Bak Kut Teh

I woke up at seven in the morning today.

S.E.V.E.N.

In. The. Fucking. Morning.

Why????

Because Marcus, thinking that being early means playing safe, told me to do so.

"I will fetch you at about eight a.m."

By eight, I was ready. In my dress. With perfume and lip gloss on.

I waited.

And waited.

By nine, I was still waiting.

I sent him a text message, asking him what took him so long. He said he would be a little late.

Fine. I waited some more.

In the mean time, I busied myself fixing my 1000 piece puzzle. Still in my dress. With lip gloss and perfume on.

At ten, I was really, really, really pissed off. Even more so when Marcus sent me another text message saying that he would arrive at my house an hour later.

That. Was. It.

I phoned Yokey.

Yokey: Mmph....??
Me: Hello?
Yokey: Yeah?
Me: You just woke up?
Yokey:You woke me up.
Me: Sorry. Anyway, could you please come over to my house now and fetch me to Gurney? I'm desperate.
Yokey: But I thought Marcus is fetching you to Kevin's place?
Me: Yes, but I'm super pissed off at him right now. I'm still stuck at home because he is so fucking late.
Yokey: Okay then, but please give my 45 minutes to get ready.

Hmm, better than waiting another hour for Marcus. Besides, I would be super grumpy by the time he arrived, and I would have no desire to see him or talk to him.

Me: Okay, I'll wait. Please hurry.

By the time I arrived at Gurney Drive, it was already 11.30 a.m..

So much for waking up at seven in the morning.

We had Bak Kut Teh for lunch. I'm so used to restaurants and fast foods that I've apparently forgotten how the system works in a kopi tiam.

First, the people there DO NOT seat you. You will have to fight for vacant seats yourself. Which is hard, especially when you are polite to others. Secondly, the people there are too busy to take any notice of you. To make your order, you will have to shove around and yell your orders aloud. Waiting in que and saying "excuse me, please" will not, I repeat, will not bring you anywhere. Thirdly, the people there do not speak English. I had a hard time ordering, because the lady was talking super fast in Hokkien dialect, listing all the ingredients, which all seemed gibberish to me. How the hell would I know that khun chiang actually mean intestines? Little did I know that the pieces of meat that they put inside are called pai kut. I just call them "pieces of meat". And between ginger and garlic, which is called suan thau? And what is the other called again? I ordered the food in English terms, and nobody understood what I said. Fourthly, the concept "customer's right" does not apply. I ordered a second bowl of bak kut teh, but this time, I specifically requested that I wanted only meat balls and pig's intestines. I was served with meat balls and "pieces of meat" instead. I told the lady that they had made a mistake, and I requested that she exchange it for my right orders. She gave me a sour look.

What the...

Oh, never mind.

I have two choices.

I either visit kopi tiams more frequently to familiarise myself with the difficult system there, or I eat at restaurants for the rest of my life. Where there are waiters and waitresses who speak politely, are patient, and are more than willing to attend to the tiniest whim of the customers. With a friendly smile plastered on their faces the whole time.

Giordano had a special sale, which apparently lasted only four hours, and only for today. I would have shopped, if only Yokey wasn't dragging me home because it was late. I was more than willing to spend all my money there.

In the end, all I got was a plain white T-shirt, which cost ten bucks.

A golden opportunity missed.

I'm going to shut myself in my room and moan now.

My very first Japan trip

Cincin means ring in Malay. Mangkuk means bowl in Malay.

Cincin also means cock (I'm not talking about the feathery bird that wakes people up with its imminent crowing at an ungodly hour) in Japanese. Mangkuk means pussy (not the one that goes meow). Also in Japanese.

Interesting, huh?

I am so in love with Japan.

The people there are like super damn disciplined! They only cross roads at zebra-crossings, and they won't cross when the 'red guy' is lighted up, even when the entire road is empty! There isn't a rubbish bin in sight, yet there is no rubbish on the ground. Not even a single piece of used tissue paper or a small candy wrapper. Customer service also damn good one, okay! They are always polite and they always smile when they attend to customers.

There were a few times when I went into shops, and the shopkeepers didn't even take notice. They just kept themselves busy about their own work, and they only attended to me when I wanted to pay for my purchase. See how they trust their customers not to shoplift? Japan's crime rate is super duper low.

Public transport in Japan is highly reliable, and always on time.

Unlike Malaysia, where taxi drivers are a disgrace, and nobody ever knows what time the buses arrive. Rubbish bins are erected practically everywhere and yet...

*sigh*

Ever wondered why most Malaysian shops have CCTV's installed?

The following paragraphs have been omitted for fear of being sued by the government for slander.

Freedom of speech?

The following sentence has been omitted for fear of being sued by the government for slander.

I love Japan.

The first hotel I stayed in was really nice. The interior designing was contemporary and the bathroom was super cool. It was during winter time, and they actually installed heaters for the toilet seats. You'd expect a chill to run up your spine when you set your big fat ass on the toilet seat, but it's actually nice and warm!

They even have little water nozzles attached to the inside of the toilet bowl. They're meant to spray the shit off your ass. There is one normal spray, one with finer water drops, and another spray specially for women. Even the pressure of the water and the position of the nozzle is adjustable.

You know how most hotels provide hair and body shampoos?

This hotel provides hair and body shampoo, hair conditioner, and even facial foam. And the best part is, they're all from Shiseido.

Shiseido leh!!!!!!

I thought Shiseido stuff damn expensive one?

My facial wash is only Clean and Clear.

I enjoyed the hot spring. A lot.

However, nobody is allowed to wear anything or bring anything in, except for a small face towel. Which means everyone inside strides around completely naked. It felt a little weird at first, but later on I got used to it. And for once, it was actually a pretty good feeling not to have any clothes on, without being ridiculed or stared at. I'm just thankful (very thankful, actually) that I'm at least not-too-fat. I have to admit, I did pride myself a little in being able to show off my 'assets' without being labeled "hiau".

I enjoyed the hot spring so much, I went in there thrice.

Don't worry, the males and females are separated.

In Japan, there are even special hotels called "love hotels", where only couples are allowed to go in. To have sex. Interesting, huh?

The guys there are super hot and the girls there are damn cute and pretty. I do wonder why is it that in Penang, 90% of the girls are ugly like hell, while 90% of the girls in Japan are sooooo cute and pretty. Okay, maybe most of the Japanese girls put on make-up, which means they may look ugly after the make-up goes off, but still.

There were many cute guys there, too. HOW COME PENANG DON'T HAVE CUTE GUYS ONE!!!!!????

Which very well explains the reason I'm still single and available.

*hint, hint*.

Oh, and I bought souvenirs, too. A giant Keroppi frog, a small Keroppi key chain, and another plastic Keroppi, which tilts its head left and right whenever light shines on it.

YOU SHOULD SEE HOW CUTELY IT TILTS ITS HEAD!!!! I JUST LOVE IT!!!!!

Its beady eyes, small mouth, and a small leaf on its head...

It's just too much for me to take!!!!!

I can even imagine how it goes "nyu, nyu, nyu" while its head tilts from side to side.

nyu, nyu, nyu, nyu, nyu....

I also got a cute Minnie-Mouse-in-a-kimono cellphone accessory and a cute hair band with Dale's (from Chip and Dale) brown furry ears and an acorn on the top. Both from Disney Sea.

Also brought home lots and lots and lots (and I mean really a lot) of food.

I would very much like to blog more about my Japan trip, but my laziness has got the better of me.

Besides, it seems to me that my MSN is busy calling for me.

Bored

I'm bored.

Bored, bored, bored.

Freaking bored.

Very bored.

Awfully bored.

So bored that I'm typing gibberish here.

So bored that I could die of boredom.

Dying...

dying...

dying still...

dying more than ever...

dying the dyest...

dying the dyest of the dyest...


......


*dead*

P.S. the main reason I'm typing this entry is just to inform you guys that I'm off to Japan tomorrow!! Yay!!!! Aren't you just soooo jealous??? Anyway, my point is, I will not be updating my blog for a while, until I get back. Till then, you can be looking forward to souvenirs...not!

=P

Mundanity

My life is getting more and more mundane. My life cycle goes like this: Wake up at noon, go out with friends, get home, go online, go to bed, wake up the next morning noon...

And the cycle goes on.

With the occasional headache or cold.

I notice my healthy is slowly deteriorating.

Not that it bothers me.

Because of my going out so often, I even made a new friend. My apartment's security guard.

Heh.

Last Monday I attended Andrew's birthday party at Evergreen Hotel. Wasted some time at Gurney Plaza before that. I had French Manicure!!! Yay!!! My nails look so pretty!!! Stupid guy flirted with me at ToysRus. I got a Barbie. Even had it wrapped. I got Bird to buy a birthday card to go along with it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANDREW! I hope you liked your birthday present! *grin*

Rotted at home on Tuesday, then had a short chat with my new found friend on Wednesday, while waiting for Yokey to fetch me to Penang Hill. I almost woke up late.

At 7.20 am, my phone alarm rang, but I snoozed it. 5 minutes later...

Phone: Ring ring!!!!!!!!
Me: Ummph?
Phone: Hello?
Me: Yeah?
Phone: Rachel?
Me: Oh. hi, Yokey...
Phone, a.k.a. Yokey: Are you still asleep?
Me: Well, its only 7.30...
Yokey: You're still sleeping????? I'm reaching your house in 20 minutes!!
Me: WHAT! BUT I THOUGHT YOU'RE FETCHING ME AT 8.30!
Yokey: Uh, no, I told you I'd come at eight sharp.

Crap.

At least I wasn't late. Managed to take a quick shower, and I even brushed my teeth.

If you think my situation was bad enough, Yong Xing was worse.

We were supposed to gather at the foot of the hill (nine of us altogether) at 9 a.m. sharp. Cindy was supposed to fetch Yong Xing at 8.30. When Cindy arrived, Miss Piggy was still in bed. Poor Cindy the driver had to wait in her car outside Piggy's house for a whole 20 minutes, while she got dressed.

Everyone assembled at 9.30 a.m. . Thanks to Miss Piggy.

I guess we're just not the kind of people who can wake up early.

Overall, it was a pretty fun trip. It's nice to be close to nature once in a while.

Went to Bird's house after that. Changed into her over-sized t-shirt. It looked kinda obscene on me, because I looked like I wasn't wearing any shorts. Had a movie marathon. Watched 3 movies straight, while pigging out on KFC and Domino's Pizza.

Reached home at 9.30 p.m.

Mum nagged at me for being out for over 12 hours.

Woke up pretty early again this morning, at 10 a.m. Yokey fetched me to Trader's Hotel for an education fair. Shit, I didn't know studying abroad could be so costly. Bought on impulse again. Two cute t-shirts; M&M themed. DAMN KAWAII YOU KNOW!!!!

On the way home, we dropped by at Marcus's place, demanding that he borrow (or is it lend?) me his Resident Evil DVD and his anime piano scores. Me and Yokey *ahem* Yokey and I
were enjoying the movie when all of a sudden, the TV went blank.

Great.

Now all I have for entertainment is my PSP.

*sigh*

Bored

I'm bored, and out of blogging ideas.

Everyone is busy. Jia Ling is at make-up class. Yi Hui is at German class. Yong Xing is playing Ghost Online at Silas's house. Yokey is out with her family. Marcus is out with his sister. I'm stuck at home.

I'M DESPERATE TO GO OUT!!!! SOMEBODY PLEASE SAVE ME FROM MY OWN HOME!!!!

One day, I'm going to die of boredom. And I thought studying for exams was bad enough.

I'm fat, broke, bored, and a living corpse.

At times like these, I tend to get a little philosophical, because there is nothing else to think about.

Why does the universe exist? Imagine if it didn't. Then there would be void and darkness. But what if that didn't exist either? What, then? What if existence itself didn't exist? Then nothing can ever come into being, nor can anything not come into being. If that is the case, then even space itself would not exist either.

There would be just...

nothing.

Not even emptiness.

Why does time exist? Why are there three dimensions? Can't there be four?

Physics tell us it's just logic, and there is no why. But just think. Why is it like this? If it could be so, couldn't it be something else as well?

Ouch. My head hurts.

I think holidays are cunningly introduced to force students into confusing themselves with stuff like these. And we students stupidly let ourselves fall into this devious trap, thinking, "Hooray! The holidays are finally here!!" To those of you who are still schooling, you are so lucky. You get to go to school and study and learn stuff. At least your boredom only lasts till end of this year. I, on the other hand will have to bear with it until goodness knows when. I heard that the Engineering courses at Nanyang University only begins in September 2008.

Sooner or later, I'm going to kill myself.

My PSP sits there, waiting for the chance to entertain me. The TV is in the living room, waiting to be switched on. The phone is ready for me to make calls. There are three unread books in my room, waiting to be explored.

Why is it that during exams, I am sooooo tempted to watch TV, phone my friends and entertain myself with the PSP, but after my exams are over, those devices lay untouched?

Singapore trip

I'm back from Singapore!

I'll just K.I.S.S. (Keep It Short and Simple).

Went sightseeing. Visited places. Sentosa, Singapore Science Centre, Singapore Zoo, Esplanade, Bugis, Suntec City, Orchard Road, the usual. Rained cats, dogs, chickens, horses, cows and pigs at Sentosa. My shoes wore out and water seeped in. Drenched in rainwater. Brand-new Extreme sweater got soaked through. Sob. Stopped raining immediately after buying a raincoat. Damn. Shopped till I dropped on the last day. Adidas sneakers. Kipling backpack. Nike tote bag. Body Shop perfume. Miscellaneous. Spent RM 2000 altogether. Owing Kevin's mum $170.

I love my new Adidas sneakers!!!! You definitely have to take a look at it.

The Kipling bag is really, really nice, too. It cost me $170. Try converting it to Malaysian currency. Burned a Black Hole in my pocket. Kevin's mum paid for it with her credit card. Now I owe her.

*sigh*

Last night, I talked to my mum on the phone.

Me: I bought a Kipling bag, which cost $170.

Mum: ....

....???

!!!!!

!!!!!!!!

!@$#^&(&??$!!%&###!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me: ...

Whoops. I bought on impulse again.

I'm so pissed off

I overslept, and now my mum has brought my brother to Gurney to watch Enchanted and I can't go.

Sheesh.

I've apparently misplaced (I won't say I lost it) my ability to blog.

I asked Marcus for ideas, but none were helpful. Finally, I said, "Give me one word. Any word, besides the word 'word'."

He said 'web cam.'

However, I don't know what to make out of that. Yokey suggested that I blog about what a great friend she is.

............

=.=

OMG, Yokey is like, such a great friend! I was like out of blogging ideas, but she was like oh-so-helpful! She even gave me this idea to blog about her! She knew I am going to Singapore tomorrow for my holiday trip, and she actually called to bid me goodbye, and very conveniently reminding me about her souvenirs.

My point is, she actually cared enough to actually call me! I'm oh-so-touched!!

Dear God, please forgive me for telling lies. I promise I will repent in my prayers tonight.

WTF is wrong with my parents??!?

During exams, my mother restricted my online hours, saying that I will be free to go online anytime I want, and however long I want after my exams are over.

Now my exams are over. And what does she say?

"Enough liao ha! you go online like 10 hours a day!"

Uh, but I thought she said I could go online anytime I want, and however long I want.

And she doesn't allow me to go online past 1 a.m.

How freaking ridiculous is that? There was once, I stayed up till 3 a.m. and she freaked out. *shakes head* She confiscated the modem as a 'punishment'. And just yesterday, I switched on the computer (it was in the afternoon; there was no valid reason for her to stop me), and she demanded, "What do you think you're doing?"

Of course, it was pretty obvious what I wanted to do, so I just looked back at her defiantly.

THEN SHE TOOK AWAY THE MODEM, AND DEMANDED THAT I SWITCH OFF THE COMPUTER IMMEDIATELY!

So what if I go online first thing in the morning? So what if I stay that way till past my bedtime?

I STRESSED MYSELF OUT LIKE HELL DURING THE EXAM SEASON AND NOW I CAN'T CLAIM MY FREEDOM BACK? I STUDIED TILL LIKE FIVE IN THE MORNING EVERY DAY DURING EXAMS OKAY??!?? SO WHAT IF I GO ONLINE TILL THE WEE HOURS IN THE MORNING? I LOVE BEING NOCTURNAL CANNOT IS IT? SO WHAT IF I GO ONLINE TEN HOURS A DAY? YOU SAID I COULD!

Shouldn't my mum be very, very, very happy and thankful that at least I'm not outside gallivanting with my friends who are supposedly 'bad influence' and may "teach me bad stuff or make me rebel or smoke pot or lose my virginity etc."?

Don't my parents realise how lucky they are to have a daughter like me? There are tons of other girls out there who would very much prefer clubbing the night through, partying with every free time they have got, and having sex at every opportunity they get!

I am so very, very, very pissed off right now.

The only reason I'm not using any foul language here is because I don't want to type something which I might regret later on. I also try not to pollute my blog too much by keeping the vulgarities to a minimum.

However, do keep in mind that whenever I am feeling awfully angry, you can bet those words are constantly being uttered under my breath.

Like now.

I know this is one of my rantings again, which may seem a little childish, but what the heck. Everyone knows (or should know) that I never hesitate to show exactly how I feel. If you are uncomfortable with that, just bear with it or get lost.

Marcus always tells me to "control my temper".

Why should I? As long as people treat me the right way, I'll make sure I do my part. I don't see anything that could go wrong.

It's just that some people seem to prefer getting on the bad side of me. They just don't know what they are getting themselves into.

Some people should just fuck off.

P.S. I'm going to Singapore tomorrow, so I will not be able to update my blog till I get back again, unless I'm lucky enough to get Internet access over there. Wish me luck.