Chinese New Year 2009

This year, once again I will be missing Chinese New Year. I've missed it in 2007 and I vowed not to miss it again. Unfortunately, situation is such that it's unavoidable (work's the main culprit, not mine but hubby's!).

I felt it in 2007 and I was depressed the entire time. This year was not an exception. I already felt depressed and almost close to tears at work every time I imagine what my family is doing right at that instance.

Every year, this time of the year is particularly special. Christmas is special too, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but Chinese New Year is the only time when family members get together and put away all differences to have that kindred spirit with one another.

When I was younger, I enjoyed CNY so much until the day I got married. Things were different after marriage since I no longer am able to join my own family for reunion dinner. So, let me reminisce those days when I spent CNY with my family as an unmarried woman.

Every CNY, we would travel to Ipoh (the only shopping mall was Super Kinta then) to shop for clothings and as preparation for the festival. All the children in the family (at that time only my brother and I) got to wear new clothes for CNY. There was one time when I told my mum on the eve that she's forgotten to buy me new shoes. She panicked and without hesitation, she drove me to Bata shop and got me a really beautiful pair of shoes. Even then, I knew my mother truly loved me.

Then my aunties would be back from Brunei and all aunties would gather around making love letter biscuits using the traditional way. The tradition lasted up till today.

When I was about 5-6 years old, I remember my family used to sell flowers and fruits in Kg Koh. Those were the most exciting and happy times. Shops would open till midnight for few nights leading up to the eve of CNY. On the eve of CNY, we would have family reunion dinner and soon after, my uncles would start putting up red fire cracker attached a high point outside the shop. Eventhough I didn’t understand the reason to light fire crackers, it didn’t matter at all because it surely was fun and exciting for me.

The moment the clock hit midnight, the whole village started lighting fire crackers and it went on and on for about half an hour. It was as though, everyone was trying to compete with one another to see whose crackers will last the longest. The streets were filled with passersby and some people were riding around in motorbikes circling villages just to enjoy the happy and merry atmosphere.

Then we moved to a new place when I was seven and things gradually started to change. We no longer felt the merriment in the village. It was only when my family bought a big house and all family members stayed together did some of the good old times came back to us. After the passing of my grandfather, things were different too. The family became larger with more additions to the family. Every year was seemingly the same until I was much older.

The shopping for new clothes still continued and reunion dinner was always the best when women in the family cooked their specialty dish. My mum is particularly good with chau mein ie fried noodles. The skill and recipe was passed down by my grandfather. I can never get it right while practising it in Australia because the noddles are just not the right one. Anyway, my aunties would cook all the other dishes and hence the reunion dinner would start and end with much merriment and laughter.

My brother and I learned how to play cards and soon, it was my sister’s turn. She became really good at it and it was only when all of us were bigger, our uncles and aunties enjoyed our company more. They appreciate us more and value our presence even more than before. We would play cards through the night while waiting to light fire crackers. The card playing would continue for many days and nights after.

As years passed, the fire crackers evolved and became more like fireworks than fire crackers. Although firecrackers were banned by the country, folks still ‘miraculously’ able to obtain fireworks from god-knows who. Although police would drive around town to ‘catch’ and stop people from lighting fireworks, somehow it didn’t stop the fireworks from shooting up the sky. For once, it was sheer liberation to see the community going against the authority (please, I don't encourage that).

Once it was all over, we would all head back home for a good night’s rest.

The next morning, we would put on our finest clothings and the first thing we have to do is to wish our family members well like ‘Gong Xi Fa Cai’ and a few others which my mum taught us (of course, now I’ve forgotten them all). The dressing up was the best and it was for no apparent reason. We only stayed at home most of the time and probably only go out once in a while for visiting friends and relatives. But mainly, we would stay at home and start playing card games and mah-jong more recently. Then all the children in the family would receive angpows (red-packet) from the married couples and somehow I am always the luckiest as I get more money each year compared to my brother and sister. That’s because I have many god-families. One family took care of me when I was very young, and they treated me like their own until I was older. Another was a more recent god-family where my godparents would give me a bigger angpow than my brother and sister. But my siblings were never envious of me. They knew I was different.

CNY cookies were the best and we would have much junk food to munch throughout the day. We also stock up all sorts of drinks, fizzy drinks and fruit drinks for family members and visitors. As children, we never get a chance to drink Shandy (my favourite) and other fizzy drinks throughout the whole year, and only get to drink it during CNY. Oh, it was such a merry and unforgettable time.

So tell me now, as my families are gathering around, making love-letter biscuits, preparing the house for the festival, having reunion dinner, watching fireworks, giving of angpows (not that I miss this part because I have to give out angpows since I’m married now) and playing card games with family members, how can I not be depressed??

It is not only depressing, but torturing having to endure the thoughts and imagination of all the fun I miss out. Life is pretty confronting as you grow older. But most of them, we make the choices with our own hands. Question is, should we live for the future or the present?

Here’s wishing all of you, Happy Ox Year 2009 and hope that God bless you all abundantly with His riches blessings.

Happy New Year 2009!

Happy New Year to all.

What a great ending for 2008 and a great start for 2009. I had an awesome Christmas gift and also took my sister to watch fireworks last night. It was spectacular although I cannot tell you which year is the best cause every year seemed impressive beyond comparison.

They say time pass us by in a blink of an eye, but both my sister and I agreed, it wasn't exactly that fast. Imagine if you were to relive the whole year again starting from January 1, 2008 till last night, would you have thought it to be that fast? Probably not. It wasn't fast, nor was it slow too. But what matters most is that we made use of every minute we have and we are satisfied to have achieved more things in life, than yesteryear.

Today, we invited a good friend over for New Year. We wanted to watch the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but due to unforseen circumstance, we couldn't watch the movie. But thank God, we had a great dinner. Had roast lamb and vegetables accompanied by a nice sparkling wine called Riccadona.

Unfortunately, tomorrow is a working day and how I dread working. Oh well, I'm going to have a long break soon. I just can't wait!

La Dolce Vita

We live in a suburb in Sydney best known as "Little Italy". If one should live in Sydney and inner-west to be precise, Leichhardt should be the place. It has everything a little community needs, perhaps even more. Every year round about this time, Leichhardt community will hold an annual event called "Norton Street Italian Festa". Norton Street is the main street in Leichhardt and is most busy on weekends. We don't really follow the events and happenings in Leichhardt as we are too busy working and on weekends, our ideal activity is to stay at home apart from doing grocery shopping. We were on our way to the marketplace but to our surprise, all roads were blocked. Immediately it dawned upon us that it's that time of the year again.

We headed back home to secure our street parking before any car comes along and park on our spot. Then we took a stroll to the park and then the street to check out the festival. It was a great day for such festa but boy, the heat took a toll on me after just 10 minutes. I am never fond of direct heat from the sun. There were stalls of all sorts set up along the streets. There were children's activities in the park. There were throngs and throngs of people wandering the street and feasting on italian food, wine, cheese and etc. It's amazing how people seem to be enjoying themselves still and not seem to have much care about the financial crisis hitting the world. People still spend and continue with their lifestyle as usual. As for us, the 'kiamsiapness' in us still prevail, we have to save money and hope others (who are not affected) spend to help boost the economy. Hence, we didn't have any urge to spend on anything.

Oh did I mention we had to get some groceries, which was our initial plan. So we walked all the way to Coles and got us some essentials like eggs, bread, toilet rolls, etc. That was the only thing we spent on. Had italian sausage for lunch (notice the singular word for sausage, that's because we shared one!) before long and came straight back to our home, sweet home.

Managed to take some shots of the event and I was just thinking, we live in the perfect suburb, perfect location, perfect community, perfect food! What a life!

A view of the park from our balcony.

That's Norton Street right at the end of the road.

They even have an SIA booth promoting A380!

Actually there was a MAS booth nearby, but I didn't bother taking a photo of it.

That's my gym!

She's a real lady!

There's live music, too! It was jazz by the way.

After grocery shopping and on the way home. Thankfully we didn't have the car with us, so that limited us to buying only what we needed!

Big Elf queuing up for sausage roll.

City to Surf 2007 II

Unfortunately, I didn't join the race this year although my company pays for it. Partly because I had no motivation and no company. It is a tough 14km walk/run so finding someone who is fit enough to do it, is quite hard.

Anyway, I am sick today and took a day's leave. Since my in-laws are coming to visit us end of the month, I took the opportunity to clean up the house. Gosh, I have to really clean up every nook and corner of the house as preparation. As I was organising the drawer containing all my mails, I came across this newspaper which I kept since last year. I wanted to keep it forever but I didn't think I'd be able to keep it for that long. It's a special edition on SunHerald which contains the finishing list of all participants for City2Surf 2007, and needless to say, I was one of them (feel so proud of myself).

Thought I'd take some photos and keep it as remembrance!

Great weekend!

It was a long weekend because of Queen's birthday. Thank God for the Queen, long live the Queen for we appreciate this holiday. We (the ex-OCFers) made a trip down to Camden on Saturday to visit a couple who are also ex-OCFers. It was a really enjoyable trip. I was contemplating whether or not to go for the trip as I was so looking forward to a quiet weekend at home, just doing nothing but resting. We finally agreed to join the entourage for the visit. There were 9 of us in total and we drove in separate cars. The journey was over before we knew it, and it only took us an hour and abit. It was like a peaceful countryside away from the hustle and bustle of the city life. They live in a farmhouse because the wife is a vet and is doing her placement there. So, that explains why they are there. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the barbeque, cakes and above all, the fellowship we had. I'm glad we went. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos but I'm hoping Leanne will share her photos in Facebook soon. Oh of course, I left the most exciting bit, after the barbeque and several rounds of card games, we all headed to Campbelltown which is 21kms away from the hosts' farmhouse to catch a movie and we watched "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian". It was a great movie!! It's probably on par with LOTR (LOTR fans will definitely shoot me for saying this). Anyway, what a nice way to conclude our day-trip after which we all headed back to Sydney.



Must watch. Better than the first one, probably due to more actions involved. However, it's very LOTR because of the shared elements such as the trees that became alive and the water gushing that swept the enemies away, only it took place as a form of a man probably God himself. Besides drama/romantic films, I love fantasy films, if you don't already know.

Oh, movies again. I watched Babel on Friday. Very intriguing story but may not suit everyone's taste.

The Idea of North

On Saturday, we had the priviledge of attending a gig/show by a jazz group called The Idea of North. It's a contemporary a cappella group singing mainly jazz, pop and gospel. Eventhough I've never heard of this group, I did enjoyed the show. Plenty of scat singing, however, it wasn't as impressive as I would expect them to be, having since won the best "contemporary acapella group in the country". Many of such musical talent do come from church, as singing and music do play an essential role. Hence, we did have some youths perform such acapella singing in church once, and that wowed me instantly. This group too has a history of coming together because of the same faith and belief, something which I automatically assume since they sing gospel songs. They are pretty good, but I think they can be better should they have awesome composers, especially the world renowned ones. Anyway, go check out their website and listen to some of their singing.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today's blogging is dedicated to my mum, Linda Cheong, the best mum on earth. I wish I can be with her everyday of my life. She is someone whom I don't mind living with for the rest of my lives.

She's a strong woman as she's protective over our being yet vulnerable and sensitive to our needs. She's funny as she can never perfect her cooking and baking, yet I love all her cooking. She's everyone's best friend as she emphatizes with you, yet she can be genuinely honest with you. She cries with you and her heart goes out for all who is in need, yet she can chastise you for being a fool. She's open-minded, and would accept anything as long as we are honest with her. She would laugh and cry with us, as a friend would, yet showered us love sacrificially and unconditionally.

She is the most amazing and modern mother, mother-in-law, aunty, sister and grandmother. She is great in every role she plays. No one I know, can play these roles simultaneously with such passion coupled with genuine care and concern.

Love you mum!!

Merry Christmas 2007!

BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

It's the time everyone's been waiting for. A time to be with loved ones, a time to give and receive, a time to share, a time of joy, peace and love. Although we don't have our families here, we are still very much taken care of by God and are very much part of our church and friends circle. Leading up to Christmas has been so busy, unlike last year. We had my in-laws to celebrate Christmas last year and we didn't partake in any church activities nor celebrated with friends. So it was a quiet, peaceful little Christmas.

This year was the total opposite, perhaps more for me. I have been running up and down, buying presents, food, going to and fro church for musical practice and driving everywhere for visiting. Phew, a really busy but merry little Christmas, this year.

Also, it's time to reveal the presents I got for Andrew. I woke up to my surprise this morning, and saw a present wrapped up nicely just for me on my way to the toilet. I was so thrilled, and then it hit me, that it's CHRISTMAS! Thank you my darling...

Here are pictures of our presents!

~ HIS~

~ HERS~

P/S: Since he loves his cooking and especially steak, I thought I should get him a steak pan! And he on the other hand, had to ask a favour from his female colleagues to help him choose the bag for me. How sweet of him and so unexpected. =) Everything I tell him, he does take note and in this instance, I did tell him before that I don't really have a working handbag and I should get one. In addition, white is my favourite colour!

Christmas Space Odyssey First night!

It was an amazing evening. The show went well, everything was great. The choir, the dance, the actors, the lightings the slideshow.. you name it. Truly, God's presence was amongst us. He is to be glorified through all that we do, else everything we do is meaningless.

I'm still trying to upload the video for the dance, so bear with me. Here are some photos of our dance and rehearsal. Enjoy!

Christmas Space Odyssey 2007

Christmas Space Odyssey is near. We only have about a week to practice. Because of time constraint, I'm only doing one dance, which is not so stressed for me. Somehow, I find myself a bit too old to even remember some of the steps.. I feel like fulfilling my own dreams to dance again. Anyway, here's the promo for the musical by our church. Although I am a little worried for the whole production, our pastor seems to be so enthusiastic and confident that it will be a real good musical. I guess that's how our faith differs. I guess I should have more faith in God to make all these turn out well.

Update on Uncle Lawrence

Uncle Lawrence underwent gastrectomy this afternoon. Doctors had to operate on him in order to do staging. Apparently doctor said it's stage 3. We were all gobsmacked by the news. It was totally shocking, although most stomach cancer diagnosis is made at advance stages. Ironically there isn't any symptoms leading to stomach cancer. Apparently, stomach cancer isn't genetic but rather due to diet and environment.

Please continue praying for him. He is only 51 and has a 10 year old daughter.

He is the most helpful uncle and always is a sport. He loves to organise trips and will go all out to help family members. Without him, there's really not much fun in the family anymore. He does mean alot to everyone. I just realised that all my family members mean so much to me. It would be horrible to lose any of them, but we should all know and accept the fact that we will leave this world someday, somehow. The world is not to be called our own.

Prayer and Petition

Today, I received a sad news. My uncle Lawrence was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in the stomach. Although it is sad and discouraging, but we all should realize that this world is just a stepping stone to another destination. In my belief, this destination is called heaven. We are all saved by faith and grace, as long as we believe that Jesus, the son of God who died to pay for our sins. I know many sceptics who will refute that, but I'm just wondering, if they cannot come up with something better for me to believe in, then they might as well not counter and dash one's hope.

Anyway, this news just made me realized that nothing in this world matters. Of course, even if we take good care of ourselves, we will still die one day. No one lives forever in this world. We can only live to our fullest, with the time frame we have.

Dear Jesus, Divine Physician and Healer of the Sick, we turn to You in this
time of illness. 0 dearest Comforter of the Troubled, alleviate our worry and
sorrow with Your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this
burden. Dear God, we place our worries in Your hands. We place our sick under
Your care and humbly ask that You restore Your servant to health again. Above
all, grant us the grace to acknowledge Your holy will and know that whatsoever
You do, You do for the love of us.
Amen.

http://www.jimfeeney.org/powerofhealingprayers.html

City to Surf 2007

If you know what City to Surf is in Sydney, then you will know what I'm talking about. Anyway, see those ppl in the picture? I was one of them this year.

This is an annual event organized by Sun Herald for fund-raising purpose. There are more than 60 000 participants this year in this 14 km run. Of course, you must be mad to think I can run for 14 kms. I did a combination of these: walk, jog and slow running. What I'm most proud of was that I did not stop for a second in the race and it took me 2 hours 22 minutes to finish.

What made me participate? It started with a colleague of mine, asking everyone to go with her for this event. Soon enough, she gathered a bunch, and we were all set to go. We registered (registration fee is $38 but good thing is the company pays, so nothing to lose I thought, just some energy and sweat) and soon received all the information, a singlet and assigned a number each (my number was 28288! this is an auspicious number for chinese but I'm not superstitious enough to believe it).

As the dar drew closer, I became so worried, what if I can't finish the run. 14 kms!! Do you know how far that is? I remember when we used to run 1500meters in school which was compulsory to pass the pysical education subject. Even that was hard enough, not to mention 14 kms.

So, the morning came and I was all geared up and went to the city. Of course, I knew there will be so many people so we picked a time and place to meet up. Waited and waited but couldn't see anyone I know. Perhaps, they were late or maybe everyone's scattered everywhere.

Oh well, forget it, just go ahead with the race, I thought. There were such a massive crowd that I feared a stampede. But I knew I wouldn't back off at that time. Well, all in all, the race was quite fun albeit lonely. I got to see many people wearing funny costumes (just so that their photos can be taken and spotted easily, some were reflectives of their profession). There were bargirls, cheerleaders, clowns, swimmers, roadworkers, even BORAT!! Goodness me!! =) Throughout the race, there were bystanders cheering for everyone and giving encouragements. I thought that was really kind of them.

After more than 2 long hours, I finally saw Bondi Beach. I was ok until the 10th km but the rest of it was really starting to kill me. I had to really drag myself to finish it and I did, FINALLY! Got myself a medal and some freebies. Was especially thankful that all racers got a free bus trip back to the city. Also, I found out the next day, I was the only one from my department to run the race. Everyone else didn't go (chicken out, I guess.. hehe).

There you go, my whole CITY TO SURF ordeal. Like the inscription on the medal says, I FINISHED totally applies to me. =)