A Fishy Story: The Fish Spa

Went to tis fish spa therapy in The Pavilion (where they hav the second The Loaf, owned by Dr M). It is a new trend in kl. The Garra Rufa fishes were imported from Turkey, n the fish spa concept is quite a hit in Japan. The customer soaks in water stocked with fish that nibble on their skin, removing dead cells and reportedly clearing up skin conditions, leaving ur skin glowing. The idea is to soak ur whole body into the "fish tank" so u could hav a whole body therapy, but the 1 here is just for the feet. Prob becos they're testing the market?
At first, u'd feel hesitant (js like the donuts) n when u submerge ur feet into the water, an immediate tickling sensation is felt n u'd instantly pull ur feet out of the water. But thinking tat u r paying for the treatment, so heck, js give it another darn shot. It still feels itchy n funny, having tiny fishes, which i could swear i saw 1 measuring 3.5", nibbling from ur feet. After a 30 min session, to my pleasant surprise, it did live up to its promise. Ur feet do look somewat exfoliated n clean. It is a fun n refreshing idea. After all, u js gotta come up with smtg to celebrate ur 8th anniversary together...

Somewat cruelly ironic?

I had a fren who once claimed tat he is against ppl who r rude n does not appreciate frenship n thoughfullness. I m agreeable on tat as i find it too annoying when someone is being bluntly impolite n offensive. I believe tat there is a line when it comes to ur frens n ppl tat u know or communicate with. And it is tis line tat determines the level of respect n appreciation tat is trusted to be mutual. But once tis line is crossed, the respect n frenship is breached.
It is js like u, being all warm n welcoming ppl into ur hse. Along come tis fella, insult u rite under ur roof. Tat's it, u'll be thinking. Out, he goes. Wat's more, the fella insult u twice in ur territory.
I feel tat one must be mindful when it comes to making remarks n hurting ur frens' feelings. So, if by any chance i do exactly tat, pls tell me. I certainly know how bad tat feels n dun mean to cause any unhappiness to ppl around me, unless when it's called for.

Another thing I've discovered is tat eventho u dun bother urself with entertainment news, some degree of it will still somehow get to u, especially when u hav colleagues who r in/involve/know the entertainment industry so well. We do hav a few humble local beauties, n of course we hav 1 particular 1 who appears front page in a national newspaper because of skydiving (as tho we dun hav bigger news), a drama abt an extra-marital affair etc.. Even my instructor loathe the idea of going to a fitness centre becos the bothersome posters of hers everywhere. And same goes to a local cafe here. Compare to her, the other deserving celebrities certainly keep their profile low n humble. Think the elegant Rachel Tan, gorgeous Carmen Soo, graceful Angel Yeoh n sweet Belinda Chee. But of course these r mere personal opinions. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions becos everyone see things differently.
And if u do disagree with somebody else's say, u could always point out the other side of things abt the particular issue, n not by attacking that person. I feel tis is the rite way?

Oh, js a lil piece of info.
-a wannabe means a person who likes to imitate, or even wishes to be, another, but cannot achieve it due to physical, psychological, financial, cultural, political, religious, or mental limitations...
a line dance is a formation dance in which a group of ppl dance in 1 or more lines, executing the same movements...
-a belly dance is a Middle Eastern dance in which the dancer makes sensuous movements of the hips n abdomen.

So there's a world of difference btw a line dance n a belly dance. There's also a massive difference in being a wannabe n a student, who hasn't gotten any paper but is good in it.

Sweeping one off one's feet

Eventho mystery/thriller movies like Swordfish, Minority Report or The Sixth Sense, or dramas like Gladiator, Ru Pin Hua or Twin Peaks r good, but as good as they r, they couldn't give tis wonderful no-words-can-describe on-top-of-the-world attachment as happy ending romance movies. I dun mean movies like Butterfly Lovers, Fly Me to Polaris, Ah Lang's Story, Remains of The day, Cold Mountain or Lust, Caution. Those, on the other hand, give either an empty n miserable &/or a disturbing feeling.

I'm talking abt stories tat leave a lingering n contented feeling. He must be protective like Shin in Princess Hours, defeated like Darcy in Pride n Prejudice, blind/attentive like Michael in When A Man Loves A Woman, needed like Sam in Sleepless in Seattle, believing yet lost like Ted Mosby in HIMYM (more a sitcom, but i js love him!) n vulnerable like Howl in Howl's Moving Castle. Yes, i believe in fairy tales in movies. Great happy-ending ones. Like wat Briony said in Atonement "Why not give them the happy ending tat they deserve?"

Pesto n Pasta

Recently i hav tried this pesto recipe to go with my pasta. I combined the recipe from http://savorynotebook.blogspot.com/search/label/Pesto n from my food book:

50gm fresh basil leaves (jusco/tesco), 2 med cloves of garlic, ≤50gm pine nuts(jusco), abt 150ml olive oil, n a pinch of salt. For longer storage purpose, I added more olive oil. As for the cheese, i only add them when cooking per time n not beforehand, usually rite after turning off the heat. To make the pesto, combine all the ingredients in a food processor/mortal n pestle. Then pour into a glass jar n store in the fridge. Scope out 2 tbsp per person when u make ur meal. Dun forget the cheese.

1) This is the home-made pesto (no basil sprinkle cos ran out of them). The texture is not as fine as those u get from the stores, but i actually prefer it tat way cos u could taste more of the basil leaves.

2) This is bought-pesto. Notice tat it is less green as it is mass produced n oxidation is inevitable.

Donuts Craze

Like the Rotiboy Mexican bun obsession a few years back, the donuts craze is now in town. We've got Dunkin' Donuts, J.Co n Big Apple, the big boys in the donut business right here. We r only missing Krispy Kreme, which apparently turned down our application to start their franchise in Malaysia a few years ago. And now I would say they miss the train cos usually the first ones in the game would gain more.
Food-wise, I hav made a comparison n the list starts with my fav. To be consistent, I try to compare the plain ones first like the glazzy, original glazed, old fashion, n then extend to the rest of the flavours.

1) J.Co
Before it was born in KL, I was told abt their great donuts when I visited Jakarta. I remember thinking "it's just a doughnut" n so we went to hav our nasi padang, bakso, layer cake (Eaton's have great layer cakes, try their original n coffee flavors) etc etc n din bother abt the humble doughnut. But now tat I've savored them - I wouldn't ever say the same. Eventho they're sweet (tried the trick with the black coffee - they're still sweet) but they're so pillow-soft n before u know it, u've gobbled down 4 in a go. With their 22 varieties - this is definitely THE FAVOURITE.

2) Big Apple
I first had them in KK. I love their not-so-sweet concept. It is so to go with the local demand. In term of texture, it couldn't compete with J.Co.


3) Krispy Kreme
They hav tis Chocolate Cruller tat is somewat similar to the Windmill at D. Donuts. I had them on a winter morning n I would say yes - it's a good n filling breakfast, although I couldn't agree on the satisfaction. Prob becos of my expectation since K. Kreme is suppose to be "legendary" (m starting to use tis word quoted by Barney in HIMYM).

4) Dunkin' Donuts
Bad. As hard as rock, but they do offer the most variety. They've got 52 types with only 40 avail in msia. Tho I do think tat Munchkins is a good product. U get to save plus make a finger food out of it for convenience. Despite it being the worst, it had tapped into the msia market n had been growing steadily since 1987.


I still remember how it was during the Rotiboy era. One of their outlets was right below my workplace. And boy, think we had them almost everyday. And at busy days, we'd hav them delivered! The delivery was from another outlet. So all together, there were 3 outlets just lingering around where I use to work so u could imagine the frequency I had them.

Everyone is "cousin"

We all get confused at 1 stage or another how to address certain relatives, especially if u hav an extensive family (Note tat u dun hav any special titles for relatives thru marriage. In other words since they're not blood-related, they're not counted as relatives).

Generally, every1 knows tat
A nuclear family is made up of father, mother and one or more children living together.
A single-parent family is one where either the mother or father is caring for the children in the family.
(Both the "nuclear family" and the "single-parent family" are also called the "immediate family".)

Second families
"Step-" is used to show tat it is from another marriage. "Half-" is for anything new in the second (or third) marriage.

The sister/brother of ur grandparent is actually ur great-aunt/great-uncle, n not grand aunt/grand uncle, as in the diagram. I simply dun hav a better diagram.



Ok, here comes the "Cousin" part:

A cousin is a relative, other than an ancestor or descendant who shares a common ancestor (basically, every1 young or in the same age range like u in a family-get-together, is a counsin, u wouldn't go wrong there).

Parallel cousin r those who are in the same descent group as u and are from the parent's same-sexed sibling. A cross cousin is from the parent's opposite-sexed sibling. Simply put, a parallel cousin is a first cousin who is the child of the father's brother (paternal uncle's child) or the mother's sister (maternal aunt's child), while a cross cousin is the child of the mother's brother (maternal uncle's child) or of the father's sister (paternal aunt's child).

Double first cousins arise when two siblings reproduce with another set of siblings and the resulting children are related to each other through both parents' families (How cool is tat?).

Generally, the words cousin-sister/cousin-brother does not exist in proper English. These r the terms, tat i read somewhere, first introduced by English-speaking Indians, which just refer to female cousin/male cousin. And now these terms r widely n generally used in Malaysia n Singapore. Sad.

Today we did a little revision n 2 new dances. One of them is The Last Waltz - 1 wall 48 count. It is not a new song. Basically it's something like the basic waltz steps cos after all the turning, u wind up facing the same wall, except tat in the real waltz u stand on the exact location as u first started but in this dance - no, u ended up toward the first wall. The steps r harder than the basic waltz tho. And the hand movements. I always hated the hands.