Happy Birthday to me ...
Happy Birthday to me ...
Happy Birthday Hap..py Birth...day (pause)
Happy Birthday to me!!!!

Today's my BIRTHDAY. Yeah!!! I am getting older and older but hopefully look younger and younger (fat hope). Ha ha ha ...

Alas, 2005 is ending soon and a new year named as 2006 is coming. Well, let's review what I have achieved in 2005, and my goals for 2006.

1. Passed my 2B licence
2. Passed my MCSE 2003
3. Launch of my Project Baby
4. Trip to 云南
5. A new car

The sad things for 2005 is my illness. I have found out that I am a sufferer of Lupus... (sign) well life goes on no matter what.

For my goals in 2006, hee hee this is the best part and I am looking forward to the new year.

1. Create my website
2. Learn Macromedia Flash
3. Launch of my Project Kiddo
4. Learn how to steam a pandan cake
5. Buy a motor scooter (this will forever be a plan only until I decided to be naughty)

I have also learn that one should make too many goals cos' ultimately it won't be achieved. So I will have only 5 for next year. 4 to be exact since the last one is non-achievable.

祝我生日快乐，祝我生日快乐，祝我生日快乐儿，祝我。。。生日快乐。

Ooopss... did I forget to mention?? I am 32 years old today!!!!

Passed MCSE 2003

I have passed my MCSE 2003 (see my previous post) today. I had planned to do the test yesterday, but somehow the Test Vendor (Prometric) website was having problem and was not able to process my registration. In the end, I had to go through the booking using phone!!!! Talk about using Internet as a convenient means for registration, it turns out the old and practical way is still the best.

Well, I didnt do very well, just managed to get a Pass but it is still a "P" anyway. Hee hee, at least I had accomplished something this year.....

Signz.. another new year is coming. How time files!!! But hor, it means a new beginning for everyone rite? So let's think positively ... As for me, let me celebrate the Christmas and my Birthday first before thinking about the NEW YEAR.

Oh by the way, I am really really going to learn how to create a website now. Serious, I got time now.... Wait for my news.

Midnight Oil

I am going to burn midnight oil tonight ... I was planning to take my MCSE 2003 test next Monday and itz the last paper, but I have not even finish studying for the test. Oh gosh ... what am I supposed to do other than to burn through tonight and for the rest of the weekend.

Hey, for those who doesnt noe what is burning midnight oil, literary it means lighting up in the night using oil. It would be better if you have an oil lamp at home. Nah, I am joking this will only happen in the olden days when there is no electricity. Now you switch on the light by a flick of your finger. Convenient isnt it? OK, for the exact meaning, it means doing last minute work and you have to work through the night cos' there is no more time. In Chinese, it is called 开夜车。

Sign.. here I am complaining abt having no time to complete my study but I am still blogging ... This is so unforgiving. I am logging off and going back to my study. :D

p/s: MCSE :- Microsoft Certified System Engineer. (For the sake of my career and $$$, I must study hard and passed this exam).

My 云南 experience

I am back from my 云南 trip. The exact date was 29 Oct 2.45am, yeap early morning 2 days ago. It was a wonderful trip and I learned a lot on the cultures of 云南 minority tribes. Well, there are certain areas which made me ... hmm ... think twice about the word "wonderful", but overall everything was ok. The scenaries were fantastic, the little shopping we had in the 古城 were great. The vegetables were tasty and crunchy but the meat (pork, chicken and duck) was oily and fatty, yes it is really fatty and no lean meat. Their fish has a lot of fine bones so it takes a while for me to eat. As they say, we need to 入乡随俗 so I tried every food that they presented and actually it wasn't bad. The tour guides were knowledgeable, but they yak and yak and yak throughout the trip that sometimes you wondered do they ever get thirsty. The toilets leave much to be desire ... and as a warning, go only when you have empty stomach.

I spent a total of 9 days there visiting different parts of 云南. It will be a novel if I am to write everything on the trip, so I think I will just summarise the most eventful thing of each day.

Day 1 - Arrived at 云南 airport early morning around 6.30am. I am travelling on China Eastern Airlines and the plane is really cramp. Worst of all, the takeoff was late cos' the pilots and the air crew was late due to shopping. Ended up very tired when we reached the destination, but the tour continues ...

Day 2 - Wake up at 6am cos' I need to catch the 7.40am flight to Shangri-La. On arrival, we started the tour of the day. The tour guide is a 藏族. She warned us that the area is > 3000 feet above sea level and we may feel unwell as we are not accustomed to the high ground. (Singapore is only around 30-40 feet above sea level so you can see the big jump). I was feeling giddy and even vomitted twice that day. Gosh, what an experience ... We visited 2 places that day, 松赞林寺 and 纳帕海。

Day 3 - Was feeling better after a night rest. Today, we are going 丽江。Along the way, we passed through 虎跳峡 and 长江第一湾。 When we arrived in 丽江, we visited 黑龙潭，白沙壁画和世界文化遗产公园。It was a packed day.

Day 4 - We are on our way to 女儿国。The tribe is known as Mo Suo Zu and they are a matriarchal society. They practice a marriage system known as 走婚。The men worked to take care of their sisters' children, their own children are taken care by the wives' brothers. In this way, there is no monetary problems within a marriage as there is no $$$ involved in the family. The people claimed that theirs is the best marriage system in the world, based on love. Well ... they have their rights and views. I reserved mine :D BTW, it was raining when we arrived.

Day 5 - I nearly burned down a hotel today. It was brrr...rrrr... cold that morning. I placed my socks on the table lamp, warming them before putting them on. Then I go wash up. "Liz ... come out quick, there is smoke in the room" my sis shouted. Alamak, my socks is gone.
It was still raining ... and we took a "sampan" to an island to visit a temple there. Mind you, the water was very choppy and the "sampan" shakes, and the rowers do not want us to wear life jackets. Then we went back to 丽江 to continue our visit to 古城.

( I bought some 香包 from this NaXi grandma. She looks pityful as nobody was noticing her stuff, and my heart just soften ... so spent $$ again, but worth it cos' they really smell very nice and natural)




Day 6 - This morning, we had a view of the 玉龙雪山 showing his might. Too bad the clouds covered most of the view when we were able to take photos. We proceed to 大理。We took a cable car ride to 苍山，visited 古城 and 洋人街。Yes, I did some shopping and bought most of my sovenirs there. The hotel we stayed was the best throughout the trip, it was a 5-star hotel opened only for 3 months and it is no higher than 2 storeys.




Day 7 - Another early morning call again. Today it is 5am in the morning cos' we need to catch the 8.20am flight and the trip to the airport will take about 45 minutes. We reached 昆明, and proceed to visit 九乡。



<--Twins Waterfall-电影“神话”在这里取景






Day 8 - We visited 石林, a.k.a Stone Forest. The area is covered under the sea more than 2 million years ago. The wonderful form of the stones were sculptured by nature.







Day 9 - Finally, we are allowed to wake up a bit late today. The morning call was 7.45am and it is the latest hour throughout the trip. Today we are visiting 大观楼 and then it is shopping time before we board the plane for the trip home.


Home sweet home, the takeoff was late as usual. Pilots and air crew missing again. But finally we reached Singapore safe and sound.

Trip to 云南 。。。。

I am very excited ... in 5 hours time, I will be heading to Changi Airport and begin my tour trip to Yun Nan. Am looking forward to this ever since beginning of the year, esp after so many hectic weeks.

I am going with my sister, Doris. And for 9 days, we will be touring around 云南，大理，丽江 and Shangri-La or 中甸。 And we need to take internal flight in-between. A bit worry as we had never taken any internal flight in other countries before. Well we will see how it goes. There will be lots of scenaries and cultures to explore in these places. I hope I can take lots of pictures (nice ones) of the scenaries.

My luggage was packed, though not to the brim so that there are space left for sovenirs and makan things from there. As a typical Singaporean, yep I packed cup noodles, 3-in-1 coffee mix, milk tea, cup-a-soup, crackers, biscuits, etc, etc.

Well come back for more information, I will update the happenings when I am back in Singapore...


C U then.

My New Car and the Birth of my Project Baby

Ho ho ho!!! I had collected my new car 2 weeks ago. Itz a Toyota Vios, and itz in champange colour. Yippee... I had only driven it twice cos' most of the time it will be used by my parents as they need it more. (The chap cai stall is further than my workplace from home).

These 2 weeks were busy because my Project Baby was launched. For the past 2 years, I have been working on this project from the beginning when we evaluate the vendors and their terminals, to consolidating the budget amount required for the project, till the development of the application and so on. Finally, it was birth of the baby. I was required to be onsite to support the users, so for the past weeks everyone was busy with the preparation and supporting the users.

Ha ha ... the users had started using the terminals to sell ... and the response so far so good. Oh boy, am I glad to hear this.

I was too tired after all these and decided to take a break today. So here I am resting at home and updating my blog ... :D Oops I still havent learn how to create a webpage yet, so pls be patient for the new car pictures.


Till then ...

阿婆 1st death anniversary - 功德和合炉

It is our Hainanese custom that we perform rites for the 1st death anniversary. 阿婆 has left us 1 year and we completed the rites 2 days ago, ie 2 August or 六月二十八. That day, we invited a Hainanese Taoist priest to perform 2 types of rites, 功德和合炉.

What do we mean by these rites? Let me explain....
功德 is performed to cleanse 阿婆 soul of illness and uncomfort faced by her during her last days. This is done by chanting and giving her underworld medicine. This rites allows the soul to become healthy and 返老还童. In addition, it is to chant away 小人 and inform 阎王 the good deeds done during her lifetime. After the rites, she will be able to enjoy her after-life and seek reincarnation (往生）.

合炉 is performed after the 1st year to combine her soul with our ancestors. In a way, it is a promotion for her to 公婆 and she won't be alone as she will be joining my grandfather, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents. We had an altar table (We just bought a new one and I select it myself, very nice one) where our ancestors tablet are placed and 阿婆's name was included in it that day. Our ancestors (公婆) will look after us (their descendants 子孙) and protect us from harm.

After the rites are performed, we burned her a big house, cars, gold and silver mountains (金山银山), gold and silver bridges (金桥银桥), money, maids, television, vcd player, fan, sewing machine, comfort chair, 衣箱，etc, etc. So that my grandmother (or shall I say all our 公婆) will have a nice house to live in with all the comforts and travel around in the cars.

The rites took 1 whole day. The Taoist priest told us to continue to offer joss sticks, apples and oranges for 12 days. On the 12th day, we will need to offer a feast to our 公婆. The feast will include 三生, 二什菜, 12 eggs, 12 katuput and 水果.
三生 includes 1 whole chicken, 2 fish, 1 pork.

Next year, we also need to offer the feast on 阿婆's death date (六月二十九). Thereafter, there is no need to offer feast on her death date. Instead, we will do the offering as what we are doing currently, ie on important dates such as new year eve，清明， 端午节，冬至 and so on.

I hope this gives a good intro on Hainanese customary rites for our loved ones who left us ...

Chinese Orchestra Performance

Ha ha ... My Chinese Orchestra had a public performance on 2 July (2 weeks ago). It was a SUCCESS!!! HO HO HO So happy.

Why leh? Cos' prior to the performance there are a lot of issues and technical problems. Luckily, most of the thingy were resolved (there are still some minor problems), and the performance went off smoothly.

Happy leh. I weren't very prepared but somehow managed to scrape through. Eerrr.. not my fault hor, I prepared for the orchestral pieces but last minute the conductor ask me to help out with the accompaniant for the solo pieces and the worst thing is I got only 2 practices and it is "See u on stage". Very shiok hor, 2 practices and go on stage liao, the conductor think too highly of me liao. Like I say, lucky I managed to scrape through.

Next time, I hope to be in the audience seat, then no need to be so stressed. And hor, must tell the conductor, my standard cannot tahan last minute request one.

I am trying to find a way to post the pictures. I found that HELLO does not allow me to remove my pictures from their servers, which does not give me a sense of privacy.

Let me think of a way. Maybe I will create my own personal website. At least, the files are managed by me.

Busy weeks and Batu Pahat (Johor)

Busy weeks ... for the past and going forward will be more busy weeks. (Sign..) Luckily, I managed to get a weekend off to attend my colleague's wedding in Malaysia. The place is called Batu Pahat and is located in Johor. A million thanks to my colleague for making arrangments for us to tour around the place. Itz a quiet place and actually hor quite boring .. hee hee.. Nevertherless, there are also nice pictures to be taken.


From Left to Right: View from Hill (2 pictures), Central of Town Square, Malay Club Building, Dataran Batu Pahat (Town Square)


From Left to Right: Chinese Chamber of Commerce Building, 大杯水 (big cup water), Masjid Jamek Sultan Ismail

Oh yeah, this Saturday my Chinese Orchestra will be having a performance at the Singapore Conference Hall. I will post more details after the performance. Yes!!!!

I have got my 2B license

Finally, after 6 tries and more than 1 year of training and re-testing, I have got my Class 2B license today. In Singapore, having a 2B license means that I can ride a motorcycle or a scooter that is 200cc and below.

I have already got a Class 3 license, which allows me to drive a car. Now I have got another license that allows me to ride a bike. Ahem, well well well ... that's an achievement for me. Why? First of all, the bikes used by the training centre is so big and heavy (I am small size and a shortie) and the bikes always wobble when I ride. Yeap, you are right, the previous failures were mostly due to wobbling. Secondly, I am not sure whether it is a good or bad thing, the weather was very bad, it was drizzling and the ground is wet during the test. So I am very worried and nervous. All in all, itz an achievement for me that I can manage to pass the test and tame a big machine. HA HA HA....

Yippee .... Yeah Yeah ... Yippee Yippee Yeah.

Oh yes, btw, I need to go to 四马路 to thank 观音 for protecting me, blessing me and helping me to pass. I actually went to pray to her before the test and ask her to bless and protect me. Itz only right that I go back to thank her. Hmm ... I had also thanked my dead grandmother for blessing and protecting me by buying fishballs and crab sticks for her. Ho ho ho... maybe I will buy some chocolates or sweets for 观音.

Today is not my day

Itz a long time since I came here to blog. 1 month plus...

Well, for an update, my health is not good. It had been confirmed that I am suffering from a kidney disease known as "Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis". At the same time, the lupus is still very active in my kidneys. The only treatment they can do at the moment is to increase the penisolone quantity to bring down my immune system even further, in the hope that my kidneys will not be aggravated. The doctors are worried (me too) that this will lead to kidney failure. If my kidneys fail, I will have to go for dialysis or a kidney transplant.

So you see, my health no no no ... nnnnn ....ooooo good.

cry

Today, I am in a bad mood. I had applied for off days (in my company, we get off-in-lieu for working during the weekends) on 12 and 13 May, which is the day after tomorrow, planning to go Malacca with my sister and have a good rest after so many hectic weeks. And my boss has not approved of my off days yet. Why are bosses like that? Why can't they approve their staff leave earlier? Why are they always giving excuses that they can only approved when the dates are nearer to the applied dates? Ridiculous rite? How am I going to plan for my leave and book tickets (the prices are lower if we book few weeks / months in advance) if they can only approved when the dates are nearer? I can't go ahead to book anything in case it is not approved and I have cancel the trip and I still need to pay the $$$$$.

I am pissed off ......

Just now, I was typing my blog halfway and my PC blank off on me!!!! Luckily, I was able to recover the post.

Today is really NOT A GOOD DAY TO ME !!!!!

I AM BACK

I AM BACK as promised in my last entry. Hee hee ... The kidney biopsy procedure was done. Luckily, nothing bad happens during the procedure and I was able to go home on Wednesday afternoon. But I could not walk properly and there is pain at the place where they poke the needle in. There is a small hole (5mm in diameter) now at my back where my left kidney is.

The doctor gave me 2 days medical leave to rest at home and I cannot carry heavy things. I actually have to lie in bed and not move around too much, which is a big problem for me cos' I don't sleep in such manner. I tend to curl up sideways :(. Anyway, for the sake of my health, I better listen to the doctor so for the past few days, I actually lie down or sit down most of the time.

Yesterday, I went for acupunture to relief my joint pains. Am feeling something wrong with my hips, and the most likely cause is the penisolone that I am taking. It causes the bone to be brittle. I also bought a cookbook for Lupus patient. It is in Mandarin and written by a Taiwanese who is also suffering from Lupus.

Am feeling quite ok today, so most probably I will be able to get back to work tomorrow. I will have to go back to the hospital in 3 weeks time for the biopsy review and see whether my kidneys are affected by the lupus or not.

Next week, I will go to 四马路 to thank 观音 for her protection during the procedure. This is my way of showing my gratefulness. Mmm.... I will ask her to continue to protect me .... ho ho ho...

My Health - Part 2

I have decided ..... to go for the kidney biopsy. This is the only way the doctor can confirm whether my kidneys are affected by the SLE or not. Rather than having the doctor guessing, I have decided to go ahead with this procedure so that I can have the proper medication and diagnosis.

So.... today I will be admitted to the hospital, tomorrow the procedure will be perform, and hopefully I can go home on Wednesday. Bless me!!!

Believe it or not, I went to 四马路 to pray to 观音 so that she can bless me with good health and nothing bad will happen during the procedure. Don't laugh ok?? She is very very 灵 one and I believe she will protect me.

Good luck to myself and bless myself... mua ha ha ha ha. I must be happy, relax and not worry too much, this is the best medicine in the world.

"I will be back" a few days later to update my health again ... hee hee ....

My health

Finally, the hospital is able to pinpoint my illness. Itz known as LUPUS or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Itz call 红斑狼苍 in Chinese.

Doctor advise me to avoid sunlight and raw food. Singapore is summer all year round, so I dont think I can totally avoid sunlight but I try to stay indoor most of the time. As for raw food, well I don't really like raw food, so itz ok with me.

This illness is similar to Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) which I were diagnosed earlier, that is the immune system is not functioning properly, but it is more dangerous cos' it affects not only the joints but the internal organs as well. My kidneys seem to be affected and they wanted to do a kidney biopsy, where they take out my kidney tissue to test. But there is a danger such as cannot stop bleeding, the doctor will have to remove my kidney. So scary ...

My medications have also increased. Everyday, I am taking 10 tablets in the morning. Sign ... how to squeeze in bread, water and 10 tablets early morning into the stomach?? What to do, I need the medicine to control my immume system. And there is no cure for Lupus.

I will do some readings on this illness, seems this is quite common especially with women. And there is a Lupus Association in Singapore ... hmm .. I should go and find out more.

Visit to Auntie's house

Today we went to 姑姑 house for dinner. Itz our family custom to visit her, uncle and the cousins before 初十五. Few days earlier, she and her family will visit us and we would prepare the dinner. Today is her turn to prepare dinner for us.

HA HA... 姑姑's cooking has improved thru the years. As saying goes, she gets better at cooking as she age. Hee Hee...

Yummy the dinner was good, too bad everybody got to work tomorrow so we couldnt stay longer. Also, my tummy wasnt feeling well too ... I am the 苦命 type, my tummy cannot tahan good food, but hor I still want to eat the good food anyway. At least, I get to taste the food even though itz not being absorbed by my body. :D :D :D

Very late liao, me going to zzzzzz. The good food and stomach pain make me sleepy ... yawn. Good night everyone.

Happy Lunar New Year Again

HA HA ... Today is the second day of the Chinese New Year (大年初二). I love Chinese New Year!!! Cos I can get myself pigged out with goodies, sleep long hours and watch TV for 2 days. The elders wont scold the young ones for lazing around cos' it is not auspicious to scold people during the new year... Also, there is festive mood everywhere, red and brightly coloured decorations hanging in the flats, shopping centres and 牛车水. Oh itz so 热闹。

Tonight we are going to 外公家 for dinner. But hor, my mother need to go to the coffeeshop to open shop for the zhi cha stall and tend the drinks stall. Actually I don't like my parents to work so hard for the coffeeshop, they are old and their health are not good. They are working too hard, I wouldnt mind if they wanted to tend the chap cai stall to keep their boredom at bay, but not the chap cai and drinks stalls together cos' it is more tiring and tedious. They should be enjoying their lives ... rather than working so hard. I am so scared (and ANGRY) that some people would make my parents work to .... (this is not an auspicious word to put on New Year day)

Well itz Chinese New Year, everybody should be relaxing and enjoying their break. This is how life should be, work hard, play hard and rest well.

My wishes for my parents would be:

1. stop working so hard
2. take care of their health
3. learn to relax
4. enjoy their lives

Father is taking singing lessons which is a good thing, but Mother has yet to pick up hobbies. I hope she can find one that she likes so that she won't be too preoccupied with the coffeeshop thingy.

This is our family portrait.
Top (from left): My sister, brother and me.
Bottom (from left): Mother, 阿婆 and Father.

Happy Lunar New Year

新年快乐，财源滚滚，身体健康，国泰平安，顺顺利利，家合万事欣。

Happy Chinese New Year. Today is 大年初一，ie first day of spring and new year. It signify the start of new things, bad things will go away with last year.

This year, Grandmother (阿婆) is not with us to celebrate the new year. She passed away last August, by tradition, we won't be celebrating the new year at home too. Itz different without her around, but I cant describe the feeling, maybe I am still missing her. I still remember last year, she opened one of her angbao and found no $$$ inside, she quietly told us one of the aunties gave her an empty angbao. And hor, she noes who is the one ... smart rite? for a 96 year old granny (she was 97 when she passed away) to remember which aunty gave what kind of anybao packet. Actually the aunty didnt mean it, she mixed up her angbao packet and gave my 阿婆 another angbao... everybody was laughing and admiring how smart and sharp 阿婆 was ... well thatz last year story ...


阿婆 on her 97th birthday. See the birthday girl was so happy

Even though Grandmother was no longer with us, we still remember her in our hearts. We actually pile lots of new year goodies this year on her altar for her to makan. Life has to go on, so we will keep her in our hearts and move on... Yeap, even though we are not celebrating but we can still send wishes around and be happy ...

I actually wanted to write more Chinese words, but the IME available in Windows has limited words, cant even find the word Gong Xi Fa Cai. Well, since itz new year, I will just let it off for the time being.

Here's wishing everyone:
Prosperity,
Good Health,
Lots of $$$ coming your way,
Family Bliss,
etc, etc.
May everyone have a good year ahead.

HA HA HA .... Must laugh and be happy throughout .....

At last ... my profile is setup

Whoa!!! Wheezzee !!!

It took me a long time to setup my picture in my profile. Finally I figure out how to do it using Hello and completed the profile section. But it hor itz doesnt suit my previous template. So I changed another template instead. Well, well, well ... the end product is not bad man. :D

Give meself a clap .... :P

Chinese New Year

Hey! Chinese New Year is coming ... Itz time of the year to start spring cleaning the house. I had been spending 2 days tidying up my room and the study area.

Pa bought a bookcase, and I started to stuff all the photo albums and books into it. Well itz packed with stuff now, my brother commented that the new bookcase didnt help as we tend to keep more things in the house. Well, it can't be help since we are like to keep "authentic" things around the house.

I am trying to find a good photo I can use for this blog ... well till then...

Today's 24 Jan 2005

I am back with my second post... ha ha ha... Spent the weekday in a plush hotel (Conrad) and went shopping with my sis. OK practically, I am lazing during the weekend, doing nothing...sleep and eat only lor ... but itz so njoyable.

Too bad it was only for the weekend, I had to come back to work today and there is a long meeting today (sianz)...

Am logging off now, going to zzzz cos' tomorrow I had to get up early to visit my doctor.

My First Blog

Whoa.... finally I managed to create a blog for myself. Today is 20 Jan 2005 .. hmmm.... how will it look like after posting???
mua ha ha must be very funny .....

Don't noe what's come over me today to create a Blog for myself. Blog - a web log ... log of events??? Today's very stress, maybe that's why I "short-circuit" and created a blog.

But hor this is quite fun... let's see I change colour ... fcegnxiwchange fonts ... go back to black colour ... OK OK , I noe I noe, I m being bored ...

Ha ha ha ... too bad there is no emoticons..