As Suanie Sees It

I have not yet seen DVC. Will someone be so kind as to tag along with me for the show so that I could bitch about it?

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Syed Syahrul Zarizi thinks that this blog is good enough to be listed in his 70 weblog paling popular di Malaysia. For his superb taste and sense that appreciates the marvellous subtleties of this blog, I toast to his good health.

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We were having tai chow the other day when the chef’s wok burst into fireworks-like greatness. We looked at it for a bit, then I remembered that I have a phone camera.

Tai Chow literally means ‘Da Chau’ in Mandarin (I think), which literally translates to ‘big fry’ (I think). You can get many types of food in a tai chow restaurant such as Hokkien mee (fat noodles cooked with aplenty dark soya sauce), ‘watanhor’ (stir-fried flat noodles topped with egg gravy), ‘chow mai fan’ (fried vermicelli), fried rice, assorted dishes served with rice and good cheap crabs if you are lucky. Near my current place, there is an open-air tai chow restaurant that I frequent for takeaway. I pay RM4.50 for ‘watanhor’ and Hokkien mee, but fried rice and sing chow mai fan cost RM5.00/RM 5.50. No idea why, but the place is rather good as previously blogged by ST and KY.

Something the Chinese still believes, however modern s/he may have become is that dinner is the most important meal of the day. It is a time when you strengthen, renew or break family ties. Your filial piety or commitment to the family may be questioned when you skip or do not stay for dinner. Most heinous indeed.

For more information on the daily Chinese dramas of dinners, watch TVB serials.

But my family knows that I love them like mad, even though I don’t often stay for dinner. Right?

Right?

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I found ST’s 50 Things you should eat before you die! while searching for his blog post mentioned in the paragraph above. I bolded the ones I’ve eaten.

1. Fresh fish - Pentas benua yang cetek (shallow, hello? By the way, who can translate ‘pentas benua’ to English?
2. Lobster - Yum!
3. Steak Damansara Perdana’s Eagle’s Nest, medium = yum!
4. Thai food - Nong and Jimmy, hot!
5. Chinese food -My mom’s cooking, yum!
6. Ice cream - Paddlepop, yay!
7. Pizza - Asia Cafe, yum!
8. Crab - Tai Fok, Sri Damansara, yum!
9. Curry - Vegetarian, yum!
10. Prawns - XXL size, woah!
11. Moreton Bay Bugs - eww?
12. Clam chowder - blah.
13. Barbecues - J’s mother’s secret recipe for BBQ lamb, yum!
14. Pancakes - butter and syrup, slurp!
15. Pasta - William’s seafood spaghetti w/ tomato, yo!
16. Mussels - Fresh and succulent, *faints*.
17. Cheesecake - No reaction.
18. Lamb - Williams’ lamb chops, roar!
19. Cream tea - Nyek.
20. Alligator - No thanks, but I’d love to slaughter Steve Irwin for the crocs. I bet the crocs are annoyed by him as well.
21. Oysters - Bleargh especially if they are uncooked.
22. Kangaroo - But why? They are so cute!
23. Chocolate - Bangsar TSB’s Chocolate Volcano, out of this world!
24. Sandwiches - Anything with mayo, thanks!
25. Greek food - So-so.
26. Burgers - SS2 mamak burger, meowwwwwww!
27. Mexican food - USJ Taipan’s Las Carretas, best!
28. Squid - William’s crunchy fried sotong, yum!
29. American diner breakfast - not in America though, but it still counts!
30. Salmon - Don’t like it in any way.
31. Venison - No reaction.
32. Guinea pig - eww!
33. Shark - Fin soup, my bad.
34. Sushi - Not really a fan.
35. Paella - What The
36. Barramundi - - Just found out that it is siakap. Damn proper names.
37. Reindeer - Fuck?!? Santa’s coming after you with this one. See your name forever listed under ‘naughty’.
38. Kebab - No reaction.
39. Scallops - Make ‘em fresh, thanks!
40. Australian meat pie - Gimme one!
41. Mango - Rather common, isn’t it?
42. Durian fruit - Not for the past few years.
43. Octopus - I like squid better.
44. Ribs - Tony Roma’s in Singapore, I want!!!
45. Roast beef - Ok lor.
46. Tapas - Not really a fan, unless humus is involved.
47. Jerk chicken/pork - How do you tell if your dinner had been a jerk? Haha, lame joke.
48. Haggis - No thanks.
49. Caviar - Bleargh.
50. Cornish pasty - Don’t think so?

The list is rather mild, isn’t it? Someone should do a Malaysian-style list, then spread the meme to those in other countries. Belacan, pan min, assam laksa, lontong, kerabu, ayam golek, lou shu fan, roti tisu, nasi beryani, Ramlee burger, Indomee goreng mata kerbau, kangkung ikan masin, zhao kuey, kuey zhap and many other ‘exotic’ fare come to mind.

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Are you like me sick of the reality tv-culture blossoming in Malaysia? Sure they may be popular and profitable, but most of them piss me off big time.

Why? Let’s see…

HOW ABOUT TALENT TO START WITH?!?!?!

Let’s kill ‘em all.

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Maxis sent me a Maxis One Club card. Now, what should I do with it?

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It’s official — the egg came first. Damn, now I’ll have to find something else to amuse myself with.

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Yikes, some people kena kicked, sprayed water at and arrested for their anti-fuel hike demonstration at the Petronas Twin Towers area yesterday. Sakit.

While I find it sad and kesian that the demo ended up this way, I have no idea as to which side started the scuffle so I can’t really comment on anything. But I do think that it isn’t right to akin this incident with
Hitler’s reign. Too many loopholes and overdramatism in play to make a logical comparison. Sure, we do not have North America’s luxury of the First Amendment but neither are our gomen Nazi-inspired.

Ah yes, the argument that if we do not do something about it, BN will eventually grow to be over confident and arrogant for their own good and will secretly kill millions of citizens who went against their ways and ideals, stashing their mutilated bodies deep in our rapidly depleting forest grounds. ‘Cos you know, that’s why we still have forests. What, you’ve never watched Goodfellas?

All about myself via Edwin:

Once you’ve been tagged, write a blog with 24 weird facts/things/habits about yourself then tag 6 other people.

1. I am proud of my arms that can go 360 degrees and my fingers that can go back very far. If it freaks some people out, then I’m happy.

2. I type better than I speak.

3. Reptiles offend my sensibilities.

4. I can eat just instant noodles accompanied by Milo for 6 days in a row.

5. Many great ideas come to me when I am driving or taking a poop or generally alone, but only 20% of them are executed later.

6. I want to travel the world. I don’t think I will.

7. I am better at capturing people’s moments on camera than landscapes and still objects. Unfortunately I use a rather old camera, there is no speed and often I lose the moment I had wanted to capture. Pity.

8. I like to squeeze my pimples/blackheads, incurring my mother’s wrath.

9. I think I inadvertantly caused my rabbit’s death.

10. I hate songs with no soul. Yes, Simple Plan and whatever alternative rock pop thrash the music industry is producing these days, I’m talking to you.

Read more »

I have seen the trailer for CARS a few times and I must admit that I did not have any inclinations to watch it. Yes, even though it is by Pixar. The trailer was all cars racing cars racing cars (duh) and I am not a car person so I figured I’d give it a miss.

THEN someone offered me a seat at the press screening of the movie, of course I go lah. Waste not want not, right? I must have been the only non-media blogger there, because SOMEONE slept through his alarm clock and didn’t wake up till centuries later.

Oh the movie… BEST SUMMER MOVIE SO FAR…. what, I’m supposed to elaborate?

Synopsis: Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is a rising superstar race car tipped for NASCAR-like greatness and pwnage. On his way to compete in a race for the Piston Cup, he got stranded in a sleepy town, Radiator Springs. Forced to spend some time in the town, the hero underwent a journey of new-found respect, humility, friendship and love.

Lesson learnt: Do not assume that all trailers give you accurate insights on the movie plots. Some trailers will and do suck. At least the one I saw for ‘Cars’ anyway. Damn noob right me? Should have learnt my lesson after ‘The New World’, where 10 out of 10 people who saw it told me that it sucked even though the trailer looked promising. Artsy people thought otherwise — obviously we are lacking of class la… lacking of appreciation for moving grass and breeze and (bad) poetry la… lacking of appreciation for non-typical Hollywood junk la… but I’m telling you, don’t even get the pirated dvd for ‘The New World’.

And Pixar did ‘Cars’ so brilliantly! Though the plot was somewhat typical do-gooder with a moral-lesson-for-the-kids like most Disney/Pixar movies, ‘Cars’ was darn funny and memorable in its own way. The stars were apt for the characters they provided voices for, and what GLORIOUS animation! From the beginning of the movie I was awed by the extensive details of the background and landscape. So pretty the lighting, the wonderful nitty-gritty the production team took such great care to include, I’m falling over myself here.

Personally I prefer ‘The Incredibles’ (mostly due to Edna Mode’s dry sarcasm overload) but someone said that you cannot compare all the Pixar movies together-gether because each one is different. I guess someone was right. ‘Cars’ was definitely better than ‘Ice Age 2′ anyhow. Better than ‘Mission: Impossible 3′, definitely and from credible reviews, better than ‘Da Vinci Code’.

And this summer’s blockbuster pwnage, ladies and gentlemen is………. tam tam taratammmmmmmmmm

CARS!!!!!!!!

Congrats congrats Pixar, you deserve it.

If that wasn’t good enough for you doubters, there’ll be the obligatory Pixar short film as appetiser, this one is called One Man Band.

Via Pixar.com:

With one coin to make a wish at the piazza fountain, a peasant girl encounters two competing street performers who’d prefer the coin find its way into their tip jars. The little girl, Tippy, is caught in the middle as a musical duel ensues between the one-man-bands.

Equal to ‘For The Birds’, is my humble opinion. Ten minutes into the movie, I found myself still thinking about ‘One Man Band’. It was like I couldn’t believe the brilliance I’d just witnessed.

And also, stay for the credits. You’ll thank me for it.

CARS open in Malaysia cinemas on 8th June 2006.

Am I the only who dislike the reborn MTV-generation? Piercing-laden kids, pretty boys, lil’ girls with in-your-face boobs, angst-filled lousy-poetry spouting because ‘the world just don’t understand’, short-attention span, self-induced drama, you’ve-no-brains-but-you’re-pretty-here-we’ll-put-you-on-tv, Simple Plan is the best evar band… you name it, I’d probably hate it.

I miss the era of Third Eye Blind and Gin Blossoms and the period before Mariah Carey got to be so slutty

And imagine, it was only a few short years ago.

*getting nolstagic*

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I finally plonked my ass down to finish reading Tash Aw’s ‘Harmony Silk Factory’. I bought it months ago but somehow left it lying around, then lent it to my sister and mother, but I’m happy to announce that yes, I have read Malaysia’s golden son’s literary achievement.

Funny how Malaysians become great by doing their great things overseas. Once they reached greatness, Malaysia is always so eager to claim them as her own. Remember Sarah Marbeck and the Miss Teen USA something? Good, bad, useless (biggest mooncake) and horrible, we all want and constantly hunger for whatever claim to fame we can get.

I’m sure these people wouldn’t mind the slightest. After all, what’s a little bit more adoration, even from a country they have not entered for ages?

For once I would like to see this kind of news highlighted. No doubt the mainstream media editors would be sacked or mutilated by secret agents or something, but isn’t it time to DO THE RIGHT THING OMG!!!

I digress.

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So yeah, Tash Aw’s ‘Harmony Silk Factory’. Credits must be given to those who deserve it… I found it to be a nice relaxing read. The use of words, beautiful scenario mind imprints, the various colours of Johnny’s character as told by his son, his wife and his best friend were all rather cleverly written. Tash Aw earned his credits. Insert more coins.

Forgive my highly noobish paragraph above. I could think of no other way to say it, for I am no book reviewer. But I have some questions, which perhaps no one could answer but write them down I must.

1) Why is there no continuation to Johnny’s story? I would love to know how he cared for his son by himself, what happened to his father-in-law etc
2) Why is there no continuation on Snow, Johnny’s wife? After she was nearly ravished by the Japanese professor, what happened next? She went on to bear Johnny’s only child, how did that happen when Johnny had troubles touching her?
3) Why did Snow’s father think that their honeymoon should resemble a ‘Survivor’ episode?
4) Why didn’t Johnny control his wife’s behavior a bit? I know it’s perhaps due to his character and that he silently loved Snow so much and this question doesn’t really need an answer, but I cannot tahan la.

So many other questions. Or did I miss something while reading?

Obviously I didn’t like Snow. Felt no sympathy for her. Bitch.

Didn’t like the son also… spoilt brat.

I thought Johnny did what he had to do in his circumstances. Go Johnny!

Though I felt that there could be more explaining than just leave us making up things in our mind, the book was well-worth the money and time spent. Tash Aw writes a heck lot better than other authors I’ve read, and he damn well deserves his whatever awards and recognition.

Strongest impression: when Johnny’s small kid and his friend went swimming in an abandoned tin mine, and the friend drowned. The whole relating of the scene was just spooky.

Oh yeah I probably should have mentioned that you shouldn’t read this if you haven’t read ‘Harmony Silk Factory’. Sorry.

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I hate it when people type in all capital letters, even after I had a ‘Please do not type everything in capital letters bla bla bla’ put up above the entry box. After THAT, the number of I-MUST-USE-THY-CAPS-LOCK-SO-THOU-SHALT-NOTICE-AND-ANSWER-ME-ASAP dependents decreased significantly, but there are the odd ones now and then.

Of course they’d get my attention. I just ignore them for a bit while replying to those who can read instructions, let them sweat it out for a week or two then finally get down to the caps-locked. Despite my heavy glasses and nearly-fucked eyesight, my eyes still have many a good years ahead, and I would like to keep them that way thanks.

This is more annoying than the 250 characters business. I know I am not that literate or patient to read two pages of instructions, but 3 lines? Come on…

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Mission: Impossible 3 was Mission: Disappointment. Ethan Hunt should have died so we won’t have to endure a Mission: Impossible 4, if any. Sick sick sick of Tom Cruise’s million-dollar limited-facial-expressions ego-trips it’s-all-about-me movies. I only watched it because we were bored and Da Vinci Code sold out. Funny how I said I wouldn’t watch another Tom Cruise movie. Well I didn’t, really. Philip Seymour Hoffman was in it as well and he was worth the 2+ hours in the cinema. At least I didn’t watch ‘War of the Worlds’. Heard it sucks. Tom Cruise saved the world from machine aliens yeay, we can sleep soundly in our beds until a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer threatens to blow us all up. I tell you, the dangerous and sadistic arms dealer was probably the good man. He’d do us all a favour by…

Never mind.

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I would like people to say what they mean and stick to it, especially when friends are involved. However I accept that everyone was born different and has unsimilar values and ways of doing things than that of mine, so I won’t pursue it. It’s not my problem anyway, it just makes me contemplate on a lot of associated issues. I’ll probably get over it in a week or so.

One down, 827,500,000 single women in the world to go… 827,600,100… 827,700,250… 827,499,500… 827,699,800… 827,597,900…

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a new brother-in-law. Yay me!

On the 20th May 2006 at the the Brickfields Buddhist Maha Vihara, my eldest sister and WC, a really nice jolly fellow tied the knot. Literally.

It was a bright and sunny Saturday morning, I was to go there before 9.15 a.m. so I could take photos of the to-be life couple, guess who arrived first and sat around for 30 minutes?

First they had a blessing performed by a resident Sinhalese monk. Some praying before the Buddha’s image, clapsed hands, some orange string (note photo above), a couple photographers running around to take better shots, some offering of lotus candles at a massive joss stick pot…

There were 5 other couples to be married that day, so we waited around for OUR to-be-married couple’s turn to sign the papers that would legally validate their decision to be get hitched.

During the proceedings, the marriage commissioner talked a lot of stuff. Now we understand why the rest took so long (we were the 6th in the line).

Listening to the marriage commissioner going on about washing cars together as a twosome, it sort of hit me that this is IT. The whole marriage thing… not to be taken lightly… you are now part of a couple… forevar and evar (at least that’s what conventional Asian me thinks how marriages should be)… by jolly, this is a pretty huge step for ANYONE (or I hope so). Watching as my sister repeated her vows and signed the marriage cert, I thought of her as a child, then as a teenager and now a married woman. Surreallllll…

I felt like crying. But I’m tough, me.

For lunch we went to a vegetarian restaurant somewhere in Kepong. We had the whole 8-course Chinese wedding feast, soy products-style. During the mock-prawns dish, my father, ever the practical man commented, “If they wanted something to look like prawns, they might as well serve real prawns.” Hear hear.

But it was a happy occasion, the company was great, my sister got married and my tummy was very filled. In another post I’ll write about how my dad, after a few months of not seeing me got angry with me ‘cos I grew to be so fat.

Now I have to get ready for some family photo thing, and then attend the food tasting for their coming Chinese wedding dinner.

Congratulations, you two!

p/s : statistics are all mine.