It’s the time of the year again when the Chinese celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the eighth month in lunar calendar when full moon is observed. This year, the festival falls on this day, 30th September 2012 and it’s a Sunday which gives no excuse not to have this day with family particularly. What’s usually emphasized by Chinese families especially on ‘big’ day like this is the family gathering and dinner together. So, there should be no reason not to allocate little of your time for it unless you are far away from your family. Have a great time with your loved ones!

This Mid-Autumn Festival, or famously known as Chinese Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival and Lantern Festival is considered to be one of the very important festivals in Chinese tradition. Of course, the festival is closely related to eating mooncakes and playing with lanterns and candles particularly to the young kids which can be quite fun too. I remembered those time when I was a kid playing those with my neighbours in front of my house. Too bad, I couldn’t buy many lanterns to hang around as my parents see it as a waste of money, if not, the atmosphere would be very cool with many bright lanterns surrounding you. Such a nostalgic feeling.

For mooncakes, I would never miss this delicacy which are only available for a month every year around this period of festival. In fact,  mooncake is my favourite, on which I prefer more on the snowy one which has to be kept in refrigerator. However, on this year, the sale of snowy mooncakes had been greatly reduced and it’s so hard now to find place selling that. But still, I have already had almost 3 full snowy mooncakes bought from Mid Valley in my stomach earlier already. Haha…Yummy. Couldn’t afford to buy any more as mooncakes are now getting much more expensive. In average, a mooncake now costs over RM12 (so a box of four usually exceeds RM50), and when you cut it into four pieces, one piece which can be finished in only a very few bites already costs RM3 alone. Not worthy to buy a lot. Price is a bit unreasonable.

In concern to that and the sudden desire of my eldest sister to try out on her own, she made jelly mooncakes for the first time this year and her works are quite successful. She made a lot, and we finished them very quick too, which means that her mooncakes are even qualified for sale which many others are doing now as well. But she made quite an effort on it, buying all the necessary stuff and ingredients, then spending a long time in the process. Thanks for her lovely jelly mooncakes, and now I’m actually craving for more of that. Haha….anyway, last but not least, I would like to wish every Chinese a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival for the year 2012!!!

(Image source: http://www.chinatravel.com/focus/mid-autumn-festival/cards/card-4.html)

Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all my Muslim friends! Eid Mubarak! (ahha..it’s good to know, respect and learn more from other religions as well, and so that’s the benefit of being a Malaysian as we are in a peaceful multi-racial country) It’s a big festival for my Muslim friends, and so I would take this opportunity to dedicate this post as my greeting of this festival to them.

(Image above is from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IN2KaukA0iA/TraI8wAQriI/AAAAAAAABJI/aT9NmQSOqJ0/s1600/hari+raya+haji+2011.jpg)

This year, the day falls on Friday which is perfect as we all would enjoy a longer break this weekend. As expected, it is reported that major roads and highways are congested beginning the past afternoon as many are taking this opportunity to return to hometown particularly Malays when they would celebrate this festival preferably at hometown. For the others, some would take this break for a short holiday elsewhere while some prefer just to stay and rest at home. Money issue forced me to pick the latter choice as staying at home would prevent myself from going out which usually spends money.

This week appears to went off pretty quick for me. I went to Johor on Tuesday and returned the next day for an urgent working matter. Hence, I’m only in the office on Monday, Tuesday and yesterday (Thursday) for this week. Today, Friday is the day for Hari Raya Haji and so it’s public holiday. Lovely…everyone loves public holiday. And one good thing living in Malaysia is that there are quite a number of public holidays over here as we have different races here and so we have multiple festivals from each main religions. Wait…when is the next public holiday? Only two weeks from now when we would observe Deepavali and Awal Muharam. Then, Christmas and New Year…after that Chinese New Year…wao…looking too far already…

It’s always raining nowadays, and so I find it’s better to stay indoor (at home). Home is always the most comfortable place. For the Malays, tomorrow is a big day for them to gather at mosque for praying and ceremonial processions. Yesterday, my employer allowed us to leave work half an hour earlier. Good! We all were already in holiday mood earlier. Haha…that also helped me to avoid traffic congestion which would gets much troublesome later. He also recommends my other Muslim colleagues to visit the Steel Mosque at Putrajaya tomorrow for its breathtaking architecture. I myself had visited the mosque before but didn’t get to enter the building. But looking from outside the building already amazed me, enhanced with picturesque setting of the surrounding backdrop of Putrajaya, the garden city of Malaysia.

Last but not least, I would like to wish to all Muslims particularly my friends and my colleagues, Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha! May you enjoy the festival with your loved ones and happy holiday as well! Monday, don’t come so fast please!…

Happy Halloween!

This celebration isn’t hugely popular in Malaysia (as well as in whole Asia except Hong Kong) and so it’s just an ordinary day and night for most of us here. But I believe this celebration must be big and more festive in Western countries and so I send my greeting to those celebrating it, mostly in the West far from my side, on the East. But I think this year’s celebration would be dampened by the impact of Hurricane Sandy which is one of the worst in decades. I can see how destructive it is as seen from the news widely reported over here as well. Hope it would goes off very soon.

Well, in Malaysia, some still do organize costume parties in smaller scale and only involves small group of people, particularly friends. Trick-or-treat is something very unusual here, and same goes to other Halloween-related activities like carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, lighting bonfires (unless you are coincidentally on camp trip), playing pranks, etc. Some would take this opportunity to tell ghost stories, watch horror films or visit haunted attractions, but we can do that on any day too.

Is there any nice horror films on theaters now? I had watched ‘Hotel Transylvania’ not long ago and I find the animated movie very interesting. Don’t need to recommend me any ghost movies because most probably I won’t be watching those in cinemas (I have to admit I’m quite scared when it comes to this, but I can watch it at home). But on other hand, I love to watch those psycho movies with brutal killing as the theme. But these are much more popular back in 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

It’s that time of the year again when I would log into my Runescape free account to complete special event to earn some special reward on selected festival including this Halloween. This year, the task player need to do is ghost hunting which is quite interesting but not that challenging. I finished that task in less than 30 minutes eventhough I have to travel all around the big ‘world’ in the games. Anyway, it’s fun to get back to the games after such a long time. I’m going to log in back for Christmas event two months from now.

Last but not least, Happy Halloween to all who are celebrating it! Have fun and enjoy the night! It’s also the last day of October, and let’s get ourselves ready to welcome November 2012, the second last month of the year.

(Image above from http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z467/h2a1k/hall/111.jpg)

Happy school holiday to all Malaysians pursuing primary or secondary education. I wouldn’t call them ‘kids’, as this would makes me feel older. But if I call them ‘youngsters’, then it makes me feel younger like them, but I’m already five years away from school (not counting university). Now, I tend to feel like pressing a rewind button so that I can return to the time when I was a student so I can start to enjoy this long end year break that would last one month and a half.

It’s quite unfair when students get to have long break like this while the adults had to continue working everyday, only to wait for arrival of public holidays. But well, people has to grow up, and my stage as a primary and secondary school kids is over. I have started venture into working world beginning middle of this year, and time flies very quick, as I have been working for almost half a year already, and then soon, I would have my 21st birthday, and then not long after, the year has to come to an end.

Well, the school holiday some sort of benefits me a little too actually. Number of cars on roads in the morning would be reduced which would cuts down the usual time required for me to get to work every early morning. Thus, this would gives me ten more minutes of sleep every weekdays onwards. Well, on this long holiday, the kids would be enjoying up until the arrival of year 2013 when a new schooling term begins. So good…for students taking SPM and STPM this year, good luck and all the best. Eventhough your holiday isn’t started yet (this is the time of pressure for them), but don’t get too stressful. Get over the exam and then, you are free!

Since next week is the beginning of the end year break which also coincides with two public holidays in the same week, many adults would take this opportunity to be on leave to spend holiday together. Hence, traffic congestion is somehow inevitable beginning this weekend as many would returns to hometown for this holiday season. Have a safe journey for those on roads, and last but not least, happy holiday again to all students! Enjoy the break and have fun! But just don’t get yourself too lazy around, and try to make your yourself useful on this last two months of the year by getting on your hobby, finding a part time job, reading books, or some other useful activities. Get yourself in better state to face the upcoming years.

(Image source: http://www.emailloop.net/images/resourcecenter/happy_holidays.jpg)

Happy Deepavali to all Hindus!

(Image source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aPzXkIQ9yLY/Tqa79IBkXsI/AAAAAAAAEf8/cpcHeoMrroQ/s1600/diwali64.gif)

That’s one of the good things to live in Malaysia. You get to live in a multiracial country with people of different skin colour, and yet we still stay together in peace and harmony. Hence, you are exposed to more variety of cultures and traditions as compared to many other countries where citizens are mostly of one major race. Then, we get to have more public holidays! In Malaysia, there are three main races; Malays, Chinese and Indians. Deepavali is a major festival for the Indians, and eventhough I’m not involved anything at all to this (I’m Chinese), but I would take this opportunity too to wish all Malaysian Indians, Happy Deepavali! To others, Happy Holiday as well!

A one-day public holiday is dedicated for this festival. Some find it enough since Indians make up less than 10% of overall population of the country, while some find it unfair as the Malays had two-days public holiday for Hari Raya while the Chinese had also two days off for Chinese New Year. Hmm..this issue is quite sensitive, and there is never a 100% acceptability to any solutions proposed over this issue for the rights of Indians living in Malaysia. I don’t mind if Deepavali gets two-days of holiday. That is even better, as I can get one more day of break. Haha…

Indians are never to look down on, eventhough they are little in numbers in Malaysia. Many of them are hardworking workers or professional doctors, while some even made it to the list of wealthiest Malaysians (ex: Ananda Krishnan, owner of Astro, and currently second richest Malaysian). Their contribution to multiple sectors in Malaysia is priceless. Hence, Deepavali which is a major festival to them, should not be taken lightly on which I have seen now, which is saddening.

We have beautiful Chinese New Year decorations all over shopping malls and streets during Chinese New Year season. We enjoyed extra Raya break, toll and shopping discounts during Raya season. For Indians, I didn’t much being done to celebrate this major festival from the public. There is no major signboard for greeting this occasion. There is no major decoration put up in malls or streets to mark this Festival of Light. Yes, I do see ‘kolam’ displayed in several malls but those are just not grand or sufficient enough to showcase the importance of the festival. More attention is needed on this matter. You see…I find it quite unacceptable eventhough I’m not an Indian.

We live in the same country, and I do also hope for the best to Malaysians of other races, backgrounds or religions. Happy Deepavali, particularly to my Indian friends. May you enjoy and celebrate this Festival of Light full of happiness and joy with your family and friends! Ahha…heard quite a lot of fireworks from my neighbourhood just now. Must be having fun…It seems like the rain just now didn’t dampen the high spirit of celebrating Diwali! That’s great… It’s good also to live at 19th floor, you get to watch fireworks for free within a huge visible range.

(Image source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iUKO-Lk555w/UKA9xpoHnGI/AAAAAAAAGgo/itkJWQASTVg/s1600/deepavali02-1.jpg)

This week is amazing! Not only that there is a public holiday that falls within this week, but it’s two in the same week. Two days ago, we had the Deepavali celebration, the Festival of Light for the Indians and now on this day, it’s the celebration of Awal Muharram for the Malays. There isn’t any Monday blues at all for this week since Tuesday is a holiday for Deepavali. And then, there isn’t any pressure of returning back to work on Wednesday as another holiday falls on Thursday which is this Awal Muharram.

I’m not involved in any of these two festivals as I’m a Chinese, but there is of course joy for having to enjoy several holidays, all in one week. Just lovely. And furthermore, I’m taking an annual leave this Friday, hence I am now off from work from Thursday till Sunday, before returning back to office next Monday. What a way to end this week. I believe many would be taking leave this week too, as I have seen much lesser cars on roads nowadays. Furthermore, it’s the beginning of the one and a half month long end-year school break too.

Hmm…at first, I don’t really know what Awal Muharram is, up until when I asked one of my Malay colleagues yesterday. It’s actually a new year celebration for the Muslims, but it’s not that emphasized (not a major festival) compared to Hari Raya Puasa and Haji. Even the Indians also didn’t emphasize much on their new year celebration (which is usually in April every year) but more on Deepavali, or simply known as Diwali. But for us, the Chinese, our most major festival would be the Chinese New Year (usually in February every year) or known as Spring Festival over at China.

Eventhough Awal Muharram isn’t a really big deal or a much happening festival, it’s still symbolic to mark the beginning of a new year in Muslim calendar. If you are taking the opportunity of long break to return to hometown (balik kampung), then I wish you to have a safe and pleasant journey home. Enjoy this day with your family and friends! Salam Maal Hijrah. For the others, Happy Holiday of course! It’s time to take a break AGAIN, and do whatever you missed out in your previous holiday. If not, you have to wait till Christmas for the next public holiday.

(Image source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xyY7W3_fchI/TtC2ewGgiYI/AAAAAAAAAe0/LkGkoYDIzGw/s1600/Nice-Muharram.jpg)

Happy Awal Muharram to all Muslims. It’s a new year of 1434 Hijrah for the Muslims! Happy New Year to them! For the Indians, let me extend my Deepavali greeting to you once again. Let the festive mood continues till the end of this week. Enjoy, rest and have fun!

December 4th is my birthday. And what is the date today? Exactly! It’s my birthday! And on this year’s December 4th, I’m officially 21 years old now. In my primary education, I successfully passed an exam that allows me to skip a year of study (that is the last year of the running of that particular exam called PTS which is then abolished), and hence from there on, all my friends I have known are at least a year older than me. I am always being known as the youngest in the class, but sometimes people would just find me immature. Okay,..sorry for that. It’s not my fault, it’s the issue of my age.

Most have passed through their 21st birthday quite a time ago. My eldest sister had her 21st birthday dinner over five years ago when my mother was still here. My second sister had a blast on her 21st birthday three years ago with huge number of friends she had (she is very social-friendly). Chinese tradition emphasizes on 21st birthday and Chinese would usually hold big party to celebrate it. However, due to the recent passing away of my beloved grandma, Chinese belief does not allow any celebration in my family for an entire year. Hence, for that reason, I had to pass through my 21st birthday in a unique way; simple and humble. There is no one to blame here, and anyway, I would still have many birthdays in future. So, no worry.

On my very special day today, I decided not to take any leave and proceed to work as usual. It’s another usual working day for me, just like the others. Of course, today is still my birthday no matter what, and so I didn’t had the mood to do works seriously just now. Sorry for being lack of productivity today. Anyway, most of the day had now been spent in office, and I only had the remaining time at night to enjoy a warm dinner with my family, to reply tens of Facebook wishes, watch TV and doing other usual stuff as usual before going to sleep. That’s how my day goes. It’s certainly isn’t a blast to me, but I do still feel comfortable over such way to go through my 21st birthday. It’s not really a ‘big’ deal, man.

I am now officially 21 years old. That age means that I’m now officially a young adult, who is now eligible to enter casino, to do some other stuff and also qualified to vote on general election. But then, the government closed the registration already. Not my problem. It’s also the beginning of the time when I had to start seriously considering of my future, and also time to find a companion as always been told by my dad and my aunties and uncles. Ya la…ya la…no force please. Last but not least, I’m wishing myself here, Happy 21st Birthday! I’m looking forward for a successful, smooth and joyful years ahead! Ahha, before I end this post, I would like to say that I’m quite surprised that the Google Doodle today is wishing me Happy Birthday too! Lovely…

Ho…ho…ho…Santa Claus is coming to town!

Merry Christmas to all and Happy Holiday! How do you spend your Christmas eve? Partying like there is no tomorrow, hanging out with friends for movies, going out for drinks, or just stay comfortably at home with family? Let us all treat this Christmas joyfully and enjoy the best out of this festive night no matter where you are. Put away your work, and it’s now still not too late to plan what to do tonight with your family or friends. Well, perhaps we should even celebrate more since we just got over the predicted doomsday safely on last Friday, 21st December 2012. Haha…a bigger reason to celebrate.

Kids, are you waiting for your present? Waiting for Santa Claus, dreaming that he will be here tonight? Eventhough Santa Claus is something not real (sorry kids, face the truth), but there must be someone in your life who can gives you countless happiness just like Santa Claus. Anyone can be a Santa Claus to you. If I’m making you smile  and in happy mood now, I am your Santa Claus too. Hohoho…Jingle bells, jingle bells…jingle all the ways! But sorry, I don’t have any present for you.

This year, I didn’t get to go to any shopping malls nearby where Christmas decoration is prominent like Pavilion KL, Midvalley, Berjaya Times Square, etc. Too bad in Malaysia, there would be no real Christmas tree, no real snow, and no real snowman in Malaysia. We are in hot and humid climate every year. And so, we have to depend on decorations to mark this festive season. I have to say that the effort put on decorating the famous malls particularly in KL region really elevates the Xmas atmosphere and brilliant with different themes applied every year. Without those, Christmas would be totally nothing in Malaysia. Hmm, I can say I’m lucky enough to have seen snow and experience winter season overseas but for just a short while. For me, I prefer to celebrate Christmas in winter, while lighting fireplace at home to enjoy the maximum comfort and warmth. That would be lovely… Nevertheless, my Christmas mood is still activated now…

Last but not least,

We wish you a Merry Christmas,

We wish you a Merry Christmas,

We wish you a Merry Christmas,

And a Happy New Year!

Have a wonderful Christmas! Enjoy!

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Booming sounds of fireworks filled the sky outside just now as the world welcomes the new year of 2013. It must be very happening and crowded at major cities around the world as they prepared to usher 2013 with amazing parties, gatherings and of course the not-to-be-missed fireworks display according to their local time. I have watched the live broadcast of the new year fireworks from Sydney Harbour Bridge several hours ago , and as usual every year, the massive and lengthy display impressed me. Not long ago, it’s the time for fireworks to lit up the sky of Kuala Lumpur, but I’m not too excited to watch any of it because it’s too typical and ordinary every year. I just hear some noise from fireworks from KL which is not too loud as my home is quite far from the city centre. Whatever…

Happy New Year 2013 to everyone! 2012 now officially ended and is now only kept in our memory or just merely regarded as history. Goodbye to 2012 which had been good and bad to me. But I find there is more bad things on me in the past year. Those bad things are rolling in like there is no stop. Luckily, I can say it’s over (since the year is over too). Now, I’m hoping for a better new year, but the Chinese horoscope forecast brings me down again. This year, 2013, would be the year of snake according to Chinese lunar calendar. And those who are born in year of goat would not have a smooth year. That means bad. And I was born in year of goat. Nevermind, I will just pretend myself not to believe too much on this Chinese astrology, and treat everything this year positively. I will try.

So, 2013 would be my 6th year in operation of this blog. Wow..that long? Yes… I started this blog back in 2008. That’s unbelievable. Time flies. And now, I started off this year with this 1101th post. By this year, I would turn 22 too. Double two! What’s my new year’s wish? It’s all those crappy shit that you must have heard before. Proper health, smooth work, safe living, good luck. Who doesn’t want all that? Well, it’s a bit general, and if you want me to narrow it down, I have no idea. I am just hoping now that this year would turns out good to me. And yes, the new year started off very well with a comfortable holiday at home for a day before gearing up for multiple works later on. Hmm…I am also longing for some kind of surprises to await me in 2013 which would makes life more interesting. I mean good surprise (totally don’t want the bad one.) My new year’s resolution? I will try to push myself to learn as much as I can in architecture career I have started on not long ago, not to get lazy or sleepy easily (but it’s hard to control that sometimes), and to get out and socialize more! That’s my target. Whether it will be achieved, remains a big question.

How was your new year’s eve? Dead tiring now due to crazy partying and countdown celebration just now? Most probably. I am sure many would stay up till very late tonight and wake up later by the afternoon already. I’m glad many had a blast. Well, that’s life. We have been through a lengthy year of so many things going on, and it’s time to celebrate the end of one and the arrival of another. Well, the theme for this month’s blog header would be obviously on fireworks. I like to watch fireworks display. It’s beautiful yet so fast. What’s better way to celebrate new year big than having fireworks display. So, it must appears at the top of my blog for at least a month. (Click on a copy of the header below for a clearer and bigger version)

Last but not least, goodbye 2012 and welcome 2013! Happy New Year to everyone once again! Have you changed your calendar? Go,go, go…2013!

(First and last image in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web. Note: First image is slightly edited)

Gong Xi! Gong Xi!

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone celebrating it! Year of dragon (2012) came to an end, and now let us welcome the year of snake for 2013. Snake arrived! Don’t be scared. Snake is now portrayed as cute as possible in CNY decorations everywhere. Saw the Myfm’s version of the CNY’s snake? Very cute, right? But I think the design it too ‘forced’ (too fat and short), making it not looking like a snake at all. Whatever…Ulala…famous slogan for this Chinese New Year.

Now, last year is the year of dragon. This year, year of snake. Next year, it’s going to be year of horse. Then, after that, year of goat. That’s year, when I would turn 24. Ohh…I have gone too far. That is still so long from now. So, now, Chinese’s biggest festival began and would lasts in 15 days. Eventhough in Malaysia, we are only granted two days of public holiday (plus two days of adjacent weekend), but still we have more than enough time to spend the days with your loved ones (family, relatives, and friends). How are you going to spend your CNY?

Usual visiting to relatives, friends and neighbours for angpows and gifts exchange? Yes…that is a usual tradition every year. And that is also the time when we, the youngsters would face many similar questions (finished studying? have any boyfriend or girlfriend? haven’t married? how’s your job? haven’t had any baby?). That’s the first thing those people (your elders) would ask you during not only this Chinese New Year, but every Chinese New Year. Annoying right? But face it calmly, since this is the only way that your relatives use to start the conversation/ interaction (just to ‘break the ice’). Respect them.

Getting angpows is always exciting. But I’m sure I’m getting lesser every year. I don’t remember from when onwards, me and my family didn’t celebrate Chinese New Year at home anymore. I think for at least five years already. We would pick this time to go to oversea for trip every year, and so there is no time for us to visit our relatives. But still, some close relatives would keep angpows for us. Thank you very much. Remember, Chinese New Year is also the time (at least once in a year) for reunion with all the family and relatives. So, enjoy and cherish those moments with happiness. There are also some interesting Hong Kong Chinese New Year films to catch up (as usual in every year), but I’m going to watch those after I came back from my long trip.

Last but not least, I am here to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year! May you have this year of snake with best in health, luck and in everything else all together! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

(All images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

It’s the third Sunday of the month of June. So what it is? It’s Father’s Day celebration. Happy Father’s Day to my dad! He is a loving and caring dad to me and my two elder sisters. Since my mom had left the world more than six years ago, he had been tough and strong to take care of the family all by himself. It must be hard for him. There is no match to his unconditional love and care to us. Now we have all grown up. And he is getting old day by day. But his love towards us never fades away. And so do our love to him too.

Tonight, we are going to have a dinner treat for him as usual once every year. This is a special day specially for him, and we all must be around. Do you know that a simple thing like having all his children gathered and enjoyed a meal with him would be his greatest present already? Yes, it is. Today is a Sunday, and it’s Father’s Day today, but surprisingly, my dad had to go to work. There are too many things for him to settle in these few days and so he had to spend the day at his workplace too. Not a single rest day for him for the week. I can see he is really tired and exhausted when he just came back home just now, still trying to work hard for the family despite his age at the mid of fifties.

It’s never easy to be a dad. We knew it. Eventhough I have not been a dad yet to anyone, but I can still see how much a father has to go through to raise up his children and make sure the family is safe, secure, happy and contented with things around. I saw this lovely quote on Father’s Day that I wish to share here:

I’ve had a hard life, but my hardships are nothing against the hardships that my father went through in order to get me to where I started.

(Image source: http://www.fathers-day2013.com/fathers-day-wallpapers-fathers-day-wallpapers-from-kids/)

Last but not least, Happy Father’s Day to my dad and also to all the loving dads around the world! As a son or daughter, let’s take this day as an opportunity to appreciate and show your gratitude on what your dad have done for you for all these years. As a father, sit back and relax…enjoy this special day for you with your family. Once again, Happy Father’s Day! Dad, eventhough you won’t be seeing this post, but I will just state it down; I love you, dad!

Ramadhan month has began today, and so I would like to take this opportunity to wish my Muslim friends a happy fasting month! Same goes to every other Muslims in the world. Selamat berpuasa! Have a blessed Ramadhan!

(Image source: http://lelakiohlelaki.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Selamat-Berpuasa-2011-2.jpg)

This also means that there is a month to go before the Hari Raya celebration. And also less than a month to go before my trip to Cambodia for the second time. Yes, next month, during the Raya break, I would be on my family trip to Cambodia. I had been there before few years ago for a study trip along with my university classmates and lecturers. Now, I’m going solely for vacation purpose. On this upcoming trip, I can also explain on a little backgrounds of several tourist attractions to my family and also walk by myself on several places that I’m familiar with. Hmm…looking forward to the trip too eventhough I have been to the country before not long ago. I wish to see the Angkor Wat and the other nearby temples again.

Back to the Ramadhan. Today is the beginning of the fasting month. All of my Malay colleagues couldn’t eat or drink during the whole office working hours. I am the only exception. My employee even asked me to fast with them. I can say it’s a good practice but I have to say I couldn’t do it. Why? I’m thin. I’m skinny. I couldn’t live without food once in few hours. I must drink frequently to rejuvenate myself. If I’m fasting, I think I would faint sometime in the office. But have I tried fasting before? Let me think. No…But I had several times when I’m rushing for my assignment submission in university few years back that I did not take any food in about 10 hours. But I did drink a bit in between. So, that’s not considered fasting.

I have to admire how my Malay colleagues can wake up very early, do praying, and then abstain from eating and drinking for like 12 hours straight, and this has to be practised everyday in a whole month. Amazing. And they can still work quite efficiently. But I still see they complaining of tiredness and sleepiness which is obviously usual. Anyway, they can leave work half an hour earlier, while I have to stay with the normal office working hours. By the way, happy fasting to all my Muslim friends once again! Selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa! Perhaps, one day, I will try to practise fasting too as requested by my colleagues today.

Good day everyone! I wish to take this opportunity to wish Muslims around the world ‘Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri’ particularly to my Malay friends! ‘Maaf Zahir Batin’. May you enjoy the festival with happiness, warmth and joy together with your family, relatives and friends. This day also marked the end of fasting month (Ramadhan) to all Muslims practising it. I believed fasting is a very good practice. But I think I couldn’t make it longer than a week because I’m the kind of person that gets hungry or thirsty easily. 

By the way, I’m not in Malaysia currently as I’m enjoying my short trip to Cambodia during this Raya break. Hence, I’m not be able to surf the internet there (even if there is, it’s inconvenient) and so, I wouldn’t mind to tell you that this post is written few days earlier and is to be automatically published on this first day of Raya. Yes, you see…I have the heart or sincerity to wish my Malay colleagues, friends and my blog readers Happy Raya even when I’m away at this moment.

Many would have had a usual bad experience on major highways yesterday or earlier when many would be flocking back to their hometown to celebrate this wonderful festival with their most loved ones. ‘Balik kampung…ohh, ohh, ohh,…balik kampung!’. But no worry, at least you have reach safely to your destination. The most important is the calmness in such situation. For those who have not returned to hometown yet, I wish you to have a safe and pleasant drive home. Relax and enjoy the ride. There is no need to rush. Stay alert and positive all the time. 

Happy Holiday also to everyone else! It’s quite a long break, sufficient enough for you to get a break away from the school works or job. Go travel, relax and have fun. Feel free to attend Raya open house without pointing different races or religions. That’s One Malaysia spirit. Gatherings among relatives or friends would be a nice idea too. I’m taking this opportunity to travel oversea with my family. And that is why I’m at Cambodia now for a 5-days 4-nights trip. And I will be back by Sunday’s afternoon, which means that after the trip, I would have no more day to rest. The next day, I have to get back to reality; work! Forget about it first as now what’s on our mind shall be the fun and joy we can have from this Raya festival and break. 

Last but not least, I would like to wish ‘Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri’ once again to all Muslims celebrating it from the bottom of my heart.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web).

Why is 31st August this year falls on Saturday? If it’s a day earlier, then we are going to enjoy the Independence Day’s public holiday on Friday. If it’s on a day later (on Sunday), the following Monday would be designated as public holiday too. Either way, we would be having a longer weekend. But now, the fact is it’s on Saturday. Too bad. Only usual two-days break on this weekend. Nevermind, not long after that, we are going to enjoy another public holiday soon on 16th September (which is on Monday) due to Malaysia Day.

Tomorrow, we would be celebrating 56th Independence Day of the nation. I have heard of the theme of the Independence celebration this year, but I couldn’t remember it because it’s just too long and not iconic enough. I recalled something that carries the message of willingness to sacrifice for the country. Ahh, it’s ‘Malaysiaku Berdaulat, Tanah Tumpahnya Darahku’. Long right? For me, honestly, I wouldn’t be that noble to sacrifice till ‘the drop of my blood’ but I would love to contribute for the country. My parents always encourage me to work oversea in near future since there is a much brighter exposure and opportunities in many other countries. I couldn’t help but to agree, but in the end, Malaysia is still my ‘root’, the place where I was born. I will still be back if I have went to somewhere else.

National flags were put up everywhere in conjunction with this celebration. On each day this week, while I am working in my office, I heard loud noises of military aircrafts flying by over the sky of Kuala Lumpur, the capital where most of the Independence Day celebration will be held. These aircrafts must be performing for the Independence Day Parade tomorrow’s morning. On the other hand, the Putrajaya International Fireworks Competition returns this year. There would be fireworks display synchronised with beautiful music by six competing countries (including Malaysia) over the beautiful administrative city of Putrajaya at night of 30th and 31st August, 13th, 14th and 15th September and also on 2nd October 2013. Each show would be around 25-minutes long. This might be one of the events you would not want to miss. I had watched one of the fireworks shows few years back and it’s fantastic.

Today is Merdeka Eve, and it’s going to be a much more happening and festive Friday than ever. Of course, much worst traffic congestion is predicted all over the city as night approaches. I have just returned home from work, just finished escaping from the madness on the roads. People, particularly tourists and youngsters will party all out tonight and countdown to the nation’s 56th independence anniversary at several popular hotspots particularly at Bukit Bintang area, KLCC, Dataran Merdeka, etc. By 12am, there would be fireworks display from these places as usual. I take this opportunity to wish a bit early to all Malaysians, Happy 56th Merdeka Day! (Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke-56!) May our country continue to excel and fast becoming developed nation by 2020 as targeted in Wawasan 2020.

(Image source: http://www.hasani.com.my/images/56%20merdeka.png)

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all Chinese (to myself and my family too) celebrating it! Yes, today is the 15th day of the 8th month based on Chinese lunar calendar. Well, this festival has a lot of other names too such as Mooncake Festival or Lantern Festival or whatever you call it. This is one of the major festivals in Chinese culture and tradition in case you didn’t know. But it’s just another usual working Thursday in Malaysia, where festivals like this are seen minor and not emphasized. Anyway, this festival still stays strong in our roots and hearts. (Image below from source: T. Chua, 2011, and edited)

I hope young children are having fun playing candles and lanterns these few nights. I recalled those happy moments I had when I was a child lighting up candles, and from there, creates interesting pattern or pile it up together for a slightly bigger flame, and then putting papers and leaves to burn together too. And my parents will usually came out of the house at this point of time to stop us from doing so. My sisters and my neighbours would sometime joined the fun too. Lanterns (in my childhood years, there are only traditional folded paper lanterns and animal-shaped plastic lanterns) were hung by the side of a wall with help of wood sticks. Really beautiful. I hope young children now still stick to this tradition, but I believe now the more popular choice of lanterns are the electronic ones.

Last Sunday, my relatives had organized a dinner gathering accompanied with a bit of rituals worshipping the Moon. I didn’t play any of the candles or the lanterns (I’m an adult now) but I do enjoyed watching all my little cousins and nephews playing and having fun. Looking from that, I find myself getting old soon. Haha… In the gathering, out of a sudden, a lantern dropped off and caught fire. It spreads so quick to the nearby plastic bags. Within a second, we freaked out but after a short while, it was distinguished by a slipper. Not my slipper. Hence, an advice to all especially kids; be careful no matter what when playing with fire.

I love mooncakes, the hallmark of this festival. But mooncakes now are getting so expensive and so I observed lesser people are buying in recent years. The price is very unreasonable. But this is the first time I bought a box of mooncakes with my own money to treat my family. Actually, I am the one who eat the most. Mooncakes nowadays also came in variety of flavours by mixing fruits, cheese, coffees, nuts, or whatever possible. But in the end, I still prefer the original flavour (lotus seed with egg yolk and also the snowy skin ones). My eldest sister is good on making own jelly mooncakes and I like that too.

Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to wish every Chinese a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! May you celebrate this day joyfully and harmoniously.

28th September 2008 was the day I started out this blog. Not long after Beijing 2008 Olympics, my passion on writing stuff (on anything that I find interesting and is deserving to be shared) builds up. I wish to put it down on a book or a diary, but that’s no point if no one else read it. It’s not something intended to be secretive or confidential. Internet had been a very powerful and influential tool in our present time. Hence, I turn to blogging, a medium that could share my words to every parts of the world. By 28th September 2008, my thought finally transformed to solid action; by creating this blog through WordPress after several steps to set up.

What’s the date today? It’s 28th September 2013. That’s exactly five years from the ‘birth’ of my blog. I couldn’t say anything else besides than wishing my blog a wonderful 5th birthday! My blog, which I considered part of my life is now 5 years old! My ‘baby’ is now 5 years old! Five years ago, it’s a humble and small little blog not known to many others. Now, it gained over two million visits, attracted over two thousand comments, having posts shared over a thousand times, and is followed by over 100 people around the world. If compares to many other giant blog sites (usually with hundred of authors), my blog here is no where to be seen. However, I am very pleased, satisfied and grateful of the current position of my blog which is fully run all by myself.

Of course I couldn’t remember the mood I had when I first created this blog five years ago, but I’m certain for now that happiness overwhelms me that my blog had comes to this far. Five years up, and is still active with me trying my best to frequently update my blog with interesting information from architecture to international events or news and more individually to things I encountered in my daily life that I find worth sharing. It’s very vibrant or dynamic, as I believe our life is never all about a single aspect only. I admit that back in early years of my blog, I had written a lot of posts with very little effort, poor sentencing or bad grammar. I’m improving myself consistently on this and is very much evident if you compare my recent write-ups with my posting few years back. Now, my posts are not badly written, right?

In conjunction with my blog’s 5th anniversary, there would be a complimentary kiss from me. Haha…just joking. It’s okay. At least, there’s beautiful virtual fireworks display in this post to celebrate.

If you are a constant reader of my blog, you should have realize this from my blog’s header of the month. It’s a cool visual highlighting on my blog’s 5th anniversary. Last but not least, I would like to wish again to my blog here (www.vincentloy.wordpress.com) a great 5th birthday and also taking this opportunity to congratulate (compliment too) myself for bringing this blog to this far. Google had its 15th anniversary celebration recently, and my blog here named ‘Vincent Loy – My Blog City’ had its 5th anniversary too (not to miss out). Great!

I am living in Malaysia, a country with tropical climate of which the four seasons don’t exist. I can say it’s good but we will never have the opportunity to enjoy winter or get a chance to play with real snow here (unless you are in the Snow World theme park at Genting Highlands). However, I’m lucky enough to have gone to other countries to experience what is it like to be in winter season. It is fun if that is only for a few days and not for long. Back to here, I have to say that Christmas celebration in Malaysia will never be awesome cool or ‘complete’.

To compensate that and to further add joyous festive mood on this Xmas season in Malaysia at the end of the year, we have major shopping malls particularly in Kuala Lumpur beautifully decorated annually for this festival. Our malls here tend to willingly spend a lot on this not only as a mean of celebration but also most importantly is to boost their image and to attract more visitors to come and shop. And one of the most striking shall be none other than the Christmas decorations in Pavilion KL. It never disappoints me every year. I had been there last week, and here are some of the photos I took.

My two baby nephews enjoyed it. At this time of the year, the main entrance and the central atrium of the mall will be ‘permanently’ crowded with visitors taking pictures and fascinated by the wonderful Christmas decorations and set-ups. Pavilion KL had the theme ‘Christmas Wonders’ this year. Well, there many other shopping malls that you can visit to check out their amazing Xmas decorations too in different themes like Sunway Pyramid, Mid Valley, Suria KLCC, Berjaya Times Square, etc. Not long after, all that will have to be replaced with Chinese New Year decorations.

It’s going to be Christmas Day soon, and hence I take this opportunity to send my early Christmas greeting to all who are celebrating this spectacular occasion! Have a wonderful Christmas and happy holiday!

Also not to forget that there is actually a Chinese festival today before the Christmas. It’s the Winter Solstice or known as ‘Dongzhi Festival’ among the Chinese. Happy Winter Solstice too!

Then, new year celebration would be just around the corner!

Happy New Year 2014 to everyone!

Goodbye 2013! You had been quite a good and a smooth year to me! Hope it went the same for you too. Now, here came a brand new year. Let us wish that this year will be awesome and full of joy and happiness to everyone of us! All the best!

This year, I would be turning 23, and my blog is on its 7th year in running. Wow…it has been that long, but that is great! My blog continues to bring delight to my readers in every coming years non-stop. As for me, it may come to a certain point this year that I have to make some serious decisions that may impact my life later on. So, I have to get myself ready and fully prepared for all the tough choices, challenges, and hardship ahead.

My blog’s header for this month would definitely be on new year’s greeting of course! It’s more of a party-themed colourful visual against my site’s dominantly black background. The image (from original source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-raBZ4mNOGsE/Un5Al2s57xI/AAAAAAAAZYg/scDuwtaCcYI/s1600/happy_new_year_2014-1920×1200.jpg) is in orange backdrop, a colour I have never used before for my blog’s header. Something interesting this time. Not long after, the header will have to change to a more red and prosperous feel, as Chinese New Year is drawing near too. The festival will falls by end of this month. So, there would be two blog headers this month. Special case (usually one header per month). A copy of this month’s first header below:

Anyway, I’m not going to make the first post of the year lengthy or boring. I’m just dropping by to wish everyone once again a Happy New Year! Goodbye 2013 and Welcome 2014!

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web).

So fast it’s middle of the month already, which tells us that there is another half month to go before the big festival, the Chinese New Year, or known as Spring Festival. The year of snake (from 2013 based on lunar calendar) will have to make way for the arrival of year of horse very soon. Are you in CNY mood already? I am… It’s time to buy new clothes, CNY biscuits and mandarin oranges, drinks, or even decorations to brighten up and add CNY atmosphere to your home.

The first two days of the upcoming Chinese New Year which are made public holiday falls on Friday and Saturday. Not that good as we get to enjoy shorter break and I have to apply for annual leave in more number of days this year to accommodate my oversea trip to China with my family on that particular week. Luckily, I managed to save quite a number of annual leave from last year. And also it’s fortunate as my office is in KL, which will observe another holiday on that Saturday (second day of CNY). Hence, there will be a replacement holiday on Monday (only for Federal Territories).

Just not long after seeing the Christmas decorations in Pavilion KL last month, recently I went back to the mall to take a look at its Chinese New Year’s decorations this time. The mall is always promising in offering awesome decorations for major festivals. However, I find that this year’s CNY decorations in the mall is not that outstanding or distinctive anymore compared to previous years. I thought it has to be much better due to the heavily promoted Visit Malaysia Year 2014 campaign this year. But still it’s not bad. Still contributes a very good CNY feel. Here is a shot I had taken of the mall’s entrance:

And I think it’s time to replace my blog’s header to bring in CNY mood to my blog also. No more new year’s greeting as the first month of the year is already halfway through. Time to put up red, the most popular colour for CNY as it symbolises prosperity, joy, and everything good in Chinese culture. Hence, my blog header is mostly in red now, and you can see two horses. One is translated and abstractly drawn to resemble the year ’2014′ (current year), while the other one is in shadow within the red background. Very simple yet self-explanatory as the header acts as an early CNY greeting to all Chinese. Another copy of the blog’s header below (click on it for full version):

Oh no…not in a good condition as soon as I wake up in this morning on the day of Chinese New Year’s Eve. My throat is not feeling well! I haven’t even eat a lot of CNY biscuits, and now my throat isn’t comfortable already. Not good. Not good. Tomorrow comes the Chinese’s biggest festival, and the day after, I’m going on a trip. Hope everything would be fine by tomorrow. Luckily, the leave I took from my work began today and I had time for a bit of rest and also for…

… My room’s cleaning. Since it is the traditional belief of prohibiting the Chinese from cleaning up their houses on the first day of lunar new year, the last-minute task has to be done today. My room is small, but still, I spent several hours cleaning it alone. Those things I have not touched for a long time had been in very dusty conditions, and I managed to throw off a lot of unused stuff, which all ended up in four rubbish bags. Now my room is neat and clean, ready to usher in the lunar new year. I also managed to put up a bit of CNY decorations in my room, just to bring up the festive atmosphere.

Well, today is already the Chinese New Year’s Eve. And it’s a very nice sunny day. Time to say goodbye to the year of snake, and welcome to the year of horse. Me, who is born in year of goat would be doing quite great this year according to Chinese’s horoscope forecast. Hope it will be. Have you reach your hometown yet in time to gather for family reunion dinner tonight? Or are you still stuck in traffic congestion while on the way? Stay calm, and drive safely! Wishing everyone a safe trip! For me, I already had early reunion dinner together with yee-sang’s tossing last week. Hence, tonight, we are going to go for normal dinner only. Even this is a hard task to us as most of the shops and restaurants out there are closed already.

February is on its way too. The blog’s header stays as it is (as seen above and also at top of my blog’s page) for another 15 days till the CNY celebration ends. Once the festival is over and when I’m back from my family trip, it would be almost middle of the month already, and then only it’s time to put up a new blog’s header. Would like to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Holiday! Gong Xi Fa Cai! Expected to hear a lot of ‘bang’ or ‘boom’ noise tonight as fireworks lit up the sky everywhere including my neighbourhood to welcome the lunar new year of horse! Okay…time to pack my luggage. Bye…