If you are a new visitor to Malaysia - there are some words you are likely to encounter frequently. Here are some words and their english meanings.
Buka - Open
24 Jam - 24 Hours
Keluar - Exit
Masuk - Entry
Makaanan - Food
Jawatan Kosong - Job Vacancy
Pintu - Door
Perempuan - male
Lelaki - Female
Tandas - Toilet
A Shopping Trip to Mid Valley Mega Mall
There’s a trite phrase for it. Retail therapy. It is not just a therapy, it is a lifeline – it is addictive, drains the wallet, submerges the wardrobe and gives me pleasant dreams for weeks. As the long summer holidays drew to a close - I badly needed the distractions of a mall to get away from CN and Nick at home. Mid Valley Megamall called out to me for an extended trip!
I was almost out of a few toiletery items and there was a good sale on at Guardian – that was the trigger for the trip.
As I crossed the optical store at Mid Valley, I realized there was a huge sale in frames and lenses. Now, for the past 1.5 years I have been thinking of having my eye checked and getting new frames. Somehow sitting at home – hasn’t made this as imminent as it would have been otherwise. I dropped in and soon found my eyes getting thoroughly checked by a London trained Optician. Of course to no surprise, there was a small power change with an increase in astigmatism. I don’t know how, but I soon found myself choosing a nice new titanium frame and making a small deposit on it. I had over over exceeded my budget before I had even really entered the mall!
I got my stuff at the Guardian with what I considered great savings. Those nice new knee braces which I was waiting to get at a sale came at a 40% discount for just Rm 14 – when I purchased items worth Rm 100. Pleased with myself, I got some grocery and other items, drooled over the MNG and Zara stuff and returned home.
The next day I had to go again to pick up my new glasses. I remembered about an upcoming Birthday and also got a toy at Toys R Us at a nice discount. That was when I saw the British India Sale. British India is one brand that I love. A bit pricey, so I have been eyeing their annual sale for some time. I had missed it last year – and I found I was at the fag end of their clearance this time too. How could I miss it?
I soon found myself trying out their stuff. I hit upon one – that seemed to have been left just for me. A nice lovely purple skirt at a hefty discount. It was just one size bigger – but almost neatly fitted me. I took it – I hardly ever lose weight and the skirt (at its price) was too good to be true. It looked a dream. As I picked it up – the saleswoman asked whether I wouldn’t like a top with it? So I looked and found a nice one at – again – 70% discount! The tunic was just a size short though. Well, all my efforts to slim down will soon bear fruits, I thought, as I bought it just before I was about to get out....
So went my retail therapy... (and what if it included a top one size short for a skirt one size big)
(Originally published at Xomba.com at http://www.xomba.com/shopping-trip-mid-valley. Mid Valley Megamall is one of the biggest shopping malls at Kuala Lumpur - and in my opinion the most diverse)
Transformers 3 - Dark of the Moon - My Review
I was privileged to watch a premiere show of Transformers 3 two days back. Not having done my homework (in fact I was confusing this movie with Schwarzeneggar's Terminator - till we hit the theatre) - I was initially at a loss about the movie.
Here's my take on the show!
Of all the irrelevant things in the movie - the worst is the title. Dark of the Moon has very little relevance to the actual movie. Return of the Cybertron or something lke that would have made more sense.
What was the movie about?
How can an entire planet (Cybertron) be transported back to earth? Wont they clash? Come on - we are scared stiff and predict wholescale destruction when a tiny meteor comes close. An entire planet....puhleeze!
Shia LeBeouf in Transformers 3
What exactly was Shia LeBeouf's role in this edition of Transformers? Other than providing some cute moments and running from pillar to post for no apparent reason - he could have been written out of the script - and the movie would have remained the same!
Can Autobots be Killed?
How exactly were the Autobots or the Decepticons killed? They seemed to reform themselves at their will and no one seemed to have a clue how to deal with them - till the last few scenes when the snipers are instructed to go for the eyes!
The Final Mission
Now what was that last mission? I thought it was to take a hit at the "pillars" that were to teleport the Cybertron with the single shot left. However that seemed to be forgotten and everyone just seemed to be fighting each other, the NSA, the Seals, the Bots - till Shia LeBeouf remembers about the pillars!
What a Looonnnng Climax!
The climax was way way too long! Clip it off by 20 mins - movie would be fine. i mean one can only so much spfx of autobots and decepticons fight with humans caught and mangled in between and still manage to come out of it in one fine piece.
Having got out of the way my grouse against the movie - I must admit I enjoyed major portions of it. I am not really a bot and sci-fi and action movie fan. But I have had to adjust my tastes to watch movies with the children. So last week I had to watch Green Lantern - and now Transformers. And Transformers 3 was way way better of course.
Here are some reasons why.
Rosey Huntington - Whiteley
She was fun, sexy and a slightly toned down version of Cameron Diaz.
She was the perfect antidote to the tedium of men and machines. Having not watched the other two prequels to Transformers - I cant compare her to Megan Fox. I have a feeling she will be a great hit. I especially liked the part where her Mercedez (gifted by her boss) turns into a Dr. Ock kind Decepticon, to her shock!
Bumblebee and the Bots
The loyal Bumblebee and Optimus Prime really stole the show as the good guys leaving the men far behind. Even though it is a mystery to me why they chose to protect mere earthlings over their land Cybertron - I couldn't help but be grateful for it at the end. In fact they emoted much better than some of the queer earthlings!
John Turturro
John Turturro and Alan Tudyk as Simmons and Dutch had some of the best sequences in the movie. Turtorro as a writer and ex - Security man who has been paralysed in a Decepticon attack, was sharp and fun to watch.
Special Effects
This shouldnt be a surprise. The Transformers 3 is all about Special Effects. Starting with the moon sequence - the movie has dream SFX. In the last hour of the movie, the plot was all but forgotten to showcase some amazing scenes! There was an amazing airmen free fall sequence, a slide down the side of a collapsing glass building, a great number of autobots and decepticons fights and much more.
First Half of the Movie
The top half of the movie was a treat to watch. There seemed to be a real plot developing with Optimus Prime waking up Sentinel. There were Megatron and Sentinel Prime in a secret pact. Simmons and Witwicky were fast discovering the extent of the plot. Buzz Aldrin was meeting the training autobots. There were two cute autobot pets who kept up the interest. Rich playboy Dempsey and Diaz look alike Rosie Huntington- Whiteley provided the distraction.
As the mosaic of the plot came together - one didnt have a clue it would fall apart (literally) so dramatically in the later half of the movie!
Verdict - Worth a watch - and in 3D!
Originally published at Xomba.com at
http://www.xomba.com/top-5-reasons-i-didnt-transformers-3-dark-moon and
http://www.xomba.com/top-5-reasons-why-you-can-watch-transformers-3
Here's my take on the show!
Of all the irrelevant things in the movie - the worst is the title. Dark of the Moon has very little relevance to the actual movie. Return of the Cybertron or something lke that would have made more sense.
What was the movie about?
How can an entire planet (Cybertron) be transported back to earth? Wont they clash? Come on - we are scared stiff and predict wholescale destruction when a tiny meteor comes close. An entire planet....puhleeze!
Shia LeBeouf in Transformers 3
What exactly was Shia LeBeouf's role in this edition of Transformers? Other than providing some cute moments and running from pillar to post for no apparent reason - he could have been written out of the script - and the movie would have remained the same!
Can Autobots be Killed?
How exactly were the Autobots or the Decepticons killed? They seemed to reform themselves at their will and no one seemed to have a clue how to deal with them - till the last few scenes when the snipers are instructed to go for the eyes!
The Final Mission
Now what was that last mission? I thought it was to take a hit at the "pillars" that were to teleport the Cybertron with the single shot left. However that seemed to be forgotten and everyone just seemed to be fighting each other, the NSA, the Seals, the Bots - till Shia LeBeouf remembers about the pillars!
What a Looonnnng Climax!
The climax was way way too long! Clip it off by 20 mins - movie would be fine. i mean one can only so much spfx of autobots and decepticons fight with humans caught and mangled in between and still manage to come out of it in one fine piece.
Having got out of the way my grouse against the movie - I must admit I enjoyed major portions of it. I am not really a bot and sci-fi and action movie fan. But I have had to adjust my tastes to watch movies with the children. So last week I had to watch Green Lantern - and now Transformers. And Transformers 3 was way way better of course.
Here are some reasons why.
Rosey Huntington - Whiteley
She was fun, sexy and a slightly toned down version of Cameron Diaz.
She was the perfect antidote to the tedium of men and machines. Having not watched the other two prequels to Transformers - I cant compare her to Megan Fox. I have a feeling she will be a great hit. I especially liked the part where her Mercedez (gifted by her boss) turns into a Dr. Ock kind Decepticon, to her shock!
Bumblebee and the Bots
The loyal Bumblebee and Optimus Prime really stole the show as the good guys leaving the men far behind. Even though it is a mystery to me why they chose to protect mere earthlings over their land Cybertron - I couldn't help but be grateful for it at the end. In fact they emoted much better than some of the queer earthlings!
John Turturro
John Turturro and Alan Tudyk as Simmons and Dutch had some of the best sequences in the movie. Turtorro as a writer and ex - Security man who has been paralysed in a Decepticon attack, was sharp and fun to watch.
Special Effects
This shouldnt be a surprise. The Transformers 3 is all about Special Effects. Starting with the moon sequence - the movie has dream SFX. In the last hour of the movie, the plot was all but forgotten to showcase some amazing scenes! There was an amazing airmen free fall sequence, a slide down the side of a collapsing glass building, a great number of autobots and decepticons fights and much more.
First Half of the Movie
The top half of the movie was a treat to watch. There seemed to be a real plot developing with Optimus Prime waking up Sentinel. There were Megatron and Sentinel Prime in a secret pact. Simmons and Witwicky were fast discovering the extent of the plot. Buzz Aldrin was meeting the training autobots. There were two cute autobot pets who kept up the interest. Rich playboy Dempsey and Diaz look alike Rosie Huntington- Whiteley provided the distraction.
As the mosaic of the plot came together - one didnt have a clue it would fall apart (literally) so dramatically in the later half of the movie!
Verdict - Worth a watch - and in 3D!
Originally published at Xomba.com at
http://www.xomba.com/top-5-reasons-i-didnt-transformers-3-dark-moon and
http://www.xomba.com/top-5-reasons-why-you-can-watch-transformers-3
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