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Green fingers I have none March 31, 2008

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

My dear Prosperity Plant,
How have you been? Lately I have noticed that you are looking rather glum and moody. I hope it has got nothing to do with sharing your space on the cabinet with the telly, because as you know, that is the only location which is suitable in our home. Besides, having you there means you get to be in full view of anyone who steps into our living room.

You have been adorning that special space on my TV cabinet for about two months now. I hope you find the surroundings conducive to your well-being, including the cozy authentic ceramic pot you stay in.

When we first brought you back from Jusco, you looked so radiant, so happy. You were my pride and joy. I made your home as comfortable as possible and even had pretty little white pebbles decorating your feet.

I was told that plants like you do not need much water and sunlight to survive well. So I gave you a drink of water about once a week. As for taking you out into the sun, I have to admit I have been neglecting that solely because I was afraid the sunlight on my balcony would be too strong and harsh for your liking. But about two weeks ago, I figured some sunlight would be good for you. So I gave you your drink of water and took you out on the balcony. It rained a little that day too, so you had the best of both worlds.

However, your condition took a turn for the worse since then. Some of your branches and leaves started turning yellow and horrid brown. I even had to trim some of your leaves for fear the yellowing condition spread to the rest of your body. Yesterday night, I watered you again, but still I am disappointed that you have not regained your green joyous self. At least not yet.Please let me know if something or someone is disturbing you and your home. I shall have to enlist the help of Terminix, if necessary.

Please get well soon, my dear Plant. I long to see you in all your blooming glory once again.

Your mistress,
The Giddy Tigress

Take an Apple on a Safari March 29, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Thoughts & Scribblings , 16comments

Two weeks ago, I put a software application training DVD on my laptop, the contents of which is intended to give me an overview of the software I was about to work on on my latest project at my workplace.  However, the DVD would not run and I discovered it was because it required QuickTime Player to be installed on my laptop, which I did not have then.  Of course, I proceeded to install Apple Quicktime, and with it I also had iTunes installed.  Yay!

Well, little did I know that together with the QuickTime installation, the Apple Safari browser was installed too. And it wasn’t till about three days ago when I was prompted to install some patches or upgrades for Safari, that I realized it was there.  Yeah, I am that blur.

Anyway, I decided to take the Safari out on a test drive.  For the first time!

And guess what…? I absolutely totally love it!  Not only do I love the clean look it exudes, the sites load so much faster with Safari too.  I thought Firefox was cool, but Safari takes the cake for me, I tell ya.  Fonts and colors seem to appear classier, making the reading experience a sensational one.  

As if this was not too much exposure to Apple products, I actually physically held an iPhone today!  After all the hype I had heard about this gadget, especially from the Emperor and the Queen, having it in my hand finally satisfied my curiosity.  It belongs to my co-worker(well, actually her husband) and she very kindly allowed me to fiddle with it.  I toyed around with the finger zoom in and zoom out functions (super awesome), the map application (also works with the finger zooming feature), iPark (methinks this is to allow one to key in the pillar number where one parks their car) and of course the Safari web browser included in the iPhone.

I think I could grow to like this, just like so many others have. :)

Y-A-W-N………and now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to call it a night.  I’m looking forward to a really good night’s rest tonight (because it’s gonna be a very activity-filled day tomorrow), and I hope the Friday’s strawberry margarita (which I finally had for the first time ever this evening) will help me attain that.  Oh, and for the record, the margarita really really rocks!

Smooth, silky skin for me March 25, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Rainmakers , 4comments

Eczema has been plaguing me for the longest time.  Since I was little, my fingers and hands are prone to cracked and weeping skin.  It hurts, of course, but most of the measures I have taken thus far offer nothing but temporary relief.  Having tried oral and topical medications, with no permanent solution, I have been thinking that perhaps my condition could be due to the water that I use, specifically in the shower.

I recently read that there is a high percentage of chlorine found in the water that comes from our taps and we are exposed to these fumes, also known as chloroform, every time we take a shower.  Even more so, our skin, the largest organ in our body, readily absorbs these fumes, up to a gruesome 70% during showering.  That’s just a really scary thought, is it not?

I suppose this is the primary reason that led to the invention of Pink Shower & Bath Filters, which remove 99% of chlorine in the shower water.  That’s not the only interesting fact about these filters; friendsofwater.com will donate 5% of revenue from these filters to breast cancer research and/or information dissemination, thus the color pink. :)

What an eye-opener this site is.  I will never look at showers the same way again, having obtained a wealth of Pink Shower & Bath Filter Information today.

 

Easter with the Giddy T’s March 24, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Christianity, Close to Heart & Home, Drooling & Cooking, Thoughts & Scribblings , 11comments

This year, Easter is celebrated much earlier (March 23rd) than other years. In fact, the next time this would happen would be in the year 2228 (220 years from now) . Good Friday saw me fasting and praying for the first time in at least three years. Since I am neither pregnant nor breastfeeding this year, it was the perfect time for me to fast, pray and dedicate my thoughts solely to the day Jesus gave His life on the cross for me. Hubbs and I had planned on going to church for the service at noon, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we didn’t…and we are kicking ourselves for that because had we gone, I might have been able to post a picture of the Giddy Tigress with the newly appointed Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng. Not that we are stalking him or anything like that, though…but if I do bump into him, I would love to extend a warm hello and welcome as a friendly *neighbour*.

On Saturday, we made a day trip to Ipoh to celebrate my nephew Collin’s full moon. It was again another excuse to stuff our tummies with food. Hehe… no regrets there. In fact, we were so full after the lunch that all plans of tar-powing the famous Canning Garden chee cheong fun vanished into thin air (although the stall was only a stone’s throw away). Ah well. There’s always next time.

Then came Easter Sunday. As usual, the church was packed full to the brim with parishioners (methinks some of them were hoping that the CM would make another appearance). We had to make do with sitting on plastic chairs placed by the pews, because we were ummm….a few minutes late. Actually, it was rather a blessing in disguise because we had a full view of the altar and was able to concentrate 100% on the sermon being delivered. Well…maybe 90% because of intermittent distractions from Ethan.

It was also Race Day (Sepang Formula 1 Grand Prix) and Super Sunday (Barclays Premiers League) that day, and hubbs hinted VERY loudly that he would prefer homecooked food for dinner that night. So I bought a few items from Jusco for cooking dinner. I was only able to start cooking at 5:55p.m. though, that’s when Ethan finally fell asleep. One hour later, I managed to whip up a piping hot dinner, one which hubby gave the thumbs up to, much to my delight. *grin*

Although Race Day ended with Kimi getting what he deserved (yay!!!), I shall choose not to say anything about the Super Sunday score, which I don’t think was super at all. Bleagghhh….

Stress-related blindness?? March 21, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , 13comments

Last Monday, my hubby told me about a rather strange email he had received from a very good friend of his. He deemed it strange because although my hubby and this friend of his get along really really well, he couldn’t, for the life of him, understand why that email was sent.

The email went something like this:

Subject: I will be busy this week

I will be busy the whole of this week because I have to host my friend Lewis on his 2nd trip to KL

And attached in the email was the following picture:

I, too, thought it was a rather odd email but we figured that our friend was just up to one of his crazy antics again.

It wasn’t till the next morning, just before I dropped my hubby off at work, that it suddenly hit me… that Lewis in the photo bore a striking resemblance to Mr Lewis Hamilton!! With the Formula 1 hitting Malaysian shores this weekend in Sepang, everything suddenly made perfect sense! That email must have been a bragging tool for my hubby’s friend! D’oh!

It’s a wonder why and how we didn’t realize it when we saw the picture…turns out that our friend actually met Lewis in the same plane and of course, who wouldn’t ask for a photo, eh?  He says that Lewis is a really polite and soft-spoken guy.

So there you have it…a truly “duh”-fying moment brought to you courtesy of The Giddy Tigers. Over and out.

Have a blessed Good Friday, everyone!

Moved…touched….saved March 17, 2008

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

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week for Christians everywhere. Holy Week will culminate with Easter Sunday, when we will all celebrate the joyous resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. At church yesterday, all the parishioners held a palm or two to signify the welcoming of Jesus as he rode into the town of Jerusalem so many millions of years ago. It was a beautiful sight to behold. There was singing and dancing and just plain jubilation.

However, the highlight of the celebration was not the palms, I believe. Instead, it was a very moving, very touching skit performed by the youth group of the church. The skit was acted out to the song “Watch the Lamb”, which is really a personal account of what Simon went through the day he visited Jerusalem with his two sons.

“A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross” (Mark 15:21).

Just imagine watching this all live in the church sanctuary…

My heart was moved the moment the lyrics of the song was sung, and although I already knew what was coming, I still could not stop my tears from flowing as I imagined again the pain and suffering He must have felt. My heart bled with the sound of every whip that was cast on Him and the piercing sound of every nail that was struck again and again and again into the cross. The congregation was in total silence as the cross was lifted after the crucifixion, fully displaying the sacrifice Jesus made for us all. It was as if we were all transported back in time. And then the strains of the music started again, and again, I wept… It was a truly remarkable play and an extremely fitting way to start my reflection this Holy Week.

Watch the Lamb

Walking On the Road
To Jerusalem,
The time had come to sacrifice,
Again,
My two small sons,
They walked beside me down the road,
The reason that they came,
Was to watch the lamb…
And they said,
“Daddy daddy,
What will we see there,
There’s so much that we don’t understand,”
So I told them of Moses,
And Father Abraham,
And I said dear children,
“Watch the lamb….
There will be so many,
In Jerusalem today,
We must be sure this little lamb,
Doesn’t run away,”
And I told them of Moses,
And Father Abraham,
And I said “Dear children,
Watch the lamb….”
When we reached the city,
I knew something must be wrong,
There were no joyful worshippers there,
No joyful worship songs,
And I stood there,
With my children,
In the midst of angry men,
Then I heard a crowd cry out,
“Let’s Crucify Him!”
We tried to leave the city,
But we could not get away,
Forced to play in this drama,
A part I did not want to play,
Why upon this day were men condemned to die,
Why were we standing right here,
Where soon they would pass by,
I looked and I said,
“Even now they come,”
The first one cried for mercy,
The people gave him none,
The second one was violent,
He was arrogant and loud,
I can still hear his angry voice,
Screaming at the crowd,
Then someone said,
“There’s Jesus,”
I scarce believed my eyes,
A man so badly beaten,
He barely looked alive,
[ Watch The Lamb lyrics found on http://www.completealbumlyrics.com ]
Blood poured from His body,
From the thorns on His brow,
Running down the cross,
And falling to the ground,
I watched as He struggled,
And I watched Him when He fell,
The cross came down upon His back,
And the crowd began to yell,
In that moment I felt such agony,
In that moment I felt such loss,
Till the roman soldier grabbed my arm and screamed,
“YOU! Carry his cro———–ss!”
At first I tried to resist him,
But his hand reached for his sword,
So I knelt and I took
The cross from the Lord
I put it on my shoulders
We started down the street
And the blood that He’d been shedding,
Was running down my cheeck…
They led us to Golgatha
They drove nails,
Deep in His feet and hands,
And on the cross,
I heard him pray,
“Father, forgive them…”
Never have I seen such love
In any other eyes
“Into thy hands I commit my spirit,”
He prayed,
And then He died.
I stood for what seemed like years,
I lost all sense of time,
Then I felt two tiny hands
Holding onto mine
My children stood there weeping,
And I heard the oldest say
“Father please forgive us,
The lamb,
Ran away…
Daddy daddy,
What’ve we seen here,
There’s so much that we don’t understand,”
So I took them in my arms,
We turned and faced the cross
And I said
“Dear children
Watch the—– la—–mb…”

Stretch, tone, exercise me March 14, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Thoughts & Scribblings , 12comments

What’s really long, purple, stretchy and gives me a well-toned body?

No, it’s not Ethan…don’t worry, I have not gone totally bonkers. It’s the purple elastic thingy he is playing with. Ever since I weaned Ethan off from the breast, I feel as if I have gotten fatter. With no more breastfeeding, my 2-3 times a day *cardio workout* has been eliminated from my life. Maybe that explains why I have been feeling more tired than usual these days. I have also begun to notice my tummy getting a tad flabbier, and I really hate it that my arms are beginning to look unsculpted. Must look good in tank tops maaa….

What I needed was more time to exercise, or alternatively a exercise regime that I could fit into my schedule without compromising anything. Thanks to the fabulous suggestion from my good girlfriend Audrey, I got myself one of these exercise bands from Fitness Concept (also knowned as resistance bands). They come in three different tensile strengths for different levels of difficulty. I got the medium tensile strength band and it cost me all of RM29.80.

Don’t underestimate this exercise band though. It may look like nothing at all, but I can do loads with it. Here are some of my favorite moves:

And those are just scratching the surface. There are quite a number of exercise moves included in pictorial form on the band itself too! If those aren’t enough, I found a whole lot more just by googling for it. And if you’re wondering… these exercises really do work wonders! I can feel my arms getting firmer and more toned after just a week or so of doing these exercises. And best of all, I can now exercise while watching TV! How awesome is that!?  I’m also keeping the receipt to claim for tax relief under the category of “Exercise Equipment”.  Whooopppeeeee!!!

Don’t you think it is rather ironic that I took a picture of my former exercise *equipment* playing with my new one?

Never ever forget the day March 10, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Thoughts & Scribblings , 12comments

Finally, after weeks of campaigning with posters, billboards and ceramahs in abundance, the 12th Malaysian General Election culminated in results which truly echoed the sentiments of the rakyat. Indeed they have spoken, and the ruling coalition party, who has been denied the 2/3 majority this time round, had better sit up and listen, as opposed to resting on their laurels. I just had a chat with Rinnah this morning and she asked me if there was anything different in the state which is now governed by the opposition. I told her there was nothing much that I could see yet. Well… I look forward to the following four years in eager anticipation of what Barisan Rakyat has to offer.

This election also marks the first time my hubby and I are voting together in the same constituency, as husband and wife. We had our voting addresses changed last year, and are glad that it was well in time for the change to take effect, especially since our seats in our constituency are the HOT ones contested. That morning, we decided to drive to the polling center, just to see if there was a parking space near it, so we didn’t have to walk that far. And we were blessed to have found a spot right next to the school. We took Ethan along with us too, so we had to take turns queuing up to vote and taking him for a look-see around the school. Fellow bloggers Angie & Bart were also in the same boat, bringing little Julian along to the voting center.

It didn’t take too long for the entire voting process to be completed. We already had all our details from the internet, including which room we were supposed to go to (indicated by Saluran), so we didn’t waste time getting that small slip of paper with the big number on it and headed straight for the room. After my age was announced to the entire world by the lady manning the registration counter in the voting room (she stated my name and IC number loudly maa), I went into the booth, marked an X on each of the ballot sheets and doubled check to see that the X was where I wanted it to be. Then that was it. On a separate note, I was wondering why they had to make the colors of the ballots so similar. I think mine was like pink and orange…had to make sure I put them in the correct box afterward too. If it were me, I would have chosen contrasting colors for the state and parliamentary ballot sheets. Anyway, I digress.

After the voting, it was dim sum for breakfast, Queensbay Mall for quick shopping and then the two boys went for a hair cut. Alas, when we were on our way to lunch after that, we were involved in a minor accident. The black Vios in front of us braked very suddenly, and hubbs had to swerve a little bit to the left to avoid hitting it. However, a motorcyclist who was travelling a little too fast could not stop on time, scraped the left side of our car, where Ethan and I were sitting, hit the side mirror, resulting in it dangling away on the side. We were shocked, nonetheless, and after some negotiations, both parties agreed to part ways amicably. Thankfully no one was hurt, although the motorcyclist was rubbing his wrist for a bit after the accident. Of course, we took out car to the mechanic to ascertain the damage and repair costs, which comes up to around RM200+ for the side mirror and RM1800 for the paint job of the car. As a temporary measure, we had the side mirror taped up so it could still be used, but it looks like the masking tape was not strong enough to hold the mirror up because after a few hours, the mirror was dangling yet again. And we have been driving like that ever since.

My hubby just called the mechanic who said that the new side mirror would only arrive tomorrow, so that’s one additional *handicapped-driving* day for us. The paint job though, will have to wait because it will take a week to complete, and we need to find a solution for our “lack of wheels” situation during that time first. Still in the process of finding out if the price quoted is within the reasonable range - does anyone know?

Well, in more ways than one, the recent General Elections will certainly be one we will never ever forget.

X marks on the lormaikai March 8, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , 10comments

Here’s wishing LB the very happiest birthday today!  May you have all the lormaikais you have ever hoped for and all the Canning Garden chee cheong fun you ever wanted…sorry, I don’t have a picture of the ccf though.  Never mind, soon you will be back in Malaysia so you can eat as much as your tummy can hold, can?

How very coincidental for LB to have his birthday fall on polling day today.  In a few hours’ time (of course after I have had a good good night’s rest), Malaysians will throng polling centers nationwide to queue up and put the X where it should be.  Pity though about the cancellation of the use of the indelible ink on the fingernails of voters.  I was hoping to take a picture of my index finger with the ink marking and posting it proudly here too.

After the elections, come the results.  And the entire nation will be waiting with bated breath to find out the outcome.  I will certainly look forward to the cleaning up of all the posters and banners that have littered the roads for the past few weeks, that’s for sure.  Well, until then…I’m calling it a night now.  Remember to vote wisely…

Insuring & peace of mind March 7, 2008

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

I am amazed that up till today, insurance is still considered a taboo topic for some people.  In the days of yore, people shunned insurance because it dealt with death, which was not a welcome topic of discussion for many and which most were unwilling to face.  Today, most people treat insurance as a norm.  But, even after all the tax relief incentives given and assurances of unlimited types of plans to cater for your every need, some people just stubbornly claim they do not believe in the concept of insurance, for whatever personal reason they might have.  However, even if they do not believe in life insurance, motor insurance is something everyone has to face, whether they like it or not.  If you ride a motorbike, you get motorcycle insurance.  If you drive a car, then it’s car insurance. There are even specific vehicle insurance plans now, like Van Insurance, for example!  How cool is that!

Which reminds me of a funny video I recently saw where the man said he did not have enough money for motor insurance.  He went from driving a fancy car to a compact car to a bike and finally the solution: ride a bicycle!  Though personally I feel that cyclists should consider life insurance seriously, don’t you think so?