Let's Have Some Coffee & Chat

I read stuff on Huffington Post yesterday and came across these interesting questions to ask if you are out stuck in a boring party or gathering and you feel like you're the only person who is interested to get to know other people there. You know, just to make new friends or just to get ideas and thoughts from others. It is fun sometimes but if the party gets too bored, I suggest you to just leave the party and go home or go out with others or you could go home and watch that movie you've been wanting to watch since ever. Below are questions that I get from Huffington Post page. These questions initially have 101 questions but I only answered 84, because, I cannot understand some questions or I find it quite boring to answer. Hence, 84 questions answered below. Enjoy!

1. Tell me the 3 best things about you. Friendly, adventurous & lively?
2. On a scale of 1-10, how strict are/were your parents? - 11? LOL!
3. Who was your worst teacher? Why? - Can I say his name? Hahah!
4. Who was your favorite teacher? Why? - Fav lecturer; Dr Wan Noorshahida because she helped me a lot during my degree year. Thank you, madam!
5. Which would you pick: being world-class attractive, a genius or famous for doing something great? - I want to be a famous beautiful genius for doing something awesome. LOL!
6. Who are the 3 greatest living musicians? - Living...? I have some fav greatest musicians of all time but they are not living ones. If I had to choose, dead or alive; I would choose, Beethoven/Tchaikovsky/Bach, The Beatles & Queens. And my fav musicians (or, music) at the moment; Alt-J, Beirut & The Chainsmokers
7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? - To be more positive and optimist and to see good in other people and to have more patience.
8. What was your favorite toy growing up? - I wasn't that keen on playing toys because my parents brought me to places to travel and explore the outside world since I was a little kid.
9. Name 3 celebrities you most admire. - If they can consider as celebrities, I would pick, Oprah Winfrey, Princess Diana & Zoella Sugg
10. Name a celebrity you think is lame. - I can't name one because there are a lot of them!
11. What accomplishment are you most proud of? - I have some and I want to achieve more. Let me keep them by myself :)
12. Which of your friends are you proudest of? Why? - I would pick Juliana Adlin & Aainaa Zulkafly because of one simple reason; they follow their passion and they are brave to go and chase it.
13. What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever been? - Paris, London & my room. LOL!
14. What are your 3 favorite movies? - Nacho Libre, The Other Guys and Pain & Gain
15. Which historical figure would you like to be? - None, I think?
16. What’s the right age to get married? - When you have met the one :)
17. Tell me 3 things you remember about kindergarten - That round plastic swimming pool, nap time with friends, my birthday celebration at the kindergarten with a huge Mickey Mouse cake.
18. What paper that you’ve written are you most proud of? - A lot actually, but the most proud of is my final year thesis; Twins Biometrics System Development.
19. What would you do if you were invisible for a day? - *insert evil face here*
20. Who would you like to live like for a day? - Kendall Jenner or Blake Lively
21. If you could time travel, where would you go? - Every island and beaches on Earth!
22. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? - I don't have any specific fav ice cream flavour. I eat whatever tastes good. Kinda into Matcha flavour lately.
23. Would you rather live for a week in the past or the future? - Live for a week in the past so that I could fix or do better if I could
24. What’s your most embarrassing childhood memory? - When I was in kindergarten, the teacher asked us kids to bring swimming attire for tomorrow's swimming session. I told my mom that I need it the next day, but we both forgot about the swimsuit the next morning. So I went to school without the swimsuit, but I still joined the swim session except for the fact that I swam with only my underwear. LOL!
25. What’s your best childhood memory? - I was the best student (always got first in class) since kindergarten through my primary years and for first three years of secondary school. After 16, my studies kinda hit the ground a bit. LOL
26. What’s your favorite holiday? - Every holiday is my fav
27. If you could eat only 3 foods for the rest of your life, what would they be? - Seafood paella, pizza, tomyam soup
28. If you could be a cartoon character for a week, who would you be? - I don't know, I don't watch cartoons that much.
29. If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be? - Prophet Muhammad SAW (peace be upon him)
30. What’s your favorite childhood book? - Martini and her adventures series because of the illustrations! Gaaah!
31. What’s a great book you’ve read recently? - Just One Day by Gayle Forman
32. Do you feel like a leader or a follower? - Definitely a leader. Without a shadow of doubt.
33. If you could ask your pet 3 questions, what would they be? - Are you okay? Do you get enough food? Am I treating you right?
34. What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done? - I completed my degree despite of the fact that I almost gave up multiple times. I faced it and dealt with it and I got through it and with flying colours as well.
35. Who would play you in a movie of your life? - Anne Hathaway because I simply love her
36. If you could be an Olympic athlete, in what sport would you compete? - Athletics! 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m
37. If you had to live in a different country, where would it be? - Either England or Canada
38. What has been your favorite family vacation? - Trip to Europe last February!
39. If you could choose your own nickname, what would it be? - Still, Malina. Can't help it, I love my name.
40. Who is the funniest person you know? - My sister. HAHAH!
41. What’s your favorite thing about one of your grandparents? - Wise. So wise.
42. Do you ever talk to yourself? When and what do you say? - Every single day. Every single hour. Every single minute. Reminder on things to do and thinking on what to do next or sometimes just to practice talking out ideas.
43. When you’re having a bad day, what do you do to make yourself feel better? - Cry and listen to the music or watch YouTube or sleep.
44. What’s your favorite smell in the whole world? - :)
45. What do you think is the greatest invention of all time? - Airplanes because it can physically take you to places within a short period of time & also internet because, it's internet!
46. Using one word, how would you describe your family? - Awesome.
47. Would you rather win an Olympic medal, an Academy Award or the Nobel Peace prize? - I would rather win a Nobel Peace prize because people will recognize and respect me for a long period of time and I also will be respected by knowledgable people and also for my knowledge and contribution to the world.
48. What’s your favorite time of day? - Back at home at night after a long day being outside. All showered, tucked in to bed with a crispy duvet, MacBook on my lap, blogging or listen to music or watch YouTube and turn on my twinkle lights on the bedframe wall.
49. What’s your favorite season? - Fall/Winter
50. What’s the one food you could never bring yourself to eat? - Balut or duck/bird embryo. No thanks.
51. What is the sound you love the most? - Ocean waves hitting shores
52. If you could pick a new first name, what would it be? - Still, Malina.
53. What is your favorite movie quote? - "I wanna winnnnn!" - Ignacio, Nacho Libre
54. What’s your pet peeve(s)? - Too many! But the biggest pet peeves are; bad drivers, dirty places, people who don't respect other people's space/bubble, loud people & poor customer service. Ugh.
55. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? - In, always.
56. Do you ever count your steps when you walk? - Wow, never.
57. What’s your favorite kind of sandwich? - Salmon or tomatoes/cheese/basil - toast.
58. What’s your dream job? - Photojournalist
59. Cake or pie? - Pie
60. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? - Any islands or beaches in the world.
61. What is your favorite family tradition? - I am not sure if its a tradition or what, but my family and I always handshake each other whenever we agreed on something or after making decisions and we always give each other a kiss or hug before we go to bed.
62. Who’s your celebrity crush? - Blake Lively & Margot Robbie!
63. What trait do you like the most about yourself? - My confidence
64. What are you good at? - I'm not too sure...
65. What’s the first thing you do when you get home from a trip? - Have a nice bath or a shower
66. Would you rather spend five days exploring Disney or New York City? - Definitely New York City
67. Whose parents do/did you wish you had? - None
68. If you could shop for free at one store, which one would you choose? - Urban Outfitters/H&M/Zara/Topshop/Mango/Bershka/Warehouse/Miss Selfridge/Dorothy Perkins. Ugh! Tough choice! But I think I would go for Urban Outfitters. Ahh, that'd be a dream.
69. What personal trait has gotten you in the most trouble? - Easily get annoyed/anger/road rage
70. Which celebrity chef would you most like to fix you a meal? - Gordon Ramsay/Manu Feildel
71. Who is your favorite athlete? - Usain Bolt
72. What is the best piece of advice you’ve received? - Never give up on good things - My dad
73. Would you rather be the most popular kid in school or the smartest kid in school? - Smartest, of course.
74. What do you like to do on a rainy day? - Sleep. What else, am I right? LOL!
75. Would you rather be the best player on a horrible team or the worst player on a great team? - Best player on a horrible team
76. What is your favorite thing about the beach? - Everything! From the sea, sand, salt, breeze, the humble feeling, the calm effect, the you-don't-think-about-anything-else-other-than-what-you-see-in-front-of-you
77. What is your favorite Disney movie? - Mulan, because that movie shows great values to kids especially girls, that it is possible for you to achieve something and be great in it though you have to do it because at the end of the day, hard work pays off and you'll be rewarded for doing something noble and great for you, your family and for your country.
78. Which of the Seven Dwarfs is most like you? - I think I am between Doc & Grumpy
79. If someone made a movie of your life would it be a drama, a comedy, a romantic-comedy, action film, or science fiction? - A bit of a drama and comedy. LOL!
80. Name a product or service you love so much that you’d happily be that company’s spokesperson. - None. Have not yet experienced or received any pleasant service from any company. I'm hard to please. Hahah
81. If you were guaranteed to be successful in a different profession, what would you want to do? - Athletics athlete because I love sports and the rush!
82. As a child, what did you wish to become when you grew up? - Archeologist or scientist
83. What’s the worst thing you did as a kid? - Fighting with boys in school
84. What is your favorite day of the week? - Thursday because my Thursday is always interesting and I never missed Thursday without any great plans with family or friends.

I find doing questionnaires really helps me a lot in blogging and writing. It has the calm effect for me to have positive minds. I am a blogger and I am a freelance writer for some companies and that puts me in "always-ready" mode for my brain to activate more fast and efficient. My work requires me to have great ideas and thoughts at all times and it is essential for me to keep my brain all healthy and works in a perfect condition by eating healthily, exercising to get fit physically and mentally and also doing questionnaires for me to keep thinking. That is how I keep my brain to be active :) Hope you enjoy these rants and I shall see guys very soon.

Taken from Huffington Post website. Click 101 Fun & Interesting Questions To Perk Up Boring Gatherings for details and more questions :)

My Choice to Commute in KL City

Hey, you beautiful people! How are you? How's your Tuesday so far?

It is 8pm and I just got home from the city. I had a very long day today. I went out with my dad to send my car for a major service. Little did I know, my car has a bigger problem than anybody else's out there that it has to be taken away from me for like, a week. Tops. It is gonna cost me (or I should say, my dad. LOL!) quite a sum but my car needs to do that revamp. So now you know that I will not have a car for a week. My dad is definitely going to take me to places. Sorry, Daddy. Hihi

From the service centre, we have no car to take us to places nor our home. With the Uber app, yes, my life has become a lot easier to go anywhere. I started using Uber since early this year, after I got back from London on March and I have been a regular customer for Uber ever since I touched down in Kuala Lumpur.

I have a car. In fact, I used to drive like a lot back then, but not until recently, I realized that KL is packed with more and more people! And everybody has a car and everybody wants to drive. Hence, the worst traffic. Stop thinking on planning to get to work or places on time during peak hours (7am - 9am & 6pm - 8pm), daily, going in or out of the city.

In order for me not to have headaches and curse words out of my mouth, hence, the Uber driver. Open the Uber app, set the pickup location and the destination, wait for like 2 - 5 minutes, voila! They arrive, you hop on it and let them handle the stress for you. LOL!

Not that I insult those drivers, don't get me wrong, what I meant was, Uber is so convenient, also affordable! And mostly, Uber drivers are friendly and I have to say, they are educated and well-mannered! They treat us like a friend, great topics to talk about, open-minded, they keep the cleanliness of the car, great service, really really know how to drive, etc.

I definitely choose Uber every single time I want to go to places, especially in KL. Either I request for Uber from home or I can just park my car anywhere safe and request for Uber from there. Very easy, very convenient and very efficient and I feel safe too. I would choose Uber every single time over the normal cabs. Yikes, sorry, cab drivers.

Not to say that I have bad experiences with all of cab/taxi drivers, but there are always things that really turn me off when I got into a cab. I mean, even before I got into it! Well for most KL lights, that live in KL/Selangor area or always taking public transports especially cabs/taxis, you have at least experienced one out of all things below:

1) You waited for half an hour under the hot sun with sweaty armpits. So many vehicles on the road yet you see zero of taxi.

2) Or when you see a taxi, your left arm is waving up and down and you let the wind go through your sweaty armpit for like 5 seconds to find out that the taxi is occupied. Embarrassing moment, I should say? Or at least the word "Ish" or "Damn" comes out of your mouth?

3) When the taxi pulls over (like finally!), you bend over at the window (either co-pilot's window or behind the co-pilot's window), to tell the driver your destination, they will say to you, "No no, too far!" or "No no, too near!" and they speeds off?

4) Or when the taxi pulls over and the driver agrees to your destination, they press that button on that black thing on the dashboard and it automatically displays "RM 3:00" and you say to yourself, "I waited for half an hour with sweaty armpits cost me 3 damn bucks?"

5) And then you realized, the car is 100 years old when they changed from gear one, to two, to three. Or when it stops at a traffic light. Or when the car wants to speed off but you feel like you are on the back of a camel.

6) Then you also realized that all taxis smell the same. You know that scent of, the 100 years old cushion, cigarettes odour mixed with the air-conditioner, and the unknown car fragrance that I think most of taxi drivers are using.

7) It is either they are so passive or talkative drivers. I have experienced with the driver that does not say anything except for saying the price shown on that black thing with red numbers for the amount. For the talkative ones, meh, they talk about something that does not interests me. And I also experienced with the perverted ones, and that, is the major reason why I stop taking cabs. I do not feel safe.

8) I personally think that it is expensive and it is not a comfortable or safe nor an easy experience for me.

That is my personal choice and I choose to have the fastest, easiest, safest and affordable way to commute around the city. Let me know in the comments below on how do you think about this blog post and also you can share your experiences (good or bad) with public transportations in your city.

I do not promote any hate mail or whatever, this is my choice, so do respect that. If you have your own choice, then that is nice for you to have at least something that makes you live well :)

- M

Fun Times with My Family

Gooooood morning, everybody! (Malaysia time)

How are you guys doing? Good? I just woke up (yes, I know it is 10 minutes after 12 in the afternoon but let me have the chance to explain first. LOL.) So yesterday, I had the most, well I think it is the most fun and relaxing day I've ever had since last week. Last week, yeah. Relaxing as in lazing around the city, went to the mall and just spent time with my beloved family.

You must think that I'm crazy because hey, nobody ever feels relaxed when they're in the city!

So what happened was, I woke up at 6am, got ready to literally chase after a bus to go to the city. I live in suburb area (a little bit further from KL city), so I went to the city by bus with my mom. She is working in the city so I decided to experience her routine and also to be her bodyguard (Malina to the rescue!). 

I have medical checkups going on at 10am, so I reached at the mall nearby the medical centre at 8am. Two hours early for my 10am appointment, so I went to Starbucks to get a bite to eat. Just chillin' with my Caramel Hot Chocolate and Tuna Sandwich while reading two different newspapers, scrolling through Instagram and read some articles, and it is 10am.

Went to the medical centre for my 10am appointment, was there until 12 in the afternoon, and hung out with Mommy while waiting for my dad and my sister to come and pick us up after Mommy's done with work. I asked my sister to bring my black backpack (that consist of my MacBook, colouring book and colour pencils that I just bought).

Daddy & my sister reached around 3pm, we went for late lunch at the foodcourt while waiting for Mommy. My sister and I did some colouring after we had our meal and I managed to send some CVs to some companies and an hour later, Mommy joined us for her very late lunch.

It was almost 5pm, the traffics in the city were not on our side. Morning and evening time in Kuala Lumpur city never fail to let curse words out of our mouths. Please nod to agree. LOL. There are some expos going on in Mid Valley and this time it is home/renovation exhibition that will go on for 3 days (Friday until Sunday), so four of us decided to go there. Since there were massive traffics happening and we really hate and lazy to drive and get through the traffic, we decided to ride Uber to take us there.

As usual, Uber drivers are very friendly, very efficient and also very punctual, so I have no complains. We have a driver, so we talked for awhile and slept in the next 15 minutes. LOL! An hour later, we reached Mid Valley with the cost of RM45. Yup, that price because of they calculated the time you rode the car.

Reached Mid Valley, went up the top floor for the expo, were there for like an hour or so. We went to The Gardens after, located just beside the Mid Valley mall, to go for my graduation gift hunting! *scream* And finally, I got my Selma Saffiano satchel! *SOL* *ROTF*

For ladies, I think they know how that satchel looks like without having to Google it. For men, I know that you do not have any idea on what the hell is that. So, it is a handbag. It is just a handbag. That's all. HAHAH! I have been eyeing on Selma for quite a time and Daddy agrees to get it for me as my graduation gift. Aww. THANK YOU, DADSY!

Then we went for dinner in Mid Valley, had our pastas and scrumptious desserts and iced teas, and requested for another Uber driver to send us back to where we parked our car at the previous mall. The Uber driver dropped us at the basement parking of the mall and off we go driving back home! The road was super clear, and we got home at midnight. I had fun. Fun times with Daddy, Mommy & Sissy. Alhamdulillah. Yay!

x, Malina

59th Merdeka Eve (It is not midnight just yet. LOL)

 

Hi!

I am having a blast week, staying here, looking out to the view of this iconic building in Kuala Lumpur, just enjoying life with my family. Alhamdulillah, God is giving me the ups now, and I am hoping that the downs that happen in the future won't be so, down low?

It is currently 10.38pm, Tuesday, August 30th. Merdeka eve. Malaysia's Independence Day falls on August 31st, so it means that we have like less than two hours for the Merdeka celebration i.e. the fireworks!

My room is located right in front of the twin towers but I am not sure whether the fireworks can be seen from this window. We went to KLCC Park this evening and happened to see that the place for fireworks stand is too far away from our view. Well, fingers cross that I can see the fireworks from my room! *cries*

So what I did today was...

I had brunch with my family. In-room dining. We had Malaysian cuisine; Chicken Rice & Nasi Lemak. Indulged with some Belgian Chocolate ice cream from Haagen-Dazs. Went back to bed (LOL!) because I had a massive headache.

Woke up at 3.30pm, put on my swimsuit and went to the pool with my sister for an evening dip. Did some laps, backflips and what-not, sunbathing and read our book by the pool and just lounging around. Went back to our room, get changed, had evening snack and went out for a walk in the park. Did some shopping in KLCC, coffee time with my family and went back to our room and voila! Here I am!

There are so many people in KLCC at this moment, everybody is waiting for fireworks to ignite and light the sky with colours and smokes. KL city is going to be loud and full with merry throngs tonight!

Enjoy your merdeka eve and be safe, everybody! Happy 59th Independence Day, Malaysia. We love you.

P/s: I am going to post a blog about being "independent" soon :) Cheers.

Do Your Best, Live Your Best

Listening to: The Chainsmokers - Closer on Spotify

Goooooood morning, everybody! It is currently 9.30am (while I'm typing this) and the temperature this morning is 22 deg Celsius. I am currently in the heart of Kuala Lumpur city, spending time with my loved ones.

Today's venue is a bit different than most of my normal days. I'm at the top of this hotel building, lying down on this full-with-throwpillows perfectly round sofa, with my new black-matte cover MacBook Air, looking out to KL city and I can see mostly the Petronas Twin Towers. I could say that this hotel room offers the best view of KL. Though it is not the nearest to the twin towers, but I can see the whole image from my eye-level/view and my camera can capture everything in one whole screen, so I'm guessing that that is just a perfect distance and angle and view? Whee!

Anyways, HOW ARE YOU?!

Aww, thanks for asking, guys. That is so sweet of you. Not so. LOL! Well everytime somebody asks me that question, I would always go for a safe answer like, "Oh, I'm doing okay! Everything's good, Alhamdulillah. How are you? How are things?", you know just to keep the conversation flows, not just stuck with my stories that the person has to hear because he/she asked just out of nice gestures/manners. Lewlz.

To be told, I am living my life pretty well at the moment. With this not-so-cool-economy-thing happens, I am still unemployed. I have submitted some CVs to some companies (trust me, you can't submit to ALL companies in the country, you know. We have billions.) But looking at the bright side, it doesn't mean that I'm a failure or a loser if I choose not to or do not work for other people. So, after some discussions and millions of thoughts, I have decided I want to work for myself. I want to be my own boss. I have always wanted to have my own business, it doesn't matter what kind of business but, my own stuff. So I have officially soft-launched my Abaya business called, A B A Y A  C U L T U R E you can click the link to go the Instagram account :)

I personally picked out the Abayas myself or a long dress for those who doesn't know what Abaya is, or for those who lives in Malaysia, we call it as Jubah. Yup, Abaya or Jubah or long dress. It is a modest and more decent type-of-dress, long dress, non body-fitting, very flowy, very airy as I pick out the high quality of the fabric, probably the best material for Abaya which are, koshibo fabrics for all-season wears (I pick out some from winter season and some from summer's), high quality crepes and also high quality satin for more formal wear as it is wrinkle-resistant that allows it to flow elegantly for the event.

All of the Abayas are from the Middle-East, mostly from Doha (Qatar), Dubai and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates - UAE). I want the best and I will offer the best to my customers as well. Just check out my Abaya Culture's page to get more ideas on what the heck I was explaining just now. It is still morning, so maybe all of us are in great blur. LOL!

Oh yes! A very exciting event is happening! But I will definitely let you know soon. Hihi.

Aaaaand, I AM FINALLY GRADUATING! IT IS THIS COMING WEEKEND! AHHHHHHHHH!

That is your que to scream. No seriously. You need to scream. Not just that unsettled yay. Come on, do support me. Be happy for me. Just once. Please. YAY! More! Louder!

Thanks for nothing.

Well, YEAH! I am finally graduating! Well, I graduated last year. Duh. But the official ceremony of convocation is finally here. I have the rehearsal going on on that very Friday, and my convocation will be on Sunday, September 4th. OMG, I am so excited! I AM STOKED! Whee! Alhamdulillah, I managed to get through my PhD (pun intended) despite of my love-hate relationship with what I studied. Finishing your IT is not like finishing your Big Mac, man. Well that considered as hard, okay? LOL! It was the most intense years but I managed to graduate. That's good enough. Right? Well, just come if you want to give me a hug or a bouquet of flowers (my fav is Magnolia, FYI) or some cash, or you know, anything. Show up with your face is so much appreciated :)

CAN'T WAIT!

I am busy with hotel-hopping and cafe-hopping now. When you work from home, you can just work anywhere. Basically your life is cool. LOL! Alhamdulillah, massive thank you for the big guy up there. He is the reason why I am here, why I am doing whatever I'm doing right now and also the reason why I am still hustling. Alhamdulillah :)

I want live everywhere, stay at some places for quite a bit, eat more great food, doing some jaunts around Kuala Lumpur, take photos, videos and do some editing and post it on my YouTube channel or my Instagram account, blog about it, sell my Abayas of course and just enjoy life. That's it.

Enjoy life. Don't take it so seriously. You might have missed out one or two but what if it is a very meaningful one? Don't miss anything out anymore. Because life gives you so much that sometimes you can't take it back. Do your best and live your best.

It' already 10.30am and I have been blogging for one hour straight! Time for me to go swimming! Hasta luego!

X, Malina

Malina x Penang

Abaya Culture | Coming Soon!

Follow @AbayaCulture on Instagram

Onde-onde Project

Hello!

Call me obsessed, because I am. I am obsessed with Onde-onde. LOL! For Malaysians, I think most of you will immediately recognize the look and the shape and also the taste. Onde-onde or in other name; Buah Melaka is one of Malay desserts or we call it as "kuih" that only can be seen or at least has demands during the Ramadhan month.

I am not sure for other months because honestly I only see it during Ramadhan. It tastes very sweet for it has palm sugar or gula Melaka (hence, the name of Buah Melaka) in the center, covered by chewy texture of wheat flour and glutinous rice flour combined. It is very light, soft green in colour produced by the Pandan leaves (blended and filtered) juice. Some of the sellers put some green colouring to have this very neon-y green to attract the buyer to buy it (I assume), but I would prefer the natural way of using only the Pandan leaves for the colouring. Boiled it and roll it on pile of grated coconut and voila! You can either serve it hot from the boiler or you can also serve it cold (it takes about an hour in the fridge for the Onde-onde to cool off and to have the cold gula Melaka inside).

I decided to make it my own yesterday because I have bought so many Onde-onde from different sellers but they never done or make it right. Its either the flour is too thick, the sugar is too little and sometimes there is only flour but without the sugar, sometimes it is too big you can't even put everything in your mouth and sometimes, it tastes, funny. Hence, make it my own is the best way for me to stop complaining. My mother taught me how to do it and frankly I almost lost my finger for cutting the palm sugar (LOL!). Just a minor cut, but I'm alright! This is the easiest thing ever. Seriously.

The recipe? You can just Google it, its everywhere. But this is my own version of Onde-onde. The serve is, for 2 pax, about 20 pieces of rice balls in total. Here you go.

You need:

2 spoon of wheat flour

250g of glutinous rice flour

5 Pandan leaves

Gula Melaka or palm sugar

Coconut shavings

The steps:

1) Blend the Pandan leaves together with some water to produce juice. Pour through a fine sieve strainer, discard solid and put aside the juice. Onto the dough!

2) Mix wheat flour and glutinous rice flour together in a bowl. Add slowly the Pandan juice into the mixed bowl until it forms a kneadable ball of dough. If you like the colour to be more vibrant green, you can add artificial food colouring.

3) Make a small ball and press it to put the palm sugar inside (at the center) and I like it sweet and it is better to have a lot of sugar at the center, so put a lot of sugar, and roll it again to make a sphere. P/s: Avoid using your palm when rolling the rice ball, it will soften the dough more quickly.

4) Once you ready to have rice balls, heat up the pot of water to boiling. Drop those balls into the boiling water, let it cook until it floats. Once it floats, pick it up using strainer, drain well, and roll it in a plate of grated coconut or coconut shavings.

5) Place it on a very nice plate, serve it. Let it cool if you like the center to be chill. Whee!

Easy! Enjoy!

Clockwise: Wheat flour, Pandan leaves, glutinous rice flour, coconut shavings, gula Melaka

Mixing it!

Voila!

Malina, x

Eurasian?

Eur·a·sian

ˌyo͝orˈāZH(ə)n/

adjective

adjective: Eurasian

1. 1.

   of mixed European (or European-American) and Asian parentage.
2. 2.

   of or relating to Eurasia.

noun

noun: Eurasian; plural noun: Eurasians

1. 1.

   a person of mixed European (or European-American) and Asian parentage.

I took a quiz on BuzzFeed called "23 Problems Only Eurasian People Actually Understand" posted by Sarah Fung and oh my word, I can relate to all of those problems. I don't think I'm a Eurasian though, I still think that I am an Asian because I live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and I can speak Bahasa Malaysia and I eat all those Malaysian and Asian food, so that makes me think that I am way more of an Asian than all of you Eurasian people. Well thing is, out of 23 problems, I can relate to most of problems there are in that quiz, especially...

3. You’re tired of people saying, “Where are you from? Yeah, but where are you really from?”

Heck yes. Not just tired of when people ask me, it even got more tiring to answer and explain it in great details because I can't just answer with a short, concise word for having parents who are not originally from this country (I should say?) and mixed of here and there parentage. My ex-classmates and even my lecturers and supervisors were all curious and ask

5. And you never know which box to tick when you fill out surveys with questions about race.

So I ended up just tick "Malay" because my name sounds like a Malay name, my face looks like a Malay face and my friends are majority Malays. Lewlz.

9. You’re tired of the myth that Eurasians make for successful models.

Umm, have you look me in the face? Well, exactly.

11. Shopping for skin care products and makeup is hella confusing.

Umm, yes. Every single time especially for makeup products like foundations and compact powder. They just couldn't find the right skin tone for my face *cry out loud*

12. When you go on holiday in Asia or South America, everyone speaks to you like you’re from there.

Ahh this. Yes. I went to Paris last February and I was wandering around in front of the Notré-dame Cathedral with my sister, then this group of South American I reckon, they came to me and asked, "Are you from Brazil? De donde es usted?" and I told them, no I'm not Brazilian, you must be mistaken. Then they were like, "Really? Dios mio. I thought you're from Brazil. We are from Brazil. You really look like one!" Well, there you go.

13. But at the same time, everyone in your home city thinks you’re a tourist.

I did my degree year in one of private institutions in Malaysia, that consists of so many nationalities, its like the Earth populations in one campus (not literally, my campus isn't that big but enough to fit all nationalities there. LOL!). We were all unite in a campus and my friends from Kazakhstan once asked me my nationalities and my ethnicity. They thought I'm not local and a foreigner like them too! Same goes to my local friends (Malay, Chinese, Indian), they also thought that I'm not Malaysian. They got this crazy idea of calling me "anywhere but here" girl. Hahah!

16. Or that you’re “not really Asian”.

Yes, I get that a lot too. I can't help but to wonder (still) what my exact race is. Racially mixed parentage left you confused, well, most of the time. My father is half Persian and half Chinese. My other is half Chinese and half Malay. That means, I am half Chinese, one quarter Persian and one quarter Malay. No? It's easy to just say that I am 100% Malay due to my looks, my name, where I live, what I eat, what language I speak and I speak Bahasa Malaysia fluently (I think), my accent, where most of my relatives are currently at, where my friends are (most of them are Malaysians). But whatever it is, I am one of a kind. I am one in 7,404,976,783 people of the world.

Malina, x

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