Fight Arm-in-Arm Against Cancer

All my life, I have been quite fortunate to have never experienced losing a loved one to cancer and for that, I thank God. But I have seen (often from a distance) how drained mentally and physically the person becomes once inflicted with news of cancer. And that alone saddens me as I can only imagine how scary it must be to be face with such an obstacle.

A colleague at my previous work place had beaten cancer twice now and the second time she received news that her cancer had returned, she broke it to the team in a very sober moment in the office. She had debated over telling us and it wasn't an easy thing letting people in on your moment of weakness. But this lady was one of the strongest individuals I have ever met. She comforted us upon telling us the news that she won't be coming in for work for several months because of treatment and recovery. She assured us that she has done this dance before and she was confident that she could beat it again.

She did. Because she's amazingly tough.

I lost contact with this former colleague when she moved to the United States but she still comes to mind whenever I am in need of motivation or am in my mental pits. Because nothing else motivates you better than remembering the strength of someone who has faced all odds and survived.

Facing cancer can be scary but if you have a strong support network and positive surroundings then the struggle becomes less lonely. That's what AXA Affin hopes to achieve for cancer patients.

In collaboration with National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM), AXA Affin is working to help cancer patients that are currently undergoing chemotherapy. For every blogger that blogs about their 110CancerCare website and their efforts to help care for cancer patients, one cancer patient gets funding from AXA Affin for their chemotherapy daycare usage. Basically, this blog post just helped one cancer patient get one-day funding for their daycare usage at NCSM Treatment Center! It's not much but if imagine if 10 bloggers were to take part in this campaign and from there 10 more bloggers were to do the same and so on, now that will make a difference!

For more information, log on to www.110cancercare.com.

If you are a blogger and would like to do your part in this campaign, please contact Danial at  danial.lissborg@lionandlion.com for more details on how you can make a difference to someone's life. 

LCCT Premium Plaza Lounge

I usually dread flying on AirAsia because that would mean braving the hoards of holiday-goers at LCCT, Sepang. LCCT is perhaps the best representation of Malaysia all in one spot. Loud, chaotic, budget and colourful. It's virtually impossible to find somewhere with peace and quiet just so you can have a nice stress-free waiting period before flying off.

Fortunately, there is a little oasis amidst all the chaos and it is called the LCCT Premium Plaza Lounge. Well, there are two actually. One near the international check-in and baggage counter and another inside the waiting lounge after you have passed immigration.

My Stylish Sunnies from Glassesonline

When you are off to sunny (and sometimes freezing) Australia, a stylish pair of sunnies is a definite must pack in your luggage. Courtesy of Glassesonline, I arrived in Perth during my trip last month rocking a pair of chic white Dandelion sunglasses. As soon as I was passed immigration and the declaration section, it was sunnies on!

Because we had to wait for several friends on different flights, I passed the time camwhoring a lot in the waiting lounge of the airport. The Aussies who saw me must have thought I was super vain...

Cosmart + Ippudo Ramen

I have always wanted to try cosplay but never really found the inspiration and time and let's face it, the effort to actually sit down and plan it. The closest I have come to cosplaying anything was this...

And...this...

And these were at Comic Fiesta last year. As you can see, my props were more or less handmade and minimal. Yeah...those weren't exactly my best attempt at cosplaying.....

So anyway, to gain inspiration and materials for my second cosplay attempt at Comic Fiesta this year, I decided to check out CF's recent mini event, Cosmart at Parkamaya, Fahrenheit 88. Basically a cosplay event for cosplayers, veteran and new, Cosmart was the perfect place to stock up on all your cosplaying needs and also meet fellow cosplayers. (At this point, I lost count of how many times I typed cosplay...). The elusive CF tickets and Epic Loot bag were also available for sale for the die-hard fans.

Guess Luxe Collection Launch @ the Gardens

To kick off the festive season, GUESS launched their Luxe Fall/Winter 2013 collection just last week at an intimate event at the Garden's outlet and 50 fashion-crazed bloggers from the Butterfly Project were invited to have a first look at the new collection. I am happy to say that I was one of those lucky butterflies to attend the event.

Already filled with early birds.

Myself and partner in crime, Senri.

Happy 1st Anniversary, Happy Days!

Has it been a year already?

Wow, that was fast. Exactly a year ago, I posted up my first post about pork noodles (being the food lover that I am) and hence begun my pathway into the social media scene. Looking back, I can see how far my blog has come and how many doors it has opened up for me.

For one thing, it has made me try out more new things, go to different places and allowed me to meet all sorts of weird and wonderful people. And for that, I am grateful to my blog.

Bite Hopping: Telawi, Bangsar Part 2

I am back with the second part of the Bite Hopping series, once again in Bangsar area. Because there is simply too many good eateries in this one area!

Breakfast was the first order of the day and my friends and I agreed in unison where to eat. Aunt Christina's Sarawak Laksa at Nam Chun coffee shop, Lucky Garden is the main reason I frequent Bangsar so often. Besides one in Sunway, this is the only other place I can satisfy my Sarawak Laksa craving. Like myself, Aunt Christina hails from Sarawak herself, making her dish the closest I can get to the authentic version.

Jogoya Buffet, Starhill KL review

The last time I went to Jogoya Buffet restaurant in Starhill KL, the food and service was less than impressive and did not justify the pricing. Of course, that was almost two year ago.

After the recent Standard Chartered Marathon, I dragged a group of my friends to Jogoya to celebrate the completion of their first ever marathon (and also to train them for the upcoming NST Food Hunt on 26 Oct).

 

Because my group was huge (12 people) they gave us a private room in the back, near the desserts and most importantly (to me) the Haagen Dazs stand. A good thing too because my group can be quite a noisy rowdy gang, laughing at the most random stuff so tucking us away in a nice intimate room was wise. 

Make Your Move movie review

I love dance. I love the movement, the rhythm and beat of the song. I love how it makes me feel when my body can keep up with the choreography and how creative and expressive it lets me be, as corny as that sounds. I am, by my own admission, not that good a dancer but I have danced with and have been taught by several really talented dancers and we all share the same love and passion for it.

However of late, I find myself distracted with the many running races I've been taking part in and my passion of dance waning. For a month, dance took a backseat in my hobbies and when I resumed classes, I found myself lacking inspiration and have gotten rusty in it.

I need to find a good kick to remind me why I had initially gotten into dancing. A dance movie was just the perfect fix I needed. Although not up to the hype and caliber of the Step Up franchise, the dance move of 2013 was Make Your Move.


Gist
With a Romeo and Juliet storyline, this independent movie stars K-pop singer, BoA and Dancing with the Stars ballroom dancer, Derek Hough. Although both stars are fairly new to the big screen, directing their debut movie is Duane Adler who is no stranger to dance films having scripted Save the Last Dance and the first Step Up movie. Some of routines in the movie were choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon Dumo from So You Think You can Dance.

Aya (BoA) is an aspiring Taiko/tap/contemporary dancer trying to make it in America without the assistance of her overprotective brother and club owner, Kaz (Will Yun Lee). Tap specialist Donny (Derek Hough) hails from New Orleans and skips out on parole to join his foster brother, Nick (Wesley Jonathan) in running the hottest underground club in Manhattan. Both young dancers are quickly caught in their respective brothers' feud over competing night clubs and as the story of Romeo and Juliet goes, are drawn to one another after a dance off on a bar.

Japan: Osaka Flight & Hotel package

You would think that with the Internet, it would be so much easier to just do the reservation yourself from airlines to hotes bookings. But sometimes if you know when and where to look, travel agencies can help you save a bundle as well as the hassle of doing the research and making the booking, especially with a vacation destination that you have never been to before. 

For my recent trip to Osaka, Japan, I used a travel voucher that I won from my Alma mater, Taylor's University College which allowed me to pick any deal or package I fancied with Holiday Tours and Travels. 

For days I stalked their website and Facebook for Japan packages and finally, one fine day, I saw that they were offering a 4D3Ns flight and accommodation package for Osaka for only RM1899 per person. I instantly emailed them on the package and got  an almost-immediate response from an agent, Ray Lee. My booking was made over the next day or two.  My flight itinerary and hotel bookings were delivered to me the following week.