Buy a gift for myself on my birthday

Wee. I placed an order for this limited edition boxset a couple of weeks ago and I got hold of it last night. They only ship within the USA but I have a cousin living there and had it delivered to her address there first.


There's 20 CDs inside.


Mmm... one of my favourite MJ artworks of his androgynous eyes.


Each box is numbered for authenticity.


And each single comes in the form of a dual disc. One side CD for audio and one side DVD for the video.


Should I splurge on his concert at the 02? We'll see.

Bake Anzac Cookies

Why is it such a big deal? Everybody bakes don't they?

Well, when I bake [if ever], the ingredients usually come in a box and all I have to do is to mix water, milk and eggs and pop it in the oven to bake. I admit that the simplicity of buying $1.99 packaged cookies puts me off baking altogether. But it was about time that I took on the challenge to bake from scratch.

And now I know why Anzac cookies taste so good. Look at the ingredients! Flaked coconut, golden syrup, oats, butter, flour, baking soda [which i forgot] and LOTS of sugar. I thought that the thin papery-plastic design/advertisement on my new Flora margarine was quite a consolation because it said that I was doing my heart good.

But when I peeled off the pretty words, it didn't seem that prettay anymore...

Before I get off-track and banter on about ads on products...

*ah hem*

It took me about half an hour to prepare the ingredients because I was being overly pedantic with the measurements but I had to get it right.

Mix...

...in.

And 20 minutes later, I baked my first batch of Anzac cookies!

And the verdict? While it tasted like the Anzac cookies that I know, it was erm... not as yummy. I tried dunking the cookies in a glass of milk but it was like oil and water.

Thanks Michael, now I know for a fact that my usual way of baking is the definite way to go!

Watch Chris While and Julie Matthews

Jeff and I were catching up over the phone on my birthday and he asked if I was going to watch Chris and Julie play at Kulcha. I knew how much he LOVED them. And I thought to myself, why the hell not?! He's been ranting and raving about them for years and I was more than keen to find out why.

Had I only known what I was getting myself into...

As I was walking up the stairs to Kulcha, I thought they were playing a CD over the speakers but it was only when I saw Chris and Julie on stage when I realised that it was actually them singing live!

Their voices have this melting effect... like literally, Sumi and I both sunk in our chairs and just melted.

What really stood out for me was their conversations with the audience before every song. While it was a one-way conversation, it was as if they were sitting at a dinner table telling a close friend one of their many stories.

And then, when you hear their interpretation of these life stories through their songs, you find yourself (or well, I did) connecting to the songs because you could understand it from such a personal level.

And when they sang... oh, they truly sang.

As instructed by Jeff, I went up to them and told them that I knew him (or something along that line). Immediately, Chris' face lit up and she exclaimed "Monica!" Trust me, in that moment... right there and then... I felt like a celebrity. I was special. They knew my name.

Sad to say, this is probably one of those things you have to experience in order to fully understand the beauty and feel the sincerity of the music. But I can finally proclaim that I am a fan of Chris and Julie.

Thanks Jeff! It was worth every second :)

Paint a Picture (canvas and all)

It was quite exciting buying the canvasses (couldn't let Jerome and Dot miss out), brushes and box of assorted paint for beginners. At first, I painted the canvas with a shade of maroon, red and a bit of brown.

Then I drew a stick figure over it hoping that it would come out... with a traditional-painting feel. But the stick figure ended up looking like a pregnant woman with dreadlocks and ET legs. So I drew over the picture with white and light orange paint. It was my form of erasing the previous painting.

Then I painted a curvy red line across the canvas to symbolize "goals". And I had little stick figures hanging onto this line. Even painted tiny stick figures lining up and jumping off a "cliff" in an attempt to grab onto this line.

But I just was not feeling the painting. So I erased it with a dark shade of blue and mixed a bit of funky blue in it (yes, my limited knowledge of colours is starting to show).

Painted four bright red lines and a couple of red dots. And in a nick of time, it was done! We shall call it "The painting that matches the red wall and the blue sofa".

Art is art. While it is an expression of the mind, I couldn't stop criticising my own painting. I can honestly say that I will appreciate other people's paintings more so now than ever before.

Jerome's "Cobalt Shine"

Dot's "Australia"

Eat Nasi Katok (First time)

Alright, this is long overdue and sounds more like a dare and a promo, rather than a 'to-do'.

Nasi Katok (Nasi means Rice. Katok means Malay in Malay language) is a Bruneian meal. It is not a delicacy or a national dish. People would go to the Nasi Katok seller's home (they normally do their business from home by fixing a little stall, and it works like a drive-in, kampong style) and "knock" their door to tell them that they want to buy some. That's how it got its name.


Actually, the term Nasi Katok came into my life just a few years back, so I think it must be a new thing. Nasi Lemak is a totally different thing apparently. I don't know how. I recall my younger sister, Fijjy, being crazy over it and then Arafat, my boyfriend, would buy it when he has no time to get dinner.

It is very cheap. Usually sells at B$1 and you get a fair serving of rice, chicken and sauce. I sound like I'm advertising hehe.

Why I didn't try it was because honestly, I am not very much a fan of roadside stall foods and I'm very particular with cleanliness. I am also not very fond of oily foods.


Nasi Katok is usually packed like that for takeaway. Look at the amount of oil seeping through the wrapper.


I didn't finish mine. I only took a few bites and gave it to Arafat to finish.

Fijjy told me that urban legend has it that why Nasi Katok is so popular and addictive was because the sauce has kitten's blood as an ingredient.

Play Basketball

I went to shoot some hoops at Wembley yesterday.

While it might seem oh-so-normal to some, it was quite a challenge to put myself out there on the court. I'm so afraid of failing and looking like a dweeb when it comes to playing sports. But, it was about time I gave myself the chance to do just that!

The court was just the right size for shooting hoops. Not much running required.

I just had to pull my two step before the shoot

And score....

LOL! Where's the ball?!

But I love that moment when you shoot the ball not knowing where it's going to go and you're all hopeful that it's going to go in the hoop. And everyone looks on... anticipating. Waiting.

Such good fun. After about an hour, we left it to the boys and went off to get drinks.

Muchisimas gracias to me chica Kay, her chico John, prima Dot y hermano Jerome for making this possible.