GongXiFaCai ErLingLingQi
it's gonna be long. it's gonna be a picture galore!

Chu Xi

Quite a mad rush for me this year since I only touched down late night on 12 Feb, went office on 13, celebrated V day on 14, painted house with Ling on 15 and therefore left with only 16 and 17 to properly clear my stuff! Very proud of myself though as I cleared and tidied up my cupboard. FINALLY. It was left in the same state for 2 years. (Dajie reminded me that I didn’t bother to clear it last year). And so after 3 hours of relentless effort, here’s what it looks like now!

I’m extremely proud of the 2nd level especially as it carries my most treasured possessions..

..my earrings! Ling bought me the 2 ‘earring holders’ from his Bangkok trip last month. Not enough, can!

Our reunion steamboat dinner foodie goodies. PLS (Pumpkin’s Lil Sis) asked to buy the many many fishballs u cant see clearly here. Siao.

Chu Yi

Ah Ma and Waipo’s house are must-covers. Since 2 years back, we jovially added in Eryi and Wuyi’s house into the ChuYi itinerary. Grudgingly included Dayima’s this year. Woke up especially early coz had an idea for my eye makeup (so vain right) the night before and wanted to give myself sufficient time to finish myself before embarking on the other 3 Princesses. Bleah..

½ Four Big Thousand Gold @ Home

The Four Big Thousand Gold @ Home

The Four Big SiaoTingTong (very siao) Thousand Gold still @ Home
The Four Big SiaoTingTong JinWuEng (very eng) Thousand Gold why still @ Home

With my Nathaniel-lookalike cousin @ Ah Ma’s. He’s so cute can - notice the many angpaos in his pocket?!
Everybody’s favourite model @ Ah Ma’s
These 2 are sisters. Cannot tell hor? @ Ah Ma’s
Cousin Stella @ Ah Ma’s
Had a new program this year @ Ah Ma’s– the CNY Lucky Dip. Everyone contributed 10 bucks towards a lucky draw at the end of the day where the top 3 winners split the total collection. My mummy was the lucky top prize S$150 winner! Gong Xi really Fa Cai!
Mua Family! @ Waipo’s.
The Four Big JinJiaWuEng (really very eng) Thousand Gold @ Waipo’s

ChuEr

The historically busiest day of my CNY has become less hectic after we moved some visits to the first day. It’s officially termed the Food Marathon Day. After the appetizers of traditional CNY goodies at Meiyi’s, we headed to Dajiu’s big house for lunch, then to Sanjiu’s bigger house for Mee Siam/Nasi Lemak/Red Bean Soup teatime and then to Sijiu’s condo for more CNY goodies before ending at Erjiu’s biggest house for dinner. The bathroom scale’s tipping to the right!!
Lil Cousin Stephen on the left is the uncle of Nephew Zhenjie n Kaiteng on the right.
Cousin Yuyun is so cute – we spot the same hairstyle can!
My favourite kid!

ChuSan

Went Meijiu’s house for the first time after his housewarming SIX years ago (!!!). Funny we have the thought every year that he’s not in Singapore (his wife’s a Malaysian, you see). Turns out that he works on a ‘alternate year’ schedule. Last year Malaysia, this year Singapore.

Everyone else then came MY place. Our Open House was from 11am to 4pm. Some overstretched and we only got to close shop at 6pm this year. So hungry by then!

CNY for us’ not concluded until the Curry Fish Head Feast at Siyi’s. It serves as the most appropriate end to the annual family gatherings. Feasting starts from 12pm. All’s free to come anytime after that. Note to choose the time strategically to avoid a long queue as the curry is a cook-on-arrival. As my house and Siyi’s in close proximity, people choose between the option of eating @ Siyi’s before visiting mine or vice versa. Siyizhang’s famous dish really leaves many to savour and more to crave for the next CNY to come!

ChuSi

Only for people like me who gets to enjoy the San, Si, Wu and Liu! Woke up with a sense of loss as the past few days have been REALLY hectic! So, went to Mac-breakfast with PLS We played ZhongJiMiMa (loosely translated into Extreme Code) and voila! Finished up every single piece of our meals for the first time in many many.. days.. months.. years!!

Our pained expressions before we swallowed the last pieces of pancake! Yay!!

Went to visit Flo at night with Suami. She was so 'lucky' to kenna appendicitis on CNY Eve! Was discharged only on Monday and yes, missed the whole CNY this year. so poor thing hor. Oh we realised we are all sporting short hair now!! wah..

Sundae is so adorable lor!!! She was just like a fluffy toy so cute! jumping up and down so hyperactive! i'm gonna visit Flo more often!

Tried the Choco liquor Flo bought on her graduation trip back to Melbourne. woah, strong! i shld try using it for my tiramisu..

still thinking bt whether to buy this kahlua from Flo for my tiramisu. hmm.

ChuWu

The Four Big Thousand Gold lunched at Ichiban Sushi @ Hougang Mall. Big Thousand Gold (BTG) paid. woohoo. then grocery shopping at NTUC for tml's dinner. Hm what else. Ok I shall work. Sleep a bit. Work. Sleep a bit. Work. Sleep a bit….

Played MINI mahjong later at night. the tiles so small can! and our backs were aching so much can!

ChuLiu

Had K Lunch with mummy,daddy n sisters. Sang a hearty 3 hours! Pity Pumpkin was in school and couldnt join us.

Guess who sang the song by Chen Xiao Chun??

?! so hip can!!

we sneaked in a bowl of taosuan n some loveletters.. hee..

caught!

At night, The Gang popped by for the annual dinner too!

Steamboat Alfresco style! (imagine a balcony la!) think we all moved too soon after the shutter was pressed. (missing in photo: ken dear)

ChuQi

There was a Lang-sai at our house. it's an annual invitation. Cousin Terence belongs to this langsai troupe..

amateurs vs semi-professional

some siaotingtong partakes in babysitting..(haha)

Had dinner at King Kong's place. We din fancy the thought of vising King Kong but PLS and i thought bu chi bai bu chi. We gotta have dinner anyway. hehe.

O n i realised (albeit too too late) tt i can simply catch Hana Kimi on youtube! there was so much catching up to do i ended up sleeping real early at 5am..

ChuBa

The thought of resuming work tml is kinda spirit-dousing. notable moments of the day:

1. early morning Mac breakfast courtesy of Shawn (no pics coz was practically sleepwalking when Shawn ding-donged)
2. the annual TiiGong baibai preparations. (no pics coz so 'lucky' some small piece of plastic in the phone port for downloading dropped off and my comp has no bluetooth function as an alternative. grr. gotta bring it down to the service centre tml already.= )

KL TRIP 2006

ultra outdated but since i'm on my CNY off til next Monday.. let me clear this backlog... ;)

@ the Train Station. My gawd, it's been nearly 20 years since i last set foot inside.

Du Shen?!

Du Shen convinced me of his need to remain annonymous

I love the Sleeper. Have to work hard on convincing Ling on taking the expensive-and-long-but-comfortable-and-more-tolerable train ride again to KL next time. Linggggg...

I'm actually very fond of the retro tinge this light switch exhibits. Can we have it @ home next time?

Mee Go(t)reng!

Finally, we got onto the Bridge @ KLCC!

Woah. We are 170?? meters above ground. Cant read it properly already.

The baby's cute!

Memory full and couldnt take more pics. Rest of it in Ling's phone but i can already prophesize on their fate. :P

There was another interesting one we took at the 'discovery centre' after the visit, at a machine which compares our heights to the tallest buildings in the world. And so it goes that the KLCC is about 333 times taller than me. doenst sound too bad. ha.

Spent the least on shopping this time. You see, the following Monday that i returned to Singapore, was the first day of the Mega Sale.

How cruel.

some random phone pics from the last trip..

the bar n grill where all the exhibitors were treated to dinner. i like the ceiling lights.

not too clear here but the jazz singer has a great vocal. just wasnt too correct atmosphere to enjoy when one's lugging ard a heavy laptop bag..

oo. i took a taxi tt had my birthdate, wat's the chances man!

Checked into the same hotel in Malang again.. got upgraded to a suite. let's see what the extra perks are..

Ok, so the usual flowers with my usual ginger tea...

Hm. an extra painting of nude woman. i dont like pictures in hotel rooms. minus points.

ok an extra balcony i can do without. quite neutral with it until i start realised it's facing my bed directly n i cant help noticing the 2 empty chairs.. i hate empty unoccupied chairs,beds,sofas in my hotel room. minus points.

special electrical cord i like! plus points!

a refreshing metal tub. i like too!

a bigger bed! but minus points coz it's so high i have to practically climb up and jump off everytime. plus, i dislike the thought of a potential 'hiding space' below the bed..

extra big red hibiscus (Pumpkin's Lil Sis aka PLS said it's Poppy flower. pop your head). neutral.

Ok conclusion is i'll try another hotel next time. Tugu's getting scarier... :P

Enterprising or Opportunistic, Resilient or Stubborn?

When the Traffic Light Bapaks start bringing out rubber dinghies to sell to cars stopping at the traffic lights - Enterprising.

When the Airport Bapak start 'helping' to push your trolley, 'directing' you to a taxi n then 'assisting' you to load your luggage before smiling n going 'tip,tip,tip' - all while you just got off a wee-hour morning plane feeling tired and groggy - Opportunistic.

When the poor scurries from their 2 meters flood-submerged homes carrying the barang-barang standing by the road, roaming the streets, waiting for the flood to subside before returning to the annual cleaning up and rebuilding - Resilience.

When it's common practice to use cheap imitation naval parts with expensive important naval components;when it's widely complained that airline engineers aint doing a thorough job in the checks;when the city spatial plan blatantly revealed demarcated water catchment areas being replaced with modern construction;when the sluice gates still can only handle max 80cm of water when the yearly flood's constantly at 230 and above - KNS, that's ultra STUBBORN, can?

Jakarta Floods

the floods in some areas are as high as 2 meters.

enough to drown 4/3 of me.

Can you believe it. damn.

ok peeps, i'm fine la! ke. thanks Irene for the prayer tho. and thanks to my Sis for her buddha pendant too. =) the last couple of days i was in comfortable singapore, the more i tink the more scientific the basis seems. so yeah. i'm cool!! :P

suffered from very bad food poisoning last week and had to return for a couple of days. it was a welcome relief from the taxing conditions here but cant take my mind off all that i've so painstakingly planned, so i'm back today for a full 20-day run! bring it on!

recalling, that food poisoning episode was horrendous, to say the least. man, i donno how i survived that 1 hour plane journey to jakarta. i was in Solo you c. i felt like DYING. i think the man sitting diagonally behind me thought so too. damn the Solo hotel to be fully booked. i received a business-like "Ok u may extend but only until tml" when i explained i am terribly unwell and need to extend my stay. no offers whatsoever to send a doctor. damn it. makes the decision to check out immediately for the subsequent intolerable travel to jkt seems sound-made. i declare i am not going to stay there again! ok maybe for the next month la... hotel has free wireless internet in lobby u c..

so terrible to be all alone, sick, nauseous, laosai-ed and carrying a heavy laptop backpack while waiting for the damn Silver Bird at the airport. the 10 min ride to the nearest hospital seemed like eternity. it was supposed to be an 'interntional' hospital but i think the only English they got right was my name. the nurse said 'Sebentar' after trying unsuccessfuly to communicate in local tongue - and nvr came back!

it took a day of mistaken identity of gastritis, 3 injections (1 on my butt ok!), 2 hospitals, 1 intolerable plane ride before i landed in assuring arms. hee. thanks ling for the airport pickup.

it made me appreciate so many things now k! like how beautiful and welcoming the doctor in the clinic below now seems! Like how precious Fishball Bee Tai Bak actually is! Like how great a feeling it is to fart and burp!

Three times. the immobilising pressure. my head was tilted to one side pressing my right face onto the pillow. the screeching noise was immense. finally forced out a shout and it ended.

i must be too tired. exhausted maybe. i've read about this kinda stuff. It's my imagination. i know. i'm a science student. this is a scientific world.

***

First the standing lamp, then the desk lamp. then the standing lamp and then the desk lamp. The standing lamp again, the desk lamp again. it went on (or rather OFF) repeatedly. i had to on it repeatedly. everytime. until i got so frustrated i cant concentrate on replying my emails i just let out an angered argh. it stopped.

i know it's the wiring. they must have been fixing something. it should be. i'm a science student. this is a scientific world.

***

Talking and laughing it off is supposed to work. I'm a science student. this is a scientific world.

i'm still here. don't ask me til i get back.

Sis just returned from her 6-day HK trip last Saturday. Amongst her many conquests were these:

Can you count the no. of pairs here?

Ans: 9 (absent w apologies: Beige Boots and Brown Boots)

2 pairs are for me. Pretty difficult to ascertain it here i think, because of the picture angle. My sisters and mum guessed it immediately just by checking out the size. ke. Can you guess which pairs are mine? :P

Oh there's a note asking my mum to identify which one's hers, when she wakes up. ke.

Let's see what i can come up with after such a long spell of absence.

So i've watched Night in the Museum. Very funny. Very educational. Now i know the 26th President of the US is Teddy Roosvelt and Sakagea (i still cant comprehend the pronounciation tho) is such an expert pioneer in navigation.

Will surely miss Curse of the Golden Flower since i'm flying Friday for the 5-week trip. sigh. just thinking about it makes me lethargic.

havent been to class for such a long while, i must make sure i call tomorrow to inform i'll miss the examination (again) this Jan and my deferment (again) to July. grr. Hmm, since we are on this, let's see what photos i can show.

Credits to Cousin Stella as the model below:

Before

After

Stella wanted a simple makeup to her faculty's DnD. So I focused on brightening up the eyes.

Suami & Ms Feng as models for my class:

After (forgot to take a Before one:P)

Before

After

Suami's was a Day Bridal, Ms Feng a Night Bridal. Tried a Cat's Eye on Ms Feng to create a double eyelid effect on her single eyelids (and because i think she has this deposition within! Meow! :P)

There's a favourite one i did on Suami but it's not within this computer, so next time!

I regret the many sessions that i did not capture with a camera, like my cousins' and auntie's make up for my cousins' weddings this year. Like the many times i made up on my sister before her dinners. Like the inifinte times Suami was my model. mental note:bring a camera everytime!

received my first angpao for the makeup work i did for Cousin Serene's wedding just 2 months ago. Must say i am satisfied. really.

Because i have yet to obtain my certificate, i will only be charging the cost price per session - starting from $20 for makeup and $25 for make up and hair-styling. It all depends on the 'where, when and how'. Make up in your house or my house? Day time or Evening time? Simple or Elaborate? Contact me all right! ;) Hm, i shld come up with a separate blog for this.

On this note, special thanks to Suami for relentlessly sparing me the modeling time for my classes. To Ms Feng for agreeing to be my model at last min notice. To EbbnFlo for recommending me to a number of makeup jobs which i regret not being able to take up except for the recent wedding. *wink*