Behold! RM 3,072.25 – that’s three thousand and seventy two dollars, twenty five cents. =D
This is my paycheck for September 2004. It’s the largest legitimate paycheck I’ve ever received. w00t!
Month: September 2004
Red Ribbon Media Awards 2004 Thank You Luncheon
I got a letter today from the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC).
It has the Red Ribbon Media Awards logo in the upper right corner of the envelope so I knew it was about the RRMA Media Awards [sixthseal.com], where I was nominated for the Main Award Winner for the Non-Traditional Category – Blogs category.
There was a card inside with a see through window cut into the cardboard with the words “Thank You Luncheon”.
Here’s a closer look at the invitation. It’s for a Thank You
Luncheon at the Pacifica Grill and Bar at Mandarin Oriental, KL at
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm this Saturday (2nd October 2004). It’s an invitation
for two – it goes “Poh Huai Bin & partner”, and although I would
very much like to go, I won’t be able to make it, so I emailed back to
tell MAC so.
I work on Saturdays so I’ll have to take leave if I were to go and I
already applied for leave later in October. I appreciate the gesture
though and I’ll like to say a big Thank You for Ely Azyze for
everything that she’s done for me. Thanks! 🙂
Shrimp rice crackers
I was interested to find out that this shrimp rice cracker actually
has a whole shrimp inside it. Usually, rice crackers only have
flavorings, but these ones are different – the contents actually lists
shrimp and it is fully visible through the rice cracker.
There are two rice crackers in each individual pack, so it’s good for snacks on the go.
Here’s a closer look at the shrimp rice crackers. The rice crackers
are paper thin and crispy and the shrimp is embedded into it. Nice.
Liushuiyin (Flowing Water Music) Herb Blend cigarettes
I noticed this box of Liushuiyin Herb Blend cigarettes at a coffee
shop one day. It’s an unlicensed product – there’s no MY watermark on
it and it’s imported in by a Sarawak based company.
The box says Liushuiyin but the Chinese characters read as Zhong Nan
Hai or Central South River. The actual translation should be Central
and Southern Seas or Sea Palaces. Liushiyin translates to flowing water
music.
This product is made in The People’s Republic of China; or just
China damn it, no point in typing five words when one would do just
fine. 😉
Here’s what the cigarettes look like – the traditional white filter
for mild cigarettes instead of the brown filters for full bodied
cigarettes. I noticed an array of air intake holes at the filter point.
The name of the cigarette, which is Central and Southern Seas, is
printed on it.
There’s also a strange serial code of some sort towards the end of
the cigarette. Yes, I pack it, smokes better, lights better. Anyway,
all the serials in the pack are the same T4 – 31. I don’t know if it’s
a batch code or something.
I sacrificed one of them to look at what this “herb blend” is all
about. There’s something else inside besides tobacco, but not
psychoactive mind, just a flavor additive. It actually tastes like
sweet herbs when you smoke it. It’s good for a fun smoke, but I’ll pass
for daily smoking – it doesn’t pack much weight in the nicotine
department.
Mid Autumn Festival greetings
One of my coworkers passed me this greeting this morning. I can’t read it, but she translated it for me.
Here’s the continuation. Can someone translate it for the readers? I can’t do it. Thanks!
DF 118 – Dihydrocodeine (DHC) tartrate tablets 30 mg
These beauties are manufactured by GSK (GlaxoSmithKline – the
pharmaceutical giant). DF 118, as it’s fondly referred to, have opiate
agonist properties, which makes it recreational. However, I am strongly against off label use. I bought a bottle off my pharmacy friend due to my…er, recurring migraines. 😉
There are some people who prefer codeine over dihydrocodeine (DHC).
Personally, I find that DHC is qualitatively stronger on an mg to mg
comparison and it has a strange slight stimulant quality, which makes
it better than codeine, IMHO.
I got a bottle (500 tablets) of 30 mg DF 118 for RM 400. It usually
sells for RM 1 each, but as with all things, bulk purchases come with
discounts. 😉
Preserved duck liver snacks
Bernice passed me one of these…I’m not really good in Chinese (the
written and reading comprehension bit), so I didn’t know what it was.
She got two while visiting someone and I assumed that it was a plum or
something like that.
It looks like a plum from the way it’s packaged. Perhaps a nice, rare juicy plum, individually packaged for freshness.
It wasn’t plum. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the tiny pack and saw what looked like meat. Mmm…meat. 😉
I only knew that it was liver after I got her to read the packaging.
It’s preserved duck liver. The wonders of food technology! I was amazed
that it was still juicy and tender, very tender, after being packaged
in this manner. It tasted fresh too, not like something out of a can or
something.
Well, she managed to get some more of these preserved duck livers
and I thoroughly enjoyed every single pack. It’s not available here;
she told me the person she got it off from just came back from a trip
to China. It’s really good. The texture isn’t like one of those beef
jerky types, but like an actual succulent piece of deli meat.
It doesn’t taste like liver too, but here’s another shot of it
during the second taste test. It does look like liver once you open it
up and take a real good look at it. Good duck liver, with bits of fat
intact and did I mention how juicy it was?
I hear preserved duck liver is considered a delicacy in China, where this product is made.
The girls from China fiasco
I was in Parkson with my friends X and Y (names changed to protect
the guilty ;)) when we saw this group of girls sitting at Giant. I took
a photo and unfortunately, the flash went off…
The girls looked at me and I smiled at them and shrugged and when I
took the second shot (without flash – better skin tone), they giggled
and turned away. One of them jokingly said to the other girl that I was
interested in her. Nothing of that sort, of course, I just like street
photography.
Anyway, by sheer coincidence, we bumped into them again, this time
upstairs. I approached them and got them to pose for a photo. I’m not a
big fan of posed photos, I much prefer candid shots of people doing
what they do. I asked them where they were from, and they said they
were from the Guangzhou province of The People’s Republic of China.
Well, after that, one of the girls asked if they could have a copy
of the photos. I said sure, and gave them my number. X and Y, who were
standing at the sidelines (they’re kinda embarrassed when I pull shit
like this ;)) was harassing me to get their numbers. They were
interested in the girls, but I wasn’t, but hey, they are my friends, so
I got their numbers.
I also took a photo with them, got Y to take the photos. X was the
most interested party and I gave him the number and he got Y to call
the girl. I’m not interested in anything beyond this point, I just like
to take photos and that’s it. It’s for the XX Chromosomes category,
see. 😉
Well, Y called up the girl and the girls asked us to take them to
another shopping center and walk around with them. I’m not falling for
that shit, so I said I’m going to bail, but X insisted that I stay
around a bit. Well, I told X that I’ll just stay till the duration it
took to get me home, and the girls talked to us a bit.
Classic dodgy stuff, standard modus operandi, but X was interested,
so hey, wtf, I talked to them until I got home. X and Y later went out
with the girls to the shopping center, and later that night, they
called me and told me about what happened. It’s the characteristic ruse
that these girls pull; I know coz I asked them about their line of work
and why they’re here while in the car. I laughed so much I was in tears.
Somehow, “I told you so”, just wasn’t quite enough. 😉
Prime Time little cigars
These are Prime time little cigars, which I saw retailing for RM
2.90 each. There are three flavors for these “little cigars” – cherry,
vanilla, and chocolate mint. I got one of each to try them out.
Prime Time Little Cigars – Cherry Flavored
The mini cigars all come in a plastic tube that’s the size of a
normal cigarette. They have an interesting twist open top that reveals
a little cigar with a filter.
The “little cigars” looks remarkably like a cigarette. It has the
same design, except these Prime Time little cigars are wrapped with
tobacco leaf instead of cigarette paper.
The filler is tobacco that’s not very unlike what a normal cigarette has. The only difference is the wrapper.
The little cigars have a filter too, which immediately disqualifies
it from being a cigar. I would not call it a cigar by any stretch of
the imagination.
I tried the cherry flavored one first and it did have hints of
cherry when inhaled. The taste is stronger when it’s smoked cigar style
instead of cigarette style. There’s a nice nicotine hit when you inhale
it though. Prime Time little cigars burns perfectly…just like a
cigarette. I would have expected burn lines like cigarette for it to
achieve such a feat but I couldn’t see any.
Prime Time Little Cigars – Vanilla Flavored
There is a slight hint of vanilla extract on these ones. I rolled it
about it my mouth and took my time in tasting it before exhaling and it
did have a vanilla taste, it’s just not very noticeable. This one
tastes like a normal cigarette, just a little stronger.
Prime Time Little Cigars – Chocolate Mint Flavored
Chocolate mint! I loved these ones. There’s a definite chocolate
taste to the little cigar, and it leaves a wonderful chocolate mint
aftertaste that lingers on. It’s like one of those after dinner mints –
it tastes exactly like that. It’s very nice, this flavor is the best of
the batch. It’s chocolate! It’s mint! It’s chocolate mint! 🙂
Oh, and The State of California would like to remind you that this
product contains/produces chemicals that can cause cancer, birth
defects and other reproductive harm. 😉
S.H.E. collectible licensed mooncakes
S.H.E. is the Taiwanese three girl pop group that seems to be quite
popular. They have come out with a range of three moon cakes, each
bearing their likeness – one each for Selina, Hebe and Ella. The three
mooncakes have different flavors, which I assume is for their different
personalities.
This is a licensed product by HIM (which I assume is their
management) and it’s for charity. There are two versions of the
mooncakes…they’re actually both the same, there’s just a difference
in packaging. Mooncakes are eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival, which is
based on the Lunar Calendar, and falls on the 28th of September for the
Gregorian calendar this year.
The RM 48.50 version comes in a single tin box which has the three
individual mooncakes inside. The RM 52.50 version is more “collectible”
in the sense that there’s an individual metal tin for every single
person in the pop group.
I bought the RM 52.50 one for the individual printed Selina, Hebe
and Ella tins. The downside to this version is that it comes with cheap
plastic packaging.
However, the packing lists down the nutritional facts and other
details at the back. It’s interesting to see the calories difference
between the mooncakes. There are three in total, for the three artists
in S.H.E. and here’s the three mooncakes.
This is the Selina mooncake tin. It has a pink design and has a cartoon version of her likeness imprinted on the tin.
The mooncakes tins all contain a mooncake packaged in an air tight
plastic wrap with a moisture absorber inside. The Selina one doesn’t
seem to be working because I see what looks like mould…
Here’s a closer look at the Selina mooncake. It definitely has mould
growing on it, but I ate it and it didn’t give me a stomachache so I
guess it’s alright…
Mini Lotus 1 Yolk (Selina)
Here’s the Ella collectible tin. It has a blue motif and is also consistent with having a cartoon version of her on it.
The mooncakes all are embossed and designed with the cartoon version
of the character and their name on it. This one has Ella’s likeness and
her name.
Black Sesame Lotus (Ella)
This one is the Hebe green tin.
Here’s what a close up looks like…I think I accidentally took out a bit of her hair. It got stuck to the wrapping. Oops…
Green Tea Mooncake (Hebe)
I liked the Hebe green tea mooncake one the most, and most of my
coworkers agree. Mooncakes are traditionally cut into eight equal
slices, but I didn’t have a cake cutter, so I used my el cheapo
balisong (what they call a “butterfly knife”, due to it’s folded but
fast flipping deployment) to do the job.
I have a better Benchmade balisong, but I don’t carry that around…it’s reserved for…special occasions. 😉
