Victoria Day in Canada

ASM conference usually starts on Sunday evening. This year, it started on Monday evening because Monday (May 21st) is a public holiday in Canada (oh by the way, Canadians write their dates like we do in M'sia - 21/05/07 - instead of like the Americans) - Victoria Day. Not sure what they do on this day as Ping didn't observe anything out of ordinary except that all the shops are closed.

Similar to Hong Kong, their malls are underground. Much smalller as it is usually under one building only. Still remember when we were in HK, daddy would bring us into the mall from one entrance and when we exit from a different entrance, we will be on a different street. The malls here are much more organized and not as crowded but Ping didn't get anything because everything is so expensive, even more than in the States. Ping only went to one of the mall. Theng Theng went to Esprit and said that their style suits us better. Based on the fashion on the streets, they are much more like the Asian than American too.

Since most of the places were closed, we walked to Chinatown. As we were approaching and Ping saw all the streets name in Chinese, Ping got really excited. 那感覺真的很象在中國! But like most Chinatown, they are usually from Guangdong or Hong Kong because everyone was speaking in Cantonese. Ping would probably be out of place the moment Ping opens her mouth too. But seeing all the "eok thiam", wet market, seafood, "cheong" DVD and VCDs, stalls selling jades (probably fake), beads and various chinese restaurant. In fact, Ping got so excited that Ping just realized that she didn't have any photos from Chinatown! Was busy absorbing in the feeling of being at a familiar place.

The best was Ping get to eat some of the bakery stuff!! Got char siew pau, chin tooi, po lo pau, tan tart, they were all really good! It is really cheap too - 3 for $1 or the larger ones are 2 for $1! Of course don't come and tell me that for CAN $1 in Penang can get more than 3 lah...dollar to dollar, RM 1 可能只买到一可包吧.
The picture on the left is St. Lawrence market. It is the cleaner version of our "ban san".

There's also lots of pretty church here and there.




The one on the left here is the view from our hotel room. The buildings are very close to each other in the middle of the city. So you have to keep the blinds close all the time otherwise it can be pretty open for public viewing.

The convention center we were at was just below the CN tower (Canada's National Tower). It is also pretty close to the Union Station, which is their train and bus station (something like our KL Sentral, but KL Sentral is much more comfortable and organized). That's the brown building in the right picture. The CN tower is pretty much like our KL tower, where there's a revolving restaurant at the top and nothing else - as much as Ping heard from people since Ping didn't go up on it. Didn't feel that it is worth spending the money just to see the view of Canada when we can enjoy it by walking around. Like our KL tower and KLCC, it was once the tallest building in the world. Currently the tallest building in the world is probably the one in Taipei, Taiwan ba?

即使還有很多地方玩但跟美國的朋友去, 他們不太想去走走. 天氣由熱, 他們由不太想在外面走.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Just got back from watching Pirates of the Caribbean. It is a 2 hr 45 mins long movie! However, the middle part is slightly unnecessary. It has great graphics and action scenes but the storyline in the middle is kinda boring - almost 'tuk ku' in the cinema. Love the beginning - using the kid to start the song was definitely a great idea! And guess what! Chow Yun Fatt is actually a keh leh feh! There are also a few Cantonese phrases but Ping didn't catch it all. LP caught all of it and Ping had to ask her what it means. Best of all, Ping get to kap Orlando Bloom! Sooo yau yeng! Haha!

Back to Ping's trip to Canada, here's a pic of the car we rented for the drive. A Nissan Altima. It is a huge car! Feels so tiny sitting in it but it was worth it because it was a comfortable ride.
Isn't that big? It also don't need a key to start the car. There's a button that you have to press. Thankfully, we have Steph to drive us there. Otherwise, there's no way Ping or Kristi would have made it there with this car, or even know how to start it. It is also pretty 'seh eu' because we made it to Toronto and back with just one tank and 3 gallons.

Off to bed.. 晚安!

ASM at Toronto

Just got back from Toronto, Ontario, Canada yesterday afternoon. Yup, Ping has travelled to another country - Canada. 有特別嗎? Not really. When we first arrived at the Customs, the English accent is definitely more British like. It is definitely much easier than going through the customs at the airport - no checking your bags, no removing laptops out, no confiscating all kinds of stuff. They just asked us a few questions through the window while we're sitting in the car. But if you have vegetables and fruits you probably have to let them check it.

Just before we got to the customs, we have to cross the Blue Water Bridge. This is the first time Ping leaves US to go to a different country where Ping is not meeting with any family members. As we passed through the bridge, Ping thought of Penang bridge. 在想, 如果現在是過Penang 的大侨有多好呢. After the customs, it is just like Michigan. Flat, fields after fields, straight highway that never seems to end. But the first thing you see that tells you you're in a different country is they use the metric system like everyone else - speed limit is in km/h. M'sians always complain that the speed limit of 110km/h is low for our North-South highway but in Canada, or at least in Ontario, the speed limit at the highway is only 80km/h!! That's like the speed limit for Federal Highway? Wonder how often they catch ppl speeding at their interstate highways. Other than that, they always have different gas brand names, their rest stops are usually Tim Hortons and Wendy's.

It took us a total of 5.5 hours to get to our hotel near downtown Toronto. We stayed at one of the Holiday Inn chains. It was about 25 minutes walk from the hotel to the Metro Toronto Convention Center where the ASM General Meeting is held. It is definitely a great chance to be walking around. 也讓我想到以 前在Sunway College 的時候 - 每天走去學校. Ping was too lazy to bring extra socks so Ping just wore heels - mummy's hand-made manek eh - and proud to say that she can still walk in heels for a long time everyday like in college!!

The picture on the right is the main entrance of the convention center. See the recycling bin? That's one of the things Ping like there. There is a recycling bin every corner of the street. It is so convenient to recycle plastic and glass bottles and newspaper. They should do this in every country that can afford it. Hei..it can also create job opportunities leh.

Seen this thing on the left before? That's the first time Ping saw it. Didn't know what it was until someone parked their bike and then Ping realized that it is a bike rack!! There are quite a bunch of people who cycle - more than ppl in KL but definitely less than in China. The city is very much like KL but much cleaner. They also have hawkers by the road but they only sell hot dogs and fries. When crossing major intersections, it feels like in Hong Kong - lots of people crossing at all directions but thankfully, not as many ppl as in HK. It is also more multicultural than US - occasionally you pass by ppl who speaks Cantonese or Mandarin. 真的讓我很想回家阿!

Similar to KL, they also have a lot of "ki chiak ar" all over the place. They are much more "ho giak" than those in KL and braver too. They just sleep all over the place, even in front of big corporate buildings instead of under the jejantas or "ah boi lor". But what big cities don't have right? The one thing that feels different walking in KL vs. walking in Toronto is there are not many motorcyclist in Toronto, so it feels a little safer. At least for Ping since Ping got a phobia of motorcyclist coming from behind after that stupid incident in front of our Sunway house two years ago. In KL Ping had to keep looking back or Ping just walk between mum and dad when we all there this past trip back.

Hao le, wanna go back to work already. Later going to Suria for M'sian food!! Will tell more stories sometime. But overall, Toronto 真的不什麼特別. 跟美國差不多.

movies!!

Went to watch Shrek 3 last night. Baby Shrek are soooooooo cute!!! (But not the burping part lah). The weekend before we went to watch Spiderman 3. Ping still like the first one better. This one is a bit too cheesy (too much wa ai lu, lu ai wa scenes) but then got leng chai (James Franco) to kap so ookie ler. Not too long ago we went to watch Blades of Glory. That's the funniest movie of the year!! Wonder if they showed it in M'sia???

There's lots more attractive movie this summer too! They are already promoting Simpsons The Movie with the life size Simpsons family. BK used to watch them every single day but Ping never did get caught up with it. Don't understand their jokes very well.

But next week is the opening for Pirates of the Caribbean. Ping is surprised to see Chow Yun Fatt as one of the cast. Thought he is not very good at English? Hmm... But besides the story, Ping is definitely watching 'coz got Orlando Bloom to kap. Then there's Harry Potter too!!!! The new book AND the movie!!!

bored....

已经兩点多了. 我還睡不着. 老班還沒回答我的 e-mail. 想他看一看我的 ASM poster. 只有几天又去 Toronto 了. 他每次都是 last-minute, 让我自己緊張. Oh well...

剛剛看了張藝謀的黃金甲. 戏是不措, 但, 那故事有點變变态. 貞的會有这洋的事嗎? 兒子跟媽媽成为情人?

周杰倫也演的不措但他的角色跟他在 Initial D 里的角色怎么象. 不覺得 exciting.

Blah...

萍萍

Happy Mummy's Day

Since Ping couldn't get mummy anything, here's a song for mummy...

Jay Chou's 听媽媽的話 (Listen To Mum's Advice). It was written for his mum but it really is a sweet song for all mum.



Here's a translation of the chorus.

Listen to mum's advice (听媽媽的話). Don't want her to get hurt (別讓她受傷).
Wanna grow up quickly (想快塊長大). Then I'll be able to protect her (才能保護她).

The rest of the song is about why he has to study/practice the piano while his friends are out playing and he realized that it is all for his own good now that he's grown up.

But Jay was not totally right in that either. Even after we have grown up, mum is still the one protecting us. Deep down, Ping knows that as mummy will always be the one standing up for Ping rather than the other way around. Until today, when Ping consider herself independent, there's nothing more soothing than a phone call home to mum.

December 2005. Ping finally had the amount of money mum and dad had sacrificed for Ping to pursue her study here in the States, in the bank. Ping was so happy that Ping could finally return all of it to mum and dad and maybe start sending money home. But, it turned out that even when Ping goes home, Ping don't have to fork out a single cent. Ping is still a kid back home.

Ping has the most sporting mum ever too! When Ping was in high school, it is pretty common to hear friends complain about their parents. Daddy was a little strict when he was home but when he's not around, mummy was pretty much the "as-long-as-you-finish-your-homework-you-can-go-out" kinda mum. It wasn't until Ping was in college when she started coming home at wee hours in the morning on weekends when mummy made comments about that. *grins* That's one nice thing being here...no one to answer to when Ping comes home at 2am in the morning...but on the other hand, coming home at 2am in the morning here is because of lab work, not at mamak watching Man Utd vs. Liverpool. Ping also didn't have to go to tuition for all 7 subjects (except accounts which didn't count since Ping didn't take any accounts class in school), which was the best because Ping get to watch tv at night and go to Pyramid on Friday afternoons!

Here's a bunch of pictures Ping took with mummy. They are either in 2004 or 2005. End of 2004 was when Ping graduated and we went to Disneyworld while in mid-2005 was when Ping went to Beijing. They are both the best times because Ping gets mum and dad all to herself!!!By the way, mummy, I just realized that we both like our red sweaters a lot. The one and only one I have is the one daddy bought from Hong Kong (yup! it is still as good and comfy as new!). Not Ping's favorite color but Ping is seen wearing it quite a bit in lots of photos.

Here are more recent photos from Ping's last two trips home. Again, mummy and Ping seems to be in red color quite a bit although it is not our favorite color. The red top in this photo that Ping had on is actually from tua ee so not Ping's choice but it is a nice top. The one mummy had on must all be daddy's choice since mummy's usual colors are pretty dull like Ping's. Hehehe...

Also realized that Ping and mummy has quite similar facial expression. Haha..but Ping is going to disagree with daddy that Ping will become 'round' like mummy. Really miss hanging out with mummy and daddy....hope we'll get to make a trip somewhere for Ping's next trip home.

Mummy is also a great balance to daddy's "super-optimistic" and "everything starts with me" advices. When Ping needs to blame someone or something (even though daddy would think that Ping could change the situation), Ping would be going to mummy instead of daddy. Keke...

Happy Mother's Day and I love you, mummy!

Steph's graduation

Yippee!! Steph is now a Dr! The beh ik lang eh lok kun. Happy for her but Ping is also going to miss her a lot. The first time Ping met her was when Ping came to the department for a visit. But at that time, Ping still wasn't sure if she was really staying for grad school so at that point, to Ping, she was someone whom you bump into throughout the life journey, say hi and walk on. It was when Ping joined the department that Ping knew she would be someone Ping would like to know more. Ping was walking along the hallway of 6th floor looking for a professor's office when Ping bumped into Steph again. She was nice enough to give Ping her email address! But we only got close when Ping joined the Schmidt lab...she's been Ping's 'bestest' friend, and the most valueble mentor. Ping would not have made it through this far without Steph. All the nerdy discussions...she was the only one whom Ping can talk to about it and who took time to understand Ping's stuff...the Friday nights...weekends in the lab...afternoon walk to Grand River.

We had a celebration for Steph at The Post on Wednesday night after she defended. We were supposed to go to Peanut Barrel but there were too many people. We then walked towards Harpers but guess what...there was a line!! Can you imagine???? It's final's week..the MIDDLE of final's week and those kids got time to go to the bar for half-off beer. Usually finals week, we don't even want to do anything. Just want to bury our face in the book. But maybe there are just lots of people who were done by Wednesday.Anyway, back to the celebration, we ended up going to the Post. Ping actually like that place. Not a big fan of most bars, The Post is more subtle. No crazy undergrads, no crappy music, no smoky atmosphere...pretty comfy. But as usual, Ping didn't get any drink....had dinner there instead. Ordered some Thai Pasta with chicken, Steph got nachos and dips, Allison got mac and cheese (don't know if it taste different but it definitely look more 'gourmet'), Daniel got some kind of burger, and Kristi got black beans nachos but we didn't see any black beans at all!! We kept saying that we didn't see any black beans but then leh nobody said anything to the waitress. 可能喝了太多酒吧. *grins* The black bean nachos also came with pickled jalepano..it taste like 'cheh huan jio' but not sure if cheh huan jio is jalepano or not. The ang mo didn't eat much of that so Ping ate them with the pasta...they don't exactly fit each other but ho chiak enough lah.

Just before we were all about to leave, Dion suggested that we should do a shot. Ping insisted not to get one but they got one for everyone. A bit 不好意思 if don't take it right. They got 'bomb' which is a mix of Red bull and rum. Taste pretty good. So Ping actually drown it down (yup, Ping did. The last time Ping did that....Ping was jumping up and down at PD - that was when Ping was at PD with BK's friends when they did the tequila shot...that was definitely a once in a lifetime thing!). At first Ping didn't feel anything...but by the time we were about to leave, Ping felt like she had her head stuck in a heater! 好才沒有吐出來. Definitely wasn't Ping's best behaviour that night. Lucky thing Daniel was there to give us a ride home. Otherwise Ping would probably end up sleeping in the office.

Last night we went to Steph's commencement ceremony. Definitely different from Western's commencement ceremony. Ping like's the way they have the video of Western's campus at the end of the commencement ceremony. They didn't show anything like that at MSU. But, there was a Sparty guy. He actually sat there for the entire ceremony too.

After the graduation, we adjourn to Steph's place for 'dinner'. Steph and her 'parental unit' had prepared some crackers, cheese and fruits. It was a very American style..similar to a mini 'hi-tea' when we go to hotel but don't have to spend crazy amount of money. There's crackers and cheese slices. They usually eat the cheese by itself or eat it with the crackers. There were also slices of turkey and ham which they are collectively known as 'cold-cuts'. We usually eat them with roti but here, they eat them just like that. As for the fruits, unlike the regular Malaysian style (papaya, melons, mango, nangka), they are a combination of melon, grapes, and raspberry.

Ping likes the cheese curd the most. Ping usually don't buy cheese 'coz when you eat out in the States, almost everything has cheese. Ping don't need more cheese at home. Furthermore, Ping don't really know many recipes that need cheese. But Ping couldn't help snacking on the cheese curds. Ping probably finished all of Steph's cheese curd. On top of that, Steph even gave Ping the remaining that she had in the fridge. Ping could probably finish the entire bag in two days!! Err...they are really good mah!

Congrats Steph!!....Dr. Steph!

Happy Wesak Day

Another year goes by where Wesak Day is just another day. This is one of the season that makes Ping homesick. There's ahmah's birthday in April. Wesak Day and mummy's day in May. Ping's b'day and daddy's day in June. It is rare that Ping can make it home for any of these occasions, or any occasions at all. Usually gotta decide which occasian Ping wanna go home for. Yeah, cannot be tham sim but .....

It's Wesak Day today. Didn't even go to the temple this past weekend. Just the thought of driving for 1.5 hr to Detroit or 45 mins to the Thai temple is enough to not feel like going. Okay, maybe it is all about effort. If Ping really wants to go, irregardless of how long the drive is, Ping would have gone. But driving is not one of Ping's favorite thing to do.

It's been a while. Ping miss the big huha over the Wesak float, lighting the candles, the 'laujuakness', the cheerful spirit and simply doing stuff with Li Foong and Sze Huey. (By the way, Li Foong, thanks a bunch for the card and the postcard!! Keep a look out for one going your way!) But really, does it matter? What is Wesak Day anyway? Isn't it more important to be practicing the Buddha's teaching everyday?

But Ping just can't help feeling homesick. Called home last night. One of the rare times when ahdik is also home and everyone was spending time together. They were on their way to Air Itam ahmah's house. That means that everyone is going to be there. True, whenever Ping goes home, there's usually big gatherings. But for the rest of the year, Ping just can't help feeling left out.

Anyway, Happy Wesak Day to all that celebrates it. May the Triple Gem be with you always.

As for Ping, let this be a night to ponder over one of Buddha's last teaching - Nothing is permanent - Tomorrow will be a new beginning....like the trees that were bald a couple days ago and is blooming today.

end of semester

Yippee!! No more classes to take!! Yup, Ping is done with coarse work. There's good and bad. At this point, Ping is just happy to get to focus on research only. It's been quite an adventurous semester but it's the worst semester since Ping enrolled for grad school. Maybe it is "kha khi chui su" for taking so many coarse work and also teaching assignments AND be on the graduate recruiting committee. Ping learned a lot but Ping was not very good at juggling all of it because the one thing that suffers is the one thing that is most important to Ping at this point. 結果呢? Ping disappoints herself.

It feels like the door has disappeared. Feels like 钻牛角尖. Spent the weekend reading about Big Gorilla. Why does something that seems to exciting can be so discouraging when you are the one doing it? It's like the Fear Factor that we watch on tv. Wow, that must be really exciting. But when you are the participant, you just want to get out of it. Ping could go on reading and the ending is often 'wow'! It is pretty new when you think about it in the way of microbial ecology and the impact of Big Gorilla on nutrient cycling. But why when Ping think about the next Ping has to do or when Ping sits down and write about the experimental design, the only thing on the piece of paper in front of Ping is "Hypothesis: Approach: " Yup, that's it. Lots of things passes by the mind but they just don't linger long enough to be written down. It's like a ping-pong game going on in there. Maybe this....Nah...How about this...Don't think so... Aih...烦死了!

Anyway, besides that, Ping is still glad to have time to hang out with Ping's girl friends on Friday nights. We went to the mall this past weekend and saw Spartan Toyato's showcase. Saw this car and thought of ahdik. Seen this before in M'sia? Looks like the beginning of your name..don't know how they pronounce it though.
Also like the Toyota Yaris...should be more popular in M'sia now too right? Like it? Give me "Chap sar Cheng bee kok lui" then cici get you one. Hahahaha...
Also went shopping at Kohls. Ping could usually find some clothes, usually have to decide which one to buy but this trip, Ping wasn't really into shopping so didn't really look. Just wanted to spend time with friends. But in the end, Ping found a nice dress and laughed a lot. *grins*

Will write more once things get back on track. No worries...Ping will see the sun again...just don't know when. It'll be much better now. The only thing that Ping have to think about is research!!

Chinese Language Support Pack

Ping just discovered something new today. There's a Chinese Language Support Pack that we can install from the Windows XP cd that allows us to type in Mandarin!!! Ping is so excited that Ping reorganized all her chinese songs with proper characters that don't show up as boxes!!!

Ping had ran out of 'demo' copies of Chinese Word Processor to download. Ping started out using NJ Star WP, starting with their old version, which expired after 90 days. They then had new version, which gave Ping another 3 months. Unfortunately, these demo programs seem to know that you have used it for 90 days because after expiration, Ping would uninstall it, delete all the files, download it again and reinstall, but it wouldn't work. It will just keep telling you that your 90 days is over. So Ping had to format her C:/ drive to get rid of whatever code that tells them Ping had used the program before. Did that in June last year just before going to Woods Hole.

Since then, Ping had installed two versions of NJ Star WP and Key5. Ping is currently running out of demo versions to download and these word processors are just way too expensive to get in the States. So Ping decided to look around for Windows based ones and while going through the Control Panel, Ping realized that you can install a foreign language pack!!! Gave it a try and it's great!! You can shift between typing in English and typing in Mandarin with Alt+Shift. For the Mandarin characters, all you have to do is type in the pinyin with the tone ie. hen3 hao4 wan2 and you will get 很好完. Furthermore, Ping don't need NJwin Viewer to see the characters!!! Yippeee!!! Don't need to feel guilty about trying to hunt for downloads or using pirated versions!

By the way, Ping has complete collection of Jay's new 依然范特西 and 七里香 albums already!! 5 more to go!!

晚安!

smoothie

Yippee!!! 终于打分完了!!!

It took Ping almost three days! Of course not continuously lah. Stopped to read some other stuff, to watch 恶作剧之吻 and went jogging (it is finally warm again!!!). While grading, sometimes Ping wondered 这是大学生还是中学的学生呢? If that was what we did during secondary school, sure no one will read it. Ping had first hand experience when Pn. Saadiah said she won't read it when Ping handed in her buku karangan. Ping had to learn to write super huge for PMR and SPM!!! Even with Ping's tiny handwriting, it was much neater! 真的不明白为什么他们会写到真么烂. Seriously like cakar ayam only.

Now Ping can finally get back to lab work!! Yippee!!!

Thought of getting a smoothie and the best smoothie in town is from Blimpie. There used to be one from campus but they replaced it with McAlister's Deli after Ping's first year. So Ping went to Meijer last night to get some fruits and came across the Bolthouse Farms Strawberry Banana shake. Don't like it! They add apple juice!!! But Ping finished it anyway. Those who don't like apple...don't buy it. The main section of the label didn't say anything about apple juice and there's no picture of apple but if you read the description and ingredients carefully, there certainly is apple juice. That will be the last time Ping gets any of the Bolthouse Farms smoothie.
By the way, this picture was taken with Ping's Nokia 6315i. What do you all think? Not bad right? Definitely better than Ping's old Sony Ericsson although Ping misses the small size of that phone and it's capability to send and receive SMS from home.

Spring break ends

Boo hoo...the campus will be busy again. This past week has been great. Ping didn't get out a lot but it's nice to drive to campus without cars and human beings all over the place. Not that Ping has anything against human beings since Ping is a Homo sapiens herself but when Ping is behind a steering in a huge vehicle, they are pretty scary to Ping, especially those that koay lor bo khua chia.

It's been a great week for Ping. Not necessarily in terms of productivity since Ping hasn't learned that much more since last Saturday. But Ping did get more information about the two strains of E. coli that Ping was working with. Had a great time working in the lab all week. Ping loves teaching and going to the seminar that Ping is taking but they just take too much time away from lab. That is why this week has been awesome. Ping gets to stay in lab all day!!

Last week, during the gathering at Gylin's place, the atmosphere reminded of Ping during her Spring break days back at Western. There's always plans but they never materialized. Ping always end up working 40 hours a week. That's the only time besides summer that international students are allowed to work 40 hours. Ping collect hours between library and in the lab (Burnham was out of question since they are closed during holidays). Sometimes Ping can't help wonder what Ping would be like if those Spring breaks were spent going places rather than working? Probably broke and inexperienced.
Wheee...off to bed.

Ohh..by the way, did anyone go to Wang Li Hom's concert???? So jealous wei!!! Li Hom and Jay's concerts are the two that Ping would be willing to spend money on...especially if there ever is a concert where Li Hom and Jay do a piano duel. That would be awesome!!!! Haha...

MicroSD card

About a decade ago, Ping saw SONY MD player and was impressed by it. Such a small cd can hold so many songs. Then dad got a digital camera and it is amazing how one can fit so many photos into an 1in. x 1in. SD (secure digital) card.

Last week, Ping got a microSD card for her new mp3 player+handphone. It came in a small envelope and was really shock to see that it is soooooooo tiny. It is even smaller than an US 10cents coin.
Can you imagine that such a small thing can fit 1GB worth of songs? No wonder mp3 players are getting smaller and smaller. They also have 2GB ones but the price is way much more than twice so Ping decided to stick with the 1GB one first. Lucky thing the package that Ping found also has a USB adapter. Otherwise, Ping won't be able to read it as Ping don't have a SD card reader. Basically, Ping has to put the little microSD into the regular SD, which is then plugged into one end of the USB adapter as the other end is to plug into the computer.

Unbelievable!

Pengat

It's the 14th day of CNY. Tomorrow is the last day of CNY celebration. Of course it is not the last day of the new year but just the last day of celebrations (okay, okay. Dad will disagree with this since he thinks that there should be something to celebrate for everyday). But tomorrow is officially the last day of CNY celebration. It is known as "Chap Goh Meh", which literally means the 15th night. On the night of the 14th day, everyone in the family usually get together for a last reunion before everyone goes back to their own life for the rest of the year.

As usual, all these traditions and gatherings are meaningless when you're miles and miles away from home without any family members close by. However, sometimes when someone makes the effort to bring friends together, it turns out to be a pretty good time. It makes you miss home even more but you have fun and realize that there are actually people around you who feels the same.

While mum, dad, ahdik, ahmah and everyone else back home are having a great seafood dinner at home, Ping joined the chinese M'sians. On "Chap Goh Meh", the Hokkiens usually eat pengat. What is the significance? Err...dunno leh. Mummy say eat pengat..so we eat pengat lor. So Ping went out hunting for the ingredients required for pengat this morning. Went to Meijer to get the orange sweet potato and bananas, and was hoping they have purple yam but could not find any. So went to Oriental Mart to get yellow sweet potato, and coconut cream. Looked around for purple yam but could only find the frozen ones. So weird. Frozen yam??? That's the first time Ping saw it but bought it to try it out anyway.
Ping got the recipe from mum but it is the same one as in the "Nonya Flavours" recipe book (just realized that they have a different spelling for "Nonya" vs. the more common "Nyonya"). Some recipes call for black-eye beans but that is more like bubur cha-cha style.

100g yellow sweet potato (甘薯)
100g orange sweet potato
100g purple sweet potato
200g taro (yam)

1L coconut milk (from 1 coconut)
100g sugar or to taste
2 pandan leaves

3 bananas (preferably Pisang Raja)

1. Peel and cut sweet potato and taro into small diamond shapes. Steam, separately, until cooked.
2. Bring coconut milk, sugar and pandan leaves to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves.
3. Put the steamed sweet potato and taro into the coconut sauce. Add the banana slices which are cut just before cooking to prevent discoloration. Stir to mix.

Since Ping read online that purple sweet potato is rare to come by in the States, Ping skipped that and looked for purple yam instead. Even then, Ping could only find the frozen one. Ping defrozed it and steam it but the outer part became 'lembik'. So there was less purple yam in Ping's pengat because Ping had to remove some of the soft part (too geli to put in lah, although technically it is still edible). Ping also had to skip the pandan leaves since there's no pandan leaves here. There's pandan extract but the last time Ping tried it with the pulut tai-tai, it wasn't very strong in taste and fragrance. And of course, Ping just got regular bananas since there's no Pisang Raja here. But the bananas here are sooooo huge that it looks like pisang Raja anyway. As for the coconut milk, of course have to use can one lah. No 'ah ne ne' to sell us any 'ia cheung'.

So here's the final product....
Not sure if it is ho chiak or not but it was good enough for Ping who hasn't had it since Ayer Itam ahmah cooked it two years ago (summer of 2005). And Ping brought back an almost empty pot so it must be at least edible that people are eating it. *grins*

Lotus Root Soup

Went shopping at Oriental Mart last weekend - saw leng ngau (莲藕)!! It's been a long time since Ping had this. It is lotus root. It has holes in them when you cut them across the horizontal axis. Like Jicama, it is tasteless but don't think it can be eaten raw. It is usually cooked with soup or stir-fry although stir-fry is not Hokkien style. Only seen the stir-fry leng ngau at Subang chap fan stalls.
Using a slow cooker, Ping first stew the chicken until it is half-cooked. Then added the leng ngau, ang cho (red dates) and ki ci and let it stew overnight. Ping likes the leng ngau soft while some likes it hard. When ahmah cooks it, she used to add dried scallop (kong yu zi) but Ping haven't seen them in the Oriental Mart (but Ping was not looking for it either). Some also like to add dried squid in the leng ngau t'ng. Or use bak kut. Bak kut is a little hard to find here. It is very popular at the Oriental Mart. It is usually gone by Sunday.

AEC Music Station

Found this on YouTube! It's Wu Zun and Ya Lun on AEC!!

Penang Char Keow Teow!!! They actually sing Rasa Sayang too!! (short part only ler).

Cheh Ji (Second day of CNY)

On Cheh Ji, Ping eats Yi Mai Fu Chok (Barley and Beancurd Stew?..haha..no idea how to translate).
On a typical Cheh Ji, we would be bringing ah mah (Batu Feringghi one) to visit relatives from dad's side. This is sort of the 'non-typical' tradition since the first day is suppose to be visiting relatives from dad's side but it had worked out this way for us err....as long as Ping can remember, it has always been this way. There aren't as many relatives as mum's side and it is slightly more boring than mum's side as none of our cousins from dad's side are around ahdik and Ping's age. So we would just have to entertain ourselves and enjoy the angpaus. Kekeke...

Here in Michigan, the idea of CNY is so foreign that a chinese passing by another chinese is not met with a "Gong Xi Fa Chai" but with a "hei, what's up?" or "hei, how's it going?" instead. But Ping has colleagues who are aware of it so that was nice. Ping even dressed for the occasion! Other than that, it is just a regular day. Oh wait...it is actually more than just a regular day. Guess what...Ping nailed the Big Gorilla!!! A new beginning has just started! Repeated the experiment 5 times and all 5 times Ping got a recovery of 95% and above!!! Don't understand? Never mind. Just know that it is a good thing. Now Ping can finally ask - is there a difference? instead of "why am I doing this?" Before, Ping can't even get the Big Gorilla to cooperate! Yippee!!

Came home and decided to whip up something from stuff that Ping has. Yi Mai Fu Chok! Ping's favorite dessert. Still remember one evening while we were still staying at Sunway, Ping wanted one but we couldn't find it anywhere!! The best one Ping had is the one by the road side next to Lot 10 (or somewhere there...lost sense of direction when Ping is around that area).

Ping found the recipe from 5xMom. Ping first boiled the barley while soaking the fu chok in water. After boiling the barley for about an hour, Ping added the fu chok and rock sugar and let it simmer all night. Unfortunately, the fu chok didn't seem to disintegrate. Was Ping suppose to smash it up before adding it? It is still 'jun jun'. Almost like when eating "tang hoon char tau pui" kind of 'jun'. It is also much thicker than the regular one. If Ping dilutes it with water, then it become sweetless. So how do they actually make it dilute? Must add tau chui ar? Hmmm...
As for the "pek kuih", Ping could only find canned ones here. It is not sweet at all. Just doesn't taste right. "Pek kuih" (白果) is called "Ginkgo". But some company who produce this canned pek kuih decided to do a literal translation on it and call it "White nuts". Took Ping quite a while to figure it out. Overall, Ping would call this an unsuccessful attempt.
After the 2nd day of CNY, the rest are just regular days. Kids are still having school holidays. We usually lepak at ahmah's house or sit in front of the tv and "sae kin". Hmm...what else did we do ar? Haha...collect ang paus at any opportunity. Oh yeah, although Ping is not back home, Ping got ang pau from tua ee and ah yong!! Via paypal!!! Hi-tech leh...hehe. Tua ee and ah yong, Chin kam sia. Ping also got more on cheh it but can only see, cannot touch. Hehee..

Off to bed (no Mei, it's not 10pm!! It's PAST 10pm). Goooooooood night!

Cheh It (First day of CNY)

Spent most of the day cleaning the apartment. Actually, we are not suppose to do any cleaning or washing the hair on the first day of CNY. But since Ping is not at home, and it is a Sunday , which is Ping's only day off, Ping has to do the cleaning today. But Ping also did some cooking...

Geng geng kua bak!! It is a dessert that is typically served on the first day of CNY. The significance of it is to have a 'sweet' year ahead. It is also the tea that is served during the tea ceremony for weddings. This is mummy's recipe...sort off.
First, boil some ang cho (red dates, which belongs to the rhamnacea family) and ki ci (Lycium). Kici is said to promote cheerfulness and vitality. When we were young, we were told that it is good for the eyes (probably due to the high beta-carotene content). Ping loves it. So why does Ping have to wear glasses???? It is also known to be a sexual tonic herb (hmmm....). Ping only added enough water to cover the ang cho and ki ci. After it started boiling, Ping waited for about 5 minutes and at the main ingredient - geng geng! (Longan, don't think it has an English name. According to "Dietary Therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine" by Cai JingFeng, it is beneficial to the spleen and heart but cannot be taken too much - siow juak).
The geng geng is imported from a chinese drug store on Campbell Street, Penang. It was the uncle from that store who told us that the geng geng should not be boiled. It should be added after the boiling.

Here's the final product. Since it is very thick, it is very sweet. Ping adds water only when it is served.
A bit too much ang cho. :P But ho chiak enough edi lah.

Keong Hee Huat Chai!!

Okay okay...it's the new year. Gotta start it right. So here goes...

Xin Nian Kuai Le!!!
新年快乐!!!
Happy Chinese New Year!!!
Selamat Tahun Baru Cina!!!
San Lin Fai Lok!!!
errr....Xin Nee Hua Hee???

Keong Hee Huat Chai!!!
Gong Xi Fa Chai!!!
Gong Hei Fatt Choy!!!
恭喜发财!!!
Happiness and prosperity!!!

Woke up late this morn (hei...was up till 3 am wei!!!). That's the nice thing about not having to go 'pai chia'. Pai chia = errr...what's the literal translation ar???. Well, it basically is the younger generation visiting the older generation. It is done on the first day of CNY. Usually, the older generation (ahmahs and ahkongs) will be staying at home. We (ahdik and Ping) and parents will visit them and their sisters and brothers. So we will usually wake up early, dressed up in our new clothes and drink 'geng geng kua bak t'ng' (dried longan juice). Then we'll wish everyone in the house and of course, get ang pau from mummy, daddy and ahmah.

Once we're all set and uncomfortable (new clothes on a super hot day in M'sia is always uncomfortable), we set of to Air Itam ahmah's place. Ping had never celebrated a CNY without ah kong because he was around when Ping left. Haven't been thinking about him much but he will always give us a hug on CNY. That was rare as ah kong has quite a unique character. He pretty much stays to himself but he loves going out shopping and dining out with us. Till today, he's the only person that calls Ping "Pin-Pin".

At ahmah's place, we will wish gee ku, gee kim, se han ee, Unker Francis, tua ku, tua kim, Keong Hee Huat Chai. We'll hang around for a while for the first few people that comes over to visit ahmah - usually it's Unker Polo and his family, Ku kong and his family, sometimes errr...the one who stays in KL and goes to Brickfields temple...(aiyak...beh ki kiow ha mi liow). Then we'll move on to visit ahmah and ah kong's siblings. Mostly are ah kongs. There are fewer side on ahmah's side. While visiting, we'll be snacking on all the CNY goodies. When one of the ku kongs (third? second?) was still around, we will gather at his place for lunch and have roti jala!!! (Do you all still go over now that he's not around anymore?? But no more roti jala right??)

This year, seems like everyone is seriously ushering the pig year since all are being a piggy at home - lepaking at ahmah's place. And totally agree with ahdik that it used to be a major occasion when we were staying at Sunway. But suits Ping fine because Ping get to celebrate it with them on the webcam. Although it would be so much better if Ping gets to eat that two peanut cookie!! The chocolate...no need lah. Here also got ma.

The few must-haves for CNY are kuaci (melon seeds) - usually it's pumpkin seed. But the picture Ping have here is sunflower seed, which is not so common but people usually serve a variety of kuaci.
Toh tau (ground nuts)...
The most important thing = kam (mandarin oranges). The kam here are very tiny and not sweet. Rarely gets them. Ping miss the 'phong kam' the most. Ahmah used to get quite a lot of it for the prayers.

sar chap meh (CNY's eve)

*warning - this is a negative Ping post*

Ping's timing is a slightly lagging. Okay. Maybe it's 12 hours lagging. Or according to M'sia time, it's lagging one day.

Sar chap meh was yesterday. Woke up pretty late. Missed the reunion dinner (Reunion dinner is usually steamboat style, where we have all kinds of 'balls', seafood, noodles, etc.). Not just missed eating it but missed getting to wish everyone happy new year too. Can only see pictures of other people's reunion dinner. Everyone was about to leave when Ping finally got through ahdik. Briefly saw mum and se han ee. Ahdik had to fetch Air Itam ahmah home and bring his laptop with him. Kinda disappointed. So decided to go to lab and give Big Gorilla some tender loving care instead of stay home sulking. Being home alone on CNY's eve is just not fun. At least if Ping is in the lab, the excuse is she have to work.

Leaving home the first time is hard. But CNY was not really that bad when Ping was in K'zoo. The M'sian chinese group there is big. Panda was around. Even if there wasn't any hint of CNY, spending time with those crazy bunch was something to be content with. They always say that you'll get used to it. Six years. That's how many CNY Ping missed. From the first one where Ping is the only one missing it to now, the only third generation left is ahdik. The reunion dinner was done by 11pm. It's not even the new year yet!!! No hu-ha. No fire crackers. But at least ahdik is home.

It was definitely better in lab than at home. At least Ping got one BGE done. Read the lab manual for next week. Have a rough draft of the slides Ping have to present this week. And it is not one of those Saturdays where Ping don't talk to anyone at all 'coz Steph came in. After she left, Ping started venting the CO2 and that kept Ping busy for a while. Dinner time came and Ping decided to join the M'sian undergrads 'reunion dinner'. It was at Oodles of Noodles. Buffet style. It was just so-so. First of all, the food sucks. There's king crab leg. So? There's nothing 'chinesey' at all! It is all the regular American chinese food!

So Ping end up leaving early. And irritatingly, got all emotional about the day. Seriously, what is so big deal about CNY? Grrrrr!!!!! Consciously, you know that being homesick is a weakness. Why should you let yourself feel lonely? But subconsciously, your mind just won't listen. Even the tears that comes down. You want it to stop but it just annoys you even more and you get upset at yourself and ended up crying over that instead. And all negative thoughts enter your mind. Sometimes they seem to be so tempting. But what good can Ping do to go home halfway through with no pubs, no solid data, still insufficient with experience? Nope. Not good at all. So this better be worth it. Okay, maybe other people sacrifice a lot more. Maybe this is not a sacrifice at all. But to Ping, family is the most important thing. So it is a sacrifice to Ping. It better be good ending.

That dumb dinner got Ping thinking about the times after finals week when we would go to King Wok at K'zoo. That's the best buffet place Ping have been. They actually serve their food hot!! But the best thing there is their sushi and teriyaki stir-fry!! Those bunch of guys Ping used to go with...that's one of the most fun people Ping have met. We made fun of stuff back home, not talking about it negatively and plotting never to go back. Oh well...maybe it's the age thing. Ping have been here way too long.

Coming home all upset, decided to watch Episode 9 of KO One. There's always enough jokes in there to make Ping laugh. But, better still, Ping caught ahdik online. So ended up on the webcam till almost 3 am. Surprisingly, even got to talk to Panda. Short but it's the thought that matter right? So it was actually a pretty nice end to the day or beginning to today. Nice to see everyone all dressed up for the new year (although ahmah was in her khun sah!!!). Love the webcam! It totally make a difference to Ping.