Salmon Pink

I had sushi for dinner today. YUmmers! With two generous pinches of wasabi, it is just the ticket for clearing the sinuses. Honest!!

Singapore's skyline

In addition to the a short trip to PD, I also spent three days in Singapore. ( Not in the same setting lest you think I do zero work in between ). The sequence of the pictures and anecdotes on blog...are hardly in chronologically order.

There is a stark difference between Singapore and Malaysia. A difference you realised just as you cross the causeway. This time around, I flew to Singapore, so the change wasn't half as drastic. I went for a talk...and managed to squeeze some obligatory ( but enjoyable ) meeting-the-family session. And as my obsession with books still play a major role in daily life, I walked ( in the rain mind!!) from Raffles City ( where the conference was ) to Brash Basah Shopping Complex, where they promised many second-hand bookstores to browse. I came home with 4 books. Two of which were Joanna Trollope's. A fruitful trip indeed. ( The conference wasn't too bad either )

Kayn's Resort

I've been meaning to post some pictures taken in Port Dickson for the last week or so. Finally got around to locating the camera ( it was found on the kitchen top ), extracting the SD card out of it, popping it into the laptop and....blogging.

The entry to the resort was really off-putting. We drove through dirt road and to the right of us, a row of deserted double story houses. There were potholes scattered cheerfully to the left and right of us, which made us bum up and down as well as side to side. By the time we got to the resort, I was bruised on the bum and feeling mighty thirsty. The temperature must have bee at least 39 degrees. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun came right down and burnt my skin. we got to our rooms. ( huge disappointment) The furniture was shoddy and there was a great big black industrial plaster right across one of the windows.

But as the sun set....I realised just why this resort has survived this far. The view it offers is gorgeous....and the beach spanking clean. A smallish resort giving it an air of familliarity. The wind refused to cooperate but despite the air being rather stagnant...the beach walk was worth all the mishaps earlier.

The picture above was taken as the sun was setting......lovely isn't it?

Thanks, Mum

...for the talks
that made a difference,
for the hugs that always
made things better...
for the smiles that
made the worries disappear.
Thanks for being you.

HAPPY MOTHER"S DAY

How to play the violin

I have been furiously practising over the weekend. Ashgrove song....have you ever had a tune play over and over in your head? When I wasn't playing it..I was humming it. Even in the car on the way to work. Tum tum tum ( equal beats and loudness )ti ti tum tum...tum ti ti ti ti tum tum tum...

Happy Birthday

Today is my dad's birthday. Well it isn't for4 more days but we decided to celebrate early. We got him a cake. It looked much better in the shop, but due to transportation mishap it got squished on one side and the words "happy birthday daddy" kinda fell off and got stuck to the top of the box. No amount of cajouling could get it off in one piece. So we opted to leave it there and have a plain ole cake with no words. There's only one candle on the cake cos I thought burning sixty odd candles on the one cake seemed kinda excessive.Plus I don't think the girl at the shop would have been quite so acommodating.

:)

I've been tagged. And I've shamelessly left it till now. The excuse being...late nights back. And tired feet = tired brains. Today's saturday and I have the laundry spinning whilst I sit in the study and listen to the traffic go past. No more tired feet.....

Three Things That Scare Me:
Walking in the dark, with the sound of footsteps behind me getting louder and louder. I usually freak out and do either of the two...first run like a bat out of hell. Two walk even slower and allowing the person behind to overtake; running the risk of being stabbed to death should the person be an thug of the first degree.

Being involved in ANOTHER MVA/RTA.I especially dislike them motorcyclist zooming past at record pace. I have illusions of the side mirror being snapped. Even now 3 years down the road from an unpleasant MVA the heart still misses a beat when I hear the crunching sound when I drive. I imagine the windscreen being shattered.

Getting fat and being forced to wear them house-dresses 24 hours.

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
Judi Dench ( in As Time Goes By...she's absolutely brilliant )
Sir Humphrey Appelby( Yes Prime Minister)
Shirley Maclaine ( I like her )

Three Things I Love:
StarBucks' Cafe Latte. ( Only at certain outlets..but when done right..it's sooothing)
The "Sound of Music Companion" book...which I'll be buying later today from Kinokuniya
The LCD Tv in the hall. Cos it allows me to do my ironing and STILL watch telly

Three Things I Hate:
Slow cars on the fast lane. It gets my knickers in a twist lemme tell you.
Driving ...and then realising you are THAT driver:(
Being tooted on the road for something which I didn't cause. GGggrrrr

Three Things I don't understand:
In statistics..why must the p value be THAT value.
Why was Marie Antoinette hated intitially and what made her suddenly seem so appealing to the public?
Feng Shui


Three Things On My Desk:
My green bracelet ( worn very occasionally )
My fire-engine red thumb drive
A box of oil pastels

Three Things I'm Doing Right Now:
Laundry cos clean clothes make me happy
Planning what I'll be eating later today. It's a cultural thing I'm pretty convinced the Asians and in particular the Chinese...are obesessed with food.
Massaging my scalp...in the hope the hair dropping will ease off somewhat

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
Play the violin At the KLCC Philharmonic.
Climb Mount Everest with a bunch of friends.
Scuba Dive in Sipadan Sabah

Three Things I Can Do:
Play Tschaikowsky's Concerto Op 23-Theme on the piano.( LOUDLY and passionately)
SMS and drive. ( I know this is illegal )
Bake Banana Cake

Three Things I Can't Do:
Play book two suzuki violin book
Make jam tarts. The last time I did it...the pastry was as tough as keropok
Wear court shoes...my heels always blister away

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To:
Me playing Tchaikowsky on the piano.
Vivaldi's four seasons..Winter season. It's so soulful...I never get bored listening to it
Siti Nurhaliza's Cinta Kertas..( I cant remember the exact title .)

Three Things I'd Like To Learn:
Play the harp.
How to change a tyre in 5 minutes flat
How to write a great novel.

Three Favourite Foods:
Nasi Goreng Kampung with Petai
Nasi Briyani from the local Indian restaurant in my hometown.
Hot scones with butter running down it

Now I'm hungry after writing and thinking about food. Going out to shop and eat.

Death by chocolate

A hectic week, which started on Sunday saw the bunch of us sluggish on Monday. The dreaded flu ( a new mutation every 36 hours surely ) made its rounds. Its hard to work with a leaky nose. I think all the sniffling is liken to walking up ten flights of stairs. How else can you explain how knacked you are at the end of the day.

Sometimes...a magical moment happens. On Thursday when things cooled down somewhat, we managed to indulge in some cake. Using a birthday as an excuse...we sang and ate and enjoyed the moment of camaderie brought on by shared experience of having to organize a major event.

6 weird things about me

I've been tagged by Kirana...who I'm glad to see is back to blogging. *wave*wave* I've been invited to share 6 weird traits. This is difficult. I'm sure most people think they're pretty normal. So what then fits the cathegory of weirdness?

Weird trait number ONE : I only write with black ink. Writing in blue ink upsets me
Weird trait number TWO: I could ( and can...if I practise hard enuff ) bounce on a pogo stick for 200 times without stopping.
Weird trait number THREE: I never take my watch off. ( plus its exactly 18 minutes faster than the real time )
Weird trait number FOUR: I once yearned for a nose ring...but the pain scared me off so bad I decided to shelf the idea permanently
Weird trait number FIVE: I can reverse park only. Parking head-on is beyond me. This has caused me to lose parking spots in busy shopping complexes a few times
Weird trait number SIX: I've fantasized being Anne Boleyn ( apart from the beheading part which wasn't at all appealing ) , Nadia Commenecci ( envisioning the moment of the perfect 10 being played over and over and over again ) and being married to Hugh Grant.

Dreamgirls

Sometimes, anticipation dulls the actual occasion. The feverish feeling, the high expectation of being entertained and entertained well can sometimes make the actual occasion dull. Watching Jennifer Hudson accept the Oscar for best supporting actress; was wonderful. The sheer wonder and disbelief yet hopeful look and the tears welling up as she said her piece. It was good. And her performance in dreamgirls was awesome. She outshone Beyonce, proving that beauty sometimes just isn't everthing. A true inspiration to those American Idol drop-outs. There's a whole world out there for you.

Chap Goh Meh

Chap Goh Meh translated literally means fifteen day of the month in Hokkien. It marks the final day of the lunar calendar and coincides with the chinese valentine's day.

The Chinese Lunar New Year is the longest chronological record in history, dating from 2600BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the zodiac. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the start of the Chinese Lunar Calendar can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. A complete cycle takes 60 years and is made up of five cycles of 12 years each. Because of this, Chinese New Year changes each year, as it falls on the first day of the lunar calendar.

On the first day of CNY - everyone is decked in new clothes, new shoes, jewellery and they pay homage to their ancestors and prayer is offered to the Gods.

7th day of CNY - Also known as everybody's birthday. Chinese businessmen will eat Yee Sang. A combination of pickled veg and raw fish. Eating this ensures prosperity. And the higher you toss, the more you will prosper. ( Can get a little messy, but its good fun )

9th day of CNY - Especially significant for the Hokkiens, as it was the day they were spared from being massacred. At the stroke of midnight, The businessmen give thanks to the Jade Emperor and there'll be fireworks and skyrockets.

15th day of CNY - Is the last day of CNY and it is marked with the chingay. During the era of the babas and nyonyas in Penang young ladies would throw tangerines into the sea. It was thought that the wishes durin this period would be more willingly granted.

So I'm off to throw some tangerines this evening.

Succulent plant:)

Cactus are succulent plants. They can live for long periods without water. Many of them have long sharp spines which hurt when you stick your thumb on it. They are used as potted plants, ornamental plans or houseplants. The word cactus is derived from the classical greek word kaktus.