As always when i.P.h.o.n.e begins selling in Malaysia, telcos frantically rush to launch it first. M.a.x.i.s as always have their midnight launch. This time round the launch was on 13-December-2012 i.e. 14-December-2012 morning at CapSquare. I went to the launch event as a Corporate customer with my friend.

At 12 sharp, it was already our turn to collect our phones. I bought 2 units:

• 1 for myself (64GB White) - signed up for iValue 2 RM155 for 1 year i.e. RRP RM2,799 but got the phone for RM2,249.00
• 1 more for my father as his belated birthday present (32GB Black) - signed up for iValue 1 for 1 year i.e. RRP RM2,499 but got the phone for RM2,049.00
• Total Paid: RM4,298.00

My friend bought 6 units on behalf of her god father!

• All 64GB, 3 White, 3 Black - outright purchase of RM2,799 each i.e. RM16,794.00
• When they swiped her credit card, first time it was rejected. So she asked for the amount to be split. RM10,000 + RM6,794. RM10,000 transaction went through. But then the second transaction was rejected. So she called the bank and they were confused and all. In the end, I swiped the balance transaction for her. Banks can be so thick at times with their stupid policies...

I love attending i.P.h.o.n.e launches. This is the 2nd one I attended after I left. Met so many ex-colleagues and ex-bosses and had a great time catching up! Only thing is that everyone said I looked better and fleshier... so ermmm... I think they were trying to tell me politely that I am "bulat". To be honest I am not sure if my face is swollen from water retention or if I have sememangnya gained weight... hmmm...

The best part about attending the event as a Corporate customer is that we don't have to queue. There is a special hall where there are performances, free flow of drinks (beer and soft drinks - last year there were even red wine and champagne!) and free food (by Modesto's). All we needed to do was to take a number and indicate which phone we want (in terms of colours and capacity) and that's it. We're free to roam around until it is our turn.

 

So thanks to M.a.x.i.s, I now have my beloved iPhone 5 with me!!! Am I happy with the phone? Well, it is thinner, lighter, faster and clearer in terms of display when compared to iPhone 4. But in actual fact, it works the same. Wonder how long I'll continue being an Apple sucker. Hehehe... next in wishlist, an iPad Mini... waiting for the cellular version to be released!!! :)

Merry Christmas!!! Can't believe the year is coming to a close di. This year seemed to pass by so quickly!!! But then it also means that we're closer to our Beijing trip in January for our yearly anniversary celebration!!!

Hb and I visited Aeon Bulit Tinggi in Klang with the intention of getting new winter jackets. Thing is, we've been wearing the same jackets for several winter trips now; Beijing, Shanghai, South Korea that somehow the photos all look the same! So we figured it's high time to invest in new ones.

Hb was quick is identifying what he likes! A white one with 90% down and 10% feather! I on the other hand am torn between a short one (waist length) or a medium one (butt length) to replace my current long one (knee length)...

Hb said the medium length one looked nicer. But instead of pink, maybe get the champagne colored one. But hmmm, the cutting ain't too flattering. Since it's not exactly cheap ~RM650, thought of sleeping on it first before buying.

On the way we also stopped by Machines for Hb to get a new casing and screen protector for his iPhone. While waiting for the screen protector to be stuck on, we played around with the photo booth on one of the Macs and laughed our heads off!!! We looked like Chipmunks don't you think? Hehehe...

For dinner, we went to Sakae Sushi. As usual I had my favorite Unagi while Hb ordered soft shell crab set. We even had Sake, a small 250ml bottle which tasted yummy and all but gave me a headache thereafter!

So that was how we spent our Christmas la. Merry Christmasss!!! :D

Oh think I finally found a more reliable app for blogging from mobile... to be precise my brand new iPhone 4S!!! When it was first announced by Tim Cooks, I was still deciding whether or not I should get. But then the news of Steve Jobs passing came and I thought yala, I definitely should get it as a tribute "for Steve" i.e. 4S... geddit? Hehe... Afterall I owned each and everyone of the iPhone launched, from the metal casing unit of parallel import to 3 to 3GS to 4. So owning a 4S seemed logical! :D

I was lucky to attend the iPhone 4S launch at KL Convention Centre as a VIP and as usual I went with my partner in crime; Sham! That night, we were both glammed up. Her cos for once she didn't have to work as the EO for the launch and me, cos this is my first appearance ever since I left 6 months ago. Since we both like to dress up, we did our hair n carefully selected our outfits haha. Judging from the compliments, think we looked ok la. Hahaha...

The thing with VIP is that we are entitled to enter a special ballroom with live performances, free flow of booze and food. But then being a typical customer who are eager to get an iPhone first before anything else, we chose to crowd in the small area adjoining the VIP ballroom.

This phone collection area is packed with counters specifically erected to serve VIP, corporate customers and members of the media. The area is much smaller than the one for general public thus it was quite crammed. Afterall, VIPs are supposed to enjoy the live performances while waiting for their turn instead of jamming the collection area. But what to do... "kiasu" hehe...

After we got our phones, we visited the ballroom for general public cos' that was where accessories were sold. Spent over 300 bucks on casings but all's good... hahaha... Photo below was captured before doors open to public... check out the many counters available! :)

Nevertheless am happy I managed to get hold of my iPhone 4S that night. Hehe... I love Apple! :)

Aiyor, this is like super overdue... Was supposed to write about my experience at the M.a.l.a.y.s.i.a.n G.r.a.n.d P.r.i.x but ahem... C.h.i.n.e.s.e G.r.a.n.d P.r.i.x also over di! But nevermind la, better late than never...

To be honest... I don't watch F.1. and somehow, I find the "vroom vroom" sound... therapeutic! Say if I try watching it on TV... my eyelids will weigh heavier and heavier by the minute and I will most often doze off... BUT... BUT... 2 weeks ago... I had the chance to visit the S.e.p.a.n.g I.n.t.e.r.n.a.t.i.o.n.a.l C.i.r.c.u.i.t (S.I.C) for the 1st time in my life to watch the practice sessions and I must say that even for a non-fan like me... I found the experience totally amazing!

Here's an account on what happened...

We visited S.I.C on Thursday for a quick tour and meeting with the L.o.t.u.s R.a.c.i.n.g team and thereafter... we were given a tour at L.o.t.u.s R.a.c.i.n.g garage itself.... Here, we were given a quick explanation on how the team members communicate with one another like how they each have 2 sets of headsets which only dedicated personnel are allowed to talk to the drivers... the types of tyres... and of course... the L.o.t.u.s R.a.c.i.n.g car itself... all in close proximity!!!

On our way out... I walked past a driver dressed in Red and for a split second, he was just next to me... I didn't know who he was but my colleagues were practically hyperventilating at the sight of this guy... cos you know why? He's F.e.r.n.a.n.d.o A.l.o.n.s.o from the F.e.r.r.a.r.i team!!! At the car park, while waiting for our driver (we were driven in our company's Alphard cos' there were limited parking passes), we saw yet another driver (or ex-driver)... but this time round, I knew who he was la... A.l.e.x. Y.o.o.n.g... haha...

The following day, we all gathered at our office lobby at ~8.30am where our company drivers picked us up. The entire experience was quite similar to those "rombongan sambil belajar" that I used to attend in primary school... hahaha... totally fun and exciting!!! At S.I.C, we made our way to the P.a.d.d.o.c.k C.l.u.b which is really the most exclusive viewing deck in S.I.C. The L.o.t.u.s R.a.c.i.n.g P.a.d.d.o.c.k C.l.u.b was located just above the L.o.t.u.s R.a.c.i.n.g garage and that meant that we have superb view of the car(s) coming in and out of the pit!

The P.a.d.d.o.c.k C.l.u.b faces the G.r.a.n.d S.t.a.n.d and offers superb view of other cars coming out of their pit:

The thing with this P.a.d.d.o.c.k C.l.u.b is that, it comes complete with buffet, free flow of wine / champagne, coffee, tea, snacks, ice creams etc served by super cute model-looking guys and gals (all "ang moh" btw). Next door, at the general hospitality area, there were even free foot massages, free photo taking, free snacks and lots of official merchandise (for sale)! Uber cool!

After the practice sessions, we met H.e.i.k.k.i K.o.v.a.l.a.i.n.e.n and F.a.i.r.u.z F.a.u.z.y of L.o.t.u.s R.a.c.i.n.g... both were very friendly and accommodating to the numerous requests for photo taking. :-) Heck, I even met the T.e.a.m P.r.i.n.c.i.p.a.l, T.o.n.y F.e.r.n.a.n.d.e.s himself (btw, I absolutely love the way he tweets live from the p.i.t w.a.l.l during races!!!).

Then, it was time for the most awaited moment!!! The p.i.t l.a.n.e w.a.l.k!!! The p.i.t l.a.n.e is really the lane where cars drive into for their p.i.t s.t.o.p. And as part of the experience, we were given an hour to walk the p.i.t l.a.n.e where all the cars garage are located... Since we all wore the L.o.t.u.s R.a.c.i.n.g tag, we were given access into the L.o.t.u.s R.a.c.i.n.g garage... and here we took numerous shots again... before continuing our walk down the pit lane...

Along the pit lane, we had the chance to see all the other teams' cars... F.e.r.r.a.r.i, M.c.L.a.r.r.e.n... you name it...

Surprisingly, when we passed R.e.d B.u.l.l's garage, the lady asked me and another colleague if we would like to enter their garage! We obviously said YES (much to the envy of those who weren't invited in... hahaha)!!! Think it was because of their generosity in allowing us in, S.e.b.a.s.t.i.a.n V.e.t.t.e.l and M.a.r.k W.e.b.b.e.r (both from the R.e.d.b.u.l.l team) won 1st and 2nd place! Kakakaka...

All in all, the experience was truly amazing and I had the time of my life! :D

Attended M.o.b.i.l.e Y.o.u.t.h yesterday and one of the biggest highlights was meeting Timothy Tiah in person:

It was kinda funny and I think Tim must have thought I'm a mad auntie stalking him... The moment he stepped in, I was so eager to go up to him and say hello... but each time I looked at him, he was always surrounded by a group of people... In the end... before I left... I walked up to him, tapped his shoulder and said: "Hi!!! You must be Timothy Tiah... I read your blog!".

Although this was the first time I met him in person, I felt as if I've known him for ages... thanks to his blog and Twitter... so imagine my excitement when I get to see him in person... He casually asked if I own a blog to which I responded by saying I do but is still in the midst of contemplating whether I should actively promote it or keep it low key as it is now...

I must say... he is a friendly guy who is quick to strike up conversations... (either that or he's used to excited strangers approaching him). He told me a story about his friend who wrote about a poll being manipulated by the "g.o.v.t"... and overnight his blog became popular. All was fine and dandy but I think I was a bit flabbergasted during the conversation... cos I dumbly said "Why?" when he told me the story about the unusual spike trend...Come to think of it... it was obvious that it was manipulated... but I had do dumbly say "Why?". Oh well... there goes his first impression of this weird auntie...

That day, I excitedly posted a tweet on how I met him in person... and surprise, surprise... he REPLIED!!!

So ya... he definitely made my day... cos' I've always admired his courage and determination to venture out on his own despite his age... (btw, he looks younger in person than in photos)... So you see... never underestimate the power of bloggers... cos' this young dude made me feel nervous and excited at the same time... just like the feeling of meeting A.v.r.i.l L.a.v.i.g.n.e, G.w.e.n S.t.e.f.a.n.i, S.e.a.n K.i.n.g.s.t.o.n etc etc in person... weird but true... :-)

Unlike conventional team building activities which involve paint ball, bowling, treasure hunt, jungle trekking etc etc... our team building consists of: A visit to A.q.u.a.r.i.a K.L.C.C... followed by a BOOZE session in a club... with Live Performances... in the middle of a working day... and shooting a video "beramai-ramai"... I must say, that this is one of the BEST team building ever... and ohhh... everything was done indoor and that made it even more perfecttt...

Here's the editor's cut ala bloopers captured during the making of B.o.o.m.d.e.y.a.d.a... the D.i.s.c.o.v.e.r.y C.h.a.n.n.e.l song... but with new lyrics... :-)

And here's the final outcome...

:-)

The last time I ate "Chilli Pan Mee" was at this place called Restaurant Kin Kin, somewhere in Ampang if not mistaken. Today, we went to another place in Kepong for their "Chilli Pan Mee". See for yourself... It's damn nice!

And here's their "Chilli" which was spicy and yummy at the same time!

Till now, my stomach's burning cos I added lots of "Chilli" earlier! Hehe... And oh, each "Chilli Pan Mee" comes with a bowl of vege soup and cost RM5... :)

Had lunch at Connaught Garden in Cheras yesterday.

According to my colleague, this place is famous for their BBQ chicken, duck, char siew and more... And true enough, when we were there, there was already a queue outside. Lucky thing we didn't had to wait long for a table...

Here's what we ordered:


Closer look at the duck (which was really nice)!


And the "char siew"... which we replenished... (i.e. ordered 2 plates by popular demand).

All in all, it was quite a nice lunch...
A total of 8 of us went... per person, we paid ~ RM15...

Last weekend, I followed OWLoon back to Kuala Selangor... And this time round, he introduced me to his favourite chicken rice stall... Considering that OWLoon only eat chicken wings and is a fussy eater, I decided to give it a try...

It was really NICE and I absolutely so love it (tho' I thought the chicken should be fatter)!!!

That night, on the way back from Kuala Selangor, we passed by Klang and dropped by "Restauran Boston Baru" for their oh so famous lala... It was as usual crowded but this time round, the food took waaaay too long to come... we waited a full 45minutes before food came!!! In the end, we left with our full stomach but somehow we thought that it just wasn't worth the long wait!

Last Saturday, there was this secondary school reunion / gathering which I thought real hard as to whether I should attend cos... (1) The attendees are mostly from Arts stream... (I'm from Science stream i.e. we're not classmates) and (2) I don't keep in touch with them until lately, when someone found someone else on Facebook and pretty soon, nearly the whole batch of students from my year was on Facebook (power of social networking sites)...

But since I had nothing on that night, I decided to just pop by for awhile cos' it's just 5min from my house. OWLoon and my parents accompanied me there but they had their drinks next door.

I entered the cafe alone and the minute I stepped in, I could feel ALL eyes on me!!! The 60 full seconds that I was at the door, I could literally feel my cheeks burning!!! Lucky thing, I saw one of my friends; Jo who quickly stood up to greet me.

Thereafter the entire night, I stayed put at where I was (next to Jo) and every now and then there'd be someone asking "Do you remember me?" or come to me and blabber out my name in FULL. Pretty amazing considering the fact that nobody calls me by my full name these days. Worst was the comment that I got non stop "Wahhh you looked so different now!!!" which was of course to me a silly remark given that the last time we met was like 13 freaking years ago. If I still look like the secondary girl I was (think mushroom short hair with thick glasses), die LOR!!!

Sigh... anyway, the entire night went on with lots of photo taking which I tried to politely stay out of cos' I just had my session at the dentist that evening and was still sore... can't really smile properly... but here's 2 of them...

I left immediately after this group shot to join OWLoon and my parents next door.

Sigh... maybe I should organize a GANG reunion. Here's a OLD picture of us with our brand new uniforms (sponsored by our school) after we mass-resigned from being prefects... Story for another day... but here are my best-est pals from Secondary School: Kok Eng, Colin, Daniel and Jackie! Dunno why but we sort of lost touch with Pei Yee (the only one in prefect uniform)...

Miss you guys!

Including Saturday and Sundays, I was away from work/office for 2 full weeks!

Since it was such a long holiday, I told myself that I ought to make everyday as productive as it can be and here's an account on the daily highlights... :)

Day 1: 20-Dec (Saturday)
Had a talk-cock-sing-song session with OWLoon & friends...

Bought a new 22inch monitor for my brother...

Day 2: 21-Dec (Sunday)
Fetched parents to replenish new bamboo shoots...
Had family reunion dinner on Dong Zhe day... and ate Tang Yuen...

Day 3: 22-Dec (Monday)
Went to serviced my Honda City with my father...

Placed deposits for new Honda City 1.5 (for my brother) and Honda Civic 1.8 (for me)...

Day 4: 23-Dec (Tuesday)
Fetched parents to EPF office to print out my mummy's annual statement...(for fun cos' her previous employer cheated her EPF... RM700 bucks became over RM7k... 27 years later!)

Day 5: 24-Dec (Wednesday)

Opened a new EON Bank account... and bought House Insurance...to satisfy some stupid housing loan criteria though my loan amount was only ~55% of property value...

Christmas Eve dinner with family...

Day 6: 25-Dec (Thursday)

Fetched parents to buy praying "materials"...

Day 7: 26-Dec (Friday)

Alan's parents visited my parents... Thereafter, OWLoon treated us to a 10-course dinner...

Day 8: 27-Dec (Saturday)

C.l.u.b H.i.t.z at B.a.r C.e.l.o.n.a... more on this later...

Day 9: 28-Dec (Sunday)

Short trip to Kuala Selangor with family + niece and nephew

Day 10: 29-Dec (Monday)

Short trip to Kuala Selangor with family + niece and nephew

Day 11: 30-Dec (Tuesday)

Return from Kuala Selangor...

Collected wedding bands... cos' OWLoon's one was custom-made...

Day 12: 31-Dec (Wednesday)

Spring cleaning my own room...

Day 13: 01-Jan (Thursday)

Haircut at Saw's

Drinks with friends at T.h.e S.o.c.i.a.l at B.a.n.g.s.a.r (my favourite hangout place now)

Day 14: 02-Jan (Friday)

Bank draft for Honda Civic down payment...

Collected my new Honda Civic from Jln 222, PJ... Yippee!!!

Ordered 2 units of Garmin GPS nuvi 205... 1 for me and 1 for my brother!

Day 15: 03-Jan (Saturday)

Handover my old Honda City to OWLoon's relative who owns a Used Car business in Kuala Selangor... Price offered was RM3K more than market value!

Day 16: 04-Jan (Sunday)

Haven't figured out what to do but I intend to lepak all day...

To sum it all up... everything I did during this 16 days period revolves around:

Come to think of it... my 16 days of leave was pretty productive! Hooray! :)

OWLoon took me to this restaurant called "Hai Ung" at Pasir Penampang, Kuala Selangor for lunch the other day. Literally, "Hai Ung" means "Sea Cloud"... take a look at the pictures below and you'll know why... :)

All the restaurants were strategically placed next to the yellow murky river called "Sg. Selangor" and were built on stilts...

We got ourselves a corner table facing the river and the clear blue sky... it was rather breezy too...

Life is indeed beautiful!

P.S. I got back with a super tanned skinned... my face especially... NO MORE lunches by the river... no matter how romantic... hehehe... wanna be a fair bride :-)

Here are the videos by D.e.s.m.o.n.d. and J.i.n. from H.i.t.z. that summarizes the 4 days and 3 nights that we spent in Jakarta for the S.o.u.l.n.a.t.i.o.n. F.e.s.t.i.v.a.l. Check out the 2nd video... I was interviewed at the end... Hooohooo...

Part 1 of 2

Part 2 of 2

But I was damn scared! Felt so uneasy to speak in front of a video cam... And btw, I wasn't looking at any scripts when I looked down, I just felt weird starring into the video cam lens... And yes... it was the last day of the hectic trip, my hair looked like shit and my eyes looked like Po from Kung Fu panda... :P

The following morning, after breakfast at the hotel... we were driven to Sea World. Sea World is a high tech modern huge aquarium exhibiting the special and diverse tropical marine life found throughout the Indonesian waters.

Here... I saw Piranhas for the first time...

And a Dugong real close... Not sure why... but the Dugong reminded me of a really fat mermaid... hehehe....

Plus, it was also here that I learnt that a crocodile has got 18 toes... 5 on each leg at the front and 4 on each leg at the back... not to mention, seeing a white crocodile...

But then I also saw something familiar... NEMO!!!

We were rather lucky that day... cos just when we were about to leave the place... it was feeding time at the main aquarium...

Suddenly, the aquarium was filled with different kinds of fishes in all shapes and sizes, turtles, sting rays and etc etc... :)

Prior to the concert, we were given our goodies which comprises of:

• Daily tickets to attend the S.o.u.l.n.a.t.i.o.n. F.e.s.t.i.v.a.l. at I.s.t.o.r.a. S.e.n.a.y.a.n.
• Tickets for special shows (A.k.o.n. on 17 Oct and A.s.h.a.n.t.i. on 18 Oct)
• F&B + games coupons
• Special A.x.i.s. wrist tag for priority lane + access to the hospitality lounge
• Limited edition goodies: CD, T-Shirt, Lanyard + an A.x.i.s. S.o.u.l.n.a.t.i.o.n. Pack

But that night, the traffic was truly horrendous! We arrived at I.s.t.o.r.a. S.e.n.a.y.a.n. slightly late... lucky thing the C.h.e'N.e.l.l.e. performance was scheduled for later...

We got ourselves parked at the front row... in front of the barricades... And while waiting for C.h.e'N.e.l.l.e., we found ourselves being entertained by a cute DJ called DJ C-b.u...

Just when we thought C.h.e'n.e.l.l.e. was up next, I.Z. & the N.u-F.i.r.m. from Australia entertained us further... This guy has got 2 really hot dancers... and has a peculiar habit of throwing sweaty towels to screaming crowd...

At ~10.30pm, the long awaited C.h.e'N.e.l.l.e. finally came on stage!!! The minute the music is played for "I_F.e.l.l_I.n_L.o.v.e_w.i.t.h_t.h.e_D.J", the crowd roared enthusiastically...

That night C.h.e'N.e.l.l.e. also performed her brand new song called "First Love". The song was rather catchy and I particularly liked the chorus that went... "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-first love"... Really... you should check it out! Not bad for our Malaysian girl!

After a great performance by C.h.e'N.e.l.l.e, we made our way to the main stage to watch the special show for the night... A.k.o.n! We were queueing with the rest of the queue before we were told that we could go straight in with our A.x.i.s. tags... Damn cool!

A.k.o.n's DJ for the night; DJ B.e.n.n.y-D. was a real cool dude... For one he wore a kilt and a few of the radio guys swore that he didn't had anything underneath... Secondly, he was really pumped up and energetic! But that was of course before A.k.o.n's appearance on stage...

When A.k.o.n. came on stage; he delivered one after another of his hit songs... and crowd just went MADDD!!! Towards the end, he threw himself to the crowd and the crowd body surfed him around... But ahem... his security dudes were rather protective thus when the crowd couldn't get near enough to A.k.o.n, our cool dude found himself lying flat on the floor at least twice... Come to think of it, it was kinda funny.

Actually, it was quite a challenge to capture A.k.o.n. with a normal digital camera cos when the lights were dimmed... leaving the surrounding dark... he somewhat blended in with the darkness! Nevertheless, it was a spectacular performance and I had a great time!