Maybe it’s the festive thingy that makes me miss the good fun, the yearly interactions with my cousins, the good good food, the atmosphere and everything else.

Don’t get me wrong. Celebrating in Singapore is nice, my in laws has a simpler way of celebrating. And we do our visitings. But it’s just different, I guess.

Typically in Malaysia, CNY will look like this.

I’d reach KL on the eve of the holidays. My parents will then do some banking stuff and whatever pockets of time we have will be used to savour all the favorite foods like bak kut teh, hokkien mee, char siew noodles, etc etc that we loved since when we are young. It’s pretty rush sometimes and temperature in KL can be pretty scorching hot, as it’s somehow less humid there.

Then we would go to our grandparents home, prepare for dinner, do some catch up on family gossips etc. haha! It’s funny when we hear thing from grandparents sometimes.. Cuz you really have no idea how current their “current affairs” are. Haha!

After dinner will be our annual night out with the cousins. We’d find somewhere to chill, drink an chat bout out lives. It’s such a bliss because we get to talk bout our own lives without the peering adults. And the adults often forget the kids are now like 30 yrs old? Hahah!

We will not usually get ourselves drunk because we will need to be home by 11pm to prepare for the prayer session to welcome CNY. It’s a whole ritual thingy (mostly done) by the grandma. The kids just follow instructions. And yeah, kids means me and my cousins.

So come first day of CNY we’d awake to home brewed thick coffee and sticky cakes made by my paternal grandma. And the first meal of the new year is usually vegetarian at their place.

Before that, early in the morning when we meet any family members we would greet with a loud “gong hey fatt Choy”! Anyone who is too soft will be ‘chided’… Some adults think its no manners to be not greeted loud and clear. And then kids will to queue up need to say some nice things before they get their angpaos. So it could be wishing people wealth or wishing the aunties prettiness or elders longevity and health. Such atmosphere is really wonderful.

Then after lunch, we would then go to my maternal relatives place. Of course there will be the boring bits where we have all the waiting, the dozing offs, the ice breaking then small talks and catching up. But food was always really wonderful and fantastic! There would be a myriad of food like fish, prawns, cuttlefish, vegetable, soup, etc etc that’s sooooo tasty and I really do miss my hometown food. Maybe I’ve grown to my mum’s cooking, that’s why going to my maternal relatives is always lovely because the food is just worth the wait!

The second day of CNY will be spent with my paternal grandparents. There will be a huge buffet of food that we all got to finish. Somehow it has evolved to be a annual competition to finish the food. Lol!

Then after lunch, there will be streams of relatives coming in. Where we kids will then retreat to our own space. In recent years when we have grown up, CNY Day 2 is a long awaited day because we will all drink till we drop. Beer, liquor, wine etc etc will be served. Uncles and aunties and cousins will then drink together and get drunk together in broad daylight.

Well it’s not something “nice” and often we frown upon it ourselves… Like after alls over and done, we’d comment “our family is crazy” and we’d do it all over again the next year! Hahah! But the atmosphere is really wonderful. Its really nice when we let our hair down and just have fun.

So thats a round up of what I’ve missed for my CNY. Perhaps with my upcoming little dragon boy (if it’s really a boy), I’d wanna teach him to greet elders the way we were taught. And not be shy. Somehow the atmosphere is really created by the parents and carried on by the kids.

Maybe it’s really the difference in celebration culture that made me missed my hometown do much during the festive season.

But still GONG XI FA CAI one and all! May all evil be warded off and may we meet more lucky stars; may this year bless us with smooth sailing route to finding our fortune; and may we all get rich (in monetary and non-monetary terms la!)!

I can only imagine how “long” he must be now to stretch towards my waist.

Think my veins are bursting too… The veins on my foot feels like it is bruised… Sooo painful!

Ooh man… Really dun feel very optimum now. Got some flu symptoms and some feverish symtoms. Boohoo!!

Maybe it’s time to be good and sleep early. Bless me with some good weather too k! Dun let it get too hot, I’m already perspiring while eating in the air con restaurant. Omg…

Topsy turvy. To the max la…

How time seems to fly, yet so slowly.

I am now beginning to prepare stuff for the little one’s arrival – of course with many suggestions on when’s the best time. Which adds on to my procrastination. So I guess most things will really go into action after CNY. As of now, i am only researching and putting stuff on the excel sheets. Can’t be help, the preggers brain cannot be trusted. Its too short-term. ahaha!

]]> http://suety.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/week-31/feed/ 0 Suety http://suety.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/whats-in-a-name/ http://suety.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/whats-in-a-name/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:31:00 +0000 Suety http://suety.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/whats-in-a-name/ ]]> Oooh… It dawned to me as some kinda realisation on how ‘shallow’ we really are when it comes to choosing a name. 

Yeah we tend to be able to churn a million western names when it comes to christening a baby. But when i tried to choose a chinese name, one with good meaning and sounds good enough to accompany my little new born into his lifelong journey… hopefully one where it wun get him teased too much by his peers and one where he is proud to tell the world. I realised my vocabulary is darn limited. 

No “good” words seems to pop in my brains. 

I got suggestions to go to some geomancer who could give me some good suggestions. But i kinda resist this idea. I mean, I want to be the “one” naming my child and not leave it to someone else. And i hate the idea that this guy is trying to give me a name of ‘good fortune’ for my child, and in any case where i got to turn down in event where i am not comfortable with it. Its almost like I am rejecting “good fortune”. And if anything bad is to happen in future, it will almost seems like i brought it upon my child. *duh…*

Yeah i think a little too much. But such are the minds of a typical chinese person. They can’t seem to relate anything to anything else nice, but often think the worst. – sigh - 

So how… I guess i got to read the whole bloody dictionary and find out what words I love most. Wtf… Its almost like asking me, whats your favourite words out of the dictionary? Damn.. i should have been more vain during my student days, and picked out words which i think sounds / looks nice. geeezz.z.. 

Perhaps I shall just go by a rule, “Love all, do wrong to none.”

In fact, to be truthfully honest, i do worry what 2012 will bring. It is gonna be a big year. With a new addition to the family. Which means it will surely impact my lifestyle (even more, though thats not my biggest worry), my job (somehow i think this is quite major and really leaves me quite jumpy…), my family (things i can do and cant do, and I gotta behave like a mother. OMG..), my social life (parties, gatherings… geez, its time to be more homely la…).

So much changes I can foresee. Not major, not minor either. My biggest worry if really my job. But seriously whats the worse that can happen right? If it doesn’t work out, there’s always other avenues right? Perhaps I should focus more on my family where “screw ups” are less tolerable? LOL!!

But sigh… so much for the end of 2011. I shall just sit back and see what magic I can work out. I really hope I can.

Lets live and let live. Let go of what doesn’t belong to us and embrace whats important to us. And may 2012 be a fulfilling year for us all.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Because my kid is gonna be born in the popular dragon year, sometimes I find myself swayed by such competition. Like should I be worrying bout competition in enrolling primary schools (wtf, in 7yrs time??!!). Lol! It’s ridiculous even when I think bout it. So many things we plan now somehow will revolve a little contributing factors on how it will impact my child. And I worry if I will be sucked into the competition whirlpool.

Perhaps before everything goes aye wire, somethings should be carved in stone.

- I want my child to be all rounded. He will learn to play and share with his peers. Interact with people and learn to listen and speak appropriately.

- more outdoor games and sports and less computer games a tv.

- instill creativity thru arts and colours, rather than focusing just on Maths and science and spelling.

Plenty things that’s important of course and this is the top of the list or rather my brains now. Haha!

Not that I will get my kids into various classes, but I do believe they are multiple avenues for kids to learn and experience.

Sigh… With this let’s see how much my parenting will deviate from my ideal. Haha!

There’s things to be done. Just that being on leave just left me feeling all lazy and I simply don’t wanna do anything that’s related to work. Make sense right? Hahah! Just that with this thought, I always have to be prepared for the aftermath… Where a tsunami will come crashing, bringing me deeper into the depressing mood of ‘post holidays blues’.

But watever, I’m just gonna enjoy my leave n do wat I wanna do. Screw the rest! Haha!

Its hot and sunny and suddenly its pours.

It sorta makes me think deep sometimes.

When I started writing this draft it was pouring.

Now that I got interrupted many times and finally reached my 5th line, its bright sunshine.

Guess time ticks by and I am still learning.

New things and old things that I’ve forgotten.

***

When your mind’s clear, being happy is chicken feet.

When your mind’s clouded, being happy is no mean feat.

When your mind’s clear, the belief that you will survive and that you are invincible is so strong.

When your mind’s clouded, you wonder where that belief has gone to and you weep at your own weak mind.

When your mind’s clear, you know very well flowers will wilt and new buds will bloom.

When your mind’s clouded, flowers bloom beautifully today just to wilt tomorrow. Such shortlived beauty.

***

So what if its clear or clouded.

Life goes on. We charge on and face the world like nothing’s different.

We smile. We talk. We put on a mask – just like everything is perfectly fine.

We see our todays become our yesterdays and becoming someone else’s today.

What else could we do but to smile and encourage, live and let live.

Let go, because it will let you forget and make you happier.

Let go, becuase you know its not yours to begin with.

But yeah .. its tough. But pass the first hurdle, it will get easier.

I have no wish to be invincible, but I do not wish to be wallow in weakness either.

The facilitator was Mrs Wong Boh Boi from TMC. Pretty cool lessons were learnt. Explanations were given not based on old wives “pantang” tale, but from her researches and experience.

She taught us some exercises, from head, neck, arms, legs, foot, breathing, boobs, pelvic, backbone etc. Most of which are stretching exercises. and also how to stand up from sitting position and how to get up from bed..

Then also went thru some can do and can’t do and also nutritional stuff that we should know.

Some stuff are like (if I remember off my mind correctly):
- we dun drink cold water during breastfeeding is because cold water constricts blood flow.
- any food is fine if taken in moderation
- basics are calcium, iron and folic
- our boobs grow during pregnancy and how to maintain the size and firmness is via exercise. Without exercise it will sag. Without sufficient fats in our body, breastfeeding will reduce the boob size because it needs fats for the milk.
- nutrition is important for ourselves and the baby (like duh!) haha!
- birds nest has Zero nutritional value though many pple believes in it.

Some myths debunked:
- why Chinese dun bath during the one month of confinement? Because in ancient times childbirth means there’s an open wound. And washing with water on the open wound means women have a high chance of getting infection. Now with stitches and all, it’s important to bath to prevent infection.

- why women can’t wash hair? Cuz last time there’s no hair dryer (this made me laugh!!) and wet hair means they will catch chill easily.

- why women takes alcohol for confinement food? Cuz last time after women give birth they tend to be cold and weak. Drinking alcohol keeps them warm. (but even confinement food’s alcohol content got to be in moderation!)

I can’t really recall the rest but her lessons are really pretty funny and insightful. Perhaps it’s her explanations which are “science” based that convinces me. and basically that everything has to be in balance and moderation.

looking forward to lesson 2. Lol!

I tried a prenatal massage at the javanese massage parlor below my office. I din quite like it too much. Lol! It’s weird to be sleeping on my sides inside of flat on my stomach, when my back is being massaged.. Lol!

But I tried the kenko foot reflexology n shoulder massage which I enjoyed very much! N it’s cheaper la! Haha!

I registered for my prenatal course also. Kinda excited bout it actually. N let’s see if it helps me be a better mummy!

Last week at work was quite a bitch..many things happening.. Was like an avalanche. Guess I survived,..

I’m starting to feel the kicks more frequently now. When I’m sleeping, in the muddle of the nights, when I’m bout to wake up. The kicks or movements are getting stronger. N it’s amazing!

5 mths plus n counting.. Time flies…