It's been a week since I've made my return to Wellington with the time to sit down and the energy to write. It's summer now, and very quiet compared to the KL life. Nonetheless, the first few days back here was hard on me, as there were so many things that needed to be attended to immediately ; right after arriving to my doorstep from the airport. I guess there's just no rest unless every thing is done, despite the expected heavy feeling of homesickness and inevitable jetlag.
The airport gang ^
I've had the most eventful 3 months back in KL. It wasn't countless parties or events this time, but mostly family time. Being abroad has made me value my family even more, and I've been given the chance to come back and spend more time with them for 3 months. The memory of arriving in humid & hot KL is still very fresh in my mind. Into the welcoming arms of both my parents at the airport, Doug included. Revisiting that memory makes it feel like it was a very long time ago that that happened, especially when memory of the recent airport day at Changi Airport has sorta overwritten that.
My first visit to Shaun Cutler was quite a way to start my return to KL, and then a few weeks ago, I left Shaun Cutler again, and KL, this time with a daring bob.
Raymond and I
I've had quite a number of shocked reactions from friends and family ..my dad actually didn't notice it until I told him that I cut my hair. LOL. So typical. I was quite scared to cut my hair this short... The last time I had my hair short was when I was 10 and boy did I regret looking like a mushroom for the whole year then. Raymond assured me that it would be much much different this time, and I trusted him.
It turned out well. It's growing now and I like it much better than my long hair in the wind. That way, I get less of the splitting headache I used to get in Wellington when my hair was in a heavy ponytail. Felt like my scalp was gonna tear off my head.
Other than the hair, my most recent do was Valentine's Day with Doug. There are a few types of reaction to V Day ; the anti ones, the must-have-roses-and-the-whole-shubang type, the forever alone ones, and then there were the ones who simply think that V Day is a marketing scheme for restaurants to jack up their prices for dinner and florists' big day to earn lotsa moolah. Doug and I fall under the latter. V Day shouldn't be the only day you treat your significant other special, blablabla. Despite that, he insisted to come visit me in KL that weekend, which was pretty sweet of him. We exchanged gifts, and had a royal clash of gifts. Tell me if Superman trunks and a Supergirl T shirtfrom DC Universe are not more than a coincidence. Apart from a pretty handbag.. Doug has good taste. I never once rejected his taste in clothes/bags/shoes... That's what you get when you've a guy who loves to shop. Maybe that's why we both get along so well. We both have equal amount of shoes at home & in NZ. Haha!
Decided to hangout that day anyway, taking him to a few of my favourite spots in KL. We both love coffee, so I thought I'd introduce him to Podgy and the Banker's Flat White. Yum.
After that, we went over to Publika, where we had lunch at S.Wine. No price hikes for lunch so it's all good. I've only been there once, and I thought the food was fantastic. Since we weren't too hungry, we had the meatball spaghetti & the pork bun. Pretty sure the names were fancier than that. Lol
S.Wine
Salivate to this.
Such sexy pork. Get into my mouth. Now.
(Ok very silly of me to forget to include the meatball in the picture but they did exist!)
Ever had 2 kinds of meat in one meatball? I loved how one meatball was the size of my fist!! It's an understatement if I said this gives the Ikea meatballs a run for its money. Sidetracking here, but Ikea meatballs are so yucky nowadays. Had some recently with my family and they looked horrible. No thanks. I'd like to tapao a packet of chicken rice to replace that please.
Foodgasm. That pretty much sums up our meal at S.Wine @ Publika. The best part was, we didn't leave the restaurant overly stuffed. Oh yeah, the B.I.G group gifted us with "Edible Body Paint" as a Valentine's Day thing.
Didn't know what to make of it until I decided to dip my finger in it and put it into my mouth. Chocolate. I'll just continue doing this Doug until we get home. Haha
Spent the evening with Kim who's on the hunt for her futsal shoes, and then at night hanging out some more, watching movies and having a greasy Chinese supper. Best Valentine's Day ever? No fuss, it was perfect like that.
Oh! And another surprise on Valentine's Day this year was that I was featured in the Malay Mail under the Weekly Runner section, many thanks to my mate Kelly Siew who recommended me to them for an interview. <3 Love you girl. Oh yes, she's also in the papers for reviewing a Nepalese restaurant. How awesome is that! Being in the same newspaper as your buddy and on the same day too! Heh. Once in a lifetime. Her website is www.kellysiewcooks.com . She blogs as well as shares awesome recipes on her site. If you're a Paleo dieter, you'd enjoy her recipes for sure.
That was a few days before I said all my goodbyes to my extended family and friends in KL and made the flight to Singapore for the next couple of days before flying off to NZ. I had so much fun with my cousins and their kids over in SG for the few days. Catching up, shopping and playing with the kids ; it was so good.
It was especially good to see my mom take a break and enjoy herself this holiday.
Mom enjoying the famous bread ice-cream at Orchard Road.
And Miss Piggy Kimmy.
Met up with Doug and his family in SG and did a bit of shopping ourselves.
Before it was time to leave, there was the huge fuss about luggage. ALL of us spent a good 2.5 hours packing strategically...and still exceeding the baggage limit. It was too much. However we managed to fix this problem and all went smoothly. I had to give it to Doug's mom who did a fantastic job at packing.
Missing you guys and dad and Tito.
After a long, but comfortable flight with Singapore Airlines, we're back in NZ. Quiet and cold, but ready to take on what this year has to give us.
Till the next post,
Ashley Mah.
