genius finds on pinterest

i go on pinterest multiple times a day. most times, it's to kill time. other times, it's just to make me feel creative. plenty of times, it's to find inspiration and be inspired. sometimes though, i'll come across ingenious ideas and stuff that make me slap my own forehead and go .. "oh hey! why didn't i think of that?".

here are a few of such things :

1. use vintage necklaces or any necklace you can find as curtain tie-backs. also works with bangles .. i've tried it before. but necklaces looks prettier especially when you layer them like this:

Source: uktv.co.uk via Ellisha on Pinterest

2. a comb as a nail-holder-upper thing? GENIUS!! PURE AWESOME GENIUSLOSITY!

Source: realsimple.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

3. DIY amplifier? just put your iphone/ipod in a bowl.

Source: realsimple.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

4. Balloon Ping Pong? Will do this for Arwen.

Source: theweekendhomemaker.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

5. packing list? i need this. i mean, i already have one but not as pretty or organized as this.

Source: containerstore.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

6. upcycled baby cot.

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Alice on Pinterest

7. and to think that we always throw away the plastic bread tie thing?

Source: mykotori.com via jennifer_f on Pinterest

Source: unplggd.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

8. a simple rubber band to rid of all that drip and mess on the side of the can? seriously, why didnt i think of this?

Source: inmyownstyle.com via Robin on Pinterest

9. if i'm really into crafting and scrapbooking ... this is a genius idea.

Source: bing.com via Amanda on Pinterest

10. cable mess? solved!

Source: howaboutorange.blogspot.com via Kali on Pinterest

11. paper towel holder turn bangle holder

Source: halfofvamh.blogspot.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

12. upcycled sauce squeeze bottle as pancake dispenser

Source: lifehacker.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

13. empty bottles/canister as headband holder. good lifehack for when you have a girl.

Source: thegainesgang4.blogspot.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

14. don't wanna wash that paint tray? foil it. GENIUS!

Source: marthastewart.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

15. huge plastic glasses .. wine rack ... instant organisation.

Source: mycasestudies.blogspot.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

16. now i know what else to do with Arwen's 'bego's

Source: filthwizardry.com via Ellisha on Pinterest

17. frapp cups as anti-mess toddler friendly paint cups? seriously?

Source: michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com via Jamy on Pinterest

18. thinking of ways to pack cupcakes individually for parties? SOLVED!

Source: cookiemadness.net via Janet on Pinterest

that's pinteresting

i know this is probably nothing new, but i have a newfound obsession (for now) which has basically taken up all my free time for the past couple of weeks. which is not a reason for me neglecting this blog, coz it has been forgotten about for months. i havent even brought myself to write letters to arwen anymore because one, i havent been taking her photos as crazily as i normally would. and 2. it's hard to keep up with her so i kinda gave up and just let it be. see, that's now uninterested i am with life this blog.

but i digress. back to what i wanted to talk about ....



i think everybody else in the entire planet is already on pinterest but me. oh my god, where have i been? how can this awesome place be totally out of my radar? i know about other image bookmarking sites like tumblr, FFFOUND, the fancy ... but pinterest is totally my kind of place. and all beautiful stuff shared there by other people whose style and taste are just about similar to mine ... is not even the best part yet. the best part is that i get to categorize the images in their respective inspiration boards for easy reference, especially when i do my designs. this is the virtual equivalent to me physically pinning magazine cutouts and tearsheets into my inspiration book when i was in high school / uni days.

i am having so much fun with this that it has basically take up all my free time. i'm pinning when i'm in the office, when i'm taking the train to and from work, when i am lying next to my daughter while she watches her disney princess movies. all the time. sometimes till 1 in the morning.



so, this is what you'll see when you look at my boards.
1. i love typography. (well this is already a given)
2. i love the milky way.
3. i love black & white
4. i love stripes.
5. i love baby animals
6. i aspire to have an actual home office someday
7. but before that, a home that i can style according to my style
8. i am into Tiffany Blue for rooms
9. i am all about jeans
10. i like braids
11. i am thinking about coloring my hair deep red
12. like every other girl, i like heels but i cannot wear them for a long time.
13. i really wanna go to greece
14. i have a serious sweet tooth
15. i love Nutella on anything!

so if you wanna follow me and share what i like, i am at www.pinterest.com/lishajohanabas

try having your uterus feels like it's tied in all kinds of nautical knots all at once. and i tell you to shut your complaining. yeah, i thought so.

so, yesterday i was rendered disabled due to my dysmenorrhea (yeah, i am being fancy today, go away). for those of you who have been with me for more than 3 months, or have been reading me through the years, would know that this is typical of me. even my almost 3 year old daughter already knows how unbelievable inactive and snappy i get when i get my period. she knows to stay clear away from me.

usually, i'd get my (almost monthly) MC at this clinic near my place. the doctor has been attending to the family for as long as he's opened the clinic there. he was even at my wedding. he knows my history, he can even tell what is wrong with me just as i walk into his examination room. he'd ask the normal question about my cycle every time, to see if there's any changes or anything. and then he'd give me the MC, no judgment, no questions.

but yesterday, the clinic was full so he had to call backup. this locum doctor, i have never met yet. i dont think he even bothered to check my medical records before he saw me. not trying to sound like a homophobe, or judgemental, but he was kind of 'soft' or perhaps just softspoken.

anyway.

i'm about to press a complain to my family doctor. here was my experience in conversation, you just gonna have to dramatize it in your head :

doc : ok. kenapa ni?
me : period pain, doc. every month memang problem.
doc : ok, saya tekan perut. jangan marah ye? *pressing ovaries* sini sakit?
me : tak, saya senggugut, sakit dekat peranakkan.
doc : *knowing it would be inappropriate to press any lower* oh, ok. pinggang sakit?
me : sakit.
doc : you kena minum air banyak-banyak.
me : minum
doc : yelaaa... memang lah you minum, takkan tak minum. kena banyak. 2-3 liters a day.
me : ok. (malas nak layan)
doc : makan kena jaga... *looking me up and down* jangan cakap you jaga, ok? nampak sangat tak jaga
me : (celaka je!)
doc : makan berapa kali sehari?
me : 3 kali, breakfast, lunch, dinner.
doc : what time?
me : Nine.. One.. Eig...
doc : kena makan small portions, regularly ok. SMALL PORTIONS.
me : (celaka lagi!) actually i memang every month macam ni... sejak umur 13 tahun...
doc : ye lah, kita period memang biasa sakit ...
me : (kita? really, dude? you wanna go there?)
doc : .... tapi bukan takde jalan penyelesaiannya... kena usaha.
me : ok
doc : pergi pharmacy.... cari EPO... tau apa EPO?
me : yes, i makan evening primrose oil
doc : yelah, EPO lah tu
me : (that's what i said)
doc : takpe, i bagi you synflex and folic acid. folic acid ni bukan untuk pregnant je tau...
me : oh, folic acid i tak boleh terima. masa pregnant dulu pun i tak boleh langsung.. sure muntah. kuat sangat kot ubat tu....
doc : No! kalau you muntah bukan bermakna ubat tu kuat.. you tu alah.
me : (oh! sorrryyy!)
doc : takpe kita bagi yang lain. ada apa-apa lagi?
me : nak MC harini.
doc *now, looking at my records* Eh! you baru lagi MC ni.. 24/6/11? mana boleh kejap-kejap MC ... kena jaga-jaga ni!
me : eh? tapi i last MC 27/5? ni azrin laaaa... my husband, see his name here!
doc : takpelaaa... *looking at the nurse/assistant* dia nak kita bagi je laaaaa
me : thank you. *stormed out without even acknowledging him as a doctor*

i told my brother about this this morning and told him i wanna complain. he, still laughing at my dispense, asked me why? i said "well... because he was disrespectful and a jackass .... and most importantly is because i can't handle the truth!"

date a girl who reads

(reblogged from superbunneh!!! because it's too beautiful and too true not to share)



Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilightseries.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

- Rosemarie Urquico

(note the part that says "have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes". when i introduce Arwen to an aunt, she asked where i got the name from and i said, "Lord of the Rings, of course", and she said "La! i thought it was from a book or something". i went .."yeah, ok.")

photo credit : flickr

decor diy

we live in the biggest room in the house but as with hoarders and collectors like us, it's cramped up with a lot of clutter and shit. so to remedy that, i've come up with a couple of decor diy solutions. i'm pretty proud of myself looking at how they turned out :

Hack No. 1 :
We have a long mirror that Arwen loves to use. But the husband for some reason, refuses to drill a screw in the wall to put it up. So what i did was to just wedge it against the wall, on top of a reused A4 paper box that is, for the lack of a better word, fucking ugly.




Enter an old tie-die top that used to fit me nicely but now barely covers my boobs.



'dress' the box with the top and what do we have? a pretty awesome cover-up, i reckon.




Hack No. 2 :
We have an open shelve cabinet where we store some of our unopened wedding gifts that await our hypothetical home; my jewelry boxes; some of arwen's more expensive books that will have to wait till she's at least 7 before she can handle them; some of the samples of works i've done from the office; and more stuff than i care to list down. it's a mess!



An unused shawl and stapler gun later, the clutter is out of sight out of mind.

what's in my ....

Did you know that there's an actual flickr group dedicated to the voyeurism into people's bags? i have a confession to make, i like browsing through them. really. pathetic, i know. but you get glimpses into people's lives and personality just by looking at what they carry. especially when it's done in diptychs such as my favorite bag-content-pornographer, JTrav. I love his set!

Anyway, here's my contribution to the group and thought i'd share it here too. although these are stuff that i carry almost on a daily basis, they only define just one dimension of my life. i actually have a lot more stuff and bags than these. like, my mom bag for when i have my kid with me, and my geekology bag for stuff that makes me a geek, and my camera bag. actually my camera is a bit of a whore because she can get into whatever bag i want it to. those bags will need a different post altogether.

what's in my bag :

1. leather Sembonia slingbag, a gift from my husband | 2. Mom's old Boss sunnies - she felt it was too big for her face after investing thousands on it so she gave it to me. | 3. wallet. i got it 2 for RM30 at berjaya times square. i love it because it has a lot of compartments and i can even stuff my phone in there. | 4. whatever you think, think the opposite book by legendary adman, paul arden. it's my creative bible. | 5. lipstick | 6. blackberry - on loan (probably permanently) from my husband until i get my own iPhone. | 7. hairbrush | 8. house keys | 9. coin purse | 10. 8gig thumbdrive | 11. Knowbrainer - brainstroming guidebook | 12. a fan - just in case | 13. crayons - for arwen, in case we're stuck waiting for something | 14. another lipstick - i looks like a tampon, i know. | 15. colgate mouthwash | 16. l'occitane lavender lotion | 17. sebamed lipbalm | 18. maybelline lipbalm | 19. kit lip sheen | 20. a black pen | 21. pepper spray | 22. rosewater hand therapy by crabtree & evelyn


what's in my make-me-less-a-monster bag :

1. elizabeth arden make-up bag (hantaran gift) | 2. blusher | 3. another blusher (i am a bit obsessed with cheek colouring) | 4. Body & Soul face powder | 5. blusher brush | 6. maybelline mascara | 7. garnier brightening eye roll | 8. benetint | 9. elianto liquid eyeliner | 10. lipstick (nude) | 11. another lipstick (brick) | 12. a tweezer | 13. arimino mint scalp lotion

unifi problem solved. finally.

our unifi connection at home was at a halt for more than 15 days. the first 3 days, was bad enough, but to go on longer and we didnt know when the connection will be up again, was a bit exasperating. we were starting to foam at the mouth and turning into zombies without internet. internet is that addictive. it has redefined our way and quality of life. so you can imagine 15 something days without it. pretty much like caffeine withdrawal.

my brother has been calling and nagging TM almost everyday asking them what's the problem and what's the timeline they're gonna give until unifi was up and running again. everyday, they say it's due to faulty underground cable in our area. fine, they say they'll give us rebate for every day we can't get the service. but my ballsy brother went "i don't care if you rebate me a hundered ringgit a day. my sister and brother have businesses to run and if they rugi, are you going to cover for that? 7 years with Streamyx, we didnt have this problem that went of for this long." thank you, falie.

until last wednesday, he called again asking what's going on and what's been done to correct this problem and he would not take the underground cable crashing excuse anymore, TM says that technically, our area in Lembah Keramat, we're not supposed to get unifi connection yet. because apparently, the application's not approved, and the equipment is incomplete. like, wtf, right? if it's not approved, why tell us it's available? why put up buntings around our area announcing we can have unifi? why lie about the whole underground cable thing? seriously TM, wtf?

so my ballsy brother, again, now gripping them by the balls, telling them that "it's not our problem that the application's not approved. even if we're the only house subscribing to unifi in our area, TM has to do something about it. or else, i'd do something. i'll lodge a complain to the media." that shook them up, i suppose. because the very next day, TM people came to our house, fixed the problem and viola! we have internet.

thank you, falie.

and thank you TM for that 'speedy' service.

ain't love the sweetest thing?

i was craving for macarons when i was pregnant. it was one of the stuff that i craved for randomly but it wasnt as serious as Portuguese Egg Tart and burger sepah from ampang, because even though the cravings were crazy, i was still realistic. i know that it's almost impossible to get macarons then so i didn't really paid mind to it. until i saw people were getting them with easy availability in KL that i went searching for it again. and knowing i can't go anywhere without my husband to drive me around, i dropped hints that i want him to get me some macarons.

he obviously didnt know what they were, even though he's been to france. so i told him about it and he went all gung-ho and did a research about the history of macarons like as if he was writing a dissertation about it. i just want my sweets, can or not?

so, on his way back from a 6 days course in Melaka last week, he called me telling he's dropping off my lunch. and then he gave me a surprise of box of macarons from babycakes. it's the little things such as that make married people fall in love over and over again. because no more impressions have to be made, and no more facade that we have to keep up to jade the perspective. just macarons.

i mean look at them!

first thing we do during the weekend is ask ourselves what and where to eat

i dont know how we got from a discussion about an impromptu breakfast NZ wangsa maju to breakfast at levain and suddenly ended up at the curve. all in just 10 minutes.

since we're going to harvey norman to look at some chairs for my SOHO, ayis thought we might as well have brunch there. by the time we reached the curve, we didnt know what or where to eat. ayis suggested we try dining at Garden. we go to the curve almost every week, yet never really wanted to eat there, thinking it's too posh. but after taking a look at the menu, we decided it's all within our range, and taste. so we tried. and suffice to say, we'll be coming back.

and i don't normally bring my camera with me because we've got so much stuff to carry with arwen and all. but since arwen likes to be in her stroller these days, and i've got a free hand, i'm taking the camera everywhere. and also coz i realize that i didnt have that many of her photos for her last month's letter (which is coming up soon once i sorted out the photos).. so yeah, this happens

looking for a (replica) designer chair is akin to searching for the meaning of life

since i bought the macbook, and falie has gotten unifi installed, setting my my little SOHO in our room is only the natural decision. it's practically where we live most of the time. thing is though, the room has a lot of furniture :

a queen sized bed, a cot that has turned into arwen's daybed in the day and co-sleeper by night, a dressing table, a 3-door wardrobe, a cabinet storing mostly our unopened wedding gifts (that await a new home when or if we ever get one), two side tables which we've stacked on top of one another and store arwen's diapers, arwen's chest of drawers for all her clothes, a rack for more stuff, a trolly for arwen's milk-making stuff, a TV, a glass cabinet for ayis' collectibles like his collection of miniature katana, more samurai paraphernalia, gundam robots, little star wars whatevers, and also some Aliens. seriously. i didnt even wanna look at them when i was pregnant. we've got 2 carpets on either side of the bed, and more stuff under the bed, out of sight out of mind.

yes, our room is pretty 'semak'. but it's cozy, i like it. i dont mind a little makeover however like having lesser shit in the mix, but i think i'd save all that trouble for our hypothetical home.

after a few days working on the bed (i know it's bad), and sometimes, working on arwen's little knee-high table, i set up my work area on our dressing table. after hitting my head a few times against the wall for not coming up with the idea sooner. and it's nice, coz i can still watch the TV from the reflection on the dressing table's mirror.

unfortunately though, i do not have a nice and comfortable chair for my work area. so right now i'm using a one seater sofa that my mom was gonna throw away. it's comfortable, yes. but it's too heavy and bulky and doesnt have the right height. so my arms are opened like buffalo wings whenever i'm doing my work. it's straining. and having fat-weighted wings doesnt help much.

so i went to cavenzi looking for a pretty yet cheap option for a side chair. found one. it's covered with black velvet and engraved with greyish damask design. i love it. however, it costs RM300. for one chair. that's ridiculous, man. i went to cavenzi coz i thought it'd be cheap. so the search continues. i browsed through ikea catalog and didnt find one that i like.

now, next item in my wishlist, im looking for something like the famous Kartell Louis Ghost Armchair. i saw some a few months ago, used as decor in a restaurant at Wangsawalk Mall. yes yo! like for actual people to sit on and dine and have kids jump up and down on. i almost cried when my kid did that. so i figured, there must be a cheap replica of that chair, right?


image source : entrez-openhouse

the closest i could find was at homelife, and they brand it as Angel Chair. but heck man, it's going at RM700 for one. that's much too much for me.



although the black one makes me REALLY want to have it, regardless the crazy price tag.



mind blowing, right? always have a thing for black and white.


so, internet, if you have any idea where i could get a lookalike for a fraction of the price, please let me know. thanks.

are you in the mood for a quicky?

of course you are. nymphos. no, not that kind of quicky. just some quick point-form updates before you think i'm dead. no, i'm not dead yet, because i've been quite twee-kative of sorts lately.

1. ok so i just bought a new Macbook. wanted to get a Macbook pro but kinda fell in love with the pretty whiteness of the Macbook and they say there's really not much difference, except price-wise. i love my new toy! i love it even more because i bought it myself. did not ask it from mom (usually the first person i ask from cause she's our resident zeti akhtar aziz), or the husband, or the brothers or anyone. which makes me even more protective over it.
   
   
2. really had to get it coz i was getting desperate since there's some restructuring in the office and things have gone a little well, big-brotherly. hence, other non-office activities have to be done at home. i'm paying for it using what i'm getting from the business. so yeah, i've done my calculations.
   
   
3. this is where the 2 years of accounting i did (or didnt really do) in high school pays off. which is awesome because i never thought i'd be using any of the knowledge later in life. when i was doing it .. it felt like a waste of time.
   
   
4. but, doing extra-whatever work at home is starting to take a toll on my sleep. coz i only get to do it after arwen's asleep, which is usually around 10pm, sometimes even 11.30. so i have to get her to bed first, and that takes up a lot of energy. not that i mind it as that's the only window that i get to spend with her after work. but after that, im pretty beat to be thinking and designing.
   
   
5. and i'll usually finish up on stuff and emailing people at 1 or 2 in the morning so they have something to look at when they arrive at work. and then i'll take a rest and watch the TV till i fall asleep which is usually around 2.30-3 am. and then wake up at 8 something. i'm almost always tired every day. but what to do?
   
   
6. my brother got me a crumpler backpack for my new computer as my really early birthday gift. thank you, falie. and he changed our router so we can get better and ubiquitous connection. he also booked us unifi and ... hells yeah!
   
   
7. arwen's turning two in a about 8 weeks. nope, no parties. maybe we'll have a little open house for family get-together cum celebration after we get back from Pekan/JB this raya.
   
   
8. business front, i had to revise my payment terms and conditions coz i'm tired of getting duped by unethical customers. if setakat cancel last minute can tahan a bit the geram but when it's delivered, and after 2 months pun still no payment, that is too much.
   
   
9. i made a couple boxes of business cards so i can do some direct marketing whenever i go out and see random pregnant ladies or strangers with kids. i tried giving out my business card to a couple of moms last saturday at ikano/curve. i felt somewhat poyo. even ayis told me i'm such an embarrassment. not because i don't have balls to do it, but because i embarrass him. yes, he's very encouraging, my husband.
   
   
10. so in the end, i gave a stack to ili & faiz, and a stack to my mom, and probably will give a stack to falie and ayis so they can do some marketing for me with their friends/colleagues.
    
    
11. arwen's newsletter will be posted soon(ish) so yeah, hasta luego.
    

ok that's all the updates i have for now. boring, i know. i lead a boring ass life, what else can i write about? i seriously need to learn to make some ridiculously awesome infographics when i'm up for a quicky next time ... at least give banality a little bit of funk.

the day i almost compulsively bought a house but thank god, ayis, my voice of reason smacked some sense into me

by right, i'm suppose to write this a long time ago but laziness and busyness got the best of me. anyway, a couple of weeks ago, we went to carrefour wangsa maju to look for a small and light stroller for arwen to be used during our le tour de singapore this coming weekend. yes, we don't mind going to carrefour for strollers, go away. we didn't find one that we liked. and in the end, i bought ayis an ironman mask / helmet as his really belated birthday gift. i do not understand what's with men and toys, but i love how their face light up when they have new toys. boys will be boys, i guess.

on our way to our car, we were stopped by this salesman, pitching to us about this property called Symphony Heights, situated between Jalan Kuching-Selayang and just side of the MRR2. the entire pitch got us interested, especially when he said that we only need to put down RM500 for booking. loan downpayment, SPA, legal fees and all that, will be borne by the developer. RM500 and we got ourselves a house. once loan is approved and what not, we'll only need to start to pay after the the place is done, which is probably by end of 2012.

so that weekend, took my mom and my brother to come along and view the show units. suffice to say, we were very very impressed. the ID did a good job on the show units because we immediately fell in love with a couple of the units. the balcony is really spacious, the kitchen not so much but with the right planning and renovation, it has a lot of potential. the rooms are okay and the toilets are really big! the units are actually bigger and cheaper as compared to my cousin's place in Metropolitan Square, Damansara. but in terms of facilities and swimming pools, Metropolitan Square wins hands down lah.

i started to visualize how and what i can do with the place if it's mine. seriously, if it was up to me, i'd give the salesperson the RM500 there and then. and the salesperson was very smart. he called us for a discussion in the show unit itself.

but ayis was not so interested in the place. one, because of its location. the units facing KLCC-MRR2 seems okay, but the ones kononnya facing the Titiwangsa ridge, mostly just overlooking the slums in selayang. not saying that people who live in selayang are living in slums but that's just the impression that we got. and secondly, the units left available were really high up - 29th floor and above. both of us can get really altophobic at times so highrise living isn't really for us. thirdly, the development is leasehold. not really wise for long-term investment and considering the location, and we don't think we can get much if we put it up for rental, even. fourthly, because it's so near to Batu Caves. so, can you imagine the traffic? not just during Thaipusam, but during normal working days?

so yeah, now we're back house hunting. although we're not in a rush, because life, for now is comfortable - i mean, living with my family, arwen's baby sitter is just a few doors down, and my workplace is just 5 mins away - nice as it is, i think we still need to try to live it out on our own for a while.

i always thought that my birthday was a special day but heck yeah, it's more special than i thought! (perasan mode on!)

i just found out something cool about my birthday. see i was born at 2 something PM on 31 December 1979, which was on a monday. and the islamic date was 10 Safar 1400H. the cool part of it is that it was during the beginning of a new islamic century, at the beginning of the week, and on the eve of a new decade. how eventful is that? i gotta thank my mom for holding me in for 5-6 days longer than she should have.

weekend in (faved) photos

photos courtesy of the wonderful Miss Ili Aris

had a wonderful food-filled weekend with wonderful family from near and far (some who just met arwen for the first time) which i'll blog about later coz i need to process photos from my brother's camera. and the coming weekend will be my beautiful cousin Mona's much anticipated wedding (they've been engaged for like what? 2 years? damn right it's much anticipated).

i'm like, the laziest workaholic there is

i'm in the midst of getting my work portfolio in order. 3 years worth of work is no joke, man. im the only copywriter in this agency and we have 3 art directors cum designers, so compiling all the jpegs from 3 designers is hard work. nak muntah dah. but luckily they are cool people, so they don't mind me bothering them about these things. but why am i compiling? maybe it's because i'm starting to panic. we have a couple of these cool people jumping ships already and i know, from experience, this will take turn for the worst. when one leaves, especially one of the best, most reliable one, the rest will surely follow. but no, i have not send out my resume yet. i'm not testing waters yet. i'm pretty comfortable here. i wish i'd make more money, but considering the 'perks' (personal, not managerial) i'm having, i think i'll bear with it for a little while longer. and furthermore, we're looking to buy a house this year, so it'd be wise if i do not jump ship as yet.

if i leave though, i don't think i'll be going back to working in advertising. maybe i'll jump over to the client's side. maybe i'll go into academics. i have almost 10 years of industry experience, it'd be selfish if i'd just kept it to myself. right? plus, with the kid and everything else in my life, i think i have so much more to lose now to the obscure world of advertising. i think i should find something more permanent, and sure. something that doesnt take me away from my family until insane hours into the night. i need to work somewhere that gives me more mom hours.

on another less serious work note, my poster business is back in full gear. i've tried putting it off and 'close shop' for a month because i've been terribly busy. and during that 'break' i find that it's easy for me to lose touch of what keeps me happy - being artsy. and i even 'forgot' to design a couple of posters for a couple of people because they assured me that it's okay to take my time doing it. thing is, it only takes me a couple of hours to whip up a design and in that two hours, i'm happy. so, that's why i've decided to just get the business back in full swing, no matter how busy i am with work. i think i can spare a few minutes, or hour of the day cooking up a poster or two.

this is also one of the reasons why i can't look for another job yet because there's no way i can do this poster business thing as conveniently as i can now. Unless i do it during the weekends, and at night after arwen's asleep. which means that the turnaround time would be much longer and i just hate to keep clients waiting.

argh. the conundrum.

a new perspective

it's been a while since a proper update. i gotta make a living and this blog is not giving me money so you understand why i dont pay that much attention to it. and besides, there's nothing much to update coz ive been spending too much time at work and not with life.  but work, despite hectic and tiring, we're still having fun because, like kids, we easily find things that can amuse and entertain us. in our case, the new managers.

Ayis has been away for 5 days since thursday for his BTN course. and then arwen had fever again probably coz she's missing her dad too much. we didnt get that much sleep until last night, my mom and i. which makes me worry because next month, ayis will be away again for much longer. he's got an induction course in Kluang from the 10th-25th.

My cousins will be flying in from perth next month too for another cousin's wedding. so we're planning a little cousins only get-together on one saturday although im not sure i will be attending since ayis wont be around and i have to leave the kid at home. we've did that before, going for a party and leaving the kid at home with mom. the guilt that tormented us the whole night was ridiculous that we rushed home even before the party started. we were constantly thinking about arwen when we were supposed to have fun and in the end the entire night was not fun at all. the only fun part was the dinner just the two of us before the party. i'm still undecided. we'll cross that bridge when we come to it next month. i sound like an old lady, i know. im the only one amongst my cousins who has a kid so i can understand if they dont understand.

something new this week : thanks to my mom, last saturday, i've got my eyes lasik-ed (finally) after my brother's recommendation. the procedure was tolerable, in a sense. hey, ive gone through childbirth without epidural. it's a shame if i'd have pain complaints with the eyes. it was uncomfortable, that, i have to point out. because you have people poking and playing with your eyes and you can see and hear everything. and then you have this claps that presses your eyeballs so that it stays in place when the doctor creates this flap around your iris. it felt weird. but luckily it only took a few minutes. i think the whole procedure only took about half and hour.

but the hour after that, when the anesthetic wore off, wow. the pain was excruciating. it was even worse than childbirth. at least contractions come in waves the the adrenaline was at the highest point and lasted for days. but this one, fucking hell! i can't open my eyes for 3-4 hours. i can't sleep even after my brother cooked me up a combination of painkillers. i just had to endure the pain of having salty tears washing raw cuts.  

i can slowly start to see things clearly. although it's still blurry at some distances. i can't focus to read things too close or too far, kinda like using contact lenses. but it's considerably improved and i can see much better than i did with glasses. and kinda like wearing contact lenses, the eyes get dry easily which is why i need to drop artificial tears ever so often. and my computer is currently a bit curved with these new eyes and i have to turn the screen brightness down a bit and wear my bigass sunglasses. everything's still a bit too bright right now and i can't strain my eyes too much yet with staring at the computer too long or reading too much. i'm supposed to be on MC today but ive got too much shit to do.

what falie said is true. it is freeing not to be looking for my glasses the first thing in the morning, it's freeing not to be relying and be encumbered by glasses or contact lenses. it's freeing not having to try to avoid from arwen always taking and almost destroying my glasses.

so if any of you who wants to get your eyes done, i reckon that you just do it.

why we should watch what and where we write

screen shots of the star online today :

see the headline? see the petronas ad? yeah. it's all about placement.

read the last 2 headlines. it's so ironic it makes me laugh.


ok yeah, i've ran out of shit to ramble on about. i'll be back posting up to 5 whiny ass posts a day after i'm done with work. p/s : the husband is away for BTN kursus for 5 days so i'm left to tend to arwen. need to finish up on work quick so i can be home to parent her when he's away. and then he'll be away again to another kursus in Kluang from the 10th-25th march. this oughtta be fun.

more bad mommy moment

i was walking with arwen towards the stairs to take her down this morning. i swung open the security gate and was holding it open as i adjusted arwen's bag of toys to be sent along with her to the babysitter. she was holding her favourite lion (a sort of similar looking replacement of her lost monkey) and a big stuffed dolphin. usually she's not even bothered about the dolphin, but somehow, like as if Allah knew what's about to happen, something drove her to become obsessed with the dolphin this morning. she was insistent that she wants to carry it all the way to the babysitter's despite me prying it away from her.

and then, just in a split second, i saw her moving sideways and then slid down 3-4 steps, left cheek first. and i just stood by and watched. i did not panic or anything. i just felt indifferent, and helpless. maybe it's because i was still tired and sleepy (got back from the office at 1 am and slept around 2 am). maybe i'm trying to give her some tough love. maybe i blacked out and had a flashback about witnessing my brother falie rolling down the stairs when we were little. when arwen finally stopped falling, which seemed like forever, she cried hard. i had a 5 second lag before i came rushing down to scoop and soothe her. i felt really guilty. i felt so embarrassed, because my mom saw everything. i felt so .. so .. suck at this mom thing.

i'm just glad though, that she's okay. no bruises or anything. just a red sore on her left cheek. i'm glad that she was insistent to carry that big stuffed dolphin. it was that dolphin that cushioned most of her fall. i believe that Allah wants things to happen for a reason. we just have to trust Him.

peekaboo

there was a time when i could post up to 5 blog posts a day. and then there are times like these when i don't even have the time to even sit down and shit. i've been putting my poster thing on hold for a month and just this morning, i had the opportunity to steal a few minutes to cook something up for a customer. kesian. i kept her waiting for more than a month now okay. that's how busy i've been.

other than that, there's nothing much happening happening in my life. i got sick for a couple of days last week. down with flu, tonsils, cough - the works. just the season, i guess. alhamdulillah arwen didnt contract any of those nasties from me during that time. my period's gone haywire. people are speculating that i'm pregnant again. i assure you, i'm not. i think? ok, fine im not so sure but i think i know im not. i can tell these things. the way i could tell that i was when i was 4 weeks with arwen just by my unexplained appetite for the japanese sweet vinaigrette rice in the tofu skin pocket (for the life of me i don't know what it's called). i can tell, like the way my nipple can tell the weather. i can tell i'm not. well, i hope i'm not.

anyyyyway.

got another wedding this and next weekend. my cousin's. my mom volunteered us to oversee buttloads of details for the wedding. i've been put in charge for finding giftbags for the main table and vips, wrapping paper for the gifts, to wrap the gifts with the said paper, ribbon up the gifts, design tags and thank you stickers for the favours, print them, cut them and then some other stuff. like as if im not busy enough with work and the clingy child on my hips? but it's for family right? and besides, they've helped me a lot during my wedding. it's only natural that i return the favour.

why do i complain then? well, coz that's just the way i am. i complain, but yet my hands are busy working and getting the job done. i am like that in the office too. just ask all of my colleagues.

we'll see how it goes. the wedding, i mean. my brother, kudegraphy (yeah, that's his official name now. it's all about branding) will be taking photos, which means that i don't have to bother taking photos for this blog. i'll just steal a few from him. the pictures i know will turn out awesome even if the wedding will be just so-so. (hey, if the invitation is silver and the actual event is gold-mustard-yellow-orche-orange-brown-black, you can see how it's going) .. so that's something you can look forward to in here in a couple of weeks.

kthanksbye.

a good news

No! I'm not pregnant. and i'm not getting a bonus either.



i've just rekindled with my long lost kakak from my early days in ITM through FB. ah, the internet. and she told me something that made me feel all good inside. like i know that i've done something good in my life that left a good impression on someone that she decided to name her kid after me. i mean that's the greatest honour. i feel like, hey, i'm not a bitch afterall despite what certain people think.