Just a bit background, she is also an ex-pat.  I met her at a gathering.  She is pretty sincere and straight kind of person.  She is a few years younger than me.  Her husband is younger than her and they have a daughter.  Her husband is a nice person.  Quiet and always looking after the daughter.

She came to my condo for lunch/dinner a few times.  At the beginning she was fine but now I think she just takes it for granted.  She came in to my condo, open the fridge, and serves herself.  And then start asking “why you don’t have orange juice or why you don’t have chocolate milk, or why you don’t buy this and that, etc”.  I don’t mind that much, but when we watch tv, she lays down on the long cough, and not taking care of her daughter.  Her daughter is jumping up and down, breaking a candle holder and 2 bowls one time and all she did was “stop doing that and say sorry”.  She did not even offer to help me cleaning up.  She just sat in front of TV all the time.  Last time before she left, she asked her daughter to go to the fridge to take 2 chocolate milk before leaving.  She did all that without asking me.  I honestly do not mind about foods and drinks, what I’m not comfortable of is the way she acted.  I have to feed her daughter lunch, clean herself after lunch, while she did nothing as if she is my daughter.

She called this morning asking if she can come to visit me.  After so many unhappy incidents, I lied and said I was not available.  Inviting her over is not a problem, but I become her baby sitter while she acting as if she is a queen, waiting for me to serve her.  My husband said do not invite her over ever again.

I just want to let this out so that I don’t have to keep everything inside me.

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• what if i am a movie star
• what if i am a prime minister
• what if i am very rich
• what if i am very poor

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Do I like golf?  If golf is as boring as what it is seen on TV, no, I do not like it.  I went with hb to hit golf balls one time at night.  It is not golf, it is more like hitting the ball with golf club.  I do not know what it is called.  We just stood there and continue hitting golf ball with golf  clubs.   I do not like it.

Having said that, I think hobby is very important.  It can keep us occupied outside of our normal hectic work and family life.  I personally enjoy shopping (if you could call it hobby), swimming, jogging, playing badminton, and maybe a bit of cooking.  I also like to do some investing out of my free time.  I do not buy many stocks now, but I still have Intel and Apple stocks.  I love to spend more time on learning about investing.

What is your hobby?

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There are many local (chinese) online places that have free delivery, but I don’t have AliPay account, is it safe to have an account?

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I am running out of ideas to cook.  Speaking of cooking, I can’t remember the last time he cooked.  In fact, I don’t think he ever cooked after he went to china.  He used to do most of the cooking, now it becomes mine.  I have to retrain him again to start cooking.  He gets lazy and soon his size will be the same as Ah Kang’s.

Have to stock up some drinks too.  Will go down to the store to pick later.  I’m lazy today, I will order some foods instead of cooking.  I need more rest.  My right ankle isn’t feeling too good, must be from the badminton game.  I need  “iron hit” (铁打，haha).

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Just a few quick updates:

• Went to Chong Qing about 2 weeks ago for his business trip.  We enjoyed the boat ride very much.
• Ah Kang visited us last week.  It was great to see him again after so many years.  He used to be in shape, now he is in bola shape (sorry, haha).  We took him to a few usual attraction places to visit and also the expo (again!?).   I think he enjoys the visit.
• Ray’s school had a party (chinese holiday, don’t know which one).  I baked pandan sponge cakes for the party and was told everyone love it, haha.  The teacher asked me to teach her.

Don’t know what to write ….

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8iVVmXozb0

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Students often are required to memorize facts and formula in their classes. Often teachers gave a lot of facts and formula for students to memorize.  The students will then be tested with the memorizing skills through multiple choice questions and short answer type of questions.  How many smart people do the system produce each year?  How come there are no smart Malaysians who invented the newest car, the newest technology.  All we see is students who are really good in memorizing facts/formula while do not know how to apply their skills to solve tomorrow’s problem.

Another related problem is students are often asked to learn how to write exams instead of learning. How many parents send their children to tuition centre hopefully they can do well in exams.  How many teachers teach their students how to write exams instead of passing knowledge to the students.  No doubt doing well in exams are important, but it should not be overlooked since doing well in exams does not guarantee one’s success in their lives.

Ranking system is another big problem. Students are ranked each year among their grade and they are placed in classes from the highest score students to the lowest score students.  I think the rational is to facilitate teaching when all students in a class is of about the same “standard”.  This maybe a good idea, but what about students who are late comers, who does not excel well in later years.  These students will be placed in lower ranking and in lower grade classes.  They may not ever have a chance to come back (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaming_%28education%29).

Another problem of the education system is the huge amount of school works being assigned to students each day. Students are required to do lots of homeworks.  I know my daughter may take 3-4 hours a day to do homeworks and she is only 8 years old.  Homeworks is good, but too much does not make your children smarter, in fact, it is taking the time away from them to study and to do other outdoor activities.

However, the root cause of all the problems is the higher education entry requirements. To get to form 6, one has to score many A’s in SPM and a minimum of C in Malay.  Once a student got into form 6, he/she spent two years studying it, and if he/she gets a good result in STPM, he may be admitted to local university.  This sounds fine in theory, but it is the biggest flaw in the system.  Assuming that the student met the minimum requirement to enter university, he/she may not get admitted to the faculty he/she likes to pursue due to the infamous racial quote system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issues_in_Malaysian_Education#Racial_Quotas_in_Universities).

I do not deny that pressure students receive from parents are making the matters worse.  Parents are so focus on exams and it is not uncommon to see my daughter’s classmates get punished by their parents for not meeting their standards.  However, the major reason for this competitiveness are caused by the higher education entry requirements, huge school workload, ranking system at school, and teaching methods.

Other links:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIMSS

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAv2vRSg6TI

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzNnBfx0VlM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXOBCnCkroc

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6tsU0YIymE

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It is so rewarding seeing them playing with themselves, running around, so happy.   The beach used to be a lot cleaner and a lot less people.  When I grow up, there was no these hotels on the beach.  The closest hotel was Novotel (I think it used to call something else, cannot recall its original name).

It is also so nice to see mom and dad walking slowly side by side.  I think they deserve all the personal time they have.  They worked so hard all their lives, and now they can enjoy their lives. Throughout their lives, they went through a lot to raise all 3 of us.  Especially Dad is coming from a very poor family, he worked all of his life to get to this point, I always admire him!  He is my hero.

Sis: Dad suggested to visit you in Nov/Dec school holiday.   It is a good idea, I will join if they are going.   You need a bigger house!!  And we want a real chirstmas tree this year, a big one!

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• thieves go online to check whether the owner of a particular house is gone on vacation so they can take their own sweet time to “move” your belongings on your behalf
• your boss wants to know exactly how long you are having lunch while claiming you’re meeting client at their office
• your children want to know when parents will get home to stop them from watching tv, playing games, etc
• your coworkers want to know where you are so they can provide evidence to your boss you come to work at 10am and leave at 3pm
• your husband/wife wants to know where you are (that might not be such a bad idea)

OK, there are so many *good* reasons to use this type of service.  Why not everyone using this service?  I’m predicting that soon there will be new website tells thieves which house to rob or where to kidnap a rich people.

Instead of looking at this type of service of publishing your location, we should look at it differently — how about “please rob me”, “please kidnap me”, “please follow me”, etc.

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We did not leave till around 12pm, thanks to my lovely dad.  He went out with my brother that morning to seberang and told us to pick him up there.  We (2 cars) got there around 10:30am, but my dad was busy.  So we waited and waited.  We ended up waiting for him at a kopitiam, had lunch there, and he finally showed up close to 12pm.  My mom was embarrassed, but in laws were understanding. We got into the hotel around 4pm.  It is a slow drive.

Children were not impressed, they find cameron highland boring.  We did the usual site seeing, went to flowers/fruit farm, went to the market on sunday morning, had steamboat dinner (a very good one, due to cold weather), we got a few dozens of rosses, etc.  We left cameron around 3pm on sunday and did not get home till around 8pm (why took so long?  because we stopped for dinner and toilet stop).

I can say cameron highland is our special place.  During school holiday when I was form 5, husband, me, and 6-7 friends went to cameron highland for a holiday break.  As smart as we were, we did not book hotel and thanks to school holiday, we stayed in the car that night in cameron highland.  Guys always took that opportunity to gamble, and girls just chit chat in the other car.  This must be like 18 years ago.  Gosh, I’m so old now.  Soon will turn 40, 50, 60 … oh I don’t even want to think about it.

Husband went back to china thursday morning after a few days delay.  Feel a little lost when he left.   My sis told me she hates airport.  Now I can understand what she meant, I don’t like airport too.  Allow me to flash back my memory … when we were little, we love to go to the penang airport.  Whenever we were there, we always ordered coffee.  Back in those days, the only place can get coffee with liquid cream on the side is at the airport.  I love it very much.  I begin to mumble jumble, I don’t know what I am writing.  Other than a few things I hate about husband, I still love him very much.  I’ll join him soon.

About my other world cup post:  I do not watch world cup at all.  I was being sarcastic when I said “It is just an exciting game. After watching the game for 2 hours and the result is 0 – 0. So exciting”.  How exciting can it be after spending 2 hours in front of tv and the result is 0 – 0.  One might better spend the time in front of a piece of white paper and will have the same result at the end of 2 hours.

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Worst yet is everyone is cheering for err … where is the Malaysia team?  Don’t tell me you’re cheering for England or Mexico, what do these teams have anything to do with you?  Or you like the England team so much because ….. err, for no reason?

Sadly: Billions across Asia to watch World Cup

Stop talking about world cup to me, I do not like to hear anymore about it or know anything about it.  Stop telling me your team is Brazil or England.  Please leave me alone.  Get a life.

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We are going to rest for a few days and we will drive to caeron highland saturday morning, along with my parents and my in laws.  I think this trip is going to be a challenge     The original plan was to go to cameron with my in laws, then my dad said he wants to join us.  Don’t get me wrong, they get along fine, but when comes to grandchildren, my mother in law and my dad are totally “furious” with each other.

Sleeping…

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We know that it is unlawful to own a gun in malaysia (unless have license i think).  I know that the consequences is very bad if get caught with guns.  And I know government is doing a good job by not allowing gun to be bought or sold like buying clothes.  That makes sense since it is illegal to own one, why are we allowed guns to be bought/sold.

Why it is illegal to drive faster than the speed limit, but government allows car can go faster than speed limit to be sold?  Isn’t that easier to limit what kind of car can be sold or can be driven on our highway than trying to catch people driving over speed limit?  Isn’t that a double standard when comparing this with the gun example I gave earlier.  I know double standard by government is not uncommon, we see it every day.

http://www.swivel.com/workbooks/28053-Malaysia-Traffic-Accident-Statistics

We see in 2006, 12.81 accidents per 1000 people and 1.33 death caused by accident per 1000.  Let’s assume that speeding is the cause of 50% traffic accident death, we have 1.33 / 2 = 0.665 per 1000.  Assuming that malaysia has 27,000,000 people,  that is 17,955 lives per year.   Not to mention how many injuries can be prevented by just a simple regulation change.

I talked to my husband about this idea and he says government receives a lot of tax selling cars.  True.  If government stops doing that, they will lose a lot of money.  But at the same time, they can fire a lot of traffic police because of less accidents.  Haha.  Seriously, why can’t government requires all cars sold in the country to have a device that is preventing the car from going over speed limit.  That way, government can still earns the tax, and can still fire a lot of traffic police, and 17,955 lives will be saved per year.  This is a gain-gain-gain solution.  No?

I think malaysia needs a new transport minister.  Vote for me!

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• yada yada, I am not going to dispute that how much energy is saved during the one hour period, however, anyone measure how much extra energy is used after that hour period?  For example, I can participate in the earth hour by not turning on the TV during that hour.  After that hour, instead of going to bed at 11am, I decided to watch the TV to 12am.  You can see I save energy during that hour, but I increase energy usage after that hour.  We can see this example, the net effect is zero.  Of course one could argue that I should not watch an extra hour of TV.  How about I change this example to washing cloth, instead of using the washer during the earth hour, I delayed till an hour later.  Everyone will still claim that the energy usage during this hour is less, but I know my energy usage is the same at best.
• we may all get excited about earth hour and start sending out mass emails or printed poster to tell people to save energy during the earth hour.  Using my above example, there is no net benefits in earth hour.  To promote earth hour, we use energy to print poster, to use computer to send emails, etc, we are using more energy that we would.

I do not dispute that earth hour creates awareness to conserve energy and save the environment.  Good intention. But fail to see it will make an impact in saving the environment if it is not promoted correctly.  Everyone can say I am good to environment because I turn off lights during earth hour.  But this person could turn on the same lights shortly after the earth hour finishes.

Why earth hour?  Why not earth minute or earth second?  We can have earth minute or earth second every day.  Wait, how about earth day, or earth month, or earth year, or earth decade, or earth forever?

I think the message is to conserve and to save the environment, NOT to conserve and save the environment during the earth hour!  Keep the message clear and priority straight!!

Late, ZZZ time.

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For those who know me, I am not the kind of person who likes outdoor or nature very much.  But I know he likes to go hiking and enjoy nature, I am thinking of going to some mountains where we can stay 1-2 days and enjoying the weather and view there.

The criteria:

• close by (within 3-4 hours train ride is best)
• nature
• good weather
• good and clean hotel
• if close to a lake is even better
• don’t have to hike 1 day to get to the mountain, cable car?

Any suggestion?

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I got a present — thank god it is not a electronic stuff or a hp.  It is a diamond necklace.   The necklace is made of white cold and only a diamond.  Very nice and simple, I like it very much.  Hmmm … when was the last  time he gave me a thoughtful present??

Going out soon.

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We’re playing badminton this evening, so the cooking for today is going to be simple — fried rice.  To make this special, I let Ray picks what he wants in his fried rice and he wants fish ball on his fried rice, haha.  We are going to buy some fish balls and I do not like fish balls on my fried rice, I will just use pork, green bean and egg. To avoid being criticised, I will cook these items separately instead of my mom’s throw-everything-in way of  frying rice.

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OK, the bright side:

• the exam results of Nee is very good, except chinese
• Derek is going to stay with his parents until next month
• Ray’s mandarin has improved since coming to china
• Sis’s baby is very cute
• went swimming earlier tonight with Ray and a few people from Malaysia (he did not join)
• going to Dianne’s house to make 饺子 (dumpling) tomorrow

Going to bed.

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The badminton night started off very slow, playing with him is not much fun because he is not trying hard to hide the fact that he is so much better in badminton compared to me I also played with Lina, both of us are not good and the game was not very fun either. Double is worst, it is more like me standing most of the time while watching my partner hitting the ball.

Siang invited me for a game. I said no but he insisted so we played. Playing with him is much better, he is patient and know how to give lesson. I dropped his racket two times, and he said racket is meant to be scratched. I need to get my own racket if I want to play again. My husband gave me the look when I scratched his SPARE racket. It is just a racket!!!!!! I know I’m still a beginner in badminton, I will get better when I play more often.

He and a few others are really serious in badminton. It is good to watch, but not good to play with them. They said they want to keep scores and track the ranking next time. Come on, these are friendly games, why men have to be so competitive for everything????????

The guys went out for supper. He sent me home after the game, I went to Eileen’s apartment to pick up Ray. He is already in deep sleep. I woke him up, am not strong enough to carry him to our apartment. Took a shower, and went straight to bed.

Today is my jogging day and the friday dinner day. We are going to cook fish head curry. It sounds complicated but it is easy because I’ll use the ready mix from malaysia to cook. The only thing I am afraid is the fish head (too small).

The plan:
- Ray’s swimming lesson
- take Ray to class
- go jogging
- pick up Ray
- come home to cook

Hopefully will be on time.

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I am never good in sports, the only thing I started to enjoy is swimming and maybe jogging.  I played squash a few times, did not like it very much.  I also played tennis before, I find chasing after the balls are more tired than hitting the ball , because I can never hit the ball cross the net.  Ping pong?  Haha, no one wants to play with me.  What else?  Football?   Haha, not a chance.

However, I plan to join the guys for badminton.  I think no one will want to play with me, but at least he cannot say no when I say I want to play.  Will try to see if I like it.  I remember many years ago I use my brother’s racket and I scratched the edge of it and he sworn that he will never lend me his racket every again.  Hopefully I will be better this time.

Time to take Ray to swim.

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I took Ray to his 书法 class at 5:30pm, then I went to supermarket to buy foods, mostly junk foods and a beijing duck.  We’re going to Teck’s house, his “wife” is a good cook.  They picked me up outside of the supermarket.  Ray quickly showed me his “works”, I am so impressed.  Soon he will be a master in 书法.  He was so eager for tonight’s gathering.  We got home at around 7:30pm.  Got to upstairs Teck’s house at 8:30pm.  Everyone was there already, and we’re the last one in even we only live 2 floors down, haha.

As usual, after dinner, guys go to play their cards.  Those not playing cards are talking about works.  The women cleaned the dishes and chatting.  The 3 children were playing games.  Very warm feeling.  I like this very much, that is something I do not have in penang (I mean lots of friends and someone who have common topics to talk about).

He took Ray down to sleep at 11pm something.  We stayed for a while until he fell into sleep.  He went back up again.  I planned to take a shower and go back again, but was tired and slept in the living room while tv on.  I heard noise but I did not get up, must be him coming back to get wines.  After they left, I couldn’t sleep.  That’s why I’m writing this blog this late.  I just called him, and he asked me to join them, they are almost done gambling.  They want to go out to eat.  How can I not gain weight.  It is 3:30am now.  I will pass.

I should say the friday is a half disappointed day because of missing the jogging.  My new pair of shoes cannot be put into use, yet

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You can search the benefits of soya milk on the internet.  I think most importantly it is not cow milk, which is contaminated with antibody, etc.  And it tastes really good.

Here are a few benefits:

• Soy milk contains only vegetables proteins
• Soy milk contains no lactose
• Fewer people are allergic to soy milk
• Soy milk reduces cholesterol
• Soy milk contains no hormones
• Soy milk does not cause insulin dependent diabetes
• Soy milk is rich in isoflavones

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Where am I?  I’m in suzhou.  My two older children are with my parents.  What am I doing here?  My time is filled up with little things.  There is a group of “si nai” (housewives) got together every morning.   Nothing much, chatting, talking about children, husbands, school, shopping, etc.  We sometimes go for breakfast on weekend.  Sadly I find myself fit right into this group, I am getting old.  Most of them are in early 30′s, and are either expats or wive to expats.   We have more common ground.   Another thing I really enjoy is to take my youngest to swim.  I got him into swimming lessons, he is very good at it now.  He had ear infections so I limit his time on the pool.  But he enjoys swimming very much.  Future olympic swimmer, haha.  I’m also getting better at swimming.  I can do 4 laps without resting in the swimming pool downstairs.  Pretty impressive.  I also enrolled him in kindergarden (sort of), only 3 days a week.  What is good about this class is the instructors are british, they speak english to the children.

What do I do when free?  I watch TV, I cook, I shop, I talk to my two other children, I invite friends over for dinner, I go out with him, I even play computer games.  I just want to fill my time with things to do and not to get myself into thinking too much of unnecessary stuffs.

On weekends, we usually go out to eat, side seeing, invite friends over, or go to friend’s house.  The guys seem to like playing cards.  The wives and children got together to chat, cook, play, etc.  I don’t particularly like the gambling, but they only gamble small amount of money.  Eileen (one of the wives) got his son a Wii, we enjoy it very much everytime we go visit.   I even like playing the mario game, haha.

I also like to go shopping in shanghai with the wives.   I went twice with them, they are really professional shopper, they can walk for hours and not tired.

Till next time.  ZZZ time.

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We all went out for a walk yesterday afternoon, it was not too cold.  Many houses have decorating lights on for the christmas.  It is very beautiful.   My children have lots of energy, they ran and ran.   They said we walked too slow.   We went out for dinner last night at a restaurant known for roast chicken and ribs.  The foods were not too good, but you cannot expect good foods in canada, haha.  After dinner, we went to a children’s place, the place is similar to the one in penang, children can climb, run, hide, etc.  They are loving that place.  I am afraid Ray will ask us to go there every day.

My dad is learning computer stuff from my bro-in-law.  They spent most time talking about computer boring stuffs.  He took my dad out for shopping computer and electronic stuffs, my dad is enjoying his stay here.  My mom is enjoying my sis’s video collection, she has many many TV series to watch.  She started a TVB series, I do not follow her.  I don’t like TVB much.  I always enjoy chatting with my sis.  We enjoy the girl talks very much!

We are going to swim tonight. That is the only sports my sis does now.  She used to play squash very often, but it is impossible to play with her big tummy.  Swimming is good for her.   Hope my children will behave in the swimming pool!

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After a long drive, got back to sis’s house, and she was so happy to see us.  She has a big stomach, haha.    My parents were so happy to see her.  As usual, my parents so happy to see her, I see tears in their eyes.  Me too.  My sis looks like a different person, her belly is big and cannot even hug her without touching her belly haha.   I wanted to have a long talk with her, but she looks very tired.

My sis still works.  My mom asked her to stop working, but she works till the end of this month.  She is a tough one, she can take care of herself very well.  I woke up early and was in the kitchen with her when she was preparing to go to work.  I see her prepare her own breakfast, make her hot chocolate, pack for lunch, etc …. she is so independent even though her belly is so big that makes her hard to move.    I opened the door for her and saw her get into her car slowly, drove away.   Comparing to her, I always have helps from everyone when I need it.  I feel sad for her and felt I am so lucky.

Her house has only 3 bedrooms.  She has a housemate, but she moved out temporary to let us use her room.  I stay in her room.  Parents stay in the baby’s room.  The baby’s room only has a baby bed, and a double bed.

It is snowing now.  The children all went out to play with snow, along with my mom ….

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The point that I am trying to say is cherish what you have, when you want something more, be prepare to give up something you already have.

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We spent most time on 步行街, we shopped, we had dinner, we rest and everything there.  It was cold, I got a hat for myself, but the children were well prepared.  They worn worm.  My mom and I were busy shopping and my dad who took Nee and Derek, went shopping, my dad’s style.  Other than hat, I bought scarf, 2 blouses, and 1 dress.  My mom got 2 sweaters for my dad and 1 pair of jeans for herself.  Stuffs are not really that cheap.

My dad bought a mp3 player looks like ipod, but I think he got cheated.  It is not ipod and it is very light.  He said he wants to use it to learn english.  I don’t think that thing can last very long, haha.  I suggested ask feng feng to donate one of her ipods.  She has 2-3 ipods, last time I saw.  He also bought a few books, I cannot imagine he has to bring the books to china with him, so heavy.  Surprisingly the children did not get anything.  I think he must have bought stuffs small in size for them, don’t want to let me know.

When we met up with my dad and the children for dinner, they cannot eat much.  My dad took them to kentucky again.  We had dinner at Japanese noodles restaurant, the foods were nice.  I like their noodles soup.  After dinner, they all wanted to go home.  Finding a taxi is also very stressful, people are very aggressive in catching taxi.  We did not get home till 9pm.

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Speaking of my dad, he is really boring here, always want to go out shopping.  I know going out with him, the first thing he looks for is coffee shop to sit down, eats.  He suggested we go to Guan Qian Street again this evening.  Haha.  He bought a really fancy tea set, he keeps asking us to try the tea he makes.  I am not good in tasting tea, they all taste the same to me.

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After dinner, the taiwan guys speak softly among themselves, from their looks, I know what they want to go.   To avoid this situation, I went to toilet and immediately joined by the boss’s wife.  We chit chat a bit in toilet.  She is from beijing, her accent is a bit hard to understand, but she is very pleasant.  She looks like about my age, maybe early 30′s.  I asked if she works?  She laughed at me, and said let the guys work and women spend their money.  Haha, I did not know what to say, I just smiled

After we went out, the guys were ready to leave.  They decided to go to a karaoke.  Looks like they go there very often.  They seem to know the lady at the front, I paid attention at him, he smiled to her, but I have a feeling that he is not the first time there.  What to do, this seems normal to these people here, they eat, they talk, and they come to karaoke mainly to talk more.  I got there, husband and I sat toward the middle, they started talking really loud.  Then there is a lady come in to invite people to sing.  I finally gave up and moved to a corner by the TV, better to listen to the song then listen to their loud talk, which I have no clue of what they are talking.

About 9:30pm, I signal him I want to go home.  He just replied with hand signal — wait.  It is tiring already.   We finally left the place at 9:45pm.  The boss and his wife also left at the same time, one taiwan guy just started singing, surprisingly his voice is very good, haha.   The boss went to pay, I wanted to know how much it cost, but did not see it 

I only so glad to leave, the dinner started at 5:30pm, then karaoke ends at 10pm, that is like 4.5 hours just entertain the people I do not know. Whole time I keep smiling, my face is tired too.  I am not very good in entertaining people.

We got home, only Nee is up.  Just have time to say good night to her.  After taking shower, he went straight to bed.  I don’t think he enjoy very much, he left work at 8am, it is a long day.

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Honesty is a very important aspect of a marriage.  If we cannot be honest to our partner, how can we expect him or her to trust us.  I am not saying the partner should know everything about our past, but the partner should know at least know everything now and in the future. Everyone made mistake, I know that.  I am willing to forgive mistakes made in the past and we will face the future together.  I made mistakes.  Thank you for the honesty and the trust.  I am really happy that we open up to each other.  There is nothing to worry about or to afraid of as we have been married for so many years and with 3 children.

I feel so good today, I have my lovely husband back!!!!

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After breakfast, we spent time at home talking, watching tv, etc. We went out to a small amusement park for children. I got bruises on my knee thanks to the small car I was riding with Nee. We had McDonalds for dinner. We got home, and he went back to office to do his works.

…

We have no plan today, I wish I can rest more, I did not have enough sleep.

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http://www.ehow.com/how_2282245_run-high-heels.html

Why do I post this?  Because I see so many women wearing high heels and boots in china, and it is amazing when they can run in high heels.  I cannot.

I know wearing high heels looks more feminine, but we do not need to wear high heels to everywhere we go, right?  I can understand who needs to wear it for work purpose, but I cannot understand why some wear them to everywhere, not to mention they wear to climb the great wall.  Just my personal observation, haha.

Don’t let the guy who invented high heels to put all women as slave to his invention!!!!   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heel_%28shoe%29

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We left at 8:30am, on a big BMW with a really friendly and good looking driver, haha.  He was waiting for us at 8am.

We went to have breakfast at a restaurant which is famous for its beijing dishes.  We had soya milk, buns and lots of different small cold dishes.  I do not find the foods that good, but I like the soya milk.  It is fresh. My children like the bun, they have many kinds of buns.

We went to west lake (si hu) first, we took the boat ride and went on the famous bridge.  Let my children release their energy, which is good.  It was a cold and windy.  But children not afraid of cold, haha.  My dad was the first one found a tea house, he “ran” in immediately and sat down to rest.  We all went in to rest and not in 2 minutes, Nee wants to go out to run again.  Poor him, he has to take them all out.  That will let him know it is not easy to take care of 3 children.

We went to two other temples  — nothing too spectacular.   Derek lost his glove, we can’t find it.   He wanted to go back to find them.  My mom nag me a bit for not put their gloves in my bag, but my dad immediately said he will buy him another one.  Derek is not too happy, but that is the price to pay if he does not take care of his own stuffs.  It is not that cold.

Lunch we went to a restaurant close to the lake.  This restaurant is special, we order the dishes downstairs.  They have many variety and sample downstairs for us to order.  I have no idea how to order, but as always, he and my dad were busy “investigating” the sample.  My mom and I just happy that we do not have to worry about it.

After lunch, we all voted to go shopping.  We went to a mall close by, not very big, but still lots of people.  The driver said don’t buy any silk or tea there, he knows another place that sells good stuffs.  Later we went to a tea house, there is someone who made tea for us to enjoy.  They were trying to sell us tea leaves, he asks them to go out, not too politely.  I gave him a nasty look, he blinks.  I bought two small pillows filled with tea leaves, they smell very good.

By that time, it is already dark, and we’re leaving hang zhou.  We did not get home till 9pm.  Of course on the way back, he ta pao more foods home.  I think the colder the weather, the more we eat.  I find myself eat lots too, haha.

I voted not to go to najing tomorrow.  My husband found a children place to go tomorrow, not too far.   I sometimes pity his secretary, he called her at 9pm on saturday night to ask her where is a good place to bring children to go.  It is not even a work related question.  People here works really hard to earn money.

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We went to have lunch at a local restaurant, that was during factory worker lunch time too.  It was jam packed, and the lunch is really cheap.  The total of 4 adult and 3 children is 70 yuan, much cheaper than the starbuck.  Then the guide took us to take a boat ride, and explaining everything to us.  We got home at 4 something, we enjoy the trip very much.  Most importantly, everything is paid for in advance, haha.

He came back at 5:30pm.  The children want kentucky, we all take a taxi to a kentucky and came back around 8pm  …

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We went to hu chui pagoda (mandarin or tiger hill) yesterday.  It was a bit cold, but they don’t feel cold, haha.  The place is very old and very big, my parents went there before but they still enjoy the visit.  The place was not busy at all.   We spent the morning there, then we took a taxi to downtown.  I cannot remember the name of the street, that place has many restaurants, etc.  Too many restaurants and we did not know which one to pick.  My dad went into one of them, but left because that place has many people smoking.  We went to another one, with window table, very nice restaurant.   I called to ask if he can join us, but he was busy. He suggested us a few restaurants, but it is too late, we have ordered.  Haha.

We then walked around the area, my mom likes shopping.  My dad, Nee and Derek went their way and my mom, me, and Ray went the other way.  We basically walked around, and bought a few small things for the children:  hats, glove, etc.  My mom bought a small one piece cloth for my sis’s baby.   Ray suddenly ran into one direction while I was paying money.  I was so scared and followed him …. haha, turns out he saw my dad and the other two having ice cream in a shop.

We walked a bit more until he came to pick us all up to dinner.  We went to a small restaurant ordering beijing duck.  The foods are very good, but I cannot eat much.  I ate all day long, haha.  We went home early and everyone was so tired except him.

One thing I am not used to here is no car.  I am so used to drive anywhere, now I have to call taxi to go anywhere.  It is not so convenient.  Cannot have everything.

Today his colleague’s wife came to visit us, she showed us around the area.  We are going to go massage (by blind people) tonight.  My dad is bored already, he cannot survive living here or living anywhere but penang.  He suggesting we go to shanghai tomorrow, I don’t really want to go because he promises to take us to nanjing, hangzhou this weekend.

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The travel was a bit hectic, but we made it.   I checked and checked many times before we left the house, and I thought I packed everything.  Yes, I forgot to put the tooth brush, cleanser, etc to the bag.  I bought everything but cannot find the same brand of cleanser.  Not a big problem.  My children are getting bigger, they do not give me much trouble.

Got to shanghai airport, the immigration went very smooth.  The children started asking where their daddy is   As soon as we got out, they saw him and ran toward him.  Tears almost came out of my eyes too.  We finally are together again.  Ha, he hired a driver and put us all on a small van.  I wanted to go back to his apartment so badly but he took us to a very fancy restaurant with private room   My dad is impressed.  After dinner, we all went back to suzhou to his apartment.

The temperature was a bit cold, colder than genting.  We were well prepared, actually the children complained about hot in their jackets.  Haha.

When entering his apartment, haha, it is unbelievable tidy and clean.  Even the second bedroom has a nice bed and furniture for my parents.  I can even smell the brand new smell of furniture    This is not the apartment I stayed before.  He got a better view apartment when someone left the company.  I can even see the beautiful lake and lights from the windows.  I questioned him later who cleaned the apartment, he gave me a blinking eye, he had cleaner come to clean it, haha, I knew it.

He wanted to take us all out for supper, the children were excited but my dad was tired.  We went out without my dad.  He wanted to take us to a restaurant, but the children saw a starbuck and they wanted to go there instead, duh!  They had some bakery, cakes, etc.  I cannot believe how expensive it is!!!!!! In total, we spent close to 250 yuen at the stupid starbuck.

The children were tired and they went straight to bed without taking a bath.  I took a quick shower and go to bed!  What a tiring day.

Will write more when have chance.

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1+ week,  I cannot wait.

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My parents and I have all the winter clothes, but Nee and Derek cannot wear her old winter jacket.  Ray can wear Derek’s old one, although it is really big for his size, but he does not mind.  Haha.  My husband suggested he buys the winter jacket for Nee and Derek and bring them to the airport.  The only problem I can think of is size, he may not know what size to buy.  Well, at least he is willing to share a little bit of responsible as a parent, I will let him do it.

What else do I need to buy?  Husband said he does not need anything.  He said he misses hawker foods in penang.  I will cook some good dishes for him when in china.  I learned a few new dishes from my mom.  Oh yes, that reminds me, I need to get some curry powder, bah kut teh packets ….  my curry fish head is getting better, of course, I use pre mixed curry powder.  Haha.

My mom bought a lot of chinese medicine for my sis.  I just hope custom will not take it from her.  Last time I was there at the airport, I saw custom bring a dog sniffing luggages and saw the dog sat right beside a guy’s luggage.  The dog is so cute, but I am sure the guy will get into trouble.   I told my mom and she just said if they want it, let them have it.  What can I say.

Sis, if you’re reading this, I have bought a gift for you and the baby.  I think you will like it.  I’m not going to tell you what it is.  For the baby, I got him a really cute winnie the pooh package of clothing and a musical thing for you to put in the baby room.

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That reminds me a conversation between me and one of my cousin’s wife.  She does not wear make up and she does not care about her face much as I see many pimples about to “pop” out and she does not even care.  She once told me “I do not have to worry about my appearance anymore because I am married”.  I did not know what to say to her.  I almost fainted, haha.  These days there are many couples got divorced.  I am not saying look is very important, but it should not be ignored.

Anyway, the conversation started in my grandma’s house, we sat at the diner table at the back with her.  She asked “did you not get enough sleep, your eyes look so black”.  I took out my small mirror and checked my eyes, they look ok to me, and then she said yes, the surrounding of your eyes is very black.  I almost fell down to the floor, she was referring to my make up.  Haha.

Back to today, yes, this time the surrounding area of my eyes look dark and they are due to not enough sleep.

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I made another big mistake at work today.  I posted transactions to a wrong month and the accountant found out and told my boss.  My boss was nice enough to ask me to redo.  I feel guilty.

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I do not like direct sales and thought that the most important thing for them is to sell membership and their way overpriced products.  I always think if any of your friend invites you to join direct sales, they do not appreciate the friendship.   I always tell anyone who wants to sell me direct sales membership that I do not buy stuff from direct sales.  This is the only way for me to protect the friendship is to say NO to everyone everytime.

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九皇爷 kept me busy.  My parents volunteered for the temple and they went to the temple to help out almost everyday.   My parents were busy and I was busier than usual due to lack of helps from them.  Another reason is we went to my grandma’s house more often.  I wanted to show my kids more about the 大戏.  I used to live with my grandma and 九皇爷 is just the best time of the year.

Nee’s school is “practically” over, teachers do not teach any more and they were just going to school to play all day.  I do not understand why they had the year end exam that soon and then they have lots of time after the exam for nothing.  Why school cannot spread out their teaching time and have the exams two weeks before school holiday in november.  That is something I do not understand.

Nee’s exam results are back.  She did not do as well as I expected, but I am still very happy about the results.  Her average is 93%, which is slightly better than previous semesters but worse than last year.   I will leave the reward to the father.  I’m not going to buy her expensive electric dictionary.

Ray is getting bigger by the day.  His personality is closer to Derek than Nee.  He is the quiet kind.  The world is upside down, my daughter is running around, grabbing everything she can put her hands on, yelling, jumping when she was little.  My two boys acted more like girls, they were quiet and more gentle.  When Derek growing up, he would sit on a table and be quiet for hours, haha.

I am going to hatyai on Nov 14 to Nov 16.   I am going there with a few mothers (knowing them at my daughter’s school).  Of course the main purpose is to shopping.  I did not really want to go, but because of pressure, I said yes anyway.  I will take it as a get away from my daily routine.  I think most of us are seeing it as a get away without the kids and husband.

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• swimming this evening
• go to inlaw’s house tomorrow morning
• go shopping sunday with a friend

Parents are going to seberang tomorrow, looks like i will be alone saturday again.  I do not mind at home alone, i have many TV series to watch, many house works to do.  If in mood, I will cook too.

Boss is here …

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After dinner, my dad took all of us out to Gama. That is the supermarket we used to go when we were little. Now I just feel it is small, but when we were young, Gama was one of the biggest supermarket at my time. I am old! haha.

For those who does not know what or where Gama is …. here is a link http://www.penang-traveltips.com/gama.htm

Nee just reminded a lot of me when I was little. She is very much like me. She is like a big sister (she is, but she acts like one). It is funny when I heard her saying to Derek: “do not run around, you have to hold gong gong’s hand (my dad)”.

As usual, my dad bought a lot of candy and sweet stuffs for the children. My usual job is to hide them when they forget about it. I also bought tshirt and pants for the boys. Nee refused to try the purple dress. She forgot that she is only 7.

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My mom always say we are lucky to have washer at home. We used to wash cloth by hand, I cannot imagine doing that anymore. Now next thing we need to buy is cloth dryer.

I worked non stop this morning. The stupid computer shut down due to short power outage, and I have to reenter a lot of stuffs. Let me finish complain:
- this computer is old
- this computer sometimes very slow for no reason
- this computer keyboard right shift key sometimes not working
- this computer keyboard is dirty
- this computer make funny noise
- this computer is dangerous, feel it can explode any minute (haha)

My notebook is very slow too. I think I should be more grateful to what I have instead of complaining all the time, correct?

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I promise to take all of them to swim friday.

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I missed a few days of work and I am busy catching up.

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The air cond in the office is so loud and I am sitting back to it. What is worst is this air cond produces only hot air. Sweating in an air cond room? That is true. I do not like cold very much, but I cannot stand this air cond too. I am going to clean this office now, it is already dusty since I last cleaned it …

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What I am very impressed with my father in law is (he was a teacher), he got Derek interested in chinese calligraphy. He gave Derek a calligraphy set. My plan is to send Derek to my in law’s house every week now for my father in law to teach him that. I always thought Derek is very good in drawing, now chinese calligraphy!

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When we got to botanical garden, the sky looks like it was going to rain. As those who know me, my jogging is more like walking   We jogged/walked the big round twice, then rain started. We ran to the car, then we went to pulau tikus to have breakfast.  He paid for the mee again, he took out his money faster than me. I promised I will buy him a lunch next time.

We just got back.   After shower, I am going to call my mother in law to let her know I want to pick my kids back after lunch.  They have been away for so many days, I miss them very much!!

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One good thing though, I have done everything I planned to do.  I went to post office, bank, pharmacy and visited my uncle.  He gave me a few coconuts, I didn’t want to get it but he insisted.  This uncle is my mom’s younger brother.  We are very closed when growing up.  He wanted me to stay for dinner, but I was tired and I just want to come home to rest.

I sent a SMS to my husband, but he has not replied yet. I suddenly feel so lonely. I am sleepy, I need a nap.

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The plan?

• laundry
• post office to pay bills and go to bank
• do grocery shopping
• go to pharmacy
• visit my uncle for afternoon tea
• wash my car if good weather

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I can see how this blog will end either in :

1. write stuffs that are less personal (which is not the point of the blog)
2. control who have access to my blog (if possible)
3. abandon this blog and start a new one (not solving the real problem)

For that person: (you know who you are), I am in control of my life and I do not need another person to tell me what to do and what not to do.  Please save advice for yourself and I do not need one from you.  You do not know me by reading my blog.  If I am a truly a bad mother as you described, you should stop reading my blog.

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It started because we laughed too loud and the one guy walked over to our table asked what is so funny.  I was about to give him a blank white eye, my friend replied him.  We started talking and his other friend also joined us later.   The younger guy (Indian), grow up in England, now working in Kuwait; the other older guy (also Indian) who is from KL and works in KL branch from the same company.  They came to penang for a business trip.  They both are really nice and knowledgeable.  The younger guy has a funny accent, harder to understand.  But he is very funny, he talked about funny stuffs he came across during his travel.  He said one time he took a flight from Los Angeles to New York City, the flight left at 12am something.  When he went to the airport, he was told he was late.  And he said “ya, I am late, traffic jam, but luckily I made it”.  The airline people told him, “no, you are late, your flight left yesterday”.  He got the date mixed up.  We talked about travelling, shopping, kuwait, penang, family, my kids, etc.  We had a really nice talk.  The younger guy suggested us to go for dinner, I refused.   He invited us to go for dinner tomorrow night again, I said no and my friend said she will see.  Haha.

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I made a mistake and from now on I cannot say anything bad about my boss on my blog (haha, not that i have anything bad to say about him, blink blink).  He was asking me what I wrote and I told him I have a blog.  He asked my blog address   He said he will read it.  Alamak.  I also set him up a yahoo messenger account.  Now just hope my boss will not ask me to work at the middle of the night when see me online. Haha.

I am off to shop ….

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I talked to my kids on the phone last night.  They went to kek lok si, seems like they enjoy their break.  I told Nee she has to finish her homework before coming home, she said yes and quickly passed the phone to Derek.

My dad isn’t too pleased when my mother in law called to tell me they will keep the kids till sunday.  This is always the problem, if they stay too long with the in law, my dad complained.  If they stay too long with my parents, in law complained.  I cannot win.

It is difficult to get up this morning and get to work after the break.  Boss came in and left me a stack of invoices.

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This chinese series is talking about doctors.  Two doctors who are friend and turn enemy due to money, work place politics, etc.  It also shows how dirty the medical world is — drug companies bride doctors to use expensive drugs, etc.  One of the unknown throughout the movies though was about a murder of a sales lady who sell drugs to hospitals / doctors.

If you’re sick of HK series, I highly recommend this one 

http://data.ent.sina.com.cn/tv/7228.html

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I watched TV series till about 3am something last night.  This one is really good, I feel like continue watching now …. haha, 12 episodes to go.  If I watch 6 episodes tonight and sunday night, I can finish it this weekend.

The plan today is

• take Derek to hair cut, and my mom, Nee, Ray, and me go to buy moon cakes next door (dad is going to seberang with brother)
• visit inlaw’s house with mom
• leave the kids at inlaw’s house (they will be back tomorrow afternoon)
• go to my old house to check with mom
• go to tesco to do shopping with mom and my sister in law
• go to brother’s house to cook dinner
• dad and brother will be back around 6pm
• have dinner at brother’s home

I imagine mom will want to sing karaoke again tonight or accusing me of wanting to sing karaoke.

They are back ….

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The bad news is I need to sort stuff out in the store room later.  I don’t like doing lifting works, and I did not dress properly for it, but my boss cannot find some invoice and he suspects it is in the store room. That will be a good exercise for me to get rid of the extra fat, haha.

I went to buy hawker foods for my parents and kids on the way home yesterday.  I was told it will take 15-20 mins for the char koay teow.  So I sat down and ordered a laksa while waiting.  There was an older lady came and begged for money to eat.  I asked what she wanted to eat.  She said “hock kian mee”, I ordered it and a “teh peng” for her.

I sometimes think doing something good is a selfish act, because it makes us feel good when we do something good.  I do not believe I wanted to feel good to help out on the old lady.  But we cannot deny is feeling good is one side effect of doing good things, no?

Exercise time …

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We are thinking of a few options:

(1) taking only the 2 oldest

(2) ask if  my parents want to join us (that depends on my sis’s plan)

I also hope to spend some time in china with my husband.

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As usual, he bought more than we can ever eat, usually he is the one who finishes everything.  He bought 2 wan tan mee, 2 char koay teoh, 2 char for fun, and chicken wings and satays to share.  My mom and I had wan tan mee, dad had char koay teoh, the fellow who stays with us had char hor fun, and my brother finished the rest.  What is more amazing is he said he had dinner at 9pm and he can eat again at 11pm

The decision to move back to my parents’ house is one of the best decisions I made recently   This house gives me warm feeling.

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I wonder how many good people are still available?

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I asked my boss if I could pick up Derek and have him with me till I leave home.  He said yes.  I am delighted.  Picked him up, bought chicken rice for lunch, and we both went back to office together.  I put a chair beside my desk and let him eat.

He asked: “why this office is so messy” (in mandarin)

I said: “Because it is not my stuff, I do not want to touch the stuff”

He said: “Very dusty” .  I smiled.

My boss came in around 1pm.  He is really nice to Derek, he went next door to buy a ice cream for him.  He then asked Derek to sit at his desk.  Then embarrassing things happen:

Derek asked him: “why you do not clean the desk?”

Boss said: “I do not have time. ”

Derek said: “mommy’s desk is very clean and your desk is very messy and full of dust.”

Boss said: “Why don’t you clean the dust for me?”

Derek said: “I ask mommy to clean”

I said: “I do not know where you want to leave the files, that’s why I never touch your desk”

Boss said “Other files can go to store room and new one can go to the filing cupboard”

I said: “ok I will clean it tomorrow”

Boss said: “We can organize them together tomorrow.”

I said with a smile: “ok”, thinking that Derek just volunteer me to work extra, haha.

…

Derek is sleeping.  Time to wake him up to go home.

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I broke my hand phone this morning.  As I was stepping out from the car, I forgot that my h/p was on my lap and it dropped to the floor.  Now the screen does not show anything, but I can still place call or receive call, but the screen is just blank.  I guess it is time for a new h/p.  Any suggestion for a new h/p?  My friend from singapore has a iphone, I love it very much.  It is very expensive to buy, I want to ask my sis to buy me one from oversea.

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Her birthday celebration? I bought her a birthday cake, black forest, her favourite. As usual, my mom cooked birtyday “mi sua”, not my favourite. I think the only person in the house like her “mi sua” is my dad. After had the mi sua, we sing birthday song for her and she was waiting for her present.

Here are the present:
- from my dad: electronic dictionary
- from my mom: ang pow
- from my father in law: ang pow
- from my mother in law: cute coll
- from me: birthday cake and a pair of sport shoes
- from her dad: birthday wish
- others: pencil case from her piano teacher

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I find talking to him is very relaxing. He just listens most of the time. Well, the conversation is more like “I-ask-he-answers”. Sometimes I feel bad for him to be alone in penang with no family and friends. Sometimes I also feel like I shouldn’t be too close to him. He is a grown man and he is not my brother or cousin, should not get too close.

We came home, I took a shower, had porridge my mom cooked, sweep/mop floor, fold clothes, now relaxing in my room. There is always so many things to do. I’m glad to have a quiet saturday. I have no plan tonight, the fellow suggested to go watch movie. My mom said my dad will sleep in the cinema. I will stay home and watch my drama series instead. I just need quiet time.

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The plan today is no plan. The plan was to go out for dinner with my friend and her bf, but it was cancelled since we got to meet late last night. She better spends more time with her bf. I do not want to disturb them. I will go walking/jogging later. I am still sleepy.

The house feel so quiet now without those monsters running around. Even my dad is busy reading online newspaper, and my mom is still sleeping. The fellow living here and I are going to buy breakfast, after he takes a shower. I am going to buy fish-head-char-bi-hun. Yummy.

I can feel the fellow is getting to like penang more. He seldom goes home and he works part time as waiter. All he needs to fully settle in penang is a girl friend, I joke with him. Time to go out to buy breakfast.

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We got to my brother’s apartment at 5pm. All the women were busy cooking in the kitchen. My mom and my sister in law went grocery shopping earlier. I cooked kangkong dish, very easy one. My mom fried chicken and cooked curry head fish. My sister in law cooked two other veges dishes. While we were all busy, the guys (dad and brother) playing with my children. Sometimes I think I must be really lucky because if my husband is here, he is the one who cooks, and I will be the one sitting and playing with the children. I miss him!

After dinner, my mom started karaoke and everyone also sang except my dad. I do not like singing very much because my voice like duck voice As I suspect, my mom occupied one mic all the time. They are enjoying it. My youngest is sleeping now, and I am using my sister in law’s computer blogging in the second bedroom. I wanted to go to my friend’s apartment (she lives in the next building), I called and learned that her boy friend at her apartment. I do not want to be a “big spot light” between them.

I am tired. Tomorrow morning I am going to drop my children at my in law’s house, they will stay with them till sunday night.

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Then she said: “Last time we went to karaoke, I think everyone enjoyed it”

I said: “yes, you enjoyed the most”

She laughed: “I think we need to buy a karaoke and invite everyone home”

“Why not go to brother’s house when you want to sing”

“That is good idea.  I have not seen XXX long time (my sister in law)”

“I think we better ask them first.”

She immediately called my brother, and after a bit of casual talk, and she asked: “Your sister wants to come to your house to sing karaoke”.  My eyes opened wide and starred at my mom with lots of question marks.  Long story short, we are going to brother’s house friday night to sing karaoke because I love singing karaoke, not my mom!!!

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Lesson learned.

Today my boss’s face is a bit dark, he and his wife got into arguments about his son.  I over heard him on the phone because he and I share the same office.  He gave me another stack of receipts.

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We went to town to have dinner.  The restaurant name is “sin keng ang” (hokkien translation).  We started going to that restaurant when I was little.  I remember complaining why it took so long to have foods served until the taukeh knows us.  He was a really nice ah pek.  The taukeh passed away years ago, now it is run by his son.  He still knows us

After dinner, I came home and they went back to the hotel.  Tonight I will be home alone.  No, I am not scared of ghost, even this time of year.

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Today is a boring day, very quiet at work.  Boss came in in the morning and went out for personal matters.  I finally catch up with all of the paper works.  The office I am in is upstairs, sharing it with my boss.   I would prefer to work on downstairs but boss said the paperworks are important, cannot let anyone else see it.  The office is small and the air con is noisy.  But it is better than no office.

One more hour and I can go home …

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My parents, my monsters, and me went to taiping on saturday.  It was a day trip, first visited my brother, then to taiping for lunch.  We went to the lake and the zoo.   Taiping lake gave me a lot of memories when I was little.  I remember my family came here a long time ago when we were little for a day trip.  I remember it very clearly for no apparent reason.  Many years later when I was teenager, I came with my friends again.  That reminded me of the earlier visit.  Now this visit reminded my my past two visits.  They are all positive memories.  Afraid next time I am there again, my hair will turn grey and will remember about all of my trips to the taiping lake.  We only stayed at the lake briefly, the monsters were all wanted to go to the zoo.

On the way home, everyone in the car were so tired and fell asleep, except my dad.  He was the driver, too bad We got home 9pm something and that concluded our day trip to taiping.

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“Mr XXX, ya, really bad traffic jam.  I forgot the file, now on the way to office to get the file.  Eat first, i will come quickly.”

I must have raised my eyebrow a bit and her wife sensed that and said: “This Mr XXX is a bad customer, let him wait.”  I smiled and said: “yes ….. “.   They continued looking at the lights and asked for prices.  I told them the price.  The husband said: “I know people doing lighting and these prices are too expensive.”   I said politely “our product are higher quality and comes with warranty.  I can give you discount if you buy more.”   Then he gave me a very sarcastic smile and pulled his wife out …

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For those who are interested, I haven’t received any loan shark calls.

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I was nervous every time the phone rings.  I was anticipating the guy will call again, but he did not call.  Looks like my work life can go back to normal.

Today not much paper works to do, I went downstairs to help serving customers.  My boss negotiated a big business with a renovating company.  They went to the main shop to look at the lights and they also stopped by our shop.  The two guys (who are brothers) are typical renovating guys when they came in.  They talked loudly and smelled!  My boss immediately asked me to order coffee for them.  Looks like this is a big business.   I did not pay attention how long they were talking, but then I heard big horns in front of the shop.  I walked outside and saw a Mercedes parked at the side street blocking a small lorry.   I called my boss and tell him about the Mercedes.  To my surprise, my boss’s reply was just ignore it.   I ignored the horn.  When the two guys came downstairs, one of them walked by my desk and said next time when somebody horn like that, you should ask them to …   (bad words).  The only thing I could do was smile.  Then my boss and these two “gentlemen” went out together.

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This is my first blog post from work

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As soon as I answered, a guy said very loudly “ask your husband to return the money or else we will come to your house to ask for money tonight” in hokkien.  I got scared, and I replied “you got a wrong number”.  The guy said again, “do not pretend, I know where you were and I know where your son went to school”.   I was quiet for 1-2 seconds and then I suddenly ask “who lent money from you and how much?”   He said “I give you until 3pm to pay me RM7000″ and hang up.   I was scared, and thought that if my husband borrowed money from them, he would have told me.  How did they get the work number?  I told my boss when he came in.  He said must be a wrong number.  He called his mata (police) friend, and he said I could lodge a police report if I want, but he said won’t help.

I called my husband, to my relief he said he did not borrow any money from loan shark.  My children and my parents went to Seberang and they were suppose to meet my brother.  I called my brother and told him this, and he said “don’t worry and then follow by asking me not to go home after work just in case”.  That was comforting, not!   I was suppose to work till 2:30pm.  I waited past 3pm (the time the guy said on the phone) and nothing happened.

Around 3:30pm, when I was downstairs about to leave the shop, a guy came in.  I was nervous initially but not scare because my boss and other co worker were there.  Everyone was nervous too, but my coworker laughed when the guy said “do you sell air cond?”  I was relief too.  The guy was well dressed and cannot be a loan shark.  I laughed and went to take my car to meet Janice.

The question now is will I get a call from the same guy later?

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