Rowie's Scribbles

The year of the Water Snake is here!  I don't feel as celebratory as I did years ago; maybe work has taken its toll on me! However I got a few necessities down: 1) CNY elementals CNY would not be complete without mandarin oranges, nga ku, peanuts, shandy, beer and wine. Of course Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle is a MUST-WATCH for CNY! Ang pow is always appreciated! Also you can never go wrong with red outfits! :D 2) Family and friends Me & the family had our reunion dinner at Chilli's Bangsar Shopping Center. We're not a conventional family aka require yee sang and Chinese cuisine for CNY Eve (ridiculously expensive IMO). We value the time we share together more than tradition, I suppose. So after an extremely filling dinner at Chilli's, we headed to Dancing Fish for some dessert: caramelized banana, cendol and mango lolo. Manja's recommendation gets a thumbs up from me!  On the 1st day, we visited relatives in Shah Alam; 5 babies are a handfu...

Time flies so quickly; before I knew it, I was attending a NYE celebration party at an ex-colleague's home, and I took opportunity of the public holiday on 1st Jan 2013 to visit a colleague who's on maternity leave.  Lemme list some of the memorable events in 2012: 1) Undertook ABRSM Grade 5 music exam for violin - I'm proud to say that I scored a distinction in this exam, which is amazing seeing that I felt I bungled some notes and I ended up using my beginner violin (after a merry goose chase borrowing "better" violins from others) - I scored 134/150, which is considered a high-scorer list. I was not selected to perform at the ABRSM High Scorer concert but I've a cert and the score sheet to gloat over :D - I'm ambitious enough to buy the Grade 7 book and since the repertoire is valid until 2015, I plan to prepare for at least a year before partaking the exam in 2014/2015...Wish me luck! 2) Welcome aboard Ichthys - This is the biggest career ...

Hey all, I know it's been awhile, so I'll squeeze short reviews of the movies I managed to see up to now - latest film being The Dark Knight Rises but that film deserves a post of its own :) Prometheus No one knew what this film was about prior to its release: it's a Scott Ridley film so there's bound to be aliens. That's it. However the film proved to be another one of those movies that leaves you with more questions than answers. A supposed prequel to the Alien movie saga, Prometheus expands the Alien universe and brings the idea that humans are from a higher race to light.  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter There's something cool about visualizing one of the most iconic President of the United States swinging an ax to slay vampires. The film cleverly weaves the fantastical idea of an ax-wielding vampire slayer around real events of Abraham Lincoln's life. Analogy between slavery and vampires victimizing humans is fleshed out and the action scenes ...

Malaysia turned 55 today, so I decided it was my duty to sleep in. Despite clocking in at 3am this morning, I couldn't sleep after 10am and went out with the family for brunch in Pudu. I've wanted to take my family to the Fatt Kee store opposite Pudu Plaza for duck and chicken rice. The store opens around 11.30am; don't be mistaken with the other chicken rice store (that opens earlier) in the shoplot, Fatt Kee's store is on the pavement. While waiting for the workers to set up the store, I ordered some yao char kuay fresh from the wok! :) We ordered half roasted chicken and some duck. Apparently the white rice wasn't ready so we opted for the oily rice. There are various sauces available for your consumption: soy sauce, chilli and ginger. We also ordered peanut soup and salted vegetable. Needless to say, everyone came home with a full tummy and I slept the entire afternoon for the 1st time in a long time. Must be the rice!  Okay done with the food talk, on t...

Last Tues I purchased a new violin, my 2nd biggest investment after my car. The maker is Otto Jos Klier from Germany. The model is carried by Carismen Dolce , do check out their outlet in M-Avenue; there's something about seeing violins hanging everywhere that makes me feel like I'm in a church :p I got some tips from the store owner on violin ownership: 1) Power of the case Some people might think that the violin case is merely a vessel to carry the violin around. However the quality of the case can help sustain the life of the violin. Cases made in China may be sufficient for impact protection but the material used can produce fumes in hot weather which will gradually cause deterioration to the violin. A better quality case provides insulation against varying weather condition and provides better protection for the violin. 2) Rosin quality Rosin is created from the resin of trees, typically pine; the resin is boiled and the fluid rosin is drained off. Good rosin is...

I decided to watch The Dinosaur Project thinking that since a stressful discussion that lasted nearly a week finally ended yesterday, I could use with some cinema entertainment. I heard that reviews were not positive but I didn't check the synopsis; I told others that hey, I'd like to watch and have my own opinion on the film.  Boy I learned that it's good to do a bit of homework before watching the show!  Plot The film starts off claiming that the footage we're about to watch is an original, unedited film. Okay, impress me. Sightings of Mokele Mbebe, the African counterpart to Scotland's Loch Ness prompts an expedition by the British Cryptozoological Society to track and find the creature. Leading the expedition is the renown scientist Jonathan Marchant and his trusted aide Charlie Rutherford.  A TV team tags along with a pretty medical personnel and a local guide and gets on a helicopter ride to the dense jungles where the creature was supposedly spotted....

Indulge me as I daydream about what I would like to purchase this coming September! ;) 1) iPad The whole tablet craze has hooked me; my uncle has an iPad2 and it's fun to see how he enjoys himself with the various apps and camera functions! I wouldn't mind having an iPad in the house, what with the WiFi; dad could use it when he's going out! At the moment the new iPad is priced at RM1499; RM300 more for better resolution and camera quality.  2) xBox It was a long debate but the xBox won over the PS3 because it's cheaper and I'm not a heavy gamer. Plus at RM1400, I can use the Kinect to play more interactive games with the family. Since my main interest is Tomb Raider and possibly Prince of Persia, xBox is the more practical solution.  3) Violin Oh it's about time. The recent exam proved that it is safer to use a better violin! I've a violin in mind but I'll need more time to survey and to feel it out. It's gonna be a big investment beca...