June 5th, 2013 by Karmun

Guess what we were up to last Sunday afternoon? =D

We decided to do something a little different from our usual brunch and mall-trawling and by recommendation from Sheena, decided to drop by the newly opened Citta Mall for a round of Mini Golf! Hehehe.

You might think it’s not anything new but this is the first time I’ve come across a mini golf place in Malaysia (yea we’re a little behind times like that, boo-hoo) so we were pretty psyched about putting our first hole! I’ve always wanted to have a go at it from seeing it all the time in movies and all (boy and girl goes on a date and it’s usually the movies or mini golf lol). Finally we have the chance!

Mini golf indeed, so much so that most of their other golfers there that day were mini in size too hahaha. We felt so totally out of place in that sea of what I’m guessing are no more than kindergarteners. But pretty cool isn’t it?! A little messy to take in at first glance but they have this numbered markers  next to every hole so after some getting used to, you’ll be making your way around the course with no trouble in no time.

Everything about the place was so mini that the Ninja Rabbit had some trouble locating a club that was long enough for him hahaha. Some are so short they’re probably only about half a metre long! We joked that it looked to be made for Alfred hahaha. Too adorable.

Score-counting was simple enough. You write down how many strokes it took you to put the ball in the hole accordingly and the person with the least amount of strokes win. No fancy-schmancy golf terms and jargons as I was afraid of, luckily.

Here we go!

I’ve never golfed before — regular or mini — so I had no idea whatsoever what I was doing. I was probably doing everything wrong, from the way I was holding the golf stick (is that what you call it?) to how I was standing prior to executing my shot. See, I’m even talking in basketball terms now because that’s about the only game sport I know lol.

What do I think of golf now that I’ve had a taste of it?

I hate it. I really, truly, genuinely hate it. UGH.

I’ve never played something so frustrating before. If I hit it too softly it moves all but 3 inches. If I hit it too hard, it flies right out of the square box thingy, whatever it is you call it. Worst part? The ball, no matter how you hit at it, simply refuses to enter the hole!! I’m serious, it would rim the edges of the hole and then roll off elsewhere, anywhere but fall into it.

WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?? T_T

Many times I nearly killed someone with my flyaway golf ball HAHAHAHAHA and once even nearly broke one of their glass windows. People were looking at me with this look of caution in their eyes everytime I went near them LOLOLOLOL.

Then again, maybe it’s just me because the Ninja Rabbit seems to be doing fine, recording an average of two strokes per hole, maximum 3, all the way. Mine was somewhere in the double digits T_T

Thankfully the maximum number of strokes to be recorded is 7 so it didn’t look that bad on paper hahaha.

This picture of the Ninja Rabbit reminded me so much of Adam Sandler’s movie, Happy Gilmore lol. Here he is, a giant towering full grown young adult, waiting in line with little kids who come up to more than his waist, playing mini golf. Oh yea, you can book out the whole place and throw a party too if you like. Makes for an interesting party alternative don’t you think? I might just seriously consider that, only — oh yea, I forgot — I hate golf =.=

Halfway through, the Ninja Rabbit began to fancy himself a pro-golfer and started talking about tactics and strategies lol. It’s hilarious because this was mini golf, how do you take mini golf seriously?

The courses slowly but surely got harder and harder to get past too =(

The first few holes were simple enough to maneuver the ball around but come around the 5th or 6th hole, I was on the verge of rage-quitting lol.

I mean look! They had all these elaborate and complicated contraptions everywhere that made putting that ball into the hole almost impossible. Spinning windmills and and rotating barrages and what not. Who comes up with these things?? And this is all supposed to be kid-friendly? I can just imagine a kid getting his head stuck in one of those things while trying to retrieve his golf ball and in a freak accident, gets decapitated. (OK maybe I’ve been watching too much SAW haha).

My face when another of my hits did not go through as intended. Which was about 70% of the time we were there LOLOLOLOLOL. I am soooo bad at this, seriously. Gimme a basketball and I can give you a three-point without the ball even touching the rims of the basket, but this?? It has successfully made me feel like I have zero hand-eye coordination.

HAHAHAHAHA this was when I nearly hit the Ninja Rabbit with another of my flying golfballs. He jumped out of the way like I’ve never seen him before — all arms and legs flying everywhere like the tentacles of a giant squid. Everyone turned and looked at what the commotion was, it was the most embarrassing moment ever. He let me re-try the shot but needless to say, I was laughing too hard to execute anything considered remotely decent.

After a while, things got pretty boring. You just stand around and chase after this small dimpled ball everywhere it goes trying to put it into the hole. I was yawning incessantly by the time we reached the 11th hole, and felt scandalized when I learnt there were 7 more to go =(

The Ninja Rabbit says real golf is a lot more fun (when he got to play it, I have no idea) because you’re not just confined to this small little space where you can hardly move without tripping over either a platform, or a small kid lol. I suppose there is some truth in that, otherwise I can’t imagine why so many middle-aged rich tycoons love the game so much. I heard range-driving is a lot more fun too; anything must be a lot more fun compared to this! The only time I enjoyed myself was when I nearly give someone a concussion D:

It was boring towards the end, but it was still an afternoon well-spent laughing at our own stupidity and inability to play mini golf lol. Or rather, my stupidity and inability to play golf because the Ninja Rabbit did pretty well actually haha.

At least now I can say I’ve tried mini golf although whether I’d go back or not is another question altogether =P

Ending this rather abruptly because I’m still not done figuring out what to bring to Cambodia haha. We fly in 2 days! Only One more sleep till I get to pretend to be Lara Croft, Tomb Raider ;]

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

April 26th, 2013 by Karmun

I have the best boyfriend in the world. Why?

THIS is why!!

LOL I didn’t know my smug face looked like that!

I was rather crushed when I found out I will no longer be receiving the 1Malaysia book vouchers for university students since… well, since I’ve already graduated haha. Last year’s RM250 got me some very good titles that kept my nights very well-entertained. This year, I had gone all the way to the university administration office, only to be told I was no longer eligible. *cue sound of glass shattering in symbolic place of my heart* While I don’t hold anyone at fault because I have already expired my time at HELP, I was still feeling quite disappointed.

I went home sad and whined about it to the Ninja Rabbit.

Next thing I knew he offered to share his RM250 with me. He even drove me all the way to our favourite bookstore and told me to pick whatever titles I like. Note to self, share my ice-cream with him next time T_T

He said it was his graduation pressie to me and you know what, there’s nothing I would like better T_T

Speaking of graduation pressies, the very same evening after receiving my scroll, we had the privilege of attending a charity gala dinner courtesy of Manoah Consulting.

It wasn’t just any dinner, however. This was the first-of-its-kind dinner-theatre experience I’ve been dying to be a part of. It’s going to a little Who-Dun-It play set right in the middle of dinner, throughout which guests will have to correctly name the murderer and motive of killing with the help of clues and tips that will be unveiled throughout the evening. How exciting is that??

It’s no secret I grew up reading the best of Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, The Three Investigators and in the later years, Agatha Cristie and James Patterson. I would kill for a good murder-mystery of my own to solve. Years of reading my favourite detectives have taught me quite a thing or two on the things to look out for in a guilty person’s face. All that I lacked was an opportunity to put all that sleuthing to use. And now I do!

So of course we said yes when the invitation came to be part of The Unexpected Guest, a dinner that comes with a twist.

Like I said, we went to the function immediately after my graduation ceremony so I’m still in the same blue dress lol. I only had time to pick out a different pair of earrings and we shot off as quickly as we could to the PJ Hilton.

We were there as guests of Donovan, whose company is also one of the main sponsors for the event. I can’t begin to list down the number of opportunities Manoah Consulting has opened for us. Thank you for having us tag along that wonderful evening. I didn’t know it yet but it would end on a much sweeter note than I could ever have anticipated!

From the moment we arrived, we were suspicious of everyone HAHAHA. Don said anyone could be a suspect, so we were suspicious even of the girl who took our names at the registration counter. I was on a bird’s-eye watch for anyone who was acting the slightest bit out of the ordinary. Before we even entered the dinner hall, I already had my list of suspects in my head, who all turned out to be really part of the conspiracy, btw! =P Carolyn Keene would have been proud, hehehe.

The only thing that almost distracted me was dinner itself. Maybe I was really hungry from the long day (I had all but a little bit of fried noodles my Daddy brought me at the hotel because I was just running all over the place taking photos) whatever was served in front of me was suddenly the most delicious thing in the world.

It totally didn’t help that everything looked so impossibly pretty! It made me feel bad for taking apart such works of edible art lol.

A group of children from the stART Foundation, the NGO body who was responsible for the whole event accompanied us throughout our starter.

Look at how young some of them are! Yet they played their drumscore most seamlessly. stART is an NGO body that believes in providing children of lesser privilege with the seed of opportunity to pursue an interest in the performing arts and other social sciences. I’m all for their cause because I’m an arts person myself; I don’t remember even a single moment when I enjoyed Science or Mathematics. Gimme a pen and some paper however, and I can spend my entire day writing my own story. Polishing your child’s artistic side is just as important as anything science or math related!

Halfway through the pleasant chat and laughter of dinner, a sudden scream pierced the air and a girl came running into the dining hall literally screaming bloody murder. A girl had been found dead right outside where we were just moments ago (the girl who took our names at the registration counter, no less!), seemingly of foul play. The fun has started!

The Ninja Rabbit leaped out of his chair and ran immediately to the crime scene for photos.

The whole play played out so well I could have easily believed it was all real.

Almost instantaneously, a police inspector appeared on-site to take charge of things.

From then on, dinner was the most hilarious affair as he led us on to discover more suspects and unveil even more clues to bring us closer to finding the culprit murderer.

If you’ve played Cluedo, you’ll know exactly how it works. They had even come up with the most colourful characters for our viewing pleasure. There was Tonia the fame-hungry Blogger who would have done anything for a small taste of celebrity and who was seen interacting with the victim right before dinner, the jealous chef ex-boyfriend who was recently dumped by the victim, the cheating Dato’ who was rumoured to be having an affair with the victim, and even the best friend who was in love with the victim but whose love has been un-reciprocated. I smell the beginnings of a really good mystery, don’t you?

Who could have done it? It was our job to get to the bottom of it! =D

The whole thing was nearly a 4-hour affair but we hardly felt it. We laughed till our stomachs hurt every time the Police Inspector interrogated a suspect and everyone even sportingly got out of their seats and searched under tables and chairs when asked to do so in an attempt to look for things the murderer might have left behind. I don’t remember the last time I had so much fun at a gala dinner function. Those things are usually so painfully lengthy and often bore me to death.

Here’s a picture of my Opera Cake because it is the one thing that helped the Ninja Rabbit and I pinpoint exactly who the murderer was. It was down to the Dato or the Chef for us. Others were convinced its the Dato’s wife but we have other reasons to believe otherwise. This cake helped eliminate the Chef out of the equation because he mentioned offhandedly at the beginning that he was collecting some boxes of Belgian chocolate from the supplier during the time of the murder. His alibi was proven when we played back the security CCTV tapes. The cake itself came laden with Belgian chocolate. That was how we knew for sure the murderer couldn’t be the Chef. Which leaves us with only one person who had all the motive and opportunity to commit the heinous crime…

And that was how we won the Grand Prize of a Samsung Note 10.1 =D =D =D

I think we make quite the kick-ass bf-gf detective team!! My brain, his brawns, nyehehehehe. OK la, he contributed a bit in the brains department too. See, Mummy, all those nights when I stayed up reading all my murder-mystery novels wasn’t a complete waste of time after all! =P

Look at his happy face. More importantly, look at our detective notes hahaha. They span almost two pages long.

Blurry picture but its ok. I love how happy we both look ^_^

Best second graduation pressie ever! We owe it all to you for this one, Don!

The remaining of my week was spent indulging in simple but equally meaningful things. Not everything comes wrapped in colourful, shiny wrapper, but that doesn’t make them worth any less.

Small things make me happy too, like super good Nasi Lemak. It comes from an unsuspecting roadside stall but I vote it better than that stupid over-priced Village Park place.This costs only half the price of Village Park’s as well, so what do you have to say for yourself, VP??

Look at the size of those kerang!! Kerang is my favourite things to go with Nasi Lemak ever and the lady gave me extra helpings just because I told her I love kerang. The smallest kind act like that restores my faith in humanity.

Don and Zana agree! I am never going back to Village Park if I can help it. You can take this down and use it against me if you ever catch me there!

The Ninja Rabbit also introduced to me the best Ramlee Burger ever. EVER.

I’ve been severely disappointed with the Ramlee Burger standards in KL. No matter where I go, I’ve yet to find one that comes anywhere near my favourite one in Penang. My search is now over.

People queue and wait for as long as an hour to receive their orders, yet they willingly brave it all for a taste of it. I wanted to cry tears of Ramlee burger joy when I took my first bite. New favourite burger stall.

This boy inhaled his burger when it came hahaha. It was gone in under 5 minutes.

Last week has certainly been great. They had both the big kind of happiness, and also the small kind of happiness. I love it when the two find a balance.

My graduation high is slowly tethering off into a nice hum of contentment and I really, truly, cannot ask for anything more. I am now ready to take on whatever comes next! I’m actually excited about the prospect of lookig for a job haha. New experiences and new adventures await!

Happy Weekend, guys! Friday’s here! How will you be celebrating?

Me? I’ve got all I need right here, right now =)

February 16th, 2013 by Karmun

One of the best things about CNY  (after the angpaus, the yummy food and the oodles of family time, of course) are the firecrackers! Who agrees with me say Aye!

Nothing is more fascinating than watching brilliant sparklers that leave everything in an ethereal, lambent glow, and colourful fire in the sky that make the night seem to pulsate with hungry, youthful life.

In the midst of the celebrations, my siblings and I together with the Ninja Rabbit naturally took the opportunity to have as much fun with the said firecrackers as possible! It’s our once in the whole entire year’s right, we’re gonna milk it for all it’s worth =P

We scoured the town for any shop that might still be selling firecrackers this close to the season and were lucky to have found one. We nearly bought out their entire shop’s stock in our excitement hahaha!

Call me a kid but even at 23, I get excited at the prospect of fireworks. There’s just something about them that reawakens this sleeping memory of when I was 5 and watching my older cousins play. My Dad held me in his arms because I was afraid of the noise — afraid, but curious nonetheless at all the ongoing commotion.

I remember being completely mesmerized by the effervescent orange that fizzles magically at the end of those thin small wires. They looked exactly like those magic wands owned by Fairy Godmothers in those fairytales my Mum used to read to me before bed.

Yes, those sparklers are my favourite, even to this day. All the other loud explosive ones still make me squirm rather uncomfortably whenever someone brings them out =/

I unfortunately forgot to bring my tripod back with me to Penang this time so we missed the opportunity to experiment with some long exposure photography.

We tried giving it a shot nonetheless hehehe.

Not too bad, right?? My hand couldn’t hold the camera still enough but if we had a tripod with us, it would have turned out gorgeous! ;]

When my cousins came over to visit, we brought out the big guns.

As much as they make my heart jump, they were a lot prettier to look at too.

Ten bucks says the Ninja Rabbit was pretending to be fighting off Death-Eaters in this shot! HAHAHAHA. It must be Stupefy, the spell he’s casting, given the red sparks. We are such Harry Potter geeks xD

Sometimes I feel like the older I get, the more I revert back into a child. It makes me so incredibly happy seeing all the pretty lights and colours that flit and dance about the night.

I’m not even remotely ashamed to admit that it was I who insisted we had firecrackers to play with. What is CNY without them?? =P

Fire in the hole!!!

This year’s CNY is definitely the best one yet.

Good food — check.
Family — check.
Angpaus — check.
Firecrackers — check.
A new puppy — check.

And we’re only halfway through the celebrations! Another whole week to go!

Hope your celebrations are going just as swell! Eat, drink and collect all the angpau you can!