I love going to bookstores and when I do I can be stuck in there for hours HOWEVER I do not appreciate it when my moment of pleasure is disturbed.I always think of boostores as a place of solitary browsing and not socialising … anyone wish to disagree with me?

Parties, Bars, Clubs = Social haven

Bookstores = Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeading pleasure PEOPLE!

I was thrilled to finally go to one of my favorite bookstores after so long not visiting it and I know they have an awesome section of manga. In my head I was looking for a certain title Ive been meaning to buy and start collecting UNTIL lo & behold …a guy approached me. Look dont think Im such a bookworm ok because Im not. I can be friendly but seriously folks not in a bookstore .. I knew from the moment I approached the store he was eyeing on me, its so frickin obvious but I just shrug it off.

He is not a bad looking man, well dressed and polite but I can sense a chat up within seconds. All I needed was some peace and quiet so THIS I surely do not need. I completely lost my mood to browse in the store already. The conversation obviously was lame and eventually to get him out of his own misery and my own hair I told him that I was with my husband (when he asked me if I was alone.) That was enough.

HONESTLY I’ve been over this chat up game a long time ago. Flattery wont bring him anywhere with me thats for sure. Beautiful name for a beautiful woman?! Please ..that line reeks of false flattery, too sickeningly sweet for me to swallow ..try harder pal with some other woman …..

So how has your weekend summed up?

Dont you just HATE it when someone you know gives out your number without asking you first. The person who calls you up happen to be someone you dont think you would like to meet and wish he / she would stop calling and get the hint when you never make an effort to call up nor meet up.  I absolutely hate the idea of knowing that my number is being given out like raffle tickets and im not even told about it.  There is a thing called invasion of privacy here!

Me ABSOLUTELY no LIKEY!

Grr….

Sorry for the lack of blog here but for some reason WordPress is still not being cooperative with me uploading photos! I dont know why….im quite tempted to terminate this blog and try elsewhere but then again Word Press is the only blog site I know that has category function that I like ..so far …..

I love it when Im in the mood to cook especially when it turned out good! Last night was one of those good cooking moods. Normally I prepare my dishes with the ingredients from the scratch but I did the lazy cook method of using pre-packed ingredients ^_^ so what was I in the mood for yesterday?

Chicken Tandoori

Using the pre-packed ingredients all I did was add in the yoghurt to set it and marinate them. Even the briyani rice I used the pre-packed paste ..all I did was add in the peas. The only thing I’d take credit is my mint sauce and my stir friend spinach.

Yep I was in the mood for some Indian food. Today ..whats on my menu ? Im still thinking …a bit of a lazy mood today since its the weekend. Maybe I’ll get some onigiri instead at the supermarket for my dinner IF I can get my butt off the sofa and go to Isetan to buy them. We shall see! Anyway thought I share my culinary success photo of Chicken Tandoori, Briyani Rice, Mint sauce and Stir Fried Spinach. To finish off a superb dinner I made a pot of freshly brewed coffee courtesy from Miss Ai !! PERFECTO!

Grrr, am I the only having problems uploading photos today or what! Its effing annoying!! I was going to post a photo of what I cooked even …

Anyway I managed to get my butt off this afternoon to Isetan as I was in the mood for some onigiri and other sushi however WordPress is in a bitchy mood for uploading photos I cant post it here today ..ah well. All the food (Onigiri, Inari Sushi, Takoyaki and Miso Soup) are all happily settled in my contented tummy and next would be a nice sweet raisin cake I got from the supermarket top with a cup of nice hot coffee! Im off to prepare those so I can have them while watching my English Premier League, my team Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspurs, its a London derby so GO GUNNERS!!

:: EDIT ::

Weird I can upload these two Halloween images but I cant upload my foodie photos, whats with that ?!

:: END OF EDIT ::

To all celebrating this ghoulish day

Have fun TRICK or TREAT-ing

Hope everyone’s weekend has been a good one so far !!

Halloween images found from pumpkinpatchesandmore

Its been a rather slow unproductive day for me. I just look forward to meet up with a friend tomorrow and take some photos of the festive displays at the mall. Im just glad I managed to get a few tasks done before I go away for 9 days. Most importantly a package filled with an Ultraman gift for my chipmunk of a nephew and some baby clothes for my youngest sister who’s expecting her second child next month.  I never thought a few pieces of clothing together with a box set of toys could weigh that much Well anything for my favorite nephew …as long as he doesnt start coming up to me for money instead of toys That’ll be the day!

Dont you just love shoppers who decide to stop in the middle of your path that leads to the escalator? It annoys me when that happens especially when Ive got a heavy load on my shoulder ..sure sure lady take your time finding your bearings in the building why dont you?

Another thing that peeves me are STARERS!! Oh yes starers ..those that stare at you as if your nose just turned upside down or your eyes are at the back of your head or you’ve got a dangling particle stuck on your forehead … whats with that eh? Nowadays I just stare back at them when they do that or better yet I noticed when you smile at them that sort of wake them up but of course I wouldn’t simply smile for no reason though … like this odd man whom I bump into a couple of times at the mall … I dont know whats his problem but whenever we cross path he would really stare at me ..it doesnt really freak me out but it does annoy me! I dont even know him ..friends do advise to not even try and approach him for fear he might do something that might endanger me or sort of encourage him instead. Well I wont but it just annoys me when he does that …

Last peeve of the day for me …

Does this happen to you when you’re shopping ? While shopping around you realise you’ve got a ‘tail’ .. a ‘tail’ that wont stay put? 2 boutiques I went ..2 potential boutiques turned me off when this sales girl kept following me whereever I went to. To add more to the aggravation is when they tell you that its on discount or theres a promotion of buy 1 free 1 or that you can try ..I KNOW DAMN IT ..I can obviously READ ..last time I checked I did pass with flying colours that I could read my ABCs and 12 fricking 3s … and when I asked this one sales girl who actually asked for it from me what style was the pair of jeans I was looking at? She looked at me dumbfounded and pointed out to me the word on the price tag, ‘Yes its jeans ..’ Biting my tongue from being a total mental lack of sleep bitch I asked in a calm voice, ‘What style is this pair?’ (Since it doesnt say whether its boot cut or bell bottom on the tag) She paused thinking what needs to be said and instead asked me what size would I like! WTF! I havent asked for a size availability ..instead I just muttered nevermind and left … *rolls my eyes in anger* Today I have only so little tolerance with annoying people.

For once I want to be left alone when I shop and browse. I know I can read and if I need help I’ll scream out for it.

Wow just a few minutes ago I got to see some fireworks outside ..I rarely see fireworks over here because of all the high buildings around but this one was just perfect. I saw all the colors and right now either my neighbour upstairs or downstairs are playing some loud music … dont you just love inconsiderate neighbours or what?

Ah well at least that firework display ends my day of annoyance. Im heading off to bed ^_^  Night all!!

Whoa! My last blog dated 28th September?! Wow ..didn’t realise its been that long since Ive blogged ^_^ Ah well let’s just say I’ve been

1. Distracted by Facebook – yes Im one of those poor sap who got sucked into the FB world

2. My blogging mojo is currently undergoing a total blackout

I really wish I have the inspiration of blogging but I can never ever find any, Im more of a reader than a writer … funny and they say Geminis are born writers …pffffftttt!!

Anyway Im going to try my best to keep this up ..

Today’s been quite a nice day for me. I got to meet up with 2 of my friends for lunch. Its been quite pleasant despite me feeling groggy and grouchy due to lack of SLEEP! I swear if anyone knows a good remedy for snores ..PLEASE SHARE THE TIP WITH YOU … I love my husband very much but I do not love his ear shattering snores! It kills me especially when I have a problem with sleeping. Im not like some people that can just knock out the moment they hit the pillow ..I take a bloody while to finally log in to Slumberland. Worse I am a light sleeper ..just the slightest sound can wake me up.

I do feel bad when I growled out loudly in anger last night because that woke him up. Call me inconsiderate but think about me ..the one who seems to be having a bit of sleep apnea here.  As soon as he found out what bugged me he went back to sleep with a snore within SECONDS and me?! Heavy lid still struggle to sleep …. I would’ve cancelled my meet up today so I can sleep my eye sockets out but I didn’t as I rarely meet my friends over here either.

So yea if anyone has good tips for snorers do share the tip with me why dont you?

The other day I had an online conversation with my sister about the importance of family. I’ll pose this question to whomever thats reading this

For the sacrifice that your parents have made for you so you’ll have the best education, a good life …would YOU ask them to pay you back when they ask for your help financially? I had been one difficult child growing up but NEVER ONCE would I ask my father, especially my father, to pay me back when he asked me for few dollars ..never! I feel ashamed to even ask him …a few bucks cant repay what he had given me. Heck  I wouldnt even question him when he asked me if I could provide him a supplementary card ..why should I ?

I should get my arse in gear now and start packing my clothes for my trip this Friday. Hopefully I’ll get to blog about something much more interesting tomorrow instead of a silly rant of snorers & inappreciative children

I remember taking a photo of this in the morning around 730am. I thought I could capture it really well but I suppose I didnt but I must say I do like the effects shown in this photo. This was taken on Sunday, 31st May when the haze was quite thick and I noticed how the Sun was trying her best to squeeze her way through the thick smog to allow her rays of light spread all over the city. Alas the haze was far too thick …but we were not spared from the sweltering heat wave.

Looking from this view, when there is a full moon, she glows in her beauty as she lits up together with the stars the dark skies but I have not seen a full moon for quite sometime now… but when I do, I am always guaranteed to a most breathtaking one.

^_^  Mind my balcony broom spoiling my nice near to perfection photo!

How’s everyone’s week so far?

This H1N1 virus or Swine Flu is truly spoiling a lot for me. I never thought its spreading terribly around our world. My youngest sister and her family are suppose to come and stay with me in a week’s time. Unfortunately she’s been hearing a lot of news about the H1N1 virus either from the television news or from the newspaper. She feels that it’s like a warning for her to think twice about taking the flight. Her worries, right now, are more towards her 3 year old son and her unborn baby as she’s 4 months pregnant at the moment. She’s been looking forward to this trip since last year when we booked the flight online because of its very cheap airfares.

Recently she heard of the news of an 8 year old boy who just came back from a Jeddah flight contracted with the H1N1 and that just adds more worry to her. I just hope, after a week of quarantine, the boy is safe from the virus and its just a normal flu & fever due to the heaty weather. I don’t blame my sister if she does cancel her flight but it would be a shame as I looked forward to see them since we’ve reserved their seats.

But…what a bummer !!

If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends.
If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.
JEFF BEZOS

Although your customers won’t love you if you give bad service, your competitors will.
KATE ZABRISKIE

I absolutely LOVE these two quotes about Customer Service. Maybe I ought to email this to the bookstore I went to.

Yesterday, my husband & I decided to finally get our books at the bookstore which I am a member of. I was absolutely thrilled to finally get some new books to read UNTIL I went to the checkout counter to be served by one not so happy looking cashier. Maybe I am just being too greedy to save money on my purchases but I got the notion that with

1. My birthday voucher of 20% + $3 off on my purchases

2. My membership discount of 10% on all books

This would give me a total of 30% BUT it wasn’t. I went back to the Cashier and asked for a clarification about it. He explained and I asked if my membership discount of 10% is not valid to be used / added in my purchases?” He gave me a disgruntled look and a sigh and explained again the same thing. I UNDERSTAND WHAT HE WAS SAYING all I am asking is that with my membership discount of 10% it is therefore not valid to be included in my purchases or not? Again a disgruntled look and sigh and this time I caught him rolls his eyes in disgust.. THAT ticked me off, THAT bothered me! I was so fricking polite EVEN bloody apologised FIRST before asking him my question and ALSO smiled! My husband being British even UNDERSTOOD my question and I wasn’t even talking in goobledygook. So why explain that with “the 20% and extra $3 jargon” on me again..I just want to know whether my membership discount is valid to be used together with my birthday voucher or not! If its not applicable THEN state it on the birthday voucher in the future because I got the impression as a customer that I could use my 10% discount. Im not THICK, I understood what he was explaining. So quit giving me the attitude !

I left with a bad impression and felt, as a customer, was served disrespectfully. I did not say a word. I did not end the little squabble with any unpleasantries. I left quietly with dissatisfaction. I was not born to be rude unless the situation calls me to be rude. This is not one of those situations, I prefer not to embarass him nor spoil his day (although he spoiled mine a little bit) and dragged my husband out before he started to unleash his wrath on that cashier because I can see from his facial expression he was about to do so.

Despite the whole scenario would I go back there? Fortunately, yes, I am not going to let one disgruntled unhappy looking staff discourage me from coming back to that bookstore. I know there are other polite courteous staff over there, I just happened to meet one impolite staff, that is all.

Dont get me wrong everyone, I am not a stingy spender. I dont mind spending alot on anything except for branded goods or skincare ^_^ BUT if you have a chance to SAVE alot of money with discounts, why not make use of it ? Am I right?

Have any of you ever encountered any unpleasant encounters with people who lack customer service?

Have a great weekend!

Well the time has come and I could no longer put this on delay regardless of the circumstances I should have weighed. Tomorrow I’ll be at the hospital for a gallstone surgery. I hope once this is done I wont have anymore abdominal indigestion pains or backaches! This thing have spoiled nearly most of my Easter holiday, gastronomically speaking! I have been eating nothing but white meat, vegetables, drank lots of water and fruit juice – I thought I was in a detox boot camp!

Wish me luck and will post photos of my Bali trip when I am all 100% healthy and blog-able!

Toodles!!

Back fresh from my two weeks getaway!

Despite my gallstone I am happy to say I had an enjoyable time in Bali. I was quite heavy hearted to go home only because I like what this country has to offer. The beautiful nature that you see from the mountains and the sea, the ancient culture and traditions that still lives in this peaceful community, the beautiful artwork that you see whereever you go in its simplest form or in its complicated form. The Balinese are very friendly, warm, kind, helpful people. Sure you will meet some pushy ones but these are always over-shadowed by the hospitable & attentive ones that you will eventually meet. The sunrise and the sunset whereever you may be in Bali are just breathtaking.

We decided to rent a car to drive around the island and its worth every Rupiah! My husband is a great navigator and has a good memory of where to go since he used to drive around here in our previous trip. Language is not a barrier for me as I can speak the language with some slight diffrence in words but we can still understand each other. I remember when we drove into this sort of un-tarmac road that led us to this shack. I quickly got out and ask for directions. It was not easy as the man spoke purely Balinese but thankfully with a bit of sign language between us with the way of directions I knew which way to go.  Thanks to him, we actually did find our way out to the main road eventually! Driving past by a local school surrounded by padi fields.

Unfortunately due to the scorching weather, I suffered heatstroke. A Minor one.  I was at the point of just wanting to scream hell already.

Ive taken many photos and have yet to upload them. I want to choose ones that are really worth posting here on my blog so bear with me  ^_^ i’ll do all this very very soon.

Right now I’ve got to schedule for a gallstone surgery, I cant wait! Its one pain that I wish to get rid of AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! I even asked my doctor to let me keep the cholestrol spawn, why I ask ? I dont know why ..maybe to remind me to be aware of my eating habits as from now on *shrugs*

Afer this surgery I am going to take the plunge into the river / lake / sea ..whatever to get rid of all my health bad luck for this year

Next I’ll post some photos of the places I went to in Bali.