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!!

Gingerbread house

This evening, mom-in-law brought out a DIY gingerbread house and the 3 of us started to essemble it. (Yes, Jason too!!) It was pretty fun actually and I think hubby enjoyed it the most (but ofcourse he won't admit it). Had to take some pictures to prove it. You can see that smug grin on his face whilst he was trying to invent some "Calvin and Hobbes" creation on the poor gingerbread man..

Here we go a-frappin!

Alright.. we just had to do it too!!

Just add yourself here and we'll see where everyone lives! Coolness!

Pos Malaysia : Naughty or Nice ?

It is frustrating trying to be a Santa!
Last month, we decided to send Christmas pressies to my parents,aunts,uncles and cousins back home in Malaysia. Just small gifts as a thoughtful gesture. No iPods or fancy techy gadgets, but just Xmas pins, cookies, pecan nuts, cutesy ornaments,napkins and flirty boxer shorts. We figured those would be safe enough to send via normal mail postage instead of paying 3 times more via courier.
But to our dismay, many of those packages did not reach the recipients. Those that were fortunate to receive their package had the gift wraps torn apart with missing gift tags. Even the greeting card was not left unmolested!
So, the first thing that came to my mind was.... "those bloody *%&holes!!". But who are these *%&holes? The guys loading packages onto the airplane? or the guys unloading packages off from the airplane? or the Custom officers? or the guys sorting mails and packages in the mailroom? or the mail delivery guy? Who did it??.. WHO did it??... WHO DID IT???!!
Will the relevant authorities take action against these unscrupulous thieves? Will this nonsense continue to prevail as long as we condone to it and let it go as yet another ugly side of the Malaysian people?. .. So is this what the "Malaysia Boleh" attitude is like?
To Whoever it is that stole our gifts.. May you choke on the pecan nuts and may the boxer shorts catch fire!!!

This is the Place

This is where I spent 12 years of my childhood: in a sleepy old historical town. It didn’t look very different when I was a kid and still doesn’t. There are more cars now and the buildings are taller, but the historical spirit remains and so do the lampposts. This is also where I found bliss.


Once the capital of a mighty empire, this riverine trading port founded centuries ago by a Sumatran prince has absorbed the incursions of Portuguese, Dutch and British invaders and nurtured such distinctive cultural blends as the Straits Chinese Babas and Nyonyas.

I remember riding through town in a trishaw with my mom. Those days, the trishaw was a common mode of transportation. Today, it is an overly decorated vehicle with blasting techno music to lure tourists. There was the ice cream seller who sells his everfamous ice cream sandwich - two ice cream scoops sandwiched between two pieces of white bread, the "kacang puteh" man (peanut seller) who sells assorted peanuts in a papercone, the breadman who comes by our house every evening at 3pm on his motorcycle with buns and bread, candies and snacks, hanging off the sides of his bike and I will buy a mini candy floss(cotton candy) on an ice cream cone for only 10 cents.
My friends in the neighborhood would go cycling together every evening without a care in the world. We played hopscotch and a skipping rope made out of rubberbands in the middle of our street without having to worry about getting rolled over by cars. We got chased by stray dogs and yet it was fun. We plucked mangoes and played "masak-masak".

This is the place. This was bliss!

The week that just flew by

Ok, now that whatever virus I had has decided to leave me (or so I think), my brains can now function properly again(or so I think again) I had lung infection since Thanksgiving and the stupid antibiotics gave me severe diarrhoea and nausea and palpitations. (and no, I am not pregnant)It gets worse when I am in the car. Ever had the feeling like when you gotta go... you GOT to go? Yup, that kind of feeling. So much so I even considered stopping by the side of the road one day to find a bush! Thank God there was a gas station less than 1 mile away or else I would've died!

Last weekend started with a wonderful Christmas party at Chris & Elizabeth's in Raleigh. The evil Santa game was a steal (literally). Such fun! Also managed to meet and catch up with Brian and Sophie, Ronald and Tammie for lunch, Philip and Selena for breakfast and dropped by Bert's on our way out from Raleigh. Hubby sure has got a wonderful circle of friends in Raleigh and I know he misses them dearly.

Now newly and proudly armed with a NC Drivers Licence, I took advantage of hubby's truck this week. I had a deja-vu of the same excited jumpy feeling 14 years ago when I first got my Malaysian Drivers licence. This 32 year old now feels like a teenager again. It sure feels good to be back on the road again. If I were taller and stronger, I would've driven his 1979 Jeep! So my goal is to finish Christmas shopping this week, work on my scrapbook, work on some video editing, start my amateur yoga routines again, try knitting that scarf (yes, the one who says she will never knit is actually trying to learn how to knit. Now all she needs is a wooden rocking chair) and make Char Siu Paus (steamed BBQ pork buns).
So far, I have only accomplished the Christmas shopping and I made 20 Char Siu Paus last night. Now I have approximately 12 hours before Friday is over. Maybe I can accomplish all those things I have set out to do.. or maybe I should just go and spend half of that time in the sanctuary of the library. So where did the week go?