June 8th, 2012 by Karmun

I am surrounded by love. You wanna know how I know? One after another, my favourite-st people in the world are showing up in my life, and it’s all the more special because it’s when I’m least expecting them. First it was Jolene. This week, it’s Madeline, whom I wasn’t scheduled to see till December! Yes, this makes me very happy.

Between girly shopping time buying things we absolutely do not need and laughing too loudly after one too many drinks, her visit was a trip long overdue. I’ve been bugging her to come by and see me to relieve me some of my girl-time deprivation, and after a whole year, she finally did. Better late than never, I guess!

After this, it’s an entire weekend with another BFF in Redang. Quality time with the best friend surrounded by nothing less than a paradise of sun, sand and sea? I can totally get used to all this love coming my way!

In other news, the House of Awesome still holds its standards of awesomeness. The other day, we had a Diablo House Feast – yes, you read right, a Diablo House Feast – where we fattened ourselves considerably on the best potato salad this side of town, baked chicken wings marinated in Guinness Stout, and crunchy asparagus wrapped in bacon and toasted to perfection.

The plan was simple – we each come up with something to eat (but it must be awesome) and after enough food, we Diablo the evening away. We didn’t go to bed till nearly 3 in the morning.

I don’t play Diablo, but you know, with a feast like that, I’d tolerate my boyfriend completely ignoring me for a day and my house turning into a cyber cafe. Sacrifices must be made for awesomeness to happen.

Plus, I’d say yes to about anything so long as bacon is part of the reward. DIG IN!!

It would seem the entire city is in the mood to celebrate Summer as well. I’m not the only one feeling the mood. KLCC for an entire week, is getting a whole new look! The famous KLCC fountain has been out of commission for the last three months, and that’s because it’s being fitted with all manner of new nozzles, sprays and water trays to create a more dynamic display. Combined with LED lights, and live musical performances, the shiny new fountain will take centre stage in a light, water and music show every night this week in conjunction with the KL International Music & Lights Festival! You bet your asses we were there. Pretty lights all night long accompanied by live music performances from renowned artistes from the best of the world? I’m sold!

What’s the fun in going to a music festival without at least a few other friends, right? First person who popped in my mind was Michael because being also another photo-enthusiast, he’d appreciate the pretty lights for sure. I somehow managed to get he and another colleague of his to come along with the Ninja Rabbit and I, tempting them with the prospects of possibly getting a few good shots of the light show. Lucky for me, Shutterbugs are so easy to convince! Hehe!

And it was everything I expected it to be, if not more. I was mesmerized all night through by the amazing light and water combination. They even come on according to the beat of the songs that are being played!

The stage by itself was a sight to behold. It’s planted right smack in the centre of the lake, quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

The night was hot and the air humid, but the spectacular scene before us completely took our minds off the sticky, balmy night air.

Three acts in total played that night, one from Finland, one from Korea, and another from Bali.

I was too busy staring wide-eyed at the water formation that was going on around the stage to really pay attention to the music, but they were all very upbeat and fun. They had a good mix of folk, pop and some small touch of rock between the three of them, all equally refreshing. Exactly my idea of what a summer festival should sound like!

And the lights, ohmygosh, they were everywere. Everywhere! And oh so gorgeous!

I’m sorry, I go completely gaga at pretty lights. Yuh Ting once commented that I’m like a moth. I get attracted to any source of light, especially if they’re pretty and blinking, without thinking twice about where it may be coming from haha!

This must be what Alice’s Wonderland looks like.

Towards the finale, the entire face of KLCC became an interactive interface upon which the quirkiest artwork danced upon, each carrying a message of their own.

Everyone gathered in front of the lake that day had their necks craned in the direction of the display, mouths agape and cameras at a ready. I myself had expected the whole thing to be only so-so, having gone to the place with only some small hope of possibly getting a good photo or two. But they had gone all out. I left smiling like a mad person, fully recharged on happy juice.

I don’t know about you, but I for one, have never been to anything like this. Everything just looked so insanely drop-dead-gorgeous pretty!

And there were fireworks tying it all up too! My week is made!

My happiness jar has been spilling over the brim lately and I’m most definitely not complaining. For the first time in a really long while, things are going exactly the way I want them to. Suddenly, everything is falling into place on their own accord and I feel like finally I can breathe a little witout having to hold on to the wheel so tight. It feels good to have things go your way. There are still a few kinks to straighten out, sure, but that’s nothing I don’t already have a rough idea on how to go about. Hopefully plans fall through and even more good news await!

Till then, I’m just going to savour every moment of this here right now, and leave the worrying for when it is needed. You don’t take happiness for granted when it comes your way. You accept it with a smile and ask no questions.

For now, I am surrounded by so much love, and that above all makes me the happiest.

The weekend’s here! Make it grand!

February 18th, 2012 by Karmun

Friday quickie! Because I don’t have much to say. I’m a bit tipsy from too much strawberry wine and homemade double chocolate chunk brownies. I scooped on too much vanilla icecream. But all is good because it’s Friday night and it marks the second week in a row that I’m staying in instead of heading out as expected of someone my age. Believe it or not, I’m actually enjoying it, this whole stay at home in your pyjamas and do nothing but overeat dessert thing. It’s comfortable.

The week started off with green tea icecream. Lots and lots of it.

Together with a few friends, we hit a downtown sushi bar for an all-you-can-eat sushi lunch.

It’s been a while since I saw this bunch all together, so it was really nice, just catching up and laughing at old jokes. As you can see, I was so preoccupied with what’s going to be served I completely disregarded my camera, heh.

The service there leaves a lot to be desired, but the food – oh my god.

We cleaned off trays of 20-piece sashimis and emptied out basketfuls of tempuras. In the three hours we were there, we literally ate everything they had. We were actually told they’ve run out of salmon when we asked for yet another 20 pieces x)

We definitely ate our money’s worth!

Can you tell from the smug grins on our faces? Tehehehehe.

The week was also extra special because it had Valentine’s queued up somewhere in its midst. I woke up from an afternoon nap to the most amazing smell of frying mushrooms and sizzling steak wafting in from the kitchen. The boyfriend was cooking up a storm.

My own Jamie Oliver in the making, teehee.

Little did I know, he had the perfect date night complete with a home-cooked candlelight dinner for two planned out. I couldn’t have imagined it any more perfect if I tried.

He got every detail down pat. Even the kind of strawberry wine I like.

I am officially the luckiest girl in the world. My Valentine’s of 2012 had everything I could ever want.

Somewhere in all that delirium, I also made it to (help) bake my first batch of brownies ever. I’ve never baked anything in my entire life, so it was super cool that Emmy let me help one evening when she was mixing up a batch of doulbe chocolate chunk and walnut brownies.

She is now my new cooking sifu master. Bow to her. Her brownies are heaven in chocolate and walnut form.

I still cannot believe how easy it was to make these things. I feel so stupid now that I’ve always had to buy them if I wanted a taste of some. They were done and chucked into the oven to bake in less than 20 minutes!

I was even allowed to lick off the residual brownie batter!

The rest of the week was boardgames galore. The Ninja Rabbit got his ultimate dream in the form of Aaron, Sue’s boyfriend lol. They stay up till dawn playing Borderland together, and spend most nights battling the undead. They became instant BFF’s since Day One.

I couldn’t help myself. This picture of Aaron screaming injustice during a very heated round of Last Night on Earth is priceless.

When they play, the casual boardgame becomes the most intense thing ever.

It’s the cutest picture, seeing the Ninja Rabbit all stressed up as can be read from the little lines that form on his forehead, as he calculates to the most precise move how he can beat Aaron. To think it’s just a game!

My personal favourite? A hilarious round of Articulate last Wednesday night.

It’s a fairly simple game that goes along the lines of the more famous Taboo. You describe a word you’ve been assigned and the more your partner can accurately name it, the more points you win. But the proceedings can be completely unexpected.

Case in point:
Aaron: It’s a big bird that you carve during Christmas.
Sue: …. Ostrich!

I laughed so hard in that short one hour than I had in a very long time.

(I must’ve said something stupid, heh.)

I can play this all night long.

Sometimes I feel like we’ve stayed here in this new place forever. All the smells are familiar – the order of things, the way my bathroom door creaks, how the third lightbulb in the living room chandelier is out, the way you gotta jiggle the key a certain way for it to work the front door lock. It certainly does not feel like we’ve only been living in this place for three short weeks. It’s a home, and that’s my favourite part of it. That’s my desk in the corner of the hall; that’s my mug sitting on the rack abovfe the sink to dry. It’s an indescribable feeling, being able to really just stretch out and nap on the couch without worrying about what the guy who stays in the room down the hall would think.

I stumbled across this picture taken sometime last year when we were still in our old place.

It feels like ages ago. But you know what I don’t miss? That lumpy ratty sad excuse of a sofa we’re lying on. The one that’s so dusty that everytime I sit on it I start sneezing. It smells of weird things we’ve never been able to pinpoint, and it’s so discoloured we don’t even know what’s its original colour.We exhausted an entire bottle of Febreeze on it, but that only made it smell funnier.

I guess all I’m saying is, I like my new home. I just feel like saying it out loud. So there.

Happy weekend all! Off I go to devour the pages of Stieg Larsson’s Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It’s very promising so far. Be back soon!

February 11th, 2012 by Karmun

Hello, Friday! There would be no better time to update this space than a quiet Friday night in, so here I am!

If you’re wondering where I’ve been lately, fear not, for I am safe and well and more contented than I’ve ever been in a long while.  I’ve just been sucked into alternate universes, warped into worlds of completely different dimensions that have always been too expensive for me to indulge in before this. But thanks to the government’s recent generosity with the 1Malaysia book fund, I got a good solid pass to at least two months’ worth of reading to enjoy.

Behold, the reason behind my disappearance, tehehehehehe.

I just sit at home all day now, curled up in bed nice and warm, and read my hours away.

I used to have to borrow my books from friends and make myself finish it asap so as to not keep them for too long. People don’t say it, but it’s simply one of those things you just know they don’t like. Now I get to read at my own pace and relish in the knowledge that these are mine. Like, I-own-it mine. It feels so good, knowing that I don’t have to rush through the pages just to get them back to their rightful owners in time!

The new house is partly at fault for my disappearance, too. It’s such a nice place that I rarely wanna go out now. No where can be comfier than my own queen-sized bed (I’ve never had a queen-sized bed all to myself before, alright?) and nothing cozier than our own couch that smells of vanilla jasmines from one too many Febreeze spraydown, heh. I finally get how people can become quiet, stay-in homebodies now!

I mean, why go out to the traffic jams and non-existent parking, when you can have the fun come to you. Having friends over beats heading out to meet them any day.

Nothing like staying in for movie night in your pyjamas and sweatpants, or having sleepovers with people who merely call it sleepovers, but in fact stay up till 5am gaming with you.

I’ll come right out and say it; it feels like we’re living out a real-time, live episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. sometimes.

We even have all the quirky characters of neurotic housemates down-pat. Like Emmy and her boyfriend pillow.

I kid you not, she hugs it to sleep! I’m still trying to decide if it’s Awww, what true love sweet, or Silence of the lambs creepy. Why are my housemates so funny! xD

Take it from me, it’s the best feeling ever,  having a place of your own that you actually feel comfortable and at home in. Just ask the Ninja Rabbit – his favourite spot is the couch, on which many times I’ve caught him in deep slumber.

The level of homeliness here is almost equal to that of Penang. That’s saying something because we all know how much I love my first home. Looks like I’ll be sticking around a little more this year!

In between all that homey laziness, we also made it to squeeze in some joyful fun. And it was a very special occasion, too, that drew us out from our new favourite hiding place. Auntie Ann’s fiftieth birthday called for cake and seafood and Dom Perignon champagne, so you bet we were there!

Upon arrival, we learnt that it was to be a double celebration because it was also Aryan’s 14th birthday. What are the odds that the both of them share the same birthday haha. But two birthdays mean two cakes, so I’m not complaining ;]

Height clearly runs in the family. Aryan is only fourteen but already as tall as the Ninja Rabbit. I must have midget blood.

It was a night filled with giant prawns and salted egg crabs for dinner, strawberry wine to wash the feast down with, and chocolote fudge birthday cake for dessert. Need I say more?

It came as quite a surprise to me upon finding out that Auntie Ann was 50. I always thought she was only in her mid-forties, tops. She’s hip, cool and prides herself in being trendy especially in the fashion department. Her favourite song this season is LMFAO’s Sexy and I Know It. Maybe the trick to looking young is as simple as what my Mummy always says: to learn how to have fun and see the reason to laugh in everything. It’s worked for her, and clearly is working for Auntie Ann too.

Pop the bubbly!!

I didn’t take many photos of the rest of the night because I was simply having too much fun. I was giggly and more than just a little high from too much strawberry wine. Yes, strawberry wine! It was the most pleasantly peculiar drink. It’s sparkly like champagne with a sweet start note that’s fragrant with the unmistakable tang of strawberry, and then fades off to a bitter woody end which resembles wine a lot. Definitely something to try for those who’d like something sophisticated to sip at parties, yet cannot stand the awful bitterness of wine like me =D

Here’s a giant picture of my face, for shits and giggles.

That night, I learnt that no matter how old one gets, one will always love presents. It’s not so much as what the present is, as the fact that you were thought of by someone else, who then went the extra mile to get something specially picked out for you.

I grew up in a household that never saw many gifts being exchanged. My Daddy was a practical man who brought us out to eat at special places on special days, instead of buying us material gifts as a way to commemorate birthdays, good grades, and basically whatever small achievement. He showed his love with food, maybe a trip to the movies or two. Presents were a waste of time, because he already gave us what we needed – cellphones, music player, cameras and all the other technological gadgetry. They mean so much more to me, that my Daddy gave me all that without a need for a special occasion like a birthday, in fact. So presents became an overrated phenomenon.

It wasn’t until I was dating the Ninja Rabbit that presents came to take on a whole new meaning. I used to tell him that gift-exchanging was not necessary on occasions like Valentine’s and Christmas. I even suggested that we not get each other anything so then we’re both saved the trouble. Needless to say, he was appalled by the suggestion.

I see it now. It’s not about the present itself. It’s not about how much it’s worth or how expensive it is. It’s about the thought behind it, really and truly. A gift wrapped in fancy paper meant someone had you in mind. It meant you were important enough to them for them to want to make that extra effort to put a smile on your face. It is like little parts of love wrapped in colourful crepe paper because there is no way to show true, abstract love. The least you can do is to give it to them in the form of their favourite watch, perfume, tie, dress or whatever other silly little material thing. It’s better than not trying to show it at all.

There’s a reason why people always say it’s the thought that counts. But hey, if you can afford a diamond-studded Rolex, then all the better! =D

Don’t we just love birthdays.

This Chinese New Year certainly came to a splendid close, if I may say so. It started with a feast, lasted through many feasts, and closed with yet another. I am a lucky, lucky girl. Good food sure come my way aplenty!

Have a great weekend everyone! We will be! =)