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A Schmoozer: That’s What I Am July 31, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Blogging, Memes & Tags , 11comments

It’s award time once again, and social climber Rinnah has very kindly awarded me with an honorable Blogging Community Involvement award that says simply that I’ve got the Power! … The Power of Schmooze, that is…. Well, fellow schmoozer Rinnah seems to think that I am too a schmoozer…that’s a P.C. way to say that I am a “cakap banyak” person, ain’t it? *grin* I ran off and I checked on the meaning of schmooze and it says to schmooze is to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner especially so as to gain favor.

Now, I don’t know how I would fit into the bill of being a schmoozer because all I do is to talk about what I observe and experience. And I say it as it is.

However, I do know that I am:

A Shoe Addict

 

Last week I finally used my RM100 Sunshine Square vouchers to get myself not one but TWO new pairs of shoes! I was practically grinning ear to ear after the purchase, and one could tell that it has been aeons since I splurged on shoes. They were both Carlo Rino shoes and I chose the ones with a not-too-high heel so it would allow me the freedom to run after Ethan, if need be. To be fashionably accurate, they were strappy mules, and I love them to bits.

A Foodie Photographer

I finally FINALLY managed to take a good picture of the Old Town Nasi Lemak I so love. Been wanting to take a good picture of it, but everytime I try, it either turned out too dark or too bright. So this one’s just nice and yummy looking too.

A Giddy Tiger

Yesterday evening, while I enjoyed my beef koay teow dinner with hubby, I received a call from an unknown number.

Me: Hello..?
Unknown man’s voice: Hello… is that Giddy Tiger?
Me (confused but played along): Yes it is.
Unknown man’s voice: Hello Giddy Tiger, how are you doing today?
Me: Fine thank you. And may I know who I am speaking to?
Unknown man’s voice: This is LB.

Muahahahaha… That was a pleasant surprise! Getting a call from the Emperor himself! What a royal honor! Well, we chatted for a bit and hoped to meet up if I happened to be in the Klang Valley before he leaves.

The Depressed Perfectionist

After our Singapore trip, I have been trying my best to update Ethan’s blog with as detailed posts as possible, providing a day-to-day account of what we went through, rigorously sprucing up the site with pictures I handpicked and photoshopped. However, I am depressed and disheartened that only a handful read it, judging by the comments :( I’m only into Day 2 of our adventure, I’m tired and weary and I need the inspirational *comments* to go on… so I am going on an unabashed plea to request for some comments, pretty please???? With sugar on top? :D

Ah well, it may turn out to be just for my own reading pleasure….

*******************

Ooops, sorry, didn’t mean to be schmoozing there. But hey, it does seem as though I do deserve this Schmoozer award after all eh? But wait, there’s more… I need to grant this award to five other bloggers, so go on guys, SCHMOOZE away!

Woohoo…I Rawk! July 27, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Blogging, Memes & Tags , 13comments

During my recent Singapore vacation, I was thoroughly touched that my loyal blog readers were still reading my blog, despite my absence.  I have been so bogged down with work after my return that I have hardly had time to blog as often as I would love to, let alone do my customary blog-hopping and blog-commenting.  Therefore I was incredibly honored when I discovered that Paris had bestowed this wonderful award to me, effectively naming me as a Rockin’ Girl Blogger.  Yeah baby!

So many others have been awarded and I am proud to join in the ranks and wear this badge on my site too!  Who cares what the criteria is to be given this award, as long as I have been given it…hehe….

And in the spirit of true rockin’ girl blogger-ism, I shall award this badge to 5 more rockin’ girl bloggers.  Congratulations, ladies! (sorry, guys not included in this award…hehe):

Remember to wear this badge proudly on your site! :D

The Nuffnang Advantage July 24, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate , 18comments

When I was in the planning stage of our Singapore vacation, I used the internet to scour for the best room rates I could find.  We wanted a hotel which was not too lavish, but yet not too seedy.  In addition, we wanted to stay somewhere convenient for moving around, especially with a little one in tow.  Most of the hotels cost at least SGD200 and some did not even include the customary breakfast.  Then I suddenly remembered my very first Nuffnang ad.  An ad for Perak Hotel in Singapore!  I contacted the hotel and they quoted me SGD148++ per night for a deluxe queen room, and SGD15++ per night to include a baby cot.  However, when I mentioned the magic word “Nuffnang”, the room was ours for SGD148 NETT and the baby cot was included free of charge!  Ain’t that great?  They even threw in complimentary breakfasts… oh, and of course free wifi access.

Perak Hotel is basically a bed and breakfast kinda hotel, not your 5-star luxurious retreat, but it prides itself in its comfort and homely furnishings.  Many backpackers find this hotel comfy enough to rest their weary bodies after a long tiring day and so did we (well, except that on the 3rd night the air-conditioner started leaking a little.  Thank goodness it was a one-off and it stopped after a few minutes)  The hotel is situated right smack in the middle of Little India and unfortunately has no elevators.  Bummer! We had to lug our 2 huge hard-case suitcases, 1 carry-on and Ethan up 2 flights of stairs to the 3rd floor, where our room was located.

The room had wooden flooring, not timber strip flooring, but the olden wooden flooring.  I bet it made a lot of noise when Ethan marched up and down :P   We also had to make do with a queen sized bed instead of the regular king we had grown accustomed to at home, but it was comfortable and clean to say the least.

All in all, we enjoyed a comfortable stay in Perak Hotel.  The staff in the hotel were all really friendly and greeted us whenever they saw us.  Although the downside was that we had to walk a good 10 minutes to the nearest MRT, coming back at night to the hotel located in a rather quiet street did not bother me one bit.  I felt safe there.

Perak Hotel enjoys countless testimonials from its guests who all have nothing but good things to say about it.  And as for breakfast, although the spread did not equal that of a continental buffet breakfast, I am pleased to say that we had a hearty breakfast every morning of our stay there.  Toast with butter, kaya, peanut butter or jam, hard-boiled eggs, either fried rice, beehoon or instant noodles, fruits, juice, coffee, tea and something that the luxury hotels don’t serve in their buffet breakfast: Milo.  Don’t know about you but having Milo when I travel makes it feel like home.

So this was what we called *home* for 6 days in Singapore.

And it all began here.

We’re Baa…aaackkKKK!!!!! July 20, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Relax & Celebrate , 13comments

Yup… after a good 6 days and 5 nights away from home, we are finally back from our vacation in Singapore, tired, exhausted, but boy is it good to be home!  No more running after MRTs and changing subway trains, farewell to the land where we don’t need to haggle for taxi fares because all the taxis are metered (some even come with GPS!), arrivederci to the Great Singapore Sale…. here we are back in good ol’ Penang.  It was an exceptional experience for my hubby and I because for the first time, we travelled by air with Ethan car-less, stayed in a bed & breakfast kinda hotel right smack in Little India (which just adds to the authenticity of the experience), and (get this…) with NO STROLLER!  You think that’s a piece of cake?  Try running after a toddler around a mall the entire day and there you have it…the latest weight loss innovation ever! 

But hey, all’s well that ends well… we had a truly memorable holiday (which I will be capturing in the next few posts… maybe in Ethan’s blog too).  And now that I am back in Penang, I intend to continue my shopping spree with the Malaysian Mega Sale.  You know, I just received an SMS that La Senza is having its grand sale now (up to 70% discount)… and this time I don’t need to multiply the price by a hefty factor of 2.3! *wink*

Rub a Duck Baby July 20, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 1 comment so far

When I gave birth to Ethan, we received plenty of baby gifts, but that left me thinking how different the Asian culture is compared to the Western one, especially when it comes to gifts for babies.  In Asia, or in Malaysia at least, mommies and daddies would receive presents and ang-pows AFTER the proverbial stork has delivered the baby.  However, in the West, it is customary to have a baby shower, complete with a theme and of course, plenty of baby shower decorations, BEFORE the baby arrives.  I’ve seen it in so many TV programs, like the one Rachel had in Friends, and I think it would be a cool idea to adopt here in Malaysia.  For one, the mommy-to-be can let her hair down and revel in all the glorious gifts for her baby, which in turn would make her happier and (hopefully) make for a fun delivery!  Plus, isn’t it awesome to have an adorable party with an equally adorable theme such as the Rubber Ducky Baby Shower theme, which is non-gender specific as well as cheerfully attractive?  It would leave the mommy-to-be and her guests totally in the mood to welcome the newborn child!

I’m a good girl, I am! July 19, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Memes & Tags, Thoughts & Scribblings , 14comments

This is a tough one. The vain Wuching wants to know something naughty I did when I was in school. To quote the rules of this tag:

‘Write about one of your naughtiest moments in secondary school’
‘Story must not be shorter than 20000 words. Jk. Just dont make it too brief lah’
‘Tag bloggers who you think have really interesting stories to tell. Dont go “ah i wont tag anyone”

Now the problem is I WAS and AM a good girl, HONEST! Having spent my primary and secondary schooldays in a Convent school, I am proud to say that I was an exemplary student with good grades and great records. So the naughtiest thing I did that I can think of was one day after dismissal when I *accidentally* threw a plastic wrapper in the drain. I was actually looking for a dustbin but there were no dustbins nearby, so I just *conveniently* dropped the wrapper. The next morning, I was approached by my prefect friend and she informed me that she was slapping me with 15 demerit points! I remember the figure 15 clearly because in the Convent, if any one hit 18 demerit points, she would be blacklisted immediately. 15 demerits was 3 shy of a blacklist, and I was mortified. Forgetting to wear a petticoat to school only got you 3 demerits, but apparently littering was taken VERY seriously and I was being severely punished. I think the demerit points would be reset to 0 after a certain number of months, but I can’t remember now.

However, after this *naughty* incident, I NEVER littered again. EVER. So boys and girls, the demerit system works. And I am one of those who lived to tell.

I wanna spread this naughty tag around now, to these following people:

Me on All Fours! July 18, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Memes & Tags , 11comments

I thought I had escaped but alas! I had not
Tagged by Chinnee and caught in the spot
After Ethan boy did his *all fours*
It was time for Mommy to do hers, of course!

§§§

 

Four jobs I have had in my life:

  1. Sales Promoter
  2. Manufacturing Engineer
  3. IT Solutions Specialist
  4. 3-in-1 job as daughter, wife & mother

Four places I have lived:

  1. Alor Star (taken care of by Grandma when I was a baby)
  2. Land of Leng Luis aka Ipoh (my hometown)
  3. Bangi, Selangor (where I did my tertiary education)
  4. Penang

Four places I have been on vacation:

  1. The United States (Hillsboro OR, Santa Clara CA, San Francisco CA, Las Vegas NV, Los Angeles CA, San Diego CA, Anaheim CA) & Canada (Vancouver & Victoria, British Columbia)
  2. Australia (Perth WA)
  3. Indonesia (Lake Toba in Medan)
  4. The Maldives

Four of my favorite foods:

  1. Rib-Eye Steak, medium rare
  2. Salmon sashimi with extra-kick wasabi
  3. Barbecued baby back ribs
  4. Mom’s homecooked food

p/s: Only FOUR??!!!  I had to leave out egg tarts, pineapple tarts, dim sum, laksa, etc.

Four places I would rather be right now:

  1. Snorkelling in the Maldives, and sunbathing after that
  2. Working out in the gym
  3. At home sleeping
  4. Shopping

Four friends to tag:

  1. Shooi
  2. Pink Cotton
  3. Blur Mommy
  4. Zara’s & Zaria’s Mama

Ethan On All Fours! July 17, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Ethan, Memes & Tags , 11comments

Not only have I made new friends just by being a blogger, my boy Ethan has also made some new buddies too. Recently Rinnah jiejie wanted to know more about him, so she’s done what any blogger would do: tag Ethan! I just did a *seven* tag for Ethan and now while Ethan relaxes in front of the TV watching Baby Einstein, I will do a *four* tag on his behalf (isn’t it a coincidence that Ethan’s Daddy’s favorite numbers are 4 and 7? Hmmmmm……)

♥♥♥♥♥

Four jobs I have had in my life:

  1. “Babble-er”
  2. “Cruise-er”
  3. “Crawl-er”
  4. “Walk-er”

Four places I have lived:

  1. In Mommy’s womb
  2. In the hospital where I was born
  3. In Penang
  4. In the hearts of my loved ones

Four places I have been on vacation:

  1. Ipoh (Mommy’s hometown)
  2. Taiping (Daddy’s hometown)
  3. Kay-el (Shopping haven)
  4. Anywhere with Mommy and Daddy

Four of my favorite foods:

  1. Siew-Mai
  2. Rice (nasi lemak, banana leaf rice, fried rice, chicken rice etc)
  3. Ipoh Chicken Koay Teow (kai-see hor-fun)
  4. Wan ton mee

Four places I would rather be right now:

  1. Riding on the escalator in Queensbay Mall
  2. Riding on the escalator in Gurney Plaza
  3. Riding on ANY escalator
  4. Sleeping on Mommy and Daddy’s bed

Four friends to tag:

  1. Hin Lerk
  2. Jayden
  3. Bryan
  4. Evan

The Ring around my Finger July 16, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Thoughts & Scribblings , 18comments

I wear my wedding ring on my left ring finger, the one next to my pinkie. Why? Because the vein of love (vena amoris) coming straight from the heart runs right through this finger. When I was engaged, I wore my engagement ring on this finger too, and now that I am married, I wear them both on this finger. The wedding ring goes in first followed by the engagement ring. It follows this order because this way, the wedding ring (symbolizing the marriage) is closer to my heart (yes, I have a reason for everything I do :P ). Because of the love these rings symbolize, I find it hard to understand why some people choose NOT to wear their wedding rings. Somebody told me before that she didn’t wear hers because her husband doesn’t wear his too! *rolls eyes* Do they NOT know the meaning these rings carry?

Well anyway, a few weeks ago, I received a rather interesting email on why the wedding ring is worn on the ring finger. Check this out:

Why should the wedding ring be worn on the fourth finger?

There is a beautiful and convincing explanation given by the Chinese Legend…

Thumb represents your Parents
Second (Index) finger represents your Siblings
Middle finger represents your-Self
Fourth (Ring) finger represents your Life Partner
& the Last (Little) finger represents your children

Firstly, open your palms (face to face), bend the middle fingers and hold them together - back to back
Secondly, open and hold the remaining three fingers and the thumb - tip to tip
(As shown in the figure below):

Now, try to separate your thumbs (representing the parents)…, they will open, because your parents are not destined
to live with you lifelong, and have to leave you sooner or later.
Please join your thumbs as before and separate your Index fingers (representing siblings)…., they will also open,
because your brothers and sisters will have their own families and will have to lead their own separate lives.

Now join the Index fingers and separate your Little fingers (representing your children)…., they will open too,
because the children also will get married and settle down on their own some day.

Finally, join your Little fingers, and try to separate your Ring fingers (representing your spouse).
You will be surprised to see that you just CANNOT….., because Husband & Wife have to remain together all their lives -
through thick and thin!!

My Weight Is Ideal July 13, 2007

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Memes & Tags, Thoughts & Scribblings , 13comments

Now here’s an excuse to pig out!…NOT! I’ve been tagged by Joanne to reveal my BMI and here’s what the test revealed:


Your Weight is Ideal


Your BMI is 21.0 - a healthy BMI falls between 18.5 and 25Congratulations, you are the perfect weight for your height.Even though you may not be entirely happy with your weight, you are healthy.

So gain or lose a few pounds if you want, but don’t go too crazy!

Don’t agree? Blame the government standards we based this test on!

Do You Need to Lose Weight?

Well of course it’s ideal! Need I say more? Ahem… now I can plan on wearing more cheongsams, dining at Tony Roma’s or indulging in the yummy slice of cheesecake….

To tell you frankly I didn’t even watch my diet since I gave birth. My weight loss *plan* was just to breastfeed (and I still am) and of course (initially) to exercise. Although I have lost all my pregnancy weight, the second part of that plan did not materialize because up till now, the only exercise I have been subjected to has been just chasing Ethan around the house and strength training in the form of carrying him here and there, and up and down. So even though the pounds have stayed off, I am still not content with my muscle tone. I’m hoping that Queensbay Mall would make way for a fitness center soon (praying it will be Fitness First) so that I can resume my exercise regime.

But for now that “Your Weight Is Ideal” message up there will have to do :)