Book worm – ulat buku

I hit my target of reading more books this year. I wanted to read more than eight. Much of it is bought from Google Playbooks and of course Shopee. Indonesia apparently has several toko buku that sells reprinted books at a lower price. I’d usually go to them for titles that are difficult to find at a proper bookstore unless I go to Kinokuniya or something. Indonesia is like Litte China. Semuanya ada if you look hard enough. Some of the books I read this year and have completed are;

  • Atomic Habits – it is very clear why it is a best seller. You find it and buy it.
  • Why we eat (too much) – it makes you understand why you get fat and remain fat and why it is so hard to slim down. But having read this, it empowers you to manipulate your body’s metabolism with the knowledge of it
  • Almond by Won Pyun Sohn – this is translated from the Korean language. A book recommended by Kim Namjoon.
  • HOw the paper fish learned to swim – tak payah baca. bosan. pelik.
  • Unfollow the flow by Aiman Azlan
  • Penat by Dr Alizi Alias

Books I am currently reading

  • Range – I initially bought an audio version because I thought I might listen to it during my work commute. But the voice is so boring. I might as well read it out loud and hear my own voice. So I restarted my read and is halfway through
  • The cat who saved books – started this on a bus, ongoing read
  • Perempuan perempuan berbudi dalam Al-Quran – let’s see if this is as what I expect the book will be
  • Creativity.Inc – cause it’s got to do with Pixar
  • Elon Musk – trying to understand how he can become a man s0 powerful yet socially awkward

Books I plan to read

  • Liar yang murung – birsilah bakar
  • Ma OOn – Hasrizal abdul jamil
  • How I learned to understand the world – Hans Rosling

Park Inn by Radisson Putrajaya

But it’s in Kajang. Yet, far from the crowd.

This hotel looks so majestic and radiant at night. I did not get to take a photo because it was raining and I just wanted to check in as quickly as I can. As usual, I booked my stay through Agoda.Com. I chose the non-smoking Deluxe Room (28m2 room) with 2 double beds at RM339.20 per night including tax and fees. It comes with FREE Breakfast and FREE Wifi. I wished I could stay longer but we had to return to Melaka the following day. We were staying there for the night because we plan to try their hi-tea buffet at the restaurant. It’s a get-together to celebrate Haneem’s birthday and my brother, matin. They are birthday buddies.

The breakfast spread was wonderful. I really loved their dhal. Ym god, it is just dhal but it’s like really good dhal. Vegetable dhal pulak tu. With the roti bom. The 24 hour gym is also very inviting but I did not bring my gear. I did not know that they had a pool or I would have brought my kids swimming suits.

I managed to complete part of my OUM assignment at the hotel too.

At night, we slept like a Tetris game. To fit onto the Kingsize bed. My kids should be grateful that their mother is petite. I can snuggle anywhere between them.

The next day after check out we headed to the RPG Restaurant. At the hotel lobby. A few weeks ago, I’ve already made a reservation for 7 adults and 5 children. Payment details were :

RM52.90nextt x 6 adults = RM317.40 (1 FOC)

RM31.70 nett x 3 kids = RM95.10 ( cause 2 kids were below the payment age)

My sister bought cakes and presents for the meet-up. The hi-tea spread was OK. I really loved their western options, the kambing soup and of course the dessert table. I had lots of rojak buah. Fully recommended.

Trying Cuura products

The best sunscreen to use is whatever brand or type you like.

Recently I bought a new sunscreen from a local brand, Cuura. It was recommended by a few of my younger friends who are on social media for most of their life. The founder of this brand is Sarah Shahnor. Millennials would probably recognize her from the times of Modvier. She was a business icon and it seems that after all this while, she has developed her skincare line.

I know I know.. I have said it before that I’m very sceptical of products from our local celebrities. But she is an entrepreneur, it doesn’t count. Ha ha.

I bought their sunscreen and the glo nectar product. These items seem to have very very positive reviews from their clients. At least two of my colleagues are consuming the nectar as well. Perhaps it is because apart from it’s rich vitamin C content, it also has hithion which is an antioxidant. It should work well as an adjunct to my glutathione supplements.

Each sachet is 27kcal and certified Halal. Well, buah kan.. takkanlah tak halal.

The nectar has a very strong prune taste and needless to say, the sunscreen is a bomb. It is on par with Beauty of Joseon. The cream does not feel sticky after application and it does not leave a white cast. Sesuai dengan kulit orang Malaysia. Kinda explains it’s rather steep price but with such quality, I think it is worth it.

Double cleansing

This was something I just discovered this year. The idea is to clean your face with two different cleansers preferably one of them being oil or a balm and the other being your usual cleanser. This ensures that all the particles from your makeup product or sunscreen are removed thoroughly. For this nightly ritual, I am using these products.

The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Light Cleansing Oil

Clean it Zero Cleansing Balm Vanilla

IM UNNY facial wash

SKII facial wash

I don’t use all at the same time but I apply them interchageably. Sometimes I’d use the rice water + im unny combo or rice water + SKII – whichever is to my liking at the time.

At first I was skeptic about this new beauty trend but I soon realized that it does work to remove all impurities undetected with the na-ked eye. I was using this new day cream and I was really confident that I had it all removed for my Zuhur prayers. This is because I have washed it with normal soap and I did not feel or see any obvious residue of the cream. Later in the evening as I returned home and showered, I was surprised to see that the moment I put on the oil, the product of my day cream somehow appeared, it was so white and bright and mixed with the oil. I washed it off and used my other cleanser for the second facial wash.

In a way, I was shocked by the fact that double cleansing is necessary. Ah the same time, it made me wary of the ingredients in my new day cream. Needless to say, I threw the product in the bin as I was worried that it may have suss ingredients. It’s like I know that, that is the original purpose of double cleansing but compared to other products I’ve used, it’s just strikingly in excess to be removed with the oil/balm. It made me wonder if I didn’t apply the face oil first, I wouldn’t know that there are some products still sitting stealthily under the surface of my skin. Perhaps it’s part of the ‘glow’ effect but still……

The blue orchid in Little Women

My initial guess was that it was left as a name card of the assassin. Did you have the same thought too?

As the story progressed, I began to think it could serve as a biological weapon. Apart from its hallucinogenic and trance-like effect, the flower may have hypnotic properties that cause the ‘sniffers’ to obey the commands of the perpetrator. Having said that, there must be an antidote to hinder such effects on the culprit him/herself. Yup, I was absorbed into that idea a lot.

I have to mention that this story gave The Village vibes as well with their elaborate, collaborative yet full of conspiracy plan. The difference is that the Jeongran Society wanted to rule the world instead of cooping in their own societal order. Turns out it’s a symbol of loyalty. Total subconjugance to the leader and the objective. Although I still have trouble understanding who the leader of the society is. Is it the mayoral candidate or is he just a puppet of his wife, who was not chosen unanimously because she’s a maniac? I mean who gets to make the decision that it is your time to die for The Cause?

Now that I know the significance of the blue orchid, I have to find out if this blue orchid is real after all.