A Sobering Message

This is Jacqueline Saburido before September 19, 1999.






This is the car Jacqueline was in when she
was hit by a drunk 18-year old student.






This is Jacqueline today.


Early on Sunday morning September 19, 1999, Jacqui - then 20 years old - and four friends were on their way home from a birthday party. Reggie Stephey, an 18-year-old high school student, was on his way home from drinking beer with some buddies. On a dark road on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, Reggie's SUV veered into the Oldsmobile carrying Jacqui and the others. Two passengers in the car were killed at the scene and two were rescued. Within minutes, the car caught fire. Jacqui was pinned in the front seat on the passenger side. She was burned over 60% of her body; no one thought she could survive. But Jacqui lived. Her hands were so badly burned that all of her fingers had to be amputated. She lost her hair, her ears, her nose, her left eyelid and much of her vision. She has had more than 50 operations since the crash and has many more to go.


In June 2001 Reggie Stephey was convicted of two counts of intoxication manslaughter for the deaths of Jacqui's two friends. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $20,000. ~ www.helpjacqui.com


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Jacqueline Saburido is an amazing woman. I saw her on the Oprah show a few days ago and was deeply touched and saddened by what she had to say. I cried when I saw her interview and I don't usually cry when I watch TV. The thing that touched me most about Jacqui was her positive outlook on life and her willingness to forgive. She accepts the way she looks and only allows herself 5 minutes a day to feel sorry for herself and cry. She also doesn't harbour any hatred towards Reggie Stephey or think of him as an evil person, just someone who made the wrong decision one fateful morning.


Let Jacqui's story be a lesson to all of us. We all love to have a good time and more often than not, friends and alcohol seem like the perfect combination. But let's be honest here, lots of us have made or allowed someone else to make the same decision Reggie Stephey made that morning. We've allowed our friends to drive home a little drunk or convinced our own friends that we were sober enough to drive. I guess the problem with most of us is, we take life for granted and think that the bad stuff only happens to other people, never to ourselves.


Well, I'd hate for this to sound like a public service announcement but I really hope these pictures make us think twice about the responsibility that comes with drinking or driving. Remember, it's all fine and dandy if you get into an accident and die but what happens if you end up paralyzed or disfigured like Jacqui or worse, end up paralyzing, disfiguring or killing someone else? I doubt any one of us would want to be in Jacqueline Saburido's or Reggie Stephey's position so think about it the next time you're planning to drink and drive.




Want to know more about Jacqueline's life before and after the accident? You can download the full story here.

Weekend, Pet Peeves and What not.

I think I am going to be sick. I have a huge fat migraine and I feel like throwing up. Light is killing me, so writing and staring at this screen is not helping...but I will survive! See what I do just so you know what an exciting weekend I've had??


Well actually I didn't have all too an exciting one...


On Friday I met up with my friend for dinner. I had cherry glazed duck for my entree and a french martini to drink. I could have drunk 10 of them, but I didn't want to look like an alcoholic. I have friends whom I can cry with, some whom I can get drunk and act silly with, some who are just movie friends, some eating friends, etc...I was with the latter.


The duck was delicious though, so tender and not fatty like some sold by the chinese stores here. It's hard to get good duck in the city. Oh, back to my dinner...for dessert, we shared a creme brulee. YUM!


Then on Saturday, I met up with another friend and her son at the Cherry Blossom festival in Japantown. Her bf was helping out at this booth which was giving out free sake. Yes, you guessed it - she's my drinking friend. Anyway, the weather was great, nice and hot especially after a week of fog and rain. Nothing like some sake (did I mention free??) while basking in the sun.


That's about my weekend I guess! I used to be a lot more fun I think. But as I've gotten older, I am just happy staying home, writing my blog, reading a book, watching a movie. I remember when I used to crave going out on Friday and Saturday nights....AH! Those were the days of calling each and every friend to find out where everyone was heading to that night, spending hours primping, choosing what to wear (showing some skin was always a plus), etc.


Now it's a different story. I still go out once in awhile to have a good time but I drink less (shut up Sara!), don't really care which is the hippest spot to be at and less skin is best.


I sound like a fuddy-dud but really, if you've gone out to clubs, etc...don't you think it's about who's prettier, who's wearing the tightest top, who's showing more leg, etc... Okie, I mean you meet friends and you're in great company, but who are you kidding? It's still about who's wearing what, etc... AHHHHH!!!!!! I just want to wear my baggy t-shirt and shorts with my oh-so comfy "ah-por" sandals. It's too stressful to go out. Wearing what I wear I'd probably get "the body scan" these days.


You know, that look where someone (usually of the same sex) scans you from head to toe. Ugh! I hate that. Who's to say they're better than I am? Damn it, they're not! It irritates the hell outta me when they do that. Just one of those little things that bug me...this brings me to my pet peeves!


Here are just some of them:
* wearing a sweater in midday heat just cos you think it's fashionable (you're not)
* wearing your sunglasses indoors or on the top of your head just cos you think it's fashionable (you're not)
* cell phones ringing in the theater, at church, places where you know you should have shut that damn thing off
* blogs that you've read about 100 times and you just don't understand what they're saying because they're grammatically rong
* dressing from head to toe in branded clothes, and you know it's branded cos the logos are blatantly displayed infront of you, or worst still, they'll tell you what they are (without you asking)
* too much perfume ( I used to be guilty! I've learned less is more, unless of course you have bad BO)
* if you didn't know that "rong" is wrong
* renting a movie like "Babe" just cos you thought it was some supermodel's biographical movie only to find out it's about a pig (this is true, i didn't make it up!)
* telling people you're nice, kind, patient, generous, etc...except you're really not. You should let others realize or decide or tell you
* eating and talking at the same time - results in spit everywhere and not a very pretty sight for the one you're talking to
* wiggling her bottom as she walks in her short skirt or short shorts thinking she's-all-that, cute, etc...only she doesn't realize she's got the dreaded "toilet seat" mark (okie, this should probably go into the "hahaha, that's for body scanning me, you stupid B*tch" list)

To be continued....my migraine is nagging me :((what are your pet peeves? feel free to repeat, so I know I am not alone!)

The Pit(s)

I am super exhausted today! I decided to stay up to do my assignment last night and slept at 7a.m.. but I was awake by 11a.m to help my mum with this "family project" we're doing.


A few months ago, my mother suggested we buy a BBQ set for our backyard so we could have one whenever we wanted. I was excited at the idea of having future BBQ parties with the family or with friends and apparently so was my brother. Only he was excited for a whole different reason- he wanted to build the BBQ pit instead of purchasing one. Ahhh... it sounds so simple, doesn't it? Spread some cement, lay some bricks, stick the grill on and voila, your barbecue pit is ready! In your dreams, buddy... in your dreams!


My brother was genuinely interested in erecting the pit in the beginning. He checked the internet for designs, bought the tools and made frequent trips to the hardware store for the cement, sand and bricks. But as the days passed and the problems arose, he soon grew tired and irritated and lost interest. So what's a mother and sister to do when there's a semi-finished barbecue pit in the garden? We women take over and attempt to finish it.


So there we were, in the hot sun for more than 7 hours, laying brick after brick before it started to rain. It is a back-breaking job and I am sure I will suffer for it tomorrow but here's the good news... I have to get up extra early to do it again haha! I actually don't mind though since I'll be able to proudly say I had a part in building it when it's finally done... unless, of course, it looks crappy :P


It's off to bed for me now since I only had 4 hours of sleep last night. If I keep this up, I'll be looking like Keith Richards by the time I'm 30. I figure I'll need at least 8 hours of sleep tonight to have enough energy to finish up the job my wussy brother couldn't complete. Proof yet again that we women are the wiser and stronger of the species ;)


Just a word of advice for those of you who are planning on having a BBQ pit in your home... buy it, don't make it!!

Berry White has a best voice!

I was looking for a cd that I had misplaced and came across a "Berry White" cd that I had bought some years ago at Petaling Street. Yes, I know it's a typo! I know, I know... it's Barry White. But how many others do?


I agree with Sara, our standard of English has taken a nose-dive and people don't read enough. I am so glad our parents always emphasized the importance of reading and instilled in us the love of books. Although I didn't know it was World Book Day or whatever, I do know that it's important to get kids to start reading at an early age.


While our English isn't perfect, we do strive to make our blog at least understandable. We would hate for our blog to read like bad subtitles of pirated dvds. Whenever we watch movies, I think we end up laughing at the literal translations of the subtitles than the movie itself. Hehehe, and of course pirated cds, like Mr White, have some of their songs spelled incorrectly in the track listings, etc...it's hilarious, almost embarrassing too.


PS: And if you didn't already know it, it's Barry White has a good voice (even if it's not necessarily true, well you're smart enough to know it's just an example...I hope.)

Time-out!

Do you ever go through phases where you don't feel like seeing anybody you know? Yes, I'm talking about your closest friends, your pals, your chums. I'm going through something like that right now. Don't get me wrong. I love my friends to death and cannot live without them but sometimes, just sometimes, I would like to be left alone. Allow me to elaborate further.


I have wonderful friends, most of whom I met during my first year of college. We have tons of fun together, we understand each other's jokes, love the same type of music and movies and most importantly, we love each other. Did I mention we were a group of 9 guys and 2 girls? Here lies the problem. Weekend after weekend of smoking and drinking, 11 birthdays a year (which means more smoking and drinking) and hours and hours of snooker and mamak sessions for 6 years has finally taken its toll on me. I've become exhausted and therefore need a time-out from my friends every now and then.


I have a weakness for my friends, though. Everytime I'm tempted to say no to a trip to the pub or snooker centre or wherever it is we're going, I end up going anyway out of guilt. This time, however, I'm determined. One of my closest buds is celebrating his 25th birthday at a pub next week and I'm not in the mood to go. I deserve some alone time. I think my lungs and liver need a much deserved break too.

World Book Day

It's World Book Day today so I thought it appropriate to talk about, what else, books! I love books. LOVE them. I love how easily I'm captivated and transported to another world from the first word on the first page. I love how, amidst all the craziness in the world today, I can retreat to a quiet place and curl up with a good book to escape the real world for a make-believe one even if for just a little while.


I've been reading since I was a little kid. I loved books by Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and Judy Blume (and let's not forget those goddamn Sweet Valley High, Sweet Dreams and Babysitters' Club books) when I was in primary school but soon worked my way up to books by Christopher Pike (much thanks to Tira for the first one I read!), R.L. Stine and (gasp!) those goddamn Mills & Boons romance novels. Thankfully, my choice of books has improved with age (I hope) so you'd most probably find serious fiction, autobiographies/ biographies or true life stories, chick lit. and the occasional mystery/crime novel on my nightstand nowadays.


As people around the world read more with each passing year, you'd think that more Malaysians would have jumped on the bandwagon and started reading too right? Wrong. According to a recent survey, the average Malaysian reads only two books a year. Pretty depressing, don't you think? What's even more depressing is that two books a year is actually a vast improvement from the results of a survey taken in 1982. Back then, the average Malaysian read an equivalent of two newspaper pages a year. So it took us 22 years to advance from two pages of the newspaper to 2 books a year. No wonder the level of spoken and written English in Malaysia is so horrific!


Well, I guess it would be unfair for me to comment and criticize so freely since not everyone can afford to buy books. Furthermore, there are no decent libraries around, those rent-a-book places suck to high heavens and book clubs are practically non-existent in Malaysia. But I bet if everyone spent their money more wisely instead of spending it on the "Latte Factor" (anything that is unnecessary and easy to give up), they could be owning and reading more books!


Well, I've been digressing a bit there since I am supposed to be writing about books and not the reading habits of Malaysians :P So anyway...


Since today is World Book Day and I happen to love books so much, I would like to dedicate my whole section on the right to books - the one I've just started reading today, my recommendations and those that I look forward to reading in the near future. So check 'em out and have a great time reading!

Facing the Issues

Face the Issue

These "Face the Issue" animations/ads are definitely worth a visit. They address serious issues such as bulimia, drugs, self-esteem, etc...Many people suffer, some silently. All too often I think people keep masks on, pretend to be "ok." They seem fine to us, but deep inside they're dying.


I hope this website and the ads reach out to these people. And in turn, they will seek help to find their true selves again.


Also on the "Face the Issue" website are message boards where recovery stories are posted.

Ooooo... while we're on the subject of crushes, I would like to divulge some of my own. First off, let it be known that I have a tremendous weakness for rocker dudes and guys with long hair or a wicked sense of humour. They needn't look hunky (in fact some of them on my list can be considered fugly) but I do think certain guys need to possess that extra something to be able to carry off flowing tresses or be really, really funny. So here they are in no particular order: Jack Black, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Ben Stiller, Eric Schweig in The Last of the Mohicans, Will Ferrell, William H. Macy, Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters, Adam Sandler, Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace, Owen & Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Nate Berkus and Conan O' Brien! Oh, and not forgetting M, who is a friend of a friend and is the epitome of everything I want in a guy :D


I think having crushes is fun... it makes your imagination work overtime by fantasizing (because let's face it, what are the odds of Takeshi having a crush back on me?) and it's just nice to act a little crazy and go ga-ga over somebody unattainable. Well, unless it's M, because I definitely want him to be attainable... to me!!!! See how crazy I'm getting? :P


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My vote goes to LaToya London in American Idol. I think Fantasia (and maybe George) are the only people to provide some competition for her but it's LaToya London for me all the way!!!

Crushes

I am XX years old (let's say above 21, not yet 30) and sigh, I have the weirdest crushes. They may not be Brad Pitt or anyone with a six-pack, but somehow they've got me drooling and wishing I could be visible in their eyes. Don't get me wrong. I would go out with Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Hugh Jackson in a heatbeat! But there's just something extra that makes "crushes" crushes. It's weird how crushes work. They're not anyone I would probably end up with in real-life but it's an option sure worth exploring and "a-dreaming".


In my own words, I define a crush as someone whom I admire. Someone I wish I could go out with or someone I think is the perfect human being, for me anyway (but not necessarily).


I have liked a lot of people but I haven't had many crushes! This might come to a surprise to many (including my sis) but I've had major crushes on:


1) David Copperfield - damn that magic and those mysterious eyes! oooh, levitate my baby.....


2) Quentin Tarantino - Kill Me


3) Simon Cowell - are those tight black tees yummy or what? And not to mention that cold hard honesty...triple yum.


4) This old guy at church - old, but sophisticated, nice, etc....sigh...


5) Clay Aiken - a good heart, a good voice, a good personality....sigh x 2


Yeah okie, so I am watching American Idol right now ( I hope Fantasia Barrino wins by the way), and it's affected some of my crush choices. But really, these guys got me goin'.....

Also,
6) Adrien Brody - I wished I were Halle Berry


7) Kevin Bacon - He's smokin'!!!!!!!!!


8) Colin Firth, Aidan Quinn, Michael Vartan


9) Andre 3000


10) Michael Wong


Oh well, life goes on.:)

If you're an avid fan of soccer or David Beckham, you would have most certainly heard or read about the two women who have recently come forward, saying they once had an affair with the soccer star. And as luck would have it, one of them happens to be a Malaysian-born model. It seems the minute someone who is remotely famous is Malaysian-born, that's all we see splashed in the newspapers. But I digress. I don't know if any of these stories are true but I'm secretly hoping they're not. While I'm no fan of either Posh or Becks, it's nice to see two celebrities who have been married for a few years still so in love with each other while all the other unions sour so prematurely in Celebrity Land. But if the rumours do turn out to be true, I'm pretty sure that would spell the end of the golden British couple pretty soon.


Sometimes I wonder how and why so many celebrity marriages go kaput so quickly. Sure, hectic lifestyles, pressures of work and constant temptations could be blamed but then there are couples aplenty who manage to overcome all these obstacles and stay married for decades! Just look at Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. They've been married for more than 45 years! Then again in some marriages, time contributes absolutely nothing towards the stability of marriage. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, for example, decided to call it quits after more than 10 years of marriage!


I guess sometimes it gets a little scary when we hear of so many celebrity marriages breaking up. It makes me think that if couples like Tom and Nicole (and quite possibly Becks and Posh in the near future), who had everything (including what many thought was a solid marriage) could split so easily, what chances do we normal people have of having successful relationships?


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I saw Love Actually two days ago and I absolutely loved it! I thought it was a really sweet movie and I also liked the fact that not all the stories had happy endings. The only story I didn't quite enjoy was the Liam Neeson one with his son. We all wished we had a dad that cool but I thought it was a little farfetched when he told his son to run through airport security just to tell the girl he loved her. I have to agree with my sister... Colin Firth and the Karl guy in the movie are such hotties!!!!

I've finally done my taxes! Actually I didn't realize April 15th was this Thursday till this past weekend. Anyway, I've done them online and unfortunately I freakin' owe A LOT!


Thought I'd get some money back to finance my summer trip or at least get myself a digital camera. Too bad. :( By the way, if you know of a good digital camera, please email me!


I am thinking of an Olympus C-50 or 750. Any feedback on those or recommendations?? Email please!


My landlady called to say that someone was going to change the cable equipment this Thursday....this means time to clean-up! It's weird how I am such a germ freak but I hate cleaning. It's double duty cleaning this week as I am cleaning up my workplace too - making space for new people in the dept. Nope, not leaving my workplace ( I wish!).


Other than that I haven't had an exciting day. I did eat a whole lot of desserts though, pandan cake, brownie, gummy bears and to end the day, I had flan and salty licorice. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOTE: If you've been checking in with our blog every now and then, you would have noticed something a little different today. Ad and An no longer exist! No, no, we're not calling it quits but rather, we've decided to change our nicknames, Ad and An to something a lil' more interesting and erm, human. So from this post forth, An=Tira and Ad (that's me!) =Sara!

HAPPY EASTER!


I celebrated the day by having Lazyman's Cioppino at Pier 47, with a friend. It was a belated birthday treat and it was really good (not the treat part, well that too, but it was delicious)!


After that, we just walked around and I bought a cheap sweater and tote bag. Wanted to go for a drink but oddly enough most places were closed downtown!


Anyway, I came home and ate lots of Daim Chocs, which was really yummy, so i had some more and I felt sick. I always do this, I love to eat something and I eat it in excess till I feel yucky. My weaknesses? Salty licorice and gummy bears, well gummy any candy really.


After that I watched one of my favorite reality shows (apart from "American Idol", which I am not proud to admit that I watch!), "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." I think it's one of the better and more touching shows. They choose a home to renovate in a week and it's usually a family who really deserve it. This week featured a family whose son became paralysed from the neck down after being involved in an accident. He could not go up to the second floor like he did before the accident and he had to enter the house through the back door since the house was not equipped with a ramp for his wheelchair.


The Extreme Makeover team sent the family on a cruise and worked on the house for a week. It was gorgeous!!! I do wonder though how they do it and how sturdy the house is. I am sure they do a good job and it never fails to move me to tears. Very touching.


One reality show I do think is awful is the one that just started last week. I believe every week two women are chosen to get complete makeovers. This means liposuction, breast implants, brow lifts, etc...The women chosen had low self-esteems but I thought they looked decent enough to function in society. If I am not mistaken one was even a flight attendant!


These women are not allowed to look in the mirror during the months they undergo their makeovers. After that, one of the two women get chosen to enter "The Swan" beauty pageant which is held after 12 women are chosen through the makeovers.


I just think it would be so much better to help kids who have cleft lips/palates, burn survivors, etc...- people who really need the makeovers.


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It's a week since Daylight Saving...still having trouble getting up in the morning. Amazing how one hour can really make a difference. I have six months to get used to it I guess.


Oh yeah, by the way, I loved "Love Actually". I thought it was hilarious and of course it helped that Colin Firth is a babe, and that other guy too (if you've seen this movie you know who I am talking about!). YUM. I saw it last year, so I can't talk about it much but I know I wouldn't mind watching it again. It's a good movie to watch during Christmas I think since it revolves around that season. An all around feel-good movie.

Happy Easter sis!!!! Happy Easter everyone!!!


I'd love to write more but I just got home from celebrating so am going to catch some zzzzs now. Ta!

I spent a good portion of last night and early morning watching a bunch of movies - Lost in Translation, Best in Show, Stuck on You and Scary Movie 3. I liked Scary Movie 1 & 2 but I thought the 3rd installment just plain sucked so I won't even talk about it. The other three movies I watched, I enjoyed tremendously.


I am a huge Peter & Bobby Farrelly fan and have yet to dislike any of the movies they've made. Oh wait, I take that back. Hated Me, Myself & Irene. Oh, and Osmosis Jones. Okay, so I like most of their movies. But I absolutely loved Stuck on You. Neither Greg Kinnear or Matt Damon are my favourite actors but I thought the two of them made their conjoined twins characters seem believable and they seemed to have a genuine brotherly rapport onscreen. We all know that the Farrelly Brothers are famous for producing movies that "make fun" of certain types of people and this movie isn't any different. Just bear in mind that it's a comedy and I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did.


I was so excited about watching Lost in Translation after hearing all the hype at award shows and reading the rave reviews about it everywhere. I don't think it's fair to say I came away disappointed after watching it... I just expected it to be a lot funnier and different. But I thought Bill Murray was really good in this film and he was probably the most deserving actor to receive the Oscar for Best Male Performance after Sean Penn. I thought the stocking and hospital scenes were hilarious :P


Best in Show, I know, is one of my sister's favourite movies so right there, I had high expectations for this film. I know my sister and I usually like the same movies but I thought that Best in Show was just an average flick. The documentary style aspect of it was certainly different and it had its funny moments so I enjoyed it enough but I don't think I'll classify it as one of my favourite films :-) It's a good way of passing a couple of hours though.


Am in the mood for another movie tonight so I guess it's going to be Love Actually!

Yucky relatives are here in KL. Staying in the same house. Food poisoning. Migraine. Assignments. Increase in weight due to eating out with said relatives. Supposed to be on diet. Relatives only leaving on Thursday. No new DVDs to watch. Bored to death. Bah.

Dalight Saving Time begins today! We moved our clocks one hour forward at 2am today - the first Sunday of April. If I am not mistaken, it ends October 31st, this year.


This means I had one hour less of sleep...yawn. This also means I am now 15 hours behind Malaysian time (as opposed to 16).


I'll write again later when I have recovered....