Moments to Remember

there's this corner in my heart where i put all the happy memories in categorized folders, and another where i stuff all the lamentable moments into an abandoned locker. and so every year there's always this much of memories to be filed away so that there's space for more in the new year. though there are many more sweet moments that i hold dear to, here's a compilation of pictures worth remembering.

the only picture i have of my little brother in years.

a postcard from mandy. :)

group 16, Kursk, Russia. congratulations! ...

dear friend sounjew

a milestone.

proud parents

incomplete reunion, because the little one wasn't here

in san francisco with dad and mom

a good friend, a future doctor

am i overly optimistic or delusional? i dont know. time will tell

giving thanks in blythe

and there are more that weren't captured in pictures, but all safe in my little heart. goodbye to two thousand eight, and hello to two thousand nine.

Trails of 2008

some people find new year's eve and new year's day just another day like no other. not me though. i find myself reflecting on the past year, my deeds and emotional roller coaster, mistakes done out of imbecility and the price i had to pay.

have to admit that i erred quite a great deal, but it's also been a great year in some other ways too. learned to maintained a car, moved out from my comfort zone and into the "real" world, met new friends, graduated(!!!), kept in touch with old friends, volunteered in the hospital for almost a year now, got a job! a lot of it seemed impossible and hard to do at that spur of moment, but i did it anyway. as for the few major slips, oh well, i guess it's life. after all, that's how we grow and learn isn't it - through mistakes.

it's been a rough ride, but it's never gonna end, especially this upcoming year - i expect it to be even tougher, bumpier. while everyone is out celebrating the end of 2008 and welcoming the start of another year, i'll have my commitments to fulfill. and i assume it'll be that way for quite some time. it's painfully hard to be disciplined and stick to a strict routine, but because i have a dream, i shan't be deterred. it's a price i have to pay, and it's now or never.

so this year, for me, there's no bibulous evening no party no champagne no mini quiches, no friends around. but i wish everyone a happy new year nonetheless, and i shall join you guys for a round of drinks and celebration when i'm done with my exam. looking forward to that! :)

Glitter, Glue and Gelati

if one's popularity is determined by how many person remembers one's birthday, then this year i must be really relatively unpopular.

i have this habit of noting down things like how many people wished me happy birthday; who was the first; who's the last; how they wished me i.e. via phone calls, texts, emails, or networking sites like friendster (back in the days) and facebook (now). my favorite would be birthday cards, because it's something more tangible, something i could keep. yet as technology became more savvy these days, very few send cards anymore. all i get was text messages and facebook wall posts. whatever happened to hand-written cards that arrive at your doorstep at snail-speed. this year, my card collection has gone down to only 4: one from my best friend, one from my family, another from this close friend, the last one came with lots of presents (thank you very much btw!!). out of the 4, 3 came all the way from home. see, its the old friends who know what i love most. :) but of course, having people wish me no matter what means they did so, is better than nothing at all eh. ;)

am not particularly big on presents, but i have to say that i've got some of the coolest gifts: a watch - one that i've always been on the lookout to buy, a gingerbread man, a gingerbreadman mug, a white scarf that i wanted, a cute 'Little Miss Fun' book, mcat studying cards, pushing daisies dvd, coffee beans, and and and (listen to this!!!) - a file full of memorable events presented in a form of formal letter!!! how many people can say they've gotten anything like that?! only a handful if any, i bet! :P

on the actual birthday this year though, i didn't go anywhere or do anything - which was really an injustice to myself, now that i think about it. not that it was miserable, but it was no different than the other 364 days of the year. slept early, went to work, came home and slept. end of story. how boring!! how often does one turn 2* years (not revealing my age duh) anyway, right? am considering postponing the celebration to a near future when i get together with some friends and do something fun. like, maybe snowboarding, or bungee jumping, or oh i dont know. something. :))))

this year's birthday? it might be lack of all the glitter and hype, but it's peaceful and calm, and i know a handful of people who cared. am thankful enough.

but next year's birthday will be a blast! watch me. :)

a year older, hopefully a year wiser too. :)
(picture: courtesy of my friend Poy)

Adventures in Blythe

didn't wanna end 2008 without updating my blog, complete with every little note that's worth remembering, even though it would be a wee bit embarrassing on my part. for now i might regret jotting them down here. but 10 years down the road when all i have left is my fading memory to remind me of all the good times i've had, i'm sure i'll appreciate all the faux pas moments i've written here. this one, is about my little runaway trip to Blythe, Kenna's home, with Sheena and Roy - for thanksgiving. its been... almost a month, but i kept scrapes of notes about the trip so now i can write a proper post on our Blythe adventures.

"CAAAAT!!! come here caaaattt!" that would be Roy shrieking with excitement when he saw the two big cats - Booty and Spaz. the two liked him more than Walla did, Kenna's cat, though only slightly more. :P and so Roy was fussing about how cats don't like him. me thinks it's because he is kinda like one himself so the cats probably see him as competition - competing for attention, that is. so roy likes to refer walla as "the bloody arrogant cat" but walla won the bitch fight cuz she attempted to scratch him and came this close to getting him haha. grow some claws roy, maybe you'll win someday :P

Sheena blowing the didgeridoo, a wind instrument of the Aborigines of northern Australia.
Kenna got it from Down Under when she was there.

upon Roy's request, i have to say: he did a great job blowing the didgeridoo , in fact he blew the best amongst us all. AND he's damn proud of it. my first attempt was a total failure. -_-

thanksgiving lunch yay. that's grandpa Joe by the way, Kenna's grandpa. a very very nice guy.
on the table: 2 pumpkin pies, a pecan pie, sweet potato souffle with marshmallows on top (my favorite dessert),
turkey and its stuffing, cream corn, mini crossants and butterbread buns.

so much food. anddddd writing this is making me hungry...

homey meal in the cozy living room.
nothing beats warm good food, great company and an abundance of dessert.

so carefree, yet behind those glasses, still a little bit guarded.

she's the wise one among us.

never seen anyone more gullible than me. :( but i'm contented, in my little world.

no one bullies her or her friends. confident, righteous, trustworthy, reliable.
a great friend with a great personality, in a nutshell.

so health conscious, gym freak, and he has two big mice on both arms.
he's secret (well, not so secret anymore) fantasy is to be a professional model someday.

us and Kenna's mom, Becky. such a great host, with such hospitality.
very cool mom. after all, you don't meet many women who hunts. ;)

there's much more. like:
- the chicken in the backyard named Chicken. Chicken's poo. and me stepping on her poo.
- the korean BBQ we brought and sheena barbequed, the hot and sour soup me and roy made.
- the neon green panty *ahem*, the never-ending tease about it.
- mixing holiday nog (the alcoholic eggnog) with milk that tastes absolutely delicious :)
- going to the caverns, peeing behind the bush!!!!
- crossing the california-arizona border, the fat dude at border patrol stop acting like he's all that.
- going to Phoenix, AZ for black friday, and listening to christmas songs on the way there.
- driving to the Colorado river.
- sand dunes, sands in shoes, modelling session.
- CJ the cutest little girl i fell in love with almost instantly; roy's crazy laugh that scared CJ away.

- some car moments: sheena's blunder - "pop ice" vs. Popeye's. :P roy's absolutely-lovely/scary singing. traffic. my broken vow of not eating mcDonald's for the whole year. lil' K's rap!!!

- and omg the cat (dunno which one) peed on my camera bag AND my towel!!! :((((
- playing scrabble and cranium! xena the warrior princess, flash in the pan!! :D
- rain. fresh pots of coffee. chilling indoors watching Sex and the City (the movie). hot choc with marshmallows.
- Horny Toad Saloon (the town's bar), playing shuffleboard, pool.
- the number 'twelve seventeen'.
- driving out to the country, cotten plucking, hay bales.

ahhh such good times. memories are history rewritten the way we wanted to remember. i know mine would be made up of only the cozy moments that make me smile.

edited: Thank you so much Kenna, for inviting us to spend an unforgettable thanksgiving with you and your fam!

Bling Yourself

every now and then we need to have some fun and do crazy stuff lest we die tomorrow and have no more chance to do so. thus on roy's birthday we decided to use it as an excuse to throw him a ghetto themed party and had everyone dress up in their bling-blings. food we had? fried chicken, of course, whatelse. :P

from left: prasanna aka baby bai, kenna aka lil K, roy aka bday boy, and fahmi

fried chicken was delish. should've ordered biscuits too

fahmi and erin. erin was so cute she had the chain with lights blinking :))

"now you see me, now you don't"

buatan malaysia: our very own valedictorian and genius

sparkling teeth :) darlie should get her to advertise for them.

but she'll tell you, "its the indian toothpaste!!"

its me and miss C. guess what she wore. graduation gown. XD so funny

roy in his ghetto-ness. you can't see it in this pic,
but he had aluminum foil wrapped around his front teeth :D

no custom-made cake for you this year roy. but its still good nonetheless ;)

sean's room with the gang. its a bit dark, i didn't edit the picture.

Dance All Night

we malaysians cant live without good food, especially during festive season

this year there were some entertaining performances, like this skit

indian dance, boy courting girl

hip-hop dance

after party dancing

good friends good company. happy deepavali to all (or rather, happy belated D~)

Temacula Wineries on a beautiful November Day

Denise and Wilson Creek's Almond Champagne. :)

rows and rows of wines and champagnes and sparkling glasses smiling up at me

alcohol before food, no matter how tempting the food may be.

best salmon dip ever! made by roxann's hubby kenny :) yumm.

the piglet and her plate of food

to our 2nd winery - la cereza winery. woohoooo~

excited faces

playing with my toy

from zero to naked in 1.2 bottles of wine?! XD

beware: wino-crossing

pretty cool merchandise in the shop

spot the girl :) who's this?

yummy looking cheesecake with fruit tarts around it that was wayyy overpriced.

table cloth as a reminder to drink more ;)

if one day i'd become one of them sitting and drinking with my girl friends, i'd get this :)

white-haired lady in pink smoking cigar and wearing hip shoes

what is this. wendy took this pic of me. how embarrassing. fyi - i wasn't drunk okay.

see i can still do the sobriety test and pass. damn dr kageyama would be so proud of me.

hahha means i can drink more :D

knocked out on the way back to roxann's parents' house

that's their mansion :)

driving around their plantation in that green truck (or whatever you call it)

five of us in this... (hmm seriously though what do u call this thing.)

my attempt of being an expert like brandon (obviously a failure...)

much easier to be the model

who wants mellons? big ones they are! we brought home a lot

and the sun's setting - its time to go home... group pic

夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏

night lights. pretty

dinner time with denise and wenz (who's behind the camera)

and how can we miss out dessert?! tiramisu at 85 degrees bakery in irvine. we must go, chean!

(please.. no more getting lost okay... :P)

a happy day ending in a bittersweet note in the midst of enjoying my hazelnut latte
too bad the day has to end