Yeah....IT's A VICTORY......

Lets great each other CONGRATULATIONS and also (beneath the heart) give a big big round of applause to those that 'worked' real hard to make this happened.

Most (if not all) of our prayers were answered and our voices of grievance were heard. After a long 40 years, the hard work of the oppositions finally bear their fruit. For a second time in 40 years, DAP re-formed the Government of Penang, this is the first & the happiest news that i received through out the whole election saga. The opposition party has been strong there so it wasn't really a shocking news!

As the clock continue to tick, more and more surprises surfaced. As of now, it is already confirmed that at least 5 states will be ruled by the opposition party.....this is really beyond expectation !! It just showed how anger & dissatisfied the People had been towards the current Government. All i could say was "tai sei"/"padan muka" or simply they deserved it! Their dream of maintaining the 2/3 will remained a dream forever.....yeah tarnished !!!

And i'm particularly vague, doubt & uncertain whether i'm suppose to be happy when the state i've been living since birth is going to face transformation of government too.......yes, yes, yes Selangor has also been taken over by the opposition. As much as i had been eagerly wanting a change to the state i'm residing, i never expect the victory could be easy!!

Great, Happy, Proud, Appreciative, Glad, Content are all the feelings running through my blood yet i can say, i'm still full of anticipation of what positive changes that lies ahead of us !

Furthermore now, together with the central Wilayah state which was also ruled by the opposition, can i say that "OUR CITY" has indeed been governed by the opposition now....... wow...., oh my....i'm still digesting this piece of news. It just seemed so unbelievable to me.

Anyhow like everybody, while i'm all rejoicing with happiness, i don't like the idea of being kept in full anticipation as the ruling party is now singing a different tune!

Whatever it is, i believe we should move on & believe in our choice!

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Now back to a little updates on our voting exercise that morning.

Though i've now moved away from the village where i have been brought up, but (shame on me) i've yet to update the change of address with SPR and so my voting right still lie back at my home village. As slack as i was, the rest of my sisters' voting rights remained at the same place too though most of them already moved away!! So it is just obvious that we would gathered together for a FUN voting. Oh ya.....not forgetting my parents, they were there with us too, haha......whole family voting together so it was kind of fun for us!!!!

Our poll centre (at a chinese primary school) was just next to a busy market so we met at the market for breakfast. We didn't come back here for quite a while so we kind of missed the food so much until my huby 'ta pao' all his favourite food there after finished a big pack of nasi lemak. It was also a time my boys got to mingle with their cousins!

OH YA.....the twins finally got their long 'dreamed' BEN 10 watch, started showing-off !!!
Also, look at the 'fat boy' below.......aduh, some more his dady said he's not over weight, arghh !!

See below......my dad (in brown shirt) was at the booth 'kepohing'/busy body chattering with some of his old villagers!! Sadly, i don't see any of DAP booth there...sigh !!

Also look at all those 'samsengs' in motorbike!!

Jeng.......jeng........jeng...........here we come, walking into the school i.e. polling centre! Notice our "finger" sign......that's our choice lar !!! That's the sign my mother teach wan......hahaha

Even my mom got very patriotic suddenly, before we went in....she kept reminding us:

"U KNOW WHAT TO CHOOSE HAH....while POINTING her FINGER.... UP UP UP !!!

It was the first time voting for both my younger sisters........so obviously they felt excited with the heavy burden! That's why you see us so 'sampat'......hahaha

Checking our number & the exact location!

After we were done, we proceeded to Mag, my sis condo for a dip in the pool. Empty pool so it was all our time there.......a good recharge !! And for the rest of the day, we stayed tune at home looking forward to the results. Further more, mom actually forbid us from going out as ...... u never know....it might be unsafe out there....but thank god !!! U know what, my mom was full of imagination....she even reminded us to withdraw some $$$$ from the ATM, apparently for the "survival period" and just in case we might not be able to do so later.....hahaha, hillarious isn't it ??? But we didn't really head for her advice lar....

And I never get so excited looking forward for the results during the previous round but this time, i definitely got seriously infected by my huby who got so thrilled the whole night running back & forth between the room (where the PC was located for "Malaysiakini") and the living hall (for the TV updates)!!

It's all OVER now.....i mean the election process and lets look forward to another new chapter of life now hopefully with a better & brighter future ahead of us!!

Getting Older......

Yes, i got a year older today !! But it was not a fruitful day....as i'm pretty stressful working today....i only manage to lift my butt up for the washroom. Whole day sitting in front of the square box(pc)....work, lunch & work as the auditor chose to come in the office today when it was still our closing period....arghh !!

Guess another contributory factor to the down celebration mood was again due to hubby not around....given previously i could have been very mad at him but i wasn't really this time around.....looks like getting a year older is becoming less important.....maybe??!!

I was sitting in the car next to him yesterday when his bis partner called on his mobile to invite him to attend a site meeting in Kuala Terengganu today. He had instantly accepted the invitation .....but only wanting to reject it later. He was trying hard to be honest to his partner by telling in front of me that it was his wife's b'day so he wasn't sure if he should go......then, his partner teased him that he has used the same excuse to reject him sometime around last year-end !!!

"ooi, yr wife b'day again ahh........how many wife u have ahh??"

Then he started to giggle......kekekeke. What a lame excuse !!!

Given the same situation, how would you re-act? Or how can i re-act actually? To forcefully keep him from going will only makes me feel selfish and not an understanding wife! Even if i managed to hold him back physically, if his heart is not with us genuinely, it would be meaningless, right?!

So in the end, i let him go...........albeit reluctantly!!

But then, knowing that he feels a bit 'bad'......i quickly grabbed the golden opportunity and take him for granted by making him wash this............

the wok used to fry the 'kuih bakul' during week end !!

bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

My fried 'kuih bakul' / 'lin kou'

Knowing that huby will be going to Terengganu today, we actually had a simple celebration ystd, the eve. I was on leave yesterday but not entirely bcoz of my big day. Primary school placement was open for registration on 3/3 (Monday) so this definitely was a more significant task to us. I was kind-of taken by a shock suddenly thinking how fast time flies....my boys are going to Primary One next year!!!

After sending the boys to their kindy, we headed to "the selected" school (after much scrutinization) and boy.................i can't believe my sight !!

We queued up for nearly 50mins just to get our documents checked & the "nombor giliran" for submitting our application......tsk tsk tsk !!

Just a little tips to share with parents who soon need to register for their kids! As aware, children would be allocated a place in the school where it is nearest to where the child stay. But the allocated place/school may not always be a favourable choice of the parents. And this happened exactly to us.

If we were to use our home address for the application, the chances of succeeding in getting a place for the boys in our desired school are very low.

So "as advised" by those so-called expert, we can get someone else's home address which is nearer to the desired school for the registration.........just by saying our boys are babysitting there!!! PURE BULLSHIT !!! The education ministry would ensure that the address used for registration is the same as the address as per our Identification Card.

So, Unless if one could supplement with a tenancy agreement that the children with his family are staying at the bbsitter's place, the education ministry will reject the application!

Anyway, we had our ways and got our application registered for our desired choice of school (despite it is not the nearest to our home)......hopefully luck is with us!!

It's a brand new school ............check it out, how is it?

Pleasant & great view........facing the green hill where the basketball court & field are located, how??

The whole process nearly taken up half of my day. Went home for a quick rest while huby attended to some emails. Then we headed for our dried bak kut teh lunch (recommendation from Ah Xian-AEC food show). After lunch, i got huby to send me for a full facial right from face to eye and to neck which lasted me until 5:30pm. It was then time to be back & prepared the boys for our dinner.

And what is celebration without the company of FOOD, huh ??? !!!

It was our first try at Michelangelo restaurant in Sunway Pyramid.

While waiting for the food, Scot was pushed to finish off his home work....

Finally, our food arrived.......slurpp slurpp !!

Here is my piece of birthday cake........emm, emm...

It was quite a satisfactory meal for me BUT my huby said his stomach only achieved 80% and he wants 100% ........ he wanted to get J-Co donuts. I tried to prevent him but he still insist to trade a deal with a condition that if the queue is long, he won't buy. But on a Monday night, how long can the queue be...........and so we ended up with this home for supper!

Aduh.....

Here is a sweet b'day card from the beloved one!

Guess today with the advance of internet & communication, card hardly play the role in greetings!! Other than the above from a sincerely loved one, all i received were with "special motive" which i really hate so much.....

You see yourself lah.......no eyes see !!

If really want to give me FREE, give lar..........don't force me to buy 4 packs just to get only 1 pack FREE !!!

Lu, same tactic saja lah........

So, these are what i will do without hesitation.....nah, take back lar !!!

Our First Cruise experience

Last weekend, we spent our ' NIGHT ' on a real...llllll big...gggg ship (that's according to the boys' benchmark) !!

I received Genting's e-newsletter via email and it was a very rare occasion that i actually got attracted by the promotion which was running in conjunction with valentine's day!! I immediately called up the hotline to find out more info about the trip...... Accordingly, i was told that this ship has newly arrived at our Port Klang port to serve our needs here and that's why they were doing a launching promo......somethg like that !!

What's so attractive, huh?? You check it out.......

1) Standing pax = RM98 p/pax (that's if you don't need a bed....for gambler actually)

2) 1 bed cabin = ???? (forgot how much)

3) 2 beds cabin = RM350+ for 2pax

The interesting thing was ..... all the above options came with a "buy one free one" offer !!!

That means: if i buy 2 pax & pay RM350, my boys got to tag along absolutely FOC.......emmm, not really free coz there was still a charge of RM 42 each for tax SO the total came up to abt RM430.....still ok lar !!

For this, it actually included 3 meals (dinner, supper & breakfast), you get to board the ship at 6pm.....explore the ship overnight, 2 'tiny' bed in a compact room that comes with attached bathroom. Then at 8pm, the ship will sail out to Selat Melaka and by 7:30am the next morning, the ship will arrive back at the port where passengers were allowed until 10am to leave.

The boys appreciating the sea view while waiting for dady to serve them dinner.

To me, it was more of a casino ship.....which was meant for those 'gambling ghost' simply bcoz the amenities in the ship were not impressive at all ! There were only:

- karaoke area,

- entertainment hall with singing & dancing performance by some 'ah beng' & 'ah lian' from Klang,

- activity corner at charge (internet access, archade games, UNO, chess & the likes....)

- and the prime one was of course the casino!
- a game or two was arranged for the kids who were also given a welcome party pack.

Other than participating in the above events, we also went to explore the ship from the head to the tail.....but unfortunately there was nothing interesting to note! We were quite dissapointed that there wasn't even a swimming pool....

So through out the night, we walked back & forth.....in & out of our room so many times.....bcoz the boys got bored very fast out there & they missed their little nest too....they got very excited with the double-decker bed, hahaha !!!

You see Scot's boring face below.....

Game time for the kids !!
It was not my first experience going for a cruise, infact the one that i had before was so much better so obviously my benchmark was higher BUT since it was the boys' FIRST encounter, i do believe they still had fun & enjoyed spending their unusual night at the ship! No doubt it wasn't an amazing or fantastic service, but with the price paid, i reckon it was still value for money and particularly worth for a first timer !!

Now, look at the food.........though it was more of like the 'chap fan'/mixed rice.....but at least there were PRAWN, BIG SCALLOP, FISH, CHICKEN, DUCK, VEGES, TAUFU, SOUP, various DESSERTS, coffee, tea, breads...... ALL UNLIMITED !!!

Not too bad ya........

The most important thing was i actually bumped into a 'GOOD' old college friend which i had nearly lost contact of.........what a small world !!!

If you are interested, check out more below....

SO " KIASI " ......

Yesterday after dinner at mom's place, out of nowhere she told me she got to go supermarket to "STOCK UP" some 'FOOD' for the home !!! My mind just doesn't seemed to accept that sentence as something that i can just brush aside........so i pursued to ask further for an explaination!!

Why why why & why.......?

Mom said......the 'big day' is gonna approach......can't anticipate what's gonna turn out from the event!! Ooh ya......the 'big day' that was referred to was the upcoming election day lar.......what u think ???? Mom's paranoid/(kiasi) mind pursuaded her that she must be prepared for the worst.....lol....got me shock instantly.....but then i was actually laughing at her with disbelieve !!! Being someone that went through life of the 'black friday', May the 13th...... i don't doubt the fearfulness in her!! So there she went to grab maggi mee, biscuit, milo, all sort of can foods & etc etc.....

At one instant i wasn't agreeing with her thoughts, nevertheless, a moment later.....my sceptical mind decided to make a turn with that decision!!! "What if" there is really ' no safety ' out there and we end up being trap at home, what my sons gonna eat ???? And so, my heart was moved by mom's cautious mind and i ended up with these going home with us that night............

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hahahahaha..........."like mother like daughter"....got such term ahh??

SO KIASI hor ??

Our journey back

How did you deal with an extra ordinary long journey in the car like our recent one from AS to KL???? We didn't make a good decision on the departure day as we left on the final day of the holiday, thus the horrified traffic was unavoidable! Thinking back now....i can't imagine how we survived the 9 hours confining in the car.
After i browsed & played back some of the photos & videos we took during the journey, i recalled some funny conversations that were worthy of note!!

Out of the need to combat the severity of boredom & torture in the car, we created some humourous talks where lil bit of vulgarities exist to cheer both of us up (not meant for the kids thou)!!

As you can see above, as early as at the Butterworth exit, the sight of bumper to bumper already appeared right before our eyes!! We were like.......oooh no, not so early, "ng hai ah ma, kam chou sak" ???? Then after a long 15 minutes of 'turtle' drive we noticed the jam wasn't caused by the festive crowd but it was the 'stupid' Langkawi De Tour that coincidently happened to be on the same day & time !! Our good traffic police actually blocked some of the roads to give way to the cycling group!!! Ohh common......not at this time where everyone was rushing mad home....i mean there were making the situations worst!!

Needless to say, the man in the car nearly went 'amok' and started his cursing......where you could hear the 'tiu nia sing lei' from the below video if you listen very carefully........u can also hear him 'ngam ngam cham cham' (video courtesy from the boys)

While we still couldn't move beyond 50km/hour, we came across this digital notice board which reads : TRAFIK LANCAR./smooth traffic....something something....so our itchy mouth just couldn't helped but to burst out loud: "lancar ka LAN JIAO" ???????.... while laughing hysterically !!!

The journey went a bit smoother after taking over the cycling group but there were still many many cars rambling on the road.............and so, our cursing continued :

We actually saw many "non-chinese" travelling on the road.....you know those easily identifiable ones which we called the 'pao tao' !!! Once we saw one of their car broke down by the road side, we went : "itu lah.......padan muka engkau, orang sambut tahun baru cina, engkau sibuk buat apa, cari pasal saja nak sumbat sampai itu highway penuh, lain kali orang balik kampung, u pegi 'lan si' jauh-jauh lah"..........kekekeke

Then when we got tired of cursing, we attacked the cookies we intended to bring back to KL. We went non-stop munching until we emptied the whole can.

We had to stop like 3-4 times at the rest areas which were crowded & stinky to "relief" ourselves and also for some good stretching!! Btw, the stops were so important to ease our numb buttocks!!

As the boys couldn't really catch their nonsense dady & mumy's conversations/laughs, they have their own ways to deal with the long journey. They played their gameboy, they had their own rubbish talks, they fight a little and they had my camera!! And so they went around shooting along the journey. Here's one which captured my heart. Little did i notice that this little man of ours had this passion........give a little patience and hear what Sean had to express!

You hear him said the wah......"BMW".....very nice ooh ooh ahh ahh & wah !!! And boy, his voice was so sweet lor........

btw, itu BMW where got 'new'.........hor???

We had our breakfast before we left AS and along the journey, we didn't stop for lunch until late evening, we were so exhausted so we decided to stop at Tapah . We had a good break with some hotdog buns and ice-cream at Baskin Robin.

Finally, after a long 9 hours battle, we arrived Puchong approximately 8pm. Straight away, we stopped at a nearby food court for our quick dinner!!
And i hope you enjoy the final video below as much as Scot has enjoyed his plate of noodle!!!

SO so so Backdated.....CNY in Alor Setar !!

U know what.....after my post on how we spent our CNY EVE, i was supposed to write a little on our simple 'kampung' life in Alor Setar during the first 3 days of CNY but there were just too many distractions or rather suprises that happened along the way hence prevented me from doing so. I owed this post so much. At the sametime, it gaves me a little wake on how unfair i've been deviding my attention & time to the other sides of my family, hahaha....

It wasn't as if there was a 180 degree variance between urban & rural CNY spending but food wise, no doubt there were a few obvious to note..... in particular for someone who has not experienced such celebration in this northern part of the country!!

Right in the morning of the 1st day of CNY, the family's dining table will be served with a REAL BIG wok of this auspicious noodle (a must-have dish), which the Teochew called "MIEN TEOW" !!!

I seriously have no idea what was it called in other dialects/languages nor have i seen them cooked in other dishes!! Over there, my MIL fried them with lots of garlic, bean sprout, 'kau choi', pork lark & egg of course!! For me, I found that it has very strong garlic taste and no other taste that my senses could detect, therefore i usually gobbled the noodle with lots of chillies (padi) to satisfy my hungry stomach! Frankly speaking, it actually took me quite a few years to grow a liking towards this noodle.

When my family was served this noodle last year, they didn't quite like it too and so were my boys!!

Then to accompany the above noodle as breakfast, here is another must-have dessert. It was the usual "lin chi kang" which could be savour in any other places throughout the country BUT the only exception here to the family was that the amount of gingko/'pak kor' that were boiled in the dessert was tremendously great!! I don't know whether it has any special meaning to the CNY but it was obviously noted that every family members of my in-law love eating them. My huby alone would take a portion as big as the size of the bowl below. It seriously scare the hell out of me looking at how they swallow these gingko......maybe i'm bias again as my admiration with gingko is again very low i would say!! Nevertheless, i still enjoyed eating this dessert......

This year i helped to place these preserved 'junks' into this beautiful authentic 'plate'....i almost couldn't believe these were still served to the guest. I think these days, people would try to stay away from eating these junks, no?

It has still been a norm to pay a visit to huby's grandma's house where most of the relatives would seen gathering around. And again the women would be busy distributing angpows while the men mingles around!

And it was also a rare time for the kids/cousins to blend.....should i say less than 3 times in a year !!!

As food becomes lacking during CNY, this famous Malay operated TELOK KECHAI LAKSA would be targeted as either a snack in between main meals or a dish to serve the guest!!

As i was busying 'kepoh' elsewhere, i suddenly saw my Sean sitting on the dining table with some aunties who had been successful in convincing him to give a try on the laksa & boy.....he loves it since then...........


Another favourite meal that me & huby would not miss during our trip back to the 'kampung' even if it means 11pm at night and i would ended up feeling sorry to my digestive system!!!

When it comes to time to depart home, usually a little emotion would run around us esp. to the kids. And to a certain extend, i think my FIL is the next person that displayed the feeling of uneasy with our departure. Right before we were about to leave, my FIL was already seen checking the calendar for our next trip back home for the celebration of his birthday which will be in May! Huby has been "informed" of the DATE to report back, hahaha...

Till i talk about the 'kampung CNY' again next year, bye for now !!!

Little Ah Bengs Comb Hair.......AND.......

After reading Wendy's post on his son's liking to comb hair recently, i came across unexpectedly my 2 little ah bengs doing just the same thing so blogging instinct told me to immediately grabbed my camera to capture that scene !!!!

Hope you enjoy viewing what the "'naughty & nonsense" mummy has done to her boys........

It was taken after their night shower tonight!

The one to discover the shooting first & went hiding behind the chair where they stood was SEAN & the one holding the white comb with his super SHINY hair flattenly combed was SCOT !! Scot was the one that fell off from the chair to the floor as he alleged that Sean pushed him (thou not on purpose). Scot wailed his lung out........Poor boy.....

Guess whose nasty laugh was that.................?????