Is That Your Final Answer?

You know how sometimes your brain goes blank that even the simpliest question stumps you? I once played scrabble with my brother and he put down C-O-W. I went livid..."Chau!! Chau is not a word!!"

Until today, my brother makes mooing sounds whenever I do anything stupid.


Yeah, I guess I can relate what this woman was going through.

*courtesy from http://www.doingitwrong.com/

Trip to Kota Kinabalu 2008 - Day 1

Hi guys!! We're back from KK. The girls had such fun, it's almost a pity we didn't stay longer. Here's a quick rundown of what we did in KK.

Our flight to KK was around 11am, so we hired (for free, ahaks) my brother to drive us to the airport. As reward, he got to use my car for the 3 days we were away. The flight to KK was uneventful. Thankfully both the girls were complete angels during the entire flight, though Dina was a bit impatient and kept asking when we could get off the plane. I guess when you've seen one cloud, you've seen them all.

We arrived in KK at about 1.40pm. We had decided to rent a car via Hertz, which had sent a crew member to come pick us up at the Terminal 2. FYI, the car rentals are usually at Terminal 1 so it would be a good idea to pre-arrange such pick ups beforehand, if you don't want to spend on a taxi ride to the other terminal. After dropping of the Hertz man at Terminal 1, we drove off, making our way to the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. Unfortunately for us, it had started to rain so we headed off instead straight to our hotel, the Nexus Karambunai Resort.

NKR is quite remote from the city center. It took us 40 minutes and 2 u-turns before we found the place. Apparently the main road had some construction going on, so the signboard at the main road was unavailable. I had to make a phone call to get some directions.
The drive inwards was nice, it made you feel like you were heading to another place altogether. As we got closer to the resort, we saw the spectacular golf course. I can understand why the Japanese would fly down here just to play golf, it really was amazing.

Our check-in process was not so spectacular, in fact it was a little painful. There was a bit of a miscomm with our voucher; apparently the hotel crew were unaware of such thing (cet, takkan le AMEX just made the package up). It took the 30 minutes to sort everything up and eventhough they did compensate me with a welcome drink, it didn't set our course for a great holiday.

The room however, was very nice. Sorry, no pictures. The bathroom had a shower and a bath tub, to the delight of the girls. As we were on the 1st floor, we even had a balcony, which gave us a wonderful view of the beach. The king sized bed was sufficiently big enough for all of us. They didn't have any mini bar which was kind of weird but fine by me. They had room slippers and also slippers for us to use outdoors (to the beach, to the restaurants, etc) which I found a nice touch. However, they didn't give any complimentary newspapers but you could read them at the rec center.

We spent the rest of the day at the resort, taking a long walk at the beach (marvellous, white sand and stretches for miles) and taking in the sights throughout the resort. We had dinner at the Kingfisher restaurant. Food was ok, but there wasn't much choice for the girls. We sat outside to enjoy the view of the swimming pools but I ended up with mosquito bites instead. Ouch!! Next time, I should remember to bring some insect repellent.

The servers were really nice and made small talk with the girls. However, there were a couple of blackouts during our meal, which was amusing yet kind of odd considering this is a 5-star resort, you'll think they have their own generator in case of a blackout.

We headed back to the room around 10pm. The kids were pretty burned out from the travel and settled in for the night without much fuss. Hubby and I layan HBO for a while (Final Destination 3..ahaks!!), and slept around 11pm.

Next...KK Day 2. Till then, be good people.

A Short Week

This week, I'm in the office for only 2 days. Tomorrow's a holiday (Thaipusam) and tomorrow the family will be off to Karambunai, Sabah for 3 days. The kids are excited about flying, I'm thinking about the Borneo Spa packages I intend to enjoy. We'll be back on Friday, so until then, be good dear Internet.

To be updated: My teambuilding expedition (paintball champion, ya 'all!!).

Cloverfield The Movie

Last week, hubby and I got to see the premier of Cloverfield, courtesy of free tickets from my colleague Ben. I don't know whether to thank him or hit him on the head for this, which I will explain why soon.

The movie premier was being held at Cineplex Damansara, so hubby and I decided to leave home early and grab some dinner over there. Both of us were famished so we ate at Manhattan Fish Market. We ate…a lot. This fact is crucial because it explains our condition after the movie.

The movie should have started at 9pm but because of the strict security screening (we had to surrender our handphones and cameras before entering), it only started around 9.20pm.

What was the movie about? Well, if you’ve read any of the reviews about it, you’ll know that it’s a monster movie. A monster basically rises from the sea (I’m presuming here coz it looks kind of slimy) and rips Manhattan apart. I mean literally. The Statue of Liberty gets decapitated!!! Buildings fall over each other and bridges get destroyed. The army gets their asses kicked, even after they drop an A-bomb, this thing just keeps on going.

And the monster isn’t the only thing attacking NY. Apparently it comes with these “mini-monsters” (like hang onto the monster, like lice), which has an appetite for human flesh. Giller ganas!!

What about the human characters in this movie? For one thing, they all looked like they just stepped off pages of Vogue. Major babes, both dudes and dudettes. Character development was at a minimal because the movie was basically a home video of what started as a going away party for the “hero” and ended up with shots of a group of friends running around NY, trying to save their lives and the life of the “heros’ girlfriend.

Yes, the whole movie was basically 80 minutes of handheld (some, very unsteadily) shots of NY, the monster and the group of friends. If you threw up watching Blair Witch, chances are you’ll throw up watching this movie too. Both hubby and I got headaches and we almost lost our dinner (remember, we entered the cinema with very full stomachs).

What did I like about the movie? Well, it was creative for one thing. However, I have no idea what Cloverfield is or represents. The movie title sounds so…innocent. The monsters looked real enough to be afraid of them and the whole hysteria atmosphere was nicely captured on film. The characters were nice to look at and despite their desperate situation, there were some funny, lighthearted moments (“You’ve never heard of 12chesthairs.com?”).

What didn’t I like about the movie? Well, the whole handheld camcorder thing was a little too much for me, especially when they started running and the whole camera is just shaking up and down. The storyline had some unrealistic moments (everyone knows you can’t use your handphone down in the subway). Plus, when a monster 100 feet tall is looking down at you, pondering whether to eat you or not, I would think the last thing you’ll think of doing is to make sure you capture the monster’s good side on tape.

That been said, would I recommend this movie to my friends? Yes, just for the sheer joy of it. If you can get over the motion sickness, you have a pretty nice monster movie. Not too much gore but just enough that you feel squeamish and start praying for the group to find their way out of NY.

So, go see it. Have fun and prepare for the cliffhanger. Just make sure you don’t enter with a full stomach.

Disgusting News of the Day

* Paris Hilton receives award from Harvard University. Harvard....why?

* Brad Renfro dies at age 25 due to drug and alcohol abuse (more sad than disgusting but still)

* Jamie Lynn Spears is now facing teenage pregnancy without boyfriend Casey Aldridge (disgusting because 1. the fact that a 16 year old is sexually active and stupid enough to get pregnant 2. her 19 year old boyfriend is not in jail for statutory rape 3. he has the gall to make claim that he may not be the baby's father. Whatever)

* Pamela Anderson gets divorced....AGAIN!!

* Latest reality show - Celebrity Rehab. Come on, now!!!

* This morning during shower, I discovered my snot is green. Hmmm...nice.

It's Like NeYo Said - So Sick

I am sick again. This time I have a very bad cough, so bad that I think I have a swollen gland. It hurts when I swallow and when I touch the side of my neck (stop touching it then!!). I plan to spend my lunch hour in the splendid office of Dr Gomez, as that's the nearest clinic around here.

Actually I'm feeling better than I did last Sunday. That was fun. I had the fever and my body was aching all over. My joints felt like someone had taken a baseball bat and gone all "Joe DiMaggio" on me. Even moving my fingers caused pain. I spent the night shivering under the covers, with 2 pairs on socks and an old sweater on. I rub tiger balm on my joints and they felt much better the next morning. 2 panadol pills also help bring my fever down but now I'm left with this irritable cough that just won't quit.

Bak kata orang2 tuakan, beringatlah sewaktu sihat. Dah sakit nanti, takleh pikir benda lain. Hmmm...ni kurang beramal sunatlah ni agaknya. Kena ubah sempena Maal Hijrah...insya'allah.

Channelling Homer Simpson

Last week we took the kids to the new wing of Sunway Pyramid. Because of my shopping spree the previous week in KLCC, we only did serious window shopping.

I did however fall pray to the latest crave...

J.Co Donuts!!

The line was really long (I was in line for 1/2 hour!!) but I was determined to buy some. They looked really good and trust me, even better to eat.

My favorites would be the JCrown Oreo and the Chocolate Mint. My least favorite if the Green Tea Donut....YUCK!!

The kids like the Heaven Berry donut...because its pink!!

Transport Problem Solved

Finally, the dilemma of Dania's transport to school has been resolved. She takes the van to her morning school, which comes at 7.50am. She's the first to be dropped off after school, so by 11.10am she's already back home. For her Kafa school, her ustazah finally "volunteered" herself to pick up and send Dania to and from home. Which was what we wanted and would have asked for if she hadn't suggested the idea herself. The important thing is, Dania doesn't have to take the motorbike to school, which puts my mind to much rest.


How has school been faring so far? So far, so good. Dania's always been excited about school, but she really loves her Kafa school. Maybe it's the uniform, or the teachers or the other students. Maybe it's the fact that her books are all in Jawi and she can't wait to learn how to read them.


Anyhow, school has been good for Dania. Her schedule isn't to tiring, she still has time for an afternoon nap and a nice lunch. She also has time to play with Dina.


So yeah, 2008 has gotten better for Dania. Yeah, Dania!!!

Looking at the Positive

How's 2008 been treating you guys so far?

For me, not so good. For starters, everyone got a cold and we were hacking up phlegm for days. Then Dania started school and we still haven't solved the ever-important question of her transport to school. Seriously, I'm stressing out about this. As a temporary solution, my neighbour's sister has offered to take Dania to school by motorcycle (yikes!) but I would feel so much better if we could find someone with a car or a van, because it's safer. Plus with the raining season still in overdrive, I don't my little girl to get drenched on her way to or back from school.

So I've been calling here and there and so far; nada. Sigh....still the search continues.

Work? Still finding my momentum after a long break. This should take me until February, at least.

But looking on the positive side, I have my beautiful daughters to put a smile on my face. I have to hubby to hold at night and to tell me not to sweat the small stuff. I have my health, a roof over my head and more than enough money to put food on the table. Things could be worst.

But this year, I'm gonna make sure they get better for sure!!

Happy New Year everyone!!!