Stay at home weekends and a little shopping yesterday

My favourite pastime on a Saturday is to stay at home and curl up with a good book or two. Today I am reading Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Marry Me If You Can (only half done as of now - will finish in an hour or two). I sort of like speed read books as long as they are light readings and do not require a lot of thinking, digesting and rationalising. Since I read quite fast, I tend to borrow 3-5 books every time I visit this shop in central market. I will ask my colleague to go thereabouts for lunch and drop by to pick and rent some books. The last batch I read, I liked it so much so that it has passed the 1 month only rental period. These books by Lisa Kleypas held my attention. Other than her, I love Jane Feather, Virginia Henley, Susan Elizabeth Phillips and many more or I should say any romantic novels. The books that I do purchase would be Harry Potter series, Roald Dahl - can share with my nephews and nieces and my future babies ;-) .Do not be judging me just by my reading materials :-p , I am no light head ... just that when I pick up a book to read for relaxation, I would prefer something that does not use/require much brain power so I can have some down time ....

Yesterday had a great time after work - shopping with a colleague. I was supposed to go to pick up some Harry Potter movie tickets but I was too early ... mixed up the dates, it'll only start next week. Never mind, I bought one gorgeous black evening dress, tube type with tiny straps (if I want to use them) with flair flouncy skirt and a cute bow in the middle. I loved it so much and thank goodness they had my size, other than that 2 nice tops and another dress suitable for work. When I got home and in the midst of sorting and putting away the goodies in the wardrode, hubby couldn't help but commented that I went on a spending spree. Once in a while honey, I need to add some new ones to my working attire - else it'll be a bore already (to others and myself included).

I love buying evening dresses, my motto - buy one when I see something I like and suits me. It is a much better tactic then tearing my hair to look for one when an occasion to dress up crops up and I just have to settle for something that's only so so (may be overpriced too if there's no discounts/ or sales going on) and I cannot wear one that I have worn before when it involves the same crowd. It's different for a man; same black pants with a different shirt will do the trick.
This is a dress I bought yesterday - gorgeous isn't it? :-)

Of Handphones & gadgets

I am amazed and puzzled (more puzzled than amazed) how my hubby can spend long hours researching on the web the latest handphones or gadgets that he is considering to buy ... ok, maybe I do understand just a wee bit, I spent hours pouring through the Malaysiabrides forum and countless websites for more info on wedding gowns, bridal studio etc. but it is only a phase and it has an end date/period. For hubby, it is sort of ongoing ... Apple's iPhone (he has been diligently following the latest updates on the said phone even before its release), Motorola's latest model etc.




For me, when it comes to purchasing such gadgets - most likely I will visit the store and look through the models and make a purchase :-P Maybe, just maybe this is not the right method to buy gadgets. I bought my Sony mp3 player just end of last year, last week or two weeks ago when I went window shopping - they came out with a new model - so much nicer and they have them in pink as well. I am in a dilemma now, should I or should I not buy a new one? The one that I am having, the armband (when I go to gym) is loose now and they do not have any stock left. I may be contemplating now - then one day, voila, some inspiration gets me going (or some stress/pressure) and I may just drop by Sony Style and just get myself one. They have another new one that plays videos as well ... (picture above left)

On top of that, I am thinking also to buy my very own digital camera - so many things, so little $$. Well, maybe I should do more research first and prioritise which one is more critical to purchase in the order of need. To top it all, my handphone is giving me some signs of malfunction *sigh*

Of Birthdays ..presents and gifts...

Today, I would like to wish all my friends whose birthdays falls between end of June and July a very Happy Birthday :-)


Get free graphics at BlingyBlob.com!

January and July are the two busiest months for me. Let me tell you why ....

January - small nephew's birthday, hubby's birthday, eldest brother's birthday, 3rd brother's birthday and a few close pal(s)

July - nephew's birthday, 2nd brother's birthday and a few close pal(s)


In my opinion, the worst month for me in terms of expenditure for presents etc. would be January because Christmas is a month before and Valentines (definitely) and Chinese Lunar New Year (most likely) falls the month after in February. Nowadays I have picked up a habit of buying presents for Christmas/birthdays early i.e. whenever there are good bargains.

For this coming Christmas, I have already purchased the presents for my 5 adorable nephews and nieces as early as last month (great bargains/discounts @ Toys R Us -Avenue K). *wink* ;-) hee hee, talk about kiasu-ism ...

Tagged - Eight (8) random facts about myself

Just found out got tagged by Woan Jiun and this being my maiden tag, not exactly sure what to do but I will try my best ;-) After reading WJ's post, sort of figured out how to go about, so here goes. First I will state the rules of the game/tag as follows:-

i) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.


ii) People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.


iii) At the end of your blog, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.


iv) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

****************

Eight facts about me are as listed below in no particular order:-


Ichi (1) - I dislike my chinese name since young after countless merciless teasing. In mandarin and hokkien (my mother tongue) it sounds like curry (not to say I dislike curry one bit). There were other nicknames that I do care to repeat again. I prefer to introduce myself as Cheryl & thank goodness my daddy had the sense to put it in my birth cert thus giving me a legitimate choice to insist to be called Cheryl.


Ni (2) - I did not instantly fall in love with my hubby when we were classmates - in fact, dread the fact that I was getting attracted to him because there was this other girl (my classmate as well) who were gaga over him and her close buddies also gave me a hard time


San (3) - I became a librarian in school for the privileged use of the locker. The added perk(s) - hubby was the Head Librarian. But as listed in (2) above, I became one not because of him :-p


She (4) - I have a driving license but I cannot drive or rather do not dare to drive in KL. I keep dreaming that I will crash into the traffic lights.


Go (5) - I can't believe that I am with my current organisation coming to 4 years now


Roku (6) - I have been told I am not good at disguising my feelings/emotions (can read me like a book). Recently improved coz when my mentor told me something, I did not show any emotion and he was like, you know already? Nope, I didn't know beforehand.


Shichi (7) - I hate washing dishes and ironing clothes. So I bring my clothes home to my mummy's maid to iron and as for the dishes, take turns with hubby to wash them when I do cook.


Hachi (8) - The things that I used to want to own (Swatch watch, Baby-G's by Casio), now that I can afford it (years ago)- it no longer matters. Or in other words, requirements change as I grow older.


There, first "tagged" done and I am passing this on to


Vivian, Sze & Naomi (a fellow forum member and chat mate from Malaysiabrides forum)
Ann - The unexpressed (pal from school)

This is a clothes tag removed from my one and only Paul Frank garment & I'm falling in love with Julius and his friends (so kawaii). Saw some button badges at Avenue K with this cute monkey and bought 8 of them.

My take on music

I am probably one of the few human ignorant of the latest happenings in all things related to music. Any new music that I catch on will be either through the radio - about an hour (accumulative in a day) or when hubby plays songs from his ThinkPad at night. Not often though that song he plays will be easy on my ears - I am partial to loud music unless I have acquired a liking to a particular song/singer. Remembered the first album that he let me listen to years ago - Oasis, I have trouble getting past the 3rd song of that album; either I will fall asleep or abort further attempts. My choice of easy listening music is something that would not leave me with a mind numbing or throbbing headache and I listen to Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, English songs as well as instrumental/classical music.

The ones that I do not have trouble understand the lyrics in its entirety would be songs in the English language. I am one of those that people will call a "banana", yellow skinned but far more westernised on the inside i.e. beliefs/culture. Yup, I do watch Japanese animes/ Korean dramas and such but with English subtitles and even Chinese movies (I read the English subtitles once in a while). I can comprehend quite an extensive array of mandarin (my Cantonese and hokkien far better), but when the need arises I will feign ignorance of the mandarin language especially when I receive phone calls and the first thing I am asked is whether I understand mandarin - I will reply that I can't in English. *Sigh* one time I got caught coz I replied in mandarin that I do not understand, got caught by the lady on the other line, you just replied my question in mandarin right? My smart comeback was - yes, but that's only a few words - so what is this all about? (that being said with a fake put on accent).

Let me list down my favourite singers (in no particular order):
i) Jay Chou 周杰倫
ii) Eason Chan 陳奕迅
iii) Hirai Ken
iv) Michael Buble
v) Chyi Yu
vi) Ronan Keating
vii) Takeshi Kaneshiro 金城 武
viii) Ray Boltz (gospel singer)
ix) Others - certain songs only such as Jolin Tsai 蔡依林, Lee Hom Wang 王力宏, Robbie Williams etc.

You may find a resemblance in all the above singers that I favour - all of them have soothing voices. Before I forget, I am also a big fan of oldies i.e. songs by Carpenters, Beatles :-)

When you're gone

Yesterday evening, saw the music video of Avril Lavigne's When You're Gone - the lyrics plus the graphics made my eyes glistened with tears - hubby saw the tell tale sign and warned me not to cry :-p Why? That's because I am in the living room of my parents-in-law's home. Well, we have broached this topic before and I forbid him to precede me in this matter. I am making sure in all ways possible to make sure he is well supplemented with vitamins and all kinds of fruits that he fancies.

Maybe, this is one of the reasons he forbids me to have pets of any kind coz I'll cry my eyes and heart out. Nevermind, hubby you can always buy me pets in electronic form - better still if it is like our adopted panda here on this very blog (On On will not perish even if we do not feed her).

Take a look at the lyrics below, Avril sings it beautifully & plus the video (absolutely heart wrenching). Just asked hubby for more of her songs this very morning.

Avril Lavigne's When You're Gone Lyrics

I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side
When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now

[Chorus]
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok
I miss you

I've never felt this way before
Everything that I do reminds me of you
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor
And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do
When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now

[Chorus]

We were made for each other
Out here foreverI know we were, yeah
All I ever wanted was for you to know
Everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul
I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me, yeah

[Chorus]


Obtained the above lyrics from Wikipedia.

A feast at Jogoya

Last Saturday, finally met up with 3 school mates including one that I have not seen since 10 years ago and she has same first name as me - Cheryl. We arranged to meet at Jogoya, Starhill - my choice because Ann likes it there, Cheryl is ok with the venue as well and it'll be Huey Yin's 1st time @ Jogoya.

Ann picked me up from my humble abode and we reached Starhill at about 5.45p.m., since it was still early, we stopped by Kanebo to enquire about their opening hours - Kanebo will be the venue for my pampering outing with Ann in July. We strolled the galleries on the top floor and went down to the Relish floor soon after - we were eagerly waiting for Cheryl to appear - since we have not seen her for ages, not sure whether we'll be able to recognise her. Well, she didn't have any problem at all & recognised us at sight (that means both Ann and myself did not change that much :-) ) and to us, she looks fabulous and radiant well in her 7th month of pregnancy. Wow, I do hope that I will look like that when I am expecting.

We started the buffet first and Huey Yin joined us about an hour later - in between savouring the delectable offerings/spread they have there - we enquired about each others current affairs. What I rediscovered, both Cheryl's have quite similar likes and dislikes when it comes to food except she loves fish and I am only in the tolerable state when it comes to fish dishes (steamed, cooked or raw). We do not particularly favour oysters, escargots, octopus etc. and we left it to Ann and Huey Yin to eat our shares worth while we sampled the cheesecakes and sweet delights. The thing that piques our curiosity is the fact that they cook the soup right at our table in a container, shaped to hold the liquid & its goodies and it is made of paper/paper-like material. At the very end, we could not resist and tried tearing a small piece just to see the layers of the said paper.

The picture's with Ann and I will post the picture here once I get from her.

All in all, it’s a great night out and we should be planning another at year end. By then, we will get to meet Cheryl's baby boy ;-)

Anime craze - part 1

My anime addiction started in year 2005 after moving in to our own home. Prior to that whenever my hubby watches his favourite anime - either Bleach or Naruto, I'll be surfing the web, playing pinball on his computer or just lazing around at his parents home. The first Japanese anime series that I am exposed to is Naruto - it was still the season of fillers before the current Naruto Shippuuden. Prior to that, I do watch animes by Hayao Miyazaki such as Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away etc. Since that day, the day I sat down and for once completed the whole episode, I am a certified anime fan from then onwards.

My favourite anime by far is still Naruto - I'm intrigued by the life of a shinobi. Naruto the main character is a special person - anyone who comes into contact with him becomes his friend no matter how brief the contact/manner of contact. It may be his grit and determination to help someone and see things through. Naruto was born in Konoha village during the time of turmoil i.e. when the kyuubi attacked Konoha. The Hokage at the point of time was Yondaime (i.e. Yon means number 4 in japanese thus Yondaime means the fourth hokage). Yondaime managed to defeat the kyuubi (a monster with 9 tails - the more the number of tails the more powerful it is) and sealed the kyuubi in a baby - more specifically baby Naruto. Yondaime died soon after that and the previous hokage i.e. came out of retirement and resumed the Hokage position. Sandaime (Sarutobi) gave a directive that no one is to mention that Naruto has the kyuubi sealed in him. Albeit the directive, parents of other children shunned Naruto and their children without knowing the reason followed. It was a trying and lonely time for Naruto growing up alone - he is an orphan, in the process of growing up suffered being shunned by society. Slowly through his hardwork and determination, he wins them over one by one. One important point on Naruto, the boy's ambition is to become a Hokage when he grows up and he trains very hard to get stronger (also to save his best friend Sasuke from evil Sannin, Orochimaru).

When Naruto enters the Shinobi school, he is placed in the same team as Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. Their sensei is the Copy ninja of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi. Kakashi by far is my favourite anime character of all - he is described as a genious, a ninja of a thousand jutsus. He spots an ever present face mask that covers the lower half of his face thus remains a mystery of how he actually looks like without the mask (use your imagination).

Other than watching the anime, I am also an avid fanfiction reader of kakashi & sakura (picture on the left) pairing ;-)

The other animes that I am watching now with hubby would be Bleach - the main character being Kurosaki Ichigo. The ones that we have completed would be Full Metal Alchemist and Mushishi. Hubby watched the Samurai Champloo alone because it was too gory for my taste. Lastly, there is one anime that I am waiting to purchase once it is available in KL - Makoto Shinkai's Byousoku 5 cm. I saw the preview and it being an anime with a romantic theme, it should be worth the wait, at least for me. Click here for the link to preview ;-)