Comic Fiesta 2012 - EPIC Day 1

Rumour has it that the end of the world was postponed for another 500 years after The Powers That Be found out that Comic Fiesta 2012 was to be held on 22 and 23 Dec at KL Convention Center. So if you think about it, Comic Fiesta saved the world.

Thoughtfully packaged tickets.

I have been going for Comic Fiesta for the past 4 years, thanks to my cosplaying cousin from Kuching and it has become some sort of a tradition for me and my sis now. Why? Because Comic Fiesta is the only place where I can unleash my inner otaku without judgement! This year, I decided to try out as an volunteer blogger and was selected along with a few others like Jane and Matilda. Check out their blogs ya!

I was up at 5am on the first day of Comic Fiesta because I am that gungho! I had my last bootcamp session of the year that morning. By the time I reached KLCC, a long line had already formed outside the hall at 730am.

 

By 830am, the line had extended along the pathway to the shopping mall. This only serves to prove the growing madness that was Comic Fiesta. Can't say I was surprised though considering the impressive line up of acts and international VIPs scheduled to appear (you will see).

While snapping pictures outside, I bumped into two of my former high school mates. Teo Elaine (in the middle) was Comic Fiesta's Head of Art so all the banners, stage designs and artworks that caught your eyes were all her and her team.



As soon as the doors opened at 10am, early-bird ticket holders flooded the halls, many of which were diehard Anime, Comic and Game (ACG) fans and cosplayers. This year's booths had so many things to see, do and buy! Sigh, there goes my hard-earned cash....

Colourful keychains.

Doujin booths.



Taking to the stage once more as emcees were the comical duo, Shaun and Alfred. They kept the crowd entertained and rolling on the floor in laughter throughout the event with their thinly-veiled crude jokes and antics. I heard plenty of batang and bola jokes on both days from these two ...sweatdrop....

Awesome emcees, Shaun and Alfred.

Comic Fiesta was officially launched with a beautifully made video featuring Coffy and Mirai Suenaga. I was definitely impressive the quality of work and creativity placed into the video! Very worthy of an Iron Man anime!. Check out the video below:

Local bands Alien Dork Fuse(ADF), Divine Reborn and Temjin then took to the stage and warmed up the crowd with their melodious renditions of familiar anime songs such as from Rurouni Kenshin, Doraemon and even Power Rangers! I grew up with those songs!...Damn I feel old now.




Alien Dork Fuse.



Divine Reborn

There was also a group cosplay competition and since the theme of Comic Fiesta this year was 'End of the World', each team had to put on a skit with that particular theme. Their performances were interesting, some super hilarious and I admired the effort they have placed into their skit. My personal favourite was Team Syok Sendiri who played out the R-rated anime version of the PowerPuff Girls, Panty and Stocking. (Er, minus Panty who was probably doing you-know-what-if-you-watch-the-anime).



Stocking versus evil MJ.

Speaking of cosplayers, here are some of the awesome cosplaying I spotted while wandering around on the first Day 1. Got to admire their commitment to their characters and the detailing of their outfits!



The Red Queen

Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin

Cute Chobits!

Danny Choo finally took the stage in the afternoon! Yay! I enjoy watching Culture Japan. Keeps me motivated to visit the country one day. He has never been able to make it for Comic Fiesta previously so it was a huge deal to have him here this time! He talked about a number of things including his latest series, Japan Mode and choosing a career path that you love and not because society tells you to. That's good advice, one that I follow personally.

Danny wasn't the only mega celeb at the event because the next special guest was Supercell's RedJuice, the man behind the character designs for latest hit anime, Guilty Crown especially Inori and Tsugumi. After Redjuice answering some fan questions, Shaun and Alfred opened to the floor to a quiz session and participants were tormented rewarded with Redjuice's signature!



Redjuice (mid) with the Guilty Crown cosplayers.

Now as Shaun and Alfred were banned from throwing things into the crowd, they invited Redjuice to do so instead with a Comic Fiesta 2012 T-shirt. With everyone waiting in anticipation and ready to pounce, Redjuice threw the shirt. And guess who caught it.



And there it goes!

Yup, yours truly. Here's a narrative of that moment:
"Must get pictures for my blog. Snap snap snap. Oh, look. He's throwing the shirt....Look at it fly....turning in midair....why is it falling towards me? Why is my hand reaching out? Hey, look, I caught it. Ow ow ow!"

Got nearly crushed by the horde of people behind me but it was worth it! Hehehe. Best first day of Comic Fiesta ever.

The event continued on with more talented local acts such as violinist Nisa Addina, band Harmonia ACG and singer Shiomaru before officially ending at 730pm. I say officially ending because unofficially, it continued with a concert by Bless4!

Unfortunately I couldn't stay for the concert because I was dead tired but from what I heard, it was a killer performance by the sibling band.

Day 1 of Comic Fiesta was, for a lack of a better word, EPIC!



 It was OVER 9000!!!

I got to meet a lot of friends, old and new, see Danny Choo and Redjuice live, took loads of pictures of sporting and dedicated cosplayers and went on a mad spending spree.

And it only got better on Day 2. Read on here!

For more photos, head on over to my FB album here: Comic Fiesta Day 1

I cosplayed as....Exasperated-Undercover-Blogger


Posh! nail spa SS2 Launch

 

The saying 'diamonds are a girl's bestfriend' rarely rings true today. Too expensive to afford and too damn risky to wear out. Especially in Malaysia. On the other hand (pun!), pampering yourself to a mani-pedi is now the way to go. A fresh new colour on your nails and you immediately feel like a new lady.

All the pretty colours, all in a row.

For those living in Petaling Jaya, you now have the closer-to-home option of doing your nails at the newly opened POSH! Nail Spa outlet in SS2. Located in the less busy part of SS2, this second outlet of Posh! is tucked away in a housing neighbourhood where parking is not much of a problem. The launch party was held early this month, just in time for the festive seasons!

Decorated in purple and pink - the official colours of Posh!, the salon opened its doors to old and new customers and goodie bags were handled out upon registration. While waiting for the event to kick off, guests were treated to a complimentary express manicure service. And by express, it took 15 minutes to have your nails done probably because of their special quick-drying top coat and also because their manicurists were very efficient with their work.

Express manicures.

 The event was hosted by the beautiful and engaging Belinda Chee who invited the owner of Posh!, Sereen Eng and her sister to conduct the opening ceremony. And pop! goes the wine bottle.


Pretty in purple - Belinda Chee



The sisters duo.

The event continued on inside with wine tasting by Adventure & Leisure who generously sponsored the wines and champagnes. Food and drinks were served along with sweet pink and purple cupcakes.

Cupcakes and newly painted nails.

And once everyone was good and drunk mingling and chatting up a storm, Sereen gave her speech, thanking everyone for their support and especially her family whom were all present at the launch too. Her daughter, Yuri was so adorable! Imagine a blur of white suddenly running past you with three coloured balloons floating behind her because they were tied to her hairband and wrists. Too cute!

Owner Sereen.

Lucky draw numbers were drawn by little Yuri who did her job with enthusiasm! There was also a quiz session with Belinda and all you had to do was answer the questions about Posh! Almost everyone went home with a prize that day.

The little lady at work.

This hardworking blogger won the grand prize!

I won a Bikini wax session in the lucky draw while my friend, Olivia won a quick-drying top coat polish for spelling out Posh!. But the grand lucky draw prize went to my other friend, Senri who went home with a box filled with a balloon, teddy bear and chocolates! You can read about her post on this event here!

 

To end, here's a photo of little Yuri attending to her grandma's nails like a boss!

 

Kawaii!!

Address:
Posh! Nail Spa

TTDI

31, Lorong Dato Sulaiman 7, Taman Tun Dr Ismail 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Phone 03.7724.1890

SS2

23, JLN SS2/30 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Phone 03.7877.0815 

 

Email nailspa.posh@gmail.com

Maldives Part 4 - The Art of Doing Nothing

The art of doing nothing is actually not true. It was just something I saw on a t-shirt in the resort's souvenir shop. There are actually quite a lot of things to do at Huvafen Fushi. But with the view we had and the relaxed mood we were in, it was just as easy to just laze around and do nothing.

Non-motorised water sports are complimentary so everyday, my sis and I went snorkeling. Each guests gets their own set of snorkeling gear that they can keep with them for the rest of the stay. The underwater was simply stunning. I never quite understood the appeal of scuba-diving but having seen what the shallow reefs had to offer, I am tempted to tryout for a scuba-diving license now. Over four days, I spotted a reef shark, a sting ray and a tiger fish. Too bad, there were no sea turtles in sight. Motorised activites are chargable to the room so plan your days carefully.

Underwater world.

We also went kayaking on our second day there. In the middle of the afternoon. With the mid-sun beating on our backs, we went around the whole island in a hour. Bad move because it was really hot! The kayaks have a glass bottom which lets you look at the reefs beneath you. I prefer snorkeling for an upclose view of the reefs. Still no sea turtle.

 

Kayakking under the sun.

The resort also has a daily stingray feeding session at 5:30pm. The stingrays have been coming to the lagoon beach for ten years now so it's pretty much clockwork routine for them and allows them to be familiar with humans. (God bless Steve Irwin's soul..). The resident stork whom I call Si Bangau also drops by every evening for food.

Stingray feeding

On days when all we wanted to do was chill out and escape the sun, we hung out in the island library, the Lair and played with the gaming consoles. I was so happy when I found Need For Speed. (yes, I do realise that I went all the way to Maldives to play video games). The resort also has a resident kitty cat which demanded to be let into the Lair when we got there. I wanted to ask if I could take it to our room....

Now seeing dolphins is a personal dream of mine so we booked ourselves on the resort dolphin cruise as soon as we got there. The cruise only takes place on Sundays from 4 to 7pm at USD175 per person. But if there are more than 6 people, it gets cheaper. What an experience it was, being able to see wild dolphins in their natural habitat. According to our guide, Lana, this particular pod has over 200 dolphins in it and during that hour, we certainly saw plenty of them. It was magical.

Dolphin sighting.

0%Here's a video of the dolphin cruise: http://youtu.be/tbZVCUPpSgQ . I had to remove the actual sounds because it was just too noisy from the wind and other tourist boats. Music in the video is by Daniel Veerapen, an Malaysian artist.

 

 

There are many things to do in Huvafen Fushi. You can adopt a coral reef and plant it yourself. Then in 50 years (if Maldives hasn't sunk) you can come back and marvel at your contribution to Mother Nature.

 

 

 

Or if you're Asian like us, then take lots of pictures. Whilst there, we noticed all the Asian guests had DSLRs and digital cameras everywhere they went hence the theory: picture-taking is an Asian thing.

 

It's impossible to take a bad picture in Maldives. In fact the only thing that can spoil a picture is, well, us. We took tons of pictures; camwhoring, weird shots, jumping shots.... this shot below...

 

Fireball!

We were saddened when the evening for us to check out came about. The resort manager, Marco and our Thakuru, Nahu saw us off at the jetty as the speedboat took off for the airport. The resort representative escorted us to the Singapore Airlines check-in counter and bide us farewell. We boarded our plane and prepared for the comfortable ride home (flight experience here) It was a memorable vacation to Maldives and Huvafen Fushi was the dream resort (read about it in my previous post). The food was delicious (drool over it here) although I was missing teh tarik by the first morning.

Pristine blue waters, colourful reefs and fishes, majestic dolphins, friendly locals and resort staffs...I see now why Maldives is the place to visit before you kick the bucket.

To finish off this post, a momento of our holiday there.

From Maldives with Love.

 



Jack Reacher movie review

Dear, Mr Cruise...

You were the man in the Mission Impossible series, Vanilla Sky, War of the Worlds and Minority Report. Your portayal of a fat balding man in Tropic Thunder was hilarious. Then you did this....slow excuse of an action movie. Was it a quick means of cash? Or a way to start up another action hero franchise despite being Ethan Hunt. Because Jack Reacher....was just...meh.

Sincerely,
Your fan.

Thank you, Nuffnang for the chance to watch the premier screening of Mr Cruise's latest action movie, Jack Reacher.

Gist
One fine afternoon, a sniper kills five seemingly random people in Pennsylvania. Evidence led the police to a former army sniper, James Bar. Case closed. Except, not quite. Bar asks for Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise), a vagabond and former Army Miliary Police officer. Hired as the lead investiagor by Barr's defense attorney, Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), Reacher begins poking around and uncovers a conspiracy that went beyond random.

Verdict
The movie started out with the shooting as seen through the scope of the sniper. It reminded me of the PS2 version of Time Crisis 2 when they had the sniper option for gamers. The opening was a horrific reminder that an ordinary day can make a turn for the worst. But from there, the movie heads down hill. The movie alone was reminder that not all action movies are fast paced and exciting.
Overall I felt that the plot was weak which was a pity considering that Reacher was the main character in a whole line of books by Lee Child.  It was dreadfully slow with a lot of pointless conversations and situations that seemed to be designed to emphasize Reacher's swag. Like him walking in just as the authorities was at lost as to how to track him down.

Jack Reacher & sidekick.

There are a lot of elements to this movie that is just predictable. You have the hired enemy sniper whose skills supposedly rivals the main character, the mysterious Russian mastermind, the mole on the good guys' side and the damsel in distress with daddy issues. For a conspiracy movie, it doesn't dive into the conspiracy part much. I came out of the movie with question marks all over.

Damsel in distress shampoo adv.

For me, the saving point would the mix of humour during the action scenes. There are small injections of quips and sarcastic remarks from the characters that elevates dire situations. As for the action scenes, as rare as they are, weren't too bad. They resembled live action Counter Strike or Modern Warfare games and the thugs aren't instantly killed with a single headshot.

Would I watch it again? Nope. Now excuse me while I overdose myself on a Mission Impossible marathon to remind myself what Tom Cruise should look like in an action movie.

Jack Reacher hits the big screens on 20 Dec nationwide.

Girls' Day Out @ Sommerset Nails and Waxing

I am a manicurist's worst nightmare. Short, broken nails on one hand, long, brittle ones on the other. I should just wear gloves 24/7.

Fortunately Phoebe, my manicurist at Sommerset Nails & Waxing was understanding when I explained to her that I was an outdoorsy person and very rarely took care of my nails. Heck, I think even my tennis racket gets more TLC than my nails.

Complimentary ManiPedi or Waxing for 2, courtesy of Hot magazine

I was lucky to be able to try out Bangsar's Sommerset Nails & Waxing salon thanks to Hot magazine. I was allowed to bring one other person with me so I opted to drag invite my mother along for a girl's day out. Like me, my mother also very rarely sets foot into one of this beauty parlours and has never gone near any form of waxing (other than candle wax). So this was the perfect opportunity for her to try bikini waxing. Yay.....(she begged to differ)

The salon is located in the heart of Bangsar, a walking distance from Bangsar Village 2 and is right above a corner restaurant called G3. Its light teal coloured entrance is hard to miss and the window front gave the illusion of a white-picked fence garden with flowers. The immediate interior is elegantly simple and spacious which is important especially after you have your nails done and need to move about...um, weirdly. The waxing rooms are located behind for privacy and that was where my mother was led to for her first ever bikini wax.

Wax on, Wax off
As it was her first time, they opted for the hard wax as it was gentler on the skin and doesn't hurt as much. To quote my mom, "I didn't even realise when it was finished. There was no pain and not at all uncomfortable." She also mentioned how experienced her wax therapist was, being able to put her at ease as she walked my mom through the process. I am so proud of you, mom for doing this!

The waxing room.
photo: jamiechin.com.

Women have a higher tolerance for pain due to our nature-given ability to, you know, give birth so naturally having hair removing by wax should be a breeze.  But if you are terrified of the pain, just let your wax therapist know. They have ways to get your mind off the pain and to make the experience as painless as possible. But again, it depends on your threshold for pain.

My mom was done in a quick 10 - 15 mins and settled into the waiting lounge to wait for your truly because my mani-pedi took much longer. 

The Mani-Pedi
Overall, it was a comfortable 1 hour 30 mins treatment without having to move from pedicure station to manicure station. Phoebe was very efficient and meticulous with trimming and shaping my toenails first before applying OPI's 'Teal the Cows Come Home' to them. I think she was very amused by my baby toe nails because they were so tiny that it probably only took a drop of polish to colour them.

Loving the entire experience.

My colours of choice.

Then as my toenails dried, she moved onto my fingernails, first checking the length on them and then advising me that it would be best to trim them short as it is easier to maintain for an active person. Hey, you're the expert so trim away, I told her. It was nice having a manicurist who does not bark at you every minute to relax your wrist. For my nails, I selected 'Red My Fortune Cookie' from OPI and I love it! The fiery red complimented my teal coloured toenails very well.

Verdict
I enjoyed my experience there and my mom did too, considering that this was her first bikini wax. I found the service quite good as they served us tea before and during our sessions and my manicurist was very pleasant and experienced. Judging by the flow of steady regulars pouring in that day, I would say Sommerset already has its loyal clientele.

If I were to pick at something, I would like a little privacy during my session as I could hear (and see) the lady next to me talking about her breast pumps but I distracted myself with the television.

Pricing, I would say is reasonable as you can have a bikini wax at RM29 onwards and a ManiPedi at RM65 onwards. It's recommended to make an appointment two days prior so that you can pamper yourself at your convenience.

Address:
Sommerset Nails & Waxing
19A, First Floor,
Jalan Telawi 3,
Bangsar Baru.
Tel: 03- 2287 8887
Opening Hours:

Tuesdays to Saturdays	:	11.00am to 8.00pm (last call 7pm)
Sundays	:	11.00am to 7.00pm (last call 6pm)
Open on most public holidays.

Maldives Part 3 - Wine, Dine and oh, Sharks!

Let me start by saying when it comes to food, Malaysia still takes the cake. No questions asked.

Don't get me wrong. Food in Huvafen Fushi was delightfully sinfully delicious but having said that, the ala carte dishes are not cheap (once converted from USD to RM). The buffet breakfast was inclusive with the accommodation but unless you go for full-boarding or half-boarding, then you're on your own for lunch and dinner.

Concerned that fine dining every evening might burn a hole in our pocket, I did a little pre-planning before the trip that involved checking out the resort restaurant reviews and bringing our own instant meals and snacks. Over the following four days, we wined and dined on a budget whilst in style.

(Warning: the following pictures may induce stomach acid, growling tummies and salivation. View at your own torment.)

Upon arrival in our beautiful lagoon bungalow, we found a plate of hors d’œuvre waiting for us. After a long flight and 30 mins boat ride, it was a nice treat of cheese, olive, meat and bread.



Fine and budget dining.

After the resort tour and a day of snorkeling, we dug into our super cheap mee-in-a-cup at only RM2 per cup and washed it down with the complimentary bottle of champagne. With our feet dipped in our private pool and the oceanic view before us, it felt like a million dollar dining experience anyway.



Breakfast buffet, Celsius.

The breakfast buffet was held at Celsius, a casual dining restaurant with talcum fine sand for its floor and an outdoor patio that overlooked the blue Indian Ocean. The buffet carried a limited but mixed array of western, Japanese and Chinese dishes that varied from day to day. The egg station doubled as a pancake and waffle station too. I had to practice self-restrain to keep from myself from over-indulging on everything there.



Breakfast in the sands.

One tip I learnt to avoid holiday weight was to start off my buffet meals with fruits. Luckily Huvafen Fushi breakfast buffet had a station solely for fresh fruits such as rambutan, mangosteen, vanilla-soaked pears and cinnamon-apples. In fact, the only fruit missing from the selection was the durian. I guess it was too much for Westerners to handle. If you like, you can select a few fruits and have the chef blend them together to make a yummy healthy drink.



Fruits, eggs and laksa.

I mixed up my breakfast, taking one out of everything and by everything, I mean food that I don't usually get often. One of the more memorable dishes from the buffet was the Maldivian curry laksa. The glass noodles was crunchy while the curry was thick, suntan-filled and hardly spicy. There was also ample chicken pieces in the curry for a meaty bite.

ba dum ba dum da dum.

We had breakfast on the outdoor patio on the second day and had to bare the scorching hot sun to get stunning photos with natural lighting. But the real treat came swimming past in the form of a pack/flock/school of reef sharks and several other fishes swimming back and forth along the water edge. Now that was a sight you don't see everyday or in any other city in the whole world. We ate so much at breakfast that we could afford to miss out on lunch or snack on our Malaysian-bought snacks.

For day 2 dinner, we ordered in or as the resort called it,in-bungalow dining. Now this was when a funny incident happened. My sister ordered the Male fish curry (Don Riha) and chicken pizza. Less than 30 mins later, our order arrived and we dug into the Male Fish Curry which came with rice, chapati with mango chutney and kuliafilla salad. There was also a bowl of Caesar salad which we initially mistaken for the kuliafilla salad. Half way through the meal, I realised the staff must have misheard Chicken pizza as Chicken Caesar salad. Apparently pizza sounded like Caesar.

Fish curry.

However the Male fish curry more than made up for the mistake as the portion was big enough for two and the fish was fresh and well cooked in the curry. It is possible that the fish was caught fresh from the ocean. The remaining champagne did well to wash down the thick curry. The mango chutney complimented the thin chapati well and I really wish there was more. A basket of bread rolls also came with the dinner and we used them to lap up the curry. Total bill was about USD62.

 

On our final night in Maldives, we decided to splurge and headed to Celsius for a under-the-moon dinner. And what an ambiance it was, with the ocean crashing in the pitch black background, dim lighting to set the mood and music gently strumming from the live band. If this was Malaysia, we would have been driven indoors by the humidity, heat and mosquitoes. But it wasn't.

Starters.

To start, we had the smoked mackerel tartare with beetroot, pear and almond dressing. Honestly, It was...weird. Two bites and it was gone. Not because it was super delicious but because it was a rather small portion. The mackerel reminded me of tuna with mayonnaise. Hm, maybe it was something a top notch chef would appreciate but not this little Malaysia girl.
 


Finger-licking good.

My sister ordered the orecchiette with duck and chantarelle ragu, vine ripe tomatoes and pecorino. In that one sentence, there are three words that made me go "What?" This dish was actually shell-shaped pasta with duck and mushroom sauce, tomatoes and italian ewe cheese. And it was an unexpected form of comfort food. The orecchiette soaked up the duck juice beautifully while the duck meat was succulent.


Goat cheese ravioli

I had the goat cheese ravioli, seared prawns, pine nuts, raisins, golden brown butter and parmesan. Colourful was the word that came to mind, even though you can't see it clearly in this picture. And at first bite, it was a flavourful explosion of savoury and sweet and a nice mix of textures from the nuts and parmesan. The ravioli was cooked to perfection and the goat cheese just came oozing out, complimented by prawns and raisins. The restaurant manager dropped by to check on us and unfortunately I was having a heavenly mouth-orgasm from this dish to answer him properly.

Souffle to end.

After the main course was done, our souffle with orange, macadamia, Baileys and vanilla ice cream came. Based on hours watching Masterchef and Top Chef, I know that souffle has to be eaten instantly or else it will loose its heat and collapse. Pictures were taken swiftly and with that we dove in. The hot souffle simply melted in my mouth and I could taste the distinctive taste of Baileys in the soft gooey texture. The orange topped off the ice-cream with a refreshing citric kick.

Total bill for dinner came up to less than USD150.

Couples can opt to have their romantic dinner by the swimming pool where the floor of the pool resembled stars in the sky or at UMBar. Nearby a chef will whip up a fresh meal on the grill. While waiting, they can go for the buffet line.

All these good food would have caused us to pack on the weight but surprisingly we didn't. I suspect it was because we kept ourselves occupied during the trip with numerous activities which I will go into in the next and final Maldives post.

You may wipe that trail of drool off your chin now.

To be continued in Maldives Part 4.