Sunday, February 28, 2010

Coming back from CNY

Little things I learnt about from this trip back home.

#1 Chucky comes to the window on cue whenever someone is eating something meat-y (think: ba gua, chicken wings) by the window. . . and he tries to jam his head in if that person is eating in the dining room.

#2 My dad has been on a healthier diet of fruits and vegetables late but gainedback pretty quickly even the day before CNY. It is hard to understand why when my dad's idea of a simple hawker meal at home for 6 is only THAT much.
I love siu gai yek (charcoal grilled chicken wings).

#3 Ray is a winner when it comes to buffet. Even my dad loses to him. It is easy to predict what he will become in the future.
#4 My family, including SISTER (!), has never used Streetview. See the magic captivating them? And a huge chunk of cloud hovers above our place in Kemuning Utama, rendering my very excited dad disappointed not being able to see our house on Google Map.

#5 Mum and I - no one says we look alike anymore. Is it the skin tone? Is it the eyes? Is it the body? Nope, definitely not the last one. My body is morphing into a replica of my mum's!

#6 Meeting up with high school friends - always a highlight! This year I only managed to meet up with these few among the gang. Everyone seems to be walking their own path and has their own stories to tell. But I am glad we still find time to cross paths and drink tea. Oh and swap stories. . . .

#7 This is what a Fox Terrier x Spitz will look like! Look Shiro, the baby you will produce if you do wrong things with a Foxy Terrier.


#8 Love my Grandma's cheeks. How to cutesy-fy your pictures without using Photoshop.

#9 First family portrait in a while. Dad likes to play cool in pictures. Mum knows how to get an angle now and not just grin blindly. Sister is the master of angles and smile.

#9 Ray is a poser. This is not really new. Ray is damn poser even in front of my family. Now this is new!

#10 Both my grandmas sport the same cool hairstyle! And they just get cooler and cooler each year. As quoted from my Sis, "their daughters' hairstyles evolve gradually to this extent of coolness".

#11 I trained Chucky this 'cute' pose within a day with the help of chicken jerkies! Chucky is officially 'cute' and smart.

#12 My grandma is truly aging. Though they are not as healthy as before, every line we see on her body tells a story - the hardship and the experience. Now these lines frame her smile perfectly. And to me, that is aging gracefully.

#13
Past Mum: Yer, I hate furry creatures! Don't even think about getting a dog!
Present Mum: Chucky, are you still hungry? Look look! Look how I am playing with Chucky!

#14 My bangs have gaps in the middle! CRISIS.

#15 Kids these days have really ....fashionable glasses. It seems like white is a 'hot' colour for specs back home. All four-eyes - from Ah bengs to ah lians to the hot waiter to this 10 year old - are with white specs. I stayed true to my roots and decided to conserve my 5 year old Burberry black ones.

#16
Ray: Let me be the first model for you new camera! I'll come over now.
Okay, so this is not new.

#17 My YiMa is still as beautiful as ever. What is new here is what she said to me, "A woman must know how to take care of herself in order to look taken care of. No shortcuts!" 10000000000% agreed!


#18 It has been sooooooooooooooooooooooo long since I held a toddler. I miss playing with those little feet! Little happy feet!


#19 Kids can laugh at so many things. I think they are the ones who have an eye for the little things which we so often forget to celebrate about. Oh and in this case, a seatbelt being pulled out of mouth. Hmm.

#19 I love my new camera despite the weight! Like how I lurve chocolated despite the calories. Credits to Sis and Mr Lai for helping me choose this baby!

#20 I love playing with kids. Their innocence is always so funny and they DO say the darndest things!

#21 It is good to walk with an elder once in a while. It slows down your pace and without realising it, you talk more to each other, spend more time to look at things around you and learn to appreciate the wisdom/experience hidden within these precious people.

#22 The newest piece of news? Oh I gained 2 kgs. *whistles* Why? Is this not new???

Thursday, February 25, 2010

This here today

I found a new target in 2010.

To treat myself better.

In a literal sense, so that means loadsa taking good care of myself with nutritious home cooked meals, therapeutic beauty products, rigorous exercise sessions and feel-good company.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Snippets of CNY

Random snippets to depict my Chinese New Year.

#1 The wallpaper in my room - romantic-nya.

#2 Mum thinks I am outdated but I am just in love with vintage

#3 Helmet hair

#4 Meeting and fighting with my sister in person after a long time

#5 Family portrait while waiting for reunion dinner

#6 Trained Chuck to rollover while missing my Shiro all the way

#7 Look, it's my Mum and her rock'n'roll hair

#8 Tis' the season to give money

#9 Long live chor yat and ang pau

#10 Walking on sunshine

#11 Gone are the cereal+soy milk breakfast

#12 Shouldn't have given aviators as valentine's gift

#13 Finally a taste of papaya after a year

#14 'Fook'

#15 Isi hati time with Chuck

#16 Bed of salad greens with ba gua

#17 The nosy one

How was your Chinese New Year?

Friday, February 12, 2010

Chinese NEW Year

Today is the last day before Chinese New Year.

With my birthday being on New Year's Eve, I am usually too occupied with celebrating my own birth to really feel the coming of a brand new year.

So, at least to little me, Chinese New Year marks the start of the year.

The hustle and bustle in my traditional chinese family.
Specially prepared new year dishes in the morning.
Organising gathering with friends not seen for the whole year.
Click clacks of mahjong tiles.
Cursing about losing money over poker cards.

It is the dynamic of meeting with people old and new, sharing stories future and past, rush of reunions and departure. Without all these, Chinese New Year is nothing but a date on the calender for people to drink and eat like a pig.

Meeting with people old and new = tying up loose ends. The various lines of communication and relationships cut short and abrupt due to the busy everydays or procrastinau'tion or even fear. Time to meet and greet and to re-build bridges through appreciation, apologies or a mere 'how are you'.

Sharing stories future and past = remembering who we were and reminding ourselves of our aspiration. People we have met halfway in our lives often do not have a good picture of who we really are. Talking to people we met at various stages of our lives and better still, mixing these people together, reminds us of how far we have gone and where are we heading to.

Reunions and departures = nostalgia. Like an illusion. Cheesy as it might sound - it is beautiful and even more so just because it is transient. People always treasure things that cannot last more. And so, just like chasing a dream.

So how is Chinese New Year for you?

Monday, February 8, 2010

My latest muse

I have a new muse.



Her name is Zooey Deschanel.

I fell in love with her after watching 500 Days Of Summer.


I love her quirky acting.


Her unintentional cuteness?


Her colours!


Her smile.






Her fashion sense.




I think she is really a breath of fresh air in Hollywood.




Love her understated hairstyle.

Who is your muse?