Hari Raya 2012 – Week 2

For the second weekend of Hari Raya, I asked my mom if we were going to my maternal grandpa’s house. It’s already bad enough we only visit him once a year and we didn’t on the first day of Shawal.

Before heading to grandpa’s house, we headed to my SIL’s mom’s house. We sat around for a while, ate yummy Mee Kuay Teow Goreng and waited for my brother and family to get ready.

[Pictures are not at it's optimum on that day =S]

The kids were well-behaved although Shibly was upset I exploded his car in Need for Speed on the iPad. =P

Sis said she would join us to the second house for some unforeseen circumstances, she couldn’t make it.

Abg drove us to Yew Tee and there, we saw the severity of grandpa’s condition (he has heart problems, diabetes and bone cancer) When we arrived, he just finished pooping and was calling out for my nephew to help him.

When he came out, he was in a wheel chair and both of his legs were in horrid condition. All because he hurt himself while trying to clip his toe some time ago and didn’t tell anyone about it. Since hehas diabetes, the infection simply spread to his calves.

We chatted for a few hours, mostly asking him about his well-being and etc.

Family pic! I am so glad Mak asked Jhon to follow because if not, no personal photographer. Lol

We headed home before night fall, a few minutes after Syihab woke up from his nap cranky.

By the time we reached home, I made a quick change and went out for a quick dinner date while Mak laid some guilt trip to Sis for not following because grandpa was looking for her. =P

Too bad we didn’t get to see my paternal Chinese grandma. She is senile and partially blind and it was only advisable to visit her with dad. Why we didn’t go? Because of reasons.

Anyways, it was a good day. =)
   

   

Garbage live in Singapore 2012

‘Special’, ‘#1 Crush’, ‘Queer’, ‘I’m only happy when it rains’ are just some of the popular songs sung by the 80’s grunge band, Garbage. After 16 years, they have come to Singapore once again for their long awaited performance with a new album, “Not your kind of people”

The concert was held at Fort Canning Park and it rained for a while in the evening making me nervous because it’s the only time I am not happy when it rains, during an outdoor concert. #notpunny?

Luckily, it was just a passing rain and simply cooled down the atmosphere for the concert.

Jhon and I managed to get a great spot off to the left of the park where it is less crowded with less aroma of beer and cigarette smoke.

[photo from http://www.lamcproductions.com/garbage_gallery]

The band started late (ticket shows 7.45pm) which is quite normal for a concert goer like me. Artists NEVER start on time.

But was it worth the wait? I would say yes although I was disappointed with the poor lighting and lack of effort in stage setup. Sound system okay but perhaps I was off to the left so I didn’t get the optimum sound coverage.

Shirley was hot as always and the band was wonderful. They really have not changed much, not even rusty.

[photo from http://www.lamcproductions.com/garbage_gallery]

Garbage did played some songs from their new album. They tried incorporating a hint of other genres into the songs perhaps to ‘keep it up to date’ but I wished they stuck to their original genre. Will Grunge relive its status again? We shall see.

Listening to their old songs really brought us back to our teenage days and I am sure it did the same with fellow audiences since most of them ranges in the age of mid 20s and above.

[photo from http://www.lamcproductions.com/garbage_gallery]

Was it a memorable concert? Not as much as I expected it to be but then again, I did expect a lot from them. Garbage leh… =p

Anyways, it was a great concert and I am glad that I didn’t give it a miss.




   

Hari Raya 2012

This year, Hari Raya for me has lack of gusto because I spent the 1st and 2nd day at home while my Sis and bro visit their in-laws. Weird but I guess I have to get used to it. One thing for sure, I feel like one of those unmarried auntie who stays with their parent(s). =p

For the first time for many years, I also didn’t bake and mom didn’t cook her yummy food, told ya, lack of gusto.

Let’s not dwell on the bad parts yea? Since Sis went to sleep over at her in-laws the night before Hari Raya, we sought our forgiveness that night. My bro and family visited in the afternoon of Hari Raya.

Jhon was at my place and he was sweet enough to help me serve drinks and chips. Lol That night he said he misses the commotion and preparations for Hari Raya. I felt touched he felt that way, next year, I promised to make an effort even when others don’t feel like celebrating.

So bro’s family wore a lovely shade of green. I love the color lah! hehe

With Kak Yana’s mom and bro.

Mommy!

Daddy!

Later that night, relatives came over. I don’t like people visiting at night but we live far away from our relative so our house is always the “last house to visit”. No pictures because ‘cameraman’ has left and well, there were issues.

Despite the ‘lemau’ hari raya, it was quite okay. I should be grateful. That night, I was telling myself to be grateful and went to FB and read that one of my acquaintance’s dad passed away on 12:15am on first day of raya. =((((

I keep going back to sour stories don’t I? lol okay, shall end it here.

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dan Batin!

   

Face-kini: Bikini for your Face?

Apparently there is a new trend at the beaches of China (yes, only in China… or Japan lol) and it is called the Face-kini which is a bikini for the face.

[picture and info from Yahoo!News]

Firstly, upon looking at the pictures, I would greatly appreciate it if they use that same effort to cover their bodies instead of their face. =X

Secondly, these masks remind me nothing but NACHO LIBRE the movie or Luchador also known as Mexican wrestlers which is not that farfetched if you want to compare bodies too. =P

Hey, I do get it; they don’t want to tan their face. I am one of those people who try to avoid getting tanned too. I hate getting my face tanned and my makeup does not match my skin colour anymore. tsk!

Perhaps they saw this picture of the man who had only 1 side of his face exposed to constant rays of the sun and they got phobic of the sun. haha

Whatever it is, I don’t see this trend spreading to other countries, even if someone ever buys the face-kinis, they probably would use it to be part of a nacho libre costume. Tee hee!



   

Flash Photography: Irfan

Jhon is currently experimenting another type of photography which is Flash Photography.

He has a small setup with external flash, trigger flash, umbrella and light stand. I was suppose to be the subject of the photo shoot but I got lazy because I had to make-up and dress up. =P

Conveniently, Sis and family just came back home from shopping and little Irfan dressed up, suited for a shoot. He was recovering from cold sores on his bottom lip but it's not so noticeable.

Sis made a quick cameo although she complains about her hair being flat. I did some light photo editing to this photo, mostly on Irfan's cold sore.

Quick outfit change.

Model got thirsty but still wanted to take picture.

Jhon tried to make him laugh by pulling his bottle away (he found it hilarious for some reason) while snap a few pictures.

Not bad as I can see the difference in lighting but there is still room for improvement to make the picture stands out even more. =)

   

Syihab's 2nd Birthday

Took pictures with my old digital cam and there were lots of moving around so many pictures are blurred. Being used to good quality photos from the DSLR, it can be a sore eye but sometimes, it's not always about the quality of the photos but the memories it brings. =)

I can't help but smile because it was one of the most frantic and last minute celebration we ever had!

The basis was there, we break our fast with some food bought by my bro and cake cutting later but as soon as we finished singing Happy Birthday, my SIL remembered she bought some birthday stuff and forgot to take it out.

So we had to rewind and took out the decorations. haha I even insisted we put up the banners. =P

BEN TEN!!

I don't know why the kids wore their traditional outfits that night. Hari raya comes early for them =P Birthday boy is in yellow by the way.

 Commotion over the party hats and banners.

We sang Happy birthday the 2nd time lol Complete with dancing from mommy and brother.

Happy family!

The boys were well-behaved and the celebration was fun and funny! Who says unplanned birthday party always sucks? Happy birthday, Syihab!

   

Butt Aching Road Trip in Johor

My mom, ‘that guy’, Abg Jamil, Jhon and I went to Johor for Hari Raya shopping. Although the trip was fruitful but the main focal point would be the butt aches throughout the journey.

The itinerary was starting the day at 7am, head to Tesco Extra Plentong. Kota Tinggi, Ayer Hitam and Pasir Pandan to break our fast if time permits.

It was a decent plan especially with a seasoned driver; I would think it would be a smooth ride but NOPE! Journey to Tesco was fine. Most items bought were from Tesco, especially the groceries.

Towards Kota Tinggi was pretty alright too although it was a still a long journey because he made a wrong exit.. We didn’t buy any outfits there because they looked so ‘orbit’ with too much patterns going on but we did roamed around (under the merciless hot sun) to see if we could find other things. This is where mom bought most of her scarves and got flowers for our house.

I had already informed Jhon to be aware if he wishes to break his fast in the noon in Malaysia because I heard some of the Muslims there hold grudges if they see someone eat (even if they are non-Muslim) He just had to eat/drink in the car. Surprisingly, Jhon decided to fast the entire day which was a first! I was so proud of him and he was not cranky at all!

I digress.

So the journey to Ayer Hitam was disaster! We were lost beyond words. We kept asking for directions but they tend to say, “go straight…” but at different directions. -_- What could have been a short journey became a 3+ hour ride.

It was really not THAT bad because we were just sitting in an air-conditioned car and had short naps in between but what was disappointing, after every 2-3 hours ride when we reached our destination, we only spent 30-45mins at that location.

Ratio sitting to walking was crazy!

I kept on trying to be grateful but I can’t deny the butt aches. Not only that, we took the wrong turn again to Pasir Pandan and spent another 2 hours on the road. APE DAH!! Even my mom was in disbelief for a seasoned driver to get lost at locations he frequently visits. -_- Don’t know ah.

We ended up buying drinks and kaya buns to break our fast in the car while heading home. We made a pit stop at Geylang to have a proper dinner at Rex and ended the day.

Mom wanted to go Melaka this week.

After that ride, I don’t think I am that eager to follow again any time soon.
   

   

Prawn Fishing Fail?

Jhon and I suddenly had a craving to go prawn fishing. Our first time was on February at Punggol Prawning. We really enjoyed our time there. The prawns were big and for first timers, we managed to catch quite a good amount. [click here for the outing]

The problem is that going there is such a chore where we had to change several MRT interchanges besides taking their shuttle bus from our place. We don’t mind the trip to there but going home is discouraging when we are tired.

So we did some research and found a considerably commonly mentioned prawn fishing farm at Pasir Ris Farmway 2, Happy Fishing Prawns Farm. There is a direct bus (58) from our home and a 1km walk in. For us, who love to walk, was not an issue so I suppose it depends on your fitness.

Unfortunately, despite the multiple researches on the web, the information was not accurate only because the sources were from 2009. Sources says Happy Fishing Prawns Farm opens 24/hrs, even the banner says so.

But apparently, since June 2012, it opens only from 11am. We were there at 10am. -_- We thought we would try walking another 1 km to another prawning farm at Pasir Ris Farmway 3 but it looked fruitless because all we saw was empty lots. Filled with doubt, we decided to drop the idea and waited at Happy Fishing Prawns Farm which also called Tagline Fishing. Confusing right?

We were the first there but just a few minutes after buying the rods, a few others came in.

We didn’t fully enjoy our time there. Mainly because we hardly get any bites. We grew impatient, bored and jealous as we saw a lady kept catching prawns as if she was dangling high end bait or something (she was not)

We thought it was us but I kept track. 3 out of 10 people had good success rates and they are evenly spread out so what does that mean? I don’t know! It’s the only 2nd time we did prawn fishing. It’s just that our first time was quite good so didn’t expect to do this badly. Especially on the web, people were saying they caught 2-3kgs of prawns here and I thought, “okay lah, if can catch 1kg is good enough”

How many did we catch? 7 prawns in 3 hours. Kwang kwang kwang… Bye bye money lol

Perhaps it was just bad luck or something but one thing for sure, I still prefer Punggol Farming because every single prawn was massive. At least it’s not so disheartening when we catch only a few. =p