beautiful bukit tabur (melawati)

I'll be frank. After months of coaxing and persuasion, I finally plucked up the courage to climb Bukit Melawati (Bukit Tabur).
Reason for my procrastination?
...for fear I'll fall and die.

Almost a year later after my climb, I am finally posting it in my blog. (Yup, I actually climbed this hill in Sept '08)
Reason for my procrastination?
...pure laziness.

So, if you're wondering about my fear of not making it back from the climb, let's just say you'd know what I mean if you've been here before.

Bukit Tabur is located in Selangor between Taman Melawati and UIA Gombak. The hill, which is less than 1000 meters in height, is a quartz/limestone combination formation. Climbers enter the hiking trail via Kampung Klang Gates, 50 meters from the gates of the Klang Gates Dam, at the back of Taman Melawati for a quick 3-4 hours climb. The Gombak Forest Reserve and Klang Gates Dam are beside the hill.

Which is why I vote this hill with one of the best scenery as the peak offers the most amazing view of the Klang Gate Dam.
Look at the view behind Agnes and I
Yup, this was how clumsy I looked as we repeated such climbs about 5 or 6 times throughout before reaching the peak.


Thanks to my RM 6 rubber shoes and a good helping hand from Gan, I made it!
Let me warn you though, if you plan to conquer this hill, be prepared for a lot of climbing using your bare hands and feet (ok, you would have shoes on). Mind you, this hill has practically no safety ropes (moreso, safety nets) so teamwork is truly important to helping one another up, or down.
I can remember having to give my fullest concentration the entire time, while replaying over and over in my head the beginning scene from the movie 'Vertical Limit' :P
and the breathtaking scenery makes it all worth it!!

So, who wants to go bouldering with me next time? ^_^

farewell farah... ^_^

Friday was another colleague's last day at work.
Farah, a Chinese converted into Muslim came to us 3 years ago as admin support and a bubbly mother of two (now three).
The most amazing thing about her is the concern and care she shows others, not to mention leaving dropped jaws whenever she springs out a line or two of Cantonese/ Hakka.

Having found a greener pasture (I hope), I pray for only the best for her and the sweet adorable kids she and hubby has so lovingly and diligently raised.
I know it's been a tough time for you in recent months, but let's forget about the past and move on.
Just be yourself, and know what's right, Farah.
Most importantly, you're buying me lunch when you get your first pay check.

once upon a light...

...in Prince Cafe one day :





To me, the 'talking' light bulbs were more interesting than what I ate there... ^_^

sook fun's wedding

Have you ever traveled >200km to a small town just to attend the wedding reception of a friend you've not seen for 8 years?

I did and I found it rather fun.....probably because I wasn't the driver (hehe)

Me and Siaw Chin went to our ex collegemate's wedding dinner held in Menglembu, Perak.
After much driving around, we finally arrived at 7.30 juuuusssst in time for the happy couple to take their place for the ceremony to begin. (note-i take it that wedding dinners held in small towns are punctual to the dot!)
Which also explains why there was time for only one of us to pose with the bride :-(

Siaw Chin and Sook Fun

Never underestimate this small town........it packs the authentic crunch of Menglembu groundnuts! and the restaurant that I went to served one of the best, unique wedding dinners I've ever had! I'm talking about bird's nest (to replace shark's fin), fresh and dried scallops in almost every single dish, cod fish (!), macadamia nuts in their stir-fried vegetable dish (can still taste the crunchy roasted nuts in my mouth) and a very good pumpkin dessert!
Man, I'm feeling hungry now....

It was so good that I was starting to doubt the angpow money I had given...imagine that! heehee...

standing in formation for a photo shoot

Luckily we managed to 'steal' the happy couple away from the crowd for this memorable shot

Here we are, the proud Astarian reps (1st College from UM) - See Ling, Hui Fang, Siaw Chin and yours truly.
All the best and stay blessed to the newly-weds! ;D

jojo, u're da best!

On 1st April, 2008, a 22 year old demure and petite girl by the name of Jocelyn Ho Shuk Mei (lol, there goes any chance of hiding your identity, Jo) walked into my department reporting for her first day of work. No April Fool's joke, this one.

At first glance, she seemed like little Ms High-and-Mighty but after just a day of her sitting right in front of me, I saw her to be more like little Ms Humble-and-chin chai.

Being a fresh grad with no inkling whatsoever about the field of medical insurance, she surprised me by picking up real fast on the matter, and within a week, was already nagging our insurance agents for misplacing client policies. No wait, that's me.
Jo would have gladly reprinted them.

Throughout the months, I always had this feeling that she'll never stay long in my department..for the reasons that
- she's so frigging young! (i know it doesnt make sense, lol..and for the hundredth time, Jo..me and u..NOT almost the same age dear..i know my maths, hahaha)
- she's too smart to be baboon-ing around in the same zoo as me (notice i used the word 'zoo'.. heehee)
- she's always dreamt of being a pharmacist, SOOOO watdaheck r u doin in insurance line...(!)

Reality finally kicked in a year later as she finally decided to pursue her Masters in Pharmacy. As I'm writing this, she's already in Perth, all ready for classes to begin like tomorrow, I think.

As much as I would have loved to spend more hanging-out time with Jo, the gang managed to bring her out for a dim-sum lunch at Marco Polo's last week.
And being the money-conscious freaks we are (not to be misread as 'kiam-siap'), of course we went on a Monday where there was a 50% discount on all dim-sum... ;P

The entire gang + Marky (the 'unseen' cameraman) + 1 camera shy person (can you spot her?)
Now now, don't cry Jo...I know it's hard leaving us...where else would you find super-cool colleagues like us...
I will certainly miss you dearly, Jojo...and so will the ladybird sitting on our fence.
I will miss those times when you were my scanning-aid and Google-aid.
I will think of you when watching my next Powerpuff Girls episode where they battle it out with Mojo-Jojo, or when talking on the phone with Jocelyn of Tan Chong.
You're the girl that surprised me by even knowing songs like 'Mr Postman' and who Tommy Page is....(!) Oh, and you're a 'bag-person' so much so that now I know the difference between a Burberry and a LV and a Coach and a.....
With the career path you're choosing right now girl, I'm pretty damn sure you'll soon be flaunting designer bags around as much as I'm lugging Jusco plastic bags.
dat's our dearest ms jocelyn ho
a really sweet girl with a heart of gold
hope you become what you want to be
may you find happiness and lots of money!! ^__^

my first malay wedding

The good thing about Malay weddings - the invitation is extended to your 'entire family', which usually means a parent declaring 'ok, family.....we're eating out this Saturday (or Sunday) lunch'.
And I find that 'rsvp' is not so much of a mandatory 'thing to do' as they always make sure food served is in abundance to feed an entire village...or two.
It IS after all, in the good true spirit of 'muhibbah'.

And the 'not-so-good' thing about Malay weddings (at least I find myself experiencing it); it is more often than not, held at some distant far-away place from where I am in KL.

Hence, my gleeful delight as I was invited to one held just in Cheras area.

I decided to attend the wedding lunch.



Never mind that I have never met the bride before :-)
coz it was my colleague's sister who was getting married.
Here were the flower-girls looking nervously at the cam cam...
My colleague, Elly with her ecstatic greet.
I actually arrived half hour earlier before her. lol
Elly's sister - one happy happy bride!
Elly mentioned it was a must for the bride's face to be 'covered' as she walks into the hall.
Doesn't this look like Elly's sister and I have known each other for a long time?

..uh, 5 minutes was more like it...heehee

michael shall be missed

So many bloggers have written their personal tribute since the passing of Michael J., so since I've missed hopping onto the bandwagon, I'll just say you can read about MJ on some other else's blog. lol.

Not that I'm a frigging huge fan of MJ's, but to me, his presence was significant as one of the singers who lent their voice for like D Best Song in 1985, 'We Are The World' ..along with...

(taking deep breath)
Dan Aykroyd
Harry Belafonte
Lindsey Buckingham
Kim Carnes
Ray Charles
Bob Dylan
Sheila E.
Bob Geldof
Hall and Oates
James Ingram
Jackie Jackson
LaToya Jackson
Marlon Jackson
Michael Jackson
Randy Jackson
Tito Jackson
Al Jarreau
Waylon Jennings (he left the recording session due to a dispute over the lyrics)
Billy Joel
Cyndi Lauper
Huey Lewis and the News
Kenny Logins
Bette Midler
Willie Nelson
Jeffery Osborne
Steve Perry
The Pointer Sisters
Lionel Richie
Smokey Robinson
Kenny Rogers
Diana Ross
Paul Simon
Bruce Springsteen
Tina Turner
Dionne Warwick ..
and Stevie Wonder

...that sort of sums up the entire world of musicians.

He WAS the one that, without him, I would be 3 songs shy from the perfect collection in my Zen Baby. The 3 songs being Billie Jean, Dangerous and Do You Remember The Time.


plus he WAS the creator of the Michael Jackson drink (soya bean + cincau).
Now that he's gone, do we call for 'One Late Michael Jackson'?



oh~oh, had I just written a tribute to MJ?


nah, forget it guys...it's just an illusion.

Like the picture below.
illusion: Definition from Answers.com
illusion n. A visually perceived image that is deceptive or misleading
(You sure you wana eat here then?)

celebrating sa~jie's birthday

Not that anybody really likes 'celebrating' getting old(er), but nonetheless, we threw one for our tai-ka-jie, Vanessa in celebration (whoops there's that word again) of her XXth birthday.
Seriously, I've not a clue on her real age. Better left that way eh? heehee

who's the birthday girl?

Frankly for my part, ask me to join in someone's birthday celebration and the first thing on my mind is always 'ooh, what are we gonna be having?' . Yes, I am THAT greedy when it comes to food, and yes, it makes no sense at all coz i'm famous for leaving that tad little bit on my plate after my meals. I must have been an ant my past life with that urge to store food for winter or something. But hey, I'm pretty sure there's some saying in the Chinese belief about leaving leftovers on your plate. Something about fortune, perhaps... =^.^

So we went to this place called 'The Zun Kitchenette'. Not familiar?

Sounds like some place that serves Greek food eh?
ah-ah, it's this Chinese restaurant inside Eu Yan Sang. Looks nice from the outside. And i'm not talking about me and Yin.

We (ok, I) have never tried this place before, plus we didn't have that many choices to choose from since Vanessa gave us the following criterion - perferably good Chinese food + air-conditioned + comfortable environment + ample parking space + good-looking waiters/ waitresses (ok, this one I just made up...aren't we a good-looking bunch already?).

So, Yin went 'hmm EuYanSang..good place...serves good soup for the elderly and the health-conscious..let's go there' . I choose to be categorised under 'the health-conscious' since I AM a Health underwriter by profesion (gee, that sounds kewl when i say it)

We were given our own little private room to dine and make lot of our usual nonsensical dialogue in.

Outside our room, the entire place was actually empty and so quiet that if someone farted, it would only be the waiters and waitresses eyeing one another.
This is Yin, me, Vanessa and Choy Phyll before the arrival of our food. Can you tell from our faces we were starving? I know mine does.

What's my blog without food review in it right?


So, here's what we ate...let's see how many of these you've tried before

Bak Zhan Black Chicken Soup - 6/10 (could do with a thicker broth, accentuated with a heavier chickeny essence)

Double-boiled Chicken Soup - 6.5/10 (the usual herbal soup that mummy use to boil...better)

Curry Fish in Claypot - 6.5/10 (so-so, wished it was spicier though)

Mixed Vege with Fermented Beancurd - 8/10 (Vegetable dishes are the simplest to prepare and I love my mushrooms, so...)

Braised Spare Ribs with Yam and Dong Guai - 7/10 (Ribs...CHECKED!...but I couldn't find the yams!)

Smoked Chicken Salad - 7/10 (only because it's 'different' and got a slight twangy taste to it)

Stir-fried Okra - 6/10 (i just prefer mine plain with the best sambal belachan in the world!)

This entire set meal for the price of RM 168+! Worthy? Well, your call.

End of the day, it's the priceless companionship of precious friends and loved ones that count (oish, spoken like a wise philosopher).


And we could certainly do away with the companionship of this waiter who was peeping at something in Vanessa's hands.Yup, trust us to come up with the best-decorated card for anybody's birthday. Too bad I had forgotten to snap the front of the card.

Vanessa's card is extra special coz it contained 3 self-written poems by Mark, Tan and yours truly. Poems that will only bring out the maximum effect when sung out by our very talented MarkLim. The effect it brings out in a person (as you are about to see in Vanessa).....are indeed phenomenal.







And who could forget the 'loving' gestures (advantageous to himself at some point..haha) from Moon towards all the lovely birthday chicks...

pointing front...

touching the back...

lol..just kidding...don't sue me...moon's not the perv kind, just cheeeeeky...lol
why so gaYYYY-look, mark!

The whole bunch!
The birthday slice was CHoCoLatE BaNaNa from Zang-Toi

Hope you had a ball, Vanessa!
Happy Birthday!!
fyi, just found out that your name, 'vanessa' means female butterfly in Greek. awww...