of chicken curry and calvin and hobbes.

I spent the weekend doing a few things, namely:

• cooking and burning a pot of curry (managed to salvage it somewhat but i was rather disappointed) :( read somewhere online that adding peanut butter to the dish can reduce the burnt taste but i didn't have any at home so i didn't try. am curious if it would work!

• listening to Mayday's 第二人生 (Second Round) album which I really, really like :) 

• "warming" my ex-housemate's new home.. i was expecting a big crowd so i was pleased that it was a cosy get-together.. and there was wine too so yeah i was kept relaxed haha :) also, her husband loves reading and collecting action figures so a huge section of the condo was dedicated to books and collectibles -- impressive!

• reading calvin and hobbes! i started from the very first strip and is now half way through the first tome. i aim to do this once every other year. :) if only i could express how much i adore the boy and his friend!

• it was father's day yesterday! we just had a simple dinner at Puchong Curry Fish Head. had wanted to bring him for Thai food, the same place where we celeb'd mother's day but he wanted something else -- i was so pleased we went there cos food was really delish. ^_^ but erm, i didn't even get to take a photo with dad! *regret* after dinner we went home to have some laichee which were very sweet. oh before that, my mom told us that...

• the cat has ran away. *HEARTBROKEN* stupid cat! i am so over this cat business and i will NEVER love another one of your species! EVER! STUPIDCAT why you go and break my heart?! :'( please come back :'(

anyway, today's write up has nothing to do with the song..

i think the lyrics to 玩偶 Puppet is quite obvious, a boy who's after a girl who's not into him. i don't really know anyone like that in real life, but i am familiar with the stereotype. shame on you!, is all i can say to the person stringing another around. ok, this is obviously not my area of expertise and i have nothing to add to the topic right now. have a good week ahead! :)

update: after posting this, i was tempted to rewrite the whole piece because the writing is so bleh.. but, but..


當司機 搬東西 幫你開車門
隨傳隨到陪你逛街 希望你認真
你跟別人玩耍 叫我在家楞
餵你的哈士奇 還聽他說我笨
i am the chauffeur, the mover, i'll even open the car door for you
roaming the streets together, hoping that you would take me seriously
while you're out playing with others, i'm left at home staring at nothing
and when feeding your pet husky, even it calls me stupid

我不想讀你的腳本
不想讓你動我的嘴巴
我不想往身上綁線
不想當你的玩偶~玩偶~
i don't want to read your script
don't want to allow you to move my lips
i don't to be moved by the strings tied to my body
i don't want to your puppet/marionette

送你禮物鮮花 幫你修電燈
帶你上山陪你烤肉 還解不了悶
每天每天痴等 是我太遲鈍
想做你的情人 可是感覺像光棍
giving you presents and fresh flowers
helping you repair the electrical light
bringing you up the hills and sitting with you as we roast meat
but you're still bored
every day i wait for you like a fool, i am an idiot!
i want to be your lover, but it feels like i'm single

我不想照你的規則
在你的指間 No
我不想當你的玩偶
i don't want to follow your rules
or to be wrapped around your little finger, no
i don't want to be your puppet





玩偶 Puppet

當司機 搬東西 幫你開車門
隨傳隨到陪你逛街 希望你認真
你跟別人玩耍 叫我在家楞
餵你的哈士奇 還聽他說我笨

我不想讀你的腳本 不想讓你動我的嘴巴
我不想往身上綁線 不想當你的玩偶~玩偶~

送你禮物鮮花 幫你修電燈
帶你上山陪你烤肉 還解不了悶
每天每天痴等 是我太遲鈍
想做你的情人 可是感覺像光棍

我不想讀你的腳本 不想讓你動我的嘴巴
我不想往身上綁線 不想當你的玩偶~玩偶~玩偶~

我不想照你的規則 在你的指間 No
我不想當你的玩偶

我不想讀你的腳本 不想讓你動我的嘴巴
我不想往身上綁線 我不想當你的玩偶~玩偶~

玩偶~玩偶~

妈, 母亲节快乐!

I don't have the time to translate this whole song, but I can do the last para (which is the meaning behind the song):

好久以来 原来我衣服 全部都是妈妈洗
从来没有 一句的怨言 你丢多少她都洗
她却总是 全心又全力 直到颤抖了身体
多少年了 旋转又旋转 时间一眨眼过去
才发现了 妈妈一直是 我无声洗衣机
才发现了 她的皱纹是 无法偿还的借据
才发现了 她的背影是 无法释怀的风景

when all these times, my clothes are washed by my mom
she's never uttered a single complaint about how much she has to wash
she's ever so dedicated and worked til her body trembled
it's been years and years, and countless spins of the machine
time just went past in a blink of an eye
only to discover that mom has been my silent washing machine
and that her wrinkles are a debt i'm unable to repay
and that her back is a view that can not be forgotten

how moving is this song?! it's basically singing about the home washing machine and the loads it has taken over the years etc.. but the song is an ode to mothers, in that they are the ones who get the machine (and basically the entire household) running.

Le mom and me

Only God knows how much my mom has sacrificed over the years to bring the four of us up. She practically breaks her back to feed us and raise us...

Lord, thank you for my mom. For every sacrificial deed she's done, bless her a hundred times over. For every tear she cried, let there a thousand things for her to smile about. For every sigh she has released, may there be peace and contentment backing her. Grant her long life and good health and a heart of joy. In Jesus' name I pray - amen!

I'll end tonight with these words from the end of the video that so aptly reflect my thoughts (I shd get this to her in a card!):

也许我从来不是一个好孩子
也许我管不住自己的叛逆
也许我从来没有让你满意
但我还是想让你知道: 妈妈，我爱你！
maybe i've never been a good child
maybe i cannot control my rebellious attitude
maybe i've never satisfied you
but i still want to let you know: MOM I LOVE YOU! T_T

[ala Robin] holy matrimony!

married at last! hehehe.. i gained a new sister over the weekend as my bro took my SIL's hand in marriage (well, they were officially married on 09.09.09 but only got to performing all the ceremonial rites + dinner the past few days - dinner on Christmas, no less!)..i didn't take many pics the past few days as we used the family camera for the pre-wedding day activities, and had engaged a photographer for the wedding day itself.. will post more pics when i get the whole batch! :)

the wedding was a mainly family affair.. it's been a tiring past few days but it was so fun to meet all the relatives from yonks (srsly, i won't recognise 60% of them if i were to bump into them on the street on any given day).. my cousins and aunties (and hubby!) were a big help in getting the day going.. i was there to show my face for most part hahaha..

my first time witnessing a 上头 (hair-combing) ceremony.. i didn't know people still do it haha..

the vicious chee-muis and sacrificial heng dais jip-ping the san leong (lit. fetching the bride (?)).. my cousin sis led the chee-muis into torturing the heng-dais and it was really fun to watch! haha.. i got to be there as i had to lead the in-laws from Penang to my cousin sis' place where the bride was waiting.. the chee-muis really put a lot of thought and efforts into entertaining the crowd and making the dudes suffer :D

the dashing groom and blushing bride
白头到老 oh! ;)

left: my baby bro with the angpow he received for opening the door for the bride.
right: me and sis and our dinner 'do. ;)

my parents were delirious with joy, striking a pose with "cool" hand signs.. and later with the newlyweds.

i am older than my dad and my mom now than they were in these pictures. i cannot imagine myself a parent at this age, what more at theirs. i wonder if they knew the weight of responsibilities and sacrifices that come with having a family (does anyone?? haha i don't think so.) but they did their best. and i am thankful ^__^

oh btw, being the first child, i have like tonnes of pix from when i was a kid. hehehe.. this might explain why i love taking pics ;) 

with dad outside our house. i've no idea what was with the hat -- was it my birthday? :) with mom at the playground near stadium merdeka. we went there often. the place was demolished to make way for the current carpark i think. have you been there? could we have met when we were toddlers? ;)

thanks, sis, for taking pics of these pics.

love you, mom and dad!

Yummy & love in tummy

Had my parents over this evening. Cooked a simple meal [chicken stew, pucuk ubi & egg, baby bayam soup & my very awesome siew yoke (roasted pork) which was totally delish (i've passed the recipe to dad to try out :)] The purple colour rice is of the 10-grain variant.

Parents brought their worker who helped me with the wash up for which I'm super grateful cos my kitchen is always a disaster zone after I cook :) I gave her a small token of appreciation for having to deal with the aftermath.

It's been a nice Sunday evening.. *heart* Am thankful. I only wish I'm more adventurous in my cooking.. :)

mothers know best.

in a chat with a bumming buddy of mine a.k.a. left barnacle a.k.a. jazzy "iwanttoseemynameontheblog" ching (-_-) tis morning:

there's this movie im semi watching while chatting and doing my work
its christmasy show between mother and daughter
mother is like this writer and mother comes to visit...
overbearing but fun woman
so she comes in and goes through her daughter's wardrobe and goes..
all black???? dont u have any colors?
and the daughter was sullen and replies.. yes.. brown and blue.



HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
im in blue today


...
touche
hahahahaha
but the daughter's annoyed la...cos she was like fussing over the daughter, get a wax, trim ur eyebrows etc

ahhahaha i can so relate!
wads the movie's name

Smothered.

aahahahahahahhaah
mothers.
:P

[i'm not sure if i've blogged about this, but once my mother called me out of the blue and our e-n-t-i-r-e conversation was about how alllll my clothes are black and how she would never see me in brighter colours and how this would affect my health my life and the planet's political and geological balance. the Queen of England even made a cameo in the conversation because apparently mom read in the newspapers that the Q always travel with a pair of black suit, in case there is a funeral to go for, and so black is for funeral.

and then she made me promise that i would never ever ever buy another black piece of clothing. and when i didn't wanna say no, she tried guilt-tripping me! aww mom. i know she meant well but i was sooo annoyed (called my sis to rant but instead sis got annoyed). but the next time i shopped for a dress, i got this cute red and white number cos i could hear her in my head the whole time.

after that purchase however, my next were 2 black and a grayish blue (the one i'm wearing today =) dresses. i have no idea how that happened. :D

btw a few days after that conversation, we dropped by their place on the way back home. it wasn't a planned visit. i was in black officewear from top to toe, and it was my hubby's bday. go figure how the tête-à-tête with mom went. hahaha..]

#1
dinner with prema, hema & pet: my colls from the first job
piccadily’s at section 17
food was bordering on terrible, even when i tried to not be fussy :P
haven’t met them for like 9 months, and I almost cancelled on this one
cos I had needed to go home and pack (I was leaving for china the next morning)
glad i went
always enjoyed being in this group cos I’d be the youngest hahaha
my (ex)boss turns 40 this year, can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I’ve known her




#2
my most recent haul from bookxcess

zits – love it. could half relate to it. what more could i say? :D

calvin & hobbes – I just can’t get enough of the boy and his tiger. I half want my entire C&H collection be buried with me but that would be a waste, so who wanna call dibs on this most marvelous of collection? Gimme a tinkle. Hahaha..

jeeves – I was soooo glad that I decided to buy this cos I lurved it to bits. Ok, that might be a wee bit exaggerated but really, this is the kinda book that make me wanna stay up whole night and once I’m done would love to read the next one available. this was the 2nd book i brought with me to china, and the rest is history. hahaha.. I can’t wait for the coming Big Bad Wolf Sale!! I’m gonna get my hands on the entire collection (please God let them be dirt cheap!)




#3
supper at papa rich, pj old town
had our drinks al-fresco which was made it all the more awesome when lil whipped out her android phone and showed us this app
can’t remember what it’s called, but it shows all the constellations (neatly labeled) in the sky at any direction the phone is aimed at! ohsofascinating!!! :D
we were waving the phone all over ogling at ‘em shiney heavenly bodies :P
saw most of the major constellations, but couldn’t find the scorpio though :|




#4
one of the five times we had xiao long bao that day
despite Shanghai being the origin of this dish
and this restaurant on “Cheng Huang Miao” which purportedly serves the best
all five times were rather disappointing
trust me, any of the Canton-i restaurants in KL serves much better tasting xlb

for more pics of our china trip, go here and here.




#5
the Mexico pavilion
one of the last few pavilions we visited on our trip to the Shanghai Expo
I like how these look like giant geometrical mushrooms against the dusky sky :)




#6
also taken at the expo
I title this piece “night/day”
go figure ;)


for more pics of us at the shanghai expo, go here.




#7
porridge from this Cantonese restaurant (cannot rber the name – 18 something :P) in Fahrenheit 88
we got quite a deal as there was an branch opening promo (buy 1 free 1) so this cost us like 6bucks per bowl
really yummy – it has like 8 items inside – century eggs, chicken, fish, prawn, scallops, crunchy cruller, etc




#8
tackling the TTDI jogging trail with lil
a relatively easy one
(i know, cos i could talk the entire time, and i spent twice the time here compared to the bukit gasing trail which leaves me huffing and panting in 15mins :D)
last Sunday evening was my third time in three weeks going for a walk
I hope the streak won’t be broken




#9
dinner with hubby at fig & olive in sunway pyramid
the night before deepavali
that was maghribi chicken and olive rice
quite delicious and looks healthy
this place is worth a second visit




#10
view from my parents’ bed
the now very dilapidated home where I grew up
the plank wall is as old as I am
that wall light hasn’t been working since I was in school
and the cheesy calendar pages from c.2005 covering the two walls
dropped by my parents’ place on Saturday after a very nice dimsum brunch w J
chatted about stuff, and mom trying to serenade me with her guzheng skill (I’m not very impressed but don’t tell her that HAHAHA I’m just glad she likes whatever she’s doing)




#11
outside the house, on the way out to the main road
i've always loved the view
and the quietness
the lush trees
i guess all the nutrients from decomposing bodies help hahaha
and in broad daylight it doesn’t seem so scary right :)




#12
the last time Jersoon played for me
he and Clara have recently graduated and more recent still have received and accepted job offers in Spore
I think I’m still trying to come to term with this loss to the team

but I wish them the very best – at that age, the world’s their oyster :)




#13
lunch with chongy
departure lounge, damansara utama
she had to layan herself for a whole hour cos I was ignoring her :D
I had needed to work on the powerpoint slides for my church anniversary the following day
my fault for having delayed it (sorry, chongy + anniv organizing comm.)
btw I concur with the her friends’ observation that she has developed a sense of style and dressing that go well with her ;)

for pics of my church anniv, go here.


last but no least:
i just *HEART* this music video from David Crowder Band – it just oozes the awesomeness that are stop-motion and Lite-Brite. see it pwease! :D

david crowder band :: shine (SMS)

mimpi mario..

every now and again sometimes, i just wish i could get my hand on a PSP and play mario bro all day long..

this is my mom at work. :) *HUGS*

this was my living room. i was ambitious. spent the weekend taking everything down from all three shelves (i have one downstairs, and three upstairs.. and i carted every single book down in about 2,547 trips. the exercise did me some good i hope!), sorted them out by genre, and putting everything, well mostly (see below), back. reminds me of my librarian days back in st. john's. :D




managed to throw these away. whee! i love clearing stuff. kinda.


this is one of the shelves. i haven't seen it so neat in yearrrrs. love it!


the IKEA sale is ON!! can't wait. i've got a BIG home facelift project coming on. oh the excitedness -- WHEE!! *wink wink*

btw, someone asked why this blog is hardly updated these days. hehehe.. no i haven't gotten lazy. i have a million blogs if you didn't know that already. do chk 'em out (links on the right column under "Virtually Everywhere") ok. plus i've been taken to a little project i'm working on with a couple of friends which i hope would take off (more of that later, if and when it does). right now, it seems all hanging in the air. *grimaces*

and the ultimate world cup game is on this sunday, well Monday morning.. Spain (let it be rbered that my money was on them ;) will be facing off against the Netherlands, and either one will make WC victory as this is their first final appearance. German played an awesome game (in my mind, the best game i've ever seen) when they decimated Argentina (my heart goes out to them :() 4-0 in the q-finals. then they had to play that lousily against the Spaniards.. hehe too bad la.. so yeah. this sunday i will sleep early and bangun for the game. hehe.. my first 2.30am game this WC season. hehe..

had japanese dinner w my parents on Sat night - a first for them! and a change of the usual chinese fare. we ordered so much that i could barely walk after the meal. haha.. mom didn't quite take to sashimi, but she loved the rolls and unagi, and esp the garlic rice - of all things! haha.. went to this place off jalan old klang road called nihon kai.. the place was so crowded and we had to wait abt 30mins to get a table, outside some more (by which time i was close to fainting cos i was so hungry but service was really fast thank God!).. but the prices were quite reasonable and food was good -- yums. (thanks jiwen for recommending! =)

este es mi mamá :)

and on sunday, went back home for lunch. my fish breeder cousin gave them a very very expensive fish which i've heard so much about but have never eaten so how could i resist! (that's a 1.5-2kg fish there, so read the article and do your math if you are curious! :) we'd some garlic rice too. hehe.. and some very nice soup (i had seconds on a very full stomach).. BURRRP! :D

next up, korean for father's day. :D

before that, i shd get back to work. hahaha..

i was late to my night class at the bible college yesterday -- technical problems with the Putra train (nothing new) leaving commuters stranded in the stuffy tunnel leading to the train. and my phone's batt died on me (of all days).

anyways, i got to class about 15mins late, and the lecturer had distributed back the exam papers so i went up to him during the break to ask for it.

what's your name?

it's ellis, with an E.

ah yes, very interesting spelling.

*smiles* yeah.

i've realised something then that i have known all my life, but at that moment it struck me again.

my name was given by my english-illiterate Dad. i never knew where he got it from (asked him once but he didn't remember). but if he did pluck it from thin air, i am SOOO glad that it's Ellis (already uncommon as it is) and not Orangina or Febreeze or Gryffindor or Patrick, for all the difference it makes to him!

*grateful* ^__^


ooh, i have just realised i still owe you a story. haha.. see la how..

i would text my parents in Chinese sometimes, using whatever limited characters i could recognise. and i think my mom kinda overestimated my ability to read Chinese.. cos i woke up at 6.30 this morning to her SMS which, among others, contained these characters:

孩子们,妈妈打胜病魔..你们回家后可以好好为我......精力.. and 4 last characters which read like a CNY greeting like 恭喜发财 or something like that (it wasn't la, but i don't know what it meant. the pinyin goes stg like 'yuan man ji chang'{?})

in my groggy state, i could only recognise 孩子们 (dear children), 打 (hit), 魔 (demon), and 你们回家后可以好好为我 (when you reach home, you must do [something] for me).. 精 (spirit?)..

this obviously freaked me out because she was still in the hospital.. what's this about hitting demons?? and do what when we go home?? you can imagine what went thru my mind. i dialled her number immediately.

me: what happened, ma? what is your SMS saying??

mom: you ah.. sometimes when i call you, the phone will ring off the hook and you wouldn't pick up. what are you doing up so early?

me: yaaa.. i gotta get to work, ma. so what's going on??

mom: no la. i just said that i [reads out SMS to me]. you understand?

me: err no.

mom: 打胜病魔 means i've overcome my fever already (literally, have victory over the fever demon.. wha-? who talks like that?!). and ["CNY greeting"] is.. [lost in translation]..

me: *relieved but still groggy* uh huh. glad u r ok.. take care, ma. i gotta wake up dy..

aiyo MOM!

mommy
my mom was admitted to the hosp on Thu on suspicion of dengue, as she's had fever for more than a week running now. thank God the blood test came back negative, but she's still being warded for observation. her temp's been oscillating between 38 & 39 degree celcius the past few days. doc said there will be another round of blood test tmr. :|

i pray that she wld be all right soon. it's her birthday on Sunday. she's turning 55. like, wow.


coffee, tea and me
i became a "tea person" sometime last year. i don't quite rber exact details surrounding the epiphany, but i was aware of the events leading up to it.. helping myself to a bunch of free tea bags from hilton when we had an event there, buying green tea teabags from the hypermarket, occasionally choosing tea over coffee to go with the cake at dessert.. it just happened.

one reason i like tea is that i could drink it without sugar. milk with tea is a definite No-no. my body plain rejects it. but coffee's all right. one of my fav tea place is societea, a fortuitous find for both chongy and i [can't wait til we get to hang out again, when her theatrical endeavor ends (expect another promo on this soon :)]. love the ambience and the selection of tea. :)

depending on mood, i usu get either mocha or americano -- weirdly these are both extremes, one very sweet, the other rather bitter -- from the ubiquitous starbuck joints. it's in the 'indulge' category right now, it's just too pricey for a poor office worker like me. boo hoo. anyways, i don't take latte/cappucino after seeing how it's prepared -- the amount of milk put in just puts me off. blergh.

i like the kopitiam variety too. the proliferation of kopitiams around KL in the past few years made getting a cuppa local joe almost effortless. i usu go to oldtown or hailam (not pappa rich cos they are so expensive. the rich in their name must have referred what we would make them). i also like cafe chawan in bangsar, which has like 15 various types (maybe more) of coffee from all over msia.. ipoh, kluang, tenom, kemaman, cap kapal api, cap tupai, you name it. the only thing i don't like abt that plc is that it's open air = smokers. urgh.

nevertheless, a nicely chilled H2O is still my fav bev. ;) think i'll go get a glass before i con't writing. :)

i would so lurrve this tea sub. and while milk repulses me, this jug is so cute!!!!

focus
i read/edited 28 pages of text in under 2 hours on Wed. mm, so i *can* focus if i *need* to, but not if i *want* to.


test
i crammed one month's worth of notes in a 45min revision, in the train on the way to class. the test paper creamed me. it was awful. sigh.


project 365/2010
life sucks. right now it does. which is all the more why i make myself count my blessings. looking back at the 31 items that i had in January does remind me that yeah, it wasn't that bad. another part of me might argue otherwise.. perspective, girl, perspective.

mm, this kinda remind me.. where's yours? :P