will i am's delayed diary

Photo credit: alex.ch The 31st of January was the first working day after the long CNY weekend. I wasn't working that day, so took the chance to do some banking. Public Bank had sent me a mailer that my supplementary credit card was ready for collection at the Equine Park branch. Actually, it was my second attempt to pick up the card. Like the first time, the numbers for the customer service counter was moving slowly. The customer service officer gave such excellent service that I felt like slapping her. She talked on and on, offering information that the customer didn't even ask for. Couldn't stand it so I went to the teller to ask about credit card collection. Thank goodness that they immediately picked up my request! The teller took my identification card and asked me to wait a while. Ten minutes later, the lady told me that they couldn't find my card. I was flabbergasted. Feeling annoyed, I left the bank branch and went for breakfast at the nearby Village Ca...

By the third day of CNY, The Tribe would be back from my BIL's hometown of Melaka. First stop would be at my house to pai nien . All of us had breakfast together-- a mix of wantan noodles, nasi lemak , and keropok lekor . Usually, mum would cook lunch but this year, Apollo's mum invited us over for lunch. She prepared roast chicken, braised chicken feet with sea cucumber, fish maw soup, stir-fried vegetables, soy sauce tofu, and sweet and sour fish. Mum supplemented with curry chicken. Apollo grew mushrooms for three days at home, so he was thrilled when we said, "Let's go for coffee!". Unfortunately, it took us a while to find a place that was open. Gave Coffee Smith a try, a cafe from Taiwan. The interior was a mix of different textures-- wood, zinc, brick, and chipboard. And most of the furniture was mismatched. Guess they couldn't make up their minds. We sat at the large timber table near the entrance, and the automatic door kept opening at the sli...

The second day of CNY was reserved for our day trip to Bagan Sungai Burong, a fishing village located in Sungai Besar district. Right after English mass at St. Ignatius Church, we drove out via LATAR Expressway. Google Maps gave me an estimate of 2 hours, but we took an extra 45 minutes to arrive. Upon arrival, we were welcomed by the two naughtiest of my nephews. The rest were busy gambling. The young ones raided my mum's handbag for red packets! They even demanded some from me: Wild Nephew 1: Give me an ang pao! Moi: I'm not married, I have none to give. Wild Nephew 2: But you're wearing a ring! Give me! Give me! That's just two of them. There were a total of 14 nephews and nieces. Yikes. I didn't pay too much attention to the kids as they were obviously starved for attention! I left them to roughhouse with my brother. Hehe. My mum wanted to see the boats, so the kids brought us to the riverside to take a look. Ecstatic that they were given the ho...

Every year, we celebrate the first day of the Lunar Chinese New Year at church. The Year of the Rooster was no exception. To get the best seats, we arrived an hour earlier. The other benefit of arriving before the throng is that it is much easier to take photos. The interior of the church was decked out in red, with a couplet flanking the crucifix above the altar-- something about the abundance of God's grace. The red carpet from Christmas still ran across the middle of the church, but it was now matched with red lanterns. The nativity scene was replaced with a set of oriental table and chairs, red cloth, and cherry blossoms. Outside was more cherry blossoms but there was something extra-- giant golden eggs. The whole morning I was on my feet running around, helping out the Hospitality Ministry with the mandarin oranges distribution and ushering parishioners to the pews. Felt like a record turnout this year. The lion dance was kinda short this year because by the time that we had...

Too soon, just way too soon to lose a valuable member of the BFF. Though silent, you were always bursting with creativity. Never quite delved beneath the  surface of your happy-go-lucky demeanour to discover what turmoil lived there. Your departure has truly left a void that cannot be ignored. F, may you find peace returned to nature and the heavens. R.I.P.

CNY eve is always reserved for last minute cleaning. I swept and mopped the floor. Cleaned my room and washed the car. Did all this while mum was busy in the kitchen preparing for reunion dinner. Mum suddenly declared that she needed to grab some stuff from AEON. I thought I could collect my mum's supplementary credit card from the Equine Park branch, but the branch was swamped with customers. Last minute banking. Plenty of last minute shoppers too. KH worked that day, but there was an early release. He came all the way from KL to Taman Equine to look for me. Brought him for a quick lunch at Spice of Penang . Quite a crappy place actually. Avoid it. KH went back to my place for a short visit before leaving for home. This year, it was only the three of us at the reuion dinner-- mum, my brother, and I. SK FFK-ed to spend CNY in Linggi with CK. Because there were only a few of us, she dished out a variety of items at smaller portions. The dinner table did look a little empty, bu...

How many times did you lou sang before the Lunar Chinese New Year? 2. How many times did you lou sang during the Lunar Chinese New Year? 2. What type of yu sang do you prefer? Jellyfish . Now it's your turn.