Cumi!

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!

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!

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!

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

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

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!

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?

:p

My True Calling

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

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

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 ..

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...

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

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

Happy Birthday Babe!

Dedicated to the most babelicious of all babes!

Keranamu Malaysia...

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

1. HOLIDAY!!... YAHOOO!
2. Watching the National Day parade on TV.
3. Anticipate seeing Tenaga Nasional's costume for the National Day Parade.
4. Anticipate seeing which other company would adorn their staff with spaceman suits for the National Day Parade.
5. Did I say HOLIDAY??!!
6. 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 ...

#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...

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...

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...

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?

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.