Of arguments and fights…

yes, the above is unavoidable between couple/spouses (or between friends, families, business partners, etc etc). that applies for us too.

which got me thinking, when we are involved in an argument, how will we be reacting? is it:

1. The Cold War

there will be no talking between each other. unless really really really needed. no apologies, will not even voice out even when a nine inch nail are stuck in your eye balls. more talking will only generate more arguments.

like the Cold War between US and Soviet Union, both sides are keeping ammunitions and threaten to blast each others asses off if there’s any movement.

there will be lots of spying on each other (whether to see if the other half is doing ok or otherwise).

you will be waiting for the other half to apologize or fly the white flag. if there’s a party who is willing to let of of his/her ego and surrender, good. the war has ended.

if not, good luck~~~

2. Epic fights

forget about keeping ammunitions and all that. it’s time to fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee (to quote from Muhammad Ali).

in fact, feel free to bite of your partners ears off (or any part that your teeth can reach) if you are the losing side.

diplomacy does not exist in this kind of arguments. the moment it started, expect bruises, blood or even bits of flesh!

in my opinion, if it gets to this level, this relationship will not last long (if at all)…

3. Barking dogs never bite

this will be the complete opposite of the Cold War. in this kind of argument, all kinds of fact/fiction will be blurted or screamed out, whether intentionally or not.

in some extreme case, there will be some explicit coming out too. no joke, i’ve seen my grandmother saying it to my grandfather!!! that was eye opening experience for me. not to mention ear-opening as well.

i think this type of argument is very common among those who had been together for quite some time. this is very prevalent especially among eldery.

it is a quite-safe type of argument (in my opinion) but if left uncontrolled, it will definitely lead to Epic Fight…

4. Monkey See Monkey Do…

this does not even qualify as an argument in the first place. more like a revenge. and i think only females will do it.

“you sleep with other girls, i will sleep with other guys”. fair play…

no physical or word fights are involved. maybe you will be greeted with smiles too!!!

this kind of fight is bad coz people will not know what had went wrong though…

5. let’s break up…

ah… the dreaded word that some seemed to say it out when the argument is petty.

in my opinion, there are some thing that you should not say it, regardless of whether you are furious or not.

not to worry, their wish will come true soon enough when they say it often…

that’s all that i’m going to list down. i can’t think and am too lazy to think of more. anymore that you can list down?

or more importantly, which type are you?

homemade cupcakes

my GF will throw me into the oven and bake me till i am 99% burnt if i don’t blog about this.

yes. cupcakes. it’s the latest craze that my GF is into right now. spent countless of hours searching through the web and book stores finding the right recipes and the perfect measurement and also lots of trial and error in the process of making it.

as usual, the laziness in me will try not to type much word in the blog and post pictures instead. after all a picture is worth a thousand words, right? feast your eyes on our experiment (and don’t salivate on your keyboard!!!):

one set that we managed to made. boy, those icing sure melt fast once they are left in room temperature.

can you see they are beginning to melt?

with chocolate chips

actually this face is an accident. the yellow icing was supposed to cover round the cupcakes. but it ran out halfway. but my quick thinking GF got an idea and made this face instead. smart!!!

even i can’t resist kissing ‘her’. how can i eat ‘her’?! lol!!!

the above was the first time. not exactly the first time making cupcakes. just the first time making it with decorative icing. the ones below are the second time doing it:

before baking…

in process…

voila!!! fresh from the oven!

this is the result after applying the icing

to be frank, the icing that we put in this time is not as smooth as our previous batch as the cupcakes rose higher that the cups itself. that made it harder for us to smoothen the surface.

hence, you can see the uneven surface on the cupcakes as shown in several photos below:

can you see what is written there? it was meant for Chun’s birthday.

another obvious uneven surface…

but of course, there are also a few nice ones (if you know how to cover it. hehe!). these are some that i like:

except for the above. the above is my attempt in decorating a cupcake. needless to say, it is an Epic Phail!!! haha!

that’s all for the cupcakes presentation.

and oh, better watch out the electrical bills too. too much baking causes the bills to spike up!!!

and oh… for heaven’s sake, please wipe off those saliva from your keyboard! lol!

help...

all the haze and the AH1N1 pandemic is driving us all crazy.

mask are being distributed in the company and to some extend, some companies are even providing thermometers to the staff.

yeah right. as if we would wear it. well i did, at least for 5 minutes...

after that, the mask is now sitting somewhere in my drawer waiting to be tossed into the dustbin.

the bad thing is, now i'm down with flu as well. started with a horrible sore throat in the morning. what ensues is runny nose.

there's no fever. so there are no H1N1 infection, i guess...

went to see doctor and got my med. immediately after that, i got cough. damn!!!

i hope i will get over this soon...

Dinotrek & Petrosains (11.07.09)

sheesh! i should have posted this long ago. but procrastination caused me the delay.

i’ve never been to Petrosains even though it has been opened for almost a decade.

since Chun’s birthday is coming soon, GF and i might as well bring him there. but deep inside, i know that i’m the one who really wanted to go there. haha!

anyway, we were asked to proceed to Dinotrek first upon buying our tickets.

Dino trek is actually not that big. estimated time there is only 45 minutes. but it is good fun there. lots of interactive games and big dinos. but dun expect to play the games as there’s a lot of kids there…

anyway, here are some of the photos:

one of the interactive games. btw, i’m NOT the father of the kid, k? haha!

Skull of a T-Rex. but it’s not the skull that interest me. instead, it’s the young couple. Petrosains will be the last place that i wanted to go for a date. or is it their last choice? haha!

Ooo… dead dino

who cares about other dino? we only want to see T-Rex!!!

and yes, they move – VIOLENTLY too! even chun got scared (scaredy cat!)

up close and personal…

archeologists in the making.

after Dinotrek, the next place to go is Petrosains. this is where the fun part begins. in order to go there, we have to take a small ride with presentations in between. it’s cool actually,

the next thing, we were transported to a new world.

lots of games and things to explore. photos ahead…

one of the many games

want to know how air smells like during the prehistoric time?

i think this photo will give you an idea.

wondering why i’m forcing him into this machine?

so that he can be an astronaut. cool!!!

this game is not meant for kids. it’s bloody hard to play!

the only thing that i wanted to take photos with

this air chamber is the most fun thing to play with! the air just gets gradually stronger to mimic a hurricane. got out in the middle of it coz the wind was very strong and cold!!!

there’s one place that we didn’t really take photos – the oil drill site. what is Petrosains without oil rigs right?

unfortunately, we were tired (at least my GF and i were) and we have an appointment at that time too. so we kinda rushed a bit. plus since it was weekends and there was a group of school kids there, it makes us restless too coz the kids are noisy and wrecking everything that their eyes sees.

that makes us wanted to leave more.

but anyway, this is a great place to go regardless of age and we will definitely go there again and take our time to read everything. just make sure we have at least 3 ohurs to spend in Petrosains ALONE!

and of course, no school kids at that time please…

Part time job as an insurance agent

with all the commitments and for the future as well. i have been thinking of getting a side income.

where to start, what to do?

should we start to bake pastries and try to test the market?

or sell apparel?

or maybe becoming a part time insurance agent, which my friend had asked me to do all this while.

yes, i am open to all kinds of option. even as an agent.

from what i can see, the sky is your limit. but do i have what it takes to become one?

yes, training is available and there will be people to coach you. but can i really do it?

am i too scared to disappoint myself?

i blame it for my lack of self-confidence…

It is so near yet so far!

Sigh.... we are so close in purchasing that apartment....
never thought another buyer offered the owner a higher price ( rm5K higher)...
i will not blame the owner though. it's logical for him to sell to whom ever who offers a higher price.
seems that it's not meant to be ours...
hmmmm..... it's ok.
let's start hunting again! All the best to us!!

buying a house…

…is one hell lot of work. not to mention involves a lot of work. and also the most important thing – MONEY.

which translates into one big word – HEADACHE!!!

the headache starts the moment you planned to get one.

finding a house that you like is one thing. finding a house that you like AND you can afford is another thing. will we be able to pay for the downpayment? will we be able to pay for the monthly installments, plus the maintenance fee and the utility bills for the next 30 years?

which means there were countless hours of going through the newspapers, looking around banners, asking friends/family for any good properties and asking agents.

next thing is to see if there any anomaly in the building. if there is, we will have to ask the respective experts as whether the building is safe to occupy or not.

then, it will be the security of the area. is it safe? is the crime rate high in the area? how was the security there?

once everything is A OK, proceed to purchase the house from the owner or developer.

ok, this is just the beginning. the next part will really involve in parting of our hard-earned money…

once (or before) the Sales and Purchase Agreement has been signed (not to mention paying 2% of downpayment), it’s time for the mad scramble of finding the right loan from the right bank.

if comparing the rates that the bank is giving you heading, wait till you see the kazillion products that the offer. you’ll be eating double doses of painkillers that you normally take…

which type of loans to take? conventional or Islamic? fixed or variable? or both (if any)? easy entry cost or non-easy entry cost? how about the Insurance? MRTA or MLTA?

the list goes on…

and yeah, i’m currently at the above dilemma. the jargons that they use are so complicated… it’s like you need a Master in Rocket Science to comprehend it.

and of course, applying it will not guarantee that your loan application will be approved. just hope that our bank accounts are healthy and the powers-to-be will approve it.

if everything goes right, will have to pay for the rest of the downpayment (8%). and also the legal fees, which cost around RM3K (if i don’t want the Bank to absorb it) and also SPA fees which also cost around RM3K.

and the rest is history. we will be in debt of the next 30 years or so…

it’s all about the money.

not to mention headaches…