This year is rather different, but to my utmost liking. I have not had a steamboat meal and I have not tossed the yee sang yet. Compared to last year, I had at least 4 times of steamboat and countless times of yee sang. Don't get me wrong. All these are still going to happen this year, just slightly delayed. If you still remember, my sister is coming back tomorrow! So, they will all take place once the plane touches down. Hehe...

This year is by far, the most memorable and special one. I'll just let the pictures take over since they'll speak better than I do.

Mum woke up at god knows what time to prepare the offerings to the deities. As expected, the nian gao is essential and cannot be missed.

So were all these, which included gingko, mushrooms, lotus seeds and more nuts.

These decorations were put up only a day before the Chinese New Year. Still, we never failed to make it look good.

A 'God of Prosperity' to bring us more prosperity.

As usual, the house was still warm and quiet in the morning. Only the tv emitted sound.

It was only few hours later when relatives started filling the house and brought chatter to the quiet moment.

Let me just run through some of the food available for the guests. Here, we have oranges...

And lots of canned longans, groundnuts, homemade cookies and many more.

As for lunch, we went vegetarian just like the previous years. As seen above, that is the vegetarian pomfret.

Then, we have the black fungus with glass noodles.

And also vegetarian beef curry with potatoes. This one tasted real good.

Lastly, we have the stir-friend mixed vegetables.

Right after our sumptuous lunch, we headed right away to the living room for some photo-taking. Can you see that we were all dressed in the auspicious colour, RED???!!! It was our uniform for the day.

More photos....


The report is done. Time for some 'money-making' activities.

CNY greetings

What does Chinese New Year hold for me? Besides the mandatory house cleaning prior to the celebration, it will have to be the mass amount of food available, which ranges from high calorie cookies to traditional dishes like jiu hoo char, kiam chai ak, lor bak and many more. Seriously, I'm very proud of my mum who possesses chef qualities and I'm glad to say that she never runs out of ideas on what to cook for reunion dinner as well as the first meal on the Lunar New Year.

Hmmm...but there is one thing that freaks me out when the celebration is approaching. Apart from the possibility of not fitting into the favorite pants anymore, there is one thing that is far worse than this. Have you ever been interviewed by your relatives and getting compared to their children? Well, I have been through this process and sad to say that this looks like a norm during Chinese New Year. Once they sit you down, you'll be bombarded with questions like what you're planning to do after graduating, why you think it's best for you and still no boyfriend ar? Mind you, these questions do not only come from one relative, it comes from most of them who walked into my house. Actually, I wouldn't really mind if their intention is to guide me to the right path but what's with the comparing? Is comparing going to make them better, happier and prouder? I bet so.

I hope I do not sound too upset back there. I was actually happy because my eldest sister will be back this year! It's been so long since we last took a family picture. I mean a complete one! So, I'm really really really and extremely happy. Can't you see how easily I can be pleased?

So, Gong Hei Fatt Choy and I hope that all of us will be surrounded by prosperity and joy this year.

It finally comes to my senses that the most dangerous creature on earth is neither sharks or tigers or to put it simple, animals.

Instead, I regard humans as the most dangerous creatures on earth. Just over the past few weeks, I have witnessed the very ugly side of humans and how they will resort to immoral measures to achieve their goal. Yes, I do agree that one has to fight for his own rights and to protect himself but do all these have to be done at the expense of others? I thought that we are all from the same species and therefore, we should embrace each other and love one another. But no, even friends can turn their back on you any time they want. It just feels scary at times to be meeting such people. One who pretends to be so angelic in front of you but shows his devilish side once he is with others. One who says this to you and says another version of it to another friend.

So tell me, is this the type of people who are going to make it to the top, considering that they are cunning enough to develop plans to their own advantage? Well, at least I am starting to believe that.

Hmmm, I guess after all, I will have to accept the dark truth that one who seems like a real good friend to you might not be a good one at the end of the day. We shall need more time before we decide who our real friend is.

Town Steamboat

Ee Ping and Michele, you guys missed out all the fun!

Okay, I'm mentally prepared. I bet my days are numbered with that sentence. But, no joke, no fun right?

So, Pin Yin suggested that we have an early reunion dinner among ourselves because apparently, she will be elsewhere for that annual celebration. She picked January 16, 2009 as the perfect day to hold our much anticipated dinner. It was held at the Town Steamboat in Macalister Road and the dinner was supposed to start at 7pm sharp.

Lynette and Jaslyn were the firsts to be there while Yi Hui was the last to arrive. To sum it up, it was a memorable evening for us. We joked, we laughed, and we ate, all at the same time!


As expected, the feeling of nostalgia hit me when we reminisced about our schooling days. Like how we always buy the lychee drinks from one of the stalls in the school canteen for only 20 cents. And if we want the drinks to be filled to the brim of the cup, we just got to fork out an additional 10 cents.

It felt really funny. It was as if all those moments just happened not too long ago. Sure enough, the memories will be deeply etched inside my heart and I will carry them with me all the time.

Cool discovery

I was at the Popular Bookstore, happily scavenging for books while taking a quick glance at the patrons. There were so few of them. Looks like the reading culture in Malaysia is slowly backtracking instead of progressing a step further. If you want to see more people, perhaps you can head for the GSC cinema or the pool outlet. Bet you'll meet many youngsters there, gathering in groups. Anyway, that is not what I want to convey here in this very post.

Allow me to give credit to Popular Bookstore. Not only do they sell amazing books, they too, play good songs!!

01. Ai De De Ti / 愛得得體
02. Xin Tiao / 心跳
03. Chun Yu Li Xi Guo De Tai Yang / 春雨里洗過的太陽
04. Everything
05. Wo Wan Quan Mei You Ren He Li You Li Ni / 我完全沒有任何理由理你
06. Ling Yi Ge Tian Tang / 另一個天堂
07. Wan Ou / 玩偶
08. Jiao Ben / 腳本
09. Jing Zheng Dui Shou / 競爭對手
10. Yao Gun Zhen Me Le !! / 搖滾怎么了 !!


Wang Lee Hom's new album, Xin Tiao (Heartbeat) is their most recommended album and they had played a whole list of his songs without fail. Goodness, his voice is so mesmerizing and the songs are so endearing to the ears. People, he is finally back, and he is certainly not gay! Please do not claim that he is gay just because he is not seeing any girls.

Initially, I considered buying his album just to reward myself for this new year. But, it is not cheap and not pocket-friendly at all for a struggling student like me. Although it costs RM50 over and comes with a gigantic poster, booklet and calendar, it is still a bit pricey for a die-hard fan like me. No choice but to resort to the Internet, in hopes for generous fans to upload his songs and share with everyone.

Finally, I downloaded his whole album in just less than two hours. It's free and the quality isn't that bad. Sorry for not supporting you through original, Lee Hom but then your album is seriously too expensive for me. I'll support your original album when I have the ability okay? This is a deal! LOL. Feels like I'm just talking to myself. Hmm, or maybe I should try my luck at gambling this CNY? Or is there any kind soul out there who wants to contribute?

Anyway, there are three songs in this album that are worth your time to listen, namely Xin Tiao (Heartbeat), Ling Yi Ge Tian Tang (Another Heaven) and Jiao Ben (Script). There's one right at the bottom of the page. For the non-fans, please give him a chance and listen to this song. Definitely no regrets for the day. As for the fans, please buy his album and lend me if you are kind enough. *laughs hysterically*

Go go Lee Hom!

Brain dead

I need to stimulate my brain a little.
Feels like it don't seem to work like how it should anymore.


Anyone wants to take the honour of cutting my head open and check?

I'm feeling really scared when I don't know what I want after having lived in this earth for close to 20 years. A lot others at my age are already set on what they want to do in the future, but here I am, still unsure of what I want in my life.

Somehow, when it comes to my consciousness, I realize that perhaps I complain too much. Truth is, I complain about every single thing in my life. Like how I am not as fortunate like many of my friends who are blessed with filthy rich fathers or possess talents that made them stood out among the crowd. Sometimes, I do wonder if God had made a miscalculation in the allocation of opportunities among the people. It is said that God is fair. He might have taken something from you but on the other hand, He will make up for it by granting you something that others do not. Come on, who said this??!!!! Life is never fair. It is impossible to be fair. Prove me wrong if you want to but for now, this is what I believe in.

I don't wanna talk about this anymore. All these complaints are not going to lead me anywhere. They're just going to make me feel worse and battered. That's all that they're giving me. Certainly nothing less than that.

Anyway, do I sound like I'm disturbed? I surely hope not.

Arrghh..Okay, I'm not going to hide anymore. You want to fail me, go ahead. It just makes me know you better. There might be reluctance at the beginning but it's okay. Time is not gonna stop ticking and I'm gonna grow up. Besides, it'll all come to an end pretty soon.

But, I'm not going to wish you luck. My bad.

xD

I'm feeling so healthy lately. While you guys were still sleeping like pigs, I had neatly folded my blanket and tidied my bed before heading down to the hall. Don't be shocked by the time on the clock when I reveal it to you.

You're right, I woke up at the ungodly hour of 7am in the morning to join my cousin at the botanical gardens. We had made a pact to meet at the entrance at 7.20am every weekdays for some walks and jogs. Not sure how long will this routine continue but I'm sure I will be having dark circles under my eyes in a very short period of time. Like the cliche goes, it's only a matter of time.

Perhaps, it is time to try the new Garnier eye roll-on. Sponsors, anyone?

A day with the boys

All of a sudden, my dad suggested that we go to the Penang Hill. Weird eh? But sounds fun! All the while, I was very eager to visit the hill again after having been there with my friends years ago. The experience was great, a memorable one in fact! We had cycled there for more than the time allowed and we also walked on the canopy walk (which is now closed due to termites infestation). Put simply, that day was too perfect to be forgotten!

However, since the train service was halted for close to a year, I have to put my plan on hold for so long! Seriously, once my desperation took ahold of me that I had even considered hiking up the hill. Phew...luckily, the good news came in time. Now, I just have to pay RM4 for a return trip without breaking a sweat. God bless Penang!

Well, this time, we decided to bring along the two toddlers so that they will too, appreciate the iconic Penang Island (though they might be too young to understand).

But before they embark on this arduous journey, we need to make sure that they have enough SLEEP, food and energy.

So, once their energy were fully replenished, we wasted no more time and started our journey right away. Here we are at Penang Hill, the asset of Penang! Something that all of us should be proud of.

But hungry pangs hit them immediately when we reached there. No choice but to buy them food. Ironically, they prefer ROCKY biscuits to potato chips.
Aun: Ying, this one ok bor?? We share share la...

Ying: Haiya, cin cai la. Can eat can already. Must share ah...!!

Aun: Tauke, one packet how much?
Tauke: Cheap cheap nia...RM2.
Aun: Wah, like that also considered cheap? Sigh, what to do...

Aun: Cannot show my happiness too fast yet. Must act cool a bit.

Aun: Now's the right time!

Ying: Hmmm...I smell food. Need to walk faster a bit or else, Aun will finish everything.

In a haste to get there, he dropped one of his shoes. Looks like the temptation of food was way too strong to resist. Well, who cares about the shoe?

We taught them well. They know that they need to line up to get their food.



Argghhh...got to feed this lazy bum.

After quite some time, we finally get to board this tiny train. Goodness, there were so many people and the train was almost filled to the brim. Need to get in fast or else, we will have to stand all the way up the hill!

Look at the boys! Were they making a pact or something?

Luckily, a good Korean couple offered their seats to us. Or else, carrying a 10kg baby on foot for 1/2 hour can be a lil torturing for my legs.

A shot from inside the train. I wonder why it took so long for the train to get up to the peak! Can't they make it faster so that they can transport more people?

*Half an hour later*

We were so hungry when we got up there. I wanted to try the nasi lemak at the Malay stalls but dad shook his head in disagreement and suggested that we eat something Chinese...
After searching high and low, we finally made up our choice and headed for Belleview Restaurant.


The view was simply spectacular and amazing from where we sat. Definitely no regrets for shying away from the nasi lemak stall earlier.

Even Ying was shocked when he saw the blue blue sky.

Anyway, right after lunch, we all got down to the field for photo taking.

Ying was clearly too overwhelmed with the scenery that he didn't mind that one part of the pants was shorter than the other.

Ying: Some more eat??? Look at the camera la, wei.

Ying: Just like me. See, so handsome.

Ying: And cute.

Don't you think we should all emulate Ying's positive thinking and smile all the time, even if we don't feel like it? A simple smile like his is simply charming and sincere.

Okay, next venue. The hut.

Aun: No need to wear your hat la. Show Connie your botak head!

Aun: Hana, wear back okay? Was just playing with you.
Ying: Hmmph!

Did you notice that Ying was dressed in all blue whereas Aun was in red? xD

Ying: Boring la, keep on posing the same ol' style. Let me think...

Ying: Maybe I can roarrrrrrrr.....like this?

Ying: Or dance?

Ying: I'll have to be extra careful or else, I might fall. Phew...

Feeling bored, Aun ventured to somewhere else. Somewhere far where Ying can't tag along.

Ying: Wei, wait for me!

Halfway through, Aun ran as fast as he could to mum. Wonder what has gotten into him, eh?
Guess what?!

He wanted to POO!
Yes, right on the peak of Penang Hill.
Look at how big his gift was for this wonderful place.
The right place, right time and right thing to do, perhaps?

Anyhow, we were not going to let that distract us. We were still busy snapping shots.

It didn't take long for Aun to finish his business. Here, he is back again.

But it was time to leave. As can be seen here, Ying was definitely feeling the disappointment.

Bye, guys.

Till we meet again.