Visit to the Dentist

The last time I visited the dentist was on my primary school days. That was back then, where we lined up behind each one holding a card containing our teeth information. I remember seeing two portion of teeth drawings, where each portion had two lines of teeth in the card and some of them had cross sign or were coloured black. I guess that was the way the doctor keep record of the tooth which was pulled before or spoiled. Soon, the nurse will usher us all tiny small students to the dentist. I wasn't scare of him. I hope he can drill my teeth or polish them. But everytime, he only checks and never use any equipment to test or clean my teeth. Sad..



However, I went to the dentist again yesterday only to clean and polish my teeth. The clinic was an old fashion type, which I think look like my headmistress office in school. There is a counter for you to talk to the fierce and bad admin, asking her permission to go into headmistress office. If she let you in, you may open the door next to the counter and head straight to the office. See clearer on the next picture.


When I was waiting for my turn in the waiting place, I went around the lobby area and took some photos with my handphone. I beginning to feel that the clinic owner is very obesssive with his/her family name Bhar

Visit your dentist BHAR



Sticking some hand-cut wordings onto a wall hanging picture. See BHAR?

BHAR again..

None on the monkey..

But there are 2 on this picture.

After looking at the BHARs, I am still waiting..

Spice and Seasoning

Thanks to Air Asia for the promotion that offered last year, Sujea finally had a cheaper trip back to his hometown. I requested him to help me to get me pepper, both black and white because pepper is one of Sarawak's best local product other than the great hornbill and and nutritious bird nest. From the packaging, they are from a shop called SaraSpice which is easily identified as the short form of Sarawak Spices. They smell like pepper, I am serious. I really mean smell like pepper. My mom should be happy to see this useful gift. I plan to give this to her as Mother's Day gift apart from the dinner I wish to bring her to :P Who can ask for more? Pepper freshly imported from Sarawak!!
On the right in green packaging, is white and black ground pepper. They come in two small bottles about 5 centimetres in height, ready to be used. I hope the aromatic smell will not evaporate so quickly, wait until my mom cook the first dished using any of them. On the left in orange packaging, is the white pepper "beans". I am not sure how to address Mr White Pepper's seed. I think beans will be a better name for his seeds.

Can't wait to go home this Friday ..

The Secret to a Lasting Marriage: Embrace Imperfection

I came across a very good article in one of the forwarded mails in my inbox yesterday. It is worth to ponder upon if you want a lasting relationship.

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The Secret to a Lasting Marriage: Embrace Imperfection

When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet, all my dad did was reached for his toast, smiled at my mom, and asked me how my day was at school.

I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite! When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said: "Baby, I love burned toast."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Debbie, your mommy put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides, a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!"

In bed that night, I thought about that scene at dinner...and the kindness my daddy showed my mom. To this day, it's a cherished memory from my childhood that I'll never forget. And it's one that came to mind just recently when Jack and I sat down to eat dinner.

I had arrived home late...as usual...and decided we would have breakfast food for dinner. Some things never change, I suppose!

To my amazement, I found the ingredients I needed, and quickly began to cook eggs, turkey sausage, and buttered toast. Thinking I had things under control, I glanced through the mail for the day. It was only a few minutes later that I remembered that I had forgotten to take the toast out of the oven!

Now, had it been any other day -- and had we had more than two pieces of bread in the entire house -- I would have started all over. But it had been one of those days and I had just used up the last two pieces of bread. So burnt toast it was!

As I set the plate down in front of Jack, I waited for a comment about the toast. But all I got was a "Thank you!" I watched as he ate bite by bite, all the time waiting for some comment about the toast. But instead, all Jack said was, "Babe, this is great. Thanks for cooking tonight. I know you had a hard day."

As I took a bite of my charred toast that night, I thought about my mom and dad...how burnt toast hadn't been a deal-breaker for them. And I quietly thanked God for giving me a marriage where burnt toast wasn't a deal-breaker either!

You know, life is full of imperfect things...and imperfect people. I'm not the best housekeeper or cook. And you might be surprised to find out that Jack isn't the perfect husband! He likes to play his music too loud, he will always find a way to avoid yard work, and he watches far too many sports. Believe it or not, watching "Golf Academy" is not my idea of a great night at home!

But somehow in the past 37 years Jack and I have learned to accept the imperfections in each other. Over time, we have stopped trying to make each other in our own mold and have learned to celebrate our differences. You might say that we've learned to love each other for who we really are!

For example, I like to take my time, I'm a perfectionist, and I'm even-tempered. I tend to work too much and sleep too little. Jack, on the other hand, is disciplined, studious, an early riser, and is a marketer's dream consumer. I count pennies and Jack could care less! Where he is strong, I am weak, and vice versa.

And while you might say that Jack and I are opposites, we're also very much alike. I can look at him and tell you what he's thinking. I can predict his actions before he finalizes his plans. On the other hand, he knows whether I'm troubled or not the moment I enter a room.

We share the same goals. We love the same things. And we are still best friends. We've traveled through many valleys and enjoyed many mountaintops. And yet, at the same time, Jack and I must work every minute of every day to make this thing called "marriage" work!

What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each other's differences - is the one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting marriage relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your married life and lay them at the feet of GOD. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a marriage where burnt toast isn't a deal-breaker!

Have a great day! May God bless your marriage.

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I miss my grandmother

This is the second time I dreamt about my grandmother in the same week. Both came to me in the early morning. I woke up, wept missing tears.

I could not find any photo of her in my laptop. She passed away before I bought my own digital camera that was around year 2003, I guess. I remember her look vividly when she fell sick, before my family shifted to Klang and occasions in between.

My father is an obedient son. He never failed to visit my grandmother every Sunday when we were still staying in Bandar Baru Bangi. He would bring us together of course, and my mother will pack vegetables, meat and such ingredients needed for lunch and dinner. Mother cooked and we ate with grandmother on every Sunday at her home.

The reason why I loved my grandmother back then:
1) She bought the "suan mei" (those preserved plum) from every Tuesday night market and put into the chicken bowl and hid them in the food cupboard for me, so that the other grandchildren won't steal them away.
2) She peeled orange and cut mango whenever available for me at the same spot everytime, at the back of her house, sat-squatting on the small wooden bench.

I felt strange on the last Chinese New Year I had with my grandmother. I even took out the camera and snapped pictures of us, my sisters and me with my grandmother. I remember I hugged her and that was the last. She survived until the end of Chinese New Year and I received phone call from my mother about her in the hospital. She had trouble in breathing due to the bad asthma she had since a year before. I looked into the coffin and saw her in peace, nicely wrapped in a traditional costume and make up put on her face. I never had the courage to look into any coffin before and this time, it came so naturally. She did not move and I started to miss her. That was the first time I had the feeling I lost somebody very special.

Splendid refreshing ice lemon tea

I felt a bit dizzy after gym workout today. Actually I just spent about half an hour in the gym and headed home afterward because I don't feel like exercising anymore. I don't see any gym trainer anymore. Maybe they were fired due to the cost-saving thingy, pity them..

I love ice lemon tea since n years ago. Therefore this packet of Boh ice lemon-lime tea made a good deed at the right time when I needed it the most. I used up 2 instant tea mix sachets today with one slice of lemon and made a large glass of cold and refreshing drink after the tired day.

The packaging is attractive with the shinning plastic packet. It costs about RM8+, means that one time consumption will cost you about 50cents :P

A cup of drinking water + tea mix + 1 slice of lemon + a handful of ice cubes+ the handsome guy to share this with = a refreshing treat and thirst killer

SOMETHING EASY FOR YOU TO TRY OUT/PLAY WITH IF YOU ARE FREE NOW

1. Chinese tell time by the eye of a cat. Can you tell what is the time for each eye?
2. What is the answer for this question: WHAT RELATION IS YOUR MOTHER'S BROTHER'S BROTHER-IN-LAW TO YOU?
3. Just a play with your eye. You will see the white dots will sort of like twinkling at you with black dots

Anwers to the number (1) and (2) .. Please scroll down...

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(1) Noon, 6pm, midnight (Follow the sequence up to bottom)

(2) Your father

Montage hair cut

I had my hair cut today with WL. He looks absolutely cute as ever but I think I potrait a fifteen year old teenager. It is a good sign because I looked worn after my second anniversary year in Intel. On the last April 2007, I have gone into the second year in this horrible square office place which has the size of 4/5 queen size bed. Back to the hair cut story, I guess I shall now match WL more than ever because I am back to my original age. I missed the morning market hours on these two days. Luckily the trip to Tesco had fruitfully brings me some ingredients for the weekdays cookings. I got a packet of pork ribs about RM5++, 2 carrots, eggs, and sawi.

My menu for the week:

Set 1: sour vege soup, cabbage, tofu

Set 2: mee hun ge

Set 3: sawi, fried egg+prawn, tofu

Set 4: fried rice + fried meehun

I hope I can cook them this week, my busy work schedule always amend my plan. If I can't make it, I will then postpone the mee hun ge :D

Fun at the Peak

I was a timid girl when talked about roller coaster. In this time trip to Genting Highlands, I had taken a very brave step to play some of the games I will never think of playing before.

Upon receiving the communication mail from KoKo on Friday, I was all excited for the trip. We were supposed to meet at PG12 lobby at 6.00am. As usual, Malaysian's time is always late by half to an hour. I arrived at the waiting spot at 6.05am in a kind-hearted friend's car. By 6.15am, we almost had everyone on the "Cuti-cuti Malaysia" travel bus. By the way, it is not VIP seat bus, it was a 4 seats-in-a-row bus. There were two buses prepared for this trip, and one was occupied shortly after we were called to board on the buses. The second bus, Bus A, my bus hmmm.. we were shorted of one passenger. Who doesn't know James LIM? The bus leader have asked his partner on James whereabout, and his partner said he was uncontactable !!!

At last we departed from Intel at about 6.55am when he finally arrived with a quick "Sorry guys!!".



I was fast asleep in the bus which I guess is caused by the car sick pill. Somehow, I think I lost my comb in the middle of the way. We had breakfast at Tapah rest area after 2 hours journey. The food there is yucks...

Soon we reached Genting Skyway. This was where the scariest thing in my journey to Genting started. Luckily I had Soek Junn beside me. We were all trying not to spot the tiger statue from our cable car. It was said that Uncle Wu Tong purposely placed the tiger there to bring bad luck to the gamblers.

We arrived at First World Hotel lobby and started to hang around posing for photos.. See Soek Junn and me were pretending as we are just 16 years old and Xiao Wei with her sexy smile.

We all dispersed to our own room with our room-mates soon we got our room key. Mine was at Tower 3, 16th floor, Room 818 !! This room was very different from the previous ones I stayed in the same hotel. The shower place is joint with the toilet and basin. So, the bathroom is bigger than the size of our cubicle in PDC.

Many of us had taken the theme park package (indoor and outdoor) which only bears the cost of RM13. Very worthy indeed for a timid girl like me.

We played some of the games like the:

Motion Master -- not nice!!! The sunglasses doesn't look cool either. The pictures was blur and the sound effect wasn't that good. I hate the water they sprayed from the side of our seats.

Pirate train -- this was pretty lame. Nothing to scare of... I was expecting someone jumped off the bushes and screamed at us.. But to no avail, nothing like that happened.

Corkscrew -- Hehe.. The game that I never stopped shouting from the time it slided.

These picture proved I was really there..!

Super Toboggan -- Max weight only 70kg. Only a few of us qualifued for this game.. One of them was elephant Julian Chan. I had backache after this game.

Alright I skipped many games because I lazy to write all down. This one is a MUST. See the Boating??? The boat that I shared with JAMES LIM CHEE HONG was "senget" to a side. I think we almost sinked. The reason why I had chooen him as my parther was because I thought I do not need to do leg peddling. But, end up, our boat is the slower of all because of the heavy weight. I still need to peddle, I do not want to play this anymore!!!!!!


We proceed to the foodcourt for dinner at about 7+pm. I took this hot plate mee which was ONLY RM13. Why I use "ONLY"? The answer is because other people who ate Bah Kut Teh end up paying RM30 for their hot meal.

Mooi Yee and me grabbed the opportunity to pose for a photo during the dinner time.


Later on 8 of us went to Ripley's Believe it OR noT? This was like a trip to the museum. We actually had a cheap deal by the rangers that supervised the museum. They wanted to make extr a money, so we only pay RM12 instead of the actually fees RM18. They somehow only got 1 ticket for all 8 of us.

This few strays of hair belong to George Washington

Look how good am I? I can hold the 3 metres tower high of stacked books with just 2 hands.

We were all very tired but still manage for many rounds of card games in Julian's room until 2pm.

2nd day breakfast time. A quick photo when I was consuming the greedily grabs from the buffet table.

A few of us went for a morning walk near the Theme PArk Hotel.

I was checking the quality of pictures taken in the trip.

This proved I really went on the cable car..

I took the picture myself. This is after I let go Soek Junn's hand. I was feeling better on the 4th time of cable car ride. The first 2 times were from the Genting Highland treasure hunt a year back. Same hand, Soek Junn's ... :P

Alright back to work on the next day..... Boring life..

Inari

Today I had a trip to one of the Japanese restaurant in Queensbay Mall Penang for my dinner. I found a shocking truth of one of it's sushi's price. Not that I am exaggerating but it is in fact not my way to accept a egg mayo/ebiko topping on one of the inari actually make it costs RM3.90, RM2 more than an usual 2 inari.

See the picture above? Basically it is a dish of 2 sweet beancurd skins filled with rice balls in each. A simple but tasty and food., loved by many . I supported the inari too because I used to worked as an assistant to an uncle who makes sushi during university semester break. I addressed him as uncle because he was too good to me as he treated me as his daughter more than an employee. He let me eat as much inari as I want without charging me.

This dish was placed nicely on it's green plate. Green in the restaurant wears RM1.90, pink RM3.90 and red RM5.90. Forgot about the *.90. I always treat all the *.90 cents as RM1

What about this picture and why it is different from the normal inari? One of the inari has extra topping with curry salad, another one is a plain rice-filled sweet beancurd. How much you think the curry costs? It is RM2 extra than the normal inari, means this dish is on pink plate which is RM3.90. I feel it is really ridiculous... Therefore, when I reached home, I browsed the Internet with the hope to find if the restaurant had overpriced it's product.

There it goes, I found the Singapore's branch/headquater website.

They are all the same price $1.90, doesn't care whether it has topping or just a normal rice ball. Does this means the restaurant in Malaysia simply charge Malaysians? Give it a thought... The modern concept and fine touch of the interior did add a few marks to the overall marks someone can give.. but today's discovery probably change my mind.

Happiness checklist

Lets check on the happiness checklist : -

Have happy relationships -- YES

Value good friendships --YES

Desire less -- NO

Do someone a good turn -- YES

Keep faith (religious or not) -- NO

Stop comparing your looks with others -- NO

Grow old gracefully -- NO

Don’t worry if you’re not a genius -- NO

Looks like I am less than 50% happy

Pot-Q

BBQ-ing crews who worked at the pit

Our supervising lady is checking the quality of the food. TM, YC, VV and HH spent most of their time bbq-ing chicken wings, sausages and fishballs for us. We had corns too..

VV still smiling charmingly although she was red burnt. Despite of the hot flaming fire, she smiled for the camera. Hope that she enjoyed the night. I love her bergedil potatoes which came in a hard plactic package Tesco/Giant bread packaging look alike.

I guess he is trying hard not to smile at the camera. TM actually volunteered himself to bbq for us. He is always the one who make the fire because of his certified qualitication as a king scout.


What they worked hard for and what we had done for ourselves??


Golden sausages. I don't know what is the meaning of arranging these two sausages together. I supposed because they make great picture.


A table of home cooked food. Everyone brought their own specialities. I personally feel everybody has done a good job and played good team work.


The hot and tasty BBQ-ed food




Chocolate banana from HH. She got a comb of banana from Tesco, she peeled the banana and cut off the center part of it. Stuffed chocolate pieces into in and wrapped each of them using aluminium foil. We watched it burnt and of course ate the bananas.


Reactions we got from the members


YC wanted the bananas so much.

There is so much to eat. You don't need to bite the fork. She is Alan's guest..

The only way to make her eyes look smaller is by laughing loud. I think she enjoy her own buttered herb rice.

We created romantic ambience

hiau-ness ..

and the ever natural golum look..


we bring them together.. the broke back gang.


What I think...

Finger lickin' good..


I'm lovin' it

Have it your way..


I want to have that piece too. I am not sure if he gave me that piece.

We thank him for the wonderful pictures