The Dino..It Attacks Again!

I made another dinosaur cake for my friend, Pye's son's 2nd birthday party. I thought I'd colour it a Tiffany blue, and cut Sugus sweets in halves as spikes on its back & tail. Wanted to use Hershey's kisses, but decided the plain chocolate colour seemed too dull. The cake was chocolate. The legs were pure fondant.

I should learn more about dinosaurs. Don't think my dinosaur existed in real life! To all you paleontologists & dinosaur enthusiasts, please don't send me hate mail.

Check out the March "It Girl"!

No..it's not me, unfortunately. Though, I'm thinking that should be my next mission. As soon as my wish for that billion dollars comes true (re : previous post)

Anyway, Malaysia Tatler has Chris Abishegam, one of our favourite clients, as their "It Girl" for the March issue. Check out the magazine spread on page 76. We only take credit for the above photos (minus the cover).

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I'll start with the good news first. I'm happy and proud to announce that my sister-in-law won her first election and is now the DUN for Kampong Gajah, Perak. The bad news is, we never thought this would lead to her suddenly becoming part of the "Opposition" in Perak.

The election results shocked and saddened me. While some part of me was glad that for once, BN could see for themselves that the public aren't happy, I wish it didn't happen at the expense of the five states. And I also wish that a certain party didn't win that many seats. And I wish that the PM had advisors who actually had good and useful advice. And while I'm wishing, I wish for a billion dollars!

Well.. what is done is done. The public has spoken. Now I hope they start demanding that the Opposition make good with their promises, because there are a lot of promises that need to be fulfilled. And I, for one, am scrutinising their every move to see if they are actually up to the challenge.

I hope that BN fixes whatever is broken to restore the public's faith. Most of the votes were protest votes, so that means that BN still has a chance, as long as they listen to the people.  A word of advice to BN : It's time to make radical changes to modernise BN's outlook and approach, and sacrifices have to be made. Only then can BN have a chance to recapture the people's trust. And only then, can BN hope to get these states back.

In the meantime, allow me to grieve for Perak.

I'm Only Slightly Talking About Politics, Honest!

This weekend (more accurately, March 8) is bound to be a hectic one. Not only is it Election Day, it's also my niece, Elise's 8th birthday. Hopefully it'll be a double celebration, because Elise's mom, Dr. Wan Norashikin (or Kak Shikin, my brother's wife), is also standing as a first-time candidate in N49, DUN Kg Gajah, Perak.

My brother chose well. See, my family has always been active in politics, starting from my late grandfather, and followed closely by my mom and my uncle. Unfortunately, it appeared to skip a generation, as neither my siblings nor I have ever seemed interested to join politics. When I was younger, I hoped to join politics, but marriage and work kept me so busy, I couldn't even find the inclination to even join a political party. Luckily, my sister-in-law found her calling in politics, and is now my mom's favourite daughter (at least politically-wise), which my sister and I are quite happy about by the way!

As a young woman and a fresh candidate (and the only woman candidate in the Pasir Salak constituency), she has her work cut out for her. That, I must say, does not make me envious at all. But I am thoroughly amazed by her determination and her ease in meeting the people and making the rounds. As a former dental officer at the Kg Gajah government dental clinic, it must make her proud to be given the chance to represent her former patients, their families, and the whole Kg Gajah population as a whole.

Aaannywaay.. I'm hoping to make Elise a cake for her birthday this weekend, and thought I'd make Kak Shikin one too. Besides the election, her birthday's on 11 March, so we're hoping it'd be a triple celebration this weekend.

I'm thinking of making Elise either a Barbie cake, or something fairy-related, 'cos she loves fairies, and has tons of fairy story books. Kak Shikin? May need to rack my brain a bit. Either way, I hope I have the time to make the cakes, 'cos work is really killing me at the moment.

Best of luck, Kak Shikin!

And the GK* Award goes to.....(Warning! Political Post Ahead)

I am normally a semi-laidback person. Whatever issues I might have, I vent to people close to me (whether they want me to or not!). And this blog is supposed to be very impartial and to concentrate on cake.

However, some statements issued during this General Election have been ludicrous, to say the least. And I take great issue against a certain political party, which to me, has only one agenda: To turn Malaysia into a dictatorship run by a certain "wronged" person.

I don't deny that the present government has many flaws, and much more that needs to be delivered. And I don't deny that I long for the days when Tun Mahathir was still the PM, and whoever the next PM is going to be, would still have Tun's shadow hovering over him possibly until time immemorial.

However, when a certain "leader" suggests that his wife, his clearly inexperienced offspring, as well as a loyal supporter to run for seats as PROXIES for his "political comeback", that is way worse than whatever promises the government has failed to deliver. At the rate he's going, would it be wrong to assume that any seats won by his party would eventually be HIS seats once he is eligible? Am I the only one who sees this as a potential dictatorship? I mean, if his party wins (which at this point I hope to God it doesn't!), would Malaysia be then called A****sia?

It's bad enough that the way his party works is by sending supposedly potentially "influential" people to contest seats for the sole reason of contesting against the ruling coalition's candidates, without caring whether or not these "ideal" candidates even know where that particular area is. Plus they're fielding young candidates, who, I believe, may not even have known how to run for their school elections, much less the country's election.

I am miffed. I am angry and disappointed that qualities which we abhor in our culture are visibly apparent in this election. Again, I don't deny that all the parties contesting have some sort of flaw I have issues with. However, for this party to blatantly flaunt these qualities, and try to reason them with hopes of a better government, makes me sick to the stomach.

That said:

I hope voters will use reason and logic when making their decision on 8th March.
I hope voters won't use emotional sentiments plied by certain parties to influence their decision.
I hope that whoever wins the election realises that they are there because we put them there, thus they are then answerable to us.
I hope that the candidates and their supporters fight fair and square.
I hope people understand that these thoughts are all mine, and mine alone.
I hope to no longer write politically influenced blogs.
I hope that these next 11 days go by like the wind.

*GK = Gila Kuasa (Power-Mad)

Polling Days Are Here Again

The elections are coming. Parliament's been dissolved, politicians have started touring the country, and speculations and rumours are on the upswing.

Who am I voting for? That's a secret of course, as is my right, although those who know me would know which way my vote would be. It's fascinating, though, to see politicians, whom we'd never have seen otherwise, suddenly coming out of the woodwork, pleading for support.

My ideal government? The list is as below:

1) New faces. Enough with those who refuse to quit; make way for the younger generation to take their place in the administration. Although, saying that, I hope some certain new faces don't get fielded, 'cos boy are they annoying.

2) Old faces. Experienced people who were left out of the last election due to certain other people's agendas. These experienced people are more capable than the current government, have great track records and are well-liked and respected in their respective kawasan. They should be called back to serve, and hopefully guide the somewhat misguided government back to the right path.

3) Definitely not anyone who has been investigated and found guilty by the ACA. Why some of them were called up during the past election is beyond my comprehension. I mean, these people had nicknames and everything because of money politics, and yet, they are looked upon to be our leader? I can give you six million reasons why that is just wrong.

4) More corporate leaders. I'm not against veteran politicians and the like, but corporate leaders have better know how on how to run a smooth administration.

5) People who want to do the job well. It's probably a rarity now, and perhaps this optimism may change once they're in power, but if they got into politics for the right reasons, hopefully some of this idealism will stick.

That said, my ideal government probably won't become a reality, but it doesn't hurt to hope. And meanwhile, I will just wait for nomination day, thrust my thumb out during polling day for the wonderful new indelible ink to be applied and hope that I don't cross the wrong name.

Happy voting people!

The Day When Cupids Strike & Roses Bloom

For those who aren't aware, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Yep, the most commercialised celebration ever, but be honest, even those who don't celebrate it, deep down inside, feel that little pang of jealousy when your colleague in the next cubicle gets that gorgeous bouquet or adorable teddy bear on Valentine's Day. OK, so you'll hate her in the next 5 minutes when she starts telling anyone who'll listen that her boyfriend/husband/partner is the best one ever, but for the first 10 seconds, believe me, especially if you're a woman, you'll definitely get the pangs.

For those looking for a romantic dinner with your loved one, or just to make it a fun girls' night out (which I did with my best friend a few years back 'cos our significant others suddenly made themselves scarce), check out Tonka Bean Cafe at Impiana KLCC.

Why Tonka Bean, you ask? Well, I will be there, together with my fella, as the official photographers for the dinner. The Valentine's Set Dinner is priced at RM128++ per couple, and you get a special COMPLIMENTARY photograph from yours truly as a memento of this special dinner.

And what else can we do to make it special? Your photograph can be either in colour or in duotone, your choice. That's something worth checking out, if you ask me.

OK, so I'm shamelessly promoting my services, I admit that. But seriously.. isn't this a great deal? You get a great romantic dinner, be serenaded by a live band, the ladies get roses, and to top it all off, you get a nice photograph of you and your partner as a memento! That's why Impiana KLCC is the place to be on Valentine's night. Trust me.

For reservations, call Impiana KLCC at 03 2147 1111.