Aunty Lu passed away last night. My mum and her were close friends from their younger days in Kuantan. Mum was her bridesmaid when she married Uncle Ted.
Then when Kimmy boy was growing up, they would often visit us. We have many photographs of my sister and Kimmy boy in their overalls and teddy bear. I remember Aunty Lu being very strict but also very much an aunty. She made delicious American chocolate chip cookies (huge ones) and would be sure to bring a whole tupperware during her visits. I remember mum telling me she was also a great swimmer and she loved the sea. She introduced us to the travelling cup. A cup designed especially for drinking in the car while travelling. The last time I saw Aunty Lu was when mum and I came to KL for a visit. This was at least 10 years ago before I "migrated" to KL. We stayed at her home in Bangi. She brought us to FRIM and Sg Wang plaza area. It was the first time for me and mum.
She always drove around in big imported cars. It was her car that pa drove an automatic car for the first time. She gave me a whoppi cushion when we saw her just before Dina left for the UK. It was a blow-up balloon like thingy, that you put underneath a pillow and get someone to sit on it.. then you'd hear a fart-like sound! Hehe. She was great at buying mum things as well. I remember how she'd be in mum's kitchen complaining that there isnt any chopping board or big enough knife or that there wasnt proper plates. So she bought mum a dinner set! We used it for years.
We'll always remember Aunty Lu, in our own special way.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Prince Charming is coming to sweep me off my feet!
Yes. It is true. On May 22, my prince charming i.e Toby tobs ;) will be arriving in Malaysia. I have plans for him and his mamama & dadada for the few days they are in KL. After that, they'll need to go home to Ah Ma & Ah Kong in Kuantan, never to leave the house till they fly back in mid-June. So, before they are inprisoned ;) I better take them round KL for food and some site seeing.
So where shall I bring them for food? Dadada would surely want to have roti canai. So we'll go to Grandcity restaurant in SS11, where he can have roti canai and many variety of curries .. fish, chicken, mutton, crab .. and also vegetables and other kuih muih. Their curry puff in the evening's are a hit as well. Mamama can have her capati or tosai. We'll just give Tobs some payasam if they are serving it then.
I also thought of Madam Kwan's, where we could have nasi lemak OR order a few famous dishes off the menu for dinner, if Tobs isnt too tired or already asleep. I am secretly hoping he sleeps UK time, so that he will be awake most of the time at night ;)
I think Bagan Lalang will be a little too far for the 3 of them. So I have to think of a place to have seafood, or maybe they could have it back home in Kuantan. The ikan bakar in Kuantan is famous. Especially in Tanjung Lumpur. There are many shops along the road side that sell fresh seafood. AND its cheap. Once I had ikan kerapu masak 3 rasa, deep fried prawns, tom yam and kai lan ikan masin for less than RM 40! :) AND it was delicious.
So where else to eat in KL? Of course, my aunt Baba has promised my sister ju-hu-cha. Famous hokkien dish, which is eaten with salad leave. We normally have it once a year during Chinese New Year. Maybe I should take my sister to The Curve, then she can choose what she wants to eat. Or even Pavillion. I hear the food court there is quite interesting as well.
As for places to visit, this is especially for Dadada. So Mamama has suggested places like Batu Caves, FRIM, Tugu Negara, Muzium Negara & Planiterium Negara. Not bad. Even I havent been to Batu Caves or Tugu Negara. Good idea.
When they go home to Kuantan, I think they would be spending most of their time entertaining relatives and friends. Of course a special visit to my grandma's so that her great-grandchild can call her Ah to. She now has 6 great grandchildren. AND of course, my mum will be preparing or buying them all the food they crave for, OR she might just let the adults fend for themselves, while she looks after Toby tobs.
So where shall I bring them for food? Dadada would surely want to have roti canai. So we'll go to Grandcity restaurant in SS11, where he can have roti canai and many variety of curries .. fish, chicken, mutton, crab .. and also vegetables and other kuih muih. Their curry puff in the evening's are a hit as well. Mamama can have her capati or tosai. We'll just give Tobs some payasam if they are serving it then.
I also thought of Madam Kwan's, where we could have nasi lemak OR order a few famous dishes off the menu for dinner, if Tobs isnt too tired or already asleep. I am secretly hoping he sleeps UK time, so that he will be awake most of the time at night ;)
I think Bagan Lalang will be a little too far for the 3 of them. So I have to think of a place to have seafood, or maybe they could have it back home in Kuantan. The ikan bakar in Kuantan is famous. Especially in Tanjung Lumpur. There are many shops along the road side that sell fresh seafood. AND its cheap. Once I had ikan kerapu masak 3 rasa, deep fried prawns, tom yam and kai lan ikan masin for less than RM 40! :) AND it was delicious.
So where else to eat in KL? Of course, my aunt Baba has promised my sister ju-hu-cha. Famous hokkien dish, which is eaten with salad leave. We normally have it once a year during Chinese New Year. Maybe I should take my sister to The Curve, then she can choose what she wants to eat. Or even Pavillion. I hear the food court there is quite interesting as well.
As for places to visit, this is especially for Dadada. So Mamama has suggested places like Batu Caves, FRIM, Tugu Negara, Muzium Negara & Planiterium Negara. Not bad. Even I havent been to Batu Caves or Tugu Negara. Good idea.
When they go home to Kuantan, I think they would be spending most of their time entertaining relatives and friends. Of course a special visit to my grandma's so that her great-grandchild can call her Ah to. She now has 6 great grandchildren. AND of course, my mum will be preparing or buying them all the food they crave for, OR she might just let the adults fend for themselves, while she looks after Toby tobs.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Take a break!
I need a holiday. A short break. Whatever you want to call it. I just need to go away from the hussle-bussle of the city. Pamper myself. Spend some time on self-reflection. Stop thinking about work. Stop thinking about what bills I need to pay on my next salary. Stop worrying. Its a disaster! I over worry. I wonder how many people do the same?
I know people who just "tak kisah" @ "dont care". But sometimes when I think about it, isnt that lifestyle so much simplier and easier? Just let it be. Tackle things as they come. Maybe I should try that, eh? Live each day to its fullest. Not worrying about tomorrow.
I know people who just "tak kisah" @ "dont care". But sometimes when I think about it, isnt that lifestyle so much simplier and easier? Just let it be. Tackle things as they come. Maybe I should try that, eh? Live each day to its fullest. Not worrying about tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
My sister a.k.a jie-jie @ cece
I have one sister. Apart from my parents, she is my only family. Now of course that she is married, I have one brother and one nephew (and hopefully more to come ;))
My sister and her family stay far far away from us .. cewah .. kat UK .. not Ulu Kelang! She has been there since I was 12 and she was 18. When we were younger ;) we would go swimming together. She was a great swimmer. She has got brains as well. Very CREBER. Hou lek loi. Ci nia gau. That is how she was given the oppurtunity to continue her A-Levels with the mat-sallehs.
When I was a child.. maybe 4-5 years old. I attempted to kill my sister, by stabbing her back with a scissors! You see? I can be violent. So men .. beware!! She can show you the scar.
In my teens, my sister and I barely talked or communicated. I had high-school, tuition etc etc. She was in university and then just started working. Then when I started working and she had found her true love .. ;) we started emailing each other daily. I went on my first trip overseas in 2002 to visit her. I must admit that I was nervous because I hadnt seen her for 5 years. But she looked the same .. like Lucy Liu (she is going to kill me for publishing this!) much prettier .. stylish .. gaya, mutu, keunggulan! AND .. SHE HAS TWO CATS!! I never touch any other cat except for Chloe and Sophie who look more like tiger cubs than cats. One is very blur. One is a little crazy and can hiss at you when she isnt in the mood.
NOW, my sister and I are close. Closer than I would have expected 10 years ago. She's coming back this May with koko (brother) and kim tu kia (golden pig baby). We're going to have lots of fun .. then lots of tears when she has to leave. BUT!! I'll be seeing her for Christmas in the UK!! :D
My sister and her family stay far far away from us .. cewah .. kat UK .. not Ulu Kelang! She has been there since I was 12 and she was 18. When we were younger ;) we would go swimming together. She was a great swimmer. She has got brains as well. Very CREBER. Hou lek loi. Ci nia gau. That is how she was given the oppurtunity to continue her A-Levels with the mat-sallehs.
When I was a child.. maybe 4-5 years old. I attempted to kill my sister, by stabbing her back with a scissors! You see? I can be violent. So men .. beware!! She can show you the scar.
In my teens, my sister and I barely talked or communicated. I had high-school, tuition etc etc. She was in university and then just started working. Then when I started working and she had found her true love .. ;) we started emailing each other daily. I went on my first trip overseas in 2002 to visit her. I must admit that I was nervous because I hadnt seen her for 5 years. But she looked the same .. like Lucy Liu (she is going to kill me for publishing this!) much prettier .. stylish .. gaya, mutu, keunggulan! AND .. SHE HAS TWO CATS!! I never touch any other cat except for Chloe and Sophie who look more like tiger cubs than cats. One is very blur. One is a little crazy and can hiss at you when she isnt in the mood.
NOW, my sister and I are close. Closer than I would have expected 10 years ago. She's coming back this May with koko (brother) and kim tu kia (golden pig baby). We're going to have lots of fun .. then lots of tears when she has to leave. BUT!! I'll be seeing her for Christmas in the UK!! :D
Monday, March 24, 2008
23rd March 2008 Petronas Malaysian GP
So we started our journey to Sepang International Circuit (SIC) just after 11 a.m. On the highway, most of the neighbouring cars were headed to the same destination. There was a massive jam till be reached the booths to purchase our parking stickers, that cost RM 50! We were suppose to be allocated the parking space just behind the grandstand, but NOooooo... we had to walk at least 1km! Not so bad I thought, since we got the tickets free. IF I had purchased those tickets, I would have caused a stir with the organisers! We park the car on muddy land and walk under very hot sun. By the time we reached the entrance of SIC, we were hot, tired and sweaty. Not good. But everyone around us looked the same. We walked around the murchandise stores and decided it was a little above our budgets to buy any off the selling items. So we decided to get to our seats... but not before security checks to ensure we do not bring in our own food and drinks.
e get to our seats (after seating at the wrong places twice!) My boyfriend went to get more drinks and came back with a satay set. I was so excited. Satay!! Yum yum .. he opened it, just to show me 8 sticks of satay, a little nasi impit, satay sauce and a packed jelly .. all worth RM 20! 2 cans of 100-plus for RM 10. I thank God again that I didnt purchase those tickets.
We left just as Ferrari won the race. We thought we'd avoid the crowd, but noooooooo everyone got up and left as well. We walked as fast as we could to avoid any unwanted jam as it was about to rain as well.
All in all, it was an experience we wont forget.. My boyfriend will remember the race, but I'll remember the RM 20 satay! ;)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Home sweet home
I am back home in Kuantan today. I had initially planned to stay till Sunday afternoon, but because of F1, I am travelling back to KL after the Easter Sunrise Service tomorrow morning.
I left KL at about half past 5 a.m. I like it! No cars on the road till I reached Kuantan just before 8 a.m. Moving forward, all trips home will start at 5 a.m. :) :) But be very careful at the new highway because at some parts, it is very misty. Quite scary, as if in heaven!
So mummy was in the garden when I arrived, singing and talking to her plants. NO my mother is not senile! To her and everyone else, its a garden .. beautiful garden. To me, its a jungle with mosquitoes that LOVE to bite me ;) I had a nap .. well not really a nap .. 3 hours knocked out. Mummy and I had lunch i.e. fish, vegetable & soup. Then we headed to the tyre shop to get 2 new tyres, before heading off to see grandma and also buy some merchandise from the salt fish shop.
At grandma's we had a few short Hainanese drama, with the main actress being rich aunt, supported by semi-blind aunt, hunched-back aunt and little aunt. Grandma was jus the prop. This is a daily scene. Hunched-back aunt prepared fried kuey-teow and "rat's-tail noodle" for lunch. She was busy folding hell-notes for the chinese version of all soul's day next week. She folded them into crowns and some other shapes, depending on the amount of the note.
For dinner, mummy prepared steamboat, with lots of fish & meat balls and vegetables. Papa likes vegetable too much. So at every meal, there is always lots and lots of vegetable. After dinner, we had a video call with Toby tobs and my sister. Toby tobs was so excited to see the rubber ducks his Ah Ma had bought for him. But he got a little scared and cried, when Ah Ma showed him a red chinese costume that she bought along with a few other clothings. He'll be wearing it when he's back here in June to celebrate his 1st birthday :)
I'll be going off to sleep soon. I've got a long day tommorrow. Hopefully I'll have photographs of F1 on my next blog or so.
I left KL at about half past 5 a.m. I like it! No cars on the road till I reached Kuantan just before 8 a.m. Moving forward, all trips home will start at 5 a.m. :) :) But be very careful at the new highway because at some parts, it is very misty. Quite scary, as if in heaven!
So mummy was in the garden when I arrived, singing and talking to her plants. NO my mother is not senile! To her and everyone else, its a garden .. beautiful garden. To me, its a jungle with mosquitoes that LOVE to bite me ;) I had a nap .. well not really a nap .. 3 hours knocked out. Mummy and I had lunch i.e. fish, vegetable & soup. Then we headed to the tyre shop to get 2 new tyres, before heading off to see grandma and also buy some merchandise from the salt fish shop.
At grandma's we had a few short Hainanese drama, with the main actress being rich aunt, supported by semi-blind aunt, hunched-back aunt and little aunt. Grandma was jus the prop. This is a daily scene. Hunched-back aunt prepared fried kuey-teow and "rat's-tail noodle" for lunch. She was busy folding hell-notes for the chinese version of all soul's day next week. She folded them into crowns and some other shapes, depending on the amount of the note.
For dinner, mummy prepared steamboat, with lots of fish & meat balls and vegetables. Papa likes vegetable too much. So at every meal, there is always lots and lots of vegetable. After dinner, we had a video call with Toby tobs and my sister. Toby tobs was so excited to see the rubber ducks his Ah Ma had bought for him. But he got a little scared and cried, when Ah Ma showed him a red chinese costume that she bought along with a few other clothings. He'll be wearing it when he's back here in June to celebrate his 1st birthday :)
I'll be going off to sleep soon. I've got a long day tommorrow. Hopefully I'll have photographs of F1 on my next blog or so.
Friday, March 21, 2008
This weekend..
Cutie pie Toby-tobs hadnt been feeling too well at the beginning of this week .. but today I was able to catch a glimpse of him on a video call .. he was laughing! We've been all worried and now we can look forward to more video calls and oohh aahhh la la la on the phone.
I'll be calling him tomorrow with his Ah Ma and Ah Kong in Kuantan. I planned to go home and return on Sunday evening, but plans have changed because I've got complementary F1 grandstand tickets!! :) :)
Hopefully the next blog will be with pictures.
I'll be calling him tomorrow with his Ah Ma and Ah Kong in Kuantan. I planned to go home and return on Sunday evening, but plans have changed because I've got complementary F1 grandstand tickets!! :) :)
Hopefully the next blog will be with pictures.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Food glorious food
I loooovvvvvvvveeeeeeeee food. Mama bulat says I only decline wood and rock .. i.e. tolak kayu dgn batu aje :) We think if someone cooks japanese slippers and serves it to me, I'd eat it! :P
I just had lunch/tea. My plate had yong-tau-fu, garlic bread and chicken liver. I know some of you would go .. uurrggghh .. chicken liver .. urrgghhh
Please remember I am chinese. My mother use to tell us.. Chinese people eat everything that flies, except aeroplanes.. everything that has four legs, except tables and chairs.. This is quite true.
But I sometimes ask myself: what are my favourite dishes? The first that comes in mind is lamb. I love lamb. Then there is hokkien noodles, sea-food @ Bagan Lalang, fajitas (especially lamb fajitas .. duh), spaghetti (must be BIG MEATBALLS). How about desert? My sister's meringue pie, ICE-CREAM, chocolate cake, cheese cake.
About a year ago, my boyfriend and I found a nasi padang (field rice .. he he) restaurant near the house. We usually go there for lunch, as the place is air-conditioned and the people are friendly. It also sells antique furniture. Our usual dishes there are ayam kalio, ikan asam pedas, salted fish, green long beans fried with chicken liver and deep fried chicken liver & gizzards. Yum-yum. It offers other delicacies such as deep fried kampung chicken, daisy-moo's tendon cooked in curry (tried it once and i vow never to try it again), grilled cat-fish, duck's egg cooked in coconut milk and turmeric, yam leaf with sambal belacan, ox tail soup with carrots and potatoes and also deserts such as sago in coconut milk and even fermanted tapioca.
On weekends when we're not working, we sometimes drive to Bagan Lalang (near Sg Pelek, Sepang) for seafood by the sea (not a very nice sea view, but in KL beggars cant be choosers) Our usual dishes are kerapu 3 rasa (garoupa cooked 3 flavours - sweet sour and chilied), pepahat (bamboo lala) cooked in egg, fried crab and squid cooked in sambal (chili). We dont order vegetable because all the dishes are cooked with celery and cauliflower. Its always worth the drive :)
What shall I eat tonight? I'm suppose to be on a diet, to skip or replace dinner with a protein drink. Fish, chicken and eggs are protein as well, right? ;)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Parents Vs Computer
My parents have crashed their machine again! This time, it isnt slow response or unexpected icons on the desktop.. its blue screen!! How they manage to do it, I dont have a clue.
When I started working, I decided that I no longer need a machine at home, so I sent it back to my parents, with an additional USB modem, so that they could write to my sister. From then on, my cousin a.k.a a-tech has had to reformat the machine a couple of times. I used this machine for a multimedia project and it never crashed on me then.
When a-tech called today, I knew something has gone wrong somewhere. He has taken the machine back to try and revive it. If that fails, then its a new machine for my parents this year.. tower desktop with dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM and 160 Gb hard drive.
If ANY computer company need testers for their machine, I would HIGHLY recommend my parents and all other parents who have successfully crashed machines that helped us through university!!
When I started working, I decided that I no longer need a machine at home, so I sent it back to my parents, with an additional USB modem, so that they could write to my sister. From then on, my cousin a.k.a a-tech has had to reformat the machine a couple of times. I used this machine for a multimedia project and it never crashed on me then.
When a-tech called today, I knew something has gone wrong somewhere. He has taken the machine back to try and revive it. If that fails, then its a new machine for my parents this year.. tower desktop with dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM and 160 Gb hard drive.
If ANY computer company need testers for their machine, I would HIGHLY recommend my parents and all other parents who have successfully crashed machines that helped us through university!!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
I'm still here...
Its 07:36hrs, 15th March in Malaysia. I have been in the office for 12 hours, hoping that I will be heading home soon. But the latest updates from Limerick, have indicated, that I will most probably be here for the next few hours.. :( disaster :(
Obviously, this picture was NOT taken today!
la-la-la .. aaahhhh .. ha ha .. *cough cough*.. da-da
Introducing my nephew Tobs :)I speak to him daily and have video calls over the weekend, when his mummy is free. I have missed our video calls today, because I'm at work. But I did have our daily calls, which consists of la-la-la .. aaahhhh .. ha ha .. *cough cough*.. da-da (everytime the phone rings, he thinks it's his dad)
He gets very "ham sap" on video calls. He'll stare at the screen, wait for me to make a funny face, then get all shy-shy and smile, while leaning his head against his mummy.
Tobs will be experiencing his first aeroplane trip back to Malaysia. Ah-ma (my mum), ah kong (my pa) and Ah-ee (me!), as well as many "admirers" (mostly ah-ma and ah-kong's friends) are counting the days.
My office, my home
I remember in secondary school, we had a motto "Sekolahku, rumahku" i.e. "My school, my home". Today, I have a very similar motto "My office, my home".
I spent almost 36 hours in the office last Thursday. I now realise I am a workaholic.
Bro, mama-bulat & I went for dinner on Wednesday night, in preparation for the work that would start at 4 a.m. We had deep fried squid, claypot tofu and "yau-mak" (green leafy vegetable). Then we went to the 24-hours mini mart to buy our junk-food stock for the night.
We came back to office and after a few minutes of Seniman Bujang Lapok, mama-bulat & I decided that it was time to freshen-up before I had a conference call at 3 a.m. (The office has a shower built in the toilet .. a hint that you are required to work many many hours away from home!)
Just after 2 a.m., mama-bulat & I were applying make-up!! This is truely important to us, no matter what time of day. My mum never leaves the house without lipstick. Come to think of it, she even has lipstick on at home!
The activities kicked-off at 4 a.m. We were still awake and aware of what was going on but at 10 a.m. you could hear us snoring at our cubicles. We just couldnt be bothered about everyone else.
11 a.m. our stomachs started to complain; lack of food; we went and had nasi lemak in the cafeteria.
3 p.m. bro, pakcik and the others arrived, expecting to find zombies. But they heard were greeted with laughter and lots of chatter. I think it was because we had lost our sanity. Mama-bulat left after awhile. Bulat at home required her .. moo-moo time. I decided to stay on for awhile. I had meetings to attend. I had my performance review. I continued working and had cat naps along the way ;) I finally left the office at around 2 a.m. I think I should change my contact address to @office.
Even as I am writing this, I AM IN THE OFFICE. I "checked-in" at 7:15 p.m. I dont think I am leaving till Sunday noon!
"My office, my home".. *sigh*
I spent almost 36 hours in the office last Thursday. I now realise I am a workaholic.
Bro, mama-bulat & I went for dinner on Wednesday night, in preparation for the work that would start at 4 a.m. We had deep fried squid, claypot tofu and "yau-mak" (green leafy vegetable). Then we went to the 24-hours mini mart to buy our junk-food stock for the night.
We came back to office and after a few minutes of Seniman Bujang Lapok, mama-bulat & I decided that it was time to freshen-up before I had a conference call at 3 a.m. (The office has a shower built in the toilet .. a hint that you are required to work many many hours away from home!)
Just after 2 a.m., mama-bulat & I were applying make-up!! This is truely important to us, no matter what time of day. My mum never leaves the house without lipstick. Come to think of it, she even has lipstick on at home!
The activities kicked-off at 4 a.m. We were still awake and aware of what was going on but at 10 a.m. you could hear us snoring at our cubicles. We just couldnt be bothered about everyone else.
11 a.m. our stomachs started to complain; lack of food; we went and had nasi lemak in the cafeteria.
3 p.m. bro, pakcik and the others arrived, expecting to find zombies. But they heard were greeted with laughter and lots of chatter. I think it was because we had lost our sanity. Mama-bulat left after awhile. Bulat at home required her .. moo-moo time. I decided to stay on for awhile. I had meetings to attend. I had my performance review. I continued working and had cat naps along the way ;) I finally left the office at around 2 a.m. I think I should change my contact address to @office.
Even as I am writing this, I AM IN THE OFFICE. I "checked-in" at 7:15 p.m. I dont think I am leaving till Sunday noon!
"My office, my home".. *sigh*
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