Malaysian food

Some of the local delicacies that i will be missing soon.


Chinese kuih.


Bak zhang.


Chee Cheong Fun.


Roasted pork.


Satay and sausages.


Fried beehoon.

Tired and exhausted

Cheng Ming is also known as the Tomb Sweeping Day in some other countries and basically, it is the day where we pay respect and honour our ancestors at grave sites.

This year, we had a crazy Cheng Ming. As early as we go to the grave sites every year, this time is the earliest by far. Why? Cos we need to beat the time where some of the major city roads were to be closed to make way for the KL Marathon. GREAT!

The night before, my aunt called and told us that the road closure will happen around 4:30am. Oh my gosh, why do they have to organize the marathon on this day, of so many days in the year? Don't they know that alot of ppl will be using those roads to reach the KL grave sites in conjuction of Cheng Ming Festival?

Me and mom woke up at 3:45am to get ready. Uncle came to pick us up and on our way, we saw a lot of polices standing by the roadside, getting ready to close the road. We looked at our watch, it was just merely a few minutes before 4:30am. Phew, that was so close.

When we reached my grandparent's grave, we were surprised to see a lot of ppl already there, some even done with their prayers! Last year, we reached the site about 6:30am but we could hardly see more than 10 families there. I guess these people knew about the road closure too.

We took about slightly more than an hour praying and paying respects to my grandparents. On our way back, we saw the road closure and the long queue of cars trying to get in. Poor them.

Next, we went to the Nirvana Memorial Park in Semenyih to pay respect to my father and my late uncle (dad's youngest brother). We thought we will not be caught up in any traffic because we were so much earlier compared to the previous years, but we were so wrong. Some stupid cars were tired of waiting in the line and tried to do a shortcut by using the road for oncoming cars. Really stupid cos that caused a massive traffic as the oncoming cars were now trapped and created a deadlock.

We waited for half an hour in the line before we decided to park the car and walk. We took all the stuff we need for the prayers and walked about 1KM to the Nirvana Memorial Park. If we were to drive, i dont think we can reach there in 1.5 hours. It was just crazy.

This could be the last time i can pay respect to my father during Cheng Ming. I will be coming back of cos, but most prolly it will not be on this day. I will come and visit him on other days. I hope he will understand and know that i love him very very much. I miss him so much even after 11 years that he has been gone.

Now im tired and exhausted after so much walk and so little sleep. Gotta take a nap soon.

Bubye my frens #3

IMHO, Dave’s Pizza Pasta Vino in 1 Utama serves the best Itallian food in Malaysia. Not only that, it is the first Itallian restaurant that i have seen so far that serves pork.

Jessica & hubby, Raymond met me and Soo for dinner last nite at Dave's. We ordered 2 pastas and 2 pizzas for sharing - sharing is loving, dude! I love all the food in the menu.. just name anything and i can say it is very delicious! I am surprised that there is only one Dave's Pizza Pasta Vino in the Klang Valley or even Malaysia (correct me if i am wrong). You would think they could have opened a lot more branches with their good quality of food. *scratch head*

Not a single trace of food was left on the plates. All gone in 60 seconds!
-___-""


Jessica, Jane & Soo.

We were about to order more food, taking Jessica as an excuse - well, she is pregnant and she should be eating more! But Raymond stopped us, "Dont judge a book by its cover! I will be the one ended up eating them". Haha. Cute.


Jane & Raymond.

Take care, matey!

Bubye my frens #2

We were dancing and laughing together. We enjoy being on the dance floor very much but that nite, I was distracted. I absolutely had no idea how to tell my dance friends that i am going away very soon. I am sure they will be as shock as the rest, making my heart even heavier to move to the States. I was waiting for a good opportunity when one of them teased me, asking me, "When are you going to US again?"

"Next month", I said.
"Wow, so nice. How long are u going away this time?"
"Permanently.."
"What?!"

Yea, i can see their jaws almost hitting the ground. Well, at least in my own imagination.. *ahem*

As hard as they are trying to take the news, they are very happy for me - to be able to live the life that i want. It is not as easy as it seems, there are sacrifices that i have to make. But at the end of the day, hopefully everything will turn out well.

Just now, all of us met up for dinner @ Island Cafe in SS2 (same row with McDonalds, at the other end). It has been a long time since we last had dinner together. Everyone was busy with their own stuff.

Altho it is not anything fancy, but i do enjoy their company, made the night more meaningful. And i like the Jasmine tea :)


Jane, How Wee, Ssu Ee, Huini and Yee Ling.

Lee was late, so he couldnt join us. Therefore, i insisted on taking a group picture in the dancing room, before he leaves for Turkey next week for his project assignment.


Jane, Ssu Ee, How Wee, Huini, Lee and Yee Ling.

Again, i will be back to visit u guys again. Dont worry.

Car-less

It wasnt a great deal, but it was by far the best deal i got. And now, finally, im officially car-less. Yea, that doesnt sound good at all.

Never had i imagine life is so difficult without a car. Maybe i was too spoiled by having someone to fetch me everywhere before i got my own car in the final year of my university days. It was such a freedom, to be able to go anywhere my mood takes me. To be able to meet up with my family and frens at the snap of a finger. And to be able to go on a food adventure (jalan-jalan cari makan), that i love to do so much.

If only the public transportation in KL is so much better, then i wouldnt have fret a bit about losing a car. Buses were my only transportation when i was in high school, but i dreaded those times where i have to wait for one for more than an hour sometimes. Waiting in a bus stop (that is probably 5 minutes away from my house) is not the best thing in the world, especially under the hot sun with a temperature so high that could easily get u skin cancer. Not only that, u will never be able to get a decent or undecent seat during rush hour and u could end up being trapped under two pairs of sweaty arms that can get u fainted in 10 seconds. Yes baby, im not kidding u.

Moving to my new place currently has slightly improved some of the issues. The bus stop is just outside of my condo's entrance and the buses come more often that they used to. There are a lot of shops nearby which eliminate some of the necessities to drive out. My mom is the happiest person when we decided to get this property. :P


My ex-car, Honda City.

I am now using my aunt's car temporarily to go to work. But i will have to return it next week because she will need to use the car every now and then. Hopefully it wont cause her too much trouble now.

Bubye my frens!

Most of my frens were very shocked when they got to know that i will be leaving for the States next month. They didnt believe me. Yes, i will be transferred to my company's head office in Phoenix, Arizona.

I totally understand how they feel because i felt the same way 2 weeks ago. I wasnt expecting this to come so soon - but what can i say, opportunity came knocking on my door when i am least prepared.

In summary, there was a PHX based position available from a different team and i was in the list of candidates to fill up the role. Maybe i wasnt the perfect or the top candidate that they would want but after a little compromise from both parties, we came to an agreement. And one of the many things, i'm supposed to start working there in early April.

It was a very very hard decision, trust me. Altho i knew this is going to happen eventually, but it is still not as easy as i would thought it would be. For me to leave my family and frens behind, starting my life all over again in a foreign country - that needs a lot of courage, as well as support from my family.

After many sleepless nights, the decision was made. And since then, i was so busy taking care of my personal and work stuffs. *breathe*breathe*

So last nite, my high school frens gave me a farewell dinner @ Tian Yian Cafe & Restaurant in Taman Miharja, Cheras. We chose a vegetarian restaurant because 2 of my frens are vegetarian and we want everyone to enjoy the food and company. Actually, I went to the SS2, PJ branch last year and it was really good!

The food was very good as expected. i can see myself coming back again.. :)


Jane, Sok Yee and Henk.


Chee Yee, Soon Kuan, Danny, Cherrie, Jane, Lai Yeen, Shi Yen, Wee Peng & Sok Yee.

I am very glad that my family took the news with an open mind. Mom is sad of cos, but i promise that i will come back to visit her as often as i can. *muaks*

Renewing passport is a breeze now..

Since I was small, I have always dreaded to go to the government departments. Not only i have to wake up extra early to get my butt there before they officially opens (cos they will only start on the dot if not later), wait in the long queue (altho im early because apparently, ppl here are super kiasu) BUT i could also be waiting for hours just to get the stuff i needed to be done.

This morning, i fetched my mom to the Wangsa Maju Immigration Office to renew her passport. I was planning to go to the State Immigration of KL in Pusat Bandar Damansara before i found out there is a branch in Wangsa Maju, much closer to my home. Yea, i know i am a lil outdated, but it is never too late to know now.

I left my condo around 7:20am and reached there 10 minutes before 8am. I figured we should be there ealier because my mom wanted to get her picture taken there. 5 years ago when she got her current passport, she took her picture in a normal photo shop in Ampang but they were rejected by the immigration officer because they claimed that the pictures were not following the standards/rules...

Anyways, back to this morning - there were plenty of parking spots in front of the immigration building. I was told that it is hard to get a parking spot in that area but i guess i was too early for the spots to be filled up. While she was getting her pictures taken, i walked to the entrance and found out that the counters were opened already. 10 minutes earlier!

I took the application form that i've printed out from the website (and filled up of cos) with a photocopy of her IC and 2 copies of photos to the counter to take a queue number but i was told that the form is not accepted. Apparently, printing the 2 page form in 2 pieces of A4 paper will not be accepted. You have to print on both side of an A4 paper! I obviously didnt know that and ended up buying the form from them for RM1 when i can print the form from their website for free. How ironic...

But besides that, everything was amazing. We got called to the counter immediately after we took our number cos there was only 2 other ppl in the room (and they have already been called). The officer took her form, pictures, IC and thumb print as verification - making sure that we are not applying for a different person :) Then we paid the RM300 fees at the cashier counter and all these were done in less than 10 minutes. *jaws dropped*

We were told by the officer to come back to get the passport in 1 hour. 1 HOUR! That was pretty fast and i admit i was surprised because i thought it was supposed to be done in 2 hours (which is already great because when i had mine renewed 3 years ago, i can only get it the next working day). And a lot of other developed countries needed more than 3 days to get one passport done. *thumbs up*

While waiting, we went for breakfast in a nearby hawker centre. We came back about 30 minutes later and there were more people now but still not alot. As i was walking towards a bunch of open seats, I realised that our number has been called for passport collection. WOW! I am now really amazed at how fast the government department do their job currently. We got a new passport in just an hour, from start to end.

As i was leaving the immigration building, i saw all the parking spots were fulled and there were cars waiting by the roadside, looking for possible spots. I guess if i werent as early, i might not be able to get it all done in an hour. So it is always good to be an early bird. However, if i were to go to the immigration department at Pusat Bandar Damansara, i am sure it would be crowded too even if it's early. I am glad i made a good decision.

Just in case if you guys are planning to renew or get a new passport in Malaysia, here are some tips for a smooth application:

1. Find a branch closer to you. You can save a lot of travel time especially when you are going on a weekdays where you can get caught in a bad traffic during rush hour.
2. For online application form, make sure you print the 2 page form on both side of ONE A4 paper. Printing on 2 pieces of paper will not be accepted. Else, just buy from them for RM1. Fill it up, of cos.
3. Get a photocopy of your Identification Card a.k.a. MyKad. Make sure you have both sides on the same page and DO NOT ever cut them because they want it in A4 size.
4. Bring 2 copies of your passport size photos (with ears visible) and make sure they follow the correct standard (it has a certain degree of blue background). To be safe, you can get your photos taken there and it cost RM12 for 4 pieces of instant photos.
5. Dont forget to bring RM300 as processing fees - they accept credit cards too but just in case the system/line is down, it is good to have cash on hand.
6. For renewal, please bring along your old/current passport.

That's all. Hope you can enjoy the same "breeze" as i do today.

U decide today!

It is very quiet in the office now. But i am pretty sure it is very very crowded in most of the schools as they have been selected as the voting venues. Some of my colleagues have gone back to their hometowns to cast their votes. I am leaving earlier after lunch to do the same.

This year's election is definitely an interesting one. I have never seen so many Barisan Nasional's advertisements in the media in my whole life. Newspaper, TV, radio and on the street - anywhere and everything that u do.

The opposition parties are moving agressively too this time, holding lots of talks and speeches around the country. A few "verbal" fights are going on, as usual when it comes to who can become a good government and leader. Not to forget, many promises have been made where we will never know whether they will be fulfiled.

I guess it all depends on yourself, whom u trust the most. For me, it doesn't really matter who wins the election. The most important thing is the party who wins can really do a good job in leading this country and give peace, harmony and equality of rights to the people.

Whatever they say now - is nothing but a gimmic to get your votes. You should review their performances for the past 5 years. Hope u can make a good decision because your vote counts!

Baby care