: : Interesting CNY SMS : :

Chinese New Year brings a host of SMS beeping into the phone. Some of the more interesting ones :

"Dog dog Chiang"
"Dog dog Chiang"
"Dog dog Chiang dog Chiang dog Chiang"
May this year of the WOW WOW bring u GOOD HEALTH, HAPPINESS & PROSPERITY

woof woof, woof woof!
The dog year is here.
receive it with open mind, generous smile and kind heart,
you will be rewarded with "riches" beyong your imagination.
Xin Nien Kuai Le, my friend. :)

: : Chinese New Year Eve : :

3 pm Looking for Lunch.

Wena : *sip* Wahliaw! Your kacangma ah! Phew!
Granny : What what? Sweet or not?
Wena : Yes, sweet.
Granny : Can taste samsu (rice wine) or not?
Wena : Ya.
Granny : Then? Why you shout?
Wena : Strong lah. Cannot walk afterwards.
Granny : Eh, I got put water lah. Not like last time, only put samsu.
Wena : Last time, I cannot wake up one.

11 pm Noisy sounds outside the house.

Uncle Cyril : Wah! Garbageman also come at night today.
Granny : Eh! Stop them! Gotta put out lah. They don't come on Sunday but on Monday.

*Frantic rush of Wena and Granny pulling rubbish bin outside.

Wena : Wah! Working tonight also ah?
Garbage collector : Have to! Too much rubbish tomorrow how?
Wena : Ah ok. Thank you ah!

: : Chinese New Year Greets : :

Gosh, before you know it, Chinese New Year is right at your doorstop. It's been a busy month for Wena, hence the lack of regular updates. (Plus the fact that I have that new toy to keep me company.)

As for the Lowepro bag, I finally settled on the Lowepro Compu Rower AW after many emails discussion with Mr. S and Ian's comments (Thanks Ian). Will be getting it some time next month from Cathay Singapore. As my Uncle Rubin would say, "This is starting to get very serious."

Other than that, the run up to Chinese New Year has been pretty quiet on the shop. As my Granny grapevine pipes, "People no money to spend this year. Petrol expensive so no money for new year lar. Even no new car on the road." However, there are the usual mountain of biscuits to finish as Granny retorts, "Aiya! Cannot just give one! Have to fill up the tray!". Also, the crate of beer that is going to take more than 1 year to finish as we don't get many visitors - I can't tell Granny that I tell my friends not to come because she gets stressed out too much, even when she's not serving them.

I put up a Frappr page for Chinese New Year Greetings and also just to find out how many Chinese New Year practices (or all it superstitions and beliefs) are out there. I bet some are going to be pretty funny. Anyway, do drop a pin there. So, this can be a really dissapointing experiment or a funny one.

Gong Xi Fa Chai everyone! May 2006 bring you Prosperity, Health, Wealth and Happiness!

: : PSP Saga in Miri continues... ::

... well, for my family at least.

It looks like the kiddies are coming up with plans to get hold of a Sony PSP. I've heard of plans from not having a birthday party to not having an annual end-of-year holiday trip.

And then I saw this. Nice promotion but sadly, the credit card exclusive... aduh. Still though, it's a bit more expensive than the shop prices because of that Image Converter software which is really not needed unless you're willing to get a 4 GB Memory Stick. So, Mr. T, which one would you want to get : black or white?

BTW, anyone seen a UMD movie around in Malaysia or Singapore yet?

On another note, Little Miss AB, have you tried your hand at making music on the DS yet?

: : Christmas Past : :

Well, I'm late. Really really late. But then again, it's still not too late to have a sneak peak of Christmas on a jungle isle.



I think this tree must be nearly 5-8 years old now and it's weathered each Christmas pretty well. Sina' always does a great job with the decorations. There are more to be seen in later shots.



This is definitely one thing we always have for Christmas : punch! Ok, so it's a mild non-alcoholic version but it is immensely popular with the kiddos, both big and small. It's :

1 part 7up
2 part Ice-Cream Soda
about 100-150 ml of concentrated Mandarin Orange cordial from Sunquick Brand

Mix them all together and add some ice-cubes to keep it cool. Also, for decorations, add slices of oranges. Yum yum



Ok, this was preparation for later on as a sauce. It went extremely well with the BBQ pork and the roasted pork ribs. We cut some chillis and blended it in a blender with some white vinegar.



Now this is one of the highlights of the show : the nubak layak. I probably got the spelling wrong but I'm pretty sure someone would suggest the proper Kelabit spelling. Can't have a Kelabit do without some nubak layak around. It's made from Bario rice but cook until it's extremely soft and sticky. It's wrapped in huge leaves and we kept it in a styrofoam box so that it remained very warm. Yummy. And it's one per person. NO SHARING.



Phew! Christmas presents - always brings a sweet gleam into a child's eyes. Ok, mine too. One thing I do like about presents is the giving. It's always nice to see that people are extremely happy with their gift.

Cheerio. More pics over the next few days.

: : Amazon.com : :

Well, when I bought something from Amazon.com and shipped it to my sister's address in the USA, the Goldbox started showing me tons and tons of kitty litter to buy.

Eeep!

: : Camera Bag : :

Mr. S is sneaky. Asking me about Lowepro bags and now getting me itching to have one.

I want this one.

Already checking with the rep in Singapore. Hopefully they have it in stock.

: : Doh : :

Colleague at work today.

Colleague : We see you with new look so is there a .. ahem ahem .. in the background.

Wena : No lah! Adoh! Just wanted a change. That's all.

Colleague : Yeah right. Come on lah!

Wena : No. Serious. No one in the scene even.

Now, I begin to wonder what you all are thinking.

:p

Conversation with friends and family online through Skype, MSN and the occasional webcam shots.

Conversation 1 (Webcam, MSN, Skype)

Wena : You sound very slow and sick over Skype.
Mum : It's the satellite connection. Coz you sound sick too.
Wena : Urgh. Ok, turning on the webcam on MSN. Can't seem to get the Skype one to work.
Mum : (slow motion) I cannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...
Wena : Ok, that sounded really creepy.
Mum : Ok, going to get a new webcam for me.
Wena : Err..you're on dialup. :p Very jerky.
Mum : ...

Conversation 2 (Webcam, MSN)

Wena : Like the new hair? Color and perm.
Friend 1 : Yeah, suits you. Can see you got new specs too.
Wena faces the window to catch the sunlight.
Friend 1 : Argh argh! I'm blinded!
Wena : Doh!

45 minutes later

Friend 1 : Are you done preening in front of the webcam yet?!?
Wena : NEVER!

I'm as bad as Yzara.

: : Ride back home : :

Yesterday, on the drive back home from office. Uncle Cyril was driving.

Wena : Is that what I think it is?

Uncle Cyril : Yeah. Let's drive close



Wena : Thought they put them into rattan baskets before transporting them?

Uncle Cyril : Ya lah! Silly farmer must have forgot. Pigs look like they got washed recently. Very very clean.

Wena : Strange to see them like this.

Uncle Cyril : Yeah. Need to put into baskets else they jump out of the truck.

Wena : Aiyo! Got baby one, trying to jump out.

Uncle Cyril : Not so baby lah. Sure at least 6 months. I get closer



Wena : Aiya! No wonder. Old man and woman. Must have rushed back from home.

Uncle Cyril : Later they lose a pig on the road, then they know.

One things for sure, it's never a dull moment in Kuching.

: : A big kid at heart : :

Christmas Eve at home, having the family dinner :

Wena : Here T, you can use my PSP to play Untold Legends with AG.
AG: Errr...how to turn on wireless?
Wena : Here...(click, clack, clash, ding, beep beep)
T: Wow! This is so cool.
AB: When's my turn? When's my turn?

An hour later after dinner :

T's Mum & Dad : Wena, you're a bad influence. Now he wants a PSP.

Wooops!

Then I should probably keep quiet about the Nintendo DS I'm thinking of getting. Animal Crossing and Mario Go-kart is very very tempting.

: : Jazz under the Stars : :

Miri International Jazz Festival 2006
...And Trevor is coming back! Haven't seen him in a couple of years and he has since gotten married and moved back to Australia. It would be good to catch up with him and his family. He's the lead singer for Ublues Band. So, must remember to book tickets to fly back home to Miri in May.

Good time to go back home. :)

: : New start : :

A new year and a new start. Which basically includes a new look. I.e. New specs and new hair. Well, more like hairstyle. I got it permed while on holiday back in Miri.

And boy, did it generate a lot of comments :

Cousin-in-law : Your hair looks good. It'll look better when it's all loosen up.
Wena : Woah! I'm seriously impress. How did an oilman like you know so much about hair styling?
Cousin-in-law : From your cousin, my wife.

Guy 1 : Looks great.
Guy 2 : Suits you.
Guy 3 : Definitely look better.
Guy 4 : Wahliaw! Like Maggi Mee only.
Guy 5 : Curly curly!

Gal 1 : Suits you.
Gal 2 : Very nice. In time for Chinese New Year?
Gal 3 : New specs, new glass. Nice.
Gal 4 : I show your big head from a distance.

Family 1 : You must NOT keep straight hair in future.
Family 2 : Makes you look slimmer. (YESS!)

Granny : Aiya! You ah! First you say to me no more perming so I stop. Now you go and perm. Wet look too!
Wena : Sorry lah. Cannot resist. But bottom part only mah. Not the top part and not for 20 years lah!
Granny : ...