Monday, May 18, 2009

“Excapade Sushi caters for everyone”

 

Hey, I’m not trying to kiss-ass or what, but ask anyone in Brunei to think of a name associated to Japanese restaurant, surely the first to pop out is “EXCAPADE”.

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Malu to say but this is a way tooooooooooooo long overdue post which was supposed to be blogged a week ago when masih fresh and new. Nevermind lah, like ikan masin also good, got more flavour mah.

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I was invited by S.Fong to the soft opening of the latest branch located at Regent Square, Kiulap last Monday (which was also the very same day I had my 2 hours paper on “The Teacher And The School Curriculum”). Also, the kind couple had treated the children from Pusat Ehsan and Child Development Centre lunch and made a donation.

As usual, I was a little kaypo (busybody) wanting to know why they have another branch in Kiulap instead of setting it up in a new location and S.Fong explained that she had received a lot of feedbacks saying that it was difficult for the disabled. Hence in this new Kiulap branch, you won’t be seeing any partition or private rooms.. instead, big spacious walkway in between tables just nice enough to fit in wheelchairs. How considerate kan?

*cough* Due to unforeseen circumstances of my lousy 4yo camera, I became a pencuri instead stealing photos from Marul and Reeda. Sorry ah. It’s a good thing they watermarked their photos *endcough*

Super “people mountain people sea”
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Food on our table
(Note: This one macam “appetizer” only. There’s more to come!)

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Mau called the Fried Fish Roe on top “Twisties”

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Salmon Sashimi!
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MORE SALMON!!!
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Scallop Tepanyaki
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Slipper Lobster! Very black-pepper-ish!
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Lamb Misoyagi, everyone’s favourite for the day
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The texture is very similar to Bakkwa.
 


Ice Cream Tempura
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I had one Macha ice cream with red bean all to myself :D

Can you guess whose sissy portion of wasabi did this belong to?
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Hint: XY Chromosomes


What bloggers do when a new dish is served
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Maurina being kiasu using her phone to take picture.

 

I have always love how Mau does her eye makeup and so I took her MAC eyeliner and asked her to line mine.

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And once I opened my eyes letting her see the end result, Mau gasped
“Ai! Your eye makan my liner!”

Sigh, the sorrow of having single eyelid. I was seriously considering of having blepharoplasty but Bobby insisted a big N-O on the idea. Double sigh.

See the difference between Mau’s eyes and mine.
Like cannot see kan the line?

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To make the lines visible, I have to literally paint my eyelid with at least 3mm thick of liner.


Oh, on our hands are Nails&Wax vouchers. Really paiseh lah, yau-sik-yau-ling.

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Happy till can see teeth cannot eat eyes.

 

Back to Excapade.

Ever wonder why Excapade can be so popular among us Bruneians even though there’s no special promotions, advertisements and wifi (even Miri-ans also rela to drive all the way to KB and eat!)?

For me, it’s their

1) Good service
2) Quality food, and most importantly
3) Reasonable price!!!!

Agree?

Even Yohei (the Andy Lau lookalike Japanese hunk whom I travelled with in KK last December remember?) gave 2 thumbs up for their sushi when I brought him to the Gadong branch! He had one teeny weeny complain though, the rice for the Nigiri was too banyak. Hahahhahaa.

One last photo for this post and also the one and only sort of a group photo taken by Michael.

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L-R: Marul, Reeda, Liza, Maurina, Nonnie and Rano.
No introduction needed if you have read blogs long enough. 



More about the soft opening here and here.

 


 
If you have any positive or negative feedbacks for Excapade, feel free to leave a comment in their Facebook page. Yes, don’t play play. Excapade also got FB one ah.

To avoid disappointment, make sure you make reservations first ya.

Branch Contact No.1 Contact No.2 (Mobile)
Kiulap +6732234012 +6738859966
Gadong +6732443012 +6738740012
Kuala Belait +6733333993 +6738722993
Serusop +6732335512 +6738736880
Kiulap 2 +6732234011 +6738759866

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Get well soon

 

Sigh… my fatguy was sick from Monday till now..
And he just went to see doctor (again! for the second time this week!)
He looks so pale and lethargic.

Just hope that my delicious meal or steaks and mushroom soup will be changed into porridge and nursing a sick baby lah.

()'’()

 

I’m going to start working on this coming Monday.
:|

Thursday, May 14, 2009

*yawn*

 

Time now – 4.21am

Studying for saiko now and turning saiko too.

Damn sad because Fiona told me no stock for LX3. Pray hard that Liza can get it for me la end of the month. Need and desperately want it for JUNE!

Gonna celebrate our “belated” anniversary on this coming Saturday after moving back all my things from hostel.

Bye hostel, another 2 more nights to sleep in that stuffy room but no more chit-chatting with hostel mates who just stay few doors down.

Jarang can go online and I know I missed greeting quite a number of people on their birthday. Make me feel that I’m such a bad friend lah.

Want to blog about the new Excapade branch in the Regent Square pun tak ada masa. =((

I’m so going to miss the DIE-rs especially Soly (whom made me stay wide awake because of her snores. Hey baby, I finally found another girl who snores more than me!) and the bunch of girlies in F4.

Bye student’s life.
Bye, waking up at whatever time when there’s no class.
Bye, assignments and tests.
Bye, walking all the way to ICTC just to online.
Bye, getting mad over water taps that some girls don’t know purposely or accidentally left it running. I’m a WA-TER-MI-NA-TOR!!!

Hi working life.
Hi, waking up at 6am and get stuck in the traffic.
Hi, lesson planning every week.
Hi, meeting, staff development, contact time and all sort of disruptions.


Bah…
gtg. baca baca baca baca
Intelligence, Thinking, Latent learning, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Classical Conditioning, Motivation~~~~~~~

I need a Doraemon.


Will blog actively starting.. next week?

No time now bah.
Thursday – LAST PAPER!!!! Lunch at Capers, lapor diri, Birthday Dinner, Party in the common room.
Friday – Pack pack pack. Move move move.
Saturday – Hasnah Yusuf-ing, CELEBRATEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Miri here I come!
Sunday – Rest and online till I drop.

See, I’m fully booked (sort of) for the rest of this week.
Tengok la if I got time to blog sikit sikit.

 

Bye

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Great Couple Meme - Bobnie

 

I’d tried countless time to convince Bobby to guest blog for me when I’m not free but he die die also don’t want. But this time, I told him that I want him to do a meme for our anniversary and turn out that he damn layan. Weirdo.


His answers in Blue and mine in pink (more girly so that you can tell the gender difference)

Tell us about the first time you met and your first impression of him/her:

The first time I met her was during the days I took my diploma course in Focus. I remember seeing her for the first time when she was talking to my friend. I just said ‘Hi’ with a simple wave and a headshake to acknowledge her. The first impression I had on her was ‘kampong girl’. It’s like she is very easy to get bullied which obviously was what happened as I continuously played trick on her.

 

I can still clearly remember the date! 16th January 2001! Because that’s the day he was enrolled to the same school as me and he was sort of my "junior". LOL. Only "senior" by 2 weeks also want to show off. LOL

Center-parted hair, washed out tee and khaki long pants, one word, DORK.

Still remember the day WeiCheng and him borrowed my assignment paper (to copy answer kali) and didn't even really say thank you properly. And, when we had the same class, he was still constantly copying my answer! BLOODY HELL. I still don't know why I always put up with him that time when I was freaking pissed in heart, especially during the month that two of us were group mate for a networking assignment and all he did was asked me what's his part for the presentation and did a bad job out of it.

-__________-"

He's a really bad classmate, but a good friend that time.

 


what’s a weird habit or quirk that s/he has?:


She loves to pluck my goatee, enjoys seeing me in pain and screaming from it.

He has an ultra soft spot for working senior citizens like a rotten avocado. He cannot tahan seeing old people work or beg for money. If you live in Seria or stay here long enough, you’ll know about the infamous 小姐有一块吗? Old-lady, who asked for money and later go Jollibee eat. I tell you, Bobby cannot see that woman one. I felt like he will kana hypnotized and walk towards her and give her all the money in the wallet ah.


what makes him/her happy?:

Most of the time she complains having not enough money. Definitely having enough money makes her happy. Being on time to pick her up also makes her happy as she will be utterly mad at me being late all the time that she started to call me Mr. Punctual.

Being able to satisfy his families and my needs and wants (eh! Don’t think senget ah! I’m talking about food and all the necessities). He’s happy as long as the people whom he cares about is happy. Of course, Man U winning a match will make him going around and boast.


what makes him/her sad?:

Every time when she checks her weight. 
(Bloody hell! You don’t go and tell the whole world I have weight issues okay!)

Incompetency, and me when I ignored him.



what makes him/her angry?:

I was always late (from picking her up or meeting her) when our relationship just started. When I started to come to Seria to look for her, she found out that I’m hopeless in direction as I kept asking her which road to use as I told her I only remember the road if I come down often and use it everyday. But sometimes in BSB I too have to ask her how to get from one location to another and at times she bites back of being asked too often.

Sometimes being over-patient does makes her angry. This happened during our first dinner in K.K. back in 2007. We went to those stalls near the hotel we stayed and waited for almost 45min for the food to arrive. Apparently, the Malay lady (cook) never got our orders as the waiter didn’t pass it to her. I remained cool and told her it’s okay and cancelled it. We then ordered some grilled lamb and chicken wings, and they had forgotten again. Nonnie was very mad that she didn’t want to wait and just leave the place. But I was still cool with it and willing to wait because I didn’t want to let this minor hiccup spoiled my vacation. And when the food came, the spoon was stained with chilli flakes which I didn’t noticed till I used it to scoop the coconut flesh. The food was disastrous.

Of course, she stayed mad at me for few hours because I stupidly made her wait for an hour plus for shitty food. Never mess with her when she has a growling tummy.

Stupid drivers who
1. Didn’t put the signal when necessary
2. Parked at places when they shouldn’t be parking and make the lane very sempit to pass through
3. Stole “his” parking space just because he spotted it first
4. Jeopardized other people’s lives on the road by driving recklessly

Ya, he loses his cool and curses a lot while driving.


what excites him/her?

Receiving money. It’s like her eyes got bigger when she look at the money.
Cilaka, say till I so lui-bin (money face)

Seeing me? Everyday with Nonnie is a brand new adventure.



tell us something funny about him/her:

She used to snore very loud that it kept me and her friends wide awake during our trip to Kuala Lumpur in 2005. This was our very first trip going abroad together which I learned more than I wanted to know about her.


He sucks in speaking Mandarin yet loves to place his orders in Mandarin in Chinese restaurant. Don’t know so keh-kiang for what.

Oh oh, one little joke for you.
When we’re just together right, I jokingly said 吃大便啦你 (eat sh*t lah you) and he crinkled his brows and said, “Huh? Big change?”. He thought 大便 (crap) is 大变 (big change)!!!



what’s s/he like at home?:

Watching TV or go online endlessly, text me telling me how hungry was she while watching Super Taste of channel 317. When I replied and told her to go make some Milo or eat some crackers, she bombed me back accusing me that I’m trying to make her fat.

A washed out tee with his ah-pek boxer playing football manager in his game room.




what’s s/he like at work/school?:

During our time in Focus, she was nice and friendly. A good friend to have. At work, she becomes very aggressive because she’s highly motivated by ka-ching. *cough* Money-driven.

Quiet at first with people who he’s not close with because he’s afraid what he says may be offensive. But once he gets close to you, he can pull some really silly jokes and “suan” you till you cannot answer him back and feel defeated. So, if you still think he’s Mr. Nice Guy, apparently, you’re just not that close to him.



describe his/her room:

Small and disorganized because she tends to leave her things lying around everywhere. But she has an Ikea box just for the cards and presents I gave her.

Bed, door, windows? I don’t know.





what’s his/her best friend like?:

Her best friend Wen/48, very much like her except smarter I guess. At least this is what Nonnie tells me all the time.

Erm.. One is in New York and I’ve never met him, though I’ve heard so much about him. And the other one is in Kuching now. Gordon was Bobby’s partner-in-crime during his uni years doing all sort of crazy silly things.



do you know who s/he hates the most?:

Yes. But she forgets easily until reminded.

The word “hate” is too strong lah. If “hate”, then no one in particular actually. He doesn’t hold grudges.



have you met his/her exes?:

Yes.
Yeap.


do his/her parents like you?:

I hope they do like me. But currently still in process of making them like me more.

I guess so. They love asking me to eat especially his dad. You have no idea how much food I have to force myself to eat when eating at his house because his dad says, “Eat more ah. Don’t kek-kee” every 10 minutes. And Bobby said the food is always better when I’m eating at his place. =D


what’s the first thing s/he would do or say if s/he fell down and scraped their knee:

Give out a loud ‘OUCH!’ and then reach out for me. Once she fell down in public at Parkson, Miri while waving at me. I was eating at McD and saw her happily walking towards me. The next thing I know, she’s gone. Then I heard a loud laugh from her and her friends teasing how clumsy she was.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!
F*cKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!



what would s/he do in an emergency situation with other people involved?:

If she knows how to deal with the situation, she will definitely step up and offer help. Else, she will stay alert and focus and interrupt whenever she feels like it.

Er, stand aside with his feet glued to the floor and panic like a headless chicken until someone asks him to do something. (Told you I’m more “man” than him liao lo)



which shop would s/he spend the most time at in a shopping mall?:

Book / clothing / shoe / CD stores or supermarket when she feels like doing some grocery shopping.

DVD stores and sport shops that sell football jerseys.



what would s/he have for a typical breakfast?:

All the typical famous Seria delicacies like fried kueh tiaw or kolomee. If she’s in the hostel, it will be instant noodles or cereals.

Bread with butter/cheese or whatever his auntie prepares for him. If he’s in Seria, then it would be kolomee.



where would s/he want to go for dinner?:

If she is in the process of saving money, she would go somewhere cheap like nasi katok stall or go pasar malam. Once in awhile she would crave for sushis and pastas.

Excapade, Yit Sum, La Mee, the restaurant that sells fish this-and-that noodles near the Gadong river, or any new restaurants which I suggested going. It depends actually because its the people who dine in with him who makes the decision normally. He very ching-chai one.





what kind of movie would s/he choose at the cinema?:

Blockbusters, romance and animation from PIXAR. She doesn’t like horror movies.
Any latest blockbusters.




describe his/her taste in music:

Anything loud (not alternative) or mellow. No fix genre. I don’t know what is so nice about Power Station though. And she pays more attention to the lyrics than the rhythm actually. Any songs with nice/cool lyrics, she’ll love it.

LAME! Lame lame lame! He loves those spa/hotel lobby/ airport/elevator music! You know those so-called “relaxing” music with saxophone *cough* Kenny G’s the moment *cough* . And also lame pop boy/girl group that I want to roll my eyes every time I hear their music. Cannot name them here, later kana their fans throw rotten eggs at me. He likes something with “beat”. *shrugs*




if s/he wasnt going out with you, who would s/he be going out with?:

If she is in Seria, she would go out with her gangs (Kelly and Swee Leong). At times she would be going out with her mom.

Eating out with his family or bring them out shopping. Or his usual minum-teh kakis talking about football and miscellaneous stuffs after playing in RC.




what item in his/her wardrobe would you like to burn:

Her big and loose granny underwear. She dislike undergarments-shopping (says very troublesome) so its her mum who does all the shopping.

HIS AH PEK BOXER! Checkered and super old!!!


what is s/he good at?:

She is good in a lot of things like D.I.Y, making new friends (but she claims she’s lazy to maintain it) , making people laugh with her lame jokes and most importantly, making me bend over to her wills. Every now and then, she is very good at making me say that ‘It’s my fault’ when I am innocent.

Listening. He’s a great listener with super banyak patience, look so sincere and attentive lagi and he wouldn’t interrupt you.. unlike me. And he’s good at naming all the names of footballers and their managers of all football club.

And, he used to be good in tricking me in opening up porn site back in the days when he was still my classmate. Stupid idiot embarrassed me so many times because I couldn’t stop the pop-ups showing buns and bananas everywhere in the screen then terpaksa reset the pc.



what is s/he totally horrible at?:
Playing snooker. This is why I loved to play it with her.
And some PC games like CS.


NAVIGATION! Gosh! Freaking useless you know. Don’t say Seria or what, he stays in BSB so long liao still will get lost and miss the simpang or whatsoever one. I wonder what happened to his cognitive map.



what’s something about him/her that is annoying/infuriating?:
When she has no confidence in her looks or being impatient.

Him being late most of the time and made me late because he took the wrong road. Once he nearly made me tak sempat reach the hostel. Don’t know road wanna keh-kiang don’t ask me again simply assume there. Then when I marah him why he didn’t take the shorter route, he’ll lost his patience because I challenge his ego kali.

And he loves using his newly grown moustache or goatee to rub my face. Very pricky okay. But then, once I take my tweezers out he will back off automatically.




what’s something that you two fundamentally disagree on?:

On her choice of exploring the world by going to places or countries that I always worried about.

Our tastes in music. The places I want to travel and the things I wanna try and do like bungee jumping and scuba diving (because he’s too sissy and scare this scare that one)





what’s something that you two agree whole-heartedly on?:

That when we get married, she cooks and I do the dish-washing.

It’s time to plan for “our” future and also our point of views for certain issues.



is s/he possessive?:

She is not possessive. But if she felt jealous or uncomfortable, she would let me know.
Not really.


why would s/he succeed in life?:

She would start things early and not a last minute person. She would get things done as soon as possible and not put it off till it is too late. Very brave and no matter how tough things are, she always turns it around and face the challenge.

His super-sabar power. Seriously, if there’s someone who makes him lose his cool… sure that person super kanasai and bokasi one. And also his determination in finishing up something and he’s attentive and observant. Oh oh, he’s a very careful person who follows things step by step making sure no mistakes were made.





what is the coolest gift that s/he has ever given you?:

She made 21 birthday cards for me while she was in Sibu for Chinese New Year when I turned 21.

There’s more than one so I’m going to mention whatever comes to my mind. Bear with me.

- The “house” he had made for my 22nd birthday with two of my favourite singers CDs in it.

- A box he made himself with drawings on it and inside very lihai, he put 2 light bulbs in it and when I pressed the “stars”, the box will be lighted up. And there’s a pair of really cute star earrings that I’d been wanting to buy but saying the money.

- A bouquet of 2D paper roses which he drew himself and can be opened with sweet messages inside for our anniversary

- My 25th birthday celebration. Everything that happened that night was simply magical. Heart-shaped balloons, a “Paddington” bag which he drew because he can’t afford it yet, dinner at Pantai, and a Burberry wallet.

- The latest one, a $1 weekly pill box that I’d been looking for to put my supplements.I love it because he keeps in mind what I need and he knows I like cheap stuffs. If the pill box is more than $5, I will kill him.




what is s/he obsessed with?:

Plucking my goatee with her best friend a.k.a Mr. Handy Tweezer.
Football, comics, British comedies

what does s/he avoid at all costs?:

Eating anything with durian as an ingredient. Also, to avoid being tickled by me.
Me plucking his goatees.


what does s/he spend the most money on?:

On me and her monthly expenses which comprises of car loan, insurance, bills and miscellaneous stuffs.

Making his parents happy and settle in their lives.




describe his/her typical sunday:

Staying at home in Seria, going tea with her gang and watch tv. Pretty boring and I do feel bad.

Waken up by his mother. Bring his parents out for breakfast, grocery shopping and jalan-jalan. Comes home, stays in his game room play game, reads book/magazine, lift weight or watch AFC.




why would s/he be dangerous?:

Once she is very mad, she is very dangerous as I tend to run away. And her clumsiness.

Once he gets angry, there’s no way back.
You seriously don’t want to see him mad.
You heard about the quote saying quiet dog bite people till mati right?




tell us about a time s/he looked absolutely gorgeous:

It was during my final year in Curtin University that we went to the Curtin prom. She looked so gorgeous and sexy in her purple dress.

I don’t know. I like it when he’s in his usual working attire. Striped shirt and tie hiding all his excess fats.

what’s something about him/her that would surprise all of his/her friends?:

She is a good cook, pretty good at DIY stuff and also in DS action games like bomberman and Super Mario.

He’s a very romantic person, so attached to me and making cards for me. He draws quite well to be honest, eventhough I always look fatter than him in his cards (which is totally untrue!)

what do you love most about him/her?:

Her funny side. Whenever I teased her, she would do those funny expression like acting innocent or ‘kerlian’ with those puppy eyes looking at me.

His stupid sense of humour.
No lah, he’s a very loving guy with humongous amount of tolerance in his tummy for all stupid things I said or did which drives him mad. And, the way he treats his family made me feel very secure about the life I will have after marrying him.

the biggest lesson you have learnt from loving your partner:

I’ve learn to be more positive in things and be confidence in myself like how she is right now. I’ve also learned that I am not alone anymore as I have someone to share my thoughts with.

It’s okay to be imperfect as a person who truthfully loves you for who you are will loves you no matter how smelly your breathe/feet/fart is, how loud you snore at night and how you wet the bed sheet with your drool.

I feel very comfortable around him as I don’t need to pretend and I can burp/ yawn hideously/ dig my nose in front of him whenever I feel like it and vice versa.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Venturing into the fifth year

 

5th

 

… and I’m still in love with him. 

Friday, May 8, 2009

Stupid caller

 

Got an incoming call from an unknown number this afternoon…

Me: Hello?
Idiot: Alo. Aji kah ni?
Me: No. You got the wrong number
Idiot: Oh… Siapa ni?
Me: I told you that you got the wrong number, why you need to know who am I?
Idiot: Siapa tahu, maybe I know you?
Me: NO! I’M SURE I DON’T KNOW YOU! BYE!


Stupid idiot!
So persistent for what?
Is that his way to kau-loi?

Thursday, May 7, 2009

A visit to the anatomy room

 

Had an opportunity to visit the anatomy room and had hell lot of fun in it!
LOL. Ya, I know, exam week… study…. NOTHING IS GOING INTO MY HEAD! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I NEED YOU DORAEMON!

Know why we (as in Soly and I) had hell loadsssss of fun?
Because we were damn sakai.

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But scary lah, imagine if you’re trapped inside the room.
Gila..

 

   4

Ya, we thought that’s (above) real cool. And… we couldn’t figure out if the dummy is male of female… because of the boob size.

 5
Vin and Soly having an intimate moment. Sorry Mett, you’ve been away for too long. (Sol gave that nickname because she thought the dummy’s physique looks like Vin Diesel) 

 

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Vin: EYES ON ME BABY~

 

Okay, this one… the last picture.. you cannot miss!

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A DELUXE CONDOM TRAINING MODEL!!!!!!!!!!

- which made Soly went like, “Eeeek! A dildo!”

Sorry, gotta mosaic-ed it because I do have some really young readers out there.

Monday, May 4, 2009

One fine day / Vandalism

 

Dropped by Pantai Tungku and had a mini-camwhoring session on the batus.
(Note: It was taken last month and not recent activities. Gila! Exam kali yo!)

 

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I have no idea why some people loves vandalising something so beautiful. Those rocks are not yours okay, who gave you the permission to write something on it? Try I go your house and splash some paint on the wall see you like or not lah!

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How pathetic can this person be? Wishing him/herself APY BUFDAY! Wow, what a celebration yo. You win lor, super got life. Hahahahaa. You know, whenever I saw those xx heart xx messages blanco-ed or carved on a tree/rock/table/bench.. I secretly cursed that they *cough* won’t last long and when they bring their new gf/bf there, hahaha~ Well… maybe they won’t be that stupid to bring their new girlfriend to the place where he and the ex had plenty of memories. Wah, if really like that… then they would have migrated to another country sooner or later.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Special Olympics Carnival

 

I woke up at 7.30 this morning, quickly did my laundry, cooked 2 packets of Maggie Curry noodles (which I totally regretted because there’s so many good food in the carnival and I was too full!!!!) and left for National Stadium at 9.30am along with Yee Jan and Linna my hostel mates.. which,  they wanted to tag along because they need an excuse to wake up early to study too, else, we all would have slept till God-knows-what-time.


First thing I did upon arrival was locating the booth selling the recipe book, which was not a tough job because Pablo is so tall!

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Quoted from Pablo’s blog:

Hahahaa. yes! The recipe book that we have been waiting for.... is finally here. We just got it off the printers. Thank you to the friendly neighbourhood Joon Joon printer who had kindly donated paper, colour and services for the printing cost of the book. Thank you also to our lovely editors and lay-out artist for their dedication and hard work for the book. Not to forget Mr Kurapak for the great book cover. That helped to save cost as well and because of this, we are offering the book to you at a cost of only $10. and 100% will go to the Special Olympics Brunei.

 

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L-R: Tina, Nonnie, Maurina and Muaz.


Apart from the recipe book, the other thing I bought from the carnival was a football jersey. Yeap, for my Mr. Punctual. His enthusiasm for football is almost fanatical. He can tell you the name of all players for all different football clubs from A-Z, their history, the managers and yadda yadda yadda.

You have no idea how troublesome was it just to buy the jersey because first of all, I know nothing about football except it is a type of sport with a black-and-white ball and 10 men chasing after it with 2 other men keeping the goal. I went through a hard time picking the right shirt because its either – habis size or habis nombor. In the end, I got the plain one for him.

And after I paid the volunteers the coupon and turned my head around, all the footie players were no where to be found!!!! I need their autographs!

Lucky one of the committee told me that they’re in the restaurant and brought me there. So malu lah… I was standing aside like a innocent little girl and looking around aimlessly while waiting for them to sign on the jersey. But they were really funny and friendly la, talking and joking with me.

They asked if I’m from China..
*doink* what the….

3


They even gave me their inflatable noise maker, signed!

4

 

 

5

Erm Bobby, I can explain…

 

Lastly,

6

my recipe~ The last time I had my name printed on a book was like 10 years ago, in my school magazine.

Okay, gotta go.
First paper tomorrow.
Wish me luck.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

I’m trying to find all sort of ways not to study

 

I’m now alone in my room and my father is still blasting the TV with super high volume in the living room. Every 5 minutes I would jump up from my bed and check whether or not my workers are still healthy and if my restaurant is clean. Stupid Restaurant City…. Tonight will be my very last night to “play” because I’m going up BSB tomorrow!

Life in hostel = No internet connection in my room
Internet connection = Walk to hostel canteen / ICTC

Exam is starting on the 4th and I’m still very unmotivated!
Gosh, I need my study-bugs back!
I want to be a nerd once again!
Straight As…. please don’t leave me~


But, I’ve been trying hard to stay focus on my notes because I get distracted easily or simply because I love finding some mundane stuffs to do keeping me away from inches thick of notes…. such as texting the boyfriend.

sd


Humpphhhh! No reply from him till now!

Stupid boyfriend must have fallen asleep on the couch again…
Lucky him. Oh well… maybe not so, because I get to sleep till whatever time I want tomorrow and he has to wake up for work. HAHAHHAHHAHHHAHHA!

Bah, I better hit the sack too since I’m not even motivated to study.

Good night.

Monday, April 27, 2009

My inseparatable relationship with Telbru


Note: This post is made special for the Blog And Win contest organised by TelBru.

 

As I am typing this post while monitoring with my Restaurant City activities running in the background, I’m glad and proud to say that I’ve been connected to the internet via my trusted Espeed for as long as I remember and doubt that it’s going to change in the near future.

 
No matter what others had said about Espeed, the good and the bad, I’ve been loyal to this Brunei’s very first ISP. Despite of the “horror stories” (Yes! Life without internet is scarier than watching Shutter with a big plasma TV and home theatre system surrounding me!) I heard from my friends telling me about their internet connectivity and how they’re ignored and stuffs, whenever I had problems in the connection, I just picked the phone up and dialled the customer care 111 and my complains will be taken note of immediately and the technicians would arrived my door steps latest by “tomorrow morning”. I guess it is best to stay neutral about things until you get to face one yourself, meaning to say.. do not let anyone decide for you.

 

I remembered vividly that we used to have only 5 digits number to dial, then 6 digits – plus zero-something in front if you wish to make STD calls and now its 7 digits(!) with the area code stick permanently in front of the previous 6 digits number. Haih~ How time flies..

 

Image source from here

 

Back in those days having a telephone at home was somewhat cool and luxurious. You can hear the super loud “Ringgggggggggggggggggggggggggg Ringggggggggggggggggg Ringggggggggggg” from the rotary dialling telephone even from 10m away! And everyone would freaked out when the phone rang and rushed to the phone it was something really big and serious, like how 阿桃 reacted in the super hit series “The Little Nyonya” when the stupid Wong family called and said they’re coming back to Singapore. Oops.. I digress.


Anyway, back to the topic. Why did I say that my relationship with Telbru, previously known as JTB, is inseparable? Since young, I had been awarded by my mum a very special job, it’s called “The Phone Dialler”!!!

I have no idea how did my mum developed the strong sense of inferiority over telephone because she will avoid dialling the phone in any case! At age 3, she would bring me to JTB’s KB branch (because we used to live in KB) and gave the number to the operator, or any ladies sitting behind the counter and told them that she would like to make a phone call and walked to small cubicle and lifted the handset waiting for the third party to pick up the call. As for me, being so young and small (gosh.. how I miss the days when I weighted less than 20kg. Hahhaha), my mum would lifted me up and placed me on the table/board so that I wouldn’t run around/away and the height would kept me sit still.

Smart move mother!

 

sda


When we moved down to Seria and my mother had works to attend to not hence not able to make phone during the working hours with those Malay Kakaks to help her to to dial the phone, and I’m already old enough to understand how the whole “Calling System” works, she would bring me to Seria branch and waited for hours for our turn to use the public phone.

Oh by the way, my mum was calling back to her hometown in Sibu if you’re wondering why we used public phones. Remember those calling cards? Very stiff and had a marking on the card indicating how much you had used.. I think?

Haih… really waited for hours okay! And… back in the days there’s no sanitizer.. or I was too young to know what it is, the smell on the handset after 10+ people (Indians, Indonesians, Filipinos and so on… I’m not trying to be racist here okay. Bad breathe happens to anyone, any race!)…. haih, so kick that my mum had to wipe the handset with tissue for 10 seconds hoping that all germs/bacterias already mati. Very naive hor?

Then when we finally have a house phone at home… like 10 years later.. okay, not exactly “our” house phone.. it’s my neighbours and they’re kind enough to lend it to us and we sort of sharing-is-caring, it was time when I reached puberty and started to hog the phone line for hours talking about mindless and random stuffs with my classmates..

Super silly stuffs like,

“OMG! I love Take That! (Go and naming their songs from A-Z) Who is your favourite among them ah? I liked Mark Owen at first one.. then hor, Robbie Williams also very nice lor. But Gary Barlow can sing well leh. Eh, don’t fight with me ah. Robbie William I like first one, you go and like others lah…

Eh. Ah Kai got call you ah? Wah lao eh… So long ah?! Eh.. He already go after you so long liao… you never consider him meh? Don’t like then don’t give hope lah you. So kerlian. He everyday call me and lor-liu (asking for information) about you leh.. He actually not bad also lah… ”


(I bet 48 is chuckling now if she reads this)

Hey! Don’t look at me like that. I was a teenager okay. Teenagers are excused to be all silly and foolish one. And later came “Halo Card”… a prepaid card which allowed me to make STD calls and talked non-stop until credit habis. Oh btw, “my” house phone cannot make STD calls one.. so the only way to call my then-boyfriend who lives in Bandar (Belait-ians refer BSB as Bandar, and not Bandar as in Bandar the Kianggeh area as how BSB-ians thought) is using Halo Card.

I would normally buy a $5 card and for this $5, I got 50 minutes of calling time. Yeap, cheap right? $0.10 for one minute~ regardless of the time you call. Cheap lah, because calling mobile phones also same price leh! You do the maths. Memorizing the 12 digits number was an easy job for me. Just that getting through the toll-free line, 1800 xxxx, especially at the peak hours.. 8pm – 12pm!

 

1
(And now.. check out the latest products and services available using public phone!)


Then came BruNet!!!!!!!!!


Brunet oh Brunet~ You brought me into the world of Internet. Hotmail, ICQ and mIRC. Making plenty of friends online… hahhaa… how cliché, we had a term for it CYBERFRIENDS! Excuse, I’m now telling you something that happened a decade ago okay! 10 years ago where got Google and Windows Live Messenger. Blog? What blog? My PC that time was Pentium III 500Mhz ah don’t play play! Already very tokong liao okay! 

HAHHAHAHHAHAHAHA
TOKONG! So ancient man that word!
TOKONG!!!! TOKONG!!!!! TOKONG !!!!!!!!!!

(Tokong – top, no.1, super high class, ganas, bestest!)


Espeed was non-existent that time and everyone was using dial-up. When we called a friend, engage tone, “Ah.. budak ani mesti online ni”. And the other case was, an adult picked up the handset and heard those robotic gibberish that sounded like Darth Vader, they would freaked out and screamed... “Oi! Telephone rosak liao!!!!!!”

Seriously, I can still mimicked the sound of modem dialling up to these days. And I could predict so well whether or not I could connect to the internet based on the tone. Oh, using dial-up also always line engage one… >.< And this ought to teach you that you got to appreciate Espeed more.

I was subscribed to the Personal Plan (dial-up) which is way expensive than what BruNet is offering now and my bills sometime could come up to $90 a month! And that was nothing compared to my other friends… $100+ !!!! Hey, we’re just college students that time and our lives were not as privileged as youngster today.

Speaking of which, it reminds me of PAGER!

Muahahahhahaha!!!

I saw someone using a pager last Thursday and it was for business purposes. That we all had a good laugh about it reminiscing the past. Like how we remembered all the codes and was super fast when pressing the buttons.

Below are some really cheesy numerical codes I remembered.

The Chinese type
520 / 143 – I love you
530 – I miss you
5201314 – I love you forever
074 – you go die
78 – Ci…. okay, I’m not suppose to say this in public

The Rotate-180-degrees-to-understand-the-codes type (Same as the Scientific calculator type)
07734 – hello
5513 – miss
1C155 – kiss

Arghh.. I can’t remember the rest. But I’m sure you all born 1985 and above get the hint lah.

Gosh, teenagers during my era were very jobless kan? Haahhahhahaa
There’s no such thing as Goth and emo. Aaron Kwok’s centre parting hair, which I normally called it as the McDonald’s hair was so popular and everyone has a laser beam or Tamagotchi hooked on their bags. Those were the in-things.


…. Okay, I drifted away from the topic again.



Then came E-Speed!!!!!!! which was something that I never thought I’ll owned it because I was so poor that time and asking my mum to fork out $300+ for the initial payment and a monthly subscription fee of $98 was near to impossible. Know what? When I got my very first pay from my teaching job, the first thing I bought was not baju, bag or mobile phone.. It’s ESpeed! That’s how important it is to me!

 2


And ESpeed and I live happily ever after~
The End.




Wait! Not yet! One more!
I left out WAVE CARD!

Yeap, even though I constantly complained about the connectivity of Wave card in my hostel… I’m still thankful that it exists. To be honest, the webpage loads so freaking slow when connecting using Wave but… the download speed is so damn fast! So… pros and cons lah.

Okay, the end.



Not really.

One last thing about TelBru I like. 

3

 

The Telephone Directory.
It’s like a bible/encyclopaedia to me. Everything I need/want to know is there!

4



Hehehhee. I become so dependent to the directory inquiries, 113, that I even called them up for directions and locations… when I was doing the RTB Media Survey. Hey, it’s a free service so why not make full use of it!

And the other thing I love about the telephone directory is… the Menu Pages!

5



No idea where to lunch, go take the thick phone book out and start choosing! Pictures of food, location and contact numbers all easily printed there.

6  



 

TelBru, let’s make our future better and brighter~
Muacks~

Quick post

 

Just a short update on… everything.

I didn’t win anything from the challenge because my Rose Sandwich is very forgettable. Hahhahaa. Well, comparing to all those goodies, can lah I kalah. Please Pablo, organize another one so I can try my other recipe to win!

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Miss the event?
Seriously… your lost!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I was very active last week because I was dead bored in Seria and I just messaged my classmates and friends so that I could fill my schedule. 

I love my very spontaneous and super sporting friends.

Went to Tasek Lama for some “road-climbing”.
Played golf for the very first time and had an aching back. Really lor… I never knew golf can be that difficult! My sifu and sifu’s-sifu comments on me was..
- You need more Umph!!!!
- You’re too sloppy
- You bend your (left) arm
- Nevermind, first time like that one..

And… my sifu’s sifu had a Freudian slip saying..
”Your arms are flabby”

Boohooohooohoooohoooo!

I know he meant, your arms are sloppy but.. he used the word “flabby” instead.
Damn hurt lah!
Must. Lose. Weight!
Humpppphhhhh!!!!

Anyway, I was happy that some commented that I look thinner yesterday.
Oh yes! hahhahaa
But still… I’m still overweight.

Bah… later peeps.
Still in the process of curi-ing photos from other’s FB then baru can blog about yesterday’s event.

Ta.  

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Mawar’s May Promotion

 

Last last Friday, yes, the very same day when I got to meet Bobby Chinn in person, Thanis invited DC and I for food testing in Brunei Hotel. Free fooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!

 

While waiting for the CookieLateMonzter. 2

I digress. Seriously. I have no idea what the world has come to.
Men making women wait for more than 10 minutes is a big sin okay!

 

Anyway, menu of the day~

1

 

 

Uttar Pradesh Spicy Chicken3

It’s an Indian dish and I love the caramelized coating. I don’t know for others, but if you ask me to describe this dish, I will say …. it tasted like buttermilk chicken minus the creamy milk part?

I’m not a food critic nor someone who can talk about food in detail like a weather report or something something. So pardon me for my very limited vocabulary when it comes to food.

 

Cashew Kung Po Chicken

4

Who doesn’t know Kung Po Chicken? But to be honest, I’ve never order this before because…. my intake of spiciness is very minimal. Seeing the chillies like that already freak me out liao. Hehehehee.

 

Black Pepper Buttermilk Chicken

5

My favourite!!!! Why they so smart one?! They mix two of my favourite flavours in to one leh. Geniussssss! Buttermilk + Black Pepper wor!

It was so crispy and creamy with sikit-sikit spicy because of the black pepper. Pepper-type of spiciness I can take la.

 

Milk Sweet Corn Chicken

6

I like toh! Hehheehehe. Yes, I’m all into creamy stuff.

I don’t know about you but… crispy fried food plus creamy sauce, haih~
*floating in cloud 9*

 

 

Clay Pot Lamb Curry

7

Curry… in a clay pot? My first time also.
:D

 

Sautéed Fish Fillet

8

Only ate a small bite of this so, cannot comment much about this.

 

Shanghai Chicken

9

Plum sauce and milk!!!! Plum sauce!
Plum sauceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
So smart!

Wait, I just realized Uttar Pradesh also got plum sauce. I guess I like Shanghai chicken for the kicap-ish outlook. Heh.

 

Chicken Patties with Avocados

10


Perfect for ladies who want to keep their waistline in a steady figure and wish to be a lean machine, or just pure small appetite.

 

 

The after-mess

11          

Did you notice? Rice not very laku hor.
Hahahhahaaa.


 

This special promotion will starts in May and it costs B$ 6.50 nett, one main dish with free soft drink (Coke/Sprite) from 11am – 11pm.

And the good thing about this promo is, the menu is really flexible! You can replace chicken with fish or beef for the above dishes and also for the clay pot lamb curry, you can opt for clay pot chicken curry too.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Canon G10 or Panasonic LX3?

I’m sure if you have me in your FB, MSN or keep track of my Plurkies, you should know that I’m now thinking whether to get a G10 or LX3.

Okay, the fact is.. I had already read enough reviews in the internet, and compared these two cameras side-by-side for N times. Yet I have not really made up my mind which to get.

Quite a number of friends voted for G10, and only very very few.. okay lah.. just one, Intan picked LX3.. because she has one herself. And since I’m home (in Seria) with 24/7 internet.. I’m going to do something really geeky, build a table and compare them myself, in my own way and not so much of technical terms.

p/s: Once you go Windows Live Writer, you can never go back to “html” format of blogging. WLW has really spoiled me.

Here goes, my super bimbotic comparison that will make all gadget geeks slap their forehead till oh-che (blue black).

Camera

Canon Powershot G10

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

Announced in

17th September 2008

WIN
(Because it’s newer)

21st July 2008

Appearance
Looks so “tai-kau-soi” – big and clumsy and only available in just one colour.


Looks better and available in two colors! Like that already win liao lah! And some more, look what XX did to her LX3!


I know I won’t be as rajin as her to zhng the camera but at least, it can be beautified kan?

WIN

Dimensions

109 x 78 x 46 mm

109 x 60 x 27 mm

WIN
(cos its slimmer)

Weight

390 g (13.8 oz)

265 g (9.3 oz)

WIN
(cos lighter – I don’t need muscles in my biceps)

Storage type

SD/SDHC/MMC card

SD/MMC/SDHC card, Internal (50MB)

WIN
(because I always terlupa that my SD card is still inside my lappie. You have no idea how many times I brought out an “empty” camera with no SD card inside)

Effective pixels

14.7 million
WIN

10.1 million

ISO Rating

Auto, 80 ,100, 200, 400, 800, 1600

Auto, Hi Auto (1600-6400), 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200

WIN?smile_sarcastic
(Wah lao eh, damn kiasu this camera! But, I don’t think I will use up to that tinggi ISO eh)

Zoom wide (W)

28mm

WIN
(Both of them have wide lens but G10 more hebat. Ngam for kiasu people like me who wanna capture everything in one shot)

24mm

Zoom tele (T)

140 mm (5 x)

WIN
(No idea what does this do but, more mean more lihai right?)

60 mm (2.5 x)

Viewfinder

Optical (Tunnel)

WIN
(Okay, I used to think that I don’t really need a viewfinder but now I need it! Because my the display light of my FX8 always went off and I can’t even see what was I taking, having a VF is damn useful okay. Can save battery life also I guess?)

None

Self-timer

Yes, 2 or 10 sec or custom

WIN
(Because 2s is too short and 10s is too long. This one can customized one leh! Cool or not?)

Yes, 2 or 10 sec

Continuous Drive

Yes, 0.7 fps

(less frames per second, but unlimited… Hmmm)

Yes, 2.5 fps, max 8 images

(More frames per second, so can be more kiasu because can keep ci-cak, ci-cak.. but max 8 pictures only leh… )

WIN

(cos I think I won’t be that kiasu acting like a pro taking pictures non-stop)
Movie clips Yes, 640 x 480 @ 30 fps, 320 x 240 @ 30 fps, 160 x 120 @ 15 fps

(Lower resolution but more fps)


HOW?
Yes, 1280 x 720 @ 24 fps, 848 x 480, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 @ 30fps, 320 x 240 @ 10fps

(Higher resolution but less fps)

HOW?
Pros
  1. At base ISO and in high contrast conditions, this is the highest resolving compact we have ever tested
  2. Capable of very good results at lower ISO settings (Below ISO 400), and very usable for standard sized prints (noise and NR effects are visible on screen however)
  3. Very little vignetting and good edge-to-edge sharpness across the zoom range
  4. Very low lens distortion (none at the long end)
  5. RAW mode (and RAW+JPEG option) surprisingly fast - and useful
  6. Classic 'rangefinder' styling looks great, fit & finish superb
  7. Improved handling (much better grip) - one of the best handling compacts currently available
  8. Improved grip makes one handed operation quite comfortable (and secure), and generally fun-to-play-with gadget that encourages the user to take pictures
  9. Huge feature set
  10. Real, usable photographic control
  11. ISO and EV dial on body and external access to all important controls
  12. My Menu for quick access to most used menu options
  13. Higher resolution, sharper screen that works pretty well in bright light
  14. Higher capacity battery
  15. Rugged, solid construction and excellent build quality
  16. 28-140mm focal length range is all you need in most everyday situations
  17. Effective image stabilization with 3-4 stop advantage
  18. Fast and responsive overall performance (slightly slower than G9 due to larger files)
  19. Optional teleconverter
  20. Well designed optional underwater housing
  21. Software bundle now includes a full (powerful) version of Digital Photo Professional
  22. Flash hot shoe for dedicated flash units
  23. Built-in flash performs well
  24. Two custom modes and customizable shortcut button
  25. Wide range of image color and sharpness parameters
  26. 1cm macro mode
  27. Excellent movie quality

WIN

  1. Good image quality at low ISO settings
  2. Exceptionally bright F2.0-2.8 lens
  3. 24mm wide angle
  4. Decent high ISO performance (up to ISO 1600)
  5. Unique choice of aspect ratios at a consistent angle-of-view
  6. Comprehensive photographic control
  7. High quality construction with attractive design
  8. Automatic correction of chromatic aberration
  9. Feels fast and responsive
  10. High resolution screen
  11. Generally reliable exposure and focus
  12. Effective image stabilization
  13. Generally good user interface
  14. Raw mode & fully-featured RAW conversion software included
  15. Plenty of in-camera control over image parameters
  16. Good battery life
  17. Well priced (compared to its peers)
  18. Easy to use
Cons
  1. Rather slow lens (in terms of aperture) by traditional G series standards
  2. No articulated LCD (another traditional G series feature)
  3. Price is very high considering other cameras in its class and low end DSLRs
  4. Some noise visible even at ISO 80, Noise Reduction effects start to creep in and smear detail from about ISO 200
  5. ISO 800 and 1600, though improved from the G9, are still so noisy (and soft) they're almost pointless, ISO 3200 very low resolution and complete waste of time
  6. Focus sometimes hunts in low light at longer focal lengths and in macro mode
  7. Continuous mode slightly slower than the G9
  8. Highlight clipping and metering issues in bright conditions (though to some degree fixable in RAW)
  9. Some chromatic aberration visible at wide end of zoom in all shots
  10. Focus speeds and shutter lag (when using LCD) could be better
  1. 60mm telephoto will be restricting for some
  2. Noise reduction can impact on low-contrast detail
  3. Underpowered flash
  4. Auto flash keen on using 1/30th second shutter speed (but keeps ISO down)
  5. Disappointing white balance performance (though has a fine-tune option)
  6. Occasional dynamic range problems in very contrasty scenes
  7. Controls awkward for those with large fingers

WIN

Rating Out of 10
From Dpreview - 8.6
From CNet – 7.6
From Digitalcamera HQ – 8.6

Average – 8.27
Out of 10
From Dpreview - 8.5
From CNet – 8
From Digitalcamera HQ – 9.1

Average – 8.53

WIN

Price SGD 789.00
Free: 8GB

(price from AlanPhoto)
SGD 679.00
Free: 8GB + Case + Card reader + LCD Protector + Mini Pod

(price from AlanPhoto)

WIN

No. of WINs

7

9

WIN!
Okay, 9 + 1 = 10 wins!

So what do you think?


Just leave comments here or vote for it at my sidebar...
Ignore the D60, not planning to get that after talking to Sas.