My 2007 CNY vs. 2008 CNY

My Chinese New Year one year ago...

Got to deco at home...

After reunion dinner on sa-chap-meh (lunar 30th day before CNY), got to bring my little little relatives go play and see fireworks...

Got to hang around with family and friends in Kuching to feel and enjoy the homey CNY feel...

And got the see my 2 lovely babies dozed off after a tiring day of house visiting...

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My 2008 Chinese New Year...

Just a buffet dinner with some colleagues...

Then a lazy day in office on chu-yi (Day one of CNY)...

With almost non-existance CNY atmosphere at all in Vientiane...

And, guess what?

I even almost forgotten it's CNY last night that I keep on saying sienz "dye" me and tired "dye" me after whole day of doing nothing in the office...

Geez....what a life... or... no life??!?

Haiz...

Maybe treat myself a good good meal tonight...

But then again... it's kinda kolien de to eat alone.

Haha....see how la. But for sure, my monkey will be there to accompany my physically...

And, my piggy will be there to accompany me mentally and emotionally.

Alone? Maybe. Lonely, sure will not.

Lolz...Walao eh, me continuous de blog for 3 days liao.....wakaka.

Anyway, Happy Chinese New Year Chu Er.

CheeRz ~(,")

CNY Greeting from Petronas

I have always like our local mega companies' season greetings on television, especially Petronas. They are always full of meanings in their short videos.

Though I'm not in Malaysia now, but I somehow caught this greeting from TheStar online.

I love the greeting.

Click on picture below to see video.

Happy Chinese New Year, guys.

Miss ya all.

*CheeRz ~(,")

My Christmas, New Year and CNY in Laos...

I celebrated my Christmas 2007 by myself in Vientiane...



Can't find any celebration here other the one and only church just right outside my place. But i didn't join the function there.

I was at home. Pity me even had to turn on the motion box to the Australian channel for the Chapel event with choirs singing Christmas songs to feel the Christmas atmosphere.

Then... 31 December 2007.



I countdown with me and myself on 2008 New Year Eve.



It's pretty quiet in Vientiane on New Year Eve.

But it wasn't that bad at all. I went to Joma, had a simple pizza meal there with a strawberry shake.



And tabao two more slices back. Which one ended up as my supper that night.

Did I forgot to say, they are 50% off after 8pm? Hahaha...yes, they are and damn cheap.

Only 9,000kip (RM3.30) per slice. And they taste not bad at all.



Happy New Year, Happy 2008.....well, ok, it's a super-belated greeting anyway.

There on first day of 2008, I cooked myself a nice plate of spicy spaghetti for lunch.

In case you're wondering what's that yucky drink I made...

Yeah..I know. It looks gross. Apa la macam....macam...errr....me also donno.



Anyway, it's my rich cream latte....to be exact, ice cream latte...hehe.

It looks horrible like a puke, but the taste I tell you oh....not bad de le...haha.

Oh well...Celebrating my first ever oversea Christmas and New Year still ok de lo.

Now, today already lunar month 12, day 30.



Tomorrow is Chinese New Year already.

And here I am in Laos again, not going back until Chap Goh Mei (lunar day 15).

There's no holiday nor celebration here since Chinese here are just like 2 or 3 few kittens nia.

Sure everyone will ask how I can do that... pity me.

Actually, I already had preparation for not going home for CNY since a couple of months before. So, lets just say, I'm well prepared for it and I'm ok to deal with it, though, sadly.

But hey....CNY here still not that bad la. At least I've got something to accompany me, something to create the CNY atmosphere here.



Hahaha...

See, I told you guys it's not that bad ma.

The feng-shui spoiler at least still got its advantage during times like now.

By the way, I got my monkey to accompany me pun.



Isn't he ugly? No no, I mean...cool. Isn't he cool?



Haha...

Oh well..... I wonder how will I feel tomorrow, so far away from home, from family, from friends first time for CNY.

One thing I'm sure no matter what.....



I may be alone, BUT.... I certainly am not lonely.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

&

GONG XI FA CHAI

Ch3eRz ~(,")

Be Happy, Smile Always...

HAPPINESS is not a reward that can be achieved by just doing something...

HAPPINESS is some path that we choose for ourselves.

SMILE is not some action just to show what we are capable of doing...

SMILE as a habit, because we are gifted with this beautiful and blessed ability.

BE HAPPY & SMILE ALWAYS, truely from deep of our heart.

We will never know when it can enlighten a person's day.

(Quoted on 2 September 2005)

^Ch3eRz~(,")

Thaipusam 2008, the G-Side Effect...

Another joke of the day. Okay...it should be a few days ago punya....hehe.

In the Indian's recent annual festival, the Thaipusam, hundred thousands community Indian will turn-up at Batu Caves for prayers every year.

With visitors for the colourful event, the number can be up to over million.

However, there's seems something amiss and indifferent this year.

The number has gone down drastically to just merely a few tens thousand.

The MIC president (U-Noe-Who) said everything went on as usual and the turnout was about the same as last year.

“More than a million people are expected to be here but they will come at different times,” he added. (as reported in The Star)

"I have come to Thaipusam since I was 11 years old. I know the crowd. It is the same as before," he (U-Noe-Who) told reporters at Batu Caves. (as reported in Yahoo! Asia News)

But then again...

Stallholders and devotees lamented the small turnout and said ethnic Indians should work together to promote their cause.

"The crowd is normally double or triple this size. Now it's so small, so there is not so much of a great mood this time," said N. Kumaran, 41, a civil servant who has taken part in the festival for the past 14 years. (as reported in Yahoo! Asia News)

I wonder is the U-Noe-Who blind, or did he really go Batu Caves for Thaipusam since "he was 11 years old". So who to believe, the U-Noe-Who, or the public? You be the judge.

And here's another add-on joke before I close this topic.

In the latest protest by Coalition Against Inflation (Protes) against the rising prices of fuel and other essential items yesterday at KLCC, then again, the G-People denied permit for the gathering for whatever excuse they can come up with again.

Roadblocks were even started to set up as early as Friday...walao eh.

Fine, so as it went on.

And news for today... 56 held for attending illegal protest rally as reported in The Star.

Probably you'll see the headlines of the newspaper tomorrow saying the few of the 56 either being released over warnings, or detained for questions over something about trying to sabotage the Government right before the coming election.

Anyway, that's the news for tomorrow. As for today, well, there is apparently that somebody eat-full-full-nothing-do there really got nothing to do and this is what happened.

Malaysiakini journalist Syed Jamal Zahiid was detained for “asking too many questions”. According to Jamal, all he had asked was on what grounds were the police arresting people. (as reported in The Star)

Larf if you think it's funny. But don't sue me if you think it's not....~CheeRz~



ps.. I somehow think there's something related to this incident? What do you guys think? Hahaha...maybe me dumb dumb, pardon me. But I still don't think it's reported in the Malaysian media, is there? I don't know, let me know...

Mother Nature & Mankind

Well, of course those who knows me well enough will know where I am, what I'm doing here.

Anyway for those who doesn't, or any friendly visitors....hello and welcome. I'm in Laos, working as a Quantity Surveyor for the construction of a hydropower dam.

Yea..that's right, construction of a hydropower dam.

Mannn...isn't this a work of the destruction of our beloved Mother Nature?

Come to think of it, I kinda hate it lo.

Mother Nature granted for us a lovely planet to live, to survive.

But it's through destruction that we are showing our appreciation.

Somehow to think positively, we live our lifes by improving our day by day lifestyles for the next and future generations, right?

Sad to say, sometimes unavoidable sacrifices must be done in order for that to work out.

All we can do it try to minimise them.

However, by litering around certainly is not a good start and it certainly CAN BE avoided. We need more civilised people around to do that....probably.

But then again, some cultures just can't live healthily for the sake of Mankind even if we have got a perfect world to live in.

Yes, beer...alcohol.

Some cultures, days and nights, adults or kids as young as 7 years old, consume this mind-backward-thinking killer everyday.

Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy hanging out in pubs once a while, with limited drinks of course. But certainly not for breakfast, lunch and dinner as one of the must-have dish wad.

Siao eh...The more we drink, the shorter our lifespan will be.

I'm not directing this entry to anyone, but everyone of us should be self-conscious a bit all the time la. Alcohol should be consume within control.

Crap... I don't know what's the point of this blog anyway...wakaka. Whatever la. My conclusion...lets love our Mother Nature and Mankind as so they may last forever.

~CheeRz~

What's Your Stress Style?

Just another test from Tickle...

When life throws us a curveball, we all respond differently. How do you handle stress? Try this test to discover your personal stress style — from high-strung to mellow yellow — and learn how to sharpen your coping skills.

Here's the result...

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Terence, you're a Buddha! (whoa....I am? Hahahaha)

You're a Buddha. Eyes half-closed, a slight smile playing on your lips — you accept even the most stressful situations with ease. Nothing seems to surprise you. In fact, you may even tell people that you anticipated the problems you encounter. Stress happens, you might say, so why fight it?Peacefulness takes you a long way toward handling stress, but there's more to it than the path of least resistance. Often, stress is a sign to take action, to make a change, or — at the very least — to get up and jump out of the way! Your placid pace could cause a bottleneck in the stress-processing plant, allowing problems to stick around much longer than necessary. Try moving a little faster the next time you're faced with a sticky situation, and see if you can't be cool and courageous at the same time.

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Hmm....wadever. I'm so so so sienz now actually...

Click here to take the test yourself...

Is it a dream, or stress?

This blog is inspired by the entry of Weird Feeling in Enjoying Boredom.

Do read that entry first before continuing reading here.

I had a similar dream quite long time ago and it's still clearly visioning in my mind now.

This is how the dream is like...

I was laying on my bed. Then just out of sudden I started to float as if I was to go off to somewhere. But I grabbed hold on to the rail of the bed tightly, not wanting to let go. I was afraid... afraid of if I ever let go, I may not come back again. And by that probably not going to wake up anymore.

After waking up, it didn't feel good at all.

And...this is NOT a made-up story.

I had this same dream not only for one time, but several times.

It was all the same, and repeating.

But after the last time, which probably was like 6 or 7 years ago, or maybe longer which I'm also not sure, I did thought of trying to let go one time in the dream to see what's going to happen.

Until now, I never have that dream again.

Weird? It sure is. But true, so is it...

But then again, most probably I'll take it as a stress symptom. Even if I am ever going to have this dream again, one thing for sure...I'm not letting go that easy. This is just not my attitude...wahahaha.

Happy New Year, Happy 2008!!!

CheeRz ~(,")

Basic Table Manners

I always wanted to do a research on this topic. But it's either didn't came across my mind when I'm online, or it's still didn't came across my mind....wakaka, what the heck.



Anyway...here are them...

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Basic Table Manners (Click Here for link)

• It is inappropriate to ask for a doggy bag when you are a guest. Save the doggy bag for informal dining situations.

• It is best to order foods that can be eaten with a knife and fork. Finger foods can be messy and are best left for informal dining.

• Do not order alcoholic beverages. Drinking too much when dining out is one of the most disliked behaviors.

• Do not smoke while dining out.

• Sit up straight at the table. It makes a good impression.

• When you are not eating, keep your hands on your lap or resting on the table (with wrists on the edge of the table). Elbows on the table are acceptable only between courses, not while you are eating.

• Do not season your food before you have tasted it.

• Never chew with your mouth open or make loud noises when you eat. Although it is possible to talk with a small piece of food in your mouth, do not talk with your mouth full.

• Do not slurp soup from a spoon. Spoon the soup away from you when you take it out of the bowl and sip it from the side of the spoon. If your soup is too hot to eat, let it sit until it cools; do not blow on it.

• If food gets caught between your teeth and you can't remove it with your tongue, leave the table and go to a mirror where you can remove the food from your teeth in private.

• Eat rolls or bread by tearing off small bite size pieces and buttering only the piece you are preparing to eat. When ready for another piece, repeat the same process.

• Engage in table conversation that is pleasant but entirely free of controversial subjects.

• You should not leave the table during the meal except in an emergency. If you must go to the bathroom or if you suddenly become sick, simply excuse yourself. Later you can apologize to the host by saying that you didn't feel well.

• If you need something that you cannot reach easily, politely ask the person closest to the item you need to pass it to you. For example, "After you have used them yourself, would you please pass me the salt and pepper?"

• If a piece of your silverware falls onto the floor, pick it up if you can reach it and let the server know you need a clean one. If you cannot reach it, tell the server you dropped a piece of your silverware and ask for a clean one.

• If you or someone you are dining with is left-handed, it is best for the left-handed person to sit at the left end of the table or at the head of the table. This arrangement helps ensure that everyone has adequate elbow room to eat comfortably.

• If food spills off your plate, you may pick it up with a piece of your silverware and place it on the edge of your plate.

• Never spit a piece of bad food or tough gristle into your napkin. Remove the food from your mouth using the same utensil it went in with. Place the piece of food on the edge of your plate. If possible, cover it with some other food from your plate.

So guys, do watch out your manners wherever and whenever you are. Malaysians are just too rude in their manners badly, sorry to say...

CheerZ~(,")

Merry Christmas...

I guess it's almost one month since I last blog.

Well, I went back to Malaysia for 18 days in between anyway.

And took the first Air Asia flight out of Laos....hohoho.

Some of you may ask, or may soon ask, but I'll answer it first.

Ya, memang got a little hao lien lo...Wakakaka.

Asia Asia has actually help us to save up the 4 hours transit time in Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

It also helps us save the expensive meals our ego wants....hahahaha.

And also...no more far far gates in between in KLIA.

But still, occasionally I will still prefer Thai Airway more to Air Asia.

I'm having a very tiring Christmas today. No holiday here...sienz. Anyway folks, I hereby wish everyone....

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hope you guys are enjoying your day to the fullest ^_^

CheeRz ~(,")