The lion welcomes the dragon

Pictures taken by yours truly

Feel free to click on any picture for a clearer view

We witnessed our full lion dance performance this year at my favorite coffee hangout in Bread Basket Bakery (BBB) this morning.


Under normal circumstances, we will be at the Kota Permai Club House for the lion dance, but today being a Sunday, we decided to go for BBB's because theirs starts 1 hour later. 

We went expecting a simple blessing performance for their business but was surprised to see that it came complete with some stunts.


Upon seeing the people gathering around it and the set up outside, naturally I got extremely excited and was urging ST to hurry in parking the car. We parked opposite the shop and had to cross a small patch of grass to get across. While parking, ST reminded me to be careful because knowing how clumsy I am, he could foresee in his mind, the picture of me running across in my excitement, and....... tripping. 


Tripping is not the main issue here, because that is a known fact and a common thing that is part of me wherever I go. His main concern was that  I might just knock one of the columns (which has been carefully set up for the stunts that's about to start in a few minutes) and cause a domino effect to the rest.. -.-

See what I mean? These are not joss ticks, ok.. These are for the stunt performance. But as you can see from the picture, his worry was uncalled for, as they seem to be well secured.. :-D

Wanna see exactly how long was the "hoong phau" (firecrackers)...? Here it is.

Bowing and paying respect to the owners before starting

The first strip of firecrackers were set off for the opening act. My heart nearly jumped out of my mouth, and I almost went deaf coz I was standing quite near to it when it went off.

ST enjoying the performance under the comfort of the shade

And... the stunts begin...

The first lion jumps...

Picking up the mandarin oranges and throwing them into the crowd as their way of spreading the prosperity and wealth. I got two of them....!!!

Lighting the dynamite... 

See how clear the entire area has become all of a sudden... :-D

Here's wishing everyone Gong Xi Fa Chai & Xin Nian Kwai Lek..!!!

As a treat to all the invited guests, we were provided with buffet lunch, complimentary coffee (just for me) and "angpows" for the kids... :-D




--moon


Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Burning the mid-night oil

Picture taken from here

It is so unfair, that I have to study for my exam and work on my assignments at the same time when all others are still out there letting off fireworks into the sky or scaring their neighborhood's cats with pop-pop (pathetic), barbecue-ing & feasting, having a drink and a chat, singing their hearts out at the karaoke & having a good time. Those who are not out there chilling out are probably snoozing happily in bed.


And when I look at my 2 furballs nicely curled up nearby with one next to my laptop, it makes me even more fuming mad...

Picture taken from here

Uhhh.... what was the reason why I thought was necessary to get an MBA in the first place again..? I forgot. But I do remember my younger brother encouraging me to do it. Yessss...!! It's him...!!! So I'll lay all the blame on him again, for the don't know how many times since I started my MBA program. 


Makes me feel better, especially when I dream of lazying on the bed in the air-cond room with my furballs, watching some funny movies and downing a can of shandy.


Hmmm.... my younger brother ain't gonna be pleased when he sees this. I know, I know, it's my own fault, I must have my own reasons for doing this. Just that at this juncture and in this un-godly hour, I can't remember. Anyway, nothing much I can do now but to .....

Picture taken from here

and say....

Go! Go! Go!

and then only to ....

Picture taken from here

--moon


Blog name - carrot head and applemint

After CNY syndrome

Picture taken from here

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

To eat or not to eat "pan mee"

I've just discovered a place for really nice "pan meen" in KK. I've seen the place quite a number of times, as I passed by the outlet, as it is rather strategically located. Only problem is that, the area surrounding it is ALWAYS jam packed with cars during lunch time, and given a choice, I would be running away from it at peak time.


The place is called Daniel's pan mee, and it's facing the Medan Selera, and same row as Brew and Bread.


They serve a variety of preparation, hakka style (with loads of minced meat), traditional style (soup style with anchovies), and with chillies style. 


What did we have for lunch that day..?

 ST's dry pan meen (kon lo)

My chillie pan mee. Not bad...!

And I love their sambal chilli, that is quite a killer, I tell ya!

Ok, having talked about the food, now let's talk about the decor of the place. It is a simple normal looking coffee shop that sells nothing but pan mee but the guy (Daniel) does seem to have a bit of unique creativity, style and point of view, which I like! Example....?

He had a few... uh... wooden posters hung up on the wall which makes interesting reading. Like these..

Click on any picture for a clearer view 

To continue on, for those who don't eat pork, please skip the next picture or close your eyes. If you don't mind, then feel free to carry on... :-D

Interesting, ain't it?

For more info, pictures and location map, please click here.

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

I've been thinking...

Last year, around this time, I was fretting my life off, wondering whether I should or should not proceed with my MBA. One day, it was a definite yes, the next day, I had to pluck out the petals from a flower to make up my mind.


Then.... I decided to take the plunge.

Picture taken from here

Study wise, I think I've done great so far. Everything has been on course in 2011. I've completed half of the modules and I just need to focus on completing the balance. And oh yeah, plus the thesis. 

Aaaarrggh....!!! The thesis...!!!

Surprisingly, when I think of 2012, my heart seems to skip a beat because I feel my fuel running low. I am really not too sure if I will be able to continue on, with the intensive pace, right up till November. 


Trying to lift my spirit higher on the outlook of 2012, it can't be as bad as 2011, right? I mean, I've cleared my CFM against all odds, what else will be able to stand in my way? 


.......


.......




Hmmm... you know what, now that I'm penning down my thoughts, I think my next big fear is the thesis. I am so afraid that by the time I come to doing it, my fuel would have run out. 

Picture taken from dpchallenge

However, I do still have a choice actually. I can delay the completion of my MBA and extend it beyond 18 months, but I will have to pay a penalty fee. This is the fear and conflict that I am having right now. But what is a penalty fee, when the most important thing is that I enjoy the learning process. I can afford to do that if I so wish to. I do not have to submit to the pressure of completion as stipulated in the course. Yeah, that's right! Problem resolved..!!!


Career wise, everything had been smooth and fabulous! 


Then the downside came. My dad-in-law departed from this world and went on a journey of his own. That was rather unexpected for us. Though we mourn for his passing, we actually also cherish all those times we had spent together as a family and all those crazy stuffs we did too. Obviously, the person affected most by his departure is my mom-in-law, but she seemed to have recovered fully and now seem to be taking charge of her life again. 


All in all, 2011 had been a great and blessed year. And it ended with an extreme climax in November and December.

Picture taken from here

I thank you for all that my family and I have, and would like to end the year, as usual, wishing for great health, peace of mind and joy in all our lives.




--moon


Blog name - carrot head and applemint

The mind is officially shut down for 2011

Picture taken from here

I will be submitting my Strategic Management assignments tomorrow, 2 days ahead of the deadline.


So from tonight on-wards, my mind will officially shut down for 2011.


For shutting down these 6 days (Wed - Mon), I will have to pay the price in January, when the next module (Operations Management) starts. There will be classes on two weekends back to back (Sat & Sun) to catch up. That does not give us a lot of time to read and to work on the assignments plus exam, like previous modules.


In fact, after having gone through the calendar on my desk a moment ago, I foresee even more struggling and swearing at the end of the January month, that is some where near CNY. Hmmm..... not a very good thing, but hey, I don't care any more. I am just gonna let it be and go with the flow.. :P


So people, when you see me or bump into me in the street this few days, don't ask if I recognize you, and don't ask me to guess your age, ok, coz chances are, I won't be able to remember and I don't want to get whacked for guessing wrongly. Better still, don't ask me anything.. :-o


Doesn't matter if you're Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise or Chow Yuen Fatt. The mind won't be able to register. Hey, I thought MJ is dead, right?!?!


Because right now, my mind is in this mode.

Picture taken from here

Meaning to say, it's at a complete resting mode laa, can or not?


Anyway, was browsing the internet for some pictures that are relaxing and soothing to the mind and found some of these fabulous scenes of water. Would love to share it with you here. 


Feel free to click on any picture for a CLEARER view. And I insist that you must! It makes a lot of difference. Enjoy!

Picture taken from here

Picture taken from here

This one is rather scary, but this place is quite famous for it's unique infinity pool design. It's at a resort called Ubud Hanging Gardens, Bali - Indonesia.

Picture taken from here

Picture taken from here

--moon


Blog name - carrot head and applemint

2011 Year End Family Outing

Titi Eco-Farm Resort, Negeri Sembilan

Late breakfast at the coffee shop before heading out

The birthday girl. So happy that she got 3 copies of Archies and 2 copies of Beano comics.. -.-

We took the kampung road to enjoy the scenery. And we couldn't resist stopping by the road side for..........

Durians of course...!!! It's the durian season...!!!

Oh, we had our fill with the "really good" and cheap durians...!!!

Checking out the view from our balcony. We took 3 chalets in a row. Notice the lil' fella right at the back?

We can see a pond from our balcony..

Heading out to check out the place and the view

Check out that view....!!!

Click on any picture for a clearer view

Oh, how I love this chair that over looks the breathtaking hill view in front, flanked by this 2 lovely and beautiful trees...!!!

 Clearer view

 This picture is taken from the chair. Love the view, I tell ya!

Side view 

Playing ball in the vast field

Seems that the owner of the place lives in the house on the left. Man, what I would give for a view like this every morning when I wake up and look out of the house...!!

Getting comfortable on the green grass

Settling down and becoming one with nature

Healthy drink is available 24x7. Since it's boiled with their locally grown leaves, the drink is green in color, naturally.

Making rojak (salad) the healthy way using papaya, demonstrated by Elaine, the tour leader cum supervisor

Typical town boy, my nephew. Can't stand any insect settling down on his body.

Waalaa...!!! the rojak (salad) with all locally grown veggies. Even the sauce is made from natural stuffs.

Bubble blowing time!

Snacking again

Then we went out in the dark to view the stars in the clear sky at the field. 

Right after that, we waited eagerly for the board game to start.

This time round we have a new player, my eldest brother.. :-D

Day 2 - Tour of the eco farm and some education and knowledge about medicinal values of natural grown plants, by the supervisor Elaine 

Because it's eco farm, no pesticides are used at all. Hence, we can just pluck any leaves or plants and eat them right there and then. No washing required too.

See what I mean? 

Some finds it a bit too much for their stomach

But not everyone thinks so

Hello, whatcha looking at...?

This is the first time I see a live ostrich, and I think they're really BIG...!

 The mini hanging bridge

Some decided to get across, the adventurous way. The flying fox way..!!! 

Whooeeeeeeeee...........!!!

Stranded in the middle of the river, can smile and pose some more. Not heavy enuf! Had to be pulled in by Elaine.

Others decided to play safe 

 Resting before lunch

However, before lunch starts, we have to fill ourselves up with abundance supplies of rambutans, mangoesteens, star fruits, etc, etc.. followed by ulam. They advise us to eat fruits and veggies first and allow it to digest a bit before   lunch. That is the correct way of eating. 


Seems like we've been eating non-stop the minute we arrive at the eco-farm.

2nd round of bubble blowing while waiting for lunch coz the lil' fella there insisted he wanted to play.

Someone feeling very adventurous & decided to use the biggest loop to create the biggest bubble. Wan't easy though..

 Decided to stick back to medium size loop

Eeerm.... this ain't lunch. Lunch was at the Titi Eco Farm. Very healthy and delicious!! Then upon reaching Klang Valley, we decided to swing by Cyberjaya, to a place called Saba Restaurant for the mutton beryani. Wanted so much to introduce the place to my family.

They love the mutton beryani there and the chicken pita was heavenly too!

Pheeewh....! What a fabulous trip! 

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint