I am so so lemming this lovely hair piece!! It would look so nice with my wedding dress :) But but but… I just can’t bring myself to pay USD46 for it *sniff*

Can’t bring myself to pay USD32 for this baby either…

You can find them for sale here and here.
Maybe I should learn how to make my own :D

Another favourite song… this one is Breathe, by Telepopmusik.
A reminder to relax, don’t think too much, and take things one at a time…

A couple of years ago, I was driving around KL with a friend and he had a song playing on the radio which I really liked - it was perfect for accompanying a leisurely night drive… Those who know me well will know that I have a penchant for leisurely night drives while listening to some good music :) That was my first introduction to Zero 7, a Downtempo styled musical duo comprising Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker from the United Kingdom.

Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but with a beat that is usually made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling. Due to the relaxing and often sensual or romantic feel of most downtempo music, along with the absence or minimal use of lyrics or vocals, it is a popular form of background music in ‘chill out rooms’ of dance parties, and many alternative cafes… one of my favourite kinds of music.

Here’s a music video of the song I mentioned above - it’s called Destiny. The video is pretty interesting as it uses live images that are translated into animation, as you can see from the opening pic below:

If you like Acoustic versions, try this version of Destiny.
Some other Zero 7 songs i like:
- Spinning
- In The Waiting Line

Try listening to them while driving at night :)

Merv and I did a double yesterday - we watched Monsters vs Aliens (in 3D) and Terminator Salvation.

Monsters vs Aliens
It was my first time watching a movie in 3D and I must say that it was an interesting experience. Merv of course, had been really enthusiastic about it for days (“We’re going to watch MvA in 3D!!!!!!!!!” - cue for me to roll eyes lol.) Tickets cost RM15 each (RM5 more than the usual price). I confess that I was expecting something like the cheapo flat 3D glasses you get out of cereal boxes - I had a pair once :D - but not so! What we got was a pair of canggih looking Dolby 3D glasses that look like this:

So I did a bit of googling (what would we do without google??) and found out that there are multiple coatings on each lens to filter out particular frequencies of light; and each lens lets through only a particular set, different for each eye. They cost quite a bit too, which is probably why we had to return them after the movie (Merv was so disappointed - he wanted to keep them!)

Terminator Salvation
As for Terminator - it was ok lah. Entertaining throughout, but I’ve never been a big fan of the Terminator movies anyway. I did particularly enjoy the part where a certain CGI-ed character put in a cameo :D And the robots were cool! Check out the moto-terminators!

Star Trek
And while we’re on the subject of movies… I thought that Star Trek was AWESOME!! And 70% of the reason it is so AWESOME (for me, that is :P) is the new Mr Spock :D I was never drawn to Zachary Quinto in his role as Sylar in Heroes (never even got round to watching Season 2 haha)… but as Spock… oh my! Be still, my heart…

Isn’t he a hunk? Siighhh….

Online. That’s how we met :)

When I tell people that Merv and I met online, I usually get a “Really ah??!” followed by a wah-you-so-brave/stupid/desperate-find-bf-online-you-know-he-could-have-turned-out-to-be-an-axemurderer/stalker/physco?? wide-eyed look. [And I haven’t even told you the name of the ultra-cina ahlian ahbeng site that we met on! lol. Not that I’m going to, mind. You can keep guessing :P]

You see, what they fail to grasp is that we INITIALLY met online. A week after we virtually met, we met in person. For coffee. At starbucks. For 2 hrs. And I was home by 11pm. heh. Now tell me how different is that compared to if you bump into someone u don’t know at a party/gathering/the library/etc.??

Anyway, a week after THAT, we went on an official “date”. Went to the beach. Had a drink. Dinner. Watched a movie. Held hands. :)

1 yr, 2 mths and 21 days after that - we’re engaged! :D

Lol. We still haven’t gotten down to seriously planning the thing yet, but I knew that when he popped the question I wanted to say yes. And say yes i did *beam*

I still owe u a story on how he popped the question, I know. I’ll get onto that soon, I promise. Plenty of laughs there haha :D

Yeah, yeah, i know… stale news :P But work’s been kinda crazy lately (plus i’ve been super lazy to post as well).

We havent set the date yet though, but it will prolly be next year, sometime after June. One thing’s for sure though - we’ll be DIY-ing it as much as we can! So stay tuned for updates on our journey as we wade our way through this wedding! :D

Cheers!

I know this post is super late but work’s been really crazy lately (argh!) Merv and I went with another 6 of our pals for a 4-day-3-night fun-in-the-sun holiday in Koh Samui early last month. (Something momentous happened there too - but that’s for another post :)) So anyway, here are some pics of the highlights of our trip:

When you arrive at Samui Airport, there are quaint open-air vehicles to transport you from the airport to the main building - a distance of a mere 100 meters. Our local airports sure could learn a thing or two from the Thais! I really liked the main airport building - it was all open-air style, lots of wood and plants. The loo was AIR-CONDITIONED, with 5-star facilities - I kid you not!

We stayed at B.B. Chaweng Beach resort, which was (somewhat) right in the middle of all the action along the busy main street. Hotel was decent, cost us RM250 per room per night, was near the beach, and had very helpful staff. This is the view from the open-air breakfast place which is just next to the beach:

Here are some pics of the main street along Chaweng beach, where there were souvenir shops, massage parlours, art galleries and restaurants galore.

The massages there are SUPER CHEAP! It only cost us between 250-300 baht (RM25-30) for an hour’s massage. All of us had the time of our lives going for one at least once a day!

And you can buy cocktails just off the street! For between 50-79 baht (RM5.50-7.90)! Check out the two little alcohol shoppes below!

Oh… and did I mention that Bacardi Breezers only cost about RM5 there? We sure downed our fair share of those babies! And these didn’t even add up to half of the bottles we whacked!

We had pork burgers too :) At both McD and Burger King. They were a big biiig disappointment though, sigh. AND… the taro pie wasn’t available at McD! One thing i reeeeaaally wish McD would bring into Malaysia is the taro (yam) pie. Yumm-iieeee!!

The next day - we went snorkelling! There are agents all along the main street where you can choose your snorkelling tour operators and packages. We signed up for a trip to Koh Tao to snorkel. It was a long looong 2-hr trip there and back, but the views (both above and under the water) were worth it!

Merv and I on the boat after snorkelling:

All in all, we had a great time in Samui! We were really lucky for selecting the dates that we did - flights from Penang direct to Koh Samui (and back) were cancelled the very day after we got back! One day later and we’d have had to fly to KL first, then back to Penang. Horrors!

So what was the memorable event that happened in Samui? :) That’ll be in my next post *wink* Although some of you probably know about it by now :)

[Note: Many thanks to our friends, Eu-Jeen and Kean Aik for taking pics for us! Merv and I just couldnt be bothered to lug around cameras so lazy us relied on them for pics!]

There are a very select few love songs that I classify as the ultimate love songs… and this one by Joshua Kadison is one of them. Here’s a video from youtube of the mtv. It’s corny as hell so just enjoy the song :)

I am disheartened that my vote during the 12GE now counts for nothing. The government that I travelled all the way home to vote for is no more, thanks to underhanded tactics, money politics and elected representatives with zero integrity.

I know who I am not voting for next time.

Merv and I have been trying to go green and practice sustainable living as much as we can for some time now. It has not been easy, but we are getting used to it bit by bit :)

I thought that we’d share with you some of the stuff we’ve been doing (and trying to do), and we can exchange ideas! [Please feel free to leave a comment.]

For starters, I’d already blogged here earlier on in Merv’s blog on reducing our usage of plastic bags.

And here’s a list of some of the lifestyle changes we’ve made:

• We take along our own shopping bags along every time we go shopping - regardless of whether we’re buying groceries or clothes. Earlier on, we bought some handy (and pretty!) lightweight shopping bags that roll up into convenient balls and fit nicely into my handbag, ready to be used whenever I buy anything! We fit as much shopping as we can into these bags. [Let’s say you buy 3 t-shirts on one shopping trip, from 3 different shops in the mall – you definitely don’t need one separate bag for each t-shirt!]
  Tip: Look for empty cardboard boxes at Tesco – you are allowed to fill the box with your groceries and take them home that way! And… the box can then be sent for recycling! And… you get extra green points on your Tesco loyalty card – which will eventually translate into more savings on your groceries! - You earn one point for each plastic bag that you forgo. :)

• We try to remember to bring along our own containers or food carriers whenever we buy back (tapao) food. I’ve also been bringing an empty tupperware to work to tapau food from the canteen downstairs.

• We also try to buy products that come in recyclable containers. We used to buy milk and juices that come in tetrapak packaging, but then realised that tetrapak recycling facilities are not yet available in Malaysia (only in the UK and Europe). This would translate into more non-biodegradable rubbish for our landfills. So we decided to switch to brands that come in plastic bottles instead – so that we can at least send those for recycling.

• Separate all rubbish into recyclable (i.e empty plastic bottles, soft drink cans, paper) and non-recyclable items. All our recyclable trash is put into a big box and sorted out once or twice a month, then sent for recycling. We usually send ours to the local Tzu-Chi association, where they will in turn sell off the items and use the proceeds for charity.

I’ll add more as I think of them and if any of you have ideas to share, please let me know!