moNSTer romping the blogosphere

I cannot live without the internet!

Although it's been internet-less for less than 24 hours, it has been hell for me. No, I don't have very important emails waiting to be replied nor do I have a very popular blog where readers will go crazy when I do not blog for one day. But, it just feels strange without it. Thus, the motivation to send in an entry once I have the connection back! :p

Anyway, it's an overdue entry. Most of the bloggers would have known by now about Monsterblog, but for those of you who do not know yet, drop by and have a look. Afterall, it's the first of its kind in Malaysia, following Singapore's Stomp. Brought to you by NST, penned by the popular bunch of Malaysian bloggers (Jeff Ooi not inside though, I wonder why?).

There you go, my overdued entry. Now, back to my books. Finals. *arghhhh*

A little visitor

I had a little green visitor today. Unlike centipedes, this handsome thing was warmly welcomed by my camera :)

Mouse Potato?!

Read it at dotKoyi's today that 'google' is finally declared a verb. Finally made official by Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. A perfect branding tool for Google is what we may think, but the search engine company thinks otherwise. Fearing that the name might lose its built up value, public use of the newly-declared verb has to be followed on by a little note stating that it's trademarked.

Linking on to a few more links, I found out about another new word. Mouse Potato, anyone?

Backpacking Belgium II - Mussels and Beer!

mussels!

Belgian fruit beer

Belgian mussels and beer. What else can you ask for after a long day of travelling? *grin*

Almost 70% of the trip, we survived on bread, sandwiches, paninis, baked potatoes, mcDs (yes we had McDs at all the citys. hehe. jz for the sake of it.). But once in a while, we still gave ourselves little treats along the 1month journey. And reaching Belgium, we could not possibly skip the famous mussels and beer, can we? :)

The food were nice, atmosphere cozy, waiters friendly. However take note that it can be quite an headache choosing which one to dine in when everyone tells you they give you free cocktail and beer to go along with the dinner, and that they have a built in fireplace (very tempting if it's still winter!), that they have the best mussels in town.

My advice? choose a place with the most local-like people dining in it. The locals can't be wrong ;) oh ya! and for those not very beer-ly people like me, the fruit beers are nice! Do give it a try! :)

Backpacking Belgium - Brussels' Grand Place

Town Hall

The King's house, Het Broodhuis

Grand Place

'One of the most beautiful town squares in Europe, if not in the world' is how Brussels' Grand Place is often described as.

I have no idea how true it is since I still have many places yet to visit in Europe but listed as a world heritage site since 1998, Grand Place is certainly worth the visit. Although not as grand as the name suggests, its ornate baroque and gothic guild houses are rather impressive. Walking through cobbled streets of Brussels, you would stumble upon this place without knowing it. And, there! in a blink of eye, you get transported back into the olden Europe.

One of the architectural gems of Europe, Grand Place is beautiful in the day, and fascinating when lit up in the evening. Even though I was not in time for the annual Ommegang nor the bennial flower carpet, I thanked the artist whose stall set up a perfect, artistic picture for my dear camera. dank u.

In touch with the web of life

Found this interesting article at Oon Yeoh's blog -

It is the malady of modernity. We have gone from the Iron Age to the Industrial Age to the Information Age to the Age of Interruption. All we do now is interrupt each other or ourselves with instant messages, e-mail, spam or cellphone rings. Who can think or write or innovate under such conditions? One wonders whether the Age of Interruption will lead to a decline in civilization — as ideas and attention spans shrink and we all get diagnosed with some version of Attention Deficit Disorder.

NYT columnist Thomas Friedman goes on to talk about his Amazon tour guide's (who carried no mobile phone) ability to be completely mindful and heard every chirp, whistle, howl or crackle in the rain forest. In short, he was totally disconnected from the Web, but totally in touch with the incredible web of life around him.

So, how long has it been since you just laid around, staring into the stars, doing nothing? or sat by the window, listening to the raindrops? Think about it.

Time to disconnect maybe? ;)

Izakayas in Japan

Kanpaiーー

Izakayas or in kanji, 居酒屋 are Japan's own unique bar. Found all around Japan, very popular place for after work drinking. No music nor dim lights, there's only rounds after rounds of Kanpais.

In Japan, unless you are allergic to alcohol, there's really no reason that you cannot drink. Drinking starts right after university for everyone. Club orientations, class parties, welcome parties, graduation parties, year-end parties, beginning of a new year parties. Everything resolves to Izakayas.

Not to say that I don't like Izakayas, coz I really really like them. With really yummy food and my favourite umeshus, how can I not like Izakayas? *grin* Besides, it's fun to see people get drunk and do stupid things too. haha. :p

It's Official!

It's official! I'm going to Australia this summer!

Just made my payment for the airticket yesterday. 1 more month to go, and I shall be back in Malaysia. Thinking of all the food, ooooooohhhhh.... can't wait! Patience girl, just another dreadful month of finals, and you shall be gone! *evil laugh*

2 weeks Malaysia, 2 weeks Australia, another 1 month in Malaysia. it's gonna be one long, relaxing, homely (and hot?) holiday*happy sigh*

Tips on not to be missed spots in Brisbane and Sydney, anyone?

Chocolate Rum Balls

I guess this must be quite a popular recipe in the western countries, normally prepared for Christmas dinner. Not quite sure how it would turn out to be, but looking at the simple recipe, I just gave it a try. :)

As the name suggests, it is really very rum-my. Should turn out to be a favourite for rum people (like my housemate, yurika.. hehe) , but not very much for me. Gonna try it with Baileys or Kahlua next time. Should be quite a hit for Baileys or Kahlua lovers like me. Coz trust me, 1/2 cup of liquer does bring out the taste in it. ;)