Fish Avenue

No good news from sister. Sigh. She is disappointed as well. But glad that she is ok.

A friend told me about a child abuse case this morning, went on to read it on The Star Online. Pity that little fella. But it's so touching when he commented that he loves his mom eventhough his mom beats him.

Guess every mother loves their child. It is just sometimes perhaps the life gets so unbearable for them and they tend to take it out on the persons nearest/closest to them. Sigh.

I am so glad that I got another wedding assignment!!! Thanks to a friend who believes in me and given me that opportunity. It's going to be a buffet style wedding dinner. Bet it's going to be a glamorous and fun one! Keeping my faith that I can do well.

June is going to be a relaxing month, preparing myself for the busy July.

Finally, I am moving towards my dreams. Should say thank you to Christine who gave me that hard little push. I bet a lot of my friends would be surprised that I am moving into the photography field in such a short time. In fact, not even my parents know that I am so much into it. All they know now is that I have bought a DSLR for my hobby, they do not know I am doing something big.

By the way, I do translation from English to Chinese too. If any of you have that kind of job, do contact me. :)

Yesterday received a call from mom, telling me something about 2nd elder sis. I am so happy and yet worrying for her. It's good news, but it's just that I can't help myself not to worry.

I was so nervous yesterday after mom called. I couldn't wait for mom to call me and I called her last night again after work. Gosh... delayed... today...... Had to wait again.

And now I am still nervous, wanting to know more!!! Shall call mom later. >_< I'm having butterflies in my stomach...... Geez... Why am I so nervous?! Hahahaha......

Keeping my fingers crossed, really hope everything will work out well for her.

I was reading a friend's blog and to my surprise, she said a little prayer for me. Okay, perhaps I am being sensitive. No name was mentioned, but I felt that she was referring to me lah. LOL! "Lah"? I think this is the very first time in my blog I used "lah". Hahahahahaha...... I am so so so Malaysian! Sometimes it's in our blood that we can't deny or hide it. :p

Ok Ashley, back to that praying thing please. Back. It was so sweet of her to include friends in her prayers. I felt so touched. I even got teary when I was reading it. For a moment there I felt so lucky to have such a kind-hearted friend. And now I feel guilty too for not making the extra effort in meeting her more often. I feel honoured that she has so much faith in me and she remembers me well. Thank you my dear friend. :)

Most of the times, it is the little angels in disguise around us that make our life a little bit more bearable and beautiful. I am blessed with having many little angels at different stage of my life. Right now, I realised that all my whining and grumbling are silly. I have such a beautiful life and yet I am complaining that it's not perfect.

Nothing is perfect. So long as it fulfills its purpose, why do we need it perfectly?

I am not from a christianity family, but I do have family members and relatives who are christian. Praying is good. I recalled many years ago I prayed to the Lord once eventhough I'm not a christian, "may my bro-in-law gets well soon". That was a desperate prayer out of no where. LOL! He didn't get well, instead he got relieved. :) Geez, I still miss him.

Enough of teary eyes today! Gotta concentrate on something......

Last night was chatting with a friend on MSN. Suddenly talked about my childhood.

I have 2 elder sister, 11 years apart between eldest sis and me, while 7 years apart between my 2nd sis and me. Then I have a younger sis, 2 years younger. After 7 years of not having a baby in the family, supposingly I should be the favorite child. Indeed grandma adored me the most, dad does it in a discreet way. When my younger sis was born, mom kind of got distracted and put more effort in taking care of her.

Being in a big family, I must admit that I learned how to get attention. I did everything I could to get mom's attention more. Obeyed to what she asked of me, tried very hard not to make her angry...... Not to say my mom doesn't love me or that she is bias. She still fed me well and took great care of me. She used to make a lot of dresses for us, knitted bags and hats for us. It was only at a later stage she got very busy with her own tailor works to help with the family expenses, she did not have much time to make dresses for us. Every now and then she would still do for us if we request.

There's always been some voices in my head, telling me I must prove to mom that I worth her attention. I did a lot of dancing in primary school, studied very hard to get good grades (except for Bahasa Malaysia which I always failed miserably, LOL), involved myself in a few society in secondary school (and I was a sucker in sports, hahaha!!!), took part in some competitions and got some trophies, buried myself in mathematics when mom said I was weak in maths...... Mom has never had to worry about my studies. I love to see the sparkles in mom's eyes whenever I told her I did something well. I still remember there were a few occasions where I hurt myself and called her from school, she dropped everything and rushed all the way to school on her bicycle.

I got what I wanted. I finally make her proud. In fact, she is proud of us 4. People would always ask her if she feels regret that she doesn't have any son. "I have 4 great daughters which are definitely better than someone's boys out there. Why regret?" She said. When I was small I'd been hearing all kind of remarks about her not having any son. That is part of the reason I fought hard, for her.

Looking at her photos, she is so much older now, all her wrinkles are so visible. She has done so much for me and yet I can't do much for her. Except going back home more frequent.

Mom, thank you very much. I love you. Muacks!

I was so excited yesterday, that I am seeing the girls again today. Our meeting place would be Mid Valley, that is kind of like a middle point for all of us.

I wanted to have Nando's, and the girls agreed. Hahaha. I was there earlier than what I expected, told the girls that I'd be late but ended up I was there earlier than some of them!!! Vivi and I went on to take some portraits of her. When the rest arrived, off we went to Nando's to have our stomach filled with all the chicken and chips and rice. Hahahaha. We were cam-whoring in the restaurant too!!!

It was so fun taking photos of them. Luckily all of them are so photogenic and most importantly, they aren't camera shy. My 50mm lens didn't fail me. Photos came out pretty nice. The only short fall is that it isn't wide enough for group photos.

Bodyshop is having sale!!! Bought a facial scrub for Andrew and a facial sponge for myself.

We were doing a lot of window shopping, then we decided to have something to drink as we all were so thirsty from talking and laughing. Went to My Toast in The Gardens. Gosh, Mel and I just couldn't resist the temptation of the Nasi Lemak that seemed like saying "EAT ME". We ordered one packet and shared it with the rest. LOL! We were so full!!!

Vivi left around 4pm. The rest of us just continue wandering around. At the end, it left me and Yi. With nothing to do and shop anymore, we soaked ourselves in Speedy browsing through all the artists and DVDs! Andrew came pick me up and I had to leave Yi alone again.

Went to Bandar Sri Permaisuri, had my dinner together with Andrew's cousins. Geez, I ate so much today!!!

Traffic was bad, took us one whole hour to get home.

Andrew has been telling me not to be bothered by it as it is not my life. Me being stubborn and soft-hearted, I'd still care about it. What did I get in the end? I got even more upset, sad and pissed.

I am tired of talking already. Whatever I said was not taken seriously, even being regarded as I "do not understand". But the fact always proved that I was right. Yet, I was not being remembered. Instead, once again I was being treated as the "lucky one that does not understand".

Whenever I decided not to talk about it anymore, things happened and it forced me to talk. Someone even asked for my opinion. When I wasn't talking, someone said why suddenly I become like this. So, what do you want me to do? To talk, not to talk? I've said enough things. I'm not going to say anything anymore.

Yes, Ashley, forget it. You can't demand someone to listen to you while it is their life that they're living with. Guess I would have to learn the art of silence. *Zips*

This is their first time, and also my first time.

As I mentioned before, I feel honoured to play a part in their wedding. Siau Yang & Bee Hui have been together for the past 11 years. It is a long, long, long time...... Finally, they're now husband and wife. It's a long wait!

Both of them are friendly persons...... Erm... How should I put it? They are very easy-going, not those fussy type of people. They're generous too, and forgiving. LOL. Seems like I am praising them. Nope, I'm not getting anything for saying all the nice things. I guess they do not know I have a blog too. :)

I reached hometown around 4pm, with Phoebe. We didn't go back home the first thing, we went to Bee Hui's house. Saw her chatting with her friend, she told us she got nothing else to do anymore. Then, I noticed she didn't do any manicure. No nail polish, nothing. Fine, she said she wasn't into that kind of thing. No pedicure done either!!! Okay, that's it. I insisted to bring her out for manicure and pedicure! LOL! And Phoebe saw Siau Yang's hair, she suggested him to go for hair cut! Gosh... Both the groom and the bride are just too... fussy-free. Hahahahaha......

The shooting of their wedding was fun! I was tired, no doubt. Climbing high and low, squatting, lying...... Gosh, I've never tried doing so many actions in one day! I've got a few bruises here and there, especially around my knees. Hahaha. Also, I strained the muscles on my legs. Even until now I could still feel the pain, can hardly squat down now, it's painful while sitting down as well.

I wouldn't say that I did very good. I did my best. I just hope I did not disappoint my friends.

In the coming months, guess I shall be upgrading my lens. Geez...... Where to find those money? :(

So sweet of my friends gave me a small token. I was merely helping and didn't hope to receive anything in return. Guess I shall do an album for them.

My kit lens is having some problem, the auto-focus is not working now...... Gosh...... What should I do with my upcoming assignments?! Money money money......

P/S: Ok, I know I'm bad for not putting up any photos here. Please give me some time, I'm editing a few. Thanks.

This is the fourth day I skip my lunch. My colleagues have been asking me everyday, "are you on diet?" My answer would always be "no lah!" Everyone thinks I'm on diet!!!

I am not that kind of girl who would skip my meals for the sake of dieting and slimming. I like to eat. The other reason I do not usually skip my meals is because I have a weak stomach. Few years ago I experienced a bad gastrict, for one whole week back then I did not eat proper or solid food. Since then, I've been having a smaller stomach. If I ate too much that my stomach can take, I'll have gastrict. Also, if I do not eat, I'll have gastrict too. Every now and then my stomach will still give me some trouble.

I skip my lunches just because I am doing detox. I take this organic drink that is supposed to help on cleansing the body. In a way, it also helps on weight reducing. Ok, weight reducing means you get rid of those unwanted toxic in your body and hence your body is lighter. This doesn't have anything to do with slimmer body shape though. LOL!

I still have my breakfast and dinner. When I get hungry in the afternoon, I normally have a cup of hot Milo or some biscuits.

This isn't my first time doing detox. I used to do it at night where I skipped my dinner, 'cause Andrew used to work night shifts a lot and I do not like to have dinner alone. Since Andrew is working kind of "normal" now and we have dinner together very often, I can only have my detox in the afternoon.

Why are people so paranoid about me going on diet? Even if I am, what's so surprise about it? Come on people, diet does not mean I am fat, and diet is not for FAT people only! Don't be so discriminative please!

P/S: Going back hometown tomorrow afternoon. I am so so so nervous now. Geez, I do not recall me being this nervous for my wedding!!! Now it is other people's wedding and yet I am more nervous than the couples themselves! Ashley, calm down, you can do this. Have faith!

There are so many little things that I want to blog about, but I can't be blogging each and every one of them in different post. So, this is going to be a random and "rojak" kind of post. Beware of the waves of little things. Hahahaha.

Went to KLCC just now, bought a new lens, 50mm f1.8. It's more for close-up or portraits. I so wish to get the 85mm f1.8, but the price totally knocked me out. Guess I'd leave it for later. Now I just hope this 50mm could perform up to my expectations. I spent RM550 today for the new lens and 2 filters! Gosh......

The weather is killing man!!! It's hot, super hot, extremely hot, unbelievably hot...... And what?! It's going to be like this all the way to the month of September! And now it is only what, May???!!! For goodness' sake, another 4 months!!! For your information, as I am now renting, I do not have air-conditioning room. Yes, you heard me right, no air-conditioner! Both Andrew and I are now living on one ceiling fan and one table fan. However, 2 fans sometimes just seem failed to work. Sometimes, the moment I stepped out from the cold shower, before I have the chance to take the towel to dry myself, I was sweating already! Argh!

Dinner with Andrew's dad last night, he mentioned that it's about time for Andrew to sell that good-serving Proton Wira and get a new car. Wait a minute...... That Proton Wira is truly our wira (hero), it has been with us for more than 5 years. It's a second hand car when Andrew's brother first bought it. After that Andrew is the one that has been using the car. It has served a few good years, it is only recently that the car started to give us some problems. Two years ago was unbelievable, the car would just have some lil' problem every alternate month. At times it even broke down for no reason, was making funny noise once in a while too. But it has proven its good. I am fine with the car, in fact it's not so bad at all. Okay, buying a new car now is definitely a no-no. First, we've got our house now. Both of us ain't from the high income group, another new loan would definitely put us into difficulty in coping with daily life. So, no. Thank you father-in-law for suggesting helping us with the installment, but sorry, no more new loan for now.

I've put on weight. No, to a lot of people, I'm not fat. But I've put on weight on areas that I do not want them to be!!! My arms are bigger, I can feel it. I now feel so tight around the arms when I wear my working shirts. No kidding. It's true. I even feel the edge of the sleeves is eating into my skin when I lift my arms. My tummy and waist... Gosh...... Few months ago mom looked from behind and said, "from behind I thought which daughter of mine is this, so it is you! Where has your waist gone?!" My mom, of all the people in the world, from saying "so thin, eat more", to now "where has your waist gone". You better believe it. Now even Andrew also said he can see my tummy. :( I can feel it too, I am now having difficulty in zipping all my pants and skirts. I was 49kg in January, and now I am 51kg. You may say 2kg ain't much. Well, try to put 2kg of meat around your waist and you'll know. I seriously need to get back in good shape. Exercise. Hope I could start doing some exercise next week. Now I skip lunches, instead I'm taking this organic drink as detoxifying.

I am happy now. I am now moving towards my dream. Whether it comes true or not, let's worry about it later. I am happy simply because I have something to look forward to and keep myself busy with hope. I have so many things that I need to learn. I'm a quick learner, I believe I can learn fast. Have faith.

Oh by the way, someone who's been reading my blog was telling me that I am honest in blogging and I write what I feel. I feel so honoured and flattered. I do my best to be as honest as possible in my blog. But of course there are some details which I do not reveal for reason of privacy. Other than that, I do not cheat on my feelings. What for? Afterall, this is my blog. Even if Andrew or friends do read it once in a while, I find it no purpose at all to cheat.

It is almost 1am now. See, I am all tired yet I always sleep late. I can't seem to change my sleeping time. Sigh......

Let's count my blessings. Oh yeah, I said/wrote this quite frequent recently. I do not know why. Everytime after blogging I would just recall who I am today and how I got where I am today. I guess blogging kind of let you do some soul searching along the way.

I am blessed with a lovely family. It is my family that makes me strong today, I realised. Good or bad, the experiences/memories kind of moulded me. Shall share it some day later. It's time to hit the sack.

P/S: Please bear with me for the photo-less posts. I am just being lazy. Please forgive me.

My goodness, it was only last Friday I said I could finally refrain myself from buying unnecessarily. Today the shopaholic in me was totally unleashed!!!

Woke up around 11.30am this morning, immediately I heard the SMS ringtone. Picked up my phone, and it was Phoebe saying let her know if I would like to go out today. Yesterday was so hot and I was home all day. I wouldn't want to stay home today again. Replied Phoebe that I wanted to go Mid Valley, didn't receive any reply from for half an hour. Till after I shower, on my lappie and she was on MSN. Gosh, she did not receive my SMS. Anyway, we were going to Mid Valley. I just wanted to get out of this warm hole, and also to have a glass of herbal tea there.

We were basically roaming around in Mid Valley. Nothing specific to buy. Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins are having sales. We went to all three of them and I only managed to get a pair of black hosiery from Topshop. Guess what, originally it was RM39. I got the 20% discount voucher due to me shopped in Topshop during my birthday month which was last month and another 10% discount for members. I guessed the cashier punched it wrongly, instead of 20% discount, I got RM25 discount!!! I only paid RM10 for the hosiery! What a steal! Sshhh......

Around 3.45pm, we were in Naf Naf. I suggested to go in 'cause I saw the sign "SALE". I thought the sale items would be those outdated items. Well, the 50% sign were everywhere!!! I was curious, picked up a normal price item and asked the sales girl. She said 50% storewide, from 2pm to 5pm!!! I couldn't believe it, neither Phoebe believed it. She went on to ask another sales girl. LOL! Confirmed, 50% storewide, 2pm to 5pm, Mother's Day Special! This is what I told Phoebe, "go grab anything that you want, fast!" Hahahaha...... I grabbed 2 dresses and 2 tops to the fitting room. Phoebe was in the fitting room first, wanted me to look at her dress. I squeezed in with her. Argh... crap... queueing outside might as well we change together. There we were, squeezing in that small fitting room. Hehehe.

Satisfied with the dresses, I bought them! Gosh...... It's been quite a while I didn't spend so much on clothes.

Andrew came pick me up around 6.30pm. He didn't want to go back to that warm hole too! Off we went to KLCC. 2 shopping complex in one day! Gosh...... Went to check on some Canon lenses. Interested in 2 of them, but their prices are so much different. One being RM1450, one is RM390. Now contemplating which one to get. Need to consult my wallet and my bank account first. LOL!

Okay, enough of my shopping spree. F1 replaying on NTV7, gotta go watch now. Ciao! Oh noooooo...... Tomorrow is Monday!!!

I've never been a fan of Star Trek, but I know a lot of people are crazy about it. I've watched a few episodes of the drama series, but I was so lost! I did not know what the story is about, did not know the characters and everything in it seemed so weird and bizarre to me. I quit following it.

It was last month when Andrew and I went for a movie and we saw this Star Trek Movie trailer. Geez, it looked awesome! Okay, we decided when the movie is out and we must watch it.

I was so tired and sleepy yesterday. Wanted to go home to rest after work. I even turned down a shopping trip with Phoebe. I just do not have the desire for shopping now. Weird huh? A once impulsive buy-anything-that-she-likes shopaholic does not have the desire to shop anymore! That is good news to me and Andrew, bad news to the shopping malls. LOL.

I was craving for Nandos. Told Andrew I would want to have Nandos for dinner and he was ok. Well, Andrew doesn't like Nandos, he prefers Kenny Rogers. On the other hand, I hate Kenny Rogers. Hahahaha. Last night he compromised, we had Nandos. After a full and satisfactory diiner, we went to the cinema to check if there's any interesting movie. Andrew suggesting to watch Sniper (Hong Kong film). I said I was tired, let's watch it some other day. Then...... "Star Trek is on!!!" Andrew said suddenly. My eyes straight went from sleepy to wide-open! Hahahaha. Star Trek it is! Let's queue! LOL! Fortunately, there wasn't any crowds! We were the first in the line.

We were 5 minutes late for the 8pm movie. Anyway, we still bought the tickets. Luckily, the show had not started yet when we went in.

Oooohhhh...... It is a great movie. Fun, sad, exciting, hilarious, actions-packed, eyes-opening...... Nice!

I was surprised when I saw this man! Sylar!!! Sylar from Heroes is Spock in Star Trek! My goodness, when did he become this charming? Hahahaha. It took me a little while to get used to seeing him acting all good and Mr. Nice Guy. There is Chris Pine too. I only recognised him when I got home and saw The Princess Diaries 2 on the TV. I asked Andrew if they were the same guy and the answer is affirmative. HA! What a coincidence. He looked so boyish in The Princess Diaries but looks so macho in Star Trek. There's a few familiar faces as well.

Well, Star Trek is a nice movie. Go watch it and soak yourselves in the suddenly-all-seems-so-possible space. I bet there will be some sequels coming up soon, real soon......

It is only a week away from my friends' wedding. Well, you may notice I used plural for friends' wedding. Because both the groom-to-be and bride-to-be are my friends. In fact, we were class mates. Two of them even sat behind me for whole 2 years in school. Their love for each other only started to blossom when we were in Form 5. Gosh, they have been together for 11 years!!! Glad that they are finally tying the knots together.

I am a bit nervous now. Okay, not a bit, very nervous. For the past one week, whenever I have the free time, I would be thinking how I could take good photos for them on their wedding day. It's going to be a busy and hassling day, everything would just move so fast that I am afraid I may not be quick enough to click the shutter button. Or worse, everything comes out blur!!! I've been through it, I know how fast (and furious, LOL!) everything moves on a wedding day. I just hope that I would not mess everything up. Fingers crossed!

Other than that, I've received a few requests for the free portraits sessions. So glad that I've got a few of them confirmed the sessions with me. One of them being my school mate too. He would love to let her girlfriend has a personal casual photoshooting session. But I told him both of them could have it together, I'm not so particular on the number of persons. It's all about having fun together. :) I am now looking for ideas on what kind of photoshoot will be suitable for them. Anxious!

There's one more friend who has not confirmed the date with me. She would like to have a photoshoot with some of her friends together. Wonder if she is serious about it.

I am now so nervous with all the photoshooting sessions. God, please give me strength that I do not screw up! LOL!

My first review on iPhone was about a month ago. Now, one month after using my iPhone, what I would say is, it is still a great phone in all aspect. I bet a lot of people out there may not agree with me. But there are also people out there who would be nodding their heads when they read this. :)

Now, let's look at the flaws of iPhone 3G. Yep, I would say it does have flaws too. And I chose to use the word "flaws", because I believe that the Apple people must be working hard to improve this gadget. Therefore, all the flaws will be improved and fixed.

I can't receive nor send MMS via my iPhone 3G. Whenever I received a MMS, I have to log in to the Maxis website to view the MMS. Hassle huh? Well, the iPhone 3G now is of version 2.1. There's a new version (OS 3.0) coming up soon, hopefully by June. It will solve the MMS flaw then.

I can't make video calls. Wait a minute, I can make a video call, but the other party wouldn't be able to see me as there is no camera on the front of the phone! That is something that could not be fixed by simply downloading a software. Unless they have a new iPhone with frontage camera.

Someone asked me if I could delete my SMS one by one. No, I can't. The SMSes sent to/from the same person, are stored in way of conversation dialogue. It's either you clear the whole conversation or delete all the SMSes. If there is only one particular SMS that you would like to keep, sorry, you still have to keep the whole conversation. I wonder if the OS 3.0 could improve that.

Also, copy and paste function is currently not available in iPhone. That is particularly irritating when it comes to chatting in MSN with your friends, blogging, or trying to copy a website address to some other place. Good news is, OS 3.0 is going to fix that! :)

Everytime I plug in the USB to my computer, the damn syncing process starts automatically! And it takes bloody long time to sync and backup. When the syncing is in progress, I couldn't do anything to the iPhone! Unless I cancel the syncing.

Okay, one major flaw is that, I can't record video with iPhone!!! That is a bit disappointing. Unless you do a jailbreak on it, else you can't record any video! Heard that there's going to be a new iPhone come this June and Apple may improve on iPhone's camera and possibility of video recording. Read it here.

Recently I noticed my iPhone is slower in responding time. Getting into the SMS screen is like 2 seconds slower, getting out of a game screen also took about 2 seconds now. Perhaps I've downloaded and installed too many applications. But that shouldn't be the cause of it since iPhone is famous for its applications. Probably it's the bugs of respective applications.

The good thing about iPhone 3G guess I've said enough in the previous review. There's one more interesting thing about this phone, it's the accelerometer. Nowadays most of the smartphones are having this accelerometer, such as HTC. I can now play bowling like real, swing and release. :)

Another good thing is the battery recharging. I can plug in to any PC for recharging without installing any complicated software. I know Nokia can't do that, wondering if Blackberry Storm can do that. :p The USB cable is much lighter than bringing the whole plug out and having the troubles to find an electrical output. And if you happened to plug in your laptop for that one and only electrical output you could find, the USB way of recharging is definitely what you'd wish for.

The camera of the current iPhone 3G is only 2mp. But I would say that it is performing well. I've seen people showing me their 3.2mp camera phones, the quality? Oopsie, worse than my iPhone 2mp camera! LOL! I ain't gonna tell you what 3.2mp camera phone they are. You go compare and find out. I guess sometimes you can't just judge the quality of the photo by looking at the megapixels of the camera phone. You have to look at other aspects too, such as the manufacturer, the technology......

I wonder why Apple is not giving the best to the iPhone. I mean, the camera could have been 3.2mp or maybe even 5mp. All those flaws that I've mentioned above could have been easily detected and improved on when they developed it, instead of launching a lower spec model and provides upgrade later. And now with the rumours everywhere saying that there's going to be a new model of iPhone 3G coming this June. The public might just stop buying the current model then, like what Andrew is doing now. Hmm...... Guess that's what people always said, you can't have the best of both worlds without paying the price.

Anyway, iPhone still rocks. I love it, still.

Finally, I finished Predator that I started since last year July!!!

Patricia Cornwell is so good in writing forensic sciences. It's even better than watching all the CSI series. Besides all the sciences, she is so damn good in creating mystery and suspend!

Well, not all her books are interesting, I've read one which is kind of boring, Book of the Dead. Her Kay Scarpetta series are in fact very famous.

Gotta start another book, perhaps it's time for Nora Roberts now.

Went to watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine last night. Indeed, the movie ticket was only RM7 per person, way cheaper than any other day. I must say it's worth every penny, X-Men is still the best.

The movie was actually about the story of Wolverine and also how all the X-Men gathered when they were younger. Hugh Jackman is still handsome as ever. There were a few familiar actors too in the movie, such as Dominic Monaghan from Lost (also Merry from LOTR), Liev Schreiber from The Manchurian Candidate and Taylor Kitsch from The Covenant.

It is a good movie, that's what I feel and think. Though the story may be a bit lengthy, it just seemed alright with all the actions. I didn't feel bored at all, good thing that the movie managed to keep people excited throughout.

Off topic: iPhone 3G is getting more and more common now. Everywhere and every time I go out I would see at least 1 person other than me holding to their iPhone. Last night in the cinema, 2 men sitting beside me have iPhone too, 2 of them are friends. Andrew is finding it harder and harder to resist the temptation of having one too! LOL! He said, "I must save money now, probably there's a new one in June and I will have enough money for it". Hahahahahaha...... He is now crazy about this game that he purchased and downloaded in my phone, Airport Mania! After one month of using it, I still love iPhone. Blackberry Storm is a good gadget too, but nah, I still love my iPhone.

I realised I didn't blog since Sunday! And worst is, blogging was completely out of my mind for the past 4 days!!!

Last weekend, I slept late for 3 days consecutively. Or perhaps I should say 'early'? I slept at 3 or 4 in the morning, either I was playing games or MSN-ing. LOL.

It was Andrew's birthday on Sunday. I planned to bring him to Italiannies in The Gardens, heard they have nice lamb and Andrew loves lamb. When we were right there in Mid Valley Megamall, Andrew told me "I feel like having some Japanese food"! Gosh! I asked if he doesn't want the lamb anymore and I'd be buying. He insisted he wanted Japanese, he wanted to have RICE! Now I know man can also change their mind very fast. He put it in a nice way though, "well, I just saved you some money, you know." Yeah yeah, right! And next time we go Italiannies, he would be the one buying!

We went to Kiku Zakura. In fact, I love Kiku Zakura and when Andrew suggested it, I was kind of yelling hooray inside my little head. LOL! The serving is big and yet it's delicious. I love the way they display the food in the tray. It's all about presentation and precision. The last time we went, one of the girls mixed up the arrangement of the food and the branch manager saw. She came to our table to re-arrange it in correct order! Can you believe that?! To them, details and presentation is very important.

Andrew ordered a chicken teriyaki, that was so expected of him. He will always have chicken teriyaki! And me, ordered the tempura set. That was also expected of me! Hahaha. I love their tempura set! We also ordered a chawanmushi since two of us are the egg-lover. I was so full from the tempura set. The total bill came up to RM72++ for two of us. Well, it is quite expensive. But once in a while, guess it's still fine. And I actually expected to spend RM100 and above in Italiannies early of the day. Hehehe.

We wanted to go for a movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Checked out the counter, surprisingly not a big crowd. Okay, I must admit I was shocked when Andrew told me the ticket costs RM12 per person! OMFG! I quickly grabbed his arm and fled the scene. Hahaha. It's not worth it to watch a movie at RM12. Alright, it's a good movie. But still, RM12 is just too much. We could just choose to watch it on any other day then. Since Andrew's off today, I told him we might as well watch it in TGV KLCC today. Though the ticket price for Wolverine is higher for this 2 weeks, to watch it on Wednesday it only costs RM7 per person. Ended up we did some window-shopping and went to New Zealand Cafe for some ice-cream.

I didn't buy any present for Andrew for his birthday. I seriously do not know what to buy for him. Suddenly I just feel that all the things that money can buy just can't show how much my love for him. I could buy him the PS3, but I didn't want to. Buying PS3 for him is like digging my own grave. Hahahaha. I've got him a watch 2 years back, got him a wallet last year (I think), got him clothes...... I really don't know what I should get him now. Andrew said owe him for this year, next year only buy him the PS3! Goodness... Looks like digging-my-own-grave is inevitable. T__T

Does time really have wings and fly?! Time is no longer passing by, it is FLYING extremely fast!!! It is now first week of May 2009! Almost middle of the year! What? I still felt that Chinese New Year was only last month. We were still saying that my friend's wedding in May was still a long way to go, and now it is next week!

God please give me the strength to FLY with the time...... Or at least do not leave me far behind the time.

I am now taking my first and big step here. I am going to be a part-time photographer from now on.

1. Any portraits will be considered. Pregnancy, babies, family, pets, personal portraits and others.

2. Bookings is opened from this very minute. However, dates are open from 1st June 2009 onwards. I will only be available during weekends. Therefore, all photography sessions shall be on weekends only.

3. At this moment, make-up artist, dresses, gowns, accessories and other of similar nature are NOT included. Clients are to source for them personally.

4. Photography sessions will be held at clients' choice of place, be it indoor or outdoor. Clients are to bear any renting/entrance fees.

5. One session of portraits will be on one location only. If 2 locations are involved, additional charges will be imposed.

6. All photos taken will be returned to clients in DVD, in jpeg format.

7. Do email me for quotation if you're interested. (ashleywww@gmail.com)

8. As for wedding day photography, please email me to discuss further.

Thank you for supporting.

A year ago, 12th May 2008, a richter scale of 7.8 earthquake happened in Wen Chuan, China. It was only 2 days later that the help managed to get into the town of Wen Chuan. The first rescued team travelled on foot for 1 day 1 night in order to get in there.

Can't believe it is a year from now. I am now watching this documentary on 8TV about the rescue and incidents happened there and then. I still cried. Children who lost their lives, they were still so small and young. There were even children who had to sacrifice their limbs in order to survive! Children who lost their parents, became orphan in one night. Parents who lost their children, what's left is only their school bags and memories. Gosh...... I just feel so sad now.

Can't stop crying watching it...... :(

A man under the concrete said, "I must be strong, I have to be strong, I can't disappoint those who love me, my wife is waiting for me. I need to survive."

They finally got him out after 7 hours of rescue. But he didn't make it. He hang on till the very last minute to get out but he didn't make it...... He was exhausted and the pain was too much...... He didn't make it......

Alright, I'm so bored at home the whole day during Labour Day. I wonder if it's a good thing, totally not doing anything on Labour Day. LOL.

Read this on Valerie's blog, feel that it's interesting. And since I am bored here waiting for Andrew to come home, might just do it to kill some time. Oh, if you don't already know who Valerie is, she is my sweet and silly-funny cousin, Andrew's cousin to be exact. :)

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
- Ashley
- Ash
- Sern

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
- Ashley
- Hot Chic
- Ash

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
- My legs
- My hair
- My hands

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
- My feet (too big!!)
- My eyes (too small)
- My boobies (I'd love to have it bigger! LOL!)

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
- Cockroaches
- Put on weight!
- NO money!

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
- Skincare
- Concealer
- Shower gel

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING NOW:
- T-shirt
- Short pants
- Undies (of course!)

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
- Andy Lau (my all-time favorite)
- Anastacia
- Jacky Cheung

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS (RIGHT NOW):
- Next Plane Home, Daniel Powter
- If I Were A Boy, Beyonce Knowles
- Empty, The Click Five

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
- Honesty
- Romance
- Trust

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
- I want to be famous
- I love Andrew
- I am hot chic (LOL)

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
- Height
- Nice body
- The eyes

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
- Photography
- Reading
- Shopping

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
- Quit my job
- Do photography full time
- Exercise (Gosh...... I'm just so lazy)

THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING/YOU’VE CONSIDERED:
- Teacher
- Photographer
- Fashion designer

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
- Rome/Vatican City
- Japan
- Paris

THREE NAMES YOU LIKE:
- Hazel
- Ashley (Hehehehe......)
- Ryan

When I was in school, I did good in exams, people would say that "oh, you're lucky".
When I was in college, I did well in exams, people commented "well, you were born smart".
When I met Andrew, we became an item, people told me "you're lucky to get him".
When I started my job in an MNC, people said "you're lucky to work in that company".
When I got another job in a small company, people congratulated me "you're lucky to get a job now".
When I bought my first house, people said "you're lucky to have your first house at this age".
When I got married, people reminded me "you're lucky to have married him".
When I travelled places, people again told me "you're lucky that you get to travel around".

Were they all because I am lucky? Did I have the lucky star on me all the time? Have I not had a single bad moment? Isn't Andrew lucky too to have married me? Isn't that sales person lucky too when I bought the house? What about all my hardwork? Does being lucky just wipe away all the hardwork I have ever done? Do people just see how lucky I am instead of how hardworking I am?

I keep all this in my heart. I thought being said "you're lucky" was a blessing. But how about my hardwork?

I did well in school and college, I didn't study hard, but I studied smart. I could finish my studies in one week before the exam. I am smart? Yes, I am smart in picking what is relevant to study.

Well, I must admit now I realised I am lucky to have met Andrew. Well, have they ever thought that if I chose someone else, would I be considered as lucky then? If I chose not to marry Andrew, would I be lucky then? I am lucky to have married Andrew because that is my choice. I chose to marry him because I love him. I chose to be lucky, not because I am lucky. Get my point?

My job in an MNC, that wasn't my first job. My first job was in hometown, brother-in-law helped me found it, it lasted 3 months. I was so underpaid, the boss didn't appreciate my advanced diploma in a college. I was treated as some kind of data-entry clerk. But towards the end of that 3 months, my boss changed her attitude towards me. Why? Because I bloody fought for her attention and appreciation. I drafted letters for her and she started giving me new tasks. She even tried to persuade me to stay when I resigned. But I ain't gonna stay there, I know I had to fight for something more for myself. Now, would you still say I was lucky? I god damn fought for what I deserved.

That job in MNC, I got it through a job agency. It was only a 6-month contractual job, I could end up without any job at the end of the 6th month. I took the job still, I didn't have much choice, did I? I still had to pay my rent and I did not get pocket money from father anymore after I started my first job. Again, I was treated like a clerk. Something happened. The agency told me I was there to help on the payroll, but when I got in they told me I was supposed to help doing the data-entry ONLY for their new system! I wasn't pleased. I know by doing only the data-entry, at the end of 6-month after their system was up, they wouldn't want me anymore. I spoke to the manager and told her I supposed to help on the payroll, I fought for it. Finally, they decided to let me try doing it and also data-entry was still part of my job scope. Nobody knows I fought for all this myself. I got a permanent job there at the end of 5th month, because I performed well beyond their expectations. Was I lucky?! No! 'Cause I fought god damn hard for it. I worked hard for it. I worked till 8pm or 9pm for everyday, sometimes even till 11pm. Now you tell me, was I lucky?!

I got out from that MNC after 2 and a half years. Why would I leave such a big company? Well, I didn't get appreciated anymore. I couldn't learn anymore. My superior fought hard for my remuneration, but the management just didn't appreciate what I did. I left. Got a job in another big food manufacturing company. That was the darkest moment in my working life. The working environment, the job, the system, the boss...... Everything was so wrong in there. I didn't see it during the interview. One week into the job, all I was thinking was "get the hell out of this place". I know I made a mistake of rushing. I told myself I shall never repeat that mistake ever! Again, I put myself up in the job market. Got my current job after 1 month! Was I lucky? Yes and no. It was all my choice. A friend advised me to stay put. But I didn't listen, I chose to move on. I know I deserved something better than that. So I moved on. Do you know changing a job so frequent actually leave bad impression on myself? I chose wisely then. My boss was kind enough to still want to interview me and listen to my story. I am in this company for almost 3 years.

I bought a house last year July together with Andrew. Was I lucky to have a house at that age? NO! I have known people that have their own house at an age way too earlier than me! Both Andrew and I worked so hard to buy that house. We were pinching around for money for the downpayment of the house. Those are the things that other people don't see.

I got married last year. Again, people said I'm lucky to get married and I am lucky to have Andrew as my husband. Why? Because he is nice? Everyone's husband is nice. Do you dare to tell me your husband is not nice? If he wasn't nice, why would you marry him in the first place? My goodness, I just don't understand why people said I'm lucky to have married him.

I love to travel. Andrew and I have only been to overseas for once, that is Hong Kong, in year 2005. Oops, and Singapore too, in year 2006. Other than that 2 countries, we travel locally. Am I lucky that I get to travel around? No. Both Andrew and I are willing to make the effort in making it happened. He is willing to adjust to my time, and I am willing to adjust to his schedule. We do not go for luxury travelling, all we want is to escape from the city once in a while and just relax. Is that lucky too? I have seen a lot of people travelling more frequent than us and farther than us.

I bloody work hard to make everything happened in my life. You can still say I am lucky. I do not mind. But please do not forget and wipe away all the hardwork I have done. I know a few people would do that, they just like to think I am a lucky a**.

Why bother what other people think? Andrew would have said that. I am not bothering. Just want to spit it all out.

Now, let's count my blessings. :)