Food

Things that I've made over the past few months...

Chocolate Cupcakes for Mel's Birthday (though I cheated - It was from a premix, but the peanut butter 'gunk' on top of it is self-made)

Fried 'Nien-Gao', with sweet potato and yam

Raisin Scones

(Note: This is a picture of the very first batch of scones I made. And they do NO justice to my now perfected recipe. (Ask Mel :P) The 'descendants' of this first batch surely look and taste a zillion times nicer than their ancestors.

Beef + Raddish + Carrot Soup (A personal fav.)

Chicken floss

My 'lazy-to-cook-all-dumped-into-one-pot' stew. (It's been increasingly common lately, due to lack of time, exhaustion and pure laziness. *Guilty as charged!*


My most colourful creation of the lot *teehee*

-LV-

*Good Night and Sleep Tight!

Poor Linguistic Skills

Was on the phone with KH today, when we decided to be random and spoke in Mandarin. *ciak lat man!*

It never did occur to me that my command of the language could reach such point of deterioration, jst within a span of 6 months! It's an utter disgrace. *lols* Yiwen would kill me! Time flies, but it was just NOT TOO LONG ago where I could speak comfortably (albeit not fluently) in Mandarin on a daily basis. And YES, I could order food in a restaurant in Mandarin too! But now, I doubt... *lols* Oh yes, I was also able to understand the heavy Beijing accent back then! Alas, things have changed now.

But yeah, my attempts to speak the language today was indeed a laughable effort. Must put more effort to practice it!

As I'm sitting here, in front of my telly half-watching German Open, whilst typing this blog entry (Lee Hyun Il is winning btw) it dawned upon me that I'm a Jack of all trades, but master of none when it comes to languages. Speak or at least understand Malay, English, Cantonese, Mandarin, 'Sun Ning' dialect (more about that later)... but honestly speaking, I can't string a full sentence in formal Cantonese and Mandarin. French and Korean are negligble as they are Sdn, Bhd. Conversational purposes ... still fine, but need to tokok-tambah a lot of English and BM here and there. I could still recall the early days when I first knew Yiwen and Qiong. The poor girls had difficulties understanding my sentences as I tended to slot in some English words here and there. *lols* Could still remember the amount of cursing I got from Yiwen especially, for polluting the language. But well, 12 months later, she understands me perfectly! Man, I miss that girl! But still, my Cantonese and Mandarin are still somethings to work on I guess!

Alright, a new resolution apart from passing CLP!

-LV-
*pointless post

Boring Sunday Night

I just got back from a heavy on-slaught of weekend classes at BTC. Decided to take the night off to allow my dead brain-cells to regenerate. Took my own sweet time decided what to make for dinner and settled on a normal stir fry veg and ginger chicken. Had originally intended to make my 'dump-all-into-the-pot-and-let-it-cook' stew. But decided against it, as it is a rarity that I get to have dinner at home (AND at proper dinner time, i.e. not 10pm) nowadays.

Propped myself down on the sofa, with my papers and magazines for reading pleasure. And I did try, by all means to stay away from the internet and computer, thus, I turned on the television and channel surfed for quite a bit. To my dismay, I discovered that television programmes on Sunday nights are nothing but a pile of crap. Not a single noteworthy sitcom, drama or movie on air. And I've resorted to watching the best of the rest, Kiera Knightley "Pride and Prejudice". I'm never a fan of such old period dramas, hence my attention span to the show now is probably less than 10%. Which probably explains why I'm typing out this blog entry at this point.

The German Open 2008 (badminton) on Supersport is nothing to shout about either. Lee Hyun Il of Korea vs Sasaki Sho of Japan. BORING!

I can't wait for the 2008 Formula 1 season to start on 16th March 2008! Now, that's something to look forward to!

-LV-

Mimpi Ngeriku!

4 more months till dooms day and I think the thought if CLP itself bothers me! Revision's gonna start this Monday, and that surely adds in to the 'mood' and adrenaline rush.

Anyway, had this bad dream last night that made me wake up and lie in bed trying to make sense of it. It just seemed too realistic.

To put everything into context, I'm taking 5 subjects for CLP; Criminal Procedure, Civil Procedure, General Paper (consisting of 2 subjects; Tort & Contract), Evidence and Professional Practice (which consists of 5 subjects; Land Law, Bankruptcy, Wills & Probate, Ethics, Advocacy). Yup, its 10 bloody subjects bundled into 5 papers. *cis!*

I was sitting in the exam hall where I was to sit for my Professional Practice paper that fateful morning. Part A - Ethics, Edvocacy; Part B - Bankruptcy, Land and Probate. And OMG! I forgot to study Ethics and Advocacy. So that the whole of Part A of the paper gone! A good 40%!!!!! Which means I'm surely gonna fail the paper, no matter what! It's really scary and is certainly a dream I hope not to repeat in the near future!

So, I was glad to have woke up and realised, "Rupa-rupanya, aku hanya bermimpi!" Thank God! I guess this explains the throbbing headache for the entire day! Too much stress di! Must pass!

HOWEVER....

Strangely enough, I go to class to relax and to enjoy the company of my friends. Therefore, SW and HP always kena kacau....(But kinda quiet lately, quite drained out.) Which leads me to think that I may be (and for SW to label me) a Singaporean. (oh well, that's another story for another time!)

*Tadah!* My 'bibles'. Even more important than the 'Chinese bible' aka the 万字簿 (i.e. the 4 digit book usually found in Chinese homes!) I enjoy flicking through it ;) And NO, I don't buy 4Ds nor 3Ds.

-LV-

*bracing herself for a weekend of hell. Saturday 1030am - 715pm; Sunday 9am - 5.15pm. I think I'm only gonna see the sunrise and sunset in National Geographic Channel. Sigh!!! :(

GOOD NIGHT and GOOD LUCK!

P.S. I Love You

I've been indulging in a lot of leisure reading recently, a long forgotten hobby of mine. I've never had the time to read much during secondary school as I was constantly shuttling between tuition classes, co-curricular activities and sports commitments. So, it was only during my 2nd year in Manchester that I've joined the Central Library and gained access to the enormous collection of books; biographies and fiction.

I rarely read when I'm in Malaysia. Mainly because of the lack of access to books. The library's too far away and too much of a hassle to brave the traffic jams to get to Perpustakaan Negara (opposite IJN) just to borrow 2 books, only to go through the same traumatic process to return it 2 weeks later. Secondly, I can't bring myself to spend a good RM35 on a book of which I know would be read only once. And within 3 days, if I'm up to it. Imagine: 400pages = RM35 = 3 days. *poof* goes your money! Thirdly, looking for a space to store these books is another headache! But then, now that I'm back home (for good) and enjoying the good life here (It's fun being home!), I guess I do need to get a nice book once in a while to entertain myself.

ANYWAY....

I was reading "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult when my attention was deviated towards this book; "P.S. I Love You" by Cecilia Ahern.

It has been adapted to a motion picture i.e. movie starring Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler. But, I wasn't fortunate enough to have to opportunity to watch the movie. So, I have to make do with the book.


The synopsis is as follows...

Holly and Gerry are childhood sweethearts and it's hard to imagine them without each other. Tragedy strikes when Gerry is diagnosed and subsequently succumbs to brain tumour. Holly, like the rest of us finds it hard to come to terms with her loss.

Until one day, she receives a call from her mother stating that there is a letter for her. It turns out that the letter consists of a bundle of notes, one for each month (lasting 10 months) from Gerry, aimed to guide her gently towards a life without him. Each ending with P.S. I Love You.

This sounds silly, but the book did give me the creeps during the first few chapters. It was weird reading about the notes Gerry left before his death. But a few chapters later, I eased into the idea of the notes which formed the crux of this book. I'm at note number 4 now, where Gerry told Holly to pack all his possessions and to give them away to his intended receipients. As much as she is reluctant to do it, she knows that it has to be done; and that life has to move on.

Will update more when I'm done with the book! Later... 6 more notes to go!

-LV-

PS: I Love You

My Reply

Dear SW,

My reply (in blue) to our *ahem* academic debate....

(1) You mentioned about a patient who is heavily dependent on drugs and machines for survival. There are major differences between an ‘omission’ act like withdrawing the consumption of drugs and switching off the life- machine, compared to a ‘killing with an action’ like asking someone to strangle him or stab him till death. The patient in the first category is allowing the ‘disease’ or ‘illness’ itself to kill him ‘naturally’ by withdrawing from any external help for survival, which is in some sense similar to a cancer patient who refuses to undergo chemotherapy (and we don’t usually call that ‘euthanasia’). But the latter is equivalent to a suicidal act by deliberately accelerated the process of dying. The two forms of ‘euthanasia’ would need separate discussions regarding the different ethical issues attached to them.
-->
I totally agree with you on this point as I have 'jumped the gun' in my discussion about euthanasia. I deliberately omitted to discuss both active and passive euthanasia. Well, blog post... not thesis writing... so malas a bit mah! Btw, thanks for the clear definition.....

(2) You mentioned also that ‘euthanasia’ is different from an express sanction of suicide. Let consider a hypothesis example of this teenager who is an outcast from his societies, despised by all people in his surroundings and find life extremely meaningless and hence decided to commit suicide. Applying your three ‘reasons’ of why euthanasia should be allowed: (a) the teenager should be given the choice to live the life he desires, including ending it; (b) he is deprived of his means of communications (though in a different sense) in that he is an outcast and no one is willing to listen to him, and (c) he understands the nature and consequences of his action. Question: should he be allowed to take his own life away?
-->
YES
So long as he is competent, his wishes should be respected.
Autonomy triumphs.

(3) There are some conflicts between the second and third reasons that you mentioned. I wonder how a competent adult manage to express his desire to die if he is not able to communicate. And if he is able to express such desire, it means that he is still able to express his own feelings, and hence according to your second reason, his life is not meaningless. So he shouldn’t be allowed to die.
-->
In this context, I am therefore proposing for healthcare practitioners to give rise to living wills and perhaps, to a certain extent allow for PAS (physician assisted suicide). The individual, in giving rise to his wish for euthanasia (in the future), would do by means of a living will. Don't think that there's a conflict in my arguments as such. Expression of feelings and intention is done when he had 'testamentary capacity', so as to allow for PAS in the future.

The main purpose of wills (as we learnted from our Wills & Probate lectures... if we managed to stay awake ;) ) is to give rise to the intention of the testator upon the occurence of an event. In giving rise to this intention, so long as one has testamentary capacity, the individual's intentions as to how his property is to be divided amongst the intended beneficiaries ought to be respected, and not questioned.

Likewise, in giving rise to PAS, the individual's wishes would be documented. And when his condition reaches the point when he no longer wishes to continue on living, the physician ought to invoke the said living will and administer a dose of lethal injection so as to ease his passage.....

-LV-
PS: Not really thinking straight right now, so arguments might be a bit patchy and all over the place... We shall battle it out in class tomorrow! :P

To Kill or Not To Kill?

"Please End My Suffering Now"

(http://thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article852585.ece) (The Sun UK, 27th February 2008)

Should the decision lie in your hands, would you have granted Chantal Sebire her plea for euthanasia?

-LV-

PS: SW, still owe you a reply to your previous comments..... In the midst of it.... Not really up to it these days... Quite depressed and demotivated...

Sunflowers again...

And now... pictures of my favourite flower.... the not-dried-up-or-dead version....

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia; 25th December 2007

Cantik!

To quote Mel; "你看！！！很漂亮！！！" (translation (lit.), "Have a look at it! It's pretty!!!")

-LV-

*feeling refreshed and energetic after doing 4km on the treadmills today! Darn! Class again later...

Adaptability or No Choice?!?

I've gotten used to driving. (No driver, what to do?)

I've gotten used to not being back in my hometown, though I miss the relaxed and laid-back environment. (Bored of the 2 hour drive, what to do?)

I've gotten used to cleaning my house once week. (No longer living in Halls of Residences, what to do?)

I've gotten used to taking the 30minute walk to Tesco every week and then walking home with a backpack and two plastic bags full of groceries. (During Uni days when I neither had a car nor a bf at my expense, what to do?)

I've gotten used to 5 hour lectures. (CLP, what to do?)

I've learnt how to send my car for repairs. (Alone, no one to seek help from, what to do?)

I've learnt how to deal with pesky fellas i.e. management offices and maintenance people. (Need their help, what to do?)

I've learnt SOME (20%) of the major routes in the Klang Valley. (Again, no driver, what to do?)

-->
Question: Do I have a high level of adaptability, or am I doing this because I HAVE to as otherwise, there's no one who is able to help me with it?


I do wonder at times...

Half empty or half full???

(A random Bar at Stanley Bay, Hong Kong; 14th Sept 2007)

-LV-

*nvm, pointless post anyway, like how we often argue whether the glass is half-empty or half-full. Pointless argument, yet ppl like it*

Would You Choose to Die?

Euthansia; or in some cases referred to as 'mercy killing' often brings about mixed reactions from different sections of the society. I had an opportunity to reconsider this issue recently and am still of the view that competence is the key.

An interesting point that I recall from my Philosophy classes is that some individuals may contend that life is a gift from God. And as such, we have no right to request for it to be ended, no matter what.

But, should anyone of us be put in this unfortunate position of suffering from a severely debilitating illness, without any hopes for cure but only a slow road to death; would you think differently? You will gradually lose control of your bodily functions, and although able to think and reason, are unable to express your wants and needs. You lose your ability to earn a living and as a result of this illness are heavily dependant on machines and drugs to sustain life. Your family is unduly burdened with your sky-high medical bills. You are not able to do anything, but sit or lie down and watch the hours/minutes/seconds tick by everyday. Would you then champion for the right to end your life?

I must stress at this point that, I am not an advocate for euthanasia per se. But, I believe in autonomy and competence. And all these would inevitably tie in with the right to euthanasia, abortion and to refuse medical treatment. So long as a competent person decides to end his life due to the severely debilitating illness, his/her decision should be respected. *period*

Why? You may ask.
Three simple answers.

Regardless of whether we consider our lives to be that of ourselves alone or that which is 'on loan' from God. We will be the ones who would inevitably live these lives. Therefore, it is only rightful that we are allowed to live the lives we desire. Should we decide to soldier on with the effects of the illness, so be it. Should we decide to end our lives at a certain point, so be it.
BUT
This is by all means, not to be taken as an express sanction of suicide. Though the end results to suicide and euthanasia are similar, they are by all means, different sides of a coin.
Put in simple words; "Your life, Your choice"

Secondly, taking a leaf out from John Harris's book, "The Value of Life". Life is only meaningful when one is aware and able to communicate. Language is used as means of expressing one's feelings. It need not be spoken and comprehensible to each and every person. The inability to communicate is then synonymous to a life devoid of meaning, so says John. (I just love attending his lectures, though I bet people like Iain would surely be gunning for his head for his arguments above). Put into context, this argument may seem academic at first glance. But upon further consideration, I find it increasingly comprehensible; reasons of which I decline to talk about further at this point.

Would it be easier to turn off the ventilators of a person in PVS in comparison to a patient who is suffering from a severely debilitating disease? Think, Diane Pretty and her fight for the right to die.

And lastly, he/she is fully competent i.e. understands the nature and consequence of his/her actions. IF we respect a 5 year old's decision to have an apple instead of an orange, why should we treat a 60 year old's decision not to be trapped in a battle with a severely debilitating disease? I think it is neigh time for us to respect Living Wills and DNR orders.

Opinions please....

-LV-

My favourite things!

My favourite flower... albeit the dried up version. I don't know why, but I really, really, really like them. Take guess as to what it is....

Rosenborg Palace, Copenhagen; 9th September 2008

Ah... How I miss the clear blue skies of Europe!

Copenhagen; 8th September 2008

NOTE: Picture taken on board the train journey fr Copenhagen (Denmark) to Malmo (Sweden) whilst crossing the Danish-Swedish bridge (forgot the name).

Lovely, ain't it?

Next on the hit list - SOUTH AFRICAAAAaaaaaaaa..... *hola* wonder when will it be! Yeah, I know I've been talking bout it since time in memorial, but it's one of my dream holiday destinations....

-LV-

Comel giler!

I saw this picture on SW's blog earlier in the night. And my immediate reaction was...

SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pardon me, but I can't resist the urge to share this picture with all of you....

I think its the smile, those small eyes, the cherubic cheeks, the cute over-sized beanie he/she is wearing, plus the huge ear-muffs attached to the beanie!

SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS: I've finally found something that's better than Takeshi's Biotherm poster! The baby is now my desktop wallpaper; replacing Takeshi!

-LV-

Vyen's Tortoise: Lost & Found

Remember the story about my tortoise who ran away? *think I mentioned it somewhere in my previous post*

It was the size of a 50cent coin when I b(r)ought it home 2 years ago. For comparisons, the tortoise was placed inside a Horlicks jar when this picture was taken. Yeah, you could probably picture how tiny it was.


And it has now quadrupled its original size or perhaps more. It's about 15cm in diameter I think. And boy, that creature is surely heavy!

It was no where to be seen when I went home for CNY holidays. No sign of tortoise swimming in the mornings; no sign of tortoise sunbathing in the afternoons; no sign of tortoise during feeding times.... *haih*

An empty (tortoise-less) fish pond. I was a little sad.

Hence Dad and I assumed that it's probably grown 'old/matured enough' to venture out to the big, wide world on its own. Like humans do; when we're old enough, we will venture out from our 'nests'. Well, that's what happened to the previous few tortoises that we owned. So we assumed likewise in this case.

Imagine our surprise and joy when we saw it back in the pond last week! Swimming happily in the pond as usual, surfacing during feeding times as always! *yay!* Miracles do happen!

Swimming....

Surfacing for some air...

It's probably understood the meaning of this phrase; "Rumahku, Syurgaku". *lols*

It's back, and I'm happy!

BTW, would anyone like to give it a name?

-LV-

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's to the day to honour the celebration of Love! *toast*

Your significant other, your family, your friends or even your pets...

Have a lovely Valentine's!

OR

Alternatively; SAD

(Single Awareness Day)

(according to Steph, in her text message to me this morning *lols*)

-LV-

*Amazing Race Asia Final tonight! Will it be the hunky Marc & Rovilson; our neighbours from opposite the Causeway Adrian & Colin; or Vince Chong's (no VCKY not you :P *sorry, can't resist a jibe!* Ampun Tuanku, beribu-ribu ampun.) sisters Pamela & Vanessa????

The Journey Back

CNY holidays have finally ended and I made my usual commute back to the city down South. Was driving along the PLUS highway when I noticed black smoke billowing from the other side of the highway; some 2km away. As I inched nearer, I saw something that resembled a 'orange fireball' (you know, those that Ken and Ryu often come up with during the Street Fighter Battle Royale; or well, from the guy (forgot his name) in Dragonball).

Traffic came to a standstill from the opposing direction. As I drove nearer, I saw a white Proton (dunno which one) in flames and a huge lorry parked next to it. Typical human nature to be curious, so I drove a bit slower as I passed the scene of the accident. The heat from the fire was so intense that I could feel it from inside my car!

Instincts lead me to assume that there were no casualties as members of the public were standing 'calmly' to watch and some even had their cameras in hand! No fire engines, no ambulance, no signs of panic anywhere! Thus, I assumed that the victims got out in time before their car burst into flames...

Picture credits: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/National/2157470/Article/index_html; New Straits Times Online; Thursday, 14th February 2008)

It was not until this morning, that I read in the papers that the accident claimed 3 lives and injured 2 others.

See http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/National/2157470/Article/index_html (New Straits Times; 14th February 2008)

-LV-

My Alma Mater

I was clicking around Wikipedia this morning and randomly googled "ACS Kampar"; my alma mater. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACS_Kampar)

SMK Methodist ACS Kampar; more commonly known as ACS Secondary

Picture credits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampar%2C_Perak

This particular paragraph caught my attention,

"... During World War II, the school was used as the main office for the local Japanese administration in Kampar. Also, the assembly grounds for the ACS Secondary School was used as the execution grounds by the troops. Because of this dark period of time, former students of the school have alleged sightings of supernatural beings. Common claims include sounds of Japanese troops marching and beheaded souls wandering around..."

Tales of decapitated heads being put on display in the basketball court were common. Stories of sightings of Japanese soldiers marching in the basketball court were not unheard of...

I was not spared of hearing such tales from my schoolmates and seniors during my 11 years in the school (both primary and secondary). But am thankful that I haven't been in encounter with any 'spooky beings' during the few camps I've attended in school. Although I must admit, walking alone along the school corridors at night and past midnight gave me goose-bumps! Was too chicken to walk alone back then!

AND YES, NOW TOO! I'm afraid of the dark as my imagination runs wild....

______

Oh yes, not forgetting this paragraph too!

"... the school has consistently emerged as one of the front-runners for the Majlis Sukan Sekolah-Sekolah Perak (MSSPK), which is the state sports council..."

*screams proudly! I was part of it!* *lols*

Can still remember those days in the athletics team! Training in the padang (as shown in the picture above) in the scorching sun at 3pm - 630pm EOD (every other day)! No wonder I was extremely tanned! And yes, waking up at 530am during the 'sports season' for morning jogs with my neighbour (who was also my teammate in the 4x100m relay team). *I think we might have been suffering from OCD - obsession with winning?* She was the anchor (i.e. 4th runner) and me, the starter (i.e. 1st runner). OM, the 2nd runner and AC, the 3rd runner. I know how to use a starting block! *proud*

We had a cheesy running vest (i.e. athletics team singlet) emblazoned in our school colours of yellow and blue (sounds like a horrid combination, but it doesn't look too bad!), with the words "ACS Cemerlang, ACS Kampar" written across it. I wonder who had the idea of putting such 'syok sendiri' words! Still happily wearing the vest at home these days, no other baju mah! :P

Nice memories of Kamal and Anba leading the cheers for our team! *ACS! ACS! ACS!...* Rathiga leading our warming up sessions and Jane leading our drills!

______

To sum it up, my best memories:

1. Athletics; this definitely has to top the list!

2. BM Debate

- I still remember the day Cikgu Zaiton went mad when she found out that we lied to her that "Cikgu, kita kalahkan STAR (a top school in Ipoh)" when we had in fact benefitted from a walkover. She cursed us for weeks - Zul, Anil, Amy and I.

3. The Prefects' Board kena rotan saga.

4. Whenever we sneaked out early for recess and were punished to lari padang with the bowl of noodles (or whatever we had ordered) in our hands! *lols* Imagine the Ketua Pengawas and the rest of the Board doing that! :P

5. Prefect's Camp, PRS Camp, Leo Club activities

- Along with the water fights and when WC pretended to be a ghost in the basketball court; with a white cloth draped round his body along with a skateboard - so that he appeared to be 'gliding' and not walking! Can't imagine him as a dentist now!

-LV-

*those were the days when we were young and innocent :P

CNY: The Food

CNY, like many other Chinese festivals is mainly about family reunions and FOOD! God knows how many tonnes I gained this CNY. Btw, think I overdid on the Mandarin Oranges. My palms have started to turn yellow/orange... *omigosh*

The fare for the Reunion Dinner on CNY eve.

And noodles for breakfast on the 1st Day of CNY

We had this to 'open the New Year' （开年）(literally) on the morning of the 2nd day of CNY


Served these to the guests at Grandma's （外婆）place on the 1st day of CNY

Only some of the titbits are shown; not all

And *drumrolls*... my favourite food...

Grandma's (paternal) （奶奶？？？）herbal chicken

Mushrooms! *love*

Kuih Bangkit that melts in your mouth *slurp*

Last but not least, I shall pay homage to my favourite(-est) food of them all! Mandarin Oranges!!!!! *yay*

Btw, read in The Star that day that one mandarin orange contains the same amount of sugar as in a slice of bread. *Darn!* As if that helps!

-LV-

Dengan ini, tamatlah siaran siri Tahun Baru Cina untuk tahun ini. Jumpa lagi tahun depan... Tahun lembu???

The Result of Discovery

When a kid discovers a new toy... You know you're in trouble.

I was sitting around the living room with my cousin when I 'graciously' granted her utmost liberty to fiddle around with my phone. Taught her how to take pictures and fiddle around with the "edit" function.

Yeah, she looks innocent...

And this is the end result. Cha dou!

*lols* It cracked me up. I think I don't look too bad as a guy!

-LV-

CNY: The Prayers

Grandma's house is situated right next to the temple, which has its pros and cons.

As a young child, I recall watching the annual lion dance performances at the temple from our house. *he he* No need to stand and jostle for the best spot along with the rest of the crowd. Got VIP seats (kononnya) from our house compound. :P Ah! Life's little pleasures! Anyway, failed to wake up early this year. Hence, I missed the performance. There's something about the firecrackers and lion dance performances that bring about the spirit of CNY. Sad to say, these are a rare sight nowadays.

We only get to see the lions in shopping malls nowadays.... (minus the firecrackers) Mana ada syok man! :(

A crappy pic of the lion dance performance @ 1 Utama. Badly taken due to 'height restrictions'. (what to do! ONLY 123cm tall!)

Random dance performance @ 1 Utama, taken on the eve of the eve of the eve of CNY :P

And well, the downside of living next to a temple is the fact that we have to make do/bear with the huge amount of ashes and smoke that 'billows' from the temple every year as a result of the burning of joss-sticks; prayers for peace, prosperity and good health throughout the year.

Prayers for good health and prosperity; Tokong Cina Kampar

Anyway, made a trip to the temple on CNY eve with the gang. Although Grandma's place is just next to the temple, it's my first trip to the temple in 25 years. I've been to others, but ironically not to this one.

We intended to get some 'numbers' initially; for betting purposes. *lols* But, our plan never did materialise. *angelic smile*

Anyway, off for our annual Chor 3 reunion dinner tonight. *tee hee*

-LV-
PS: Having some issues with my phone lately, pls text me if you can't get through.

CNY: The Decorations & 'Ornaments' *tralalalala*

CNY Eve today. *tralalalala!*

Tonight's the night.... for Reunion dinner... Makan again!!!!

I've been home for 2 days now. *yayness!* Si Wira's having his annual break too! (Resting outside my house) No need to make the 45 minute commute to BTC everyday! *ooh lala!*

Put the fresh flowers that mum bought in a vase, replanted some cactus, and I went camera crazy he he he he.... (yeah, this is the only time of the year we have fresh flowers at home)

Chrysanthemums, CNY you have them, prayers or at the altar ada juga... Funeral also digunakan juga! Oh yes, guai los buy them for Valentine's Day! *lols*

Grandma put some angpow packets up too!

Some lucky bamboo that used to cost a fortune moons ago. Only RM5.68 at Tesco this year. *lols* So I beli la! Since they looked so cute.... (OK! I know I'm cuter! :P)

Mandarin Oranges... *slurp* Ok, I admit... I'm crazy for oranges, mandarin oranges, clementines, satsumas, tangerines....

Alright, the real ones are not allowed now, so we make do with some paper ones. Equally flamable, nonetheless!

Pomelos.... Ipoh is famous for them. Although we have them often, but it is a must during CNY. Lovely fruits!

And pineapple(s)... Yeah man!!!! :P

Oh yeah, the fish-ies are swimming happily in their habitat... Bet they are all set for CNY too! Dad's pride and joy! He dug out that enormous hole in the ground all by himself! *salute man!* I think he will disown me if I happen to 'genocide' the fish-ies in the pond someday... Which btw, I think my kura-kura ran away again! Haven't seen it in the pond today... Surely eloped di! *lols*

And those domiciled indoors...

-LV-

*Suffering again! Nose rajuk!* All due to spring cleaning! And I think the flower pollen in my garden! :(

Coming soon to the computer screens near you.... "The Food"

CNY: The Countdown *tralalala*

CNY isn't complete without these....

It's been my annual duty to fill up these lil' red packets with crisp RM1, RM5 and RM10 notes since time in memorial... It used to be a 'responsibility' I shared along with my cousins on CNY eve. But, since I dropped by at Grandma's place today, I helped her sort them out earlier.

The 'raw material' - Angpow packets, crisp bank notes of different denominations

Tools of the trade - Stapler (to seal the packets), rubberband (to group the angpows in specific 'categories' according to its contents and intended recepients), Sports Toto slip (to label the angpows according to category), pencil

And *tadah* Grandma with the end-products aka fruits of my labour...

-LV-

*tralalalala* Just back fr CNY food hunting/grocery shopping at Tesco