My Monologues

Fluffy bread...

2008-04-21T00:36:00.005+08:00

Last week, I posted this. Here are some pics on why I was so excited :)

The green is Pandan Sponge.. and the white..the white is fluffy bread!! Took me nearly an hour to hand knead the bread dough... but after tasting the final product, it was all worthwhile..(p.s It was a great workout too hahah)

Civic mindedness

2008-04-14T11:13:00.002+08:00

I guess it's never too early to start 'em.

Mummy's making me handle my own bio-hazard

Into the bin it goes!... Yay!

The jinx is broken!

2008-04-13T21:38:00.002+08:00

FINALLY... I managed to bake FLUFFY, WHITE BREAD. I'm so happy... pics would have to come later. :P

Blessed Easter

2008-03-23T23:53:00.000+08:00

Gloria's milestones

2008-02-26T12:08:00.004+08:00

It's been a while since I've uploaded any pics or blogged. So as a treat, I'm loading up VIDEOS!! The videos features some milestones that Gloria has gone through.

First there was The Crawl. The Crawl is Gloria's unique way of crawling... it's part walk, part crawl. Looks like more effort is needed to move around this way, but she mastered it and crawls at lightspeed this way.. :P

After that, Gloria discovered that she can utilise her new found mobility to climb the stairs!

Noticed I was coercing her by saying "Yes" ? Well, it should've actually happened like this

Gloria also learnt the joys of riding toy cars.

Another thing she picked up was, picking up the phone!

Of course, naturally, crawling became a bore and Gloria wanted to learn how to walk.

Soon after that video, she did master the art of walking without aid. Albeit, she still looks a little bit like a drunken sailor shaking off his sea legs when she walks. Last but not least.... the grand finale of this post.

I give you.....

Gloria Dancing (ala Pocoyo)

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T23:57:00.001+08:00

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2008-02-07T15:03:00.001+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year. May the rat usher in Peace and Prosperity to you and your loved ones

Cookies galore

2008-02-05T20:12:00.001+08:00

Chinese New Year sparked my cookie baking interest. Since we don't usually have many guests over, I made there babies as gifts :-P

12 months

2007-11-06T22:11:00.000+08:00

Dear Gloria,

You turned 1 a few days back. Daddy and I still can't believe that it's been a year already. We remember meeting you for the first time... like it was just yesterday.

You are such a little lady now. You've begun experimenting standing on your own and trying out walking (with some aid). You've also created your own baby language... Tolkien you may not be.. and we're still deciphering what 'balabalabala' or 'pstpstpst' means. Some words we recognize though... your favorites... 'CAT' and 'MEOW'. You call Daddy 'dada' or 'dede' depending on your mood.. and you call me 'meh' and when you want to breastfeed, it's 'mem mem'. 'Mem mem' is not to be confused with 'maam maam', which means you want solid food... and oh yes.. 'Em' when you want milk.

Honestly darling, I have no idea where you got the love of cats from. We have a dog, Ginger. Though you're more interested in wagging your finger at her when she barks. However, when you see any cat you just light up like a Christmas tree!

Inspired by your intense love of cats, Daddy got you a cat soft toy; and I decided to adorn your birthday cake with cats. But I'm telling you now... that's as far as I will go. If in the future you come to me and say 'Mummy, can I have a pet cat for my Birthday?'.. my answer will almost certainly be 'Ask your dad!'

My dear bee, I'm afraid you are turning into a little TV addict. Though. you are very very selective of what you watch. You ONLY want to watch Disney's Magic English. Your Ah Ma got you a set from her previous company... and you LOVE IT! You watch it every morning before your bath, after your bath, after your morning nap and once more in the evening. On some days, Daddy even turns it on at night before your bed time.

On days when you are at Gradma's and don't get to watch Magic English.. you have some withdrawal syndromes. You'll be so edgy when you get home... and you'll keep insisting on being in the hall and in front of the TV. The moment we turn on Magic English, you will squeal and clap your hands. Then you'll just be zen-ed out. It's amazing! Though with the amount of TV time you're choking up... you better be saying the words soon. I'm not sure how much more of Magic English Daddy and I can take. (I hope you'll appreciate the sacrifice of Mummy and Daddy when you're older... we don't get to watch Astro much)

Darling Bee, in this past year, you've also perfected the art of 'adorability'. You've managed to wrap your little fingers around your grandparents (yes both sets of them), and also Mummy and Daddy. You smile cheekily when you know you'll be getting your way. And there's nothing we can do about it. I'll have to caution you though. You can't always get it your way. And throwing a tantrum will NOT solve anything... unless of course the adults around you gets nerve wrecked and give in so that you'll stop sobbing.

Sweetie Pie, it's so wonderful to see you explore new things and growing up. Sometimes I wish this time would last longer. My only hope is that when you grow older and look back, your memory of this time would be of how loved you were by everyone around you.

Love,
Mummy

Someone told me...

2007-10-17T18:29:00.000+08:00

That 'Reflexology' is when you hit someone, that someone hits you back...

Baking quickie...

2007-09-28T17:07:00.001+08:00

Was home alone today... Gloria is spending some quality time with her grandparents (coz since I'm a temp SAHM now, they see her less than before). I initially wanted to try and bake Walnut Bread. Inspired by the ones Jaya Jusco sells... my parents lurve it. They buy one nearly every time they go to Jaya Jusco.

Let me digress a little here. Did you realise that if you get the Walnut bread at smaller Juscos it's cheaper? It's like 1.69 or 1.99 (I need to ask mum the actual price).. But if you get it like in Midvalley, it's over 2 ringgit. Location, location, location I tell ya! Though... I do feel that there's more walnut in the MidValley version.

OK back to my story.

Anyways, I went to the baking supply shop and saw a 'New Year Cookies' recipe book. Flipping through it ... I fell in love. The recipes look simple and the pictures of the cookies looks absolutely fab. It didn't cost an arm and a leg... and it's by a Malaysian chef (don't think he's well known.. but I guess being a Malaysian the taste would suit our palate.. different from the angmoh kind) There was this ONE cookie that I thought I could whip up

Mock Watermelon Crisps...

I just love how they look ...

Definitely making these as gifts :)

Cake experiment

2007-09-28T16:39:00.000+08:00

It all started when I decided that I'll bake Gloria's FIRST birthday cake. How difficult could it be right? I'm sure Gloria'll be thrilled with ANYTHING that is produced. Ah but then there'll be photos snapping the soon coming event... And I wouldn't want my daughter looking back at the old photos and asking me... 'Mummy, what's that pile of thing that I'm posing behind of?'.

I shared my idea with hubby... who then said
'Make it in the shape of number ONE'

'Shape like number ONE?' a little shocked that hubby actually pitched an idea and not grunt in acknowledgement.

'Yeah.. so that when we look back at the pictures we'll know that it's her first birthday'

Yeah makes sense.. though the number of candles on the cake would've be indicative..

However, it's a challenge I cannot shy away from.

Now how would I decorate the cake?

First thought.. Fondant (Sugar Paste)... very pretty ... but well... it's just sugary. Anyhow, I managed to find some ready to roll sugar paste *go self!*

So a few Friday's ago, my sis and I whipped up a simple sponge cake and decorated it with fondant (well, I did set my sis up for the task by introducing her to this blog)

Anyhow, to cut long story short... this was what we came up with

OK... handling fondant was not as tricky as I thought it would be... and we definitely need to experiment more hehehe... when we were done... we didn't have the heart to cut the cake... so we had to let my dad do the honors :P

A week later, we baked a chocolate cake with cream cheese and peach filling (YUMZ!) and decorated with butter cream. This time, I experimented on assembling the cake into the number ONE shape. Cake was yummy...decoration was well... amateur hehehe..

I have 1 more month to go before the REAL event. I think there'll be a few more experiments to do hehhee....

Next mission... mousse cake? Or maybe layered sponge cake with sweetened whipped cream. Wish me luck

To do list

2007-09-21T13:39:00.000+08:00

Before I embarked on this sabbatical, I though I would do MILLIONS of posts into this blog.. hahaha.. how wrong I was.

In fact I've been online LESS than before! The first week was a little difficult. I think I had Internet Withdrawal Syndrome. Thank goodness Gloria kept me occupied enough to keep my mind off it. Now that I am computer-enabled (temporarily)... I still haven't found the time to blog..

oh the eternal procrastinator in me! :P

Dejavu

2007-09-13T15:12:00.000+08:00

Did you feel it?

It's my turn to ask now.. This morning at approximately 8 a.m., I was in the hall with my lil bee, waiting to say 'bye-bye' to hubby. Then I felt it.

At first I thought I was still sleepy and feeling dizzy.

Hold it!

The water in the air purifying machine was moving. And the machine WAS NOT TURNED ON!

Then I felt it again... the room felt like it moved centimeters to the left and then to the right. And the water sloshed gently in the machine.

Whoah!..

Malaysia... earthquake?!

9 months

2007-08-25T23:16:00.000+08:00

Dear Gloria,

You've learnt a couple of new tricks this month.

First, is the 'Funny Face'.

And you always do it with so much flair!.. You'll look for the perfect spot on your bottle cover, bite on... and then lift both your hands as if to say 'Tada!'.

Then, it's clapping.

Also, you managed to stand on your own for a brief moment!

You also seem to understand humor now too. You laugh at silly faces that we make.. and you also know that we enjoy watching you do the 'Funny Face'. Oh you show that off to so many people. One humor which I don't share with you however is your biting. Darling girl, mummy knows how many teeth there are in your mouth... you don't have to leave an imprint on my arm or shoulder as evidence!

Mummy's now at home with you the whole day. Mummy's in between jobs (well, more like Mummy's still looking for a new job), and meanwhile moonlighting as an SAHM (Stay At Home Mum). Mummy's loving every moment of it.. and can only hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.

Love,
Mummy

I thought I was a light sleeper...

2007-08-09T07:42:00.000+08:00

I mean, I usually wake relatively easy (or comparatively to my hubby at least). Phone rings, I'm awake. Gloria stirs, I'm awake. Dog barks, I'm awake. My hubby snores louder, I'm awake.

However, there has been times when I just slept like a log. Like when the time I was young and the house caught on fire, and the fireengine was here.... I slept through (much to my parent's amazement). And then there was the time when my house alarm went off, and both hubby and I slept through (much to the amazement of my neighbours).

Then there was last night...

I was sleeping soundly. *Ding Dong* *knock knock knock* *Ding Dong*
Now who in the sane mind would be ringing the doorbell at midnight? And oh... I failed to mention.. I'm in Jakarta... so that really would negate the social-call-by-nightbird-friends theory.

Peeping through the door, I saw my 2 junior colleagues.

"Did you feel that?" One asked

"Feel what?"

"There was a tremor!"

"A what?"

"Tremor! Macam earthquake!"

"Seriously?" Still sleepy and perplexed

"Yalar.... Should we go down or not?"

"Erm... I think it should be over"

I noticed that there was no mad rush of people running down the stairs... and I guess that stopped me from being panicky

"OK. We'll go down and check it out"

"Alright.. you do that..."

Then I closed the door and went back to bed. I sms-ed hubby too.
Just as I was drifting to dreamland...

*Ding Dong* *knock knock knock*

"Cyrene!... There are people downstairs. Everyone felt it! I was on the bed and I felt the shaking!"

"Yeah.. I was walking to the washroom and I felt it!" piped the other colleague

"Oh... I must have slept through it.. I didn't feel anything" smiling sheepishly

Afterwhich, we retired to our room.

This morning, when I woke up, this is what I read at CNN.

7.5 on the scales and I slept through it! Happens only 18 times a year and I was here when it happened!

I wonder if we have travel insurance :S

Slide

2007-07-25T18:13:00.000+08:00

Went to a dear friend's blog and saw her pictures in Slides! They looked cool... and I tried it out :)

Hmm.. perhaps I should load more pictures.. hahaha Gloria's pics are being recycled a lot here

Music to my ears...

2007-07-21T22:58:00.000+08:00

Earlier tonight, in an attempt to get Gloria's attention, I took her bolster and hit the sofa with it. And this is what happened

BLISS...

Start 'em young

2007-07-17T21:00:00.000+08:00

Well....

At least I won't complain that she doesn't eat her greens :)

8 months

2007-07-15T22:30:00.000+08:00

Dear Gloria,

You turned 8 months old on the 4th of July. That day also marked the end of your first overseas holiday.

Thanks to a very generous Tony Fernandez, everybody can fly. Yup, even you Little Bee. Back in February, I managed to secure 4 free tickets to Chiang Mai. So Ah Ma, Ah Kong, Daddy, you and I, were set to embark on your FIRST plane ride.

Chiang Mai is a special place for mummy and daddy. Daddy was there for months on end just before and just after our wedding for a project. Mummy even visited Daddy in Chiang Mai 3 years ago.

Our flight was early, and we had to be at the LCCT by 7 a.m. The night before, I dressed you up in the clothes, ready for the trip. You slept all the way to the airport. Though I would've wished you slept through the plane ride....

It was as though you knew it was a special time and you were going somewhere new. You were extra, extra energetic. Ah Ma and mummy had our hands full trying to keep you down in the plane. Of course 30 minutes into the plane you decided to fuss....in the end, mummy had to breastfeed you before you dozed off (and that was like, 20 minutes before we landed...sigh).

When we got to the hotel and placed you on the bed... you beemed!

It was like you had new found freedom. You LOVED the bed! You rolled all around it and was in an EXTREMELY good mood. So much so, daddy contemplated on getting a bigger bed at home for you ... (mind you, we already have a KING sized bed)

We were in Chiang Mai for 4 days and
you shopped

you rolled on the bed

you enjoyed the van

Most importantly, we bonded even more as a family during this trip.

You are such a cheerful baby. And you're very cheeky too... with your new teeth, you bite mummy when I'm breastfeeding you... and then you SMILE!... Oh you cheeky beaver!

You always bring out a smile in mummy and daddy... even on the most hectic days.

Luv,
Mummy

My Little Bee

2007-06-16T21:59:00.000+08:00

Blogging

2007-06-16T21:42:00.000+08:00

I never managed to keep a diary. Never really know how to log down my thoughts daily / weekly / monthly.

This blog, is my most successful attempt in keeping a diary. Even so, it's hardly updated. At times I miss blogging, at times I get writer's block.

But wait a minute.

Whom am I writing for?

Would this blog still be here 21 years from now? Would my daughter one day stumble upon this site and read all my posts? I don't know.

Whom am I writing for? I realise now more than ever, I'm writing for myself. My attempts to do otherwise has been just downright corny.

So there.

Let's see how long I can keep this endeavour up.

In a blink of an eye...

2007-02-21T23:58:00.000+08:00

Gloria is now approaching 4 months, and it really feels like it was only yesterday hubby and I were in the labour room anticipating her birth. So many things have happened since that day, and our baby girl has had so many milestones already in this short span of time.

Month 1

This was a month of discovery for all of us. Baby Gloria discovering the world, I discovering how it feels to be a mother, and hubby discovering the medical bill (yikes!). In all honesty, looking back now, Gloria was not really a fussy baby. She mainly cried when she was hungry, and when she felt like a cuddle.

I know newborns sleep a lot during the day, but it certainly didn't feel like it during the first month. They said "Mummy sleeps when baby sleeps" but I somehow couldn't. Even though my mum kept asking me to rest when baby is sleeping and let her take care of Gloria, I just couldn't. I wanted to be there to be able to breast feed Gloria when she gets hungry. Most times this felt like 24 hours... Gloria was latching on to me for what I felt was like every waking hour (my waking hour that is). I was beginning to think if I could last6 months of breastfeding.

I'm so thankful my parents and in laws were there. Especially my mum and sis. I think I would've gone full swing into post partum depression if not for them. I had a few mini breakdowns, all at night, when I just could not get Gloria to sleep!

Month 2

This to me was the most stressful month by far. My mum went back home, and Gloria and I spent our days at my in laws. There was no mummy for me to fall back on...

It was December, and my mother in law was preparing cookies for Christmas and Chinese New Year. So most of the time, I took care of Gloria alone. There was no internet connection, and I felt almost disconnected from the world. I guess this was when I got a real taste of how being a housewife would feel like.

Gloria was beginning to smile more and this really kept me going daily. My sister in law and I would try to coax Gloria to smile for us, and we would try to capture that on camera.

Towards the end of month 2, I was dreading the eventuallity that I have to go back to work.

a. I would miss the time I could spend with Gloria.
b. I was still so fat, I had to wear my maternity pants!
c. I still wasn't good at expressing milk. :(

However, this was also Gloria's first Christmas. We kept our celebration small and only visited 1 friend. Christmas was nice and cozy.

Month 3

Ah.... back to work. We drop Gloria off at my in law's place in the morning and it takes every ounce of determination in me to leave her and go to work. The moment we drive away from the house I would tell my hubby that I miss Gloria already.

We looked forward to going home daily, and it was heartwarming to know that Gloria would refuse her formula milk after 7pm in anticipation for the breast feeding sessions I would have with her throughout the night (this is when I really loved breast feeding, it's like a special bond I have with Gloria every night).

Gloria would now begin to smile at recognition. You would know that when she looked at you, and give you that big gummy grin... it was ONLY for you. That's the best feeling in the world! Towards the end of this month, Gloria begun to coo and gurgle more. She begun to hold baby conversations with all of us.

This was also the month that Gloria got baptised. A friend gave Gloria a BEAUTIFUL white dress, perfect for her baptism. Gloria too was a perfect angel throughout the whole process.... she slept :P

Month 4

We're now 2 weeks into month 4. Gloria has shown so much growth!

She can now hold her head up and control her head movement too.

She can now laugh :D When you have a bad day at work, the best cure is to listen to a baby's laugh.

She expresses preference. She has a mobile at home with bunnies hanging from it. She would only 'speak' to one particular bunny. At her grandma's, she has a mobile with different bugs on it. She would only 'speak' to the ladybug. (and she would grunt angrily at the blue butterfly hahaha)

She can reach out to her mobile.

She can smoothly navigate her hand into her mouth hahahaha.

She can hold your finger, and smoothly navigate it into her mouth.

She can grab hold of her doll and smoothly navigate it into her mouth (hehe catch a pattern here?)

She's in love with the ceiling fan.

She never cease to amaze us all with her antics.

I think I'm gonna enjoy being a mummy :)

Baby Gloria's debut -- delayed post

2006-11-15T21:10:00.000+08:00

OK, I had the whole chronology of event that I wanted to post. Blow by blow account of the labour process. Hehehe, but then the job of a new mummy took most of my time, and my hubby beat me to it here.

Well, it was no Hallmark moment... No huffing and puffing with my hubby holding my hand encouraging me to push. In fact, even the c-section was not how a normal c-section would have been.

Long story short, I was knocked out cold (literally as the Operation Theater is one giant freezer) and I didn't get to hold our daughter till the morning after. Even then, I was so groggy and numb below my waist, I couldn't hold her. My ObGyn placed her beside me on my bed and my first contact with my first born was her snuggling close to me for warmth.

I fell in love again.

The wait is over (?)

2006-11-04T12:20:00.000+08:00

My Ob/Gyn called this morning.

Didn't hear my phone ringing.

He called my hubby's phone.... he didn't hear it either.

Ob/Gyn must have been panicky (hehehe)

Finally heard the call, answered it.

"Can you come in for a check up today?" Asked my Ob/Gyn

"Sure, what time would you like to see me?" I replied.

"How about now?"

"OK"

"OK be prepared k"

"Er... OK (?)"

** Click **

"Hubby, doc wants to see me now and he wants me to be prepared" I told Hubby.

"Be prepared?"

"Yeah that's what he said"

Hubby shrugs... "OK then... "He then looks at my bulging tummy and said "Baby, looks like the doc's gonna get you out soon."

Were we feeling anxious? Not really.

Did we panic? Not at all.

On the way to the clinic, we were even discussing what to eat for breakfast! Once at the clinic we were ushered into the office. (Bypassing some other moomies who were waiting in the lounge... hehehe felt like a VIP then)

"So today, we'll do an internal examination, then a scan and then we'll monitor the fetal heartbeat for a while." explained the good doc.

"OK" we said.

Upon examination I was already 4-5 cm dilated!

"I think you'll be going into labour today!" exclaimed the doc.

"There are two options, one, go in today at about 3pm and we'll put you on the drips. If all goes well I believe you'll be carrying your baby by tonight. Option two, wait for the spontaneous contractions and then check into the hospital."

Hmmm.... door no. 1 we'll take our leisure time, pack our stuff, relax a little and then check in. Door no. 2, wait till I get my contractions about 10 minutes apart and panic and rush into the hospital Hollywood style (hehehe yeah a bit of exageration there).

"Let's do the leisure one" said Hubby.

I concured.

So here goes, in another 2 hours, we'll be checking in... and hopefully by tonight, we'll hear the first wail of our first born ;)

Wish us luck.

The wait continues...

2006-10-28T18:52:00.001+08:00

At work yesterday on MSN Messenger:
SIL *	:	Any signs yet?
Me	:	Nope :(
SIL	:	Aiyoh she getting too comfy in there.

At dinner last night:
MIL **	:	Any signs yet?
Me	:	Nope.
MIL	:	Aunty Irene called today to ask if you've delivered.
Me	:	Oh..

This morning:
Mum	:	Any signs yet?
Me	:	Nope.
Mum	:	Your sis asks if your feet have swollen for the 3rd time.
Me	:	Erm.. yesterday it got swollen again. So I guess yeah..
Sis in background saying 'Yay!'

And yet... she's still happily kicking away inside my womb... why do I get a feeling she's mocking us? :P Hehehe well at least I'm not the only one who's anxious.

* SIL - Sister in Law
** MIL - Mother in Law

Our Deepest Fear...

2006-10-26T11:27:00.000+08:00

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we
are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most
frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,
fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing
small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so
that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as
children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light
shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are
liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. -- Marianne Williamson

The waiting game

2006-10-25T18:42:00.000+08:00

We're now 38 weeks into the pregnancy. My tummy has grown to the size of a basketball... it's so big that when I walk down the stairs, and I look down, all I see is a big round tummy! The only time I can see my own swollen feet is when I put them up when I sit or when I sleep.

Looking back, this journey has been insightfull. This baby that I now carry was very much like a gift for us to overcome an initial grief. Though precious to both of us, we decided early on not to be overly protective. Lo and behold, I even travelled to Jakarta numerous times within this pregnancy!

We tried to maintain a normal lifestyle, with me doing normal things without over exerting my body. I kept remembering how my beloved grandma would advice me last time 'Keep active during your pregnancy, and your labour will be short and easy'. I only wished she was still with us and to be able to see her great grand daughter... but I'm sure she's watching us from up above.

Now as the days to baby's debut draw near... I am getting more and more anxious to greet her. I even hoped that she would make an early appearance and surprise us during this long holiday break. At the last check up with the gynae on Sunday, he was happy at the progress and baby's head was already locked low. He too hoped that she will make an early debut for she now weighs in at an estimated 3.25kg! Whoa! Rough calculations would put her nearly at 4kg if she's delivered at 40 weeks!

So since the checkup, we've been making daily walks at the park, walking at the mall, walking up and down the stairs.... hoping that it'll somehow kick start the labour process. Unfortunately, she's still comfortably snuggled within my womb. Every night before I sleep I tell her not to get too comfortable in there.... hehehe

This waiting game is really getting to me ... I'm even reading up HypnoBirthing ! To keep my mind occupied, I've packed, unpacked and repacked my bag for when I go into labour. I've also packed some stuff for baby for when we get discharged from the hospital. In addition, the guest room is prepared for my mom for when she accompanies me during my ~~house arrest~~ confinement period. Baby's cot is also ready.... I'm running out of things to do! I must keep myself occupied before the waiting drives me mad :P

Any suggestions?

32 weeks

2006-09-15T21:24:00.000+08:00

How your baby's growing: By now, your baby probably weighs almost 4 pounds and is almost 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. She has tiny toenails now, and her fingernails have grown in, too. Some babies have a head of hair already; others have only peach fuzz.

My sister measured around my waist (or what used to be the location of my waist) and all I can say is that it's amazing how much human skin can stretch! -- If you're expecting me to put the number in inches.... dream on :P --

We went to the gynae's last week and he's happy with baby's progress. She's already turned down and facing my spine. According to the doc, that's a very good position. Apparently it is said that in that position, labour will be quicker and should be less painful. (I can only hope that is true and baby decides to stay that way for the next 8 weeks or so)

While doc was scanning my tum, I told him that she's really active and strong. At that very moment, she wanted to prove to the doc too... so she kicked the doc's probe. And boy was it a hard kick. Doc was SURPRISED... he had that doe caught in the headlight look for a while hehee.

I attribute her kicking habit to me watching football matches during the world cup and also EPL matches with hubby. Oh my, will she be a tomboy? *Note to self: Best not let hubby dress her up in MU jersey so early*

One day at the gynae's...

2006-09-01T23:49:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, we went for a scheduled check up at the gynae's. Instead of going at about 8pm like we usually do, we opted to go early at 9am. As we walked in, I found it odd, that in the waiting lounge, was only 2 guys.

Took a step back out and looked at the sign board... yup.... this is the right place. It's a 'Klinik Pakar Puan' alright.

Walked back in, handed my appointment card to the nurse. "Urine and weight" she said.. so ok, obidiently I took the cup and waddled to the ladies.

As I approached, I saw a lady bent over the WC offloading breakfast (or maybe yesterday's dinner). Oh, so one of the guys out there must be her husband, I thought.

So after filling the cup, I waddled back to the front. I was then weighed (oh man that was so depressing)... I saw the same lady again being soothed by her husband.

The other lone guy looked kind of lost amidst the 2 couples (including us) at the waiting lounge. I thought that maybe his wife was in with the doc and he decided to wait outside....

But then, the door to the doctor's room opened and out came another couple... Aiks...

Then... we saw the doc come over to the nurse counter and motioned for the lone guy to go over. After a few minutes of hushed conversation, the lone guy left.

"That's odd" I said to hubby.

Soon it was our turn to go in to see the doc. After all the check and scan, my doc suddenly said... "There are some really funny people out there"

Hubby and I looked at each other.

"There was a guy who came in just now," continued the doctor " came for a check up on behalf of his wife!"

"Huh?" we replied

"Yeah, his wife was busy, but had an appointment today, so just sent the husband instead. Amazing... I wonder how she thought I was gonna scan her husband to check on her baby"

Hubby and I couldn't stop laughing.

30 weeks

2006-08-27T22:38:00.000+08:00

How your baby's growing: Your baby's a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long
now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid
surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and fills out
your uterus. Her eyes open and close, she's able to distinguish between light
and dark, and she can even follow a light source back and forth. Once she's
born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open
them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have a visual acuity of only
20/400 — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.
("Normal" vision in adults is 20/20.)

I can feel baby move a lot during the course of the day (and sometimes in the night too). However, whenever anyone else tries to feel for her movements, she keeps still (what a tease she's turning out to be).

Hubby and I are getting more excited as the pregnancy is near it's final lap. I however, am feeling less agile and I get tired easier too. I now have

Swollen nose
Swollen feet
Stretch marks (arrgh!!)
Back aches
Pelvic joint aches (especially when I walk)

My visit to the Ob-Gyn will now be once every 2 weeks. We just went for one yesterday and this is what we saw...

When it rains, it pours!

2006-08-18T09:57:00.000+08:00

When we thought the whole car fiasco was over.....

our ole faithful (highly doubting that term now actually) decides to present us with a 'clutch' issue. We've to send it in to the workshop again on Saturday.

I think our car has fallen in love with the mechanic

Double Trouble

2006-08-16T23:21:00.000+08:00

1p.m.

It all started during lunch. Hubby and I met up for lunch as usual and we went to the usual area. I had an appointment lined up at about 2p.m. with my CEO and so we hurried through lunch so that I can get back in time.

It was a REALLY HOT afternoon, and the prospect of getting back into the aircond environment of the car was inviting. Quickly hubby flicked the key into ignition...

Kkkkrnnnkk! ..... said the car..... and the alarm went off.

Oh no... Hubby tried again...

KKKRRRRnnnkk! .... exclaimed the car again... and again the alarm went off.

These were somewhat indicative that the battery was exhausted. Thankfully there were a few car spare parts shop and a mechanic shop around. So we decided to just get a battery. 20 minutes later, a young chap helped us install the new battery.

Time check, 1.50p.m... Hurrah... I can make it back to office in time.

Hubby tried to start the engine again....

KKKRRRRNnkkkkkk .... EEEEEEEeeeee! complained the car!

What? How could it do this to us now!?!

The young mechanic chap checked and it was our air cond bearing that was jammed. The workaround for us to get out of the predicament would be to remove the belt, so that the car can start, but we won't have the aircond.

Time check, 2p.m... OK! We'll take that workaround.

Made it back to office by 2.15p.m. .... CEO was occupied and so I wasn't late after all.

8p.m.

We decided to drop by our neighbourhood mechanic on the way back to check out the damage on the aircond (a very very nice chap indeed). He initially forewarned hubby that the aircond would give way in the near future.... and true enough it did. He asked us to leave the car for a day tomorrow and he'll get it done.

The plan was to get my Father In Law's car, and use it for the next day while our car was in the workshop. So we went to my in law's for dinner, and I drove my FIL's car back.

Upon reaching the workshop, I heard a hissing noise. A quick glance at the temperature gauge.... 'H' . Oh this was SO NOT GOOD!

I told hubby and he told the mechanic, and they checked under the hood. The fan was not working! Oh well, they had a good laugh (at the coincidence) and thought, no biggie, we'll just change the fan and that's that.

1 hour later, fan fixed, let's check it out....... hang on! What's that? Water dripping from one of the hose. Check check....

Water pump leaking.... this car will not be going anywhere tonight!

Lesser of two evils

So it ended up, leaving my FIL's car for repair, we drove off with our aircondless car. We'll do the swap the next day when my FIL's car is repaired.

What a day!

28 weeks

2006-08-13T12:09:00.000+08:00

How your baby's growing: By this week, your baby weighs a little over 2 pounds
and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can
open her eyes — which now sport lashes — and she'll turn her head toward a
continuous, bright light from the outside. Her fat layers are beginning to form,
too, as she gets ready for life outside the womb.

As we're reaching the homestretch of the pregnancy, we're beginning to gear up on the preparation. Thus far we've gotten:

A beginner feeding bottle set
1 set of clothings for baby ( to bring her home in.... Hubby decided to go gender neutral colors -- even though doc has shown us again that he's pretty sure that it's a girl. So we bought a FULL set in yellow with duck motif :P )
Sanitary stuff for me to be packed into my labour bag.
Bedding for baby's cot... (Yes, I got Winnie the Pooh!!)
Some toys for baby ... (hehehe.. we just couldn't resist it)

There'll be other stuff to get but we're trying to pace ourselves.

In the mean time, baby has been actively kicking and moving. Sometimes I feel she's using my bladder as a punching bag, making me visit the WC more often.

We're feeling excited... anxious... oh the plethora of emotions .... but yet... we still have yet to think of a name :P

Huff and Puff

2006-08-09T20:58:00.000+08:00

We've always walked by the Beard Papa stall at Mid Valley without giving it a second look. I fell out with blogging and blogs for quite some time and I didn't know anything about the craze it caused.

It was until one fine day when my sister mentioned that the cream puffs there were absolutely YUMZ and I bought half a dozen to try. It was love at first bite! Hubby loved them too...

Then Hubby started looking at the puffs and said "Darling, this looks simple. Why don't you try to make some yourself?"

*shock*

*silence*

Me? Make that? After you've tasted one of the world's best cream puff?

*more silence*

"OK, I'll try" I replied... Oh I was so going to regret this....

Anyhow, I scoured the net to look for a recipe for the choux puff and the cream. Unfortunately I was tied up with work and had to fly off to the land of constant haze (aka Jakarta) for work. I finally managed to gather up the mood and inspiration to take on the challenge 2 weeks after (which was a good thing coz I think by then, the absolutely delish taste of Beard Papa's puffs would have been somewhat vague)

One fine Saturday, I decided to spend some time in my much neglected kitchen. I jot down the ingredients I needed and popped over to the nearby hypermarket to get them (Hubby was fast asleep coz he too just came back from a business trip).

The choux puff recipe was fairly easy to follow. After scooping out the batter onto the trays and popping those babies into the oven, I started on the filling. Instead of custard cream, I cheated and made whipped cream with vanilla essence instead. The whipped cream was then placed into the fridge as I patiently waited for the puffs to be done.

After cooling the puffs, I made a make shift piping bag, and piped in the whipped cream. The puffs I made were bite size and looked really cute.

Now.... the moment of truth....

I took a plate of those cute cream puffs to hubby...... he looked at them and said "Aiks, why so small one?"

*dup dup dup.... went my heart....*

He took one and popped it into his mouth....

"Well?" I asked "Very nice", answered a very smart husband who knows how to praise the cook if he wants to have more home cooked meals :P

Was it really nice? .... here .... judge for yourself... help yourself to some cream puffs and tea..

Shiver me timbers!

2006-07-29T16:15:00.000+08:00

I'm a fan of Johnny "Dreamy Eyes" Depp. Not a crazy fan though... I don't go out collecting every movie he's acted in... but generally I just like to look at him... I like the roles he takes on... they are not ... conventional.

I absolutely LURVED him as Capt Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean : The curse of the Black Pearl. When I heard that POC: Dead Man's Chest was coming out... I told DH that I HAD to watch it. Deep inside, I knew that the sequel will never surpass the first movie... but what the heck.. it's Johnny Depp!

Alas, when POC:DMC premiered here... I was stuck in Jakarta. EVERY DAY, when I turn on the television, the trailer would tease me.... the clips of the Red Carpet event of Pirates of the Caribbean would tease me.... E! TV kept running features of Johnny Depp... ARGH!... I have to go.

So finally yesterday, we decided to meet up Lens and go watch the movie. We got 6 rows from the front of the screen, even though Lens tried to butter up the guy over at the ticket counter. I guess the guy over the ticket counter just didn't take to Lens' charms :P

After getting our drinks and chips and popcorns, we made a beeline to the cinema. Oh well, 6 rows from the front ain't all that bad... And lo and behold... a cute chick actually is seated next to Lens... must be his lucky night. That was till....................

At a scene that was meant to probably just make you jump in your seat a little, we heard a blood curdling scream (ok lar a bit exagerated... but a horrific scream is a horrific scream). I turned to the direction of the scream and there I saw Lens, with the 'oh-my-god' look. At that time it didn't register to me that it was the cute chick sitting next to him that turned into Banshee.

As the movie progressed, every time Davey Jones, the Kraken and the scene of Elizabeth's dress swaying over the deck (hehe ok lar this one she didn't scream lar), cute chick would turn into Banshee.... hahahah She was clearly enjoying the movie A LOT.

Lens, DH and I had a good laugh about it after the movie. Everyone of us in the theatre enjoyed the 5.1 surround sound effecct, but Lens had 5.2 ... Banshee sat next to him... what an experience to remember.

p.s (who screams in a Disney movie anyway? ) :P

Nesting Instinct or just a Compulsive Behavior

2006-07-22T09:04:00.000+08:00

I always have an urge once in a while to just reorganize my cupboard, drawer or furniture. I have had these urges since I was in secondary school.

I may come home one day and just have the urge to alphabetize my textbooks, or rearrange the pens in my pencil case (hmm... pen in pencil case... that sounded odd). I thought it was normal, you know... probably genes from my mum kicking in once in a while.

However I can't explain this major urge I've had for the past two weeks. I was again away for work in Indonesia, but had major pangs to clean my home! I even drew up a plan on what I would do.

First, I would sort out my cupboard and remove all the clothes that I do not want anymore .. (also coz I ran out of cupboard space....really, just one side of a two door wardrobe is NEVER enough for a girl).

Second, I want to file up all the bills that are lying around the house and reorganize all the files in the study room.

Third, I want to reorganize all the drawers in the house. Each of them must have a specific genre of item, instead of the plethora of items that they hold now.

Fourth, I even had the urge to reorganize some furniture... but that's a big no-no now.. so I just have to surpress this one.

Of course within these there would be the general wiping, sweeping and mopping.

I even dreamt of it!

Is this normal? Is this Nesting Instinct, or am I just weird that way?

Once upon a time ....

2006-07-14T22:41:00.000+08:00

there was a couple, Jack and Jill*. Jill is 5 months pregnant with their first child. Now Jack's career requires him to travel around the region a bit. So it was that Tuesday morning, he had to take a trip to Thailand.

Jill helped Jack iron his shirts and pack his bag the night before, and they retired a little late in the night. Jack's taxi was due to arrive at 5 am Tuesday morning. Afraid of oversleeping, Jack set the alarm clock to 4 am.

When the alarm clock went off, Jill woke up too, as she was a light sleeper. Sleepy eyed, she stayed up to kiss Jack and wish him good luck for his trip. Once Jack was out of the door and into the taxi, Jill climbed back to bed and fell asleep.

Jill was rudely awaken at 5.50 am by her mobile phone. Thinking that it was just Jack telling her that he has reached the terminal safely, she lazily reached out for the phone.

"Hello, Jill?" said the voice on the other end.
"Yes?" sleepily said Jill.
"It's Jack.. I need you to do something for me. I left my passport at home!"

Jill's eyelids immediately peeled back. Jack's flight is scheduled at 8 am. She'll have to hurry to make it in time to the airport.

"OK, I'll go immediately" promised Jill.

In haste she showered and dressed. Grabbed Jack's passport, ran down the stairs, fed the dog, and drove off towards the airport.

10 minutes into her journey, she heard an odd knocking sound from outside of her car.
"Oh no, please don't let anything be wrong with the car... not now... please" silently Jill prayed.

Jill turned on the indicator lights and came to a stop at the layby. Upon inspecting the car, Jill found that the right front indicator lamp had come loose and was hanging out. Causing it to knock against the chasis of the car. Quickly she shoved the light back in and continued her journey.

She called Jack to inform him of the light.

"It's ok.. take your time... no need to hurry. Drive safely honey." said Jack calmly.

Multiple calls and multiple km/h above the speed limit later, Jill arrived at the terminal. Jack was there waiting and thankfully took the passport from Jill.

With a sigh of relief, Jill made her way back to civilization (as the airport was really so far away, one wonders if there was ever civilization there). Jill thought she may as well report for work early that day. But wait!

Oh no!

In her haste to bring Jack his passport, she left her laptop at home!

Jill had to drive all the way home (which by the way was the opposite direction to her office), to get her laptop before going to work.

What a way to begin the day!.... And the light had to pop out again midway through the journey.

-This is based on a true story.
*Names have been changed to protect the anonimity of the characters.

It moves!

2006-07-04T22:14:00.000+08:00

Reaching the halfway mark of our pregnancy, we often get questioned ... "Have you felt baby move yet?"

Well... I never was sure of my answer. How does it feel like? Is it like the minor cramp I feel off and on? Does it feel like the bubbly stomach acid in my stomach when I'm hungry? Or am I just focusing too much and imagining that I felt baby move.

I got so excited, that everytime I thought could be the indication of movement of baby, I would tell dear hubby "I think baby moved"... "THINK" being the operative word.

Well... all the doubt ended at the early mornings of 27th June 2006.

Sleep didn't come easy that night. I was feeling warm one moment, cold another. I was fleeting in and out of dreamland.

I turned to see the alarm clock and noted that the time was 4 a.m. Another 5 more hours and a gruelling day in the office begins.

Just as I was about to turn to my left side, I felt a nudge, slightly to the left of my belly button.

Hello....

Was I dreaming?

Then I felt it again... more distinct this time. I placed my palm over the spot... and again I felt the nudge... even on my palm!

There was no doubt about it! The big worm inside me moved!!

I was so excited, I sat up and woke dear hubby from slumber. Poor guy didn't know what hit him hehehe...

He gave a sleepy smile and placed his palm on my stomach.... then fell asleep again. Baby wasn't one for an encore performance... and must have fell asleep soon after.

Since that day, I've been experiencing the little squirms and nudges throughout the day.

Unfortunately though, every time dear hubby puts his hand on my belly, baby just stays still. :D maybe it's the calming vibe from daddy's hand hahaha...

It's good to be back.

2006-07-03T22:52:00.000+08:00

These 5 words can hardly begin to explain how I feel. Been back a week and it has never felt better.

Things that I would never take for granted ever again

1. Spending time with the family
2. Spending time with close friends
3. Myriad of food to choose from for breakfast / lunch / dinner
4. The comfort of your own bed
5. WIDE roads
6. Myriad of languages heard throughout the day

The list can go on and on...

It's just good to be back...

Cumi!

2006-06-22T23:42:00.000+08:00

Means 'squid' in Indonesian... Interestingly, it's also used when one wants to swear.... Oh Sh*t! would then become Oh Cumi! Or perhaps, F**k you! would then become Cumi you!

Ah, the things we learn in a foreign country...

Extra protein? Thanks but no thanks!

2006-06-17T20:28:00.000+08:00

Eating at Jakarta is a challenge.

Where we live, it's either the hotel restaurant, the western food restaurant next door, or a very dodgy looking Indonesian food restaurant across the street. So, you can imagine what a mind boggling task it is every night to think of what to eat for dinner.

But that's not the reason for this post.

At the location where we work, we have 2 main coices of location for lunch. It's either the place at the driving range where they serve chicken and rice OR Japos, which serves mainly Mee Bakso. After 2 weeks, my appetite during lunch is waning. It doesn't help that there are no shops around to grab a bun or something else.

So anyway, last Friday, we decided to go for a quick lunch at the chicken place. This time, I decided to order something other than my usual of Ayam Cabe Ijo (Chicken with green chilli sauce..... trust me it's anything BUT spicy). I ordered, Ayam Bakar (Roasted chicken with some kind of spice sauce). Since I didn't have breakfast that morning, I was really keen on tucking in to my meal.

I took a spoonfull of rice, and began the process of pulling the meat off the chicken... then i noticed something in the sauce... about half the size of my thumb. My heart skipped a beat.

I flipped the unknown object over..... and involuntarily released a loud gasp. It was a cockroach!!!

Full roach with wings and all !!! .... *grossed out*

We called the waiter and she took my plate away pronto. They assured me they will give me a new plate.. but at that point I lost my appetite. I just paid for my drink and left. My two colleagues however, stayed on to finish their meal.

I had to rush up something and attend a meeting later that day.... and didn't reach the hotel till 8pm local time. By then I think my gastric juices already ate quite a fair bit of my stomach lining hahahah....

I'm SO thrown off food here now..... :(

Ganbate!

2006-06-05T22:57:00.000+08:00

Touched down at Soekarno-Hatta airport at 5 pm local time. Automatically my countdown begins. 20 more days.

Yup, I'll be in Jakarta (not Jogjakarta... but more on that later) for work reasons for 20 days. Do not intend to do a lot of sightseeing, but I would probably be able to tell you the hues of the carpet, wall paper and the furnishing of the Hotel and the Client's office.

Anyhow, this post is NOT dedicated to the ramblings I have about being away from my Hubby and family. It's about the group of men and women I saw as I walked into the Soekarno terminal.

Right in front of me, like a never-ending train of green....soldiers. At closer look, it's no doubt that they're from Japan. Quick, Run for cover! We're being attacked! No wait, hang on... Japan last invaded this side of the world nearly 60 years ago.

Hehehe... actually, they are the medical relief and rescue team that were en-route to quake strikken Jogjakarta. Dressed in their uniform, with the red cross armband...they looked determined. Suddenly I felt that my lamenting about working in Jakarta for 20 days, pale in comparison with the purpose they have here.

These men and women, volunteered to leave their country, their family and friends, to help the quake victims in Jogjakarta. They bring hope to people whose hopes were probably shattered together with the buildings they once called home.

And so to these noble men and women..... Ganbate! All the best and keep up the good work.

I'm back!

2006-05-28T19:41:00.000+08:00

Been a while since I upchucked my thoughts into my blog. Had a bit of a roller coaster ride earlier in the year, but things have now settled down. I'm ready to blog again.

New things to report...
1. New job
2. Baby on the way :)

Took up a new job, the scope is very much different from what I've been used to. A lot of deliberation and hesitation spent before making the decision, and now, I'm just doing the best I can out of it. As they say, never try, never know.

I'm less online at work now. Coz a. Have lots of things to catch up at work, and b. The internet line there has mood swings that rival a pregnant woman... (trust me, I for one should know). But thank goodness Streamyx is now available in our humble abode. (Hallelujiah!)

Miss chatting with my YM kakis though. Had withdrawal symptoms of it during the first week at work. Everyone in the office was so quiet, and my fingers were just itching to gossip or bitch about something hahaha. Now I guess I'll try to catch the 'Senandung Malam' chats .... though I think that train seldom leaves the station lately (Babe, must send me the schedule ar...)

At the home front, hubby and I are happily anticipating the arrival of the newest addition to the family. With the first trimester out of the way, I no longer serenade to the toilet bowl as often, and the sight of fish doesn't really invoke involuntary rejection of yesterday's dinner anymore. I'm less tired, less sleepy but boy have I bloated!

I had to get maternity wear already and it's a major ouch factor on the purse! Each freaking item costs a minimum of RM100. Don't be surprised if you see me wearing the same slacks 3 times in a week! And now, my hubby thinks "Oh, in this, you don't look pregnant, but you just look fat" is a compliment... *rolls eyes* The only consolation I get now is that there's still a hint of waist in my new rolly polly condition. hahhaa

That leads to speculations of the gender of the baby. My family seems to think that it'll be a boy. Some friends however are speculating that it could be a girl. I don't care what gender the baby is actually, I just pray that he/she will be healthy and strong. Hubby wants to know though... coz he just wanna focus on thinking of 1 name instead of 1 for each gender :p . We'll all just have to wait till my next visit to the ob-gyn.

In another life

2006-01-24T09:18:00.000+08:00

If my loving you
Could change the river's flow
I would not let you drift away from me
I'd never let you go

I want to be by your side
But the water's too deep and wide

In another life
In another place
I'd have held you close
I'd have known your grace

In another world
In another time
You'd be mine
You'd be mine

If I touch you now
I'd only lose my mind
Ooh, what a cruel, wicked thing
Living one life at a time

I don't know where or when
But we'll pass this way again

In another life
In another place
I'd have held you close
I'd have known your grace

In another world
In another time
You'd be mine
You'd be mine

Farewell

2006-01-19T11:15:00.000+08:00

I lost someone dear.
Someone I grew to love, but no longer here.

I know not when he said his goodbye,
I know not why.

I never saw his face,
we never embraced.

I know not even him or her
but I know I will love him forever.

Woi... Updatelar!

2005-10-25T08:39:00.000+08:00

Short conversation over a famous instant messenger

Shook* : actually was searching who didn't update their blog worse than me
Shook: and the winner isssssssssssssssssss
Shook:YOU!!!!
Me: Darn!

So ok, I'm guilty... Hey.. People gotta work to bring in the dough you know.. (shhh! I know that's a bad excuse) Right.. so hang on and let's give you the low down of what has been going on

Celebrated Dad's birthday (dim sum and steam boat)
Worked
Finally going to put in shower curtains in the bathroom (50% accomplished.. i.e. got the things, but not drilled in yet)
Finished the entire season 1 of HOUSE and 2 episodes of season 2 (Muahaha)
Worked
Watched 2 episodes of LOST season 2 (Didn't finish season 1 though.. figured I'll just go the fast track)
Ginger's chewed nearly ALL of my sandals.
Shopped for new sandals
Worked
Joined the BEC in our area (catholic families get-together)
Worked
Had our first Christmas Caroling practice
Worked
Started reading another book (Commuting on the LRT does wonders to the pace I go throuh books)
Fainted at sight of Credit Card bill
Worked
Still trying to cut down coffee intake (even though Lens SWEARS it's the drink of champions...... you champion enuf lar... i not champion)
Oh did I mention I fell from an escalator and scraped the back of my calf? Yeah now I have a barcode scar.. sigh
Oh did I mention on the same day I fell I dropped my Monthly pass for the LRT (($&)#$)(#$**$&#*$%(# ..... ahhh... that was therapeutic
Worked

Well that's about it folks. Did I mention work?

My True Calling

2005-10-13T16:10:00.000+08:00

Pre-ramblings
I have been swimming in work lately... I have so much to tell... so much to say.... and yet.. it's not in here. I have to find time to mind-purge into my blog. But till then... here's a little looniness.

C-Y-R-E-N-E ... is pronounced "SERENE". You English Phonetics Advocates stop gasping, pointing at me and calling me a heretic. It's my name... If someone can spell his name as W-I-L-L-I-A-M and call himself BILL, I can at least have a say on how MY name is pronounced.

Why the unique spelling? I really have to ask my parents and the aunt who had a hand (or say) in this. This name is not in my IC (Identification Card) and thus, not used in school. I guess I should thank my lucky stars for that, coz if it had, I would have suffered monumental distress from school tauntings (kids are VERY VERY cruel you know).

The reason I say that is because, I started making this name public (without whispering it below audible decibels) in secondary school. The moment they saw it... I earned a nick name... "Cyborg". Why? All coz of the "CY" in my name. Argh! How I hated it.

I know, I know, stick and stones can hurt my bones, but words alone can't. But at that age... it got quite annoying. And oh how I hated The Terminator, coz it amped up the name callings.

That's years past now... and the name Cyborg? Water off the ducks back...

Then, I went to Julian's blog and saw this.

Hey cool! A cyborg name generator! I think I found my true calling.. check it out...

Hmm.... Engineered for Nocturnal Exploration eh?

Walking down the gastronomical memory lane

2005-09-19T09:30:00.000+08:00

I will add in more images after I scour for them online... hehee

Babe from Babe in the City KL tagged me on yet another gastronomical linked meme. This time, I’m required to dig into the treasure cove of childhood memories and list out 5 foods that I miss.

“Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy” VIH* said, and I concurred. Boy! Were we in for a surprise!

Well let’s not dally..

OK let’s see.. before I begin, I’m required to list out the previous bloggers who did this meme.

1. The Traveler's Lunchbox
2. Oswego Tea
3. Masak-masak
4. Babe in the City KL
5. My Monologues

Check!

Alright *rubbing hands with glee* let’s start. Wait! Wait! Wait!... let’s do this in reverse order ala “Hit List” style. OK.. let’s go..

Only 1 and already stuffing my face!

Slotting in at Number 5 is… “Nyonya bak chang” (in hokkien), Nyonya style rice dumplings. I remember always looking forward to the time of year when my late grandma would wrap these lurvely fragrant rice dumplings. It is the partner to the petite yellow alkaline water rice dumplings (Kan Soi Jong – in Cantonese).

In the early years, the ‘inti’ ( the filling) was made with pork. However, after the JE outbreak (plus the overall health consciousness of the family), my grandma improvised and used chicken instead. The meat would be minced and fried with ground peanuts and really fragrant spices.. I can almost smell the aroma of it now! It would fill the house and I would wait patiently for it to be cooked and ‘volunteer’ to taste it. Hey, it’s crucial to get the filling right you know! My grandma always knew I was just being plain greedy, but she would indulge hehe.

The filling would be wrapped into steamed glutinous rice in a leaf. A small cut of ‘pandan’ leaf would be slot in for the extra fragrance just before tying the yummilicious package up. Then it would be steamed for about 20 minutes before it is ready to be served.

When I got older (about 13 or so), I would sit for hours with my grandma wrapping the dumplings. Of course mine was never ‘perfectly’ shaped, but I always got praised for my efforts.. heheh .. see how a grandma pampers a grandchild!

Coming in close at Number 4 is … Buah Keluak. Not many people I know, knows about this ‘fruit’. In fact, it’s so elusive, that we only know of ONE stall in the Malacca market that sells it. The fruit is black with a hard shell, almost the size of my palm. The shape is a little like an irregular Japanese rice dumpling. If you knock two fruits together, it may sound hollow.

Cooking it will involve first soaking it for a few days. According to my grandma, this is to soften the shell a little and to also get rid of the impurities. Then will be the painstaking task of breaking open the fruit and digging out the slightly pungent, powdery black substance. This substance will be mixed with some ingredients that involved minced shrimp, then stuffed back into the shells.

Next the now filled-again shells would be cooked in spiced gravy. ( I knew I should have taken down this recipe.. perhaps my mum did.. but I’m really at a lost on the actual ingredients :p )

Eating this is the fun part.

First, you need a plate of rice. Then you pick up one of the cooked fruit (with your fingers), then put try and lap up the lovely gravy around it.. (oh I’m salivating while I’m typing this!). Next, you take the end of a teaspoon and dig out all the yummy filling onto your rice (erm.. try to lick your fingers clean before you do this.. don’t lose any of the precious gravy hehe). Scoop some gravy onto the rice and mix it all up. Heaven!

Stepping up to the plate at Number 3 is…egg tarts! Mind you, not ANY egg tart. Only egg tarts fresh out of the ovens of Tong Kee would do. I used to spend some holidays at my maternal grandparent’s place in Pudu. Almost always my grandpa would walk down to the Tong Kee Confectionary nearby to get me some freshly baked egg tarts.

Sitting down at the foldable dining table, dangling my feed (coz it couldn’t reach the floor), I would savor every bite of the egg tart. I sometimes just eat off the crust first, leaving the soft sweet egg pudding last. At time I would scoop out the pudding first and much on the flaky crust at the end. I also went through a phase where I would put the whole tart into a bowl and MASH IT ALL UP.. and savor the gastronomically wonderful mush! At nearly 50 cents a pop, the tarts were like a luxury item then. Now the going rate is about RM1 each.. talk about inflation rates!

Inching closer to the end of the list at Number 2 is .. Nyonya sambal fish. At least that's what I think it's called hehe... Yet another of my grandma's dishes. The sambal is ~~pungent~~ fragrant with 'belacan' (a kind of shrimp paste), and packed with chilli.. *slurp*

Everytime grandma cooks this dish it would tease our olfactory the entire afternoon. Especially when she pan fry the belacan and sambal. I could eat plain rice with ONLY the sambal and be VERY VERY happy hehe.. In fact I always go for seconds when this dish is served.

The dish that I miss most.. the NUMERO UNO.. “Ho Lan Char” (in hokkien). It loosely translates to Fried Potatoes. The ingredients for this dish is REALLY simple

1 Hard boiled egg diced
1 – 2 Boiled potatoes diced
¼ can of Luncheon meat diced
Some small shrimp
Chopped garlic
Salt & pepper for taste.

Heat up about 2 spoons full of oil in a wok. Throw in garlic and sauté till fragrant. In goes the shrimp. Lightly toss till those babies start turning pinkJ. Stir in the luncheon meat, followed by the potatoes and eggs. Then season with salt and pepper till it suits your palate.

This dish was served in our household nearly once EVERY WEEK. Till date, my late grandma is still the ONLY one I know who cooked this dish. She always whips up this dish in celebration of my birthday (coz she knows I absolutely lurves it). It may look a little humble.. but definitely HIGH on the YUM factor.. and it ALWAYS brings back fond memories.

And that is why.. I was a CHUBBY kid..

Phew! What a list!.... Now, you must be wondering why I said it was a difficult task. It's because I HAD TO ONLY CHOOSE 5!... There are so many dishes that I miss from my grandma's kitchen. Even more so now that she's left us :( ... I hope to one day master these recipes and perhaps shed the same memories to my kids and/or grandkids.

OK now to do the tagging *grinz*

I will tag....
1. Veron .... She's new to the new blogging community.. hehe so I thought of initiating her to this meme things :D
2. Julian .... 'Cos you'e been nostalgic all these while!
3. Erm... leme think somemore

Medusa revealed

2005-09-06T09:20:00.000+08:00

As promised...

The Back View

Close up (to see the color)

So what do you think ? hehe... it's not exactly fiery hot.. more like charbroiled hot hahaha

What happens when you watch LOST too much ..

2005-09-05T14:40:00.000+08:00

I know I know.. I’m a little late for the whole “LOST” bandwagon. In fact, I actually had all the episodes with me before they aired the grand finale on Astro, but.. you know.. there never was enough time to sit down and do the marathon thing.

Since Hubby was away on a guy trip to Penang, I decided it was time I caught up. I squeezed 3 episodes on Friday night (not counting the pilot, coz I did manage to watch that on AXN). I haven’t really seen what the hype was about, but somehow, I was compelled to continue watching it late Saturday morn.

Instead of being engrossed in the storyline (or multiple storylines actually), I caught myself longing for hair like Evangeline Lilly..

Running my fingers through my hair, I thought “Hmm… It’s been some time since I last perm my hair” I got up and sashayed in front of the mirror. Sigh.. I have to give up on any hopes whatsoever for a Vidal Sassoon model. However I may qualify with flying colors if any production house was looking for a Medusa! Hey, with minimal help from the Special Effects team at that too!

Then it gripped me. I shall perm my hair! (After all, the salon is only 5 minutes drive away)

I did just that. Lucky for me they had a promotion.. whoopee!.. Japanese perm (why Japanese? I don’t know..), highlight and treatment for RM148. That’s for me… I’m ready… And I put my TOTAL faith into the stylist.

1 hour in and MUCH MUCH persuasion I finally agreed to a color treatment too.

2 hours more.. and I’m done. However I must say it turned out far different from Evangeline Lilly.. it looked more like Naveen Andrews!

Er.. but with a more brown hue. Anyhow.. still quite sexy (I hope) hehehe

Afterthought…

It does carry a bit of an "Ah Lian" .. Somewhat of a blonde wannabe Asian! … Aiyoks!

Ah well, I’ll fit in nicely at Sungei Wang and Lot 10. Heck I think this would gain me instant employment by Unker Ho selling VCDs

Moral of the story... Naveen is also sexy lar ok?

Marilah mari, kita berbelog...

2005-08-30T18:56:00.000+08:00

Entah kenapa saya janji nak berbelog dalam Bahasa Malaysia. Bukannya handal sangat berbahasa ni... bahasa pasar boleh lah.. (Cikgu Azmi, kalau cikgu nampak belog ni.. jangan marah ye... )

Melangkah ke depan dengan penuh harapan,
Menoleh ke belakang dengan senyuman.
Keesokan hari menyambut ulangtahun kemerdekaan ke-48,
Dirahmati Tuhan kita terus hidup dalam keamanan.
Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

Dear Dafthamsta

2005-08-26T09:33:00.000+08:00

Dedicated to the not-so-daft-afterall rodent :)

Happy Birthday Babe!

2005-08-25T09:31:00.000+08:00

Dedicated to the most babelicious of all babes!

Keranamu Malaysia...

2005-08-24T10:17:00.000+08:00

Tanggal Tiga Puluh Satu,
Bulan Lapan, Lima Puluh Tujuh,
Merdeka! Merdeka!
Tetaplah Merdeka,
Ia pasti menjadi sejarah!

Come 31st our country, Malaysia will be celebrating it's 48th year of independance. Merdeka! (Listen to the tune here)

For me, Merdeka day means

HOLIDAY!!... YAHOOO!
Watching the National Day parade on TV.
Anticipate seeing Tenaga Nasional's costume for the National Day Parade.
Anticipate seeing which other company would adorn their staff with spaceman suits for the National Day Parade.
Did I say HOLIDAY??!!
On a more serious note... Thank the LORD that our country is peaceful. Yeah, there are unfairness here and there.... stupid remarks from our politicians now and then (but which country doesn't have politicians with stupid remarks??) ... still.... PEACE!

So what is Merdeka for you?

p.s (I'm flying the Jalur Gemilang on my blog :) )

Heard in church ...

2005-08-22T09:54:00.000+08:00

#1

Theresa has been teaching Sunday School for about 6 months now, and was curious if she's made an impact with her students. So in the upcoming class, she decided to ask the children what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Theresa pointed at a young boy in the front row. He stood up and said "Hi, I'm Dan. When I grow up to be a man, I want to join the missionaries". Theresa beamed and clapped... elated that through her The Lord managed to touch this child.

"OK, how about you?" Asked Theresa, pointing at a cute little girl in the middle row. She stood up and said "Hi, I'm Sally. When I grow up to be a lady, I want to have a baby." Theresa smiled and told the class that to be a mother was a very noble thing, and that a child is a gift from God.

Eyeing a small boy sitting in the back of the room, hiding in the corner, Theresa asked him to tell the class what he aspired to be. Slowly he stood....

Shuffled his feet...

And said...

"Hi, my name is Stan. When I grow up to be a man. I don't want to be a missionary man. I want to help Sally with her plan."

#2
Martha was a quiet woman... most of the time. However, when she's at church, she's always filled with joy. So much so, that it overfloweth.. and she will proclaim loudly "Hallelujiah! Praise the Lord!" She'll attend mass every Sunday and during the celebration of the eucharist, her euphoria will be at its peak!

Then came a day when Martha had to move to a smaller town. Which had a smaller church, which had an older priest... and a more conservative one. She managed to keep her euphoria down to a minimum, coz the priest didn't approve to the disruption of the mass.

Then came Pentecost Sunday.... when the priest started the eucharistic prayer... Martha just couldn't contain it any more... she yelled "Praise the Lord! Glory Hallelujiah!". The priest continued... and again she yelled "Praise the Lord! Amen!". The priest was really getting annoyed.

He asked the chief warden to escort her to the adjoining library. Martha went willingly. The priest gave a sigh of relief and continued with the mass..... then they heard "Glory Hallelujiah! Amen!" ... THROUGH THE WALLS. The priest was about to blow his top and asked the chief warden to tell her to keep quiet.

The chief warden went into the room and nearly immediately came out. "And so?" asked the priest. "She said she saw a map of the world, and the world is so vast. And there's a deepest trench in the world the Marianas Trench.... That is how deep her love for Christ is." explained the warden.

Martha continued worshiping the Lord loudly for the next few minutes. In the final act of desperation, the priest asked the chief warden to remove her from the church.

The chief warden, with another warden... went in and had to carry her out.

There she was on the shoulders of these two wardens.... and STILL she yelled "Glory to you Lord! Amen! Hallelujiah!".

The priest, by now was as red as a lobster boomed " Excuse me madam! Have you no shame? You are being carried out of the church.. And yet you still are so elated. Why?"

To which Martha answered "Father, I am so happy. Jesus rode on only 1 donkey... I HAVE TWO!"

Love is patient, Love is kind...

2005-08-17T09:39:00.000+08:00

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but
do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

And if I
have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I
have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I
may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient,
love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not
quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over
wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

It bears all things, believes
all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never
fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues,
they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.

For we
know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the
partial will pass away.

When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish
things.

At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to
face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.

So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is
love.
1 Corinthians
13: 1-13

Bend it like...

2005-08-16T13:00:00.000+08:00

We installed Astro towards the end of last year's EPL season. In fact, it was installed just in time for the final match. Then it was AXN, Travel and Adventure, Discovery, National Geographic and Anima Planet ALL THE WAY......

I knew it was going to start some day..

I saw it coming...

The news was getting hotter...

Yep all ye soccer loving fans cheer! EPL is back. The Astro remote has thus left my hands.

Hahahah OK I'm dramatizing! As a matter of fact, I decided to join my hubby in watching the matches. Perhaps I'll be able to understand or ... heaven forbid ... feel the euphoria of the game.

My football (or soccer) experiences are quite shallow. That odd final match during world cup or even some match that was stuck on telly coz my dad had the remote. In fact, I did catch Chelsea and Newcastle when they came over to Malaysia for the friendly.

I know the throw-ins, the corners, the cross and I think I understand the offside too... *grin.. chest slightly inflated*

So anyway, August 13th came... we made our schedule around the match. Manchester United VS. Everton. Hubby was rooted to the telly. I watched for 5 minutes, went to get something to drink, watched another 5 minutes, rearranged the stuff on the coffee table, watched another 5 minutes.. hehehe... you get the idea. Not that it was not interesting... I was just trying to keep myself awake.

Hehehe *sheepish grin* I don't remember the first goal. I only remember trying to spot my player of choice this season, Park Ji Sung. Why him? I don't know. He doesn't speak English, yet he's playing in the English Premier League? He's Asian? I admire his stamina? Perhaps all rolled into one.

My man of the match (yeah he looks a bit blur but hey he know's his left from right K!)

Anyhow... while watching the match (or the frightfully few minutes that I did), I think I've spotted the new Brylcream Boy!.... I think I must've been born with talent scouting .. er.. talents! Drumroll please........

No. 17 Tim Cahill from Everton

Click on image to view profile

He ran up and down the field, tackled players had a bit of roughhousing.... his jersey half tucked in, half yanked out... his hair? "Still standing"! ... Move over Beckham... Behold the newage Brylcream boy!

I fell asleep soon after and got shoo-ed up to bed by hubby. Oh well... I tried didn't I? Next match would be better.... really...

It's really impossible...

2005-08-04T19:42:00.000+08:00

It's really impossible to blog,
When I'm working like a dog,

It's really impossible to write,
When my nails I begin to bite,

It's really impossible to chat,
When my head falls on the table with a splat,

It's really impossible to believe,
I'm still in office and my bladder's dying to be relieved!

Are you feeling neglected?

2005-08-02T09:12:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I blogged. Things have gone ~~pretty~~ UBER hectic at work.

Good news! The frog has been exorcised! My voice is back to it's squeeky self. Hit 'em high notes and glass WILL shatter.... hahaha.... hmmmm I do miss my husky voice now though... it was kinda sexy.

I had SMS from friends asking me what I was doing with 400 kids! I promise I'll blog about it soon (once I get to steal some more time... old father Time must have installed some nifty security alarm).

The weekend zoomed past really quickly. Sunday was the feast of St Anne. This day is more popularly celebrated at the St. Anne's church in Bukit Mertajam. There's actually another St. Anne's church at Port Klang, and luckily for us, it's just a short drive away. There we were at 6.30 am... the church was packed so we got our seats outside. Morning breeze, church bells and hymns... some comfort after a long long week at work.

That evening, we held a small BBQ gathering for some friends and their kids. It was truly enjoyable... and kids really do say and do the darndest things.

I had a young boy popping sweets into my mouth.
A young girl telling me that I need to call the police to fix a broken light in my study.
The most adult conversation I ever had with an 8 year old girl.

Ah.... prayer, socialising and food does wonders to the soul.

Well, now... back to the grind! It's gonna be late nights for me. My hands are quite knackered with all the clicking and typing.. I'll let Ginger wave goodbye for me.

Random thoughts

2005-07-25T09:32:00.000+08:00

How on earth this frog possessed my voice box?
My arms feel like dead weight.
Everybody in the office is sneezing!
Taking care of 400 over kids is a daunting task. (will blog about this later)
The Church of Divine Mercy (in Shah Alam) is beautiful. Wonder if anyone is documenting all the statues and deco..
Have I taken my medication?
When will the weekend come???

Runaway

2005-07-21T15:04:00.000+08:00

Ginger lives in a cage right outside our sliding door. She loves it there as she can see the world go by when we are at work. She hates being in there when we are home though. She wants to run around the garden, run around the car at the porch, gnaw at her chewy bone just outside the main door, terrorize the grass.. the works.

So we do let her out when we are back. But we put her back in when we go to bed. We don’t trust her being alone FREE for such a long period of time. Previous attempts resulted in a porch scattered with organic fertilizer, uprooted plants, torn up rags, pots broken, .. erm.. you get the idea.

Lately however, she started an evil scheme. She yelps at precisely 4.30 am to get me to release her. How did this come to be? Well, one morning it rained heavily.. and water was being splattered into her cage. So she started yelping.. and Hallelujiah.. here comes Mummy to release her. Since then, she’s testing my patience.

Anyhow, this morning I released her again at 4.30 am. It’s a God forsaken hour, so I went back to bed soon after.

2 and a half hour later, while I was happily (NOT) getting ready for work. I heard the neighborhood dogs barking.. but hey.. our yelper (aka Ginger) was quiet. “What a good girl” VIH* said. It was at that VERY MOMENT I got an SMS from my neighbor. It read

“I saw your dog running around outside”

SHIT

Grabbed my stuff, yelled to hubby, ran downstairs, opened the door.. dog missing.

“Ginger!” I called

She came bounding through the gaping hole. Thank goodness!

Can’t imagine where she’s been or what she’s been up to. She looked at me like a teenage kid caught playing truant.

“Where have you been?” I inquired.

“Roof!”

“Well young lady, don’t you get so pleased with yourself. Go back into the cage.”
In she went. (Yes she obeys to that command)

I examined the hole.. the plank we used to cover it must have fell during the heavy rain last night.

What a fright. Thank goodness she knew her way back home. Wouldn’t have fancied running around the neighborhood yelling “Ginger!”

Love Thy Neighbor...

2005-07-21T14:05:00.000+08:00

Our neighbor (on the right), is a special end lot with a big land area. When we moved in, it seemed abandon and unoccupied. Few months later, renovation work started. As you can imagine...it was havoc for us. Dust and debris falling onto our side of the fence.. It’s ok, Love Thy Neighbor...they won’t be renovating forever.

When nearly ALL the walls were torn down on their side, we thought the worst was over. THEN, they took down the chain fence dividing our houses WITHOUT our knowledge. Never mind, Love Thy Neighbor...they are putting up the wall without asking us to pay for it.

True enough, the dividing wall came up...but hey...why is there a gaping hole in the middle? Oh, it’s their design thing and wrought iron bars were supposed to be put in. *smile* soon it will all be over. Next thing we know...WHERE ARE THE WORKERS? All halt with works…. the house is not even done yet...heck ...I don’t care about the house.. what about the gaping hole?!!? WHERE IS THE LOVE ??

It’s been over 6 months now..and the situation is the same (in military terms probably it will be SNAFU). That’s it... I think we’ve tolerated enough… something must be done.

In fact something happened this morning! But that’s another blog post. So Watch This Space!

I KNEW I shouldn't have

2005-07-20T16:14:00.000+08:00

Have a friend who is forever 16, took a test and it verified that she's 16! She emailed me the test ... Then I thought... "Hey, maybe I should have a go". Times like these I wish I had a cricket thumping my head and telling me it's a bad idea... but NOoOooOO I had to take the test....
*Weep*

You Are 30 Years Old

30
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Me and my mouse-click happy fingers. Excuse me while I mope!

Quickie

2005-07-19T17:14:00.000+08:00

First, some background

Babe's Hubby's nick is HOOK
HOOK works in same company as me
Office peeps know him as KK

Now the good part!

I stepped out to the ladies. Came back in, a colleague said out loud

"Cyrene, you know someone by the name of Hook?" With a weird look on her face. Coz obviously, Hook is a weird name to have.

"He sounded European-lah" She must have thought it was our Overseas colleague.

I couldn't help but laugh and blurt out "It's KK-lah"

"Sei Jai ar.... tricked me!" She exclaimed (Sei Jai = endearing way of saying ... bugger)

LOL ......

What happened next? Read it here

Weird food.

2005-07-19T12:28:00.000+08:00

Hubby's mouse died. Well, comatose actually. The infrared light is still there, but the mouse ain't budging on the screen. So he proposed we drop by 1 Utama after work to get a new mouse. Thus, he pulled the life support out of the comatose mouse. *looks left and right... nope, no pro-life protesters*

We decided on dining at "Wong Kok Cha Chan Teng". "Wong Kok Cha Chan Teng", I just like saying it... the way it rolls out of my mouth. "Wong Kok Cha Chan Teng".. hehe The name is in Cantonese, and it should mean "Wong Kok Cafe". "Wong Kok Cha Chan Teng"... hehe ok I'll quit it.

This place is a sudden hype.. partly because of the semi tongue twister name... and partly for their humongous Iced Milk Tea. They serve that on the house, if you produce proof that it's your birthday. No kidding!.. the container is the size of a planting pot!

OK anyway, we were a little zany and decided to try a weird concoction of toast that they have on their menu. Banana, sweetcorn and mash potato toast. I know, weird combo... but we decided to try it nonetheless.

Soon a waiter brought the dish over, with a queer look on his face. It had banana and canned sweet corn on a thick toast, drizzled with mayo and thousand island sauce. The mash was on the side. The mash tastes like those Nestle instant mash... and very salty too.

The toast with banana, sweet corn, mayo and thousand island (yes I have to repeat all the ingredients to emphasise how weird it was) tasted not too bad amzingly... The sweetness of the banana, the sour saltiness of the condiments. Hubby twisted his face though... it was too weird for him to handle.

He said they probably added that into the menu after a few kegs and pissed drunk. I'm sure the kitchen staff was peeping through the door to see which wierd bugger ordered that concoction. It's probably the FIRST time they actually sold that dish.

Perhaps they even secretly took a picture of us, blew it up and hung it in the Kitchen's hall of Weird Eaters!

Shoots! I actually am gonna believe that happened!

And nope, we didn't finish the dish! We're not that weird.... well, at least not hubby coz I ate half of it by the time we left. Hang on, does that mean I'm weird?

How to make cakes without an oven

2005-07-18T09:22:00.000+08:00

My Sis-In-Law (SIL) was having a bit of a bad week last week, with the nasty doc and the oups incident with the Camry. So, I thought of cheering her up a little.... Actually an excuse for me to try the "Steamed Egg Cake" recipe hehehe...

So here's how I started....

Some simple ingredients (Sugar, Flour & Eggs)

The recipe's simple, a bowl of eggs, a bowl of plain flour and a bowl of sugar. However, because I'm not ready to succumb to diabetes just yet, I halved the sugar amount. Also, I added a dash of Sodium Bicabonate into the plain flour. Next...

I whisked the sugar and eggs till it's pale and fluffy. Notice I'm using an old school hand-whisk, I swear my right arm muscles bulged after the process. Good workout though hehe... Then gently fold in the flour till well mixed. Next stop, tart moulds....

The batter filled up 6 of these tart moulds (filled to 3/4). However they should've filled up more.... I didn't whisk the egg and sugar up enough. Then put them into the steam machine.... a.k.a a big wok filled with water and topped with a platform for steaming.

Put on the wok cover and let those babies enjoy the sauna for 15 minutes.

The result.....

Played with some food coloring for deco

And for my dear SIL .....

Hehehe I had so much fun doing it, I whipped up another batch. (This time I made sure I whisked them eggs good!) The result? .. the cakes were fluffier .....

Another 2 ended up into hubby's tummy.

Spotted!

2005-07-15T09:44:00.000+08:00

Emblazoned across the t-shirt of a busty lady:

"AS CUTE AS IT GETS"

Eye-popping!

Taming of the fur!

2005-07-12T14:47:00.000+08:00

I've always been meaning to Blog about our pet doggy. How she brought cheer to our lives, how she does the cutest things, how smart she is.... and last but not least how much she makes our blood boil. hahaha. OK, let me begin the story again.

We've always talked about having a pet dog when we move into our home. We've always envisioned walking the park with our obedient dog. Oh what a serene scene that painted. So somewhere in December last year, I scoured an online forum for puppy adoptions. These are mainly stray mongrels, and some kindred spirits, finding a loving home for them. Fate has it that I stumbled on a posting about "GirlGirl". This poor little mongrel was adopted, but the owners were irresponsible and left her to roam the streets again. So a kindred guardian, took her in and tried to get "GirlGirl" a responsible, loving home.

I was curious and I clicked on the link to view her image. This was what I saw.

Please take me home?

Now tell me that's a look you can say 'no' to! She has an uncanny way of tugging ye olde heartstrings. So I offered the guardian to give a home to "GirlGirl". Weirdly though I felt excited and nervous. I began to wonder if I am responsible enough for this lil' pup (she was about 9 months). But the moment we met for the first time.... I knew she was right for us!

We hereby knight thee - Ginger.

Ginger making herself at home in the Garden

The first weeks were quite exhausting. Very much like first time parents, we fret about her food, we fret about her wellbeing, we fret about keeping her welcomed..... while she fret about separation. Ginger had quite a bad run of separation anxiety. She would shadow us ALL over the place! Even to the washroom!

We decided that we need some support in parenting Ginger, so we named my Sister In Law Ginger's Godmother. Funny thing is, it was as though Ginger knows.. coz she ALWAYS runs to my Sister In Law when the family comes to visit.

It's been 7 months now, and we're happy to say that, we can't imagine our home without her. That lil bundle of fur, joy and yelps!

All that Fur on a small dog!

She is shaggy all over. She likes to roll about in the garden. She loves to garden (aka dig up the plants). So, I'll let you draw the conclusion on how icky her fur can get after a week. So last weekend, we decided to treat her to a grooming session at a newly opened pet shop nearby.

The time came, we bundled her into the car. She didn't suspect a thing.

We brought her to the grooming room, and she wasn't the slightest worried. In fact, she was excited! "New doggy friends" I can almost hear her say.

"How short do you want to cut her fur?" Asked the groomer. "Erm, short but not too short?" Uh oh.. did I make the right decision? "Means how short?" The groomer asked again. "Erm... Ok short", "Don't hate mummy, Ginger" I whispered. Ginger was nonchalant.

So we left her there for 2 hours..... she came back to us smelling like baby powder. Is she still cute? Well... why don't you judge for yourself...

Caffeine addiction? Me?

2005-07-11T15:04:00.000+08:00

It all started when I was surfing through the blog of Schweeney (btw, just added her into my friends with blogs roll), and came upon this Coffee Quiz.

You Are an Iced Coffee

At your best, you are: hyper, modern, and athletic

At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty

You drink coffee when: you're out with friends

Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Wait a minute? "Medium" addiction??? That can't be! I will not allow my body succumb to any addiction. I can handle my intake, I drink moderately and I don't get all jittery without the caffeine morphine. This quiz is a little out of whack.

Now excuse me while I get a cuppa!

Innocent lives lost.

2005-07-08T10:55:00.000+08:00

Yesterday the world was again shocked by acts of terrorism. A string of what seems to be choreographed explosions crippled the London underground network and a bus. At least 38 people perished and 700 injured.

Reading the news and looking at footage of the explosions, one can't help but think of how vulnerable we are. All these carnage.... what better cause could justify it?

Looking on with horror, I thought to myself "Thank God it's not here". Then I felt guilty. Terrorism knows no boundaries, we will never know if it WILL one day be here. I find myself trying to understand how someone can deliberately cause such violence, walk away with a clear conscience. How?

What's the price of human lives nowadays?

I couldn't look, it was so horrific
Scott Wenbourne(Witness at Aldgate)

Harap maaf! Tren tergendala sebentar!

2005-07-06T09:20:00.000+08:00

Weekday mornings are never easy. I make a pact with my inner-self every night to wake up earlier the next morning (in fact we make a pact with the freakishly loud alarm clock too). But you and I know it never happens. I end up breezing through the shower (aka Mandi Kerbau), put life onto face (aka Make-up), make breakfast (this can sometimes be optional when I’m super late) and finally hang out the clothes to dry.

Why the rush? Simple, to beat traffic. We live very far from where I work (playfully nicknamed “Jungle” by a colleague in fact), and my hubby would drop me off at the LRT station for my daily homage to all 14 LRT stations to my destination. Most of the time, I get a seat…and the trip would be uneventful. I guess someone out there didn’t want me to get bored of my trips… and thus begins the story of my morning.

Approaching the entrance of the LRT station, I noticed that the shutters were half drawn. “Now that can’t be a good sign” VIH* said. Indeed it wasn’t. A notice was displayed at the entrance announcing a technical fault on the tracks, causing trains to be delayed.

“Just wonderful” I sighed. Seeing that commuters still duck their heads and proceeded to the gantry, I did the same. The platform was packed with anxious commuters, constantly checking their watches and I presume all saying a little prayer that they won’t be late for work.

More announcements blared over the PA system “Your attention please. Due to technical issues, trains will be delayed. Thank you.”

“Thank you”? Don’t thank us; I’m quite sure the technical issue was not caused by us the commuters! Hah!

Few minutes later (thankfully, coz the sun – being very cynical – decided to bake us at the platform), a train arrived. Needless to say, we all transformed into sardines and did what was natural to us, PACK IN!

“It’s not all as bad as it sounded out to be” I thought. Ok, other than the fact that the guy standing behind me about 30 degrees to my left decided to raise his right arm to hold onto the support beam, resulting in me having to keep my head at a 40 degree angle throughout the journey! (No, I couldn’t move.. and if you asked that question, you clearly have not transformed yourself into a sardine before).

A few shocking moments happened when the train had to pull a few stunts emergency brakes mid stops. You can sense that everyone’s heart skipped a beat whenever that happened.

50 minutes later, 20 minutes longer than usual, I finally exited the train. Phew!... It’s nice having a little personal space again.

It's been a WHOLE year!

2005-07-04T09:29:00.000+08:00

"Love vanquishes time. To lovers, a moment
can be eternity, eternity can be the tick of a
clock."
--Mary
Parrish.

Indeed it does... it still feels like just yesterday I was walking down the aisle with my dad. The beginning of a new life...

How did we celebrate?

8.00 am	:	Woke up and hung clothes out to dry
9.00 am	:	Went for breakfast (oh I of course put on the pretty pink blouse my hubby bought)
10.00 am	:	Arrived at church. We were 30 minutes early... So we spent some time at the Grotto ...
10.30 am	:	Mass begun. Today we were asked to help out as "Wardens".. First time :D.. Hubby made sure to look each person in the eye to make them cough up the cash LOL (just joking)
11.40 am	:	Had tea with V&V.. It was nice to catch up after a long while
1.00 pm	:	Indulged in a foot reflexology session with hubby. (my treat)
3.00 pm	:	Lepak-ed around at home
5.00 pm	:	Cooked a simple dinner. Pasta with tomato and cream sauce... Accompanied with a bottle of Ice Wine ..... followed by a slice of cake. Yum Yum!!
7.00 pm	:	Took Ginger out for a walk in the park. Wished I brought my camera... The sight of Hubby and Ginger walking in the park was so adorable.
8.00 pm	:	Watched some tv...
11.00 pm	:	Retired for the day

I hear you guys exclaiming "WHAT?!" hahaha... but it just felt right. We've reached the ONE year mark... yes, it's special... but what's most special is that we found each other and that we strive towards making our marriage work. I don't mind forgoing the fine wine and silver dining for an evening stroll with my love in the park.. just quietly enjoying each other's company...

Happy Anniversary Darling ... *lift up wine glass* And here's to many more!

Thank you very much for all the well wishes.. and especially to Babe for her dedication post. It was really really sweet of you.

... End of the day ...

2005-06-30T19:14:00.000+08:00

Bladder : 99% full
Head : 50% larger
Eyes : Blurry
Palms : Sweaty
General Health level : Lethargic.. need med pack soon....

Shoving off .... need sleep ... need... to.... go...

- Over & Out -

Interesting conversation

2005-06-30T09:11:00.000+08:00

This morning, I took my place again in the swarm of people commuting with the LRT. As with other days, I got into the train, got a spot, scanned for other passengers that my need my seat more than me (Aren't we courteous?). Finding none, I took my book out and began reading. A few stops later, I noticed from the corner of my eye, a well dressed man with a small backpack stood in front of me. In fact, I wouldn't have noticed him if not for his "hip-hop" ringtone (some rap song.... mobiles these days... )

What amused me was his conversation....

The Conversation

Man	:	Hello?
(pause)
Man	:	Oh, you may be too early. Perhaps you could try the other entrance?
(pause) I noted that he spoke well pronounced english
Man	:	It's via the exit beside the boutique.
(short pause)
Man	:	The boutique beside the cinema.
(another short pause)
Man	:	Boutique. Boutique next to the cinema.
(shorter pause)
Man	:	Just after the boutique, is an exit to the staircase. There is a back entrance there.
(pause)
Man	:	Boutique.
(short pause) I begin to sense the hint of iritation
Man	:	Boutique. Boutique!
(pause) with a near inaudible grunt
Man	:	Aiyah! The shop that sells clothes one lar... next to the cinema... Sell clothes one! Boo - tik ar!
(pause) in perfect chinaman tone -- snigger --
Man	:	OK! So I'll see you there in a short while. Bye

The guy then slipped his mobile back into his pocket, then looked around inconspicuously (I think to see if anyone noticed his conversation).

Hehehe.... Short entertainment for an otherwise uneventful ride.

I've been tagged!

2005-06-27T18:04:00.000+08:00

I kept turning my head in vain to see if there's something stuck to my back... I looked very much like a dog chasing its tail.. haaha...

Well, I have been tagged ... but by Babe... I guess it's my duty now to answer the daunting questions... Ah babe ah... I main masak masak only wor And then somemore.. my blog not exactly a foody blog kekeke but I'll try.

The questions

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
Oddly enough, I remember clearly my first memory of cooking on my own. I have working parents and spent my time at home a lot with my grandparents. Now, they just leave me to my antics most of the time... and playing with 2 brothers bore me after a while kekeke... So I loved going to the library and get books to occupy my time. I remember being in Standard 5 when I stumbled upon this cookbook for children. In it there was a recipe for soup.. Cloud Soup. It was actually simple broth with sesame oil, chicken stock, and beaten egg with some greens. I was so proud that I cooked it all by myself.. and my dad enjoyed it.

Who had the most influence on your cooking?
It would definitely be my paternal grandmother. She babysat all of us (my 2 brothers and I) while my parents were at work. I would sometimes help her out and she would sometimes teach me simple dishes. My grandmother's cooking was ALWAYS "agak agak" -- estimate -- style. A pinch of that, a shake of this, a drop of that.. hehehe well you get the picture.

Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
Oh no,.... I don't have any unfortunately. Now why didn't I think of taking pictures of them :P

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?
YES!!.... Dishes that my Mother In Law cooks.. and my hubby sometimes asks me to cook them. I have a lil' insecurity in that... because I don't think I can achieve the exact taste. However my hubby assures me it's all yummy.. that sweet man!.

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest let down?
My BIGGEST let down is..... the el-cheapo can opener... bought on Monday, used on Tuesday, rusted on Wednesday, cut my hand on Thursday, threw on Friday.. hahaha well not so dramatic.. but yeah that chronological order of events.

Most valued would be the big old fashion chopping board I got from my Mother In Law.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!
There's this fruit called 'Buah Keluak', and it's thus far for me, ONLY found in a stall in the market in Melaka Town. My grandmother would then soak it for days, crack it open, dig out the pungent black powdery stuff, mix it with shrimp and some seasoning, stuff it back in and cook it with pork. MMMMmmmmMMMm!.... it's daunting for a first timer because the dish looks black and messy... and you have to dig out the yummy bitter savoury filling. Truly yummy!

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?
ONLY 3!!??!!

1) Potato - Done in ANY way... I LURVE THEM ALL! haha

2) Eggs - In any way except half boil... eeeyucks!

3) Honey Dew Sago - YUMZ!.. Nuf said!

Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to answer? Well then, feel free to add one!

Three quickies:
Your favorite ice-cream… : Rum & Raisin
You will probably never eat… : Pets
Your own signature dish… : Believe it or not... my Hubby claims I make a mean Fried Bee Hoon.

Who do you want most to cook you dinner? (added in by Oslo Foodie)
My Grandma... I miss her... May her soul rest in peace.

And my own question that I would loved to answer:

How neat is your kitchen?
Never as neat as the catalogs hehehe... In fact.. anyone know how to get rid of those darn cicak!! (lizards).

OK ... now the interesting part.... who to tag... Now I have but a few friends who blog... so ...

Julian : I know you try to avoid being tagged... but this is a foody one!

Shookmeallnightlong : This big papa bear .... sure like to makan.. but hmmm will he cook?

Dafthamsta : I tag you coz you've not updated your blog for AGES... about time no?? hehe

Unwind and Dine

2005-06-27T12:25:00.000+08:00

Last Thursday Babe, Ms. Sweet-16 and I decided to pamper ourselves at Liang Xin (after reading babe's experience).

I was excited since the last good pampering I had was about a year back in a heavenly Spa in Koh Samui. I was really looking forward to this. To get to the center, the 3 of us cramped into a claustraphobic inducing lift (I'm serious... it was so cramped!). I resisted the urge to press the "help" button on the lift... hehehe

Finally the doors opened to a brightly lit front desk. The deco is very inclined to the imperial china look, yet with a minimalist touch. Quite classy. We were greeted by a helpful staff and ushered into a huge room filled with cots.

The lights in here are all dimmed and it smelled faintly of the diffused aroma. A stark difference from the reception area. The cots resemble the opium beds that the rich in China used, but with posts and bars across (for the enthusiastic masseurs to hang on while they trample ... i mean massage.. you).

I gasped at the thought that it's all so open!... But to my relief, attached to the posts were also blinds :) ... So we picked our cots and the blinds were drawn around us .... suddenly the world consists of only the 3 of us hehehe

We quickly changed into comfy t-shirts and shorts and sat like anxious school girls waiting for our masseurs to arrive. We started off with the reflexology... literally being waited on hand and foot by our masseurs.... Oh the tingle of the warm warm water surrounding my aching feet... The refreshing cool towel to wipe our faces... Cool orange juice... a bowl of grapes... bliss.

My masseur turned out to be a Mainland China guy... Great... I can't speak no Mandarin, he can't speak no Cantonese. Thank goodness for the international understanding of "OUCH!" hahaha... Yup... the reflexology was good and strong.

After a good 1 hour, it was time for the accupressure body massage. Holy quackamolie!! This guy actually stood on my back.... the whole 60kg of him! (ok rough estimate)... I felt like the grapes being pressed for wine (ok ok .. i exagerate :p )

Overall, it was wonderfull.. I was in 7th heaven at the end of it.. and wanted nothing more than a good sleep... but....

Ms. S-16 started singing...

"Siew Kai Yek, Hou Hou sek" ....

Tee Hee... our legs (and tummy) took over all motor skills and we walked over to the "makan" area. 1 Hokkien fried me, 3 pairs of chicken wing and 1 plate of Superior Stock Lala later.... we were trully giddy :)

Can't wait for our next outing... wonder where it would be this time...

I need glasses (or a trip to the zoo)

2005-06-24T11:07:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, after a long long time, I went out with 2 girlfriends for a "pampering" night out (more on it in a later post). I must have caught a severe case of blurness (mind and sight).. coz I kept making a similar blunder the WHOLE night!

Strike 1

Miss Sweet-16 offered to pick me up from a Lotus Restaurant nearby. So I left office promptly (coz Miss Sweet-16 doesn't tolerate tardiness :p ).. brisk walked to the LRT station and made my way there.

Found her in the sea of people, enjoying her cuppa tea and her nifty 3g phone (envies). I spotted a cute, furry keychain on her bag.

Me	:	Yee... the bear bear so cute... I steal later.
Ms S-16	:	Tee Hee... Take lar... but it's not a bear lar..
Me	:	gasp sheepish grin yeah hoh.. it's a .....
Ms S-16	:	Lau Shu!! (mouse -- rat sounded a bit too ratty for such a cute thing)

I blushed when I saw the mistake.

VIH*	:	Siao ar you? How can you make such a mistake?
Me	:	What? A head, two cute hands, two cute legs.. furry all over.. Innocent mistake.. anyone could've done it.

Alleged bear bear #1

Strike 2

Ms S-16 navigated her way through the jam and finally made it to our destination. We found a parking spot easily, and while she was busy locking the Fort-Knox in her car I saw another cute furry thing on the dashboard.

Me	:	Ok, while you lock up, I play with this bear bear
Ms S-16	:	(in the verge of ROTFL mode)Hahahah... it's a DOG lar gurl!
Me	:	Oh My Goodness!!! You're right
Ms S-16	:	(She didn't say anything... she was hysterical at this point

Alleged bear bear #2

Aisyoh Kadavale!... so embarassing... I need to go to the zoo to memorize how a bear looks like.

VIH*

I'm too embarassed to be associated with you.

*VIH - Voice In Head (aka my Nemesis)

I'm who???

2005-06-24T10:13:00.000+08:00

Babe told me about this nifty new quiz.... it tells you which Malaysian blogger you are most like. Sounded KEWL.... so I gave it a try...

*drumroll*

the result is....

Congratulations , you are...

minishorts of minishorts.net

You are outgoing, direct, smart, pretty, and a definite go-getter. You are frank, a little too frank perhaps that sometimes you get on people's nerves and make them very upset. If people attack you, you hit back with triple the force without blinking because you are the kind of person who knows exactly what you are talking about or else you wouldn't talk about it. Your quick-thinking is what makes you special. You are an elitist.

Which Malaysian Blogger Are You?

At least someone remembered "Service with a smile"

2005-06-22T09:41:00.000+08:00

My journey to and fro work these two years have been heavily relying on the PUTRA LRT service. One of the most convenient way to travel to the heart of KL (not to mention one that can preserve the small thread of sanity that is left). One thing I noticed from my frequent trips was that the staff rotates from station to station. Especially the ones who checks our monthly passes at the turnstiles.

The Man

Day after day, with every looming commute, I find myself hoping to meet one single PUTRA staff. One lone man who preserves the "Service with a smile" motto.... and always seem to enjoy it.

This middle aged looking man always looks well groomed, shirt nicely ironed and hair well combed. Always standing (not sitting like a beca driver on the high stool) when passangers walk past the gate. But what struck me most... was that he is polite to EVERYONE.

Imagine a wave of people passing by him, and yet, he acknowledges everyone with a polite "Thank you". Not the mumbled "thank yous" that you get from a disgruntled cashier during the Isetan sale, but a loud appreciating "thank you". It comes in 2 different languages. This is how he sounds like

"Good morning", ir, ticket please", "This way ma'am", "Thank you", "Terima Kasih", "Silakan", "Thank you", "Ma'am, ticket please", .....

and all these with a smile to boot....

The reactions

A little politeness goes a long way. Nearly everyone that goes past him will actually look up and .... (I'm nearly too scared to mention this...)... but yes, they smile back! (Even at 7.30 in the morning, dragging their feet to office, dreading the imminent meeting)...

If it was some other guy at the gate, the commuters would just flash their passes, head stooped, feet shuffling. Not even bothering to look up and look at the guy (even if he had moustache like Mr. Pringles.... but that's a different story).

It always makes my day when I see this Mr. Service-with-a-smile.

So to you Mr. Service-with-a-smile... *slight curtsey*... Thank you.

There's nothing to eat....

2005-06-21T16:20:00.000+08:00

at KLCC...

Although there's

- Auntie Anne's Pretzels
- Bateel
- Breadtalk
- Chocolatier
- Cinnabon
- Dunkin' Donuts
- Famous Amos
- JJ's Juice Fusion
- La Cucur
- Lecka-Lecka
- New Zealand Natural Ice Cream
- Rotiboy Bakeshoppe
- Chocz
- Delifrance
- Dome Cafe
- HOCA Specialty Coffee
- San Francisco Coffee
- Secret Recipe
- Starbucks Coffee
- Strudels
- Smoothies
- The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
- Ummph! Boh Island
- 1901 Hotdog
- A & W Restaurant
- Burger King
- KFC
- Nando's
- Asian Flavours Food Court
- Level 2 Food Court
- Al Marjan (Arabian)
- Bong Sen (Vietnamese)
- Bukhara
- California Pizza Kitchen
- Chakri Palace
- Chili's Grill Bar
- Chinoz On the Park
- Dome Café
- Genki Sushi
- Gloria Jean's Coffees
- House of Sudanese Food
- Kelantan Delights
- Madam Kwan's
- Manhattan Fish Market
- Nippon Tei
- Rain Nudle House
- San Francisco Steak House/Santini
- Spice of Indian
- Spring Garden (Chinese)
- Shrooms & Stars Restaurant

I still can't think of what to eat for lunch....

Would you call this spoilt for choice?

Sinfull Cup

2005-06-20T16:14:00.000+08:00

chocolate
Originally uploaded by Cyrene.

Unker Julian and I decided to step out of the office for a discussion 2 weeks back. Instead of heading to our normal coffee haunt, we decided to try out 'Chocz'. I played the Devil's advocate in this matter hahaha...

I ordered the "Madagascar" ... dark chocolate drink.... ooooh... my lips quiver with the mere thought of the drink. It was RICH, BITTER and slightly spicy... HEAVEN.

However, it tasted a bit "jelak" when it became cold. Next time must remember to sip fast fast kekeke...

Voice in my head...

2005-06-17T11:31:00.000+08:00

Self :	Hmmm.... I'm craving for nasi lemak today....
VIH* :	What? You just had one on Tuesday!
Self :	Yah I know, but it's so yummy. The nasi, the sambal... the aroma!
VIH :	Hello... Have you looked at yourself in a full length mirror lately? That bulge is by all means unsightly OK..
Self :	Must you say that? Why can't you just love our body?
VIH :	Uh huh.... and pray tell are you REALLY in love with your body now? hmmm?
Self :	Erm.. well... i...
VIH :	There..... so lay your hands off that nasi lemak. You can thank me later...

* VIH : Voice In Head

Mysterious leak:Part 2.

2005-06-17T11:08:00.000+08:00

If at any time you feel lost in this naration, perhaps you should read Part 1

Call the calvary

We made an S.O.S call to our contractor. Nice bloke who unfortunately speaks Hokkien and really really basic Cantonese only. This complicates many many communication instances. Thank goodness my Father In Law (FIL), came along to help explain matters.

Up and down and up and down (the stairs that is), they went to check out the tank and piping. The diagnosis was unconclusive. *sob*

What they could do is to turn off the main tap that feeds water to the tank. We arranged for the specialist (aka plumber) to come and have a thorough checkup during the weekday.

The Specialist

The appointment was made for a weekday so only my FIL could be present for the inspection.

Up and down and up and down again they went. NO LEAK! (oh by this time the leak stopped)

NO LEAK!
NO "PAIP BOCOR"!
NADA!
ZILCH!

Turned on the main tap to the tank.... and still nothing. I'm happy to announce that the ceiling is leak free till today (been 3 weeks now)

*X-Files theme song in the background* Don't believe it? Believe it!...

Mysterious leak: Part 1

2005-06-15T09:39:00.000+08:00

Some background

It's been a year since we got the keys to our house, and more cracks are surfacing. So we submitted a long list of faults to the developer for rectification. They will then inform an appointed sub-contractor to look into the issues.

This sub-contractor has quite an interesting collection of workers an indonesian couple, a vietnamese young man and an octogenarian. Yup, I swear he looks way pass his retirement age. Now this old "ah pak" is a rude one, but let's not go there (it will take too long to blog about him).

Nearly all the problems were rectified, and one of the last issues was with the gutter in the front. So one sunny Saturday morning, the "ah pak" came by with the Vietnamese guy. He argued with hubby about whether or not the gutter was his scope of work. Nothing a call to his boss couldn't solve.. hmmph...

So with a grunt, he reluctantly set to work. Soon after, the weather turned bad and thunder threatened. "Ah pak" started to pack up (still grumbling under his breath). He then preceded to the next door (under renovation and empty). Hubby was not happy at all with his attitude and complained loudly for a few minutes...

The problem

All went well, till the next morning. While stuffing my beloved washing machine with dirty laundry, I heard a peculiar dripping sound. I looked up and lo and behold... a mini waterfall. At the corner of the wet kitchen, water was dripping from the ceiling "Argh!".

Hubby came running, jaw dropping as he saw the leak. Hahaha because of his deep set iritation with the "Ah Pak", he immediately suspected foul play. "But it's quite impossible for him to cause this" I exclaimed.

We promptly turned off the main tap, cutting off the main water line. Leak was still there. Hubby climbed up to the tank, and whoa!.... Overflow!

Not a good way to start a Sunday morning. :(