CNY #5: Dinner with the extended family, Grandpa and Grandma

Well, if you think i have a BIG family. You should see my extended family. It's even bigger.. So, last Chinese New Year, we had dinner at the Region, Seremban.

Place: Regent Restaurant
Food : Chinese dinner
Location : Seremban, Negeri Sembilan
Food Taste: Not Bad, 70%
Service : So-so, 80%
Ambience : Too Chinese New Year feel, haha!


Me, hungry @ car
(yes, we had to buckle up at the rear seat)


My cousin, Kian Tiong bought a new DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera.
So the nicer pictures were taken by him, and the not-so-nice ones were taken with my modest Sony Ericson K750i camera phone.
See whether you can figure out which is taken by which camera.

(p/s: i took the picture of the fish. the picture which he took tinggal bones only)

Before we proceed with the delicious food,
i'll like to take this opportunity to introduce my beloved family....
i never actually blog much about them, have i???
Funny, i was such in a family mood, this year round...

Anyway, behold to meet all the Leng Jais and Leng Luis

That's my happy Daddy and Mummy...
My brothers and sisters...
From left: Nice Tuan Ren, The Evil Tuan Yuan, Cute Yoon, Pretty Ling

Maternal Grandma & Grandpa..
Uncle Peter & Auntie & cousins: Kian Tiong(Eric), Ying Ying, Yen Ying
Uncle Frankie, Auntie and cousins: Ting Yee, Jian Ming, Jian Ning
Uncle David & Aunt & Cousins: Hong Wei, Chiu Yen, Chiu Peng, Chiu Yi
Aunt Cynthia & Uncle Darren Lai

Pretty Ying Ying Jie Jie

Cute cousin Ting Yee

ahhh.... this is my very VERY cute cousin neice... so chubby.. 2 months saja, you know..
so pandai to follow ppl around the room liao....
and very manja pun...

Anyway, let's go to the food...
i wanna make you all feel hungry.. hehe...

The Menu of the day

Lou Sang

Uncle Frankie said: must put some wine on the salmons..

Lou-Lou-Lou
(think picture so blur not because my camera skills are bad, it's because they lou too fast liao! :P)

My aunts and uncles...

Lou clean clean liao~ yuhuu~

~4 seasons~
This one very nice :)

~4 seasons~

~Roasted Crispy Duck~
oh... soooo juicy the duck....~shark Fin's soup with crabmeat~
(i hope there's no aquatic-protective-enthusiast seeing this)

~Happy prawnss~
hoho.... i loved prawns....
(don't worry, i'm again, i have my bestfriend, Mr Anti-Histamine to support me)

~Every year got fish~
not bad... very fresh...
(i took this picture!)

the picture Kian Tiong took... haha!!
he was like: i tak sempat take picture... they makan too fast liao...
^_^|||

~united glutinous rice~
nothing special... like biasa punya Loh Mai Fun lor...

The desserts in Regent Restaurant a little cheap leh, this time round....
i think if they were to serve ice-cream,
they should at least serve it in a serving cup..
rather than just give ice-cream in paper cups...
siGh...
(i know, shinLoo is calling me picky liao... hehe..)

but i did remember i used to like cup ice-creams when i was little....

Anyway, everyone had a great time!! ^^
and i drove back to HUKM the same night...
had to prepare for exams.. siGh..
friends all back in HUKM liao pun...

My first camp

I am writing this on the request of Shin Loo.(see, I am sacrificing study time for you). And also because last Chinese New Year, I meet Lee Eei, my old friend from the camp.

Yes, after so many years, i think it must have been 8 years or so, since i last saw Lee Eei in high school.. and suddenly, out of the blue, she found me on facebook!! After 8 years!! and she's currently working in Singapore... to think of it, what of the chances of two people in different parts of the world, lost contact over the past 8 years, and finally got in touch together again? i MUST give credits to facebook! facebook does wonders, you know.. it's a miracle that i met her again... sometimes, maybe it is fate...

So, we met up last Chinese New Year and had a great long chat. We went to Secret Recipe for dinner and chatted till they closed... all those good old memories... how i missed them very much... and guess what? Today, Lee Eei found some pictures of the camp Shin Loo and i attended in Form one... and she posted them up on facebook... oh dear, i looked really silly back then... haha! Seeing those pictures brings back those good old memories from Form one... that was the first camp i ever attended,.. allow me to share it with you here:

The first camp I attended was a camp during Form 1, organized by the Chinese Language Society in my school

, KGV (King George V). Which was kind of ironic, as I was not Chinese Educated. Anyhow, my zhi mui, Shin Loo, magically convinced me to teman her join the camp.. I did not know how she managed to convince me, but I am glad she did, as, we had a great time.

It was not one of those training camps which required you to drain yourself physically and mentally. Instead, it was a fun camp, meaning, a camp organized for a group of friends to go and have fun. Our schedule was mainly playing from day to night. The camp was in Port Dickson, in a rented bungalow house, opposite the beach.

I remembered I shared a room with Shin Loo, Lee Eei and Tay Lu Ping. Have you heard of ‘Tuan Kang’? it’s like group singing with some simple body movement. How I missed those.

And I remember we had this game of ‘breaking in to a house’, where we had to pretend to be a thief and steal something, while the AJK(committees) will pretend to be some dumb residents. Seriously, you can stick yourself on the wall like a ‘cicak’ and they will pretend they did not see you.

And I remember the senior AJK Ah Fatt, who used bilingual throughout the camp and translated the language, although I was the only participant who had poor Chinese command.

I remember, my group had to do a stupid sketch. It was a sketch of a teacher giving a lesson in class, which was suppose to be a comedy sketch, I suppose. Because of my lack of vocabulary, I had only one line in the whole entire sketch. And I was to wait for the signal, and stand up to say that line. Our sketch, must have been really boring, coz no one actually laugh throughout it. The teacher was lecturing his student not to go to Seremban Lake Garden, because there are lots of ‘wong kiok kai’ there. And this was the part I was suppose to stand and said: ‘Yellow Leg Chicken??’.. well, the audience laughed, I wasn’t sure whether because the joke was funny, or because they understood the reason why I had only a single line in the sketch. Haha!

Oh yes, I remember we were blindfolded, and we had to walk through a forest. You have to hold the shoulders of the person in front of you as you walk through the dark. Well, I didn’t really like the dark.. but luckily, Shin Loo was there. I guess we were suppose to learn about trusting others.

And there was the game where everyone was blind folded and you will be put face to face with a stranger, place your hands in each others and start talking. Really, I cannot understand why the AJK liked to blind fold us. I’m just glad I didn’t talk about too personal things, because, after a couple of years, when I became an AJK, I had a surprised. While the two person was talking to each other, the AJKs would be eavesdropping next to them!! Giggling, they were.. how silly, right? And when the AJK gets bored of your conversation, they started changing you with another person. Worse, some might just trick you by pretending to be blindfolded… haha! So ya, I never played the game again.

I remember we had to write letters to an assign person and keep our identity as anonymous. We were suppose to encourage each other. And we have to reply to each other. I remembered we were given the nicknamed ‘xiao bai tu’ (white rabbit). And I did a quite cruel thing, when I called another friend , ‘xiao hei tu’, which I wished I had not. Why was I so mischievous back then?

I remembered having fun with my housemates. They wanted to put toothpaste on those who did not wake up in time (evil right?). And I remember leaving our names (in Chinese) on the white wall behind a cupboard in our room.

I remembered playing by the beach, I remembered the beautiful sunset.. I remember many things, patches of them.. I don’t know why. I just do.

Okay, there you go, Shin Loo. A bit messy, as i had written this in a rush. I better get back to study now =)

When *JC in da house* met *Confessions of a medical student*

(Sook Jiuan, I malas to think of a title, so just curi yours, hehe..)

(picture from JC in da House)

Last Christmas holidays, I met Sook Jiuan and Boon Lee, my good old friends from high school. And the day before, I had lunch with Boon Lee, Xiang Ying, Suk Teng and Jack. Meeting them brings back all those good old memories… Many had changed but some things are still the same after all.

And yesterday, I was surprised to see that Sook Jiuan had blogged about it! Such a pro blogger!!

As you all probably had already known BoonLee from the previous post : Happy Birthday, Boon Lee!, allow me to introduce Sook Jiuan aka Joanne (JC in da house). I like to call her Sook Jiuan because I think it’s a beautiful name, and that’s how we used to call her back then, in KGV.

We were classmates in form six. How I missed our beloved school, SMK King George V (KGV)… i'll like to comment about what Sook Jiuan said, about KGV being the top school... well, academically, not always,.. i came to realize that there were many other schools across Malaysia with even more outstanding academical performance!! but i still liked KGV.. well, at least, i didn't have to grow up in a stressful environment that a student's worth is measured by the numbers of A's in your report card.. mind you, there were times i almost failed my school exams... but, our teachers were very encouraging...

i grew up in an environment where i had never witness a fight in my school before... or watch any student smoke in the toilets.... the biggest offense i suppose is students not wearing their nametags!! well, occasionally, some students skip school, but usually it's to stay home and study for exams.. okay, now you think i come form a school of nerds... it is just that people around here happened to be nice, that's all~

i missed the good old teachers, classmates, friends… I can go on forever, just talking about my high school life… Lower six Iskandar- that was our class, with Mr Foo being our supervisor.

Sook Jiuan is one of those pretty girls in class, you know, the kind that guys would go like: ‘Gosh, I wished she were my girl~’ *wink* She’s so sweet, soft-spoken and friendly. And she's very cool to be with! I remembered those days we were all crazy over Jay Chow... yeah, those times i had ShinLoo to translate song lyrics for me to han yi pin yin, hehe... and you, me and Shin Loo would all like go crazy during class breaks.. good to hear that you are still such a loyal fan.. while, sadly, i started losing him, as his songs became more complex and harder for me to understand..

Remember the times we had so much fun at English Fest, Telematch, etc.? Our class, for some unknown reasons, keep on winning lots of prizes and hampers... how nice... sharing it around...

and i remembered you had really neat and pretty handwriting, as we used to write to each other when we first enter university...

it has been like, how many years? 6 years.. wow! time flies~ and now you are working already, in Singapore... meeting up old friends brings back good old memories... take care my friends~

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on the other hand, i have one more good news: my baby had finally been discharged!! yeay! took it around for a spin, oh, it feels so great... i took a slow drive back to HUKM today... mummy would be so happy to hear i wasn't even above 100! oh well..
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i'll like to end this post with a very touching email i received from ShinLoo today... Thanks for the awesome translation... you can read the original script in Chinese in her blog

Love, at the very beginning it's always sweet
There's always a person to be there for you, to share everything with you
You're not alone anymore, at least there's a person who loves you, who thinks of you
Whatever you do,
Long as you're together, everything is well
But then, as you know each other better,
You'd begin to notice his flaws
Thus problems arise one after another
You begin to feel troubled, tired, and you want to escape
People say it's like picking up little pebbles
You want to pick up The One that's suitable for youself
But how would you know when you'd find one?
If she's The One for you, are you The One for her?
Well, love is like polishing pebbles
When you first picked up the pebble, you may not feel satisfied
But humans are flexible
A lot of things can be changed
Long as you have the heart, and courage
If you want to go around picking up unknown pebbles,
Wouldn't you rather polish up the pebble that's already in your hands?
People think because the feeling subsided
Thus they become lazy
Wrong!
It's actually people tend to be lazy
And causes the feeling to subside

In a dinner gathering, at one point someone mentioned that eating shrimps is good for health
A middle-aged man then said, "Ten years ago, when my wife was still my girlfriend, if she said she wants to eat ten shrimps, I'd peel twenty for her. Now, she wants me to do that? No way! I don't even have interest to take off her clothes."

Understand?
It's no wonder why people nowadays don't fancy an early marriage
This is because, marriage makes people lazy
If everyone is
Lazy to talk
Lazy to listen
Lazy to create surprises
Lazy to be gentle and considerate
Then I'd be surprise if they don't go their separate ways
So please remember
An active romantic relationship
Needs sufficient nourishment
To be in a relationship
You can't be lazy

A couple had decided to go for a dinner after work. But the girl was late because of an office meeting. She was wet from the rain and was late for 30 minutes. Her boyfriend was very unhappy and said, "You are always like this. I will not wait for you anymore." At that moment the girl totally broke down, she thought, "Maybe, we don't have a future together."

The same situation, same place, same time. The girl was also late for 30 minutes. Her boyfriend said to her, "You must be very tired." He then wiped the rain water from her face and put on a coat for her. At that moment, the girl cried too. But the tears that rolled down her cheeks are warm, so as her heart.

Can you understand?
Between love and hate, there's just one fine line.

Love needs forgiveness and timing. It all depends on how you think.
When a person falls in love with you, and you think he's a fine guy
That doesn't mean you'd pick him
You say, "I want to find a guy whom I love very much, before I can commit."
But when asked, how would you consider that you love very much?
You may not be able to answer, because you can't

That's right. We always think we'd find the person whom we love very very much.
But when we look back, we'd find ourselves were indeed very naive
If it was never started, how would you know you wouldn't love him very very much?
The feeling of love is being discovered, only after you've been with him through ups and downs
You're hoping to find The One
But maybe, just maybe, someone has already been there all along, just that you never noticed.
So, take a look around
Maybe he's been waiting for a very long time

When you love someone, love him 80%
The hopes and expectations, make them 80%, the remaining 20% is for you to love yourself
If you love him too much, you may form a kind of pressure, causing both to suffocate

A friend once asked me, "How do you love someone?"
I told him,"Everyone has a different perception for love. I wouldn't want to mislead you."

Best wishes for all the lovebirds in the world

so touched today :)

i sooooo moved and touched today... because ka fei and honey posted English translation in their blog for me!! yeay! finally, i can read their blogs liao! yippie! im sing tried to blog in English too, but i think she gave up half way.. hehe...

confessions of a medical student #45 : i can't read Chinese.... i know, you can go ahead and laugh, call me banana of whatever names you can think of... sigh... condemn me for not knowing the Chinese language... it's not the first time, anyway... you know, maybe i didn't had the luxury of attending a Chinese primary school,.. there's so many nice Chinese books i would love to read, if i could... and those Chinese songs i had to learn and memorize by heart... going to the karaoke but not able to sing Chinese songs... disappointed when some Korean/Japanese movies only have Chinese subtitles... and when you go to the Chinese food stall, being unable to read the food menu, you kindly ask the hawker what he have, and he would give you a cruel 'can't-you-read?' stare... eventually, i learn to figure out a few words... once i told my friend that if he sees a single syllable word which is super hard to write, it's indefinitely porridge... and susan just laughed out loud... haha!.... but seriously, it's true and logical right?? oh well... and sometimes, sometimes, it does feel painful, almost stabbing, when being segregated by your very own race.. sigh.. i shall not elaborate on the feelings... don't wanna get too emo today...

but of course, there were not too bad days too... i do remember clearly, when i was attending a camp in form one, a Chinese Language Society Camp, (i don't know how shinLoo successfully talk me into attending the camp), but anyway, it was really hard for me at first... then i remember, there was this senior committee, Ah Fatt, who actually translated every activity/announcement during the entire camp, (every single word!),despite me being the ONLY one who doesn't know much Chinese.... so nice, right?? and, by the way, the camp was fun! and i was glad shinloo dragged me along :)

and there were those really bad times too, like the first day i stepped into UKM, during orientation week, i could not understand why did they liked to separate the races, and the Chinese would be grouped together for some 'ethical talks'.. and when the senior (forgotten his name) asked 'who do not know Mandarin, raise your hands' - which i eagerly did, and despite the few of us, i think about 10 of us, who raised our hands, the senior just nod with a 'okay, just-a-minority' look, and said 'ask your friend next to you to translate to you'.. and continue talking (in Chinese)... my heart literally break that day, how i missed home so much....

i think, the worse thing was, i innocently grew up, believing that about half the Chinese population in Malaysia don't know Chinese as well... i thought not knowing Chinese was a norm... because in Seremban, there was King George V, St Paul, Convent, ACS.... while as for Chinese School, there were just Chan Wa and Chung Hua High School.... and SMK Bukit Mewah, of course... so, i grew up with people who spoke English... i grew up believing that everyone does that too... it was only in university that i realized the harsh reality...

okay, shinyin, don't get too emo... i did finally picked up some Chinese along the way... thanks to my housemates and friends who helped me all the way... i know, stopping you all at mid-sentence with a blur look can sometimes be irritating... hehe..... do bear with me...

anyway, thanks a lot, my friends!! thank you for spending the time and effort... thanks a million to ka fei, honey and scent for the translation on your blogs, and thanks a lot to all my friends who helped me cope with the language barrier and cultural shock..... i really, Really, REALLY appreciate it.. and this blogpost is dedicated to you all~ *muaks*

p/s: learning a bit of Chinese in university, is beneficial too, it comes in handy when clerking patients, especially really old patients who had poor command in BahasaMelayu and English.. i learned terms like Prostate cancer, Anemia, Breast Cancer, Cyst, schizophenia, MDD, etc in Mandarin and Cantonese... thanks to my friends who patiently taught me well ^^