Spices of Life

Meet the merlion

That is the primary objective for my first out of Malaysia trip, visiting Singapore. Secondary objectives are visiting Orchard Road and toy-hunting. Me and Dash start journey driving from USJ toll plaza (drop by at Mike’s place to give him his birthday present right before that) at 11pm. Driving for 3 hours before we reached R&R Machap to take a nap. Wake up at 4:30am, taking bath and get ready forthe day. We are heading to Larkin Bus Terminal, to catch the first bus to Singapore at 6am.

We reach Larkin by 6:04am and manage to hop on the 2nd bus to Singapore, bus number 170, cost about RM1.30 to Kranji MRT station in Singapore. The bus stop at the checkpoint, we get down, show the passport to the Malaysia custom guy and quickly get on the bus again, different 170 bus, just by showing the ticket bought earlier. Trip across the causeway is very short, even Penang bridge trip takes longer. Then again, the same procedure, hop off the bus, quickly line up for Singapore custom checkpoint. This one takes longer waiting time. And after all the checking, we hop on different 170 bus again, with the same ticket. Hop! Jog! Hop!
 
Reach Kranji MRT station around 8am; buy MRT standard ticket for S$2.90 heading to Somerset station. Breakfast at 7-Eleven Orchard Building at 8:30am and walk along Orchard Road heading East (Merlion Park) guided by Dash’s GPS bitch, busy snapping pictures, passing by a few buildings which most of them are shopping complex, historical places, a palace, universities and finally we can see the half-mermaid-half-lion statue, the merlion! Snap! Snap! And snap more pictures. Primary objective accomplished. Walking to City Hall MRT through Queen Elizabeth Walk and snap more pictures.

We take MRT from City Hall to Chinatown for S$2 and stop by Chinatown Point MacDonald’s for lunch (around 1pm). Drooling over fantastic toys at shops on 3rd floor Chinatown Square Complex and can’t help not to buy any. I buy some souvenirs before we ride MRT back to Orchard Road. Now exploring what’s on Orchard Road. Climbing one shopping complex to another while carrying 2 big shopping bags was exciting and tiring at the same time. But we discover that a lots of toys that worth buying (but we try not to buy it) here compared to buy in Malaysia. We rest our sore feet for a while before decide it’s time to go home. Just right before dash buy MRT ticket to Kranji, I accidentally open a Toy R Us catalog left on that machine. Oppps..!! Dash sees something interesting and off we go to TRU at the Paragon as a result, another big bag for me to carry. Ok that’s it; it’s time to go home as our secondary objectives are accomplished.

We take MRT back to Kranji station where we start this morning. Then across the road, we take CW1 smiley yellow bus back to Larkin bus terminal. But first we have to hop, hop and hop at the checkpoints again. Hehehehe… Everything was smooth and fast here in Malaysia, home sweet home. We reach Larkin around 6:50pm. We get into the car, throw all the shopping bags and take off our shoes. Phew… what a trip! Refresh ourselves and start journey back home to KL. Of course, there will be another next time, crazy about toys over there especially during Christmas season.

Wonderful

I've been planning for this dinner since last week. As me and Dash are celebrating our 10th anniversary on 15 Nov, why not we have a special dinner at Bumbubali, Bandar Puteri Puchong. I've made a reservation for 2 and we get nice parking space right in front of the restaurant. We spent almost 30 minutes looking at the menu and make decision on what should we order. Finally, I ordered fresh coconut drinks (RM6) and Nasi Ayam Betutu (RM20.50) while Dash ordered Ice blended Honey, Lime & Papaya drinks (RM8.90) and Nasi Campur Bumbubali (RM28.50).

     

And here we goes... digging.. digging..

 

And to my suprise, Dash get something special for me, an unexpected present.

   

 

Just like a dream come true, I am holding a K800i right now. Thank you sooo much to Dash, I wuv ya !!! I know you pay a lot for the present. This gonna be the most romantic dinner I/we ever had, right ? It's just wonderful.. wonderful..

It's Our 10th, Honey

For Someone I love the MostYou are my love
You understand all my thoughts
You understand whatever I do
You are fun
You are exciting
You are strong
You are gentle
You are intelligent
You are honest
You are sensitive
You are creative
You are the one
person that I
trust my life with
and whom I always
want to be with
You are my love  It takes two special people,
To make a loving pair.
There’s a joy just being around you,
A feeling we love to share.

So best 10th anniversary wishes to you,
Bringing years of joy and fun.
May each year keep getting better,
I hope the good times have just begun.  :: 15 November 1996 - 15 November 2006 ::-Anis-

Relaxation

Sitting 8 hours in front of the monitor everyday, plus with bad sitting posture, the pressure and backache is killing me. It's time for some relaxing moment. It's been a year since last time I put myself in such relaxing mood. Last weekend, I went to Thai Odyssey for Traditional Thai Therapy at The Mines (again).

Once there, I signed up for Traditional Thai Massage (90 mins) for RM83. It is an ancient form of massage unique to Thailand using deep tissue, pressure point and stretching techniques to reduce stress and relieve muscle soreness. In Thailand, this wonderful feeling is called ‘Sabai Sabai’.

Along with relaxing music, the aromatherapy scents and the warmth of Thai Odyssey aromatherapy massage oils, I just let myself loose and enjoying the great massage by the experienced Thai lady from head to toe, from front to the back, every inch of my spine cord and the best part is the shoulders and stretching. She pats my back and shoulders with hot towels and put some adequate pressure on my shoulders.

 

   

Well, enough saying. I did enjoy the massage very much, felling great and energetic right after the session. Totally rejuvenating. I'll keep their number for next appointment, next time. Hmm... Hope these feelings last longer.

Seafood by the sea-side

This is my second time having dinner in H.M Seri Bagan at Bagan Lalang, Sepang. The first time was not a memorable memory coz I had a 'lil misunderstanding with adh123, kembara club member who I hate the most. This time, it just me and my dash, no one else. A nice breezy weekend evening by the sea, just right after sunset. Perfect.

Since we just walk-in customer, we can pick any spot we want, right above the sea level platform. We ordered drinks and dash decided to pick his choice of seafood near by the kitchen area, fresh ones, of course. White rice, lala with sambal, ketam bakar and sup campur for me. I think that should be enough for 2 of us. Lala arrived first, followed by sup campur the the last one, the mighty ketam bakar. Then we started digging.

  0.32kg lala with sambal... Nice!

  The mighty 0.27kg ketam bakar... (drooling)

After we finished digging.

The restaurant's logo.

Definitely there will be another next time. RM30+ for 2 persons' dishes quite ok to me. Nyum.. Nyum... Burp !!!

Ossu! Takatae! Ouendan

I'm totally addicted to this game since last 2 weeks. Cannot stop playing it, not until I unlock all the stages.

It's all about a rhythm video game developed by iNiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS video game console in 2005. Ouendan stars a cheer squad rhythmically cheering for various troubled people. How to play this game?

Each level of Ouendan is features a plot line accompanied by a specific song. A character (or characters) facing a problem will cry "Ouendan!" when their conflict reaches a climax. This call summons the cheer squad, and the song starts. The player uses the Nintendo DS' stylus to either tap numbered circles, trace lines or spin spinners, timing these actions with the music. Depending on how precise the player's taps are, he or she will either be awarded 50, 100, or 300 points. Prolonged beats are represented in the game by "tracks," where the player must trace the stylus along a thick line. And finally, usually at the end of the level, there are disks that must be spun with the stylus as quickly as possible to earn bonus points. There is a life bar that represents the player's performance, and if the player misses too many beats, the stage will prematurely end with a failure message. During the game, the story is told on the Nintendo DS's top screen, and gameplay takes place on the touch screen.

The game saves progress automatically once a stage has been completed.

There are four difficulty levels in the game. Initially, only Easy mode and Normal mode are available, but completing Normal mode will unlock Hard mode, and completing Hard mode will unlock Very Hard mode. Each mode uses a different cheer team:

• Easy mode - Tanaka Hajime (new recruit), Saitō, Suzuki
• Normal mode  - Ippongi Ryūta (leader), Saitō, Suzuki
• Hard mode - Dōmeki Kai (squad chief), Saitō, Suzuki Status: Unlocked
• Very Hard mode - Cheer Girls: Amemiya Sayaka, Kanda Aoi, Anna Lindhurs Status: Unlocked

And what I love the most are The music used in Ouendan consists of hit songs by well-known J-pop artists. The majority are taken from the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s, though The Blue Hearts' "Linda Linda" and Linda Yamamoto's "Neraiuchi" date from 1987 and 1973, respectively. All of the recordings featured in the game, besides 175R's "Melody," are covers, rather than recordings by the original artists.

1. Asian Kung-fu Generation - Loop & Loop (by Kyōya Asada)
2. Morning Musume - Koi no Dance Site (by Kaoru Kubota, Fumio Kobayashi, Yūko Yajima, Mari Nabatame, and Akina Okabayashi)
3. Ulfuls - Guts da ze!! (by Hiroaki Takeuchi)
4. 175R - Melody (original version)
5. The Blue Hearts - Linda Linda (by Daisaku Shimada of Bevenuts)
6. nobodyknows+ - Kokoro Odoru (by BUGASHMAN, CANTAMAN, MOSS, MOUSE-P, and SAUSEN)
7. B'z - Atsuki Kodō no Hate (by Tetsushi Kimura)
8. Tomoyasu Hotei - Thrill (by Hiroaki Takeuchi)
9. Road of Major - Taisetsu na Mono (by NoB)
10. Linda Yamamoto - Neraiuchi (by Kaoru Kubota)
11. Kishidan - One Night Carnival (by Kei Imai of South 2 Camp)
12. Hitomi Yaida - Over The Distance (by Ayako Kawajima)
13. The Yellow Monkey - Taiyō ga Moete iru (by Mitsuru Yanagisako)
14. Orange Range - Shanghai Honey (by BUGASHMAN, CANTAMAN, MOSS, MOUSE-P, SAUSEN, mimi, and Akasanajar)
15. L'Arc~en~Ciel - Ready Steady Go (by Tetsushi Kimura)

First I tought it was impossible to unlock the Hard stage, until I was damn bored waiting at the Imigresen last Thursday when I finally (after hundred of tries and cries) unlocked it. So does the Very Hard stage where I finally unlocked it last Friday evening, after dash show a video of completed Very Hard stage to me. It's not impossible.. if someone can finish it, so do I. (Feeling like I'm totally rev up now). But since I won't unlock anything after I finished the Very Hard Stage, I think I better stop playing or I will crushed the DS into dust (I'm not a very patience person, you know). I've played the English tailored version of it (called Elite Beat Agents), and to me, personally, it totally sucks... the rhythm is too slow and totally out of tempo on tap sequence. Huh! Hah!

Cyborg Knee

Day 1- 4 hours journey from KL-KK was smooth and fine. Until we continue 1 and half hour more up North, to Penang. Notice a jerk in shifting gear. Continue another 1 and half hour from Penang back to KK without much problem. Only the gear knob felt heavy.

Day 2 - Short trips around town. Shifting to reverse gear was like hell.

Day 3 - 3 hours journey from KK-KL without any major problem. Problem noticable when driving back from Bangsar. Can't shift to any gear. Back to normal after a few tries.

Day 4 - After a few days break, can't shift to any gear with running engine.

Day 5 - Sent to workshop for clutch plate replacement. It takes 2 days and cost me RM 776 with free car wash.

Day 6 - Test drive the new clutch for the first time. The clutch was hard like hell. Have to learn from the start how to drive my own car.. to get the 'feel' back. Felt like driving someone else's car. A few times of gear shifting, my mouth full with the "F" words... And I just can imagine the amount of my sins of swearing when I stuck in jam after work later.

All I need now, is a cyborg left knee. Any offer?