The Gathering

Back home in Taiping and in the all too familiar kitchen and dining table where all family meetings take place. Used to be mom's generation sitting down and having a tete-a-tete or a slanging match but this time round, the table is filled with the generation that used to line up for ah por's fu cha or sah thang mun chi yuk.

Our generation next is here too, all too oblivious to the disciplining and drama that used to happen right here before they were conceived.

Chef James cookin up lunch. Taking Uncle Eric's place. The Erics didn't come home this year.

Mom overseeing James' preparations, of course James will tell you otherwise.

Mom's kai si meen was and still is a CNY treat every year. She started cooking kai si meen course normally during this time the kai si meens ...from Kakak to Golden Corner would not be open and mom just wanted to make sure that we don't leave Taiping without at least having kai si meen.

That's mom for you...and that's where ah boy got the stance from.

Auspicious Day & Time

We left for Taiping on the first day of CNY after brunch at Bo Sue's place at about 3pm. Never read the Tung Shu ...cos don't know how to read mandarin, consulted with Lillian Too or Joey Yap. We just decided it was a good time to drive after we were fed and ready.

Traffic was very good unlike siu pang yau's earlier report that the highway was jammed. That was at about 11am. We got to the Ipoh toll in less than 2 hours. No speeding...well occasionally hitting 140km at certain stretches otherwise was hovering under the radar. Pleasant drive too. No untoward incidents on the road either. Marlboro-man was a good boy all the way, never once asking to stop for a fag. He only pulled his fag out when we stopped at the toll to wait for a friend. Sumandak is and always has been a good travelling companion. No complains or bitchin. Lucky is the driver to have such good company.

Caught this beautiful shot of the rays breaking through the clouds after the rain. Very biblical no? Very Christian? No...it is the glow from the Golden Pig breaking through the clouds of Doggy year heralding the Porkers reign till the next lunar new year. Bitchin huh?

We arrived in Taiping an hour later.

Reunion Dinner

Eve of CNY is always a time where families get together and partake in the annual reunion dinner. This year is no different.

Me being of one too many moms had a rather tricky situation. This year's reunion is once again in KL for me with my stepmom and her siblings. This year we have kung kung, yee ku poh and her back-from-England son and friend.

We started with the customary Yee Sang a favorite of my stepmom's. Apparently this dish originated from Penang and not from China or Hong Kong or so i was told. Food was okay but for my brother-in-law's rather enthusiastic ordering which had us gorging through 13 dishes of chinese cuisine. Blooming gut ripping stuff. At the end of the night we were up to our eyeballs in food. A lot of food was packed back for breakfast of chap sui or whatever. I didn't want to know about it anymore. I was just numb from eating too much.

Thus we ended the year of the dog and readied ourselves for the year of the Golden Pig. Hmm...was that why we were eating like Pigs?

Beauties in the Mood

My beauties are all ready and in a festive mood, just like me. I think most cina...no, all Malaysians would already be in the festive mood since last week.

Even my pretty bromeliad started early and my latest acquisition already came with the mood and then some. The grasshopper wants in on it too. All the animals of the zodiac will be celebrating too. All 'dressed-up' and ready to celebrate the coming of the Golden Pig.

Gong Xi Fa Chai to one and all!

Spring Cleaned and ready

Last weekend saw me do my annual spring cleaning of my house.

Funny how we do this one day mega cleaning job of the house one time a year. We leave nothing...well almost nothing is left unturned. The vacuum, duster, wiping clothes are all brought out of inactivity and commissioned to the task of cleaning the whole bloomin house. The bandana was out too. This time it did not stay on the head as a head gear but over the nose and mouth as a dust mask. Me look like bandido sweating like a peeg under the hot weathered ceiling sans the fan so as not to kick up too much dust.

Why do we not clean it out regularly like weekly so that less dust accumulates? I do of course...starts with a weekly schedule and then it becomes forgotten till the next month or two months later before realising that there are sticky somethings on the floor which demands attention. This situation would not be allowed to happen if i were staying with my stepmom. Cleaning is a weekly affair...strictly or there would be no breakfast.

If only my room is always this clean. Will it be my new year resolution? Que sera sera...but it is now and all ready to receive the lunar new year of the Pig. Oink oink!

An Orchid for Valentine

Got this pretty purple orchid for Valentine's. Just realised it's been only our second Valentine's together. Feels so long and yet prettty short too. Time stands still when one is in relationship. Time tends to fly when one is doing the chasing. I am in a state where time is not rushed. Does not stand still either.

It just is.

Annual Spring Cleaning

The time for our annual spring cleaning came and went.

Annually at this time our Lady Boss will send us a mail declaring the auspicious day for spring cleaning of the office after which we will decorate is as best we can. All the staff will start off first thing in the morning and proceed to the delegated jobs. Wiping this and that, washing this and that and then the girls will proceed with the decorations. This year we have decided not to put up any chinese character decos as none of us know how to read or write.

One year we put it up right in front of the MD's office and when he came down for a visit he asked, "Who put this up?" We said, "We did!" proudly mind you. He shook his head and said, " All tebalik liau la..." much to our embarassment. All the chinese in the house...buta huruf cina!

This was our Christmas tree and now it is our Chinese New Year tree. It is fast becoming our tree of all seasons.

Gong Xi Fa Chai and Happy Year of The Golden Pig to y'all!

Club of Fools

Valentines day...a fools day perhaps, after all it is said and sung that...fools fall in love no? It must be true though as you see throngs of people bringing their loved ones to dine at exhorbitantly priced restaurants and buy flowers that cost an arm and a leg.

Why do we choose this one day to do it and not do it any and every other day? Why do we choose to let others tell us when to show our appreciation and affection for our loved ones? Funny isn't it? I have nothing against Valentines or the Valentinos that go all out to woo their loved ones. I too am among one of them fools all too ready and eager to celebrate a day dedicated to love and cupids arrow cos i believe in LOVE.

Just like Mr. Bee & Ms. Bee in the above pix dining al fresco on this pretty cannonball tree flower above, i too brought my sumandak out for dinner but al cheapo. We had ourselves a lovely thai dinner at Pad Thai in Plaza Damas which was to her asian taste. Lovely food at reasonable prices. Tom Yam was rather dissappointing though. The money saved, I bought her a nice little gift.

So to all you out there who are still single or in denial (ie...I haven't found the right one, I prefer being single, no good men & women left etc, etc and the list goes on), pull down you pants and let Cupid's arrow shoot you in the ass! Then you can join in the Club of Fools.

Happy Valentines y'all.

Faberge

A faberge (pronounced as far-ber-jay...and it's french) egg in the making this is. Depicting a dog barking up a tree. Circa 2007.

I was fortunate enough to record this rare specimen found only in Taiping. There is only one of it's kind. This is not a mass produced egg shell. This egg shell was carefully cracked and the egg removed professionally and the shell is carefully cleaned before handing over to the artist.

On the other side of the egg depicts 2 birds flying high in the sky as the heart shaped sun shines down on all beings, nourishing as it warms with it's unconditional love.

Next to the egg...the budding artist. The Force is strong is this one.

KL looking Pretty

Give a guy a box of color pencils and you get your walls and paper colored. Give a girl a set of pencils and they color themselves.

After Penang Hill and Nasi Kandar Kayu, Team KL was ready to be looking pretty for the Annual Dinner. Out came the pencils and the new dresses bought at the new Queensbay Mall and it was time to look pretty.

Carefully they draw the lines. Only a woman can do this...draw a straight line without a ruler.

It's all in the eyes...

...and the hair too.

The all reds are from Penang and the non-reds...KL.

Penangites like red...all forms of Red. Even the winner of the best dressed guy was in some form of red. So guys...if you wanna get lucky in Penang...wear RED!

Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan Temple

A piece of history stands right atop Gun Hill as this spot was once known. A simple shrine and Murugan Vel (trident) was installed by Indian sepoys and sedan chair carriers in 1780. Since then it has been rebuilt to it's present state by it 's late benefactors.

Beautifully constructed and maintained by the temple custodians to this day. It's a wonderful feeling walking on an historical site where once upon a time our forefathers and their friends of all colors and creed fought for independance and built this wonderful nation.

It is especially nice to be able to see and experience a piece of history. I do hope more is done to preserve such sites for our future generations so that they may know who we once were. It is always nice to know that somewhere a building in restored or somewhere a forest is gazetted as a forest reserve. Of course there will always be a selfish developer or datuk that gets away with cutting huge tracts of forest reserve or demolishing historical building or sites and claim ignorance but the little battles that we win is one more heritage restored.

Preserve the precious beauty & heritage of our country. This is our History.

Grasshopperman

Over the past year we have had Batman, Superman, Ultraman and Cicakman come to our shores but this guy has been in Penang Hill longer than a lot of us know.

He is Grasshopperman! He makes these grasshoppers out of coconut leaves and sells them for RM1.00. If this had been Thailand i'll bet it can be eaten.

So very life-like when it sways in the breeze.

One can make a living as long as one is creative and has the initiative.

Heliconias

These heliconias look like flamengos standing together. Also taken from the garden of the old resthouse up in Penang Hill with the "not so friendly-this is a hotel" uncle that did not allow us to step into the premises unless we stayed there or unless we patronised the coffee house.

So we were just pleased to check out the pretty flora and fauna on his front lawn. Enjoy all that we could possibly take in and make do with what we have.

Have what you Have mate.

Bromeliads too

Nestled in front of an old rest house is this very interesting granite planter full of bromeliads. A different species from the one i have and nearby is another species looking like it's in jungle fatigues...must be trying to camouflage itself. Unfortunately they are not in bloom.

Too many plants? What would earth be like without them? Dusty old ball of loose earth i presume.

Get a plant today!

Team KL

Team KL has landed in Penang and with us came our huge appetite for the culinary delights of the island. No nasi kandar, char kueh tiaw, chee cheong fun will be left untouched. We came to eat.

Eating was not all that we had in mind. We delighted in the sights of Penang too. Took the train to Penang Hill and waited for the train with some Malaysian students and Indonesian doctor and her family yang tak bersopan. They jumped queue and was happy and proud that they got to the front of the waiting area and they claim the next generation has bad habits because of the media we are exposed to, tapi perangai mak bapak macam tak bersekolah.

Trying to blow up the bridge i believe. Boys with toys.

As i was saying we were enjoying the sights...

Annual Dinner

The weekend that was, my whole office went on a trip to Penang for our Annual Dinner.

This is not our food from our annual dinner but our breakfast at Sg. Nibong. These hawkers are parked outside a restaurant there. You don't see much of these tricycle hawkers much these days especially in KL. Food is not fantastic but when in a foreign place I usually prefer to eat their hawker food...gives us a taste of local fare, fried and prepared in the local way.

This is a kueh kak stall or as we all know it as the less glamorous name...fried carrot cake.

Ah soh and her curry mee and ah pek with his Penang style wan than mee.

These are all just an appetiser before our annual dinner. Something to remember when in Penang or in Ipoh...forget your diets, your waitline and some even forget their girlfriends & boyfriends. Loosen those purse strings, say grace and whack!

Amen.

Flowers flowers flowers...

My bromeliad has bloomed again. It does an annual trip to brighten up my little garden in the sky. Given to me by my green-finger mom, it graces my eden once a year and it stays for awhile. It gets prettier by the day.

Funny how we sometimes don't notice these things till we Stop, Look, Choose &...alez oops! Right before our eyes...beauty happens. There is so much beauty in sight, perhaps LOVE too is in the air together with the haze and the impending drought. Curiously my bromeliad nestles in it's pot with two buds. If i do recall correctly, after all I am 40 and some more, there used to be one bud previously. Hmm...Whirlwind would loose all control and predict it as an auspicious sign manupulated by the stars.

Two buds in a pot.

Along the pathways of my church...FRIM, Gods creation in all it's bloomin splendour. Black & white orchids. Ebony & Ivory? Mawar Hitam Mawar Putih? Love is in the air? Uda & Dara?Cinta di udara? Take your pick...

Even the bees can't resist this beauty...how could i? Bloomin flowers everywhere. It's mating season!

A pretty yellow bud waiting for suitors and a tree blooming like crazy.

This bloomin tree was taken on our way to Penang for our annual dinner. The whole tree was like a golden shower. Melimpah with flowers so the cantik trying to attract the birds and the bees and me!

The signs are out there...It's mating season!