KL Bird Park

Getting everyone to agree on going to the Bird Park was not a problem. Getting everyone's schedule to match was tough.

We planned this outing from May and told En in advance that she can't spoil our plans just because school had something on or that she suddenly developed fever or flu.
.

Getting Brian to avail himself that day was not a problem at all. He would happily skip tuition for it... plus, he doesn't get sick too often.

Wayne, being 2+ years old, didn't have much of a schedule except for the fact that he sleeps in the afternoon.

Om was supposed to come but was stuck in Butterworth, visiting relatives.
.

So, on Monday (July 20th), Matthew, MinChee, Eunice, Tusi, Brian, En, Wayne and I went to the KL Bird Park in 2 cars. We weren't sure where the place was and overshot along Jalan Parlimen going into Jalan Cenderawasih and ended up at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. We made a u-turn there and went all the way back to Jalan Parlimen and into Jln Cenderawasih.

The Bird Park is near Bukit Aman.

We arrived at about 10.30am and easily found many parking spots available.

The ticket booth was at the entrance of the park. For foreigners, it's RM42 perperson. For Malaysians (we must produce our Mykad to get this discount), we pay RM15 perperson. A further discount of RM5 would be given if we had produced either an MJ or Jusco card but I didn't know that - even though it was stated on a piece of laminated paper right in front of me. I didn't know it was a FURTHER discount. Children below 12 is RM6 perperson. Tusi managed to qualify under the RM15 level, having explained that she is the maid. Actually, we wanted her to have a good time, to enjoy a little and be a tourist.

This bird park is the biggest free- flight walk-in aviary in the world... and I didn't know that it existed until a couple of months ago.

The children were all excited, seeing huge birds walking along the path .. or perching on a branch above them. They kept exclaiming, "Look! There's a bird there" and pointing everywhere. Wayne was happily immitating En & Brian, saying, "Look, Bird".

The koi pond was a hit with the children. Earlier, at the ticket booth, I bought 3 packets of fish food. I passed two packets to them and those fat fish got fatter that day. Wayne really loved the fish. They were all playing with the water too.

We stopped for a break after walking for 1 hour 15 minutes. En and Brian, each having RM10, paid for their drinks. We are trying to instill in them the value of money and how to budget with what they have and what they want.

We got to take pictures with birds of our choice. I asked En and Brian if they wanted a group picture or single shots.... and they chose the latter. So, for RM8 perperson, they went in one by one.

En was pretty brave. The owl actually left marks on her scrawny arms.... and she is sooo not scared of the huge birds.

Brian was pretty scared. You can see it in his face. He kept saying that the birds were heavy.

Tusi was scared at first but wanted to look nice for the camera ... and so, she smiled her best.

As for me, I guess I am a natural, huh? I figured that I should also take this opportunity to have my picture taken ... a memento.

We hurried on to catch the 12.30 Bird Show at the other end of the park. Well, I must say, the children loved the show and the many tricks the birds were able to perform.

After the show, they played at the playground nearby. I actually didn't want them to "waste" time there but Eunice was kind enough to allow them 5 minutes (which turned out to be longer than that) to go down the slide.

We took another route to go back to the main entrance and came across this beautiful cascading waterfall (which is man-made, of course).

We also saw ostriches and emus .. those big bodied, skinny legged birds.

The nursery was nearby but there was nothing much in there.... except for chicks, artwork of the colouring competition held in December 2008 and some posters about how chicks grow into chickens. It was smelly in there.

There was also a gallery (air-conditioned, much to my delight) which showed deboned birds and the skeleton of two ostriches.

We walked on. By that time, it was past 1pm. En wanted to see more birds. Brian's stomach was growling. He kept saying that his lunch time is 1pm and En retorted that it was already 1.30pm .. so it makes no difference anyway.

En managed to get us to go into "World of Parrots". Brian soon forgot his hunger pangs when he was given a chance to feed the parrots. En fed the parrots too.

There was once when a bird landed on Brian's head .. it was a good thing he had his cap on, otherwise I shudder to think what Brian would do if the bird had a nature call to answer to. Anyway, Brian was a little worried about the bird, anyway, but I explained that the bird only wanted to reach the milky drink from that point.

We finally got to Hornbill Restaurant, much to Brian's relief. I ordered a chicken pie, Brian had beef burger, En chicken burger and Tusi ... well, because she hasn't tried potato wedges before, I ordered those for her. In the end, Eunice gave her half of her beef burger, En gave her another half of her chicken burger, I gave her a bite of my chicken pie and we all shared the wedges (because she simply couldn't finish so much food).

En and Brian both wanted to spend their balance money on icecream (for dessert). I told them that it's cheaper to get it outside the restaurant.. but on the way out, we had to pass through the gift shop and both of them wanted something in there. En wanted a pair of binoculours which cost RM10 and Brian wanted a plastic cap with a mini fan powered via solar energy and shades - this would set him back by RM19.

Now, En had only RM9 (not sure why she had so much, even after paying for her drink which cost her RM3 ... someone miscalculated very badly) and Brian, RM6.

I told them that they had to choose between the things that they wanted and ice cream .... and they decided to forgo the cool dessert.

I wanted to teach them the value of money .. so I questioned En first .... "You have only RM9 and the binoculours cost you RM10. How are you going to get the extra RM1?" She asked me to lend her RM10 and said that she will pay me back when we get home (I still haven't seen the money yet).

As for Brian, he is short of RM13 and knew that he couldn't pay me back even when he got home. Well, I was thinking .... for him to sacrifice the ice cream meant that he really wanted the cap, so I asked him for his RM6 and told him that I would come up with the balance.

Both En and Brian were very happy with their "toys" ... and didn't even think about their ice cream. Aunty Eunice was kind enough to say that she will spend us all ice cream - and that includes ME!!! :) :) :)

We left just before 4pm. En kept wanting to see the 3.30pm bird show (again!!) but I didn't want to get stuck in the traffic and explained that to her. She said that she didn't mind getting stuck in the traffic. Brian echoed her thoughts. I retorted that "I" was the one who would suffer because I was driving. I don't think they could relate to that. They were probably thinking, "So what? Sit in the car and wait with us-lah".

In the car, En was so tired, she was the first one to fall asleep. Tusi dozed off too. Brian was still awake, maybe thinking back on the many birds he had seen.

Mansions in the Afterlife

Even as I lay on my stomach and to blog about this, I hear the clanging of cymbals and the chanting of voices just outside my house.

.

Last night, I half-witnessed the burning of a huge glittering mansion (and other fancy stuff) made of paper as a huge crowd gathered just outside my neighbour's house. Frankly, I was more worried about the fact that the flames might reach the overlaying electricity cables and we would be out of power for days!!

.

I thought about the paper mansion and how some people think that by burning these replicas, the person whose body lays in the coffin would be able to enjoy these fine things in their afterlife.

I thought about what I believe in. I know that MY MANSION will be prepared and ready for me when I get to Heaven, not because some other people burned paper replicas but the fact that God said so. :)

Spending Unnecessarily

I was only supposed to buy 1.5 kg Dory fish, one bottle of tomato sauce and capsicum but ended up spending more than I ought to. It ALWAYS happens when I go to Tesco.

f.y.i - those things in the cart are not all mine. Some of the stuff belongs to Eunice

Homework Time

En is forever doing her homework or watching TV. Last Tuesday when I was at my parents' place, En was diligently doing her homework, after trying to persuade us (in vain) to chit chat in the living room - instead of at the dining table - so that she could eavesdrop on our conversation. I guess multi-tasking begins at a very young age.

Anyway, the music was blasting and she was comfortably slouching on the sofa and enjoying herself. Actually, she was in this weird position whereby if I were to be in that position and doing my homework, I might get cramped all over.

As I observed how she prefered this position to sitting at the dining table and doing her homework, I am also reminded by the fact that I lay on my stomach while using my laptop - a position that would be uncomfortable to most, but not to me :-)

Sweet & Sour Fish

I've always wanted to learn how to cook sweet & sour fish. The major factor that hindered me was the fact that I don't know how to buy fish, or rather, what sort of fish is suitable and more importantly, how to transform a fish with bones to fillets. As you can very well tell, I don't cook often, plus the fact that I am not a huge fish fan.

.

A few weeks ago, we were shopping at Tesco and Eunice bought a packet of Dory fish which cost her a reasonable RM5.99 for a bout a kg of fish. And suddenly, I thought of so many things I could do with the 3 pieces of fish. I could make fish and chips or better still, learn how to cook sweet and sour fish.

.

I asked my mum to teach me but she was too busy playing mahjong... and Tusi taught me how to cook. Of course, earlier on, my mum told Tusi what to do and Tusi was just reciting it from memory.

.

Anyway, for those who love sweet and sour fish (or even chicken), here's the recipe:-

Chop the fish into bite-size. Marinate with white pepper, a little salt and a little chicken stock (liquid form)

For the batter, mix (normal) flour, a little self raising flour, a little salt and water. Dip the fish into the mixture before frying it.

Deep fry the fish until golden brown. Leave the fried fish aside to cool off.

For the gravy, fry chopped big oinions and sliced ginger.

Add chopped capsicum, tomatoes and mix vegetables

Add lots of tomato sauce (almost the whole bottle) and a little chilli sauce (about 3 or 4 tablespoons) for a very slight spicy taste. Add 1 or 2 teaspoon sugar.
Keep stiring until gravy shows signs of boiling. Pour gravy onto fried fish and serve

This is the end result. There was extra gravy but I poured it onto another bowl for those who want to eat rice with the gravy.



I gave some to my grandmother (she had eaten her dinner earlier) and she said it tasted nice. :)

Huge Banana

I was at my parents' place when I spotted this huge banana on the table. I think it's more than a foot long. Mum said that she bought it for RM1. Err... it kind of reminded me when I saw a sign at a fruit stall in the US saying that it cost USD1 for ONE slim Montel banana.

No Dinner

I placed an order with MacDonald's (MacD) last night at 9.10pm, timing it in such a way that when dear hubby gets back, the food would arrive.

MCTC, Eunice, MinChee and Matt were already at my place, preparing dinner for themselves. Yes, THEY prepared dinner. MinChee and Matt cooked one packet of Maggi Mee (or a version of it cause it doesn't smell like Maggi Mee at all) while MCTC spread butter onto a few slices of home-made bread made by Bro Chow.

Eunice prepared the fruits (orange, apple, star fruit, banana) and vegetables (celery, carrot) to be blended for our dinner.

And so, when dear hubby came back at 9.40pm, the MacD meal hadn't arrived. I waited until 9.55pm before I called the call center and was told that the delivery boy would arrive in a few minutes.

I was puzzled because in the past, any delivery boy who wasn't sure of the location of my house would give me a call within 40 minutes from my placing the order. And so far, even after 45 minutes, there was no call.

I waited until 10.20pm (1 hour 10 minutes from the time I first ordered) before I placed my next call to the call center. The person who answered (the same person who picked up my call earlier) was puzzled and said that he would investigate on his side and call me back.

He called back, 5 minutes later, to tell me that there was some technical error in their computer system and the order which I placed at 9.10pm didn't even register in the MacD restaurant in my area here.

It's a good thing I am generally a very calm (haha!! sometimes) and patient person. I told him that it was not a problem on my side but I ended the conversation with "Well, I've got no dinner now".

Dear hubby was a little mad, though and I had to explain that we couldn't fault them because it was a technical problem, something which was out of their hands plus the fact that they didn't know that they had a problem.

Anyway, my dinner turned out to be two cups of fruit juice, which was very filling indeed. Dear hubby had bread and butter (he said it's like having breakfast at night).

Long Time No See

Last sunday, we had a family dinner at Uncle Beng's place. Every family was asked to bring a dish each.

This dinner was organised because Su-Ann felt that although we meet each other 2-3 times a week, we haven't had any family gatherings since Chinese New Year. And thus, an invite was sent out via SK and as usual, all of us came.

In the begining, everyone was speculating as to what the occassion was because it was SK who sent out the invite via Facebook / email, on behalf of Uncle Beng and family. Some thought that it was to celebrate Aunty Sally's birthday. Others guessed it was to celebrate Su-Ann's birthday. Later, Uncle Beng clarified the matter.

As usual, food was super yummy. It was a variety of food that was laid on the dining table:-

Fried Chicken wings

Fried eggs with corned beef

Garlic bread

Chai Choy (vegetarian dish)

Har Mien (Prawn noodle)

Pizza

Bean curd pudding

err.. some enzime alchoholic dessert (lime rind with dragonfruit)

Longan

Bubur cha cha

Cheese cake

And yes, despite seeing each other every week, we still had a lot to talk about.

It was Indran's birthday and we sang the birthday song, he made a wish (I think), blew out the candles and cut the cake.

After that, we talked some more.

It was awesome! We should have this more often ... like once in two months? Hmm.. actually, sometimes we have gatherings like this too often, especially during Christmas and New Year time. During the middle of the year, everyone is busy with their work and other matters. I guess it doesn't matter what we meet up for, even if it is for the fun of it, as long as we do get together once in a while to catch up on each other's news. :-)

Being Healthy

My blood pressure readings have never touched the perfect 120/80 eversince I was 21 years old - and that was years ago. And since then, it has gone progressively worse.

.

I was on the BP pill for a short while but stopped because I can't seem to remember to take it on a daily basis.

.

Last month, when I was severely sick, my BP shot up to as high as 168/110. I panicked. It was the highest reading I ever had. I guess my being sick made it higher.

I bought a blender recently and decided to "eat" healthily. I started off with carrot and apple. Then carrot, apple and banana. The banana made it easy for us to swallow. A few days after I started my almost daily juice intake, my mum said that carrots have high sugar content. And that practically blew me off. I thought carrots were healthy.

.

Someone told me a long time ago that celery helps reduce blood pressure. So does starfruit. Bitter gourd too. Yucks!! I tried eating celeries raw but I just didn't like the taste. Star fruit tastes weird without salt (and salt was what got me in this mess) ... and bitter gourd ... well, let's just say that I wouldn't miss it one bit if it was an endangered plant.

.

What we did last week was blend 5 types :- carrot, celery, starfruit, green apple and of course, banana. It was GREAT. Healthy, too. No bitter gourds though. I really detest the horrible taste.

.

Hopefully, by the time I go for my next blood pressure test, it would show good results!! :-) In the meantime, if anyone has "extra" carrots, celeries, starfruits, green apples and bananas, send it my way.

Guests in YCYC

We had 28 people in cell last Friday. Phew! That's a pretty big number. I remember the last time we had 26-28 people was early last year, when we haven't multiplied yet.

After we multiplied (and "gave birth" to MRYC), we started off with only 10-12 people, which eventually grew to a constant 17-18 people. All of a sudden, it looked like it's time to multiply again, but we were told that we need to wait at least two years before we can multiply again. this exercise is to help us bond with our new group.

Last Friday, we had "guests" from other cells:-

The Chongs - from BKYC (parents went to Japan and they were at their aunt's place nearby),

Saral and Darren - from MRYC (came over because they heard that the Chongs will be around)

Lavinia - from KL Cell

In total, we had 7 guests.... and Veron came back from India.

You can imagine, with the Chong and all five Louises .... it equals noise and lots of noise.

.

For the icebreaker, we played Mad Gab. We played until we didn't want to stop, but at 8.50pm, we did.

Worship was about 15-20 minutes and then testimony time.

By the time we got the the lesson proper, it was 9.30pm. Late!! I was wondering how Rajen was able to get everything done by 10.10pm. Well, he didn't. His first sentence took him 5 minutes to complete!!!!!!

The lesson was interupted by En, who was forever asking the meaning of a certain big word which Rajen used, Lavinia, who had the tendency of thinking aloud a lot and everyone else, who laughed when a certain word was mispronounced (clear clay ..... crear cray...). Oh yeah, Lavinia read the WRONG passage of scripture and had to reread again - and hers was a very long passage.

If I am not mistaken, the lesson ended at about 10.20pm, and by the time we got to the food, it was 10.30pm.

Don't Mess With The Elderly

a forwarded email ....

.

.
HOW TO CALL THE POLICE WHEN YOU ARE OLD AND DON'T MOVE FAST ANYMORE

.

George Phillips, an elderly man from Meridian, Mississippi, was going up to bed, when his wife told him that he left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window.

.

George opened the back door to go turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

.

He phoned the police, who asked, "Is someone in your house?"

.

He said, "No, but some people are breaking into my garden shed and stealing from me."

.

The the police dispatcher said, "All patrols are busy. You should lock your doors and an officer will be along when one is available."

.

George said, "Okay."

.

He hung up the phone and counted 30. Then he phone the police again.

.

"Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I just shot them." And he hung up.

.

Within five minutes, six police cars, a SWAT team, a helicopter, two fire trucks, a paramedic, and an ambulance showed up at the Phillips' residence and caught the burglars red-handed.

.

One of the policemen said to George, "I thought you said you'd shot them!"

.

George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"

.

.

Moral of the Story - Don't mess with old people. They don't need a gun to do this!

Free Cell, the Game

Apart from Taipei, Free Cell is another of my favourite games. It's a strategy game where you need to get all the cards in order (from Ace to King) to the top right boxes using the help of the top left boxes.

.

It's addictive!

Marriage - The Final Frontier

Recently I attended a wedding dinner of a man who is a trekkie fan. Everything, from his wedding invite, to the ballroom decor and his outfit was Star Trek based.

The Entrance - this resembles part of The Enterprise

The Backdrop ........ Marriage - The Final Frontier

The ballroom - Dark coloured (I was quite certain it was dark blue but Rajen said it was black)cloth hung above with strings of lights illuminating through it creating a space-like ambience.

Quark's Bar - Free flow of alchoholic drinks was served here

Each table number had the name of a space ship plus the star trek emblem

Instead of flowers, on the main VIP table sat The Enterprise

The other VIP table had this huge balls ... I think it's supposed to be planets

This base plate had the Star Trek emblem printed onto it.


The menu goes like this :-

Betazed Oskoid
Seared Hokkaido Scallops with Tobiko Granny Smith Apple and walnut Salad

Vulcan Plomeek Soup
Edamame Cappucino with Foie Gras Ravioli

Cardassian Regova
Pink Pomelo Sherbet

Klingon Heart of Targ
Pan Seared beef Medallion Au Jus, Cauliflower Puree and Citrus Jus

Bajoran Hasperat
Chestnut Mousse with Crispy Chocolate Feuilletine and Praline Ice Cream

Ferengi Coffee or Tea
Coffee or Tea

Thalian Chocolates
Petit fours / Macaroons


As you can tell, dinner looked great. It tasted great too. I was stuffed by the end of the night.

The Blue Lychee drink looks like it would taste weird but it's just a lychee drink.

The door gift - I am not exactly sure what is this ... I thought it was a soap dish with soap in it but when I opened it, there were 5 small chocolates in it.

When I first saw this cake, I thought it was just an ordinary 3-tiered cake. Later, Rajen (also a trekki fan) told me that it was a replica of a three dimensional chess set which Kirk and Spock played on the Enterprise.

Even the groom was dressed in one of the outfits shown in the earlier Star Trek episodes

NOTE : I AM NOT A STAR TREK FAN AND SOME OF WHICH IS DESCRIBED IN THIS POST MIGHT NOT BE ACCURATE