Gong Hei Fatt Choy!

This post has been sitting in my draft folder for the past 2 weeks. Got busy. Got ill. Still nursing a cough but that's okay. So here goes. Hey, at least I'm posting this before Chap Goh Mei, right?

The eve
CNY eve was celebrated quite simply with family at home. We had roast duck from Loong Foong in Paramount (though I much prefer the Sunrise Roast Duck, they decided not to open for business this CNY), Char Siew (roast pork) from James Ayam, Jellyfish Yee Sang from Chuai Heng (One Utama) topped up with salmon sashimi from Jusco Supermarket (I don't see the point in thinly sliced salmon, really) and mom cooked some vegetable stir fry. I opened up a bottle of Merlot to go with the duck and pork and it was not too bad either. Sunshine got to eat inside with us. She even had a taste of everything. Just a weee-bit. Except the wine of course. Then she was quite happy to lie at our feet. Hahaha. Pictures to come soon. I still can't find that damn USB cable for my phone. Grrrr.

Cycling up Frasers
As for the first day of Chinese New Year, I had a total blast cycling up to Fraser's Hill with JJ, MF and some new friends I made that day. We met up in Kuala Kubu Baru, and then headed for hills, cycled past the beautiful KKB dam and then a steady climb to the Gap which lasted over 2 hours.

It was a lovely climb, with shady trees by the long and winding road. The cool breeze was crisp and fresh. I could smell the green scent of the jungle and hear the rustling of leaves. When we rode near the river we could hear the sound of water tripping over rocks as it rushed towards the dam we left behind.

When we finally reached the Gap, we were greeted by many cars parked by the roadside. Holidaying families were waiting for the road leading up to the top of Fraser's Hill to open. Well, we got this far, so the guys said we should ride to the clock tower, another 8km away. Gulp. JJ was up for it, so I thought OK lah. Might as well.

We didn't want to wait for the road to open, so we used the alternative route, which started off with a really steep slope. A 750m 15% incline. Oh gawd... I tried, but half way through, I knew I couldn't anymore. My heart was at the verge of bursting and my legs couldn't maintain a steady rhythm. I quickly unclipped my shoes and prayed I wouldn't fall over in an undignified heap. I managed to get off my bike to push.

After getting back on the bike, we endured a few more kms of rolling hills. Then we saw the gang who were ahead of us coming down the hill. They said there was a landslide further up and there was no way we could cross. Bummer.

So much for the clock tower. We could take the other way up, but we were running out of time. After a short rest back at the Gap, we were on our way home. The ride down was madness! Averaged 30-40km/h (and I might add there's a speed limit of 30km/h for cars here). Round and round back down the hill.

Weeeeeehoooooo... the wind was in my face. I avoided oncoming traffic, holes, sandy corners and fallen branches. I didn't realise I climbed up such a distance until I saw that the journey down was pretty long too. Then we reached the big road near the dam. Changed to my big crank and pedaled, reaching a top speed of 60km/h (I didn't see any speed limit signs here though), and the downhill speed gave me momentum to fly up the smaller slopes after.

Cool breeze gave way to hot air as the sun was already up and we had no more shady trees for cover. The heat from the tarmac made me feel like I was riding in a bed of burning charcoal. Phoooh! But it was over pretty quickly when we reached KKB town again and back to our cars at the stadium. ZM treated everybody to makan opposite the stadium, and it was such fun talking about the ride. It's definitely one of the best rides I've had so far, and I can't wait to go back there again. Hopefully next time we can make it to the clock tower.

Hamper shopping
Went home. Took a shower. Then went to Giant to get a CNY hamper for D's family. Goodness gracious. The hampers were pricey but filled with junk. I decided to handpick some better items, although for the same budget, there would be less items and I'd get a smaller hamper. Oh well, better than cheap sugar-crusted jelly sweets or plasticky chocolate any day. Besides, it's more gratifying to push the trolley around and choose items the recipients would like.

Dinner with D's family and drinks with friends
It was his folk's last night in KL before they fly back to Adelaide, so we had dinner before dropping them off at the granny's. Nothing else seemed to be open in the USJ area on the first day of CNY, so we ended up at a vegetarian restaurant. After that, we met up with some friends for drinks at Chili's in Midvalley. It was a good catch up session with LY, WY, EK and AW who's back from Shanghai.

Not so 'ong' 2nd day
Didn't do much but rest and recover from the ride the day before. Had dinner at my aunt's place. Sunshine had a swell time running around the big garden and having everyone fuss all over her. Later, D & I went to LY's cousin's place for a few rounds of cards. Not very 'ong' at all la this year. Must be Aunty HN's boob-shimmying and leg-crossing ala Sharon Stone disturbing the 'luck'. Hahahaha.

Packed 3rd day
Visited KY's place on Saturday afternoon. My, her belly had gotten bigger. Zombee was cute as always, yelping at the back for some attention. Then I went over to The Curve for quick meet up with the old DDBi gang as SC was back from Vietnam. So nice to see everybody again. Then it was off to LY's place for another round of cards. Still not very 'ong'. Lost some at Dai Dee but managed to recover some at the Black Jack table.

The Chins, Chong, Oois & Mah
Met up with the girls. SY's belly has grown as well since we last met at MT's wedding. After coffee and catching up, AV and I met up with the boys after their basketball game. KC and CC hadn't changed a bit. Put them and D together, aiyooohh, it's like a trip back to our GMSJ Youth days over a decade ago. Hahaha. And oh, the Sup Kambing at Darus Salam in SS15 Subang Jaya, SUCKS. All MSG and fatty meat with an overdose of spice. Uggghh.

Got sick :(
The following few days were horrible. Got a bit of a fever. Sore throat. No sniffles, but a dry cough. My tonsils swelled up. Doctor asked me to consider removing them one day, cos they get inflamed so easily. It's been a week and I still get the hacking cough. Damn the heaty CNY weather. No lah... it's not all the bak kua I ate. I didn't get enough of those. Sniff.

The Chans
Visited CN on Saturday and it was so good to see her and hubby after so long. And while I heard that her sister (3 years our junior) just gave birth to a baby girl 3 months ago, it didn't sink in until I saw SN with her baby. And I still remember SN in her high school pinafore. OK, that was about 10 years ago, but gosh! In my mind, she still that tall, young, pretty girl with the school bag. She's still tall, young, and pretty - but now she's a mom, with baby bags!

It's Day 12 today. Chap Goh Meh on Thursday.
Shites, only 3 more days of Angpow collection!

Bleh-ness

Last weekend started nicely enough with a short trip to Cameron Highlands over the weekend. It was rather rushed and tiring but very nice as I'd never been to Cameron's before. Shock, horror, yes. Deprived childhood.

I'm just more than thankful that I didn't have to drive as MH packed all of us into her Naza Ria, which could carry 6 people, and a whole load of vegetables back from the mountains.

Highlights of the trip:
- Dimsum in Ipoh
- Meeting JJ for the first time
- Playing poker with REAL poker chips
- Sleeping in the attic at Bala's chalet
- Nice views, fresh flower-scented air
- Boh Tea Plantation
- Charcoal steamboat, great naan and pearl corn!
- A totally disappointing hunt for good scones
- Giant strawberry paraphernalia everywhere, from statues to balloons to cushions to shop decor to stuffed toys. With eyes and arms and legs. They FREAKED me out. I wouldn't go near any of them. They looked evil. Really, they did.

Then I had to come back and fall ill.
And the past week became a hazy blur.

Not only did I get a fever which came on and off (doc said that's how viral fever works... er, okayyy), I was pretty much fatigued and achy boned the whole week. What really bugged me is the fact that I couldn't go to the gym. Made me a very, very grumpy girl :P

Feeling quite alright as of last night, but I've been at home most part of today playing Bogglific with my laptop on my belly. My mother is convinced it'll give me cancer. The laptop, not Bogglific.

Confessions of a cough syrup junkie

I've been coughing really badly since last Wednesday.
And sounding like the love child of Darth Vader and Chewbacca.

I still do. But maybe less of Chewbacca now.
The cough still annoys me to no end though.
Only upside, I have good reason to take Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa. I love that stuff. I'm only suppose to take 3 tablespoons a day. But I finished one and a half bottles over the past few days. Mmmmm... and that doesn't count the Nin Jiom candy I pop into my mouth. Hehehe.

Then I was told Nin Jiom only relieves the cough. It doesn't fix it. So I went to the pharmacy to get a good cough syrup and something to get rid of my phlegm (cos the one given by my company doctor was crap). The pharmacist recommended Tussidex Forte Linctus (the nasty tasting, sarsi-flavoured syrup) and Mucolator, a powdered, dissolve-in-water orange tasting expectorant. After just one dose yesterday, I felt the difference. Ah... quick. I want my voice back! Arrrggh!

Anyway. My last band gig on Thursday (some young lawyers' trivia nite), I couldn't sing at all. I couldn't bleat Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, much less do an Amy Lee. The guys had to do all the singing that day, while I stayed behind the keyboards. We did pretty alright and there was even an improvement on some songs from SY&HM's wedding, so that was good. Hung out at a mamak after that to chat, then bitched about having to work the next day. Obviously the late night didn't help my cough at all. I zombied through most of Friday.

Saturday morning was LL & MT's wedding at Holy Rosary church. It was beautiful. I love that church. Classic mosaic tiles. Pretty stained glass windows all round. If I were to ever get married, I want my wedding in that church.

LL looked nervous with his smile frozen in place, while MT looked the part of the glowing bride. After meeting her dad, LY and I saw where MT got her quirky sense of humour. He's a riot.

Their dinner was held the following night in Cheras. Getting there was a navigation nightmare. Good thing we went early and arrived before it got dark and rained heavily. The highlight of the evening was the video they made to tell their 'story'. It was hilarious and so well done. I loved how they took a jab at typical wedding photo-shoot slideshows (you know, those with corny love songs in the background).

This was the second time I saw a 'video' of this sort. The last being at LN's wedding in January. That was really funny. It's always such a relief to see something different at a wedding. Especialy when you've been attending at least one every month for the past year.

Damn. I really need to get rid of this effing cough. Fancy Poultry (we now have a blog!) rehearsals for our Christmas show have begun and I'm not of much use until I sound more human. I'm starting to feel a little stressed out. Doing a show at a venue like Bangkok Jazz means the audience are more discerning. We really have to make our show work. God help us.

Wanton

I'm talking about dumplings made of tissue paper and nasal discharge. They're everywhere. I should clear those away from my desk before my cube becomes ground zero for some biological warfare.

The past two weeks sucked in the health department.
First, a bad case of tonsilitis.
Followed by a bad bout of flu.

I notice the correlation between the lack of exercise and the deterioration of my health in the past few months. I really want to start running again. And I did start, on Sunday. Only to have this damn flu hit me the following day.

Work has kept me busy. And tired.
To the point where I could only do up to Chapter 6 (or was it 7?) of my Purpose Driven Life project in my other blog. At this rate, I'll never complete it in time for Easter anyway. So I'll just do it slowly over the next few weeks (or months). Don't want to rush through it just for the sake of completing it fast.

I've nothing interesting to post.
My brain is still in a hazy, pathetic mess.
So in the meantime, I'll leave you with another picture of Sunshine. I just got her a new collar. It's padded on the inside for more comfort. And I even sewed a little red bell on it.



Last but not least, this is a shout out to two birthday girls today (29 March) and a birthday boy.
- Mint Chutney, the lovely mamma from Evanston, Chicago.
- My dear, dear friend CN who lives just a few minutes away, but I don't seem to see her often enough.
- And WT, the best illustrator in town in my book.

YL's birthday was yesterday, but she's in Spain now on a 3-week holiday. Envy, envy. I'm so looking forward to her postcards.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU ALL!
*love, hugs and kisses from me, licks and tail wags from Sunshine*