Babe & Babes

CNY open house is a yearly affair hosted by LP Connection on behalf of Asiaworks. LP Conn comprises of grads who love nothing than to create for LPs. This year of the Rat is no different. As always it is a grand affair.

Here i am caught in the act courtesy of Herman carrying my little darling princess C, we both were voted best dressed for the nite. The ladies surrounding me are there not for the glamour or me but to be pictured with the little princess. Ain't shejust adorable? She was attached to me for the whole nite and my arms ached the whole of the next day and today too. I had the honour to be her "manny" for the night and also to protect her from those greasy pinching fingers going for her chubby cheeks. She clinged on to me the whole night and we went chasing after the Eric's Lions as we enjoyed the evening. My arms may have ached but i would carry her a million times over, just like the CNY open house team...i am sure their bodies and minds are totally stretched creating & making this event a success but i know they do it with love just as I, carrying the little princess. Kudos to you all!

Your Royal Pinkness, thanx for letting me baby sit the little princess and Herman, thanx for the pretty pix.

Valentines & Chor Pat

Obviously chor pat (8th day of CNY and eve of the Hokkien new year) is a bigger thing than Valentines but it still doesn't stop them lovebirds out there cooing till midnight and then all hell breaks loose as the Hokkiens light up the crackers and blow the night away.

Sumandak and I had a very personal Valentines celebration with no waiters or other lovebirds in sight. We have never been one of those to go crazy with this ang moh celebration. To us it is a day marked for appreciating each other and acknowledging that appreciation. Besides we didn't want to miss the finale of The Amazing Race Asia. :) We rushed home as early as we could so I could cook her a little something nice. No nasi goreng or fu kua kai this time. I decided to cook the one western dish that she likes...agli olio.

Now no western would be complete without a soup, so Cambell's Chicken and Mushroom soup it was but with added White Oyster Mushrooms fresh from Jusco. I thot a threesome would be nice, so i cooked an extra dish...brocolli with white sauce.

No candlelights. We were too engrossed in the Race while we were enjoying the food and each others company. The Amazing Race theme song was our romantic music for the nite.

This is the state of my kitchen when Hurricane Valentine went through it.

I'm glad that we automatically share our chores. When i cook sumandak will wash and she is also my first cutter. Just gets damn emotional when she cuts the onions though. Well after all the washing we were treated to non stop fireworks near my house courtesy of the Hokkiens. It was prettier than the ones we saw on New Years day.

Happy Valentines y'all!

Carpe Diem

Look what i dug out from my spring cleaning session. The Red one is the one that began it all some 9 years ago and the pebble engraved with my mantra...latin for Seize the Day. A gift from my very first dyad partner, Sunshine whom i met for the very first time in Aug of 1998. It was the Red that gave me the courage, strength, purpose and the conviction to create!

Out flowed the Gold...

...and The Next Generation

...came and terrorized Charlie. They brought with them laughter and joy to my house.

As We Celebrated...

...the pussy willow bloomed.

No "Balik Kampung"

This CNY we celebrated in KL. Mother relented to our request and since she is the only one left in Taiping she decided to beraya in KL.

We were all rather happy that we did not have to drive in the heavy traffic which accompanies each and every festival in Malaysia. Happier still i was as this year i am able to have reunion dinner with my two mums. Previous years i had to do one and miss the other altogether. Dad did not join though as he has other fish to fry.

First day of CNY was usually a visit to my mom's place pai leen and then after lunch i hit the North South and head for Taiping to pai leen with mother. This year we pai leen at dad's and then the kids and the moms went off to Coffee Street, a new cafe which is becoming my sisters' regular hang out for CNY brunch. There was no cooking in either houses. A very relaxed and different from all those years past where ah por and the aunties would wake up early in the morning and cook up a storm. Then a mahjong table would be set up outside the house and all the food would be arranged on it with an urn for joss sticks right in front and 5 chinese tea cups of chinese wine placed right behind the urn and the whole family will take turns with joss sticks in hand to pray to the Heavenly King for a blessed year of health and prosperity and wishing him a Kong Yee Wat Sai (hailam for Gong Xi Fa Cai). Once the joss sticks are done burning...we eat!

The house will be filled with chattering, screaming of children, laughter, urgent screams to look out for the frying fish or the steaming chicken and the excited screams of cousins, uncles, aunties, moms and dads, brothers and sisters as we try to beat and win each others money over Black Jack or Three cards etc, all these happening while the TV is blasting away with RTM's Gong Xi Fa Cai fare.

I miss those days...

Kong Yee Wat Sai

Spring cleaning...chk!
Decos...chk!
Kam...chk!
Biscuits...chk!
New clothes...chk!
Food in the fridge...chk!
Money in the pocket for parents...chk!
Money for puak keau (gamble...err taking risk)...chk!
All lights in the house in operation (house must be bright bright during this time)...chk!
All brooms kept away (no sweeping on first day...suey (bad luck))...chk!

Looks like i'm all set for a celebration. Now to just to be wary of the things i say...no profanitities and saying of all things bad...not very auspicious, tempers must be cool too (for first day only la) and ready for one heck of a celebration! Blow that diet my friends! It's time to eat and be merry!

GONG XI FA CAI and may the Golden Rat bring us good health, good cheer, prosperity and happiness the whole year round for everyone!

My Hairy Flower

You can't fault me for calling this the hairy flower after all it's flowers are hairy and the leaves are too. Well I was corrected by my very cute friend (she is very cute as in gorgeous kinda cute but let's not go there) that this is a pussy willow.

I have pussies in my house! Wow!

I decided to get them cos they are easier to decorate than getting branches (which i gave to HRPinkness after finding it from my 16km walk) and sticking them with peach blossoms. Now i am almost complete with my CNY decorations and ready for a celebration.

Bringing The "Ong"

Spring cleaning is only have the act. Decorations with auspicious flavor is next!

Lucky for me i had sumandak and mother both of whom are rather creative and loves to decorate. I didn't buy any of those hanging dangling stuff that is in abundance from the wet markets to the hypermarkets all depicting & potraying prosperous and auspicious designs with very "auspicious" prices too i might add. We used whatever we had...ang pow packets & kam wrappers which can turn out pretty cool if one is creative.

Cutting and creating is only half the fun but doing it all together is a joyful experience. Festivities are an opportunity for families to gather and do things together which to me is the spirit of all festivities. Every moment is an opportunity to bond & connect.

Let us make the best we have with each other that this CNY affords us.

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning is kinda like an archeological dig for me. It happens only once a year...the major cleaning that is, of course i do clean my place every now and then...just not as thorough is all. This is also a very first time i actually spring clean my place for CNY cos this year my siblings and I are not travelling to the old hometown.

Amidst the dust and numerous momentoes having to be put away into little boxes and some thrown out there was this bit of a dinosaur that has been around for years. It has remained on the floor for the past 7 years and has lasted through the test of time. It was rediscovered when i moved the bed for cleaning and that is where it has stayed and will remain stuck for many more years to come i believe. Not all memories are done and dusted. Some just remain close to our hearts and i guess we will never let go off. This is one such instance. It came of a knee, i think and has stayed there as a constant companion of bygone days.

Some memories will remain etched in parts of us for eternity even though we have moved on. These will be stuff for that rocking chair moment or the beach, park or mountain peaks...with a kofi or wine in hand of course. I'm sure we all have dinosaurs under our beds.

Ratz

The time for spring cleaning is come and most of us chinese families are doing our annual cleaning sessions in the home for the coming Chinese New Year.

Ratz here had the same idea too...he came in the nite and tried to clean up the food from my kitchen. Like a thief in the nite he nibbled away at the plastic bag containing my biscuits and of course i was damn sore. I set my trusty Rat Buster in the kitchen and for the first nite all was quiet but on the second nite he couldn't resist and "snap"...he was caught. He was scared like a rat...what did you expect! I was judge, jury and executioner. I did not kill him immediately cos i was late for work so he had another 12hours to breathe his last breath, say his prayers and send his messages.

It was raining very heavily when i came back and the little bugger was soaking wet and shivering. I was hungry. I decided to cook and eat with sumandak while i contemplated his fate.
While we ate, he looked at me with his pitiful little eyes and shivered. He was cold and hungry. I gave him some carrot and later decided to light him a candle. That was the decent thing to do after all it was his last supper.

When morning came...i had a change of heart. It was to be his year come Feb 7th and i was about to take his life. He came to forage for food for his survival. I too work for the food i put on my table but i did not have to be put to death for it. He did not deserve to die because he was hungry.

As i left the house i brought him down to the field and i bade him well and we both went our separate ways. Good luck Ratatouille.

The Long Way Back

Spending almost 2 hours experiencing Thaipusam first hand was rather interesting. So focused were the devotees in completing their vows that even Samy's speech was just some noise in the crowd. Everybody was either focused on their family and friends or just enjoying in the festivities and smiles were free when eyes met than to hear some politician speak.

As we raise our hands towards Lord Murugan and ask for his leave & blessings we turned around and headed home. Home was just another 2 hrs of 8kms away. Not that far but with the sun now high up above our heads it was getting rather hot and draining.

Taking a breather under Samy's flyover and the above flower in relation to my trusty boots.

All in all we walked 16km to and fro. I have been craving for a little adventure...well, i got mine today. It's different from trekking in the jungle but fullfilling just the same. For whatever reasons i started this journey for, it is just the beginning of another adventurous year for me. My intention is to have every year a memorable one and one lived in adventure. For this purpose i intend to enrol others to join me as i trek this earth in search of a new experience.

You won't need RM10,000 for a great adventure, only a pair of sturdy boots, a courageous heart and a will of iron! We'll get high on LIFE!

The Wiseman

This wiseman sits near the chariot and offers blessed beads for a small donation. I wonder how old he is. In fact i'll bet if one goes up to him and pops him that question, he'll probably reply... "Does it matter? Time is immaterial. Wisdom is ageless my child."

The Chariot

This is the sterling silver chariot that brought Lord Murugan to Batu Caves from the Maha Mariamman Temple in the heart of the city. Smashin ain't it?