Life's Nuances: A Journey or Mere Nuisance ?

Malaysian GE 2013: Last Word Before May 5th 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:57:00 +0000

Approximately 2 months ago, I registered as a postal voter. I painstakingly crafted the email in Bahasa Malaysia to be sent to the ‘Unit Pengurusan Undi Pos’ (UPUP). Albeit a few lines, it was an accomplishment on my part as I have not read or written in the national language for years now. Also, I could have very well written the entire email in English but chose not to. Email as follows:

Tuan/Puan,

Sila lihat borang 1B yang telah lengkap diisi and dilampirkan pada email untuk memohon mengundi secara pos dari luar negara.

Sekian, terima kasih.

Yang benar,
'my legal name'

I was very surprised when UPUP wrote back a day after, informing me that they have accepted my application and was processing it. However, two months later I have not heard from them despite the fact that our ‘bro’ has announced that the parliament has been dissolved. I have to admit that I was not diligent in following up on my status and it was my beloved dad that kept track for me. One fateful day, I received an email from my dad informing me that I am eligible to vote as a postal voter. That is good news but I was confused.

¹Few months ago, we did not know when the election was. So to not waste my chance to vote for a better Malaysia, I registered as a postal voter. At the same time, I wanted to go home to Malaysia for vacation. Time and tide waits for no man especially when there is so much to do. Sitting around waiting for ‘bro’ to own up was not the correct answer. As such, I booked my plane tickets to come home in May.

¹Election should be held on the same date every five years. Why complicate matters if one wants a consistent and clean system?

Two weeks after my booking, the Electoral Commission (EC) decided that May 5^th, 2013 is THE day. Since, there was no status on my eligibility as a postal voter, I could actually vote at home instead of traveling 2 hours each way from Philly to NYC exercising my rights at the Consulate.

A few days later, I received an email from my dad informing me of my status as a postal voter. I was eligible to vote as a postal voter on April 28^th at the Consulate of New York. This was where my confusion started. Should I come home to vote or vote at the Consulate?

As I looked closely at my notification, I realized that I have been assigned the Consulate as my voting location and ²I did not want the risk of being turned away on May 5^th voting in my home turf. After griping and getting annoyed, J and I made our way to the Consulate on April 28^th. I reached the consulate at approximately 2.00 pm and there were already those who had voted. The turnout may not be as great as those turning out to vote in Melbourne but we did our duty.

²Is the system that rigid that I cannot vote at home? Afraid that I voted twice? Make voting electronic. That will solve the problem. Electronic voting has a better chance of ensuring that election is clean and it eliminates human errors.

Walking into the Consulate, I was first greeted by an agent who was sitting just right outside the entrance to the voting room. I handed him my identification card (IC) and he struck my name off his list. Following that, I was escorted by another agent to the voting room and there I met another agent who asked for my IC while he looked through his list. Only this time, the list had additional information i.e. my voting constituency. The agent again struck my name off the list and I was handed a brown envelope. I was told to open the envelope and ensured that the details on the contents of the envelope were accurate.

I opened the envelope and found a letter with my name, IC number and a serial number. Along with that is the ballot paper with the same serial number. They have also provided me with two envelopes; one to contain the letter and the other the ballot paper. What I had described is merely the first set of documents. There were white and meant for the parliament seat. The second set of documents was almost similar to the first. They were pink and they were meant for the state seat.

My ballot papers were clean. However, what struck me as odd were the serial numbers on the ballot papers, letters and the envelope. They were all similar. I almost had to pinch myself awake to make sense of this. Unless, I was on another planet in a different solar system with a different voting system, I remember recalling voting to be ANONYMOUS. Apparently, the word ANONYMOUS does not exist when you vote as a postal voter for Malaysia. Without hesitation, I asked the agent why serial numbers on the ballot papers and envelopes were also printed on the letters that has my name and IC on them.

The agent explained that the letter confirms that I have cast my vote at the Consulate. The explanation provided by the agent did not answer my question at all. Hence, I went on to say that while I understand the intent of the letter, I still did not understand how the serial number serves the same purpose. If anything else, the serial number should NOT be present on the letters or the envelopes. Perturbed, I went on to say to the agent, ‘I thought voting was supposed to be anonymous. Apparently, this is not’.

At this point, I was agitated as the agents clearly could not do anything about it and the system was truly flawed. It was either I vote or walk out. I chose to vote. I chose to vote knowing that our voting system is corrupt. How is it not corrupt when the Electoral Commission (EC) is hardly independent?

Hence, what is the point of this write up?

For those that did not even bother registering to vote either in Malaysia or overseas – You f**ked up for you have just wasted your birth right.

For those sitting on the fence debating to vote or otherwise, my ‘cue’ to you is this – Get your lazy ass out of your house on May 5^th 2013 and vote. If you are present in Malaysia, eligible to vote and your plans do not involve life or death situations, go cast your vote. Your parents did not give birth to you in Malaysia for you to waste every little bit of your privilege as a Malaysian by sitting on the fence and not vote.

For those educated ones out there – Vote wisely. There have been many arguments about what the primary driver should be when voting i.e. voting for the candidate that you are fond of regardless of party OR voting for the party regardless of who the candidate is. I sincerely do not want to impose but at this point I will.

Look at the bigger picture and vote for the party that holds your ideals at heart. While the candidate may have done great things for your constituency, he/she ultimately represents what his/her party stands for. If he/she does not represent the ideals of his/her party, he/she is clearly confused and probably need to switch parties or perhaps he/she is not bright.

By voting for the candidate, you ultimately vote for the party. The party dictates what and where the country will be, in the next five years. Do not be naïve to believe that one man can change the tide. It does not take one man; it takes the entire army with the same mindset and ideals.

This is resonant especially when the system and the group of people that is running the system are exceptionally flawed. Revamping the system is not easy but it can be done. Our system is flawed and it can be repaired. Revamping people on the other hand is almost close to impossible. Therefore, it is important to put the right people for the job to run this country. Placing selfish, greedy and corrupted individuals for this important role spells disaster. They can only run the country to the ground and it has been for the past decade. While some are clearly not happy with how things are, there are others who clearly believe that things should stay the way they are.

For those that want things to stay the way they are, wake up. Wake up although reality is hard to swallow. The reality is that the world has moved forward. So must we. We cannot sit on our laurels thinking that we can ride the wave by just staying in one spot. The country will eventually fall behind. In our scenario, we already have; to a destitute state.

This brings me to a final point. Again, for those that do NOT want change, I cannot stop you but I sincerely hope that you stay home and not vote as childish as this may sound. Swinging the election results towards the status quo is detrimental to the country. If this happens again, you will only see more of us trying every possible way to leave this beloved country in exchange for a better system and government. We will not be like Daisy who remained with Tom in the Great Gatsby. This country will only experience more brain drain. In time to come, you who do not want change will be left with nothing but a country weighed down by corruption, crime and talentless individuals.

Valley Isle : The Road To Hana

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 21:44:00 +0000

Our bodies were not yet adjusted to the time difference hence, we woke up really early on Day 2. It was almost unheard of when I woke up at 5.30 am in the morning as I normally do not wake before 10.30 am on the weekends let alone on a vacation day. Since I was up, I perused some brochures that I grabbed from the airport. From the activities listed on the brochure, I decided that J and I should take the road to Hana stopping for breakfast before.

An hour later, we were on our way to a breakfast joint recommended by a contributor of the brochure. When we got there, we had to wait as the line was long. Long line gestures good food worth waiting for and ½ hour we waited before we were seated. Fortunately, our order came 15 minutes later.

The Restaurant - Breakfast

Long line

Pog Juice

While we were excited about how the food looked, we were all too quickly disappointed by how the food tasted. Everyone raved about it but we beg to differ. I have had better pancakes and omelette from the mainland. Sprinkling macademia nuts on the pancakes does not make it a Macademia Nut Pancake. Put some in the batter when cooking it on the griddle! Judging from J’s face, I knew he had better fried rice on the mainland too. The only consolation from the meal was the coconut syrup, pog juice and the view just outside the restaurant.

This bell will be very popular in December - Whale season

After a somewhat disappointing breakfast, we made our way to Hana. We were going to have a stress free vacation by taking a leisurely drive to Hana stopping along away to enjoy the view. The beginning of the drive was definitely easy. We made our first stop along the highway to visit the Twin Falls. It was a fun hike until nature called. What bad timing but one has got to do what she has to do. J

Walking/Hiking to get to the falls

Crossing the stream to get to the other side

Responding to the call of nature...hehehe

Tiny crawfish peeking through

Once we were done with this waterfall, we continued our journey on this highway. It was no longer stress free. In fact the drive was stressful. The road was so narrow it could barely fit two cars. Some stretches required drivers taking their turns. Otherwise, it could either be a deadlock or worst, a collision. The other unfortunate consequence of this journey was feeling green around the gills especially the passenger. Coincidentally, I drove the first part of the journey hence I was spared from this unpleasant side effect. I cannot say the same on the way back as J took the wheel.

The Beatles may not be literal but this is definitely a long and winding road.....

Vehicles to take turns on this one lane bridge

The view was spectacular however

Stopped here for some snacks and the infamous banana bread - it was delicious

Maui is paradise when it comes to its natural beauty. It puts you at ease, relaxes you and can even sometimes challenge you. Regardless of what this breathtaking place can do to you or for you, one should always remain sensible, all the more so when travelling on this highway to Hana. A couple decided to go against the grain by travelling to Hana on race bikes. It was raining, wet and the road was narrow and busy with vehicles. Theirs was an ill-fated decision to begin with. As we passed them, we had to carefully avoid clipping them and the oncoming vehicle. We saw them alive when we passed them. Hopefully it stayed that way. That very spot does not need anymore crosses or furry soft toys.

Another reckless episode that we witnessed was when a teenage boy foolishly sat in the middle of the bridge holding his head in frustration because he dropped his iPod in the falls. Since the falls was off limits, there was no way he could retrieve it. Again, I had to avoid him on this narrow bridge while keeping an eye for oncoming vehicles. As if the drive was not stressful enough and it was further exacerbated by dimwitted tourists.

J pretending that this plot of land is his....big dreams

Going towards the pools at 'Ohe'o Gulch (Seven Sacred Pools)

Warning says no jumping into the pools but some decided to do it anyways

At Waimoku Falls

The outer pool

Mountain view just outside the Haleakalā National Park

Nonetheless, we were more than happy to leave Hana. It was sunset when we left and the narrow, steep road was ours. There were no cars at all. After a long day, J and I were more than happy to chow down, rest and relax. Making the journey to and from Hana is no small feat. J and I were wiped out.

For those planning on going to Maui, I would recommend Hana even though I personally would think twice before making this harrowing drive again. For first timers, this will definitely be an adventure, experience and a memorable journey.

To be continued.........

Valley Isle : To Paradise and Relaxation

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 07:19:00 +0000

The last time I went to the State of Hawaii was 2008 and the first island we visited was O’ahu (Gathering Place). The trip was fun, food was great and the weather was even better. After my first visit, I vowed to return to this state and a different island each time. Hence, after 4 years J and I made our way to Maui. Just like the previous visit, some of our activities were planned out while some were impromptu.

Nonetheless, we took off from the Newark Liberty International Airport on an early Tuesday morning and transited at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport before finally reaching Kahului Airport in the early afternoon. We were welcomed by the cool breeze when we deplaned walking towards the baggage area. It was very peaceful so much so it reminded me once again why we wanted to come back to these islands. Once we gathered our luggage, we made our way to Hertz and secured a swanky ride.

Swanky ride

Swanky ride - interior

Now, the time difference between the East Coast and the State of Hawaii is 6 hours. J and I had not eaten proper food since we boarded the plane. To put it rather candidly, airline food is atrocious. Is it free? No. Must one pay for it? Yes. Is the food decent? No. Hence, we stuck with our snacks from home. By the time we drove out of Hertz’s parking lot, J and I were famished.

Thus, we punch in restaurants as our point of interest on our GPS and made a quick decision to go to a Thai restaurant. The restaurant was located in a strip mall. Walking towards the strip mall, we located Whole Foods and Genki Sushi; both of them my favorite place to go to. When we reached the Thai restaurant, we realized that it was closed in the afternoon. Hence, we ended up at a local joint called Maui Mixed Plate. If you are looking for nice ambience, this is not the place to go to. From past experience good food are normally found in simple joints. Past experience proved to be accurate when we finally ate our food. It may be simple but J and I were gratified.

After the nourishing ourselves, we walked around the mall for a short while and stock up on water before making our way to the hotel.

Genki - yums!

Whole Foods!

Once we checked into the hotel, that was pretty much our first day. We were tired and sleepy so much so we slept like a log until the following morning.

To be continued.....

**These days we pay for everything on the plane i.e. from luggage, food, drinks to movies. We were rather surprised when we were not charged for water, soda or tea. One would think that when you pay for something, service would at least be better. If you think that this is the case, you thought wrong..hah! In a nutshell, airlines in the United States is inferior bar none.

Savor It : Not Your Ordinary Juice

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 05:13:00 +0000

What do you do when you read a book written by someone that advocates drinking green juice? Not only did the author exclaim the health benefits of consuming green juice but also how scrumptious it can be when made at home. Will you first give it try by buying a bottle of pre-made green juice or embark on a lifestyle change by incorporating green juice in your diet?

I did the latter. Weeks after reading the book and researching for a good juicer, I bought the Omega 8006. When the juicer came, I was so excited. That very same week, I went to Whole Foods Market to get some red kale (red Russian), cilantro, apples, carrots, ginger and lemon. They are all organic by the way. Organic may cost more but if I am going to incorporate goodness in my body, I might as well go all the way.

The recipe that I put together called for an entire bunch of red kale, two apples, two carrots, half a lemon, a small bunch of cilantro and an inch of ginger. The preparation took 15 minutes. This includes washing the vegetables and fruit as well as slicing them up to be small enough to insert through the chute.

My new Omega 8006

Organic red kale, cilantro, apple, carrot, lemon, ginger

As I switched on the juicer, I was beaming with excitement. The sound of the juicer was actually rather therapeutic. The kale was the first to go into the juicer interspersed with cilantro. As cilantro is flimsy, it is easy for it to stick on the juicer without going through the entire machine. The red kale helps the cilantro through the juicer. Once the kale and cilantro has gone through the juicer, ginger and lemon were next. This was followed by apples. I saved the carrots for last as the fiber from the carrots is harder than most vegetables. The fiber from the crushed carrot will push any remaining vegetables out of the juicer.

Vegetable and fruit remnants made into compost for our garden

Yummy! Green juice

The recipe yield two cups, sufficient for J and I. J looked apprehensive and asked me if he was required to drink it. My answer was an obvious ‘yes’. As I drank the green juice, I was very surprised by how clean the taste was. It was actually very yummy. J begged to differ stating that it tasted ‘weird’. First of all, ‘weird’ is not a word that one would use to describe the taste of food. I figured his comment was due to the fact that he was not very fond of consuming vegetables in general. Nonetheless, I told J that as long as I am home this will be our morning regimen. Nothing goes into our stomach first thing in the morning but green juice.

I have been making green juice for a month now experimenting with different green vegetables. I have used dinosaur kale, green kale, Swiss chard and baby spinach. The base is always kale, apples, carrots, ginger, lemon and I will add baby spinach or Swiss chard to give it more chlorophyll as well as iron.

Dinosaur kale

While some loathe its color and the idea of drinking freshly made vegetable juice, I advocate that you should try it at least once. If not for the taste but at least for health. Or you can be like J who is made to drink it anyways. And each time the juicer starts you can hear him say ‘NOT juicy juice again??!!!’

**Feel free to leave word if you are interested to know recipes or personal opinion on the Omega 8006

Spring : To Sneeze and Smell Like Dirt

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 05:44:00 +0000

Spring time is here. This means sneezing and watery eyes for those allergic to pollen. J happens to be one of those unfortunate individuals who experiences adverse reaction to pollen. J and Benadryl are synonymous at this time of the year. Although Spring can be inconvenient to some, it can also signify a new beginning for others.

Spring is definitely a new beginning for flowers, vegetables, shrubs and anything flora related in temperate countries. Last year, J helped plant hydrangeas in the small plot of yard we have in front of the house. There were three of them and I wanted one in pink, blue and the other a mix of both colors. We were unsuccessful in growing blue hydrangeas as the soil pH level was not acidic enough. This year we bought organic sulfur to assist. As J loves gardening, he planted more flowers, two varieties of chili plants and herbs (rosemary, mint, sage, basil, lemon leaves).

This year we will continue with what we planted last year. Additionally, we added some indoor plants to our repertoire. On one of the shopping trips to Home Depot, I spotted some pretty orchids and bought two varieties. I also bought green tropical plants. On another trip, J spotted bright yellow orchids. We ended up buying it although space was limited. It was just too beautiful to pass.

Orchids with purple streaks

Purple Orchids

Tropical Green Plant

Tropical Green Plant 2

Indoor plants on the ledge

Yellow Orchids

The orchids and tropical plants are growing new buds and lush green leaves respectively. Amazing what ice cubes and water as well as TLC can do for plants.

I have not taken any pictures of the yard. However in a few months, the yard outside will have flowers, vegetable and herbs. I am definitely looking forward to taking photographs of the garden and posting them. Until then I leave you with this quote by John Greenleaf Whittier...

Give fools their gold, and knaves their power; let fortune's bubbles rise and fall; who sows a field, or trains a flower, or plants a tree, is more than all.

My Ebony: Let's Live Together in Perfect Harmony

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:59:00 +0000

It finally came. My long awaited precious in high polished ebony finally came. Oh, how I gently strike my fingers upon you for three exhilarating hours. I wanted more but the ache from my fingers and back prevented me from having you until dusk. After all, how long has it been? Nine years with only few opportunities to feel and hear you.

No longer do I have to yearn. No longer do I have to wonder. The long wait was finally over.

.
.
.
{intermission}
.
.
.

Yes, it sounds sick and melodramatic. I do not have to be melodramatic but it certainly felt that way when I finally received my upright piano today. It was partly my fault for pushing off this decision to purchase one. What really stopped me was knowing that I already have a piano.

This piano is currently sitting in Malaysia and I am nowhere close to Malaysia. It is my very first piano and a good one too. I love that walnut finished piano. Sure, the sound got a little brighter overtime but what do you expect from a Yamaha. Yamaha pianos have always sounded bright and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. I could still remember spending countless hours practicing my scales and music pieces for exam on that beautiful piano. What can I say? I am no prodigy so I have to keep practicing.

My decision to commit to a new piano was spurred by the nagging thought that I was losing my technique every single day. They were just all right to begin with. Imagine if I had continued down this road, I can certainly forget about playing the simplest of composition without sounding like a train wreck. Hence, one weekend after researching, I went to a piano store.

When I walked in, I thought I will be walking out with a Yamaha. Well, I thought wrong. Normally, the brightness of a Yamaha will appeal to me but this time another unit caught my attention. The mellower sustained tone left an impression. It is the Boston. When I played a piece from the romantic period, it sounded just right. It definitely cost more than a Yamaha but this baby is going to be with me for a very long time. Buying the Boston almost felt like I was cheating on my other piano.........

Boston is designed by Steinway & Sons. Thus, why not buy a Steinway? I did play on a few Steinway models in the store and the sound as well as the tone were just superior. Steinways are handcrafted and they are in a class of their own. However, they cost a bomb and not necessary for a non professional pianist like me.

Therefore, a Boston is definitely good enough. Now feast your eyes on the newest addition to my family, the UP118E PE......drumroll.......

Just look at her....sigh

My neighbours will start hating me from today onwards........

Animal Print Speedo vs Fishnet Shirt

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:27:00 +0000

It was half hour pass twelve on a Saturday morning when I was still up drawing work related business process flows. Nothing commendable about working at that hour but necessary as I needed time to digest the satisfying late dinner that I had from one of my favorite restaurants. One may say that there are other fun activities that I could have done for the aforementioned purpose. However, I could not feel free having fun when work was hanging over my head. To entertain myself while I complete the mundane assignment, I listened to a collection of songs that I had accumulated on iTunes.

Close to completing my work, I decided to take a short break and investigate songs that are listed on the iTunes single chart. Perusing down the chart, one title caught my eye. It was ‘Sexy and I Know It’. I was very surprised that this song piqued my curiosity simply because whenever this single came on the radio (since late 2010), I would switch to the classical or jazz station. The mere thought of knowing that this single was released by the same group that created ‘Party Rock Anthem’, turned me off. I have never liked ‘Party Rock Anthem’. This song was made worst by a Kia advert that decided to use *hamsters dancing in the background to promote the 2012 Kia Soul. The ad was very disturbing. Also, what does ‘Everyday I’m shufflin’ even mean???!!!

Kia Ad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zJWA3Vo6TU
*Mel, you should show this ad to your hammies. Maybe they'll learn something....

Nonetheless, I went on YouTube to check out ‘Sexy and I Know It’. When five dudes donned in animal print bicycle pants came on, I knew it was bad news. Despite my reservations, I continued watching. And lo and behold!, what came on the 58th second of the video was a dude wearing nothing but animal print Speedo prancing around. One would think that I would stop the video especially since I covered my eyes with both hands. No, I continued. Peeling my hands of my eyes and still smiling, I continued watching. On the 2nd minute and 13th second mark, I burst out laughing.

By then I have stopped watching but allowed the video to complete in the background nonetheless. I was cracking up none stop. Why would anyone make this? The consolation from watching the video and listening to the song? A good laugh and a memory of a better single. Ladies and gentlemen from my era, allow me to jog your memory with Right Said Fred’s, ‘I’m Too Sexy’.

A song poking fun at the fashion industry; now this is a classic.

I’m too sexy for my work, too sexy for my work, too sexxxyyyyy……….

Just for One Day – Ring in the New Year Looking Like……….

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:26:00 +0000

Earlier this month after lunch, J and I passed by the bakery we frequent like always. A poster plastered on the store front caught my eye. What caught my eye was a pair of earmuffs. The Christmas cakes that the bakery was trying to promote were secondary to me. The earmuffs on the other hand, were fluffy and looked like the right size for anyone. Just like that I was suckered in. Nonetheless, we decided to purchase the cake for Christmas.

Came the day before Christmas Eve, we bought the cake. The cake looked delicious and pretty. A pity that I did not take a picture of the cake. However, what surprised me was the size of the earmuffs. They looked fluffier and bigger than the ones shown on the poster.

I am not so sure if I will put those on when I go out in public. It looks kawaii but really???

Nonetheless, I was playing with the earmuffs and noticed that on each side of the earmuffs were stickers with the word ‘Press’ on them. Initially, I assume that pressing the respective areas will adjust the width of the earmuffs to fit ones head. I was very much mistaken as you can see……….

DJJJJJ in the club.....

This would have been cool if I was a DJ in a club and what I had on are headphones. In fact, I made a movie clip pretending to be a DJ with those UFO headphones on scratching a record (for my eyes only) - humor helps.

Anyways, be safe and enjoy the New Year!

Hhhmm........Will I be wearing this out on a cold winter night? I may. Without the UFO lights turned on of course. After all, this does not come close to the fluffy elf hat I wore accompanying J to Home Depot the year before.

The Truth About Santa Claus, Elmo, Big Bird & Whatever

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:40:00 +0000

Sipping my hot spicy ginger tea while staring at my computer screen I nonchalantly said to J,

‘I am going to be honest this Christmas by saying that there is no such thing as Santa when any children around me excitedly say that Santa left them presents under the tree’.

J jolted up, immediately stopped whatever he was doing and said,

‘What?! Why?! Don’t do that! That will screw them up’.

Looking lazily up from the screen with the hot cup warming my hands I replied,

‘Why not? It is the truth. Kids should know the truth. Why would you lie to a child? Santa is not real but the spirit of Christmas is. Besides, look at me. I am well adjusted and I never believed that Santa was real. Also, Santa did not surprise me with presents. Real people did. By the way, I want a humongous and red plushy bull toy...the kind you see in amusement parks’.

‘Don’t tell the kids that Santa is NOT real. You are crazy! Why would you want a plushy toy anyway?’. That was J’s reply.

‘So that I can sit on it when I am watching my TV shows or playing RPG games on my PS3’.

Perhaps I do not know how sensitive the subject of Santa is for kids since I do not have any of my own. Even so, when I was young and especially growing up in Asia, Santa Claus is nothing but a myth. Yet, I was still happy because there were parties to attend, carols to be sung and I have always received presents from parents, relatives and friends. Most if not all Christmases, we would always have at least one person pretending to be Santa when we attended Christmas parties. One of the most enjoyable activities was guessing who the person was behind the disguise. Also, I do not really remember having conversations with friends at school wondering if Santa was real or otherwise. I did however had a conversation with my parents about how Santa was actually St. Nicholas and his generosity giving out presents to the poor. Spurred by curiousity, I decided to read up and reacquaint myself with facts.

Nonetheless, as I was reading and browsing I came across an episode from Family Guy that was tremendously hilarious. Although aired last year, I still find the show refreshing and funny. My stomach was in knots after laughing so hard watching the show. It has a twisted take on Christmas and Santa but a positive spin on gift giving. The stars of the show were of course Stewie and Brian (they are my favourite characters on Fam Guy). For you adults out there who have not seen this episode, I highly recommend it.

Preview #1

Preview #2

Sneak Peek

Now, now, although armed with facts about Santa, what should I tell the kids when they start mumbling about Elmo, Big Bird, Sponge Bob, Dora the Explorer or Barney? Suppose I say that they are mere products of network television to keep children learning while keeping them entertained, what will happen? There will be pandemonium for sure. Such agony and torture to have to keep mum while everyone is excited about entities that are non-existent. From the bottom of my heart, I wished they do exist. That simplifies everything.

A few days later while I was watching an anime, J asked,

‘Are you really going to say that Santa’s not real?’.

Taking a deep breath and without peeling my eyes from the TV, I said,

‘Are you going to get me my plushy toy?’.

‘I will get you the toy, okkaayyy. So???’.

I turned, looked, slyly smiled and said,

‘My Christmas gift to everyone is to feign ignorance when it comes to Santa, Elmo, Big Bird, Dora or whatever. Happy?’.

Have A Very Blessed and Merry Christmas Everyone :)

Chinese Opera, Interrupted..........

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:18:00 +0000

I had my butt plopped on the couch after a good dinner on the eve of Black Friday relaxing to a Chinese musical play called ‘The Peach Blossom Fan’. Watching this historical drama brought back memories. I have loved Chinese opera as far as I can remember. My parents and I used to walk to a nearby park when I was a kid to have supper. Every now and then, the Chinese opera troupe will be at the park at night performing. I would be sitting on one of the wooden benches watching the entire show. Truthfully, I do not understand half of the story due to language barriers but they fascinated me nonetheless.

There are many varieties of Chinese opera such as the Beijing, Shanghai, Kunqu, Sichuan, Cantonese opera and many others. The one that I can relate to is the Cantonese opera. There are two types of plays in Cantonese Opera i.e. Mo and Mun. Mo plays involve characters who are warriors and generals where there is strong emphasis on good gymnastics and martial arts skills. With Mo, the theme typically involves battles, wars, loyalty and courage. Mun on the other hand involves characters who are scholars or royalties. The theme mostly pertains to romance and ethics.

One of my favourites : Romance of the Phoenix Chamber

Nonetheless, my immersion in my cultural heritage was rudely interrupted when J decided to join the mindless crowd at midnight for the Black Friday sale. While I had a shopping list I was reluctant to go out in the cold of the night and I really wanted to watch Chinese opera. J’s rationale was that these games may be gone by morning. My take on this was that there are plenty of GameStops in Maryland. If we could not find the game in one store we could go to another. J was adamant however and I did not want him to drive out alone. Hence, I followed suit.

I should have known better by following my instints. It was a little too late when I realized that. What welcomed us were long lines and crowds.

Soon after we started queuing up, someone at the front of the line fainted. Normally one would faint due to illness or shock over some bad news. In this instance, someone actually fainted over games and/or a game console. This is so surreal.

It is also in these settings where one would encounter interesting characters. One of the patrons actually dashed out of the store frantically when the store operator announced that the PS3s were all sold out. About an hour later, a group of robust women entered the store and their conversation went more or less like this.

‘Is this the line? Are you guys in line to pay?’ asked one. We nodded in unison.

‘Damn!’ was her reply. Then her companion mumbled that all she wanted was a game. I was caught off guard when she decided to yell from the entrance where they congregated to the opposite end of the store,

‘I just want to know if you guys have Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3!’

The store operator hollered, ‘Yes, we do!’.

‘Do you still have many left?!’.

'Yes, we do!'.

‘How much is it?!’.

‘It’s $59.99!’, answered the store operator.

‘Oh, hell no!’, the lady retorted without hesitation. Then she mumbled to her friend, ‘I am getting the hell out of here’.

After they left, everyone in queue snickered and laughed. I was chuckling the whole time. There is no way a new game will be discounted even on Black Friday. What were they thinking? Also, how difficult it is to walk up to the store operator to ask. It almost felt like an auction going on at a fish market. Surreal, just surreal.

It was 1.30 am when J and I were still in line. I decided to call it quits as I was tired and sleepy. I walked back to the car leaving J to continue with the madness. Out of boredom, I decided to take pictures. It was surprisingly a nice quiet night away from the crowd.

Experimenting with the 'Night Scenery' option on my camera

Chilling to Frank Sinatra's...peaceful

At approximately 2.00 am, J came back to the car and this was our loot….hahahahaha…..

Dragon Age Origins & Awakening beckons me but they will just have to wait until I finish ‘The Peach Blossom Fan’.

A Misadventure with Food : Duck Eggs vs Baby Duck Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:53:00 +0000

Coming from Malaysia where everyday multi ethnicity food is of variety and abundance, we often unknowingly take them for granted. I know I did as I never thought about not being able to eat what I liked when I was in Malaysia. When I came to the US, everything changed. There certainly are foods that I could not get hold of and those that I can obtain did not come close to authenticity or quality.

One of my favorite foods is the salted duck egg. Salted duck eggs can be hard boiled eaten with hot congee or steamed with chicken eggs or minced pork. They are also used in glutinous rice dumplings and mooncakes. Hunting them down has been a pain as the ones sold here in the US are already boiled where the texture of the yolk is not firm and the whites a tad too salty. A good salted egg should have a firm dark orange yolk. It should also have the right amount of saltiness to it. While the salted duck egg is a simple dish by itself, there is definitely food science behind making a great salted duck egg.

Since my parents are here with me, we decided to make salted duck eggs as we were not happy with those that we have bought from the Asian grocers. One fine weekend, we went to buy fresh duck eggs. While my parents were buying vegetables, I hunted for fresh duck eggs. After walking from one section of the store to another, I finally found a box of duck eggs. The strange thing was that the box had a placard labeled ‘Baby Duck Eggs’ and some foreign writing that I could NOT make out. Also, next to this box of baby duck eggs were baby chicken eggs.

Baby Duck Eggs (front)

Baby Chicken Eggs (back)

I was rather happy I found duck eggs BUT questioned why they were labeled ‘Baby’. Perhaps they were labeled as such to inform buyers that these were baby aka tiny duck eggs. I was further convinced by this conclusion seeing that the baby chicken eggs were especially tiny unlike the usual chicken eggs that one would normally get from grocery stores like Giant or Shop Rite. To obtain a second opinion, I asked J.

‘Why do you think these eggs are called baby duck eggs?’

‘Erm…..I don’t know. Maybe they are tiny?’ answered J who shrugged and went on looking for pastries to purchase.

Thinking nothing more of this, I informed my parents. My parents selected an entire tray of eggs. With a slight doubt on my mom’s face she asked,

‘Why do these eggs look darker than usual?’

‘Mom, honestly I am not good at this. I have NO clue whatsoever’. Very ‘helpful’ answer indeed.

‘Hai kam ka la’, my dad answered in Cantonese. That translates to ‘It is what it is’.

When we got home, my parents were excited as they boiled a concoction of saturated salted water with Shaoxing wine, Szechuan peppercorns and some star anise. When the liquid cooled they placed the eggs and brine in a container. Approximately 21 days from the time we started brining the eggs, we decided to test one of them for saltiness. Normally when the eggs are not salty enough, they are left in the brine until the desired saltiness is achieved. My mom decided to hard boil the egg for this purpose.

I was sitting in the office working when my mom came to me asking why the hard boiled salted duck egg looked so foreign. That really piqued my curiosity hence, I followed my mom to the kitchen to investigate. I took a look at the cooked egg.

The yolk looked really dark with a texture that looked like flesh. Looking at my mom I told her that we should not eat the egg. Instead we should throw that out. With optimism I told her that perhaps it was just that one egg and that we should check the rest over the weekend.

That same weekend we returned to the Asian grocers to shop. While I stood over the baby duck eggs pondering on what went wrong I was struck with an ‘aha’ moment. What if, just what if these Asians literally translated 'Baby Duck Eggs' to eggs that had baby ducks in them?! I turned towards J and exclaimed,

‘What if there are baby ducks inside the eggs? Maybe that is the reason they labeled these boxes of eggs ‘Baby Duck Eggs’?!’

J’s eyes lit up and said ‘Yea! You could be right’.

When my parents walked toward me, I shared my suspicion with them. They looked at each other in disbelief. Disbelief as they could not believe that humans will actually eat such food. On top of that, an exotic item as such actually sold in a store locally.

When we got home, my dad broke one of the eggs and what we saw justified our suspicion. The smell of the content reeked of iron and the sight ghastly. I was disgusted and excited at the same time so much so I had to capture it with my digital camera.

Warning: Not for the faint hearted. Scroll down quickly if you do not want to be disgusted.

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‘Who would eat this?’, my parents asked.

‘Uugghhh so disgusting!’, J piped in.

Nonetheless, I explained to them that in some parts of Asia this fertilized duck embryo known as balut is considered to be an aphrodisiac, a high-protein and hearty snack. Those who love balut will eat it hard boiled with salt, chili, garlic or vinegar. The broth surrounding the embryo is first sipped from the egg before the shell is peeled to reveal the yolk and young chick where these would be eaten thereafter. My parents and J were clearly appalled with this new found knowledge.

That evening even though hungry I could not stomach my dinner as I remembered the smell and sight of the embryo. Will I be able to forget this vivid encounter with a fertilized duck embryo? Will I be able to eat salted duck eggs again? Given time I believe I can. This feeling shall pass I pacified myself as I reluctantly put another spoonful of dinner in my mouth. Furthermore, I believe this encounter and realization is not as bad as J’s. He was practically sleeping beside the container of baby duck eggs in salty brine for almost a month.

Why was he sleeping beside them? That is another story all together……....

Salted Duck Egg Recipe - http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/09/homemade-salted-eggs.html
Balut - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(egg)

This is Halloween! This is Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:07:00 +0000

I do not know the origin or the history of Halloween. However, I do know that it is observed on October 31st of every year. It commonly includes but not limited to carving jack-o’-lanterns, decorating your home with spooky items, attending costume parties, watching horror films and trick-or-treating.

This year I decorated the front house using the same decorations I bought the year before last. I still find them very tasteful although they have been used before.

Witches, Cats, Spider and Web,
Jack-O-Lanterns and Flying Bats!

Cat and Bats - A view from inside the house

In addition to decorating, I bag candy treats for kids that come around the house on Halloween every year. It is fun watching them as they dress in cute little costumes. One year, a parent brought his **toddler wearing a bumble bee costume. He was definitely a cutie.

**Disclaimer: That does not mean I plan to have one anytime soon.

While I may not be able to give away candies this year, my parents and J will take my place in giving them out.

Bags of Candies

Hallmark was also selling cute Halloween toys this year. Where I worked, I will normally walk past a Hallmark store from Mondays to Thursdays. I did not want to buy it but succumbed to temptation anyway. I just cannot help it. It is the Hokey Pokey Skeleton. The head bobs up and down according to the song with the lyrics below when one activates the toy.

Parody lyrics:
You put your whole head in
You put your whole head out
You put your whole head in
And you shake it all about
You do the Hocus Pocus
And you shiver up and down
That’s what it’s all about
Now children…don’t try this at home!

Hokey Pokey Skeleton also glows in the dark……

As I was surfing the internet on the weekend, I found this pretty cool game online i.e. Plants vs. Zombies. I beat this game in one day and I must say it was really enjoyable. What better way to spend Halloween Eve than playing an eco friendly theme game where Plants actually save mankind from brain eating Zombies!

Nonetheless, once you beat the first level in Adventure mode, you can still continue playing the Mini, Puzzles and Survival mode games. Additionally, you get to build a Zen garden which I find ‘therapeutic’. One of the many things I like about this game is the credits. Nonetheless, let me end this post by wishing everyone a Happy Halloween!

Plants vs. Zombies - The song keeps repeating in my head

Reminiscing The Good Times: Broga Hill

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:11:00 +0000

There is no Chinese New Year (CNY) entry for 2011 since I remained in United States. In fact, this is the second time I missed celebrating CNY with my family in Malaysia. It was fortunate that I was able to celebrate it with my in-laws here in the States. Even so, it felt incomplete as the atmosphere was rather different due to the fact that CNY is not a national holiday for the United States. All I could do was call home and reminisce the good times.

The last time I went home to Malaysia was April 2010. It was not CNY but a fantastic trip nonetheless. J and I had our Chinese wedding banquet. Furthermore, my in-laws visited Malaysia for the first time and to top it all Aunt Maggie whom I have not seen for a long time came back from Japan with her husband, Jin. Though a little different last year, there was one thing that will always remain the same; our appetite for food and adventure. To fulfill our appetite for adventure, Melissa (Mel) suggested that we climb Broga Hill.

Broga Hill may not be new to Malaysians but it was certainly new for me as I have not been back for a while. As I am writing this, many blogs have been written about Broga Hill. Writers alike have told their respective experiences climbing the hill to catch the sunrise or workout whatever that maybe. I for one certainly would not mind being one of the many to convey my very own experience walking up this hill.

This hill that sits on the edge of the Titiwangsa Range is located in Broga, a small town located on the border of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. As Broga is situated approximately 45 kilometres (28 miles) from where we live, we woke up early to leave our homes by 5.15 in the morning. Seeing that there were eight of us, we drove two cars; one car with my parents, Aunt Maggie and Jin while the other with Aunt Anne (Mel’s mom), Mel, J and I.

It was pitched black when we left our homes. Advised by Mel a few days before our climb, we brought torch lights with us. An added perk, we made tuna and egg sandwiches the night before as reward when we make it up the hill.

Getting ready to leave

With the GPS that I had loaded with Malaysia and Singapore map, we made our way to Broga. When we reached our destination at 6.00 am, we thought that we had arrived early and there would probably be only a few other hikers there. We were wrong as there were many others who had parked their car in the palm oil estate and made their way up the hill.

We alighted the car after parking and turned on our torch lights as we could not see where we were going. As it was a palm oil estate, the ground was uneven and a little slippery as the soil was predominantly fine-textured clay and clay loam soils. All of us congregated at the foot of the hill and gradually ‘walked’ up.

A small stall selling amenities

Broga Hill Information

As we did, I realized that the route may not be as easy as what Mel conveyed to all of us days before. According to her, it was a relatively easy trail and we would probably complete the climb in about 45 minutes. Bear in mind that we have two sixty year olds i.e. my parents. Moreover, my aunt was still recovering from illness. Thankfully, Jin was there to assist her and me being their ‘tour guide’. Aunt Anne, J and my parents went ahead leaving behind Mel, Aunt Maggie, Jin and I. Climbing in front of Aunt Maggie and Jin, I guided them up by showing them uneven ground, tree roots growing out of the tropical rain forest and pot holes.

Sunrise

Taking a break - Dad, Me, Mom, Aunt Maggie, Jin and Mel taking the photo

Moving on

Halfway up, we finally caught up with the rest of the gang. Mel was totally out of breath and panting away. Thankfully, this hill was a breeze for my dad, Aunt Anne, J and I. As for my mom and Aunt Maggie, they had to take breaks as they were out of breath. Hence, the entire way up I kept saying to Mel,

‘Just a trail huh? What trail? This is not a trail. Where did you get your information from? Sigh….’.

‘What???!!!! How would I know? My friends told me it was easy’, Mel defending herself.

‘Easy for them but not for YOU or older folks’, I sighed.

For the few of us who did not wear long sleeve shirts, we were not spared by the aggressive mosquitoes. These breed of ‘bloodsuckers’ known as Aedes aegypti can be lethal especially if they were carrying the dengue virus. There is currently no vaccine to cure the infection as such the infection can be fatal if not treated early. Mel seeing us brushed ourselves to keep the mosquitoes at bay piped,

‘Did you know that Broga Hill is known for Aedes mosquitoes?’.

I turned my head, looked at her intensely, paused and said,

‘You knew all this……when???’.

‘Errr……I read about this a day ago?’, Mel replied nonchalantly.

‘And you did not tell us because????????’.

Sensing that I was faulting her, Mel defended herself,

‘What? I did not know that you guys were not aware’.

Classic response. I just shook my head, sighed and just sighed while Mel just kept echoing,

‘What?!! What?!! What?!!’.

Next time, I vow to do additional research although I am NOT the event organiser.

Second break

As the sun rose, I made my way to the top leaving behind Mel, my parents, Aunt Anne, Aunt Maggie and Jin as they coerced me not to wait for them. I finally met J at the second peak and was amazed by the view as well as the fresh air.

After a short interval, I decided to check up on my family hence gave my dad a call on his cell. Surprisingly, the reception on the hill was rather decent and that my family made it to where J and I were. We could not spot them right away as there were so many other hikers blocking our view. As we greeted them, my dad informed me that Mel had a difficult time hiking up so much so she was grateful to be alive when she finally reached the second peak.

Her reaction here reminded me so much of the time when we hiked up Maxwell Hill and that hill was way more difficult than Broga’s

Family photo - Me, Mel, Dad, Aunt Anne, Mom and J (clockwise)

The Three Musketeers

Mel & the view

Me & the view

As the sun glared and the heat began to intensify, the troop decided to head down. The trip down was not easy at all especially for my mom and Aunts. At anytime, we could have slipped and fall since some areas were really steep.

Sun is up

Downhill

When we finally reach the foot of the hill, we pat each others’ back well done. It certainly was not shabby for a trip rather organised (despite some lack of information due to the organiser’s lack of vision) and with a party of different ages that attempted the hill successfully.

At the foot of the hill - Job well done

Here we were at our cars getting ready to go home when Aunt Anne decided that she wanted to go to the rabbit farm across the road. As I was itchy all over due to some mole removal wounds the day before and bites from mosquitoes that early morning, I had to decline. However, I was deemed the party pooper and was made to stay when I was put on a guilt trip by Aunt Anne (evil, just so evil). To minimize the itch I had to use ‘Minyak Cap Kapak’ on the mosquito bites while avoiding the opened wounds.

*I just love the smell of ‘minyak cap kapak’ although J says I smell like old people whenever I use it. Sheesh....He needs to stop stereotyping. In fact, Aunt Anne loves ‘minyak cap kapak’ too.

Itch & Minyak Cap Kapak

Rabbit Farm

Since we were still early and the farm was 30 minutes from opening, we decided to have some breakfast. With the recommendation from my very good friend K, we drove to a small coffee shop a few miles down the road. I cannot say that the food was great. It certainly was not. However, it functioned well to fill us up as we were famished after the exercise.

Food Shop

Taking our places

Mom, Jin & Aunt Maggie (clockwise)

Toast

Noodles

After breakfast, we drove to the rabbit farm only to walk out from it without entering at all. The end just did not justify the means. Not that I mind as I was all for heading home to get a good shower, a good nap and later a fulfilling family dinner.

McDull: The Cute Silly Little Pig

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sun, 23 May 2010 02:37:00 +0000

My first introduction to McDull was when a coworker of mine watched McDull Prince De La Bun in the apartment we shared a few years ago. McDull is a cartoon pig character that was created in Hong Kong. Hence, all dialogs are in Cantonese. There were a total of four movies made. The first one being My Life As McDull followed by McDull Prince De La Bun, McDull The Alumni and finally McDull Kung Fu Kindergarden (McDull Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong).

I came across this clip in YouTube and was laughing so hard while watching it. Honestly, I do not know how many times I have watched this but I still manage to giggle and laugh each time I rewatch it.

Well, here you go. Enjoy!

For the extended version of McDull Kung Fu Kindergarden, watch the following clip......

Year Long Writing Hiatus & A Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sat, 08 May 2010 22:29:00 +0000

It has been more than a year since my last write up. Work and amongst other pressing matters took center stage. Despite the tight schedule, amazingly J and I manage to find time to obtain a marriage license, arrange a wedding, had a wedding banquet in U.S and another in Malaysia. I would like to say that although we made time to arrange for this event, none of this would have happened without the tremendous help from our family. While J and I handled the actual wedding affair, the banquet in the U.S and Malaysia were arranged by our parents respectively. As such, I would like to dedicate this write up to our family.

Approximately a month before our wedding date in 2009, we obtained our marriage license. I was also able to squeeze in time to select my wedding gown and two evening dresses, have them altered as well as purchased my wedding shoes. J on the other hand made arrangements with the minister and the location where we would exchange our vows.

On that fateful day, J and I had a traditional chinese wedding tea ceremony. After which we made our way to a modest chapel in Cheltenham, PA to exchange our vows.

Exchanging Vows

After Vows

For more photos of the wedding, please see http://rhys31.multiply.com/photos/album/16/Wedding_Pictures

The wedding was followed by a dinner reception at Le Bec Fin.

Dinner Reception

When all was finally over, we heaved a sigh of relief. Who knew getting married required plenty of effort and time. It was fortunate that our wedding affair was minimal and simple. Otherwise, it would have required more effort on our part.

As Chinese no matter which country you were born in, what is a wedding without a banquet where extended family and friends can partake in this happy occasion with food, wine and well wishes. Hence food, wine and well wishes were exactly what we had. Not once but twice!

The first banquet was held at Asian Court in Ellicot City, MD.

Cutting The Cake and ........

Eating It Too

The other at Overseas Restaurant, Petaling Jaya.

An Intimate Banquet in April 2010

Walking In After The Annoucement

For more photos of the banquet, please see http://rhys31.multiply.com/photos/album/15/A_Wedding_Banquet

All in all, the later part of 2009 and early 2010 were rather interesting and fulfilling.

Back Home Once Again!: Waterfalls Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:54:00 +0000

Last year we made our way to the waterfalls in Taiping. This year Melissa, Kelvin and I decided to return to the falls. After pitching this idea to everyone in the kitchen, all those that participated last year decided to return to the waterfalls again this year.

Reaching our destination

How was this trip any different from the one we had last year? Firstly, we had a new addition to the group. She happened to be Aunt Anne (finally, one of the moms that decided to join the active ones in the family). Secondly, after some persuasion from us my dad finally joined us by going INTO the waterfalls instead of merely sitting on the rocks watching out for us. YEA!!!!!!

Like last year, Kelvin is the first one to get into the water. Judging from his facial expression, we knew the water was extremely cold. The cold water did not deter us but our reaction to the chill was classic; shivers, screams, squeals and sounds from teeth chattering.

Reaction to the cold

Aunt Anne after seeing our reaction to the cold waters decided to sit on the rock and not get into the water. We foiled her plan by continuously splashing her with the cold water from the falls. The screams coming from Aunt Anne was not noise but music to the ears. From experience, we all knew that the only remedy to the cold waters was to submerge and get all wet. Without much alternative, she had to join us…heheh

Kelvin splashing water at Aunt Anne

Laughing at Aunt Anne

After a while, all of us migrated to another area of the waterfalls. The migration was undertaken with caution as the rocks were slippery and there were two young kids with us. We convoyed a little upstream where the water was cascading. The descending water was fairly strong hence taking care of the two little rascals was priority.

Migrating upstream

The Group

Kelvin, the creative one when it comes to having fun pitched the idea of using the current to sweep the kids away. We were however responsible adults and would not want anyone to get hurt. Hence, we decided to have J and Aunt Anne babysit the kids while Kelvin and I experimented with the currents. Melissa on the other hand took videos of our crazy activities.

Experimenting with the current

Using our butts, Kelvin and I managed to generate a sizeable current. Melissa and I switched places only to find that the current created was more superior. Rachael and Michelle were swept away so much so J and Aunt Anne had to hold on to them. Clearly, my butt was not big enough and Melissa’s huge butt won hands down…heheheheheh.

Producing stronger currents

Melissa's butt won hands down

From the corner, Kelvin and my dad realized that we can create a more powerful current by using J’s mass to further trap and indirectly ‘guide’ the flow downstream. The idea was brilliant. Thereafter, J was known as the ‘Stone’…hehehe

J the Stone

Throughout the trip, Melissa kept asking all of us to say something to her newly bought ripped off overpriced waterproof video camera . The common response was ‘I have nothing to say’. Nonetheless, I took this opportunity to make a candid video to submit as an application for the best job in the world (http://www.islandreefjob.com). I was not short listed but was happy I tried (clearly, there were many better video submissions).

Approximately 3 hours later, we took a family photo, made our way home wet clothes and all.

Family Photo: clockwise from left - J, Dad, Aunt Anne, Me, Kelvin, Melissa, Michelle, Rachael

Splashing one last time

Note: My thanks to Melissa's digital camera, ripped off overpriced waterproof video camera and tripod that we managed to obtain these photos and more for great memories. ;)

To be continued.....

Back Home Once Again!: To My Hometown (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:22:00 +0000

I woke up early on the eve of Chinese New Year (CNY) only to find no one else has woken up except J. After washing up, I rummaged through the refrigerator and pantry for food. I was famished! Munching away at my breakfast, 3rd aunt woke up to get breakfast ready and I had a smile plastered on my face the entire morning. I just ate and I was going to eat again that morning.

As the clock ticked away, one by one in the family got out of bed. The remaining ones is Aunt Anne and Melissa a.k.a PIGS. Rachael and I decided to wake Melissa up. We kept knocking on the door of their bedroom like there was no tomorrow. Aunt Anne finally opened the door out of irritation. However, the real pig was unfazed and was eminent about staying in bed. Rachael and I did all we could to wake her up from pushing to poking and sitting on her. The one thing that I did not do this year was grab Vicks and medicated ointment and apply it on her nose to wake her up. There is ALWAYS next year.

Lying on the couch watching the ‘Arowana’ swimming in the enormous fish tank, I was planning to climb Maxwell Hill that evening only to be disappointed when it started to rain. When it rains, the hills get slippery and leeches come out to play. There goes my plan for the evening. Right then, Kelvin my cousin brother invited me to pay respects to his late wife at Prestavest Crematorium and Memorial Park. Kelvin has always been close to me despite our geographical distance. He is like my younger brother as he did at one time stayed with me and my parents from the moment he was born until the age of six. In summary, Kelvin, Melissa and I are inseparable.

Nonetheless, we were welcomed by the wave of incense and smoke when we reached the crematorium.

Warning: Please be advised that the following pictures at the crematorium may be offensive to some. View at your own discretion.

Kelvin igniting the candle

Kelvin and kids i.e. Ivan and Clarice paying their respects

Offerings

While waiting for Kelvin to complete the ritual, we came across some hell bank notes with outrageously large denominations. Hell bank notes are afterlife monetary paper offering used in traditional Chinese ancestor veneration. Majority of the bills feature the image of the Jade Emperor the presiding monarch heaven in Taoism.

Hell Bank Notes

To the uninformed, hell bank notes may look like toys and superstitious items. There is however considerations concerning the use of hell bank notes. It is not advisable to give hell bank note to a living person as gift even if it is meant as a joke. This action translates to wishing the person’s death.

Avoid being the uninformed like my crazy cousins here….sigh (shaking head in embarrassment)

Hell bank notes are usually kept away in proper places as leaving these notes in the house is considered bad luck. Hell bank notes are treated as real money thus, are not casually tossed into the fire but respectfully placed in the fire. In some customs, each note is folded in a specific way before placing it in the fire; an extension of the belief that burning real money brings severe bad luck.

(Melissa - now you know the reason why your friends were giving you a hard time when you posted those pictures on your blog.)

On a lighter note, we made a quick stop to obtain the following.

TESCO: Food for hotpot on the 4th day of Chinese New Year

Fireworks! There were more secretly stashed away in case of a police raid

Illegal? Yes, it is illegal to sell or obtain fireworks. Then again, this is a small town hence the probability of being arrested for playing with them is rather minute. Can they be obtained openly? No. We got our loot from a friend of Kelvin’s. The quick stop was a residential home in some remote village in my hometown...heheh.

To be continued.....

Back Home Once Again!: To My Hometown

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 03:04:00 +0000

It felt like yesterday when I wrote about my last Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration at home. Yet this is another new year, the year of the Ox. This year CNY falls on January 26th. Like every year when I return to Malaysia, I would go through the same ritual. The moment I arrive home , I will drop off my luggage, have breakfast with my family ('chee cheong fun' will always be the first thing I eat in Malaysia) and then go for a much needed haircut. By the time I am done with a theraupetic session at the hair salon, it was time for dinner. My mom could not comprehend what would take me close to 4 hours in the salon. In short, I have my hair cut, highlighted, washed, steam treated and blown dry.

The outcome?

I went from this in 2008.........

to this.................. (short red hair)

The following day, we were off to Taiping, Perak as usual. Once there, the fun, the noise, the laughter, the jokes, the food and the family pretty much come together. Instead of elaborating on what happens year after year during this festive occasion, I will let the photos speak for themselves. After all, a picture speaks a thousand words.

My cousin Melissa called me a Pig on her blog. If I am a pig, she is one too coz we are a family....hehehe

Family preparing food: Chinese spring rolls
clockwise from left: Dad, 3rd aunt, 2nd aunt, Aunt Anne, Mom

Family having dinner
clockwise from left: 3rd aunt, Mom, Aunt Anne, Dad, 2nd aunt, J, moi
ooppssss.....Rachael popping out from nowhere :)

Grandma, the duck leg and drink!

After dinner: Kids, Melissa & Me
clockwise from left: Me, Rachael, Michelle, Melissa, Clarice, Ivan

Clarice and Me: I look terrible here and still half asleep..eeekkk

That was the first day in Taiping, a day before the eve of CNY 2009. I slept the entire afternoon and turned in very early that night. Adjustment to a different time zone proved difficult.

To be continued......

All It Took Was Gustav: Invasion of Jin Joo and the Pearl Harbor

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:33:00 +0000

(How long has it been since my last entry? September 2008. That long...Nonetheless, here is the continuation of the Gustav series).

Breakfast was almost over by the time we got to Rainbow Lanai. Exhausted from the activities the day before, I overslept. On top of that, nobody in our party was in the mood for food that very morning. After a slow morning, we decided to take a drive to Pearl Harbor.

‘Why are going back to the airport? I am not ready to go back!’, I exclaimed.

‘Are you sure this is the right way?’, J asked as we drove towards the airport.

‘Yes! That’s what NeverLost says’, I replied.

Sensing that NeverLost will not get us there, I had my Garmin nüvi 360 switched on to get us there. When we were finally on the correct route, the crossbreed announced,

‘Let’s get something to eat before we get to Pearl Harbor’.

‘Huh? Eat again? Where at?’, I said as my parents chuckled.

‘I saw a few plazas on the way. We could see what they have there’, J said.

We turned around to stop at plazas J mentioned. The first plaza we stopped at had Genki Sushi. It was located in Pearl City along Kamehameha Highway. Instead of going in we ended up asking a candy shop operator where we could find something local and less ‘tourisy’. He told us to drive down the highway and we will come to a shopping center with eating places.

True enough we saw plenty of restaurants located at the shopping center called the Waimalu Shopping Center. Since the selection was aplenty, we pulled up into a parking space and got down to peruse. We stopped at Jackie’s Diner and took a look at the menu to see what they have to offer. Jackie’s Diner serves authentic Hawaiian food. Seeing that I had Hawaiian food the day before, I decided that the party should have something else. As we walked out, I spotted Jin Joo. I was in the mood for something spicyyy….

A row of eating places

More shops

Jin Joo restaurant that caught my eye

The décor was minimal. However, I was more concern about the food. Having the suspicion that the portions would be huge, I decided to order a dish to share with my mom. Dad and J had their individual portions. When the food finally came, I was more than impressed.

The menu in Jin Joo

Jin Joo's Interior

Soup

Appetiser/Side dishes commonly served with the entree

Kimchi Jaegi at the far end (black clay pot)

One of the main dishes

The total cost of food at Jin Joo’s was less than $40 including tips. For four people and huge portions to boot the price was reasonable. We were more than satisfied after filling our tummies with good food. With that we continued our journey to Pearl Harbor.

There was quite a lot to see at Pearl Harbor. We spotted the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center on the way to the parking lot. The visitor center opens daily from 7.30 am to 5.00 pm. The 23 minute documentary film about the attack and the boat trip to the USS Arizona Memorial begins at 8.00 am. Adjacent to the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center is the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park that opens daily from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm with the last tour of the submarine at 4.30 pm.

We made our way to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park. Dad, J and I loved the outdoors and the sun. We proceeded to walk around in our caps and took pictures. Mom on the other hand preferred to stay in the shade. Lucky for her there were ample tables and chairs as well as concession stand in front of the museum. Our personal opinion; she needs to get out more, be active, let loose and have fun.

Dad in front of the USS Bowfin

J in front of the USS Bowfin

I have always loved the navy. The white, crisp and smart uniform puts a wide smile on my face. I may not be part of the navy but it sure made me happy to pretend to be one.

Me pretending to be part of the navy. Don't I look the part?

Having taken enough pictures, J and I went on the USS Bowfin submarine. We were given a walkman-style cassette player that narrates as we explored the historic WWII submarine. The USS Bowfin was launched on December 7th 1942 and completed nine successful war patrols. The bowfin has also earned both the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Unit Commendation during her wartime service.

Excited as I was when I went into the submarine, one word came to mind; cramped. Walking in the tight confined space made me think what it was like for those living on board. There was certainly a space issue. Exacerbating the less than ideal situation is the hot temperature of the submarine. J and I were not the only visitors on the bowfin. To avoid the feeling of being overcrowded, I moved into another section of the submarine from time to time. I cannot really imagine how up to 80 crew members operated and walked in this submarine. Amazing…

Inside the submarine

A Way Out

Dining Area

Menu for the crew members: Looked like a good selection

Kitchen

Looking below: The pantry to store food

Working Room

Bed

A row of beds

Controls

Pipes

Device used to generate fresh water

Posing in the submarine

Exiting the bowfin, I welcomed the fresh cooling breeze with zeal. We walked around a little more and posed for photographs.

Standing and Saluting

Weapons and Me

After goofing around for sometime on the submarine, J and I decided we had enough for the day. The last place to visit was the museum. Dad and J went into the 10,000 square foot museum to enjoy the impressive collection of submarine-related artifacts such as submarine weapon systems, photographs, paintings, battleflags, original recruiting posters, and detailed submarine models, all illustrating the history of the U.S. Submarine Service. I joined my mom seating in front of the concession stand to enjoy the quiet and cooling surroundings.

Just as the museum and park was about to close, J and dad came out from the museum. It was time to head back to the hotel and the beach!

I donned my zebra print bikini and headed for the beach. Clearly, my 30 year old body needed to go under the knife to sculpt away imperfections….sigh. Deep down, I knew it was only going to go downhill after 30 hence, I decided to have a few photographs taken as remembrance. Perhaps, next year with more discipline on the type of food I eat and a BETTER photographer the pictures will turn out better (I knew better than to have J take these photos…sigh).

The sun was setting, the day was almost over and I did not get a tan. I decided that the next day would be a day dedicated to frolicking by the beach, goofing in the sea and getting a tan.

To be continued…..

All It Took Was Gustav: A Little Hurrying, A Little Calmness, A Little Learning & A Complete Misinterpretation

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:10:00 +0000

In an unrecognizable accent, the lady said,

‘You park your car here and then hike up to see the crater’.

‘Hike? I thought it was a drive up according to the brochure’, I responded.

‘How far is the hike?’, J asked the lady.

The Diamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on Oahu also known as Le’ahi to the Hawaiians. We were about to park the car and experience the panoramic view of the crater when we found out that it was a 1 ½ mile hike up. The area was dry and it truly was a hot day. The party decided against the hiking activity. Instead we stopped at the crater’s lookout.

The crater from above

Leaving the crater

Driving towards the tunnel

In the tunnel

At the crater's lookout

More views

Dad & Mom in the car

Satisfied by the view from the crater lookout, we proceeded to Hanauma Bay. As J drove along the Kalaniana’ole Highway a.k.a. HI-72E, I was captivated by the sea and waves slapping the shores. This only made me want to get to the bay even faster. The GPS though indicated only two miles left of driving did not appease me. Besides, following a slow vehicle on a 50 mph speed limit highway did not help at all.

On the way to Hanauma Bay

View of the ocean

View of a mini island

The ocean

The slow vehicle

We finally reached Hanauma Bay. The bay is a marine embayment formed within a volcanic cone. The waters at the bay looked great for snorkeling hence J and I vowed to return to snorkel sometime later since my parents were not as enthused.

Dad and the bay

Hanauma Bay

After what seemed like a short visit at the bay, we made our way to the Byodo-In Temple. We continued on Kalaniana’ole Highway towards HI-61S. Approximately 12.5 miles after, we took a right turn towards Kamehameway Highway a.k.a HI-83N. We also had the opportunity driving on LikeLike Highway a.k.a HI-63S before finally reaching the temple on the Kahekili Highway.

The Byodo-In Temple is a non-denominational Buddhist temple located at the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park and is a replica of a 900 year old Buddhist place of worship at Uji in Kyoto, Japan.

The Byodo-In Temple

Another picture of the temple

Surrounding the temple are large koi ponds surrounded by lush Japanese gardens.

Koi pond at the temple

Koi in the pond

The golden koi that caught my eye

Within the temple grounds, there is a three ton brass peace bell. It is said that worshippers often sound the bell before entering the temple to purify the mind of evil spirits and temptation. This was exactly what I did prior to entering the temple. The sound of bell echoing through the quiet temple grounds truly brought peace and calmness.

The Peace Bell

The Peace Bell & Me

Sitting before me as I removed my shoes to enter the temple is a nine foot Lotus Buddha covered in gold and lacquer. I ignited a joss stick/incense, place it in the incense burner and meditated for a moment.

The Lotus Buddha

The Top

Lighted the joss stick/incense

(I maybe baptized as a Catholic but I respect and believe in the teachings of Buddha).

Peaceful

Plenty of bamboo

Exiting the temple, I came across peacocks, sparrows and a chicken. My parents, J and I continued to immerse ourselves in the peaceful temple surroundings. About 4.00 in the evening, we continued our drive along the island coast towards the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC).

The PCC is located on 42 acres of land owned by Brigham Young University of Hawaii. Most students enrolled in BYU-Hawaii are performers in PCC. They attend the university on scholarship from their native lands working up to 20 hours/week during school terms and full time during breaks to graduate debt-free. Profits from PCC support the scholarship programs run by BYU-Hawaii.

At PCC

It was 5.00 pm when we reached the Polynesian Cultural Center hence the only activity package worth embarking on was the Ali’i Luau Package. We had ½ hour to get ourselves seated for the Ali’I Luau buffet at Hale Ohana which commenced at 5.30 pm.

In front of the Hale Ohana with the lei....dinner time

As we entered the Hale Ohana, we each had a flower lei greeting. The lei that were made up of fresh orchids looked beautiful but felt uncomfortable around the neck. Nonetheless, we were seated just in time for the Luau. Throughout the evening at the Hale Ohana, we were entertained by Hawaiian music and the center’s ‘Ambassador of Aloha’ emcee.

In the Hale Ohana - At the dinner table

In the Hale Ohana - Polynesian Royalty

In the Hale Ohana - Graceful dancing

In the Hale Ohana - Little kids performing

In the Hale Ohana - Ladies dancing

In the Hale Ohana - More dancing

Additionally, we were educated on the ‘imu’ ceremony. An ‘imu’ is an underground oven that uses a combination of hot coals, stones and layers of leaves and cloth or mats to steam food. For a luau, the ‘imu’ is primarily used to cook the delicious shredded kalua pork which is a staple on any luau menu.

The Imu Ceremony

The Imu Ceremony - Peeling off the leaves

The Imu Ceremony - Carrying off the pig

The Imu Ceremony - Leaves

The Imu Ceremony - The Pig

The best yet, the all-you-can-eat spread serving authentic Hawaiian food all night.

Dinner - Island Fish

Dinner - Barbecue Chicken, Kalua Pig

Dinner - Sweet Potato (purple)

Dessert - Chocolate Macademia cake

Dessert - Guava cake, Coconut cake

Dessert - Haupia (jello like)

After a bursting meal, we left Hale Ohana and took a walk around the villages namely Hawaii, Samoa, Aotearoa (present day New Zealand), Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga and Marquesas before the ‘Horizons’ night show. Hourly performances and cultural learning experiences take place in these villages. As it was late into the evening, the performances were pretty much over leaving the villages with only the presence of visitors wandering around.

Walking into these villages was intriguing as each have its respective activities with labels informing what the activities were. The only problem? The labels were all in Hawaiian with no description in English. That left me wondering and taking wild mischievous interpretations of what the labels meant.

For instance.

My version of Tititorea. J was unaware of my intentions...hahahaha

The tititorea is in actual fact stick games played by the Maoris as demonstrated by the film below. Clearly, I was thinking out of the box and being bad.

The Real Tititorea

We made our way to the Pacific Theater for the Horizons night show passing through souvenir shops and booths. This theater has a 2800 seating capacity and we were excited. Throughout the 90 minute show we were treated to dances and performances from six Polynesian islands i.e. Hawaii, Tonga, Aotearoa, Fiji, Tahiti and Samoa with a cast of over 100 young Polynesians.

Horizons - Beginning of the show

Horizons - Graceful Ladies

Horizons - Tonga

Horizons - Maori (Poi balls)

Horizons - Another dance

Horizons - Samoa (sitting on fire)

Horizons

Of all the dances, the one that captivated J and my dad was the one from Tahiti.

Horizons - Tahitian dancers

Horizons - Tahitian dancers (bride & groom presumably)

I can only understand why and decided to create a hard time for J,

‘So, you like this one huh? A while ago you were falling asleep. Now you are wide awake.’

‘How did they move like that?!! I thought it was their apparel but it’s not!’, J was obviously amazed by the hip movement.

‘You want to ask them after the show?’, I asked.

J looked at me and said, ‘No la!!!!’.

(hahahahahaha……)

Towards the end of the show, I was clearly exhausted and sleepy. Making my way towards the SUV and driving back to the resort, I looked forward to a nice warm shower and plush bed as I am sure everybody else is.

To be continued......

All It Took Was Gustav: To The Village And Beyond

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:18:00 +0000

My eyes were blood shot when I exited the Boeing 767. I could tell that my parents and J were also in desperate need of rest and sleep. It was 7.45 pm in Oahu well past my bedtime in Connecticut. There was a six hours time difference. I anticipated we would get over the time difference in a day. However, it would ultimately be a challenge when we return from our vacation and need to turn our clocks back to Eastern Standard Time. Reason being the adrenaline and excitement will be over when we depart Oahu.

We made our way to the baggage claim area and waited in anticipation for our bags. After a lengthy wait, I was elated when I caught a glimpse of all our bags when they made their way on the conveyor belt in succession. I heaved a sigh of relief. I would really hate it if our bags did not make it with us. Thoughts of me making my way to the beach without a piece of cloth on me and showing off my imperfect bits make me shudder……

After some wait, the Hertz shuttle came to pick us up and was ‘greeted’ by a Hertz shuttle operator who apparently did not like her job. What happened to ‘Aloha! Welcome to Hertz Rental Cars!’ at the beginning and ‘We hope that you will enjoy your stay in Oahu. Thank you for choosing Hertz’ when we finally reached the Hertz Rental Center? Instead, she reluctantly gave answers as generic as they could to passengers who asked her who they should go to when they reach the rental center. I rolled my eyes, looked at J and my parents and commented in Cantonese,

‘She should just go home if she does not like her job. There are others who need work. Come on, it is not even late. What a sour puss! It is a good thing we do not need her to talk to us except to drive us to the center.’

My parents smiled and said nothing. J said,

‘She reminds me of the people in the service industries in my ‘hood’. They think they are doing you a great favor.’

I creased my forehead and commented,

‘Your ‘hood’ is different. People are trying to stay alive by not getting mugged or shot at. This is Hawaii, is it not? People are nice, yes? Unless this is a misconception and only nice people exist in tourist areas.’

We ceased conversation when the shuttle finally stopped in front of the rental center and J proceeded to collect our rental car. I must say that having the President Circle status with Hertz is a great thing. Although booked on a mid-size car, we were upgraded to a nice full size car. We had the Infiniti EX35 (sweetttt…..). The car came with a GPS system called the NeverLost. I knew better to use my very own GPS than to use the NeverLost. Like J always say, ‘The NeverLost will get you TRULY lost’. Nonetheless, if you do not have a GPS or a decent map, the NeverLost is a fair substitute.

As we drove along the Kamehameha Highway, I realized that the environment, apartments and city reminds me of home i.e Malaysia. The difference? Oahu was very much cleaner, cooler and breezier. Driving for about 8 miles, we finally reached the hotel. For five nights, we stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa. My parents had a nice suite in the Diamond Head Tower while J and I had a room with two double beds in the Tapa Tower. On the first night, I slept like a dead log. Not even an earthquake would have woken me up.

Waiting at the lobby to check in

The Resort Map

Amazingly I woke up at 9.00 am the next morning fresh, energetic and famished. After freshening up, we made our way to the Rainbow Lanai for breakfast. The continental breakfast was on the house and with an additional $10/person we were upgraded to a full American breakfast. I had a full breakfast so much so I did not have lunch that day. My parents like me were gastronomically satisfied until towards the end of the day. I could not say the same for J as J is a sluggish mindless eating machine very much like a crossbreed between a tiger shark and a cow.

Dad in front of mini waterfall

Mom and me in front of the hotel beach while waiting to have breakfast

Hotel property (view from the suite)

After a good meal, we made our way to the Concierge and Activities desk to gather a map of Oahu and a list of tours/activities respectively. Despite tours arranged by the tour operators, we opted to explore the beauty of Oahu on our own. We had a car and did not want our freedom to be inhibited by typical tour operated activities. Instead, we wanted our trip pleasant and easy. With the breeze cooling the tropical temperature, we sat comfortably on lounge sofas at Tapa bar to plan our self operated tours in Oahu.

Me, J and parents (not in the picture) at Tapa Bar

Map of Oahu and our planned attractions (circled in blue)

Our first stop was the Wal-Mart store on Keeaumoku Street. We wanted water, a basic necessity for any human being. Surprisingly, I also found my favorite green tea on the shelf i.e. ITOEN for a mere $1.10/bottle. I bought six bottles and four gallons of water. Exiting Wal-Mart parking lot, I knew there was much to see and we were on our way to our first planned attraction, the Diamond Head.

Driving in the city

A yellow 'duck' in front - vehicle that can travel on land and water

Pawn shop

To be continued......

All It Took Was Gustav: The Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:28:00 +0000

A fishing related conversation with a client 2 ½ months and a vacation idea two weeks ago, my trip was at last finalized the week before Labor’s Day weekend. The plan was to spend some time in New Orleans, LA followed by deep sea fishing at the Gulf of Mexico leaving from Pensacola, FL. Flights and hotels as well as fishing reservations were booked.

The week before the actual vacation date, news of Gustav ravaging Haiti, Jamaica and Western Cuba made headlines. Gustav was predicted to ravage New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico over the next few days. To not take chances, on 28th August 2008 three days before the evacuation process in New Orleans I had my flight, hotel and fishing trip cancelled.

Storm Path of Gustav 2008

Engulfed in disappointment and the flu virus for the entire week, I was determined to head somewhere and have a blast. After all, the new work environment albeit only a few months brought on stressful days. After pondering many hours in the midst of a bad headache, I narrowed my choices to three destinations listed below in no particular order.

Destination A

Destination B

Destination C

You and I know which one was the CLEAR winner. It was Destination C i.e. Honolulu, Hawaii also known as Oahu.

After pitching this idea to J and my parents, J and I frantically searched for last minute available vacation packages to Oahu, HI. Lady luck was shining upon us and we found ourselves a great vacation package. Add a car rental to the mix, limo reservations to and from Westchester County Airport, we were good to go. As last minute as it was, all preparations were made. What was left to do was to pack plenty of sunblock, my ohh lala bikinis, infamous yellow crocs and a few decent clothes ;)

On 31st August 2008, a day that coincides with Malaysia’s Independence Day, we woke up at 4.30 am to make our 5.30 am limo pickup. At 7.20 am, we boarded our flight and was en route to Oahu, HI......with a few transits along the way of course. The same day 14 hours later, the plane finally touched down Oahu and we were finally there!

To be continued....

Hot, Sexy, Cool...Who?

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:36:00 +0000

This is a short one and probably meaningless to some. Nonetheless, this is my thought.

Nelly is yummy. Mmmm……. ;)

The first single I heard from him was ‘Ride Wit Me’ in 2000. Back then I thought he looked good. Then he came out with ‘Hot in Herre’. Watching the music video got me hot all right. Many singles later, I saw him in the movie 'The Longest Yard' alongside Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. Not too shabby for his first acting role I must say.

Lately, I was watching Ashanti’s latest collaboration with him in ‘Body On Me’ MTV. Some years were added on his physical appearance. Even so, he remained hot, sexy and cool. What? With those sun glasses and a V neck T that accentuates his biceps as well as tight body shape, I can only croon.

As for Ashanti, damn she is just as HOTTT. :D

Music Video below for your viewing pleasure....

Land of Bourbon, Whiskey, Gambling and Horse Racing

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:33:00 +0000

This write up is rather anti climatic from my last one as it is no longer about having fun or meeting odd individuals. It is vis-à-vis my work. I can almost feel my readers’ enthusiasm for this write up declining akin to the performance of the Dow Jones for the past week.

Nonetheless, three weeks ago I decided to pause for a moment from my day to day responsibilities and chart out the journey I took since joining a consulting firm since 2001. My career started in Malaysia and within two months after joining the firm, I traveled to St. Charles, IL for company training purposes. From thereon, I was working on projects local to Malaysia and I could vividly remember the experience I gathered from my first assignment.

Being a newbie in the workforce at 23, I not only began to understand the work culture in my firm but my ex-coworkers around me. Taking my work seriously, staying focused and delivering the best I could was my priority. It was however misconstrued as anti-social and presenting a hard time to my supervisor then. Asking questions to further my understanding was also an issue and I was reprimanded for doing so. For my first assignment, I was in fact working with a highly sensitive supervisor and teammates with the clique mentally to boot. Hence, I kept a low profile, followed orders without reasons or questions while delivering my work the best I could. Conformity ensured a smooth sailing environment in that particular project thereafter.

An eye opener and a lesson well learnt albeit the hard way. As my first assignment came to an end, I was more than happy to move on and hoped that I will not have to work with them again. My prayers were answered as my subsequent ex-coworkers were normal. Needless to say, I had an enjoyable time collaborating with them.

Believing that I will develop my career solely in Malaysia, I received an unexpected phone call two years later about an opportunity to be staffed in Hartford, CT. Long story short, I seized the opportunity and the four months in CT stretched to eight months and eventually became five years. As today stands, I am still with the same firm, relocated to New York City and currently residing in CT.

Why the relocation?

For my line of work where a system that encourages fair selection of vendors and a work culture that encourages ideas, team effort as well as positive improvements, it was only logical. The plus point would be the ability to ask questions that did not result in getting a smack on the hand ;).

During these five years I was mostly in Hartford, CT for work related purposes. There were occasions where I flew to Chicago, North Carolina and San Mateo. My latest stint is The Commonwealth of Kentucky :).

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. It is one of the four US states to be officially known as commonwealth. Kentucky is also known as the ‘Bluegrass State’ as it has many lawns and pastures throughout. I have read that Kentucky is a land with diverse environments, abundant resources, the world’s longest cave system, greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the lower 48 states and the two largest man-make lakes east of the Mississippi River (phew…that was a mouthful). Another glaring attribute is that Kentucky has the most productive coalfield ($$$$).

Reading up on a destination is not the same as going there. Weeks ago I took my first flight out from White Plains, NY to Frankfort, KY.

Having slept at ungodly hours for months and countless hand action on the snooze button, I finally manage to peel myself from my airbed (long story) at 4.30 am to get ready for my 5.30 am pickup. Zombie like I showered, dressed for work, packed my luggage and made my way out of the apartment. Approximately 45 minutes later I was at the airport where I checked in, did a mini striptease at the security and finally lounged at the boarding area.

As I kept my eyes close to nap which proved to be an unsuccessful attempt before boarding the plane, I was silently hoping that my flights will be on time. Flight cancellations and delays are so common these days that it is unbecoming of the FAA and US airline industry. While the travelers are complaining, I do not believe that they are genuinely concerned. When an announcement was made that my flight was going to be delayed for approximately 20 minutes, I was not surprise at all.

Miraculously the plane reached Cincinnati, OH 10 minutes early thereby giving me slightly more time for connection which was a little less than 30 minutes. Little did I know, the connection required a terminal change i.e. from Terminal A to Terminal C. Upon deplaning, I rushed to the shuttle bus to make it to the designated terminal. I made my connection and was on my way to Lexington, KY in a tiny regional jet. Despite numerous occasions flying, I do not enjoy it. My body is not accustomed to flying and the effects are uncomfortable. With this little regional jet, I was immediately sickened. Thankfully it was a mere 25 minutes flight. After arriving at the Blue Grass Airport, I collected my travel bag, headed towards the rental car and drove to work.

Gate B7/B9 at Blue Grass Airport (LEX)

Traveling on a Monday taught me well. First of all, heels are painful and time consuming when one had to rush to make a connection especially when the initial flight is delayed. Dragging two travel bags towards the rental car in heels is also another reason not to dress up for work until one gets to the workplace. This is only applicable to ladies who travel for work and has the love for heels. I have ever since dressed in casual clothes and sneakers on a Monday morning. Of course there was an episode where my travel bag with all my clothes did not reach the destination with me….sigh. You can well imagine what that was like and definitely deserves a write up by itself.

Nonetheless, my first drive in Kentucky was nothing but pleasant. The speed limit was 55 mph and 70 mph on state and interstate roads respectively. Everybody was driving without a care in the world. The view was exceptionally gorgeous along highway 60 when I drove past Ashford Stud. I see some horses, ‘moo moos’, rolls of hay and flat green pastures along the way.

In fact, I look forward to driving highway 60 every week and I am sure there is more to discover in the land of bourbon, whiskey, tobacco, gambling and horse racing. At the meantime, enjoy the pictures.

Highway 60

Another shot of Highway 60

A Glimpse of Ashford Stud

Driving into the capital

Scenic stop just before entering the capital

Kentucky State Capitol

Kentucky Department of Revenue

OA & OA (Malaysian Arc: Part 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon R. Kwan) — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:04:00 +0000

After spending two and the half weeks in Malaysia for the Chinese New Year celebration, I finally made my way back to United States (US). I was welcomed by none other than the cold and snow the day after I returned.

Believing that I will start a new arc on my write ups, I was welcomed by news that I needed to return to Malaysia again for business related matters. For this reason, the write up and continuation of the Malaysian Arc.

The time spent on my second trip to Malaysia took on a different flavor. I simply had more time to see to more fun activities with Melissa. I have introduced Melissa as my zany cousin from my previous write up. More than being zany, bright and a tad sluggish on her part, we in fact grew up together despite being 11 years apart.

Although we had plenty of opportunities spending time together when she was younger, those times diminished as we grew older as we had responsibilities as students who aspired to do exceptionally well in school. Furthermore, we each had our circle of friends whom we spend our time with respectively. The only available times that we can get together were Chinese New Year and weekends.

As we grew older, we somehow spend less time with friends and focus on spending time with our families, thus finding ourselves spending more time with our cousins. Now that she has her driving license and independence, I no longer had to drive all the time! I love being driven around when I am home in Malaysia. Really, Malaysian drivers are indifferent and reckless. I however have been tamed for driving in the US for quite a while now. Believe me that it strains me to drive at home.

Nonetheless, Melissa and I do things most teenagers would do. We find new places to eat. We hang out at side stalls, shopping malls, bowling alley and arcade as well as drive around the city in the middle of the night.

Photo shots of KL city in the middle of the night while driving in the car

Fun times with family at shopping mall, bowling alley and arcade

Doing all the above, I must say that one of our highlights was in fact a day spent at Sunway Lagoon Theme Park. The theme park was established in 1992. Surrounding the theme park is Sunway Pyramid Shopping mall, Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel and Spa, Sunway Medical Centre and Sunway College. All of the establishments above including the theme park are owned by the giant conglomerate Sunway Group in Malaysia.

The last time I set foot in this 80 acres theme park was many eons ago where I was invited as a guest to enjoy the facilities in the park. The theme park was quite impressive back then. Walking eagerly into the park again, I realized that there were many more things to see and do. They are currently featuring a Scream Park and have incorporated the Extreme Park as well as the Wildlife Interactive Zoo. Seeing that we would not be able to go to all parks, we decided to amuse ourselves at the water park and if stamina permits we would go to the amusement/dry park.

Our first stop was the Mali Cove also known as the wave pool. Sitting by the edge of the pool and waiting for the huge tub of water to overturn was worth it. Splashed by the gush of water was refreshing.

Mali Cove

Our second stop was the African Pythons and Cameroon Climb. Basically, it consists of enclosed and fully open slide as well as an inverted double tube respectively. In short, it was a scream fest session sliding down the tubes in the pitch black darkness.

African Pythons & Cameroon Climb

After which we headed for the Congo Challenge consists of six lanes where one goes head down first. It was another scream fest and adrenaline rush session which left us craving for more exhilarating rides.

Congo Challenge

Despite being young and energetic, those rides wore us out as we had to climb up the hill to experience them. Taking a break, we took a walk against the current on the Voodoo Adventure River and chance upon the man-made ‘Victoria Falls’.

Victoria Falls (man-made)

Halfway into the day, I unfortunately had a probing headache due to the heat. To ease the pain, we headed for the Surf Beach after having some food. Stretching over 13000 square meters, the beach is capable of churning out perfectly shaped surf waves up to the maximum height of 8 feet. I have none but one word to describe the surf beach and its facilities; blissful. Lying down on the deck chair under the hut at the edge of the tropical beach oasis made us forget that a city lies simply beyond the theme park walls.

The Surf Beach

Relaxing within one of the huts at the Surf Beach

Waking up from our approximate 30 minutes peaceful slumber under the hut, we were interrupted by a queer character in leopard print ‘speedo’ swimwear. He asked for our help taking his photos while he posed at the Surf Beach. Melissa being a better photographer than me helped him. It was not until 20 minutes later, he asked Melissa for help again. Only this time, he was lying on one of the deck chairs about 30 feet away. I reclined to take a nap and from the corner from my eye as he unveiled his towel covering his modesty I realized that he had changed into a pair of transparent lacy thongs. Trying to keep a straight face and pretending nothing obscene was going on, I deliberately laid down on the deck chair.

Returning and walking towards the hut was Melissa’s stunned facial expression. I could almost swear she was marked with a paler complexion. Keeping mum, we concurrently decided to walk away from the hut. After a safe distance, I heaved a sign of relief and finally blurted out,

‘What the heck was that?’
‘Is he even normal? What a weirdo!’
‘It’s a public area, a family fun place, not some pornographic film set.’
‘Lace???!!!! A thong???!!!!! Transparent???!!!! For a HE??? You’ve got to be f***ing kidding me!’
‘AND he has a pot belly! Eeewwww!’

Melissa looked at me, rolled her eyes and in exasperation exclaimed,

‘What are you complaining about huh? It’s worst for me. I had full frontal vision! I had to look away while taking that photo and pretended to be unaffected.’
‘I won’t be able to gamble or buy any lottery ticket for the entire year! I’ll surely lose money!’
‘It’s disgusting. Spoiled my day!’
‘It’s all your fault. You attract the weirdest people.’

I do not attract weird individuals. Even so, he is an exhibitionist with skin as thick as rhinoceros hide bar none.

For the next 20 minutes while walking around the park looking for more adventure we cursed repeatedly. We did not find new rides but we successfully walked off the frustration and disbelief. Regaining composure after all the walking and cursing, we ended our day cheerfully at the park by walking the 428 meters long pedestrian suspension bridge. The view? Awesome......

For more pictures, please visit http://rhys31.multiply.com/photos/album/14/Exhilarating_Moments_at_Sunway_Lagoon_Theme_Park