Jingle Bells, My Dell & Aramai-ti !!!

This Christmas, I am going to chill with Hubby as the next day we have to drive up north to attend a close friend's wedding ceremony. It's hard to explain but Christmas just brings out the warmth feeling and homesick to me. I think that Christmas is always the time when we get together with our large number of family members in the village. When I was a kid, I remember looking forward to Christmas so I can play with the rest of my cousins while our parents just chat around. Then, when I was older, I had to take care of all the younger cousins while our parents do their shopping etc. As all of us (me and my cousins) grew much older, we look forward for a good catch up session with each other while having drinks (well, of course, alcoholic ones - we are Sabahans, right?). Now since most of us are married and some with children, it is so difficult to keep in touch unless you stay in close vicinity. I've missed a lot of birthday parties, weddings, funerals and gatherings because I am kind of far from home. So, harvest festivals (Kaamatan) and christmases & new years are the time to make up for the long lost time. I do try my best to go back as much as I can but sometimes, with the busy working schedules and business trips, I can still miss the gatherings **sigh** What to do... So, this year, we are going back to KK on the 30th Dec 2008 and will be back in KL on 3rd Jan 2009. Short trip but at least, we get the chance to see the family members for New Year... Yes!!! Oh ya, I've put up a Christmas tree at home and managed to decorate it. I think that I bought too many bells ornaments though hehe... So many types and sizes of bells that my tree should be called a 'Jingle Bells' tree lol... Will put up the tree pics in my next post (hehehe... after we fix some more things) ya?

In the spirit of Christmas, I actually stopped myself from 'killing' an engineer from Dell (not Hell ya...) I have just changed my laptop to a Dell Latitude E4300, with 250GB of harddisk drive and 4GB of memory. Pretty powerful laptop and it is so lightweight. At first, I was so happy to get it because I don't have to carry like a tonne of stones in my bagpack. Then, it started to act up. First, it freezes so I have no choice but to reboot the damn thing. So, the first thing that I did was to get it downgraded from Vista to XP Pro. But the freezing does not stop and one day, there was a loud clanking sound so we suspected that it was the harddisk so I had to swap my harddisk. After that, I thought that my nightmare from Hell (yes, Hell now...) is over but now, it freezes and makes some noise. Yesterday, the Dell engineer came again after we logged a call to the helpdesk. It seems that they need to change my motherboard and memory sticks, which I told them to do whatever it takes to make this laptop stable. When he came, he found out that the parts that he brought together with him are not the correct parts -> talking about wasting his effort and time **sigh** and not to mention my hope of getting this thing fixed before next year. Ish!!! Very frustrating. So now, I have to bear with this laptop and its mood swings until 5th Jan 2009. I did suggested to Dell to just give me another unit because most probably, this unit is a faulty unit but I think that they want to try to change every single parts in this laptop before doing that. So, I hope that this Hell Laptop will be able to stand until then **fingers crossed**

To those of you who are celebrating Christmas, have a very Merry Christmas - cherish the good times and forgive the bad times. Life is short so do not live it in regret. Spend time with your loved ones and it is time to forgive each other (although I think that we should do that on daily basis). Have a safe journey and don't drive if you are not sober!!! Aramai-ti!!!

Bloodsuckers 'N Twilight

I am an avid reader and have been reading all sorts of story books (from what some may call boring, Kublai Khan, to the hilarious Shopaholic series). One of the many interesting books that I've read is the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer. When I first read it, I didn't know that the novel is going to be a motion picture. So, obviously, after finishing the whole 4 books and I found out that they are making a movie out of the 1st book, I was one of those people who are so excited to watch the movie. The next paragraph will reveal certain things from the movie and I suggest that if you are a fan of Twilight Saga and have not watched the movie, SKIP the NEXT paragraph and go straight to the 3rd paragraph... I will not be responsible if you continue reading... Basically, read the next paragraph at your own risk.

***** DO NOT READ IF U WANT TO WATCH TWILIGHT THE MOVIE *****

I went to watch the movie with hubby, friend and cousin. I was the only one who have read all the 4 books while my cousin had read the 1st book. I was anticipating a good movie as I love the storyline so much although I was not hoping that it would contain 100% of scenes in the book. For those who have not seen the book, it is a thick book so to fit everything in a 2-hr movie, it would be an impossible task. So, I think that my expectation was reasonable. In short, the movie is so disappointing from the 'dynamic' storyline up to character building. To name a few flaws (of course, this is my personal opinion):
** Bella's character should have been more clumsy and bubblier in some situations. Bella should be more comical than how she was portrayed in the movie
** Edward's character should be more relaxed, funny and more suave
** Rosalie's character should have been more bitchier
** The Cullens should have cooler cars and grandier house (why did they omit the part where Edward shows Bella the study room with the others' pictures) <- this will be important for future scenes in other books

** La Push should have been more rugged <- this will also affect future scenes in other books ** The meadow scene should have been more beautiful than what was portrayed

** The whole James & Victoria hunting and the Cullens protecting Bella should have been done better, more tensed and shows Edward's regret for being with Bella <- this will be very very important for the sequel, New Moon

Well, all in all, the whole movie didn't do justice to the book. Sorry to disappoint the other fans but I am not satisfied with the movie at all. The director should have read all the books before directing this movie. Thank God, she is not going to do New Moon...

***** END OF TWILIGHT THE MOVIE REVIEW *****

Talking about bloodsuckers, I really think that I got ripped off recently by a car workshop. Please look at my bills below and for those who are familiar with prices of car parts, please tell me whether my gut feel is correct or not? These different types of bloodsuckers should not be doing business if they are into ripping people off!!!

On 26th Nov, I sent my car for service and I asked for fully synthetic engine oil to ensure that I have that 10,000km till next service:

Then suddenly on 29th Nov, my car temperature went to HIGH when I was on the way to work (this was before I drove down to SG) and the mechanic told me that my car thermostat burst and they have to change it. I told them to do what they have to do as long as I can drive my car down to SG that very same day. Then, they told me that the car is ok but when I come back, they will have to do further work. So the 2nd bill looks like:

After I came back from SG, I sent my car to them on 10th Dec and the 3rd bill looks like: In total, I spent more than RM1500 for my car. Bloody bloodsuckers!!! If only I have the knowledge of reading minds, I would have known whether they have ulterior motive when they billed me like this... But, I am a mortal afterall **sigh**

Cake for In-Laws' 35th Wedding Anniversary

I did this cake in just 2 days due to the fact that there were so many events to attend to and therefore, just managed to get the roses ready the day before the anniversary dinner. I did a 3-tier cake (bottom cakes = vanilla and strawberry sarawak layer cake with organic sugar for the health conscious folks, while middle and top cakes = banana and chocolate sarawak layer with normal caster sugar for those who love the original taste). Since the theme colour chosen was pink so the cake was easy to decorate with all pink things hehehe... Happy 35th Anniversary to my parents-in-law!!!

So, here are some pics of the cake: The cake was a hit (phew...) - we were left with only half of the top layer by the end of the night... Another successful attempt :)

For another dinner, I attempted to bake a healthy Sugarless Cinnamon Banana with Walnut Cake:

This cake does not even have a single grain of sugar in it - I know... it would not taste as good but surprisingly the cinnamon and banana combination actually worked - I've decided not to cover it with anything else other than banana pieces and cinnamon sticks so, it was very plain. One of our uncles actually said that for him (who does not take sugar), the cake tastes good!!! Well, for someone like me, who can't live without sugar, the cake would have tasted better with sugar hehehe... Oh well, as long as the health-conscious people love the cake, I am happy *wink*

The Heels Are Alive & I'm Content

Yes, I am in Christmas mood... I have bought a 'tree' and many ornaments but have not gotten myself to decorate the tree. Next, I should be in one of those moods where I will be playing Christmas songs everywhere - hubby will need to tolerate this though hehe...

I was in Singapore recently for an event with the in-laws' community and it was, as usual, fun and vibrant. Although I was tired but I couldn't help myself from feeling appeased - hmmm, this is something that we don't feel everyday ya? Shall I say that people may have felt this but somehow can't explain the feeling. It's hard to describe peace and serenity anyway...

Talking about events and celebrations, I had attended a-week long of events, then an engagement, later Raya Haji lunch, then my in-laws' wedding anniversary. Everything in a span of 2 weeks, gosh... talking about being tired, I think that I am beyond that - I need to collapse for 2 full days without doing anything other than be on my bed. Now, as I was cleaning my house with the maid's help, we rearranged the shoes area. We have 3 racks of shoes so I told her to organise the shoes according to their owners. So, we have hubby's, mine and others' sections. As my maid was classifying the shoes, I noticed that MY SHOES was sort of empty - apart from my slippers, gym shoes, 2 pairs of sandals and another 2 pairs of boots, I don't have anything else there... Whereas on the OTHERS' section (which is filled with, we-know-who's shoes), it was overflowing. Now, that has made me realized that I don't have that many pairs of shoes compared to anybody out there (even mortals have more shoes than me! Forget about those models as they are definitely showered with shoes) - I am sure that there are some guys out there who would have more pairs than me. This is embarassing!!! Since this realization came at a wrong time (with Christmas expenses etc coming up), I think that I have to wait a lil bit longer before I can catch up with an average person on the shoes department... But, I will not resist any shoes sales from now on as I am in desperate need to, at least, keep myself at par with the rest of the mortals out there, right? **wink**

Now ladies, if any of you know of any crazy shoes sales, please keep me informed as you will be doing me a favour to keep my heels alive!!! Will keep you peeps updated with the progress of MY SHOES hehehe...

Body Of Lies & Relationships?

After such a hectic week in Singapore, we took the opportunity to watch 'Body of Lies' at the Cineleisure. Naturally, I enjoyed it as it is action-packed. In order not to reveal too much, for the benefit of those who may not have watched it, I won't say much about the storyline other than, if you love to read Tom Clancy's (The Hunt for Red October, anyone?), you would definitely enjoy this movie.

I've decided to add Relationships in the title of this posting as I think that the movie teaches us that in no matter what type of relationship we have, there is only one thing that will screw it up big time - LIES. Well, it is easier said than done, right? I am sure that we have told white lies to our parents, siblings, friends and even our other-half’s, with the thought that the little they know, the less disappointed / hurt they'll be. It is human nature that if you care for someone, you will want to ensure that they will not be hurt by you.

So, with that said, when will a lie be a 'black' lie? I think that it will only be a real lie when we lie to gain something out of it or to avoid from being punished for something that we did. For example, I was raised in a very catholic way of life (the whole family members are required to pray the rosary together every night - this is so true ya!!!). Now, of course, going for a date during high school is out of the question. So, instead of saying that it is a date, I say study group, hehe... Is that a 'white' or 'black' lie? Depends on how people look at it, right? I did it because I won't be able to go out for the date if I tell the truth (guilty of personal gain) but also I will know that my dad will be very-very hurt (good intention) and also I will not be able to stand my mum's nagging (another personal gain). Verdict? When 2 personal gains and only 1 good intention, I told a 'black' lie... Surely, some can relate to this. As we grow wiser (not older ya...), we may be able to weigh this better...

Although we say that relationships need honesty and trust, how much of those is enough? I'll leave you people to judge as this is so relative. With a show like 'The Moment of Truth' (which I don't enjoy watching), people tell lies all the time. Even psychiatrists or counselors say that children learn how to lie when they reach the age of 3, human nature can't be stopped. Personally, I think that the degree of lies needs to be measured though. If we tell lie at the expense of others, I don't think that this is acceptable. Law offenders are definitely a no-no, the rules / laws are there to protect general masses and if someone lie and cause catastrophic damage, I believe that they deserve the worst punishment...

Ok peeps, will try to post again soon!!! For now, I am trying to finish some work here and we will be driving up to KL tomorrow morning - missing home already.