Tag Hauer

There is a warehouse sale at our office today for watches and pens. Names on sale for the watches include Tag Hauer, Cartier, Omega and Bulgari, with offerings up to 80% discounts.

Was looking at the tag watch, and most come in sets (men's and women's) at the same price of RM280 or RM290 for each watch. Some in my office questioned the authenticity of the watches. The sales person explained these watches are real, but not Swiss made (but in Japan). He further explained that these are extra stock from bank redemption programmes. So, now we have some watches which are more real than others, and not just a distinction between real and fake.

They had some nice designs, but I only really liked one with a classic look with a black background. But, another colleague bought it instead, and they only have one in stock at the moment. They have another batch of watches coming in later today, but I don't think I will go and buy it. My current watch is nice enough (also the classic look, but a different brand), but may shop for a sporty looking watch at a later date, and not necessarily tag hauer. Oh well...

Traits

Something to fill in, it's a "getting" to know session:

http://kevan.org/johari?name=ajkw

i.e. what you think about someone, etc...
Do fill in.....

Lion Dance

What is Chinese New Year without some lion prancing around? Just after noon today (13th day of the New Year), we had two lions prancing about in the main entrance of our office. The lion troupe is from the renowned Kun Seng Keng Lion Dance Association (5 times world champion). The interplay between the two lions on their own, as well as with the audience was very good. They managed to make people watching around laugh as well as teased some audience with some of their antics. They also threw oranges from their mouth for people to catch.

The lions subsequently climbed on some poles, and pranced around. It was actually quite windy outside, as we could see the billowing trees in response to the wind. Yet, the lions kept to their routine, and the wind blowing on the white manes was a beautiful sight to see. One spectacular moment was when one of the lions looked up and faced the wind, and sort of moved in slow motion as though enjoying the breeze. Now that was a special moment indeed! It reminded me of the Jet Li show (“Fearless”) when the farmers stopped and faced the oncoming breeze as a sign of welcome, savouring the moment. The lions also made some rounds to various departments, and "peeled" some oranges as well with special messages (in this case, "wong" = prosperity). This brings me to think about where lion dances come from.

Origins of the Lion Dance
(Source: http://www.thatnet.com/kungfu/liondance.html)

Every year Chinatown marks the beginning of Chinese New Year with many different festivities. The main attraction is the Lion Dance, a Chinese tradition for thousands of years. The Chinese consider the Lion as an animal symbolizing power, wisdom and good fortune.

A person who performs the dance usually is one who has studied Chinese Boxing/Kung Fu and is very proficient at it. Lion Dance is considered a mandatory part of classic Kung Fu. Those who practice Kung Fu are usually very good at the dance because the lion dance utilises the footwork, body movements, balance, and agility that is required in Kung Fu.

In general, there are two major types of Lions. The Northern Lion dances with an acrobat and utilises very light playful motions. While on the other hand the Southern Lion dances with a playful Buddha and utilizes more restrictive powerful motions. The Southern Lion also performs a variety of tricks as does the Northern Lion requiring an abundance of balance and agile footwork.

The Lion's head is made of paper mache and wood, elaborately painted and decorated with strings, fringes, tassels and bells. The head can weigh more than 40 pounds. Attached to the head of the Southern Lion with a red ribbon is a long piece of colorful material that represents his body under which the person portraying the body and tail must crouch. The Northern Lion body and tail is actually a uniform that both dancers wear and is usually bright yellow with an abundance of tassels.

Two types of Southern Lion's seen mostly are the old and the young Lion. The Old Lion is multicolored and has a long white beard. He usually serves as the trademark of an older, established school, like the Jow Ga Kung Fu Association. The young lion has black hair and a shorter black beard and is representative of a school that does not have such a standing in the community. The young lion is very aggressive and always wants to fight. Whenever he meets an old lion he tries to pick on him, but the old lion is more docile and does not fight.

The lion is accompanied by musical instruments such as a drum, large and small cymbals and gong. The drummer must be very skilled and must know which drum beat goes with each part of the dance such as when the lion is happy, sleepy, mad, scared or curious.

There are various methods of playing the lion dance. One can be called free style, in which the dancers improvise and make up the dance as they go. This is where the skill of the drummer plays an important part. This is the method used in the parade at New Year when the lion pays a visit to stores and homes. The visit, called the "Pai", brings good luck. Those who are visited may put out a Chan, which could be a piece of lettuce or a roll of money, or it could be a traditional puzzle such as filling a dish full water. When you come upon the particular puzzle, you must know how to solve it. For instance, if there is a dish of water with coins at the bottom, it is proper to take a certain number in order to fulfill the traditional action which brings good luck. You must know how to solve the puzzles correctly if you are to show the quality of your lion and school. During the old days in China, a school might test the quality of another school's Kung Fu by testing their lion. The Chan might be on top of a pole or building and you must figure out how to get it. If you didn't think you could, you would pass it up, but this meant that your skill was not good enough to meet the test.

The next method of dance is the set method. This set method tells the story of the origins of the lion. The lion is Chinese mythology, originated in Heaven, where it was very mischievous and created a great deal of trouble. The Jade Emperor became furious with the animal for being so bothersome. He cut off the lion's head and threw both the head and the body down to earth to rot. But the Goddess of Mercy, Kwan Yin, seeing the poor lion, felt very sorry for it and decided to help. She sent an enchanted red ribbon, which can be seen today on the back of the lion's head, to tie it back on. The red ribbon also has power to frighten evil spirits, and for this reason the lion became especially powerful. Another part of the lion's power comes from a mirror that is located on his forehead. The mirror is there so that if any evil spirits confront him, they would see their own reflections and be frightened away.

After the Goddess of Mercy restored the lion, she offered to help the lion return to heaven. She referred him to a Buddha or monk who owned a type of grass called "Ling Chi", the only kind of grass that would restore the lion's strength. There was one catch, as the lion soon found out. The Buddha or monk kept all the grass to himself, for he too wanted to go to Heaven. So when the lion approached him for some, he refused. The lion, however, was determined to have some of the grass, he waited until the Buddha or monk went to sleep. Before the lion ate any of the grass, there was a ritual that he followed. First he bowed three times: one for Heaven, one for earth, and one for the people. He bows to each to get their blessings. When he is finished eating as much as he can, he feels drowsy, for the grass is strong, and he falls asleep. When he awakens, he realizes that he has retained his full strength, and thus his dream is fulfilled. Again he bows three times and with his newly found power, returns to his rightful place in Heaven.

The Body

As we grow older, our body slowly begins to fail us, whether it is a result of lifestyle, hereditary conditions, or even self-infliction. Have been hearing over the past few years of more news of various persons suffering from this ailment or that ailment, with the key word used being “suffering”.

One of the very first serious ailment I heard of was cancer when I was still studying. One of my uncles had colon cancer, and subsequently did not recover from it. The scary thing is that his son (my cousin), also had colon cancer in his mid 30s and was very lucky to have detected it early. The detection happened when he went in for a separate operation for appendicitis. More recently, at least two aunties had breast cancer. I think my grandfather also passed away due to cancer. So, it is very much a hereditary issue.

What is cancer? (Source: http://cancer.about.com)
Cancer is a complex group of over 100 different diseases. Cancer can affect just about every organ in the human body. The organs in our body are made up of cells. Cells divide and multiply as the body needs them. When these cells continue multiplying when the body doesn't need them, the result is a mass or growth, also called a tumor. These growths are considered either benign or malignant. Benign is considered non-cancerous and malignant is cancerous. The cells within malignant tumors have the ability to invade neighboring tissues and organs, thus spreading the disease. It is also possible for cancerous cells to break free from the tumor and enter the blood stream, and spreading the disease to other organs. This process of spreading is called metastasis.

The other ailment I hear more often now is diabetes. I first heard of this in college, when a German student had to have insulin injection. More recently, heard that diabetes can cause amputation of the leg, and yes, I just heard about it today. It’s a scary thought on how one type of ailment, can cause or complicate other parts of the body.

What is diabetes? (Source: http://www.diabetic.com)
Having diabetes means that your body's hormone, insulin, is not doing its job. Insulin is needed to properly use the food that you eat for energy. Most of the food that you eat is broken down into glucose and other simple sugars. Normally, as newly arrived glucose enters the blood stream, your body releases insulin from the pancreas, and puts the glucose into your cells to use as fuel. If you lack insulin, or your insulin is unable to function properly, the newly arrived glucose cannot be stored and will remain in your blood stream. Your blood glucose levels (also referred to as blood sugar levels) will then become elevated. These abnormally high levels, left untreated, can eventually cause damage to your eyes, heart, nerves and kidneys.

Not only did I hear about someone I know having an amputation of the foot, the same person’s daughter is currently hospitalized for acute pancreatitis. What complicates matter is that the daughter is married to my cousin who had the 1st stage colon cancer, and just recently gave birth to a baby before Chinese New Year.

What is pancreatitis?
(Source: http://www.surgery.usc.edu/divisions/tumor/pancreasdiseases)
Pancreatitis is a condition associated with development of acute and sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Experimental data show that during an attack of pancreatitis, pancreatic enzymes are released in the abdomen and cause inflammation by the damage from digestion of normal body structures, especially fat in the abdomen. In about 85% of patients, acute pancreatitis is a mild disease and is usually associated with a rapid recovery within a few days of onset of the illness. Gallstones and excessive alcohol usage are the most common causes for injury to the pancreas and account for more than 85% of all patients that develop pancreatitis. Many medications, and conditions such as hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in the blood), and hypercalcemia (high levels of calcium in the blood) may also cause pancreatitis.

It is so shocking how these news come about. A friend of mine gave birth to a son, and the son had an abnormal growth in one of his kidneys. The growth was causing some complications, and was subsequently removed when the kid was older. So, kidney issues are another matter of concern. An ex colleague’s son previously had kidney failure, and had to go for dialysis. I think the son had had a successful kidney transplant already.

So, I guess we cannot take our body for granted. Our lifestyle and food intake may need to change to “jaga badan”. For myself, I am not immune to these ailments, and have a family history. Arthritis, asthma, and hypertension, amongst others, run in the family. Am currently taking medication for hypertension, and need to watch my cholesterol levels (although not alarming yet). Exercise seems to be a key word, but I have heard some people who exercise regularly, eat properly, and yet, succumb to heart attack and even stroke. Still, it is perhaps better to exercise and lessen the risk, than not to exercise at all. One thing to learn from this, is to treasure life and the moments you have. Be grateful always for your current state of healthiness, and not take your body for granted.

6th day of CNY

Day 6 of the Chinese New Year. Was caught up with watching Survivor Palau last night, and didn’t sleep until the wee hours. Finally finished the series by late afternoon. Comparing the Survivor Australian Outback and Survivor Palau, there were interesting bits about both. The Australian ones had more interesting and likable characters, but Palau can hold its own. Initially, Palau did not seem as interesting, but there were some characters out there which shone. Palau’s game was more cut-throat, and when it got to final four, it was so intense. I think Tina and Tom both deservedly won, and the key was the way they answered the juries’ questions towards the last tribal council. They had different strategies, but both came out tops in the end. Survivor for me, remains one of my favourite series to watch. It’s how people adapt and change things around to suit their game. Some take it purely as a game, and can be extremely ruthless by backstabbing others. Others take it on as a challenge to hold on to their honour and integrity, and play it as how they would live an everyday life. For quite a few I think, it was a very life changing experience, to show that in desperation, what would you do, and in some cases, wouldn’t do, for a million dollars. Been following up on these two series, as the Malaysian TV did not show Australia (I think), and skipped Palau for whatever reasons.

Palau was very intense in that one team (Koror) totally dominated the immunity challenges, and one man (Tom) won five out of the seven individual immunity challenges, and it was one of the most cut-throat series I have ever seen in Survivor (even among alliances) and the redemption at the end. I think who stood out most for me, were four characters, Stephanie and Bobby Jon from Ulong, and Ian and Tom from Koror. Stephanie because she was so strong as a woman, in terms of physical strength (and stronger than most guys physically) as well as mentally. She knew what she was doing, but luck was not with her in the game. Bobby Jon, well, because he was another likable character, who was extremely hard working, and was very intense when it came to the various competitions. He stayed humble to the very end. Ian (the dolphin trainer) initially played the game by forming a strong alliance, but was found out to be lying and flip-flopping towards the final stages. When confronted, he tried to hedge his way out. During the final immunity challenge, when he stood at the buoy for over 11 hours, he thought through how he had played the game, and I guess guilt overcame him. He redeemed himself by giving up the chance of a million dollars, so that he could leave the game emotionally stronger, with better maturity on the outlook of life. What more can I say, but a very good series.

Today, went out for a bit to buy some grocery stuff with my mum and sister to the main town. So, what is Chinese New Year without some lion dances? Saw two different troupes of lion dances going around the various shops for additional “angpow”. Tried to take some pictures, but it’s pretty hard, when they only did their bits for a short period of time, and I couldn’t get the angle I wanted for the shots. However, it was subsequently pointed out to me that one of the troupes comprised completely of people of Indian heritage. It’s pretty interesting in that I had never expected it, and had unrightfully assumed that it would be Chinese guys (or girls) doing the prancing around, etc. It was also a bummer that I was not observant enough to notice it.

Have not started my new trilogy yet, having been following the entire two survivor series these past days. Will be looking to catch up on other things later tonight.

Tried out our home DIY foot-spa. Quite cool! A bit of hot water here, put a dab or two of the Aromatherapy Treatment (I used Gentle Lavender + Vitamin E) for relaxing and moisturising, sit back and chill in the comfort of my own room! Didn’t know we had this until I saw my younger sister using it in her room. Thought I would try it out at least once during this trip home. As for the round thingy near my ankle? When I press it down with my foot, it acts as a massager. Cool! Was wondering what it was for initially. There were three other options available as well (i.e. brush, “file”?, and another type of massager I think). Any negative thing? Well, after the whole thing, as per any DIY home stuff, need to tidy up for myself, as opposed to having someone pamper me by cleaning up after. Oh well, at least I don’t have a time limit and can use different settings (like the bubbly bits or the gentle tremour like sensation for a “quieter” feel, and even a combination of both). I remember going to Singapore with some friends for a holiday towards the end of last year, and we soaked our feet in the tub with hot water after all the walking. I can only hope that one day, hotels would include this foot massage thingy as part of their room service, after all, the hotel I stayed in previously already included a free massage chair in the room. Hey, you never know, it may come true one day!

5th day of CNY

Day 5 of the Chinese New Year, and it’s time for the dinner in Kuching. The restaurant is called “My Restaurant”, and is runned by a lady from Taie (a small place along the Kuching / Serian highway), and her husband who is from Austria. Oppss, I did not wear the maroon shirt to complement the yellow and orange shirt, and did not gel my hair again! You can just about make out the name of the restaurant in the picture.

The menu reminded me of “Eurodeli” type of food. The ribs were highly recommended, and so, I thought I would give it a try. Also saw in the menu that there was a coke float (ice ream in coke), and since I haven’t had that in a while, thought I would also have a go at it. I am not sure “float” thingy is that popular in West Malaysia, but A&W has the root bear float which is just fantastic. In the younger days, I used to eat ice cream in my mug of coke from the local ice cream shop. Before the main food came, there was a complimentary dish of roasted / grilled meat. I think it’s because my uncle knew the owner and is a regular at the restaurant. The food’s ok, but slightly different from what I had expected. The ribs were grilled, but the sauce was separately served.

For dessert, my aunty recommended the French Apple Tart (something like an apple pie with ice cream), but alas, they ran out. Had a banana split instead, which I shared with my cousin (no whipped cream on mine though). There was also a complimentary platter of fruits, which I thought was a nice gesture. Another cousin had this chocolate cake thingy with mint ice cream. I nicked a bite of the chocolate cake, but didn’t fancy anything minty. All in all, it was a very “FULL” dinner, and I overate again… sigh…. definitely have to work out all these excess intake of food after the holidays.

4th day of CNY

Day 4 of the Chinese New Year. Didn’t get much done today, woke up late again after catching the first few episodes of Survivor Australia (Season 2) until late last night. Was continuing for a couple more episodes later towards the early afternoon.

My dad suggested going out for dinner at this eatery place called Shan Foo Seafood Restaurant situated along the Kuching / Serian highway. More commonly known as “at the 22nd mile” place. My elder sister kindly mentioned that the dinner will be on her. What I had initially thought of as just a family dinner turned out to be a bigger event, when some of my other uncles and aunties were also invited. There were about 17 adults and 9 kids, all squashed to 2 tables. Luckily we made reservations, and pre-ordered the food, cos’ we later found out that there was going to be a wedding dinner there at the same time. And yeah, when we went, I didn't gel my hair again!

It took about 20 minutes drive from Serian, and my family got there just before 6:30pm. Surprise, surprise, my other uncles and aunties were all late, and the last one trotted in with his family just before 7:00pm. Whilst waiting, we stood around enjoying the view of the pond (with lots of fishes swimming around). At one moment, there was a group of white birds (at least 50 of them I think), which flew around the place. Against the backdrop of the hill behind us, it made a wonderful sight indeed. Alas, I wasn’t quite enough with my phone camera to snap a picture before the moment passed.

Was seated next to one of my uncles, and when the rice came, we noted that the there was a lot of rice put into the various bowls of rice. My uncle commented that is was a “car road” (direct translation from Hakka) serving. Implying that it was “backwards”, and that the rice should be just filled to the top of the bowl. However, he mentioned that last time (my dad had 13 brothers and sisters all together), there was a lack of food when he was younger, and that my grandmother had to mix potatoes to the rice. Rice was expensive and was under ration in the 1940s. My grandmother also insisted on eating rice with chopsticks. The point of the comment? Well, I think he was just thinking back to old times and comparing what there was to eat then as a large struggling family, and now, with food in abundance. I recalled my younger aunties mentioning previously, that my grandfather discouraged talk during dinner. My uncle said of course it was the case. Nobody wanted to talk, as the food on the table would be gone by the time you finish what you wanted to say with so many hungry brothers and sisters around.

Our food came, seven dishes in total. We had “su-choi” (don’t know how to translate that, but it’s a green vegetable dish), hot plate venison, sweet and sour pork (but of course!), fried chicken, a cold dish (with at least five different varieties), steamed fresh fish, another veggie dish and lastly dessert. We also had lots to drink, combination of soft drinks to iced-coffee (Kopi-O-Peng, and Kopi-Peng), and even 2 bottles of red wine which we brought ourselves.

Half way through the dinner, it got dark outside, and sure enough, we saw some fireworks at a distance. The young ones were so excited, going around here and there. The wedding dinner “next door” so to say, had a karaoke session and we were entertained to Chinese songs all through our makan session. I must admit, one or two of the singers were very good, but mostly “can do’lah”, even though I didn’t understand a single word of what was being sung. Some of the songs were very upbeat for a dinner I think, but I guessed it added variety to the entertainment.

There will be another dinner on Thursday (i.e. tomorrow), and the cuisine will be western, as invited by my uncle. It is thus not surprising that I put on weight every time I come back to Sarawak (even for a short break).