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???