Working on Weekend

Last week...

TalkBig : We will need to finish by Friday. Then we will sent to client on Friday, and no need to come to work iver the weekend.

Papi to Mami : I think we have to work over the weekend.

Yesterday...

TalkBig : We will finish tomorrow, and then send to the client on Sunday.

Papi to Mami : Told ya we are working on Saturday.

Saturday...

TalkBig : We finish by Sunday, I will go through it, then send to the client on Monday.

Papi to Mami : kekeke....

There goes our Weekend....

Handsome

Few moments ago...

Papi : Eh..Mami. Today, got 2 persons called me 'leng cai' (handsome) at two different locations, at two different times.

Mami : Huh? Really ah?

Papi : Yalar. This morning at the foodcourt, the nasi lemak lady. And now, the fruit lady.

Mami : kekeke...nolar, they say only. You see that A-pek, they called him leng cai also.

Papi : No lar, this is different. Their face ah, dead serious, you know. *ahem* maybe because of my new shoes ah?

Mami : kekeke....

Papu?

Mami : Yiyi, where is Papi?

Yiyi : *Look at Papi* Papu....

Mami : Can you say "Papi"?

Yiyi : Pa...Pu...

Mami : No, not Papu, look at Mami's mouth. Pa...Pi...

Yiyi : Pa.....Pu.....Pa.....Pu

Papi : *pengsan*

Yiyi's First Visit to Berjaya Time Square

We took the monorail to Berjaya Time Square with Yiyi. With so many people and kids around, she was excited! Sitting in her stroller, kicking occasionally, she looked left and right, as if she didn't want to miss a thing.


"Mami, Mami, I want to see the roller coaster!"

Yup, we went up to the fifth floor (or was it the sixth?) to check out the roller coaster. But something funny happened when we were in the lift on the way up.

We got into the lift to go up to the upper floor. On the way up, a group of people came into the lift, including a middle aged (Maged) man. It was quite a squeeze, and Yiyi's stroller was forced to the back of the lift, with the Maged Man in front of her. Suddenly Yiyi reached out her hand and touched the Maged Man's crotch!! Mami was horrified, not to mention embarrased. And in an instance Yiyi used her Eagle Claw kungfu and 'plucked the grapes'. It was too late. Mami and I quickly pulled her hand back. I quickly did some damage controls by pretending to scold Yiyi. She laughed.

Later..
Mami : he he he Yiyi, you are so naughty ah..

Papi : ha ha I think the Maged Man thought it was you la

Mami : No lar, where got?

Papi : Seriously, because when he turned around, he only saw you, and not Yiyi who's lower.

Mami : Aiya, Yiyi, naughty ah you...

kekekeke...

Berjaya Time Square was surprisingly less crowded compared to...say MidValley or Suria KLCC. And it was Sunday. Less 'happenning', I would say. Furthermore, not all shoplots are occupied. There were a few events, a slimming center showcase, Canon/beauty pageant thingy and a scrabble competition, but the crowd was just not there.


You will not get this shot on a weekend at Suria KLCC or MidValley.

Yiyi's First Monorail Ride

Last Sunday, Yiyi took her first monorail ride.


"Look Mami, the train is coming!"

We parked our car at Tun Sambanthan (free parking he he he) and took the monorail to Imbi aka Berjaya Time Square. It was also the first ride for Yiyi's grandpa and grandma. The ticket price, which depends on the distant, costs Rm1.60 per trip from Tun Sambanthan to Imbi.

Inside the train, she was a bit quiet, which is unusual, especially when we sit down while carrying her. I think she was just checking out the surroundings.

Even the driver took some time off to play with her.


"Look Mami, no steering wheel"

Blur Sotong No.3

Yesterday...

Papi's Bro : Err....Mami, did you see my mobile phone ah?

Mami : No. Where did you left it?

Papi's Bro : I don't know. I am looking for it.

Mami : I didn't see it. Try calling it, and when it rings, you should be able to locate it.

Papi's Bro : Ya....err...but do you remember what my number is?

Mami : ???

Yiyi's got a new haircut.

Her hair is growing quite fast, compared to other babies. So last weekend, we gave her a new haircut!


"Baby Doll look"

And the maestro behind this is......*drum rollllll* ... me!

It was during her bath time, Mami held her, and played with her, trying to distract her attention. I used my fingers to flip and clip her hair, and then snip snip snip!!

So how? Can or not? he he he Move over Vidal Sasson, step aside Thomas (& Guy)! Here comes Papi!!

Only in Malaysia...

Only in Malaysia...that in a concert attended by thousands, instead of waving Zippo lighters or glowing sticks, they waved empty mineral water bottles.

Only in Malaysia...that the Taiwanese host made announcements, through out the concert, looking for missing person. She even got FIR to do the announcement. "Ah...can Miss Chin A Lian come to the right side of the stage because your boyfriend Mr. Lim Kam Bing is looking for you.". The host who looked and sounded iritated by this later complained "Hey, I am not a supermarket sales assistant, you know?".

Only in Malaysia...that the same host had to announce a car number plate so that the stupid owner can remove his/her car because the car was blocking traffic. Amat memalukan!

If you watched TVBS Super Concert held in Stadium Larkin, JB, broadcasted over Astro Channel 19 last night, you will know what I mean.

Crawling

Yesterday...

Yiyi was crawling on the floor.

Papi's mom : Look at that. She crawls like you.

Papi : Hah?

Papi's mom : You crawled like that also when you were a baby.

Papi : Is it?

Papi's mom : Yea, ha haha, like a snake.

Yiyi : arrhgh...eehhh.....arrhh......ssssssss....

Yiyi was crawling, but not like a baby-crawl with hands and knee. But more like a soldier crawling on a battle field. Like father like daughter??

Corruption Perceptions Index

Malaysia ranks 39th among 146 countries, fell two spots from 37th among 133 countries last year. On a scale of 1 to 10, Malaysia scored 5.0, downed o.2 points from last year.

In The Star:

Graft index ranks Malaysia among ‘cleanest’ in Asia
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) rated by Transparency International (TI) for this year has slipped 0.2 points, but is still among the top five in Asia.

[...]

TI Malaysia president Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim said the slip was marginal and did not necessarily mean that there was increased corruption in the country, but was nevertheless a worrying trend.

Calling for more concrete action in fighting graft, he said it was obvious that negative perceptions “continue to dog us in a very fundamental way.”

[...]
Tunku Abdul Aziz said that although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had introduced several measures to fight graft, Malaysia remained a “victim of perceptions” due to “a great deal of scepticism.”

The negative perceptions generated over the years would not be easily removed, he told a press conference, adding that there was a need to “go beyond cosmetic” and place substance above rhetoric in the fight against corruption.

Topping the CPI 2004 ranking is Finland, followed by New Zealand, while Denmark and Iceland share the third spot. The last spot is shared by Bangladesh and Haiti.

Malaysia among 'cleanest' in Asia? So now, although we scored a 5.0, it's still OK because we are the 'cleanest' among the 'dirtiest'?? Here's some of my experiences this year:

Traffic Experince 1 :

Latuk : Wah, manyak laju ah?

Papi : Ya ka, encik?

Latuk : Yalar..

Papi : Tolong lar, encik.

Latuk : Brapa?

Papi : 20 boleh ka? *open wallet with 50 notes and 10 notes (Mistake!!)*

Latuk : *saw my 50 notes* 50! Angkat lesen mali, taruk sama lesen...

Papi : *took out a 50 notes, and driving license, fold 50 notes and cover with license* nah, encik.

Latuk : OK *pretend to write on notebook, then hand the driving license over* nah, bawak kreta baik baik ah! *smile*

Papi : *whispering* KNN, TNMCH


Traffic Experince 2=

Latuk : Tadi bawak laju ah..

Papi : Mana ada encik, saya bawak biasa jugak..

Latuk : Saya pun nampak lu pakai itu handphone.

Papi : Tapi saya tada bawak handphone ini hari..

Latuk : Aiya, sudah mau hari raya lar, mau mintak sikit belanja lar...

Papi : Ah? .... brapa encik mau?

Latuk : Aiya, brapa pun boleh lar...

Papi : nah *hand over RM10*

Latuk : he heheh selamat hari raya ah!

Papi : TNMCH!!


Bandaraya =

Papi : Kita buat semua ikut plan punya.

Skinny : OK, biat saya check dulu.....

Papi : OK.

Skinny : *check around the house, holding house renovation plan* bagus..

Papi : yalar, semua kita ikut plan.

Skinny : *at the car porch* Eh? ini tembok mesti mau pecah!

Papi : Hah? apasal?

Skinny : Plan cakap mesti 40% ventilation, ini tembok tada 40%.

Papi : Apa?! Itu tembok atas semua kosong, itu more than 40% lar.

Skinny : Tarak, tarak!! Mesti mau pecah, kalau tak mau, saya tak mau sain.

Later.....

PlanDrawer : Dia mintak settle lar.

Papi : Hah? Apa ni?! Saya sudah ikut plan mah.

PlanDrawer : Itu Skinny mintak RM150.

Papi : Aiyo!

PlanDrawer : Yalar, diaorang ini macam lar, dia tak mau sain.

Papi : Cheh!! *hand over Rm150*

Malaysia among cleanest in Asia? Yeah, right.

Ghost Stories

BerukBoy emailed me, asking me where is my the second half of my ghost story I posted sometime ago. Well, BB, actually there was no part 2 :P

Personally, I have never had any encounter with visitor from the other side, just stories shared by close relatives, including my parents, and Mami.

Here's a collection of true stories for an early Haloween.

Scream.
I was a kid when this happenned. I didn't experience it first hand, but was told by my father.

One day we went back to my mom's kampung in Kuala Kubu Bharu for the Chinese New Year. It was about 7pm, when we were about to leave for home, when a call from my Aunt stopped us.

She lives not far from KKB, about 15 minutes drive, in a small town near Tanjung Malim. Her daughter, my cousin, was possessed by two ghosts, a male and a female. Everytime she closed her eyes, she will see the two ghosts. It was believed that the ghosts followed her back, when she had an outings with friends and spent a night in an abandon temple.

My father, he was like a 'sifu', well at least to our relatives. He recites mantras and writes mantras on yellow paper as amulets. But he has no experience in exorcism. Like William Hung would say "I have no professional training". So my parents went to look for my Aunt, while I was left in the care of my uncle. When they reached her home, the house was quiet. My aunt was in the her daughter's room, with her sisters. My cousin was lying on the bed, and seems to be exhausted.

My father proceeded to asked for a glass of water, some salt, and some rice (uncooked). Then he burned an amulet with mantras on it, into the water and mixed the salt and rice into the water. And with this 'special liquid/holy water', he went around the house, and sprinkled the water around, while reciting some mantras and prayers. Few minutes later he returned to my cousin's room, and she was feeling much better. And she said the ghosts were no longer around. Hey! It worked! But this is not the interesting part.

The interesting part was when my parents were about to leave the house. At the front door, a crowd has already gathered! Almost the entire neighbourhood! Puzzled, my Aunt and my parents asked them why were they gathering there. They said they heard someone screaming. It was a very loud, painful and sad scream. It was a lady voice. As if someone was being tortured! And she was crying as well. But the weird thing is, neither my parents or my Aunt or my cousins in the house heard it. Ohh..how I wished I was there, at that moment!

Later we learned that the female ghost was gone, but the male ghost continued to harass her. I guess the male ghost was more powerful! We recommended a sifu to exorcise her, and she did went for a session, and the male ghost did left her.

Great GrandMa.
This story happened to my father when he was a kid, about 10 years old in China. That time, my grandpa, being a single father, sent his kids (my father, my uncles and my Aunt) back to China due to his work obligation in Malaysia. And they stayed there for 2 years, under the care of my father's grandparents. My great grandpa and great grandma lar.

My great grandma kicked the bucket when my dad was about 10 years old. A few days after she passed away, my dad was alone in the house in the morning. He was sitting on a chair, next to a table in the living room, and suddenly he felt very tired, but not asleep. He rested his head, sideway, on his arm on the table, his face facing the main door. Then suddenly he was frozen. He couldn't move. It was then he saw her. My great grandma. Walking though the main door, she slowly drifted into her room. My dad was very much awake, but could not move his body. He could clearly see her face, her body but not her legs, as it was kinda blurry, almost transparent. Few seconds later, she drifted out again from her room, turned her head to look at my dad, and smiled. Then she drifted to the main door and dissapeared. It was at this moment, my dad was 'freed'. In an instant, he jumped up, ran out of the house, across the field to his uncle working on the field. There, he hugged his uncle's leg hard, trembling. When he relates the story back to his uncle, he just laughed and said it is quite normal to see those things in China!

Well, that's a couple of the many stories he relates to us. Will share with you all in the future.....

Food Court

Last Sunday, we witnessed something disturbing at a food court. We were having dinner at a nearby food court in USJ, Mami and I, my parents and Yiyi.

When we were about to leave, my mom saw one of the food court staff returned with a half empty/half full glass of green-colored juice. Kiwi, I think. The staff then returned to the drink counter, scooped some ice and poured it into the glass to make it full. Then she left the glass on the counter.

At this point, my mom asked to us to see what will happen next. She suspected that the staff actually got this glass of Kiwi juice from another table where the patron did not finished his/her drink and left.

It must be about 5 minutes or so, then the same staff returned, got the glass full of Kiwi juice and ice, and delivered it to yet another table.

Normally in a food court, the food court operator handles the beverage stall. They would employed foreign workers to run the stall, to get orders from the customers and to deliver the drinks, while the BOSS manned the cashier. At the beginning of the day, each worker is given a specific sum of money, say RM20. This money is used to 'buy' the drinks. When the staff got orders from customers, he proceeds to place the order at the drinks counter. When the drinks are ready, he will bring the drinks to the cashier, where the BOSS sits, and pay to the BOSS (using his RM20 given to him earlier). Only then will he proceeds to deliver the drinks to the customers, and got the money back from the customers. At the end of the day, he will need to give the RM20 back to the BOSS.

By 'recycling' drinks, they will be able to make some extra money, since the BOSS wouldn't know that the drinks are being recycled. My father confirmed this and said it is possible. He used to work in a canteen when he was young, and he said it was normal. Unfinished cakes, noodles even drinks were 'recycled' so the seller made extra profit.

This really makes me think twice when ordering for drinks in the future.

Holiday in Langkawi - Part 2

Some of the pics taken in Langkawi:


The entrance to Barn Thai restaurant, after a long 450m walkway thru a thick mangrove.


The interior of Barn Thai.


The desert....yumm yumm...slurrrpppp...


The Seaweed Sea Dragon at the Aqua Centre


The Koi pond, another way of ripping tourist with kids, by selling small packets of fish food pellets to feed the fish


The Cable Car ride. This is the Middle station. Notice the cable car drop!!


That's the Peak Station, taken from the cable car.


View from Gunung Mat Chincang


Dataran Lang, near the Kuah Jetty and the Langkawi Fair Shopping Centre.


Sunset, Kuah.

Holiday in Langkawi

Colleague: So, how was it?

Papi : OK lar.

The standard reply.

But the truth is, it was the worst holiday we have ever been. :( (long entry ahead)

With a BIL who only cares about his stomach and sleeps and has only one word in his culinary dictionary; "CHINESE", a SIL who would tell you anything is fine with her, but will complained to you if it's not to her liking, a spoilt brat/nephew who puts his hand in everything he comes across, a brother/sister nephew/niece that will argue among themselves every now and then, and will throw his/her tantrums for no apparent reason, I should have guessed how the trip would turned out.

The trip went wrong even before we were in Langkawi. My BIL and SIL were late. We managed to check in just in time before the counter closed. The departure gate was at the end of the departure building, so quite a long walk. With a 'warga emas' (my MIL), and nephew and nieces who want to go to the toilet at the most inappropriate time, it was a nerve wrecking time-chasing experience. However, we arrived just in time for boarding. *phew*

The weather was fair in Langkawi. It was drizzling, but it stopped after a while. Went straight to our rented condo, a 3-bedrooms condominium. Upon entering our room, my SIL went straight to the biggest room and put her things there. And she asked us "Eh, where will you sleep?". Duh! You have taken the biggest room, of course my MIL will take the medium size room, so what does that leave us? The small, one bed room, of course. *sigh* But we managed to get some extra dirty matresses.

Dinner at Barn Thai was superb! Unfortunately (??), it was the only thing I enjoyed in this whole trip. :( If you planned to go to Barn Thai, there is a 450 meters walkway across a mangrove. It can be quite scary and dark at night, and also the wood plank can be slippery after rain. But the food, heavenly!

The next day, was the worst. Being the only patrons in the Condo, we only have breakfast ala carte. And boy, does it really take that long to prepare the breakfast? It took us almost 1 and a half hours waiting for them to prepare for our breakfast. And it's only american style breakfast, fried beehoon and fried koay tiew. WTF?

Then we went to the Aquarium. After the aquarium, my BIL said he's hungry. And he prefer Chinese. *sigh* During lunch, he said we should go back to sleep. WTH?? We decided that we could go separate ways. Since we rented 2 cars, my BIL could go back to sleep if he wants, while the others can go up Mount Mat Chincang with cable cars. But later he decided to follow us.

The cable cars ride was awesome, the view's breathtakings, but quite scary. But it was worth it. After we came down from Mount Mat Chincang, my BIL again suggested we go back to the Condo so he could sleep. OK, well, since he insisted (and not to mention he looked bored), we headed back to the Condo. He crashed into his bed straight away. Mami and I decided we could go out and looked around, and get some kuih in one of the food stalls set up for Ramadhan. Few minutes later, my SIL called to say there was a water supply interuption. The first problem with the Condo. A couple of hours later, the water supply was restored.

After dinner, BIL decided to go back to the Condo again. But Mami and I went shopping together, and also to spend some time together *wink wink*. About 30 minutes later, we got another call. This time it was the electricity. We rushed back to the Condo to fetch them. Since they were feeling hot and stuffy, we decided to drive them around town while waiting for TNB to fix the problem. After driving aimlessly for about an hour, I had enough. I told Mami we are checking out and move to a nearby hotel.

So, rushed back to the Condo, pack everything in pitch black, settled everything with the Condo management, then drove to a nearby hotel. At the hotel, we were shown to our room, only to find that it was the wrong room. Mami even argued with the reception because they couldn't gave us price they promised earlier on the phone. After some hoo-haa, finally we were shown to our rooms. What a night!

The next morning, we found out that we do not have enough vouchers (short of two) for the buffet breakfast, so Mami and I have to eat at a nearby restaurant while the others went for the buffet. By 11am, we were all ready to go and headed for the airport. And I must say, I was really looking forward to this.

Don't get me wrong, but Langkawi's great. It's the persons whom you travelled with are not. My SIL even remarked "aiya, no more next time ah" WTF? What is that suppose to mean? Mami did a good job in organising the trip, handling every situation patiently, although she did snapped at me a few times. kkekekekekeke....don't worry, Mami, I understand. :)

We're back!!

Pop quiz:
1. What's the worst thing after going for a long holiday over the weekend?
Answer: Coming back to work on a Monday.

2. What's the worst thing after going for a long holiday over the weekend and coming back to work on a Monday?
Answer: Coming back to work on Monday to find that the two-days you were away, your boss is too incompetent to do anything and basically left all the work (deadline Monday) for you to finish by Monday 5.00 pm.

*sigh*

Actually the work was assigned early last week. We managed to finish our part before we went for our holiday, compiling all relevant documentations and drawings, getting quotations from our vendors, preparing writeups etc.

But this morning, when we arrived, it was still the same when we left it. Nothing was touched. We asked our colleagues "What happen?". "Nothing." she said. "The boss went AWOL. So we couldn't continue. I think he wants to wait for you guys to come back and continue." she went on. "But only he's part was left. He could have easily finish it in half a day." Mami complained.

Cheh!! We should have hold back the chocolates we bought for the boss. :(

Holiday!!

Yeay!

Finally, it's Wednesday! And tomorrow's Thursday!

Why am I so happy?

Because Mami and I will going for a holiday in Langkawi tomorrow (3D2N)!! Yeay!!

We will be flying there tomorrow late afternoon, quite a big group actually. My MIL, my SIL and her family, Mami's nephews and niece. We are not bringing Yiyi this time. We wanted to, but we figure that since we are the 'organiser' of this trip and with such a big group, we wouldn't be able to 'control' the crowd with Yiyi around. "So, sorry Yiyi, next time Papi and Mami will bring you along, OK?." Yiyi will be staying with my parents for these few days.

We haven't planned on what to do in Langkawi, although both of us have been to Langkawi few years back. We have some pointers from Zbjernak (Thanks, man). I guess we'll just do it slow and steady, and just enjoy the trip.

So see ya next week!! :)

Balloon Art

I made my first balloon-twited mouse yesterday.



Then i made Mami a balloon dog!



I bought a balloon twisting kit for RM8.90, which consists of a plastic manual pump, several long balloons and an instruction sheet. Only a few design are available like mouse, dog, sword, swan and the Twin Towers. OK, maybe not the Twin Towers, but sooner or later, I will be skillful enough to come out with my own designs. Bwahahaha....

Can't wait to get home tonite to show Yiyi...
:)

Bye Bye Superman

Superman has died.



Christopher Reeve suffered cardiac arrest and fell into a coma on Saturday. On Sunday, he was pronounced dead. He was 52.

In May 1995, he broke his neck during an equestrian competition when he was thrown from his horse. He was left almost completely paralysed and bound to a wheelchair. With help of friends and loved ones, he fought back and emerged from his tragedy and became a passionate advocate of spinal cord research, especially on behalf of fellow sufferers of spinal cord injuries. He founded the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and began to use his show biz contacts.

In 1998 he returned to acting in Rear Window, which he won a Screen Actors Guild award for best actor in a television movie or miniseries.

He was the only Superman I knew when I was a kid. I have watched Superman I - IV many many times. I have the posters, the 'daun terup', the figurines. A Superman in films, a true Superman in real life.

"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life."
Christopher Reeve
September 25, 1952 - October 10, 2004

May he rest in peace.

Badminton

Last Friday, I played my first game of badminton in err......5 years? No, maybe 6. Wow!! It was that long??

My brother has been asking me to join him playing badminton in a indoor court/hall near my house. So after few times missing it (either I was busy, or I was lazy he he he), I finally followed him. I even asked him to get me a brand new badminton racket.

The indoor court/hall is quite big. It houses more than 15 badminton courts, a cafe and a sport shop. We reached there slightly late. My brother's friends has already started playing. Most of them are known to me, his ex-classmates. After the usual hello-how-are-you routine, I started to warm up. Like a pro lah...must warm up your body and muscles or else the body will ache the next day.

After a few moments, we were up, we played double, me and my brother. Well, I found out that I was not that ...ahem ...agile anymore, ha ha ha ... must be the few kilos I put on those few years. I also lost some of my ... ahem ...golden touch.

We played few more games after that. After the fifth games, I surrendered,...no more energy. So, I sat back and enjoyed watching my bro's wacky gang played. And my legs were aching like hell....and it still ache now.

ha haha....I guess I need to go exercise more....

Now, where did I put my Salonpas??

Checkup

Yiyi went for her routine checkup last weekend. She also received her MMR immunisation jab. But her weight has gone down. :(

Weight: 7.8kg (Previous: 7.5kg)
Height: 75cm (Previous: 67.5cm)
Head Circumference: 46cm (Previous: 43cm)

The previous measurements were taken about 3 months ago. All her other measurements are OK and physically she looks healthy. But her weight has only increased 300 g for the past 3 months. Although her weight has not reach a critical level, but we are a bit concerned. The paediatrician recommended a full checkup, meaning to check her urine and her blood for any disease or illness. We are thinking of monitoring her for another month or so, before we decide to do a full checkup.

The problem is she has been staying away from her formula. At most she drank about 180ml and not very often too. Everytime, we have to pour away left over milk. Maybe she is bored with the taste. But we have no problem feeding her cereal or porridge. She also likes plain water very very much.

So now, she is 12 months old, we are switching to a new formula. Hopefully she likes the new taste (Vanilla) and would bring her weight up again.

Walking

Last week....

I was looking at some photos of Yiyi on my PC when a colleague came to me:

Uncle Soh : Wah! Is that your daughter?

Papi : Yes. I am just cleaning up the photos.

Uncle Soh : How old is she now?

Papi : She just turned one 3 days ago.

Uncle Soh : Wah...Can she walk?

Papi : Walk? ha ha ...she's still learning to crawl.

Uncle Soh : What?! Aiya!! You ah...don't pamper her too much lar...

Papi : hehehehe....

Uncle Soh : Let her crawl on her own, no need to carry, if she fall, let her fall. It's part of the growing process.

Papi : Yalor, you should tell it to the mother.

Uncle Soh : You see, some kids can walk when they are 9 months. Let her on her own, then she will learn faster.

Papi : First time parents mah.. sure a bit worry one..he hehe...

Yup, she's still learning to walk, .... no, actually she is still learning to crawl to be exact he hehe... I think this Uncle Soh has got a point. We have been worrying to much. We put pillows everywhere. We carry her often. That's why she's a bit slow on learning to walk.

Now we are teaching her how to walk. But first we teach her how to stand first. I would hold her both hands, and she would stand on her feet. Slowly, I asked her to walk, step by step, she's doing alright, but her legs are wobbly..ha haha...

Let's see whether she could start walking by next Chinese New Year..

Athens 2004 - Things you don't see on TV

Got this in my mail box:


Live telecast!!


Yup!! It does taste salty.


Ada api?


Beware of imitation goods.


Man vs Beast.
(This reminds me of the movie "Along came Polly")


Bueh tahan liao!

Youth Bean

Yesterday....

Mami : What's that on your face??

Papi : What? Where??

Mami : Neh, this ... *points to the area below my right eye*

Papi : Pimple lar.

Mami : Huh? So old already still got pimples ah? Ha ha ha....

Papi : Yalar, I am 'ching chun' at heart mah....kekeke...

Pimples in Mandarin is called 'ching chun tou' which translate to 'youth bean' or 'the bean of youth'.

Celebrity Spotting

OMG! I saw a celebrity today, while I was paying my bills at the post office. I recognised his face but I don't know his name.

You know the guy who played the Mamak in the Malaysian Idols TV ads? The one that goes:

*music playing - Sugar Sugar by The Archies*
Dude : Oi, Mamak....... Tolong kira berapa?

Mamak : Semuanya lima puloh! ...... Itu tisu saya kasi free.

Dude : Oi, Mamak!! ....... Macam mana kira?

Mamak : Kalau ta boleh bayaaarr.....boleh masuk buku tiga lima....

He was walking up and down the counters at the post office, I am not sure what he was doing. I think he was just testing whether the public could recognise him. I did. I wanted to get his autograph and do a Sugar Sugar "Oi Mamak...Apa buat sini?" , but since my queue number was up, and I didn't want to miss my turn, so I left him alone.

In real life, he looks exactly the same as on TV. I thought it was makeup or some sort of special effects to make him look...err.... you know....funny, on TV. But he does look funny in real life. I was trying so hard not to laugh when I saw him which reminded me of the ads. I tell you, this guy has got potential. Move over, William Hung. Mamak is coming!!

Up, Up, UP!!

I remember there was one time when I was small, my father came back from work and very excitedly told us that he'll be on TV that night. We asked him what was it about. He told us that he was pumping petrol in one of the pumping station in Bangsar, when some reporters with a video camera came to interview him. That night, all of us were glued to the TV, with the VCR on standby to record his 10 secs appearance on national TV. It was on TV2 news:

Reporter : Encik, apa fikiran encik mengenai kenaikan harga minyak beberapa hari yang lalu?
(Sir, what do you think of the petrol price increase a few days ago?)

Dad : Errr..... kalu minyak naik, semua mesti naik lar.
(Err... if the price of petrol increase, the others will increase as well.)

Reporter : Semua mesti naik?
(The others will increase?)

Dad : Yalar, gula kah, tepung kar, beras kar..
(Yes, like sugar, flour, rice...)

Yup, he is right! Everytime the petrol price increases, others will increase. First chicken, then vegetables. Then transportation fees, school bus fees, taxi fees, hawker food. Now TNB wanted to increase the electricity tariff rate.

Aiya! Ini naik, itu naik, gaji beli mau naik??!
(Aiya! This increase, that increase, when our salaries are to be increased?)

Tick .... Tock....

Tick......Tock....Tick ......Tock..... Why the clock so slow ah? I thought yesterday was Thursday and today's Friday!! Aww...Man!

After reading tomato's visit to the Orana Park and Maine's visit to Pangkor Island, my holiday mood really kicks in. But my trip to Langkawi is only next week!! Arghh!!

And it is really affecting me, especially my work. No motivation to work at all. Not that I don't have anything to do, I have tonnes to do. GM asked me to come out with a conceptual design so we could pass it to our vendor to evaluate. Marketing asked me to check the tender specification to ensure the system we proposed complies to the requirements. The SM asked me to plan on how we could finish a current project before year end.

And here I am, typing this entry, while tonnes and tonnes of sit on my desk. ha ha ha... and the weather is not making it better. It's raining cats and dogs out there. How nice if I could lay on my soft and comfy bed, reading my magazine, dozing off for a few hours minutes.......

*sigh*

Fortune Telling

I am not sure whether this is common among the Chinese but whenever a child celebrated his/her first birthday, there are normally a ceremony where the child is required to pick something that will tell you a bit of the child's future. So they say....

This is how we do it for Yiyi. We actually put a few items in front of Yiyi for her to pick. These items were suppose to represent the career path she will take or something that will be of interest to her. In the olden days, people put items like tailor's ruler/scissor, book, pen etc. If the child picked the ruler, it means the child is more towards fashion. If the child picked the book, it means the child will become a teacher, or academician. If the child picked the pen, it means the child will become a writer. You got the idea....

So my father looked for a few items for Yiyi to pick. He got a book (which apparently is Yiyi's favourite book), a pencil, an apple that represent food, her new shoes that represent fashion and clothing, and an angpow that represents money, and arranged them in that order from right to left. We laid these items on one end of a matress, and put Yiyi down on the other. Yiyi started to crawl towards these items, heading towards the shoes (in the middle). She touched it for a second, then turned towards the book. She flipped the book open,while the other hand reached for the pencil, and waved it above her head. So, a book and a pencil!! What does that mean?? Will she become a teacher? An academician? A professor? I hope not a journalist in Jalan Riong!! kekekeke.....

Only time will tell....

Birthday Celebration

Yesterday we celebrated Yiyi's first birthday at a nearby restaurant. We ordered 2 tables, for 17 people, but only 16 turned up coz a nephew had a some school event to attend. My MIL and SIL came all the way from Melaka. Mami's brother and sister with her family, who stays nearby, joined us too.

Yiyi was dressed up like a princess in a nice pink dress that we bought for her birthday. It was also the first day that she could wear shoes, we bought a nice pair of pink shoes to match the dress. It is a Chinese believe that a baby can't wear shoes before she's one year old. When we asked her "Yiyi, mei mei.", she will look and touch her dress and smile. "Mei mei" means beautiful in Mandarin.


"Papi, look, I got an angpow!! I am rich."

The food was so-so, I was quite disapointed actually. Maybe we were too busy to enjoy the food, because Yiyi was restless, which she normally does when she is surrounded by people and kids. She wanted to be carried all the time!

We asked the kitchen to prepare the chicken and leave the drumstick intact, instead of chopping it to smaller pieces. So that we could give the whole drumstick to Yiyi. But the drumstick turned out to be bigger than her head!! And when she saw that piece of meat, she was scared to even touch it! ha ha ha.... Anyhow, with some assistance, she took a few bites but disliked it. So we 'ta pau' it back home.


"Mami, why this ice scream so hard one?"

I got the birthday cake from a bakery near the restaurant. Special order: a 2kg Tiramisu with wonderful decoration on top.


"yum yum"


A few days before, we have taught her how to blow out the candles. Of course she could not blow out the candle by herself, but she will puffed up her face and blow, making "pffff...ppffff" sound, spraying saliva all over her cloth. But when we asked her to blow out the candle on the cake, she looked blur. She simply looked around with innocent eyes, wondering what are these people doing?? ha ha ha...

The dinner ended around 10pm. And Mami and I was exhausted!! Phew! Yiyi was jumping and kicking and laughing, with Mami's nephews running around. I think Yiyi was happy and enjoyed it. And thats what important.

MIL: Mother-in-law.
SIL: Sister-in-law.
Angpow: Red packet with money in it.
ta pau: Cantonese meaning to pack and bring away. But apparently in Hong Kong, 'ta pau' loosely use to mean death.

Happy Birthday !!

Happy Birthday to You.
Happy Birthday to You.
Happy Birthday to Yiyi !!
Happy Birthday to Youuuuu.......

Yiyi is one year old! ! yeay !!

She was born today one year ago. At this time in the morning. The situation in the delivery room is still very freshed in my memory as if it happened only few days ago.

Mami, with her legs lifted and straped to an inverted "L" shaped pole. Me, one hand holding Mami's hand while another hand clutching a stack of tissue papers. The doc, with butcher-style apron and PCK boots, with forcep in his hand, ready to go 'in'.

After some pushing and pulling, our angel was born. I was stunned and speechless. My mind went blank. It was silent, or maybe my mind was blocking all the sounds. But the midwifes were busy running around, doing something. Then I heard she cried. "Uuueehh....uuueehhh......".

The doc told Mami to keep pushing to expel the plancenta. I was still holding Mami's hand asking her to push. After a few moments, I was still asking Mami to "Push, Mami, push" when Mami said to me "Eh? Why you keep asking me to push? The doc is done". I went "Huh??".

I asked Mami, what went through her mind when she first saw Yiyi. She said "The first thing I noticed is her nose. She has your nose. And her eyes are so bright and big. She looks like you". I told her "Looks like me? Imagine I am a girl and wearing a girl's dress". Mami laughed!

Looking back we realised how fast time goes by. Soon she will be going to school, sitting for her exams, asking for her first handphone, her first car, her first job, then boyfriends, getting married, having childrens.........
OK, OK I am fast forwarding. Let me rewind, sit back with Mami and celebrate Yiyi's first birthday.

Happy Birthday Yiyi !! Papi and Mami loves you...


5 months old.


6 months old.


9 months old.


11 months old.

Jeff lawan Jalan Riong

By now, you must have read the fiasco involving fellow blogger and our neighbour Jeff Ooi and Jalan Riong. Over the weekend, Berita Harian persecuted Screenshots over a 'remark' made, not by Jeff, but by a commentator using a pseudonym 'Anwar'.

Even before the story made front page of Berita Harian, Jeff has responded to the comment left by 'Anwar', sent him/her a warning email and even banned him/her from the commenting system, after 'Anwar' failed to respond.

Now the question:
If someone came to your house, made a very very bad remark, do you persecute the house owner or the one who made the comment? Someone even threatened suggested ISA.

This is very disturbing, because anyone can come into my blog, and made a damaging remark or comment, and soon I will be slapped with ISA or charged with instilling hatred!

Jeff, I am behind you on this, I don't see any reason why you should apologise. You did what you did and what you have to do. Like Sashi said, we saw this coming, and now it's here. Hang on, dude.

Satria R3

I read the news report on the launching of the Proton Satria R3 with a mixed feeling.
R3 stands for Race Rally Research. At first, I thought it was Race Race RACE!!

I was really interested in what the special projects head was trying to say:

“pure driving passion, by enthusiasts for enthusiasts”
- design by race kaki for race kaki.

“The Satria R3 is designed from the outset to be an accessible driver’s car."
- you can race using Malaysian highway and trunk road. No need for race tracks.

“In short, it’s a road-legal track car.
- Can outrun a police car, anytime, anywhere, no problemo.

“The five-speed manual transmission and non-conformity ensure you stand out in the crowd and re-define the limits.
- zig zag in the traffic, zooming at break-neck speed.

“From every angle, it portrays speed, motion, energy and audacity,”
- A sure win machine in lumba haram.

Only four cars are produced daily to ensure quality and each car is hand trimmed.
- for shorter waiting period, duit kopi must be ready.

race kaki: Malay loosely translated as race cars enthusiasts.
lumba haram: Malay meaning illegal car racing.
duit kopi: Malay loosely translated as bribe.

Super Power

A 5-year old boy, who just came home from kindie, rushed to her mom upon reaching home,

Boy : Mommy, mommy, I got power in my bag!!

Mommy : What?!

Boy : You see, I got power in my bag. *showing bag*

Mommy : Power in your bag? *examine bag*

Boy : Yeah! My friends gave it to me.. *grin*

Mommy : *gasp* WT...? Aiyo... Why you so stoopid?? Your friend threw all the sharpening pencil debris into your bag ah? And you say is power. Power your head lar. Aiya!

"We accept"

In NST today, the Works Minister said the ministry accepted the findings and the report by the Halcrow Consultants Ltd.

Datuk Seri said:

"The cracks have nothing to do with the workmanship or the lack of concrete. It is the arrangement of the bars, and the reinforcement from the column to the crossbeams of the T-shaped pillars. At the place where the steel beams supporting the crossbeams and columns were supposed to merge, they are independent of each other,"

Samy Vellu also said the cost of repairs on the MRR2 flyover would not exceed RM20 million, adding that the Government will foot the bill first.

"We cannot wait for the contractor to obtain funds before starting on the repairs. We will decide who picks up the tab after the job is done."

"We want them to be involved in doing the job properly. That is more important than blacklisting them and sending them off. They would be very happy if you do that!"

All I heard is :
"Ngeeee.....Ngorhhhh.....Ngeeeeee.....Ngorhhhhh.......Ngeeeeee.....Ngorhhhhh......."

GMail Invites

These invites dont stop coming, do they?

I got another 6 invites that have been sitting in my gmail for quite some time. If you need one or if you need another one for your JPEG and AVI collection, pls drop me a comment with ur email.

First come first served.

I want....

Yesterday....

Mami : Papi, Papi....

Papi : What?

Mami : Goto Dr.Liew lar.

Papi : Why? *type type URL*

Mami : You see lar..

Papi : *read, read....gulp* err...a robotic vacuum cleaner.

Mami : Yalar, I want.

Papi : *double gulp* huh? errr.... you know how much ah?

Mami : he hehe... I checked already. Only USD1,799.99

Papi : *head spinning* hah?! ONLY USD1,799.99?

Mami : Yalar....

Papi : I where got so much money.

Mami : But you see, this vacuum cleaner ah, can do this....... can do that......you know?

Papi : OK, OK, I become your robotic vacuum cleaner lar. (o-oh!)

Mami : yeay!!

I fell into Mami's trap.