escape 2

to ashes....

2012-01-29T15:41:00.011+08:00

this should be the last post on ah ma's passage to the netherworld.

it was on 27 january, friday. 2 cars went up to kampar to collect the bone fragments to be brought to the memorial park in kampar. again, the eldest son must be there.
aunt's maid stayed home to take care of grandpa while we were gone.

we arrived at 9a.m. in kampar as arranged. by that time, whatever was left of grandma were already in 2 pans. the bigger pan was for body bones while the smaller one was for the skull.

everyone took turn to pick up a piece of bone to put in the urn starting with the eldest. we also picked up on behalf of all those who were not present, including those overseas. both hands must be used to transfer the bone into the urn.

after we had done our part, a worker there just poured everything into the urn, with the skull going in last.

the final look before the lid was put on.

sis carrying fruits and cakes for prayer purposes in rawang. luckily everything was prepared and we did not have to do any shopping.

again, the eldest son was to bring the urn to the final resting place.

then we continued our journey to rawang. the rest who did not follow us from tg malim waited at bukit beruntung exit and our convoy became 4-car convoy from there.
this memorial park is visible from the highway after the rawang rest area if you are travelling from south.

we reached the reception area first before going to the niche wall block.

everyone took turn to pray to the deities guarding the place there.

can you find the empty wall? that is a place for 2 urns so grandpa's ashes will be there too when his time came. grandma was the one who went to choose her own resting place in 2007. it had a good view of the highway and the rolling mountains and lakes.
the view in front of grandma's block. very serene and green.

after following the monk's chants and bowings, it was finally time to place the urn in the niche wall.
food offered to ah ma.

oh, we found an old friend of grandparents and my sister friend's parents here in the same block. so i guess ah ma will not be lonely.
the piece of yellow cloth which draped ah ma's coffin was placed together with the urn.

the carvings and words would be completed on the wall in about a month's time. we would be informed by the management but we need not go there to see the installation. they had already shown us a draft at the office.

block f- ah ma's block.

a view of the burial grounds in the memorial park.

2 cousins then left for kl as one of them still had to be at the office while the rest of us headed to a restaurant in bukit beruntung for lunch.

it was a good finale to all the events in the past few days. lou lou lou...the higher the better.

this is ah ma's temporary altar at home now. she will join the other ancestors on the present altar on the 49th day of her passing.

aduhai....some of the postings from my siblings and cousin are making me tear up again. ah ma has been so so long in our life so it is impossible that she will be forgotten.

saturday getaway

2012-01-29T12:09:00.004+08:00

we had a short getaway yesterday and it was a fruitful one for everyone since everyone (except uncle) got something home after 12 hours in the malls. yup, 12 hours. i left tm in the big car at 9a.m. and only reached home at 11p.m.

some of the things bought were shoes, clothes, earphone, googles, facial products and purses.

we met with my cousins' aunt (liling) and she bought us lunch at ben's klcc. it was my first time there and i was really impressed. the food selection is good and the portion is big. definitely worth going again next time i am in klcc. now i have another place to eat here.

the adult's table.

the kid's table. lol

here are some of the things we ordered:

nasi istimewa. such big portion. 2 or 3 persons can actually share this meal.

teriyaki salmon.

they have good dessert too. black forest cake and berries pavlova sandwich.

bruschetta, carbonara and wild mushrooms spaghettini. burp.

in the evening, uncle and aunt from kl joined us and after putting all shopping stuff in the car, we walked to pavilion.

the new covered walkway from kl convention centre to bukit bintang is already opened, but it is longer to walk on this walkway than to take the short cut i know. so i guess it will be the first and last time i use this walkway, unless it rains.

the bears are still outside pavilion and there was a throng of ppl here taking photos inside and outside.

pavilion's main entrance.

the dragon chasing after the pearl greeting everyone in the main lobby. magnificent.

we had our dinner at lot 10 hutong and it was like feast time again. ice kacang, tau fu fa, scallop congee, fried dough fritters, hokkien noodles, wat tan hor, chicken rice, barbeque pork rice, pan mee, char keow teow, bak kut teh, barley dessert, and fishball noodles. phew!

the drive home was really an exhausting and and everyone slept like a log that night.

i will be going back to bidor. uncle and family will fly back to aussie on monday while on tuesday, it will be sis's turn. the house is going to be quieter and things will be slowly back to normal...as if it is not normal now. well, life goes on.

the sending off

2012-01-27T22:12:00.005+08:00

it was time to send off grandma in this post. the date was 26 january 2012 and the time was 10a.m.

we were all to be ready by 8a.m. and the house was bustling with everyone here and there getting ready amidst the daze of still not having enough sleep.

uncles from slim river bought breakfast of roti canais but we hardly had time to eat because guests started coming at 8a.m. too.

the first group to arrive was none other than grandpa's best friend, the tans.

mr tan had to converse with grandpa via the small whiteboard because of grandpa's deafness. he is actually older than grandpa but very much stronger. i over heard grandpa saying that he thought he would leave earlier than grandma and also that he staying in the house was useless while grandma would still be of use. gosh... i choked inside when i heard that. it would be hard to communicate with grandpa but i hope he could feel our love and care for him in the house.

when the crematorium caretaker and undertaker came, we were all rushing through our breakfast. we all stood at the kitchen table, all of us- the grandchildren, stuffing as much roti canai as we could into our mouth and chewing and swallowing because we knew lunch would definitely be later than usual. it was quite a funny scene.

when we were ready, we all gathered around grandma's coffin and it was time to perform the final rites before the coffin was closed. it was quite an emotional scene and everyone was teary.

in this photo, you can see grandma being covered with a 'blanket' bought my aunt which was to be burnt with her. it could only be bought by a daughter who is married. grandma looked so peaceful and at peace under the blanket.

then grandaunt's son taught showed us how we could say our final farewell to grandma. we kissed our fingers and placed it on grandma's forehead in a gentle pat. it was really emotional as everyone took turns to do it. i was standing at the foot of the coffin snapping away with my camera while tears streamed down my face.

then we were to leave the living room as they were closing the coffin. we had to turn our backs too as they wheeled the coffin out so as not to make grandma miss us or feel sad for leaving us.

then the coffin and the prayer tables were put on the road outside the house for the final prayers.

all the flower wreaths were also placed outside.

time to do some final prayers before the sending off. it included bowings, kneeling and circling the coffin.

circling the coffin.

going into the house to place the joss sticks at the temporary grandma's altar we have placed next to the main prayer altar at home.

then after a short break, it was time for guests to pay last respect to grandma while we all stood next to the coffin. first was the lim clan, then the chew clan (grandma's side), followed by relatives by marriage, members of associations and finally neighbours and friends.

we bowed back as gratitude to guests who came.

then my camera's battery was exhausted and my neighbour stepped in with her dslr and took over the photography duty. bless her. she even followed us all the way to the crematorium with her husband. it was totally not planned.

the coffin was wheeled into the hearse and all tables were taken away and the wreaths too. the group managing the funeral was really professional and fast in their duties so we really had an easy time.
the eldest son was to lead the way.

this is the hearse which the eldest son would later sit in to accompany the coffin to the crematorium while the rest of us followed in a bus.
the convoy following the coffin out all the way till the main road of our housing area. i was tearing up again here thinking that it would be the last time grandma walk out of our house and i was not the only one. i heard sobbing around me...and i shall not name them here.

this photo was taken from the bus, we used the highway to go to kampar.

we reached in less than 90 minutes due to clear traffic.

it wasn't straight to the crematorium. we had to burn more joss sticks at the reception area of the burial ground and they let us go for toilet break. phew!

this place is after temoh and before kampar on the right hand side if you are travelling north.

the bus they chartered for us. really comfortable and clean.

grandma's coffin already in the furnace ready for burning.

a monk performing the rites before the burning.

each of us held a burning joss stick and one unlit joss stick to place in front of the coffin. the ashes of the joss sticks were collected and put into a red packet and then poured into the urn which was used to place joss sticks at the memorial park the next day.

after placing the joss sticks, it was time to walk over a burning pan of gold paper. i think it is for the purpose of cleansing. we were also told to dip our hands into a bucket of water filled with flowers and run our fingers through our hair with wet hands to bring us luck after the solemn affair.

all backs turned away from the furnace as they lit it. we did not hear anything behind us, only the chanting of the monk and the sounds of bell. the vibrant colour tee shirts we brought to change were placed on our right shoulder. i do not know what that signifies.

after that, everyone got a red packet each and took a bite of the cake used for prayer. it was also meant for luck.

the 2 elder sons led the group to leave the place. everything was over then. the bones and ashes were to be collected the next day. again, the eldest son must be there.

everyone in their colourful tees posing for a group photo. yes, everyone who came was in the photo.

we headed to a restaurant in tg malim for lunch after that. everyone was famished and all dishes vanished from the table in minutes.

that was the end of ah ma's funeral.

the house was spick and span when we returned from kampar thanks to mom's relatives who mopped and swept and rearranged the furniture and also brought the dog out from the back to the porch. it was as if nothing had happened in the house when we returned because everything was back at their places just like before ah ma's passing. it made it so much easier to accept.

*everyone is taking a break tomorrow and most of us will head to klcc and pavilion to do some shopping. so don't worry about us not being able to accept it. we are coping really well and supporting each other. thank god for close relationship with aunts, uncles and cousins.

the 2nd day- rituals and rites

2012-01-26T19:12:00.014+08:00

the funeral is already over and the things in the house are back to normal already. thank you to kind relatives (mom's brother, sister, sister-in-law) who helped us to clean the house and to arrange all the things back. aunt's maid was also here to accompany grandfather when we sent ah ma away.

the tears and the grief were already gone and it was all about the rites and rituals to perform. will share photos i took yesterday now. photos taken today will be shared only tomorrow as i need to select them. the photographer for today was shirley, our neighbour who kindly took out her camera as mine ran out of batttery and she volunteered to take all photos then.

some tables and chairs in the house and you can see the canopy already set up outside the house. everything was included in the package offered by the undertaker so we did not have to do much.

the money box and the guest book....and unlimited supply of water. we drank non-stop as it was really a hot hot day.

the first guests to arrive were kl aunt's siblings. since it is the chinese new year period, we did not really expect many ppl to come. so it was not surprising that one of the first to come were christians who had no taboo. many of uncle's estate multi-racial came too.

ah ma's coffin covered with an umbrella. we asked the undertaker why an umbrella was put there. she said in the olden days, animals like cats or dogs jumped over the coffin and it hence an umbrella was put there.

tokens of appreciation for guests who came to pay their respect.

our dinner yesterday, catered and delivered to our house. yesterday's lunch was seafood porridge.

mom could not cook because once we dressed in our mourning attire (white tee shirt and black pants, provided by the undertaker), she could not hold sharp things. so preparing food in the kitchen is a no-no.
wreath from uncle's church. many of his church members came all the way from kl too. really 'yau sam' of them. we were told to say 'yau sam' to those who came instead of 'thank you'.

the wreath from the memorial park where grandma's urn will be put.

more wreaths- all from uncle's colleagues and bosses.

we were all dressed in our mourning attire by 5p.m. because the buddhist monk would come later to read the chants and perform prayers and we were to follow.
blue cloth pinned on grandchildren of the deceased.

this was on children of the deceased.

this was on my cousin as she is my aunt's. dunno how to say it in english. called 'ngoi suin' in chinese.

this was on my aunt as she is the daughter of the deceased and already married.

oh, no i need to introduce him? we had to tie beanie at the back of the house, but no matter where we tied him, he kept barking non-stop. he is such a social dog, he just wanted us to be near him. he was also not used to the back of the house. he only calmed down when all guests had left and we tied him back to the front.

the following photos are of the banners of associations tied around the canopy.

the chants and prayers only started at around 8p.m.

first page of the prayer book. it was quite difficult to follow all the fast chants and at times i was so lost. there were chinese pronunciations translated in english at the bottom of the words so i just chanted whatever sounds were there. we did 3 rounds of chants and the first round was the funniest. my cousin and i even chuckled when we did mistakes. ok. i know it was not appropriate at all, but we just could not help it. after the 2nd round, i still could not follow and then i told myself that i had to get it correct for grandma. and i did manage to follow all the 3rd time although my brother and uncle's family (australia) came back from the airport in the midst of it.
that was us sitting in a row trying our best to follow the chants.

the brightly lit canopy. it was quite a good turn out yesterday night for cny period. it was not solemn at all and everyone was catching up with one another.

both uncles and their families went to slim river for the night except atticus who gladly stayed with us and stayed up till wee hour of the morning in the wake.

we had kfc at midnight for supper. everyone was hungry. i went out with atticus to kfc drive-through to order takeaway. there was no way i was getting out of the car to order the combo meal in my mourning attire.

before reaching kfc, we made a stop in town to drop grandma's nieces. the whole town was empty and there was not even a car on the road. that was when i decided to tell atticus to do something crazy to break the monotony of the day.

;) doing a taekwondo kick in the middle of the road and snapping a photo as a proof. see, i told you the mood was better on the 2nd day.

well, i am off now. time to call it a day and get my rest for kampar and rawang tomorrow.

thanks to everyone who sent their condolences.

goodbye ah ma

2012-01-25T02:33:00.003+08:00

chinese new year 2012 celebration officially ended at 4.15p.m. on 24 january (2nd day of the lunar calendar). our dear grandmother has passed away peacefully.
everyone was at home. in fact, relatives and friends of grandmother visited her yesterday and this morning.

grandma was already bedridden since this morning and her system was shutting down. her stomach was bloated and whatever she consumed (liquid) did not even go all the way to her tummy. she kept spitting thick phlegm as they were stuck in her esophagus.

this morning, grandpa went to check on her and he patted her palm when she raised it as if telling her it was ok to go. then moments before she died, she asked for aunt who was upstairs and i heard that she left when aunt was by her side and holding her arms. i only entered her room after her last breath had left her as i saw her vomitted (that was when the system had shut down and whatever that was left in her esophagus was pushed up instead). i quickly went upstairs to get my brothers and cousins and that was it.

uncle then asked me to call australia to inform my other uncle. poor aussie uncle. he is also sick now but he has made arrangements to come back and will reach later tonight with his family.

i really could not stop the tears flowing....it was like a burst dam but i do not feel sad. it just feels like something is missing now. it is her time and i am glad she managed to join us for reunion dinner and entered the year of the dragon. i am sure more tears will come from me, just can't help it.

the funeral rites have all been arranged now and grandma is put in the house. grandpa is not one for rituals and traditions and if you were to give him a choice, he would just want to cremate her today. unfortunately it was not that simple. this complication is a blessing in disguise really because i am sure aussie uncle wants to send ah ma off.

so earlier tonight there was the buddhism prayers and it was the first time ever i had prayed that long- more than 30 mins. we were given a prayer book with pinyin and just followed what was told.

i am keeping watch now while the rest are sleeping. i think i can only bear it for another hour.
it is windy outside and the dog has been good the whole day. he did not bark at all at those visitors who came in when grandma was in her final moments. it was as if he knew. but i am not sure if he will know how to behave tomorrow. hope he won't cause a ruckus.

all the do's and don'ts we have to follow make the whole thing such a solemn affair. the undertaker reminded us that it is a bereavement and not a celebration. so no jewellery, no accessories, and no painted nails. well, all those are to be done when they carry out the rites tonight. then we will have to dress in white tees and black pants.

gosh, i don't want my funeral to be such a sad affair. to me, it is a celebration and to send away someone who has managed to live such a wonderfully fulfilling life. grandma had 4 children who love her dearly and grandchildren who will always remember her as their 'ah ma'. her friends will remember her as a gentle and caring person. she is one who always put her husband, children and grandchildren before self.

before she left, she had said not to cry and to pray 'amitabha' for her. it is hard not to do the first, so please forgive me for now. your kindness will always be a guide to me on how others should be treated. goodbye ah ma- these are the hardest words i have ever typed here but it has to be done. goodbye.

last parcel from last year.....arrived

2012-01-24T11:04:00.003+08:00

it is the second day of new year- the day everyone who is married go back to their wife's hometown.

this is the day my friends will come visiting later.

yesterday was spent at home. i only went out at 9p.m. to a friend's house and slept on the sofa at midnight while the rest had their game of rummy. hahaha....the sofa was really comfy. reached home after supper at the mamak stall at 2.40a.m. but it turned out that i was the one earliest home among the 4 siblings. the rest came home after 4a.m. and the winner came home at 5a.m.

grandma is not doing well at all. today, she can't even talk and her mumble is totally inaudible. her stomach is really bloated and no matter how much ointment they rub on it, there is no release of the gas building up inside. i am not sure what is our next step. hospital?? that is the only solution i can think of. she is hardly eating also, only taking the occasional liquids.

oh, i got my last parcel which i anticipated since last year brought back to me from singapore.

ta-da 2 hello kitty masks from taiwan, gift from a friend in singapore and a forever 21 and hello kitty collaboration umbrella bought from the usa website and sent to singapore. what a long long journey.
tomorrow, all siblings and cousin will be at 1 utama. my brother is going for an urgent meeting with a japanese and he will be our driver dropping us at 1 utama. haiz...i want to watch 'viral factor' staring jay chou and nic tse, but everyone refuses to go with me. sob! i guess we will be doing some browsing and some shopping instead. anyone wants to join us??

good bye rabbit...welcome dragon

2012-01-22T23:18:00.003+08:00

it is the chinese new year eve or the last day in the year of the rabbit and there are 2 main meals to look forward to on this day.

first, is the prayer to the ancestors in the noon.

grandma made sure everyone offered their prayer and burnt their joss sticks before she did hers.

she is frail today but better than yesterday. she only vomitted in the morning. she did not eat much the whole day but she took sips of soup and some cereals.

the second meal which is the most important meal for chinese new year is the reunion dinner meal.

there were 14 of us at the table this year and almost everything served was finished. some even had to stand to eat because the table was really tight.

well, there was not that much food eh? grandma had some rice and fish with soup but that was all.

2 hours later, after they had put her to bed, she called for food. aunt cook some mee suah for her. now she is back on her bed. hope she will get some energy for tomorrow. there was hardly a smile on her face today. seeing her made me lose all my mood for the new year.

however, i did something to get that festive spirit in the house...and i have some minions to help me get it done hahaha.....

my job was stringing all the red packets while my brother and cousins hung them outside. so this is the result:

i think dad's car fit into the scene really well too.

everyone who saw the red packets hanging from the passion fruit vines said they were really nice. ahem ahem....my idea mah. lol

i strung so many red packets that my brother got fed-up of hanging them and he put 2 here:

one went to beanie ;) so cute eh?

and this was brother's revenge on me- my car. let the luck be with my car then. huat ah!!!

so here's wishing everyone a good year of the water dragon. may the year be filled with all things good and you will have success, prosperity, wealth and health....and everything else you want.

2012-01-21T21:48:00.002+08:00

the year of the dragon is coming in a day's time but i am treading the path with trepidation.

it will be a welcome with mixed feelings.

we haven't put up any new year decorations but we have painted the living room and outside the house.

the house now is filled with 10 occupants- mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, sis, brothers, cousin, aunt and me.

today, grandma has not been feeling fine the whole day. her tummy is bloated and she was brought to the clinic. medicine was given and she vomitted after that but she was so frail today. she only sat on her chair and dozed off nearly the whole time there. she also did not put much food into her. now she is brought to the bed to get her sleep. initially, she said she wanted to sleep on her reclining chair in the living room but we talked her into going to the bedroom.

let's just hope that her situation will make a 360 degree turn tomorrow and we will have a happy reunion dinner tomorrow.

it is all about the 3-7 this week.

2012-01-19T21:01:00.005+08:00

i find it hard to believe that chinese new year is just around the corner...only 3 days till the much awaited reunion dinner.

the neighbours around my house have started decorating their houses with bright lights and big lanterns since last week. the lights really brighten up the whole row here.

i have been very preoccupied with work and i lack sleep. also, there is the problem with the tooth to take care of- no. 3-7 specifically.

well, it has all been about the tooth for me since saturday night.

no 3-7 is the molar (one of the last teeth) on the lower left and i cracked mine while having dinner on saturday night. ;( i think it was the thick and tough pig skin that caused the crack. gosh, i am not going to be eating roast pork for a while. the said tooth is already dead 5 years ago when i did my root canal treatment. one is advised to do crown on the tooth but my annual visits to the dentist found everything was all right and hence the call to do the crown did not come.

i blamed the dentist when i saw him regarding this crack.

luckily, there was no pain whatsoever on the cracked tooth. i put my finger in and i felt the piece dangling for its dear life but still hanging strong there when i shook it. haha....

so on sunday morning, i headed to sepang to pick up my brother and sister who came back from australia for chinese new year with my aunt. then it was to klcc to shop and to meet a friend to give her a surprise birthday present. the present looks like this:

it is a photo book. i made her one of our trip to seoul as i got 2 vouchers from groupon. i love my photo book of my trip to paris ;) making one does take some time so i am not sure if i will be making another one. well, it also depends if they are still selling the coupon at a disount. it does make a good present though and the exclamation of surprise and the happiness that beamed from her face made all the effort worthwhile.

the shopping trip to klcc was a success and everyone got everything they wanted on their shopping list.

so my piece of cracked tooth still stayed with me on sunday and on monday, i went to a dentist in bidor...it was necessary! the dentist pulled out the piece of dangling chip and i was half-relieved.
after getting some advice on things i could do with the half-remaining molar, i decided to go back to the dentist in tm who did the root canal treatment for me 6 years ago.

on tuesday, my car made many detours. from bidor-coldstream-tg malim-coldstream-bidor. i was driving kids to the district basketball competition on that day and i left them halfway in the morning for my dental appointment then made my way back by noon. what a day. the matches only ended at 5.30p.m.

so what did the dentist say? he told me to keep my tooth in the half cracked condition till after chinese new year as it could last if i did not bite on that side since the filling was still intact. i exclaimed (!!!) upon hearing that. so he opened his appointment book and forced me into the last slot for the next day.

so on wednesday, after work, it was back to tm for the dentist's appointment at 5p.m. i only entered the surgery room at 5.45 and stayed there till 7p.m. so now there is a temporary accrylic crown on the molar. moulds were done and i will only get my proper crown 3 or 4 weeks later due to the long chinese new year holidays. so reminder to self- push all the food to the right side of the mouth and then only start chewing.

talking about chinese new year, i am escaping all the last minute chores to be done at home. sis just fried muruku today. and bro and sis had painted the grills at home. yippee!! haha....nothing to do this weekend!!!
beanie also got into the excitement and got his butt covered with paint.

well, it is time to call it a night. i have been reading histories every day too. meaning- i read yesterday's papers today. this sort of condition has started since sunday. so come tomorrow, i will still be reading thursday's papers.

to those who are joining the balik kampung exodus this weekend, drive carefully and be patient on the road.

so long....farewell...

2012-01-13T18:40:00.002+08:00

coming is fun, leaving is sad news.

uncle and his family have just left for the airport. the house is all quiet and it is time to clean up the room so i will have a neat bed to sleep on tonight.
grandma is solemn. she did not cry....but inside, i am sure she is sad.

atticus told me that his dad was crying when they left. i wanted to cry too when i knew my uncle was crying. i think deep down in everyone's heart, they sort of knew that it could be the last time they see grandma and grandpa this year. gosh, i feel so emo now.

talking about grandparents, their hair seems to be growing lushly recently. their scalps could hardly be seen now beneath their darkening hair. grandma had another fall in the house yesterday while inspecting the bunch of flowers aunt ginny bought. luckily it was just a light one and she was not injured in anyway, except maybe shaken. they had a feast at home yesterday night but i could not join them. dang, if i was free, i would have driven back just for the dinner. some of the dishes they bought home from the restaurants were chilli crab, mau tan noodles, deep fried trotters, steamed fish, and chilli prawn. the crabs would be enough to lure me back.

2 days later, i will be going to the airport to pick my sis and brother up. they are going to cheer grandparents up for sure.....but when it is time for them to leave.....i don't want to be in grandma's shoes to grieve.

ok, i dun want to think about it now. it is time to take a well-deserved weekend break after paying all my attention to kids who need me. i have adapted and i think the kids have started to warm-up to my teaching. it is sad to see the kind of level they are at...but it is also heartening when they tease each other and say that after all these years, they are finally starting to learn in my class. it is going to be a very slow process but we have to start somewhere.

oh, sis- your order with nailfiesta has arrived....and you will be getting them from aunt ginny.
these are the things i ordered. i heard the brand seche is better than opi now, so i got their base and top coat now. that opi set i ordered is a miniature set...so that is good. at least i don't have to keep them for long. but right now, i am too lazy to do my own nails haha....will pay and get a manicure and pedicure done next week in preparation for chinese new year instead.

sweet memory with dear cousin. and i am not that heavy ok.

are you ready for the new year?

2012-01-08T16:55:00.002+08:00

chinese new year is around the corner and i have got my new year accessories:
a red ring to usher in the year of the dragon...

hmmhh...a timid mouse to be eaten by the dragon? kakaka....

this was bought in the summer sale last year and only now it is coming back. swarovski is having their winter sale again now. but aunt is already back so anything ordered will have to wait for ages before they are brought back. i think aunt will stay here for a while since grandma's condition is not improving.

she takes the prescribed anti-psychotic drug but all her hallucinations and her delusions still occur almost every day. the drug only helps her sleep better at night. just the other day, she went in front of the students and lamented about how unfair ppl were treating her. she made everyone of them stumped and shocked. she had already acted this way in front of 2 out of the 3 classes i had this weekend. i wonder how next week would be.

aunt is making cookies now in the kitchen. it is really hard to believe that the year of the dragon will be coming so soon. i have only just begun to settle some of my things. classes have been divided and books have been ordered. tomorrow, i am going to start the jogging session again. time to keep fit to fit the new year dress kakaka.

am planning a shopping trip next sunday. killing two birds with one stone- pick up my brother and sister who are returning from aussie for the new year and shop the isetan sale.

it is going to be an exciting week. hope all the stars are alligned and things will go well.

post-holiday blues

2012-01-05T21:00:00.003+08:00

i think i am having post-holiday blues.

previously, i have only read about it, and now i am experiencing it.

the brain is all numb and everything seems so disorganised.

i have phone calls coming asking when to start classes, i still haven't got the books, and i still don't know the time for the classes.

the kids at work are not really helping either. i am depressed when i see their written work. none of the sentences make sense and this is not coming from the last class, it is from the middle class where everyone should pass all their subjects! in fact, it is easier with the last class as the pressure is not that heavy t here.

on a lighter note, i had some free time to go watch sherlock holmes 2. gosh, jude law and robert downey jr make the best onscreen couple! they just sizzle in every scene they are together. i heard mission impossible 4 is good too but my interest in tom cruise has waned over the years. maybe i will make myself sit through it and tell myself not to think of tom cruise but the plot instead. and to think that i used to be a big fan of cruise. i had his posters on my walls in my secondary school years.

i better get all my work sorted out and start adapting to the routine again. the faster the classes start, the better. and i need to find that time to go and jog too. hope this weekend will put things into perspective.

oh, i know what my new year's resolutions will be- be more organised and get a clear perspective of things and not clutter my life.
i should get a new interest to make hyped up about something. but i dunno what ;(
and....the last resolution- if apple is coming up with iphone 5 this year, i will get one ;)

work- i am ready

2012-01-02T22:19:00.004+08:00

*handmade soaps in the form of macaroons from aussie

it is back to work tomorrow....well, not officially but i will be back in bidor dy.

the holiday is coming to an end...but...i am not going to miss it.

going back to work will bring me back to reality and make me spend some time away from the internet. the cyber space is not really a good place. it makes you waste your time and most importantly your money...in cyber shopping. kakaka.....swarovski is having their sale now *wink*wink

it is time to earn back the money spent and start getting busy again.

i already have phone calls and smses asking me when my classes are going to start. i am ok with starting them...but the books are not here yet! this year, my sunday is going to be a free one. so slog for 6 days a week and have a day of rest.

aunt's maid is here again for a few nights to accompany grandma. my mom and my dad are trigger factors to grandma's going nuts...so mom can't sleep with her. just this afternoon, grandma threw a huge tantrum hearing mom talk to me in the kitchen while she was having a bath and she accused us of plotting against her. then she thumped her way out of the bathroom, starting crying and shouting and hitting herself. it was traumatic and uncle and his family back from aussie and mom finally witnessed this kind of behaviour for the first time.

i am not going to miss watching grandma's every step though. very selfish of me huh? well, i hope aunt's arrival from germany is going to ease whatever frustrations grandma is having with the family.

i am going to call it a night now. have to start sleeping early and waking up early. time to get back to routine. it is not a bad thing especially when it comes to eating. my stomach has been out of sort lately due to the inconsistent snackings here and there and everywhere with my cousin. there is just so much to eat at home and one does not stop eating although one is not hungry. and when it comes to meal time, you don't feel like eating at all. it is time to loose some weight too. hm....all these will be tweaked in january.

i hope you guys don't have holiday-lag and find it hard to get back to work. happy working!

happy 2012

2011-12-31T21:19:00.002+08:00

it is the last day of 2011 and ideally, it should be a time to reflect of the year that has passed and the year that will come.

i would like to sit in an open area, on the grass and gaze into the dark sky filled with stars while reflecting upon the year....

however...in reality, i am here in the house, sitting in front of my mac and having a full stomach of hokkien noodles which they brought home for me after they had their dinner outside. i stayed home to watch the grandparents. it is still raining outside and hence, i doubt i will be able to catch any stars let alone a galazy of stars.

i wonder if i will get the chance next year- to sit under the stars.

counting down with a crowd of strangers is not my cup of tea.

anyway, i would say that 2011 has been good to me health wise. i try to recall when i was last sick ...and i couldn't ;) i did not apply for any sick leave, nor do i have any serious injury. well, i do have the occasional heat rash and that clumsy bicycle accident (haha)...but other than these, i am hale and hearty and for 2012, i want to keep this.

work wise, things had gone smooth and i got my promotion albeit time-based. no problem with colleagues or the kids although i made a loud hullabaloo at the beginning of the year regarding the tasks i got. well, i succeeded in getting one major post taken away din i? so that was another success ...from crying in front of the boss. kakaka...that was a first.

there are also a lot of other firsts at home, like taking care of grandma this year. i will be sleeping with her tonight till i need to go back to work. i hope she lets me sleep till sunrise the next morning. i have always welcomed the new year at home for the past few years....being at home makes it the cosiest.

but....that makes my social life gets from bad to worse. there is broken heart to cry about or new love to embrace. there are just the familiar faces and the usual activities. it is not as easy as what you see on tv. puh, those characters have no other problems except relationship problems.

well, singlehood has not been that bad to me. i get to travel quite a bit this year with friends and colleagues. i counted 4 holiday trips, near and far. they were yogyakarta, london/paris, belum rainforest and seoul. all totally different from the other. the shopping has been good too kakaka....but i still managed to save more this year.

new year's resolution? gosh, i really dun have one and that is really bad eh? imagine having no target in life. there are no new things i want to try. love? whatever will be will be. i just want to have a smooth journey in my career and enjoy my life.

see the photo of the glittering stars in the post? well, i will make my life glittery and bright amidst the dark sky. hope everyone will have a good year as well.

happy 2012!!!

christmas...don't end

2011-12-29T21:28:00.004+08:00

it seems like christmas has never left me. haha

i am still receiving christmas card, and this here only arrived today.

all hello kitties in it. haha....it is so easy to get me things eh???

went back for meetings today too. gosh....lots of work is waiting for me come the new term. when the term start, i will be drowning i am sure. better learn to breathe under the pile.

went back to the rented house as the ex-housemate has also left me tit-bits and chinese new year card. aww....how sweet....
and these happen to be my uncles' favourites. so they enjoyed it tonight.

and lastly, i also got these from slim river:
cookies to keep me filled while playing cafe world and a hello kitty pill case. haha...see, i told you it is easy to get me thing.

mom is coming back tomorrow and the day after that is another aunt. i still have to attend meetings tomorrow and will only come back in the evening. haiz....

the house is crowded as well and i haven't unloaded all the things from my suitcase. aiyoh....
i am only reading today's paper now. better clear some things from the suitcase and keep them tomorrow. mom is going to be shouting!!!

last day in seoul

2011-12-28T18:23:00.011+08:00

home sweet home...or is it???

i had a bad bad flight. only managed to sleep for 1 hour in the plane. damn it. the place where i was sitting had strong cold draught and made me very cold. i had my jacket but i do not have a balaclava! the nose could not bear it.

arrived before 6a.m. at lcct and had a smooth ride back on the bus to kl sentral and the commuter to tm. phew. i din have to wait long and i arrived at tm before 9.15a.m.

i can't wait to call it a night earlier later. it is first meeting for the brand new year tomorrow. and the day after that would be a second meeting. work work work....the end of holidays is near.

anyway, let me finish writing about the last day in seoul.

i finally had time to venture on the streets of itaewon- alone. my travel mate was not interested to go hence, i brisked through the whole street taking in everything.

itaewon is known for its 'international' crowd. it is near an american military base camp and there are restaurants serving food from different cuisines from around the world. the only mosque in seoul is also in this area, so halal food is definitely not a problem here.

i had a happy happy walk because i found samsung leeum museum of art right at the other end of the street from where i was staying. this museum was in my to-visit list, but unfortunately time did not permit me to visit.

a look of the museum from outside. i am already impressed with its surrounding. it is on top of a small hill. art lover should not miss this place.

this is the arch at the entrance of itaewon street.

one of the fuel stations along this road. there are two. see how the fuel pump is hanging instead of sticking to a kiosk. really saves space.

aaarrrrgghh....comme des garcons play store!!! and they were having 20-30% discount.....but...it was not opened yet. i was there at 10.45a.m. but the shop would only be opened at 11a.m. phew! good lah....save my money from buying another similar t-shirt which i already have hahaha.

but.....my money is still spend...in buying this:
i bought a pair of jeans from evisu. i have mentioned earlier that things from japan are cheap right?? they hire hong kongians to work in their shop. yes, this brand is popular with the hong kongians.

the pair of jeans just fit right....can't get any fatter if i want the jeans to wear longer.

check-out at the hotel was a breeze. my suitcase weighed 19kg...just right for the 20kg i bought for the trip home.

on the way to lunch, we passed by this place:

seoul, world cup football stadium. the place where the finals was held.

lunch was kimchi jjigae- stewed pork kimchi soup. this is the best meal i had in korea and it is one of the more reasonably priced one.

the lunch crowd. all locals.

only the locals know this place and it is not really in the city centre.

fried pork cutlets. i love the coleslaw topped with yoghurt.

this is how it looks like when you mix lots and lots of seaweed to the rice, then pour the stew over the soup, and then mix mix mix. yummy...

everything there was on the table, fried egg roll and lots of kimchi side dishes. look at that pot of kimchi soup brewing in the middle. i want it!!!

after lunch, we went for some business visits. i only tagged along and acted as the secretary. and when the host gifted new year gifts, i also got some. wakakka...such hospitable korean manufacturers. thank you thank you....to my friend too lah.

a set of nail clippers- one for the fingers, the other bigger one for the toes. the toe clipper even comes with a magnifying glass so those who have difficulty bending down or seeing their toes from a distance can use the glass. convenient eh??

and the metal part, where you clip your nail, it can rotate to suit the angle that you want. cool eh?

2nd gift set- a lunch box set worth rm300. waaa....my lunch is definitely going to be more delicious if i eat from the box set hahaha....

the container is made of ceramic and it is quite heavy. it even comes with a pair of chopsticks. how convenient. i am not going to keep this lunch set in the cupboard. i am going to use it for work to make it worth its price.

after the 2 visits, we went to incheon international airport and reached there at about 5.30p.m. our flight was at 0020 so we had hours to spend there.

kia forte, our ride. it has a really spacious car booth that could fit both our big suitcases and with still a lot of space remaining for another one.

this was how we spent 3 hours at the cafe- watching 3 idiots on my macbook. lousy airport, there was no free wi-fi. so watching a movie was an activity we could do without the internet connection

the airport is a spacious one and they have different arrival halls too. the duty free is impressive as well. louis vuitton boutique is there. well, you can find lv boutiques almost everywhere. with tax refund, one can really shop a lot here....if you have the money.

well, i guess that sums up my trip to seoul. it has been a good one as i manage to see everything on the list i have prepared. the food is good and i am glad that my first korean cuisine experience is in seoul itself with a local guide. yes, i grumbled about the weather but fortunately nobody fell sick. it was definitely a good good break.

kam-sa-ha-mi-da seoul.

day 5, seoul

2011-12-26T19:26:00.010+08:00

came back very early today...by 7p.m. we were already in the hotel. and of course the weather was even colder today. in the morning, it was -11C. the longer i stay, the colder it gets.
luckily the exploration today was done in a car. phew! and the model is kia forte.

jun came to pick us up at 11a.m. it was a lot of driving around. he tried to stop at a few shopping streets but there were simply no parking spaces. they are really hard to come by, hence, the subway is definitely the best mode of transport here.

first place where we stopped was on one of the bridges that run across the han river, the 4th longest river in korea.

you can see another river and one side of the city.

we went to costco and a local shopping mall. well, my 2 friends here are workaholic and are forever looking for cookwares and glasswares and plastic wares samples for the kitchen.

we had lunch at the mall's food court.
this is a meat brewed soup with rice, their version of bak kut teh.

this is korean noodles. quite plain with only onion in the soup. i am starting to accept the taste of kimchi now and it does not taste as bad as the first time i tried it. but still, i do not take more than 2 pieces.

after checking out the mall and costco, it was some driving in the city looking at the streets full of young crowd until he finally decided to go to namsangol hanok village.
it is an area where they recreate old houses and is a tourist attraction. there is no entrance fee charged. how awesome.

saw groups of tourists from china, indonesia and hong kong coming in buses.
brrr...it was really cold as the area was kinda barren. the landscape in seoul is nothing to shout about. it is flat and one sees buildings everywhere albeit not many tall ones.

the compound area of the village.

just like the look of the solitary tree there.

the main gate to the village.

there are many different types of rooms and they are really small. gosh, i wish i was inside one of the rooms getting cosy.

kitchen

ceremonial hall.

prayer room.

there is a park adjacent to the village and we walked there. it was just a small one.

a time capsule was put here to celebrate korea 600th anniversary with 600 things that captures korean lives.

then we drove to a sushi buffet place for dinner. this place is popular with the young crowd as it is cheap, only 13,900 for adult at dinner time. the variety was not much but it is ok for the price charged.

and that was it.

some of the snacks i bought at the supermarket in the morning. ginseng sweet is a must i guess. everything here is already about rm100. expensive leh?

anyway, tomorrow, my flight home is at midnight. the activity planned is factory visit. yeah, imagine eh? coming all the way to seoul and i get to visit kitchen ware factories. well, it should be interesting. the factories are on the way to incheon international airport.

will take a walk along the streets of itaewon first before i check out. i think i will be doing that alone since my travel-mate is not interested to explore further. and....i have found a shop selling evisu jeans and there is sale!!! haha.....things from japan are cheap here. i found hello kitty fork, spoon and chopstick set which i also have at home, and the price here is only rm15. in kl, they were selling it for rm70! but accessories which korea are famous for, are really expensive. simple ear-rings made of silver is already rm30.

time to pack...just dump everything inside since my bag is quite empty. i guess the next time i blog will be in malaysia. good bye freezing winter.

day 4, seoul

2011-12-25T20:12:00.020+08:00

i am still slightly tipsy from rhe soju drink i had for dinner. pikkien and i had 2 bottles of soju, which is korean rice wine and it tastes like sweet vodka. the alcohol level is 19.5%. my face was read after the 2nd bottle and the body was all warm. man, it felt good. we had dinner of fried chicken again at itaewon, the first place where we had supper.

you know what, it was -4C at day time today, hence being out too much in the cold was really torturous. today, we were without our local guide, hence, we had to plan the itenerary on our own. luckily i did my homework before i came and i only had to refer to my list of places to visit.

so today it was all gungs- palace in korean.

this is the street of itaewon where i stay. if you look really carefully, you will be able to see my hotel, hotel d'oro. it is really convenient as the subway is only 2 minutes from the doorstep and there are many restaurants and shops in the area.

so the first place we headed to was deoksugung palace.
it was right at the intersection of city hall, one of the busiest intersections in the city. the palaces in seould blend in with the modern skyline and it makes it so easy to be visited.

the entry fee is only 1000 won, about rm3.
they usually have the change of guard but it was cancelled today due to the weather.....-4C you....i am not kidding. man, it was a challenge staying outdoor for long.

the ceremony hall of the palace.

national museum of art deoksugung. they had a photography exhibition at this time but we skipped it.

these are real plants!! i am not sure if they are flowers. they look more like cabbages to me ;)

desoksugung is really small, so finish it in a breese. then we went out to the city hall intersection before heading to our next palace.

there is an outdoor skating rink right next to the intersection, in front of the palace. gosh, i wish i could skate there, but there was such a long queue. ;( i have never skated on ice before.
the staff working to clear the layer of ice on the rink with water.

so from deoksugung, we walked to gyeongbokgung palace. it is just down the main avenue.

before reaching the main entrance of the palace, we reached gwanghwamun square first. they have big monuments of historical figures in the middle of the avenue. make good photo-taking area.

the main entrance of gyeongbokgung palace.

the entrance fee is 3,000 won.

we were just in time for the changing of guard ceremony which takes place every hour.

see the white surrounding the pavilion??? it is frozen ice on the lake. gosh, it was really cold being out there. i have never experienced this cold weather before even in my travel to europe. don't be fooled by the sunny and clear sky. it does nothing to warm you up. i think it is going to be like this for the rest few days, and snow will only come after i leave. there is not enough moisture to form snow anyway.

this is the national folk museum adjacent to the palace. entry is free.

all the 12 zodiac signs.

from the folk museum, we made our way to cheong wa dae also known as the blue house because of its blue tiles. foreign visitors can get free guided tour, provided they book earlier. maybe months or at least 10 days earlier. haiz...our local friend here does not know such thing and my friend here did not forward the information i found to him. i should have done it myself and submitted our names so we could get a guided tour of the place.

oh, cheong wa dae is the presidential residence and it is situated at the foot of mount bugaksan.
i think this is the place where you can see the most police officers on duty. every 50m you can see them on patrol and i was stopped by one asking me where i wanted to go. haha...do i look like a spy??

the police booth outside the junction of cheong wa dae

trees lining the pavement outside gyeongbokgung palace. cheong wa dae is right behind the palace.

a roundabout near cheong wa dae.

see the blue tiles on the roof?? that is cheong wa dae. so sad, i could not enter. actually i had been to this area yesterday. remember sam cheong? the area is just down the road.

so, after taking all the photos i wanted, we headed to insa-dong. on sunday, this area is a pedestrian area. it is full of art galleries and quiant handicraft boutiques.

we had traditional korean porridge for lunch, bonjuk.

i had shrimp porridge. yummy. gosh, i think this trip is more of discovering korean food. my stomach is already bulging!! we complain that the portion is big every time, but we always forgot about it when we ordered because we just want to try everything on the menu. the bowl of porridge is 8,000 won.

this place is really clean. it is on the 2nd floor. most of their eateries are on top of shops on the 2nd or 3rd floor.

we walked along the street of insa-dong and enjoyed looking at the local handicrafts.

we found this gem, ssamziegil market where local artists exhibit their goods. they were all very interesting but the price was too expensive. the standard of living here is really comparable to japan.
that is the layout of the market and it was bumper to bumper on the alleys.

we also tried some street food. yeah!!! i was still quite full, but the delicious street food was too tempting to resist.

i dunno what this is called in korean but it is not bad for 1ooo won. i think it is made of glutinous flour with caramel sesame and nuts for the filling.

we din but this fried potato. their version of fries maybe.

hotdog covered with batter.

grill chicken and you can choose the sauces you want- bbq, honey, or hot and spicy. we choose hot and spicy of course. yummy.

from insa-dong, we went to dongdaemun to see the gate and the river. the gate is no. 1 treasure and it is called heunginjimun gate.

this is the gate...haiz.....under renovation.

so from there we walked to cheonggyecheong stream.
woooho...look at what we found. they sprayed water continuously on the tree branches and icicles formed on them. beautiful.

you can see murals along the river too if you walk further....but it was too cold and we went back to the hotel from here.

well, that was my day. it is time to call it a night. just 2 more days in seoul. don't think i will freeze to frosty the snowman. my clothes are enuf to keep me warm. phew!

good night.

day 3, seoul part 2

2011-12-24T20:27:00.007+08:00

ok...continuation of day 2.

jun picked us up in his car at 4p.m. and we drove around the city. seoul is really huge and the streets are wide and busy.

he drove us around namsan hill but we did not stop unfortunately. how i would love to stop just to take a photo of the city from above, but time did not permit it.

we reached sam-cheong dong area which is a hilly area in seoul. there are so many little shops in the area that it makes walking so interesting. albeit in the cold. oh, by the way the weather outside is -5.5 C. when the wind blows....brr......

i think we walked to an area called bukchon hanok village where traditional style houses still stand.

i love their roofs.

quite a number of tourists come here to take photos. it is so quiant and lovely.

that is the namsan tower (north seoul tower) on the hill there yonder.

a quiant little cafe in sam-cheong dong. i was so afraid of knocking into the wall accidentally that i hugged myself as i walked in. the coffee? just so-so.
there are some stalls by the street here, but not that many. the small boutiques, cafes and restaurants are the main attractions here.

that is the bugaksan hill which stands behind the presidential residence. well, no picture of the presidential residence yet. tomorrow, that is where i am going.

then we drove somemore to a crowded area called daehangno which is like their theatre district. it was super crowded there but unfortunately, we could not get a space for the car. ;(
we were stuck in the congestion in the streets that weave through the area for 30 mins. but i had fun ppl watching from the car and looking at all the lights that come out from the restaurants which were all fully packed as well.

don't they go to church since it is x-mas eve?

we decided to head somewhere else for dinner. it is at a market place where they only serve jakbol, a korean pig feet dish. even celebrities come to eat at this dingy place. it is also known as jakbol town.
the side dishes- garlic, chilli, kimchi, salt, fresh chinese cabbage, etc.

plum wine.

oh i hate this rotating heater. it was really hot....i made them switch it off.

vermicelli stuffed in pork intestine (sundae in korean) and pork liver.
the stuffed vermicelli is not that bad....although there is still the intestine smell.

hot soup that tasted like mint soup but it is not. it is not spicy....and it is good. dipping the stuffed intestine in the soup makes it more tolerable.

everything we had for dinner tonight.

part of the restaurant.

pig's feet. it is quite bland but you dip it in chilli sauce. lots and lots of collagen hahah.

found outside on the alley of the market, fermented anchovies.

the alley way into the restaurants.

fermented fish or something like that.

another christmas present from kien!! gosh, and i din even get her a thing. will buy her the mcdonalds breakfast she wants to eat tomorrow lah.

we will be on our own tomorrow because jun has to celebrate christmas with his family. so we will go to all the palaces.

and now i better go through the subway map and mark my course so i can cover as much as i can.

merry christmas to you all and may your christmas be filled with joy and love and peace.

day 3 seoul, part 1

2011-12-24T14:25:00.007+08:00

an-nyoung....
it is 3.30p.m. now and i am resting at the hotel. we are waiting for jun, our korean friend and guide to go pick up his car before doing further exploration.

we have visited hongdae area famous for its entertainment and clubs earlier. so i am going to share some photos here before my ride comes. thanks to fast internet, loading photos is a breeze.

the street and what was left of yesterday's snow.
this is the thickest layer of untouched snow i could find at a park. it was still soft and fluffy.

hongdae area is really vibrant with the young crowd and of course there are shops, coffee shops and clubs scattered everywhere. the youth came out at noon and flooded the area.

we had lunch at one of the noodles shop.
dumplings.
seafood noodles sichuan style.

inside the restaurant.

my ja jang mien- bean paste noodle. it is sweet with some cabbage. this is the most basic one...it is not bad.
this is how it looks like before i mix everything together.

we had a walk around the area and jun took us to the place where they filmed the famous korean series- coffee prince. this place has become a tourist haunt. we see lots of japanese and taiwanese here but no korean.

i am not that familiar with the series although i know of its existence...

autograph of the main actress.

had some coffee and a piece of cake...to escape from the cold. could not really stay too long outside. felt like the nose is going to break into pieces anytime soon because it has become so stiff.

street of hong dae area....very popular with the young crowd.

celebrity spotting. up and coming hip-hop group MIB. ok, i did not know they were mib till the pr person shouted welcome mib. haha...then we googled him on the phone. many ppl were taking photos and videos of them, hence i did the same ;)

our christmas present from jun- ear mufflers. i got the black one as my coat is black. well, they do keep my ears really warm....now if only they have the same thing to keep my nose warm.

well, that is all for this afternoon. there will be more later tonight.

day 2, seoul

2011-12-23T21:53:00.008+08:00

an early night today. gosh, i am with 2 ppl who are just happy to get away from work and office- physically. they are still constantly accepting phone calls and replying e-mails when on the go at the street. the schedule is not rushed at all...so everything was slow and steady.

today it was just walking at the shopping districts- namdaemun market and myeongdong.
our mode of transport was the subway and feet.
weather- 0Celcius...in the day time.

this is the entrance to the subway station from our side of the street at itaewon.

it is totally easy to blend in in the crowd- wear black. see my new boots? they keep me really cosy, well my feet especially. i will be in them for the next few days for sure. and i get to wear it outside my jeans hahaha......

we got off at namdaemun market....something like petaling street.

namsan tower or north seoul tower....but we din go up since it is winter and there is nothing much to see. the tower is also not on such a high hill, so i am not sure how much of seoul can be seen.

but seoul does not have so many skyscrapers surprisingly. but their shopping malls all have many storeys. went to one with 12 storeys...so many varieties...but oh so expensive. too lazy to convert when shopping, so could not really be bothered to check the goods since i can also get all the brands online.

i am more interested in discovering their food beause i really dunno much about them except kimchi. and...i only try kimchi for the first time today. my verdict? i don't like it hahah....although i will try one piece of every side dish that they offer.

lunch was bibimbap today...my first time too.

mushroom with roasted meat on bibimbap on iron plate. not bad....lots of vege inside and you eat it with the bean paste mixed and stirred in.

this is how it looks like after you stir all. i could not finish the portion. after all, i am not really a rice person as well.

beancurd in kimchi soup. the soup is quite good....i just don't like the vege kimchi haha...

this is in myeongdong. the building you see is lotte mall. all branded goods are here...but the more upmarket departmental store is sinsegae. all the brands.....wow.

it is called unesco road because there is a unesco hall here.

street food is aplenty on the streets but most of them are either fried or grilled. my throat is already very dry and i sneezed quite hard when i go into a warm place. my nose really cannot take the change of weather that fast. gosh, even my face is already swollen due to the cold.

we bought this crispy squid snack to try. yummy...wish i could try more. well, i still have few more days...

view of the pedestrian street from the 2nd floor of forever 21. going into shops was an escape from the cold.

myeongdong subway station.

a coffee break was requested...not by yours truly of course. i requested for a decaf.

there are so many shops selling korean brands cosmetics on the streets and they appear at almost every corner....the same brand! i heard the bb cream here is cheaper and i have got order to buy 2 dy hahah. so anyone wanna order somemore?? i should be getting them from faceshop. i don't use them.

at a big crossroad in the centre of seoul's shopping district. the sky turned dark at 5p.m.

we had our dinner at 7p.m.

yup, time to grill some meat.

lots of side dishes and pork there....and yeah, kimchi.

this is marinated pork.

they even grilled the kimchi and it was not that strong after grilling. this i could take, but i still do not like it.

oh, i also tried raw beef for the first time. yes, they are raw but mixed with sesame oil and an egg. it is actually not bad and i love it. haha... you eat it with the sliced radish. i think the french called it tartare.

this is how it looks like after you mix the radish and egg. there is no smell of beef but the oil. i am so proud of myself for trying all these korean dishes haha....

it is more a food discovery trip this time. but food is not cheap i tell you. we spent 100,000 won on this meal....so it is about rm300. can you believe it??

have to save the cash i have for food.

but....for shopping...haha....there is always the credit card ;)

how could i resist these hello kitty cushions on 50% discount? i have got accessories for my car!!! haha....time to dress-up the car when i go back.

also got more heattech wear from uniqlo which is also on discount. haiz....and i just got one before i left for korea the other day.

i wonder if it is still snowing outside. it was snowing when we walked back to the hotel at 9p.m. well, i will know when i go out tomorrow.

it is more walking and more streets and more food tomorrow.

my travel partner is already sleeping soundly for the past hour. it is only 11p.m. malaysian time now. it is faster by one hour here in korea. i managed to watch all the clips on x-factor usa finale and the result show.

am really impressed with the fast internet connection they have here. salute.

well, time to sleep. could not really sleep on the high pillow yesterday. going to use the cushion on the chair tonight.
night.

an-nyoung from seoul. first night

2011-12-23T01:04:00.007+08:00

an-nyoung from hotel d'oro in seoul.

brr..it is really freezing out there. the weather when we landed was -7C. so imagine, it is already below freezing point. and just now, we had a walk outside because we were looking for supper, i could not feel my lips, cheeks and nose dy. talking was difficult because the lips were already numb. brrr.....

i have free wi-fi at the hotel and the line is damn fast...but....i cannot update my status on facebook!!! aarggh!!! i have even created a photo album for seoul and added 7 photos...but it did not come out on my wall. what is wrong??

my check-in at lcct kl was a funny affair.

i boarded the bus from 1 utama sky bus terminal but it was not at the time i wanted. we thought the bus leave at 11a.m. but the time was actually 11.30a.m. never mind lah, since i reached the airport at 12.40p.m. and my flight was at 2.35p.m.

however the queue at the luggage drop was quite long and we were almost one of the last to drop our bags and had no time for lunch. we had to pack a mcchicken burger to eat outside our boarding gate. urgrgghh...hate it...and how pathetic.

the flight was ok....just caught a little and did lots of reading. out of the 380pages in the book i brought, i have only 100 left to reach the end. gosh, i better keep it for the flight home. it is really an intriguing and interesting book to read.

ok...hi again...i am writing this part on the second day morning now.

the room is damn warm....even the floor is heated and not to mention the toilet seat too. there is no fan and we have just found out the window could be opened. haha....jakun

and the internet connection is damn fast althought sligtly unstable today. i don't have to wait for youtube clips to load. have to keep up with my x-factor usa final....although through the news, i know who have won.

and if you check the weather in seoul, you will notice that it will be below freezing point for everyday i am here till the day i leave. gosh, i have no idea how to deal with this kind of weather. it wasn't this cold when i was in germany. well, it is a new thing..i just don't want to be dehydrated. anyway, the inner layer of my nose is already bleeding this morning when i blow it. it is normal...which i experience in winter.

ok..back to what i did yesterday.

the flight landed at 10p.m. at incheon international airport and it took us another hour of drive to reach seoul.

we checked in, put our things in the room and shot out again.

the area where we are staying is called itaewon, where there are many foreigners because the american military camp is just down the road. so you will see clubs and english spoken widely on the street. i read on the internet that the area is trying to change its seedy reputation. well, i can see quite a few boutiques where you can shop.....ok...i better control myself. haha...i saw quite a few adidas originals stores dy.

food here will be expensive so i better save my money for that.

we had our supper at 12midnight...ok, i was hungry, so no choice, must eat.

the name of the shop is chicken shop ;) just down the road from our hote.

the interior of the restaurant. this place caters korean dishes.

beer and snacks.

goitong chicken aka fried chicken. yummy.

seafood pancake...you can find oysters, spring onions, squid and prawns. something like japanese pancake.

pickled radish and cabbage salad.
we shared the bill among 3 of us and each person paid about rm45 for the meal. so what do you think? expensive or not? this is just a small eatery.

ok to the hotel room now. no picture of the outside yet.
our bed.

tv and a pc...yes, they even provide a computer in the room...but i have my mac ;)

the entrance. it is a really clean room. like it. we paid rm1300 for 5 nights here. it is the peak season, so this is the kind of price you will get.

the spacious bathroom.

ok...i have to get ready to go out now. if i am not wrong, we are going to dong daemun market and myeongdong area....market too.

i am sweating in my room and blowing my nose now but it is bright and sunny outside. let's just go and enjoy myself.

happy winter solstice

2011-12-22T08:23:00.002+08:00

happy winter solstice- the day when the night is the longest and the day the shortest.

i woke up earlier to set up the prayer altars...man....my first time doing it. well, for ah ma, we have to do it. she will be so upset if we don't clean the altar and do some glutinous rice balls.

these are the ones i found in the freezer... i think aunt bought them last time. the other day at klcc, i also bought another pack. well, my siblings can have that pack when they come back next month.

so every thing is done now... i hope.

i even wrote the things to do on the board for my brother. grandma has to go for a blood test on 27/12....i guess uncle will have to bring her for this when he comes back from australia.

okok.....i cannot think too much now. time to go.....

a confession- i forgot to hang yesterday's washings. haha...it was still in the washing machine this morning. hope my brother will do a better job than me.

time for ginseng tomorrow

2011-12-21T22:51:00.002+08:00

another early day and a short night today. but...this will stop starting tomorrow when i board my flight to korea. sneezed a few times earlier and was so worried that i would fall ill because one of the symptoms of my body getting weaker is 'the sneeze'.

well, i can't worry too much. those who are here will have to hold the fort and handle things at home dy.

grandma should be in the maid's good care. today, as scheduled, i brought her to see the visiting phyciatrist. yeelin went with me.

this is the cheerful area which they borrowed. permanently, this is clinic of the elderly which i heard is used every friday.

anyway, grandma did not know why she was there because she said that the doctor did not even look at her hand. we just told her it was check-up to see her condition.

well, in short, grandma had visual and audio hallucination and slight dementia. she did say she still sees cameras in the bathroom pointing at her and in the room too. she did open up a bit to the doctors and she also sobbed while telling them the stories.

so now she is prescribed an anti psychotic drug called haloperidol. she is only given the lowest dose. and oh, do you know what is grandma's weight now??? you won't believe it!!!

she is only 22kg!!! that is the weight of our luggage when we travel. gosh......wind can really blow her away.

she was upset when she reached home after the visit, but i wasn't home. i was out with cousins (en and yeelin). my brother smsed and asked what happened at the clinic. i guess she was suspicious why the doctor asked her questions about her habits and stuff. well, we managed to pacify her and she took the pill tonight. everyone told her it was to let her sleep better and to keep her brain in good condition. i really do hope grandma's condition can be controlled.

cousins and i went to town and did some shopping and had lunch at the pan mee shop.
these are what we had- wat tan, tom yam and black pepper gravy. yummy.

cousin en also brought her mitten cum glove for me. check it out. cute and colorful. i like.

cute huh?? and she is going to lend me her hat and scarf tomorrow. they did not approve of the scarf i had....they said it did not match my coat. haha....so tomorrow, cousin is going to drive me to her house before dropping me at 1 utama to catch the bus to lcct.

thank god for cousins. i don't need to catch the train then from tm. the train will be the mode of transport when i come back though. haiz...too bad dad is not going to the airport around the time of my arrival.

oh, and at home, things were in a mess, literally. yee lin had to pack for her brunei and mauritius trip while i had to pack for mine. and we had to make sure grandma was ok.

we managed to get her stool sample...all thanks to yeelin. she was awesome!!! she scooped grandma's shit from the toilet bowl and put it in the case. jiaen and i did the 'shit delivery' to the clinic.....BUT.....damn it!! the clinic was closed....and it remained closed at night.

so in the end, wei had to throw away the sample and he would have to get the shit himself tomorrow. hahaha....
grandma gave everyone of us a small red packet for doing our things....the maid got one, wei, jia en, yeelin and i. it was great to see her happy.

well, my packing was done in a jiffy, and my bag only weighs 12kg.
this will be my reading companion during this trip. hope it is good.

ok...12kg is really light although my bag is big. i dun have a smaller one to fit my puffy winter jacket. the bag is only 1/2 full. i can surely fill it up with lots and lots of things? but shopping in seoul? not in the plan but i have some requests to buy things there for some people.

a kid also suggested that i start taking ginseng there everyday to make sure i stay healthy. what a great idea!!

well, let's hope that i have a good time and not freeze in the super cold condition. one look at the weather forecast tells me that it is 0 celcius and below. brrrr.....help!!!

will update from time to time....after all, korea has one of the world's best internet penetration. so will definitely check out how fast and reliable their connection is.

our escapade to klcc and more christmas!!!

2011-12-20T00:14:00.003+08:00

woohoo...it was escape today in klcc.....but.....

the escape did not start that easily. we had to make sure grandma had her breakfast and medicine and was settled....then it was grandpa's turn. gosh, managing grandpa is so so much more difficult. grandma is very obedient and she listens to every instruction given. it is the other way round with grandpa who is as stubborn as a mule.

the floor next to his bed was wet with urine again and his trousers too. we had to keep pressuring him to take a bath when he insisted he would take it later in the day. eeeww...

so after seeing him into the bathroom to take his bath, only then cousin and i left.

what a tiring day we had as well but both of us were glad to escape from home for the day.

shopping is never a problem for the both of us hahaha...and we got almost everything in our shopping list.....ahem...and more ;)

most of the things in my shopping list are related to things needed by grandpa and grandma at home- wet wipes, diapers, prune juice, sleepwear trousers, etc.

i got a packet of pants adult diapers for grandpa, but unfortunately, no matter how much i pressed, he refused to wear it. i will not give up!!!!

ok....back to shopping and eating again...it was fun trying newly-opened places
we had some japanese food at isetan's new food court. yummy.

and popcorn from garrett popcorn from chicago. we bought chicago mix , small packet at rm16. it was a mix of cheese and caramel crisp. cheese was really cheesy but the popcorn was kinda soft. i prefer the caramel crisp. yummy!!! must try....definitely the best popcorn i have ever eaten.

then this was late late tea at cafe vienna. the tiramisu sucks and i think the chocolate and banana cake is only so-so. the drinks are not bad. i had double mocha with liquor while cousin had iced coffee. then jiaen came to join us here and she accompanied us for about 2 hours.

haha...had some free time while waiting for jiaen to come and noticed the mirrored ceiling. could not help from taking a photo. i think my pink fluorescent bag is the most striking sitting there next to me.

and ho! ho! ho! it was merry christmas again wakakakaka.......
my cousin bought me the hello kitty face towel. oh so cute!!!! love love love.

and...i also got myself a bracelet from mulberry. gosh...i am too generous with myself haha.....

i have been eye-ing this bracelet since it was launched years ago...but the high price always put me off. then today, i went to check out the leather bracelet i wanted (which i had posted one month ago), i found this jewel instead.

they did not have the leather bracelet i wanted, but they have this silver one with charms at 50% discount!! woohoo!!! this bracelet is much more expensive than the leather one. and when they told me it was the last piece, i asked for further discount, and they added 10% discount for me. kakakakaka.....happy happy happy. i don't need any charm bracelet anymore or tiffany's bracelet.

this is definitely chunkier but it is just how i like it.

ok...it is almost 1a.m now. see, i told you my night is short. haha....my cousin said that i din even have any night today since my day never ended. don't understand?

i only slept few hours today as i was sleeping with grandma. she fidgeted the whole night touching here and there, getting this and that and grunting in her sleep. since i am a light sleeper, it was hard for me.

well, let me sleep please tonight. i have been losing damn lots of sleep. and i have to wake up at 7a.m. later to go back to bidor for a briefing at 9a.m. and to sign the documents agreeing to extend my retirement age to 60. it will be fun catching up with all colleagues.

well, here is to a better tomorrow......

hmm....any more christmas for me??

paint and ache and poo

2011-12-18T22:49:00.005+08:00

if christmas came early yesterday, what was today???

i guess christmas only lasts one day and it is back to reality the next. boy, i thought the day started quite well, but alas, someone up there must have another plan for you.

i had just finished washing my grandpa's trousers because he pooped in it. i guess the tablets he took to make his stool soft this morning worked and he had to go right after dinner and he couldn't hold it. so yeah, i had to washed away the poo before washing his trousers. a first time for everything.

anyway, i dun want to think too much about it. it is my turn to sleep with grandma tonight. my cousin told me that grandma wakes up at 3.30a.m. without fail every morning complaining about stomachache. gosh...please please please....let me sleep. waa...i am already dreading it. and it is my first time sleeping with grandma too. i hope to get few hours of sound sleep before she wakes me up. but then, when i was sleeping upstairs in my room, sleep also lasted only a few hours and i woke up at dawn. and the first thing that came to mind was- is my grandma awake?

my days are much much longer now and my nights are much much shorter ;( how am i going to travel without worry in seoul?

the body is physically tired today because of the painting work.

the initial plan was to paint this new door in the kitchen.

see, i had got my rubber gloves on too. but later, my brother said we had to sand the door first because it is too coarse and rough. so....we moved and

we painted the wooden panels in the living room. goodness....getting the brush into those narrow slits was not easy. cousin kept watch on grandma while we did the work.

you know, now grandpa also needs help to get up from his bed. the foldable bed might be too low for him and i had to prop him up today.
well, this is like 3/4 done. could not finish it since we started late. grandma had visitors just before noon. we only started at noon and ended at 5 since bro had to attend a wedding banquet. he would have to finish the rest tomorrow since i will be in kl with cousin. aaah....escape.....but with some guilt. aunt's maid will be here...so there will be a woman to take care of grandma.
this is the panels before the new coat of paint.
i like the new colour. it makes the living room so much brighter. but wait....we are going to change the colour of the living room too....but i am not sure if my brother will have time to finish it. wait and see lah.

since there is no catered food today, i went out for takeaway at a nearby stall.

char keow teow (rm8) and....
yummy kam heong lala. damn, it was really good. rm15.

ok, time to finish reading the day's paper before i hit the bed. just can't sleep if i dun finish reading.

i want tomorrow to be a better day!

christmas is here... in the form of parcel 2 and 3

2011-12-18T09:14:00.007+08:00

ho! ho! ho! i need some cheering and pos malaysia van brought it yesterday in the afternoon.

wow...i was expecting parcel 2, but when parcel 3 was given together, it was perfect.

the day started kinda laborious but the cheers and excitement came later that it lasted till the night and i did not touch the newspaper at all till this morning.

ok... i am going to get busy again today, so i better post this out before i delay it till i dunno when. there is grandpa's room to mop first after this as there is again urine marks on the floor but it was not as bad as yesterday's.

all the photos are taken using my camera as my cousin refused to take anymore for me using her phone and this post is posted on the new machine ;)

2 new boxes, both are just as light but one is slightly thicker than the other. one is posted from singapore, while the second is posted from the usa.

ta-da, the content of box 1 from singapore...also known as parcel 2.

and below parcel 2, you see content of parcel 3 sent from the usa. haha....i call this one happy family. mr mac and miss marc.

my apple macbook air 13 inch.

side view of the book. background- grandma's chair.

front view of my machine. thin let?

the cables that come with it.

my macbook in the notebook case and all the cables in the smaller pouch. perfect combination????
i had to read the manual first before starting the machine. my cousin also could not help much as her macbook pro is running on the older operating system while mine is running on lion. i will need to read through the help centre notes in the notebook.

3 notebooks in the house now. from left to right- aunt's sony vaio netbook, my macbook air and cousin's macbook pro. from small to big.

and i have a wireless mouse...finally i can use this hello kitty mouse bought from japan.

it is the first time i open the mouse's box and i have found a satin pouch that comes with it too. so girly.

and oh....work beckons now. my brother has brought back all the paints needed to put on a new coat of paint to some doors and walls. i hope my whole body is not going to ache tonight.

my brother is attending his good friend's wedding. my cousin will be keeping her eyes on my grandparents.

tomorrow, we are going to kl to shop.

now to the male...

2011-12-17T13:15:00.002+08:00

it is only 2 hours past noon and my cousin and i feel like we have laboured the whole day.

she slept with grandma yesterday and had to entertain grandma in the middle of the nights when she woke up and reminisced about the past...of course some crying was involved when grandma talked about the past.

i also woke up at 4 plus knowing that grandma would have woken by then and wondering how my cousin was handling grandma downstairs. she had to stall grandma for few hours more after she woke up so she could get more sleep on the bed.

it was easier to settle grandma today. it was grandpa that gave us the headache this morning.

he woke up late and when he woke up, he reeked of urine. there was urine in his urinal and there was also urine on the floor which he had used a piece of rag from the store room to cover with. when he got up, i saw wet stain on his trousers too. so straight away i made him go to the bathroom to clean himself.

then i went to mop the room and washed his trousers and the piece of rag. but the laborious work was left last- his piece of thick blanket. the bedsheet was not smelly, but his blanket...urrghhh....

the blanket was so thick and big that it could not fit into the washing machine! so my cousin and i used our feet and sheer strength to wash it. soaked and stepped and rinsed with lots and lots of water. it was a real workout in our small bathroom but i think both of us had fun since we laughed non-stop while doing it.
so here is the blanket after its washing. i doubt it would dry today. getting rid of the amount of water it accumulated was already a headache. i only wanted the water to be all gone by tonight so that proper drying would take place tomorrow when it is sunnier. the sky is quite overcast now and it drizzled earlier. grandpa would have to use another blanket later tonight.

this is the new walker we got for grandpa. he is using it when he walks now. there is no other walking stick for him. we are now trying to get him to wear adult diaper to sleep...the kind where you can slot in yourself. i don't think he would ever allow anyone to put on the diaper for him.

this is grandma's hand in his new fibre cast. her hand is still swollen but i can definitely fit one finger into the cast.

ah well, hope that will be all for today. have to go to town to do some shopping and to send my phone to the shop. all these photos are taken using cousin's phone which she sends to my mailbox so i can upload them here. amen.

drained dy

2011-12-15T22:12:00.002+08:00

song of the day is this:

i am not sure if it is suitable for how i am feeling....but i just can't help thinking of the chorus- i wanna cry, i wanna fly....

oh my back is so stiff....for sitting downstairs facing the netbook instead of sitting upstairs in front of the computer.

oh where oh where is my parcel no. 2?? the last i checked at the online tracking system, it is already in kl sorting centre since yesterday. so when is dhl sending it to my house? tomorrow is already a friday.

and i have been losing my sleep few nights in a row. yesterday was horrible. my body ached so much that i did not know how to position myself on the bed. and my mind was wandering and worried about things downstairs.

my grandfather has been relegated to sleep in the store room on his foldable bed now. and he slipped and fell on his butt earlier tonight. we had trouble getting him up again...but thank god his fall was not hard. his limbs are also losing strength.

grandma is sleeping with aunt's maid now. i am so so so thankful for the maid for her presence here today. she is the one following grandma everywhere she went today. she was the one who wiped her too. gosh, but she is leaving tomorrow and i am not sure if she is coming back next week.

my cousin is coming back tomorrow and i guess she and i have to take turns sleeping with grandma. and gosh, grandma wakes up at 5a.m. and in the morning, she is usually delirious.

like today...i came down at around 9a.m. and she and the maid were sitting in the kitchen. i asked her if she wanted to have her breakfast and she answered me that she wanted to go on a fast and die. don't eat and die. aiyoh...but i finally managed to get her to eat her breakfast and things got better from there. her hand is ok now...slightly swollen but that is all. no change in colour.

i better hit the bed too. but the tummy is slightly bloated after eating damn good musang king durian. will do some reading first to make my mind tired. am physically drained dy. tried taking naps in the afternoon but failed. although grandma wakes up early, she takes so many naps in the day...as soon as she sits on the chair, then she dozes off.

another song comes to me now, one of my favourites and i still can't find his cd. leonard cohen singing hallelujah. his cd is on sale in amazon so if anyone is ordering anything, can i tumpang? hahaha

3rd day to the hospital

2011-12-14T23:29:00.002+08:00

something is definitely wrong with the usb of my phone!!! the computer cannot detect my phone at all hence i have problem loading photo. i had to resolved to sending it to the online mobile blog via the telephone, then save the photo from the mobile blog to the computer, and finally post it here.

when i get the extra phone from my brother, i am going to send my phone to the workshop. no new phone yet. enough purchase for this year.

ok my day?

if you had read my post yesterday, i was supposed to wake up at 8a.m. today....but i woke up much earlier than that- 6.35a.m. dad woke me up saying grandma needed me. before that dad had gone down and i guess grandma woke up with a start this morning. he told dad to get her clothes which she was going to wear for her funeral, saying she was dying.

when i got down, she ordered me to drive her to the hospital because her hand was swollen and she stressed that she was dying. when i refused, saying the hospital was not opened yet, she said, 'then call your uncle, if you don't bring me , i am sure he will bring me.' then she said, 'it is the last favour you are doing for me because i am dying.'

omg....i had to act in front of the phone, pretending i was calling and telling her that i could not get through because they had switched off their phone. she said i was lying because it was impossible they would switch the phone off.

then i went to sit down complaining i wanted to sleep and blah blah blah. in the meantime, i also messaged my sis in aussie telling her to call back to pacify grandma and to talk to her.

haha....when they called 2 minutes later, she also said she was dying. then i think slowly they managed to get the idea off her head and talked to her about other things.

while she was talking i went out to get the newspaper and met the group of ladies who did taichi in front of the park. i told them grandma was already awake and they came in the house after grandma finished talking with sis.

so to cut the story short, in the end i did not have to call uncle and i did not bring her to the hospital- in the morning.

what a morning.

but....if you think that a bad start will lead to a better day later....you are totally wrong.

i went to the local hospital again three days in a row.

and i felt guilty for going so late in the evening.

do you have experience of dealing with plaster of paris cast? well, i don't nor do the rest in the house.

i thought a little bit swelling was permissible since your movement would be restricted and hence blood would not circulate well.

well, grandma's hand was slightly swollen and bloated but not greenish in colour yet in the morning. i thought it was going to reduce as the day continue.

but as the day went on, the swell did not seem to go and the green had become darker. aunt and cousin left for slim river at 3p.m. to have their break. so after they left, i kept on observing grandma's hand and got to think in the silence then. as the hours passed, her hand was becoming more and more like michelin man's and the fingers too.

so i decided to make a phone call to ask for opinion. and bless him, mr pek called back all the way from kota kinabalu where he is posted now.

i explained to him the scenario and he told he to try putting a finger into the cast, because that is the gap that it should have. alas, i could not even fit the tip of my finger in...and that was when he said,' go to the clinic now'. so again, i quickly bundled grandma into the car together with the main my aunt left behind and went to the hospital again.

the same indian attendant was there to meet us and once they saw the swollen hand, they said that we had to take off the cast.

so they saw it, don't worry, it was not painful for grandma..and we noticed a broken blister on her wrist cause the cast was too tight.

this is the photo i want to show all. grandma's cast half sawn and her swollen fingers. ok so now you know what is the permissible swell for a cast. gosh, i am learning so many things in the midst of all the blunders i am making as well. you can see some blood stain underneath those flowers cause by the broken blister. there was no blister at all when she fell. and oh, those flowers? my cousin drew them.

anyway, they dared not put a cast back on the arm here because of the blister and hence, grandma was sent all the way back to slim river again in ambulance. the maid followed while i went back to the house. aunt and uncle took over from there.

so i only sat waiting at home. in the end, they came back at around 9p.m. and grandma was put in another cast- but this time it was fibre, lighter.

the slim river doctor was not happy that the cast was taken off in tm....

but i dun understand how they could put another cast over the arm when there is a blister wound on the wrist. ah pek mentioned about backslab which i think is definitely a better way lah. haiz....i hope the blister wound will not get infected under the fibre cast.

grandma is using adult diaper now at night. and this morning i helped her took it off. my first time doing this kind of thing. luckily i was not labelled as an 'evil' person and hence got to do this service for her.

i am taking everything as a learning process. that is my only way of comforting myself. i gain through this journey and i have nothing to lose.

ok...i am losing my sleep now. who knows what time grandma will shout for me again tomorrow. it is 1230a.m. now. better hit the bed.

dugaan dugaan

2011-12-13T23:11:00.002+08:00

i thought yesterday was bad...today was even worse. my worst nightmare has come true.

grandma had a fall and she fractured her wrist. the medical term is distal radius fracture, which i heard the medical officer mentioned after he saw the x-ray.

gosh, everyday is a learning experience and everyday is really a challenge.

she fell at the same spot again, outside in the backyard and this time she used her left hand to take the fall. i was eating papaya in the living room when i heard her scream. when i saw the condition of her hand, i knew the bone was dislocated.

luckily other parts were not injured but only the piece of skin which was scratched last time, peeled off a little again. so there was a little blood.

grandpa was taking his afternoon nap and i left the house not bothering to tell him. it would take forever to explain to him. i quickly turned off the gas stove which was using to heat up a dish for lunch and told grandma that we were going to hospital. dad was at the airport waiting for someone then.

drove straight to emergency ward and grandma was attended straight away. of course she was brought for her x-ray first. they gave her an injection too.

it as the second time i was at the hospital on this day. i actually woke up at 7.30a.m. to bring grandma for her blood test today. but at the hospital, they refused to do it for her because she had actually forgotten and drank a little milk. haiz.....

so anyway, i got to meet the same sweet radiologist who took grandma's x-ray yesterday and when she saw the x-ray and said nothing, i knew something was not good.

so the fracture was confirmed by the attending officer and after his consultation with the doctor, he told me that grandma had to be brought to the district hospital in slim river by ambulance.

as we were there, we saw a neighbour too, the same one we saw yesterday. she had earlier seen my car and was actually looking for us. what a great coincidence.

she accompanied us for a while and then promised to go back and tell grandpa and make sure the tiffins were out on the table ready for lunch. all the while i was there worrying whether i had turned off the gas stove properly or not. sheer anxiety.

so i called aunt who was in slim river and they promised to meet grandma in the hospital there while i went home to look after grandpa.

had to shout really loud to grandpa to explain to him and lastly, i resorted to using the whiteboard telling his where grandma was.

fuuh....now grandma is back in the house having her hand cast in plaster. i guess it must be painful when they had to align her wrist to put the cast. her next x-ray is 2 weeks later and the cast will only come off when the bone heals.....which could take quite a long time for an old person.

she is put in adult diaper now as she usually wakes up a few times to use the toilet. thank god aunt is here to put it for her. i would not know what to do.

i would have to wake up early tomorrow to assist her. grandma is awake at 5a.m. every day.....but no way am i waking up that early. the alarm clock is set at 8a.m. and i have cancelled my class for tomorrow.

there will be electricity disruption in the area too from 9a.m. to 2p.m. due to tree-trimming exercise. so i guess i will be making porridge tomorrow. aunt will be coming with the maid. i am not sure if she is putting the maid here for the night. i hope it is the case of more hands make light work and not too many cooks spoil the broth.

i can only keep my fingers crossed and hope to get a good night sleep so i can start the day with enough energy. talking about energy, my phone is cranking up and it is not charging properly. ooh....another dilemma!!

i was challenged

2011-12-12T21:28:00.001+08:00

i had a challenging day. yup i had.

i woke up today with a start....because it was grandma coming into my room sobbing. imagine my shock when i heard her voice. and imagine her climbing the 15 steps to get upstairs in her condition.

the previous two nights, i did not get my sleep at all and yesterday night, i was sleeping like a log till 10.30a.m. when i was woken up.

grandma was paranoid. she was scared that i had left the house and deserted her. i told her i was just sleeping in my room.

then she had to climb down the stairs, step by step again. so i was holding my breath till she reached the final step.

i went to check her breakfast on the table in the kitchen. she had finished whatever she made but her vitamin pill was there on the table. i guess she just left grandpa there sitting at the table having his breakfast alone while she climbed her way up.

then when she got down, she sat in her chair and continued sobbing silently. i heard her saying how aunt had converted to christianity lah, and had gone to the bad side. how everyone was turning bad. she also said how she worried i was taken to the evil side when she did not see me. of course all these were not true.

i did not even dare to go out of the house to get my newspaper. i phoned dad to get it for me.

then i called the clinic asking if they had x-ray for the spine and hip since we wanted to get grandma checked after her fall. the clinic did not.

so i called aunt in kl and poured out what happened in the morning to her. then she talked to grandma. phew.

i went online to get the phone number of the hospital here. trust the internet for everything you need. the phone number was found and i called asking about the kind of x-ray they have, and yup, they have the machine.

it was too late to go to the hospital already, so we prepared to go for the afternoon session which started at 2p.m.

we reached the hospital at 2.30p.m. and gosh....i waited for 30 mins just to get registered!!! and that lady sitting at the registration counter deserved a big slap on the face for her non-smiling and cold attitude. she gave me my change in all crumpled and almost balled up notes! that bitch! i was cursing inside me already.

then we waited for another hour before we were called into consultation....and that too because i enquired about priority service for the elderly. there was no one at the information desk previously. when i saw a lady at the enquiry desk, i went to her and ask her about priority for the old. there was a sign which states that elderly is one of the groups of ppl who will get priority.

the lady was kind enough to bring my card straight into the consultation room and told me to wait outside. so i jumped a few numbers in the end.

and nowadays, a patient got to hold her own patient record. previously the patient's record cards were all brought in to the doctor's room by the nurse and we waited for the name to be called.

now, after registration, they give you a number, with your stack of patient record and you wait at the waiting area for your number to be called. i mean, is it proper to have the patient holding their own records? what if was so fed-up of waiting that i decided to leave and bring my records with me??

anyway, i told the doctor about grandma's fall and that i wanted x-ray. so we got the x-ray. the lady at the x-ray department was already anticipating me...hahha....she asked me if i were the one who called in the morning and she told me she was expecting me. lucky for all these proper services with warmth by the people really doing the job in the hospital. it is those front liners who make the experience so bad.

ok, there was no fracture seen in the x-ray but the doctor told me that because of aging, bone edges have become less rounded and hence they are slightly jagged due to calcite build up. hence, when grandma moves, the bones might rub with her soft tissues causing her pain.

grandma got painkillers, calcium tablets and cream.

then, tomorrow we are going back again for blood test to check sugar level and stuff because grandma complained to the doctor that she urinates a lot at night and not during daytime.

and....i asked the doctor about getting diagnosis for dementia. and guess what, they have visiting psychiatrist twice a month in the hospital. i told the doctor grandma's symptoms. but the doctor said since grandma was not really forgetful, it was quite unlikely to be dementia or alzheimer.....hmmm...she said it was more of paranoia. anyway, i have got her to fix an appointment with the psychiatrist come 21 december. we are going to tell grandma that it is just further check-up for old people. she is willing to travel to this hospital and not kl. so this is better than nothing, at least we will get some opinions.

and i finally reached home only at 5p.m.

my handphone battery was long long dead by then because something was wrong with the phone's usb. damn it! i had been charging the phone the whole afternoon before i went to the hospital and no energy was transmitted into the phone!!

so upon reaching home, i tried and tried and tried and tried....till i felt like buying a new phone or smashing the one in my hand at the moment....and finally, it started charging after i pushed and pulled and twisted and replugged. now i have to be wary when charging my phone....i have to make sure i get the right angle so the charging starts. haiz...

and i only collected the dry washings at 7p.m. after i came back from bringing the dog for a walk. no running today. i was all drained, mentally and emotionally drained. physically i am still fine.

then at dinner, grandpa was complaining about his stomach again and he had very little. and then i was worried whether the dishes would be enough for dad and me. well, luckily my dad is really a small eater at night, hence there was more than enough for me.

now, the washing machine has stopped spinning. it is time to hang the washings. grandma is sitting there slumped in her chair and still refusing to go to bed. yesterday, she was not sleeping although it was past 11p.m. i have to sweep and mop the floor after this. and i still have to read the day's paper which is still untouched.

aiyoh....what a challenging day.....and i even went to youtube just to listen to bad day by daniel powter so that he can sing away my bad day.

parcel 1

2011-12-10T22:14:00.003+08:00

my anxiety is finally over today. yipppeee!!!

the day started badly with me waking up all groggy because i did not get my sleep. it was hot and at 1a.m. i was still awake. when morning prayers came from the mosque behind the housing area, i could also hear it. but i fell asleep right again. and this morning, it was not the dog's barking that was waking me up, it was the sermon from the mosque. oh gosh, did he stop talking since the morning prayer time????

i even brought the wrong amount of money to buy my newspaper, rm1.20 instead of rm1.50 and had to make a u-turn. i was that half-awake.

luckily grandfather was ok already after his sleep. he had his breakfast as usual. grandma said her hip was not as painful anymore. phew.

postman came bearing letters but no parcel. i was sad when i checked the postbox.

but, while i was having a class at around 1p.m., a loud honk of a van came from outside. i leapt out of my seat and saw pos malaysia's van outside. yippee!!! i knew my parcel had arrived then. kakaka....it was sent all the way from kl.

i was not taxed for the good i bought from the uk. phew. was keeping my fingers crossed there. it was released by the custom on 7 december and arrived at my doorstep 3 days later. quite efficient.

so i have now got myself a pair of boots and a satchel. both bought at a discounted rate at www.asos.com
heard of this brand??
my pair of suede boots with shearling lining. i can't afford to get the real thing from ugg, hence i got the next best thing. ugg is too expensive for me since i am not going to wear the pair of boots too much. it will be a waste spending so much money on something i am going to wear maybe once a year.

the rocketdog boots cost me 36 pounds after discount. i think it is cheap.

it is really warm. luckily my uk size 6 is never wrong. and i can wear the boots outside my jeans since the top is wide enough for that. woohoo....my pair of walking boots come end of this month in korea. kakaka.....yes, i bought this pair of shoes with the sole intention of wearing it in korea. i hope it won't be too flat for the arch and heel.
the shearling lining inside. well, definitely not as lush and thick as the ones in ugg boots, but this is better than nothing.

next up- cambridge company satchel 11 inch in cracked leather and fluorescent pink.
what do you think of the pink? sharp eh? i like the design of the bag a lot! as for the cracked leather, my mother would be grumbling why in the world would i pay to buy something that is scratched and peeling and cracked. haha....

well, i just like the grunge look the bag brings.

see the cracks?? i don't mind the cracks actually, i only hate the falling small pieces of cracks. gosh, it is so irritating. one reason why the cracks don't stay is because the leather is not that supple nor soft. and i have to unbuckle every time i have to take something from inside the bag. ouch. i wish they have hidden magnetic clasp too. i wonder how long the straps will last if i keep unbuckling.
i choose asos to order the bag because cambridge company satchel has colours exclusive to asos only. gosh, they have one in metallic pink now and i am in love with it.

only 2 compartments. simple enough.

the bag comes with a long adjustable shoulder strap too.

so these are the purchases i have been waiting for.

and last week, i told myself that i was going to make another purchase once this parcel came. and hahaha....i did!!!i have clicked and sent my order, credit card number is given.....so now i am waiting for the next parcel to arrive. psst....it is in 13 inch ;)

almost suffocated

2011-12-09T21:24:00.002+08:00

oh gosh. why do i feel so suffocated? i should be strong and be positive and stay calm right?

but it is kinda hard if you were in my shoes too.

just yesterday, grandmother had a fall when i went out for a meal with visitors from bidor. well, her fall came just as we reached home and thankfully she managed to pull herself up and walked in. the fall was at the backyard outside the house. would the fall be avoided if i did not go out? i don't think so because she was adamant on doing her laundry herself and hanging her towel outside herself. but ...if she had fallen and could not get up by herself, that was when i would be in deep shit.

her injury was a bump on her head, a thin patch of skin fell from her arm and her hip took the impact of the fall. luckily she was scrawny and thus her weight is like feather. i tried getting her to get an x-ray for the hip and spine...just in case, but the doctor was not in today. so have to try again tomorrow. she said her hip felt painful when she walked. and guess what, she does not stop walking at all the whole day!!!! isn't that frustrating??? so many people have told her by phone and in person not to walk but does she listen??? AARRGHHHH!!!!

and just now i told her to drip her eyedrop earlier so she could go to bed earlier and lie down, and she told me not to rush her as she could not sleep even if she was in bed. but couldn't she just lie on bed and then rest?? so here she is, in her chair, then walking to the kitchen, then back to her chair. and later, she is going to get up from her chair with a lot of effort and then walk to the kitchen again. haiz.

and tonight, grandpa did not have his dinner because his stomach was bloated. instead, he took 2 charcoal tablets and now he is in bed. well, he is easier to take care of. he would sit quietly in his chair and read the newspapers. when the time comes, he would move to the chair in front of the tv and watch his news. he is not one who will go and look for trouble. but his cough is not going away at all. it comes not as often now but still it is heckling when it comes. my aunt said it is allergic cough and it is unlikely to go away. so what the hell is the source of allergy??

and do i have my own dilemma?? yes- do i want to retire at 58 or 60? 20 december is the day to sign the paper. and after a day of deliberating and asking some opinions on facebook, i think i am just going to sign up to 60 and just work till my body cannot take it anymore lah. at least the salary is coming in for 2 more years and i am kept busy....well if they keep me busy at that age. hahah.

okok...the washing is done. time to hang them. then i am going to get the broom and mop out. i don't want to wake up the next day dreading housework. i want to anticipate a cup of hot coffee and toasts and sit in front of the computer managing my virtual cafe instead.

another day has passed

2011-12-06T22:50:00.003+08:00

oh what a night.

i have finally cooked.....but....not for the family. oh, we had more than enough to eat tonight. aunt and uncle came from slim river with 2 packets of noodles....which is unfinished still. so i guess they will be my lunch tomorrow. and there is still a big unopened durian in the kitchen. dad said to have that for dinner but i told him to have the noodles instead.

and i cooked for 2 young girls who decided to come for masak-masak (cooking) session. they brought spaghetti, pasta sauce, and hot dogs. i was the cook and they called me 'the assistant'. i got them to cut the hotdogs and the onions and i stir-fried the spaghetti....just the way i like it.

this is my cooking still in the wok....but i tell you, it ain't bad at all. ask those who tried.

after the eating session, we even had a game session outside the house with candles. omg, how childish yeah? haha...but it was good fun. then they even brought a tub of ice-cream for dessert. i haven't gone hungry at all without my mom at home. i think we are going to have another round of spaghetti since there is half a jar of pasta sauce left.

and....work at the toilet is finally over!! yeah....no more tok tok tok early in the morning.
the new toilet seat....which until now has not been used yet. i wonder who will be the first person to use it. and notice the tap on the left, it has been changed too. no more leakage!
and not to worry, the door of this toilet can be closed now.....and we won't peep. promise.

one more tap is also changed, the one outside. yippeee!! i have always hated the sounds of water dripping from the tap and i had to tighten it in a proper manner. now i don't. but....kaka...look at the angle of the handle. it is the other way round now. last time, when the handle was pushed to the centre of the tap, it meant closed. now the closed position means open. i have to remind myself that a few times. well, as long as it doesn't leak anymore, i am fine with any direction.

this is how much the passion fruit plants outside the house have grown. the fruits are really weighing the vines down.
yes, there are many fruits but all are still green. it is do difficult to find a pinkish one.

and today i bathed the dog for the first time. kaka....it was not that bad.

ok, time to call it a night. the shoulder is still giving me nagging pain. i wonder when i will get to sleep on my left.

blue...and black

2011-12-05T22:13:00.002+08:00

uurrghh.....thought of sweeping the floor and mopping it before i go to sleep.....then decided against doing so. too lazy. after all i have swept the floor once in the afternoon after the workers left.
this is the extend of work in the toilet now. the latrine had been removed. old pipes were dug out and replaced with new one which is suitable for the seated toilet. new tiles were laid today....but....the new floor might be slightly too high. will the water overflow outside if the toilet is wet?? will be consulted with the head of the project tomorrow. they should be fixing the toilet seat tomorrow and if nothing goes wrong, everything should be over....well, for the toilet at least.

yes, there will be more work done in the kitchen. dad is going to replace the termite bitten doors which lead to the backyard. the new doors plus the workmanship will cost another rm700.

there is also talk to throw away a big old non-functioning oven and kitchen cabinet. yipppeee!! this i welcome with open arms. so i guess i will definitely have a lot to do and to keep me busy eh. but....to make this a success, i will need to go and shop for new kitchen cabinet. i hate this part. i tried looking in ikea for ideas, but i got nothing. looks like i might have to go to the shop. haha....quin and i will do that when she comes on thursday. ok?? but i wonder if i can get non-wood cabinet. the chance is slimmer when you narrow it that way. but that cabinet is going to be placed next to the basin, so definitely no wood.

remember these buttons??? i found it in one container under the stairs. well, say 'goodbye' to all of them. they are all in the dustbin together with the container.

and last but not least....an unsightly picture for today-

what is that??? this thing has been keeping me from being sound asleep for 2 nights. this is an injury i sustain on my left shoulder when i went out cycling. am i clumsy or what?

the bruise is really ugly huh? this is the worst blue-black i have ever suffered. there was no blood. the graze was not deep at all that no skin was lost. luckily i was wearing a tee-shirt and not a sleeveless one. so you are not going to see me in a sleeveless shirt until this thing heals.

you want to know how i got the injury? well, the story is too long to tell. let's just say that i lost my balance when cycling and hit my left side onto a wall. that is basically it.

since i sleep on my sides, there is only one side to choose now; which is right. there is no way i can sleep on my left. the pain is unbearable.

ok, the washing machine has stopped spinning. time to hang the laundry.

b.o.r.e.d.

2011-12-04T21:47:00.002+08:00

oh bummer. i am so bored.

there was no class these few days, so there is nothing to look forward to. yeah, i am taking those kids as an escapism now. it is a welcome to get distracted for 2 hours and do something.

i am lazy to start tidying the stairs area. i still have 2 weeks leh. so that is a lot of time.

the workers have started their work in renovating the toilet and today they started at 8a.m.!!! their tok tok tok and tong tong tong and the dog's woof woof woof woke me up. still i refused to get out of bed and managed to catch another hour's of sleep. yawn.

it is raining again outside. what is new eh, almost every evening, it is wet. hence, i am not motivated at all to go jogging. bringing the dog out for his poo time is my jogging time. but these 2 days, it had been raining, so the dog and i rested.

gosh, it is time for the dog to take his bath. can i coax my dad to do it?? i have never ever bathe a dog!

food. everyday i worry whether there is enough food for the elderly at home. and when there is leftover, i have to think of ways to finish them. hence, i always eat after the grandparents have eaten. if there is not enough food, i would resort to cooking some instant noodles....but so far, i don't have such situation. eating is no joy at all now.

can someone just get me out of the house for 2 hours every day? there is no way i can go all the way to kl for that cup of coffee, but i don't mind buying you the cuppa if you come here hahaha. night outing is definitely not such a good idea now. grandma will worry for no reason and she will lose sleep waiting for me to get back.

talking about her, yes, she still has her 'hallucinations' and dementia. i always dread the words that are coming out from her mouth. every time she wants to speak, i will hold my breath wondering what is coming out. i will breathe a sigh of relief when it is normal talk.

well, that is my boring life now. hope yours is better.

my turn to do something crazy

2011-12-01T22:52:00.002+08:00

boy, i thought i was going to have an easy day today....i was wrong.

i only have time to blog now. i have just finished reading yesterday's paper an hour ago. i did have my cup of tea while reading the day's paper in the afternoon. i had one class in the morning. i mopped and swept the floor in the afternoon. i prepared lunch (steaming the food and boiling rice) and dinner. prepared meal for the dog. took in the washings and folded them. burnt the incense. vacuumed bits and pieces left by termites at the prayer altar and the door at the kitchen.

haha...i forgot to sweep the floor outside the house. the recycling truck came and took away 2 of the 3 sewing machines and all the things i accumulated this week.

and it rained intermittently today starting from early in the morning.

i did not notice grandma in any state of delirium today....so i guess this was not a bad day at all.

on the other hand, i was the one being called 'crazy' today kakakaka.

i was supposed to go jogging at proton city today with 2 teenagers from my neighbourhood. so they came to my house at 4.45 p.m. and we set off. the weather was fine when we started.

then, as we were almost reaching proton city, it was as if we were entering another wet wet wet world. it was pouring so badly there that i had difficulty seeing the road in front of me. gosh. so i had to make a u-turn.

and as i was heading home, it was as if we were chased and followed by the rain. but it was not that heavy. i stopped at a grocer to buy a loaf of bread and tried to find my nescafe gold 3-in-1. unfortunately, the shop did not sell that range. then the girls were looking at potato chips from chipsters. they mentioned that the supermarket in town sold the maxi packet of chipster so we decided then to walk to town with umbrellas. why not? i remembered mom saying that supermarket had the nescafe i wanted. so off we went after putting our things in the house.

hahahaha....it was a first for all 3 of us to walk to town. now we know the time taken is 20 minutes to reach town from our place. the rain was quite cruel to us and lashed at us from time to time. but we persevered and did not give up. kakaka....

we could not help posing on the sungai bernam bridge. yes, we walked from selangor to perak. what an achievement!! hahaha......and this photo is also proof that we actually walked!

you could see how heavy the rain was in this photo.

and ta-da...the rain stopped when we reached the supermarket and we got what we wanted. 3 of us finished the bag of potato chips by the time we reached my house. it started drizzling too as we were almost home.

my shoes and socks were all drenched and now, i have no more excuse not to wash that pair of running shoes. its virgin wash kaka.

uncle kam had left for hong kong in the afternoon and now the house will be slightly quieter.

aaaa....the umbrella which i have used only less than 5 times. i put it on the floor to dry but i did not realise that beanie would take it as a plaything. so after taking my shower, the once perfect umbrella was mangled beyond its shape. goodbye umbrella. thank you for accompanying me in my walk to town and back. you will be missed. luckily i have photos as souvenirs kan? ;)

have a good weekend!!! (keeping my fingers crossed)

old treasures in the kitchen

2011-11-30T22:38:00.002+08:00

i had another tiring tiring day. and i think today was worse than yesterday. yesterday, i was at least able to finish reading the day's paper, but today, i had hardly touched the paper. and i don't plan to read it at all. tomorrow, i am going to take a break and finish reading the 2 papers i will have. i am going to watch my amazing race and gossip girl and x-factor usa in front of the pc after finishing the necessary housework. that's it, i am not doing any extra tomorrow.

and i did not even have to bring the dog out for his walk at all. i had dad and uncle kam to do that today. so what the hell was i busy with??? .....

the dog wanted to get a share of what was happening in the house hence his snout had found a good resting place. he got super excited with uncle kam around and would climb all over him. and the dog barked when we put him on the chain....it only happened when uncle kam came. i think the dog was looking for uncle's attention. well, uncle is going to leave tomorrow. so beanie, you better say proper goodbye to him tomorrow.

i almost forgot to feed the dog his dinner but luckily he did not bark because he had gone for his mandatory evening walk earlier.

ok , we still haven't called the recycling truck yet. but soon because i have dumped a lot of things today as well.

but we are now reconsidering about recycling grandma's pfaff sewing machine. i did a lot of research online whether this could be considered an antique or not. according to a malaysian collector, things aged above 50 is considered antique here....but not in europe or america.
so is this machine here an antique in malaysia???

i found the serial number and also a website that gives the age of the machine according to the serial number. so according to the website, grandma's sewing machine was built in 1956. do your calculation and the age of the machine would be around 55 years old now. you really can't fault a well-manufactured product eh? as i said previously, this machine is still functional if the belt is replaced. dad said he would ask a restaurant owner who keeps antiques here in tm if he is interested. i hope he is interested and this machine will not go to waste.

now to the job that i did today. mission accomplished in one day. there was no way i could prolong it to another day. the mess would just drive me nuts.

this was the treasure i found. i was asking if we had pu-er tea leaves the other day, and dad said we only had green tea. and look what i found today. i found 5 pieces of them. 2 were smaller ones. uncle kam is going to take one piece away with him. and i am going to find out how to brew the tea online and make myself a good cup to relax while reading yesterday's paper. lol

so the mission today- get rid of unwanted stuff and tidy the big kitchen cabinet in the picture shown here. this is how it looked before.....or after i had started a while. it was such a headache. i threw away 3 bags of plastic, 2 bags of metal, and one big box of things which could not be recycled. that is the big brown box on the left of the picture. dad had sent it to the big bin 2 blocks away. phew!
this is the result after one whole afternoon of slogging. hahaha, the bright light really made the effect so much better in the picture. kakaa....

i still could not find a place to store the big bottle of oil, hence it is still sticking out like a sore thumb.
i also have to keep the plastic table there for the elderly to hold when they walk around in the kitchen. it is their support before taking the last few steps into the bathroom.

see the white teapot there on the table? haha...i am going to brew my tea in it.

ok time to sleep now. i have a class tomorrow morning. they are my excuse for not doing any cleaning tomorrow. i do need a break right? 2 places in the house done. next- under the stairs.

another day with full meals and bye bye sewing machines

2011-11-29T22:42:00.007+08:00

aah choo.....

i think it is the sweat and the rain outside that is making me sneeze.

i have just mopped the floor downstairs. i just can't find another better time to mop it. grandfather is already sleeping and grandma is preparing to sleep. so when there is no one else running around in the house, it is time to mop. it is quite therapeutic as well. seeing the floor get clean is a satisfaction.

yesterday, i have forgotten to take the rice out of the rice cooker to be kept in the fridge. haha....grandma did it instead. you know me...i do not take rice, so i would not go and look in the rice cooker right. today? there is no rice to dig from the cooker because i did not boil any at all. there was still a lot leftover rice from yesterday, so i fried them in the afternoon.

here are the 3 dishes we got from the caterer today. dad said they should be enough to last till dinner. i guess both of us are really going to go on a diet to make that true. fruits should be my saviour. at least i am sure of having half a papaya every day now. dad only eats half everyday, and now that mom is not here to eat the other half, i will not be short of enzyme supply. it is going to be filling too.

this is mutton curry that dad bought back. extra just in case we do not have enough dish. well, we only managed to finish half a bowl, so there is another half for tomorrow. but damn, the mutton curry is really good.

and here is my carrot and egg fried rice. i think it is not soft enough for grandpa because grandma said he was very slow at eating them in the afternoon. opppps.

but they were really fragrant ok. grandma praised that it smelt good and it was not bad. i am not such a dim-wit when it comes to cooking ok.

for dinner, we had rich creamy durian. aunt from kl came with the maid and the maid made porridge for grandma and grandpa to go with the dishes. grandpa took some durian too. only grandma did not eat. dad had to drive someone to genting highlands but we left some for him. i am still very full now. burp.....yes, it smells of durian.

and since grandma complained of dizziness today, i quickly told aunt about it and we managed to get her to the doctor. at first she was reluctant to go since it was raining. but we persuaded and told her to get her blood pressure check. we have the blood pressure measuring machine at home but grandma's arm is too small already that we were not able to wrap the 'thing' on her arm.

aunt brought her to an indian doctor who is their friend. so of course getting that blood pressure check was only an excuse. i did not follow her to the doctor. aunt and uncle went. so of course aunt asked about her dementia. the doctor said that he could not prescribe anything for that because he is not in authority to do that. his recommendation is to see a neurologist and he recommended one in pantai hospital kl. aunt told grandma that she should do a 'full-body check-up' to determine her actual condition (her weakness and dizziness) but grandma refused. she said that she could not sit long hours in the car and she would get carsickness. so this is another uphill battle.

and we are advised to say 'yes' to all her hallucinations and accept whatever she says and sees. the hallucinations are not hallucinations to her. they are as real as all the happenings in your life. so i guess, just listen and not go against her words will do.

oh, grandma felt dizzy today because she got up too fast after sitting down for too long. so who wanna bring grandma for a fullbody check?? who can persuade her??

her condition is caused by lack of oxygen in the brain that causes imbalance in the brain. hence all the hallucinations. i think almost every elderly will have a possibility of getting this condition. so you better get your blood circulation running and flowing and maintain that till old. gosh, will those with anemia have higher risk since it is the blood that carried oxygen to the brain? better learn the headstand yoga pose now. no kidding.

this is one of the machines we have at home to measure blood pressure. we got 2 machines out to try on grandma but they just could not work. anyway, that reading was mine. healthy?

and finally, what is my day without some cleaning and throwing away things?

this time, i am on the way of throwing 3 sewing machines in the house. why do we need 3 machines you ask? well, don't ask me, ask those who want to keep them although they are not in used anymore.

this is the sewing machine which belongs to grandma in the kitchen. i have no idea how old this machine is, but it might be an antique in malaysia. i tell you, this machine is branded. it is from pfaff which is from kaiserlauten, germany. it is quite a waste to sell it to the recycle waste collector, but no one uses it anymore and the belt has broken too. i think we one replaces the belt, the machine is still usable. however, we have no place in the house to keep it. so if anyone is interested to get it, do leave a message here FAST!

this is a close-up of the wooden board which cover the machine underneath. can you spot some termites in this picture? gosh, the termites have burrowed deep into the wood and when you peel a layer after another, you get to see more termites. i was too engrossed in vacuuming all the termites that i had no time to take photo after peeling the layers.

in the end, we decided to detach the board from the machine. the other pieces of wood still attached to the machine are also infested by termites already, but not as bad.

so now the machine is out in the porch...just waiting to be collected. grandma has given her permission to get rid of it since she also sees no use in keeping it anymore. phew! i thought she would protest. but i guess after seeing all the termites there, one could not help but to just give up the machine. well, i do hope someone else will find all the 3 sewing machines i have here in the house useful.

tomorrow: time to tidy the kitchen cabinet. but please don't let me see any mouse!

aneboda done

2011-11-28T22:32:00.004+08:00

another tired day. i have just dumped the laundry into the washing machine and now am waiting for the machine to do its job before i can hang the washings.

before that, i had thrown the rubbish in the house outside, threw the dog's unfinished food so as not to attract rats, washed the pots, boiled drinking water and locked the doors.

i hope i did not miss anything. tomorrow, the list is going to be lloooooonger. yup, mom is not here in the house already. she has left for melbourne tonight.

i am not worried about the house chores. it is the food supply that i am worried about. we tried the caterer today and we noticed that the amount of food given was really little. we ordered for 4 persons, but the amount given seemed more suitable for 3. what do we eat for dinner if all the dishes are finished at lunch?? i will have a big headache. i hate cooking. i really do. another alternative would be to go and buy the dishes ourselves in town instead of relying on the caterer. that would be slightly troublesome, but at least i can estimate the amount of food needed myself and it might even be cheaper!

it will be trial and errors these few days. plus, my uncle from germany is here, so i am sure i will perform my duties better. well, i can't embarass myself as part-hostess of the house. and thank god it is the durian season now. worse comes to worst, i will just have durians for my meal and let the others eat whatever dishes there are. i am pathetic huh?

ok the biggest satisfaction today is the assembling of aneboda chest of drawers from ikea. i got some outside help from quin who stopped by on her way back from kl. she helped me with the last few steps. sigh, and i thought with my brother being around, my job would be as easy as pie. he could not care less and was just reading the papers in the living room while i was assembling. hmmh....it was a great 'sauna' session though.

here are the pieces of loose boards and the base of the drawer already fixed at that time.

and ta-da the final masterpiece. it was really not that tough and i had fun doing it. now all the drawers are already full. i just couldn't wait to fill them. the last drawer is filled with all my hello kittys and remaining beanie babies, the second drawer is occupied by my brotbers' clothes and the top drawer is taken by all my bags. kakaka.

there is still work to be done in the storeroom. i still have to tidy things here and there but as of today, i am very satisfied. the room looks much more spacious now.

the next big project will be the kitchen. the cabinet is going to be one hell of a work and what am i going to do with the sewing machine there? yes, you heard me right, we have a sewing machine in the kitchen! whose house has a sewing machine in the kitchen??? uuurrrggghhhh!!!!

more beanie babies

2011-11-27T23:25:00.003+08:00

i am very very very tired. i have just taken my bat 30 mins ago and that was 11p.m. for your information.

did a lot of stuff today in the store room.

we have sent the iron table across the park to my aunt. settled. when grandfather asked what we did with the table, we answered, 'sold'. it was easier to tell him that. explaining the whole story would be too difficult as we tried to tell him that 'we have given the table away' earlier. ok we shouted that to him but he could not hear. in the end, we used one word, 'sold' and he managed to repeat that, and with a nod of head, the message was sent.

threw away lots of travel bags which we had no use for. moved a few shelves and did a lot of wiping and mopping. eeewewww...........those mouse droppings. had to use bleach to get rid of those stains. well, the place is called a store room for a reason. most things which are seldom used are dumped there and you can imagine the dust and grime that have gathered. luckily my mom helped. now i have all the things where they are supposed to be and tomorrow, i can start building the chest of drawers. another day of hard work.

so all those beanie babies which i had packed yesterday in the ziplock bags went into this suitcase which is not usable anymore. dad asked, 'aren't you going to display all your bears?' gosh, where is the place in the house for that? mom laughed at me for just letting those beanie babies see the light of day for a few hours before chucking them back into darkness.

and today, while moving and cleaning those plastic chest of drawers, i found more beanie babies. i thought it was 1/3 of yesterday's but i was wrong. i had more than that!

see, i even had a bag for beanie babies. i think it was sent from the usa by one of those people i exchanged with. not sure anymore.

ta-da, 54 more. and no, unfortunately i do not have princess diana beanie babies. that must have been uk edition. i have a few anniversary editions here, usa limited edition, united nation, etc.

and now, all the beanie babies are in ziplock bags and in drawers. i wonder when is the next time they will get to see the light again.

one of the findings while packing-the moulds for my brother's teeth when he did his braces. these are for keeping for sure. i did not throw them away.

well, that's it for today. time to rest.

babies time

2011-11-26T21:33:00.004+08:00

i was forced to unpack and to arrange all my beanie babies today and i could not have my own sweet time to cuddle each one of them!!! eeerrrgghhh!!! my brother lah! he refused to move those chest of drawers in the storeroom unless i cleaned the things in the iron table and of course the big box under too.

so that was what i did the whole afternoon and evening. well, my brother also got rid of half of his tee shirts but he finished waaaay earlier than me.

so this is the box which i kept my beanie babies under the table. how pathetic huh. they are so cute and adorable but have to be hidden.

they were in plastic bags in the box.

here are 3 big ones. i dun really collect those big ones and now i have forgotten why i bought them. those in plastic bags are from mcdonalds but i think i dun have the full collection for the bigger ones.

here are the rest of them. 99 .....and i think i still have a few in the chest of drawers in the store room. too lazy to go and check. so you want to calculate?? times that by rm19.90 each. and some i even paid higher price since it also included postage from overseas. yup i used to exchange them with collectors in the USA. i have a few full sets- world cup, birthday bears (all 12 months), flower series, country series, anniversary series, etc. they looked so colourful displayed on the table.

gosh, looking at them makes me miss them so much. i remember i used to go to memory lane stores every time i went out to the mall in my college days and to check out new stocks. then on some days, i had to calculate the allowance i had and decide which i would get when i was short of money. i was always short of money since there were new stocks every month. haha.

then when i started working, i stopped collecting because i realised it was quite a waste of money. you know lah, not being paid for the first three months of your work. since then i have never bought any.

fyi, beanie babies also come in the shape of other animals, but i only collect bears. gosh, i wonder how long they will still be kept in drawers. i tried looking on e-bay and not all bears fetch high prices. the highest is one called princess diana ...yes, the princess diana. you can buy that for US$999. hmmmm....do i have that? i am not sure. gotta check the rest of my collection. i dun think i will be selling even if i have.

so now all the beanie babies are repacked into ziplock bags i got from ikea. poor things. 10 of them are squeezed into a 6 litre bag and then sealed.

ok, while packing, i also found my first branded watch- musical from swatch which i bought using money i earned in form 4 during the year-end holidays working at the sawmill of my neighbour's. nostalgia....and now it is in the rubbish dump. sorry, can't afford to be sentimental and keep everything. it is not working already for ages although i sent it to be fixed in the store.

this is my brother's dragon ball cards collection. at first he told me not to throw them away, then he told me to give them away. phew! and i have found a taker. so these cards will be moving house soon.

so tomorrow, there will be some shifting and moving going on in the store room. somebody has volunteered to take the iron table. yippee!! i don't have to call the recycle truck. will just have to drop the table at my aunt's house opposite the park.

now this was lunch after grandma and grandpa took some. it seems that assam laksa soup is a good remedy to get rid of chesty cough because of all the ginger and lemon grass. so no matter how spicy it was, granma forced herself to finish one bowl and i had to force grandpa to finish his bowl. i just ordered him to finish whetever i gave him. he had no chance to say 'no' at all. haha...

and this? grandma in her delirious state asked, 'is this your dad's big brother?' she was snickering when she asked that. how scary. it seemed that my dad had a 'big boss or brother' now and both of them were scheming and up to no good. waaa.....if he was my dad's big brother..................................well you can finish the sentence for me.

ok i am going to watch another movie now. yesterday was 'the bridesmaid' which was really hilarious. today, it is going to be 'the help' which was not shown in malaysia but i love the book so much. it is a must read, about black maids in america.

bad bad bad temptations online

2011-11-24T21:35:00.003+08:00

i did not have a productive day today. ;( with the emotional shake-up in the morning, it left me quite disoriented and by the time i finally had time to finish reading the day's paper, it was already mid-afternoon. then the recycle truck came to pick up all our junks and i was so relieved to throw away unused books and boxes and plastic and iron. woohoo....

i am going to call the guy to come again next week....i can finally get rid of the iron table in the storeroom because my brother has gone to ikea to buy the aneboda chest of drawers!!!

yippeee!!! i can't wait to start packing the things in the iron table and sorting out the storeroom and throwing more things away. but.....there is a mouse in the kitchen and i am worried that it might sneak into the storeroom. eeekk....please....let us catch the mouse tomorrow. i can't wait to unpack all my beanie babies and cuddle them before i put them into ziplock bags. what a waste huh....not displaying them after spending so much money on them. it cost me rm19.90 each. you can do the calculation next time when i reveal the number of beanie babies i have in my collection. get your calculator ready.

so i am unproductive in doing what i was supposed to do but i was very productive doing something which i was not supposed to do- surfing the net. see, i told you- my escapade.

and i checked out eason chan's wife website today. she called herself not a label whore, but all i see are labels everywhere in her site. talk about irony. how can she not talk about labels? she owns the boutique below which stocks all the happening brands in the fashion industry.

she models all the brands that the boutique sells in her website and labels them from head to toe.

and what is the meaning of liger? if you google, you will find the answer. it is an animal which is a hybrid cross between a male lion and a tigress. i am not surprised that the name is chosen when she makes it known that she loves leopard prints and she also photographs herself with the panthere bangle from cartier quite a number of times.

ok she is really a bad influence. i did not bookmark her page. i think i have enough already. seeing all those beautiful clothes and bags and shoes will just make me lust for them. reminder: she get all her clothes and shoes and bags for free or at a discount. so don't envy.

but i still can't help noticing the few bags from celine which she carries ;) especially this nano luggage. it is so cute.....and expensive. i do love her style though. she dresses with an edge.

and there is no surprise if chinese youngsters talk about mbt (masai footwear technology) footwear too. her store sells them and she promotes them by wearing the different versions available. the shoes prices range from rm800 and above in malaysia. the technology used in the shoes is apparently good for weight lose and body posture. the elevated soles with thick cushions and unbalanced structure are its trademark.
so what do you think?? do you mind walking out in this kinda sole? me? haha...i want this shoes!!! well, just to see if it is effective to make my feet comfortable as i need to stand a lot in my job. the price has put me off since its release....but.......kekekeke.....

as i was googling about the shoes for this post, i found an online store that sells off-season mbts! yeah, they have seasonal collections too. aaaaannnddd......they ship for free to malaysia too!!!!!

after conversion, the price of the shoes is only about rm340. are you drooollling already???

go to here to see all the shoes....and don't forget to tell me if you are ordering because they are giving 7% discount for 2 items. waaa.....more discounts!!!!!

oh, if anybody wants to buy me a christmas present, the above is the pair that i want since i think it is passable for work and play. and my size is uk 6....remember it is uk 6 or europe 39. kakakakkaka....

now you know why i don't want to visit hilary's website again.
this swatch collection in collaboration with jeremy scott also caught my eyes. but i will just ogle them there and not do anything.

waaa...i wonder if i have generated a few more visits to her website in my post. well, just remember to control yourself when checking her out and stay calm when you see something you like.

you have been warned. ;)

mystery of the wet toilet paper....solved

2011-11-24T11:49:00.002+08:00

the toilet paper in the bathroom downstairs has been getting wet for no apparent reason. the only reason we can think of is it gets wet when someone takes his or her shower.

grandpa does not use the shower head to bath, he keeps the water in a wide basin and scoops water from there.

mom says it wasn't her. dad bathes at night and sometimes he does wet it when splatters of water fly all the way to the wall. but i know it will be him because that is when the toilet paper gets wet at night.

grandma says it is not her when asked.

and finally......today, i got the answer.

i woke up at 10 today and did my usual stuff- turned on the pc, brushed my teeth, washed my face, went out to get my newspaper and made my breakfast.

as i was in the kitchen toasting my bread and making my cup of coffee, i saw grandma walked into to the kitchen without her walking stick and went to the bathroom. she only stood outside the bathroom and peered into every corner of the bathroom from where she was standing.

i had a feeling i knew what she was looking at. i was asking myself, 'do i want to interrupt her, or do i just let her stand there in her own hallucinations?' in the end, i interrupted her thoughts and asked her, 'do you want to go to the toilet?'

she was in one of her states of delirium and she said how dad had installed all those honeycomb bricks on the wall of the bathrooms and had nailed 'bugs' to spy her when she was in the bathroom. she said she heard knocking sounds on the ceiling which proved that things were being fixed to spy on her. i told her that those honeycomb bricks were there since the bathroom were built and she said that i was only told that by the scheming dad.

she said she sprayed water on the walls to cover those bugs.....so hence, the case of the wet toilet paper. then she went on to say that she had even hit herself on the walls to get rid of the bugs....i dunno how true this was. but i dun want this to be true. i dun want her to cause bodily injuries to herself.

she went on to hit her chest with her fists saying she has this kind of son.

then i said i wanted to bring her to see the doctor because she is hearing noises in her ears. she said she did not need a doctor because she is the doctor.

then i told her to go and sit down and rest. what if she stood too long and fall down again. she replied saying that just let her fall and die. gosh.....if only it was that easy to die.

finally i managed to get her to her chair in the living room and she mumbled there for a while and i just let her alone. she was lost in her own world. when the yakult lady came 10 mins later to send our weekly supply of yakult, she also did not heard her shouts from the gate and just sat there lost.

so here you have it, the kind of things i have to face at home. yesterday she sat there mumbling and talking in hokkien about things in the past. she was talking to no one in particular as she just gazed into space in front of her while i was there watching the korean series. aunt called when she was 20 minutes into her 'talk' and grandma gave her some false stories about me attending a big talk that day where many people attended. the fact is, i only went for a small meeting where i keyed in marks. i did not tell her what my meeting was about and she just came up with her own version.

it was so easy and convenient for others to just listen to my stories of grandma and then said that 'she looks all right to me when i come.' grandma is accusing my family of being the parasites and are only taking everything and not giving while her other sons and daughter are contributing. how do you think that makes me feel? yes, i know she is sick but when i heard some just say 'she is all right' that makes me just want to scream.

i am emotionally-shaken at the moment but i am not apologising for whatever i have written. if only life is as comforting as a bowl of macaroni and cheese and sweet as cakes.

i guess once in a while you can escape but the reality is always there. well, i escaped into my macaroni and cheese with choc cheese cake and chocolate fudge cake with my glass of chocolate milkshake after my meeting at secret recipe yesterday.

i am sure i will always have this kinda comfy corner to retreat to as i do have some great siblings and relatives and not to mention friends. so in the spirit of thanksgiving, thank you to those who support and cheer me up. and thank you to the internet too. it is the best escapade.

of postures and storage and babies(!!!!)

2011-11-22T17:59:00.004+08:00

ok today's lesson will be on posture- the way you sit in particular.

the main thing is to sit up and stand straight. open your centre to everyone to communicate confidence and openness. do not slump and hide your centre as it shows lack of confidence or lack of enthusiasm.

here are the messages conveyed via your postures:

standing tall, back straight-

self-confident

standing with curved back and lowered gaze-

inferiority

leaning towards speaker during conversation-

interest

leaning away from speaker-

disinterest

relaxed posture-

positive attitude

both arms folded across chest-

protecting/ hiding/ disagreement

holding purse or file against chest-

protection

holding on to arm or elbow-

low self-confidence

sitting with arms and legs crossed-

defensive

sitting with head leaning on one arm-

bored

hands behind back with head lowered-

submissive

boring huh? but i think it in the end, your confidence is what will determine how you stand and sit and not the other way round, unless you can trick your mind to act confident, then you will consciously force yourself into the poses you want.

ok...update on spring cleaning today- cleaned a part of the store room and changed the arrangements of a bookshelf, and a few boxes. of course threw away lots of papers. vacuumed and wiped a bit.

i wish to make a trip to ikea. i want to get rid of a steel table in the store room and replace it with this chest of drawers.

at least with a chest of drawers, i can fill more things instead of pilling things up on the table. i wonder if it can fit into my car as the height is only 100cm. maybe i can put it on the left side of the car with the seat reclined. the price is only rm199 and i think it is a real good deal.i also want to get some plastic bags to keep all my ty beanie babies. what are they?? here they are:

i wish i have all the bears in the photo. unfortunately, i only nicked this photo from google. gosh, i have stopped buying them for a long time but trust me, my collection exceeds what you see in the photo. the only thing is they are not as updated and i also have special limited edition sets of the bears.

and as i was googling just now, ty now also have hello kitty beanies!!!! aaarrrggh!!! and they ship worldwide from the usa!!!! omg! they have exclusive uk collection too. i am so so so so tempted.

go to www.store.ty.com and search hello kitty. you are going to find them all there.

ok calm now. my beanie babies give me inspiration to name the dog, beanie. now you know. the name just came to me while i was in the bathroom and as soon as i came out, i went to the puppy (he was still small then) and called him 'beanie'. and he actually responded to the name. hence, he is called 'beanie' now.

gosh, i wish all my beanie babies. they are all in a box now. i can't wait to get that chest of drawers and start organizing my babies. i will definitely share their photos here!

p/s: can someone in uk help me look for those hello kitty beanie babies?? ;)

image tips for today

2011-11-21T16:23:00.004+08:00

it's a fruit galore at home. we have bananas, guavas, grapes, rambutans and durians, not to mention apples and passion fruits. waaa......spoilt for choice and i really have no idea which to eat. so far, i have eaten bananas, rambutans and durians. i dun think i can think anymore for today....but the grapes will definitely have to be next as they are already soaked and if i don't finish them, they will be put back into the fridge.

did more spring cleaning today. it was filing and throwing away receipts and statements time.

and i found a file consisting notes my sister got when she attended a secretarial workshop. so why not i share some of the tips for working professionals on grooming and body language and management skills. after all i have all the time in the world to type on this blog now wahahaha....

so today's lesson is on image tips.

suits-

select high quality suits in navy, grey, black or beige.

skirt length should be no shorter than just above the knee or no longer than just below mid-calf.

mini skirts are not at all acceptable.

fabrics-

buy the best you can afford.

do a simple scrunch test to see if it is wrinkle-free.

blouses-

solid colours are the best.

wear light colours to complement your suits.

if suit is light, add a darker coloured blouse for an authoritative look.

hosiery-

skin tone or darker than skin tone to make legs appear slimmer.

sheer type support stockings is recommended.

shoes-

classic pumps with heels no higher than 3 inches.

leather is the best investment.

navy, black, burgundy or brown.

handbags-

invest in leather. choose classics rather than trendy.

navy, brown, black or burgundy. (personal comment: gosh this is so boring!!! i think if your suits and blouses are already in plain dark boring colours, bags in other colours can really lift the look but just choose one in solid colour.)

jewellery-

pearls, gold or silver only. no plastic or wooden jewellery.

no dangling ear-rings.

two rings are the maximum number.

ankle bracelet are not for business.

watches-

invest in classic style that blends with your business attire.

black lizard, gold or silver tone or leather is recommended.

hair-

shoulder length hair should be pulled back for a chic look.

consider your time, budget, hair texture, age and profession.

nails-

keep nails well manicured and use neutral or pastel colours for office.

perfume-

a little dab will do. if someone at arm's length can smell your perfume, you are using too much.

make-up-

use it to enhance facial features not to cover or colour your face.

neutrals add radiance and a fresh natural is recommended for business.

no more for today ;)

ups and downs in a day

2011-11-20T20:54:00.002+08:00

i had quite a productive day.

managed to tidy some of my things, threw some stuff away...aaah...soul cleansing, did some workout, made some internet transactions....oohhh oooohh......shopping? wait and see.

bought travel insurance for mom and myself via the internet on chartisdirect website. it is so convenient. a friend who is working there told me about it and i just remembered while surfing today and decided to give it a try. i am not sure if it works with overseas residents because the website is registered under .my.

i am going to do more tidying and throwing....i wish i can throw one whole room away!!! daytime is the best time for me to do it. the sunlight that penetrates the window gives me the energy to move the body. have been running up the stairs quite a bit as well. purposely left the mobile phone downstairs so i can run down and up whenever there is a message or a call. going out for a jog is quite hard with the rain which comes almost every afternoon without fail.

i have a few kids asking me to bring them along and we were actually set to go at 4.15p.m. today. unfortunately, it decided to rain at 4.00p.m. and the plan was cancelled. however, i still managed to run at 6p.m. with the dog. haha...he was panting after i pushed him to run for 10 mins non-stop around the few blocks of houses here. sudden barks from dogs in the houses we passed by were a real scare but luckily it was all bark but no bite.

then i took out the dumbbell my brother left behind and decided to google for single dumbbell workout on youtube.

i only used 1.5kg on each side and my arms were already shaking after about 10 times repetition of the same movements. there is no way i can go to 2.5kg. i can barely lift it up then.

this video is really helpful and i plan to follow the steps taught. haha....i have downloaded it and it is sitting on the desktop now. one is recommended to do 3 to 4 times repetition of the whole circle. i hope i can but i don't want my biceps to be bulging too much after one month as well. it is a total body workout so hopefully it helps me keep fit.

on a sadder note now, grandma had another fall today after she went to the toilet. i think her legs gave way and she fell on her bums. no one knew she fell till she mentioned it. i was upstairs then and mom and dad had gone to wedding banquets. she managed to pull herself up but her bones ache now. i gave her some ointment to rub. she was quite down because of the fall. so those who want to call to console her can do so on tuesday. she will have aunt and uncle making their regular visits on mondays so she will have some listeners tomorrow.

she had quite a fare few visitors today. a neighbour came to chat with her. aunt and uncle from mom's side dropped by on the way to the banquet.

no one knows when an accident will occur but i guess we have to be more cautious. changing the mat outside the bathroom will be done tomorrow morning.

all light and cheery

2011-11-15T20:13:00.002+08:00

woohoo....i am in a holiday mood now. really holiday already. all the work is done, everything has been handed up and i have started tidying the house.

yes, have to play house-cleaning first before i go off for the holidays. the weeds in front of the house have been cut with quin's help. phew.

next, have to tidy things in my room. i also have loose papers and books flying here and there. some clothes to pack and shoes to bring home. who knows where i can go gallivanting for a day or two.

i feel so light....not because i am thinner. definitely not thinner since i haven't been jogging for a while. the weather has been pretty havoc recently and today my room was wet because there was a storm while i was not at home and rain came through the window. sigh, so i have some wet things in the midst of being blown dry by the fan in the room now.

ok i am light because there is no deadline to catch. i hope this light mood will keep me optimistic throughout this coming holidays.

anyway, here are some random photos from today.

this is definitely a breakfast meal, but i had it for dinner. wakakka.....there is no other food in the house other than instant noodles and i don't think i can take so much of starch at night.

i had my lunch at 3pm today, a plate of fried rice with a piece of fried chicken. so a heavy dinner is not the way.

at first i thought of buying 6 pieces of nuggets from kfc for dinner, then i was too lazy to go out after i came back from my facial session at 7.15p.m. so in the end, my dinner consisted of two pieces of toast and preserved strawberry, an apple and a glass of soya milk. healthy? i call it LAZY.

new cardigan!! yippeee!! a long cardigan which is not like anything i have. ok....i did not go shopping. it is a gift! what a surprise. it is none other than my beautician whom i have only been going to for a few months!!! and i am the first to get the present!!! hahh...aa....what a privilege. the others will get theirs....but soon. does your beautician give you a gift??? i call it an early christmas present.

and on the subject of christmas, i thought my nail polish glitters look christmassy. but when i look at the combination of colours again, it reminds me of planet earth. kakaka....so i am calling them earth colours for now.

i am going to flutter around for few days more at the work place before i say 'goodbye' to everyone.

purple saturday

2011-11-12T21:21:00.002+08:00

there is one more week to clock in at the work place and then the holidays will start.....but why am i not looking forward to this holiday at all???

i know.....- the thought of staying at home and looking after my grandparents is a big scare. what if something is to happen? and PATIENCE in all its capacity is needed too. i think i have lots of patience in me right? so i hope the full load i have in me can bear with grandma's state of delirium. maybe i can then blog about living with a dementia patient. hmmhh....then the kids will say i am airing dirty linen in public. but i am not bad-mouthing grandma right? people need to know about degenerative diseases of the brain. or else they are just going to use the word 'crazy' to describe these poor patients.

last week, in the star paper, there was a case where a grandma lost her mind and slashed her grandchild. and when she was conscious again, she saw all the blood and she took her own life by jumping down the flat. scary right? i am almost sure she also had some sort of delirium but unfortunately, her state was not realised by her family.

well, at least my grandma only loses her marbles once in a while now and her physical health is still ok. however, this week, her body is more slanted to the right and she is weaker in her movements. instead of lifting her leg to walk now, she is shuffling. and my grandfather? gosh, that is one stubborn old man. why can't he walk with a walking stick?? he sways from left to right looking for things to hold when he walks from the living room to the kitchen. and yes, he is also shuffling but with left right sways. i watch him swaying and keeping my fingers crossed at the same time that he does not fall or lose grip of whatever is stopping him.

so you get an idea how i will be spending my holidays now???

dun think about it first. back to present day.

so today we had our annual lunch at trolak country resort. i was not expecting anything grand. after all, we only paid rm20 each. as long as the food is edible and i have a great time, then i am satisfied. and luckily, those were what i got.

not everyone turned up...as expected. some were just not supportive and did not have team spirit. i will be so ashamed of myself if i don't support my colleagues who had worked hard to get all the lucky draw presents and to organize the do. you know, i want to be a role model to the young ones and every time i do something, they are at the back of my mind. i can't say one thing and do the other. that is one way of keeping me grounded.

ok....i am getting preachy there. now...let's go to modelling.....not role model anymore hahaha

the theme of the lunch was purple and of course i was not going all decked up from head to toe in purple. ewww......

above was what i wore. the dress is too short for work, but ok for other occasions. and i was using my new kipling sling bag which i got from england. take away the strap, i could use it as a clutch, although it is a bit soft....but still workable. can save money from buying a real clutch which i will only use once in a blue moon. and my booties, from clarks- the once in a while height lifter. an effortless look and simple ;)

the food was ok as we had chicken curry, cabbage, raw vegetables, tofu, prawn crackers, jelly, cakes, fish, omelette, and prawns. it was served buffet style so go ahead and eat as much as you could. i only had one serving....haha....with the plate so full, who need another??

everyone who came would not go back empty handed. lucky draw gifts...you have pendrives, hampers, kettles, toasters, containers, teapots, teeshirts, socks, bags, etc. and this time, the draw was kinda special. instead of calling numbers, we were called names of animals which were clipped on the pamphlets we got. wanna guess my animal?

i got 'singa' (lion) and everyone showed their approval of the name when they saw me walked out. hmmmhhhhhhh ROAR!!!

it was nothing expensive....just a lunch box and a flask.

everyone had good fun as smiles and laughter heard the whole time in the small but cosy hall. am i glad to have colleagues who know how to have fun. 5 will be leaving us at the end of the year and we wish them all the best.

and i have finally finished marking all papers. yipppeeee!!!! i can now concentrate on tidying the table and room and stuff before closing the year.

my favourite fruit now- organically grown in our own garden. tangy passion fruits!!! once you try one, you can't wait to get more! they are really sweet.

freed and exhausted

2011-11-07T19:16:00.002+08:00

my brother came back from batam and he brought this back ;)

yeah, he went to spend a night there and to look for his friend who operates a cafe there. this is the first time i am eating this m & m with crispy filling. it is not chocolaty at all and like its name suggests, it is really crispy. i think he bought that from the duty free zone in jb. this product above is made in france.

i am finally free now from exam papers. last week, i confined myself and pushed myself to mark, mark and mark. now, the boulder is lifted from the shoulder and i can breathe.

hmm...i thought i could blabber here and talk nonsense, but i am lost for words. i guess i am mentally tired. i am just going to be dumb for the rest of the night and sit in front of the pc and let the movie do the talking, whichever it is.

bag no more....for the moment

2011-11-06T21:42:00.004+08:00

photo taken from www.bagaholicboy.com

does your heart palpitate when you see the picture above???

well, i used to....but at the moment, it has no effect on me. that is chanel's special collection for christmas this year.

i am nonchalant with bags at the moment. hhahah....surprise surprise. my balenciaga purchase reminds me what a big hole i have burnt in my pocket and that bag is really an all occasion bag for me. well, it might not be suitable for dinner but then again, how often do i attend dinner?

how many ppl out there will starve to buy this bag above?? this is really an unreachable one.

u know how you 'admire', ok lah...envy those who carry designer bags? socialites, celebrities, media people, those who make the news, etc.

well, do you also know that these ppl get massive discounts to buy these designer goods as well?? i heard that media ppl get 30% discount at stores worldwide. that is a lot! and of course, celebrities will get theirs for free. so i guess, with this information, there is no point 'envying' them. in fact, i am so pissed off knowing this!!!! makes me wanna think twice before i buy another bag....or i find someone who can get me discounts.

cari makan from belum to bidor

2011-10-27T11:53:00.007+08:00

it was journey for food on the way back from belum to bidor.

first stop- lenggong.

we stopped at hup yik seafood restaurant which is opposite maybank along the main road of this small town.

looking at all the signs on the walls, i think this restaurant is famous for fresh water fish dishes.

my friend recommended this cili padi sauce. really spice and cukup ooomppphh.....3 bottles for rm14.

this is what we are here for- steamed sai tou fish fishballs. in bm- ikan parang. in english- wolf herring fish. 60 cents per piece. quite expensive but really good especially when dipped in the chilli sauce. i bought 20 fishballs home.

next stop- indulgence ipoh. one of the more expensive...hmmh..maybe the most expensive fine dining restaurant in ipoh. prices of food are much higher now compared to my previous visit.

the owner was there- julia song. she was just recently featured in the star for creating dishes for MAS catering. she is quite a lanky lady and looks fierce when serious.

pumpkin soup with lots of tuna in it.

complimentary bread basket

french onion soup

duck meat

vege spring roll

a chicken dish

tiramisu- rm14. not totally mind blowing. it was all right. i am quite disappointed actually.

mud cake which is too dry. i thought mud cake is supposed to be soo soo soo moist that it sticks in a lump hence the name??

well, it will be a while before i step into indulgence again. guess i am not prepared to pay so much for the portion. there are other places in ipoh which are reasonable for the price they charge, so i will go to those instead.

my retreat at belum.

2011-10-25T19:46:00.012+08:00

rite, so here i am. in the midst of nowhere albeit next to the highway. west-east coast highway to be specific.

the sound of water cascading from the decorative fish pond and the cool breeze caressing my face are accompanied by the piano music played on the radio in the restaurant.

yes, the dining area is the only place where i can get wi-fi connection and i prefer to sit outside the restaurant and being visited by insects once in a while.

so hello from belum-temenggor pulau banding rainforest resort. situated right at the north of perak state and next to the highway to kota bahru, this is as close as you can get to untouched forest in the peninsular.

i am awed by everything i see here. the green rainforest, so pristine and majestic. so intimidating yet so inviting.

everything is rustic except the resort i am in ;)

the building of temenggor dam sort of 'created' this banding island as it flooded the forests and left whatever high enough still standing for us to admire and marvel.

some ignoramus young adults from the city obviously did not know this and asked some stupid questions in the boat ride today about all the dried up trunks protruding from the lake. i almost chuckled out loud when i heard that question.

thanks to groupon, i have the chance to see this paradise with my own eyes. i only paid rm300 for 2 nights inclusive of 3 activities- night walk, round island boat cruise and kayaking/rafting. well, the total for 2 persons for 2 nights will be rm600 lah. i bought two vouchers from groupon and 4 of us came.

the drive from bidor took us 3 hours. i really did not expect it to be that long. from gerik, one still have to drive 40km to reach the resort. but it was a really green green green drive. green is everywhere and of course, this is the only stretch of road where you will see signs of wild elephants crossing. unfortunately, i did not see any. but i did see otters in my boat ride.

so this is our deluxe twin room. why can't i still get a sound sleep here? this is the 3rd night i did not get a sound sleep. waaa........i want my sleeep!!!!

outside the room. the trolley is really noisy when it is pushed because of the wooden boards. errrghhh....was trying to get a nap in the afternoon but was disturbed by the trolleys.

the hornbill restaurant. breakfast and dinner are served here.

receptionist.

foyer, where i read the day's newspaper. sorry, no newspaper or television in the room

a group of dutch guests we met as we were about to take our photo, so we got them to join in as well. there are quite many foreign tourists here and everyone is singing praises about the place. locals are more common during the school holidays. it beats me that more foreigners know about this place than locals. when i told friends that i was coming to belum, they did not know where it was. what a pity. this place is totally paradise. i am still awed that i am in the middle of this island enjoying the sound and smell of nature.

well, maybe cost might be a factor which deters local from coming but there is a cheaper alternative which is banding lake side inn. it is just before you reach the bridge on the right hand side.

guard house and the steep road on the left heads to the resort.

entrance to resort.

tor tambra bar which is next to sidai restaurant. heard that this is the only bar along the highway but of course, i am not promoting stopping here for a beer before you continue your journey to the east coast. but the restaurant is a place where you can stop for a meal along the journey.

creative and totally au natural

sunset at pulau banding.

the resort's own jetty. that big boat there is actuallly a boat house. you can rent it too but i think it is more than 1 thousand a night but it can fit about 20 if i am not wrong.

this is where we boarded the boat for the round island cruise and kayak/rafting activity.

a nice flat area overlooking the lake behind the rooms. very suitable for picnic.

herbal garden

one of the flowers from the garden.

the only dinner one can get is at their hornbill restaurant and it is buffet, no ala carte. inclusive of service charge, one has to pay about rm35, totally not worth it for small eaters like us. the nearest shops are so so far away and i think the word 'near' cannot be used here. you have to go to gerik which is about 30 mins away through winding roads.

so we went to sidai restaurant instead today and had our dinner there before the kitchen closed at 6p.m. the food there was much much cheaper and it was not bad at all. a plate of fried rice was only rm7. that was more than enough to fill my stomach. it might be a bit early for some, but if you are to have an early night, sleep might make you forget about midnight hunger.

night walk on the first night. everything had been pre-arranged. so no hassle at all. just be there at the stipulated time and you are off.

there were about 14 in our group and 3 guides. it was an easy trail lah.

a headlight provided, one for every 2 in the group. really bright.

there was nothing much to see actually in the night walk. it was just the thrill of being in the forest at night. a few of those urban young adults were really annoying with all their silly screams and silly questions. the walk ended in less than 1 hour but of course we were all soaked in sweat.

luckily there was no rain. double phew!

how many people are needed to hug the tree???

part of the trail

aaah....a 'fan' which followed us back from the night walk. 3 of them had 'fans' while i was fanless. phew.....not the type of fan i want ;) but we have salt so rest in piece you leech.

on the second day, our activities were all on the lake. first to come was the round the lake cruise and second was rafting/kayaking.

one of my favourite pictures of the bridge. love the reflection. the bridge was built by koreans.

pokok tualang which is protected, according to the guide because it is where bees will build their nests.

pulau banding's floating police station.

see those roofs nestled amongst the trees? that is where our resort is. how tranquil the lake water was when this photo was taken.

the bridge from the mainland to pulau banding. there will be another stretch of bridge at the other end of the island. everyone must use the briddge and pass this place if they want to go to kota bahru using this west-east coast highway.

it rained in the afternoon and it also left very fast. before we headed to the jetty, it was all bright and sunny and we were all in jackets and big hats trying to avoid a tan. then at the jetty, the rain just poured. but after 5 mins, it stopped and we were all ready to go in the overcast sky. so off with the jackets and hats and we enjoyed ourselves paddling in the cool weather.

just the 4 of us in the big big lake.

borrowed some games to kill the time in the evening. i was reading newspaper in the lobby while they were playing. only joined them nearing the end when it was almost dark and the mosquitoes were warming up for their rounds.

will leave here after breakfast tomorrow. most probably about 10. am dreading the long hours i have to drive back. gosh, the back is going to be so stiff. lunch will be in ipoh. gonna indulge in something good.

so let me just sign off now. we are heading to the bar for some alcohol and i am hoping i can get an alcohol-induced sound sleep.

2011-10-24T08:12:00.003+08:00

the power of love by charice

contented- i have watched michael bolton performed live

2011-10-23T13:02:00.005+08:00

aahhhh-chhhooooooo....and ahhhh-choooo again.

no i dun have the flu bug. i just did not get enough sleep. slept at 2a.m. and woke up at 9a.m.

blame michael bolton for that. and i still can't believe that i have actually watched michael bolton perform live in kl. woohoooo!!!

on facebook, i posted- i don't have to see another male artist's performance anymore. i have watched michael bolton. contented.

truly, that is how i feel. his voice is still the same and as david foster said, 'it is one of my favourite voices ever ever ever.' can't agree more.

ok before i go to more of david foster and michael bolton, let me just recap how my day was before that concert.

went down to sunway pyramid for a bit of window shopping and dinner before the concert. it is one of the closest malls to get to bukit jalil, hence the choice. and i have not visited sunway pyramid like for ages.

got pikkien to come out to join us.

our dinner was at italienies.

penne bolognese.

stuffed mushroom. i like this.

ham and mushroom pizza.

but before pikkien came i had a bit of snack first.
ham, egg and cheese pancake. this is just like the thin apam you get in the market filled with peanuts and corn. they just change the filling and the price too of course.

sunway pyramid was bustling with young crowd. the kids will have everything they need here. i guess its location close to sunway college makes it a favourite place to hang-out for these college kids.

the deepavali decoration at the ground floor. oh, the area was so fragrant with the smell of flowers. totally refreshing. yes they use real flowers.

see all those chrysanthemums there.

luckily it did not rain that night althought it did at around 5. phew. i thought i was going to have a wet walk from the car park to the indoor stadium.

the queue into the hall was long and i think they opened the gate quite late.
yes, the cheapest ticket and i was on the upper tier. but the hall itself was not such a huge venue. although i was there on the balcony, i still felt close to the main stage and the concert was a very cosy affair.

all those front seats were taken by MAS enrich loyalty vips and the singers actually got down the stage to mingle with the delighted crowd too except charice. david foster even gave the mic to two guests so they could show everyone their voices and boy, were they good enough for the mic.

everyone who attended there definitely appreciated music and went there with the sole purpose of being entertained with good music. we were not disappointed. the concert started at 8.30p.m. and ended at 11.15p.m.

i think david foster was impressed too because the crowd could sing to all songs performed. he did mention that our knowledge of english made his task easier unlike his experience in tokyo. he brought his fiancee along too and she was a gorgeous tall blond who was wearing farah khan's design that night. they will be married in 3 weeks time. farah khan was there too in the first row i think and francis yeoh as well. david foster introduced someone who flew down all the way from los angeles but i did not get his name.

this is the stage from where i sat. luckily his position at the piano faced us and we could see what went on around the stage too, like the artist having their hair arranged before coming on stage.

charice was the first to come and she had quite a few of filipino fans in the crowd. she covered power of love by celine dion, but i would have preferred her to sing all by myself. then it was russell watson, an english tenor followed by ashanti. i was yawning in ashanti's segment because i did not know the songs in her set until she sang a medley of songs from the movie, the bodyguard. phew. then it was phillip bailey from the group earth, wind and fire and last but not least, my favourite in the list, michael bolton.

boy was i mesmerised and i was wishing that i could be transformed right in front of the stage and under the illusion that he was only singing to me alone. wakakaka....

he has the best songs for all moods of love.

i did not bring my camera so there are no photos. did some video recording till my handphone's battery went flat. will load the videos tomorrow back at work where the internet connection is faster.

i leave you with michael bolton's video of how am i supposed to live without you. i call this the total break-up song. he still looks so good despite his age eh. i am really contented....but if he is going to do a world tour when he has any new releases, do tell me about it.