Sweet 16

1) After several years of non-exciting CNYs in Sydney, I finally got to soak in the red atmosphere of 2009! Oh, how I will miss the vibrant sights and sounds of ushering in the new year with family members, friends, lion dances, CNY songs and angpaus!


2) Shopping in Midvalley Megamall, The Gardens, Sunway Pyramid, 1 Utama, Berjaya Times Square, Pavilion and The Mines... and not to mention the creative decorations... why don't the shopping complexes here in Sydney do the same? Am glad that The Mines has changed managements as they have improved heaps! Parking is a breeze now with the sensors and with the opening of the new wing with big brand names, I am sure they will garner more patrons.








3) Managed to catch only 2 movies throughout m one year plus in KL - Sell-Out! and Tiger Woohoo!. Both local movies, I only have this to say: Malaysia Boleh!



4) I have not frequented Redbox Karaoke as much as I have this time around, thanks to my lovely staff member, Miss Teoh!

5) How many weddings? Hm, let's see. There was my cousin, Meng Cheng; my fellow choir member, Sei Mei and high school classmates Fei Mian as well as Dorothy.

6) Overseas trips on my own? Hell yeah! Went to Taiwan on an all-island tour with Reliance and made new friends. Mum sent me on a study trip to Shenzhen and Guangzhou and yup, I came back to Sydney for 6 weeks a few months back.

7) Found out new places to head out to for food: fullhouse, Ampang Lookout Point, Gasoline, Old Town White Coffee, Delectables, The Chocolate Lounge, Papparich, Sweet Bean, Station 1 Cafe, Island Red Cafe, Milwaukee Steak House, Cowboy, Pitstop, Sushi Zanmai and not forgetting the mamak in Bukit Serdang!








I also signed up for Herbalife's nutrition breakfast program and have been following Mum and Dad to their organic and vegetarian dinners.

8) Old friends: Pet, Max, Jon, Rick, Yin, Ai Ling, Dor, Weng, Tai Wai, Yuen Chai, Nelson, Raymond, Edwin, Tommy, Guek Ming, Fuh Ming, Siew June, Wai Meng, Eva, Robin, Yeow, Wai Hoong, Mei Ann, Husaini, Alexis, Joe, Pin Kean, Yun Hau, Peng Wai, Yee Teng, Lee Sih, Sim Yee, Yew Fon... it was so good seeing you guys again.















9) All staff members especially Miss Wong, Miss Lee, Miss Yam and Miss Teoh: It has been my greatest pleasure working and hanging out with you guys!




10) My babies at Honey Bee: Grow up into responsible, happy and caring little Honey Bees! You will make us proud! Sniff, sniff, I am so gonna miss you guys........






11) Ex-students, especially Li Xin, Munn Yee, Chui Mun, Chui Yee, Justin, Jie Hui and Chee Kin: How come I don't feel like I'm older than you guys and that I am your 'teacher'? Haha... you guys keep me young at heart and just let me say, it is such an honour to have students like you guys. Hugs! Do keep in touch ok?







12) I went to take studio photos!






13) Jennie from HK came visiting!


14) Met new people and made new friends. Of special mention would be Miss Teoh's high school friends Wai Leng, Pooi Yee and Yi Ling (whom I went cycling with after I don't know how many years of not touching a bicycle!) as well as the lads from E-Learn Dot Com, Chia, Ming Xy, Ah Boon and Scott...





15) Purchased new property that hopefully would be ready by the end of the year or hm, by CNY next year!

16) Of course, the best part of my 16 months in Malaysia would be the time spent with family. No matter if those times were good or bad, sweet or sour, nothing can replace that special feeling of just being home.

Have you Woohoo-ed yet?

my fm has been promoting their CNY comedy for weeks. Being an ardent supporter of locally produced movies, I was looking forward to catching the show before I leave for Sydney. I tried for a few days and yesterday, finally, I was given the opportunity.

The opening credits were attractive. It gave a very CNY feel with the bright red backdrop. The animation was so cute - loved the little lion prancing about the sakura trees. I was anticipating a good show even more.

The director could not have chosen a better character for Ah Beng, the 'jobless security guard'. It is as if Jack Lim aka Lam Tuck Weng of the Sunshine Show on my fm was cut out exactly for that role. His facial expressions, the slang and high-pitched voice... what a combo!

Jason aka Ah Xian played the char kuay teow guy. So befitting, I thought. I mean, he is the host for a culinary program on Astro after all. His name goes hand in hand with food.

Of course, the other characters in the show were great, too, but somehow, these two created deeper impressions in my mind.

To me, the whole show was a job well done. With minimal financial support (Dad heard that the cow in the show got paid more than Jason), the cast and crew managed to pull off quite a feat. I thought it was very Yasmin Ahmad style but of course, credit goes to Director Chiu for making it personal.

I don't think the comedic part of the movie is the part that is making it popular. Instead, I feel that it is the intimate connection that we, the audience, feel. Why? Well, it was shot locally in Kuantan so we get local scenes of the beach, a kampung, a fishing village, of children running around barefooted. Also, the language used throughout the movie was the familiar language of Malaysia - a campur of everything. Mainly in Mandarin, it also had Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, Malay and English. On top of that, there were the familiar faces and voices of the my fm deejays and Astro presenters.

Personally, I thought the best element of the movie was the heart-warming messages it was trying to get across to the audience - filial piety, humility and appreciation. There were parts of the show that made the audience totally silent with emotion. Darn, even I had tears rolling down my cheeks during the scene where one of the four little girls begged the three KL lads to stay. And, there was also the part where the grandfather's face was a whole picture of disappointment when money was made into a bigger issue than tradition.

The movie reminded me of what our society is becoming, or has become. The competitiveness and harsh expectations of life are hurdles that every member of the society struggles to overcome. Some does it better than others. But different people attach different meanings to how they do 'better' than others. Yes, you may earn more money and are able to spend your family to overseas trips and all but hey, do you do it to show others or do you do it because you really want to reciprocate the sacrifices made by your family?

So many of us aim high not knowing why. We get so caught up in the rat race that all we do is for the sake of doing. True meaning? Tak tau. This movie reminded me of the adage: where there's a will, there's a way. This applies to everything that we do, no matter how hard or how simple. It could be something like buying over a multi-million dollar company or selling char kuay teow. It could be starting a family or it could be talking to refugees once a week. All it takes is to put your heart into what you do, a passionate heart. Slowly, but surely, you will find your way through the thicket and out into the open pastures.

So, have you Woohoo-ed yet? My suggestion is, if you have not, you should. Support the local movie scene, support the charity organisations that proceeds of the ticket sales go to. Support and practice the never-say-die spirit that the movie promotes.

Don't tell me you don't have the time and money. I know you have plenty of both because you have time to sit at Starbucks for hours chatting about God knows what over coffee that costs more than one movie ticket.

Meeting

The first is something like a fish. When you touch the fish, you can't resist the fishy smell. It smells bad. When you meet someone whom you never want to see again, this is a fishy meeting.

The second is something like a flower. It is a beauty that releases a pleasant fragrance. But it withers away in time. This second kind of meeting is very attractive but it cannot last for a very long time.

The third meeting is something like a handkerchief. It wipes away your sweat in tough times, and your tears in moments of sorrow. The third kind of meeting is always at hand and it lends a hand when in need.

Life #5

I had totally forgotten that I had participated in the Give A Gift Of Life campaign organised by WWF Malaysia. I also signed a petition that was set up with a target of collecting 100,000 signatures by June 2009 to call upon our government to review and amend the Protection of Wild Life Act 1972.


I just received a call from a PJ number I do not recognise. The caller was a man of Indian descent who was calling for this purpose:

To thank me for supporting their campaign and for being a consistent donor of WWF Malaysia and Australia.

Wow, I did not know that donating monthly to NGOs could feel this good with just one phone call. And it took only 2 minutes.

Life #4

As the young ones settled into their evening routine, the teacher sat them in a circle on the floor. She took a rubber tiger model out of the box and asked them if they knew what it was. Big starry eyes stared at it. No one replied.

The teacher asked again. One young one gave this reply:

Meow meow!

One more

One year gone
One more to come
What will the new one bring?

More questions
More doubts
More answers, haha, well, we'll see

Old memories
Old scars
Old teachings to usher the new

New paths
New discoveries
New life in the making

Goodbye old nine
Hello new ten
Glad to be your friend

One more
Yet one more
More to fill up
our inner core

When the going gets tough...

Definition of tough varies from person to person. For a taufu like me, tough means different things at different times, for different circumstances. In fact, I personally do not like using the term 'tough'. It has a negative ring to it, don't you think?

To me, everything we do feels tough when we do not want to do it. Just think about it. When we have set our minds not to do something, even the simplest things will feel tough. On the contrary, the hardest things will become easy when we have told ourselves that yes, I will willingly do it.

It is a mind game. It is a psychological hurdle that we have to jump across.

So when from the outside, we seem like we are not grasping our own situation, most people would assume that we are roughing it out. Yes, the going is getting tough for her, eh? My, she must be struggling to pull herself together. But hey, wait a minute. Does she FEEL like she is having a tough time?

Let us look at the other end of the spectrum. He seems like he is level-headed, like he has everything under his control. He seems to be having a ball of a time. Yup, life is easy for him. But wait, is it really? Does he FEEL like the going is great?

It may show more on some people than others. Some people may seem like they are not in control of their own life more than others. Some may seem like they know where they will be in the next 20 years. But before you jump to conclusions, think: perhaps this is the way they have chosen to take to their destination? Okay, it may be a tad different from the path you have chosen but who are you to say that they are wrong or right?

Yes, you have every right to tell them your piece of mind. But when they are totally confused of their own situation, I think it would suffice to just shut up and provide some emotional support.

After all, when the going gets tough, it is not necessary that only the tough gets you going. We are individuals with different genetic setups so be flexible with each other.

For me, when the going gets tough, I remind myself that there is always a box of chocolate waiting to be consumed...

Wholeness again....

In less than 12 hours, my family will be like a family again - my baby brother will be home! The last time we were together as a family unit was during CNY. Since I wouldn't be around for CNY next year, hm, I guess it's like an early reunion for us.

I really am looking forward to his return, as I've not lived under the same roof as he for periods of longer than 2 weeks for a long time. Hopefully, I'd get about a month this time around before I leave for Sydney once again. Well, hm, I'd better not set my expectations too high, as he and I would have plans for the remainder of the year. You see, we are both social butterflies and the home is more like a hotel other than the times when I have to help with stuff from work and argh, work on my proposal.

He touches down early tomorrow morning and by mid-day, he'd be in another town attending some function. And yes, some of you are laughing already because you guys know that he's going to drive the Toyota away! ARGH! Okay, let's all pray that when i drive the Merc, it will behave itself. Otherwise, all of you would have to come to this traffic maze of a sleepy hollow to take me out for drinks, makan, shopping and movies.

Get the hint?