And you thought the torture ended in school...

So how many of you actually know the complete lyrics to Negaraku? If you know ALL of it, I think you deserve waaaay more than a pat on the back. The Malaysian government excels at creating half-baked, inane ideas. Guess what they've come up with now?

They're going to start playing Negaraku at cinemas now, after the trailers and before the movie starts -- and for what reason? To improve patriotism! Isn't that amazing? My question is, who's big idea is it that singing the damn national anthem is equated to patriotism? I for one don't know the lyrics to the song, but I love Malaysia, how does that rate me on the patriotism scale?

Apparently, according to the article in The Star, cinema-goers aren't required to stand while the song is being played, but the silly ministers dream of a unified group of people standing upright, belting out "Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku!" at the top of their lungs. Sigh.

Oh by the way, someone should probably tell the fantastic person who came up with the idea that we stole our national anthem from an Indonesian song.

Let's see how far this circus goes, all those in Malaysia -- the next time you go to a cinema and Negaraku plays, take a photo/video and send it to me. I can't wait to see how people will react to this!

Here's the Negaraku that I remember singing in school:
Neeeeegaaaaaraaaaakuuuu
Tanah tumpahnya darahku
Raaaaaakyaaaaat hiiiiduuuuuup
Beeeeeersaaaaaatu dan maaaaaaaaaju
Raaaaaaaahmat bahgia
Tuhaaaaaaaaan kukurrrrrrrrniakan
Raaaaaja (pretends to know lyrics) la la la seeeeelamat beeeeeeertakhtaaaaaa

Here's the real lyrics to the song:
Negaraku
Tanah tumpahnya darahku
Rakyat hidup bersatu dan maju
Rahmat bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan
Raja kita selamat bertakhta
Rahmat bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan
Raja kita selamat bertakhta

Apparently, forcing 13 to 17-year-olds to sing the national anthem at 7:30am when everyone's hungry and half awake is a very ineffective way to instill patriotism. I hated morning assemblies and I can name you a million others like me.

Here's the funny thing about our national anthem. I did a Wikipedia search and here's the gist of the history. Negaraku used to be "Terang Bulan" or "Bright Moon," Perak's state anthem, which was picked up in Seychelles. The Sultan of Perak was exiled to an island in Seychelles, heard the song (originally a French melody by a Parisian lyricist) and it became the state anthem. An Indonesian bangsawan/opera made the song famous, brought it to Singapore and later had the lyrics changed and became Malaysia's national anthem! By the way, I think according to the Malaysian constitution it's illegal to use Negaraku as a party tune. Hehe...imagine having Oakenfold do a Negaraku mix.

Read the complete article at The Star Online.

Me and my beebs

Bash_Aud&Zhuang
Originally uploaded by audreytmv.

Me and my lil' helper! Thanks for being there and helping out with everything, babe. Really appreciate the extra hand. :)

Bash on the Bay Part 2: Who would have guessed?

No where but BECA. Faculty members like you've never seen them before. Hahaha...I heard someone comment, "Man, you guys have crazy professors!" Well...that's kinda why BECA's the best program at SF State right? Think about it, where else would you find professors who are willing to get down and dirty with you on the dance floor? And they can move! Melissa Camacho and Dina Ibrahim were two hot mamas on the dance floor -- are you can see, Vinay Shrivastava's marvelling at these ladies' dance moves.

Brent Malin and gang's rocking the house down, with Brent on vocals (the spiky gel-up look for his hair is definitely him), Vadnais and Barnaby on lead and bass guitars and Barsotti on keyboards. Ooo, let's not forget Miriam Smith on her hand bells Michelle Wolf threw in a bit of spice to the act, as she did a sultry rendition of a song whose title I can't seem to remember right now

Maybe it's just me getting old, or maybe it was the alcohol..hmm...or maybe the lack of blood circulation from the Jessica McClintock dress...hmmAnd of course, who can forget the biggest surprise of the night -- Chul bringing the house down with his Korean rap -- man, that dude can sing! Everyone was screaming their heads off when he was at the mic. Waaaay cool. Two thumbs up!

Squishy squishy at Bash on the Bay

Bash_Squish
Originally uploaded by audreytmv.

Wee! I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way, but I'm soooo glad Bash on the Bay is O-V-E-R. Man, all the planning and worrying was seriously giving me a permanent migraine. Who knew planning a graduation dinner was such a pain in the head?

But seriously, I think the night went great! Even though it was Friday the 13th, nothing unfortunate happened, at least nothing Lemony Snicket-y. I was kinda worried about the location, it being Sinbad's on Pier 2 and all....I mean, geographically it was a great place to have Bash on the Bay, coz it was accessible by public transport and they provided free valet parking. So I guess that kinda made up for the cheesy Sinbad and his pirate theme of the place. They even had a life size to great customers at the front door - complete with turban and fake looking sword!

I wish I took more photos - wish I had one of Sinbad - but I'm gonna ask around and see what I can scavenge from my friends, but here's what I have for now! Don't we all look snazzy!

Bash_MoreSquishing
Originally uploaded by audreytmv.

Okay, so here's what's happening - there were at least 5 cameras taking the same group shot AT THE SAME TIME - that's kinda why everyone's looking at different places. Sigh...problem with getting drunk people to focus.

As promised, more photos!

Everybody say "pout!" And as usual, Heather - what in the world are you doing?!! Hahaha...always one to never follow instructions. *Grins* Schiff will always be Schiff...hahaha...

Take your pick! Aren't they all just cuties?

You gotta be kidding me...

Sometimes people ask me, how in the world do you find time to Friendster? Well, let me tell you how -- I Friendster coz I find it freaking hillarious. Everytime I get bored, I surf over to my page and the strangest people always leave me the most retarded, funniest messages. So to prove how evil I am, from now on, whenever I get something stupid in my Friendster mailbox, I'm gonna blog it here for the world to see. My philosophy is, if you're dumb and shameless enough to write me stupid e-mails, you deserve the embarassment. And if you hate me for it, send your hate mails over -- it's been a while since I've gotten any. And if you get me sick sense of humor, you can chalk me up as a friend! *pats you on your back*

This was sent to me recently. So here goes:

--
Hello Dear,

Compliments of the day, well i am Prince Micheal , a black race from America,now working in Malaysia, i am 31 yrs old, when i was conducting a search on some profiles here, i did noticed some different on \\\\'ur profile so thats why i have to admire u so much, i am seeking for a serious relationship even marriage, but i have to make sure i choose the right time for it thats why i am here,well i will be very glad if we will know each other more , right now, i will like u to know one thing in Life, age does not matter in any serious relationship as for me, i don\\\\'t mind about age, all i am after is good heart, well if u know that u are interested with me,and u will be honest and good to me, pls do not hesitate to contact me immediately via my private email address, smartsuitt@yahoo.com or smartsuitt@hotmail.com

Private mobile # 0122990752 and pls this number is for u alone and do not joke over it thanks

Best regards,

Prince

--
Hahahahaha...*picks self up from the floor* Sorry, couldn't stop laughing. People are so lame. So there. By the way, to anyone interested in this "black race Prince" (Jeez *rolls eyes*), here's a link to his Friendster page: http://www.friendster.com/user.php?uid=15686244

Aren't I lovable?

Backstreet's Back!

bsb_nevergone
Originally uploaded by audreytmv.

Woo hoo! Ahh, they were NEVER GONE after all! It's been 4 years but so what? Backstreet Boys are back with their new album, Never Gone, out in the US on June 14. Some have had one two many cheeseburgers in them, AJ and Nick's got a lil' chubbs, and for some reason these two are singing in the new single, Incomplete and NOT Brian. Why?!! He's the only one in the band who CAN sing. Sigh. Hahaaha...why am I doing this? It's one of those things from my past that kinda haunts me today - heh. Yes, guilty as charged, I had BSB posters in my room growing up. Sigh. But which 12 year old girl didn't right? So here I am, kinda hoping that Boyzone would do the same, but nope...they're got too much dignity, unlike the Backstreet Men.

bsb
Originally uploaded by audreytmv.

On the set of the Incomplete video shoot, anyone want to try and figure out their incomprehensible lyrics?

Empty spaces fill me up with holes
I'm awake but my world is half asleep

Drama-nya!

As usual, the video's got all elements of a boyband music video - wind (leaves and styrofoam snow), water (Brian's wading in it - fully clothed, sorry girls) and fire (Nick attempts to look like he blew up the car, of course, he's just cowering in fear). Howie's in the video, attempting to look like he's singing and Kevin's just there so the camera can get a shot of his side profile, probably took the makeup people a few hours to fill in his goatee and perfect sideburns with mascara. Of course, no BSB video is complete without fake rain conveniently showering on the boys as they show off their perky nips in their wet t-shirts.

Look what my beebs bought me!

Tulips
Originally uploaded by audreytmv.

Weee...fine, it was about a month ago, but hey, I just discovered how to use my blog properly.

Kept getting calls from a florist insisting that I be home coz I had a delivery, didn't know what to expect so coming home and being greeted by a gorgeous bouquet of tulips was just amazing. Zhuang sent them to me just coz. Awwww...you've gotta love a man who cares! I was feeling extremely grey and stressed out and having these beautiful bulbs really made my week easier. Thanks kinsie! Aren't they pwetty? See? I took photos so they'll last forever!

18 hours and counting

Miss This
Originally uploaded by audreytmv.

Weee! Yippee! Last night without my baby! Can't wait to pick up Zhuang at the airport tomorrow in my lil' Bug. Missing him more than ever, I'm just this strange, the closer it gets to seeing him, the more I miss him. So here I am, looking through things that I've written whenever I miss him too much and here's what I found. It's something I wrote while waiting at the Indianapolis airport after saying goodbye to Zhuang on January 29, 2005.
---
I hate airports - people cry at weddings and funerals, me - I cry at airports, even if I'm not the one who's leaving. I hate airports more than dentist waiting rooms - at least with the latter you know what's going to happen. I reason that my hatred from hatred is due to the fact that everything's so uncertain at airports. You know what your destination is, where you're supposed to be going but there's no guarantee that you'll get there - it's all in the hands of the pilot and his co - people that you don't even know how their faces look like. Think about it, why do they need so many shops in airports? So you spend all your time browsing and not sit around and worry about the uncertainty of your trip.

I miss Zhuang. I can't place my finger on what I miss about him, but I don't think it's dependence, although I can't deny that there is a part of me that enjoys the kind of dependence one gets in a relationship, especially when it's with Zhuang. He's the only person that I've been with that I can count on for anything and I trust him. I trust him, as much as I trust myself - always a tinge of doubt, and I don't think that's a bad thing either. But I guess that's always the more intelligent thing to do, to never trust someone or something 100%, just to avoid any chance of disappointment.

It's true when they say distance makes the heart grow fonder. I have to learn to not cry. I have to learn not to be disappointed. I have to learn to not expect, or worry. I try and convince myself that being apart will only do a relationship good because only then will you be able to know how much you enjoy each other's company. I once read, "You know you love a person when you need them because you love them, not love them because you need them.
---
I still hate airports, except when I'm picking Zhuang up, but even that, it's because I don't have to wait! Want hugs NOW!!

Klutz-capades

Here I was, sanitizing my hands with Purell and ouch ouch ouch…only to find out that I have half an inch long paper cut on my thumb. I get cuts and bruises in the strangest places, so much so that I've come to accept them as war wounds. Doing research and going through microfilm and old moldy books in the library is war for me, especially when I have to quiet the entire time I'm in the library. Hate how quiet libraries are.

I'm not exactly a graceful individual, so me being a klutz is kinda expected of me. But here's the thing, in the last 2 days, I broke 2 bowls while washing dishes. The good news is, I proved Corelle wrong. Their bowls and plates are supposed to be unbreakable, apparently not so if you drop it from a height of 3ft onto a tiled kitchen floor.

I'm not programmed to do housework, seriously. I was doing laundry the other day and being all anal, I read the label on my jacket, looking for washing instructions. Amidst the barrage of different languages on the label -- you'll be surprised how much can be squeezed in a 1"x2.5" label -- this is what I could figure out, it said: "Do Not Wash." I'm like, do not wash? So I'm supposed to wear the same stinky jacket for the next 2 years? Hmm… I was desperate, I had left to wear and I really wanted to wear this jacket, loved that it was from Zara, fits perfectly, so I threw it in the washing machine and line dry it. While my $81 jacket was happily soaking in the suds, I called Zhuang to tell him about the strange instructions on the label, only to realize that "Do Not Wash" probably meant do not wash in water! Eeeeks. Too late. When I took my jacket out, it looked really sad, almost like it was disappointed in me for not taking care of it. I feel really bad about it but I'm still gonna wear it, even if it's a lil' out of shape. Damn it. Does anybody know what I can do to undo this? Poor jacket.

Ooo, speaking of Zara, for those who are in the U.S. and looking for Zara stores, they have stores in Santa Monica in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Houston (eh?).

My take on nasi kandar

Okay, here's the deal – if you don't know what I'm talking about, go read Jian's blog. I think I just lost my appetite reading it. Ugh, there goes my turkey croissant for lunch.
I for one, however, would like to take a more appetizing jab at nasi kandar in UK. First off, be glad that you're in UK! A lot of people in the US don't even know where the hell Malaysia is, what more about nasi kandar. Our sad idea of Malaysian food is basically pseudo-Chinese hawker food, usually lumped together with Thai and Singaporean cuisine (I know what you're thinking, there's no such thing as Singaporean food, I've been trying to tell them that too) and the restaurant usually has the word "Island" pegged on to it. Strange, don't ask me why, it probably makes it sound more exotic. "Malaysian" restaurants that I know of in San Francisco and the Bay Area – Penang Island, Banana Island, Spice Island and Coconut Grove. So basically what I'm trying to say is that we don't even have nasi kandar, or anything that's close to it. If we get desperate, there's Indian food at Naan n Curry. The worse thing is, we have Malaysian chefs who proudly declare themselves Malaysian but make crappy things like Indonesian Rendang (or as the waiters here like to call it, "ren-dang" like "Dang, I didn't know that…"). We gotta deal, sigh. They give me funny looks when I correct them.
London, on the other hand, has more decent Malaysian restaurants, at least the 2 Malaysian restaurants that I've tried.

Satay House at 13 Sale Place, London
I personally prefer Satay House because I love nasi briyani and it's really good here, fluffy and tasty, nothing yellow and sticky like the ones that I try to make with my Maggi briyani packet, sigh. I tried several things but from what I can remember, the nasi lemak was very yummy, complete with real coconut milk/pandan leaf rice and the lamb curry was decent. The sup kambing smelt original but was tasteless. My favorite part of the experience was being able to order in Malay! Weee…."Bang, ais sirap satu." Sigh…yes, they have ais sirap! It's pricey though, and a little difficult to find, coz it's hidden among some residential houses me thinks. You might wanna take a cab there.
4/5

Mawar at 175A Edgeware Road, Marble Arch, London
This is your typical, cheap indoor mamak. A lot of students go there, so expect to be greeted by a group of loud Malaysian accents and every now and then, an obnoxious Singaporean one. They have an ala carte menu for dinner but for lunch, it's nasi campur, or mixed rice for my Bahasa Melayu-challenged friends at $4.99 or $5.99. It's basically white rice with a choice of 2 or 3 side dishes. They have a pretty good range – sotong sambal (calamari with spicy Malaysian prawn paste), curry chicken or fish, fried fish or chicken, telur dadar (omelet), I like my telur mata kerbau (sunny side up) and some other stuff. They even have that funny yellow mix vege side dish. The drinks and the desserts -- sago gula melaka/sago with brown sugar and kuih muih/cakes -- are a little pricey, I think it's $3 each. Ouch, I know. But the nasi campur is definitely worth the price, big portions, and remember, this is coming from someone who's used to American-sized (in other words, enough to feed a baby Asiatic elephant) portions. Stupid brits and their tiny cups of coffee – the audacity of charging $1.50 for a cup of coffee with no refills!
3/5

Help! Why does my blog look weird?

No fair, if there's one thing that I don't like about Macs is the fact that I have to deal with programs that are designed for Windows users. Blek. This sucks, my blog looks fine on my iBook, using Safari browser, but here I am, checking it out on IE at work and everything's all over the place! Is it just me or does everyone see it too?

I don't know, I'm not much of a technie (honestly, do I look like a techno geek to you?) so if anyone has any suggestions of what I can do to fix this - please help!

Q1. How do I spread my page out? My 2 columns are stuck in the center. Ugly la.
Q2. I don't want ALL my post to show on the page - what can I do?

Smooth as butter, they weren't kidding!

So here's the thing, I can't stand dry skin, on me or on anyone else. I was in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, the desert weather was fantastic, warm enough to wear flip flops and skirts but not hot enough that you sweat like a dog. Unfortunately, the dry heat got to my skin and before I know it, my skin felt all scaly and icky. And this is not me being melodramatic, it was really really dry! So the next time you get dry skin or you want to feel the silky smooth skin of your partner, try these:

L'Occitane Almond Delicious Paste

This body scrub is amazing. I love the way it smells and feels on my body, nothing like a hot shower with the soothing smell of crushed almonds. Yup, the body scrub is actually made out of crushed almonds, it's very natural and it lasts forever! Which is probably it's a little pricey. A 7oz bottle costs US$32 but you don't have to use it everyday and you can use it to shave your legs too. Totally decadent, highly recommend this. I think it smells great on both men and women. I love the way it smells so much that I can't stop sniffing myself after a shower. Hahahaha....
For more info and more great products (by the way, I'm not getting paid for this, although I should, check out the L'Occitane web site.

Body Shop Body Butter

Now I know why they call it body butter! This is definitely intensive moisturizing. If lotion's not working for you, this is THE thing to try. Passion Fruit's my favorite scent, but it may smell a little too sweet for some people. The great thing about Body Shop's Body Butter is it comes in an amazing range of scents, from passion fruit, coconut, olive, papaya to shea butter (for a neutral scent). And it's totally affordable too. It's only US$16 for a 6.9oz one or if you just wanna try it, they have a smaller pack for US$7. It's a little sticky for day use (but I use it anyway) but great for night use. If you smooth it onto your skin and let it air for a while, the stickiness goes away. And I guarantee you, give it 3 days and you'll have buttery buttery skin! Body Shop has a ton of great stuff and if you're in the US, I suggest you get the Body Shop membership card too, great discounts and free stuff! Check out at store near you or The Body Shop Web site.

As you might have noticed, I'm currently obsessed with these two moisturizers and yes, having smooth skin. Think about it, if you don't like feeling your own silky skin, who will? Who doesn't wanna snuggle with someone who feels great and smells great? Love yourself!

Random Things About Me

1. My full name's Audrey Tang Mei Vern, no one has ever called me Mei Vern, ever. And this includes my parents and my grandparents.
   
2. Mei Vern means beautiful cloud in Chinese.
   
3. I'm second generation Malaysian, my grandfather (Dad's Dad) was a "sin-kek" from China when he was 16 and my grandma (Mum's Mum) is nyonya, which makes me one too, yippee.
   
4. I come from a line of strong, independent women. As I grow older, I see more of my grandma and my mum in me. I hate submissive, ditzy, dull, waif-thin wannabe models.
   
5. I don’t believe in organized religion. I respect people who have faith in the unknown, but I’m a realist.
   
6. I’m a pro-choice feminist.
   
7. I have a strange phobia of dots.
   
8. I cannot break the seal off from a new bottle of mineral water.
   
9. I don’t know how to use manual can openers. Therefore, I hate canned food.
   
10. I think with my heart, not my head
    
11. I enjoy a good cry, there is an unworldy beauty in sadness.
    
12. I cannot sleep without my baby pillow taugeh.
    
13. I've never taken a studio photo in my entire life (except passport photos, don’t like those). I believe in individual beauty, one that does not need touchups or bright lights to create the illusion of perfection.
    
14. I love shoes! But I would rather die than be caught dead in a pair of platforms.
    
15. I love going to the movies, I’m a strong proponent of paying $10 or RM10 to see a movie at the cinema. Why? Because it’s made for the big screen, and the experience of leaving the world behind for two hours and indulging and seeing the world through the eyes of another is an amazing experience. Sadly though, not all movies will/can be shown in the cinema, especially in Malaysia. Then it’s VCDs lor.
    
16. I hate B-grade horror slasher flicks. One of the worse experience I’ve had is having to sit through two hours of Rob Zombie’s House of Thousand Corpses. I sat through it coz I felt that I had to give the movie a chance before criticizing it, I was wrong. I couldn’t eat meat for 2 weeks after that.
    
17. I cannot drink instant coffee. I only drink brewed coffee, 2 packs of brown sugar and nonfat milk please. Favorite espresso drink is a tie between nonfat caramel latte and white chocolate mocha. No whip.
    
18. I drink nonfat milk because I don't like my coffee thick, not because I'm obsessed with my weight.
    
19. There are two types of Milo (pronounced my-lo, not me-lo!) one from China and one from Malaysia. I like the one from Malaysia better.
    
20. I don't like to jog.
    
21. I don't like to carry plastic bags, especially those pink ones from the pasar malam.
    
22. I don't like pretentious people, especially Malaysians who conveniently lose their accents after a month in a foreign country.
    
23. I can be a bitch. I'm brutally honest most of the time and some people can't handle it.
    
24. My friends think I'm a little kooky, or as we Malaysians call it, "screw a bit loose". Hehehe...I read a quote once that said, "In every genius, there is always a strain of insanity." Oh yeah, some people think I’m a little cocky too.
    
25. I’m not funny, I cannot tell a joke if my life depended on it but I’m sarcastic. My eyes get a lot of exercise.
    
26. I hate reggae music.
    
27. I don’t believe in the legal definition of marriage. If two people love each other, there is no need for signatures on a piece of paper to prove their love. When you need a written contract to hold each other responsible for the relationship, it’s not real.
    
28. However, if Robbie Williams ever proposes, I will say Y-E-S! Haha…
    
29. I desperately want a pug. And I will call him Steve, like Steve “Crazy Eyes” Buscemi.
    
30. My dream jobs are: movie critic, any job where I’m paid to shop.
    
31. I have not seen my hair in its original color since the last day of SPM in Form 5 in 1999. It was maroon then, now it’s caramel.
    
32. I have two piercings on my left ear, three on my right ear and one of my belly button.
    
33. I do a really good impression of Boo from Monsters Inc.
    
34. I want a tattoo but I’m afraid of the pain.
    
35. I’ve got two bunny-looking front teeth.
    
36. I speak Bahasa Melayu with a funny accent, don’t ask me why.
    
37. I love to shop, I don’t have the stamina to hike for 2 hours but I can shop for 8 hours straight.
    
38. I eat my cereal, usually Kellogg's Frosties, without milk. I don't like soggy cereal!
    
39. I can't eat instant noodles or microwaved food, I get sick and throw up. Ugh.
    
40. My favorite ice-cream flavors are Haagen-Dazs Banana Split, Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Marco Polo's Lychee Gelato, Starbucks' Low Fat Latte and good mint ice cream.
    
41. I'm 23 but I'm proud to say that I collect stickers and magnets. *sticks tongue out*
    
42. I love Cadbury chocolate, especially the mint and double deck white chocolate ones - heaaaaven!
    
43. I find South Park very very funny, would definitely let my kid watch it.
    
44. I'm tone deaf and can't sing, except in the shower.
    
45. I can eat A LOT of lok lok. Dare me!
    
46. I only eat dim sum that has shrimp or seafood in it, except char siew and nin yong paus. Warm and soft..mmm, like me. Hehe.


47. I love the sound and sight of rain outside my window.