Thursday, April 30, 2009

Be One With The Chaos

The day started out just like any other.

The petrol icon was blinking itself into oblivion, so I made a detour just after leaving my house to a familiar petrol station for a fill-up. I pulled up to my familiar pump, and did the familiar routine of stumbling ungracefully out of the car (sliding out like a proper lady is an art i am yet to master).

Then one of the petrol attendants started waving and gesturing wildly at me from the other side of the petrol station. What?? What?? Did I park at the Diesel pump?? Did someone secretly stash a box of handphones in my car and was making calls to each and everyone of it right now?? Or worse, is there a stain on my white pants?? T__T

Actually, for some reason I couldnt understand, all the petrol pumps at my familiar petrol station couldnt be used. Sigh. I am a creature of routine. And familiar petrol pumps.

No worries, there are several petrol stations around my area anyway.

When I got out to the main traffic light junction just after my housing area, it was chaos! The electricity suddenly died this morning, so the traffic lights werent working. You know how it goes at a busy 4-way junction. Nobody's giving way to anyone. Its every man for himself! *peeks out from behind steering wheel meekly*

On another note, when my fan spluttered to a stop this morning as I was getting dressed, all I could lament on was that my make-up would be gone by the time I got to the car as I started sweating through every pore. Disgusting, and a waste of a good face day too.

So I was groaning as I looked at the mess I was stuck in with everyone inching their way slowly forward into whatever space they could find to get to whichever turning they wanted to. I'm far too nice for this shit. I'll let you cut ahead of me and let a hundred cars go past before I even attempt to move forward.

There was a police patrol car right in front of me though. Not the full-fledged one with blinking lights and light-reflective stickers that stink of authority and urgency. But a more nondescript one with recognisable symbols in all the right places.

He had somewhere to get to. So he stuck his hand up in the universal hand launguage for "Let me pass, lesser beings" and slid his way forward. Me and probably a few other drivers behind were doing mental fist-pumping actions as we closely followed right behind and got ourselves out of the tangled web of selfish drivers and impatient commoners.

On the next page of another note, I tried the Light Flow yoga class at the gym yesterday. For the first 10 minutes of the class, I was trying really hard to keep a straight face and not burst into giggles as everything was so... Zen! From the dim yellow lights to the flowing water fixture that trickled as calm music played.

I was one position away from emitting a loud "Ohhhhmmmmmm..."

But once I got the hang of it, it wasnt too bad. My flexibility leaves much to be desired, so I did try to follow as best as I could.

Man, I was stretching in places I never knew I had.

No adventures today actually. First ~~impressions~~ sentences can be very misleading.

Random picture from Sunburst by Nigel

***

Stuck in my head - "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun

We are always running for the thrill of it thrill of it
Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it
On and on and on we are calling out and out again
Never looking down I'm just in awe of whats in front of me

Posted at 12:05 PM
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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

WOU Post @ Postcard Contest

I enjoy studying just as much as you do! Which probably equates to.. Not very much.

So when one has to find ways to avoid falling asleep and leaving dried drool on Chapter 3, multitasking is the way to go!

The usual listening to music, procrastinating with blogs and Facebook, pigging out and bugging people who are studying on MSN just doesnt cut it for me. The only time when I'm guaranteed to be wide awake even when I've pulled an all-nighter is when I'm indulging in some well-deserved-after-lots-of-studying retail therapy!

Shopping bags make up my world so why cant they be part of my classroom?

Contrary to popular belief, shopping does strengthen my weaker areas in accounting, finance, marketing and public speaking (haggling).

This is also my entry for Wawasan Open University's Post @ Postcard contest. May my postcard inspire mere mortals everywhere!! XD

Posted at 11:30 AM
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Monday, April 27, 2009

Food At The Junction

Its not easy to find a good joint that understands the need for music that pleases the mind and food to satisfy the body. So I was rather looking forward to dinner at Groove Junction in Desa Sri Hartamas recently to check it out and see if they really did manage to marry good music and great food.

The background story behind Grove Junction is pretty darn cool. Chock full of interesting musical references and influences, [click] to read up about it! ;)

The simple and clutter-free setting of Groove Junction.

The bar! But of course!

With live performances of blues, jazz, funk and loads more, Groove Junction has built up a reputation as a great place to hang out for a few drinks and some music.

But how does the food fare? I was keen to find out!

Their menu is pretty extensive. Tons of options!

Before any munching could carry on, we were served one of Groove Junctions specialty drinks to get us going.

Mango Mint Ice Tea

I'm not normally a fan of tea (even chinese tea), but this drink was pretty darn refreshing! It was definitely the strong minty flavours and slightly tangy mango that lingers for awhile on the palate. If you like mint, this is the thing for you.

Next up, we had some tapas! Little plates of bite-sized munchies which are great for snacking on while you catch your fave jazz performance there.

Hands off!

Crispy Oyster Mushrooms

I love love love mushrooms! Especially when they're fried to a delightful crisp! It was slightly salty, which would go great with a pint, and the slightly spicy special sauce as a dip makes it an awesome snack! Who needs KFC's popcorn chicken when you can have this instead. I am hooked.

Grilled Asparagus in Hollandaise Sauce

I shall come clean and admit that I've never exactly had the opportunity to try asparagus before, so this grilled option was a new sensation for me. It had a great crunch and a slightly smoky flavour to it (presumably from the grilling) which went great with the hollandaise sauce.

Lemon Fish Fritos

Little fluffy pieces of fried fish fillets served with tartar sauce! Simple, familiar and tastes just as good as you'd expect it. I love anything fried, so this might be a tad biased.

Salsa Berenjenas

Which roughly translates to brinjals (or eggplants. or aubergines. however you choose to look at it) in salsa. Yeap, gotta balance out all that fried stuff with another serving of something vegetarian. This one was served with fresh baguettes. The eggplant is cooked in olive oil and a spicy salsa with chilli herbs which really hit my tongue hard!

My chilli tolerance levels are still well below average. So depressing. But the eggplant was nice and soft with a slight sour hint from the chilli salsa, and went excellent with a sliced baguette.

Chicken Waldorf Salad

Salads are a great way to start a meal, and the Chicken Waldorf Salad hit the right spot! Brimming with cubes of green apples, celery, chunks of chicken and walnuts, this one was really full of flavour as everything went well with the sour cream dressing. It was crunchy, sweet, sour, slightly peppery and chewy all in one mouthful.

Fish Fritos with Tomato Salsa

Another version of the fried fish fillets we were served earlier, but this time its topped with tomato salsa. With a kick. A very small but fiery kick as I found out. There's chilli padi bits in this one, so watch where you chew! But the tomato salsa was pretty fresh and went great with the fried fish fillets.

Lemon Grass Caviar

I didnt have the faintest idea what this was when it was placed on the table in front of me. But the ever trusty "Taste Test" told me that its a cocktail made for fans of vanilla! No idea why its blue, but it does look pretty nifty. A stick of lemongrass is the stirrer and by stirring with it, you add a whole new dimension to the flavour. Quite an experience. If you squint, you can see the lil jelly caviar bits in it. Haha.

Seafood Spaghetti (Olio)

A simple spaghetti olio dish with more than enough seafood in it to help it live up to its name! It was pretty filling though, so probably a dish for sharing (unless you're a mega pasta fan).

Penne Arabiatta

The next pasta dish was a vegetarian Penne Arabiatta which was cooked with eggplant, olives and lots of tangy sundried tomatoes all swimming in a spicy pomodoro sauce. If you favour tomato-based pasta dishes (less of that jelak feeling), then this dish should keep your tummy happy for the night.

Lamb Shank with Mashed Potatoes

One can never go wrong with this comforting dish that fills the stomach and comforts the heart to no end! The lamb shank was nicely cooked with the tender meat falling off the bone easily (as it should), and the rosemary brown sauce that it came slathered in made the whole thing work.

What it was reduced to within minutes.

Pan Fried Seabass

A properly prosperous meal is never complete without good serving of fish! The seabass was served on a mound of mashed green peas (as opposed to the common mashed potato) topped with tomato salsa and lemon butter sauce on the side. How was it? Well, I couldnt take my eyes off the bright green mound of mashed green peas at the bottom, but once I did and had a bite of the fish, it was pretty good. The fish was smooth and not too overdone. Just nice =)

Dessert was up next, so I was of course very eager to see what Groove Junction had to offer.

Warm Chocolate Lava Cake

Warm Chocolate Lava Cakes are a wonder of nature! Slightly hard and crispy on the outside, but oozing with melted chocolate on the inside that flows like lava once you cut it open. Heavenly! And yes, this one was warm when it came. Yum..

The next dessert put on quite a show for us.

Fire in a glass!

Ok, so he wasnt exactly on the menu, but the next dessert did require a fiery presentation before it was complete.

Crepe Suzette with Flaming Contreau

This popular French dessert was served with caramelised sugar and orange juice, with the Contreau flamed to burn off the alcohol and leave behind a lingering orange taste which became a sweet syrup that coated the whispery thin and soft crepes. It was served with vanilla ice cream and the combination of hot and cold made this a great dish to end our dinner with.

Flaming fire-fall!!

Before we left, we had one last nightcap for the road.

Mocha Martini

This mocha cocktail was a great blend of coffee and chocolate flavours with an alcoholic touch. It was creamy, frothy and sweet, which had us girls just lapping it up.

Yummm..

If all this talk about good food is making you wipe that drool off your lips, then its good to know that Groove Junction is now open for lunch from 12pm to 3pm, and not forgetting their live performances (a few times a week) which are really worth catching after work.

Groove Junction is located at 1-1, Jalan 22A/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas (closed on Sundays).

Aka, its behind that huge ass gym, True Fitness, or across the street from Burger King and Shell.

It was an easy and cosy night, I must say. Maximum chilling satisfaction.

*pics courtesy of Moi, Nigel*

Posted at 12:29 PM
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Saturday, April 25, 2009

Fashionable Night With Quiksilver & Roxy

Tis the season for a change! So I was very eager to see what was new for this season when I was invited to the "Quiksilver & Roxy Spring/Summer Collection Showcase 2009" last week during Midvalley Megamall's Fashion Week!

Media invite, courtesy of our very own surfer boy, Nigel.

As sunny and beachy as it gets for me, unfortunately.

I've always had a soft spot for the Roxy brand because their clothes are always really colourful, comfy and gives you an air of being on holiday the minute you put them on. Everytime I walk into a Roxy outlet, I'm flitting between racks and shelves touching stuff and wishing I could have everything in the store T__T

Roxy's handbags and watches occupy a huge chunk of my wishlist (got a Roxy hangbag for my last bday hehe), while their footwear and fragrances come a close second.

One of the entrances to Midvalley Megamall, taken over by an awesome Quiksilver & Roxy design (wonder who did it huh huh huh).

With the media invite in hand, it was off to the red carpet for me!

A very long red carpet with restricted access. Coolness.

While we registered ourselves at the registration table, we were handed our tags and goodie bags!

I LOVE GOODIE BAGS AND FREE SWAG ZOMG.

Quiksilver for the guys and Roxy for the girls.

There was also a QSRX backdrop for people to take pictures!

Kel Li and I flanked by Stephanie and Steph K.

The guys who were on duty that night! David too ;)

Props to QSRX (via Nigel) for being open enough to the idea of inviting a ton of bloggers to cover the event!

The whole bunch!

Once we got past the red carpet, its off to an enclosed area around the main stage for some mingling and picture-taking before the main event.

Check out the stage!

Very arhitectural-ish with industrial angles and a sprinkling of plants for a green feel. Not forgetting the surfboards of course. The set-up was huge.

David snuck backstage and look what he found!

YUM YUM.

I would swing the other way for them.

Getting comfy and settling down in anticipation for an energetic fashion show!

While waiting, there were waiters in pretty cool Quiksilver aprons dishing out finger food and drinks to the invited guests. Nice of them to remember to feed and water us. Very important! Dehydration leads to lack of concentration for the event!

Although they were serving cocktails so I'm not sure how that works out to be.

Spot the not!

Soon enough, the lights were dimmed and the music volume lowered. The show was starting! I eagerly wormed my way to the front as best as I could. This being short thing is a real social killer for things like this, I tell you.

Joey G as the emcee for the night! Was hoping he'd be one of the models too, but alas we cant have everything in life.

With a burst of loud, pumping, upbeat music and much flashing of lights, the Quiksilver & Roxy Fashion Show was on! *sticks camera hand up in air*

Oh man *wipes drool*

The models were disgustingly gorgeous btw.

The following model pics were taken with my G10! Figured I could use some practice and test it out abit (havent had time to utilise it properly). Not as great as a DSLR evidently, but I kinda need to sit down and learn which functions to use depending on the situation. Spent so much on it, how can I not use it! *roar*

Do note that I was practically sticking my hand up in the air and randomly aiming (while crossing my fingers and toes) for these pictures. Damn you tall people up front.

Ok, mostly cannot make it (my pics, not the models). Better luck next time *fiddles with camera*

After several rounds of amazing clothes and awesome accessories from Quiksilver & Roxy's Spring/Summer collection, the fashion show was over.

Last look at the models! *sacrifices small furry animal to get long long long legs that goes on forever*

With Suresh who maintains his dignity while I grin like an idiot.

HEHEHEEEEEEEEE

Happiness is like a bunch of.. Really happy people!

Quiksilver and Roxy's latest collection looks great! Saw a ton of things I'm dying to get my hands on!!

Anyhoo, lets have a look at their generous goodie bag filled with delicious swag!