Aftermath of CNY

            Hi, everyone out there! How's your Chinese New Year celebrations? Mine was a great one. I received stacks of ang pows, ate a lot of great foods and played hard. 

            It is the 10th day into the Lunar calendar. I officially start working today, feeling a bit reluctant though. I guess, I'm still in the holiday mood. Good food and celebrations sure have a great power over me. I miss my niece and nephews (Jasper, Malcolm, Jezebel and Morgan - I love you all). I miss chatting with my friends. I miss spending quality time with my family. Why must this only happen once in a year?! 

             Let's face it. Everyone has their own life to live on. We can't just stick together at all time and having fun. But of course, I only realize this fact as I grow older. I remembered when I was a child, I will cry and beg my mum not to send me to school. My only reason, none other than not finishing my homework and was scared to death that my teacher will punish me badly. For a child, someone weighing more than 60kg is just like a giant. In the end, my mum called my Cousin Danny to come to my rescue. I was still sobbing when he helped me to draw the pictures. Thinking of it, I am really embarrassed. But that's what a child can do, simply cry or laugh whenever you feel like it. 

             Now, as an adult, I have to act and be matured. Furthermore, as a teacher, setting a good example is very important. It is like there are CCTVs everywhere and making one mistake will hurt my reputation badly. However, teacher is a human being as well. There is still a child in me. Let me be one for a little longer (it is only once in a year, please) and I will be back into adult mode. I promise.   

The 'kampung' style

         A week before 2011 ended, I went on a trip with my love one. Although the stay is short, it is a valuable experience for me. Differed from the last time I was there, I stayed at a homestay, Mesilou Artamis Homestay. For 3 days 2 nights, we stayed with our foster family who is a part of Kampung Mesilou. We ate with them and we experienced the same culture as they are. One thing that caught my eyes is that the food which they eat can be very simple but their activities are actually quite challenging (or at least for us, urban folks). The folks staying behind here are either farmers or mountain climbers or guides. Early morning, they will be in their farms, clearing, planting or plucking vegetables. Others will be climbing up and down the mountain, guiding climbers to their safety. I am really amazed looking at their pace. 

          As I am not too much of a challenging type, I just settled with lighter activities. But still, I have to travel up the mountain and down the river. The agenda was something like this :

Day 1 : A visit to a strawberry farm and a vegetable farm and hike up the hill along the main road for great scenery.

Day 2 : Go fishing the 'mamaralau' way (a river near the village), hike up the mountain trail for a look at nepenthes plant and visit the cows at DESA.

Day 3 : Having fun at the river.

          Oh, it is so fun that I can't just express my feeling in a few simple words. You have to experience it yourself to know it all. Mesilou, I will be there again!

        

TIME...you decide

"So, when is it? When is the time for the big event?"

Oh, these questions have been repeated for times during the recent years. Why everyone seems to be so interested in you all of a sudden? No idea. I don't even want to know. My only words would be "Thank you very much."

The time is for us but not others to decide. If I say it is going to happen, it will. If you don't hear anything, meaning it is not happening. It is just as simple as that. Don't burden your mind to think about my matter. Sometimes minding your own business is the best way to act out of respect towards others. So, mind your tongue before you want to say anything.

Let's Celebrate!

Hi, I'm back. This time with great news.

I finally ended my long wait...My big day? Nah. You just have to wait longer for that.

It is my TESOL! Believe it or not, I get a DISTINCTION! Phew...what a relief after so many months of sleepless nights. Spend a lot too. But it really worth the wait. Yeah! Let's make the best out of it!

WOW...thinking back all these. It is all like when I first ate bittersweet chocolate. The chocolate was so damn bitter that I kept a frowning face. I could neither swallow nor puke it. Greedy little girl had to pay the price of greediness :P

What I did next? I just tried my best to tolerate with the bitterness and let it melted in my mouth. Surprise...surprise...Eventually the crust broken up and filling started to leak out and my taste buds were enveloped by the greatness of the blend. Frowning turned to smiles. That's when I started to fall in love with bittersweet chocolate.

Sometimes things can be rough and difficult at first. As we overcome them, the result might just be a sweet and addicted one. Hope that you all will find your own bittersweet chocolate ;)

Poo poo...Kickapoo....

My Kickapoo, the supporting taking the lead. It was a hot night after work. I had all it planned out; snuggle in my favourite armchair, enjoy a can of cold Kickapoo and pamper myself with Facebook games. But, it seems things are not always going the way you want them to be. When the page was not appearing, I started to think: Not again? Affirmative, the light was bright red. Darn...the connection was down! gulp...gulp...gulp...My Kickapoo too, but in my throat. Now, what else can I do? Here was a list of choices:

1. Going to sleep (TOO early, sure will wake up in the middle of the night)
2. Watching TV (NOT a chance, mum and dad will be in-charged of that)
3. Reading some dusty books up the rack (Nah...this will eventually end up with 1)

Seems like I didn't have pretty much choices. So, it turned out, I didn't choose either of them. What I did? Placing the can on the table and started snapping pictures (with G11) from every corner. The lesson for today : Don't think yourself as a small character, you might be big guns one day.

My Dear Ancestors

Hi, how are you? Grandpa, grandma and great-grandma? It's been a year since the last time I paid you guys a visit. I know you might be watching me as I am typing now. I don't mind having a guardian angel :)

I remember, the first time I visited your graves was when I'm a teen (14 or 15 years old). Feeling excited and with great anticipation, I set to wake up around 4:30am and be prepared like a G.I. Jane. I never get a chance to meet you (mum and dad didn't produce me earlier) and this became the reason beyond doubt, to step into the cemetery. Besides, who do you think would go to a graveyard in any other time of the year and at such crazy hours? :P

You know, I need to practice my detective skill, looking for your tombstones. But luckily, it ended well. By the end of the day, I feel that I am more connected to my 'roots'. Without your courage to come to this land, I won't be here. Without your determination to survive, I won't be here either. Thanks to you, I am here. See you again next year (I will be scanning for code this time).

Newbie in blogging

I am a person who never write a diary or keep a journal. Why? Because it seems troublesome and I am too lazy to do so. But something gradually change me. Browsing through my friends' photos and blogs, I realize that I don't really have much evidence of life since a few years back. So, here it is, my real debut:

a start with the book "Blogging for Dummies"...argh...I just borrowed this from my boyfriend and to assure you, we are not that dumb at all. So, be sure to browse back soon :)