My other obsession... KPOP music

I've always wanted to write about this particular obsession of mine but I was a bit wary about what others might say. I feel a bit daring today so here goes...

Why am I worried that people might find out my secret obsession?

Well firstly, I am not THAT young, but I'm young at heart. I am not the typical age group that would listen to Kpop musics. Generally, people would associate Kpop musics with crazy screaming teenagers with severe emotional attachments to one Kpop group or perhaps several, depending on their teenage mood swings. That's the general view, that is. I think music is universal. It is limitless and timeless. It transverse across culture, language and of course age. Well, that's what I believe and you might think differently.

Secondly, in Malaysia particularly, Kpop music/artists had gained unfair notoriety as moral destruction due to the infamous incident involving a scarf-clad lady. That one moment had marred Kpop fan's name, in general, forever. 

Why do I like Kpop?
 Well, its pop music hence its catchy even when I don't understand a single word they are singing, at first. But now, I can understand some of it. Hence, it's a bonus as I'm acquiring new language skill.

I love to watch their complex and unique dance choreography. I love dancing. But I only do it at home as I have two left feet. Zero hand and feet coordination! Only hubby can see my weird dancing abilities :-)

Last but not least, all of them are so handsome and pretty. I would love to be one of the perfect looking girls. As for the boys, they are just as eye candy as no one can be more perfect for me than hubby (wink!). They are living proof that success will come if you work hard even when you are not gifted/blessed with talents or looks. Some do had help from plastic surgeries but they are talented in their own way. Some can dance, sing or simply just being silly.

How much do I like Kpop?

I've went to countless Kpop concerts, both in Malaysia and overseas, and yes, I agree there were lots of screaming and crying involved. I did screamed but did not cry, mind you. You'd be lying if you didn't at least nod along to the song or screamed a little bit in a concert. It is one way of showing appreciation to the artist and their music. No one wants to go to a silent concert, don't they? 

If you've seen me listening to my iPod while working out, 99% it would be Kpop songs. If you seen me singing in my car, 98% it'd be a Kpop song. My ringtone is a snippet from a Kpop song. My twitter account is dedicated solely for Kpop fans. I've been there, waiting for the latest music video (MV) to be officially released and watched it over and over. The only music CD I bought were Kpop artists'. Well no one buy music CD anymore as you can buy any songs on iTune. But as a Kpop fan, you must have the physical copy of the album because the album is so unique which has to be part of the collection. Only a true Kpop music fan would understand what I was rambling above.

But, I'm so lucky, I have a very understanding husband that tolerated my obsession with Kpop music. He even went to concerts with me and surprised me with the latest Kpop albums that he bought. The albums are not cheap and sometimes you need to pre-order it weeks before its being released.  

So, there you go, the cat is finally out of the bag and I'm open to be judged by those who has strong opinion against Kpop music and Korean in general. I might lose some friends over this or their opinion will change about me. But who cares.. let's live freely! Love don't hate...

~XOXO~

Happy Malaysia Day!

It is 16 September 2015. It is Malaysia Day.

I am proud to be a Malaysian even with all the internal political turmoil and racial tensions that I'm reading every day in the news. I wish we will continue to have a prosperous and peaceful nation. 

Happy Malaysia Day!!!

Surprising reasons why we overeat!

I was cruising through the tv channels on my comfy sofa when I stumbled upon Dr Oz Show. I love watching Dr Oz on the Oprah Show but I have not had the chance to watch his own show. I know it has been around long but I can't find the time to watch it. He was talking about why people tends to overeat, which is always the case with me. He listed 3 surprising reasons why we do it. I had all the answers wrong so there you go why I'm so FAT right now :-)

1. Confused on portion size

Dr Oz showed 2 sizes bag of chips, one was supersize bag and another was a snack size. Mostly, I would grab a snack size bag of chips, it's a no-brainer. The chip company had nicely packed a snack size so I  don't have to think about the calories anymore. But, that's where we tend to overeat. The snack size bag is normally for 2-3 people and not for one. We would not feel guilty munching away the whole snack size bag as compared to the supersize bag. If I had a supersize bag, I would not open it until I know I could share with other people to finish it otherwise it'd go stale. I'd also looked closely at the label and measure the portion size accordingly. 

2. Group eating situation

We would normally think that we'd not eat that much when we go out with friends. But, it is normally THE situation where we tend to overeat. Why is that you might think? I had the same thought as well but Dr Oz explained that we normally would lose track of what we put in our mouth when we were excited or having fun. This is especially true when booze is involved. 

3. The colour of your plate

There's a reason why restaurant serves their food in white or fair coloured plates as compared to dark-coloured plates. On a white plate, we can see clearly the food that we're eating and it looked more appetising. In this case, Dr Oz demonstrated with spaghetti carbonara served on a white plate and another on a blue plate. Yes, I do agree, it looked more appetising on a white plate. So, if you're on a diet, buy dark-coloured plates to stop you from overeat! But in my case, the colour of my plate will not be able to stop me from eating delicious food!

There you go some health tips I gathered from Dr Oz. I have not been able to update this blog as frequent as I want as I'm also maintaining another blog in Malay language. It is hard work maintaining 2 blog at once. Do visit my other blog, if you can understand Malay that is at Contengan Rasa. Will try to update this blog as much as I can.

~XOXO~

Travelog - Little India & Jonker Walk Melaka

We were so bored during the long Merdeka weekend, so hubby and I decided to take a walk from our hotel to Jonker Walk. Yes, we are currently living in a hotel as we are yet to get the allocated accommodation for government servants. And why am I living in a hotel? So rich, meh? Noooo,  we are not super-rich or 'mengada-ngada'.

The issue here is, in order to get the allocated accommodation, hubby needs to get approval from the Director of the {place he was working, sorry can't disclose it} in its monthly meeting. But, the meeting has been postponed twice and so here we are, stuck in this dingy hotel. Enough rambling, back to the original story. Ah, yes! Jonker Walk & Little India...

Melaka is so hot during the day so we can't ventured out anytime before 5 pm. But, all the pa & ma shop lots along Little India area closed at 5 pm, so there were less crowd when we were exploring the Little India street. You'll definitely know why it's called Little India cause' you won't miss the lovely flower shops and Indian clothing shops along the street. There is a one nice Indian restaurant there as well, that sells yummy rice dishes on banana leaves. Sorry, I forgot to jot down the name of the restaurant, though.

Saw this ancient looking building that houses CIMB ATM. I'm not sure whether it's a fully functional bank because I only saw the ATMs, but it is interesting idea to maintain and protect old buildings in Melaka. It is part of our heritage and history. 

Moving along the narrow pavements of the shop lots, saw lots of interesting shops that you'd never see if you are travelling by car in Melaka. There's a Sikh Association, Chinese and Indian restaurants,   Tabib Cina (Traditional Chinese Healer) and it all looked so ancient as if time had stop in 1950s. Sorry, being an urbanite makes me a bit jakun (how to translate in English?).

Melaka is proud of its Little India....

I even saw this building named Bangunan Madonna. I wondered what's inside the building. I can't any info about it on Google, though....hmm 

One of the many bridges across Melaka River. I don't understand the signage in Chinese below, but it looked ancient. If you do know what it meant, do let me know in the comment ok!

This Discovery Cafe is famous among foreign tourists and received high ratings in TripAdvisor website. It looked kind of empty during the day but at night this cafe light up like Christmas tree. Maybe next time, I'll try to grab something to eat here.

There's a museum as well. I love reading about Admiral Cheng Ho and its related history with Melaka. I didn't get to enter the museum though as it's already close for the day. If you looked above to the left of the building, there are 3 stones statue overlooking above you. I was quite startled when I first saw it, I thought someone was looking at me from above. :-)

It was almost sunset when we reached Melaka river... I felt quite relaxed and happy to be able to enjoy this with hubby.

Walking along the tranquil Melaka River with lots of interesting looking building along the river. This picture captured my attention as you can see there's a guy that looked like Colonel Sanders (yes, the KFC guy) sitting there...

Awesome mural by Kiehls... Great place for your Instagram picture post! or wedding pictorial as well...

 Finally, we reached Jonker Walk. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take lots of picture as there were TOO many people. It was hot and humid, I was sweating like crazy. Girl, bring along small fan along with you as that place was super HOT even late in the evening.

 A bowl of cendol before heading home. It was super yummy!

 Gothic looking Hard Rock Cafe. Yes, Melaka do have a Hard Rock Cafe...

 I got to put in this scary looking building in my post. I don't know the name of the building but I had goose bumps when I was taking the picture.

 Well, it had been fun, scary and sweaty kind of day but I enjoyed it so much. I never know I would enjoy that walk that much as I had been living in Melaka almost 4 years before we moved to the UK. There are still things left to be discovered and explore.

Till next time, XOXO

Oldest siblings are likely to be FAT

Photo by ALAMY

Found this funny and interesting article in The Daily Mail newspaper Daily Mail - Oldest siblings likely to be FAT about a research done by some UK researchers. It stated that first born has higher chances to be overweight and have chronic diseases such as heart problems, diabetes and high blood pressure. But, unfortunately the research didn't specifically said the cause of the concern. I guess there's some truth in it as I am the fattest one in the family beside my mom. My younger sister is tall and slim while I am short and overweight (my BMI  is still borderline overweight). I have always struggled with my weight since I was a teenager. Being 5"1 does not help either. It'd show even when I'd put on 1 kg. My small frame just can't take the extra weight. I can feel layers of fats rolling underneath my baggy shirt. I am trying to lose weight now by consuming Herbalife. But, I was not that religious in consuming it so the effect might be slow. I do go to gym 3 times a week now. But again, it has only been 2 weeks so no dramatic result as yet. At least, I am doing something positive about it instead of slumming it on the sofa and watch Korean drama on the TV (which I love to do right now!) 

So, instead of minding my diet, I am at a Starbucks with my Venti Vanilla Latte and Nutella Butter Cake. :-) Have a nice evening everyone!

My perfect way of 'chillaxing'