I’ve been meme’d by the latest addition to my work place, EC. Here goes…

4 jobs I’ve had in my life

  1. Cybercafe attendant: you know, the people who stand behind a counter and take your money and tell you which PC to use. I was to be paid a generous (blah!) sum of RM5.00 per hour. After lunch, I took off and told them I wasn’t coming back. I worked for 3 hours. I left the RM15 and didn’t bother with it.
  2. Chambering student: 9 months of pure fun with the craziest bunch of people I’d met and who are my very best friends till now. Chambering or pupillage is a pre-requisite to being called to the Bar in Malaysia. Did very little lawyering except towards the last 3-4 months (when I decided that I wanted to be a hot-shot litigation lawyer). Spent most afternoons at the bar guzzling beer or shooting pool with KS and Waldy under the guise of “Legal Aid Duty” or “Bar Council meeting”. Got paid RM500 p/m for the first 3 months, RM800 p/m thereafter until the 6th month, then RM1,000 p/m until the 9th month. Daddy had to subsist with an additional RM1,000 every month for food otherwise I wouldn’t be able to survive, excluding petrol, credit card purchases (within reason) and work clothes.
  3. Lecturer of laws: Taught Law of Contract and Trusts (Australian and UK Law). Loved my students, who loved me back. Went clubbing together. Had tutorial sessions in my house and smoke-breaks at the back of college together. Bad role model I was.
  4. Superstar/Recording Artiste!: (haha) Sang for a bit while I was studying for my law degree. Recorded one album, had 2-3 hit singles. Won 2 AIM (Anugerah Industri Muzik) awards in 2000 (Best English Album & Best New English Artiste) Made quite a bit of money doing shows. Basked in fame and popularity for that short while.

4 movies I can watch over and over again

  1. Stealing Beauty: there’s something poignant and sweet about finding your first love. Plus I loved the beautiful Italian countryside the movie was set in. I imagined many times that I was like Liv Tyler in the movie, finding myself in this crazy world.
  2. Shrek: I recently watched Shrek 3, but prior to that, I had watched Shrek and Shrek 2 over and over again. What’s there not to love about this? Brilliant and super funny!
  3. Billy Elliot: Back in the day, woe is the boy/male who says that he wants to dance ballet and pursue a career in ballet! Billy Elliot is funny without being overly-dramatic, poignant without being too heart-rending and certainly very grounded and depictive of real life.
  4. Mary Poppins: “Just a spoonful of sugar and the medicine’ll go down, the medicine’ll go down, medicine’ll go down, just a spoonful of sugar and the medicine’ll go down, in the most delightful way!” Classic. I had always wanted a Nanny who could fly with her umbrella. Never happened.

4 places I’ve been on vacation

  1. Surat Thani, Thailand: Read about it here. Peaceful and tranquil. I loved it.
  2. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Small campus town. Quiet and lovely in autumn. Shacked up in the spare room on campus with my brother who was studying there. Roamed the malls and factory outlets, lots of shopping. Drove into Chicago. More shopping.
  3. Tanjung Jara, Terengganu: A massive luxurious beach resort. Excellent customer service. Won a free night’s stay in the Bumbung Room (RM800 per night). Delightful wooden chalets scattered over the resort. Beautiful swimming pool. White sandy beaches. Rented a bike, sat in the back like a minah while Hubby rode into the nearby town and packed nasi goreng kerabu (Food at the resort cost a bomb, though). Watched Fulham kick MU’s ass 3-0.
  4. Cameron Highlands, Pahang: stayed at the Olde Smokehouse Inn for 3 days 2 nights. Beautiful, quaint surroundings. RM400 per night. Pregnant with E. Ate lots of scones with strawberry jam and butter. Romantic dinner at the Olde Smokehouse Inn restaurant. Had Bombe Alaska after years of being deprived of the same.Deliviously hot and cold, melting in the mouth. Visited old caretaker at the HSBC Bungalows, used to go there every year when I was a child. Walked a lot with Hubby. Wonderful weather.

4 favourite foods (this is gonna be tough!)

  1. Phat Phet Kai- stir fried chicken with basil and limau purut leaves, red chillies, chilli padi and fish sauce. Mum passed the recipe down to me. I can have this with plain white rice!
  2. Any pasta a’ la Arabiatta- love the tangy tomato flavoured with a spicy touch. The best Arabitta I’ve had is at Bella Italia in SS2.
  3. Seafood paella- Paella is such a simple dish to make and can be very flavourful. Make your own to suit your taste buds. I love a simple basic paella thrown in with seafood: squid, shrimp, mussels, clams and some fresh mushrooms. Try a delicious seafood paella at Porto Romano, in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail.
  4. Crabs in sweet/sour/spicy gravy: Fatty Crab in Taman Megah is the place to go for this! The sweet-sour-spicy gravy at Fatty Crab is rivalled by no other, the taste is unique, clips your tongue and fills your senses. Drown a slice of toasted bread in the gravy and roll back your eyes. Blissful. OK, so maybe I like the gravy more than the crab, simply because crabs, however delightful they taste, are a real bitch to eat.

4 places I’d like to visit

  1. Stonehenge, Wiltshire: There is something mysterious about a natural rock formation like Stonehenge. Countless theories of “the aliens did it”! or “a mysterious Celtic spirit” put them there. But me- I just want to see the place where Tess of the D’ubervilles (Thomas Hardy’s hard-done by heroine) gasped her last breath and found peace in this strange phenomenon.
  2. A vineyard in France: any old vineyard will do. Remember French Kiss with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline? A vineyard is old-time and romantic, and visiting one simply means I’ve become rich and can afford to travel like Megs in French Kiss.
  3. The Bodhi Tree in India: the supposed-place where Buddha gained enlightenment and achieved Nirvana. A place of reverence.
  4. The Vatican: I’m a sucker for architecture and beautiful old churches.

4 most overused words

  1. Fuck- whenever I get pissed, unhappy, amazed. A whole myriad of expressions.
  2. Shit- whenever I get pissed, unhappy, amazed. A whole myriad of expressions.
  3. Oh dear
  4. Aiyoh- mostly when my daughter does something funny, cute, outrageous.

4 TV shows I love

  1. Everybody Loves Raymond- Who doesn’t?! My favourite character has to be Doris, Ray’s mother.
  2. Criminal Minds: A new addition to Astro’s Channel 70, this is fast becoming one of my favourites. Love the mind games and visits to the eternal psyche!
  3. Fun Song Factory: One of E’s favourite TV programmes too. I love this simply because I love the catchy tunes and songs they make up, together with good ol’ fashioned nursery rhymes with a modern twist.
  4. OK, this isn’t a TV show, but a TV Channel: E! on Channel 76 Astro. Fun and frivolous, very good for kicking back and relaxing after a long day at work.