what is there to do besides shopping?

I've only been in KL for 4-5 months and I'm already bored. Please tell me...

...what is there to do in KL for fun?

Shopping? Hmm...is there anything else to do but shop? I've been shopping in Pavillion, KLCC, Midvalley, Gardens & Bangsar Village/Bangsar so much so that shopping is getting a little old now (*GASP* shopping is starting to get boring? For me to say shopping is getting old should be the same as for me to say I'll stop eating...which is literally impossible). But seriously, sometimes shopping in KL does get a little stale. KL does not have some of my favorite stores from the US (Express, Victoria Secret, Urban Outfitters, A&F, Hollister) and some of the stores that ARE available here much more bloody expensive than in the US (Banana Republic, Gap, Forever21) because the sales here are kinda sad and import tax is a pain. There are no discount brand stores such as Feline's Basement or TJ Maxx in KL too where I found amazing deals on branded stuff (My Nine West and Kathy Van Zeelan bags only cost me around USD$30-40 each).

Some of the clothes here should not even be sold at full price because they are out of season already in the US. Remember this dress?

I blogged about wanting this dress from Armani Exchange in my old blog on June 06, 2007. This year in August/September (don't remember exactly when liao because memory fails you when you're old), I walked into the Armani Exchange store in Gardens and saw this EXACT dress selling at FULL PRICE.

Yeah, we get "hand-me-downs" from the US stores.

Paying full price for a dress that has been around for ONE YEAR is absolutely ridiculously stupid. Also, high-end brands in Malaysia are more expensive because there is import tax on these luxury items!

I think I've gone off on a tangent but my head's kinda spinning from watching too many reality TV shows online today so I'm going to stop here regardless of the cohesiveness and logic of this post. Ciao!

another end to the amazing race asia

I'm such a sucker for reality TV shows. One of the shows I've been diligently following is the Amazing Race Asia season 3 (which I didn't know is called TARA3). The quality has improved tremendously from the first season (I remember a lot of cringing and nose-screwing when I watched the first season which totally put me off till now) and I'd say it's almost compatible to the US edition in relative terms. The teams are much more interesting and has more funny/interesting/mean things to say...and the detour and road block challenges were a lot harder than it used to be.

The winners - Sam & Vince

The runner-ups - Geoff & Tish

The fun-loving ones - Ida & Tania

When the Hong Kong team won, I'm just happy that it's them and not Geoff & Tish. I sincerely wished that Ida & Tania would win (I was rooting for Henry & Bernie all the way till they got eliminated) because I'm Malaysian and because they were sincerely nice to each other all the time and had lots of fun so much so that it was a joy to watch them race! I got to say, they DID have ONE fallout when they were in Dubai but that was the ONLY time we've seen them bicker on TV. I dont' like Geoff & Tish because...they're not very likeable. Geoff is an ass sometimes to other people, even people not in the race and also to Tish. I don't like them because they caused Henry & Bernie's elimination (in a way).

It makes me wonder, whether if I run the race with mr. boyfriend, will we end up bickering and fighting like almost all couples did on the Amazing Race? I think we will but he doesn't think so. Also, would I have gotten the tattoo at the Fast Forward which Sam & Vince did (which earned them their lead for a few legs)? I think I would have, in the adrenaline rush of the race but would probably live to regret it if I didn't win. And, this is from Amazing Race US a few seasons ago, would I have shaved my head bald at the Fast Forward? Now, THIS, is a really really hard decision. Can you imagine me bald? Yuck!

London-Chicago

Here's my long-overdue thoughts on London compared to Chicago:

i) London is unpleasantly cold compared to Chicago.
I admit this is a very biased statement because I was not warmly dressed for the cold at all and therefore hated being outdoors in London. The temperature dipped when I was there and I only had cardigans, my suit jacket and a scarf. Back in Chicago, I would be typically wearing a wool coat and probably my lighter long-johns in that weather. Oh but the walk from the tube station to mr. boyfriend's place has got to be the longest walk ever in the cold! I didn't take any pictures with the infamous red telephone booths or the underground tube station signs because it was simply too cold and all I wanted to do was to get to somewhere warm.

ii) London's transportation system is painful compared to Chicago's.
OMG so London's tube system must HATE me so MUCH because when I was there, we ran into every imaginable problem with the tube system that its mind-boggling to me as to why my friends think London's tube system is great. Yes, it's waaaay better than what we have in Chicago and it's very frequent BUT every freaking day, either some station or some line is closed down so we'll have to take an alternate route. For instance, we planned to take the Central line and change to the Victoria line to get to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guards on Saturday morning. We got to the station to find out that Victoria line was closed so we had to take a bus after getting off the Central line. The bus stop was so hard to find because there were 3-5 bus stops for different buses on the same freaking street...*sweat drop* and we definitely missed the Changing of the Guards. On Saturday night, after meeting Lynn for drinks (it was her birthday! happy birthday again!), we were going to take the Central line straight home. As we got to the station, we were informed that someone was stuck UNDER the train and they closed the line. The station master told us to take this alternate route so we went in anyways and waited for the train. After 30 minutes of waiting and no trains coming, the last train pulled into the station and it was not our train. Seriously wtf! The tube system closes by 12.45am and so we were left with no choice but to take the infamously expensive English taxis (which was not even easy to flag down). The ride home cost £45. See, in Chicago, yeah CTA is not frequent and not that great, but if the train/bus doesn't work, you hop onto a cab and it shouldn't cost more than USD25 for that same distance.

iii) London is more expensive than Chicago.
This is obviously a given. The best example would be the cab fare -- 45 pounds (=USD78) compared to 25 dollars? Dinner at Chinatown is about 30-40 pounds for 2 person compared to 30-40 dollars? Do you know it costs 15.50 pounds per person to get on the London Eye? Tube from the airport costs 4 pounds (it's USD2 for CTA!)?

iv) London is more "rowdy" compared to Chicago.
Walking in the streets of London is absolutely reminiscent of walking in the streets of New York, perhaps worse. People bump into you as they like and do not think anything about it so no apologies, no second glances. New York is similar, except that there's still some personal space before someone bumps you but in London, I'm constantly in contact with someone and I do not like that. Maybe the streets of London is smaller, maybe there's more people on the streets of London, I don't know what is it but I do not like rubbing shoulders with strangers. In Chicago, this almost never happens! There's always personal space, even during the busiest shopping times.

I've pretty much decided that I should never visit Europe even when it's remotely cold. It makes travel so miserable!

lack of zzz...

It does seem like my blogging has been in waves of ups and downs, huh?

Last week was probably the most tiring, sleep-deprived and stressful week of my entirely life. I worked till 5am on 4 days and woke up at 5am to work on 2 days and had 1 day of semi-normal sleeping hours simply because I completely did not hear my alarm ring.

It's really scary what sleep deprivation does to you, seriously.

What's worse is...
Sleep deprivation + stress = emotional breakdown

I cried a couple of nights (contributing to very-tired eyes the next day) and even brokedown in front of one of my colleagues. And talking about my work to others bring tears to my eyes which I have to hold in with much effort and restrain. How does the others do it? Is it just me?

I'm SO burnt from last week.

Simply cannot wait till Christmas break because I get to see mr. boyfriend again and spend 2 weeks in HK!!

Brainfall.com Quiz Result

Which College Major Should You Be?
	Your major should be Engineering. Logic is your friend. With enough work, you can find a solution to anything... Unless it involves dating or parties.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

so cheated!

Someone please explain the rationale of using the Touch 'n Go card?

First, you have to pay RM10 for the card itself. NON-REFUNDABLE RM10. Seriously, where's the incentive in using the card? In HK, the Octopus Card has a REFUNDABLE deposit fee and it's actually CHEAPER to use the Octopus Card for commute. WTF!

How convenient is the card if you're not a driver such that it justifies the RM10 cost? I remembered Jet being able to use his card at the KTM station when I had to fumble for change...so ok, maybe that's convenient.

But my card says: (This card can only be used on CITILINER and PUTRALINE buses and PUTRA LRT)

Kak ini hanya boleh digunakan di:

• Bas CITLINER dan PUTRALINE
• PUTRA LRT

Double WTF!! I never bloody use the buses! And why did I have to pay RM10 for the supposed convenience of the card when I can't even bloody use it on KTM?

Never mind...but...

I went to the counter and I was told that they don't sell the Touch n' Go card. Told me to go to the phone card kiosk to get one and that there's a RM10 charge to the card.

I went, phone card kiosk lady said it's preloaded with RM5 so I paid the RM15.

Went to the counter and told her I wanted to reload RM20. Gave her the money and didn't bother to check my receipt.

Only to realize at home, bloody hell, I've been cheated!!! She only reloaded RM10 and took the RM10 as the charge for the card! I already bloody paid the RM10!!! Triple wtf!!!

RM20 for bloody nothing!!! WTF WTF WTF

This is for you Tess!

I am extremely VERY lazy in keeping up with a beauty regime, so much so that I only wash my face with cleanser when my face is clear. If it gets a little dry, then I start using toner + moisturizer. If I see/feel pimples, I'd slather so much pimple cream, more than recommended. Otherwise, I just don't bother. Although, I do have quite a bit of different products sitting around collecting dust.

During job recruiting, stress + coffee + lack of sleep + makeup + schoolwork put my face in a dire situation -- I was breaking out, had really dark eye bags and *gasped* had visible wrinkles around my eyes and lips. The few months after that, I was SO diligent with my beauty regime, even adding wrinkle cream and eye cream to the deal.

So, Tess, the products I regularly use is a very short list compared to yours!

For basic cleanser + toner, I use Exuviance. I found out about it through this lady my mom goes to for facial treatments in Kuching. It has a VERY VERY pleasant smell and I don't need more than a pea-sized portion to wash my face clean. Because of that, I go through the toner a lot faster than the cleanser (ratio about 3:1).

As for pimple cream, I've religiously used J&J's Clean & Clear line for the last 3-4 years. It really works for me and it's rather inexpensive...I just use too much of it! I'd go through a bottle really quickly when I'm in a breakout phase.

Totally worried about the wrinkles etc, I started using OLAY Total Effects moisturizer + intensive restoration treatment. I really like how the moisturizer is not greasy and I do not need a lot to do a good job. Again, no need for expensive products for me.

There you go! I'm really tempted to try SK II or Clinique or one of the expensive ranges but I guess I'll wait till I have that kind of money AND effort AND time, otherwise it would just be money wasted.