CNY is over?

Tue 210211

Yup, CNY is kinda over...at least the celebrations period, right?

And yup, Life As Is is kinda back to routine...for me & you...at least most of you, right again?

Well, the 15th day & night of this CNY kinda ended well. As the 15th Night of CNY, aka Chap Goh Meh, is the Chinese Culture's version of Valentine's Day, me had a surprise gift for my gf, my valentine for life!

Yup, the Chinese V-Day gift was bought through our local online auction site and was surprisingly well-timed & delivered on that very day ie 17th Feb aka 15th Night of CNY!!

The "Gift"? A replica of Calvin Klein ladies watch with genuine leather strap. Kinda unique design, too...

The great part of it was...my gf loved it...in spite of the kinda unique "Hi-tech" design! Haha! All the efforts were so worth it!! All RM63 (incl delivery charges via Poslaju) of it!! Pic on left is the "Gift"! Nice, huh?

The day's evening ended with a pleasant drive for two around A/Star city...as was our usual CGM do.

Surpise of all surprises...after my gift to her, my gf suggested that I should get a watch for myself, too! Since I'd not been wearing one for quite some time since my "Rolex" gave out on me some months back & the SS strap of my "John Masters" was giving me some skin allergy reactions...

So afer scouring that very local online auction site once more, me found one which appealed to both of us. An "Army Tech" watch. Even stated as "Original". Well...I entered my bid and voila! I got it that very same day! Total cost? RM70 incl Poslaju delivery charges.
Now awaiting despatch & delivery...hopefully by tomorrow. Well, wish me luck! TQ.

Pic of "Army Tech" watch above is captured from the auction site as I've as yet to receive the item.

That's the good part. Unfortunately, in Life, there's always a not-so-good part.

Our grandaughter, Jan, is now hospitalised after a bout of high fever since a week ago...probably due to a return of her Kawasaki Disease which she had caught very early in her childhood days. All signs & symptoms pointed in that direction but blood tests had come back negative to confirm. A heart scan was done this morning and we are all awaiting good news...

Stay strong, Jan, and both your grandparents are with you all the way to a very speedy recovery...soon!!

A piece of better news now.

Our other grandaughter, KL, would be under the care of a new babysitter wef next month as the former was probably the cause of her continuous repeats of bad health, namely fever, diarrhoea, sore throats & what have you! A professional also suspected that poor hygiene at bbs was a very probably cause, too, as KL was good & healthy when solely under the parents' care in-between those periods. As is, only time will tell...

Finally, both these inmates will be off to Penang once more for a stay at our fav niece's place for about a week beginning tomorrow ie 22nd Feb. We are indeed looking forward to sharing happy & value time with her & family. CU soon, Amy!

So until me am back in good ole Lot 10 OFH once more, this Blog would be kinda quiet...sincere apologies for the coming "long" leave of absence...

Wishing one & all a very happy year ahead!

First week of the new Rabbit Year...

Fri 110211

Yup, the 1st week of this new Rabbit Year 2011 is over. And yup, it's the 9th day today.

And of course, last night was a night of noise...firecrackers & loud fireworks! All kinda sort of in protest of the Govt's ban of such items being fired, even on festive days when they are supposedly a "necessity" according to beliefs of the Chinese community! And yup, last night was the offering of prayers to the "Jade Emperor" of Heaven. At the stroke of midnight, the festivities started c/w the letting off of firecrackers & fireworks!

Not that it was any disturbance nor of any consequence to this ole guy though...he had earlier just popped in 1 tab of Xanax (remember the late MJ & his Xanax?) and was in so-called peaceful "La La Land" when all those "explosions" took place! Haha!

Well, a recap here...
Firstly, a pic of our fav grandaughter to share. Yup, it's our very own KL!

Can you see how happy she was @AS Mall enjoying one of the many rides there! KL & family came a day earlier than expected. And I'm pretty sure that KL went home after day #1 of this Rabbit Year with many happy & pleasant memories...leaving behind 2 ole & very tired grandparents! Haha!

We wish KL a very progressive & speedy development in 2011!! May God bless her with the gift of being a normal healthy kid soon!

CNY eve was the first re-union dinner of the Tan family after 3 years! Why? It's a long long story to relate here but if you dig deep enough into the archives of this Blog, you might get lucky....

And so it was, both our "kids" & their families were back in their childhood home and so it is sincerely hoped that they had recovered at least a wee bit of what being part of this Tan family was all about and the meaning of family in Life ie not just about one's own extended family but also one's own family & roots, namely one's own parents. As is, we have long accepted that such feelings cannot be forced upon anyone but have to come from within oneself. Agreed?

Above : Pic of Lot 10 inmates with 2 of our grandkids taken on CNY Day #1.

Anyway, Day 1 of CNY2011 saw the departure of everyone...including these 2 ole inmates of Lot 10! As had always been the practice for years...time to visit our relatives in Penang!

Visits? Not really. More of only just 2. As is, most of our elders are long gone, with 2 of them leaving this world as recent as last year. It is sad but that's part of Life...everyone has to go, true?

We spent most of that first day & night at our fav niece's place and had to leave (as was the usual practice) the next day, in spite of continuous kind offers to extend our stay by our truly great host. As always, we left with the words, "We'll be back again...soon!"

Life was back to routine once we were back in Lot 10. Home Sweet Home. And yup, we were relieved & happy to find Lot 10 all safe & secure. It's where our home & our hearts have been, are and will still be...

There were the regular "mid-week breaks" & "CODs" for my other half. And of course, the walk-walk sessions at the local Malls.

And guess what? At one such session, we were fortunate to be there @ AS Mall when a LIVE acrobatic performance by some artistes from China was on! Not bad! Especially for an FOC one! We truly enjoyed all the acts put up by those talented youngsters...

Pic on left : 1 of the balancing acts. A truly great pair, huh?
And in the following pic, another act...a uni-cyclist. Can you see him...kinda in the "distance"?

BTW, me managed to modify the Dettol auto handsoap dispenser unit so that it can be continually refilled with a suitable but differently branded handsoap. And guess what? So far it has worked!
Now me not have to worry about getting any new Dettol refill for RM16.90 each! The anti-bacterial handsoap that me can use now only costs RM4 at the most!

On 7th of Feb, it was decided to add a bit more security for Lot 10 since we have been away a few times and would also be away from Lot 10 from time to time in the near future. As is, we knew of a group of RELA personnel who have been making rounds & checks on houses in our housing area for an affordable monthly fee. Well, me contacted them & applied to be in their list of residences to be included in their nightly surveillance rounds.
The very next morning we awoke to find a red painted metal box (pls see pic above...), with a big letter "R" (short as for "RELA"), attached to our front wall railings! And in it was a small "555" notebook with its first entry of a visit by our friendly neighbourhood "RELA" friends on their very first stopcheck @ Lot 10!

And yup, since then, somehow, maybe psychologically... Lot 10 inmates slept much better...and hopefully, for many many more nights, weeks, months to come, too!

Sincerely hope you are sleeping well, too...