The Ugly Truth

The Ugly Truth is one of the very few movies that brings audiences through a flourish of emotions ranging from outrageous dismay to heartfelt sympathy and then shared happiness.

What happens when strict, always prepared, control freak Abby (Katherine Heigl) who can't seem to manage her love life; meets perverted, easy-going, male chauvinist Mike (Gerard Butler)?

The answer is a humorous, food-for-thought romantic comedy that leaves you questioning the true motive of women and men while wanting more.

The story's main characters are a classic example of stereotypes where Abby believes in true love and is looking for her prince charming while Mike is a gruff and tough man who can't seem to conjure thoughts above his waist.

The two clash when their principles and believes rub each other raw and the tension is unbearable when Mike was signed on as a talent that Abby had to produce on her TV show, "The Ugly Truth" which features relationship-expert Mike disillusioning women on what men really want and what they should do to be attractive to men.

Just the beginning of the movie leaves a profound impact on audiences as women cinema-wide displayed expressions of wide disbelief while men seem to be amazingly amused.

The Ugly Truth is surely a movie not to be missed and is surely Gerard Butler's best movie yet.

Rating: 5/5

Words or Action

There's a popular saying, "Action speaks louder than words", but really, which is important?

In the normal circumstances, when you say you will do something but you don't do it, someone will get offended or sad. For example, you promise your girlfriend you would try to change. After you say it, you don't do it. You keep putting it off to tomorrow and then tomorrow. Guess what, tomorrow never ends. There's always going to be a tomorrow after tomorrow. The next tomorrow can be the tomorrow you were saying. Please shape up and do it. Don't make excuses.

The other thing is the word "try". People don't realize it but it is actually a negative word. Why? Because if will absolve your responsibility by saying it. When you say "I try" you're neither saying you will nor you won't. Using the word "try" for your promises is convenient for you but it hurts your partner more. Use the word "I will". Doing something starts from your self determination to do it. Don't make promises you can't keep.

In scenario 2, you've been going out with your girlfriend, or rather, someone you say is your girlfriend for a while. You guys do all the stuff couples do. You hold hands and go out together. You make corny jokes and pamper one another. Both of you do all sorts of stuff together but you don't tell her you love her. You believe your action speaks louder than words. You believe what you do has already told her you're serious with her.

Well dude, a news flash just for you. IT DOESN'T. Your girl will always be lost in between the parts of confusion and insecurity. You would ask, why will she? Because she doesn't know for sure that you're serious about her. She can't officially tell people you're her boyfriend because she doesn't know for sure. She's afraid that you're going to turn around and leave all of a sudden and say that there really was nothing between you, that you were just "benefits without responsibilities" friends. It's not about trust. Trust is the only thing that keeps her from leaving you. IF you say you love her and you mean it, it will reassure her and your relationship bond will be stronger. There's really no reason you shouldn't say it. After all, she's with you because she's serious about you.

From both situations, i can conclude that BOTH word and action are equally important. After you say something and then you do it, it will give people the feeling that you're credible and believable. That you're a man of your words. Words and action goes hand in hand. One can't go without the other.

People are complicated and insecure creatures, and even more so in this time and age. Sometimes, clarification is needed. Other times, action from your behalf is necessary. You lose nothing by offering and it could be good for you and people around you. Think about it.

Return of the Day of Birth

The night before my special day, Bao Bao presented me with a little gift. It was a chocolate mousse cake. It tasted great with the dark chocolate practically making up the whole slice of cake. "I thought you might like it. As a little surprise", he smiled. Gah, I haven't had cake in ages. He didn't like cakes much but he bought it for me because I like it. :) I adore surprises but more than that, I feel touched by the sincerity in making a surprise for me.

I messaged Bao Bao before I got out of bed the next day and got up and washed up. I had a short chat with my sister and mum before going out to meet my Prince in his maroon car.

He was wearing a torn blue shirt that says "save the world" with bermuda pants. I was wearing a jeans dress. XD Honestly I was a bit disappointed in his way of dressing on such a day but what he said after that made up for it. "Happy Birthday, Bie", he said. :) I smiled because the person I loved remembered my birthday and wished me with a loving crinkle in his eyes.

I suddenly miss the taste of KFC and Domino's and had trouble deciding on which to go. So we tried to go KFC first and there was no parking. No fate so we went to Domino's, drove a whole round then found a parking a mile away.

Have you ever seen those romance movies where couples share an umbrella under the pouring rain? The exact same scenario happened. Just the 2 of us squeezing under 1 tiny (smaller than usual) sized umbrella, walking a mile squeezed closely together. The weather was cold and harsh but under that umbrella, it was warm and comfortable.

We ordered some new type of fries with cheese bites and a large pizza. Another thing I appreciate about Bao Bao is that he shares the love of food with me (besides vegetables and fruits since he hates them).

We reached home and had a little party of our own and celebrated it over a Steven Chow movie. After that we took a nap together as the weather was cooling and Bao Bao hinted there was much to do at night.

7pm arrived and we got ready. I know he won't tell me but I still had to ask, "Where are we going, Bao Bao?" Again, he had that mysterious smile and said "You'll know when we get there". He made me play guessing games as to where he was taking me but provided no real answers.

At last, he said "Here we are" and parked the car. Where were we? He brought me to a restaurant with the cutest logo of a rabbit and a moon. It was Tomoe Japanese Restaurant. "I know you love Japanese food", he commented.

It was kind of high class, with Japanese sliding door as its main door. There were Japanese language newspapers and magazines on a table near that door. All the workers would greet us welcome in Japanese and tend to us most politely.

"I made a reservation", Bao Bao said and I felt happy, that he thought so far ahead for me. We were directed across the floor to an elevator and went up a floor and shown to our seats.

It was a corner table where you could see outside through the glass windows. The lights were yellow and mellow and had a romantic mood to it. The table was set with chopsticks, among other things, not all of which we knew how to use.

"What do we do with this?", Bao Bao asked me. "How should I know? I've never been to high class Japanese restaurants before!" I answered.

We had fun guessing and trying out the Japanese custom while we were there. I opened the menu and my draw dropped. People, if you don't have at least RM 100 please don't come to this restaurant. You'd embarrass yourself.

I had trouble deciding what to order because I haven't seen many of the food types plus the prices were glaring. I kind of felt bad that Bao Bao had to pay so much.

Finally I decided on a mix fish with rice dish which cost about RM 38. The fish were very very fresh. It feels like the for the first time, I'm really tasting the salmon and the tuna. There were octopus slices, salmon, tuna, some fish eggs and some other fish that I'm not sure what they were. My rating? 9/10. It was DELICIOUS!

Bao Bao ordered a Ten Don. It's a mix of fried foods with rice. He'd love that dish as he loves fried food. We shared everything we ordered so we had a chance to taste more stuff.

Between us, we shared a Dragon Roll. It's a beautiful sushi dish, with salmon and avocado plus lobster in between. It was tasty. It made me think "Ah, so THIS is sushi".

The food is awesome! I don't think there's anywhere else you can find such fresh Japanese food that looks good and taste good.

At first I felt a bit out of place because everyone else present at the restaurant was either Japanese or a business man. The whole place reeked of 2 things, "expensive" and "high class". Eventually I started to enjoy the place and food because Bao Bao was there to enjoy it with me.

When we finished eating, he asked me, "Are you happy? Do you like it here?" and I said "Yes" because I was. Bao Bao wasn't very rich but he saved and he was willing to spend so much on me. Plus he told me he was driving around here looking for the restaurant before. It was SO much effort. I was truly touched.

Then, a waitress approached with a beautiful little cake with candles and all, put it before me, and sang me a birthday song. The cake had a chocolate plate that said "Jamien's 22". :) An original besides "Happy Birthday" was nice. He kissed me and we shared a blueberry cheese cake.

After that, he sent me home. I was really happy. I feel so loved. I have such a wonderful person who plans such a wonderful birthday surprise for me. I am glad and happy he would do this for me. Bad experience has taught me that it is not a must that people celebrate your birthday but it is a privilege that only those truly loved will get.

He also made a sort of private book for me. "To stick our photos in it", he says. It's not finished yet but it's wonderful because he made it with his hands.He lost sleep over it.

I feel so privileged to be entitled to his love and efforts. I feel glad he remembered my birthday. I feel happy he planned and worked so hard to make me happy. I feel touched that I mean so much to him. Above all. I'm glad we found each other, that we met, and we fell in love. :)

Bao Bao, I'm glad to call you mine. :) And thanks you for the best birthday, ever.

P/S: Thanks Pio Pio and Hawkies for all the help you gave to my Bao Bao.

Appreciation

Everyone knows that love can easily go sour. Often times, we find angry wives and tired husbands. Why? Why do all these happen? I witnessed a wife complaining about her husband, saying angry words but her eyes showed not anger, but hurt and sadness.

I've come to the conclusion, that after being with someone after some time, people just tend to overlook things they should appreciate. For example, after marriage, you come home to your wife cooking. You'd appreciate the fact that you have someone special and only belongs with you. You'd also appreciate that she wants a warm meal for you to come home to. But after a few years, you neglect that fact. Cooking becomes her JOB. In fact, you'd be pissed to arrive home and the meals aren't cooked.

Dude, she married you and is your wife. She gave a part of her life to you, to be with you. She didn't give it to you just so she can be your slave and cook, wash and clean. Wives are NOT free servants. Don't treat them like one. There is no rule written in the marriage contract that she has to cook and clean and give birth to your kids.

Everything she does at home, she does it for you. So don't cease to appreciate her little actions as love and care for you. Don't start thinking it's her duty, because it's not. She washes your clothes because she wants you to have clean clothes to wear. She cooks for you so you can have good food to eat and not starve. She gifts you with her children because she gives you the privilege of being the father of her children. She nags you about everything, because she worries about your safety and health, etc. She doesn't have to give a damn about you.

Same for wives. Your husband is out working very hard so he can make sure to provide you with ingredients to cook, with a home, to indulge in your fantasies, etc. He goes out with you shopping no matter how he dislikes it because YOU like it.

As for children, your parents work very hard, and has been doing so, probably even before you were conceived. They nag, they worry and they fret about you, because you are their special and important child and they want you to have the best in life, and not to make mistakes you can never recover from.

As for siblings, yeah, you fight. Sometimes you feel you hate each other. But hey, you guys are special to one another. Only you guys are blood related, grew up together. No one can be THAT intimately close as do you all. Appreciate it. The closest friends fight. Siblings are closer still.

Friends, sometimes you will say hurtful things to each other because it is true. You can't hate each other for that. Who's going to seriously tell you that your dress sucks or you have a bad behavior that would make you and people around you unhappy? Only the closest and dearest friends will do so because they want what's best for you.

Everyone has reasons for what they do. Sometimes, take a step back and put yourself in that person's shoe. Why would that person do that to you? Any hidden motives? Think of why the person does what he does before you snap. More than anything, appreciate the little things they do for you. They do it out of love. No matter how often they do it for you, it deserves to be appreciated. Simply put, people do many things and don't expect material things in return. What they do want, is acknowledgment that you recognized their efforts and appreciate it.

Bad Luck

What happens when bad luck befalls you? The day started nice and interesting. Jane was supposed to meet Zhong Wei nicely at 1 Utama and buy tickets for the movie "He's Just Not That Into You" and Zhai Zhai and I will meet them later when he finishes work. It all worked out fine and we reached 1 Utama and found a parking space just that close to 7pm, the time our movie was supposed to start.

I took a step out of the car and *PLAK*. The straps of my sandal conveniently broke off. In haste and embarrassment, took off my sandals and waltz the whole 1 Utama BAREFOOT. The sensation was weird but not many people actually noticed it. The feeling of the tiled floors or the escalators on your bare feet are interesting. It's definitely not a good idea to go barefoot into the cinema. You'd feel like your toes were getting frostbites on them.

Before we took our meal, we all rushed into a Bata shop to get me a pair pf shoes. The look on the sales person's face when buying a pair of shoes barefoot was weird. Hahahaha. But hey, i have shoes when i walk into the restaurant for food! Yes!

I don't recommend anyone to ever go barefoot in 1 utama. It's cold and the floor's dusty. :P maybe I should have made Zhai Zhai go barefoot while I wore his shoes.

2nd Motor Ride wif Broken

It was a Thursday, in other words, the one day that I have no class in college. I wake up at noon as usual, and squint to read a message from a cutie. "Jam, what time are you free today?"

Waking up to a cutie's message is awesome. Then my whole day was planned and occupied. I woke up, bathed, helped my family out of the house for their own activities, and went at the back to meet Broke Broke.

It was starting to drizzle, and there was Broke Broke, waiting on my high machine aka motorcycle. LOL. Guys, prince on a white horse is overrated and old fashioned. Now, there's that well-dressed cute boy on a motorcycle waiting for you and just for you! *fawns~*

This time, i wore the helmet and got on the motorcycle with no problem. Then the high experience of scenes zipping by began and everything is clearer since it was during the day. This is my third time on the motor (2 times on the first trip) he sped up way more. I was in seventh heaven! My first trip on the motorcycle in broad daylight!

When we reached, first thing to do is of course get to the cinema! After short assessment of time and movies available, we chose Confession of a Shopaholic. People, I think this movie is one of the must watch. The story is about a girl, who have problems with shopping. Being stinged on by her parents since she was young, she has this unbridled desire to own all the beautiful shoes and clothes that were pretty and expensive but not necessarily made to last. Her credit cards became her magic weapon that brings her all the things she wants. Due to fate and luck, a string of events led her to meet a cute guy she loved and she was the luckiest girl alive! But because of her obsession, she let the man she loved down and disappointed her best friend. Then, she did the right thing and fixed her life plus got over her obsession. This is a touching and beautiful story possibly true in this age and time.


After that, we went and buy a second movie! We chose Knowing cuz Broke Broke has this thing for Nicholas Cage. We jalan jalan a while all around then went back for the movie. The movie was OK. It is pretty creepy and has the makings of a horror movie. The movie is about a single father (Nicholas Cage) whose doing a so-so job at raising his son, Caleb. His son picks an envelope from a 50 year old time capsule that contains dates, number of death and location of major disasters around the globe. That part was really creepy and awesome. Then there's the Apocalypse and whisperer. Wanna know more? Watch it! It's actually not bad. And doomsday is coming this 19th October!

The guy in the cinema who checked our tickets were surprised to see us again and recognized us well. I was surprised he recognized us out of the tonnes of people going into the cinema daily. He took some time to recommend us some movies he think that we would enjoy. Honestly I was a little flattered since he could pick out our faces from the crowd.

Following that is of course... FOOD! We both made our first entrance and trip to Sakae Sushi. Broke Broke and I were disappointed because they ran out of salmon but the sushi is fresh, taste good and the system for ordering was cool! They have this computer next to each table and you get to order the stuff through the system. They have pictures you can enlarge and you can see the ingredients for each type of food they make. That was our first time eating in a place with such system so we had an interesting time figuring and ordering stuff. By the time we ordered it was already closing up since Sakae Sushi was closing in early that day. Just our luck.

Oh, Broke Broke hates vegetables. Watch me as I emphasize "HATE". Eating a load of wasabi was easier than biting into a mouthful of cucumbers. When he bit into his Spicy Salmon Roll, he had so much luck that he extracted all the cucumbers out at 1 go. Imagine the face of someone forcibly drinking the raw egg of an ostrich. Can you imagine it? Yup, that's how dear Broke Broke looked. My feelings were running somewhere between laughing in stitches and emphathizing with him since I'd look like him if I had a mouthful of broccoli.


Broke Broke can eat a lot of wasabi. Putting the wasabi in soy sauce takes away the nose flaring feel so he applied wasabi directly to his sushi minus the soy sauce. I have to say, his tolerance for such stuff is high! He hardly blinked! I wanted to take pictures of him with teary eyes but it didn't happen. So the next time, I helped him stack a little mountain of wasabi on his sushi. He was eager to test himself also. Expecting nothing, I didn't get my camera on ready and I regretted! He got teary-eyes! By the time I got my phone out, it was already over! Dang! I didn't get to take his teary eyed pictures but i still got to take some of his other cute pictures~ XD

Oh, the other thing I did notice was Broke Broke has this really cute gait. Whenever he wants to get on the escalator to go down, he watches the passing steps intently to make sure he steps into the yellow box, which means he'll be a few steps behind. In a way, that is so so incredibly cute! Gah!!! It makes me wanna hold his hand and beseech him to trust me and lead him on the escalator. Oh my goodness where do you find guys this cute?? <3

We wanted to go for another movie after that but the only available movies that won't cross 1am was not too much to our taste so we headed home. I got another motor ride~ The traffic was heavy and I experienced "walking" and weaving to get by stationary cars. I wished that it would rain then so I get the feel of soaking wet while on your bike. Call me crazy but it's an experienced. Imagine getting soaking wet, your clothes plastered to you, and you holding on to a cute guy. Comprande? XD

Thanks to Broke Broke's excellent skills I got very comfortable riding a motor. There's practically no fear. So I had another great outing with a great guy. No need to say but I'm obviously looking forward to our next outing, whenever that is. =3

Motor Ride With Broken

Broke Broke and I instantly hit off as we did click after chatting. We both discovered that we were deprived movie buffs, so we instantly planned for an outing of movie watching!

Last Tuesday, we finally managed to meet up and despite seeing his picture online already, I really have to say, he is cute! It's a really strange world where most people think that they're fugly but I don't see it at all.

When we met, we started chatting and chatting till it was a little late for us to get to an earlier movie. XD He is a nice guy and it is very very easy and comfortable to talk with him.

Right after that has to be the highlight of the whole day. We are going to go to 1 Utama on his motorcycle!! Yes guys, I know. It's just a motorcycle right? What's the big deal?

Well, consider this. I have parents who have always disallowed me from riding a motorcycle. Why? Cuz it's dangerous. Motorcyclist have high mortality rates. Youngsters nowadays drive recklessly, always cutting in and out of a line like the road belongs to their father. Or so said my parents.

As for myself, I find that I am more adventurous after my breakup. I just really wanted to try many many new things. :) Somehow, it makes my life seem more interesting and significant that way. So yeah, I was afraid to ride a motorcycle, but I wanted to just for the experience. I was so excited and kinda anticipated and dreaded the experienced all at once.

When it was time to go, Broke Broke passed me a helmet. The first question I asked him was "How do you wear a helmet". I swear, his expression was weird like I was asking him something really crazy. I know it's lame but I don't know how it works!

Then there was "How do you get up on the seat". He says, "hold on my shoulder and hop on top". I was like, "oh!". Did try it, manage to get on top, and Broke Broke was very considerate. He drove slowly. He eventually sped up a bit and I couldn't quite summon the courage to release myself from the hugging position on the bike. XD It was quite embarrassing.

People, the experience was awesome! It's really different from sitting in a car cuz you get to see all around you. No protection for you but no material resistance either. The reason why motors don't need air conditioner is because the wind totally hits against your skin and you would feel cool! The sensation of scenery and wind zipping by is exhilarating. In high speed, the ride makes you wanna scream out "yeah!!". If you ask for my one word description of the ride, the word I would use is "HIGH".


We bought a movie ticket to watch Hotel For Dogs. It's about this pair of brother and sister who had been put in foster families many times since their parents died. They were doing all they can to feed their dog Friday without their latest foster parents finding out. Their foster parents are plain bimbo weird. Anyways, they ended up rescuing stray dogs with a few more friends till they their own special family. This show had a lot to do with family and doing the right thing plus overcoming adversity. The younger brother is some sort of a genius inventor who makes a whole lot of cool gadgets to keep the dogs happy and satisfied. That part of it is really cool.


Before we went for the movie, Broke Broke and I went to Vietnamese Kitchen for dinner. The atmosphere is nice and the food's good. The service is very good as well. I ordered Vietnam Fried Rice while he had a Lemon chicken chop if i remember. Both food were well decorated. nice to eat and nice to look at. That's pretty good in my books. They served us some sort of peanuts before our meal, and it taste good! It's not the fried kacang that we get from restaurants. This once have gravy and are soft and nice.

After the movie we had another motor ride home! Guys... I love riding motor! It makes you feel really good, like swinging really high on playground swings. Holding the shoulders of a kawaii guy for security isn't bad either. Hehe...

P/S: To protect Broke Broke's privacy, I have agreed not to post his picture on this blog. Plus I think most of you have already seen him.