Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Helping Eric and Elio with the water hose

Today our school made a trip to the Balai Bomba Pandan Indah. It was SO much fun! It was also my first time to the fire station, so it was really interesting. We got to ride in the fire engine as well! Of course it was just a short ride around the station but nonetheless, it was an unforgettable experience.

Towards the end of the visit, the children got a chance to handle the water hose, and all the children were completely drenched! No, not from holding the hose, but from running under the water sprays :D I wished I could join them, unfortunately we teachers did not have clothes to change into if we DID get wet... :P

After all the calories burnt at the fire station, we pigged-out at Hajime, a Japanese restaurant, not too far from the school. It was Jenny's treat! Thank you Jenny, it was yummy! ;)

Just a fraction of what we had for lunch today!

All in a days work! ;)

The New Si Lai

Just the other day a friend commented that I was being lazy for not updating my blog for so long. I know I've got no excuses now that my internet is up, but seriously being somebody's wife and a "Queen" of the house is not an easy task.

Imagine cooking, ironing, and cleaning for 2! LOL! Yes, if you haven't already know, I am quite capable of handling all the above mentioned tasks and to be frank I'm not too keen on people messing around with my kitchen! :P Of course the garbage and mopping the floor is not my department *phew*

Then just few days back we got a new member into the family. We named her Pixie :) She's a handful! Seriously I have no idea what breed she is, she was a stray puppy when Joseph found her in the streets along with her brother Brownie and sister Blackie (not very creative with the names, are we?) For the past few days she's been living in our bathroom, as we are yet to give her heartworm prevention. We didn't want to leave her outside the house since this area is infested with fierce mosquitos! Anyway Pepper, a male mini Schnauzer puppy will join us very soon too..... but that will be TW's department. I'm only in charge of taking care of Pixie. That should keep us both very busy *sweat*

Oops, time to iron the clothes! Erm..no.... bed time is more like it....*yawn*

Not so S.M.A.R.T. after all

2 hours 45 minutes - That is how long I took to get to work today, instead of the usual 50 mins to 1 hour (from USJ). Left home at about 7:15am, and didn't reach the school until about 10am. Pathetic. I could have reached Penang with that kind of time frame!!!

Why??? Thanks to the closure of S.M.A.R.T. tunnel! Last night it rained and rained until some part of KL is flooded and my poor hubby is stuck at the office (closeby to the tunnel). Then they closed the tunnel because the flood management system was in operation. What kind of bullshit is that? If it was in operation there shouldn't be flood in the first place. At least not not anywhere near the tunnel's location!

This morning traffic was just chaotic with cars that are supposed to be in the underground tunnel running ON the ground. Unfortunately, I didn't realise the tunnel was closed until the announcement on radio, when it was too late to switch my direction. *sigh* It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to answer a nature's call. I had the CD player blast Jive Bunny and danced to it (mind you it's not easy to jive with your bum stuck on the car seat, feet on the brake and a nature's call to answer). Cars around me must think I am a cuckoo!

It's still going to be closed tomorrow and UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Bummer.

Happy Birthday Aunty Shirl!

Thanks to Lyne who created this little surprise for me. Kam Siah!

Temporarily Offline

First I was busy with my wedding, but now that it is over, I am deprived of internet access back at our new nest in USJ. All thanks to the 'efficient' service of Streamyx. Promise I'll be back in action as soon as the internet connection is activated.

Hasta muy pronto!

Selamat Hari Merdeka ke-50

Selamat Hari Jadi Malaysia, saya bangga menjadi warganegaramu.

Tanggal 31

Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh

Merdeka! Merdeka!

Tetaplah merdeka

Ia pasti menjadi sejarah

Tanggal 31

Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh

Hari yang mulia

Hari bahagia

Sambut dengan jiwa yang merdeka

Mari kita seluruh warga negara

Ramai-ramai menyambut hari merdeka

Merdeka!

Tiga satu bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh

Hari mulia negaraku merdeka

-Allahyarham Sudirman Haji Arshad

One Lucky Horsey

I feel very lucky because I am surrounded by so many people that care about me...i.e. my family, my friends :) Of course I didn't realise it ONLY now. But I felt really touched yesterday, when I had a small little accident at work and my elbow was dislocated (am typing now with only one hand on the keyboard, and the other on a sling)

Lyne was with me throughout, keeping me company until the parameds arrived, then followed me to the hospital. She even had to endure a cold butt after sitting on an icepack accidentally; both her hands were occupied to hold my arm up in position that is least painful for me. Also lots of story to keep my mind off the pain. Though I am no believer, she also prayed for me. Thanks, Lyne.

Everyone else were equally concerned too, I wished I could thank all of them here. Aunty Dion helped transfer me to Pantai Cheras Medical Center, to Dr. Ang whom she trusted. At PCMC I was admitted to the ward and sedated to perform a reduction of the elbow. Mom helped me to drive the car home from work. Dad was so worried he questioned Sandra on why my family was not informed immediately. Of course I explained to dad that it was my idea, but he was still upset. :P

My hubby stayed in the hospital with me throughout the night. I actually woke up at 2am in the morning complaining that I was hungry. After feeding me with a chocolate bun, he said I fell asleep almost immediately, just like a baby :P

Looks like I wont be able to drive, at least not for a while. I was discharged this morning but still not alowed to straighten my elbow. Mom wanted to help me shower but I insisted to do it myself. Anyway, later I had to ask for her help again to fasten my bra.... he he he :P

Follow up appointment with the doc is scheduled for next Mon 27th Aug. Hopefully by then he'll allow me to remove the sling!

I'm Going to Montreal!!!

How I wish! Of course I was just kidding. I'm not going anywhere, at least not for the moment, with so many things at hand. Just that I am really flattered with the affection and attachment shown to me by the two Canadian brothers, Nicolas and David.

When they first arrived at our school end of June, they spoke no English. The language barrier made them a little timid. In order to make them feel at home, I spoke to them in French (though it was an English medium school). However, as days passed, I told them that I would stop using French with them so that they could learn English. Of course, as usual, David tried to bargain with me to get an extension.

They are due to return to Montreal end of next week. When their dad asked, "What would you like to bring home to Montreal from Malaysia?" Apart from foodstuff, DVDs and others, they said, "Aunty Shirl!". I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that. They wanted me to be their nanny in Montreal....LOL! David even offered to share his room with me :D Then they described their home to me, that they have 2 TVs, and I could watch it with them, and that we could also have BBQ, and there's snow during winter....etc. I told them that I didn't have any jackets or coats to keep me warm during winter, and Nicolas was quick to answer, "We can buy them for you!" So very sweet of him!

I'm going to miss them a lot. Unfortunately, that's the downside of working with expatriates, they come and they stay, but as soon as you start to get emotionally attached to them, it's time for them to leave. :(

On the bright side, I know I'll have a place to stay if I'm to visit Montreal in future...maybe 1 yr, 5 yrs or 10 yrs down the road! (that is if David still has his room reserved for me and not for his girlfriends :P)

Workshop with Glen Tierney

I know I've been rather quiet lately, apologies to all my reader's who has been keeping a close tab on my blog. Nope, I haven't got MIA (missing in action), just a little full on my daily schedule. With my wedding reception dinner moving closer, I realise there are so many things that I have not done, despite having the luxury of 1 year's preparation.

Anyway, that aside, I just got home from Glen Tierney's dance workshop (Waltz & Tango) at YS's studio. His class was really fun to be in and though it contained only very simple and basic information, I find myself learning a lot just within that 2 hours. TW joined the workshop at gunpoint (well, almost), but he found it to be beneficial as well. Glen emphasized a lot on the posture as well as the right footwork (which TW was weak in). Throughout the 2 hr session, he switched from one partner to another and corrected our weak points. It was really nice to know when he commented that I was very comfortable to dance with.....ha ha ha... probably because he is just at the right height for me and me for him. :)

A pity the workshop only lasted 2 hours. But if he ever comes to Malaysia in future, I'm definitely going to attend his workshops again!

Migration of Photo Album

FYI, I am in the process of migrating my photos in my Yahoo! album to Shutterfly. Please update your bookmarks if any. New link is http://sitheng.shutterfly.com/. And oh, it is password protected now. Please e-mail me first to get access. :)

**Albums moved to http://guiri.site.shutterfly.com/ (Update: 16 May 2008)

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Living in Fear

This morning at 6am, mom woke me up with 2 bad news. Chester, our little Pomeranian dog that had been part of our family for almost 10 years now, is dead. And Jiao jiao (JJ), a Bullmastiff (Arthur & Angel's offspring) was dying. Immediately I rushed downstairs to see JJ, only to find him in spasms, and vomiting. It was such a heartbreaking sight. :~( Someone had intentionally fed them with pieces of meat laced with what I suspected to be rat poison.

Pieces of meat laced with poison

The vet was already on the way, and adviced us to force saltwater into JJ's mouth to induce vomiting. But it was too late. Chester's body had already hardened, which told us that JJ too has probably been poisoned at least several hours back. No matter what we did, it did not help. His tongue was already black. JJ was a larger dog, so it probably took the poison longer to kill him. But he simply could not wait until the vet arrived.

Just behind our house is a project to develop a highway. Due to this, we get lots of foreign labours straying around this area. Several times we have noticed them walking to the higher ground to survey what's within our compound. Each time we noticed that, we tried looking out of the window to let them know that we are aware of their presence. And each time they quickly hurried away or pretended to do something else. JJ was placed in our backyard as a guard dog, together with Chester. And that was how they became a victim of this cruel act. :(

Mike made a police report and explained our findings to the police;

1. a ladder that was found on a higher ground not too far from our backdoor (not there before).
2. meat pieces close to where Chester was found dead (Chester had lost most of its teeth and couldn't really chew, so he was probably poisoned just by licking them)

We also brought this to the attention of the developer so that they could do something about their development site. Currently there is an exposed area in their fencing which could allow anyone to easily crossover from the site to our backyard. A surveillance camera is now inevitable.

As for me, I just can't stop looking out of my window every few minutes just to check if anyone is lingering around unnecessarily. Dad got us another guard dog to mind the backyard but every time he barks I just get so nervous. It's ridiculous. I'm living in fear in my very own home.

Poor Thumbkin, Poor Pinky

Both my li'l pinky and my thumbkin hurt :( Just started my first piano lesson today. Mom thought it would be easy for me since I could type so well....NOT!!! My first song to practice with was just a tinnie winnie part of Ode to Joy and I am already getting cramps.....geez.....how will my fingers be able to last another 9 lessons?? :P

Happy Birthday Darling!

Today we celebrated TW's birthday at Secret Recipe. We didn't want to get a whole cake (nobody's gonna finish it later), so we got him a set of Kid's burger instead (it came in 4 li'l burgers, just nice for the candles). Just a simple one to mark his 31st birthday! Sorry I had to advertise your age here Uncle Wong! tee heee heee.... :P

Feminine? Who....me?

Just as I thought I'll have more time to spare now that my German course have ended, mom signed both of us up for piano lessons :O She saw the ad in the paper several days back about Piano for Adults course, and knew that I would definitely be interested (I wonder... whatever gave her that idea? :P ). So there we were yesterday at the centre for a free demo, and we thought it was a good idea to try it out. As a matter of fact, why not?? I can't play any musical instrument yet, en plus, I can't sit still neither, and eventually will find something else to fill up my time, so might as well. My first lesson starts this Thursday.

TW was very excited when he heard about it. I asked him why. Almost wanted to give him a smack on the head when he told me, "You are one step closer to being more feminine... he he he..." :O

Je Veux Maman!!!

Today I finally get to put my French knowledge to use.... though in a really funny way I would say. Two Canadian brothers, of age 4 and 6, joined us this morning, not understanding a single word of English except for 'Thank you'. Both spoke only French. The last time we had Chiara, an Italian girl who was in the same situation, and everyday she just cried asking for her mummy. That time I wished that I spoke Italian. And now, I get my chance with the 2 boys.

The elder one was in Lyne's class, doing quite well, though a little shy. As for the younger one, he was initially fine, and tried to follow whatever he could during class and music time. But as the rest of the children got noisier, he started to get a little uncomfortable then broke into tears. The whole morning I tried to stay close to him whenever not occupied by another child, and accompanied him during lunch time. He didn't want to eat at first, but after a little coaxing, he went for second helping! It was certainly a relieve that he was very cooperative and understood that his mummy would come later to pick him up, though he was still sobbing from time to time. Then Jenny let him speak to his mother on the phone and that soothed him a little. I guess at the age of 4, children can already understand and can accept explanation from adults.

Despite all that, both agreed to come back again tomorrow! They negotiated with their mother: one said that he'll stay for one hour, while the other said two. Guess what the mummy said? "That makes 3 hours then!" ;)

Auf Wiedersehen!

Today is my last German class at Goethe-Institut. This Thursday is the A1 Zertifikat Prüfung (Exam), but I have decided to give it a miss. I know I could have easily passed, but I didn't think it was necessary to get a certificate at this level.

We have done enough mock tests in class and I am well aware of my own level. At this present moment, I have quite a good collection of different language certificates. But I have come to realise that having these certificates or diplomas does not proof what I can still do 6 months down the road if I don't continue using it. It's just another nice-to-have item. Even Jobstreet limits the number of languages that you can put in your resume to 5 ONLY :P So German, being my weakest language now will not even be included.

Anyway, my best wishes to all my classmates that will be taking the exam. Good Luck and see you all this Sunday for the party at Andrew's!!!

In Random Order: Rizal, Min Yow, Darren, Wayn Sern, Andrew, Auli, Chin Gian, Jason, Me, Kok Hoong (hidden), Arnida, Emir, Baljit, Frau Lee, Sheila, Lee Wen

I have a new TOY!

Went to Low Yatt Plaza today with TW to get some computer stuff. Then I got myself a new pen tablet, something I've been wanting for years! I still haven't figure out what I am going to do with it next, but this is what I did just moments ago :D

Tourist Guide - Part 2

A sequel to Tourist Guide "Celup".

Aleix [pronounced as Ah-lesh], Tinisha's friend from Barcelona, was here in Malaysia on a business trip. The company was based in Pasir Gudang (PG) so he spent most of his time in Johor during his 2 weeks stay. Last Saturday he managed to squeeze in an extremely brief stay in KL. This is where I come in useful; in support of the Visit Malaysia Year 2007. This time I even had a chauffeur, my beloved TW....thanks Dear! :D

He stayed at Crown Princess in Jln Ampang, having reserved it just one day before at a good price. Funny thing is that the website stated that it is a 4-star hotel, but when he arrived, the plaque mentioned that it was 5-star rated. Long story kept short, if it had been a 5-star, it was definitely overrated.

His first stop was the KL tower, then we had a quick drive to Dataran Merdeka to see the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad. Coincidentally that morning was the celebration of the Agung's birthday, so there was a big backdrop for us to take some photos :) From there we took a turn to Chinatown, and it was a little drizzly. Before we even completed walking the whole stretch of Jalan Petaling, it started to pour.....so we took shelter in at Kwong Woh Tong (chinese herbal tea kiosk). There, I introduced him to Guilinggao (chinese herbal jelly) which is detoxing and cooling for the body, good for the skin, and for constipation too! Anyway I am not a fan, so he had to finish the whole bowl all by himself :P

In the rain we walked to Central Market, and spent some time doing ONLY window shopping there until Aleix spotted a very nice Batik shirt. He was at first reluctant to buy anything at all, but I guess it's difficult to resist...he he he... While waiting for the rain to stop, we had some White coffee at Oldtown coffeehouse. To him it was just good cafe con leche. :P We sent him back to hotel after that to refresh himself, while we went back to get a change too.

At night we took him for a dinner at Farmland Steamboat for a try of the Steamboat porridge He had already tried all the saucy and spicy Malay and Indian food while he was in PG, so I thought it would be a good idea to let him try something new. After that we went to Tasik Titiwangsa to see Eye on Malaysia.

Aleix with his new Batik shirt :D

It was way past 11:30pm, so the wheel was supposedly closed to public, but they decided to take in one last call before they close for the day. Off we went into the capsule, only to be awfully disappointed at what we can see from inside. It was PATHETIC!!! All we could manage was just a miserable outline of the capsule next to us because the windows and glasses were so misty. I felt really cheated paying RM15 each just to sit in there and feeling all miserable. Seriously we were really tempted to press that RED emergency button just to get out!

Bored to the MAX!

As soon as we got to the ground, I highlighted to the staff about the problem but they just shrugged it off. Malaysia BOLEH lah... Anyway, we went Salsa dancing and forgot all about it (at least momentarily for me)

Next morning it was seafood noodle for breakfast at Jalan Segambut before we went to KLCC for a walk in the park and more shopping :P Then we sent him to Puduraya to catch his bus back to Johor.

Hope you enjoyed yourself Aleix and perhaps the next time you are here, Tinisha can join us too. Besos!

The Sound of Silence

I just realised today that I can be driven insane if I am deprived of talking. Last night my throat was acting up, and this morning the virus shut down my voice box completely. All I could manage was just a misery hissing sound like the radio out of coverage area. All my efforts to communicate were in vain.

I have never been quite a vocal person (or so I've thought), and I didn't quite mind if I am locked away in a vault without seeing another living soul for days, as long as I have a comfortable bed, a good supply of food, and either one or more of these:
a) books
b) my beloved laptop with internet access
c) MP3 player
On the other hand, I can't stand the silence if somebody else is just right in front of me and I can't talk to them! *FRUST*

Anyway, just wanted to release my pent-up frustration before I am driven up the wall...he he he... Good night bloggiee...

Teacher Appreciation Day

Thanks to Yen Yen and Fatimah for the beautiful cards (and thanks to Auntie Lyne too for helping them make it!) *MUUUUAAAAK*

And Happy Teacher's Day to all my ex-teachers out there! A big hug to ALL of you! Un abrazo fuerte!

Honda Safety Driving Course 2007

Mom and I had a great mother-daughter activity yesterday :D Honda sent me an invitation weeks back for a safety driving course. I was quite skeptical about taking part, what if they ask me to do some stunts which I can't do??? Then again, the course was FREE, and I was allowed to bring a partner along. So I asked mom to see if she would be interested to join, and she said yes!

That's my mom getting ready for action!

So there we were at the APAC near the old Subang airport, all geared up in Honda T-shirts & caps (we had a nice goodie bag too!). I must salute Honda MY for doing such a great job at making this event a huge success. The group was relatively small, only about 25 of us, and everyone was treated like a king. After every practical session, we were given cool wet towelettes and drinks to refresh ourselves at the canopy. Breakfast, lunch and breaks served were also abundant and quality of food was good (caterer: Mum's Place @ Damansara Perdana).
Program of the day:

7:30am - Arrival of participants and breakfast (nasi lemak...yummy!)
8:30am - Opening ceremony and theory session by Jonathan Tang (from Bkt Batok Driving school in S'pore)
9:45am - Group photo session
10:00am - Pre-drive essentials with our group's trainer, Masagoes (car check, blind spots & blind areas)
10:30am - Warm up at the circuit and maneuvering practice with the 'S' curves (also highlights on correct sitting posture, etc)
12:00noon - Lunch time (satay, lamb chops, prawn salad, etc.....burp!)
1:00pm - Emergency braking with ABS (we did it on both wet & dry surface - this was just the warm up to get us used to hard braking)
2:00pm - Collision and danger avoidance with ABS (this was a little tricky, we had to speed up, brake at on a slipper rubber mat with water and soap, then avoid colliding with the cone in front of us, 2nd part was to break and avoid colliding with the cone at the sudden change of signal light)
3:30pm - Break with kuih nyonya, fried wantan, etc (starting to feel like this is a weight gain program!)
4:00pm - Cornering (My mom's fav part of all! We get to drive at diff speeds, 20km/h, 30km/h and up to 60km/h on a sharp corner without braking! Mom said she felt like she was 18 once again...he he he)
5:15pm - Summary and a quick test (we both scored 14/15! Not bad huh?)
5:45pm - Presentation of certificates
6:00pm - End of event & Test drive for your choice of car (we wanted to try out the Integra, but the queue was just too loooooooooong!)

We were definitely tired but enjoyed ourselves tremendously at the end of the day. Wonder if I'll get to try this out again in the future?

*Updated 9th May 2007 : An article about this driving course at Paultan.org - along with our photo!!! :D

Two Left Feet - Part 2

Judy, my ballroom dance instructor, suggested that I participate in the Malaysia Team DanceSport Championships 2007 in the Beginner's category on the 28th of April. Hah, what a joke! She said that I am qualified, just need a little touch-ups here and there. On top of that, I don't have to search for a dance partner; TW is readily available now that he is taking dance lessons with me. Yeah, right.

He had to be at gun-point to take up dancing, and now what? Competition? He'd rather have me shoot him. Ke ke ke..... of course I have to be fair too.... my knees shudder even at the mention of the word, so how can I compete? I got myself 2 tickets instead - to support and cheer for Hazel who will be competiting in both the Latin and Ballroom Category D. All the best, darling! :)

April's Fools

The fools went over the mountain,
The fools went over the mountain,
The fools went over the mountain,
To see what they could see.

And all that they could see was

Grey clouds covering the sky
Then rain pouring down their heads
Getting all soaked from head to toe
Was all that they could see.

(Sing to the tune: The Bear Went Over the Mountain)

Normally, we would skip the our weekly hill trekking if we sense a rainstorm ahead. Funnily today we didn't, and just short of 3 minutes to reaching the top, it started to rain. Mom, dad and their friends were not too far from the starting point, so they retreated almost immediately. But poor Sebastian and myself were about 20 minutes away. The rain got heavier as we were going downhill, and both of us were completely wet from head to toe.

It was really fun actually, I can't recall the last time I actually walked under the rain without an umbrella... :) Reminds me of my trekking trip at Mulu National Park in 2003 with Hong Teng. Sebastian and I had to be very careful as water came pouring down the slopes and his shoes didn't have a very good grip.

It continued to rain cats and dogs, even after we reached the starting point. All I could say is we looked like "chicken in the soup" (lok tong gai), completely drenched. Thank goodness none of us caught a cold!

I'm a Shark???

Today, while explaining some dinosaurs to my class, Ella pointed at several and said they represented her daddy, mummy, his brother Enrico, and herself. Being a little curious, I asked her which one did she think was me. She picked the most gruesome of all - the T-Rex. Me? The T-Rex??

Just moments later, I picked up an ABC book and asked the children what each picture represented. Not surprisingly, Ella chose the hen to represent her mummy, and the little chick as herself. But what did she chose to represent me??? It was a SHARK!!! :O

Ellaaaa....Ellaaa.....you can be SOOOOOOOOO adorable sometimes ;)

3...2...1...Blast Off!

It's our school field trip to the Planetarium today! Last 2 weeks the children had their chance to make their very own space T-shirt to be worn during this trip. The teachers, too, thought that it would be a good idea to have one each, so we got ourselves a plain black-T each and decorated it too! Thanks to Lyne for helping us to make such a beaauuuuuuuuutiful Space-T! Gam siah!

Not just any Space-T

If you look carefully, Sandra's Space-T shows a space shuttle taking off from the Earth, then passing through my shirt (half of the Earth is on my Space-T), before landing on the moon on Lyne's Space-T. Ain't that cool??? :D

Lost in Time

Just tonight a friend commented that I can't stop talking about my "sabbatical" trip to Spain, France and Europe. Which is so very true. Name any topics, I'll manage to relate it to my experiences of the past 1 1/2 years. Amazingly this milestone that I have charted for myself in 2005 and 2006 has made such an impact: that it overshadows my 28 years of history. No doubt, it's also the most recent achievement in my life to "brag" about (also the very one that left me with a BIG hole in my pocket to mend).

Are the rest of my life really not worthy of sharing? Definitely not. Just that it probably won't be as interesting to anyone else but me ;) Stored away in a little chest of treasure, to be discovered only by the one who holds the key.....

CNY APIIT Gathering

The Magnificient 7 who turned up on 3/3/07....EHEM...

Vivien has never given up trying to organize a get together for our APIIT gang every CNY. This year is no different. Unfortunately, the number of attendees seems to dwindle every year. I find it sad that some of us are not even making a teenie weenie bit of effort to make it, nor even bothered to reply that they are not coming; c'mon, it's only ONCE a year thingie! (Ok, those who are not in town or with valid reasons can be excused).

Anyway, we did have a great time, with great seafood and Yee Sang of course (probably my 10th time this year) in Unique Seafood Restaurant at Sect 13, PJ. Hopefully next year Vivien will have better luck gathering more people to come - "Don't give up Viv, we still need someone to do the job! Thanks a million!!!"

Pinkguins in Phillip Island

Our trip to Phillip Island - Couldn't resist putting up this photo first (though it's already way overdue). Will update story soon!

Colourful Yee Sang

Even before the CNY approaches, I have tossed the Yee Sang for more than 3 times already. This is a unique custom practiced extremely popular in Malaysia (well, and in our beloved neighbouring countries too) as a way to "toss up" good health, prosperity and good luck. However, for our case, its not so much for those reasons listed, but simply because we just adore the dish.

The dish is basically a salad containing vegetables like julienne carrots and white radish (and few others of I-dunno-what, pomelo, crackers, peanuts, and most importantly, the raw fish. Nowadays you can get variations like Salmon, Abalone, Jellyfish, and even Sashimi Prawns! Plum sauce is used for the dressing; and the sweet and sour taste makes it really appetising. :D Last year I had about 7-8 times of Yee Sang. I can probably break the record this year...ke ke ke..

ABCs of a Pre-school Teacher

Being a pre-school teacher is definitely not as easy as 'ABC'. It requires patience... and LOTS of them too. Not to forget 24/7 listening ears (if I only had a bunch of them). All the children expect attention to themselves ONLY, which was easy to see why; most of them are the ONLY child in the family. All want to talk at the same time. All want you to listen ONLY to them. And you know what? They have NEVERENDING stories to tell too. Simply amazing.

I am still trying to get used to these little buzzing bumble bees, while one or two are loudly crying (or screaming?) in the background. It's the beginning of a new term, where newcomers are still crying for their mummies. Our favourite phrase, "Yes, mama/papa will come later" to try calm them down: sometimes it works and sometimes not. But that is not the hardest part: to differentiate "I am playing with you now" tone against "I am serious and you'd better listen" when talking to them IS. Jenny is really good at that.

Some of the children also get too attached to their own teacher that they refused to move up to another class. For example, Joel (half-German) who refused to move out of Toddlers class to mine (Junior 1) because he is used to having Mimie as his teacher. Then Elio, the Italian boy who refused to move up to Junior 2 because of me. Wherever he goes, he wants me to join him. Even to the toilet, he would not let anyone else bring him if I was around. Joel now willingly goes to Junior 1, though he can't sit still and walks in and out of the class, while Elio only agreed to enter Junior 2 last Thursday. Keeping my fingers crossed he will adapt to Junior 2 soon.

Anyway, I have a lot to learn, but I will go easy on myself. Though it's not a long hour job, I can get really beat up at the end of the day :P Undoubtedly, there is a very good remedy for all the exhaustion:

Steal a BIG hug from them, which sometimes comes with a bonus kiss .

Mein Name ist Si Theng

My German language class at Goethe-Institut will start next Monday, 15th January 2007. A new year for a new language :D. Had originally planned to continue either español, français or 日本語, but I was not able to match their time table for this term to my hectic schedule (got myself filled up with too many activities ... he he he).

Will have to keep writing more emails in French and Spanish to hopefully guard what I have learnt. My acquired Japanese skills have completely gone down the drain though :P Sandra and Lyne have asked me to give them Spanish lessons, which I more than willingly agreed. Although that DELE Intermedio Diploma doesn't really qualify me to teach, I should do fine with complete beginners (I hope!)

When the Clock Strikes 12

Makan-makan Malaysia

My family forego the plan of going to Taiwan because of I couldn't make it. We headed for Penang instead. It must have been a blessing in disguise cause Taiwan was hit by an earthquake on the same day that we returned from our northbound trip.

So, what did we do in this trip? Well, to start with, the 10 of us set off on Christmas eve morning with a nice dim sum to fill our tummies. On our way, we stopped at Teluk Intan to have our favourite Ah Chai rojak*.

Yummy Ah Chai Rojak

Oh, and did I mention that all the Leong sisters were dressed in a uniform? Well, not exactly a uniform but we had the exact same polo T-shirt. We definitely caught everyone's attention no matter where we went ... he he he...

After that, we visited a goat farm in Chenderiang, a small town next to Tapah. The kids were soooo cute.... when they saw us, they immediately greeted us, "meeehhh... meeeehhhh.....". Yi San tried to carry one of them and the poor fella went "MEEEEHHH!", which I assumed to be "Put me down!".

"MEEEEEHHHH!!!"

From Chenderiang, we headed straight to Penang, and checked-in to the hotel first. Then, for dinner we went to Tanjong Tokong. There we indulged in 4kg of salt-baked prawns, 1kg of grilled crabs, 30 sticks of satay, or chien**, grilled stingray, stir-fried vege, fried meehoon, spicy la-la, gung bao*** mantis prawns and I have probably missed a thing or two from the list. A feast that could feed at least 20. Unfortunately, I had my fingers all dirty from peeling prawns and crabs, I didn't manage to take a photo.

Of course that was not all, immediately after we went to Gurney drive for 2nd helping of Penang food. That was how we discovered that "White" Christmas exists here! There were lots of stalls selling party SNOW spray: 4 for RM10. All the youngsters were having fun spraying at their friends and passerbys, including cars. Though we tried to stay away from them, we were not fully spared as the wind helped spread the "SNOW". I had to refrain from taking photos to avoid getting my camera all "SNOWY". We returned to hotel after having our muar chi and crunchy mango rojak.

Again the very next day it was all about FOOD. We had our routine breakfast at Soong river, one of the restaurants located by the seaside near Gurney drive. Our usual orders: steamed rice noodles with fish (I don't know what type), braised noodles with prawns, fried chicken wings, etc. After breakfast we went to Prangin Mall, and while doing our window shopping, stumbled across a Reflexology center and 7 of us decided to get some massage. Sebastian (first-timer) was heard screaming throughout the foot massage session. Me on the other hand fell asleep during the session. We also had a ear-candling session.

All ready for foot reflexology

If you have been following me closely from the beginning, you should be able to guess by now that our next activity was of course to EAT. It was cendol time :D

Enjoying ice cold cendol on a hot sunny day

Tired yet? Wait! I still have not talked about the assam laksa at our favourite no. 11 stall at Gurney drive (yes, again). And not to forget... *drum rolls* : FRIED CHICKEN SKIN! Yes, you heard me right the first time, an extremely sinful delicacy but Oh, so yummy!

SS taking a bite of the fried chicken skin

That was just a pre-movie snacking. We watched Confessions of Pain at GSC in Gurney Plaza (original plan was to watch Curse of the Golden Flower but it was a full house), and proceeded for our dinner at NS Nasi Kandar. The portion was really big and they gave lots of kuah**** :D

Ok, ok....that's basically the end of our Makan-makan trip. Erm, ALMOST......aside from the breakfast at Soong River again the next morning before our depart and another stopover at Ipoh for char koay teow, sotong kangkung and chee cheong fun. BURP!

THE LEONG FAMILY

*rojak = fruit salad a la malaysian [pronounced as "row jug"]
**or chien = fried oysters with eggs
***gung bao = fried with dried red chilis and dark soya sauce
****kuah = gravy

Intolerable Cruelty

A friend forwarded me this article from the Star newspaper today.

***
Dog loses jaw after cruel beating - The Star (21/12/06)

JOY, a little black dog whose jaw was surgically removed after he was almost beaten to death, still looks at humans with love.

Despite the cruelty rendered to him, he still looks at people to bepetted and loved.

On Dec 2, Sabrina Yeap, managing partner of the Furry Friends Farm(FFF), rescued Joy at the Ki-Park Sri Utara construction site belonging to developer, Kepong Industrial Park Sdn Bhd (KIP Group).

Joy's jaw had to be surgically removed after it was beaten half to death by Indonesian construction workers.Joy's lower jaw was dangling and his tongue was hanging out.

Two eyewitnesses said they had seen him being beaten by Indonesian foreign workers who kept calling the dog haram as they continuously beat it.

Joy's lower jaw was so badly injured that it had to be surgically removed, but its tongue was saved despite having lacerations and blood clots.

Dr Habeeb Rahman Ibramsa, a lecturer in Quran and Sunnah studies at the International Islamic University in Gombak, volunteered to give atalk to the foreign workers who were involved in the beating of Joy.

But, to date, the owners of KIP Group has refused to co-operate.

"I wish to end this ignorance. The Quran does not support violence against animals; I am willing to give lectures, presentations and screen videos that support what I am saying.

"I hope the public, Government officials, foreign workers and others who need to hear this truth will attend," said Dr Habeeb.

Yeap said FFF was not looking for the government to punish the people who did this to Joy.
"We are calling on the government to support our public education projects by persuading the developer, KIP Group, to allow us to educate their workers.

"Joy may not be able to fetch a ball or toy anymore but he still know how to show his delight in human companionship," Yeap said.

A little gathering will be held at the Canteen Restaurant in Plaza Damas to support Joy.
Those interested in attending can also bring a little gift for him.

For details, call Yeap at 016-631 9018.
***

My heart sank as I read the article. How can somebody be so cruel to a defenseless animal like that? It broke my heart just to look at Joy's photo. I hope that by spreading the news, there will be more to support efforts of people like Ms. Yeap.

Two Left Feet

After more than 6 months of absence, I resumed my dancing lessons with YS Dancesport. "Thanks" to YS who regarded highly of my abilities, he suggested that I join the Advance group.

In the 1st hour (latin technique) I was struggling to keep my balance on the 2 1/2 inch heels; I had been on flats most of the time for the past 6 months since I had to do a lot of walking. Lucky for me, I regained by stability at the end of the class, though the ball of my feet had began to hurt a little.

The 2nd hour was tough. Everyone else was already well versed with the Group 1 and Group 2 sequence for the Cha cha cha, and was learning the new Group 3 sequence, while I was completely in the dark and tried to mimic whatever I could. However, after dozens of double spin turns and open hip twists, my knees and ankles couldn't take it anymore. I was thrown off balance everytime I had to make a second spin turn. My partner had to remind me to keep my feet close each time I make a spin - if only it was that easy!

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the 2 hours lessons a lot (although I end up walking like a duck immediately after). It feels so good to be back there again! Will have my ballroom dance lessons this Sat, really looking forward to it.

Holiday....Yipppeee!!!

Yep! It's holiday again for me..... I know I just started this new job not too long ago, but it's school holiday now. The children were relieved from school since end of last week, while the teachers were required to be at school for training, clean up, and a make-over (not the teachers, the school of course!). Finally, it's all DONE (well, almost). Now we all have 2 weeks to rest. Then we'll have to be back just several days before the school starts to get ourselves ready for the noisy but adorable bunch to be back...he he he.

Butterflies, Tigers & Leopards

Aaaaawwwwww, soooooooooooo CUTEEEEEEE!!! All I wanted to do was just to pinch their cute little cheeks, but of course, that was not allowed coz they had paint all over their face! Today's the end of Term 4 party for year 2006. For the past 2 weeks we have been training the children to dance to the song "I just can't wait to be king" from Lion King. And with the Jungle theme, the girls were turned into pretty butterflies while the boys into tigers and leopards! The teachers arrived early to decorate the restaurant, and the children started arriving about 10am to get dressed and have their face painted (I did the tigers!!!)......so very cool ;) I guess the face paint were really uncomfortable, as after 15 mins or so, some of them already tried to wipe them off... he he he..

The party was a huge success, although we had some of them running back to their mummies and daddies during the dance, and as usual, some cry babies too. But everyone had such great fun! The daddies were given hand-painted ties to wear, and mummies were given photo frames. All hand-made by the children (ehem...with help from the teachers of course).

I got home realising that I had also some face paint on the back of my shirt. Looks like the kids also tried to rub them off on me! :P Probably as a revenge!

*updated 30 Nov 2006

Look Who's New???

"It's Auntie Shirl! Let's give a clap to Auntie Shirl!" There goes Auntie Oli, the teacher for class Junior 1 (also my mentor for the moment) when introducing me to a bunch of cuties below 5 years old.

My life as an assistant teacher at a Montessori pre-school begins today. It's my second time at the school, and I am glad that some of the kids still remember my face though not my name. I couldn't have enjoyed it more. They were not at all shy around me, for e.g. Oscar, he was making me follow him from room to room, pulling my hands to make me continue when I was tired and wanted to stop. He was babbling all the time then made me help him stuff the rubber crocodile with raw macaroni (which I found later that it was not allowed, I mean, to stuff the crocodile). Then during Circle Time, several of them ran to sit next to me i.e. Elio, Isabella, Clara-Ann, etc.

These kids are sooooooo independent! And so very adorable. After playing, they never make a fuss when you tell them to clean up. Of course, these are all the perks of being a pre-school teacher. No screaming from angry bosses or customers, only screaming from kids enjoying themselves. No messy documentation and filing, only lots of messy painting and sticky glue on your fingers. No office politics and backstabbing, only playful "stabbing" from the boys with a plastic knives* (and I had to pretend dead for a while).

No doubt there are tough situations, for e.g.:

1. Cleaning up after their poo & pee ('accidents' do happen, but it can't be worst than the 'poo' left over by some when working in the corporate world)
2. Home sick children (e.g. Chiara, an Italian girl, wouldn't stop crying; probably due to language barrier - she refused to mix with the rest except for Elio, of whom she could understand, and only thought of going home the very moment she arrived at school. Damn, why didn't I take up Italian???)
3. Understanding baby languages; Cassandra was asking for her water bottle during meal time, but I thought she wanted more pasta.... :P

Pheewww, what a day.......more excitements tomorrow! :D

*stabbing (whether with real OR plastic knives) should not be encouraged

One year wiser?

For 2 consecutive years, I did not manage to celebrate my birthday with my family. Last year I was in Spain, and this year, though I am back home, coincidently, everyone's away. Mom and dad and brother and 2 sisters. Only Sean San was left at home with me. So tonight, I spent my birthday having dinner with TW's family, also in conjunction with James' birthday (TW's brother) which was yesterday.

After my 25th birthday, I have stopped taking counts. Just didn't want to be reminded that in a few years, I'd be able to squish a fly with the lines on my forehead, that I would no longer need something to keep me warm, because I would have accumulated enough "insulation" round my waist, thighs, etc. with my lower metabolism. Don't want to be reminded that responsibilities also weigh a little bit more with every year that you add to your age. *sigh*

Happy Birthday to me!

...

My grey matter hasn't been very productive lately. In fact, it doesn't even care to figure out why. But I am feeling very guilty of leaving my beloved blog cold and abandoned, thought I'd just "pen" in something here.

What have I been doing for the past 4 weeks:

1. Attended April's wedding

2. Read 3 children books in French
- Le Petit Prince by Antoine de St. Exupéry
- Le Petit Nicolas et Les Copains by Sempé & Goscinny
- La Révolte des Coloriés (Sans adultes Tome I) by Alexandre Jardin

3. Read 3 1/2 novels & short stories in English
- Skin & Other Stories by Roald Dahl
- The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend
- The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend
- Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years by Sue Townsend (just started)

4. With the help of Hong Teng, Carmen and my sis, we went to 4 different bridal palaces at Jln. Ipoh to find out different wedding packages. Will be visiting several more near Loke Yew. Planning a wedding is nothing close to fun.

5. Found myself a job as a pre-school teacher; will be working with children below 5 years old starting from November 7th. Cute!!!

6. Appointed as chauffeur for my sis and house guardian during mom & dad's absence (B.O.R.I.N.G.)

Then my brother asked me this evening, what have you achieved for the past 4 weeks that you are back? Weirdly, I was dumbfounded.

Miracle Healer

When I first heard about the miracle healer from my dad 2 weeks ago, I was very skeptical. How could a man act like God and heal people from chronic diseases by just cutting them up without using anaesthetic, then performing the operation, and close the cut again without stitches?

My dad became a believer of this healer, who has his "clinic" in Shah Alam, when a wife of his friend was healed of her ankle pains (which required a surgery in a hospital and months to heal). What this doctor did was - he cut open her ankles, fix the problem near the bones (I have no idea what that bone is called), then closed her wound again. He described that the whole process was similar to what you would do when you replace a battery, open the battery cover, replace the battery, then close the cover again. And all this was done in just a matter of MINUTES for both ankles, and she was able to walk after that without further problems nor pains. Not only that, the cost of the operation was only a tinnie winnie fraction of what it would cost her to get it done in the hospital.

This "doctor" was also reportedly able to completely cure various types of cancers, kidney failures, diabetes, problems with nervous systems, etc. Then 2 days ago, I read about this healer in the Star newspaper - Rich and poor 'healed'. His clinic was raided on the 11th Oct, however, the "doctor" was nowhere to be found. Hmm..I don't know, really, I am still skeptical. Although there seems to be lots of testimonials supporting him, I am not convinced until I see it with my own eyes.

The Health Ministry said that they will not condone any unqualified practice of medicine even though they are claims of positive results. But what about the public??? Should they put their trust on this man? Most of them resort to this option only because they fail to get results from qualified doctors, or because they simply cannot afford the costly treatment in hospitals. Some think that they have nothing to lose but a hope of being able to live healthily again. Are the authorities killing hopes when they try to stop unqualified doctors like this? Or would they be encouraging more bogus doctors if they keep quiet about it??

Congratulations April!!!

Yesterday I was one of the ji muis responsible for "torturing" the groom when he comes to pick up the bride from her maiden house. One of the chinese customaries during chinese weddings (god knows who started it first), the groom is required to undergo several challenges before he is allowed to take the bride. His willingness to undertake all these challenges will prove how much he loves his newly wedded wife (or wife-to-be in some cases). However, at times, there seem to be a tendency to torture the groom, or his mates, whom are allowed to take over the challenges so that the groom can leave the house alive... ke ke ke ke...

These were the programs for yesterday's morning ceremony:

1. When the Adrian (the groom) and his mates (we call them the heng dai) arrive, each and every one of them was given a banana for breakfast, not just ANY banana, but one that is laced with wasabi (whipped cream was used as a camouflage). Adrian was only allowed to exit his car until everyone has eaten their portion.

2. At the front door, a nice cold bucket of ice water awaited them; Adrian was required to answer 5 questions concerning April (the bride) correctly, else he and his heng dais were required to chew on some chewing gums for each wrong answer while having their feet soaked into the ice water, while the ji muis happily filled the bucket with more ice. They were not allowed out of the bucket until all 5 questions are correctly answered.

3. The last test is held in front of April's room. Adrian was required to sing the April's favourite song, then say 'I Love You' in 7 languages. It must be heard by the April behind the locked door and she must accept all this before the last door is allowed to be opened. Of course, the groom must also pay $$$ to the ji muis as price to open the door. This must be fairly negotiated! The figure will normally be a long string 9's to represent longetivity of the marriage; "long 9s" in cantonese = for eternity.

At last, the door was opened, and there was a ring exchange, photo session, and a tea serving ceremony to the parents and relatives of April. At the end of the session, the couple is ushered to the car under a red umbrella then everyone proceeded to Adrian's house for the next tea serving ceremony to his family members.

As for the ji muis, with mission accomplished, they all went home after lunch to get some rest and to make themselves pretty again for the wedding reception at night! ;)

Some of the ji muis with the bride at the wedding reception

The rest of the photos can be found in Yee Ling's online photo album.

Home Sweet Home

I arrived Kuala Lumpur International Airport on a Sunday morning. Extremely smooth landing, credits must really be given to the Captain and his co-pilots :D I was all covered from head to toe as it was cold the morning I left, but when I got here, the captain announced that it was 26 deg C, even at 6:30am in the morning.....then it struck me.....I am back home to the warm climate...HOORAAYYY!!! Blue and sunny skies awaiting me!

But I am a little disappointed, as the sky was not as blue as I thought, and I can't even see the sun, thanks to our "neighbour". I normally can see the Petronas Twin Towers all the way from my house, but today I even have problem looking at a building less than 2km away, not to mention the "heavenly" smell. Every year the haze never fails to make the headlines.... *sigh*....It rained quite heavily last night, but even that did not clear the haze :( I remember seeing this hazy look when I was in Chambéry, and I asked Jean-Charles if it was haze too, but he told me that was a sign of good weather in the mountains......what a BIG difference!

Anyway, back to my life in KL, I have no problem at all sleeping at night, in fact, I have no problem sleeping till 1pm too!!! Jet lag didn't really bother me, but except that this time I decided to watch 4 movies on the flight, so I was a little, just a little tired, and so j'ai fait la grasse matinée. Plus, the wi-fi did not work from my room, so I had to work on it all night to get it fixed, and even now, the connection is still intermittent....arrrgghh...ça m'énerve!!!

My language communication skills have somehow deteriorated quite badly. I spoke to the girl next to me and the stewardess in french, although both were Malaysian, I can't speak Malay anymore without asking my sis things like, "how do you say 'type' in Malay??", then realising it was jenis. Even in Cantonese, I am saying everything in the opposite of what I meant to say....now I don't even know if anyone can understand what I blog here, although its mostly in English. This is what my sis describe as jao foh yap moh or possessed by devil. Cham lorrr......apa mau jadi dengan saya???

Dernier Jour à Chambéry

My last night in Chambéry is spent updating my beloved blog. Won't write much now..... am a little ivre after several glasses of wine during dinner. Plus, I have to wake up at 4:30am tomorrow morning. But I had a great time joking around with Misaki, Ryo, Asuka, Chern Hwei and Leticia.


Will update the rest of the happenings when I am back in Malaysia i.e Manicure session with Asuka and the Graduation Ceremony at Academie de Savoie.

Malaysia, akhirnya ku kembali padamu.

Where's the Toilet Seat???

"Non!!! C'est pas possible! C'est pas possible au Japon!" That was Asuka, half crying, half screaming, when she came out from one of the toilets in one of the bars in Chambery. She was practically traumatised because there wasn't any toilet seat. It so happens that there was a guy using the toilet next door and he was so shocked to find her screaming in the toilet (poor guy). I found that extremely amusing. Our french friends thought it was rather amusing as well, because Asuka really demonstrated a super duper reaction. Thanks to Asuka, I enriched my French vocabulary with a new word i.e. cuvette, which means toilet seat. Asuka also borrowed my camera so that she could take a picture of the toilet bowl and update it into her blog.

On another completely unrelated story: I have been quite distracted lately, not being able to concentrate on anything at all. YES! I am finally going home! On one hand, I am glad to be back with my family and my darling again, back to my 'normal' life. On the other hand, this is the end of my vacations!!! Time to look for a job again. Of course, one of the main things that I should be more concerned about is how am I gonna pack everything again and make sure its within 30kg?? I had to courier a box of 7kg several days back to relieve some weight of my luggage. Am keeping my fingers crossed everything will be alright......

Anyway, just a summary of stuff that I should have updated earlier:

1. Went to Foire de Savoie with Misaki, Marie & Mira. All of us had a free entry and a free rose each because it was "Women's Day"

2. Went picnic near the waterfalls near Jacob Bellecombette with Asuka, Marie, Mira, Gaby and along with some French friends of Asuka. Guess what they bought for picnic? 2 bottles of red wine and 2 loafs of baguette (in Malaysia we just call it the French Loaf). Very French.


3. Everytime I mention that Chern Hwei is my copain from Malaysia, they conclude immediately that he's my boyfriend. That's the problem with French language, the word copain can both mean boyfriend and just a friend who is a boy. Bof! Told this to Pascaline today, and she suggested that the next time its probably best that I say "un de mes copains" rather than just mon copain.


4. Last weekend I made Prawn mee again and invited several friends over, then I had Momo over for dinner while he was in Chambery, and I cooked nasi lemak with sambal udang, then this evening I made nasi lemak with sambal terung & minced pork for mes amis français. Tomorrow there'll be another fete, and I still haven't decided what to cook yet. Tough decisions....*sigh*

Vous Parlez Très Bien Français

Woooohh.....kudos to Alliance Française Kuala Lumpur! And felicitations to Laure-Anne and Joshua too. Today Nathalie, one of the professeurs at IFALPES commented that both Chern Hwei and myself speak very good french (ehem...), and asked if we had taken a French course before while we were in Malaysia. I explained that we were both in the same class at Alliance Française in Kuala Lumpur. And she was like.....'Ahhh...now I understand....they have very good methods for teaching the French language.' Most of the people are quite surprised that we were able to handle the language quite well *cough* *cough*, as they have always had this impression that Asians have problems learning a European language.

Well, there you go.....MALAYSIA BOLEH!!!

A Forgotten Gesture

While doing a randonée to the Croix de la Croche today, I recalled something that I should have mentioned in my blog, sometime in April this year when I set foot again in Europe. I really don't know what triggered it. Nothing of real importance, just of a small gesture from a nice couple I met at the bed and breakfast in London, where I needed to stay overnight to take the early morning flight to Seville. We arrived Heathrow and were picked up at the same time, and that evening, since I was all alone, they invited me to have dinner with them (and they paid for it as well, of course).

Unfortunately I can't remember their names anymore, but still, I wanted to be reminded of them; of the nice people that I came across during my days of travel. Cheers.

Rendez-vous at Annecy

The weather has really been very kind to me today. I was not too sure if I would be able to made it to Annecy if it had rained, but the sun was shining all day. I had sent an e-mail to Mohammed earlier today to inform him of my arrival, and he was really kind to wait for me at the train station. Unfortunately the train was late (....biasalar, bukan kali pertama) and he had to wait blindly (he didn't have a phone) without knowing if I would arrive or not :P

We took a walk around the vieil Annecy, had 3 scoops of ice cream each (it was supposed to be the best in town), then walked by the lake. He also took me to see his place of stay, and we enjoyed a nice glass of wine just outside his studio, which was really neat as it was surrounded by greenery, and also the owner of the house was a nice retired man. Lucky for him!

Anyway, I did not manage to have dinner with Mohammed as the last train leaves at 8:19pm. We had a cup of coffee closeby to the station, then it was time to say goodbye. Anyway, he said he would be back to Chambéry again soon, and since he wanted to try some of Malaysian delicacies I have offered to cook him a HOT & SPICY Malaysian food. Ngiak ngiak ngiak.....

Photo time!

Never Ending Staircases

Coincidently while chatting with students from IFALPES last Thursday evening at the Cardinals, Ralf said that he was planning to go to Grenoble on Saturday. I couldn't have been happier and asked if he would mind that I tag along. I just didn't really like the idea of climbing up to La Bastille alone. Of course he didn't mind and we decided to meet at the train station at 9am in the morning.

Just a day before, I realised that the train would leave at 8:53am, while the next one available after that would be at 10:30am. I had no way of contacting Ralf as he did not have a mobile phone, and just had to keep my fingers crossed that he would arrive early. Luckily for me, he did arrive 5 minutes before, and we got our tickets just in time. Then he told me Kirsten was also coming along, and she didn't know about the train time table neither. With a stroke of luck, there was a minor delay with the train, and Kirsten got to the station just on time to buy the ticket and board the train....phewwww!

I guess we were really lucky throughout the whole day, with the sky being a little cloudy and greyish but it did not rain at all. We walked all the way up to the Bastille, of course with me whining again as usual (...I can be a real pain in the ass sometimes :P) We took approximately 45-50 minutes to reach the top....well, no one actually took note of the time, but it was written on the signs, time required to get to the top from the starting point. Coming down of course, was less stressful, as we took a diff route and there were much lesser stairs.

After that we had a really good lunch in a Chinese restaurant, before continuing to explore around the town centre. And finally, we had some coffee before heading back to Chambéry.

As usual, here it is, the link to the the to Grenoble album.

And by the way, here's the link to photos taken in Chambéry...just realised that I have never put up the link for this before....oops!

Ma Petite Copine

Ma chère Sarah
Qui est venue à Chambéry
Elle m'a amenée du chocolat
spécialement pour moi, le Cadbury

On s'est connues il y a un an
Ça a commencé à Seville, et ensuite à Madrid
On s'est rejointes aussi à Barcelone
Et puis ici, dans cette jolie ville

On a mangé de la fondue au fromage
De vin savoyard on l'a fait accompagner
Le lendemain, on a fait de la marche
La graisse superflue qu'on voulait bruler

Sitôt qu'ell est arrivee, elle m'a laissée
Dans un clin d'œil elle est repartie
Mais moi, j'attends la prochaine année
Qu'il y aura un rendez-vous en Malaisie ;)

Arrival of Fondateur Des Slips Rouges & A Farewell

Gan finally arrived Chambéry. That poor chap had to undergo several transits, which meant several hours of waiting at the airport, then when he arrived Lyon, he had to wait again for the train to get to Chambéry. He almost didn't recognise me as I was soooo tanned...hehehe... anyway, he had to wait again at the A.L.E. office, because there was like another 3-4 persons waiting in line (which was very rare for the ALE office). His turn finally arrived, settled all the deposits and stuff, only to find out that there was no one available to show him to his apartment. And soooo, I became the guide, and with a map, we tried to search his apartment. I guess his slips rouges probably weren't very lucky.

Several days later, we organized a farewell party in my apartment for Carmen and Carin who were leaving soon and Gan joined us. We had Spanish tortilla prepared by Carmen & the gang, Ratatouille by me, fresh garden salad and Chocolate banana cake (yummy) by Misaki, a Savoyard speciality* by Ryo and healthy fruit salad by Carin. Everything was sooooo good, and in the end, we had too much food in our tummies that we couldn't move. *BURP*

*01/09/06 - I just remembered the speciality was called Tartiflette ;)

3 in 1

Sorry I have been lagging again. I've got all my days and nights filled with trop activities that I get too mentally exhausted to update the blog. Last week I did 3 excursions with the school, which include 2 hiking trips, several cyling trips to St Alban Leysse, Lac du Bourget & Lac de St. Andre (almost 70km), walking, cooking, and homework of course, apart from my daily classes. Yeah yeah yeah, it's a bunch of crap. I guess I could have easily fill in a word or two in the blog if I really wanted to :P

Anyway, I have just updated the posts of my trip to Lyon, Beaufort & Vanoise

Parc Naturel Vanoise

I was worried it was gonna be another rainy day as the morning started out really gloomy. But when we got to Pralognan, weather was really nice, though a little cold. I thought the climb would take probably about 2 hours, but I was SOOOOO wrong! Mohammed had earlier told me it would take approx. 4 hrs but I didn't trust him. *sigh* After probably an hour of climb, I was then told by Jean-Charles that we have just reached the starting point, and from there, it would take approx. 2 hrs to reach the Lac des Vaches. Bummer! In fact we took a little more than 2 hrs coz it was really tiring and we had more mini stops along the way to catch our breath. Except for the group of petit espagnols who were also with us on this excursion, the rest didn't want to eat until we got to the lake, which was about 2pm. *stomach growling*

I was whining along the way (I am good at that). WHHHyyy?? Whyy did I pay 18 euros to torture myself?? Blah blah...and so on. But seriouussly, the view was MAGNIFIQUE!!! I wouldn't mind doing this ALLLLL over again (not on the same day of course). Check out the album to see for yourself. It felt like I was inside a postcard, so unreal.

After resting at Lac des Vaches for probably an hour, we had to finally leave. At 2010 metres above sea level, Frans and I stopped at a bar to have some drinks. Manyak cantik larr..... with all the beautiful mountains and greens entouré while you slowly sip your beer, (or in my case...a Coca Cola).

Q: Why did the caterpillar cross the road?
A: To commit suicide, of course!

I almost squashed that poor little creature when we continued our way down. It's just so hard to brake when the hill is so steep. It's a good thing he was really bright green that I managed to avoid him. I really wonder how long he would manage to stay alive with so many people coming downhill. :P My legs got really wobbly by the time I arrived the bus, and the next day, it was really hurting everytime I tried to walk down the stairs. Ouch!

To Vanoise's photo album

Beaufort & Lac de Roselend

We departed early in the morning to a fromagerie at Beaufort, yeeuuwww .... it stank. I tried to enter to storage area, but exited almost immediately as the smell was unbearable. How could people EAT this???? But Jean-Charles got some of it for us to eat during the picnic, and it wasn't so bad after all.

After the cheese factory, we went to see Lac Roselend, a really beautiful man-made lake, which was used as a dam. It was by the lake that we later had picnic, with fresh bread, Beaufort cheese and Vin de Savoie. Later we followed Jean-Charles on a little hiking trip in the hills. The hills are aliveeeeeeeee, with the sound of muuuusicccc ....... that was exactly how I felt when we went to the Cormet de Roselend at Beaufortain. Oh I just had to sing out loud! Erm....I was glad that did not cause a heavy thunderstorm though.

Anyway the walk wasn't really that tough, just that I haven't had enough exercise that it was tough to catch up with the rest. Ard was nice to stay with me, although he could have easily stayed in the lead. Of course, I was not the last...hehe....half of the group of petit espagnols who joined us in this excursion almost gave up! Both my shoes and socks were wet after sinking my feet into "invisible" puddles of water. What looked like a decent grass patch to walk on turned out to be soft muddy ground underneath. (I had to soak the socks overnight and the water was like kopi-o....BLEhhH). Malheureussement, I also sprained my ankle on my way down, having stepped on another invisible hole covered by a patch of grass @!@$!@#%#@^. Yep, I know => I am SUPER clumsy. Probably it's a sign that I should lose some weight...my poor ankle can't support me anymore!





To Beaufort's photo album

How I Spent My Sunday Afternoon

Plucking "taugehs". That's what I have been doing this afternoon since it was so rainy and cold that I couldn't leave the house. Seriously, it's a good test of patience :D Of course, that was not the only thing I did. I have been saving some frozen crevettes in the fridge for a day like this. I found this nice recipe of Hokkien Prawn Mee, and decided to give it a try myself. But I didn't manage to get all the ingredients required, so I had to do some substitutes. I practically spent whole afternoon preparing the stock, but it was DEFINITELY worth it! It tasted just like the ones I had in Penang..... MMmmmm.. mmmm.. yummy ;) Care for a bowl, anyone?

*taugeh = beansprouts

Lyon & The Rain

It's the 2nd largest city in France (if I have my facts right). Compared to Paris, it's much laid back, but who am I to judge, having spent only several hours in this town? It was a little drizzly when we embarked on our journey, and we got into the bus just in time before the rain got heavy after our first stop at Perouges. We arrived Lyon close to noon time with sunny weather, only to be surprised later in the afternoon with a heavy pour, delaying our guided visit for a quarter of an hour. Just as quickly as it came, the rain stopped and after that came really clear blue skies. Although I was not really expecting any tough walking here, I climbed the hill TWICE on this very trip to see the Basilique! (it was with a diff group of course). *pant* pant* pant*

To Lyon's photo album

First In First Out

I probably need to attend a course on Fridge Inventory Management. Voilà my problems:

1. I can't keep track of the expiry dates of the meat and vegetables;
2. I over-shop. I go to the supermarket with 2 items on my list, and I checkout with 15 items in the trolley;
3. I thought I have shopped enough for one week, then I realised I need to go to the supermarket again after 2 days because I ran out of milk, eggs, etc. ;
4. I have limited fridge space, but I keep buying things in bulk because it's cheaper that way. The last time I had to leave some carrots out of the fridge, and they went bad after 2 days...erm...no, 3 days.

Anyway, I found a nice little solution for problem no. 2, i.e. if I only need one item from the supermarket, I get somebody else to do it for me....hehe.... hopefully I'd be able to find solutions for the rest of the problems soon. :P

L'excursion à Chamonix

Dimanche passé, je suis allée à Chamonix avec une excursion d'IFALPES. Il y avait peut être 40 personnes, compris aussi les étudiants d'Annecy. D'abord, il faisait très beau et il n'y avait pas beaucoup de nuages. Pourtant quand on y est arrivé, on voyait des nuages gris.

On s'est divisé en quelques petits groupes. Il y avait des personnes qui allaient marcher avec Philippe, le coordinateur, tandis que certaines personnes ont choisi d'aller à l'Aiguille du Midi ou la Mer de Glace. Moi, je me suis promenée au centre ville avec Anna, une fille russe. Depuis le centre ville, on pouvait voir le Mont Blanc. Du centre ville, on a fait une petite randonée jusqu'a La Praz, où nous avons fait un pique-nique. Et puis on a decidi d'aller à la Grotte de Glace. En route à Montenvers, où on devait prendre la télécabine, il a plu. Par chance, j'avais mon impermeable avec moi, donc je n'ai pas été très mouillée. Il faisait très froid dans la grotte, mais c'etait suprenant comment la glace pouvait soutenir la chaleur d'été!

On s'est retrouvé au bus à 17 heures pour rentrer à Chambéry. En rentrant, j'ai dormi dans le bus car j'étais très fatiguée. *béance*

Voilà les photos que j'ai prises à Chamonix.

Summer Rain

C'est triste! On my first day of class, I had to walk to school in the rain. Thank goodness I had not decided to let TW bring back my umbrella and my rain coat. Everyone was taken by shock that it has rained continuously for 2 days here, and it's really cold. The shops have a sudden surge in their umbrella sales, because many of those who came only for vacations did not have any with them. Who would have thought it's gonna rain during summer??? Both the bicycle and the pool pass are of no use to me now. :(

Par contraire, I am quite happy with my class. I was put in the Intermediate level after the test....Yaaayyy! I am no longer debutant. Everyone in class is nice, the pretty professeur as well, and we even have a special guest, Angie! She's the cute little baby Chi Hua Hua that belongs to Jeff, one of my classmates. He is inseparable from her, thus she studies french with the rest of us. Of course, she's almost like a vacuum cleaner, sniffing around the class everytime we return from a break.

Oh dear, next Friday it's gonna be my turn to do an exposé in class. We are supposed to just present anything related to our country, anything at all......hmm... what can I say about Malaysia?

S.O.S. Call to Malaysia

I had to make that call back home to ask my mom for recipe for Prawn with Asam Jawa. She gave me a packet of asam jawa (due to some miscommunication...I had not requested for it) and I haven't the slightest idea on what I could do with it. Serves me right for not paying attention when my mom does her cooking.

And so, after a quick lesson on the Skype, I did my experimenting on some frozen prawns I bought from E.Leclerc. Having a chef with 10 yrs experience staring at you when you are experimenting can be also quite nerve-wrecking. That's Ryo, my Japanese housemate who is forever curious when you try something new in the kitchen. He's really nice actually, giving little hints and advices every now and then :)

Well, in the end my assam prawn turned out to be quite alright, although not exactly the same taste as how my mom made it. Just a little bit of fine tuning would do. My steam rice came out perfect too! Not bad for a first try ;)