Monday, January 28, 2008

An Unusual Date Night

Can I date you tomorrow after work?
Ya, sure
Pick you up at 7pm then

Ok. Where to?
Don’t know yet. Where do you want to go?

Anywhere, doesn’t matter
KL is so boring

Ya, let’s go outstation then

Ok


We ended our conversation there. I was thinking, was pretty sure actually, that he’d bring me to Alamanda, Putrajaya. No, that’s not outstation but it’s further than our usual hang-out places and he has this obsession with Alamanda, don’t ask me why. He thinks Putrajaya is well-structured, people are friendlier and generally more relax.. and it's like being in another country all together!

Comes Friday evening, I made him wait for at least 20 mins in the car as I had work to finish off before leaving the office. Ya, what’s new right? But it’s a big deal when it comes to making my fiancĂ© wait, as a minute is consider late and irresponsible of you. But he took it rather nicely without the usual fuss.

So, guess where he had in mind?

Indoor

Merry-go-round

Big Ben

Yup, a drive up to Genting Highlands for a cuppa coffee.

Starbucks coffee

All’s well and wonderful except for a slight problem..

My attire
He didn’t anticipate me wearing this to work that day!

Needless to say, we stayed indoor the whole night, but the car was parked outdoor. Reluctantly left Starbucks after finishing my café latte and made a run to the car after midnight.

First World Hotel
View of First World Hotel's reception from inside cozy Starbucks

Starbucks
View of misty Starbucks from outside

It was freezing cold!

An unusual date for us as being spontaneous is not a virtue my bf possesses. Even if he did plan after putting down the phone the night before, I still call it spur-of-the-moment decision for him to make.

And the day after, we did end up at Alamanda, Putrajaya :)

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Books.. and More Books

Last week, on the bonus public holiday, I finally managed to find time to re-arrange my bookshelves at home. Ok, I had to put a stop to my procrastination after this little incident of purchasing a book I already owned, lying somewhere in my room.

And so, I have created a list of all my books and re-arranged them by author (it’ll only be a matter of time before the arrangement goes out of control again). In total, the booklist of my collection reaches 200+ now.. and growing.

A little side note : If one of my books is with you, will you please let me know so I could update my list? I’m not rushing you to return it if you have not finished reading. For I realized that I have lost a couple of my books (only taking into consideration the ones I remember I have).. and I’m extremely heart-broken over this.

It was when I was climbing up and down arranging them onto the shelves, books covering the whole floor, hair flying all over my face and me sweating profusely, that bf made an appearance in my room. A quick estimation later, he announced that I have spent at least RM 8,000 in buying all these books. And that was a very conservative under-estimate. Wow, I could have made a trip to Europe with RM 8K!

So what do I plan to do with my ever-growing books? Er.. never thought of that. I think he finds it alarming to think that he has to find space at home to store all my books, you know, when I eventually move in.. me and my baggage.

Any idea what I shall do with them? Continue to find space to store them when it grows? Get rid of them? But they are in pristine condition (I have this book fetish of wrapping my books before reading them) - Sell them all? Donate them? Rent them out for some side income? Help!!

Monday, January 7, 2008

Reading Material

I was going through my bookshelf and guess what I found?

books
wedding related books!

I didn't buy them after the engagement! I don't choose a 'theme' when buying books. I basically switch from chick-lit (Jane Green to Lisa Jewell) to heavier books (David Mitchell to Milan Kundera) to travelogue (Frances Mayes to Emily Barr) etc.

Ok, bought one from the pile above.. just ONE, with the encouragement from fiance in hope that I'll regain my senses in case I'm struck by the wedding madness. Diary of a Mad Bride sounds fun to read, but it's sitting on my bookshelf waiting for its turn as I'm currently reading a set of children's books (darling, it says so in the books i.e. available from HarperCollins Children's Books).

I also re-read Shopaholic Ties The Knot which was still hilarious but this time around, I felt slightly annoyed with Becky. Through no fault of hers but merely because she ended up with 2 dream weddings. Oh well, story of my life is never sugar-coated like Becky's.

Marriages are made in heaven but weddings are made in hell...
(the subtitle of Diary of a Mad Bride)

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Japan Photo Albums

I have finally done up the albums! Two and a half months after the trip. Not the online ones, the physical photo books. Who in this world still do that you may ask.. ME!! :P

Here's the sneak preview...

jap album sample

I'll show you next time I see you if you're interested. Remind me though, as they are super heavy to carry around!

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Land Conquered in 2007

Happy New Year everyone!

I started the first entry of this blog listing down my holiday wish list, my dream holiday wish list anyway. Now, I am quite sure that I’ll not be able to strike off half as I’ve hoped for even by end 2008.

Foreign land I have traveled to in 2007..

siem reap
Siem Reap – discovering the magnificent Angkor Wat and the other temples

hong kong

Hong Kong
– the trip clouded by natural disasters

macau
Macau – disastrous but nevertheless the HK/Macau trip had some good memorable fun

kyoto japan

tokyo japan
Japan – from Osaka to Tokyo, I’m in love with the great diversity of its attractions

Hmm.. you know what, that’s all. The list ends here. I managed to count with fingers in one hand alone. I thought hard on whether I’ve made a weekend trip to neighbouring countries i.e. Thailand, Singapore or Indonesia and the answer is NO. I even referred to my passport to reconfirm that! Though I’ve enjoyed each and every one of the trip above, all with different traveling companions, my achieved list in a year is still pathetic, ya?


And my crystal ball tells me that 2008 is a year that I’ll spend hibernating in Malaysia (I’ve double/triple-checked my bank statement too).