The Down Me

Well, it's been a long time since i last updated the blog. In my frustrations when England lost to Germany i gave my house an impromptu spring-cleaning session. I managed to tuck tonnes of my frustrations away. Then, the same team defeated my beloved Argentina. I cleaned the house out AGAIN. Finals came and my beloved ORANJE lost to Spain. MANNNN!!!!!!!!!! Will NONE of the teams i support win???

So, upon deciding to blog about these favourite teams of mine (represented by magnets, of course), i gathered a collection of magnets i have from England, Argentina and Holland, and grabbed my camera.

The battery was out. OUT!!!

I opened my drawer to get the charger. Not there. It must be in the closet then. Nope, not there. Ah.... that box i bought last month... Nope... not there either... The luggage i took to Korea??? (please God, don't let it be there - it'll just prove i'm too lazy to unpack).....fuh!!!! Nope... not there.

Within the next 1/2 hour, i managed to turn my tiny apartment upside down - and nary a camera charger was found!!!!!!

WHERE THE HELL IS IT???????

The last time i saw it was during the England-Germany spring-cleaning session. I'm pretty sure i put it somewhere, but then, i moved it during the Argentina-Germany spring-cleaning session, i think. Who can find anything in this mess i call a house?????

Where is it????

Redeemed Dutch Regret

Holland... the home of Windmills, clogs, Anne Frank, legal weed, the Red Light District, thousands of bicycles and of course, THE ORANJE!!!!!!

I had the good fortune of visiting Amsterdam a few years back. I love the city. So beautiful. But since i was yet the magnet freak that i am today, i had to buy magnets from others as a keepsake....

I bought this Amsterdam magnet from my good friend Qies.

But if there's one thing i could knock myself in the head over and over about is that while i was there, i had 2 out of 3 meals at an Indonesian restaurant in the middle of the city. And to get to the restaurant, i had to pass..... HRC Amsterdam!!!!!!! I passed the cafe twice a day, and i didn't even go in!!! (Knocking myself on the head!!)

Thank God my friend Qies bought this on HER trip, and i grabbed it while stock's available!!

Now i'm just waiting for my other friend, Jai (who's in Holland as we speak) to come home... Jai, i shall raid your luggage when i see you! :)

Paris L'amour

I heard that it is a well-known fact that Parisians hate the Eiffel Tower. I for one can't get enough of it (well, i suppose that's easy for me to say - i don't live there!). In fact, even when the Eiffel Tower is all grunged-up with a guitar somehow incorporated into it, i seem to like it more!

Gorgeous isn't it???

Hollywood, Oh Hollywood!

I already have 1 HRC magnet from Hollywood - the one with the star of fame on it. But somehow i can't help myself. My Baby Sis Wokanna bought one of each from her trip to Hollywood. But I took the guitar one, and the other on my Ma's fridge back home. But when i saw this online the other day, i can't help it - i want!

Nice huh? Very old Hollywood!

Aloha!!!

Got these HRC magnets from Hawaii a few weeks back. More HRCs for my collection, less $$$$$ in me pocket! :(

There's this fierce Tiki-Face magnet from Honolulu

And also this cool surfboard from Maui

I don't really know why, but surfboards seem cooler when they come from Maui right? Or is that just me? :)

Balls and Jerseys Part 2

So i spent quite a lot on FIFA Magnets in Balls and Jerseys before. Still, whenever i look at them cute metal thingies i can't help but smile. Then i received this package from my good friend Qies, who bought these rubber jerseys for me in Switzerland

(tq Qies!!).

So i proudly displayed them on the fridge. So cute. So many jerseys on my fridge. I like. Then my Abang came in, and asked about them new magnets.

"berapa banyak magnet FIFA awak beli nih?" In a sarcastic tone, it would mean "why do you need to have so many FIFA magnets?"

I pursed my lips, scowled and shrugged. He looked at me with a smirk that i immediately understood to mean - " You don't even know what OFFSIDE means!!!!!"

HMMPH!!! What does he know... right?

From Turkey with Love

My Ma and Abah were in Turkey last week. I distinctly told them i didn't want anything. A shot glass and some magnets will do. And my Ma and Abah did not disappoint!!!!

I love this flip-flop from one of the most famous hot-springs in the world (supposedly Cleopatra bathed there!)

I love this Jersey - perfectly inkeeping with the WorldCup!

And i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this metal Turkish Sandal my Ma got for me!!!! :)

TQ Ma! TQ Abah! Ailevyusomach!!!

Me Tummy Empty

Me tummy empty. Me hungry. Me want food. Not just any food.

Me want Manhattan Fishies!

TQ KAK ZAUYAH, FOR THE MAGNET!!!

Sawadikap!!!!!!!

I've been to Thailand. Once. Well, not Thailand per se... more like, Golok. For two hours. We ate Thai food (in a restaurant owned by a Thai-Malay family - the food tasted just like any average Thai restaurants in Malaysia), and bought some Totos (i have no idea what they really are - quilts? mattresses?).

'Twas too brief. Too short. Too similar.

I haven't even seen a Tuk-Tuk yet.

Much less an elephant!

Worry not, Thailand. I will come visit ye once more!!!

The Dog, the Gecko, and the Hornbill

On my way TO Korea, i made pit stops all over KLIA and bought Malaysian fridge magnets (what? if i don't buy them now, i might never get them at all!!!). I bought these right off the train ride we had to take to get to the departure hall, in a store dedicated to the Borneo and its marvellous resources and beauties.

Doesn't the map of Borneo remind you of a dog???? The beautiful (and not to mention HUGE) hornbill (Enggang in Malay) is the classic mascot for Borneo....

and the Gecko, well.... this one on the magnet is cute, but truthfully speaking, i wouldn't mind not running into them at all!!!!

My Colour!

I love this dress. I bought this magnet in Malaysia, but the dress is really Indonesian. It's Indonesia's traditional costume, the Kebaya. There's just something about the dress....

It's so feminine, yet very bold and strong. It's proper, yet very revealing It's lose, yet very tight. It's traditional, yet very modern.... and most important of all, it's in my colour, yet it doesn't come in my size!

Well, these days, nothing does, but i can dream right???

Haiyah!!!!!!!

I bought this cute Korean fan magnet, and written behind it is the name of the design - Sam-Taegeuk. It represents the harmony of the the earth, the heavens and humanity. Apparently, the Sam-Taegeuk is a very popular design used in Korean fans.

But when i hear the work Taegeuk, i only remember the Taegeuks my Taekwondo instructors used to make me learn.... sigh......... what fond memories...

Taegeuk One! HAITTT!!!!!!

Mental Desert

It hit 41 degrees in KL last week. Really not a good time to be living in a small apartment, overlooking the sun, with no AC. That day, i sat in a pool of my own sweat, physically and mentally unable to do anything, but the vision of myself in Dubai came storming back, just like a big, bad sandstorm.

Try as i did, i could not shake the image of myself running outside the hotel lobby (where it was 52 degrees celcius), hailing a cab, and running back in when the cab didn't stop. That was all i could handle in the Dubai heat.

But then, even at 52 degrees, you don't sweat in the hot and dry weather. When it's 41 degrees in the hot and humid KL, you sweat, and perspire, and end up drenched in smelly, sticky, salty sweat. Not an experience anyone would miss!!!

As hot as i may be right now, i haven't forgotten my manners.

Thank You Anne!

Arigato Gozaimas!

My baby sister Wokanna went to Japan a few years back, and got my ma some of these cute magnets. Of course, i pulled the old-fashioned doe-eyed, weepy-faced trick on her, and poached some!!!

I got her to give me this pretty Kimono,

This delicious (not to mention realistic) looking Sushi,

this map of Japan,

and this Japanese scenery - complete with the Fuji mountain, some pretty Cherry Blossoms, and a Japanese house.

Rockin Pins!

I am a compulsive person. If i open a pack of biscuits, i have to eat them all. If i buy a book from an author i like, i have to buy them all. If i see magnets in a store somewhere, i somehow rationalize to myself that i need to buy them all.

So when i find myself attracted to these pins from Hard Rock Cafe, i decided from the moment i laid my eyes on them that i had to turn them into fridge magnets. I mean, my pockets are dry enough with my magnets obsession, i really don't need to burn another hole in already shallow pockets for pins.

Sigh........ My heart leaps!

Nostalgia

My parents bought an old Mercedes when we were living in the UK. We travelled all around the UK in that car. There was the time we went to Wales and saw the Lake District, all the way North to Scotland to see the Loch Ness lake and it's legendary Nessie, it even took us to Land's End, way down south, where it broke down, and we had to ride 2 different AAA trucks to get back to Birmingham in the middle of a very cold, windy, autumn night.

When i got married, the Mercedes was a neglected car. My Abah then decided that since the car had brought us so many happy memories, he didn't want to sell it. So he gave it to my Hubby, who happily accepted it. But since the car is almost 25 years old, a lot had to be replaced. When he changed the steering wheel, the sentimental little girl in me decided to take the logo in the middle of the steering wheel, and turned it into a fridge magnet.

Everytime i look at it, i will remember all the nice time my family and i had spent in it, and all the places we've gone to. :)

Fitting In

Ok, it's not a secret that i am a magnet freak. So much so that i have managed to find ways to turn everything i find cute or pretty into fridge magnets. In my defense, i have to say, that way, i know where they are - rather than misplace them 2 seconds after i get them.

So far, i have turned this cute little Walter P99 pin i got from my Hubby's friend

This Keris keychain i bought in Malacca (kept trying to find a metal Keris magnet, but could not find one so far

And this Al-Jazeera coaster my friend Kak Linda gave me.

I can assure you that if you turn the pieces around, the hindsight is not so pretty. No matter, all that i care about is that they stick to the fridge!

Fragile Bride

I bought this Korean Bride porcelain plate magnet while i was in Korea last month. So i came home, took off the wrapping, and BAM!!!

The plate fell onto the CARPET. The CARPET. NOT the floor.

I hastily picked it up, and the plate was chipped. A small tumble, and it chipped. The broken pieces were dusts on the carpet, and i could not glue them back together.

Sigh....... Nevertheless - the bride is still pretty. But i can't help but wish that it was not so D**N fragile!

One for the Teachers

It's Teacher's Day today. So i just wanted to give a shoutout to all the teachers out there, and salute you for doing this noble, tough, yet minimal paying job.

My favourite teacher?

It's Mr Joseph Gonzales, hands down. Many feared him, but i for one loved the guy. He was strict, diciplined, yet extremely dedicated to his students' welfare. He inspired me to be a great teacher.

Thank you sir. I shall take everything you taught me with me, and pass the baton on to my students. May you rest in peace.

Thank You TEACHERS!!!!!!!

DIY English Plates

My good friend Anne went to the UK, and brought me some cute display plates as souvenirs - in addition to some magnets from London. So i displayed them proudly on my tv cabinet, and pray to God they don't get knocked over.

Then my Ma called me, and said she'd lost all her tiny plate stands, and asked if i have any to spare. I said no, but i suppose i could do something about it.

So i prepared all these items and set to work. I bought the magnet from this super stationery store near my house. I usually buy the round magnets, but they were sold out, so i guess this magnet will do.

So i cut the magnet into tiny pieces

put some glue on the plate and stick the magnets on!

The reason i used 2 pieces of magnets instead of 1 is that the plates are heavy, and since thse strip magnets are not as strong, it's better for us to be safe than sorry, right?

OK, they don't look pretty, but who cares!!! As long as they stick right??????

So now i have three matching plate magnets from London!

Thank you Anne!

Balls and Jerseys

Ok. Badminton's over. So now, it's time to leave the feathered shuttles and move on to balls.

Er, NO.... not those balls.

Closer, but maybe not that particular ball.

THIS ONE!!!!

Saw these while waiting in line at Giant just now, and i almost dropped the bag of 5kg rice i was carrying (what? i was just afraid someone else was gonna grab them all!). There was a rack, dedicated to the coming World Cup. So i thought i would take this one, you know, cause World Cup in S. Africa doesn't happen every day.

And i thought i'd grab these two jerseys, each representing me and my hubby's favourite teams.

And the voice in my head started speaking.

That should do it. These things are not cheap.

Right.

Hug your packet of rice and move along Ozzie.

Ok. But then, there are only 7 designs in total!

But you don't support the other teams Ozzie!

But then, what if somebody else buys them?

How is that your problem? Move on! You've already bought 4!

ok....... moving on.

Good Girl. Er... where do you think you're going?

SCREW THE VOICES IN MY HEAD. I'M GETTING THEM ALL!!!!!!

Now i can sleep easy tonight! :)

Hola!

My good friend Anne went on a whirlwind holiday with her family to Spain, and got me these HRC magnets from Barcelona and Madrid.

Thank You Anne!!! Me really likey!

All the Way from Bahrain

Got another HRC magnet - this time from Bahrain.

I Like!!!

How Do I Shoes?

My FBMC friend Kak Nor told me of this Korean shoes that she got - these cute, colourful pair of shoes. So i kept my eyes out for them. I found them, of course, but i also found another type of Korean shoes - smaller, but precious all the same.

So how do i choose?

Screw it. I bought them both!

Namdaemun Rush

I was on my way back to the tour bus after my Ma's brooch shopping trip in Namdaemun market in Seoul - when i saw these in an underground shop, right below the busy streets.

So naturally, i got them! Didn't even ask for the price!