM69.90 when I pre-ordered mine for RM109.90 from Popular! Don't like the idea of being ripped off by the major bookstores. Glad to know that all bookstores and hypermarkets open at 7.01am tomorrow for everyone to get their final Harry fix. I'll be flagging off at that time, hopefully completely absorbed with tulips and anagrams and signboards to be able to withstand Hogwarts' power until the next day.

Have a very harry weekend! :)

My 27th birthday

A million thanks for the many well wishes! Really, on your birthday, there's nothing happier than knowing people gave a few seconds of their time to think of you, and that friends are wishing you well :)

I left right on time from the office (something I haven't done in a long time, but the lady boss was smiling indulgently when I left) and waited at home for KF to come pick me up. He came with this really cute box of cupcakes for me :) It's from Cupcakechic and boy does it taste super yummy! I was so excited when I saw the cake that I only remembered much later (after 25% of the cake was gone) that I didn't take a photo! I did eventually, much later at night ...



The haul this year includes 2 Coach bags, a DKNY perfume, an MPH book voucher, the sinfully sweet cupcakes, HP5 movie and a yummy steamboat dinner :)

We then rushed off for HP5. GSC 1U was, as usual, swamped with people (this is why I don't really like to go there, besides the price being super exorbitant and can you believe that Gold Class is always frequently sold out there?).

The opening notes for HP5 sent goose shivers down my arm. Then I settled down to completely engross myself in the movie, features of which were: the young "Snivellus" Snape (and the much older, can't-decide-if-he's-bad-or-good Professor Snape), the sickly laugh of the pink-clad Professor Dolores Umbridge at the end of every sentence, the completely-absorbed-in-her-own-world Luna Lovegood (quite a great performance actually, she was exactly as I imagined her to be), the mad-looking Bellatrix Lestrange, the fun-looking Nymphadora Tonks. Felt that Draco Malfoy didn't have enough screen time to portray his soon-to-be evilness.

But I shouldn't dissect the movie so thoroughly, the movies will never overseat the books. But I do plan to buy the box set when all the movies are finally produced. Something to keep.

This weekend heading up north to Chiangmai on company trip! In holiday mood now, thinking of Thai massages and yummy Thai food .... aiyo, how to lose weight before photoshoot? Nvm nvm, this is the real me right? The photos must depict the REAL me! Better if there's more of me! Muahahahahahahaha ;P

Potty

Yes, the frenzied mania is beginning to build up momentum. Time Magazine has a great feature that shows the lengths that the Harry Potter brain trust (yes, apparently there is such a thing) went through to maintain the secrecy of the Deathly Hallows. Wikipedia also has this really fascinating analysis of the final book.

I so cannot wait for the book (here I'm beginning to sound like a raving maniac but I don't really care, I'm one of scores of many). I have been contemplating for the past few hours whether I should take leave from work and go off somewhere just to read the book in complete seclusion and savour the moments of reading this final book from Rowling. After all, the moment's never going to come again (I can hear people exclaiming "Oh for goodness sake!"). I read the 2nd last book at The Avillion, and cried when Dumbledore died (and cried a 2nd time when I read it again the next time, that's how absorbed I got in Rowling's writing).

So, I am seriously thinking about taking 2 days off (it's been too long since I've stopped eating just to read a book - I used to do that as a kid, not actually stop eating, but bringing the story book and propping it up in front of my plate, until my parents stopped that habit). I almost want to pull out of that treasure hunt on the launching weekend too. But I've already promised, so I shouldn't back out.

I've also been trawling the web for various interviews that the cast gave after the Tokyo premiere yesterday of the 5th Potter movie. Yah, like a Potter-stalker. But well, I'm not the only one. But I do admit, I'm looking forward to the 7th book more than the 5th movie. The movie will merely whet my appetite for more in the book. Ah, but I'm raving now.

I've heard a really huge rumour on the character that will die in this final book - and hearing that rumour, it thoroughly caused me to gape with horror. I hope it is just that, a rumour, nothing more. But not wanting to spoil it for some, I won't say who is rumoured to die. As, apparently, I already spoilt it for KF because I just could not keep my horror to myself. However, the writer of this Time article put it perfectly succinctly:

"People read books for any number of reasons; finding out how the story ends is one among many and not even the most important. If it were otherwise, nobody would ever bother to read a book twice. Reading is about spending time with characters and entering a fictional world and playing with words and living through a story page by page. The idea that someone could ruin a novel by revealing its ending is like saying you could ruin the Mona Lisa by revealing that it's a picture of a woman with a center part. Spoilers are a myth: they don't spoil."

Whoosh

Gwen Stefani is rocking KL on August 21st! Indoor stadium too! Ahhh, how I wish. But no, I am spending a small fortune for the next half a year already (like I don't spend a small fortune any other time of my life, hah), so I shall resist. I resisted King & I, My Fair Lady, Phantom of the Opera, various choir concerts at KLPac, (yah, so nice to list the things I sacrificed and indulge in self-pity), I can resist this too. Anyway, we splurged at Sammi Cheng's concert - which was actually quite good, if not for her fan club sitting in front of us waving tall neon lights and big placards. I liked that she put in loads of effort in her dancing - she doesn't dance with all her might, but I like the way she dances in her don't-care attitude, the way she is "sampat" but endearing, and just, basically, her charm. She's put on a bit of weight (rest must have done her good) and looks better now (although maybe her SK-II endorsement was temporarily suspended when she was on holiday). She looked a bit older at the concert, maybe her make-up artist wasn't very good. But, anyway, it was nice to go up to Genting and just feel the cold air. I'm looking forward to treasure-hunting up to Cameron Highlands next month. Also, looking forward to HARRY POTTER! OMG, there is NOTHING else I'm looking forward to more in July, absolutely nothing. The 5th movie, on the 14th I believe, and the final book, on the 22nd - the day which I leave for my very 1st treasure hunt. I can't believe my colleagues managed to persuade me to postpone reading Harry Potter while we go hunt for tea leaves or whatever else it is people do in treasure hunts all the way up to Equatorial Cameron. I can't believe I won't be 1st in line to get my pre-ordered copy (the book, btw, is a bit expensive, but eh, nothing Harry Potter is too expensive, hah). And oh yes, I'm also looking forward to our 3-day company getaway to Chiangmai. We're staying near the famed Night Bazaar, and if it's as famous as it is known for, I hope to bring back loadsa stuffs (I always say that, don't I?). And yes, the end of the month, THE photoshoot. No, I'm not a super slim model yet, not gonna be by then too. But, I heard that bridal studio photographers are magicians ;) So yesterday, I attended my first gym class - Step. Been, what, 2 years since I went for my last Step class? So yesterday, I huffed and puffed my way through one class, thoroughly enjoyed myself, loved the exhausted red-cheeked face sweating profusely looking back from the mirror, and I vow to at least make it once a week to gym, if for nothing else, at least for Step (although today, I feel like I got a permanent cramp behind my right calf and my left thigh feels like splitting from the joints whenever I go to toilet). I also wanna try Bodypump (never did it before because I got intimidated by the weights la), the Bellyjam class (I did feel intimidated watching the ongoing class from outside glass panels, those girls looked so pro leh), the Bodyattack class (I surfed the Les Mills website and gee, this workout sounds like one heckuva workout), the Cardiowave and RPM sessions (just to see if I can). Aiya, I want to try so many things. The pool too! When it opens, supposedly middle of July. And yes, next month's my birthday - heehee. GSC and JCard already sent me my birthday vouchers. 27 years old! You know, I always thought 27'd be the perfect age to marry - I guess seriously, (if you've read The Secret by Rhonda Byrne), the law of attraction and powerful visualisation is for real - whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it will achieve. Now, I just have to start dreaming seriously of free round-the-world travel tickets and fully-paid 5-star hotels. I am prone to drama, my life doesn't have enough of it, and I don't wish it to. At all.