of macarons and xmas

The week in pictures...


#1. What greeted me on Monday morning.


#2. They turn out to be quite delicious, and not the diabetes inducing confectionery I was expecting. Finally I understand what the big deal is about.


#3. The office Christmas tree we pull out every year out of storage and only put away 2 months later.


#4. Not bragging but I wish I could get my gift wrapped like this too.


#5. My present from my secret santa. Thanks!


#6. The kind of gifts you don't really want to receive.


#7. Gloomy skies...

project 33A: beauty in destruction

Exposed bricks, after the window was torn down.

H&M, finally!

Malaysia's first ever H&M is opening next week and I'm soooo excited.



I plan to be there before their doors open (kiasu) and I'm sure one million other girls will probably do the same.

The local website is already up so you can browse through their items, with prices indicated. But what I most like about their website is the Dressing Room, where you can dress up models in your favourite look. It's highly customisable - you can change the model's face, their hairstyle, tuck in the shirts, unzip the cardi, roll up the sleeves, etc. Needless to say I've been spending way too much time playing with the Dressing Room. Below are some of my favourite creations.


Casual, work and glam *hearts* So I plan to try on exactly the stuff above and hope it turns out still awesome on a shorter person


These are rather yummy too, but the printed skirt (first pix) and jersey top (last pix) are not on the website yet. Hope we get them in stores soon!

I'm wondering whether there's some special pre-opening thingy next Friday. Suppose I could just walk by and see if there's anything going on. Then perhaps if I ask nicely, they may just let me in. Then I can avoid all the crazy girls on Saturday and actually find dresses/tops/pants in my size! Ah, that should be my reward for refraining from shopping at Zara so that I could spend it all in H&M ;)

better kind than clever

I get customised news links from LinkedIn, usually on work-related articles. Today I read something worth sharing, from Harvard Business Review.

Read it directly from HBR here.

It's More Important to Be Kind than Clever
by Bill Taylor

One of the more heart-warming stories to zoom around the Internet lately involves a young man, his dying grandmother, and a bowl of clam chowder from Panera Bread. It's a little story that offers big lessons about service, brands, and the human side of business — a story that underscores why efficiency should never come at the expense of humanity.

The story, as told in AdWeek, goes like this: Brandon Cook, from Wilton, New Hampshire, was visiting his grandmother in the hospital. Terribly ill with cancer, she complained to her grandson that she desperately wanted a bowl of soup, and that the hospital's soup was inedible (she used saltier language). If only she could get a bowl of her favorite clam chowder from Panera Bread! Trouble was, Panera only sells clam chowder on Friday. So Brandon called the nearby Panera and talked to store manager Suzanne Fortier. Not only did Sue make clam chowder specially for Brandon's grandmother, she included a box of cookies as a gift from the staff.

It was a small act of kindness that would not normally make headlines. Except that Brandon told the story on his Facebook page, and Brandon's mother, Gail Cook, retold the story on Panera's fan page. The rest, as they say, is social-media history. Gail's post generated 500,000 (and counting) "likes" and more than 22,000 comments on Panera's Facebook page. Panera, meanwhile, got something that no amount of traditional advertising can buy — a genuine sense of affiliation and appreciation from customers around the world.

Marketing types have latched on to this story as an example of the power of social media and "virtual word-of-mouth" to boost a company's reputation. But I see the reaction to Sue Fortier's gesture as an example of something else — the hunger among customers, employees, and all of us to engage with companies on more than just dollars-and-cents terms. In a world that is being reshaped by the relentless advance of technology, what stands out are acts of compassion and connection that remind us what it means to be human.

As I read the story of Brandon and his grandmother, I thought back to a lecture delivered two years ago by Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, to the graduating seniors of my alma mater, Princeton University. Bezos is nothing if not a master of technology — he has built his company, and his fortune, on the rise of the Internet and his own intellect. But he spoke that day not about computing power or brainpower, but about his grandmother — and what he learned when he made her cry.

Even as a 10-year-old boy, it turns out, Bezos had a steel-trap mind and a passion for crunching numbers. During a summer road trip with his grandparents, young Jeff got fed up with his grandmother's smoking in the car — and decided to do something about it. From the backseat, he calculated how many cigarettes per day his grandmother smoked, how many puffs she took per cigarette, the health risk of each puff, and announced to her with great fanfare, "You've taken nine years off your life!"

Bezos's calculations may have been accurate — but the reaction was not what he expected. His grandmother burst into tears. His grandfather pulled the car off to the side of the road and asked young Jeff to step out. And then his grandfather taught a lesson that this now-billionaire decided to share the with the Class of 2010: "My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, 'Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever.'"

That's a lesson I wish more businesspeople understood — a lesson that is reinforced by the reaction to this simple act of kindness at Panera Bread. Indeed, I experienced something similar not so long ago, and found it striking enough to devote an HBR blog post to the experience. In my post, I told the story of my father, his search for a new car, a health emergency that took place in the middle of that search — and a couple of extraordinary (and truly human) gestures by an auto dealer that put him at ease and won his loyalty.

"What is it about business that makes it so hard to be kind?" I asked at the time. "And what kind of businesspeople have we become when small acts of kindness feel so rare?"

That's what's really striking about the Panera Bread story — not that Suzanne Fortier went out of her way to do something nice for a sick grandmother, but that her simple gesture attracted such global attention and acclaim.

So by all means, encourage your people to embrace technology, get great at business analytics, and otherwise ramp up the efficiency of everything they do. But just make sure all their efficiency doesn't come at the expense of their humanity. Small gestures can send big signals about who we are, what we care about, and why people should want to affiliate with us. It's harder (and more important) to be kind than clever.

mentaiko love

I happened to have 100 grams of bacon bits, a handful of spaghetti and some delightful mentaiko. Naturally, it's bacon mentaiko spaghetti for dinner!


That's a failed poached egg on top, if anyone is curious.

Mentaiko is the marinated roe of pollock and is commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It's salty, a little spicy and tastes kinda seafood-ish. The flavour can be quite robust, so a little goes a long way. Here's another picture.



I still have 2 sacs of mentaiko in the freezer, so maybe mentaiko toast with... pumpkin soup tomorrow?

too sensitive or not sensitive enough?

This piece of news appear on FB today.



Dear all, please be aware when you are at outside, no matter where you are, especially at the parking inside the mall.
This incident happened on 16/7/2012 which is yesterday night around 10pm at 1 Utama Shopping Center, old wing LG floor car park. An old man got punch by a malay guy, and he got robbed. There is no security guard around at all, and we cant even find a security guard that time. After reaching of the security guard, they want us to stop taking photo and keep chasing us leave, they are trying to cover up the issue.
And the best thing is, when I call 999, I got scolded by the police =.= "eh! cakap melayu, cakap melayu..." Excuse me sir, I know malay, I'm just kinda panic at the moment because I'm used to speak english most of the time. And it take almost half an hour for them to come over. There is a police station at Taman Tun right? Why took so long? What if people dying? This is seriously unacceptable.

Please share this to all of your friends, love one, family, strangers.. Nowadays no matter shopping complex, or wherever are no longer safe, we gotta take extra care to our self, must be extreme alert when we are at outside. Share! Share! Share!

I thought this was a kind gesture to warn the general public since the newspapers have not reported it. Like the woman who wrote on FB of how she was abducted from the carpark of The Curve.

So, imagine my horror and disgust when this whole thing spiralled into a racial issue. All because the author said the uncle was robbed by a Malay guy and the policeman chided her when she spoke in English. Ugh. Granted the uncle could be mistaken. Malay guy, Indonesian guy, Myanmar guy, a very tanned Chinese guy, all same colour. So what if it's a Chinese or Indian who robbed the uncle instead? Would it alter the crime in any way?

Even if it's really a Malay guy, she's merely stating a fact. Have we become so close minded to the point where we cannot or should not talk about race openly? We can't take things at face value anymore. It seems everything has a racial or political undertone. You cannot call an Indian keling (a colloquial word used to describe people originating from India, now considered a derogatory reference) anymore because that's racist. Calling a Chinese mata sepet (squinty eyes) is equally racist too, even though it's not entirely off the mark. And Malays, well, apparently you cannot even use them in the same sentence with "punched by a".

You should do a google search and see what certain bloggers (especially one that goes by the nick headbomb) and their commentators are writing about cina sial (fucking Chinese?) because of the FB post above. So totally taken out of context.

Let's stop turning everything into a race issue, ok? This was a crime. Someone got hurt. The author just wants people to be wary and stay safe. End of story.

project 33A: reading nook

Pinterest is really a source of inspiration for me at the moment. I'm so in love with these right now.



We have a small balcony that's pretty useless (it overlook only the pond, which we intend to have covered up) and we know it will only end up abandoned and someone will have to eventually wash it sometimes. Thanks to Pinterest, we're now thinking of turning it into a cozy reading nook.



I also want a giant girly lamp to go with it, like the above. It'll look super good and arsty fartsy in daytime but by night, sexy shadows! Both look like projects I could so totally do. The doily lamp is all the rage at the moment but people have also wrote about how it failed spectacularly. The origami chandelier is probably harder to fail but I wonder how many birds I'll have to fold to get the desired effect.

However, it matters not, coz I've decided to make both, in good time *grins.

This is so exciting!

of moral decay

I am angry that snatch thefts has yet again caused the senseless death of a woman.

I am sad for humanity as it was reported that several passers-by did not stop to help the injured woman or at the very least call the police or for an ambulance. It took the 8th person to finally do something about it. How have we, as a society, become so apathetic? I wonder if things would be any different if the first person had helped.

This reminds me of the 2-year old girl who was ran over twice and ignored by 18 passers-by in Foshan, China. A scrap-picker aunty eventually pulled her to the side of the road but it was too little too late by then.

We are Malaysians. We care a lot. We are one of the most generous people when it comes to charity and helping the needy. And yet, this happens. How many times have we seen something bad happening, and decided to not get involved? Even if a thief try to rob someone, if everyone gets involved, surely we will prevail. Sometimes I can't help thinking that it's general apathy that has led to criminals being more daring nowadays.

We are more educated than our parents, but our social values are way inferior. Education is supposed to make us better people, not more selfish. Where have we gone wrong?

building a mystery

The other day, I sent out an invite to The BF for a mystery date. We've been kinda bogged down with work lately and so I thought I'd do a little something to mix things up a bit.



Then, he started asking funny questions. Where's the place? They look like coordinates. Well, you're supposed to use a GPS to find the location. Do I have to go on time, or can it be earlier or later? Well, preferably on time. Do you know where it is? Yes, sort of, but I've not been there. What time you'll be there? Are we going together? o_O

See, he thought it was an invite to some sort of corporate event, because the invite looks professionally done *ahem ahem*. Actually it's just a stock template from powerpoint, but I appreciate the compliment all the same :D

After the Oh-I-See moment, he then tried to suss out the name of the restaurant from me. Multiple times; so much so I almost regretted setting up a mystery date. What if I parked at the wrong spot? It's OK. What if I can't find you? You will. What if I got the wrong street? You won't. In short, he's the sort of person who likes surprises but can't stand the anticipation. Try and try as he might, he got nada, muahahaha.

Anyway, dinner was at Vintry Ampang. We shared a lovely cereal prawns, special sausage platter, tom yum spaghetti and knocked back a glass of wine each. It was mid-week after all.

what's in a name?

In the news today is famous plastic surgeon from Singapore, Woffles Wu Tze Liang, being fined S$1,000 for getting an elderly employee to take the rap for him for two speeding offences.

Woffles?



Seriously? No offence, but that sounds like something a five year old would name her teddy bear. Mr Woffles.

I really don't know what it is with Asians and strange English first names. There's this once quite popular singer/songwriter based in Taiwan (?) who goes by the name of Panda Xiong. Well, we all know what a panda is, but his surname, Xiong, actually means bear in chinese. Like you know, brown bear, Pooh bear, that kind of bear. So... I guess he's panda bear? It seemed too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence so maybe it's intentional? I'm a little perplexed by that thought too.



However, when it comes to creative English names, nothing beats them good people from Hong Kong: Fruit Chan, Kingdom Yuen, Tats Lau, Sonija Kwok, Yummy Wong, Evergreen Mak, Yoyo Mung, Myolie Wu. These are very real people, mind you, and famous too. I'm just wondering whether they actually use those English names on a daily basis, coz the Hong Kong tabloids/paparazzi calls them by their Chinese name more often than not. I'm also wondering whether Chan Kuo will know it's him when beckoned "Wei, ah Fruit ar". Imagine the endless fun I'll have if my friend calls him or herself Fruit...

But what's the motivation for these unusual sounding monikers? To stand out from the general masses? Unfortunate birth certificate filling accident?

when panglima keris speaketh

It feels like.... maybe the obvious is not obvious enough.

NO HIKE IN CRIME RATE

KUALA LUMPUR, 11 June (The Star): The recent spate of violent crimes targeting women over the past two weeks is not indicative of a rising crime rate in the country, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

He said the Government was aware of the cases but pointed out that these were not so frequent and did not reflect a state of deteriorating security in Malaysia.

“One or two cases do not affect the crime rate but if the cases are constantly played up, then it will create the perception that the country is not safe,” he told reporters after launching a gathering of his ministry's Youth Squad here yesterday.

Hishammuddin said the Government had promised three years ago to tackle street crime and focused on 50 hotspots across the country, on which they had delivered.

“I don't deny that in terms of perception, we need to improve our actions. But the 11% drop in crime rate was not said by us. It was international bodies which said it,” he added, urging the public to inform the authorities if there were areas which needed urgent attention.

Hishammuddin said he would have to discuss with the relevant ministries, local authorities and the private sector on the possibility of mandatory 24-hour surveillance of parking lots following a spate of robberies and attempted abductions in the past two weeks.

We have to talk to them and see whether (there are) legal (obstacles) or operational matters. We are open to any kind of contribution that will help,” he said.

The Government, added Hishammuddin, was also considering a move to expand the “omnipresence” of authorities at schools in a bid to enhance public confidence in the safety of their children in such public places.

The Cabinet had discussed this issue in light of the recent kidnapping of Dutch boy Nayati Shamelin Moodliar, he said.

We will also try to involve volunteer corps such as Rela in this. We believe that with the increased presence in certain areas at certain times, it will change the perception (of poor public safety),” he said.

Nayati was abducted near his home on April 27 while walking to the Mont' Kiara International School but released unharmed six days later. Three people have so far been charged with the kidnapping although the mastermind is still at large in Europe.

On the replacement for the two members of the Independent Advisory Panel on Bersih 3.0 who opted out, Hishammuddin said it was the panel's prerogative to find suitable candidates to fill the vacancies.

He stressed that his ministry still intended to release its video compilation of incidents during the Bersih 3.0 rally but only after the panel had viewed the footage and presented its opinions to the ministry.

Well, besides Nayati, let's not forget the girl who was almost abducted from the parking lot of a shopping complex, the teacher who was battered so badly she's in an induced coma, another abduction attempt on a primary school kid, the kidnapping of a project manager, the cold-blooded murder of a little girl over a grudge, also this, this and this.

And all the above, is only in the last 2 months or so. Apprently, we have now been told, this is a matter of perception.

So yea, thank you minister, for that. I feel so much safer now.

infamy 3.0

It makes me so sad hearing from friends and acquiantances, and reading all the blog and facebook updates, of their first hand experience on how the peaceful rally quickly descended into hell. It seemed the attacks started at the point when the organisers declared Bersih 3.0 a success and asked for everyone to disperse.

There's really no need for the excessive use of force against defenseless citizens.



Read more here:
1. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/frontpage/2012/04/30/bersih-experience/
2. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/04/29/punched-slapped-kicked/
3. http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-bersih-30-experience-behind-barbed.html#!/2012/04/my-bersih-30-experience-behind-barbed.html
4. http://www.malaysiakini.cowarm/letters/196420
5. http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/196403
6. http://legod.blogspot.com/2012/04/arrogance-breeds-contempt.html
7. http://www.malaysiandigest.com/opinion/43511-lets-tell-the-main-story-of-bersih-30.html

Sadder still, what do people remember about Bersih 3.0? Was the coffeeshop talk about the 3 demands and whether or not the point got across? Or is everyone more preoccupied with conspiracy theories on who started the chaos?

but why?

It was with utter disgust when I read that just last week, the Parliament had passed a bill to amend the Election Offences Act 1954.

(a) Section 11(c) which had required any print materials to have the names and addresses of its printer and publisher is DELETED IN FULL;

(b) Section 14 1(a) is replaced with a clause which allows the Election Commission (EC) to appoint time slots to determine when polling agents or counting agents of a candidate may be present. Therefore the time when an agent of a candidate is allowed into the polling station is no longer fixed and is now left to the discretion of the EC to decide. They are free to remove agents from polling station at will;

(c) Section 26 1(e) which allowed for checking of the identity of any person entering a polling centre is DELETED IN FULL; and

(d) Section 26A subsection (2) and (3) are DELETED IN FULL. This means that all channels of election observation are sealed off as it now does not allow election candidates and staff to observe the registration of voters during polling day. There will be no more Barung Observers who were previously the only non-EC people able to look at the IC of the voter and pick up discrepancies.

(Source: http://bersih.org/?p=4744)

What just happened here?

It's like all this campaigning for free and fair elections had fell on deaf ears, and we are now worse off than before. Clearly, the last minute move by BN and EC to push the amendments through sought to make the election process less transparent and easier to manipulate. Clearly, they are also saying to us, "So, what can you do about this, huh?"

I'm all for Bersih 3.0. I'm ready to don my yellow shirt and march with the masses. I'm ready to suffer whatever consequences for partaking in this rally. Most of all, I'm ready for change.

But why is Bersih so adamant on Dataran Merdeka? Why is Bersih refusing to negotiate? The government has offered four other venues to hold the rally. Stadium Merdeka would be a good choice if you're aiming for historical significance and symbolism. Wasn't that the chosen venue last year before the government went back on their promise? You know they will find a way to screw things up so why not just play by their rules for a while?

What's going to happen on Saturday is anyone's guess but I would imagine the government and police would come down hard on Bersih, and they would justify it by saying Bersih did not cooperate. The circumstances surrounding this Bersih 3.0 march and last year's Bersih 2.0 march is different; last year, the government played us for fools. I just feel that if all the chaos, tear-gassing, manhandling and arrests can be avoided this round, why not. Let's not lose focus here.

Are we now fighting for free and fair elections, or fighting to occupy Dataran Merdeka? I'm in two minds over going for the march...

Hanoi 2012: my favourite shops in hanoi

Nagu

From the first moment I laid my eyes on them, the teddy bears in ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) and the cutest non la (conical hat), I was hooked. They were beautifully handmade and so came at a price an el cheapo backpacker wouldn't splurge on. But I love them so. Now that I'm less cheap and have evolved into super shopping queen, I bought two teddies! One for each time I was being a cheapo.



Nagu sells good quality gift items such as said teddy bears, passport holders, tissue wallets, bags, etc, mostly made in linen or silk. They also have a small collection of children wear and household accessories (think coasters, not plates) upstairs. I was told they're all handmade so the workmanship is really fine. There's an unmistakable kawaii vibe from the store and its products. For example, a cute Mario mushroom on one of its coasters! This can only mean one thing: the designer is Japanese; an expat living in HCMC to be precise.

Address: 20 Nha Tho. It's just around the corner from St. Joseph's Cathedral.


Tan My

Almost everything in Tan My can be found in the many souvenir shops along Hang Gai. But with just one touch the difference is apparent. The material of the accessories bags, napkins, placemats, etc, is soft and thick, not papery. Like Nagu, the embroidery is fine and neat but I can't be sure whether it's hand sown or machine sown... I forgot to ask.



Nevertheless, if you're looking for gifts that last, this is the place. You'll be paying more, like double more, but you won't regret it.

Address: 66 Hang Gai & 16 Hang Trong.

sex 901

The BF thought he would be convicted, because by not becoming a witness and defending himself when given a chance to, he is basically denying his rights to be heard. He strongly felt that it can be viewed as an admission of guilt, because lying in the Court is an offence.

I thought he would be convicted, no matter what he say or do not say. The very basis for the case itself is flawed and for allowing the sham case to go on for so long in the Court is a mockery to the justice system. So why bother to say your peace if you know justice will not be served?


(Source: The Malaysian Insider)

Well, surprisingly we were both proved wrong. We do not think he would survive this, but I'm satisfied with the verdict. I would like to think it's a step in the right direction, where the justice system is concerned in Malaysia, but I can't discount the fact that it was a sham case to begin with. Also, no sooner than when the verdict was out, the Gahmen released a statement that the verdict shows that Malaysia has an independent judiciary and that the Gahmen does not influence the Court's decision. That statement's kinda unnecessary and sorta defensive, don't you think?