Argghhh, I kept playing This Is Not A Love Song by Nouvelle Vague on loop. It's so infectious, but I can't help it.


I'm crossing over into
Enterprise....

Macaroons. Laduree. Coffee. Isfahan.

A leisure afternoon spent in the City of Lights.

My kind of stress-buster.

I made a batch of blackberry mulberry muffins today.




Those blackberries mulberries stained my fingers a lush, deep purple. Such turn-on.

Edit: I just found out those are not blackberries but mulberries. They are similar in appearance except that mulberries are oblong in shape. And to think mulberries only exist in nursery rhyme.

Oh, Liverpool, why can't you play like that in EPL?




We're through to quarter-finals yo!

Everybody, welcome Choco to my ever-growing collection of cheap cameras that leave you poor in the long run.









What could be more satisfying than that?

Goodies from Shanghai.



And lots of cheap Lucky B&W 120 and 135 films. And a set of Holga colour filters with filter holder.

Now excuse me while I go burn some films.

Got back the 2 rolls of film on my Holga and made the costliest mistake - the shutter switch was at Bulb position all the time. I remembered setting it to Normal, so I guess it accidentally got pushed to Bulb. I finished almost 2 rolls before I realized the mistake, hence most of the photos came out blurry! The guy at the photo lab must be chuckling when he saw the photos. And each photo costs roughly RM 4, from the cost of the film to have it developed, scanned and printed. Ouch.

The last few photos that came out OK after I realized my mistake (not colour corrected or edited by PS whatsoever).

No, I will not forget about the war. And I will never forget the kindness and hospitality of the Bosnian people. The small alleyways peaking around the corners in Bascarsija. The picturesque countryside with tall columns supporting the railway. The tooth-achingly sweet Bosnian baklava.

And the climb uphill to the apartment where I was staying in Bistrik (always after a full meal, bloody hard work).

No, I won't forget.

All eyes will be on Permatang Pauh today. The people of Permatang Pauh will dictate the course of direction of Malaysia in the coming years, that of a "rich government for rich people" or to take an unknown path towards a reformed political governance.

For the first choice, we are fucked. The second one, it's 50-50, but if we could let BN fuck us up for 50 years, suddenly the second choice seems as appealing as free baked beans for life! (Okok, maybe not baked beans, I use baked beans as an example as I heart baked beans).

So good people of Permatang Pauh, bear in mind that your votes are not only for yourself, but the whole fate of the nation lies in your votes.

Update: DSAI won the Permatang Pauh by-election with a landslide majority of 15,671 votes.

Selamat Hari Merdeka, peeps. Have a good holiday on my behalf, Princess here has to work.

For the first time in my life (varsity life not counted), I actually have 3,4 books lying around waiting to be read. I'm as busy as can be, plus more. Was struggling to finish Harumi Murakami's After Dark (it's a thin volume by the way) even after a few sittings and as a result, kinda lost the surreal feeling normally associated with his writing. Sorry, Abang Murakami.

Went back to Melaka to see my Nana two weeks ago. His eye was still stitched up then. Where last time a yellowish-green eye used to be, now sits a thin scar deeming him forever unable to open his left eyelid. Oh well, one less evil stare to contend with (if you have an iguana, you'd know what I mean).

I must thank Mama and Papa Tju for the hassle of finding a reptile vet (It's totally non-existent in Melaka, save for the nice lady vet, Dr. Cindy from Zoo Melaka). And also the numerous trips to UVH Serdang (I don't think my parents ever ventured driving beyond Nilai). Special thanks also to Dr. Nor from UVH for taking care of my Nana. She even went to pasar malam to buy fruits and vege for him. Unlike the stupid male vet from Klinik Haiwan Valley who couldn't wait to get rid of my Nana when I first brought him for consultation.

Dr. Cindy removed the stitches from his eye few days back, and Nana temporarily lives in the house. Mama Tju will bring him to the bathroom and he will automatically poop. He used to be toilet-trained when he was living indoor for a few years (but sometimes he would get naughty and pooped in the upper bunk of the double decker). And he's eating normally again, but only if Mama Tju hand feeds him. Lazy bum.

At the end of the day, even though he does not wag his tail like a friendly dog (his tail serves more useful purpose like lashing out at enemy, thank you very much), does not come running manja-ing like a kitten, we know he DOES recognize us and reciprocates in his own special ways.

Just steer clear when he gives the evil stare.

My Nana underwent eye enucleation in UVH at 6pm today. The vet said he's recovering well from surgery.

I'm so fucking relieved.

Dear God,

If you're really God, please please please make Nana's eye recover. My heart ached when I finally got to see how bad his eye was last week. My heart bleeds when I called Mum today and she said Nana's eye got worse. Even so when I'm so far away and could only imagine God-knows what pain he's going through.


Dear God,

You know I seldom ask anything from you, but this time, please if you can, make Nana recover. I know you love Nana more than I do. You're not really serious about making him wearing an eye patch (like Jack Sparrow), are you?



Peeps, if you know any good vet specializing in reptiles in Melaka or PJ/KL, do let me know. I brought Nana to a vet last week and the vet gave an antibiotic shot to Nana. She also gave some antibiotic tablets and eye drop. Nana has finished all the pills. However, his eye got worse after applying the eye drop, so Mama Tju stopped the eye drop immediately.

So please, if you happen to read this and know a good vet or encounter similar problem or have any info that could help me, do drop me a line.

Here's a wet tongue flick from Nana (he does that alot).

Nana, I'm going back to see you. I'm super tired after going to and fro New York and Geneva in 5 days, but still, I must see my Nana. So you better be good.

Finally bought a Holga. They say plastic is fantastic. Well, I will soon get to make my own conclusion.

I got to know from bro that my Nana got injured a few days back. So I called Mum and she confirmed this. Apparently, one of Nana's eye is swollen (like a guli) and Mum suspects that he accidentally poked his eye at a loose wire from the cage.

Mum couldn't bring him to the vet as he will run away and start bobbing his head whenever she goes near him. He must be in pain now and terrified for sure. I wish I was back home, holding him and calming him down. But thankfully, he's eating as usual.

Nana, get well soon ok? Don't start running away or thrashing around else Mum couldn't bring you the the vet. And then you'll end up blind and have to wear an eye patch.

I live in total darkness. The last light in the bedroom went off before I left the house. The living hall bulbs burnt ages ago. I'm transported back to stone age. Give me my club and leopard-skin wraparound.

Now excuse me while I go hunt for tonight's dinner.

I.Am.Seriously.Missing.Banana.Leaf.Rice.

To the extent of googling for pictures of it.

Huge mistake. The craving got worse. Oh man, what wouldn't I give for piping hot rice served on banana leaf now, with the waiter going around with the tiffin-like metal containers of assorted vegetables, pickles and curried meat, plonking everything on the leaf until you say stop. How can I forget the crispy papadums. And the chilled mango lassi (best!).

Aiyoyo, ini macam tak boleh lar. Mesti kasi tido itu otak, tak boleh asyik tengok itu gambar banana leaf rice lar, sister.

I just got to know a surprising news from my best friend. Delightful surprise anyway.

I know what you did last Spring Festival ;)

I always say my mum is the coolest mum. Old school cool. She's not exactly your typical conservative Chinese mum who, you know, forbids her daughter to hang out with boys or to listen to noisy music.

But she does have the typical Chinese mum trait of comparing her daughters to someone else's. Those irritating "Oh, Auntie Lily's daughter scored straight As in her SPM" or "Why can't you be like ah girl next door, she mops the floor everyday without being told to".

Mum generally lets me do as I like (within reasonable grounds, of course). While Dad will go "You're not exactly going out wearing those, are you?", Mum will come to the rescue and retort with something like "Haiya, what do you know about fashion? Still living in the past is it?".

Mum let me buy my first and ever pet, an iguana. And she takes care of him all this time while I'm away. Heck, Mum even let me get my first tattoo done while Dad was furious and asked me to rub it away (as he put it). When I told her about my plan to do volunteering works in Peru after I leave The Sandpit for good, she didn't say much, except for "Take good care of yourself".

I guess she gave up trying to change my mind. She knows how hard it is to change my mind once I have my mind set on something. Sometimes I do wonder, whether I make her proud. Whether she's disappointed in having a daughter who doesn't follow the norm, who always have some bizarre ideas cooking in her head.

But sometimes I have the feeling that I am Mum's favorite (even Siew Li said so). Not that she's showing favoritism, she's always been fair, it's just this feeling I have.

We're raised in an environment where affection is not expressed verbally, but through actions. Maybe that's the reason I have trouble expressing my emotions. I could put feelings into words but ask me to say it out, I just go blank. I still couldn't bring myself to say I love her no matter how I try.

Today is Mother's Day. I couldn't celebrate it with her but I'd like to say this to her (even though she doesn't read my blog).

Happy Mother's Day. I love you.

Next year, I hope I could bring myself to say it face to face to her.