Ines Mariel

Monday, March 26, 2012


For those of you who are already connected to me via Facebook, you would know that last weekend my friends and I came together to support our very good friends; H+D as the opening act for The Life Of Art programme @ Publika. The place itself portrayed an artistic life style, and since it was my first time there, you know we took plenty of pics.

Orang Gombak lah katekan. 

Anyways a bunch of other local acts also performed like Oh Chentaku and OAG, which was a pretty big deal especially for a production as mellow as this. 

My duck face at its finest
Duck Faces, mine was effortless.


BITE ME

Monday, March 5, 2012

The first time I ever boarded an aircraft back to my hometown was with my Dad. We didn't have much money back then so Mum had to stay behind while my Dad and I visited my grandparents. I was 3 months old. Granted, I did not recall the experience, but I soon grew a custom to being carted as I stayed with my grandparents until I was about 6. When school started I would visit them twice a year for Christmas and in the middle of the school year; which meant that I only stayed in school for about a quarter of the year. Life was definitely good.

I liked travelling alone. I never was a clingy child to begin with and even though I was carted until I was about 15 (or whatever the legal age that allows you to stop being carted), my independence in the airport was definitely liberating. The journey definitely made me feel more of a grown up even though I loved specifying my on board meals to "the children special"..it comes with a sugary treat and a high sodium meal, what was not to like? As soon as I said my goodbyes I was a free man. I could do pretty much anything I wanted. I could buy all the candies and chocolates at the duty free store and no one could stop me. I could order as many fizzy drinks I want or stay up during the whole 8 hour flight...I could run around in circles at the airport and there won't be anyone telling me to behave (not that I did, but I could). I was such a badass...


I remembered a particular flight to Sydney where I met this lady who was seated next to me. I remembered her the most because I was lying to my teeth about the fact that I had 59 cats back home. All she did was humor me and offered a butterscotch candy in between my story telling and when I do get tired from talking she would help me color in the pages out of the activity book that came with the fun pack they normally distributed to kids. I remembered how enthralled and attentive (she might pretend to be, but nonetheless very convincing) she was listening to my made up stories even though I am pretty sure all she wanted to do was to get a shut eye, or shoot my brains out. Thank god she didn't. Unfortunately though, it made me never want to stop talking to her. It was nice being heard and it still is. Amazing how the most minute actions can still make you all warm and fuzzy inside.

She was pretty old when I knew her, so I am pretty sure she would be gone by now (bless her soul) and even though I can't remember her name, I could still recall what a pleasant person she was and how she would make a very good grandma to some lucky kid out there....not saying that my grandparents weren't equally pleasant.

I was lying on my bed the other day reading a book (fine, a magazine), and all of a sudden I was struck by images of her and it brought me back to my juvenile years. Full of energy and so animated... I mean, I still am now, just not as carefree as I used to be. It is pretty hard to describe this feeling, but what I do know is the simplicity of your childhood definitely leaves an absence or an emptiness in your life that you know can never be fulfilled. If I could I would go on all day about my childhood, despite my situation right now, I truly did have a good one. I was never deprived off the things I wanted and was blessed to have experienced what most could only dream off while being surrounded with so much love. For that, I am very thankful because even in my darkest hour I could still fall back to my days as a child and be assured that no matter what, everything is going to be okay.

And I know it will.





BITE ME

Friday, March 2, 2012

My newly shrunken-ed jeans. 
Because of my allergies, I often find myself repelled from anything that contains the slightest amount of peanuts, or any other kind of nuts for that matter. Hence I have never in my entire life dipped my satays in the special sauce it comes with or tasted a macadamia cookie, and peanut butter is no exception until I recently tried it due to hunger pangs and the fact that I was too lazy to get dress to buy anything from the food stall near my apartment.
Hence the suicide began.
It was death by nuts or death by hunger and I was certain I didn't want my death to be caused by the latter, so I took the plunge and took a my first bite of a peanut butter sandwich.
Words cannot describe how it tasted in my mouth, all chewy salty sweet and rich, basically it was like having unicorns vomit rainbows in my mouth while a leprechaun farts gold dusts in it. It was fucking magical I tell you and I can't believe I have been missing this heavenly snack all this time. 
Apart from chocolates of course, but that is a different story.
After about 6 slices and a few hours to digest it, I realized "Hey, I don't feel the slightest bit itchy in any areas of my body", and that was when I realized that I might not be allergic to peanut butter...but that is as far as my devil-may-care attitude will go. I can't remember the date, but I did remember that that was my first and last time I had a peanut butter sandwich (or eight if you are still counting).
So about a semester later (a week ago) as I was doing my grocery shopping I stumbled upon a jar of peanut butter in the table spread aisle and decided to get myself one. I didn't have any bad reaction to it the last time, so what is the harm now. Of course a small one is not enough, so I decided that the big one would be an investment especially on days that I don't feel like leaving my house or if it was 3 a.m. and I wasn't asleep yet and needed something to snack on so that I would continue doing whatever I was doing. So yes fast forward to today, I have never go on a day without having a peanut butter sandwich and so far no allergic reactions yet, thank god.
By now you would be wondering, "why, oh why are you dedicating your post to peanut butter besides the fact that we all know it is delicious and not forgetting fucking fattening?"....well I will tell you why you calorie counting eejits.
And a disclaimer before I go on. Organic peanut butter has waaaaaay more nutritional values as oppose to manufactured ones.... but let the rich decide that.
First of all regardless of what you may heard, and I admit I actually believed this too, peanut butter is in fact a very healthy snack. Yes, it is one of the most fattening foods (apart from fried ones) you could think off and because of this it is not a viable snacking option to many, but people tend to forget that they contain monounsaturated fat which is basically the "good" fats that keep the bad cholesterols at bay. Of course if you use this as an excuse to gobble up a whole tub in one day and come to me with a cudgel because you gained weight, be reminded that fats are still fats. Eat a whole lot of it, and you will get fat. Simple 
Another amazing benefit that makes this magical gunk even more magical is the fact that it is high in fiber and protein. So not only do you expose your waste (shit) better, you get the proteins you need in your diet especially if you are a vegan. Of course I could never be a vegan, but it is nice to know you have options on days where you feel like slaughtering animals are too cruel.
And if you are in any form of diet or trying to get into your bikini body because you will be going to Penang by June don't be startled when you read the nutritional values on the side of the tub. Despite its calories it fills you up a lot more than other healthy snacks such as raw nuts, granola bars or tea, so you don't really feel like eating your whole pantry at the end of the day. 
So there you have it. A dedication to my new love; peanut butter. And if you are still in doubt click here for an article regarding foods that should be in your diet. Because if it is on the internet it must be true. puahahahaha. 
I shall now end it with a "I think I am cute" picture with my tongue sticking out and my hands as ears.
BITE ME