Gong Xi Fa Cai

Since my husband and his family are celebrating Chinese New Year, as a good wife, I have to be with him for this celebration. Therefore, I would like to inform you all that I won't be able to hang out with you here.
If I have a chance, I'll definitely make sure I hang out here even if it's only for a minute...

After Chinese New Year, I'll be gone to Jakarta (to get more supplies of Indomie, sambal jempol, and kecap ABC ). In Jakarta, as you all already know, it will be difficult for me to be on the net (I have no internet connection at home).

I'll be back soon and will post more stories from Jakarta.

Gong xi fa cai (Keong hee huat chai - hokkien) for those celebrating the new pig year!!

Great acrobatic show

Last week, I went for a window shopping with my husband at Jusco near our house. Inside the mall, we could see all red decorations to celebrate Chinese New Year. The mall was very packed. Oh well, where else can the Ipohans go? They all gathered in the mall every weekend. But that weekend was special. So many people did the major shopping to prepare for the coming Chinese New Year celebration.
It is a big event here in the place I live. To attract more customers, the shopping malls held many events in conjunction with the celebration. For this particular mall I went to with my husband, there was a great acrobatic show by WuQiao from China. I have never watched this kind of live performance before so I felt grateful that I had my N70 handy to take the pictures below and to share them with you all.

Trust me, these people are great! They do amazing things that seem impossible to me. My husband told me these people are trained everyday since they were young and they are very discipline and they always work very hard. Chi (internal power) is the key. It takes alot of practices to be able to use your chi to do these amazing acts.

PLEASE DO NOT TRY ALL THESE ACTS AT HOME!!

In this picture you can see that 1 girl held a table by 1 of its legs with her right leg and her left leg turned a red cloth while her 2 hands also turned red cloths. Her friends (on her left and right) turned red cloths on their hands.

In this picture you can see a skinny girl juggled a 100kg pottery plus a girl sat on top of the pottery. They asked a volunteer to sit inside the pottery!

Do you see the man sitting inside the 100kg-pottery? He weighs 70kg.

Valentine's day and Chinese New Year

Today is Valentine's day. Today is supposed to be day for us to express our love but unfortunately, today, I really feel that I don't have 'love' at all. It's weird I know. I am such a loveable person and today on Valentine's day, I am loosing the love feeling... :-\

Today I just don't feel anything special. Today is just another ordinary day for me. I don't know why. Is it because I'm married already? Is it because I'm just tired of all the rubbish things lovers do to express their love? I don't know really. I even feel extremely lazy to send love greetings to all the people I love. I have received many greetings today though since 4am. I'm glad people still love me. I just hope that they won't feel neglected if at the end of the day, I really don't send any greetings to them. I love them still.

Last night my hubby told me that there wouldn't be any bouquet of flowers to me on the Valentine's day because he has no budget for that but he did ask me to have a special dinner tonite.
It's fine by me. I haven't even prepared anything for him anyway. So, this is definitely not the cause of me feeling sooo ordinary today.

I don't know what makes me feel so flat today. Is it because I didn't have enough sleep (because I watched Valentine's day movie till midnite)? Maybe, because I'm abit dizzy today. I love sleeping so having not enough sleep is a disturbance for my mood.
I really feel sooo lazy waking up in the morning today. I feel like I want to stop the time so that weekend doesn't have to come so soon.

A-ha!I think I know why I'm like this today. Let me repeat the sentence above "I feel like I want to stop the time so that weekend doesn't have to come so soon."
Yeap! That weekend thing! That's damn weekend thing!
This weekend is not just another weekend. It's the Chinese New Year weekend! I think I know why suddenly Valentine's day is just an ordinary day for me. It's because the coming event this weekend is just too humungous to ignore it. Even the decorations in all malls are about Chinese New Year, not so much about Valentine's day. The event is so great it sucks up all the energy I have even far before the D-day.

I have spent 2 days making many house decorations from unused angpao packets (the red packets). I really hope someone isn't going to criticize my decorations saying that hers are far better than mine!! I have bought new red cloths (No! Orange actually) and every member of my family has a new hair style for the Chinese New Year. As my hubby and I are married, we are obliged to prepare the angpao packets to be given away. Though personally, I prefer to receive the angpao...whe..he..he..
Well, who doesn't? It's some money in there...:D

For me, it's my 3rd Chinese New Year celebration. I am not Chinese but I'm married to one so, I need to learn and accept the culture.
Since I'm still learning, I have many things about Chinese New Year that I don't have a clue why I have to do this and that. I did read about it in the website alot! You might be wondering why don't I just ask my other half who is Chinese, right? Hmmmm...yeah..I could..but unfortunately, he is just the same like me, clueless...:D and the worst thing, many times, he just gave me alot of false information about his own culture and I believe him still (because I can't even see difference whether the information given is true or he just made it up)..:) D'oh!

This weekend, we HAVE TO visit my hubby's parents and stay there to celebrate Chinese New Year. This is part of the culture. The traffic has started to slow down because many people go back home to their family and friends. Don't even think about driving in Penang Island! You'll be trapped in traffic jam for hours!!

Yeah...the coming Chinese New Year celebration. If you live in a Chinese predominant place, you will learn to like this 15-day celebration. The celebration is so huge it makes you forget about other celebrations such as this Valentine's day and even my dad's birthday. Luckily, my dad understands my situation. He is happy even if I can only call & sms him on his birthday.

Yeah today is just an ordinary day for me because of what I have explained above, but nevertheless, I shall still greet you all "Happy Valentine's day" and I hope you embrace all the love that you get. Enjoy the heart chocolate cake I made especially for this 'love' day! I hope you like it...;) Oh, you can get the recipe here.

Finding Nemo in Kuala Lumpur

Almost everyone in this world knows and has watched Finding Nemo, a visually stunning, best Animated Feature Disney-Pixar movie about a clownfish father who loses his son, Nemo, to a dentist scuba diver in The Great Barrier Reef.

My son and I have watched this movie thousand times. My son even remembers what scene will come next. He also remembers the name of the characters. He watches it almost on every meal time.

From 6 - 12 April 2007, Nemo's underwater world will come to life in a very colourful and wonderful costumes and dances of Disney on Ice at Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, thanks to Maxis One Club as the title sponsor of this show.

There'll be a life-sized blue whale, creepy jellyfish and vivid-coloured moonfish in flourescent blue, green and pink costume accompanying the aquatic journey of Nemo, Marlin (Nemo's Dad), and a funny and forgetful fish named Dory (Dory is my favourite character. It reminds me of myself...).

Disney on Ice producer said that Finding Nemo is their most innovative show. Disney on Ice promises to bring humour and adventure underneath the Great Barrier Reef to life in a visual masterpiece. So, get ready to be amazed by them just like other familiar shows of Disney on Ice.

It is highly recommended to bring your whole family to watch this show. I have bought the tickets and am very exiciting to bring my son who adores Finding Nemo so much to watch this 3D stunning production of Disney on Ice. I can't wait to see his expression on seeing his favourite characters out of the television box...

I hope he won't be afraid or sleep during the show .

Get your tickets today! The special ticket prices for Maxis Customers are valid until 28 February 2007.

For more information, log on to http://www.maxis.com.my/moc_new/disney/nemo.asp or www.disneyonice-asia.com.

The Holiday - the movie

I went to watch The Holiday by myself yesterday because my husband wanted to watch Blood Diamond and I don't feel like watching any cruel movies at the moment. I just want to watch a movie which I can relate myself to and not to use my brain too much. I just want to relax basically so I decided to go watching the movie alone.

In my opinion, The Holiday is great! I love the movie. I love the simplicity of the story line and the funny script, not to mention the cool main actresses and actors acted on that movie (the gorgeous leading ladies: Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslate, of course the handsome and sexy Jude Law plus the cute and funny Jack Black).

The story is about 2 broken-heart ladies who agree to swap their houses for 2 weeks during Christmas holiday so that they can forget about the men who broke their heart and try to move on with life.

The story is simple and you can guess what will happen but still I like it. I absolutely adore the British accent too!! It's very contagious. In fact, the moment I came out of the cinema after watching that movie, my accent suddenly changed to british accent!!..Wha..ha..ha.. :D
Honestly, this movie reminds me of the old feeling of being rejected, heart broken, and the sort. It also reminds me of how to love and how to fall in love again. Now that I'm married for 7 years, I kind of miss those feelings in me. I know it sounds rubbish. You'll do rubbish things anyway when you are in love. So, yeah...I do miss acting foolishly in front of the man of my dream, do rubbish things or crying feverishly over the man that broke my heart to pieces. Though I still do the latter recently... :)
A good romantic comedy movie like The Holiday has been rare these days. The last good romantic comedy I've watched is Notting Hill. It's been ages ago, I know.
This is another reason why I like this movie so much. This movie does remind me of the same movies of its genre such as You've got mail, Sleepless in Seattle, etc.

I do recommend this movie for your Valentine's day movie.

Flood in Jakarta

I've been sick for the past 1 week, coughing and sneezing. I went to visit a medical officer at the hospital near my house last week but up to now, I'm still not cured yet.
The cough medicine is useless. It makes my throat extremely dry after taking it. I had to drink many glasses of water and it really disturbed my sleep.
The medications for my running nose is quite powerful. It stopped the 'leakage' on my nose but the problem is, everytime I took that medicine, I could hear my heart pumping so fast as if I just drank 2 glasses of black coffee. I could not sleep at all. I became very restless and anxious over anything. So, I decided to stop taking those medicines on the second day. I return to my Panadol to help me to sleep and rest. Up to now, I still cough and cough. Everytime I cough, I feel pain on my chest. I hope I can get well soon. I have so many things to finish.

Since yesterday, I've been receiving bad news about flood in Jakarta. The situation has worsened in the southern part of Jakarta. Many families are trapped inside their flooded house and the water level is reaching the second floor of their 2-story houses.
Click here to read the news from detik.com.

The latest news I received that the phone lines are disconnected and the mobile networks are jammed.
Luckily I managed to talk to my parents on their mobile and they are ok. Thanks God!!
My dad informed me that the flood is as bad as the flood in February 2002. I was in Jakarta in 2002. I experienced and witnessed the worst flood in my life.
Oh...it is always like that in Jakarta every February each year. The flood is getting worse every year because of the bad drainage system in all parts of Jakarta plus the 'tidak apa' (never mind) attitude and definitely the never ending corruption.
I can only pray so that the situation will improve and the flood water recedes. I hope by the time I have to be there, Jakarta will be back to normal.

Johor (Malaysia) is still recovering from the big flood and so is Medan (Sumatera, Indonesia). Now Jakarta has its turn to deal with the flood.

I think this is more about the enviromental issue than the weird weather pattern.

I really do hope people starting to pay attention on how important it is to love the Earth and have a good drainage system in your area. Please do not clog the drain! Do not throw rubbish to rivers and drains! Do not even try to cement your drain to get extra land for your parking area! Love the environment! Recycle as much as you can!
I've got people starred and laughed at me and thought that I am cheapskate trying to recycle stuffs at home. Never mind! I will get my turn to laugh later. I know I do something good to green the Earth.

Cheap Ticket from Sydney - Kuala Lumpur

Here comes the good news for those who are longing to come and visit Malaysia from Australia.

Australia's low-cost carrier, Jetstar (owned by Qantas Airways), will be starting its new service from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on September 9th, 3 times a week, using Airbus A330-200s (wide-bodied).

Jetstar will fly to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) instead of Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) and this will be the first Australian airline operating in KLIA.

By the way, this is also good news for Malaysians who like to travel to Australia. From Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Sydney is RM850 one way.

Hmmm...AirAsia?Knock...knock...Are you going to Australia or not??When will it be?

Good news this year

This week is the 4th week of January 2007 and already I have a full schedule for this year from doing things at home to going away for travelling, all filled up until after Chinese new year next year! Imagine that!

This is definitely good news for me and for all my friends that I always bug around every time I'm bored and lonely...;-)
You guys will be jumping up and down "yay, finally this girl will stop bugging me!" ...he..he..he..
Don't be too excited! I may still disturb you though..he..he..he..(Damn! :-D)
I get bored and lonely too even when I am busy. So, yeah...just let me know if you are the one who is tired of me...;-)

Ok, continue on.
By end of February, I hope I can finish at least part 1 of my program so that I can see if it is worth writing it and continue with other parts or not.
This is my own project so that I can keep my knowledge intact, be ready if I need to work and at the same time teach and monitor my son at home.

I enjoy doing this project and am very happy that I came out with this one but unfortunately I don't have a good support. I can only do my program when no one else uses the computer table and internet at home. This is the problem when everyone at home is a computer and internet addict.
I have suggested to install a switch so that more than 1 computer can connect to the internet at the same time but someone else sees this as a waste of money when all of us actually can take turn using the internet.
Yeah...yeah...talk to the hand! It's hard to take turn when someone already said "I don't know when I can finish using the internet. I have to check my emails everytime anytime. I am the one who put the bread on the table."

I know I can use the table and internet as long as I want when no one is around, but the fact isn't that easy.
My son is with me and although he is only 2 years old, he has developed a computer and internet addiction too just like his parents.
When he sees I am around, he wants to participate in 'writing my program'.
I don't mind at all. But the problem is that he likes to just press anything and click on anything so I'm really afraid he will ruin my work.
Man! If you ever think working at home while taking care of your children is an easy thing to do, you'd better think again. It's true that you can see them so you feel safe but they also can see you, so they want to make sure you spend your time with them.

Talking about my son, this is another thing to do this year. I have to spend quality time with my son now that he is 2 years old and getting smarter everyday.
I really can't avoid the fact that he needs me and he needs my guidance to help him to become a better person.

My son loves books so much. Since he knows almost 90% of alphabets, he is trying his best to read though he still does not know how to connect those alphabets to become words.
He will say the alphabets out loud and try hard remembering those alphabets.
I guide him everytime I see him reading the alphabets. I teach him how to read as a word.

There is one incident when my husband and I were glued to the television and my son was sitting behind us reading (the alphabets on) a newspaper out loud.
He was not interested in watching TV at all. He was more interested in reading big big letters written on the newspaper.

Ok, next is about my travelling plan and festive season. I know for sure that from December - February every year, I will be very busy travelling back and forth to my in-laws place. I can forget about trying to go to other places or to do anything for other people or even for my own family (My family celebrate Christmas and New Year too, you know and I have never been celebrating Christmas and New Year for 6 years with own family) if I want to keep my marriage.
Anyway, I'm squeezing a trip back home to visit my parents this February.

In June-July, I can look forward to spend time with my parents again when they come to visit me.
On Hari raya Aidil Fitri, I will be back to visit my parents again like last year.
All these happen thanks to Air Asia.
Yeap, everytime I want to go back home, I have to wait for the mercy from Air Asia... :)

So far, these are my confirmed travelling plan. I do have some other plans that I will squeeze them throughout the year.

Since I will be very busy this year, I may not be able to update my blog too often or post any messages.
But this is just the talk I have because I am a computer and internet addict...he..he..he..
There is always time for me to go online... :-D

Air Asia 1 million free seat

After making big news for offering RM9.99 ticket to London from Kuala Lumpur, Air Asia is back with another big news. Air Asia 1 million free seats flying from Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Bangkok and Jakarta to over 70 routes across asia are up for grab at its website www.airasia.com.
Booking period is 10-19 January 2007 and travelling period is 1 April - 27 October 2007.

This is the best opportunity for people like me who like travelling and visiting new places but don't have big budget.
You really have to be quick in your decision and have good internet connection. Once you log on, you need to be patient as many people flock the website at the same time.

The moment my husband read monthly newsletter from Air Asia on his email, he quickly logged on the website and with all his might tried to get as many free seats as possible (so kiasu..he..he..). He managed to get 2 tickets for my parents to fly from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur. He also got 4 tickets for us to fly to Jakarta from Kuala Lumpur. He told me he tried to get free seats to Kota Kinabalu but he wasn't successful. We haven't been to Kota Kinabalu. The last time Air Asia gave free seats, we managed to grab 4 tickets to Labuan and 6 tickets to Jakarta.
Not too bad. We just have to be patient and adventurous. If the free seats to your preffered destinations are not available anymore, try to go to different destinations. Be more adventurous! This is the time for you to explore new places that you have never been before.

Beware though, you still need to pay for the administration fee and any taxes, but still the total price you have to pay is much cheaper than other airlines. You definitely do not want to miss this opportunity and I'd better let you go quickly to check out Air Asia website before all the 1 millions free seats are no longer there and you have to wait for the next opportunity to come.

Now, everyone really can fly... ;-)

My son's important milestones

As a mother, the proudest moment in my life is when my beloved son reached new milestones in his life.
By end of 2006, at the age of exactly 26 months, my son managed to reach 2 new important milestones in his life:

1. Ability to alert people around him and himself when he needs to go to toilet either for 'small business' or for 'big business'.
   
2. His amazingly improved ability in colors, sorting, and Math such as to count 0-10 in 2 languages and doing simple arithmatic such as + and -.
   

My son's vocabularies are increasing tremendously as he is also able to speak & understand 2 languages at the same time.

In order for my son to reach the 1st milestone, I tried my best to do anything I could to train him. I let him go around the house without diaper during the day and at first, he just peed anywhere in the house and at the same time telling me that he has peed. I kept on telling him to inform me BEFORE he urinated. It took him a week to make him understand the difference of before and after. My house was very smelly. Smell of urine everywhere but I didn't give up.
Until one day, he finally did the right thing. He alerted me first BEFORE he peed. I was extremely pleased and so was he. I praised him over and over again and he was very proud of himself that made him remember to always alert mommy before he runs to toilet.

And for the "big business", at first I was very worried that it would take a very long time to train him because he just refused to sit on the toilet bowl to poo. He prefered to stand and poo at the same time. And when he pooed, the surrounding had to be very quite so that he could concentrate on pushing the poo out.
I bought him a small portable potty so that I could just put the potty anywhere he felt like pooing. But this didn't work. He likes to sit there but he couldn't let go of the poo and still standing is the best for him.
I tried anything my mother suggested me but nothing worked. I was so hopeless.

Then during my Christmas shopping last year, I saw this Leapfrog product which I have been longing to buy for my son.
I bought one for his Christmas gift.
I never expected that my son would actually love to play the Leapfrog while sitting on the toilet. This Leapfrog is great! My son finally is able to sit on the toilet and poo with the Leapfrog in front of him. Oh thank you God for showing me the way! Since then, whenever he wants to poo, he will ask me to bring him his Leapfrog board or any of his story books. Wha..ha..ha..
He definitely got this from his mommy 'coz I also like to read while pooing... :D

Because of his ability on alerting me when he wants to pee or when he wants to go for bowel motion, I dare to take his diaper off all day. At night I still put on a diaper for him so that he doesn't have to wake up in the middle of the night. My son is so used to not wearing diaper anymore and even when he is wearing one, he still insists of going to toilet to do his 'business'. That's why if he sleeps without a diaper on, he will wake up and go to toilet. This is Ok, but the bad part is that after going to toilet, he won't be able to sleep again and he will disturb me or my husband because he wants someone to play with him.
Thank God!! I thought it would take a longer time for him to reach this milestone.
Now when I go for shopping, I don't buy diapers too often anymore, but instead I buy many cute mini briefs for my little man.

Since my son knows how to count from 0-10, he will count everything. He counts how many trucks on the road. He counts how many cars parked in the garage. He counts how many fish on a picture hang at his dentist office. He even tries to count how many ants running around in front of him. At one time, I noticed him trying to count how many hairs I have...which was very cute because when he reached 10, he doesn't know what the next number is, so he started from 1 again. I really couldn't hide my laughter. He is an extremely cute boy.
He knows that when he has 2 fish-cookies and mommy takes 1 cookie from him, he will be left with only 1 fish cookie.

At this time, my son can also recognize about 50% of the 26 alphabets and he can read some words that he is very familiar with such as mommy, daddy, his own name, fish, banana, horse, and aaaatttchooo. The last word was quite a surprise for me.. :D
My son is also good at drawing. He can draw a fish. He is good at fixing puzzles too. His imagination is quite high. He likes to arrange pieces of paper with triangle/circle/rectangle/square shape I cut for him and he will say "It's a house" when he arranged a triangle on top of a square.

Oh no!! My baby boy isn't a baby anymore whether I like it or not, I just can't stop him from becoming a real person. He is such a lovable boy. He loves to hug me, kiss me and gently tap me on my back as if trying to comfort me "Everything is gonna be alright, mommy." I know many times I treat him like a baby and he will ask me to let him do things by himself.
Oh no!! I don't want him to grow up too fast because to me he is still my baby boy and he will always be my baby boy. I love you so much my boy!

Visit Malaysia Year 2007

Welcome to Malaysia!
In conjunction with its golden celebration of independence this year, Malaysia is having Visit Malaysia Year 2007.
The event was officially launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Badawi on the 6th January 2007 with fireworks and a laser display illuminate the "Eye on Malaysia" ferris wheel in Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur.

The giant ferris wheel is 60-metre high and has 42 gondolas. It offers a 12-minute ride to an excellent views of Kuala Lumpur, including major landmarks of the city such as Menara Kuala Lumpur and Petronas Twin Tower. The fee is RM15 for adults and RM8 for Senior citizens, the disabled, and children age 3-12 years old. There is a discount for groups of five.
For a more comforting way to enjoy beautiful views of Kuala Lumpur, you can also pay RM50 per person to get into the VIP gondola which offers a cabin equipped with cushioned leather seats, plasma TV, DVD player and soft drinks. It will be open to public until 31st December 2007.

During Visit Malaysia Year 2007, there will be 50 unique and fantastic world class and local events throughout the year to make sure that your visit to Malaysia this year will be the most exciting and memorable one.

To support Visit Malaysia Year this year, I will post more stories about life in Malaysia and will be accompanied by some photos to promote the beauty of Malaysia.

This year is really the best year to come and visit Malaysia. When you visit Malaysia, don't forget to stop by Ipoh in Perak state. Ipoh is about 3 hour-driving from Kuala Lumpur International airport/Low cost carrier terminal in Sepang and about 2 hour-driving from Penang international airport.
Ipoh (the bougainvillea city) is the cleanest city in Malaysia. Life in Ipoh is completely different from in Penang or Kuala Lumpur. It's calmer, cheaper, and very relaxing.
I have posted some information about Ipoh on my previous post. Just to recall, you can read that post again here: Ipoh's hidden treasures.
I also put slideshows of Ipoh so that you can see the green and beautiful Ipoh.
To get more information about Ipoh, you can visit Ipoh Community website (http://www.ipoh.com.my)

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If you want to read more about Visit Malaysia Year 2007, you can visit:
Tourism Malaysia (http://www.tourismalaysia.gov.my)
The star newspaper (http://thestar.com.my)

Malaysia is truly Asia!

Hope to see you around!

Announcement from Coffeeliqueur

Just to inform you that I won't be able to check my emails and to update this blog too often because of the internet congestion as the undersea cables hit by an earthquake in Taiwan was being repaired.

According to the news I've read, this internet disruption will last for 3 weeks. The repair of the 4 damaged spots could only be completed by January 19, Deputy general manager of Chunghwa Telecom estimated.

Since tomorrow businesses will reopen after the long break, the internet congestion will worsen and to avoid frustration, I'll try my best to use the internet only during the low period (if I can stay awake).
As the result, I may not be able to reply emails, may not able to update the blog, may not be able to chat and may close my eBay store temporarily until the internet connection is back to normal.

Thank you very much for your attention and hope all of you who do not affected by this disruption keep visiting my blog and writing me your comments.

New Year Celebration

Last night was the most boring New Year celebration I have ever had. No fireworks, no noisy sound of people honked at each other’s car, and no loud sound of counting down to welcome the new year. The night was so dark and consider quite for a New Year night.
I am glad I was not alone feeling disappointed when there were not any fireworks or loud screaming of “Happy New Year!”
I was with many others who have gathered in front of the City Hall to experience the countdown together which usually had fireworks show.
But unfortunately, last night was different and I didn’t know that there would not be any thing at all at the City Hall to welcome 2007.
My first plan was just waiting for the countdown at home while watching fireworks on the tv and having a glass of wine with my husband. But since my son was still running around and refused to be put to bed at 11.30pm, I had my last minute decision to take my husband and my son out for the countdown.

When we got out, the traffic was already bad. Many cars parked anywhere near the City Hall and this has made me fuming because I really didn’t want to miss the fireworks show. My husband decided to pay to get a nice car park where we would have the best view of fireworks show.
5 Minutes to New Year. 3 Minutes to New Year. My husband kept on updating me since I didn’t have a watch with me. When it was 10 seconds to New Year, I started to see people inside some restaurants and pubs counting down and I got my son out of the car to be ready for the fireworks show. My husband and I did our own counting down according to his watch then we waited and waited and waited for the fireworks show to start but then nothing happened, a very quite situation instead. I saw many heads fixed to the direction where the fireworks were supposed to start. I heard many people started to ask each other, “Where are the fireworks?”
There were a couple of sparks on the sky but those belonged to some private parties.

At the end, my husband decided to drive back home. We were all very disappointed, especially my son. He kept on asking me for more fireworks. I’ve tried my best to explain to him that this year there was not any fireworks display on the sky.
Finally he could accept it and dozed off while my husband and I continued with our first plan of having a glass of wine while watching Star Wars on the television before going to bed at around 3am.

It was a boring and quite countdown to welcome 2007 but then at the same time, we actually got a chance to spend time together and enjoyed the company of each other. It was not bad after all. I hope this New Year will not be as quite as 2006. I hope to have more positive activities to kill my boredom and my loneliness that have been with me for the past 2 years and I also hope this year will be a better year for me and for all.

December

December has always been a busy month for everyone. A long holiday to celebrate Christmas and New Year has made people go crazy with all the plans on the best way celebrating these important events of the year. This December, my husband and I have planned to spend our holiday in Malacca. But unfortunately, due to floods, we are forced to cancel it. You can read more about floods in Malaysia from The Star Newspaper.

December is also the best time to go for shopping as many shopping malls will have beautiful Christmas and New Year decorations. The shops will offer many year end sales (such as Year End Sale in Malaysia). There will be loads of Christmas and New Year activities on the shopping malls to attract more shoppers.

When December comes, every one suddenly seems so important to me. Some will make sure that I remember them during this month... ;-)
Surely this will make it more difficult for me to decide what will be the best present to give them. The worst part is that I believe in my own translation of 'best present' to give to people. The gift I thought was unique, would turn out to be weird to their eyes. The gift I thought was simple and modest, would make them think I am a very cheapskate person. The gift I thought was thoughtful, would actually offend them. It is really not easy for me to meet these people's expectations when my head goes to a different direction.

I personally don't care about what people give to me. It's the thought that counts. The fact that they have made an effort to put my name in their list is something that should be appreciated. To tell you the truth, I really want to have a friend as my Christmas gift. Yeap, just a friend/s, a true friend/s that is always ready to forgive and forget, never expects anything in return or never expects me to give more than what she/he has given me.

Christmas is about sharing and forgiving. Unfortunately, many people remember that Christmas time is a time to exchange gifts only, so, if they don't get the gifts like what they have expected, they are ready to NOT forgive for the whole coming year. It's sad really. I'm sure when Christ is born, He does not to like to face this kind of attitude from the people around Him.

For me, the month of December indicates the start and the end. December indicates the starting of preparation for my heart and my mind for the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ by learning to forget other people's mistakes and forgive them and also by learning to accept people just the way they are though I always find it hard to do.

December also indicates that this year is nearly end. It indicates that all the good and bad things that have happened in my life this year will or may have to come to an end so I have to get ready for a new chapter in my life with new exciting things in a different roller coaster ride.

And today is just 2 days before December ends. Already have many things been going on in the country I live in. The floods in Johor, Malacca, and other parts of the country, have forced many people to end the year with a bitter memory of this year, losing their most precious things in their lives. The disruption of the internet world because of the earthquake in Taiwan, has forced many netters feeling numb as they don't know what to do without the internet forgetting that the people in Taiwan are suffering more because of the earthquake.

With so many ups and downs going on in our lives, many of us hope for a better year this coming new year. As for me, I hope to become a better person who deserves a better roller coaster ride this coming year. In the meantime, as the clock ticks approaching midnite of the last day in December this year, I am trying to cherish every moment I have with all people that I love where ever they are, near and far, as they have become beautiful part of my life in their special way.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERY ONE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORTS IN 2006.

ALL THE BEST FOR YOU ALL IN 2007.

Merry Christmas to you all

picture by: http://newgraphicmyspace.com

Il Divo Live Concert in Kuala Lumpur

If I'm allowed to have a free translation on the word "Il Divo", I will translate it to "Men of my dream"...Yeap, men of my dream.

David Miller, Carlos Marin, Sebastian Izambard, and of course, my favourite, Urs Buhler, have all things I have ever dreamt of a man should be. They are gorgeous, neat, cool, nice and have voice of angels.

I have goose bumps everytime I hear them singing. With their magnificent voices and with such perfect combination, they take me to the land of my dream as if they sang their songs to me only.Yeah..it's only in my dream that they would sing their songs especially for me unless I watch them on TV all by myself.

I could actually make my dream come true by watching their concert when they come to Malaysia next month, but unfortunately, the ticket is so expensive and I really cannot afford to buy it even for the cheapest one.These men of my dream will continue to be part of my dream even when they are going to start their World tour from Kuala lumpur, Malaysia. They will perform for a 1 night show only on the 16th January 2007 at the Plenary hall, KLCC.

From 8 December 2006 - 7 January 2007, CIMB bank berhad is having Il Divo contest for all its account holders. The grand prize is 2 priceless Royal Box tickets, a chauffer driven ride in a BMW to the concert, dinner for 2 at Lafite and a 2-night stay in a suite at the Shangri-La Hotel, plus invitations for 2 to an exclusive function with Il Divo.CIMB also will give away a pair of RM500 or RM1000 ticket to other 50 lucky winners of the contest. To win the ticket, you need to have CIMB/SBB/BCB account, fill up the contest form, answer 3 simple questions and tell them why you and your friend would like to see Il Divo Live. The best statement will win the grand prize. The winners will be announced on the 9 January 2007.

I wish I could win the CIMB grand prize...hiks.. :'(

It would really be a dream come true to me to be able to watch the men of my dream sing right in front of my eyes and come to a function where I would be able to have a chit-chat with them. You wish, Potter!! Yeah..yeah..I wish... :'(

Just google it...

The first time I heard about google was in 2000 from my husband's friend who was doing a research with Stanford University.

At that time, google was unheard of. So, when he used google as his main search engine, I questioned him why he chose to use not-so-popular search engine with a weird name and a boring homepage. He told me that google was just a search engine. Though it looked super simple, it used a very good search algorithm and even ranked the results so it's easier for you to see which result match your query best. He particularly liked the "I'm feeling lucky" button.

Oh well, I just laughed at his explanation. Inside my heart I still did not believe that google would successfully take over Yahoo's popularity for the search engine.

But quitely, I tried to use google. At first, I did not like it because I was not used to it. Slowly, I found out that although the homepage looked so boring (with just 1 textbox and 2 buttons), this search engine was very efficient and gave me the exact result to my query, not just some websites with missing links that relate to my queries. Since then, I understood my husband's friend explanation about the power of google. I 'demoted' Yahoo and 'promoted' google as my main search engine. I even used google more than my husband whom at that time got so used to Yahoo as his main search engine and reluctant to use something that he was not familiar with. Soon, the phrase 'just google it' (at that time people still thought I just didn't know the english word for 'search engine') became my favourite phrase.

When I moved out of Sillicon Valley to continue my study, I continued spreading the news about this powerful search engine. Until one day in 2004, I read a news about this company going public and offering an IPO of USD85 a share. I was very surprised because I thought USD85 for an IPO was a very expensive price. I doubted (again) that the stock price was going to go up much higher because it already started at a very expensive price.

But then, just 2 years after google's IPO, the stock price has gone up not just triple but 'multiple' from USD85 (a quick checked on Yahoo finance showed the price is at USD484.11 per share now). Google has become a successful company and has been offering more than just a search engine now. Even the word google has made it to the dictionary as an official word.

I shouldn't have doubted it in the beginning when I first found out how powerful their search engine algorithm was. Until now I still use google alot and I also use other products from it. So far I am quite satisfied though I'm a bit disappointed when I can't attach my program files (though they don't have .exe extention) to my gmail.

One thing I regret so much up to now is that I didn't buy the stock at the IPO price. Now, I can't afford it anymore... :-(

Oh well, it shows that I am only human who has no power to tell the future. What I can do is keep on saying my favourite phrase "just google it" and do the action too.

The power of love

Love binds parent and child.
Give your child all the love he needs.
Give him care-continously, consistently. It's essential for his mental development.
Give him your time. The hours you spend with him mean more than you will ever imagine.
Give him opportunities. To learn and experience new things. This enriches his mind.
Give him encouragement. In work and play. Do not limit his attempts at exploring, imitating, creating, imagining and constructing.
Give him the right to be different. He's unique-don't compare him with his brothers or sisters.
Give him praise. For all his achievements. But even more-for all his effort in trying, even if he fails.
Give him understanding.Consider his age and temperament when you show disapproval. You may reject his behaviour, but never the child.
Give him reassurance-constantly. Never withdraw from him. Or threaten to stem your love or give him away.
Give him everything he needs. Expect nothing in return. You chose to have him - he did not choose to have you.
So teach him respect for elders and filial piety.
The more you give, the more you'll receive.
That is truly the power and wonder of love.

SCHOLASTIC - GORDEV'S DIVISION

Order of The Phoenix Extras Set Report

For those Potter lovers. You can view the video clip of the new Harry Potter movie OoTP from Extra which include new Interviews with Dan and Emma at the King Cross train station.

I am not sure if I will be able to give a fair review of the movie because I am a huge Potter fan and also Daniel Radcliffe fan. I don't know who I love more, Dan or Harry. I can't seem to separate them both...whe..he..he..Even I named my son after him... ;-)....hmm..guess which one??... :-D

For better for worse...

7 years ago, in front of God and His witnesses, my husband and I recited our marriage commitment and since then, we have been trying our best to keep that commitment which is really not as easy as saying it.

To be able to reach the magic number 7, we had to go through numerous arguments, fights, temporary separations, and countless number of tears dropped in the middle of the night. It's really not easy. It drains out our energy and mind.

It got harder when our beloved son came into place at the most unexpected time but we managed to pull it through. In fact, our son is always the best reason to keep this marriage going and going and going just like one of the batteries advertisement.

I tell you again and again. It's not easy. 2 different heads from 2 completely different background are trying to become 1 and love is supposed to be the only thing that can 'glue' us. But unfortunately, just like real glue, love sometimes is not 'sticky' enough and when that time comes, our son will be the only hope to add the stickiness to the love.

For a week before our 7th wedding anniversary, I have been very busy creating a special wedding anniversary gift for my husband. I wanted to be unique and personal that would touch his emotion deeply.

I put into a halt all my other projects, my Ebay, and my housework so that I could concentrate on finishing the gift on time. It's a movie about us, about the wedding, about how we started to fall in love, about how we have been doing so far. It's quite a complicated work because I had to use my deepest emotion to gather all our photos, our songs, our home videos, sort them, then I had to add some words that would suppose to make the movie touchier. I worked on it day and night depriving me of my sleep for a week.

Just a day before our wed anniversary, my husband and I had an argument. This incident had altered my emotion and chased away my mood completely when I was supposed to add beautiful and touchy words to the movie. I was extremely disappointed. I tried my best to get my mood back but it preferred to stay away from me. D'oh I felt so angry with my self. I kept on reminding my self that I love my husband and I wanted to give him my most personal wedding anniversary gift ever.

When I was staring at my computer and my unfinished movie, suddenly my door bell rang. I jumped up quickly to open the door. A man stood in front of my door carrying a big bouquet of red roses. At first I thought this man has came to a wrong address but then when he mentioned my name and asked for my confirmation and said a greeting of “Happy Anniversary” before giving the bouquet to me, I just couldn’t hide my biggest smile ever. When the man has disappeared, I quickly opened a card attached to the bouquet just to make sure that it really was for me. My eyes and mouth opened so widely knowing that my husband was the one who sent that beautiful roses especially for me. I really never expected that because I know my husband very well. The last time he tried to buy me red roses, he bought me a bunch of sun flowers instead. Besides, he is not a romantic person what so ever. So, that bouquet was really a big surprise for me.

I read the words written on the beautiful pink card accompanying the bouquet, “With love-Because you’re special and you have a certain way of making magic moments happen every single day…With love-Because there’s nothing that I would rather do than spend my time throughout our life together-loving you. Happy Anniversary. God bless us forever…Luv u 4ever,” and he signed with his name (usually he uses “hubby” but this time he uses his name), the name that I always love to hear again and again.

I suddenly felt my warm tears dropped down my cheeks. Man! He got me first! He got into my deepest emotion first! I haven’t even finished my movie and the anniversary would not come until the next day. I quickly called him and thanked him for the beautiful gift. At the same time I felt my I-thought-already-gone-for-good-mood coming back and even better than before. I found it so easy to finish the movie and when my husband was back home, I bluetooth the file to his laptop and asked him not to watch it until the next day.

At the end, we watched the movie together. He kissed and hugged me tightly and said, “I love you”. That’s enough to bring the satisfaction in me. We know very well that the road to happiness is very bumpy and slippery. If we do not hold on to each other, we will fall and break apart. We do not want that because we have put our everything to build this family and we will not allow anything, anyone, to destroy it, for better for worst, not even death will do us apart. That’s our commitment. Not easy to keep, but we have chosen to have it, so we are responsible to protect it. With God's help, we believe things are going to be easier for us.