A Blast From the Past - The Famous Five Ebooks

I've been collecting quite a large library of ebooks... coz I love to read and I can't afford to buy books all the time. I think it's time for me to share my library with other like-minded people in the world.

I'm sure most of you love Enid Blyton when you were young. So, here are some books from the Famous Five Series. Hope you enjoy them. There'll be more to come.

Famous Five 01 - Five On A Treasure Island By Enid Blyton [pdf]
Famous Five 02 - Five Go Adventuring Again By Enid Blyton [pdf]
Famous Five 03 - Five Run Away Together By Enid Blyton [pdf]
Famous Five 04 - Five Go To Smuggler's Top By Enid Blyton [pdf]
Famous Five 05 - Five Go Off In A Caravan By Enid Blyton [pdf]
Famous Five 06 - Five On Kirrin Island Again By Enid Blyton [pdf]
Famous Five 07 - Five Go Off To Camp By Enid Blyton [pdf]

Devil's Name Card

I'm sure everyone (my age and above) has a devil's name card. Oh... don't you know what's that? It's there at your wallet tempting you to whip it out every time you try to talk yourself out of buying something.

YES! You're right. A devil's name card is a card that makes you lose your common senses. It's a card that makes words like "discipline" and "willpower" sound like a joke. It's a card that makes you think you are invincible. It's a card that brings you guilt. It's a card with the word VISA or MASTERCARD on it.

The higher the limit, the higher ranking the devil is. Yup... you're right. Platinum card? That's the name card for the CEO of Hell. I'm still at the rookie stage. Thank God for small favours.

Dangerous as it may seem, it has also become a staple in life. With everything so expensive nowadays, you need it to survive. To tide you over until your next paycheck. I'm talking about people who actually have to work their butt off to pay their bills. Not those who has a silver spoon stuck up their ass when they were born. (If you are one of those silver spoon type, please close this window right now.)

So, anyway... I've always loved reading the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, because I actually feel her. I feel her pain, her puzzlement and her panic when she looks at her Credit Card statement every month. It is a horrifying experience. I feel like a I need therapy every time I look at them.

It's a sign! It's a sign that you are a grown up. A grown up who is supposed to be able to manage your money wisely (HAH! Yeah, right!).

I see a very bleak future with my addiction and my obsession with my devil's name cards. So, the moral of the story? You know it's evil, but you still love it.

* Iris accidentally on purpose drops her credit card statements into the drain. Oops... *
* Iris hides her credit cards secretly and scurries off to the next sale. *

My favourite daydream put into word by Sophie Kinsella, in The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic:

I stare at the statement in puzzlement, wrinkling my brow and trying to think - and then suddenly, the truth dawns on me. It's obvious. Someone else has been using my card.

Oh my God. I, Rebecca Bloomwood, have been the victim of a crime.

Now it all makes sense. Some criminal's pinched my credit card and forged my signature. Who knows where else they've used it? No wonder my statement's so black with figures! Someone's gone on a spending spree round London with my card - and they thought they would just get away with it.

But how have they managed it? I scrabble in my bag for my purse, open it - and there's my VISA card, staring up at me. I take it out and gaze at it. Someone must have pinched it from my purse, used it – and then put it back. It must be someone I know. Oh my God. Who?

I look suspiciously round the office. Whoever it is, isn't very bright. Using my card at Millets! It's almost laughable. As if I'd ever shop there.

'I've never even been into Millets!' I say aloud.

'Yes you have,' says Clare.

'What?' I turn to her, not particularly pleased to be interrupted. 'No I haven,t.'

'You bought Michael's leaving present from Millets, didn't you?'

I stare at her and feel my smile disappear. Oh bugger.

Post-Warehouse Sale Syndrome

Last weekend was an "exhilarating " weekend. I went to the Estee Lauder Staff Sale and boy... was that an eye-opener. If you think you are a hardcore shopaholic, you will be right at your element there. And I thought I am a shopaholic... I felt ashamed of myself and humbled by the whole experience on that fateful Saturday. *still shaking her head in disbelief*

Imagine this scenario. A group of screaming, raving women crowding an empty table. A scared and worried sales person surrounded by the women. In her hands, she was clutching something that the women wanted. Her eyes darted left and right, eye-ing the piranhas who were almost drooling, all staring intently at the bag in her hands. With a deep breath, the sales person dumped all the content in the bag on the table and backed away from the table. The piranhas grabbed and pushed and practically inhaled everything on the table. I almost heard growling and teeth clicking during the whole incident, which lasted about 2 seconds.

Before I have even gotten over my shocked at such predatory war happening in front of my eyes, the table was once again empty. That was what happened at the Bobbi Brown area during the sale last Saturday. The piranhas did not care whether what they grabbed are the right colours, or even the right product. As long as it is Bobbi Brown, they would be glad and proud of their achievement in landing a product.

My sister and I slowly backed away from the dangerous territory and browsed somewhere safer. Here are some of the stuff I managed to get from the safer side of the sale:

(Bear in mind, I'm at work now, and some of the products I don't remember the exact colour or name. :)

Above: For my elder sister (RM100)For myself... moisturiser. (RM55)

Above: For my mum (RM70)



Above: Origins Eyeshadow. I bought 2 colours (Amethyst and Sugar Plum) Haven't decided to keep them for myself or to give to other people. Hmm...

Above: Clinique Eyeshadow. A gift for my friend. I bought in different colour, but I can't recall what colour. (RM40)

Above: Clinique lipstick for myself. Not really my favourite colour (Fresh Rose), but OK i guess for that price. (1 of 3 Clinique Lipstick set RM 55)

Above: Origins lipgloss. Can't remember what colour I bought.

Above: Origins lipstick. I bought Cranberry Fizz. Haven't tried it yet coz I don't know whether to keep it or give it to someone else.

Above: Clinique Moisture Sheer Lipstick in Honey Red. The names are all very misleading, coz the colour is sort of brownish. I thot it would be red. =-=" (2 of 3 Clinique Lipstick set RM 55)

Above: Clinique Almost Lipstick, Black Honey. Sold to my co-worker as the colour is not suitable for me. (3 of 3 Clinique Lipstick set RM 55)

That's all I bought I think. As you can see, now I have too many lipsticks and lipgloss and all sorts of lips stuff. One thing I learnt is, when you have waken up at the crack of dawn to queue up for hours, you have this mentality that you must buy enough things to commensurate the hours you have spent torturing yourself. So you won't seem like a loser who wasted your time. And the results? 6 lipstick/gloss/stuff.

Anyway, if you are a true shopaholic (though not the piranhas type) you will never learn your lesson. The next warehouse sale: L'Oreal Warehouse Sale at:

2nd Floor, Dataran Hamodal,
Block A, No. 4,
Jalan Bersatu 13/4,
Section 13,
46200 Petaling Jaya.

24-25 July 2008
9.30 am - 6 pm

See you there!

Dear Mr. President

Every morning, I read the newspaper and I feel very jaded and more and more indifferent towards my country. Crimes are rising, price is hiking up, politicians are squabbling. What's the point of reading the paper anymore? It all serves to depress everyone.

However, recently I heard a very meaningful song by Pink. The title is Dear Mr. President. It serves like a breath of fresh air to me. It leads me to take a step away from the hipocritical and selfish world that we live in today.

The song questions the US president on many things - namely poverty, homosexuality, war, drugs etc. However, I feel that the song is applicable to most politicians in power. Once the power is in hand, they tend to focus on their power instead of the people a.k.a. the rakyat.

I truly applaud Pink's attempt to question and to educate others on "the otherside of the story". To those people who reads and believe in whatever is written in the newspaper, remember, there is always a different side to the story.

Here is the lyrics for the song. Enjoy!

Dear Mr. President"(feat. Indigo Girls)

Dear Mr. President,

Come take a walk with me.

Let's pretend we're just two people and

You're not better than me.

I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?

Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?

What do you feel when you look in the mirror?

Are you proud?

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?

How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?

How do you walk with your head held high?

Can you even look me in the eyeAnd tell me why?

Dear Mr. President,

Were you a lonely boy?

Are you a lonely boy?

Are you a lonely boy?

How can you say

No child is left behind?

We're not dumb and we're not blind.

They're all sitting in your cells

While you pave the road to hell.

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?

And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?

I can only imagine what the first lady has to say

You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?

How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?

How do you walk with your head held high?

Can you even look me in the eye?

Let me tell you 'bout hard work

Minimum wage with a baby on the way

Let me tell you 'bout hard work

Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away

Let me tell you 'bout hard work

Building a bed out of a cardboard box

Let me tell you 'bout hard work

Hard work Hard work

You don't know nothing 'bout hard work

Hard work Hard work

Oh How do you sleep at night?

How do you walk with your head held high?

Dear Mr. President,

You'd never take a walk with me.

Would you?

Yoghourt Chicken Coated with Cheese Crackers

I'm not really a cook. Actually, I pretty much suck at it. But recently, due to the yucky food around my office and the price hike-up, I've decided to go the more economical way for lunch.

I'm packing my own lunch! Yay! However, because of my limited skills in the kitchen, and my unwillingness to wake up extra early to prepare my lunch, my packed lunch is very very simple.

Last night, I cooked Fried Yoghourt Chicken Coated with Cheese Crackers for the first time. I already have the marinate leftover from previous BBQ party. The marinate was made by my colleague who is better than me in the kitchen. Hehe...

So, I cut some chicken breasts and dumped them into the the marinate which is a mixture of un-flavored yoghourt, chili powder, onions and garlic (blended). I left the chicken in the fridge overnight. Just before I fry the chicken cutlets, I dipped them into smashed up (is this the right term, culinary wise? *shrug*) cheese crackers (or some call it Ritz crackers). I think it is a substitute for bread crumbs... but I'm not 100% sure.

After the chicken is coated with the crackers, I fried them in hot, boiling oil. However, I made a mistake. I should have coated the chicken in egg white before dumping them into the crackers. Because without the egg white, the crumbs just disintegrate from the chicken.

Anyway, the chicken cutlets turned out nicer than I expected, although not very pretty coz of the disintegration of crumbs. :P Hence, no pictures. I don't want to put you guys off.

Maybe if I try again next time, I'll post some pictures. Ciao.