Dils Stop .

Let's not condemn other for their choices.

2012-01-26T11:28:00.001+08:00

Are you sure you know the whole story? And will you be sure that in the future that you will continue to make good judgement and be comfortable on that judgey wudgey pedestal?

Really.

Delayed Rage

2012-01-12T16:29:00.000+08:00

This is a delayed rage. Driving to work this morning, a car suddenly stop to the side slightly, open his driver side door wide open and spit onto the road. I had to slam on the brake as so to not hit his door.

I mean really?? The desire to spit is so mighty that you just have to pull your car at the side of the busy road and open your door and spit!

I just can't comprehend this.

And that is all I want to update. Bit too short for a blog post entry, but too long for twitter but hey, why not.

Not feeling too hot lately, so blog updates can be very sparse. Maybe when things pick up again.

Train Robbery & Song of Ice and Fire Book 3

2012-01-04T18:36:00.002+08:00

The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Great Train Robbery is a historical fiction as described, so it is based on a true case of well, the Great Train Robbery.

At first I was moaning how boring it was, but it was because he was first describing and explaining how the railways are becoming important and such and it was a bore. At first!

I need to only brace myself for the first 20 or 30 pages of boring description, before thoroughly enjoying all the others.

It was written well, in true Crichton fashion. No dithering, no over excessive description. So it makes for a quick read. I enjoyed the explanation on the economic and social aspect of England in the 1800s, and some interesting side explanation.

I enjoyed it thoroughly and it was interesting and intriguing. No muss and fuss historical fiction thriller.

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really, really like this book.

So far, this book had been the best (yet to read A Feast of Crows and A Dance with Dragons ). This had been the only one in the series that I loathe to put down. A literal page turner.

In this book 3, there is a whole lot of character development that I really like. I never like Daenarys before, but by the end damn I love her. All of the other characters are the same. I don't want to throw a spoiler here, but by golly, most of them seems real to me after I put down the book and I have a hard time not thinking of them when I didn't read the book. Really I have no life.

The stories never goes how you will thought it goes, some I can guess, but a lot is really surprising and by the end of the book I am itching to immediately read the next book. However I am refraining, and maybe I'll pick it up again in a couple of months or so.

View all my reviews

I owe 1 last post

2011-12-28T16:30:00.000+08:00

The food in Rome!

I think by this time I gotten lazy, so the quality of the pics is not so nice.

During the first day, we headed to the halal Indian diner of sorts where I ordered the kari daging and husband ordered the roast chicken I think.

It was sedap tapi bapak banyakkk. Dah memang sesorang dasar ketamakkan, so order taknak share, amik ko. The daging that I gotten, is wayyy more than a family would eat. Apatah lagi untuk sorang makan. Gile. Tapi lebih separuh jugak habis. Probably I left about 3 or 4 daging on the plate. I can just feel my aorta getting thicker while eating it.

Another place we went to eat was at this obscure cafe somewhere I can never find again. It was cheap, which is why we chosen it. It kinda shows in the food why it is cheap as the food is just bordering on OK. (5EUR for a plate of spaghetti, where a lot of places we looked around is 11EUR). The left one is the seafood spaghetti of sorts which I ordered. The right is the penne with salmon juice. We changed the food after we tasted it as he found he liked my spaghetti and I liked the penne. Though I picked off the pink squid off his plate as I love sotong and husband don't like them at all.

Most of the time, we lived off the halal pizza place that is near to our hotel.

It was quite nice, but most of the halal place that we found seems to be serving deep dish pizza. Which is kenyang in a way, tapi I want thin crust!

We put a lot of chilli flakes on our pizza sebab tekak Melayu mesti nak pedas. Best wooo letak chilli flakes bebanyak, it makes you can't stop eating the pizza.

And on one of those days, I decided to try a calzone, which is nice during the first half. The second half I dah muak because the filling is cheese and spinach, so it gets really muak when it is cold. I wish I had brought chilli sauce then to dip the calzone in.

At one time masa busy siar2 and we can't be bothered for lunch, we just shared a donut.

And was it good? Well it was a donut. So that's all can be said about it.

We dropped by at another halal diner for some kebab, and I make some pretty piss poor decision in ordering this spaghetti. Which incredibly sucks. I think I can cook better spaghetti than this. I kept on picking off husband kebab to be eaten with the spaghetti, because otherwise I can't just stomach it.

Which is why during the last night in Rome I decided to splurge a little on dinner.

The pizza was magnificent, my husband like his pasta with mushrooms bit, but I infinitely prefer my margherita (cheese and tomato sauce) pizza. If this pizza is good, I can't imagine how good it must be in Naples. Nyum2.

And we ended the meal with capuccino and dessert. That is creme caramel at the top. Husband mocked me that I can just buy it at pasar malam. Tak sama hokey.

I can't remember eating those, must be husband one.

So that's that. A very quick post on things we ate in Rome. Not a lot, but options are limited and we are not so kaya to eat a lot.

I miss Fasha & Puteh

2011-12-21T15:46:00.002+08:00

Anyway, I miss my 2 lost cats.

Memang suke terbongkang kat karpet

I did not mentioned when Puteh died, he was actually euthanized. It is still a really sore topic for me, but it was the kinder thing to do than to let him further suffers through the pain. I felt guilty and I asked him and God many time to forgive me even to this day.

When I was in Venice I think my second day there, I woke up from sleep and have this sudden clarity. If I had let him live, he would die that very day. That day when I was in Venice, he would have perish in some veterinarian place and in pain. I felt a moment of peace then, for a while.

Maybe he won't, but at that day I had this almost surreal conviction that he would. I really miss his eyes and I wish I had him longer. Right now, I am itching to get another cat, like him, with his eyes. It is not really advisable, but I feel like I wanted to anyway.

However, I have Bobby now and I can't take up another cat to my responsibility. In the mean time, I don't feel myself warming up to Bobby, sometimes I do, but this thing take times. However Bobby is a lot like Fasha where

1. He likes plastic and bags just as much as Fasha. He always wanted to burrow into my bag.

2. He is so active and fierce as Fasha as a kitten.

3. Does not like people stroking him.

Sometimes I can't stand how cute he is. But sometimes I just look at him and feel nothing. This sometimes tempted me to give him away but I can't do that. Kurap actually is almost getting along with him, and I suspected a bit like Puteh I would feel lost when he's gone.

Tidur nak kena letak kepala atas bantal hokeyy. Kucing sapelah yang manja sangat nii

Kurap is the same. And yet again I forgot to open the toilet door for her today. I put the litter box at the bathroom downstairs so Bobby can't get to it, but kept on forgetting to open the door for Kurap. Thank God, Kurap is very well behave when it comes to litter box, except for the 2 incidents ( die berak atas selimut and atas karpet once), she usually will wait till I get home and meowed at me almost angrily to open the bathroom door.

Only she likes this pink chair.

As for Fasha, I found it painful that I have a hard time remembering what she really looks like. During the first month she's gone, I gone through lots of pictures in Pet Finder trying to find a cat that looks exactly like her. None. Some are a bit like her but are male or looks meek. Fasha always had this look in her eyes that seems to convey that she thinks you are a moron. Sigh. I miss that.

Maybe I need to have big ass picture of Fasha and Puteh and Kurap hanging in the house. But I think that may actually step over the line to the land of Crazy Cat Lady.

Rome - Sights, Saw, Seeing

2011-12-13T17:52:00.002+08:00

Not feeling too well. Didn't get enough sleep, so am gonna dive right in!

We initially wanted to get the Roma Pass but it was sold out during the first day we were there, so we decided to go saw all the sights that is free or we don't plan using Roma Pass on the first day.

What is a Roma Pass, it is a pass that includes 2 free entry to the attraction you want to see, and subsequent attractions are at discounted price. You can also use it for the metro line and tram line ( bus line too, but we didn't use the bus there ). It cost 25EUR per person, and buy it if you think it is worth it. It is worth it for me, just to skip the long line at Coliseum, however we did calculate to see the sights that would at least return back our modal beli Roma Pass.

So back to the top, we ( in here I ) decided to take an Archaebus to go and see the Appia Antica line more specifically I wanted to see the catacombs. I paid because it is my idea.

Sambil tu enjoy2 tgk scenery. Atas bus tu sejukk , tapi Rome tadekle sejuk mana pon, Angin bas bagaikan angin kus-kus

So on the first day there ( well, more like second, but the first day we sampai lewat and just want to hang out at the hotel ) we went to see the Catacombs. By taking the Archaebus, we only need to pay half of the entrance fee, so it is ok. The one that we gone into is Catacombe of San Sebastiano. The other one (San Callisto) is closed on Wednesday, however it is fine as we decided we wanted to see only 1 .

Entrance kecik je

The entrance fee also included the guided tour and the English one usually paling ramai. If you understand another language, highly recommended to take another other language that they provide ( French, Italian ). Pic is forbidded, but we only know that right after we took this blurry pic (sampai2 bayar fee terus berkejar ikut tour so kite orang paling belakang thus we can take the pic without anyone saw us. The guide marah a person who try to take a pic of the frescoes in the catacombs )

The tomb where San Sebastian remain used to lies. (or just lie? )

The catacombe itself is mostly empty, but it is impressive to see some of the long tunnels dug out to store the remains. There are no bones ( thus I am a tad bit disappointed ), however the guide was excellent and the entrance fee more than make up by it for the guide.

We then stopped by Mausoleum of Caecilia Metella.

I honestly think that the entrance fee here is quite steep, and there's not much to see here. It is lovely though, but again, there's nothing inside.

Inside the basement there is a place for kittehs. Aww.

It was a lovely day outside, and even the kitteh went outside to play. Its place is empty. I manage to see the kitty, a fat tabby who looks quite superior at living in a mausoleum in comparative luxury.

We waited for quite some time for our bus, but it was a lovely day (it really was!), so I don't begrudge the wait. Jeles tengok couple sebelah berpicnic bagai tepi fields dengan roti and cheese. I lapar taw time tu.

We then headed to Bocca della Verita, for some pic time. The mouth is next to a church. You have to queue to take pic, and its not too long and you can't camwhore yourself out there because the guard will sternly reminded you to take only 1 pic as other people are wating for their stern.

Before taking a pic, you are welcomed to make a donation to the church which is around 0.50 EUR, which is like, kau bagi je laa. Takkan tu pon nak kedekut.

Husband macam tak ikhlas je letak tangan dalam mulut tu.

We entered the church and saw some beautiful mosaics work. It is a small church, quite lovely.

Then it was a long walk to see all the lovely sights in Rome. Well, not all, what we can manage to walk to.

The Tiber river

We stopped awhile at the Tiber Island. The bridge at the pic above head to the island.

Campo de Fiori

We got to the Campo de Fiori just as the market was about to close. I manage to buy my Murano glass beads bracelet sebab it is cheap there. Ye, masa kat Venice taknak beli sebab mahal. So kat Rome baru nak beli barang yang dibuat there.

We bersiar-siar kejab at Piazza Navona sambil pikir adakah perlu ke tidak untuk makan di situ, tapi harga food adalah cekik darah so tidak kuasa.

We got to the Pantheon and there was a marching band playing all sorts of popular tune in front of it. So it was crowded then and my camera is running out of battery.

While we were walking around I can't remember the time, but we stopped for a while looking at this ruins. It used to be a temple. It attracted me so because this ruins also act as a shelter for stray cats. Awww. We spent some time there playing spot the cat among all the ruins.

This pic doesn't have any cat. After I took this pic I think my camera died.

This is a three legged cat who is being cared by the shelter. I haz a sad, but at least it is being taken care off. I even saw a gypsy gives half of its lunch to cats there. Really the Romans have good heart.

During the night we walked all the way to Piazza di Spagna ( Spanish Steps ). This is a place to shop/windows shop for high end luxury goods. By the time we got there, the stores were closing anyway tapi macam la mampu beli. After strolling past 6 or 7 shops I got bored. This is why I don't care for Milan. I never care to window shop on things I can't afford. I find it a waste of my time.

So we headed to Hard Rock di mana it was so crowded because it seems like half of the tourists in the vicinity wanted to eat there.

The next day we went to Naples, and you'd read all about it, and after we got back to Naples we bought the Roma Pass, because only by then it was available. So on the third/fourth day, we went to Coliseum.

Semua pic I. Takpe, after a this post, you won't see my pics for the longest time in this blog. Unless I went on another trip.

We spent around an hour or more there wasting camera battery and just try to re-enact Gladiator in our head although I never watch Gladiator ( whattt... I don't find Gladiator interesting. ) I imagined the Coliseum to be bigger though remembering reading about the mock naval battles being fought there, but the ships must had been quite small and really near together. Mock battles pon, half of them died jugak playing that naval game.

It was a great feeling to be there and try to imagine who died there and who used to sit around there while looking around the ruins.

While we were there there was also some exhibition going on featuring on Nero, about him and all the stuffs that he done and things related to him when he was ruler.

After Coliseum, we then head to Palatine Hill. Palatine Hill used to be the residence of many famous persons in Rome including few of the Emperors.

As it was a hill, it was an arduous climb for the the people who have very little stamina (me). However the view above is worth the trip. It was quite something to see the place. Even in ruins you can almost see it must had been really, really luxurious and magnificent back then. The later emperors must have abuse the treasury to oblivion. ( the more luxurious residence belonging to the later period of emperors. The earlier one lived in squalor compare to them ).

Then we went to see the Roman Forum which is one my favorite place in Rome. It boggles the mind that all these temples and government offices (so to says) and forums are condensed in one place.

Roman Forum

This is the place where Caesar used to walk, where emperors gathers with their councils, basically where the important stuffs in Rome taken place. ( Caesar not murdered here supposedly, but his altars used to be here).

On night time, we decided to lepak at Trevi Fountain. Lepak-lepak tengok orang kejab. Way too crowded here, but I imagine it is worse during daytime. However Trevi Fountain is worth the brief visit if you must.

Most night time pics are taken by my husband. I dont have the patience/hands to carefully balance the camera and kira/balance all those shutter and aperture thingamajits.

The last day in Rome we decided to take it easy, ( well I think we had been taking it easy anyhow as we opt out of Vatican because my husband said he was sick of religious arts . I also have no appreciation to it so decided to opt out and saw things we like ).

It was raining that morning so we decided to just go into one of the branch of Museum Nazionale Romano. There is a lot of museums in Rome so we just choose one randomly. I wanted to see the animal museum ( weirdd.. I know ) tapi ia adalah jauh dari any train station or tram and we malas to figure out the bus.

Not to worry though because for me all museums are interesting including this.

Then after walking around, we decided to go to Bath of Caracalla which is also one of my favorite sight there.

Bath of Caracalla used to be Roman bath/gymnasium for the Romans. Gymnasium pon besar mengalahkan istana. It is now basically just walls, (with one kitteh jaunting here and there everywhere, kitteh in Rome like historical sight or what ) but the size was huge and remembering the huge statues we saw in Naples that used to be here and its huge wall, I just can't help but gape looking at here.

We spent quite a lovely time, enjoying the cold afternoon air and just sitting around here.

Afterwards my husband agrees to teman I shop at Via del Corso.

Via del Corso is a long, long stretch of road, I think on Saturday it is closed to cars, so it is quite nice to stroll along the street and cross the street without thinking when you want to to take a look at a shop across the street. I only buy 1 clothes there sebab too many stores, can't choose. Hah. Also I only decided to go to H&M sebab itu aje I mampu. Ye, taraf orang Malaysia shopping ni taraf bebudak teenager kat Europe je shopping. Stress. But my kedekutness aside, Via Del Corso is a great place for mid range stuffs, so go crazy.

Afterwards we lepak kejab at the piazza tapi husband kena con bayar rose yang the Bangladeshi forced down on me. Angin die je jangan kata. At least it is 3EUR, but 3EUR for 3 roses I do not want , is still annoying. I pujuk my husband at the very least, sepanjang trip ni we only got conned for 3 EUR, which compares to some unlucky people, is quite fortunate. So if you are there and someone forced a rose on you, give it back resolutely.

Anyhow, that ends the trip. Ok. Penat.

Naples - Pompeii

2011-12-04T01:53:00.000+08:00

I decided to do the post on Naples first, because well, it is easier. From Venice, we got on to Rome via Eurostar. On our third day at Rome, we went to Naples , and specifically to go to Pompeii. I always wanted to go there ever since I head of the place. Thus I did!

Did plenty of research on how we are suppose to go there.

So if you are to be in Rome and you want to go to Pompeii, here's my tip

Take a eurostar to Naples ( you can get a much cheaper train, but that takes longer. Look at trenitalia website for more details. You can get the discount from there). The cost that we paid from Rome to Naples for 2 is around 44EUR. I think . And from the main station ( Napoli Centrale ), you look for the Circumseviana line to take the local train, that head to Sorrento. You stop at Pompeii Scavi.

We didn't take that line. When we arrived at Naples we were in for a rude shock actually. The local train is on strike. And in front of all the closed ticket counters are the taxi drivers waiting offering the price of 50EUR ( no bargaining either )!! We declined .. We kinda walked aimlessly aound the train station for half an hour trying to hatch up a plan, then we found the tourist information system, where they informed us there are another local train line going to Pompeii. It was Pompei actually, the actual town located next to the Pompeii ruins.

So if you found ourselves in our situation, this is what we did.

We bought the ticket at the newsstand at Naples Centrale ( you can just bought the train ticket even going into the Naples town at newsstand or shops at the train station ). You can just asked them where the platform are, afterwards validate your ticket at the yellow machine near the platform before entering the train. We got off at the Pompei station.

Right out at the station, walk to your left and the Pompeii ruins is at your left about 2 km away from the station. It is not a long walk at all, much more preferable than paying 50-60EUR for a cab ride. The train ride cost 11 EUR for 2 pergi balik.

So that's the tip.

Anyway we got to Pompeii at last. Bought the ticket and berpeluh2 la berjalan to get to the entrance Porta Marina.

Before the volcanic eruption it was much more closer to the sea, the bigger entrance used to be for the carriages and the smaller one was just for usual people passing through.

I don't know where to start exactly. We walked around Pompeii almost 4 hours, it does not feel like 2 hours. Pompeii used to be a thriving town. So 4 hours walking around a town, is a short time I guess. There is something to say looking at Vesuvius from the main center of the Pompeii.

Vesuvius looms at the center of Pompeii. I think that is Vesuvius. It said so in the book~

There were a lot of temples in Pompeii. I think we identified the temple as the the ruins that have lots of pillars.

It is really, really dusty with volcanic ash at Pompeii. Especially here.

Also some even have statues that have a tiny sharp penis.

This is a town that had been frozen in time. It was unbelievable to see how the old Romans ( or Pompeiians ) used to live and how they really looked like.

Left: Fast food of an ancient city. Majority of Pompeiians don't cook because their house is so small, so they usually take away! Restaurant business are good then and now.
Top right: A pool inside one of the town bath
Bottom right: A bakery

You kinda get that people then are no different from now. Many who have money like to have wallpaper in their home, in their case, brightly painted frescoes.

It must had been garish then.

Lovely mosaics, even just for warning visitor, "Beware of Dog" ( below pic; bottom right )

But I guess, the most haunting of images you'll see there is the plaster cast of their hollow past remains.

I believe the remain of this particular inhabitant was found in a warehouse. But I maybe wrong.

I have to say, while it is sad, it is fascinating. The people last moment and their expressions, frozen in time. When they first excavated Pompeii, they kept on coming upon small empty pocket, which they then realized this empty pocket used to be the remains of the people frozen in the volcanic ash, where their bodies and bones disintegrated leaving an empty pocket. They then filled up the empty pocket with plaster cast where it filled up and thus showing us the past inhabitants frozen in terror. It is fascinating for us, but a horrible way to go for them. As when the lava flow hit them, it quickly burned off their clothes and hair, and also cut off the oxygen. It is believed that these people here, most probably die of suffocation due to lack of oxygen and at the same time, they are boiled by lava. Again, horrible way to go.

I had always been interested in the history of Pompeii and how it came to be and how the excavation works are being done, so this is why Pompeii is one of the places I really want to go.

Also apart from the 'frozen' inhabitants, what make Pompeii so famous is their infamous brothels frescoes. I used to think that there are a lot of them. Maybe there was, but there was only a block that I saw that housed the brothels and bars. And among all these, only 1 brothel are opened for business. So to say. I think this the only place that have the frescoes intact and of course throngs of tourists there.

Pics are a bit 18sx for below and some more below: so if you are offended, just scroll really fast :p

Left side: Well, it is obvious kut. At top of a doorway. Not sure what it signify, probably it signify what it signify.
Right side: Many, many positions.

The frescoes of the many, many position is not there merely for decoration. It is believed that customer may choose the prostitute that specialised in that particular position. I do believe that it is right based on the room itself.

Bed of stone. STDs never looked more uncomfortable. But there used to be some cushions.

The rooms are tiny. The one pictured above ( the only one that are lighted... ) is the only one that I saw that you can lie down. The other rooms can only fit 2 people if they're sitting. (Obviously this brothel do not specialize in menage a trois ).

While it is amusing to see the brothels. I guess by the end of the day, I am glad to be walking down the street of Pompeii itself.

The deep indent in the road was because of the carriages. The big rock in the middle are used when they washed the streets or when its rainy and the streets are a bit flooded, the people used it as a stepping stone to cross the street.

This is a long post regarding just Pompeii, but actually my main goal in this trip is to see Pompeii, so I have a lot of things to say in this post.

After Pompeii, we then head back to Naples to go to the Naples Archaelogical Museum. At first our plan was to go to the museum and then try a pizza at Naples. Naples are infamous for their pizza, but due to the strike, our schedule got a little haywired, so we didn't have that pizza.

We head to the Naples Archaelogical Museum, which is actually quite awesome. We only have an hour before closing time, but I do believe we got the most of it by concentrating on the Pompeii artifacts ( most of the things found in Pompeii and Herculaneum are housed here. A lot that is currently in Pompeii town itself is a replica, preservation and all ) and wander through the Farnese collection.. So if you really like Pompeii history and stuffs, this is the place you should go.

The original frescoes, mosaics and statues found in Herculaneum and Pompeii.

And of course I wanted to see the Secret Room. This is the room where they displayed the frescoes from the brothel in Pompeii.

I am putting the least crude one here. Heh. Anyway the secret room is informed to tourists at the entrance as Reservation Only, however, I think we can just go in without reservation. The guard didn't say anything. However it is only allowed for those who are 17 and above.

Among all those that I seen, the only tad disturbing thing I seen is the one showing a man with a small boy ( Ok. The one with the geese came in second, its kinda freaky.) . It is just a drawing, as if after they etched out what it is there, they stopped. It was disgusting now, but then while it is taboo, it was accepted, I guess. After all the Greeks are famous for their fascination with a young boy physical appearance.

Anyway aside from some of those stuffs it also showed a lot of other everyday things that we used that they excavated then and are now displayed here.

Apart from the Pompeii and Herculaneum displays, the museum also housed amazing statues and sculptures that are known as the Farnese collection. It was really beautiful. The statues used to be decos for the public bath/gymnasium in Rome which is Bath of Caracalla.

The statues are huge.

While looking through this section we kept on saying how huge the statues are, but when we finally got to the Bath of Caracalla in Rome, we can totally see why the statues were made so big. The place was HUGE and capital letters are appropriate.

Some of the Farnese collection. It was quite wonderful. And no, the statue on the left is not doing the freaky with an eel, I think it depicts a legend of some demi god kut, struggles with a giant eel.

Anyway, the Archaeological Museum of Naples is great, totally worth the trip. However, a lot of the displays are in Italian, they're some in English but a bit sparse. However it should not deter the curious to look and wonders.

So that's our day trip to Naples and Pompeii. I would like to go there again, most probably Herculaneum perhaps. But who knows, there are a lot of things I like to go again or to see for the first time. But this day trip was incredibly satisfactory. And I have to say I am glad that I am travelling with my husband who stays sensible even if we did get sidetracked awhile in the first hour.

Kitteh Update

2011-12-01T11:20:00.001+08:00

(Lets take a break from all the trip update)

I kinda haz a sad when I wrote the title above. The last time I wrote a kitteh update is informing y'all that Fasha is sick and maybe she's getting better. Down sebentar.

I kinda miss her and Puteh too. Whenever I saw Puteh photos, him and his big ass anime eyes, I am so so sad. I feels like I failed them.

Anyway, as most of you knows, I picked up a stray on the very day I landed back in Malaysia. I just can't help myself. He was so tiny. Also tubby.

Now he is still tubby but I think other parts of him are filling up nicely too.

Still a bit buncit but not as ketara as before. But next week, I am going to the vet for Kurap booster shots, so I'll bring him along just to make sure.

It is hard to take a decent pic of a kitten as they're so restless. The nicer one are in my proper camera, so I am only uploading the phone pic up here.

He is a fierce little thing ( complete opposite of Puteh ) and will actually try to fight back if Kurap try to pelangkung him.

Perhaps this is why he and Kurap are in the process of getting along. The other night I noticed them main-main kejar-kejar together. So cute. Maybe Kurap is just lonely because her playmate is no longer here, so kucing kecik pon jadik la kut for her.

I was thinking of giving Bobby away, but seeing him and Kurap getting along (and Kurap have a hard time adjusting to new cat in home) macam malas pulak. Haha. Biasa lah, cakap je nak bagi, tapi malas. Malas to go through the process of rehoming, deciding if the new owner can take care of a cat and all that.

Anyway, Kurap herself had not been well. Pergi melilau tah mana-mana tah one weekend and balik dirty, with tick hanging down her mouth and an infected anal gland.

Macam-macam.

How do I know her anal gland infected? Well, I don't know cats have one, but I noticed her butt looks peculiar and taking no chances brought her to the vet and the vet tells me all about it. It seems that hers was infected and it burst. Yucks.

Position of anal sacs/glands of cats -
pic taken from: http://cats.about.com/cs/healthissues/a/analglands.htm

So if its normal, you should not be able to see it usually. If its infected, it will be kinda liquidy, or in case of Kurap, kinda like a small hole. Again .... EUWWW. Tak dapat la aku nak tengok mende tu lama-lama which is why I take her to vet ASAP.

So the vet stitched her up and kena la pakai kon lagi.

My cat conquers 2 bantal for her to sleep on.

Kurap is not pleased about her kon. Nor I because that means she can't groom herself as usual. Gahh. Berkejar2 la selalu nak lap2 die and kon die. Mencik.

So after about a week and a half which comes to today! Her stitches come off and so does the cone! Awesome. In the mean time, bontot masih togel sebab bulu kena cukur untuk kasik stitched.

Venice - Bites

2011-11-28T14:24:00.000+08:00

In our trip to Venice we decided to stay at a Bed and Breakast in S. Elena which is called B&B Venezia. It is one of the cheapest B&B during the high season. S. Elena is a not near to the main attractions, but it is walkable. It took us about 15 - 20 mins of brisk walk to get to the San Marco.

As for the breakfast, it was nice.

There's coffee, and every morning the tray include some snacks, that I usually saved for snacks during berjalan-jalan on that day.Apart from that, they served some bread and butter and jam and cold cuts and fresh food. Also cereal! There is also some fresh grapefruit juice which was insanely good.

When we arrived at Venice we were so full on airline food. So that we all we ate kebabs for late lunch. When we were walking wee noticed a halal kebab store and it is a no brainer. That kebab was quite good.

Before that, we had the gelato It is cheaper in Venice than Rome. We can get 1.20EUR for single scoop rather then 3EUR in Rome.

My husband took the pistachio flavour and I can't remember what I took. Ahh.. now I remember. Coconut. It was nice enough.

For dinner we went to the bakery in the middle of Venice and buy some pastries for dinner.

We eated this!

The pastries was nice. The left sde ( fully wrapped ) is sacher, choc cake that my husband loves. It was nice. The other 2 is nice, especially that spiral bread with raisin.

And we washed down our food with this drink. I love it. And throughout our trip in Italy we usually bought this drink.

On the second day, when we were looking for the Museum of Music, we found this middle eastern shop ( not exactly Arab, but can't remember what ).

My husband had the chicken briyani, I think it is more like rice with chicken curry. It was quite good.

As for me I chose the mutton with yogurt. It is a lot of mutton. And yogurt. It was so and so. The mutton had been marinated nicely beforehand, tapi agak muak at the end, since mutton is so heady.

Along the way while we are sightseeings, we kept on encountering pastries shop that have these sumptuous delights such as these:

And we didn't try any of them T_T . I guess that is a lesson learnt. When you want something to eat, just go and eat it. However we were not really that ravenous when in Venice, which is why we kept putting things off. I kept on thinking how that chocolate meringue at the top would feel. This goes the same with the squid ink pasta. But I know of a place in KL that have that, so I am gonna try that out!

As for dinner, we found a Muslim shop, and I can't remembered, it is either operated by Jordanian or Egyptian ( because there is another pizza shop operated by a Muslim in Rome that we frequented and they looks kinda the same ).

My pizza is the one yang paling meriah tu. It was quite nice really, a deep dish pizza. The shop that we went to had all this note from customers that had frequented this shop, exclaiming how good their pizza is and how grateful they are to find a halal food shop. Heh.

Because of that, on the third day we went back to the same shop. I sedih, I nak squid ink pasta.

This time I took the falafel.

WHICH WAS AWESOME. I never tasted a falafel before, so I am not sure if this one is the nicest ever, or so-so, but I really like THIS falafel.

Husband took the pizza again :p

It was good enough, but I prefer my falafel :D

I could swear we had gelato in the second day, but I couldn't find any pic of them. I think the second day we had the Vanilla flavor one. It was really, really nice. Sometimes you forgot to take the simplest flavor because we are inundated with the more flashy one. But the vanilla gelato on that second day, was one of the nicest I ever had.

The one pictured above is the pistachio one which vastly surpassed the taste of the one we had the first day. It was really good. And cheap. Mine one that looks like vanilla is actually the lemon one. It was nice, a bit bitter but not as nice as the lemon and lime I had in Blue Pumpkin at Siem Reap. That ice cream wakes up the taste bud!

This our food at the end of our trip, I mentioned I want dessert and we chose cake, I guess I did get my dessert after all. My husband is the sacher (again :D ) .

Mine is the apple pie. Husband chose it for me, because well, he knows I always like a good apple pie. It was nice, not spectacular but I like it enough.

At this particular time while we were eating, it was Halloween! So the children in the neighbourhood was trick and treating from door to door, and shop to shop! 2 children came into the shop. An elder brother ( around 7 or 8) and in tow is his little brother which I think is 3. He was the cutest little thing with flaming red cheeks. That little boy came straight to the our table and began to speak gibberish. I wonder if he was asking for candies.

Giving a big sigh on the things I didn't get to eat *sigh*

Anyway that is all for Venice in term of food.

Venice : The long, long walk

2011-11-25T16:25:00.000+08:00

A picture that is so quintessentially Venice

We went to Venice for 3 days. And we basically just stay there. Which is a shame, as we could have gone to the other island, but the the thing is Venice is quite a nice place itself so on the other hand we gotten spectacularly lost and seen a lot of Venice.

In Venice you can walk everywhere. So that is what we basically do. We didn't have anywhere else particularly we want to go to (except for the Museum of Music or in Italian Museo della Musica, and we wasted a day trying to find the damn place ).

However we departed from Istanbul around 9 am and reached Venice at 11. I think we arrived here around 1pm and took to walking the island and familiarizing ourselves with this tiny island.

We mostly traipsed and gawked around the San Marco areas. Surprisingly this took a long time. But most probably we just like to sit around and people watch.

And of course walks around and enjoyed the view.

You can really pass the time standing over the bridge and watch the gondolas passed you by.

Stopped by many, many shops including this which is kinda like Venetian lace showroom/ shop. Venetian lace are exquisites and very expensive. But I swear I'd seen the same one in Vietnam. Heh.

Since we opt out of the whole gondola ride (too expensive), we decided on watching a violin concerto concert from here:

Venice was the home of the renowned violinist and famous composer, Vivaldi. So when we came here, I think there was some kind of a music festival, thus a lot of these performances are going on. ( Or it is just ongoing and we feel like it is a festival ). We chose the one just beside the Basilica of San Marco, bought the ticket, went back to our B&B and came back again at 8 pm for the performance.

We didn't take any pic of the performance. Not allowed. However it was quite wonderful. They played Vivaldi famous The Four Seasons and the lead violinist was insanely good and throw an entertaining performance that capture the audience. The audience asked for an encore 2 times. Or maybe we just want our money worth. However I would rate it as a money well spent. It took about 2 hours, and afterwards I just sat at the Piazza San Marco shivering, while my husband took pictures.

The next day we decided to just walk around, and look for the Museum of Music. Fucking internet direction. A lot of times the internet can do wonder, but trying to look for direction for this museum was a phail.

So we basically just walk and walk and walk and walk enjoying the sights such as

Bottega Veneta. Handbag yang bisa buat air liur meleleh

The high end boutiques ( I would advise against shopping at Venice, but if you got the money, go crazy! )

Beautiful cathedral and churches.

And of course the lovely canals. While a lot of people seems to be saying Venice is kind of smelly due to the canals, I can't say I smell the stench. The only unpleasant smell is when I came across some shoddy looking alley where of course smells strongly of piss.

Dalam-dalam sesat itu, we just goes in any free exhibits ongoing on such as these one while looking for that museum.

In the end, we didn't find the museum after walking a day.

Tracing our step again

In the end we just gave up and just bersiar-siar aje lah. Venice is a wonderful place to get lost to, and as many tips on how to travel to Venice is : Get lost while walking around!

Like enjoying the view at the famous Rialto bridge. I don't really recommend hanging out here. It is crowded, it smells of piss and people are always jostling one another. If you want to hang out and look at the view of the Grand Canal, go to the wooden bridge near the Accademia. More serene-feeling. After all that is the point of enjoying the view, to have a serene feeling to it. ( I think that is the worst sentence ever ).

On the way back, there was a demonstration regarding the Syria situation. It was a small demonstration where I think the main objective to educate others on the atrocities that is happening there at the moment.

One of the posters lying on the street for others to see. I didn't take the picture of the dead children. Those kinda images haunts me.

The next day, after my husband got the required PROPER direction from the owner of the B&B we head out again ready to conquer!

We went through this lovely park

and we came across this lovely statue on top of a pond

Near the pond there is a sign warning people to not buang their pet turtles or any exotic pets here. Teehee.

How do I know this is a sign warning to not abandon their turtle pet? Penat aku google translate okeh.

We head first to the San Marco Basilica. Entrance is free, however I'd paid online for the express ticket ( 1 eur per pax ), so I don't have to queue up. The line is insanely long, so I rather pay.

Exterior of the San Marco

We didn't take any pic of the interior. It was beautiful inside, but it so dark and to take good picture will require a flash, and like most places that uses mosaics flash photography is strictly forbidden.

While entry is free, to view like the Treasury room you have to pay 4 euro I think, per pax. 5 euro if you like to go upstairs. 4 more euro to view another thing. We only forked out more for the Treasury, where it is interesting to see artifacts that used to be in Constatinople ( Istanbul ) and old Jerusalem.

Afterwards we went to the Museo della Musica yang kami cari bagai nak rak semalam tak jumpa2. Walhal dekat aje. LOL.

Not too much people, but perhaps it is early.

There is a lot of old violin, music sheets and a mock workshop (where we can only peep from the door),

Afterwards macam biasa we just walked and walked and stumbled upon some outrageous exhibition:

This particular one is not outrageous enough, but there was one painting where Batman is fingering Wonder Woman. It is pretty hilarious, the painting is made in a vintage style, so it is lovely and cute to look at. And what underlying message?

We also enjoy the Grand Canal view for a while before deciding upon to go into the Accademia, which housed a lot of famous Venetian paintings.

That ceiling have tiny baby faces looking down on us.

We basically just walked that day on Venice. Heck, we just walk all days on Venice. It was quite a peaceful ( yet very exercisey ) way to appreciate Venice beauty.

I stopped in front of this building because I hear somebody playing quite a magnificent piano piece and the sound kind of echoes there which gave the air such an unbelievable feeling. It is a school I think so no tourists allowed inside.

We then just sat on top of the platform ( the one where people step on if there is a flooding ) and enjoyed the San Marco view while eating snacks and ice cream. I think we did this every evening there. Kinda like the closing chapter of the day and of our trip.

Eiiiii.... gambar ni sengettt

Birthday!

2011-11-21T14:43:00.001+08:00

It is my birthday. I am now 29. Hmmm. Afterwards, it will be 3+, then 4+ and so forth. If God wills it. There're times when I think people don't really understand Insya Allah. If God wills it. When you translate it to basic words in the language you understand, the meaning is so big. With the will of God, you are now in this position and so on.

Anyway, husband sudah bagi hadiah awal2 before he went back to Turkmenistan. He got me a charm bracelet. Not a Tiffany's one though. But I don't really care much for Tiffany's. I am a pearl kinda girl myself. All those symbols that the pearl brought, tears, purity.. it just gets to me. Not that he bought me a charm bracelet with pearls. I mentioned the pearl because I would like to get one from Mikimoto. Not the whole pearl necklace. When or where would I wear it? No, I just want to have 1 smooth beautiful black pearl as a locket. A girl can dream.

The rest of the day so far is ok. Not so great though. This maybe my worst birthday ever. All those money I have to pay this day. Penalty (missing RSA token), vet bills ( Kurap got weird luka at her butt, so off to the vet ). And I don't have Kurap at my side tonight ( die kena stay at the vet for one night to clean the infection and observation). I will be so sad.

Well then, I just wants to write something. Later (hopefully with a post about Venice pulak ).

Istanbul - The Foods!

2011-11-17T23:48:00.000+08:00

In Istanbul, we don't have to worry much. Abundance of halal food.

We were staying at the Hotel Peninsula at the Sultanahmet area. The hotel we were staying in was very nice, comfy, and the staffs there are very friendly and helpful. It was a good stay and I would not hesitate to stay there again.

Every morning for breakfast at the hotel we were served with this :

The breakfast is the same every morning, basic fare with fresh fruits, jams, juices and hot drinks. I like tomatoes enough, but over there, the tomatoes was incredibly juicy and succulent that I have to have it every day. The other thing I love is the yogurt eaten with the rose syrup that have little bit of petals in it ( pic : top right ). I love it so so much. I could have the yogurt and with various thing put in it day by day. It just settles the stomach you know.

During the first day, when we were walking around, we walked past the shops that have these such sumptuous delights:

and these: (which I unfortunately do not have the time nor perut to eat )

and more of these:

We bought some, but not from this shop.

On the first day for lunch, I was tired and hungry and cold so I ordered a Turkish coffee and my husband the orange juice:


The Turkish coffee tasted a little chocolatey. The orange juice, well is a juice.

I was also a bit irritated and just pick anything that is easy which turns out as a good choice. It was quite good.

In the menu it looks quite small. But when I got it, it was huge.

My husband kebab and fries is quite nice too. For dinner that day, we opted for a light fare as the lunch we had above was quite late. I think we had lunch at almost 4 pm.

I can't remembered what it is called, but it is kinda like murtabak Johor/Singapore (wherever suits you ), but lagi nipis. The tea that I ordered is the traditional Turkish tea. I didn't ordered it again because the tea I drank adalah sangat pekat. I sangat takut jika tidak boleh berak nanti. Tak best travel and you sembelit ok :D .

During this dinner which we had at the Arasta Bazaar, there was a dance performance, which is the Sufi dance/whirl ( I think ). Luckily we sat right in front of the dancer ( or whirler more like it)


Looking at it too long can make you dizzy.

It was interesting to see his feet. Kinda like watching a ballerina feet when they twirl, and that is kinda like how they do it. When he was whirling he closes his eyes, so I guess it lessen the dizziness perhaps. There was no other moves. For 5 or 10 mins, he whirls and whirls and whirls in the same spot. I guess it is kinda trancing, both for the them and the audience.

After a walk around town after dinner, we stopped by for this drink. I mistakenly thought it as coffee at first and when the seller mentioned its as not. It was.... something else more like it. It is kinda like condensed milk and vanilla. At the top is shaven cinnamon. It was piping hot and a very sluggish feeling liquid (which is why susu pekat comes to mind. Incredibly sweet too, but not susu pekat sweetness). Nighttime in Istanbul is quite cold, so the drink does have its merit. It is meant to be drink when the night is cold and the drink is piping hot. Otherwise I would imagine it as undrinkable.

For lunch the next day, we didn't have any because we are too busy traipsing through all those historic places. Instead we settle only for the pretzel like bagel ( I think it is called Turkish Pretzel ) and the cinnamon filled bread. This is sold at the carts situated everywhere there.

I like the pretzel and my husband like the cinnamon once.

The pretzel is very chewy but I love hard and chewy bread while the cinnamon one is quite crumbly, tasted a bit like cake, but not at all sweet. There is nothing like it in Malaysia I could compare it with.

Then I also had the most liat aiskrim ever. The Turkish Ice Cream.


Also the most expensive ice cream ever paid. This ice cream lagi mahal dari gelato yang mahal dekat Trevi Fountain, Rome okeh. Mencik.

I don't quite like the taste. I am not a big fan of ice cream and this one, is very filling and like I said kinda like chewy. Not a fan of the Turkish Ice Cream. Tapi kenapa the one at the Bukit Bintang Plaza lain dan sedap? Perhaps yang di BB Plaza sudah ditukar taste untuk catered for Malaysian crowds kut.


Tada! The dinner.

The above is a good dining experience. It is one of the traditional Turkish food. I think it may have the a little bit of Greek influence in it. The left pic, is my food which was couscous with mushroom and carrots and kebab beef meat. The couscous was incredibly awesome and the meat is niceee. The mushroom and carrots is ok enough. The right one was my husband where he ordered the rice. Their rice is something like pulut, which I don't like so I never ordered there. The lauk is chicken kebab and the grilled eggplants and tomatoes I think. The grilled eggplants was very good. Love it.

The last days, there was a lot of things consumed. Like:

The bread we bought from the usual carts. This one is not so nice. But we were hungry after our cruise, so we finished it. I think. It tasted more like crumbly cookies. We had a hard time finishing it. The filling is cinnamon, but not like filling, more like bake along with cinnamon mixed together I believed. But hey, tidak cuba tidak tahu ape yang kite suka and tidak right.

We also finished the baklava we bought at the shop during our first or second night there. It was AWESOME. It have just the right amount of sweetness and rempah to not let it be overbearing to your tastebud. Aku boleh guling-guling bile teringat the taste. We finished two before I remembered to take a pic. It is a small delicacies, but I believe it is not meant to be eaten in large amounts. The sweetness remembered. Maybe that is why their tea is so pekat.

We also tried out this. Kinda like glazed donuts, but pretzel like! Kinda crispy in a nice kinda way. It is very nice, not recommended for everyday gluttony though. Boleh diabetic.

This is our lunch for that day. Very late lunch I'll say. Shared the kebab and drink. The drink is pomegranate juice. Sangat masam. Pelik pulak husband yang tak suke masam would like this drink. These juices is awesome and is a must have however, so we have to try it.

This is our dinner that last night. The top is my kebab with fries. I ordered the extra yogurt with spinach to be eaten with bread, but I rolled all of my dish together. Lagi cepat habis. The bottom is my husband kebab which was Iskandar Kebab with yogurt. It was quite nice.

So that's that on our food adventure in Istanbul. We were more adventurous here because we can. So in our next destination you'll see the same food, kinda. But hey, I'll still blog it. Because I can.

Istanbul - What we see

2011-11-11T12:50:00.001+08:00

Lets start this!

We went to Istanbul basically for 3 nights.

I don't think so I can manage to do a day to day activity (some of you might also drop dead from boredom), so I'll just condense here what we basically visits in Istanbul.

Before I started, we stay in Sultanahmet area, which is basically old Istanbul and where the famous Aya Sofya or Hagia Sofia or whatever it is people call it is located. So many of the places that we see were confined to this area.

On Day 1 we arrived early. Our flight was on midnight 26th Oct, so we arrived early around 7 a.m and by 7.30 a.m. we're already at the hotel. Because we're early, we can't check in yet, so we decided to jalan-jalan the Sultanahmet area after breakfast.

Blue Mosque early morning. And instead of nasi lemak or kueh mueh, there're a lot of carts selling pretzel /bagel like bread around Istanbul. They're incredibly nice to munch upon.

Entrance is free. Though you are not allowed in during prayer time, unless for prayers la kan

On that first day, it was drizzling a bit. I noticed a stray dog sleeping at the side courtyard of the mosque and nobody gives a second glance. The poor thing must have been cold. We didn't go in because we malas nak bukak kasut and thinking that we have more time to look again some other day. We never did. Which came to my first advice of this post is, even if the place is crazy near to your hotel, if you are in the vicinity, just go in at least once. Heh. The blue mosque is very grand and feels kind of supreme. We are just contented to just sit at the courtyard though.

Then we singgah at the Sultan Ahmad the first ( It may spelt wrongly) tomb.

The tomb itself is a tomb. But it have some exquisites mosaics and tiles.

We walked around actually in search of a leather jacket and other shopping stuffs. So whenever there is a place that is interesting, we will stop and look. Like the Istanbul University, where it is great fun to see students in hurry to go to classes clutching their lecture notes.

Istanbul Uni. Entrance are only for staffs and students. Not for people trolling for hot college chicks.

The Hippodrome. Where Old Romans used to have their games/chariots drives which now is called Sultan Ahmet Square. But it is regularly named as Hippodrome in the guide book.

In here there is a few Roman and Ottoman relics left. Like the below, German fountain sent as a gift to the Ottoman Sultan which looks bland from afar, but amazing if you happened to glance at the roof. And many people stop and marvelled at the Egyptian obelisk, where it had stood for thousands of year in Egypt and many others in Istanbul and looks like it had just been engraved last month.

There is even a shopping centers (of sorts) that is in front of what used to be a Roman temple.

I did found my leather jacket but it is for another post. However for day 1 we did manage to get the museum pass.

So on Day 2, we on the museums listed in the pass. The pass cost 72TL per person. We manage only 4 out 6. 1 museum is in renovation and so are closed ( Istanbul Mosaic Museum) . Chora Museum is a bit far and we didn't manage it.

Before we started on the museum pass list, before it even opened, sudah tercongok di depan Basilica Cistern. It is part of the tinggalan of the Byzantine era.

The cistern is something like a water system used by the Roman. The Romans are famous for their baths and aqueducts, and this is just one of the example of their genius today. It is a very eerie place to be in, especially since we're the early bird for that day. But it is nice that we can basically hog the Medusa without other people camera flashes. The cistern is famous for its 2 Medusa head. The head is used as sort of support column (who really knows). One Medusa is as below, the other one (not pictured) is upside down.

I basically dared Medusa to turn me into stone.

Then we head to the Hagia Sophia.

It is really quite lovely. Tho we did not visit the interior at night, I just like this pic a lot.

If we were to go back to the hotel, we will pass by Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque (they're opposite to each other) so, it is a really pleasant walk back.

The pictures below really, really does not do it justice. It is really lovely. Hagia Sophia, used to be a church, after Constantinople falls, it turns into a mosque. The Ottoman Sultans however left many of the mosaics depicting Jesus, Virgin Mary, Saints alone. However the Hagia Sophia is no longer used as a mosque and coverted to a museum. However azan still berkumandang there, as there is a small prayer building ( surau kut ) at the courtyard.

The cat at top right corner decided quite suddenly she wants to sit on a platform befitting for her. And in minutes, the cat had become a sensation at Hagia Sophia. Camera flash was directed at her multiple times and she was unfaze. She sat there for a few mins and then perhaps bored, wander elsewhere.

It does not take a lot of time to wander around in Hagia Sophia. Around an hour for us. We pretty much gawked at the wonderful mosaics and tiles in the building. The mosaics from the church-era time are at the first floor and at the ground floor is where you really realized how huge the Hagia Sophia is.

Next on the list was Topkapi Palace. It was a massive sprawling place. And my camera at the time was running low on battery. It is really a place not to be hurried into. And I can't take a picture to show how massive it is. It is at the back of the Hagia Sophia and it just a gate. And no the below is the not outer gate. This is the inner gate. I can't believe I didn't take picture of the outer gate. It positively glinted in the sunlight.

Yes, the sky was glorious that day.

After a quite considerable walk from the outer gate to the inner gate, we then find ourselves in the Topkapi Palace, but of course we are still at the courtyard. There was another gate (also not pictured, but it is just a door, with lots of people wanting to get into ).

There was various rooms. Among pictures below, there was the library, the throne room, the council room, the kitchen which is now being turned into a Treasury showcase. There is even a healing room, where young sultans rested while they recovered from their circumcision. The picture below is just a drop on how really huge the place is. Their palace are made by marbles and fitted by incredibly amazing looking tiles and mosaics. It must be a delight to walk around there barefoot.

The royals also used to have an amazing view of Istanbul.

The 2 places that is a massive pain to get into is the Treasury because semua orang nak tengok huge priceless bitching looking gems. The other one is the section where it stored kunci Kaabah, objects from Nabi Muhammad S.A.W and there is even a staff from Nabi Musa A.S (allegedly). I wonder if this is the staff that breaks the Red Sea to two.

There is another section of the palace that we decided not to go into, the Harem. It used to be the wives and kids place basically. If you want to visit it, another 15 TL is required. Considering that and our legs ( we are incredibly tired by this time), we decided not to and head to Istanbul Archaelogical Museum.

The museum is next to the exit of the palace. There were 3 buildings. One housed the ancient orient relics (Mesopotamian , Egyptian era), the other one looks like a tile museum ( we didn't go in, dead tired already). And the biggest one is where all the Greeks, Lebanon, Roman relics used to be (which we went in).

I was delighted at the Ancient Orient building, when I found myself looking at the pieces from the Ishtar gate I almost squealed. The color is so vibrant and the history behind it is so magnificent.

We only managed some of findings from Anatolia, (Greek stuffs) and I practically begged my husband to not go up the second floor, because I don't think so I can take the climbing much longer. It was a really interesting museum. Chockful of stuffs. The sarcophagus of the Mourning Women and the Alexander. After all it boasted of more than a million objects. I was looking for the jaw of the serpent column that is at the Hippodrome, but it must have either been closed or at the top floor. A pity if I think about it now, but I still remembers my exhaustion and I guess even I have my limit on how long I can walk and climb around.

However amazing to think that I can see objects from even The Temple of Zeus. A lot objects from these long ago civilization, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Babylon somehow ended up here. Those who are a history buff, this is a must place to visit. If I ever go back to Istanbul ( and I do ), this is one of the place I have to revisit.

After the Topkapi Palace. We head back to the hotel for a much needed recharge, both our energy and the camera battery. Then we head to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts. Here housed various Koran ranging from 13th century to the 19th. They're even one where it is uses gold ink.

Be it 16th or 21st century, that carpet would look good in any living room.

In here I think the oldest carpet is from the 16th century. I can't even made my t-shirt last than 10 years. Wait. I do have t-shirt that is more than 10 years.

The museum is cool enough. Husband enjoyed it very much, because he likes carpets. As for me, I like the thought that some of these carpet are used by the royals and some of them were used as prayer mats in mosque ever hundred of years ago.

For Day 3, husband decided upon Bosphorus Cruise along the Bosphorus straits. The cruise costs around 25eur per person, and it is for 2 hours. It was quite nice even if at first I do feel like puking. I was basically frozen there for the whole 2 hours. Alot of people on the cruise decided to go indoor rather freezing at the top. . It was incredibly nice, and while the tour itself was lovely, where we can see the old fort, many, many European looking palaces and homes of the rich and famous, I was only looking forward to the toilet.

Only nearing the end of the cruise did we stopped at the Maiden Tower. Where I joyfully bounded for the WC (water closet = toilet), and afterwards enjoy the most loveliest view atop the tower. The wind was incredibly strong and it was dreadfully cold, but the climb is worth it.

We then head for the mosque nearby for prayer and marvelling.

I have to imagine that perhaps every mosque in old Istanbul ( there're a lot of other mosques we didn't go to) are as lovely as the one that we've seen. This mosque, Yeni Mosque was built around the 14th century. Other than that, I am not really sure. Heh.

Afterwards it is basically a shopping day for us, where I will tell later in a different post and walking around re-enjoying the view that the Sultanahmet area can provide which is incredibly awesome and ethereal like.

This is a fountain in front of the Topkapi Palace. It looks more like it used to be 4 places of tap water, but the building is lavish enough.

Istanbul is an amazing place. Almost all other tourists we talked with would love to come back or is in their 3rd or 4th visit. Most of the locals are really friendly and nice. I love it there and would definitely love to come back.

Both of us at the top of Maiden Tower. Susah nak dapat gambar berdua ni.

Random Update

2011-11-09T14:18:00.001+08:00

I had just got back from my Euro Trip. I don't really like calling it Euro trip because it gives the impression that I had been to more than 3 countries. For this trip, I only goes to Turkey and Italy. Went to Istanbul first, then go to Venice and then go to Rome. When in Rome, manage a day trip to Naples and Pompeii. I will make a post as per usual about the trip, though I am not sure how to separate it.

It is good to be back after all, and after a half day at work ( more like few hours as I got at the office almost 11 ), it does feels like I had never been anywhere at all.

As for the cats, well it is back to CATS instead of cat.

Fetch Kurap from the pet boarding right after we got home. Kesian ok. The owner said she is so noisy, because she is always calling people over so they would pet her. Before this the owner mentioned, when Kurap and Fasha was boarded there, they were quiet. I think Kurap just realized that Fasha is not around anymore. The first thing she got back home, she sniffed the house from top to bottom. Not sure if she wants to familiarize herself again or try to find her sister. Sedih :( . I still keep on expecting to see Fasha head pop up everywhere when I took Kurap outside.

Also, I mentioned cats because the first day back at home, my husband and I went to a hardware shop and I noticed a poor little kitty. He is so tiny and tubby and looks so full of worms. And I noticed misai kucing die sume pendek except for 1, so he looks a little peculiar. Somebody must have cut off his whiskers. I took him home and he is now living in a cage until I am sure he is ok and not diseased. He is a noisy little thing and likes to be let outside playing with the lalang at my house. Macam biasa aku tak tahu aku nak keep ke tak the tiny thing but I usually ended up will. Kite tengok je dulu.

RIP Puteh :(

2011-10-22T19:26:00.000+08:00

Puteh the sweetest cat ever, died this afternoon. I only had him for a few months, but he completely stole my heart. He have the sweetest disposition. I can only hope in the months that we took him, he got the best months of his life.

God, this is so depressing. Losing 2 cats in 2 weeks :(

He died of the same thing of Fasha, maybe worse. He was unable to breathe properly the last 2 days. This house feels so, so empty.

Today I am feeling like I can never be happy again. I hope Kurap will stay healthy. Please God, let her stay healthy.

Looking through the computer, I found this precious pic of Fasha when she was a wee little kittie. This is among the first pics I took of her.

Sigh.

Grief Talking

2011-10-16T17:12:00.002+08:00

Muka high main string

I am still can't get over it that she's gone from our life. She have a lots of admirers, people and cats alike. Kurap seems lonesome and so she is clingier than usual. Sometimes she mewed piteously, sometimes when she does this, I imagined she is asking where Fasha is. Kakak angkat die kan. First time datang rumah mengemis nampak Fasha, terus excited nak ikut Fasha everywhere.

Puteh is now sick, and I have to take care of him and now more being more aware and careful not to let it be too serious. So while feeling like crap, I have to make sure my crappy feelings will not make me ignored the other cats.

Day to day however it is getting easier to adjust to the fact that she is not there. I am grieving is the least of the thing you can described it. I even broke down crying at a pet shop. Seeing all those things that I used to contemplate buying for her, it gets a bit much. I thought I was OK, but I told myself I would not cry if Fasha name is not mentioned, but the owner knows of my cats ( I board the cats there regularly ) and the owner asked on their news and the tears came out. That was Fasha favorite boarding place. The last time I sent her there, she was ecstatically rolling around at her boardng cage. LOL. I remembered feeling betrayed then.

Routine now changes. I have to adjust to not call out automatically " Fasha, Kurap makan ". I only have to use "Be a good girl" instead of 'girls' when I left them alone in the house before going to work. (Puteh is being put at the back, I don't dare to leave Puteh and Kurap alone without human supervision). I sometimes found myself panicking because I left a window open (You guys know Fasha penchant of breaking out when she found a way), or left a cupboard or drawers open and then realized with a heavy heart that she is not around anymore.

I think maybe I'll tell a story about Fasha every now and then in this blog. Just so I've somewhere she is immortalized. Memory is not forever. I looked at old pics of Fasha in my Blackberry and I forgot on how she sometimes tend to do this, or lepak at this place.

Let's start it now. Now on the earlier paragraph how careful we are not to let open drawers left unattended. Fasha had always been a quiet cat. Opposed to the vocal Kurap who will meowed insistently until we break down and gave her what she wants. Fasha quietness is one of the reason I overlooked that she's sick ( I am currently feeling guilty, feeling like I could have done more but didn't, this is the natural process of grief they say).

Once my husband locked her in a shoes cabinet, just for a while. And he forgot about it. I found her few hours later because I heard some rustling in the shoes cabinet. Another time, he put her in a drawer during one night he was playing around with her. The next morning I couldn't find her but thought she is off gallivanting , then smelt poo. I located the smell and open the drawer and she jumped out of it, smeared with poo and piss. During the entire night and early morning, not once did she make a sound. She did not mewed, or scratches. And I was downstairs late at night and if she made a sound I would have known she was there and let her out earlier. I swear my husband is not a cruel person :p . He's just forgetful. I had then since asked him not to play those games with Fasha anymore.

The last time she was trapped, I was cleaning the house and opened the top kitchen drawer to get some stuffs. Went into the living room for a while and then I realized I left the drawer open, and Fasha likes to sleep or pissed in a drawer. Depending on her mood. So went back to kitchen and closed the drawer. Finished with my chores, I looked for the cats. Found the fat cat blessedly sleeping. But not the striped one. After searching everywhere I remembered the drawer. I open the drawer, and she's not there. Opened the bottom drawer there she was, coolly lying down and looking at me as if asking "Why are you interrupting my sleep".

I miss her so, so much.

RIP Fasha. 2008 - 2011

2011-10-12T23:54:00.001+08:00

Fasha had just died this afternoon.

It breaks my heart knowing that I can never again see a striped cat hurtles past 5 roofs and jump down to the lawn to meet me at the gate.

I can barely think of cakes and pastries at home, knowing that I won't have a feline hanging by my shoulder trying to get a taste when I eat this in front of TV.

I don't know if I will ever get a cat who is as smart and devious as she is.

So many things that I will missed about her...

The picture above is one of my favorite of her. She had always been delightful to look at when she was asleep. At the very least, I manage to see her last night, and even though the vet said she barely responded to anything, before I leave, she lift her head up high and look at me squarely for one last time.

I love her very much even if she did make me feel like tearing my hair out at times. I hope she had a good life. And I hope she manage to find all the bothersome cicaks in kitties heaven.

In all her fluffy glory

Review : Me & Mr Darcy and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

2011-10-11T15:21:00.001+08:00

Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Summary: After a string of disastrous dates, Emily Albright decides she’s had it with modern-day love and would much rather curl up with Pride and Prejudice and spend her time with Mr. Darcy, the dashing, honorable, and passionate hero of Jane Austen’s classic. So when her best friend suggests a wild week of margaritas and men in Mexico with the girls, Emily abruptly flees to England on a guided tour of Jane Austen country instead. Far from inspiring romance, the company aboard the bus consists of a gaggle of little old ladies and one single man, Spike Hargreaves, a foul-tempered journalist writing an article on why the fictional Mr. Darcy has earned the title of Man Most Women Would Love to Date.

The last thing Emily expects to find on her excursion is a broodingly handsome man striding across a field, his damp shirt clinging to his chest. But that’s exactly what happens when she comes face-to-face with none other than Mr. Darcy himself. Suddenly, every woman’s fantasy becomes one woman’s reality. . .

I really want to really, really like it. But it was not to be. Also at first I was irritated by the heroine spinelessness. I can forgive a spineless woman if she's young, but she's almost 30. Sigh.

Anyway, it started ok enough. It never explains how Emily (the heroine) manage to meet Mr Darcy. It just happened. But I guess an explanation would not really be explainable.

It got better at the end when Emily found her spine, but I'll enjoy it more if it does not try to parallel a lot of the plots to Pride and Prejudice. While it does this intentionally and brought it up to the reader attention, I really wish the writer had gone another way.

Overall it was ok. Funny at the times. Mr Darcy is painted even as a tad bit ludicrous. Midnight meet ups? It was unseemly to even go out walking in broad daylight without a chaperone in that time! But I manage to have a few chuckles so it is not a total loss. Funny at times, unbelievable at times, but it was enjoyable, hence the 3 stars.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary: Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration.

This is my first book by Mark Haddon. It was as in the review being printed at my book .. " A stunningly good read". The narrator of this story is an autistic boy who don't and never will understand people who are not like him works, think, feel. So the story is narrated in a cold way, much like reading facts off a textbook. However the writer inject humanity in it by Christopher observation on how the people around him react.

I thought I would be bored. I never was, in fact I may have learned things by reading this book. This is a book about a boy. A dysfunctional boy who maybe understand how dysfunctional he is, but never really do understand just how so. It is about family and trust. It is basically about him finding a reason on this little mystery he encountered upon.

It is not a typical narrating, but it was interesting. It makes for a surprisingly fast read. I can't recommend it enough. I am now looking forward for more books by this author.

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Penat tapi kurang puas

2011-10-07T01:29:00.001+08:00

Hoiii... tajuk tak dan dan kan??

But this is the feeling that I got. Well, I won a preview pass to the BIGGEST BADDEST BOOK SALE EVER. Big Bad Wolf Book Sales 2011, where the price is epic.

The preview pass is for yesterday (6th Oct) only. And I can only bring 1 other person with me. So I took along Sue who I know appreciate a good warehouse book sales. And of course aku nak buli Sue untuk ambik aku kat Midvalley. So right after work, off we went, which only left us around 2 hours to browse and buy. ( It started at 12pm to 9pm. But the normal sales hour is from 10 am to 9pm ).

The BBW at MAEPS last night.

But it was awesome that I got the preview pass as I could browse easily and get from aisle to aisle without looking over people shoulders. It also gives me a chance to quickly browse and quickly filled my shopping bag. I brought 3 shopping bag. By 8.30pm, 2 was full and the other one is half full. I can hardly walk due to the weight of the books. I was dreadfully tired because I have a light lunch and browsing books and lugging it around in a large hall that could fit a football field is making me really lightheaded. So I stopped looking. At this time I miss my husband. Awwww... Dilssss.

There was a husband and wife there, where I noticed the husband kept on pointing out all the authors that his wife apparently like so the wife could take a look. This is what usually my husband does when he accompany me. And also he will carry all those books. Sigh. Imagine if I have his shoulder, I would get more books!

In the end I bought 30 books, for the price of RM236. It is a so-so achievement because I think the last sales I bought almost 50 books. And when I got back home, I was kinda like... ehh.. I thought I bought a lot. But then, I am tottering side to side carrying the books, I don't think so even if I have the energy I can buy more. I still have to get to Midvalley and carry my books to my car on foot. So , have to stop. Which is why tak puas because I feel I could buy more. Also partly because I am kicking myself that I put down a book called "Atlantis", then I thought that I had already put in my book. Only during paying I noticed that it is not in the bag. Bahh.

Funny how missing one book which I had never heard before, could make me feel slightly down. I guess I need to cheer up because not all people could get the preview pass and browse easily. And on the bright side, there are a lot of books that I had my eyes on and are now are able to buy.

My tower of chic lits

I stacked this chic lit that I bought with the other books to compare if perhaps I had gone slightly insane at the chic lit aisles.

My 'other' books consisting of thriller/horror/fiction/travel/fantasy/biographical/historical

Comparing this stack and chic lits, it seems the chic lit won. LOL.

Later Updated:
Ops... the other books won, as I missed one book which is :

I counted again this morning and was baffled why I only have 29 books. Looked again in my shopping bag and there it is. The book above is a collection of letters they got from 16 teens during the WW2. Quite a good find. ( I love all WW stories related )

Also I am very pleased that I found Anne Berry - The Hungry Ghosts. I was tempted to buy at Borders, but of course I put it off.

For the little ones

The above I bought for my anak2 sedara. Didn't buy anything for Aleeya, ( my 4 mths old niece ), but of course because she is 4 mths.

I didn't get much chance to browse, but perhaps if I am rajin, I will go again later on before the sales finish, to browse on obscure authors and titles. However I am kinda doubtful, because, I need to save money for my upcoming trip and well, 27 books ( exclude children ), is a normal amount for a functional adult. So, be still my greedy, greedy heart. Read all the bought books first.

I am pleased overall. The MAEPS hall is airy, the staffs are nice, we even have staffs helping to roll our books around in a trolley after paying on the way out and wait for us to get to our car so we can drive right at the entrance. And they have music! I remembered singing along to one of the Grease tune while searching for books. Yes I was tired, but it was worth it. I am not sure if I can get another chance like this next year!

So thank you Big Bad Wolf for giving me a chance to win a preview pass! Thank you Sue for bringing me there and the insane journey to get out of UPM! Thank you husband who gives me moolah so I don't have to sit in a corner contemplating painfully if I really do need this book!

p/s: blog posts may have lots of grammatical errors or sentence that does not make sense. Tired. I am.

Update Kucing Untuk Bulan Ini

2011-10-01T23:35:00.001+08:00

Fasha had been sick for a few days. Not her usual prowly self. She had been sleeping 20 out of 24 hours, and macam invalid. Would only eat a few bites and drink watery milk from my hand. Kucing-kucing aku ni memang mengada. So took her to a vet favorite kucing2 ni near Setiawangsa.

Puteh had been there 3 times, Kurap one time, so now turn Fasha pulak. Almost every month pergi vet. Dear governments, can we have some tax rebate for vet bills. At least this one is the least expensive vet, but at least Fasha seems to be responding well. The vet said she have a fever and gave her an injection, by night time she is beginning to get all prowly again. So the medication must have been working. So hoping she gets better and get on my nerves again.

Puteh is whipped

Now Puteh is integrating well into the household. Well, except he kept on getting beat up by Kurap. Whenever Kurap is feeling pissed and she saw Puteh nearby she will gave him a whack. Kurap tu nampak je comel, tapi gangster.

He is now a fully domesticated cat. He likes to sit near people. Enjoy being around people. Will not hesitate to park himself on top of you if you are watching TV. And he got himself snipped (neutered /spayed) and ever since then lagi la tanak keluar rumah. Well at least, after getting spayed, he never sprayed around the house again, not anywhere I noticed at least. And kalau bukak pintu pon, 2 ekor female tu will bounded joyfully out the house, but he just sniffed at the doorstep and got in the house again.

Also I noticed that he likes a belly rub. I can never give Fasha and Kurap a belly rub. Maybe kucing jantan je kut suke cause I remembered that Chics likes to cium perut Ah Beng. Hihi. If I ever do that to Kurap yang montel dan berlemak tu, I will look like Freddy Krueger had given me a facial.

Can I get any cuter?

This sucks

2011-09-29T19:18:00.003+08:00

The thing that sucks with starting out new project is on how helpless you feel. Everything is new. Everything is unfamiliar. There's nothing to compare it with. Completely blind. I feel like a new starting out fresh graduate.

I sometimes wonder how did I came to work in a technical line after trying to resist it so long. I wonder why I persist so long. It had been almost 4 years now. Wow. The longest I had been at a company and still no plan to move. I am getting way too comfy here.

With this short brief thought, I will now head home. Tapi masih berlengah2, because KL is usually jam. I used to choose my workplace nicely. Like before my office move, getting to home from office is a breeze because the AKLEH is just metres away from my parking lot. Now, sometimes getting back to home is more stressful than the whole day at work. (either I hate driving or work is too easy?).

Review: A Clash of Kings

2011-09-27T12:07:00.001+08:00

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Clash of Kings is set a few months after the ending of Game of Thrones.

It picks up again with all the impending wars of the realm and the fight to get the thrones.

In this book too, I am introduced to a whole lot of other characters. In the first book, I only need to acquaint myself with the Stark and Lannister house mostly. In this book, I have to get to know the Greyjoy and Baratheon. In the next book ( from the sneak peek I read ) , it will include the Tyrell House. So many characters so little plot advance.

Things move slowly in this book 2, which I guess is only the start of my frustration on this series. I am pissed at first to get to know this relatively new characters. I was thinking " I want to know only of the old characters not caring a whit for the new one". But I guess the author feels that for at least 1 side of the realm, we must have a narrator. It does give a clearer picture, but it does slow down the story. By the end of the book, you feel like the plot barely move.

However the book does not feel slow, it is fast pace enough, chock full of court intrigue ( just the way I like it ), warring and angst. So many angst. In the middle of the book, it got a bit much, and I have to take a breather again, but right at the end, it picked up steam again. Which left the readers wanting more.

While I do have the third and fourth book, I don't think I will read it so soon after I had finished this one. It is best to take a break and read a few other books in between before resuming the series. After all, I think George R.R. Martin had only finished a few chapters of the 6th book. We are a long way from over.

I give it all stars because I love on how everything I predicted of the characters still does not come to be or turn out completely different. I wonder what they'll do next.

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MPH Warehouse Sales...

2011-09-18T19:06:00.000+08:00

Currently sitting at home watching Gilmore Girls. Bliss I say. It would be more blissful if my computer is not acting up again (which it only does that when my husband is away? What is up with that) While other people got to go to open houses or twtup but I have nothing to do and just sitting here idling my time away. Anyway, yesterday spent some time at the MPH Warehouse Sale after I heard some excellent sales on graphic novels. But I suspected that all of the good ones ( like Watchmen and Fables ) had all been gobbled up. They are only all those superheroes crap left. Bah! So I didn't buy any of them. I guess I have to depends on my 10% off Borders discount card then for graphic novel purchases.

Instead, this are my loots

This pic looks tilted to you? I sometimes have problem taking a straight pic.

I counted around 16 books which equals to about RM113 altogether. I am somewhat excited to get the Tash Aw book that I had been eyeing for a while, but was around RM40 in Kino the last time I seen it. So at this sale it is purchased at RM15. Good enough price, something to sneeze about ( I think I may use that phrase wrongly).

But I am especially excited when I saw 'Furious Love'. I almost missed it, but I decided to roam around the place one more time, (practically skipping the RM20 books, I mean RM20 books? For a warehouse price? The galls! But of course it is better than the so called book fair that sometimes just shaved off 10% - 20% of the price. Which is like... have no words for it. But when I came upon this type of book fair and saw the final price, I'll practically storm off the premise and fuming at the mouth. It is not a pretty sight ).

Anyway back to the book, which I saw and I kinda squealed when my eyes fall upon the dust covered book. I had been looking for this! The last BBW sale didn't have it. Maybe the upcoming one got, but who cares. And of course I realized I have at hand the movie that practically spurns this book. The movie where Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton ( I kept on referring Richard Burton as Burt Reynolds in my head) first fall in love even though both are married , I think. Of course the warehouse sale do not have this movie on sale, I bought the movie at Carrefour months before. Haven't watched it yet, so I am now conflicted on what to do first. Read the book first or watch the movie first? Or the other way around? Sigh... such dilemma.

Oh btw, the book sale at the MPH warehouse sale is ok enough, you can't get the popular books below RM10, unless you dig hard enough. However I find a few gem at around RM 5 and RM 3 prices, so there's nothing to bitch about. Overall it is quite good. To find something to your taste and very cheap, you may need to prepare to dig deep, where good airy clothing and braced yourself for lot of dust, but it was worth it. All the not so cheap one are displayed prominently but those are good prices, like you can get the GoT books ( all 4, not the recent one), at RM88. A lot of Sophie Kinsella and Madeline Wickham at RM20, and so does a lot of popular authors. Older books or obscure authors, you need to dig though a whole lots of boxes. Which is why a lot of my books purchase are the one prices at RM 5 or RM 3. Hard to get disappointed if you're just paying just a couple of ringgit for it.

I think I am a hoarder of books.

p/s: Kurap almost got hit by a car just now because she was hell bent on chasing after that darned bunnies. At least the driver stopped and laughed when hearing my screams. He was probably thinking crazy cat lady.

Review: A Game of Thrones

2011-09-09T15:16:00.001+08:00

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had saw the series first which was amazing and lovely and intriguing as hell.

So after the series end and a feeling of despair settles in, I bought the book so I can relish again the story.

I never care much about fantasy before. I try to get into LOTR, but without success. I think I like something with the YA feels to it, which is why my preference is more to that. The other fantasy series sounds something like an old bore or someone who fancy they want to be an old bore would write.

So the writing on this story surprised me a bit. Maybe I was expecting LOTR style of writing, but George R. R. Martin is surprisingly to the point, direct, succinct. Quite a number of times you might even find a glimmer of humour that is incredibly lacking in most fantasy stories. Which I like, because sometimes it is so unexpected that I can't help laughing out loud.

I love the plots, the intricate characters, court intrigue, the many lords and ladies that it make your head ache trying to keep up. It created a wonderful world and I find myself unable to tear myself away from the book. So I rate it amazing, because that what I felt like when watching the series AND read the book.

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Various Updates after Raya

2011-09-07T13:33:00.002+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya to all!

Tengah mood malas so updates bentuk point form okeh.

Raya kali ni macam pantas. Perhaps sebab husband is here so sume mende nak buat. So my raya end when he goes back to Turkmenistan this week. Sebab aku malas nak drive sensorang di kala jem untuk pergi beraya rumah orang.

My youngest brother is now engaged. Gile pantas. I felt old, and maybe I am because I'd been thinking that this year I'll be 30, but my husband replied that he'll be 30 (or is? God. I am horrendous), then I am only in the sweet sweet age of 28.

That being said, I am really bad with birthdays. Don't take offense ok? Just because I don't remember your birthday does not mean I like you less, I am just horrible with dates.

The Petknode issues had simmered a while but people are still outraged. I am like Chics where I mudah lembut hati and felt kesian to the owners of Petknode. I think they majorly fucked up. I think perhaps they did not mean to be cruel but they inadvertently left the cats to die. I think perhaps they had entrusted it to someone else but the someone fled. However it is still their fault. It is their business. They should not be too busy to at least look into their shop to see if their shop is ok and whatevs. They should take more responsibilities. It is terrible, they're majorly stupid and the one who suffered are the poor defenseless kitties.

Now, I fetched the cats from the pet boarding on Sunday, and all of them looks pleased to see me. Especially Kurap. She is incredibly affectionate this past few days, and my husband is somewhat pissed that Kurap acted like he didn't exist in the house. I would be devastated if my cats are the one who suffered the same fate as the one in Petknode.

I am back to work now, on Wednesday dan tengah liat lagi. However I can't afford to be liat because I have deadlines. So... taa for now. Main game kejab dan buat keje.

I rather face monsters than human

2011-08-24T11:43:00.000+08:00

That's seems to be the feeling I felt in my dream.

I kept on having recurring dreams where vampires are after me and taking hostage of my cats. Especially Kurap.

Gambar sekadar hiasan

The other night I dreamt of real people intending to do me harm, and it scared me witless. I found myself reluctant to sleep because in my dream the people came to me in my sleep and I was scared. Sleep of course came and I dreamt again of vampires and cats and all is right again in my world. I rather much have vampires and zombies and aliens ( I dreamt of them quite often too) in my dreams than psychopath made of real flesh and blood.

Perhaps the state of the world scares me. The other night I was haunted by the face of the father who lost his 2 kids. Last night news reported there was a hit and run in Kelantan where a vehicle hit 2 kids on a bicycle. Seeing those poor kids still bloodied and still clad n school clothes while being watched silently by their father at the side of the road, there is no word to express how horrible it is. The perpetrator are still not found.

Aside from this sad business, the many cases of robberies, acid splashing, murders are making me feel quite disgusted with humanity. I really can't understand how these people live with themselves. What kind of things they'd been taught at when they were small that they could bring harm to others? Of course tale of murder is as old as time. But do they grieve for their wrong doing ?

When I was small my sister and mother, caught a young man stealing mangoes from the trees at our home. We never mind if the kids climb up and take a few mangoes but this guy actually brought a guni to put all these mangoes in. My sister ( who is a small fearsome little thing) berates him and asked him what he is doing, and all he said is "Mintak maaf kak, mintak maaf, saya orang miskin".

Is that the excuses that they keep telling themselves? Time is hard so it is ok to steal, cheat, kill?

So give me monsters anytime. In my dream I run and fight and face these monsters fearlessly. When I dreamt of human psychopath, all I do is cower.

A pile of book reviews

2011-08-23T11:28:00.000+08:00

The Long Secret by Louis Fitzburgh

This is the sequel to the precocious tale of Harriet the Spy, which I had read some time ago. I like Harriet the Spy, this one, not so much.

Summary:

Harriet the Spy refuses to become ruffled when an unidentified person starts leaving disturbing notes all over the quiet little beach town of Water Mill. She’s determined to discover the author of the notes. And she drags her best friend, mousy Beth Ellen, into all kinds of odd and embarrassing situations in her efforts to reveal the culprit. Observing in her own special, caustic way with her ever-present notebook, Harriet the Spy is on the case. But will she be ready to face the truth when she finds it?

Review

The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I like the book towards the end. When the characters shows more heart and emotion. I appreciate the ending.

However, this book felt bland . I like the first book well enough, but this one, I need to force myself to continue reading it.

I have no idea why I have a hard time imagining the story. Usually I have no difficulties in building the world the characters live in, in my min. However this book, make me feel dull and without imagination. Whenever I pictured the character it is against a white canvas. They interact with nothing. They only have emotions which we are not given glimpses of. Yes, even emotional Harriet, feel lifeless to me.

Maybe I am the only one who feel this way. Maybe I am just depressed when I am reading this book. But joy, is not what this book bring forth in me.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Rest of Our Lives by Jeannie Johnson

Summary:

The Second World War is now over and people must count the cost. Three women from very different backgrounds meet when they find themselves on Bristol Temple Meads station waiting for the return of their loved ones. Edna's fiance Colin comes home crippled. Charlotte's doctor husband, who was a loving and gentle father, returns a violent, disturbed man with no love for her and even less for their children. Polly, who is waiting for her GI boyfriend Aaron, is once again disappointed when he doesn't arrive. Adjusting to men who are very changed and, in Polly's case, to no man at all, is the core of this story. However, during the war years, the women have had to cope. They too have changed, and they harbor secrets that would be best kept

Review:

The Rest of Our Lives by Jeannie Johnson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the book wholeheartedly and it was a fast read. Manage to finish it in 2 days.

I'd always been interested in the stories regarding women during the war. The one that were left behind and kept waiting . I like the characters setup, though Edna pisses me of with her indecisiveness. The writing is simple and no nonsense which I appreciated.

I guess towards the end, I felt like there's could be something more. Whatever that is I don't know which is why the 3 stars.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read.

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Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica

Summary:

In this book, the pseudonymous Steve Dublanica (a.k.a. Dan John Miller) achieves for waiters what Anthony Bourdain did for cooks in Kitchen Confidential. By the evidence of Waiter Rant, not even his seminary classes or job as a psychiatric worker could prepare Dublanica adequately for what he would experience pulling shifts at an upscale restaurant outside New York City. He tells story after entertaining story about customers, co-workers, and bosses who range individually from the imperious to the clinically insane. Along the way, the author-waiter delivers sound advice on proper tip etiquette and the art of getting good service

Review:

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had been a fan of the Waiter Rant blog. Nowadays after the publication of this book, his update had been sporadic.

Anyway, on this book, I enjoyed reading it, but as a person who had read all entries in his blog, I guess, it feels redundant. Except for a few chapters, I felt like I had read most of the sordid true tales in the blog, and it was rehashed with more words in the book. The flow of the book is a bit uneven, felt disjointed from one chapter to the next. Like many other reviews before this, it felt like you are reading a collection of blog entries. I wouldn't say he is not a good writer, his style of writing is entertaining, though at times it feels like it is trying a bit too hard to be too philosophical (whenever he start waxing poetic philosophical stuffs, I tend to skip those paragraphs) and at times trying too much to be funny, when a simple fact should suffice.

I guess if you have never read his blog before, you might find it interesting and an enjoyable quick read. If you had, like me, it feels like revisiting entertaining entries while feeling is my money worth spending this much when I can just reread the blog?

(Though I have no regret buying this book as I got it cheap at a warehouse sale. My recommendation is: Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential for a raw tale of the restaurant industry. ).

Random on Sunday

2011-08-21T16:49:00.000+08:00

I have no idea why, but feel like this Ramadhan was harder than before. Maybe because I gotten sick during Ramadhan? Or I am alone at home?

I had finished watching Felicity. I felt quite sad towards the end, that I can no longer have my fix of Ben and Felicity adorableness. This only spurs me to see Dawson's Creek. If I can find the DVD. In the mean time, I'm watching Gilmore Girls and reliving how cute Alexis Bledel is and how youthful Jared Padalecki looks then.

I can't wait for Raya, but more because I can't wait for holiday. I hope this week go fast.

I am now quite addicted playing with the games on google plus. If you do play, add me! Especially Zombies Lane. I love that game but I need more people so I can chomp on their plants!

Manage to give a bath to all 3 kittehs. It does do me good as I was having a fever and a cold this weekend, so a little sweat always do you good in my opinion. However it resulted in me 'melepek' at 2pm.

On Friday I am on MC. I parked my ass on the sofa and watch documentaries in my feverish state, while playing Zombie Lane. I quite like watching the Dog Whisperer. (a show where a dog trainer helps people to train their aggressive dogs). I wonder if he can handle cats. Especially when giving them a bath. Or giving them pills.

I really want to drink my Diet Coke in the fridge.

Selamat berbuka y'all.

Cat Sanatorium

2011-08-15T14:18:00.000+08:00

Last weekend 2 of my cats are sick.

Kurap came home on Thursday all quiet. Soon she was puking around the house. I am immune to cat puke by this time, well almost. The one Fasha let out last week is enormous and disgusting but I manage to not retch next to it. However the one that Kurap let out is worrying because I can see blood in there. This is her on Friday night , where she had found a nook she want to be in.

While Puteh came home that same evening limping. He was limping a while, but I didn't bring pay much attention because I am lousy, also it is also a bit on and off limp.

By Friday, he can only walks with 3 legs. That it is him on the same Friday night where Kurap is asleep in her nook, he took position on the sofa and prop up his hurt leg to a position less painful to him.

I now have 2 sick cats in hand and brought them to a vet on Saturday. I worry more for Kurap because all she wants to do is lie down. However on the way to the vet, she became incredibly active and mewed and clawed around her carrier. Of course when Kurap start up in the car, Puteh also mewed in unison. I swear they were synchronizing their mewing at one point when I was in the car.

( Sometimes I called this guy who pet boarded my cats, and he do home delivery service. Every time I sent Kurap in his car, Kurap is incredibly loud in her protestation. However can he drive from Ampang to Cheras with that godawful persistent mewing? I had a headache from the 15 mins drive to the vet ).

Kurap was worrying me a lot because she wouldn't eat any food at all. While I don't think Kurap is really fat, she's maybe a tad bit overweight and sudden loss of appetite to an overweight cat can be dangerous. So the whole weekend consisting me waving a considerable amount of food in front of her nose. It ranges from dry kibbles, wet food, boiled fish, cooked canned tuna, chicken, chicken soup. None she deign to even lick. I haven't done so much cooking even for myself.

All she ever do is just sniff it, then make some retching sound like a nauseous pregnant women might do if they smell tempoyak, and move away from the food. I spent the whole day yesterday, chasing her and forcing food down her throat. She does not like me at all yesterday.

By nightfall, she was tired, I was tired, Puteh is neglected and Fasha pulak is now sick. (However Puteh get better right away after he got the medicine so I tak worry).

This morning however Kurap woke me up looking cheery than I had seen her the last few days, so I accompanied her to her food and she will eat a small amount of it if I'll slowly rub her back while she's eating. At 5.30 am. At least it is sahur time.

Now I have to monitor Fasha pulak and she better get better much quicker. Because I can't stand another round of waving food or chasing to force down food on a sick cat.

Bloggity blog

2011-08-05T11:50:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I wonder if I privatize my blog, I will have more to blog about?

Or maybe I should just accept the fact that I am like many other was just following a fad?

But I used to love blogging. I used to think what I want to write and store all this little nuggets of observation, insight, conversation to be put in here. Nowadays, I am just contented, to read, read and read. Read books, read tweets, read blogs, read gossip sites.

When I open my blog nowadays I can only do book reviews. Maybe I should change this blog name to - Dils Reads Books and Spout it Here? Or start a new blog and jot things in here occasionally. But when I want to abandon the blog, I will find myself itching to blog.

So blog blog blog. Maybe I'll set it to private. I think whenever I decided to close down the blog, it will be set to private. And perhaps then I'll write in abandon, without thoughts, grammar nazi and secret people stalking through here secretly. The thoughts seems to be liberating.

In the mean time, I think, you'll only get book reviews. Maybe I do need to change the title?

Btw, Selamat berpuasa to y'all. Been to param ( Haha! I am calling it PARAM to irk you) only once this week, and spend way too much and the thing sold in PARAM (*snort*) nowadays, is way expensive and you'll always regretted it after you had finished one plate of nasi during the buka puasa. I think I will only go there to buy my stock of susu segar. Do you know it?

I took this pic from here.

It is the best milk ever. I especially like the corn flavoured and the strawberry one. Not too fond of the chocolate one, but that is one of the few chocolate milk I can down ( I hate chocolate milk, it always disappoint my expectations) . When I was small, I think it was sold 90 sen. And then RM1. Now it is RM1.70. Sigh. Mahal ok. Dah la kecik. 3 kali teguk dah habis. But if I saw this being sold, I can never resist buying a few. Few. Not one.

Hey. Lookie there. I blog.

Many things! Read all about it!

2011-07-28T11:35:00.001+08:00

I had been working from home for a while, because the car is at the service center. Gonna pick it up tomorrow.

In the mean time, I had been reading at incredible speed. Both reviews are below. Bossypants which I finished in one sitting at the service center. Chasing Harry Winston is while at home.

Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don't know what I was expecting. I guess, perhaps I have difficulties warming up to the character at first. All of them excepting Emmy (and even she grates on my nerves sometimes), is not really likable. The stories and character even with their inner struggles seems shallow to me.

I guess maybe I was expecting Andi voice here ( from Devil Wears Prada). Andi was a great character, she's flawed but she's human. These 3 best friends seems like caricatures. I took great stock in characters. I can stand if a plot is flawed or the writing is a bit choppy, but if I can't identify or like the characters the book does nothing to me.

All in all, it was good towards the end, but it takes time to get there. Overall there is a blandness to this book that make the whole read just 'meh'.

Bossypants by Tina Fey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Bossypants is both autobiographical and advise book.

It was funny. Insightful if you want to learn how to be a boss or performer. But overall it doesn't really portray Tina Fey. She give you a glimpse of her life and how her mind works (and some of them I totally agreed with ), but that basically it. I respect the need of privacy but it is jarring with all the celeb tell all these days.

The book have its funny moments, but the moment is not as close together as I hope. But maybe it is unrealistic of me to expect all of her life / outlook on life is a barrel of laugh.

It is a good, light read but you'll never learn anything more of Tina Fey than you learn of her in the media.

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Rush hour weirdness.

On Monday I was forced to use the public transport and there I was sweating at the KTM station waiting for the Komuter to arrive, when next to me a group of Japanese ppl was laughing and joking around and taking pictures in front of the public toilet O_O . I guess other people from other countries always took pictures of their technological advance toilet, that they think it is nothing unusual to take picture of our sadly smelly filthy looking toilet. It boggles the mind really.

Anyway, totally forgot that KTM now have women only couch, I entered the usual one and I was situated right in front of an Indonesian armpit, beside a woman boob and to the left of the Japanese armpit. While trying to keep my balance I placed my hand on the pole and was surprised of something soft. It seems that I was putting my hand smack right onto the woman boobs and my finger was prodding it. It was deeply unsettling to me, but the woman was curiously blase about it. At the same time I was distracted that the Japanese was unbuttoning his shirt right next to me.

I was immensely relieved that my stop is only a stop away, and I could enter the LRT Putra. KTM is really the lowest of the low of public transport. I know because I had taken a bus to work in PJ before, and the rush hour bus journey is/was a ten times more pleasant ride than a 5 mins KTM rush hour ride can ever be. I am curious if they'll ever find a way to improve it.

No wonder in my car-less day I have so many things to blog about. Look at the amount of things I can blog about from just 10 mins of public transport ride.

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Cats!

Fasha likes to hang around my sister house. My 2 nephews are always excited to see her but she just sat composedly licking her fur. The youngest one repeatedly gave her racquet, balls, swords asking Fasha to play with him. He thought that the cats in real world is the same as in cartoon world.

Kurap is being Kurap. She looks pissed whenever I gave any attention to Puteh, but overall she is contented as long as she have a comfortable place to sleep and her favorite food.

Puteh is noisy. He constantly mewed, cried and making various noise and will only stop if I let him roam around the house. However I can't trust him to roam around because I am afraid he would pee wherever place he chose. So right now he is mewing and beckoning to be let inside. ( He is place at the back)

Ok. I think that is a long enough post. Most of you short attention people I think had already left the site. Hell, maybe I don't have any reader left. Except you! Yes, you!

Dream a little dream

2011-07-22T13:26:00.000+08:00

I had the weirdest dream.

I dreamt that someone stole all my credit cards and bankcard. Then to cheer me up husband and friends drop me off at this historical place that does not exist in this world, so I can walk to and fro to my heart content. It was suppose to be some old hospital/monastery which looks that it may crumble to the see. And of course when I went up there, bits by bits it crumbles to the sea. Then it got very confusing, with images of bags washed up on shores, various semi naked people carrying knives, random dictator seizing my wallet, hordes of sick people still at the place looking for treatment and not budging from their spot even though the place is gonna fall down. Weird I tell you.

Then for a second there, I thought I have more to say, but then it eluded me. Maybe I need to type on notepad like the old days.

Adrian Mole - A diary of an adolescent boy

2011-07-19T17:17:00.001+08:00

My review of a book posted on Goodreads

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first read Adrian Mole, when the character is in his 40s I think. While it is amusing, I don't really get what the fuss is all about.

When I read this book, then I understand. I need to start at the very beginning to really understand how awesomely weird Adrian Mole is. He understand that he is kind of fucked up, but he never (nor will he ever) really understand how truly fucked up he really is.

I love that the book can make me LOL in the middle of the night. It is truly amusing and funny, and even though he is incredibly annoying to all, you can't help but feel that he is actually really kind and just lovable to readers.

This is definitely one of the book I won't hesitate to pick up again.

View all my reviews

I need to lose weight

2011-07-14T13:59:00.001+08:00

A sketch of Kurap I did when she was sprawling in front me. That is the only one that remotely looks like her. Geram tgk perut bulat die.

For the reason of I can't find/too late to find a tailor for baju raya, and the only one I can wear (the baju I tempah last year but never wear) I need to lose some weight to fit into. Such is the first world pain of middle class women everywhere.

In other uninteresting news, husband is here! Not too long, next weekend he'll be off again but I'll not dwell on it too much. Also puasa is starting very soon, at the very least I'll have the Ramadhan month to contemplate by myself and all.

Of the cat, Puteh is now back at home. He can pee on his own but not in the litterbox. I haven't the heart to scold him, but it does get very tiring to clean up after cat pee all the time. I tried to express his bladder and he protested way too much. However after I tried unsucessfully to express the bladder, he did pee right afterwards on somewhere else. He looked so sullen afterwards kinda like "I know how to pee, no need to press on me ok, let me show you" . Mengada betul. Jentik kang.

Maybe I'll bring him to another vet to really show me how to do it later on. He also now like to follow Fasha everywhere. Awwww, Fasha have an admirer.

Other than that, I have been shopping way too much, tapi besok pegi Sg. Wang (main adalah Low Yat to search for new computer. My computer sometimes refuse to start. I have to bang on it repeatedly then it would sputtered to life) . I love Sg Wanggg.

Random Friday

2011-07-08T15:50:00.001+08:00

Hello!

Selalu kut blogging sejak 2 menjak ni. Perasaan membuak2 so kena la cari outlet.

Btw, the supposedly illegal rally thing tomorrow is gonna be a hassle. Now I rarely comment on politics, but I do believe if people wants to make a political rally and are trying to go through the appropriate channels should be given a chance to do so. People are not stupid, but all these incredible precautions are making us nervous. Before this we are thinking this is just gonna be a normal-ish political rally and somehow it had turned out to be chaos. This does not look good all around. And somehow I think if the BN wants to have a fucking parade with fireworks in the middle of the day around KLCC, the government would give their blessings with confetti thrown in too but other body that clashes with the govt have to huddle miserably at the stadium where no one can access it. ( I somehow have mad image of someone in the govt giving money to bomoh hujan to make it rain only at the stadium tomorrow).

Tetiba aku nervous ape aku type kat blog ni. Tapi helloooo, tak popular kut aku.

Well in another subject, but more serious to my well being, Puteh is sick. Kesian ok. I sedihh. (Tetiba on mode mengada) .

In pain, angkat kepala pon tak larat. I very the sad.

Pagi semalam he was A OK. I let him out for a while and he went wandering about 30 mins and came back in again. But last night I found him peeing everywhere. Not peeing, but trying to pee. He was making all this weird sound like he is in pain while trying to pee. It is very pathetic. So I went at the back of the house watching him to see if he can pee or not, and asking him to take his vitamin. Every few mins, he will try to pee and then lie back on the floor looking exhausted. He mewed out painfully when I picked him up. There was one point he was making groaning noises and the 2 cats berlari datang tengok. They just sat there in front of him looking at him in a sad way, as he shivered on the floor. Sampai 2 ekor kucing gangster tu pon did not try to bully Puteh, so I know he is in much pain and needs to go to the vet ASAP.

By morning, I found him trying to pee and vomiting at the same time, so it is getting more serious. So we went to the vet in Wangsa Melawati that is his usual vet. But dah pukul 10.10 am , 10 mins past its operation starting hours and tadek ura2 bukak kedai pon. Puteh then start lying down in her carrier and convulsing, so I speed to another vet that I know from experience is way more expensive. Tsk, tsk. But I would feel guilty if I didn't try my all while I can afford it. (barely I can say). But Fasha and Kurap recovered quickly when they stay there so apart from the cost, there is nothing I can complain about the place. So he is staying there because he needed a catheter to help get the pee out and drip I think because he's too weak. Kesian die. Tomorrow I'll drop in at the vet to see if he's getting better.

Gamba Kurap sebagai penutup entri. Die conquer the other side of the bed. I often wake up with her tidur terbongkang beside me

Of complaints

2011-07-07T12:05:00.000+08:00

I felt really really out of sorts of late. Even the cats are hiding under the bed, because I kept yelling at them. Totally necessary because Kurap kept on spilling her water bowl deliberately for the fun of it.

Also the neighbor is making weird noises in the bathroom in the middle of night. I suspect their toilet is clogged because my room smells kinda bad, then it went away, then it came again and I can't pinpoint the cause.

Then waking up, mood is not much better. I am feeling snappish at even random strangers. Like one stranger who park her car right behind a fire extinguisher where if there is an emergency you can't get to it because there is a car blocking it. I hate that kind of people. Go rot someplace else.

Then people in elevator who are so impatient that they can't wait for other people to get off the lift. Barely a person manage to get out they are impatiently pushing the close door button. Repeatedly. Gah. The hell la weh. You are not the only one in existence. Be mindful that other people are breathing the same oxygen as you.

Well, I got all that complaint out of me, I am somewhat deflated. Maybe tomorrow would be better. Of course tomorrow is better. Tomorrow is Friday! Saturday, husband balik! Then Sunday he went somewhere else plak... I tell you I am full of complains.

And it is weird, but I couldn't stand weird happy statuses. I like enough the good brief one. But I don't like the gushing one. Or the one that is full of exclamation marks. Every! Sentence! Needs to have this!!!! Then this :) :) :) . Gah. Kill me now. Which is why I want to delete FB. Everytime I logged in I feel rampaging like a Godzilla. But I like looking at other people photos. Especially cat photos.

This is what we called First World Pains.

Now I want to rummage through my car.

The Black Magician Trilogy

2011-07-04T11:27:00.000+08:00

I felt before this that I haven't used Goodreads to its full potential, but am going to start now. With Goodreads, it became easier to keep track the books I had read and reviewed.

So I had bought the Black Magician Trilogy entah bile lamanye dahulu. The books are quite satisfying and make for a fast read. Reviews below:

The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I like the characters and tone of the story. The chase became quite boring, and it only begin to pick up around 3/4 of the book, which is no worry to me because I got the next book on my bookshelves.

The Novice by Trudi Canavan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second book in the trilogy is a lot more satisfying maybe since we are reading only about the Guild, so I don't felt thrown from one place to the other like the first book.

So it is quite exciting for me to get to know of this world. It feels Harry Potter-ish to me, as a lot of it deals with how Sonea getting along with her classmates but less teen/children drama, while Harry Potter have his small circle of close friends, Sonea still have none. There is basically no happy ending in this one for all.

The High Lord by Trudi Canavan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The tone of this book is darker than rest, and maybe because I read 3 books successively, it is quite a surprise to me that Sonea is already a young woman. (while the magicians called her as a young woman right from the start, it doesn't feel like it).

It deals mostly with Akkarin and Sonea, the reasons why Akkarin uses black magic. At the end of the book, we are dealing with war, and the actions being described here is fast pace but clear enough that we don't feel rush when reading the book.

I don't quite like the ending but understood why it must be so. I felt a bit sad after finishing the whole trilogy as it is my thought that this book is the best of the three, but there is another set of the Guild books, that I am looking forward to buy and read.

Random

2011-07-01T11:58:00.002+08:00

Malas ni, and I am a feeling a bit semput. Sigh. Mest sebab duduk bukak air cond. I can't really stand aircond during the night, but it it is so hot nowadays. My HTC Weather shows last 2 night was 29 degrees, which is macam temp during the day.

Consumerism

Well, our company had just given out bonus and whats not, and you know what this means, it means shopping?

I was sorely tempted to buy a yellow bag from Kate Spade, but I know I won't have the heart to put down thousands for bag. I am contented to buy rm200++ bags from MNG or Topshop or Zara. I still could not see the point of an expensive bag and why start now.

In the mean time, I could buy whatever book I want! Don't you ever found when you have the means to buy the stuffs you always wanted to, then you kind of forgot what it is that you wanna buy. It just means that it is not really important actually. However, need to hold back and keep some so I can spend on my holiday later on this year.

Cats

Kurap - have now manage to lose one collar and after buying her a new one, lose the bell on the new one. I have no idea where the bell is, and only hope she didn't eat it. I have to buy a new bell soon because I really like to keep track where my cats are by listening to their bells. Kadang2 macam comel je bunyi tu. And with 3 cats and 3 bells , who needs a wind chime?

Fasha - is waking up insanely early nowadays. 5.30 am. Every. Morning. Ugh.

Puteh - I fear that Puteh infection is not completely clear as I can see some reddish hues in his pee. Sigh. So another trip to the vet this time.

Books

I am still reading the Black Magician trilogy and enjoying it. I skimmed the book 3/4 into it, because I am impatient. I need to stop doing that because it spoils the enjoyment of reading. But sometimes I still do it, because I found I can't sleep because I want to know what happened next, so I skimmed to sate my curiosity. Stupid curiosity killing my sleep and my reading.

In the mean time, I'll be exercising my Borders card again and buying that George R.R Martin books while it is still offering the Value Buy. Though the 2 in 1 value buy only offers A Clash of King & A Storm of Swords OR A Storm of Swords & A Feast of Crows. I think I am gonna take the latter and look for A Clash of Kings later on.

Eh. Lunch!

Puteh

2011-06-28T13:52:00.000+08:00

I had been thinking to get another cat for a while but I was looking for a female cat. So kalau female cat kurang sikit perang di dalam rumah. However I think I had mentioned regarding a male cat that kept on coming for food. He is the picture above and the most cutest and manja little furry thing ever.

At first I was just contented to just feed him, then I noticed he had a little limp. Brought him to the vet and all is well again so I let him out again and continue just feeding him outside the house.\

Then one night before going to bed I heard some cat fighting so I open the door a bit. Without realizing Puteh sneaks in and I went straight to bed with my other 2 cats. Bile aku turun ke bawah, disaster. There were pee and blood everywhere. Puteh had an infection so he was peeing blood. Vigorous cleaning was needed and 2 cushion sacrified. ( One of them I secretly wanna throw away anyway ). At the very least, Puteh didn't peed on the sofa or my armchair. At the very worst, he peed a little at the edge of the carpet, which needed 2 products to take off the smell (and that product is awesome and I'll always buy it now).

Anyway he already went to the vet and got him the medication so he is all better now. I was not too worried because Fasha had gone through the same thing because Fasha likes to eat trash then. So I guess being a stray and you can't be too choosy, Puteh suffers the same fate. It takes a lot more time though for Puteh to get better. I am still on my guard whenever he is around because the habit of peeing everywhere is still there for him because he had associated peeing as something painful. (It takes monthsss for us to break Fasha of that habit and she still do it sometimes but very rarely nowadays, I am grim to think what I might face with Puteh). However he is slowly doing better by always looking for the litter box nowadays.

Looking for a pat on the head

He is an affectionate little thing, so if I called him to sit in front of me ( so I can watch him better while watching TV ) he'll plop down and used my leg or feet as a pillow. I got a soft spot for cat of this coloring because I used to have an affectionate Siamese cat when I was small.

This are the closest these 3 have been together so far. Kurap is still keeping her distance while Fasha is curious

Fasha and Kurap does not take too kindly of the newcomer. Fasha is quickly adjusting but Puteh is always on edge around Fasha because Fasha likes to jump on him (also Kurap) whenever she is in the mood to play. Fasha plays rough too so Puteh is a bit afraid of her. Puteh however is petrified of Kurap. Kurap looks like a ferocious animal whenever Puteh is around. It always amaze me to see this transformation because Kurap always look like a docile fat little buttercup. So whenever these 2 furry females are around, Puteh likes to sidle to me. I am hoping Kurap can adjust better, so Puteh won't be too terrified of her.

So that's that of the newcomer. I am still unsure if I want to keep, but in the mean time I am keeping him to keep from being terrorized by the other male cats outside (so being in the house being bullied by 2 territorial females is only slightly better) and I can keep on eye on what he ate.

#HariBapa2011

2011-06-16T11:55:00.001+08:00

There's this tag going on in Twitter where people reminisce about their Dad and how wonderful they are. Or sometimes, how not wonderful they're.

I want to join in but it seems it is already too late. And also it maybe too long, because I decided to tell a story that had been told a lot among the family and which tickled my husband greatly.

When I was living in Kelantan, I got to know a girl who have a horse. I always came around to her home to see and stroke the horse. The horse was a great big brown horse. Normal really, maybe not that big, but to a 10 year old eyes, it was the biggest animal she had ever set her eyes on. The horse was gentle and it seems lonely.

So everyday after I got back home, I always talk about the horse and my mother told me that I cajole everybody to let me take the horse because the owner of the horse wants to sell it. My father heard me talked about it everyday was tempted to buy it for me seeing how I seems to love the horse or maybe the idea of having a horse to talk to. (I like to talk to animals like an insane person). In my mind then, I just want the horse but not to ride it, but feed it, take it home and talk to it.

Unfortch or fortunately my mother dissuaded my father to not let me influence him into buying the horse because obviously there is an added cost of stable and so on. My father died later that year. So it is quite fortunately we don't have a horse as an added worries to my mother.

So there's the story. Of how my father who wanted to buy things that make his daughter happy even if the thing is ludicrous.

The saddest thing is, is not that I didn't get the horse ( I hope the horse gotten a nice owner and live a long prosperous life ). No. The saddest thing is that I can't remember that my father wants to buy the horse for me. Nor remember on how long I talk of the horse to my father. I only know this because my mother told me.

I am sure there is a lesson in this story. But I am not gonna hit you over the head regarding it. Just think of it yourselves.

Day 30 - Your favorite book of all time

2011-06-15T13:48:00.000+08:00

I think I had gushed about Anne a lot by now so it should be no surprise to anybody by this time that my favorite book of all time is Anne of Green Gables.

It is a book that I had read countless time. I love it throughout my childhood and even well into adulthood I find the book as delightful as the first time I read it.

I really try to find another book for this list on my most favorite book, but no other stories beat this. I mean no other book that I had bought again because the pages had fallen apart due to repetitive reading. So choosing this book as my ultimate favorite is really the only choice there is.

I won't say much about it, because I think I had already said a lot earlier, and it will become repetitive, but I never grew tired of reading about Anne and I don't expect I will be. A story about a lonely orphan girl with an over imaginative mind is one of those books that will always have a special place in my heart and my shelf.

Thus end this really long book meme which Sue and Adek have long since abandon. Teehee.

Gushing

2011-06-11T22:36:00.000+08:00

This is one of my most favorite TV first kiss ever. Felicity and Ben both looks dazed. It was awesome. I remembered squealing. Heck, years later watching this, I still feel a bit dizzy watching it. So. Much. Chemistry. (btw, both of them dated for a while during the series run)

Currently am watching Felicity which sent me into vapours at time due to the hotness that was Scott Speedman. I mean he is hot, cute and endearing.

I remembered loving the series way back when I was in school. The first pic above is their first kiss. And the last one is where Ben is waiting for Felicity to make a decision on who she would choose. I remembered groaning when the episode end then and going wild trying to think out who she chose. I remembered rooting for Noel then, because I always have a soft spot for dorks, but was also slightly conflicted because I always think Noel have kinda greasy hair. While Ben, is perfection. I mean really. Look at him. Ugh.

I think this is the only series that really deals with college ( I didn't watch Hellcats) . Again, I kept on asking, why not more series deal with college? It is an interesting time, all those freedom going through a young person head, the expectations being put upon, friends set for life. So much drama to be tapped into.

Untitled

2011-06-11T03:36:00.000+08:00

Just got back from a movie session with friends and while driving in the neighbourhood noticed a pair of elderly Chinese couple taking a really early morning walk.

During my call center days where I have to work at 4 a.m. I always noticed them on the way to work, and 4 years later, here they are still doing the same routine.

I wonder what time they go to bed. I wonder what time they start their routine. I wonder who woke up first and woke which one first. It must be a nice feeling if you can be them.

Day 29 - A book everyone hated but you liked

2011-06-08T17:54:00.001+08:00

This is called cheating, or maybe as the list progresses, I can't wait to get to the end. But honestly, raking my head for a few days, and even from the start of the list, I can't think of a book that everyone hated but I liked. Maybe one person hate it, but there is another person who likes it. Taste is subjective. Not everyone can universally dislike a book ( Even the Mein Kampf as hated as it is now, was celebrated by those deeply Aryan people. So even if the book deserved to be hated, there'll be always someone else that like it).

There is a plenty of books that everyone like but I hate though. Some like the Shopaholic series, any books by Clive Barker or Ruth Rendell.

So for this one, I am raising a white flag here.

Day 28 - Favorite title

2011-06-07T17:19:00.001+08:00

This time I just gonna put in a book that I have yet to read, nor own.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

I love the title, but maybe because the title just make me feel like really reading the book (remembered that I love fairy tale re-imaginings ) but I am having some pause because Wicked was so boringgg. (It was kinda good on some parts, but half the time I felt like dozing off when reading it).

So for a book I never read, what can I say more?

Day 27 - The most surprising plot twist or ending

2011-06-02T12:37:00.000+08:00

I somewhat pride myself in always knowing how the plot story or ending beforehand. And no, most of the time, I did not peek at the end to see how it turned out. My husband think watching a movie with me is annoying because I always know who the villain is by the middle of the story. Heck in Watchmen, I even know who killed the Comedian right from the start (and I never wiki nor read the graphic novel beforehand).

So I am rarely surprise by an ending nowadays because I can see how the story going to pan out, either A or B, but that does not deter me from enjoying it though.

But one book did surprised me, and even after sometime, when think about the book I kinda smiled and thought to myself, I never did see that coming.

That book is Instance of the Fingerpost.

I am not gonna say more about the story because I had thoroughly reviewed the book. So if you are ever so interested, you can read it here.

But it leave me in no doubt that this book deservedly get the most surprising plot twist or ending.

Day 26 - A book that changed your opinion about something

2011-06-01T17:08:00.000+08:00

This is one of the harder topics. I don't really read the 'smart' stuffs or serious stuffs. I tend to choose escapism in my choice of reading.

However Jean Sasson books is one of an eye opener for me. I read it at an early age, since my mom likes it dulu. So it is stuck in my memory. I guess, this book open my eyes that the people in the Middle East where 'our' people like to look up to, is not really good example of a true Muslim. It shows me at the very least, women here enjoy a lot of freedom compare to the female counterparts there.

There's a lot of issues to be brought up of the books, but I had read it more than 15 years ago so I can't remember all the details. All I know is that, the world is not what people say it is then.

p/s: The book maybe an exaggerated biography (as some would say) but you can't say there is a grain of truth in there.

Day 25 - A character who you can relate to the most

2011-05-31T17:56:00.000+08:00

While first starting with the list, I left this one empty because I can't think of a character that felt like she can be me.

Then I read One Day, in anticipation of the movie starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess and widely recommended by many in the internet communities.

Before I started on the character, let me just give you a brief summary of One Day which a book I came to love. And I would totally read again.

One Day tells of a story between Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew that spans 20 years. However this book only revisit what happened on that particular one day of each year. And that one day is the anniversary when they first met.

One Day is a lovely, sweet book. I always enjoyed British writers. There is something in their work that I found wholesome. I go in easily into books written by British writers. I have no idea why, I just found that I have a preference in reading of books written by them.

So One Day is exactly how I imagine it would be. It is sweet, at times gut wrenching, totally relatable. It have its predictable moments, I know exactly what the character going to face, but that does not deter me from the enjoying it. It is after all about life. Life can be a bit predictable sometimes.

While the book is about these 2 people, I do believe it is Emma Morley who keeps both of them together. Emma Morley started as this geeky rebellious girl and turned into a magnificent woman later on.

I completely relate to Emma struggles in her feeling. Especially on her word play, how she try to get her earnestness through, on how she try to say but at the same time shielding her words. I had done exactly the same. I understand her depression when life did not goes as planned. On her various life stages, I had been there. I experienced what she goes through. Not all of them, but some of them. Her backtracking of words, but not at the same time reversing the backtracking all that endears me to her, because I had once been like that. Maybe I sometimes am.

For one day each year, for 20 years, I get to know Emma Morley. At each year, I understand her more and understand her actions. This is a character that could be me. This is a character that I could be. For that she is absolutely a character I love and relate to.

Day 24 - A book that you wish more people would've read

2011-05-25T12:29:00.000+08:00

I wish more people would read Jurassic Park & The Lost World by Michael Crichton. Many serious readers like to think Crichton works as crap, which of course with his loud views that global warming is faux kinda ruin his reputation a bit. But I can't denied his book is wildly entertaining and he does his research well.

However none other book seems to highlight how entertaining he can write as Jurassic Park and The Lost World. While Jurassic Park sparked the interest, I always preferred The Lost World compare to Jurassic Park. But I wish people would not be as easy to dismiss as saying "I seen the movies, what more could the book offers." Its kinda like mean how can you watch Harry Potter and says you're a fan when the books offered so much more of the magic world??

I am not even gonna put in a summary to the book, because I am sure at least you had watch Jurassic Park once in your life. So the book is kinda like that but there is more adventures, more intrigue and the explanation being given in the book is much more interesting ( I first read it when I was about 12 or 13, and can understand it so it is simple too).

Actually I have no idea why I want people to read this book, other than to say, the book is so much more entertaining, thrilling, exciting than the movies. I could put Harry Potter in this post and make the same argument too though I think a lot of people already know that the Harry Potter books are awesomer than the movies. LOL.

Day 23 - A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven't

2011-05-24T13:58:00.000+08:00

It is Mistress Pat by L.M Montgomery.

Why this particularly, well I guess because I am such a big fan of her other works, I always want to collect them all if possible. This book is a continuation of another book, Pat of Silver Bush. I have that book and always wanted to know what happened when she grew up.

The story is basically about a girl who hate changes. So this next book where everyone else and herself is growing up and making decisions that can affect whole life it would be interesting to know what the girl who hate changes going to do.

Why am I still not reading it? Well, it is really hard for me to find her books nowadays. It is annoying, but I guess since YA books are growing rapidly, older authors are not being put in shelves. This also makes me a bit sad. Did you read Daddy Long Legs? That is amazing. It felt About A Boy, Dahl-like . Do you know how hard it is to find that book and the sequel to that book. So while it is nice that budding new authors finding their places, I also felt a bit sad that I can no longer find easily the works of old authors.

Which is why I am thinking of Kindle where I can easily get classic books. (Pening kepala baca ebook kat komputer. I had tried it once, not gonna try it again).

Day 22 - Favorite book you own

2011-05-23T12:40:00.000+08:00

Continuing on the book meme. I have forsake you for so long.

Semua buku I own all have a very special place in my heart.

But I especially cherish my Fables graphic novel collection.

Why? Because the whole collection (including the Cinderella spin off and the Pied Piper novel ) had reached 1k. I had spent (ok WE ; my husband and I. I forced him to read and when I am broke asked him to buy) around RM1k for the collection. This is why, it is a bad idea to start reading graphic novel. ( I am now starting to collect the Walking Dead too, so put that second to my most favorite collection).

But I am glad I chose Fables if I want to collect. I try reading the Sandman, but I don't like the tone of the story I guess while for this series I love it from the start. I had always love fairy tale, I always imagine what would happened to Cinderella, Snow White and all after they're married. I never believe they do have happily ever after. This series is the reimaginings of all the fairy tale characters we are familiar with.

So it told the story of these characters. How in fairy tale land an evil emperor had rooted all this wondrous characters from their home and turned them into refugee. They then fled to our world to set up a village then a town, and the series is their stories on how they cope, how they plan to take back their homeland. How the evil character we read of try to redeem themselves and these damsels in distress turned themselves into a plucky heroine.

The series went wonderfully until Vol 11 then I think after the war is over, the writers lost their way for a while. It started to pick itself up again in this recent volume so I am super excited to read all about it. I

When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

2011-05-22T01:30:00.000+08:00

I got it from some quotes. I hate quotes, but this girl, in this movie deserves it and embody the above quote.

I watched the Winter's Bone. It was painfully depressing. Watching people in abject poverty teetering in further poverty.

I know this is gonna be a depressing movie and picked my time carefully. You can't really watched depressing movie when you're depressed. You can't stand to watch depressing movie when you are busy and stressed. The timing of such movie must be right so you won't be thrown in a somber mood the whole week. Maybe many people don't feel this or do, but I have a tendency to be melancholy for days if some movies affect me.

Now this movie. It is sombering. But in the midst of all the struggles she endured, I smiled as I watched at all the animals she feed and try to. She do not have enough to eat and I suspected let her siblings eat her share, but when her brother presented with a stray she smiled sadly and accepted it. And I am not even touching on her courage and perseverance.

What I like most is that this movie does not goes to the path of 'selling own body' to make ends meet. She never entertained the idea nor did anyone alluded it to her.

I like Jennifer Lawrence, she carried the whole movie magnificently. Her character is pitiful but she never once ask to be pitied, and if my whole world would come crashing down, I would like the thoughts that I can have that sort of determination to survive.

Putting the book meme on hiatus for a while

2011-05-19T11:40:00.000+08:00

Because I can't think.

However I am gonna ramble a bit because I am stupid enough to slightly overdose myself with drugs. Currently suffering from kegatalan dari allergy. Tension taw aku duk terkeruk-keruk macam beruk. I have no idea what cause the allergy so ... fingers crossed it is just a one time thing. Anyway the doc gave some drugs that can caused drowsiness so the first time round I telan it, felt absolutely nothing and still feeling like a buffoon, I took another one.

Nak bangun tidur pon susah. Padan muka. Dengan itu I got myself a latte and quietly sipping it to will my mind to be alert.

In other news, my eldest sister had delivered a quaint little girl. Nama tidak tahu. Nampak kiut and kecik je, from the one blurry pic I can see of. Hurray to a new addition to the family. So now I have 2 nephews and 2 nieces.

And another thing, there is a cat currently camping at my front doorstep wanting to be adopted. It is a really cute Siamese cat which gives me pause because it is a he and he might belong to somebody because he looked nice.

A couple of days ago I was opening the door and he pounced into the house and started rolling around the floor affectionately. He kept on rolling and went to my legs and gesel2 and then rolled away again. A very manja cat. Like some strays, some I feed and they went off their way, but this one seems determined to be in the house. He was distressed that I put him out. But out he must, because the 2 other females in the house show their displeasure dengan begitu kuatnyer.

In the mean time, I'll just feed him outside the house and if he persists in staying we'll see from there.

Hello There

2011-05-15T12:15:00.000+08:00

So I am gonna rambles. Bet you haven't seen that awhile.

Anyway, I went into bed at 11 pm which is unreasonably early and woke up at dawn and feeling dissatisfied by waking up at dawn. I mean it is the weekend for gawd sakes. So I slept again and now have a headache. Padan muka for being a lazy bone.

Right now I got the vacuum cleaner and my broom and procrastinating. I also let the cat out to get them out of my hair while I will be cleaning and their constant gazing longingly at the window is pissing me off. What they don't now they will be severely wet wipe (there is wet wipes for cats) when they get back home this evening. They do not like them at all and the thing makes their fur looks weird afterward. So they need to enjoy their freedom while its last.

Anyway... I have no idea what to say next and just go ahead and cleaned up the room.

Day 21 - Favorite book from your childhood

2011-05-12T17:58:00.000+08:00

I have a lot of books that I love during my childhood. I think one of my most beloved is the Malory Tower series.

I don't know if I even should put in a summary of the series. I mean almost everyone read this. So to those who never know of this (which is weird), it is a story about a bunch of kids in a boarding school. Starting from Form 1 - 6.

Why did I choose Malory Towers and not St Clare? I don't much like the twins. They are too goody goody for me. Malory Towers characters are wonderfully one-dimensional. Yes, you would not get a complex character from this, (only the adult remains quite mysterious) but most of the character are flawed and cute and earnest. I like Darrell, love Mary Lou shyness, am envious of Alicia and so many other people in the series. A lot of the character are wonderfully talented in something. It is of course unreasonable and unrealistic that so many different talent can be under one roof, but without it the book would not be interesting. Also who knows that it maybe true as the boarding school is obviously a stepping stone to St Andrew University ( the alma mater of Kate Middleton and Prince William).

There is something sweet and wholesome of this books. Always every first day of Raya in the afternoon while everyone is asleep, stomach full, contented from eating too much laksa, lemang, ketupat, I will be sitting on my favorite sofa with a jar of kuih raya on my hand with one of the Malory Tower books in hand.

And I am trying to find the whole boxsets in Borders or Kinokuniya but am having problems finding the series or much Enid Blyton books either. And don't let me get started on the aisle that started with 'M; I mean I found myself looking at 3 rows of The Twilight series. WTH is that?? Is this what it comes to? Children introduced to literature by the work of Meyer????

Day 20 - Favorite romance book

2011-05-11T12:35:00.000+08:00

I chose this because this is the first romance book I read, so I guess the memory is sweet.

Bestselling romance writer Hayden Lane has found her soul mate - or rather, created him: he's her latest fictional hero. And she's totally obsessed with him. Barely noticing when her real-life fiance breaks their engagement, she visits a psychic to learn more about him - and is told that in a past life Hayden was Lady de Grey, a promiscuous woman of Edwardian England. Hayden can't resist submitting to a hypnotist's magic. But the trick goes wrong, and instead of merely remembering her past as Lady de Grey, Hayden is living it. Now she will discover quite a different story about a woman history considered a trollop, a spectacular, brooding man, and the rapturous love that would be hers if she dared open her heart to the most mysterious adventure of all

While the story is not perfect but I am a sucker for a tragic love story and what more tragic than a love story that spans through several lifetime? The story asked you to believe if reincarnation is real, and how previous lifetime can screwed you up in the next.

Basically the story have 3 story and the most tragic one is Tallis and Callie, which is the origin of the story. It is a story of betrayal, innocence, and true love. The ending is a bit of an anticlimax, however the journey is heartrending. At least to me.

Day 19 - Favorite book turned into a movie

2011-05-06T11:58:00.000+08:00

Stardust by Neil Gaiman is a wonderful book. What is it about? (partial summary from goodreads)

... tells the story of young Tristran Thorn and his adventures in the land of Faerie. One fateful night, Tristran promises his beloved that he will retrieve a fallen star for her from beyond the Wall that stands between their rural English town (called, appropriately, Wall) and the Faerie realm. No one ever ventures beyond the Wall except to attend an enchanted flea market that is held every nine years (and during which, unbeknownst to him, Tristran was conceived). But Tristran bravely sets out to fetch the fallen star and thus win the hand of his love....

I like the book immensely. After I finish reading it, I think the writer had craft a wonderfully written book. More like a gritty love story meets fairy tale. It have everything that a fairytale-loving heart could love, prince and princesses, curses, witches, goods triumphing over evil. But it is also dark, it does not shy away from gore or violence or passion.

However why I chose Stardust for favorite book turned into a movie is because the movie surpassed my expectations and become even better than the book. For a book nerd, that it something that rarely happened. Movies tend to screw plots and characters and flow of the stories. However I believed Neil Gaiman lend his talent on the movie and turned it into something else. I had reviewed the movie a few years earlier, so I won't be talking more about and you can go there instead to see what I gushed.

Day 18 - A book that disappointed you

2011-05-05T14:06:00.000+08:00

Candance Bushnell - Sex and the City

While I love the series, I am left severely disappointed in the book.

The summary :

In this chronicle of the mating habits of New York's cultural elite, Bushnell infiltrates celebrity affairs, sex clubs, and posh suburbs to introduce us to "bicycle boys," "modelizers," and "toxic bachelors" powerful and successful men who bed single and married women as if it were a contest. Often funny and occasionally bleak, this is an inside account of the quintessential '90s romance and the never-ending search for the perfect marriage partner in high society

This is maybe on the overall tone of the book. The series while at the time edgy, have a feeling of optimism, hopefulness light feelings to it.

The book? It was ghastly as one reviewer reviewed it. Maybe it touch a note with a New Yorker, but reading the book, make my head ache. I hated everyone in the book, including Carrie. Everyone is depicted horribly. Maybe the book can only be understood by a New Yorker, but if I want to go to New York and read this book, I'll be changing my flight to somewhere else since the author paints such a horrible depiction of New York and its people that I don't care to be near them. The book painted NYC as gritty, the people are almost callous and the stereotype there is nothing redeemable to them.

I was severely disappointed I guess because it is not as what I expected from the series. I thought it might be fun, frothy, light, lovely with a hint of neurosis on it. Maybe on second reading, it would improve but I am kinda shuddering at thought of picking it up again. I guess, I know now what to expect from the author and will be staying away.

Day 17 - Favorite quote from your favorite book

2011-05-04T08:39:00.002+08:00

"It is proved by surveys that happiness does not come from love, wealth, or power but the pursuit of attainable goals: and what is a diet if not that"

Bridget Jones Diary

Day 16 - Favorite female character

2011-05-03T13:40:00.001+08:00

It is Emily

There are a lot of female characters I love. I had always been attracted towards reading a story where the narrator is female. I felt I can identified with them and make my journey with them much easier.

I can't really explain why I choose Emily which is also created by L.M Montgomery ( who wrote the Anne series) . Anne is indeed one of my favorites, but Anne sometimes is grating in her goodness.

Emily, is multi layered, complex, earnest, mysterious and marvelously human.

When Emily Starr's father dies, she is sent to live with her stern aunt Elizabeth at New Moon Farm. She's sure she'll be unhappy, but she soon discovers new friends, the beauty of her surroundings, and a love of writing.

The book consists of 3, Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs and Emily Quest.

I first read the last book and was bewildered. A lot of books where you delve headfirst in their later series, you have no problem getting to know them and understanding them. While Emily, she remains mysterious to me. I then hunt for her books and found myself loving Emily and still not completely understanding her.

I can almost identified with her, except for her passion for writing, which is why I did not put her as a character I relate to (another topic I have a problem finding a name to). However Emily is a wonderful character who from Book 1 to Book 3 remains mysterious. I like that about Emily. I like that Emily is not an open book. I like that she struggled in being good, in making a good decision, in becoming herself. Where everybody loves Anne, Emily is an acquired taste though many would come to love Emily. In a way I identified with her here. She don't try to make people to like her. She does not have a natural way to her where people are comfortable with her.

There is something about Emily I can't put a finger on it. Maybe I do relate to her. Maybe I don't. Which is why she is my favorite.

Note: I noticed after googling her pictures there are a Canadian series of Emily. I am so watching those!

Day 15 - Favorite male character

2011-04-29T08:33:00.003+08:00

This is a hard one for me because, I don't really care much about the male characters. This is weird because I like to read chic lit and romance and there'll plenty of Prince Charming in the mix to make even an ice queen drool. However I don't care much of them. The men in the books are just there for my favorite women characters to grow, in my thoughts.

I can name a lot of the male characters that make my blood boils. Let's not forget the lord who just about rape Whitney in Something Wonderful. Oh please, (I considered it as rape because 1. she have no idea what he is going to do 2. his intention is to hurt) and the way she "I am asking for it" just make me wanna stomp the book. Oh the Duke in Julia Quinn, The Duke & I where the Duke is being obstinately insane in the book. If it was a woman, she would be a villain, but because he is a man, have money and title it is considered hero material.

(Tapi mengapakaahhh aku maseh membaca buku sebegini wehhh).

But... if I have to name one, I will put it to :

Derek Souza from The Darkest Powers trilogy .

I have not reviewed the book, but here what it is all about (alang, alang tu review skali ).

Taken from Goodreads:

After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.
At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

I bought this book at a recent Penguin Warehouse Sales. ( I love Penguin sales, it is not as cheap as BBW, but the people going there are not as grabby as compare to BBW). *tsk* setiap kali warehouse sales teringat my husband who will patiently wait as I talk to myself about each I wanna buy and even hunt for books that I may like. * I rindu my husband y'all! * (Padahal bukannye berpisah bertahun-tahun pon. Gile over aku ni).

Anyway, this is the book that I brought to Redang and can't stop reading. I was willing to be holed in my room and contentedly read this book til finish. It is just so, so good. That is my idea of a good unwinding holiday btw. Nice hotel, nice scenery with the options for you to languish and read books without being disturbed.

So let me talk about Derek Souza. I like Derek, he was not drop dead handsome, in fact he was downright sinister and calculating. How is that in fact any better than the rapey Lord I mentioned above? Well, unfortch he did hurt Chloe once but once that was explained (and the explanation is acceptable ) he gets better and better by book 3. His character are fleshed out nicely, he is full of flaws but at the same time as when Chloe is starting to fall for him, I felt the same too. Awwww (dammit he is 17, but still imaginary character).

Also the most important thing is, he is the character that changed my mind favorably towards werewolves. (Awww... I gave a mini spoiler). But anyway I like the way he take of Chloe. I like his sense of responsibility. I like that he knows when to back down and when to fight. It is humillating to admit that my favorite male character is based by a character in a YA genre, but there you goes. Derek is my crush!

And I guess a lot of women/girls readers felt the same too.

It is even worse if you google using image. LOL. Ah well. I guess it is a tad better than Edward "Sparkles" Cullen.

Day 14 - Favorite book of your favorite writer

2011-04-28T11:19:00.000+08:00

I have to say Neverwhere. It is the first book I read by him and I am hooked. The book was so imaginative, fun, genius that I can't put it down.

What is it about?

Here is the Plot I taken from Goodreads (which I have not update forever):

When Richard Mayhew stops one day to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk, his life is forever altered, for he finds himself propelled into an alternate reality that exists in a subterranean labyrinth of sewer canals and abandoned subway stations. He has fallen through the cracks of reality and has landed somewhere different, somewhere that is Neverwhere.

Why is it my favorite? Because the adventure seems real to me, all of the characters are mysterious, multi layered. I like the way he turned London into an alternate reality that ordinary people don't know about. Where Harrod's can be both a posh shopping venue for the rich to the ordinary or a magical night market to the non-ordinary. Where 'Mind the Gap' is not just you minding the gap. I believe it must be fun to be a writer, trying to turn ordinary things that we barely look into something quite different from what we can ever imagine.

The thing about Neil Gaiman works is that I can't rave about the book too long. I will spout of the same things. Incredibly imaginative, the journey to the ending is so much fun, you will wish the book will never end.

I felt more about this book than any other books by him, which is why it is my favorite.

Day 13 - Your favorite writer

2011-04-27T13:04:00.000+08:00

I am taking the easy way out by just naming Neil Gaiman. I got several of course, and I can name L.M Montgomery or Crichton or Reilly, but thinking back I'd read almost all of Gaiman's work and like most of it which is why I chose him.

Pic credit: neilgaiman.com (taken by Kimberly Butler)

Why?

He is quite a handsome chap

He tweets a lot, but not too much

Most of his books are awesome, ( tho sorry Neil, I am not too in love with your short stories)

I am always looking forward to his next novel ( can it be the sequel to Good Omens? OMG)

His characters are wondrous, his fairytale have a gritty realistic appeal to it, his horror stories are haunting.

Day 12 - A book you used to love but don't anymore

2011-04-26T11:37:00.001+08:00

This is a hard one, but then I will changed this title to suit my needs, so what I am gonna mention on books I used to love but not anymore will be the Shopaholic series.

I love the first book. It was really funny. I won't deny it.

However as the series spawned more books, I begin to detest Becky. What is wrong with her that she can't seems to see that her habit is terrible? Why does she takes the meeting (shopaholic anonymous) as something frivolous ? How she had still not learned that because of her shopping, she lands in trouble? And the solution to a shopaholic is to marry a really rich guy so he can support her habit?

I beginnning to detest the books and Becky because while I don't think that it is anything wrong that people should aspire to be a fictional character, many people seems to think that 'being Becky' is a good thing. I won't deny that sometimes the compulsion to shop is irresistible. It does not happened to just women. Men too (oh please you gadget freak guys). However a lot of people have a serious problem with shopping that amounts to debt that can feed a small nation of African children and the books seems to be so superficial in dealing with Becky problem that I feel like burning her shoes and clothes.

So for a book that is laughing out loud funny at the first time due to Becky tendency to shop, it is becoming irksome later on as I can't help but tire of her antics in the later books. I don't like to think of myself that way, (never learning of past mistake), and I don't want my friends to be that way too. So Becky I am breaking up with you because you're so vapid I could scream. I like my characters in a series to develop and develop well. You know what is a good chic lit series that the characters grew well? Try to read Meg Cabot, Queen of Babble. The first book deals with a girl so incredibly naive but by book three you can't help but admired how she grew. (That's how I felt btw) .

Day 11 - A book you hated

2011-04-25T11:39:00.001+08:00

I had blogged about this book, but I can't find the post. This is way before Blogger start having tags in their options.

Plot wise, can't remember, you can google it if you want,but I think it is about a woman grappling about post-birth, babies and so forth.

Why I hate it?

I can't remember the story but I remembered how after I put it down, I felt like I had waste a few hours of my life that I can never get back. And I never felt this before with a book.

I hate the characters, I hate the writing, I hate the story ( like I i said I can't remember the story but I remember I hate the story).

And for a book I hated, I don't think so I will dwell much more on it than the above.

Ronery

2011-04-23T15:47:00.001+08:00

Hello all. I guess some of you who're not bookworm are all sick n tired of the book meme updates. Too bad. Been enjoying doing it in fact.

Not gonna talk much about that but instead I am gonna whine on how ronery I am. Which is a lie. Because I am waiting for my friend to pick me up anytime now. However because I don't enjoy being stuck in a jam and driving around looking for parking spots I chose to go early ( like several hours early) and basically walk alone. There are times when I enjoy it but not so much today because today is my husband birthday. Happy birthday!

Now resuming back to complaining. Well it gets kinda boring especially walking around in ikea alone. I think we can dine alone, watch movie alone, shop alone. But window shop in ikea alone is not so awesome which goes hand in hand with eating buffet alone. However that is slightly better than playing bowling alone. Because I had once played bowling next lane to a man who are playing alone and man did we speculate. Was he training for a competition? Olympic? Was he burning down some stress or downtime? Or was he just weird.

So people, don't bowl alone.

Anyway I am veering off course. I meant to write here that sometimes when you walk or dine alone you get a chance to hear things you don't normally hear when you are with someone else. Like the guy next table where I am sitting now had just called some girl making excuses to her on how sorry he is that he is late but unable to meet her now because he is busy while his friend is laughing at him. Just an hour ago I overhear a guy asking his date with a note of concern in his voice if Subway would be enough for lunch while the girl goes 'yeah' distractedly. Awwww. So sweet. Or maybe he is concerned that it is not enough for him? Hmmmm.

Telinga pasang besar je bile tadek ape nak dibuat kan?

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Day 10 - Favorite classic book

2011-04-22T11:25:00.002+08:00

This is one of the easiest one. Without a doubt is :

Pride and Prejudice is deservedly lauded as one of Austen best work (some people may argue and will cite Emma or Sense or Sensibility, but I personally think Austen is at her best here). I think at the time she is writing this she is still young so dreams are sweeter thus the book have a certain evergreen feeling of optimism, hopefulness with a side commentary on the social life she was used to.

I think I had mentioned before that my love for this book and the author start from the excellent BBC miniseries. I can't say enough how I love that series (please the movie is nothing, compare to the series. Mary is incredibly beautiful in the movie, while she is suppose to be plain and which is why she resorted to be an insufferable know it all to stop people comparing her between her beautiful sisters, poor thing. ).

This is Colin Firth at the heigh of his yummyliciousness. At the time of filming both of the actor and actress had briefly date.

While I can go on and on and on about Pride and Prejudice, I think it is easier to said in point form to why this is my favorite.

I had read this several times over and never getting bored
Mr Darcy is incredibly delish in book, series or movie form. ( I prefer Colin Firth)
The book packed romance, sharpy witticism, humour.
Every characters is deliciously human, as garish as Mrs Bennet is, as haughty as Darcy is, as guileless as Jane is.

The reasons I gave above is so short, but really the book is really something wonderful, which is why it is one of my beloved classic.

Day 09 - A book you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving

2011-04-21T16:45:00.000+08:00

Well, not exactly 'love' but like it immensely, I did.

The book is Collected Short Stories Vol. 2 by W. Somerset Maugham. Yes it is a collection of short stories and I like it immensely and I don't really prefer short stories.

I bought this book on the first ever BBW sale. (Sobs. Kalau ade book sale di obscure places and En. Shamani tiada untuk jadi driver, terpaksa la aku terkulat-kulat GPS-ing the location, walaupon my ability to read map is slightly better than my ability to read Mandarin).

I have no idea why I bought it, but I was intrigued by the picture of the Malay guy in front. I like reading about British life, and more intrigued to know about the British colonial life. Saying that, after I picked it up, I felt the book is going to be a bore. I mean 19th century writer usually used long winding words and were frightfully bored eh.

Therefore imagine my surprise on the first story I was completely engrossed and laughing out loud. I did not expect it, but it is a pleasure to know that I did not waste my money on this book.

Not all writers are able to write witty/gut wrenching write short stories. Maugham manage to do that. His stories range from the laughable to sadness to haunting. Falling in love, murder in the jungle, high society 19th century life, those are just some stories in the book and all of the stories are written well and completely enjoyable.

Googling him I found out that he wrote a lot of short stories during his life and several novels but short stories was his forte. After reading the book, you completely know why. He is now an author that I wish to get to know his work well and will be on the lookout for his works.

Day 08 - Most overrated book

2011-04-20T08:56:00.001+08:00

There were several books that came to mind, but I think this one is my personal favorite of "I don't know why people said it is so funny"

I bought and read the book due to:

1. Zombies

2. Many people favorable reviews

While the book does not sucks, it does not leave me clutching at my side holding my stomach from laughter. Most of the times I am just 'meh'. It got some pretty amusing moments and some of the ending for the characters end more satisfactorily than the original book. Also I found Elizabeth as annoying and wishing she would just shut up which I never thought of in the original book; as haughty as she was.

Perhaps my expectation was high due to many favorable reviews or maybe my funny bone just work differently but I can't help thinking that people are loving this because it spins something new ( there are now countless other reimagining of classic and monsters) but I can't seem to muster a laugh or interest in this particular reimaginings plot.

Day 07 - Most underrated book

2011-04-19T09:06:00.003+08:00

This is one of the hardest topic for me. I almost want to skip this but that would be cheating. I can't think of any book that can be called as underrated. Some are obscure, yes, but it is deserving of being obscure. I am not involved enough in the book community to know if a book is well-received or not.

Then I suddenly thought of Georgette Heyer, A Civil Contract. An author and the book that I kinda love but I rarely heard people gushing/talking about.

The synopsis are:

The romantic plot centers on a viscount who reluctantly enters a marriage of convenience with a wealthy commoner's daughter.

While I used to love Georgette Heyer books due to the predictable romantic formula rich guy meet not so rich girl, not exactly love at first sight but fall in love madly. This story is more realistic. The guy marry a rich girl to save his family. The girl is not a great beauty. In fact she is very plain and in the chubby side.

It deals with what to do when our dream falls to pieces and we are left to deal with harsh reality. (While granted this harsh reality is not exactly dirt poor/traumatic experience type of harshness) . I love the book I love all the characters, even the flighty, vapid one. The thing about Georgette Heyer is that even her most weakest character are redeemable.

While I love this book, why I classed this 'underrated'? Like I said, I gathered Heyer was/is rather popular because she got her ardent followers. However to my recollections her books are rarely mentioned or gushed about. So I place her in the underrated, because while it is not exactly Austen with her sharp wit, Heyer have her moments and this is one of her stronger book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading several times over.

Day 06 - A book that makes you sad

2011-04-18T10:48:00.000+08:00

The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

Why I chose this book? I'll just take an excerpt from my review of the book (which you can read if you are ever so curious) that I did few years back.

This book gave me nightmare. It sucked you in, make you feel hopeless and the world is empty and devoid of humanity when time get desperate. There are time, when I have to literally put the book down because I feel suffocated reading it. Maybe it is my overactive imagination. But I tell you, I find it rare that a book can evoke so much hopelessness when reading it.

It is not just sadness, but overbearing sadness. I can't stand reading the book, but I'll still continue on to see if they make it. There is nothing happy in the book, but I don't regret reading it either.

Day 05 - A book that makes you happy

2011-04-15T10:04:00.000+08:00

Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding.

From the start of the page when Bridget list down her resolutions for the new year, it reeled you in, hooked you and by 10 pages within leave you howling with laughter.

Which is why I chose it as the book that makes me happy. Bridget is neurotic, self absorbed but totally lovable because she really wants to do good but ended up totally goofing it off. That is basically the premise of the book. Of a charming, klutzy 30+ years old grappling with singlehood where neither love nor career seems to be working out.

If I feel like I need a pick-me-up book, this is the book I'll take down from the shelf, curl up on a sofa with food in hand and read. It always make me laugh. I'll finished the book feeling refreshed and awesome because that's how it is. My sister love the book too and we had spent a night just talking and laughing on ridiculous things that Bridget had done. Not many book can make you do that I gathered. Sometimes I can suddenly just laughed out of nowhere by just remembering various excerpts from the book. Bridget can find something hilarious when things are falling apart around her. I can only hope I can be the same.

While the move is v. good indeed, almost following the book, nothing quite beat the book. It is funnier and packed more ridiculous moment for you to enjoy.

I mean this is of course THE book that supposedly creates the chic lit aisle. When people mentioned that they love chic lit and have not yet read Bridget Jones, I am like.. go and buy the book now! And that is my advice to you.

Day 04 - Favorite book of your favorite series

2011-04-14T11:01:00.000+08:00

Anne of the Island. Another owned books that looked like dire and old, but well beloved.

I have a hard time choosing which Anne books I love more. I chose this because this is one of my most beloved story in the series.

The reason is simple enough, the romance.

This is the book Anne struggles on her feelings for Gilbert and her life at college. Reading on her life at college it seems like living the college life in the 1800s is not much difference from living the college life in 2000s. They still suffered through the stresses of boys, friendships, exams, professors. Only we don't have balls. Why we don't have balls???

I love her friendships with the other girls and I love the idyllic settings Kingsport that'd been described by Montgomery. Also this is the book where Anne finally grow up and become a woman. When I read this book, I feel like there is a blush creeping up in my cheeks. This book brings to mind, pure, true love and great friendships. That is a story I can never be bored with.

Day 03 - Your favorite series

2011-04-13T11:48:00.000+08:00

This does not need much thinking.

My most beloved series and possession of books are:

My sister who are the one who gave me Anne of Green Gables when I was in primary. She said she knows I would love it. I read it fall headlong in love with Anne. I love Anne, I want to be Anne and I wish she was my friend. Then there was the Canadian series I think, which if any one of you who love Anne as much as I do, should try to look for. It was wonderful and after watching it I wanted to know more!

I never knew Anne was a series of books when I was small, I thought there is only Anne of Green Gables and that's it. Then during raya I went to a relative house and my eyes caught on a the tv table a book titled " Anne of Avonlea." My mom and the makciks are eating and chatting the delicious kuih raya (that particular house have the most delicious home made raya cookies ever. They have like 10 raya cookies and all are home made even til now), but all I could think of as " I want to read that book!". But I never said it aloud but silently avowed to look at it myself whenever I am in a bookshop. I think only a year later I manage to find it. (I was small and never ask for things but rather look for it myself whenever I got the chance to go to a bookshop).

Ever since then whenever I went to a bookshop, I always looked for 'M' for Montgomery to look for my Anne series. It is always in chronological order. If I got book 1 to 3, and the bookshop only have book 5, I won't buy book 5 unless I got the book 4. So it took me a while to get the whole 8 books. I think only during the last years of UTP (university) that I finally finished collecting the series.

One of the oldest and most frequently read books I ever owned. Looked at the condition! This is why I now wrap my books.

In the mean time, I read and re-read all of the Anne series every year, never bored , always smiling and sometimes crying whenever I read the book. I had replaced the first Anne of Green Gables book because it was such in poor condition (pages falling off) and now I may need to replace it a third time as it had been so frequently read that the pages are starting to fall off again. I think I will buy the series whole and put it away because all of the current books are in bad condition.

People say my vocabulary is good. You know why? Because Anne loves big vocabulary. As she get older and wiser she knows simple words are more powerful, and so did I. But once in a while my childish Anne got the better of me and I used big words just because it is big.

So from now on, you may see a lot of Anne or other L.M Montgomery series popping up in the list because this is the extent of how I love the books and the story.

Day 02 - A book that you've read more than 3 times

2011-04-12T11:04:00.000+08:00

There are a lot of books that I read and reread and some I even had lost count on how many times I had read it. However I opt not to mention those books since I'll be mentioning some of them later on. And I opt for this because I want to include some chic lits in the mix.

The book is : The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger.

I honestly can't remembered if I read the book first or watch the movie, however I know that I prefer the book more.

Minor spoilers ahead (to those who have not watch the movie or read the book)

I read and re-read it during my first years of working. My first few years of working had been, torturous and full of uncertainties. This book seems to speak to me and comforted me in thinking that even working in a glamourous place, your work can sucks.

I like Andy journey into her career and reading it amused me, frustrates me and all in all entertains me. Why I like to reread it? Like I said, it entertains me but also frustrates me. I am not exactly in agreement over Andy decision and many would clamored over her opportunities, so to see her walk away due to principles I am kinda like throwing my hands up in frustration. So I put away the book and after some time had pass, I forgot my frustration on the ending, I picked up the book again to be entertained and relived Andy experience yet again.

As much as people deride chic lit, this is a well written book. A coming of age sorts of journey and a great read for girls who are in the start of their career. And I am never bored reading it. Writing this again make me think of the book, and felt like picking it up again. Those who had not read it, I seriously recommend it.

Day 01 - Best book you read last year

2011-04-11T10:30:00.001+08:00

2010 was not really a good year for me in term of reading books. I have no idea why, but perhaps the books that I chose was mostly mediocre. It was mostly chic lits and books that do not meet my expectations. Also, I have a hard time remembering most of the books I read. So if you can't remember the book you read, it does not make much of an impact right?

So choosing the best book I read last year, I come up with the Golden Compass trilogies by Phillip Pullman.

am not sure when did I actually start reading it, but I finished it around January or February 2010. And I'll just encompass the whole 3 books into one, because really it is one continuous story.

Why I choose it as the best? I think the reason is easily done in point form

The characters are complex, deeply flawed and marvelously human.

I like Lyra. She is manipulative, deceptive but have a clear sense of right and wrong, though the way that she does things is not exactly a do gooder would do.

The stories are amazing. I like it if I can't predict the story and the story goes into an unexpected way.

And most of all, the reason why I chose it as the best is because even though a year had past, I kept on remembering bits and extract of the books. I sometimes found myself thinking of the worlds. When I looked at the stars, sometimes I thought of Dust. It left an impact. Any book that does that, had been created well.

30 days of Book Meme

2011-04-07T11:55:00.000+08:00

I want to do this. I looked at other people meme and many of them are so so good. And some I completely agree with and I can't continue reading the other memes until I'll finish or at least halfway finish with mine without agreeing and putting the same book on the list which defeats the fun fun fun part of it.

So Adek, Sue, Jane and whoever on here who ~~still~~ read my blog and love books, jom buattttt. I would love to read yours. ( I think Effi turned up his nose on meme. ).

The only thing left is, whether to do it on Tumblr or Blogger. And I'll think I'll start on Monday for easier counting! And I am raking my brains on the Day 1: Best book you read last year. For the simple reason of I can't remember what books I read last year.

Hence the importance of reviewing books after I finish em because my memory is like a leaky cauldron. I also think I need to put separate tags on books review. And by Monday I'd looked through my books to ascertain which one I'll put on this list.

Whee!!! Tiba-tiba excited nak belog balik.

And for moi, and others, the below are the complete list.

Day 01 - Best book you read last year
Day 02 - A book that you've read more than 3 times
Day 03 - Your favorite series
Day 04 - Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 05 - A book that makes you happy
Day 06 - A book that makes you sad
Day 07 - Most underrated book
Day 08 - Most overrated book
Day 09 - A book you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 10 - Favorite classic book
Day 11 - A book you hated
Day 12 - A book you used to love but don't anymore
Day 13 - Your favorite writer
Day 14 - Favorite book of your favorite writer
Day 15 - Favorite male character
Day 16 - Favorite female character
Day 17 - Favorite quote from your favorite book
Day 18 - A book that disappointed you
Day 19 - Favorite book turned into a movie
Day 20 - Favorite romance book
Day 21 - Favorite book from your childhood
Day 22 - Favorite book you own
Day 23 - A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven't
Day 24 - A book that you wish more people would've read
Day 25 - A character who you can relate to the most
Day 26 - A book that changed your opinion about something
Day 27 - The most surprising plot twist or ending
Day 28 - Favorite title
Day 29 - A book everyone hated but you liked
Day 30 - Your favorite book of all time

Been Busy Reason #2

2011-03-30T00:18:00.001+08:00

Been busy reading. I got started reading the second book of Betsy the Vampire Queen series and keep on going. I'd complained before that I don't like the first book. It was kind of crass and sometimes just makes me feel ickish. However the second and so got better and I kinda like the books now.

In spirit of my newly vigour in reading I gotten (well more like somebody else) myself the sequels to the Darkest Power trilogy by Kelley Armstrong. The first book kept me so interested that I can't wait to get my hands on its sequel. Oh and those are Young Adults books. That zombies book is also something I just needed to have. More about that later after I read it.

Which brings to mind that I'd finished quite a number of books and have not reviewed any of them for a while. Not like any of you care. Hermmm. Maybe I can muster a quick and brief reviews.

Well then I am going to immerse myself in the world of a silly and vain vampire. Which is why I am typing this quickly on my phone because if I stay in front of the computer, I'll be glued there for hours.

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Been Busy

2011-03-28T16:29:00.000+08:00

With my brother wedding preparations. Selamat sudah. Habis aje wedding sume orang dalam family terus demam. Penat sangat I think.

The stress do not end. On the wedding day, orang yang mesin rumput around the home manage to break the my car window to a million pieces. Sigh. And just now, a young boy somehow lose control of his motorcycle and rammed into my husband car, denting it. Adakah kami atau kereta2 kami perlu dimandi bunga ini?

Bangkrap wehh

Of Holiday

2011-03-17T15:49:00.001+08:00

I need to blog about the holiday. Tapi masih rasa malas. I ain't feeling like working, and at least balik office ni tadekle keje menimbun.

My husband is on holiday at the moment and fixing various things that needed to be fixed at home. The cats are home at last, but sementara kucing2 masih tiada, I manage to feed some strays di belakang rumah. There's this small orange cat that always sit around at the back of the house looking so thin that I couldn't help myself but feed him/her. (My husband maintained its a her, I maintained its a him ). Currently he responded to the name "Oren". I am secretly hatching a plan to neuter or spay him. Someone made a resolution in the PF forum to spay or neuter a random cat at least once a year to help curb population and abandoned kitties, it is maybe a good way to start. Bile kucing ada di rumah, it is a bit of a hassle to feed the stray because they are not welcoming. Mengada-ngade sungguh. Dedua datang dari longkang jugak.

It had been a good holiday, but kinda tiring. When will a holiday be relaxing? I sometimes think, during work days lagi relaxing dari holiday. Bile holiday naik kereta berjam-jam, jalan sana-sini beli barang, staying at some uncomfortable hotel. Maybe holiday-ing at KL? Duduk di luxurious hotel being pampered by spa, massage and room service. But I am one of the few people who do not like spa. I don't like the thoughts of random stranger touching me. Husband boleh. When I went for a massage in Siem Reap dulu, the masseuse was kinda frustrated because I am too tense. Heh, this suddenly brings to mind "Creepy Massage Guy" from HIMYM.

When I was in some kayak club/exploration thingies back in school, after a session we were required to stand in line and massage the shoulder of the person in front of us. I volunteered to be at the back of the line every time. That was the ok part of the team activity. Once for team bonding, a group of 12 or so, was asked to share a Twiggies. Semua wajib to take a bite. Still ok, compare to another group of 12 that have to share one tiny M&M. Apa nak dishare dengan M&M? Boleh lick aje. Euw.

p/s: Topik sudah lari jauh dari ape yang dibelog

so lazy

2011-03-14T16:11:00.001+08:00

I wish I could stay here forever, but only because I am not looking forward to the boat ride tomorrow.

You people who don't have motion sickness. You don't know how lucky you're.

Because of this unfortunate 'malady', I am giving the open sea snorkelling a miss because I don't think my stomach can take it. Stomach, you are such a bore.

In the mean time, I am enjoying the sea still. Seeing the rollicking waves, I can't help thinking how something this beautiful, could also be so deadly.

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