Mini Escapism : Penang

We arrived at the bus stop at 3 am, somehow I miscalculated the time and we were there too early. I brought my little comforter out from my bag pack and slept at one of the chair. AF was awake the whole time I was sleeping. There were people like us sleeping on all the benches. It was outdoor, lighted, guarded and fairly safe. I am not a night owl, so I didn't pretend like I can stay awake. I was on and off the whole time.

By 6 am, I woke up, lights at the train and ferry stations were turned on and we found a decent public toilet near the area. A walk to the train station took several minutes, we needed to change our money *to some old coins to pay for the ticket that costed around RM1.40, if I'm not mistaken. We took the first ferry ride to Penang. Everything were dark except for the little building's light near the harbour, there wasn't much of fishy sea smell and grand landscape to enjoy.

When we arrived at Georgetown, it was too early for any shops to open. We wanted to find a mamak for our early morning breakfast, but got lost walking on the road because of the misleading tips given by the local. Phew. By the time we finally found one, it was almost 7.30 am. 

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We headed to the place we were staying by using the map we bought before our trip. It wasn't hard to read and remember certain roads after several walks around the area. My old iPhone isn't capable of handling too much 3Gs, so I hardly use it.

We found a nice looking old building that turned into a new Mc' Donald. I ordered Mocha from the Mc' Cafe and read the map once more, that's when I learned that the old building was used to be Birch's old building. We can hardly feel excited because of the exhaustion of sleeping less than 5 hours the night before and walked for more than 3km with our heavy bag to our destination.

The map wasn't used as much as intended, we hardly explored new paths because Penang was just too hot. Honestly we spent most time eating and watching movies in the mall :p I hope we'll be back for more exploration and new adventure. Even this write-up feels like soulless writing that lack of story. But it marked our first official escapism together and this counts ❤

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It's been ages since his last videos, here's the latest one :

ESCAPISM #5 from Farikarim on Vimeo.

Little Stories 95 : Awan's New Enemy Part 2

Not a happy story *for Awan.

It started 2 weeks ago, when we decided to do something with Awan's fight with cat's flea. Sunday morning, Azmi woke up and told me that he's going to shower Awan with Machiko Flea Control Shampoo again. Yeay! - for the initiative without having to plead him to do so :D 

We aren't sure about the effectiveness compared to all other brands - but for now, we are using this, at least until her rashes get better *ingredients : all natural herbs. Awan isn't a cat that loves water, she hates it. She even knew Azmi was going to shower him this morning. The last time I showered her, my legs were bleeding all over from her scratches =.= So it needs to be done by my brother because he's the only one that can be a bit tough on her. 

This was how she looked this morning, all grumpy and whiny :

Next plan :

In another 2 weeks time, she will need another shower and new flea drops on her neck. I read several reviews on other flea sprays and decided that maybe we'll try to avoid something that might make her rashes worse because of the chemical ingredients. We'll consider Frontline if all these don't work. In case people might ask why I didn't bring her to the vet? - the last time I took her out, this happened. So I'm trying to avoid forcing her go out from the house, I knew she's the worst anti-social. Even worst than her mother :D

Plus : We need to clean-up the whole house weekly. Chop chop ! 

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Wedding Story : The Card

Several months before the wedding, we discussed about our wedding card. 

AF and I are both a graphic designer so we decided to design our own card. But from our Tumblr inspiration posts and previous collaborations, we are both quite aware of how different our styles are. Designing a card together will lead to arguments *I'm sure of this. His idea of proportions, colours combos, styles and spacings are totally different from mine. 

Look at these examples of what he designed for his Ig countdowns according to his style :

It is nice, but it is not something that I would go for :p

And because we are both designers - we should both have our says in how it should look, yes? 

Some people asked me : why I didn't use doodles in our card? Well trust me, me as a real person is really different, I am quite serious and I am not a fun person. Doodles is something I do out of mindless activity, but it doesn't represents me as who I am. So I didn't want to do doodles on the card plus it wouldn't be fair for AF to have a fun-childish-doodled wedding card :p

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So we finally decided that he should design our card and I will do the QC. 

He made several drafts before we finalized it in simple postcard size. 

This is how it finally looked :

I loved it. It looked like patterns from my favorite cotton kurungs and my secret purse. Originally we didn't expect it to be pinkish, we just wanted it to be clean and white. Other than he designed it, it looked like something that I would design as well :D

We sent it to online web printing company and it arrived in 5 days.

We received free pink envelope that I came to hate *I prefer decent off-white.

We didn't have many friends, so at first we wanted to print maximum of 300 cards, but Ma insisted it to be printed 500 pieces. So it ended up taking the space on the shelf in our room now. 

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A box of cards arrived :

Books : Amityville Horror Part 2

I read The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson last Ramadhan last year, the one that I bought from depository books. I particularly remember this because I don't read horror books during other months *ridiculous superstition of mine. The book is quite rare, I tried to find it in every bookstore I went to but I never found it.

Yesterday we went to Reader's Paradise in Ampang Point while waiting for iftar. I was searching for The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket - the whole collection. In horror section between Dean Koontz and Stephen King, I found an old book of The Amityville Horror Part 2 by John Jones that was written in 1982 ! 

I was super excited because I know it is super rare to find the book especially the original copy so I decided to rent it. I passed it to the owner and she asked me whether I want to buy or rent it? "Excuse me? I thought this is for rent?" And then she said that some book owners sold their old books there so other people can buy it if they want to. "This book costs RM 5". 

Of course! 

For RM 5, I bought super old rare book of The Amityville Horror part 2 ! The original first edition version :D I'm not a fan of horror books, but this is a special case :

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Little Stories 94 : Domain Names

I bought 2 domain names via blogspot (Google Apps Administrator) few years back for $10usd per year.

I realized one day while as I was checking my domain name, that my personal contact was publicly listed as the owner of the domain with full address, email and phone number. I can simply Google it and it is listed there for public. I was outraged ! If I didn't think about checking, I wouldn't know. I made a complain to enom about this. The reply and whole processes took several days. 

I received an email from them explaining about the software defect and they fixed it right-away at no cost. They worked fast and efficient, for this, I salute their customer service department :

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Other than that, I was trying to access Google Admin to update everything and unsubscribe the domain address but I kept on failing to login to the account. This too, lead me to email the customer service from Google. A person named "Jesus" from Google for Work Support helped me. He guided me through a fussy processes and I finally replied him this *I still think this is funny :

- This happened in Feb 2015 -

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Update July 2015 :

I just checked again and they've updated everything. Now all my personal details are protected by WHOIS Privacy Protection Service, my contacts aren't publicly exposed anymore. And I let my domain name expire last week and I'm not thinking of buying a domain name anymore *at least for now. 

I guess I realized 2 things :

1. I don't want to own it. 

Azreenchan will always be my commercialized name, I do not own it as it doesn't own me. 

Funny thing is I found out that someone is using it to give advises on dating - a boring copy-pasted blog posts *well I'm flattered and azreenchan.com is currently open for anyone to buy : in case someday I'll be super famous and the domain name will actually have value. Go ahead and buy it, but please don't make it to be a rated-18 website ya.

2. If I die, I don't really want to leave anything behind on the net, except for my little writings. I'm trying to erase things from social media as much as I can. So people won't be burdened much. Imagine if I die one day and people read back my ridiculous gibberish Twitter/Facebook posts that sounded nothing but annoying complains all the way down. I don't want people to remember me like that. Ha. 

I want people to stumble upon this little blog and read me like someone that once lived. 

That's all.

Little Things 193 : Beryls'

On every year's national public celebrations, Beryl's factory in Seri Kembangan opens for public. It is not new for our family, we've been hunting chocolates every year during this time. Although Beryls doesn't sell for cheap - 'cheap', they do give at least 20-30% off for all chocolates compared to commercial price in supermarket and half price for rejected chocolates *they are slightly senget and deformed - but it tastes the same. 

I bought 1 packet of Tiramisu (300g) and 1 packet of Dark Chocolates (300g) for RM 14+ each compared to their normal price : RM17+. Also one packet of Milk Chocolate with sesame for ma.  For me, those chocolates are still pricy but that's the lowest they can give during every year's sales. That's why we will visit the factory once or twice every year.

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My favorite has always been the pink packet version of Chocolate Milk Tiramisu without almonds. I put some stocks in my bag and eat one piece for each day like how everyone should consume chocolate for health purpose. Ha. Except during Ramadhan of course :p

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1. Beryl’s Chocolate & Confectionary (Tel 603 8943 6136) 

2 Jalan Raya 7/1 Kawasan Perindustrian Seri Kembangan Seri Kembangan 

Mon to Fri : 830am – 530pm / Sat to Sun : 830am – 500pm  

2. Bangi Factory (Tel 603 8925 6136) 

8 Jalan 9/1, Seksyen 9 Bandar Baru Bangi 

Mon to Fri : 830am -530pm

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Little Stories 93 : Tooth War Part 2

Part 2 :

E. She cleaned up those remaining temporary fillings. It took some time. She said the tooth is halfway broken and I need to take an extra care of it now, because it can no longer be used like before - half of the tooth's natural wall is now man-made resin with no natural support. My previous filling lasted for almost 10 years, not sure how long this one will survive.

Pain level : 2/10, no blood

F. Again, she poked 2 painful spots. She said that my nerves are still okay, at least they are not dead yet. So she continued mending it with adding new tougher fillings, creating a tooth-like mold. She scraped, structured and molded until I can close my mouth without feeling uncomfortable. All the processes might took around 30 minutes - I am not so sure. Plus, I can't eat any solid food for at least 24 hours before it completely harden.

Pain level : 1/10, no blood

Total cost : RM 50 *covered in medical fees.

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Some tips :

1. If you have broken/decayed/holes in your tooth, meet a dentist right-away. The faster the better because it will eventually gets worse. 

2. Brush and floss your teeth, also, spend some money on mouth-wash to control plaques. I use 'Dental Floss Mouth Pick' from Guardian, the one that sell 3 boxes (50 pieces per box) - that can be used for more than 3 months if I don't floss everyday :p
3. Meet your dentist every 6 months for scaling, they will clean up all the plaques that lead to more problems in the future. It is a love-hate relationship, where you don't want them but you really need them, so deal with your fear for dentist. You won't regret it.

Little Stories 92 : Awan's New Enemy

I think about 2 months ago, our family was attacked by some kind of little insects. We got spots on our bodies and those spots itch twice as bad compared to mosquito bites. At first, we thought it was red small ants' bites. But we never found those little ants.

Until we finally figured that it all came from Awan, probably cat's fleas or ticks. We always see her scratching, but we never really checked. She never went out of the house and never really met other cats, so we thought it was near to impossible for her to get fleas. I was wrong. I checked online and read about symptoms on human - even if cat's fleas don't really like human, they do attack human if they need to. Red spots, never-ending bad itch, 3-5 spots each part, I think the culprit is cat's fleas. I never saw any cat's fleas on my bed or clothes, and I do use roller every single day - so I still can't confirm this.

But, as for Awan, it is a serious case.

She got fleas and it is troubling her.

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1. I went to pet shop to buy flea control liquid. The one that cost around RM 14 per tiny bottle where I need to put it on her neck. So I put several drop of those last week. 

2. The day after, it was Azmi's turn to help. He was in charge of showering Awan with Machiko Flea Control Shampoo, the one that ma bought for RM 17.80 per bottle. It should removes fleas, lice, mites and ticks naturally - it stated "Combination of selected plant extracts including neem, citronella, tea tree and cedarwood, to collectively maximize their traditionally known insect repelling and skin care properties in a mild shampoo base." Sounds good enough - all traditional ingredients.

By this time, Azmi mentioned about her reddish skin condition around neck, obviously from those scratching.

3. I bought another bottle of flea control liquid, this time cost RM 10 - because it was from different pet shop. I dropped those liquids 2 days after she was showered. This should last a month. We should repeat the showering with Machiko Shampoo and flea control drops for 3 months.

4. Buy tablets for cat's worm control. I read about how usually some cats with flea infestation will be infected by worms as well. I bought one for RM 8. The feeding process was handled by Azmi, again, because he is the only one that can be tough on Awan. Momsies can't do such brutal thing like forcing tablet inside her throat :p It went in after 5th try. They said we should give her the tablet at least every 6 months.

Other :

5. We cleaned our beddings, use the roller everyday, wash towel every fortnight and clothes everyday. We also need to vacuum the house every week. Oh, and she is banned from entering our room until she is completely flea free.

6. Cut Awan's nails to avoid more harm for her skin.

7. Spray vinegar on carpet and sofa in the living room.

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I hope this would end super soon-soon.

And if you are bitten by cat fleas, don't you ever scratch, just use ice.

  

Little Stories 91 : Tooth War Part 1

Other than slightly protruding lower jaw compared to other people, I have a nicely structured jaw with all teeth naturally in line. Even with 2 wisdom teeth back in my lower jaw making its way since several years ago, everything else is still in its place - so I don't think there's a need of meeting a dentist to take both my wisdom teeth out. I think there will be several more years before they are completely mature. Plus, I'm still waiting for my 2 upper jaw's wisdom teeth to start coming out.  

I don't think I went to see a dentist for almost 10 years. I'm taking care of my teeth religiously : brush my teeth 3 times a day and floss it daily. That's how serious I am in taking care of my oral hygiene. This is all because I have weak teeth.

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I've had my first molar tooth (on the right side) crowned because it was badly broken while I was in school. Ditto the left one, several years later - it was halfway broken and my doctor did some nice filling that lasted for almost 10 years. Both my 2 first molar are really weak even when I was quite young and been taking care of my teeth. Imagine that.

About several months ago, the filling on my left molar teeth was broken. But I didn't go the the dentist right-away. Like any other people would do, I procrastinate. I cleaned up every time I eat. Up until several weeks ago, I started to have pain in my broken tooth. I knew pain wouldn't be a good sign, and I'm not really afraid of meeting a dentist so I had to called up for an appointment before it gets worst.

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Last weekend, I met her again. It's been almost 10 years!

Part 1 :

A. First she did scaling to clean-up all the remaining plaques that I can't remove. I asked her, why is it possible to have plaques even when I floss daily? She said that some people have the tendency to form plaques on their teeth and some people don't. It depends on the people.

Pain level : 3/10, minimal blood, normal.

B. Next, she removed all the remaining fillings. She drilled and those old fillings were broken. Other than hard pressure and bad shrill, it was rather fast. She asked me to gurgle water, and the fillings were out. I just noticed that only half part of my first molar side left, she gave me mirror to see it myself. Kesian. 

Pain level : 2/10, no blood.

C. Before she can do any new fillings, she asked me whether I was in pain? She checked by putting something on my broken teeth and found out that I have an exposed nerve. I'm not sure whether she poked or what. But by far, that was the worst kind of pain possible in this whole course. She said she needs to put something to heal the nerve first before adding new fillings. Just in case, so it won't spread under a covered teeth. She put some medication for the nerve, by this time - I was almost halfway crying / halfway in  mortal pain. She was nice the whole way, motherly nice, so it was tiny bit ok.

Pain level : 9/10, no blood. 

D. She put some new temporary fillings and asked me to come at least after 6 hours. I made appointment for Monday morning, 2 days after. The temporary fillings got broken when I ate salad that night =.= Now it is half broken again, but with no exposed nerve, so no pain, only odd pressure on the empty space. She gave me pain killer pills if it feels too bad for me to handle. 

Pain level : 0/10

Total cost : RM 200 *covered in the medical fees. Plus I actually got more discount, hahaa. 

I didn't dare to go to government's dental clinic after I read several bad reviews online and heard that I need to wait for months for each appointment. 

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It's actually an old clinic, family-friend's one. 

I've known her since I was 6.

That's why I've been going to her clinic all this time :

Klinik Pergigian Dr Munah, Seri Serdang. Map.

Little Things 192 : Eyes

Have you ever wondered, why is it that when you put one finger in front of you, you can see it clearly. But when you put the finger closer and closer till it stop right in front of your eye, you can only see something blocking your view. It no longer looks like a finger, it only looks like a blurry undefined thing. 

Maybe in life, we should see things accordingly in the right length, which is different among people especially if they are short or near-sighted. When we see things too far, the eyes can't process it and when we see things too close to your eyes, the same thing happens, our eyes can't process it.