Chinese New Year

Now that the few days of Chinese New Year are gone, I can sum it all up into one conclusion, that it's all about visiting relatives and friends and of course without fail every year we will eat like crazy as though our stomach suddenly developed 4 stomachs like a cow. Towards the new year, there has been a sudden increase in expenses on food, food prepared and food consumed. One of the few dishes original to Malaysia is the yee sang.The Malaysian dish "Yee Sang" consists of such a rich assortment of food, that I just wander what would it be like to prepare each of those at home. Now that all these can be bought off the shelf, most of the main ingredients are already there and as usual every year I have to get the spring onions and the orange ready for this wholesome dish, which essentially consists of a bunch of vegetables, little bit of meat, some fruits, like the oranges and pomelo and a tad bit of wine.

In fact, every new year we buy tons and tons of food ranging from Carlsberg, Jolly Shandy, Luncheon meat, oranges, chocolates, chicken, duck, pork, vegetables, "nian gou", kuih kapet and a bunch of other food from the market, so much so that we have to stuff nearly everything into our poor fridge. Thankfully, we have two fridges. And NO...we don't stuff those cartons of shandy and carlsberg into our fridge. We merely just relocate them some place else. And of course at a strategic location for consumption. Ahhh, the beauty of Chinese New Year....HEHEHE

So when it comes to food during the New Year, it's all about overindulgence and being impulsive. Gosh, and it's almost clashing with Lent. What GREAT Timing...

But of course, most of us throw open house and reunion dinners to foster closer relationships between each other, some of them whom we rarely meet. And with the sheer size of my extended family, nearly every meal is like a huge buffet where we are all spoilt for choice. Sometimes there's just too much food that leftovers have to be distributed. Even our dogs get a share of the bones from our food. Ahh, but that's normal but Chinese New Year most certainly brings more bones for them.

Since my extended family has grown a bit from all the weddings we had last year, our ang pau share also seems to have grown. More so to come next year but sigh...I wouldn't be around to get it. I 'll be in Queensland by then.

And then comes the question of when I would be ready to be giving "ang paus". Ahh, I almost always dread that thought, because almost every year I get hammered with the same question from both sides of my extended family. Can't I just receive ang paus for as long as I want to. So questions like,"When is your turn?" "Got already or not"... Almost everytime I would be saying.."When I'm ready....." But the reason is a thought for another day.

This is also the time where we all see the little young ones in their own mischief and suddenly I felt that this year's CNY is made better with their presence. It's lovely to see them play, scream and run around all in their little cocoon of blissful ignorance. Sometimes I just wish I was them again, running wild and getting all the things that I want without getting into a headache with all those predicaments and troubles of a grown-up. So it is in those moments of silence or awkwardness where they take centre stage. When it's boring, they will most certainly cheer and humour you with their antics. It's pretty amazing how fast they grow up. It was just almost yesterday that they were just born and now they can already laugh, play and speak. Hmm...Should I be a paediatrician???

Ahhh, and all the absence of those loud fireworks these year. I can still remember almost every single bungalow near my area light up a bunch of those rockets up to the sky, lighting it up into a brilliant display of colours which is nothing more than just electrons moving down their energy gradient and also quite synonymous with burning money in the sky. But really, I mean if they think thousands of ringgit can scare all the evil spirits away, let them be....Maybe they're just saving it for another day..But of course I'm not condoning the use of fireworks as a form of leisure.

I think this year's celebration has been one of the best so far. We've actually decorated part of our house for the first time in years....Hopefully the year of the piggyyyy, has much to offer.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

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Sqquiiiished 2

Just an update to the previous post. If you are thinking that the LRT is the most squished of all the public transport at peak hours. Well think again, because the monorail beats it all. Try waiting at Sungei Wang monorail station, and you will be amazed, as I was, that it takes 4 trains to pass by before I can actually get inside the monorail without squeezing and pushing even when a guard is standing at the entrance

Mind you this only happens between 6-7pm at the Sungei Wang monorail station. If you're wandering why I would be so amazed, that is because I never expect so many people to actually line up in their own vaguely defined vertical queues into the train entrance. I never thought the monorail would be so popular given the pricey ticket fare. RM1.20 from Hang Tuah to Bukit Bintang?? RIDICULOUS!!!

So, when it comes to queues defined by people at rush hour into a carriage which is barely even 50ft, the queues almost literally doesn't exist and all our uncivilized demeanour surfaces which really makes you compare us to the Neanderthals back in the Stone Age and testifies to a complete antithesis to our so-called modern day thinking and values.

Only when the 4th monorail came, did I manage to set foot into the air-conditioned metal cylinder a.k.a monorail, which was suppose to ferry people around town. Maybe the monorail should consider increasing their carriages. The squisshed factor was brought to an entirely new level here inside. Thank God for the air conds, if not all of us would be suffocated with the heat and humidity.

Luckily, i only have to bear the "squishness" for 2 stations. Even so, getting out was so difficult because there was practically body contact everywhere and moving around is like rubbing out onto other people's clothes and hands while forcing your way out as if trying to resist some powerful magnetic attraction.

Then there was some "ouches" and groans while trying to carve a path out of the monorail.

Thankfully I didn't have to seat because I wouldn't have to poison my view with all the asses staring at my eyes. (Ok this is a bit of exaggeration)

At eye level, it ain't much better safe for a few crevasses which allows one to look between all the hands and head to the outside world.

If there was any room for improvement for our monorails, I guess there should be more carriages. There should be more guard rails but then again, it's not like 1000s of people take them everyday. More room wouldn't fix it because if it wasn't that packed it would be spacious enough inside. And if it was fatter every station has to be modified to accommodate the extra space.

Is this the Beauty or Bane of Public Transport??

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One Very Useless post

Now, every morning when I take the LRT down to work, there are juz tons and tons of people coming in especially at a time between 7.30 and 8.30pm. Sometimes st Seri Petaling station itself, there are already so many people sitting on the train that you end up standing at some corner resting your back or holding on to those metal bars to prevent the law of physics from destabilizing you, inertia.

When you reach up to Bandar Tun Razak or Salak Selatan, it's already packed with so many people, thankfully the air-conditioning manage to keep the temperature bearable and also thanks to those early morning baths that people usually take, my nose don't pick up any funky BO. So to be really squisssshed, you have to be in the right spot in the train. The best place would be to stand in the middle between two doors holding on to a pole, (ok don't get any funny ideas here...) and wait until the fourth station from Seri Petaling, and let people packed in around you till the point that even if you decide not to hold on to the pole, you can stand upright but if the driver decides to slam on the brakes, then be ready for a DOMINO effect, something which hasn't happen yet so far.

The rule of thumb is, DO NOT SEAT!!

To Be Squished:

Step 1
Stand in between two doors near a centre pole
Step 2
Stand there and be prepared for a mad rush of people inside the train from both doors.
Step 3
Continue standing and keep you head up to have more breathing space. The vertically challenged may have problems here.
Step 4
Just stand there and don't start pushing to avoid the domino effect
Step 5
Keep standing until you reach your station.

When standing, you may see some frowning spaces. You might develop claustrophobia. So do not attempt to do this more than once, unless absolutely necessary when people start pushing and you happen to be trapped in the centre.
Solution:

1. Think of something else to tune out of the environment
2. Listen to your MP3s...
3. Go in from the sides
   

THE END

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A Great Imbalance Part 2

I have nothing against Americans. If I met one, I would certainly greet him with the same respect and treat him with the same dignity if I were to meet a Malaysian. No, this is not a racist talk. I seriously respect the more outspoken nature and the more empowered Westerners, when it comes to gaining their rights and speaking on matters which they don't agree. They hold massive rallies, peaceful protests, sometimes violent protests but most of the time, it is without a doubt they manage to get their massage across in a clear and direct manner but of course not always with great success. Unlike for most of us Asians, who more or less settle down with changes especially the bad ones prefer to grumble in silence or just write nice, politically correct letters to dailies or tabloids to get their message across without getting into much trouble.

Sadly even with what I call a more bolder approach on unpleasant or unlawful issues, some things never change. I know I have digress a little but the point I'm trying to make here is that the entire war on terror is so cloudy, hazy and unsuccessful that despite the continuous protests and mockery, President Bush still continues to go on with his war on terror. Has it been successful? Suicide bombers suddenly seem to mushroom everywhere, more killings and the terrorists have even manage to improvise on their methods of causing mass killing, so much so that there is even a restriction to bring water bottles or containers in the airport to US. Ok that was a long time ago. But I don't know if the law has changed.

The result of billions spent....more dangerous terrorists, Osama is alive, Saddam is hanged and Iraq, without Saddam Hussein but nothing more than a wasteland filled with separatists and jihad fighters and now somehow Bush isn't just satisfied with the war on terror. Now he wants to go to war with Iran because they simply don't want to agree to stop their nuclear proliferating activities and allow inspection. It seems that no matter where his troops are, the enemy seems to be able to spawn in even far greater numbers and potency. By right the greatest and most advance army in the world should stem the progress of terrorism. It seems that the seeds have already been sown for more vicious enemies and the world now hates Bush more. Now that he is going on a new term in office, I wander what would he plan to do in his remaining years, will he come up to his senses and address the more pressing issues in his country rather then focusing on terrorism and Iran.

In truth, the battle against terrorism is lost, the billions lost should have been spent for much better things. Already there has been plans to send more soldiers and spent more money to continue the war on Iraq, a place I believe where the war will never end and started by Bush. Already so many soldiers have died, some psychologically affected and yet he needs more soldiers there. I simply can't understand why he has to keep fighting in Iraq despite the clear results from the war on Iraq. It can NEVER finish and it will get WORST. More taxpayer's money spent for nuts and lives lost. The middle east region is already such a volatile region and now he plans to make it worse... Indeed God Save America.

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