Untitled Part Deux

I admit defeat. Restlessness (and the desperate craving for caffeine) has gotten the best of me, and when images of a warm cup of cafe mocha drifts in and out of my peripheral vision, I was swift to get myself change and out of the house and back within an hour. And now, I am happily sipping on a regular cup from SF and had just finished swallowing down a 6-inches of Chicken Pizzola.

I love KL. I love living in KL. I love living within 2 LRT stations away from KLCC. I love the fact that the nearest LRT station to my home is only a 5-minutes walk away. And I love the fact that I can get dress, hop on the LRT, go to KLCC, get myself a Cafe Mocha and a subway and some cookies, and be back within the hour. If I am disciplined enough, I'm pretty sure I can do all those within 30-minutes if you dared me. I think I'm good enough to map out the most efficient route through KLCC and back and still be able to miss the lunch-hour crowd.

Oh. Sorry. What's the purpose of this entry again? Oh yes... me... avoiding studying. Yet again. But at least I've made some progress! I have now opened my notes and my past year exam papers spread all over my study tables in the hopes that if ever my parents (ie. my mum) passes by, they'd believe that I have studied enough to earn myself a running-break to get myself some much needed caffeine.

Oh! And you know what? I think I will take myself on that trip to Laos after all - despite my husband's objections to me travelling solo. Because I figured that I don't want to live my life in regret and grow to despising my husband for not letting me go in the first place. I'm sure he'll come round to it once I've landed safely back at the airport. I know he's not convinced that my safety is secured there but... I want to do this. There is no point in me going back-and-forth anymore when my gut instinct is yelling at me to "GO!".

Untitled

I'm coming into my third week of my supposed 'study' leave, exams in 2 days and... I've yet to touch a book. Well... okay... I touched it. Even spared a minute to flip through the notes, took a glance at the past year papers and even carried the books anywhere I go... but I have not officially studied. (My husband is going to kill me if he finds out!)

Instead, it is almost 1pm on this sunny Tuesday morning, I'm sitting at my study table dressed in the same pajamas for the last 2 nights, and nursing a bad headache for starring at the laptop for 10 hrs yesterday. And I'd like to blame Disney Channel for that. And my sister - for putting me through re-runs of Wizards of Waverly Place, Sonny with a Chance and iCarly (ok... this one belongs to Nick). Which... I've a feeling that she'll end up turning the fingers back at me since I was the one person responsible for getting her hooked on these tv shows in the first place. Yes... I still love my Disney Channel... not so much Nickelodeon... and sometimes Cartoon Network if any of the DC Comics are on.

And my leave suppose to end this week, but I'm so tempted to extend it some another week or so. Why? Because work is depressing and I still have a ticket to Laos, for which I have yet to decide whether I should go to or not. *sigh* This time last year was pretty good wasn't it? Here I was... absolutely ignoring my exams (yet again) and all pumped up to go on my first solo backpacking excursion through Vietnam. I still want to go there again and I still have an open invitation from Mr Bin for another motor bike excursion through Ho Chi Minh Trail... *sigh*... I wish I could just quit it all... leave this all behind me for awhile and go off where nobody can find me.

Second Nature

Everytime my study leave crops up in my schedule, I'd always start making travelling plans in my head. I can't help it. It's second nature for me to daydream.

So... I have another study leave coming up in a weeks time, and in all honesty, I'm kinda desperate at the moment to escape the drama in my life and just have some 'Me' time. I want to go on and doing things in a somewhat familiar town/city at my own pace and in my own head, with nary an interuption from real life. Because real life sucks at the moment.

And so... it has also become somewhat second nature for me to hang around airasia.com and try to find some cheap tickets to anywhere. Really. I'm not fussy. But I'm no longer a free woman as I'd once imagined myself to be. I am now a Mrs. and that means having to ask my husband for permission anywhere I go. Especially when I plan on skipping this town o' mine.

And my choices has now been reduced to one single place. It's the only place that he'd allow me to go by myself. And I suppose I should just be thankful that he even lets me go anywhere by myself anymore. And now, I'm looking up places to hang around in Singapore. Would've preferred to hang-out in Phnom Penh or Bangkok but... I'll take whatever I can get.

PS: I registered for NB 15km run this Sunday and I havent been running for 2 full weeks now! Should I even go??

Just a short update

I know I haven't updated in awhile but I'm still running on the adrenaline from my very first Quarter Marathon Run of the year!! And what's more... I did my best time by running 10km in just under an hour. Woot!

So a full detailed entry on my run will come up once I get some pictures and rest and maybe some time away from my hectic schedule for the coming week.

Oh! And also do remind me to write-up a review on "Remember Me" - a new movie by that guy that plays that gay vampire dude in Twilight - that has also been one of the most interesting movie that I've seen this year that has yet to make me cross my eyes! Oh yes... if you haven't watch it, do give it a go in the cinema first before you come back to reading my review on that. You might also be lucky to share my sentiments on the excessive fan-girliness that occurs in the showroom.

My Runs Updated!

Check out My Runs list on the right >> Woo hoo! Updated! After 7 non-running months and gaining some weights since last Raya, and with WeeDay in 6 weeks time... well.. you can imagine my desperation to get back in shape. And I just started joining RPM classes, and survived my very first RPM Challenge yesterday. So I'm game-on to start some serious work here!

Plus. I'm also set to go on Energizer Night Run in Cyberjaya come this 27th March 2010. It'll be just a 10k run for me, but I'm hoping to make it in Top 100 this time around. Any luck?

Neway. Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm neck-deep in work and wedding plans. Just came back from Taman Negara last Tuesday with my girlfriends and it was great! Hopefully once I get the pictures from my friends, I'll be able to update some more about the trip. =)

It's happening!

I'm on a good track to fulfilling my 2010 dreams!!! Just found out today that my month-long leave application has been approved and the very next thing I did was buy my ONE way ticket to Vientienne, Laos!! Woohoo!!

The holiday is still a long way away but I'm already giddy with the excitement. And I've already figured out at least half of my travel itinerary, up till Bangkok but I've yet to decide where to go from there. Should I head on east and trek through Cambodia and visit some friends at Vietnam again? Or should I head south to Bali? And I still need to fit a trip to Mount Kinabalu in there somewhere.... hmmm.... ideas guys?

HAPPY 2010!!!

Greetings from the NEW YEAR!! Yes... it is 1230am and I spent my new year in bed, typing this blog entry. I'm too exhausted to even try and watch KLCC's fireworks from the front porch of the house, or even more, try to make plans with friends for a night out. I've no stamina for that anymore. It's been a long day - was on my 2-inch heels for most part of the day and barely had time for any food or drinks consumption. And it was emotionally draining towards the end of it, and I feel bad that I snap at someone when I was at my worst point of day.

But at least it's over now, and I can finally take this moment to breathe and look forward to sleeping in the new year and wake-up all fresh-faced with nary an eyebag or panda eyes. A nice big hot brunch is my great inspiration to get me out of bed early enough to see the sun still in the sky. And maybe even a humongous mug of coffee. Oh yes please....

Chinoz anyone?

and...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Glee! Glee! Oh yes indeed!

New Year is around the corner and it's that time of year that you would reflect on what you've done or achieved in the past year, and look forward for things to come in the coming year up ahead. And let me get straight to the point here that I will not be making up new year's resolution and you shall not be expecting me to write a blog entry titled '2010 Resolution(s)'. Why? For the simple reason that I don't believe in making resolutions once every year. For me, I personally feel that resolutions need to be done when and where needed and when clarity of mind is at its brightest. Plus, it's kinda pointless to make resolutions when you're planning to break it on the 2nd day.

But I must say that I have a lot of things to look forward to in 2010! It'll be massive. Life-altering. And you know what? I can't wait to get the new year rolling (except for that massive heap of workload. Do you see it? Oh... you don't? It's right there on top of that pile of ssss.... *ehem*).

One of the things I'll be most looking forward to is THIS. And I've already set the balls in motion, taking full-advantage of some new schemes introduced by HR. (Glee! Glee! Oh yes indeed!) I just need to get some paperwork done, one very (very) important signature and I'll be free to start making travel arrangements!

(Glee! Glee! Oh yes indeed!)

And I've been doing some thinking... pondering... questioning the meaning of life(??)... and it led me to ask myself: What motivates me to do this? And I was surprised that it's not a matter of discovering the world, exploring new cultures and making connections with other people. But it's simply because I want to do something that I've never done before. Because... really, that's where all the excitement are.

So, this led me to another question: What are the things that I have never done before but had dreamt of doing? And it became easy for me to recollect all those fantastical dreams I had when I was much younger, and the sort of things that I was very hard-pressed on doing. One of those was performing volunteering work under Raleigh International. Let's name this a call of fancy, which occured to me when I was in secondary school and dreamt of going to Africa and doing humanitarian work. And it was something that I held tightly close to my chest right till I was in university, and now I can't remember what made me gave up so easily. Oh wait... I know... it was because I needed to raise at least GBP2,000 to go on a 4-weeks expedition to Africa. That was a lot of money that I don't have.

And I'm not saying that I have that amount of money now, but I realize that I have been presented with yet another opportunity here, before it's too late (FACT: RI expedition programmes is intended for those aged 17-24. Guess where I'm at?). And even if I can't make it for Raleigh, there are tons of other charity organizations out there that will always need a helping hand. And here I was thinking... Hey! Why don't we just kill 2 birds with 1 stone?

So now I'm considering this: Open Mind Projects - a non-profit organization that helps communities across Thailand-Cambodia-Laos-Burma borders. I'm sure someone out there will be thinking,"Why not do something closer to home?" But hey! 2 birds? 1 stone? Plus... the value of community works transcends currency exchange.

And I want to help a cause that I'm passionate about - a topic that needs a lot of self-reflection - and an organization that is legit and can contribute the most value to a community. So further research is required.

PS: If I do decide to go ahead with this and wants to hold a charity drive, will you help out and contribute? Just curious...

A Break

I'm contributing to the nation's current standing statistic that a Malaysian reads an average 2 books per year. So, last Sunday, in the hopes of escaping textbooks and mock exam papers, I went to Kinokuniya and splurged on a few books:

I'm not a romantic but I'm such a huge fan of Jane Austen. Besides Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion is my next favourite and I just found out that there's a re-telling of the story from the male protagonist's point-of-view written by Amanda Grange. So I googled and found Captain Wentworth's Diary, and my luck... Kinokuniya has stock! At this point in time, I've already finished reading the book and it's such a refreshing time spent reading it from the hero's POV. Of course, nothing can beat Jane Austen... so I'm planning to re-read Persuasion again after this.

And you know... if I can't convince myself that I need to go to the gym tonight, I'm thinking of having a Jane Austen movie marathon. *sigh* I love english period movies...

Bad News Came Early

I suppose I shouldn't be too surprise when the one news that I've been trying to avoid has eluded me yet again. Everyone is moving on except for me. And as much as I had tried to convinced myself that I choose to be where I am now, it still pains me to not receive the news. I'm not bitter, but I'm just feeling horribly dissappointed and crushed. But I deserve this... right?

(yeah... yeah... yeah... I'm being totally cryptic today. But if you happens to be working in the same building as I am, then you'd know what I'm talking about.)

So... now what? My only option here is to look forward and move on. There is really no point for me to just sit here and sulk.  I've other things going on for me right now and I need to focus on that. Perhaps it is just simply my luck that career objectives are not top in my priority. I'm pretty much a hippie in the sense that above all else, I strive for personal achievements and satisfactions - be it getting myself tied down to only one man for the rest of my life or travelling the world solo. I want to make these happen to prove a point to myself. So... climbing the corporate ladder is not my thing. The more reasons for me to go out there and find my thing... something that I can be passionate about, instead of mulling over the various possibilities on how to avoid work.  

What does 2010 have in store?

New year is a long way away and my plate is currently full with THREE main agendas needing my immediate attention, but obviously my mind is not rooted to the 'Now' but rather thinking far-off to the 'Future'. Well... let's just say 7 months into the future.

And I'm aware that by saying what I'm about to say out loud - here, in a public space - I'll be stacking up people's expectations for what I've planned up ahead. And it's a toss-up between it being a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, it'll be more difficult for me to back-out of this plan when so many people are pushing and supporting me on it. On the flipside, the high expectations may lead to a 'stage fright' and a horrible (horrible!) untimely death of my plans.

But I'm just going to throw this out there anyways. I've built a momentum for myself this 2009 and I am planning to keep it going while I still can.

So dear friends and readers... I'm planning for another backpacking excursion this 2010!! The dates will be split between May (a short break before the exams) and July (the main event!), and I've roughly have the routes mapped out in my head but it's all still up in the air, depending on how much budget I have for airplane travel.

Will this be a solo excursion? Mmm.... that... actually depends on what my future hubby have to say about it. He's not entirely happy that I want to go backpacking on my own but I can be quite stubborn and very insisting. Plus, since my trip to Vietnam, I've been receiving quite a few requests from friends who wants to join in along. So....

I present to you....

Curious where all the green balloons are? Well, let me show you:

Getting my scuba license at Pulau Perhentian...

Scaling the heights of majestic Mt Kinabalu...

Visiting the Golden Triangle of Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Mae Sai

Discovering Vientiane...

Tubing down river with the beautiful backdrop of Vang Vieng...

Falling in love with tranquil Luang Prabang...

Cycling through the rice terrace of Ubud, Bali...

And soaking up the view of breath taking Lombok.

Let me emphasis yet again, that this is all in my head for now. I'm not even sure if I can save up enough money to go to all these places but... I really really do want this to happen. And if only I could squeeze in the Phillipines into my schedule, I'd be able to realize my dreams of travelling the entire SEA countries before I shift my eyes on Europe and USA. Crossing fingers!

Breakfast of Champions

Wish I could share with you all a picture of my breakfast this morning, because it is made of total awesome-ness that I deserve a nobel prize for coming up with such a combination. In fact, it is so good that it now comes in 3rd in my list of 'All-Time Favourite Breakfast of Champions'. Yes. There is such a list. Somewhere. (And you get a cookie if you could correctly guess the first 2)

I may not have a camera or a phone camera to share this exact moment, but I'll make do with whatever stock photos I've got.

A tall skinny double-shot latte, nice and warm in my tumbler.

(In all honesty, I only drink coffee in the morning when I'm desperate.

Only had 3-hrs worth of winks last night.)

+

Oreo cakester!!!

Two of these badboys are crammed with 250cal and 23g of sugar.

If I can't get my sugar fix with these, I don't know what will!

Is it worth all the hours I need to compensate at the gym? Definitely!

Temptation Island

I've been staring at this page for too long now...

5 days/5 nights Phuket trip to start off my leave. I'm sooo tempted to go but I feel like I should save money for ... err... this. What say'est you, dear friends? I'm desperate for some tender, hard-loving opinions here!

500 Days of Summer (Part 2)

Reasons why I love this movie - after watching it:
(kinda makes you wonder when do I have the time to watch it since the last entry. *wink*)

1. The voice-over

Oh yes... it deserves a second mention just because I can. Seriously though. Wouldn't it be awesome if I have that voice inside of my head, trying to talk rational sense into my (mostly) irrational puny little brain? I know I'd definitely listen to it a lot more than the current (annoying) voice in my head.

2. Non-linear storyline

It's not something new, but at least it's not something of the norm either. And when you have 500 Days of Summer to go through, there is just sooo much to filter through. I really like how they just skip back and forth as they please (which kinda reminds me of a movie but I can't remember which one... ). Sometimes, there's a connection between the scenes. Sometimes it's just something random. But despite the jumping around, you do get the progression of the movie - because at the end of the day, you're watching it in Tom's POV (that's Joseph Gordon Levitt to you) and he's just filtering through his memories to find the bright spots... or the bad ones as well.

Because that's just how our memories works - everything is just a jumble of scenes and people and conversations and things and events, meshed together through a sieve, and randomly conjuring at any given point of time.

3. Music

Awesome! Need. To. Go. Find. The. OST.

I love movies where music plays a big part of it. Some of my best finds normally crops up from movies, and I'd google the band online and voila! This one is of no exception although... looking at the tracklist, I have absolutely no clue of who they are (for the exceptions of Simon & Garfunkel, and Wolfmother) - which is a good thing! Cuz only You-Know-Who knows how tired I am of my playlist.

I'll try and dig-up some Youtube clips of a few songs once I have the time.

4. Joseph Gordon Levitt & Zooey Deschanel

By right, both of these names should have their very own bulleted point, but I wanna save the last one for something else.

I love Zooey simply because she's quirky and pretty and I adore the combination of black hair-blue eyes. She's such a sweetheart, and she's been quite consistent with the type of characters she's good at playing at. But it doesn makes me wonder though.. if she's capable of playing other than that quirky, out-of-this-world kinda girl.

Gordon is adorable, and it's a pity I haven't seen him since Brick. He plays the bumbling, nerdy, half-loser/half-nerd persona that is Tom like the brother I've never had. You can easily sympathise with him, with those doeey eyes and downturn mouth, yet also feel like bashing him in the head for being so naive and optimistic. It's a love-hate relationship that you can cherish.

... ONE Reason Why I Dont.

5. "This is not a love story."

I should've taken the voice seriously when he opened the movie with that line. I assumed that it was 'a-love-story-that-is-not-a-love-story'.... but in reality... it actually is 'not-a-love-story'. Watch the movie and you'll know what I mean. All I can say is, I'm not a big fan of the ending but I'm sure there's a valuable lesson in there somewhere that is so totally lost on me on the grounds that I can't relate.     

500 Days of Summer

Reasons why I love this movie - even without watching it yet:

1. Ok. Watch this trailer first and stop at 0:38.

Do you get it? Dude! It has awesome voice-over! The best I've heard this year! (shove over Up!) It makes even the most cliche opening ("This is the story of boy meets girl.") sounds awesome! In fact, that same voice is telling me to write this list in the first place! That same voice is what made me sit-up and pay attention in class. Don't you ever wish you had a lecturer with this sort of voice? I'd ace that class for sure.

2. Ok. Now rewind and watch the trailer again, and this time stop at 0:32.

Did your heart leapt to your throat at the very same moment the Boy (most probably) does to? - or was that just me? Now that is what I call 'A Moment'. And I'm pretty sure every single person who has ever been in love has had such moment(s) before. I know I do. Now doesn't that makes you want to root for the Boy to get the Girl?

3. "You should know up front that this is not a love story."

Yes. The voice is speaking to me again. But doesn't that line catch your attention enough to be curious? Plus, I'm a sucker for a 'love-story-that-is-not-a-love-story'. 2009 have been ridden with bad (on the verge of crappy) love story - be it romcom or drama. Let's have a change of pace for once!

4. It is Sundance approved.

Not that it matters much anyway, but hey! If the cynical critics would have a go at this, I'd say "Why not?"

5. It's like an Arthouse Movie.... but not really.

We get a lot of that nowadays - big budget movies made in such a way to make it look 'artsy' or 'indie'. It get's confusing but I still like to pretend like I am one of those movie snobs who only watches Casablanca, old black-n-white movies, foreign films and indie production - just so that I could wear all fitting black clothes and smoke with a long filter and talk with a French accent.

Eh... no? I thought that's what most theatre people do?

But for real though.. it does have that 'artsy' quality to it and the narrative of the storyline reminds me of 'The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' - which happens to be the 'love-story-that-is-not-a-love-story' in my list. Hmm.. I wonder if this movie that top that?

Ok. I definitely have a date with Zooey and Joseph this weekend! If you're interested to join me, do drop me a line. But if not, it is currently on limited (and exclusive) viewing @ TGV KLCC till 28th October 2009.

New addition to the family!

I've set-up a new blog! This is what you would refer to as a classic case of 'itchy-fingers'.

Random day-to-day entries will still be posted here, but I'm thinking that I need an entire space to vent to ... ehem... a certain future event. Do read up all about it @

Of Apples & Lemons

Bangkok: Condoms and err... where's the Cabbages?

On the 5th day of the month of Syawal, I packed my (relatively) empty bag (yes... singular) and headed out to Bangkok for the long weekend with a few friends from office. And our purpose of this trip is for one thing and one thing only: SHOPPING!! (Are you surprised?)

It's not hard to narrow down places of interests once we've set out our agenda for this trip. And even then, 3.5 days is still not enough! Sure... we covered Suan Lum Market... Chatuchak Market... Siam Square... MBK... and walked till our feet swells and turned purple and blue and violently protested every alternate step we took and till our purse begged(!) to be put down. But we still didn't get to a chance to go through the wholesale area of Pratunam or stroll down the streets of Chinatown or just soak up the atmosphere of Khao San Road. And this is already my 3rd trip here. Even if given a week, I don't think I'd be able to fully experience Bangkok.

Anyways....

I  managed to get hold of Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok (after a few recommendations) and it is heaven-sent! Full of colourful crayon doodles of the streets and river and shopping malls and markets and restaurants (etc... etc...) of Bangkok, it also includes useful tips of note-worthy places to go. I find it especially useful when trying to decide places to eat.

My friends and I went to the legendary Cabbages & Condoms on our first night...

 It was such a great place for a dinner - tables lined up in the gardens, overlooked by shady trees twinkled with fairy lights...

Rice served square...

Of course, it aint a complete meal without a serving of tomyam. This one was quite good, although not the best I've had in Bangkok.

Deep-fried fish which was fresh and not overly cooked, topped with mango salad...

Lukewarm red rubies was not the highlight of the night.

Oh look! They gave us mint with our receipts!

What? You're telling me this is not edible??

They named it 'Cabbages & Condoms' for a reason...

... although I'm still not sure about the Cabbages. Hmm...

Spied this picture in the halls on our way out. It's too cute not to be given a mention.

And of course, a night here will not be complete without a presence with the infamous Captain Condom!

(yes... he is wearing nothing but condoms and pills)

Well... it is an educational restaurant after all. So we took a moment to do some self-learning.

(notice that the pictures includes girl-boy, boy-boy & girl-girl examples)

Hang on there. More of Bangkok coming soon!

Hare-brained

Okay. You know what? Call me crazy but I swear there's a hare-brained scheme hopping around in my head, making a dent in my rational (rational!) skull. And now I can't think straight. I need help!

Here's the deal: I've a study leave due this November for 5 weeks - 2 weeks of studying + 2 weeks for exams + 1 week of free & easy. Now, my hare-brain of a scheme is suggesting that I take the first week of studying elsewhere. And I'm talking about just spending 7 days in a Quiet-Place-that-is-not-KL and actually study. Ok. I was thinking of doing both studying and a teeny-bit of travelling. But I'm serious when I say that I want to study! Only 'You-know-who' knows how much I need it.

My criteria for the place in mind must be quiet. It must not be that interesting of a place that would make me feel compel to travel the entire time I am there. And the cost of living must be cheap - including airfare - because I'm setting a budget here.

The few places that came to mind happens to be beachtown areas, which includes....

1. Krabi, Thailand

2. Phuket, Thailand

3. Bali, Indonesia

4. Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia (just keeping my options open)

And I've looked up AA and the air tickets for these places are quite reasonable. Trying to look up some homestays/hostels that would be reasonably cheap and comfy enough for me stay in for a week. But... I dunno... do you think I should go ahead with this?

Morning Coffee vs Late-Night-Cuppa

Do you know one of the things that I miss most during the fasting month? Having a good cup of coffee in the morning. It just drives me crazy (bordering on lunacy!) whenever I pass by a Starbucks or SF in the morning on my way to office and the smell of freshly ground roasted coffee permeates through the air, provoking my senses in more ways than one, and with no absolute consideration to my addiction - seducing me with its full bodied aroma - that just makes me sigh and melt into a puddle of goo with just a whift.

Today, I crumbled. Right down to my knees, (almost) begging the barista for:

"Onegrandelowfatvanillalatteextrashot."
**blink**blink**
"Please."

Sure. It satiates that greedy monster in me and guilt that conscience of mine for downing a cup full of empty calories (and skipping the gym - again). BUT it's still not the same as having that particular brew of coffee first thing in the morning. It doesn't evoke that same brand of courage that makes it bearable enough to pull you through the day. Instead, all a late-nite-cuppa (LNC) does to you is to be your only companion as you try to work through the night shift, a small badge of courage against that dreaded feeling of having to meet a deadline. And LNC tends to not be a loyal friend, especially when you need it the most. It'll abandon you without much of a warning, to fend for yourself against that feind - sleep.

A Baking Project

You see... I had this "P.R.O.J.E.C.T." that I had made up in my head - to bake my own cookies and unearth the ever elusive domestic goddess in me and everyone will bow at my feet by just a simplest lick of my cookie crumbs. That's how good I was expecting my cookies to be. I had poured over my Green&Blacks cookbook and scavenge through sosososo many foodblogs for recipes. And now, 4 days and 2 batches of cookies later I've come to a simple conclusion.

FACT: I hate roll-out cookies.

(and roll-out cookies hates me)

I'm not even going to bother sharing pictures more or less cookies with you. And I don't want to re-live those moments - those precious precious hours slaving in the kitchen! - by recapping it here. So there. I shall leave it buried and gone. Out of sight, out of mind. I think I should just stick to cupcakes and muffins and drop cookies.

A successfull attempt: flourless chocolate cupcake

(recipe courtesy of Donna Hay)