I've wanted to blog about this for sometime now... since I've got a bit of time today, why not? :)
Torture mechanics... Showstopper 2010 edition - is a feature we have on the Fly FM Pagi Show where every weekday at the 9 o'clock hour, all 3 of us - Phat Fabes, Nadia & myself would pick a song while you vote for your favourite. The song with the most number of votes from you wins. The biggest loser of the week (with the least number of winnings in a week) will be tortured following Monday...
Nadia lost a few weeks back... So Nadia lost a few weeks back and Amrita (De' Eville Van a.k.a our Producer) went and bought possibly the largest undergarment in the world to TORTURE her...
This thing is GIGANTIC! I think you can put the entire Pagi Show in there and there's still room to breathe! So anyway, Nadia was required to parade around the Media Prima showcasing her latest 'fashion' at primary locations such as the BIG BIG BIG boss' room, the cafeteria and the security people...
After the gigantic undergarment escapade, she felt SO inspired that she ate a heck of a lot that same evening and proudly presented her belly the following day...
So it's that same time of the year again... Ching Ming festival where we visit our ancestors... from KL to Kampar, Perak... It was a HOT HOT HOT weekend... since there was no shade and this was my mum's side of the ancestors, there's a rule that only my mum's side of the relatives could do the setting up of the prayer area etc... Stella and I decided to bring a chair, a blue mickey mouse umbrella, sat down and looked on - happily... :)
Hint hint... get darker colour umbrellas! Oh by the way, just for the record - always buy a darker colour umbrella... I had a white one but it didn't shield us as much from the heat compared to the blue one...
Prawns galore! Every time we visit my mum's side of the family, we'd have a feast... this time, it was Tanjung Tualang... in between Kampar and Ipoh, Perak - its a really really small town dotted with restaurants showing sign boards filled with prawns - prawns here are FAMOUS!
We had all sorts of prawns... steamed with egg and potent chinese white wine, savory black sauce and loads more! Here's how I'd describe the prawns - firm, succulent, large, meaty, juicy, prawny... OOOHHH mama mia... the French would go "FANTASTIC!" - okay fine, that was English.
Banana Jelly So while we were having our prawny lunch meal, one of my cousin asked if I'd like to try out this Banana Jelly drink... they had 2 variations - one with santan and the other with lime. Being the health conscious freak, I went for the latter option. Tada!
I'm not sure if it's Banana Jelly because firstly, there was no HINT of Banana in the jelly... and it really tasted like something I could get from the Pasar Malam (night market) in KL... Nevertheless, I enjoyed it :P It's my favourite pasar malam drink :)
Jalan Ampang that's not in Ampang Then there's this... after dropping off one of my cousins in Kampar, we saw this sign...
A Jalan Ampang in Kampar! Albeit of a small one though... it's nothing like the one in KL... maybe 5 shoplots long and 3 cars wide...
What are your discoveries lately? Send me a mail to me@benjern.com with those photos and I'll post them up!
If you follow me on Twitter - it's @benjern by the way :) you would have seen some of these pictures... but hey, let's share it anyway!
Let's start with Superman... I was traveling on the highway 2 days back and then I saw this... he was swerving left to right and left to right... then he leans over to create better aerodynamics and sped off at 120km/hr - fooiyoh...
Then there's super Kiasu Was at a bank... what the heck was this dude or dudette thinking? Parking 2 lots! Not like he / she is paying for 2 lots! Or is he / she? If this person is paying for 2 lots, can this be legally done??? mmm....
Fake We have daily team meetings... in this one occasion, Fabes was VERY sleepy, he placed tape on his eye-lids to simulate as though his eye was open when it was completely shut - he failed miserably...
If you've got a strange picture for me to post on my blog, send it to me@benjern.com! Till my next entry!
Going through some old photos Was going through some of the shots on my phone and thought I'd share a few... firstly, the Fly FM Pagi Show is the home to many strange things... including this... one morning, Amrita our producer, Fabes, Nadia and I were in the studio when Nadia proudly proclaimed... "oooh LOOK! my belly!"
She was flaunting it all around the studio... she claims it's "morning gas" and that it would subside after breakfast... well... we waited... 2 hours later... it's still there... the following morning, it stayed... so yeah, she now has a permanent gas belly...
The tale of the Habanero I will NEVER forget this day. The day where I ate one of the spiciest chillies in the world - the Habanero Chili from the capsicum family. You see, it's one of those torturous Fly FM Showstopper punishments because I was the biggest loser for the showstopper the week before...
The torture... The time came I took and bite and man... it's NASTY. Just to give you an idea, I'm not the weakest person when it comes to eating chili, I'd add sambal, I'd add chili padi, I'll add chili to anything but THIS was terrible. When you first put in your mouth and start munching, it'd taste like any other capsicum... 10 seconds later, you'd feel a strange tingling sensation... another 10 seconds later... the heat will come... then BAM! Your throat itches, your belly burns, your tongue is on fire... your entire E-N-T - ear nose throat track gets irritated and everything itches... IT'S PHENOMENALLY CRAZY!
How to get rid of the 'spiciness' Wait a few minutes... and to think that it'd go away? DREAM ON. I even tried the old 'drink milk' remedy and it didn't help. This thing kept burning... and burning... for a good 10 minutes... You have no choice but to let the heat wear off...
and you'd think that's OVER? DREAM ONNNNN...
For the rest of the day your stomach will feel uneasy, I kept on passing gas and you'd feel weird... give it 6 hours... and then it'll be over... Yes, the habanero might look cute but it's a DEADLY killer... don't believe in cute things... they spell DANGER!
Exaggeration? Of course not... go on YouTube, search "habanero eating" and you'll find loads of videos showing people getting tortured eating this 'cute chili' - here's one I found... ENJOY :)
Are you getting the iPad or waiting for iPhone 4G?
It's been sometime since I've written tech... so here we go again. Something I've always wanted to talk about is the iPad - sure, there are tonnes of videos and websites talking about how stupid the name is including this YouTube video which for some strange reason 'predicted' the creation of the iPad 4 years ago (viewer's discretion advised).
Okay, seriously, WILL YOU GET IT?
There are 2 groups of individuals Some people say it's just an enlarged iPhone - larger screen, larger keyboard - BUT doesn't make calls. Then there's the group that say WOW! this is the must have gadget of the year - imagine using that LARGE screen... it's like a laptop - just thinner and cooler AND if you get the 3G enabled option, you'd get to surf wherever you are!
Me? Being me, I must admit, I do get excited over every tech gadget out there - especially when it's got the Apple logo on it. So I'm on the latter group - the group that REALLY REALLY REALLY wants it.
The justification... Why get the iPad? Well, I know it's a bigger iPhone that doesn't make calls but it really depends on what you plan to use the iPad for. I do a whole lot of net surfing on my iPhone, I do a whole lot of remote technical support looking at super tiny Windows or OS X screens - all these while, I've been using this puny screen. It does the job but I would do many strange things just to have a much larger screen.
The grandma theory My grandma complaints... "every single time you take a picture of me, I NEVER get to see it - you NEVER develop it" - well, I don't develop cause that's REALLY old school... I leave everything in my notebook and I'm just too darn lazy to export it to my iPhone and end up viewing on a SUPER SMALL screen. With the iPad, I can finally show grandma her beautiful pictures in full Technicolor glory using that iPad.
As you can see, there are tonnes of applications for the iPad... I can imagine this MASSIVE media centre... the possibilities are endless and what's more - imagine your favourite games like Command & Conquer for the iPhone, Doodle and the rest of the 100,000 iPhone apps on your glorious iPad screen. Never has a brand new gadget been released in the market with that many available apps - it's just mind blowing.
BUT... don't let me convince you... At the end of the day, we must remember, there's still the iPhone 4G that is looming near. Some say it'd be the coolest thing ever with a new type of screen that consumes less battery, a 5 megapixel camera, flash and possibly looks like this...
Since the next BIG announcement from Apple is just months away and not everyone has cash growing on trees, would you wait for the 4G or go for the iPad anyway? :)
Watch “Nadia is a man” in full video & audio glory!
Here's a follow up to my previous blog entry - just imagine a manly Nadia and Fabulous Fabes in full AUDIO and VIDEO glory! I've got it... check it out below...
and now I really think Fabes is a woman on the inside...
So Nadia, my colleague, my team mate, the friend, the person who has the ability to yap non-stop, the one who goes on air with me on the Pagi Show EVERY weekday morning... you get the idea...
Nadia = man? I honestly think she's a man... You see, it was one of those days where "fabulous fabes" dropped by to give some beauty tips and after seeing Nadia - "Fabulous" freaked out... saying that she DESPERATELY needed a make over... we did a LIVE make-over and this was the result...
I don't know what to say. We tried our best to give her the best lip stick, the best eye shadows... the best of EVERYTHING... but to no avail... she still ended looking like a man... either that or we just suck at putting make-up :)
She really liked it... So anyway, before you start going... aiyyyoooo why are you and Fabes sooo EVIL... Nadia actually enjoyed it... so much so that she celebrated by having all of this to eat right after the show...
Why was she celebrating? Perhaps that's a question you should ask her.
My car got vandalized, invisible grills & I feel like a woman
Been meaning to blog this for awhile but I was just too busy the whole of last week... now that I've got some time, here it goes...
Vandalism... It was just a week back when I was at Solaris Dutamas - a row of shop lots cum mini shopping centre near the Solaris Sri Hartamas area... left my car, parked it right in front of the car park security post, right next to a 360 degree rotating security camera - it couldn't be safer - or so I thought...
Guess what? Some no use son / daughter of a plant came by and stole my car's towing cap! To make it worse, they had to leave some scratch marks... @$$ hole.. <- please pardon my language...
Good thing is, that cap isn't all that expensive... 70 bucks was a damage and the sales dude who got me the car brought it down to about 50 bucks (he paid for the paint job)... but still... what in the world were these people thinking??? and what the HECK WERE the security guys doing???
On another note... So anyway, I recently got a place of mine and YAY! I can finally determine how it's gonna look like with NO ONE telling me, naaahh Ben, that colour looks ugly... or that fridge doesn't match - coz it's MY HOUSE :)
That weekend had a rough start but it didn't deter me from the kitchen & household appliance scouting escapade... I checked out this new thing called INVISIBLE GRILLS!
It's just fine lines! Doesn't collect dust & comes with a built-in alarm system - so the moment a thief cuts any part of the grill, the alarm will sound...
Entering womanhood Then I entered the world of womanhood - jeez, never in my life have checked out sooo many household appliances, fans alone there are gazillions to choose from, airconds, washing machines, dishwashers... wow... I really felt like a woman... and they WERE NOT CHEAP! It's 1499, 2499, 3999, 7299...
A cup cake that says EAT ME!
After a day of hard work... looking at the different specs and crunching the high prices of household appliances... Stella and I decided to forget the diet and went... TADA!
It was GOOOOD but simple... and that was what happened 1 weekend ago in a nutshell... more soon! How was your weekend?
Aaarrrgghhh... I totally messed up this time... I only took shots of the food that was served & the awesome memorabilia that was presented to us for the Pagi Show Lion Dance... If you have no clue as to what I'm talking about, I suggest you checkout this post.
So this year, we attended 5 locations...
Day 1 - Charmaine's Home & Office Location @ Glomac
Since I forgot to take shots of the performance or the lion for that matter, I shall talk about the AWESOME BUFFET spread Charmaine's family got for us! It was AMAZING! Apparently, it was cooked by her uncle who does it as a hobby... now that's one hobby I have never heard of...
Check it out...
Knowing that Fabes & I were on a specific diet, they were so kind... got us a whole tray of HEALTHY food! :) The vegetables were braised with possibly thick & brown oyster sauce - served on top of banana leaves to bring up the smell of clorophyl... VERY NICE!
Then it was MEAT TIME! A variety of cocktail sausages, star-cut nuggets and wrinkly... something... :)
Then the ever wonderous CHICKEN BOXING!
and more! chicken cooked with thick broth - thickened through coconut cream...
Then the meehoon... garnished with some green stuff - I think it's spring onions...
Ahhh.. Charmaine, her family, cousins and her two uncles who got the buffet spread going (far left)
THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Day 2 - Symantec's office @ Damansara Uptown 2 & another office location @ Mutiara Bangsar
Again, these people @ Symantec were SOOOOO NICE! Apart from the VERY 'NICE' Ang Pau (thank you thank you thank you), they got us yet another buffet spread!
How about specially ordered roast lamb accompanied with lamb juice & mint?
They had looooooaaaaaaaddddsss more food but the highlight for me was Brenda's cake! She baked this very awesome Oreo Cheese Cake all the way through the wee hours of the morning! She got home at 9pm the night before and because of her VERY KIND HEART and SOUL, she decided to bake... and wrapped up at 2am! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Me savouring the VERY LOVELY CAKE - forget the diet - CAKE I MUST EAT!
Day 3 - Taylor's College, Sri Hartamas This was special, not only did the Student Council got everything hooked up including setting up a stage, getting posters drawn up and giving us a HUUUUGGGEEE welcome... these guys were amazing, at the end of the performance, we were taken for a mini tour around the campus ended at the student council office where we were presented this!
Wow! Fabes, Nadia and I were completely speechless! Every class made customized Chinese New Year greeting card, thanking us for the lion dance performance... and the saying is true, some things ARE more precious than money... THIS WAS WORTH A LOT to us. THANK YOU SO MUCH... Taylor's College, Sri Hartamas - YOU ROCK!
It's not the end... Well, knowing that Taylor's College was our last stop for the Pagi Show Lion Dance 2010 escapade, it was a little sad, knowing that I wouldn't be able to play with Loo Loo no more (a name fabes gave to the lion head we were handling) and not getting to perform... BUT deep inside I knew... 2011 will come, Chinese New Year will be here again and WE WILL BE OUT ONCE MORE!
I'll do it ANYTIME... it was very very tiring BUT a GREAT experience AND for all who sent in your entries for the Lion Dance and didn't get picked, don't worry, there's next year and it'll be BIGGER, BETTER and more AWESOME! Kong Xi Fa Chai!
The day began early... we woke up around 7 and headed northbound towards Perak... visited some relatives... and one of my dogs - Puffy - had a ball of a time collecting ang paus...
2pm... we headed for Cameron Highlands... backtracked towards KL and used the Simpang Pulai route - I expected jam... so jam was what I saw on the way up...
3 hours later, we arrived... and having women on the trip, my wife, mum, sis, aunt including my dog "girl girl" HAD TO STOP at the first shopping opportunity - the market.
This place was nuts! Everything was strawberry...
Strawberry umbrellas...
Lady with loads of strawberries...
More strawberries...
Strawberry t-shirts...
They had strawberry anything & everything, from ones you can use at a swimming pool to edible ones coated with icing sugar, chocolate... just AMAZING.
After an hour of satisfying the ladies' crave for shopping, we checked-in... I rested... so that was day 2...
Day 3 - Still in Cameron Highlands...
If you've heard me saying "tea & scones ole' chap" on-air... I say it pretty often... that's because I LOVE IT! In Cameron Highlands... tea & scones are everywhere!
We headed for the Boh Tea Plantation...
And voila!
I ate... and ate... due to the diet and as part of my weight loss maintenance routine, I decided to have only half...
But I ended up finishing EVERYTHING... AAARRRGGHHH... it was TOO GOOD :)
I even finished an entire tub of butter & strawberry jam!
On the day I left Cameron Highlands, GUESS what I found? STARBUCKS baby! The moment I saw it at Tanah Rata... my eyes went HUGE... finally, my favourite latte, that smell... that environment... all that in chilled cool air of Cameron Highlands... ahhh.. it was irresistable!
In Kampar... We returned to the peaceful & quiet town of kampar... I love this place, there's something about an old mining town that attracts me... everything is WAYYYY cheaper than KL, beautiful buildings... and life is just... well, simple :)
Before we did anything else, next stop - the very very famous Ice-Kacang... according to my mum it's been in operation for EONS! It was pretty good actually... only strange thing was, they had 4 sign boards reminding you to pay... they must have had some bad experience :)
And finally... we arrived at the home where my mum grew up - Puffy got excited that he pretended to be the lion guardian of the gates...
That's it! My Chinese New Year 2010 - it was yet another awesome one! Kong Xi Fa Chai!
Next, updates on the Pagi Show Lion dance soon! Watch this blog!
