boon's log 0807.05: Happy CNY 2007 (in summary...)

Hope it is not too late to wish all of you a very Happy and Blessed Chinese New Year! Well, officially it is still within the 15-day period. So, there you go!

As with all the Gong Xi Fa Chai wishes, here's wishing you...

- more wealth!
- best of health!
- bear offsprings - truck loads of 'em, if possible (your mom and dad will be proud of ya!)
- meet your prince charming and let him sweep you off your feet!
- promotions for those who are climbing the ladder!
- better business prospects for those with their own business!
- All A's for those who are studying!

And the list goes on! So, take your pick people. Don't be greedy okay? Just take one "blessing" at a time... lest you'll be found guilty of the blessing-gluttony! :P kidding folks. Have a good one!

Hope 'twas a fun time for all of you. Mine was more tiring than the previous years. Yeah, the new addition to the family has indeed added a few more extra baggages here and there, literally and metaphorically speaking. I had to make 3 fully-loaded trips between our home and the car in order to get everything in there, and trust me when I said that it was almost reaching the roof (!!!) - and we live on the 25th floor! But having said that, it was really fun traveling with the additional head-count. Usually, it's just IL and I. But now with AB, it's somehow different. Yeah, though she may cry for unknown reasons during the trip (she's just 2.5 months old), but having her around makes us feel more like a family - perhaps some of you can identify with that.

Anyway, as I said, it was tiring. Why? Well, for example, 2 days before CNY (what the Chinese call the 29th day), after finally getting to catch some shut-eye, after putting AB to bed, that is, I was abruptly awaken by the Queen - yeah, mom. "Let's go to the market", she said... but but but, it was only 4:45AM? Who sells stuffs at this unearthly hour?! Well, some unearthly-people do...



Early birds catches the worm (and does not get enough sleep)
::Scenes from the local wet market in Kampung Simee

Well, okay, I was wrong. People do wake up at unearthly hours and do market-ing. By 5:30AM, the market was about to burst - bustling with loads and loads of people. Major madness, I tell you. People shouting at the top of their voices with elbows shoving and little kids crying ... wait a minute... why on earth would people bring kids to the market at this hour?! Let the poor kid sleep la! Anyway, it was a real lively scene, to be honest, given that it was at such an un-lively hour. Mom knew her stuff. We were in and out, in less an hour, and boy, did we load up the car.

we headed home and then I just knocked out on the rattan chair for about barely 2 hours and was again awaken once more. This time to go out and get breakfast. I decided to go for my all time fav breakfast. If by any chance any of you are visiting Ipoh and looking for a place with good Chee Cheong Fun? Here's one that I think is real good. The name of the Coffeeshop is Sentosa (believe it is still called that...) and here's the guy selling it...


Chee Cheong Fun (check out the revised price, i.e. the blue ink versus the black ink)

Of course if you are not a frequent traveller to Ipoh, then your priority should be the Chicken Hor Fun first :)

Next to it are several shops selling fruits. I heard that the sales of Mandarin oranges is pretty slow this year. I guess that explains the stock-piles of them by the road side...


Mandarin Oranges

The rest of the day was pretty predictable. AB, AB and more AB... ;) The grandparents (especially the grand-dad) was spoiling her, carrying her all around the house. Gone are our efforts of training her to go to sleep without the aid of being carried around... sigh ;). Boy, did she enjoy it, I tell you.

The rest of the extended CNY weekend was filled with visitations in the scorching heat. But many think that the weather is milder this year compared to previous years, with scattered showers. And before we knew it, it was time to make the trip home - what would have normally been a 1.5 hour trip, turned out to be 3hours! The highway authorities / company (PLUS) minimized the lanes going up north at the Toll gates down to ONE - in anticipation of the higher traffic heading down south. But they've forgotten that the single-lane that they created is actually heading up-hill! So all you need is a couple of buses and trailers and you've got your self a bumper to bumper for more than 3 kilometers. I could have cleared that part of the highway in 2 minutes, but that day, it took 30 minutes. Furthermore it was the beginning of the journey, and AB was still trying to go to sleep... and then the crying begins... To get angry at them (PLUS) or not to get angry at them?


Unnecessary Jam at the Jelapang Toll Gates

The rest of the journey was uneventful, except when AB needed to be fed. She had her first take-away meal in the car that day - thanks to the unnecessary jam... She slept most of the way back after that, contented with a well-fed tummy. And upon reaching Penang, she knocked out a few more hours - and so did the mommy and daddy...

boon out...

**pictures were taken with Z610i**