Asians in the States

*speaking [inaudibly] in the American accent*

Not sure why YouTube stopped sending digests on Jubilee Project. Be The Change is a timely reminder. And an important one too considering how much focus one puts on a single thing when there are many more things that matter.

So yeah, Be The Change. If I could just italiciZe the word "the".

Be The Change.

Enjoy.

*wipes saliva from lips*

     
         

And So It's Over

Many will start work tomorrow and reports of traffic congestion are testament to that. Ten years back, I'd still be lazing on the couch facing the TV with a half eaten mandarine in my hand.

It's all in my head like it was last week. And it's a shame my mobile phone camera will no longer focus properly. Not because it was smudged by my oily, saliva-covered fingers. Speaking of that unsightly digits, I didn't get to eat kuih kapit (love letters) this year. It was nowhere to be seen and nobody brings them.

Prelude to an epicurean overindulgence: Steamboat for the dinner before New Year's Eve dinner at my uncle's.

It all seems to fizzle out way too quickly. A prayer of thanks. Dinner 1 (uncle's). Dinner 2 (potluck at another uncle's). Dinner 3 (at your truly's). I don't have to start work tomorrow (not in the employment sense, not yet) but I have my work cut out alright. When I'm nearly out of my reticent shell, I will be back to being surrounded by the four walls in a quasi-asylum milieu.

It's all peace and quiet (punctuated by the occasional screams of that spoiled brat below) on the outside but there's a flurry of chicken feathers in my head.

And so, it's over for 2012. Aww, maaaann !

             

Going Home for Dinner

Wait! I've always been home. And I could only imagine what it's like to celebrate new year in a foreign land.

Some are still on their way. In time for lunch on the first day of new year. Some has gone home and mope around until dinnertime. In any case, meal time's over and it was a blessing. I didn't snap any pictures tonight but I did so last night. Yes, yes. We have had dinner two nights in a row now. *ha!*

This one's a foreign TVC about homecoming. Not bad.

Daughtry's Home ain't bad too. Ah, me and videos!

Boom! There goes the opening salvo marking the Chinese New Year and time to sign off. Everyone's home. The American troop's home from Iraq. Truly, home is where the heart is.

Gong Xi Fa Cai !!

CNY Cometh

Lent my strength today at Tesco to help cart away two boxes of honey mandarines and three cartons of canned drinks. I'll settle for the two cans of Coke Light in the fridge during the holidays. I know, artificial sweeteners aren't the best thing around.

As I grow older, preparation for reunion dinner gets more wearing. Part of growing up and growing old I suppose. Luckily I can still choose to not go to the wet market. The atmosphere's the same (excited, anticipatory, and work done in a feverish manner) but the feeling's different now. Is it because there's nothing great lined up for prime time TV? Maybe it's the nagging feeling telling you work ain't done yet and the deadline's coming soon?

How I miss those harum-scarum days of yore when the sum of the two digits of my age is more than 1 and less than or equals 10. Or in recent years, the tear-jerking TVCs by Yasmin Ahmad [for Petronas]. This year's – I missed the last – TVC ain't that great. There's too much going on in the first two minutes I started to lose interest by the 60th second.

You've been warned.

The other locally-produced CNY vid on YouTube has more views and less painful comments. More importantly, the message is clear. I felt Malaysians can better relate to this video than, say, someone who never lived here before. And the subtitles didn't help much. =)

The Prime Minister's CNY wish to all Malaysians is that we "continue with our best Malaysian tradition by sharing the celebration with all communities; to open our doors to all Malaysians."

Point well taken. The last thing he was quoted as saying is, "Let's tear down the divisive walls and barriers and build bridges between our hearts."

Well Mr PM, the walls and barriers that divide and separate us were built and preserved by the present government. How long more do you want to be in denial? I guess you've stopped listening long ago.

Happy Chinese New Year, people!

        

Stuck in a Rut, I Went to Town

Need to break out!

Ever since the victory at Water-flu, I went back to the countryside and retired to a life of monotonous routine. Instead of growing tubers, weeding the garden, and tending to the chickens, I invested in some black and white seedlings sold under the trade name "Standard 102/102 Microsoft Natural *". I was told I'd reap the rewards in about 3 months from the day I finished planting them.

Daily, I obediently got up and selected the "seeds" to be sowed. This morning was a departure from the norm. I went to the town hall to support a fellow "farmer", also a war veteran, in his bid to obtain certification for his produce from two goodness-knows-who appointed officials.

Witnessed by representatives of the village chief and friends, he gingerly detailed his farming techniques and at the same time flashed rough sketches of the root system he'd made. Nobody knows if the occasional nods from the officials signaled their comprehension or an exercise to relief pressure on the neck.

I held my breath when the inquiry began. My farmer friend was quizzed about the Five Wives and One Husband **. One by one he answered them all until they came to the Husband. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to satisfy the inquirer. By now, even the cat that was lying by the wooden barrel began to walk away – uninterested.

The bell tolled and I guess the season's harvest wasn't quite what everyone was expecting. Apparently, some in the hall had already made up their mind on what they wanted even before descending upon our town. They wouldn't compromise. It doesn't matter that there was indeed a product. They were looking for a certain shape, size, colour, and weight.

A modern "reenactment" of that medieval scene at the "town hall"

Sadly, the colours olive, emerald, jade, lime, turquoise, teal, moss, chartreuse, pistachio, and avocado aren't green. See, he said green and they said, "Moss and teal". Never mind they weren't in agreement. The farmer's got it wrong alright.

Ah, soon I'll be sitting on that chair facing my own demons. When the time comes, I hope I match my shades of blue correctly. Absurd? You bet!

_________________

* Keyboard [layout]
** What, When, Where, Who, Why, and How?

Wednesday. The day I went and lend support to my friend who has to defend his thesis; an oral examination also known as - to be pretentiously genteel - viva voce.

    

That Much Needed Gaiety: A Sequel to Mile Marker 418

The participants of ICMSM 2011 are already pouring into the island but I don’t really care. They’re either the avaricious academics I so often denounce or Facebook-addicts in lab coats. The latter are a common sight in most labs from 9 to 5 each day; present company excepted.

Included – in the exodus of the educated – are two very special people who worked shared their life together with us more than a year ago (and still do, virtually). Meet Kelvin Swee, the dude who says ‘yes’ to everyone and the same guy who spent an inordinate amount of time cleaving MUNANA using neuraminidase to yield methylumbelliferone. The two groups of people in paragraph 1 should be ashamed. Boy, is he a sight for sore eyes when I walked into the lab during lunch hour. Didn’t know he’d be there today since I’ve agreed to meet with the other fellas.

Immediately, that marketplace feel I missed since their departure came back. Funny how the situation quickly turned out to be like speed dating on epinephrine and it was cacophonous at time. Handshakes. Pats. Lots of laughter. Conversations in English, Hokkien, Mandarin, and Malay. Rarely anyone completes two sentences in one language. I wonder what the Syrian dude, who was with Kelvin, thought of us. I wonder, too, what 'rojak' is in Arabic.

As I’m typing this, some of them decided to get together at Straits Quay. I’m giving that a pass since I’d be meeting Kelvin and Wen Tyng (the second dudette who will be giving an oral presentation) during the congress’ opening tomorrow. Due to the inept handling of my registration and payment (processing took 1 month!), I was told two weeks ago that payment didn’t go through yada yada... And I found out today how much they have to worry about spending for work-related activities: imperceptible. USM 0 — UM 20.

Hopefully, meeting them and attending conference together as presenters would alleviate that feeling of despair. I’m optimistic about this ☺. I should turn in now. Too much jocund repartee, guffawing, and a hot afternoon are giving me a raspy voice.

A sequel to Mile Marker 418. I ought to think harder about the title next time.
        

It's [the Umpteenth] Friday!

And I'm still loving it.

Went out today and stared at people. It's only a matter of time before I get a slap from some folks offended by my keen and attentive gaze. I figured no one would be interested to know about my risky venture so I'll just skip over that.

Long ago, my friend posted something about equations and plots and their connection to friendship (I think). Mr Bonehead here decided to build upon that idea but it soon fizzled out. I can't even locate that particular entry now.

As some sort of vindicatory gesture, I hereby put up this funny picture I found whilst trawling the net. Now I can go back to being lazy until bedtime and work on my graphs tomorrow on SigmaPlot.

Mathematical curves in motion

By the way, I wasn't staring or perving. Honest!
       

The First Snow-- flake

I've never experienced snow in my life, ever. When we're little, sis and I used to sit around mum agape with wonder at her stories. Snowman and Santa in Christmas off the greeting cards and TV adverts.

In November of '93, having saved enough money, we flew to Australia and I remember asking if it'll be snowing. No, it's springtime now. Drat! Still, it was really cold and being kids, we're super excited turning into make-believe dragons spewing "fake smoke" from our mouth and nostrils.

Back in the perpetually sweltering Malaysia, the "ais kacang" was (and still is) a great relief. Being short, I remember staring as the ice shavings fell from the blade and imagining seeing that snowfall.

A big yes to sweet corn, grass jelly (black), red beans, rose (and sarsaparilla)-flavoured syrup, and a drizzle of evaporated milk. No [translucent] attap seeds please.

Reading about the first snowfall and winter in the northern hemisphere seems to transport me back to that time when snow and the igloo utterly fascinates me. Slowly, I'm inching towards that moment when I expel "fake smoke" again.

A scoop of ice cream at the top! That's how I'd like to have my ais kacang. Tried one with mango puree and gula melaka syrup once. The possibilities are endless. Just don't overdo it.

For now, it's temporary satisfaction afforded by that RM4-ish bowl of ais kacang (depending on the toppings). Funny how when people grow up, that childhood desire seems to get shaved away. Perspective changes too mind you. Standing next to the motorized ice shaver now, I'm looking at that spinning block of ice and blotches of rust on the iron frame. 

Ah, grownups see all sorts of things.
   

Funny Day

A day of "nothing much was done as far as work is concerned". I spent a good part of my afternoon at MPH browsing the titles at the "Hobbies – Photography" section as well as the "Fiction" area.

As I made my way to the cashier, I walked past this mother and son pair. The guy, I reckoned to be a school-leaver, was describing something from the magazine on his lap to his mother. I'm not sure if mum understood everything (it seemed rather technical) but boy was she attentive. You know what I'm getting at but I'll leave it at that.

Forgive the odd angle. Wasn't trying to creative but more to being discreet.

The rest of the day was spent on the net reading about Raijin Thunderkeg, Genesis 

(the band); watching videos on YouTube (yes, again!); and catching up on things with Wilber. I'm eagerly anticipating the next stable release (2.8) of GIMP.

Meet my friend, Wilber.

And I chanced upon this entrancing piece of music: Funny Day by Kinder ft. Paps 'n' Skar. I'm not the party guy; never was and never will but I think this would make for a great song. 

Whatever it is, it's been looping in Windows Media Player. Give it a try! Who needs mood-altering drugs when there are songs like Funny Day?.

If anyone's wondering what's so funny about today, it wasn't. The title's from that eponymous dance music. Ha! Now, play that again.

 

Hello, Love!

A year or two ago when I was still receiving my monthly stipend from MOSTI’s scholarship – or the student loan in ’05 for that matter – I’d save some and after deducting for food (sometimes good food to reward myself) and lodging, I’d spent the rest on my beloved.

It was well worth it even when I know my actions raised some eyebrows. They say a nothing gets through to a love-stricken person. Fast forward to yesterday, it felt it's a little painful to part with RM 80 even though that place offered a cheaper alternative for a have-not like me.

Enter Logos Hope. The ship called port weeks ago and it's about time I pay her a visit.

I got myself The Secret Life of Germs: Observations and Lessons from a Microbe Hunter by Phillip Tierno. Seeing what I’m working with now, it’s only natural that the title caught my eye as I scanned the titles left to right, top to bottom. 

Into the cart went One Extraordinary Day by Harold Myra; Breach of Trust, DiAnn Mills; Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding Creation, Mark Whorton & Hill Roberts; and Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices, Mosab Hassan Yousef with Ron Brackin – the latter being the type of book that will make my week. 

Got this at a third of the price

The books aren’t too old but they’re not the latest either. I don’t see Tom Clancy or Andy McNab but I was not disappointed. The pricing of the books is enough to put a smile on my face. You see, Tom Clancy’s Executive Orders costs RM 33.95 when I bought it 10 years after it was first published. Not exactly the latest right? 

I can only smile

If there was a time when my “voyage” passed through choppy seas, it’s got to be the part after I’ve paid for my purchase. I came to the next section full of thick, we-mean-serious-business kind of books. Any 3 for RM 40. Gosh! One of those reference books costs at least RM 60 (with a student discount) back in the varsity’s bookshop. There’s finance, business, calculus, criminal justice, and anthropology. If only archaeology and say, psychology or some Science-related books were there, it’d have completed the quota. 

Then again, would I have enough money in my wallet to pay for them?

At Borders some time back: Held this book for a good 15 minutes looking perusing the skeletons and its details. Too bad its wrapped

For now, I’m contented with the ones I have with me right now. This time, there won’t be a deadline to return the books and I could have all the time I need to finish them. Gone was the time when I could finish Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code in less than 24 hours.
 

At Port Swettenham

Hey my love, we will be spending more time together now. A book in hand, a bookmark between my fingers, and my back propped against the headboard waiting for you to snuggle up next to me. I love you Miss Read Ing*. 

*Yes, Ing is a surname.

It was great, people!

Good food and great company. 

And I stand by my statement. We had a blast last night and we've proven, time and again, that gatherings can be smashing without booze.

Anyway, I've never laughed so hard for a long time now and Kak Mimi's nieces and nephews are adorable. They reminded me of the time during such festive season where we run around the house without a care in the world. They kept coming back for fire to light their lanterns. I guess they have their interpretation of "carrying lanterns". One of those lanterns was annihilated, much to their joy as they shrilled in delight.

I'm glad we came up with the idea of bringing the Mooncake Festival to Raya open house. By the time we're barbequing the chickens (with an incredible consisting of lemongrass, somehthing, and something - sorry for my sense of taste, or the lack thereof).

Remember my digital dinosaur? I realized, after a few blurry pictures, that the auto-focusing is off at the shortest (widest angle) focal length but I'm quite happy with the outcome. Ah, I should have borrowed the DSLR...

It's sad that two of our "gang" members weren't able to join us but we did a little conference over the phone's loudspeaker and "chided" them for their absence. Of course, a commonplace for all gatherings, there were updates about the present and the future. Some good, some not so good, some bright and others dim. Still, it's great to know how they're doing now!

Thank you, people, for a great time and thanks to Kak Mimi for inviting us. Next stop: Indian cuisine for Deepavali next month.

All Set and Ready to Go

September. I have a funny feeling about September. A misgiving. Let's hope this month will be kind to me. When I visited my Dashboard (that's what the "home" page is called in Blogger) 10 minutes ago, I was greeted with a dialog asking if I'd like to try that new look that is supposedly streamlined for a better blogging experience. Well, for a start, my eyes hurt but I'm beginning to like light grey, orange, and blue.

It's September 3 tomorrow and we'll all be converging at 05.4668420°, 100.4555190°. Attempts to get my hands on some sparklers failed and I was informed that lanterns were already purchased, minus the candles. I'm not sure who's buying mooncake but my mind's on rendang. Kak Mimi delighted us with a trailer of what awaits us on the table and the backyard (we're having barbeque at night).

My Sony Ericsson K530i isn't going to cut it given the lighting of the place so I've purchased four AA batteries, which costs a bomb, to feed my power hungry digital camera. That's right, my camera's a triceratops by today's standard and nowhere as fast as those slim, velociraptor-like cameras that's rechargeable. Anyways, I'm hoping for the best out of my Olympus FE-310. Oh, by the way, it's an archived product @.@

Memory card's cleared. Date set. Clothing ready. A full tank of petrol. Tire pressure. Sunshades. Watch... I went too far. So yeah, starting September with good food and great company. After that, back to writing and bracing myself for any storms that might come my way.

Dreams & Reality: my third photomanipulation. Fall do evoke a feeling of dread in me, even when I first saw the stock. (Stocks and credits on deviantART)

September, end of summer break and beginning of a new semester for some folks I know.

A Cracking Day, Breaking Wind

Nevermind the title. Those words just came to me after I finished typing.

It’s one of those mornings that really lift your spirit to the point that you’d feel yourself float a few centimetres off the ground as you walked. I have to pick this one up later. Time to go for dim sum with a bunch of friends.

***

And I’m back; after two hours of Chinese tea and some sinfully (read oily) delicious food. Those, coupled with a good laugh with Wendy, Raj, PKC, and LGL. It’s a very good day indeed.

A very breezy – almost blustery – morning and the sunlight wonderfully diffused. Traffic was smooth and it’s a joy to drive; well, it’s a joy for me to drive everyday – the hilly pass and the long, fast straights.

Jelutong Expressway: This doesn't look like much but at 9:30 am, it's really my best-loved kinda weather

Maybe I’d upload some pics later. I know, I know, it’s dangerous to not fully concentrate on the road but well, it’s one of those days. If only everyday is cloudy when I’m awake and it starts to pour when I’m about to sleep.

I don’t think I’ll be having lunch since breakfast is still in transit waiting for the pyloric sphincter to open.

Last night, I posted a question on Y! A (Yahoo! Answers if you don't already know what this is) regarding some Russian letters and a person by the name of Val volunteered to record some words and sent it over to me; which she did two hours later. Ah, I’m so thankful for that wonderful gesture. Thank you, Val, whoever you are. Большое спасибо!

I guess it’s time for me to end here and start yakking with Wendy, who came all the way to Penang just to visit us in the lab. I love Friday. Don’t you?

Edited 6 pm with pictures and a few lines.

Here's what I'd see if I have to get up earlier than usual for meetings with my supervisor. You can bet I'll go trigger-happy with my phone.

At about 6:40 am

Favourite part of my journey (both ways): Up (and down) the hill. Air's great... until about 7-iah

A really smooth journey all the way until USM. Then a stopover for breakfast consisting of teh tarik and roti canai. Beautiful, innit?

All in a 35-minute journey.
    

Eating My Way Through... Part 2

Tug, tug. Snip, snip. And the stitches were removed. We waited for a little over an hour before we’re called into the exam room. As usual, our dentist was all smiles and asked how each of us held up against the swelling during the whole of last week. The three of us spoke for about five minutes, thanked her and then opened the door to freedom. At least that’s what I’d like to think. It’s going to be about another week or so before the “crater” will be overgrown with tissues.

I’m already thinking how I’m going to season my potatoes and sauté them. There are fishes too and maybe I’ll think of something later. If before this I chronicled my tussle with post-op troubles, the days weren’t without some pleasant occurrences.

For a start, I could have ice cream anytime I want and the first two nights I skipped brushing my teeth. Before anyone starts cringing, I did swirl a mouthful of chlorhexidine solution.

Everyone around me seemed nicer; not that they’re unfriendly before this but somehow they’re softer and they have that concerned look with eyes that went, “You poor thing. Let me know if you need anything.” See? I told you it wasn’t that bad; so much so I can start to daydream and thought that I revolve around them.

The most delightful of events in the past week has got to be this one vivid dream. It was at a counter where students can make reservations to use a lecture hall for their activities. It’s situated along the busy corridor of the main lecture hall complex and the person on duty that night is my Genetics lecturer.

Here I am, discussing details of the reservation as well as that of the unknown event with a girl; all the while checking the application form. Names, time, equipments. She’s Chinese but has that Pan-Asian looks and she's really fair. Her dark hair hung down over her shoulders terminating between the ends of her scapulae. Ok, shoulder blades. She possesses a smile that warms; and not beguiling or else I’d be running away even in my dreams.

Just before we leave the counter – gosh, I can’t imagine Prof N as the guy handling the bookings of the varsity’s facilities – I remember asking, “Hey, will we meet again?”

She smiled and nodded.

I walk her to the car park; up the ramp towards an awaiting car. She opens the door, we say our goodbyes, and the door then shut with a muffled thud. The window tint cast a bluish-green hue on that oval face as she smiled and waved. And the car speed off. A white, late model Toyota Camry with the registration plate: PJE and some-four-digits-with-8-and-3 in them. Somehow, I look up into the sky and heave a deep sigh. It’s her boyfriend’s car. Funny how I’d know that.

Do I still regard that as pleasant? Well, majority of the dream (at least what I remembered clearly) wasn’t about the driver of the car. So yeah, I suppose I am. Good thing is, she’s not some person that I know existed and definitely not from one of those tv ads; though her looks have a semblance (not resemblance) of an acquaintance. I remembered those letters written in the “Name” field: Amanda.

Yes, yes. People dream and it’s not that big a deal, really. Nevertheless, I find it nice to wake up to a total recollection of that part of the dream and not to a dry mouth.

Fragmented something something

It took about 90 minutes to remove my particularly deep and stubborn tooth. The reason I’m typing this is to get my mind off the dull, throbbing pain. Gosh! It’s annoying and I don’t want to pop too many pills within two hours.

Man, it’s not nice at all. My mind’s empty and my fingers are hitting the key nearly randomly. Ok, not random or else you’ll get smoetinhg lkie tihs. Now I’m being absurd. I can’t think clearly and I’m hungry.

It’s fortunate that the blood’s clotted. Let’s hope the swelling is minimal over the next couple of days. I remember the green garb put over my face with a square hole for my mouth to be exposed. Are holes square? Or are they round? Or is it circle because there’s a hole? It’s rather terrifying to be able to hear but not see a thing.

The pint-sized dentist was gentle but boy, she’s strong. After the sectioning, she’d pluck them out. Pluck(?!) I’m losing my marbles. I didn’t have any to begin with (literally-speaking). The sound of the tooth sections being separated from the alveolar bone was sickening.

I looked at what I typed and I thought to myself, my being disorderly; funny and never happened when I write. No, when I type.

Did I mention that I sent a few text messages out and didn’t manage to read them? For the next 87 minutes, I was hoping the tooth fall out soon. Feeling the familiar soft fibers brushing my lips was soothing. Calming.

“She is suturing ground zero.”

The rest needs no further description. Pain still lingers. Not good. And I’ve finished my rather fragmented thoughts; much like what I saw when she laid out my tooth – or what’s left of my tooth – after the procedure.

And oh, scenes from Saw (film) kept playing in my mind. Gosh!

Thank you Dr. Aswani and we'll see you during Kak Mimi's Raya open house.

 

Mile Marker 418: End of a Chapter

So, here’s the end of the journey. By that I mean the end of a colourful and a very memorable period of my life yet. I’d use the entire adjectives in the English lexicon but still, I wouldn’t be able to reproduce that wonderful feeling in everyone reading this.

They’re special in their own way – conspicuous or otherwise. Every mention of the lab and every piece of picture evoked both gladness and a tinge of poignancy: glad to have established that bond and poignant because two years ain’t enough.

I’m well aware that there will be (and there has been) a getting together but it’s different. Like most people, we always hope that the good things don’t go away. Still, I’m happy to see them all settled down in their respective locations and I’m worried when one or two complain about work-related illness.

The bond is real, the mirth genuine, and the openness something to envy. We’re not pretentious and that love we display beats the grandiosity in which racial integration is being portrayed in the media. If we’re anything to go by, then what people see on the silver screen promoting racial harmony is everything but. We don’t need a list of standard protocols because we’ve achieved that.

Here's more food to mark our mates' departure: Asyura - undergraduates - Kak Mimi - undergraduates & birthday celebration

Regardless whether they’re undergraduate students on a relatively short sojourn or a postgraduate researcher with a seemingly endless amount of work to do, these people deserve a mention. A shout out to them that has appeared in Mile Marker 418: Loh Keat Lay, Mimi Taib, Poh Keng Chong, Teh Boon Aun, Lim Wui Chen, Lim Gaik Ling, Firdaus Latif, Shamimah Parveen, Nur Asyura, V. Kithalakshmi, Kelvin Swee Chuan Wei, Erna, Kang Wen Tyng, Khairiah, Shi Rou, Amira Suriaty, Rajiv Ravi, Sinan, Kiourmasi, Joanne Lee Yenping, Haw Boon Ping, Yusof, Yen Ying, Xiao Wei, Eric, Sok Wah, Shau Leong, and not wanting anyone to be last in the list, me.

I hold each and everyone close to my heart.

Mile Marker 418: Open Houses

I’ve officially finished my work at the lab and achieved all the project milestones. Until the day I obtained the scroll, I can never be totally free. I still have to go back almost daily to do some [culture] maintenance, cleaning up, and a small but tedious errand – cloning a gene into an expression vector and possible induction of the vector to overproduce a protein which will then lead me to the verification of the protein via SDS-PAGE. ‘Small’ and ‘tedious’ appear to be a gross understatement. It’s a goodwill gesture to my supervisor and something that I’ll give my best to do it.

One a much happier note, I’m looking forward to visiting Firdaus’ family orchard next Tuesday. Fruits! It’d be great if we’d repeat last year’s trip when Kak Mimi and the Kuala Lumpur branch (the Penang 418 being the HQ) members were there.

So, as this topic nears its last stop, I’m posting pictures of the open houses by Kak Mimi, Kitha and Firdaus. Over the years, we’ve stuffed ourselves under the roofs of these gracious host, cut birthday cakes, and fool around in true kampung spirit. But most importantly, we visit one another to celebrate our differences – the Eid, Deepavali and Chinese New Year (I’m not sure who has the pictures of CNY open house). Who’d forget rendang? Or briyani and chapati? Or mandarin oranges, satay, and noodle (sorry, pork wasn’t on the menu as it’s not halal)? And oh, the day out in Taiping Zoo after Kitha's Deepavali open house.

As we hear (again) of racist remarks by some of the most intolerant of people in the country, I take comfort in that the spirit of muhibbah is very much alive as far as we are concerned. Still, I don’t deny that the relationship among the different races took some beating; no thanks to a few bigots frothing at their mouths spewing venom. Wonder why we’re Malay, Chinese, Indians and Others here but Malaysians in the rest of the world.

Someone posted this on Facebook with the same caption. I'll leave it in its original language as I find it funnier that way. No, we weren't fighting.

Julian: pisang tu kat rumah saya.Curi-curi ambik pi goreng, ingat I tak nampak???
Mimi: Itu pisang kami yg beli la..
Kitha: Eh...jadi tak jadi makan lah??

Mile Marker 418: More Food and the Silly Things We Did

Before this one, the last barbeque I had with my friends were during high school back in ’04. Now, it appears that five years isn’t a very long time considering how fast I’ve reached 2009 and my next outdoor open grill.

 It was about 6 pm that time and preparations were underway. Some pieces of chicken were missing and we're glad we found the culprit.

Many were called (for audtion) but few were chosen. These are the ones who... Let's just say they weren't shortlisted.

 Mash potato was a hit. Oh yeah! Two years on and they're still talking 'bout it.

 Realise this: That back then, everyone was well-fed. It's different now.

 See? Good food for everyone. Dude in yellow is Kiourmasi from Iran.

You see, we're really a very well-behaved bunch. Good mannered and a jolly bunch of young adults.

 That was until I decided to wet my hair, tucked in my T, roll up my pants, and started greeting everyone with a lisp.

 And boy, did Keng Chong and Wendy loved the idea of going back in time and followed suit.

Oh, those stick in our hands were the famed satay!

Looking back at all these pictures never, I repeat, never, fails to cause a smile on my face that will almost always progress to an uncontrollable laughter. Something similar to this:

 I suppose that's all for now. And the journey's nearing its end. Movie night in about 10 minutes. I better make my bed and jump right in.
 

Mile Marker 418: Birthday Bashes

Besides movie nights and open houses, birthday bashes are filled with a lot of laughter and crazy stuff. You only need one person to start the whole affair of getting-cream-on-the-fella-next-to-you or drop-candle-wax-on-skin and there'll be chaos!

Since I can't possible post 50 over photos, I've found a nice feature in Picasa Web Album that enables me to embed a slideshow here. Too bad though, I couldn't put a longer (and possible better) captions to every photos. I suppose I have to sacrifice that for space. Still, it's regrettable.

Ah, 2011 will be the last time we celebrate anyone's birthday. This December 31 being the last birthday bash. Well, time to look at past celebrations. From my very first celebration (with a ridiculously creative way of filling a small salad bowl with vegetable) to the longest (lunch, dinner and supper) incorporating the Christmas gift-exchange by the beach.

 

Mile Marker 418: Engagement and Wedding

Let's continue, shall we?

Of the many outings the gang had, our boss' wedding is perhaps the one event that's big in every sense of the word and one where almost everyone went. As of 1 June 2011, Dr Normi is a one-month-old mother. The first Malay wedding for many of us (more here and here) and Shameem's engagement an Indian Muslim affair. Not sure where the pictures of her wedding went.

Wedding's in Sungai Siput and engagement's at Sungai Petani.

Dressed to kill. Except for Joanne.

Introducing, Firdaus, Shi Rou and Kithalakshmi.

The bride. Shout-out to Wen Tyng, Erna, Wui Chen, Boon Ping (dude behind Kak Mimi) and Kelvin (the other dude on the right). Too bad, Blogger don't have the "tag" feature.

The celebrated couple

Shameem's engagement: Sinan (of the lab) and Ahmad from the Middle East. Amira on the right.

Hmm... I'm not sure who the dude in red is.

Still, every time we went out we'd be stuffed. Don't you just love Malaysia?