2009 as it was

The customary tradition of recapping the past year has begun, and since I did not recap my 2008 when 2009 was approaching; 2009 recapping seems like a must now.

Soooo. where do I start? Or really, HOW do I start the recap when all my days and weeks and months seem to merge into a solid lump. As I flip back to my old blog entries, I wasn't greeted with an enormous 'data' entry that could help me retrieve old memories or activities that have craved an eternal remembrance.

Sadly the average entries I wrote for 2009 (excluding this entry) is merely 3.5 entries / month. And out of those entries, majority aren't REAL entries. Some were single lined. Some were frustrations arising from the usual work place. Some were pictures of JD plastered all over the blog just to remind fellow readers that my son JD is the most handsome kid ever (no questions asked).

And then I sat in front of my lappie. Trying my earnest very best to think back all the momento-s (if there are any plurals to begin with) and walk out from my delusional thoughts of '12-months seems like 1 month' mirage...

Thence here I present to you, humbly, my 2009. A little fuzzy. A little messy. Definitely not in the order of time occurance, but yes, it has been my 2009 and all that matters to me solely.

1) A grand fight between me and the rest of the world.

2) Chinese new year 2008 was the first ever highlight where JD met his cousins from Hong Kong for the first time. The 2nd highlight was when JD went holidaying with my in laws to a beach resort, and seeing how he salvaged every pureed food he could eat possibly. And lastly, learning that my dear boy JD has a bottomless pit when it comes to food.

3) The first time (ever) that I won some random contest that gave me the priviledge of 2 FREE tickets to Bali, and FREE accomodation and FREE food, and then FREE cash to be spent on the Balinese grounds. To which, in the end I disappointed my shopping maniac self that I returned with zero bags of purchase as wished.

4) Bought iPhone as a surprise prezzie for =HB and I thought that would be my ever major purchase of the year 2009.

5) Bought my ever first commercial property so that tipped iPhone off my 'Major Purchase List'.

6) Celebrated Two-Years-Anniversary with my =HB and he got me a watch as prezzie while I gave him a hug. teehee!

7) Went on a family trip to Hong Kong to visit my sis, BIL and my two beautiful nieces. JD had a fun time interacting with the cousins again. I had a great time oogling at all the branded. My =HB had a great time with the food. Most importantly we had decent extended family time together with my parents.

8) Bought my ever first Oakley. (hmm... suddenly everything revolves around my purchase)

9) Something other than buying this / that. Finally I managed to drag my lazy butt, JD's lazy butt and my =HB's lazy butt to KL early December to meet up with my uni friends and attended a college friend's grand wedding. Although having a slight reunion with my old friends was great, but I wouldnt' say so when JD was around. Basically it was a lesson learnt through the hard way that bringing young toddlers around to a new place isn't something to kid around (pun intended). Poor JD came home with a huge bump on his forehead and caught a bad flu and slimmed down so much that he lost michellin-liked hands.

10) Went through a serious makeover for my shop and tired myself out completely, but it was a fresh change and hopefully bringing about a fresh start altogether.

11) Emotionally, I think 2009 didn't allow me to be stable. I was constantly emo-ing about nothing. Maybe it's the stagnancy of my life plus in the peer pressure fact that I see my common peers attaining different aspects that I do not, and then I emo. Then I turn around and look at my life and wonders, what's wrong with it?

Of course, nothing's wrong with it. Just that, sometimes I just feel like, nothing's right either. Not that I am complaining about JD and my =HB. It's mainly the uncertain void in my heart that I find disturbing.

So I do hope in the year 2010, I can learn to understand what void is empty, and how do I fill up this void. Till then, I'll continue to emo lah. :P

I think that's about all that I would want to pen down. It wouldn't be a wonder that I might have left out some other events / memories, but the memory gets acquainted with me again....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Torn as again!

Torn between iPhone 3GS and Blackerry Curve.

Haihhh!

FYI, I'm swaying more to BB. How?

Home Ideas

There will come a point of time whereby you will enter into a particular chapter of your life, that involves buying your own home property. Whether it is a joint purchase with your partner or an investment purchase for yourself. Whether it is for rent later, or for your personal own use.

For whichever and whatever reason, there IS going to be such a chapter in your life!

As for me, I have not had the chance of getting into such a chapter, so what I can do now is plain dreaming.

Dreaming that money grows on tree, and that I can buy my dream house. Renovate it my dream ways. Build in all the ideas like my dreams, and yet the entire project to cost nothing.

What? Impossible ?! I know!

Hence I said, I am dreaming. Can't a girl dream?! :(

Many ask me, what kind of a house theme catches my attention, and what builds up to be my dream house. And whenever I say, "Simplicity and Functionality" and the response I get in return is some sort like this...

"Yeah right!? You sure like those extravagant English Victorian Theme lah. Or Romantic Theme lah. Or Lavish Theme!"

Seriously, do I appear to be the type of person who adores complexity? NO!

And if you have answered yes silently, then it goes to show how you do not know me! Cough!

Yet many do not understand my meaning of simplicity and functionality, so I have decided to show you some pictures of different home ideas that I like a lot to be incorporated into my future dream house.

Here goes...

Picture from housetohome

(Bedroom)

I like the concept of using drawers / shelves in a room, so that I can store more things (functionable) and yet it looks simple and uncomplicated. Honestly, when you have a kid (and possibly more to come), whatever the furniture in the house needs to be as simple as possible so as to reduce the number of corners i.e. less place for me to baby-proof.

Next thing I like about this design is the full length mirror you see near the left hand frame. A girl can NEVER do without a full length mirror. Period.

One of the downside that personally I will change about this outlook, is the mirror to the right hand frame. I think this concept will be great for places with 4 seasons, coz they need to channel as much light into the house as possbile. But for me who stay in Penang where sunshine is in abundance most time of the year around, I would actually put thick curtains just to shade off excessive rays. And especially, this is a bedroom where I would relax in after a stressful workday, light isn't very much welcomed lor.

And also, I will do away with the carpet rugs. No fans for carpets in bedroom. Collection of dust. No.

Okay, moving on to the bathroom.

Photo from housetohome

(Family-Friends Friendly Bathroom)

This is a GREAT concept and colour theme for bathroom, IMHO. I love the green. Green symbolises life and gives a sensation of life (green plants = oxygen = life). In fact, a lot of people are starting to accept green concept in bedrooms too! I mean, when I ask my dad (remember he's in his sixties) of painting a bedroom in green and you know what's the first thing he said?

"Crazy! Green green... then everyday wake up, the face also turns green!"

Sigh!

Never mind my dad, he's old, so wouldn't learn to appreciate contemporary art designs. Hmph!

Okay, back to my green toilet theme. I love it that every space available is fully utilised and most importantly, MAXIMISED. See the metal railing serving as a rack? I think it's brilliant. Instead of our traditionally hooks and hangers, this metal railing can hang your entire daily attire.

I would actually add a white cabinet beneath the wash basin, to store stuff and also to cover up the ugly pipes.

And also, instead of a long bath, I would just change it to an antique metal shower head. Then adding a fiberglass to close up the showering area, and minimise water from splashing to the entire toilet floor. Ooo. I have this pet peeve about toilet floor being wet. Even now, everytime after I shower, I'll scrap the floor clean and droplet of water free!

AND, it's ridiculously dangerous in Malaysia if we have such a big window in the toilet FREE for people to view in, so... yeah, either make the window higher hence smaller, or put a protective blind over it.

Moving on to another bedroom, but for this case, it might be more relevant to me than any singletons out there...

Picture from Design Home Interior

(Kids Bedroom)

Okay lah. For this theme, I didn't quite enjoy the placement of the furniture and the presense of computer in a kid's bedroom. I want my kid to sleep in his room. Not continue playing games! But I like the orange, very vibrant, and orange always remind me of JD. So yes, I might consider making JD's room into a soft orange theme. I like how mini all the furniture looks like. Hehe!

The bed itself didn't quite trigger off my fancy cells. In fact, I think it's kind of odd. Or maybe I am too conservative. I like those double-decker-liked bed for kids, whereby the bottom is where the kid sleeps, and then there's a mini staircase where they can walk up to store things. But that itself has an increase incidence of accidents happening, coz I can guarantee you that JD will be having fun walking up and down the mini stairs, slip and then fall.

Or instead of an vibrant orange theme, maybe I can opt for a typical blue ocean theme for JD. And if he grows up and doesn't quite like all the ocean pictures, I can still convert into some superhero cartoons theme. Whatever it is, just not Barney theme!

Now you believe I like simple and functionable theme right! :)

Penang Times Square

It totally slipped my mind that there is a new shopping mall in Penang, until my dear hubby reminded me. It's atrociously unforgivable since Penang Times Square is the most talked about project that incorporates a commercial AND residential center.

I've never been to Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur, sadly won't be able to give you any comparison to the two. Hence don't regard this entry to provide you much indepth details of either complex.

Stole photo from Google Image :)

This is the artistic impression on how the entire project will look like when completed. The high scraper will be the residential units serving as condo / service apartments (as what I was being told lah). Since HB and I were kind of bored with the food in Autocity Juru (FYI we have our meals twice weekly at least there) and he suggested heading over to Penang Times Square to jalan-jalan.

Naturally I was excited. Shopping mall wor! Need me to say more?! :P

So we packed our bags, or more accurately, we packed JD's bag and off we go!

Okay. Personally if you would ask me, I think Penang Times Square is like a white elephant. Seriously it wasn't even 50% occupied! Quite sad lor. You see such a majestic high end shopping building with such a nobel concept (of combining residential and commercial) to see it fall flat to negativity.

Since it was just a stone throw away from Komtar, Prangin Mall, I do not see any of those consumer brands there. No PDI. No Seeds. No Giordano. No Vincci. No Starbucks. No Coffeebean. No MCD. No stuff at all. Period!

I guess it's newly opened and we are facing a phase of economic downturn so not many business people are so aggressive to have two of their brands outlets so dangerously close to each other. Then again, maybe I am wrong, and there might be other reasons between the loosely occupied fact.

One of the worst thing that can happen to Penang Times Square is that, it MIGHT end up to be another Prangin Mall. Big project, but sad turnout of crowd, and then majority filled with foreign workers. Let's pray hard that it won't, ya!

Seeing there isn't much to shop around, HB JD and I walked around the exterior and was immediately greeted with a nice cool breeze! It was the most refreshing breeze I have ever experienced since... donkey years! There is this open urban stage where certain functions will be held as I see some of the people doing some rehearsals. Sorry lah, I was basically engrossed into enjoying the breeze, wasn't paying attention to the stage :P

And then I saw this...

FOUNTAINS! Not that there's any use to such fountains besides aesthetic purposes. But since JD's there and he LOVES to play with water, I thought of letting him experience it a little.

Wasn't going to risk having my dear boy to run around the water stream and then falling down. So I carried him into the fountain. He screamed when the stream of water shot up high and went, "oh?" when the water level reduces. And when the water shot up high again, he went "Yeay!". See how simple things like that make a toddler happy? Sometimes I think we (adults) should learn from babies too. Appreciate little things in life that we have now often taken for granted, don't you think?

Okay lah. Since no enticing outlets for shopping, the next thing to do is of course to eat! As I have mentioned earlier, there isn't much options for eatery either. Sad Sad Sad =_= ! Really =_= !

In the end HB and I sat in Roti Bakar. Not that it serves anything different from the norm or that it is cheap or whatsoever. Simply the weather was breezy and JD love the christmas tree, and it was open air concept, so we can brace the possibility of JD screaming away and it wouldn't be so embarrassing. tee-hee!

Didn't snap all the pictures of our food, because 1) Not all the food we ordered looks presentable / deliciously for me to snap a pic 2) we didn't order a lot to start with lah. Hee! But there is this picture of JD reaching out for the mantou. And I can have a speech bubble above JD that says, "If mommy and daddy don't bring food to me, it's okay, I'll reach out for them!!!"

And he loves the mantou. And he insisted of having the curry even though I said it's spicy. And he screamed coz I didn't give him the curry. So I gave him and he stuck out his tongue and I said, "Serves you right, JD, Mama said it's spicy! So this is how spicy tastes like, you still want?!"

And my dear boy shoke his head. Done. Lesson's learnt :)

All in all, even though Penang Times Square falls short to disappointment, I was glad that at least my dear boy enjoyed himself at the fountain area. So kudos for the fountain design!!! :) Other than that, I would love to see more shops filling up in the mall. Right now, it really looks sad and deserted. Like an outcast.

And thanks to my dear HB who thought of lugging around the DSLR this time. We managed to catch some wonderful moments of JD and it is priceless.

Not that I didn't try to snap similar picture of JD with HB... just that... I am really not an inborn genious photographer... Tee-hee!

A lil' something different

I am desperate for some changes. Since I can't afford to take the time off to whisk myself off for some extravagant holiday or so, I relied solely on my hairstyles to make me sane.

As I sat in my neighbourhood hair salon and discussed through list of things I can do to my hair. Sadly the conclusion my hair stylist gave me was, "I don't recommend you to do any chemical thingy to your hair now lah."

And of course, I demanded a reason why!

"Less than 12 months ago you did digital perm."
"Less than 5 months ago you did hair rebonding."
"Less than 3 months ago you did hair colouring."
"Less than 2 months ago you just trimmed your hair."

*silence*

Okay. So I can't do any chemical stuff to my hair. What now? I am ready for changes (for my hair) and I really need something different so that I won't feel bored!

"How about cutting fringe if you are so despo for a hairstyle change?"

Hrmm... I pondered over for merely a few seconds and then I gave her the green light!

tadahh!!!!



I used to be so against china-doll short fringe on me, because 1) it'll make my face looks damn round 2) it'll make me look 10 yrs younger 3) it'll make me look like china-girl

With a few simple snips and I saw my previous long fringe falling to the ground, I knew there's no regrets later. I mean, come on lah, if I really do not like the outcome, I can pin the hair up again lor. And afterall, hair will still grow mar! Right!?

Honestly, I am still getting used to this new look. But it remains a fact that my face looks a little rounder than before. Nevertheless, I quite like the new 'do!

What do you think?!