Movie Spree

Have been on a movie watching spree the whole week. I almost forgot that I do blog about the movies I watched. So, I shouldn't cease doing it, just so I can keep an account of what I've watched in my entire life. I am also amazed at how some dedicated souls out there who uploaded the movies I enjoyed greatly in YouTube for pathetic souls like me who wants to reminisce those days when I used to watch them. Just to name a few from YouTube, they are mainly chinese films like God of Gamblers (starring Chow Yun-Fatt), Treasure Hunt (also starring Chow Yun-Fatt), Shanghai Grand (starring Leslie Cheung), Farewell, My Concubine (Leslie Cheung) and as of this evening, The Joy Luck Club (starring many but not exceedingly well-known actresses and actors, except Vivian Wu and Russell Wong).

The movies that we borrowed from the rental place were as below:
1. Jasmine Women starring Zhang Zhi Yi and Joan Chen.

You can sort know what to expect from Zhang ZhiYi's movie. Her acting is pretty much the same. I'm not saying it's not good, it's brilliant, in fact. I just find it a little lacklustre because all the roles she's played so far, shows the strong-willed, stubborn, independent, vengeful side of her. Any movies you watch of her, it must be one of these character or something similar. Same goes to Joan Chen, although I would prefer her to Zhang ZhiYi. Joan is an amazing actress, and for people who doesnt appreciate the art of acting (like my husband) would mock her movies. In fact, the roles she's been playing thus far, were not all easy roles. They are pretty hard roles to exhibit. But the outcome is the same as Zhang ZhiYi, after a while, you would sort of expect the same look, same stare, and same conceitful facial expression. Unless you are not bored with them yet, then you can watch this movie. It's a story about four generational family saga of which history sort of repeats itself between the mother and daughter in every generation. Not a very fancy movie but alright to watch.

2. Beowulf starring Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winston, Angelina Jolie, Robin Wright Penn and John Malkovich.

This is a motion capture film and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie until it came to the ending. Perhaps, I'm one who always expects a good or at least what I perceive as a reasonable ending, this movie didn't do that for me. It just totally put me off.. well, if you haven't watch the movie, you should. Be forewarned, it is quite gory!

3. The Holiday starring Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jack Black.

This.. this... is a must watch for all you romantic suckers out there! My, I've been trying so hard to come up with a better word than "suckers" but I don't know any. By the way, I'm trying to be more gentle and demure with the language I use nowadays(anyway, that's a whole new story to tell, next time yea!). It's a pleasant and enjoyable movie and for those who counter this, get a life!! It's just a MOVIE!! Ahem... excuse me.. My reason for liking this movie is mainly because of Jude Law and Cameron Diaz. Jude Law is a heartthrob. This is the sort of guy, you try your utmost not to fall for, knowing he will break your heart eventually, yet you still fall for him. Cameron is good in this show. Not crazy like most other films, at least this one shows a better side of her that is no ugly grins from her huge mouth.
Good ending, just like the way I like it and the setting is in Christmas time, winter time.. my favourite time for a romantic movie!

4. A love song for Bobby Long starring Scarlett Johansson and John Travolta.

Didn't really expect much from the movie except for good acting by SJ and JT. As the movie goes along, the ending is quite expected, very typical asian movie plot.

I guess I have to stop for now. It's getting late and I'm getting sleepy. Goodnite!

Reminiscing the Day!

I must be so free. I have nothing to do at the moment that I am playing with this site. Husband was amused by it too. Haha.. =) This is to cheer myself up after a long day! As my title goes, reminiscing dreams... that's my leisure pursuit..

Lesson learnt the hard way

I mentioned I will be having a garage sale. Well, the garage sale was this morning, and I would have to say, it went just ok. Had to wake up early to prepare and set up my "stall". Since I don't really have a garage, I had to bring all my goods to the nearby park and sell it there. I had to abide to the rules that I cannot obstruck pedestrians' pathway, so I tried to set up my stuffs as conveniently as possible on the kerb for pedestrians. Although I think I have lots of items to be sold, to many others, my items are really sap sap sui (literal translation: nothing huge). My items include clothings (lots of them), some cooking utensils, bags, shoes, jewelleries, a bedcover and etc. This is just to give you a rough picture of some of the items I was selling.

So I started out early, went around putting up posters. As this was a community initiative program which the council organised, I didn't have to go around advertising my garage sale. My posters are more for directing people to come to my garage sale. So, after that part's done, I woke hubby up to help me move all the goods to the nearby park. I must say, it was tough for him. Poor hubby, had to wake up early and help me move everything while I set up and arrange the items on the ground. Anyway, to cut the long story short, my position of holding the garage sale wasn't the most strategic. There were barely many people passing by, although a few did come, thanks to the advertisement in the local newspaper.

In all, I am most proud of myself for picking up the courage to hold a garage sale. It involved a lot of work and I was exhausted by the end of it. The preparation leading to the garage sale also took much effort. It wasn't easy doing it, especially all alone. Hubby was good enough to help me but he's not the kind who will meet people and sell them stuffs. I didn't earn as much as I would like. Clothings didn't sell as well as I thought, most probably due to one huge problem; Andrew and I are both small framed. Who would fit into our clothes?? Hence, I will donate all the clothes to Salvation Army.

One valuable lesson I learnt from today is to NEVER collect and/or buy anything that will eventually end up being a clutter. Although it's easier said that done, people will inevitably succumb to temptation. So, I can only try to be extremely aware and careful of what I buy in the future, only things I need, not want. Even if it's a want, I will make sure it's in good use. Otherwise, everything else is a total WASTE of money. Imagine, if I didn't buy and collect all those stuffs, I would have been at least several hundred bucks richer than I am today. A total waste of money and time and effort when we misuse our money in the wrong way.

Feeling domesticated?

I was craving for curry puffs, and I sort of know how to make it. My aunts showed me how when they came to Sydney to visit me couple of years ago. Somehow, the instructions were quite vague to me now as I have misplaced the recipe. Anyway, I searched for curry puff recipe and hoped it would be a good authentic malaysian curry puff. Thank goodness I found the webpage and noted down the recipe. I was so keen to try it out this long weekend.

It's Friday today and it's the start of the long weekend. In fact, it's ANZAC day and all Australians are supposed to celebrate today. However, it really has nothing to do with me, hence it's a good day to stay at home and make my curry puffs.

Took me the whole morning to make the curry puffs. The photo that came with the recipe looked good. But somehow, mine didn't turn out like that. It was supposed to have some wavy-like pattern on the outside, as the dough consisted of both oil dough and water dough. They were supposed to wrap together with the filling inside. Filling was easy to make but not the dough. If I had the mould for the curry puffs, it would take me much faster to finish the job. So I had to seal the side of the puffs into an scallop design by hand, and of course, it wasn't sealed properly (inexperience) hence, some of the filling came out when I baked it.

Still, I am pleased with myself for attempting to make curry puffs.

On the other hand, Andrew is a much better cook than me. These were our dinners for the past couple of days. I felt that I had to take some pictures to keep the fond memories of him cooking for us..

We had lamb cutlet on Wednesday night and it was really good. Not the best cut of lamb, but it was cooked medium well. The meat was really tender. Doesn't it look professionally served?

We had seafood pasta last night. This is one of his forte as well.

Garage Sale this Saturday!

I'm having a garage sale this Saturday. Not that I have lots to sell but rather they are all clutters I want to get rid off. They consist of clothes (majority), some old cooking utensils, shoes.. etc. Not alot, but will be selling them at an almost giveaway price.

I once heard over the radio when the host was asking if the co-host is a hoarder or chucker. I pondered over it, and I realized, I have changed. I used to be a hoarder but I am more of a chucker now. My husband, on the other hand is a hoarder, unless I give him good reasons to chuck things away. My mum is a hoarder, a big time hoarder, but gradually I believe she is getting better over these years because she's started donating the unwanted and unused stuffs to people who needs it more, like the saying goes, one man's trash is another's treasure. I am definitely a chucker now, but having said that, I am quite greedy. I want to make sure I don't lose out. I would like to gain some profit by at least trying to sell them, especially those that still have monetary value. However, I can be generous if I want, although rarely. Am I very business-minded? Or is there another word to describe someone like me? Eeshh.. not a very good trait.. must change, must change..

New resolution albeit a little late

I have always strived on wanting to keep fit and healthy through exercises and workouts (not through food, unfortunately) . I am paranoid about aging before due time and worse, with all those stiff muscles and loss of body flexibility and agility at young age ie before 40. Perhaps, that's the nature of a dancer to not allow such catastrophe to hit my life. Although food wasn't in my part of giving, I still prefer vegetables and fruits to meat. So, I guess I'm quite alright there.

Recently I joined a fitness club, called Crunch Female Fitness Centre. Like any other gym, it pretty much has all to cater to one's need in general. Apart from the free classes, child-minding service (although it's irrelevant to me at the moment), close to home and has free parking, the very reason I decided to join, was the amount of comfort I feel while working out. The name of the club is a giveaway. It's exclusively for women. I used to go to Fitness First in Malaysia (a couple of times just to work out) and I somehow didn't like it at all. The self-consciousness ruins it all. I wish I couldn't care less about how I look, but with all the men gawking at the women, it just ruins my motivation to exercise.

So, here I am, my new resolution is to work out frequently ie 3 times a week and join the classes at least twice a week. Oh, by the way, all members get a trainer who will design a workout program and we will be assessed every 6 weeks. Good, isn't it?

Just for your information, here's my progress since a fortnight ago but not in consecutive days.

1st visit: Weight 48kg
Body Fat 17%

2nd visit: Weight48.5kg
Body Fat 15%

3rd visit: Weight 48.8kg
Body Fat 14.9%

4th visit: Weight 49.1 kg
Body Fat 14.1%

What a huge difference in body fat. According to my brother, who is a qualified fitness trainer and an elite bodybuilder, told me that weight is not important, but rather it's the body mass and body fat that counts. So I won't worry about getting heavier, but rather focus on reducing my body fat and gaining body mass/muscles.

There, my new resolution... a little late for the year but not too late for my lifetime =D

Some happenings!

I wanted to blog all these before but have been too busy with my guests at home.

1. Disappointment:

I took a driving test on the 28th of March and I failed! It was shocking, I know after driving for 10 years. (Ahem, to those who doesnt know the background of these, let me explain. I come from Malaysia, and now I'm residing in Sydney. So I have to take my Australian driver's licence as I can no longer drive using my Malaysian's driver's licence. Hence the test.) I'm not saying I'm the best, but I really didn't do anything wrong during the test if you were to apply it in real life. I passed everything else, but the stop sign. I did stop, but not long enough for the tester to claim it's a stop. It turns out to be that we are required to stop for about 3 seconds instead of just 1 second, eventhough there were no cars around. How stupid was that? Now I am a qualified L plater.. congratulations to me!

Anyway, I have gotten over it will retake the test in early May. Bugger, that means I can't really drive without someone with a full licence beside me!!

2. Satisfaction:

We had dinner with our guests at this famous bar and grill called Hurricane's Grill at Bondi Beach. If you love pork rib, this is the only place to go. Nothing beats it, not even Tony Roma's. Value for money although the size of the full rack rib has gone smaller significantly compared to 4 years ago. Still, only go with a hungry stomach, else you may not be able to finish the ribs.

3. More satisfaction:

We prepared dinner for our guests on the last day of their visit in Sydney. After eating out several nights, we thought perhaps, we can try out a Thai cousine. Reason for that was because we harvested so much lemon grass and didn't know what to do with it. So Thai food came to our mind. Hubby prepared lemon grass chicken (2 dishes) and I prepare a steam fish and tom yum soup. The soup was a success, and everyone seems to love it. The steam fish looks really good, but really it wasn't. The sauce was nice, but the fish wasn't fresh. It was quite a disaster, after putting so much effort into it. Anyway, it was a good dinner overall.

Ok, that's a few days of blogging all cramped into one. Enjoy!

If queer is alright, incest will be fine too!

I came across this news last week about an incestrous relationship between a father and a daughter. To make things worst, they actually had 2 children before. One was born many years ago, but died a few days after because of a congenital heart defect. Something you would expect out of incestrous relationship. That is part of God's ingenous plan by making it known to the world that incest is wrong. Yes, of course God is all good, but surely without God making it right, nothing would turn out to be right, as is the devil's making.

The news made a huge impact across the country. To many, it was disgusting. People were shocked at it. I shall not go dwelling into what they said to the press nor their lifestyle, but it was absolutely sickening. What I find even more appaling is, there's a minority group of people who are starting to sympatize at the amount of anger and disgust lashed at this father and daughter. The media even felt compelled to help them. Compassionate is surely not wrong, but to be compassionate at something which is purely wrong, is intolerable.

Although incest is not as hugely publicised as gays, they were actually recorded to happen around the same time as gays in the book of bible, Genesis, where Lot slept with his daughters, just after they ran away from a horde of gays, trying to rape Lot's guest ie God's angel.

I remember having a discussion in a forum where someone vehemently tried to protect gay's right and laid down her opinions on why she thinks gay relationships ain't wrong. I must say, she is acting liberal, but is it really right? We have many sources from history which is against same sex relationship but to say outright that it's right, isn't right. Who are we to condemn them? Of course we are nobody, but if no one condemns the wrong, the world is doom to be at its end. Because people's compassion and empathy were demonstrated in the wrong ways, gays relationship became as profound as ever, and more widely accepted than 30 years ago.

I can truly forsee that the same will become of incest. Soon, skeletons will come out of the closet. The same cycle as it did for gays, will be repeated all over again for incest. They will gain people's support or empathy or whatever ridiculous term you may apply here. They will be accepted in the society and given as much condonement as the gays. Personally, I will be surprised to see pro-gays condemn incest. Perhaps, you should look into the mirror before you start condemning incest.

My dislikes!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned before that I am a very judgmental person, especially on people. I know who I like and who I don't like. Meaning to say, I am very selective of whom I would like to befriend with and whom I just want to keep at arm's length. However, it's bizarre that in so many other things, I cannot make up my mind. I can be quite fickle minded too.

Since I've discovered that I am one without any stand of my own, ie I sway to any direction and every direction possible through influences from family and friends, I began to loath this attitude of mine. I really abhor fickle-mindedness. From then onwards, I try to own up to what I stand for and will strive to make my opinions count. As a result, I have mature much. I feel that I have more confidence. This is an admirable quality and I do hope it will be a good influence to others.

This time, I do have a point of blogging. I would like to share my dislikes. I cannot tolerate women who are fickle-minded, far worse, if it's a man. For example, if you go to a restaurant, you are probably expected to make up your mind in the next minute once you are handed the menu. I totally identify with you being unable to decide what to eat in that short period of time, coupled with the urging gesture from the waiter/waitress. But it does get a little exasperating if you still cannot make up your mind in the next 10 minutes or after everyone else have placed their orders.

What I cannot understand is, say for example, a list of cocktails which you have never even heard of, much less try it. I cannot understand the dilly-dallying and the fuss about the decision making. If you don't know any of it, just 'ini mini mani mo' on one. You will only know if you like it or not after you've tried something new. This is one that can really test my patience!

Next, I really have a problem with smart-arse (an informal way of referring to someone trying to be smart when in fact they are quite empty in the head). I like the way my hubby puts it in hokkien dialect, "U he, bo lang ti chu" (translation: Lights are on, but no one is at home).

They say something, and when one counters it, they come up with something so ludicrious that will make you laugh your pants off or sometimes, it will leave you speechless, just to proove they are smarter or perhaps to proove they are not stupid! This really gets to me, deep in my vein. I can feel my blood boiling if I were to deal with people like that. Seeing my anger blow at these situations, hubby then suggested that I go for anger management class. Haha.. what a joke!

Oh well, what to do.. the world is full of them. I will add on to my dislike list as I encounter them in the future!

What is life?

Gosh.. I sound like I'm facing midlife crisis. Perhaps I am. I cannot help but wonder what life is all about sometimes. If you are searching for happiness, spiritualist will tell you, God is joy.. perhaps I haven't really found it, perhaps I did for a little while, but now I've lost it. Not that I'm doubting God, in fact I know full well God's existence. But who is He really?


If only life is all about what I want, not needing to feel guilty about it in any manner. I cannot explain how I feel exactly. I just feel absolutely restrained. I used to think that life is all about having the things you strive and work so hard for, material things like a house, a car, a stable income, a husband, children, career.. evidently, these are what keep you going in this life, enough to survive in this world..

I don't really have a point for my blogging this time round. Just full of questions, that's all... bear with me..