Insta Weekly: Sommelier Championship 2015 & French Wines Trade Show, Nikka Event, Glenfiddich's #ValleyOfTheDeer, Omakase + Appreciate, Ardbeg Day

I made another resolution this year - to do something different every month. Better if it's something I've never done before. It could be something as simple as watching a musical, or it could be something as big as picking up a new skill. I figured if I didn't force myself to commit to it,  every day would just be like any other day, and I'd be living my life on autopilot. What a wasted life that would be, innit? I figured, since we're only given one life, I must make the best of it, the best that I can.

What have I done so far? In January, I completed my first ever 6km (more like 7.6 actually) cross country (which goes off-road!) run. I kinda copped out in February by merely going on a jungle hike at a nearby park. But March & April was quite a good one as it was my first trip to Siam Reap AND I participated in a 17km cycling tour there. What did I do for the month of May? Well, it's booze -related so you'll need to read on to find out. :)

1. 24H French Wines Trade Show & Malaysia Best Sommelier Championship 2015

Plaza Premium Lounge (PPL) has everything you need to live in an airport.

(Note: Plaza Premium Lounge kindly allowed a group of us to experience all their amenities mentioned below without charge.)

The terminal, starring Tom Hanks. One of my favouritest movies.
Image credit: artsentertainmentbaba.com/

Do you remember the movie The Terminal starring Tom Hanks? Man, I loved it so much I must've watched it a hundred times. It's a story of this guy who was stuck living in the airport for a while because his country was at war and his passport wasn't recognised. It looked like he was having a good time living in the airport, making friends with everyone who worked in the airport. And he even managed to get part time job in there... albeit he was roughing it out a little. I've always wondered what that felt like, seemed fun!

What a treat it was that we kind of did get that experience...  Except we didn't  have to rough it out in the airport like Tom's character did with Plaza Premium Lounge being around. They fed us, quenched our thirst, and after all that, even gave us a comfortable night's stay at KLIA 2 just before our insane 6am early morning flight to Siam Reap the next day. Since this is (mostly) a booze blog, I'm going to spend a little more time sharing with you about the liquid side of things, and then quickly touching base on the other services and facilities.

Insta Weekly - Canadian Club Old Fashioned, Cheap Singha Beer, Singha Soda Water, Nikka in the Fridge, Auchentoshan 16 Years, Glenffidich #ValleyOfTheDeer, Whistling Duck Wine

Oh my goodness. I'm still not used to the idea of 2015 yet and June is coming (tiny GoT reference, anyone?). What on earth? Does time go by faster with each year with age? Or is it because of those dratted technological advances that makes us forget to slow down and enjoy the time we have on earth? 

I find myself spending too much being "connected". It is a terrible habit really, how the internet and technology has taken over our lives. At first I thought it was just a younger generation thing but no - the older folks (ie my parents) have now picked up the habit of constantly having their noses buried into their phones. For me, it's gotten so bad that now, I can't sleep if I don't spend at least an hour surfing on the net for pointless mindless entertainment to unwind. Sometimes I wonder if Wall-E wasn't a bit of a prophecy - human kind being too dependent on technology to the point we even forget how to WALK. Scary thought for me.

Which is why, since last year, I've been making resolutions to get disconnected more. I've taken myself out of chat groups, muted a lot of apps, and really trying very hard to be in the NOW. I have to admit, it takes a lot of effort to do this. More often than not, I find myself being drawn to the damn phone. I must make this habit stop. How bad is your tech habit? Do you even have one?

Slightly ironic that I'm talking about my bad tech habit on my blog, haha. Well, on to my favourite habit - talking about booze: