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Tuesday, December 29, 2009
[edit] Penang photos have been rearranged and recaptioned. Sorry to those who were met with a flurry of confusing pics!
Livin' Loud, Livin' PROUD
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Sunday, December 27, 2009
My attempts at making beef ribs for dinner. Ernie bought them a day in advance so I could marinate and season them. OK I know it doesn't look like very much from my crappy pic, but not bad I suppose for a first try! Took too much time to cook them... so we went out to Bubba Gump instead.... and had the ribs for supper and for the next day! Am so relieved they turned out all soft and falling off the bone in the end. Would've been a real waste of good beef ribs. And I went to great lenghts to plan a surprise for Ernie... wrote him a poem and gave it to him in the morning... pretended I didn't buy him anything.... but at the end of the day..... 
Brought out the huge box..... And packed inside was...... 
Cos my boy only deserves the best, no? :) And the moment I saw this I just knew I had to get it for him - it was perfect! Classy, masculine, and unique. I just knew he would love it and he did! :D And guess what he got me for Christmas. Nothing. Yeap. How convenient. Sorry that I don't have any pics from church for now cos they're all still in Ernie's cam but I'm sure I'll get round to posting them soon. And now.... back to our vacation last weekend! After 2 nights in Camerons, we headed further up north to Penang. Mmmmm food.... glorious Penang food..... We met some Penangites during our trip to Camerons and they recommended this place called "Sister's char kuey teow". Claimed it was famous for having the best kuey teow in the whole of Penang! So there we went searching high and low for it...... 
Finally spotting it at the end of Jalan Macallister! 
It's just this little kuey teow store at the front of a dark, dingy and hot coffee shop. And boy... it was packed to the max! And.... there was a SUPER long waiting list for char kuey teow. Whoaaah. Sure looks like everyone's here for some of that! So while waiting.... we had.... 
Some special Penang yam cakes and otak-otak. Now usually I really hate yam cakes. But this was really good! Very smooth and creamy texture, and it went so well with the heaping amount of fried onions they gave us. The otak-otak was alright too, cooked with lots of lemongrass and other herbs for that special flavour. 
Prawn mee. This wasn't so good. :( Not very flavourful or "kaw". Definitely have had better. Oh what about the so-called legendary kuey teow??? The verdict - it's nothing to shout about. No idea why so many people were queueing up for a plate of that, or why we had to wait close to an hour for kuey teow like that. Heck, we all even fundamentally agreed that even Gurney Drive dishes out better kuey teow! And so we all made a move to check into our hotel. Cranky and sleep deprived from having to curl up on the freezing floor with Ernie in Camerons... you have no idea how elated we were to find that Berjaya had given us an upgrade. Our very own suite!! With our own master bedroom, our own living hall, and (what on earth...?) two TVs!! 
Our king bed. Which, as always, gets wrecked within the first five minutes of entering by Ernie. 
The cosy living hall. Doesn't look like much from this pic but it's great! Our own suite, without having to share with anyone!! :D Needless to say, we will be sleeping very well in comfort and privacy. 
Checked out the recently opened Hard Rock Hotel/Cafe in Batu Ferringhi. Not as large as the one in Bali.... but still impressive nevertheless! 
Ernie getting excited and posing with the guitar of Vince Neil from Motley Crue 
And with the guitar of Nikki Sixx (also Motley Crue). With his very overused rocker pose. XD 
The inside of Hard Rock Cafe 
They even erected a statue of Michael Jackson sitting on a throne outside the cafe. It's so new, it doesn't even have it's bronze plaque yet! 
Nagore Place... it's supposed to be a stretch of restaurants but I guess it's only happening at night. Everything was closed in the daytime! We alaso paid a visit to the Peranakan Mansion. This is my favorite place to visit in Penang, hence the excess of photos... haha. Basically it's an old Peranakan house that once belonged to the Kapitan, and has been restored to it's former glory to reflect the lifestyle of the affluent family. The tours are also very detailled and interesting. On top of that, you are also free to roam the house, touch or sit on the furniture etc. 
The main entrance hall, with the majestic staircase 
Our guide giving detailed explainations of each room and section of the house. 
The restored wooden doors with elaborate carvings 
The main dining hall. The men also have a seperate dining hall for business conversations. 
Exhibits displaying jewellery the Nyonya women wear 
One of the bedrooms, done up like a traditional bridal chamber. 
Another bedroom, done up like a bridal chamber which reflects another era. 
An old camera 
This doorframe bears some very unique carvings of lychee fruit hanging down from the top... which is a very unusual design for a door in any culture! 
Extensive collections of glass vases 
The courtyard 
Function hall 
The family temple, which still has the original ancenstral shrine 
The temple courtyard 
Bats living in the temple... which was considered to be a sign of good luck 
My mom having pictures taken inside the function hall! 
Later that night.... at Gurney Drive for dinner! This hawker here is frying up some good hor chien. There was a long queue for this one too, but this time it was a wait that was well worth it! 
Took a trip to the War Museum the next day... it's an expansive outdoor museum that is actually a very well preserved fort from the days of WW2 and the Japanese Occupation. The grounds are very vast, and there are tunnels and stuff too that you can explore hands-on. 
Replica of a war cannon 
One of the tunnels leading down to the ammunition storage rooms. There were also many small escape tunnels but we couldn't explore those as we didn't have a flashlight with us... 
Where ammunitions used to be stored 
One of the tunnels that was lit with a single bulb, so we could go up this one... but at the end of it, it's a steep climb up a steel ladder in pitch darkness! 
Brings you back up to ground level 
The ladder we came up from 
One of the two firing bays 
One of the exhibits 
Another exhibit depicting the execution of a soldier during the Japanese Occupation 
Yes I know this probably looks really fake and remodelled... but this place is the actual execution site of the soldiers during those times. Gives off real creepy vibes, knowing this fact and being there in person. Oh and a little way off from this is a rectangular stone slab buried in the earth, which is actually an old guillotine base.... Oh and there is also this small house with large and very graphic photographs of people getting tortured and executed during the Japanese Occupation.... and dead bodies in many states of mutilation. Really makes you wonder, what kind of a sicko would take pictures of these!? And keep them till today!? *shudders* Absolutely couldn't bear being in that showroom... absolutely wouldn't post such pics here either but if you wanna see them you should take a trip there yourself.... 
An old shed or storeroom where a tree has grown through 
Old barracks that have been converted into showrooms and exhibits 
More barracks.... there were so many blocks of these... some were sleeping quarters... others were kitchens and things like that. You could actually go in and explore these buildings... and believe it or not, for RM20 you could spend a night camping in one of these! Spot of thrill-seeking, anyone? 
Dorm beds that have been restored and repainted 
Another one of the many tunnels... In conclusion I thought the War Museum, thought it didn't look like much from the outside, was a very good experience and well worth the money. It really gives you a good insight into how it was like during the war times, or how it was like to be living as a soldier in those times. And the frequent chills I got from looking at the exhibits, the old buildings, and perhaps too from the sheer silence of the place.... Really makes you feel relieved that we weren't born during that era. 
Back to Batu Ferringhi cos mom wanted to take a walk in the Spice Garden... this is the view of the ocean from the top of the hill 
And we were fortunate enough to spot a flying fox bounding thru the trees! 
Later for dinner we stopped by another "local recommendation"... a restaurant famed for it's unique name and good seafood. Looked promising. We were told they are usually fully booked by 7pm, and we were feeling pretty lucky, arriving at 5pm and getting us a table! 
Hor chien. Okay. Apart from the fact that they gave us really big oysters in this.... the dish is an epic fail. =.= It was tasteless and so terribly sticky. Like eating a mouthful of cornstarch and goodness knows what else. Yeeech! 
The only dish I really enjoyed would be this I suppose - the cheese-baked prawns... but then again anything with cheese on it tastes good, and this was so not worth the price - RM36 for just a few prawns! I don't know what it is about local recommendations but somehow they seem to be really misleading........ either that or we don't know how to eat. =.= In future... whenever in doubt.... just hit Gurney Drive!! And that wraps up our Penang trip! I have such a good time everytime we make a trip there.... definitely looking forward to the next one! :D Till next time..... damn I got alot of carbs and fat to burn!
Livin' Loud, Livin' PROUD
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Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wheehehe... Saying this a day in advance cos I know I'm gonna be all over the place toms and will be procratinating about coming on Blogger. Hehes. Hope everyone is having a good time this festive season with friends, family and loved ones wherever you may be. Chill out, wind down... I know prep for all them dinner parties and functions can be stressful! And don't be a pig As you all noticed... the blog has been pretty dead for the past (few?) weeks. Despite the fact that I am laying off modelling and freelancing it's been a very busy December with clients, the gym, training, and my extra dance classes. And yeah. I'm a big fat procrastinator. Recently my family and I have gone on a much-needed vacay to Camerons and Penang over the last weekend. :D Was lots of fun... lots of makan too! Haha. Oh and the hotel was overbooked in Camerons... so all 5 of us were cramped into a small room with only one queen bed. x.x Pardon my lame picture captions too. Currently very uninspired. Haha. 
Tanah Rata, Camerons... Where we drove down to for most of our meals. 
Having lunch in Tanah Rata 
Oh yea this disgusting looking thing is fried broccoli. Thought it would turn out soggy and strange but hey it's actually pretty good and crunchy! Other faves include fried watercress, oyster mushrooms and straw mushrooms from the night market. MMmmmmm good! Must haves! 
And of course in Camerons... there's the plethora of plants. Lol 
Dad and bro 
Garden gnomes and other funny porcelain stuff they had on sale at one of the nurseries 
Plants, plants and more plants! 
Hehe. You getting bored? 
Whee 
In front of the hotel. The weather was really cold in December and it rained everyday, adding on to the chills. Ack! 
Ernie and I in the lounge 
BOH Tea Plantation. And my very cute brother 
Oh yea I bought this really fluffy, oversized pink sweater while I was in Camerons. Was supposed to be for sleeping in when I stay over at Ernie's but I just decided to wear it for fun... 
Climbing up to the top of the hill where the teahouse is 
Breakfast at the top! 
Surpirsingly prices here were very reasonable, for good food and large servings too! This is the apple pie and buttery scones we had... Yum! 
And a glimpse into the tea factory 
Didn't take that many pictures this time round... we seem to visit Camerons pretty often it's starting to get boring... =/ We didn't buy any veggies too this time cos we were going off to Penang (where would be keep them??) and strawberries weren't in season either... Boo. But well it was good to get away from the city once in awhile. :) Once again, Merry Christmas to everyone. Lotsa love!
Livin' Loud, Livin' PROUD
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Sunday, December 13, 2009
O wells. When in doubt....... make food posts! XD Two days ago dad drove down to Klang to bring us to this restaurant called Hing Ket Grill House, in Kampung Jawa. It's a pretty small place that looks just like any other "tai chow" Chinese restaurant.... but woe betide whoever dares show up without a reservation. :P Heck, you even need to reserve if you wanna eat crabs over the phone if not there won't be any for you!
Anyhoo. I guess I'm coming round to accepting my boy's new hairstyle.... *defiant look* Suppose after so many weeks/months of him having it, I'm starting to get used to looking at him. And well if it's any comfort it's grown a little longer so it doesn't look as bad as the first time he got back from the stylist's.......... But well I suppose in spite of horrendous haircuts... Ernie has been very compromising as of late and deserves alot more credit and appreciation for that. As a matter of fact...... he's stepped out of his comfort zone and told me that he would like to start dance classes with me - something that I've wanted to go back to for a very long time. It's been fun and it gives us more things to do together as a couple too. :) Having been out of the scene for such a long time... I'm real rusty and can say we're pretty evenly matched. Haha. *stomps each other's toes* XD But damn I'm motivated and want to do this well!
Livin' Loud, Livin' PROUD
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Friday, December 11, 2009
But the one thing that has been clear to me as of late is that, thru and in spite of everything that was said and done... I'm glad I held on. I want to believe that we have something beautiful again. :)
Livin' Loud, Livin' PROUD
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Saturday, December 5, 2009
Another (former) WWE wrestler leaves the world, as I woke up today to the news of the passing of another great talent. Umaga may not strike as large an impression as the likes of Stone Cold, Triple H or any of the big superstars... but he sure had been quite the ring presence, and I enjoyed his appearances immensely, especially when Umaga had the qualities of a comic relief. Now who could forget the Battle of the Billionaires match where Vince Mcmahon ended up having his head shaved bald by Donald Trump...... or that Hillary/Obama parody?? Umaga passed on at the age of 36 having succumbed to a second heart attack. 
RIP Umaga. You will always be remembered by all your fans. xoxo
Livin' Loud, Livin' PROUD
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Tuesday, December 1, 2009
So yeah. This is it. I've learnt my lesson, definitely, from my previous "precontest" attempt. That much bodyfat, so little muscle to begin with... it was recipe for disaster. I'm going to put more effort into diet and nutrition now - starting slow at the moment, not eliminating carbs as drastically as before, not being so paranoid on the sodium for now, and slowly but steadily working towards a tighter, leaner physique. So! I have been bingeing on stuff I know I will miss. :D Hahahaha.... oh yes I like food posts. Lol. My friend says it's so hard for me to not think about food or diet cos I like taking pictures of food so much. XD Hehe.... So yeah as I was saying....
On Sunday Ernie and I went out for the "final binge" at Mizu, TTDI Plaza. It's a Japanese fine dining restaurant actually, with stuff like Foie Gras sushi on their menu! But... every Sunday they have this buffet lunch from 11am-3pm that costs RM45++. Quite a good deal, considering the quality of their food! They have a menu for you to tick and order from, and on top of that, a seperate buffet spread you can help yourself to.
Livin' Loud, Livin' PROUD
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Haha of course it's my very own loveable, and very very vain meathead of a boyfriend, Ernie.
Okay hair aside... lol. It'd be unfair to not mention that you've been the best boyfriend anyone could ever ask for, and I'm sorry if I've been blinded to that for some time. We've had our fair share of the tough and sticky times, but it is my promise to you that we'll ride the waves thru every single obstacle and I'm giving it my all.... even if it means breaking a few fingers, toes and/or ribs in the process....
Livin' Loud, Livin' PROUD
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Sunday, November 22, 2009
I've been doing my very best these days to hang on tight and get over some of my personal issues. And I've also Oh but due to copyright issues.... you can be relieved that I'm refraining from a huge picture spamfest of Edge overload. Lol. But haha. Pics are here from the WWE.com gallery. And there is also my fave fansite, Adam-on-the-Edge.net, that is BY FAR the most updated database with the most drool-worthy pictures. :P
Labels: Edge, eye candy, men, WWE
Livin' Loud, Livin' PROUD
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
It's hard, pretending how I am so resilient and strong and self-sufficient. And how people take that for granted. Well maybe it's my own fault, for portraying such images of ego, power and independance (according to the feedback of others, NOT self assumption) that most forget who I really am. Oh there she goes again. Small girl with the big walk. The lady with no eyes for the men - only the training. Oh she's pretty easy to keep I suppose.... pop her in gym sweats with a dumbell and she'll be purring for hours. People forget. I am a woman. Treat me like one. Deep down I'm still this little girl who likes feeling a little princess-ey once in awhile. Who wants to be pampered and showered with extravagance once in awhile. Who delights in little surprises and likes to be a lil (ok fine, very) spoilt. Hm. Maybe I should put in more effort and not look so loungy and laid back. I should be and look the part of a prissy, expensive lil bitch for a change. It's so hard going back to the gym sometimes. You're in pain but you brush it off and for years you psych it into yourself that it's good for you.... you learn to anticipate that pain.... and the day you do not hurt is the day you feel something's terribly wrong. I hate knowing I'm in pain and exhaustion, but it's never going to be enough. I'm worn from what I do everyday.... but know it's nothing in the face of what I must achieve. I feel what I'm doing is so difficult... but I know that the fact is it is not enough. Heck - you're barely scraping the surface. Your poundages suck. You form and technique is appaling. Your diet is an embarassment. Your cardio session is pathetic. And you even DARE have dreams of competing. What sacrilege! Do I have what it takes??? 4 weeks of my pathetic "precontest" attempt had me drained mentally, physically, and financially. For a little, little while I felt like a million bucks. Then I stopped the dieting. Weight came back. Lost my cuts. Lost everything I worked hard for. You know maybe I just don't have it in me?? I don't have the peserverance and capacity to become a bodybuilder? Heck even at my best I looked nothing like a bodybuilder. I want to stop. But I know I can't. How can you take a break when you're not good enough yet? Do you deserve that break? Hell no! I know I've slacked off. I've become ugly. Looking at myself in the mirror disgusts me and sometimes I wish people wouldn't see or touch me. So how can I even think about rest when I've already been slacking in the first place? It's do or die. Lose your body.... lose everything you have ever gained with it. Lose respect. Lose honour. Lose dignity. Lose pride and position. I have never done anything for myself because I never felt I was worth anything to begin with. I began modelling for the blind love and obssession for a man. I look good and wear makeup not for myself but to make other's look good. Heck - you know how much I hate all that bloody gunk on my face!? Don't even get me started about contact lenses. Euuurgh! The real me is content lounging in trackpants and glasses. And then people think cos of that I'm next-to-no manteinence. Easy to keep. PFFFT. I have tried to look perfect in every way on the outside so someone would be proud of me. Maybe I've been a joke all along, tho. Stupid fat chick trying to look like shes so damn hot. Or. Now that I've tried so hard to better myself... I'm not perfect but I've damn bloody well gone up the ladder and am in the position now to demand so much more. Because I DESERVE so much more. People are afraid of me. Not because of who or what I am. But for the company I keep. I wish I wasn't so goddamned needy and clingy. I miss being single and free all over again with no commitments and no cares. But my conscience tells me I can't be this irresponsible. And I'm deathly afraid of being alone. What happens... when "everything" is still not enough? I AM FUCKING DEPRIVED. YES. LAUGH. I fall hard. Love deeply. Withhold nothing. Stupid girl. And I hope other girls, regardless of what others may have said... don't make this same mistake. People take you for granted. They end up expecting it of you unconditionally. Especially when you have held your tongue for so long, being so afraid of hurting. All that heartbreak - worth it? I have no one to blame but myself for dropping the standard THAT low. I have exams tommorow. Somehow I don't care. I haven't studied at all for my finals. Answered my previous 2 papers very half-heartedly. I wonder if people know how alienating it is.... going to a place I hate everyday.... seeing people I don't like... doing things I don't care for. No passion and no drive. Not exactly what I want... but just mugging thru for the sake of a degree and a "future". "Live for the moment". I could throw away so many things right now and chase many shadows if I did just that. I wish I were as carefree, careless and silly sometimes. But I know I will hurt myself. I'm always so preoccupied with making the "right" decisions and "right" choices. What's for my own good and what's not. What's gonna be ideal for my future. Oh yes I got this bad habit of "seeing ahead" alot and planning so intently for my future, mapping out my life. But sometimes I do wonder.... how can something so right... be so wrong at the same time? I "encourage" myself to do "right" things even tho I don't want to and it hurts me sometimes. Oh and if you're reading this... you know who you are cos you told this to my face... YES, I am in denial. I wish I could say I had a reason for it but well that'd just put me further in denial, no? It's been a long time since I spoke my heart, unaltered and unabridged. I don't know if I ever can. Sure I vent on my blog... but what you see here is still watered down and ambiguous for privacy sakes. I am weak. I know I'm weak. And one day, I hope I can be strong enough to walk away. Late now. I need my sleep. IF I can get to sleep, that is. Goodnight all. Hope I feel better soon. Labels: anger, confusion, depression, emo, stress, training
Livin' Loud, Livin' PROUD
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