Top L-R: Szue May, Prema and Me. Bottom L-R: June, Wei and Lisa 

Me, Jia Wen and my sis 

This picture was taken at my cousin Prema's wedding last month 

We were in Labuan

Excuse our disappearance... Jia Wen, my sister and I were in Labuan for a few days over the weekend. We flew Air Asia both ways on one of our FREE tickets we bought last year when Air Asia gave away 2 million free tickets.

We flew off from the new Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). It is definitely far more busier than what's now known as Main Terminal Building (MTB), KLIA. But I guess that's the idea. Although there are areas to improve especially security issues (you can jump from one plane to another or get into a wrong plane) which they should address FAST. We didn't take any photos on board because I didn't bring my camera along.

Labuan was fine - HOT. Island heat is something I am so not used to. Jia Wen did have a good time there though. She had lots of fun with her grandparents there, going to the beach, going dancing with her grandma, going to see her grandpa play golf, going to the market. I of course had a good time relaxing although it didn't seem I had enough. Maybe I should send Jia Wen back to Labuan more often eh? Hahahah... Do you think she'll be able to travel unaccompanied at this age? ... hahahah just joking, I can imagine my husband's face now after reading my idea. But I am sure she'll be fine. She sleeps most of the way anyway and she behaves herself on the plane (touch wood).

Anyway, we are now back home in Nilai. There's no place like my own home, my own bed (no offence Mummy). Enjoy the pictures!

My sand castle "nice not"? 

Jia Wen busy with sand castle 

From left to right, Hsei Ann, Nigel, Ashley, Jia Wen and Szue May building a sand castle 

She enjoyed the sea water 

Jia Wen & Mummy on the sea 

Jia Wen loved playing on the hammock 

Peekaboo! 

Jia Wen & Mummy on hammock 

Wink wink! 

Cannot? With the cap leh? 

So how? Can pass as "harajuku" ah? 

My "Harajuku" daughter 

Jia Wen playing with her alphabet blocks 

Jia Wen teaching the alphabets!  

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see-
I’m just a poor boy,i need no sympathy-
Because I’m easy come,easy go,
A little high,little low,
Anyway the wind blows,doesn’t really matter to me,
To me
Mama,just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger,now he’s dead,
Mama,life had just begun,
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away-
Mama ooo,
Didn’t mean to make you cry-
If I’m not back again this time tomorrow-
Carry on,carry on,as if nothing really matters-
Too late,my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine-
Body’s aching all the time,
Goodbye everybody-I’ve got to go-
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth-
Mama ooo- (any way the wind blows)
I don’t want to die,
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all-
I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche,scaramouche will you do the fandango-
Thunderbolt and lightning-very very frightening me-
Galileo,galileo,
Galileo galileo
Galileo figaro-magnifico-
But I’m just a poor boy and nobody loves me-
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family-
Spare him his life from this monstrosity-
Easy come easy go-,will you let me go-
Bismillah! no-,we will not let you go-let him go-
Bismillah! we will not let you go-let him go
Bismillah! we will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go let me go
No,no,no,no,no,no,no-
Mama mia,mama mia,mama mia let me go-
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me,for me,for me-
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye-
So you think you can love me and leave me to die-
Oh baby-can’t do this to me baby-
Just gotta get out-just gotta get right outta here-
Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters-,nothing really matters to me,
Any way the wind blows....

Kellie Pickler of American Idol performed this song but guess what? 85% of the song was censored and I am quite sure it wasn't accidental. So why was Kellie's performance so abruptly cut? Was it because of the "highlighted" words which means "In the Name of God" in Arabic? What if the lyrics were changed or were orginally:

In the Name of God! no-,we will not let you go-let him go-
In the Name of God! we will not let you go-let him go
In the Name of God! we will not let you go-let me go

Do you think it would have been censored? For sure the music wouldn't sound good anymore as it will be quite a mouth-full.

Or was the song / performance censored because of the context of the lyrics? Well, if this is why we cannot find Bohemian Rhapsody song "legally" here then why is Eminem all over MTV and Channel-V (even on Hitz.Tv)? You mean to tell me "Bismillah" is a lesser word than "F*%K"? And "Cleaning Out My Closet" is an acceptable context for a song? How about 50 Cent's "Pimp" which is very suggestive and unhealthy.

Hypocrites!

Here are words Jia Wen has learnt and uses almost daily. I knew this wasn't going to be easy to compile but someone told me to do so and archive it. Anyway, I am sure I won't be able to complete the "dictionary" but here's what I can remember:

1. Drop
2. Cookie Monster
3. Oscar
4. Bert
5. Ernie
6. Grover
7. Cat
8. Frog
9. Bird
10. Barney
11. Light
12. Fan
13. Chair
14. Car
15. Mummy
16. Daddy
17. Ee-ee (her aunt)
18. Ah-ku (her uncle)
19. Chek-chek (her uncle)
20. Ah Mah (grandma)
21. Kong-Kong (grandpa)
22. Ah Chor (great-grandparents)
23. Aunty (aunty)
24. Uncle
25. Koko (big brother)
26. Che-che (big sister)
27. Chek-kong, Ku-kong, Tiaw-kong (granduncles)
28. Ko-poh, Ee-poh, Kim-poh (grandaunts)
29. Baby
30. Stairs
31. Circle
32. Bath
33. Eye
34. Nose
35. Teeth
36. Toe
37. Ear
38. Watch
39. Clock
40. Down
41. Ant (insects in general)
42. Dirty
43. Rain
44. Rainbow
45. Sky
46. Cloud
47. Thunder
48. Lightning
49. Cold
50. Hot
51. Warm
52. Flower
53. Hug
54. Eat / Eating
55. Bomb (household name for poo)
56. Shee-shee (pee)
57. Tree
58. Leave
59. Book
60. Pooh
61. House
62. Bear
63. Moon
64. Star
65. Cup
66. Motorbike
67. Bi-cle (bicycle)
68. Bite
69. Key
70. Door
71. Window
72. Soap
73. Wash
74. Hand
75. Draw
76. Panda
77. Tiger
78. Monkey
79. Hair
80. Head
81. Armpit
82. Nipple
83. Pen
84. Pencil
85. Bag
86. Phone
87. Pig
88. Goat
89. Sound
90. Sun
91. Banana
92. Pineapple
93. Grapes
94. Apple
95. Orange
96. Chicken
97. Take out
98. Oprah
99. Floor
100. Wet
101. Fix
102. Spoon
103. Fork
104. Elmo
105. Jojo (Disney cartoon)
106. Night
107. Dark
108. Duck
109. Fish
110. Milk
111. Bottle
112. Sheep
113. Walk
114. Socks
115. Shoe
116. Hi
117. Bye
118. Kai-kai (going out in Hokkien)
119. Oh-O
120. Duk-dou (another version of Oh-O)
121. Sit
122. Photo
123. Lotion
124. Hat
125. Airplane
126. Punch
127. Kick
128. Jump
129. Drum
130. Gate
131. Dance
132. Sharp
133. Cut
134. No!
135. One
136. Two
137. Four
138. Five
139. Six
140. Seven
141. Eight
142. Nine
143. Zero
144. Bed
145. Cot
146. Pillow
147. Blanket
148. Dress
149. Skirt
150. Baju
151. Up
152. Good
153. Cicak (lizard)
154. Jia Wen
155. Comb
156. Tie
157. On
158. OK
159. Change
160. Diaper
161. Dog
162. Pain-pain (pain)
163. Come
164. Push
165. Horse
166. Cow
167. There
168. Here
169. How
170. Bus
171. Lorry
172. Truck
173. Train
174. Hel-copter (helicopter)
175. Throw
176. Cake
177. Toy
178. Blocks
179. Doodle (magna doodle)
180. Brush
181. Toothpaste
182. Bob (baby Bop in Barney, Bob in Bob the Builder)
183. BJ (a character in Barney)
184. Foot (rarely)
185. Aircon
186. Spoil
187. Please
188. Cereal (with slang)
189. Rice
190. Soup
191. Carrot
192. Vege (vegetables)
193. Fish
194. Walk
195. Yes
196. Blow
197. Triangle
198. Square
199. Rectan-angle (rectangle)
200. Oval
201. Diamond
202. Blue
203. Red
204. Orange
205. Purple
206. Green
207. Yellow
208. Black
209. Doll
210. Dinasour
211. Dog
212. Zebra
213. Giraffe
214. Hippo
215. Mountain
216. Wind
217. Pasta
218. Bowl
219. Pot
220. Chair
221. Table
222. Proton (my car)
223. Honda (her grandma's car)
224. Hyundai (her granduncle's car)
225. CD
226. Disney
227. SMS
228. Wheel
229. Tyre
230. Tired
231. Creepy (sleepy)
232. Sand
233. Beach
234. Lion
235. Tiger
236. Hotel
237. Swing
238. Slide
239. Playground
240. Swim
241. Swimming pool
242. Swimming
243. Plate
244. Cool-down
245. Sweating
246. Ticky-ticky (sticky-sticky)
247. Lie-down
248. Pretty
249. Nice
250. Knee
251. Compeeter (computer)
252. Candle
253. Christmas
254. Santa Claus
255. Drawer
256. Fridge
257. Curtain
258. Close
259. Open
260. Carpet
261. Stuff
262. Key
263. Towel
264. Potty
265. Lantern
266. Massage
267. Oil
268. Ring
269. Machine
270. Crane
271. Boat
272. Ship
273. Pyjamas
274. Dress
275. Baju
276. Skirt
277. Pants
278. Panty
279. Hammer
280. Vacum
281. Bang
282. Iron
283. Loud
284. Noisy
285. Snake
286. Bread
287. Jam
288. Biscuit
289. Strawberry
290. Bridge
291. Pangsapuri (tall buildings in Malay)
292. Airport
293. Jusco
294. Pizza Hut
295. McDonald
296. Ice-cream
297. Sour
298. Face
299. Cooking
300. Mess
301. Clean-up
302. Shampoo
303. Bell
304. Teacher
305. Room
306. Bra
307. Stone
308. Gate
309. Drain
310. Eyebrow
311. Tongue
312. Snow
313. Shoulder
314. Elbow
315. Cheek
316. Chin
317. Neck
318. Scratch
319. Cupboard
320. Zip
321. Bucket
322. Pocket
323. Back-side
324. Shake
325. Umbrella
326. Piano
327. Ambulance
328. Any-phant (elephant)
329. Flag
330. Guitar
331. Jacket
332. Agong (our king)
333. Money
334. Coins
335. Doctor
336. Engineer
337. Work
338. Cake
339. MAS (Malaysian Airlines System)
340. Snail
341. Spider
342. Van
343. Crocodile
344. Audi
345. Rabbit
346. Shell
347. Cow
348. Sit
349. Corner
350. Stand
351. Cry
352. Funny
353. Trying
354. Happy
355. Sad
356. Angry
357. Promise
358. American Idol
359. Whistle
360. Hospital
361. Injection
362. Camera
363. Smile
364. Don't
365. Disturb
366. School
367. Monday
368. Wednesday
369. Friday
370. Saturday
371. Sunday
372. Tomorrow
373. Today
374. Yesterday
375. Next time
376. Close
377. Getting
378. Wake-up
379. Glasses
380. Fast
381. Slowly
382. Careful
383. Driving
384. Tall
385. High
386. Pacifier
387. Coffee
388. Love
389. Chocolate
390. Good night
391. Good morning
392. Heart
393. Pocoyo (Playhouse Disney animation character)
394. Lamp
395. Nilai
396. Melaka
397. Sinapore (Singapore)
398. Ampang
399. Penang
400. UK
401. Labuan
402. Home
403. Reflection
404. Shadow
405. Hero
406. Stanley (Playhouse Disney cartoon character)
407. Remote
408. Thank you
409. Welcome
410. Dancing (with slang)
411. Trumpet
412. Monkey
413. Gorilla
414. Finger
415. Fingernail
416. Good
417. Naughty
418. Girl
419. Mop
420. Ten minutes
421. Itchy
422. Patient
423. Yummy
424. Wait-ah
425. In-front
426. Behind
427. Everybody
428. Starworld
429. What
430. Driving
431. Music

Sounds she can make:

1. Quack (duck)
2. Wow-wow (bark)
3. Roar (lion, tiger)
4. Noik-noik (pig)
5. Sound of a cicak
6. Cockle-doodle-doo (chicken)
7. Choo-choo (train)
8. Nee-noh-nee-noh (ambulance)
9. Krong-kong-kong-kong (thunder)
10. Shhewww (plane)
11. Meow (cat)
12. R'bit-r'bit (frog)

Celebreties she recognizes (even their voices and songs)

1. Madonna (her God)
2. Beyonce
3. Kelly Clarkson
4. Simon Webbe
5. Gwen Stefani
6. James Blunt
7. Ricky Martin
8. Bucky (from American Idol)
9. Pussy Cat Dolls
10. Sean Paul
11. Shakira
12. Westlife
13. Bo Bice
14. Bon Jovi

Things / people she recognizes or how she relates certain things to a certain person

1. Any Honda cars is related to Ah Ma (grandma drives a Honda City)
2. Sedan Toyota cars are related to Ee's friend's car (my sister's friend drives a Toyota Vios)
3. All big Toyota cars are related to Mummy's car (don't know why)
4. Any Nissan cars are related to uncle Barman's car (our neighbour drives a Nissan Sentra)
5. All Proton Wajas are of course related to Mummy's car
6. All Perodua cars are related to Daddy's car
7. All Proton Wiras are related to Chek-chek's car (my bro-in-law drives a Wira)
8. All Hyundai cars are related to Chek-kong's car (my uncle drives a Hyundai Sonata)
9. Certain Mercedez and BMWs are related to either Mummy's car or Daddy's car (we psychoed her)
10. All doctors are related to her Chek-chek (my bro-in-law is a doctor)
11. All planes are of course related to her Daddy

She's got a pretty good sense of recognition and observation. She is very attentive and very observant. She recognizes car logos very well. Not trying to boast but she is very good at recognizing who sings what songs and even their voices. She recognizes almost all of Kelly Clarkson's songs that is played on TV and radio. She loves and adores Madonna, she demands for Beyonce's "Check on it". Nowadays, she watches MTV, Channel-V more than her Channel 63. She tries her hand at Shakira's belly dancing.

Sentences she normally says:

1. Go stand corner (ordering someone to go stand at the corner as punishment)
2. Daddy, dinner time
3. Don't cry
4. Don't do that
5. Don't disturb me
6. Go Jia Wen's room
7. Go Daddy's room
8. So noisy
9. Stop it
10. Jia Wen go Melaka tomorrow
11. Jia Wen go school tomorrow
12. Jia Wen eat rice, etc
13. Jia Wen drink milk
14. Jia Wen talk Ah-ma, etc
15. Getting dark
16. Mummy sit here
17. Mummy sit up
18. Mummy don't sleep
19. Mummy get up
20. Mummy wake up
21. Mummy careful
22. Don't want (very popular)
23. Wen's (body part) pain pain
24. I love you
25. Very very much
26. When asked how much, she'll say "Soooo much".
27. Daddy / Mummy buy (something she wants)
28. Mummy play toy with Jia Wen
29. Daddy / Mummy take (something) for Jia Wen
30. (Someone) don't come in here!
31. No thank you
32. Yes please

Jia Wen speaks quite well these days, making well structured sentences with the words she knows. There a lot more sentences she says these days and everyday there is a new one. She can now combine words that she knows to make a sentence.

She seems to be amusing us with new words everyday and some words, we wonder where she learns it from. Like today, she said the word "promise". I have never said or taught her that word!.

Jia Wen is also a vain-pot. Although she hasn't reached the phase where she chooses what she wears everday but whenever I dress her up to go out, she'll know and she will ask "Jia Wen nice?" and when she wears a skirt, she will twirl around and ask "Jia Wen nice?". She loves it whenever I kiss her lips with my coloured lips. Where she learns all these - beats me! I won't classify myself as being vain.

Oh yes, she also has a crush on this steward who lives opposite our house. Hahah.. She is constantly aking for him and calls his name once a while. But when he calls her and speaks to her, she'll keep quiet, blush and shy away.

There are so much more that I can write about but there's just too much, too many words and it is growing everyday. She is very cute and adorable at this stage although there are times that she tests and tries to push my limit that I just want to... "ARGH"!

She's my daughter!

Hooked on the Net

Szue Fei, 28, homemaker

For Szue Fei, she hasn't come to a turning point or held at knifepoint yet but she claims that she is definitely "hooked". The first thing she thinks about when she opens her eyes in the morning is whether there is an email waiting for her, whether there's anything new on friendster, whether there's anything to blog about. Of course since she became a mother, her priorities have changed and the internet isn't the first thing she wakes up to nonetheless, if she had it her way the computer would be on the moment she gets off the bed.

She gets on with her day with her 2-year old daughter, Jia Wen who is at an "attention seeking" and "plenty of questions" age but the second Jia Wen slips into dreamland, Szue Fei runs to the computer and within seconds she is hooked to the internet world.

She worships the internet and can't imagine life without internet. How will people ever talk and get connected with friends around the world for free? Szue Fei signed up for her first email address in 1996-97 and haven't changed it since. Of course then, the only access she got to internet was through internet cafes which at that time was a booming business. She worked in a company which gave its employers unlimited access to the net and it was then she became "addicted" and in between worktasks, she would check her email. It wasn't because she had a lot of email coming in but it was just so easy - a click of a button. These days, emailing is the way to go in communication, the cheapest, the fastest - the smartest!

At nights when her husband is away at work, she'll be on the computer multi-tasking - chatting with friends, uploading pictures, blogging, surfing, emailing. There are usually 5-6 windows opened at any one time.

"If only I don't have to sleep and wake up the next morning, I would never leave the computer", she says. "But I have Jia Wen to wake up to hence I need to rest. That's why I trained my daughter to go to bed by 9PM everyday". Before Jia Wen was born, she used to stay up till 3-4 AM on the internet and at that time she was so hooked on playing online scrabble but had to go to sleep before her husband comes home and catch her on the computer. Luckily for her, she didn't have to wake up to go to work then.

Even when travelling out of the country, she tries her best to access to the internet even if it costs 5 Euros per half an hour! Getting through a weekend without internet isn't quite as bad and as hooked as she thinks she is, she is not about to buy a lappie and lug it everywhere even toilets in fear of theft! "Can't be one of those who clutches to their laptop bags with their legs while eating crabs. Can't go there, don't let me get there", she grins.

Roar Roar Roar Meow

At dinner time, Jia Wen and I were challenging each other to a "roaring" game to see who could be the loudest. (Jia Wen can actually roar quite well). We started roaring at each other and after several times going back an forth, Jia Wen's turn came and she simply said "meow" in the tiniest cat like way.

We all burst out laughing!

My daughter has sense of humour.

There she goes again. All you have to say to her is "Jia Wen, show your happy face." Hhmmmm.. happy? I wonder. 

That's Jia Wen's latest "smile". Her fake smile. 

Pics of Jia Wen taken this morning. Check out her very short new hairstyle! 

Very nice shot! 

Snapshots of Jia Wen over the weekend 

Jia Wen enjoying the beach! 

Cheng Beng gang! 

Cheng Beng in Kulim 

To the pool! 

Jia Wen and a new friend Derek (or Derrick) 

We can feel the wave! 

Mother-daughter time 

First time into the sea (not me lah) 

Enjoying ourselves in the hotel room 

What a happy family 

Bloody cockles! 

Of course we went for seafood at Tanjung Tokong 

Jia Wen having a moment with her grandma 

Jia Wen & Shien Wei 

Taking the ferry to Penang Island 

Jia Wen paying respect to her great-grandparents 

Jia Wen relaxing on the tomb 

There were firecrackers too 

My aunts and mum at my grandparents' grave 

... with colourful papers and flags 

Jia Wen helping to decorate her great-grandparents' grave 

World Chinese' Picnic Day 

Qing Ming (Cheng Beng) Weekend

Thursday (30 March 2006) morning started at 4.30 AM where Jia Wen and I woke up early and prepared to leave for up north for Qing Ming. Well our journey for the weekend went like this:

Nilai - Puchong - Kulim - Penang Island - Sungai Petani - Jitra - Kulim - Penang Island - Kulim - Puchong - Nilai

Unfortunately I didn't take down the mileage but I am sure after pumping nearly 3 full tanks, it was roughly about 1500 - 1600 kilometers lah! I drove 3 quarters of the entire weekend. My advice: Waja makes a very very bad travelling car! My neck hurts!

Well anyway, here's a little something about Qing Ming (Cheng Beng). As for what we did over the weekend, the pictures more or less explains it all.

Qing Ming, which means clear and bright in Chinese, falls on April 5th this year. It is both the fifth term in the traditional lunar calendar and a festival to hold memorial ceremony for the dead. It is a time to express one's grief for his lost relatives. An ancient elegiac poem, which described a grievous woman, was read that vines tangled in vain and weeds crept in the graveyard, and her husband slept there lonely. It was so difficult to endure for her as if summer in the day and winter at night. And her only wish was to reunite with him after death.

People often go to sweep and weed graves with whole family and take a walk in the countryside as well. In Tang Dynasty, the habit of taking an excursion on this day was developed. At this time, spring returns and dominates the earth again. The feel of growing life is in the air, with sap ascending in trees and buds bursting. And the willow branches inserted on each gate add vigor and vitality to the surroundings. But it actually means more than that. This custom can be traced back to over one thousand years ago.

During the Period of Spring and Autumn in the Jin Kingdom, one of the King's sons was called Chong Er. Jealous of his talent, a concubine falsely accused him of rebellion to make her son the crown prince. He had no choice but to flee and with him were some officials. They hid themselves in a mountain and went hungry for quite some time. An official named Jie Zitui took great pain to cut some flesh from his thigh and cooked it for Chong Er. When the fact was known the young master was moved to tears and knelt down in gratitude. And Jie replied his best repayment should be a just king. They lived a life of hunger and cold for three years until the evil concubine died. Many soldiers were sent to look for him and to escort him back home. Going into the carriage, he saw an official packed an old mat onto a horse, he said laughingly, 'What on earth is the use of that? Throw it away!' Jie Zitui heard it and sighed, 'It is hardship that can be shared with his majesty but not prosperity.' So he went away quietly and lived in seclusion with his old mother.

As Chong Er became king, he rewarded many people but he forgot Jie Zitui. He did not realize it until was reminded. However his invitation was refused and he flared up. Soldiers were ordered to burn up the mountain to force Jie to come out. Finally they found Jie and his mother scorched under a willow. He would rather die than yield to the power. Chong Er was so overwhelmed with regret that he ordered people hold memorial ceremony for Jie. So every year on that day folks mourned for him and the day before ate cold meals, which avoided making fire. Later the custom of inserting willow branches on gates was also added.