KL

I took a bus up with my sister on Thursday morning. Both of us didn't get much sleep the night before so we were really knocked out. Actually I always deprive myself of sleep so that I will be able to sleep the journey away. This time, during the 6-hour journey, we slept all the way after custom, ignoring the two makan and toilet stops the bus made. We only woke up when we reached the outskirts of KL and then I had to contact my cousin since she was going to pick us up from the bus terminal. KL was not much different since we were last there about 2 or 3 years ago. Polluted, conjested and noisy...

It was good to see A again after 1 year. Indeed, if we hadn't gone up to find her, I would not be seeing her for another year because I was not spending CNY here. She drove us down to get some snacks before dinner then back to her new home to dump all our stuff. I must say that her new place is so much better than the cockroach-infested apartments she stayed at when she was back at Taylor's. We hung around for a little while before going down to Subang Parade to do some shopping. Next we had a late dinner at a mamak stall. The cheese and garlic naan was DELICIOUS!!! A suggested that we catch a midnight movie - The lion, the witch and the wardrobe. Yup, yup, yup, this show I really want to catch. We actually wanted to catch it in JB but they only had tickets for the first 3 rows. This time, we had to go hunting for the tickets. The first cinema we went to wasn't screening this show at all. Then my cousin called up some ticketing office to try and book tickets at another place. She managed to get them but she said that this particular cinema was not very good, also it did not have the yummy caramel popcorn which you simply must have when watching movies in M'sia. She decided to try her luck once more at the cinemas in Midvalley. The queue was long but we were lucky. We got tickets and only had to wait there for about 15 minutes.

The show was alright. I guess I was just happy to be able to get tickets and seats at the back this time. I do hope there will be a continuation for this show. Otherwise, why bother calling it the Chronicals of Narnia???

It was 2 plus in the morning when we got back and we still had to shower. I didn't want to sleep while my hair was wet so I read my cousin's copy of Memoirs of A Geisha. Typical as always, I used my super-fast scanning method to get through about half of the book before turning in around 3 plus 4. We were meeting up with my housemates in Midvalley the next day at 11 am.

My sister and I got up pretty late the next day. Surprisingly, A got up early and ironed her clothes while waiting. Maybe she was too excited to sleep since we were there?? Hahaha anyway I had to message my housemates to tell them we would be late. In fact, we only left the house close to 11 am and KL was famous for its traffic jams.

Meeting up with my housemates was great. I didn't realise how much I had missed them...especially Steph's laughter...Heh we had a good lunch and took lots of photos while shopping together. Still, the day had to come to an end and we parted ways in the evening. A brought us to a malay stall for dinner since I requested to go for authentic malay food with lots of spicy sambals. Actually we were supposed to try the sambal brinjal which was supposed to be superb according to A. Unfortunately they weren't selling it that day. Still, I enjoyed my sambal kang kong and sambal belacan. Sedap!!!

Slacking out back in A's place, we watched an anima called Spirited Away which was pretty enjoyable. I didn't expect to like the show since I don't usually watch anime. I think movies are fine for me but I can't stand the serials since they drag so long. I also managed to rush through the rest of Memoirs and I want to catch the movie. I didn't find the book that wonderful but I do want to see the book being put on screen and see how the movie turns out.

Breakfast was with some of A's church friends who kindly invited us along. We had the standard KL dim sum and ate and ate till we couldn't eat anymore. M'sia's dim sum style is not like the Hong Kong or S'pore style where the dim sum comes out from the kitchen, pushed by trolleys. Instead, their kitchen is right outside the shop and sitting too near the entrance means getting a steam bath. Also, the dim sum are carried about on large trays which are presented to each table and you get to point at the items which you want. If you want pau or lor mai kai, you have to order from the waiters or directly at the kitchen.

A's friends were another bunch of goofers and were fun to chat too. We had to leave by lunch time to find our way to my aunt's new home. We were meeting my parents there to drive back down to M'ka. Hmm...my aunt's home was really huge. I think it was almost 11 thousand square feet; it had 11 rooms and 7 bathrooms. Practically a mansion!!! Still, I don't see the need to have such a huge place. They had 2 halls for goodness sake and although they do have 4 children, 11 rooms is just too much. I really pity the cleaner...hahahaha...

Time to head back to M'ka and see my own new home and dog...

A Horrifying Dream

I can't sleep. My second bad dream this year which rendered me sleepless. Though I was really tired when I lay down earlier on, the dream has just freshened my mind completely. I woke up breathing deeply n feeling shaken. It just seemed so real.

I was in this classroom where most of the students were taking some kind of test while I, and a few others, were not. Hence we were being quiet and minding our own business. Then we were brought to this big indoor stadium-like hall where we were supposed to observe an autopsy. Since I lingered while walking into the hall, I had already seen the body. Apparently this autopsy was special. We all knew that the subject to be examined was alive. We were meant to study how the organs functioned in a live human being. It was one of those brain-dead/comatose cases where the person had no hope of ever recovering so the body was going to be put to good use. I saw the body lying on a stretcher bed just outside the hall and it was connected to a few wires - meant to keep it (or should I say, HIM) alive. As I walked past this, some blood was splashed onto me, perhaps while they were moving the body.

I entered the hall and there were these rows of seats like the ones you see in sports halls which are of ascending heights. Chris was there with me so she beckoned me to sit with her. I stood near the bottom of these seats and they pushed the body in. As they prepared the body, I was splashed with blood again, twice. Once on my clothes and another on my face. Of course I was disgusted but I didn't show it. Instead, I calmly wiped the blood away.

Ah Ren was there. In fact, he seemed to be the person-in-charge and also the head surgeon/demonstrator for this. The whole hall was quiet but the class was small. There were only a handful of students and the staff equalled that number. Because I got splashed with blood, I declined to sit on these stadium seats. There was a set of special seats which looked a little like an overhead bridge suspended on wires. It covered the width of the hall and I went to sit up there by myself. The strange thing is, these seats would give under my weight. Hence I was forced to move up pretty high until the middle where it would support me.

They brought out the body finally and uncovered his face. It was facing me and I could see that he was relatively young, maybe in his thirties or even late twenties. He was pale and there was a respirator in his mouth to breathe for him. Someone approached him and removed the respirator and from my high up position, I could see him gasping as the tube was taken out.

As the staff further prepared to start the operation to reveal the chest and abdomen area, suddenly the guy opened his eyes. I could see him staring at me. By right, the guy should have been slowly dying without any air support, but somehow, he started to breathe on his own. I seemed to be the only one who noticed this because his face was in my direction and I was sitting opposite the stadium seats. Also, the staff were too busy to observe that he had started breathing on his own. Soon, he was opening his mouth and trying to talk. I think he was trying to ask the typical hospital question - where am I?

When Ah Ren was holding the scapel, the guy sat up like Frankenstein's monster and everyone started to panic. The students and staff were moving away from him but he seemed angry...understandably since we were about to cut him up alive. He got off the bed and walked like a zombie towards the people and somehow, managed to corner a female staff. He had grabbed her by her neck and then I was standing there too. Nobody could do anything and this lady was screaming like the female character in King Kong. So I picked up a knife from the floor and slashed at his wrist. The hand was slightly cut but there was no blood. He didn't release her so I slashed once more. This time, bone was severed and he had no choice but to let go. He didn't seem to feel any pain and started chasing other people with that zombie walk. I don't know why the people didn't rush to the exits like the normal kiasu people in horror movies. Carrying the knife, I went behind him and slashed at his thighs to stop him from moving. This is where my dream ended and I woke up shuddering.

Of course you might probably not think it's very scary when you read this but I assure you, throughout the dream, I was so afraid. Now that I'm fully awake and calm (a dose of Maple seems to have helped), I also realise that it's just another stupid dream. But then again, dreams are things which you have to experience before it seems real to you.

Tennis and the Old Gang Once More

I'm damn tired right now. Exhaustion is the correct term. It's not just the tennis I played earlier on but the going out every day. People may tell me that I shouldn't be complaining since I don't have to worry about working or studying but going out all the time is really taking its toll on me, physically, mentally and also on my pocket. I've been spending a lot and nothing is going in to balance what I've spent. This is what happens when you don't work.

Though I may be tired and weary, I really enjoy meeting up with all my friends. Not seeing them for so long also makes these meetings sweeter and memorable. Today I met up with my old tennis gang, M and C. It was good to sit down, have a simple meal and just talk about the past, present and future. Reminiscing about the past and re-telling old stories and jokes was good, not to mention the treat I got for dinner and dessert, hahahaha...but of course, the time will come when I will have to treat C back. I told him to wait until I was working.

I have a lot to tell about the wedding and chalet but I haven't the time to sit down and type. I'll try to find the time soon. Right now, I want to sleep and I'll be heading up to JB tomorrow with the guys. Woohoo!!! I do miss them somewhat and I can't wait to show them my new haircut.

The BBQ Night on 10 Dec' 05

One of the last few pics of the night...mahjong after this!!!

Hao with his 2 friends. Supposed to be doing a spot of matchmaking for Ju, wahahahhaa...

Mike finally made it at 11 pm.

Playing during the photo-taking, a very usual thing for the 4 of us.

Three guys and one girl...Mr Tan jealous or not? Hahahaha....

"Kiap" Mag's nose!!!

With some of Ju's friends.

Chris and Ju's favourite pose every BBQ. So boring!!! Please change pose ok?

Ju pretending to be hardworking and clean the bench when she doesn't even have anything in her hand!

The tennis people: (from left to right) Joel, Ah Thai, Ju, Mag, Keong, Me, Chris and Lynda.

Ah Ren's Wedding

We (Ju, Chris, Jace and I) arranged to meet at the TP bus stop at 3.45 pm. I tried my best to straighten my hair and apply clumsy make-up. I was rushing to the bus stop when my shoe strap broke so I had to run back and dig up another pair. Fortunately my mum had a nice formal pair and fortunately I could wear them since my feet are 1 size bigger than hers. Anyway, by the time I had found the shoes, I was definitely going to be late if I took the bus. Hence I went out, flagged a cab and relaxed through the journey. I was about 10 minutes early and Chris was slightly early too. So at least I had some company since Jace and Ju turned out to be late. Ju told us to meet at the bus stop near the petrol station instead of the TCC one as it was more convenient for a cab to go down to Mandai Orchid Gardens from there. Unfortunately, that bus stop was one of those flimsy, temporary, orange bus stops which provide almost no shelter and it just had to rain heavily while we were there. Chris and I were frantic since the rain was going to ruin our outfits and mess up our hair. It was also freezing when the wind blew. Once Jace arrived, we were waiting for Ju but she took forever to come, claiming that she couldn't get a cab when we saw plenty passing by. In the end, we got a cab and went to pick her up. It was 4.30 pm by then and we were supposed to be seated by 4.45 pm.

The drive down was pretty fast and we reached Mandai around 4.55 pm. Luckily it was also raining there and they were waiting for the clouds to clear and the sun to come out. We signed in and each got a pink flower which signified "unmarried". The unmarried guys got a yellow flower while married people got purple. I guess this was a way to matchmake the singles?

The ceremory was held down near a small pond and it was quite beautiful. The sun was clouded and we blew bubbles when it was time for the bride to walk down. They had a golden retriever to carry the ring and a pastor from their church presided over this ceremony. After this, there was a short break while they prepared for the dinner. We were invited to try out the chocolate fountain where you could dip marshmallows, strawberries or kiwifruits into the chocolate before eating. That was pretty good but a little messy when there were too many guests crowding around the table. We also got to see some of their wedding photos which were really casual. They didn't dress up for the photo-taking; instead, they were dressed in t-shirts and jeans. That was a nice change because they looked great and radiant even without all the make-up and stuff.

We had the dinner in a marquee where buffet tables had been set up. You could tell that this was a really scaled down wedding since there were only 13 tables in all and not all the tables were full. In fact, our table (Table 12) had just 8 people. Still it was nice and cosy and at least we were able to see the bride and groom when they went up to "perform" and cut the cake. The food was good and the catering service was even better. We had fun just chatting and laughing. There was a 3-man band that went to each table to play a song. We sang along and the photographer must have loved us for he took so many pictures of us. I only hope we will get to see those photos since the ones taken with Chris's digicam didn't turn out too well.

We stayed back till 11 plus to wait for Ah Ren. He was so busy sending off his guests that we waited until we were quite fed-up but finally got some chance to chat with him and also take some photos. In fact, we were the only guests left excluding family members. All in all, it was a great day with lots of new memories. Still I was pretty tired after the entire event.

Myself...taken while waiting for the latecomers.

The happy couple.

Ah Ren's lovely sports car.

Taken at the orchid gardens.

The members of Table 12.

Us together with Jace, Papa and his wife.

Trying to act like Charlie's Angels.

The 3 musketeers with Ah Ren after he changed out of his wedding clothes.

Ah Ren with our new friends.

Ah Ren and Jace, just before we leave.

Boating Trip with Lecturers

Thursday 8 Dec' 05

This was supposed to be a sort of "Bachelor's party" for my lecturer before he got married on Saturday. Don't ask me why they decided on this. It was the best man's idea and if they wanted to spend the day with me, I was more than happy to oblige.

Ju and I met up at Chris's place in the morning to make sushi to bring as snacks for the outing. As usual, lazy Ju only got up at 11.30 am and she reached Chris's house when we had already finished made all the sushi. Hmph and all Chris did was to cut the sushi up and arrange them in a tray; she was so proud of them that she took photos of them. Me, I ended up with a sore thumb "eppendorfitis" from using the metal spoon to press the rice down on the seaweed.

Since one of the lecturers could only get off work in the afternoon, we arranged to meet at 3 pm at Buona Vista. My god, it's been a really long time since I've travelled there. Taking the train there brought back so many memories of the days I used to travel there for my attachment at NUS. We waited a while for Papa since he was late.

Actually I thought it was a little awkward to be with the other lecturer whom we were never that close to. Still, I had the girls to keep me company and hopefully, he didn't feel too left out. We picked Ah Ren up in Dover and since he didn't want to drive his car, the 6 of us were squeezing in Papa's car (more like the 4 of us at the back). Every turn the car made was torture since we were rolling around and Ah Ren was pretty heavy too. Hahaha...not to mention all the funny antics Ju was doing with him so the 4 of us were mostly groaning, moaning, screaming, laughing and complaining at the same time. It must have been really noisy for Jace and Papa but they were so comfortable in the front.

We took some time locating a petrol station to get some ice and drinks so we were late for our outing. The place was at Raffles Marina and this was the second time I had been there. Uncle Steven was the one who kindly shared his boat with us and he brought us out to a little island where the current was weak and there was some sheltar from the sun.

Of course we all jumped into the water to cool off and relax. The water was really salty and I drank quite a lot since Papa kept dunking me or splashing water at me (so old and still so childish but that's why I like him!!). When we were tired, we hung around the boat chatting and eating the sushi. The guys swam out further but they took good care of us. All in all, it was so much fun and I laughed a lot.

We headed back to the jetty when the sun had set but not before we took a few group photos. The sunset was beautiful but nothing compared to Australia.

We took baths at Raffles Marina in their high class, very posh bathrooms and then went down to Holland Village for dinner. Papa treated us to a simple chinese dinner but I guess I had too much seawater and ate really little.

Then it was time to head back home, only Papa had to go pick up his wife so we had to take the train home, haha. Still, I had to get home to recharge my batteries. I had a chalet/BBQ the next day.

Making sushi...hair very messy but I don't care...

Sitting on the boat, almost ready to move off.

Ju trying to act cool with her alien sunglasses.

Advertisement for Nivea sunblock, kindly sponsored by Jace.

The three musketeers together once more!

Chris, Ju, Ah Ren and Jace.

Ah Ren and Uncle Steven, looking down into the boat.

A very nice group photo.

An even nicer group photo with all of us in it and the sunset behind us.

Back Home 4

Since Maple is down for patching, I decided to take this time to blog. It's really dumb that I actually put the game as my top priority rather than blogging but...*shrugs*...

I still can't stand the weather here even though I've been back for 2 weeks already. Even so, it seems like I've been back for much longer. I guess it could be because I have been really making full use of my time here. Going out everyday, waking up early (9 am) everyday and not taking anymore naps in the afternoons. Instead, much of my time is spent helping my mum run errands and sometimes just accompanying her around. I also help with the housework.The other half of my time is spent meeting up with friends, playing tennis or swimming. I've already got the tan I want, now all I have to do is maintain it.

I miss tennis so much that it's amazing how I got through this whole year without touching my racquet. Going down to NYP last week to watch the team in their final match against SIM really made me miss being in the team and just having teammates to cheer with you or cheer you on. I desperately miss those days. But we can only look forward and there's no point in being trapped in the past. Besides, the team feels different with all the new players and new faces. You could say that the atmosphere has totally changed. I don't belong there anymore and realising it is like a slap in the face; a really rude awakening.

I still met up with some of my old teammates on Saturday for a hit in school. Damn I play like shit now! I feel so stiff and my racquet felt like a foreign object when it used to be part of my being. Still, I played 3 doubles and won all 3 through sheer luck and also through the extra effort from my partners (thanks to Lynda and Tian even though they may not read my blog). I want to play more but it's so difficult to meet up nowadays. People are busy working, studying or doing NS. It sucks being the only one who is free.

In order to get my skills back, I played with my dad who makes me run like crazy while I have to return the ball nicely since he can't run. This also tells me that my stamina is so down the drain and I really should join Sjai for some suicides. The only thing is, in my current state, I think the suicides will literally be suicides for me. Hahaha...ok, ok I'm going to swim more.

During the Christmas week, I will be away in Mlk until the new year. I want to see the house, the dog and my cousins. What I don't want to see is the orthodontist regarding my wisdom teeth. If they are growing the wrong way, I may need surgery to remove them and then I'll look like a hamster. I hope it doesn't come to that.

Back Home 3

I should be putting up more posts since I actually have a lot to tell. But I am lazy and busy at the same time. I am still going out everyday plus I am busy playing Maple Story. Can you blame me? I have not been playing games for almost a year.

Being home is nice. It's wonderful to see all my friends once more. There are so many I need to get in touch with but I don't have enough time. My apologies to those whom I am unable to meet up with. This holidays are just so rushed. I have so many things I wanna do but so little time.

I've been spending lots of time with my mum. I guess having to wake up early is not so bad since it'll only be for this month. My mum just loves to wake me up nice and early at 9 am everyday and it doesn't help that she will turn off the aircon and draw the curtains so that the sun shines right into the room. Hence, I have to wake up even if I don't want to.

I am looking forward to this week. It's already fully packed with activities. I will be spending the first 3 days with my mum until she goes to Melaka on Wednesday. Then on Thursday there is a boating trip with my beloved Ah Ren and Papa. Friday is the bbq where I can meet up and really chat with my tennis team. Saturday is the long-awaited wedding and Sunday...well...I should be going out with another friend.

If all goes well, I should be able to go down to JB next Friday as well. Oh yes, the guys will be back next Tuesday. I can't wait and I'm sure Chris is looking forward to that as well. Hahahaha...she misses Mr Tan so much and I miss playing mahjong and suaning the both of them.