Jamie Scott - Unbreakable

Current favourite...

Expectations

It's never easy to meet expectations. Especially from loved ones. If I am capable, I would have done it. I have given my best yet my best seems to be below par. I feel tired. Tired from all the responsibilities. Yet, I can't run away. Just living each day trying to meet what everyone expects. In work, at home, in life. Sigh, life is cruel.

Love & hate relationship

I have a love and hate relationship....with packing.

As much as I love travelling, I hate packing and worse still, the unpacking bits of it. If you think it gets easier the more you travel, you are wrong...It might be faster to pack but it is never easier.

I noticed that I mostly pack the same stuff to travel most of the time. Same set of clothes, same toiletries, shoes...Maybe I am used to it and it's no-brainer that they served their function well in the previous trips.

I do have a checklist every time to make sure I don't miss out anything. It makes packing a lot easier also. I thought I am a travel-light person but when I looking at the list of 88 items to bring, I guess I am not that "light" at all.

On a side note, I haven't tried rolling my clothes before (to save space apparently) as per advised. Maybe I should try it this time.

For you travellers out there, here is a video on packing wisely.

Early bird

I am an early bird. I rise and shine early. I sleep early.
They say, early bird gets the worm. I do agree.
Normal working days, I am usually the first one to get in the office on my floor. I skip the traffic. I can catch the beautiful morning sky from my office while sipping a good cuppa.

I enjoy the quiet time before people starts trickling in. I can plan my day ahead during this time when my head is still clear. I spent the morning clearing my emails so they don't get in the way.
Out of curiosity, I googled the benefits of an early bird.

Taken from here.

1. God. The best time to spend with God and listen to the holy spirit is right away in the morning. It’s quiet, you’re by yourself, and God is speaking to you. God always told Moses, “Get up early.”
2. Productivity. Often times the lack of productivity is caused by poor planning. When you wake up late you’re already scattered, in a hurry, and out the door without a good plan for the day. People who wake up early and build a plan for the day are typically more productive.
3. Health. Grandma always said, “Early to bed and early to rise: Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Also, with good health comes good energy.
4. Family. If you get up late you probably come home late. How does this affect your family? Are you having dinner with your family and spending time with them, or are you coming home at 8,9,10 o’clock at night. How can you value family when you’re not making time for them?
5. Wisdom. Getting up early is something not only my dad challenged me to do growing up, but my mentors preach it all the time. They say, “When you get up early and reflect, pray, and get your head in the game, it helps to build wisdom by spending time and knowing yourself well.

I do agree with some of the points.

I do envy the night owls at times. I salute them for being able to stay active late into the night. My mind has an automatic switch that turns into sleep mode or totally turn off when it reaches certain timing. Of course, I can force myself beyond those hours but the next morning won't be too pretty (aka zombie-fied).

So, what are you? Night owl or early bird?

Star lover

Any of you k-drama fans would know from the title what I am going to ramble about in this post.
Yeah, the recent hit drama - My Lover from the Star.
When I started watching couple of months back, I didn't find it very addictive and interesting. Story line is a bit slow in the beginning. I don't really fancy the lead characters too. Personally, I think Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo-hyun is not so matching in a way. She looks more mature than him (and I still think so)...
I started watching again after pausing midway and now, I am addicted. I even cried on some scenes...

The message that hit me most is - we must treasure every moment as if it's our last. It's heartbreaking to know someone you loved dearly is going to away and never coming back. The feeling, emotions and action is very hard to control at times no matter how hard we try.

What would you do if you are in their situation when you know that the fairy tale will end very soon? Will you still choose to love fully even if it is for one month or harden your heart so you will not get hurt in the end? Is it better to have loved with all your heart or nothing at all? 

Food review:Grand Harbour, Mid Valley

What better way to revive a dying blog with pictures of good food?
I am not a big fan of dim sum but it's those must-have food once in a while. After hearing much about Grand Harbour, we decided to give it a try.
1) Egg tarts

Dad's fave snack. he usually has a high expectation of egg tarts and he gives thumbs up for this.

2) Roast platter

Nice but a bit too pricey though. The charsiew is well marinated and slightly burnt on the skin which is the way all charsiew should be.

3) Porridge

I love this as the porridge is smooth and extra point for the raw egg!

4) Steamed Glutinous Rice

Flavourful, sticky and soft, just the way I like it.

5) Piggy-shaped buns

I didn't get to taste this but the nephew loves it. With lotus paste as filling.

6) Fried Radish Cake

Love this with lots of bean sprouts. The radish cake itself is savoury and when fried with a good 'wok hei', brings out the frangrance of it. Needless to say, we ordered a second plate.

7) Steamed beancurd skin with abalone sauce

Tasted really good. Not too salty and the sauce goes very well with the bean curd.

8) Wor tip

Nice presentation but tasted meh....

9) Siu Mai/fish balls/har gao/ fried yam ball

Must have at dim sum. Each dish is big, juicy. Double thumbs up.

Overall, satisfying breakfast!

Grand Harbour Restaurant

GE-017, Ground External Floor,

Mid Valley Megamall, Mid Valley City

Lingkaran Syed Putra,

59200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2283 3398

Fax: 03-2283 4888

All Of Me - John Legend & Lindsey Stirling

Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections

A Wedding That Will Move You

I think this is very touching and it deserves a post here.

Pay to suffer..

I don't know what triggered me but I guess I wanted to do something outrageous again after a long hiatus.

Not really outrageous outrageous, but then again, it's something you will not do often.

So I registered myself for KL Towerthon....

I basically have zero training and zero stamina nowadays. Really wanted to build it up again but so hard to find time (excuses)...

It was really tough for me this time. I don't remember it was that bad previous three times. I stopped to rest more, a lot more. At one point, I can feel my heart beating so fast, it feels like it's going to jump out anytime. It took me twice the time I took the last time to reach the finishing point.

So, I guess it will be my last Towerthon.

And my dream of running a marathon is....further and further away...*sobs*

On a lighter note, really like The Oatmeal...

Happy Father's Day

It's been a few months since the day you were admitted to the hospital. I still remember those few long days spent in the hospital with you. You had all of us worried sick.
We are grateful that you managed to overcome it. Though you are not as strong as before, I do hope that you will try to be stronger. It may not be an easy journey ahead.
Day by day, I can see how fragile you've become. I remember you used to carry the fat me when I was a kid. You can stay out in the hot sun at the backyard half the day doing gardening . You can walk multiple times to the market and not get tired.
I know I am hoping too much for things to be the way they used to be. Now, I just want you to be happy and pain free. We will all be beside you, always.

Happy Father's day, Dad.

Food review: Royale Vietnam, Starhill

I am a sucker for deals vouchers. So when I saw Royale Vietnam in Starhill on a good deal, I quickly bought a couple of vouchers. I was having high hope of this place but it was rather disappointing. Well, not all dishes were a let down but I still feel that the best Pho and rice vermicelli salad is in Australia.

The Pho bo dac biet - beef noodles soup with flat noodles, is quite flavorful but the beef was rather tough. Soup is not quite hot enough to give it that ooommppphh...

Vietnamese spring roll. Should have ordered the fried version. This tasted very bland. But what saved it was the sauce. 

 Pineapple fried rice also tasted bland. We added in the sauce from the springroll to make it taste better.

I find the vermicelli salad not bad. I love this Vietnamese dish. What makes or breaks this dish is the sauce. Lots of it.

Lemongrass chicken is quite good too.

What I enjoyed most is the Vietnamese Drip Coffee. Very pricey though but it's worth the coffee kick.

Everyday is a blessing

Everyday I wake up, I know I should be thankful. Thankful for the people who loved me, thankful for the roof that shelters me, thankful for the food on the table and thankful for all the beautiful things in life. Yet, some days I just feel like shit. Feel down and moody and just wishing all bad things will go away.... sigh. Life can't be a bed of roses.

Mad woman

Something pretty funny happened the other day. I was helping my mum with some gardening work one fine morning. I was happily pulling all the weeds when I heard that so familiar awful sound. A bee buzz.
Now, those who knew me well, knows that I have this phobia for spiders and bees. Yeah, I cringe at the sound of bees and at the sight of spiders. When I heard the buzzing bee sound, I can throw away everything and rum a mile away. Seriously, I am not joking you. When I see a spider, no matter how small, I will want to be as far away as possible from it. Maybe that explains why  don't really fancy Spiderman...(hmmm...)
So back to the story, as soon as I heard that sound, I quickly sprint up the middle of the road. Imagine my fear when I feel the buzzing sound is following me and it's just right that the back my head. Honestly, I feel that it was sticking on my hair. I pull the rubberband and began to spin my head round and round, trying to shake off whatever that is on my hair.
Imagine something like this but in all directions.

The funny thing is, a car was coming up the road. It actually slowed down. And the driver was staring. At me. With my wild hair and behaviors, she must be wondering, what is this mad woman doing??? Is she ok?? It was so embarrassing! I quickly ran back into the house without looking back.
When I told my mum, she was laughing her ass off. So yeah, that was one funny, embarrassing experience.

이유 (Reason) Secret Garden

I'm so in love now....This drama made me laugh and cry at the same time.

Harlem Yu (庾澄慶) - 情非得已 (Can't Help Falling In Love With You)

Once a good song, always a good song. It brightens my morning! Happy Thursday!

Pangolins

We've once discovered a pangolin in front of the house. I still remember I was in early Primary school and was waiting for the carpool ride early in the morning. Me and mum saw something rolling down the road. We got help from the meat vendor (on motorcycle) to catch it. It was so exciting seeing this creature up close. I've never seen one and don't know what it is until I am older.
Very unique and I would say quite cute.
I cannot recall what happened to it in the end though. I think my dad brought it to somewhere to release it back to nature.

But it's sad to hear that it's one of the most trafficked animal. Take a few minutes to read this.
Pangolins -- two species of which are endangered and all of which are protected by international treaty -- are trafficked by the thousands for their scales, which are boiled off their bodies for use in traditional medicine; for their meat, which is a high-end delicacy here and in China; and for their blood, which is seen as a healing tonic.
Yes, that's how cruel we human are.

*sad*

Of rude taxi drivers

On certain days of the week,  I will go back to my parents' house with my sis. We will take a cab from the office. On good days, it's very easy to hail a cab but normally, it takes a few tries. Most cabs are not willing to go to my area. Seriously, it's not jam at that hour. And we can actually port the cab drivers if they are unwilling to take any passengers to certain locations.
So, yesterday, we encountered one of the rude ones. First, he seemed unwilling to go to our destination yet, he asked us to get in despite us telling him where we are gong earlier. Then he started to complain about the traffic there, how bad it normally is, as if it is our fault. I can tolerate that but his tone of voice, I really feel like slapping him. He said it's better if we take bus instead of wasting his time. He brought up religious issue and about the missing plane after I counter back some of his statements. I really wanted to argue with him but since we are both girls in his cab, I just play it safe. I took out my phone to capture his details but I couldn't find his taxi registration displayed anywhere in the car.
We noted down his plate number and I have lodged a report with the SPAD but not sure whether any action will be taken.
These cab drivers are really a nuisance and gives a bad image to our country. But nonetheless, we've met some good ones. So, urge everyone to lodge a complain if you've met any rude cab drivers. And also do compliment the good ones to encourage them to do better.

Beautiful places

It must be photoshop-ed. Too beautiful to believe.

40 Unbelievably Beautiful Places To Visit Before You Die

http://www.femalemag.com.my/lifestyle/travels/40-unbelievably-beautiful-places-visit-you-die

How I wish I can visit all of them.

7 Things To Remove From Life To Be Productive

Recently, I have been following this site - http://www.lifehack.org/. It offers some tips which are both insightful and useful. Many of the things we might already know but did not really embrace it. I found the below quite enlightening.

1. Remove Distractions From Social Media
This is easier said than done, but distractions creep into every aspect of our lives.  Take an hour every day and turn off the Facebook Messenger, let the Instagram feed move on without you, and ignore the SnapChats.  It’s amazing what you can do in just one hour when half your time isn’t spent checking your social platforms.

2. Remove Emails From Your Inbox
For most professionals, email is a tool that they use daily and can’t do without.  The little red dot with the number of pending messages can be daunting.  Keep your inbox clean! Check your mail when you get it, categorize it, and move it to a folder filing system.  You don’t have a file folder system in your email box?  GET ONE!  Keeping your inbox clean and taking action when a message is received will save you time and keep you out in front of your day.

3. Remove Tasks Through Delegation
You don’t have to be the CEO to delegate tasks.  Find creative ways to utilize every resource available to ensure you’re productive.  This can be as simple as having lunch delivered rather than going out and picking it up yourself or utilizing a live chat on a retail website to find the product you need to buy rather than spending hours searching.  Always be looking for ways to increase your productivity and efficiency by utilizing resources around you.

4. Remove the Roadblocks You've Created Over Time
Most people spend the majority of their time today doing something very similar to what they did yesterday.  Life is very cyclical in that way.  And it’s very easy to fall into a trap of doing tasks the same way you've always done them.  Remove the roadblocks you've created by being a creature of habit.  Always look for new, efficient ways to do your most repetitive tasks.  By focusing on the things you must do and finding a slightly better way, you get the most productivity boost.  Think about simple things like the route you drive to work or requesting a new keyboard rather than using the one with the broken left shift key.  The small details, over time, lead to big boosts in productivity.

5. Remove Your Resistance to Change
Without change, you will only be as productive as you've ever been. Embrace new ways of doing things.  Learn from others around you.  If your co-worker always finishes before you, study what they do differently and be open to changing if it makes sense.  Change can be a powerful force to drive a productive life.  Stay open to it.

6. Remove Things That Don’t Matter
We too often hold on to things that no longer matter, whether for sentimental reasons or because we are so unsure of what the future brings. Don’t be afraid to remove the clutter.  Whether the clutter is physical objects on your desk or in your home, relationships that just need pruning, or emotional scars that you hold on to, let them go.  When you focus on what’s truly important you will live a more meaningful and productive life.

7. Remove Your Dependence on Others
When you only need yourself, you control your own destiny.  Whether it’s huge things for which you depend on others like paying for bills or getting to work, or small things like working in a software or finding answers on your own, take a step back and see what dependencies you can remove.  Make sure you don’t bite off too much to chew, but push yourself to learn more and be independent.  You’ll appreciate your success more and become much more productive.

There are distractions everywhere, keeping us from being truly productive.  By finding things to remove from your life, you can become more productive each and every day.

Just one of those days

It's just one of those days when you woke up and feels shitty.
It's just one of those days when you just want to stay in bed for the rest of the day and not do/think of anything.
It's just one of those days when you ask God, why is this happening to me?
It's just one of those days when you wish you can be somewhere far away.
It's just one of those days when you wish you can have a fabulous and happy life.
It's just one of those days when you don't feel like giving a f*** about your job.
It's just one of those days when you just wish everyone stay out of your way.

Sigh, it's just one of those days.....