An Election SMS

Short note: I wish to note that Nicolekiss is politically neutral and does not support any particular political party.


I received this SMS this morning while in my sleep.




It's a SMS about our current election that has been circulating around the mobile world.

This is what it says: "

Dear Msian Indian & Chinese
these are the reasons why we should NEVER vote for BN:
99% of petronas stations owned by Malays
100% pertronas project contractors are Malays
95% Govt Servants in Putrajaya are Malays
95% Govt contracts are given to Malays
100% Govt Universities Vice Chancellors are Malays
100% Students sent to Japan and Korea under the "Look East Policy" are Malays
3 millions Indonesian became Msian citizen with Bumi status
600,000 Chinese & Indian Msians with Red IC are denied citizenship
0% churches/temples are built in housing estates
up to 12% interest rate paid by Govt is for ASN/ASB
96.5% Govt budget for Malay schools (MIC&MCA working for their allies only)

WE WANT EQUALITY

Pls send to 10 ppl

"TIME TO CHANGE" Never think that your one vote can't do much.

" (End)



I don't know how true is this.

But it's very startling and a bit disturbing somehow (at least to me).

Save Crush!

Short Note: The winners of Kenko Contest are Shazz and Chen. Congrats guys for getting fish bites!


Warning: Cuteness overdose at the end

Does this image bother you?




What about this image?




This one?




I don’t know about you, but I definitely don’t want my kids in the next generation to think that turtles look like this.




Therefore I am encouraging everyone out there to save crush!




The Sea Turtle outlived the dinosaurs and is one of the rare few animals to have a life span longer than humans. Like Crush in Finding Nemo, a green turtle can live up to 150 years.

Some of you might think that turtles are ugly sea beasts. But they are in fact such magnificent creatures.


Hawksbill turtle – critically endangered



Green Turtle - endangered


Another amazing turtle to highlight is the leatherback turtle.

It is the largest turtle among all living sea turtles growing up to 6 feet long (longest recorded leatherback was 10 feet long from the tip of it’s beak to the tip of it’s tail and 8 feet wide) and weighing between 200 – 900kg. From such a tiny baby,




They can extend up to… well, you’ll never live long enough to see its full extent.







No wonder it’s known as the world’s fourth largest reptile right behind crocodiles.

But sadly, the critically endangered leatherback turtles may go locally extinct in Rantau Abang, Terengganu. Recently, only a few have returned to nest there. Other species have declined by more than 60% since they were first recorded to nest decades ago.




The horrific part is that in Malaysia, you still can buy turtle eggs to eat and find fisherman using mesh fishnet bigger than 10 inch of size which can cause turtles to get caught and drown.


WWF-Malaysia needs more funds to help protect the nesting places of these beautiful animals as well as to enhance the enforcement of legislation against turtle egg sale and consumption.





Here’s how you can help.

SMS WWF <space> your full name <space> Email and send to 39398. Each SMS donates RM3. Or go to wwf.org.my website to donate.

DO NOT eat endangered species. E.g. turtles eggs, tiger meat, medicines made of rhino horns.

DO NOT litter into the sea, leatherback feeds on jellyfishes and can easily mistake plastic bags for one.

Learn more about our turtles at wwf.org.my.

Save crush, I mean.. the sea turtles, or we will never live to the day to see scenes like this.

Nicolekiss Charity Visit – First 15 Minutes

It was a grand day, five cars front to back drove steadily towards the handicap orphanage fully loaded; as we unload, more cars drove up and more Nicolekiss’ charity visitors dropped in simultaneously.

While I was busy carrying the stuff and greeting the owner of the orphanage.

Our first ‘victim’ has already been chosen.




Met S… (forgot her name), she’s an 8 year old down syndrome girl. The moment Andy walked through the gate, she ran up and grabbed hold of him with a grip so fierce Andy couldn’t move.




So he waited…




And waited…




And gave up...


*omg, so cute*


I assumed this was going to be a loooooooooong day.


*to be continued*

A Drunken, a Playboy and a Retard

I'd rather be single for the rest of my life.

Really I would.

To receive calls at wee hours in the morning to have someone cooed you but totally forget he calls after a night's sleep is like dating someone with an amnesia. Only he chose to be one.

Tall, foreign, handsome, cute and sweet; but also a total liar and serial dater. No, thank you. You can go on to pretend that you are single but let everyone thinks I am all over you while you "lost" your phone on valentine's but out groping someone else. I don't really care, you can go lie to someone else. I'll see you in hell.

And I don't think I can handle someone who is intellectually challenged. No. It is challenging my intelligence and sorry, I don't think I have the ability to commute with my conscience yet. I'm not Einstein and I still need something more responsive than a wall and echoes to sit hand-in-hand on the rocking chairs with.

Single sounds like a luxury about now. Yep.

Throwing Mandarin Oranges during Chap Go Mei @ Taman Jaya

Happy one-day-late Chap Go Mei everyone!

Chap Go Mei literally means the 15th night of Chinese New Year, which is also known as Chinese’s Valentines in South East Asia.


Also known as lantern festival


It’s the day (or night) where young single women gather to throw mandarin oranges (or tangerines) into the sea/rive/lake in hope for their future husbands to pick up.

Nowadays, we write names and phone numbers / url address onto the oranges instead of just names.

I have always been quite negligent of traditional Chinese festivals, but as my friend reminded me it was Chap Go Mei, I decided to head out to Taman Jaya last night after dinner to throw some of my own oranges.


Bought mini ones from local supermarket


At first I thought there were only a few people at the lake, little did I know, there was not only a crowd,




They brought in DJs and boom boxes!


What happened to good old Chap Go Mei?


All the better, cause I have my oranges ready.


Name? Check! Contact no? Check! Nicolekiss.blogspot.com? Check!
(I only wrote my blog address on ONE orange)


I know it’s not safe and very unwise to write your real contact details on an orange where it would be picked up by just anyone, it could be a stalker/pervert/horny stalker.

But hey, it’s Chap Go Mei. It’s only once a year and I’m sure I can afford a little risk every now and then. Why spoilt the festive mood anyway? :D


So I made 5.




On the other side, if oranges are not your thing and you’re not single, you can always buy candle boats and let them drift drown the river (or around the lake) to see how far your love boat can go.




The Thais (and Chinese) believe that the farther the boat floats without the candle light going out, the longer your love with your partner will last.


There was already a scene at the lake with long poles sticking out at every corner of the lake. I wedged my way through and found a group of enthusiastic males fishing for floating oranges with names and contact numbers on it.




When I say enthusiastic, I mean they don’t settle for one or two oranges. These people fish for bags.


“let me see, there should be 35 contacts and counting”


As they say, don’t only opt for one when you can have them all.


“two at one go~!”


There was this bunch of youngsters (young teens?) standing next to me as I observed on ushering a boy to get to know me.

Apparently he thought I was too old for him.




I laughed because those were the exact same thing I would say to a guy in his twenties when I was his age.

I passed him my blog address and promised that I will blog about him.


10 minutes after I threw the oranges in, I got a call from an anonymous.

Guess what?

Someone got my orange!! o.O OMGWTFKNN

I couldn’t believe it but this thing actually works! And he actually got the one with nicolekiss.blogspot.com written on it!

Dear Nicolekiss readers, meet my Chap Go Mei date.




Dong Ling.

A very friendly and sweet Chinese speaking guy. When I asked him how many oranges he managed to gather, he said two but one with a smudged number.

It was a fun night, the music was loud and the DJs made it happening. I will never see Chap Go Mei the same way again. It’s a good way to meet more friends too.

I’ll definitely come back next year.




However, remember to bring your own mandarins. Oranges sold here aren’t cheap.


Note: read the drawn image literally


No, it does not mean 10 for RM2!

NO~~!!!!!

I THINK...... my graphic card has "kaput" (died).

Now my monitor just show a blank screen. How to do anything like that?!! (at my friend's house using his super slow pc now)

Cannot blog, cannot chat, cannot study...

I can't even buy Kenny over again and again as my pet in facebook (Kenny you're getting expensive you know that?). NO!!! And I want to know how much I'm worth now. sniff sniff

I tried to buy Popagandhi but this Darryl Kang kept fighting with me over her. Then after buy, rebuy, re-rebuy; he suddenly turned around and bought my pet - Kennysia! Bloody hell. And then with that, he bought me too!!!!

So now my pet becomes his pet and he's the new master of me and my pet!!! o.O

Someone come buy me~ (my facebook friendsforsale url here)

if you can own me for more than 5 days I'll go out for a drink at starbucks with you.

*slap self*!!!!

No no, facebook is bad for me. Damn you facebook now I'm addicted.

5 days ok? (omg conscience slaps Nicole)

Monthly Income

Short Note: Still compiling photos from the orphanage, have patience okay?


Question:
What has wings, sucks blood, and can’t fly?


Take a wild guess.

No it’s not a broken wing bat.

Guess again.






It’s a….. sanitary pad


Kotex Soft & Smooth Ultrathin Overnight Wings


Hahahaha

I bet you didn’t know that.

Few days ago I was hit by my monthly “visits”,




I hate being a girl sometimes, it sucks. It really does. I want to be a man.

You men out there don’t you dare say you wish to be a girl or say a girl is better.

You have no idea the things we go through. The pain, every month, every year, for the next 40 years since age of 12, god damn it!

Period and women share a conflicting relationship. When it comes, we dreaded it, cause it’s so painful, it’s messy, and worst of all, we have PMS!!! We get grumpy, easily annoyed and extremely sensitive, touch us and we might just cry.

When it doesn’t come, man, then it’s time to panic! Either that means we are getting a baby or we are never going to get a baby.

So anyhow, since my supply of pads are running low, I decided to drop by my nearby local friendly hypermarket to pick up “something” on my way back from “work”.

I walked really slowly so that nothing will ‘drip’. (did I say I hate being a girl sometimes?)

The rack was full of selections.




So colourful.




Running my eyes through the collections of pads, I was in a mili-second dilemma before..


There she blows…


Oh shit!! Gotta make this fast!!


I bet by now many of you guys out there are scratching your head asking: “why the hell do they have soooo many types of pads, it’s just a pad!! Why do you need so many types!! How to choose?! Which to choose!!?” and hoping insanely that no girls will ever ask them to buy these things.

Okay, you insensitive bunch of testosterone-driven males. Nicole, as of I, is going to explain to you WHY we need so many types of pad today! And maybe ONE DAY that you can be a more sensitive boyfriend!

First, I shall start with the day and night use. Why?

Well, during the day, we stand, therefore the flow are usually vertical.




Whereas during the night, we lie down on the bed and sleep, gravity kicks in, and the flow won’t be straight anymore!




And the last thing we want, is blood staining our bed!!

Thus we need all the high-tech features we can get. Take this Kotex Soft & Smooth Ultrathin for example, it has so many features “installed”.


"Superior protection against leaks ans stains - double anti-leakage channels, wings"


Now you know what the wings are for~

That is why, smart intelligent brand SUCH AS Kotex and their intelligent and Sensitive lab researchers come out with 2x faster absorbency! *suck suck suck*


And also ultra thin!! So you can’t see anything! Muahaha


Now you seriously DO NOT think that we girls have flows that run like a pipe for day 1 to day 7 right? (I get this from men all the time, jeez)

Come on… we would run out of blood eventually. The procedure's like this.

First it’s the sign of period. PMS, small signals of blood stains (sometimes) will tell me that the monsoon season is about to arrive.

Then when the first day hits,




There’s no stopping these things, occasionally for more fertile women (such as me :p), the flow seems endless, and the pain can kill! Usually I will stay at home, hide under my blanket, and weep. (Or pop some menstrual pills and sleep)

During this time, it’s either sanitary pads built for overnight or heavy flow usage. Like this one:




For the following few days, the flow subsides and it will remain constant normal flow.




Now it’s time to switch to normal flow pads,




Nearing the end, the flow diminishes and then it’s time for after-flow pad, normal pad applies too.




You ask why not use heavy flow pad all the way? Why keep changing!

Because!!! My dear ignorant phallus attached homo sapiens,

You don’t expect us to wear BIG LONG pads when the flow has subsided to this!




One drop per pad. Are you crazy? You wanna kill mother nature? This is when we need pantiliners. Save cost, save material.


So back to my supermarket story, I pick one up-


Slim, soft and smooth. Sounds good enough..


But then I saw this!


"can't remember my period? are you sure? really?!"


What?! Really?! OMG, I have to get this!

Kotex Soft & Smooth Ultrathin. My prayers have been answered. Now I do not need to resort to cutting out my uterus.


Kotex Soft & Smooth Ultrathin


Don’t underestimate it. Even though it’s so thin, it has the ability to absorb 2x faster! Instant and lasting dryness, coupled with the Softouch cover feature that is oh-so comfy, I won’t get that soggy and damp feeling that makes me uncomfortable all day. Talk about discreet protection. And now I don’t even have to worry about staining my undies anymore with this double anti-leakage channels.

See, told ya this is no simple matter.


Since you all have been so attentive to all my ramblings, I shall end this story with another joke,

Three vampires went to a bar,

the rich vampire ordered a cocktail glass of blood and drank;

the second not-so-rich vampire ordered a glass of diluted blood and drank;




the third, and poorest, vampire just ordered a glass of water, whipped out a sanitary pad from his pocket, and said to the first two bewildered vampires,


“I brought tea-bags”

Rainbow at night

Short Note:
alexpee: how do u know if a programmer fall asleep?
alexpee: select * from PMClassificationsddddddddddddaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


Sometimes I like to walk alone on the street of some foreign land and watch the world go by.

You never know what you will see in another perspective when you switch your mind off.

The clouds talk back to you, the stars wink and passer-bys in different clothing look like a painting. And then the world stops as you sip your tea, resume when you look up. Fast forward as you gaze and slow down when you’re focusing.

I still do that in Malaysia though, sometimes on LRT.




With my camera.


Groping on train


The bridge connecting Kelana Jaya LRT station and 7-11 is always bedazzling to me. I was walking pass one day and decided to pause and play with my camera.

If you set your camera on the edge, set it to manual and capture for however long the camera requires (say 1 second), this is what you will get.




I was shaking a bit to it appears to have two lines for each car light passing by.

If you set your ISO to about 800, you can actually capture the cars in motion.




Return to normal ISO (100 or 200 is fine), increase exposure,




If you’re really able to not move at all, you can create neon lights.




I walked to the other side of the bridge for different effect.


Red light district


It’s amazing how different angle and increased exposure can create different exposed photo.




Add movement to it.




And the world draws with you.

Now this is the fun part.

Go all the way vertical.




Or all the way horizontal.




Why not combine both directions.




I can do this whole night.

Try it. And show me (blog and give me a link if you don’t mind).

“The world is a canvas through a photographer’s eye” – line of famous photographers

Indeed.

Preparation for Nicolekiss Charity

Short Note: Happy 1-day-late Valentines Everyone!


Valentines is finally over two hours ago as the clock struck midnight.

It was just another day for single people like me. If you want to know, I had a quiet dinner in Puchong and came back shortly to continue on my … erm… work.

All was fine because you know what? I have spent my V-day a day earlier making dates with 136 kids. It was awesome and I couldn’t ask for more.


12th Feb – the Collection Pick Up Meeting in front of Marcos
wasn’t a pleasing response. Out of the 20 people who gave words to come didn’t show up, but the contributions were none-the-less far beyond expectation.

Some gave cash, some gave milk powders, but Jacky Chin (nicknamed Chubby Chin) made it all up.




With an impressive amount of contributions, I don’t even know where to start describe my first reaction when I saw his boot, I was blown away. All I remembered was 60cans of baked beans and boxes upon boxes of Cintan Mee. LOL (is there a box of eggs too?)




Among the odd stuff given were an automatic boat toy, a trolley bag, branded polo shirts, and this very cute doggy.




I also went shopping that afternoon to get some candies for the kids.




Amounting to RM153.


Wow a, that’s a lot of candies.


13th Feb – Day of Visit

Finally it was the day to visit the orphans and I have some remaining things to do.

Because it was Chinese New Year, I decided to celebrate CNY with the kids by giving each of every one of them Ang Pows as allowances (according to the orphanage owner, some of these kids who are able have their own bank accounts and for those unable ones, they share a combined account).

So I have to head to the bank to change into smaller notes, also to collect some ang pows packets.


Counting RM5


When I first posted an entry asking for help, I didn’t expect much. It was an innocent act with no intention to gather anything more than two bags of rice or maybe 10 cans of cookies.

But then as emails started pouring in from all around Malaysia and even the world, and as money and contributions started flowing in. Things slightly got out of hand.

The contributions collected mounted up to three cars full.



And I couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone out there who showed support to this charity, financially, materialistically, or physically, or all.

However, I would like to share the most of this credit with the one person who helped me made it all happened.

Meet my partner in crime.




Yap Thomas.

Half of the contributions you have seen were from his network of friends, and thanks to him, he helped me chauffeur the things here and there when my car was full and out of hand.

And yes, that’s cold hard cash in our hands.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the money raised for this event from what was a small entry has exceeded a total of RM3400.




I was rich for a day.


sorry, couldn't resist


It was only up till this point that I realized how easy enough to just take the money and put them in my pocket. Made me realized why money was never seen once passed through many fund raising organizations out there.

It was tempting, a lot of cash, but most importantly, no one will know.

But I’m a person of strong karma belief. And taking money of the needy will have karma hitting HARD on you. So yes, idea abandoned as fast as it came before you can say "what?! RM3400!!!"



Putting RM5 into ang pows and receiving calls from various readers who joined for the visit that day


Now~~~~ it’s time to visit! (next post)



List of donated items:

Food
9 biscuit tins
1 bottle Ribena
60 cans of baked beans
6 bucket of nata de coco pudding
4 packs of Vico powder (2kg)
3 packs of Nespray milk powder (2.3kg)
4 packs of Milo powder (1kg & 2kg)
3 cans of Nacissos Mushrooms
2 cans of Hosen Corn
2 cans of Golden Fish Golden Mushrooms
4 packs of Pagoda Groundnuts
2 cans of Tuna spread
4 Chinese New Year cookies (random types)
13 packs of chocolate bars (Cadbury, Kit Kat, Cloud 9, Crispy)
3 tins of Sustagen milk powder
9 boxes of mandarin oranges
3 bags of rice
13 trays of eggs
6 boxes of Cintan instant noodles
4 packs of Mamees snacks
4 packs of M&M’s
3 cartons of flavored drink
3 cans of lychee syrup
11 bags full of cloths


Non-Food
1 trolley school bag
3 bags of soft toys
Some toys and stationeries

Total Donation in cash: RM 3491.52
Ang Paos given: RM 700.00
Candies given: RM 153.66
Cash remaining given: RM 2637.86

Love Bite!

Ever pay good money to get bitten?

Now’s your chance.

Trust me, it’s fun.

*BIG GRIN*



Okay okay, getting more serious here. I was invited to Kenko Fish Spa at Pavilion not too long ago to enjoy a full day Fish Spa Top to Toe package service.




Located on the fifth floor of Pavilion, right next to Red Box, Kenko is a 4 months old one-of-a-kind spa that breeds fish to ‘feed’ on humans and built in a shopping mall (believe it or not it’s the world’s only shopping mall’s spa centre).




I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived at the centre, all I know there will be a lot of small fishes nibbling at my feet. Sounds… erm… cute~~~? So I followed exactly what the spa lady old me to do, wash my feet and slipped into a pair of light green flip-flops.

I supposed they don’t want my stinky feet to kill the fish.

I later pranced onto the wooden plank and began feasting. Or being feasted on.

Kenko has a very nice oasis kinda setting for people to relax and let these little lovelies do the exfoliating for you.




The moment I got near the edge of the wooden plank, the group of fish swam close by as though knowing there’s food. It scared me a bit.

As I sat down crossed legged beside the huge aquarium, I observed these adult Garra Rufa fish as they circled beneath me, as though calling out for me.

I descended my left foot slowly. Here’s a video.


Saw or not, I kicked at the end because it was so ticklish


The moment you enter the tip of your sole, group of fish came up sending electrifying current up your nervous system.




It was ticklish!

I can’t help but to draw my feet up again. But it was fun. Ticklish, scary, but fun.




And oh so cute!


Apart from piranhas, this one the only types of fish I know that loves the sight of human flesh, or more so, skin.

Soon I was enjoying the sight, feel and experience of being nibbled on. It was utterly refreshing! Though it looked as if my legs have been mutilated into something hairy with swaying large tentacles sprouting from every corner.


“Help I’m morphing into something horrendous!”


The Garra Rufa fish originates from Turkey Hot Spring, brought in by the Koreans and Japanese and used to treat skin disorders which have improvised into a lifestyle spa treatment as it is now.

In Kenko, you can choose between the adult fish, or the baby fish. For the faint hearted, I suggest to start with the babies.


“oh.. my thick swaying hairs have reduced to thin swaying hairs”


After the adults’ attack, these felt like small nibbles only.

Kenko charges RM38 for a 30-minute fish spa which I thought was very cheap considering it’s situated in the hearth of KL and inside one of the most expensive shopping malls.

After the fish spa, my legs felt dead skin free. Man that felt good. It was time to move on to the next step - the Foot Massage.




Leslie was my masseur of the afternoon. If any of you visit Kenko, call for Leslie, he’s good. I fell in love with his fingers.




“I used to massage till my fingers bled, because you need to use a lot of finger-tip strength; but now I’m better in techniques, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” Leslie said.

My eyes nearly bulged out but Leslie just smiled in response. Did I say he’s good in making you feel good?

It was from this,


Foot bath


To this,


The towel looked like baby footwear


And finally to this,




And this





Leslie, I have one thing to say to you.

You have orgasmic fingers.


Two and a half hours of sheer bliss. I came out refreshed, relaxed and in a dreamy state.

You can go by each session individually, or the whole package – costing only RM220 per person. The Fish Spa Top to Toe package includes the following sessions:
a)Fish Spa Therapy 30 minutes
b)Foot reflexology 60 minutes
c)Shoulder massage 30 minutes
d)Head accupressure 30 minutes

Contest
Since Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, Kenko is generous enough to give away FOUR free FSTT package to TWO couples of Nicolekiss’ readers this Valentine’s worth RM880 in total!

All you have to do is to comment below (NOTE: with your email) as to “Why do you want to share this valentine’s with you love ones at Kenko?”

Do not exceed 50 words, comments are monitored. Contest ends 20th Feb 2008. Winners will be notified via emails.

Two winners will have the change to bring his/her love one to enjoy a full Fish Spa Top to Toe at Kenko in their VIP room to which Kenko staff will decorate it especially for the couples.

See how lucky being Nicolekiss reader is?! Even I don’t get that good of a service! *Sniff*

VIP room le!! You want to strip naked and soak your whole body inside the tub also nevermind. Perfect for muslim ladies, skin disorder victims and ah hem… lovey dovey couples.




Bye bye baby fishies. Till I see you again.

Initial D, Jay Chou and Edison

I was driving home from KL one day when I spotted this car stopping right next to mine at the traffic light.




Hey, isn't that the car from that anime?




It is!! It's the Takumi Fujiwara's Toyota Trueno *update* apparently not* from Intidial D!




It looks exactly the same except the fonts are smaller.

Must be some hardcore fans of Initial D. Or even Jay Chou, since he acted in the movie before.




See, same car, different font size too.




Don't forget the current sex scandalous cute-boy-next-door-no-more Edison Chen who was also in the movie. Such long time ago~




He is cute and he knows it.

But sometimes too sweet of something is bad, I got so tired of scrolling those erotic photos of his and his partners my index finger hurts.

Jay Choy, however, is someone you need to look long and hard enough to learn to appreciate his looks and talents. Like, honestly, he's not born first-eye-caught-dead handsome.




But he does carry himself so well, he generates his own appeal and charms that millions would swoon over.

So here's a topless photo of him.




Now wipe your mouth.

The Chinese New Year Dinner

Since so many of you are so sensitive about money, here’s a photo to compare the new and the old RM50 notes.


The new one seems a bit smaller


Which one do you like?

Just before I enter the topic, one day before CNY I met up with one of my reader in Melaka, Terrance.




Terrance now works in Singapore and is noble enough to take the effort to email me so we can meet somewhere in Melaka to pass me some contributions for the orphans. He and his friend filled up my car bunk pretty quickly with rice and used clothes.




I’m beginning to wonder if I need a truck on the actual pick up day (12th Feb if you don’t know yet).


Now back to my dinner.

Every year on the second day of Chinese New Year, like tradition, my family throws a big family reunion dinner as any lucky restaurant out there lucky enough to have us, this year we chose famous lucky, see how lucky it is?

That means if there’s ever one chance to eat Yee Sang during CNY, this is it.


See the succulent raw salmon on top? Pathetically small isn’t it?


It is also the time of the festival, apart from the first morning, when we have to put on our dinner gown and dresses and heavier make ups to have a proper FAMILY DINNER together.

By proper I mean shouting “yam seng” till the roof comes off when cheering beers and wine and tossing food (yee sang la) everywhere and even at your cousins.

This is my outfit this year.


I got the top from Zara sales


As usual, simple hair do is the way to go for me. This year I tie half a bun with a single chopstick.




And glittery teddy bear earrings. (from Voir)

However this year, I got a surprise! I’m meeting my god-daughter for the very first time!!




Her name is Syn Yu. 14 months old.





Isn’t she adorable?! Btw, that’s my god-sister, who is also my cousin.




Syn Yu so cute!! But she’s really shy~ she won’t let anyone but her mother hug her. T_T I wanna hug Syn Yu~~~~~


Here’s one more photo of me


Uncle Ti Siong, who is a captain of a boat that sails the world and only returns once a blue moon, is the family photographer every CNY without fail. I don’t know how to refer him as since he’s cousin of my dad’s.




So thanks to him, here is my family photo.




She’s considered part of the family right? I mean, she is afterall my mom’s god-daughter. LOL

Kidding, here's the proper family photo.




Yes, that’s my 6ft 3 brother you’re looking at. Hansum or not? (say Hamsum or I’ll shoot you)

The Year of The Rat

Yesterday was the first day of Chinese New Year 2008, according to the Chinese calendar, it’s the year of the Rat (or Mouse). Which is my year, which means I am either 12, 24, 36 or 48 this year. You pick.

And that was how Chinese keep track of our age in the ancient times before paper calendar was created.


This Chinese New Year eve (fell on the 6th February), we rejoice with our family and fraternal relatives at our home for a reunion dinner. Pretty much like thanksgiving dinner.


Chinese New Year is about tying red ribbons and clipping red packets (ang pow) to plants and leaves.




It’s about hanging big and small lanterns all over the house, your shop, on the street, by the windows and in your toilet. (kiddin about the last one)




It’s about honoring your ancestors on the first day by giving them the first dish cooked that morning and afternoon. (why do I sound like Mulan)




It’s about having all your relatives over from around the world and have their cars cramped up your front, back and side yards.




It’s about cooking big and small pots and food enough too feed an army of hungry German soldiers (the German reminds me of meat eaters) for a month.




It’s about making Kory happy.




It’s about matching red CNY costumes.


Their grandma is a tailor


It’s about Yee Sang (the only dish where you get to toss its food around, the higher the better)




It’s about Mah Jong (no, poker doesn’t count, not Chinese enough)




and losing a lot of money while you’re at it


“yap san yao?”


It’s about looking good and new for a fresh start of a brand new year.




And having fun with your niece and nephews


Omg I’m an aunt!


Very much like Christmas, it’s also about giving (not receiving ok, 10 years down the road and see whether if you’ll agree with me), but instead of presents, we have ang pows with money inside; usually given from the married elder to the single younger, it’s the only year you’ll be glad you stay single.


Mom with her neck cast after surgery


As for now, it’s all about receiving. Ke ke~




Oh look, new RM50 notes.


When are they going to stop changing notes.


But most importantly, it’s about coming back home from miles away, from wherever you are, however long you have not been home, to tip toe the night before eve to see your love ones sleeping safe and soundly, knowing your presence keep them satisfied.




Do you have a good Chinese New Year?

Melaka Day Trip – St Paul’s Church

Short Note: I have an extra bus ticket here worth RM17 from Melaka Sentral to Singapore departing on the 9th of Feb (third day of CNY) at 9am, drop me an email at nicootan@gmail.com if you're interested to buy.


With a class at night on a Friday evening, my cute born and bred South Africana professor from Australia wanted to explore the city in the day time and since she’s been around KL city before and wanted something cultural, I volunteered to show her around my hometown, Melaka.


Holy man at St Paul’s Church


Yes, that means driving two hours down to Melaka, tour the city, have some food, and two hours drive back to attend the class at 6pm.

Why do I do this? I don’t really know actually. But I’m glad I did, because it was a superb trip and my professor and her friend were wonderful guests to host.


Fort A Famosa: built by the Portuguese in 1511, severely damaged during the Dutch invasion.


Ursula and Gene (the one on the left) are two great examples as to life starts at 30, 40, or even 50 and above. Life doesn’t end at 30, it doesn’t end when you’re married, it doesn’t end when you have a stable career with a PHD and are at 38 years of age and two aged parents you want to take care of.

n
Ursula donating money to the poor


No, in fact, she did the exact opposite most people would do. At the age of 38, she moved out from South Africa and to America to pursue her academic career and later moved to Australia to be with her husband and is now traveling around SEA teaching master students of all races.




She is now 44. (I know, she looks nothing like 44!)


Anyway, Friday morning I picked Ursula and Gene up at Kelana LRT station and head straight to Melaka.

On the way, we exchanged our background and culture and it was fascinating to learn that South Africa is pretty much like Malaysia, corruptions, corrosive government laws, low currency, even the food they eat is a fusion of many cultures with strong Malay influence due to a large Malayan population residing there.

We later moved the topic to Baba Nyonya culture in Melaka. A Baba Nyonya is a descendent of mix parentage Malay and Chinese back in the 1500s and IS NOT a muslim, therefore a dying culture and race. Nyonya may originates from the word ‘dona’ in Portugese which means “lady”, hence Nyonya is referred to as the female descendent and Baba the male.

I brought my guests to have lunch in a Baba Nyonya restaurant in Melaka Raya. (no photos here)


After that we visited the famous St Paul’s Church situated on top of the St Paul’s hill which is just behind the ruins of A Famosa Fort.




The A Famosa was originally a chapel, “known to the early Portuguese in Malacca as the Chapel of the Mother of God (Madre de Deus) or Our Lady of the Hill (Nossa Senhora do Oiteiro). It was built by Duarte Coelho, in 1521, as a result of a miraculous escape from an attack on his ship by a fleet in the South China Sea.

Read about the full story here.




The building is so old and worn out due to years of rain and storm torments, numerous restorations were carried out till it looks like the pathetic structure it is today.




Yet it is so immaculately beautiful.


Some tourists taking photos at the church ruins


Turns out my professor is a great photographer. But she likes to take slanted photos for some peculiar reasons.


Me attempting the same pose.


I’m a very vertical and horizontal photographer




This is a ruin stone written in old Dutch. How do I know? Because Ursula and Gene can read them?!! OMG!!




Apparently South Africana learns to converse and write in Dutch in school at very young age. You learn something new everyday.

Ursula later asked me to go by the window to sit there and pose.




I love this photo! She brought my camera skill to shame.

We finished our journey with a photo under the famous Melaka Tree.




The tree that started it all, marks the beginning of the history of Melaka (which was the name of this country when Prince Parameswara founded the land).

You can still see his footprint here if you visit this place, though I doubt that is his actual footprint.


At 4pm, we got into car and drove furiously back to KL just in time for our class (okay, we were half an hour late, blame the speed limit).




I know, I should be paying attention in class.

*whistle*

Packing to go back for CNY

Balik kampung (back to hometown) time.

Chinese New Year is just 3 days away.




Don't forget your make ups and diet pills everyone!

*Tong Tong Ciang~*

Ironic Sign at Manhattan Fish Market

Short Note: Monopoly board game is creating a WORLD edition Monopoly!

Guess what?! 20 most voted cities in the world will be chosen to be on the board. Imagine KL on World Monopoly?! Fast fast go register and vote for Kuala Lumpur to be on the board! Vote everyday OK!!! Cause I will!!





Now...

wouldn't Manhattan close shop if all the fish lover cooks/waiters stop cooking/serving fish to the customers?


I can already imagine,

"No, don't eat the fish! Save the fish!!" *Waiter throws himself over the table of dory fillets*

Nicolekiss Homemade Pancakes

Short note: Collection point for Taman Megah Charity is on the 12th of February, 8pm, in front of Marco’s Pizza, Kelana Jaya.

It only takes a small act to make a difference; spread the words today, help the needy. :)


Over the past few weeks I’ve been hooked on Paddington’s dollar pancakes Treasure Box.




It’s called dollar pancakes because the pancakes are in bite size and looks like dollar coins.



You can read about Paddington’s review in my food blog.


Despite my affections towards these little lovelies, it’s not easy to splurge out RM17++ for every meal.

So I decided to attempt my own dollar pancakes at home. :D

Yep! I’m going to cook!!! Or bake? fry? Pan-bake?

Anyway, I went to the supermarket to buy my instant packet of pancake powder, first because it’s easy to make, second because I live alone, I see no point in buying a bag of flour and all the other necessities like vanilla essence, butter, sugar, baking powder, milk and eggs just to make a few pancakes for one person.

So yea, instant pancake is the way to go.

I scooped spoonful of mixture into a medium heat pan with some olive oil in it to avoid paste sticking to the pan, and wait till the third bubble burst before I flip it.

Each individual pancake would take about 30 seconds or less.

After many spoonings (that sounds wrong), this is the result.




My very own~~~ Nicolekiss Dollar Pancakes!!


Attempting a photo mimic as above.



That is honey by the way, I know I’m supposed to use maple syrup, but those don’t come cheap. >_<


Okay la, not too shabby right? It's my first time. Ignore the chao da (burnt) area, it looks okay right? Righttttt?

Anyway, this is me cam-whoring in Paddington House of Pancakes in 1U while waiting for my friend to come.





Attempting a dawnyang….



fail!



Babydoll pose



Finally, my usual self


Diverting from the topic a bit, I have pretty good feedback, in fact out of my expectation, from readers of Nicolekiss to make effort for the CNY charity. You babies make me so proud. *sniff*


Personal emails to offer to make donations


Some offered to donate cash, for those I have give them my specially created Nicolekiss Fund Raising bank account details; some offered food and clothings, for those you can refer to the above short note for pick up point info.

I even have few readers from the states and one from Uganda to offer 100 US dollars donation!! I mean, wow, Uganda!!! And some of you say you can’t do anything because you’re not in KL. -.-

In fact, this reader from Uganda was the FIRST to email me! The enthusiasm! Unfortunately I don’t know any convenient and fast international bank/credit transfer apart from paypal and I don’t have a paypal, and I don’t think Malaysians can withdraw money from paypal, can we?

Anyone has any suggestion to help these enthusiasts help the kids by suggesting a reliable money transfer method?