Twilight

It's been a while since a book kept my interest peaked that I forgot to stop reading until I was almost finished with it. Maan has been telling me to read the twilight trilogy since our long chat over 2 weeks ago. I couldn't find the books (particularly the first book) at first and I was actually resigned to just waiting until I get back to Manila in August to read them. Fortunately yesterday I managed to find a copy among the teen books section of MPH.

So in my effort to keep myself preoccupied during the education fair at KLCC today, I brought the book along. Not only did it keep me from sleeping, it actually kept me glued to the story of Edward and Isabella almost the entire time. By the time the fair closed at 6pm I was 3/4 done. I continued to read even while I walking towards the train station and while I was on the train until I arrived at my house in Sri Petaling. How I managed not to bump onto something or get run over was one for the record. hahaha.

The story is actually simple- its a love story between a human and a vampire. But the twists and turns along the way kept me on the edge of my seat and craving for more. I literally had to pull myself away from the book so that my eyes could rest and that I could play badminton. I'm down to the last 70 pages or so and I'm quite excited about the ending. Part of me doesnt want it to end and another part is excited to read the next book in the series-- New Moon.

Friendship Maan was right-- This book is not for those with tight schedules and those that need more than 8 hours of sleep a night. Because once you begin, there's no turning back.:)

Letting Go

Over lunch I told my friend that he shouldn't be too attached to things and that we should all learn to let go. How ironic that a few hours later I find myself pondering over the very same issue. I have this history with celphones that could fill the pages of a book entitled "A hundred and one ways to lose a phone." I thought I already managed to try every possible way of losing my phone (i.e. theft, forgetting where i hid it, crushing the lcd from the car door, etc). But no, I had to another today.

And so it goes this way-my phone of almost 2 years died of an untimely death this afternoon courtesy of the bottle opener key chain in my bag and the cross trainer in the gym. How it happened I do not know. And up until now I am still berrating myself for another act of stupidity that ranks highly on "jaime's blooper list"

It wasn't as devastating at first. I told myself, its just a phone. Let it go. It's not the end of the world... then I realized that it wasn't just the phone that died-- but all the stuff i placed inside it as well- particularly 21 saved messages that I keep close to my heart. They were messages from friends all over ranging from the usual hi's and hellos, to forward texts, and take cares. Simple stuff. But they mean the world to me.

Funny isnt it that my last entry was only a couple of hours ago and I wrote about Bliss and how finding it was simply magic. I think of that moment right now and realize that those memories are really really important because they keep us going in times like these.

ayan kasi sabi na wag magpapaka senti..

let go nga eh.

Bliss

Every now and then you find yourself in a place where everything is simple and life even for a short time, relieves itself of complications. It's a moment when things just fall into place and you realize that though you may not have everything you want, you have everything that you need. And somehow you wish that it could just stay that way forever.

That's Bliss. Pure and simple.

I saw Disney's Beauty and the Beast last night at the KLCC Plenary Hall. It was my first time to watch a musical here in KL and so I was very excited to watch this Tony awardwinning Broadway Musical brought to KL. The last major play I watched was Miss Saigon in Manila back in 2001 (with Lea playing Kim). I missed Mama Mia when I was in Hongkong back in 2004 so when I heard the news that a broadway musical was coming into town (the UK production), come hell or highwater I was determined to watch it.

Reg, Wilai, Jesse and I managed to secure tickets in the upper balcony (thanks to Wilai's 30% discount, it cost only 105 RM instead of 150). It was quite far from the stage but still close enough to see the faces of the characters. After all we didnt need to be upclose since we are all familiar with the story of Belle and the enchanted beast.

Though the story and songs were familiar, there was just something magical about watching a live action musical come to life infront of your very eyes. My favorite character was Lumierre who was so funny. Chip was as cute as ever. And true to form, Beast was still "cuter" when he was a beast instead of a Prince. The rest of the characters were funny and heartwarming. Even Gaston was lovable (talk about self esteem!) The highlight of the show was the "Be our Guest" number. But my favorite scene was when Beast let Belle go. Haay, how romantic. hahaha.

I was a bit disappointed though when they changed the scenes for the "Something there" number. It was one of my favorite part in the original cartoon (when Beast and Belle were playing in the snow). And of course no one could still beat the original singers, especially Angela Lansburry's version of the theme. Belle's golden dress looked better in cartoons. In real life it looked like a giant cake topper. hahaha.

I hated the audience members who were rudely texting and some were even taking pictures! Talk about poor theater etiquette. If you're going to just text the night away, why bother going to the theater at all.

The play ended at about 11pm. For almost 2 hours I was magically transported to a world different from mine--where candlesticks and napkins dance, clocks and wardrobes talk, and a beast could be tamed. It was worth every ringgit spent.

The last time I went hiking/camping was years ago when we went to Caliraya Lake in Laguna (the tent collapsed while we were sleeping during the night). So it was a welcomed retreat when Marissa invited me to join them in a day out to the Sungai Tekala Waterfalls in Semenyih.

The waterfalls was about 20minutes away from the nottingham campus. We hiked all the way to the highest possible falls in order to avoid the crowds which camped out in the lower grounds. The only problem though was that the toilets were down in the lower area. The group numbered about 12--mostly expat friends of marissa and mike. Jesse, Purna and me were the three Filipinos. Apart from the expats, we also had a cat in our midst (Marissa's pet Snooky) who enjoyed herself with all the attention that was showered upon her.

We had a potluck for lunch. We brought chicken adobo as our share. I also made some salsa since we had a lot of cherry tomatoes from Cameron Highlands. The place was nice even if the huts were mostly dillapidated and some of the changing rooms reeked with the stench of urine. I just felt a bit sad when I saw some of the "campers" littering. After all, such a beauty of nature shouldn't be treated so unkindly. The whole gang swam except for me. I didnt want to risk my ears again since I'm supposed to stay off swimming for 6 weeks.

Overall, it was worth the trip. For a mere RM1 as entrance fee, the place was a good place to relax. My advice to those who intend to go there-- stay away from the lower area and go up as high as you can through the forrest. And most of all-- bring your cameras!!

My litter sister all grown up

My baby sister (my only sister) is leaving for the US tomorrow to start her own adventure in life. She's doing her own version of grey's anatomy (hopefully minus all the dramas) by doing her residency in the US. I guess I've always known that this day would come but I felt sad anyway. This morning when I received her email saying she was leaving tomorrow, I thought she meant today. Her flight is at 2pm and it was already 12nn. So I dialed my mobile phone immediately hoping to catch her one last time to say goodbye. Turned out yahoo got the time stamps mixed up so I still had my chance to say goodby tonight via skype.

With the onset of technology I know communicating with her will be easy. But still, there's that slight sadness that I feel knowing that starting tomorrow my entire family will be spread all over the world. We wont have our usual dinner arguments anymore or our mini fights over who gets to control the remote while watching tv.

But still I am happy and proud. My baby sister is finally spreading her wings. She's finally following her dreams. She's finally getting her chance to show the world her "awesomeness"

Maktub.

Strawberries @ Cameron Highlands

The moment I saw the picture of the strawberry strudel in the Billboard, I was put on a trance. For a mere 6RM, you could actually taste a piece of heaven in three layers of flaky pastry with cream and fresh strawberries inside. YUMMY. The restaurant was called Strawberry Moments located at the center of Brinchang town in Cameron Highlands. From the name itself everything on the menu was strawberry based.

My travel buddies (Jay and Tina with the new addition Reg) and I went to spend the night in Cameron Highlands last May 24. We took a a tour package we picked out over the internet (Naging BFFs kami ni Mr. Tan at Mr. Thiru) and endured a 5 hour trip (one way) to eat the freshest strawberries and vegetables in Malaysia (not to mention see the biggest Tea Plantation in Southeast Asia).

The place was perfectly cool (19degrees) during the daytime that you won't even feel the sun's hot rays. We stayed at a hotel called Irish House. It was nice and clean and spacious enough to fit all four of us in one big room. It was also fairly close to the town centre so we could just walk around town free and easy.

We enjoyed the pasar malam where we shopped and ate till we drop. I tasted the sweetest corn in the world(I call it the two toned corn) and tried the weird looking but yummy deep fried mushrooms.

Our package included a tour of the city so we visited Cameron's famous sights-- The BOH tea estate, the butterfly park, the honey bee farm, the market square, the rose and orchid garden, the strawberry farm, and the chinese temple. It was hectic and tiring but the sites were magnificent.

Going back we endured another 5 hour bus ride (with a bunch of noisy girls who wouldnt stop talking and some "smelly passengers" to add flavor to the ride! hehehe). Reg downed two tablets of dramamine while I drowned myself with the songs saved in my ipod. It was a fun filled trip.

Another successful adventure from the travel buddies of KL.

Till the next adventure.

Dignity & Decorum and a Free Movie

We saw the ad in an issue of Today Newspaper in Campus-- free movie passes to the premier night of Made of Honour, a new movie starring Mcdreamy himself. Reg and I made a pact-- we'd go to the event but we wouldnt do anything extraordinary like run, sing, scream, etc. We would maintain dignity and decorum at all costs. Most importantly, it was going to be a top secret mission that would stay one if we were not successful.

It was one of those things that would be part the "things I to do before I die" like going to a fans day for a favorite artist (done that!) or riding a rollercoaster (hmmm..still thinking) or visit the eiffel tower (planning to..).

Anyway, so off we went to Pavillion Mall in KL which is about 60 kms away from our campus. We got there about 630pm and by then the line was about a hundred meters long. It looked doable so we lined up. 45 minutes later we were armed with our first movie passes to a free premier night. We had an extra ticket so we did a good deed by passing it on to a group of locals who lacked one ticket. Throughout the line I was silently praying that no one I know (esp the students) would recognize me. hehehe.

Afterwards we celebrated with a hearty meal at the Pancake House (yes! you heard it right! may pancake house na sa KL). I had my favorite Tacos and I tried the Tinapang Bangus (tinapang bangus! tinapang bangus! masarap at masustansya....tinapang bangus)

The movie was okay. A typical chick flick that would make the hopeless romantic say "sigh" an "aww." Mcdreamy delivered his dreaminess and the rest of the support cast were so funny. We had fun despite the fact that we were seated on third row with our heads almost in a horizontal position because the screen was right infront of us (but no complaints! after all libre ito!). My eyes hurt like hell afterwards and by the time we got home at 12mn, I was deadtired and my migraine was acting up.

All for the chance of watching a movie for free.

hahaha..