An Interlude

Let's take a short break now, shall we?

It isn't easy blogging all the time. To rack my brains for something amusing and interesting every other day isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. So, I will be taking a short break from blogging as I will be having a week-long holiday in Kuala Lumpur. I will be in KL to watch Mamma Mia! The Musical with my friends and also to visit my friends and family there.

I will be in KL starting form today (28th) until the 2nd of January. Hopefully, I will be able to make some time to blog about my holiday in KL when I'm there. But they will only be published once I'm back. Loads of photos will definitely be uploaded when I return. So, have a smashing holiday, the new year is approaching! and remember to keep on reading Fulfilling Life's Destiny.

Till we meet again,

♥ XOXO
~Helen T.~

Australia

First and foremost, a very Merry Christmas to my dear readers. I know I'm rather late in wishing and there's only a few more hours before it's Boxing Day but oh well, it's the thought that counts, right? Anyway, I have my reasons for not being able to blog earlier and wish everyone Merry Christmas.

As I said earlier, I have my reasons as to why I could not blog earlier. I was in Gurney Plaza watching Australia. By the way, it's a movie, in case you're wondering.

It was just released today.

It's an interesting movie where many important and relevant issues are raised. The scenery is also lovely, with a good cast. Nicole Kidman is a good actress and is perfect in her role. There are loads of action scenes and the movie is not boring at all. However, it's rather long about 2 hours 40 minutes, but it was worth every moment.

A must watch, especially those who love action and Australia!

Oh yeah, it has nothing to do with Christmas, in case you were wondering. I wonder why it was released on Christmas day itself.

So go and watch it!

Cause I said so.

Fans, Be My Followers

Dear readers of Fulfilling Life's Destiny,

I really appreciate the fact that you, and yes I do mean you are taking the time to read my blog. Without you guys who lighten up my day, brighten up my life, colour my world and provide me with interesting and amusing anecdotes to blog about, this blog wouldn't have existed.

Now, can you people just help me out in another small matter? As you can see in the top left corner of this blog, there is a widget called Fans and Followers. If you have a Blogger account, please sign in with that account and click on the button that says Follow This Blog. In that way, you will receive instant updates whenever I publish a new post.

For an easy way, just click on this. And I will love you forever.

To the small minority who have already followed my blog even before this post, I commend you and I hope that you will keep on following my blog. Besides that, I also hope that you will link me in your blogs. I link everyone who links me. After you have linked me in your blog, just send me a message in my chatterbox with your name and your URL so that I can link you. One good turn deserves another.

So, I hope that you all will be my fans, followers and most importantly, friends. Remember to keep on following and reading Fulfilling Life's Destiny.

With loads and loads of love,

♥ XOXO
~Helen T.~

What's In A Name?

Answer: Everything you need to know about a person.

But not always though. Sometimes, I have had people walking up to me and saying the weirdest kinds of things. Such as telling me that I look and sound like a so-and-so, am working as a this-and-that and many other weird things which I will save for another blog post.

I had the idea for this post when I met a friend of my parents recently. A few comments by my parents made me think for a while and I decided that this topic could be explored further and be transformed into a blog post.

Let me give you the overall background so that you will understand better and have a clearer picture of what's going on.

Mr. EJ is a businessman selling all kinds of dried foodstuff in town. My parents go to his shop to buy the things they need since a long time ago. He is my mum's sister-in-law's brother-in-law. Okay. I have officially made everyone confused. Never mind. To simplify things, he is a distant relative of mine.

Confused? Read on. It gets worse.

I usually follow my parents to his shop as it is in town and they normally go there on Saturdays. I have been there since I was 3, perhaps? And as I was a rather quiet and shy girl last time, quite hard to believe, right? I did not talk much but instead stared a lot at the things sold there.

Mushrooms. Plenty in the shop.

One year, during Christmas, my uncle and aunt who are related to Mr. EJ came down to Penang. They live in KL. That year, Mr. EJ did a party in his house and invited my family along as well. Then, my uncle decided to tease me and asked me whether I knew Mr. EJ. I answered loudly with a decided yes. My uncle asked me, "So what is his name?"

And I am very ashamed to say that I didn't know his name at that time. So I answered, "mushroom man." I think most of you will be wondering how I came with that name. Well, one of my earliest memories of going to Mr. EJ's shop was to buy mushrooms. A lot of mushrooms. So I came to associate Mr. EJ with mushrooms.

My mushroom man. Figuratively. Not literally.

Coming back to the present, my family and I bumped into Mr. EJ at Dewan Sri Pinang. My dad immediately told me, "Here's mushroom man." After saying the usual formalities, my parents excused ourselves as we wanted to go home. A few steps later, my dad asked me," Eh, so what's his name again? I keep forgetting as I call him mushroom man like you do."

Luckily, my mum still remembered his real name and told us. My dad and I were like, " Oh yeah. I totally forgot. Must remember his name and call him by his real name next time."

Anyway, I still have a chance to call him by his real name. My relative, Mr. EJ's nephew, is going to get married soon and the wedding reception will be held in early January. Hopefully, my brain cells will function properly and I will stop associating him with mushrooms.

No more mushrooms or mushroom man for me. Not anymore.

A Phone Call

I know this title sounds so creepy. Like those Asian horror films which I absolutely detest and do not watch at all.

Just looking at it gives me the creeps.

But in reality, this post is going to be a funny, hilarious and fun entry just like the posts before.

A few days ago, I received a phone call from my Ah Mah (grandmother). Normally, I would have freaked out if I picked up the phone as I would have to converse with my Ah Mah in Hokkien. It would be even worse if my parents were not around as I would have to talk to my Ah Mah in Hokkien on the phone.

A typical conversation with my Ah Mah a few months ago would have been like this.

Ah Mah: Hello, Heleh-ah. Wa ai ka loo eh mak kong wa. Hello, Helen. I want to talk to your mum.

Yours truly: While panicking and looking around in desperation. *Yells* MUMMY! AH MAH'S ON THE PHONE. FASTER PICK IT UP!!! Then on the phone to my Ah Mah, Tan chi eh, Ah Mah. Ah Mah, please hold on.

How I normally feel.

And that would be the end of our conversation.

But of course, over the last few months, I am very proud to say that my Hokkien has improved! Thanks to ardent listening to my relatives conversation and of course, reading my Hokkien guide.

So, when the real test came, I was kinda prepared for it.

Ah Mah: Hello, Helen. Loo eh mak ooo ti-oh? Hello, Helen. Is you mum there?

Yours truly: Wa eh mak bo ti. My mum is not at home.

Ah Mah: Loo eh pa-eh? What about your dad?

Yours truly: Ee chut ki liao. He has gone out.

Ah Mah: Oh, aa neh kuan-ah? Ho la. Ah Mah ka lu kong, ma chai Ah Mah cho ee. Kio lu lang lai Ah Mah eh chu. Oh, like that-ah? Nevermind. Ah Mah tell u, tomorrow Ah Mah is making tang yuan. Ah Mah wants you all to come to my house.

Yours truly: Oh, aa neh kuan-ah? Wa mui wa eh mak seng. Oh, like that-ah? I'll ask my mum first.

Ah Mah: Wa ua ten ua liao. Loo kio loo eh mak pak ten ua hor Ah Mah. Loo lai asi bo lai pun ai pak ten ua hor Ah Mah cai. Ah Mah kior lu eh Ah Chek hor loo wa eh xin ten ua. I changed my number already. Ask your mum to call me. Whether you come or not still must call me to confirm. Ah Mah will ask your Ah Chek to tell you my new number.

Your truly: While scrambling for a pen and paper. Ho. Ah Mah, tan chi eh-ah. Ok. Ah Mah, please wait for a while.

Ah Chek: Hello, Helen. Wa lang eh xin ten ua si **********. Hello, Helen. Our new number is **********.

Yours truly: While hoping and praying that the number written down is translated correctly. Si **********. Tio-oh? It's **********. Correct?

Ah Chek: Tio. Ah Mah ai ka lu kong ua. Correct. Ah Mah wants to talk to you.

Yours truly: Ok.

Ah Mah: Aa neh wa bo mi kia kong liao. Loo kio loo eh mak pak ten ua hor wa. I have nothing to say now. Tell your mum to phone me.

Yours truly: Ok. Bye-bye. Oops, a faux pas.

Ah Mah: Suprisingly. Bai-bai. Bye-bye.

Note: Ah Chek means uncle. In this case, I was talking to my dad's youngest brother.

Tang Yuan

By the way, I did not go for the lunch as my parents and I were busy. So no pictures available. Sorry.

So, what do you think of my Hokkien?

I improved a lot, right?

See, I can have a long conversation with my Ah Mah now!

Yippee!

Composing Compelling Creations

I seem to have developed a fondness for alliteration these days.

Must be all the Jane Austen novels I read.

Anyway, going back to the topic today, I have also found out that I can actually compose songs using Apple's GarageBand and they do sound good. According to a few of my friends who enthusiastically heard and reviewed my songs.

As blogged earlier, I attended a 3 day course in USM that was organized by Apple. I was taught how to create movies, songs and websites using Mac software. It was really a fun experience using Apple's GarageBand, iMovie, iWeb and others as they are really simple and easy to use.

For the benefit of others who are not so close to me and haven't heard my wonderful songs yet, they are available for listening. If you wish to download them, feel free to contact me personally and I will send you a copy of the songs with the composer's love.

Listen and comment.

Late Night Jazz



Rojak Club Mix



Thanks for your time and attention!

They're superb, stupendous, stunning! And that's only the S's!

They're astounding, amazing, astonishing! And that's only the A's!

Love you guys so much! Have a heart each!

Anymore to add?

Mesmerizing, marvelous, magnificent! Only the M's!

Capital, classic, cool! Only the C's!

Fantastic, first-rate five stars! Only the F's!

Wizard, wonderful, whiz-bang! Only the W's!

Take your pick, there's more than enough for everybody.

And composing.

Apologies

I think I owe some of you people an apology.

I forgot to add the English translation to some of the Hokkien phrases in my previous posts. So, I'm really sorry if some of you couldn't understand what I was saying in some of my previous posts.

Looking back, I just realized that some of my posts contain lots of phrases and sentences in Hokkien. So, to satisfy everyone, I have edited all those posts which contain Hokkien and have put the translations next to the phrases/sentences.

Here are the posts that contain Hokkien and have been edited.

Ageing Woes
Much Ado Over Jams

Feel free to have a look at those 2 posts again. If you think you have a better translation, feel free to notify me.

From now on, any phrases/sentences in any language but English will be translated for the benefit of everyone.

I promise.

Just The Way It Goes

Not again.

Just after I did the blog post about my pet peeve, someone has to come up to me to ask, so, your working as a this-and-that right?

But, I guess, this people do not know me, so I have nothing against them.

They probably don't even read my blog anyway.

So here it goes.

2 cases in point this time.

Case 1
In Borders, Queensbay Mall

Guy: Excuse me, miss. You work here right? Can you open this magazine for me?
Yours truly: No, I'm not a worker here.
Guy: Oh, sorry. I thought you work here.

At that time, I was leaning against a bookshelf near the magazine area but I wasn't holding anything. So he must have assumed that I was a worker.

Case 2
In Evolution Music House, Gurney Plaza

My mum was looking at some guitars while testing them out. I decided to walk about the shop to look for anything that interested me. So I went to look at the music books on sale.

Worker: You play the guitar and piano?
Yours truly: Yes, I do.
Worker: Are you a piano teacher?
Your truly: No, I'm just a student.
Worker: Oh, really? Sorry. You looked so much like a piano teacher.

Note: I'm not a piano teacher nor any kind of music or non-music teacher. So, please don't come to me for lessons. I don't teach. I learn.

I wonder, when will these people get it that I'm only a 14 year old student who studies and does not work?

Sometimes, they just never do.

Miraku Restaurant, G Hotel

A few days ago, I just had an absolutely scrumptious Japanese dinner in the Miraku Restaurant in G Hotel. It was perfect (partially because someone treated me to dinner) and also because the food was delicious and value-for-money.

G Hotel

The lobby

We (me mum and I) had helped a few friends to choose a proper guitar as they wanted to start classes. So after shopping for 2 hours in Evolution Music House in Gurney Plaza for that perfect guitar and listening to many horrid ones in the process, my mum's friend finally found a guitar which she liked, sounded good and was within her budget. Furthermore, the shop gave a lot of discounts as she bought a guitar tuner, guitar stand, guitar book and a guitar book.

After shopping, my mum's friend decided to treat us at a Japanese restaurant in G Hotel as it was very convenient. Besides that, her children and sister who tagged along enjoyed eating Japanese food. So, we walked over to G Hotel and went up to the Japanese Restaurant.


It was tastefully decorated, but very confusing as I could not see the way in easily. It was like a mini maze and I had to follow the waitress in. Then, we started ordering and the food came.

The portion served in Miraku is very big, so be very careful when ordering unless you are a big eater. The appetizer was served with salad and a little cold meat. Then, the main course came. As I had ordered the sushi set, I was very shocked as the portion was very large and there were many types of food in the set. It looked so much better than the pictures provided in the menu.

Note: The following pictures are taken from various websites and blogs as I didn't take my camera there.

Tempura set

Soba set

Salmon set

It was heavenly. So tasty and delicious. Although the portion was large, the restaurant allowed us to pack the food that we could not finish and take it home. The waiters and waitresses there were very good and well-trained too. They could remember who ordered what and were very polite. After sitting there and talking for 2 hours from 6pm to 8pm, we decided to go home.

Another nice day of shopping and in my case, window-shopping.

My ideal situation

Mesmerizing iMac

I ♥ Apple's iMac.

Having said that, I've only used it for a few hours so far.

Actually, I'm attending a 3 day course on using Apple's Mac. So far, it's quite okay. It doesn't feel like Microsoft's Windows but somehow, using iMac seems like a natural instinct for me. Call me perasan or whatever you like, but hey, who knows? I may just have a natural talent for computers.

I see many raised eyebrows now.

Fine, okay.

Going back to the topic, (I don't want to offend others who think they're more superior than me in computers but are actually not) iMac is a nice computer to use. After hearing the trainer speak of all the benefits of using a Mac, (won't crash, won't get virus, don't have to reformat, etc) I actually feel like getting a Mac now, since my computer is already 4 years old and for other reasons as well.

But we'll see.

Cause knowing me, I tend to have this mindset where I like new things easily but hate them after a long time, something like familiarity breeds contempt kind of attitude. But don't worry, I have that kind of mindset only to certain non-living things and not to people.

Oh well. I don't thing I'll actually get a Mac anyway. Cause my dad who will most probably buy a computer for me is a hardcore fan of Windows. And I'm also afraid that the many applications I use won't be compatible with a Mac computer.

So we'll see, how I feel after this course, whether it's worth getting a Mac when my Windows is still usable.

What I'm using now.

Steamboat Dinner

Yummy!

Especially when eaten with your own family.

Note: Sorry, but this post may take a longer time to load. Lots of images coming...

My relatives came down from KL to Penang for a short visit (3 days). And as usual, for my family, we went for another big feast. This time, it was a steamboat dinner, suggested by my cousin.

I think I'll just let the pictures tell my story. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words.

Disclaimer: Not for the gastritis-prone. And do not charge the medical bill to me.

The shop's signboard

The exterior

The interior

The different kinds of sausages and fish balls

Fresh seafood

Chicken and beef. I think

Chicken and pork?

Definitely prawns

Squid

Marinated fish

Cockles

Marinated fish (different breed and style)

Pre-fried food

Steamboat with 2 different types of soup (Normal and Tom Yam)

Barbecued food around the steamboat

The unofficial cooks of the night

I can't remember what we were saying

Having fun

It was good, wasn't it?

Tag, You're It!

Some of you may have noticed that I have never done any tags and posted them on my blog. Some of you have tagged me in your posts and may have even wondered why I never bothered answering them.


The reason is this: I detest answering tags as they do not help in enhancing my blog except for adding more posts. Ditto for emailed stories and jokes. Since you already sent those to me and probably everyone on your contact list, why should I post them up? Everyone would have read them by now. I prefer blogging my own stuff.

But don't worry, I do not have any problem against people who love to answer tags and tag others. I just do not like to answer tags and tag others. So, you won't see any tags in my blog. Previously, I debated whether I should answer tags and tag others but I felt that I had enough to blog enough to the extent that I would not have to answer a tag.

If you still want to tag me in your blog post, please go ahead. I won't deprive you from the pleasures you get from answering tags and tagging me. But why bother tagging me when you know I don't do tags? Tag some other people you know. At least, you may get an answer.

Not answering tags.