2025 Roundup

I don't know about anyone else, but the year for me has been kinda ma ma dei... 

• Did not think this year was gonna be the last time I'm gonna fly the KL-Singapore route on Jetstar Asia before it went bust later in the year... 
• As of this entry, Batik Air has one flight a day from Subang to Changi, but I think it's more for business travellers cos it's like 7.30 a.m.?!
• Squeezed in a couple of gigs (MEW and Franz Ferdinand) towards the end of the year.. 
• Saw my first local Malay gig this year (4U2C reunion show).
• JitFest 2025 was interesting
• My driver's license is now renewed for 10 years, whoo!
• RIP, Spotlight
• Lost an aunt and a coworker
• Lost a toenail 
• Added and got rid of some credit cards 
• Went for a mass training in CPR and AED - I'd be amazed if I can still remember how to do both now
• Learning/cramming about e-invoicing and a new accounting software for work mid-year is not something I would recommend.
• Didn't think I'd live to see a second Kino store in Malaysia..
• First mammogram ever
• Malaysia finally has it's own International Pen Show. 

2024 Roundup

• TWO gigs this year: Coldplay and Thom Yorke (not Radiohead, just him)
• Saw Jerry Seinfeld!! (in Singapore, though)
• Jimmy Carr came to KL.. 
• Only saw 10 movies this year in the cinema
• RIP, Times Bookstore
• RIP, MBO in Atria
• RIP, KLCC Rotiboy store
• Scoot finally got SZB-SIN flights, but it's only once a day and the timing is kinda shit. 
• Got approved for several credit cards this year. I dare not find out what my credit score is right now.
• But I also had to report, block and replace some of them due to fraudulent charges. 
• Started/Tried out reformer pilates this year. Not sure if I wanna continue with it.. 
• Finally had a reason to go to Dewan Filharmonik Petronas after many years... for a comedy show, LOL
• The year where several people I know had had parents pass away...

Happy New Year?

2023 Roundup

• Another year of more femes people checking out this mortal coil. 
• There's just been loads of exhibitions in malls this year for some reason: Van Gogh, Tim Burton... too many to name. Great way to draw traffic to the malls they're in, I guess but still. 
• RIP, Book Depository.
• It's too bad Anthony Loke isn't also in charge of Immigration Department, cos I'm all for 10 year driver's license, but 10 year passport can or not ah?
• One gig this year: Muse's second time back after 15 years in Bukit Jalil. 
• First time Coldplay perform in Malaysia and people on my timeline is suddenly a fan (who has never copped to it ah) and managed to get tickets and I couldn't. NGL, still salty, but wouldn't want to try to leave the cesspool that is Bukit Jalil with almost 80,000 people afterwards, so ya la. Anyhow, going down south again for the first of their 6 night run next month, so I'll get over it. At least I didn't open a CIMB account LOL
• Tax on low value goods was on, off and back again next week/year. Oh wells. 
• This year in American TV and movies kinda went on hiatus cos of the months-long writers' and actors' strikes, so everything is postponed in February. 
• We still don't know what's gonna happen over at The Daily Show. 
• Adios, enticement law. 
• Another Malaysian comic managed to sell/get their special on Netflix this year. (Yeah, apparently you can sell your own comedy specials to them [so I hear], provided you follow their specifications or whatever). Congrats, you know who you are. 
• Kinda sad that NCIS: Los Angeles ended its 14 year run, but let's be real, a bit hard to imagine those people still doing their jobs any longer... unless you're LL Cool J, who just got picked up by NCIS: Hawaii. NCIS: Sydney is kinda promising. 

2022 Roundup

• So many celebs checked out of this mortal coil this year, too many to name
• After waiting his entire life to this point, Charles is finally king?
• MBO rose from the dead despite the odds; but some of the outlets are now GSC cineplexes
• One gig: Sigur Ros in Singapore
• Had both halal and non halal Five Guys this year.
• Saw a lot of local comics' solo shows this year, some okay, others were kinda forgettable
• Original Sugababes lineup got the name back, can tour again?
• Got tested positive for COVID this year, but that was nothing compared to the subsequent URTI (or was it long COVID?) and PND, which was even more annoying. 
• Had to claw back the sub-RM50 tax refund from LHDN over the phone. 
• Election this year, new PM. Hope this new administration can hang in there. 
• Finally got a chip content letter, which I was told would be useful instead of wasting at least 10 minutes doing biometric verification because of my thumbprint issues.
• Couple of foreign bookstore chains trying their luck in Malaysia this year. I say trying their luck because people are mostly there for the 'gram. 

2021 Roundup

As far as I can tell, it's pretty much more of the same this year as it was last year - more lockdowns, gahmen u-turns, flip flops and other shenanigans. Too much for me to get into. 

• Finally got to check out PJPAC this year.
• Saw a bunch of archived plays online this year.
• Podcasts going down in flames because of things the hosts did...
• Congrats to Tropicana Gardens Mall for not being 100% same as the other malls in the Klang Valley - you have both Don Don Donki (aka Don Quijote) and also PJ's only Taco Bell. 
• Starbucks Malaysia finally joined the rest of the planet and revamped the rewards program to the globally known Stars program. 
• Didn't think I would be buying any makeup this year, but I did cos member sale. 
• Grandaunt passed away (not from COVID ah)
• Finally had my first Taco Bell after 16 LONG YEARS. Wah lau eh. 
• Also caught a bunch of movies in the cinema towards the end of the year cos the cineplexes are opening again, and not a moment too soon. 
• Wisdom tooth extraction.

2020 Roundup

All I can say is 2020 is a shit year for a lot of people, except for people who got engaged, married (yep, pandemic be damned), had kids, etc. Me? Pandemic aside, the year has been kinda shit if I were to be honest. I mean, there's a few middling highs, but otherwise... 

• Ended up having an outpatient ingrown toenail extraction procedure. At a hospital. Sigh. On the plus side, not having to go to work for a couple of weeks afterwards was kinda nice, never mind that the doctor who did the procedure was the medical director and his consult fees were kinda mahal..
• A lot of businesses and brands went under due to the pandemic; there's too many for me to name. The only exception was HQ Trivia, which came back months later when it got new funding. I'm guessing the philanthropy component was part of the funding deal...? 
• Still no Taco Bell, never mind that word on the street now is that the first store is opening in Cyberjaya?
• Managed to catch a lot of movies (for me) before the cinemas shut down for the year. 
• The local politics is a shitshow this past year. The way I see it, this current gahmen picked the wrong time to do their move to take back power... right before a global pandemic. Dumbass. 
• Saw a bunch of archived stage shows online this year which I otherwise would not have the chance to watch. 
• This was the year the BA (and their YouTube channel, let's be honest) went down in flames. Other publications are also on chopping block, but BA was the biggest controversy. 
• Had more water supply disruptions than I would care to recall now. 

Happy New Year, everyone.

2019 Roundup

Rollercoaster year, 2019. Supposedly the end of another decade... unless you're one of those people who's in the "2021 should be the start of the next decade" camp. I don't care either way. 

• Down to one grandmother/grandparent this year. I'm kinda hoping not to have to celebrate the coming CNY?
• Comedy shows (by this, I mean anything that's at least an hour long) attended in 2019: Jim Jefferies, Jim Gaffigan, Brian Tan, Phoon Chi Ho, Instant Cafe Theatre, Iliza (both in Singapore and KL, unintentionally), Kavin Jay, MACC's last show, Prakash Daniel, Ronny Chieng
• One gig: Snow Patrol 
• Made a bunch of online friends for contest tagging purposes (for when you don't want to tag people you know IRL). If you can find me on the soc med, yeah you can tag me in for contests, etc.
• Managed to catch eight theatre productions this past year. 
• A bunch of Cold Storage and Giant stores are closing/have closed. 
• Some airlines are now legally bound NOT to charge card processing fees... 
• Brown sugar boba in fresh milk seems to be a thing this year. Not worth the lactose intolerance, and am probably too old for it. 
• The landmark PJ EPF office closed for good this year after the fire last year. (It's now in the building next to Amcorp Mall, but only member services). 
• Won a USB powered scented eye mask.
• Attended two wedding dinners this year.
• I learned this year that you don't get to choose the included meal in AirAsia's Value Pack, but you do get to choose whether you want vegetarian or not. 
• Cat passed away this year. 
• Ben & Jerry's scoop shop finally opened in Malaysia this year.
• Bodily injuries this year: sprained, fractured arm. During my grandmother's funeral. 
• Renewed driver's license for 6 years. (I know maximum is 5 years, but was charged for 6 cos of the difference on renewal date and actual birthday was more than 6 months. Cis).

Happy (Gregorian) New Year.

2018 Roundup

If you're reading this, I'm in Penang (I think) and won't be back until the 2nd, so... Happy New Year!

2018 (for me and also, in general), in a nutshell:

• Whoda thunk that democracy still worked in Malaysia - after 61 years, the ruling party is now the opposition. 
• Some idiot has been trying to get their Bird (electric scooter service) registration verified using my email address. I've complained to Bird about this and I've also since blocked those emails.
• Adios GST, hello again SST.... sayonara pink tax!
• At least this year I learnt closing procedures with EPF, SOCSO, etc. 
• Kinda sad that some famous people died this year - Dolores, Bourdain, the Old Man from Pawn Stars, Stephen Hawking, Stan Lee... 
• Whoda thought that Sinead O' Connor would convert to Islam...? 
• Lush Cosmetics finally opened shop in Malaysia, but prices are either equivalent to Singapore prices, or worse. Me, I'll just wait for a sale. 
• Cold Stone and Dean & Deluca finally found its way to Malaysia.
• The In-N-Out Burger pop up was an interesting experience.
• Filled my one wedding a year quota. 
• New Queer Eye reboot! 
• Tested the after-sales service of both Tumi and Furla this year. 
• Comedy: Saw Russell Peters (again), Margaret Cho, Jo Koy, Jimmy Carr, Sharul Channa, Kavin Jay's TGV tour
• Concerts: James Blunt, Franz Ferdinand (again)
• Only saw 5 theatre productions this year. 
• Several bouts of URTIs and post nasal drip this past year... 
• Nasi lemak burger madness.
• There's finally a second comedy club in KL. 

2017 Roundup

So-so year in general.

• This year's birthday landed during CNY, but I don't remember now if people doubled up on the angpow or not. 
• Paul Boulangerie and Laduree did open in Pavilion this year. Not sure when Dean & Deluca's opening, but my guess is probably in the new year. 
• Chatime came back after the dispute, but in fewer places than before. 
• 4th Coldplay concert!
• Finally got to watch Eddie Izzard live!!
• Also saw Kathy Griffin perform in Singapore.
• Saw Vir Das.
• The MRT opened this year, making it easier for people who don't live closer to the existing rail lines to travel around without having to clog roads.
• PJ is back to using scratch off parking coupons after the service provider fucked up with the parking machines. But that's not getting enforced until the new year, so it's been free parking in most parts of PJ for quite a few months now.
• New Agong, new official birthday. Which most people won't care about cos it's typically on a Saturday.
• Changed telcos after 15 years.

2016 Roundup

2016 was rough. Not just for me, but also what seems like the entire planet in general, between the Brexit vote and Trump being president elect... Also, so many famous people passed, so next year's In Memoriam reel at the award shows is gonna be super long... unless they left some people out. Which I know might happen. 

• Weather for the most part was hot as balls. 
• Also under the weather for what felt like a better part of 2016. 
• Whoda thought Michael Weatherly would finally leave NCIS to play a version of Dr Phil?
• The predominantly white shows (NCIS and Criminal Minds) after all these years, decided to diverse-ify by casting Latinas and Latinos. Coincidence, I think not. 
• Netflix's streaming service is finally available in this side of the world. 
• Anyone still remembered the ostrich that ran on the Federal Highway? 
• Goodbye, old home phone number.
• First domestic flight in donkey years.
• Halal airline disappeared as fast as it appeared, haha. 
• Saw Ed Alonzo.
• Saw Fluffy in June.
• AEON pulling the plug on their no expiry date gift vouchers.
• Finally tried TWG macarons. 
• Got a ticket to see Coldplay next year!! 
• MRT is finally a thing this year. But whether people will still ride it once the free ride trial is over is another issue. 
• One wedding a year quota - met.
• A lot of nasty auntie/makcik encounters this year - I need a mandi bunga.
• Radiohead finally put a new album out this past year. 

I have a feeling 2017 might be about the same or worse.

Happy New Year!

2015 Roundup

Spent the earlier part of the year really under the weather, which was annoying to say the least. Spent the rest of the year trying to get enough sleep to keep the immune system up. 

• Went to a Christina Perri concert for the heck of it.
• Won in a magazine contest, of all things, a 6L Tefal pot. 
• Also can't complain about free pair of sneakers too...
• Ah, the GST implementation. 
• Saw Russell Peters standup gig.
• Finally went to a BSB concert - 13 year old self had fun, 31 year old self was a bit exhausted.
• Made the annual pilgrimage down south for a Muse concert.
• Saw Ronny Chieng perform in PJ months before he went over to The Daily Show.
• Saw my first Instant Cafe Theatre comedy revue this decade. 
• One wedding a year quota - filled :P
• This year's food trend seems to be soft serve ice cream joints and Thai street food. 
• Checked out quite a number of banana leaf rice joints and ate what felt like a whole lot of banana leaf rice. 

2014 Roundup

Another decade older. 'Nuff said. Here are some erm, "highlights"...

• Won a phablet early in the year - yay!
• Finally on Instagram. Shoot me if I decided to be on Vine next.
• I can finally take Travis off the concert bucket list..
• Saw Ellie Goulding. 
• Would've seen A Great Big World, but that cancelled after the MH17 tragedy - coincidence? If nothing else, I got refunded. 
• The local Benefit Cosmetics Brow Bar customer service wasn't too bad.
• Managed to catch Jeff Dunham in this region before his Vegas residency. 
• Kind of regretting not seeing David Blaine when he stopped by.
• News that the old A&W Drive-Thru in PJ New Town was getting shut down for revamping brought on worst case of nostalgia for people too young for it. 
• Glad there's a nearby bus to the airport option, but I don't know about them keeping that up in the long term.
• How did pies and waffles become a thing this year?
• So much car related BS this year...

So much sadness in the nation this past year. Here's hoping for a better next year.

2013 Roundup

Health-wise, better than last year. Other than that, not much to write home about.

• Saw Mew and Franz Ferdinand this year - whee!
• Did NOT get to see Ke$ha, no thanks to the farts at PUSPAL.
• Cat finally spayed, her last litter of kittens also erm, died (I think).
• Finally had the hammam experience (at a discount, natch) after hearing about it for years. 
• After years of sleeping on the 'rents hand-me-down mattress, I finally bought a new one for myself. 
• Renewed both passport and driver's license this year. At least I don't have to think about them until 2018 and 2019 respectively.
• Cousin finally tied the knot this year in Sydney, so I had to represent the Malaysian side of her extended family at the nuptials and took in some of the sights while I was there. Perhaps I should stick to the one wedding a year quota; not just for my sanity, but also my wallet :P
• Found the pair of glasses I thought I lost weeks after I got a new pair made. Ish. 
• Slate featured a question I posted on Quora, specifically the top answer from a guy in the hotel industry.

Week 52, 2012 / 2012 Roundup

Down with a touch of the sniffles. What a way to end the year. Sigh. I'm on antihistamines at the moment. I'm hoping that it doesn't get worse. Here's the week's summary:

• Got my Luxola order on Christmas eve - whee!
• Actually went back to The Gardens on Christmas day for candy :P
• Found out that IKEA's got their own name brand rechargable batteries (green instead of yellow) - RM68 for 8 batteries; 4 AA and 4 AAA batteries. Not sure if they actually work.
• Was coerced again to drive down to JB for some meeting that was only 5 minutes long. Ish. Picked the sibling up and drove back. Met with Dad's classmate who hasn't seen me since I was a tot. I know.

Here's what happened this year.... 

• Spent the better part of January and February under the weather - that much I remembered.
• Got the sibling's car in an accident (not my fault) in February. 
• Loss of wallet and iPod nano (not at the same time) :(
• Saw both The Cranberries and Sigur Ros!! Whee!!
• Didn't really mind missing out on Russell Peters. However, did manage to catch Maz Jobrani, who's about as close to the NPR show "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!" as I'm ever gonna get.
• Most popular post of the year? My less than stellar Zalora experience. 
• Won some stuff - can't complain.
• Finally bought my TomTom device. Still haven't gotten round to getting Stephen Fry TomTom voice.
• Travelled to the East Coast (after 20 years), Manila (great place to stock up on American junk food), and Singapore twice.
• Got to check out Universal Studios Singapore in October. Not likely to go back anytime soon. 
• Bought more tee shirts than it was necessary; I don't think I need to shop for CNY.
• ONE friend wedding this year - yay!
• More car trouble than I care to recall: between shitty wiring and crappy battery... oy vey.
• Having to reformat the laptop. Could be way worse.
• Saw some great live stage shows this year.

Anyway, that was my 2012 and happy new year :)

2011 Roundup

How was 2011 for me? Well....

• Saw a couple of plays this year.
• Saw a bunch of movies this year.
• Donated blood for the first time.
• Attended a couple of friend weddings.
• First time I've driven out of state myself with only a GPS and a kaki who rarely drives and vaguely remembers how to get there for company.
• Much as I wouldn't mind the event swag and trying stuff out, but beauty blogger territory is not for me.
• Checked out some events.
• First and last time I go for a musical at Sunway Lagoon.
• STOMP! at Plenary Hall in KLCC.
• First time attending a show at said Plenary Hall.
• Blogger Summit at PWTC.
• Very brief trip to Jakarta. 
• Got a bunch of freebies.
• Bought a bunch of stuff.
• New born kittens. Several dead kittens.
• Bought an accumulated stack of books which I'm slowly going through.
• Got swept up a little by the bubble tea craze this last year.

Happy New Year, everyone.

2010 Roundup

How was my 2010? I'll be brief.

The last six months was a time of (some) austerity. But it wasn't too bad.

• I got to check out eateries during the day that I otherwise can't be bothered to go on weekends and holidays. 
• I got to spent time with my self-employed dad, whom I otherwise wouldn't see even though we live in the same house. Thanks to him, I also have been to some places that I otherwise wouldn't have had the chance to go, let alone afford :P
• Went on some interviews, probably a lot less than I should, but still.
• Spent some time with friends who were coming and going.
• Saw some movies in the middle of the day in the middle of the week.
• Caught up on shows I otherwise won't have the time, energy or brain power to watch.
• Checked out some events that I would've have to wait until Saturdays to check out. Or not.
• Attended an actual media event, thanks to Nuffnang (though I doubt that I'll be invited to go for another one anytime soon :P)
• Found out Book Depository is a cheaper alternative for Moleskines, if you don't mind waiting 2-3 weeks.
• Got ordained as a ULC minister - well, I got the cert, but just don't ask me to perform weddings.

All that aside, happy new year.

New Years' Eve 2009

Didn't really go out at night to "countdown" or whatever (was lazy, and I hate crowds, traffic and police roadblocks).

I took the bus to Pyramid using my bro's bus pass just because (wanted to drive, but couldn't). Luckily didn't have to wait too long for one. Took my own sweet time exploring the place and bought a few things along the way (no clothes though, but never too early to shop for CNY :P), among them was this coil spring epilator for RM3.20 (after 20% discount) at Yokoso Shiyuki Beauty Mart - the shop with the tiny Japanese figurines outside.... that's another story.

Also saw a pair of boots I wanted at Clarks, but they're RM368 O_o No hurry to buy yet.

Came back, went to the pool for some laps. It wasn't terribly crowded, which was a good thing as it's hard to get into backstroke without having to worry about bumping into anyone else doing it. Might have to go again sometime over the weekend.

Also glad that the book I bought from Acmamall finally arrived (which wasn't cheap, but I had free shipping) via TNT courier.

Also encountered a police road block on the way home - no idea why they're set up outside me old primary school.

Dinner was this beef noodle soup that the 'rents bought in Petaling Street (supposed to be a well-known stall). Spent the night at home (finally) watching Julie and Julia (not a bad movie, but the Julie Powell character was severely over-saccharined).

2009 Round Up

Totally forgot to put this out earlier (and I had drafted it since February...). Oh well.

• Mogwai in KL - where I got stuff signed by the band. Woo hoo.
  
  
• Coldplay in Singapore - coolness.
  
  
• First trip to a chiropractor.
  
  
• Saw some of the primary school classmates that I've not seen for 13 years - way overdue reunion.
  
  
• Won a tee shirt in one contest from a mag, a bottle of perfume from Nuffnang in another.
  
  
• New point and shoot camera.
  
  
• Finally went to an MTV event - only to realise I'm too old to be at an event like that :P
  
  
• First gen iPod shuffle died after 3 years and 8 months. Got new iPod nano (4th gen, but 'twas new when I paid the not-retail price for it)
  
  
• Saw some movies for free, also thanks to Nuffnang.
  
  
• Saw a show (or two) free at PJ Live Arts. Good times.
  
  
• First FREE body massage and mani-pedi. Always a good thing.

Happy New Year...

Another year is soon coming to an end.

At least I'm not at work today.

It's only 10 something in the morning and I'm ready to drop back to sleep again. But at least the 'rents are not home, so I can't complain lah.

Any plans tonight?

I'll most probably be nursing a drink at home by myself as I'm too lazy to leave the house for the sake of counting down tonight. Besides, no one's asked :P

Can't even see the 1U/Curve fireworks from the house anymore since those damn townhouses across the river were up.

Regardless, have a Happy New Year :)

2008 Round Up

How was my 2008? Well, it depends...

• Cousin's wedding
• Worm in the salad
• Checked out Thaipusam celebrations at Batu Caves
• Free Bella hair removal session
• Free Clinique facial
• Got my most expensive wallet to date (3 digits)
• First cousin once removed born on maternal side
  
• Tried the fish spa
• Renewed passport
• Went back to Langkawi again after 12 years
• Attended a church wedding for the first time, err... EVER and the subsequent wedding reception of friends, with friends - a wedding that's a long time coming actually, haha...
  
• First stage musical (Mamma Mia!) for free....
• Boston Legal and Dirty Sexy Money getting cancelled... -___________-
  

I also can't believe the number of dead, famous people this year: Heath Ledger, George Carlin, Paul Newman... are you shitting me?

Anyway, here's to a better 2009.