Li Lian

I came across this today - and the rude-ness of this made me giggle a bit.

These pins were actually being sold at the Republican State Convention.

Ok, ok… I know it’s not THAT funny!

What is funnier is that I am a DIM-WIT when it comes to anything political - but this made me giggle.

And I am not racist!

STEP ONE - I WILL HAVE TO GIVE UP STARBUCKS.

Sigh…

It’s not something that I really want to go into detail about, but since there is just SO MUCH TALK ABOUT OUR 40% INCREASE IN FUEL PRICE! I had to say something about it.

STEP 2 - READ THE NEWSPAPERS DAILY. THERE ARE SOME GOOD AND SOUND ADVICE ON FIGHTING THIS PRICE INCREASE. PAY ATTENTION TO THE WORDS OF WISDOM AND COMFORT.

“Make fewer trips to the mall, have fewer family outings on weekends and fewer holidays” - Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, The Sun front page, 6 June 2008.

“Look at all avenues to reduce living costs, from using less electricity, having more meals at home and preparing a thorough financial plan” - Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M. Mohamed Idris, The Star, 8 June 2008.

“Change your lifestyle to help reduce the impact of the rise in prices, exercise patience and prudence, Insya Allah this will enable us to tide over this problem and emerge more matured and resilient” - The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, The News Straits Times, 7 June 2008, Page 4.

“Companies should encourage employees to car pool. We could perhaps allow only cars with number plates ending in odd numbers on certain days to be on the road” - Datuk Maznah Mazlan, Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister, The News Straits Times, 6 June 2008, Page 12.

STEP 3 - COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS AND LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE.

You don’t have to sell cow poop cakes for cooking fuel like in India when their government hiked their gas prices - The News Straits Times, 9 June 2008, Page 6.

The government is seeking to improve the public transportation system, and by 2010 the Kelana Jaya LRT line will have 22 new cars to ease congestion, and by 2011 there will be a line extension for Kelana Jaya and Ampang to Putra Heights. - The News Straits Times, 8 June 2008, Page 4.

Our government is going to lead by example by not hosting lavish functions, cutting down costs on domestic and international travel, and reviewing excessive use of electricity in government complexes, Parliament and other large buildings. - The News Straits Times, 6 June 2008, Page 13.

Last but not least - all you need is L.O.V.E. ♥

I can’t believe I couldn’t find one online. Maybe I am just going about the search the wrong way. I key-ed in “i hate jennifer aniston”, “jeniffer aniston hate website”. And came up with nothing. But there is a “i hate angelina jolie club”.

How dumb ass is that?

I really don’t know why I don’t like her. I suppose HATE is a strong word to use. And I have not been brought up to HATE. My mum is a good mother - and did not teach me to hate. I write this in case she miraculously learns how to go online, and reads this. Of which she will then continue being the SUPER MUM she is and give me some money to spend.

Back to Jennifer Aniston. I seriously think her claim to fame all started with the fact that she has gorgeous hair. Her hair is the picture millions of women take with to the hairdressers to say - I want hair just like that!

BARF! BARF! Choke.

But I do think she has great hair. And a hot body for someone her age.

I am still so happy that Brad Pitt dumped her for Angelina Jolie.

My sister tells me that evolutionary psychology will say that I really am a lot like her in reality, and probably have so much in common we’d be BFF’s if not for the fact that I see her as competition, hence my dislike for her!

BARF! BARF! BARF!

Then I thought - I am not going to spend anymore time searching for this Jennifer Aniston Hate Club. But if you do come across one - please share with me.

If you would like to tell me otherwise why I should love her or give her a break since she’s almost 40 and has been dumped so many times since her divorce - please try to convince me.

I am not being unkind nor hurtful. This is just my opinion.

If you would like to add on to this post as to why you hate her too, you’re MOST WELCOME to do so.

Oops… I forgot… I was not brought up to hate. I merely dislike.

I turned 30 on 17 May. (Yeah, so this post is late too…)

And so I was contemplating coming up with a list of 30 things about me, 30 great lessons in life, 30 things I have learned in life, 30 things I want to do before I die, 30 things not to do, 30 things I love. etc. I think you get the picture…

And then I doubted whether I could come with with 30 things of something of the same thing, related things, sequential things! So I finally decided, I’d just put 30 random sentences together, the first 30 things that come to my head and number them 1 to 30. How genius is that? I suppose with being 30 comes a certain wisdom.

This list, to celebrate me being 30 years of age.

1. I woke up aged 30, and it’s not like my life changed over night like I thought it would.
2. It takes me more than 30 minutes to read the newspaper (so I end up not reading the newspaper daily) because I read everything including the advertisements, and then I read it backwards starting from the bottom of the page to check for spelling errors.
3. When I boil spaghetti, I count how many strands/pieces I am going to put in the boiling water.
4. I would like to go to Brazil before I die, and Las Vegas, and to the great wall of China.
5. I obsess about my weight a lot.
6. I don’t know why people dig their noses in the car, and think that the person in the next car can’t see them.
7. I press the lift buttons many times and repeatedly as I am convinced this will make the lifts go faster.
8. I think I have the best dogs in the universe - Boo Boo and Tango.
9. I think the Japanese language is so sexy - tamagotchi, o-hai-yo!, suzuki, doraemon, shiseido, sushi, nabeyaki - ahhhh… that just sends a shiver down my spine.
10. I don’t understand why people dig their noses, and roll it around their thumb and forefinger before flicking it.
11. I love buying cosmetic products that smell like food, creme brulee, chocolate, vanilla, honey, strawberries and I wonder why they cannot be eaten.
12. I want to learn how to fart on demand - any time I please.
13. Wentworth Miller is HOT!
14. The worst song released EVER that makes me want to cry in agony and probably cause me a brain aneurysm is Umbrella by Rihana.
15. My sister is my best friend in all the world and also the skinniest person I know.
16. I find Gordon Ramsay entertaining and amusing - this is so masochistic.
17. I love my mum to bits, and truly admire her even though I don’t tell her often enough.
18. I feel truly blessed in so many ways, so happy to be alive and I don’t even have to be a trust fund baby.
19. I need to eat more vegetables and fruit so that I won’t be so constantly constipated and can poop on demand after every meal.
20. I am a true technical idiot and sometimes fear technology, and thank goodness for technical friends like Jackie Ho.
22. I hate driving at night because I don’t see very well in the dark and my friends scream murder at me when I say I have to get home early!
23. I am a supplement junkie - I take more than 8 capsules of supplements a day, and yet none of it helps me poop right.
24. I always wish for a 3 day weekend.
25. I think my boyfriend is hot, and I love the way he smells.
26. I think motorcyclists don’t treasure their own lives enough to drive safely on the road.
27. When I drive, I sometimes have visions of running down a flock of birds (those that twitter away on the middle of the road) but I’ve never succeeded in doing so.
28. I love watching Grey’s Anatomy, the cast is so screwed up!
29. I hate Rachel from Friends and I am happy that Brad Pitt hooked up with Angelina Jolie instead.
30. I must be so self obsessed and obsessive to have bothered coming up with a gibber-jabber list like this.

See point number 15! She bought me a fancy hairdryer for my birthday. It’s a Panasonic Ionity DOUBLE ion hairdryer! It dries my hair in minutes, and blow dries it real smooth.

It’s been 4 years since I last went to London.

This time round, I went to Borough Market. The food (yes, even more food!) is scrumptious!

And I had the best coffee ever here! Even better than Milan and Venice.

And at Portobello Road, there’s this small bookshop that sells only cookbooks, and I had the yummiest dessert there. Chocolate cake and pavlova. There’s a small sitting area inside where they serve food. They open at 11am, and we ordered the last 2 pieces of pavlova at 12pm, after which, they’d all sold out!

My sister and Vince got me a Time Out Shortlist Venice city guide. Together with the places we were recommended to go and eat, there was too little time (2 days), too many places to try.

I think I am still suffering from heartburn and indigestion from eating so much. But it’s SO worth it!

Some places to eat in Venice:

Antiche Carampane in San Polo.

That black thing is squid in it’s own juices - squid ink.

Fiaschetteria Toscana in Cannaregio.

That steak is a 1kg steak florentine. With very nice wine. And we also had deep fried zucchini flower which is so yummy. And we also had fish. SO MUCH YUMMY YUMMY FOOD!

Igloo in San Marco - for creamy gelato. One of the best ice cream I’ve ever had!

Fresh food from Rialto Market.

In the top left photo is the zucchini flower.

Food! More glorious food from all over Venice.

And of course I went sightseeing and on the gondola!

Finally, Piazza San Marco!

I ♥ Venice.

I had such a good trip, I cannot stop exclamation pointing!!!

I arrived Sunday morning, 18th of May… Yeah, yeah… the update is late… I have been trying to cope with the fact that I had to get back to work… I was still in a different time zone, yadda-yadda… blah-blah… in short- excuses.

THE DUOMO!

Backview:

Front view:

All sides, including right at the top. I paid 5 Euros to climb up many flights of steps. If you want to take the lifts, you pay 7 Euros.

THE GALLERIA VITTORIO EMANUELE!

CAFE DOLCE & GABANA!

I didn’t go there because it was a tourist attraction. I only found out it was a designer cafe a day later when I saw the picture in a book.

CANTINA DELLA VETRA!

See the bottom 2 pictures. My first dinner in Milan. Fantastic food. I tried the seafood ravioli and the asparagus risotto. The menu is in Italian, but the waitress, Sophie, translated it for us.

The top 2 pictures is just a random cafe where I had breakfast. If you sit down and have breakfast, the price of food is double. Cheaper to grab and go!

CENTRAL TRAIN STATION!

Where I’d be taking the train from to VENICE!

For a 63 year old, he SURE has the stamina. He sang for over 2 hours, and his short fingers conquered and swept over the piano keys at the speed of lightning.

For the first hour, it was a little less exciting for me. Maybe because I didn’t know those songs. And as he began to warm up the second half of the show, I could understand why he is an icon that is still around after three decades.

He stands up from the piano and the crowd roars! He points one finger at the crowd, and they go wild! He points TWO fingers at them, and they are ready to tear the place down just to get closer to him! He waves, and jumps up to sit on the piano - by which time, the crowd is probably ready to pee their pants! While thumping their chests with their fists, Tarzan style.

And this scenario lasts throughout the concert.

THIS! Is about having PRESENCE. This! Is about engaging the crowd. He lifts a finger, and he makes you think he’s lifting his finger FOR YOU! To be able to have the attention of 20,000 in the audience, tell me if that is not magic!

There was a lot of crazy dancing going on as well. Arms flailing everywhere, bums swaying, jumping. My head spinning, as everything becomes a blur in buffoons-ville.

Guess I was wrong about Elton’s fans being that of the elder to be dancing manically.

Anyways… I really enjoyed myself. He is indeed an icon, and an excellent performer.

WE.LOVE.YOU.ELTON!