Penang Horse Show and Other Stuff

I abandoned my blog for more than a month, that's why I am compensating by posting two entries in a row. I wanted to blog sooner about an event which I attended and father's day as well as other stuff but I was just not in the mood to write. Plus, it's peak period at work. Had been working late nights for weeks, pity me. But luckily, I have fun colleagues which make late nights less stressful.

I met my big boss from head quarters for the first time since I started working a year ago (well, not exactly a year yet but nearing a year) and he was a very knowledgeable and friendly man. After our brief meeting, i am all inspired to further pursue my current course of study. I am still thinking about it and have yet to make a decision because I don't want to waste anymore unnecessary time and money.

Lets talk about the National Horse Show held in Penang at the first weekend of this month. I was there as a volunteer for SPCA and it was kinda fun helping around. Lets but out the words and get straight to the pictures.

The main entrance of Penang Turf Club

The stage backdrop

One of the many horses

Another horse

One more horse.....

.....and a donkey

Horse shoes

Horse carriage

Michael Jackson, The Great or The Ape ?

It was just another ordinary car ride back home from lunch. The traffic was smooth, the five of us (my family members) were chatting casually and the radio was playing this song which I immediately fell in love with. I asked daddy who is the singer of that wonderful song and as soon as I got home, I looked for the CD, took a brand new exercise book and copied the song lyrics. I re-played the song for umpteen times and had my own sing-along session. That was fifteen years ago and that song is You Are Not Alone by Michael Jackson.

I am sure no matter how old or how young you are, how much you hate or love this guy, we had our Michael Jackson moments. As time goes by and with the emergence of boy bands, I grew out of You are not alone and Michael Jackson. I could not be bothered with news and rumours of Mr. Jackson, I did not care one bit when he was accused of child molest or when he announced his comeback concert, until I heard that he has passed away. It was simply shocking!

Many television channels paid tribute to Michael Jackson by airing a compilation of his 'rise and shine', his concerts, his music videos as well as his not-so-glamorous moments. So it is real, not a prank, not April fool (obviously because it's already June. Duh!). I was glued to the tv to catch updates on what actually causes his death etc.

When he was young and at his peak, he produced amazing music that moves and touches people's heart, no matter what colour their skins or what languages they speak. He did amazing dance moves (especially moonwalk) which no one can perfectly impersonate to date and he made story-like music videos which was an evolution to the music industry. His concerts are always full house and without fail, a couple or more of his fans will faint during his concert. He was labelled the King of Pop and he was honoured for his anti-apartheid acts.

However, his fame deteriorated when he was accused of child molest and when people took too much interest on how he spent his hard-earned money (he splurged on toys and antiques as well as his Neverland Ranch). His obsession with plastic surgery did not help too. Soon, he was entangled in legal issues and was in great debts.

Honestly, i think that he is weird with his over-done plastic surgery and his freaky behaviour of dangling his baby over the balcony. But I am thinking otherwise now after hours and hours of MJ's life story. Here goes why :

- he did not have a pleasant childhood, therefore he is making up for it by shopping for toys and building Neverland Ranch. It's his hobby and it's his money. Why do people have to comment on how he spends his money and what he buys?

- child molest. MJ is so nice to open up his Neverland to local children and when you have an opportunity to be so up close with someone so famous and rich, will you not be tempted to extort his money? Everyone knows he loves children very much, are some people being too overly-sensitive when he hugs or kisses a child?

- plastic surgery. Yes, his new look is a bit scary and ape-like but hey, it's his face and his skin colour and his life. As long as he produces good music, he is a great musician, so why bother about how he looks? By the way, some sources claim that the whitening of MJ's skin is not due to plastic surgery but because he suffered from vitiligo.

Rest in Peace Michael Jackson ! No matter how much people out there hate or love you, it is a fact that you have created history !

Updates !!

My last entry was nearly a month ago. Had been pretty occupied with my new part-time business. Simply love the tight schedules and my new associates. Wanted to blog about Mother's Day but missed the day. Posting a belated entry on it seems meaningless, so I am skipping it. By the way, I still owe mum and grandma a mother's day dinner, and dad a birthday dinner. Bad me! Don't start judging me yet. The delay in the double celebration is not because I am so preoccupied with work that I neglected my family. Nope, I am never going to let that happen. Was suppose to celebrate both occasions last weekend but my family including myself was down with flu. No worries, it's not Swine Flu, just some regular flu.

Really hung out with my colleagues for the first time last night. Great people, loads of fun and lots of splurging. Alright, enough with brief updates! Am going to update in detail on my Malacca trip.

In the beginning of this month, my family drove down south to Malacca. It was the first time we drive for such a long distance, the furthest we ever drove to was Ipoh. Thanks to the not-very-clear road signs, maps and some telephone navigation, we managed to arrive safely. We checked into our one-room apartment and immediately hit the streets of Malacca, hunting for some local delicacies. We had the Malacca must-eat chicken rice ball and cendol (if you don't know what is this, then do visit Malaysia and try it for yourself). Then we visited the places of interest in Malacca (which I will show you in pictures because I am too lazy to elaborate in words). In between the sight-seeings, we went for nyonya laksa and more cendol. Before we call it a day, we went to Jonker Street, a must-go in Malacca. We enjoyed bargaining with the friendly locals and tasting their local finger food.

On day 2, we decided to leave the car behind and tour Malacca by foot. We hopped onto a double decker bus (which is a novelty to me because I have not seen one in Malaysia before this) and we went for more sight-seeing. We had more chicken rice ball and cendol and were drop dead tired at the end of the day. On day 3, we had our spoilt-for-choice buffet breakfast at the hotel before leaving for Penang. Although this is only a trip to a local destination but I really appreciate and enjoy the quality time spent with my family.

Malacca, here I come !

Breathtaking sea view from my hotel balcony

A random architecture which caught my attention

A couple of the many chicken rice ball eateries at Malacca

This building is where tourist can shop for edible souvenirs and yummy durian cendol

St. Peter's Church

A random building

Colourfully-decorated trishaws

Malacca clock tower

Nice floor tiles. You can see them everywhere on the pathways

Double-decker bus

Christ Church

St. Paul's Church

I have forgotten what this red building is but I find the architecture nice

A' Famosa

Just a random building

More random building

Another random building

Intricate details on a building

Chicken rice ball

Money Can't Buy Love

Blogging has become a weekly thing for me. Actually, this week I have nothing much to blog about but I simply can't resist to post an entry. I love writing and essay writing had been one of my favourite at high school. This weekend was very carefree and relaxing and also lazy. I did not meet up with any of my friends, I spent my time at home, cuddling my 'best dog on earth' while watching some over-dramatic soap opera. A while ago, I was reading my past entries and realised that I had quite a number of grammar mistakes in my past entries. Well, I am going to leave it as it is because sometimes in life, there are no take two. Although we can edit our entries as many times as we want (thank you blogspot) but I prefer to not change it. I want to learn to do things right the first time and to make the right decision.

I accompanied my paternal grandmother to visit her friend last night after dinner. This lady is a widow with no children of her own but she is really rich. When I entered her house, I can feel the quietness and loneliness in her nicely-decorated house. I used to think that if you can't find the right one, then don't get married or if you are married and realise later than he/she is not the right one, then get a divorce. I also think that if you have a steady career that pays well, you have no fear staying single. I thought that if you are really nice and friendly, you will have friends to accompany you at the later stage of your life. You might even have nieces and nephews that will take good care of you.

But that very moment I entered that rich lady's house, my perception change. I realise that sometimes in life, it is not really about finding the one but about how you work things out. When married couples argue, divorce should be the very last solution. You can keep a cat or dog, they are great companion and will be really loyal to you but what if you need someone to talk to? Well, you can talk to your relatives or friends. Yes, you can but they can't be with you all the time and they might not be there when you are down. At the end of the day, they have to return to their life and you will be all alone.

Money is not everything. Perhaps we should slow down (our hectic schedule in a dog eat dog world) and learn to care and love. Climbing the corporate ladder is important but when you are old and retired, love and companionship is what you need. Money can't buy love but with love, you can find money.

Peranakan

The blogging bug bit me! I am suppose to be in dreamland now because I have an outing tomorrow but here I am posting an entry. This is going to be a real random post and I am going to show off my photography skills in this post. So what if I have no talent in photography, I am still proud of what I manage to snap using my handphone's camera.

Anyway, the pictures below are taken in a Peranakan (aka Baba Nyonya) mansion in Penang. Don't know what is Peranakan and Baba Nyonya? Do google to find out if you are interested. If you are too lazy to read about it, maybe you can watch the Singapore series 'A Little Nyonya'. It's an excellent drama and it was partly filmed in the mansion that I visited.

The entrance taken through a window

The original occupants of the mansion

Delicate designs on each window in the mansion

Grand dining hall

A corner of the mansion

Elaborate (and heavy) jewelleries of the Nyonya

A cabinet full of beaded shoes

Intricate wardrobe of the Baba and Nyonya

Kebaya. The Nyonya's traditional costume

Bridal's chamber

The kitchen

I took about 200 pictures and it's impossible to upload all of them. You should visit Penang, Malaysia and check out this mansion yourself. It is simply breathtaking.