Why must cakes be sweet?

This could be an overdue post only recently was inspired to write, however. On the 13th of March, of certain reasons we didn't get into Alice and her wonderland but instead Pikey, Bear and Nicholas together with me and Edwin landed our asses in Midvalley Secret Recipe - to kill some time.

Each of them picked their choices: Pecan Butterscotch, Durian Cheese, Chocolate Indulgence and Marble Cheese. Other than Marble Cheese, the rest were overly sweet and utterly yucky to me. Scratching my head to make a choice, I opened my mouth few times to speak but ended up only spewing silence. There are things that people will do even though they know it's pointless. No matter how pointless it is, they must do it in order to collect themselves. Even if it is a useless waste of energy, the action will be repeated. I am out of options. Now, I have to say it.

Do you guys take fiber cake?

NO!!! answered four of them unanimously and almost simultaneously only Nicholas sided me (edited and added 01 April 2010).

Why not? It's less sweet and close to tasteless.

That's why!

When such a perception becomes a reality, you have a clear challenge to change. Overpowered, I gave up the idea of sweetless dessert, my finger randomly landed on Chocolate Banana. Haiz... Diabetes!!!

Gazing at the peach coloured sky, I can't help to question my great sense of taste. Putting it a bit more bluntly, I am weird. 'Coz I lose my sweet tooth a decade ago. Don't get me wrong, I can never get enough eye candies.

I would really appreciate cake makers who satisfy our lust for something different. Let's try some bitter or sour cakes, shall we? They could sound very different and new and... weird as well.

But seriously, isn't there anyone on my side? Urghh!

[Jino] - A man's not a man unless he knows how to shoot

He lost both. I replace both...

It's been awhile I wasn't wearing anything on my fingers. With lame excuses, he never admit his wrongdoing for losing them. Whoever wear couple rings before 5 years maturity of a relationship, the couple will not last. For the future and our betterment, I am doing good by loosing the rings. It's outrageous and I beg to differ. More often than not, I hate the guy who says this. If you think it is sweet and touching, if you care so much of that myth and what legends, might as well you marry the whoever who dare putting such nonsense to phrase. /pissed. We are together for this long yet there's nothing common in us which when people see will immediately notice our relationship. I easily feel jealous when a friend put a ring on his partner's finger on Valentine. Another strong reason is by looking at the ring, strangers especially plu will immediately notice his unavailability and hopefully will not approach him. Though not overly effective, you can say it's more like an azimat halau hantu. I stretch out both my hands straight to the sky and look at them with the sun behind my palm. I don't see my ring. Not anymore.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Several weeks ago, an image of a ring painted red suddenly flashed through me. It looks very familiar to some degree but alas, I couldn't remember where I saw it. Can it be from some shops? Some one who's wearing it walked pass me? Online? Or was it just a dream when I saw that ring? Talking to myself is the first sign of insanity. But that aside, the more I imagine, the prettier it becomes.

That being said, I asked around MSN mates to gather info of the ring's whereabout but no one has come across it. Couldn't hide my disappointment, I walked around few malls despite all the on going midterms, hoping to find a similarity in mind. I've exhausted all keywords in Google. A great deal of time had passed yet my effort was of 'coz, not paid off. Going by that sound, it makes me think that we have no fate.

Or maybe not. During the meeting with William, I glanced shyly at his finger. Yes. There's no mistake. It was shining brightly as he swung his hand, diverting most of my attention on his finger. The red paint on the ring was as attractive as I had imagined. Apparently that ring comes from Japan. USD 26.64. The design sure looks nice as the price is. It's elegant. Beautiful. I love it. Then again, I couldn't find anything close to it around KL.

Thus, I made more walks in several malls to fill the emptiness on my finger and eventually come to these. Simple. Personal preference. The rings may be common but there are times I believe it is simplicity that the beauty becomes prominent. They are completely opposite of what I want from the red ring - attention.

While I was looking forward to engraving, they turned out very disappointing. After hours of walking from Petaling Street to Central Market to Times Square and Sg Wang then Low Yat then Pavilion then Shaw Parade, I am not at all satisfied with the outcome. After all the money spent, the rings are... There was raging desire to throw them away but... Don't cry over spilled milk. What's done is done and I was trying very hard to be positive.

Me and Nicholas were contributing ideas of how to surprise the owner of the ring. We manage to come out with some good ideas but if it wasn't bear's big mouth, the surprise wouldn't ruin >.<. He likes surprises, you know? Anyway me and him had a good laugh over the incident haha.

Please take good care this time. Good things don't come twice. Hopefully the rings will stand the test of time - they are designed to meet this purpose provided he doesn't lose the ring again. Or he's gonna pay dearly for that.

Happy White Day.

[Jino] - A man's not a man unless he knows how to shoot

Close up to open out (Part 3)

Related post:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Curious is never a love

There are many saying that goes with love:

Love blinds.
A man falls in love through his eyes.
Love doesn't make the world go around. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.
Gravitation can not be held responsible for people falling in love.

and many more. Amidst many quotes from the shelf, there was a lot of time I believe "Flash love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity " best describes what I am about to write today.

Those who remember will remember the Facebook test I created long ago. Titled "How much do you know about Jino", it comprises 10 questions. If my memory serves me correctly, among the 12 candidates, 10 were shocked to answer question 4 wrongly. Question 4 was:

How many ex(es) did Jino have (before May 2009)?

a) 1

b) 2

c) 3

d) 4

Those who answered a) were shocked to realize they got the answer wrong. Sorry for them. Then I was cornered and was forced to reveal the truth. I didn't hint them any clear indication, but they are not stupid to not suspect.

The truth is, 2 weeks after my first (also the last) gf, I entered another relationship. With who? KC's the name. Fast? I agree too. You wouldn't expect me to tell the whole story of how we started, 'coz I don't feel like telling you anyway. The story behind the truth was shameful. I personally think I lost my coolness that day and... I couldn't believe myself being so cheap for allowing that to happen on our first meet. It wasn't that bad as you think , but I feel very low and inappropriate. 'Love at first sight? We started dating immediately. Instant magnetism? Sounds so wrong, isn't it?

The first month was a complete romance, probably the same as everyone else. We were separated by 50km between mine and his place but distance was not a hindrance. We were tied by his hectic schedule but it didn't stop us. Phone calls were limited but I sacrificed my dad's phone. We talked, we cooked, we slept, we walked, we watched. We tried and experimented almost everything for fresh love we'd just started.

At first I didn't mind spending more on petrol to drive to his place. He had financial crisis and I understand that much. He is a good son and I comprehend his difficulties. Everything I did was for him and very little was for myself. I even lost a lot of my time away from my family. It felt so good on the first month but all that fun came with a price.

For variety of reasons, it is possible to tolerate the romantic season, even if it means to spend on my loan and travel an hour on MRR2 just for a glimpse of his face. Oh sure, soon I learned people have limit. The magic behind the romance was slowly on the wane. From phone calls everyday we cut down to none. From sms 24/7 we reduced to only a morning sms and goodnight sms. From meeting almost everyday we limit ourselves to 1 hour once every 2 weeks. I heard very little contact back from him. Were we on a break? Was love so much for him that he needed holidays after the romantic season?

When I said "love you forever", I thought I could fight to clear up to that limit. Suddenly I was wondering whether I was receiving equal amount of affection back. I was horribly mistaken. I'd done enough. Warning: Never say "I love you forever" even if you terribly love someone. That will be the hardest word retractable in man's history.

Not only that he did not share his problems with me, he made me feel I was another burden to him. I called him but he did not pick up my phone. When he did, he could only say his mum was watching and not convenient for further conversation. He had serious health and family problems. I tried my hardest to help as a bf but... he wouldn't open up for me and chose to bottle up his problems. If the stress pressured on him was unbearable, why didn't he come to me for help? Or was the pressure so strong that he did not want me get involved? Or was there no way I could at least in any help? The hardest part of this was knowing that I loved him and thought I would carry on loving him, but now standing on a crossroad pondering moments of thinking of did I ever love him. I stood confused and heart broken due to the loneliness when I was supposedly in love.

You had your darkest hours while I was left at home not contributing. You probably resorted to your friends but you never tried approaching me. All that to make sure I never worry you and your problems? But you didn't realize the way you disappear cast worries on me. I didn't have clue on what you are up to. I didn't know any of your friends. To a point you distanced yourself and blocked me from reaching you. To that, I was disheartened.

I realize you were not the 'one' anymore and I wanted to be freed to possibly meet other people. At the same time I could not collect myself to tell you what I want, I did not know how to speak to you. You were my world but you were barely my life. Again I was not ready for commitment? The love's fading due to unclear communication. I did not have the courage to tell you my thoughts until XB came into my life in the mid of the relationship.

Besides the reasons earlier, XB was largely the reason we got out of hands. I was not a two timer and there were needs to clear the mess. To remain as what it was, or to choose XB and start all over? Finally I came to decision when Hindraf struck their protest in KL, me and KC talked each other out in KFC while others were trapped in traffic congestion. As agreed, our relationship ended exactly 2 months from when it first started.

I don't love you anymore.

We are not compatible.

No use carrying on as we are not getting anywhere.

Sadly it was time I took off from the mis-managed relationship as I need holidays for myself. After all, both of us were heartbroken beyond belief. Nevertheless, it was another start of my life. That cleared the path for XB in my life later. Despite the fact I left KC, I am a selfish guy who did not want to be trapped in the not-going-anywhere love. When he was at his lowest I stabbed him and left him died in bleed. My deepest apologies. I still owe you sorries.

Someone once said that the only two things that motivate an enlightened person are love and curiosity. While flash love is known curiosity motivated, love is not at all related to curiosity. Utterly ridiculous if both words were forced connected, I would say.

A bastard I am, I always see myself all righteous and other people are the reasons for everything that faults.

The only regret for the 2 months is 'forever'.

[Jino] - A man's not a man unless he knows how to shoot

Last post of February is tagged

It was a rare occasion last Friday that Nicholas finally agreed to meet after months of his reluctance. When Nicholas hinted his initiative, my first response was a big big yes. I think it should be the same to Pikey haha. How could we say no? Metaphorically it is the rise of the sun in the north. My hands are wet and my heart palpitates when meeting new friend. Now to meet 5 other people altogether was... OMG I almost tfk ffk that day. Never had I been to a group meeting but I braced and greeted Pikey, Bernard, Nicholas, William and Cheryl. I must also say that my smile upon greeting was a nervous one. Their comment was "Jino is cool". How true is it? All I did was remain quiet and static. Anyway, thanks Pikey for yong tau foo and thanks Cheryl for the drinks. Thanks to Nicholas for being quiet with me and thanks Bernard for not speaking up too. And thanks William for everything else lol.

___________________________________________________________________________________

To reply Eric's courtesy in tagging me, I would do gladly reveal some facts about myself. Some facts about me which you might already know or have not realized. I don't mind being tagged but to tag others is my least favourite hobby. So if anyone is interested, follow the tag as you please.

1. I am a DBKL among my friends. The leftover garlic in sayur goreng, the sauce on the plate, ice, bones... I lick almost every plate clean, literally. Most of my friends beh tahan me. It's an old habit and doesn't look nice especially in front of new friends. What I want to stress is I don't waste food.
2. I hate sea. There was once in Lang Tengah when everyone was snorkeling, the waves sent me far away from everyone, from the ship. And being a non-swimmer, I shouted for help. It was so embarrassing and dangerous that I swear I will not go to pool or sea anymore. Besides, sea is so unpredictable. To that, it claims so many lives even the pro-swimmer. More importantly, I don't have good body to show so swimming is my least favourite sport.
3. I never deny I am hamsap. I am a pervert. I have high sex drive. I just don't show it. I love sleeping naked and waking up when I am warm and the sheets are cool. Only if I have the chance to do it.
4. If you are interested to know of why my main email has the name Lenard, I will tell you here. Don't guess, it's not part of my IC. It was because during my driving school lesson in 2005, I thought of getting a cool English name for myself. In the class, there was a lengzai name Lenard, so I took his name and make it mine. After creating the email, only I realized that I should spell Leonard instead of Lenard. However, no one ever calls me by this name.
5. And then why Jino? This name was accidentally created in the early secondary school. My middle name JINQ on name tag was mistaken as JINO when read from far. At that time everyone was new to the school, so calling out wrong name was understood. This mistake slowly became a disease and spread so fast, everyone calls me Jino and not my real name. I was pissed at first but soon realized that the name can actually cleared many other complications. Therefore the name lasted to now, total up to 11 years.
6. Then mana datang Ultraman? Let me answer this too. Initially I like Doraemon so much that my friends gave me Doraemon plushies and keychains and poster during my birthday. But during 2008 Valentine's, Edwin gave me my first Ultraman. I asked why and he replied "'Coz you like Ultraman, right?". I was confused but I managed to come out with a reply "Err ya lor". Haha that day onwards I received more Ultraman, thus I transformed from a cat robot to Ultraman.
7. I have chilli intolerance. Not to the extent that I will lay in hospital when I digest a chilli. I suffer diarrhea from eating chilli. Speaking of diarrhea, I cannot take KFC too. A piece of chicken or burger is enough to increase 5 times my normal toilet visit.
8. No matter what you guys think about me, you cannot change the fact that I do not believe in God. I respect your religions so please do not question my free-thinking. I can be very sensitive when you try to influence me. And also, I don't like to go temple.
9. I entered schools which do not offer Chinese class. Therefore I do not have formal Chinese education and that makes me a banana. But I am fortunate that my family speaks Mandarin, my Teochew relatives speak Hakka, my primary school friends speak Malay and Cantonese with me, my VI friends speak English and my uni friends communicate in Mandarin. Thanks to them, I can speak diverse languages, quite fluently if I may say. At several occasions I learn to recognize Chinese characters from song lyrics, especially Rynn's.
10. I don't fancy alcoholic beverages because I know I have low tolerance of alcohol. I am easily drunk and then start to spit out secrets. Please don't force me drinking.
11. I don't have a sweet tooth. I hate sweets such as mentos. But if you have sugus, I don't mind having one. Only sugus please. Although I don't like sweet food, desserts are acceptable. As a side note, I don't like snacks. I cannot afford big tummy so I must control my diet!
12. Edwin likes to countdown. In contrary, I do not like countdown. The main reason is because the place will be overly crowded. I will sweat. Whole body will turn sticky. If the oxygen level drops, I can faint there. My ears cannot take the boom boom blasting sound as my ears are half spoiled already. I really hate countdown not because I don't like to countdown but is because I don't like countdown. Whatever.
13. I am a poor student. Unlike most people in my age who has already gone working, I am still here studying my degree. That also explains why I am so poor and cannot afford shopping. If there's something I am proud of, it will be my desktop and my camera. I bought them with my hard earn money. Hence, they are my baby no. 1 and no. 4. Imagine I sayang them more than my mum.
14. Not sure if it's related to my nature or not, but I don't tend to hang around with girls. Maybe because I originated from a boy school when I reached my puberty that causes this. Till now, most of my close friends are male. Hey, boys are cool!
15. Yesterday was so special that I actually rise to the top for the first in my life. Usually Edwin will make me sink to the bottom. Guess that now versatility should take place XD
16. I don't fancy drama. Be it Chinese or English dramas, I don't like to sit down for so long and rush all dramas in a night. I am not the type who can sit still and enjoy movie. However, I like watching movies in cinema.
17. I have bad brain. I am absent minded. Edwin told me he had fried rice for dinner 3 minutes ago. 3 minutes later I asked when will he take his dinner. 10 minutes earlier he said he's in Tesco. 10 minutes later I asked why is his house so noisy. No wonder he's so pissed off  >.<
18. I can sleep on any bed. So don't invite me to your bed or I will sleep on it. In another word, I am a pig. I love sleeping!
19. My house has no mirror. I hate toilets with mirror. 'Coz with mirrors around I get to see how ugly I am. And I hate to think that I am ugly although it is an undeniable fact.
20. I love cold water bath. I bathe minimum 3 times a day. If I have nowhere to go, I bathe 5 times a day. I know I waste a lot of water but with the weather these days, bathing is the only way I cool myself. No doubt cold water is refreshing. You should try it more often.
21. I am very kiamsiap. 'Coz I am very poor. I can be calculative when it comes to money. I seldom treat anyone so make sure to nod your head when I say I want to belanja you.
22. I've never been out of Malaysia. The furthest I've been were Layang-Layang, Genting and Langkawi. My first oversea vacation should either be Singapore or Canada. Don't ask why. Instinct.
23. I bite fingernails. Another old habit of mine. I don't have nice fingers so can you please not look at mine?
24. Extra: What does it mean by the quote "A man's not a man unless he knows how to shoot"? If you think it's obscene, think about this: If the quote is extracted from Pochahontas, how obscene do you think it can be?

I realized I can be very negative at times. I can be ignorant. But old dog doesn't learn new trick. That's me. Boring facts? Yea I am a boring guy but if you want to know more about me, MSN me la.

[Jino] - A man's not a man unless he knows how to shoot

And then CNY

As if practical reports are not enough, now this. I hate event-based blogging which is similar to writing report. It restricts my creativity so much, I don't feel to write anymore. But I have to write to keep tract of what I've been up to.

Reunion night

All the time, it is a tradition every family member has to meet in my grandparents' house for reunion, although we meet almost every week. This day is very special because children like me are not allowed to speak in adults' talk. Besides, tv is prohibited. Everyone must stay in the house and 'enjoy' the day. Being distanced from my brother and cousins, I wanted to sleep badly but no bed was prepared. While my cousins brought along their DiGi broadband to SDO in Vaio and branded mini notebooks, I was left with only my phone to endure the night. To make situation worse, Edwin's phone battery died and no way he could recharge it without a charger. Fortunately, few out of the ordinaries, namely Jeff Chuah, Christ Lee and Gregory Wong, were willing to spend their precious time and credit to sms me. Their messages indirectly replaced the boredom and here I would like to thank them for their kindness.

First day

Again it is a tradition to meet everyone in grandparents' house and collect angpao. Yada yada... Few hours later, we watched 大兵小将 in Midvalley. After movie I walked to Isetan just to realize that it was closed while Robinson sold the jockstrap at higher price. Yes jockstrap. I plan to start collecting underwear, though the idea might sound crazy to everyone. Damn why must Isetan closed on this day? We didn't take long to defeat the crowds and traffic, and headed to grandparents' house again to spend the rest of the day. Again I thanks Jeff and Greg for their smses. I will rot if otherwise.

Second day

Headed down to Pavilion with friends for 2 movies consecutively, 锦衣卫 and 花田喜事. Tut Tut, the assassin in 锦衣卫 can use Shihoin Yoruichi's trademark move, Utsusemi! So gaya! While hanging around  Parkson before the movie started, I spotted the same underwear I saw in Isetan. This time with additional 10% discount. Sadly, my wallet wasn't thick enough to purchase it.

Third day

Planned to settle some business in Damansara Damai but realized that no office was going to open on public holiday. All because we were so confused with the dates. As a change of plan, we fixed ourselves impromptu 蘇乞兒 in Pavilion with mother-in-law. Following the movie was a visit to Edwin's aunt's house. Due to some reasons, I don't want to do relative visit with him anymore.

Fourth day

After dropped by Damansara Damai, it's a visit to Edwin's godmum's house. Honestly, so many people and I know none of them. In the end we slipped out the house and lepak in Leisure Mall. I really swear I will never do relative visit with him again. Don't force me. I should have visited Simon, not his relative.

Fifth day

The original plan was to stay at home but a plan is a plan. Sometimes a plan are not meant to be followed. My mum's ass was so itchy she couldn't stay at home. So, we watched 72家租客 in TGV Sunway, and dinner in Ole-Ole Bali. There, gone my only resting day at home during CNY, with her.

Sixth day

Finally, a simple hangout with Edwin, just the 2 of us. Yay! We had 大日子 and Valentine's Day in Pavilion. Almost cried in 大日子. At the time I was about to pay the jockstrap in Parkson Pavilion, I realized. I realized there's few colours available. Blue, red and black but they don't have my favourite white. Haiz...

Including Percy Jackson the day before reunion dinner, count the pictures and that's the sum of movies I watched in a week of CNY. Normal, or a lot? Tiring but the most productive CNY in recent years.

p/s: I am still in holiday mood despite the resume of classes. So angpao via e-banking and pos laju is welcomed.

[Jino] - A man's not a man unless he knows how to shoot