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It is the 31st of December 2007. The final day of the year. Before stepping into the new year i had some reflecting to do. What i had done and what i did not do in the year of 2007. After some hard thinking while facing the wall i realize that i only fulfilled about half of my 2007 new year resolutions. I think i spent half the year fulfilling it and another half doing other things. Of course i did a lot of things i did not thought would be possible for me or something i would do in 2007. Like driving, getting baptised, getting a good job etc.

I did manage to fulfill my resolution to graduate though. But the losing weight part was doomed to failure. Guess i should give it a higher priority this year. hahahaha. Part of my time was spent constructing my 2008 new year resolution. I now have a rough idea what i plan to do. However being the usual me i have yet to write it down and construct a list. Hmmmmm maybe i should make diligence and attention to detail part of my list as well.

Well thats for later................. hahahahaha. For the meantime it is time to countdown!!!!!!!

Christmas is coming soon!!!! after all the shopping i did for Christmas its hard not to be in the Christmas mood. hehehe Hearing all the jingles and carols i always feel happy and peaceful during this time of the year.

Our cg had a small party on Friday at Wan Yeng's house. It was so much fun. We had games and laugh soo much that i could hardly breath. Then the praise and worship which seem especially meaningful during this time of the year. But best of all was the preaching of the Word.

Then after that we had candles and sang Christmas carols in the candlelight glow. seems to add to the atmosphere but i had to ruin it at the end. hahaha you would not believe what happen. because the candle's base was made of paper and i did not pull it to the bottom so by the end of the carols the candle had burned until the base and thus burning it.

I got the scare of my life you know trying to put out the fire. hahaha lucky i did not burn myself  or any part of the house. hehehe

After that we had gift exchange and you know somehow they manage to turn it into something like an award ceremony. hahaha the funniest one was when someone imitated Wan Yeng's style of walking to announce her as the receiver of the present. We all laugh so much we could not stop. indeed it is her trademark style. After that we had a photo taking session. I will see if i can post some photos up the next time

It was our church weekend Christmas service yesterday. I have seen plenty of City Harvest Church production but this one just beats everything. Pastor Kevin and all the church leaders are just amazing. Everytime i thought that they had done their best and it could not get any better they surprise and amazed me by exceeding my expectations. Wow!!! Awesome.

Congrats to all the entire production team of The Kefira Show. you guys did great seriously. i could not help laughing and crying when i watched it. The entire service was perfect and the presence of God was soo strong it is the most enjoyable Christmas service i had. (of course i will probably say the same thing next year... hehehe)

As to anyone who had not seen it i recommend that you do. If you miss the live performance get the DVD!!!!

After last week's shopping with my whole family i seriously believe that i have used up my entire month of shooping energy. With my legs aching and sore feet i promise myself that it would be next year before i see a shopping centre again.

Alas, fate is not on my side. Come tuesday i suddenly realize that Christmas is next week and i have yet to do my Christmas shopping. Oh dear!!!! My shopping list is as long as it could be. (No lar, i am being a drama queen here) but it is longer than i want it to be. Thus on a hard to come by holiday i had to drag myself out of the comfort of my bed to the shopping mall. I had to go there early because i wanted to beat the holiday shopping crowd. If you want to be fussy about the gifts you buy you should always go when there are less people so the shop assistant will give you all the attention you need. hahaha

Reaching pyramid (i intend to do my shopping all at one go in one place) i went straight ahead with choosing gifts. The funny thing i notice is that the sequence in which i bought the gifts started from friends rather than family. hahaha my siblings presents come at the end. how come its harder to get them pressies?

Anyway it took me about 4 hours to finish all my shopping. My feet were screaming with tiredness and soreness. At last the torture was over. I can finally go find something to eat before going home. haiseh...

Now i am really done with shopping mall and i pray that i do not see another shopping mall that soon. Even next year will be too soon. hahaha

It has been 2 weeks since i went to church for weekend service. The side effects were beginning to show....... i think. I am lethargic, more impatient and uneasy on the whole. Add to that last week cg was an outing so it was 2 weeks since i hear from God. That is not counting my daily prayer life though. Its not the same.

Anyway yesterday was cg day and it was great. I was looking foward to it and i went to meet up with my cg member nova in pyramid before cg. Nova told me that JCo Donuts opened in pyramid already. After hearing so much about it....advertising from nova and the blogs people wrote...seriously these guys have no need for marketing just rely on word of mouth for their sales. I wanted to eat it so much. It looked deliciously tempting too but i was unwilling to queue for over an hour for it. However nova promise me that the wait is not long only bout 15 minutes in pyramid so we went yesterday to buy donuts. When we saw how tempting it was we decided to get a dozen so we can bless our cg members. hehehe

When we went to pick up another member zhen lin, she also have some chinese dessserts that she made herself. What coincidence. hahaha 

Cg was great yesterday. When we praise and worship God i could feel His strong presence... somehow it is not the same as when you do daily devotion. At last my uneasiness was gone... i am a happy person again. The preaching was good too. Tired as i was it refreshed me and gave me the strength to carry on.

After cg was over we were eating "tong sui" and donuts at the same time. You should really see Wan Yeng's face as she was enjoying it. She kept saying how  she was suppose to be on a diet but ultimately she still could not resists  the temptation of the donuts. hahaha

The donuts were as good as describe by everyone who has been advertisinig it. hahaha. it was soo delicious that it was almost sinful. Wan Yeng was saying this is my last piece but after we tempt her she still kept on eating. hahaha. As for Lee Lee i think she totally fell in love with the thick chocolate flavor donut. We had a fun time enjoying desserts together laughing and eating. I felt very bless especially about the "tong sui" because staying away from home i don't get to eat it often have to travel 4 hours home to taste it. hahaha...

It is a blessing to bless others really. I never knew this before but when i see my cell members facial expressions when they were enjoying the desserts it was a much better feeling than if i were to eat just by myself. After all sharing is caring. hehehe.... 

over the weekend me and a few colleagues decided to go for an outing. Since it is the peak season Genting highlands was out of the question. Thus we decided on selesa homehills near bukit tinggi. The place is very nice and the apartment we rented was super comfy. We went there and cook a nice meal chill out and have some fun. The place itself was cooling in the afternoon but at night it was reaally cold.

We went to the rabbit farm and there were lots of cute rabbits. so nice we had to chase them and catch them before we could take a photo with them. maybe we are harrasing the rabbits. hahaha. Then we went and feed the deers as well.

After that we went to check in to our apartment and do some cooking as well. Since i drove all the way from kl i was tired. This is my first time driving so far. (well... far for my standards i guess.)

In case you are wondering, i did not take part in the cooking but only in the eating part. hehehe. my cooking skill is not up to scratch yet lol... But i did drive up there since we car pool to go so i was one of the drivers. haiseh i never knew that driving was soo tiring. At night everyone decided to play cards to kill time and since the others are not sure of the rules of the game i thought i help out by informing them of the rules. always when i play poker games with my friends they are better than me and well versed with the games compared to me.  However this time round i seem to be surrounded by new players. hahaha.

The fun part is the next day on sunday everyone decided since we are already here...20 minutes drive from Genting...... we may as well go there for fun as well. So we drove over to the cable car station. The queue itself is longer than the ride!!! but i guess its worth it since the ride was fun and Genting was soo crowded. We went and have lunch, shop around First World Hotel and by evening we came down. When we reach the car, it was drizzling slightly so we had to drive slowly downhill.

But it was a good experience for me since this trip i had to learn to use other gear instead of the D (for normal flatland drive) gear. hahaha

Maybe i will post some pictures next. hmmmmm if my colleagues send them to me that is. (this is the cons of not owning a digicam)

I went to get a haircut yesterday at CHEC. I was very satisfied with the result because my hair was all over the place previously and now it is neat without making me look too bad. hahaha. Needless to say i am happy with it. But the hairstylist doing my hair was telling me that i should blow-dry my hair after a wash to style it better. And guess what? i had to confess that i do not actually own a hair-dryer. He seem very surprised and even laugh. Hmmmm......Is it so funny? I am a lazy person thus could not be bothered to do more than just wash my hair so i always wanted a hairstyle that is low maintenance. But all hairstyle that falls under that category seem to make me look bad. (sigh...) How hard is it to get a hair-cut.

Another thing is i waited one whole week for yesterday. Just want to see ely in her new hairstyle. I was expecting something dramatic u know like a funky hairstyle or maybe something hot. However when i arrive at CHEC she told me she already cut her hair. I did not believe her at first because she looked as per normal. Granted the ends were much smoother and the fringes slightly shorter....but....but....

There were not much changes. arghhhhhhhh.......soo dissappointed. There was this feeling of being cheated out of a good showing.

Ely!!! i was hoping to see a total transformation. (sob sob)

But then after Ely told me the entire process of her hair-cut (i am not telling about this you will have to get her to blog about it..hehehe) i think she frightened or shocked the 2 hairstylist quite a bit. So maybe they freaked out and did not do too much changes to her hair. hahaha just joking. Ely just look good with long hair la. so they style it to bring out her beauty even more. yay!!!! way to go ely!!!! 

My short weekend is over before i knew it. Now i am back in kl and in front of my office pc. Its an enjoyable weekend on the whole. Gathering of relatives, celebrating my grandpa's birthday. What can i say. Its been a noisy weekend. i got blessed by my aunt and uncle too.

However one thing that leaves me with a strong impression is when i went to fetch my grandpa from the nursing home. He could not walk and thus need 24 hours care so he is staying there. I always had the plan that i want to retire early and do nothing so as to be able to enjoy life. When i had such thoughts, work seems like a punishment to me.

But if a normal human being does not excercise, be it brain or muscle, he or she will waste away eventually. Seeing the people at the nursing home, i felt that it is a scary thing to grow old. They just sit there or lie there staring into space. If this is the result of doing nothing then maybe work is not such a punishment after all. After this short visit, i feel like i can work until the day i die and would not mind it.

Hmmmm. Maybe this visit is meant to tell me that being able to work and to live a purposeful life is a true blessing from God.

Its finally here. The day i have been waiting for....FRIDAY!!!

I am going back home for this weekend. Finally i get to see my parents' face and give them a big hug each, tell them how much i miss them. Especially my daddy. hehehe (You can tell that i am a daddy's girl)

However there is just one small little problem. I am going after i finish work today and I HAVE NOT PACK MY LUGGAGE YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yes that and i do not have a bus ticket as well. hahaha. Well it should not be a problem as my sis assured me we would be able to get a ticket the minute we arrive in pudu bus station. Well i shall diligently ask God for it and a smooth safe journey. I always make this prayer when i drive.very important. its how i safely made it thru every journey. hahaha That is how bad my driving skills are.

Maybe i shall not pack my luggage after all. Probably just shove a couple of t shirts and shorts into a plastic bag and go. after all, my clothes all do not need to be folded or ironed. hahaha.

hopefully since its friday i will have a leisurely paced day. however my hope is not high because the customers all know we do not work during weekend so they will seize the chance and call us today to ask all the questions they have to sustain them thru the weekend. haiseh. cannot relax also.

Nevermind i shall count the hours, minutes and seconds till the day ends......

After cell group multiplication, my cell group is held on wednesday instead of thursday. After some time, it seems like i have been attending cell group forever on wednesday. when i was told that cell group will be switch to thursday for this week, i was so lost on a wednesday evening. With nothing to do i just went home early and sat in my room listening to music instead.

As my thoughts were wandering aimlessly because i am always brain dead after work, i started to wonder how my job is so stressful and i have to face up to such stress 5 days each week. Then it finally sink in to my head that i actually graduated and now i am officially in the working phase of my life. i have previously work during the long holiday breaks or in between studies but i have always return to continue my studies. Thus starting to work is not a huge step that i have never done before. However when i look at my books at home that are not cleared and i even have my assignment notes and exam tips stil in my e mail inbox that are not deleted. Its as if i am afraid of packing all the books up or even deleting those assignment and notes(since i also have the hard copy packed up in some box). I have no idea as to why i am holding back.

Hmmmm. It is as if i expect to use them any time soon. In all my previous in between studies jobs, whenever i get too stressed or tired i always console myself telling myself i will endure on because the day would come when i will return to my studies and my books. Howeve, now when i get too stress and wanted to do the same i realize that i could not use the same excuse any longer. Even if i were to continue to pursue a proffesional cert. it would be a part time study and full time work type. GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what had happen????    

Yesterday I was still considering what to get for my mother's birthday present. With my brother being MIA(missing in action) for the entire week(literally uncontactable), i was at a loss over the budget as well as what to buy. Finally at exactly 5.45pm yesterday evening i was able to contact him thru phone(what a relief, FINALLY). After getting the budget estimate, i wanted to buy the present ASAP and get it over with because it has been weighing on my mind for quite some time. I dislike unfinished situation that requires follow up.

So knowing how busy my brother was, in all my sudden bravado i offered to go and look for a present. He said ok immediately. After ending the call i was stunned for a moment. What had i gotten myself into?(dismayed) Not only i don't have a clue what to buy, i have yet to see myself buying presents for others that they will end up liking. I don't even know what my mother wants or like. Am i really going to shop for the present alone???

I considered it for all of 3 seconds...

Then I chickened out. Instead I called my friend-cum-cell member Nova for help to accompany me go look for a present. hehehe At least 2 heads are better than 1. A huge thank you to Nova for actually agreeing to accompany me since i called her a bit last minute.(hope i did not disrupt her plans) Along the way i thought of many things that i could buy...

Handbags?? she has plenty of those but never use them(collecting dust at home)

Watch or jewellry?? She has a lot also and rarely wears it. just keep it so that one day she can give it to us.

shoes?? i don't know her size and if i call my dad to ask he will say no need to buy(why do parents always say that? but still very happy to receive our gifts??)

As you can see i am in a total misery. In the days gone by, I would have just gotten her a birthday card or even draw her one will do and thats the end of the matter. No need to be so troubled over what to get her. But now, i wanted to get her something nice that she will like and can use often. I wanted to show her that i do love her and appreciate all that she has done for me. Perhaps that is why i am having a shopping headache now. I wonder when and what has change my attitude???

After much headache and walking around Sunway Pyramid, i decided to get her clothes instead maybe a dress or blouse and skirt. The brand i originally wanted to buy was S.C.S. But when i walked toward the shop, lo and behold it was not there. It is currently under renovation for another brand name. oh dear! i don't know where they move to even, now i am totally lost.

Its already 8pm and i still haven't found the present yet. I am beginning to be tired. Shopping stamina running out. Luckily Nova was with me. She recommended a shop to me and brought me there to see. Wow they have a nice selection of designs there too. A million thanks to Nova for saving the day. 

At that shop i actually had to try out several outfits to see if it fits and looks nice. Actually, when i buy clothes for myself, usually i have only 2 criterias which are:

1) no need to iron after wash        

2) the outfit is loose so that i no need to try it on first to know that it fits.

To actually try so many outfits in 1 shopping session is something very tiring and i disliked doing. However i wanted to get my mum something nice. I was looking for THE outfit that would be suitable. So i had to try on the different outfits 1 by 1.(sigh) After trying for quite some time i finally settled for the ones i liked with advice from Nova as well. 

Having paid for the items, i have accomplished my mission for the day.(sigh) What a relief that is. Thank you Lord God for putting Nova in my life.(what will i do without her?) Now i can go home happily. YAY!!!

Its Tuesday and this weekend i have to go down to johor with my siblings and i still haven't gotten my mum a gift for her birthday. The other day me and Kristin went and survey Osim and we wanted the back massage equipment U-papa. However we were all so busy we did not go back to buy it. It is also my grandfather's birthday this coming weekend. What to get for an old man who has everything except full time attention? an ang pow might be good but i am not so sure. oh dear, why are there so many november babies in my family? something to do with it being a good month?? Well the dateline is friday so i think it should still be fine. 3 more days to think about it. hehehe. i shall have to consider it over hmmmmmm......

Its Monday and here i am sitting in front of my office pc again. Had a wonderful weekend and most of all i had the chance to check out a couple of songs from Jay Chou's latest album. Of all the songs i like "the longest movie" best of all. Is it because i prefer slow songs more. Maybe i am getting old couldn't stand fast songs anymore. hehehe.

Anyway Parachute Band came to lead praise & worship in church over the weekend. I enjoyed myself a lot. The songs they sing are very nice. But one song made a deep impression with me and that is "Mercy". I think that song just speak into the heart of many people because it's lyrics are very meaningful.

It is also first fruit weekend yesterday. I actually gave my first fruit on sunday. At first during pledge time i was unsure if i will be able to fulfill my first fruit on time or not. Its because i just started with this new job barely one month so i am still financially unstable. Not only that I still have to buy a birthday present for my brother too. At first i was thinking maybe i should just wish him a Happy Birthday and that's it. But God says otherwise. Well since he is my brother and he has always been a blessing in my life why not bless him too? After all birthday only come once a year and it is a special occasion. Well bro, Happy Birthday!!!! Although there is no cake and candles I still hope that you will like the present me and Kristin got for you. 

God is good and He never shortchange me. I don't know how He managed it but i am not only able to give my first fruit on time, buy presents but also have left over for myself. How in the world did that happen?? (now i am confused) But one thing i know for sure now that God will take care of me no matter what so i should not be too worried and stingy with my finances. Its true that God will not always bless me financially but He bless me in other areas of my life. Things that are more important than money. Such as friendship, favor with colleagues at work, putting people in my life to help me grow etc.

PS. In my previous blog post i might have gave the impression that my bible study sensei is a very scary person. Please don't misinterpret it. She is a very nice person when she is not upset. All i meant was when she is upset with me she always sound so disappointed in me and make me feel so guilty. The ability to read people and say the right words is very scary. (sigh)

Yay!!!!! Its finally Friday!!!! I am so happy. After 5.30pm today i will be a free person(temporarily at least). Right after work i will be visiting my adorable sister in Cyberjaya to spend the night there and watch movie downloads. Hehehe. This is decided only after a clearance check with my bible study Sensei Ms. Monica Chong. Its dangerous to make plans without the clearance check mind you. I have tried it before and "kena kau kau" from her. Hahaha.

At least this time i will be able to enjoy the weekend. So much to look foward to. Its as if i am living just for the sake of weekends. Hehehe.

Its the middle of the week and yet i am hanging on to my life with a thread only. Barely surviving there. It is so hectic. My colleagues taking turns to be sick, customer calling in non stop with queries and complaints alike. And today an unscheduled training. My head is bursting with information and rubbish at the same time.

Maybe i am being ungrateful, but when i made a prayer to God that i will be fruitful, this was not what i had in mind. The time rushing by that i barely noticed it. Every night reaching home only to collapse in my bed and leave this world behind. Even worse i can actually get scolded in my dreams. (sigh)

Its Thursday today. One more day to go and i will be free!!! (for the time being at least) Maybe i am in self denial but it is better to live in illusions than to face the harsh reality of Monday coming.

Now i m still considering whether to watch Beowulf or not. Any good reviews on it? I heard from my friend he fell asleep while watching it during its premiere night. Hmmmmmmm not such a good sign. But then again different people has different taste. 

In June this year after i graduated, my dad wants to use my laptop for his streamyx access back in hometown. I agreed because i was no longer studying and have no use of the laptop anymore. Since i can always use my brother's desktop computer or my office desktop.

However i am currently feeling the consequences of my decision. With no personal laptop, there are tons of things i cannot do. For instance watch anime on the computer, having space to save all my manga scanlation in, etc. How i wish i did not give it up previously. Well regretting is not a good thing. Better to think of a solution instead.

Currently i am considering getting a credit card so that i can go and buy a desktop computer for myself. At least this way i would not need to suffer so much. Since i have a stable job it should not be a problem. Does anyone have any better suggestions? Please help.

I sometimes wonder if i view things only on the bad side. Am i such a pessimist? I really don't know. I am currently working in a call centre providing technical support for a product. Yesterday, i was speaking on the phone to a customer who is totally arrogant and rude. It was not my first encounter anyway. In the previous phone call he already more or less told me that i am so useless and of no help to him.  Regardless that i have provided him with the correct answer to his queries.

Yesterday was worse. When he call up and enquire on certain technical matters, i already given him the correct answer, however he was prejudiced (probably thought i was a newcomer who doesn't know anything) he would not accept my solution and demanded to speak with my superiors. He told me to tell my superior that he does not like the solution given and to give him a better one. The tone he spoke in and his exact words were what angers me the most. I kept silent throughout his complaints because if i did not i probably would have scolded him back. If it were not because it was a phone conversation, i would have strangled him on the spot.(hmmmm.....maybe that was too much)

However i got one of the product specialist to call him up instead. The best part was the product specialist offered him the same solution i gave him earlier and told him it was the only method and there are no other workaround way. The reason he refuse to accept the solution i provided is probably because he was prejudiced and it clouded his judgement. He thought that unless he is speaking with the most senior person in charge, he is not able to get a good solution. It is not the first time. Apparently all my colleagues have encountered him before and also got scolded by him.

The best part was he ask to speak with me after he settled his problem with my superior the product specialist. As i was unavailable at that time he requested that i call him back. When i was informed of it i was quite shock. Whatever could he want with me. To scold me some more perhaps? What a horrible day this is i thought at that time. However when i call him back, he actually apologise to me for his attitude earlier. This is a surprise as all my colleagues told me that this has not happen before. Its amazing that he would actually have the decency to apologise.

Well it is probably not such a bad day after all. Maybe i am just being pessimistic, when he request that i call him back i automatically thought he is going to scold me some more. Maybe i should just learn to take things easy and look on the bright side of things instead. That is some food for my thoughts. (Hopefully)

Why do time past faster over the weekend? My weekend is over in the blink of an eye and i didn't even realise it. next thing i know i m in the office again sitting in front of the computer typing this post.(sigh)

During the weekend i met up with my sis and Michelle. We had a wonderful time shopping and eating dinner. It is a really fun get together. We really gotta do this more often. The best part was my sis. She is always so entertaining. I did not believe it when she claim that she is a very lucky person so we decided to experiment. We drove to sunway pyramid on Saturday noon and i told her it is hard to find parking as it is always full. She said nevermind she is very lucky and will always get a good place. When we entered the parking place, she was talking non stop so i told her to shut up and look for a space. And i also told her she is not lucky as everywhere is full. So she said ok she will start looking around now. Lo and behold the moment she said that, we saw an empty space near the lift entrance. My sis couldn't stop laughing and all i can say to her is "Not a word from you". Ha ha ha. Guess i have to eat back my own words.

My mom and dad went on a holiday trip to china without me again  What happen to the graduation trip promised to me if i graduated? I m feeling blue about it too.(sigh) Forgotten as usual. But then again i can always go the next time. Hehehe.

Looks like i will have to depend on the thought of what I will do this coming weekend to sustain me throughout the entire week. Gambateh!!!! 

Its Friday today the last working day of the week. I ought to be happy to wake up this morning, but i was feeling blue instead. The weather didn't help either being dark and raining heavily. As to the reason i am feeling moody, well its because i was quite upset with myself.

It all started with the movie Stardust. I wanted to watch it last sunday with ely and lee lee. However we could not make it as i had something to do. Thus both of them waited for me and postponed the movie instead. It was really nice of them to do that. But on tuesday night when nova ask me to go watch the movie at pyramid on wednesday, i promptly agreed and went. Completely forgetting the fact that i still have 2 friends waiting to watch it with me.

The worst part of it? I did not remember about it until i saw ely's reply to my post yesterday afternoon. I felt so horrrible and guilty. I understand their disappointment in me. This is not the first time and forgetfullness is simply an excuse. For ely and lee lee, (if you read this) believe me. My disappointment is just as huge as yours (although it is over quite a different thing) and i really apologise for forgetting you girls.

I have always live in my own world and i do not think of others at all. A very self centered person you might say. Its as if the whole world owes me something and when things don't go my way, they can all just dissappear for all i care. I just can't be bothered with them. Ever since my childhood i have been like that. Be it lazy to communicate, too lazy to make the effort to make friends and talk to them, lazy to get to know them better, lazy to remember anything about them(actually people do tell me about themselves sometimes, its just that i never bothered to remember), there are just too many of it. Perhaps that is why i do not have someone whom i can call "my best friend" all throughout my childhood and teenage years. In my life, people come people go and i never bothered to keep in touch with them.

Looking back i feel kind of sad to actually lead my life like that. Such a waste of time and opportunities. Perhaps i never knew the beauty of a relationship and thus i don't miss it. But ever since being a Christian, i began to see what its like having friends.What it means to have a relationship with God or even friendship with people around me. Maybe it is when i began to see and understand that i began to desire it.

It is hard and uncomfortable for me at first as i never had to think of others and be considerate before. But God did help me along the way and He never fails to rebuke me or remind me when i was about to let my selfishness show. Somehow He always make me hold my tongue and thoughts. I am not saying i became perfect immediately but step by step i try to change and improve. For every unreasonable selfish words i utter or inconsiderate actions i made, i will privately berate myself for it. and just when i thought i was doing ok and improving (feeling quite please with myself too),i had to stumble again and my fall was painful.

(sigh) Guess i have to pick myself up again and continue stumbling foward. For those whom i sometimes forget, all i can say is I'm sorry and i am trying to break myself of that habit. So for the meantime please bear with me while i practise trying to remember and be considerate to someone other than myself.  

Finally i manage to watch this yesterday. I went with Nova to Pyramid TGV to watch this movie. It was fun to watch it with someone who does not eat during the movie. At least i do not get popcorn pushed in front of me all the time. (hehehe) Now i know who to go to the movies with. Now on the review of the book and movie....

It is not the first time i have heard of Stardust. In fact i have seen the book on the bookshelf while browsing through MPH Bookstore a long time ago. However it never appeal to me and thus i never pick it up to read(probably due to the dull cover). But when the movie is out, everyone kept saying how good it was. Being the easily influenced person that i am, i decided to read the book to see what is the story like. I was quite surprise as the writing of author Neil Gaiman is quite simple. I would say that the level of writing is probably suitable for teen reader and even bordering on childish. It certainly does not suit the cover which gave an impression of an adult fantasy fiction(usually children books have cute prictures and attractive colours on the cover to attract childrens to read).

The movie however is very well done. The special effects are just nice and does not look too fake or overdone. Although this is not Lord of the Rings standard but the scenery still manage to give me a feeling of medieval England. For me, the highlight of this movie is probably Robert De Niro. The most memorable scene being the one near the end where his character Captain Shakespeare met Septimus( Mark Strong). He was so hilarious and funny.The rest of the cast played their part well enough too. The movie is definitely better than the book. This is probably because Neil Gaiman is not a very descriptive writer and fails to bring me into the story when i read the book. The characters are not very well described and i have a hard time imagining them while reading. But then again how many can compare with the likes of Tolkien, Eddings and Lewis. They are just in a class of their own.(ahh...when will they make Belgariad into a movie???)

All in all the movie Stardust is worth watching but if you want to read the book, just be warned not to place too high hopes and expectations on the writing(as it is meant for children) otherwise you will be sorely disapointed.