My girlfriend is always getting fleeced by the nasi kandar people. I have a very strong suspicion they don't like her very much. ;) She got charged RM 32 for this:
Nasi briyani (a type of flavored rice) Ayam goreng (fried chicken - drumstick) Sotong goreng (fried squid) Daging lembu rendang (beef rendang) Telur (hard boiled egg) Sayur (vegetables)
I order the same stuff (with kuah campur - mixed gravy) and I get it for RM 13.50 - RM 15 depending on who's serving the stuff. There this guy who's fascinated by my surface bar piercings and tends to charges me less.
The pricing of nasi kandar here is so arbitrary sometimes...
Pizza Uno is located at Centerpoint PJ, the center of the world. I went to Pizza Uno last night with Yee Hou, Suanie, Zoe, and Hannah. BTW, does Hannah have a blog?
This is Sangria (RM 34), which according to the menu is a mixture of fruit juices, wine and brandy. The four of us had this, I won't say which four coz one person is a minor. :p
Zoe and Hannah shared the Alla Carbonara (RM 22). I went for the Ravioli with Chicken and Mushroom Stuffing (RM 24) which is only available during weekends. Absolutely fabulous! Suanie had the Deep Fried Whole Spring Chicken (RM 26), described as a tender young bird. Yee Hou went for the Aussie Pizza (RM 32), which is rather authentic - it has egg on top.
This chicken looks a bit obscene with its legs spread wide open like this.
This is the first time I've seen people take off their tongue piercings to eat - Zoe and Hannah does that.
Lainie joined us later and had the Oven Baked Chicken (RM 24). She didn't even finish it.
Here's an anecdote from the night - some poor old soul came in and asked us for money for food. I offered her my slice of pizza but she declined. It seems that she prefers cold, hard cash. Heh!
The Pizza Uno manager on duty chased her away politely after that - "Auntie, can you please not bother the customers?". I thought that was pretty funny.
The drawing of the four (with tongue piercings).
This is the Panna Cotta (RM 8) we had for dessert. I forgot to bring my digicam, but lucky for me, Suanie practically lives at the mall (or close enough anyway) so all photos here - courtesy of her digicam. Thanks Suan! :)
It's not everyday you get the honor of being fed by Zoe. ;)
Restauran Ikan Bakar Fend is a very popular ikan bakar (BBQ fish) place at SS6 in Petaling Jaya. It's my second time there - it's always packed with the lunchtime crowd but for some strange reason the planets aligned and our entire floor in the office converged at the place at 12:30 pm, taking up approximately 8 tables.
The place has a very simple setup - the BBQ pit is located outside and churns out an impressive array of stingray, various fishes and assorted marine life for the rapid clientele turnover.
Restauran Ikan Bakar Fend works on a trust system - you pick and choose what you want. You recite what you ate at the counter after the meal and they charge you accordingly. The place is remarkably clean for such a messy meal.
The place also serves ulam for a touch of authenticity.
The meal comes in a set - there's steamed rice and two sauces and you pick the type of fish you want to add on to it. I had ikan kembung (some kind of local fish) and ikan pari (stingray) as well as two different types of ulam.
TTL shows us how ulam is meant to be eaten. There are no complicated rituals or arcane incantations, just some dexterous finger action.
The stalk of the vegetable is supposed to be twisted and folded into a compact and neat bite-sized structure.
It is then dipped into sauce...
...and eaten. I still can't do the folding thing right so I'm going to get TTL to fold it for me when I go again. ;)
Restauran Ikan Bakar Fend is a great place to head to if you're hankering for some ikan bakar. It's a testament to the popularity of the place that they don't require a proper signboard - the place uses a canvas signboard tied down with rope, and it's been in operation for over a year!
It's not very easy to find though so here's Google Maps to the rescue!
I went to KY's notorious Christmas Eve party on the 24th. We're each supposed to buy a gift that is wearable and some people took (very) liberal interpretations of this, much to my dismay (explain later).
No event is complete without camwhoring at least 10 times with Cindy Tey. Tumpang glamor, can? ;)
This is the Tuborg/Carlsberg girl Siao Ling, who sponsored beer. I less than 3 her. She's the best!
Terence, one of the bloggers I've known for a very, very long time and share the same passion for...tattoos la, what did you think I was going to say? We share a lot of common interests actually. ;)
I also met someone who has a surface bar piercing done right.
Elfie told me where to go, I'm going to get it re-done soon.
Rachel...can you like, not molest me? ;)
The gift exchange! Dangerous.
I love Nicholas. It's not man on man lovin' k, just some brotherly love.
Famous last words: I always drink vodka neat.
Siao Ling! Peck on the cheek.
Siao Ling...
...feeding me beer. I should be so lucky.
Gareth a.k.a. the ShaolinTiger. I don't know whose hand that is. Probably trying to check out if Caucasians really have a bigger package. ;)
Kimberly! I'm at the Absolut Mango again. Why can't I just leave the damn thing alone?
Reta got a scarf. Lucky. I got a condom, it was from Cindy and I wore it. :P
Camwhoring with Cindy has been proven to increase your saham by 42%. Seriously.
Which is why I'm doing it again.
Rachel, that's illegal!
I partook in the Tuborg Challenge as well...
...and did it better the second time. :)
Siao Ling is the (wo)man. Must suck up to her. She's like the Brand Executive of the beer company. No Siao Ling, for the record, that's not why I was nice to you, I would be nice to you regardless of who you are.
There are many other photos (some very, very incriminating), which shall not be posted up on sixthseal.com. There are other channels to procure said photos if you're so inclined - you just have to know where to look. ;)
Comment if I haven't linked you, I drank too much to remember everyone. Sorry!
My memory failed me at approximately 0200 hours. I don't even remember going for supper and it was 5 am when I got home, thanks to Christopher Tock, Yee Hou, Nicholas, Gareth, Simon and Zoe who safely brought me home. Thanks all! =D
You know it's a great party when the police turns up...twice. ;)
I have known this for ages. I know that once I start drinking, I usually don't stop until I pass out. In the process, I do stupid stuff and generally make a fool out of myself. This happens from the moment I get intoxicated and ends when I pass out.
After two infamous instances of passing out this year - once in Singapore and once during Christmas Eve - not to mention countless other occasions in Sibu, I have decided to make like DiGi...Time to change! I will not drink alcohol (not even beer) for the entire month of January. It will be NO ALCOHOL MONTH as one of my co-workers puts it.
I have attended AA/NA sessions in the past so in the sprit (no pun intended) of the group, I humbly seek forgiveness from everyone I have hurt or offended while drinking.
...forget the rest, the best coverage of the event is at sixthseal.com
I arrived at DXO at approximately 6 pm.
Camwhored for about 30 minutes...
...and promptly passed out on the couch. This photo was taken by proxy, and most didn't turn out well coz Eiling is not familiar with my digicam.
I was there in body, but not in spirit. Pun intended.
I'm very sorry Nuffnang!
I was there as Osama bin Laden under custody, which is why I'm wearing the US-issue flak jacket for protection instead of my usual camouflage gear. I was blindfolded and had my hands tied behind my back to boot. The interrogation process quite appalling too and I think they slipped something into my drink...
...which was why I passed out.
I put all blame on the people who took me into custody while en-route to Guatemala Bay. :p
Next up: Food posts from Singapore trip and the bus ride home with the Nuffies.
I work long hours and post a new update every day after work so it's hard for me to continue HDS. I have also taken the long time involved in completing it (1 year!!!) into consideration, so I have decided to...
JENG JENG JENG
OUTSOURCE IT!!!!
I've gotten someone to do all my data entry for full integration into the sixthseal.com database for the posts from April 2002 - November 2006 and from her pace, I estimate she'll be done by middle of January 2009.
Her user name has been applied with liberal layers of mosaic since I used her real name. The posts will be under "Poh Huai Bin" though, as opposed to "Huai Bin" which is my account. I promised her a huge bonus for early completion. :)
The full sixthseal.com will be up on the 15th!
Pinky said I spoil the market and paid too much to get it done, but I think it's worth it lor coz it's a very tedious task. It's been so long and I want my blog to be fully up and searchable e.g. integrated into the CMS.
The phoenix rises again 15th January 2009. =D
Guess how much I'm paying to outsource this? How much would you be willing to do it for?
I have been reading about Berry and Lemon's dismal travel repertoire on their blog. I come from Sarawak so it's something akin to heresy to hear that they haven't been to East Malaysia before this. Thus, I took it upon myself to take them on my trip to Cameron Highlands. It's a double date of sorts - me and my girlfriend and the two lovebirds (loveberries?).
I was browsing through Berry and Lemon's blog and read about the Ribena with Lemon Greatest Love contest they're running and decided to join in the fun. I figured Cameron Highlands would be the perfect place to shoot the photos for the "Most Romantic" category so I loaded my car boot with heaps of Ribena with Lemon and drove up.
The Ribena with Lemon Greatest Love contest is separated into two categories - "The Greatest Lover" is judged with the most Ribena with Lemon bottles or mobile packs in a single picture while "Most Romantic" is judged with the most creative entry featuring at least one Ribena with Lemon bottle or mobile pack in the most romantic manner possible.
To increase my chances, I decided to join both. ;) Most Romantic
This was taken at Bala's Chalet @ Cameron Highlands where we stayed.
The place has a really nice garden, very Tudor style English ambiance.
It's supposed to show me looking affectionately at the couple (Berry and Lemon) in the garden where we had tea and scones. My purple cardigan matches the Ribena colors too. This is the one I submitted.
There is also one with the four of us - the double date. =D The Greatest Lover
My theme for this is The Godfather. The Don of Ribena with Lemon. Real power cannot be given. It must be taken. ;)
I joined both of the contests, spending a staggering amount on Ribena with Lemon bottles. I went to Giant Mall to purchase a box of Ribena with Lemon but they didn't have any in stock so I just grabbed whatever I could off the shelves and headed over to 7-Eleven, took whatever they had and proceeded to a smaller Giant (pun not intended) and swiped all their Ribena with Lemon bottles.
The Ribena with Lemon Greatest Love Contest is open until the 20th of December, 2008. You can join both categories and submit as many photos as you want. However, you're only entitled to win from one category. The prizes are:
The Greatest Lover Category
The Most Romantic Category
I am interested in snagging the Dell Notebook from either category. There is a recent spate of...domestic disputes, shall we say, over the use of the only notebook in our condo. I need it to update my blog and my girlfriend wants to watch HK drama series on it.
I'm sure Berry and Lemon can understand, and for the sake of love, take our predicament into consideration when judging the entries. ;)
Join the Ribena with Lemon Greatest Love contest at ribena.com.my.
I am Osama bin Laden and I have managed to smuggle two grenades despite the foolish US attempts to blindfold me and tie my hands behind my back. Jihad! Death to infidels! Or something.
The Malaysian Nuffnangers PJ Centerpoint gang - KY, Huai Bin, Elaine, Eiling, Suanie.
Okay, put on your scary faces Ginny and Nath, I'm taking all you down with me. Explosive duct (grenade) taped (stuck) in my mouth, and nothing's gonna change my mind. I won't listen...to anyone's last words. There's nothing left for you to say, coz soon you'll be dead anyway. ;)
I know, I know, I'm slow - despite getting a SIN 26 broadband connection (24 hours), I was out most of the day so I didn't get to update. I didn't get to sleep much too. We stopped at a rest area on the way to Singapore for lunch. The food is nothing to write home about (it's a rest stop!)...
...and I found out that Audrey really is 4 feet 9. She makes me feel tall. ;)
We checked into the Marriott at Orchard Road and some hijinks which should probably not be published happened e.g. this dubious photo of Eiling being er...molested by us...
...and some naughty girl on girl action.
(as well as the infamous 7 second shot)
I don't even have a caption for this photo.
Sneak peak: The girls dressing up. Eiling and Natalie dropped by to change.
I was about to get changed. Sorry for being late (and passing out). :p
We got all dressed up for the costume party - I was assigned the letter O so I went as Osama bin Laden (after being brought into US custody but still given a cigarette before being sent away) but I ended up being P.
Nuffnang Singapore is organizing an event tonight so us Malaysian bloggers were invited to the event. There's 18 of us is this bus and we'll be reaching Singapore for the costume party later tonight.
We're supposed to rendezvous at the Nuffnang office in KL, where the bus will shuttle us all the way down to KL. There's a lot of familiar faces here, most of which you'll recognize from the blogging scene.
Tumpang glamour a bit. Cindy!
Ginny Yap, who's sick and half asleep.
Hugh Hefner impersonation.
Here's a video of our road trip with everyone introducing themselves. More updates coming soon. :)
Suanie and gang came the latest and all she had to say was this. ;)
I have just received word that Osama bin Laden has been apprehended and will be heading down (heavily guarded, of course) to Singapore at 10 am tomorrow morning. He will be making an appearance at the vPOST-Nuffnang Christmas Bash 2008 tomorrow night. I hear he's staying at the Marriott Hotel at Orchard Road for the night.
Please do not expect the Osama bin Laden you've been used to seeing in the infrequent videotaped appearances he has made in channels like Al Jazeera. The US forces has shaved off his beard (and some of his hair) and made him take off his headscarf. He is expected to be blindfolded and restrained on his way to Guatemala Bay. He will also be wearing a military issue bulletproof vest instead of his usual camouflage jacket and his AK-47 will naturally not pass Singapore customs.
Osama bin Laden is so 2001, so thanks to Edmund, he has received a total makeover. I had a great idea for a 2008 Poh Huai bin Laden and the storyline that goes with it and his costume shop is a treasure trove to manifest my sudden fit of inspiration! :)
The Nuffnang Malaysian bloggers are heading down to Singapore tomorrow.
I have posted about my attempts to win myself (and you) a free party here and here. It has come to my attention that there's no possible way I can drink so many cans of F&N drinks in such a short time, so I magnanimously shared it with all and sunder. I even gave some to the condo security guards. Anyway, I noticed something about the F&N cans after having opened so many cans:
I've discovered a method where you can get a smiley face (!) on the can by removing the pull tab in a certain way. Hold the can and twist the pull tab to a 90 degree position. Do not make contact with the opening. This is very important. Pull the tab upwards without excessive force and gently remove the tab.
Do you see the F&N smiley face with the eyes (two dots), nose (the pull tab fastener) and smile (the opening)?
It even has a halo on top, like an angel. I'm getting a good vibe about this.
Looks like someone up there loves me. ;)
I shall be sending in my entries on Wednesday. I've gotten a bunch of the contest forms and will be posting them via regular mail with two pull tabs each. I'm bracing for the postal charges since it seems that I will have to send it in one by one.
Pos Malaysia, here I come! =D
James was kind enough to email a friend of his in F&N and direct her to my post so I'm hoping they will take notice of this. Help me spread the word my fellow bloggers! Unite!
They may take our lives, but they'll never take our FREEdom!!!!!! ;)
The rogue nation of PamSong has attacked our nation's homeland as of 0800 today. As the President of the Sovereign State of sixthseal.com, we cannot allow the dictator of this rogue state to terrorize our citizens. The buck stops here! It ends here, right now!
The terrorist nation of PamSong, with her Weapons of Mass Persuasion...er, I mean Destruction must end. PamSong has oppressed her citizens, deprived them of their human rights. My Secretary of Defense has informed me that she is harboring WMPs in some vague, remote site on her blog.
Although I personally doubt the veracity of the claims, I must act in the interests of the citizens of sixthseal.com.
I hereby declare a State of War between the nations of sixthseal.com and PamSong.
Straight from the horse's mouth - Pinky Tham Waiping, born and bred in KL. I just came back from work, have been working OT a lot lately. It's okay with me though coz I am one of the rare (lucky?) people who like their jobs. I'm a copywriter by trade so I have to watch out for grammar and typos - but not on my blog...on my blog, I'm free to make as many mistakes as I like! It's an outlet for me! :)
Anyway, I saw the notice above in the condo lift just now. Some tenant who needs to attend anger management classes ripped it off, but it was stuck back by security. Power outage from 2 pm till 6 pm. Doesn't affect me, I usually get home rather late. This is a crappy post coz I have to work on a pitch later so let us segue into something else.
I went to PC Fair (by proxy) to get a 640 GB USB 2.0 drive and a pair of Sony MDR headphones. I couldn't actually go coz I had to go to an event so one of my coworkers got the stuff for me. Damage to the wallet: RM 418.
I shall post again tomorrow - in the meantime, I'm going to pimp an event for a friend - Comic Fiesta. It's going on this weekend at Sunway Convention Center. I will not be going since I'm going to Singapore for the weekend, unfortunately. Click on the link to read more about it if you're into anime, manga, cosplay or just games in general.
I went to the Kakiis Night Out event last night at Euphoria by Ministry of Sound. I think it's the only non-smoking club in town. I went there with KY and Eiling as my team members.
I am honored that the organizers felt my 27-year-old self worthy of an ID check for a free voucher of Carlsberg Draft...until I realized they asked everyone for ID.
Pinky Tham! I less than 3 you! OMG, that was so random. Moving on.
I haven't been to Euphoria before but the place has a great sound system and excellent lighting. It's operated by the esteemed MOS in London.
The Kakiis event kicked off with a performance by the Break B'Boys. They're quite good at what they do and it got the crowd pumped up for the games. Kakiis Night Out has 10 booths with 10 games where you go and get footprints. DJ Steve from FlyFM was the MC for the night and briefed the crowd on the challenge.
The games range from Kakiis Extreme (with electric shocks and dubious sea creatures and worms) to the more intellectual games like Kakiis IQ. You're supposed to complete all 10 challenges. I didn't go there expecting to win, but I was surprised (in a good way) that Eiling is rather competitive by nature and wanted to finish all the games. ;)
I wanted a drink before that though, I just had two and needed a bit more of the amber fluid inside me to be in the right frame of mind. I managed to bum quite a few beer coupons off random people. I didn't know it wasn't free flow or I would have started drinking at home first. ;)
Meet Team 37! We actually won one of the games and walked away with a prize, which we didn't expect.
The most interesting challenge of the day is the Kakiis Tornado where a blower blows pieces of paper around in an enclosed phone box type contraption and we grab the pieces from the air. We had to wear goggles - watch our team in action!
Dinner was provided and we stopped to grab a bite to eat before continuing the games. "Dinner" was mainly finger food without any substantial carbohydrates except for the cakes and desserts. Coke and other soft drinks were free flow but they ran out of ice at one point.
Me: Look Pinky, you have like two leng chai sitting beside you! Pinky: Where? Where got leng chai? Me: .....
Anyway, we went back to attempt to complete the games after that. The more memorable is the one where you have to dig for coins in covered boxes. Two contains water and eels and the other two contains sawdust and sago grubs. There are four groups and each group of three people tag-teamed the way through.
This is the game where we won (fastest time). It's a contraption which delivers an electric shock with the two mesh wires inside. You have to reach through and grab a ping pong ball to spell out...
...KAKIIS. I got shocked twice, KY got it once and Eiling didn't get the electric treatment. I think you need to touch both the wire meshes for it to deliver a shock. We thought we did pretty well on this one but didn't think much of it.
There was also a challenge called Kakiis Chill where you dip your feet into a small pool of ice-cold water and attempt to fish out ping-pong balls with your feet spelling KAKIIS. Fun.
This is the best-dressed group IMHO - they were wearing reindeer antlers and matching outfits. They won one of the video awards too.
There was a yodeling competition going on at center stage while we were outside fishing ping-pong balls with our toes and everyone got a 16 GB Pendrive Sliq so our group immediately joined the next game...which was cat walking and showing off our kakis (kaki also means feet in Malay, wordplay on the social networking site).
I'm sure there are at least two compromising videos (and probably some photos as well) of me taking off my shirt and showing my beer belly (potbelly?) for all and sunder to see. I was about to start taking off my belt too before DJ Steve from FlyFM shook his head. ;)
Our team won the Kakiis Shock challenge though. I think we all knew we had a chance and looked at each other before the winner for that challenge is announced...and true enough it was Team 37!
We each snagged a 16 GB Pendrive Sliq for having the fastest time in that challenge. Team 37, FTW!
I went to Starbucks Centerpoint after an event to meet up with people I haven't met for a good three years - Kimberly, Suanie, and Paul Tan. Other bloggers in attendance were KY and Eiling, who were with me at the event (post tomorrow), ShaolinTiger, and KY's roommate. We were there from about 10 pm till 2 am.
I smoked one of Eiling's cigars which probably costs more than what I'm paid in a week. ;)
I paid a huge price for it though. My girlfriend pushed me around a little when I got home and kinda got one of my surface bar piercings to bleed.
Outing aftermath, sial.
See how much I love you guys and sacrifice so much for you all. :p
Cameron Highlands is known for its strawberries and roses but it also has a relatively obscure but healthy cactus industry going on.
Cactus Point is a popular tourist attraction, and why not? Cacti are easy to take care of - they don't need watering or any other affectionate gestures.
A cactus is a very lovable plant, with sharp spines protruding from every inch of its surface. I have a few sharp protuberances as well, so perhaps that's where my affinity for cacti stems from. Pardon the lame pun.
You can break it open in times of dire need for water if your office or house is lacking. Or so I heard.
You can even camwhore with it.
Cactus Point has a wide range of cacti for sale...
...and some marked NFS (Not For Sale).
Cactus Point has almost every species of cacti, according to the brochure. There are miniature versions as well - I bought some to bring back home. I'll probably bring one to the office too.
I am now the proud owner of an evil looking cactus.
God, I hate fishing toilet paper out of the toilet bowl.
It just had to happen. I reach for the TP, fumbled and the entire roll fell into the toilet bowl. I didn't want to fish it out since I just peed in there so I thought I'd try and flush it down.
It's very innovative, ground-breaking stuff. Sounded like a great idea at the time.
Guess whether it works before watching the video.
The condo I'm living in has great water pressure...
...but apparently not good enough.
Oh well, at least the flushing process sanitized the wet toilet roll somewhat.
It's not as bad as the previous time it happened - I was sitting on the porcelain throne doing some serious bowel movements and dropped the nearly empty roll INTO my merchandise. It should be noted that the consistency of the excrement was akin to (brown) porridge and I haven't finished wiping yet.
I wished I had filmed that one, but I couldn't very well go and get my digicam with The #2 Special dripping from my ass (it was diarrhea okay). I offered my prayers to the Porcelain God and flushed...
...and it went down, toilet roll and everything. I would not have wanted to retrieve that, not with the combination of Maggi mee goreng, nasi kandar, several eggs and instant noodles fermented for 1 1/2 days in my stomach cavity accompanying the TP roll.
I just came back from an event at hqnine @ TTDI Plaza. This is Cindy and Ringo of MDG fame (amongst others). This marks the return of the XX Chromosomes entries, which has been given a restraining order by my girlfriend. I have appealed for a temporary suspension in consideration of my pitch to be the official MDG 2 blogger. =D
I went straight after work coz I wasn't sure if I could find the place. I'm really tragic with directions. I called Yat numerous times and got lost in some mysterious highway before finally arriving at the place. I didn't know Nicholas was going or I would have bugged him instead. Heh! I met Ginny there...
...a girl who has an awesome tattoo on her left shoulder.
(and who can really eat as well) She's very adorable. :) Except when she pulls at my surface bar piercing. :p
Pam Song is in the same line of work as I am, which is very interesting to me since I'm new in the industry.
I just wish she would quit copying my notes.
Okay, I'm kidding, Pam is the one who came out with that great idea (pose of plagiarism). She's been in the industry longer than I have and I have much to learn from her.
Consider this my official pitch for MDG 2 official blogger, Robb. =D
I have decided to go all out for the F&N Free Party contest that I mentioned in a previous post. I went to Jusco just now and purchased about RM 300 worth of F&N Fun Flavors to increase my chances of winning. Look at where the left hand (of God) is pointing - the contest is advertised in Jusco too! The contest ends on the 31st of December 2008 so there's not much time left to pull this thing off.
I shouldn't be going to Jusco @ 1 Utama on a public holiday...there is no parking and we spent 20 minutes waiting for our turn at the cashier.
I'm not a very patient person and despite learning to be Zen-like from one of my co-workers, it still takes time to implement it. Avoid 1U during public holidays at all costs!
Anyway, the cashier at Jusco seems intent on scanning it in one by one, which resulted in a loooooong receipt (and a long wait for the unfortunate people behind me).
The whole fiasco is quite funny in hindsight - I ended up with a three-meter receipt!!! Behold! The Great Scroll of Jusco!
It seems that there are 10 free parties to be given out and there's a complicated system to choose the winning theme for each particular region so I'm going to play the numbers and divide them equally into the themes I really want.
What I'm planning to do is to send in the contest entries and all the pull-tabs wholesale e.g. in a single HUGE envelope to the good people at F&N with my written petition and a printout of my post. I'm going to print out a hard copy of the people who have linked me too in support of my endeavor so I hope this is going to show them how dedicated, nay, committed I am to winning this contest.
However, this brings us to a serious logistical problem...how am I going to drink all those cans of F&N in such a short period of time without getting diabetes?
I've been cracking my brain for a way to get around this problem and I've finally found the solution. I've just started work and there are quite a lot of people in my office, a very cool bunch, all of them. Thus, I've decided to bring the F&N drinks to the office, and get all my co-workers to start drinking them.
I'll post a handwritten note - FREE! Drink as much as you can BUT put the pull-tabs in this container.
I'm going to encourage them to binge on the drinks so I can collect all the pull-tabs in time for the contest. Problem solved! =D
Thanks to the people at Nuffnang and all Nuffnangers for the support in making the previous post #1 on Innit.
I will need all your support again in linking this post for more leverage on my end to appeal to the people at F&N.
Big Red Strawberry Café is located in the renowned Big Red Strawberry Farm in Brinchang, Cameron Highlands. The place was packed full of tourists during the long weekend. We went on Sunday afternoon and I couldn't even take a decent shot without at least two tourists armed with cameras blocking my view. ;)
We headed straight for the Big Red Strawberry Café (the official café of Big Red Strawberry Farm) coz I was famished - we woke up late after sleeping in until 10 am and haven't had anything to eat since the previous night. The Big Red Strawberry Café mainly concentrates on strawberry products but they also serve a very fresh salad due to vegetables being one of the main produce of Cameron Highlands.
Behold! The strawberry indulgence (overdose?). The actual food looks nothing like the photos - this is after all, a tourist trap and they make do with disposable forks and spoons and paper plates instead of the well presented menu pictures.
I had the Strawberry Juice (RM 3.90) while my girlfriend went for the Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie (RM 5.90). The strawberry juice is very sour - Cameron Highland strawberries tend to be small and a bit on the acidic side, but it tasted very fresh. The Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie was better, since the tanginess is diffused by the yogurt.
The Fresh Strawberry Waffle (RM 5) is a mass produced item made with a waffle iron (I stand witness) and strawberry preserve and jam. It still tasted pretty good though due to the rather frigid temperatures up there. Big Red Strawberry Farm is located on the highlands and the wind chill factor can be quite cold. It's topped with ice cream AND whipped cream.
This is the Strawberry Fried Ice Cream (RM 3.90) adorned with two Cameron Highlands strawberries. The strawberries they serve in the Big Red Strawberry Café is a bit on the minute side, the big and juicy ones are in the farm, where you can pick your own. It's good nevertheless, I like fried ice cream - despite knowing my physics and heat transfer it still amazes the inner child in me that the ice cream does not melt while being fried. :)
My girlfriend had the healthy Strawberries with Honey and Yogurt (RM 3.90) for dessert. Big Red Strawberry Café uses real yogurt (e.g. the very sour kind) and it goes well with the honey (from a bee farm in Cameron Highlands) and strawberries. I pronounce it Heart Healthy (TM).
I, being no stranger to cardiac arrests and strokes, opted for the Strawberry Sundae (RM 5.90) topped with whipped cream. In my defense, it has a plethora of fresh strawberries at the bottom of the sundae...at least a quarter of the dessert consists of fresh strawberries.
I think we both felt nauseous after the strawberry themed brunch - I had to eat a healthy plate of Maggie Mee Goreng with a Heart Healthy (TM) cholesterol laden sunny side up egg to counter the fructose and glucose intake.
The best part about Big Red Strawberry Farm? You get to stroll through the strawberry farm and pick your own big and juicy strawberries. :)
I drove up to Cameron Highlands over the long weekend with my girlfriend at 6 am in the morning. I consulted Google Maps and wrote down the directions from my place to Tapah. It wasn't very difficult once we got on the PLUS highway but we still managed to get lost coz we didn't realize the NKVE highway is part of the PLUS expressway.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (of the accelerator)
I managed to clock a decent speed once I got on PLUS, managed to hit nearly 180 km/h driving on the fast lane before switching from D to 2 and maintained about 190 km/h. My girlfriend wouldn't take any photos of the speedometer after that, preferring to hold on to the passenger side handle with one hand braced against the glove box.
Tourist destination peace of mind for travelers - FAIL
The toll costs a cool RM 19.20 so it's about RM 40 for a return trip - make sure your Touch 'n Go card is loaded with the appropriate amount coz we had to reverse (much to the annoyance of the cars behind us) and switch to the cash lane due to a lack of credit in the card.
We managed to reach the Lata Iskandar waterfall after about an hour of driving. The Lata Iskandar waterfall is a popular rest stop for people driving up to Cameron Highlands.
The Lata Iskandar waterfall is a magnificent sight with (very cold) water from the highlands rushing down a steep cliff. People can be seen frolicking in the water and generally chilling out before heading towards Tanah Rata (the main strip of Cameron Highlands).
It's a great spot for vacation photography too - the "I was here" type shots. ;)
I didn't get to eat a real strawberry then but the next post will be on the Big Red Strawberry Farm where we picked our own strawberries. :)
My girlfriend turned 24 on the 3rd of December 2008 - I know this post is late, but her birthday present was the trip to Cameron Highlands (Koh Samui was my first choice but the tickets were all sold out). Anyway, we made reservations at MO for 7 pm but unfortunately, I left the office too late due to work and managed to get stuck in a jam so she told me to just go someplace nearby and splurge on the Cameron Highlands trip instead (which we did, much to the dismay of my credit card).
Baywatch has an al fresco dining area in addition to their smoke infused bar area (also known as the "interior seating"). Despite being in a relationship with a smoker, she still can't stand excessive nicotine and tar emissions so we sat outside. Baywatch is also heavily inspired by the sitcom of the same name and comes complete with props like jet skis. They have a wine promo going at RM 128.00++ with half a dozen oysters and Two Oceans Shiraz 2005, which we opted for.
It is customary where we come from to have a Flaming Lamborghini (RM 38) for the birthday girl/boy. I have no idea where this tradition came from but I have a strong suspicion it's correlated to the flashy presentation of the Flaming Lambo.
She couldn't finish it though and got me to drink with her. The tables at Baywatch is a little bit rickety and the setup of the Flaming is such that it topples at the slightest nudge - it's just good fortune that the house of cards (or glass) went down AFTER the drink was finished. ;)
Doris had the Sunshine Salmon (RM 25.90) while I opted for the Rack of Lamb Attack (RM 31.90). The salmon was done well, nothing fishy going on there (har har, I am the Supreme Leader of lame jokes - just call me Ayatollah Pohmeini) while the rack of lamb was done in an acceptable manner, though it's a little bit of the small side, portion wise.
It's still not a great infringement to the name of the one and only God though, so I shall refrain from issuing a fatwa against the infidel cooks for tarnishing the name of the religion of peace. ;)
Baywatch is not cheap though - the bill came up to a total of RM 222.87.
The fairy (in his best ah gua pose) is reporting live from Starbucks Cameron Highlands. The ah gua stance...only slightly marred by the cigarette dangling from my hand. It's Dunhill Top Leaf though. ;)
No, not the Ayn Rand book...though you might find yourself starting to get as verbose as her after a couple of cans. I managed to find the best value beer in town just now. It's Atlas Beer, weighing in at 12% - it beats SKOL for value. It comes in a 500 ml can - I love the feel of the substantial 500 ml cans. It just feels so solid! I have purchased a slab (24 cans) of SKOL and after calculations by my gf this one is just better. Every self-respecting alcoholic, I mean, ethanol consumer knows that the higher ABV the beverage is, the better. My current favorite.
It's close to wine's fortitude with the alcohol content - beer at 12%, it's revolutionary! Bock style beer at just RM 7.90 per can and it's made in the EU to boot! I suspect it's one of the Eastern blocs though due to the ambiguity on the packaging - it would have shouted GERMANY had it been one of the more affluent states. It's replacing my favorite beer (SKOL Super) due to the value - 500 ml @ 12 % is stronger at 320 ml @ 9 % any time. Especially if you binge drink. ;)
I'm going to be driving up to Cameron Highlands tomorrow at 6 am. Be good, coz I won't have net access there. It's a birthday present for my girlfriend, and I anticipate prohibitive traffic congestion, but we're going to do the suites anyway.
I've always wanted to throw a party for the readers of sixthseal.com - in the height of it's popularity, I actually enquired about the rates of renting a club for an invite-only event. I even had grandiose thoughts about having an open bar (as well as specific tables for different non-ethanol based products - remember, this was back in the castitas.com days ;)) all gratis for my loyal readers.
I never actually realized that dream of mine due to financial reasons. I was already pumping a lot of cash into the sixthseal.com universe and renting a place for a night would be way too expensive for me. It still didn't deter me from putting that thought on the backburner though - with high-powered spotlights spearing the night skies, huge banners with the blog URL on it, me at the front personally greeting everyone that comes.
I'll even throw in one of those wind powered dancing stick figures. ;)
Anyway, while updating myself on the latest happenings in Mumbai, I chanced upon this contest for a free party (!!!). It's everything I could dream of...and more! This contest gives you the option to choose between a beach party and a hip-hop party (among others, but those two are the ones I'm going to choose), fully sponsored. Gratis. Free. Percuma.
The party is worth RM 15,000 and the only downside is that only 25 people can attend the event.
Still, it sounds like a great deal and I've sent in 6 entries together with the pull-tabs to increase my chances of winning. I have historically been very poor on winning contests - Lady Luck seldom favors me with her smile, but I'm hoping you all can help me out by doing this another way.
I've been hearing about invites to dinners and sponsored posts and all that (okay, I've been doing more than hearing, but that's not the point) and I was hoping that the good people at F&N will take notice of my blog and my post and perhaps sponsor another event just for sixthseal.com.
I mean, it's good publicity for them as well, since a blogger winning the contest (or being given the contest prize) will generate a domino effect of sorts. I'm going to invite bloggers to the party, which will in turn produce likely coverage of the sixthseal.com party. 25 bloggers writing about the party (26 including myself) is pretty good publicity.
Anyway, if you link this post, and the people at F&N notices it and squeezes some cash from their slush fund to throw me a party - I'll be sure to get you invited to the event.
I'm even going to write in and petition them.
It's been something I've wanted to do for quite a while, and I hope it happens. If it does, you'll be the first to know (and get invited).
P/S - If anyone from F&N is reading this, I am kidding about the slush fund. I'm sure you don't have one. ;)
P/P/S - Can the good people at Nuffnang and other Nuffnangers help me out on this?
I had a surface bar piercing procedure done about a month ago on my left wrist. I had originally intended to go in for a tattoo on my left ankle - a rotting, dead corpse hand with yellowing fingers grasping my leg and pulling me down with blood dripping from the fingernail rake marks, all in full color. It's going to be a masterpiece!
Unfortunately, it would take about four hours to ink and an hour to draw so I decided to go for an unconventional piercing instead. My policy regarding piercings is simple - it has to be concealed (or at least concealable) due to my line of work. I have pierced most of my face since I was 15 and I only have my tongue and nipple piercings left.
I came to this tattoo place to get my nipples pierced about three months ago and asked about flesh stapling and other hardcore or extreme piercings that they do. They couldn't do it back then but I noticed they have some paraphernalia for it now. However, they still couldn't do proper flesh stapling so I went for the next best thing - three surface piercings down my left wrist. The piercing guy told me I'm the first one to do this, so I'm the guinea pig.
I like the sound of that. ;)
Thus, I signed the indemnity form and proceeded with the surface piercing.
I originally planned for three similar length and gauge surface piercings but the piercer told me it would look disproportionate due to the widening of the arm, so he suggested 22 gauge, 24 gauge and 26 gauge bars in ascending order so it'll look straight. It turned out to be an excellent suggestion.
Surface bar piercing is the exact "opposite" of flesh stapling. Flesh stapling allows the "bar" to be visible, but the "ends" to be invisible while surface bar piercings has the "ends" visible while the "bar" goes under the skin.
The skin is clamped together at the wrist and then pierced through with a large needle before the surface bar is inserted and the end screwed in. The entire bar goes under your skin so you can feel it beneath your skin, somewhat akin to a sub dermal implant.
This is the process flow of the surface bar piercing procedure:
The site of the piercing (in this case my left wrist) is marked with a pen with horizontal and vertical lines as a guide for the three bars going in.
The skin around the wrist is clamped together - not a very easy task for the first one since it's located quite high up on the arm. The clamp marks alone took over a week to heal!
A very thick needle is poked through the skin from A to B so it goes under the skin between the two points.
It is temporarily stopped with a cork for safety purposes.
The surface bar is then inserted all the way in...
...before the clamp is released, putting the entire bar under the skin and leaving the ends up. The side of the surface bar is screwed in with a ball.
I did all three in a row which amazed the staff, as did my tolerance for pain. I don't mean to brag, it's none of that macho shit, but I honestly don't feel much pain at all. It hurt a little after a couple of days though, especially when it snags on clothes and hair. I look a little like a porcupine at the wrist, but I kinda like how it looks now.
It's supposed to take six (!!!) months to completely heal but I think mine is pretty much healed now. It doesn't hurt anymore, even when slightly snagged. It's different and I get a lot of double takes and people commenting about it (one guy even wanted to take a photo of it) when I go out.
It's technically a transdermal implant since part of it is inside the skin and part of it is outside and is considered a little on the extreme side, so that's something you might want to consider if you're doing this.
...a video of the third and final wrist piercing going in.
This is what it looks like when it's done.
It looks horribly painful especially for virgins to the world of self-mutilation, er...I mean body modification but it's not as painful as it looks. :)
...a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. I hooked up with Ringo, KY and Xin and arranged for dinner at Fong Lye Taiwan Restaurant. It's been over a month and I realized I haven't even blogged about it until I was browsing through my archives. I didn't manage to get a shot of Fong Lye's exterior too, coz the place was closing when we finally left. I have been meaning to reshoot the exterior without the shutters half closed, and went back last weekend.
Fong Lye Taiwanese Restaurant is a franchise operation that is constantly packed, even late at night when we went. It's pretty amazing how these Taiwan/HK/Chinese eating establishments can maintain such a high capacity in the current economic situation. The place is literally packed when we arrived. Fong Lye Taiwanese Restaurant has different seating arrangements to cater to different groups of people and we got seated at the corner before ordering our food.
KY had the Pork Intestines Set Meal (RM 17.80) rated as spicy by Fong Lye. He was seated too far away for me to taste his meal but he thought it was pretty good. I can't actually remember if I ate his pork or not, since we were staying at the Boulevard Studio Suite at that time and I took advantage of the free beer at the Executive Lounge.
Ringo had the healthy sounding Hot & Spicy Dim Sum (RM 16.50) after most of what she ordered wasn't available. I remember having some of her dish - it was pretty good, except for the tofu. I don't like tofu. I'm more of a meat person but two pieces of something I had from her order was great.
Xin, for some mysterious reason, did not order a main dish at all. She had the Beef Roll (RM 10.30), which we all had a piece so she was left with only two slices. It tasted pretty good though but a tad overpriced for what is tantamount to a souped up popiah.
Doris went for the Taiwan Braised Beef Noodle (RM 19.80). It is served with several side dishes, like most of the meals. The side dishes contain various snacks and vegetables and makes the presentation immaculate. The Taiwan Braised Beef Noodle is spicy and piping hot, with a rich broth that must have taken a herd of cows to make. ;)
I went for the Three Varieties of Supreme Diced Chicken (RM 19.80), which turned out to be the best dish of the night. The chicken is tender, and cooked to perfection. This dish is also amazingly spicy, something that always rates highly in my books. The chicken claypot is literally full of chillies!
I love this dish and would do a return visit to sample it again (despite it numbing my taste buds for a while). Those who tried it also agreed and pronounced it Good (TM).
Ringo also ordered this weird desert called Peanut Snow Mountain (RM 8.30) that we all shared. It tasted gooey and saccharine sweet and elicited quite a number of jokes related to scat (not skat, the card game, and certainly not scat as in "go away"). It was alright as a dessert though.
The total came up to a RM 151.35 for five people, inclusive of a beer on my end and drinks for everyone else. Fong Lye Restaurant is a great place that opens till (relatively) late so check it out at The Gardens @ Mid Valley if you're into Taiwanese food. It's definitely worth a try.
The new guy wolfed down the Koko Krunch (a sweetened cereal) with the milk his parents brought him as though afraid we might grab it from him and have it for ourselves. We had formed a pretty nice and tight clique by this time, the only ones with cigarettes inside the center. Fong with the money, Ming with the means, Seng with the might and me.
I don't know why they took a liking to me, to be honest. I was tough, and showed it when confronted the first time I went in. Respect? I asked at the end of my stay and it turned out that they found me "different" and "interesting". I'm not the usual type found in drug rehabilitation centers. I'm intelligent and possess a certain charm that got us away with little more than a slap on the wrist from the center's administration.
Different - that's the quality that got me into the crème de la crème clique.
We have been watching the new kid for a while now; inmates tend to regards the newbies with more than a little suspicion, if not downright hostility. He doesn't share his goods and eats his bowl of Koko Krunch TOGETHER with the center's ration of noodles (for breakfast), rice (for lunch) and biscuits (for supper).
It's a cardinal sin according to the law of the jungle, I mean, rehab.
He probably sensed our hostility towards him and made overt attempts to get back in our good books. He knows we've been smoking and wanted in. He has nothing to offer in return (and neither did I, and to this day I still wonder why I was invited in the first place) and his selfish acts did nothing to gain our favor. He's also a methamphetamine user - as most of us in there are.
I think he figured out our rules the second time his parents visited him, bearing gifts of two extra large boxes of Kellogg's Chocolate Frosted Flakes and 2 liters of milk. He quietly arranged five plastic bowls on the table after lunch and opened all two boxes and started dividing it into the five bowls.
Ming: What are you doing? Newbie: It's my treat, I want you all to have this too. Fong: Never heard you say that the first time your parents gave you stuff. Newbie: Well...now that I've gotten to know you guys better... Me: I don't feel like I know you at all. Seng: Yeah, and don't think we don't know why you're doing this. You want in on the cigarettes right? Newbie: No, it's not that at all...though it would be nice...
We proceeded to help ourselves to several bowls of the stuff. He only ate a single lonely bowl, taking care to choose the one with the least cereal inside in a last ditch attempt at establishing good will.
We never invited him to either our afternoon or night contraband cigarette breaks.
The rule of the jungle...
You're either the pack of hyenas, or you're the dead carcass.
Hello there! I am Huai Bin and I'm a 28 year old working professional living in Petaling Jaya. I can be reached at sixthseal@gmail.com if you feel a burning urge to contact me.
