Cheesecake has and always will be a love of mine, and I was ecstatic when I found out that we had The Cheesecake Factory here in San Jose.  Well, I was kinda bummed when I found out it was already in existence several years ago when I was here, and I missed out on having cheesecake there then, so I had been bugging my hubby to take me there this time, torturing him with my rants of pregnancy cravings and whatnot.

My chance came last Sunday when we were in the vicinity of The Cheesecake Factory, and when we finally found the shop, I promptly stepped in to get a slice of yummy cheesecake.  Any one will do, I thought.  But I was spoiled for choice.  I could feel my saliva glands going into overtime as I glanced at the menu and finally selected a slice of Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake, which was packed in a jiffy, with TWO dollops of whipped cream to boot.  My hubby and I were wondering why I was given TWO servings of whipped cream instead of one.  Well, the only reason I could think of was cuz I was pregnant.  Tee-hee.

I am SO going back there for more the next time!

And then, the next day, lunchtime saw hubby and I enjoying a delicious bowl of phố (Vietnamese beef noodles) at Pho Nam, one of the most popular haunts for Vietnamese cuisine.  Then lunch crowd is humunguous, and if we get there a little bit late, we have to wait to be seated.  ALWAYS.

But don’t you think it is SO worth it?  The concoction of piping hot beef broth with smooth phố, topped with basil, bean sprouts and chilli is so GOOD.  We never get stuff as good as this in Malaysia, aitelyu.

My favorite is the tendon part, so I usually will choose the option that has that.  We ordered the fried spring rolls too, which were served with fish sauce laced with shreds of carrot.

Very, very good indeed.  It was something different from what we usually order, which is the UNFRIED and white spring rolls served with thick peanut sauce.  Both types of spring rolls are so good, I wished they serve it combo style, so we could get the best of both worlds.

In any case, can you tell that I am absolutely enjoying all the food here?  Well, I know for a fact that the baby in my tummy is…look at that amazing tumble-turn there!

Ahhhh…..YES.

One of the very first items my hubby and I bought when we first stepped into the supermarket here is the Häagen-Dazs ice cream.  They come in tubs of 1 quart each.  For those who are imperial-system-challenged, 1 quart is equivalent to about 2 pints.  And a pint is the size we normally see in Malaysian supermarkets.  In the US, they sell Häagen-Dazs ice cream in smaller sizes too, but we get the quart size cuz that’s more economical.

Anyway, 1 quart of Häagen-Dazs ice cream costs about USD6.99.  Isn’t that awesome?  And last weekend, we stumbled on a grocery store that was selling it at USD4.99 or something, so obviously I stocked up.

In any case, those tubs are still sitting pretty in the freezer, while I wait for my cough to recover completely.  Knowing fully well my passion to always “fight fire with fire”, hubby has strictly barred me from ice cream and cold drinks till I say bye-bye to my cough.  Can’t even have my favorite strawberry milkshake now….SIGH.

Oh, how I miss my ice cream!

Half an hour later, our whole apartment was reeking of that familiar tamarind-assam-like flavor and as I readied my tummy for the wondrous experience, I put the laksa noodles to boil…or rather, what I *thought* was laksa noodles when I bought it from the Asian grocer here.

It turned out to be loh-see-fun (mouse-tail noodles)!  So instead of the long strands of laksa, we had short ones instead.  What to do…

Oh, and we definitely did not forget the heh-ko (prawn paste), also imported exclusively from Penang.  No bowl of laksa would be complete without it!

I’m gonna have to try hunting for those laksa noodles now.  That supposed teatime treat turned out to be an early dinner for me, because I couldn’t eat anything else after that.

Besides, I was still suffering from my week-long cough, and it became a tad worse last weekend because my cough was so forceful, there were traces of blood in the phlegm!  Oh, it doesn’t sound as serious as it does.  It’s just drier here in the States and the throat tends to be more sensitive.  I’m on the doc-approved-for-preggers Robitussin DM now.  Got it from Target on Sunday, and hoping that my cough-free days will come back to me soon.

Reading on, I learnt that Porpor had been admitted into hospital about 9 hours before that and was in a very critical condition.

My Porpor led a beautiful life filled with joy, love and happiness, and she brought a smile to those whose lives she had touched.  While I am saddened by her passing, I am ever grateful that I am blessed to have known her; to have had her care for me when I was a baby and to have her love showered upon me.

One of the last few photos I took with Porpor was during her birthday celebration last year.  She was always happy to see me, and I remember that she looked very prosperous in that red outfit she was wearing.

I will miss my Porpor, but I know in my heart that her legacy lives on forever.

In the US, it really makes sense to bring a bento in for lunch because if we eat in the cafeteria, the prices are pretty steep, and on top of that, you have to pay sales tax too!  There is no such thing as an employee rebate here as well.  So bringing a lunch box into the office is a sensible thing to do, PLUS you get to enjoy homecooked food.  And of course, I get to do some bento-ing too!

My hubby and I are not into the TOO cutesy stuff of bento, rather we just prefer the simple meals that work to fill our tummies.  Besides, I don’t have to pack bentos for Ethan just yet, because his daycare takes care of all his meals.  On the other hand, even if I did have to pack Ethan a bento, he is not one to care too much for cutely shaped stuff.  Trust me, I have tried and they don’t work.  The most would be a nice adorable food pick or two, but that’s about it. 

Anyway, so here’s my bento story for the week:

Monday

This is hubby’s bento for Monday, consisting of steamed rice with chicken stew, garnished with blanched broccoli and baby carrots.  I threw in some juicy seedless grapes too.

Monday was my first day at work too, so I had a simple bento made for myself as well.  It’s the same as what hubbs had but in a smaller portion.  And I used two of the bento boxes I bought during my Daiso outing the other day for both hubby’s and my bento.

Later that evening however, hubbs complained his lunch was not enough as he was already hungry at 2:30p.m.!  That means I need to get one of those two-tier men’s bento boxes for him…you know those that come in black or greyish hues and cost a fortune on ebay?

Tuesday

This is what hubby brought for lunch on Tuesday.  It’s his favorite homecooked Hainanese Chicken Rice on a bed of lettuce with some chopped cili padi in a small container and of course, some soy sauce to go with it.  I placed a banana in his lunch bag too in the hope that it would be more substantial.

Wednesday

My hubby’s lunch for Wednesday was a very simple meal: steamed rice with two side dishes: tau-ewe-bak (soy sauce pork stew) and stir-fried pumpkin with dried shrimp and minced turkey meat.  Tau-ewe-bak goes really well with sambal belacan, so yeah, that’s what’s in the little orange container in the corner right there.  And of course, I added the obligatory banana.

There wasn’t any more tau-ewe-bak left for me, so I only put its gravy on my rice.  Of course, I packed a little bit more pumpkin for myself and added a cup of fruit jelly too.  Oh yeah, and mine, I brought to the office in a little warmer bag, like so:

Didn’t really keep the stuff warm as it promised, but still a very handy little thing to carry around.

Thursday

I had an early meeting on Thursday and I was gonna attend the conference from home, so I made sure I got lunch packed and ready early too for hubby to bring to work.  This is claypot chicken rice, garnished with spring onions and cilantro.  And how can we not have claypot chicken rice without cili padi? The steamed baby carrots are added for color.  And isn’t it obvious that I am trying to finish off the bananas in my house?

Friday

The cook is on official rest today because hubby has a team lunch every Friday, so I didn’t cook.  I went out for Indian food with my colleagues today for lunch too, in fact.

Here’s to more bento adventures in the weeks to come!

It must have been about 6 years or so since I had been there, and I definitely have very fond memories of this place.  On the way to Pier 39, we passed the Bay Bridge that leads to Oakland, and the view was absolutely breathtaking.

The weather was cool and nice, perfect for a stroll.  There were many people who had the same idea as us too, because that place was jampacked!  We went to Pier 39 first to walk around the shops, and of course, hubbs could not resist taking photos of the boats that were docked there.

I wanted a few pictures with Ethan too, but you know, that fella was so excited with the new surroundings, I guess he wasn’t too happy when we asked him to pose for long. This was one of the ones that got away.  You can see my 22-week belly showing too!

Next, we made a pitstop to look at the sealions.  They still had that cutesy sound I remembered oh-so-well, and most of them were basking in the sunset.

Then we took a walk over to Fisherman’s Wharf because we wanted to get a bite.  There were many shops around, and yes, all of them served the very very famous clam chowder!

Some of the restaurants had dungeness crabs on the menu too.  These are very rare in Malaysia, but apparently, they are very easily found here in Fisherman’s Wharf.  We opted NOT to have crabs that day,… can you imagine the havoc of having to peel crabs while caring for a toddler? Nuh-uh…not a very good combination at all!

In the end, we ended up at a restaurant called Boudin, which prides itself as being the place were the famous sourdough bread all started. 

Here in Fisherman’s Wharf, you HAVE to order the clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.  It is TO DIE FOR.  And since we were rather hungry, we added a chicken salad sandwich too.

I am still dreaming of the clam chowder now.   It was so thick, so creamy, so good (can you just taste it now?) ….and when you scrape the bread bowl at the end of it all, you just want to scream for more!  The chicken sandwich was surprisingly good too.  They put grapes in it - how’s that for unique?

And does this look spell SATISFACTION with a capital S?

I spent the day clearing my email backlog and submitting all the necessary forms for work here in California.  Anyway, enough of boring work stuff.  Wait till you hear about what I was up to LAST FRIDAY!  Hehehe…. *rubs hands with glee*

So last Friday, being my last non-working weekday before I start work and all, I decided to go gallivanting on my own.  Hubbs dropped Ethan off at daycare on his way to work and I quickly logged in to the PC to get some directions online.  I was gonna take the light rail transit (VTA) and then board a bus to somewhere in Mountain View to visit the famous Daiso store!

I walked to the nearest VTA station (which took me about 6-8 minutes, and bought a $1.75 ticket that was valid for two hours.  And I waited for the train.

And I waited some more… the train was late by about 15 minutes!  But when it finally arrived, I boarded it happily and made my (roughly) 40-minute ride to Downtown Mountain View.  The VTA train moved slower than the LRT back in Malaysia and had less passengers too.  But they had a cool feature where people could ride their bikes, board the VTA and PARK their bikes nicely in the train.

Upon arrival in Mountain View, I waited for the bus to take me to San Antonio Shopping Center.  That was another 5 minutes’ or so waiting time.

While waiting, my itchy eyes and itchy hands had to take this picture of birds perched on the lamp post nearby.  Haha…don’t ask me why… Don’t you think the sky is just so BLUE?

Anyway, I finally arrived at the shopping center, but man, it was huge!  I was reluctant to walk blindly looking for Daiso, so I asked for directions, and after a few minutes….

H-A-L-L-E-L-U-J-A-H!!!

I had only very little time to look around, because I wanted to be home by 2:30p.m., so I quickly went to the BENTO aisle and picked out some stuff.  Actually, I kinda expected more…maybe longer aisles and more stuff, but still I managed to come back with this loot:

Everything in that store is seriously $1.50 unless stated otherwise, like the brown bento box in the far left corner, which I got for $3.00.

So, that was quite an adventure I had.  A few booboos were that I spilled all of my root beer which I bought for lunch and I only managed to get back home at 3:00p.m.  Oh yeah, and I also found out the hard way that in VTA trains, you need to press a strip stuck to the wall of the train to indicate you want to get down, otherwise the train will just whoosh past your station.  SIGH.  That’s what happened to me…so I had to wait for another train to take me back one station.

But all’s good.  I got some bento stuff for lunch packing, and I rode the VTA!  Yay!  Now who says pregnant women have to lie down in bed the whole day long?

I could hardly believe it.  IKEA is now not a tiring 4 hours’ drive away, but instead, it is only a short 20-minute drive away from our home.  In a way, the convenience kind of scares us because it offers a temptation that is so hard to resist.  What’s more, some of the items we were eyeing are even cheaper than those in Malaysia!  Yeah, I kid you not.

Last Sunday was our second visit to IKEA in a month, and we only went there that day because they were having a 2-day promotion where the sales tax of 8.25% would be waived!  There were slightly more people than usual, I would say, but there was no pushing or shoving around.  Check out the escalators leading to the living room section of IKEA.  Doesn’t it look oddly familiar, like you’ve seen it before somewhere, like in Mutiara Damansara?  The East Palo Alto IKEA we went too consists of two storeys too, much like what we have in Malaysia, and the sections were pretty much similar, so it is quite easy to navigate around.

See, even the kids’ play area had a similar-looking slide.  It was VERY hard to get Ethan to leave the play area, by the way.

In order to take advantage of the no-sales-tax promo, we bought a few items, like a bathtub for baby, a chair for Ethan, and an additional 17 gallon Samla box, which only cost $9.99.  Compared to the price of RM45 in Malaysia for that same item, this one was a steal!  We know it will come in handy because we used it when we were shipping our stuff to the US when we relocated here.

Well, too bad we could not buy the Billy bookcase too, as I had wanted.  It just would not fit into our car!  SIGH.

It’s actually drizzling, but you can’t see the raindrops in the picture.  You can see that the ground is damp, however.  And since that day, it has been raining here every day.  The weather has started to get slightly colder because of that, and you know what, we realize now that we had forgotten to pack an umbrella.  Bummer!

***

Also on that same Thursday, I received a call from the OB/GYN’s office in the morning, to inform me that there had been a last minute cancellation from one of the patients, and the nurse asked if I would be able to come in that afternoon itself for a checkup.  After confirming with my hubby, we happily went for our checkup…which went well, I would say.  Doc examined me and said that the pregnancy was doing fine, with me being 21 weeks along now and all.  We also got to hear the baby’s heartbeat!  Yay!  But unfortunately here in the US, the ultrasound is done not by the doc himself, but by the Radiology department, and we had to have an appointment set up within the next week.

***

My Social Security Card arrived last Tuesday!  That means that I am now able to take my written road test and get a driving permit to allow me to take the road test for my driver’s licence.  I have, to date, completed 6 hours of driving lessons, and will be utilizing part of the last 2 hours for part of my driving test.  We plan to take the written test sometime next week, so I am now *sorta* studying the small booklet of road rules.

***

And finally, tonight I am thankful for ONE additional hour of sleep, because Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00a.m. Sunday morning.  This will be my very first time experiencing a switch in time due to the end of DST, and I will be adjusting the clock back by an hour before I sleep tonight.

Of course, my additional one hour of sleep will solely depend on whether Ethan decides to cooperate or not.

Once we got Ethan settled into daycare, it was time for me to go for a long overdue checkup for my “bun in the oven”.  My last checkup back in Penang was at the end of September, and I was longing to see my little bub there on the ultrasound screen.  I never knew how hard it was to secure an appointment with an OB/GYN here in the Bay Area till last week.  Those 5 letters have been rolling off my tongue so many times when I tried making an appointment, that I have really lost count.

After surveying and talking to several friends and weighing the pros and cons, and taking into consideration their recommendations, we decided to have our baby in El Camino Hospital.  My main priority was to deliver the baby in a hospital that is fully supportive of breastfeeding, and I was extremely happy to note that in a recent review of breastfeeding practices, new mothers at El Camino Hospital achieved the highest breastfeeding rate of any hospital in the state, with 97 percent nursing their babies in the hospital, and 93 percent breastfeeding exclusively when they leave the hospital.  According to Vien though, all hospitals in the States are pro-breastfeeding.

So once we decided on a hospital and hubbs had our health and medical insurance cards ready, I searched the insurance company website for a list of doctors affiliated with our health plan with the hospital of our choice.  Here in the US, doctors would only accept patients who were with a health plan they were affiliated with.  Some of the doctors weren’t even accepting new patients, though.

Now, the doctors’ had their appointments in their own clinics, NOT in the hospital, so we only had to go to the hospital during the actual delivery.  Our initial agenda was to schedule a brief interview with a few doctors to see if he/she would be a good fit, however when I called up several doctors’ offices, the receptionist informed me that the doctors do not provide interviews, and besides most of the doctors I had shortlisted only had an available appointment date in December!

Now that was WAY too far away for me.  I could already feel the little one kicking me every day now, begging to be seen on the ultrasound.  So hubbs and I decided on ONE doctor, who is recommended by two friends.  I called his office up and the receptionist told me the earliest appointment was December 1st.  Well, I then went into a “sorta pleading mode” and asked if there was any way at all she could fit me in earlier.  I gave her the facts that I was already about 20 weeks along, and my last checkup was over a month ago.  Well, that was last Friday, and she told me she would pass the message on the receptionist who was in charge of the doc’s schedule, and that receptionist would try to work something out for me.

On Monday morning, I received a call from the doc’s office to let me know that they could fit me in for an appointment next Friday, November 7th.  Yippeee!  I was in jubilation!  That was great news indeed!  So I am eagerly waiting for that day now.

Meanwhile, I can only immerse myself in pregnancy literature…

With a new environment, comes new experiences…and one of the inevitable ones is driving. Driving a left-hand drive car, rather. Everything is the total opposite of what it is in Malaysia, and I had to keep reminding myself that.

When I visited the States several years ago, I drove a little bit too, but this time round, I’m gonna take it a leap further and get my California state driver’s license as well.

Although I am authorized to take a total of 8 hours’ of driving lessons from an authorized driving school here, I drove around a couple of times prior to taking lessons, of course with my hubby offering tips and *advice* in the process. Well, last Friday was my first FORMAL driving lesson. My instructor, a nice lady by the name of Terry, sat by my side while I drove to goodness-knows-where, practising what needs to be done for the road test, including observing the various street speed limits, stopping a certain distance from the vehicle in front, and “backing up in a straight line”. The lesson was a whole 2 hours’ long, and we also had time to go on the freeway.

To get my driver’s license, I would need to first get my Social Security Card (application currently in progress), and then pass my written multiple-choice driver’s test, and THEN pass the road test.

I am definitely getting more confident on the roads now, and sometimes I would even be allowed to drive the car on my own. Hehe. Sometimes though, I still flick the wipers instead of the indicators, but that rarely happens now, I am happy to say.

Tomorrow morning I have my second driving lesson. My thoughts? I just wanna pass all the tests and get my driver’s license pronto!

Before we left Malaysia, we had already finalized where we were gonna be staying in San Jose.  But up till then, we had only seen the floor plan of the apartment and the most we could do was to imagine what the real thing would look like.

Upon arrival, us two tired, weary adults and a highly-active toddler were greeted by an extremely cosy apartment.  There are two rooms, each with a queen-sized bed, and most of the apartment, save for the kitchen and bathrooms, is carpeted.

This is our living room.  The longer couch faces the TV.  In the afternoons, we do get some warm sunlight streaming through the blinds in the living room.  Oh, and there’s a door leading to a patio/balcony too.

Here’s where I have been spending a good deal of time in: the kitchen.  It’s fully furnished with a 4-burner stove, microwave, oven, fridge, dishwasher (which I currently use to air-dry dishes), larder, pots, pans, cutlery and an Asian cooking set (i.e. wok, chopsticks, etc).  No complaints so far, especially since the kitchen overlooks the splendid view of the swimming pool.

Well, here’s the view from the second bedroom, i.e. Ethan’s room.  The view from the kitchen is similar to this one, and Ethan absolutely loves it!  It certainly beats the view from the master bedroom, which overlooks the road where the garbage carts are parked.

We have two bathtubs in the apartment, the one in the master bedroom being a Roman-style oval tub, and guess what?  Two bathroom sinks too!  But what thrills me is the Hollywood-style makeup lighting above the bathroom sinks.  Love, love, love it!

So in short, we are satisfied with our apartment.  The relocation people did manage to provide as many necessities as possible, such as a high chair for Ethan too.

And there was no excuse for me NOT to start utilizing my kitchen, because our FedEx food shipment arrived the very next day after we touched down.

We had shipped several important food items from Malaysia, the crucial one being several tins of Ethan’s favorite Pediasure milk.  And our prayers were answered when all three of the boxes of food we shipped from Malaysia arrived safely with everything accounted for.

So…what else have I been doing?  Oh, we forgot to bring any shower gel with us, so I bought a bottle of Aveeno body wash from Walmart.  I know my good girlfriend Audrey highly recommends it, and so did cc, and you know what?  I love it!  The weather here is kind of dry, but this body wash is really gentle and I love the smell of it.  I’m gonna get more when I run out.

Oh, and of course, the very rare few times that I did not cook, we go to our favorite burger joint for a quick meal.  In-N-Out, of course!  I’d been craving for it since like forever!  Nicely done cheeseburgers, with NO PICKLES.

And oh, check out what’s imprinted on the base of the cups they serve…

But when push comes to shove, one will really need to determine if their personal interest is worth all that sacrifice of resigning their current jobs without a replacement job yet.  Or even if your current job is what you want to keep doing and keep suffering from.

Everybody would definitely like a job that is stress-free, where they are given the trust and responsibility to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities, without being micro-managed.  Unfortunately it is not a perfect world, and we find employees everywhere looking for better options to suit their interests.

I recently read that accounting professionals hold some of the most highly-stressful jobs, so I would not be surprised if the demand for highly-paid accounting jobs increases tremendously worldwide.  In Malaysia, in the US, and everywhere around the world, the internet is an excellent source for job hunters, and well, if you’re thinking of relocating to the States soon, and if you’re on the lookout for an accounting-related position, you might just find what you are looking for from this fantastic site with over five thousand jobs targeting Accounting Jobs in Boston.

Looking at the varied number of openings, I doubt a day would be sufficient to sift through all those job postings!

Well, I am certainly not on the lookout for an accounting job, so I think what I’ll do now is forward this website link to someone I know who is.

Woohoo! Have I got tons to catch up on!

Firstly, thank you so much one and all for all your “Bon Voyage” wishes and prayers.  My sincerest apologies for the silence and for not (yet) replying to all your comments.  I promise to get to that as soon as I can.

It has been one very exciting adventure for my family and I, and of course, I will get to the nitty gritty soon, but for now, I just wanted to let everyone know that we have arrived in California, …well…. about 2 weeks ago actually.  Landed in SFO at about eightish pm, collected our car from the car rental and drove to San Jose, a good 45 minutes’ away…to what would be our home for the next 9-10 months or so.

We only got our home internet connection set up several days back, and even then, it has been difficult to find time to log in because I can only do so when Ethan is asleep (hah).  Also, we’ve been really busy getting everything settled, unpacking our stuff and also trying my best to put nutritious homecooked food on the table every day

But hopefully things will fall into place soon, and I will provide an update as best as I can, albeit it could be a tad backdated.

For now though, I just wanted to let everyone know that I appreciate your thoughts and keeping us all in your prayers, and I wanted to drop a note to say that, “YES!  I am still alive!”

Oh, by the way, the weather here is fantastic!  Lovin’ it to bits!

So do watch this space for more giddy happenings!!

There really is no better way than to just say it as it is.  YES, my family and I will be relocating to The States.  And YES, the reason for my lack of blog presence these past few weeks is because we have been busy preparing for our trip.  Hubbs and I will be relocating to complete our short-term work assignment and of course, Ethan will be following us too.

In fact, we just got back from Kuala Lumpur a few days ago after attending the US Visa interview at the US Embassy, and will be leaving next week itself for California.  In fact, in an Amazing Race kinda style, we almost didn’t make it for our scheduled Visa interview, because we kinda lost our bearings that fateful morning.  But we made it to the embassy eventually, waited and waited for our turns (me with those butterflies in my tummy), and finally it was all over.

Well, I couldn’t contact most people I knew in KL too because it was a pretty hectic trip and to top it off, both my hubby’s and my cellphones’ batteries went dead on us.  And silly us, we neglected to bring our chargers along.

In spite of that, I am proud to say that we did cover a lot of ground this trip, literally, while in the Klang Valley.  Since it will be several months before we see the traffic-jammed roads in KL, we drove around visiting our siblings during this trip.  From Crowne Plaza Mutiara KL, we drove to Bangsar to visit hubb’s brother’s family. Then the next night, we drove from Damansara to Seri Kembangan to visit my brother and his family, taking a total of TWO hours to get there, and getting lost along the way as well, but nevertheless never giving up.

And may I just say that I am SHOCKED that there are so many cars on the roads in the Klang Valley at any given time of day.  At 3pm, we were stuck in a traffic jam along Jalan Ampang.  And even at 9:30ish pm, when most Penangites would be at home relaxing with a cuppa, and reading the papers, cars were thronging Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Kuching and Lebuhraya Mahameru like ants!

Anyway, we are back home in Penang now, doing the last bit of packing and stressing before we head off for The States.  As we tick off the list of things-to-do before we say goodbye, we feel the stress and burdens slowly lifting off our shoulders.  The past few weeks have proven to be a rollercoaster of ups and downs for us: finalizing the location of our apartment in the US, filing and getting ready the petition for our L1 Visa, wondering whether the petition packet from US will arrive on time, gearing up for the all-important interview, getting the shipment ready, making sure all bills have been accounted for, cancelling whatever needs to be cancelled and in the past few nights, sleeping at odd hours in the night and becoming walking zombies in the day.

…but we are taking it one day at a time…we don’t know what to expect, what the future holds for us, but I am certain this will be one opportunity of our lives we will never ever forget….

Anyway, a couple of weekends back, on a Sunday, my family and I were relaxing at home, watching TV, when suddenly POOF!  there was no electricity again!

So what were we to do, but to pack up, and head off to the E&O hotel for a night’s stay….

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No la…we are not THAT extravagant :P 

It just so happened that I had prebooked the one night’s stay because I had collected enough stamps on my E&O Heritage dining card to entitle us for a free room.  And it just so happened that there was a power outage on the day I had made the room reservation.

Usually when there is a power outage, the apartment elevators would still be working, but for some reason, both the elevators were also out, so we had to walk down the stairs…with our bags and all.  My hubby carried most of the bags, while I carried Ethan and one other bag.  It’s a wonder how we need to pack so much stuff for a night away.  And that being said, it was pretty good strength training and cardio exercise for us

The E&O was fantastic.  Although the room we were given was smaller than the one we had during our wedding, and it was slightly noisier, since it faced the streets instead of the sea, we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

Even the welcome drink tasted superb, not like dishwater like in some other hotels we’ve been to.  Oh, and a cold towel for our arrival too

Ethan probably had the most fun - enjoying himself in the bathtub and roaming all round the hotel room.  Check out the decor: ain’t it grand? 

I thought the inclusion of a rather antique-looking fan was so appropriate for that old world charm the hotel exudes.  Also, in the night, we experienced something like a tropical rainstorm, which made the weather quite cold, so having the fan on for circulation while we upped the airconditioning temperature was just perfect.

It was a one-day break that we all needed, to rejuvenate ourselves for the hectic days ahead…… but more on that later.

Not “How are you?”, “How have you been?” or “How’s life?”, but those little words that spoke a gallon of truth.

Thankfully I had the perfect comeback to her statement.

Pregnancy gives one plenty of excuses, doesn’t it?

Weight gain is definitely lauded in every pregnancy but it must be a reasonable one.  This time round however, I definitely gained more weight than before.  I think I’ve already gained about 6 kilos, and I’ve only just recently started my 2nd trimester!  *Gasp!*   It’s inevitable, yes, but it is not something I look forward to in pregnancy.

I do look forward to:

• Eating yummy nutritious food.  Just the other weekend, I thought I would definitely benefit from some homemade chicken essence, just like my Mom made for me, after I gave birth to Ethan last time round.  Since I don’t have a double boiler (yet), my Mom had improvised by using a steamer rack placed over an empty bowl, placed in a water bath in the slow cooker.  We used free-range chicken, with the skin removed and had the poultry seller smash the bones of the chicken.  For all it’s worth, it certainly gave me a more restful sleep!

• Thicker, fuller-bodied hair.  For someone with fine hair like me, being pregnant means that I get to enjoy a fuller head of hair, at least for those few months.  Oh, and let’s not forget the glowing complexion!

• NO PERIODS!!!  Woohooo!!!!

• Feeling that first baby movement.  The indescribable joy of that fluttering feeling in the tummy region is pure bliss.

• Succumbing to my food cravings.  A few weekends ago, while I was in Ipoh, I was blessed enough to be able to savor the famous Canning Garden chee cheong fun.  Not the one that is in Canning Garden now, manned by a man wielding a cigarette the whole time, but the one that was ORIGINALLY from Canning Garden, and has now emigrated to a stall in one of the coffee shops downtown.  Craving satisfied…

• Starting out on that breastfeeding journey all over again.

I do not look forward to:

• Excessive fatigue.  Contrary to what people think, life doesn’t stop when one becomes pregnant.  It doesn’t mean you get to lie back and enjoy everything once you get those test results showing two lines.  And when you’ve got a house to clean, laundry to wash and a toddler to tend to, fatigue does become bothersome.  I try to be SuperMom and SuperWoman sometimes, but at other times, I just throw in the towel, and hit the sack.  Thankfully, the first trimester is behind me now, and hopefully, there will be more *joyful* times ahead in the second.

• Nausea. Almost every single smell is revolting to me now.  I can’t find a suitable shower gel to use either.  And you know, it’s no fun when you feel like puking most of the times you step into the bathroom.  No fun at all.  I hope this goes away soon.  But then I’m afraid nausea in the first trimester will pave its way for heartburn in the second and third.

• Backache.  Those mild aching pains in the lower back get worse at night.  Rubbing it a little helps, but I have had to shift my sleeping position countless times before it gets comfy.

• Leg cramps.  I got these in the later stages of my first pregnancy, and they used to attack me in the wee hours of the morning.  Not looking forward to these at all.

• Itchy belly.  Not looking forward to becoming a monkey either, but this is inevitable.

• Labor pains.  ’nuff said.

Well, I’m tired now.  And I got to get my sleep.  YAWN.  Sweet dreams, y’all!

Well, last Saturday seemed like the perfect opportunity for us to order a pizza, because there was this MEGA FOOTBALL MATCH on TV, and it made full sense to enjoy dinner right in the comforts of our own home.  Ethan doesn’t really DIG pizza (yet), although he would go “peh ta! peh ta!” when he sees one, so it was a good thing that I had whipped up some wholesome delicious sweet potato porridge with ikan bilis stock for him for dinner that night.

I decided to use Domino’s online ordering service and placed my order at about 7:10p.m.  If the pizza arrived at about 7:41p.m. or 7:42p.m., we’ll get a free pizza on our next order.  Hehe…not that I was hoping for that anyway.  But 7:45p.m. came and still there was no sign of pizza.  With a growling tummy, I called Domino’s up, and the customer service officer told me that the demand was unusually high that night, so they weren’t able to deliver on time.

10 minutes later, still no pizza.  Someone from Domino’s called to check if the pizza had arrived, and I told her no.  She promised it would arrive in another 10 minutes’ time, apologizing profusely for the delay.

I actually found this episode rather ironic, because the Domino’s branch is literally just a stone’s throw away from my apartment.

FINALLY, at about 8:15p.m. our doorbell rang and we got our steaming hot pizza…and of course, a voucher for a free pizza on the next order.  Frankly I would have preferred that the pizza I ordered was free instead of giving us a voucher for our next order, but whatever.

As soon as I sank my teeth into the pizza…..wah….. it was heavenly!  And the Cinnastix I ordered?  Unlike the miserable “sticks” we get from Pizza Hut, these were humungous!  They were so generous with them!  Tasted fantastically great with the sweet icing too!

Well, of course the most glorious taste of all that night was that of victory over The Red Devils.  Liverpool beat Man U 2-1!!!  Ah, the taste of success…. I simply LURVE it!

I tilled the soil, trimmed the dried branches and looked after it as best I could.  There was no apparent improvement for all I could see.  I even planted a few additional shoots, compliments from Ethan’s baby sitter, in the hope that these new ones will encourage the old ones to grow too.

Weeks passed and …. nothing.

Then one evening, while watching teevee, I could hardly believe my eyes when I noticed a little bud growing!  It was a fresh new shoot, all eager to make its way into the world.  A few days later, another one sprouted and I was happy as a lark.

I can’t help but wonder if this is an indication of things to come in my life.  My family and I are about to face some major changes.  Changes and experiences that would probably and possibly change our lives, if not forever, then at least for the next coming months.

This is certainly an indication of new hope, a new beginning.  I’m excited, yes, but at times, I am filled with trepidation and uncertainty.  I find myself unconsciously singing the tune from The Sound of Music….

What will this day be like?…….I wonder…..
What will my future be?….I wonder….

Indeed I wonder…..

But one thing I am certain of is that The Good Lord will be walking beside me all the way.

A favor I ask, in this time of dire need
As a friend or blog reader, I pray you’ll help me do the deed
Your precious vote is really all I seek
Just choose my name, it isn’t very hard indeed

All you have to do is visit Hochiak! today
Look for the poll for the USD100 giveaway
Every vote counts, so please vote for me
But hurry please, cos voting ends September 9th, you see.

Thanking you in advance for all the trouble you’ve taken
I’m Entry #4: please vote for my Ginger Sauced Chicken
Do rope in others to join in the excitement
Come one, come all, drop me a vote for the sake of entertainment!

***

Please, please, please go to Hochiak! Delicious Asian Food and vote for me in the USD100 giveaway contest!

I also discovered that I cannot stand the smell of garlic, although I loved it pre-preggers. So I can’t cook with garlic now, because the smell of garlic on my fingers after cooking will make me pukey.

Strangely enough though, while I shun the very sight and thought of garlic, ginger has the opposite effect on me. And it wasn’t too long before I realized that one of the foods I craved for now is ginger and spring onion chicken rice, more widely known as “kngeow charng kei pui” in Hokkien or “keong choong kai fun” in Cantonese. Truth be known, I can eat this every day and not be tired of it.

So when I discovered this Hochiak recipe in Pablo’s Delicious Asian Food, I couldn’t wait to try it out. Everyone knows that homecooked food tastes so much better than food bought outside. Okay la, plus the fact that there was a USD100 up for grabs that spurred my enthusiasm even further. Heh.

So last Friday, I tried the recipe out. It’s called Ginger Sauced Chicken in Delicious Asian Food, and it calls for ginger juice, but unfortunately I did not have the tools to juice my ginger. I do so need to get a mortar and pestle soon. Anyway, I followed the recipe almost to the tee but to my horror, the finished product turned out horrendously, and certainly did NOT look like the picture in the Delicious Asian Food blog. See? Mine looked more like Tau Ewe Chicken:

Being the stubborn and determined person I am, I certainly wanted to try perfecting it. So two days later, while my two princes were off to dreamland, I attempted to dish out a respectable looking plate of Ginger Sauce Chicken. Figuring the blackness could be due to the fact that I had reused some of the oil used to fry the chicken to make the sauce, I decided to use fresh oil for the sauce this time round. Instead of using ginger juice to marinade the chicken, I sliced up a LOT of ginger real fine, and mixed it with the chicken fillet, together with a dash of soya sauce and pepper. And oh, I omitted the garlic in the recipe because of very obvious reasons .

And here are the results of my labor:

I had it for my tea-time and supper that day. And hubby said it was definitely better than the first attempt. Hee.

***

By the way, wanna put yourself in the running to win USD100? Go check out Delicious Asian Food now, and cook yourself up a storm!

My only foe now is my own laziness.

Just a few days ago, I was again battling this old foe of mine. I was about to finish up my work, and was having a brief chat with Audrey at the same time. She too was about to call it a day and head for her staircase workout, but I, on the other hand, was being wishy-washy about my swimming plans. I contemplated postponing my swimming till next week, reasoning that the haze was still around, but in all honesty, I was just plain lazy. Audrey, a fantastic mother of two adorable kids, in her usual got-to-love-her friendly style, suggested ever-so-kindly that I could perhaps go for a swim, but cut down on the swimming time. I fiddled with this prospect and decided to just do it. After all, who was I to argue with a terrific runner who is training for an upcoming 10K run soon?

I had no regrets after that. The water temperature was just right, and completing my laps was not a problem at all, fuelled by the image of Olympic swimmers like Michael Phelps breaking world records left and right. In the spirit of fitness, I even threw in two additional laps just because I felt like it.

So exercise does wonders for laziness. And it didn’t even make me more tired after that. The crux is getting yourself out of that couch and into the swimsuit. Plus, I really do need it, especially in the first trimester, because if it’s good for me, it must be good for baby too.

The Olympic games have proven to be an event full of highs and lows, ups and downs. So the badminton team is back from Beijing, with a silver medal to be proud of…although there was a flicker of hope that the medal could have been a gold one, and that on that fateful night, we would see Lee Chong Wei standing proud and tall on the highest step of the podium, with the strains of the Negaraku playing loudly.

Still, I am mighty proud that we walked away with a silver medal, and at least now we see Malaysia on the medal tally board.

Of course, there are plenty of comments and remarks about the straight-set match.

“He was nervous.”

“He lost confidence after losing those first few points to Lin Dan.”

“Lin Dan had home ground advantage.”

“Chong Wei felt the pressure.”

After the match, some people even say,”Aiyo, what a waste…he missed his chance of getting that RM1 million.”

But seriously, is that what’s important in winning a gold medal for your country? Is the RM1 million proverbial dangling carrot the impetus that drives our sportsmen (and sportswomen) to aim for excellence? Shouldn’t our sportsmen show their true patriotic attitudes with pride and genuinely say and believe that they are doing it for their country? For the honor, for the glory, and for the pride and love that they have in their hearts for their homeland, which we sing (all together now) - “tanah tumpahnya darahku”.

Because the truth is, sports people in some other countries are mostly just volunteers. Well, those who do well certainly gain from sponsorships and endorsements, but those who don’t, they just do it for their country, believe it or not. That is why tears are shed when the national anthem is played. These athletes are touched that their efforts have paid off.

So really, do you think the attitudes and mindsets of Malaysians should change? Or the problem could lie in the way we are governed today. What say you?

So anyway, that was why I jumped at the chance when my hubby’s department had a celebration dinner last Wednesday. It wasn’t simply just ANY celebration, it was held at 1885 in the E&O hotel. A fine dining experience it was, but of course it came with a price … we had to leave Ethan with the baby sitter for a few hours.

But still, this gave my hubby and I the opportunity to dress up and enjoy the evening together. Well, it wasn’t just the two of us ONLY though, because there were OTHER people around too, but still, it was a nice perfect evening of pampering.

It started with a cocktail session on the conservatory by the sea, which evoked memories of a similar cocktail session we had preceding our wedding reception at the E&O about 4 years back. Of course, it was less hazy then. Anyways, this time round, we had fruit punch and some kacang puteh appetizer, although I would have thought caviar would be more suitable for a fine dining kind of treat

We were placed in a table of ten, complete with elegant cutlery and table decorations, and our table was right beside the wine cabinet (although this does not mean we can help ourselves to the bottles there). Here’s the menu we had. Our entrées had already been pre-ordered, in order to save time. The lighting in the fine dining restaurant was a romantic amber hue, and it had chandeliers on the ceiling. There was even a pianist playing soothing jazzy tunes throughout that evening.

I hope they fed the pianist before he started playing!

First up was the Roma Tomato and Basil Essence soup, which had one piece of sui-kao (chicken dumpling) in it. Frankly speaking, the soup didn’t look too appetizing and I was right. It tasted like very diluted ABC soup, minus the homemade factor. And honestly, I would have expected much more from the 1885.

We waited for close to an HOUR before our entrées arrived, and yes, by that time, we were all starving (and praying that the entrées had better be good)

Here’s the filet mignon I ordered. Medium. I normally prefer the rib-eye steaks, but since that wasn’t on the menu, and I was craving for steak, this would have to do. And I was NOT disappointed at all. I am very particular about my steak being EXACTLY medium, and NOT well done, so the first slice I made through it, I knew I was in for a treat. The steak was perfectly done, tender and had so much flavour, I was actually sorry when I finished it

My hubby ordered the cod fillet with oriental noodles. Our intention was to share a bit of each of our food, so we could have some variety. The cilantro berry sauce that the cod came with was excellent and went really well with the noodles. The cod was all right, I suppose, although my hubby loved it to bits. I, on the other hand, preferred my steak. YUM. Maybe it was the taste of the steak that drowned out the taste of the cod. For me, at least.

Dessert was a mini piece of crème brûlée with a slice of banana tart. Very good stuff. I was glad that our table had an absentee, so I hijacked the absentee’s crème brûlée too. I couldn’t taste the glazed sugar coating of the crème brûlée though, but I didn’t really mind.

The evening would have been made lovelier if we had won one of the prizes (like the MacBook or the Nintendo Wii) in the lucky draw, but still, this would be one of the many many dates I would cherish for a long long time

I recently paid a visit to my hairdresser for a hairwash and blowdry. There was a young guy (who could not have been more than 23 or 24 years old) who was given the task to shampoo my hair. And as all shampoo people would usually do, he struck a conversation with me.

About sports.

He said he was really looking forward to the Olympics and from the way he spoke about the event, it was apparent that he wished he could have been in Beijing. Well, don’t we all? He told me he would be rushing back home after work on Friday night to catch the live opening ceremony of the Olympics, and in his opinion, it was really fate that China is the host of the Olympic Games this year, on the very auspicious date of 08.08.08. No, according to shampoo guy, this date comes so very rarely, even if it happened in the yeaer 2088, it doesn’t count, because then it would NOT be 08 all the way.

Shampoo guy was also filled with pride when he said it was the first time the Olympics was held in Asia.

And I, of course, immediately replied, “No, it was held in Seoul, Korea in 1988 what…”

He looked incredulous, and it certainly appeared as though what I had just told him was really news to him. In fact, if I am not mistaken the modern Olympic Games had also been held in Tokyo before, although at that time, I wasn’t even born yet.

“Yes,” I replied. “I remember the theme song was some ‘Arirang’ song or something.”

…which left him looking even more confused.

And now that I think of it, that poor guy may not even have been born in 1988. For all we know, he could have very well still be in his diapers, or toddling around, oblivious to the records that were being broken in that year.

Of course, my recollection of the existence of the 1988 Seoul Olympics does not, in any reason, depict how old I am. It merely goes to show that I had the opportunity to witness one more Asian Olympic Games event than that guy.

I’m looking forward to what China will showcase in the Olympics this year. 12 years of preparation will be unveiled tonight as the opening ceremony kicks off. I hope to be able to catch it live on TV tonight. And if not, there’s always the replay.

I personally do not think of myself as a bookworm. For one, I have a bookworm tagged to an image of someone with thick horn-rimmed glasses buried behind a stack of thick books, slouched behind an even thicker one with the title “How to read more books in 24 hours”. Okay, well I exaggerated a bit there.

But anyway, I was kinda surprised that KittyCat tagged me with a very interesting meme, one that had me thinking, “How much of a bookworm do I think I am?”

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?
I don’t deny that I love reading books, but my problem now is finding time to indulge in this hobby. True, reading books denies the reader from visual gratification to a certain extent, but it allows the imagination to stretch to endless horizons.

I guess I developed a love for reading way back in my school days. Maybe it was peer pressure, maybe it was the sheer fun of completing a book, or maybe it was one of those “Kempen Membaca” that did the trick. … Nah.

What are some books you read as a child?
Like many other little children, I loved Enid Blyton books. I was a huge fan of The Faraway Tree series, and I remember my parents took my brother and me to the library every Sunday after church. That’s where I would scour the library for “treasures”. I endeavored to complete reading the entire Faraway Tree series, and would willingly immerse myself in these books every minute I found. For some reason though, I never did like the Secret Seven or the Famous Five, preferring instead to read Nancy Drew and Dana Girls mysteries, and eventually the more intriguing Alfred Hitchcock ones.

Mills & Boon novels were never up my alley as well, I preferred Sidney Sheldon and Danielle Steele. Read one of Jackie Collins’ , but I didn’t like it.

What is your favourite genre?
Fiction, probably. With a hint of mystery or twist to the tale. John Grisham novels do this job really well, I’d say.

Do you have a favourite novel?
Not really. Most of the novels I have read, I just chuck them aside. I’m currently into light-hearted reads like Sophie Kinsella’s books, which I totally can relate to.

Where do you usually read?
When I was a little girl, I read almost anywhere. In the car, while in the restaurant, during ad breaks on TV…but now, even if I read, it’s mostly on the bed, right before I call it a night.

When do you usually read?
When I find the time to.

Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?
I try not to, because I tend not to finish one before moving on to another, but I can’t help it sometimes. Like now, I have about four books I am reading and referring to, some fiction and some non-fiction, and one in the pipeline ready for me to dive into when I find the time.

Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?
Yup. For nonfiction, especially books for reference, I will flip to the parts that interest me first and read it through. Then I may or may not come back to it in future. For fiction, I just read through from start to end.  The place I read fiction and non-fiction is irrelevant.

Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?
Now I buy most of my books. Used to borrow books as a kid though.

I hardly think twice when I am buying books and magazines nowadays, because I know I have a certain amount that is available to be used for income tax relief.

Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?
Yes. And I desperately need a nice classy-looking bookshelf like the Billy to keep them all in.

If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?
My son is currently into books with the theme of alphabets and numbers, but when he gets a little bit older, I would love to share the Enid Blyton series with him. They are so fascinating….. although I suspect his Daddy cannot wait to share with him the wonders of the world of comic books

What are you reading now?
Fiction:
Evening is The Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan (simply absorbing and oh-so-excellent!) and Mercy by Jodi Picoult.

Non-Fiction:
Feeding your Baby & Toddler and Lunch Boxes & Snacks, both by Annabel Karmel

Do you keep a TBR (to be read) list?
I used to, for the Nancy Drew series. I don’t have any such list anymore.

What’s next?
Errrr….finish reading my current books first?  And oh, I am curious to find out if audio books deliver the same effect as reading them do.

What books would you like to reread?
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

Who are your favourite authors?
Enid Blyton, Sophie Kinsella and now of course, Preeta Samarasan

Now, would you guys be willing to share your reading habits with me (and the rest of the world)?

Rinnah
Paris
Audrey

So why the difference today?

Well today, I had planned on FINALLY going to the post office to claim my RM625 fuel subsidy rebate. I had met all the prerequisites (car insurance renewed, road tax renewed and wallet low in cash), so I was all geared up to get what I had been waiting for. I also referred to a good step-by-step guide on a hassle-free claims process

So this morning, I downloaded the claim form and filled it out, to save me some time when I reach the post office. Then at about 11:30a.m., I left the office, slightly earlier than normal, in the hope of beating the lunch crowd.

Hubby and I headed towards Queensbay Mall, and we walked towards the post office situated on the ground floor of the mall. I prayed that there would not be a long queue and that the entire process would take only a short while. As we stepped closer and closer to where the post office was, it looked like there really wasn’t a queue, but alas, we were faced with the one thing we had not prepared ourselves for. Here’s what greeted us at the door of the post office:

Shucks.

What a letdown.

So anyway, I tried calling the post office at 2:30p.m. to find out if the computer system is working, but I could not get through with the number provided on the Pos Malaysia site. Tried again and again and again and FINALLY I got through at about 2:45p.m. and the lady told me the system will be back up and running at 3p.m.

Of course, for someone who has been waiting so long for this, I wasn’t about to let this chance pass me by.  So later that evening, hubbs and I swung by Queensbay Mall again, and since I figured the wait won’t be that long, I hopped down while my hubby waited in the car.  There were about 10 people in queue in front of me and bummer of bummers…..NO NUMBERING SYSTEM.  So I had to stand in line and wait.

Thankfully the queue was moving quite fast, and after standing in line for about 15 minutes, it was finally my turn.  The checking, signing and taking my thumbprint took approximately ONE MINUTE, and then off I left with a receipt and RM625 in hand.

… and the novelty of a brand-new cap!

… oh, and sometimes all we need is to ace the guessing game!

Thank you so much Sue, for the mystery prize of a very pretty white and pink Hard Rock Cafe cap (I received it about a week ago, but I have been totally SWAMPED!).  I was wondering what the mystery prize could be, ya know.  I absolutely love the three metal buttons on the side, that say “Live”, “Love”, “Rock” … So very rocker chick, I’d say!

Ethan goes “hat” (in that lovely adorable ascending intonation of his) before he puts it on his head … and on our heads too!

More guessing games to come? *rubs hands with glee*

See, in our condo, we have three rooms. One obviously is the master bedroom, which has an attached bathroom. And because my hubby and I take pride in entertaining our visitors, we have a guest room completely furnished with a queen-sized bed, an air-conditioner and built-in wardrobes. Not that we have guests all the time, but we like to know that our guests are comfortable while they stay with us. Most folks don’t have a guest room, I know, but we just don’t like the idea of guests having to “rough out”, unless they absolutely have to.

Of course, this now leaves us with one more room, which we initially planned to be our study. But when baby arrived, we decided to convert half of that study into a playpen and baby-changing area. But now I look into my virtual crystal ball, and realize that very soon we may need to make some changes again. Ultimately, Ethan will want his own room, complete with all his favorite cartoon characters decorating it. We’ll probably need durable Kids Bedroom furniture, strong enough to endure the daily wear and tear.

As it is, I am rather attracted to Wooden Childrens Furniture. For one thing, they are sturdy, they look good, and they transcend time. Undoubtedly, if you are talking about getting a Kids Desk, a wooden one is your best bet. I know I had one when I was a little girl.

So the problem now is, how do we find that extra space?

I recently made a call to the bank affiliated with my credit card, to request for a waiver in annual fee.  I am not specifically mentioning the name of the bank here, because I have had similar experiences with Citibank, HSBC and also Alliance Bank, so this really applies to all banks who charge an annual fee.

Anyway, formalities aside, after I was asked to verify my identity with the typical passcode and obligatory questions, I asked if they could waive my annual fee.  My backup plan, of course, was that if they said no, I would then threaten to cancel my card.

Turns out I didn’t need to do that, because the customer officer told me, after checking my account, that she would waive the annual fee for me since I had already made a minimum of 12 transactions in a year.

So then I asked her, “If I had not called up, would the annual fee be automatically waived?”

She said yes, but EVEN if it wasn’t, I could still call in and request for an annual fee reversal.  She didn’t sound exactly confident it would be waived, by the way.  (Actually in my past experience, the annual fee has NEVER been automatically waived before).

But anyway, I’ve been thinking… why do these “supposedly” consumer-friendly banks need to WAIT for customers to call in to trigger the waiver of annual fee?  Since it is already their practice to waive the fee when a customer has made a minimum of 12 transactions, why can’t they program this rule into the program’s algorithm?  I definitely know that is possible.  Is it because they want to earn some annual moolah from those customers who fail or forget to call up, either out of ignorance or just because they simply don’t care?

If the banks automatically waive the annual fee for customers that deserve it, they would certainly spare the customers the hassle of having to remember to call up to waive the annual fee, and at the same time, the bank would earn brownie points for this proactive service.  After all, it’s the relationship between the bank and the customer that counts.

For someone like me who uses the credit card as an instrument to facilitate payment of purchases, and not as a tool to overspend, all I need is a card, without the need to pay the annual fee.  Of course, for those of you who don’t mind paying the fee every year, you can just disregard my rant above.  Or perhaps I’d be better off just using the free-for-life credit cards, like the one I have from CIMB bank…

Good bloggers would religiously download their photos and blog about a trip they just came back from almost immediately after coming home.  Also, good bloggers would be snapping pictures here and there and everywhere.  Pictures of just about every interesting and not-so-interesting thing that they see.  Well, maybe I’ve just lost it.  But I like to think that I was having way too much fun to remember snapping pics.  Excuses?

I’ve been dead tired since we got back from our Damansara getaway over the weekend, so much so that my hubby even pestered me as to why I have not blogged about the trip.  Well, anyway, here are some bits and pieces of it.

We made a routine stop in Bidor for the famous and overpriced duck drumstick mee.  This time, I ordered the dry version, which actually tasted better because the duck drumstick soup remained concentrated and in addition, I could still savor the taste of the wan ton mee, sans wan ton.  Here’s another view of the duck drumstick showcasing the skin and how big the piece was.  Yummy!  For the record, I drank up every bit of the soup

We stayed at Royale Bintang Damansara yet again.  Well actually it’s a funny thing I mentioned Damansara specifically… I made an appointment with someone on Monday and she was waiting for me in Royale Bintang KL!  Anyways, dinner on the first night was at Italiannies, The Curve with my brother, my SIL and my little nephew Collin.

This here was the strawberry colada I ordered.  Initially I wanted to order the strawberry shake and I inquired why it was more expensive than the rest of the shakes.  The server disappeared for a mo, and came back to tell me it was because the strawberries used were imported ones.  Well anyhoo, I decided on the colada instead.  Another funny thing happened.  I asked the server what was in the strawberry colada and he told me to wait just a moment while he referred to his notes!  And it was done all right in front of me!  It was a good drink, by the way.

It certainly seems to me that every time I make a trip to KL, I’d be stuffing myself silly with food.  We had Japanese buffet lunch the next day at Shogun 1-Utama.  It must be affiliated with Saisaki because the plates had the Saisaki logo on it too.  The spread was huge, although funnily enough it wasn’t the sashimi that got top marks, but the soups they had.  Sharks’ fin, black chicken with chinese wine, clam soup…well, let’s just say it was truly filling.

This is the jazz quartet that serenaded the passers-by who visited the flea market at The Curve.  Not sure who hired them, but man, they were good.  I had a good mind to start dancing then and there.  And I really loved the way they blended into the environment too.  Al fresco dining with jazz in the background…who could ask for more?  Of course, when I had that mini blogger meeting with Rinnah,