This year’s February is a funky month — or as Malaysian netizens said, “the Truly Malaysia month this year ma.” We had Federal Territory Day and Thaipusam on the same date, February 1, so we had a long weekend from January 30 to February 2. For the upcoming events, we are going to have Lunar New Year, immediately followed with Ramadan and Lent.
We stayed at KL, and while a lot of tourists spots are packed, it was still quite okay-ish. I finished “Love Between Lines” C-drama (28 episodes), and I have been enjoying it! I didn’t have anything bad to say, hahah. Lu Yuxiao as the main female character has been so superb in her acting; it feels “controlled”, in a really good way. She managed to deliver a cute, charming, and warm character without being a “pouty girl”. Her acting screams skills and character depth. Also, since this is a C-drama, viewers are always spoiled by cinematic and wide shots.
I love the contrasts in this shot. The left side (alley/hallway) v. The right side (the picture)Not a wide shot but I love this shot. The “double”-feelings when the character feels deep sadness. That kind of uneasiness and unsettling emotions were conveyed nicely here
We also had a quick visit to the Kinokuniya Bookstore Suria KLCC as Rey wanted to buy an edition of “Diary of the Wimpy Kid”. On the store’s second floor, there is a cafe: O’Coffee Club. This cafe is one of my favorites, and my particular drink to go is their Peach Sunrise: Tea (pu er, so it’s light and nice for your digestion), peach puree, and lemonade.
And a seafood platter at TGI Fridays.
We couldn’t finish the whole thing, so I asked the staff for to-go, and I had their fried fish for my fish fillet sandwich for breakfast on the next day. Yum!
Also, note to self: Be more careful when buying “stickers” from KKV 🥲 Yes, the stuffs are super cute and some are actually good quality, but what I thought was stickers are actually adhesive tapes (my bad, I didn’t read the label carefully when browsing), which means I need to cut the area I want then peel them. While I’m generally okay doing so, having a different expectation was quite surprising, hahah.
I have been feeling quite horrible for the past two weeks, and no matter what I did — full-body spa, massage, vitamin supplements — things didn’t improve much. Honestly, it made 2026 felt slightly rough. That said, I’m in favor of accepting that the month of January is the Trial Month. New Year is not started until the Lunar New Year. There.
Anyway, I then decided to try TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) method. Mostly because: 1. It’s quite common here in Malaysia, and 2. TCM is pretty great, too. While it’s easy to dismiss the method as “woo-woo science”, it’s actually not. I can understand the skepticism, though. I grew up in Orde Baru Indonesia, in the 1990s, and during that time, everything Chinese is demonized. The late president of that time followed CIA playbook down to the T, and the USA, through the CIA as their proxy, was — and still is — scared shitless of “communism”. Hence, everything China should be banned. I grew up in the Indonesia where we used to see anything China-related in such suspicion, even the Chinese-Indonesians at that time had to change their names to avoid suspicions despite them were born and bred in Indonesia and had a deeper and closer relationship with ayam goreng sambel matah than xiaolongbao. Chinese language teaching was forbidden, folks couldn’t celebrate Lunar New Year openly, and no millennials in Indonesia could forget the 1998 Tragedy.
Side note: If this interests you, you can read “The Jakarta Method” book by Vincent Bevins.
That said, it’s all about how government through media shaping our thoughts and opinions, hence why critical thinking is important, and the reason why I stood in front of a TCM clinic on Thursday morning.
I learned about this place from the Threads app. Someone there shared her experience having acupuncture treatment at this clinic, and since this place is quite near from my place, I decided to give it a try.
Acupuncture isn’t new to me. I had my first acupuncture treatment when I was pregnant with Rey, my youngest. I had a terrible sinusitis during the pregnancy, but I didn’t want to take medicines for fear of fetal growth issues (if any) and I thought the sinusitis would go on its own (it didn’t). I then decided to try acupuncture when I was back in Indonesia, and it helped a bit. “A bit”, because acupuncture is the type of treatment that you need to do several times/regularly, and I only could do it once since I was on a trip back home.
When I came back to KL, my obgyn referred me to an ENT specialist. The ENT specialist asked me if I ever got any treatment for the sinusitis, and I told him, between mucus and snorts and watery eyes, “I had an acupuncture treatment when I was in Indonesia.”
I was surprised when he said, “oh, that’s good! It’s a shame you can’t continue it since you have to go back to KL ya.” I asked him, “is it (acupuncture) actually effective?” He said that yep, it’s effective, and he prefers his patients to try acupuncture or TCM first before resorting to regular medicine intake.
When I was in the clinic, the practitioner checked my pulse and… I honestly didn’t know what she checked on my wrist, but I know it’s being taught in the TCM, and she, correctly, listed down my conditions. I remember folks said that TCM practitioners also trained to “listen” to other parts of body organs, so it was beyond just a pulse and blood pressure.
I told the practitioner my concerns, on how I have been feeling horrible for the past 2-3 weeks, my joints are aching, horrible sleep, and lack of energy. She then recommended me to undergo acupuncture and cupping.
We went to one of the treatment rooms available, and I laid down on my stomach and had acupuncture on the back of my neck, my shoulders, and my feet. Once the needles are set, the practitioner put a heat lamp on my shoulders and told me to stay for 15 minutes. It was so warm and pleasant, I even snoozed off during that time. Once the 15 minutes was up, the practitioner took off all the needles then asked me to turn my body around. I then turned my body and the practitioner set the needles on my abdomen area. She then set the heat lamp to my abdomen and leave me again for 15 minutes.
After the acupuncture was done, we moved to cupping treatment. Now, it was my first time in doing cupping treatment, and I would say that… It wasn’t super painful, but it was indeed uncomfortable for the first 2-3 minutes as you have your skin pulled by the cup. Also, while yes, you will have bruises and the bruises are temporary, for the uninitiated, it might looked like you got beaten up 😅
The result has been great, though! I definitely feel more energized, less pain, and I could sleep better. I still need to work on the sleeping time (dang Animal Crossing for taking up my time), but things have been great so far. My next appointment would be next week, and I’m quite excited, hahah.
Ari has been using bicycle to go to the train station for the past couple of weeks, so on the last weekend, he wanted to buy some cycling shorts at the Bike Artisan store at The Row, Kuala Lumpur. The store is in the same vicinity as Pulpy Garden, my usual go-to plants store, so I decided to visit them. I got myself a couple of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana plants. TIL they are within the family of succulents. That explains the “water them twice a week”-guide.
Some pics from the store.
Lunar New Year is around the corner (fun fact: For this year, right after the day of Lunar New Year, Ramadan starts) hence the pretty plants with red ornaments.
Eyyy, 2 days of not blogging because I got immersed in ACNH ver. 3.0, ahah. I’m really happy with the ver. 3.0 update, mostly because when Nintendo released the ver. 2.0 update back in 2021, they said that it would be the “last major update” and the community was bracing for the game to be sunset-ed. It seems like the love from the community still going strong, we got a new major update!
… and some of the additional much-needed much-celebrated features:
Bulk DIY crafting/cooking, up to 10 items (provided we have the needed materials/ingredients).
Direct access to our main storage for DIY craft/cooking without having to have the materials/ingredients in our bag inventory.
Nintendo has fixed the bug on Leif’s weeding service.
It’s now possible to store plants inside your storage.
I have tried most of them, except slumber island and Leif’s weeding service, and my favorites are:
Resetti’s island reset
Bulk DIY crafting/cooking
Direct access to our main storage during DIY crafting/cooking
I legit feel those three made things easier and sparked the joy of playing ACNH. That “this is why we do what we do.”
Resetti’s Island Reset
Resetti is a character from Animal Crossing, I think even since the very first version. He used to appear on the screen, yelling at players whenever they are closing the game without saving. He was “asked to do a different job” on New Horizons because the game has autosave feature, hence the Rescue Service. To be honest, I never used the Rescue Service. I did see Resetti one time at The Roost Cafe before this recent update.
In this update, Resetti provides island reset feature, which you can choose between two options: Partial reset/specific location-reset, or whole island-reset.
Partial reset would be great for folks who want to work on a small/specific area on their island, whereas the whole island-reset is as its name: The whole island.
If you are worried whether Resetti’s Island Reset would reset your inventory, catalog, and collections, don’t be. This is basically a reset feature that will only clean your island, not wipe out your whole data. Think of it as an… island clean-up. Resetti won’t clean:
Trees
Farming plants (potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, etc) and weeds (not THAT weeds. Also, someone on Reddit /acnh commented that the reason Resetti won’t clear out the weeds is because weeding service is Leif’s domain)
Paths
Buildings
Terraforming
He can clear out (with the player’s consent. Don’t worry, he’ll ask):
Flowers (you can ask him either to keep it as it is, keep it in the storage, or dispose the flowers)
Custom paths (you can ask him to keep it or remove it)
You can find Resetti wandering around your island after you update the game to ver. 3.0 or the day after you update it. He will also tell you that if you ever need the reset service in the future, you can call him through Isabelle. Also, the first island reset is free, and you will need to pay 60,000 bells for the next reset. The fee of 60,000 bells applies for a whole day, not for each reset. He will also show you how the cleaned area will look like, so if you are not feeling it, you can always change your mind.
Anyway. I have been feeling tired of my island but the thought of taking things and storing it in my storage overwhelmed me, so when the ver. 3.0 was out and I saw Resetti, I jumped into the opportunity right away.
Resort Hotel
The resort hotel is managed by Kapp’n family members: Leilani (his wife), grams (his mom), and Leila (his daughter) — and located on the pier.
Kapp’n. Always a romantic
If you have ACNH: Happy Home Paradise, you might be familiar with how Resort Hotel works. Your job is to help Leilani designing hotel rooms. Also, you can provide DIY requests that Kapp’n will sell offshore; the more rooms you design and DIY requests you fulfilled, the more guests will come to your island.
I did enjoy this aspect of the update, because it makes my island livelier. On top of my villagers doing their regular thing on the island, I also meet the tourists exploring the island.
Bob was my first hotel guest
… which made my villagers exploring the island even further! I found Marshall chilling on the camping area at the northern part of the island!
Maple and Marshall at the forest camping area
I also love the fact that Kapp’n is now closer with his family; he will sleep much better, most definitely.
The only downside of this feature is that it can be quite overwhelming for your Switch’s graphics since you will have more animals roaming on your island, especially if your Switch is an older version. Mine is Nintendo Switch Animal Crossing New Horizons edition, and I don’t think I would ever get a new one, and my island is not heavily decorated, yet the lag can be really prevalent at times.
Other than that, I’m really happy with the update. The direct access to the main storage has been a game-changer, as I found myself craft and cook more.
… لو إنك زبون حجازي يحرم عليي ملبوسك See me, navigate the waves in the light, not the black Stars and the heavens and the breeze on my back
Say Hallelujah holler Yella, yalla (Fresh) Turkish coffee, Starbucks, you’re corny (Fresh) Know where I’m heading, and I be where I be (Fresh) They got it how they go it But not like me …
If you enjoyed Gorillaz’s “Damascus”, try listen to “Toz” by Wessam Qutob.
Before I start, let me preface this post by saying that THIS IS NOT AN AD/PAID POST. If I were ever asked to publish a paid post/ad, I would inform you all. So far, the brands or companies that I mentioned here are based on my personal experiences and unpaid opinions.
Last week, the BilaBila Mart team contacted me on Instagram (DM), asked for my home address as they wanted to send me some CNY goodies. I was confused because I’m not an influencer or those people who usually receive gifts/presents/freebies. They told me that they really appreciate my support since the beginning, hence the presents. I initially refused, mostly because I feel guilty (again, not famous) and, well, they deserve it??? They deserve the support because they have been one of the champions in bringing local goods and brands??? What would I do without Bibik Express??? And Softsrve, the kurang manis ice cream, my favorite??? My cooling herbal tea when it’s hot outside?? MY MORNING LATTE??? Again, I’m not a professional influencer/content creator, and I don’t think I deserve the goodies, but they insisted. Is this how it feels to be famous? 🥹
A bit of context, BilaBila Mart is one of Malaysia’s homegrown retail chain. IINM, they started during the pandemic (2020-ish or so), and their mission is to bring more local and homegrown products and brands to the public. As a #sapotlokal fan, hell yeah. We have BilaBila store on our apartment building, and I always go there for everything, from veggies/fruits run (especially whenever I’m running out of veggies) to coffee and snacks.
So! What’s in the package? I present to you: BilaBila Mart x Jean Lynn: Ong Ma-Ri CNY 2026.
Thank you, BilaBila team!
They keychains are super cute OMG and my favorite is the one with a hijab! Super super cute, and it shows Malaysia’s diversity (Jean said that the horse’s name is Ma-nis (means “sweet/sweetheart” in Malaysian) like, WHY SO CUTE WHYYYY.)
All of the keychains!
Also stickerssssss! I have been journaling a lot, and I really appreciate the cute stickers!
SO MANY puns. SO MANY. My favorites are the Makcik Bawang and “Ayam ke sardin ni?”
I have been on the “Coroner’s Diary” marathon watch for the past 2 weeks, so I’m sharing with you some of the shots from this beautiful series (think… murder mysteries/procedural series meet palace dramas) along with my babble on why C-drama is that sister. I took the screenshots from the IQIYI app; unlike Netflix, IQIYI allows the viewers to take screenshots, and they even have danmaku feature on the app so you can see others’ comments on the scenes, etc.
First off: The framing. One thing I noticed about C-dramas is how often they played with the elements and their background. They incorporated the background into the scene along with the actors and actresses, making it painting-like. This scene is my favorite.
I mean, I took the screenshot below by accident as I fumbled with my tea mug, yet it still looks pretty.
A couple more shots showing their framing (it’s so beautiful ugh).
Honestly, you can just close your eyes and click the screenshot button on any scenes, and it would come out beautiful.
Secondly, green flag couple. No nonsense, no prolonged misunderstanding, no weird love triangles, just pure bliss and giggles while we are watching these cuties. We all love Qin Wan/Shen Wan and Yan Chi here. Love how we have a romantic couple with equal standing and healthy communication. Yes, girl, we love our green flag couple.
I also love the second couple: Yue Ning and Yan Li. These two are chaos. Greenest flag ever, pure friendship and “fake husband and wife, genuine brotherhood/sisterhood.”
I really appreciate the characters in this drama. Yan Li/Prince Li is always mentioned as “a prince only in a name”. He received the title as a prince due to the Emperor’s mercy and gratitude for his dad who protected the Emperor in a battle. He always sees himself as an outsider from the Imperial Family, and only when he’s with Yue Ning, Yan Chi, and Qin Wan/Shen Wan can he laugh and be himself. This man is goofy AF, but really reliable when Yan Chi needed his help gathering information and warding off spies.
Also, Qin Wan/Shen Wan in male clothing! She looked so good! Considering ancient China at that time, Qin Wan/Shen Wan’s standing as a noble lady would not look good on her profession as a coroner; so, her wearing male clothing in public while on-duty is expected.
ALSO, LOVE THE SISTERHOOD! I love how C-dramas always portray sisterhood in such a delicate manner, yet with strength. Girls’ girl. Fu Ling is the best.
My only problem with this series is the sudden influx of new characters in the middle of the series. I’m on episode… 20? 22? During the New Year celebration, and there were like 3-4 new characters that suddenly appeared. My brain was unable to keep up (“WHO IS THISSSSS?”) Also, staying true to palace drama-style, one person can have multiple names. Be prepared with (real name) but called as (prince/princess of something something), and (second/third/fourth/fifth/whatever number out there sister/brother.)
Last night, I merged the posts from my personal photoblog to this blog. I used to have a photoblog, but I found it tricky to maintain. I can’t regularly update this blog, let alone maintaining two blogs, hahah.
