9th Birthday.

While mom was peeling taugeh (bean sprouts), preparing for lunch, she received an unexpected call from poh poh. I picked up the phone cause I was just sitting by it, arguing discussing with mom how awful tasteless her breakfast of "Emperor Noodles" was. At least that's what mom named her noodles that were cooked in clay pot. Mom's really putting in an effort to cook, seeing that akak's on a "vacation," but... that breakfast was the first time she was cooking since 5 years ago! I think she might need some sharpening in her skills. She accepted the criticism, though.

Anyway, poh poh told mom to go to her house and have lunch because it was Hui Xing's (Amelia's elder sister) birthday and she has prepared some food enough for all of us. No one had any idea that it was Hui Xing's birthday until poh poh broke the news. Mom was peeling taugeh to cook her famous Hokkien Char (seriously, it's one of the best things she can come up with and I was so looking forward to lunch) for lunch but the call made her pack up her taugehs hurriedly and stuffed them into the fridge once again, yelling from the kitchen for us to get ready and proceed to poh poh's house. I could sense a little lightness in her tone, seeing that she packed her taugehs a little too fast. Probably happy that she didn't need to cook and then clear up the oil-stained kitchen all over again.

We dropped by a random bakery (somewhere near USM) and picked up a birthday cake for her. There was a minor battle between Edmund and me, on which cake we should buy. Ended up getting the one that had chocolate and cheese in a cake (because chocolate is the only flavor that Edmund knows how to eat) and naturally, I wanted the cheese. When we got back at poh poh's, Hui Xing wasn't there because she was celebrating her birthday with her paternal relatives (we're maternal side of her family) at her house. I had my lunch - poh poh's fried chicken and Hakka noodles - before she turned up to cut her second cake!






After all that cake-cutting and cake-munching, they (Hui Xing and Edmund) went outside poh poh's house to play badminton. It took me a good 5 minutes before I started whining that I wanted to go home. It's rather insulting to the old people when one complains to go back home only after an hour of stepping foot into the house - but I was so bored there! Adrian and Carina were still in KL and I wasn't keen on playing badminton with the little ones. Though, I did offer them another chance to hop on a broom and try flying, which they only refused with a simple, "Dowan!". Besides, the TV was hogged up by Uncle Yip (Hui Xing's dad), watching those annoying Chinese game shows!

Dad was already falling asleep in the couch (what else to do on a chilly afternoon and a full stomach?) and mom was pretending to be interested in the Chinese game show, ignoring my whines. Since mom refuses to drive me home, I thought of grabbing poh poh's old-fashioned bicycle and my camera and cycling into the inner parts of Balik Pulau (used to do this all the time with Carina and Adrian) to hunt for photographic opportunities but mom didn't let me for no apparent reasons. I insisted on going. My rants and complaints got dad irritated and he himself, offered to take the car an drive me to wherever I want to go - home, not included.

Mom tagged along in the car, and so did Edmund, Hui Xing and Hui Yi (they're all sisters!). We were hunting down for streams and rivers for me to take photographs and at the same time, for the little ones to have a dip. Dad drove us all through the thick plantation till we came to a dead end, made a U-turn and stopped by at a random part of the river that looked safe enough to get into. By the time we got off the car, it already started drizzling and I didn't even have my camera out yet. I didn't want to miss the opportunity though. I set up the tripod and worked under a tree. After mom rushed the little ones into the car, she came to my aid, holding the umbrella above me and the camera as I twisted the dials and clicked my shutter.

Took me long enough to notice that my whole back and camera bag was soaking and that I've got the shots I wanted, before I kept the camera and moved back into the car, with mom still holding the umbrella for me. To be thinking of it, it was kind of cool (to me), standing under the rain with mom, taking photographs. Yeah, I have very supporting family members. Anyways, I took the shot below when dad stopped his car for me to get down to check and see if there was a safe spot for us to take a dip. The door was opened because mom wanted to get down. It gave me the impression of a commercial poster - so I added the words. LOL. Just for fun (had to surf the internet for that Toyota tagline!). Oh yea, and the results of the stream we stopped at can be found here.