Pantang Larang

Growing up, my mum had often ingrained unto us the dos & don’ts with regards to folklore superstitions.

Many of these taboos seemingly have no logic to it and we are often at a loss as to understanding why doing certain things will cause something unrelated to the issue at hand, to happen. Despite the fact that nobody seems able to tell you the reasoning behind these beliefs, these taboos have been passed down for generations. And silly as it may seem, unwittingly breaking some of these taboos today still fills me with foreboding. Brrrr…

One such taboo that had always placed me on a guilt trip each time it was advertently committed was the one pertaining to wearing your blouse/t-shirt back to front. (The consequence of what could happen I will not reveal.) The thought that I could be the cause of some untoward incident would continue to haunt me for days.

There’s this taboo I am sure you have all heard of – that you should never point at the moon. Or this – don’t whistle in the kitchen. Or talk when the wind is blowing. These less ominous taboos, my siblings and I would purposely defy, if only to prove that it’s all bullshit.

Times have changed but I wonder how many of you mothers out there still cling to these beliefs and forbid your own kids from doing certain things because the older folks say don't do it!

F

For those who don’t know, Grace is my best friend. Best friend… does it sound juvenile when I say that? But it is indeed true. She’s held that position for at least 18 years although, admittedly and unfortunately, it does not automatically make me hers! Nevertheless it is said that a friend is a present you give yourself… and so I got me the best present ever!

I remember when and where we first met. Over time, her position was elevated from that of ordinary friend to one of best friend. She has more than proven her worth if one has to prove ones’ worth when it comes to friendship. And I can honestly say I can think of no better friend that what she has been to me.

Initially there were hiccups. I am not the easiest person to fathom or get along with; that much is true. I wonder how often the thought that our friendship wasn’t worth it crossed her mind. Times when I’ve hurt her, deliberately or otherwise, been unreasonable, petty and the list goes on. She’s seen me at my worse, acknowledged the fact that there are certain facets of me that she doesn’t like and yet, gracefully accepted me as I am – good and bad. And I am so grateful that despite my shortcomings, she’s decided that ours is a friendship worth keeping.

I have never stopped giving thanks to God for her and I am certain she knows how much I treasure our friendship. In her I’ve found the sort of friend that many can only wish for and truly, my life is so much more blessed with her presence.

She is endearing in so many ways but I guess most of all, she has simply touched me just by caring. And psst .. Grace, I wouldn’t swap you for anything in the world!

Happy Belated Birthday, my friend.

Did God literally mean it when He said “My Grace is sufficient for thee. (2 Cor 12:9) ”?

F

Skirt over pants!!!

i am no fashion police and i don't try to even keep updated with the latest trends. But i do try to dress sensibly and comfortably without being some eye sore to the public! I know what i don't have so i do not feel the need to flaunt anything!!! I do know what i do have and i hide those! LOLOL!
In short i don't have the right assets. In fact to make it even simpler, i AM short! LOLOL! And because of that i have to ward off the fats as much as i can. So i remain petite and not dumpy!

I usually enjoy very casual clothes like T shirts and jeans or cargo pants. Even the skirts that i wear are short denim ones that just shouts " Casual".
But of late , i am suddenly into dresses. this started when i was in Bandung for a shopping spree and the fashion then was sundresses in comfy cotton. I grabbed tons of that :) and continued buying more at the recent J card day sales. I can safely say i have almost 10 of them now... in green , yellow, orange, blue etc LOLOL

Today someone told me that she saw lots of women wearing skirts over pants and to me that has got to be the most ridiculous fashion ever! I am talking about PANTS, mind u, NOT leggings! Ewwww and yuks , i say! I think the older ladies love that , it is to hide the butts and thighs, i suppose. But i think with the right pants and tops, they will look much better than those weird skirts over pants!

I told her straight out that its the ugliest attire ever! She named me a few ladies who were seen in that get up. Hahaha, i do not want to be in that league, thank you! I will stick to me jeans and T shirts.... and occasionally, prance around in my cotton dresses, THANK YOU! :)

E-wwwwww

learning mandarin, how bout ??

Sometimes learning new language is really exciting. The exciting thing is that in Chinese all you have to do to change a big animal to a baby animal is add one word; xiao (which means small). So you have cow, small cow, pig, small pig, cat, small cat, etc, instead of cow, calf, pig, piglet, cat, kitten, etc... So that was cool.

The frustrating part is the more you know, the more you realize you don't know, ring any bell boh ?? It will still take months to use all this vocab in real situations and to get to the point where you can figure out what to say in time to say it someone. But then I still get lost; conversations spread like branches of a tree and although I may know what to do when someone says, "________", there are 10 other things they could say instead. Read through the vocab for your viewing / learning pleasure.

animals........
ma/horse
ya zi/duck
niu/cow
jiu/pig
ji/chicken
mu ji/ mama chicken
gong ji/rooster

ding hao/wellcome
Jia Le Fu/Carrefour

Lao ban zai bu zai/Is the manager here?
Wo zhi shi kan yi kan/I'm just looking

Fruits
ping guo/apple
ba le/guave
pu tao/grapes
xiang jiao/banana
xiang gua/cantaloupe
ning men/lemon
man gui/mango
mu gua/papaya
bai xiang guo/passionfruit
feng li/pineapple
cao mei/strawberry
Ju zi/tangerine
xi gua/watermelon


veggies:
gao li cai (cabbage)
dou ya/sprouts
hua ye cai/broccoli (hua means flower, ye means grandpa, like in Kai Lan, ye ye. SO brocolii is flower grandpa)
hua cai is cauliflour.
yu mi/corn
si ji dou/green bean
cong/green onion
qing jiao/green pepper
yang cong/onion
ma ling shu/potato
bo cai/spinich
fan qie/tomato

another cool thing about Chinese and animals is that there is only one word to add to any animal to make it the meat product. No beef, pork, poultry in Chinese, only the word ro which means meat. Niu ro = cow meat = beef. Ma ro = horse meat

mian bao/bread
quin mai mian bao/whole wheat bread
Ni yao mai she me? What do you want to buy?
Wo yao mai shui guo. I want to buy fruit.

Hope some of these will help along the way when we all practise Mandarin during our "get together" time... wkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.....

S....smiling..


ling quian/ change (small money)

Ni yao mai ji ge? How many do you want to buy?

nong chang/farm

dong wu/animals
dong wi yuan/zoo (animal place)
chong wu/pet
ke ai xiao dong wu/cute little animals (I kid you not, this is apparently a way to categorize animals in Chinese!!)

It happened so subtly that I was caught unawares… Bit by bit … one lb. here, one lb. there and many pounds later … suddenly I am like FAT. Horrors! I have never been ‘fat’ before and say what you will, I don’t like it. I don’t, I don’t.

There were signs certainly,,, About a year ago, my skirts and jeans could no longer fit but I consoled myself. Placed the blame on the gas in my stomach causing it to bloat! On good days when the gases are released … it’s not THAT big. Or if it’s a spare tyre, so be it. Heck! Truly, it’s nothing to get excited about. Just part of the aging process.. As long as I still carry the gaunt, angular look!

Then I met a friend and of all places right at the entrance of a book shop where people were walking in and out. She gleefully looked at me and announced for one and all to hear, “Ho Mei Fong, you so fat already!!” That was only the beginning. Over and over again, I hear the same comments. “Wahh…you’ve put on!” To my ears these remarks don’t sound at all complimentary. They add up to one thing… I’m FAT!!

Being fat or its next-of-kin, plump, pudgy, chubby, was never a part of my make-up. It belonged to other people. I remember when I went on a diet of “Ensure” – a kind of formulated milk powder to help me gain weight … and it wasn’t that long ago, 2 years ? Well, it worked, didn’t it? Where have all the leanness gone???

There are some positive sides to being fleshy it seems. Grace, forever the tactful one, says “at least you don’t look so sickly now” and SP the feng shui master says if one’s face is fleshy, it brings Luck.

But I want that skinny look back. I want to be able to see where my cheeks are, not a face that is round from whichever angle you look at it!

Going on a diet doesn’t appeal to me at all and worse still, I’m a “rice” person but hah, you know what? All is not lost! My sis went and bought herself a treadmill. It was delivered on Sat. Guess who went and bought herself a new pair of sneakers (cos sister say must use new shoes) and guess who’s gonna start using it on a daily basis???

P/S. Would 15 mins daily on the tread mill suffice?? How much calories should I burn up before I see results??? F