The Animals in our Malaysian Zoo...

Here's a pictorial series that I hope will shed some light on recent events, reported in the Malay Mail a few days back.



Story here.

So...friends of hubby's had decided to take in the sights at our zoo. I agreed on his behalf (I'd picked up the call) and off we went. Keeping in mind that I've never been particularly proud of our national zoo, I went in with a massive chip on my shoulder.

WHOEVER'S IN CHARGE OF OUR ZOO...SHAME ON YOU!!! AND TO SEVEN GENERATIONS OF YOUR DESCENDANTS HEREIN!!! :p

I just want to clarify that statement above... I don't doubt that the parents of the injured child were severely neglectful... no. I'm extremely disappointed, and angry, that the care of the animals is so lax, and the environment they're being kept in is distressingly unkempt. Somebody...please! FIX OUR ZOO!!



A sign clearly saying: "DANGER, STAY AWAY FROM THIS FENCE"


This dude is an employee of the zoo. He resorted to flinging pebbles at a chimp that didn't want to enter the inner enclosure with the other chimps. There was a fight between 2 males over a female, and things got very raucous... this poor bastard rightly refused to enter the enclosure to be further tormented. Zoo officials, however, had a different idea. I object to their method of trying to scare him to do their bidding via that particular form of force.


A persistent parent, intent on patting the deer. His son, showing more sense and decorum, begged him repeatedly to pull out of the enclosure.


Parents, encouraging their children to pat the giant tortoises. Of course, only a child's hand could've fitted through the mesh...


Another example of exemplary parenting. Parents actually lifting this child onto the top of the wire mesh in hopes of getting him closer to the animals within.


And in a slight juxtaposition... a funnier breed of animal found wandering around...

Danny, hubby's friend. Guess who was watching whom??


Hubby, impersonating his favorite cartoon.

Welcome Home, LeiLani!!!

What do you do when you wanna get acquainted with your new pet on her first day home?






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You have a marathon sleep-fest, and bond over kitty dreams....

Her name's LeiLani (we had much difficulty coming up with a suitable monicker for her...) and that's like a triumph, considering some of the names she would've had to answer to. Eg: Snagglepuss, Poofy, Custard, Cheetara and many, MANY more...

Full name? LeiLani Lean, aged 11 weeks. She's a healthy, adorable, head-strong Maine Coon, and she's ours this Christmas. Whatcha think? :)

3-Way Fuck...

On Sunday evening, we became the "Other People Bad Things Happen To On A Rainy Day..."

After a couple of Toffee Nut Lattes from Starbucks @ Bangsar Village, the hubby opted to take me for a drive to some mystery destination, in lieu of heading home with our purchases... a couple of cupcakes from D'Lish... intending instead to head for our usual DVD supplier.

Wow, was that ever a bad decision. I was just commenting that someone should probably start building an ark, earlier in the day... and with KL drivers, who are notoriously useless in wet road conditions, something was bound to go wrong.

Boy, did it ever.

A sudden jam on the express lane had people braking rather abruptly...hubby, who's a good driver, anticipated this, and started tapping on the brakes a ways off, to indicate that we were going to slow down. Still, with the wet road, we stopped a little too abruptly for comfort (yet didn't jam on the brakes as the ones in front of us were doing)...

I heard hubby exclaim "Oh, fuck!!" before turning the wheel vigorously and starting to aim for the divider, where there was a small strip of grass large enough to accommodate a car in an emergency. I, who didn't have a clue what was going on, started to panic, wondering what the hell he was up to.

The next thing I knew, there was the boom of impact from another car hitting our rear, and we rolled forward, now to the side of the road. Which was a good thing, as we would've hit the car in front of us if hubby hadn't maneuvered us somewhere safer.

As it was, we got out of the car and into the drizzle, and found a hapless looking man get out of the Iswara Aeroback behind us. I was pissed! I think I must have muttered something in the line of: "Stupid drivers... if you know you're going to get into an accident, just aim for the divider lah, next time! Then you won't have to involve other people..."

I know, it made lots of sense to me at the time. But I'll admit it sounds cold right now :p

I had focused my irritation at the guy directly behind us, then realized a while later that there was a 3rd car involved, and that he was the one who had been speeding, thus hitting the guy behind us, who subsequently hit into us.

Hubby was feeling awful for not avoiding the accident sooner (although I don't know how he planned on accomplishing this... in typical Malaysian-driver conditions, all cars in front and to the side of you don't leave enough space for other cars to cut in...) but I believe we were very lucky.

Anyway, as it is, our boot is crumpled in, and we can't open it without difficulty (it's a Hatchback), our rear bumper needs to be totally replaced, and hubby believes our rear chassis suffered under the impact.

What I really hate is how the tow trucks and claims adjusters were all on hand within seconds of impact. It also didn't help that our claims adjuster, a "good samaritan who happened by at that very moment", complete with a form from the workshop he represents all filled out, kept smiling all the way to the police station.

And I find it really dodgy that the mysterious traffic jam was cleared up 5 minutes later.

I really hate these scammy workshops that generate business by causing accidents. And I mentioned to hubby that the true victim in this 3-way fuck (never mind that he shouldn't have been speeding while it was raining) was the last guy in the fender bender... the Wira Aeroback. He's gonna lose his NCB, and it's a strike on his driving record.

But, he really shouldn't have been speeding....

Well, we're car-less for the next 3 weeks, tops (I hope)... if all goes well, we'll get the car in 2 weeks, but I'm not holding my breath. Bastards. Scamming bastards.

Stocking Knit!!!

Fear me!!

Da Doll Descends on Singapore!!!

Sunday, Bloody Sunday...

I'd been invited to give another workshop, along with Melvin Ho from Circlesong, Hekko from Indonesia, who's a member of Indonesian a capella group Jamaica Cafe and Angie Choo and Hui Min of NANU fame...

Ironically, the weather during the two days we were cooped up in workshops were pleasant, sight-seeing-worthy days. When I'd gone to pick Da Doll up from the Orchard Road MRT station by the end of the second day of workshops, I didn't have any fore-warning that our outings from then on were going to be severely hampered by tetchy weather.

Since the Christmas lights had been lit, and the Whimsical Christmas theme was something close to my only offspring's (Barbie-doll aligned) heart, I decided to walk with her to check out the deco. Turns out this was a good decision, as we didn't have an opportunity to re-visit Orchard Rd again after that.

Da Doll in front of a revolving cabinet of life-sized ballerinas (of Nutcracker fame)... this display was directly in front of Whee Lock.

That tartan paper bag in her hand contained my new bag from CK Jeans. I'd sent my laptop bag along with my dad, which also meant I didn't have anything to carry my wallet and our passports in.


It's really a cheap brand, but was water-proof, which I reckoned would help a lot, as we were going to be visiting the pink dolphins, and there was a further discount of 30% off the second item. Small wonder I went for it :)

I mean, how many Le Sport Sac bags can a girl get before it gets old? I'm all for practical bags, not fashionable names. Not many handbags can keep the rain off, and getting a passport wet is not the wisest thing to do, no matter how much a brand-bitch a person can get.

Okay lah, I was also on a budget :) But it sufficed! And I like it. So there :p

Monday, Goodbyes to Hekko and Mia, Hello Shopping!

In order: Hekko, Mia and Da Doll...after we'd cashed in our cheques at UOB. Mia and Da Doll got along like a house on fire! :)


The infamous Merlion, in front of the equally infamous Fullerton Hotel. Snapped this from the Wacky Duck... an amphibious tour bus/boat that splashed cheerfully into the marina before taking us on a half hour tour of the bay in front of the Esplanade, the Eye of Singapore, and of course the Merlion... fairly decent tour, this. After splashing around, we took a quick tour of the Padang area, which included a church that had been struck by lightning not just once, nor twice, but three times. Disturbing :)


The floating stadium. Apparently, the first F1 street race to be held at night (which will coincidentally run through most of Singapore) will pass this area. I tried looking at the strip of road between the bleachers and the floating arena.. I don't know how they're going to do it, as it looks barely large enough to accomodate a lorry, much less recklessly racing drivers. Hmm....


The Singaporean Eye. Apparently fully booked for the first 3 months since it's officially opening sometime next year, each individual "compartment" holds 30 people (I may have this figure wrong, actually), and has been reserved from events like weddings, to corporate functions. There's just not much you can say to that :)


The Duck, wading out of the water, and onto dry land. Da Doll enjoyed this tour a lot, especially since she made a new friend from Australia. Children always amaze me at how easily they make friends with each other.


Since we had the apartment until Monday before we had to move out, we moved into the Siloso Beach Resort on Sentosa Island on Monday afternoon. The room we were given was just nice, with a flat screen TV and a variety of channels from different countries. It was cozy, and due to being a new resort, the plaster on the walls and the general lay-out was tidy. I think the only unsightly thing on the premises was the huge garbage disposal unit, located at the far end of the grounds. It was visible, even though the free-form pool is 95m long, as the unit was located at the far end of said pool.


We were lucky to get twin beds. House-keeping was friendly and prompt, and I especially enjoyed the breakfast buffet. It wasn't a large spread, but the noodles were especially good, and they served Korean rice with kimchi... possibly the only kimchi I have ever enjoyed, and ever will. Simple food, but well prepared. Bliss :)

Tuesday, Where the Fun REALLY Begins :p

Some landscaper's idea of art. As you can see, Da Doll quickly clambered up on the letter "L". This piece of "art" was located towards the end of Siloso beach. Our hotel has 2 entrances. One from the main road (and is quite a walk to the bus station, coincidentally the one located in front of Sentosa's Underwater World), and the other is in front of the beach.

The beach entrance is also the restaurant entrance, with al fresco dining, and a beach tram station directly in front of it. The beach tram goes all the way to the Beach Station, the new express linking VivoCity to Sentosa Island. As you can see, traveling to our hotel is technically no hassle. Never mind the fact that the beach tram is a slow mode of transportation :)

Also, hotel guests are provided passes for the duration of their stay, so the express, buses, entry at the gateway into Sentosa (which means the taxi entry rate is waived) are all free.

On our first morning on the island, we decided to walk along the beach road from our hotel to the Underwater World. Apparently, peacocks are free-ranging, and problematic. A sign in the car park warning car owners that peacock damage to their vehicles were at the unfortunate victims' risk, led me to believe it was a good decision not to drive down :)

You'll note that there are not a lot of pictures taken on Tuesday, as the weather was especially bad then.


Deciding to cover as much ground as possible, Tuesday morning was spent watching the fishies, and Tuesday afternoon was spent watching the birdies. The people-friendly Australian Lorikeets, obviously used to lots of free eats from silly tourists (like myself), were overjoyed when we purchased two cuppies, and proceeded to land on us, going so far as to climb on our shoulders, heads, hands, and cups.

Fights quickly ensued amongst the feather-brains, and Da Doll's grin turned to fear. The birds were hungry and impatient, and were starting to dig their sharp little claws into our hands. Being of thicker skin, I endured stoically. Da Doll, however, fled from the feathered fiends, taking shelter in the gift shop at the entrance to the Lorikeet aviary.

The weather that day was quite foul, but luckily, since we'd spent our first day shopping like demons, and one of the first items I'd purchased were umbrellas from GAP, the rain bothered us not at all.

We managed to cover most points of interest in Jurong Bird Park, which included the penguin enclosure, the night birds, the birds of prey, the lorikeets, as well as the man-made waterfall.

We also came across Hekko and Mia, although they had sought refuge out of the rain at one of the train stations. I told Da Doll that only humans were bothered by rain, and in fact, a lot of birds were taking the opportunity to bathe and enjoy the shower.

We visited the pelicans and the swans. A crazy black swan pecked my hand, but since said hand was already numb from holding up five bickering lorikeets at a time, the pain barely registered. Da Doll didn't really enjoy Jurong as much as I'd hoped. I doubt that child can get a tattoo, if she can't handle a few little birds clinging to her hand :)

Wednesday, Feeling Crappy but Determined!

We were lucky on Wednesday. I'd managed to catch a cold on Sunday, but worsened it with our little rainy day jaunt at the birdpark the day before. Was feeling crappy, but had already splurged on a Park-Hopper ticket for each of us. Not wanting the $$ to go to waste, I hauled my exhausted body out of bed, dosed myself with all sorts of medicine, and dragged Da Doll off to the beach station, and on to the zoo.

I mentioned our good luck on Wednesday, because we'd managed to arrive in time for most of the animal feeding times. We caught the giraffes' feeding time. A trio of sweet giraffes were fed carrots not 2 feet away from where we stood, at an elevated wooden hut.


From the giraffes, we dashed over to catch the jaguar feeding. I love cats, and watching them feed was so exciting. The jaguars, one black (female) and one tan (male) chased happily after pieces of meat flung into the enclosure by their trainer.

It was so cute, watching these dangerous animals bound after the meat, going so far as to swim underwater for the food. The male was less averse to the water than the female, but I reckon she was just finicky, and had no real objection to getting wet, save vanity.


Eventually, she dived in to collect her food, fastidiously shaking herself dry after the ordeal was over. They are both sleek, well-fed cats, and absolutely beautiful. I loved them!

We also managed to catch the polar bear feeding time, and Da Doll fell in love with Inuka, the park-born male. No pictures were taken, save the ones stored in our heads :)


Seeing as this was Da Doll's first trip out of the country, and I wanted to savor her experiences as much as she was, we had lots of those obligatory touristy scam-photos taken. She has one taken while petting the pink dolphin, and the key-chain with said picture was hung proudly on her newly acquired Adidas bag :)

Other pictures purchased was a handshake with Carlos, the sea-lion, a charismatic black seal with a diva complex, as well as one with her skimming past the checkered line on the Sentosa Luge :)

Since I'd taken these satisfactorily, I saved myself some $$ and let her enjoy the ride instead :) One thing I have to say about Singapore. They're quite good at ultra-quick modifications.

The last time I visited the zoo with hubby, certain displays had changed, animals had been added, and the layout is constantly being tweaked. This is true of all the parks, and it keeps things fresh.


Da Doll enjoyed the ride a lot, and surprisingly enjoyed the zoo, as well as the Night Safari show. She didn't like the tour on the tram at the Night Safari as much because it was a little creepy, and I'd made her sit on the outer edge of the seat.

Surprisingly, despite little head-on squabbles on shopping (I'd forbidden her to go beyond her budget, and to not demand for anything) and endless complaints about the amount of walking we had to do, we managed to have a great time.

My cold knocked me out during the bus journey back, but a quick visit to the doctor this morning ensured that I would have enough drugs to get me back on my feet quickly. Bronchitis is no laughing matter, and being able to breathe is sort of a bonus for me :)

Nevertheless, the important thing is, as we left Singapore, Da Doll lamented that we couldn't stay longer. A sure sign that she enjoyed herself. I take it as a personal triumph that we managed not to kill each other, and by allowing her 2 sessions in the huge pool at our hotel (where she managed to make yet another friend before we left), I'd conned her into believing she was having a great time.

Now how about that? ;)

From Rose, with Love...

Again, taken with my N95 and an unsteady hand, nonetheless, pictures (for posterity) of my time with the cast of Rose, many of whom I couldn't get pictures of. However, others have (much better) pictures which I can probably link to. Later. When I'm not so tired :)

I had a great time, probably should have behaved a little better, but oh-well :) The crew was a strong one, with close-knit ties. Finally got to work (somewhat) with Tony, whom I've known for years, but never encountered professionally.

In no particular order, here are the pics from our cast party, immediately after our last show on Sunday the 11th of November, 2007.


Bella is a lovely person with a wonderful personality. Spent a lot of time on her laptop while waiting for showtime (early make-up call time lah, what to do?) playing some mystery game. It was awesome! And so's Bella :)


Carmen and moi...I play her mui-zhai, which has some benefits. One of which is I get to whap the ensemble boys with my long hair-extension. Bwahahahaha!

Contrary to some comments I've read about her from reviews of the show (from audience members), she is really a nice person. Very professional, very eager to do a good job, and absolutely incapable of a mean thought.


The Stilettos, Kuk Fa aka Chrys (my name is Chrysanthemum!!), Stylo-Tailo, the dude who gets to slap me at least 2-3 times each night (and live!!!), and Penny, our music director :)


KK and Anrie, two BPs (Beautiful People) both inside and out. KK's a brand-bitch ;) He's totally straight, and totally metro-sexual. Anrie's a cool, even-tempered person who totally makes everyone around her feel calm.


KK, Maria, and myself. Maria's got this tiny body and a huge, soulful voice. Every time she sang her storyteller parts, we'd get hyped to perform, or tear up with sentimentality. She's also an awesome person, without a single mean bone in her body. Party on, mama!!! :)


Lainie, a very sesat person. Showing support for the wrong show (we're doing ROSE lah, blurro! Not Girl from Ipoh! :p)...that smile on her face is totally perved on Carmen, but we luvs her anyways :)


Tin Tan, whose final strip scene always chokes us up, making us cry as we move into our final song. A total doll, she spends the most time rehearsing (next to Carmen) and is a sweetie. She gets to slap Tony around a lot, which is cool. I totally approve :)


Tin again :)


Tony Eusoff!! *screams extravagantly!* Okay lah, geez. It's just Tony. He gets his nipples pinched repeatedly (by Tin) and on the last night, got his nuts kicked up to his teeth by Jenhan. By way of apology, Jenhan arranged two cherry tomatoes and a piece of chicken sausage on a plate with an apology scribbled in Thousand Island sauce.


Tony, showing the guys there's no hard feelings over the damage to his nuts. Also, probably displaying his mutant Sarawakian mojo, proving that a mere kick ain't gonna stop this dude from having a good time ;)


Workaholic, perfectionist director, Low Ngai Yuen. Oddly enough, she's managed to fall short of being anal retentive, which was great for us :) She's actually very nice, and quite sporting lah. Adonis played Mr. Scorpio, the dude who whacks a brick off Johann's chest.

Since My Last Post...

The Kakiseni Gang took me to a birthday luncheon (post-birthdate) at Bangsar Village II... I chose The Banquet, because I am a total Cafe Cafe fan, and their tiramisu rocks. However, on that day, the Gang had bought me a cake from Bakerzin (which was equally as awesome) and I just have to post up these pictures... it says a lot ;)


It clearly says "NERO BUCKET"... Juliet tried blaming the guys at Bakerzin (it's supposed to be NERD Bucket...NERD!) but we shot that idea down... I mean, they're just copying text off her hand-writing!! ;)


I couldn't remember taking this, but it goes on the blog because Zedeck is...funny. 'Nuff said :D

After said luncheon, we had the photo shoot for the program book. The pics I took are fuzzy, but for lack of better material (try none...) I'm gonna post 'em up anyways :)


The view from the parking lot...

Fuck, I'm 30...

So... Rose rehearsals are going okay. We're starting to put things together. Show time's in 2 weeks, and rehearsals have, naturally, intensified.

HOWEVER.

Tonight was the exception. Due to poor attendance figures, rehearsals got canceled, and being the eve of my birthday, the family took me to a neat little corner shop in TTDI called Porto Romano... It's a nice, out-of-the-way restaurant, with excellent service, cozy ambience, low level and warm lights, and a decent menu selection. The price wasn't bad either.

I must say though, that I don't think I made a wise decision when I ordered the seabass. It arrived looking a tad too brown and crispy.. however, the salad, brocolli soup, pizza and lasagne were great. Stole bites from everyone, haha!!

And of course... dessert is essential. God bless Tiramisu :D

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A look at the menu...


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Taking a pic of second Sib taking a pic of me...uh...


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A necklace I made. Ripped the design off something second Sib owns... I loved it a lot. Hers, I mean, but it's in a warmer color. Copper links and wire, warm-colored beads. Lots of orange, pearl, some red. Decided to counter-design by going for icy-blue and silver. Whatcha think?! :)

p/s: The flower/bead thong on the left was something Doll made. Had to keep her out of my hair while I was twisting wire, so gave her some beads and a length of elastic string. It's quite cute :)

Come and watch it!

The Week In Retrospect...(Photo Heavy Post Part II)

Test shot of a tin of Almond Roca. Learning the 3 cardinal rules of photography...

A more sedate picture of the 3 groups.

Bartenders at..Red Dot. Walked past taking random photos, and these guys just hopped into position :)

The WP in front of the Victoria Theatre. Posing shamelessly on the front lawn :)

Mbube, first night encore.

Dessert display @ Pacific Coffee. Other pictures of logo and venue were discouraged.

I shot someone's butt. Hehe >:)


Cecil Street, next to the Tanjong Pagar MRT Station. Headed to TAPAC, Day 1, for my workshop.

TAPAC...Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre, home to many of the arts groups of Singapore. TAS new home is located here. Initially, thought it was a school building.. but not in the way I'd imagined :)

Explaining genres...

I think we were discussing interpretation of lyrics here...

Intent faces... I hope the workshoppees (is that a word?!?!) went back with some food for thought.

First night, on the stairs. Screaming fans were ambushing the other groups. We camwhored instead :)

Paid a trip to Jurong Bird Park on Sunday. Hubby spent hours taking photos. It was a muggy day, and slightly overcast. The smell of bird poop prevailed, yet despite it all, we had a good time :) One of the inmates at the park.

This guy squated on the walkway in one of the smaller aviaries. He didn't seem to mind us infringeing on his personal space :) Cool eh??

A Lorikeet feeding from a plastic cuppie thing you can purchase at the door. It's a HUGE aviary with suspended bridges linking station to station. The drink is a mix of honey and some other vitamins, and the money goes to funding the feeding and care of these cuties. But really, how cool is it to have some brightly plumed bird sweep from a tree on the opposite end, just to drink from your hand?? :)

On the way home...

And here's something from Sam... in response to the picture I posted about the dodgy Singaporean loo... here's a Malaysian one in the newly erected CENTRO building in Klang. He was so impressed, he snapped this photo straight off :)