CNY in Charlotte

I was expecting a quiet Chinese New Year this year, not like the ones I used to know back home... lion dances,visiting friends and family, cookies, firecrackers, games, gambling, people wearing red and lots of eating. But my dear hubby did some research and whisked me and mom-in-law off to the Asian Mall downtown for the morning festivities on Saturday. The mall was packed with Asians, some dressed in their traditional costumes, everyone carrying a happy face filled with excitement. We had Vietnamese for lunch and bubble tea. It was good!!
Then we heard hoohahs outside the restaurant and was pleasantly surprised to see a large crowd gathered to watch the lion dance performance. Two lions were dancing outside a row of shops accompanied by loud drums, a court jester lookalike (chinese style) and loud firecrackers. So loud that my eardrums are still numb.
Though I've seen all this before back home, but seeing it in a foreign country brings out a whole new perspective and excitement. I felt like I was seeing this through the eyes of a child.

Later that evening, the whole family went to Tin Tin Buffet for dinner. They had some sort of a special CNY spread at the buffet on top of the usual buffet stuff that consisted of frog legs, quail eggs (which I found out was rare here),fresh oysters, salmon,crab legs, fatt choy(beard-looking seaweed), an assortment of sushi and the best persimmons I ever had. We were all stuffed to the max.

So, I'm all ready to welcome the Year of the Dog and bid farewell to the Year of the Rooster. The Rooster has brought many exciting changes to my life last year. Incidently, Jason was born in the year of the Rooster, so go figure.

"So what can we expect from the upcoming year? The Dog is an ethical and idealistic sign, and the year that bears its name will also bring increased social awareness and interest in society's less powerful members. Any tendencies to take, take, take will be replaced by a widespread sentiment of generosity and selflessness. In general, we will all be imbued with the Dog's keen sense of right and wrong" - by Master Rao

I've been tagged!!

I've been tagged by delapetite
Well, actually I asked for it. I'm such a slave to this kinda crap.
So, here goes....

What was I doing 10 years back:-
Left K.L and started working in Mahkota Parade in Melaka.
Bought my first car.
Bought my first HP computer.

What I was doing ONE year back:-
Planning our wedding!!! Started wrapping our wedding favors.
Contemplating when to quit my job and when to give up my apartment
Working on my immigration paperwork

5 snacks that I enjoy:-
-"PoPo" fish crackers
-Macadamia cookies
-Pistachios
-Roasted chestnuts
-Rice crackers

5 Songs I Know All The Lyrics Off My Head Right Now:-
-If by Bread
-Smile by Rod Steward
-Looking Through the Eyes of Love by Melissa Manchester
-Never Been to Me by Charlene
-Part of your World from The Little Mermaid

5 Things I Would Do If I Was A Millionaire:-
- Travel!!!
-Invest in bonds and properties
-Fly home to Malaysia three times a year!
-Share the moolah with the family
-Donate to a children's fund

5 Bad Habits: -
-Being aloof
-Scratching my head and looking for split-ends
-Being a worry-wart
-Acting like a neat freak eventho I can be sometimes a slob
-Not admitting that I have a bad habit when hubby points it out

5 Things I Love To Do:-
-Taking walks in the mornings
-Getting my hair washed at the hair salon and a massage
-Inventing something in the kitchen
-Just lazing around with a good book
-Cycling

5 Things You Would Never Buy, Wear, or Get New Again:-
-Piercing my ears or any parts of my body
-a G-String
-An iPod
-a cactus
-a Cat

5 Favourite Toys:-
-The PC
-My Videocam
-My Sony Digicam
-My Samsung cellphone
-The remote control

Then select 5 people to pass this on to:
I know you guys would probably hate doing this.. but we'll see how many would actually do this :)
Browsersnake
Furball Got her Claws
The Mommy Librarian
Solipsistic
The Austins

Choo..choooo.....chuggachuggachugga...

Had my first encounter with Eurorails last night with Brian, Sophie, Chris, Elizabeth and Jason.
"Based on the award-winning Empire Builder game system, Eurorails allows players to amass fortune and power by picking up commodities from cities that produce them and delivering them to cities that need them. Efficient rail lines and effective laying of track means larger fortunes for the players.
Players use erasable crayons or marker pens to lay tracks between major European cities and use the European Currency unit (ECu) as money to purchase routes."
So there I was, the blur one, trying to learn how to play this much-talked-about game with the other Masters of the Rail.
The Masters were confidently strategizing how to transport their pigs, stinky fishes, tobacco and Swedish milkmaids across the Euro continent. I was mostly TRYING to locate the cities and learning how to count!! Pigs seemed to be in high demand last night.
Game ended at almost 1am... and Jason and I went home feeling zombiefied and happy. T'was a good Saturday.

The Disordered One

It's been 13 days since I updated my blog. So, since today is Friday the 13th.. I might as well make this number significant. I have been under the weather (again) since New Years day, and I practically begged my doctor to prescribe a child's dose of antibiotics for me this time for fear of what the last batch of antibiotics did to me. Now that I am finally well , I will start finding a remedy for sickness number two. The doc has diagnosed me with a "mild" case of anxiety disorder + IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Symptoms result from what appears to be a "disturbance in the interaction between the gut or intestines, the brain, and the autonomic nervous system that alters regulation of bowel motility (motor function) or sensory function". Mr Google also said IBS is generally classified as a "functional disorder".

As for the Anxiety Disorder, my case is more of a generalized anxiety disorder. Specific manifestations of anxiety vary for each person, which can affect six major systems of the body. Mine would be in the gastrointestinal system and respiratory system, whereby anxiety leads to reduced salivary secretions, spasms within the esophagus (the hollow muscular tube leading from the nose and mouth to the stomach), and alterations in the stomach, intestines, and anal sphincter. These systemic changes result in symptoms of dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, "butterflies" in the stomach, the gurgling sounds of gas in the intestines, and mucous colitis (an inflammation of the colon), causing spasms, diarrhea and/or constipation, and cramp-like pains in the upper stomach, and rapid heartbeats. So if you put two and two together, you can probably classify me as a NUT case.

I am probably going through this because of having to adapt to a new life, interviews, learning to drive in unfamiliar surroundings, learning to be a wife and daughter-in-law, dietary changes, new job, meeting new faces, feeling homesick, withdrawals from "nasi lemak", stress over the townhouse and new house. On top of that, I also think it's because I have yet to have control over my own life and still learning to adapt. I know it probably takes time.
So, probably this whole new change of lifestyle triggered these attacks. I am fine when I am in the solace of our home, but these attacks start when I am in the car, especially at the stop lights, slow traffic and long journeys. I could not even stay inside the car at a fastfood drive-thru or stopping at the ATM. And if a red stop light lasts for more than 30 seconds, I feel like jumping out of the car.

If it was just stress alone, I would have had these attacks before my wedding!!! But no, I was fine then, because I had my family around me then and I had control over the situation. So, atleast I have found the cause of it, but I now need to find the solution.

I am trying to source for natural remedies to cure my anxiety disorder instead of putting myself through medication (Xanax or Paxil). If you have any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear.

However, I am not totally doomed yet!!! Because I just read that meditation, yoga AND MASSAGE (I hope my hubby is reading this) are some tools that may be beneficial for reducing anxiety. So if I can persuade my hubby to give me a massage every night, then perhaps I shall be cured!!

So, yes, my New Year resolution is to find a cure and stop for my anxiety disorder so that I can lead a normal life!

Hello 2006!!

As the new year dawns, I begin reminiscing events in my life throughout the past years. Lots of changes, big and small, lots of hellos and goodbyes, lots of paths crossed and bountiful memories.
Here are some of my profound memories throughout the recent years , and not so recent years. (not in any order of preference (except the first one that is)) :

(2005) Walking down the aisle with my soulmate

(2003) New Year countdown in Sydney : watching fireworks from Harbour Bridge


(2003) Climbing up Harbour Bridge, Sydney


(2003) Hiking in Alaska's Eagle Lake


(2003) The view of Mount McKinley from a 4-seater plane.. and then puking


(2003) Catching my first fish in Pertang Village


(2002) Making my first snowangel


(2002) Spelunking in Gua Tempurung (Tempurung cave)


(2000) Millenium countdown with my co-workers in Melaka


(2001) Running across a field of mean looking iguanas in St Thomas

And events that I wished I had pictures of!! :-

(2000) Evelyn and I went out with a group of male models that we had a crush on.. and we ended up in a gay bar!

My partner in crime(Felicia) and I pushed our sleeping-on-the-sofa Aunt Annie out of the house on the patio in the middle of the night (sure wished we had taken a photo of that)

Cycling with my dad

Just hanging out and talking with my mom

Cousin and I pulling pranks on her ex-boyfriends

Riding on a motorcycle in the rain

Hiking in Frasers Hill and pulling a dozen leeches off from our body

The International Girl Guides Jamboree

The Charismatic Youth Rally - seeing my mom walk in in the last session

Wendy and I sprinkling curry powder on my 2 sleeping cousins.

Crappomania

I got up with no voice today. And realised I felt crappy. (sick crappy + mood crappy = a grouch). And no, it's not time for PMS yet. So since I am not working today, I decided to use that excuse for staying in bed a little longer, but Trouble disagrees and starts meowing in my ear and leads me downstairs. (Yes, that cat knows how to get his point across) Its his way of saying "Get up you lazy crappy bones. Feed me cat treats and you will feel better".

When I am crappy, that's when I usually start floccinaucinihilipilificating. I look at unnecessary details and groan and gripe about it.

I see 3 piles of laundry that I have been dying to do since Tuesday but I cannot do it because the washer is occupied. (and still is)

I fill up the humidifier with water only to have it snap my middle finger and tear the skin off.

I send the truck for servicing, only to find out later that they have taken me for a ride and replaced wipers, brake lights and a clean air filter. Heck! They didn't even show me how "dirty" the existing air filter was! And they almost replaced the front brakes too!!

They tell me the truck is ready to be picked up, but mistook it for another truck, and I sit there waiting for 2 hours watching men burp and belch. And the toilet ran out of toilet paper. Nice!

I find out today that porridge + tuna flakes is nasty! But I eat it anyway.

Husband calls me to tell me that he will have to stay an extra 5 days in sunny Florida, so that means we will be spending our first New Years alone. He tells me that it's no biggie coz he doesn't really think much of New Years day anyway.

I am still bashing myself in the head for turning down a job offer with Bank of America. Dang, I would've bought myself a decent car today if I had taken that job.

Why does the phone decides to go dead on you when you need to make an important phone call?
And decides to work again, only to have some telemarketers try and sell you stuff.

Perhaps tis time for a detox or colon cleanse!! Say good riddance to bad rubbish and start the New Year with a blast.

Christmas in Charlotte

My first Christmas in Charlotte!! Here's how it goes...
Christmas eve :
8.30am - Got up and went for breakfast at Bob Evans with Jason. We split a platter of scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, potatoes and a slice of country ham.
9.15am - Did some last-minute Christmas shopping at Petsmart. Bought Trouble a Water L'eau Aqua ( a watering system so we don't have to fill his water bowl so often), chicken and cheese flavor cat treats and an all natural shrimp cat treat!
10.00am - Drove across to Media Play to check out their closing down sale. Bought 2 DVDs - Sweet November (I can never resist Keanu! Bet it'll make me cry again) and our all-time favorite - Somewhere In Time.
11.10am - Called my family in Malaysia to wish them all a Merry Christmas (yup, my folks get to celebrate Christmas earlier thanks to the timezone difference). They were all singing carols and talking and laughing and having fun and getting ready to open presents. Sure made me miss them loads! They passed the phone around and I got to talk to all my aunts, uncles, cousins and my parents. Felt really homesick! I miss laughing hysterically with them, the teasing, the pranks, the noise , the constant chatter, stuffing faces and opening presents together. It's tough being so far away from home during this time of year.
12.05pm - Bought lunch at Bojangles and took them over to Grandma's and Carlton's. Jason helped them fix the bed.
1.00pm - Jason and parents spend the next 3 hours watching the ballgame on TV. Carolina Panthers vs. Dallas Cowboys. And I try to finish wrapping the remaining stocking presents. (and still feeling homesick)
3.30pm - Susan, Greg and the boys arrive.... and watched the ballgame.
5.00pm - Jason and I go out to buy herbs and spices for Jason's Rib-rub.
6.30pm - Dinner is served!! (tacos, with yule log for dessert)
8.30pm - Susan, Greg and boys leave
8.45pm - We bring down the presents and put them under the tree.. and filled the stockings.
9.15pm - Just lazed around... listening to Barry Manilow crooning Christmas songs on the CD.(and feeling homesick)
11.45pm - Jason , mom-in-law and I leave to go to church for the midnite Christmas mass

Christmas day :
9.30am - The Gower family and Santa(aka Wrenn) arrive and we all sat down to have a sumptious breakfast.(same as previous day - only homemade)
10.30am - All start opening stocking pressies (including Chelsea(the senile dog) and Trouble (the obnoxious cat)
11.30am - Then we start opening the presents under the tree. (taking turns each, and ooohing and aaahing at what we got)
12.30pm - Family in Malaysia starts calling up and wishing us Merry Christmas.
1.30pm - Lunch is served (ham, potato salad, devil eggs, butter beans, yeast rolls, and key lime pie for dessert made by hubby)
2.30pm - I had to go take a nap because of a migraine.
3.30pm - Everyone else proceeds to bring presents over to Grandma and Carlton's.
4.30pm - The Gower family leaves
6.30pm - We eat leftovers for dinner
8.30pm - We look at our presents again... and watched the video that we took earlier today.
10.30pm - Everyone zonks out and get ready for bed
11.30pm - I indulge in those Godiva chocolates!! Ahhh... what a nice end for a first Christmas in Charlotte!!

Now I have atleast 5 pairs of socks, 2 sets of snuggly plush robes, a sewing kit, a scrapbook set, office wear clothes, home accessories, plenty of chocolates and useful everyday items.. and a Digital-cam from Jason!!!

Duh!

I am so duh!!! Didn't realised that I had set my comments to be moderated and that I had a list of comments to be approved! Jason just now asked me why I didn't approve his comments. What a technobimbo I am.. sheesh..

So.. counting down .... 2 more days to Christmas!!