Gong Xi Fa Cai

As we all know, Chinese New Year is just around the corner. Most of us will be travelling outstation, having a Reunion Dinner, playing with our relatives and doing all those fun stuff that we usually do during Chinese New Year.

I will be travelling on a 6 hour journey to Butterworth and then the next day, travelling another 2 hours to Alor Setar. Actually, for me, journeying during Chinese New Year is quite fun, when it is my turn to play the Gameboy that is... Hehe.

In the morning of my travel, my family and I always buy a burger, some french fries, and a milo each to eat in the car. This helps to occupy my brother and I for the first 20-30 minutes before we start playing the Gameboy. Unfortunately, the Gameboy belongs to my brother and he gets to play it first; so he usually gets more playing time than me...

The first day, in Butterworth is usually quite boring because my aunt and uncle there have no children and by then, our Gameboy would have run out of battery *Sob Sob*. Last trip though, we brought some DVDs to watch. We watched the movie 'Hamlet' and my brother got freaked out by the ghost. Bad choice of a movie.

When we get to Alor Setar, we will usually refamiliarize ourselves with the big place as we go there only once a year. Soon, we will be playing with our cousins. There, we always have a gala time playing computer, watching television, eating Chinese New Year cookies and gulping down unhealthy soft drinks. I am looking forward to Chinese New Year.

Gong Xi Fa Cai to you all!

The Great Slurpee Hunt

Last Saturday, my brother went Whitewater Rafting in Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor, with his uniformed group while my parents went for a political dialogue. So that left me... at my friend's house.

For lunch, my friend's dad, uncle Soon went to USJ17 to 'tapau' lunch from a coffee shop, Weng Soon Jaya. My friend and I followed uncle Soon to get lunch, but there was a catch... SLURPEES!

In case anyone doesn't know what a Slurpee is, it's a coloured, sugary drink with lots of ice shavings and it is VERY delicious. It can be found in any 7 Eleven shop, if you want to try it.

There was a 7 Eleven shop a few metres away from Weng Soon Jaya and so we went there, but we found that the Slurpees were still... Refreezing. *Sigh* I thought that we were going back to my friend's house, but uncle Soon said that we would go to another 7 Eleven shop.

We went to another 7 Eleven shop (I can't remember where it was located) and we tried to buy the Slurpees that we wanted but the machine was... 'Rosak'. 'Oh well, ' I thought. I guessed we were going back, but uncle Soon said that we would search some more! Whee!

We then went to another 7 Eleven shop about 8 minutes drive away, in USJ 9. We walked through the door, looked at the Slurpee machine and... one was spoilt but the other one was... STILL WORKING!

YAY! That was when the shopkeeper said that the Slurpee was still liquidised and needed to be refreezed. 'OH NO!' That was the furthest we would go in our hunt, or so I thought... But no, I could see the fire in uncle Soon's eyes; he was going to try another 7 Eleven!

We went to another 7 Eleven shop about 4 minutes drive away, in Taipan, USJ where our destiny lay.

We valiantly strode through the door of that 7 Eleven, fixed our gaze on the Slurpee machine and, at last, the machine was working! My friend and I took a large cup each (we deserved it), filled our cups with Slurpee, handed over the money, and finally, headed back to my friend's home.

When I reached back, I took a scoop of the delicious Slurpee and I savoured it to the very end...

It was worth it...

Self Praise is International Disgrace

Have you ever heard yourself saying, "I rock!" or, "I'm so awesome!" or phrases like that?

Well, to be frank, I don't think anybody will listen if you say that. In fact, instead of people thinking that you are great, they will start to dislike you.

Anyone can go on and on and on rambling about how great he is, but who cares? It has to come from another person. I learned that in 2007 while I was playing a game called GUNZ. It is an online game which my friends and I play. One day, I started rambling about how 'pro' I was in that game and my friends were exclaiming, 'Keep quiet lah' and 'Oi, stop talking!'.

I made a mistake then, and I hope I do not repeat it. So, before you praise yourself, think twice, because it can cause you some trouble.

Badminton Training

Just this Wednesday, I started badminton training at a training academy in Subang Jaya, Setia Badminton Academy, founded by Han Jian who was the 1985 World Champion and coach of the 1992 Malaysia Thomas Cup Winning Team. My training will be every Wednesday from 4.00 p.m till 6.00 p.m.

What I learned in my first training session was to correctly lob, lift, and backhand lift.

From 4.00 p.m. to about 4.20 p.m., the trainees are to warm up with stretching exercises followed by stroking in the courts. Then, the technical training starts till 5.40 p.m. After that, each trainee gets to play a friendly match against another trainee. And then, the pain starts...

At 5.50 p.m., I saw the regular trainees gathering around the court. I did not know what was next but my mom asked me to join them. She said it was 'cooling down' and that it would help you not to get muscle injuries after the training.

However, the 'cooling down' exercises seemed endless. By 6.00 p.m. (10 minutes of non-stop vigorous excercises including pumping, squat walking, frog leaping and many other types of jumps), my muscles and legs started to ache. At 6.05 p.m., things seemed hopeless; it was like they were not going to stop the torture. I managed to sneak out of the 'ring' of trainees to rest... but in 2 minutes, I was called back and forced to continue the exercises.This dragged on for another 5 minutes or so which felt like an hour. I thought, "Hey, this 'Cooling Down' session is suppose to keep you FROM injuries but it actually CAUSES injuries!"

As I slumped onto the bench, I asked my mother why cooling down was SO HARD! She laughed and replied, "I'm sorry, it wasn't cooling down, it was... STAMINA BUILDING!" EEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!

After that, whenever I stood up, my back would feel fuzzy, wobbly and unstable. My muscles & legs ached like crazy and all I could do was walk to a nearby stall to buy a can of 100 plus and then walk to my mum's car.

When I got home, I laid down on the floor, for about 5 minutes... Resting.

Watch Night Service 2007

It is a tradition of my church, PJEFC, to hold a 'Watch Night Service' every New Year's Eve. At Watch Night Service, we hear testimonies about how good God has been in that year. The best part of it is when 2 count down clocks for the New Year pop up on the walls of the church on the stage about 8 minutes before New Year's Day. At the last 10 seconds or so, everyone loudly does a count down until the last second of New Year's Eve and then we all shout 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!'

Last year (2007), I went for Watch Night Service. Testimonies were shared, songs were sung, count down clocks were placed, and a big 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!" was heard. After it finished (about 12.30 a.m.), everyone happily chatted in the concourse of the church before my family and friends went for supper at a mamak shop in PJ New Town. I already had a currypuff at the concourse so I didn't eat anything for supper except a delicious pepsi float. Supper dragged on to about 2.00 a.m. when we finally departed. It was about 2.30 a.m. when my family at last reached home. After bathing and brushing my teeth, I went to bed at about 3.00 a.m. in the morning!

All in all, I found the Watch Night Service memorable. The next day, I woke up at 11.00 a.m.

Happy New Year!