Quaint Melody

I wanted to buy you a gift, but there is no amount of gifts that can really show my gratitude towards you; I wanted to write you a poem, but my tears overflow whenever I started to do so; I tried to call and say I love you, but my mind is so overwhelmed that I shiver every time I pick up the phone; I attempted to write a letter to you, but it is so difficult because there’s no way to begin and no end.

You have always strived hard to be a role model. You doubted and blamed yourself when I did something wrong. There were times when we went through a tough patch and didn’t talk for days, we were both too strong headed and stubborn then. A father’s love is truly an amazing thing. You shower your love via your unique ways, the unspoken ways, the unconditional ways. Daddy, there is no words to describe how I feel. I just want you to know that what an amazing dad you are, and how lucky I am to have you in my life. When I thought of your own journey, I cried, for you lost your own dad when you were merely a new born baby and have gone through a difficult path to become who you are today, the successful and well-respected man. How do you come to be a great dad that you are, I do not know. I guess I’m just trying to tell you how incredibly appreciative I am to have a father like you.

People say they see you in me as I grow older, I can’t even start to tell them how proud I am. Thank you, dad. I would not have fought through the difficult and thorny path had it not be your constant unconditional love and support. I know I can always count on you. I could not have asked for a better dad.

I struggled to translate my feelings through the limited words in my mind. I love you dad, from the bottom of my heart. You are my hero and strength beneath my wings. You are forever in my heart and deepest thoughts.

Happy Father’s Day!

father’s day daddy

Today is your birthday my friend. I wish you all the very best and hope you have a great great day! Here’s for you.

Happy Birthday my dear friend! Hope you have a good one!

happy birthday

Today is 1st June. To many, is it just the start of winter in the southern hemisphere, but to me and MR K, it signaled a start of a beautiful journey together. Exactly seven years ago today, we officially became a couple (pak toh/go steady lah). Many have asked us how we met and started going out. I have never really told the story in full, until now.

Well, it all started from a summer bbq…

We both came to Auckland to study at the same university. As usual, Malaysian students normally hang with the same crowd, so we were introduced by a mutual friend during an evening bbq. My first impression of MR K? Quiet, soft-spoken and a total kayu (wooden). After the courteous greetings, we hardly talked to each other (well, he hardly talked). As we are both good friends to our friend V, we often hang together with the same gang. So eventually I started to notice him more and felt sparks loosely flying around. Heh! He on the other end, being the mr nice, timid, reserved type, didn’t feel a thing. Though that being said, our friendship grew stronger, and he started to open up to me and tell me things deep in his heart that had never told to anyone else before. Of course, being the kayu(wooden) that he was, he didn’t realise the sparks, and needed to be reminded by our mutual friend V, who has been in-the-know all these while. So on the faithful early hours of 1st June 2000, he asked me to be his girlfriend when we were chatting via icq (hey, that was the in thing back then ok!). And the rest, like they said, is history.

Some of my friends were quite surprised for my choice of boyfriend back then as we are the total opposite. He is quiet, reserved, nerdy and kayu(wooden). On the other end, I am noisy, passionate, talkative and warm. You can see we are at the total opposite ends. Right down to our educational backgrounds and families. He is a banana from a pure English speaking family who hardly speak Cantonese, let alone Mandarin; I am from a pure Chinese speaking family who speak mostly Mandarin. God certainly likes to play match-making in the strangest ways.

I remembered my dad’s words just before I left for New Zealand, ‘don’t get a boyfriend who is of different descent, I won’t approve.’ So instead, I found a banana who is somewhere in between. I am sure my father’s heart died a little when he knew this (just joking lah, my father likes him very much). So imagine the scene, me speaking to him with my broken English and Cantonese, and him trying to figure out Mandarin. Luckily. years passed and my English and Cantonese improved a great deal since then(thank you MR TV!); him on the other end, is still trying to figure out Mandarin. Though the once kayu and geeky guys actually turned out to be a warm and fun-loving man. So, underneath the icy exterior, there is a warm mussy heart. Heh!

So there, my love story, hopefully it is not too lovey-dovey to read.

*banana = yellow on the outside, white in the inside. Loosely describing Chinese who doesn’t speak Chinese.

love story 1st june

Today is my best friend, SF’s birthday. She is someone I don’t see often, but have always remained close to; she is someone who have always been there for me; she is someone I can share my ups and downs with; she is my best friend, 15 years on and counting. I know that friendship like this don’t come by easily, and I am forever gladful to have a friend like you in my life.

Hapi Birthday my dearest friend!! May all your wishes becoming true!

Technorati tags: Happy Birthday

On the first day of Chinese New Year, all the guests in Pan Pacific Singapore were greeted with lion & dragon dance performances and a live calligraphy show. I have lost count on how many years since I have not seen this traditional way of Chinese New Year celebration. Probably since I came to NZ 7 plus years ago. Of course, there were the rare occasions where we saw one or two lion dances in the yearly Santa parade or CNY fair, but sad to say, they were never good.

I really miss the good old days where the lions went house-to-house on first day of Chinese New Year. Us kids would always be dressed in our best new year clothes, waking up early in the morning, waiting for the lion dance team to come from the back of a lorry. Those are the greatest part of my Chinese New Year childhood memories. So imagine my excitement when I knew that there was going be a lion dace performance at the hotel foyer in new year day!

So, off I went, first thing in the morning, anticipating a great show. And, I was not disappointed, what a great show it was. At around 11:30am (half an hour late, duh!), the lions came. There were four of them, all southern style (you can read more about lion dances here), but somehow three went MIA and only one stayed for the performance. The other three must have gone to other parts of the hotel. Anyhow, the one was good enough for me. What a great performance it was. My heart was all pumping with great joy. It was then, in a long long time, I felt the Chinese New Year spirit return in me.

(There was also a dragon dance performance but it was nothing to write home about.)

Hehe, feeling a little overwhelmed with nostalgia. Anyway, as you’d imagine, I took A LOT of photos, have to post them up in 2 parts. Here is part 1 for your viewing pleasure.

Stay tune for part 2 of the lion dance, and live calligraphy show.

Technorati tags: Chinese New Year celebration my CNY in Singapore lion dance dragon dance

We stayed at the Pan Pacific Singapore hotel for about a week during Chinese New Year. The hotel is located at Marina Bay and adjacent to Marina Square and Suntec City. This was not the first time that I stayed at this hotel. I kept coming back for their fantastic customer service; from their efficient and friendly staff to the great ambiance. I have stayed in a fair share of hotels along the years, and I must say, for a 20 year-old hotel, they’ve done a great job in maintaining their facilities and an even greater job in training their staff members. Everyone I encountered had big smiles on their faces, and were always ready to offer their help.

During the stay, I found some questionable discoloration on one of the bath towels. I rang the reception area to notify them about it. An assistant manager was sent up right away to have a look at it and apologised profusely for the little overlooked detail. Half an hour later, a complimentary fruit platter was sent up! What more could one have asked for?! We are mighty impressed by the amazingly pleasant experience we had there. Highly recommended!

This photo was taken during my stay in May, before I left for New Zealand. We stayed on the executive business floor which offers free use of broadband at their business centre.

The complimentary fruit platter that was sent to us right after the minor mishap.

View of the half-constructed Singapore Flyer from the balcony. It is said to be the biggest flyer in the world and expected to be completed by early 2008.

There were hundreds, or maybe even thousands of lanterns being hung down from the floors above.

Ta-dah! Here are some long awaited fireworks photos from my Singapore trip during Chinese New Year. In conjunction with CNY celebrations, fireworks were displayed by the Marina Bay for a few consecutive days. We were lucky to have booked our room on the executive floor at the Pan Pacific Hotel, which has a balcony overlooking the scenic bay. Perfect setting for the amazing fireworks display at night.
Okay, less talk, more photos.

*photos taken with my dummy point-and-shoot camera without tripod.

Next to come – Lion dance and live calligraphy.

Technorati tags: Singapore fireworks my CNY in Singapore

Hello, just a short update. I’m now having a great time and enjoying the best Chinese New Year in Singapore. Have been eating up a storm, took lots of photos and saw the most amazing fireworks and lion dance. Will Upload the photos and possibly a video clip after I get back home. Hope everyone is having a great time!