Is this goat still halal?

Guess not!

Spore's Too Famous

I went back to Calvary Hospital today for volunteering purposes and told them I was back in my hometown during summer

Staff: So where to you come from, boy?
Me: Malaysia.
Staff: Oh, is that where Changi is?

Talk About Cute Packaging

What an adorable 1kg pack of Jasmine!
You don't have to worry about preserving its freshness after opening a 10kg bag of rice.

Ignorance Membawa Padah

Bruce Hall Packard Wing has a good laundry facility. All the four washing machines are working well and they're near to my room. Nothing to complain about.

All this while, I am well aware about the above notice. It's certainly understandable. If I were to live next door, I'd be pissed off with the idiot doing laundry during wee hours and waking me up in the process.

But I was ignorant. I constantly delayed my laundry routine to nighttime. After a day in uni and a dinner, you just don't feel like doing laundry immediately after that, you know...especially if you wash your clothes once every 3 days.

Last year, the Duty SRs (Senior Residents) were not that strict with the timing. Residents get away with doing laundry at 3am in the morning. I know that because I did it (and saw others doing it).

This year however, they pulled up their socks. Perhaps there were too many complaints flooding their mail box. At 11pm sharp, the Duty SR shows up in the Laundry Room and turns off the power supply.

"Dear Resident, I turned this machine off during lock up. This is because noise from the washing and drying machine disturbs residents in nearby rooms and so they are not to be used between 11pm and 7am. Please wait until tomorrow morning to finish your washing. Thank you for your consideration." -Duty SR-

Last night, I did my laundry at 10.55pm. I had the shock of my life later when the lids were all lift up. I peeked into the machine and watched helplessly as my clothes was still in the process of soaking.

Immediately, I felt anger. "Bastards! How can they let my clothes soaked for the whole night! How can they disrupt my night routine!"

The idea of waking up at 7am to continue doing my laundry was just absurd. Of course, I can do so later in the morning but I didn't want to hog the washing machine for a few hours just in case some early birds want to do their laundry.

I returned to my room, greatly dissatisfied, cursing the Duty SR. Then, God kicked some sense into me. Logic sank in. It served me right for ignoring the well-being of the nearby residents for the whole of 2008. I felt shameful, extremely. What kind of example am I setting? An ex-MSO President doing this?

Sometimes you really need to trip before taking the trouble to avoid the branch next time.

Catchy Ads

1 Utama always has interesting advertisement boards =)

A Perspective on V Day

"Girl, gift is not the only thing Valentine's Day is about."
A mum said to her little girl who was looking at a set of flowers with cute teddy bears on it in Ang Moh Kio Mall.

In Hokkien, My 60-plus-year-old Barber Said...

"Extra short this time, boy?"
When I told him I'm leaving Taiping today.

"Flight is certainly better than taking a bus. You won't have those bumpy experience like you do in a bus riding on a bumpy road."
Maybe he hasn't experienced turbulence =p

"I'll see you next year, boy!"
At the end of the session, he smiled at me and said.

Ain't A Typical Villageman

My mum brought me to a shop to get some anchovies and dried prawns. I had this embarrassing conversation with the 50-year-old-plus shopkeeper, Mr Saw:-

Mr Saw: So where're you studying, boy?
Yeam: Canberra, Australia.
Mr Saw: Fuh...the summer...and the forest fire....so terrible!

I didn't want him to think that it's an act of God since arsonists caused it. But doubting that fact that he understood what 'arsonist' meant, I instead said:-

Yeam: It's not an act of God you know...it's caused by human.
Mr Saw: Oh, those arsonists!

On our way home, my mum told me that Mr Saw was a graduate and his child is currently pursing Actuarial Studies. Fate has it that his dad asked him to take over the shop.

An Jing - Jay Chou

I heard this ringing tone in Putra LRT. I saw a bearded Malay man answering his phone.
I can't help but to smile.
Music transcends language barrier.

Chinese New Year Eve

The day before CNY starts with the praying of my maternal grandparents in my 5th Uncle's place. This ceremony actually occurs in the afternoon but since I usually spend my whole morning sleeping, this is literally the first significant thing that happens on CNY eve.

A variety of mouth-watering dishes will be served on the table, much to the delight of our grandparents I believe. After everyone prays, a pair of items will the thrown to reveal 3 informations about my grandparents.

This means that my grandparents are angry.

My grandparents are laughing.

My grandparents have finished eating.
Only then, can we all burn the offerings and keep the dishes.
I find this ritual amusing.

The lunch that we have later on are basically the same dishes that we served during the ceremony. Of course, there's more where they come from.

At night, we'll move on to my eldest aunt's place.
These are my cousins and sister, mixing Lou Sang ingredients. This is one of the most symbolic occasion during CNY.

Spot the salmons at the top!

Wikipedia says, "The dish is served as an appetizer to raise ‘good luck’ for the new year. Families and friends gather around the table and, on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying auspicious wishes out loud to mark the start of a prosperous new year and it’s customary that the higher you toss, the greater your fortunes."

We'll then proceed to our reunion dinner. A meal with close family members is always something to look forward to.

My cousin will then celebrate his Chinese birthday. It's certainly nice to be born during festive seasons. Might not be desirable when his mum had to endure the pain and deliver the baby many years back but at least he gets to celebrate his Chinese birthday annually with all his siblings.