larian puteri

 This is my second time joining the school Larian Puteri. The first time was maybe 6 years ago where I came out the fourth place. I wasn't sure if I wanted to run or not that time and at the end I decided to run with my soft leather shoes...not even sports shoes.

For this time, I was prepared. The past week, I had been running up and down the slight slope near the house. I know I have the stamina and endurance (thanks to all the hikes up Kepayang Hill) but not the speed. Pushed myself hard during my practices because there is a 1km hill that I have to conquer today.

Starting off was easy. It's mostly downhill (1km). I jogged steadily down, passing a throng of students who were walking and gossiping and looked like they were going for a stroll rather than running a jogathon.

The uphill was the toughest part....it was quite steep and long....the last stretch of maybe 100m was the worst...my legs were like logs but I refused to stop running. I huffed and puffed past lots of people; most of them gave up running and were walking up. Colleagues who took care of the different stations called out encouragements.

Finally I reached the cheering crowd. Nurul was ahead of me and I came out second. We were placed in the same category as the alumni students who are in the late teens and early twenties. Well...Nurul and I beat them all.

It was more for fun than for the competition and I really enjoyed it. Another achievement after 40!!! (When I was younger, I hated all these).

Tupperware for the second place winner.

The cert and medal....

Another reminder

I saw this stuck to the mirror at the living room. Is he becoming like me? Forgetful???

money talks...

A is a very average student but comes from a rich family. Having taught her once, I know what sort of academic quality she has. Her SPM results is average. The news is she is pursuing medicine in a private college now.

B is the opposite of A. From a middle income family, she is extremely hardworking. She has a good set of brains which has been proven in her results throughout the years. Great leadership and oratory skills. She obtained straight As in the recent SPM exam but was crushed when she saw the she was short of a few A+.

Her objective to secure a government scholarship has flown out of the window. With so many straight A+ achievers, she has now dropped to the second tier in the selection. Chances look very slim or maybe even none at all.

She laments at the unfairness in life....she who has consistently performed excellently in exams has now fallen short of her ambition whereas A who hardly excels is on her way to achieve her ambition.

I had to tell her that is how life is and this is only the first hardship she is facing in this hard cold unfeeling world. With continued diligence, may she achieve her ambition in future and put her intelligence to use in the field that she has set her heart on.

exploring negeri sembilan

 Yesterday we decided to take a drive to explore places which we've not visited in NS and we chose Lukut/Bukit Pelandok area. Following the road sign, we ended up at the kelong at Kuala Lukut. There is a junction before Chuah/Bukit Pelandok which has the sign showing Kelong/Jetty Kuala Lukut. We just drove in and followed our instincts.

This is the kelong....I think the people here rent out boats for fishing expeditions.

 At the other end of the river, there are a few more jetties like this. I suppose there are many jetties and boat rental services to choose from and we ended in one of them.

 That is Port Dickson at the far end and KC claimed he could see Lexis Resort from where we were standing.

 Fishing rods....many people fishing along the jetty.

 This is the view from the road where we parked our car. It's swampy like Lumut area. Infact when driving in, it reminded me very much of Lumut/Kampung Sitiawan. Lots of cowdung on the road.

Lukut/Chuah/Bukit Pelandok is quite a 'chinese' area. Driving into this place is like taking a drive into Kampung Cina before development and the new roads changed the whole place. There are many big bungalows just like in Kpg Cina. It seems this place has a lot of Foochow also.

We stopped by a seafood restaurant by the name of Tian Tian for dinner. Cars were parked on the left and right of the road...mostly KL/Selangor/Johor number plates. It's amazing that these people know how to find this restaurant as it is totally off the road and away from PD. We chose it to another restaurant because it's crowded....meaning the food should be good.

 The first thing I saw besides it being crowded is the mosquito coil at the bottom. How practical...just like the seafood restaurants in Sitiawan.

 They served chickpeas as appetisers.

 See...the place looks exactly like one of those restaurants in Kampung Cina/Simpang Dua. This old man in singlet is one of the waiter. I think he is just slightly younger than my father. Very loud, rough and strong. He's hard of hearing....so have to shout to him and he will shout his reply. When he carries a big tray laden with at least 10plates of rice, his muscles bulged. Not an inch of fat on him. Amazing old man!!!

The blue bucket is our bucket of ice....there is nothing refine in this place.

 The first to arrive...pucuk paku in sambal. Didn't look that impressive but the taste was really good.

 Oyster fried in eggs....this is really Sitiawan style. I strongly believe the cook is a Foochow. Very good and laden with oysters.

 A kilo of crabs for the two of us. But we eat quietly without a complain of being overstuffed even though we were overstuffed because the crabs were very fresh and good. RM50 a kilo...not sure if it's expensive or not. Look at the hammer!!!! These people are definitely practical. My conclusion: they are  foochows....practical and rough people....nothing refined about presentation but food is DELICIOUS!!!

By the time we leave, the tables outside were all occupied. We passed a restaurant which we saw earlier...it was still empty. Looks like Tian Tian Seafood Restaurant at Kuala Lukut is very popular amongst tourists.

We decided to take a different route home. Sepang didn't look very far away....so we turned towards Chuah, Sungai Nipah (that was where the Nipah virus/JE started and many pig farmers died and pigs were culled to control the outbreak of the virus). So we travelled through these places where we have heard so much of. The picture above is Bukit Pelandok town....very much like Pantai Remis town.

After going through a stretch of winding road, we turned right into the LBJ road....back to familiar road...that's the road we take to the airport!!

It was great driving around especially without the kids and exploring the place without kids complaining they are hungry or bored. Looking forward to another new place to explore.

Nutty chocolate bread pudding

I made sandwiches for tea at the old folk home yesterday and had a whole plastic full of edges leftover. Decided to bake bread pudding. Kids hate raisins so had to leave them out. Checked the fridge and saw cooking chocolate and almond. Googled for the recipe and I got a rough idea what I wanted. Here's my version of the pudding.

3 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
A tsp cinnamon
(beat the above ingredients together)
Grate the cooking chocolate (to your taste)
Melt 2 tbsp of butter (just pop it into the microwave )
Butter the bottom of a casserole dish
Place a layer of crumbs
Dot the top with melted butter
Layer it with chocolate
Sprinkle some nuts over it
Pour the milk eggs liquid over it
Repeat till all is done
Press the bread down with a spatula and let the bread soak up the beaten mixture.
Bake in the oven for 45minutes.
The kids love it!!!!!

A waste...

Kids and I put up a night at lexis pd. Kc is having a workshop here. Usually if our schedule permits we would follow him.

Reached here late last night so couldn't see much. This place used to be known as the legend water home or something like that. We are staying in the tower... So get to see the chalets at the bottom.

The chalets with the individual pools were in the dark last night. What a waste to build so many chalets and not able to let out. There is no beach... Just the sea which is not that clean and impressive.

The government should stop giving out permits for building of hotels/resorts like this and spoiling the beauty/ecology of the place.

blur or getting old??

Me  : Loga....answer this question.
Loga looked at me and I stared at her real hard. She got up reluctantly.
Me  : Loga....why are you wearing Nisha's uniform? (I saw Nisha's name tag on her uniform).
Loga : Teacher...I am NISHA!!!!

food colouring...

This is the result of a drink that he loves to buy. I just can't help but take a picture of this because the tongue just turn totally blue like the drink. Is it safe???

There was once he bought the same drink and after that his lip swelled. I couldn't identify anything else that could make his lip swell as he had not eaten anything before that. So it must be the drink!!!

I have to ban him from this brand of drinks.

lost in S2

This morning I had to go to SMK Bukit Kepayang to be one of the judges for the Choral Speaking Competition. A short trip that takes about 10 to 15 minutes took me 50 minutes. I made a few phone calls, stopped to ask for directions twice before I could get myself to the correct destination.

I've been to that school at least twice and yet my mind seemed so fumbled when I drove this morning. I really had no clue where I was going...I thought I knew but obviously I didn't. I forgot the road.

Can you believe it? It's only S2...not KL. This shows how bad my sense of direction is. Definitely time to get myself a GPS.

This reminded me of how lost I got last year when I drove home from Sunway Hospital after ma's checkup with brother in the car. He was totally cool about it...I drove all the way to Putrajaya and some other ends of Selangor before I could get myself out to the highway.

Well, as long as the tank is full, it's ok. No need to panic, just drive on.....

at the peak of the hill....

This was what we saw when we reached the peak of Kepayang Hill last Sunday. How patriotic....

This peak has the best view as we are able to see S2 area (the picture above) and also the old town area. Beyond S2 are hills and beyond the hills is the Straits of Malacca/Port Dickson. On a clear day, one can even see ships. This is my favourite view and my favourite route; using the Rocky Mountain route which is also the most difficult and least used by hikers.

qing ming

Took the kids to the cemetery today to visit the tombs of various family members who had gone home to the Lord. We do this almost every year and this year I remembered to bring my camera along.

This is our first stop. FIL...how time flies. It was seven years ago. Whenever Lyn ran into trouble in her Chinese Language, I'll drive her over to 7R so that Kong Kong can help solve her problem. It was past 2am when the phone rang and I knew it was him....early morning phone calls always mean bad news to me.

The plot beside FIL used to be empty...so we were quite shocked to see it taken. The sons and the mother thought that it would be empty till the time comes...Could see that MIL was very upset with it. Guess she wants very much to be placed beside FIL when her time comes....On our way home I told the kids that next time when my turn and KC's turn comes, don't bother to ask any of us...just build tomb for two. I don't want to run into such a predicament like this.

Then we dropped by these two tombs which were side by side. FIL's third brother and the first to pass on. The wife followed suit five months later. It was said that this uncle had heart problem (which seem to be a trait among some of the Lim men) and the wife went into depression.
FIL's fifth brother. He was pretty sick before he passed on.
Uncle Ping...KC's second brother. He was 37. It was about 4am when Pak Meh (KC's aunt) phoned and asked if I know about Uncle Ping. I lost my voice that time and couldn't talk too well....she thought I cried till I lost my voice.

KC was in the US that time so I couldn't leave the house so early as there was no one to keep an eye on Lyn. Still remembered driving to the airport with KHoe to pick up KC ... KHoe broke the news to him. Thank God he came home on time for the funeral.

Dan said he don't remember Uncle Ping...of course not, I was in my first trimester that time.
FIL's second sister who stayed in KL. Very hospitable, friendly and kind soul. That's my memory of her.
When we drove in the cemetery, we passed this place. We were surprised to see the prime plots that were KC's grandparents' are no longer prime plots. The vacant land has been dug and used. This cemetery is very packed....looks like they will dig every inch available and soon the road going in will be no more and we have to walk in.
KC's grandparents....used to be the first row by the road. Now it has become the second row.

Well, another tradition for the children to remember.