Corcovado?

Quiet thoughts and quiet dreams
Quiet walks by quiet streams
And a window that looks out on the mountains and the sea
Oh, how lovely

Made A List. Checked It Twice

Camera... checked.
Sunnies... checked.
Books... checked.
Shirts, shorts, flip flops... checked.
Swimgear and sunblock... checked.
Air ticket... checked.

I'm all packed, all set, all ready to go for my little island escape! Finally get to go on a real seaside vacation (no beach though, but I guess it's close enough). Will be flying on a fokker, so, fingers crossed, let there be no flight delays.

In any case, I'm feeling all happy, smiley and gay! I've finished working for the year, which is a great feeling (even if there's only a week left in the year); my new television's here, spurring a whole redecorating frenzy (not quite done yet, but almost); and I'm gonna be jingling all the way to the new year!

So will I be naughty or nice?

Considering I'll be with family it'll be pretty much be a PG thing. But, one never knows, does one?

Keep my fingers crossed on that as well ;-)

Merry Christmas, all! Jingle all 'em bells!

Happiness Is A Warm Waffle

Ecstasy, on the other hand, is a crisp, warm waffle, topped with a scoop of Jamoca Almond Fudge (my second favourite flavour, next to Peanut Butter Chocolate), and a scoop of the sweet but perfectly fitting Maple Walnut, sprinkled with nuts, drizzled with maple syrup and chocolate fudge sauce, and served with walnuts and cream on the side.

Honestly, this has got to be way more delectable than a quintent of Salma Hayeks gyrating away in short, tight nurses' uniforms, singing "Bang, Bang, Shoot, Shoot"

Granted, I'm neither straight nor lesbo, but still, this is one fantasy you can actually have. Like, for real.


A little piece of heaven - now available for just under RM20 at Café Baskin Robbins.

Absolut Dreamin

Finally. I've gotten hold of the book I've been trying to get for about two months now. Sure I could have bought it over at Borders since the beginning of the month but it's Kinokuniya that's offering it at a cool 30% discount. And of course, the stocks in Kinokuniya get snapped up within a day they hit the shelves. Every single time. Despite the hefty three-figure price tag!

I think I've been doing too well a job in promoting Mr. Gaiman's work, seriously.

But the good people at Kinokuniya called me up yesterday morning to tell me the stock's arrived, and they were nice enough to hold a copy for me. Which was just as well, because when I got to the store last night, there wasn't a single copy of it left on the shelves.

So just what book's been selling like hot cakes? None other than The Absolute Sandman Volume 2, collecting issues 21 to 39 of the acclaimed The Sandman series from Vertigo, with a bunch of bonus materials thrown in, all in heavy, encyclopedia-like hardcover.


I just have to make sure I don't literally drool over the pages.

And of course, it's totally gratifying to get to the counter and see the cashier punch in a RM100 discount. Like, omg, this must be the best deal ever!

Well, that's two down and two more to go.

December Dealing

Time really flies when you're busy as a bee. It's already nearing the middle of December? Heck, how did the whole damn year go by just like that?

It was only last weekend when I realised the year-end sales were in full swing. Funny thing is, year-end sales for most people is about gifts and clothes and shoes and bags. Somehow I've managed to gloss over that pretty much (although I did spontaneously buy a pair of shoes last week, but that's something I'd do even on a non-sales period). Instead, I found myself hunting for things with three-figure price tags, if not four. After discounts.

Well, I honestly couldn't watch Wingedman populating his new pad prettily without being drawn into the whole "let's see how I can do up my place a little more" routine, could I?

Granted, my place justifiably needs a lot more doing up. My store room's still a junkyard and my kitchen... well, let's just say it isn't quite one still. But my focus is currently on my almost-but-not-quite complete living spaces.

Thankfully, I've been budgeting for a new TV these last several months. Yes, it's finally time to upgrade from my almost portable 14" mini that's been with me for 8 faithful years (even surviving that break-in, which is why I say it's almost portable). After checking out the price difference between picture-frame-perfect LCD TV's and the modern slim-design (but still bulky) CRT TV's, I figured the RM2,000 I'd save could go into my kitchen budget.

A perfectly good plan, until I realised that slim as it may be, a 29" CRT needs more serious furniture than the plywood DIY cabinets I've been using as a TV console. Oh well, at least I can still get a branded CRT (even one that pretends to be an LCD TV, at least on the face) and a branded TV cabinet, all for less than the cost of a 32" LCD TV. I could save even more I guess, but I've looked at cheaper options for both the TV and the TV cabinet, and I gotta say none of them tickles me gonads.

Looks like it's gonna be another long while more before I finally do up my kitchen. Or my store room.

Sigh, home ownership = no money in the bank.

Here's hoping for enough bonus this year to help cover the bills, what with the personal and car insurances due, the TV and cabinet I'm getting, the other stuff I'm wanting to get, and the all-in-one printer I just got (damn PC Fair!).

Oh, and that little beach holiday I'll be having to wrap up an already amazing year :-)