Take a Bite at My Life.

In memory of a hat.

2012-01-14T21:13:00.005+08:00

When Esther was younger, my Uncle Nick and Aunty Lian gave her a pair of Dora The Explorer jeans jumpsuit that came with a matching bucket hat. While it took her some time to actually become comfortable with the jumpsuit, she practically wore her hat everywhere, whether at home or outside! Unfortunately, we lost the hat some time ago... It was rather sad to depart with something that carried lots of memories of the adventures it had with its owner.

So instead of still feeling so miserable about it, here's a little something I sketched in remembrance of Esther's ol' pal...

Sketched on November 27, 2011(still have a long way to perfecting my sketching skills)

The original picture:

A lovely child with a lovely hat, yes? - with Uncle Yeow Yang.
Picture taken on April 30th, 2010.

After it went missing, Esther would sometimes forget that she had lost the hat, and would keep looking for it. I don't know what she truly felt each time she was reminded that it was no longer around, but I remembered as a kid, I was never happy losing things I loved. Since then, we tried looking for a replacement. One hat after another, of different colour and sorts, she rejected the idea of a new hat...

...that is, until Esther received a new hat from her papa from one of his work trips to Australia. Unlike the other, it was a striking apple green.

Now, she loves it to bits - it's even faded with stains, proof of their expeditions together.

But when she looks back at pictures of her wearing the jeans bucket hat, she'd always tell me, "Oh look! Remember last time... Esther's favourite hat?"

Some memories will never go away.

1+1+1=3!

2012-01-11T23:50:00.003+08:00

I know it may seem like nothing extraordinary, but I get superbly excited when my kid displays some understanding of the world, applying knowledge beyond instruction.

Today, our Kak Nelly, whom Esther absolutely adores, dropped by as she normally does on Wednesdays to rest before she returns home. Usually, she'd bring over some snacks the neighbours give to her to be shared. This time she didn't.

As we sat chit-chatting, Esther ran to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She wanted to have a drink of Vitagen, I assumed. Now, my little princess loves to share her joy, and would normally carry an extra bottle of Vitagen so that I can have the drink as well (even when I don't want it). What amazed me was that she knew she needed three bottles this time instead of two - for Kak Nelly, me, and herself.

It's simple math, probably even for a three-year-old. But I've forgotten that she's big enough to register the number of people on her own, without needing me to tell her.

Oh, how she grows!

I'm already bigger than Mr. Kisses... Soon, I'll grow as big as Mr. Reese's! :P

Bullied.

2012-01-10T22:44:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I wonder if I should be so giving

to be so forgiving of Him leaving

But if I don't, I just might

lose Him whole and out of sight

So here and again

bullied to Their gain

disrespected as a person

of my feelings

of my name

But what do I do

but suck it all in?

For I'm just a silly little child,

a naive idealist,

hoping that love

that is lost

can find its way

reignited

back again

Blues on a Saturday.

2012-01-07T22:43:00.002+08:00

Am jealous that She gets to spend time with a person; not an existence. :(

Can't decide which colored Play Dough to get?

2012-01-05T01:24:00.003+08:00

When you have a three-year-old, it doesn't matter what colored dough you get...

They will always end up the same color at the end of the day.

Flu and fever ain't stopping us from livin'!

2012-01-02T16:56:00.005+08:00

It's the second day of the new year, and the fifth day of me being sick. What a way to end 2011 and start 2012. Poor papa and little Esther caught the germs from me, and now they are both down with the flu, with Esther having fever on top of that. :(

But flu and fever ain't stopping us from livin'!

Here's my little darling hugging Dr Max. He's been feeding her doses of "laughter medicine". :)

Take #8. It is not easy to capture a decent picture of two objects that do not want to listen to instructions!

Ok. Time for our naps. It's gonna take more than laughter to get well!

My 2012 Resolution

2012-01-02T00:24:00.005+08:00

Long have I deserted this blog

from diary

to meme's

to photography

and most recently

Restaurant City

Many a time

have thought of sharing a piece of my mind

to the people whom once faithfully followed

or even to the random strangers on my blog

But by giving excuses not to blog

of which I have done so often

I've stripped away my only honest form of expression

that had kept me sane

from pain

and strains

in life

I cannot live this way any longer

in lie to myself

that life is beautiful

with my mouth shut close

so no one will know

if I'm dead or alive

or even existing

I can't promise to update

Every minute

Every second

Like some people do

But

When I do update

I'd give it my all

In thoughts

Effort

And time

Hello, 2012

This be the first

but hopefully not the last

post of the year

RIP Uncle Gerry.

2011-12-31T16:57:00.003+08:00

As of today, there are two Gerard's that I know - one - Gerard Louis - whom was my Counseling lecturer, and the other - Gerard Manuel, or fondly known as Uncle Gerry - who is my uncle (also a lecturer, but on advertising at IACT College). While I can't say that I am close to either, both Gerards have been wonderful people, with the former, being a funny and attention-grabbing lecturer, while the latter, a warm and understanding uncle.

Today, I received an SMS from my dad - Gerard had died in a car accident early morning today. Just woken up, my sleepy mind became awake all of the sudden. I was trying to figure which Gerard dad was talking about, only to realize that he only knew one of the Gerards - my uncle Gerry - his brother-in-law.

Now, in my highly-dysfunctional family, we have all sorts of character. Am not going to give them the limelight in this blog, but Uncle Gerry was one of the personalities I really liked. I can't say I knew him well enough as I only meet him during reunions. But when we do meet, he doesn't act like a know-it-all...a trait we find much during reunions. Yet when he knew something, he knew it well. In the meantime, we kids would always find an escape route because "catching-up" to everyone else equated to pointless debates and berating of someone. Uncle Gerry would often give a knowing smile at us, understanding what shit we were sitting through, and we'd smile back, happy that at least there's a grown-up who is sensible enough to know what torture we're being put through. I mean, talking shit and knowing it's shit is one thing...talking shit and thinking shit is right is another. Sometimes he'd be kind enough to create a whole new conversation with us kiddos so neither he or us will need to be influenced by all the competition of this Chinese family. His company was our pleasure, and us to him, I could assume. Even between father and son, Angelo and Uncle Gerry seemed like buddies, which gave the impression that he must be an interesting person indeed.

There was a time I'd wish he was my dad, too, or at least dad could've been as confident yet warm as he was. I've grown out of the rebellious phase, and am learning to accept my dad for who he is. But there is always that small little envy that lingers towards my cousin who had the memories of a dad like Uncle Gerry.

You know you've done something good in life when people thinks of the best of you when they do...even with strangers. I hope to leave that way when the time comes...and I hope Uncle Gerry felt that way during his final moments.

Rest in peace, Uncle Gerry!

Restaurant City: RC Noir Challenges

2011-09-01T14:56:00.004+08:00

RC's taken us back to the black and white times when bleak, Mafia films were quite a hit. Have you hired Detective Tommy yet to solve these cases, old-school style?

Here are this week's challenges and rewards.

Following The Trail... daily challenge

Click 40 pieces of Detective Evidence

Reward: Ingredients
Tip: Zoom out for wider view. It is also much easier to find them in restaurants without expansions, or restaurants at lower levels.

Find The Missing Safe! challenge

Find and click 3 crates in your friends' restaurant

Reward: Safe Cracking Arcade - Noir (Functional: Arcade; earns 200 coins every 4 hours; breaks every 10 uses)
Tip: In your RC friend list, restaurants with crates will have a picture of a crate by their display picture.

By Any Other Name... challenge

Collect 7 Noire Flower Arrangements

Reward: Mint, Coconut, Pineapple
Tip: Ask from friends.

Coco-Conspiracy! challenge

Master Coco Colada (Drink: Pineapple, Coconut, Cherry)
Serve Coco Colada 33 times

Reward: Mafia King (Decoration), and if have not completed the recipe before, a free Lounge Bar
Tip: Having mastered Coco Colada, you will get a free Lounge Bar (if not mastered before), which enables you to master the drinks for the following three challenges: Second Chance! challenge, It's A Breeze! challenge, and Mango Tango Hold-Up! challenge. Once you have unlocked the Coco Colada dish, serve only this dish under the Drink category to quickly complete the task. In the meantime, leave your restaurant running and RC opened.

Second Chance! challenge

Master Pink Lemonade (Drink: Strawberry, Lemon, Lime)
Serve Pink Lemonade 33 times

Reward: Mint, Mint, Sugar, Sugar, and if have not completed the recipe before, a 10% increase in the bartender's speed
Tip: Need to master Coco Colada to access this Lounge Bar drink. When you master this drink, you will unlock the Green Bar Tap of the Lounge Bar, that speeds up the Lounge Bar's bartender by 10%. Once you have unlocked the Pink Lemonade dish, serve only this dish under the Drink category to quickly complete the task. In the meantime, leave your restaurant running and RC opened.

Mango Tango Hold-Up! challenge

Master Mango Tango (Drink: Mango, Mango, Cherry, Mint)
Serve Mango Tango 33 times

Reward: Raspberry, Candy, Orange, and if have not completed the recipe before, a 10% increase in the bartender's speed
Tip: Need to master Coco Colada to access this Lounge Bar drink. When you master this drink, you will unlock the Red Bar Tap of the Lounge Bar, that speeds up the Lounge Bar's bartender by 10%. Once you have unlocked the Mango Tango dish, serve only this dish under the Drink category to quickly complete the task. In the meantime, leave your restaurant running and RC opened.

It's A Breeze! challenge

Master Mint Breeze (Drink: Mint, Mint, Lime, Sugar)
Serve Mint Breeze 33 times

Reward: Femme Fatale Maggie (Decoration), and if have not completed the recipe before, an extra seat at the Lounge Bar
Tip: Need to master Coco Colada to access this Lounge Bar drink. When you master this drink, you will unlock an extra seat at the Lounge Bar, serving one extra customer. Once you have unlocked the Mint Breeze dish, serve only this dish under the Drink category to quickly complete the task. In the meantime, leave your restaurant running and RC opened.

A New Face In Town... challenge

Visit 2 new friends

Reward: Art Deco Jukebox (Functional: Jukebox)
Tip: Don't get carried away by clicking all your 'New' friends in your list - you may need them for future challenges.

The Mood... challenge

Collect 1 Art Deco Jukebox (Functional: 2,500 coins, or from completing A New Face In Town... challenge)
Buy Delicate Spring song (4,000 coins)

Reward: Raspberry
Tip: If you have not completed the A New face In Town... challenge, you can place a radio or jukebox in your restaurant, click on it, and then choose the songs you would like to buy. You can remove the radio or jukebox from your restaurant after that - the song you have chosen will still play even without the presence of the music machine.

The Evidence... challenge

Click 30 Detective Evidence
Visit 5 Friends
Plant 10 Seeds (grows into plant in 48 hours or two days in watered condition; needs to be watered every 9 hours)

Reward: Crab, Mint, Oregano
Tip: Zoom out for wider view. It is easier to look for the the Detective Evidences in restaurants without expansions, or lower level restaurants.

The Bait... challenge

Learn Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms to level 2 (Main: Crab, Mushroom, Oregano, Onion)
Serve Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms 50 times

Reward: Candy, Orange, Sugar
Tip: Completion of this challenge also marks the completion of Take Down Mafia King! challenge.

Take Down Mafia King! challenge

Complete The Mood... challenge
Complete The Evidence... challenge
Complete The Bait... challenge

Reward: 200,000 coins
Tip: Complete all three challenges to complete this challenge! You can complete the challenges in any order.

Restaurant City: Luxury Mall Week Challenges

2011-08-25T12:50:00.002+08:00

It's Luxury Mall week, and true to its name, a number of its challenges require spending some real cash - which luxury I do not fancy using. This gal's all about the freebies and minimizing expenditures; hence, the tip I often give out to other players - BORROW!!!

Here are this week's challenges and rewards.

Fleur du Jour challenge

Click 30 flowers

Reward: Ingredient
Tip: Zoom out for wider view. It would be easier to find the flowers in lower level restaurants since they won't be hidden behind decorations.

Bloomin' Great! challenge

Collect 20 Dramatic Branch Decor

Reward: Pepper, Asparagus
Tip: Ask from friends for free!

Cool Yoghurt challenge

Learn Mango Yoghurt Ice Cream to Level 4 (Dessert: Mango, Yoghurt, Peach, Honey)
Shake 15 trees

Reward: SNUG Delicious Yoghurt Arcade (Functional: Earns 800 coins every 15 hours; breaks every 8 uses)
Tip: Ask for Peach for free from friends. Look out for Mango, Yoghurt, and Honey ingredients from the market, friend's wall, RC's wall, mystery crates, RC forum, and RC e-mail!

Bliss! challenge

Collect 1 Fish Pedicure (Functional: 12,000 coins - cannot be gifted)
Collect 1 Bubbly Bar Display (Decoration: 3,100 coins)

Reward: Peach, Bacon, Wheatgrass
Tip: While you cannot share the Fish Pedicure, you can still save up on 3,100 coins instead by borrowing the Bubbly Bar Display from friends instead of spending 15,100 coins in total!

Luxury Fashion challenge

Collect 1 Pasta Couture Shop Mural (Wall Decoration: 20,000 coins)
Collect 1 Cocoa Couture Shop Mural (Wal Decoration: 8 Cooking Cash)
Collect 1 Blueberry Couture Shop Mural (Wall Decoration: 12 Cooking Cash)

Reward: Information Counter (Functional: Increases customer patience by +0.5 seconds!)
Tip: Borrow all items from friends instead of spending 20,000 coins and 20 Cooking Cash in total.

Dizzying Heights challenge

Collect 1 View From the Top Rug (Decoration: 12 Cooking Cash)
Collect 12 slick Glass Dividers (Decoration: 600 coins each = 7,200 coins)

Reward: Mango Yoghurt
Tip: Borrow items from friends instead of spending 7,200 coins and 12 Cooking Cash in total!

Collectible Item: Escalator

Master Bacon-wrapped Asparagus (Starter: Bacon, Asparagus, Pepper, BBQ Sauce)

Reward: Escalator (Functional: Makes waiters 20% faster until November 20)
Tip: Ask for Bacon and BBQ Sauce for free from friends, or collect BBQ Sauce from your own Wyatt's Wonder Station every 24 hours! Look out for Asparagus and Pepper from your friend's wall, RC's wall, mystery crates, RC forum, and RC e-mail!

Restaurant City: Going Camping Week Challenges

2011-08-17T13:52:00.006+08:00

It's Going Camping week, and this brings back some of my fondest memories. During all those years in secondary school, I had probably gone on camping trips at least 3 times a year... in school and out of school. Regardless of where the camp site was, it was the people who made the time there so memorable and fun. I think without those camping trips, I'd never be as bonded to them as I am now. :)

Here are the challenges and rewards for the week.

Ranger G. King challenge

Find Gourmet King

Reward: National Park Map (Wall Decoration)
Tip: Look out for teh Gourmet King having a picnic in your garden, walking along the walkway outside your restaurant, or standing on the Street.

Beaver Fever! challenge

Collect 5 Beavers

Reward: Salt
Tip: Ask from friends for free.

Packed Lunch! challenge

Learn Sammich to Level 2 (Main: Ham, Egg, Tomato, Bread)
Visit 2 Restaurants on Gourmet Street

Reward: Pork, Butter, Sugar, Chili Paste
Tip: Look out for ingredients from daily market, crates, Gourmet King, RC wall, RC forum, and RC mailer.

Spot the Campsite! challenge

Click 30 Binoculars

Reward: Ingredient
Tip: Visit friends and click those binoculars aways!

Toasted 'Mallows! challenge

Complete Find the Firepit!
Complete Dam the Beavers!
Complete Mallow Out!

Reward: 250,000 coins
Tip: You will automatically complete this challenge when you complete the Mallow Out challenge. Instead of heading straight into the inventory

Find the Firepit! challenge

Click 30 Navigation Sets
Collect 1 National Park Map

Reward: Camouflage Bear (Decoration: Click to animate bear popping out bushes)
Tip: Get the National Park Map for free by completing the Ranger G. King challenge.

Dam the Beavers! challenge

Collect 9 Beavers
Visit 10 Friends

Reward: 10,000 coins, Bubbling Brook Rock Cluster (Garden)
Tip: Ask for the Beavers from friends for free!

Mallow Out! challenge

Learn Toasted Marshmallows to Level 2 (Dessert: Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Vanilla)
Serve Toasted Marshmallows 30 times
Plant 10 Seeds in your garden (2,000 coins each = 20,000 coins needed)

Reward: Honey, Cucumber
Tip: Completion of this challenge marks the completion of the Toasted 'Mallows challenge as well.
There are 3 tips to this challenge: (i) Once you have unlocked the Toasted Marshmallows dish, serve only this dish under the Dessert category to quickly complete the task. In the meantime, leave your restaurant running and RC opened; (ii) You can grow both the Sugar and Vanilla ingredients in your garden, or alternatively, ask for Sugar for free from your friends; (iii) It takes 48 hours (2 days) before you can plant another seed, so make sure you allocate enough time to complete this challenge before the deadline.

:: Update: August 18, 2011 ::

Pitch a Tent challenge

Shake 10 Trees
Collect 1 Orange Camping Tent (Decoration: 8,500 coins)

Reward: Sweetcorn, Cabbage, Lemon
Tip: Borrow item from friends for free or spend 8,500 coins in total!

Restaurant City: Outback Adventure Week Challenges

2011-08-10T00:11:00.005+08:00

This week, RC has flown us over to the outbacks in Australia. Funny timing since my dearest hubby had just returned from work at Australia. And what did he get for our daughter? A little white shirt with gigantic spiders on them (as compared to our tiny little home spiders). Our daughter was extremely excited with the shirt because Itsy-Bitsy-Spider is currently on the top of her music charts. :)

On to the challenges and rewards for the week.

Collecting Blossoms! challenge

Click 30 flowers

Reward: Ingredient
Tip: Zoom out for wider view, and visit friends for more flowers!

Prepare The Kitchen! challenge

Collect 25 Aussie Flags
Shake 20 trees

Reward: Mayonnaise, Potato, Beef, Cabbage
Tip: Ask from friends for free!

Bo 'Steakhouse' Nash! challenge

Master Honey Marinated Rib Eye Steak (Gourmet BBQ Grill Main: Pepper, Beef, Salt, Honey) (Need to master Carolina Pulled Pork first to unlock this dish)
Master Ultimate Potato Salad (Gourmet BBQ Grill Appetizer: Pepper, Potato, Mayonnaise, Cucumber) (Need to master Carolina Hush Puppies first to unlock this dish)

Reward: 10,000 coins, extra chef (functional)
Tip: Fortunately, you can still pick up Beef from your friends for free. Unfortunately, ingredients like Pepper, Mayonnaise and Cucumber are scarce in RC. It would be useful to have inactive RC players to help you out when these ingredients are being given out for free for being a Fan, or from crates, walls, forums, or rewards.

Steak Master - Pt 1 challenge

Master steak and Chips recipe (Main: Beef, Beef, Potato)

Reward: Unlocks T-bone Steak recipe
Tip: Ask for Beef for free from friends. Believe me, you will need lots of them (especially with the challenges this time round asking for so many of them!).

Steak Master - Pt 2 challenge

Master T-bone Steak (Main: Beef, Beef, Beef, BBQ Sauce)

Reward: Unlocks Prime Aged Fillet recipe
Tip: Complete Steak Master - Pt 1 challenge to unlock this recipe/challenge. You can ask for Beef for free from friends, and collect free BBQ Sauce for free every 24 hours from your Wyatt's Wonder Station.

Steak Master - Pt 3 challenge

Master Prime Aged Fillet (Main: Beef, Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper)

Reward: Sydney Opera Hoise (Functional: Adds 2+ popularity)
Tip: Complete Steak Master - Pt 2 challenge to unlock this recipe/challenge. Ask for Beef for free from friends.

::Thursday's Update: August 11, 2011::

Ah, The Simple Life! challenge

Get 1 Billycan Stove (25 Cooking Cash; Kitchen Appliance: Cook 15% faster)
Get Cowboy Beans to level 5 (Appetizer: Beans, Beans, Chili, Bacon)

Reward: Billycan Stove
Tip: Borrow item from friend or spend 25 Cooking Cash for this challenge. You can get Beans, Chili, and Bacon for free by asking from friends!

Time With Friends! challenge

Get 2 Outback Wallpaper (2,000 coins each = 4,000 coins needed)
Visit 10 friends
Rate 3 restaurants on Random Street with 5 stars

Reward: Ayers Rock Mural (Wall Decoration)
Tip: Borrow items from a friend instead of spending 4,000 coins in total.

Restaurant City: Jungle Swing Week Challenges

2011-08-03T22:05:00.006+08:00

When I saw this week's theme, the first thing that played in my head was the theme song for George of the Jungle, with the image of Brendan Fraser playing George, swinging into a tree after another. While it's funny seeing that, I do think that swinging from tree to tree requires some Physics and eye-body coordination... Two things that I'm not good with. Luckily the only jungle I'm living in now is a concrete jungle!

Here are this week's challenges and rewards.

Shake It, Cook! challenge

Shake 30 trees

Reward: Ingredient
Tip: Restaurants that have not expanded their layout tend to have more trees. Hence, if you're feeling lazy to visit so many friends, go to smaller restaurants. Zoom out to get wider view of restaurant!

Smells Good! challenge

Cook Roast Suckling Pig to level 3 (Main: Pork, Onion, Sausage, Pepper)
Rate 3 restaurants on Random Street
Visit Maggie's

Reward: Pepper, Chili Paste, BBQ Sauce, Cabbage
Tips: Ask for Pork for free from friends!

Setting The Scene! challenge

Collect 30 Ixora Bushes

Reward: Salt, Mayonnaise, Pork
Tips: Ask from friends for free!

Crash Landing! challenge

Get 1 Abandoned Plane Booth (Functional:35 Cooking Cash)

Reward: Abandoned Plane Booth (Functional: Arcade; earns 1,500 coins every 4 hours; breaks every 15 uses)
Tips: Borrow from friend (by sending it to you as a present)!

A Refreshing View! challenge

Get 1 Explorer's Tent (Decoration:5,000 coins)
Get 1 Explorer's Telescope (Decoration:3,900 coins)
Learn Fresh Coconut Juice to level 1 (Drinks: Coconut, Coconut, Coconut)

Reward: Explorer Gourmet King (Decoration)
Tips: Borrow items from friend (by sending it to you as a present) instead of spending 8,900 in total!

Collectible item: Sunny the Wrangling Waiter

Master the Deep Fried Pickes (Starter: Flour, Cucumber, Salt, Pepper)

Reward: Sunny the Wrangling Waiter (Functional until August 30th, 2011; becomes Decorational thereon)
Tips: Since ingredients like Cucumber, Salt and Pepper is scarce in RC (plus there's the Gourmet BBQ Grill to complete), as soon as you get these, unlock this recipe! Some ways to stay ahead in recipes (other than purchasing by Cooking Cash) is to ask non-active RC players to help you collect the rare ingredients when they are given free, and trade them with you!

Restaurant City: Brazilian BBQ Week Challenges

2011-07-26T12:56:00.018+08:00

::Updated on July 28, 2011::

Funny that the weather in Malaysia here is pretty hot right now, and so happen that it's Brazilian BBQ Week in RC! Talk about double the HOTness. But unlike the game, I don't think I'd want to be doing any barbecuing outdoors or I'd end up barbecued instead.

Here are this week's challenges and rewards.

Carnival! challenge

Click 30 Carnival items

Reward: Ingredient
Tip: Zoom out for wider view, and click away.

Nice Brazilian! challenge

Collect 15 Brazillian bushes

Reward: Samba Yaritza (Decoration)
Tip: Ask from your friends. Do also check out your friends' walls because the completion of the Costume? Check! challenge gives away free Brazilian bushes.

Costume? Check! challenge

Click on 60 Carnival Iems
Buy Orange Shorts (Pants: 500 coins)
Buy Stylish Shades (Eyes: 1,000 coins)

Reward: Milk, Butter, Chocolate
Tips: There are several ways to go about collecting the 60 Carnival Items, but the most worthwhile would probably to complete the Carnival! challenge twice - you get rewarded with an ingredient each time then! As for the clothes items, borrow from friends if you do not want to buy.

Friends? Check! challenge

Get 1 Samba Yaritza (reward for Nice Brazilian challenge)
Get 2 Parrot Trees (Decoration: 8,000 coins each = 16,000 coins needed)
Visit 10 Friends

Reward: Coconut, Milk, Butter
Tips: Complete the Nice Brazilian challenge and start visiting your friends. As for the Parrot Trees, you can borrow the items from friends or spend 16,000 coins in total.

Fruit? Check! challenge

Collect 2 Tall Tropical Fruit Display (Decoration: 3,900 coins each = 7,400 coins needed
Collect 2 Wide Tropical Fruit Display (Decoration: 3,900 coins each = 7,400 coins needed
Plant 10 seeds in your garden (2,000 coins for each seed = 20,000 coins needed

Reward: Salt, Lamb, Garlic, Coconut
Tips: Borrow items from friends instead of buying them and you will save 34,800 coins in total.

Best Float In Town! challenge

Complete Costume? Check! Challenge
Complete Friends? Check! Challenge
Complete Fruit? Check! Challenge

Reward: Tropical Fruit Roof (Outdoor inventory: Roof)
Tips: Complete the previous three challenges, and you will automatically complete this challenge!

Float Competition! challenge

Get Churrasco to level 4 (Main: Beef, Lamb, Salt, Garlic)
Get Beijinhos to level 6 (Starter: Chicken, Flour, Cheese, Garlic)
Get Coxinha to level 8 (Dessert: Milk, Butter, Coconut, Vanilla)

Reward: 500,000 coins
Tips: This challenge is only unlocked once you have completed the Best Float In Town! challenge. Ask for Beef and Garlic from your friends for free!

Tile Style challenge

Collect 4 Brazilian Tile Table (Table: 1,900 coins each = 7,600 coins needed)
Collect 4 Brazilian Tile Chair (Chair: 1,900 coins each = 7,600 coins needed)
Collect 1 Brazilian Blue Door (Door: 1,500 coins needed)

Reward: Ceramic Tile Wall (Wallpaper)
Tip: Borrow from friends or spend 16,700 coins in total!

Brazilian BBQ! challenge

Learn Memphis Ribs to level 1 (Main: Pepper, Sugar, Pork, Garlic)
Visit Maggie's restaurant
Rate 10 restaurants on Random Street

Reward: 25,000 coins
Tip: You can ask your friends to send you Sugar, Pork and Garlic for free!

Restaurant City: The Wizard Returns Challenges

2011-07-20T14:29:00.007+08:00

I've got to admit I don't follow Harry Potter at all, but this week's theme has everything to do with the adventures of his "twin", Harry Butter. So without further ado, here are this week's challenges and rewards:

Wizard Pet challenge

Collect 1 Sleeping Dragon (Decoration: 5,000 coins needed)
Collect 1 Proud Phoenix (Decoration: 20,000 coins needed)
Answer 2 Daily Food Quizes

Reward: Gryphon Statue (Wall Decoration)
Tip: Borrow items from friends so you do not need to spend 25,000 coins in total! As to ace the quizzes, check out my previous post on the quiz answers.

Potion Brewing Class challenge

Learn Brew Berrytaste Serum to level 1 (Drink: Strawberry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Ice)
Collect 1 Potions Rack (Decoration: 3,500 coins needed)
Collect 3 Berryjuice Potions (ask from friends)

Reward: Every-Flavour Candy (Dessert recipe at level 1: Candy, Pork, Lemon, Oregano)

Tip: You can get Brew Berrytaste ingredients (Strawberry and Ice) by asking from friends for free.

Can You Resist? challenge

Bake the Deathly Marshmallow to level 4 (Dessert: Flour, Chocolate, Sugar)
Collect 9 Berryjuice Potions (ask from friends)
Plant 7 Seeds (2,000 coins each = 14,000 coins needed)

Reward: Grape (Decoration)

Tip: Get Chocolate as free gifts when you ask from friends. When you complete this challenge, you will also complete the Cabbage Cup Qualifier. Do not go to inventory right away; instead accept the reward first, otherwise your reward will not appear in your inventory.

Cabbage Cup Qualifier challenge

Complete Wizard Pets Challenge
Complete Potion Brewing Class Challenge
Complete Can You Resist? Challenge

Reward: Red Cabbage Seat (Functional: Customers really sit inside; earns 40 coins every 2 hours; breaks every 4 uses)

Tip: This challenge can only be completed if you have completed the previous 3 challenges.

Win the Cabbage Cup! challenge

Collect 2 Red Cabbage Seat (1 won from Cabbage Cup Qualifier Challenge; hence, only 1 more needed at 30,000 coins)
Collect 2 Cabbage Goals (2,600 coins each = 5,200 coins needed)
Visit 2 New Friends

Reward: Cabbage Cup (Functional: Clears away trash; functional until August 15 2011; becomes decorational item afterward)

Tip: Borrow buyable items from friend, instead of spending 35,200 coins in total!

Update July 21, 2011

Booth-a-licious! challenge

Collect 1 Booth of Requirement
Collect 25 Pearzoar Potions (Ask from friends

Reward: Booth of Requirement (27 Cooking Cash needed; Functional: Toilet; never breaks)

Tip: Borrow the Booth of Requirements from your friends instead of buying it!

Restaurant City: Texas Saloon 2011 quiz answers

2011-07-18T11:59:00.003+08:00

So previously when we thought the Geek Chic Week quizzes were going to be permanent, RC brought back the old quizzes. And now that it is Texas Saloon week, a new set of quizzes are introduced. I think this set will hang around for a while, seeing that the Gourmet BBQ Grill collectible has a long way to completing its challenges.

Here are the quizzes and their answers. :D

NOTE: The sequence of answers can vary, so remember the answers instead of the location of the answers!!!)

21 quizzes found so far!

Restaurant City: Texas Saloon Week challenges

2011-07-12T22:44:00.008+08:00

When I was just a little girl, my dream was not to be a princess like Cinderella or Belle - instead, I always wanted to be a COWGIRL!!! I've always been fond of the idea of being a cowgirl, wearing checkered shirts with leather vests, rugged jeans, and knee-length leather boots, while riding a horse and whipping those baddies sore... And after a hard day's work, it's down to the saloon, chugging down pints (funny though - I don't drink), or straw-chewing in the meadow. This week's challenge simply reminds me of my childhood fantasies.

These are this week's challenges and rewards.

Shake It Outta Here! challenge

Shake 30 trees

Reward: Ingredient
Tip: Zoom out to expand view!

Bo's Favorite Meal! challenge

Learn 72 oz Steak to Level 5 (Main: Beef, Beef, Beef, Beef)
Serve 72 oz Steak 5 times
Learn Cup of Milk (Drink: Milk, Milk)

Reward: 25,000 coins
Tip: Ask for free Beef from your friends! To quickly serve the 72 oz Steak, select only this recipe under the Main dishes to be served.

Yeeehaw! challenge

Learn Kansas City Sweet n Smoky Ribs recipe to level 8 (Main: BBQ Sauce, Chili Paste, Pork, Lemon)
Visit 5 friends

Reward: Rodeo Arcade (Functional: Add +1 maximum popularity to your restaurant)
Tip: Produce your own BBQ Sauce using the Wyatt's Wonder Station. For Lemon, you can ask your friend to gift it to you.

Texan Pride Pt 1 challenge

Collect 2 Cow Print Dinner Chairs (Chair: 3,400 coins each = 6,800 coins needed)
Collect 1 Texas State Wall Plaque (Wall Decoration: 7,300 coins)

Reward: Saloon Bar Table (Table)
Tip: Spend a total of 14,100 coins or save up by borrowing the items from friends!

Texan Pride! Pt 2 challenge

Collect 30 Texas Flags (ask from friends for free)
Rate 3 restaurants on Random Street

Reward: Mayonnaise, Chili Paste, Pork, Beef
Tip: You can ask for Beef for free from your friends! When available, ask inactive RC players to collect Mayonnaise from fan pages, forums, and so on to be traded with you!

Restaurant City: Southern Charms Week challenges

2011-07-06T13:44:00.004+08:00

When I saw what was this Sunday's Special - Gumbo - I immediately thought of the recent Disney cartoon movie 'The Princess and the Frog'.

One of the verses from the movie's Down in New Orleans:

Grab somebody, come on down
Bring your paintbrush, we're paintin' the town
Oh there's some sweetness goin' 'round
Catch it down in New Orleans

As predicted, RC has transported us to New Orleans so we can paint our own town! Just like the movie, this Southern Charm is full of color and music.

Funny that RC's made it so that challenges can be completed in advance or last minute using Cooking Cash. I'm not big on using real cash for a game no matter how much I love the game, so I'm not going to include it in the list of challenges, unless it is required to complete a challenge.

Here are this week's challenges and rewards.

Music To My Ears! challenge

Shake 10 trees
Visit Maggie's Restaurant
Collect 2 New Orleans flags

Reward: New Orleans Jukebox (Functional: Allows you to change your restaurant music); unlocks Music At Dinner! challenge

Tip: Zoom out for wider view, making it easier to shake trees in a go.

Music At Dinner! challenge (need to complete Music To My Ears! challenge first)

Collect 1 New Orleans Jukebox (free with Music To My Ears! challenge)
Buy 3 songs from the New Orleans Jukebox (all songs costs 4,000 coins, except for Lounge Lizard song that costs 10,000 coins)
Learn Chicken Jambalaya to level 5 (Main: Chicken, Chili, Tomato, Rice)

Reward: Louis Biltong (Decoration)

Tip: Look out for ingredients from mystery crates, fan page, forum, the market, and so on.

Mardi Gras! challenge

Collect 30 Mardi Gras items

Reward: FREE ingredient

Tip: Zoom out, and click away!

Making Friends! challenge

Collect 25 New Orleans flags
Visit 1 new friend

Reward: BBQ Sauce, Sugar, Beans

Tip: Keep asking your friends for flags - it's ok to get more than enough flags; they have the resell value of 330 coins. You can ask them through RC's messaging system for ingredients instead if you want to collect ingredients too.

What's Cookin'? challenge

Learn Po'Boy to level 3 (Main: Bread, Prawn, Tomato, Mayonnaise)
Learn Beignets to level 3 (Dessert: Sugar, Egg, Milk, Flour)

Reward: Beef, Sugar, BBQ Sauce, Chili, Lemon

Tip: Log in daily - I received my first Mayonnaise in the daily logins! Make an effort to check out the forum, fan page, mystery crates and so on as well. You can also ask for and gift Bread and Sugar for free!

Delivery For You! challenge

Collect 5 New Orleans flags
Rate 5 Restaurants on Random street
Visit 5 Friends

Reward: Chicken, Beef, Chilli

Tip: Don't buy with Cooking Cash when you can easily achieve these!

Takin' The Train! challenge

Collect 2 Tram Seating Booths (15 Cooking Cash each = 30 Cooking Cash needed; Functional: Customers sit and eat inside; earns 700 coins every 4 hours; breaks every 20 uses)
Collect 50 Tram Tiles

Reward: Tram Seating Booth(Functional)

Tip: It doesn't matter which Tram Tiles, you can use any of them! Watch out for Thurday's update for the tiles! As for the Cooking Cash item, borrow them from friends!

Collectible item: Wyatt's Wonder Station

Master the Cowboy Beans recipe (Starter: Beans, Beans, Chili, Bacon)

Reward: Wyatt's Wonder Station (Functional: Cleans BBQ dishes for the Gourmet BBQ Grill! Produces 1 FREE BBQ Sauce every 24 hours!)

Tip: You can ask for and gift Beans and Bacon for free!

Collectible item: Serve-Yer-Self Salad Bar Arcade

Master the Texas Barbecued Brisket (Main: Beef, Beef, Sugar, BBQ Sauce)

Reward: Serve-Yer-Self Salad Bar Arcade (Functional: 600 coins every 4 hours)

Tip: Master the Cowboy Beans recipe first to get the Wyatt's Wonder Station to produce BBQ Sauce daily to complete this recipe. Plus, you can ask and gift Beef and Sugar for free!

Esther's turning 3!

2011-07-05T20:54:00.002+08:00

It's Esther's birthday this Friday (July 8th).

I remember 3 years ago I was preparing for my Ethics exam on the 7th, only to find out I had contractions that morning... til the next morning.

I was suppose to meet up with Ai Yee and companions that day or the next, but I told them since it was pass the due date, I might or might not be able to meet them. Then she joked with them that it would be funny if I were to suddenly go into labour - in which I did.

Another friend, Caryn dreamt a few days before that, that I would go into labour soon. And that dream came true.

Esther was a stubborn one. She didn't want to come out so soon, so she made sure I had contractions for a good 24 hours. Luckily she didn't carry on with that trait.

At 2 years, 11 months, and 28 days, Esther can talk, sing, dance, and recently picked up on drawing.

She drew this about 2 weeks ago out of the blue!

We don't force her to do anything like traditional families do. If she wants to learn music, so she will. For this birthday, she wants a piano, but considering how expensive it is, she's gonna have to settle for an electronic keyboard. Her daddy suggested giving her an iPad, but some of our friends who are sharing the cost prefers getting her the keyboard over iPad haha.

Whichever it will be, I hope she will love it.

Oh, so excited! :D

Restaurant City: Stars and Stripes Challenges

2011-06-28T12:03:00.008+08:00

In commemoration of the US' Independence Day on July 4th, Restaurant City is plastered all over with blue and red stripes and stars in preparation of the celebration. Although it isn't Independence Day in Malaysia just yet (August 31st), the school band of the nearby school has already begun their practice for the celebration. Every morning, we're awaken by the sounds of drums, trumpets, euphoniums, and every other instrument possibly used in a marching band. Talk about waking up with patriotism!

Here are this week's challenges and rewards.

Want To Be On TV? challenge

Get 1 Chatty TV Host (100,000 coins needed)

Reward: Salt, Ham, Cucumber, Honey, Asparagus
Tip: Wait for Thursday's release of new items!

Help Gourmet King! challenge

Buy 2 Stars and Stripes tables (4 Cooking Cash each = 8 Cooking Cash needed)
Buy 2 Stars and Stripes chairs (1 Cooking Cash each = 2 Cooking Cash needed)
Buy 6 Patriotic Bunting (700 coins each = 4,200 coins needed

Reward: Gourmet King Wants You (Wall Decoration)
Tip: Wait for the release of items on Thursday for the Patriotic Bunting! As for the Cooking Cash items, you can borrow the items from Cooking Cash-playing friends.

Represent! challenge

Collect 20 Patriotic Ribbons (ask from friends)
Visit 2 NEW friends

Reward: Revolutionary Patriot (Decoration)
Tip: It is probable that most of your friends have opened an RC account before. Check out the restaurants at the lower levels - you may find some "New!" restaurants!

Collectible Item: Independence Picnic Arcade

Master Independence Cake (Dessert: Butter, Honey, Almond, Flour)

Reward: Independence Picnic Arcade (Functional: 2 customers use at a same time; earns 500 coins every 2 hours; breaks every 5 uses)
Tip: Ah, since these are mainly rare items, look for crates at friends' restaurants, as well as freebies from the forum, fan page, and e-mail.

Restaurant City: Greek Getaway Week Challenges

2011-06-22T22:06:00.005+08:00

From Ancient Greece to modern-day Greece - Restaurant City's like a time-travelling machine, transporting us from one era to another. Not complaining here! I love both ancient and present day Greece for their very own unique beauty. The only complain I have is that most of the items for this week's theme requires Cooking Cash. Boohoo for me. :(

Nevertheless, here are this week's challenges and rewards.

Cat Nap! challenge

Shoo 30 Lazy Cats

Reward: Free ingredient
Tip: Zoom out for wider view of restaurant.

Great Greek Greet! challenge

Buy 2 Greek See Side Town View Wallpapers (2 Cooking Cash each = 4 Cooking Cash needed)
Buy 20 Greek Sunny Floor Tiles (67 coins each = 1,340 coins)
Buy 1 Greek Stone Arch Door (6,000 coins)

Reward: Greek Seaside Mural (Wall Decoration)
Tip: Borrow the items from other RC players. Total coins needed for this challenge is 4 Cooking Cash and 7,340 coins.

The Big Kebab Grab! challenge

Learn the Greek Salad to level 5 (Starter: Cucumber, Tomato, Olive Oil, Cheese)
Learn the Gyros Kebab to level 5 (Main: Lamb, Yogurt, Potato, Bread)

Reward: Panos Kebab Stove (Kitchen Appliance: Cooks 15% faster)
Tip: Lacking ingredients? Ask from inactive RC players for ingredients.

Bougainville Fever! challenge

Collect 20 Bougainville Bushes
Visit 10 friends' restaurants

Reward: Evgenios and Goat (Decoration)
Tip: No harm collecting more Bougainville Bushes than needed - each earns you 330 coins if sold. On the other hand, if you're running out of time to collect the ingredients, wait til Monday and you will probably be able to gift the items from the inventory.

Get To The Greek! challenge

Visit Random Street
Rate 1 Restaurant 5 stars

Reward: 2,000 coins
Tip: This doesn't need any tip, does it?

Restaurant City: Ancient Greece Challenges

2011-06-14T14:47:00.008+08:00

When people speak of Ancient Greece, I can't help but think of myths and legends, like Medusa, Zeus, Aries, and Hercules - mighty and beautiful (even with the guys). My imagination furthers with flawless bodies draped in white loincloth, while these perfect beings stroll barefooted in a luscious garden amongst fruits and cute furry animals, while reciting intellectual poems, inspired by the beauty Mother Nature has to offer. I don't know why, but I've always pictured Ancient Greece as heaven on Earth.

Of course, there are other things that civilization is popular for, like wise Homer, the libraries of knowledge, and the Olympic games. I wonder which direction RC is taking us on this Ancient Greece adventure. Whatever it is, they better look good in our restaurants haha!

Here are this week's challenges and rewards:

Toga Time! challenge

Collect 5 Grecian Vase - Lachesis (ask from friends)
Collect 1 Golden Zeus Statue (50,000 coins; Functional: Make your customers wear togas)
Learn Greek Frappe (Drink: Coffee, Water, Milk, Ice)

Reward: Cucumber, Yoghurt
Tip: Borrow the Golden Zeus Statue from your friend instead of buying it!

An Olympian Feast! challenge

Get Tiropita to level 2 (Starter: Flour, Butter, Egg, Cheese)
Get Baklava to level 2 (Dessert: Flour, Almond, Hazelnut, Honey)
Serve 5 Baklava

Reward: Olympian Fruits (Decoration)
Tip: Look out for free ingredients on the fan page, fan-mail, forum, and friends' restaurants. To quickly serve Baklava, serve only Baklava for Dessert, and keep your restaurant's page opened and running.

Collectible Item: Delphic Oracle

Master Bread and Tzatziki (Starter: Bread, Yoghurt, Mint, Cucumber)

Reward: Delphic Oracle (Functional: Click to animate; makes customers eat 3% faster; can be clicked once every 30 seconds)

Tip: Keep a lookout for ingredients as you visit your friends' restaurants, and on the fan page, fan-mail, and forum. Grow your own crops too - you may get Mint!

Unlike the previous week, there has been a reduction in the number of challenges. Perhaps this is compensated by the difficulty of this week's challenge - the ingredients seem to be among the rare ones. Or maybe it's just too early to tell. Oh well, we shall see by the end of the week.

::Update June 16th::

Big Fat Greek Vase challenge

Collect 30 Grecian Vase-Lachesis
Visit 5 Restaurants in Gourment Street

Reward: Honey, Hazelnut, Almond
Tip: Ask, and you will receive.

Collect 1, Get 1 Free! challenge

Collect 1 Zeus Thunderbolt Stove (25 Cooking Coins)

Reward: Zeus Thunderbolt Stove
Tip: Borrow the item from a friend who already has this item.

That's A Relief! challenge

Collect 2 Greek Relief Wallpaper (Wallpaper: 4,650 coins x 2 = 9,300 coins needed)
Collect Archeo Relief (Wall Decoration: 100,000 coins)

Reward: Archeo Temple (Decoration)
Tip: If you are planning to buy these items on your own, you're going to have to use 109,300 coins in total. Instead of paying this hefty sum, split this expenditure among other RC players. You can even borrow the items instead if you're not planning to spend a single coin.

Restaurant City: Bounty® Challenges

2011-06-10T12:01:00.007+08:00

Within the very same week of Shopping Spree Week, RC introduces new challenges, very probable sponsored by Bounty®. Was considering whether to simply update the Shopping Spree Week post, or to start a new post, but rationalizing that these challenges have nothing to do with shopping, it seemed only right to start a new one, dedicated to cleanliness.

So here are the challenges and rewards for the Bounty® challenges:

Get Bounty® Clean!

Clean up 5 spills in your restaurant

Reward: Bounty® Paper Towel (Functional: Cleans your restaurant in just one click every 24 hours, functional until 5th July)
Tip: Click, click click!

Speedy Cleaning!

Use Bounty® Paper Towel 5 times

Reward: Bounty® Janitor (Functional: Fixes toilets and arcade machines, and cleans trash 30% faster, until 2nd August)
Tip: Place the Bounty® Paper Towel in your restaurant right away. It can only be used every 24 hours, so it will take at least 5 days to complete this challenge. Remember to click it when it's ready! In the meantime, click on it and follow its instructions (you will need to Like the Bounty® page)to receive your free Bounty® Tower (Functional: Add +5 popularity to your restaurant until 5th July).

There's nothing like a sparkling, clean restaurant! :D

::Update June 11th::

My first Bounty® Paper Towel piece!!! :D

Restaurant City: Shopping Spree Week Challenges

2011-06-08T20:57:00.007+08:00

Sales, discounts, bargains - looks like it's Shopping Spree Week! If only life were like RC, where picking up trash brings profit, plucking flowers meant rewards, and money fell from trees, I'd be filthy rich now (and would probably not be constantly checking out bargain websites!). Oh, let me not wake up from this dream...

So dream on, we shall. These are this week's challenges and their rewards.

Order's Up! Challenge

Learn Jamie's Meatball Pasta to Level 1 (Main: Beef, Oregano, Tomato, Jamie Oliver Pasta)
Serve 5 Jamie's Meatball Pasta

Reward: 25,000 coins
Tip: To quickly serve the dish, serve only Jamie's Meatball Pasta among your Main dishes, and leave the game running. Of course, your restaurant should be running too.

Super Smooth! Challenge

Master Banana Drama to level 10 (Drink: Banana, Banana, Yogurt, Ice)
Serve 10 Banana Drama
Visit Maggie's Restaurant

Reward: Smoothie Station Curved Table (Table)

Tip: Like the Order's Up! challenge, serve only the Banana Drama for drinks, and keep your restaurant on and running.

Daily Deals! Challenge

Collect 4 Deck View Chairs (Usual price: 2,000 coins)
Collect 1 Japanese Sliding Door (Usual price: 3,800 coins)
Collect 1 Earthenware Shelves (Usual Price: 7,000 coins)

Reward: Asparagus, Honey
Tip: Keep a lookout for these long gone items on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in your inventory's shop. You can also borrow these items from players whom already have these items just to complete the challenge.

Hungry Hipster Moles

Click 20 Hipster moles

Reward: A daily ingredient
Tip: Zoom out so you can have a wider view of your restaurant, and toggle your screen if the game lags.

::Update June 11th::

More Daily Deals

Collect 1 Sleeping Dragon (Usual price: 5,000 coins)
Collect 4 Dark Romantic Chairs (Usual price: 1,200 coins)
Collect 1 Underwater Cave (Usual price: 5,000 coins)

Reward: 50,000 coins
Tip: Stay tuned on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for these items on sale. If your friends already have them, you can borrow these items from your friends to complete the challenge.

Restaurant City: College Life Week Challenges

2011-06-01T15:13:00.008+08:00

It's College Life Week, people! This week strikes a sense of nostalgia in me as I absolutely loved my days in college. From making friends that lasts, to the graduation from dependency from the parents (yet not letting go quite yet)... college life had showed me that life was more than my circle of friends. But one thing that I never quite liked about my college was that our building looked more like an office building than a campus, which is why I absolutely like the idea of this week's theme - I get to recreate my own campus! Weee!!!

Here are the challenges for the College Life week.

Campus Flower Challenge (daily challenge til June 7th)

Click 30 flowers

Reward: An ingredient

Tip: Zoom out so you can cover a wider view of your restaurant and its surroundings.

A Campus Tour! Challenge

Zoom in
Zoom out
Go to fullscreen mode

Reward: RCU Campus Building Divider, RCU Campus Steps Divider, RCU Campus Wallpaper

Tip: This challenge is really to simple. But at least RC-players who doesn't realise of these functions will learn something new.

Mmm... Pasta! Challenge

Serve 50 Jamie Oliver Basil Pesto Pasta
Get Jamie Oliver Pesto Pasta to level 5 (Main: Basil, Garlic, Olive Oil, Jamie Oliver Pasta)

Reward: 10,000 coins, Jamie Oliver Pasta

Tip: Go to your menu and set the Jamie Oliver Basil Pesto Pasta as the only dish being served under the Main dishes, and leave your restaurant running (do not close the page) to complete the task faster.

Apparently there are suppose to be a couple more challenges - Maggie's on Campus, and RSU Frisbee Team - for College Week, but they have not appeared yet despite completing the above challenges. Let's wait and see if it is going to be a Thursday update. Stay tuned!

::Update: June 2nd, 2011::

Maggie's on Campus! Challenge

Collect 2 RCU Campus Building Dividers (Decoration: 4,500 coins x 2 = 9,000 coins needed; if mastered A Campus Tour!, only need to spend 4,500 coins)
Collect 1 Campus Sink (Functional: 20,000 coins needed)

Reward: Preppy Maggie (Decoration)
Tip: You can spend either 24,500 coins or 29,000 coins depending on whether you had previously mastered the A Campus Tour! challenge, or can spend nothing at all if you borrow items with friends to complete each task.

RSU Frisbee Team! Challenge

Collect 1 Frisbee Louise (200,000 coins needed)
Collect 1 Vote for Maggie (8 Cooking Cash needed)
Collect 1 RCU Campus Flag (1,100 coins needed)

Reward: Frisbee Roland (Functional: Earns 50 coins every 30 minutes)
Tip: Borrow or split your expenditure on these items with other RC players, otherwise you will need to fork out 201,100 coins and 8 Cooking Cash in total.

Watching her sleep.

2011-05-28T01:26:00.002+08:00

When the sun sets but rises elsewhere...

I'm again reminded how much I love this kid. :)

Toyota Cars For Sale

2011-05-25T01:40:00.002+08:00

For the past couple of months, dearie's been having car trouble aplenty. It almost seemed like a curse that his trusty but somewhat ancient Toyota Camry would stall right after passing through a toll gate, usually in the morning or during rainy days. He'd send his car to workshop for repair, but by the time it reaches there, the mechanic would not be able to find any problem with the car - like the cough that doesn't come when we see the doctor.

Up to now, the problem's not solved. The car check-up would always end up free-of-charge because the mechanics would not be able to detect the problem. We'd become frequent customers at the workshop.

Consequently, dearie has learnt 3 manual ways to start the car.

We've considered selling off one of the cars and buying a second-hand one that wouldn't require much maintenance, but honestly, we both love the car. It's not plastic like newer cars, and it's super-duperly comfortable. But it may just be the time to be looking at other Toyota cars for sale, (dreaming big at Harrier, perhaps someday). CarSifu, a Malaysian car classifieds website, seems to have a lot of second-hand choices out there... But being female, looking at catalogs of cars can be very frustrating. At least, this one car classifieds website isn't crazily loaded with images or words that causes me an allergic reaction towards the site itself. If only the site also included comprehensible guides on car-buying vocabularies for dummies like me so I can help dearie on his car hunt (which he had reminded me to do so many times previously)... We'd probably be having a new ride already. :P

On another note, if you are thinking of selling your car off, whether it's Toyota or some other brand, you can post up your classified on CarSifu. They've got over 4.5k Facebook fans, which should mean something in interest towards buying used cars and the viewership of the website.

Restaurant City: Cooking School Week Challenges

2011-05-24T21:42:00.006+08:00

It's Cooking School Week, and I'm somewhat reminded of Hell's Kitchen... Trying to complete the challenges in light-speed precision ('cept that Chef Ramsay appears to be the little devil on my shoulder).

Here are this week's challenges and their rewards:

So Fresh! Challenge

Collect 5 Fresh 'n Clean Ingredients (send/ask from friends)
Visit Random Street

Reward: Asparagus

Tip: Send and ask from your active RC friends. It never hurts to get more than enough at the resell value of 330 coins, besides, you will later need an additional 45 more of this decorative item to complete the So Clean! challenge.

Think You Can Bake? Challenge

Collect 1 Chef de Croissant (10 Cooking Cash needed)
Serve Strawberry Trifle 50 times
Get Strawberry Trifle to Level 5 (Dessert dish: Strawberry, Cream, Vanilla)

Reward: Mottus School of Baking (Functional: Earns 300 coins every 20 hours; breaks every 6 uses)

Tip: Borrow the Chef de Croissant from other Cooking Cash-players to complete the first task if you aren't willing to spend 10 Cooking Cash. As to quickly complete your 50 servings of Strawberry Trifle, go to your Dessert menu and un-serve all the dishes but the Strawberry Trifle. Doing this makes the Strawberry Trifle the only dessert the customers can order; hence, quicker completion.

Think You Can Cook? Challenge

Visit 5 Restaurants in Gourmet Street
Serve 50 Roast Salmon & Asparagus (Main dish: Salmon, Asparagus, Potato, Tomato)
Get Roast Salmon & Asparagus to level 5

Reward: Mottus School of Cooking (Functional: Earns 1,000 coins every 20 hours; breaks every 8 uses)

Tip: Once you get the Roast Salmon & Asparagus to level 1, immediately un-serve all the other Main dishes in the menu. This means that you only serve this recipe, leaving no other main dish options for the customers; thus, faster completion for the second task.

More Pukka Pasta! Challenge

Serve Jamie's Asparagus Fettucini 10 times
Serve Jamie's Farfalle Carbonara 10 times (Main dish: Peas, Bacon, Cream, Jamie Oliver Pasta)
Jamie's Asparagus Fettucini Recipe to Level 1 (Main dish: Asparagus, Leek, Olive Oil, Jamie Oliver Pasta)

Reward: 10,000 coins, Jamie Oliver Pasta
Tip: For the first two tasks, as long as you have unlocked the recipes, you can select them from your menu for serving - they do not need to be at level 10 to be served. To get your first Asparagus, you can easily complete the So Fresh! challenge; otherwise, keep your eyes opened for the free ingredient through crates, RC wall, forum, or even e-mail.

Smooth Moves Challenge

Serve 5 Fruit Fighters
Fruit Fighters to Level 10 (Drink dish: Strawberry, Dragon Fruit, Pomegranate, Kiwi)
Very Berry Crush to Level 10 (Drink dish: Strawberry, Strawberry, Ice, Apple)

Reward: Mango, Pineapple, Yogurt

Tip: For Drinks, un-serve all the other drinks and serve only the Fruit Fighters. This challenge completes pretty fast, so as soon as it's been served 5 times, you can serve as many other drinks as your level allows you to.

So Clean! Challenge

Collect 50 Fresh 'n so Clean Ingredients

Reward: Asparagus, Cream, Salad
Tip: Persistence is the key. Keep sending and asking for this decorative item from your friends!

Hire Joe! Challenge

Mango Mamba to Level 10 (Drinks: Raspberry, Raspberry, Yogurt, Honey)
Raspberry Rumble to Level 10 (Drinks: Honey, Mango, Orange, Raspberry)

Reward: 25,000 coins & Joe, the free bartender (free staff member)
Tip: These recipes require you to unlock all the previous recipes for the Smoothie Station. Because the ingredients are rare, you might want to consider asking help from non-active RC players to redeem the ingredients when they are being given out.

Cooking School Week also presents us with a new collectible item - Moe's Veggie Station (Functional: Earns 1,800 coins every 4 hours). Master the Super Veggie Booster (Drink dish: Carrot, Tomato, Honey, Salt), and this item is yours.

The good news is that the challenges are improving in rewards, especially the bag of coins. They no longer seem like futile prizes. :)

Restaurant City: Jamie Oliver Pasta Maker

2011-05-19T02:06:00.003+08:00

Joy! Here's another functional item that will produce an unlimited amount of an ingredient so long we're collecting. This time it's the Jamie Oliver Pasta.

How to collect Jamie Oliver Pasta from Jamie Oliver Pasta Maker

Master the Jamie's Farfalle Carbonara (found under Main dishes)
Required ingredients:
10 Peas
10 Bacon
10 Cream
10 Jamie Oliver Pasta
Once mastered, the Jamie Oliver Pasta Maker will appear in your inventory under Functionals. Place it in your restaurant.
The Pasta Maker is used to produce Jamie Oliver Pasta every 24 hours. There will be a countdown timer which will pop up when you hover your pointer over the Pasta Maker.
The Jamie Oliver Pasta is ready to collect when the Pasta Maker is outlined in green. Click on it to collect.

If only food would fall from the sky every 24 hours...

Restaurant City: Eco Hero Week Challenges

2011-05-18T01:49:00.007+08:00

This week brings back childhood memories of Captain Peanuts... Oh, wait, it was Captain Planet! Instead of combining Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Heart, all we'll be doing is to do the most basic thing to care for the environment - clean up the trash, and of course, we won't be able to do any of that without good food (good food by Jamie Oliver, that is!).

Rewards for challenges (top to bottom): No Way, It's Jamie; Help Captain Peanuts!; and Let's Feed John!

No Way, It's Jamie Challenge

Get the Jamie's Farfalle Carbonara to level 1 (Peas, Bacon, Cream, Jamie Oliver Pasta)

Reward: Jamie Oliver Pasta
Tip: Stock up on Peas, Bacon, and Jamie Oliver Pasta which are available as free gifts. To level up this dish, go to your menu, and under Main dishes, that is where you can level this dish up. Might as well master the dish which will give you the Jamie Oliver Pasta Maker. You can go easy on collecting the Jamie Oliver Pasta because once you get the Pasta Maker, you'll be getting the ingredient daily.

Help Captain Peanuts! Challenge

Clean up 50 Plastic Bags
Save your game

Reward: Captain Peanuts Figurine (decoration)
Tip: You can only collect a maximum of 15 plastic bags a day, which would reap you a reward each time. Since you can only collect 15 plastic bags a day, it'll take at least 4 days for this challenge to complete.

Let's Feed John! Challenge

Get the Summer Pudding to level 1 (Raspberry, Cherry, Bread, Cream)
Get the Chunky Vegetable Soup to level 1 (Carrot, Leek, Milk, Corn)
Get the Carrot Milkshake to level 1 (Carrot, Carrot, Milk, Leek)

Reward: John Compost (decoration)
Tip: Stock up on free gifts of Carrots and Bread. In the menu, the Summer Pudding dish is found under Dessert, Chunky Vegetable Soup under Starter, and Carrot Milkshake under Drinks.

Funny imagining Captain Peanut exclaiming, "By your powers combined, I am Captain Peanut."

::update on challenges for May 19, 2011::

Plant a Tree! (Or 3...!) Challenge

Collect 1 Rainbow Eucalyptus (Garden: 1,400 coins needed)
Collect 1 Baobab Tree (Garden: 2,000 coins needed)
Collect 1 Dragon Tree (Garden: 2,200 coins needed)

Reward: Driftwood Table (Table), Recycled Chair (Chair)
Tip: Total of 5,600 coins needed to complete this challenge. If you are not keen on spending the coins yourself, you can always borrow the item from an RC friend, and return it once the item has been recorded as completion of task.

Recycle and Repeat! Challenge

Collect 4 Drifted Tables (Table: 1800 coins each = 7,200 coins needed)
Collect 4 Recycled Chairs (Chair: 2,800 coins each = 11,200 coins needed)
Collect 1 Recycle for Life! (Functional: Generates 600 coins every 4 hours; breaks every 5 uses: 12 Cooking Cash needed)

Reward: Solar Panel (Functional: Adds 5 boost! Effect does not stack above 4 Solar Panels)
Tip: Total of 18,400 coins and 12 Cooking Cash needed to complete the challenge. You can half the cost of everything if you make a pact between your RC friends so you do not need to cover the entire cost yourself - you lend them them your items, while borrowing theirs. On the other hand, when it comes to the Cooking Cash item, only one person can buy it, but like the other items, you can borrow the item and return it later for the sake of completing the challenge.

Porn for New Moms

2011-05-17T16:03:00.002+08:00

Oh dearie, I've my very own porn... and it's the erotic thing I've come across for a while now. ;D

Behold, Porn for New Moms by the Cambridge Women's Pornography Cooperative.

Tried and tested by moms.

Seriously, these would be the sexiest words that can come out of a man's mouth (whether I'm a new mom, or a seasoned mom).

When you are a new mom, getting continuous sleep that is more than 3-hours long is already a very good thing.

A man is attractive when he knows how to show concern and do the damn chores.

Well, if he doesn't want to lift a finger, at least he shouldn't be lifting anyone's anything.

No matter how much we love our kid, we still need some peace and quiet to ourselves.

What can be more gratifying than your hubby being a parent/husband that listens to you, instead of being the other kid in the family?

There are more sentiments throughout the books like "Let's not have sex tonight. Let me just rub your feet while you tell me about the baby's day." and "Every time I see a cute, young co-ed these days, all I can think is, "potential babysitter." "

If only such men were real. Sighs.

Restaurant City: Detox & Relax Challenges

2011-05-12T01:29:00.000+08:00

Do note that some of these challenges requires one to complete a challenge before unlocking another.

Rewards for Challenges (top to bottom): Relaxation, Balance, Knowledge, Prosperity

Relaxation Challenge

Collect 1 White Spa Robe Top (2,800 coins needed)
Collect 1 Luscious Waterfall (1 Cooking Cash needed)
Collect 1 Marby Lotus Pool (16,000 coins needed)

Reward: Marby Fountain

Tip: If you have no use for them in your inventory, have friends gift to you the items all three items (including the one using Cooking Cash), and return it to them after

RC records it as completion of the challenge's steps. Yes, you can gift the Luscious Waterfall and have it gifted back to you - it still counts as completion.

Balance Challenge

Collect 30 White Lilies
Collect 10 trash
Visit Gourmet street

This is where you can access Gourmet Street.

Reward: Yoga Faye

Tip: Keep a lookout on your Game wall for friends completing the Knowledge challenge - if they share their goodies, you will get a 1 free White Lilies.

Knowledge Challenge

Answer 5 food quizzes
Correctly answer 3 food quizzes

Reward: White Lillies, 5,000 coins

Tip: Memorize the answers from my previous entry on Restaurant City: 2011 quiz answers.

Prosperity Challenge

Collect 1 White Lilies (ask from friends)
Shake 50 trees
Plant 5 seeds (2,000 coins each = 10,000 coins needed)

Reward: 2,500 coins

Tip: There's no tip to this. It's pretty straightforward. :\

Well, at least the good thing about this week's challenge is becoming more like a challenge, rather than the previous week where we had to incur more losses over items we don't need.

::update::

Dang, I take back my last words. Just when I thought they wouldn't do it, they did it once more. Behold:

Tranquility Challenge

Collect 1 Tranquil Jacuzzi Arcade (25 Cooking Cash needed)
Collect 1 Pampered Pam (8 Cooking Cash needed)
Collect 4 Birds of Paradise Corners (4,800 coins each = 19,200 coins needed)

Reward: Banana, Yoghurt, Honey, Wheatgrass, Pineapple

Tip: Exactly the same tip I gave for the Relaxation Challenge above.

Unfortunately, RC charges a hefty 33 Cooking Cash + 19,200 coins for this challenge. I wonder if people will actually commit to this challenge... for the sake of honey. :\

Restaurant City: 2011 quiz answers

2011-05-11T20:14:00.003+08:00

Turns out that Restaurant City's new quizzes are here to stay (and is also used as part of challenges). Here are the answers to the quizzes so you will never be short of ingredients:

*gawk - the images auto edits in size! :(

16 found thus far. Will update if I find more. :D

At the backyard.

2011-05-09T20:18:00.000+08:00

Esther becomes terribly excited when we go to the backyard.

It is a place where she can play around freely without Big Max tagging along. Don't get me wrong, she loves the dog, but he's bigger than her, especially when he tries to jump onto her for a snuggle. That scares her because she can't support his weight.

See? No worries. And she makes a cute lil helper too.
Sometimes, she'd help me spot custard apples on the tree. "Pineapple tarts", she calls them, despite the numerous times we've corrected her. She knows they're custard apples, but I suppose she thinks it's amusing to call it otherwise from the accidental reinforcements we had given her through our reactions.

One thing about Esther eating custard apples is that she only likes eating the fleshy parts, meaning, the parts stuck to the seeds. She's not even 3, but she's already separating flesh and seed in her mouth... and she does a heck of good job at it too.

One single fruit can probably populate my entire garden (x3) with custard apple trees.

Mama's proud of you. :)

Restaurant City: Sunday Special (8th May '11)

2011-05-06T00:21:00.002+08:00

According to restaurantcity.wikia.com, the recipe of Tuna and Sweetcorn Panini for the coming Sunday's Special will require the ingredients: 10 Sweetcorn, 10 Tuna, 10 Bread, and 10 Salad.

Prepare one of each for Sunday, and you can take your time mastering it. :)

Restaurant City: Blast from the Past Challenge

2011-05-03T18:09:00.006+08:00

Restaurant City has come up with more challenges before the Geek Chic Week has ended. Seems like a hint of Blast from the Past, with collection of items and prizes that remind you of pixilated platform games in the ‘90s.

Insert Coin Challenge

Collect 8 Retro Tile – Bugs (75 coins each = 600 coins needed)
Collect 1 Retro Tile – Shooter (75 coins)
Collect 1 Floating Cooking Coin (ask from friends/buy for 1 cooking coin)

Reward: Pixel Wallpaper – Skyline
TIP: Don’t really have any tip since the amount spent is rather negligible (total 675 coins). However, you can always collect more than 1 Floating Cooking Coin from your friends, one, you will need 49 more of those floaties for the Get the High Score Challenge, two, you can sell them off for 330 coins each later (if you do collect 50 floaties and sell them off later, you can earn 16,500), and three, you can use it to decorate your restaurant.

Pixel is the New Black Challenge

Collect 1 Pixel Wallpaper – Horizon (2,200 coins)
Collect 1 Floating Bricks (3,500 coins)
Collect 2 Outdoor Pixel Trees (1,400 coins each = 2,800 coins needed)

Reward: Pixel Decal – Horizon
TIP: Since the total you would need to spend on this challenge alone would cost you 8,500 coins, you can consider splitting the expenditure (especially if you do not intent to keep the items) by exchanging the items with your friends. For example, player A buys the Pixel Wallpaper – Horizon at 2,200 coins, player B buys 1 Floating Bricks at 3,500 coins, and player C buys the Outdoor Pixel Trees at 2,800 coins. Just take turns to exchange the items with one another – receiving it as a gift also counts as “Collect”.

Get the High Score! Challenge

Collect 50 Floating Cooking Coins (ask from friends/buy for 1 cooking cash each)
Collect 1 Retro Game Toilet (6 cooking cash)
Visit Maggie’s Restaurant

Reward: Pixel Decal - Skyline, Pixel Wallpaper – Horizon
TIP: Unless you feel impatient, you can wait until the challenge is nearing its deadline to see if you will actually get the Retro Game Toilet for free (from RC wall/forum/e-mail subscription). If it doesn’t, you can buy it with cooking cash at the eleventh hour. Sigh – this isn’t my favorite challenge.

Top to bottom:
Rewards for Insert Coin Challenge, Pixel is the New Black Challenge, and Get the High Score Challenge.

All of the sudden I feel like joining baby Mario in his adventures in Yoshi's Island DS!

Ms Kisser.

2011-05-03T12:05:00.006+08:00

Watching numerous Korean drama series with me, Esther has seen many kissing scenes. One day, she wanted to kiss me on my lips. Stopping her, I told her, "You can kiss your husband on his lips when you grow all big and strong." Dearie also gave the same explanation when she tried kissing him. The next thing you know, she kept announcing to people, "Esther can only kiss lips when big BIG, strong STRONG!!!"

Malu sial.

And yesterday, she almost kissed me there again. I retold her what we've been telling her, adding that only "mama's husband" can kiss me on my lips. This time, my almost 3-year old kid changed her statement, "Esther can only kiss mama's husband on lips when big BIG, strong STRONG!!!"

I really should revisit my Child Psychology books.

Sometimes Esther thinks she's a big girl... Wearing lip gloss and accessories. I once even caught her using black permanent art pens to color her nails!

Now, I cover her eyes during kissing scenes.

Restaurant City: Geek Chic Week/2011 quiz answers

2011-05-03T00:03:00.005+08:00

I'm not sure if the quiz is only in commemoration of the Geek Chic Week or if it's a new set of quiz, but here are 12 that have been spotted.

I think these answers should be correct. Tell me if they're not, or if you have come across any more. :)

Restaurant City: How to Earn Coins?

2011-05-02T12:00:00.002+08:00

For those who enjoy decorating their restaurant in Restaurant City, or buying ingredients to upgrade recipes, earning coins is the best way to go about them. So how exactly can one earn coins?

Ways to earn RC coins:

Keep your restaurant running
- When you keep your restaurant running, you get customers. No doubt your restaurant will become trash-filled if your leave it running for hours without cleaning it often, but at least the restaurant is generating money. Plus, each trash earns you at least 5 coins so you might balance out the 2 coins you lose from each customer you lose due to the trash.
Shake trees
- Now, who says money doesn’t grow on trees?
Water plants
- You earn 3 coins for watering each of your neighbor’s thirsty plant.
Pick up trash
- You get 5 coins for each normal trash you pick up. Some restaurants will have items with effects that convert trash into something else. With those, you can earn between 5 to 7 coins per trash.
Levelling up
- You get 3,000 coins each time you level up.
Buy items that earn you cash
- The best cash-earning items are usually those that do not break down, but if you have lots of restaurant space to spare, it doesn’t quite matter. Mine’s quite packed already so I have to limit my options.

Click image to enlarge.
- If you are already at level 35 or above, buy the Floating Crystal. It will cost quite a bit (60,000 coins), but if you are planning to play for a long time, and usually leave your restaurant running for many hours without touching it, you would get a decent amount of crystals on your floor. They earn you 5 to 7 coins each.
Selling off items
- Sometimes you might come across Gourmet King gifts that you do not need. Collect them and sell them off! You can earn 1/3 of the item’s value.
Sending gifts
- You get coins in return as a token of appreciation, usually between 200 to 300 coins.
Spend on necessities and money-making items
- Especially if you are just starting out, start off with the essentials like chairs, tables, stoves, drink dispenser, and toilets. Save the coins for decorations later because once you are at higher levels, it isn’t difficult to earn coins.
Decorating efficiently
- What this means is that you should decorate not for aesthetic purposes, but so that your employees, especially the waiters and waitresses can get the food and drinks to the customers quickly, hence, you get a paying customer. Customers can walk off without paying if they are annoyed.
Upgrade your functional items
- The more efficient your stoves and drink dispensers are, the more customers you can serve in a shorter time, hence, more $$$.
Visiting other friend’s restaurants
- If you find that a certain friend’s restaurant is always filled with trash, you can make them one of your routine visits for additional cash.
Helping out at your friend’s restaurant
- Helping out your neighbours earns you coins:
1st and 2nd friend – 500 coins each
3rd to 5th friend – 250 coins each
6th friend onwards – 50 coins each
Check out your RC friends’ walls
- Make it a habit to check your active RC friends’ walls. They could have won an award or a challenge with coins to share. If your friend shares their award prizes, you can earn:
Bronze Trophy – 500 coins
Silver Trophy – 1,000 coins
Gold Trophy – 5,000 coins
Of present, you can conveniently check these updates through the Game Stories under Game Requests.
Check Restaurant City wall
- Every now and then, the fan page gives away free coins.
Visit forums
- You may sometimes find a bag of gold at the forum.
Subscribe to Restaurant City’s e-mail
- Be sure to check your spam filters because your bag of gold could end up there.

Restaurant City: How to Get Wheatgrass?

2011-04-30T01:53:00.003+08:00

Unlike the other new/rare ingredients in RC that can be found through opening mystery crates, RC wall, fan pages, forum, and e-mail updates, the method to attaining Wheatgrass is a little different - we need to harvest it.

The good news about this is that we'll have unlimited supply of Wheatgrass so long we collect them.

To collect Wheatgrass ingredient:

Collect the free Smoothie Bar.
Master the Very Berry Crush recipe (ingredients: strawberries (x20), ice (x10), and apple (x10).
Place Smoothie Bar in restaurant and leave it running. When you hover over the Smoothie Bar, there will be a 24-hour countdown for your Wheatgrass to grow.
Once the 24-hour is up, click on the Smoothie Bar to harvest the ingredient. You get ONE bunch of Wheatgrass each harvest.

You might also want to delegate a Bartender for the Smoothie Bar so customers can enjoy drinks from there, too!

Looks like RC has found yet another way to keep their players playing.

::Update May 1st, 2011::
Looks like they cheat-proofed the "Collect Wheatgrass". You can't trade with your allies to max-up for the challenge - have to grow and harvest them using the Smoothie Bar. So be patient til you get your 6th bunch!

Restaurant City: Geek Chic Week challenge tips

2011-04-29T15:54:00.003+08:00

Oh dear, Restaurant City goers will be surprised to see quizzes unfamiliar to them. To me, that is definitely a great thing. I’ve been playing over a year now, and I’ve got to say quizzes are one of the not-so-anticipated part of the game, one, because they keep repeating the questions, and two, the prizes are usually ordinary ingredients. With the new quizzes, I actually do learn something new. Now is just the wait for people to collect the answers.

In the meantime, RC has got new challenges this week – it is the Geek Chic Week! Challenges are basically like mini-games for RC. It is optional whether you want to complete it or not, but for the kiasu, like me, challenges make the game even more exciting. And based on my personal experience in their challenges, here are some tips that may be useful.

Uber Kitchen Challenge

Collect 6 Krenzer Kitchen Counter (20,000 coins each) = 120,000 coins needed)
Collect 2 Krenzer Kitchen Counter Corners (18,000 coins each = 36,000 coins needed)
Collect 1 Smartwall Interface (16,000 coins)

Reward: Krenzer Sink – Midnight Black
TIP: Because each item is extremely costly, you can share this challenge among your neighbors. Example:

Player A buys 4 of the Krenzer Kitchen Counter (total 80,000 coins)
Player B buys 2 Krenzer Kitchen Counter, 2 Krenzer Kitchen Counter Corner, and 1 Smartwall Interface (total 92,000 coins).
Next, Player A sends all his/her items to Player B for Player B to complete the challenge.
Then, Player B sends all the items to Player A.

This way, you do not pay the full cost for the challenge – is especially helpful if you do not plan to use the items, otherwise, it’s a different story.

Picnic in the Park Challenge

Collect 1 Happytree Wall Decal (6,000 coins)
Shake 20 trees
Water 5 garden plots

Reward: 2,500 coins (not very worth it though)
TIP: If you do not have many active friends, it might not matter that much which restaurant you visit. But from experience, the lower the level the restaurant is at, the more trees you have to shake. With garden plots, simply plant 5 plants (10,000 coins), and you are done. But if you are short of coins, surveying your neighbor’s plots will not harm.

As for the Decal, you can make a pack with an active player like the Uber Kitchen Challenge tip mentioned earlier, where Player A can buy the Happytree Wall Decal, making it a total of 86,000 coins spent – just 6,000 coins less than what Player B had to pay. Of course, you can do your own math among a group of RC neighbors and cut even more challenge costs.

Detox

Place the Smoothie Station in your restaurant
Collect 5 bunches of Wheat Grass

Reward: Citrus Shoot Dispenser
TIP: Master the Very Berry Crush recipe first so that you can harvest Wheat Grass sooner. It takes 24 hours to harvest ONE bunch of wheat grass.

Rewards for each challenge.

Better complete the challenge before they expire! ;)

My favorite Glee soundtracks.

2011-04-28T16:12:00.002+08:00

When I first started watching Glee a year ago, it didn't quite spark my fancy.

But ever since Dalton's Warblers (or rather Blaine and his pip hahaha - season 2, episode 16) came into the picture, I've got to say I've been a fan.

Seriously, how can you not like these boys?

Somewhere Only We Know, performed by the Warblers (season 2, episode 18).

Original song by Keane.

I like the original version more, but Darren Criss (character: Blaine) ain't too bad with this version either.

Bills, Bills, Bills, performed by the Warblers (season 2, episode 11).

Original song by Destiny's Child.

Have always loved this song. I wonder how come the boys in my school could never dance like the Warblers.

Misery, performed by the Warblers (season 4, episode 16).

Original song by Maroon 5.

Loved the banging on the tables. :P

Teenage Dream, performed by the Warblers (season 2, episode 6).

Original song by Katy Perry.

Oh boys, you would have been my teenage dream, as it obviously was with Kurt.

Baby It's Cold Outside, performed by characters Blaine and Kurt (season 2, episode 10).

Original song by Dean Martin.

I've got to say I love the chemistry between these two in this performance.

And there are the other songs beyond the Warblers that gives me butterflies in my stomach.

Lucky, performed by characters Sam and Quinn (season 2, episode 4).

Original song by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat.

A simple love song. :)

Sing!, performed by characters Tina and Mike (season 2, episode 4).

Original song from theatrical act A Chorus Line.

Gah, can't find a full video for this! Loved the duet and its choreography. The two Asians of the group sure complement one another well.

Marry You, performed by the New Direction (season 2, episode 8).

Original song by Bruno Mars.

I'd love a wedding like this. Since I'm already married, I'd love to have the privilege to attend one like this.

Forget You, by the character Holly Holiday, and the New Directions (season 2, episode 7).

Original song by Cee Lo.

I can listen to this over and over again.

And finally, after all those covers (they are suppose to be high school students, so there isn't anything wrong with covers... I mean, we ourselves probably had done a cover one time or another in school), Glee has their very own original soundtracks.

Get It Right, performed the New Directions (season 2, episode 16).

A song about trying to perfect things only for things to go wrong.

Loser Like Me, performed by the New Directions (season 2, episode 16).

A song about being an outcast, but there's no backing out because you might be a great person in the future. Esther loves this song. :D

And a few other originals the Glee-sters attempted.

Trouty Mouth, performed by Santana (season 2, episode 16).

Erm, it's basically a song about her boyfriend's lips. Very good entertainment hahaha.

Hell To The No, performed by Mercedes (season 2, episode 16).

A song about not changing yourself because you know what you want.

I can't wait to see what they have next in store for us. :)

Tweet, tweet.

2011-04-28T15:33:00.001+08:00

I'm finally on Twitter!

Lookie at the top right of my bloggie! ;D

Changing templates.

2011-04-27T14:48:00.001+08:00

Currently editing template. It'll be a mess for the time being. :\

::Update::

Almost got everything in order... But, erm, do you prefer the previous template or the current one?

Restaurant City: How to Get Ingredients?

2011-04-26T21:26:00.010+08:00

Ah, here is another entry on my addiction to this game.

For avid Restaurant City players, outplaying your fellow players can be one of the highs of the game. But how exactly does one stay ahead of others? Based on experience, it’s a recipe of whole lot of ingredients, patience, and wise-play.

Ways to get ingredients:

Log in daily
- With consecutive daily logins, you get one additional ingredient, until it restarts to the first of five days.
The market
- If you see a rare ingredient on sale, buy it. I usually stockpile ingredients whenever possible. If you can only afford a few, have at least four of the ingredients in your inventory. That would be enough to unlock a recipe when you need it for later upgrades (like the Reindeer Recipe recipe that needed 4 carrots to unlock it). Take advantage of cheaply sold ingredients, but always keep enough cash for the next day, for you may find more useful ingredients.
Daily food quiz
- Memorize the answers, ace the quiz, and get a free ingredient a day!
Free gifts
- Gift, and ask for gifts. You can actually double your profit through this, because you can receive Thank You Gifts, and you can ask for gifts. Stocking up free ingredients can come in handy in the future, even if not now. Even decorations can be useful – you can always sell them off for cash. Identify the active players on your list so you do not waste your gift opportunities. You can only send 20 gifts at a time, with 30 gifts in total every 5 hours), but there is no limit to how many gifts you can accept in a day.
Mystery crates/good spirits
- Sometimes you might receive mystery crates on your wall from your friends. You can only accept 10 crates a day. On the other hand, when you visit your friends and they accept the mystery crate you published on their wall, you will receive the ingredient as well!
Friends’ walls
- Make it a habit to check your active RC friends’ walls. They could have stumbled upon the Gourmet King or won a challenge with an ingredient to share. Of present, you can conveniently check these updates through the Game Stories under Game Requests, and accept up to 20 Gourmet King prizes daily. Be wise with the prizes you choose to accept, especially if you have many Gourmet King posts to select from.
Levelling up
- You get a free ingredient or two whenever you level up.
Challenges
- Win the weekly challenges that offer ingredients as their prizes.
First time friend visits
- Get an ingredient with each new restaurant you visit. However, instead of visiting them all at a go, you can divide them over a few days, especially if you do not have many active RC friends. You receive coins for helping at your friends’ restaurants:
1st and 2nd friend – 500 coins each
3rd to 5th friend – 250 coins each
6th friend onwards – 50 coins each

This way, you not only get a free ingredient, you also earn more cash with the visit.
Trading ingredients
- When it comes to trading ingredients, I like to ask politely for a trade in ingredients and propose ingredients up for trades before actually hitting the trade button. This allows me to keep track of who I am trading with.
- On the other hand, go through your inactive RC friends’ ingredients. You can ask them to trade some of the rare ingredients with you.
Playfish cash
- Playfish cash are great for rare ingredients when you do not have many active RC friends.
RC fan page
- ‘Like’ the Restaurant City fan page, and you will exclusively receive updates from RC, including free ingredients.
RC subscription
- When you enter the game, there is a bar on top that indicates if you have installed the game, ‘Like’ the game, and subscribed to the game. Completing this bar allows you to subscribe to the RC mail, which occasionally gives you free ingredients. Check the e-mail you subscribed it with; sometimes it ends up in the Junk Mail so save it as a safe mail.
Forum
- Of course, there is the sub-forum of Restaurant City Freebies that occasionally gives away free ingredients for 24 hours. Always check the time and date the post was published, which gives you an indication of whether the giveaway has expired or not.
RC blog
- Very rarely do you get an ingredient from here, but the blog is especially helpful when it comes to the Sunday Special. From there, you can predict the ingredients you may need for the recipe based on the name and the image, for example, with Apple Crush, one should probably stock up apples and ice? Google Search on the recipe and you may have an idea where to start.

So what are you waiting for? Go on and start collecting your ingredients!

Revamp?

2011-04-20T01:52:00.009+08:00

I'm thinking of revamping my blog. The current design doesn't give me the mood to update as frequent.

Any suggestions... Things you would like to see, maybe?

Or even better, anyone wanna design my blog for me??? :P

In the meantime, a couple of pictures.

The princess and her favorite male lead.

Known a long time ago, but thought it'd be nice to share anyway. :P

Not raindrops on roses, nor whiskers on kittens... But drawing, fur-dressing, and dogs... And of course mama and papa!

...And fun and games.

...And dressing up on her own.Sigh, there goes my knee supports and scrunchie...

Yes. Dressing up on her own again. She's probably worn my clothes more often than have I.

The picture says it all.

Disclosure Policy

2011-04-19T15:11:00.001+08:00

This policy is valid from 19 April 2011

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does contain content which might present a conflict of interest. This content may not always be identified.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Blokus from buying.

2011-04-15T18:08:00.004+08:00

Oh, joy! I've found an online version of Blokus (pronounced Block-Us!).

Had been searching for the super addictive board game for a while now ever since I first played it at Joyce's grandma's during our Kuantan trip. But when I finally found it at Jusco, I was stunned at the price - it was sold at RM 129.90 per set! Even with its 20% discount, it'd cost RM103.92, which is still bloody expensive. In the US it costs USD29.99, which converts to RM90.64. I am so gonna wait for one of those chap-lap sales where I can get board games for up to 50% off the retail price! ...or I could stick to the online version since I can play it anytime I like...

What is Blokus (Classic)?

If you haven't heard of Blokus, it is a strategy game where you try to finish as much squares as possible. To do so, you will need to block your opponents from taking up the spaces so you can finish up your tiles.

Tiles can have between one to five squares. Each player has:

1 tile of 1 square, a.k.a monomino
1 tile of 2 squares, a.k.a domino
2 tiles of three squares, a.k.a triominos
5 tiles of four squares, a.k.a. tetraminos
12 tiles of five squares, a.k.a. pentaminos

Sounds easy? But alas, there are restrictions that makes the game challenging (and fun!):

Players begin at the corner of the board
The order of play is blue, yellow, red, green
Each tile must touch one another only at its corners (squares touch diagonally); no direct touching of each tile's sides

Image courtesy of Blokus.
When a player is unable to move, they miss their turn. Based on experience, that means you're out of moves for the game. The other players play until they have no moves left.

Scoring
As for the scoreboard, a player's points is calculated according to how many squares they managed to put on the board. Basically you can do that by counting the squares of your leftover tiles (89 - x = points; where x is the amount of leftover squares), unless you actually have more tiles off the board. A bonus 15 points is awarded to players who finishes all their tiles, and an additional 5 points is awarded if the player finishes their tiles with the monomino tile. Obviously, the player with the most points wins the round.

It's really quite addictive once you start playing it. :)

Yoga Sandals - a review.

2011-04-12T12:28:00.005+08:00

Weee! I've just received my birthday present to myself.

Presenting...

My first pair of Yoga Sandals!

At first I was a bit doubtful if the sandals would be comfortable, especially since it is suppose to help align and correct my feet's structure and overall posture. Turns out it was pretty ok*. The strap gives me the feeling one like support socks as its vamps hug my feet, while the insole has a solid yet soft foamy feel to it (which I like). The part that a newbie would need some getting used to would be the separators between each toe, which you can imagine the feeling by placing pedicurist's toe separators downwards instead of up. My feet felt a little tired after wearing it for about half an hour - haven't gotten used to it just yet. But wear it while doing something else and you might just forget that you're wearing it.
*not all feet are alike - different people will have their own unique experience

While others sacrifice their health for fashion, I'm sacrificing my fashion for health. Indeed, the appearance might strike a tad bit odd, especially since we are so used to slippers with the separator between our biggest toe and second toe. But who knows, this might turn out to be another Crocs. Yoga Sandals seem to be becoming the in-thing in places like Hartamas and Bangsar anyway.

Image courtesy of Yoga Sandals Malaysia.

Why I chose to buy this product:
Other than the corporate discount I received, my feet's quite screwed already. Plus, I need that little feet exercise that I've been neglecting ever since I started freelance writing.

However, If you have feet problems, you should consult your doctor about wearing this sandals. My mom's doctor advices her not to wear shoes with toe separators at all because her feet's bone structure is not suited for it (she's undergone several foot surgeries before because her leg bones are a bit screwed).

Nevertheless, there are other designs available as well. Do check them out at:
- Website: www.yogasandalsmalaysia.webs.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Yoga-Sandals-Malaysia/111702562216787

Yoga Sandals retail at RM129 per pair.

Born this day, 24 years ago.

2011-04-10T23:50:00.003+08:00

I'm no good with rhyming
But here's an attempt at stringing
Words from my heart today
Telling me that there is no happier day
Than knowing that the people around me
Care for me so much naturally
Even if they forget it is my birthday
ESPECIALLY if they forget it is my birthday
With no pretense, no straining smiles
But true joy and comfort between us pals
Making it a truly happy birthday indeed

BUT

For those who do remember, thank you for the wishes! I hope that the "happy" on my birthday also came true for you! :D

9th April

2011-04-09T23:36:00.003+08:00

It's the day before another 10th April...

A florist hits me with the bitter truth that I look more like a maid caring for a child, than the mother of my daughter.

Not that it's never happened before... It has happened countless times before! But it's just the fact that at 23 going on to 24, I STILL look the part of an Indonesian maid. Will I never outgrow that?

Sigh. :( Maybe I should just accept this look and pretend to be one as an excuse to not know the Chinese language. Right. Solves everything.

One of those random thoughts.

2011-04-05T12:08:00.002+08:00

It's strange.

Why are people so concerned about getting wax off apples, eating non-oily food, and eating non made-in-China (now Japan) when they aren't afraid of dyeing their hair, painting their nails, and applying all sorts of creams/lotions/oil on their faces, hair, hands, arms, armpits, stomach, legs, feet, and etcetera? Aren't the effects more or less the same - we're putting toxic into our body?

Curious...

Diarrhea.

2011-04-02T00:01:00.002+08:00

It's the second day, moving onto the third.

I realize that having a bad case of stomach upset caused by diarrhea feels almost exactly like the contractions I got when I went into labor, except that the contractions occurred every 10 and then 5 minutes, and that it happened over 24 hours, unlike the stomach upset I've been having, like, forever over a day already. :(

Married: Year 3.

2011-03-29T15:31:00.001+08:00

If my married life was a television sitcom, it'd be year 3 today. :P

Happy anniversary, my other half!

Potty-training Esther.

2011-03-28T15:20:00.008+08:00

One of the biggest regrets I have as a parent was to listen to the traditional, old folk's advice on potty-raining:

Make your baby sit at the potty until she pees/poops. Let her play with her toys or eat at the potty so she would sit still. If she doesn't listen, punish her.

Somebody told me to do that when Esther was only 1. This lady did it to her own kids, and her own kids, grown-up as they are now, also said I should follow the advice. So we tried, although it didn't seem right.

Ah, the 4 years learning Psychology wasted... BUT, in defence...
We were actually a bit desperate to get her potty trained.
Diapers are expensive (about RM60-90 /month), and our old washing machine (15 years old?) would not last cleaning so much soiled mess.
And yes, we did hand-wash for a while, but when you're caring for a baby, you're on demand 24/7, and switching between unhygienic to hygienic was not very convenient.

But no. Esther would not sit still on the potty, and she'd scream away when we did. We'd beat her hand (a small pat to let her know she did something wrong), and she'd cry even more. It was heart-wrenching because the little girl understand why she was being punished. So we stopped after a few attempts.

Then at 2, it seemed like Esther showed that she knew when it was time to release... She'd tell me "sshhh sshhh" and start tugging at her diapers. When she did that, I'd instantly bring the potty to her, or she'd run to the potty herself (indication that she knew what the potty was for). Sometimes she'd do her 'little business', sometimes it'd be false alarm. Maybe she wasn't ready just yet. We stopped again, and continued with diapers.

Then one day, I asked my uncle how he potty-trained his kid, who is only a couple of years older than Esther, and a bright kid she is. He told me that he'd let his daughter decide when she was ready. He said she just became curious and wanted to do it on her own.

So I thought, ok, since forcing her isn't getting her anywhere, let's try this method instead. When Esther was around 2 years and a few months old, she started showing interest in copying us doing our 'little business'. Soon enough, she started running to the potty on her own and telling me, "Esther wants sshhh sshhh". We'd go together, and she'd pee.

Now, at 2 years and 8 months, she can already go to the toilet, take off her own panties, climb onto the toilet seat, do her business, wash herself, wipe up, and put on her panties back on. Occasionally she would soil her panties or wet the bed, but it's ok, she's doing a great job being independent most of the time. Even when we go shopping, she'd hold her bladder as long as she can until we find a toilet. And when she does do a job well done, she'd be brimming with pride and joy, and I'd be just so darn proud of her.

Lesson of story:
Your kid will eventually go through that potty-LEARNING milestone. Some faster than others, some slower. But it's ok. When they do go through it, it is an accomplishment to them, and a proud moment for us parents.

Esther thinks she's a ballerina.

2011-03-25T09:48:00.004+08:00

She's been wearing her homemade tutu very often.

She's been wearing lots of layers of clothing with her tutu (and the mix-and-match isn't bad at all).

And ever since she saw the dancing scenes in Black Swan, she's been pestering me to play more videos of "tutu dance".

And of course there's the part where she watches those videos and imitates what she sees, like doing splits and stretches and whatever fancy ballet terms used to describe everything else.

Although I'm pleased to see that she's taking interest in things, but boy, her interests seem to weigh on the expensive side. :(

She also likes going over to the neighbor's house to 'play' the piano, and she has this liking towards shoes where she'd run into shops and wear the most extravagant-looking, x-inches stilettos (at home, she goes for my boots and heels, which are hidden buahahahaha!). She also likes technology... She owns her own functional camera, she likes using my laptop, dear's PC, other people's iPads and iPhones, and she knows how to operate the radio.

And she's picky with clothes... She literally picks up the clothes she wants to wear, and rejects clothes she doesn't 'feel' like wearing.

It makes me wonder... Whose side does she take after? Or is this purely out of exposure?

Please vote!

2011-03-22T03:58:00.004+08:00

So I participated in a little contest by Canon's Creative Park...

As for now it's one vote... Which was by me. Winner is decided by number of votes. So... Yeah - please vote! It may not be as pretty as the other entries, but I think winning a printer would really come in handy.

For the rest of you, if you are interested in participating, you can visit Canon Creative Playground. It's not really easy working with their template, so... Good luck! :)

First three prizes wins printers each, along with cartridges and paper packs. The 5 consolation prizes, on the other hand, wins an 8GB flash drive.

Happy Chap Goh Meh!

2011-02-17T23:56:00.001+08:00

Here's a little sketch of an old picture of Esther at two months that I absolutely adore.

My sleeping Beauty.

Gosh I really need to learn how to draw hair. Drawing eyes, nose and mouth is one thing, but drawing hair is a whole new level of difficulty. I really wished I took art courses right now.

Can anyone give me free lessons on sketching hair and shading??? I sangat tak puas with the end results. :(

CariBilik di mana-mana.

2011-02-15T01:18:00.003+08:00

If you are a student or a professional living out of home, you would probably be renting a room. If you know exactly which area you are interested in renting a room at, what most people are known to do is to drive around houses looking for "Room for Rent" signs posted on their gates, or checking out 7-Eleven outlets for rooms to rent adverts. That's what some of my friends did anyway. But the thing is, you are only limited to what you see, and you would miss what you don't.

To address this problem, a website called CariBilik has become a renter’s best friend. Instead of driving under the hot sun and using up petrol, you can do your search from the website. Plus, you can make comparisons in terms of price, area, type of building, and the facilities available from room to room.

On the other hand, if you have a room to rent, you could advertise it instead. It is definitely much easier to gain an audience than to stick a sign on your gate where no one might actually notice.

Even if you decide to stay in Indonesia for a while, you can log on to CariBilik Indonesia, and wa-lah! Saves you from so much trouble, especially at a land you might be totally unfamiliar with. You may not be familiar with Bahasa Indonesia, but there’s always its English mode.

The Indonesian website is still picking up on rooms, but I think in no time, there’ll be thousands of rooms just like the Malaysian and Singaporean website. So if you’re looking for a room, you’ll know where to start your search.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T11:32:00.002+08:00

Since we don't really do any celebrating here, I just wanted to do something I have always loved - drawing.

First artwork for the year! (and in a very long time - last thing I drew was during my pregnancy!!!)

I attempted to draw Esther, but it ended up looking like some other kid/penguin. :( Esther is much more a cutie, right???

Looks like I need a hell lot more practice... Now, if only I can find my set of sketching pencils.......

Esther fell into the rubbish bin.

2011-02-13T23:58:00.002+08:00

Three days ago when Esther and I still had high fever, we were on this sleeping spree. The thing about sleeping continuously for many long hours is that you just feel all dizzy throughout the time, and our reactions are become much delayed too.

In the middle of that night, Esther suddenly sprung out of bed saying, "I wanna mmm-mmm (poop)!"

I'm usually the kind that has difficulty waking up, but somehow, my eye just popped open and I asked Esther, "Esther wants to mmm-mmm?"

Both of us just jumped off the bed abruptly, not even trying to gain our balance before going into the bathroom.

This was when it happened. I squatted next to Esther to help her get her panties off so she could sit on the toilet seat in comfort. But as she released one leg from the cloth, she lost her balance and she fell down sideways, with her head landing in the rubbish bin.

All that happened so fast, and the next thing I knew, I was hugging her, trying to comfort her from the pain. Her chin now has this bruise that looks like rashes.

When she looks at the mirror and sees the injury, she tells me, "Because Esther fall in rubbish bin."

I feel so bad that I didn't react any faster. :(

Hay fever, you S**K!!!

2011-02-12T00:32:00.004+08:00

At times like this, I'm just very pro-DNA alteration. I've just found the answer to the one thing that I would change in my life. (being short is not even close to it)

Now, to most of you this may be nothing. You may think I'm this auntie over-exaggerating my condition. But this has haunted me for the whole of my life, not knowing that these could be summed up to a medical condition, and only recently I could put a finger on it. Bloody allergic rhinitis.

When I was younger (which wasn't really that long ago), I loved sports. I'd eagerly practice for track when there were practice, and when there weren't, I'd be playing with my friends in the mud barefooted. At that time, things were still alright. I'd just come back with sniffles and they'd be gone some time in the day.

The thing about going back home was that my house was nothing like a house. It looked like a recycling center, honestly. My room (which was the master bedroom) would have boxes of all sizes with books, papers, stationeries, clothes, and anything one can bring to a room. I literally slept on my books (which occupied the bed) - which is why we never invited guests to our house (but dearie and a few other exceptions had to go through the horror and knows that I'm downplaying it).

Yes. I was a slob. A truly filthy one.

I never cleaned the area, because when I did, I'd be sick for a couple of weeks. I'd feel like digging out my eyeballs to wash them because they itched like mad, my ears would feel like it's full of wax when they aren't, and my throat would feel like ants were inhabiting them. In fact, whether I cleaned or not, that's how I felt when I slept for the night. Which is one of the few reasons why I stay at school for 12 hours every school day. Either way, in a place where there's not much mess, I'd feel in control to clean up. Maybe that's why I always have this urge to clear plates and stack them.

So apparently, constantly exposing myself to such conditions would only worsen what I didn't know ran in the family - my mom, her brother, my brothers, and myself had it!

My elder brother probably has the worse condition. He's been blowing his nose almost all the time as long as I can remember. We used to buy him (now he buys his own) those paper towels which he would teach and fold them nicely to fill up his pockets to carry to work. And poor thing has sinus too.

I don't know about the others, but I'm probably the second worse cause I've been actively exposed to all the allergens, only knowing now. I'd get sick at every camp or when I walked in the park because I could not take pollens and heat (I used to think it was the blackhead's fault because my nose skin's would burn, but it's probably because I rubbed my nose too much from the itch, I've stripped layers of protective skin). Exposed to air-conditioning, perfume, smoke or dust, and the first telltale sign of the plugged ear would pop into picture followed by teary eyes and eventually cheeks become all red with rashes (this suck because many people I care about seem to be a smoker).

And what sucks more, my blackheads will probably never recover because blackheads is a common side dish for that bloody meal.

It'd be nice to hear if there's someone else who is like me...

This just bothers me too much, I feel like I've subconsciously decided not to find a full-time job because I can't take heat nor air-conditioning. WTF!!!

I'm serious actually. I get sick every week (we have a garden and gusts of wind is just like air-conditioners). Or at least when I'm sick, I take at least 3 weeks to recover. Dearie's probably sick and tired of hearing my pity story already. And the pills the doctor gave me don't seem to be all that effective.

I so hate me right now. Grrr!

Here's a less credible but easier to understand website for your general knowledge of the allergens.

In Esther's eyes.

2011-02-07T23:53:00.007+08:00

What do you think of when you see these cards?

What do YOU see?

The mathematical symbols - minus, equal, and divide?

A subject you may have despised throughout your schooling days?

My two-and-a-half year-old kid, on the other hand, is very fond of these symbols. But what she thinks it is, is not what we think it is.

She thinks they are the Chinese numerals for one (ee), two (er) and three (san). Sometimes, she'd include number '4' after the 'san' and say it is 'si' (four in Mandarin).

It took the not-so-creative me to figure that out. Makes me wonder what else she sees in her world.

P.S. - Oh yes, she knows the numbers 1-20, and alphabets A-Z.

::added::

Just thought of another.

This piece of clothes peg...

Is the letter A.
:)

5th day of CNY

2011-02-06T23:56:00.003+08:00

It's the 5th day of Chinese New Year, which makes it the day to welcome the God of Wealth, or so people say.

Although I don't actually practice all that offerings and stuff, I do hope everyone will attain wealth in their very own ways. ;)

Happy Rabbit year, people! Hop-fully our days will be jolly. :D

I don't know.

2011-01-31T23:04:00.001+08:00

I know I do not know everything, but having a kid that asks me "What is this?" all the time makes me realize even more so that I do not know a lot of things.

Looks like it's back to the books.

Cooking, again?

2011-01-24T20:01:00.002+08:00

Dearie's still away in Australia, so the house is in my hands.

...and of course, so are the meals.

I've been craving for all sorts of food...

Kimchi

Maki rolls

Nasi kandar

Dried mangoes

Banana leaf rice

Kam heong hei khor

Blueberry cheesecake

Pepperoni pizza

Keropok lekor

Dried guavas

Beef lasagna

Onde-onde

Tau foo fa

... I can just go on...

While I hold the phone in my hand, getting all hyped up as I browse through leaflets and food delivery websites, I come to a realisation...

I'm a cheapskate.

I close the webpage, stick the leaflets back onto the fridge, and prepare another home-cooked meal. Day #15.

The start of a new decade.

2011-01-07T14:16:00.002+08:00

Well, this entry marks the blog's start of the new decade.

Here is a video of how the little lady has grown. It's tough getting a good video of her singing either a complete ABC, Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star, or Baa-Baa Black Sheep because she usually starts jumping up and down as soon as I take out my camera phone, so this medley will have to do.

Recorded by dearie, who is off at a company trip to Cameron Highlands, and only back in the afternoon on Sunday, but will be away again on work purposes (for three weeks) to Australia on Monday. Sheesh. Hopefully the trip will go well for him.

***

Dear,

Esther already misses you. She drew a picture I couldn't make out (an L-shaped figure) until she told me, "Papa's arm pit." And much later she asked, "Where is papa?"

Although my fried onions, mash potatoes, pancakes, Fried Rice, and Tong Sui's are delicious to Esther, we still look forward to eating out with you whenever you are home.

So have a good trip and come back soon ok? Preferable with souvenirs teehe.

Love,

Your LOVELY wife

Funny: Matrix Runs on Windows XP

2010-09-19T15:33:00.006+08:00

Cannot tahan. This is just too funny. If you know your Windows, Microsoft and cables in general, and their coexisting problems, you will definitely love this!

CollegeHumor Originals: Matrix Runs on Windows XP

Here are the lines in case you couldn't catch them. It's easier to understand it this way hehe (hopefully I got them right, do correct me if I've made any mistakes anywhere):

Morpheus
You’re down the rabbit hole, Neo. The Matrix is a simulated reality construct. It is the most advanced Windows program ever developed.

Neo
Wait, Windows?

Trinity
Machines run the Matrix on Windows XP. It’s doing the human race while they harvest us for energy. Lean back.

Cypher
I'll just have to wait for the hourglass to go away... (beep) Ok.

Trinity
Which ones of these is the USB?

Morpheus
I think that one… No. THAT one.

Trinity
Is this the monitor cable or…?

Morpheus
I think they both have screws… Right?

***

Morpheus
The Matrix used to run pretty well, but it slowed down over time. Cypher, bit torrents. A lot of movies.

(flirtatious lady in red walks past - as seen in movies)

(a man points a gun at Neo)

Morpheus
Freeze. (everyone freezes) This was a training exercise. An agent can take the form of any being within the Matrix. So you are to trust no one.

Unfreeze. Unfreeze! This happens from time to time. Go on without me... Try Ctrl + Alt + Del!

***

Oracle
Well, hello there! Hope you have cookies enabled.

(Oracle places freshly baked cookies on table)

(Neo sees boy bending spoon and attempts to bend it too)

(as Neo focuses intently, Clippy appears)

Clippy
It looks like you are trying to bend the spoon with your mind.

Neo
Yeah, I got it.

Clippy
Can I help you with that?

Neo
I said I’ve got it.

Clippy
Have you tried realizing the truth that there IS no spoon?

Ouh!! Hey!!! What are you doing?!?!?! OUHHHH!!! (disappears)

Neo
Why am I here?

Oracle
Sooner or later we all encounter an error, Neo. You will have to make a choice - to send an error report or NOT to send error report, BUT is there a difference?

(telephone rings)

Cypher
Neo, it’s Cypher.

Neo
Oh, hi Cypher. What’s up?

Cypher
There is an agent on your tail. You’ll need to do exactly as I say, you understand?

Neo
I’m ready.

Cypher
To your left is a closet. That closet should be full of guns.

(opens closet, pornographic VCDs/DVDs falls out)

Neo
Amateurs. Whoa!

Cypher
I don’t know how those got there.

(Neo climbs out of the window, and into the back alley)

(Agent Smith appears, walking towards him)

Agent Smith
Mr Anderson. Mr Anderson. Mr Anderson. (hanged) Aargh!

Neo
Cypher! I need to learn Kung-fu. Now!

Cypher
Your free trial of 'Kung-Fu' has expired.

(Agent Smith shoots)

(bullet nears Neo but stays put)

Neo
(almost avoids, but stops to stare) Whoa.

(bullet loads, lag a spot, and loads again, and lags a spot again)

(Agent Smith calls customer support)

Customer support
(intangible) customer support. This is Agent Jones from Connecticut. Please hold. (music starts playing)

Cypher
The progress bar is moving, but the remaining time is going up!

(annoyed Agent Smith gets off phone and runs towards Neo)

(multiple motions of Agent Smith remains behind)

Trinity
My God. He’s multiplying.

Neo
No. He’s bugged.

(streams of data fall from the top)

(blue error screen appears!)

Clippy
Looks like you’re trying to free humanity. Want some help?

***

Neo
Ubuntu? I’m going to learn… Ubuntu?

*** THE END ***

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Too funny!!! Thumbs up to College Humor!

Crunch!!!

How I Spent My National Day Holidays

2010-09-13T01:42:00.000+08:00

So we stayed under the hospitality of Yeow Yang's family during our trip to Johore . Thank you so so much for having us!!!

For this year's National Day holidays, we traveled through Malacca to get to Johore. Too bad we didn't take much pictures, and for those that we took, they were from the stops at Malacca.

Here are some pictures.

***

Famosa Chicken Rice Ball Restaurant

"Still looking?"

***

A Famosa

"Oh, that's just me?"

This "castle" is for Esther!!!

Turns out, that "castle" is St Paul's heart and soul.

"Esther, we'll have to return Uncle St Paul his castle, ok?"

***

Some random street in Malacca

Bringing 'Lagenda' into Legend.

Emo-fied.

No, I'm not.

Looks like I'll have to take the train instead.

***

Amidst the beautiful sights in Malacca, we couldn't help but to notice some things that stood out to us.

Top to bottom:
The grumpy cat
Graffiti does not escape the walls of A Famosa
A creatively-used decor

Overall, Malacca's such a beautiful state, filled with so much creativity and history embedded within each of its pillars. I sure hope to visit Malacca again, and next time, with a fully-charged camera!!!

Crunch!!!

Ps. - Johore's alright, too. But I'm just even more deeply attracted to the architecture of Malacca's historical sites.

Do you sort your trash?

2010-09-06T21:09:00.001+08:00

Something common I see happening in this country right now is that well, sure, people would recycle - only if there are recycling bins present. However, this stops at home.

Now, before you defend yourself saying that you do put aside newspapers and magazines...

DID YOU KNOW?
Some recycling centers would reject your recyclables if they are:
- not separated according to the type of material
- not cleaned
- based on my past experiences huhuhuhuhu -

From my encounters, these newspapers and magazines tend to be covered with dust and dirt if kept for a period of time. And when this happens, your refuse may just be refused!

Seriously la, if you really want to save the world, don't rely on the recycling center to sort your rubbish. They want to save the world, too. And if you are going to let them do your dirty job, you're wasting both your time and theirs, and there'll be less creative and dedicated souls on this rescue mission. Don't just preach. DO!

***

Ok. So the purpose I am writing this is to explain myself, because people tend to look at me strangely when they see my pile of stuff, or when I insist I throw their trash for them when they are over at our place.

I'm not an extreme recycler la, but I do what I can.

The Trash Conduct of The SleepyCarrot:

Plastic bottles should be emptied, washed off of all grime and dirt, dried, and compiled according to plastic resin codes.
Plastic bags that are not dirty should be reused whenever needed. They need to be folded in a way that it does not inflate when left alone.
Small, used plastic bags should be used for daily wastes in the wet kitchen, and can be tied up at the end of the day to keep bugs at bay.
For polystyrene packaging that has been used, contents should be emptied into the small plastic bag (refer #3) that has been prepared. Then, the polystyrene packaging will be rinsed, torn at the fold, and the remaining should be halved, and stacked according to fit. Dispose neatly into previous small plastic bag.
Tetra paks should be emptied of its content. Release or tear flaps open and flatten out the pak. Wash the inside by filling water through its opening, or if too small, nip a little off the side and fill with water. Leave to dry after emptied. Compile according to sizes.
Any clean cardboard should be flattened and piled according to size.
Non plastic caps of any bottles should be separated into a different pile specifically for caps.
Dry non-edible refuse, i.e. dust, loose hair, etc., should be disposed of into a bin fitted with a piece of old newspaper, or clean, used plastic bag.

Are you scared yet? Or is this normal?

My reasons for MY conduct:

For the ones I compile, the sole reason is for the sake of recycling. I mean, I actually do reuse some of those things in the end for little projects of fix-it’s.
For those that go into the wet kitchen’s waste plastic bag:

Those are ways to keep my trash compact.
Keeps the bugs at bay.
Lessens the need for frequent disposal into the main bin since the refuse does not take up too much space nor do they stink.
This may be a bit too much, but… It relieves my mind that my rubbish won’t be one of those that explodes when the garbage truck squashes the contents to make space for more garbage. I always imagine that all that garbage would fly onto the streets when that happens and becomes street litter.

I think most people think that sorting your trash would take up a lot of space (like mine does!), but if you allot a small spot at a corner of your house, and drop them off often at a recycling center, you will hardly notice it.

Do you do your earthly duties, too?

Crunch!!!

A message to a dear friend.

2010-08-25T01:07:00.003+08:00

I've found one beautiful thing about Friendster...

Roberta Aug 25 2010 2:48 AM

Hey Budak.

I know it's been some time since I left you any messages. I hope you do not think that I haven’t been thinking about you at all. Well, maybe not that much, but I have. There’s just been plenty on my mind lately.

Seems like time’s passed real quick. It’s been a year and almost a month since you took off. That came in as a surprise, no kidding. I don’t know if I’d have been able to see you embark on a new journey even if you told me, though. I wouldn’t know if I’d have the courage to see you leave.

If you were still around, we’d probably be able to celebrate your 23rd birthday two months ago. And my darling Esther would be calling you “Aunt-koo” – that’s her way of calling uncle. Do you feel any older there, by the way? Being a housewife, I feel old – all the time. You’d probably be calling me an old fart or “nenek” or something and ask if my breasts have started sagging yet. And I’d probably join in on the fun. Or not. I’ve changed so much as a person. Not so “berfikiran songsang” anymore. Are you still the same?

Eh, so Merdeka’s coming, you found a good joke to tell yet? You always carried a good joke with you. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to hear one from you?

Until then, promise to have endless good times, alright? You’re already free from all the pain.

Missing you much, dearly,
Roberta

My obsession.

2010-08-16T23:18:00.010+08:00

Once upon a time, I didn't believe that I would be one of those game junkies, sitting in front of their computers for hours playing the same games.

Today, I am one of them.

For those whom have added me on their Facebook friend's list, I truly apologize now and in advance for the spam I've been deliberately putting up for my selfish goals to reach certain levels of certain games.

Yes, I am one of those.

It seems like I cannot help it lor.

This is what my Facebook profile page is usually like... Full of game updates.
As you can see, I have even bookmarked them so that I can easily skip going through Facebook's main page and get straight into the game.

I also have links to their official Facebook pages, as well as their blogs so that I can stay ahead of the games I play.

Currently, the game I am most hooked onto is Playfish's Restaurant City. It's inevitably a Malaysian instinct la. We love food too much we've got to have it spelled on our screens too.

On the story behind the name... I don't know about you guys, but when I ask my friends, "Where do you wanna eat?" They'd always say, "Anywhere lah!" I'm telling you, my restaurant would a hit among my friends.

And here's my restaurant's indoor layout.

Click to view larger image of my version of a modern Japanese-themed restaurant.
Of course, you would find the beds there rather out of place, but since I'm actively playing the game, I really want my employees to perform well.

I wake up everyday thinking of playing this game, and go to sleep thinking how I'm going to level up. I play it so often, Esther knows when she would need to turn on the laptop's audio speakers so that she can hear the game's music. If this isn't an obsession, I don't know what this is.

Hopefully I'll snap out of it by the time I reach the maximum level.

Crunch!!!

Esther, the 2y.o. smart aleck.

2010-07-26T12:01:00.003+08:00

Meal time is a game of catch between Esther and us parents.

She takes one bite, runs off, and only eats the next mouth when we catch her, especially if she doesn't like the food.

Yesterday evening's dinner was a little different.

She kept drilling it on us that she wanted to drink the isotonic drink, 100 Plus.

However, because she was nearly done with her meal, I insisted that she should by least finish up the contents of the bowl. I told her, using some not-so-wise words, "Not until you empty up the food in this bowl."

So, being the smart aleck she is, she emptied the contents....

....onto the plate next to it.

With a great big smile in her face, she exclaimed, "No more! Drink drink!"

She sure does take after her father a lot.

Crunch!!!

My Favorite Toothbrush.

2010-07-22T17:46:00.003+08:00

I know, I know. It's strange that I'm writing about my toothbrush, but because I like it so much, I thought it deserved to be mentioned at one time or another.

Meet my toothbrush. His name is CrossAction Massage, and he hails from the Oral-B family.

Unlike the other toothbrushes I've used in my life, this baby is gentle with me.

I don't know if other people do face this problem... And I don't know if I'm just a little too aggressive with my brushing... But I often end up hitting my gums with the toothbrush, which bruise usually grows into a painful ulcer later on. Now, that's history with this fellow.

The build of this toothbrush is noticeably different from those toothbrushes you get at a cheap price.

It has a slender body, yet you can easily grip it with your hands. The curved tip of its head is perfect; it easily slides in and out without hurting me. The most apparent difference as compared to other toothbrushes is its Soft Gum Stimulators. It's written on the package that the purpose of it is to massage the gums, claiming that my gums will become healthy and firm. Whether that's true, I can't quite tell because it's so darn soft to notice. But I do think that with its presence, it closes up the space between my teeth and the inside of my cheek, so the chances of me hitting anything is reduced. Other than than is the criss-crossed bristles that is suppose to do double duty clearing the plaque off your teeth, and the usual indicator bristles.

Although this toothbrush is expensive, I think it is a good investment for the sake of my hygiene (ulcer= painful to brush teeth = difficult to properly brush = lazy to do any brushing). I can't remember how much exactly this cost since we bought it ages ago, but I bought a promotional packet of buy 2 free 1 at RM20+. The packet I bought came in 3 colors: blue, green, red. I think there's yellow, too.

Crunch!!!

Top Properties in Malaysia

2010-07-13T17:41:00.004+08:00

If you’re thinking of looking for a decent, local place to reside (like us!), there’s a site that shows it all.

Take a peek at PropWall, and you’ll find an ever-growing list of Malaysia top properties with currently over 1,000 property analyses.

This easy-to-navigate site is quite the property agent’s nightmare, with thorough details, pictures, and reports on some of the best properties in this country, they might just lose business! And when I say properties, I’m not only talking about condominiums and houses, but offices, shops, factories, and lands, too! You can even advertise properties you might be interested in selling or renting off, or you could forward your queries to other users. Receiving updates from PropWall is also convenient with Facebook and Twitter. While for those lacking in the Geography department like myself, PropWall has included Google Map.

There are nevertheless several things that can be improved of this site.

The thing I thought I’d really have wanted to see was the floor plan. Pictures alone are usually not enough for me. I wouldn’t know where each room went unless I joined the dots. And I do not think that Feng Shui believers would appreciate that either.

The search tool is not exactly convenient to use. If you were to try it on your own, you would find that the searches have to be made under specific tabs, i.e. Properties, Classifieds, Photos, Answers. Although you might think that, hey, that’s not too difficult, you will see that once you’re under a certain tab, you cannot make search queries that belongs to the other tabs.

There’s also the thing about getting the report. Of course, everyone wants to make some cash, and paying for subscriptions for certain properties is understandable. However, it would have been nice if an example of a report was given. They promised a list of things they would include in the report, but to me, I’d like a preview before paying RM200 for a report of a single property.

Despite all that’s said, I personally feel that this site is very handy as it saves me a whole lot of time than if I had to do all that research on my own. If you’re also keen on buying/renting a property, go ahead and try PropWall.

Crunch!!!

Two.

2010-07-08T01:06:00.003+08:00

Happy birthday, my ~~little~~ big girl!!! :D

Picture taken by dearie on my birthday this year, at Erin+Adrian's wedding.

Crunch!!!

2 on the 8th.

2010-07-02T14:12:00.004+08:00

Hello, it's been a while.

Time's moved pretty fast, and my little girl's all grown, too!

It feels like it was just yesterday when she was lying in the bouncy net, unable to express herself other than through tears.

In the blink of an eye, she's jumping around on the bed, making all the expressions she can make - laughing, giggling, frowning, making funny faces... Her growth over this short time seem so magical.

Her vocabulary's also expanded overnight... Stringing words into sentences, telling me what she wants or thinks - "I want cake/drink-drink/fish," "No more ap-pull (apple)," "Mama ou, ou, pain-pain (when she sees a mosquito bite on my arm)". She can also identify her body parts like her eyebrows, temple, palm, elbow crook, belly button, heel, so on and so forth.

Her latest quest is the A-B-C's. Right now, she is able to recognize and say the capital alphabets: A, B, C, D, E, G, J, K, N, O, P, R, T, U, V, and Y.

Esther saying the A-B-C's.
Note that I did not teach her the word you heard at the alphabet X!

Her character's also more apparent now. A kind person she is, she shares her food with others, and pats my chest if I coughed. She also loves drawing, reading, dancing, and watching YouTube videos.

Esther seems to be quite the typical girl, as shoes, bags, and hats makes her happy.

But she does get excited over cars and animals too! :)

In a couple of days, Esther will be turning 2. I look forward to what magic she'll be casting next.

Crunch!

Schooling days are officially over!

2010-04-20T03:06:00.004+08:00

Finally, my schooling days have come to an end... Officially.

Unfortunately, I do not have the pictures of my convocation since dearie and I decided to not carry our bulky camera along...

But instead...

I took the liberty to snap post-convocation pictures of the little one with the bouquets of flowers Ms Wong Sze Yii had given us, using the bulky camera. :)

Esther's terribly excited that we graduated. She's got new teddies!

Crunch!!!

The irony.

2010-04-09T18:22:00.001+08:00

I was feeling a little nostalgic... Reminiscing about my days in secondary school.

The people whom I had known, the things I had committed myself to, and the attitude I wore on my sleeve...

Oh the attitude.

I was going through my old school magazines, when I came across my contributions to the English section of the publications. I read them word by word, and then sentence by sentence. Boy, was I surprised how much I've changed over the years. I wrote from the little perspective that I had known about life.

From Titian Bakti 2003. My little poem, which people suspected that there was something more than friendship. Really, it was just about a close friend I felt strongly about, whom had stabbed me in the back. All I wanted was reconciliation. REALLY.

And here's an article I wrote in Titian Bakti 2004, inspired by some church camp (believe it or not, it was about sex education)...

(I made little corrections with pencil on the article after receiving the magazine. I wonder what the editorial board was doing)

Anonymous writer = me. It was an article about sex, for goodness sake!
It's rather ironic, reading what I wrote, and seeing where I am now. The advice still stands though.

Ah, and the class pages I put so much last minute effort in, to the extent of skipping classes. Thank goodness Nutz was around to assist me.

Very unprofessional la, like some small kid plastered papers all over the page. Wished I hadn't wasted any time with it when I got this job. But I suppose it's an okay outcome.

Yet, I miss the days when I was a little less knowledgeable, a little less exposed, and a little less an adult.

Those were the best days of my life.

... Though, I don't mind creating the second best days of my life today, tomorrow, or whenever.

Crunch!!!

P.s. - Somewhere in this world, it's already my birthday. So, happy 23rd birthday to me!!! :D

Konad M63 image plate.

2010-04-04T00:47:00.004+08:00

Caution: This is one of the more girly posts.

While most girls like to put on makeup or dress-up, I'm the type of girl that cares less about those, but pays more attention towards her finger nails.

I'd like to believe that the shape of my nail beds are pretty enough for my nails to appear anything but chubby. So, I'd reason with myself that it'd be a waste to not attempt to further beautify them.

Hence, I bring you my nail encounter with Konad's M63 image plate (with some cheap nail polish and poor stamping skills).

This are the designs the M63 image plate has to offer.

And for the results (do forgive the inconsistency in lighting).

Gah! The white colored nail polish just faded into the black, making it look like grey!!!

Thus, the idea of using the white as the background instead (which really just looks like a corrector).

The results.

Yeah, I know, I know. I do agree I'd need more practice, and that I should invest in some better and nicer colored nail polish than the cheap ones I'm using.

Just look at the Nailphile, her Konad-ing is almost flawless!!!

Oh, the jealousy.

Gah............ Being female can sometimes be troublesome. Despite knowing it, I'm going to splurge on something men don't even care noticing. All for the sake of what I perceive as 'beauty'.

Crunch!!!

March, already?

2010-03-11T18:22:00.005+08:00

All of a sudden it's March. And the second week, it is.

I realize I haven't been posting anything on the little Einstein lately... So here's just some pictures and videos taken within these two weeks. :)

Please ignore the mess behind. It's simply part of the baby package. And yes, she's eating Mamee Monster. BBQ flavor. Without the extra flavoring.

Esther calls this the "Broom-broom car."

Esther keeps herself in the doll basket.

Esther drawing on a leaflet.

Esther says, "Ba-na-na."

Stay tuned for more. Whenever. But definite.

Crunch!!!

Dad got robbed - without knowing it!

2010-03-04T02:46:00.004+08:00

I used to complain of dad's intelligence and all (out of pure anger and rebel), but I never knew that he would indeed be this careless!

So mom called up in the evening telling me that my dad got robbed.

- Part 1 -

Heading home after her usual morning errands, my mom noticed a suspicious-looking Indian guy lingering outside the house. Paranoid, as always (because it's Section 17 - high crime rate!!!), she took a detour, driving away from the house to phone my dad, whom was at the house. Mom called him and told him about the man, and warned him to be alert (HINT ONE).

Soon, the man came into the garden, walked to the main door, and called for attention of whomever he could call in the house. Now, you need to know that part of this house is rented out to students or working people, so it wasn't strange to have people coming in the garden.

Back to the story. Dad heard him, and headed to the locked door where the Indian guy stood on the other end. The Indian dude claimed that he was hired to cut the mango tree (which all our family members love - HINT TWO) in the garden.

Not knowing of such matter, he went in to double-check with his siblings on whether anyone called for this Indian dude. The replies came to, "No such thing." (HINT THREE)

So dad went back to the Indian dude to shoo him away.

However, the Indian dude spoke again, that he wanted some water, and angpow.

Dad said that he would give him some water, but he hadn't any change to give him (OMG what a giveaway of how much cash he had in hand! *slaps forehead*).

So dad went back in to retrieve a bottle of water for the Indian dude.

When he came back with that bottle of water, the Indian dude said that he didn't want so little water, that he wanted a big bottle instead.

Again, dad went in, hoping to please this uninvited guest.

Yet, when he came back with that big bottle of water, the Indian dude corrected, he wanted some ice to go with it (an obvious HINT FOUR).

Dad, unsuspectingly, went in to get some ice from the kitchen, taking his sweet time.

And that is the end of part one, where the dude got what he wanted (and more!).

- Part 2 -

Not too long after, when mom was home, and dad chilling out in the study as he always did, one neighbor from the back lane came calling out my dad's name from outside the main gate, saying that he had something to return.

At first mom thought that my absent-minded uncle had left his things in the neighbor's house again, so she went out prepared to apologize and thank the neighbor. Boy, was she surprised to see that the object to be returned was my dad's wallet!

The neighbor claimed that he had found the wallet in the drain of the back alley, and curious enough, picked it up (IC and other contents remained intact).

When my mom approached my dad with the wallet, he was stunned. He never realized that his wallet went missing, and only realized it when he got it back from my mom. Ah, negligence.

***

Mom checked the door where my dad and the Indian dude were at, and found no signs of force-entry. Then my mom had this gut feeling that she should check Aunt Jo's door (the two terrace houses are merged into one, only with different entrances).

Alas! Mom found the possible (quiet) entry of the thief (the other door alerts everyone inside when someone opens it) . The door was left ajar by my absent-minded uncle the whole time, and my aunt did not even bother to close it (because the door had some problems with it).

Then it was a different story.

Of course, dad made a police report, with fingers crossed, to prevent similar incidences from happening.

Luckily, nothing else was stolen. The Indian dude probably had only enough time and chance to venture into the rooms which doors were open - the room with the bed-ridden patient (thank God my poh poh was not harmed), and the study. And thank God Esther wasn't there at that time, or else, God knows what could have happened. *touch wood*

My dear reader, whether it's Section 17, or some other area, just be extra alert with what's going on around you, for these pests are constantly finding for ways and opportunities to leech off of you.

Crunch!

A proposal.

2010-02-20T01:58:00.004+08:00

People who are of Type A personality or have bad anger management should NOT be allowed to own a driver's license.

God knows how many accidents/near accidents these irresponsible people have caused/would cause!

Perhaps, this way, we Psychologists wannabes can play a role in screening who drives, and who doesn't teehe.

And perhaps, the world would be a better place.

Crunch!!!

Happy CNY and Valentine's day!!!

2010-02-14T10:51:00.001+08:00

Perhaps it's a day of Love Letters. :)

Crunch!!!

The curse of the tapioca chips...

2010-02-09T19:00:00.003+08:00

Once you start chomping, you'll never stop.

I'll be fat by Chinese New Year gah! -_-"

Crunch! Munch! Munch!

The mind of a child.

2010-02-08T01:29:00.003+08:00

Was reorganizing my folders when I found these images lying around in one of the many sesated folders.

I don't know who to credit this to as I can't remember where I got them from, but I've got to say, these ads tickle my funny bones! I don't think you'd need to know the language to be humored. :)

When I was in my Sesame Street days, in fact, this was how I thought machines operated!!!

And you know how the car signals left or right or both? I used to think that the signal light would lit through the power of telepathy!!! Yes, between car and man. I always wondered when I would be bestowed with such powers! Perhaps, I needed to turn 18! (looks like I'll be getting it this March if-you-know-what-I mean-teehe)

Ah, the mind of a child.

Crunch!!!

Be afraid...

2010-01-24T02:10:00.003+08:00

... of the scary Esther!!!

Beware of what's under your sofa. You will never know if Esther's there to haunt you.

Crunch!!!

A little over 18 months.

2010-01-21T17:43:00.004+08:00

The little one just got her 18th month jab (DPT vaccination).

I figured that it was a painless prick for her, as she didn't cry nor show any signs of pain.

The doctor said she was a brave little girl. I only smiled.

Later, while waiting to pay for the immunization, little Esther helped herself to the play area.

And then, it happened when we wanted to leave.

She cried.

Yes, she cried.

She didn't cry because of the jab.

No.

She cried because she had to say bye bye to the little playhouse she had grown fond of.

Waving tearily...

"Bye bye."

Crunch!

When nature calls.

2010-01-17T14:12:00.001+08:00

I came across one interesting site showing the many inventions and ideas people come up with. Some are really viable, but some are just really aesthetically amusing. Feed your curiosity here.

[The following images are directly from the I New Idea Homepage. Click on the images to be directed to the respective ideas.]

Even the dog has his own toilet seat.

"But Mam, it feels as though someone's peeking at me each time I poop," says Max, the dog.

And so, they came up with this invention so scaredy-Max wouldn't need to visit the scary loo...

"Oopsie-daisy. I think I just sat on my poop!" shrieks Max.

Tissue, please!

I wonder what's taking Max so long...?

Or... Perhaps, we could save Max all that trouble of going to the toilet... Just poop, wipe, tear, and throw... and continue drawing. Why not???

Other ideas:

Would this work in the streets of Malaysia?

Now, here's an idea for buses over the age of 30.

Crunch!!!

Birdie’s Resolution Contest

2010-01-04T01:58:00.003+08:00

Hello folks!

Fancy standing a chance to win yourself a custom-made blog template (Blogger/Wordpress), designed by the one and only...

... (Who has designed some of beautiful skins I've come across online. Check out her portfolio to see what I'm talking about)?

No surprises here. I do.

If you're interested as well, you'll simply have to follow the following instructions, as adapted from her blog.

Important Guidelines
- The design will include fonts that are free for commercial use (but you can choose to buy yourself a professional one, there’s some really cheap ones).
- The theme/template will include a credit link in the footer.
- The prize does not include plugin customization, or anything like that outside the theme itself. Uploading content to the blog is your responsibility.
- If you have images you want included in the design, you must own them, or have a license for them. Using images right out of Google or other places won’t be possible.

How to enter?
- Subscribe to her Blog via RSS or email!
- Post about this contest on your blog using the banner below, and LINKING to this post with the guidelines.
- Come back here and leave her a comment with a link to your post, and tell her what is/was your New Year’s resolution for 2010!!
- If you use Twitter, retweet about this Contest in Twitter to get twice the chances (and remember to leave her your twitter username in the comment)!!
- Only 1 comment per person, so make sure you put all the info in your comment. She will delete the extra comments and assign all entries numbers for the shuffle once it closes.

I suggest that you right-click this banner, click View Image, and use the image's URL when you're adding the image onto your post (so you don't have to take up your image host's space on your account).

Deadline: January 20th, 2010

Good luck to me hehe and everyone else who participates.

Crunch!!!

Merry Christmas and a happy new year! :D

2010-01-02T04:53:00.002+08:00

On the 9th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Some time to finally blog!!!

First off, merry Christmas, and a happy new year!!!

*illegal fireworks goes off*

Well, I managed to doze through the fireworks this time round having myself overtired from spring cleaning. And that's how I celebrated my new year.

***

Anyway, was at Ipoh recently. Had a good time ending my 2009 with one of those memories (it was my first time going out of town on leisure purposes!!!). I must thank Hui Yee for being the ever-reliable and hospitable hostess/tour guide. :)

The pictures shall do the talking.

Esther was very fond of this magnetic drawing board.

The places we ate at.

Some of the food we ate.

The following took place at the Kek Look Tong caves.

Apart from us, there were other visitors to the caves.

Not forgetting these little fellows.

We also went to the Ling Sen Tong caves.
This one had more people. Then again, it could have been the timing.

Thus, I don't know what is written, although Hui Yee did translate... Huhuhu.

And that's about all the "more interesting" pictures taken.

***

Back to earth.

Here is Esther and her little adventures towards the end of 2009.

The adventures of Esther brushing her teeth!

The adventures of Esther bullying her aunty's dog, Gino.

Now look at the time! It's 4:53a.m. I should go to sleep. Later y'all!

Crunch!!!

Esther, the almost-groupie!

2009-12-12T16:33:00.004+08:00

Behold, Esther might be a step closer to becoming a groupie to one Youtube phenomenon... The young ukulele star!

I'm Yours (ukulele)
This sure is one talented kid!!!
Although the vocals are not very comprehensible, I bet Esther understood every word (think Rugrats).

She could just stop and stare and start dancing and restart the whole video over and the whole process begins again. Who knows, she may start printing tees with that cute little Japanese boy's face all over it.

Crunch!!!

::added::

RIP Uncle Ben
I was visiting Karen's blog when I got to know the news that my former Confirmation class teacher had passed away some time ago.

Uncle Ben... I still remember watching him dance with Aunty Margaret at one camp. They weren't young, but they sure got things going. He appeared to have a strict-looking face, but anyone could tell he was very loving. And it's a very funny thought to me how he and Aunty Margaret, along with other concerned folks, would keep reminding us to stay away from premarital sex... And here I am with my own story...

It's a very strange feeling. While day to day we're striving to stay alive, people whom have been part of our life seizes to exist any more than a memory.

It's our own responsibility to keep in touch with the true being, whether fate or chance allows it.

Yet, I have disregarded such responsibilities for my own convenience. It's a lot of guilt when the last I've heard of someone was almost half a decade ago.

... And now, only pictures remind us of what stories we've once had together.

At the very least, I hope I won't let this guilt engulf me even more with this rotten personality.

Uncle Ben, would you guide me from above?

The loves of Esther's life.

2009-12-08T16:26:00.002+08:00

It's strange.

Ever since Esther came along, I've been posting up so many pictures of her, and not me (who once upon a time was a camwhore). I wonder if it's natural to change so much with the presence of a child, and to boast so much about the child.

That said, I wonder if I should just start a blog all about Esther... LOL. Maybe not hor? Too many creeps around.

Anyhoo, here's a short picture post on baby Esther and the loves of her life, apart from mommy and daddy. (and grandma, and aunty Sze Yii, and uncle Yeow Yang, and aunty Olivia, and aunty Joyce, and uncle Mike...)

... and birds, and bears.
(all within her spoken vocabulary ma)

... and labels that stick.

... and the cool marble floor.

... and anything with a steering wheel.

Esther driving at Mid Valley under the adult supervision of aunty Sze Yii and uncle Yeow Yang.

... or papa's or mama's slumber spot, for a matter of fact.

See how helpful she is? She's cleaning the utensils!

"Acting cute, you say? I AM CUTE!!! Just watch and see the next video and you'll know!"

Esther playing hide-and-seek in mommy and daddy's closet.
(please do not teach your children to do this)

Crunch!!!

P.s. - I'm gonna go for my undang soon. Yes, finally!!!

And happy birthday Wonder Hamsey!!!

Esther, the babe!

2009-11-14T02:15:00.005+08:00

The other day when we went swimming at Olly's apartment, a chubby little Indian boy, who was probably in kindergarten, told Esther, who was in her cute swimsuit, that she was the prettiest baby ever.

*Esther stares at him blankly*

***

Yesterday at D' Tandoor, a small Indian boy, probably 2 or 3 years old, gave Esther a kiss on her lips- twice! He kept smiling at her before that, even as he held her cheeks between his tiny hands!!!

How did she react? Well, all she did was dig her nose right after he kissed her. Alamaks!

Daddy didn't seem too pleased to see his baby lose her first kiss before she was even half a year to the age of 2!

***

Another note... Esther seems to be fascinated by dark-skinned or toned-skin people, even more so when they wear specs! I think I can picture myself seeing her date an Indian boy, or two, in her teens.

Oh, and imagine - Chindian grandchildren! Cuteness!!! :D

Crunch!

I love the Japs!

2009-11-11T01:57:00.003+08:00

Ah, I really love the Japanese.

They make anything and everything easy for us to understand. I remember watching Everyday Tips on Astro with my mom last time, where they'd show how to make daily chores really seem simple.

This time, on Facebook, someone shared an interesting video on how to get up from bed, get changed, have breakfast, and leave the house within 5 minutes. Do watch, it's brilliant!!!

How to get up, eat breakfast and get ready to leave in 5 mins!

Now, aren't they brilliant or what?!?!?! Don't you just feel like trying it out yourself???

Crunch!!!

The baby goes gardening.

2009-11-07T02:25:00.002+08:00

So the other day the little one wanted to join dearie and I in the garden to do a little weeding.

Later, naturally, I found myself snapping pictures away. I mean, it was Esther's first time walking around freely in the garden because Max, our superdog, was happily socializing with other dogs. Who couldn't resist taking pictures, right?

I think she pooped soon after so we had to end our session to change her diapers. Plus, superdog Max wanted in.

The end. :)

Crunch!!!

A matter that ticks me.

2009-11-02T15:34:00.007+08:00

Few years back, I got mugged of my belongings right outside my grandma's at Section 17... More or less the same time when my aunt was robbed in Section 3. I also heard that my brother's friend was mugged in a crowded bus soon after. He couldn't do anything as one of the mugger had a knife pointed at his ribs.

Not too long back, dearie's handphone was snatched in Section 14.

Very recent, the neighbor got robbed in front of the house. Then again, that could be just a scare, since it's a politician's house.

This morning, even the cleaner got robbed of her belongings in Sentosa, Klang.

Image courtesy of The Star Online.
Read article on 4th-time snatch theft victims.

Considering how prevalent things are lately, it's possible that at the 6th degree, there's no one who's not had their share of being robbed. Yeah, that even with the implementation of police in every garden.

Sometimes I do wonder, how many people that I know have gotten mugged/robbed or anything of that kind? I do think such cases are under-reported in Malaysia. I've heard that some people have had their things stolen, but they did not report because it'd be a hassle to report to the police who would simply redirect you to another police station (it happened to me!). Or maybe, the things stolen are just not valuable enough for any law enforcer to be concerned of.

My dear blogders, I have 2 questions for you:
(1) Have any of you gotten mugged/robbed of your belongings before, whether it was highly valuable or not? (or know anyone)
(2) Did you report the incident? Why, or why not?

Do comment! I'm curious.

Crunch!!!

Dear grandpa

2009-10-19T09:53:00.005+08:00

Dear grandpa,

I hear that you're in the pinkest of health you have been in decades now.

You've gotten rid of the wheel chair, and the crappy hearing you've had.

You've escaped from all those spots of bother that's been clinging onto you.

But it's not that you mind - you'd make fun of them anyway.

Anyway, you're sure to crack everyone there with your humor - I'd bet my life on it.

I love you.

And I'll be missing you.

'cause it'll be a darn long time before I get to hear your latest jokes from your exciting expeditions again.

Until we meet again,
Your loving granddaughter.

My win.

2009-10-11T05:41:00.003+08:00

My win.

I won a black 2GB iPod Shuffle. xD

Happiness~!

How to take pictures of YOURSELF.
Wai Fon posted this video up on FaceBook... Being a former camwhore, it sure caught my attention.

A Guide To Taking Better Pictures...

You may learn something from it. :D

Esther goes Digital.
It goes beyond the house phone. (speaking of house phone, last Sunday dearie received a call from the house, when both he and I were in the kitchen! Guess who called his handphone? Apparently, Esther pressed 'redial'!!!)

She also uses both her daddy's and mommy's handphone... Talks on it. Calls people. And delete our contacts. Not forgetting her new ability: taking pictures.

Now, can you figure out which picture was taken by little Esther?

Which picture did Esther take? xD
This was the very first picture Esther took of herself (if any of it), not too long ago.

She's also recorded a few videos... But I'd rather not use my YouTube account for that la.

So the other day during her mommy and daddy's group discussion on MSN with her uncle Yeow Yang and uncle Kok Wui, Esther decided to join in...

Esther chatting and web-browsing.
I wonder what would Mr Kishen say if he finds out that we were getting help for our assignment from the little one?

Ah, but Esther was a bit destructive also la when we didn't give her the attention she wanted. She turned off the laptop twice during the discussion!!!!

Bapa borek, anak rintik. -_-"

Crunch!!!

Esther's on the line.

2009-10-01T18:15:00.001+08:00

Esther has been very busy lately.

She's been hogging the house phone.

Ah, she's not even a teen yet!

I wonder if she'll grow up to be like one of those kids, ehem, who talks just about anything on the phone for hours.

More puzzles.
For those who liked the previous puzzle, here's an easy one you can try.

Clue Don't puzzle from Logic Problems (Issue 297), page 11
Devised by: Alan Duncum, Roger Burden, and Steve Bull
Editor: Trevor Truran
How to play using the grids:

How to Solve Logic Problems from Logic Problems (Issue 297), page 4
Devised by: Alan Duncum, Roger Burden, and Steve Bull
Editor: Trevor Truran

I suggest to those who would like to try more of these puzzles to either:

Buy a copy of the book (I bought mine from Times Bookshop at Bangsar Shopping Centre for RM15). If you come across anymore of these puzzles, do tell!!!
Look online i.e. Here.

Good luck and have fun!

P.s. - I'll reveal the answer in the comment section if at least 5 people asks for it (leave comment after this post).

Crunch!!!