Bunny's Prints

My own home :)

2011-05-22T12:03:00.008+08:00

Dear friends,

My own website is finally up and running, thanks to my readers Chris Goh, an internet entrepreneur in USA, and Peter Wang, an Ipoh-based design enthusiast :)

It's still a work in progress, but I think it's ready for the public eye now.

Please hop over to www.bunnysprints.com. If you have any suggestions for improvement, feel free to let me know. Just send me an email at alexandra.lywong@gmail.com

Thanks in advance!

Love,

Alex

The artist in geek's clothing

2011-05-07T10:57:00.005+08:00

To read the full text, please click here

Some of the headlines that the Star folks come up with are truly ingenious. For example, I'd never have come up with "Naughty children make good teachers" or "The Wongs watch Sivaji" in a million years. Never!

This time, however, I was really happy that they used my suggestion, The Artist in Geek's Clothing, because I felt it truly captured the essence of the message. Yes, writers usually supply the headlines but the editor/editorial team reserve the right to change it as deemed suitable. Which is a blessing, as headline writing was never my forte and I'm glad they didn't go with some of my lame attempts!

I wrote this while aboard the ETS back to Ipoh. I was replying to my editors when it suddenly struck me, hey, this is not something which is common years ago, yet that day, there were at least one or two other 20- and 30-somethings fiddling with their laptops in the same coach.

Times have changed - and to thrive, we must adapt to these changes, or risk left behind.

Many thanks to Peter Wang, a reader turned good friend who contributed the cute caricature which perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the article :)

Busy bee

2011-05-06T22:59:00.005+08:00

It's been a busy, busy two months! Aside from usual columns

I've notched up:

An interview with the lovely and gently funny Yvonne Lee. A dream interviewee - accommodating (no diva attitude, this girl!), takes the time to craft well-thought-out answers that ooze personality and wit.

A story about the Sun Yat Sen trail and an interview with the irrepressible founders of We Are Ultra in Going Places March 2011 issue.

http://www.weareultra.com/press/single-gallery/9097301

An interview with artisan baker Su (who turns out to be from my alma mater Tarcisian Convent!) from Delectable in Going Places April 2011.

An incredibly fun five days at MIFF 2011, a regular gig for the last few years - and surprisingly educational. The fun factor had everything to do with the fabulous team that gelled very well together (miss you Li Jin, Li Shian and Shantini!). And educational? This year, we had one of the best editors I've ever had the pleasure of working with, Matt Young. Unbelievable how he turned ho-hum cliches into verbal gold and breathed life into the limpest of sentences. Aargh, hate him! :P

Then there was this Starmag feature on women advocates Dr Evelyn Ho and Dr Ho Choon Moy,

http://bit.ly/hIYOp3, a spinoff from the mega-project I did for Malaysian Women's Weekly last year, Great Women Of Our Time awards.

Tired, typing all that out!

Will post more pictures when I have time. Time to tear my eyes off the computer screen now. Good night!

Stranger in a Train

2011-02-03T20:18:00.007+08:00

29 January 2011

Trivial Pursuit, Weekender, The Star

For the full text, please read here

Though some truly amazing things have happened to me by virtue of this column, I would have laughed till I was blue in the face if you had told me a year ago, that the it-could-only-happen-in-movies events in "Stranger in a train" would take place one day.

But happen it did. And things are still happening. And as I reel from the extraordinary strangeness of reality that we live in, I find myself wondering: what lies ahead for the rest of 2011?

To all my readers, thank you for a brilliant start to the year. I've always suspected that I've gotten more out of the column than I've given it, and the avalanche of encouraging letters, emails, facebook messages and smses just proves it.

Mere words will never suffice to convey my feelings when I read your heartfelt responses to my article.

Maybe emoticons will do the job?

:):):)

Or, a photo maybe?

Love you all!

Great Women of Our Time 2010 - Malaysian Women's Weekly

2010-12-28T15:22:00.009+08:00

If you'd told me earlier that we had such accomplished altruists amongst Malaysian women, I would have snorted with disbelief.

Well. I take back my words.

Like many people I know of, we Malaysians don't give enough credit to ourselves.

Doing this project, one of my major ones for 2010, was a huge eye-opener. For every Gloria Allred, we have our very own Dr Hartini Zainuddin; for every Carly Fiorina, there's Ng Wan Peng.

Why fixate on occidental overachieving scientists like Marie Curie when we have somebody like Datuk Choo Yuen May in our midst?

And forget Gray's Anatomy - who knew doctors looked so hot??

For most parts, these women have smashed glass ceilings with quiet dignity, paving the way for other women to stretch their limits.

Editor Elaine Kwong delivered a memorable speech about how the greatest lesson that these ladies impart to us is that inside each of us, is a heroine waiting to be unleashed.

A project of this scale and complexity is no cakewalk. It's more than just multiple photo shoots and doing justice to 18 over-achieving women and their mile-long roster of accomplishments in under 350 words.

I had a bigger problem to grapple with: after every interview, I wanted that person to win!

Decision-making tugs-of-war aside, GWOT definitely ranks as one of the most rewarding experiences in my writing career. And I mean that in a literal sense as well.

At the end of the GWOT award ceremony, which included a sizzling performance by Sheila Majid (yup, she's still got it), all of us who stayed till the end of the dinner got to cart home an Osim uMama massager :P

Drool at the eye candy :)

The Ipoh of Yore

2010-12-25T08:49:00.007+08:00

25 December 2010
Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
Link to Star article

I'd like to thank Ian Anderson from Ipohworld for kindly contributing the two evocative photos used in this article.

Ipohworld, an education-based, not-for-profit organization, has done some truly remarkable work in promoting awareness and appreciation of Perak, with particular focus on Ipoh. It has become the leading information archive on Ipoh's heritage, as well as the liveliest online community for Perakeans.

Give them a shout at www.ipohworld.org

From court shoes to bunny slippers

2010-11-16T23:52:00.005+08:00

Hi! My name is Alexandra Wong – Alex for friends – and I’m a word geek.

Translation: I write for a living.

Genesis

I developed serious word lust at primary-school age, a condition which I attribute cheerfully to Enid Blyton's mouthwatering picnic basket descriptions. In retrospect, the truth is much more Machiavellian (more about that later)

After graduating with a degree in English Literature, I worked my way up to sales manager in a Fortune 500 Company. The money was mostly good and occasionally obscene. I did well enough to win a couple of sales awards along the way, but something wasn’t quite right.

I found out what when my subordinate chattered excitedly one day, “Alex! Do you know how much commission we’ll be getting this quarter?”

She whispered the figure.

I dutifully widened my eyes. “That’s fantastic!”

I tried to look euphoric, but I obviously failed, because HER eyes widened and she went, “You really don’t like money huh?”

Well I wouldn’t go that far … but yeah. Money, alone, isn’t enough to rock my socks.

So I quit to find out what did. Rock my socks, I mean. I had no idea what the hell I was going to do with my life, so I did the next best thing: soul-searching.

I travelled. I figured there was a good chance I would come back with a more definite idea how I was going to put food on the table. You know, travel broadening one’s horizons and all.

So I backpacked to Kuching. Visited Turkey. Stayed in the US for 7 weeks.

I had a ball. Those experiences were too good to keep to myself, or worse, get forgotten, so I started a blog (which I’ve locked up, sorry). My small but loyal audience seemed to enjoy my stories. Heck, my friend’s MOM started following my blog.

That got me thinking. Hmm, maybe I could try getting them published? No harm trying.

So I began sending out pitches. To my surprise, all my stories got published without much trouble.

An idea began germinating … Maybe I could make a living out of writing commercially?

My baby steps into the writing world - as a serious career - began with travel articles, then navel-gazing pieces, then food reviews, then culture, then other topical issues …

Before I knew it, five years had passed. And today, on 16 November 2010, I find myself still happily scribbling about life, love and the universe - when I’m not tearing my hair out in stress that is.

That's how I made the transition from court shoes to bunny slippers.

Writing portfolio
My reports on travel, trends, food, relationships, information technology and personality profiles have made their way to numerous ~~bastions of great writing~~ publications. The list now includes publications with international audiences like Going Places (Malaysia Airlines inflight magazine), Malaysia Women’s Weekly, IntervalWorld (USA) South China Morning Post, Bangkok Post, Quill and Kuala Lumpur Explorer. Although I’ve written for all kinds of genres and covered all sorts of subjects, I am best known for my first-person accounts in Navel Gazer (where I try to be funny and touching and fail most of the time, but one must persevere!), my monthly column for Malaysia's highest-circulation English language daily The Star.

My work falls chiefly into two categories:

1. Media work. The abovementioned.

2. Corporate and commercial work. I develop editorial content across multiple mediums that serve as calls to action for a target audience. In English, that’s marketing and advertising collateral (corporate videos, newsletters, show dailies, press releases) and non-print media (websites and tv scripts).

I have also ghost-edited manuscripts for several Malaysian best-selling authors.

I am also a solopreneur. In 2008, I registered the enterprise WordMatters.

Academic Qualifications
My happiest academic years were spent in Universiti Sains Malaysia.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in English Language & Literature with a minor in Mass Communication.

I still wonder how a ditzy bunny like me made it through that wilderness of William Thackeray, Philip Larkin, and Shakespeare *dramatic shudder*

Base
I divide my time between my hometown Ipoh; Penang, where I spent my formative adult years, and Kuala Lumpur, which I loathe and love in equal measures.

I've worked out of hotels, coffeeshops, cafes, friends' apartments, my car - I parked it by the roadside to key an epiphany into my handphone.

TMI
I am an egalitarian.

I am a pop culture fiend.

Some have dubbed my literary taste questionable. It certainly isn't very highbrow. It spans everything from Grapes of Wrath, to Chinese Tea Culture, to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, to blogs like Perez Hilton, Go Fug Yourself and Cracked.

On days when I feel like being a literary smartypants, I lurk at Slate, armed with a dictionary.

My ideal woman would be a Frankenstein of these parts: Katy Perry’s body, Lady Gaga’s chutzpah, Helen Mirren’s agelessness, Adam Lambert’s pipes and Douglas Adams’ funnybone.

Why I still write

I still get a kick out of seeing my byline :)

No beef

2010-11-01T22:14:00.009+08:00

Weekender, The Star, Scratching Post

For the full text, please click here.

No, I didn't write this headline but it was worth a chuckle anyway.

Wonderful friends ...

...and wonderful pizza :)

... Sepuluh ringgit sahaja! (Obviously I like eating here very much, and not just because it's eminently affordable)

Though the question was at the back of my mind the WHOLE time when I called Frank on Sat night, I waited till the end of our phone conversation before asking timidly, "Where did you go for dinner?"

"AJ. Ta pau."

"Were there anybody who came because of the article?" Gulp. Nervous. Sweat.

"Got."

Phew.

He continued grimly, "A LOT of people. Some cancelled their orders. What to do? He said philosophically. They all came at one shot."

This is one of the reasons I didn't want to write a full-length feature about AJ's Pizza and Pasta. Having tasted the consequences second-hand at Vary Pasta (the writer was so traumatized that he ate his pork knuckle dinner in quiet terror, while the waiters dashed about in a tizzy attending to the avalanche of customers), I knew the consequences of a review in a major national newspaper: pandemonium.

A two-man show like AJ's wouldn't be able to handle a crowd of such mob-like proportions.

All said and done, I was ecstatic when Khan sent me this message: "God bless you. You care for us."

Ah, food for my stomach, heart and soul :)

The Neophyte Writer - Oct-Dec 2009 Quill

2010-10-22T11:15:00.008+08:00

Pei Ling oh Pei Ling,

Beloved friend/much adored little sister/exceptional writer, thanks for reminding me about this article.

That's The Way the Cookie Crumbles, my now-defunct story-driven column in Quill (replaced with the more pragmatic Survival Tricks for the Freelance Writer) chronicled valuable lessons that may not be that obvious to wet-behind-the-ears freelance writers like myself.

Like this one dispensed by a Malaysian icon at an MPH event in 2006.

While purists ("What, how dare you equate writing to selling?") may balk, it still ranks as the best piece of advice (i.e. practical as opposed to hopelessly idealistic and not applicable to real life) I've ever received about freelance writing.

Reading this again, I detect decidedly Cinderella-esque overtones hehe.

Would you believe it - until now, I have not plucked up the nerve to tell him about this article?

To Eric Forbes and May Lee, thanks a million for the opportunity to write for Quill!

Latest articles

2010-10-02T15:59:00.006+08:00

For the full text, please click here

Haven't had time to do my regular cataloguing cos have been occupied with work, play, and .... jeng jeng jeng ...

INDIA!!!!

So was that 18-year-old foaming-at-the-mouth wait worth it?

Hell yes.

To quote this quaint restaurant in Mysore that a rickshaw recommended to me (yes, and I use the word quaint most legitimately! Check out the menu below!), it exceeded my every expectation.

I love the hospitable people. The vivid colours. The tongue-singeingly spicy food. The eye-popping OTT-ness.

For proof, just check out the menu below.

Quaint kan?

I'm already planning my next trip back.

Chennai? Calcutta? Bombay?

Going Places, August 2010 - The Malaysian Issue

2010-08-04T11:15:00.012+08:00

Say triple whammy, somebody!

Not only did I have three stories in GP, two of them got a cover mention. Thank you so much Vivian. I was walking on air for most of yesterday - still am, I think. Pinch me, somebody ;)

More background details later but for now, may I present (ahem ahem) ...

On the trail of Tunku Abdul Rahman

Thank you Sharifah Intan, Kim Gooi, Cikgu BK Yap, Anthony Law, Lubis and Tan May Lee for your invaluable input. Without you, the story wouldn't have been possible.

Town Tales

Thanks so much for your tips Rabani Ayub (who also has a photo byline in this month's issue), Anthony Law, Kelvin Egay, Boon Tan, Uncle Lim, James Tan of Motormouth fame, Mr Chong Sun Yit ... Pardon if I have accidentally missed anybody out.

Biz Talk: Personality - Jeevan Sahadevan

It was a pleasure working with you, Jeevan :) And thanks Noelle for the introduction.

I just looked at the list and ... oh boy, I owe a LOT A LOT A LOT of people coffee :P

I'm in heaven

2010-07-24T11:23:00.007+08:00

To read the full text, please click here.

I thought this was a rather strange title - no, I didn't supply it - until a friend pointed out it could have been extracted from an old pop song:

Pity the picture didn't come out too well in print.

Here's the haul for the rest of the day:

The institutional yong tau fu stall in Madras Lane

The out-of-this-world linguine carbonara I was salivating over a few hours later at Carmen's. Thanks for the tip, Samantha Fong!

All in all, a great day that kind of paid off for itself, although I DID haul myself out of bed at 7.30am and only got back home at nearly midnight after squeezing in 7 appointments in a single day.

Who says freelance shake legs only?

Spunky Madam

2010-05-29T10:47:00.006+08:00

To read the full text, please click here

In all honesty, I was never a huge fan of duck until I ate at Madam Heng's. Restaurant Hong Kong was merely another name in my litany of must-visit restaurants for the Perak Good Food Guide, which I was commissioned to write in 2008.

It was lust at first bite - the juicy-fleshed, crispy-skinned duck was simply otherworldly.

Since then, I've been a regular visitor, if not to eat, then just to drop by and shoot the breeze with the amiable auntie who runs the shop.

This story took a while to crystallize. It really is a tapestry of numerous events that seemed random and unconnected and unimportant save for their entertainment value, until the final piece - that dinner that I didn't want to happen but happened anyway - fell into place.

Unanticipated. That's how they all happen right - whether it's the right moment, the right story or the right person? :)

...

To give you an inkling just how good her roast duck is ...

By the way, credits to Wang Shao Ming for the "I am fine, you are fine, we are fine" photo. My bad for forgetting to submit your name, no fault of The Star. Roast duck on me, ya? ;)

Winsome Pekan

2010-05-15T11:44:00.007+08:00

To read the full article, please click here

Part II, and some of my other pix that ended up on the chopping floor...

That room which reminds me of my grandma's old house :) At RM55 per night, you can't beat Chief's Rest House for bumper value.

I managed to sneak a quick walking tour of the Royal Quarter before heading back to Kuantan. It was postcard-pretty traditional houses galore :)

My favourite animal - after dogs and cats and goats ...

If you've never seen opor daging in your life - nah!

The Abu Bakar mosque, a majestic sight even against the overcast sky backdrop

Now. Where next? Betong? Gopeng? Dungun .... Just randomly rattling off places that have been suggested to me.

To be continued ;)

Point me to Pekan

2010-05-06T19:38:00.008+08:00

Article is here

Taken at Chief's Rest House.

Of course I didn't make it all up :P

I used to go off on off-the-beaten-track jaunts like this ALL the time, before age and its attendant paranoia kicked in .... well, no more!!!

I've resolved to hit the less-trodden road at least once a month (ok lah make that two. Have to cari makan mah. How can I go off charging to obscure little towns so often?)

But I WILL make it a fixture in my schedule. I was lugubrious before I hit the road, and after I came back from Pekan, I was like a new woman!

And if there's anything that Pekan proved, there's nothing like the promise of adventure to put a spring in my step and rekindle the fire in my belly :)

*a thousand anguished editors scream CORNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY*

Excuse me while I go eat a cup of Nelson's buttered kernels :P

Toodles,

The Flouncy Bouncy Bunny

In case anyone is wondering, I'm working on the sequel to Point me to Pekan right now, hold your horses ya. Not sure if it is going to end up on Navel Gazer or as a travel piece. Will see where the stars lead me.

*And a thousand editors shudder in horror at this shameless use of cliche*

Biz Talk: Personality

2010-03-19T10:17:00.004+08:00

February 2010, Going Places (MAS inflight magazine)

Sporting, gentlemanly, and one of the most articulate chaps I've had the pleasure to speak to. In other words, a dream interview candidate!

Seeking more interesting business personalities to interview for the same column. If you know of any, drop me a mail at alexandra.lywong[at]gmail.com :)

Misunderstood

2010-03-11T20:05:00.006+08:00

(Pic filched from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/)

So what if the movie was universally panned?

Fact is: I glided out of the cinema itching to shout from the rooftops: "What a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious piece of work!"

Mind you, I am NOT deliberately trying to be contrarian.

True, the first hour was a painful plod (Pacing CAN be improved).

I did have a hard time swallowing this grown-up Gwyneth-lookalike galumphing around in a state of deshabille (or close to it - her off-shoulder dress threatens to fall dangerously any moment).

Then she falls into the rabbit hole and Tim Burton hurls a fast and furious volley of characters and special effects ... ok, I'll let the eloquent Dana Stevens finish the job:

" .. the CG effects start coming so thick and fast that neither she nor we have time to experience much wonder at all. Look, there go Tweedledum and Tweedledee (voiced by Matt Lucas)—but before we've had a chance to witness their unique sibling dynamic at work or hear a single line of "The Walrus and the Carpenter" (the recitation of which was one of the high points of the 1951 Disney version), Alice and the egg-shaped twins are being chased through the animated underbrush by some sort of giant saber-toothed beast as Danny Elfman's score throbs and swoops. The feeling, in this movie, is always that of being frantically rushed to the next thing: the Mad Hatter's tea party hasn't even gotten truly barmy before it's broken up by invading soldiers led by the menacing Knave of Hearts (a digitally stretched-out Crispin Glover)."

Uh huh.

Too much muchness, Tim! How can we appreciate the genius of your imaginative if warped mind if we don't even understand what's going on?

I was all set to lie back and drift into an afternoon siesta when Helena strutted into the scene, her giant orb of a head abobbing.

Helena totally PWNED it, in netspeak.

From thereon, my attention was held in a vice-like grip.

Whatever bone I might have to pick with the plot or pacing evaporated quickly. Mind you, I'm not a blind idol of either Tim Burton or Johnny Depp. I thought the latter's turn in Pirates 3 was too hammy to be effective (too much muchness again), and I didn't like Public Enemies. (one big snoozefest. The characters didn't engage me).

But here, Johnny was sublime. Well you could say that he can probably sleepwalk through these custom-written characters by now but what made it more interesting was the development between the hatter and Alice. As unlikely, and even faintly disturbing the whole idea might seem at first, I like how Tim prepares the audience for it, by easing us gently into the realization so that the development feels utterly natural.

Tim has taken liberties with the script, yes, but these are reverential liberties.

Beyond his attention to visual detail and how "pulled together" the palette looked, he really is a sympathetic storyteller who knows how to create characters that we can care about.

A pivotal scene which captures the zeitgeist of the entire movie (SPOILER) takes place when Alice gazes at Hatter in wide-eyed wonderment (yes!!!) and breathes, "You must be real."

In the end (ANOTHER SPOILER), it wasn't just the mad hatter's heart which broke when Alice decided to go back to Upperland (well if one's Under, logic dictates there must be an Upperland right??)

*Sighs and melts*

Bottomline, they felt real. The blue caterpillar, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Red Queen's smarmy right-hand man, even the annoying dork who gets shanghaied at the gazebo ...I love how Tim Burton invests every character, even those with limited air-time, with such complexity and compassion. I could actually feel sorry for, and yes, understand why the Red Queen ends up so bitter and vengeful. It could happen to any one of us *gulp - reminds self*

Or maybe it's just me.

As long as I remember, I've always been able to relate better to the outcasts and misfits who tiptoe on the fringe of so-called normal society.

After the movie, I walked into Borders and headed straight for the children's literature section.

Enough said.

A child's wisdom

2010-02-27T17:54:00.007+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star

For the full text, please click here.

There are some articles I keep out of my folks' radar.

Sexually charged ones (my column may focus on fluffy feelgood stuff but rabbits are not conventionally associated with Lily White ok :P), and articles like these.

It'd only worry them silly, and then they'd worry me sick with questions I have no answers to like: "Girl, are you making enough? Don't worry about mum and dad. We have more than enough to spend from our pension."

... the point is, I come from a very traditional family, with a firm set of values that includes the automatic expectation that after your folks have raised you and put you through university, it's now your turn to give back.

I miss that part of my corporate life. BAD. I miss sending them on holidays, giving them healthy doses of pocket money, surprising them with an expensive meal or two.

Right. Time to actually actualize that best-seller novel huh?

Bitch as I might about the sucky customers and ridiculous demands, I would never go back to my desk job. Still, it's only normal, I suppose, to have the odd dark moment of doubt ...

This article sprung from one of those dark moments. I had another more chipper piece already drafted but somehow, it felt disengenuous to send off a piece that didn't mirror my mood of the moment. As my deadline drew nearer, I started to panic. How? I don't have anything else that reflected the conflict that was percolating inside. And I didn't want Navel Gazer to deviate from my original vision of what it was: an honest, unvarnished reflection of my feelings of the moment.

Luckily, my meeting with Fenny came along and saved the day, phew!

On unrelated matters, may I have your indulgence, ladies and gentleman:

I just started a new fashion diary blog at http://frockout.blogspot.com

I originally intended it to be an online blogshop to sell off my pre-loved baju but I'm having so much fun recording my sartorial musings so, as the wise sages say, que sera sera!

My pretty new sandals :)

2010-02-12T18:34:00.002+08:00

It was an experiment for both of us.

Me: I'd never known there were such things called painted shoes.

Her: she'd done this on canvas, and glass, and ceramic ... but never rubber. And cheap rubber at that (psst...these pasar malam sandals cost a fiver shhhhh)

Neither of us had any idea how they would turn out - whether the paint would last, or the patterns would turn out pretty, but I needn't have worried. In the sure hands of Carmen Hah, a grimy pair of sandals was given a fresh new lease of life.

Pretty and delicate enough to satisfy my feminine wiles, yet free-spirited enough to appease my hippie sensibilities :)

This, ladies and gentlemen, is just the tip of the iceberg. To see more of what Carmen can do, hop over to carmenbrushtech.blogspot.com/

And to Denis, thanks for providing the link. Truly, your cosy diner is Ipoh's answer to Cheers, where everybody knows your name. Can't wait to sink my teeth into your delectable smoked duck and spaghetti carbonara *drools*

Gosh. It's amazing how one simple story can set off such a long chain in motion ;)

Stickynote

2010-02-11T21:05:00.003+08:00

I think I owe visitors to this blog an apology.

This is not a blog, and it was never conceptualized as one.

In the beginning, I merely wanted a space on the web to archive my articles, a link that I could send to potential clients that I was pitching to.

Then as I posted up stories, I grew restless. The crude scans (which I took with a camera ok since I obviously can't afford an A3 scanner!!) seemed too sterile, too clinical, too ....dead.

Unable to refrain myself, I started writing short notes about each article, which gradually expanded into these long-winded posts you're reading now *smiles ruefully*

There is so much I want to say. There is so much more that goes into an article apart from the final printed word.

The stories behind the scenes often go unaccounted for because readers only want the polished dish or down-and-dirty deetz - depending on whether you're reading Tatler or Perez Hilton ... right?

Well not to me though. I love the uncensored elemental rawness of a tale told ad lib ... it makes the subject seem much more human somehow.

Anyway, I wanted to get this off my chest for a loooooooooong time now. So there. Done. Phew.

And since this is neither a blog, nor a portfolio proper, shall we call it a ... blogfolio? :)

Fashion Focus

2010-01-20T01:06:00.004+08:00

Shall I ...

... go all girlie in silver Christmas tree earrings, flowery sundress, and Audrey Hepburnesque red shoes?

... defy all sartorial logic in an unseasonal White lace kebaya-inspired top, a black latex singlet, black skinnies I got from the Bercham market and red shoes?

...or channel Katy Perry in RM3 Esprit factory overrun shorts, black Pack Promod singlet & RM10 Thailand black knit top

Ah. Which girl isn't clothes mad?

Mixing and matching is more than just riding the residual buzz of retail therapy; it's the whole theatricality of the act, like orchestrating my own boutique theatre production.

I love the heightened drama as I clack out of the house in my three-inch heels; the contagious playfulness that colours my mood when I flounce out in my riotous bohemian skirt; garments are not just something to shield me from cold or immodesty, don't you see?

When I was a kid, I practically gobbled up fashion magazines.

Many an afternoon was spent, bent over the fashion pages, while my fingers lovingly traced the clean lines of a box-like shift while the mind marvelled at the fluidity of jersey wrap dresses.

So much so, I became extraordinarily well acquainted with fashion parlance.

I could recite from memory the subtle differences between silk brocade and silk jacquard.

I could reel off the entire spectrum of hues (crimson, fuschia, magenta, vermillion, scarlet ....) with such authority my science teaccher would surely beam with pride.

I was, and still am, a clothes fiend to a T (... or should it be T-shirt? :))

Ergo, what assignment could be more fun than traipsing through the yummiest fashion boutiques ever invented? :)

Dreams from a hot wok

2010-01-02T14:28:00.006+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star

To read the full article, please click here

Anyone can dream. You don't need balls to do that.

But to actualize that dream takes plenty of guts - and grit. Stuff which Tam has truckloads of.

I've eaten at and known Tam for years. Enjoyed his food, and then later his company, and went on to develop an abiding admiration for his quiet, unassuming ways.

That's the man! :)

There are many reasons why I like going to Tam.

He's just downstairs (i.e. opposite Super Tanker, opens from 6-ish in the evening to 2am)

He's always ready with a smile for me (yes, even through those Sars-struck days)

... and of course, when inspired, his food is Tam's up (sorry, couldn't resist! :D)

Sometimes our conversations resemble chicken-and-duck talk - he speaks in a thick loghat that my bunny ears have occasional trouble unscrambling. Nevertheless their musical quaintness never fail to charm, even his smses:

Like today, "Saya x pandai BI tapi fahamla sikit nanti ptg sy suroh kwn terjemah dkt sy."

"Suroh?" So quaint! So old-school!

Or the other day, "Awak cakap buat saya ketawa hingga berguling. Apapun TQ. BZ ni pelanggan ramai nak masak dlu"

Is it just me, or is it a lot more fun to sms in BM? :)

One of my earliest food pieces, published in 2005 or 6

If you're wondering what sar kok liew is ...

2009-12-13T02:11:00.004+08:00

This is it!

Or saa kot. Oh well. Saa kot, sar kok liew - a liew by any other name is still damn drool-inducing.

Best eaten dipped in this tangy and spicy home-made chilli sauce.

Drum roll...Chips off the old block. The Gen X Loo brothers, who took over the reins from their parents, will surely do them proud.

To ensure you don't get lost ;)

Got. To. Stop.

Experiencing. Serious. Sar kok liew. Withdrawal. Symptoms.

Now.

Travelling Light

2009-11-28T15:17:00.005+08:00

Trivial Pursuit, Weekender, 28th November 2009

To read the full article, please click here

Long before there was ever a Navel Gazer column, travel stories were my stock-in trade.

Fresh out of corporate hell, my feet were itchy to explore the uncharted universe beyond my tiny factory cubicle.

Kuching - or to be exact, Ran, the charming town I got my first taste of longhouse living - ignited my wanderlust.

Then came Turkey, IMHO the most beautiful country on earth.

The mother of all vacations was my seven whopping weeks in California of course.

I got to know my mum better.

I got to interview the hottest guys on the planet up close (and got my butt grabbed by one to haha)

And most of all, I learnt that you didn't always need a fortune to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

My most memorable meal in the US (though don't tell my aunt that!) was the USD2-3 chicken nuggets MUm & I ate at a Popeyes outlet. The cashier peered at our identitiy card with curiosity. "Oh, Malaysia ...I've heard of it.. but not too sure where it is though," she laughed sheepishly.

Uh huh. Looks like our tourism folks still have some distance to cover, when it comes to putting our country on the world map. ;)

I've always had wanderlust.

My first major overseas trip was to a town in Southern Thailand called Yala, where I stayed with a Thai family for two weeks. I wolfed down lots of spicy local food, went round helmet-free on on my hostess' scooter and ate towering sundaes in the town's biggest hotel. Pure bliss :)

Writing this article - a light, breezy change from my usual introspective stock-in-trade - reminded me just how much I miss travelling, and writing about my travels.

Keep your fingers crossed.

If all the planets and stars align, there should be some major globe-trotting on the cards in 2010 ;)

Oh btw peeps, in case you're wondering, here are some crude shots of my "Umbrella bag" and "Adidas kampung" :)

Soaring passions

2009-10-22T22:38:00.007+08:00

First person, Going Places, October 2009

For this particular gig, I had to interview six outstanding sports personalities from MAS.

Did somebody just say sports?

Yours truly was a classic kaki bangku. Way back in Form Two, my maiden volleyball serve landed on the head of my classmate Pooi Pooi. I don't know if she recovered fully from the trauma, but I certainly never did. Was it any coincidence that I never had many sporting friends?

Naturally, when the time came, I was filled with excitement, curiosity and not a little trepidation.

What could a writer have in common with a bunch of sportspersons?

Mental strength

Since the interview with Foo Kah Hin took place at a shooting range, I had to find out if I was a, ahem, hot shot.

Once I actually had the gun in my grip, I was calm as still water.

"Ready?" Foo asked in a calm, clear voice. "Now pull the trigger. Slowly. Make it a slow, sustained movement."

Bam!

I tottered unsteadily backwards, more surprised by the relatively tame aftermath, than anything else. No shells flew backwards. The gun jerked back only slightly. Did I miss very wide of the target?

We scurried up to the cardboard target.

There was a hole barely an inch away from the centre of the Alpha Zone. "You are a good shot!" Foo declared.

It must have been a fluke. Beginner's luck. I asked for another turn.

Bam. Bam. I was cool and collected all three times, and I was on target all three times.

Foo had said, "In dynamic shooting, mental strength is as important as physical... like other competitive sports, it is important to keep a clear head and think positive thoughts. It is even more critical in an open competition where you face off against teams from varying backgrounds and superior skill sets."

I decided to retire at my peak i.e. after three shots - hey I don't want to blemish my perfect record ok - and spent the rest of the afternoon picking the brains of the boys, who are more than happy to initiate this neophyte into their world: shotgun, handgun, rifle, winchester, holster, magazine, etc.

Character building

Over the phone, John Engkatesoo had alerted me to expect a "fat, old chap with a big tummy" at a football field to do a shoot.

He was obviously being modest, for he was anything BUT fat. In fact, as I told the photographer later, he looks pretty hot for a guy his age. A healthy crop of salt and pepper curls tops a rangy frame which he modestly tries to pass off as 5' 9" when he's "at least a 5' 11'", I tell him accusingly.

John's only response was a toothy grin. It's not hard to see why he had a legion of fans during his heydays.

After the shoot was over, we adjourned to A & W, where he regaled me with vignettes of his action-packed life, from his short-lived but glorious days as an international footballer, to his invariable foray into the corporate world, which was no less exciting. Football didn't just teach him how to kick a ball around - he learnt about dealing with people, and being a team player, all of which came in handy when he eventually assumed his current position.

Needless to say, my root beer float was all but forgotten.

Grace by example

Devan Dinasan is more than an ace road runner or spitting image of Chow Yun Fatt.

We met up for lunch one time after the shoot. It was raining on the day. When he saw me walking out from the exit, he alighted from his car, unfurled an umbrella and started walking towards me.The last time somebody did that was last century.

"Hey I am not puteri lilin ok?" I said in reflex, as he shielded me from the light rain during the short dash into his car. Two seconds later, he floored me again, by opening the car door.

When I thanked him for this random act of chivalry later, he responded, "The umbrella needs to get wet sometimes and the car door ...no big deal ... it was already there, and can be a little heavy to open to those not familiar ."

Now that's what I call true sportsmanship.

To Devan, John, Foo, Yati, Captain Arif and Captain Aziz, I salute you for inspiring even kaki bangkus like me to reach for the impossible.

For showing me that we're not very different from each other. Writer or sportsperson, we're all creatures of passion.

Every time we jump off a cliff, walk into the roaring stadium, brace for that swing, aim for that impossible shot, break into that stride or, in my case, pick up that pen, it's like falling in love all over again.

In the meantime, I do believe I have an open invitation to redeem. Anybody game for a spot of paragliding?

PS Pei Ling, thanks for helping Ms Photoshop Idiot with the collage :)

Naughty pupils make good teachers

2009-09-28T00:08:00.004+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, 26th September 2009

To read the full article, please click here

In school, I was known as the goody-two-shoes. The geek. The (cringe) teacher's pet.

Little did everybody know, I longed to be anything BUT. I harboured a burning desire to be the coolest girl in school, a girl like Sharmila.

Some (misguided) teachers might have labelled her naughty, but to me, she was a heroine. A tad rebellious. Witty as hell. But always brave. All the qualities I aspired to.

Obviously I couldn't be her. So what was the next best thing?

To be with her, of course. Form 2 and 3, the two years I spent a lot of time with her and the ZOPFAN gang (you know who you are) were two of my happiest.

Judging from the responses I received, this story struck quite a few chords, though the only person's response that I was worried about was the story's heroine - Sharmila.

I've written about heaps of people in the past. The difference is, they knew of my intentions. I usually forewarned them at least a day before the article was due to come out.

In Sharmila's case, I wanted to surprise her. Consider it a revenge for calling me "Dangerous."

"She's going to freak out," my ex-colleague Poh See hooted with laughter.

I send Sharmila an sms first thing in the morning. No reply. At 8-ish am, an hour I deem suitably decent, I call her. "Have you read?"

"Dei," she growls in a sleep-slurred voice. "I got your earlier sms already. I am not so fast wei. I just got up lah. You think I'm superhero ah dei."

10am. 11am. 12 noon. Already, five readers have written to me. Not a word from her.

I text Chang. "Could she be angry? So long also no response one."

"She is probably busy at her husband's clinic. Remember, teacher by day, clerk by night, and sexy wife at midnight."

"Cannot be. Today is Saturday and a holiday. "

"Holiday means data entry girl the whole day. What I see is only praises. She might be crying her heart now, touched by your magic words." (I have always maintained that I'm not smart or witty in the least; I am merely fortunate to have smart and witty friends, who have a propensity for poking gentle fun at me)

I am not convinced, so I sms Sharmila again. "Are you angry?" I ask timidly.

"No. How can I be angry at a bunny?"

Her cryptic reply plants the first seeds of suspicion. Maybe ... she... hadn't... read it?

At noon-ish, she texts me. "My husband read already. I just got the paper. Will read after lunch. Reaction at 1400 hour.

1400 hour?????

GRRR!!!!

What kind of a human being can be so cool and clinical while her friend is practically apoplectic with anxiety???

At five minutes past five, my phone lights up.

"Now my husband thinks I put frogs in people's pockets..." she says before dissolving into laughter.

"Didn't you? Hmmm. Maybe old already, foggy memory."

We speak for a while before putting down the phone. A text comes in. "Thanks mate. I hope others read and make a difference."

So do I, Sharmila, so do I.

Conservation through Children

2009-09-05T10:16:00.007+08:00

Community, Going Places, Sept 2009

This story was special for two reasons.

One, it afforded me another welcome opportunity to return to Penang, where I spent my formative adult years. As usual Penang didn't disappoint. Its streets are as colourful and lively as ever. It would seem, from the outset at least, that the charms of Georgetown are relatively insulated from the recent economic meltdown.

Most importantly, it brought me face to face with two extraordinary women: Janet Pillai and Chen Yoke Pin, who along with Kuah Li Feng are the main drivers behind Arts Ed.

Anyone who has lived in Penang would have heard about Anak-Anak Kota, the Arts Ed-initiated programme that aims to preserve local cultural assets through children. Getting secondhand information and actually being part of them are, I discovered, two very different things.

On Saturday morning, I joined the kids on a heritage walk. They streamed in and out of hallowed institutions around the Streets of Harmony, armed with nothing but pencil and paper, maps and a boatload of curiosity. We visited St George's Church, Acheen Mosque, Masjid India, and lots more, all beautifully-preserved, legacy-rich landmarks I'd driven past a zillion times and never even stopped to look, until now.

The weather did little to dampen our spirits. For starters, the facilitators' own enthusiasm for their subject was infectious. Gamely toting umbrellas, we trekked through puddles, huddled on roofed pavements when the rain got too heavy, and even stopped over at a warung where an be-saronged uncle sportingly demonstrated how to pull teh tarik and make roti canai.

Heh. If only my own history lessons were half this fun ...

In that too-short span, I began to develop an appreciation for what Arts Ed has been trying to do in the last ten years: to conserve our legacy through children (thanks for that great headline, Viv!)

Anak-Anak Kota - and by extension, Arts Ed, are a living testament of what real passion can do. Salute, Janet and team.

If you'd like more information about Arts-ED activities and program, Tel/Fax 04-263 3471 or visit www.arts-ed-penang.org

PS Swee Wah, thanks a million for providing the link.

Papa the storyteller

2009-09-01T11:34:00.005+08:00

Navel Gazer, The Weekender, 29th August 2009

To read the full article, please click here

"Wah. Now I know why your mother fell for him. Your father looks so handsome and smart."

Chang's probably just joshing me, but isn't that what all starry-eyed little girls feel about their father? And woe betide any unfortunate suitor who falls short of her daddy's lofty standards, ahem :)

Dad is one of those rare beings the Chinese call hoe sin sang. In Chinese, being an onomatopeic language, the phrase could mean one of two things: 1) Good man 2) Good teacher. As if all the forces of fate conspire to converge, my dad fits both the bills :)

He is legendary among my good friends for storytelling skills. On the eve of my gall bladder operation, he pinned my two besties Chang and Wendy to the hospital canteen chairs with horrific high-drama (his painful encounters with kidney stones) and feelgood fables (more Chinese fairy tales with an uplifting moral). Even I, who'd heard it all before, couldn't help grimacing when he recalled, with a relish he could afford on hindsight, the gruesome pain of kidney stones.

We were sitting in the hospital canteen when a faraway look entered Dad's eyes. He recalled, "The worst kind of pain is kidney stone pain."

I looked at mum. "How did Dad get it?"

"He grew up in Pangkalan, where there were a lot of tin mines. I guess it could be the minerals in the water they drank..."

"The stone is passing through your urethra, a tube so slender.." he shuddered. "It was so painful that my entire body broke out in sweat."

Mum nodded gravely. "He was bellowing like a cow. I drove him to the clinic and he couldn't even climb out of the car. The doctor had to come to the car and administer the jab..."

Suffice to say, Dad wasn't the only one who shuddered.

"I used to think, gallstones, kidney failure, back pain, all these things only happen to old people like our parents..." I said ruefully. "Guess what, we got old too. Or at least, are getting older.

"Yeah look in the mirror woman, face the facts staring right at you," Chang chipped in.

Indeed. Like it or not, I've got to deal with the fact that my body isn't an invincible machine anymore, able to withstand the vagaries of an unhealthy lifefstyle with no wear and tear.

"Can't sing that song by Corrs anymore...how does the refrain go, "We are so young, so young, so young now," Chang continued.

"No more fatty food. OMG." I facepalmed melodramatically.

"Look on the bright side," Chang quipped, "at least you save on liposuction."

What was that again ... Sai Ung Sat Ma? :)

People stories

2009-08-28T14:03:00.008+08:00

Perak Food Trail, Going Places, May 2009

What's the greatest thing about being a writer?

Is it the travel perks? The free food? The schwag?

"Lexicophilia," I used to answer without hesitation. I did go into writing because I loved words. As much as I enjoy word-play, these days I've uncovered an even more powerful dope - the chance to live vicariously.

During an interview which will be published in October, I found myself saying, "Every time I meet someone for a story, I learn something new," when he asked me why I chose to write, rather than say, sell computers for a living. (My old job, if you didn't know)

You don't just write stories about people's lives - in the process of coaxing the story out of them, you LIVE that person's life. When you talk to people who are still madly in love with their work/craft/pursuit, you get the privilege to relive their highs and lows, see through their eyes, walk in their shoes.

The heroes from my favouritest burger stall in the world :), Thum's Burger

What other job provides you with this window of opportunity, over and over again?

....

Sorry for lack of updates. Byline also made recent appearance in:

The Star Weekender Last Saturday of every month

Going Places June 2009 Rustic Rendezvous; August 2009 Renewed Wows

Quill (Jul-Sept '09) That's the way the cookie crumbles The Hard Life of Writers

Millionaireasia (Sg & Malaysia) Personality Profile Tiah Joo Kim, TA Group's Heir Apparent

Malaysian Insider Numerous. Please visit http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/blogs/category/food-blog/

The Iron Horse Driver & Ipoh's Mother-lode of Liew

2009-07-05T20:57:00.008+08:00

Food, Weekender, The Star

For the full story, please click here

On lucky occasions, writers stumble upon stories they feel an instant affinity for: stories they enjoy exploring, reliving, and in some cases, eating.

These were two such stories :)

Above is my ode to an all-time Ipoh favourite - liew! Be still my wagging tongue :D

On the same day, this came out:

Scratching post, Weekender, The Star

For the full story, please click here

By now, I already know that these kind of low-wattage pieces about everyman don't register nearly as many hits, but my ode to Abang Azmi of KTM surely ranks as my favourite of all time for now, next to the jungle rain piece I did for Going Places in March 2009.

I must have met Azmi in January or so. After getting down from the train, I jotted down my experience in one breathless rush as soon as I could get my hands on a pc, and filed it away with the dozens (maybe hundreds?) of other drafts I've written and tucked away in my computer.

While I knew his story was too compelling to reserve for my own enjoyment, I just couldn't hit the perfect final note. Even after dozens of drafts, I felt none of them were good enough to do justice to him, nor stand up to public scrunity. At one point, I despaired of it ever seeing the light of day.

The day it came out, I duly sent Azmi an sms in the morning, citing page, section etc.

One of his replies was: "I dah war-war kan artikel you pada kawan-kawan I."

Wow. Don't you think that single sms captured the zeitgeist of his personality, far more eloquently than my 1K whopper?

That man sure has a way with words ;)

Me, cook? Never!

2009-06-06T20:47:00.003+08:00

You know what they say: Never say never.

Bunny, who has an almost paralyzing phobia of
a) getting her digits fried in an oven
b) falling facefirst into a wok of scalding hot oil
c) burning the kitchen in the midst of crafting the perfect sunny side up ....

.... whipped up Malaysian style pasta aglio olio!

And, it was not just edible *cough*. Proof: Me, cook? Never!

By the time I remembered to record this epoch-making moment for posterity, the last morsel had been devoured, so sorry folks, no pix.

What can I say. Wonders never cease ;)

*rolls up sleeves and flips open recipe book*

PS I enjoyed the writing almost as much as I enjoyed the cooking ;)

PPS Have been lax in updating my food blogs in Malaysian Insider.

This was a food review I did of Rajah Brooke Cafe.

Contact me

2009-06-06T00:00:00.003+08:00

Email alexandra.lywong@gmail.com

(Not quite a ) Weary Writer

2009-05-30T10:10:00.005+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star

For the full story, please click here

To be perfectly honest, I hesitated at the Send button. This was such an awfully personal piece after all.

In the end I decided to go ahead anyway, becauseI had a feeling that it would strike a chord with many people. I've just seen it happen so many times. Not just to me, but to my friends and loved ones - people working themselves (and their health by default) to the ground because they didn't know how to get off the rogue locomotive.

Like me, they forgot that they were controlling the steering wheel.

I wrote this about 2 months ago. Since then, other things have happened. Not necessarily bad things, just things that made me reevaluate life from a different slant. I've come to the conclusion that nothing is really over until YOU decide it's over.

To those who asked, yes, I am better now. Much, much better.

Thanks for caring. I am a blessed girl :)

XOXO

Bunny

Pondok of goodness

2009-05-06T23:11:00.004+08:00

Food, Weekender, The Star
For the full story, please click here

What do I love about mom and pop shops? Everything! The down-to-earth prices. The unpretentious service. But most of all, the soul in the food.

For parents aka lovable perfectionists, every detail is a matter of fierce beating pride. Whether it is a hearty bowl of kon loe min, or seasoning for onion rings, no culinary endeavour is too insignificant to be left to chance.

So much as SUGGEST that their standards for the day, are less than sterling, and I'll bet your kitchen artiste (Because that's what they are, no less) would turn ashen, accept your assessment with trembling lips, escape into the kitchen before thumping their chests Tarzan-style, and proceeding to dump the whole fleet of sauces and with a vengeance.

Proof can be found no further than The Headmaster, who once bellowed at his trembling assistant, "Don't leave the potatos exposed to air! Now cannot use already. You have to dump the whole tupperware!"

Oklah, one swallow does not make a flock, but you get my point :)

Make no mistake, for a parent, every epicurean endeavour is a fierce commitment to love.

And Pondok, you will find upon entering its heartwarming premises, is another passionate testament to this philosophy.

The tomato queen

2009-04-25T10:52:00.005+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
For the full story, please click here

How can I not be proud of this woman?

Her gung-ho, her resourcefulness, her never-say-die attitude: these are but the tip of the iceberg. Damn. Should I have suggested "My mum the wonderwoman" as the headline? Oklah, I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to get away with it :P

As I write this, she's outside, pottering in the garden and humming to herself. I guess she's, umm, pleased? :)

You might be surprised to know that I've never been really close to my mum until recent years, after I quit my job and had more time to spend with her, and learn from her, and enjoy her. Every day, I'm peeling off new layers and finding out that she's got so much more in her bag of tricks and ideas.

Friends who read the article would probably be nodding in agreement all the way. I may be her daughter and proud as hell about her, but I'm not exaggerating one whit.

Because my mum, incredible as it may seem when you lay eyes on her perky, petite frame for the first time, really is larger than life.

KL City Tour

2009-04-11T12:06:00.005+08:00

Only two words to describe my reaction when I got my April 2009 copy of Going Places: Shock and awe.

That was before I flipped to my article and went Holy crap.

12 Hours, Going Places, April 2009

I walked past this building, went inside, gabbed excitedly about it to the editor, waxed lyrical about it and yet never in my wildest would expect it to look this good in print.

I guess this is what separates the wannabe (photographers) from the already-theres.

Righto. Back to (amateur) photography 101 for me :(

On the bright side, I never knew buildings could be so exciting.

I perambulated through Dataran Merdeka. Soaked up the atmosphere at Sin Seng Nam over a plate of Hainanese chicken rice. Witnessed the abhisega ceremony at Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, during which Lord Murugan, Lord Ganesh and Seri Mariaamma's figurines are showered with buckets of unguents (yoghurt, milk, saffron, coconut water, honey etc) in individual stalls. Absorbed fascinating historical trivia about Yap Ah Loy and gang at the Taoist Sze Ya temple, named after his “Tze Ya” (an honorific for Yap's subordinates who were killed during the civil war) - one of whom was said to ooze white blood, hence cementing his deity status.

In other words, I played tourist to the hilt and enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to KL boy, practising architect and ardent conservationist Lim Take Bane, for his invaluable input in helping me plan the itinerary.

Most importantly, this walkabout changed my perception about buildings. I finally understood what my passionate historian and architecture buff friend, H, meant by "Buildings are repositories of history. All human stories have an indisputable connection with different buildings."

The happy side effect?

These days I drive my friends batty when they drive me around and I go, "Hey, that's art deco" or "Oh look Moorish architecture"

The Chinese will say, "Sik siew siew pan toi piew" (Know a little but pretend to be an authority on the subject) :P

Ok, H, what were you saying about a crash course in architecture?

An angel in Chow Kit

2009-03-28T13:15:00.008+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, 28 March 2009

For the full text, please click here

Cartoon credits: a certain Ms Charmaine Hon, brilliant writer and artist friend :)

A friend summed it up best: "There are Alberts in many parts of the world whose work go unnoticed and unrecognized all the time."

How does this sound (as a book title): "To all the Angels I've met before"

or

"To all the unsung Alberts in the world..."

Okok, no more cheese for the benefit of the lactose intolerant :)

This morning, I called Albert to apprise him of his 15 minutes of fairly anonymous fame. He didn't know I was going to do it of course.

I didn't either, up until last week, when I felt the story had matured sufficiently. A lot of encounters reside and percolate indefinitely - sometimes for too long - in my mind as half-baked stories, before they're eventually fleshed out and published. Anymore dithering and this one would probably gotten buried under other abandoned because yours truly got her knickers in a bunch over yet another fresh encounter ...

Albert, on the off chance that you're reading this, I hope this made your day.

Candy colours galore

2009-03-24T12:28:00.005+08:00

I can't draw, paint, or design to save my life, but I love eye candy as much as any other girl.

I generally don't use this space to plug anybody - more so if they're unsolicited - but I really want to share these dangerously addictive sites that I recently got introduced to.

http://diaryofane-shopaholic.blogspot.com/

I probably can't fit into 90% of the stuff that's reviewed in here, but the gratuitous eye candy and the slick copywriting is really something. The writer, whoever she is, can match any professional copywriter, IMHO. Good thing that she updates every day too. Now I'm a hopeless e-shopaholic-holic (Comprehende? :))

Viv, it's all your fault! :D

http://dianarikasari.blogspot.com/

Flicked this off Tongue-in-chic (great name, by the way) I am a sucker for short punchy names.

Through which, I found this. http://poop-art.deviantart.com

I know what my friends will say. Eh, aren't you a little over-the-hill to be ogling at such sites?

Like ingenuity, works of art are works of art, right - age has nothing to do with it.

Now excuse me while I go back and ogle some more. The girl deserves a break after a titanic assignment.

Railway Junket

2009-03-18T01:12:00.001+08:00

Going Places, March 2009

So so so ... did the highly anticipated jungle train ride live up to our sky-high expectations?

You bet!

Don't underestimate this gingerly old girl, she goes so fast, it's like surfing on rails! Now if only all assignments were this fun :D

There's a chicken in that basket, if you didn't know that already. The Gua Musang platform turns into a makeshift market when the passengers from up north disembark. Read the full story when you get your copy of GP on Malaysia Airlines lah :D

I actually had a ton of photos from my own collection - but ... I lost all my photos when my hard disk crashed recently ... *dabs eyes tearfully*

I know! I'll just have to go there again!

Train ride, anyone? :)

Triple whammy!

2009-02-28T10:47:00.004+08:00

Lesson from the Children
Trivial Pursuits, Weekender, The Star
For the full story, please click here

Woot!
Positive responses to my last story Of Trains & New Friends

And ....

Let them Eat Bread ...or Cream Puffs or Egg Tarts

I'm a happy bunny today :)

Your Guide to Malaysian Festivals

2009-02-22T16:33:00.005+08:00

I love this month's Going Places (MAS' inflight magazine). Stunning photographs, absorbing articles, and ... I got a whole 9 pages! :D

Interestingly, it was GP which actually sparked my interest in my cultural roots. While doing research for a Chinese New Year article last year, I discovered just how deeply steeped in fascinating folklore and customs the Chinese culture is. Now I know why the Chinese elders always harp on their 5000 years of ancient history - it's bragging rights well deserved!

Dang. Now I wish I'd paid more attention in POL class - then I wouldn't be going "huh?" when my dad, mum, Sam and Chang start inserting perplexing Chinese idioms into our conversation!

Try this on for size. Do you know that "pat yuet sap mmm"(literally 15th of the 8th Chinese calendar month) is a genteel euphemism for your derriere???

Racing Aces swoon over their Mean Machines

2009-02-22T16:18:00.005+08:00

(L-R) Lars Erik Nielsen, Mokhzani Mahathir, Sven Herberger

MillionaireAsia, Nov-Dec 2008

We all like fantasy. Everybody wants to read about the powerful, the rich, the glamorous. Even if we can't all imbibe champagne on a yacht or zip around in maseratis all the time, at the very least, we can live the good life vicariously.

Thus, as writers, sometimes our JD includes trafficking fantasy.

Though I've met my fair share of datuks and tan sri's who think they're God's answers to mankind's prayers, these guys defied the usual stereotypes.

They were charming, professional, and always gracious. Lars Erik-Nielsen, the silver-haired one on the left, even obliged to playing photographer, while this giddy journo posed disbelievingly in the cockpit of their Porsche!

You can buy fame, but admiration has to be earned.

Of trains and making friends

2009-02-01T14:53:00.003+08:00

Out and About, Weekender, The Star
For the full article, please click here
For the background of this article, please click here

Insider Food Corner

2009-01-18T14:18:00.000+08:00

I've recently started contributing food articles to The Malaysian Insider

Pork knuckle at Ming Chun Kee Seafood, Petaling Jaya

Chee cheong fun at Kedai Kopi Yei Lock, Ipoh (pic above)

Hearty kopitiam fare at Joy Cafe, Happy Garden, Off Jalan Klang Lama

Slurp away :)

Perak Good Food Guide

2009-01-12T23:18:00.000+08:00

Not a word whatsoever of sar kok liew?

What a travesty.

Many a balmy morning, my homies and I would be sitting in a coffee shop and munching on our umpteenth piece of sar kok liew and tearing our hair out in frustration. Why, in the name of the Kitchen God, hasn't this delicious snack been recognized, nay, celebrated in any food tome of note?

That oversight has been corrected - FINALLY - in this shiny new food guide by Flavours, which yours truly had a part to play in :)

So go on, hotfoot it to the nearest good bookstore and find out how something so simple as flour, water and yambean, can taste oh-so-divinely sublime (ok, ok, cliche overload)

I'd like to say that the most rewarding part about doing this book is rectifying this oversight, but but that is only the tip of the iceberg of satisfaction I felt, when I ran my fingers through the leaves of the finished product for the first time.

I hope this book will do fabulously well :)

Not just because I had a part to play in it, and it leads you to over 180 hugely satisfying eats, from the famous Ipoh white coffee and sar hor fun to the yummy, but little known sar kok liew, but more importantly, the Perak Good Food Guide has tried to give a face and recognition to the people who contribute to the vibrancy and diversity of the Ipoh culinary scene.

Eat your heart out :)

Hug those you love

2008-11-08T22:28:00.000+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
For the full article, please click on this link
To read some readers' responses, please click here

This was such a difficult article to write: could you tell?

I still keep Pakcik Norhuda's last sms to me.

Laidback Charm

2008-10-21T23:26:00.001+08:00

Town Break, Going Places (MAS in-flight magazine), October 2008

If there was ever an article borne out of serendipity, this must be it.

Last year, Philip and Siew Ee read an arty I wrote about Sungai Petani and asked on a whim: would I like to follow them to her hometown Kluang for a weekend getaway?

This travelogue is the result of that spontaneous trip :)

I love the quaint town, non sequiturs, anomalies, quirks and all: Every shop seems to display the Malaysian flag alongside the Johor one! Somebody dish out a patriotism award, quick!

Everybody was so lovely. How can I ever repay all of them for their generosity?

From the Lims who were my hosts, to the Kluang Tourism Department secretary who gave a lift to a stranded stranger with little persuasion, to the enigmatic Mansor Poh, a Johor icon I got to know under completely serendipitous circumstances, Kluangites are shining beacons of true Malaysian hospitality.

To Philip, Siew Ee, Uncle Lim, Li Poh, Jit Pang, Barney, Jit Chiang, Ash, Mansor, Kelvin Oon (for those fantastic photographs!), and anyone else I may have inadvertently missed out:

Thank you for reminding me why I love travel writing. As a writer, I am occasionally privileged to enjoy the perks of the job: glitzy hotels, five star restaurants, and glamorous itineraries.

But nothing could ever match the heartfelt warmth of the people who make going places such an joyful affair.

Must cam-whore lah! (Hamming it up with cobbler Ng Chen Lim, of Kedai Kasut Guan Kim)

If anybody wants the full text, you're welcome to write to me at alexandra.lywong@gmail.com

Skypark at Subang

2008-10-14T20:22:00.000+08:00

The latest jewel in Malaysia's aviation crown
MillionaireAsia, Issue 3, Volume 1, 2008

A Simple Life

2008-10-02T21:48:00.001+08:00

Local Traveller, Going Places (MAS In-flight Magazine), May 2008

Sometimes, life just sneaks up on you and whisks you away on an adventure.

Well, Pulau Ketam - a quaint, quirky little island that is entirely road-less (i.e. carbon-monoxide free!!) - was serendipity in motion, and one of the reasons I love what I do for a living: travel, eat, and partake in other people's lives.

Oh and my folks were spot on: Good manners always take you far. So the next time you see an old man, remember to give up your seat.

You never know where it will lead you :)

Here are some pixels from my personal collection:

Yes, everybody - from two-feet-tall pipsqueaks to adults, pranced around brandishing these strange umbrella-cum-hats, while nobody bats an eyelid!

They maximise every inch of their real estate, all right.

Aww. No words required.

My venerable host (can you guess which one?) and his homies :)

Playing tourist, ahem. On my return visit, to hand out copies of the magazine when the article was printed.

*If you'd like to view the full text, please email me at alexandra.lywong@gmail.com and I'll be most happy to share it with you.

Nostalgic over Nosh

2008-09-27T21:46:00.000+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
To read the full article, please click here
To read some readers' responses, please click here

On track for adventure

2008-09-13T21:42:00.000+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
To read the full article, please click here

Pay it forward

2008-08-16T21:29:00.000+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
To read the full article, please click here

Noosa where?

2008-08-10T12:08:00.000+08:00

Travel, The Star Weekender, 9 August 2008

Main story
Main story 1
Main story 2

Sidebars
Camels
Montville

First, my apologies about the abysmal quality of the "scan" (Actually I photographed it and uploaded it) It looks like pickled vegetable now because my parents riffled through the pages umpteenth times. No doubt, chuffed by the sight of their precious daughter (barf) splashed all over the papers.

This has got to be one of the nicest junkettes I've had the good fortune to experience. Not just because I've always loved Australia, but because I never thought I'd encounter so many people on the same wavelength on what-I-thought-would-be-a routine media trip. The journos I met were neither jaded or cynical, the PR folks were refreshingly genuine, and although, by now, I hardly need much convincing about the charms of Oz ...

The Trip. Completely. Blew. My. Expectations. Out of the Water.

It would only be fitting for me to end this with a paen to my favourite character throughout the whole trip:

That's Ghan (short for Afghanistan, I was told), the sweet-tempered, unbelievably docile camel I rode at Noosa North Shore! Ain't he a beauty?

Fear not reunions

2008-08-02T21:10:00.000+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
To read the full article, please click here

Get That Dream Job

2008-07-20T18:37:00.001+08:00

Yes, that's me - the tubby one on the furthest left :) I was one of six people interviewed for the July 2008 issue of Personal Money, for the cover story "Get That Dream Job". Was I excited? You bet. Was I dismayed, after the event? Kinda, especially after I realized there were things I could have done to avoid looking so tubby i.e.

1. Worn a long-sleeved shirt in a dark colour
2. Starved for a week before the fateful day

But then again, it's not often that one gets to grace the cover of a magazine, so between you and me, yeah, I was chuffed as hell :)

Working at Perfection

2008-07-20T13:50:00.000+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
To read the full article, please click here

This was originally meant to be a veiled tribute to perfectionism, but for some reason, everybody latched on to the "Greek God" phrase.

For days, Andrew had to walk around with a plastic bag over his head, to avoid the (real or imagined) stares of sniggering strangers.

And for days, every time the phone beeped, he would shudder, as more often than not, it was inevitably an sms that began with "Hi Greek God..."

The last message I got from him? "I want to strangle you!!!"

Paying it forward

2008-07-06T01:22:00.000+08:00

Scratching Post, Star Weekender, 5 July 2008
Click here to read the full article
To read a reader's response, please click here

An offer hard to resist

2008-06-22T10:45:00.000+08:00

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
Click here to read the full article

WCIT 2008: a view from within

2008-06-15T07:10:00.000+08:00

Features, Intech, The Star
Click here to read the full article

The great leap

2008-05-28T09:29:00.000+08:00

I was one of 3 females interviewed for an article on women who left the rat race to plunge into the unknown.
Click here to read full article

A personal Indulgence

2008-04-19T22:16:00.000+08:00

Rest & Relax, Weekender, The Star
Click here to read the full article

Of people & pastries

2008-04-13T22:09:00.000+08:00

The Navel Gazer, Weekender, The Star
Click here to read the full article

KL Explorer

2008-04-10T22:27:00.001+08:00

The Complete Residents' Guide

The KL Explorer isn't meant for tourists who are just looking for the best Twin Towers photo ops - it's written for the intrepid resident and traveller who knows the value of year-round sunshine (paraphrased from the foreword).

The Kuala Lumpur Complete Residents' Guide has been meticulously researched and written by a team of seven city experts who n ot only know the city inside out, but love it too.

Available at all major bookstores

Chicken Porridge for the Soul

2008-04-10T22:17:00.000+08:00

That's just the way the cookie crumbles
MPH Quill, April-June 2008

Standing United

2008-03-30T00:36:00.000+08:00

The Navel Gazer, Weekender, The Star
Click here to read full article

Steady as she goes

2008-03-13T18:28:00.001+08:00

One of 7 female travellers interviewed for an article in travel magazine Zero Degrees, March 2008

Hardly Illiterate

2008-02-17T01:45:00.000+08:00

Navel Gazer, Weekender, The Star
Click here to read the full article

The Blues & McEpiphany

2008-02-03T15:30:00.000+08:00

The Navel Gazer, Weekender, Scratching Post
Click here to read the full article

About me

2007-12-31T19:10:00.001+08:00

Hi! My name is Alexandra Wong and you may have seen some of my articles :)

I'm a full-time writer. I wasn't always one, though I've always had a serious case of word lust (Blame Enid Blyton's mouthwatering picnic basket descriptions).

After graduating with a degree in English Literature, I fell into a Fortune 500 Company by accident. The money was certainly good, and I did well enough to win a couple of sales awards along the way, but it was not the same as doing something after your own heart, know what I mean?

Then another accident (I am QUITE the drama queen, aren't I?) made me take a long, hard second look at life. Hell, I wasn't blind, and neither am I (that) stupid, so I reckoned God was trying to tell me to wake up and smell the roses.

So I hung up my court shoes, had a ball backpacking for six months, and when it was time to refill the coffers, I thought I'd take a poke at doing what I loved best for a living - writing.

Guess what. I'm still happily scribbling about life, love and the universe :)

The Wongs watch Sivaji

2007-12-27T20:47:00.000+08:00

The Navel Gazer, Weekender, Scratching Post
Click here to read the full article
Reader's feedback

Against the odds

2007-12-08T22:01:00.000+08:00

The Navel Gazer, Weekender, Scratching Post
Click here to read the full article

Writing about ourselves

2007-11-25T22:37:00.000+08:00

The Star, Starmag, Readsmonthly
Click here to read the full article

Why Female Bloggers are creaming their Male Counterparts

2007-11-15T22:25:00.000+08:00

Gadget3, Features
Click here to read the full article

Astrology - the supreme science?

2007-10-29T21:54:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekender, Trivial Pursuit, 27 October 2007

Click here to read the full article

Penang I-Land

2007-10-25T10:19:00.001+08:00

Surf, Oct-Nov 2007 Issue # 7

Quaint little hamlet

2007-09-30T08:36:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekender, Travel & Adventure, 29 Sept 2007
Click here to read the full article
Reader's Feedback

You go, girl!

2007-08-26T01:32:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekender, Nightlines, 25 August 2007
Click here to read the full article

Me and my bikini

2007-07-22T01:30:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekender, Scratching Post, 21 July 2007
Click here to read the full article

Dynamite dough

2007-07-21T09:53:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekender, Food, 21 July 2007
Click here to read the full article
Reader feedback

Bodhi good food

2007-07-15T10:35:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekender, Food, 14 July 2007
Click here to read the full article

Smiles and borak-borak

2007-06-25T00:41:00.001+08:00

The Star, Starmag, Heart & Soul, 24 June 2007
Click here to read full article

What boys want

2007-06-25T00:36:00.001+08:00

The Star, Weekender, Cupid Connection, 23 June 2007
Click here to read the full article

It's Chow time

2007-05-28T11:49:00.001+08:00

The Star, Weekender, Movies, 26 May 2007
Click here to read the full article

The other article on behind-the-scenes action is here

The Road to SP

2007-05-05T21:06:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekender, Out & About, 5 May 2007
Click here to read the full article

Gunung Mulu National Park

2007-03-30T00:05:00.000+08:00

Virtual Malaysia, March/April 2007
Click here to read excerpt from article

Life is simpler now

2007-03-27T17:46:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekend, Trivial Pursuit, 17 March 2007
Click here to read article
Reader's feedback

Dumpling girl

2007-03-15T20:44:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekend, Cupid Connection, 3 March 2007
Click here to read article

She does know best, darn it

2007-02-25T22:11:00.000+08:00

The Star, Starmag, The Gap, 18 Feb 2007
Click here to read article

My Marilyn makeover

2007-01-14T22:34:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekend, Trivial Pursuit, 13 Jan 2007
Click here to read article

Second chance

2007-01-08T12:12:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekend, Food, 6 Jan 2007
Click here to read article

This is the sequel to Cold Shock, originally published on 9 Dec 2006

Playing with the Bavarians

2006-12-25T15:25:00.000+08:00

The Star, Starmag, Wheels, 24 Dec 2006
Click here to read article

Cold shock

2006-12-09T10:39:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekend, Food, 9 Dec 2006
Click here to read article

Ye ole kopitiam

2006-12-09T10:34:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekend, Food, 9 Dec 2006
Click here to read article

Finding a place in the sun

2006-12-04T18:40:00.000+08:00

The Star, Starmag, Heart & Soul, 3 Dec 2006
Click here to read article

The indifferent generation

2006-12-04T08:05:00.000+08:00

New Straits Times, Life & Times, 13 Feb 2002
This is not a link

Big eyes

2006-12-04T07:55:00.000+08:00

The Star, Starmag, Heart & Soul, 24 Sept 2006
Click here to read article

Where wild women go

2006-12-04T07:50:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekend, 21 Jan 2006
Click here to read article

Storm in a B-cup

2006-12-04T07:46:00.000+08:00

Storm in a B-cup
The Star, Weekend, Trivial Pursuit, 22 July 2006

The geek shall inherit

2006-12-03T13:13:00.000+08:00

The Star, Starmag, Trends, 29 Oct 2006
Click here to read article

Terengganu's best kept secret

2006-12-03T13:10:00.000+08:00

The Star, Weekend, Travel, 29 April 2006
Click here to read article