Books Stash Update

As per usual , I will update my books buying habit here so I can track my books. Its easier to see this online. Maybe I should seriously consider an excel spreadsheet. Eh malas la. 

This time due to Covid, Big Bad Wolf Book Sale held their sale online instead. It was a bit of a disaster on the first few days tbh. The site was unstable with payment not going through and books list not updated appropriately. I am sure their IT Team was going through hellish week that week. 

Anyway I manage to buy some books mostly for the kids and a bit for me on the third day of the sale. I also bought a few more books by the end of the week mostly on school exercises book because those were cheaps. 

So below pics!

The Paws Patrol for the littlest one, the dinos books are for the second and the shark is for the eldest.

Buku latihan for the kids and extra-ish

And mine...

I had also realized trying to find last year posts that I didnt post my stash of last year. Huh, 

no matter so I am now updating it here. 

 

Graduated meself

 Let me update to the uninterested how my violin playing coming along. 

I try to record myself playing. It sounds bad. LOL. But I think its normal..  amateur with a cheap violin sounds like. Sometimes its good. Sometimes I wonder if I buy a violin worth thousands will it actually improve the sounds? I also do not want to find it out because I don't have loads of money to waste on a hobby. 

So I had finish relearning Book 1 of my Strictly Strings book and going to Book 2. Its quite ok la jugak learning using youtube ni. There's tonnes of stuffs out there people who taught the book using youtube, people giving simple tips and tricks in how to play the violin correctly. We don't have a lot of that 10 years ago. The downside is that there's no feedback how correctly I am playing it and I have to go by memory on what the teacher taught me how I should improve. There's also a few teachers offering online classes nowadays in these time and I am tempted, but I don't have much to spare. So youtube I guess is the way forward! 

Okla. Later.

Sigh

 Just feel like sighing. 

I had started another blog just for the point of reviewing because I feel this blog is too mushed up. Not sure whats gonna review. Probably more kdramas. I had been lagging on the kdrama review updated but more like I don't have energy of it. 

But I had also started to learn French and Arabic in Duolingo. The former is because I always wanted to learn that. And Spanish too ( I will learn Spanish next). Arabic because I am frustrated by the text books bahasa arab I have to understand to help my kids with their homework. I meant I get why it is in Arabic, but wouldn't it make sense to also include translated jawi into it so it is not just gibberish to the uniniated? I tried google translate but even that doesn't help me much. I had also kinda 'reprimand' the teacher for just giving vague instructions and expecting students to turn in perfect homework. I HATE vague instructions. This is not about spoonfeeding. It is about a clear precise instructions that you don't ended up wasting you and other people time. This is also the thing ALL people need to learn. 

Don't even let me get started on the kids textbooks nowadays? It is a lot of pictures with not much info. I think I know this is one way to reduce the heaviness of the books, but some of the information is not there??? I guess this is balanced out with the teacher instead teaching it (and have the infos in their guidebook???) but with this covid era where homeschooling is now the normal, they certainly did not expect that. 

Oklah ranting. Oh I provided my review on DuoLingo app there on the blog I mentioned earlier. 

Menu day to day

 

Just one of my meals. 

The lockdown had also forced us and me to cook more. The above is nothing special, just telur dadar, kobis lemak and asam pedas daun kesum with ikan tenggiri. 

I never made asam pedas, but the kids seems to like it so much and it is a simple meal actually. I always thought it is annoying to prep. But not really. I tried to make asam pedas daging last night, and it was good too except the kuah is much too pekat, next time need to add more water. 

I even tried to make mini chicken pot pies, where at first I want to try to do the pastry from scratch, but I remembered I had some pastry puff in the freezer and used that instead. I like how it turned out. I didn't take pics of it, because it is no beauty but it does taste nice. Maybe next time. I will try from scratch. If I can do that, maybe the next time I will do the beef stew pies ( I love those!) . 

Okay. Gonna have some breakfast now. 

Back to Quarantine

 

Back its not as strict as before. But the kids will be all at home and having to oversee their online classes again. I am not looking forward to that. 

Anyway aint this picture seems apt on what essentially I am going through. Playing the violin in my room and I also had just put there my newly bought masks. 

Don't you guys feel that nowadays you seen a lot of disposable face masks littering our streets. Its really annoying. I prefer cloth masks because while I am not like very environmentalistic (is that even a word), but I like trying to at least create less sampah in the world. Also cloth masks are cute. 

later. nak gesek biola. 

Recents

 Its October now. 

Our Covid cases are rising no thanks to the politicians. And right now I felt like they are really dropping the ball in handling the crisis. I wont say more because then the language will get more colourful. 

Anyway... whats up? 

Its been tiring. My little boy was in the hospital end of August due to high fever. My youngest ni while even sick , his energy is still really high. Then afterwards of course another great water crisis hit Selangor yet again. Its almost as dramatic as last year one. But the difference was last year I was handling it alone while this year I manage to get my husband to book us an apartment in Genting to get away for a while from the non water issue. Genting was boring btw. We ended up in Bentong for ice cream and nasi lemak. 

Then we went to Tioman. My 2 siblings and their family and my mom. It was good.

Last time we spent time at Bharat which was very peaceful and laidback, but payar beach resort is interesting too. 

Then my kid got mild chicken pox ( the same youngest one). And now we got covid cases rising and a lot of us are afraid to go out much. Lots of parents are also not sending their kids to school. I am not included in it, but lets not get into that. 

What I had been doing instead? Same old. Read. Kdramas. Play the violin. Binge on some shows. 

Anyway. I want to talk more but not feeling up to it more. Also its 2 am. 

Relearning old interest

Not sure who here from 10 years back still are reading my blog, but those who do maybe did read I used to take violin lessons. I took it for like 3 or 4 years? I was never good because I was lazy. I simply have no time to practice ( ini adalah alasan). During the PKP when I was going out of my mind I feel like I need to play music again. My organ had long kaput and now lying in dust. We enquired about fixing it ( which no one can confirm it can be fixed) but it was a 20 years old one and I am like it will probably cost as much as buying a new one. 

What I do have is my old violin, which need to be restring. That is a whole other thing where I was trying to buy it online but the shop sent a guitar stand instead which when they asked me to return and I asked for a confirmation of their shop address and fucking postage fees to be at least sent to me because that thing is huge (and i still havent got my violin strings!) they just went silent!!! I am banning that shop forever and it sucks more for them since that guitar stand is more expensive that my violin strings , but I have no use for a guitar stand. 

Then I thought it is easier to go to a physical store and buying it in Yamaha music shop instead (which is fooking expensive) and it broke and I gave up and went back online and ordering it from overseas since no one locals can be trusted! 

Thats the whole saga. 

Anywayyyy ... I am back learning the violin once again based on my memory and Youtube, and I am not sure if I got better, but I can shakily manage 2 notes of vibrato which I can't before so that's nice. Not sure how long does this self learning thing can keep up since playing the violin is HARD, so we'll see. 

Just briefly writing in

I am busy scanning in my son's homework. Kenapalah bila dah scan baru kau jumpa kesalahan? 

My raya was beshe2 je? 

Did you get back to your hometown? Well considering at the time, travelling to Sarawak is gonna be a big hassle and kinda uncertain (in terms of health safety) we are just at home at this time. 

Like I said I did cook laksa Sarawak. I really like one of these days to cook and make it really presentable for a photo. But most of the time I will be running around the kitchen like stirring, the slicing this, stirring again, mixed up things, washing up dishes. Jeez how does people like ribboncircus (I love her IG , she makes it so pretty and homey) makes everything looks good. 

I also bought just kurtas for the boys to wear on their first raya. I bought from Zalora and it is the cheapest I could get at RM40 per piece. Can't see the the other two eldest, but the colors are mint green and since for that color they did not have Sharif size, I bought a pink one. The eldest balked at the idea of wearing pink now, so Sharif is the only one have to wear pink. And i wore pink to match his. 

Yes our bookshelves are a mess. Tu pon I baru susun sikit. Pening sebenarnye nak susun bookshelf ni. 

Anyway, I am off to play my 2 points hospital . Later. 

Ramadhan in MCO

So it is the end of Ramadhan.

Had I fully utilized it. I have to say no. I also been in my period for half of Ramadhan. So thats that. Not that my 'perangai' is any better. 

Aside from that, this Ramadhan in MCO had its challenges. Finding new dishes to cook, finishing the many many food that my mom cooked, waking up almost every sahur to prepare meals when I am not a sahur person at all. I am also missing and not missing the raya bazaar. I miss going through the stalls of food, but the food we sometimes ordered from the taman whatsapp had been pretty great too and had never got a disappointment (tak sedap,basi,etc) like if you buy food from a ramadhan bazaar. 

What about Raya? I don't intend to cook much this Raya though because my husband will be buying lemang and my mom will cook sayur lodeh for all. There is a ketupat palas I will probably boil tomorrow. On the second day of Raya I will cook laksa Sarawak. I had already made the sambal belacan in advance yesterday.

I am so lazy to cook this last few days. Because I was baking and cooking for some stuffs. I will show what I made. I made just 2 cookies and don't feel like breaking out the raya cookie jar. 

Now it is time for me to kemas the house. First nak kerah bujang2 di rumah ni. 

Will update soon with pics! 

Selamat Hari Raya to you people and maaf zahir batin! 

IU - KDramas Best

One of the earlier Kdramas I watched was Scarlet Heart Ryeo and so IU is one of the actresses I am always excited to hear about if she is going to be involved in the projects. I found that also I watched a lot of her dramas. Not all, I think I didn't watch Bel Ami and don't intend to either and few of her minor roles, so I will list down starting from what I think her least best drama to the best.

DREAM HIGH

Plot:-

Anyone who haven't watched it well, I don't really want other people to watch this either but it got Kim Soo Hyun, Suzy and Taecyeon . And I really like Suzy here. What is it about? Its about a bunch of kids who went into this sort of music academy with the intention of becoming top/pop/kpop stars. The leading star of this was the above I mentioned earlier and IU was the supporting actress actually.

Review:-

It is kinda silly sometimes but it does have its moment. Its kinda fun to watch though and the songs are nice to listen to.  Basically I went into it expecting nothing but was entertained, so it was good. Definitely not gonna rewatch this.

How's IU here:-

I think it was her first drama. You can see the awkwardness a bit but she seems mostly natural enough. It doesn't really stretch a lot of her ability though, so she was just OK in this.

Chemistry with her partner:-

Well, she was not there to be against the female lead, but more of a supportive role. She also have her own romantic storyline that is kinda cute and both do well together in a cute a way.

Best work?:-

Considering this is her first acting gig, I say she did fine but I was not blown away.

THE PRODUCERS

Plot:-

Here also is where IU is not in the starring roles but it does highlight more on her acting ability. It again featured Kim Soo Hyun who works in an entertainment dept of a television network and how he navigate working as a newbie there under the supervision of the 2 'sunbaes' Joon Mo ( Cha Tae Hyun) and Ye Jin ( Kong Hyo Jin). And from working there he have to work with the popular singing talent Cindy (IU). 

Review:-

This was actually a pretty good kdrama. It featured 2 very well talented actors who played their characters brilliantly. So Kim Soo Hyun and IU fared well against the 2 stars. It does not featured romance heavily since it is more of a workplace kdrama type. 

How's IU here:-

This is one of the drama that makes me think IU can act pretty good. She was particularly good in all of her scenes that deals with emotions especially. The bitchy part she still have to get that right, as I feel there was not enough oomph going on. (which she did later in Hotel Del Luna). 

Chemistry with her partner:-

She have loads of chemistry with Kim Soo Hyun. They should totally be starring in kdrama together again one day. They don't have anything much together romantically but most of their scenes together are sweet. I stan this upcoming kdrama couple. Make it happened!

Best work?:-

A better work. 

MOON LOVERS : SCARLET HEART RYEO

Plot:-

The female lead (IU) was suddenly propel to Goryeo time in a body of a 16 year old girl. On her time there due to her peculiar ways, she caught the eyes of several princes . Of course there would be princes! 

Review:- 

Aside from the nonsensical plot, it is a really good kdrama where it have the usual palace politic drama and also heavy on the romance. Most of it was IU being the objects of affections. It starred all the hotties of kdrama world and introduced me to Kang Ha Neul and I think he is simply marvellous. Watch it if you like since it is quite fun and dramatic and melo. 

How's IU here:-

I have to say this is not one of her strongest drama. But I think this is the first time she was the lead? She was great in the first half of the drama where she have to be the sweet bubbly girl. But during the second half, where the emotional toll of all this palace drama now taking place I find her less satisfactory. She did not hit the right note of emotional despair and sadness and most of the time look kinda blank. But I can't really blame her since I think she didn't have yet the life and actor experience to carry that. I think she realized that too because she gets miles better afterwards in the later dramas. 

Chemistry with her partner:-

She have good chemistry with all of the cast. To me there's nothing like explosively good, but she manage to have pretty decent chemistry with all of her interests. That is no small feat. 

Best work?:-

No unfortunately. I even think when she was in the Producers, she was better. But this was such a nice kdrama for me to watch, I am fine with that. She was not terrible. 

HOTEL DEL LUNA

Plot:-

IU as Man-Wol is a caretaker of a hotel to the dead. She hired Chan Sung ( Yeo Jin Goo ) as the hotel manager. (malas nak elaborate. This series is hugely popular enough)

Review:-

It was a delightful dark and sometimes formulaic drama. I like the myth surrounding the hotel and the mystery of Man Wol past. All of the casts did splendidly well and it was quite an excellent drama except that it gets too melo sometimes and the ending is a bit meh to me . 

How's IU here:-

She was marvellous as the bitchy vengeful Man Wol. She really pulled of everything about the character quite well , especially the fashion she donned. The last episode leave me a little bit meh because they changed her to a sweeter nature unnaturally though I think it maybe more on the writing rather than the acting, but it feels a bit off to me. 

Chemistry with her partner:-

I know people love her chemistry with Yeo Jin Goo, but I feel it was great in a platonic way. She have pretty good chemistry with Lee Do Hyun though the man from her past. 

Best work?:- 

Not the best, but she is pretty darn good in here. She really is Man Wol and was entertaining to watch. 

MY MISTER

Plot:-

Ji-An is a struggling mid 20s years old working to support her ailing grandmother. Due to her past, she is a tough, morally flawed person who will do anything to survive. She worked as temp where (Lee Sun Kyun) Dong Hun worked as a thankless team lead engineer in a construction company. Dong Hun suddenly received a packet of money and Ji-An stole the money. In a set of circumstances, she ended up giving it back but found out through a series of events that Dong Hun wife is having an affair with Dong Hun boss. She takes advantage on that knowledge. 

Review:-

Writing that plot, makes it feel like I was writing of a JDrama plot. It makes me miss JDrama a bit. 

Anyway my review on this series, it is amazing! It is unlike most kdrama I had ever seen. It felt realistic in a slice of life way and harsh. My heart breaks for Ji An and Dong Hun. The music in this drama is outstanding, every cast is amazing and the life depicted feels achingly true. I feel like this is one of the best kdrama I watched if people can get past the heavy theme of the drama. It is serious, heartbreaking (but never veers to melodramatic), peppered with humours every now and then and feel so true to what you feel in life. 

How's IU here:-

This is after her role from Scarlet Heart, and I was blown away how good she was. She uses her eyes to show how tired, angry and frustrated she was with the world. Her body language is defeated yet defiant. She knows how to hold back and burst through a scene. After this drama, I am a staunch IU fan and will watch whatever she acted on. 

Chemistry with her partner:-

This is not the usual kdrama romance. It doesn't feel much of a romance either. It feels like a love story that you must start within yourself. But she had great interaction with Lee Sun Kyun and I wouldn't even mind if at the end it turned romantic. It seems almost natural. 

Best work:-

Most definitely is. Until I watched another drama/film, I say this is her strongest role and acting so far. Though I haven't watched Persona. That kinda film takes a mood and a determination I don't much have these days. 

New Stuffs to Do When in PKP/MC0

Note: It is now Day 33 of MC0 and I feel we are all getting a lil crazy. 

You know how people keeps on saying that during all this time we are forced to stay at home we should learn a new skill or gain knowledge. Well that would be nice. But also be free to not feel like we have to do all this stuff. This is a life altering event that is damaging to our health, economy and mental well being. The main aim is to flatten the curve and get through it with us and our loved ones alive. So... sometimes we need to keep this in mind.

Now back to the usual rambles of...  

What I have been doing in this PKP or MC0? 

- Making sure all the kids got their online classes without issues. It is such a hassle. But you know. We have to do it. But it such a hassle! 

- Making sure all the homeworks get to the kids, then to the teacher. I swear arr, I feel like I have my own homework and deadlines to keep up with all the printing, screenshotting, overseeing and the scanning I have to do. 

- The cooking and washing dishes. Oh my God. So many meals, so many dishes. When this is all over I just wanna NOT COOK for 3 days. I think 3 days should be a nice limit right. We can't eat outside forever. 

- Exercising. I lost weight I tell you! 8kg! Woohoo! I did portion control, lessen my sugar intake and went up and down the stairs 30 times at least and more. Of course this past 2 days I had been relapsing, sigh. I am only human. There were cakes! And I am so tired! But I don't want all this effort to go to waste so I will restart again okeh. Which is why I haven't yet made the famed Dalgona Coffee. Apart from menggunakan alasan diet to not do it, I feel it is easy enough tapi the real reason is that I really malas to break out the mixer la. I did make the bread pudding caramel because everyone was hogging gardenia at one point. Mad. (I also haven't made my own bread). 

My bread pudding. The kids love it and it does feel like it is good for kids because it is kinda filling. I prefer the usual creme caramel. 

- Trying to color. Not like I have all the time. I started on this particular Klimt page few months back dan baru habis sekarang. That took some effort I tell you.

- Bought a game in Steam. I bought 2 Points Hospital game which is based very strongly on the old beloved game I love which was the Theme Hospital.

The game is almost identical and it wasn't hard for me to start off since I am already familiar with the old one, so I can play the game happily immediately. The pics are from my phone because I can't be arsed to see how I can screenshot it using my MAC.

- I had also banned TV time during the weekdays. I feel this is kinda hard on them but also I feel this is good. I just wanted to encourage play if they are not doing their school work. Not just stuck watching TV all the time.

- Now while I know we should save, I am looking at Cotton On Body and itching to buy their bras. I love their lingerie because it is comfy and it is on sale. And let me look at it again!

So long for now!

Park Bo Young - Bests of

I love Park Bo Young. 

First of all she is so darn cute. Secondly she is the same height like me. So aku jua boleh bajet cute pendek like her!!! ( Ah let me have my fantasy) . 

I can't review all of her drama series since I didn't watch all of her works. Come on. I have my limits. 

So I will review the last 3 she was in... 

I won't go into much details. Just going with the flow here. So here... from worst to best. 

ABYSS

Plot:  
Cha Min ( An Se Ha) and Ko Se-Yeon (PBY) died, and they came back from the dead looking completely different from their old self. There is also the main mystery of the series - which is finding and catching the serial killer who killed Se Yeon.

Review: 
Absolutely a waste of my time. I hate it so much.  I wanna pile on it more but really, it is just not worth it. Just NO.

Was Park Bo Young OK in this?
She absolutely nailed it of course, especially when she have to play dual roles. But that's to be expected. She is a good actress.

Chemistry with the male lead :
Nada. I hate it. I don't know why but I am not feeling it. Maybe the guy damn kayu one? I feel like he is still finding his groove. You know who she had massive chemistry with? Lee Si Un. Yes, he is not that attractive in the usual pretty boy kdrama style, but when they banter with each other I swear I want them to hook up!

Best work? She did her best. But no. Because the script is such a massive pile of *****, nothing is redeeming.


OH MY GHOST

Plot :
Bong Sun ( PBY) who have a timid personality ,can see ghost ever since she was little. Then one day she got possessed by a ghost who is obsessed with sleeping with a guy because the ghost was convinced that she can't move on to the afterlife because she was a virgin. Suddenly the timid Bong Sun changes personality overnight to a brash impulsive girl and goes after the head chef/owner Sun Woo ( Cho Jung Seok). There's also a mystery involving some murders.

Review:
It was good. It changes from fun to dark quite suddenly but it doesn't feel like completely out of the left field. I love all of the actors here actually, they all played well with each other and are so so good at their characters. The transition of Bong Sun coming onto her own frustrated me a little, because I think they should have emphasized on it more so it does seems the romance is a bit  " Really?" . But still a highly recommended watch.

Was PBY great in here? 
Yes. Like I said she played dual roles well, and in here she absolutely shines. I love her more as the brash ghost personality though.

Chemistry with the male lead?
They did ok. It was reasonably romantic but it is also confusing to the male lead and the viewers in where exactly the affection lies with. The ghost or timid Bong Sun. Like I said before, it makes the romance seems off a bit because in my view the real interaction was when Sun Woo was interacting with the ghost. But honestly I think they tried their best there so I am fine with it.

Best work?
She is good here but I feel like there was still something quite lacking.


STRONG WOMAN DO BONG SOON

Plot:

Bong Soon (PBY) was born with a supernatural strength ability. She is ridiculously strong in a superhero way in a cute way, and because of that during her run in with a mob, Min Hyuk (Park Hyung Sik) a CEO of a game company who happened to witness her ability was hopelessly besotted and impressed. Which leads to him offering Bong Soon a job. There's also a mystery involving series of kidnappings. I am seeing a pattern here with PBY

Review: 

It was great fun kdrama. It was funny, Park Bo Young looks like she is having fun with this role and Park Hyung Sik and Ji Soo was also equally charming. The dark mystery kinda spoiled it a bit but it doesn't go really dark all the way, only the last few eps. 

Was PBY great in here? 

She was at her best. She absolutely shines in this role actually. She pouts, sulks, fall in love and kicks ass effortlessly. I really believe she enjoyed every second of it and it showed in her work. 

Chemistry with the lead? 

Hell to the YES! This couple gives me tingling butterflies! Park Hyung Sik could look at anyone so meltingly. Even Ji Soo is so achingly great in his interaction with PBY in this drama. My heart breaks for him a bit. 

Best work? 

Her best drama to date where it was fun and we love seeing her in it. 

Extra:

I had also seen the movie On Her Wedding Day. I think it was a really good sweet poignant movie. A must watch to appreciate Park Bo Young talent fully in a movie where it is less rigid compare to a kdrama. 

Love in the time of Corona - COVID19

Well... I just have to put that title in nonetheless.

Anyway here we are in the midst of a pandemic. The worst seen in this century, hundred thousands infected, tens thousands of death.

This is surreal. People are in isolation all around the world. If you try to talk people everywhere... they will be in their house. In solitude. Social distancing. Bored out of our mind. Itching to go out.

For Malaysia its been what? Day 12 of Restricted Movement Order? I will call it here as lockdown because that is a mouthful.

Weekends and weekdays had merged into one. I am now playing classical in full blast while writing this post because my playlists had gone on many many loops.

Now now... of course I should and need to be thankful, to be bored in this lockdown. It is a privilege. Some are forced to be stuck in a small 2 bedroom house filled with multigenerational families. Some are out of work and working side gigs to the best in this limited movement to get food on the table. Some are facing mental health problem. Some will face domestic violence.

To be bored in this lockdown, is a privilege.

But I can complain. Oh yes.

The TVs are conquered by the kids.
I feel suffocated.
I hate cooking so so so much.
It is sticky all the time.
I am coughing... am I next on the statistics?

I will continue my Kdrama posts later on. If I have all this time why not post eh?

Why not indeed.

Anyway. Be safe. Wash hands.

End of a decade?

So people are like eh its not the end of a decade, end of a decade is dec 2020.

Whatever. We ignore this people.

Nearing towards the end of 2019.

I wanted to summarize what I had done in a decade but old age is catching up and my memory is foggy. Lets just tried it.

From 2010 to 2019

- I had worked 3 jobs.  Quit and now a SAHM.

- Went from 2 cats to 8 til recently and now down to 5. I can manage 5. 8 was chaos.

- Somehow from having no kids I now have 3 boys. 2,5,7 .

- I want to say I travel unsatisfactorily but I visited about 6 countries in 10 years. Ok lah. 

- Husband went from long distance and now back at home just recently.

- Went from a US tv shows addicts to Kdrama addicts.

- Read a lot the first half of decade, not so after quitting. Duduk rumah don't feel like reading. Which is bad sebab kenkadang feels like brain rotting off.

- Blogging is no longer a thing by 2019, but we hardened early 2000s bloggers are coming back to spout off nonsense sporadically and quietly.

- Twitter reactiveness is not as strong but lurking game is strong.

- Gotten fat along the way and trying to find the motivation to slim down. Tapi besok aku nak makan satay. Satay last for 2019! Shit probably tomorrow not so good time to be out.

- Need to do better next decade because I will in my 40s and this is sad.

Okay. I don't know what to talk more.

Ending the new year with a recent pic of the kids at Gardens by the Bay.

p/s: I will blog about kdrama after new year lah. Seen a few but tadek rasa nak review lak. 

Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency

I have a fondness for Gong Seung Yeon and seems to want her to do well, so after watching her acting in Are You Human Too , I was delighted that her new drama will be coming out soon. 

Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency seems to be what they called it as fusion sageuk, where they don't really adhere to the strict segeuk style and stick much to historical accuracy. 

The story is about low class citizens of Joseon Soo and Gae Dong whom are butchers and errand girl who acquired the service of the popular Flower Crew ; a matchmaking service, to get married. But then Soo suddenly became a king and enlisted the help of the Flower Crew to marry his first love. 

The Flower Crew consist of Ma Hoon (Kim Min Jae) who is a perfectionist and know it all, Joon who is a playboy and can tickled information from anywhere and Yong Soo who is a stylish guy who specialized in beauty. 

asianwiki

Review? 

When the trailer first came out people are confused who is exactly the Male Lead, but after the first episode it is apparent it is a story of Gae Tong and Ma Hoon. So I am a bit pleased that it is not about the king but still the story centered on Soo a lot which led to the unstableness of the series. 

The drama kinda totters in between palace intrigues and flower crew shenanigans while it sometimes intersect, it took quite sometime to get the momentum going. And one of the downside of the drama is how it seems to throw the 2 leads into weird situation for no ryhme or reason. I guess they wanted to generate more chemistry but the leads managed it enough that it should not be a forceful meeting. 

It was fun though and the crews and king are beautiful. You can see they enjoyed acting with each other and it shows in their scenes. But it never quite hold my interest or joy especially later on. 

Romancewise?

7/10 . They get it right. Kim Min Jae can have a melting gaze and that little smile. Ooof. Gong Seung Yeon seems to interact well too. They have chemistry but not off the charts, and still cute. 

Acting wise?

I think this is the first Kim Min Jae lead role and he hold himself well. Looking forward on more for his projects. The other actors and actresses are also pretty ok. Nothing rage inducing. Not the best role for Gong Seung Yeon but I think it is more on how she portrayed the character.

The best moment for her was at the last episode and she did wonderfully well that I know why I am fond of her. 

Did it stumble and fall? 

Not exactly, but it never quite fly high either. 

IMPORTANT ASPECT OF KDRAMA ESSENCE :

BOYFRIEND LEVEL:

Pretty good. I am giving it a 7/10. Not perfect but mainly because he is too busy playing saviour instead of boyfriend. Did I mention Kim Min Jae have the most nicest (I meant sexiest ) voice I heard recently. Ehem. 

HEROINE AWESOMENESS: 

6/10 . She is a strong character but not featured well enough and sometimes relegated to the background. It gets annoying when the plot decided to go that way.

SECOND LEAD GAME: 

Strong. I was almost disappointed Soo/The King didn't get his girl. Seo Ji Hoon got the most potent puppy dog eyes and when he was imploring Gae Tong to go with him, I don't think I would have the same resolve. 

Seo Ji Hoon reminded me strongly of Park Bo Gum, and I wish he would have similar success. 

VILLAINERY: 

10/10. I like it. I like it when the villain went all out. Go big or go home I say. 
Last time I saw Park Sa Hoon was his role in My Mister and this role is such a different one that I am delighted on how wonderful his acting is. 

CHEESINESS:

Not so much. Ok enough la. 

Final Verdict...

Recommended? 

Yes if you like sageuk fusion and pretty boys. We don't really go .... "daebak!" when watching though. 

Buy some and exchange some

My friend informed me there was MPH clearance sale going on at Balakong. Interest piqued because the books are priced from RM1 so my husband ok je bawak sefamili there.

I think people had been buying in bulks because there were barely any nice books there when I reached last Saturday afternoon.

Mainly lot of school workbooks and puzzles book priced at RM1. Story books around RM2-4 (still cheap) and some popular books at 80% off. Bolehlah. Stationery murah like files and gam also placed.

Some of the books bought .

Some of the kids haul. 

The kids bising there is no coloring books since they want some. We manage to find some after some digging but ade satu or dua je sesuai. 

Boleh la tu. 

Anyway yesterday also jalan2 di Linc saje nak tengok tempat orang have-have makan. 

It is a very instagram friendly place I guess, and penuh dengan tempat makan yang boleh makan once or twice a year je. 

The kids love the pretty place. 

Anyway jalan2 there found a little book where you can exchange a book. Which is basically exactly like it sounds. Exchange a book for a book.. 

Unfortch I didn't bring a book, but I still bring home one in the niat that I will put one next time I am there. I just really want to read this. Heh. Also it is not a book dump. Just people who wants to pass along some books and read some books. 

They got some pretty nice collection. 

I think I will perhaps will continue to haunt this nook (though the parking rate at Linc is scaring me). 

My ID is Gangnam Beauty

 My ID is Gangnam Beauty. I went into it because I was intrigued on a story about a girl who decided to have plastic surgery to make herself pretty before heading into college. In college hoping for a fresh start she was dismayed to find out that someone who used to go to her school are also in the same course. 

From Viki

Review? 

It was pretty good tbh. It tried to get into the Me Too movement but not really getting into it. We only got a shallow depth of it disappointingly which makes the series; instead of a powerful moving story, turns into a pink puff piece which kinda reprimands guys on how they treat women and how women treat themselves. 

Storywise/Did it stumble and fall? 

It never really gets off high to fall mightily. I guess it was ok. A meh for me. I was having problem finishing it because the leads does nothing for me. The high point of the dramas is everyone but the lead. I love the depiction of college life and friendships. 

Romancewise?

The leads are very sweet in a 2 puppies fall in love sorta way. No passion or chemistry that stands out for me. 

Acting wise?

Maybe it was the direction, not sure since I haven't seen the leads in other series before but they irritate me with their bland expressions. The girl always have this stupid surprised look on her face while the boy have this look like he just woke up from a nap. 

BOYFRIEND LEVEL:

4 /10 . No chemistry for the feel and he acted possessive for no rhyme and reason from day 1. A bit of a jerk sometimes to the people around her too. I would have run on the opposite direction. Just throw in some points there for some handsomeness and loyalty. 

HEROINE AWESOMENESS: 

5/10 . She is not considered as a strong character right from the start and the self esteem issue is maddening but understandable. But she can have strong resolve when the occasion calls for it and she comes into her own towards the end in her blank aimless way. So point for that. 

SECOND LEAD GAME: 

4/10. He doesn't stand a chance . He is a great character nonetheless and wished he have a romantic ending that deserved. 

VILLAINERY: 

8/10. The villain of the drama is the biggest pull for my continued watch. I love her story. I love her conniving little self because I understand her so much. She is a little bit like myself and also some girls I know in my high school and college years. I love how the character is written, since she is the one that showed the most layers tbh. 

CHEESINESS:

Not so cheesy, because it all very shy and tame love. This is a plus. 

Final Verdict...

Recommended? 

OK if you like college drama since it factor majorly in here and if you like puppy like romance. 

Suddenly my cats double

There was this stray that I had been feeding for a year or two, suddenly gave birth.

She was so skinny that I had no idea she was pregnant. Also I thought she wouldn't get pregnant lol. My bad. I mean she was there near my home unpregnant for more than a year and I though meh she probably can't. 

So stupid. Tak pasal2 pregnant boleh plak dia decide to give birth at my home. 

Anyway she have 3 babies. 

Quickly put out a box before she tried to get into some nook like my closet. 

They were pretty cute

Before this we tried just letting the cats be outside but the neighbour starts complaining because kitten poops a lot and they smells. Untuk memelihara keamanan sejagat bawak la masuk, and they don't smell after a few more weeks when they get used to the litterbox so ok la kan. 

And now they lived indoor and are wrecking up the house. 

The momma cat had become chonky and I name her Lady and sometimes called her Mama. She was at first very attached to her kittens for more than 6 months and will yowl loudly if any of her kittens are out of her sight. 

Clingy mama ni. 

Then we have the 3 kittens whom I though was at first 2 male and 1 female. Then it turned out they were all female . 

The white one we called Tammy. At first I called her Felix, because I thought its a boy kitty. It took a while to come up with a new name and I think Tammy suits her. 

She is very playful and lovely but a bit shy. She likes to be alone a bit but started to play more with her siblings. 

The pretty calico is the one I called Sonia. The kids called her Rainbow. She is the one yang paling suka human and loves to rubs against our face. If she is hungry she will come looking for you and loudly asked for food . She also likes to curl up on the bed beside me after rubbing herself all over my face 😑

The orange tabby is the most elusive and shy. We called her Emoji as the kids called her Emoji even though at first she had a name Dashie when I thought she is a male. But Emoji suits her better.

She was very clingy towards her momma and still is but not as bad as before. She is gradually willing to be away from mom more. Which is why she is the last one I want to adopt out. She is very pretty and quite rare since there are only 20% ginger female and even more so a ginger tabby. But she is so darn shy. 

She won't be so shy when she is hungry though. When it is time for feeding, she will the loudest voice in the house. She will meow at me almost angrily like "Why are you so darn late in giving me food".

So that is all the new kittens in the house. They are about 10 months and all had been vaccinated and spayed because I can't have more cats. I am over my limit here! 

Anyway all these kittens and their mama too are adoptable. I am giving priority to Sonia and Tammy as they are more sociable and okay to be separated. 

Anyone interested in adopting them you can let me know. They are so darn cute taw. 

Three little ladies

The old dramas that sizzles and fizzles.

Lets delve into old dramas that are more than 5 years long. I don't particularly like watching old kdramas, but I sometimes get into it if I saw people keep on commenting how awesome that drama is. It is not really helpful because it builds up my expectations, so most of the drama seen were like Meh even if in hindsight it is probably great.

Anyway I will start with the classic sageuk Moon Embracing The Sun.

Which is about a young girl who suppose to marry the king to be met with a terrible fate and ended up almost dead. 8 years later she appeared as a shaman with no recollection of her past and a king who tried to let go of his past love but not succeeding. Great dramas ensues.

Got the pic from Viki.com

Review?
Like many had mentioned before, the drama was setup nicely by the young teen leads. They bring humour and fun and levity towards the story and the role. I don't really like Kim You Jung because I found Love in the Moonlight is a bore, but she is really the star during the 6 -7 eps she is in. I should say a bright moon. And she was just a young actress then. I will give her drama a chance then. All the other young actors were also delightful and the stories moved quickly.

Then after the tragedy and they grow up, everything moves in a snail pace and it was annoying. They could have added more drama in and action, but there is a lot of gazing at the moon or at someone and I found myself doing something else. It speeded up a bit and ended in a stupid manner. Everyone got a happy ending, somewhat. It was meh for me.

I am gonna be SPOILER-ISH so those who are late to the game and plan on watching SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH. So the 2nd lead decided to be a sacrificial lamb and get killed when it was that guard was taking his own sweet time to hurl the obviously heavy weapon when he can just I don't know ask the king to duck or hurl another weapon instead of gazing stupidly at his own death. IT WAS JUST SO STUPID I WAS SO ANGRY.

Sooo

Storywise/ Did it stumble and fall? 
Could have been better. Interesting premise, great start, terrible middle, meh ending.

Romancewise? 
It is okay. I am not on board on the leads chemistry though.

Actingwise? 
Great all around from the young actors.
Kim Soo Hyun and Jung Il Woo was amazing. I wish Kim Soo Hyun cried a little less. Get a grip ffs, you are a king.
The terrible was Han Ga In. Someone commented she was a decent actress but cannot act in sageuk. I still don't know enough why sageuk acting is hard, but Han Ga In was a bad choice. She got no chemistry with Kim Soo Hyun and she have very little expressions.

Boyfriend Level? 
Every 14 years old would love that prince to be. But older king have so much hurdle. I gave out paltry 4/10 and even less if I am not a little in love with Kim Soo Hyun.

Heroine Awesomeness?
Big nope, since majority of the drama is the older heroine so I have to say she starts out ok and then just drips. Whoever direct the older actress to be so goddamn passive is also to blame, because it is unfair to just blame her.  I particularly hate she is being dragged around by the wrist every few eps.

Second Lead Game? 
Decent effort but it was hampered by how drippy the main heroine was.

Villainery:
Pretty great I have to say . 10/10!
The villain met with his justice too swiftly.

Cheesiness: 
They tried. I rolled my eyes a lot.

Final Verdict...

Recommended? 
Ehhh.... But Don't take my word for it since everyone seems to love it so you may have a different opinion.