Vrooomm-Vrooooomm.....

Finally!, after a waiting period of 2 and a half months, I bid adieu to my trusty 10-year old blue Honda, and welcome a sleeker and curvier new dark grey Honda. It's barely 24 hours old, and am slowly getting use to the new feel and handling of the car. Seems a bit wider though, so parking at narrow spaces may be tougher, but at least this time I have reverse sensors. Dread to think about parking at certain shopping malls which have very limited and small parking spaces.

I snapped this picture when the odometer was slightly lower. Total mileage of my previous car came in around 92,970km which is quite low for a vehicle approaching a decade. This equates on average, to approximately:

1. 9,297.0 km travelled in a year.

2. 774.7 km travelled within a month.

3. 25.8 km travelled in a single day!

As for the car registration number, some would be indifferent, yet others would kick up a big fuss about getting a "good" number. Me, I am somewhere in between. :) This is my third car (after selling the other two previously), and the number is a variation of my previous ones.

Alas, now I am broke...

What's in a name?

Was in Singapore again last week for a couple of days, and this time met up with my eldest uncle and his family for dinner. My eldest uncle is studying calligraphy, which involves paintings, and words. Think he has graduated from the paintings and is pursuing the word writing aspect now. He was showing the different styles which may be used to write a single chinese character.

Luckily for me, he had some "spare" paintings which he offered me to take home, and yes, my place is even more "Cina" now. Substituted some paintings for the chinese ones! Was having a tough time choosing which I liked, and he somehow gave me a painting which he submitted for an exhibition sometime back with some Chinese wordings. My dad translated the chinese wordings which were very meaningful (I forgot already, something about an iron tree bearing flowers, and a golden rooster, etc...), as opposed to the mass produced ones which we can readily get in China. I also have another one dedicated to me (with my chinese name written on the painting) which is now nicely framed up and displayed.

Somemore ah, I commissioned another one (prompted by my eldest aunty!), and I asked for one with our surname on it. Me being chinese illiterate, had a tough time remembering how to write my own name in Chinese! It's been so long already since I wrote my name in Chinese that I had to rake my brains just thinking about the various strokes. Luckily enough, my uncle is Chinese literate! And the outcome should be better than whatever I can ever make out...

Incidentally, what's in a name? My dad previously told me to say "Muk Yi te Yang" when asked about my surname, and I finally understand after reading here.

The Yang character is a derivative from the word for "Sunlight." However, a search in any dictionary reveals it to be a type of tree such as a poplar or a willow tree. The character is composed of two parts, the left part means wood referring to a type of tree in ancient myth used to measure the height of the sun thereby establishing the calendar.

The second part on the right hand side of the character is a graphic description of "the sun rising over Tanggu" (the place in ancient myth where the sun rose). In Tanggu there was a type of large lizard in the water, now known as a dragon, also called a thunder-beast. That is why Tanggu was represented by the character yi [second character in the ‘large lizard’ cited above], pronounced yang, and its master was Fu Xi (the founding ancestor of mankind in ancient myth, aka Xi He), and its heavenly almanac was called the Book of Changes (Yijing) (the yi character is the same as the right-hand component of the lizard character and the Yang family character).

What does your name mean?

2nd Year Anniversary!

Yay! My blog is officially two years old!!!
Wow, time certainly flies!!!

Happy Birthday to ..... zingptzpzz,
Happy Birthday to ..... zingptzpzz,
Happy Birthday to ..... zingptzpzz,
Happy Birthday to ..... zingptzpzz!!

Cameron Highlands - Part 4

I guess a trip to the Highlands wouldn't be complete without a trip to the tea plantation, with views of the rolling hillside, filled with tea plants and leaves ready to be plucked for that perfect cup-a-tea!

Now seriously, what better way to enjoy the cooling weather than to have a sip (or two!) of unsweetened tea and some scones, with that extra dollop of butter and strawberry jam for a little afternoon breather in the company of similar minded friends? With a picture perfect view to boot! :)

Ooohh! The pleasure of it all, but to be honest, I had better scones in Frasiers Hill (another Highland resort), but that's another story altogether....

Cameron Highlands - Part 3

Incidentally, what is there to do and see in Cameron Highlands? Well, there are the flowers, and flowers, and err.. flowers… of varying degrees of shapes, sizes, and colours. And no, I still don't know my flowers, except for the obvious few (like roses, and err.. daisies... and err..tulips!, sunflower,... orchids!... and one or two more types!). Hei! I can name petunias, dandelions, carnations, etc... and even bluebells, but ask me to identify them from a picture, well, sorry mate... no can do. Then again, would go by powers of deduction, and guess that bluebells are flowers which are blue in colour and are shaped like bells! :P Prices are cheap too! (but then again, it's not valentine's day yet - but would guess it would still be a tad cheaper).

Of course, due to the cooler climate, the place is popular for cheap vegetables and mushrooms (I bought like so many packets, I still have some left in the fridge after almost one week).

Then there is of course, jagung (or corn) in plentiful, and they taste really sweet and crunchy. Yum! :) Now, I am not a major fan of corn, but sometimes, passing through the pasar malam (night market), and smelling the jagung and various other goodies being cooked is like adding a sweet taste to the senses. My friends bought the steamed corn with melted butter, and tried to tempt me with it. I took a mouthful only, and stayed clear, as I was still too full from the heavy steamboat dinner we had earlier.

Given the cooler climate, what would be better than strawberries? Again, I am not a strawberry fan, but bought some home for the folks at home to enjoy as well. Much cheaper to buy them here in the highlands, as opposed to getting them in the city. Again, there is the iced-strawberry, strawberry jam, and other variations of strawberry stuff to tempt the palate. Strawberry sellers were trying to clear their stock, and undercut one another in terms of promotional price at the day market area around Kea Farm.

Not only are strawberries, vegetables and mushrooms in plentiful, there are of course, the various other fruits. However, these pictures were taken from Bidor on the way back from Cameron Highlands. Can you name all three types of fruits here? I was stumped with one of them. :P

And no, that's not all there is to see in the Highlands. More to come... :)

Cameron Highlands – Part 2

Upon reaching the weekend getaway bungalow which we rented (seriously, it’s a lot cheaper than renting hotel rooms up in Cameron Highlands), especially when we needed like five rooms, and a living room where we could all hang out, it looked a bit run down, but sufficiently comfortable for one night. After all, we didn’t have to fork out an arm and a leg for the place. Some of the pictures shown here are compliments also from my other group members, so I can’t take credit for all. :)

Notice the wine glasses all ready for the evening events! We planned for a horror movie to be aired, but the TV at the premise was of the antiquated kind, without any connection points to the DVD player, which one of the members (a.k.a. cicakwoman) kindly lugged up.

So, we ended up drinking (some of us anyway – nope I didn’t oh!), and getting very red and merry, chit chatting and snacking bits of food which were also brought along. Way past midnight, the second activity came up, again, the game was brought up compliments from cicakwoman who unfortunately ended the night bankrupt! I was losing initially, and final broke even with the last hand (literally double or nothing)!

And no, for those of you wondering, we didn’t encounter any spooks with dangling arms and legs either! (No, No! No floating heads as well!) Incidentally, there was a well behaved guard dog (a dalmatian cross breed) which barked a bit earlier on during the night, but didn’t do the eerie howling thing which would have no doubt freaked us all out if it had happened. Pheeew!!

Cameron Highlands - Part 1

After much planning, and some last minute shifting of dates, 11 of us managed to make it up to Cameron Highlands for a weekend getaway. We had like an itinerary planned up (even a pilate session!), with 3 cars making it to Brinchang and Tanah Rata.

We left Kuala Lumpur around 7:00am on a Saturday morning (I had to wake up at 5:30am!!! [@#$*&^*#] to make it in time for the meetup point at 6:45am)! Felt like a zombie with only about 3.5 hours sleep the night before (last minute packing muh!).

But even before getting there, we detoured to "nearby" Ipoh for Dim Sum at the same outlet some of us came last January for a "foodie" trip (which I didn't manage to blog about). For those who have also been on such a foodie trip to Ipoh, guess where this was!?! As usual, the place was packed, and had to wait abit for a table to sit the 11 of us.

We had over 40 "luhngs" (or baskets/plates) between us (that's equivalent to almost 4+ dishes per person) with copious amount of chinese tea. I especially liked the egg tarts, but didn't manage to snap a picture before the dish disappeared into the hungry mouths. Salivate and enjoy! :P

Onward ho! to the highlands... (to be continued...)

Tears in Heaven

Been listening to this Eric Clapton's song on the CD whilst driving, but sung by a lyrical soprano. It was so moving. Have been playing it over and over. Picture taken from AlexEdg.

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong
And carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?
I'll find my way
Through night and day
'Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven

Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knees
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please

Beyond the door
There's peace I'm sure
And I know there'll be no more
Tears in heaven

Singapore - Part 2

In between the few sessions for sound checks and the actual concert timings, we had some time for a bit of get together and shopping. Was around Tanjong Pagar area, and saw this sign which I thought was particular good. Incidentally, since showing it around, I have been asked twice already “How about for females?”. Err.. don’t know’leh. Have you ever seen a female dog pee? Maybe that’s how it will be depicted. But I guess this was used as a generic signage.

Especially for those who can never make up their minds and like to order “Whatever” or “Anything”, BEWARE! You may actually get your “whatever” or “anything”. :P What's inside the canned drinks? Well, it is really, whatever, and anything.


Was also in the Chinatown area, and noticed these quaint looking windows along the shops at one of the entry points for the Chinatown MRT (Mass Rapid Transit – equivalent to Malaysia’s LRT or London’s Tube). There are actually quite a few more in various colours and designs which made for an interesting feel.

Closer to the venue, we performed at the Victoria Theater, which had quite a colonial look (after all, it IS called the Victoria Theater!). It is situated near the Boat Quay area, with towering office blocks housing the various financial institutions. A short walk across the Cavenagh Bridge will bring one from the Boat Quay area to the Victoria Theater. We also saw a mass exercise session conducted by two instructors for the general public. To be honest, have been to Singapore a few times, but have never really explored this part of the city, and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe I should travel down more often…. :)

Singapore - Part 1

Well, am back from the trip down south for the acapella festival. Quite a fun time. There were quite a few groups which performed with varying degrees of standards and styles.

This is a photo of three of the groups which performed; SJTone (Korea), Key Elements (Singapore) and of course, The Wicked Pitches (Malaysia). Again, I nicked a few photos off Aariye's blog (cos' I don't have a proper digital camera - only my handy handphone camera). Can you tell which is me? :)

Can check out Aariye's updates here and here again. Thanks ZL! :P

Each group sang about 3 songs, with SJTone doing about 5, and us doing about 5 (two each as encore songs). I have two tunes which have been stuck in my head from the singapore trip, "Ee Nee Mee Nee Mai Nee Mo", compliments from the jazzy style of Key Elements, and "We Built This City", especially the strong beginning part from SJTone. Cool groups!

Here's us in action for Mbube, a medley wonderfully arranged by ZL which we first showcased in the Mostly We Moon concert. Our first night, we opted to go "serious" with suits and red attire. For the second night, we went "fun" with red tops and white bottoms!

Overall, I enjoyed the trip, and managed to see first hand the styles and wackiness of the other groups. :)

A Singing Sojourn Down South

My group has been invited to sing in Singapore's Acapella Festival 2007. So, will be heading down south for a couple of days, with three concerts lined up. Not all from the group can make it though, a smaller contingent of 8 members, 3 guys and 5 girls, from our usual line up of 10 will be making the trip down.

Am still coughing, but has gotten slightly better. Here's to hoping it will not disrupt my singing come the concert dates.

Here’s a brief writeup about the festival down south. Singapore definitely has a more active and diverse acapella scene:


SONIC LANDSCAPE - A CAPPELLA FESTIVAL 2007
4th Sep 2007 - 5th Sep 2007
Victoria Theatre, 7.30pm

The annual A CappellaFest is back with a delightful lineup this year with groups hailing from Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore! This year's line up of groups include: Key Elements, NANU, Lada, our guests the Wicked Pitches, SJTone and this year's winners, Altered (All Fyne) and Resonance amongst other surprises during the show.

Directed by Vincent Pang, the 2007 programme aims to mold a-cappella music with video and digital images to the theme of "Sonic Landscapes". Plus, this year will include for the first time an afternoon show for kids targeting primary and early secondary school kids, giving them an opportunity to experience a live concert.

Be entertained in the genres of classical a-cappella, pop, jazz, R&B and hip hop a-cappella, as well as rap, from guest groups SJ Tone (Korea) and Wicked Pitches (Malaysia), plus Nanu (all female), Key Elements (Jazz), Tic Tac Tone, The Singers (Classical), Equivox (Pop), TAG, TAS Youth Voices, TAS Ensemble, National Winners 2007, Pasir Ris Primary School Choir, Ang Mo Kio Secondary School Choir.