Arch enemy or Bestie?

So I am sick again... in KL. 

It seems like every time I drop by Msia, I have to get sick once... at least once. My body can't seem to adjust itself smoothly back to Msia's climate or food or whatever. And it seems it has partner with my maybe-arch-enemy-maybe-bestie stomach. 

My stomach has been like a bugger all these years. My relationship with it has been a love-hate relationship because I am not sure whether it is a friend or a foe. It has always haunted me with bloating, swelling, pains, indigestion, nausea, etc etc. 

One of my first theory was that it must have been my arch enemy in a previous life. Probably someone I have successfully defeated and with its last breath, it swore that it will be reincarnated as something or someone that can follow me everywhere I go and torture me when I least expects it. And probably that was how it was reincarnated as my stomach and it decides that it will torture me by being very very intolerant. 

But my stomach has not always been so intolerant. When I was a child, I could drink milk easily for example and did not suffer the after effects. So, probably my stomach was a friend who keep tabs on my eating habits. I remember fresh after high school when I couldn't stop eating and eating and eating. And my stomach swelled so much, people at the sideline speculated that I was pregnant. (That was so mean!) And I couldn't be bothered to reduce my food intake or exercise more because I was happy. It took a serious food poisoning plus fever session (that lasted 2 -3 weeks) to effectively reduce my food intake and lost 8kg. So, maybe my stomach has some inherent wisdom in being so selective on which food it takes in and which it does not want. 

So is it a friend or a foe? 

Break in KL

People have always commented that the food portions are bigger in Australia than Malaysia, I guess naturally I want to post on this matter cause that is all wrong~! 

Look at the stuff I found!!

Humongous steamed bun! One that is as big or bigger than my face! This bun is named after a famous actress called Amy Yip who has huge boobs and these are supposedly modeled after 'em. Impressive.... #foodporn!!  It contains mince pork, chicken bits (with bones still intact) and egg (too bad they didn't stuff the whole egg). And that humongous bun got to settle within the stomach of four of us. 

And Giant Macaroon!! You can see my nail at one side of the macaroon, right? That is how big it is!!

And how about this humongous birthday card?!? Kinda make me wish my hubby would gift me this on my upcoming birthday~! Can you imagine how absolutely eye-friendly it is for my eyes?? 

Last but not least, the most humongous banana ever!! (Pisang stands up banana in malay). Okie la, to be fair, it is a papaya, I don't know why they label it as banana but close enough. :P 

Then I listened to how people commented on how dirty China citizens are cause they spit on the roads and all that. Hello... people do that in Malaysia too! I don't even wanna wear slipper when I visit the local kopitiam and markets because it is so gross. One time I saw the apek in front of me spit on the road and I accidentally step on it, I really want to throw away my shoes afterwards. 

Luckily I didn't because I only brought one pair of shoes back and I really need it to protect my feet against the spit and what not. 

So till next time... bb....

The birth of bridezilla

The countdown to my actual wedding day has started and I feel the feeling of 'impossibru' creeping up all around me. Everything and absolutely everything just had to be perfect, which includes me and my cellulite, dark eye circles, butterfly arm and whatever else I choose to freak out about. With the clock ticking more ominous now, I trembled at the possibility of starring in my own version of runaway bride. 

But, take a deep breath and take a step back, I am not too sure why I have this feeling. Technically, we have signed our marriage papers roughly a year ago and I don't recall feeling these jitters when I signed it in front of our family. It was a beautiful moment and I should forever treasure that moment. I do remember the bliss of marrying my best friend in the world, the one and only person I have officially invited to my heart and who have chosen to stay. But before the wedding... suddenly all those thoughts of 'what if's', 'could have' and 'might have' assaulted my brain, add a pinch of my friend's perhaps 'well-intention' reminder of things I should stress about, things I should mind about and troubles and pains I should foresee and that equates to basically the birth of bridezilla. So number one human bridezilla is gonna eat are those who freaks her out now. So that means whoever who comes to me with problems without solutions are gonna have a hard time recovering their hearing ability. 

lol... Anyway...

Let me cover what have been planned and done so far. The first thing to cover will be the pre-wedding photoshoot. If you want to see the pics, have a look here. We decided to go to Taiwan for the wedding photoshoot because we wanted it to be something super special. I initially wanted to go to Japan la, lol... but then we couldn't go in April (which is the time for sakura, I estimate) and one thing led to another, we decided Taiwan. 

The most important thing at this stage is to actually get a really good and reliable photographer. If you choose to make it simpler by going for those photoshoot packages from bridal studio, make sure you check whether they are reliable and delivers on time. My friends have mostly flocked to KL for the pre-wedding photoshoot because it is cheaper but do bear in mind of the difference between time, cost and quality and sometimes spending a little more can really take the burden off the mind especially for people working overseas. 

And I am totally not material for whole body shots because I don't know how to pose (wth am I suppose to do with my hands??), so I was lucky that the photographer was patient and did not make it more awkward for us. 

The best thing is that I get to explore Taiwan during that time and bought a lot of random stuff.... lol... Holiday + work 

So we finally finalized the design and layout of the photo album.... phew... So, now it should be in printing and I should get it pretty soon. 

Apart from pre-wedding photoshoot, one of the most important thing to do is to book the wedding venue!! We did the right thing by booking this venue almost a year in advance. We really like a venue that is big enough to accommodate all our guests but at the same time beside a beach (we really like the beach~!). Then 6 months before our wedding, I had second thoughts about the venue and tried to change the booking but it seemed everywhere else I wanted was booked out. At that moment, I'd imagined the other couple as Kate Hudson in my bride wars. lol.. Since the other venues didn't have the sea view anyway, I decided to fall back on the first choice. And I heard the food there is better too... so woo hoo for me~! Then had to book the emcee for the night. Had another Kate Hudson/Anne Hathaway bridal moment when another couple wanted the same emcee for the night and we lost (We got hold of his number in Feb but we called him in June and the other couple called him in May... we were too slow)... wth... Once again the emcee was so nice, he introduced a different emcee to us and she sounded alright over the phone. Ok, done deal.  

So after the venue, the menu selection and the emcee has been booked... we had to book the band for the night. Hubby loves music, if he had gotten what he had always dreamed of, he would make his groom entrance like a concert with him sitting behind a grand piano and me perhaps floating to him from the ceiling... wth... Good imagination. So lucky that we have a friend who has a mad passion for music, thank you so much~! He'd organized a list of songs for the event, so at least we do  not have to rack our brains too much for that. 

Then came the invitation card designs, it seems like for the past few months Murphy's law has been in full action. Whatever could go wrong will. It really makes me dread the days counting to the wedding. So anyway, a simple card design... a simple simple card design. I don't want to comment la since it has been printed. Later I complain and then karma bit me before the wedding even starts, then soi lo... But maybe I will share the experience after this is over. But anyway, bottom line was even simple was hard. grrr....

Next thing on my head now is wedding cake. Omg... Knowing my obsession, it only makes sense that I turn to jelly when I imagine my wedding cake as JELLY wedding cake!! Omg... so OMG pretty!! And special too! I don't think a lot of people have jelly wedding cakes?!? 

Some more, jelly cakes contains no saturated fats and cholesterol, meaning it will not bulk up your waistline. See, I am so considerate?!? hehe... 

Images from qjelly.com

I teared up when I scrolled through their images cause somehow I felt as if I found my wedding cake equivalent of a soul mate. Like... like I have been waiting so long for you... 

But... but... logistic issues... *tears up again* 

So far, what I learnt through my experience is that planning a wedding is fun but very difficult, especially your own because there is so much more than logistics and planning to it, there is also complicated emotions. Such as the irrational fear of a sucky wedding. There will always be people who tries to freak you out, but take it in your own stride. If they prove too much to handle, then you may scream at them. I think seeing you freak out a bit makes the other person feels calmer, I am not sure exactly the demented logic behind this but it works and they leave you alone. *Happy sigh*  

And I quote my previous tweet, 'If bridezilla does exist, then her mate is Groom-Freak-A-Lot. And together, they will have a freakishly smashing wedding together~!' :) Do I get an Amen on that? lol... Just kidding.  

Falling in love with myself

If you asked me a few months back whether I love myself, I would say straight to your face a huge 'NO!'

I have faced haters in my life, people who don't think I worked hard enough, people who think I don't deserve the blessings that I get and people who are two face to the point of loathsome. But the hardest hater to face is one that is embedded in me. A voice that keeps telling me I am not good enough, I have not done enough and I am undeserving. So, I really wanted to tell the haters in my life to don't bother la, you don't need to be the bad guy anymore, I can easily do that for you 24/7. 

Growing up, I wasn't given much attention. I used to fester and complain why the heck was I born a girl when a boy was given more priority. It was like been dished up with a punishment that wasn't even my fault to start with. It was setting a ridiculously impossible to reach bar of comparison that I could not overcome. But it wasn't only a point of view that others impose on me, it was a punishment I took to heart and implement in my life.  

Looking back, a lot of my decisions were influenced by people's feedback on me. My inner hater collected these negative feedback and multiply it to build picket fence around me, making me believe that I am safe as long as I stay as its captive. But the disgusting part was that every time I start to feel happy, these people would generate more things to dissect, and my picket fence grew smaller and smaller. You probably think at this point how stupidly naive I sound, so easily influenced by others. You're probably right but you'd be stupid to think people do not influence you to a certain degree too and I am sparing you the ugly things they said about me.  

As my inner space grew smaller, I had to throw out my peace, confidence and eventually loves in my life. Do you know it is only until recently that I realized what a situation I have placed myself in? I finally understood that whoever or whatever those haters think they are and think they know, it all doesn't matter. They won't be there with us every step of our lives but I have to live with myself every second, every minute, every hour of the day till the last breath that I take. Like flies in the summer heat, they come and they go and they are really annoying but they are not permanent. So why should I limit my happiness for an annoying fly?

I used to punish myself for the inaccurate viewpoint other people have on me. I acted in a certain way just to avoid this but I now made peace with myself. Sometimes, people's view of us is obstructed by the thorn in their eyes, it doesn't matter if I strive to be nicer to them it would always be poison in their heart so I let go. I am breaking down the picket fence I erected all around me and begin to see the possibilities out there. I would not punish myself anymore for things that are out of my control. 

I recognize that I truly do not deserve the many blessings that I have in life, and because of that I am immensely grateful. Suddenly those things that I once take for granted were made sweeter with just a dash of gratefulness. 

I recognize and acknowledge my mistakes and my imperfections because I am human. I am replacing my inner hater with a self reflector. Instead of bashing myself internally for things I did wrong, I choose to laugh and promise myself that I will do it better next time. Just like my garden, I will grow sunflowers in my heart and it will follow everywhere the sun goes and will not dwell in the shadows anymore. 

Being the woman of the house

So, we are now settled in our small but cozy nest. What happens now?

I always thought that I would morphed into this multi-tasking persona with an ipad on one hand, a phone sandwiched precariously between my shoulder and my ear and a broom or mop in the other hand (Watch too much tv liao... lol...). I would not be just a house wife but a career driven woman... A career mum~! I don't want to turn out like those aunties with their bulging stomach (when not pregnant) dressed in their drapey clothes whose main entertainment is gossiping about others. I wanted to be sleek, stylish, adventurous and fun-loving.  As yet, I am still nowhere near what I envisioned myself to be. I still prefer comfy oversize t-shirt and cotton pants whenever I am home. My wake up call was when my housemate actually thought I slimmed down!! She was pretty used to seeing me wear M-L size t-shirts and free size cotton pants so free size that my brother can wear it, no problem (I am serious, when he was here, I actually borrowed it to him and it fits... urgh...).  Then one day she saw me coming back from an event or something and when I took off my coat and my shawl, she went 'OMG, you lost weight!' It was so embarrassing... 

Since I do not like to be called house-wife, I dubbed myself woman of the house~! *Girl's power!*

Apart from having fun decorating and creating my garden, there is still hard labor behind the picture. Like how I love to do grocery shopping, but I hate carrying, loading and unloading my purchase. Sure wish they offer online shopping with FREE delivery for those~! But I am getting carried away. 

O well, I accept those responsibility along with the responsibility of paying bills ON TIME. But there is one responsibility that one seldom notices until you become a woman of the house. Being the woman of the house is also synonymous with knowing the location of everything in the house. 

So the normal everyday ones would be 'where's the key?' and 'where's the charger?' while the annoying one would be 'where's my black jacket, the one with the .... ... ' to sometimes 'where's the nutella?' and sometimes the thing they are seeking is right in front of their eyes. Luckily, my house is small or else I will hit them in the head for making me run up and down for something so obvious. Sometimes I do wonder whether it is just my hubby but when my bro came over, he also has this disease so I have to humbly accept that it is now my responsibility to keep track of everything that we commonly share and their stuff. *Sigh* When it is my turn to find my stuff, I can only ask God. 'God, where? where??'  Maybe I am annoying Him too much, He doesn't like to answer me when I do that. 

So, I turned to asking my stuff where they are, my common concern would be 'Iphone, where are you?!? Where? Where?' I know it sounds silly and it never works, time for a change!! Apple should program Siri to be voice activated when I call it and answer 'I am here, on the dining room table' or 'I am here, under the quilt folds and you are going to squash me with your sexy ass!' That would be so much useful than 'I can only give business in the US', bla bla bla... discriminating Siri~! 

And hard disk, you better come back to me or I am never going to love you anymore~!

Grr.... 

August's product talk

Lately I have been so consumed being a consumer!! There is so much things out there. So many weird and wacky stuff that attracts and excites me and my wallet is feeling the burn. And the first thing I always do is check other people's reviews on them which is sometimes hard to find. So, today... this post is going to be about some stuff that I love this month... (actually for quite some time.. but since I started this post this month... so yeah, stuff I love this month...)

1. Gold

I think gold needs no introduction, right? There is white and there is yellow. A lot of people have tried to convince me that generally white gold is aesthetically more pleasing than yellow but I persists in wearing yellow gold. Why??  I will let you in on a small secret. 

Have you guessed yet? Hehe... It is because I believe in its contribution to my aesthetic value!! There are plenty of facial centers and products that are using 24k gold as their selling point. According to them, gold speeds up the cellular processes and activates regeneration within the cell. In terms of deep cellular levels, gold is well reputed for restoring the lost elasticity properties of the tissues. Gold slows down collagen depletion and the breakdown of elastin to prevent sagging skin. Gold's anti-inflammatory properties also decrease skin inflammation, thereby slowing down melanin secretion and reducing age spots (Source). 

Off course, in order for effective deep cellular action, the gold particles must be in the form of nano particles. That way, it can be readily absorbed into the skin via pores while I wear it in its metallic form. However, I am not sure be it the fact that gold is the most inert solid element at standard condition or its good electron grounding properties, wearing it does bring about improvement to my skin. I speculate (because I have no proof) that it is because it regulates the ionic condition on my skin that my skin is less irritated by the attack of free radicals. 

Sometimes I do trade my gold necklace for other metallic and more fashionable necklaces, and I forgot to put it back on afterwards. I noted that 3-5 days later, little red bumps alike pimples begin to pop out from my skin and my pores appear bigger. (Actually not a lot la, but I like to freak out a lot.) And the appearance of these red bumps are not tied to hormonal change or diet change, so I decided to put my gold necklace back to soothe my skin and it works! Off course, the purer the better. I am currently wearing 916 which is like 91.6% purity? Those obviously gold alloys I got from Australia have no such effect. Trust me, I am an enginner. lol... It might just be a placebo effect anyway...  

2. Kose Sekkisei lotion

I finally finished my bottle of Kose Sekkisei lotion! Sadness!! 

If at first, I wasn't too convinced with this lotion, now I am totally in love with it. If you have yet to read my review on it, check it out here. 

An absolutely wonderful lotion for lotion mask! I just didn't know what I had till I compared with the other lotions. The benefits of using it as lotion mask is that it really refreshes, lightly moisturizes and brightens up the skin. I could feel my skin singing its praises. For me, it is those lotion that the more you use, the better your skin gets. Absolutely wonderful for summer but also great for that pick-me-up lotion in winter. RAWR~! 

3. Herbalife Instant Herbal Beverage

If I could compare my stomach to a pressure vessel, stainless steel (SS316) kind being the average and able to stomach a lot of stuff, mine would be cardboard or maybe plastic. It had resorted to bloating and pain to warn me that it is a picky stomach and is the master of me, not slave. So after a day of food binge (usually one that is high in fat), it would spend the next day berating me (by means of weird noises) with its huge puffed up face (bloated). But I have now found a way to soothe it, i.e. Herbalife Instant Herbal Beverage! 

Its slight bittery tea taste seems to clean my palette and cut through the extreme fatty sludge in my stomach which in turn soothes it. And whenever it comes to pick-me-up drinks, I think there is nothing better than the Instant Herbal Beverage by Herbalife. Knowing what caffeine does to me, I would only take this in the morning or latest after lunch. Granted that it is pretty costly, it does pretty much what it is supposed to do.  Plus the person who introduced this product to me mentioned that it helps increase the body's metabolism which means it helps you slim down, the lazy way! This is like one of life's cheat! lol...  

'This delicious low-calorie tea mix blends green tea and orange pekoe with cardamon seed, lemon peel, hibiscus and natural sources of caffeine for an uplifting taste treat. Green tea is known for its natural antioxidant properties. Studies have shown that regular consumption of green tea can be beneficial to your wellbeing. Enjoy refreshing Herbalife Instant Beverage as part of your weight-loss programme or whenever you want a boost' (Herbalife) 

I do feel a bit weird talking about direct sales product, seems like I am marketing them. But I am not a distributor and this is just me sharing what I like about it. If you like more information about how to incorporate this into your weightloss regime, it is a good idea to talk to a qualified distributor. :) 

So that is all for the month of August~! Can't wait to try what I wanna use for product talk next month~! 

Kopi...Kopi...

Today, my mind has been totally crowded by absolutely cute images of puppies... 

Omg... Come here... Kopi... Kopi... 

Maybe if my mind power is strong enough, I will use the secret to bring the puppy into my life. But if my mind power is ever going to be that strong, practicality dictates that I should use it to bring the job I am passionate about into my life. 

And once we start thinking about practicality, lotsa issues will pop out anyway like the cost of the pup and maintenance. Would I be able to afford this pup along with its medical needs and food? Would I be dedicated enough to ensure that I can care for its need? What is going to happen to the pup if I decided to relocate or go for vacation? Would I love it unconditionally? Omg... 

Nah, I am so not going to deal with that now. I just want to look at their cute cuddly faces with their cute beady little eyes. 

I wonder which one should I use my a-hem... limited brain power to bring into my life now? 

I have always wanted a Labrador, cause I wanted a smart dog that I can train. And Labrador have been conventionally trained to be a blind's guide due to its intelligence and patient demeanor. I'd imagine days when I just cry and my Labrador would simper up and let my tears stain its coat of fur. Or days when my well-trained Labrador would switch off my room's light so I can snuggle in my warm bed. And then fetch me my mails and help me with chores... Geez... I am seriously looking for cheap labour here... 

But then I saw the Kleenex advertisement which starred the golden retriever. It looks so alike a labrador, just furrier and so much cuter~! Won't you love that?? Aw.... 

I could just imagine my golden retriever laying in my lawn and chase away any evil birds trying to gobble up my cute seedlings. :P Or maybe not... reminder to self, dogs are not just convenient scarecrows.... 

And then I thought, won't it be awesome if I got a shepherd dog instead? Something fierce yet so good-looking? A dog with a loyal heart who will protect its owner? Gone were the days when I had to finish my jog before the sun set because I am alone and vulnerable. And everyone would stare as my Lassie look-alike dog struts beside me with its shiny coat of fur~! Awesome!! 

But then.... talking about aesthetic value, I think nothing can beat a cute dog that never seems to age. Omg... How about a cuteness overload Pomeranian pup/dog?? 

Omg!! Omg!! SO totally ADORABLE. I think they can probably poop in my house and I won't even get mad!!

Alright, charging up my brain power....

Gardening & I

For starters, I do not have a green thumb.

According to my hubby, I am the anti-green thumb (if that is a thing). Honestly, I could hardly blame him for having this impression. Ever since we moved into our new place, I have been hacking away at weeds and plants. And when I don't hack, I asked my brother to hack it for me or I planned what and how to hack next. To make things worst, I did mention how rewarding it is to hack away all those unwanted stuff. So, I guess I could understand his panic as he morphed into a 'tree-hugger' and prevented my dream of taking over the world, oops, I meant my garden.

A small part of the hack-away

And to make things worse, according to hubby I killed our first ever potted plant in Perth. No amount of defense could get me out of that, unfortunately. Even though I pointed out that the death was more out of negligence rather than a deliberate act to kill it. And the fact that our move plus OUR negligence, not merely mine could have killed it. The bottom line was that it died. D.I.E.D.

My very dead chilli plant

Well, to soothe my now 'tree-hugger' hubby, I needed to take actions. There are several options for me to began rehabilitation of my garden (before I hack everything away).

Option 1: Hire a qualified gardener and get him to hack away all the unwanted stuff and then plant the wanted stuff.
Option 2: Hack away as usual and buy seedlings to plant
Option 3: Hack away as usual and buy seeds to plant

Since I am, according to ah-hem ah-hem... terrible gardener, option 1 and 2 seems more practical but if somehow I accidentally 'killed' the plants again, my pocket's gonna hurt. So I decided to try option 3, the cheap skate method.

My haul from Reject shop

I went to Reject shop to purchase the potting mix and the seeds, so cheap~! only $1.50 per pack~! I actually wanted to grab those small pots for the seeds but then I noted that they look so much like egg trays except with small holes at the bottom. So cheap skate me striked again, I decided to recycle the egg trays at home~! Environmentally friendly, some more~! :P

'

I poked holes at the bottom of the egg tray... clever, right? :P

Filling it up with soil and potting mix 

Ok, at first I was very patient. I watered my seeds every morning with much dedication. *puffs my chest out* but then going into the next week, it was always harder to remember and I end up watering it every other day. My logic was that 'ek, the potting mix looks wet'.

End of week 2, still no more shoot. The tricky part with gardening was that I couldn't go march up to the merchant and demand they give me a refund because 'the seed packet say it takes about 11-13 days to grow and it didn't! I want my money back guarantee!'. I was getting a bit bored with this waiting, seriously. So I conveniently forgot all about it for another 2-3 days. Wait, was it a week? Oopsie...

But just a few days ago, I noted 3 small shoots!! Woo hoo~! Couldn't believe how happy I was. Baby, I am back! I will water you every single day (days that I remember), I crooned at the shoots.

My first few shoots... Yeay~!

However the next day when I watered it, impatience got the better of me. How come I planted so many seeds, only 3 grew into shoots. So, I did what ALL gardeners do (don't tell me I am the only one, I won't believe it!!), I took a long thin wire and I poke at the soil to find all the other seeds. Just you know... ensure that they have enough aeration in the soil and maybe some sunlight and exactly NOT because I was purely exasperated and impatient. And I found 3-5 more really tender young shoots, I was so elated!!

Then I wondered briefly whether the birds would swoop down and gobble up my really young seedlings, and I was tempted to cover up the small ones with soil. *hump* Second thought, might just kill it.

Sigh... I am such a bad gardener.

Me and my mirror

One day, I saw a nice magnifying mirror with LED back light in Harvey Norman so I decided to grab myself one. I thought that with a clearer reflection, it would help me see myself better especially when I apply my make up. So I bought one online, in PINK~! Yes... *secretly hi-5 myself*

All this time, I am not to say very proud of my skin but I am satisfied with it. Pretty sure I did a good job maintaining it... UNTIL... the mirror came by!!! So it goes like this... 

Swt... Flaws that I wasn't sure of started to sprout everywhere I looked! Pores, scars, sun spots and uneven skin tone... Damn!! Get that freaking monster out of my face!!

lol... I hope you can understand my silly story with the Ragemaker app. It is pretty hard to draw in that thing especially with my fingers... :P What I am conveying in the fourth column is me flipping the table and then the mirror fell down and common sense deters that it breaks (except I didn't draw it). In reality, I did not do that la... lol... So I am stuck with it and a realization that there is much to improve on my face. Thank God for make up. :P

Thanks for dropping by~!

Itsy bitsy part of Taiwan

I know I slept through most part of my car trip from Taipei to Puli (where we took our wedding photoshoot), but the rare moments that I was awake a song kept ringing in my head. And that song is none other than Jay Chou's 'ti tian'. The only reason why I would be thinking about this song is because the passing landscape is either beautiful green field of pastures or industrial plants. Well... apart from the obvious fact that Jay Chou is from Taiwan and he was singing about Taiwan, that is. : P

Anyway ... I felt a strong influence of the Japanese here especially when it comes to their tidiness and their friendliness. That may be the reason why I still blogged about my Taiwan trip while Hong Kong only deserved one summarized post. 

#1 View of their manicured garden and pond

#2 Entrance to a small bee farm

#3 Going to the cultural village

#4 The view of the cultural village and its theme park from way up here in the ropeway/cable car 

#5 Omg... Just looking at it gave me heart palpitation. You remember those rides where you go really high up really slow and then it stops at the top and they just free fall really fast??? Well, that is it!!

#6 Welcome to Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village

Anyway, we managed to squeeze in some time to visit their Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village. Initially I thought it would be a very educational only visit, like look at dances and performances. But it turns out the 'village' contained a theme park!! And it has the tallest freakish free-fall-ride I have ever seen. So I decided to do the I'm-a-girl-so-I'm-allowed-to-chicken-out move... but it didn't work!! 

#7 Finally! Invisible ink for the hand, only seen under UV light. Reduces chances of ugly stains, don't you think?

It was raining when I was forced against my will to go on that ride, all the same then as I now have reason to plot revenge against hubby.(Just kidding la) When the music starts, I decided to swing my leg a bit... act nonchalant as it slowly rises. But when it went past the height of the tree tops, I guess whether I like it or not the legs would shake of its own accord. And then the music ends... OMG and we fell... I could actually see the rain drop even slowing down.... wth?? It means we are moving faster than the force of gravity?!? This chicken deserved to chicken out!! Now, one thing crossed out off my chicken list. Phew... 

Apart from the cultural village, the must go place should be Taipei 101 ba!! We just had to go there!! 

#8 Taipei 101

I am not a very architectural kinda person but then Taipei 101 made it worthwhile. There are lots of things to see, such as their coral display if you get bored feeling amazed about its height. (Pardon me, I have a fear of height). The other thing that is amazing about this place is their elevator, how fast it goes up. Once you enter the elevator under the watchful eye of the guide, it slowly darkens enhancing the star designs on the ceiling of the elevator. There is a panel at the front telling you how fast you are moving... hint: pretty fast. :P 

#9 Thanks for shopping!!

#10 We are this HIGH UP~!

#11 Such an intricate coral carvings

Well, it happens that when we reach the 88th floor, we were supposed to go down via staircase to see the damper. Once we exit the staircase, we were meant to turn to the left which was the entrance to the damper but somehow we totally missed it! So we went one round, back to the elevator. We tried to asked the security guard whether this was the right direction but I guess he handled too many people that day or was tired that he didn't listened to a word we said and sent us back down the elevator. When we realized we were back on the 5th floor (i.e. the entrance to the observatory), we were pissed. Lucky for us, the lady guard were much more attentive and sensitive to us and let us go one more time to the 88th floor. Whee... So one ticket two rides? That sounds like value for money for me. lol... 


So the other thing that was ringing in my head during this travel is FOOD!! Glorious glorious food... omg... Must thank God for strengthening my tummy that I did not suffer through indigestion as I often did in Malaysia, Singapore, China and Australia. For a person who was tweeting a week ago that I lost my appetite, it all came back to me the week in Taiwan. 


I was like... EAT ALL THE FOOD!! And it was so cheap, some part of me wanna giggle uncontrollable. 

#12 Hawker stall at every corner

#13 Natural honey. He showed me how honey was naturally produced, just put it in a centrifuge wa... It was actually very yummy. Too bad can't bring honey into WA

One of the biggest dilemma I had was what can I stuff in my tummy... Who am I kidding? Even with my appetite back on, it was a losing battle of my tummy versus food. There was just too many of them!! Thank God once again for sampling booth...

#14 Deep in consideration which one would fit in my tummy

#15 But there are soo many to choose from... 

#16 I was like... I want this one and this one... o wait!! There are MORE!! 

#17 Din Tai Fung

Ok... Din Tai Fung didn't really originate from Taiwan but I missed out on Din Tai Fung in Hong Kong so I decided to give it a chance here in Taiwan. The service is so much better here as compared to ... you know where. 

#18 Xiao Long Bao~! 

Let me stop here first, because it is getting long. There are so many pics to post, I have to wait till the next time. So take care till then~! Have fun and stay happy~! ;)

Tales of happiness

Leona Lewis - Happy

Powered by mp3skull.com

Well, I have written two posts on tales of depression I decided that it may be time to complete it with tales of happiness. Although I still do not know my true purpose in life, not even sure whether my decisions are correct or incorrect; the only thing I am sure of is that if I am happy about it then the decision must be perfect

I read many times before that if you are unhappy or frustrated about a situation, you either can change the situation or change yourself. Well, in my situation, I have tried numerous times to change myself and like squeezing my feet into that beautiful shoe, if it ain't the right size no matter how much padding or soles I placed inside it it is going to hurt. Sometimes, I get through the whole day with just a bruised toe or wound but other times the shoe won't stick and I had to change to my backup flats or slippers placed strategically in my car for such an occasion. As simple as that. But in life, simple things are usually the hardest to perform. Take it from me, I still have a few pairs of beautiful but toe-pinching shoes that I keep with the full knowledge that I can't walk a few steps in it without it coming off a la Cinderella style. And I still WILL do that once in a blue moon because I won't let it go. Of course, shoe thingy is just a metaphorical example. A good one as well. :P 

I just recently decided to give up on something that I had poured in so much of my time and effort. And it felt very hard to let it go simply because this spelled failure in many people's eyes, even mine. I came across a book recently and found these ten things to do after you fail. Exactly what I needed. 

Ten things you should do after you fail:
1. Take a break. Play a video game, read, listen to calming music, watch TV, go for a walk alone or do anything else you can, alone. Take a few minutes or hours to let the frustration die down a bit. You've probably been working hard or you've been distracted, and that could have contributed to your failure. The reason you need some quiet time rather than going to 'twofer' night at the bar with your friends, is that you need to let all of those thoughts about the experience filter out of the crevices in your brain. You don't need a distraction to mask what you just went through. Let it silently percolate.

2. Jot down or think about the factors that you think contributed to your failure

3. Jot down or think about what you could have done to avoid those factors in the future

4. Admit defeat. Stop pretending that you didn't fail. You failed. Too bad, so sad. Move on. Let them go. The key is that they were mistakes and they were in the past.

5. Decide if you want to try and pursue that goal again. Was it worth it, or is the luster gone? Sometimes the moment has passed and it's time to move on. 'Next.'

6. Regroup. If you are going to try to achieve the same goal again, think about what additional resources or people you are going to need to help you. Identify what those resources are and gather them together. Before you move forward, consider what the new cost will be with the required time and materials. Is the goal worth the true cost of what it will take to achieve the end result?

7. Failure is only success masked in defeat. Some part of what you attempted was good. Figure out what that was and do that part again. No sense reinventing the wheel. 

8. Admit that what you attempted was a failure, not you. You are not an idiot or stupid for failing. You are courageous for trying. 

9. Remember that sometimes no matter how good the effort, the passion and desire, life just doesn't play ball. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose for no good reason. As the song goes, sometimes you're the windshield; sometimes you're the bug. Life is what it is. 

10. Figure out what good can come from your failure. There is tremendous value in failing as long as you can analyze what went wrong. Don't waste a perfectly good failure by trying to forget it. Learn from it. 

- Steve Rhode

I hope that if you had a bad day, these ten steps would help you refocus your thoughts and decide your next action. I hope it gives you the strength to hope to win again.

Being happy is a tricky business though. A normal person can't be happy 24-7 as well, unless they are on drugs or something because life is all about its ups and downs. But that is also the reason why we should not dwell too long on its downs to miss out on its ups. But even down time teaches a lesson or two. So, I really appreciate my down time because it gave me a wake up call on who my trusted friends, hard core buddies and soul sisters are and who are mere acquaintances. 

One time when I was unhappy, my friend forwarded these wise wise wise word (so wise, I had to type it out three times) that I would also like to share with you. I even applied what little art skill I had to write it in pretty colors and decorated it so I can hang it up in my room every single time I wake up and go to sleep. 

Promise yourself:
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. 
Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
Think only of the best, work only for the best and expect only the best. 
Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. 
Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side as long as you are true to the best that is in you. 

- Christian D. Larson

Isn't that beautiful? 

And just in case, I bored you down with this long post without inciting any hope or smile on your face. I am going to cheat by posting pics of cuteness overload!!! Cause maybe it takes a thousand words to put a smile on one's face, but it can just take one silly pic to make a person smile. 

Source: Cuteness Overload

Source: Cuteness Overload

Source: Cuteness Overload

Source

Source

Source

   

Now, don't you feel soo much better already? lol... :D