design work begins ...

measured out the rental which is the same layout except our living is abt 3.5 feet wider :)

signed the spa ...!

this SPA has nothing to do with scrubs and massages ... it's the Sales and Purchase Agreement :)

so ... we signed the SPA for our new/old place in serdang last night! *drumroll*

why a subsale? there are pros and cons of buying a pre-loved property but i'm fully convinced that unless you are purchasing an apartment for the sole purpose of investment - you would do better to buy a place that is a little mature for several reasons. since there are fairly few 'new' built properties in the msian context, with a subsale property - you know exactly what you're getting. the SPA is a word document - and no amount of words and certainly no artist renderings can paint a true picture of an apartment. just like how most people would not marry their spouse until they have met and spent time together - i think it is important to have walked through a house and to have a sense of the spatial flow, height of rooms, how the sunlight enters the space, etc. secondly, it's good to have an idea of the neighbors you're getting and the overall competency of the condo management for obvious reasons. i'm less concerned about the 'age' of the building - because old hardware, pipes, wiring, etc. can generally be replaced. anyways. again - in the msian context - old is relatively young - 10-20 years is young when you compare to apartment buildings elsewhere.

so now we have to wait patiently while lawyer submits the documents to the land office to get their consent for the transfer. and then the actual processing to transfer the title of the property ... lawyer estimates it will be after cny 2014 before we get the keys to the apartment. hmm. why the super long wait? from what i understand the land office is short-staffed in the condo/strata dept because there are so many such transactions in the klang valley - apparently it takes only 7 days for landed property transfer.

thankfully we have the rental leased for a year so i think that the timing should work out just fine. :)

in the meantime i've measured out the apartment and have been playing around with the spaces. am planning to remove a couple walls so that the living/dining/kitchen/library are a single open space. i'm also planning to punch a whole in the utility to connect it to the main hallway and to carve out a study in the oversized masterbedroom - which will then make it the same size as the other rooms. the current size of the masterbedroom is pretty big ass and quite luxurious - but i want to have another little room/private study and given the roominess of the common spaces i think it is justifiable to have a more compact bedroom. -to be cont.

a wedding in hk!

yes, we will certainly save the date as we too got married on 28 feb! cant think of a lovelier couple to share the date with albeit 10 years apart. congrats karen and bernard! thanks for the invite. looks like we shall be celebrating 10 years together with you in one of our favorite cities. xoxo

Param (Pasar Ramadhan) @Kelana Jaya

banana barley smoothie

this is what we had for sahur this morning and took all of 3 mins to make :)

this is ALSO my FIRST mobile blog post! for someone who prides herself on being a relatively early adopter of technology (i said relative!) it is quite embarrassing that i had not used this app earlier hence all the previous posts without pics since i take all my pics with my phone these days ... 

to make 2 large and tall glasses:

blend:

2 cups leftover cooked barley and ginko (from barley drink)

1/4 cup yoghurt

1 large banana

2 tablespoons raw honey

1 tsp cinnamon (leave some for sprinkling)

this is a great way to use up the barley and ginko portion of boiled barley water drink which i'm not a big fan of ... but it's quite ok in a smoothie and helps to give a silky smooth textured body that doesn't interfere with the taste of the other ingredients 

the bonus is that barley is incredibly nutritious and high in fibre, i.e. very very good for you!

1 week till raya!

it's one week till raya - and 7 sahurs to go! to keep us on track i have planned this last week of sahur based on what we have in the fridge this morning.

over the last month (other than the 5 days we were away in singapore and had hotel breakfasts) i've tried to put some variety into our sahurs by alternating smoothies and savory sahurs. it's worked quite well and each meal takes about 10 minutes to prepare ... including making tea, etc.

and we've both enjoyed the whole experience so much we're thinking of continuing the fast on days when there are no lunch meetings ... :P

anyways. plenty of other things to do ... like buy baju raya but here goes my sahur meal plan for the next 7 days :)


LAINEY'S SAHUR MEAL PLAN AUG 1 - 7


aug 1: eunice's burgers with sauteed onion and cheese topping + cucumber and ginger juice

aug 2: banana and barley and cinnamon smoothie + toast

aug 3: vegetarian nyonya chung (from medifoods) + apple carrot celery juice

aug 4: persimmon and pear smoothie + toast

aug 5: baked beans on toast topped with cheese and sunny side up + oranges

aug 6: avocado and kiwi smoothie + toast

aug 7: bean burger with olives and yoghurt topping + celery pear and ginger juice


LOVE making meal plans :)

will try to take pics ...!

sahur food diary

since sahur involves getting up at about 5am to prepare the meal to be eaten before sunrise at 5.45am, here is a record of our meals:

day 1: green tea + muesli bread with nutella + tropical oat smoothie (banana, raw oats, pineapple, ginger tartary buckwheat, milk, virgin coconut oil)

day 2: green tea + oats cooked in miso with seaweed and topped with sesame seed oil and soy sauce drizzled poached egg

day 3: white tea + mung bean, apple and fig porridge

day 4: breakfast burrito + black tea with milk

day 5: mango and banana smoothie + ginger tea

day 6: avocado and grapefruit smoothie + choco mint tea

day 7:

ramadhan 2013

i believe that even as we celebrate diversity it is important to continually seek commonalities and shared experiences so that we can better understand each other in order to accept our differences. it also makes for a much richer life.

ramadhan is a time when muslims are united in the discipline of fasting between sunrise and sunset for a month. to me, it is a time of self denial, reflection, compassion, and a strengthening of familial bonds. it is also a reminder of daily providence and that there is an end to physical suffering here on earth.

we are into the second day of ramadhan of 2013 and i am learning to appreciate the beauty of the hour before dawn. this is not the first time that we are observing the fast - but this is the first year that we are being structured about it. okm is doing a full fast while i have committed to a kiddy/partial fast - still allowed to drink water.

i shall stop here but will add more thoughts as the days go by till we arrive at the feast day

house hunting begins

the first thing that comes to mind typing this is, "can i still be lainey in the valley in serdang?" i.e. is serdang located in the klang valley? quick check with google reveals that serdang IS indeed part of the valley. phew.

now that that's settled ... i'm pleased to announce that the search for our serdang digs has begun!

photos to come later.

politicians say the darnedest things during an elections campaign such as promising to move to serdang but i have to admit there is a very pragmatic reasoning behind this one. not only are we going to burn alot of gas travelling within serdang and commuting from serdang to pj - we are also going to spend hours in traffic - IF we did not do the sane rational thing to pack up and move there.  

so let the house hunting begin. and may we find an apartment that we can call home soon. :)

one thing for certain. this elections is so much bigger than what this country has ever seen before.

it is truly humbling to see so many people so invested in our shared future and i urge everyone to keep up the momentum so that it will reach tipping point and come out to vote as a united bloc of Middle Malaysia against an evil and corrupt regime that uses bully tactics of intimidation and would allow people to get hurt and even die to stay in power. remember teoh beng hock - who was an political aide here in P102 serdang. and this morning a nail bomb was discovered in the seri kembangan market area where there will be a big ceramah tonight.

how sweet can 'peach' and 'stability' be when our forests are going quickly and what kind of hope and opportunities are we offering the generation of young people. i cannot say for certain whether things will get better if we change government but what i can say is that they must change if they are to get better. i voted for the first time in 2004 - for BN - because i didn't know any better. i know better now.    

for friends interested in what we're doing at P102 - hop over to https://www.facebook.com/ongkianming where our little media team is updating around the clock to document and share our team's campaign activities. it has been an amazing ride so far. we have been so blessed in so many ways there isn't space to recount them all here. thank you especially for your prayers that have sustained the team and our candidate through a punishing schedule with a fair share of curve balls. love to all. eeleng 

Campaign Notes - Day 6

It’s been a week since OKM found out that he would be DAP’s candidate for the parliament seat of Serdang. Not sure about most people but I usually spend a lot more time planning for a 3 day vacation than the time we had leading up to Nominations and the Campaign. Today is Day 6 and I give kudos to everyone in #teamOKM (mostly novices) for our combined efforts to do everything required to MAKE a campaign happen i.e. strategize, prepare publicity material, sort out logistics, raise funds, craft speeches, work with and create good will with not just one but three adun teams : Balakong, Seri Kembangan, Bangi) (in addition to the actual work of Campaigning). It’s been an immensely steep learning curve - we have had to leave the PJ mode behind and step into the Serdang way of things, think and speak in BM and Mandarin. We are super grateful to the Dun teams of course, that they have been so kind to share their space and plans with us. We are also thankful for a 2 week campaign period because we really needed this week to shift into gear. Heard that for 2008 the campaign period was only a week! We really need to ramp it up next week so please continue to pray for us.

Some Serdang Stats for you: Over 130000 voters up 40k from 2008 – through Teo Nie Ching’s voter registration efforts and self- registered young voters in the Bangi area. Seri Kembangan and Balakong make up the 48% Chinese majority who are supposed to be strongly loyal to Yap Pian Hon, the 70 year old BN candidate. He is said to have been working the ground in the last 5 years in preparation for this election. All in all, P102 promises to be an interesting fight.   

baan boo loo - a simple house

In this global village where Shangri Las and Four Seasons can be found in most major travel destinations, the search for authenticity often yields somewhat kitsch representations of tradition. Another buzz word in travel is green-tourism but many resorts that claim to be eco-friendly often fail to even scratch the surface of what it means to be environmentally sustainable, which simply stated is to conserve resources, reduce wastage and curb environmental degradation for future generations, and by doing so, foster wellness for ourselves today.

It is in such a climate that BaanBooLoo in the ancient city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand stands out for traveler seeking respite and a glimpse into a rustic yet luxurious way of life, when natural and built environments harmonized because the art of building respected and responded to the physical world.

The story of BaanBooLoo is that of Adisak Sittichainate, who after a decade of working as a computer programmer in Bangkok decided he had had enough of the rat race so he packed up his bags and left for London to teach traditional Thai massage. During the summers, he would return to his homeland with students who wanted to learn more about the origins of Thai massage philosophy. It was during one of these trips home that he decided to build his Home.

Chiang Mai for the uninitiated was once fortified. The old part of town is still surrounded by a moat but only portions of the defensive wall remain. BaanBooLoo is located on a typical residential plot within the ‘walled’ city. Amongst its neighbors are double story flats and temples. A narrow road that branches off the main thoroughfare leads one past a vegetable stall and a sundry shop in mazelike fashion before arriving at the guest house resort. And stepping into the bamboo walled compound of BaanBooLoo, a sense of coming home to one’s own secret garden.

Adi built BaanBooLoo from ground up, literally. The property occupies a fairly decent sized lot, over half an acre, and was concrete sealed when he first purchased it. Life sprung up immediately once the ground cover was excavated to allow rainwater to seep back into the earth and be purified by substrata layers instead of running off to storm drains. Trees were then planted before the buildings were sited resulting in organic structural forms that also make for an intriguing composition of indoor-outdoor and garden spaces.

At Baan Boo Loo, Adi has applied vernacular Thai Lanna principles of natural ventilation by raising buildings on stilts 12’ above the ground and leaving gaps between the floor boards so that cool air passing below seeps through to take the place of warmer air that has risen to the high raked ceilings. Guest rooms are also oriented to catch prevailing south winds and employ small and large openings to encourage the passage of air through the house. One of Adi’s own innovations that has water from an old well channeled onto the roof to lessen heat buildup is an indirect way of cooling the space below and also reduces the amount of heat released from the roof, a phenomena known as heat island effect that contributes to an increase in atmospheric temperatures otherwise known as global warming. The rooms have air conditioners and fans as well but they mainly function as back-up means of cooling. Another architectural feature that responds to the climate is the steeply pitched double roofs which lessen the impact of heavy rains on the houses in addition to giving them their signature look.

BaanBooLoo is constructed of recycled teak salvaged from villages in the outskirts. Other building materials are either also recycled and where possible local to reduce their carbon footprint. Keeping it local, the herbs and other plants in the garden are native varieties used in Thai cooking such as lemon grass and ginger. One of my favorite dishes prepared by Om the resident cook, was a sticky pudding made with rice harvested from the small organic rice field at Baan Boo Loo’s sister property across the lane. I also took immense pleasure in the tea served with lime, mint and ginger from the garden and my breakfast eggs from the chickens next door.

As BaanBooLoo is centrally located, shops and places of interest are in close proximity. Late mornings could therefore be spent exploring the city on bicycles provided for guests or on foot if one so wished. Alternatively, one could practice yoga at the clubhouse on the sister property where Om’s cooking school is also located. A perfect afternoon however, would be to sit in the cool space under the house with a book or to lie in the hammock in the shady scented garden with butterflies as companions.

The underlying theme of wellness extends into the guest suites, each uniquely designed and furnished in traditional Thai style with richly colored fabrics and hand carved furniture. Bright accents against the warmth golden tones of teak combine beautifully to create an ambience both soothing and intimate, and blooms from the garden bring a hint of nature indoors. This palette is continued in the bathrooms with highlights of stained glass and tiny fish in planter pots providing specks of color and movement.  

Besides the guest suites of the main house, there are the tree house and rice barn pavilions. We stayed in the tree house pavilion which is like something out a book, and sitting in the balcony with a book was like being a bird in a tree. The other pavilion is a refurbished rice barn also raised on stilts. It is open on one side with views of the Doi Suthep Mountain and partially to the sky yet very private and secluded. According to Adi the experience of sleeping or bathing there is pure bliss. I will have to take his word until a time I can return to BaanBooLoo – Simple House.

running past

was just saying to ta how most of 2012 passed by in such a whizz that i can't really recall all that i did. as if to underline how poor my memory is, i found this and i have absolutely no recollection of running this race. i do remember doing the city to surf one winter which is 7k (or is it?) 

terry fox run, sydney 1998

well, there certainly was a lot of running this year. i didn't put in all the miles that i'd have liked to but we certainly took part in many races. almost one every month! and i have been challenged to do a marathon this year ... yikes. this would be a good year to do it. i have the time finally. but not yet the discipline. let's see how it goes. ... :)

happy 2013!

as we were driving back from a wedding in putrajaya yesterday, we saw a rainbow span the skies. a sign of God's covenant with mankind. what a beautiful way to begin this new year. i didn't take any photos but wanted to record it here in my blog to serve as a reminder of the joy and fresh hope to carry along through this year.