Metria and I are off to Batu Pahat in a few minutes. It is just an overnight stay so we can visit my cousin and her recently birthed twin daughters. They are apparerently gorgeous and why not, they come from the same gene pool as me :-)
Batu Pahat is about 2-3 hours from KL so we can see some sceneray on the way.
Should be good few days away from thew hustle and bustle of the KL metropolis!
Monday, August 07, 2006
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Its sad sometimes
My Nani, my mum's mother is well into her 80's. I do not know her exact age because he date of birth was not recorded. So we kind of know what age she is.
My image of her is of a loving grandmother who would always be of her holding my head while kissing my cheeks. It is a wonderful memory that I hope to keep forever. As a child I remember her vividly as she would look after me, my sister and cousin when our parents were at work.
The last time I saw her was about 5 or 6 years ago, until recently. The last few years have not been kind to her as her memory is fading and the happiness I use to see has disappeared. Earlier this week, I saw her at my Aunt's place where she is being looked after by my mum and her sisters for a couple of weeks.
When I looked into her eyes I could tell she did not know where she was or what she was feeling. I felt like she was somewhere and she was not really happy. Her memories must be gone and that is truly sad for her. She raised 3 sone and 5 daughters and in turn their children. She had a tough life and her marriage was not the best. But she knew that love would do wonders.
Yet the greatest thing she did was love her grandchildren.
I remember when she stayed with us in Perth for sometime, everytime we came home from school or with ourt friends she would give us a hug and kiss of on the cheeks a lot. Sometimes 2, 3, 4, 5 times. She was always happy to see us. A person feels wonderful when they are greeted like that.
When I look back on those times, I feel sad that she has now come back to this state where she can not recognise where she is and who she is with.
Life is like that sometimes.
My image of her is of a loving grandmother who would always be of her holding my head while kissing my cheeks. It is a wonderful memory that I hope to keep forever. As a child I remember her vividly as she would look after me, my sister and cousin when our parents were at work.
The last time I saw her was about 5 or 6 years ago, until recently. The last few years have not been kind to her as her memory is fading and the happiness I use to see has disappeared. Earlier this week, I saw her at my Aunt's place where she is being looked after by my mum and her sisters for a couple of weeks.
When I looked into her eyes I could tell she did not know where she was or what she was feeling. I felt like she was somewhere and she was not really happy. Her memories must be gone and that is truly sad for her. She raised 3 sone and 5 daughters and in turn their children. She had a tough life and her marriage was not the best. But she knew that love would do wonders.
Yet the greatest thing she did was love her grandchildren.
I remember when she stayed with us in Perth for sometime, everytime we came home from school or with ourt friends she would give us a hug and kiss of on the cheeks a lot. Sometimes 2, 3, 4, 5 times. She was always happy to see us. A person feels wonderful when they are greeted like that.
When I look back on those times, I feel sad that she has now come back to this state where she can not recognise where she is and who she is with.
Life is like that sometimes.
When on Holidays one must relax, even at the cost of putting a few family members off!
So far, so good. No stomach problems and the heat is not taking its toll. Sure this place is slightly warmer and muggier than Melbourne but it has been nice. My team around me have been diligent in what food I eat, so touch wood all will be well and I get back in one piece. I have been relaxing quite a bit, reading books, watching TV and DVD's so I have come down to a level where I feel quite relaxed.
Yet I feel a bit bad because I have been here a week and have seen only a few relatives. My family is rather large and I have a lot of uncles and aunties here as a result of the large families my parents came from (this begs the question about the contraceptive, or lack thereof, in the old days or were my grandparents just rabbits!)
Still I love coming from a large family because this means family functions are always fun! A lot of my cousins have their own kids and so I am an uncle to a few offspring - the big, bald uncle from Melbourne!! And they are all so adorable and most are scared of me!!
But the conundrum when visiting Malaysia is to make the time to see them all. I would love to do that, but in undertaking such a task, it could result in increased stress levels with all the driving around. Not to mention, it would mean Metria would have to follow and therefore abandon her friends in some instances. There was already a case that just occurred today at lunch.
We went out to meet a friend for lunch and just as we were entering I bumped into a cousin who was going to lunch with her friend. So a group of 3 became 5 and I was trying to chat with my cousin while not appearing too rude to Metria's friend. I trend to balance the conversation between the both parties while not taking the focus for Metria and mate to talk. Tough!
Now we have less that a week before we hit Melbourne and I only have 3/4 days to see my family. Some tentative plans have been made and hopefully we can see as many of the family as possible. It is somewhat important as this is the first time I meet the family after the marriage but I hope they understand that if I do not meet them it is because I do not like them.
I enjoy spending time with my uncles and aunties but I really want to catch up with my cousins. Because we, the younger generation, will carry the family name forward and my family tree has always been very close, and I hope to achieve a similar bond with them. These days with the open lines of communication it is easy to stay in touch even if they are 8000km's away. Sure the day to day, physical communication is not there but as family the bond can be expressed somewhat through msn, blogs and email.
I hope my family feels the same way.
Yet I feel a bit bad because I have been here a week and have seen only a few relatives. My family is rather large and I have a lot of uncles and aunties here as a result of the large families my parents came from (this begs the question about the contraceptive, or lack thereof, in the old days or were my grandparents just rabbits!)
Still I love coming from a large family because this means family functions are always fun! A lot of my cousins have their own kids and so I am an uncle to a few offspring - the big, bald uncle from Melbourne!! And they are all so adorable and most are scared of me!!
But the conundrum when visiting Malaysia is to make the time to see them all. I would love to do that, but in undertaking such a task, it could result in increased stress levels with all the driving around. Not to mention, it would mean Metria would have to follow and therefore abandon her friends in some instances. There was already a case that just occurred today at lunch.
We went out to meet a friend for lunch and just as we were entering I bumped into a cousin who was going to lunch with her friend. So a group of 3 became 5 and I was trying to chat with my cousin while not appearing too rude to Metria's friend. I trend to balance the conversation between the both parties while not taking the focus for Metria and mate to talk. Tough!
Now we have less that a week before we hit Melbourne and I only have 3/4 days to see my family. Some tentative plans have been made and hopefully we can see as many of the family as possible. It is somewhat important as this is the first time I meet the family after the marriage but I hope they understand that if I do not meet them it is because I do not like them.
I enjoy spending time with my uncles and aunties but I really want to catch up with my cousins. Because we, the younger generation, will carry the family name forward and my family tree has always been very close, and I hope to achieve a similar bond with them. These days with the open lines of communication it is easy to stay in touch even if they are 8000km's away. Sure the day to day, physical communication is not there but as family the bond can be expressed somewhat through msn, blogs and email.
I hope my family feels the same way.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Sometimes if it good to be away and see what is happening to get a better perspective on things. Being away from the land down under I keep abreast of the news and what is happening.
The biggish story is that the latest winner of Big Brother - Australia - is over and this Zoolander clone Jamie won it. Look he seems like a nice guy but he talks and does dumb things. But being harmless helps, he did not really harm or hurt anyone and is well known for the size of his...ahem...Well his down under. See is BB, they show everything and people have seen the comings and goings there.
The other scary thing is noting that the price of bananas there are something like $16 per kilo!!! So while here I am going to whack as much gorang pisang as I can!
Lastly, my football boys kanaed a 3-0 loss over the weekend! See I leave and the team starts falling apart!!
Apart from all this and that, our holiday has been rambling along at a nice speed. My only worry/issue here is how to spread my love to the family! Too many cousins, aunties and uncles to see but that is why I love coming here. The main problem is that everyone works and the weekend is the best time. But those slots get filled up a lot! I have seen more of Metria's family which is different but I enjoy it as they are now my new extended family - and lord knows my family keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Plus I have to visit the pasa malam and pick up football jerseys. We need new toilet seat covers and hence the new ManU jersey will suffice!! Plus I want to get some DVD's so I can watch and waste time when I am home.
The only downside is I feel the inkling to savour some of the KL nightlife. So maybe this Friday night we head over to my cousin's pub in Hartamas (shameless plug alert - BOJANGLES) and groove the evening away!!
The biggish story is that the latest winner of Big Brother - Australia - is over and this Zoolander clone Jamie won it. Look he seems like a nice guy but he talks and does dumb things. But being harmless helps, he did not really harm or hurt anyone and is well known for the size of his...ahem...Well his down under. See is BB, they show everything and people have seen the comings and goings there.
The other scary thing is noting that the price of bananas there are something like $16 per kilo!!! So while here I am going to whack as much gorang pisang as I can!
Lastly, my football boys kanaed a 3-0 loss over the weekend! See I leave and the team starts falling apart!!
Apart from all this and that, our holiday has been rambling along at a nice speed. My only worry/issue here is how to spread my love to the family! Too many cousins, aunties and uncles to see but that is why I love coming here. The main problem is that everyone works and the weekend is the best time. But those slots get filled up a lot! I have seen more of Metria's family which is different but I enjoy it as they are now my new extended family - and lord knows my family keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Plus I have to visit the pasa malam and pick up football jerseys. We need new toilet seat covers and hence the new ManU jersey will suffice!! Plus I want to get some DVD's so I can watch and waste time when I am home.
The only downside is I feel the inkling to savour some of the KL nightlife. So maybe this Friday night we head over to my cousin's pub in Hartamas (shameless plug alert - BOJANGLES) and groove the evening away!!
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Selemat Datang
After all that waiting I am finally here in Malaysia sitting nicely at my in laws place. It is a great feeling to be on holiday where I can sleep in, eat, nap and eat some more. It is only the second day here and all is well.
The trip to KL from Melbourne was uneventful but 8 plus hours can be stale. I decided to sit in the window seat and give Metria the aisle seat. Big mistake as the seats are not very big and hence I felt cramped up. Eventually we switched so I could stretch out a bit but the damage may have been done so I had to get up to stretch the legs. The service on MAS was a bit poor and the stewardesses were not really switched on. An order of a drink resulted in them delivering the drink to different passengers on 2 separate occasions. But the on-demand movies and TV shows was excellent. I saw 'Glory Road' and 'King Kong' and a host of other shows.
Eventually we touched down and surprisingly we got through immigration very quickly as the airport was very quiet. I was expecting the luggage to take some time but that arrived quickly and before you knew it we were through the sliding glass doors and were enveloped in the humidity and smell that is KL.
It was great!
We met Metria's sister and off we went. It was past midnight Melbourne time and we were a bit tired yet awake with excitement of arriving here. I waned to head to the in-laws for a shower but Metria wanted to go straight to the mamak stall!
So while I decided to take it easy and have a tetarik. Metria whacked a roti canai.
It was great to be back here.
Yesterday we celebrated my ma-in-laws birthday and we went Mexican at Mezquite in Heritage Row. We had some tequila shots but after an hour the food was not out. There were only 2 other tables and we could not fathom the reason for the delay. Eventually we left and the manager bought us a round of maragaritas. The venue decor was exquisite but the service was poor. Can not comment on the food as we did not taste anything BUT we got free booze.
Eventually we went to a Chinese restaurant. I had my satay. I am happy. I love satay and this place was great coz they marinate the satay in the sauce then cook it. YUMMY. I only ate 15 sticks but trust me I could easily do 50!
All in all things have been good. The weather has not been too hot so I have been able to acclimatize well.
Seen my in-laws and am shortly going to catch up with my mum and my cousins.
All good. Tonight I shall catch up with Mr Dish Bish and later others. It is gonna be an excellent 2 weeks!
The trip to KL from Melbourne was uneventful but 8 plus hours can be stale. I decided to sit in the window seat and give Metria the aisle seat. Big mistake as the seats are not very big and hence I felt cramped up. Eventually we switched so I could stretch out a bit but the damage may have been done so I had to get up to stretch the legs. The service on MAS was a bit poor and the stewardesses were not really switched on. An order of a drink resulted in them delivering the drink to different passengers on 2 separate occasions. But the on-demand movies and TV shows was excellent. I saw 'Glory Road' and 'King Kong' and a host of other shows.
Eventually we touched down and surprisingly we got through immigration very quickly as the airport was very quiet. I was expecting the luggage to take some time but that arrived quickly and before you knew it we were through the sliding glass doors and were enveloped in the humidity and smell that is KL.
It was great!
We met Metria's sister and off we went. It was past midnight Melbourne time and we were a bit tired yet awake with excitement of arriving here. I waned to head to the in-laws for a shower but Metria wanted to go straight to the mamak stall!
So while I decided to take it easy and have a tetarik. Metria whacked a roti canai.
It was great to be back here.
Yesterday we celebrated my ma-in-laws birthday and we went Mexican at Mezquite in Heritage Row. We had some tequila shots but after an hour the food was not out. There were only 2 other tables and we could not fathom the reason for the delay. Eventually we left and the manager bought us a round of maragaritas. The venue decor was exquisite but the service was poor. Can not comment on the food as we did not taste anything BUT we got free booze.
Eventually we went to a Chinese restaurant. I had my satay. I am happy. I love satay and this place was great coz they marinate the satay in the sauce then cook it. YUMMY. I only ate 15 sticks but trust me I could easily do 50!
All in all things have been good. The weather has not been too hot so I have been able to acclimatize well.
Seen my in-laws and am shortly going to catch up with my mum and my cousins.
All good. Tonight I shall catch up with Mr Dish Bish and later others. It is gonna be an excellent 2 weeks!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
A true legend bows out
I really have to say something about DENNIS BERGKAMP as he bades farewell to top level football and sails into the sunset. You could call him specatacular, awesome even use tremendous but those words do not seem enough.
He was ICE, you know the street word for "DIAMOND"
Because that is what Arsenal did when they bought him. They unearthed a diamond. He epitomised class and talent.
I do not really say much about a player from another team but I would rate DB as the reason I would watch an Arsenal match. As a matter of fact him and Ryan Giggs are the only non-Liverpool players I enjoy watching and have admiration for.
He has a career filled with highlights particularly when he would don the Dutch uniform. How can one forget his goal against Argentina in the 1998 WC. The way he controlled the long ball, beat the defence and slotted it in coolly. And cool he was and he was dubbed the "Iceman".
I believed that in Euro 2000 he showed the football world why he had to be considered one of the best. He led the Dutch to the semi's only to be denied by the goal post. The Italians (their opponents) did not do a lot to stop him, DB just could not get the ball to bounce the right way. But he tore apart the Azzurri defence with his creative flair and passing.
That is what I enjoyed about him. He was a great team player and an amazing creator for goal scorers. How much better or easier did he make life for Ian Wright and Thierry Henry when playing behind them.
And this was a player who Inter Milan president Mossami Morratti said would "be lucky to score 10 goals in a season". He may have been stiffled by the boring and grinding style of Italian football but when he crossed the channel he came to the fore.
This is one player I would have loved to have seen in Liverpool red. Still I enjoyed him when he play everyone bar LFC. Arsenal fans should note that he was the reason why you had that renaissance, why you won titles and why your team succeded.
He PIMPED Arsenal! The Arsenal team colours should have changed to a ice cool blue hue just to recognise what he brought to their club.
Dennis Bergkamp a true legend. 120 goals during 420 plus EPL matches. European player of the year in 1993, Euopean cup winners up winner, a UEFA cup winners cup, 3 EPL titles, 4 FA Cup titles and 1999 PFA player of the year in England.
As Ali G likes to put it...
RESPECT
He was ICE, you know the street word for "DIAMOND"
Because that is what Arsenal did when they bought him. They unearthed a diamond. He epitomised class and talent.
I do not really say much about a player from another team but I would rate DB as the reason I would watch an Arsenal match. As a matter of fact him and Ryan Giggs are the only non-Liverpool players I enjoy watching and have admiration for.
He has a career filled with highlights particularly when he would don the Dutch uniform. How can one forget his goal against Argentina in the 1998 WC. The way he controlled the long ball, beat the defence and slotted it in coolly. And cool he was and he was dubbed the "Iceman".
I believed that in Euro 2000 he showed the football world why he had to be considered one of the best. He led the Dutch to the semi's only to be denied by the goal post. The Italians (their opponents) did not do a lot to stop him, DB just could not get the ball to bounce the right way. But he tore apart the Azzurri defence with his creative flair and passing.
That is what I enjoyed about him. He was a great team player and an amazing creator for goal scorers. How much better or easier did he make life for Ian Wright and Thierry Henry when playing behind them.
And this was a player who Inter Milan president Mossami Morratti said would "be lucky to score 10 goals in a season". He may have been stiffled by the boring and grinding style of Italian football but when he crossed the channel he came to the fore.
This is one player I would have loved to have seen in Liverpool red. Still I enjoyed him when he play everyone bar LFC. Arsenal fans should note that he was the reason why you had that renaissance, why you won titles and why your team succeded.
He PIMPED Arsenal! The Arsenal team colours should have changed to a ice cool blue hue just to recognise what he brought to their club.
Dennis Bergkamp a true legend. 120 goals during 420 plus EPL matches. European player of the year in 1993, Euopean cup winners up winner, a UEFA cup winners cup, 3 EPL titles, 4 FA Cup titles and 1999 PFA player of the year in England.
As Ali G likes to put it...
RESPECT
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
10 more sleeps until Vacation time
Metria and I will shortly depart the cold and wet of Melbourne for the heat and humidy of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I am looking forward to the trip and am experiencing a whirlwind of emotions. One is trepidation although my tastebuds differ just thinking of a ice chendol on a hot day.
The reason for my angst and fear is that the last two trips to KL have ended the same way. Me in a PJ hospital with food poisoning, wanting to throw up and very cranky. It is not to pleasant and makes me the centre of attention in a negative way. If I am to be the centre of attention I want it to be in a positive way such as me being a clown or the satnd up comedian I see in my feeble little mind.
Still I hope I can go through this holiday and not eat any bad food. My mum-out-law has given me strict instructions that I am to eat home cooked food. But the charm of KL is the food - the mamak and hawker stalls, the SATAY..I am drooling already!
Nonetheless I hope to catch up with Keropok and Daniel Franklin Gomez and have a "bloggers meet, eat and drink". At the very least we shall argue about football and why Liverpool is better than the Arse and ManUre. Metria will be fine then she can catch up with her friends. The last time I met Keropok, I had married his friend Metria and the previous time we met, I was sick! Hopefully this time I make a good impression (what am i saying, I am a LFC fan!!)
The trip shall afford me the chance to catch up with relatives and touch base with my cousins. I come from a large family with a lot of uncles and aunties. We seriously should consider having our own section in PJ with the family members that have extended as us kids grow and get married. But is wonderful to see all my uncles, aunties and cousins and their kids. I enjoy the family feeling and it is the one thing I missed the most when I left Malaysia back in thd day.
I also hope to make a side trip to Batu Pahat and see my cousin who was recently blessed with the arrival of 2 daughters. Plus I have never been to BP and would like a look. And on the way stop at a few stalls and taste some food. But have to be cautious, must make sure it is freshly cooked and edible, otherwise my mum-out-law shall be most upset
It is time to start counting down but at the back of my mind is the dreaded office and work that needs to be done! Such a pain, you got to work your booty off to enjoy your holiday and then when you come back nothing else has been done.
But I am looking foward to sweating and breathing that air that is KL!
The reason for my angst and fear is that the last two trips to KL have ended the same way. Me in a PJ hospital with food poisoning, wanting to throw up and very cranky. It is not to pleasant and makes me the centre of attention in a negative way. If I am to be the centre of attention I want it to be in a positive way such as me being a clown or the satnd up comedian I see in my feeble little mind.
Still I hope I can go through this holiday and not eat any bad food. My mum-out-law has given me strict instructions that I am to eat home cooked food. But the charm of KL is the food - the mamak and hawker stalls, the SATAY..I am drooling already!
Nonetheless I hope to catch up with Keropok and Daniel Franklin Gomez and have a "bloggers meet, eat and drink". At the very least we shall argue about football and why Liverpool is better than the Arse and ManUre. Metria will be fine then she can catch up with her friends. The last time I met Keropok, I had married his friend Metria and the previous time we met, I was sick! Hopefully this time I make a good impression (what am i saying, I am a LFC fan!!)The trip shall afford me the chance to catch up with relatives and touch base with my cousins. I come from a large family with a lot of uncles and aunties. We seriously should consider having our own section in PJ with the family members that have extended as us kids grow and get married. But is wonderful to see all my uncles, aunties and cousins and their kids. I enjoy the family feeling and it is the one thing I missed the most when I left Malaysia back in thd day.
I also hope to make a side trip to Batu Pahat and see my cousin who was recently blessed with the arrival of 2 daughters. Plus I have never been to BP and would like a look. And on the way stop at a few stalls and taste some food. But have to be cautious, must make sure it is freshly cooked and edible, otherwise my mum-out-law shall be most upset
It is time to start counting down but at the back of my mind is the dreaded office and work that needs to be done! Such a pain, you got to work your booty off to enjoy your holiday and then when you come back nothing else has been done.
ALAMAK!
But I am looking foward to sweating and breathing that air that is KL!
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