To cut a long story short....

Lanterns!

The residents of SS4 in PJ had their inaugural lantern festival potluck earlier tonight and it was a blast! The food just kept on arriving and I kept stuffing myself.... It is 1.30am now and I am still absolutely stuffed. I think I'm just gonna fast tomorrow all the way till dinner....

Of course the highlight of the night are the handmade lanterns by Uncle Khor. He's famous throughout Malaysia for his award-winning lanterns which are made from recyclable items. Anything you can imagine.... from styrofoam plates, mineral water bottles, styrofoam boxes, foam sponge sheets to name just a few....

All these below were on display tonight and I just can't but be in awe of all of them... They are absolutely just amazing...

To usher in the year of the bull, he made a friendly bull bearing CNY goodies. If you observe closer, the ears and tail of the bull twitch every now and then as if welcoming and beckoning you to try the goodies he has brought.

The plate of CNY goodies by the friendly bull. From mooncakes to pomelo to sliced dried minced pork to chinese tea. If you look closely, the sliced pork looks just like the real thing!!!!

A lantern made from paper cups. Honey bees all around it as if they are looking for pollen.

Lantern of local fruits. The durian looks shockingly real and the hairs on the rambutan were stuck on one-by-one painstakingly!!

A basket of dragonfruits and vegetables. That's not the highlight of this lantern. Notice the 2 chickens on the top of the basket handle? They are attached to a motor inside the lantern to mimick the movement of cockerels pecking at worms they find on the ground. And if you look even closer, you will notice a little pink worm that the chickens are trying to get to. The worm moves too!

Spider lantern

CNY lantern for Thean Hou Temple competition. Requirement was that everything must be recyclable items. This is the champion, by the way...

Basket of fish and vegetables.

Bouquet of flowers

Lantern made from mineral water bottles

A giant teapot with revolving tray of mid autumn festival goodies

Another basket of fish and vegetables. The chinese cabbage is made from combination of styrofoam boxes and mineral water bottles sprayed randomly with a glue gun to create the vein effect on the leaves. The capsicums are made from the bottoms of 100 plus bottles and the goldfish are made from cut out styrofoam plates.

Lantern of 2 giant pumpkins with butterflies

Uncle Khor distributing choco berries to kids at the party

The party was graciously attended by PJU MP Y.B. Tony Pua and ADUN Dr. Cheah Wing Yin. Uncle Khor had made a lantern in the shape of the DAP Rocket after DAP won the election in PJU in 2008. He later presented the lantern to Tony to be displayed at his office.

15Malaysia... 15th Movie... Rojak

15Malaysia... 14th Movie... Lollipop

15Malaysia... 13th Movie... Healthy Paranoia

15Malaysia... 12th Movie... Duit Kecil

Pet Updates

I'm happy to report that Jane's eye is healing well after putting eye drops the past few days. Made her wear that stupid looking neck collar so that she doesn't scratch her eye. She looks really ridiculous in that thing and she keeps bumping into the wall and other things around her. Hopefully another 2 days and she'll be back to normal.

15Malaysia... 11th Movie... Meter

Rainbow Phenomenon In Ipoh

Ok, I think you guys are going to think I'm crazy but this is really the first time I'm seeing this. Not my first time seeing a rainbow of course but a rainbow in this manner is really a first for me....

The brightest area is where the sun is and the circle around it is the rainbow which we saw. This was just right outside my house. The black line at the bottom of the photos is my house awning. It wasn't easy to get these shots as the sun was shining directly into my eyes. All in all, this phenomenon lasted about 10 minutes and it was gone.

I have yet to have time to look this up on the internet to find out exactly how this happened. Stay tuned to see if I do manage to find some info on this....

Aarrggghhh.... Trespasser Killed

Woke up this morning to find a dead kitten in the garden and Jane with her right eye swollen. I have no idea what time it happened but I'm pretty sure right until I went to bed at 1.30am last night there was no kitten sounds nor my dogs barking. So it must have been when I had already fallen sound asleep.

I guess the poor kitty did put up a good fight and scratched Jane's right eye. It's swollen quite bad. Have put eye drops for her and hoping it will heal soon. Didn't see blood dripping so I think it doesn't warrant a visit to the vet as yet. Will monitor closely to see how it heals.

Sigh.. why is it always Jane who gets herself into these things???? It's always her!!! Jack and Jill do get into mischief now and again but never to this extent where they get themselves injured. What am I to do with Jane? It's been so long and it doesn't look like anyone's going to adopt her although I'm above the limit of 2 dogs per household. Sigh....

15Malaysia... 10th Movie... Gerhana

Mummy's Birthday.... Coming Soon

I'm back in Ipoh again for the weekend to celebrate Mummy's birthday which is on Sunday. Have planned an 8-course dinner at the new Overseas Restaurant and invited a few of my parents' close friends to join in the celebration. The more merrier. Let's hope the food is as good as they preach since the restaurant has opened a new branch.

On the menu is a starter dish, suckling piggy, steamed patin fish, chicken with ham & kailan, asparagus with prawns, tofu, longevity noodles and water chestnut dessert. Will update my food blog with pics and reviews of the dishes. So keep a look out.

Mummy also requested for a blueberry cheesecake. Of course I panicked when she told me that's what she wanted. I have no idea where to get good cheesecake in Ipoh, what more blueberry cheesecake. Turns out, it's mummy's fave, my sister's fave and my fave.

And so, JJ Cakes to the rescue. Have ordered it specially made for tomorrow. Now I'm just hoping that a 1kg cake will be enough to satisfy everyone's appetite. 

Decided to join my parents at their regular gathering with some friends. My objective? To sample the oh-so-talked-about stewed yam with pork (wu tao kao yok) that one of their friends make. OMG!!! It's just simply heavenly. The yam is soft and filled with the aroma of the spices. The pork is stewed to perfection. Juicy and the fatty part literally melts in your mouth.

And despite the age difference, (I mean, come on, the entire group are all my parents' age) we really had a great time. The jokes, the conversations.... who says it's boring to hangout with older people. They're probably more fun to be around as they share their stories and tell you jokes from their younger days. In fact, I think I should do this more often... haha...

I'm off to bed now. Early morning tomorrow as we're headed to some breakfast at the marketplace. My usual hong kong style chee cheong fun is waiting for me :)

15Malaysia... 9th Movie... Slovak Sling

15Malaysia... 8th Movie... One Future

15Malaysia... 7th Movie... Lumpur

15Malaysia... 6th Movie... The Son

15Malaysia.... 5th Movie... Halal

15Malaysia.... 4th Movie... House

15Malaysia.... 3rd Movie... The Tree

15Malaysia Launching.... 2nd Movie... Chocolate

Birthday Celebration

My parents and little sis made a trip to KL over the weekend to celebrate our birthdays. Didn't take much pics other than the homemade cheesecake and us :)

15Malaysia Launching.... 1st Movie... Potong Saga

My Big Day

I am now officially.... 3x (age is sacred to the female)

Birthday came and went. It was a good day. Worked in the morning, attended 100-day countdown to GEW in the afternoon, hung out at The Curve and proceeded to Mid Valley for dinner at Chili's with Steven, Mei Lee and Terence.

Dinner at Chili's was quite a disappointment. I'm vowing never to have my meals there ever again, especially the branch at Mid Valley. Steaks came out with more tendons than meat. It was even harder to chew than chewing gum, can you imagine? It was just bad.

Quiet and simple celebration. Just the way I like.

The next day was also an eventful day. Mei Lee and Terence invited us to their house and they were going to make us a home-baked butter garlic lobster and beef stew. Was really yums! Much better than the food at Chili's, mind you. 

We had already made dinner plans with Janice and Ian. Introduced them to Kong Sai Chicken Rice. The chicken rice that Steven has been raving about in Facebook of late. We had half a chicken (the big foot of the hill chicken - dai san keok kai), curry pork ribs, baked yam with pork (wu tau kau yok) and vege. Sumptious! And I must say tastier and more satisfying than dinner the night before at Chili's.

Now we have new friends to jalan-jalan cari makan :)

PS: I just realized in all that excitement over the weekend, there is not a single photo of me :)

Quote Of The Day

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. - Socrates

I like this quote. Very apt as I deal with people who insist they know everything when in actual fact most of the time they don't know that much more than me... sigh... stubbornness!

On another note, I just came back from the ladies toilet at my office block. Some idiot had a ciggie break in there and the air is just suffocating! Inconsiderate buggers (excuse my language). Why do people assume that common toilets at office blocks are ciggie hangout places???

I demand that my right to clean and fresh air be RESTORED! Smokers should just lock themselves in a glass case and suffocate themselves in there. Let us all regain our rights!

Mid-Year

Ok. It's not exactly mid-year but a little over. But I always like to mark the end of July as that means August is coming soon. August is always a month of celebrations for me. For one thing it's my birthday, followed my sis. And now to add to that, Steven's sis and then his bro. I just love August babies. We are a fun bunch and always a joy to hang out with.... Haha... self praise.... but I think friends can vouch to that!

One other reason is that I have nothing better to write late so I thought why not just write something... haha... sorry if you find this a bore but hey, it's my blog and I write what I want.

Life's pretty quiet these days. Other than the occasional eating fest, it's catching up on shows that I've been downloading. Finished watching Criminal Minds Season 6 about 2 weeks ago and am now anxiously waiting for Season 7 to start. It was such a cliffhanger ending in Season 6.... I want to know if The Reaper really killed Hotch!

Am now back to TVB serials. I have watched Forensic Heroes last year and now moving on to Forensic Heroes II. It's ala CSI style but with the usual HK drama and continuation. 30 full episodes of suspense and drama. Just the way I like it. Although the equipment and graphics may not be up to the standard of Hollywood but it's actually quite interesting how they combine Forensics Division with the Heavy Crimes Bureau division and weave several love stories in the midst of all those crimes. Oh well, being the serial addict, most series are nice and enjoyable to me... haha

This year, my birthday happens to fall on a Saturday, which means not a working day for me. Unlike past years where I will apply for annual leave as I make it a point not to work on MY DAY. Am still thinking what to do on that day though. No plans as yet. Maybe a quiet one this time. 

The past few years have been exciting ones. 2 years in a row I was up in Genting. Some winnings in the casino and lovely hot choc at Coffee Bean while enjoying the breeze up there. Last year same time I was in HK for a seminar.

Hmm... any ideas?

Irresponsible Pet Owners... Sigh...

My dad got bitten by a dog last night. Sigh...

My parents take evening walks regularly around the neighbourhood. There's this particular house with 3 dogs and around the same time, the owner lets his dogs out to do their 'business' on the roadside. Typical of Malaysians. As long as the dog doesn't SHIT in their house compound, they can pretty much SHIT anywhere they want.

So, last night, as usual, my parents went for their evening walk. And as usual, this neighbour lets his dogs out. My parents were across the road from where the dogs lived. Just as they were released, one of the dogs ran across the road towards my parents and bit my dad on his thigh. Luckily the dog owner saw and quickly called the dogs back. And thankfully the dog let go and returned to its master.

The bite wasn't deep. Partly also as the dog bit the part of his thigh with shorts covering it. Phew!

The owner offered to bring my dad to the doc's for treatment. Initially my dad was hesitant (as he always is when it comes to visiting a clinic) but my mum managed to convince him. So off they went to a 24-hour clinic with the dog owner and got his ATT jab, antibiotics, antiseptic wash, cream and painkillers. It isn't major but things could have been worse.

I am thinking... what if the dog has diseases? Worse case, rabies! What if the wound had been deeper? What if the dog didn't return to its master and continued attacking? What if the other 2 dogs attacked my dad at the same time? What if 1 attacked my dad and the other dogs attacked my mum? There are just so many possibilities that I can think of.

So there you go. Irresponsible pet owners. Why didn't he put the dogs on leash when letting them out to do their 'business'? So what if it's 3 dogs? Buy 3 leashes? It's only the responsible thing to do. I mean, if that fella goes out for his evening walks, he wouldn't fancy being bitten by a dog, would he?

Oh well, as Malaysians, I think many of us still have a lot to learn when it comes to being responsible pet owners. I'm not saying every Malaysian is irresponsible. Mind you, I have seen a couple walking 7 dogs and all of them are on leash.

Just like in my previous post, how is it possible a tame puppy wanders into my backyard? Quick update though, the puppy is now back with its rightful owner. A teenage boy lost the puppy while playing at the playground opposite my house. Again, why wasn't the puppy on a leash?

I hope and hope that we will all learn to be responsible pet owners....

Look What I Found In My Backyard Last Night....

Went out for a gathering with some ex-colleagues last night. Came back past midnight and heard puppy sounds from the back. We had just been puppy free for 2 days and it was surprising to hear puppy sounds around the house. I thought it must be some puppy roaming the backlane but nonetheless decided to check it out.

Lo and behold... this is what we found...



She was hiding in a corner with her back facing. At first we thought it could be a kitten but a kitten doesn't have big ears standing upright like her. Turned on the lights and saw her instead.



She was shivering not because she was cold but more so because she was scared and hungry. Served up some doggie pellets and she almost immediately turned around and headed to the bowl. That was when we also noticed something funny about her left eye.

Was quite afraid that she's blind or something or maybe her eyeball was missing. On closer inspection, noticed there's a lot of discharge at the eye. We still had some eye drops in the fridge which we used for a kitten we had rescued from the drain before. So put a few drops for her.



Woke up this morning and she was sleeping in the backyard. She didn't yet dare venture to the front as she knows there are 3 big dogs and they aren't very welcoming yet at the moment, especially Jill.

Jill must be wondering what had happened to all her puppies. The 2 that are left had already been taken away by their new owner just 2 days ago. Thought we would be puppy free for a while... Oh well, we are doing a good deed by helping this puppy now.



She was hungry again in the morning (as pups always are) and she helped herself to Jill's leftover rice. As long as I was around in the garden, I might as well checked on her. It was too dark last night to really do much.

Gosh, she had so many ticks on her I'm wondering how she survives the itches. Have caught all the ticks I could find especially in her ears and between her paws. She's getting a little more adventurous now but still mostly stays in the backyard. Still afraid of the big dogs.



Now I'm wondering... The compound is surrounded by wire mesh all round. Front gate, back fence... they are all sealed up. How did this puppy get into the backyard? I suspect someone abandoned her (especially with the infected left eye) and decided to just dump into my backyard. Probably somebody staying around the neighbourhood and had noticed a lot of puppies in my garden. Maybe they think I run a dog pound? Sigh.... the cruelty...

I am hoping that is not the case though. Maybe she somehow managed to squeeze through the back gate... Hopefully someone will come claim her soon. Else, I'll have to put her up for adoption.

Meanwhile, any takers?

A True Legend Is Gone...

Ok... I know this post is like way too late since now Michael Jackson's memorial is already over and done with. Yours truly has been busy and tied up with more important stuff. Not that MJ's death is not important enough to take up my time. I have been following news online about him since his death.

I'm a fan of his songs, yes. But not a fanatic. At least not fanatical enough to be crying and sobbing. In fact, for the past 2 days I've been listening to a lot of hits and I still do love them just as much.

With his passing, there have been so much speculating news going around. Frankly, I'm quite sick of them. The guy just died. Does it matter how he really died? Does it matter who gets custody of his kids? Does it matter where his body is buried? Who are we to even comment on these things? We are nothing but his fans and that's all. 

I watched the repeat telecast of his memorial on Wed night. Couldn't stay up late enough to watch it live. I need my beauty sleep. Even watching the repeat telecast, I had to stay up till almost 1am and went to work the next morning feeling like a zombie.

Now back to what I wanted to say. Firstly, I thought having a memorial for MJ was a good idea. But after watching it, I would rather they have not had one. Well, not one that was held in that manner. It was like a concert! Even the opening choir performance felt so rehearsed. What more can I say?

Other than what his family had to say, I saw only 2 very sincere speeches. One from his long-time childhood friend Brooke Shields and another from Rev. Al Sharpton.

The most memorable quote from the entire night was from Rev. Al Sharpton when he said, "I want his three children to know, there was nothing strange about your dad," he said. "It was strange what your daddy had to deal with, but he dealt with it." I totally agree with that statement.

I had always wondered... So what if MJ had all those plastic surgeries? So what if he likes kids? So what if he spent all that money building Neverland? As long as he continued to produce great hits, I think that's all that matters. All these controversies have in the past years forced him into seclusion especially ever since his trial on child molestation charges. And there goes all the potential great hits he could have created and sang for us.

Criticisms have been abound as to why A-list celebrities and close friends like Diana Ross, Liza Minelli and Dame Elizabeth Taylor did not show up although Diana Ross did send a note to be read out to the audience. And is it any of our business whether they show up or not?

People grief in different ways. Some cry at the loss of a loved one, some laugh to celebrate their lives. Some display their grief in public while some hide in their own little corner. Why can't the media just let people grief in their own way? Why do they need to comment on who showed up and who didn't?

A true legend has passed on... Why can't everyone let him rest in peace, for goodness sake!

Weekend Of Birthday Celebrations

Was back in Ipoh for the weekend to celebrate my little sis' birthday. We headed to Pusing for some fabulous seafood. Apologies as it totally slipped my mind to take photos of the scrumptious. Was just too eager to devour everything served.

I did remember to snap a photo of the cake mummy had bought. Fresh mango but it was missing pieces of mango in it. All it had was mango jelly on the top. Disappointment! We're never going back there for cake next time.

Here's one with the candles lighted up.

And here's my little sis cutting the cake.

And then on Sunday, rushed back to KL to celebrate Steven's birthday with his siblings. Again, we were too hungry and forgot to snap photos of the feast we had. Roast duck and roast pork was on the menu.

Here's the cake.



Little Wen-Burque was fascinated with the candle lighted and was trying to grab the cake. He wanted to blow out the candle together with Steven but I think Steven was too quick :)


Steven cutting his cute little birthday cake. We each had 1 tiny slice. Had to keep space in the tummy for JJ swiss rolls :)

My Little Sis

Yesterday was my little sis' 26th birthday. She's a big girl now but of course still acts like a kid. We'll be having a birthday celebration for her this weekend. Those of you who know me well will know that she's a special child and we love her dearly.

Developments over the past years have been interesting.

1) She's now working as an assistant librarian in Ipoh International School. Our Welfare Department is also kind enough to give her a monthly allowance as long as she's working independently. Their way of encouraging special people to be independent.

2) Her idol is no longer Leon Lai Ming. She's now head over heels for Raymond Lam Fung. So for her birthday this year, Zara and I are getting her a specially imported CD (with postcards and all). I bet she'll be ecstatic.

3) Her favourite cartoon character is still Winnie The Pooh. Getting her gifts with Pooh will always make her happy.

4) Crazy over durians... but this hasn't changed since she was little.

5) She's now developed a knack for throwing tantrums and it's driving us all crazy. We're trying our very best not to get overly upset with her as we understand she's very frustrated deep inside.

6) She's now got more than 100 imaginary friends who seem to be her entourage everywhere she goes. She actually has real conversations with them. She even gets into fights and quarrels with them. Amazing!

7) She doesn't answer to the name June or Junie (that's how we call her in the family). She now goes by her Chinese name, Ah Yan. That's after watching a TVB series years ago where the lead actress was a police inspector called Ah Yan.

Well, that's my little sis.

Malaysia Boleh... Stuff You Will Only See In Bolehland!

Stuff you will only see in Bolehland.... Got this in my Inbox this morning and I thought this should be shared...

Worker taking a nap in a makeshift hammock in the lorry while on the road...

No hands? Fear not... baby's stroller always comes in handy!

When petrol prices soar through the roof, you just have to find the cheapest mode of transportation even for bulky items.

Kids... need to take a nap? With makeshift bolster included :)

Amenities are such a dismal here that broken chairs are not replaced. As typical Malaysians, we just make do with what we have and not make a peep about it.

You know how it is when your contractor charges you for every little task you get him to do? Well, even to correct their mistake they would also charge you, the customer. So you rather just live with an upside-down signboard and business is as usual...

Live carp? Do they look like they're 'live' to you?

Vandalized police shack. What more can I say?

Malaysia's very own version of mobile homes... cable tv included!

You know how it is nowadays when so many English words are borrowed? Well, the latest addition will be 'carpark' but spelt with a Malaysian twist. So now does 'kapak' means carpark or axe?

While mummy shops for household stuff, I might as well give them cushions a test drive...

Probably one of them famous chicken rice stalls that everybody raves about but has no idea how the chickens are prepared... haha!

Every coffee shop or restaurant is required by law to display prominently prices of food and drinks. Very prominent this one, right next to the sistern in the toilet.... sigh....

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