And once again, I am updating about something that happened so many months ago. What can I say, I really tend to put things off a lot. Even in work. >.< must change this bad habit of mine, coz it makes me delay things till the last minute and then I'd have to rush, and yea, makes me late quite frequently. But i know a lot of ppl are like tat, yet this doesn't make it ok.
Anyway, back to the update on hand. This year's CNY marked the first time that I am going home for CNY. Every year, I'm already at home to celebrate it, or maybe going away some place to get away from it (against my will mostly). But this time, I have become one of the many ppl working outside of their hometown and have to take leave to go back home. Kinda strange feeling to me. Thing is, I'd only been working for about 1 mth (1 mth on 1st day of CNY to be exact), so technically I was only allowed to take 1 day's leave. So that's y I took that one day on CNY eve itself and flew back to Kch that morning. Among all of us who are working out of Kch, I was the last to arrive back. Burger was back the earliest by a few days (lucky guy!) followed by the Capt who reached just a few hours before me.
The very 1st thing i wanted to do was hunt down a bowl of yummy Sarawak LAKSA! Sadly, since it was CNY eve, they were all closed :( So i settled for my fave dumplings from Jade Pot instead. The twist was, Jade Pot was also closed for CNY, but my parents went there the day b4 and bought the uncooked ones n learned how to cook/heat them up. Not quite the same, but hey, beggars can't be choosers la, esp since I haven't had them since I left for KL. Having recharged my 'battery' (or satisfied 1 of my cravings), it was off to Eric Hair Salon! Lol i always joke about having my own hair stylist and I guess it's kinda true since I only get my hair done by Eric, who's my cousin on my dad's side. Affordable, yet with quality and friendliness :) And surprise surprise, the Captain was also getting his hair done, being the vainpot that he is. DIdn't get to talk much since we were seated on opposite sides of the salon but we did try to arrange for one of our much-missed MAHJONG sessions for the next few days. As for my hair, I just got a relaxing wash and trim, plus they set it in curls for me. *blissfully pampered*
There were just a few hours left till the family reunion dinner, so I just lazed around watching tv, sneaking some CNY tidbits and playing with the fat cat. Of coz I did try to help out, but there wasn't much I could do as well. It was kind of strange though, though I was back for CNY, my grandma and auntie had gone to spend it in KL -_-|| but she did prepare her infamous dark-sauced duck (infamous not for the taste, but for the events related), ngo hiang (meat rolls in beancurd skin), ingredients for the soup and more. The thing about the women on my mum's side, they tend to prepare food in large amounts. They're always worried about us getting hungry, hence the reason y I became chubbier once i stopped all-day school. My Uncle Jeffrey and cousin were there to help finish the food, but there were still many leftovers, which we would try to finish over the next few days. After dinner, we just sat around, catching up and playing blackjack. For once, I joined in the betting, but only RM1 per bet, which was the lowest among the rest. Hehe and I ended up winning the most, about RM20. But it was just for CNY, so yea, no long-term betting for me! My brother then took off for his REAL gambling session while I watched more TV, which wasn't much in terms of CNY entertainment this year :P till it was time for the great CNY countdown! It's pretty much tradition that all of us are back home for it, so my brother rushed back with my uncle for it. And every year my mum just tries to sleep through it -_-||
As most Kuchingites might know, though we have a firecracker/fireworks ban in Malaysia, it doesn't really seem to affect us for festive seasons. However, from what I hear, they've been harder to find this year. Of course, being ever resourceful, my family managed to source some out and though I enjoy them, I always have to comment 'WHy buy so much? You're just burning money!' But everyone else in the neighbourhood was probably as kiasu, if not more. Well, just the regular families anyway. The number of ppl doing the CNY countdown has gone down over the years. Anyway, it was still pretty much the same - loud, smoky and somewhat dangerous. You never know when a cracker will explode and send things flying over to the next house/neighbour or an empty firework shell might land in your roof gutter and keep burning and so on. This year, the alpha males of my family had finally bought some BIG fireworks, the ones that are packed like individual 'grenades' and produce only 1 big 'flower'. Each 'grenade' has to be loaded into a metal launcher with the fuse trailing out and it will then shoot up into the sky to explode. Of course, there's always the risk of it getting stuck in the launcher and blasting it to smithereens and so forth. *shrugs*
The first attempt is always the riskiest, since we all weren't very sure of the success rate. Usually 1 of them will light it and then run back to where we're all standing, quite a distance away. We watched the lighted fuse disappear into the launcher with bated breath. *POOOOFF* The grenade launched itself up and out and exploded barely over the roofs of the houses in our road. Resulting in all of us ducking and swearing simultaneously, as bits of the packaging and whatnot came raining down on us. -_-|| Our conclusion was that our area was a bit too low to get the full effect of the firework. Since I was attempting to photograph the fireworks, I resorted to crouching between a neighbour's car and his dustbin, to avoid getting hit by any exploding bits and to get the full 'flower'. This worked out pretty ok, but it was still pretty awkward. Lol. After the end of countdown, we were all smelling of smoke, slightly dusty from gunpowder and coughing slightly as usual. But yea, i wouldn't want to miss this part of CNY :) My brother of coz went back to his friends' place and I was back online and watching tv. Oh, and comforting the poor fatty who was frightened by all the noise and cowered in the corner for once. I think he actually went up to join my mum, being the manja cat he is.
Anyway, back to the update on hand. This year's CNY marked the first time that I am going home for CNY. Every year, I'm already at home to celebrate it, or maybe going away some place to get away from it (against my will mostly). But this time, I have become one of the many ppl working outside of their hometown and have to take leave to go back home. Kinda strange feeling to me. Thing is, I'd only been working for about 1 mth (1 mth on 1st day of CNY to be exact), so technically I was only allowed to take 1 day's leave. So that's y I took that one day on CNY eve itself and flew back to Kch that morning. Among all of us who are working out of Kch, I was the last to arrive back. Burger was back the earliest by a few days (lucky guy!) followed by the Capt who reached just a few hours before me.
The very 1st thing i wanted to do was hunt down a bowl of yummy Sarawak LAKSA! Sadly, since it was CNY eve, they were all closed :( So i settled for my fave dumplings from Jade Pot instead. The twist was, Jade Pot was also closed for CNY, but my parents went there the day b4 and bought the uncooked ones n learned how to cook/heat them up. Not quite the same, but hey, beggars can't be choosers la, esp since I haven't had them since I left for KL. Having recharged my 'battery' (or satisfied 1 of my cravings), it was off to Eric Hair Salon! Lol i always joke about having my own hair stylist and I guess it's kinda true since I only get my hair done by Eric, who's my cousin on my dad's side. Affordable, yet with quality and friendliness :) And surprise surprise, the Captain was also getting his hair done, being the vainpot that he is. DIdn't get to talk much since we were seated on opposite sides of the salon but we did try to arrange for one of our much-missed MAHJONG sessions for the next few days. As for my hair, I just got a relaxing wash and trim, plus they set it in curls for me. *blissfully pampered*
There were just a few hours left till the family reunion dinner, so I just lazed around watching tv, sneaking some CNY tidbits and playing with the fat cat. Of coz I did try to help out, but there wasn't much I could do as well. It was kind of strange though, though I was back for CNY, my grandma and auntie had gone to spend it in KL -_-|| but she did prepare her infamous dark-sauced duck (infamous not for the taste, but for the events related), ngo hiang (meat rolls in beancurd skin), ingredients for the soup and more. The thing about the women on my mum's side, they tend to prepare food in large amounts. They're always worried about us getting hungry, hence the reason y I became chubbier once i stopped all-day school. My Uncle Jeffrey and cousin were there to help finish the food, but there were still many leftovers, which we would try to finish over the next few days. After dinner, we just sat around, catching up and playing blackjack. For once, I joined in the betting, but only RM1 per bet, which was the lowest among the rest. Hehe and I ended up winning the most, about RM20. But it was just for CNY, so yea, no long-term betting for me! My brother then took off for his REAL gambling session while I watched more TV, which wasn't much in terms of CNY entertainment this year :P till it was time for the great CNY countdown! It's pretty much tradition that all of us are back home for it, so my brother rushed back with my uncle for it. And every year my mum just tries to sleep through it -_-||
As most Kuchingites might know, though we have a firecracker/fireworks ban in Malaysia, it doesn't really seem to affect us for festive seasons. However, from what I hear, they've been harder to find this year. Of course, being ever resourceful, my family managed to source some out and though I enjoy them, I always have to comment 'WHy buy so much? You're just burning money!' But everyone else in the neighbourhood was probably as kiasu, if not more. Well, just the regular families anyway. The number of ppl doing the CNY countdown has gone down over the years. Anyway, it was still pretty much the same - loud, smoky and somewhat dangerous. You never know when a cracker will explode and send things flying over to the next house/neighbour or an empty firework shell might land in your roof gutter and keep burning and so on. This year, the alpha males of my family had finally bought some BIG fireworks, the ones that are packed like individual 'grenades' and produce only 1 big 'flower'. Each 'grenade' has to be loaded into a metal launcher with the fuse trailing out and it will then shoot up into the sky to explode. Of course, there's always the risk of it getting stuck in the launcher and blasting it to smithereens and so forth. *shrugs*
The first attempt is always the riskiest, since we all weren't very sure of the success rate. Usually 1 of them will light it and then run back to where we're all standing, quite a distance away. We watched the lighted fuse disappear into the launcher with bated breath. *POOOOFF* The grenade launched itself up and out and exploded barely over the roofs of the houses in our road. Resulting in all of us ducking and swearing simultaneously, as bits of the packaging and whatnot came raining down on us. -_-|| Our conclusion was that our area was a bit too low to get the full effect of the firework. Since I was attempting to photograph the fireworks, I resorted to crouching between a neighbour's car and his dustbin, to avoid getting hit by any exploding bits and to get the full 'flower'. This worked out pretty ok, but it was still pretty awkward. Lol. After the end of countdown, we were all smelling of smoke, slightly dusty from gunpowder and coughing slightly as usual. But yea, i wouldn't want to miss this part of CNY :) My brother of coz went back to his friends' place and I was back online and watching tv. Oh, and comforting the poor fatty who was frightened by all the noise and cowered in the corner for once. I think he actually went up to join my mum, being the manja cat he is.
The best shot I could come up withAnyway, on the 1st day of CNY as usual, we started the visiting by visiting the houses of both sides' grandparents. At my dad's parents' house, I got to meet my new 'nephew'. My oldest cousin on that side of the family had given birth to Zyan a few months ago, and this was our first time seeing him in person. He was chubby, cute and big-eyed, awww. He reminded me of my brother when he was young, since he was kind of big for his age and fair too, with a little cheeky grin. Haha. After that, we went to a few relatives' houses, friends of my parents and so forth. Oh, and at one of my dad's friends' place, I got to have my laksa!! Yea, imagine, they serve laksa at their open house, which they made themselves. It was pretty good too, since their father used to set up a coffeeshop. YUM :)
CNY Family Photo 2008
My mum with Zyan in matching outfitsAfter dinner and more visiting, we had our OFFICIAL mahjong session, this time complete with playing for money. My dad had decided since the 3 of us were now working, we could afford to play with money, which we'd never done. So he explained the rules and said we probably won't lose more than RM50 at most. To which we all exchanged looks that said 'HA? RM50 ar?!' but since he said though we might lose a round, we still can win some money, we were like ok, just try. As the most 'kiamsiap' person at the table (probably coz i'm the only girl), I was the most worried but strangely, I ended up leading for the first few rounds. Till I made this comment "Hey, I haven't had to pay you yet" to the Captain and almost immediately, I had to. -_-|| So the superstition they say about this type of comments IS true. Anyway, after 1 full round of the 4 winds, the end result was the Captain and I winning most of the money with my dad and August losing about RM10 plus each. So yea, had some luck at gambling this year, which is mayb due to me being the only girl.
My family usually has 'open house' on the 2nd day of CNY but on a small-scale, as in no dishes like curries or what served, just cookies, tidbits and so on. There wasn't exactly a rush of ppl unlike my younger years but still quite a steady flow. In between I was of course online, refilling containers, preparing drinks and the usual. Later that afternoon, I went to visit Dr. Chua with CY and we had a good time talking about Swinburne and our jobs. His little boy Eason was so cute, helping to serve us food. And after serving us, he'd quickly cover the containers like he didn't want us to eat anymore. His mum asked him to give us one of everything, so yea a lot of eating. But sometimes he'd only serve CY instead of both of us, so it was funny. We joked to Dr. Chua, now you know what type of girl he'll go for huh? LOL.
Then, that night was MY open house as per the previous years. Most of my Swinburne friends from the E&CS ppl who were in Kch, Serena n the debaters turned up at different times. So we had mahjong, lots of catching up and gossip, just like what we used to do. Really missed it, though I'd been away for just one month. The Mecha gang of Yi Chan, Thong Wei, Stephen all turned up on the 3rd day and of course, more updates on jobs/training, gossip/reminiscing about the good old days when some of us fell down, got into love triangles and so on. Lol. CY and KC came over that night too and talked about the E&CS gang, who would be the first to get married etc etc. The usual. My summary was that everytime when u meet with ur friends that you might not have seen for awhile, the topics tend to change over the years. When you're in high school, you complain about studies, tuition, guys etc. When in uni, you still complain about studies, guys and lack of time/lousy lecturers/crazy assignment deadlines. Then once you leave uni, you talk/complain about work, supervisors, salaries, number of days for leave and so on. Basically, it just makes u feel old n you'll miss the previous stage of your life. But yea, I really enjoyed catching up with everyone.
The 1 thing that maybe annoyed/bemused me during the whole trip was that I kept having to update everyone about my job. Some ppl who totally didn't know would ask if I was still in high sch/uni and those who knew would ask about Sony. Basically I had to explain about the situation or about what I did at Philips many many times. My parents did summarize for them but when they ask in detail, that's me. Sometimes i just wished I had a big card in front that said it all, or a voice recorder, but ah well that's life. And it just means they care about what's going on with you, though they'll probably forget it and ask again next year.
My trip back came to an end all too soon for me and I was really down at the airport. My parents were there and yea, I was kinda distracted with the lighting. But once I got through the IC check and was by myself, it really hit me that I was leaving Kuching again. Leaving my family, friends and all that was familiar, and going back to 'cold', busy and dusty KL. I admit to shedding a few tears but managed to pull myself together. After all, I made the choice myself and it's for my own good. I'm strong enough to accept this new challenge, I must stick with it so I can gain more for the future! Yep, that's what I told myself, but I of course still missed everyone :P Before coming back to Kch, I made lots of plans to meet everyone, to do lots of things (eat laksa, dumplings, go to Spring, play mahjong). I'm glad to say, I managed to do everything and spent quality (not quantity, sadly) with everyone dear to me. Basically, the trip was all I'd hoped for and more. THanks to everyone who played a part. I miss u guys...and I miss those that I didn't get to see (away for holidays or overseas). Till the next time! *hugz*
