The Great Arizona Beer Festival

Wow, didnt realise I have been away from the blogging world for so long. Gosh, time really flies. When you are busy, u get old faster... -___-

OK, well, let's see. About ONE month ago, John and I went to The Great Arizona Beer Festival @ Tempe Beach Park, right down the street from our condo. It was the very first time I have ever been to a beer festival - in broad daylight. Not that i meant i have been to a beer festival at night before, but it just amazes me that American people are so into beers that they can drink anytime, anywhere, anyhow.


The drinking gang.

We reached there as soon as the festival started. It was crazy because the line was already building up fast. I originally bought the DD (Designated Driver) ticket - which means I was not supposed to drink, but they didn't even look at my ticket and shoved me a mug and 24 coupons for beers. Oh well, free beers! :)


Me and my beer plus a beer can hanging on my neck.

My first drink was a white chocolate beer - how innovative! It was a mild drink, felt like drinking white chocolate with a slight taste of beer. Good for those non-drinkers.


John with his bag of stolen Doritos. Haha.

Halfway thru the festival, some of us were getting drunk. I mean not drunk drunk, but definitely very tipsy. They were speaking nonsense and LOUD! We took videos but they couldnt remember what they have done or said when we watched them the next couple of days.


The ladies - Wendy, Nicole, Amy, Jane and Teri.

It was definitely a fun-filled event. And the weather was amazing too! I hope summer don't come so soon...

Happy New Year 2009!

First of all, Happy New Year to all my frens that are still loyally reading my blog. I know it has been more than 3 months since i last posted something - I felt bad.

For the last couple of months, it was crazy for me. There were so many things going on, i can barely breathe. Year 2009 will continue to be as hectic, but i promise to keep my blog updated more frequently. That is one of my resolutions for the new year! :)

Oh, I haven't mentioned here, i don't think - I have moved to a new place. It is a 7-storey condominium in the heart of Tempe downtown. Mill Avenue is now my new neighborhood. And I am loving it... ^_^

Some people may not like it because they think it is very crowded and too busy. But for me and John, we are both from the city. He grew up in New York City while I was raised in KL. We are so used to the crowd, the busy hour, the traffic and most importantly, the noise. In fact, John prolly couldnt sleep well without the noise.. :)

The Orchidhouse Lofts was the first place that we looked at with the realtor. We totally fell in love with it. All the other condos and apartments we visited after that just couldnt be compared with it. So here we are, a proud tenant of Orchidhouse.

Today, the Insight Fiesta Bowl Block Party is happening on the street of my neighbourhood. Alot of people came from other states to watch the final game for the Fiesta Bowl between Kansas and Minnesota - and then party!


The banner.


Location map.


What, who and where.

See, if we are not staying here, we wont be able to enjoy all the fun! Isn't this cool?!

080808

Today marks the opening of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics that a lot of people have been looking forward to. It is the most anticipated event of the year, to be exact. I guess i will be staying up late at nite to catch the games...



This is a perfect example of how important the number 8 to the Chinese. It is a symbolic of prosperity and wealth!

8th of August, year 2008 at 8:08 pm.
What day could be better than this?

And hundreds of Chinese couples took this great chance to tie the knot on this auspicious day..

Btw, the opening ceremony is AMAZING!!!!! :)

Beijing Welcomes You!

A video in conjunction of the 2008 Olympics. I hope i can be in Beijing too...

U decide today!

It is very quiet in the office now. But i am pretty sure it is very very crowded in most of the schools as they have been selected as the voting venues. Some of my colleagues have gone back to their hometowns to cast their votes. I am leaving earlier after lunch to do the same.

This year's election is definitely an interesting one. I have never seen so many Barisan Nasional's advertisements in the media in my whole life. Newspaper, TV, radio and on the street - anywhere and everything that u do.

The opposition parties are moving agressively too this time, holding lots of talks and speeches around the country. A few "verbal" fights are going on, as usual when it comes to who can become a good government and leader. Not to forget, many promises have been made where we will never know whether they will be fulfiled.

I guess it all depends on yourself, whom u trust the most. For me, it doesn't really matter who wins the election. The most important thing is the party who wins can really do a good job in leading this country and give peace, harmony and equality of rights to the people.

Whatever they say now - is nothing but a gimmic to get your votes. You should review their performances for the past 5 years. Hope u can make a good decision because your vote counts!

Wanna get some free abalone?

New Year Eve's Celebration @ 1Utama

Izzi's promotion

Secret Recipe 10th Anniversary

Largest Biscuit Sculpture in Malaysia!

I was walking back to the office from lunch yesterday when i saw a small crowd gathered at the High Street of 1U. Stood proudly at the center of the crowd was a big sculpture of some of the world's famous attractions, all made from Jacob's biscuit.









There were the Esplanade (a.k.a. Durian) from Singapore, Petronas Twin Tower from Malaysia, The Great Wall from China, Taj Mahal from India, The Great Pyramid of Giza, Eiffel Tower from Paris and Tower Bridge from London.







By the way, Happy Birthday Zhun Hao! Just so u know, I still remember your birthday :)

Jogoya 2nd Anniversary Promotion

Go crazy on Eclipse!

MIX FM Ford Escape Road Runners

This is the second time i bumped into Mix Fm Ford Escape Roadrunners, unexpectedly. The first time was prolly 2 years back at the entrance of Low Yat Plaza while i was actually only passing by..

It is really funny come to think about it. When i was listening closely to the radio and hoping that i could get to know their locations to catch them in action, they never decide to drop by close enuff to where i was. But when i wasnt expecting them, they showed up in front of me like a genie in a bottle. Life is just full of surprises.

So I was on my way to my car @ 1Utama just now, when i saw a crowd of people shouting and laughing. Out of curiosity, i walked forward and saw the Mix Fm crew members were giving out free goodies. Wow, how lucky! I should have gotten a lottery.


MIX FM Ford Escape vehicle.


The crowd was listening carefully for the questions.

I didnt win the big prize which consists of a nite stay @ Seri Carcosa Hotel, Malacca cos i wasnt smart enuff and lost to a 11 years old kid. What a shame.. >_<

Perhaps next time. Hope to see u guys again soon!

What is your style? Here is Mystyle...

Mystyle seems to be pretty popular out of late. For those of you who are still in the dark, it is your mobile-vouchers on-demand website. It is kinds cool cos all you need to do is just send a text indicating which voucher that you want and they will send you the voucher thru SMS on your phone, aint that easy?

There are quite a number of offers that you can enjoy, for eg. Nando's Chicken, Giordano, Golden Screen Cinema, Delifrance, Leonard Drake and much much more. I have never try it personally but i heard some of my friends did, and it works (not a scam, which is a great relief).

How MyStyle works?
Simple! Only 3 quick steps.

Step 1 - Type [vouchertype][space][merchant] eg. "my111 giordano"
Step 2 - Send to 33365.
Step 3 - Show redeemed voucher to merchant counters. Enjoy discounts and benefits.

The world of cyber is so amazing. Everything is possible!

Disclaimer: This is a free advertisement. No fees were paid or asked. This is solely based on the author's opinion. No satisfaction guaranteed.

Are u in the mood for pizza?

Never eat in PWTC..

Yesterday was the last day of the Matta Fair 2007 @ the Putra World Trade Centre. It was crowded as usual, every year. This proves how much Malaysian loves to travel.. but just not within Malaysia itself :(

There were lots of booth with various travel agency all around Malaysia, some of them i have not even heard before. But since the infamous Excellence Holidays bankrupcy incident not too long ago, everyone was very careful in enrolling a travel package. Obviously no one will want their hard earned money disappear together with the travel agency's owner/director.

After walking and scouting around for more than 3 hours, my cousin brother was screaming in hunger cos he had not eaten any breakfast yet. So i brought him to the nearest PWTC cafe, thinking that they will serve some decent food. I am not surprised that a plate of plain fried rice cost RM6, well, that is how they try to earn big bucks. U have nowhere else to eat inside the hall and they knew that.

But if they are going to charge us so much for the plate of fried rice, they should really ensure that it is at least edible if not delicious... no, it was as hard as a rock. My cousin had two spoonful, and the food was left there on the table, untouch. I was being a smarty as usual - had a heavy breakfast before going there and didnt fall for the trap! :)

So for you guys who plan to go to PWTC for any sort of show/fair/exhibition, remember my advice. Should eat before or after the exhibition... please pity your stomach. It is crying in vain..

Tunku The Musical

I just came back from an unexpected chance to go to the Tunku The Musical show @ Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, thanks to Huini (because her hubby couldnt make it). Altho i was just a replacement for her husband's seat, i am glad that she extended her invitation to me.

Earlier during the day, i asked Huini what is the dress code for the performance. Normally we would have to wear formally for the event but she said no. Jeans will do, she added - so we wore jeans and "nice" tank tops to the show. Luckily we were not the only one wearing jeans, and there really was no dress code emphasized but 90% of the people dressed smarter than us.

The show lasted about 1 hour and 30 minutes. It was really great. I never knew that our country actually have so many talented and good singers. Their voices bring out every message they wanted to send. No wonder the musical performance did so well, almost every show was sold out. And due to this overwhelming responses, they have added a couple of extra performances.

I personally admire Doreen Tang, the main actress of the show. Not only her voice is great, but there was a scene where she was gang raped and murdered - it was so profesionally done. Even the way the guys approached and tortured her made my heart skipped a beat. Way to go girl and the group!

Before i go off to bed, I have to admit that this show has opened up my eyes about the unlimited talents of these performers. There are still a lot of room for improvements. U know what, I can seriously and honestly said that i am proud of being a Malaysian! Appreciate what you have.

On a side note, today is Juan Yean's birthday. Happy birthday "big kid"! May u grow up healthy and wise! :)

Happy hour @ Sky Bar

This is the sequel of our last clubbing session @ The Sanctuary. We had so much fun in the first one so we decided to invite more people for this second and last round of clubbing for John's trip this time.

There were a couple of suggestions as to where we could go, but finally we decided on Sky Bar @ Traders Hotel. I've never been to this particular hotel before so i didnt know it is so close to KLCC. A nice and comfortable hotel - i wouldnt mind staying there for a night even though my condo is actually pretty close to KLCC. Haha.

The evening started off really bad, i would say. It was beginning to rain the minute i stepped out of the office. When the rest of the gang would go to the club after work, I wanted to drive to Low Yat first to exchange an audio cable i bought a few days before (it is used to connect my PC to the LCD TV so that i dont have to stick my face to the computer screen whenever i am watching a movie - no need to guess, i took a wrong one). The traffic seemed ok during the first half of my journey but it became a nightmare when i reached the tunnel under the Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak intersection.

The cars were crawling, bumper to bumper! I spent one freaking hour on that particular stretch only. Maybe it wasnt the worst traffic that i have ever encountered, but it was quite bad. Luckily i had John with me in the car, so we switched our attention from the frustrating moment by teaching him to speak Cantonese. It was very interesting and entertaining.. *shhh*

After making the exchange, i took another 30 minutes from Low Yat to Traders Hotel cos i missed a junction and had to make a BIG U-TURN! Great...


Sky Bar @ Traders Hotel (finally).

Let me give u a tip if you are planning to go to Sky Bar in the near future. Dress code: smart casuals; meaning no shorts, singlet, slippers or sandals. The management reserves the right to refuse entry to any patrons not attired accordingly.


The magnificient KLCC view from the Sky Bar.

The concept of this bar is very similar to Luna Bar @ Pacific Regency Hotel. But the view here is definitely better than the latter.You can catch the Petronas Twin Towers at a very close distance. One drawback tho, it is quite stuffy and hot cos the place is open. U cant feel the aircond.


The happy and tipsy group.

There was something crazy going on that nite, but what happened in Sky Bar stays in Sky Bar :)

Anyone fancy some icy moments?

There has been a lot of times where people commented that i looked like a clubber. Do i? Is it because of the way i dress? Of cos I admit that i go to the bars and clubs every now and then, but i am definitely not a frequent goers.


The Santuary @ 1st Floor of The Curve.

Anyways about two week ago, I went to The Sanctuary @ The Curve with a bunch of colleagues - mainly to let John to be wild for a bit :) It has a combination of 4 different themes, Sutra, Cocoon, Papillon and Ice Bar. The ice bar thingy was kinda cool (it reminded me of the times when i was in Flagstaff, US) as it has a running temperature of -15 degree Celcius at all times. Since the room was pretty small and they've predicted that it would be highly sought after (u know how Malaysians are so crazy with cold weather because we do not have winter season here), we were only allowed to go in and stay for 15 mins - provided we ordered a drinks each. I wasnt prepared at all and all they gave me was just a piece of jacket, so i am more than happy to leave as i was told. My fingers and toes were numb! -__-


The "Smirnoff" bar.


Proof of their running temperature of -15 degree Celcius.


The gang.

Besides the infamous ice bar, there is nothing much to brag about. They have a corner with two pool tables so we had a couple of games before the crowd came in later that night. I havent been playing pools for so long, that i think now i sucks big time. Maybe part of it was because i couldnt focus much due to the alcohol consumed. Hee..

Overall, it was a good outing for us cos we shared a lot of funny stories. The only thing that i wasnt so comfortable about this place was the waiters/waitresses they hired. I noticed all of them are mostly foreigners, prolly Thais or Myanmars or Vietnamese so they couldnt really understand us whenever we wanted to ask them something. Could have done better if they actually get someone who can speaks proper English to serve the customers.

Just how much is the competition between two friends?