Beach Memories - Redang Island (More Photos)

Here are more photos from Redang Island and I'd like to share them with ya all.

Pelangi Resort

Cool blue water, cool Roxy Girl ;P

Simply lovely

Laguna

Rocks... and more rocks

Beautiful architecture + blue sky

Viewing from above

Nice view

Seats just for two

Night view with beautiful lights

Beautiful glow

Survivor Tribal Council. Looks like, ain't it? ;)

All photos are copyrighted. Please do not take them without any permission.

Ugh, I Hate Allergy

It's been long since I last had an allergy attack and after almost 2-3 years, it came attacked me yesterday although it wasn't anything major. Both of my ears were pretty swollen and itchy, and so was my right eye-lid, and I sneezed a lot too. Well, I didn't quite realize what I ate that triggered the reactions but I suspected eggs as I did have them for lunch and dinner previous day. If I knew it would attack again, I wouldn't have touch those food and it's sad that allergy attacks me once in a blue moon as it's kinda hard to know when it's coming.

Anyway, I was told that green tea is a good remedy for allergy so since I've so much of green tea at home, I drank 2-3 glasses and it did help much. However, as I prepared to go to college this morning, the swell on my left ear was still there so I bought some allergy medicine, took a couple of pills and hopefully by the end of the day, everything will be fine.

I guess no eggs for the next few days... Ish....

Busiest Day for Busy Bee

Wednesday is the busiest day of the week as I have to do both things in one day. Attend class in the morning, return home to shower, have lunch and prepare to go to work. Thus, from morning 'till night, there's "non-stop action" and I think I'm just like a pretty busy bee. Mom did ask if I was tired from all the classes and work but I told her I was not. Perhaps there's a little tiredness here and there which I didn't quite realize, still, I did feel pretty energetic and lively.

I still remember after finishing work on the first day, my Special asked if my hair looked like one of the characters in Harry Potter (when I told him I was so busy multi-tasking). I looked at the side-mirror of the car and although I noticed some frizz, I think I still looked pretty good.

~A busy, busy bee
But, still a beauty~

Oopsy.. do bear with me for my vanity. :)

Working at Kumon

Yesterday was my first day at Kumon (as a part-timer) and I gotta say it's interesting and I enjoyed working there lots. Although I had to multi-task and deal with kids at the same time (yes, it's "crazy" and I was as busy as a bee), it's pleasant enough and I believe it's great to learn new things. It's a bit messy to me at first, but as time went by, I began to understand the flow of work and things got easier and it did help me much. All the staffs were helpful and it's really nice to work in such environment. Even the kids were friendly enough and I must say they're so, so adorable. I still remember one of the moments where I was busy recording some data, a cute little girl approached me and gave me a sweet.

Cute little girl : Hello teacher, for you... *hands me a toffee sweet*
Me : *feels surprise* For me... ?
Cute little girl : Yes, for you teacher *nods her head*
Me : Aww, thank you, very sweet of you...

Cute little girl just smiled and then, she started doing her work as I watched over her and guided her.

And there's another moment where a little boy had to do some writing work. I guess he wasn't really interested as he kept yawning and wrote quite badly so I tried to encourage him.

Me : Do you like stars?
Cute little boy : *Looks at me* Yeeess...!
Me : How many stars do you want?
Cute little boy : Five stars! *shows me 5 using his fingers*
Me : I'll give you 5 stars if you write nicely... ok?
Cute little boy : Ok teacher... *nods his head and starts writing*

Ahh... kids are just so adorable ain't they? :) Now, I'm feeling more excited to go to work tomorrow, tee-hee...

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

My Special & I watched Harry Potter at TGV Mines yesterday and I gotta say it's a great movie and I enjoyed it lots. Well, it's exciting, fun, full with action-packed, dramatic, and not forgetting hilarious too. Among all the Potter films, I think this is the best as it's more grown up and I gotta say the characters in the movie are interesting enough. And speaking about my favourite characters, I don't really have any in particular but I do like Hermione and Luna as I think they are pretty adorable. And how about Dolores Umbridge...ugh, dislike her, and I heard she's one of the most hated characters in HP, haha... Anyway, I won't reveal anything about the movie here so to those of you have not watch it yet, go watch it because you ain't wanna miss it. Overall, I'd rate the movie 8 out of 10.

I Wanna Go to France...

... and taste Ratatouille, tee-hee ;D

For your lil' info, Ratatouille originally is a French cuisine and according to Wikipedia.com, French ratatouille may be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by rice, potatoes, or simple French bread), or as a side dish. Tomatoes are a key ingredient, with garlic, onions, zucchini (courgettes), eggplant (aubergine), bell peppers (capsicum), some herbes de Provence, and sometimes basil. All the ingredients are sautéed in olive oil. Also, Ratatouille is sometimes used as a filling for savoury crepes.

Mmm... sounds delicious ain't it...? Just imagine this - beautiful candles and music playing in the background while my Special and I are having Ratatouille, savouring and enjoying every moment of it, and being just with each other... Ahh, would be simply lovely... ;P *looks dreamy*

And before I forget, here's my rating for Ratatouille (the movie) - 8 1/2 out of 10. :)

43 Things

If someone mentions '43 Things' to you one day, or you simply come across those words, what is it that come to your mind? Is it... 43 of your favourite things? 43 things that you dislike? Or 43 things of your to-do list? Well, if you look at it in a perspective, the possibilities are almost endless.

A few years ago, I registered for an account at a website which enabled people to write down their 43 goals, get inspired, and share their progress and achievements. Well, it's more like a self-help or self-development kind of thing which I did find it interesting, inspiring and motivating. Although I didn't complete my '43 Things' list, I did manage to achieve some of my goals (both important and unimportant) and I gotta say it did help me much.

Unfortunately, as time went by, I started to lose track of it and slowly, '43 Things' was out of my memory. It wasn't about my goals that I'd set, but mainly of the whole processes and the confidence that I had diminish. I felt I wasted time, and also I felt weird for writing down and sharing my goals in cyberspace (although I stayed anonymous). As a result, I stopped logging in.

And just a few moments ago, voila, I stumbled upon '43 Things' and it somehow inspired me once again. Since I couldn't log in to my old account (forgotten my username and password), I registered for a new one and wrote down 16 - 17 things that I want to do and goals that I want to achieve. Sure it is a long way to go (especially to complete everything until the 43rd goal), but I believe with self-discipline, courage and determination, anything goes well.

Meanwhile, it does not stop me from pondering as well. Yes, '43 Things' is a good site for inspiration and motivation, and how it changes one's life indeed, and at the same time, I gotta say I'm grateful to have my family, my Special, teachers/lecturers and friends who have inspired, guided and encouraged me along the way (and still, they do).

Well, do visit http://www.43 Things.com for more details. Nah, I'm not going to post about my goals here but if ya all are still curious about it, let me just give ya a hint. 'I need to achieve one of my goals in a few weeks time'.

Alright, that's all for now as I go fill up more space in my list. And 'Happy Doing 43 Things'! :)

Spicy Pepper

I used to dislike having pepper sprinkled on my food but lately, I'm beginning to get hooked on it as I think it taste really good (And currently, I'm hooked on white pepper, tee-hee). I know pepper is just a spice to enhance the aroma and flavour of food, and although it can be very spicy at times and could cause some throat irritation, still I find it pretty nice. Some health experts even claimed that pepper has its own goodness and several health benefits, such as to improve digestion and promote intestinal health, and not forgetting zero calories. :) Meanwhile, I did a little research on pepper and here's what I found.

According to 'Black Pepper' from Wikipedia.com, black pepper is produced from the still-green unripe berries of the pepper plant. The berries are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the fruit, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The berries are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the fruit around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. Once dried, the fruits are called black peppercorns.

White pepper consists of the seed only, with the fruit removed. This is usually accomplished by allowing fully ripe berries to soak in water for about a week, during which the flesh of the fruit softens and decomposes. Rubbing then removes what remains of the fruit, and the naked seed is dried. Alternative processes are used for removing the outer fruit from the seed, including removal of the outer layer from black pepper produced from unripe berries.

And how do pepper gets its spiciness?

Pepper gets its spicy heat mostly from the piperine compound, which is found both in the outer fruit and in the seed. Refined piperine, milligram-for-milligram, is about one per cent as hot as the capsaicin in chile peppers. The outer fruit layer, left on black pepper, also contains important odour-contributing terpenes including pinene, sabinene, limonene, caryophyllene, and linalool, which give citrusy, woody, and floral notes. These scents are mostly missing in white pepper, which is stripped of the fruit layer. White pepper can gain some different odours (including musty notes) from its longer fermentation stage.[McGee p. 428.]


Ahh... pretty interesting, ain't it? Hmm, I think I shall sprinkle more pepper instead of salt next time I have my meal... and since pepper is spicy, does it have anything to do with slimming? Tee-hee ;P

Autobots and Decepticons

My Special and I watched Transformers at GSC, Times Square yesterday and it's such a COOL movie as it brings lotsa thrill and excitement and not forgetting humour! Although I know nothing much about Transformers, I enjoyed watching it and at least, now I know about the difference between Autobots and Decepticons, and several robot names as well, tee-hee... :P Well, I'm not going to talk about the movie in details here (spoilers aren't that fun) so to all you people who have not watch it yet, just visit the cinema near you. :) And before I almost forget, here's my rating for the great Transformers - 9/10!

Also here are some pictures which I think are darn cool

Do visit Transformers offical website at http://www.transformersmovie.com/

07.07.07

Since today is an unusual day, it's also unusual of me to blog at this hour, wee early in the morning. Hey people, it's 07.07.07, in words - 7th of July 2007! Isn't it such a cool, cool date? Although it's just a date, I do like it lots as number 7 is one of my favourites.

Are there any special events on this unusual day? Yes, definitely. There'll be a live coverage for LIVE EARTH in MSN, NEW 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD, MALAYSIA'S SURIA FM GREEN EVERYDAY CONCERT, and not forgetting my cousin's wedding dinner. :D

Meanwhile, on the eve of 07.07.07, I had a phone conversation with my Special (which was a couple of hours ago) and still, I am energized. Did ya know that each time I listen to my Special's voice, or simply have a conversation with him, I'm energized? Oh yes.... :D

Alright, I think I better gotta go now as I ain't wanna have panda eyes. To those who are night owls or simply love staying up at night, I'd like to wish ya good morning! And to those who are going to sleep, good night!

HAPPY 07.07.07
&
have a wonderful weekend ya all!

Price of Rice Increases

Here is an article from The Star Online which I thought of posting here and sharing it with ya all.... and I'm sure most of you have read it as well.

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Rice More Expensive Now
By M. KRISHNAMOORTHY
krishna@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: The price of rice is up again – this time by 10%.

With effect from July 1, each kilogram of rice at retail outlets will likely cost an extra 50 sen to RM2, depending on the variety and grade of the grain.

This is the second time the rice price was increased this year. The last round was in April.

A Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) marketing official confirmed that a circular had been sent to rice wholesalers, informing them of the price increase.

“We will be making a press statement soon to announce it to the public,” the official said yesterday.

Several wholesalers contacted confirmed receiving the price increase circular and said they were happy that Bernas had finally announced it.

“Our profits are very low and this price increase will help us to defray the increasing cost of operations,” said a wholesaler in Rawang.

The wholesale price of glutinous rice has been spiralling from RM1.85 per kilo early this year, to RM2.50 in February and RM2.60 in April.

With the latest increase, glutinous rice is expected to retail around RM3.20 per kilo.

The wholesale price for Vietnamese rice has been increased from RM1.44 per kilo to RM1.55 while Thai rice will be RM1.60 per kilo from RM1.49 per kilo in February and RM1.53 in April.

Fragrant rice will cost 10 sen more. Its wholesale price is now RM2.45 per kilo from RM2.35 previously.

The price of local rice will also increase. Its wholesale price now ranges from RM1.55 per kilo in Kedah and Perlis to RM1.85 in Johor and RM1.75 per kilo for other states.

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IF the price of rice keeps going up, no doubt it would be an unpleasant news to all. I was thinking IF it really does, perhaps there would be other food for substitution, say, potatoes, noodles, bread, corns... but heck, all of us still need rice daily, and rice is still the staple food of Malaysia after all.

Well, I did leave my food unfinished sometimes (a few grain of rice / a lil' bit of leftover) but I'm sure my plate would be extra "clean" next time.