Slam Dunk 2012: A Birthday Special

It's definitely been awhile. So what am I up to? What's with the silent treatment? Nothing much actually except I bought myself some Photobooks. Again. And am busy at work. Again. 

The funny thing is sometimes I get all worked up and motivated over the entire process. Picking photos, arranging them, putting words into them, etc. And then suddenly in the middle of it all, I just feel what a self-indulgence this is. I mean it's actually nothing more than syok sendiri. Yes, they're going to be awesome memory books and all, so what? 

It's funny how you can get from one emotion to another so quick.

Like how this suppose-post about my birthday spontaneously ended up 

being a post about my conflicting self. O_O

Alright. Back to the topic, shall we?

This year I decided to tune it up. Literally. Like let's just not eat to celebrate. Let's eat... and sing to celebrate! Oh dear, me singing? When Cik Datang found out about it she cynically asked if it rained. Cis! But yeah, it was different and because of that, we have a different set of photo memories to cherish this year.

But the best shot of the night has to be this!

Papa singing/trying to be Aerosmith. 

Yup, my papa is awesome. *hearts*

Well, karaoke happened few days before my actual birthday 

just so we can celebrate with little sis while she's home. 

On the actual birthday itself, well, I have to go to work. Boo.

But I received this at work. Yay!

A gift from Cik Datang. Eco(nomical)-friendly wrapped in a printed recycled paper 

with ribbon drawn on top. As expected from an Art Director.

Well, inside this gift bag was...

... a little bag! 

And inside this little bag...

... was a big bag!

Talk about a bag of surprises. :)

As a "Ohayo-Arigatou-Hai" Japanese-influenced lady that I am 

(though recently I've been splashed by the Korean wave), 

my other fellow colleagues generously treated me out to...

Duh. A Japanese lunch.

Where strangely has *ahem* an interesting selection of magazines.

Anyhow, I enjoyed my big bowl of Muscle Noodle, I mean Mussel Ramen.

And managed to shoot a Samsung Galaxy S2 ad at the same time.  

Group shot! Thank you guys!

As if muscle-filled lunch was not yummy enough...

...in came a precious box of sweeeeet memories!

A gift from dearest Cubbie who is one of the few who know about my longstanding love for Slam Dunk. She was worried that it was a bit old school but to me, that just show we go way back. (Though still not long enough if you ask me) Let's go for another 10, 20, 30 years and beyond, eh Cubbie? *hearts*

To end this special day with a special cake.

It's really special in that papa even made an effort to order it the day before. Haha. Sure it's no secret recipe but I am still very much touched by the effort especially since we usually buy a cake off the shelve every year. I told papa that I don't need an expensive dinner treat or anything but just a good cake. I love cakes! Like LOVE. And this Blueberry Cake (though very unexpected in choice... haha) was very very deliciousssss! Thank you papa, and mummy, too of course. Which reminds me, where's my sister in all these? Cis cis!

My nine precious cupcakes was kept in the fridge until the weekend when I finally had the time to give them the attention they deserve. Took a good amount of photos of each of them to store in my great memory bank. :)

And for that, here's the last shot for this year's oh-my-gawd-i'm-getting-older occasion.

Happy Birthday to me!

[InstaMyLife] Through the Eyes of Instagram (Part I)

That's the thing about having a smartphone with you. It's easier to capture the moment and record it down. So easy that you sometimes wonder why do you even need to blog about it after that? But even though I don't blog religiously, I know that this blog remains the one constant that I can count on even after all the many technology fads that may come and go.

I admit, I love my Instagram. A lot.

But even more, I love the moments I took with it. 

Enough to take the trouble to have them here as well.

Like the very first shot I took with my brand new phone.

Colours of the rain. - 5 June 2012

The day the fangirl in me flailed. - 11 June 2012

The day I visited the hospital for a check-up and turns out...

The longest queue at the hospital is at the bakery. - 23 June 2012

The day I went down the rabbit hole and into the land of origami.

おりがみ ♥ - 27 June 2012

And from then on, it was no turning back.

おりがみ origami class 3: panda mama and child - 28 June 2012

I couldn't stop.

おりがみ class no 5: doggie meets inuchan ♥ - 2 July 2012

Until it was turning into a zoo... that's when I knew I had to stop.

It's getting a little crowded in here. - 2 July 2012

Sometimes, there is no need for words and all that was captioned 

for this was a simple heart.

♥ - 6 July 2012

Brandfest 2012. It's been a long day. - 9 July 2012

So I may be very generous in 'giving' my heart away when it comes to food.

Sauteed mushroom is ♥ - 11 July 2012

Capturing Tizer being all kinds of adorable.

The jam you love to hate. - 20 July 2012

Had one good meal after another.

A very yummy meal. A very happy tummy. ♥ - 19 July 2012

And another...

Wanted to go to Korea but ended up in Taiwan instead. - 25 July 2012

A week to remember. Hwaiting! ↖(^ω^)↗ - 31 July 2012

Breakfast for RM3.30. ♥ the egg. - 2 August 2012

Cafe 다리 ♡ - 3 August 2012

So finally we did end up in 'Korea'. 

Ironically, a friend on Facebook actually asked if we were in Korea. 

How I wish. 

[L.E.P.A.K series: London] Chap 23: St Paul's Cathedral

And We're back in London yo! 

After a good night's rest in our super comfy hotel bed, we woke up to another early morning of exploration. We took a breezy morning walk to Waterloo station and rode the tube out to Bank (that's the name of the station and not an actual bank. hehe).

Upon exiting the station, we were greeted by our first sight of spring. 

Since it was towards the end of March, we were caught between winter and spring. It was chilly as ever throughout our entire trip but we eventually warmed ourselves towards this somewhat cold and gloomy city. 

 In fact, after five days, we bravely decided to dress more like a local and loose a few layers of clothes with only a layer of tights to warm our legs. Not bad at all! Either that or the weather did get a little less colder as the days passed by. But a girl can imagine, right?

Our first itinerary for the day was St Paul's Cathedral. 

We actually arrived at the back of the cathedral because that's where the closest tube exit was. It was a great choice actually because we then get to stroll along the side garden before finding ourselves in front of the cathedral.

There were little squirrels running around the garden. A really cute sight to behold and Mr Man here whom in my opinion looked very much like Jason Statham (LOL) was generously feeding the squirrels. Poor pigeon was longing for a crumb too, don't you think? Hehe. Mr Man looked very much like a regular guy on his way to work, who also makes it a point to stop by to feed his little buddies. Why? Because both Mr Man and the squirrels looked very much accustomed to each other and he even had them running up and down his body.

Squirrel!! Squeeee! 

A not-bad-shot from my three-year-old-compact camera don't you think? 

*shameless* 

 But this was no winning shot.

It's this that is the winner! 

Thanks Cik Anai for this much-loved photo. :D

This little garden turned out to be quite a 'high-traffic' place with many people walking through it to get to the tube station, obviously on their way to work. Only us two silly gals were loitering around, all carefree and shameless taking photos of ourselves.

Like I said, carefree and shameless. In a good way. Hehe.

A side view of the cathedral. That's the awesome thing about free and easy travelling. If we were here on tour, we would have probably missed out on all these little morning wonders. Probably all we would have seen was...

THIS! 

 Finally, we found ourselves at the front of the cathedral. 

 However, we were there way ahead of schedule as doors only opened at 8.30am. So we headed out to a Marks & Spencer nearby and bought ourselves breakfast. Upon stepping in the aroma of freshly baked buns greeted us and soon after, we found ourselves staring at the sandwich aisle with our mouths open, undecided on what we want because... well, we wanted everything. Haha. 

 Call me crazy but it was also nice to be a part of the morning crowd there, many of which were there to grab a pack of sandwich before heading off to work. We on the other hand, stood lingering around with some extra time in our hands.

 There was a bank a few doors down and guess what? We stepped right in! You see, a few days ago while we were buying our tickets to Tower of London, Cik Anai's £20 note got rejected. Turns out, the note was... was... an old note! Hahaha. Nope, we did not get cheated on a fake note, just an old one. The lady there told us that we can change it in any banks. So that's how we ended up visiting a bank. Guess I can check that off my list "Visit a bank in a foreign country...Check!" 

Surprisingly the bank turned out to be less electronic-driven than those in Malaysia. No waiting number was taken and we actually lined up for our turn much like the good old days. As if I'm that old to talk about the good old days, but yeah, surprising nonetheless. Tellers were not sitting behind high counters either but normal height table tops.

With our breads in hand and new notes in Cik Anai's pocket, we continued our stroll to find a place to settle down and enjoy our breakfast.

Behold Breakfast! 

Classic Ham (from British farms so says the packaging), Cheese & Pickle on Malted Brown Bread for me and a more humble Classic Free Range Egg & Watercress on Malted Brown Bread for Cik Anai. And because we're hungry travellers, an extra hot cross raisin bun for each of us. Yummmmmy! 

Taste aside, you know what I love about these sandwich?

The Packaging! 

It tears right at the centre and...

Lo and behold, carries a sandwich on each side. Awesome possum if you ask me. This is not something found in Malaysia. Modest bank yet state-of-the-art sandwich pack. London, you amuses me.

Nature called after breakfast and this was what greeted us at the public toilet. Haha. No need for a Makcik to collect entrance fee. Just drop the right amount of coins into the gates and step right in. 50p is the fee, that's RM2.50 for a piss. Sigh.

Finally, we're all set to visit this sanctuary. Our rail card entitled us to a 2 for 1 promotion which saved us a bunch. That's the reason why we chose the regular travel card over the more popular Oyster Card. It entitles travellers to various 2 for 1 promotion at a lot of tourist attractions.

This is the gate of heaven. :)

The only clear shot that Cik Anai managed to sneakily capture inside the cathedral. Yup. The no camera allowed rule applies here. That is why this post which is supposed to be on St Paul's Cathedral had a very long 'introduction' to all that is around and outside of the cathedral because I have nothing to show of the inside. 

Yes. It was majestic and a tad more luxurious-looking than Notre Dame Cathedral. I guess having an entrance fee does amount to better funding, but luxurious does not necessarily outdo classic charm. The climb up to the Whispering Gallery was tiring, dizzy and memorable. The underground crypt was serene and eerie. The souvenir corner was busy and delightfully vibrant. All in all, St Paul's did offer a more all-rounded experience that stirred up a mix of emotions as oppose to Notre Dame. 

 It was two hours of serenity before we head out to catch a glimpse of the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. I'll leave that for the next post! ;)

[L.E.P.A.K series: Paris] Chap 17: Meeting Madame Mona

Alright! That was certainly a loooong rest since the last L.E.P.A.K post. No time to sit and linger anymore. It's time to get up and go, go, GO! Boy were we determined to hunt down Mona Lisa. Determined enough to set it as our goal before dinner. So we walked and walked until we got distracted by the beautiful night view outside.

The sun had set by then and the lights were on. Pretty. 

 We finally found that little turn we kept on missing and was on our way 

to meet Madame Mona...

... but alas, we got distracted once again. 

This time by a gigantic art piece. I say it just goes to proof my earlier point that 

Europeans have a thing for BIG THINGS. Hahaha. 

 Sure enough, we finally found the biggest crowd at the Louvre, all gathered to lay their eyes on Mona Lisa. It was impossible to get a good shot with her when there was a whole bunch of people to share the spotlight with. Not to mention she was shyly hiding behind a protective glass and surrounded by a barricade. Talk about being anti-social. Tsk tsk tsk. I came all the way just to see you, 'mam. 

 Oh well, you're even more famous than celebrities these days after all.

So I humbly settled with what she has to offer. *click* 

Boy do I look tired out in the picture. *sigh* 

Now that our mission is complete, it's time for a good French dinner!

We had enough of walking for the day so we decided to head down to a restaurant 

inside the Louvre. Nothing overly fancy but still a very 'luxurious' place compared to all 

the budget meals we were having for the past few days. All that savings certainly deserved 

one good meal and what better place to dine finely than Paris, right?

I ordered my very first cup of coffee since I arrived at this side of the globe. 

Truth to be told, the coffee was not very impressive which was kind of disappointing since I was kind of hoping to be wowed by it. *sad face* Now, those little sugar cubes and complimentary nougats on the other hand was conveniently brought home as my little momentos. Muahahaha. So Chinese. So proud of it. :P

Now for the recommended affordable dish-to-try in Paris, Croque-Monsieur! 

Yummy. It was not bad at all. Cik Anai being the bread-potato-lover that she is 

preferred this to our another order. 

 BUT! I stand to differ!

Because I was in loved with this other dish instead. 

Yuuummmmy Poelon de moules au curry et poireaux. What?!!?! Haha... or in English, 

Mussels and leeks casserole spiced with yellow curry. Again WHAT?!? Leek? Eww! 

And why go all the way to Paris to eat curry. These girls are not in the right state 

of mind are they. :P 

 But I see no leek and instead lots of what looks to me like alfalfa sprouts. Hmm... 

and nope, the curry was not spicy at all, obviously. Spiced? More like herbs maybe. 

Either way, it waaasss delicious. Well, at least to me lah. Each to their own.

I love it enough to insist Cik Anai to take a picture of me with it. Yum! 

Oh and in case you're wondering about the cost of a meal inside the Louvre, well, the Croque

 was 15€ and the mussels was 9€. Not to outrageous I guess for a tourist spot.

Now that we are all recharged and energised back to at least mid-battery level, 

we're off again to hunt down our next 'target'. Venus de Milo. By then, the museum was pretty much cleared of tourist. Yay!

That gives us time to linger and take our time at every single thing that 

perked our interest. Like insanely beautiful architecture!

The Nike of Samothrace or also known as the Winged Victory of Samothrace. 

Why such a faraway shot instead of a close-up you say? Well, we were left in awe 

of the sight of the empty stairway actually. Hahaha. Earlier in the day, this place was packed 

with visitors as these stairs was the cross-road to different halls. There were people walking 

from in every direction and there were also those sitting along the stairs, at the feet of the statue. There were people everywhere and now, waalaah! A lady and a statue.

And finally! Venus de Milo was surprisingly easier to locate. Maybe because 

we were more calm and less distracted by the crowd. The down-side of a night trip 

to the museum is the lighting though. :(

One last compulsory shot inside the museum. *click* There are a lot more to see in the museum actually. All that we saw were only in one of the three wings of the museum. Imagine that. Museum enthusiasts can easily spend three days in here and still complain there's not enough time. So yeah, this would have to do for us this time around. If the chance do come by again, I'll be sure to drop by and awed all over again. *smiles*

We decided to step out again for a night shot of the museum.

It was a bittersweet feeling for us as it was also time to bid goodbye to Paris. 

BUT WAIT!

Not before we visited La Pyramide Inversée aka The Inverted Pyramid. Hehe. 

With that, our mission here in Paris was finally completed. 

 Or so we thought! 

 Who knew we had one last adventure before finding our way to the bus station. *sigh* 

For us, Paris does not sign off 'with love' but instead 'Paris... with adventure'. We headed towards the one route that we knew of, the route that we came but alas, we somehow got ourselves a little lost. With the clock ticking away, we hit the yellow panic button. 

 Eh? Eh? Eh?!? 

 Finally we found our way to the metro station only to discover it was already closed! Wooot?!?! Panic signal hit orange. Danger Danger! We headed out to the streets only to be greeted with a lonely street and a sad few pedestrians. Panic signal reached bright RED because we had no idea how to go about from here because we had no freaking idea where we were. 

 Weee!!! Heart-pounding excitement. 

 The thing was, we had a bus to catch and if we missed it then we're practically stranded in Paris. Yeah, worst come to worst, we can somehow manage a night's stay in a hotel but still.... *tick tick tick* 

Time to ask for help!!

We quickly approached a young lady who seemed to be on her way back from work and asked for the nearest metro station and guess what!! She kindly offered to guide us there. Hooray! WAIT! Should we turn our suspicious mode on? No time yo! It's time to believe in the greater good of mankind! 

And so we followed. 

 And so we arrived safely to the metro station. 

 *phew* 

 She even asked if we know how to manage our way with the ticketing machine and we said yes as we already have our carnet of tickets ready. We expressed our deep gratitude as she smiled and wave farewell to us. Yup! She was not heading to this metro at all. She just took the extra effort to help us! *sniffles* Together with the guy who helped us ordered our lunch earlier in the day, I'll say French people are so not what some made out to be, snobbish or unfriendly to those who knows no French? Well, not to us at least. 

Thank you Paris for a wonderful and exciting experience like no other! 

It will forever be a day we will never forget. :) 

 Now it's time for a rocky night's sleep on the bus as we get ready 

to wake up in another country. Weee!