Wishlist

I keep track of my budget and so far, I'm doing pretty okay. When I see the greens, I start thinking about what I would love to spend my money on...so here's my wishlist of stuff I'd like to indulge in!


1) Xbox
Ever since I realized that my Dell laptop (bless it) is not able to play Tomb Raider Underworld, I've considered getting a game console so I can enjoy myself playing my favorite video game of all time. The Xbox is appealing because it's not too expensive and I've tried playing it at the local game store; the feel is great! The games are also cheaper compared to the PS3 games. This is a more affordable choice and at RM1500 therabouts, this comes at no 1 on my wish list! 

2) Foot massage
I've sprained both ankles, twice each. The injury doesn't hamper me much; I can still move about, I play badminton regularly, and sometimes I go jogging on my hilly residential area - but there are days where I wish I can just lie back and have someone massage the aches away, especially after a strenuous badminton session! I've always been tempted to drop by the Choy Yang Reflexology Centre on Jalan Telawi but always held back insisting that my feet are fine! Well 1 day I'ma drop by and have my feet massaged the hell out! ;)

3) Oysters
This may not qualify since the family and I opted to have our CNY reunion dinner at Victoria's Station this year, and on impulse I ordered a dozen fresh oysters. It was really fresh and tasted amazing. My first experience with oysters was at the department lunch in 2010; the buffet lunch at Dorsett Regency Hotel had oysters and I knocked back 2 of these scrumptious shellfishes. I'm glad I'm not allergic towards seafood and oysters are definitely a must-have for a happy tummeh!

4) Books
I attended some book sales last yr - Popular book sale at KL Convention Center, and The Big Bad Wolf Sale at UPM - they whetted my appetite for book buying. I bought books by Nora Roberts, Amy Tan and Anne Rice. I usually rent books from Book X-Change but some titles are not available; also sometimes I rent the same book so many times, that buying it is the cheaper option. I'll be paying attention for upcoming book sales, but there's a space constraint so I'll need to focus on books that I REALLY want to get!

5) Vacation
Damn. I enjoy my work but last yr I realized that annual leave is provided for a REASON. I'm lucky that my company allows me to sell off my leave, but I need to learn how to take leave for myself! The few trips I've taken made me realize that I do enjoy taking time off exploring a new place; I don't think I'm into adventurous traveling - I prefer sightseeing and soaking up different cultures. However taking a vacation is a very expensive indulgence and requires a lot of planning for it to go smoothly, so it's not a priority for me now (making excuses? :p)

Well that's my very short wishlist, I guess I've covered something for everything - the physical, the intellectual, the spiritual and the plain fun! 

Movie Review: This Means War

Recently on Valentine's Day, me and my colleagues went to Pavilion for dinner at Michelangelo's and it was great - good food, good company and the lovely ambiance added to the happy, lovey V-day mood. Then it was off to watch the latest rom-com This Means War. 


Plot
Tuck and Frank are best friends and work as a team for the CIA. They attempted to capture the villain Heinrich but ended up killing his brother, which stirred up a lot of publicity. They were grounded to "desk work", and Heinrich vows to avenge his brother's death. Tuck joins a dating site online and contacts Lauren, a pretty blonde. Lauren's profile was created by her friend, Trish, but Lauren agrees to meet Tuck after seeing his oh-so-dashing photo online. 

Tuck informed Frank of his impending date, and Frank offered to be in the video store nearby to "offer support", since Tuck has been out of the dating world for a long time. Tuck and Lauren's 1st date was a success, and Lauren heads to the video store where Frank was browsing titles. Frank meets her and eventually went out on a date with her. 

Both men are smitten and when they realize they were dating the same woman, they shook hands on a Gentlemen's Agreement - neither men would sleep with her nor sabotage the other guy's attempts to woo her. The exact opposite ensues, as both men use hilarious tactics to outplay the other. Lauren is torn as she enjoys the company of both men but knows she can only be with one. The chase strains the guys' friendship and it is tested when Heinrich targets Lauren to get back at them.

Cast
Chris Pine and Tom Hardy are superb choices for eye-nomming; the chemistry between the two is sizzling and their bromance is fun to watch! Reese Witherspoon is gorgeous, and though I wonder if she looks a little too old for either guy, she pulled off the funny role very well. Chelsea Handler nailed the character of the annoying, silly Trish. Til Schweiger was mostly silent in the film but his evil dark stares did the job of bringing Heinrich to life. 

Music
The soundtrack was written by Christopher Beck; I enjoyed his music from the film Tower Heist (someone remind me to write a review on that movie too!), and I enjoyed the music from this one. Nothing too heavy and some of the songs added the international spy feel to the show. 

Conclusion
Hilarious film, great to watch on V-day. Some cool action scenes here and there, the jokes were enjoyable; the best part is that the film doesn't pretend to be what it's not - it capitalizes on what I appreciated the most, which is the comedy. Not a bad choice for movie gazing this week ;)

Impending Violin Exam

As some of you may know, I've registered for the ABRSM Grade 5 exam for violin. The exam is in August, the exact date and venue will be announced soon. Initially when I took up the violin, I did not plan to take exams: I wanted to focus on learning the instrument without the stress of preparing for the exam. However, I am more confident now and my teacher has encouraged me to try the Grade 5 exam. She's tried me out on previous exam pieces for Grade 4 and Grade 5, then we've tried pieces from my book Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics: Violin Classics, Vol 2079, Intermediate to Advanced Level. 

My exam pieces are:


[A1] - Corrente, 2nd Movement from Sonata in D minor, Op. 5 No. 7 by Arcangelo Corelli.
[B2] - Pastorale, Op. 23 No. 1 by Oskar Rieding
[C1] - For Latin Lovers by Brian Chapple


I like the differences in my pieces: Corrente is a typical Baroque piece; I've to learn how to play semi-detached notes. Just yesterday we focused on the 1st page of this piece (there are total 2 pages), and it was an exhausting practice to understand the phrasing and implement dynamics. Pastorale is sweet and melodious, while For Latin Lovers requires that distinctive tango rhythm. 

Corrente

I also have to learn scales and arpeggios; the fingerings are unique for each scale and it's good practice to improve my pitching and shifting. The dominant sevenths and minor sevenths scales are new to me, but they sounded nice. 


I've tried other songs from the repertoire and I like the following pieces:


[A3] - Andante, 1st Movement from Sonata in F, TWV 41:F4 by Georg Philipp Telemann
[B3] - Petit air varié: No. 7 from Petite école de la mélodie, Op. 123, Book 2 by Charles Dancla

This exam will be a new goal for me to achieve and I will commit more time and focus to bring out the very best for this challenge. I also need a new violin as my teacher said it's unlikely I will pass with my current one! :( Hopefully this exam will bring me closer to a new level of playing the violin. Wish me luck! :)

Movie Review: Haywire

The last time I saw a film with the word "wire" in the title and a female lead was several years ago; that was Barbwire and the lead was none other than former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson. It was the perfect film for B-grade entertainment; a heroine executing action without her impressive cargo getting in the way and tossing amusing one-liners to anyone who stands in her way. I had reservations about the new film Haywire, but it's WAY different. 

Plot
The movie opens with Mallory Kane entering a diner. She expected to meet former boss Kenneth but her friend Aaron shows up. Aaron tries to force her to leave the diner with him but she refuses: 1st fight scene in the film - ouch! One of the customers helps her to escape and as they flee the scene, she tells him the incidents leading up to the diner scene:

 1) Barcelona
Kenneth is engaged by Rodrigo to rescue a journalist, Jiang from a "safehouse" in Barcelona. Kenneth assigns Mallory and Aaron to this mission, and they succeeded to deliver Jiang to Rodrigo. 

2) Dublin
After another assignment Kenneth asked Mallory to join another mission; to pose as the wife of British agent Paul, while Paul meets a contact, Studer. While at Studer's mansion, Mallory discovers the dead body of Jiang and evidence that would incriminate her of the murder. When they return to the hotel room, Paul attacks her but she managed to overpower him and kill him. 

3) United States
Mallory returns to the US and back to the diner scene, she and Scott encounter the police and a cool car chase scene ensues. She and Scott are apprehended by the police but they manage to escape when hired guns kill the cops. With the help of government agent Coblenz and the support from her father, she begins to uncover a betrayal and goes all out to get back at the perpetrators. 

Cast
Gina Carano combines beauty and martial arts perfectly in this film. A former mixed martial arts fighter, she breaks no sweat in all the action scenes and looks great playing tough! Her acting is almost lazy but I'm gonna pin it on her inexperience. The male stars did great in their supporting roles: I'm not going to complain watching Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor and Michael Fassbender get their asses whopped on the big screen! :D The other male stars like Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas did well to add mystery to the film. 

Music
The soundtrack was composed by David Holmes. The music provided a good bass beat, some jazzy influence was present. It was simple and clean; a perfect match to the film's raw and direct storyline. 

Conclusion
Haywire's plot does not stand out, but credits to the director Steven Soderbergh for presenting a heroine that's true to her character, not an unbelievably waify movie star executing punches for our viewing pleasure. There's something painful yet captivating about seeing a woman beat the living daylights out of big, strong men. You go, girl.

Good Deeds

We're constantly reminded to do good, and of the plight of those less fortunate than us. Celebrities use their star power to influence the public to lend a helping hand. The rich makes anonymous donations to charity. But how many of us actually go the extra mile to do good and help the needy? 


I find that I often question myself if I could be more generous, or more caring towards others. I donated blood for the first time last year and it was a good experience; donating blood is a simple gesture that takes very little to save a lot of lives. According to the NST, only 3% of Malaysians donated blood in 2 yrs. You may refer to the National Blood Bank on how you can help. 

Organ donation is another pledge I've yet to make; personally I've no qualms about donating my organs to others, the only thing holding me back is that there may be other stakeholders, ie my future husband, children etc. It's still something I'm pondering ever since the National Transplant Resource Centre organized an awareness drive at the company. I feel that Malaysians should address that lack of organ donors is a serious issue and if we can help out, we should. Organ trafficking and black market transactions is an on-going problem;  read the TIME's article dated 2008 about India's Black Market Organ Scandal. 

Have you heard of hair donation? I was inspired by The Star's article on Jane Wong who donates her hair to the Little Princess Trust in Britain. I've yet to find a similar foundation in Malaysia but I got a colleague and another colleague's daughter to donate their locks. They received certificates from the same Trust. Locks of Love is another organization to donate hair to. These organizations use the hair to create real hair wigs for children suffering from hair loss due to medical reasons, such as cancer treatment. Most wigs are either synthetic or made from hair sold by individuals. I've never grown my hair long before so this is a truly noble cause to let my hair reach at least 7" :)

These are some of the causes I'm dedicated to. I plan to do more, and if I find a cause that speaks to me, I'll go for it. Take a minute to think about what you have, what other people don't have and how you can help. Good deeds never hurt. 

Castle: A Dose of TV Fun

TV series are abound and plentiful; with different premises on show, there's something for even the most discerning of viewers. Castle is an ABC production that I enjoy watching every week. The series revolves around Rick Castle, a successful mystery novelist who works with NYPD Detective Kate Beckett to solve murder crimes. Starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, the chemistry between the 2 leads is sizzling and the humor presented is refreshing and highly entertaining. 

I love the show because it tends to experiments different styles; upcoming Blue Butterfly transports viewers to the 1940s and has received positive reviews! Supporting cast like Tamala Jones (she plays Lanie, the resident coroner), Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever (the sidekicks Esposito and Kevin Ryan are always fun to watch), Susan Sullivan and Molly Quinn (they play Rick's mom and daughter respectively) do a great job bringing wit and fun to the show. Also the show covers murder in unique and unexpected ways: 


1) A supposed alien abduction
2) A tiger escape
3) A pooch competition

There's also a conspiracy story that starts with the unsolved murder of Kate's mother; everytime I think that story will be closed, something new and bigger turns up. This backstory pops up once in a while, which weaves into with current events and can have shocking implications. There's also the question of whether Kate and Rick will finally get it on, which makes the show exciting to see! 

All in all, it's purely funfare and this is 1 TV series that I truly look forward to every week! 

RIP Whitney Houston

For the first few hours in the morning, I was just having an ordinary Sunday breakfast with family. Upon arriving home, my sister broke the news that Whitney Houston had passed away. 

I won't write much, this will be a short entry:


1) Everyone's buzzing about the details surrounding her death.
2) We all know that drugs had her career spiraling downwards.
3) Tonight's Grammy's awards will be overshadowed by her death.

We've lost a star, again to that seemingly unstoppable shadow of drugs. Add Whitney Houston, a once vibrant singer with amazing talent and charisma, to the list of artistes who died because of drugs. RIP Whitney Houston. You will always be remembered.