The Goonfather has done it again. He has started another expensive hobby within our group.

It started with him being jealous of me going jogging at the beach weekend mornings. He wanted to go with me because he loves the beach.

But he doesn’t like jogging. So he decided that he would cycle, instead.

Within a fortnight, he went and bought a bicycle which he claimed cost him $150 but I suspect is probably more like $1,000. And that’s not including several hundred dollars in vanity parts.

But it’s a good thing. We go to the beach together, do our separate thing, then meet up for breakfast an hour later. Great way to spend a Saturday morning!

Next thing you know, everyone in our group wants to cycle, too.

Except me. I hate cycling.

The Goonfather tried to tempt me by showing me pictures of pink bikes.

I like the idea of owning a pink bike, but I won’t ride it! I just don’t like cycling.

Then he tried to tempt me into going back to inline skating.

I used to love inline skating but I don’t have skates anymore and I have no interest in spending $400 on a pair of good skates at this point of time in my life.

Plus, the type of skating I like to do is health hazardous, which is not a good idea.

Photo by mordoc.

Desperate for me to buy skates for some reason I can’t comprehend, the Goonfather even offered to pay for my skates.

He visited bike and skate shops a lot that week, and each time he came home, he would excitedly show me his new bike vanity purchase and then tell me about a cute pair of skates he saw which he was sure I’d love.

Even then, I wasn’t interested, because I simply don’t have the time or energy to pick up skating again.

“I’ll stick to running, thanks,” I said.

Throughout the week, in Club Morte e-mails, our group discussed cycling, inline skating and beach picnics.

And, just like that, Morte declared, “I’m going to buy a pair of skates this Saturday!”

That was last week, and we all trooped down to East Coast Park to help him shop for a pair.

We ended up with more than we bargained for. On that day, we collectively purchased three pairs of inline skates.

Yes, Kerrendor and I totally succumbed to impulse buying.

I was uninterested until I saw this pristine white pair of skates which had arrived in Singapore only two days before.

When the skate shop guy handed it over to me, he said, “Congratulations! You’re one of the first few in Singapore to own this!”

LOL.

I am so in love with my new skates!

They are recreational skates so I can’t do health hazardous things with them because they lack the kind of handling needed for aggressive skating. But that’s a good thing, I suppose. I can hear my bones sighing with relief.

I don’t think I’ll have the heart to attempt jumping powerslides on these babies, so my bones are safe for now.

Now, Minou wants to buy skates, too. We’re going shopping this Saturday!

Wang Wang is still undecided whether to skate or cycle, but she’ll decide soon enough. We threatened to make her our Table IC, otherwise.

According to the guys, that means she’d be in charge of looking after our stuff, being our water checkpoints, and preparing picnic supplies.

I don’t think she’s very keen on fulfilling that role.

Scanning newspapers is a pain!

I had to scan this in four separate pieces, straighten them one by one, then painstakingly splice them together.

Click for readable view.

This is a report on the Nuffnang Blogger Flash Mob by The New Paper (Monday, June 17, 2009).

Not a very flattering report, but that’s okay. I think they’ve chosen a rather flattering picture of me so I’m happy.

The photographer is really good. I didn’t even realise anyone was taking my photo while I was dancing!!

Anyway, I want to thank everyone who followed me for this event. I hope you all had fun, even though the event didn’t pan out as expected.

There have been some criticisms, like how there’s nothing “flash mob” about it since it happened in too enclosed a space and there was a media circus waiting around with giant cameras.

I think critics shouldn’t be too harsh, though. It’s still an experience and the organisers put up an admirable effort to gather over 200 bloggers together to do something silly.

Certain circumstances were unforseen, such as the construction works around the chosen area and the swarm of enthusiasts from some photography club.

Some segments could have been done better, like maybe the pillow-fighting actors shouldn’t have been around to pose for photographs before the flash mob started.

But every event has hiccups and people learn from it and do better next time.

And I’m sure there were people who had fun and I think that’s the most important thing!

Here’s a video of the event made by cute, talented Jayden.

Now, I had asked you guys to vote for my outfit for the event. I got a roughly equal number of “cute” vs “sexy” votes, so I decided to go for a combination of both! =P

Actually, it was the only decent thing I could find that could easily be worn under normal street clothing.

This is what I wore over it:

These two handsome dudes, William and Shaun, are my followers. I took the photo from their blogs! ;)

My wonderful, ever-supportive friends:

Minou and I were holding on tightly to Morte because he kept trying to escape. The photo was taken by Wang Wang while we were waiting to strip.

The Goonfather was hiding in cafe at this time.

Idiot.

Stripping time:

You can see two gawkers to the far side, lol.

Anyway, we performed our silent dance, which wasn’t silent at all because everyone was cheering and yelling. And then before we knew it, it was over.

We were told to walk off but nobody wanted to walk off. Everyone was too busy posing for photographs.

O_o

Well, that’s what you get when you organise a flash mob for bloggers.

It gives new meaning to the “flash” in flash mob.

Perhaps a new trend of flash mob will arise from this, eh?

We interrupt our usual programming to bring you this announcement:

Sheylara is a finalist in the Singapore Blog Awards 2009 and needs your help to make her a winner!

If she’s a winner, that makes you a winner because you read her blog!

=P

Yeah, I know, I know. I will not quit my day job to become a copywriter.

Wait, I don’t even have a real day job.

All the more I need help to win this award. Help me, please? =)

(Before I rope Wang Wang in to bewitch you all with her kawaii <3 and hee hees!)

This is a “vote once a day” thing. I’m sorry, I know that’s a bitch but there’s nothing I can do about it!

If you want to help me, please follow these instructions:

1. Register at the OMY website.
2. Go here.
3. Click “Best Lifestyle Blog”.
4. Click “Vote” on my photo.

If you’re feeling extra loving and generous, please leave a comment under the blue box to mention my blog! =)

Voters stand a chance to win prizes, so there’s an incentive for you.

Remember, you can vote once a day to increase our chances of winning, so please bookmark the page and make it your daily morning ritual to vote for me until July 31, 2009!

Thank you, all!

Sheylara <3s you!

If you were a dish, what would you be?

If you were a drink, what would you be?

This is my answer:

Haha. Find out why I think I’m a durian!

And tell me what dish/food or drink you think you are! ;)

I shall be supremely evil today and tempt you with food that you can’t get in Singapore.

Heh.

This is a very fine specimen of Sarawak Laksa which I had the chance to try when I was in Kuching a few months ago.

It’s so awesome my tummy salivates even when I think about it now.

I mean, seriously, I would fly to Kuching just to eat this again.

Malcolm, our unofficial guide, brought us to this place called Tiang’s Cafe, which is a humble but extremely famous coffee shop.

It’s famous for its Sarawak Laksa, among other things.

Ahhhhhh drool.

Barrett Tan, the owner, produces his own laksa paste, a secret recipe handed down by his father. The paste is even manufactured commercially.

We were given some packets to take home! (Unfortunately, I don’t cook, so I gave them to my dad and the Goonfather’s mum.)

Barrett’s a really friendly fella.

He served us so much food that we couldn’t finish everything. Here’s a picture of him (right) talking to Malcolm:

They’re good friends, apparently!

Besides the Sarawak Laksa, another must-try is the Kolo Mee.

The ingredients come in such generous portions and the taste is totally to-die-for. I really wish I had a bigger stomach that day.

Another favourite is the prawn mee, but I think that one is an acquired taste. The prawn paste flavour is so strong that the soup becomes bitter. I don’t like so much.

But it sure looks appetising, nevertheless.

Barrett even surprised us with Kueh Lapis (called Kek Lapis in Sarawak).

That was really too much! Dessert at breakfast? I was totally bursting by then but I managed to take a few bites. It was buttery, moist, soft, awwwww.

Well, there you go. How’s that for a Sunday morning post? =P

If you ever have the chance to visit Kuching, you MUST at all cost visit Tiang’s Cafe and try the Sarawak Laksa, if not the Kolo Mee. Bring a very empty stomach.

It’s, like, about RM4 (S$1.65) per bowl so you can afford to order everything to try!

Here’s Barrett’s website if you want to find out more about Sarawak Laksa and his famous secret laksa paste.

Tiang’s Cafe
No 22, Lot 2354,
Block 10 KCLD,
Jln Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce,
93150 Kuching