Sunny day and Happy Ping

Yippeee!!! The sun is out!! Not just visually but you can feel it!! When Ping gets to wear skirt to lab, no bulky winter jacket and no freezing fingers, Ping's mood is up and jumping!! Spring is finally here!! Look, even the grass are coming back to life!!! Sometimes Ping tell herself that she won't let the weather affect her mood but it is usually a lie. When the Sun comes up earlier and sets later (it is now 8.30pm and it is still bright out!!!), Ping will realize that the weather does affect her mood. Waking up early gets so much easier because you know that when you step outside, the Sun will greet you good morning. Staying late at work gets easier too because you know that when you leave late, it will still be nice outside. That's the not so nice thing about living in a place where winter can get pretty drastic. Ping's next destination has to be somewhere that does not have such crazy winter....like...hmmm....where to go leh?

One thing amazing about this extreme cold weather - the plants survive through them just fine. Just looking at them, you would think that they are dead. Super dry and brittle (hmm...Ping tries to think of the Hokkien saying 'san xiang ka tek koh' and 'tah xiang ka ???'....can't think of the dry one...anyone remember?). But you know what? If you keep water them and keep them indoors, they could actually grow back! Here's Jen's basil. Isn't it amazing?

Chicken Lettuce Wrap

Been to P.F. Chang's China Bistro? There's one here at East Lansing, just north west of campus at Lake Lansing. It has a classy environment with Chinese decors and unique dishes. Ping been there once and loved the one dish that Ping ordered - Chicken Lettuce Wrap. It is a pretty easy dish but costs a bomb at P.F. Chang's.

Was thinking of what to cook this morning and thought of that dish. It idea of it is so simple that you can basically use anything in your fridge to make the dish. So what's in Ping's dish? Errr...besides carrot, lettuce and chicken, there really is nothing else. But if those few stuff are your favorite, the dish can still be tasty. So who needs P. F. Chang's? Definitely not Ping tonight! *blek*
Ping marinated the chicken with tau eu (soy sauce) and oh eu (oyster sauce) for a few hours, sliced some orange rind (this is the best thing that Ping found out from Rachel Ray's blog...never thought we could make use of the orange skin!...well, besides when we have to drink the nasty eok bi when we had a bad cough as a kid. Until today, Ping can still remember how much Ping dislike drinking that chinese medicine recommended by some sin seh), and then we just char (stir-fry) them all together!
Ping had it with Boston head lettuce. That's Ping's favorite lettuce although a little more pricey than the regular lettuce. But it has much more nutrient mer. And crunchier too! Mom likes the Boston lettuce too. Actually it was mom who first bought them when they started selling the hydroponic grown vegetables at Yaohon (who used to be the anchor tenant for Sunway Pyramid).

Yummy! Had a very satisfying meal while Ping realized that all microbes with rrn operons that have interoperon heterogeneity more than 3% are thermophiles! Hmm...does that mean horizontal gene transfer can occur for rrn operons at higher temperature? Possible, but the sequence of the divergent copy has no high similarity with other closely related relatives. BUT! Presence of a divergent copy of rrn operon does allow them to have a broader range of growth temperature. Isn't that cool!

Lok Hor Sia (落雨聲)

Was browsing through Fang Wen Shan's blog today and came by this song - Lok Hor Sia (the sound of rain). It is a classical Chinese song that is definitely not Jay's style but by working with the Queen of Hokkien song, Jiang Hui (江蕙), he did a pretty decent job. The lyrics was penned by Wen Shan, based on his thoughts about his parents back in their village (故鄉).

This is an excerpt of his description on the song form his blog.

這首《落雨聲》的詞意主要是在述說為人子女無法克盡孝道的遺憾與感慨。真的不要想等賺大錢時才來照顧與奉養父母，或者給自 己一個藉口，一切等自己有經濟能力時再說，屆時再來盡孝道，但其實可能永遠不會有這麼一天，因為等你存夠了一百萬、三百萬，你就會想再存五百萬、一千萬， 等到手頭上真有一千萬時，你同時也會花費很大，然後馬上你又會覺得一千萬太少。人的欲望是永不可能滿足的，因為錢永遠都賺不完，但父母親卻會一天一天的衰 老…切莫等到「樹欲靜而風不止，子欲養而親不待」時才開始後悔莫及…

Basically, it explains about the regrets of a child who did not have the opportunity to take care and spend time with its mother.

[In the Asian culture, being a filial child is one who takes over the financial burden of his/her parents as soon as they have a stable career. Parents often talk about how proud they are when a certain amount of their child's paycheck goes to them. It used to be more important a generation ago when the society is less materialistic. Nowadays, most kids move out as soon as they start earning their first paycheck and most of the money goes to entertainment if there is leftover from paying off bills. In some families like Ping's, the kid never stops supporting their parents, unlike in America where most grandparents are capable of living an independent life, never having to ask for a single cent from their kids. There are both good and bad in both cases. While it seems like a burden to some people to be taking care of the elder, it makes some feels good. It would make Ping very proud when one day Ping can be the financial source for Ping's mom and dad.]

But it is not all about money either. Fang Wen Shan says 'don't use the reason that I want to earn big money first before taking care and 'fen yang' my parents'. That is very true. While materials, house, car, vacations are always there to be bought, our parents and grandparents will not freeze in time. If you think of something you want to do for them or to bring them somewhere, why not now? Why wait until you earn 10k, 30k, you will think of earning 50k, 100k, which by then, your spendings will be even more and 100k is no longer enough. So you'll keep thinking, wait, wait, but really, when will it be enough? Nothing is permanent. So why don't we treasure our loved ones before we spend on materials that will not bring eternal happiness? The memories that we create with them will be the ones that can last for a very very long time.
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A Hokkien song that brings a tear to the eye...composed by Jay, penned by Vincent for Jiang Hui.

落雨聲 哪親像一條歌
Lok hor sia na qin qiu jit tiau kua

誰知影 阮越頭嘸敢聽
Siang zai ya bun wa tao em ka tia

異鄉的我 一個人起畏寒
Yi hiong e gua ji ge lang khi ui kua

寂寞的雨聲 捶阮心肝
Sio bo e ho xia chui bun sim gua

人孤單 像斷翅的鳥只
Lang ko dua ciu tui sit e jiao jia

飛袂行 咁講是阮的命
Pue bue gia kam gong si bun e mia

故鄉的山 永遠攏站置遐
Ko hiong e sua Yeng wan long gia li hia

阮的心晟只有講乎山來聽
Bun e xim jia ji u gong ho sua lai tia

來到故鄉的海岸
Lai kao ko hiong e hai hua

景色猶原攏總無變化
Keng se you guan long jiong bo pian hua

當初離開是為啥
Dong cho li kui si wei sia

你若問阮阮心肝來疼
Ni na meng bun bun xim gua lai tia

你若欲友孝世大嘸免等好額
Ni na be eo hao sit tio em ben tan ho giak

世間有阿母惜的囝仔尚好命
Si kan u a bu siong e gi na siong ho mia

嘸通等成功欲來接阿母住
Em tang tan seng gong be lai jiap a bu dua

阿母啊 已經無置遐
A bu a yi ging bo di hia

你若欲友孝世大嘸免等好額
Ni na be eo hao sit tio em ben tan ho giak

世間有阿母惜的囝仔尚好命
Si kan u a bu siong e gi na siong ho mia

出社會走闖塊甲人拼輸贏
Chu xia wei zhao jong de ka lang pia su yia

為著啥 家己嘸知影
Wei dio sia ga gi em zai yia

你若欲友孝世大嘸免等好額
Ni na e eo hao sit tio em ben tan ho gia

世間有阿母惜的囝仔尚好命
Si kan u a bu siong e gi na siong ho mia

嘸通等成功欲來接阿母住
Em tang tan seng gong be lai jiap a bu dua

阿母啊 已經無置遐
A bu a yi ging bo di hia

哭出聲 無人惜命命
Kao chu xia bo lang xio mia mia
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The songs is sending out the message 'ni na e eo hao sit, tio em ben tan ho giak' - if you wanna be filial, then you should not wait till you're rich. As LP always say, 你開心, 我開心, 就好了. As long as we are all happy, that's good. Why wait?

Just out of the topic, Ping just realized that in their Hokkien, 'lu ah si boey' is 'ni na be'....errr..sounds a bit like 'chau ua'..hehe.

The Earth Hour

It is time we do something! Most of us are aware that our environment is no longer 'sustainable'. Waste products are being generated at a faster rate than its degradation. It sure is not an easy thing to be aware of the consequences of our daily actions but like all habits, it takes time to get use to it. We can start with as simple as turning off the lights before we leave the room or keep all plastic bottles to be recycled. Sure, not everyone is doing it but hei, if there is someone doing it, that is one less individual's waste to be dealt with.

Since WWF is aware that a lot of actions needs to be motivated, they had came up with Earth Hour 2007 in Sydney, Australia, where everyone is asked to turn off their lights for an hour. It was as easy as that. It was a very successful outcome, as they had reduced 10.2% of their energy usage for that day. Can you imagine if just for one hour a day, we observed just that - we will be saving a lot of energy, coal supplies can last longer and excessive CO2 emission will not be such a scary phenomenon.

SO, this year, WWF has made the Earth Hour a global movement. Ladies and gentlemen, that means we, who are not in Sydney, WILL play our part in the Earth Hour. All we have to do is not consume any electricity for an hour, 8-9pm, on Saturday, March 29th. It is as easy as that. Maybe some of us will think - aiyoh, no electricity for an hour beh tong lah - but hei, there are so many things we can do without electricity. Call some friends and go out for mamak - they can make teh tarik without electricity. Or light some candles and hang out at home with family and friends. Or just go sleep early. *bleh*

While major cities like Chicago, New York, Bangkok, Toronto, and Sydney are the ones who are directly involved, that does not mean those of us not living in the city should not participate. In fact, MSU has taken a step further. There will be an MSU Dim Down hour from 12pm to 1pm on Friday, where everyone are encouraged to turn of their lights. That is definitely not a problem in BPS since we have huge windows that allow sunlight to come through.

As for those back in Malaysia, don't be 'whatever-lah' because none of our cities is officially affiliated with the movement. There are supporters all over so let us all play our role!

Happy Easter!

Nope, Ping don't officially celebrate Easter but being brought up in a multiracial country, we tend to participate in any celebration, curious to know the significance of a certain celebration, and of course, we enjoy the holiday along with it. Easter always falls on the first Sunday after full moon after March 21st - the Lunar calendar is not only a guide to the Chinese occasions - which is March 23rd this year since full moon is on March 22nd.

Ping's Easter weekend started out to be a pretty white weekend. Just as Lin Pei and Ping were already enjoying the Spring weather walking along Grand River Avenue drinking bubble tea on Wednesday evening, the weather decides that it is not done snowing yet. We got 3 inches of snow on Friday!! Yup!! It certainly is pretty but it did not last through the entire Saturday as most of it were gone by the time we went out for lunch. Went to Fazoli's for lunch - Italian fast food. That is one of Ping's favorite place too. Reasonable and portions are big enough that you can bring it home for another meal. Ping got the Chicken Parmesan oven-baked pasta this trip but another one of Ping's favorite is their Alfredo Fettucini..yummy!!

After lunch, Ping went home to bake chocolate cupcakes for the early dinner potluck at Jim and Karen's place (they are Gylin and Boon Keat's mentor from church). A bunch of us M'sians met up at their place and spent some time there 'socializing' before heading to Trinity church. That was where Ping learned about the significance of Easter day - to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his death on Good Friday. Right after the Easter service, we 'joined' the kids in egg hunting! Okay, so the egg is to symbolize rebirth but Easter bunnies - those are just Hallmark's attempt at making money. *bleh* At Jim and Karen's place, they gave out little ziplock bags of different colored Jelly Bellies and a little note that says:

The Jelly Bean Prayer
Red for the blood He gave,
Green for the grass He made,
Yellow is for the sun so bright,
Orange for the edge of night.

Black for the sins we made
White for the grace He gave,
Purple for the hour of sorrow,
Pink is for the new tomorrow.

Give a bag full of jelly beans,
Colorful and sweet,
Tell them it's a Prayer...
It's a promise...an Easter Treat!!

Isn't it sweet?

As 9pm approaches, we were all geared up to start cheering for Spartans in the NCAA games! Wait, Ping have to go start some cultures first. So Ping went back to lab but made it to Lin Pei's place for the 2nd half, which was the better part of the game and guess what! We're going for Sweet Sixteen!!!! Yippeeee!!! Go Neitzel!! He was totally high and confident in the last 10 minutes or so!!! Awesome game!!

Ping's day ended with a movie with TT, Jo, Fred and Tim at NCG watching The Shutter.
It is a ghost movie based on a Thai movie also with the name Shutter, with just a little different story-line. It was an okay movie, Ping was expecting it to be a little more 'geli' or 'mo kui chang' but there was only 2 main scene that got Ping almost jumping out the chair. Surprisingly, the main actor is Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek...just couldn't picture him in such movie. Haha...

Leo the Lizard

It was a warm and quiet Sunday afternoon. Ping was watching 微笑Pasta with mum and ahdik in the living room when we heard daddy said, "nah, nah, nah, lu eh peng you lai liow" (You friend is here). Staying at Sungai Emas, where our house is facing the hills and it is less than a mile away from the deep forest, it is no surprise that we get 4-legged visitors once in a while so they have become our 'friends'. Wanting to see who it is this time, we paused the show and went to the glass door. The moment Ping saw how big it is, Ping grabbed her camera and shot a video of it! It is a huge monitor lizard (巨蜥) Definitely the biggest one Ping have ever seen! A very brave one too...hence, Ping named it Leo! Just the day before we saw Leo, a smaller one had come by but the moment we opened the glass door, it ran away. Leo on the other hand, wasn't going to have his afternoon walk be bothered by some human who has nothing better to do other than to look at him (actually, how do we tell their gender? or do they have one?). The poor thing must have had its tail bitten by dogs or some other animals. It came knocking on the glass door and pose for ahdik to take its photo too! It finally did ran away when we went out and dad shooed it away.

Biovalley or Bo-Valley?

A long long time ago (7 years ago), just as Ping was leaving her home country - Malaysia - to pursue her tertiary education in the United States, there was a buzz that Malaysia will develop its own 'Biotechnology Center'. Have you heard about that? Ping still hears about it every now and then. Every time Ping steer the conversation to 'but M'sia got no job for scientists leh', there will be someone who says, 'Aiyah, the biotechnology center coming up mah!'.

When Ping goes home for summer breaks, and some relatives asks the regular ke-poh (busy body) questions, one of them including, 'What are you studying?". When told that it has something to do with science, the response will be - Wah, gau lo. Lang M'sia eh biotechnology center beh khi lai liow, chin chia eng chui kang (wow, so smart. Our M'sian biotechnology center is coming up so it will be pretty easy to find a job). Hmmm...

But you know what? Ping has not seen of any evidence on the development of the biotechnology center except that it will be located near Putrajaya. Ping got the same comment just less than a month ago when having dinner with a friend back in Penang - What about the biotechnology center?. Errr....if there really is one, why don't you see job listings? Why don't you see the ads for the companies in the nation's newspaper? The Star usually does a pretty good job at publishing new companies. If the biotechnology center is something that is so huge and to be proud of, where exactly is it? True, Ping have not been following the Star everyday but it never felt like the place existed. If this research center exists, why are science graduates working in sales departments?

You know why? Because it was never really 'brought up'. In fact, just this morning, Ping found out that it is called 'Biovalley'. And nope, it wasn't in The Star. It was from an article in Nature!! So Ping was right that it was located near Putrajaya - Dengkil and that there never really was a 'Biovalley'. One of the reasons mentioned by the author is the 'Malay comes first' issue that never cease to get our blood pressure up. It was also mentioned that 'Good people go overseas'. Hmm...if they know that, why aren't they doing anything about it? Ping would have jumped with joy to be working back home. But no, opportunities doesn't seem to direct Ping towards home. There are so many research area one can hunt on in Malaysia - a tropical country with a high diversity flora and fauna. Most of the questions asked here could be so much more interesting back in Malaysia. We have acres and acres of rubber trees, paddy fields, palm oil plantation, it is not only applied science but there can be so many fundamental science questions. Anyone ever look at the microbial community that thrives in the tropical forests? How does the community change with draught? Flood? Does agricultural practice like rubber tree plantation reduce microbial diversity? What about waste water treatment? How many anaerobic digestor are there in Malaysia? Have they tried biochar application in small scale commercial agricultural plots? There are sooooooooo many things that can be done back in Malaysia and they can be unique to our tropical environment...and yet, they had failed to attract such interests. Hence, the name sounds more like 'Bo-Valley'. The article was from 2005. So what is going on now? Ping Googled and all you get is news up to 2006, wondering what had happened to the 'Valley'.

Now that the DAP has taken over Penang AND SELANGOR (whoooohooooo!!! Ping and Jo was still excited to hear the pleasant surprise this morning!), maybe they will do something about the white elephant. Ping has got a few more years to go and hopefully that will be enough time for them to do something. For right now, better keep hopes low first. But wouldn't it be great if Ping could go back to Malaysia after graduation? *grins*

還在想家

我會來已經一個星期了. 這裡的生活是自私的生活, 只要為自己想. 但是, 比較喜歡跟家庭熱鬧的生活. 其實, 要開心是很簡單的.像今天, 早上calibrate O2 sensor 的時候,完的滿開心的因為學到了新的東西, 又進步了一點. 下午, 完成了一些figures也值得開心的.不只是自己做的是, 作bus回家的時候,看到路人的表情也滿有趣的.

但, 到了晚上, 那有睡覺的時刻, 感覺又不一樣了. 大白天的時候, 自己很容易滿足. 晚上的時, 決的房間好安靜, 氣氛很冷漠, 心情很寂寞, 感覺到孤單, 腦海裡想者那有的沒的...


好想念爸爸, 媽媽, ahmah, 還有家庭的熱鬧哦. 很想找我的溫柔感...

Errr....

Ooppsss...there wasn't a do not disturb sign.

Taman Negara Pulau Pinang

In the mood for hiking and ahdik is home. So went for an early breakfast at the fishing village at Teluk Bahang. There weren’t many stalls open but we did find a stall selling nasi lemak. After breakfast, we walked over to Taman Negara Pulau Pinang (Penang’s National Park), registered to walk to Pantai Kerachut (Kerachut Beach, which is situated at the top left tip of the Penang Island) and apply citronella oil to gear ourselves for the mosquitos that we’ll be bumping into.

The hike to Pantai Kerachut was lots of fun! We came across all kinds of funny looking root arrangement, black ants hive, and a large diversity of flora. It took us about 2 hours to get to Pantai Kerachut, stopping every now and then to catch a breath.

The best was when we arrived at Pantai Kerachut. It was definitely worth the 2 hour hike. It feels good to see that we still have pristine beaches in Penang. Ping had lots of fun climbing up the rocks by the beach!!! The one thing that ahdik and Ping missed from Bali is the huge waves. There are barely any exciting waves at Pantai Kerachut but the beach at Pantai Kerachut might be a little dangerous for those who can’t swim because the sediment does not gradually deepens but it deepens in step-wise. If you go too far, you’ll realize that you can no longer reach the bottom.

After spending sometime soaking in the seawater and drying on the rock, we took the boat back to Teluk Bahang. We got a really nice boatman who told us about the Batu Penyu (Turtle Rock) and Batu Buaya (Crocodile Rock) along the way back. It was definitely a fun Sunday morning! We are planning to make another trip there when Mei Ling gets back, this time with maybe with some homemade char bee hoon by gee kim!! *grins*

Around KL

As Ping haven't been back to Kuala Lumpur (that's the capitol city of Malaysia), we stayed in KL for a few days. It also so happened that mum and dad's birthday was on the Saturday that Ping was back. So we also had ahboy came in from Penang to celebrate their birthday with a surprise birthday cake for them...a birthday cake with an incorrect greetings - Ma, ma, macadamia cake.
The next day, we went to Brickfields temple for Puja and then later to meet up with Li Foong and Sze Huey to catch up with all the latest stuff, talked bout the old times and all the good stuff. After temple, we head over to Titiwangsa Lake to see The Eye on Malaysia - huge, tall, but nothing special lah. It is just a ferris-wheel. We didn't even walk near it. Just took photo from a far.
After walking around, we went to the Pavilion for more window shopping and lunch. That's the new shopping center near Bukit Bintang area. Definitely a place for window shopping only as everything is super expensive - a place where credit card is totally acceptable.
For lunch, there is a large food court area that has all kinds of food, from Asian to Western. We had Korean, yup, even after Ping just had Korean in the plane.
Done with KL, we drove to PJ - to makan again!! There is this indian uncle who sells indian rojak at the corner of a playground at SS4. We used to go there on mornings of weekend when we were still staying at SS4, and once in a while when we moved to Sunway. He used to sell it on a motorbike but sometime ago, he started using a lorry. When we got there, it was raining and yet, we still wanted to eat it. So we ta pau and had it inside the car. It is still one of the best indian rojak Ping ever had!
At night was junk food from pasar malam. Ping's favorite - keropok lekur!!!

Back in Malaysia

Ping is back home!! Been back in Penang for 3 days already. Ping flew out of Michigan last Thursday morning via Detroit airport...
Had a 2 hour transit at Atlanta and flew out of US of A to Korea via Korean Airlines. Pretty decent food but there were not much nice movies to watch so end up watching Bourne Ultimatum.
Almost missed Ping's connecting flight in Korea as the flight from Atlanta arrived 20 minutes before departing time but lucky thing, the connecting flight was delayed for 2 hours. Ping was so bored then that Ping slept most of the trip back to Malaysia. Was super excited to see mum and dad and being back home!!!!

Back home....

Ping is currently on Michigan Flyer bus heading towards Detroit to catch her flight to Atlanta and later to KL, M'sia. Will see you all soon!!!

Thanks a bunch to all who helped Ping!!!

Happy 2008!!!

Happy New Year!!! How was everyone's new year celebration? Ping had a very unique celebration this year. One that Ping would not have done before - invited some Malaysians over for steamboat. Yup, not the 'si si man man' style they serve at Omi Sushi or korean restaurant but the 'chong ar!!' style. Hehehe....

Got out from work around 4pm and went to pick Lin Pei up to get the stuff for steamboat. We spent about an hour and half preparing everything, which was super easy since they don't have to be fully cook as we'll be cooking while eating! The last thing was the 'bak uan' (pork balls) where we sat in front of the TV rolling the 'uans' while watching 轉角. 遇到愛. Just as we got everything all set up, Wei Yi, Pei Hwa arrived, bringing along Sabrina, a new Malaysian undergrad who just arrived the day before. While we were preparing drinks and talking about taking photos, our professional photographer - Ming Woei - came by with his video-cam this time!! Although a lot of the 'gang' was away celebrating their NY with friends or families, just the few of us remaining made it possible for Ping to invite them over. But, it would have been much more fun if TT and Jo was around!!

So what is steamboat and why do we like it so much? It is simply a pot of soup (usually made from chicken stock or pork ribs) and a variety of bite size seafood, vegetables and meat. The most common sides is the 'uans' (balls) - 'hu uan' (fish ball), sotong ball, 'hae uan' (shrimp ball) - all kinds of balls you can think of, they are usually there. We missed out on one of the best types of fish ball though - the Fuzhou style fish ball where there is meat and a little bit of sauce in the fish ball. Of course there is fish and shrimp.
To eat, we will dump anything we want into the pot of soup and then sit around and chat until the soup boils, the balls will float up and they are ready to be eaten. Most of the balls are usually partially cook so they cook very fast. However, the meat like chicken and fish, they have to sliced thinly so that they can cook faster. Traditionally, a pot that can be separated into two compartment is used so that one side is the non-spicy soup base and the other is spicy soup base. Since Ping doesn't have that kind of pot, we started out with the non-spicy soup and then after the second round, Ping added some chilli paste to make it spicy. However, knowing us Malaysians where there must always be chilli even when we're eating stuff that are not spicy, it didn't matter if we had spicy soup or not.
Just for the fun of it, Ping also made Blueberry Puff Pastry. Easy stuff but wish it was raspberry instead of blueberry because red would have made the picture look nicer than the blue that blends into the chocolate filling. Anyway, it was tasty though! Hehe!

We were done with dinner by 9pm but sitting in front of the pot for most of the night is not necessarily good because Ping 'zhui yang', keep picking on the food. We sat around and sang lots and lots of '安靜' and them being awesome friends, didn't mind watching Jay's 無與倫比 Concert since majority of Ping's DVDs are Jay's work. We switched between that and ABC channel showing the countdown at New York City.

As we approached midnight, we had Ming Woei playing Auld Lang Syne on the guitar and more Jay after midnight. Thanks a bunch for coming over guys!! Ping had lots of fun!!

Reflecting back, this year is the most social that Ping have ever done! Not just while Ping is in the States but 'THE　ＭＯＳＴ’. Sometimes it takes the right people to just get you out of the shell or maybe it is finding the right 默契. Also thanks to you all, Ping 可以驕傲的說, 我已經不會再給某人讓我傷心了. 因為遇到你們, 我看得到這世界其實還有真實的愛, 還有一種可以讓人感覺到安慰的愛. Happy 2008!!!

Black Friday shopping

Was lepaking at Gylin's place after we makan and karaoke-ing. The guys mentioned that they wanted to go to Birch Run for Black Friday shopping. Ping's first reaction - gila! Drive until so far, line up in the freezing cold weather...where got worth it wor. Somemore Ping got nothing to buy also and already plan to go to Frankenmuth with the girls on Saturday mah...so wait until Sat lah. Why want to go 'khek khek' with other gila people. Then first Wei Yi offered to drive us there so Ping mah okay lor...got people drive, why not? But kong lai, kong khi, Ping end up driving all of us there. Haha..even BK was surprised Ping actually drove all the way. 自己都還有點奇怪為什麼會做這麼無聊的事. 可能是因為那晚不太想回家吧.

*Black Friday is like Merdeka sale in Malaysia but 10 times worse. You have to line up to get into the store, then sio chiau with people to get the stuff you want, then line up to pay...

So we drove there at like 12 mn...got there around 1am or so and shop till 5am. Think we bought lots of stuff? Nope. The longest we spent was at Columbia where the line to the cashier is like super long but the winter jackets were very cheap lor - less than USD50. But then Ping didn't buy any...hehe..only bought a pair of gloves. Just teman the girls to get it. 無聊? A bit ler...but 都一起去, 當然要一起走馬. Just for the fun of it.

The one Ping really wanted to get from Thanksgiving sale is a Samsonite luggage. Already thought about it since Ping got her air ticket to go home. Her luggage is super old and has lots of cracks edi...probably can last one more trip home only. So that is actually where we spent the majority of our time - at Samsonite. That is also because Ping cannot make up her mind if she should get it, and which one should she get. So we kinda lepak there for while, called mummy, then think think think somemore, and finally decided on one. Was glad Ping bought it 'coz Ping really do like it. It is very easy to move it around.
But Ping was most satisfied with the stuff the got at Nike. Got 4 long pants and they are all very comfortable! Love Nike pants! Their quality last much longer than most. Ping got one before Ping came to MSU and still look like new!! Haha..but you know what, almost all of the stuff Ping got at Nike are Made in Malaysia!! Well, at least Ping can say she supports Buatan Malaysia!! Keke... Also bought some clothes for ahdik. Not sure if you can wear the white one but you so san kiu kiu, should be okay I think.

Got home close to 7am, took shower and KOed straight away until 12noon. Gila right? Aiyer,久久才一次吗. *bleh*

But Ping's best deal for Thanksgiving is actually something more awesome! That is definitely a luxury...but but but....a bit hard to resist lah. HEhe...wanna know what? Will post pic soon...now wanna go home and eat orange!

Thanksgiving Dinner

This year's Thanksgiving dinner is at Gylin and Boon Keat's house. It will also be one of the last few gathering we will have at their place for this year as they will be moving to Indianapolis soon. Will definitely be meeting the two little kids - Jayden and Chloe - soon. So we gotta find more 機會 to play with them!

Inside of the usual Malaysian food potluck during our gatherings, we decided to have an American style Thanksgiving dinner instead. So what does American have for Thanksgiving?

Turkey! That's the most important dish during Thanksgiving! It's the symbol of Thanksgiving Day! TT and Jo were the main cook for the turkey stuff - the turkey itself and the stuffing.
Besides turkey and stuffing, the other traditional stuff are green beans and mashed potatoes, which were prepared by Lin Pei. Jo also prepared the sauces like the brown gravy and cranberry sauce to 'poey' with the turkey. Ping likes the brown sauce more; never really did like the cranberry sauce when Ping first tried it. Wei Yi also made spinach dip which was really good! We definitely did get a little full on it before everyone else starts arriving and while we (mostly TT and Jo) were preparing the food.
What did Ping made leh? Blueberry bread which actually didn't turn out as well as Ping wanted it to but it was edible so okay lah. Ping also made a chicken almond rice casserole. Ping got the recipe from Rachel Ray's site. Ping quite like it. It has no cheese like most casserole has and it uses cream of mushroom rather than milk. Ping also decorated the top with the broccoli tree to make it look not so plain. Zhi Thing and Pei Hua also made spaghetti but Ping just realized that Ping didn't take picture of it!!

The uncle and aunty who manage the one and only Malaysian restaurant in town - Suria - were also invited. But as we had expected, they brought mee goreng! Malaysian food! Kinda spoil the 'traditional American' theme but everyone was glad to get to eat Malaysian food....Malaysians mah...go until where also will end up looking for Chinese/M'sian food wan.
One of the great dish is the dessert. Bread pudding! (by Gylin) Pumpkin pie! (by Ming) They were both really good! Not too 甜 like the ones you get from the stores. Have to get the bread pudding recipe from Gylin edi since Ping really like bread pudding!
It is definitely one of the best Thanksgiving Ping have had in the States. Will definitely be missing the Chui family when they leave but that also means that we now have a reason to go to Indianapolis! Keke...

Happy Thanksgiving!

The first snow fall on Thanksgiving Day! Isn't it lovely?

Ping went to bed when it started snowing. When Ping woke up, the view outside the window is all white. The weather is kinda gloomy but the brightness of the snow cheers you up...makes you wanna run out there and just feel the snow! Love days like this!

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrates it and have a great break to those who celebrates the holiday!

Jet Boating!

Yippee...finally got the Jet Boat pictures scanned! Wanna guess where we are?


Haha! We're all the way at the front! Ping is all the way to the left corner side of the front seat! Very chi kek!! Awesome ride! Love the splash of the water! and....the cute Canadian captain! Haha!!

colors of Fall

The days are getting shorter...weather is getting colder (snow is started to creep its way into the forecast)...mood gets gloomier..but no matter what season, there's always something out there that makes you feel better...makes you wanna treasure 'this moment' more than brood about the gloomy weather.

Ping's favorite thing about Fall...the colors of the leaves - the change from various shades of green to various colors, from brown to yellow to orange to red..lovely! Was upset over some experiments earlier this week and the best remedy - take a walk! So Ping took a walk to get a cup of bubble tea and snapped some pictures on the way back. This one right below is by the Red Cedar River - the river that separates the campus into North and South side. Not entirely clean based on bacterial and chemical load but definitely way better than Sungai Pinang since you don't see any visible solid wastes. See how the colors range from green to red and yellow? Nice!
It is nice to get a book and hang around by the river - something that Ping have yet to do - or feed the ducks that roam around there. The rocks were not placed there for aesthetic purpose, but to increase the aeration of the river so that more oxygen is available for the activity of the high load of microbes in the river. However, it turned out to be a very nice spot as you can hear the water rumbles through it.
Here's Ping's favorite color combinations....(not for clothes ya! just for leaves...*Grins*).

Today's weather is still pretty nice. It gets much colder at night but Ping likes it...makes her wanna cuddle into bed, hugs her Elli-O and escape to Fantasyland...haha.

This is as much as they could do????

Awards for non-Malay scholars

KUALA LUMPUR: For the first time, Wanita Umno is presenting gold medals and a RM1,000 award each to non-Malay university students in recognition of their academic excellence.

The three non-Malay medal recipients will join the 18 other exceptional Malay students getting the annual award.

The three are from the Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Universiti Teknologi Petronas and Universiti Malaya......

Seriously, is this all they can do???? Three!! Chinese consists 26% of Malaysia's population of 22 million (as far as Ping can remember). That makes the number of Chinese people to be 5.72 million...so 3 people out of 5.72 million???? That's like 0.00005% of the Chinese population..AND that's not including the Indians and the other races yet!!! First, we had to compete with the quota system (yeah, not with other smart people BUT with the quota system) to get into a university. Then, we have to pay if we wanna study higher than a bachelor's degree (not because of no funding from the professor but the school doesn't care, they just want you to pay). Worse, for those from less-well-to-do families, they can't even apply for scholarships no matter how smart they are. Sad..

Now, they are proud enough to report this in the nation's newspaper? Geezzz....

“We thought, since this is the 50th independence year, we will present the gold medals to the non-Malays in recognition of the other races.

Oh wait, they were not really thinking of awarding the outstanding students, it was because this is the 50th independence year. Doesn't that sentence sounds like the non-Malays are placed in a different category?

Well, maybe I'm just missed out some facts and I'm reading this all wrong. So if I am, why don't you tell me? coz all I see is 'racism'. Seriously, why should the 'race' be a fact in awarding scholarships? Just because the one who forks out the money is UMNO? Hmm...why don't we all pay tax differently then? and RM1000? Three months of rent and it is probably gone.

Ping is in a foreign country. No special status - just simply an alien. But hard work as an undergrad pays off with scholarships sufficient enough to pay tuition fees AND rent. Would I have gotten this in M'sia? Why don't you tell me? Ping could have not read the article. But Ping knows a few people who had bad experience with local unis and they deserve way better than what they get. Is this what M'sian education is teaching us? That if you're not 'their people' no one is gonna back you up?

Don't get me wrong. Ping still loves Malaysia. Given a second choice, Ping would still choose to be born in Malaysia. The rich culture and the life experience that Ping have gotten there is what makes Ping today. But there are times when the country just shouts out disappointment.

Disappointed.