Little Stories 275 : The Fancy Reception Dinner

This is the continuation of the last weekend's event.

It was my cousin's reception dinner. Another fancy event to prepare and attend that caused havoc for our whole family the past couple of weeks. 

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About the face prep:

This time, I did try to make an extra effort - so my sister helped me with the eyeliner because I'm still a noob, I accidentally did it the wrong way because she was observing and I was too nervous. I managed to wipe them off, and she helped me with the 'tail'. I also patched my eye bag with a liquid BB cream - because I don't have concealer (but I think it looked ok). Then I use lip balm because I can't find lipstick and I haven't decided on which colour looks good on my skin (and personality) - plus I don't like the lipstick's texture.

Ok lah, I think it was a good effort to push myself to try something that I'm not good at and I looked decent enough for a function. Everyone else in my family looked divine and cool. 

About the baju:

I finally got my choice of clothes for the event. Somehow that week, Aja found my kebaya that matched the wedding's theme from our old baju raya, we didn't even know from which year because it was a long time ago but still fits me. The zipper from my kain was broken, so I used Ra's kain that fitted me well - and my sister also decided to wear her kebaya with Aja's old kain that somehow fitted her as well. So we found a loophole of not needing to buy anything new for the event! 

And I borrowed my sister's mid-heel because mine was flat - I can't be the only short one outttt.

The women can wear anything: dresses, or kurung or kebaya. The men need to wear a full suit - and because we never really needed to go to a function before, it was a bit problematic. The options were to buy, borrow, or rent. So they went on a long hunt of trying to find a suit that fits. 

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About the event:

The guest arrival started at 7.30 pm, I was ready with wudhu' at 7pm so that I could pray right-away after azan in my dad's room. Then there were canapes served in the foyer and in the ballroom where people could mingle around - I was not ready to socialized with strangers and my cousins, so we headed to the photo booth first to take our sibling's photo. 

Here is the fancy entrance:

No one was cool, everyone was jakun together because the event was so extra, so fancy, so beautiful. Everyone was taking loads of photos and videos. In this pink phone booth, you can record a speech to the bride and groom :

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My Seating:

I'm thanking God Almighty for giving me such good seating. I got a seat next to my brother and Sara (my cousin) - on a supposedly close cousin's table (we stopped hanging out together in my teenage years), so it was awkward. Both my sisters were scattered elsewhere at other tables.

I also got a table near the front so it was a good seating arrangement. I have my brother, and I didn't have to chat because the background sound was so loud we literally needed to whisper or shout at each other to make a conversation.

Everything worth mentioning:

• This video by ToiFilms
• The dance performance by the bride & groom's friends
• The speeches by the parents (it got me teared up)
• The gift box (it was beautifully designed and we got a reed diffuser with a lovely smell)
• The interior was by Reeka Timor
• Meeting my whole family from the dad's side was also great
• The guest room that my aunt got for each family (the room cost around rm 1.4k per night - which is craaazy expensive. Definitely a T20 experience)

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The food:

I shouldn't comment on the free food. But my cousin definitely put a lot of thought into choosing the best meal for the guest. I might not even have this chance again so this deserves a mention. 

• Appetizer: Tropical 'kerabu' mango & papaya with prawn 
• Soup: Roasted pumpkin soup with tom yam Cream, served with bread & french butter
• Main: Grilled Beef Tenderloin
• Dessert: Coconut Jelly

I regretted choosing the beef tenderloin because it was so thick and grilled medium-raw. It was supposed to give a juicy texture but at this age, I can't appreciate the rawness because I keep on imagining the creature. It got the flesh smell. I couldn't finish it and passed it to my brother. But now I know that I can only eat overly cooked meat. Lesson learned. 

I now know that I make a better version of thick roasted pumpkin soup. Teehee.

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Note:

I hope this doesn't make me look like I want to flaunt anything - it was a fancy wedding that I experienced for the first time, but we came as a representation of extended family members. Yes, my dad's siblings are quite successful in their own way. 

I have almost nothing compared to them, but rezeki masing2 kan, and I'm so happy to experience such an event. Happy for Lyssa, happy for Aunty Chu, I'm sure Arwah Uncle Raja would be so proud too. I missed him and his vibes.

Anyway, congratulations to the whole family.

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Pre-event:

A LOT of mirror photos and selfies. The older gen - always asked us to take their photos, but we the 'younger' ones, take photos mostly ourselves. So, it was the same thing, they take as many photos of themselves as we do, but they use us as the tool instead. 

I guess we can still enjoy being in vain while we can ♥︎ 

May old age treat us lightly, and we can look back on the past with fond memories of our youth.

 

Little Stories 274 : Treatment at Virtue TCM

I went to a de-stress treatment at Virtue TCM in Bangsar South.

My sister paid for a de-stress treatment (guasha + cupping + acupuncture) for an hour. You get a consultation and an explanation about the whole treatment. After I explained my 'whole' health history, the practitioner explained and advised me on how to manage the stress and anxiety, how important it is to overcome the sleeping problem, the bad posture, the gut issues, etc etc etc. She suggested Chinese medicinal herbs for sleeping and gut issues, to help improve my body, so that I can manage my 'emotions' better - which I rejected for now (because I only have the budget for the treatment). 

Well, my stress and anxiety are manageable for now, I mean, we can't really run away from all the 'tests' in life kan. Tapi how I confront it, how my mind waives off, how strong my core is, all depend on a lot of stressor points and situations. I am trying to learn how to manage it, how to ask for help, and how to confront it. It takes time, a lot of slaps on the face, a lot of falling down and standing up again, a lot of reflection. But that's the process. 

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About the treatment:

I was asked to change into their clothes (a pair of shorts and a shirt with a button at the back). Then after I was ready, I was asked to lie down on the front.

The practitioner explained everything while doing the treatment, like sanitizing your back, starting off with scraping (guasha), and all the steps. 

What really painful for me was the scraping because I could feel the stone scraping off my bones, especially on my problematic points like my neck and shoulder, also while doing the gliding heat cupping when the suction is a bit too strong, then when I was left with heavy glass cups on my back. The acupuncture was nothing, compared to the other two treatments. 

But honest to say, despite all the destressing treatments that I've been doing since last week, my body is still tense. I could not even relax, I couldn't even sleep it off, I couldn't let gooo. What is wrong with me? There was a point where I couldn't even stay on my acupressure mat for 15 minutes at home because my heart was racing and my thoughts were wild. 

I know I'm a bit tense and I pretend that it's a personal trait, but I think this is also a problem that I need to figure out/manage this year =.=

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One day post-treatment:

I've done this kind of treatment before in 2021 during my physio, so it was not my first. I remember that I was feeling beat up the next day, everything hurt and sore. It was uncomfortable. Sleeping was a pain, I slept for 10 hours last night. 

The muscles on my neck are sore, I'm tired and most of my cupping bruises are now dark purplish-deep red, which indicates an unhealthy body:

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I'm not in any way mentally 'relaxed' but based on both of the treatments, they did let go of the muscle tension in my body and perhaps I can avoid neck or shoulder strain. Perhaps I should start yoga again because walking once a week is not enough. 

Oh, and I tried Maruki Ramen, not as great as Kagura Ramen for the first time, but my brother insisted on trying the original ramen next time:

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Series - Fleabag; by Phoebe Waller-Bridge

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Don’t worry it does get better. 

 

You promise? 

I promise. Listen, I was on the airplane the other day, and I realized, I mean, I’ve been longing to say this out loud, so.. Women are born with pain built in. It’s our physical destiny. Uh, period pains, sore boobs, childbirth, you know. We carry it within ourselves throughout our lives. Men don’t. They have to seek it out. They invent all these gods and demons and things, all so they can feel guilty about things, which is something we do very well on our own. Then they create wars so they can feel things and touch each other, and when there aren’t any wars, they can play sports. And we have it all going on in here, inside. We have pain on a cycle for years and years and years. And then, just when you feel you are making peace with it all, what happens? The menopause comes. The fucking menopause comes, and it is the most wonderful fucking thing in the world. And yes, your entire pelvic floor crumbles, and you get fucking hot, and no one cares, but then you’re free. No longer a slave, no longer a machine with parts. You’re just a person, in business. 

 

Oh. I thought it was horrendous. 

It is horrendous, but then it is magnificent. 

Something to look forward to.

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Watched Fleabag to see what's the hype, and kinda excited over Andrew Scott taking a character of a very humanly-flawed priest. The messiness of the whole series is something that I've been appreciating lately because it's too flawed and too human, so I can't stop relating. Very cynical, very capricious, quite memorable.

Watching something so imperfect and flawed is something else, especially in fiction, where things could be better and great and magical - all the time. 

Good writing, Fleabag. 

// it will pass

Little Stories 273 : The Fancy Solemnization & Teatime at Broom

Last weekend my siblings and I were invited to my cousin's Nikah (it has been a while since I went to a wedding). We were invited as the representative of the bride's family. I think it is one of the most stressful weddings we've been invited to because we had to make extra preparations - like wearing specific matching colours and with limited 'only-invite' seats (no kids event - means no Sofi), needing to arrive at the specific time, and of course, it was my dad's side of the family - so, if you know, you know. 

But it is the fanciest that I've been to so far. 

It was like being in the Crazy Rich Asian x Bridgerton. Everything was beautiful and bright and colourful and nicely designed. I had so much fun because I was off mommy-duty and I was with my siblings. I tried to socialize with my cousins, but like I said, it has been a while since I socialize and I forgot how to talk with people my age - or people in general. The aunts and uncles were fine, but cousins, it was awkward. 

We took tonnes of pictures because the lighting was great. We were the kepochi side of the family, we were all the jakun ones and we were okay with that. I mean why should we pretend when we were truly impressed kan. 

Anyway, the wedding will be held next weekend and that's another stressful event to prepare for because I have not decided what to wear (the bride's family theme colour is gold/bronze - and I don't have anything in those colours). Plus the men need to wear full suits/tux and the women can wear anything but preferably in gold/bronze. Right.

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About the face and the tudung:

Ah, an interesting note to mention (because my siblings asked - I wish they asked sooner), we were asked to wear pastel blue coloured clothes right, and the tudung needed to be as light as well. As you know, usually wearing lighter-colored tudung needs some kind of preparation or my face will look a bit dull in it. I don't wear makeup right, so I was not confident that I could wear anything in white/light grey. 

What I did was, I used Garnier Vit C serum for the past 3 months just to brighten up my face and to reduce uneven skin tones. That's what I meant by a stressful preparation. But it worked - I looked radiant even without makeup in the lightly-coloured tudung. So, if you need to attend a function and you need to wear white tudung, and you don't want to wear makeup, maybe you could try this too. Don't let anyone tell you that you need makeup when you don't want to wear them :F (but my mom didn't agree, so choose your battle).

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The Tea-Time:

Takde, we had no excuse. We just wanted to lepak sama-sama at a cafe. We went to Broom in PJ after the event - just because. I ordered a matcha latte (with soy milk) with apple crumble and then I couldn't sleep that night. My brother's apple pie was better I think. 

Super note: I don't think dessert works for me anymore. I'm so sad. 

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The last week's massage + lunch treat:

I went to a 90-minute massage (as a birthday treat from Aja) last week, it was painful and good. A bit cold, didn't know why the spa was too cold during a massage session. Great session, but a bit too far from home. It was in Honey Spa Bangi. If I could go again, I would.

Then Aja belanja me a samurai buffet in Samurai Yakiniku in Bangi. Basically unlimited yakitori and beef strips for syabu-syabu and yakiniku. They come with rice, miso soup, and salad as well. It was great until we became overly full (then looking at food wasn't that fun anymore). Beef is a rare commodity for me - but that was an interesting session that week. 

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Then the whole week:

I mostly worked. I've been juggling between a full-time job and several freelance projects these past few weeks. It is almost reaching the finish line, and perhaps I could get a breather after I send all the client projects - then maybe read a book or two or three. 

This was my song at the end of 2023:

Little Stories 272 : The First Week and It Was Our Birthday Week

On my birthday, I was supposed to be working, but I decided to replace it with last month's work day and I was just on standby. I went out with Aja, Mi, and Ma (they picked me up to treat me to a late breakfast and lunch).  

We went for a short 1-hr karaoke session. I'm not much of a singer (because I can't really sing), but I want to continue doing things that I'm uncomfortable with and all the firsts this year. Last year was interesting, and I think it would be fun to continue doing it this year just to loosen up a bit.  

It was a decent day 🎂

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The Birthday Weekend :

We went to Homst for lunch and later tea-time at my brother's house.

• My sister got me a De-Stress treatment at Virtue TCM in Bangsar South - with acupuncture, cupping, and upper body guasha, plus an add-on of ear seed therapy. The timing is great because I kinda needed it. I booked the date for later.
• Aja got me a 90-minute massage session in Bangi (because I requested it as well), and a lunch birthday treat at Yakiniku & Sukiyaki buffet the next week. Plus the hair oil that I wanted.
• My brother baked me an apple pie (as requested because we both don't eat cakes that often anymore). Other than that he made soft-baked cookies with huge chunks and gave me a new sling bag and gloves (as a reminder for our travel plan).
  
• Ma kinda went overboard and paid for a facial treatment, and a makeup set (she's still trying - so now I finally got makeup and ok, I'll learn but I won't promise that I'm going to use it as often), a new plaid shirt, and some kitchen stuff. 

This time, I actually only requested me-time treats from them, so that's why I got the facial and the massages but they always have extras as well because like I mentioned in my previous yearly birthday post - the sibling birthdays in my family are "our big events" because we only celebrate it twice a year (Azura & I) + (Aja & Azmi).  Plus, Ma always went overboard with the presents - siap ada lucky draw bagai.  

I also went out with Sofi & Af on Sunday, for a lunch treat and outing. 

Note : The desserts were all home-made by my brother & sister ♥︎

Ohh yes, and I just turned 37.

Thank you, everybody!

♥︎♥︎♥︎

Little Stories 271 : New Year 2024 ✶

We spent the early morning in Putrajaya on the first.

It's a family tradition we are still continuing ♥︎

Af still had back pain, so Sofi rode the bicycle with me. Thankfully Putrajaya is not that hilly. 

Almost had migraine afterward because of the heat and light, but the ice pack somehow worked. 

Happy 2024 ✶