What is it with me and my plans? The things that I plan for don’t always turn out smoothly. I suspect it’s the same with quite a number of other folks, too. That’s life. Some things seem to fall on your laps. Some don’t.

Take some of my travel adventures for example:

1. New York, New York – The minute I planned and paid for the flight ticket deposit to go to New York, the SARS breakout happened. Read all about it here.
2. Haadyai – The road trip to Haadyai took place during the South Thailand riots. When we reached Perlis, the locals told us that it was safe to go to Haadyai. So we went there and had a great time of shopping.
3. Bali Phuket – And the time Bezzie and I wanted to go Bali. We paid for everything and the next thing we knew, the Bali blast happened. I would have gone ahead and visited Bali, but I had Bezzie to think about. So we changed our travel plans and went to Phuket instead.
4. Bangkok – Even my trip to Bangkok this time around is not a smooth red carpet ride. Yes, I have free 4-5 star hotel accommodation and a long list of places to shop and food to eat planned out by my good friend MF. But there’s a demonstration going on there now – induced by the upcoming elections. The dates of the election were only known to my folks and I after I booked and paid for the flight tickets. Anyways, MF who’s there now tells me that it’s a peaceful demonstration although some of the major shopping centers are closed.

The way I see it, if I keep cancelling travel plans because of all these snags, I would never have gotten anywhere. And miss out on some of the best and life-changing moments of my life. I learned this one thing: That just because you hit a snag, it’s not a sign to quit and throw in the towel.

Here’s an excerpt from my New York blog entry which still encouraged me whenever I hit a travel snag:


One by one, things just came through for me. At the darkest point of this whole harrowing episode, I remembered asking a wise lady on why it was so difficult for me to get things going for this US trip.

Could it mean that God didn’t want me to go after all and I was just being stubborn? She told me that just because things are tough, it doesn’t mean that I should give up. I should continue to press on and pray for open doors. But if the door should shut, I should trust that God would be there to encourage for both Kal and I. In all circumstances, to rest in Him.

So about Bangkok, I’m going ahead. Am in dire need of a break. And still am happy and excited despite the demonstrations. I doubt I’ll be blogging from there but I should still be contactible via e-mails.

Ta for now ;) Stay cute, stay strong and keep smilin’, dearest readers.



Gosh, I am so in need of a break. AirAsia, please don’t go late on me ar…

Ok, ok, I can’t cook sambal belacan to save my life… yet! And I still think Chek Hup is the best thing since choc chip cookies. And these folks guessed it right. Their reward is having their favourite pics posted on me blog. Here they are, the winners of the latest guessing game! Congrats, people!

Pebbles:

Milo – the key poh cat. “Why’s the phone making weird noises and flashing at me??”

Lisa:

Omigosh… this is just so sweet of her. Yalor, we two always seem to match in terms of colors :P Lisa, I miss working together with ya, girl!!!

BeerBrat:

BB hasn’t sent me anything. But I think these pics are his pride and joy (stolen from his website :P) Wah, I feel like pinching you lar, BB!

Have you ever been so happy that you just can’t stop smiling?

That’s the case with me for the past couple of weeks. And it’s getting worse this week.

Now, not only I can’t stop grinning like a ninny, I keep humming this little childhood tune in my head:

I’m H-A-P-P-Y
I’m H-A-P-P-Y
I know I am
I’m sure I am
I’m H-A-P-P-Y

And since I noticed that you guys love answering trivia questions and guessing games, I’m gonna ask you guys to guess just why I’m so happy. Two of these statements are false, which ones are they?

CC is on Cloud 9 because:

1. She knows with such certainty and gravity that she has a bunch of great folks (family & pals) who are very loving and supportive of her, whom she can bare her saddest and starkest thoughts to and they would just understand.
2. She has just learned how to cook sambal belacan from her Nyonya relative and can’t wait to cook Nasi Lemak for her whole family during her eldest sister’s birthday party next month.
3. She’s going on holidays very very soon. Accommodation is all paid for. Summore hor, the room is 4-5 star wan. Facing the swimming pool, too!
4. She managed to find something she didn’t expect to see online and got it like a shot.
5. She found a better coffee brand. Podah to Chek Hup. No such thing as loyalty for this coffee lover.

You know what to do, you pro guessers you. Happy guessing :) Remember, choose wisely…

My bro said I look like a grinning rabbit here. Aiyor! Never mind lar, as long as it’s still cute hor? :P

You Are 80% Happy

You are a very happy person. Generally, you feel content and that all is right with the world. Occasionally, you have a down day – but you have the ability to pick yourself right back up.

As you can see from my recent posts, I’ve been thinking a lot about food lately. The nice raw egg Hokkien kuey teow and yummylicious Nasi Lemak near my church. That fantabulous century egg Yee Mee in Taman Tun. The saliva-inducing Unagi. Detoxification regimes. Wheat bran (bleh…). Cell food. Thinking about food is a common Malaysian past time. Especially for the Chinese. Hokkiens commonly greet each other with, “Chiak par buey?” which means, “Have you eaten?” My mom, being a retired nurse, will go a step further with her loved ones who are sick and ask, “How’s your bowel movement today?”

And it makes sense to ask these questions instead of the usual, “How’re ya doin’?” that Americans are so fond of asking, “G’day, mate!” the Aussie-fied version or “Apa macam lu?” in Rojak-speak. A healthy person would naturally have a hearty appetite and dispense their waste matter in the most efficient manner.

KY and I were looking at some Detoxlim ads today and pondered if they actually worked.

“I dunno, KY. I think as long as we maintain a healthy diet and exercise, drink water and eat lots of vegetables and fruits, we should be ok,” I said.

“Well, veges and fruits aren’t the most healthiest options either wor. They are loaded up with pesticides and such,” he replied.

Those words made me think of my beloved Grandma – the gentlest and kindliest soul I’ve ever known. She was terrified of eating vegetables and fruits because they were “full of pesticides”. Because of the lack of fibre in her diet, she died of colon cancer when I was 12. I guess that’s another reason why mom would enquire about bowel movements of sick rellies. And why she would always, always tell us to finish up our veges.

KY and I looked at each other, sighed and moved away from the Detoxlim ad display. It can get rather confusing in a world where everyone is chasing after health, beauty and fitness. Do you avoid pesticide-ridden veges and fruits altogether? And which product ad would you believe in and plunk your hard-earned money to? The one with the cutest, slimmest and most healthy looking model? The one with the biggest ad budget that it appears in the TV, outdoor banners and magazines? The one with the most convincing salesperson who prey on your fear of dying/aging prematurely? Which?

And really, sometimes I feel that the existence of too many options, too many new discoveries and a slew of health products in the market are making us all a harried and confused lot. I guess I’m blessed to have parents who are unfazed by it all and prefer to keep their health tips as simple as they can. That kept me grounded when I’m tempted to try the latest thingamajic on the market.

My folks swear by garlic (the ultimate cure-all) and wolf-berry tea (for bright eyes) and faithfully fed us kids on it. So now you know why my eyes are so bright and shiny all the time. *Ahem* *Ahem*

For bright eyes, glug up on wolfberries. Tiru macam saya!

… if you have people to share it with.

My dad was pooh-poohing the need for having meal partners a couple of weeks ago.

“Look, if your mom and and I want to eat different things from different stalls, we will go our separate ways to eat what we want and then meet up later for a bout of shopping before heading home. We don’t have to have a partner to eat meals.”

While I agree that there’s nothing wrong eating out alone – I do that myself countless of times – food does actually look more appealing if you have someone to share it or share the moment with.

Case in point: Nianci and Eugene would bring finger foodies over during cg sometimes. If it were left in their fridges at home, it would most probably go uneaten for a long time. But in the company of good friends who need fuel to yak in an animated fashion, the food is usually consumed in a few blinks of the eye.

Maybe seeing fingers dipping into the sweets/cookie jar and the enraptured expression on their faces as they savour the snacks makes people feel more greedy than usual. Or maybe having friends recommend, “Wah, that green sweet is the best tasting of all! You should try it leh,” stirs one’s appetite up like no other can.

Or maybe (and I suspect this is the case for me) people just tend to eat more when they are happy. And what could be a happier occassion than being surrounded by loved ones and good chums?

So last weekend when we were out on our usual family lunch, dad announced that he wanted to eat Bah Kut Teh. Again.

I wasn’t in the mood for that and announced that I’ll be joining mom at her favourite coffee shop instead.

“Oh, like that ah,” dad commented thoughtfully. “In that case, I’ll join your mom and you for lunch then.”

Mom and I grinned at each other at that. Looks like Bah Kut Teh doesn’t taste quite the same without a partner in crime to share it with. Hee…

I’ve been experiencing allergic reactions to unknown substances on and off recently. The most recent episode was after a very fun company dinner and karaoke session. As I drove home that night after being happily filled up with food, carbonated drinks, a little beer and fun memories of belting out funky songs with my colleagues, I realised that my whole body felt heaty. In a matter of minutes, I had rashes all over – from head to toe. Big raised red bumps that screamed to be scratched.

I’ve never been allergic to the subtances listed above – food, gassy drinks, beer and loud off-key karaoke singers – but there I was, driving in the most uncomfortable of situations. Of course driving with a scratchy bum is quite tolerable compared to driving with a full bladder which I experienced once before and hopefully, never again. Always empty your bladder before starting on your merry way home, folks, that’s the trick.

Anyway, back to the itchy situation on hand, the minute I arrived home, I popped in an antihistamine pill and within an hour, all the rashes subsided. Thank God for Zyrtec!

This is the second time in four months that I had rashes like this under mysterious circumstances. A friend said that I could do with a detox – to rid my body of toxins that will react (or has been reacting) to various factors which I had not been allergic to before. Sounds like a good place to start.

Any good (and proven) self-served detox programs to recommend, anyone?

Ooooh, I love this…

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become REAL.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and are very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

~ Excerpt from: The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams.

Today I heard some out-of-this-world bit of news which stirred two vastly different emotions within me. On one hand, I was very amazed and joyful for that person. Certainly, I could and need to hear about such happy news to restore hope in a heart that has become somewhat jaded.

But on the other hand… well, that news had me looking around and wondering if such a thing was possible… for me? And if it were to happen, would I grab at it enthusiastically or would I hold back and sniff at it suspiciously?

When I have more sleep and rest (and coffee!), I would believe that when the right time comes, it will happen and not a minute sooner or later.

But in the mean time when I’m weary, I would keep on wondering. And getting impatient that nothing much is happening while I’m waiting.

I hate waiting.

We had a blast during our cell meetup yesterday – just sharing about things that matter to us, culminating with a hilarious view of Hokkien Bond. We shared about what we identified as acts of love while we were growing up.

For me,

And how we feel love is pretty much determined by our different languages of love. I loved it when my mom tells me bedtime stories and rhymes before I sleep. She was spending precious time with me and I can feel her love because Quality Time is one of my primary languages of love.

By doing the mini quiz yesterday, we discovered why some of us could get along so well. We shared one of the main

Find out what your primary love languages are here!

This year marks the third year that I’ve been blogging. The anniversary date is slightly fuzzy. I suppose October 2003 would be the month that I officially started archiving my online jottings. But I started quite a few months before that.

Since I’ve forgotten the actual dates, I thought, “Aiya, what the heck, now’s a good time as any to pay tribute to the two ladies who got me started and who kept me going on.

As the words of a song from my favourite movie ever goes, “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start” – so I shall start with the girl who inspired me to start penning my thoughts and feelings in digital format for all to see.

The Start Plug

This warm and benovalent girl has an appetite for love and life. This is evident in her rich trademark laughter. I still remember the first time we met. I heard the sweet contagious sound of her laugh and thought to myself, “That must be Irene!” It was very uncanny because I have never met her nor have I ever heard her laughter before. But sure enough, it was her. I introduced myself right there at the church foyer and we were delighted to have finally met and put a face behind the blog that we frequently haunt.

Before I ‘went public’, I did my research by exploring and reading other blogs first. It was Irene’s blog that tugged my heart and inspired me the most. Her deep and intellectual insights on difficult issues wowed me. Her honesty in sharing her struggles humbled me. It is a rare thing to meet such a bright and intelligent person who does not have an arrogant bone in her body. And the cool and professional way she handled harsh and uncalled for flames by trolls on her blog is nothing short of astounding.

I was, put simply, inspired. If she can do it, then so can I. And so, I got started.

The Chugger

What is a girl without her faithful sidekick? Someone special who doesn’t mind being blogged about or have her cute photos splashed all over in all sorts of crazy poses. Someone who trusts me completely. Someone who believes in me and to whom I bounce potential ideas to.

The first time I received a nasty flame, she was the one who soothed me and assured me that she still thinks I’m cool and have valid reasons in saying what I did. I dunno but when I received that kind of encouragement and assurance, it just frees me to blog from my heart on things that I strongly believe in. And to allow my crazy and zany part to peek through in my post sometimes. Who cares about the flames from those who do not matter anyway?

In times where I felt like I should stop blogging altogether, she reminded me of the bits of my blog and my life that inspired her when she was down. And that kept me going on.

So there you have it. My two main bloggie inspirations. Thanks, girls! Along the way, there were countless other inspirations. The many encouragement emails and comments (some were darn wacky ones which had me in stiches!) I receive. The precious friends I made. My blog has come and evolved quite a way thanks to you. Thank you faithful readers and commentors.

It’s been a good three years. Cheers!

I guess it was no coincidence that I found a kindred spirit in the two of them. I love you two!