2nd Day CNY: Doing the pre-Visit to the In-Laws

Today is the second day of the New Year and so, we went to visit our Mother in Law. The plan was a simple one, visit Mother in Law, then bring her to another Sister in Law's house. But by the time we arrived, some relatives have arrived a day earlier. And so, with so many people about in the house, Kristine and Kaelynn started their runing and shouting act again. For me, I like the feeling because as I have said, I like to have a lot of people around me. Makes me feel comfortable and belong.

And so, we had a lot of things to do such as trying to get some Malaysian maps for a new Garmin nuvi250 unit without the USB cable, chase after the dogs back in who love to run out of the house, chase after the girls in case they break something and best of all, use SIL's Notebook to surf the Internet. Heh. And although everyone was there a day earlier, today's visit does not coutn and so, we're going to go back there again tomorrow, which is fine by me. By I was informed Loctor was coming down to Ikea tomorrow, I feel like escaping for an hour or two just to hang out with him and the mystery person who-cannot-be-named. Ha ha ha ha!

As Kaelynn was nowhere to be found, Krsitine decided to
get Winnie to be her Ben10 sidekick until it was time to
get ready to go out.

Caught this facial expression just in time.
Something about it being very naughty
and yet cute at the same time. However,
Mommy does not share the sentiments.

The girls in their new clothes

If you see a girl with this kind of sinister eyes and smile, you'd
better keep an eye on the flowers or you'll learn the hard way
how flowers can be pressed with the help of human cheeks

Used the Nokia 5800's GPS again. Well, with three more days
before expiry, why the heck not? Anyway, the navigation
around Mid-Valley to Old Klang Road was not too accurate
Then again the route was done last year. I am beginning to
doubt the accuracy of the Nokia Maps if have to pay for them.

After they settled down, they decided to watch some Astro

A few minutes later, the realised there is no Cartoon Network

and this is where they start to tear the house down

I just hope that when she is 21, she would already have a
handsfree kit in the car. And I also hope that by that time,
car technology would not regressed to Flintstones style
or it would be Hell on the legs. This is not a good example
of bio-fuel technology.

Fortunately, we have Grandma to show
her the errors of her ways. And so, she
got "Saman-ed"

Meanwhile, Kaelynn was trying to open
doors with her new found keys.

Later on, I caught the girls putting rocks into the vase.
For the rest of the evening, with Kaelynn asleep and
most of the family doing what comes naturally during
the New Year, I had to make sure Kristine does not
cause any more trouble.

Everyone was tired by the time we came back home. As soon as energetic Kristine touched the mattress, she went out like a light. In fact, everyone did the same except me because I have to download the photos and update this blog. OK, now I can go to sleep. G'night!

First day of The Year of the Ox

And so, today is the first day into the Year of the Ox. And usually, the night before, my Dad and I would stay up late to greet the Choy San. But I was too tired (and knocked out) to do anything else except to sleep it off. And before 12, we would have the Tea Ceremony where we would serve tea to my Parents as signs of respect followed by distributions of Ang Pows. Now, it has gotten merrier with the two girls around. Krsitine has been screaming and shouting with joy ever since her Aunt came back, despite past incidences. She is quick to forgive and forget, which I hope, as she grows older, learns from the lessons. And I hope she is not that easy to forget matters as there are some things you cannot just leave it.

Despite my broken tripod, we managed to get in some family shots and all, with my Nikon D50 being the most repliable camera at the moment. And it was fun to take those shots with the Infra-Red remote too.

For dinner, my Mum insists on paying for the Japanese Buffet, Shogun at Sunway Pyramid. Driving there was interesting because I was using the Nokia 5800's trial GPS which was quite accurate until it reached the underpass lights where it tole me to turn right and then right, which is effectively, a U-turn. I would not be surprised if this is old map because the Sunday parking ramp was completed last year. Still, if I took the two right turns, I would end up in Mentari Park instead, which is just across the Sunway Pyramid. Anyway, the Shogun Japanese Buffet costs RM10 more because of the Chinese New Year but my Wife was quicker than the Main waiter which got us in without charging the two girls. I won't tell you the secret tip just yet. (You'd have to come visit us and give the girls Ang Pow first, Ha ha ha ha ha!). The buffet is, for the first timer like me, (OK, this is my first time ever to a Japanese Sushi Buffet). Its quite impressive with many Japanese dishes and also, some western dishes for those who do not like sushi but was dragged along with the crowd. And don't worry if you do not finishe the food as they would just clean your plates off (But don't la, waste is still waste)

And after the session, all I can say is, although the food was a lot, but there was nothing special. But for me, its the sushi, the range of drinks on the dispenser and lastly, the Maggi mashed potatoes. However as much as I wanted to try the oyster and also the Shark's Fin soup (which mysteriously disappeared while I was chasing after the girls)

This are some of my new things for the Year, the wallet and belt
from Parkson in Pavillion. I have slimmed down again and this
time, I should let the girl punch in another two holes on the belt.

Kristine during the Tea Ceremony. Maybe I should consider
getting a fish-eye lens...... nah.

Kristine after the Tea Ceremony. Too much photography

The same goes for Kaelynn too.

We had a surprise visit from someone. Who it was, you can
recognise her from the intricate painting of the blood red
AB+ on the third toenail of the left leg.

One of the interiors of Shogun. I tried taking this without flash
and its quite ok except that the Nokia 5800 has that camera
sound even though I put it to silent mode unlike my Sony
Ericsson T630. Although the staff did not "mind", I try to be
as discreet as possible in case I get thrown out.

This is my favourite area of the buffet where the sushi was.
But I do feel uneasy taking stuff as there is always the Chef,
ever so ready behind the counter. I felt as if he is watching
us taking the food since he has "nothing" to do.

On the left is the tempura section but that night, I was not in the
mood for deep fried stuff (OK, so I could not find the crispy crabs)
and on the right are the sort of "Western"stuff. I like the lighting
very much because the whole place is dim but with most of the
lights emphasising on the food itself. I like this kind of lighting but
after a while, if you're not aware, it makes you moody and gloomy

Watch how the girls eat! And guess what? I have to eat most of
the food after they have "finished" with it. Kaelynn spilled the
orange drink twice but the waiteresses were quick to clean it up,
much to our embarassment

And then, for no apparent reason, they brought in a portable stove
and gave us this nice bowl of soup with a lot of noodles inside it. It
has a lot of different mushrooms, and fish. The soup tasted alright
though but still tastes a bit salty.

This, my friends, is MY first selection. Hee hee hee hee.
Although the food tasted OK, but later, my Wife said
that everything was quite salty. For me, I though
everything had MSG in it.

This is the mashed potato from the Maggi dispenser (you can find
them in some of the bigger Petronas statons along the Highway)
which the girls did not want. Its made from powder and is quite
watery but I guess, you'd need to let them cool and settle for a while
before it gets more solid. I liked it because its almos the same mashed
potato drink I used to make everyday when I was studying in UK.
Unfortunately, under the Home Ministry's Food Poisoning and Good
Taste Act, I am now forbidden to divulge any of my recipes since they're
mostly labelled as tastelessly inedible.

In the end, Kaelynn decided on fruits and ice-cream since
both girls really did not eat much.

Halfway, they wanted to go out and I brought them around the
new wing. And in the middle of the court, they started dancing
together. I would like to upload the video but decided not to.
You'd just have to get me to show it to you on my Nokia 5800

Trust me when I say this, "The toys were already
on the floor when the girls came."

RM59.90 for this. Very nice but, although I am tempted,
I cannot see the reason for buying it. Moreover, how am
I going to explain this to everyone back at the table? But
it has given me some ideas though.......

On the way back to Shogun, we passed by the
Fish Spa. This was the latest fad which hit KL
a year ago. I mentioned it to my Wife but she
has reservations about fish eating dead skins.
What happens if the previous customer's dead
skin opened to reveal a wound and the blood
would then infect the water....... true also, hor?

When we got back home, the girls found my hidden stash of Ben1o
Omnitrix. And so, after much persuasion, I let them play with it.
Originally, it was for my future projects since the casing was very
unique. But, there is a reason why I do not want them to play it.

This is because the green LED is very bright

The Chinese New Year Dinner 2009

Like all families, the Eve of the New Year is very important. Everyone will try their best to come back home and have dinner together. It is also a time to mend broken relations and strengthen ties. But like most families, this time, I suspect everyone is having it at home due to the World Economy Crisis. Before I got married, this was the norm for us and I loved it because after the dinner, we can all just leave the table, wash up everything, and while I was still in my worn T-shirt and shorts. But now, have to dress up a bit more la.

And like any Malaysian, I had to rush out for some last minute shopping to get some ice cubes, chili sauce and a bit of food in case its not enough (in the end, it was too much). Still, it was interesting to see the locals folks doing the same but I can tell you, much of the street was quite empty and most of the shops were either closing or closed, with the exception of non-Chinese owned ones. Too bad Uncle Ho closed early too but then again, everyone would be too busy to watch DVDs after dinner anyway. But at least my Sis and parents get to watch Ip Man (Pronounced Yip Man and not Ai Pee Man, much to my embarrassment)

Wooo..... OK, this one has no funny smell. And its
all the way from Singapore. Don't worry, the one
that is being recalled is the Abalone Broth which
is made in Thailand.

Kristine being overwhelmed with so much food on the table.
As usual, both girls were picky eaters that night

The girls with their Aunt, trying out her camera

Kristine with her new baggy pyjamas, which,
if not tucked in, made her look very thin

After the dinner, it was time to get the Ang Pows ready for
tomorrow's Tea Ceremony. Here, both girls were helping out.
They do know the importance and the seriousness of money
but not the value yet.

The whole time, Kaelynn was obsessed
with the wad of RM1.00 bills which I told
her not to touch or take any out to play

And yet, she does..... haiya.
Giving to her sister summore

After years of storage, I finally opened
the RM59.00 bottle of Amarula. Its like
Drambuie but a little bit more sweeter,
I think. With 17% alcohol, just one
swig and I had to lie down for the
rest of the night........... haiya

And after that, I used the Nokia 5800 to SMS most of my friends in the Phonebook and it took me about almost 7 minutes because each SMS is about 5 seconds. Yeah, thats a lot of people but I got about a fraction of replies, mostly from actual friends (whom, I think, did not change thier phone numbers. Hey, my Phonebook is more than five years old, OK? And I got a few call backs from unknown people.)

Anyway, here's me wishing you, KONG HEE FA CAI!

Bumping in the Night.......

I am not sure what happened but after the normal dinner, everyone went to sleep and someone switched off all the lights. This is unusual because usually, there is always one light on. But tonight, it was all dark. And so, as I was navigating my way to the kitchen, and after missing the
cat, my toe hit the rubber wheel of the shopping cart. I felt a slight pain, the one that is sharp and goes away after a few seconds but this time, after a few minutes, the pain was still there. And so, I looked down at my foot........

I quickly bandaged it and hope that if the nail comes off, it would be
painless. And if it does not, I hope it goes back in and not hang about.
First time I've seen so much blood for a nail injury.

Stuck in the car with the Nokia 5800

What other title can I put it? I was stuck in the jam to Seremban for more than an hour. When I first reached the Toll, it was already jammed. After the toll, it was OK but towards Nilai, the jam came up again. And this time, we all had to crawl. Nevertheless, the Nokia 5800's Player did make the situation more bearable. So much so, I did not want to "accidentally" drive to the left to block some morons who love to use the emergency lanes to get to their destination faster.

Still, a job is a job and we had to complete the remaining camera before the day is over. This was because the power to the two cameras in the Hall mysteriously go off during certain times of the day. We found out that all the electrical power, even to the sockets were controlled by the main switch in the Hall. So, when the staff switches them off for the day........

A short note about the Nokia 5800. If for any reason you forgot your AD-54 controller, you can plug in a normal pair of 3.5,, jack heaphones. The only problem would be that you cannot use it to control the music being played or even skip it. You will then have to unslide the key lock switch to get to the screen to do that. And, oh, you'l have to use the phone's mic to talk when in a phone conversation. And so, I ordered another AD-45 from eBay, knowing I'd forget or misplace it in the near future. But when you plug in a 3.5mm jack, the 5800 would ask you what funtion you would need, such as headphones, lineout, tv-out or music stand.There is another thing I need to mention. I am not sure if its my headphones or something else but there is an occasional crackle or pops while the music is being played. Memory card access times, maybe? Oh well.........

This is the situation at the Toll plaza. At least the cash lane
is moving well compared to the Touch&Go lane which is
moving quite slowly.

Luckily, I snatched some mini mandarin oranges from the office
on the way to Seremban

There's even a camera man to film the jam. Its no wonder because there
were a lot of activity at the Plaza. Each driver was given a copy of The
Star and (later) some drinks.

I was so surprised about this that I kept on shooting without much
focusing.

And so, I got a copy of they day's Star.

And not only that, later I found out that the man also dropped something
into the car which I was not aware off. Seems that the company "Proviton"
provided the free newspaper and the pills. I did not try the pills as I do not
want to be feeling "different" during work or during driving.

Oho! There is even a news reporter here after the toll as well!

This is the scene nearing Nilai. But once I cleared Seremban,
the jam disappeared.

Two hours later, we managed to get power from another point.
The customer asked me why am I not going back for the CNY.
And I replied that we need to get the cameras all working so
that the place is well taken care off since there would be less
staff. And my Techs asked me why I am not going back too
since I was still working just like last year. And so, I replied,
"I also don't know"

And its time to head home. Look at the jam on the opposite side.
It stretched for Kilometres

OK, this is the way back home and guess what? Its jam free! Hooray!