My iPod Shuffle was RM35!

I didn't mention this before but I hitched a ride with 5xmom from Penang to KL for the highly anticipated Bloggers Together Gather Party held at Federal Hotel. Things were kinda last minute (thank God 5xmom was there to get a seat for me at the last couple of days) and I was busy being anxious, nervous and was busy packing for the trip that I didn't have the time to post anything. The party was one of the most amazing parties I've ever been, speaking from an inexperienced, unpopular kid at school and anywhere else for that matter. It was so much fun to meet some of the many famous bloggers out there in the blogosphere in real life. Just to name a few that I was really looking forward to meet and whom I managed to meet were kidchan, shaolintiger, wingz, lin peh, boss stewie (met him during PBM actually but didn't have the chance to talk) and oh so many more that I can't remember! A few unexpected people for me was yvonnefoong, Charles (from What Women Want), ah pek, cocka and also albert, who left because he didn't even registered for the party and also Jeff Ooi (he's on Wikipedia?!).

It was really exciting for me to meet these people in real life. See the person behind the wonderful blogs. Despite being busy greeting all her fans and being a fan herself, 5xmom was kind enough to introduce me to certain bloggers that I didn't know or didn't recognize. The sponsors for the night were great nonetheless. Kudos to the organizing team for getting such wonderful sponsors and for putting up such a great event (there was even a a banner made for the party itself!). I mean, at one point, they were giving out RM30 Digi reload coupons for the first 10 Digi users to be up on stage! They even had 3 days 2 nights hotel stay, free movie ticket passes, goody bags with items from sponsors and the best of all, an iPod shuffle which was won by me through texting something my details to TNB real quickly! Now, if that's not cool, I don't know what is! Probably because I was one of the youngest bloggers there that speed texting came as a skill. But I did won and became the subject of envy for a few minutes and that was enough to get the night going for me. Having a short conversation with kidchan was an added bonus I was really looking forward to!

The new baby, iPod Shuffle! Damn Apple for coming up with such sleek designs!

At the end of the day, I had taiyi picked me up after the event and will be staying at her house till Wednesday before I go back for Penang. In other words, I had a great time at the party (couldn't thank 5xmom enough!) and I'll be spending half of my one week mid-term holidays at KL. Oh, and I have an iPod shuffle to show off keep me occupied.

P.S: Sorry for the lack of links as I'm doing this from Grace's laptop where none of my subscriptions or bookmarks are. Will have to wait to get back to my own computer for that.

Elements of the Season.

Blooming pink flowers coloring the roads that look like sakuras, making it feel like spring.

The bu lang sai (lion dance). I didn't see one this year though.

Red decorations. Especially red chinese lanterns and gold ornaments.

Temple visiting. Buddhists, of course. Mine's only for photography purposes.

The inevitable hot weather. Fuuh.

Dangling china imports sold at wet markets.

Delicacies!

Reminiscent. Remembering the ancestors. Fulfilling filial piety.

Money.

Mandarin oranges (kam). Loads of it.

Fun.

Lots of love.

Poker cards. Gambling.

A daredevil, albeit a little brainless.

Firecrackers. Ahh, the comforting sounds of explosions.

Visiting (even the farthest relative).

And collecting "ang paus" from them.

And the most important of all, unity.

P.S: I figured that it'll take till next year if I were to edit these photos. So I'm just posting things as they are.

Meme-random.

Apparently, there's been some sort of a meme fever going on around the blogosphere. Everywhere you see people tagging each other. It's like freaking unbreakable chain-mails, minus the curse of death or bad luck for eternity, of course. This time, it was Adelyn who tagged me back. Revenge? Here goes.

a) List 20 random facts about yourself.

1. I'm emotionally unstable. I get intimidated, envious and depressed very easily for utterly appalling reasons that I can't even imagine sometimes. I get very disturbed. Vulnerable? I'm still working on it.
   
2. I turn easily to movies, food, music, camera and computer for comfort. Love 'em all even if I'm not mourning.
   
3. I love McDonald's Double Cheeseburger.
4. I (love to) spend more time with my family than I do with friends.
5. I still enjoy cartoons. Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly Odd Parents, Tom & Jerry and the likes for I believe that being matured includes being able to enjoy yourself without the fear of what the community might say. Those who call you childish for watching cartoons, no brainers. Really.
6. I'm opinionated and I do have certain principals for life.
7. I'm basically a neat-freak (almost a perfectionist). But that only comes when I don't feel lazy. I do have my books sorted out nicely in my school bag and I don't leave my room in a mess. Can barely stand a messy table.
8. I'm not the typical smart-alec who works my ass off for an A in Additional Mathematics (and other subjects as well!). More like the person with the empty tin for a head. Seriously. No basic General Knowledge, no idea of any political issue and I barely have any knowledge to support me in whatever I believe in (despite being opinionated - shame on me!). The whole package stuck punched with a huge DUMBASS.
   
9. I don't have guts. Really. My heart starts beating ten fold when I witness an accident or someone passing out even. I panic and my system automatically shuts off. No guts for gut-wrenching rides either! Carina's the daredevil in the family, alongside with Grace.
10. I have bad memory. Really bad, especially when it comes to remembering events or responsibilities. People might die one day because of my incompetence.
    
11. I'm a true procrastinator and a sloth. Delays. Delays. Delays.
12. I practically practice (almost all) the 7 Deadly Sins and break the Ten Commandments very often.
13. I can be very nasty when I'm provoked - intentionally or unintentionally.
14. I'm a sentimental fool. I do keep the proverbial "box of old love letters under the bed in the rusty and old metal biscuit box". Only here, my "love letters" are objects that holds certain meanings (souvenirs from holidays, for instance) and it's kept in a little box that previously held mooncakes.
15. I'm a sucker for romantic movies and movies that generally has a good meaning in it. Think Bridget Jones, Lakehouse, Eight Below, Brokeback Mountain, The Holiday, Elizabethtown and anything else that falls into the same category.
16. I enjoy listening to the Top 100 on the Billboard Countdown, new stuff on American Top 40, TRL or the Pop Inc Chart but I secretly crave for materials like Jim Brickman, Miles Davis, Rachel Portman, Hans Zimmer and Kenny G. On the more soothing vocals, Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, Robin Thicke, Josh Groban, Norah Jones, John Legend, Lucie Silvas and Joshua Radin. Oh, and I'm a very big fan of movie soundtracks too.
17. I'm more in touch with my feminine side. Some people have said that I should've been Grace and vice versa. I like shopping, romantic movies, cooking and reading. I have a good fashion sense too (at least that's what Grace and mom says and my fashion advice has never failed them!). I even listen to more female artists compared to male artist. I'm not a drag though.
18. I cry easily. Tears of sorrow, tears of joy, tears of anger and tears of fear! Hah, I'm a weeper!
    
19. I'm not a big fan of junk food but I do need the occasional chocolate and ice-cream fix. A lollipop to keep the mouth busy at times too.
20. I wish to acquire certain skills that I wished I was born with in the first place, constantly longing to be better than everyone else. Reality is, I'm never better than anybody. That's why I have low self-esteem. I'm never ever going to think that I'll be better cause pride gets to me very easily. Which is a good thing for me. Humble pie. I need it.

b) Write about random facts of the person who tagged you that surprised / shocked you or made you laugh.

1. She really has a lot of opinions going on in that head of hers. Most of which I agree to.
2. She got my back when I was being flamed online. Pretty cool, huh?
3. We've still never met in real life. I'm afraid if we'll click. She's just so bright.
4. She has really good computer skills. Photoshop. HTML. What else? I used to go to her for help on the blog layout. Oh, and she designs awesome chic blog layouts as well!
5. She has good skills in musical instruments too, I think. If I'm not mistaken. Okay, I'm not sure. I just remembered reading about her being involved in some gig a while back.

c) Then tag some other 12 persons who will have to write down 20 random facts about themselves.

I'm just gonna go ahead and skip this step. Seriously. I can't find 12 people to tag! This should've been "... tag the 12 rand persons...", don't you think? 5 was hard enough before this. 12?! I know it's pathetic that I don't even have 12 online friends to tag but I can't help it. Anyway, to whoever who wishes to do this, go ahead and you can feel free to say that I tagged you. Don't be shy because I don't judge. Hey, this is the blogosphere we're talking about. Feel free!

5 Reasons For Blogging.

A couple of months back, blogging was a privilege to me. A liability of some sort. A place where I spend most of my (free) time, typing about anything and everything that comes to mind and sharing whatever sort of media to the blogosphere. Yeah, those were the good times when I definitely didn't need to think twice about clicking on the "Create Post" button or even blog-hop, for that matter. Nowadays, my blogging activity has been reduced to merely just a hobby when I can (seriously) only spend my free time( if there was any for the week to speak off!) blogging . Sadly it has become a weekly affair compared to a couple of months before where it was practically a daily business, as unnecessary the contents of the day might be. Especially now since after the Chinese New Year holidays - I'm clumsily struggling to keep my head above water the unreasonably huge amount of homework thrown on me (including procrastinated work, of course!), desperately gasping for air and kicking my legs in frustration. It only takes time before I drown. Really.

Come to think of it, I've reduced blogging really a lot since the beginning of the new year and school term. You don't suppose me being buried in stacks of books have anything to do with me being in the final year of school (the assignments and homeworks!) and the pure fact that I'm gonna have to sit for the much dreaded governmental examinations by the end of the year, do you? I think too much. Either way, as much as I want thing to be the way it was a couple of months back, I can't possibly find the time to. Don't even try to tell me that I should manage my time better. Well, it's complicated. Could barely find the time to even edit and upload pictures from the recent Chinese New Year hiatus of mine. Now, instead of blogging, I'm spending most nights drawing up ideas from thin air to be written for numerous Malay essays or making ends meet with Accountancy. Mind you, I'm not the kind of person who burns the midnight oil for studies (hell no!). I just try to finish them off in between lessons, hoping that I'll not get caught by teachers of other subjects, to make it in time for the deadlines. Easy isn't it?

Somehow, with the upcoming monthly tests next week, I still don't feel the urge to plough through my Economics notes . None whatsoever. Apparently, I'm still in the holiday mood. Anyway, the only reason why I'm here is because I'm spared free for the night of delayed Debit Notes or Dysfunctional Graphs that comes along with weird frustrating equations. Also, I have just found out (shame on me!) that 5Xmom tagged me on the 5 Reasons Why I Blog (which undeniably, seems to be circulating widely around the attendees of the Penang Bloggers' Meet!). Well, Here's my top 5 reasons of blogging.

1. Destiny.
The truth is, I started blogging at the beginning of 2004 when I was in my 2nd year at school (a few people might've remember). No one that I know then, had any idea what blogging was, I assume. I came to know of it through the person whom I was sitting next to in class then when he told me about his brother's blog. He didn't even know what as it when he told me it was a website. Of course, I thought of it as a personal website too, at first. I checked the blog out and was thrilled by the way he had pictures and the way he got to write his own stuff on his "website" as his brother was studying in Singapore then. The "website" baffled me completely back then. I seemed to have difficulty in navigating through the long list of archives, silently trying to make out which posts came first.

Being the adventurous online little git I was back then, I signed up for an account for Blogger straight away. When I first started, the blog was mainly filled with little jottings of musings of a little boy (posted hourly!) and pictures from the mobile phone. There was a point when I got bored of it and dumped the blog and I even saw it as a burden to keep it updated. Of course, that was a way different blog then. It wasn't until late two years ago (2005) when blogging became the new black, that I began to explore out of the confines of my own blog, into others' blogs as well and my, what revelations it held for me. It turned from rants and babbles of daily nonsense and events to writing. Yes, it turned into writing from the angst-filled posts by a swearing teenager after I got sick of those uncapitalized posts and cutesy texts. I realize the potential it had to become something respectable and different from the other blogs out there. And that is how I decided to keep blogging as it is.

2. Remaining Infamous Unpopular While Not Being Anonymous.
Another reason that's been keeping me blogging is because I don't get a lot of people visiting my blog. As hard as it is to believe, I'm not lying. Of course, all the other less-known bloggers out there, including me, do fancy the compliment or acknowledgement from close friends or new people once in a while on the contents of the blog but too much of it for me would make me nonetheless uncomfortable. Knowing me, I'm neither the kind of person who constantly gets good stuff to write about in a blog nor do I have the ability to talk about anything and make it sound funny and interesting all the while. Imagine me being Matthew Sia poking fun at a Marie France Bodyline ad while posing in it? Or maybe the next KinkyBlueHobbit, entertaining the world with such a blog worthy life! Ain't gonna happen. As absurd as it may sound, I don't actually fancy the idea of people reading my writings, especially when it comes to families (there goes my one stop shop for gossip!).

If you haven't already notice, the blog consists of three main elements which are family, school and my life in general. Three simple elements that remains close to the heart. Last year especially, was a reasonably good year for me, where I managed to blog about almost all the important events. This year, though, I'm doubtful if I even have the time to blog about important occasions. I have my fingers crossed. So I'm guessing that it's probably due to my blog contents that aren't really newsworthy or blog worthy (so to speak) that I still maintain a low profile blog that not many people know off and where comments come by pretty rarely. This explains why I don't really favor giving my blog out (promoting) to everyone I meet or posting it as chat programs nickname. Which is a good thing in my way. Then again, the preference for an infamous blog may have derived from the fact that maybe it's not generally blogging I want to be famous for. In fact, it's something else that I would like to be acknowledged for through blogging and photography is just one of them!

3. Growth.
The idea of growth - or wanting to grow - came right after I started writing on the blog. Blogging, as everyone may have noticed, is a very intriguing way to keep track of the growth of a blogger, whether it's emotionally, physically or anything really! Of course, I haven't seen a blog that was specially set up to keep track of the blogger's own height, waist size, vocal range or length of hair, just yet but keeping a blog itself is already enough to keep track of your personal development. Honestly, it really leaves me amazed, confused, embarrassed and some of the time, proud at myself during the rare times when I browse through my monthly archive. It's a thoroughly good way to reflect on the past and be a good judge over a certain matter and then improving from there. The archive works as an online memory to certain details that one might've forgotten over the months (or years!).

My idea of growth includes me growing creatively. English, for instance. Now, I know my English isn't exactly perfect (with the occasional "grammer" mistakes!) but I also know it ain't too shabby either! Having the authority to be writing on anything that matters to me here is a very good way for someone like me to expand. You know, to experiment with different kinds of writing styles, vocabulary, expressing all sorts of emotions that an average adult couldn't possibly have the time to and the likes, rather than the stereotype teen who unnecessarily punctuates widely and splashes colors on their bold written words like a blank canvas needing the artist to throw paint on it! Seriously. People will read if their interested! If they don't, then they're not. Also, to grow in certain skills like photography, HTML and what not.

4. Something To Call My Own.
I admit, the blog sure does come in handy when it's frustration or anger that I'm trying to vent out. Ironic, yes, I know but having the knowledge that I still have something personal at home that I can turn to at the end of the day do sounds a little comforting. It's like having a pet or a mate to come home to. After all, keeping a blog certainly comes across as a responsibility to me. A commitment. A motivation to keep me going on the rough days. Ever since I fell into relapse a few months after blogging, actually cursing the damn thing and feeling liberated thereafter that I need not blog anymore, I figured I wasn't ready for any kind of commitment and I was troubling myself through blogging, thinking that it was actually compulsory to post everything - from farting to burping. Thank God, I've seen that blogging needn't be treated as a written CCTV. And now, being able to still keep it going (for as long as I can) is and achievement itself, to me that is. It's a sign of me being able to commit myself into (at least) one thing. Trust me, there are times when I feel like deleting the blog but it has become a part of my life, albeit a tiny little portion of that life.

Am I taking blogging a little too seriously here? Hope not.

5. To Share.
I may be reluctant to open up to people, but I suppose a that tiny little portion in me still does feel like sharing at least a little bit of me to the world. I'm not exactly sure if there's anyone out there to share it with but I'm just putting myself out there. The thought of actually exchanging cultures with a foreign kid has always been at the back of my head. The foreign kid, frequently asking about the celebration, tradition and heritage and vice versa besides exchanging ideas has never failed to put me light at heart. A pen pal of some sort. Call it a dream never come true as the prospects of meeting foreign 17 year olds that still have interest at the world outside their own is seemingly growing thinner. 12 or 13 year olds, maybe but 17 year olds without iPods who still take time off to be with the family, hardly. Fret not, though. I do have a couple of avid readers whom I sometimes really keep the blog updated for. Namely, my 21 year old sister, studying at KL. She does, check back every now and then to see what's going on with the family as I give a pretty good insight of the happenings I must say. Funny though, she doesn't leave trails of her visit. Wonder why.

Wait a minute. There goes my chance of bitching about her once more! Dammit.

So there's my top 5 reasons for blogging (or still keeping it going). What about yours?

1. Adelyn.
2. Nicholas.
3. teMMe.
4. Christal.
5. Hui Wen.

Katharine McPhee's Open Toes.

powered by ODEO

I been needin' a girls night out
I got nothin' but hand-me-down's
I need a quick fix
To make these clothes hotter
No matter what it is
A girls gotta
The pedicure
White tip french
(french)
Legs don't make no sense
(sense)
Not rich
But I bought a diamond anklet
Keep it on
It goes with my outfit
Hey

Hey let's go
If they're not too high
Too low
I'll take them home
In purple, red, or gold
Cuz I know them boys
They like
Those open toes

Jeans all black
Hair slicked back
Baseball cap
Still cute in my open toes
Mini skirt
Feet don't hurt
Just a flirt
Too cute in my open toes
Work or play
Night or day
Do my thing
Too cute in my open toes
Never too many open toes
A girl needs plenty open toes

I'm lovin' these sling-back shoes
I like the way they stay loose
I could wear them all day
And listen to the click-clack
Shoes like this make me hate flats
Swipe that card I'm good
Another pair in leather and wood
I'm a sucker for a name brand
Skip the rack
And stick to the game plan

Hey let's go
If they're not too high
Too low
I'll take them home
(I'll take them home)
In purple, red, or gold
Cuz I know them boys
They like those open toes
Those open toes

Jeans all black
Hair slicked back
Baseball cap
Still cute in my open toes
Mini skirt
Feet don't hurt
Just a flirt
Too cute in my open toes
Work or play
Night or day
Do my thing
Too cute in my open toes
Never too many open toes
A girl needs plenty open toes

I'm feelin' down
That's when I go out
And shop till I drop
Everywhere that I want
Cuz nothing feels better
Than spending my treasure
On me
Finally
I'm where I'm supposed to be

Jeans all black
Hair slicked back
Baseball cap
Still cute in my open toes
Mini skirt
Feet don't hurt
Just a flirt
Too cute in my open toes
Work or play
Night or day
Do my thing
Too cute in my open toes
Never too many open toes
A girl needs plenty open toes

Put em on
Put em on
Let's go
Put em on
Put em on
Let's go
Only got one life
Feelin' good tonight
And this girls not stayin' home

Put em on
Put em on
Let's go
Put em on
Put em on
Let's go
Only got one life
Feelin' good tonight
And this girls not stayin' home
(Danger)

Jeans all black
Hair slicked back
Baseball cap
Still cute in my open toes
Mini skirt
Feet don't hurt
Just a flirt
Too cute in my open toes
Work or play
Night or day
Do my thing
Too cute in my open toes
Never too many open toes
A girl needs plenty open toes

Put em on
Put em on
Let's go
Put em on
Put em on
Let's go
(Let's go)
Only got one life
Feelin' good tonight
And this girls not stayin' home

Put em on
Put em on
Let's go
Put em on
Put em on
Let's go
Only got one life
Feelin' good tonight
And this girls not stayin' home

A Day Before School.

You know, I didn't really wanna blog about this first right after disappearing for an entire week for the Chinese New Year holidays. It wouldn't make much sense to me if I blogged about it after talking about my prosperous preparations. Plus, it made me feel like I'm breaching some kind of a blogging rule to be talking about this first before mentioning anything at all about my holidays. That was IF there was a blogging rule to start with in the first place. But anyways, to hell with the imaginary rules and priorities. I'm just gonna go ahead and talk about it. I'm sure most of the people who were there have probably bragged blogged about it by now, accompanied by all the pictures. If not, they probably have a lot of unwritten posts still wired in that thick skulls of theirs. Just like me.

Well, I attended the much-raved-about Penang Bloggers' Meet yesterday with Edward. Considering the fact that I merely have any social skills to even talk about, I wasn't fond of being there alone. Much to my disappointment, it didn't quite turn out like the way I imagined it to be - the camwhoring and the meeting of new people. Not that I'm a fan of camwhoring or that I'm able to be the live of the party as Cedric obviously was. I was still bummed, nonetheless. I guess I paid the price for being late. I probably missed out that headstart everyone got when they got to introduce themselves and their blog. Even if there wasn't an introduction session, I'm sure I missed the name-tag session. Everyone had stickers with their names (and nicknames) and their blog written over and pasted on their shirt or sleeve. I considered myself lucky to even make it in time for the group shot.

Everyone was taking pictures with one another - cameras flashing here and there that for a moment, it felt like I was like a deranged fan looking at celebrities strutting the red carpet, getting my eyes partially blind. Well, arriving late made me feel like I still needed more time to get along with the others. They seemed to have bonded over the hour that I missed as I was waiting for mom at the massage parlor. Especially the girls. My, they were hugging each other for the cameras by the time I got there, which was pretty cool, showing that bloggers are generally very open and sociable. Another thing was, the bloggers I saw there also proved that bloggers are pretty much ordinary beings with big hearts, big minds and a passion for blogging (duh!). Not everyone is perfect as I thought and it's a good thing that we as bloggers are still pretty much down to earth people and thankfully, not braggers!

You know, another factor that could've caused my sudden "system failure" then was the pure fact that I'm so overwhelmed by everyone there. I've probably checked out all the blogs that were listed on the PBM attendance list and due to my inevitable forgetfulness and my sheer incompetence when it comes to names, I could barely recognize anyone or remember any names when I was in the pool of psyched-up Penang bloggers. Which is kind of shameful (if not, embarrassing!) for a guy like me. Let's just say, I didn't behave the way I should, showing up in Nordstrom and a pair of Dockers. The fact is, I'm nowhere near confident and I have nothing else to say in my defence, except that I was from church which explains my fully-black attire. So in layman's terms, I was flabbergasted by the people there till I was unable to make a move. Besides, no one hardly knows my blog and it'd be totally weird for me to barge in on someone else's photoshoot to say that my blog's at It's A Durian Life. Furthermore, I had school the next day and that already pretty much dampen my spirits already.

Well, lame excuses and theories, I know. Those remain as my thoughts, though. At least it's something different than the usual "That was so fun!" or "Great meeting you guys, there!" kinda experience. On the bright side, I did manage to grab a couple (yes, only a couple!) of shots with only a couple of bloggers that I could still muster all the memory in me to remember who they are. I got a picture with Logic Yuan, the main organizer for the whole event, who've gained a little more than fame for himself since he started blogging with his signature bright orange blog and cool contents. I suppose having about 19, 936 since 2 years ago can be considered good enough to be called somewhat of a celeb famed blogger. Meeting Logic Yuan itself was already a good experience, seeing how friendly and warm of a person he happened to be. He was more busy tending to the multiple cameras for everyone rather than being able to sit down to chat.

I also timidly asked for a shot with Jolene (or better known as Jayelle) before she took off for the mall. That was about as far as I could go too. She was in a hurry and I couldn't even remember telling her who I was. In short, we didn't even have a decent introduction and all I asked for was a picture. Damn it. She's probably scratching her head in front of the monitor wondering who the hell I was. I guess I was prepared for that. What with the popularity of my blog, I'm not surprised that people don't even think I'm a blogger. I had someone who came up to me and asked me, "Where is your blog?". I was so dumbfounded that the only reply I could think of is, "Online?". Of course, I only mentioned the title of my blog and that got the person's imaginary question marks popping out like daisies around the person's head. I don't even have a decent amount of readers, come to think of it.

All in all, I did have a reasonably good time watching the other bloggers chit chat and most of the time, posing for the camera. One thing I do know is to get the best out of bad situations! I can tell the event was definitely a success with everyone looking like they were all having a good time and feedback. I met some other bloggers that I can remember as well like 5xmom and Timothy Tiah, both of whom I didn't got the chance to take pictures with too. 5xmom is a someone I know personally and I would feel awkward to be asking for my pictures to be taken with hers. I'm definitely looking forward to the next event as such and you can definitely expect me to be the early bird then! Looking forward for a chance to widen my miserably small circle of friends. Until then, this is definitely something totally different about a bloggers' meet.

P.S : For the full attendance list, go here and check them all out!

Prosperous Preparations.

The Lunar New Year, as everyone can notice, is just a couple of days away. We've been pretty much busy this time of year around albeit the annual merrymaking of kuih kapit or peanut cookies. Well, it hasn't been exactly a year yet since kong kong's death so the children decided to skip everything this year. That's right, not even ang pows (red packets) this year to be looking forward to. Of course, it's only entitled to the family members that had had a death last year but not to those outsiders. Yeah, it maybe good news for the parents to be saving on ang pows this year. At the same time, we children are still entitled to receive ang pows from anyone who wishes to give. That wasn't until mom and dad decided to cease all forms of visiting activities this year. They figured if they can't give ang pows, it wouldn't be nice for us to be receiving them either. Bummer it is, I know! Funny though, it must be that sense of respect that none of us 3 siblings even dared to argue! Somehow, I remember dad hinting to the three of us that there is going to be at least one ang pow to look forward to from him!

Seeing that we're not as busy as previous years, it's surprising to even see that we're still busy doing endless last minute shopping at the daily wet market. At this time of the year, the wet markets usually open up till Chinese New Year eve, allowing the housewives and maids who are slaving in the kitchen slicing and dicing, preparing the traditional reunion dinner to order their chatting husbands to buy the forgotten abalones or the insufficient chicken breasts at any given time. It's fun to actually see old grannies or middle-aged housewives with their permed hair and manicured nails still bickering with the butcher on the price of the pork leg with a basket hung around one arm in the middle of the night! It's one of those things that makes the season festive with anticipation. The markets all over Penang are also decked out with New Year decorative ornaments of red and gold and fake pussy willows. Considering that this is the year of the Pig/Boar, it wouldn't any surprise to find the local shirt peddler hanging red t-shirts imported from China (or even Vietnam!) with printed pig/boar motifs around his huge umbrella while yelling out prices to busy passersby. Hell, I even saw one women lingerie peddler selling full sets of red lingerie with little boars printed on the side of the bras and panties!

At least the situation of the market isn't half as maniacal as the situation in the malls, judging by my visit with mom to the wet market. See, we were shopping for groceries last week and the mall was packed. That was only the grocery section of the place and we were practically snatching for trolleys. It was a bumper-to-bumper trolley-to-trolley situation where the flow was practically crawling and the lanes were flooded by shopping carts and shoppers while everybody else were rubbing shoulders (and asses!) with strangers trying to get their way out of the crazy crowd. Cartons of kam (mandarin oranges) and canned drinks were flying off the shelves and tonnes of hampers were being displayed and packed at the same time over at the counter. The queue at the cashier's (as well as the hamper counter) was inexplicably long and it felt like we were running out of air from the crowd when I started to sweat! Sweating in the shopping mall, now that's the first!

What with Grace back and all, we've been visiting the malls even more often, doing last minute shopping. Apparently, we weren't the only ones doing last minute shopping. Everyone we saw in the stores were Chinese and one could easily hear them say, "Eh, can wear this for the first day of new hor?" while holding up a top to show the other person. The stores in the malls were, undoubtedly, displaying red garments through their windows and nonetheless, displaying their red products on the outer side of their shelves. The one time we see red everywhere - from red underwears to red socks, they have 'em all! Not only that, all of the stores are even blasting a wide range of Chinese New Year tunes - from the annoying 'Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi ni ya' to the ever nagging 'chai shen dao'! Seriously. It's really not necessary to be switching on that kinda music to a point near-deafening to your customers! It usually sends Grace and I both running for cover at the sound of it. The banks must be running fry on cash at this time around!

Speaking of music, I've gotten pretty agitated with Chinese New Year music. I used to love them and could even sing to them at one point but not now. I don't know what it is. It just bugs me. The constant clangs of cymbals and fireworks at the background seem to have taken its toll on me. I suppose, that's why the house is unusually quiet this year. Plus, there's no red lanterns or fake firecrackers made out of lights to decorate the house this year seeing that we've encountered two deaths in total the last year and mom didn't think it would be nice to hang anything up since we've declared that we were mourning. Not even the traditional chai (red cloth/banner) over the door this year. Kind of dampens the mood of the red and hot season. Fortunately, we don't believe in feng shui, so not putting up these things wouldn't a life luck-threatening situation as Lilian Too would describe it. While we didn't fall for the over-commercialised feng shui, mom, however, fell for the ah pek's commercialism of good health and prosperity of the new year with the pots of flowers with names that bring prosperous meanings (if translated into Chinese) he was selling at the pathway!

Speaking of plants that brings prosperity, the plants outside the comforts of the home don't look so prosperous to me. The recent dry spell has left everything dehydrated. The fields have turned from luscious green to a pale brown of sorts. Leaves are falling like snow while little plants dry up and wither in agony. A dangerous sign of global warming? The sun isn't much kind on us humans either as its rays burns and leaves an undesired tan on your skin. While sun shades are a big hit amongst shoppers, not to mention a must-have this season, it's normal to see people walking down the streets or coming out of a building (withdrawing cash, I suppose) squinting or blocking their eyes from the abrasive sun. The intolerable heat has also been raising the amount of occupants at the local hospital. As the Chinese says it, the inner heat of the body will lead to the low immunity of the body. No matter, the Chinese sing seh will have the extra income for ang pows. And of all people who could've fallen into the curse of the dry spell, it's Adrian and Edmund, both whom are religiously taking the sing seh's prescription of bugs, beetles and plant roots.

No doubt, I've put on a few extra pounds since Grace's return (last week) that now I'm not even sure if I can fit in into those clothes of mine. I mean, with all those New Year delicacies of peanut cookies, kuih bangkit, kuih bahulu (bought ones, of course!) and the likes plus all the outside food we've been having in the midst of our shopping (too lazy to drive back home for meals), it would be an understatement to just say that I've gotten fatter. Oh, I don't even know how am I going to pull through the New Year itself - all those greasy food that both my grandmothers prepare and all those tidbits that come bundled in hampers. Really, Chinese New Year is also one of those rare occasions where there'll be food everywhere you go (mostly, leftovers from the reunion dinner). Well, if I don't have the time to do anything else besides eating or exchanging old stories with amah by the side of her deck chair, a very Happy Chinese New Year to everyone!

V.

Initially, I was planning to spend this Valentine's day alone (as usual) watching Valentine. Ironic, I know but since it was Valentine's day and I had a sudden urge of getting myself scared or tensed up, instead of being all mushy and teary over a hopelessly romantic movie, Valentine came into mind. I suppose, the sudden urge of wanting to bite my nails on a lonely night came when all I could remember about the show was the "mask" that I could only connect with the recent Carver from Nip/Tuck and come to think of it, it's been a good 6 years since I last watched the movie out of a borrowed pirated 2-piece-CD which was of reasonable quality. After all, Denise Richards (big fan of hers!) is in the movie and guess who else, Katherine Heigl (Izzy from Grey's Anatomy!)! Who would ever know!

Anyways, I ended up spending my entire night, watching two romantic movies on satellite TV. I swear I wasn't planning on the first movie. I actually thought of using that time to at least have the courtesy to update the blog which is almost neglected by me. We'll save that for some other time, if I still have any. Back to the story. No one, in their right mind, would ever think that I'd ended up watching a 1992 classic love story between a bodyguard and a celebrity. I've gotta admit something although this might be kind of shameful, but I've never watched The Bodyguard before tonight. I probably did when I was younger but I have no recognition or whatsoever at all about the movie. Heck, I don't even remember who the hell Kevin Costner is! Though I did remember the "vintage" video quality. Kind of like Ghost. Damn, I can't remember a thing about it. Pretty pathetic, huh? These are all-time-classic-favourites and I can't even remember them!

Well, The Bodyguard didn't turn out to be the movie I've always thought it was. I mean, how could and 8 year old figure out that Rachel was going to be assassinated? All I did remember as a kid was that it was a movie with Whitney Houston in it and that pretty much sums it all up. The quality of the video didn't really attracted me but since I so happened to clicked on the right channel at the right time when the movie was about to start, I thought I'd give it a shot. Personally, I couldn't see what the fuss was all about when people talk about this movie. It certainly didn't deal much with the "romance" part. The story was more focused on the bodyguard protecting her life rather than the relationship they had. Kind of like and older version of Transporter, dont'cha think? Call me unromantic but I just didn't feel the chemistry of love in the movie. C'mon, give a dateless guy a break and shower him with more love on Valentine's instead of the decision between work and love.

On the other hand, Hallmark channel was a bit kinder to all the lonely people in the world, forced to eating ice-cream in front of the television on the couch with no one to hold or talk to by their side. Me not included! I'm just spending time, apparently enjoying the single life. None of the overpriced proverbial box of chocolates or teddy bear wrapped prettily with bows and ribbons around a bouquet of red roses that I need to deal with. Seriously, Valentine's Day is a "day" that's been over-commercialised and put unnecessary emphasis on! It's all made up to make guys spend that little extra cash to "show their love" or even "prove their devotion". Oh please. Birthdays and anniversaries are far more worth spending that diamond necklace on your loved ones, compared to some made-up "holiday"! Either way, being me, I'd prefer buying something more longlasting or at least, functional - that transparent toaster to add to her kitchen utensils collection!

My, do I get side-tracked easily.

I suppose Falling In Love With The Girl Next Door isn't easy, especially when both your moms are on an endless and mindless feud about Halloween parties, secret recipes and who gets the groceries first. Leaves both the lovers in a pretty messed up situation. Well, lesson learnt here, don't let mummy handle too much of your life or it'll scare the bride away! I must say I enjoyed the 2nd movie better than the 1st one. A heartwarming love story with a little tinge of comedy seems to be perfect for a loner on Valentine's. Though, I did allowed myself of the indulgence of some mocha flavored and chocolate chip cookies and some yogurt after that. Pretty much had my throat all tied up before I decided to put the cookies aside and curl up in the big pillows with some blanket to enjoy the rest of the movie.

On the other hand, Grace was out with Joe Han for the entire night doing God-knows-what. Didn't even see her tip-toed into the house, holding her purse and stilettos with both hands while Joe Han shuts the door, making the slightest noise. Seriously. A little drama could really spice things up. For what's worth, Happy Valentine's Day to all those who still think it's an actual "holiday" to stack up on roses and chocolates and also to those who still pronounces it as "Valemtimes Day" and have not a clue about this day. But to those who doesn't, welcome to the club! Also, I got hooked on Akon's new single Don't Matter on Valentine's Day and I think it's much better of a song compared to those two singles before this, which I thought were a bit x-rated. Personal preferences, maybe? This is as far as romantic I can go by myself on Valentine's, mind you. Check it out below.

January KL Trip.

One thing that I've gotta mention during this trip was that the stares and odd looks people give when they see someone with a camera really disses me off. I thought Penang was irritating enough but to have people practically eyeing my every move was far worse than what I imagined. Well, I guess this is what photographers have to put up with, huh?

Anyway, it was only, as I said, a fully business trip. We took off on Tuesday night and was back in Penang by Wednesday night. The prize-giving was just a small occasion but having the winner's pictures exhibited at Midvalley Megamall for an entire month - now that's worth it. I only took a few shots here and there when my hands are free. I didn't even have the chance to snap in the LRT as it was so jammed packed and I wasn't keen on inviting another dozen pair of eyes following my every move.

Somehow, one day in KL felt so short. I mean, with all the zooming vehicles and scurrying people all over the place, it would surprise me I didn't feel at all rushed. Let's just say time passes by very quickly when you're having fun. Lunch with Grace followed by Starbucks has already occupied the whole afternoon before we had to rush back to be in time to board our bus. Plus the traffic congestion and what not... phew!

Penang Bloggers Meet.

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The Penang Bloggers' Meeting Central - Bloggers Meet will be held on the 25th of Feb 2007 at E-Gate Starbucks!

Date: 25th of February 2007 (Sunday)

Venue: E-Gate Starbucks

Time: 11.30 a.m.

Attire: Black or White
(note:Black or White doesn't mean you have to wear the same colour from top to toe,as long as your shirt/blouse/dress or whatsoever is predominantly black or predominantly white)

This Bloggers meet is open to all bloggers! Yeah and I mean all Bloggers!

You just need to have a BLOG! Don't care which server you're using,as long as its a BLOG!

Don't worry if you're not a Penangite or you're a foreigner, you just need to be in Penang at that time!

Enough said! So you coming or what?