LAST WORDS

Dear Orang Tua,


Terlebih dahulu, salam buat orang tua. Semoga sihat sejahtera selalu. Apabila direnung sejenak, rasanya “last words” yang aku tinggalkan tidak cukup untuk melafazkan segalanya dalam fikiranku ini. Izinkan ku berkongsi secubit lagi memory kita bersama.

Merenung kembali saat pertemuan kita, amatlah janggal. “Hang” cuba untuk mengenali diriku, aku pula hairan kenapa mak cik ini asyik saja senyum semacam kat aku. I ni memang berwaspada dalam mengenali foreign people, especially in terms of long lasting friendship. In erti lain, walaupun tak sememangnya tepat, I practise caution in choosing my friend. Persahabatan ini walaupun kick off on a “rough start” tapi semoga akan berkekalan (with God grace).

Pertemuan kita walaupun singkat tetapi cukup bermakna buat diriku. Dengan seikhlas hati, aku akan mengingati segala-galanya dalam persabatan ini; detik-detik kita bersama dan kesabaranmu dalam melayan kerenahku. Panduan and pedoman hidupmu akan ku bawa bersama dalam melangkah ke dunia yang luas dan mencabar ini.

Having said that:


- Thank you for believing in me when everyone doubts.

- Thank you for trusting in me when that was all I needed.

- Thank you for showering me with your wisdom that I will uphold for a long time.

Orang tua, I dedicate this song to you, semoga “hang” sihat and gembira selalu. 

Sincerely,


Orang Muda

p/s: Aku akan merindui saat-saat aku “mengserve-kan” you kopi tepat pukul 3pm everyday.

Kek Lok Si, Penang

It's not easy to be a good host. It's even harder when this is someone's virgin visit to the Pearl of the Orient. Trust me, you don't want to ruin it! Especially when that person was your best buddy and senior in Uni. And you certainly don't want to disappoint someone who has high expectation of the place prior to his arrival. Well, blame it on the over exaggerated information of Penang in the web. To get this post started, there are few key things that you'd need to know about us, the Penangite ;)

@ Yes, we are a bunch of kiasu people on the street and acted like Initial-D all the time, swaying our Kancil from left to right like nobody business.

@ Yes, we have street food like char koay teow almost every corner (they have a bigger fame in Penang than 7-11) but not all are good and most of the time, they are overly priced.

@ Yes, we are taught to bargain when buying things! We can easily get a shirt that originally price at RM 24 for RM 8. We call it the "survival skill".

A friend cum senior cum ex-housemate cum ex-admirer of mine came to Penang last week to drop me a visit before flying back to Philiphines, how sweet! Thus, I vowed to make this trip worthwhile and enjoyable for him!

The night before his arrival, I searched high & low for this "gear": Penang Travellers Map. I know, Penang is a small island but trust me, you need this pointers to help you uncover the hidden gem around town. I brought along a marker as well to highlight or cross out places that we intended to go.

With only little time to plan our schedule, I thought it's better to be safe than sorry. Therefore, I had everything that we might need / might not need in the backpack like umbrella, water tumblers, snacks, jacket, books, etc. But later, when I was about to leave the house, I couldn't carry the bag properly without slouching to the back so I dumped everything out & switched to a smaller sling bag.

Here he is, the main subject of this post, SJ. It has been years since we last met. Upon graduation, I came back to work (Just in case you don't know, saya budak UM) while he worked at a couple of places before flying to Philiphines to work last year. He was an engineering student while I was the selalu-merepek-punya-budak from the business faculty. We were housemates during my 2nd year and our friendship developed closer ever since!

This guy here is another friend of us. Let's just call him Uncle Y. Uncle Y and SJ were coursemates and buddies! For brunch that day, Uncle Y treated us to a meal at Dragon-I, Gurney. Food was so-so only considering the exorbitant bill that came later on.

This plate of seafood noodles costed 18 bucks and I finished like only a quarter. Edible but not delectable to the extent that making you ask for more, how sad! :(

Famous "xiao long bao" konon...nothing delightful with it...just ordinary "har kau" skin wrap with pork. Tiu!

First destination, we headed to Kek Lok Si. Random aunty's buttock was captured while testing out the camera. *Ahem* SJ took this picture actually *cough*cough*

We parked our cars near the market so that SJ'd have the opportunity to climb up the place and looked around. Unfortunately that means yours truly (who never exercise) would have to climb as well and boy, it took me forever and each step I took, I had got to gasp for air!

By the way, I took the lead just in case I tripped then Uncle Y & SJ can hold me from behind :)

Tortoises overlapping each other. Bountiful of them! Looking at them made me want to ride on one. However, such service was not provided wtf 

Part of the building. I think this place has a history of 4275694 years and it's amazing how they preserve it!

Good job kerajaan Pulau Pinang!

Good job Lim Guan Eng!

Now, build me a Disneyland here!

The author of this page who has the slightest idea what she was doing at the time this picture was taken.

Mini lake pagoda

Like "father", like "son".

Akhirnya sampai half way. Damn, I was smelling like dead octopus.

Statue of Buddha.

We took the cable car up to Guan Yin place instead of going on foot because it costs only 4 bucks for 2-way trip and you save so much energy that could be use for photo-taking & posing later on!

This statue is always under construction. Like never-ending one. Really! I remember the last time I was here, construction was already on-going.

Alright, I'm not supposed to merepek in front of this.

Left: 3-year old.

Right: 30-year old.

Both of us are 1985 baby bull & cow! But I look at least a decade younger than him right! Right?! (Note to SJ, everybody says so HAHAHAHAHAHA)

The 1984 rat "uncle", which I still couldn't understand why someone at this age would jump up and down at the sight of ice cream cart. And balloons. -.-

I don't remember the last time I step my foot to this place... 3-4 years ago maybe? They have added a lot more of cute cartoon statues, which is of cause like I said cute but I don't see the relevance of it. Here, I took a shot with 6 mini cartoon bricks, making it the 7 Little Dwarfs -.-'...

This was one of the things there that attracted me most. There was a stall selling colorful ribbons with printed words of blessing on it, like good health, great relationship, etc. With only a buck, you can get a ribbon of your wish and hang it on the big branch, like the one in the picture. It is similar to the concept of well-wishing tree in HK! We saw that some people even write their phone numbers on the ribbon! ^^

An information board placed right at the bottom of the bamboo branch to assist the visitors. Well, I don't guarantee that ALL your wishes will be granted but a dollar is worth to buy a hope, don't you think so? :p

Finally, it's time to get home for some rest! (I make the story short so please do drop by this place to see for yourself, k?)

By the way, the night before SJ's departure, we had a scrumptious meal of seafood at the small town of Juru. 

SJ, I hope you enjoy your trip and we look forward to seeing you at the end of this year! ^^

For more photo, add me in Facebook here.

(Anyone coming up North can give me a ring, I'll be most obliged to show you around ^^)

TRIBUTE TO MUA MAMA (Part 2)

Mua mama about a decade or two ago

When I was 8, I remember falling sick for a long period. I had always been a weak & fragile child. At that particular time, I was hospitalised for multiple health problems. It was nothing but a period of sheer misery. Best friend was too preoccupied with another little baby at that time but nevertheless, she made time to be with me as well. Uncle would closed his stall and dropped home to take over the "motherly" role. The real mother a.k.a best friend would be at the hospital with me, making sure that I'm well-fed and well-treated. 

That's mua mama & mua lil bro 14 years back..

Over the years, mua mama had never failed to cultivate in us the meaning of life and the importance of being a good person. Be a man (or woman) or value rather than a man (again a woman) of fame. She was indeed more on playing the disciplinarian (despite her soft appearance). Tell a lie, it's ok. Tell another lie and she found out, we're dead! She would chase you from one end to another with a cane in hand! I remember once I wrapped my younger brother with toilet paper rolls all over like a "MUMMY" you know! =D I was always the naughtier and cheekier kid. Mum hit me so hard that I never want to speak with her for a long time!

Yours truly (with big mouth) and mua mama

My "retarded" BB

Mua mama always complain that she had gained weight because of us! Why us, you ask! We have the tendency of not finishing our meals. And mum, being a modest person, never ever waste a piece of carrot! If there's anything that mum ever said and still stuck in my mind, it will be "Finish everything on your plate!" But yours truly never did, that's just 'my style' and so it's padan muka that I'm skinny as a stick!

Our 1st ever Genting trip (that's my BB & couzie)

Talking about trip, mua mama never had any proper trip since.... like forever! She has devoted so much to the family and yours truly are planning a surprise trip for her end of this year! She has "hinted" of going to China someday and yet I know, even if she is on a trip, she will surely calls home every second to check on us! 

In mua's room. I was a die-hard fan of gay-band: F4

She's mua Divine Goddess!

Mua mama with mua xs BB

On this special day, yours truly will like to take this opportunity to wish Mua Mama & all Mama(s) a Happy Mother's Day. No words is grand enough indeed to express our appreciation for all the sacrifices that you guys have made!

Happy Mother's Day! ^_^

p/s: This blogger still believes that if you love your mum well, everyday is a mother's day! =)



TRIBUTE TO MY BIG MOMMA (and all mommas in the world)

Today, I’m going to tell you a story of my best friend and I.

We were neither from the same high school nor the same neighbourhood. But fate has brought us together 25 years ago. I couldn’t remember where I came from but the moment my eyes lit, all I saw was this beautiful angel. She was smiling from ears to ears just by looking at me. I was afraid initially; “Where’s this place?”, “Who are you?”, etc... A million of questions pondered through my mind. She was affectionate but crying was what I did best. I was no doubt her bundle of joy. She took care (and still takes care) of me like I’m a precious jewel. Having me around is the best thing that she had ever experienced in her entire life; that’s what I’ve been told all the time.

My best friend at age 23

My two best friends

Her bundle of JOY

Her precious jewel

Yours truly was a tiny baby

At the age of 1, I was proven a “lazy” kid. Unlike my peers who could already make steady moves, I struggled to make little steps. I crawled places and met sinister faces. I enjoyed crawling so much that I thought that was the nature of human mobility. My best friend was hurt deeply by people remarks that I’m unlike normal child. Yet, she had faith in me and brushed them off by saying that I just needed a little more time. When everyone gave up on me, my best friend never did. Her perseverance paid off when I could stand on my feet at the age of 3. She was screaming in joy and running around sharing the news with everyone in the neighbourhood.

Yours truly with her best friend at the age of 1

Yours truly first ever car ride

A happy baby I was...

She brought me to all places

Our home

When I was 5, going to the kindergarten was what I hated most. I cried so hard that I threw up practically every morning. I thought by doing this, my best friend would not bring me to that place. I was wrong. She had a different approach and she always knew best. If I needed to be sitting in the classroom for 5 hours a day, my best friend would be standing outside the classroom for 5 hours as well. Each time I felt awkward and on the verge of crying, I just had to turn around and looked through the window, my best friend would be waiving at me. Sometimes, she would show me the Happy Meal box in her hand and I would be anticipating for lunch happily.

My best friend was of African origin *hint: hairstyle*

We were(are) both photogenic ^^

My fair angel

Of all subjects in school, I had no particular preference except for art. Colouring was what I enjoyed doing. On weekends, my best friend would bring me to the mall and get many, many, many boxes of colour pencils: from Luna to Colleen to the no-brand colours.  I couldn’t wait to go home and do fun colouring with her! I enjoyed colouring green or purple on faces and she would laugh at my child-like innocent.

Our friendship blossomed at each passing day. However, one day at the age of 6, I was told that we were had to be separated for some time. I couldn’t understand why she would have to stay at the white building and her tummy was swollen like a gigantic snowball. All she told me was that I’d have a new friend to play with. I cried so hard because I didn’t want anyone else, I only need her.

When she finally brought home a new friend, I became even more rebellious than I already was. I was envious at the bond they shared at such a short span of time compared to the years that we had. We spent less time together. An “uncle” with thick moustache took over her role as my best friend. This man was a butcher. I remember waking up at 4 am every morning and followed him to the market. He’d be busy serving the customers while I’d be playing with whatever toy I brought along that day until he finished his job.

I'm the one in black pants, with my cousins

To be continued