Love is in the air

Wow...time truly flies. Before we know it, February is coming to an end. Everything seemed to have happened in a whirlwind after the Chinese New Year.

This Valentine's Day brought a surprise to me. Well, a day after the Valentine's to be exact. Jimmy actually took the initiative to take me to a romantic candle light dinner! He booked the place for 730 p.m. and after a day of strolling in Mid Valley, we went to the restaurant. Too many people booked or the person whom Jimmy called was irresponsible; no table was reserved for us. Luckily, we were early, so there were still tables for us.

After placing our order, we sat in the romantic ambience. We overheard the people at the next table saying that the service is very slow, which is fine by most of the lovebirds there. So, we sat and waited and waited. And waited. And waited. Jimmy was in a good mood because he was looking for information on his phone. I was getting more and more impatient. A couple who came later than us had already got all their food...stupid me thought that they had ordered only the main course while we had order set meal, so maybe that was the reason. We got our entree after half an hour of waiting. What finally got me angry was that the table next to us who came at least an hour after us got their main course before us. I mentioned it to the waiter and the waiter said that the food was on the way. Wow, does it take an hour for the restaurant to cook the food? By this time, Jimmy had come out of his trance and was angry too. The romantic mood was ruined.

Finally, we got our main course after twenty minutes. Jimmy had wanted to leave and I was so angry that I actually didn't touch the food even though I was hungry. And if you had noticed, I didn't mention about getting our appetizer.

After wolfing down the pitifully small main course in silence, because both of us were irritated, I told the waiter to serve our appetizer and dessert together. Yay...that finally got their attention. They've made a blunder with our order and they haven't served us our appetizer! The captain apologised and said that the dessert can be served in a short time.

The restaurant gave us 2 complimentary cakes to make up for their inefficient service. Too bad, that will be the first and the last time I'll ever go there. Since they have apologised, I will not bad-mouth the restaurant in this blog. Haha...but if anyone recommends a romantic restaurant in the Jalan Dewan Bahasa area, be prepared! We reached at 7, ordered at 725, got our entree at  8 plus, got our main course at 845, got our appetizer at around 920, finished our dessert at 940 or so, got our complimentary cakes at 945 and left the place at almost 10. Haha....Or maybe it's just my luck. :)

Candle light dinner

Flowers that Jimmy got for me in Cameron Highlands because roses are CHEAP there. HOPELESS!

Chinese New Year is coming?

Chinese New Year is a week away and I'm swamped with work. Well, I suppose it is the way with many local university undergraduates. It is always during CNY that you have to hand in your assignments, sit for tests etc. Sometimes I think that it is unfair. But then again, what do we do during CNY these days anyway? The most is that we will be a little busy with relatives and friends who are visiting on the first three days. After that, it is basically back to the normal mode.

One of the things that happens as you get older is that you tend to enjoy the celebrations less. I remember that when I was younger, I get excited waaaayyy before CNY, Christmas, Hari Raya or Deepavali was due to arrive. I used to insist buying new underwear even to celebrate CNY. These days, I would even wear my old T-shirt and shorts to entertain the guests who visit my house. And as the years pass, the guests become less and less lively and enthusiastic. The situation used to be that us children running around the house, begging attention from the uncles and aunties who come and visit. We used to look forward with anticipation the arrival of the lion dance troupe and watch in a mixture of awe, excitement and fear as they set off firecrackers. We used to enjoy eating all sorts of sweet meats and mandarin oranges and drinking jugs of carbonated drinks come CNY. Of course, the children and adults alike enjoy the traditional culture of receiving and giving of ang paus. We used to receive RM 5 from an uncle and be very happy and contented with the extra money. Nowadays, children pooh-pooh at an uncle or aunty (behind their backs) when they were given RM 5 as ang pau.

Perhaps it is with the banning of firecrackers that the celebration has become a little more mundane as years go by (it is also ironic that firecrackers which were traditionally for chinese to scare the devils are no longer often set off during CNY but more during Hari Raya and Deepavali). Perhaps it is the economic downturn that never seemed to end that has dampened the feelings of everyone. Or perhaps it is just that more and more Chinese are losing the tradition as they no could no longer link themselves to the point of celebrating the coming of Spring (coz Malaysia is summer all year long?)?

Whatever it is, CNY doesn't have as much meaning to me and the younger generation, I suppose, compare to the older generation. I will not be surprised that I will one day cease to celebrate CNY as the reason for celebration becomes more remote to me in the future. I am not saying that I will be abandoning my cultural identity, it is just that I do not see the point of celebrating the coming of Spring anymore. Perhaps, the superstitious part of me would still follow the lunar calendar, but to make a big deal out of the coming of Spring? Well, maybe I will make a big deal out of it if I have a dozen kids who are eligible to receive ang paus from relatives who do not have children. Hahaha...

But then, as morbid as I may sound, I do look forward to the once a year gathering with some friends. After all, it will not be long before everyone becomes too busy with their own family to be bothered to have a gathering with their old school mates whom they hardly spoke to. :) So, guys, better set a date to meet during CNY!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

We should do this again, folks!

Post-Merdeka post

Ok, I cannot resist it. I have to give my 2-sen's worth of what I think about Merdeka. Well, the 50th Merdeka has come and gone just like that. What did most Malaysians do? I bet they did what I did - catch up on sleep. I don't know if it's age catching up on me or it's actually true - the celebrations are worse as years pass.

...

What does Merdeka mean to most people anyway? The little kids do not know anything about Merdeka except that it is a holiday and all the pupils are forced to buy a little flag. Heck, they don't even know what the colours mean or which coloured stripe should come first. Some don't even know how many stripes or spikes the flag should have! To them, singing Jalur Gemilang every morning is just a fun thing to do.

...

Ask yourselves, do you still know the words to Negaraku? Do you still know the Malaysian flag? While the politicians were fighting over how fast the tempo of the national anthem should be, most Malaysians couldn't care less, or even worse, some couldn't recognise the national anthem when it was being played!

...

I am not saying that the country has not been treating its citizens well at all. It is just that the current situation in the country is so sad: Year One kids telling their friends that they should only speak in Malay and be friends with Malays etc. When you think about it, who taught them to think that way? It must be the adults, right? Or their reincarnation must have been not complete as their souls are still stuck in the Dark Ages!

...

I don't know what is to become of the country, really. Haven't some people had enough benefits? What else do they need? A decree that says that they don't have to work at all? That the other races would have to give them a certain amount of food and money every month? Isn't it almost like that already?

...

Well, I suppose it might take another generation or another war before Malaysians realise that the country doesn't just belong to one race. They have to realise that the world doesn't just belong to one race or one religion. If not, may Monkeys rule the world. Hahaha...ok, I'm talking nonsense now. Gotta go finish my work and go home for lunch. MONKEYS RULE!!!

The big five-oh

No merdeka post this year. The big five-oh doesn't mean much to me except that my coursemates and I at CBN (1) are asked to perform tomorrow on behalf of all the teachers in school. Sheesh...and they only told us before we left school just now. That means that we only have less than a day to prepare. Best part was, they asked us to prepare for 2! What they think, we all superhumans meh?

.

So anyway, preparing for tomorrow we did. Since the easiest to perform was to recite a poem, we decided the guys could do one in BM and we girls would do one in English. Actually, I'd rather sing but since I've lost my voice due to sore throat and shouting at the monkeys who were talking and walking around during test...poem it is!

.

Scouring the internet for patriotic poems about Malaysia is a bit difficult. Good thing Americans are very patriotic and generous as they share their poems on the net. We found one that we think we can use for tomorrow, but of course, we adapted it. No plagiarism ma! So here it is:

..

THE ORIGINAL: Flag of the Free
.
Look at the flag as it floats on high,
Streaming aloft in the clear, blue sky,
Rippling, leaping, tugging away,
Gay as the sunshine, bright as the day,
Throbbing with life, where the world may see-
Flag of our country, flag of the free!
..
What do we see in the flag on high,
That we bare our heads as it passes by,
That we thrill with pride, our hearts beat fast,
And we cheer and cheer as the flag goes past-
The flag that waves for you and me-
Flag of our country, flag of the free?
...
We see in the flag a nation's might.
The pledge of a safeguard day and night,
Of a watchful eye and a powerful arm
That guard the nation's homes from harm.
Of a strong defense on land and sea-
Flag of our country, flag of the free!
..
We see in the flag a union grand,
A brotherhood of heart and hand,
A pledge of love and a stirring call
To live our lives fro the good of us all-
Helpful and just and true to thee,
Flag of our country, flag of the free!
...
Flutter, dear flag, o'er the lands and seas!
Fling out your stars and your stripes to the breeze,
Righting all wrongs, dispelling all fear,
Guarding the land that we cherish so dear,
And the God of our fathers, abiding with thee,
Will bless you and trust you, O flag of the free! -by Walter Taylor Field-
.
.
Our version: Stripes of Glory (Jalur Gemilang)
..
Look at the flag as it floats on high,
Streaming aloft in the clear, blue sky,
Rippling, leaping, tugging away,Gay as the sunshine, bright as the day,T
hrobbing with life, where the world may see-
Flag of our country, the stripes of glory!
...
What do we see in the flag on high,
That we bare our heads as it passes by,
That we thrill with pride, our hearts beat fast,
And we cheer and cheer as the flag goes past-
The flag that waves for you and me-
Flag of our country, the stripes of glory?
...
We see in the flag a nation's might.
How our forefathers had fought for our right,
Promising safety, unity and harmony,
Flag of our country, the stripes of glory!
...
We see in the flag a union grand,
A brotherhood of heart and hand,
A pledge of love and a stirring call
Despite the difference in skin colour and all-
United and true to thee,
Flag of our country, the stripes of glory!
...
Flutter, dear flag, o'er the lands and seas!
Red, white, blue and yellow dancing in the breeze,
Bearing the spirit of Merdeka,
Guarding our beloved Malaysia,
And the Gods of our fathers, abiding with thee,
Will bless you and trust you, O stripes of glory!
...
Hahah..ok la, so we didn't change much of the poem, but what do you expect? We have our own work to do still, you know? Anyway, while looking for suitable poems, found these three poems which I think are not bad either...check it out:
...
Malaysian Mentality
You are a 3rd World Country (A gentle reminder to all Malaysians)
...
Progress is not solely about prosperity
Nor buildings that look pretty
You may have the KLCC
But some places like Penang are still dirty
So you are still a 3rd world country because of your mentality
...
You try to beat the queue to get a taxi
And don't even bother about road courtesy
Not to mention parking indiscriminately
Without signalling you overtake randomly
And abusing lanes for emergency
Rising deaths on the roads is how you celebrate festivity
...
You created the MSC
To emulate Silicon Valley
You talk about high technology
And preach about (each family having a) PC
But broadband is (still) denied to many
...
You also can't supply stable electricity
Your roads have potholes and are bumpy
And tyres fall off your LRT
So this is Malaysian quality
...
(Creating) the best schools, roads and toilets in the country
Are what Malaysia Boleh should strive to be
But (in truth) Malaysia Boleh is so (lame and) funny
You break records just to make yourself feel happy
...
Decades passed but this mentality I still see
Will this carry on till the next century?
Or will this change when we turn 80?
You are helpless and just let it be
Let it be
Will tomorrow be better for you and me?
15 years from now come 2020
If this goes on you will still be just another 3rd world country
Because of your mentality.
...
...
...
3rd World, A Reply
..
I know Penang is dirty
But I've been to Birmingham you see
The buildings in Bronx are full (with) graffiti
How bad is that compared to 3rd world country?
...
Have you seen the London cabbie
Or the New York taxi
And what about Italian drivers,
Who are famous for their manoeuvres?
...
Vision is a sign of progress to me
Ambition is a good thing you see
Perhaps fishermen rather go to sea
No matter how accessible broadband can be?
Go to London if you don't mind
How many cyber cafes can you find?
....
How many countries have LRT?
Even Shinkansen got derailed, mind you
But this is certainly news to me
That Malaysian built LRT train too?
My goodness what a shame
When everything goes wrong, Malaysia gets the blame
....
There is one thing I can tell
Criticising people without fail,
How can Malaysia do well
When it's always failure that YOUR KIND dwell
Constructive criticism is the name of the game
Contribute something to Malaysia's fame
If you are too good for Malaysia my man
Get out of our country as soon as you can
Don't earn a living in our land
....
I'm wasting my time, there's a lot I can do
But I just can't stand people like you
..
..
Fellow citizens,
There are two poems on the net,
One criticizes, the other objects,
Both poems have different views,
But both have points but not the clues.
....
Malaysia has room to improve,
If you can't see it, you ought to choose,
Between being patriotic and being brave,
But to 'self criticize' is not a waste.
Why should we compare ourselves,
To countries that destroy themselves?
If Birmingham has graffiti,
Are we right, to leave Penang dirty?
If Malaysian drivers are rude these days,
Did they learn it from overseas stay?
....
If you've been to advanced land,
You can find they have broadband,
They use technology that we still lag,
Why is that? You might add.
....
We invest (lots of) money to gain new things
We have KLCC and highway links,
But when things fail, we say "we don't know",
We set our standards far too low,
....
If we believe that "MALAYSIA CAN"
Let us "self criticize" and improve my man
If we sit back to wait and see,
We will always be a 3rd World Country.
.....
For those of you who might want to read the discussion about the poems, you may click on the link which I got the poems from here. Anyway, gotta go do my own stuff now. Happy holidays people!