my weekend

a gloomy tuesday to one & all,

my friday night

my weekend was filled with activities. it started with my friday night --the husband picked me up from work & we headed to waikiki's bar in pj for a drink or two whilst waiting for the traffic woes to subside. i got a bit high after 2 drinks. what a loser. as we were making our way home in the not-yet-subsided traffic jam (bugger) at 730pm, we got a call from his cousins asking us to meet them in 1utama to shop for:

1. marriage rectification attire for the about-to-be-church-wedded couple

2. a christening attire for their 1-year old son

whilst we were in 1utama walking the walk & talking the talk, the husband lugged around my heavy laptop & i lugged around my handbag. i alternated this with lugging around the cousin's baby. hes so adorable. later that night, i received a visitor in my home & we were just chatting & chatting about relationship woes (this is always a favorite topic among women dontcha think?). the husband, bless his lovely soul, got us beef burgers & chocolates & other snacks to munch on while we bitched (but we didnt even touch 'em. sorry sweets). we were locked in the room while he was having a bit of me-time watching dvds in the living room. i finally went to bed at 2am.

saturday

on saturday morning, the husband & i attended his cousin's marriage rectification & their son's christening. i was the photographer. hihihi. after that, we proceeded to their home for the baby's 1-year old bday. at this lunch do, i watched movies after movies with some of the husband's cousins while he gambled with the others. we watched hairspray (pls watch it) & little miss sunshine (pls watch it too). lovely.

i left the party at 6pm & headed home with a bucket of kfc as my sis & her kids were coming for dinner & a sleep-over. after dinner, the nephew charlie (from charlie's angels) wanted to pop some popcorns in the microwave so we all headed to jusco kepong & got a few packets, headed home & started popping. altho the popcorn turned out to be just the way i like 'em (salty), the rest didnt quite enjoy it as they're used to the the sweet caramel-y type which you get at the cinemas. we spent the rest of night in bed chit-chatting & telling stories. i kinda miss being around my sister's family.

sunday

we had roti canai for breakfast & the 2 tykes & their fashionable aunty (moi) went a-swimming. my sister had just gone for a hair treatment the day before, so she didn’t want to enter the water. the husband went to work. for lunch, i made lasagna & we had it while watching charlie's "teenage mutant ninja turtles" cartoon dvd.

after they left, i rolled up my sleeves & did my spring cleaning & laundry. so tired. for the remainder of the day, i was just lazing in bed with a book. oh ya & i watched "lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events" which was rather entertaining. what bliss.

the husband came back in time for a bit of pretend whining (from me of course, for coming back 30mins late hihi) & we watched "28 weeks later" which is a rather stressful movie to watch bcos everyone died. EVERYONE. including what appeared to be the hero & heroine. i was so annoyed. so i went to bed after that feeling a little agitated.

so that was my weekend.

to my friend who had some man-problems, hang in there bebeh. call if you need me to kick-ass. i'll arrange for some kepong-based reinforcements ;-p.

hi my name is groovychick + im a shopaholicsie

i went a-shopping + bought loads of office clothes earlier this week. i couldnt bear wearing the SAME thing week-in, week-out. it is really depressing.

especially seeing as im in a perpetual goth phase. my clothes are mostly black. i have trouble rummaging through my cupboard bcos most everything is black + i cant really find a particular item of clothing unless i dump everything on my bed + hold them up in the light. my colleagues are commenting on my constant black attire!

anyways, in all i spent abt rm550 on a skirt (black), 2 pairs of pants (1 black, 1 grey), a pair of shoes (black), 6 tops (1 white, 1 red, 2 purple, 1 light blue, 1 white wt black polka dots) + a haircut (victoria beckham short).

for penance for my shopaholicsie ways, i shall endeavor not to shop again till christmas.

wish me luck.

travel plans 2008

so many places, so little money. sighs.

next year's travel projections include:

3 weddings in sabah
1 christmas in sabah
1 trip to australia
1 trip to bali

oh how i wish i lived on landed property. that way i'd have space for planting + growing my money trees. unfortunately, we live in an apartment + i dont think a pot of soil provides enough space for the money tree to grow + root comfortably. + it certainly wont give me the space i need to plant the money trees of different currencies. my personal favorite at the moment is the pound sterling. oh well, there goes my wealth-making plan down the drain.

yes, these are just projections. for one thing, we wont have the money, for another we wont have enough annual leaves for all this travel (the husband gets a dismal number of days off per annum --i hate his company!). the other constraint (which is also only a projection at this stage), is that maybe baby will be coming sometime next year. hopefully. + if so, i definitely want to travel back (again) to sabah for baby's full moon celebration.

i know, i know... a bit too early to plan right? i'm just indulging in my anal-ness. come on, if i can plan for my christmas trip for december 2008, then i am certainly anal enough to plan for my post-natal travels (even if i am still in my pre-natal stage ;-p)

my sis + i have actually agreed to take turns on attending the said weddings in sabah (to split the cost lah). one of those 3 is actually my own brother's nuptials so both my sistah + moi (+ our families) are to travel home for that one all together.

i really have to start on buying those lottery tickets!!

thank you for the man

a couple of days ago, the husband commented that we need to have a fight. that it's unhealthy to go for so long without one. ready when you are babes *wink*

the husband says that i should thank God every day for giving me a man like him *blink blink*. hmmm...

i agree. but maybe not every day lah ya. hihihi.

lucky for me, the husband hasnt yet shown any hint of expecting me to be subservient to him. to be at his constant beck-&-call. to cook, clean, wash, iron etc while he watches tv. he has actually been very good with picking up his share of the chores. he irons his own clothes (& occasionally, mine too). does our laundry (wash, hang & fold). cooks me breakfast. does the dishes. takes out the trash. makes the bed.

oops. now it seems as if he does everything & i do nothing. heh. i do work too ok. sometimes. & i cook. ok mostly its eggs & sausages but i do cook.

i dont want to jinx it so i wont ramble on it for too long.

so sweets, i am happy to have you. thanks for all the help with the housechores.

i love you forever,

for better or worse (but i prefer for better),

in sickness & in health (prefer you in health too).

you're luckier to have me ;-)

new family, new traditions?

around this time of the year of every year, i start thinking & anticipating for christmas. i know i know, it’s still so very far away. we’ve barely gone past raya & deepavali yet. but i’m impatient. maybe this anticipation is triggered by seeing other people preparing for their own festivities. religion aside, festive feelings are festive feelings. the excitement, the anticipation. the warm feelings of spending an important occassion with loved ones.

this year will be my first year celebrating christmas as a married woman. i wonder what sort of traditions the husband & i will have for ourselves. obviously he’ll want a bit of his own & vice versa.

his traditions
- decorate home with christmas decorations
- set up nativity set / crib (i dont hv this)
- put up christmas tree & place wrapped presents underneath
- attend mass on christmas eve night
- serve a meal of beef stew & bread at home after mass on christmas eve (i dont hv this)
- serve fruit cake & home made wine for guests (i dont hv this)
- leave for a 2 to 3-day holiday with his entire extended family (about 30pax) on christmas day (i dont hv this)
- they don’t really have a set time / day to open presents

my traditions
- travel back to my childhood home in sabah few days before christmas eve
- decorate home & garden with fairy lights & christmas decorations
- put up christmas tree & place wrapped presents underneath
- attend mass on christmas eve night
- head on to a hotel / fancy restaurant for a nuclear family dinner
- head home in time for midnight, sit in the living room in front of the christmas tree, wish everyone merry christmas & exchange gifts
- hold a christmas open house or visit relatives for the remainder of the season

not that much different yeah? so i guess it shouldn’t be too much of an issue… & we’ve agreed to alternate between spending christmas with his family & with my family every year. but i think i’ll want to also add in the option of spending christmas in our own home too.

2007 - the husband’s family (usually means traveling some place with his aunts, uncles & cousins too)
2008 - my family (usually means going back to sabah)
2009 - in our home (here in kl)
2010 - the husband’s family
2011 - my family
2012 - in our home
and so on & so forth…

why the 3rd option (of spending christmas in our own home)? well, when we have children, i’d want my kids to be able to have the same nostalgic memories i still have about spending christmas with my nuclear family as well. so i guess it’s a good balance no? its certainly a fair one to alternate our christmas celebrations this way --so neither side of the in-laws feel slighted. of course on those christmases which we plan to spend in our own home, either side of the in-laws are more than welcome to spend christmas with us if they choose to.

i remember when i was much much younger, my sisters who are 7 & 6 years older to moi respectively (old farts) used to bake butter cookies & pineapple tarts & shortbread cookies & chocolate chip cookies & the house would smell larvely. then ah, i used to go into my mum’s room, put on a cassette (yes yes, not a cd) of christmas carols & sing at the top of my voice in the dark. sing till i was hoarse. sing till someone screamed at me to shut the hell up. hihihi…

of course there were the christmas decorations. one year, my parents got a set of these tree decorations of santa clauses with sacks on their backs. like a real sack which can be opened up. of course its small lah. but enough to put in maybe 2-3 candies inside. so anyhow, that year, we placed gula-gula susu (with the blue & white wrappers) in these mini sacks. you know the sweets that basically taste like chewy condensed milk. needless to say, the ants had a very merry christmas themselves that year. also during christmas, we’ll sometimes get pretty shiny christmas crackers & boy did i love those.

i love my trips down memory lane & i want my kids to have the same thing. not necessarily an exact replica of my own experiences but i want them to have their own memories of spending christmas in their childhood home as they grow.

anyways, i’m already thinking on how to decorate our home for christmas. at the moment, although the apartment is far from spartan, it’s still not very personally homely as yet. i want my home to look cozy & warm. gotta work on that now.

on being thirty & living healthy

i try. i do. but it’s just so very difficult to make myself want to go to the gym. i gots me my shoes but still i find it such a feat to drag myself to go. i don’t mind the treadmill. but the cycling machine thingy hurts my pelvic bones. maybe i should start wearing protective gear? the elliptical skiing thingy is also a real challenge. i’ll be panting away like a dog. tapi surprisingly i don’t sweat so much. maybe i’m not doing it right? i didn’t realize i was so unfit. what a weakling.

maybe this is why i’m getting sick all the time. this plus the fact that i don’t eat fruits & vegetables much these days. on top of that, i don’t even take supplements. why oh why am i so lazy? but check out my shoes which the husband got for me under duress.

but i swim. i can swim laps & laps non-stop. tak penat pun. tapi ni pun breast-stroke lah. please don’t ask me to do free-style. ahhh… it gives me palpitations. apparently cancerians (like moi) are more into water sports. so i guess its true in my case.

i’ve also tried yoga. but instead of feeling peaceful & meditative, my mind is always racing with thoughts. any thoughts lah. sometimes i’m thinking about how pretty the girl next to me is or what the male yoga tutor feels when he gets into balls-squashing positions. i even got myself the yoga mat. maybe i should go buy a yoga cd, so i can try it at home. or should i try pilates this time around? the cds are rather cheap. i saw these yoga / pilates packages (inclusive of the cd and the mat) for about rm55. reasonable izenit. i could get the husband to give them to me as a gift for no reason.

i do try to drink more milk. i buy cartons & cartons for the month. if you come visit me in my home, i’ll serve you milk ok. as for bread, the husband insists that i only buy wholemeal bread. but its so boring to eat. so occasionally i buy white bread. they taste so much better. i’m also a big fan of maggi mee. which is really bad for you i know but i really like soup-y stuff.

the other thing that i should try to do is to have healthier thoughts & language. i curse too much. & the poor husband’s ears get to hear it more often than others. i’m sorry love. i will try. the “good” thing is that i don’t use swear words interspersed with other words in my sentences i.e. it’s not part of my daily vocabulary. i curse when i’m angry. and hoo-boy do i get angry. the husband says its amazing how i can switch from one disposition to another in mere split-seconds (it isn’t very difficult to do you know).

i guess i’ll start the health stuff next year.

wise no more

i finally got my tooth extracted & got me 2days worth of medical leaves for the rm450 that i paid to the dentist. it was… an experience. i didn’t feel excruciating pain but i could feel the pressure she was applying & i most definitely heard the wrenching of the tooth from my jaw. oww. she had to cut AROUND my gums. it looked like meat. ok i’ll stop with the graphical details now. hehehe.

the husband said it was an ordeal for him to watch. i don’t know why exactly seeing as i was the one in the dental seat with blood spurting out of my mouth. his observation was that i have a small mouth. hehehe.

the dentist said: don’t eat for 2 hours. (gotcha doc!)

the husband said: & don’t talk for 4 hours (how cruel he can be!)

my mother said: sorry to hear about your pain, just think of the cross (as in the catholic cross, you know.)

my dad said: so, tidak wise lah sudah kau ni? (haha. very funny.)

i come from a family of jokers.

actually i didn’t really need the 2days mc. on the first day of the mc (friday), the husband & i caught a movie, went gift shopping & played basketball with my nephew. a dull ache was all i felt but as expected, it was a bit difficult to eat.

on the second day of the mc (monday), i had to burn my mc & come to work for a meeting. dammit.

i hope no more wisdom teeth are coming. this kind of wisdom i can do without.

i am hostess

last saturday we hosted a potluck lunch for the husband’s cousins.

the menu consisted of:

dominos pizza

spaghetti bolognese

fusilli carbonara

frozen strawberry cheesecake for dessert

chachos & tzatziki dip

an array of alcoholic beverages & carbonated drinks

lunch was scheduled for 12noon but malaysians being malaysians kan. the worst was the waiting for the spaghetti bolognese. they were 2.5 hours late!! lucky we all have a sense of humor. so, i donned a pair of maternity pants (which was miraculously available for use that afternoon!!) & shoved a pillow under my t-shirt.

the husband’s first reaction was: what happened to your boobs? hihihi. they went missing of course. after all, this is a faux pregnancy ma. so although the faux tummy was there, the faux boobs were not. so anyhow, it was perfect timing bcos just as i was ready with my “costume” the doorbell rang. & so i waddled to greet our lidut guests. it was very believable i tell you. my waddle i mean. & when i opened the door, i told them “haiyaaaa… you guys took so long that i got pregnant while waiting for your bolognese lah!!” kihkihkih…

for entertainment, the husband & our guests gambled. so much for playing board games. & i was so looking forward to playing taboo. well, at least the mahjong table that my parents bought & stored in the apartment came into good use. i don’t gamble bcos i’m just so very bad at math. imagine, i have difficulty even with playing blackjack (sometimes also known as 21).

so, the day was spent gambling, drinking, laughing & accusing me of being racist. the husband announced to our guests that my marrying him is just a camouflage for my bigotry. ciss. we tried to make margaritas but it turned out not so great. oh well.

we headed to the pool at 9pm & had a lovely time frolicking & racing. ahhhh… so nice to feel like a youth again. after the swim we headed back to the apartment & some more funnies took place. for one, someone decided to hang their wet undies outside the window ledge secured by the window of course. i stumbled upon it by accident as i was trying to secure the window back into place. needless to say, that someone was feeling mighty awkward that night hehehehe. for another, someone else decided to leave his wet undies on my dressing table with the hairdryer on to dry it. i stumbled on that accidentally too bcos i heard the hairdryer going for about 10mins & realized no one was there. haiyooo… cartoon cartoon…

oh well. it was a lovely weekend. unfortunately for the husband, he was working on sunday whilst the rest of us lazed & recuperated :-D

newbies in the house

i'm very happy to announce that 2 of my loveliest friends have recently added new members to their respective family units.


baby devon (27 september 2007)

&

baby eva (1 october 2007)


congratulations to the parents of these two newbies!!

my visit to the dentist(s)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Molar (tooth)

Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. in many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, “millstone”.

Human molars

Adult humans have twelve molars, in four groups of three at the back of the mouth. the third (rearmost) molar in each group is called a wisdom tooth. it is the last tooth to appear, breaking through the surface of the gum at about the age of twenty, although this varies by ethnicity.

********************

i was on mc last friday. the husband & i made a visit to klinik pergigian bangsar in jalan travers for some cheap dental services. hah!

we got there early at about 8am. & i was pretty impressed with the counter service (surprisingly friendly) & restrooms (surprisingly clean) but once i sat myself into the reclining dental chair, the dentist just whizzed through her examination of my mouth. literally whizzed. the experience lasted all of one minute… or two… tops. & i was like “eh? done already ah??”. she was in such a hurry that i was afraid to ask her any questions except for “err, doc… howsabout my wisdom tooth, can we extract it?” to which her answer was “no cannot, it’s too small, wait till it grows summore.”

& of course being the medical school drop-out that i am, i knew that in cases of gigi pandai like mine, its never as straight-forward as: wait till it grows then we can extract. i mean, all the other private expensive clinics i’ve been to always advise me that it depends on the position of your wisdom tooth. some can never grow bcos its being blocked by something else. some grow but excruciatingly so.

so in a state of tak-puas-hati-ness, i told the husband that i want to go to a private clinic lah. no matter lah if it will cost an arm & a leg or not. i couldn’t take the perpetual throbbing in my head & the constant soreness in my gums & mouth.

so we had breakfast first (just in case the private clinic does remove the irritating tooth & I couldn’t eat) & then headed to a recommended dentist in jengjengjeng… jinjang-land. the dentist was very nice, very gentle & was very good with explaining things (as the recommendor promised me). she even told me i matched her orange furniture bcos i was wearing an orange top. i’m not too sure if this was a compliment or complisult (compliment + insult) but she said it with a smile & that made it ok. anyhow, i had to open my mouth, hold a piece of something in place inside my mouth (so inelegant ok) & we did an x-ray & found that the gigi, although coming down straight & not senget-senget, was indeed being blocked by the neighboring molar. & so, if i had taken the government clinic dentist’s diagnosis, die lah me. bcos it wouldn’t have come out & i would have to live with the head-throbbing & mouth sores. even if the tooth could come out without impediments, i would still choose to remove it asap.

the cost of this minor surgery to remove the tooth is (at most) rm500. sigh. therefore, the moral of the story is, we have to pay extra for good service. of course if you really think about it, we also “pay” for sub-standard service bcos in my opinion, i pay taxes so that there is a government dental clinic to provide such services to us. i could rant about the injustice of it all but maybe i’ll save it for another day hor.

before you say that i can get it done cheaper in other private clinics (& yes it may be so), let me just say this: i have done my homework. i have sourced for price quotations from dentists in puchong, pj, ttdi & jinjang & all quoted the same thing: between rm350 to rm500 depending on the complexity of the procedure. note that i chose dental clinics in different vicinities just to eliminate any concerns on cartel-like price fixing.

come this thursday when i have my date with the scalpel, i’ll be (at most) rm500 poorer. lucky i can claim from my company.