will i am's delayed diary

The inaugural Japan Expo was held in 2017 at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. That all-Japan event kinda escaped my notice. In 2018, they managed to lure me to the 3-day event with a lucky draw prize via LINE Messenger. I got it after the 7th try. Right after church, mum and I headed to Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. Traffic was quite good that day. Starting out at the crystal fountain, we spotted several cosplayers. Can't say that I could recognize any of the characters. Out of those few cosplayers, there was one guy in the Grade A category with great hair, makeup, and handsome features. Youngsters were lining up to get an autograph from him. Can anyone name him? As one of the main sponsors, Oyoshi had several stalls outside promoting their drinks, and selling some Japanese snacks like gyoza and ebiko bread. Air Asia also had their own kiosk to promote their airfare and tour packages. The main hub of activity was the centre court with more stalls and a  performance stage that had back to ba

Once in a while, Nalanda Buddhist Society would organize a pindacāra event at the OUG morning market. Several monks would be making their rounds collecting alms-food. As the alms bowl can only hold so much, volunteers trail the monks with carts. Bumped into an elderly couple from church, and they told us that they were waiting for their son to fetch them home. Since they had to wait for another couple of hours, we offered to send them home instead. A great opportunity to visit their new home in 16Sierra. Previously, they lived at Paragon Heights, and made the move to 16Sierra because their grandchildren were now studying at Rafflesia International School ( $$$ ). Quite a funny story really because when we arrived at their gorgeous semi-detached home, the old couple were unable to open the door! It used an electronic key, and even with all the beeps and whistles, we were unable to gain access. Loitered outside for about an hour before their son arrived to save the day. Actually t

Right before Christmas, the Winter Solstice was celebrated. Had a reunion dinner at my sister's place and invited SK and Brian over too. And the tang yuan was special with a quad of homemade flavours: blue from Bunga Telang , green from pandan , yellow from pumpkin and purple from sweet potato . Not only different colours, but different textures due to the ingredients. I didn't do the rolling, left it to the kids to play. Hehe. Wouldn't want to rob a great childhood experience from them. And mum made the savoury variety for me, tang yuan in chicken soup! My favourite. I was a happy boy! Not sure if I ate 34 glutinous rice balls that year... huhuhu.

Take Your Pick , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. On Friday, I went home a tad earlier to attend a small family function at my sister's place. My BIL's younger brother came back from a road trip and came back with lots of yummy goodies from Ipoh and Melaka. My elder brother was also in town for my mum's birthday. Seeing that there was one salted chicken drumstick leftover, we decided to set up the 'Choosing Ceremony' for my nephew who was turning one. Basically one gives the kid a selection of items on a tray to choose from. The item chosen would show the kid's affinity for a certain field of interest. I'm sorry that it's nothing like what happens at Hogwart's with the Sorting Hat. We put the following items in the tray-- chicken drumstick ( gluttony - traditional option ), book ( academia ), calculator ( arithmetic ), ten ringgit note ( business ), gold tael ( corruption? XD ), ruler ( architecture? design? ) and a pencil ( desk jockey?! ). We

Moon Walk Colours , swiped from williamnyk on Flickr. Went home to rest before heading out for the gathering at Petaling Street. Our first stop was at Chan She Shu Yuen Clan Association for a Chinese opera presentation by Persatuan Peminat Seni Opera Kantonis Tsang Fei. Heard excerpts from several of the famous pieces. Interestingly, the troupe leader gave very candid commentaries: "In all the old stories, all the men seem to be scholars. Like it was so easy to pass the exams. And some woman would wronged, and she would have to prove her innocence. The two protagonists would lament on and on. The full scene would be 45 minutes, which I'm sure would be enough to put everyone in the audience to sleep." When the clock struck eight, mum and I moved to the gathering point. Upon walking out of Chan She Shu Yuen, we were given free lanterns and candles. Lovely. The start was a bit slow, with the organizing committee giving their speeches and doing a bit of lamenting of their