What a year!

i'm on a week long break, finally!! i just wanted to relax like how i truly deserve and didn't wanna open the blog nor my work mail.. but i'm starting to forget how to relax these days... i'm still spending hours in front of my notebook... nway, in short i just wanted to join the bandwagon and write my last blog for 2009...

i dun know if it was a good year or bad... had my share of laughter, joy and buckets of tears...

January - started off the year with a road trip to Singapore with my bf.. that was fun... then followed by a surprise birthday party arranged by my bf... that was really sweet.. n nemo showing up for that party was my biggest gift :) also received a gorgeous gorgeous bouquet few days after... probably the sweetest month of the year..

February- insignificant month... really can't remember a shit..

March - finally celebrated my long postponed bday wif my best buddies... n they got me a voucher for a hair make over ;) haha... luved it... n thats when i got my curls!! and it was absolutely a love-hate relationship wif those curls...

April - was my trip to jogja!! it was a trip to remember for all the wrong reasons :p but bein with my other half, made it all fun n i have absolutely no regrets :) was a well deserved break in an unknown city... we still laugh to this day thinkin bout the incidents that happened...

May - another useless month... oh, i got my 2nd nephew.. and my boss went on a maternity long leave and I started ruling :)

June - hmmm... nemo's bday... had a small celebration at ole ole, pyramid...

July- Perhentian trip!! yayayayay!! the best trip of the year... was fun fun fun!! miss the blue blue sea, cute cute fishies n those colorful corals... the month that I learned to snorkel and enjoyed it to the bits!

August - got rid of my curls... and back to straightened hair... needed that extra 10mins morning sleep... the curls weren't worth my slp :p

September - that's when I was "suppose" to be in hanoi... sob sob... a trip that never came true... i cant remember exactly now, i guess somewhere around this time is when the gals and I went to melaka! that was another fun & FULFILLING trip... the food... oh my ;) hmm, or was this early in the year?? cant remem now..

October - it was diwali! the day that I look forward ONLY because, its legal to SHOP ;) luv it when everyone keeps askin, if i have done my shopping... hehe.. and the month that i got my TAT!!! btw, its all done now.. i am luvin' it ;)

November - anya's hens night!!! it was a fun day/night to be wif the gals all over again... went on a road trip to pahang, that was fun too...

December - month full of work, work, work!! day n night!! sucky month at work... everyday of cursing n swearing... on a good note, i got my 1st ever ipod ;) a surprise gift from my bf... besides that, this unexpected one week break!! blessing in disguise... n probably, a new hair-do in the next 2 days before the year ends :)

so yeah, that was my year... reading it again, i just realised, i've only listed the good stuff... can't be arsed to remember the bad ones... that's a gud sign, i hope! cos my resolution for next year is "screw/fuck/ignore the world"... i'm gonna learn to live for myself...

so, let's cheers for a better year! 2010, here i come...

muax,
Lilo :)

Unwanted advice

As the clock to my wedding date is ticking faster and faster, I find myself becoming a victim of well-meaning but unwanted advice from so many people. Some people even take the liberty of planning out my life for me.

And these are not even people that know me very well! They don't know my birthday, my hobbies, my tastes in clothes and worst still half of them don't even know my fiance's name until I give them my wedding invitation (why I have to give these people my wedding invitation is another story all together about weddings and Indians!)

I just thought I'd list down the advice I've got from all this wonderful people:

1. Have a baby next year
2. Have another baby the year after that
3. Send your babies to your parents/in-laws to babysit while you're at work
4. Send your babies to a nanny if you don't want to trouble your parents/in-laws
5. Move in with your in-laws after the wedding
6. Buy your own house after the wedding
7. Ask your husband to leave his (well paying) job (that he loves) and move to the city
8. Don't move away from the city
9. Don't get married until you can afford a house
10. A church wedding is not a church wedding until you wear a huge gown with a long, looonngg train
11. Why honeymoon in Phuket? Why not Koh Samui, Krabi or Bali?

I really don't see how me taking any of the advice above will enrich their lifes....or mine!

-A-

2010, here I come..

Being the very ambitious person I am, I have come up with a list of things I would like to achieve in the coming year.

1. Chanel handbag
2. Issey Miyake perfume
3. Nokia N97 or iPhone
4. DKNY or Guess power glasses
5. Giorgio Armani sun glasses
6. Play station 3 or 2 – over due gift for my bf
7. Fossil wallet
8. Trip to Hanoi (better work this time!)
9. Trip to Bali/Cambodia (again! :) )

and maybe a…
10. new job

and some…
11. peace

By: ‘Lilo

** The list is in no particular order

:-/

I never thought I'd feel this way, but these days, work is my escape, my sanctuary of peace.

Work itself is crazy, busy and sometimes I feel like I'm going out of my mind. But, amazingly I'm at peace.

Unlike home. Hmm...can I even call it home? Isn't home somewhere you can unwind after a hard day's work and relax? If that's the definition of home, than where I'm staying isn't home.

If I could wish for one thing and have it come true, it would be that I can move out of my house and have my own home.

Sigh...

-A-

Since 6am today morning, I am wondering, what will happen to me if I choose to resign today?!

Hopefully I would find an answer and have the courage to do it before 5pm today.

God bless me.

Lilo

Road Trip ;)

Recently my bf and I decided to take a day off from the hustle and bustle of working life and head on a road trip..

Destination: Kuala Gandah, Pahang – Elephant Sanctuary

It was a beautiful journey with roads and views like this…

And some funny images like this…

And some scary moments like this…

Admiring all these beauties, we forgot to take note of our final destination and we ended up at Kuala Lipis, Pahang. Close name, but it was farking 2 hours away!!

So we had stop here and there and find our way back… after 2 more hours of driving, searching, munching, and google mapping, we finally arrived at the elephant sanctuary at 4.45pm.. And guess what, the place closes at 5pm J

Anyway, the elephant feeding/bathing/picture/video session were all over by then.. But I was glad we were still allowed to enter and see the elephants at least..

They were all eating their dinner already by then..

This was such a cutie baby ellie.. is that what they call baby elephants?

And luckily, one kind worker allowed us to touch n take some pictures wit these elephants.. so that was at least worth the journey….

They also had an interesting museum with things like these..
That's an elephant scull..

And some bonies..

And we drove back all they way again, with beautiful sceneries like these..

and these.. i luv clouds ;)

Overall, it was a much enjoyed and well deserved trip =)

By: -Lilo

After a long hiatus, nemo writes...

Warning! Just another emo rant. u'll be bored.
------------

Title: Things i want to try to achieve in 2010

i want to try and 'attempt' to pray more and meditate more
i want to sit still & smile more (ketut liyer style) - to find 'peace'
i want to get an awesome car (2nd hand or new, i haven't decided yet.. )
i want to try be vegan at least twice a week and eat less meat
i will try to lessen my carbon footprint more next year !! (fyi, i've been starting on this since years ago but this year i got more aggresive and have achieved somewhat tangible results.. yes, i lecture my mum each time for taking plastic bag from the stores.. and my colleagues for taking them from the cafe in office.. when i shop, i usualy put them in 1 plastic bag if i can help it or put the tiny ones in my handbag..been practising this for a while now.. and in office, i re-use plastic bags until i tear them out (happened twice) and i use paper very minimal..print on both sides, i try to walk more to lunch places, i pack food from home VERY often too, i throw my perfume bottles, plastic bottles in the right containers for this past 1 year, have been donating my old clothes in the charity bins, i lecture my family for using air cond and i never use unless its necessary etc)
oh did i mention about my job? oh yes, i will try to be more good at it and try to lessen the stress :P not sure how but i'll figure that out soon.

-n.e.m.o

Uniquely Jakarta

I'm a nomad again. This time in Jakarta, Indonesia. It's my third time here but the city is still the same - large, sprawling, smoggy and horrendous traffic jams. But still, I would rather be here than in Dhaka anyday!

I've been meaning to post this blog about a few things that I think I'll never find in Malaysia but I haven't had the time until now, a month since I've arrived!

Firstly is of course earthquakes. Well, I haven't personally experienced it - thank God and neither do I want to. But this notice was stuck behind my apartment door:

I don't suppose the person who stuck this on my 16th floor unit inside my 29 floor building realised that it's not a one-storey school building. So I don't see how hiding under a table is going to help me!

That's Mee Tek Tek. I've had it for lunch a few times and it's quite nice. Tek Tek in Malay means breasts. However, I don't think it means the same in Indonesian because it's pretty much a vegetarian dish.

That one is Sup Buntut. If I were to directly translate it to English, it would simply mean Butt Soup. It's not as exotic as the name implies. It's just Ox Tail Soup.

-Anya-

Speechless..

it's surprising how some strangers can make me go speechless so often.. like how the other day, when Anya & I went for our meni & pedi session, the lady in charge delayed our appointment, and instead of apologising, she gave a smart ass suggestion by asking me to go upstairs and buy myself a new pair of sandals.. (i was wearing a closed toes shoes, and since she delayed the appointment, she was scared there wont be enough time for my toes to dry up, thus the smart suggestion!) i was seriously like wtf!! im sps to get a new pair of sandals cos u delayed my appointment?? but i really had nothing to say to her at that time.. thank god, anya was there to save the situation... or i most probably would have burnt her to death with my stare :p

anyway, so yesterday i did my usual toiletries shopping at the guardian store.. they were advertising all over the store for their latest "batik" calendar and you got to spend over RM100 to redeem one.. n eventually my bill came up to above hundred, and I did the most natural thing by asking the cashier gal for the calendar.. she smiled and ignored me.. still thinking she didn't hear me, I asked her again "can I get the calendar, please?" she gave me a very surprised look as if this is the 1st time she has ever heard the word "calendar" and I'm the inventor... for one last time, i pointed to the fucking ad on her counter and asked can I have this, please?? I would have accepted if she told me, they were out of stock or something.. not like I was dying for one.. instead she does this, "ooh, that one! you got to buy things in guardian to get that!" at that point, i lost it... so i ask her " where do you think I am right now??" she becomes all gabrah and start reading the flyer over n over again.. then she asks me a few questions but i just stand there with my most annoyed look and silliest smile ever, for her to get back to her senses... At that point I couldn't be bothered bout the line growing behind me, and the lady who was sighing behind me...

then she calls her manager.. another smart lady comes there to rescue and looks at me expecting me to explain the situation to her.. instead i continue with my annoyed look and silly smile.. so she gets the story from the cashier and looks up to me n says, "oh miss, you got to spend over hundred for the calendar". God must have blessed me with more patience, cos I almost laughed at her... still not speaking a word i stand there looking at them both panicking... after a solid few mins, the manager tells me to go collect it from their store at the back..

the highlight of the day was, i go there, and i say calendar, the store worker picks up one hands it to me.. not asking any question whether I even bought things there, or if it came up to 100 bucks..

ridiculousness!! i dunno why ppl get on my nerves so much these days!


-Lilo

Q & A

What do you do when, the love of your life, the guy you thought you will end up with, the guy who has been with you through thick and thin your boyfriend of a few years, says he doesn't intend to commit himself in a bond called wedding anytime soon, and doesn't know when he would finally decide to commit himself? and he gives you an option, to either wait or leave.

a). Do you leave for good? (after all, he says it's your life, you decide!)
b). Do you be the very loyal one, wait for him to change his mind? (You trying to change his mind is now out of the question as he has said it very loud and clear)
c). Do you live in denial pretending the conversation never took place and life is good as ever?
d). Do you keep hoping and praying for some miracle to happen? (either to your parents who are dying to see you married, or to your boyfriend to change his mind?)
e). None of the above


- Curios lilo wants to find out what would others answer.

P/s: For the caring souls who choose to answer, please answer on your behalf and not mine, please. Thanks! If you are a male, just switch the Boyfriend to Girlfriend

Boys #1

I thought of continuing the countdown for "Men" but than I thought, this particular person doesn't even deserve to be called a "Man". "Boy" suits him so much more... and I can name at least 3 people, that I know, who belong to this category.

They're sssooooo immature...sssoooo needy....sssooo attention seeking......sssooo irritating!!

This Boy, unfortunately is my colleague. This is what he's done for the past 3 weeks to get on my nerves:

#1. He's just started amateur photography and he's specializing in portrait shots. That's fine, good for him - except that since the moment he met me (and my other friends), he's been literally harassing us to pose for him. Ok, let me break down my thought process here:

a. I hate taking pictures for no reason (so not a cam-whore)
b. I hate being forced to do anything
c. I barely know this guy
d. Why the fuck should I do him any favors??

Despite me repeatedly saying "No, I'm not posing for you" this...freak (for lack of a better word)..hasn't stopped asking! I find that to be extremely rude! What part of "NO" doesn't he understand? All my other friends grew so tired of his pestering that they finally agreed to pose for him. To be fair to him, he's not a bad amateur but he's persistent to the point of being a pest.

See what I mean by "sssooo immature"?

#2. He broke up with his ex-girlfriend of 4 years and is now with another girl whom he claims he's head over heals in love with. Oh, wonderful! I would be genuinely happy for him if he wasn't a self-proclaimed love guru and start dishing out unwanted love advice. He goes around telling my married friends and me how to have a good relationship with your significant other, without us even asking. After one long "how I met the love of my life" story from him, I asked him, "So, how long have you been going out with her" and he said....(wait for it)....(drum roll)....2 months!! Later on he also adds that he still has feelings for his ex-girlfriend. See, I don't want to be cynical but please, sort out your own life first before you even think about giving others advice. Better still, keep all your advice to yourself, because I didn't ask you for it because frankly, I don't care!

See what I mean by "sssooo attention seeking"?

#3. He thinks I'm being paid to keep him company in Jakarta. He'll just pull up a chair to sit beside me and start chatting. I guess he's too dense to see that I'm b.u.s.y. I try to maintain my professionalism in the office and so as professionally as I can I tell him, "Please don't disturb me now, I'm busy" or if I'm really irritated it's down to "Talk to me later - busy". I tell him this at least once a day.

See what I mean by "ssssooo needy"?

But thank God this Boy is from a different country and he'll be leaving tomorrow to return home. Good riddance!

-an irritated Anya-

Men #? (lost count)

**this post contains some many "vile" words.. read at your own risk!**

and i wanted to stop writing bout men.. bout their dumbness n how they drive me up the wall all the time...

but the last couple of days, the freakin male species have been totally pissing me off...

Case #1
this male=idiot, bastard, asshole, who is supposedly an high profile, educated piece of shit is a consultant I was considering to work with. He didn't keep up to his promise and deliver the work I requested on time. When I questioned, this piece of shit became overly defensive n started lashing out at me. My only words to him was, "if you are incapable of doing something, just let me know, I will find my own way".. For that, this guy got all pissed off and reacted in the most silliest way possible. He ran complaining to my boss like a small kid reporting to a school teacher n worse, his FB status was updated couple of times throughout the day commending on how arrogant some people (I) could be... so the childish, no?

Case #2
some trainer at my gym had some issues with a colleague of mine.. Just because I am the unfortunate gym member, and he has seen me with her in the past, I guess he decided I should have some kind of responsibility for everyone and anyone who sometimes just happen to be walking next to me.. so he did the most smartest thing by, bringing a group of guys, harassed me with unnecessary questions, and that piece of shit gave me his piece of mind... wtf rite? given the fact that, I am pretty sure unlike the one in case #1, this male version is surely an uneducated dumbo.. therefore I assume, his logic was to make me miserable so that I would surely pass the message across to her or that sort of crap...

so there goes my week... thanks to some assholes... all the 1st one had to do was to say "sorry, can I have more time to deliver this?" and all the later had to do was to ask "can I have your colleague's phone number?"

but no!!their tiny brain cant think of that? but instead they must create a drama out of nothing... they must act like they are some kind of super heroes... they must fucking irritate me with their bastard'ness... dumbfucks!!


By:'lilo

p/s: thank you god, for ensuring I don't speak like how I write...

Lilo...

This is my prayer for you ...

Grant Lilo the serenity to accept the things she cannot change,
The courage to change the things she cannot accept,
And help her to remember...
When she's having a really bad day,
And it seems that people are trying to piss her off,
That it takes 42 muscles to frown,
And only 4 to extend her middle finger and tell them to F*** Off!

This is my prayer for your cyber-stalker...

Help him to be careful of the toes he steps on today
As they may be connected to the feet that he has to kiss tomorrow.

Your loving, caring, wonderful bestie,
Anya

I did :)

yes, after talking, thinking and deliberating over 2 years now, I finally did it :)

taaa daaaa...

yes! i got myself inked ;) woohooo, its a lil scary, weird but nice experience that i would treasure forever... not like i have a choice now :p

nway, I'm proud of myself for having the courage to do it.. n i always feared if the design/artist would screw up.. thank god, everything turned better than expected :) n this is how the masterpiece looks like...

in short, i'm loving it ;)

-Lilo

btw, the design is still short of 2 more colours in attempt to becoming perfect.. i couldnt bare the pain then, will continue the battle in a month.

Deeparaya Lunch

I just had the most yummilicious lunch! :D Hari Raya and Deepavali celebration in the office today.

But isn't it funny how some people are willing to queue for an hour in the sun for free tosai when they wouldn't bother to wait more than 20 minutes for a steak in a fancy restaurant?

-Anya-

Life

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on

Robert Frost

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: no one cares

Anya

last few days...

...of the month!


pathetic! pathetic! pathetic! aaargghhh....

- Poor Lilo! (n i really mean poor)

A letter to God, from a Bride-to-be

Dear God,

Hi, it’s me! On a Monday and not really in the mood to work. Anyway, how are You today? Monday blues too? Well, I guess the days of the week don’t effect You ‘cause well, You’re not bound by time.

The reason I’m writing (this time), is to say sorry. You see, I don’t think I’m treating the people around me very well and I’m so impatient sometimes and that makes me angry at myself.

I was really tired after my presentation on Friday (thank you for answering my prayers and that everything went really well!) and I came back home just wanting to sleep but I couldn't because I needed to finish the wedding card invitation scripts and the maps that night. So I really wasn’t in the mood to discuss with Appa whether it should “Please RSVP” or “Kindly RSVP”. Don’t they both have the same meaning?? So yes, I was quite snappy.

Than on Saturday morning, when Nicholas came to pick me, we got into a silly fight. Too silly to even mention here to You. We made up within an hour but my mood was affected by it and it didn’t help that it was the first day of my period (I know it’s the universal excuse for all bad temper in women, but really, it wasn’t an excuse). Anyway, we went to see the priest and miraculously, we managed to catch hold of him and make an appointment to see him later that night. I could see how busy he was with so many people lining up to see him and how he had to maintain his priestly duties – show no stress, always show love and care – it can’t be easy to be him! But I wasn’t happy with the sloppy attitude of a certain assistant there that we had to deal with all this while and I let my irritation show. You see what I mean by I’m impatient? I mean, You’re so patient, so quick to love and so slow to anger but look at me – one sloppy assistant gets me all riled up! Please help me to be more patient and gracious like You.

Next we drove up to Tropicana Resort to see to our reception arrangements. The smile on Nicholas face when he saw the new beautifully renovated ballroom is one of the best memories of the weekend. Please help me to remember the joy of getting married to the love of my life and not to get distracted and stressed by all the beehive of activities for the wedding preparation.

Later we had to pick up my parents and go choose our wedding invitation. Oh God, you know how stressed I get playing the referee between my parents. The smallest, silliest thing offends one of them and that sets off weeks of Cold War. It really, really doesn’t help that Appa is saying “This is my only daughter’s wedding and I can’t afford to let anything go wrong” and than he does what he always does, sometimes I think he doesn’t realize he’s doing it – he bulldozers everyone’s opinion aside. That makes Amma mad cause she says ‘This is my only daughter’s wedding too! You can’t just ignore all my opinions!” Than there’s me saying, ‘Hey, this is my wedding!!” It’s not a competition, it’s not an event, it’s not some kind of challenge for them to throw down and say ‘Nah! I did this! Can you do better?’. I hate it when my wedding, something special and beautiful to me, to us, becomes the object of arguments. They can argue about everything else in this world, just keep my wedding out of it.

But on this occasion, when we went to choose the cards, thank you God that Nicholas was there. I think he handled everything really maturely and everyone came away happy. God, I’m really sorry that I got snappy at him because I was stressed with what my parents might fight about.

I’ve got about 3 months to go before D-Day and I really want to enjoy every moment of it. Please help me not to fight with Nicholas over things that we really have no business fighting about. Please help me to be patient with the opinions and demands of those around me. I don’t want to be crappy and snappy and turn into a Bridezilla.

When I’m stressed, please remind me of that time in the priest’s office when he asked Nicholas if he’s happy with our up-coming marriage and Nicholas gave a huge grin and said ‘Of course!’. Help me to remember the moments before I answered, when the priest asked me that question. When I glanced over and saw Nicholas smiling and I just knew there’s no one else who could make me happier.

Thank you, God.

Amen.

~Anya~

why would anyone want to drink from anyone else's MUG??? seriously! i'm getting sick of people stealing my mug... afterall, it has my name printed in large fonts, capital & bold!!

do I really need to paste "DO NOT USE MY MUG" on it too?? did something called common sense just elapsed out of this world? like really??


By: pissed, uncaffeined Lilo!

New Addiction..

Can anyone be addicted to once-claimed-to-be-super-boring-game- Scrabbles?? Well, I am... Sounds geeky, I know... I can't help it!

I never knew I could play it so well though ;)

-Lilo

To maintain a healthy level of insanity..

1. Everytime someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.
2. In the memo field of all your cheques, write 'for marijuana'!
3. Skip down the hall rather than walk and see how many looks you get
4. Order a diet water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
5. Specify that your drive-through order is 'to go'
6. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you have a headache - I know lot of people who do this :p
7. When the money comes out the ATM, scream 'I won! I won!'
8. When leaving the Zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling 'run for your lives! They're loose!'
9. Tell your children over dinner, 'Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go.'
10. PICK UP A BOX OF CONDOMS AT THE PHARMACY, GO TO THE COUNTER AND ASK WHERE THE FITTING ROOM IS

Have a smile - Lilo :)

My new found passion....

is YOGA!!! i'm so excited... i want to be able to do all the different yoga poses one day!

By: 'Lilo

Caring Society

Tuesday September 15, 2009

Tok Wook’s search to go on the Net

KUALA TERENGGANU: Lonely centenarian Tok Wook’s search for a new husband is set to go into cyberspace with the help of an assemblyman here.

Kuala Berang representative Zawawi Ismail said he would help create a Facebook account for 107-year-old Tok Wook. The Star carried a report yesterday that Tok Wook was searching for a new love, who would be her 23rd husband.

“She is my constituent, hence it is my responsibility to help her,” he said yesterday. However, Zawawi reminded Tok Wook to adhere to the Islamic tenets if she intended to remarry.

Tok Wook, whose real name is Mek Wok Kundor, plans to marry her 23rd Mr Right if her current, younger husband, Mohd Noor Che Musa, 37, does not return home after completing a drug rehabilitation programme in Kuala Lumpur.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/15/nation/4715247&sec=nation

Since when did we have such caring assemblyman? Shall I now contact the assemblyman in my constituency to look up for a guy for me?? It should also be his responsibility to help me.. and considering I don't even have one to marry and she already had 22 husbands in the past :p

Seriously now.. don't the politicians have better things to do?? why can't they take care of her until she dies which is probably like tomorrow; then to find a 23rd victim to marry this bitch her?

By: Lilo

You men, fyi..

For men, who often try to be smart:

This is Margarita

and this is what we call a Tequila Shot

and btw, as far as i know, bread are made from flour.. does that mean you call the bread, "flour" in your country? :p

- lilo

Lilo's updates again..

oww.. how I miss blogging... wish I have more time for this.. wish the time will stop moving.. or at least, wish the days will go slower... everything is moving way too fast now.. life is getting way too hectic... and in 3 months i'm gonna be a year older... i'll reach THE AGE or so what my parents believe...

damn! anyway, on a good note, I did most of the things that I wanted to do as listed in my last entry.. been doing quite lot of shopping.. got my working shoes, casual shoes, working clothes, casual clothes, handbag and have also signed up my gym membership! hooray!

now is the time, when every month I have to strategize how I'm gonna clear off my credit card debts.. banks have been very generous in offering extra credit limit to me... i think they have just discovered a serious shopaholic in town!

well, yeah.. thats life now.. besides work n more work!

looking forward for long weekend next week... last weekend was all fun.. movie with nemo, margarita, tequila, and a few eye candy waiters ;)

here's to a great week, cheers! -lilo

p/s: planning to microblog after this since i rarely get the time.. hopefully there'll be more updates from me..

Life on the other side

I'm on the move again ...

This time it's Dhaka, Bangladesh.

It's hard to describe what it's like here but I logged into our blog to attempt to do just that and this is what our page looked like:

It was weird to see something familiar in a different way! But that's Bangladesh for you...it changes your view on things you take for granted... like a comfortable home, good food, clean streets, roads without pot-holes...

The moment I arrived Dhaka, my senses were assailed by the pandemonium that is everyday life here and the smell that can only be described as thousands of unwashed bodies. Everywhere I go, it's just teeming with people, cars, rickshaws, buses, autos and lorries. It's estimated that there are more than 20 million people living in Dhaka alone. That's almost the entire population of Malaysia! However, it wouldn't surprise me if half of them live in really squalid conditions. Right outside my 4 star hotel there are beggars and squatter houses. It's heartbreaking to see kids running around naked.

The 5 minute drive everyday from the hotel to the office is an adventure on it's own as my driver seems to take sadistic delight in weaving through the traffic, jolting through pot-holes like he is the King of the Road. The thing is, every other driver on the road also thinks that they are kings of the road! There seems to be no traffic rules here except one: He Who Honks has the Right of Way! I've seen signboards prohibiting honking but no one pays any attention at all and the honking is incessant. In fact, I soon discovered that the horn is the most important part of any vehicle. I noticed that drivers have one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the horn. I guess they didn't learn the 10 o'clock - 2 o'clock rule that the rest of the world was taught in driving school!

Last weekend I went shopping in New Market. It's like a bazaar and it's famous for branded goods at really cheap prices. Bangladesh has many of the western chains that have opened up factories here (cheap labour!). I don't think I've ever had a shopping experience like this before. The place was packed with people doing their Eid ul-Fitr shopping.

Picture of New Market area taken from a local newspaper on the day I was shopping there

I had to let go of my personal space as throngs of people were pressing into me from all directions. Despite the dense crowd, I had one very faithful street kid following me to every shop trying to make himself useful and hoping to earn a few Takas along the way. Although I felt sorry for him, I didn't want to give him anything because I knew that he would have 20 other expectant friends that would suddenly appear if I gave him anything. But shopping wise it was good; I got a couple of Armani, Zara and Marks&Spenser tops for less than RM200!

Food wise, I haven't really eaten much local food accept what the hotel serves. Usually I love to try local food but looking at the cleanliness of this place (or lack thereof), I've been really careful. I've been here 2 weeks and I have slightly more than a week left to go. It's been a big accomplishment that I haven't got diarrhea so far. I hope things continue that way (fingers crossed!)

-Anya-

Hate that I have to do this!

Oh God..I did it. I finally did it!

I've been thinking about it and postponing it and dreading it.

But yesterday, I decided - Anya, grow up!

So I went and did it.

I made an appointment to see the dentist on Tuesday...Oh God...I hate dentists...and needles...and that horrible antiseptic smell in clinics.

If you think I'm freaking out over a dentist appointment...you haven't seen anything yet. Wait till I start on my pap smear appointment! ;p

-A-

Lilo's Little Updates..

I can't believe I have been abandoning this blog... so tight up with work that I never get the time to blog...

Anyway, just thought of listing down everything that's running through my mind right now..

1. I so bloody want a nice designer HANDBAG!!! I have been thinking bout it for a long time now and I think its about time I treat myself with a good one...

2. I have been wondering if I'll get to go for my much awaited trip to hanoi.. my boyfriend is having some immigration issues and I doubt it will get sorted by then.. my trip is 2 weeks away and I have planned absolutely nothing :(

3. I need a proper working shoe.. current one looks so old and crappy.. not making it up ok, its true! I bought it two years ago!!

4. I am very annoyed with a colleague who pretends so well in front of me and bitches behind my back.. Get the hell out of here pleaseeee....

5. I have started working out again.. all excited now... and now only I realize how much I miss working out... I'm on a trial session in gym now... really really want to become a full time member.. but i dunno why on earth the membership must be so damn bloody expensive!!! I can afford it if I really want.. But scared I'll fall back into debts like what I was going through last year... been thinking and thinking! cant decide.. shucks!
oh yeah, I had a bet to reduce 5kgs in a month... but i'll be happy even if i loose 3kgs for now.. n yes, i need to get back in shapE!

6. and also thinking bout the personal training session I have got later.. hope he wont drill me too much.. i need my strength to enjoy the weekend!

7. i'm also sort of dieting right now.. im glad I have lasted 2 weeks.. hope i can continue this for at least another 3 months..

8. also missing him.. fridays are boring without him.. sigh... but yeah, i'll be meeting nemo darling later! yay!

thats all la..

lilo..

finding fault is very easy.. blaming someone is very very easy.. starting a fight is even easier..

but its not easy to put up with someone..

its hard to accept someone despite of their weaknesses, faults and mistakes...

its really hard to love someone with no expectations and just the way they are..

i guess that makes me a better person.. n i want to be that better person.. hence, i'm gonna stop my tears now..

i love you the way you are.. i love you in spite of all the flaws you carry within yourself.. i love you today and i know i will love you even more tomorrow..

i hate it that i love you the way i do..

but i still do..

The Dress Search

In a few days time, I'm going to the boutique to choose The Dress. So I've been surfing the net for wedding gown ideas and I've some across so many gorgeous designs.

But some really makes me wonder what kind of taste the bride has!

But I think, this one really takes the cake for the most bizarre wedding dress ever...

Why, oh why ??

-A-

Weekend @ Perhentian

After what seemed like endless waiting, we finally made it to Pulau Perhentian! It was everything we ever wanted and more.


We snorkeled!

We swam with baby sharks, our very own Nemo got acquainted with her fellow nemos and we fed an assorted array of colourful fish with bread right from our fingers. And lucky us - we even spotted a turtle coming up to the surface for air.

We ate, drank and were merry!

As soon as we arrived, we asked the locals where we should head to that night for a lil partying and everyone pointed us to Tuna Bay. So with our expectations high for a wild night, we headed to the rustic little beach cafe. Well, there was no partying to be found. Instead we found the coolest bar tender ever - Uncle Bartender.

I would have expected him to be wearing a Pagoda Singlet and shorts, serving Kopi Aik Cheong in a Kedai Kopi instead of serving up cocktails. And his cocktails were pretty good actually - although he did seem to be a lil bit colour blind and couldn't really differentiate between the Green Scorpion and the Blue Ocean - but it was all good! Apart from being the cashier, Uncle Bartender was also the DJ, playing today's best love songs.

We checked out loads of hunks although most of them were there with their partners.

No harm in admiring and appreciating God's wonderful creations right?

Most importantly, we left our mark - literally!

So although our accommodations were quite dingy and our guide was quite a sleazebag and we're all not as fair as we used to be, I think all of us agree that the whole weekend was F.U.N !

I'm already looking forward to our next trip!

~sun burnt Anya~

Men #09

I have received many of these.. but this particular one definitely topped them all!


"bumped onto ur profile pic...u look so beautiful. Like a million bucks..awesome..stunning.. I am stunned now..add me pls.. Dave :)). "


- Lilo (Men never fail to amuse me!)

Men #08

Can anyone please tell me why are men so freaking slow????

They are worst than sloths!!! They can never do anything fast unless they are rushing (more like running far behind deadline) or when they are in deep shit!

They think slow, they write slow, they type slow! aaaargghhh... i'm having a tough time with my male colleagues who make me want to strangle them each and every time!!

This is a fast paced business, u idiot! move, move, move or get the hell out of here!!

-Lilo

Pigged Out!

I had an interesting dinner yesterday.. the meal that we ordered, comes with a story and some rituals.. so we had to perform those rituals too...

thats the spanish guy, telling us the story...

they were things like, u have to wish for something then have to cut the meat served using a plate.. yeah a normal plate.. the meat was really tender.. then the guy tells another story, and you have to choose between two options, for love or money? then you have throw and break the plate.. the more the plate shatteres, the more the "love" or "money" you are supposed to get..

and of course, he chose "love" ;) *grin*

the only sad part is, this is how our meal looked like...

actually it wasnt that big la.. It was probably just as big as a keyboard

yeah, it was a poor little piglet!! it looked so pitiful that I didnt have the heart to eat... im not really a pork or pig lover, and having the pig served as a whole was a turn off... but of cos the rest of my gang totally enjoyed it... they were all finger licking and bone sucking! :p

but anyway, it was indeed an interesting dinner.. I opt for some salad and pasta, and they were all yummy... we even got mushroom soup for starters and tequilla shot for dessert as complimentary...

unfortunately, cant remember the name of the place now.. but its in Jalan Changkat Raja Chulan, opposite Ceylon Bar and twenty one. Go check it out, if you want a total "pig" out session!

By: Lilo

My wedding!

I came upon a very silly quiz in fb yesterday.. it was so silly that I had to take it.. but the result was indeed very interesting ;)

Lilo took the What date will you get married? quiz and got the result: Nov 25, 2009..

how cool is that?? see, toldja!

I have less than 4 months to prepare and now im seriously panicking!

1. I have nothing to wear (more reasons to go check out the megasale)
2. I havent book the flights for my honeymoon (more reasons to travel again)
3. I havent decide if I want a english wedding or a indian wedding.. a garden wedding or a beach wedding..
4. I havent got a date for my hen's night..

but at least my frens have suggested a great solution to my least concern on how to find a groom for the wedding...

we gonna party hard on my hen's night and collect numbers of candidates to be the groom :) heeeyaa!


- a lil too excited Lilo

I forgive you..

(X is the person who "accidentally" hit may precious car (a red, hot Suzuki Swift) in Sunway Pyramid car park on 7th July 2009, approximately around 7.30pm to 10pm)

Dear X,

I just wanted to say, I forgive you! I am sure you have been regretting your actions and haven't been able to eat any proper food since that night. I am sure even when you force yourself to eat, you always end up getting choked. I understand how you must be feeling, thus I forgive you.

I know it wasn't really your mistake. Probably, your car reverse sensor was no longer working because you just got fired from your job and have no money to get it fixed. Its ok, I understand.

Or maybe you were born deaf that you couldn't actually hear the reverse sensor beeping. Not your fault, i blame it on the god.

Or maybe you did realize when you accidentally hit, but you have a bad injury in your leg that you couldn't come out to see how bad the damage was. It's ok. It wasn't that big anyway.

Or maybe, you were in extreme rush, cos you just got a call from home saying your cat is dying! house caught on fire! or maybe your partner got robbed! Whichever the real reason was, it is indeed bigger and more important than the small damage on my car.

So yes, I totally understand and I forgive you. Please don't worry about it.

Cheers,
Lilo

Future car..

my boyfriend is a car maniac.. not in a bad way, but he's just a little bit more passionate towards them then towards me ... his life practically revolves around cars!

and recently he has found a car that somehow defines me! n he insist this should be my next car..

so whenever we are on the road and this kind of car happens to pass by, he says "there goes your future car!"


not that i mind driving this car.. but of cos the price scares me!

but since he's calling it "my future car", i guess its not too much to hope he's gonna buy it for me rite? rite?? wishful thinking


as long as it doesn't come with the 'terms' that I have to look like this beside the car! :p

By: lilo

The other 'Men'

A guy friend said to me yesterday, "It's not that easy being a woman, is it".



I said, "You have no idea!"

Indeed he has no idea..how could I tell him that I feel like pulling out my insides today? It's so painful :( Can't live with it, can't live without it... kinda sounds like one of us describing men;)



But no, I'm not here to bang men but MENstruation ;p



Men have no idea what menstruation feels like. It's one of those things that no one can understand what it feels like until they actually experience it (like eating durian, falling in love, bungee jumping). But this pic is the closest description I've seen so far:

p.s. Thanks Lilo for the pic ;)

On a random note, maybe if sex change operations included menstruation, maybe there wouldn't be a whole lot of eager men wanting to be women?

Hmmmmm.....

-Anya-

Transformers in town!

I just purchased 2 tickets to watch the 1st screening of transformers in malaysia! cool eh? :p

do i fancy robots?? - No!

am i a fan of transformers? - No!

do i even remember what happened in the 1st transformers? - No!

do i think megan fox is hot?? - No!

am i excited? - No!

then why the heck u ask?? all for the name of love! (*puke* gag *puke*)

- too good to be true, Lilo :p

My dream house...

Since young, I always fancied houses... I love watching house related shows in tv, I love driving around fancy housing areas and I always had a secret wish that one day I will own a house n decorate everything single element of the house all by myself! i love interior designing tooo!! only if "interior designing" was what my parents would consider as profession other than the typical doctor, engineer n lawyer, i would have definitely studied that!

anyway, i just adore beautiful houses.. as a confession, i practically forced my parents to move from the old house we were living for 20 years to the current one now.. although the old one was convenient to them, me n my siblings in every other way possible; i just needed to live in a better house! :p initially i did attempt to design it my way, but due to some reasons my ideas didn't materialise... i do wish now n then, I'll win a lottery or something n I'll redesign the house like how i want it to be... haha!

anyway, its never too late.. i believe one day, i will still buy my own house... i just wish that house will look like this...

sorry for stealing the pic, its too beautiful!

i swear, i wont go out anywhere if my house look like this..

can u see the private pool, oh my!

a garden upstairs! cant ask for more..

this is d pool!! yay!

and that's the bathroom!!!

with a jacuzzi summore!! damn..

hmmm.... sigh..... i just wish i have the 2m now.... yeah, that's all it cost...

- Lilo :(

p/s: if a guy proposes to me with this house, I'll marry him with no questions asked!