It’s been a while since I’ve posted my last blog here… October 13 2007. Wow…it’s been a really really long time. However fear not dear readers. I’ve decided to move my blogs to a new space…obviously …Blogspot. The link is www.thesummerthatneverends.blogspot.com. See you there!!!
“Eh, you see, you see this picture. You see the girl or not? That’s my niece. She’s a magazine writer.” That was the conversation I heard the other day when I was walking past a table where my mum was sitting with her friends. They were looking at a booklet which highlighted the World Music Festival that was held back in July.
Who is the girl? Hmm…. who arr?
Well, she’s none other than my favorite cousin sister, Ms. Nicole Foo Bihzhu (Sorry la, have to announce your name). We’ve been together since we were little. We’ve been through the good and bad times together.
I still remember those kampung days back in Popo’s house. We used to play in the garden. Oh I remember plucking Ixora (flower) and we would suck out the sweet pollen from the flower. Where did you got that idea from? Then we would place cards and I would be the unsporting one. Hehe…I do remember that. And there was once where it was so hot we went shirtless while having lunch. To put all into words would be endless but I believe you still remember those days…. I still remember the time where you helped me draw something for my Music homework and you got scolded by my mum for helping me. You were scared to death at that time. I know…cause I was scared too!!!
That was our story. What about everybody else? My dear cousin, no matter what you did, everybody seems to be very proud of you. That includes me as well. You tend to be extraordinary most of the time la… Of course some of the things you did offended the elders but other than that they’re all so proud of you. You dare to break away and be what you want to be..eg. the piercing and the ‘botak’ head.
Ms. Foo, the proudest person I would say is not only your parents but its Popo. She is always so excited when it comes to you. I’m not jealous. Instead I feel happy for you. Now that you’re working in KL, she’ll be asking if you’re coming back or not. And if you are, she’ll be questioning everyone whether we know when exactly you are coming back. However, sometimes we do hide it from her until you actually appear (that’s when you asked us to keep it a secret).
Bihzhu,
Today, October 13, is the day every one of us are given a gift. And that gift is you. I have not got you anything in material but only this little piece of thought which of course aren’t as good as what you do for the magazines. Thank you very much for your presence. Remember, WE”RE ALL VERY PROUD OF YOU!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!
Here are some of the pictures which I’d managed to take with my oh-so-lousy phone. Didn’t bring my digicam there so had to rely on my phone. Enjoy….
This is the huge Penang Bridge structure….Hope you don’t mind that I got it from the rear view. Was actually testing out the camera in my phone. Turns out pretty alright I would say.
Not so dangerous Jurassic Park…a bit blurry thought cause I was capturing this pic while walking.
This is what I call the BURNING TIGERS….it was so dark that the lights really made the tigers glow in a fiery way. There were leopards as well… but I guess it’s hard to differentiate them from here.
The was a small volcano there…but no eruption..
FLame-in-goes……the lights turned out pretty nicce here.
Well, that’s about it….
Standing at the gateway was a huge construction of Penang Brigde with a pair of cats or more famously known as Hello Kitty. Sorry but I had a dislike for these cats…never my kind of thing. Anyway, it was dark and this huge structure brightened up the entrance to the Penang Lantern Festival display.
As I walked in, I was welcomed my lighted stuctures of various sizes. And so I started my journey around the display area. First, I was greeted by a herd of colourful elephants. 
Oh one of them had cats sitting on it. So, as I walked on there’s a stream where there are dinasours floating on rafts and some wild life lining up the pathway throughout the whole way.
Personally, it wasn’t very good. Kids may find it fascinating as some of the structures can move. Although the night was dark, yet it doesn’t really bring out the atmosphere. Besides, the lanterns on display comprised of only one theme and they all look pretty much the same. Just that they are of different forms and colours.
Furthermore, the amount of lanterns are pretty small. I believe three shots can possibly cover the whole display. So, to me it’s sort of a disappointment as I had expected to see something spectacular. A few traditional lanterns would be nice. It’s because not only children are coming to these place but also some senior citizens. It would be nice of have something which brings back old memories like those octagon lanterns or maybe those huge round lanterns which we often see hung at the porch of houses.
After the walkthrough, I was taken for a stroll around the place which is Autocity. It was my first time there and I liked the way the restaurants were set up. The concepts that they used were really good and projected a relaxing atmosphere. The outlook I liked most was this place called Tao which occupied quite a large area. Although I did not go in, from the outside I can see that it’s a nice place to hang out. The variance in it’s arrangement is very good whereby customers can choose where to sit. Overall, the night there was eye opening. Hope I can actually go there and walk into every restaurant to look at their arrangements. That’d be very interesting…
Sudah hampir setahun sejak kami memilih untuk meneruskan perjalanan hidup ini mengikut arah tuju masing-masing. Dalam jangka masa ini memang ada kalanya aku teringatkan saat-saat yang pernah kami lalui bersama. Namun, ia tidak membawa apa-apa keburukan. Malah ia membawa senyuman ke wajahku yang semakin tembam ini. Kami masih berhubung antara satu sama lain selama ini dan masih mampu bersenda.
Masa berlalu dengan pantas dimana aku kini sudah mula bekerja. Si dia pula sudah berpunya. Berita ini membawa pelbagai perasaan kepadaku. Kekeliruan menyelubungi fikiranku. Tidak tahu mana satu yang harus dirasai. Tidak dapat dinafikan yang aku telah memilih untuk melepaskannya. Keputusan ini dibuat dengan harapan yang dia akan dapat kebahagiaan yang tidak dapat kuberikan. Satu lagi yang diharapkan ialah melihat senyuman terukir di wajahnya.
Sejak kebelakangan ini,aku sering terdengar berita tentang dia dan kekasih barunya. Tetapi apa yang sampai ditelingaku bukanlah apa yang ingin ku dengarkan. Di luaran wajahku mungkin menunjukkan rasa gembira atau tidak berperasaan, tetapi didalam ia bagaikan ombak yang bergelora. Memang aku tidak berpuas hati dengan apa yang ku dengar. Walau bagaimanapun, aku mengawal perasaan dan tingkah laku aku supaya tidak menimbulkan kekeliruan. Sewaktu aku berbual dengannya aku cuba berbual dengan fikiran yang paling neutral dan aku berjaya melakukannya. Tetapi di sebaliknya aku berasa sedikit kecewa.
Hari ini aku ternampak sesuatu yang telah membuat hatiku terguris. Bukan gurisan yang besar tetapi ia tetap meninggalkan satu tanda. Aku terklik pada ikonnya di lampiran MSN dan muncullah sekeping gambar dimana sepasang kekasih mengambil gambar bersama. Aku juga hairan dengan reaksi hatiku ini yang boleh dikatakan cengil. Sudah pernah ku lihat gambar mereka berdua, tetapi hari ini…..tuan punya hati pun tidak tahu bagaimana hendak menjelaskannya.
Apakah perasaan itu? Bolah perasaan ini diterima atau ia harus diusir dari fikiran ini? Sejak kebelakngan ini aku telah bermimpi tentangnya beberapa kali. Tetapi aku tidak tahu sama ada hendak mempercayakan mimpi-minpi ini atau melupakannya. Boleh dikatakan aku diselami krisis orang tak siuman….Wahai pembaca yang dikasihi, apakah yang harus aku lakukan?
Located in the heritage ground, COLONIAL RESTAURANT is a place for those who wish to have a feeling of the good old times. Set in one of the building along Armenian Street, one would be taken back into the days where marbles are used as table tops and hand carved wood table stands takes over the place. To make it better, there is an open area which had been made into a garden inside the house itself. 
You would be wondering how or where did this idea came from. Well, it came from none other than the owner himself. He is the owner, designer and the chef of this little restaurant which serves mainly Hainanese cuisines. For those who loves art, this place has a collection of art pieces by some of our local artists.
Wondering what Hainanese cuisines are, Colonial serves Emperor Beef Noodles, Chicken/ Fish Loh Mee, Seafood Spring Rolls and the traditional Loh Bak. There are other dishes in the menu which I would leave to your imagination. If you want to know more then head on to Armenian Street and start looking for the place. Oh don’t forget to try the desert where both the east and west meets.
So, are you thinking of going Hainanese yet? If you are then start looking for the place. The address is 35, Armenian Street. Business hours are from 11.30am to 3.00pm and 6.00pm to 10.00 pm. More details of how to go there would be posted up soon.
…It’s been months since I last put my thoughts into words. As I flipped through the calendar, flashbacks of what had been going on around me swept throught my mind like a slideshow.
Working is the usual routine every week days. As for weekends, there’s gathering here and there either with colleagues or friends. There’s not much major events happening around. As for latest updates there’s the opening of a new restaurant called COLONIAL RESTAURANT which is situated at Armenian Str. Well, that’s one of the new things happening so far….
..THE PENANG WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL WAS A BLAST!!!
It was absolutely one wild night at Taman Kuari in the Botanical Gardens. The event was held over three consecutive days starting from 20 to 22 July 2007. Organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia jointly with the Penang Tourism Action Council and Sarawak Tourism Board. I would say it was a great success. Good job to the organizers!!!
For three consecutive days, audience were entertained with spectacular performances by bands from all corners of the globe namely Solomon Islands, USA, Italy, South Africa, Tuva, Russia, Singapore, UK, Afghanistan, Peru and more. Frankly, I would say do not be deceived when you hear the word ‘ETHIC’ music. It’s none of what you imagine.
Going there on a Saturday night with the expectation of listening to worldly and spiritually soothing music, I was enlightened by the performances. However, the organizers are smart to put the best act at the end. Knowing that it’s a Saturday night were most people will go out and relax…they had the band from Tuva and Russia playing at the end of the night. Imagine monks singing out mantras with the background of drumbeats and bass played by a DJ. It’s a new fusion. It’s like a rock concert. Really fantastic.
Then came Sunday night. Yes I attended on both days. Couldn’t help it. It was just so good and I’m glad I had gone to watch it. It was the last night that rocked. Despite the rain throughout the performances, our spirit weren’t dampen a single bit. In fact, the atmosphere kept getting crazier performance after performance. Yet, the ultimate "high" was when the Singaporean band performed. Their samba beats really got the crowd crazeeee…. and I’ve never had so much madness before. Last night was the first. Truly, with live performances, the feeling is absolutely outstanding compared to listening from a cd player.
The night ended with a finale with all the performers coming out. It was a good finale as well were you can hear all the bands collaborating to create a harmonious and grand final performance for the year. So, for those who missed it this year remember to look out for it next year. But for the time being, watch for the PENANG JAZZ FESTIVAL !!!
p/s: pics of the fest will be posted up later….
As hard as I tried to turn down an invitation to a bbq on friday night, I in the end gave in to my friends’ persuasion. The sight of so many people sitting there and enjoying their bbq-ed food seems pretty relaxed. I was turning down quite a lot temptation of food that night as I had just had my dinner. And so I sat there and chatted with a few of my college friends whom I had not seen for quite sometime. A lot of changes happened to them. Some look ‘prosperous’ after so long. And of course some of them got ‘hotter’ by the days.
Then I was asked to join the few guys to play beach soccer. Since I didn’t want to eat so I joined the guys in the game. Was alright at the beginning. Then a few more girls joined in and so we decided to have a small match. Initially it was girls against guys. Later we had a reshuffle and so was divided into 2 groups. That was when the real fun begins. 14 people running after one miserable ball was actually fun. As usual, men wouldn’t expect women to play soccer that well… And women being the humble one would say that they have no idea when it comes to soccer. So we played. Most guys were surprised that some of the girls in the game were rather good. There was one time when this girl ran up to the back of a guy to tackle the soccer ball. The guy got shocked as he didn’t expect anyone to come up behind him..what more a girl. At the end of the game everyone was drenched in sweat as we were all running up and down the beach. Honestly, it’s not easy to run on sand and it takes up a lot of energy.
Nevertheless, it’s the best time of the night. Good exercise as well. Looking forward to round 2 now….
It’s been 3 weeks since I started my first job outside of home. Yea…had always been living under the precious care of my parents and held the title of ‘kopi kia’ ever since I was little. Oh well, that title had been passed down to the mischievious little brother of mine who’s the baby of the family.
Anyway, the 1st week wasn’t that pleasant. Never expect what I’m doing to be somewhat dull cause all I do is sit in the cold office and stare at the monitor or looking at numbers. Numbers are ok..but the fact that I am only station at one particular spot made me feel restless. To me, that’s boring. Being used to doing more practical work at home, sitting in the office seems like a tedious task. Nearly lost my mind on the first day itself.
Then came the 2nd week. If not for the colleagues I have in the office, I would be dead by now. Having them around at least bring some life to the environment. As I learn the basics and procedures of accounting and auditting, I slowly got used to the immobile situation. Somehow, life got a bit interesting. I was called upon to join my senior colleagues in an audit assignment. And so we went to a factory in SP for our assignment. That one day of being away from the office was a fun one. Getting to know colleagues on the way to the venue was one of the highlights of the day. Then the weekend came and I was invited to join my colleagues for a morning hike. That brings a sense of belonging.
As for the 3rd week, things go on as usual…and again something came up in the office. I was assigned to an audit assignment again. This time with 3 other colleagues. I was told to be lucky as I got picked as most newbie won’t have such opportunity and yet I got it. However, there’s a catch to this one. We would be put under time constraint as the client would want to have everything done within a short period of time. So we’ll have to work super fast to get this one assignment done on time.
Next week would bring more events as we’ll be starting our audit assignment. Gonna be away from the office for a few days. That’s what I love about it… 
Wish me luck!!
