New Voters

Found this at Vote For A Change Malaysia on facebook. Please forward this to your friends who are newly registered as voters or wanting to vote from overseas.

New Voters – Alert !!!
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Once you’ve registered at the post office, do call up SPR at +603 8885 6500 and let them know that you have the pink registration receipt. Please fax it to them at +603 8888 9117 and follow up on each of your cases.

As for my case, I did register since June 2007, however after contacting SPR, they told me to do the above. When I called again, they replied that my date of registration was only done on Oct 2007. My details are now available online on Feb 2008.

Postal Voting
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Only 4 categories of Malaysian Citizens who are overseas qualify to register as postal voters under Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulation, 2002:

1. in the public service of the Government of Malaysia or of any State or in the service of any local authority or statutory authority exercising powers vested in it by Federal or State law, who is on duty outside the boundaries of Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah or Sarawak;

2. the spouse of a person in the public service of the Government of Malaysia or of any State or in the service of any local authority or statutory authority exercising powers vested in it by Federal or State law who is living with her or his husband or wife outside the boundaries of Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah or Sarawak at the date of application for registration as a Parliamentary or State elector,

3. engaged in full-time studies at any university, training college or any higher educational institution outside the boundaries of Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah or Sarawak; or

4. the spouse of a person engaged in full-time studies at any university, training college or any higher educational institution outside the boundaries of Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah or Sarawak who is living with her or his husband or wife at the date of application for registration as a Parliamentary or State elector.

SPR said :
” If you fall under any of this categories you may apply through the Malaysia embassy located nearby. Upon completion of the form (Borang A), you can submit it back to the embassy or can mail it to EC HQ in Putrajaya.”

” The attached form is a correct form. For your information, the registration area will be filled by Election Commission. Witness is assistant registrar that have been appointed by EC, in your case Malaysian Embassy. Kindly attach your current address overseas with the registration form.”

Go to here, download Form/Borang A found under Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulation, 2002.

Conversations

Feeling somewhat demovitated to write about happy stuffs. So, this is a lazy post on remarks my friends and I made over the past one week.

#1 On the bullshit about men prefer their women to be independent

Me: coz men like to feel we are in need of them
Me: that is why ah, men – even though they like independent women
Me: say only
Me: but actually they are very intimidated by independent women
Me: and they will somehow or rather
Me: go for women who somehow give them feel that, they are needed in some ways

#2 To reiterate how much I loathe hiking

Me: no joke man
Me: the one in KK
Me: sekali you see the steps
Me: you swear at God and ask him to use lightning to strike you and toast you on the spot

#3 On Franco

Friend: lol, I tot you got a new ‘device’
Me: i no time to fuck the thing yet
Friend: give him a fuck la
Me: lol
Me: but i think think ah
Me: quite pathetic
Me: go fuck a stick
Me: pathetic nya.. i better be a nun
Friend: ei, better than fuck the banana or cucumber ok
Friend: haha
Me: hahaha

#4 On election

Me: got one MCA lady
Me: go have karaoke instead of ceramah worr
Friend: hehe..who?
Me: said better to sing than to listen to ceramah
Me: she also know it’s nonsense
Friend: karaoke as a way/strategy mar…hehehehe
Me: Yong Peng state seat incumbent Lim Kee Moi, also known as the “Karaoke YB” among her constituents, said that she and her team were busy singing at events organised by the people.
Me: i want to vomit
Friend: hahahahahahaha
Me: the country is going into the dumps
Friend: reallly TIUUUUUUU one
Me: she karaoke
Me: @#$%^&*
Me: “Once they finish work they relax and many of them sing,” she said, adding that her favourite song was a Mandarin number by the late Teresa Teng titled Tian Mi Mi (Very Sweet or Happiness).
Friend: mahhhhhhh chow haiiii
Friend: lol
Friend: tian mi mi somemore….tiuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

#5 On current development in the office (The big boss wants everyone to stay till 8 pm to work)

Colleague: so now he wants to play Slave Driver eh
Me: yeah
Me: why not we all get him a WHIP for his bday
Colleague: and a dildo
Me: yeah
Me: to stick it up his ass
Colleague: a freaking gigantic one
Colleague: another one for his mouth
Colleague: BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Me: Got hairy dildo or not? Want him to choke on some bulu

Be Counted

On one MSN chat with brother….

Gina: they are dropping that fucker satay guy
Bro: replaced with daughter in law
Gina: yes lor
Gina: same also
Gina: fucker
Bro: in other words, it’s the fucking same thing
Gina: yeah… lan pa pa lan… fuck!

I am sure there are many blogs out there talking about politics and now, probably hitting boiling point since there have been some incidents where candidates were barred from filing their nomination forms and someone got killed over plastering of posters and flags. Of course, as mild mannered Malaysians who are as sleepy as the leader, we let things slide without a clue because the One Star newspapers never reported it.

I am quite saddened by some people who didn’t even bother to register to vote. Or some people who never bother to change their house addresses when they move and don’t plan to vote out of inconvenience. Or people who have registered but never bother to cast a vote because sleep is more important to them.

My fellow countrymen… By the amount of shit that the ruling party (It’s a party, alright! Drink, Eat! Be Merry!) had done over the past few years – we were not spared from racism, sexism, nepotism, cronyism and all kinds of discrimination you can find in the dictionary.

The rich are getting richer, the poor getting poorer. Our hard earned tax money were spent by doing something not important for fellow citizens – what’s the big fucking deal of sending people to space? Does it cure cancer? Does it eradicate crimes? Does it keep the idiotic fuckers Mat Rempits off the street? Does it help the poor? Oh wait – it does somehow “eradicate” some crimes – as the over glorified fucked up space program occupied most parts of the newspapers; and there is no space (pun intended) to list crimes which are happening every minute as we speak.

My sis suffered some serious nagging from me. She hasn’t registered to vote even when I had on numerous occasions, advising her to do so. Her reason being – only one vote, what difference could it make? It doesn’t matter.

I told her off. That is why, if there are 1 million idiots eligible to vote; thinking like what she is thinking now, we are short of 1 million votes which would make a huge difference. I didn’t speak to her the rest of the day.

I know I shouldn’t be mad at people who don’t even bother to exercise their rights. After all, a right is something belonging to one person – having to do or not on his own accord. I shouldn’t be mad that they don’t bother to vote. I SHOULD NOT.

I shouldn’t be mad if petrol prices hike because it’s still the lowest compared to the other parts of the world. I shouldn’t be mad if the ministers made a fool of themselves and the country in international arena because we Malaysians can take joke mah! We love clowns and rappers – you you you!

I shouldn’t be mad when brain drain is happening in this country and we will make do with doctors or nurses who accidentally amputate babies’ arms and legs because of PROFESSIONAL negligence – we are very forgiving people. I shouldn’t be mad because someone is trying to be Mother Teresa adopting Mat Rempits. They deserved a second chance. I shouldn’t be mad when someone sell satay anywhere he likes and build a mansion that put the biggest court to shame (at least no leaking mah!) and called it home; invited everyone to attend a festive open house. After all, we Malaysians love to makan mah! To foster the spirit of Muhibbah mah!

To those who will miss/planning to miss this election, well, let’s hope you would learn your lesson well and haul your asses to get registered. Hopefully, in four or five years’ time, there is still a country for you to cast your votes. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

I know most of my friends think I am too politically inclined. I admit. I have been reading about politics for quite sometime now but didn’t want to read anymore because it just pisses me off. I don’t care about politics. But I care a great deal about this country. That is why I am a proud registered voter who is aware that my one, minuscule vote matters. And I will not hesitate to make my vote be counted and be heard.

Peach Blossom Luck

Many, many years ago, after college, I was in Seremban to spend some time with a dear friend before she set foot to Perth to pursue Pharmacy. She took me to this temple and claimed that, it’s very “leng”; as in, the gods may grant you wishes of your hearts. So, off we went to Kao Chim (Chinese fortune sticks).

For girls – I can assure you that, whenever they go for all sorts of fortune telling, 99% of the time, they would be asking about love luck. Being young at 19, I didn’t know what to ask for so – I ask the majority questions that girls would ask when doing kao chim. The old caretaker there told me; if I don’t meet someone during the coming Mid Autumn’s Festivals, I will not meet anyone for a long, long time. How long? I ask. He said with a bored face; an undisclosed long, long, long time. Till I am in my 50s? He was annoyed.

Shae was enthusiastic when she heard over the radio that those born under the sign of the Dragon this year has so much peach blossom luck. She wrote me an e-mail.

Shae:

Morning ah
Eh I heard from the radio today on luck for those born in the year of Dragon. Apparently those who are born in the year of the Dragon will have peach blossom luck leh. So that means you also have lor. On love, those who are still single will have his/her Ms or Mr Right. Wahahahhaha…. So good news for you ah.

Me:
Eh. They every year also say dragons got peach blossom luck, ok! YEAR AFTER YEAR! I am already 32 and there is still no peach blossom luck. It’s STUPID one lah. Don’t believe lah.

Shae:
Maybe this year different leh.. .hahhaha…

One night, not too long ago, I went to a reunion dinner with my ex colleagues. In the midst of chatter, Chubby received a phone call from a friend. The friend asked Chubby to go to Thean Hou temple with her to pray for luck in love. I eavesdropped some of her conversation.

Chubby: Have to bring flowers one worr… I heard from my colleague ah…… one flower enough…… then you tell the Yuet Lou Yeh ah.. you want to find a good husband…. then tell him to help you to tie the red string… for one year lah….. uh huh…..

My curiosity was aroused.

I called up this ex colleague of mine to enquire.

She said: You bring three stalks of flowers ah. One to represent yourself, one to represent your future husband and one to represent the match maker….

Me: Who is the matchmaker ah? You is it??

She said: No lah. Siao! The Kuan Yin lah!

Me: Oh…. do we need to do rituals like the one in See Yeh* temple?

*I remember once I went to See Yeh temple in Petaling Street on the pretext to pray for my final exams. Since I have already taken the exams, the caretaker insisted that I prayed for luck in love instead. I remember I bought some fruits to be offered to the Gods and paid some money to have paper effigies, candles and joss sticks dangling over my head while I knelt down and then, the offerings were burned. LOL. Come to think about that, I never felt so silly in my life.

She said: No ritual one. Just go there, bring your three flowers – don’t buy roses ah! Got thorns! Later not good for your marriage.

Me: Then buy what flowers ah?

She said: Buy lah those meant for prayers one.. like chrysanthemums.

Me: Can buy sunflower or not? Make it more ONG!

She said: Up to you lah. As long as it’s not roses. I guarantee you ah….. in 6 months ah.. you will get boyfriend! Guarantee!

*Chuckles*

Girls! Some really go for the extra mile when it comes to finding love. I was just joking the other day about nasi kangkang with some of my friends and wonder does it really work? I recalled one desperate measure to see the face of my future husband and ended up being conned.

Believe you me. After this post, many ladies will be making a beeline to Thean Hou Temple to offer flowers this weekend. Since my friend guaranteed this will work, I should have done it earlier to avoid making chai ngor again on Chap Goh Meh – the Lunar Calendar’s Valentine’s Day! My sis commented that it’s surely a bad sign that I was making chai ngor on both Valentine’s Day this year. It’s like sealing my fate of being a “vegetarian for life” (“Sek cheong chai”) – in short; spinster. That’s what Franco is for, right? (In Yuin’s words – All he needs are batteries, doesn’t complain and delivers every time. Lol)

P.S. And Chap Goh Meh happened to be my Chinese birth date. Double sigh.

Lonely Slob

Yesterday after having breakfast, I remember I wiped my mouth. When it was about lunch time, I was walking to the car with my sister and she looked at me with disgust.

Sis: My gawd! You had something for breakfast this morning that you eat with Kampong Koh Cili??

Me: How you know ah?

Sis: You have a dot of chili sauce at the corner of your lips lah! Aiyah! Why you so sia sui one? Never wash mouth after eating?

Me: Where where?? *Frantically wipe my mouth with my hands*

Sis: Eeeyehhh! It’s still there! Is your boss in today?

Me: Yes, he is… aiyoh.. sia sui betul!!!!

Sis: Now only you know ah. You freaking slob.

I think my sloppiness is getting alarming. I hardly comb my hair to office – because it’s such a huge pile of unruly hair that no amount of gel or wax could tame. The only way to tame my hair is hair wash, follow by blow dry and tease with leave-on conditioner. It’s too tedious to be doing this every morning. My round face cannot carry the out-of-bed look and it’s more like always never-out-of-bed even if I did try to tame my mane . It’s a good thing that my boss only rates me based on my performance and not my appearance.

I still remember once when I was in college, my face was infested with mother-of-all-pimples, I had to apply calamine lotion for rashes on my face. Totally forgotten about it, I went out to the shop with white patches on my face and it didn’t seem to bother me one bit. Sigh. I am a girl; I should start behaving like one.

So I guess it’s no surprise that my friends got me some grooming kit for my birthday – a comb! (hahahah!), body wash, body cream, perfume, soap, lotion, etc. This is a very obvious hint already. Okay! I get the point!

On somewhat related matter, someone got me a battery-operated device (nicknamed Franco, the device, not the person) to remind me of more lonely nights to come. He added he wanted to get me an edible underwear but who’s gonna eat it? Thanks. Tell me something I do not know, please. I guess I am destined to make chai ngor every Valentine’s Day but next time, after making chai ngor, at least I am rest assured that I will have Franco for company. I just have to make sure the battery is still working.

Labor of Love

Well, I really didn’t go anywhere on Valentine’s Day. I was invited by a few friends – to have seafood, to have coffee or go clubbing and drinking. I politely declined all invitations. All because I wanted to make some vegetarian siew ngor (roasted goose) for Datin’s party the following Saturday!

Since I would be going out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I did not have anymore time to spare to make these vegetarian siew ngor. And Datin – God bless his soul, he is always cooking for us. So I guess it’s time to give him  something back – something I cook myself and didn’t ask my mom for help! Thanks to my ex colleague, Yvonne’s mom, she taught me how to make these when I went to her house before Chinese New Year.

How to make the vegetarian siew ngor? Well, it’s pretty simple yet, can be quite tedious.

Utensils required:-

Tooth picks
Wok for steaming
A kitchen brush

For the sauce, you need the following:-

1 pcs reddish cheese (Lam Yue)
1 tsp salted bean paste (minced taucu)
1 tbsp tomato sauce
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
½ tsp five spices powder
½ tsp pepper
280 ml water (about 1.5 small bowl of water)

*tsp – teaspoon
*tbsp – tablespoon

For the bean curd sheets or fu cuk – you may buy from Chinese grocery shops – ask for plain ones that are used for fu cuk yee mai or to make spring rolls. It’s about RM1 per sheet and comes in double A3 size. You need one whole sheet because you need to fold them neatly to form layers of the siew ngor.

Firstly, blend the reddish cheese and salted bean paste together using a spoon to make the texture finer. After that add the remaining ingredients into the mixture. Blend well. You may alter whatever ingredients you want. If you prefer saltier, you may add more bean paste. Sweeter, add more sugar. Spicy, add more pepper. Then you add in water and stir.

Sieve the mixture to get rid of the solids left from bean paste or lam yue. I advise you people to use minced bean paste because the solid bean paste is very hard to be squashed. For sesame oil – I prefer the brand Ghee Hiang. I don’t know why but this sesame oil is more aromatic compared to others!

For the sauce, I accidentally put in 1 tbsp of minced salted bean paste instead of 1 tsp. But it turned out tasting quite okay. So, it’s up to personal taste. This is merely a guide and the mixture sauce is good for at least 7 sheets of fu cuk.

Once the sauce is sieved, lay a piece of fu cuk on the table and start painting away using the kitchen brush. For a start, I used 4 tbsp of mixture to paint on side of the fu cuk as illustrated. After painting one side, fold the fu cuk into two, and paint again before folding again and again till you get about 5 inch x 3.5 inch size of fu cuk filled with the sauce.

Use tooth picks to secure 3 sides. This is to avoid the fu cuk from opening up during steaming and frying.

Leave the painted fu cuk for about 30 mins for it to marinate in the sauce. Steam the fu cuk for 10 minutes. You may not want to over steam it as it would take longer time to air dry it. Steam in medium fire.

After steaming, take out the fu cuk and left them to dry under the fan. It took about 30 mins to totally dry the fu cuk . Wrap the dried fu cuk in two so you can take them out to defroze as and when you feel like to having a vegetarian siew ngor and this would preserve freshness in other fu cuk. I think the fu cuk can be kept frozen in the fridge for months! I find the longer you keep the siew ngor, the tastier it would be.

When frying – ensure the oil is hot before turning down to medium fire. It took about 1 minute to fry the fu cuk sheets and it would get burnt easily because of presence of sugar – so control your fire and be quick with your hands.

There you have it.. vegetarian siew ngor at fraction of a price (I heard vegetarian shops selling RM 12 for two sheets of siew ngor!) and totally preservatives free!

I hope you guys enjoy making and eating it – as much as my friends and I enjoyed it.

Meaning of Life

I am thirty two today
Hope everything is going my way
Hope love is here to stay
Come what may

I try to rhyme but I guess my rhyming bones are decaying as I age.

Sleepless for the past few nights. I shouldn’t have taken coffee before going to sleep. Gone are the days when I could drink a cup of coffee and went straight to bed. When you age, your body never listens to the brain anymore. Every appendage in your body would start having a mind on its own.

As I laid in my bed, tossed and turned trying to get a wink of sleep, my mind ran wild thinking of turning 32. What have I achieved? What have I done? Did I live up to my own expectations? Where do I go from here? You know – those trying to plan this whole life kind of thoughts. Then I got a bit bored and watched tv instead.

I remembered once, when I was in Form 1, I was feeding some pigeons in the school yard with kacang puteh while a good friend looked on. We were enjoying the particular quiet and peaceful moment and suddenly, she broke the silence.

She: Do you ever think of what this life is all about?

Me: All the time, girl.

She: So, to you, what is it about?

Me: I don’t get it. We were born, raised, go to school, take exams, go to Uni, get a job, get married, give birth, raise our kids the same way we were raised.. and then we die. That also if we are very lucky. Sometimes shit happens – you get diseases or you get into an accident, then die. I don’t understand. It’s meaningless. It’s like you are working your entire life doing everything in cycles – the things your parents had done and passed on to you.. and you pass on to your descendents.. if you have one, that is. Life is meaningless.

She: Eh.. cannot say like that. So pessimistic.

Me: Then? What does it mean to you?

She: I feel God gave us this chance to live in this world to feel loved and blessed. At least, we would know how love feels like….

Me: Love? Then why are there still wars? Don’t make me go there.

Well, she did mumble something quite profound.. but getting old – for the life of me, I couldn’t recall.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter what this life means. We are stuck here anyway, whether we like it or not. But I intend to make the most of it. Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Birthday to me!

P.S. Actually, I tried to soul search for some deep and profound thoughts but couldn’t find any.. so, click here if you want to know what this life is all about.

P.S.S. I see from the blog traffic and find there are about 100 hits on average per day and am wondering who is reading this blog. If possible, my silent readers, try to make yourself heard. I am trying to collect 32 birthday wishes for this post! He he!

Nelson Tan Café & Restaurant

I was deprived from sleep due to one kick ass cup of coffee at an ex colleague’s house yesterday night. As soon as I got home from work today, I fell asleep like a log only to be rudely awakened by my sister. She wanted to celebrate my birthday today as she will be going off to Taiping tomorrow for the Hokkien’s Jade Emperor’s festival which falls on the 9th day of Chinese New Year. My cousin sister’s birthday happened to fall on the eve of Valentine’s Day so, it’s good to have the celebration today.

Half asleep, I reluctantly followed. At first, I wanted to go to the Curve or One Utama so I could check out a new Canon camera and made my sister pay for it. But my sis insisted to go to Nelson Tan Café & Restaurant; I relented. Further, I should let the person who would pick up the tab to decide. Hah!

The place is newly open, perhaps for a little over two months. After a long deliberation of what to order (the list is endless and the pictures were very tantalizing!), the food arrived promptly. Be prepared to salivate. We ordered based on recommendation from the friendly waitress who is the lady boss of the shop.

While eating, the chef came out to check on us. The mechanic has been there for the second time this week alone. Actually, the mechanic’s dad and this chef’s dad knew each other so – we were offered a few dishes on the house!

Fruit salad. The Mechanic and my sis loved this dish. I am not particular enthusiastic about it but it taste quite ok. RM8.90

Smoked duck ordered by cousin sis. I am not a fan of duck but this is quite a delight. RM8.90

Shredded Beef Noodles comes with generous spread of noodles and vegetables. Not too salty or too thick. I love this. RM8.90

Tempura unagi sushi roll. For health conscious people, you may order a baked one. RM6.90

Japanese styled fried pork ribs with rice. The mechanic ordered this. The chef said the sauce used is imported from Japan. This chef spent 10 years working in restaurants in Japan before coming back here to start his own business. That explains a variety of Japanese dish on the menu. RM8.90

Hawaiian Pizza. When the owner recommended this, I didn’t want to try at first because I am so sick of the cliché Hawaiian Pizza. This ended up being my favorite. Instead of using cliché pineapples as toppings, the chef used banana and chicken teriyaki! I would say this is some taste bud blowing experience! RM14.90.

Nanban Style Crispy Fish Fillet. On the house! This is said to be the signature dish of this restaurant. RM5.90

Last but not least, would a nice dinner be complete without a creamy dessert?

Soft Heart Chocolate with Ice Cream. RM6.90. The chef gave us another one for free. The cake is not too sweet because no sugar was added. I like this compared to the chocolate soufflé cake in CPK, where I used to frequent and this cost 1/3 of the price!

I guess this would be the next hot place to hang out with my friends if we want uncompromising good food at reasonable price with personal touch.

Lucky for Kepong folks, this would be a good hang out place this Valentine’s Day without burning a hole in the pocket unnecessarily. It’s quite easy to find as it is just situated opposite Jusco Kepong at the newly established shop cum residential area. Map will be provided in due course. Happy dining!

Nelson Tan Café
03-62585871
Block D-G-9, Jalan Metro Perdana 2
Taman Usahawan Kepong
Kepong Utara
52100 Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: 12 pm to 11 pm everyday.

Seasonal Friends

When Pilot Boy joined me clubbing with Yuin and MeeHoon Queen, he commented that I am always hanging out with new friends. Actually, I have known Meehoon Queen for some time. We didn’t go out much after college as she went back to her hometown after graduation and got married. Only about two years ago, we started going out whenever she is in town. Yuin is one of the many wonderful friends (and the most handsomesttttt one also lah *cough*) I got to know from blogging.

Pilot Boy: All new faces ya?

Me: You haven’t met them – so yes.

Pilot boy: All your friends are seasonal. Once you stop hanging out with them means you guys already fan min. That’s the end I would heard about them.

MQ and Yuin looked at each other and mumbled that they should not try to provoke me or else.

I am annoyed by that allegation. I beg to differ.

It is NOT because of me no longer seeing eye to eye with my friends – some of them; I admit yes – but on why I keep changing the friends I hang out with is because friends come and go. As we age and plod along this life, we would somehow depart at a crossroad as we have different priorities.

Pilot Boy for instance. We hung out quite often like peas and pods back in 1998 when we were both young and carefree. Then, he did a shit thing by marrying someone nasty in 2002. We hardly met but kept in touch sporadically via e-mails, MSN chats or talking on the phone. Unfortunately for him, things were rocky in his marriage life. He started to hang out with me once he got his groove back after a trying and bitter divorce.

Good old James has his own family now but occasionally, I do pay him a visit or just meet up for some teh tarik maybe once a year. Yes. I lose many great friends’ company due to the institute of marriage but if it’s for the better, I wish them well.

Another friend for instance, we knew each other since college and she was a good friend to me, still is. We hang out quite often and tell each other our deepest secrets. Then, adulthood took her to even more fascinating stage in her life – she began to have boyfriends. Boyfriends sometimes can be a determining point to test a friendship.

Unfortunately for her, she happened to have a boyfriend with “I-Am-the-King” mentality. Despite seeing her suffering and I wanted so bad to tell her to her face that she has a choice to make or break – I held my peace. Sometimes it’s better for one to experience it themselves to make their own decisions rather than taking our advice as we are not in their shoes. It would be even worse, if we ended up getting the blame for the many, many what-ifs questions.

So, when she was with that “I-Am-the-King” bf, we hardly kept in touch. In fact, I think she disappeared for a good one whole year. When things were rocky – she turned to me for advice. It happened again for relationship no. 2 – disappearing then appearing again when shit happens. I silently pray in my heart that she would never see me again –since by seeing me means, she has some shit in her life to sort out. Do I look like a shit cleaner? I think I am, and come to think about it, am actually quite proud about it. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Friends come and go. Yes – friends can be seasonal. I gather we ought to just enjoy a friendship while it lasts till we meet another crossroad again in our life to make our choices to determine our directions.

I think every friendship; however brief ought to be cherished. At least you learn something out of it – be it good or bad. If it’s a bad friendship – for instance, someone taking you for a ride or people treating you like a doormat – be glad that the friendship is over. A real deal friendship is when you find you are in the deepest shit and yet, these friends are there to help you no matter how smelly you turn out to be. This kind of friendship is rare and we must ensure to do whatever we can in our power to maintain such friendship.

I have a mixture of short acquaintances friends, seasonal friends and hopefully, more lifetime friends. I wish to thank those who have or had been my friends, by teaching me an invaluable lesson called life. Life is nothing without friendship.

My Typical Chinese New Year

I went back to Port Weld, Taiping, with all mental preparation that it’s going to be bored shitless. I was right. Every year, without fail, I did almost the same things. I said almost because this year, I didn’t help to bake cakes. The cakes were ready to be eaten when I was there.

I did the usual. I would glue my ass on the couch, one hand fingers flipping away tv channels, the other hand, holding a piece of bak kua or a packet drink or a piece of pineapple tart. I think I have tried all kinds of pineapple tarts this year that the moment I see another pineapple tart, I am going to throw up. I think age is catching up as well. The moment I sit myself comfortably on the couch, I would just drift to dream land.

A failed attempt trying to get an arty picture…

Chinese New Year is not the same anymore without grandma. 5 years had passed since her passing and I guess we still miss her very much. I wish the years when we were still children; and always look forward towards Chinese New Year for angpows, new fresh clothings and endless fire crackers supply. How I miss those days where children could just freely run around basically everywhere with reckless abandon. Those were the good old days.

Sasha joined us in Taiping this year as her mom is in Australia and her dad is totally hopeless when it comes to taking care of her. I am sure she would prefer to go back with us and did what we did when we were little. Angpows, new clothes and lotsa fire works. Get to run around freely outside and not cooped up in the house like some caged animals – which is very normal for kids brought up in KL.

Sasha & Yen

We went to Balik Pulau, Penang on the first day of Chinese New Year. Am glad that traffic was rather smooth. In Balik Pulau, my dad’s hometown, there was a new goat farm situated right across the house. We walked towards the goat farm to have a look and were rather surprise that in such a small area, there are about 80 goats. The goats are very friendly.

Too close for comfort

Sasha warmed up very fast with my nephews. My nieces were too busy playing mahjong. We saw how much little Red Fish had grown. He is now a two year old toddler with manners of a gentleman. He doesn’t whine or cry. And he is always very generous with his smiles. Here’s a pic of him with his gramps – who is my dad’s elder brother.

I almost finished reading Kim Edward’s the Secret of a Fire King. Great stuff. It’s quite hard to concentrate on reading when you are in such a small house with about 30 people in it. It is a challenge to muffle out sounds of people shuffling the mahjong tiles, full blast tv, aunt chanting some mantras on the altar, clacking sounds of bowls and chopsticks while eating steamboat in the porch, etc. I don’t really talk to my relatives because I have nothing much to talk about. Yes – I can be quiet at times.

Since there is nothing much to do other than stuffing my face, I took a stroll along the small farm next to my late grandma’s house and took some pics. Can you actually tell what plant this is?

 

 

 

This is actually the fruits of the leaves you use for your pan mein!

Well, this basically sums up the first few days of my Chinese New Year in Taiping and Balik Pulau. We have another 12 days more to go! Hope yours is more eventful.