10 Stay At Home, Go Out Responsibly

Thank you, Malaysian Frontliners and #stayathome  ~ This was the message that was lit on a couple of buildings along Jalan Kuching some weeks ago. What a lovely sight to drink teh tarik to in the quiet of night.

Stay At Home, Kuala Lumpur

As I scrolled through photos which I had snapped on my phone before the Movement Control Order (MCO), my thoughts centered around covid-19, the virus that has caused many to lose their loved ones and quarantined the rest of us at home. There was the denial stage, then a little bit of paranoia and now a sense of 'hey, we've got this'.

Our numbers are decent thanks to many responsible Malaysians who practiced social distancing, wore masks and diligently washed their hands.

High five to those who did their marketing quickly and resisted the lure of panic buying. Kudos to those who choose not to crowd apartment lifts.

Give yourself a pat on the back if you have offered masks to those who were not wearing any instead of shaming them. God bless you if you are feeding the strays in your neighbourhood, leaving water for the animals or sharing food with those who have little.

These are some of the wonderful ways concerned Malaysians are making the best out of tough situation.

Whilst our frontliners are busy risking their lives to save ours, let us at least lighten their load by being exemplary in our behaviour.

If our Frontliners are heroes, keep in mind that we are the sidekicks. Our job is to stop the spread of the virus and make our country safe again. The quicker it is contained, the faster we will have our lives back.

A close-up :)

Covid-19 | Day 44 Movement Control Order. I noticed that at least three apartments near our area had recorded covid positive cases. The good news? It was limited to one person each. The whole area has been sanitised and no other resident was affected. How and where they got it remains a mystery but this tells me that these Malaysians had done the necessary to protect themselves and were careful not to spread anything to others.❤

10 Om Mani Padme Hum

A rhythmic chant that places my being into a state of calm - Om Mani Padme Hum.

I had first heard it playing over the radio in a souvenir store at Penang's famed Kek Lok Si temple many years ago. By the time I walked out of the shop, I was feeling a peace I hadn't known was missing.

And because I didn't manage to catch the exact words, I found myself chanting "Om mali beh teh soh" in my mind all over town. Beh teh soh  - a biscuit I love with such fervour that it's unwise to leave packets of it around the home lest I eat it all. Although I am not a religious person, I was already asking for forgiveness for singing the 'song' the way I did, even if it was only in my thoughts.

So, as soon as I got back to KL I tasked myself with finding this chant. An hour of googling ensued, and then another hour flew by. Finally, I gave up. It was impossible to search out without knowing the lyrics. I thought I found it and then it seemed I didn't. I left it at that, satisfied with just humming the tune for the past few years.

Until today. Thanks to my dad who is always forwarding me stuff via whatsapp. Countless fake news, miracle cures, politics and once in awhile a gem such as this. Lol. I was ecstatic to receive the video of a young woman saying this chant fast-paced. From there, it was easy finding the version I liked on youtube and now I am sharing it with you.

........Have you fallen asleep? *wink*

Covid-19 | Day 8 of staying indoors for this Malaysian. It was announced earlier that the Movement Control Order would be extended until 14th April, an additional two weeks. I pray that the situation improves soon. How exhausted our medical team must be by now.

14 It's A Long Story

It's a long story ..or not. I can write about my adventures in several posts to show you why I  had disappeared from blogosphere for more than a year, but the short of it is simply that I have been occupied with life offline and didn't feel a need to hurry back.

There were a few months spent on home renovation. I had Airbnb-ed in 7 or 8 different apartments during that time. It was a year without a pc with an internet connection and the this and that.

A simple reach out by an old blogger friend, however, made me realise how much I miss my online journal. To read back on my adventures, to reconnect with old blog friends ..oh, the many interesting stories of theirs I have missed!

After Renovation

I have to find my password, I told Cindyrina as much. She had contacted me out of the blue and was the one who got me excited to revive my blog again (Thank you!). Not in these words at all but to make it interesting,

"Eh, you want to try something new or not?"
"Wantttt .. but my blog is deadleh. So shylah"

It seemed I didn't really need the blog but tadaaa, here we are! I decided that it was a good excuse to get going again.

Before Renovation

18 A December To Remember

Out of all the months in the year, December is most magical for me. Peace, joy, love, all these words sum up the general atmosphere. People seem happier - school is out, holidays are in. This means lots of family gatherings and meeting up with friends.

I hung greeting cards we received on our Christmas tree this year. It's a nice feeling, this warmth that creeps up on me every time I look at it. The holiday season was not as hectic for me this round. I was most efficient having spring-cleaned my home in November and getting all the decorations up. I'd also gotten the presents wrapped and sent out!

Christmas Tree

My aunt and cousin flew in for a visit a couple of weeks before Christmas. We had a fabulous time shopping, catching up and teasing one another mercilessly. 1Utama and The Curve were the first places we hit. My aunt's luggage was filled to the brim on the first day itself. We felt very proud of her ..haha!

In a bid to avoid crowd and queue, we woke up at 5am the next day just to take my aunt to the legendary Big Bad Wolf book sales at Mines Convention Centre. I got ten books for myself. The rest were for my nephews. With the ones I purchased earlier from Popular Book's RM5 sale corner, I figure it could last me a year. I read pretty fast and have a habit of not putting a book down until I'm done. That's why I make sure I don't start on a new book until I've done my chores and run my errands. Also, my eyes need a break!

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale

Books I Bought

Pavilion Mall is always stunning at this time of year so aunt and I headed there for a look-see. Lucky us came across a LINE pop-up store at Tokyo Street corner - they were giving out free gifts to anyone whose Birthday fell in January. My aunt and I qualified! We showed them our MyKad, the LINE app on our phone and voila, we were given a cute tee, a bag and stickers. My aunt found it unbelievable - "So easy to get free things one meh..."

Christmas At Pavilion, KL

Free LINE Merchandise

My aunt went home, there ended her adventures in KL. Then came the Winter Solstice Festival. This year, I made a different version of 'tangyuan' (glutinous rice ball). I rolled some up with organic moringa powder - it turned a lovely shade of green. We enjoyed it with honey chrysanthemum tea.

Moringa Tangyuan

When my cousin informed that she would be popping by my house one Saturday, I decided to bake her a cake. I woke up early, whipped up a batter for butter cake and kept my fingers crossed as it went into the oven.

It was wrapped prettily and passed to my cousin. She buzzed me later asking for the recipe, saying that they loved it so much. Sigh ..best day ever.

Butter Cake For My Cousin

Christmas day itself was a quiet affair. We skipped doing the 'open house' thing this year. Hubs and I were feeling the after-effects of too much celebrating. It was nice to just chill at home. The feasting and festiveness hasn't ended and we both needed the break.

Rest Is The Sweet Sauce Of Labour~ Plutarch

18 The Fest, The Food, The Fish

Women Fest Malaysia, Malaysia's first fashion and beauty festival, was held last weekend at Matrade Exhibition Centre, Kuala Lumpur.

WomenFest Malaysia 2017 with me as self-appointed Official Supporter

I popped by early Sunday morning to see what it's all about since it's nearby home and also because I'm pretty much a big fan of the Malaysian Women's Weekly magazine. Their events have always been exciting! I was even hoping to meet the Editor. Lol. No such luck after rounding the area twice.

I spun the wheel at the lucky draw booth and received a couple of discount vouchers.

WomenFest Malaysia 2017 - Lucky Draws and Beauty Booths

Although it was fun, it was only a half-hour adventure for me. Zoomed in and out after a quick browse at the booths. There were many food trucks outside but none called out to my taste buds. It was a case of 'just not in the mood for such stuff right now'.

WomenFest Malaysia 2017 - Talks and Food Trucks

Hubs and I left the festival to explore the newly opened road, DUKE 2, that leads to Desa ParkCity. There, we had lunch at Amelio Restaurant, which I blogged about before here.

We ordered the yummy pork curry pizza and Texan meatballs. It was a satisfying meal. The pork meat was tender, the cheese was heavenly and I love the crispy thin crust! The meatballs? Juicy!

Pork Curry Pizza

Pork Curry Pizza

Texan Meatballs

The same two warm and friendly staff attended to us.

After that, we checked out Desa ParkCity's latest development, South Brooks and the PPA1M civil servant housing, which was right next to the church. Not intending to get a home here. Just being a busybody! The monthly maintenance fee in this community is obscene. I would save that money for a holiday.

We dropped by Plaza Arkadia for a walkabout too, exploring mostly empty shop lots. It was humid although the skies were a gloomy grey so I popped into Coffee Bean to get a chilled drink.

Ice Blended Caramel, No Coffee

Our day out ended with a trip to Taman Tun's night market which opened earlier than usual possibly due to a forecast of rain. I did a bit of marketing and was excited to get a plate of medium-sized fresh fish (6pcs) for RM13. My only mistake was to trust them to remove the scales lining the middle. I usually do it myself, but since they asked ... sweetly.

Minutes later, my beautiful fish was mutilated, skin and flesh brutally torn off, some so deeply that parts of the bone could be seen. Pretty sure my heart plonked down to the bottom. Sigh, but I couldn't be mad at the guy - he was smiling and friendly so I returned his smile too. Keep calm and relax - It's SUNday!

Here it is freshly fried, the better looking side:

Fried Fish Dinner

With that, I end this post with warm wishes for a wonderful week for all of us. Tata!

14 It's A Nephew!

My aunt nicknamed him "the watermelon" months ago, at a time when my cousin's tummy looked as round as one as she was carrying the little guy.

He popped out two weeks early, whilst I was in the cinema watching Transformers. I had my phone on airplane mode and since I got home late, I didn't bother checking for messages that night. Imagine my surprise the next morning. " By golly! ", I messaged my husband at work, "The Watermelon's out."

I was excited. Weeks before, we ladies had discussed a slumber party at my cousin's place to celebrate the new birth. I packed my bags for a 2-nights' stay. My aunt, now newly crowned grandma, flew in from East Malaysia at the same time to take on the role of 'confinement lady'. We chatted and played games until late while watching over the baby. He was well behaved so it was pretty relaxing. I helped tidy up my cousin's home a bit. My aunt got down to the cooking and herbal baths.

Baby gift? Hah, I'd already gotten my cousin one weeks earlier so that she could prepare in advance - it's a newborn to toddler portable rocker. Would you like to see it?

Tadaa... here it is! 

Newborn to Toddler Portable Rocker

I had, in the beginning, planned on giving the new parents a fully assembled chair, unwrapped with a ribbon tied on top. Thought I'd save them the trouble. After removing all the parts from the box, I struggled to understand the instructions and failed to piece everything together. Haha ..! How come, right? But I gave in since I didn't want to ruin the new gift with scratches. "Aiyahh... better let the parents figure it out ", I consoled myself. 

Alas, the day just wasn't going right for me. It wouldn't fit back into the box so I had to pack the seat pad separately. I then wrapped the entire thing in brown paper. So much for trying to be helpful!

Luckily, it wasn't difficult for my cousin to figure it out.

Baby Damien In His Rocker

Fast forward two weeks since the baby was born, my aunt informed me that the little watermelon loves the rocker so much that he refused to sleep in his crib one night. In fact, he's in it most of the day too. After cracking my head for months over what to get the new parents, I was pleased to hear this. I'm glad baby is happy with his chair

Happy baby equals relieved and relaxed parents. Yes?

22 Things We Did For The Man's Birthday

I started the day by making hard-boiled eggs. It was then rolled in red food colouring as a symbol of renewed life and happiness. Red is a joyful colour associated with prosperity and all things festive.

Tadaa...here they are:

Birthday - Red Eggs

Usually, we'd buy a small cake to sing the Birthday song. This year hubs asked if I could bake one, so I did ..even though I was skeptical about my cake decorating skills. 

I bought ready-made flowers from a local cake shop. The plan was 'simplicity' and 'fail-proof'. I baked a fuss-free zebra cake in a lovely shaped tin that looked like it was meant for jelly-making. Then poured thick melted chocolate over. It took me just minutes to assemble the flowers on top of the cake.

I was grinning from ear to ear by the end of it because for someone who doesn't do Birthday cakes, this looked pretty decent.

Homemade Birthday Cake

The leftover batter was used to make cupcakes which I gave away to our office peeps.

Zebra Cake

The celebration didn't end here. We had dinner at Thai Garden Village Restaurant in Kepong that evening. It was a quiet, chilly week day. We enjoyed ourselves and were well attended to by friendly restaurant staff. To tell you the truth, we couldn't finish the meal. The waiter kindly offered to pack it up for us to bring home. How nice!

What we ordered : Steamed fish, clear tom yum soup, butter prawns, kerabu chicken feet, the greens (kai lan) and red ruby dessert.

Thai Garden Village Restaurant, Kepong

Is that it? Oh nooo... we're finishing the occasion with a short trip out of town which I will blog about once I get back!

Do Something Today

That Your Future Self Will Thank You For

~ Anon

22 I Got A Backpack I Love!

Hello, it's me. ♪ Hello from the other side ..

I haven't gone missing. I slowed down on the blogging front for awhile because I didn't have the peace I needed to gather my thoughts for a proper post. I had this and that to take care of - also not the kind of person who would gurgle words out anytime like a journalist has to because it's their job. The piece wouldn't carry any of the enthusiasm I feel if I did. I thought it would be a tragedy to do so even on my mostly-unknown blog. This corner of my world may not mean anything to a lot of people but it's home to my thoughts and my life experiences. It holds my tears, joy, momentous occasions and the things I learned. It is my little online treasure chest.

There's so many stories I wish to pen down so that the future me, the one sitting on a white rocking chair admiring the flowers in the garden with a hot cup of tea, could look back and be reminded of the wonderful life I had led and grin to myself in a silly manner as I recall those moments in my head.

That said, I am really happy to sit down today to tap out this piece on my keyboard. I'd been looking around to buy a backpack for the past few months. The two backpacks I currently own are super worn out; the material has thinned so much from frequent use that you can see pinholes of sunlight coming through when held against a sunny blue sky.

I dragged my friend to a cheap bag store thinking that I could get something there since I wasn't at all a fussy person but maybe I am, balking at the gaudy designs that stared back at me. I walked out empty handed. A couple of months and several stores later, I was still empty handed!

And then I saw it - on Cindyrina's blog , princesscindyrina.com. She doesn't run giveaways often but there it was, a lovely, classy backpack fit for a lady who wasn't into camping out with mosquitoes or trekking through the jungles of Borneo - it was perfect for me, the leisurely weekend traveler! I wondered if the law of attraction was in cahoots with the universe to make this happen for me. Either way, I believed it was a huge sign for me to take part and that I did!

Guess who made the winners list? ..Me-lah. Hehe!

Me and My New Backpack

There was a knock on my door yesterday. A Poslaju personnel stood in front of me; I was looking surprised and confused in an old pair of shorts, messy hair and a t-shirt that smelled of fresh garlic (I was cooking!). I had totally forgotten that the backpack was arriving this week. Haha!

"Ada apa kat dalam?"  The Poslaju guy asked me what was inside assuming I had ordered something from an online store.

"I pun tak tau. Takde orang bagitau pun nak hantar barang.." I replied, clueless as to the contents of the large package.

A Red Backpack From Cindyrina!

The Back of the Bag

Haiyo! I only realised what it was when I tore the sides open and saw it. Gasp! I was so surprised that the bag was this big! It is the most beautiful backpack I had ever seen and am proud to now own. Needless to say, I am excited to bring this along on my Melaka trip. Yup, you heard me. That's my next travel plan.

Before I end, thank you so much for making my day, Cindyrina ! ツ

A little note was attached. Aptly put. If you have to worry about anything at all, let it not be about failures. It is after all, past.

I will be back to blog-hopping next week ...soon!

20 Bloom Where You Are Planted

A garden stone decorative item on my shelf has these words on it ~ Bloom where God plants you .

Wherever we are, whether we like it or not, do our best because that makes our character. And sometimes, we will be rewarded in ways we cannot imagine. I find life much sweeter this way. It is exciting too; an adventure of sorts when things aren't going the way I dreamed it would but turned out beautifully in the end.

Rather than be upset at what life throws at us, swim with it and do it innovatively. I'm saying that I would get on an inflatable unicorn floater or snorkel my way through instead of drifting sorrowfully. 

Some see weeds. I see a place, if not for weeds, would be barren. That is optimism for you and looking at a different perspective. Oh, enough with the motivational chat. I've gotten carried away! I'm really here about a beautiful flower that has bloomed in my garden.

My orchid plant has been through a rough patch. It was snapped in two after a hanging flower pot fell onto it. I wasn't sure if it would survive but a new shoot appeared and I was assured. The shoot, however, grew out of the broken stem at an awkward horizontal angle. It looks like a long arm stretching out with three fingers; The fingers being the flower buds.

Orchid Blooms

 In Manglish, " Nice anot ? "

It Took Three Weeks To Bloom!

14 Spring Cleaning - Stuff Happens!

The plan was to redecorate the bedroom, but this has gone on to become a major spring-cleaning exercise that includes the store room.

Stuff happens when you're doing so many things at one go. I accidentally snapped the drawer bottom into half. It felt like my heartbeat dropped for a moment as I stared at the broken piece in tiny panic. The feeling washed over; I'm planing to tape it up and am keeping my fingers crossed that it can at least hold up lingerie.

What do you think? Can she-hulk, that's me, save this?

Broken Drawer Bottom

It was part of a 3-drawer cabinet that I had purchased from IKEA many years ago.

IKEA Drawer Cabinet

The Daiso vacuum seal bags are proving very useful. I have not vacuumed these items flat yet since I have more bags to fill. It's taking me a lot of time because my small washing machine can only handle so much abuse and the drying area? Fits two comforters, max! Besides that, pillows and soft toys take at least 3 days to dry.

Guess how many pillows are packed here in the picture below? ..At least 6 sleeping pillows, 10 cushion pillows, 4 bolster pillows. Then, I've got comforters, bedspreads and a sofa cover too. That leaves 10 blankets and a bag full of bedsheets still to pack.

You must be wondering why I have so many bedding items. In addition, I have three sofa beds and 2 mattresses. I get a lot of visitors staying over. Taking people jalan-jalan (sight-seeing) is an activity I love.

Pillows, Comforters And Bedspreads

It looks like it'll be sometime before I start with the wall-painting but that's okay. I'm in no rush.

20 It's A Swatch For Me

Thanks to my parents, I've been a watch-wearer since my early teens. I've no idea why they started me on this watch-wearing path but I'm glad they did.

" Wear a watch? You're reliable: Watch-wearers are more conscientious and punctual than those with bare wrists, research shows

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3240784/Wear-watch-reliable-Watch-wearers-conscientious-punctual-bare-wrists-research-shows.html#ixzz48m9xvpo8 "

See? That's true where I'm concerned. I'm almost always punctual - a friend once told me how impressed she was. She's always on time, but I take the cake by being an hour early! Hah!

Fast forward now, I'm wearing a brand new Swatch Metallic Dune. I love the shade - it's fun, not gaudy. It's perfect for all occasions. It is also my third Swatch watch, but only the first I'm buying for myself. Boy, do I feel pleased!

Swatch Metallic Dune

I was first introduced to Swatch watches through my ex-bosses, receiving one as a farewell gift and another for making best employee - both under different employers.

This (pictured below) understated Swatch Chessboard of black and white which was my favourite stopped working some months ago. I continued wearing it out of habit - my hand felt unbearably bare. Aah, so there you have it, an addiction. A harmless one, I think.

I assumed that the battery was dead and forked out RM30 for a replacement. The hands on the watch started moving again and I believed the issue to be solved. A week later, it stopped moving again. I went to another store to get it checked. Sad news, of course. One of the mechanisms had given way. It couldn't be repaired and if it could, it wouldn't be worth it. On a brighter note, it lasted a good ten years! That's how I ended up buying a new watch.

Swatch So Chic (pictured below), on the other hand, is an elegant timepiece with a line of crystals adorning the top and bottom. I've had it longer than the Chessboard but only wore it for a couple of years, and mostly to formal events. One of the crystals fell out. So I headed to the Swatch store for a replacement, but was left disheartened. I gave up after asking the third store. They didn't sell or fix missing pieces. It bugged me. I vowed never to buy watches with crystal embellishments ....really!

Left: Swatch So Chic
Right: Swatch Chessboard

Swatch Metallic Dune has been with me for two weeks now. The more I wore it, the more it felt at home on my hand. I did try several other brands before finally heading back to the Swatch store to pick this out. The exercise only made me see how besotted I am with Swatch watches. I just didn't realise how deep I was in until I kept comparing the other brands to it.

Swatch Metallic Dune in a Swatch Box - RM260

Everyone's excited about something. This tick-tocks it for me. Do you wear a watch and have you got a favourite?

Swatch Looks Good On Me, Don't You Think?

28 The Eating Never Stops - Birthday Food!

" The thought of food makes running a marathon through the jungles of Borneo look attractive! " I grumbled in exaggeration to a friend over the phone as we rambled about the the seemingly never-ending feasting we have been made to partake, in the name of tradition and bonding. 

It begins in December with the Winter Solstice festival, followed by several Christmas dos and doesn't end until February, after the Chinese New Year festivities are done with. In between all that, there's several Birthdays to be celebrated. Mine included!

"There, there..", I consoled myself non-too seriously with the knowledge that from March onwards, I would be missing all these and ironically, wishing it was  December again! Funny me! I love food gatherings, but too much of a good thing is like putting too much air into a lovely balloon. It'll reach its limit soon enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here I am at Garden Cafe, Midvalley last week for my Birthday makan (eat). I had a brilliant time with Hubs, whom I sometimes call machoman because of his attachment to Wrestlemania. The day started with little sleep the night before. It was the excitement - friends, family, surprises! I was too happy to get any shuteye.

Oh, check out my Birthday meal!

I went with Chicken Teriyaki, a bestseller. Hubs ordered a roulade, which I remember was yummy but for the life of me, cannot remember the name of the dish.

Chicken Teriyaki

A Roulade

I have always loved coming to this cafe. The ambiance is perfect for long conversations, and the food is good too. It's our (GFs and I) regular spot for shopping breaks.

Garden Cafe, Mid Valley

Garden Cafe, Mid Valley (left) and The Birthday Girl (right)

Me, pictured above, looking like, "Muehehe, it's my special day." Lol.

Back at home, a  florist arrived at my doorstep bearing gifts from my cheeky cousin who'd sent a bouquet of chocolates over, for my complaining jeans! I had posted on FB days before about my pair of jeans begging me to eat salads instead. 

Well, that's just a small part of how I spent my Birthday, which went on for some days. In fact, I have just received another surprise today by mail - another Birthday present, which I will tear open right after this!

Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend!
 

20 Flavours Magazine ~ The Final Issue, It's An Issue!

The headline couldn't have been more heartbreaking : ‘Flavours’ magazine says goodbye after 21 years . 21 years! There are only a handful of local cooking magazines in print and upon counting, didn't reach as far as the number of fingers on my hand.

I have fond memories of Flavours as you can probably tell, with this whole blog post dedicated to it. It wasn't too long ago (or was it..), that friends and I rushed to get copies because there was a lovely Christmas tree cutout. We were ladies who adore a bit of craft.

Earlier in the year, the February issue to be exact, I saw my contest entry in one of the pages. It was a slogan I penned for their 20th anniversary giveaway. I didn't win that one, but they touched my heart when they included it into their printed copy.

Flavours - February Issue 2015

20th Anniversary Slogan

The magazine costs RM12 ; in no way affordable to the masses. So I'm picky about the issues I buy. It goes into my shopping cart only if there are stories relating to the history of a dish I'm interested in, or recipes I'd really like to try. I wondered many times if they could have used thinner paper, have fewer pages and priced it less. Many times. 

I browsed through this month's online issue excitedly, with reason. They had emailed me days before that I'd won a Tramontina Churrasco barbeque fork and knife set. This is the stuff of dreams considering my interest in all things kitchen-related.

I paid little attention to what was written on the cover of course but when I finally did 'see it', all feelings broke loose! I got off the computer and gave them a call to inform that I was dropping by to collect the prize. At the same time, I asked, " Eh, I understand that this is the final issuuue! Whyyyy arh?" in standard Malaysian slang.

"Yeah, we are all sad about it too. We're not sure where we'll be after this. Perhaps absorbed into other departments." - That's the gist of the conversation.

I wished the girl well as I left the building with the BBQ set, at the same time hating bosses that leave their employees wondering whether they still have a job tomorrow.

Flavours - December Issue 2015 (The Final One!)

Me, on the winners list!

The BBQ set

On another note, two local radio stations, Capital FM and Red FM are ceasing operations as well. Bummer!

12 An Interest In Comping

Besides blogging, my other love is comping. I'm casual where both are concerned, as in not leaning to doing it so frequently that it consumes my days. For me, these are great ways to exercise the mind and a good way of spending my internet time.

Comping
..the practice of entering competitions, especially those promoting consumer products.
~ Google definition

Participating is a wonderful way to show support for a brand we like. I do it also in appreciation of the people who took the time to organise contests, which is no easy task considering there's a lot to do behind the scenes. It's not possible to reward every fan, of course. Therefore, prizes are limited and in being fair to all, contests are a great way of determining who gets the reward.

I am funnily gripped by this feeling of, "Oh, why isn't anyone interested in joining this giveaway? That's so unsporting of us." , when there's low participation. I find my concern hilarious. I guess I'm soft-hearted over things I enjoy doing. Haha that. So, I make it a point to join contests that my blog friends organise - those open for Malaysians to participate.

There is only one thing that holds me back - If I have already won! Then, I would refrain from submitting an entry for awhile because it just doesn't feel right to do so. Plus I don't participate in contests for the sake of getting a freebie. I wouldn't join a giveaway run by Nicotine Anonymous to win a nicotine patch - that would be taking from those who need help, assuming I won. Looks like there's two things that keep me from submitting an entry.

Occasionally, for my effort, I am blessed with prizes. I was happy to receive this package (pictured below) last week. It was won from an international giveaway run by Shirley of Luxury Haven. I have yet to try the product and samples. I'm aiming to finish the ones I'm currently on before I do!

It's arrived!

It is always exciting to receive good stuff.

Oolala!

However, all is not roses in the comping world. These are some of the things I've seen :

1) Giveaway scams - Be wary if the prizes are too many and too wonderful to be true. Check the source of the giveaway -  who is running it, contact details and so forth. For Facebook giveaways, the first tell tale sign would be a suspicious email address and no further information. Why would you give your details or add a 'like' to a page that's out to use you to further their gains without being truthful about who they are and what they want it for?

2) There will be cheaters. Yes, that person who steals your slogan, copies brilliantly written sentences off the net or use other people's photos. There are also people who create hundreds of fake accounts to vote for themselves in voting contests. Take the time to report them, with proof, via the right channel. Reputable organisers will disqualify the parties concerned.

This is a trustworthy site to follow for contest updates (Malaysia only), if anyone's keen : eMenang (https://www.facebook.com/emenangdotcom). Sharing is caring - that's what I'm doing!

I'm curious - what's your favourite thing to do online?

18 The Lost Windscreen Squeegee

A weathered bronze or copper coloured sedan drove close to my side. The male driver signaled to me with a wave. I slowed my little black car and moved to the left to allow him to overtake. At the same time, I grumbled under my breath, "No patience, mehh." My aunt, who was beside me, agreed.

I had just gotten my car washed and had the petrol tank filled at a BP petrol station nearby. It was one of my most pleasant experience. A friendly petrol attendant had readily placed the pump into my car. He then proceeded to clean my windscreen. The enthusiastic guy even waved us goodbye. We responded in kind. I left impressed.

I slowly eased my car out onto the busy junction, and had just turned onto the main road when I realised that the man in the bronze car had stopped by the roadside, and was still signaling to me, now with more frantic waving as I looked at him via my rear-view mirror.

"Uh-oh ", my heart raced and I thought to myself, "Was something wrong with my car? " I swerved onto the emergency lane and got out.

Someone lost his windscreen squeegee!

NoooOoo... the petrol attendant had left his windscreen squeegee on the roof of my car! I threw it into the back seat and sped off as a honking truck drove up behind us...on the emergency lane, I add! GRrrr!

We laughed after that but it bugged me that I didn't have the opportunity to thank the Good Samaritan in person. I hope he knows that I am grateful for his concern. I could  have been driving at a faster speed and it could  have hit the car behind. I could  have inadvertently caused an accident. The could-s!

Well, what's next? To return the lost windscreen squeegee to the rightful owner, of course. I'm pretty sure he's worried about it since it may be deducted off his next paycheck.