Tekkaus

Yee Sang Must Be Tossed With Lots of Salmon!

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:30:00 +0000

Unlike the year of Rabbit, this year I have only tossed Yee Sang once. Last year, I have tossed this so-called raw fish salad thrice in 3 different locations with one of them being in Taiping. Too bad we couldn't travel back to the City if Rain this year. How about you folks? How many times have you tossed this must-have Chinese New Year dish? Surely most of you tossed this prosperous Yee Sang which signifies abundance in fancy 5-star hotel with those attractive ivory chopsticks right?

Our very own DIY Yee Sang set. :)

What's inside of our DIY Yee Sang set?

Make sure you take note of the ingredients, so that you can make
your very own DIY Yee Sang, which is more DIY than this! :p

Coloured " pickled vegetables"?

"Poh Chai" crackers.

Groundnut & Sesame Seed.

Ouh...didn't know we need pepper and 5 herbs powder as well?

Aww...no yee sang tossing is complete without these orange salmon fillets. :p

As for me and my family who are poverty-stricken. We had our "Yee Sang" tossing moment in our humble, little shack. Yupe! We bought our DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Yee Sang set from Jusco. Of course it didn't come with the must-have Salmon fillets. So I bought 2 different packs of Salmon fillets and slices on Chinese New Year eve to be tossed with my family. Although it looked rather simple, all of us love it. We enjoy mixing, tossing, hurling and jumbling up all the ingredients together while uttering those "auspicious" phrases and idioms to usher our brand new (lunar) year.

Unpack your vegetables and "Pok Chai" crackers.

Then arrange your salmon fillets beautifully. :p

Sprinkle the groundnut & sesame mixture.
And those white stuff-dried noodle? LOL :D

And not forgetting...plum sauce?

So now what?

Remember that when you toss your Yee Sang with your chopsticks, make sure you toss it as high as you can...but don't~lar toss it until they hit or stick on the ceiling. Ha :D I think the preferred raw fish for Yee Sang is Salmon. That is why I insist that my family's Yee Sang must be tossed with lots of Salmon. How about you? Then again...I was the only one who ~~happily~~ ate almost all of the raw salmon fillets and slices. Guess my father, brother and wifey couldn't stand the rawness of the Salmon huh!

Toss the Yee Sang!

Lau~lau~lau (means toss~toss~toss in Cantonese ~~I think~~)

Yes. This whole bucket of Yee Sang is mine. Huatt~ar!!
Really "Nian Nian You Yee" aka Every year filled with fish (abundance)!

Best Auspicious Day To Start Working After Chinese New Year In 2012

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:59:00 +0000

By now I am sure a lot of you are eager to know when is the best (most auspicious) day in 2012 for you to start working again (开工日) after this Dragon Chinese New Year right? They say it is important for us to start working again on an auspicious day after Chinese New Year, so that our whole year will be a prosperous, smooth-sailing year filled with all the luck and wealth that we need. So if you had a bad year last year, it was probably because you started working on the wrong day after Chinese New Year! So don't make the same mistake again in this new Dragon Year.

When should you start working again after Chinese New Year?

As you know there are 12 different zodiac animals in the lunar calender, hence each zodiac animal has different best day(s) to start working again. You need to know you are born on which year to start working again! It seems that those who were born in the year of Tiger, Rabbit, Horse, Goat, Dog and Pig have BEST days to start working again (refer to the chart). This Dragon Year certainly belongs to both the Tiger and Pig as both as not 1 but 2 BEST days to start working again after Chinese New Year. Not fair at all right? LOL :D

The best day to start working again after Chinese New Year for:
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon & Snake.

The best day to start working again after Chinese New Year for:
Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog & Pig.

As for me, a raging bull...I don't have any BEST day to start working again after Chinese New Year. I do have several so-called GOOD days to work after my break. Unfortunately I have to resume my work on the 30th of January (Monday) which will be a BAD day for me. So how? My whole year will be ruined? Well...I guess I can't help it then. I am sure I can control my very own destiny in the year of the Dragon. :/ Hopefully you guys are able to start working again on your very best day. :)

Pick the BEST cut-out working day for yourself. :)

Our 1st Day Of Chinese New Year [Photos]

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:45:00 +0000

How was your first day of Chinese New Year? Did the Dragon year that you had been anticipating with bated breath started off the way you wanted? As for my family and I, we only managed to pay 3 of our relatives a visit. Usually we will be visiting at least 10 houses. Guess we can't go to too many places when we have babies on board aye. Then again all of us really enjoyed ourselves. We are happy to meet up and catch up with our relatives. It's all about reunion on my first day of Chinese New Year. How about you folks?

One for our big family album. :)

This year, our first day of Chinese New Year has been perfectly chronicled by my cousin-Rajiv, with his Nikon DSLR. I really love all the photos of us that he has taken. Every photo of us that he snapped turns out to be so vividly REAL, not to mention beautiful. I love how he weaved his magic into his lens and create picturesque memories of us. See? It's good to have a professional photographer in the house. Ha :D

It's been awhile since I last saw all 3 of my handsome cousins together.
From left: Rajiv, Shantanu & Kalai.

Me & Jordan boy. Both clad in red.

My beautiful wife and adorable daughter Skype-ing. :)

Jordan boy with his precious keys.

This is his second Chinese New Year.

Come~daddy gives you "nian nian" (milk).

Yeah~he is tired after going out for the whole day.

So these are some of the photos taken on our first day of the Dragon-ic Chinese New Year. I wish I can snap more photos on my own. Too bad I can't as I will be carrying my babies all the time. Ha :D Again, thanks to my cousin, Rajiv, for the beautiful, priceless photos. Hmm...then again I should have hired ~~for FREE~~ him to be my personal photographer for this Chinese New Year. :)

Priceless: My family portrait.

Start Your Dragon Year With RED Underwear!

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:33:00 +0000

I have always believed in starting my new lunar year on a high note. That's this saying in mandarin, "好的开始就是成功的一半。" which literally translates to "a good start will mean that your success is 50% in completion!" That is why I am determined to make sure that my beginning for this Dragon Year will start with a loud BANG! Then again I am not going to be vocal in my effort and neither will it be seen easily. So how am I supposed to start with my "best" foot?

Protect the "core"?

In order to have a great start for your new lunar year, you need to ensure that your "core" is well equipped to greet the new year. Then only you can reap the benefit of the Dragon Year. I am a believer ~~not belieber~~ of Feng Shui and I am convinced that our luck is in our very own hands. That is why I have prepared a specially bought garment for my "core". Hmmm...what "core" am I referring? Well...the "core" that you use for reproducing? LOL :D

So which colour of "shield": should I wear for my "core"?

Of course RED right?

That is why the other day I went to grab some new Body Glove underwear for my "core". It is about the colour you see. They say if you were to wear RED colour underwear during Chinese New Year, your whole year will be protected by the God of Wealth. Then you will be winning all your gambles, you will strike lottery and your investments will have handsome returns. Sounds a bit too far-fetched aye? But what if it is true? You have nothing to lose right? So wear red coloured underwear today. :)

I am going to "equip my core" with the best possible underwear. LOL :D

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Happy Chinese Dragon New Year To Everyone

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:24:00 +0000

It's the time for celebration, food and ang pow; It's my favourite festival of the year again-Chinese New Year. I am sure most of you (especially singles) are rejoicing in this new Dragon Year. Still can't sleep thinking of how many ang pow you will receiving right? Like all of you, I have always looked forward to celebrate Chinese New Year, more so as I will be celebrating with my 2 angels-Jordan and Jasmine. Though I will be giving lots of Ang Pow, I am happy. :)

A special mandarin from me. :)

Chinese New Year is all about reunion right? Reunion of friends, relatives and especially families. I love Chinese New Year because I get to see my loved ones. How about you? Anyway I wanna wish all my blog readers a very, very happy Dragon-ic Chinese New Year to you. May all of you be blessed with unlimited happiness and prosperity! HUUUUAAAAATTTTTT~ar (发～啊) as in may everyone be wealthy! :)

Why I Have Not Been Blogging...

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Yes. I have not been blogging that frequent anymore in this brand new year, let alone dropping comments in your blogs. So my apology! Yours truly me, has been unbelievably busy *panting*. Finally I managed to steal some time to blog about why I am being busy. :/ Gosh~as expected...2012 proved to be a hectic year for me. I am so busy that I barely have time to sit down to blog. I guess that was why I set "continue to blog" as one of my 12 new year's resolutions.

My Jordan boy and Jasmine girl.

I am enjoying an awesome start to this brilliant dragon-ic year. I was promoted and was rewarded with a 30% increase in salary and of course more workload. My working life has been busy ever since with more plannings needed to be done by me. However the main reason why I am busy is because of my 2 adorable babies. Yupe! Both my son and my daughter are the reasons why I am not writing as regularly as I used to. Once I reach home every day, my time belongs to them. I would be playing with them, singing, cheering them up, feeding them milk and of course, taking care of their poo~poo. :p

All my time belongs to the both of them.

I guess life is never the same anymore once you have a baby huh! Jordan boy can walk right now and I have to tail him all the time until he is asleep. By the time I sing them songs and put them in bed, it will be around 11p.m. already. So I can blog after that right? Not really...when they are sleeping...then only I have the time to do my paperwork ~~not blogging~~. Moreover my daughter is still very young (2 months old) so she will be waking up every 2 hours for her milk. And each time she will take up around 25 minutes to drink her 5 oz of milk plus burping. Each night she will wake up around 4 to 5 times. So how much time do I have to blog or sleep? You do the calculations ok?

Jordan: "Daddy~Jasmine wants to drink milk too!"

Send Maybank's Chinese New Year Ecards Now!

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:20:00 +0000

Chinese New Year is like only 5 days away! Are you ready folks? Have you bought all your new year clothes? How about tidbits and beverages? Put up all the lanterns and those red decorations? How about Chinese New Year greeting cards to be sent to your friends and relatives, especially those staying far, far away? What? You haven't bought your greeting cards yet? Fret not. You can still send them an E-Card to express your warmest Chinese New Year regards and best wishes via Maybank's Facebook App. So rest assured that those whom you care can still be touched by you during this festive season.

Train you Golden Lion!

Unlike those typical greeting cards, with this Maybank E-card your receivers will be entertained with colourful backgrounds, music and guess what? You can send your very own troupe lion dance via this e-card! What's more? The lion dance moves will actually be choreographed by you! How cool is that right? I am sure your recipients will be shocked when they read your ecards with all your "Golden Lion" popping here and there to the beats of the drum. LOL :D If your Golden Lion is trained properly, it might even win you a RM250 Ang Pow. Hurry up~tong~tong~chiang~right now!

So I am considered to be smart lar? :D

Notice the Fortune Cookie?

Besides that you can also have a FREE forecast for your new Dragon Year. With Zodiac Mash Up you will know what the year will bring you. The best part is this forecast (like its name) is a combination of Chinese and Western Zodiac. So how can your 2012 go wrong with readings from both worlds? I checked mine and now only I realized that I am a GeminOX (coined from Gemini & Ox). Pretty awesome. I love my forecast for this year. Not bad at all. try it folks. Ouh...yeah...if you are ~~feeling~~ lucky, clicking on the fortune cookie might win you an RM50.00 Petrol Voucher.

Who wants Ang Pow?

Last but not least you can also learn some facts about Chinese New Year which you can use to show off in front of your friends and relatives. Now you will appear to be brainier during Chinese New Year. This certainly bodes well for your suitors aye? So head over to Maybank's Chinese New Year Facebook App to try all 3 cool features right now. Have fun ok. Last but not least Happy Chinese New Year in advance to all my blog readers. :)

Come~Hold Daddy's Hand & Go Walk Walk

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:40:00 +0000

Jordan boy is 18 months old now. I can't believe that he is going to be 2 years old soon. Right now he is considered to be a good walker. Well...he has just started walking these recent weeks. Yupe...Jordan boy is a bit late, when it comes to walking...just like his old man-me. Jordan is a late bloomer and now he can run a bit. Of course we still have to be around him all the time to prevent him from falling down, knocking himself all over his body especially his huge head. LOL :D

"Daddy~help me to put on my shoe-shoe!"

Every day, the moment little Jordan likes the most is when we bring him out for his walk. Usually it will be evening walk. When we wake up earlier on weekends, he will be enjoying his morning stroll, with Mr. Sunny accompanying him for his 15 minutes walk. So the moment I opened our iron gate, he will storm to the door and sit down. He will then look at his shoes and wait for me to put them on for him. I would then hold both his hands and help him to stand up...and voila he will be pulling me and rushes to the "wild". Ha :D

OK. Sit still while daddy is putting on your shoes.

Done~are you ready Jordan boy?

To little Jordan, walking to the HUGE world outside is really something he relishes every single time. It is the time when he explores the world on his own. He enjoys waving his hands to our neighbours; He likes playing the swing with me; He loves kicking the ball with his little feet and most importantly our little Jordan savors his leaves-kicking and stepping moment to the MAX! He can kick the same leaf like for 5 minutes. Ha :D

Daddy~let's go walk-walk.

PRICELESS-Holding the hand of my little Jordan.

Most of the time he won't want me to hold his hand as he insists that he wants to walk on his own. Of course I will be very, very close to him. I will cherish every single moment when I am holding his little hand, walking round our neighbourhood. Seeing him, trying his best to be independent makes me miss him so much. I fear he is growing up too soon... Then again it shows that my little Jordan is healthy and happy. That is all that matters right? Come~Jordan boy~let's go walk-walk. :)

Daddy will always hold your hand and walk beside you...

Volkswagen Polo To Be Won-Your Last Day!

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:11:00 +0000

Yes. You heard me right. Today (if you are reading this on the 12th of January 2012) is the LAST DAY for you to win yourself a Volkswagen Polo worth RM115,000! Imagine driving a new, posh car that comes all the way from Germany. What a start that will be for your new year right? Besides this grand prize, if you are lucky enough you can also stand a chance to win up to RM7,000 daily. Imagine what you can do with RM7,000? A lot right?

The sleek and elegant Volkswagen Polo!

Apparently this contest (Sorry. This contest is only happening in Malaysia) has been going on for almost one month now and today is your final day for you to grab yourself a cash prize of up to RM7,000 and ultimately a brand new car-Volkswagen Polo! So how do you participate? Simple: Come join the Call Me Tone-A-Thon contest. All you have to do is spend RM15 to purchase 6 Call Me Tones and voila you will be in the running to win yourself lots of money and a uber cool German car! Here's how:

Type CAR and send it to 22222

You will be charged RM5 by sending the above message and you will get 2 Call Me Tones for 1 month (usually it will be RM12). So you have to buy 6 Call Me Tones, meaning that you have to type Car and send it to 22222 thrice (3 times) in order to be the lucky winner of RM7,000 cold hard cash and the awesome Volkswagen Polo! More important your friends who call you will now have the chance to listen to your cool, funky or maybe sentimental Call Me Tone. If you think 6 is not enough for your friends, you can get all 4,000 songs to be your Call Me Thon at www.thecube.my Ha :D So don't pick up the phone yet. Let it ring~

Remember today is your final day. The closing date is 12-01-2012!

Ouh~Polo~can you let me drive you home?

You Are My Chocolate Royal

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Besides her devotion and unconditional love for me, what really makes my wife irreplaceable in my heart is the subtle attention that she gives to all those little things in our lives-especially me. Without me saying anything, my wife knows what she needs to do when I am feeling down; She knows what words to utter to cheer me up; She knows what I like to eat and drink....well...she knows everything about me as if she has known me her whole lifetime. :)

My wife knows how to pamper me. :D

Just the other day she bought me a slice of Chocolate Royal which is my favourite from Coffee Bean. Perhaps she wanted to pamper me after seeing how tired I was these few days. It's good to have someone who cares for you, looking after you all the time right? I know that she is the only one who will always have faith in me when everyone else in the world doubts me. She is my everything...and yeah...she is my Chocolate Royal as well. Nom~nom~nom~ :D

I love Chocolate Royal!

Funny: 6 Internet Heroes & Their Nemesis

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:11:00 +0000

The other day I stumbled upon a very funny so-called comic strip about our internet from College Humor. No one can deny that our world wide web has evolved so tremendously into something so big and vast. Hence we need superheroes to help us maintain order and put the crooks in their rightful places. It is claimed that our internet is being "maintained" ~~controlled~~ by these 6 superheroes! And they are constantly fighting with their archenemies. Let's see Google, Facebook, Google+, Amazon, Reddit and co. fighting for justice! Hiyeak!

I still love Yahoo! a lot. :D

NOOOO. What happened to our handsome Dark Knight?

I prefer StumbleUpon more. :D

Who is this Cheezburger?

Big deal. I can't even buy anything from Amazon! :/

One day Google+ will be watering Facebook and the 2 "likes" on its head. :p

So what do you think? Are they fighting for us or for their own? I must say that I love Facebook's costume which resembles Batman's more sophisticated outfit. Look at the 2 Likes on his head. Haha :D What? Even Huffington Post is a superheroin? Now...where is my favourite Twitter? The Blue Bird is not considered as a superhero? It is interesting to see how Google+ is being portrayed as dumb and worthless Wow...that's a bold revelation. So do you agree with Caldwell Tanner who drew these cartoon strips?

The Bug With A Human Face

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:51:00 +0000

Some time ago, my friend who happened to be an entomologist (bug specialist) had captured something in the office. While he was busy peeling the skins of his mandarin oranges, he noticed something was perching on his the skinned fruits. He looked closely and was dumbstruck that "that something" was sucking the juice out of his mandarin oranges. It was an insect and its proboscis (nose) is penetrating into his "oranje" flesh. But what really shocked him was that the bug actually had a human face! *gasp* Let's see how humane it was, shall we?

So this was the culprit who openly sipped my friend's orange juice. LOL :D

This bug really had a penchant for Chinese Mandarin huh!

Wanna see its "human" face folks?

So what do you think? Does it resemble a human face with huge nose? :)

My 12 New Year's Resolutions For 2012

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:59:00 +0000

Today is the second day of our brand new year 2012. I am sure most of you had a blast on new year' eve right through the 1st day of 2012 right? As for me, I was at home doing my own count down while cradling my daughter and fed her milk. Ha :D Now...have you settled down already? Do you have a clear plan on what you wanna achieve in year 2012, which might be the last for all of us? *gulp* So I guess I'd better make sure that something is achieved by me before the 30-feet raging tsunami swallow me... *touch wood*

I believe this is only my second time revealing my new year's resolutions on this blog. Usually I don't divulge too much of my personal details, but my gut told me to as I need to leave some legacy behind ~~for the aliens to read~~ if the Mayan's prophecy were to materialize! Now by following the guides in my previous post: 6 Simple Steps to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions, here's what I think I wanna achieve in year 2012...

1~Stay Healthy & Injury-Free-This is number 1 in my list as I need to take care of my babies all the time. I don't wanna get sick nor injure myself in anyway.

2~Be More Time Efficient-This is a bit vague. Being a full-time daddy who has to take care of 2 demanding babies is never easy. I wanna spend more quality time with my wife and babies. Likewise I also wanna stay focused and sharp in my career without neglecting my blogs. At the same time I wanna exercise more regularly. My hands are full! Gotta use my organizer better!

3~Sleep More-This is that one very vital thing that has been clearly lacking for years. I know it will be doubly hard for me to be sleeping with the arrival of second baby...nonetheless I am going to try to sleep more. Besides my wife will be helping me out by nagging me all the time. LOL :D

4~Eat & Drink Healthily-This is an area which I must improve a lot. I have been indulging myself with too much nasi lemak and coffee. That explains why my waistline is expanding rapidly. Gotta put a stop to this urge of mine.

5~Be Lean & Mean-I used to play basketball 3 hours a day without fail. Now...I can't even play for half an hour in a week. I could run at least 5km every day...now I can't even run 5km in a week's time. What is wrong me? I have become fatter due to my lack of exercise...I need to buck up and be lean and mean again! I wanna play more balls, run more and pump more iron! Hiyeak!

6~Meditate-I used to meditate a lot back in my schooling years. Perhaps that is why I don't get tired easily after exercise rigorously every day? I need to mediate more this year as I foresee myself not going to have enough sleep every day. :'(

7~Continue Blogging-At times I do worry that my commitments and my career will derail my blogging "life". So far I am still surviving. And that is also my plan for this year. Hopefully I won't drop the bomb and give up blogging altogether.

8~Increase My Streams of Income-Online-Besides my full-time job in the office, I also managed to earn a 5-figure extra pocket money from blogging last year. I hope I can repeat that feat this year. Moreover if I have that extra time, I would love to pick up (execute) new ways to earn money online.

9~Save More Money-*tsk tsk tsk~Shaking my head* Yours truly me, can really shop. Although I earn a lot...I am spending a lot too especially for my wife and son. So does the arrival of my daughter means I am going to spend more? Definitely. I need to restraint myself even more. Gotta snip my cards and give all my money to my wife. LOL :D

10~Learn How To Draw & Paint Digitally-This is something that I have always wanted to learn ever since I was in primary school. Hopefully I will be able to dish out something this year.

11~Pursue my Master-I told my wife that I wanna pursue my Master this year and she agreed. Then again it all depends on how well I manage my time as it will be a part-time course where I need to travel to KL every weekend. If everything goes well, I will be able to start my course this September.

12~Be The Best Son, Brother, Father & Husband-Best is never the quantitative descriptive word to use aye? But that is what I wanna aim for, at least in my father's, brother's babies' and my wife's eyes. No matter what happens, I wanna be the very best that I can be for them. They will always be my main priority. Family First!

There you have it folks-My 12 new year's resolutions for this year. These 12 resolutions seems quite easy huh! Hopefully I don't screw up. How about you folks? Have you figured out what are your new year's resolutions? How many of my resolutions are the same as yours? What? Still haven't started writing yours yet? Don't worry. We are still in the infancy of this apocalyptic year. Ha :D Remember: with proper planning, we can have more time to do the things that we enjoy doing. Have a great year ahead everyone. :)

Nur Amalina Is TOO SEXY Now? I Don't Think So

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:11:00 +0000

I was shocked! Why? Because there is this lass from Malaysia by the name of Nur Amalina Che Bakri, whose new image has caused an uproar in her native country. She is being condemned by her fellow conservative Malaysians who deem her new taste of fashion to be TOO SEXY? Now who on earth is this girl and why is she being "crucified"? Let's flash back a bit *rewind*: Nur Amalina first grabbed our nation's headlines back in 2005 when she was then the top SPM scorer with 17A1.

Nur Amalina in year 2005.

Now, 6 years later, Nur Amalina Che Bakri again hogged the limelight because she has been dressing TOO SEXILY. Apparently this Bank Negara sponsored girl is pursuing her degree in medicine in United Kingdom. Thousands of irked Malaysians (mostly the Muslims) have expressed their disgust on Twitter and Facebook. Some even vent their angers on blogs? The question is...has Nur Amalina really crossed the line? Has Nur Amalina really dressed so SEXILY that it is a sin to her religion and family? Let's find out...

Nur Amalina is too sexy in this outfit? What say you?

Nur Amalina (far left) has forgotten her root and religion?

I bet now you guys will say she is a lesbian now?

So this outfit that Nur Amalina was wearing is considered to be SINFUL?

To be fair, Nur Amalina's attires are not too revealing at all. It is not like she is wearing a bikini or something. I really feel sorry for her as she has to bear the grunt of some silly Malaysians from Stone Age. I mean what's wrong with her clothes? She is not scantily clad right? It beats me to read some blogs where certain quarters are trying to scandalize the way she dress. Some even went on to blame her for tarnishing the image of Muslim and the "purity" of our country. What a silly joke!

Do you know what is SEXY?

This is what we call sexy and naughtily sinful.

Out of the sudden some Malaysians are being so pious with their religions and have the time to play fashion police huh? No disrespect but IMHO covering yourselves up with tudung or putting on the taqiyah don't make you someone religious. So stop castigating Nur Amalina. She has her own life to live and she doesn't have to listen to all this nonsense. I think only her parents have the right to criticize her and disagree with her newly-acquired fashion sense. Last but not least, I think Nur Amalina's attires is a bit daring, but definitely not revealing. I rest my case.

Do you think Nur Amalina has crossed the lines?

P.S.: I don't advocate women to dress like a slut and I have a daughter myself. However I think this is ridiculous and I don't want my daughter to be "stoned", just like how Nur Amalina has been.

6 Simple Steps To Keep Your New Year's Resolution In 2012

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

It is the time of the year again where we will be sitting down with pens and markers in our hands, pondering what went wrong (or not good enough) in year 2011. So today (which is the last day of 2011), we are supposed to come out with our very own blue print that will be used to guide us in a challenging new year. Are you ready to start your new year with your best foot? Let us create our new year's resolutions for year 2012 and ensure that we don't fall off the wagon before the next December OK?

Are you penning down you new resolutions?

Before we kick-start our new year, it is important for us to understand what we really want in our brand new year. After we have shortlisted and defined what we really want, we will be planning the correct approach on how to achieve all of our new year's resolutions. Yupe! Without the correct "map" we will not be getting to our "destinations" in time and when worse comes to worst we will be lost and stranded. So we must stay focused and motivated all the time until we reach where we are heading to.

6 Steps To Keep Your New Year's Resolutions In 2012

1~Set Exciting, Achievable Goals

It will be plain useless if you keep on setting the same goals again and again every year. I'm sure some of you has been having this "lose weight" resolution for decades but nothing (those extra pounds) seems to be going off. So instead of setting losing weight as your goal, why don't you set different goals such as participating actively in marathon, swim at least thrice a week, picking up basketball etc. These goals certainly sounds concrete and more achievable right? So excite yourself with goals that you wanna reach.

2~Create Your Blueprint

This may sound a bit tedious, but if you really want to ensure that all your resolutions will be met at the end of the year, you have to create a blueprint to schedule all your goals and integrate them into your daily lives. Lock the door and write down how you are going to achieve your goals. Take out your yearly or monthly planner and start scheduling all the activities that will bring your closer to your goals. If you need to, spend a few hours to create your blueprint. In other words you are going to begin the year 2012 with the end in your mind. Look ahead now!

3~Slow & Steady Wins The Race

I am sure you know how the story ends right? The race between the slow tortoise against the blazing fast hare. You will have 365 days for you to achieve all your new year's resolutions, so you don't have to rush to the finish line when the trigger is pulled. Instead take baby steps towards your goals. Break down goals into smaller so-called "achievements". For example, you can aim to run 1km, thrice a week in the beginning and scale it higher to 3km, 5km, so on and so forth as you get better. When you break your goal into smaller "pieces", it will be more attainable and you will not feel discouraged nor overwhelmed. So you will not procrastinate and your goals will be on track. Slow and steady~

4~Call In The Back Up

Sometimes we will stray away from our goals due to lack of support. So in order for us to be on track all the time, we need back up! Join supportive groups in your community. To keep your eyes on the road all the time, you will need someone who want the best for you such as your family members, your friends or even colleagues to support you and be your constant reminder. For example, team up with your best friend for your marathon training. This way, the both of you can encourage each other and you will definitely be on track.

5~Nudge Yourself All The Time

Nowadays we tend to be forgetful very easily. So in order to keep you focused ALL THE TIME, you need to create constant reminders all year round. First thing first write out all your goals clearly with attention-attracting marker or pen, possibly red. Then paste your goals at places where you spend your time most-your bedroom wall, your computer desk, your planner, on the mirror or even your doors. Motivational posters with inspiring quotes also do wonders when you place them strategically. Apart from that, you can also schedule reminders in your smartphone to nudge you from time to time about your goals. Another good alternative is Google Calender where you can schedule reminders to be sent to you. Now no more excuse right?

6~Remember To Reward Yourself

365 days are a hell long of a time period and it is hard for us, mere mortals to stay focused for the whole year. That is why we need some "motivation" from time to time to propel us further. So it is important to reward yourself when you have achieve those tiny "parts" of your goal. Indulge in food, beverages or activities that you love to celebrate your successes. Rest assured that you will be more motivated and determined to achieve your goals once you know how to give yourself a pat on the back. Heck~I reward myself every single day with cups of coffee. LOL :D

Come~let's have a cup of coffee. :)

There you have it folks, 6 simple steps for you to achieve your new year's resolutions in year 2012. There will be lots of hurdles and obstacles awaiting you. So don't be discouraged if you are bump into a wall. I am sure those "road blocks" are nothing but detours. They can delay you, but they can never hold you back to achieve your goals. It's time for you to make the difference that you have always wanted in your life. Last but not least...you must not give up no matter what. That's all from me in year 2011. I would like to wish all of you a happy new year. May your 2012 be a glorious one!

Happy New Year 2012!

My Beautiful Jasmine Girl & I

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:11:00 +0000

My daughter Jasmine is almost 2 months old now. To be precise, our little girl is 48 days old. Ha :D Time flies huh! In no time we will be celebrating our Chinese New Year together. I can't wait to give Jasmine and her brother, each an ang pow. Aww~:D So far I must admit that little Jasmine is really, really more demanding compared to his elder brother. As I mentioned earlier, she is one tough girl. Perhaps that is why she seems to be hungry and wants to drink a lot of milk all the time.

Jasmine~you don't wanna "oin oin" (sleep) ar?
See? You can't barely open your eyes o.

Besides that, Jasmine girl also demands my wife and I to carry her all the time when she is not sleeping. Yupe! Once she has drunk her milk, she will be crying in her cot asking us to scoop her up and carry her. My wife and I will be taking turns to take care of little Jasmine and our task will be more challenging when Jordan boy returns from the babysitter's house. Sometimes I will insist that I want to carry our daughter as I want my wife to have more rest. Here's some photos of me and my naughty daughter. :)

Why you don't wanna sleep? You want mama and papa to carry is it?

Sometimes we have to carry her even when we are eating. :p

She likes to sleep in our arms.

Aww...so blissful. My wife said she has my lips. LOL :D

Papa's little precious. :D

Honestly I don't mind carrying her all the time. In fact I love cradling little Jasmine in my arms and close to my heart. After all she is growing up fast. I wanna treasure these priceless moments that I have with her. Although it is really tiring taking care of her (we have to carry her in the wee hours as well), I feel grateful that God has blessed my wife and I with such a beautiful daughter. It's not easy to have both son and daughter, right? Jasmine girl~papa loves you. :-x

It's time to sleep~Jasmine girl. :)

Tekkaus Comment Policy

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:11:00 +0000

First thing first, I wanna thank all my readers for taking your precious time to leave your comments on this blog of mine. I am grateful for your participation. Recently it has come to my attention that not all of my blog readers are viewing the comment sections of this blog in the same way as I do. Some of my readers completely ignore its existence by not leaving their comments while others have abused it by posting off-topic, irrelevant comments which are self-serving. I HATE SPAM! Read on to find out how I handle spammy comments.

On my blog, you are welcomed to leave any kinds of comments, as long as they are relevant to my blog posts. I don't mind receiving criticism if they are constructive ones. I am perfectly OK if you wanna point out my spelling errors or my glaring grammatical mistakes. I can accept it if you disagree with what I am sharing on my blog, after all no 2 minds think alike aye? All in all, yours truly me can accept a variety of comments on my blog-however I need to draw a line on what you can do and cannot do on my blog's comment section.

By commenting on Tekkaus,

you agree to the terms of this comment policy:

1~Comments Are Loved-That's right. I love each and every single one of your comments. I believe your comments can add value to my post. Your comments and knowledge will add up to the other readers and give them a more engaging experience while they are on this blog. Everyone is welcomed to leave your comments. The best part is, I actually allow you to comment anonymously without logging in or providing your email.

2~Spams Will Be Deleted & Commenters Will Be Banned-That's right! Most spams will be automatically filtered by my commenting system. The other spam which slip through the filters will be deleted immediately as well. Spammers' emails & username (if any) and IP addresses will be BANNED forever on this blog! So be really careful with your comments spammer!

3~Relevant Links In Comments Are Welcomed-provided that the links you are pointing to are relevant to the topic. So you are encouraged to enclose links that are related to the blog posts as it adds to our conversation and will certainly allow us to understand the topic on hand better.

4~Irrelevant Links Will Be Treated As Spam-If you plan to chip in link(s) which is not relevant to our topic in your comment, you are risking my wrath! Rest assured that your comments will be deleted immediately and you (email and IP address) will be banned permanently from abusing my comment sections again. So if you want to leave irrelevant links, do so at your own risk. Besides you are also tarnishing your own reputation for being seen as spam.

5~I am CommentLuv & Do-Follow Lover-Besides being a PageRank 4 blog, this blog is also CommentLuv enabled. Meaning that when you leave your comments, your latest blog post will be automatically fetched to be included in your comments. Since this blog is also a Do-Follow blog, you can gain from my PageRank juice flowing into your blog or site. So by commenting on my blog you will be reaping great SEO benefits.

6~No Signatures Are Allowed-Including your signature in your comments is a big NO-NO on my blog as I have already provided you the convenience of CommentLuv. If signatures are included, your comments will be deleted. On a bad day, I will not only delete your comment but also ban you from commenting on my blog again. So please do not leave any signatures in your comments.

7~Editorial Discretion-Please bear in mind that I retain the right to maintain all the comments posted on this blog. While I agree to abide by these guidelines, I reserve the right to make exceptions at my discretion.

8~Legal Responsibility-I would love to gently remind all my commenters that each of you remains responsible for the legal and other consequences of your comments. So please write your comment in a responsible, ethical manner.

It is never my intention to clamp down on my readers, however I also don't want my blog to be taken for a ride. I won't allow my blog (which I devote hours every single day) to be used and exploited in ways that don't add value to it and the community around it. Please remember that your comments become a permanent part of you in the internet. Your comments reflect who you are and what you stand for. So please consider your reputation and online legacy while your are commenting on this blog. My advice is be gracious.

Rats Chewed Off Man's Penis & Caused Him To Die

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:11:00 +0000

This must have been the most shocking news I have ever read through in year 2011! It was reported that a pneumonia patient in a government hospital in Kolkata was found dead because his PENIS was CHEWED OFF by RATS! Arun Sandukh who is 53 years old was alleged to have bled to death after rats nibbled off his penis. OMG! This unbelievable, horrible...accident occurred at the SSKM hospital last Friday. How can this happen in a hospital where someone is supposed to seek treatment and rest?

Killer Rats? Will ~~part of~~ you end up in their huge bowl?

Apparently the hospital authorities had confessed that the hospital was OVERRUN by menacing rats! But aren't hospitals should be clean, hygienic and rat-free? It was reported that no nurses were around when this poor man was writhing in pain. Or they ignored him, thinking it was just a complain from the patient? When a relative came to visit, he was shocked to discover Arun dead in a pool of blood with his penis nibbled off. Where are the doctors and nurses?

Be very afraid of rats, especially when you are asleep!

I was hospitalized in a government hospital last year due to dengue. Thank goodness, no rats came and nibble my...you know. *gasp* I still can't believe that such a tragic...shocking incident could actually happen, couldn't it? RATS chewing human's penis? Were the rats that hungry? Sleeping naked? It's time to cover up. So all of you better make sure you put on your tight underwear tonight and not your loose boxer. Men! We'd better watch out. Hungry rats might be lurking under our bed tonight waiting to chew off our prized possession... :(

Your Children's Milk Are Making Them Obese?

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:11:00 +0000

By now all of you would have known that we, Malaysians, are the MOST obese in South-east Asia! Again, we are in the news for the wrong reason. This is something very shameful and we might suffer in the long run (health and financially) if we don't rectify this seemingly burgeoning "fat" problem. The real problem is that we don't think it is a "problem" to overeat and end up as an obese. After all being obese shouldn't be more deadly than having cancer right? WRONG! Being obese is actually the root of many other diseases. We should change our perception right now.

Parents play an important role in educating the young ones.

The best time (and way) for us to instill the habit of leading healthy lifestyle in ourselves is when we are young. If possible we should start as early as 1 year old. No kidding. That is why we parents play a very important role to ensure that our little ones lead a healthy lifestyles when they are still young. We don't want our children growing up to be obese right? And we certainly don't want to see them sick because of the diseases that come with their obesity.

My son's main food is still "nian nian" aka milk. :D

Imagine our children suffer from diabetic or heart attack because of our negligence...can we bear to see them go through all the pain and torment just because we negligently allow them to consume too much added sugars? Some of us might be shaking our heads saying that we don't let our children eat any candies or those teeth-rotting chocolates. Then again do you know that the milk that you are giving them might contain way too much added sugars? Shockingly as it may seem...but it is a fact that most so-called growing up milk (in Malaysia) have too much added sugars in it.

Drinking milk is important. But we must choose the right, nutritious milk.

The other day when I brought my little Jordan to a clinic, I saw a video in the waiting room, talking about added sugars in our children's growing up milk. There was this expert from Australia known as Professor Peter Davies, who busted the myth saying that children (age 1-6) need a lot of added sugars for energy and growth. He claims that children do not need huge amount of sugars to grow. Instead Professor Peter Davies said that those consumed added sugars will actually end up as fat which will contribute to obesity. We parents should really take note about this. :(

Professor Peter Davies on added sugars in children's growing up milk.

We parents will always try to give the best that we can to our little ones. But we must ensure that the "best milk" that we are giving them is nutritious and there is no added sugars in it. If not, we will be the ones who may be responsible in causing them to become obese; We are the ones who could wreak their health and future. So we should only give them milk which has no-added sugars. I am proud to say that I am feeding my baby Jordan no added-sugar growing up milk right now. Wanna know what he is drinking? Stay tuned.

Make sure no added sugar. :D

Injured My Right Wrist Because I...

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:30:00 +0000

Right now I don't think I can lift a 10kg dumbbell that easily anymore with my right hand just like how I used to do it back in university years. I don't think I can even lift something without feeling that nagging pain with my right hand. My right wrist is terribly injured and I don't see how it will recover in anytime soon...well my injury has begun when I started carrying my son using my right hand in an up right sitting position with him facing in front. My wife says I am pampering him to much... :(

I need to wear wrist support from time to time...

My family has advised me not to carry my son in such position anymore but I insist on carrying him in such position. I want my Jordan~boy to see what is in front of him when I take him out for a stroll; I want him to view what is happening around him during our outings. I love to see his funny reaction, his adorable facial expressions and his body movements when he sees what is around him while being carried by me. It is a joy to hold him close to my heart.

He is of course getting heavier (at least 10kg now) and this is taking its toll on my right wrist now. Although my Jordan boy has started to walk, he still wants to be carried by me most of then time. He will walk on his own eventually...I think in one month's time. By then I will be carrying my daughter in the same upright sitting position and I think my injury will get worse, not forgetting the pain as well. Then again it doesn't matter. Daddy love both of you a lot.

8 Reasons Why Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Is The Best Tablet For You!

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:50:00 +0000

As you guys have known I have an Apple iPad 2 to toy around with. I have been playing with it for months. Initially I was really excited to have something that millions wanted to touch...but then the joy fizzled out as I realized that my iPad 2 is a bit too huge and bulky for my little hands after prolonged use. I am sure my daddy and wife are facing this nagging issue as well. That is why I wanna remind those who wanna buy a tablet: Make sure it is of the right size and weight!

Too heavy...

Too big for a baby like me?

Cannot be fitted into handbags?

Nowadays I bring my iPad around a lot as I use it to check my emails, keep in touch with my friends on Twitter and Facebook and more importantly to entertain myself with games. Hence...I find that my iPad 2 is a tad heavy to be carried around just by holding it. Hand it over to my wife and she will tell you that iPad 2 just won't fit into any her chic handbags. My daddy who likes to play games on the iPad 2 has also told me that he can't be playing it for too long.

This is what we need?

It's too heavy! It's too big! It's too bulky! So what's the solution? We need something smaller, slimmer, sexier and definitely lighter! Introducing Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9-the perfect tablet for you and I! Let's compare Galaxy Tab 8.9 with the so-called best tablet in the market right now-Apple iPad 2.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9

8 Reasons Why Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9
is the best Tablet for you!

For starters Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 only weighs at 453grams compared to iPad 2 heavy weight of 607grams. (1*) That makes Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 a whopping 25% lighter that Apple's iPad 2! This is what we call total mobility! Moreover Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 has also dethroned Apple has the (2*) thinnest tablet in the market right now, with its unprecedented thinness of just 8.6mm. So form factor wise, Galaxy Tab triumphs!

Now let's see what's under the hood: (3*) Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is being powered by an amazing 1.5GHz dual-core processor while iPad 2 has only 1GHz of dual-core to show off. This means Galaxy Tab 8.9 is certainly way better at multitasking compared to iPad 2. So now more lagging while you play graphic-intense game! How about RAM then? Do you know that iPad 2 has only 512MB of RAM for your disposal whilst the smaller (4*) Galaxy Tab 8.9 has a whopping 1GHz of RAM for your demanding need. Again which do you think will serve you better when you switch apps and games?

Better Home Screen.

Superb multitasking capability.

A speed demon!

How about the display? You would have thought that iPad 2 with its 9.7 inch display would nick this one...BUT NO! (5*) Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 again turns out to be the victor with a higher resolution of 800x1280 at 170dpi. Rest assured that you will have an enjoyable time watching your favourite movie on Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. Not to mention that Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 supports microSD card up to 32GB (6*) while iPad 2 doesn't. What a bummer!

Better web-browsing.

A gamer's dream come true!

I have always thought that a tablet should be able to replace your laptops and even your smartphones. What really disappoints me is that Apple iPad 2 rear camera is only 0.7MP which is less than 1. What a shame for device claimed to be the cutting edge of technology. Don't you feel you are being shortchanged? Likewise (7*) Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 comes with 2MP front camera and 3MP rear camera plus autofocus with flash. With Galaxy Tab 8.9 all your priceless moments can be captured vividly. So whom do you think is the winner here?

Amazing imaging!

Stay in touch seamlessly.

It's like reading the real book.

Your office on the go.

Furthermore (8*) Galaxy Tab 8.9 runs on the latest Android Honeycomb 3.1 which I really love. Top that up with Samsung's very own TouchWiz 4.0 which gives you more control over your tablet. It is safe for me to say that at this very moment Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is the best tablet anyone should have! It is the ideal tablet with just the right size for everyone especially me. The fact that it is preloaded with Polaris Office makes it easier for me to do bring my work around.

Honeycomb Inside.

Now I can store my files, snap beautiful photos, listen to music, emails and IM all from one tablet-Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. You have read all the good news...wanna know what's the BEST news? You can get this ideal Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 from Celcom for as low as RM1,288 (US$408). Celcom is easily my preferred choice of broadband package for my tablet as it is very affordable and boast the widest network coverage in Malaysia.

Get your Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 @ Celcom

Pick the best plan that suits you and your Galaxy Tab 8.9 :)

Honestly when I am on the go, I know I can always rely on Celcom Broadband to allow me to stay connected all the time without any disruption. I can blog without any hassles. I can play online games without being potong-ed stim and I can stream my favourite Jay Chou's songs with no lagging with Celcom. Woohoo! Of course Celcom also has other tablets from its stable for you to choose from: Galaxy Tab 7 and Galaxy Tab 10.1. For more information, check out www.celcom.com.my/smartphones to get the best deals and perfect plans that suits you.

So which tablet do you prefer now? For me Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is still the best. Why? Because 8 means "Fatt" (Prosperity) and 9 means "Jiu" (Longevity). This means that the more I use Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 for my blogging, the more money I will be making with my blog and this tablet can serve me longer. Ha :D I wish Santa can give me this as my Christmas present. :p

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is Sexy and Slim-just like me. LOL :D

Meeting Jorge Lorenzo In Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:11:00 +0000

Last week I have shared with you guys a video of Ben Spies aka Elbowz in an exclusive interview on Petronas Motosports Youtube Channel. Good news to all you MotoGP fans out there. For this week's episode of motorsports@Petronas, we will be meeting Ben Spies' team mate from the Yamaha Factory Racing Team in Spain. Yupe! We are going to meet Jorge Lorenzo, the 2010 MotoGP Champion in Barcelona. Of course we will be touring around the capital of Catalonia as well.

Do you know Jorge Lorenzo is well known for his weird celebration antics which include imitating a spaceman? I guess that is why he is quite famous with the fans aye. Do you know that he is dubbed as "Por Fuera" which means "by the outside" in Spanish? He was give this rather weird nickname after his very first victory in 2003, in the 125cc class, where he overtook Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa by the outside and went on to claim the chequered flag. Wanna know more about him? Watch the following video to find out:

So now do you know this 2010 MotoGP Champion better? I bet you didn't know that Jorge Lorenzo likes Japanese food right? I am baffled to know that he is active on Twitter as well. Ha :D There you have it. The second celebrity to be featured on Petronas Motorsports Youtube channel. Done with 2 wheels. Next week I will be talking about a legend in 4 wheels. Can you tell who will be featured? It has something to with shoes... Ha :D Stay tuned ok. And don't forget to check out motorsports@Petronas and like it!

My Nuffnang Cheque of RM6,343 Has Arrived. Thanks Nuffnang!

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 01:30:00 +0000

Money~money~money! My Nuffnang cheque of RM 6,343 that I cashed out in late October had finally arrived in my mailbox. Yay! This is my 3rd payment from Nuffnang this year-2011...wait...or was it my 4th? I don't know. I didn't really keep tab as I didn't blog about it during each cash out. I wanna thank Nuffnang (and all the clients) for being so generous with me this year. I can't earn this much without Nuffnang's kindliness. Hence I would like to extend my gratitude to all my "sponsors". :p

Yay! My cheque from Nuffnang has finally arrived!

I am happy that a lousy blogger like me can earn some money from Nuffnang. I know that this RM6,000 that I have earned is considered very little to a lot of bloggers. But to me, this payment shows that a nobody blogger like me who rides a motorbike can earn some serious money as well. Unlike you guys, yours truly me is not a famous blogger; I have never featured in any newspapers; I don't get interviews; and I don't attend fancy events and functions; and I am certainly not handsome, cool or funny...BUT yet...I am able to earn some pocket money. So all you "lousy" bloggers out there: See I have made it! We can make money blogging if we really try. :D

Nuffnang really pays. :)

RM6,343.07. Not a lot but still OK~lar. :p

It is raining money. Perhaps I should cash out again before 2011 end? :p

More importantly I wanna thank all my loyal readers and fans for your continuous support. I am nothing without you. And not forgetting those anonymous visitors who drop by in my blog every single day. Thank you. I also wanna thank Nuffnang for believing in me even though I am not the "Apple" of their eyes. Of course I can't have this opportunity to earn without the advertisers' belief and faith as well. Thanks to all of you for my RM6,343.07. How I wish I can share it with you guys. :p

Thank you Nuffnang!

P.S.: My utmost gratitude to Nuffnang for allowing me to earn a 5-figure "pocket" money this year (2011). Hopefully our relationship will continue to blossom in the coming dragon year.

Happy Winter Solstice Everyone

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:55:00 +0000

It is snowing here in Malaysia and I am feeling so freezing cold at this moment. Ok. No snow...but it is really chilling cold over here in our tropical country. After all it is winter right? First thing first I would love to wish everyone Happy Winter Solstice! Today is a special day for all of us as we are considered to be one year older. We, Chinese, will be marking this prosperous day by eating tāng yuán 湯圓 (glutinous balls). We need to eat these glutinous dumplings according to our age. So I will be turning 27, hence I ate 27 of these tāng yuán.

Let's make tāng yuán 湯圓.

Let's rolling~rolling~rolling~rolling~

Done and ready to be cooked!

This year is special for us as we have a new addition in our family-Jasmine, to celebrate this meaningful festival. Lastnight my wife and daddy were the ones who make these tāng yuán while I helped to take care of Jordan and Jasmine. Both of the, were extremely well-behaved. I guess they knew we were busy. Ha :D Winter Solstice festival is all about family getting together and enjoy a bowl of these heart-warming tāng yuán. Make sure you get back home early to be with your family ok. I am sure you old folks will be happy to have your company. Happy Winter Solstice Festival to all of you.

Come~have some. :D

P.S.: Click HERE to find out how you can make this tāng yuán 湯圓 on your own. :)

Recycled Christmas Trees @ Aeon Jusco Malacca

noreply@blogger.com (CHRISTOPHER LAY) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:11:00 +0000

Christmas is like only a few more days away. Unlike the people in KL, we Malaccans don't get to view all those fancy Christmas decorations here in Malacca. Today I am going to share with you some photos of the Christmas decoration in Jusco Aeon Malacca. Last year we witnessed the biggest snowman in Jusco Aeon...this year...nothing fancy...in fact if you look closely...these Christmas trees were actually "recycled" from last year's Christmas decoration. What a huge disappointment!

Still the same white Christmas tree...

Boring, boring Christmas trees...even the little girl felt bored. :p

These dangling ornaments are new but look...unattractive...

The only difference is that this tree is taller than the one last year. :/

I was shocked when I compared the photos of this year's Christmas decorations with that of yesteryear's. Beside the absence of the huge plastic Mr. Frosty, almost everything is still the same. The tall Christmas trees, they look exactly like the ones being "planted" last year. (Click here to compare)OMG! I have always thought that Jusco is one of the best shopping malls in Malacca that prides itself with beautiful decoration. I guess the bad economy is eating into the decoration budget huh! Or maybe they are trying to educate us to be green-recycle!

There's a mini ice rink.

Children are having fun.

Parents can bring their children here to experience ice skating.

The people in Jusco did redeem themselves by putting in a sheet of "ice" on the centrecourt. This ice rink allows children to experience what it is like to skate on ice. However instead of skating with ice skates, children can skate with their shoes or the provided swimming floats. A lot of children enjoy themselves very much as they skate around with the shoes, hitching a ride on the floats or simply lay on the ice. Besides that the appearance of 2 penguins also make up for the disappointments. At least not everything is the same right?

Aww...at least we have something else to see beside trees...

Penguins from Happy Feet 2. Ha :D

Perhaps my expectation was too high huh! Then again...Jusco do try their best to create that Christmas feeling and mood. Hopefully next year Jusco will do better in decorating their mall. I am hoping that they will emulate MidValley's Funtoystic Christmas decoration. Fat chance right? Maybe I will be seeing the same Christmas trees again next year. We have to wait and see. Until then I would love to wish everyone Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Will it be a different Christmas next year?