Cat Got Your Tongue?

I finally got my Canadian Visa approved. My mum and I had to go down to the embassy, as I had to submit my passport. We went there and I was told that it would be ready in an hour. I had the option of waiting for an hour or coming back later at 3.30pm. My mum and I decided to wait...it was only 10.45am. Visa offices are generally boring unless there happens to be a rather dishy looking fellow visa applicant on which you can feast your eyes upon. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of those days.

I was minding my own business...reading the newpaper and it happened to feature an article on beading etc. which was exactly what I was talking about a few days ago. Anyways, I was engrossed in my paper that I didn't bother to look at the person who came and sat down next to my left. Suddenly, I realised that the person came closer towards me and started to whisper in my ear. Startled, I turned and it took me a while to register that she was speaking to me in Mandarin.

She asked me if I could speak any and I told her I could speak a little. Then she started asking me a tirade of questions in very complex Mandarin that I was literally boggled! I had to tell her a couple of times that I had no idea what she was saying to me. Eventually, I realised that she had to be from China as locals usually didn't speak that way. In the end, I told her that my mum could help her but my mum and I weren't seating together. So, when her number was called, she couldn't help but feel flustered.

There was another chinese girl standing by the counter and the lady decided to
approach her. Apparently from the way that I saw the conversation going, she did a much better job of helping her than I did. After exiting the visa office, I saw the same lady again waiting outside. She looked at me and said in Mandarin "Ni pu huay chiang hua yi".

"Hmph...", I thought. At least I did try, and its not everyday you meet people who speak Mandarin who are from China and don't understand Bahasa Malaysia or English. So sue me,I'm a banana.

Eating the Weekend Away...Literally!

Last week, I accompanied my friend Rina who was looking for a place to host her wedding dinner and we happened to drop by Bangsar to look at the various eateries there. It was there that I found out about the "Bangsar Food Fest" where you pay a nett price of RM28 per ticket to enjoy food from nine restaurants and a wine cellar on Saturday for the month of August. Since yesterday was the last Saturday of August, I decided to drag 3 of my friends along to enjoy the food. We started off at Vincenzo's (Italian) and ended up at Bangsar Seafood Garden some 3.5 hours later. To my surprise, there were a lot of people who came for the fest as well. I think when it comes to food, Malaysians know best. I saw so many foreigners, families, groups of friends (like us!), couples and even aunties and uncles. We spent at least 1/3 of our time there joining the queue at the various restaurants. We managed to visit all of the eateries and after all that eating, I felt like a bloated pig! My favourites would have to be Vincenzo's and Hideki. While we were queuing up at Cungdinh (Vietnamese), the proprietor warned us that the queue at Hideki was extremely long. In my mind, I couldn't help but feel skeptical as..."How long could it be?". It was long all right. It took us 30 mins to reach the buffet but it was worth it. The California Roll and Salmon Teriyaki was absolutely delicious! We left One Bangsar with half-grins and very full stomachs.

I thought I couldn't eat another morsel for dinner but after coming back from church, my family went over to Adelle's grandparents house for a nasi lemak dinner. I ate a packet of nsi lmak, chicken rendang, sotong sambal and fried beans. And, to add to my fabulous day out, I was aquainted with 2 extremely cute and cuddly puppies and one doggie. You would never guess that the Rottweiler puppy was born lame but thanks to constant and loving care, he can now walk but he walks a bit funny...like a bear. And my favourite Pekingnese pup has a hernia. It's only about 6 weeks old and is too young to undergo an operation so, he has to grow up before it can be corrected. Needless to say, I had so much fun playing with them that when I got home, my dog was sniffing me all over as she could smell all the dogs on my clothing. I went to bed last night with a full tummy and a smile on my face!

Take 2

Recently, I managed to obtain a digital camera for my personal use. Before that, the only camera at my disposal was my webcam but sometime early this year, something went wrong and I couldn't get it to work on my computer. No matter what I tried or thought of, it didn't work and eventually, I gave up on it. However, a friend came over to help my mum install the other printer to this computer and managed to fix the cam! So now, if any of you want to have video conversations...I'm ready and willing!!

My Muse

I've never been one to love, yet alone listen to classical music. Before I actually attended Music 103 in college, I've always thought of classical music as music that geeks and snobby old people listen to but I'm glad to say that my biased perspectives have undergone a dramatic change. Music 103 was probably the best class I took during ADP because it gave me insight to the thing that I loved, music. Previously, I mainly listened to what was played on the radio but after that, I just knew that I had to listen to classical greats and even though I could never play such marvellous compositions on the piano, listening to them is good enough.

My all-time favourite period of music is the Romantic Period (1820-1900) where music was made subjective and unlike the classical period, it was less symmetrical and most composers/musicians were very emotionally connected to their work. My favourite composer of all time will be Frederic Chopin. His life story fitted well with the Romanticism of that period. A famous but shy composer with a frail physique who died at a young age of 39. He was called the 'poet of the piano' and his compositions reflect this trait as they are full of subtle dynamics and his music was always elegant and graceful, never harsh.

As I'm writing this, I'm listening to an Etude by Chopin. His music never fails to stir up emotions and calm me at the same time. I know this post will probably be more complicated and technical sounding than others but music lovers out there, learn to appreciate classical music and who knows what you might discover.

Plan B

Although I have yet to complete my studies in Environmental Science, I've always had a nagging thought in the back of my head that just maybe....just maybe I would not be able to find a job here in Malaysia when I get back. Yes, Malaysians are becoming more environmentally conscious but we're still not quite at that level where waste management/disposal and by-products of manufacturing are taken as a serious threat to our health and the environment. Therefore, if I cannot find a good job when the time comes, I would need to have a backup plan to make a living.
Like most women, I love jewellery but only very recently, did I take a deeper interest in the types of jewellery in the market and to my disappointment, the quality and designs available are not what I am looking for. Being one who likes craftwork, someone gave me a book on beading/jewellery making and from then onwards, I looked for opportunities to start making jewellery. Sourcing the materials here in Malaysia is no easy task as what is currently availabe in the market is expensive, of poor quality and of little variety.

So, if I ever need to start Plan B, which will be my jewellery making and selling business, I would need good business partners who would back me up. But I hope it will not come to that stage, for now anyway. I still want to stick to my original plan and Plan B is just another one of those things I think about when I my mind gets too active.

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

After the PC Fair, I was suffering from a horrible neckache due to the long hours of sitting down on bar stools without back support. To make matters worse...I felt a little ill starting the Tuesday after...I had a slight sore throat. Little did I know that the sore throat would escalate into a bad sore throat and flu. After being and feeling sick for close to one week, I could take it and went to the doctor today.
As I stepped into the clinic, apparently, I wasn't the only one feeling under the weather. There were approximately 15 other people waiting at the clinic. I had to wait for 45 minutes before I could see the doctor! I was then duly diagnosed and given my medication which included antibiotics. I will take them religiously until I feel better. Actually, I feel better already! It's amazing what a visit to the doctor's office can do for one.

My New 'Baby'

I was scouting the market for a new laptop to take with me overseas and as usual, I got my tech budddie (Ju!) to help me with the specs. Knowing that the Pc Fair would be coming up, I managed to settle on a model from Acer. To make things even more interesting, I was working at the PC Fair so it wasn't easy to find some free time to look for the best deals available. But, I'm glad to say that I managed to get my new baby on the last day at a very good price, and to sweeten the deal, some free goodies were thrown in as well. So, I've now got 3 USB Drives. One too many for me I would say but nevertheless, they might come in handy.

However, I've still not rigged up my laptop to access Streamyx so I'm still using my other earlier "baby", my desktop to work online. I find it so much better to have a personal computer that I do not have to share so that if anything ever goes wrong, it will be my fault. I hate having to figure out what went wrong especially if it was not my doing.

Graduation

Old Folks

Yesterday I followed my mum to the Wednesday night market. As we were walking there my mum said she wanted to make a detour to the old folks home to visit someone. Although I was in the Interact club in school, I never actually managed to visit an old folks home. The club was closed by the school principal for absurd reasons. Anyways, I expected to see a place that was less than sanitary etc....you get the picture. When I stepped into the facility, I was surprised at the sight that greeted me. It was clean and airy but as soon as I entered the place, I felt so sad.

Most of the inmates were old women and they had to be cared for like little infants. They had to be bathed and fed by the workers. They seemed so incapable of doing anything for themselves and when I was there, no one else was visiting. Those old people were sitting on chairs and staring at the ceiling, they weren't even interacting with one another. They were so alone. I wouldn't want to see any members of my family treated that way. It was horribly sad and pitiful. It made me realise how important my parents are to me. When they grow old, I want them to have a good life and not one where they spend their last days in a nursing home, alone.