Heartache.

Heck, what again.

Another round of price increase in petrol and diesel. I know it's a pain in everyone's ass. It hurts more for my parents as my father operates a transport company. RM0.30. Now we are talking about significant increment, and a definite inflation for civilians.

Recent years, due to multiple times of price hike, transport companies have to struggle so much to survive. It's so painful seeing my dad dwelling in the pain and I can't do a thing to help. Most of the time, things won't resolve simply by marking up the price. According to my dad, there isn't a good association for the transport companies in Malaysia that is powerful enough to gather everyone together. There is no such things as consensus deal. If you mark up the price, that will just chase the customers away as believe it or not, despite the high petrol cost, other companies would still be able to offer a lower price for the customers. Recent years, it's so tough not to lose money, let alone earn. The spare parts, the petrol, accidents repair ... different woes remain aside from the highly competitive market.

There is no bright future for companies like my dad's. In a few more years my dad will be retiring. I am hoping that day to come sooner as the business has been the main cause for my parents to age faster.

Heartache.

A lil' bundle of joy ...

One and a half week ago, we threw a colleague of mine a surprise baby shower.


It was a blast. Good food, adorable gifts, laughters, cheers ... I really like the idea of having showers ... be it bridal or baby ... These events are simply lovely!

A proud mama-to-be then, showing one of her gift we bought her.

The expected due date was March 08, 2006. However, this lil' baby girl was too anxious to learn about the world. So, last Saturday morning, after mama finished her night shift and was on her was to the parking lot picking up her car to head home, her water broke. She could have walk back to the hospital (where we all work) and got some help, only to realize that she wasn't prepared to be admitted to the hospital as of yet as she didn't bring any personal stuffs with her. So, she decided to drive home and fetched her stuffs before returning back to the hospital. Needless to say, she soaked her car seat, and according to her, 4-5 towels later on. After long long hours of contractions and 15 minutes of pushing, the baby no longer resides in her body. My friend proclaimed happily, 'Yay! I can have all my organs back!'. Ha.

The precious. Approximately 6 lb. Very cute. We visited her after work. The delivery went well, and everything is alright. We all felt thankful for that. Thank goodness.

I am very happy for my friend, and am very happy to have a chance to see a baby after so many years ... Women really do change after having a child. Having her lil' baby on her hand, she glows. Glowing with pride. One of my colleague said to her, 'Look at you, you're a mum now ...' . While we were there, we were cheering every act of the baby. The frown, yawn, the stretch ... 'Awwwww...'

The simplest happiness.

To me, nothing beats something like this.
Nothing.

More Cartoons ... (Part II)

Doraemon.
Doraemon, in my opinion, is one of the best classic cartoon, and last the longest in history. I bet all of us had at least dreamt of having a Doraemon of our very own so that we are granted the chance to use all sorts of superpowerful gadgets that are readily available in Doraemon's 4-dimensional pocket. Nice, isn't it?

Mickey Mouse
Mickey and friends are the forever icons of Disney. I love them. All of us love them. I think my kids will love them too.

It is so good that Disney is making House of Mouse these days. Believe it or not, this is a must show watch for me. Every day 830-9am, this is the show for me. So relieving after a full night of work.







The Looney Tunes
I prefer Disney's production more, but they are actually pretty good too.


Tom and Jerry
One of the best way to get a laughter. Tom is forever stupid and Jerry would forever out-compete the cat. Always hilarious.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I was young, my father used to suscribe a Chinese children comic book called Er Tong Le Yuan (儿童乐园）. I made a foolish mistake when I was in junior high as I threw them away ... To think of it now, those were some of the precious gifts I was given when I was young from my parents ... stupid me.

Anyhow, the comic book would appear in my mailbox once in a fortnight (if I am not wrong). Through that comic book, I was introduced to various Western cartoons that was not seen anywhere that I could remember in Malaysia. Nonetheless, many of those cartoons are still showing here in North America, hence brought back the memories.

Below are a few:

The Berenstain Bears
I am a big fan of the Berenstain Bears. Still am, actually. The unique thing about this cartoon is that their story lines always have an inclination to impart good manners to kids. They inspire kids to say 'Thank you' and 'Please'. They teach kids to be grateful and don't take things for granted. They teach kids about effective time management. They teach kids to appreciate friends from different culture. They teach kids to obey other people's preference ... etc. I am always amazed by the plot. If you have kids of kindy years, I highly recommend this cartoon.

The Arthur
A cartoon that talks about friends, families, schools, etc. Didn't watch too much of it, but it's still around in North America.

Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clifford is a giant dog. He is extremely helpful, and friendly at the same time.
Didn't watch too much of this either.

The last, but not the least...

The Curious George
I haven't seen this cartoon before, and am unsure whether was there any cartoon out of this production or it's just the cartoon drawings that are popular. But I have seen the poster of The Curious George as one of the best seller everywhere. Currently there is a Curious George movie on the cinema too, voice featuring Will Ferrell and Drew Barrymore. I think it's really cute.

So, what do you remember about cartoons?
Perhaps we can start a new cycle of memes, eh? Ha!

Cartoons during my era - Part I

I was eager to blog about this topic, but I kept on forgetting it. Recently I had a tete-a-tete talk with my peer colleague, and we chatted about this. It was fun to have someone who shares very similar childhood interest/memories.

More 'boyish' cartoons:

He-Man and She-Ra.
I have always regarded this cartoon as the very first cartoon that I ever got to know since the age of five. I don't think I liked the cartoon as much as it really was't my type, but I was fascinated by the name of the cartoon itself. I remember vividly that whenever my mum urged me for a task by saying '去啦，去啦！' (Chinese, meaning 'Go, go!'), I would imitate her command in a mischievous way saying 'She-ra, She-ra!' as they rhymed.

This cartoon pretty much went into extinct mode now if I am not wrong.


The Ultraman
The Ultraman (translated in Malay version) was a common show I remembered when I was Standard 1-2. My one-year-older-than-me guy cousin and my brother loved it. But you know what, I used to dread this show so much that I would hide myself when they watched this. I found the monsters creepy, and the oh-so-powerful Mr.Ultraman would not help me to conquer the fear.
No, I never find the 咸旦超人character to be adorable.



The Thundercats
Tigra, Cheetah-rah, Lionel ... others? I can't recall their name anymore, but I used to like this cartoon when I was young, probably during junior primary school years. Each character was unique and possessed special name and power that personified a powerful animal. Together they co-operated to go against the eerie mummy.
Like Lionel always intonated ' Thunder ... Thunder ... Thundercats .... HOH!!!!!!'
Very amusing indeed.
Such a classic during my era.

The Voltrons
I generally have a more 'girly' predilection when it comes to cartoon, but somehow I think I had watched a significant amount of this cartoon. Must be my younger brothers, I presume as we only had one TV in my household when we were young.

What's so great about the Voltrons? The ever-changing robot who could change shape to accommodate the challenges. Quite captivating.

Now, the more 'girlish' cartoons ...

The Care Bears
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cartoon, but I never got to see this cartoon again after senior primary school years. I am so glad to be in North America now as Care Bears-related merchandize are easily available. This cartoon is very adorable not only because they are bears (remember teddy bears? Pooh bear?), but their constant efforts in promoting world's peace and harmony. Guys might not buy this kind of plot, but it's a killer for the girls. On top of everything, they live in the clouds, and rainbow are actually bridges connecting the neighbourhood. Sound so heavenly, isn't it?


The Little Pony
I didn't watch too many of this cartoon, but at least I could remember its existence. I think they were too wordy for my liking, especially when I was young.




The SMURFS
The smurfy chant 'La la la la la la, la la la la la ...' is still as lively as it can be in my mind. In addition, I always use the name 'Gargamel' (the bad character in the cartoon) as a metaphor to monsters/bad characters in movie or sometimes real life. Ha! Smurf is another love of my life when it comes to cartoons ... I am so surprised that this cartoon has vanished now, even in North America, as contrast to Care Bears, or even My little Pony which came up during the same time frame. Nonetheless, I heard that they're making a SMURF movie now. I so anticipate the smurfy come-back ... Let us fall in love with this classic once again.

Part II will be up pretty soon. Stay tuned!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Half an hour ago, I came home from work, as usual.

I saw something unusual on my desk.

Honestly, I couldn't believe my eye. I had to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

I saw a puggy soft toy sitting on my desk.

how're you doing?

Next to it, there is a card.

I was like, really? [Did he get me a gift? He got me a gift?! HE GOT ME A GIFT!!!]

Next, I was jumping, smiling, laughing, and crying at the same time.

Now, let me roughly brief you something. Surprises are rare in our relationship. Admittedly, guys don't usually know what to give, and I always have preferred items in my mind. So instead of letting him to waste the money buying something I might not like, I will normally open up to him what I want, then I get it. We're really fine doing it this way. I call it a win-win situation. No?

Yet, I hate to admit this, that surprises are awesome!

And in addition to that, he got me a puggy!

He knows that if we were to get a puppy (which we won't as it's too pricey to raise one), we'll definitely get a pug. Tomato's cousin in New York has one, and it's name is Lucas. Lucas, turns out to be another luring factor for me to go to NYC, aside from the beauty of the city itself, for I love Lucas so much!

Now, I have my very own Lucas. Argh, how cool is that!

Lucas Senior, 'How may I help you, master?'

Please also let me mention about the card.

I have always loved Precious Moments figurine or other related items since young. Nonetheless, these items are not as popular in Malaysia, so not many people know about such secret love of mine. I have always longed for a Precious Moments card ... and here it is my very first PM card from my man.

Now, that is VERY sweet ...

Tomato doesn't enjoy reading my words that are related to our relationship in this felicity corner. He is often too shy to read about it. But I just can't help to post this over here ...

[a picture showcasing the msg Tomato wrote was here. but i had to delete it as per Tomato's request .... too bad have to give in.]

A very simple message, but he said it all.

Not only that he melt my heart away, he covers my eyes with tears ... Oh, what a lachrymose shot!

Gosh, my heart still trembles when I am typing this.

I called home, wanting to tell my parents, ' Don't worry, I am in good hands now, definitely...'

I know all the parents would wish a lifetime of happiness for their kids.
For their daughters, they'll wish for a great man to take care of their precious daughter, and love her as much as they do.

Undoubtedly, I found my man.

Hopefully I am the ideal Ms.Right for his parents' son too.

Happy Valentine's Day, dear ...

and to all of you too!


-Valentine's Day, 0928am. Richmond, VA, USA.

Funny

I don't intend to defame the country or anything, I just think that this comic is really funny, and cute in an artless way. May you have a good laugh.

p/s: IHOP (International House of Pancake) is a chain pancake restaurant in US.

Winter Juan (Winter 2004).

The weather in Halifax isn't always as harsh, but I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to observe some of the worst. Winter white Juan was one of it. It was actually a blizzard, and it was a humdinger as we ended having 94cm of snow! The provincial government announced state of emergency during that period, and everyone was advised not to leave their house unless individuals who worked as essential staff in hospital/police department, etc.

Snow everywhere.

It really was a pain for all the motorvehicles.

Even walking across the street was a tough call.

Can you imagine the strong wind? Even the door was almost sealed with the snow.

Not so romantic afterall, eh?

Try to pay attention to the height of the snow ... that wasn't the max yet.

The pedestrian walking pavement wasn't accessible at all, so everyone walked on the road instead.

Angel ... one of the best winter fun.


The storm was harsh, but it was so serene to watch at the same time.

My most favourite shot.


- Winter, 2004. Halifax. Canada.

Tall Ship Challenge 2004 (Halifax, Canada)

It was a bliss to be able to watch the Tall Ship Challenge during my stay in Halifax. Similar to the Olympic games, this challenge only happens once in every four years. This might be the only chance for me to see so many tall ships in my entire life.

Despite the chilly winter, Halifax is a charm during summer. It would normally be breezy and cooling, rather than sizzling heat all the way (like in central part of Canada). The waterfront would be so happening during the short summer, hosting many other great events like the Jazz festival, Buskers' festival, etc.

A couple of pictures to share.





Yes, it was an extremely crowded event:




Smaller vessels:



The Halifax-Dartmouth Metro ferry.

Cow's ice-cream store, people's most favorite ice-cream store in Atlantic Canada.

I am missing Halifax already.

共生吉祥

Picture taken in FGS Dong Zen temple, Jenjarom, Selangor, Malaysia. Feb 2005.

-Have you been to FGS Dong Zen temple? I believe current time is the best chance for all to give this awesome place a visit as they're having the CNY Lantern cum Flower festival. This picture was taken last year when I visited the place during CNY.