overdued Penang postings....

and well back to the previous penang postings, my ex-colleagues and i visited temple after temple, u name it from the Kek Lok Si temple, to the oldest Kuan Yin Temple in Georgetown, Penang to this one, didnt manage to get good pics from the former but this wasnt really great either! this was sumthing we visited on the 2nd day after a bloatsome buffet breakfast at Sunway Hotel, Penang Island..

i could hear a disgruntled Jon reluctantly ferrying us places in his zippy red Myvi...... (*shuyii pokepokes Jon*)

well he got to visit Midlands Mall in the end to shop for his transformers... so there!
*jon pulls a sulky face*

by day's end at Kek Lok Si temple, after having our dinner at the famed Ayer Itam Asam Laksa, his face was longer than a bittergourd's, haha! and i am amused, sHnapping away! *smiles gleefully*


well, without further ado ofcourse : -

entrance of the Thai Buddhist temple, its glorified gilded gate greeting us all!

got these sleepyheads posing for me...(note the tongue-in-cheek look on Ken's expession!)

bright sunshiny rays catching a rare sparkle on the crown of the stupa

lastly but no least, finally a shot with me in it
the shuyii on the far left, Kian, Danny, Kim & Ken (Jon is m.i.a AGAIN!)

and i do notice for the past few postings... i am kinda like a *portrait-liking-person... for at least most of my shots are composed that way, (and i have no idea why!!)
didn't realise that till a friend of mine pointed out my portrait-tendency while we went shooting interesting sights in Malacca last Raya holidays! more pics to come next..

i hope i will be finished by the weekend for the KLPac posting as i will be busy on 11th & 12th October 2008 for the 1000 Offering Event organised by LDC (Losang Dragpa Centre) at the Chinese Assembly Hall from 10am - 9pm! please do all feel free to come! :D

Kek Lok Si temple, Ayer Itam

here are the remaining pictures taken at Kek Lok Si temple at Ayer Itam, Penang Island! I very much look forward to visit this particular temple , (much to Jon's chagrin) particularly during the Chinese New Year celebration for their Lights and Lanterns displays... Hundreds or THOUSANDs of these beautiful red & yellow lanterns made up the vibrant display of lights which filled the night's sky and the temple's exterior with an air of warmth, evoking the festive mood, truly an awesome sight to behold!

a random shot at the foot of the temple... testing out my shutter speed, flash & camera settings..

here's kim, my first subject for a night shot! :)

we were greeted with strings and strings and more of these red lanterns when we approach the Grand Prayer Hall...

Kek Lok Si Temple, flanked by strungs of colourful lit lanterns & fairy lights! :)

a different view of the same building....

My favourite shot of the batch as it emphasises symmetry, just tad dissapointed as the tip of the tower's cropped off...

Spot the S.I buddies!!!!!!!! :) :D

Reminiscent of Funfair Grounds, fairy lights, the sweet burnt smell of caramel popcorn, pink Cottoncandies, Juggling Clowns on stilts, the familiar tune of carnival music tinkling, children's laughter in the background...

another view taken at the base near the parking lots.....no flash in this shot so gotta hold real still in the wind's chill! *shivers my timbers*

with little flicker of lights from the bustling streets coiling and meandering its way up to the temple

and lastly, the S.I Buddies! clockwise :- Jon, Danny, Kian, Kim & Ken
m.i.a : ME (cos i photograph!) teheee!

upcoming Kek Lok Si posting.....

bringing you a sneak peeek of the Kek Lok Si temple posting, made this trip with some ex-colleagues during the Chinese New Year break, (yes that was a good half a year back/more!!)

resembling Ripen tomato patch!

view from below, clusters of neatly arranged Mandarin Oranges to commerate the Chinese New Year celebration :)

a visit to LDC :)

been a long time since i actually had time to read blogs, lest update my own! i have been to places though, met people, get involved in activities but when i finally got home to my home sweet home, the only energy left was to brush my teeth, wash up my grimy face and tuck myself in bed. at times i get dreams, and those were the times when i wake up huffing puffing, as though i had chased myself in the perimeters of my room, other times i woke up with a jolt, like dodging the monster under my bed! went to the Losang Dragpa Centre in SS17 last Sunday to witness the Buddha Relics myself, have heard Khan numerous times on how miraculous it is. havent got the pics to show u what i meant but do read up more on it at the Centre's official webbie, more here & here!!!!

(click pics if u need a clearer view)

pretty butter candle offerings, they smell almost too delicious, they can be eaten! :P these are found in abundance at the altar or offering tables. can be bought at RM 10 each and all funds raised are proceeded to the centre :) i prayed for safety, health and happiness for my family and my loved ones. Nice nice smelling caNdles!

these comes with the candle and flowers! and too pretty i HAD to take a shot of it, though i reckon its rude to be snapping near the altar, (thats why i refrained from getting myself and my lense too near to the relics!)
the golden stupa! to be frank i wasnt sure what this is for, but i recall it houses the 10 (or isit 10,000k) powerful mantras? (well,if someone who noes,just correct me oRites :P) i dropped by the centre a few times now, but havent gotten so familiarised yet. its great fun there tho, staying to help whenever i can and meeting new people. the funny thing about meeting people in an environment as this, it leaves me a warm and fuzzy feeling. the sense of belonging. the sense of being together, and the sense of able to connect even through a simple smile :) good things do CErtainly doesnt need to come oin big packages! :P

these days, i have hardly the luxury to smile wistfully at myself thinking back the contented times, those frens, those places, those occasions. the laughters that still ring in ur head, the smiles thats etched in the back of ur mind, the things we were used to doing, that now we arent, it feels like ages ago, yet it was just a year back.

by making an effort to visit the centre once a week, maybe there's hope after all. brings light back to my dull, work-worn life .

*back to my snoozles, and miND i NEED it so much*

don expect me to update so often now, may be a bi-monthly thing i foresee.

Motion Blur (not HAZE blur!) ;P

since the city's been shrouded in haze recently, and my camera's been under the sheets for few darn weeks. an ex-colleague of mine just called and asked me if i m interested to join him for shotting tomorrow at Bkt. Jalil,and i had to decline him because im catching the movies tomorow! im going shooting next week hopefully, and i hope the weather's finer by then! i hate bleak, grey, depthless quality pictures.

pictures are taken sumtime last month before the haze craze, inspiRed by Motion! :)

a lantern festival event held at Puay Chai Primary School. Parents, kids throng in with lanterns!

testing my night taking shots here, i didnt realise someone running across till i edited the text earlier! i was standing very still taking this shot, with a very slow shutter speed~!

younger sis blocking her face from view, she;s camera shy By Nature!

blocking her face again with her favourIte stuffed Smurf! can u tell if its sHrinking or ExpandiNg?

a Car captured speeding past, leaving a trail of taillight behind! :)

4days off!

i am applying 4our days off this blog, so u wont be hearing me in a while...!

the reason why is..

i aM GOING TO BALI!! and toMorrow That is!!!!

whoOhoo!!! hopes i get some picturesques shots of the beautiful sunsets at the reknown Kuta Beach! :> tripod, remember this time!

happy Holidays (to me!)!!!

see u guys after Saturday!!! :> :>


p/s :: and pray hard for me yeah. -_-''' dangz!!

Early Birds Catch tHe Nicest Worms

woKe up alarMingly without the alarM clock alarmingly ringing in my ears this mornIng!
meeting up with wen at 9 at my place before we head off to One. Utama fOr an early screening of *Pride & Prejudice*
she's one awful crazy lot of fun when i hung out with her,
which tells why we are friends since we are 14!
Kev and Yenn are suPpose to arrIve at 10, but after we collected the free ticks, they are still at Yenn's.

Movie altogether was a great one, i enjoyed it as it sounded so English, and the male and female Lead are SO made for each other as they both have dark hair. ( i mean.... SILLY! thats not the only reason of course) hehehe. it was better than i'd expected, (it was more than a pretty female lead actress_played by Knightley and a very dark brooding handsome male lead actOR, OKAYs.!)

i like Keira Knightley next to Julia Stiles. They both have that air of saRcasm and speak with an unbelievable speed with added spite(not spat!) and strength and determination! well actually i like them both just as much! Keira is the British vers. of the American Julia! lol! Alexis Bledel playing daughter in the Gilmore Girls is just similar, but she's a pixie-r, gentler, softer angelic version of these both! i don't fancy getting verbally attacked, but its cool talking in such speed, pronouncing every word precisely, stating every meaning clearly! whOa!!! for added kick sprinkle in a few pinChes of SaRcasM* lol!

had luNch at Jack's Place with me playing with my food and not really in the mood for eating. Wen and i shared a Grilled Chicken with Sour Plum Sauce with Sesame and Coriander. it sounds fancier than it looks when the waiter brought food to our table. i don believe it's plum sauce. it isn't even <--THIS_close--> to tasting tangy.

bLWUekkkk.......................................

poke at a few morsels and had a few niBbles and the rest of the tiMe was spent yaCking.
i guess talking is my favourite hoBby now (with the right company oFcos!) it was not until around 3 when we asked for the bill and headed our separate ways. sent wen home and i began heading to aunt's to pick a few *utensils*

reacHed home, got myself heading to the warDrobe first to change into comfy-er clothes (was wearing white offf-shoulders with jeans)

received a url link from dee while chatting with her.
dee and i has this thing for reading up horoscopes and laughing at how amusingly true thEse stuff can turned out to be.

and it seems that Cancers are very much like......................this! look below

Cancers ( June 21- July 22)

++ the plus side ++
You are very kind and you regard your friends like they are your family. You are very patient, gentle and compassionate to others, and are the first one to give a friend a hug when they have had a bad day. You truly care when friends tell you their problems. If you have a younger sibling, you are very protective of them because you love your family so much!

--the fLip siDe--
You tend to be on the shy side! Being shy can be a problem when you really want something and are afraid to speak up. You get your feelings hurt often, and instead of getting to the heart of the matter and fixing it, you tend to let it build up inside. It's okay to tell someone how you are feeling, and with your Cancer care, you will do it with kindness! Also, watch those mood swings!

* Likes *
your birthday remembered by friends -yeah!!! who likes to be foRgotten?
keeping a photo album -with no pictures of myself in it,cos i am SO not photogenic
hugs -comforting........
collecting things -seashells! and momentos!

* Dislikes *
those who forget names and dates -lol!
having to handle a crisis - am paniCky when it happens
yelling -dont see a point in that
losing things -or people

*Compatibility*
The Cancer/Scorpio couple makes for a dynamic and fiery(??? sounds hot doesn't it!) match! Both signs are very loyal to their family and friends and when they are matched together carry that loyalty into their relationships. Cancers and Scorpios are like magnets to each other. When they are together, it can seem like there is no one else in the room! But be careful of Scorpio's brooding personality can often be taken too personally by a sensitive Cancer. If they can keep that in check, these two stand a chance at a passionate and lasting romance!

ooohoo hahaa.
i am so sensitive! say sth and i will itch all over, LOL
HAHAHhhhahaha

dangz

i've also read elsewhere that Cancers are the Most Emotional stars in the ENTIRE horoscope

thats awful of that to make us Cancers look like whiny babies, hMmppph







*rajuking edi.....*


for more sensitive cancer infos, click here

the wEekend's ((merry)) itinerary

had a gOod nite rest the nite befOre, it was a loNg (but short) Boxing day (26/12/05) spent all in one place suPPosedly doiNg my model, but ending up doIng some other stuFf as well. Lunch@ BV was great, it was first time having toMyam on an empty stoMache without having to end up with gastric after that. saW soMe decoRated gingerbread housEs, they lOok toO adOrable a buNch to be muNched, all dressed up in coOkie/cereal rOofs and windows, M&M's, marshmallows, caNdies, chOcolate brIck walls, coloured croquant floors!! so sacchariNe-loaded!! (shivers like jelly now, lol)

started woRk afteR lunch, redrawed my 1st and 2nd floOr plan, trace again with gRids, plot points onto my board, cut, paste, but looking at it i've only done so .... little! dangz! Had a very simple yet unusual dinner, steamed chicken (stuffed with red dates) with boiled potatoes in jackets and butterhead lettuce salad! lol. having dinner without rice for a change at friend's place :) thaNk you tedDy for cOoking for us! *grIns*

drove home at approx 10pm feeling a feeling i havent felt before. it wasnt tired or exhausted. it was a contented feeling. the sort that leaves u breathing calmly, suddenly driving home isn't something i dread doing, or woRrying what lies beyond ready to leap on me at the destination. suddenly all these don't matter anymore, puzzles me. lol

toDay i chatted with dee agaiN and she sent me some piCcies that werE taken with her camera. so i decided to post some in toDay's entry as a certain teDdy complained about reading a *boring* bloggie with no visuals.

meant to blog about the field trip to pd and chRistmas diNner but i guess i am tOo lazy now trying to recall so i'll just let the piccIes do the talkiNg... well here's one taken in Port Dickson when we'd just arrIved! dee so Can't wait to take pictures but this was a quiCk one by ouR fren anNisa! everyone just wHipped out theiR cameras and start clicking away!

in Port Dickson....................................

dee & i at PD when we arRived, steppiNg on a whOle lot of pine/durian cones. ummm. foot massage anyone?

can u see hair getting into my mouth? lol. that was the wiNd! it was blowing at (seemingly every direction) because wherever i stand, my hair lOoked blowN asKew!!!

the weather was great as the clouds are doiNg a supErb job curtaining the rays of sun. the pouR earlier helped made the beach breeze cooler too. it was a happy day to hop and frolick by the shore, kicking the sand and getting washed by the waVes...

after much exploring, we settled for an area to stack our belongings and were split into groups. We have about 4 juniors in our group of 8 and our fIrst tasK was to complete a saNdcastle within an hour, resembling as much as the oRiginal building, as detailed as can be.

Was the slowest group to start as we had no clue what building to build. No Petronas Twin Towers or Eiffel ToweR or Chrysler Building!!! then Megna came along and decided to join us in our sandcastle building, she suggested a certain *city ruins of the Mohhenjo-Daro* we knew it is NOT a building but we all knew how easy it is to build a ruin!(no matter how DETAILED! haha) the lecturers aka the judges (suRprisingly) approved of our *building* so we started runNing to and fro fetching water in pails, diggIng, softening the sand, making a good mix with seawater, erecting the buildings and making it as *ruin-ish* as possible! The cylindical tower makes it the hardest to build as dee and alEx had to build and rebuild over a number of times just to get it stand! 3 parts of sand to 1 parts of water......... or it it 2:2???? errr...

higgledied - piggledied mass of sand - the city ruins of Mohhenjo-Daro! does that look like early civilisation to u???

Although we didn't win the best sandcastle, but we didnt bag the woRst either! *phews* lol. the group who lost is going to get buried in sand! but it turned out we don have all time diGGing for the 8 of them so kenji and wayNe will just do as pRoud rePresentatiVes, lol. don't have the pic at the mo, but its hilarIous when u get to see it, readers under 18, u aRe ForBidden! lol

came across thEse crab holes(homes) while strolling by the beacH! resEmble a lot like the *tong yuens* i made that morning, albeit not in that muddy colour..silly!

a self-taken piccy of meself!! HaiR askew-again!!!! the wiNd is eveRywHere! definitely not a place for wigs...

was a great trip altogether, i just forgotten one thing and it was my sunblock, everything else was just nice, the company, food, activities, weather

i just SO don't like my lobster appearance now, thats all. lol

on Christmas Eve.........................................

dee & i,on our way to midvalley foR christmas eve dinner..i am so blackenned!!!!!! arGHhh

dee and i, (again) all decked in white for the white christmas!! a few falling snowflakes will just complete the beautiful atmosphere :)

hanging icicles, frOzen froNds, barren tWigs, an elfin cottage, trees laden with pretty baUbles and twinkling fairylights in the Centre Court of Midvalley Megamall.

this is dee and i again!!! lol! we loOk great thanks to the photographer, the lighting, the decoration and that idiot whose body partially came in and ruin the whole thIng lol

at San Francisco's Steakhouse...............................

camera is every gurl's best companion........not mine! taken by dee,i cant even hold a camera still for a decent picture......

satiated, satisfied and filled to the briM...laurie's had his hand over his pot belly,lol!!

the three stooges -Victor, Kwooi & Laurie

on the other side:: dee, i and wats

victor :: all i want for christmas is my.........N70 (miraculously Fishes it out from his pOcket, ta-Da!)

all in all the dinner was... okay.. except for the turkey i guess, which was supposed to be tonight's highlight anyway. staffs in SFS don't seem to be able to diFfer chop from slice. i guess no more SFS next year, we'll head elsewhere where people understand english better, and spare us from having chopped turkey serve in a plate as they would when you visit a chicken rice shop...... no chicken rice for another consecutive year....

as the hour is still early, and i have to be home before the clock strike midnite, footman turned into mouse, car turns to pumpkin (poor wats), and we have yet still exchanged pressies, so we head to Friendster Cafe for a second round, (before they head for a 4th and 5th and 6th....)

we had the pressies all laid out with number labels and for 2 times wats toOk his own number. i dUnno how lucky he is, till the 3rd and final time, i tOok his number! Lucky me lol! there's a snowglobe, a fanCy stuFfed clock, a kungfu kick-ass keychain,bodem coffee mugs, liquer chocs and dOggieshaped calendar!!!! we each tooK a *bottle* of liquoR from Vic's pressie and drank to ...er... (i can't remember, but was it the merrIest chRistmas?!) lol!

at Friendster Cafe.....................................

wats :: A cloCk!!!??!! u wanna me to die-AR????? (roars with laughter)
while uncle octi stares into his very own dreamy space........

i & dee :: sharing a very cool blended Peach Friendstercino

to cap off the memorable nite, i was given a pressie and was told to open in when clock strike midnite! i hope its something that stops me from being Cinderella!!! :> lol

well nothing like that, but something really sweet! an entertwiNed two heart pendant and a chain ;) awww.. thaNks for the gift teDdy... hugshugs