new plans

the cg chapter is finally ending. we knew the lease will be up soon, but we've sort of harboured some hope that we could somehow convince the powers that be to extend our lease till the end of the year.

but that's like waiting for fate to deal us a hand. and you know we'd rather make our own fate :)

we're making alternate arrangements now...wish us all the best yah..

in the meantime, here are some pics from our last get-together @ cg....

food & frens

we brought the sofa out..hahha!

is that a kingfisher spotted in our backyard???

bookworm

i've found back my love of reading. it's not that i'd stopped completely. just that i don't think i'd obsessively read a book from start to finish in under 2 days flat for the last 2 years, until recently.

it all started early this year when we were hosting a 'party' (as ana my tenant would call it, though it's more like a chill-out get-together over bbq kinda thing) for friends early this year. a group of us were at the table, and the girls were talking about the latest movie to hit the screens then- twilight. and i was telling them about how i was intrigued to get the book cos everyone was saying it was way better than the movie, but that i couldnt seem to get my hands on one cos they were all sold out (which was true back then!). and lo and behold ana herself had all 4 books, which she promptly lent to me.

of course i didnt start on them till the hubs was away (weekends are too precious to be spent reading trashy juvenile novels dont you think ? :P), but the moment he was gone i started on the first, and i was hooked. not because it was well-written (it's very juvenile and nauseatingly sweet-valley-high), but because edward cullen was CUTE, and so heartbreakingly endearing. it helped that i could picture exactly how he'd look like (i caught the film online immediately after i put down the first book..hehh. so-so movie, to-die-for lead actor :P). and immediately after that, i started on the second, then the third, then the fourth.

i finished the 4 books in 4 nights straight (or rather...nights & early mornings. i didn't read during working hours - very unprofessional, and EMBARASSING, to be caught dead with those books).

the books made me hungry for more. and being the cheapo that i am, i copiously took down the titles of books that caught my eye when we were at borders (our weekly ritual...borders-browsing), and stopped by the library one day after a meeting to see if i could get them there. and i could! nlb is so hip i tell you...hahahahhha (even though they refuse to write off even fines dating back to 2000 amounting to a grand total of like $0.80...bleah)!

so i've been reading. and reading. and reading. i've gotten it back! the mojo!

i slept at 330 this morning devouring night watch (the book rocks! must get the other two!). i'm officially knackered.

but i'm happy :)

once a bookworm, always a bookworm. yeah!

the curious case of bb

1. i'm curious as to why the movie is so long. it lasted for about 2 and a half hours. i'm very sure it can be shortened.

2. i'm curious as to why bradd.pitt acted so 'stoned' throughout the movie. he was stoned when he's 5, and he was stoned when he's 40. shouldnt he be exhibiting a little bit of excitement sometimes? like when he rode that to-die-for looks-like-triumph-bonneville bike through the roads? surely having the wind in your face would elicit some sort of smile? there was none. and for that, i dont think he deserves to be nominated for best actor.

3. (and the most curious award goes to....) i'm curious as to how bb is born as a baby, but died as a baby too. i mean, i get that he's supposed to age in reverse. but if he's born in the body of a baby with the physical/mental conditions of an 80-year-old, he should die in the body of an 80-year old with the physical/mental conditions of a baby. ie he should still be brad pitt, but a brad pitt who can only suck his thumb and go gugu-gaga instead of talking.

so i dont think the movie is as great as all the nominations purported it to be. but it does have its moments.....like that haunting quote "your life is defined by its opportunities...even the ones you miss" which is still in my head even now.

the best thing about the movie though, was the opportunity it gave me and him to date each other. i totally enjoyed our walk through orchard road in the wee hours of the morning, the jokes we shared, the easy way he hugged me.

last weekend was magical, but not curious at all :)

25 things

pakcikely tagged me on facebook...so i'll humour him. but i'm not gonna do this there cos some things are better left within a closer circle of friends :)

so here goes..

RULES: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I am short, specky, and how one would describe, not unattractive (ahem :P)

2. I am inherently intelligent (seriously), but hopelessly lazy. Which explains why I can be in the top class of the top sec school (cos you dont exactly have to study hard for psle do you?), and yet end up with only a merit degree in a generic non-professional discipline.

3. (But) I'm happy. My lifelong ambition is to be happy. Asked what I would like to be when I'm in school, I'd invariably answer "I want to be happy". And I'm happy. Alhamdulillah.

4. I'm hopelessly in love with my husband.

5. I am a toughie. And a tough negotiator to boot. Cross me and you'll be sorry.

6. I've been cautioned several times earlier in my career to be more diplomatic with my words. I can't help it, I'm sarcastic like that. I've mellowed some, but I can still sting.

7. (But) I am a mush when it comes to affairs of the heart

8. I am afraid of dogs, cats, rats, among other creatures. But rats are currently residing at the top of the list. Because they have decided to reside IN MY KITCHEN. Arrrgghhhhhhh!

9. I'm a ManU fan. Glory glory man uniiiiiiiited!

10. I'm a voracious reader. Or at least I was, lost it, and now back on the road again.

11.I finished reading the 4 twilight books in 4 nights. I know - they're juvenile. But I can't help it. Yes the books are sooo sweetvalleyhigh, but the premise is interesting. And edward the character is soo irresistable, AND edward played by robert pattinson is TO DIE FOR.

12. I discovered last week that i'm one of thousands who owed our govt $$ for not paying my library fines. That's cos I borrow most of my books. I only buy books if they're on sale - like really super duper cheap sale kind. (I've settled my fines btw....if not how to borrow more?)

13. I'm a cheapo. I think twice, and then 5times more, before i spend my bucks on something that costs $20. Which is why I've yet to spend on an It bag, even though I've been coveting some. And which is why my wadrobe is full of charlesandkeith, g2 (when they're on sale), giordano and coax items.

14. I HEART purple. My spectacle rims are purple. I have 2 purple watches. I have a different purple outfit for every day of the workweek for a month (I think). I've used my purple suede bag for so many years it's now ratty and yet I'm still using it occassionally. I have a pair of purple stilettos that I wear to work sometimes which look kinda tacky but which my colleagues think are superb. I drink from a purple waterbottle. I have a blog called purple ramblings and i call myself pu.rperg.er. Enough said.

15. I used to be 42kg. Now I'm 52. I console myself by donating blood - might as well do something good since I'm fat. My last donation: 17Jan09.

16. I want to lose weight - the healthy way. That means more exercise, and watching my food. Exercise is hard because I'm lazy (see point 2), and watching my food is hard because I love food. I'm in big trouble.

17. I want to climb MountK, scuba dive, and get a motorcycle licence before the year is up. The first two are do-able, but the third is kinda iffy. Cos taking a licence takes a certain kind of commitment, and I'm lazy for that (see point 2).

18. I love riding on the bike (pillion of course). There's something about having the wind in your face, and being exposed to the elements. And I love being on a long roadtrip on a bike. It binds you somehow...to the person you're on the roadtrip with.

19. My ideal guy must be at least 1.7m, wear specs, and read newspapers. My husband fits all 3, and more :)

20. I've never cooked (and I never know how to cook) kari, assam pedas, lauk lemak and the like. But my potato salad's the best (so they say), and I've yet to try an aglio olio better than mine (ok...except perhaps my husband's).

21. I hope to have kids some day, InsyaAllah.

22. I was at the Holy Land at the same time as my husband, except that we didnt know it then. We only got to know each other 6 years later. Life's beautiful like that.

23. I used to sing alto for the jc choir. And I was in the jc guitar ensemble too (coached by the inspiring peter abi.sheg. anath.an no less). Come to think of it, I played the recorder in my primary school ensemble, and the angklung in the angklung orchestra. I'm musically inclined!!! Muakakakaka

24. I live in a rental and am renting out the one I bought. We're looking for another rental once the lease is up, not because we're snobs, but because my husband's a kampung boy (who's lived in a kampung till he's 17) at heart who likes the greenery and walking around barefoot. Which means that rats will probably be a mainstay in my life...urrgh.

25. I have many many friends but very few close ones. It gets harder making new close friends the older you are, don't you think? But the few that you have are priceless, and life will surely be emptier without them :)