Phobias....

On the way to work, I switched on Hot FM and their topic for the day was phobias.

Some of the phobias that I heard was fear of 'mihun' (Vermicelli) . The guy was scared of mihun as he spent a few days in prison and all they served him was mihun. As for the girl, she said that she has phobias of man. In reality, she told the DJs that she has a lot of guy friend but afraid to have any serious relationship.

Its not that their phobias are not really phobias, but for me its just their attitude. For the guy, he can still see 'mihun' without fear. He just could not eat it. As for the girl, for me, it just commitment phobia as she can still become friends with man. Not that she cannot be near man at all.

Maybe for these people, they need to understand what phobia really is. As stated in Wikipedia, phobia is an intense and persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, or people. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject.

Fear for men, as googled is the abnormal and persistent fear of men, androphobia. So, basically I'm correct as the girl is only afraid of having a normal relationship, not afraid of men. As for the guy, maybe he could not eat the food but he is not scared of seeing or touching the food.

As for me, my ultimate phobia is coulrophobia, fear of clown. I could not even be near to clown or even be in the same room with them. I would automatically cried and trembling whenever they are around. If I go to any shopping complex, hubby would inform me if a clown is around and would protect me from it. Protect in a sense that he would not allow me to see it and take a different way/route, to avoid from coming close with the clown. And it not just clown, mascot also are considered as clown to me. I could not handle Ronald Mcdonald, A& W bear or anything that is in mascot costume.

Although family and friends keep telling me to overcome the fear by hitting the clown or just touch it, I would not dare. It just something that I could not do.

How do I became scared of them? It just I had a traumatizing experience when I was a little girl. Since then, I could not be near to them. I watched the movie 'It' after I was in secondary school. I did not even watch the movie until it finish.

I also had some other phobias like claustrophobia (fear of confined/crowded places). Thats why I could skip a very good sales since I could not be in the crowded places. I could not even take lift that have transparent wall as I fear of high places (Acrophobia). I also scared of blood (Hemophobia), even my own blood. Thats my main reason to my mom why I did not want to be a doctor. Until now, I could not go to 'korban' as I afraid of seeing blood from cow being slaughtered or even chicken.

For the other phobias, I can still overcome them if I have the need to. But, for fear of clown, I could not cure/overcome it as it will be very hard for me. Very, very hard. Impossible.

Some interesting phobias that I found from my googling:-

• Cacophobia - Fear of ugliness.
• Arrhenophobia - Fear of men.
• Caligynephobia - Fear of beautiful women.
• Chrematophobia - Fear of money (this is weird in today's world)
  
• Didaskaleinophobia - Fear of going to school. (if only children know about this phobia)
• Mageirocophobia *- Fear of cooking. (I can be considered under this)
• Macrophobia - Fear of long waits.
• Novercaphobia - Fear of your step-mother. (How true?)
• Paraskavedekatriaphobia - Fear of Friday the 13th.
• Pentheraphobia - Fear of mother-in-law. (This is so funny)
• Philophobia - Fear of falling in love or being in love.
• Politicophobia - Fear or abnormal dislike of politicians. (For me, it will be abnormal dislike)

Unfortunate Event @ BSC

No Kepong for last weekend as we decided to spend a night at Pullman Hotel @ Putrajaya. So, the day before, we did our grocery shopping in the morning and had a quick lunch at Jusco.

Night came and we were so bored doing nothing at home. Thinking and thinking, we decided to went someplace which has easy parking. No Midvalley or OU. So, the best option we had was anywhere near Bangsar and BSC it was.

We went there quite late as all the roads leading to Bukit Jalil was jammed. All because of the match between Kelantan and N9. Totally forgot about it since I was not a supporter for both of the team. I was once a Selangor fanatic when I was in maktab. During that day, I could sneaked during my prep to watch the match. How I love it back then. Now, I don't even know who are their players.

So, once we arrived there, our tummy was growling asking for food. We had our dinner at a 'small' cafe in BSC. After paying for the food, we wanted to go to SS2, to have weekly meeting with our dealer.

Hubby tried starting the car but failed. He tried for quite some times but still it could not start. It must be the battery, although the light and horn still work.

Luckily, our AIG insurance was bundled with AAM, so we called them to bring a new battery. If they could jumpstart the car, it will be great. They arrived almost an hour later, although they was just around Jalan Maarof. Anyway, the AAM guy asked whether we want to jumpstart or just buy a new battery. He said they have 2 sizes, with RM200 or 280.

Hearing that the battery was only RM200, I opted for the battery. Last year, when we bought our battery, it cost us RM230 for battery with maintenance. I don't know whether it could last for a year but as long we got a cheap battery for the car to start, it was enough for us.

I was so lucky that the battery 'kong' when hubby was around. If it just me and Eya, it will be a total chaos.

By the way, we also changed 2 tyres as they had totally wore out (in the morning). Another RM400 flew from our pocket. So, last weekend was shopping day for the car.

Due to the unfortunate event, we had to cancel our Pullman plan. Our car was so choosy that it planned to 'tersadai' at BSC with all the posh car.

Mama-Eya Outing...

It was an impulse decision. We went to had a nice breakfast with hubby at first. Then, hubby went to work and the both of us had nothing to do.

So, I decided to bring Eya to watch movie or just doing window shopping. The nearest place to go was Jusco Cheras Selatan. I browsed around Jusco to shop for my home knick-knack for a while before Eya pestered me to bring her to watch 'wayang'. So, I bought 2 tickets for Cloudy Chance of Meatballs.

She really enjoyed the movie and later told me that she wanted to watch another movie with her ayah. After the movie ended, we went back to Jusco to continue our window shopping before we went for lunch.

She ordered chocolate pearl bubble tea for lunch and fries. She was quite exhausted after lunch and wanted to go home but I need to do my grocery shopping. So, I found the trolley for her and continued with my shopping.

We spent almost 4 hours together and it was so fun. She went to bed early that day and I bet she know that going window shopping with her mum is a tiring task.

Eya turns 3...

Eya, 3 years old with her birthday cake...

Eya, Ayah and mama...

This signified that my little angel just turn 3 on 24th September.

Again, I did not plan anything big as her birthday fall on a long holiday. The birthday celebration was just between the family. Initially, hubby planned to celebrate it at Taiping with all her cousins but something came up so plan was changed.

She knows how a birthday should be celebrated as every week her friends from the nursery will have a birthday bash. She kept asking us to have Happy birthday for her. Everytime she sees a big cake, she will sing the birthday song.

So, this year we plan to have a small celebration with cake at her favourite fast food restaurant, KFC. Kaklong volunteered to buy her a birthday cake.

We put the candles on and asked her to blow the candles. And she knew how to do it. Maybe from her observation at the nursery.

Me and hubby is happy to see her growing up so well but at the same time quite sad as she is no longer our small baby. I hope time will slow down as we don't want her to grow up so fast.

I can still remember the moments I held her in my arms 3 years ago. It was the best feeling in the world to have your own flesh and blood.

To Eya, mama and ayah will always love you. You are our little angel.

Bangkok Trip II

At last, the continuum from Bangkok Trip I.

6/9/09

The plan was to go to Pratunam, which is a shopping heaven for those who want to find cheap and nice cloths. As we crossed the road from our hotel, a man told us that the place is closed due to the visit by the King. I was quite confused as I don't think a place like that would be closed. So, all of us went back to hotel and decided to go out after lunch time.

After we had our lunch at Makyah Place, we went to Siam area to find Hard Rock Cafe. Unfortunately, it was raining, so we strolled around Siam Paragon. One thing I can say is Thailand has the best shopping mall. It is greater than any mall we can find here in Malaysia. Hubby managed to buy 2 Wrangler jeans which was not available in Malaysia anymore.

Then, we went to Hard Rock Cafe. I bought a HRC t-shirt, one for each of us. Abo bought the collectors pin and adik bought the lanyard.

Our next agenda was to go to Suan Lum Night Market. My ever genius Abo and Adib suggested we took a walk in the Lumpini Park as they don't want to take the MRT. We agreed thinking the it was a short walk. The park was very nice and one thing that surprised me was they all respected their national anthem and stop jogging/walking. Something that we could not see here in Malaysia.

It was a long walk and we were truly exhausted when we reach the night market. The market was a heaven as I can find a lot of knick-knack for my house. I bought a few frames for the house and light balls. I planned to go back when my house is ready so I can buy a few more things for my house decor.

The final part of my Bangkok trip will be published soon.

p/s: Busy with the financial year performance.

Bangkok Trip I

Bangkok trip was meant for my family vacation. My big, extended family. We purchased the ticket during the RM1 promotion by AirAsia last year. I thought everyone will go but due to the H1N1 break, only 7 out 0f 14 went for the trip. Nevertheless, it was a great trip and experience for all of us.

Planning

I was the trip planner. Once I bought the tickets, I started surfing for the trips. I searched on the best map, accommodation, transportation and anything that was related. After a few month research, I found out the best for everything was:

Map: Groovy Map for Bangkok
A complete, easy-to-use map that cover everything. My sis bought it from MPH Midvalley.

Accommodation: Samran Place
Budget hotel that near to Halal food, nice staffs and got a high ranking in Tripadvisor.com for its range.

Transportation: A mix of BTS, Boat, Tuk-tuk and taxi.

Shopping: Will be covered below.

The real itinerary

4/8/09:
Our day started with departing to LCCT. Our dear Chu brought us there. My flight was supposed to depart at 6.50 but we arrived at LCCT around 2 p.m. We did not take the same flight as mom and abo was in the earlier one at 4 p.m.



We hang around the LCCT, had a light meal at a very expensive Marrybrown. Although I hate anything that is associated with any celebrity that I hate, I need to put that aside as there was no any other cheap food. (Tips: The celebrity name start with M) If I had the money, for sure I will have my hot chocolate at Theobroma.

Exactly at 6.30 p.m., we boarded our flight. It was Eya's first time in a flight. She was not that excited as she thought it was just another mode of transportation.

We arrived on time and searched for mom and abo. Once I found them, we started searching for taxi to bring us to the hotel. They had public van but we were unsure what they meant by public. So to be safe, we took the airport limousine, but due to our number, they give us van. The van was so great, and it was large. It can fit 10 people, I think. It was called Toyota Kommuter. If they sell it here, my mom was sure to buy it.

The traffic was horrible although it was 9 p.m. The first thing we did after checked in was thinking what to eat for dinner. Although the halal food was opposite of the road, we were afraid it was closed and being just a small lane, maybe we could get lost finding the food.

So, me and hubby being an adventurer, we proposed to have dinner at the hotel. We asked for squid and shrimp fried rice. Mom ate fish and chip. Luckily, it was nice.

5/8/09:

Our first plan was to visit the Grand Palace.There was no bus or BTS directly to get to the pier. So, the best option was to take BTS to Saphan Taksin and from there, we would take boat from Sathorn, the Central Pier. The boat ride only cost 1.30 and we took the orange flag ferry.



The Sathorn pier was N1 and the stop for Grand Palace is at Tha Chang, N10 so it was quite a boat ride from me. I was not a fan of any transport that is related to water. Thats why I stayed near to the life jackets in the ferry.

From the stop, we need to walk a little bit before we arrived at the Grand Palace. We need to pay 35 per pax for the entrance fee. If you took any tour service, it will cost you the cheapest of RM70 for the trip to the palace.

The GP was quite a big area. Due to the hot weather, we just briefly visited some of the main attraction and left the palace.



The next plan, was to have lunch. So, the only thing I could think of, was halal food at MBK. The food was great but pricey. For fried rice, it was 80baht and for something like nasi paprik, it cost 150 baht. Food was expensive here even if you go to stalls. I love the Iced Milo there. It was heaven.

We rest at the hotel before going for dinner at Ali Selatan. The owner is a Kelantanese. All the halal food you find on Zabihah.com can be found here at the street. The food was marvellous and the sirap bandung was great.

The next plan was to go for Suan Lum night market. So we took BTS to Silom but failed to find the market at the Lumpini Park. So, changed plan to visit Patpong night market. It was similar to Petaling Street. If it just the both of us, I would go to see of the night show but as I went with family, I cancelled the plan.

The market is located in the middle of Patpong 1 street, so when you were walking, you can get a glimpse of whatever happened in the bar. I managed to see some pole dancing and girls doing their show. However, in the Patpong rate, it was still considered a decent view.

So, as I read that Patpong night market is expensive, I did not buy anything. Once we arrived at our hotel, we had a foot massage at a place beside it. It was cheap, just 200 for an hour. The guys tried the body massage for just 200 baht.

That was my trip for the 1st 2 days. Will blog the second part of the trip later.

p/s: Pics will be included later.

Keds and lot of bracelets...

What was the happiest shopping moment during my trip to Bangkok?

Its when I discovered Siam Paragon does sell Keds shoes. I love flat shoes, in fact, now I have 6 of them . Mostly are Nike as they have nice flat shoes. So, once when I was web surfing, I found out that a US brand, Keds produce flat shoes.

So, I tried to ask hubby to persuade his friend in US to buy it from me as the brand is not available in Malaysia. But, his friend will be there for 5 years, so I need to wait for some years before I be able to wear it.

I never thought I could find it. So, during the trip, when I found Keds is being sold there, without any hesitation, I decided to buy it. The choice was not that many but I bought one. Even my lil sis bought one for her. So, now I have an extra pair of Keds.

The two pair of Keds...

The other highlight of my trip was to Platinum Shopping mall where I found a small shop selling bracelets. This shopping complex is known for it wholesales trade so mostly everything are cheap. All the bracelets and necklaces is similar quality and look to Diva's and DP merchandise but with very low prices. Usually DP or Diva bracelet cost about RM20 for the simplest bracelet but here you can get one for only RM3. So, I bought every colour of bracelet that I could find. It was such a happy day for me.

Now, I have complete collection of every colors for my bracelet combined with a few from my sis. Even my bracelet tree could not handle all the weight. I need to find a new tree for all those new bracelets.