Taking The Long Way

Got together with Liah to source for tour packages last Saturday. Kinda excited at the thought of going away on a holiday again! Work has the usual crap & traveling is getting addictive. Gosh...I'm spending a lot in the beginning of the year already. I seriously need to learn the art of saving after this upcoming holiday. Sighs...

Anyway, we had Starbucks at Central (the new mall at Clarke Quay) & we chatted for almost 2 hours. I'm glad that I can treat some of my colleagues as good friends...so much that we can even go on trips together. Besides gossiping about work, we talked about other stuff as well. Haha... there were a couple of times we got a bit thick-skinned & our imagination ran wild. In short, we got perasan larr...I hope things will turn out good for her & I hope mine will be great as well. *winks & crosses fingers*

I just downloaded Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready To Make Nice" & " I Can Love You Better". Both songs seem to reflect what I'm going through right now...but for 2 different situations. Hmmm... I shall see how it goes next month. :)

Ladies' Night - Going International!

It's my long awaited off day. Thought I gonna spend it like a typical singleton....so I asked Suliana if she wanna go out too. I slept for a few hours (I was on night shift the day before) & met her at around 6pm. She gave the idea to go to Lucky Plaza for the famous Ayam Penyet Ria for dinner.

They have 2 outlets in Lucky Plaza itself. We went to the newer one...

We both had a set of the Ayam Penyet (it really means Smashed Chicken) & Fried Beef Balls. So heaty but shiok larr... :)

With Chendol & Iced Kacang to go along!

Coincidentally, it was a Chingay night too! Watched a bit of the performances....Orchard Rd is so crowded as usual.

Stopped by at Starbucks for a vanilla latte. I was feeling very cold & I know it'll get worse once we are in the cinema.. I saw a familiar face among the Starbucks staff. I asked him why he's moving around from store to store so often & he thought I'm working at Starbucks too! Hahaha....thanks, Sam!

Caught a movie called The Protege at Cathay. It's Suliana only 2nd chinese movie she ever watched! Tsk! Daniel Wu looks soooo good! If only all drug dealers or undercover cops look like THAT! Haha!

The movie ended at about midnight & we decided to get some drinks before going home. Walked from The Cathay to Clarke Quay! We entertained ourselves by taking pics outside the Arts Museum....

No candid shot for me!

We got drinks at this Cuban pub called Cuba Libre. They have a live band playing & the atmosphere was nice. I can't dance salsa so I didn't dare to go near the dance floor. After which, we checked out 1 Nite Stand bar for awhile & Suliana got a second drink too. Great date with my bestie.....Hehe~

P/s: I also want that someone's company! :( Can he sense it?

Starbucks Girls

I was so happy to hear from Tini last Sunday. I haven't seen her for ages. She was working at the Oscar's Cafe but left Conrad last year. We got closer coz our lockers were around the same area. :) She's one bubbly girl, I tell you. Always cheerful but when she's angry...tsk tsk...scary larr.. We went for lunch & then sat down at Starbucks for loads of catching up. She heard about my "case" from Sadiq & wanted to hear the full story from me. She's very shocked (like everyone else) that things turned out the way it is. What I felt touched most was that, she cried. I told her that I haven't cry since I came back from my trip & I'm feeling quite ok. She's angry & yet sad that it happened to me. :( Anyhow, we also update one another about what's in & what's out at Conrad, what I've been up to & her marriage (insyallah) in Nov! How sweet~ :)

We simply luuuurve Starbucks!


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I just bought a limited edition blusher from MAC. Yes..it's an addition to my MAC family. I got a new pouch from the Make Up Store as well coz my previous one got spoiled during my Bali trip! Anyway...the new blusher is called "Smile" & I adore it! It's the pinkish pot in the pic above. It certainly makes me glow! Haha....


My cousin, Fairoz came over just now & my folks started talking about marriage suddenly. Not between me & my cousin but just asking him casually if he has anyone in mind. It was so weird of my parents to just discuss things like THAT. They knew about my "case" & still, my mom was saying that I should be prepared for marriage larr...learn how to cook lar..blah blah blah. I was like..."Mak, if I can get married now, I would love to. But there's no one for me to marry yet". Aiyoh... as if I have a choice. Lotsa people seems to be getting married this year. My cousins, my friends, my colleagues.....Feeling the pressure but then again...Hhhmmm~

Bonding With My "Bedah"

In case you're wondering who is this Bedah, it's none other than Suliana larr! We started calling ourselves orbiang Malay names for fun. She calls me Mon. Look, no offense if any of your names happen to sound like our nickies! Hehe~

Met Suliana for lunch today & supposedly, a movie too. But the movie timing wasn't that great so we decided to walk around instead. And I guess....we shopped quite a bit. We need retail therapy BADLY.

Jovy is flying to New York next month. Should I get or should I not??

I think I look good in this shot. Hahaha! The limited edition blusher from MAC helps!

Suliana got her cosmetic supplies from MAC (I introduced the brand to her one!) & lovely wedges from Mondo. By the way, we bought EXACTLY the same pair of shoes, different size only. :)

Besides the wedges, I got myself a pair of jeans from Mango too....

Bedah...more shopping to come, ok? Hehe~

Casino Royale Meets St. James

Here comes the pictures! I try to upload as many as I can...it's like 4am already. *yawns* Maybe I shall put up more of them on my Multiply. Hehe~

The theme for the Conrad Dinner & Dance is Casino Royale this year. It was held at Ritz Carlton worr... I couldn't be bothered to buy a dress so I borrowed this black number from Fizah. The pretty bunny girl on my right said that I look great & even ask where I bought the dress from!

Sue looks like a bride, right? Hmmm...And maybe I should start thinking of toning my flabby arms...

She's a sweet one!

Rynn was kind enough to do the eye-shadowing for Liah's eyes. See those tattoos on Rynn's back? Don't you dare mess around with her, ok? Haha!!

Me & my sorority sisters! Frankie really has the body & the walk of a model. Tsk~

I love Ritz Carlton's bathroom! It is so spacious that anyone can treat the place like a living room. :) I heard that wearing black will make a person looks sexy, yet conservative. I hope I made it that night! Keke~

Black is the in thing larr...

I took pictures with a few of the boys that night. Starting from the Coolest Dressed Elfie....

To the Well Dressed Fazli...

The Casino Man Situah....

The Tallest Guy Chandran....

And the Most Popular Man Mazlan....

But I think that Zaine & me look the best together. You look charming lar, Kak Ani! NOW we are set to go Casino Royale!

For the first time in the few years I attended Conrad Dinner & Dance, some of us actually danced at the dance floor for a bit before leaving. The theme plays a part, I guess.

Liah & I waited for Helmi after that & we head to Newton for SUPPER! Shiok shiok! How to tone my arms like that??

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I'm stayed out late a lot this week. Like busy with appointments like that. Haha! Nah...just spending time with my friends & enjoying myself. It helps in feeling good. :) Went to St. James Power House on Wednesday with Liah, Nickole, Suelyn, Sue & June. Somewhere in between, Rynn joined us as well. I quite like the sound systems at St. James. The crowd is more or less the same as MOS. But MOS live up to its name as THE Ministry of Sound larr... I feel that the song mixes are better. Oh well, MOS has Nick's fav DJ. So as long as he's still there, Nick will always be MOS no.1 supporter! Hahaha!

I told them I won't repeat the episode in Bali! Not when I'm going back to home!

I'm relatively close to many of my colleagues but Sue is my best buddy!

I think Nick saw a cockroach & Sue saw a lizard...

It was Ladies' Night so we got 5 drinks each! I'm just POSING with Nick's Vodka Cranberry. Really. Oh yeah, I had Vodka Lime ONLY. The girls were trying to make me gulp down Tequila Pop but like I said, no more of the Bali episode anytime soon!

More St. James or back to MOS?

Time Out

I just came back from St.James Power House. Girls night out larr... & I'm enjoying myself much these days. Liah brought her camera so we took some pics. Will upload them later as I'm about to head the bed in a few minutes.

It was Conrad Dinner & Dance on Tuesday. Haha....Great company, even though the whole show wasn't as fascinating as the past few years. :) Many many nice pics! Also later, can?

I told a someone something yesterday, over sms. I'm curious to know what the someone will think or reply, you see. Hmmm....the reply wasn't that good coz it seems to have put me on a bad light. Guess that someone got the wrong impression of the whole thing. Oh well...we'll see how it goes. (For now, it's not wise to blog what I'm exactly talking about. Haha! Go figure if you are so free)

I may be moving to Multiply! How exciting! I shall learn how to navigate first ok? :)

Loving My "Kakis"

Hmmm...things are looking better. I'm really trying. Promise to love myself more than anything else & I thank God that I have my family & friends with me. Went out with Sue & Liah today for a movie. We watched "Babel" at Vivo City. The story is about how a single shooting incident in Morocco can link to 4 tragedies across 3 continents & 5 languages. (Complicated, huh?) The movie reminds me of "The Hours" & I tell you, I like movies that are unconventional. There was one scene that was rather touching & I can't help but teared. Haha...I know, it's just so me. :)

We met at 1 pm & Liah was late! Sue & I went ahead with lunch at Banquet. I started the day with a Teriyaki Beef Bento. I'm loving Japanese food! (Justin, Wayne & Siti: More Sakae Sushi outings ok? Hehe~)

I introduced Sue to the famous Australia's Boost Juice. I had King William Chocolate & she had Banana Buzz. Shiok!

I bought that black leggings for my Miss Selfridge dress. My FIRST time wearing leggings, worr! I can't wear that dress by itself like I did in Bali larr... My mom will kill me! It's THAT short.

Liah & Sue feeling-feeling by the fountain.


Ended the day with my Hong Kong tea & mini dimsum at Harbourfront.

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Met up with Justin & Siti for dinner last Thursday. Wayne is far & away in Norway, so obviously he couldn't join us. It was great company but not so great food. Tsk. Someone please remind me if I ever said I wanna eat at Fish & Co, especially the one at the Glass House. Food so-so, service sucks! Aiyoh!

They're ok with each other, really. Hehe~

Siti looks like she was forced to take pictures larr...

My other male confidante, besides Wayne. :)

Memories of the Birthday~

Suliana didn't manage to meet up with me before I left for Bali & so I went over to her place just to catch up on things & gave her the details of my trip! :) Somehow, she has cakes at home & thought that she can serve me a belated birthday cake.

A very simple one but if it came from a best friend, it beat any cakes anytime!~

It's amazing that I can just tell her everything about my true feelings & thoughts & she understands them perfectly... Thanks Bedah!

Was on night shift yesterday & I was happy to see Nickole! Haha...the funny thing is that when anyone of us is on leave or went for a trip, we'll get very excited when we came back to see our fellow colleagues (Provided it's those colleagues that we treat as friends larr). And Nick showed me some stuff... Royce Chocolates from herself & a bag of goodies from Suelyn. How sweet~ :)

A Balinese Retreat~

In case some of you have not known, I went to Bali over the weekend (4 days) for a short getaway & to celebrate my birthday. This is the first year I spent my birthday overseas. I just thought I need a break & was glad that my friend, Hamsa, asked me if I wanna go on a trip with him. I was chatting with Suliana earlier this month & told her how much I wanted to go to Bali. Hamsa's birthday is in January as well so we decided that this trip shall be our birthday treats to ourselves! Haha...Kinda chic~ Quite a last minute holiday but a enjoyable one indeed. We took 180 over pics & I had to choose the better ones for the blog. Sit back & relax. Allow me to indulge you on my trip to...BALI. :)

DAY 1

We flew to Denpasar on Garuda Indonesia & landed at about 8.20 pm. Our driver (Pak Kutu) met us at the Ngurah Rai Airport & brought us to the resort we gonna stay, which is called Ramayana Resort & Spa. Such a convenient location, the resort is just 10 mins away from the airport. Our room is on the 2nd floor & has a balcony that faces the lush gardens. Nice nice... :)

So Balinese...Must see who chose the resort. *winks winks*

This Hamsa got so hungry (he said that the dinner served inflight wasn't enough!) that we had to have another meal after we arrived. Too lazy to go out so we just head to the Gabah Restaurant in the resort itself.

His Nasi Goreng & Bailey's Coffee

Ramayana's. Mixture of apple juice, mint leaves & whatnots. Shiok!

My seafood satay actually uses lemongrass as the usual sticks we have here...

DAY 2

It's the 26th January! We woke up close to 12 noon, just in time for lunch. :)
Weather's looking good & I'm feeling great. Hehe~

Chose the easiest way out for lunch lar...MacDonald's. If only we can have juicy burgers with a view of the beautiful ocean like this EVERYDAY.

Hard Rock Cafe! We're thinking of having dinner at the cafe on our last night. Hehe~

The resort is so near to everywhere! The beach, the makan places & shopping.

The shopping street of Kuta.

We met our tour guide, Yana at about 4pm as he'll be taking us for a sunset tour at Uluwatu. After driving for about 25 mins (up & down the hills), we finally reached....

A visit to Bali's dramatic Pura Luhur Uluwatu. Believed to date from the 16th century, this temple is perched on a limestone point suspended some 825 feet over the roaring Indian Ocean. What a long way up the steps...this is like Batu Caves already! Anyhow, visitors have to wear long pants or at least cover 3/4 of the leg area. If not, have to don that purple sarong with a yellow ribbon. That explains why Hamsa & I are walking around in them! Also, visitors are asked to remove their necklaces, spectacles & sunglasses. Loads of monkeys guarding the area & they are ready to snatch these items!

The water is sparkling blue! Aahh... I thought I was in South Africa for awhile. :)

I got scared by the monkeys lar...so I was glad Yana walked with me on my left & Hamsa on the right. Haha!

So nice! I bought a painting of this shot for Naz.

Hamsa is quite good in photography, I happily trust him with my digi cam to do some snapping. The time is almost 6 pm & we are waiting for sunset & kecak dance to start....

For curious or kaypoh people: I know what's going through your heads. NO. We are NOT a couple. :)

The most famous of the Balinese dances, the Kecak originated from the Sanghyang dance choirs, who chant a distinctive "kechak-kechak" accompaniment. Quite spiritual worr....

I wanna soak up the sun!

After the tour, it's finally dinner time! We were starving already. Yana drove us (with 2 other tourists) to somewhere near Nusa Dua for grilled seafood. The place is like a warung & we are seated right on the beach! It was a clear night & there loads of stars in the sky. Nice! Each of us have a plate full of ikan bakar, clams, sotong & prawns. Unfortunately, one of the tourists is a vegetarian so she offered Hamsa her share. Geez...see how much that chap gobbles down his food?! Then kena mini diarrhoea at night! Hamsa...I told you to eat in moderation horr.... Hehe~

There's a group of guys who play musical instruments & sang too. They came to our table & guess what....they sang "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. It's a great day for a birthday, watched beautiful sunset & dinner under the stars to top it all. Too bad, there's no special someone with me. I never really like that song but..I admit that my emotions got the better of me &I teared a bit. Sighs...

DAY 3

This is called... VAINITY. Hahaha!

At the balcony where we had our Nescafe. I name this balcony "My Space" (coz I can just sit & daydream most of the time) & I bet Hamsa will call it "My Smoking Bay" (he's not allowed to smoke IN the room!).

The day is bright & sunny again! Walked to Discovery Shopping Mall. Bought some souvenirs for my colleagues & Hamsa had A & W for lunch. I'm facing the beach from where I'm standing in the pic. Suliana will LOVE this mall!

And of course, no matter where I travel to, I'll always look out for...Starbucks. It's essential to gulp down Iced Caramel Machiatto on a hot day...

After all that shopping, I dragged Hamsa to watch sunset at Kuta Beach! It's like one of the many things MUST DO in Bali lar...

We sat from 6pm to 8pm. Talked about things in life whilst admiring the beautiful view of Kuta Beach. He even had the time to do a fake tattoo on his arm! Haha!

Aaawww~

So dinner at Hard Rock Cafe tonight! Hamsa had New York Strip Steak...

While mine is Tenderloin Steak...Yummy! Not forgetting the Cecil Orange Clove Tea.

I love this pic! It's like my crazy moment in Bali!

And my friend had his too!



Bought a couple of shirts from the Hard Rock Mega Store.

We agreed to spend our last night in Bali merrily. Went to get some drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe & watch the live band too. I drank just 2 (BIG!) glasses of cocktail : Reggae Breeze & Twist & Shout. They contain merely vodka with other juices but I was already super high. Haha... Hamsa drank 5 tequila shots & didn't feel anything at all! Damn... It's my FIRST time drinking so much & the FIRST time getting high. Quite happening you know! I remember feeling very very happy that I giggled non stop & I told Hamsa he looks like he's from Muis (An Islamic body in S'pore). I didn't dare to go to the dance floor coz I was afraid I may not make it back to our table. I realised...when a person is high on alcohol, his or her true emotions will show. I laughed & told Hamsa that I haven't feel this happy for awhile & the next moment, I cried. Like I said...the past month was a hard one for me. Anyhow, Hamsa won't tell me what I was crying about that night (he just commented I said a lot about myself...& I figured...ARIFF). I thanked him for taking care of me & brought me back safely. I hope he kept other info strictly confidential! Hahaha!

DAY 4

Sheesh...we are going back home! Bali is such a nice place that I don't wanna leave. Work is waiting for me some more... Tsk. My stomach didn't feel good after the alcohol session the night before. I vomitted a bit & managed to sleep off my mabuk-ness. So..no hangover lar. Anyway, it's just vodka. :)

He's sad to leave too but...at least, a special someone is waiting for him to come home. :)

Waiting to board the flight to gloomy S'pore. (My dad told me it rained everyday I was in Bali). Still got excess Rupiahs & USD but nothing much to buy at the Ngurah Rai Airport ley....
Take pics better!

I did some thinking on what to do, what I want... after I came back from my trip. I promise to love myself more than others (who claim to love me!). I enjoyed Bali & hope to go again someday. Not enough lar! In the meantime, I'm already looking forward to my next holiday destination: Australia. Insyallah~