Winter ramblings - Reviewing The Jersey Boys Movie, The Sims 3 & Food Homesickness

And just like that, we've passed mid July. Winter break is over - it was a helluva much needed one. Trimester 2 has already begun. I'm halfway through my music degree!

Just today I was walking to a catwalk coaching session in town, and I had to hold my hood on, bear with my shoes sloshing in the rain water and try not to get blown away. That's the Wellington weather for you. Just don't carry an umbrella. Don't.

 Unless you intend to Mary Poppins to your destination.

My face when I have an early class and it's windy and raining like heck outside. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I've recently returned to my piano playing roots and did a good number of hours practicing some Debussy, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and some other guys for a birthday party last night. It was the prettiest house party thrown for the guy's wife. My job was to create the musical wallpaper behind the chatter and laughter of guests, and clinking of wine glasses. I had to say, it was the sweetest gig I've done here in NZ. People are so polite, considerate and don't have the superior/bossy/rude attitude - just because you're being paid by them. So glad to have played for the party. Mom would've enjoyed the baby grand I played on too.

Last Saturday was a real treat for me. Went to watch the Jersey Boys movie with Doug and we enjoyed it so much although the cinema mainly consisted of us, and a few older couples. Sure says something about my taste in music? Haha. 

The movie is directed by Clint Eastwood.

Although it took me some time to get used to the movie version of Frankie Valli and his super clean falsetto, whereas the original one has a little growl and sounds a bit sandy. (Been listening to Sherry for like, 1000x) Nonetheless, it was really good. I enjoyed Can't Take My Eyes Off You the most. Damn that brass section though. So amazing! The arrangement blew me away instantly. I WANT THAT BRASS SECTION FOR MY WEDDING. Just kidding. No, really?

Best quote:

 “You know it’s a good place since they don’t sell it by the slice." - Mary Delgado (Pizzeria scene)

I watched a review on Youtube on the movie and the guy said that he didn't get the part where the characters turned to talk to the camera / then back to the other characters - Yeah, you would've not got it unless you watched the musical. That's what they did in the musical, each taking turns to narrate the story. I also thought the dramatic weight was divided in between the songs/story/movie. It was moving towards the end, watching the group fall apart, and then reunite when they're old men, singing Who Loves You, but it didn't quite have the same effect as in the musical. Maybe it's just me. Such a good story - the Four Seasons. Gotta love that falsetto.

Just a week ago, I've managed to download custom content in to my Sims3 game and I have semi lost touch with the real world. Some websites for custom content just amaze me. People can be so creative. Decided to give GW2 a break - just kept on creating Sims and homes and maps. Just as therapeutic as painting my nails, which I have been doing lots.

Anyway, I've always been a pessimist when it came to Malaysian food here in Wellington CBD. Seriously, after working at Satay Kajang, I would not want to have Malaysian food in town no more. I could wait. But recently, Doug and I had dinner with Yuan and her boyfriend at a simple Chinese takeaway place at Haitaitai. I can't recall the name but it was really good. Made me crave so much for white rice and meat and fried stuff! ... and Char Siew. 

We gave in and made a stop at KC Restaurant - kinda like a Kopitiam in Malaysia. That has Char Siew (Bbq roast pork) , Siew Yok (roast pork) and many other things. Doug tells me that it's popular for its Char Siew. We gave it a go.

Found the Char Siew a bit dry for my liking, but I suppose this is as close as it gets. Plus, the portions are huge. 2 dishes can feed 3 people.

Doug ordered Duck Rice. *thumbs up*

Oh, and I finally tried this noodle! And we have heaps of it. :P

Price is a bit ridiculous if you're gonna convert. But, whatever. Still gonna buy it and it's available in the Korean Market on Dixon Street. 

It was heavenly. I love it. Doug found it spicy but it was OK for me. Gonna have more!! 

Instant noodles always remind me of my mom cos that's her guilty pleasure, aside from Cheezels. Oh mom. I miss home.

My neighbour just got robbed recently, and it was freaky as shit because my sis was outside and there was screaming and the security guards beat the guy up and caught him and my mom was scared as hell and it was chaotic. :( Makes me worry about my family so much. Apparently, robberies have been occurring in my housing area. Not cool. Hope the security guards/police are doing something about it. Stay safe, people. It's not really safe anywhere, even in your own home. Damn.

Tomorrow's Monday again, so it's time to get back to weekday mode!

xxx,

Ashley M.

Crazy ass shoot!!

It was 8 degrees, 8 a.m., on a winter morning.

Windy too, if you didn't know Wellington's insane wind conditions.

This had to go down on the list of crazy stuff that I've done!

Jim from CarrollVisual Photography and I collaborated on these "Washed up on shore" themed photoshoot at Owhiro Bay. My makeup was done by Emma Sophia, she was amazing, doing my makeup at 7a.m. on a Saturday.

Being drenched in the wind and wearing a wet shirt sticking to my body was a real challenge, but I was determined to keep a straight face until we wrapped it up. Jim was quick and planned his photo taking wisely, Doug was there giving me moral support and helping out despite the cold weather and I had desperately tried to keep a straight face.

These are what we came up with. 

Jim has some arse kicking skills at capturing the waves and colour scheme. The photo is not even really photoshopped. I was quite pleased when I got his email of the pictures!

Owhiro Bay would look very pretty in summer.

I love upside down shots. They're my favourite.

After this shoot, I threw this damned shirt away. It was one of the most annoying pieces of clothing I owned because the bottom had strings attached to it and it looked unbalanced all the time. I got it from Asian Avenue 4 years ago, one random day at Sunway Pyramid for RM25, so you can imagine the quality. Lol

My nailpolish is courtesy of Yuan, who has extremely good taste. I love the colour against my skin, it stands out nicely. Gonna buy this exact colour next time. 

Achieving this sort of pained look in this shot - pretty much depicts how I felt while shooting. Haha! I had to say, it was quite fun!

Jim's FB Page https://www.facebook.com/carrollvisual

Emma Sophia's FB Page https://www.facebook.com/emmasophiamakeup

xxx,

Ashley M.

Is it Spring yet?

I should be happy that it is slowly warming up here in Wellington. 

Before, I would always check the weather temperature on my trusty iPhone (which is getting a bit wonky now) and it would show the temp below 10 degrees Celsius. Now, it's getting to 13, 14, sometimes 15 degrees Celsius.

Time to bring on the skirts and shorts!

 I've never experienced winter before this.

This year in Wellington marked so many firsts for me. The winter season was one of them. Concerned Dad always texting me to remind me to keep my feet warm when it's cold. Lemme tell you, how Malaysians keep complaining about the scorching heat in KL is how Wellingtonians are always going "BRR, its so bloody cold!" here. Lol. Tahan-ing the cold is horrible.

Firstly, for all of you who wonder if I'm happily playing with snow here, the part of Wellington where I am at does not snow. So yeah, I'm not making snow angels with the "Time of My Life" song in the background. I haven't experienced snow before still, except that time in Genting Highlands when I was a tiny little thing, but it was disappointing, as far I could remember. 

Back to the question, it doesn't snow here but it rains.. a lot. Imagine cold wind and rain. That's Wellington for ya. I still wonder how I can survive without a waterproof hoodie for most of my rainy days.

Another question I get is about days of which people call perfect sleeping days, or stay-in days, watching movies and huddled up in your blanket on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate. That one's a given especially in the winter. Just like in the movies where you picture a quiet apartment with dim yellow lights and a girl in her fluffy robe curled on the couch with her laptop and watching the rain form outside the window - yeah, that's me, except that I'd be playing Left 4 Dead or The Sims Island Paradise or looking up classical music.

The top 5 things I (heavily) depend on in cold weather :

1) My fluffy fleece robe 

The way I dress at home requires this robe most of the time! Sometimes you can get away with a tank top and a pair of shorts... but sometimes, you can't. That's when I wear my robe over my clothes. Warms me up instantly! Did you know you could wear your robe to sleep?

2) Some more fluff....

Otherwise known as Bedroom Slippers. Know those that hotels provide you with and you secretly stash them in your bag and bring them home with you? Yeah. Never knew I'd NEEEEEED these slippers so badly until one day I decided to walk barefoot to my kitchen and started hopping back onto the carpet floor to retrieve my slippers. They are super important! 

3) Hairdryer

My best friend before I get into my bed at night. Lol. Seems really funny and silly but I actually blow hot air into the duvets before I put my feet in!

 Effective? Hell yeah. 

Who wants to go to bed freezing at night?

4) Coffee, Tea or Me?

Totally kidding about the latter. 

But hot drinks keep me warm... and full! With that I need not hibernate and gorge on food like a hamster in cold weather. Some people tend to gain weight during the winter and that will NOT be me.

 Lots and lots of hot fluids keep me warm constantly. They are also 60% of my meals most of the time. Soups, attempted Tong Sui's, Hot chocolates, Coffees, Teas and hot water are gonna help, if you wanna stay warm. Well, for me at least.

5) That sexy trench coat...

One of the myths that I've busted is that you don't have to look like a ball of clothing in the winter, after seeing pics of tourists in huge thick jackets... I wondered if I could get around keeping warm and at the same time, not making myself look fat. All I really need is my long winter coat that my good friend/photographer Brendan gifted me before I left Malaysia. Never really worn those trenchcoat-style coats before, except this one. I love how it looks smart, classy and keeps me warm at the same time! This be the queen of all coats and jackets in my wardrobe.

We're going out tonight! *excited*

Anyway, here's a tiny update of my weekend last week.

 Who had a good weekend? I've been seeing Instagram pix of my peeps going to Good Vibes last week, I assume ya'll had a blast? :) I can't wait to get back and jump on the events bandwagon again.

Last Sunday when I was super hyped up for this part time job interview. I've encountered the MOST UNPROFESSIONAL & MOST UNORGANIZED interview ever at a retail shop at Manners St. 

Firstly, the employer was 30 minutes late... then when he had finally arrived, there was another interviewee waiting to be interviewed as well. He actually asked me to "come back another time today". Doug and I were speechless. I got there 10 minutes early to show some professionalism, but omg. This infuriated me so badly and the other interviewee was actually later than me. I said no, of course then he conducted the interview in the style that I would never have imagined. Over the counter, in front of the other interviewee, and not even 5 minutes of solid attention! Asked me what I'm currently studying and past experiences and my details in front of the other interviewee. This was super unprofessional I tell you, since when were interviews like that and my details were not kept confidential? To make matters even worse, he made me send in my CV again to his email address. When I got home, I immediately launched an angry feedback to SJS telling them about this annoying incident. Seriously, I don't even want to work for such an unprofessional dont-give-a-crap employer! Some people, seriously. What the hell.

Ranting over. I've had a fairly good week this week, despite tests and exams. 

Time for the 2 week break and the coming of spring! :)

Have a good weekend everyone!

Ps. Some photos are reposts from weheartit and some belong to me, courtesy of emotif.co.nz

xxx

Ashley Mah