Wishing note.......but not for us, parents

Wishing Tree,

East Asians, in particular Chinese, Japanese and Koreans....have a tradition of writing down notes bearing well-wishes and resolutions and hanging them onto the branches of a cherry blossom tree during the Lunar New Year....

It strikes me a bit as odd though, 'cos no way in my right mind would believe this stuff, but somehow it has struck a chord with the masses here and the tradition has been kept alive since ages.....

So it struck us as no surprise when we found a makeshift Cherry Blossom Tree within the lobby of a nearby hotel, and for the convenience of its guests and visitors, there was a writing stand, and accompanying stationary handy to jot down some words and hang them onto the tree itself.

Our dragon girl, together with her friends, rushed to write down something and whilst I was snapping some pics of them in action, I sneakily took a peek at our girl's note....

Fully expecting her to write something to us, parents, I was totally surprised that she was writing a note to her so-called best class mate, Marcus.........

Doh, there goes her appreciation for us.......it seems that friends are more important to her in her mindset and she is only bleeping 9 years young........anxiously awaiting what more she has in store for us in the coming years,.......or rather what she doesn't have in store for us.....kewl....

Fireworks galore

FIREWORKS!!!!

sssssshhhhhhhhssssssss....................just the mere mention of it, can get one imprisoned here in Malaysia, as it is totally banned for sale to the public..........reason : improper use of it resulting in many victims for life and even fatal accidents....

But that doesn't stop the public of illegaly acquiring it to celebrate the numerous festivals here in Malaysia through illegitimate means on a grand scale which rumours to amount to millions of dollars.

As the majority of the residents of our neighbourhood come from an entrepreneurial background, it is no surprise then that the usage of fireworks, small and big size, is mindblogging........'cos for the peeps here, fireworks and firecrackers are not only to welcome in the new year but also to please the God of Prosperity of the year to come.

What in a name........I guess that any reason is good enough to use fireworks itself...:p

Thus, it was no surprise that yesterday night at 12am sharp, fireworks were lit all over our neighbourhood, much to the despise of the poor dogs who were barking incessantly but much to the amusement of the countless passers-by and onlookers.

Were there any casualties? Ofcourse not......or ermmm....correction......there was a fatality, but not human though,.......as one of the boxes was placed quite close to a few parked cars, the debris of the fireworks obviously hit those cars causing some minor damage......but that didn't dampen the mood....

Year of the Tiger then.........it has definitely started with a massive roar :)

February 14th :Year of the Tiger or Valentine ?!?

As it happens to be this year, 2010,....the Chinese Lunar New Year coincides with Valentine's day........

And to be honest, in these regions of our small planet, Valentine loses out bigtime against CNY....not that the folks here are less amorous, but since that CNY is a MAJOR holiday period (with capital letters), bringing family back together and ushering in the coming year of the Tiger with many well wishes for eachother, .......needless to say that Valentino's escapades are a little bit lost on the common folk......

Although I'm quite sure that multi-able bodied peeps sure know a way how to juggle the 'family' and 'lovers' part respectively on this day.....

Ofcourse there are no 'losers' or 'winners' in this 'contest'.....but I suspect that shopkeepers would have loved the way things used to be, different dates for CNY and Valentine respectively, thus enabling them to cash in double time.......tough luck dudes!!! But ofcourse, never under-estimate Chinese entrepreneurship....some dudes cleverly combine both festivals into their products......

Back to our household then, a family-get-together, Laetitia playing firecrackers with her cousins, the elders engaging into their age-old conversations about the 'past', a bout of blackjack amongst the adrenaline seeking folks.........

All in all........Year of the Tiger has properly been ushered into our household.........and Valentine?....What Valentine?? Didn't see Cupid's arrows hitting any of us...:p

Mea maxima culpa

What they learn at school..........or rather don't learn at school.


The other day, our dragon girl was showing me a trick with an A4 size paper that she had picked up from her friends at school...........and obligingly I made a video of it........a rather cool trick......

But what astounded.....or ermm....rather shocked me most was the subsequent conversation we had whilst I was still taping her.........

The word "Cha Sieuw Bao" or translated, "Pork Bun" was featured in this second vid accompanied with her hand gestures.......still don't get it?!?

Watch the below vid then........

I presume that when you have seen this second video, you surely understand my horror..........ermmmmmmmm............am I responding too harshly?!?

Mmmmmmhhhmmmm........wait, wait, I recall something.......I was a kid myself not that long ago, wasnt' I?......

Okay, mea culpa, instead of blaming it on today's moral values and the perceived sinful influence of the mass media on my kid...........I sincerely admit that our daughter might have inherited some of my 'lesser' genes.....

So don't scold her when she puts up her act again in the future, but rather blame the dad........(in your dreams, dont even dare to try it.....)

Safety or robbers in mind?

Fairwood,

A Hong Kong tailored fast food resto (together with its competitor, Cafe de Coral) with numerous outles all over the territory, providing the locals with affordable, quick fare that has been a runaway success story.

As our flight back home, was on a budget airline, Air Asia, thus no inflight meal provided,....we decided to stuff ourselves with a quick bite at the airport at this outlet.

Now, you have to imagine that with 2 trolleys fully laden with hand carriage trolleys and additional backpacks, + 2 children in tow.........we were trying to find ourselves available seating including space for our belongings at the fast food joint in question...........

Till we were stopped by the staff, kindly asking us, to put the trolleys outside the resto........

Eeeeuuuuuuuuuhhhhhh...........................what ?!?!?!

True enough, there was a sign outside, stating no trolleys allowed inside the premises..........must be for some safety reason........we can live with that........

But there was also stated in big, bold print...."Take care of your belongings" thus meaning that "Fairwood" is not liable if anything gets stolen.................now, how are we supposed to take care of our precious belongings if we had to sit inside consuming our food and our luggage was outside ?!?!??! Where is the logic in that?

Since that we obliged with putting our trolleys outside, we duly asked the staff to keep an eye on our luggage then.........heck, ain't too much to ask, is it? Just some customer care from their part.....................nada ofcourse, they took off with a scowl, and we ate with one eye transfixed on our trolleys.....

Ofcourse, nothing untowards happened.........but we do wonder what if somebody really loses some belongings because of this 'company policy'........."See Ya in COURT!!!"

Nature calls

Blimey,

Been neglecting our blog again, darn.......

Time to make amends then......

Situation :

Shenzen, mega city bordering Hong Kong, on a rainy, cold January afternoon.......not that I mind the cold, it's a reprieve from simmering Kuala Lumpur, but the rain which poured incessantly made me take a cab instead of walking the short distance back to our flat.

Picking up a cab was no sweat, and we were on our merry way.........until...........the cab driver asked me whether he could stop to take a leak........

A........what?!?! I was a bit dumbstruck by his unordinary question, but heck, we are all humans, so heck, I just said 'yes, you can'........

Ofcourse expecting him to stop at the nearest rest or petrol station, this cabbie stopped beneath a highway bridge........ermmmmm........LOL...........he dashed to the nearest undergrowth and relieved himself in plain view of the few passers-by........

Couldn't resist to snap a few pics and post it for you all to see............:)

It took him quite a while though to do his 'thing', but he duly rushed back to his cab and we set off to my desired destination.

And by the way, the meter was all the while running whilst he was taking a piss..............should I have reprimanded him for that?!?

I ain't that cruel...........there is no stopping when nature calls..........just let it be :)