The Earthquake

Oh my god! I finally felt a big one today. It started with a sound like somebody was running back and forth on the top floor and I remember thinking, what the hell are they doing running back and forth and then wham! the whole building started swaying. Then it hits me that its an earthquake! Thank god there's no damage (nothing that I can see, at least!) but it was enough to shook me. It lasted for maybe like 5-6 seconds, longer the last one that iv experienced and definitely bigger.

The phone lines, both house and cell were down for a while but seems to be working now although I still cant call Michael. Either he's still doing his medical check up or his cell phone is not working yet. It is already on the news saying that its 5.4 magnitude. Im praying that there wont be any aftershock or anything like that. It was scary enough for me!

One thing good that came out of this is that I get to meet another neighbour. lol.

Nothing More Than A Fixture?

Its already end of July which means we only have 1 month and 1 week before Merdeka. When you're living away from home, being able to celebrate it with other Malaysian makes it more sentimental. Although there are some Msian or ex-Msian who thinks that they're better than everybody else and to those people, plse F-off. The problem however is usually there's nothing much being done to get all Malaysian for a get-together. Yeah sometimes we organise a party for friends but tht's about it. Party for friends/people that we already know. I mean, we have a Consulate here but what do they do? Nada! Nothing! Takde apa2! Maybe last year they did something although Im not sure who actually organised it. I do know that there was a celebration at a hotel in LA (too far esp at night!).

Yup, im so pissed that the Consulate is not doing anything at all unless you go to them. Even that, doesnt guarantee any result. Let me give you an example. It's advisable for Malaysian to register themselves at the Consulate. It should be as easy as filling up an online form with your name, address, phone number and contact name and numbers in Malaysia. But Nooooooooooooooooo. You have to send in the bloody form! Come on! Are we still living in the 80s or something? Why do they have to make things so difficult? Because of that, I havent registered yet nor have I registered our marriage with them.

And have any of you guys go to their website? Here is the link. Just go there and see it for yourself. Personally I think as the website of Malaysian Consulate in LA, the quality just sucks. Its nothing more than a bulletin with most of the 'information' comes in the form of links to other websites. Who the hell is the designer and webmaster? How much did they pay that person/company to design and run it? And soalan cepumas (golden question) would be, what is the purpose and/or duty of a Consulate General? What do you think? Should they come out and make the effort to reach out to Malaysian living in the states that they 'service' or should we all have to go to them?

Who Knew ...

Dunno why I suddenly remembered this story.

A few weeks ago, we went to a garage sale to check out a floor freezer and floor lamp. Once we confirmed that we could haul it into our small rented car, we told him that we'r gonna take it. And then my eye caught a booklet of something that says Made in Malaysia and told the guy, "that's where Im from". He asked me which part and so on and told me that he lived/worked in Spore just before the asian economic problem back in 97-98. He was talking to me while at the same time helping Michael with putting the freezer in the car. Once the money exchanged hand, we left.

On the way home, I remembered that we didnt even ask him about the floor lamp and told Michael about it. This is what he said to me.

"Yeah, it was a nice lamp too but I just wanted to leave before I got into trouble. He was getting too friendly with my wife".

To which I replied, "Babyyyyy".

He's so cute sometime. Im not taking it lightly though and I would never ever make him jealous intentionally coz I know I wuldn want him to do the same. I know how it feels when someone you love flirt with other people either in front of you or behind your back. Either way, its not cool.

To my baby, I love you with all my heart! No other man can take that away.

A Must-See Game Show

Its been 3 weeks since the new game show "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" been aired on ABC. I must say that we (especially Michael) has been hooked to this show. We all know how creative-yet-quirky-and-embarassing any Japanese game show can be.

Usually when you signed up for a game show (esp the new ones), you were not told what you'l be doing or where you'l be going. So imagine when you signed up for a game show and when you met up with the host, you were told that you're going to Japan. And once you arrived in Japan, you're told that you'l be going to a studio famous for their game shows. You get excited, thinking that, "cool! il get to see some Japanese gameshow" and then instead of being taken to the front door, you were taken to the back door. You might still think that its cool. You're getting the back pass. That is until the curtain was up and you found out that YOU are the contestant for the gameshow! And you're playing for USD250,000. Is that cool or what?

You can watch I Survived A Japanese Game Show,

Pilot

2nd

3rd

Our New Crib

The living room

Kitchen - I need the chair since I cant reach the top cabinets :P

Dining room

White leather chair

White leather sofa - both for usd150 from craigslist ;)

Enjoying the kebab or kabob as they call them here

Michael hanging out while waiting for the food to be ready

Thats our new charcoal bbq grill fr Big Lots. Guess how much it cost?

Its been a week since we moved from Orange. It was rather an easy move thanks to Kevin & Shirley who offered to come and help us. It wouldn have been easy without their help especially with the heavy stuff and the fridge that we need to go picked up, also bought thru craigslist. BeeYinn of Rasa Malaysia also came by. Again, I would like to thank all 3 of them for their help! We both really appreciate your help. *hugs*

Anyways, as you can see from the pictures, our new place is so much bigger than the old one. After 2 years of living in a shoebox, this feels like a mansion! hehe. Its also cooler here since we are so close to the Pacific Ocean. Being surrounded by other apartment blocks help since we only get direct sun around noon and sun down. The front of the house in facing east so we always hang out on our frontyard in the evening. Its cool (from the breeze) even when the sun is hot. ;)

The only thing tht I dont like (so far) is the fact that there's so many bugs and mosquitos around. I have like at least 15 mosquitos bites all over my body and theyr driving me crazy. Looks like we'r gonna have to invest on a screen door since I cant forever apply calamine lotion on my body. Its so not vogue! :P

A Reminder to CSI's Fans

This is a public service post for all CSI's fans out there especially in MALAYSIA! Before you start telling the Crime Scene Officers how to do their job, please read my friend Munira's post here.

Do not compare real life jobs with those Hollywood tv shows lah wei. CSIs, Law & Order, The Closer and such are for entertainment only. If you want to see the real life show and how things work, go and watch Cops, Forensic Files, Dr. G Medical Examiner or equivalent. These are the real people doing real jobs as police, crime scene officer and doctors. Jangan nak berlagak pandai just because you can say, "I watch CSI". What a dumbass!

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When Flying Domestic, Make Sure You Have Deep(er) Pocket

Flying domestic in the US is going to burn your pocket and I bet it will only get worse. It seems like the airlines are in a race of who-can-charge-the most fees or something. First it was the food and drinks which is not too bad as long as they still allow passengers to bring their own food and drinks. I mean, if you are a family of 4-5 and have to pay $3 for each soda/water you have during the flight you would have to fork out at least $100 for the drinks alone! Yikes!

And now American Airlines, United and US Airways are charging even your 1st check-in luggage! That is just so unacceptable and it sucks! We all know that everything is about weight so why is it that airlines are not charging according to the TOTAL weight of the passengers AND their luggage(s)? Isnt that like simple math? If they think that it's a discrimination to overweight (OW) people, what about the not OW people? They are the ones who should be shouting discrimination since logically, they are subsidising the fees of the OW people. Now, is that fair? No, right? I really would like to see the airlines to start implementing total weight fees rather than charging for all check-in luggages. If your total weight is 250lb or less, than no luggage fee should be applied. Fair is fair. Enough said!

Since I dont really see the airlines implementing such rules, maybe we should try finding other ways to minimise being charged for every penny and dime. Through my own experiences and suggestions from friends, here are a few ways that you could do to minimise the burn-in-the-pocket feelings when flying domestic:

1. Bring you own drinks. Buy them after you check-in.

2. Pack home-cooked meal.

3. If you think that your luggage is too heavy, try to fit some items in the carry-on or maybe send some items via usps to your destination. (This I know since we were charged $50 for a mere 6lb in excess weight!) Its all about weight, remember?

4. Check out Rick Seaney's airlines fee chart before you buy your tickets.

5. Pray that they're not going to charge toilet fees, ever!