Confessions of a Wannabe Tai Tai

You gain some, lose some

After some frantic packing at midnight, I finally managed to stuff all my clothes and other essentials into my suitcase. It's a bit more complex when it comes to packing my woolies for winter. Luggage space depletes fast when you need it the most!

In some ways, I am thankful that I don’t own a huge winter wardrobe. This means that I have less to select from, less time spent deciding what to bring. The unfortunate result is that I have to stretch my tiny wardrobe over the weeks abroad. So, without being seen as wearing a uniform after a couple of days, I have to mix and match my clothes at lot. Fairly ingenious dress rotation plan has been worked out for myself.

Sacrificial list
Long overcoat
Leather boots
Several woolen pants (some are too tight, others too loose)
Skipping rope
Ceramic ware for painting (too heavy and delicate for any kind of cargo handling)

Can’t live without
Violin
Yoga CDs
Honey
Marmite
Ceramic paints
Colour pencils
Bedtime reads
Swimwear

Forgotten
Maggi mee assam laksa (instant noodles)
Lip balm

In end, my 26-kg suitcase landed safely with me in blistery cold Shanghai.

A short report on my inflight meal.

Check out this week's entry on:
Beeworks Ceramics

Lesson 30 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"My bare essentials for winter is about 26 kilos and counting."

Technically challenged

A couple of my equipment working behind the scenes on my blog has given up on me over the past few weeks. You may not have noticed it....but, I have been suffering the consequences in silence.

My notebook has been sent for emergency surgery after sustaining injuries during the trip back from NL in December. Broke a leg (hinge cracked) and dislocated an arm (modem died- news has it that the modem connection got loose).

My digital camera has been suffering from intense migranes recently. Two weeks ago, my entire memory card contents were mysteriously erased. I think it might be a brain tumour of some kind.

Things came to a virtual standstill after I had to invoke my emergency back up plan - to use my home office equipment.

I realised that my backup- desktop and scanner, have not been doing well in recent times.

My scanner is on strike due constant neglect (and abuse). My desktop is pretty much a dinasour. I am embarass to admit that I am still using my "old faithful" Pentium 450. It has served me well and perhaps, a little overworked for his "dog years". You see, my room cum home office is also an internet cafe for my sisters.

To be or not to be...technically sound
I have 4 ports - 2 serial and 2 USB. One serial is dedicated to my mouse. One USB is dedicated to my keyboard. Over the weekend, I have come to suspect that the remaining two ports are not working. Hence, I am not able to use other peripherals like my scanner or digital camera (for downloading) if I do not want to sacrifice my mouse or keyboard. Now, how can one do anything without the mouse (unless you can go absolutely manual) and keyboard.

Now, I did not instantly come to the conclusion that the ports were faulty. Being technology-disadvantaged, I had manually troubleshoot the problem. Literally means moving the wire from one port to another. You know it doesn't work if the cursor doesn't move or the computer does detect your keyboard. The sickening bit was having to reboot the computer each time something does not work. Such pain faced by my aged PC. I think the worst bit is having to spend time crouch under my desk to get to the CPU to fix the wires in during the hot weekend afternoons.

Finally, after all the "rewiring", it has been deduced the following:
1. Either one of my USB port is not working; or
2. My scanner is not working (bulb blew, some mechanism inside gave up)
3. The other USB port is dying. (so much trouble having my PC detect my ditigal camera.)

It's confirmed that:
1. Norton Anti-virus has expired (confirmed). My aged PC would be susceptible to new diseases unless I update my anti-virus version.
2. The computer wires under my desk looks like a plate of badly cooked fried vermicelli. Potential hazard (death by electrocution).

Note: Please excuse if I am not using the correct terminology.

To do or not to do....

Should I update my home office? It's absolutely frustrating when your tools fail you. So, I begin to ponder on some new equipment with the following requirements:

1. Speedy
2. Vast memory space
3. Good looking - cute and with character. "Lasting" functionalities with the good looks.
4. Big thin monitor..no less than 17 inch - my current monitor occupies 3/4 of my tiny desk
5. Wireless - a "must" after crouching under my desk trying to fix my ports!
6. State-of-the scanner - easy to use, dependable, good quality results
7. Fast printer - My free-of-charge bubble jet takes about a minute to print a page
8. Good speakers - I am quite happy with mine. They should be accepted by new "host".
7. Working ports - lots of working ones
8. CD reader/ burner
9. Have all my softwares - genuine and not ;)

I will need to do some research and get some quotations. I am imagining my zen-looking desk - clean lines...with no clutter. A sleek notebook with a good-sized monitor or a desktop (slim CPU) with a flat screen monitor...absolutely wireless. Must get some fundings approved by my accountant and tax advisor (a.k.a. myself talking to my bathroom mirror).

Attention to my resident internet cafe users... Please take note of the possible potential developments.

Do or die....

Hope things would get back to normal really soon. Meanwhile, shutterBEE will look into her archives for photos to share.

Lesson 29 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"To be or not to be. To do or not to do. Do or die....the show must go on"

"Regrets...I've had a few.
But then again, too few to mention"

"Today, I find myself in the bookstore again. Yet again, I am hanging out at the Chinese section, flipping through books. ...imagining that I could read what was inside."

I have come to a point in my life when I noticed that things that were awful growing up aren't go bad after all.

Take bitter gourd (like holding your breath while drinking bitter gourd soup...then gobbling spoonfuls of rice to rid of the bitterness). Now, stir-fried bitter gourd is a favourite.

Take liver (always one too many in my plate). Now, the more the merrier.

Take marmite/ borvil (with porridge everyday). Now, I simply love marmite on toast and rice with borvil soup.

Take loh-hon-kor or air mata kuching which was awfully bitter. Growing up, we normally had it as a hot soup. Now, I can have it icy cold and sweet. It's refreshing on hot days.

Take strawberry jam on wholemeal bread for school recess. Now, I love all jams on toast....especially marmalade.

Take original scotts' emulsion(where we watch the smiling children on TV having spoonfuls of the condensed milk-looking substance but tasted yucky when we had it!). Now, we have the orange-flavoured ones which tastes yummy.

My two greatest regrets in life is not taking my violin and chinese seriously. How I dreaded going for lessons! So, some 20 years on...I am yearning to be able to play the violin and speak mandarin again. Over a year ago, I took the bull by its horn and bought a violin. Violin's doing well and have recently "graduated" to the next level.

My mandarin is unfortunately, progressing rather slowly. I thought that taking a short course, working in China, reading my volumes of "Practical Chinese reader" books and listening to my Chinese CDs would do the trick. Now, I realised it takes much more than this.

So now,

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way."

Check out this week's entry on:
Beeworks Ceramics
Shutterbee on Friday (23 Jan 2004 ~ Entry 210)

Lesson 28 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"My way? Well actually, I am doing it the tai tai way."

Loh hon kor ~ a chinese healthy and nourishing drink, taken hot or cold. The base materials are Buddha's fruit (Loh Hart Kor), dried longan flesh and water.
Air mata kuching ~ literally means cat's eye water (drink) in Malay but means "loh hon kor".

Mahjong kaki

Chinese New Year (CNY) without friendly gambling is like Christmas without presents. Typically, games like Mahjong and Gin Rummy are played.

Now, let me point out that these games are even more significant for tai tais. It is considered to be one of the scared skills by a tai tai, i.e. to master the ability to:

1. Demonstrate intelligence in strategy
2. To humbly accept defeat
3. To enjoy wins with modesty
4. Engage in small talk while maintaining concentration at play

So last night, I went to practised my tai tai skills on Mahjong and Gin Rummy with my family. I haven't played in 2 years. But, playing mahjong is like riding a bicycle...you don't forget it once you learnt how to play. It takes more than skill to win. A lot of luck is required too. I am glad to report that I modestly received a total winnings of $40. Not bad for a couple of hours practice!

Lesson 27 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"To hook the big fish, you need to pung a little, chi a little..... kew.........then, chi moh.......... sek wu."

Mahjong Chinese card game. For more info, read this!
Kaki ~ legs in malay
Pung ~ mahjong term for displaying 3 tiles of a kind
Chi ~ mahjong term for displaying 3 tiles of the same suit, in sequence
Kew ~ calling (to win)
Chi mo ~ handpick the winning card
Sek wu ~ Win!

Monkey business

For the Chinese, we greet the Year of the Monkey in 2004.

Yee Sang means "fish" and "raw" respectively in Chinese. It is a 'raw fish salad' that is usually only eaten during the Chinese New Year period. It is uniquely found in Malaysia and perhaps, Singapore. So, when visitors come from abroad, they are curious and often explanation is needed about it.

Someone related to me his wise instructions of eating Yee Sang to my foreign friend, who will have her first "reunion" dinner (in the spirit on Chinese New Year) in Malaysia.

How to eat Yee Sang
1. Grab the chopstick
2. Stand up...
3. Say loudly *yeeeeeeee sangggggggggg!* while you toss and mix the food stuffs.
4. When you mix the food and say "yee sang", you have to lift your chopsticks high up. The higher you toss the food, the better it is!

I can imagine the stares from other diners when they utter the words "raaaaaw fisssssssh" while tossing their yee sang tonight. Probably think they are a couple of crazy people!

Meanwhile, I need to add this one to my "Real Dummies Guide to eating Yee Sang".

hahahahaaa....

Gong xi fa chai!

Lesson 26 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"Before you see your mother-in-law, make sure you know the difference between "Yee sang" and "Yam Seng".

Yee sang is raw fish in chinese
Yam seng is "bottoms up" or "cheers" in chinese

Ten green bottles standing on the wall....

Remember the song ...

"Ten green bottles standing on the wall,
Ten green bottles standing on the wall,
and if one green bottle should accidentally fall,
there'd be nine green bottles standing on the wall."

I always remember it as "standing on the wall" rather than "hanging on the wall". Anyway, it seems that the song "Ten green bottles" has some controversy.

Back to my story....

I actually wanna talk about my recent ten-pin bowling game.

It seems to me a ritual that I play bowling once a year. No wonder my scores don't improve!

A couple night ago, we had a project bowling event (I think it is one of the most corporate friendly games ever). My personal goals were "achieve a modest game score of 100" and "not to come out last".

We played 2 games. I started out pretty bad....a number of balls went to the drain.....couldn't get the right swing. Soon enough, I found the right moves.

First game score 84. Warming up.....

In my final game

Frame 7 and 8...consecutive strikes....having fun....on a rolll...so, I thought

Coming into Frame 9 - score was 97. How difficult is it to score 3 points with 2 frames??...I thought.

Frame 9
first shot.........drain shot..... *pressure*
....spare went into the drain too!

Coming into Frame 10 - score was still 97!!!!

Frame 10 .....*immense pressure*
First shot......swerves to the left.....1 pin down.....goodness me!
Spare....... rolls slowly to the left again...... 2 pins down!!!

I did it! Perfect 100! That was the most toughest 3 points earned.
In the end, I came up as the highest lady scorer.
I had good fun despite playing under pressure.

:D

Lesson 25 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"Thank your lucky stars you're aspiring to become a tai tai, and not a professional bowler!"

Out with the old and the borrowed...

To some of us, a new year will include some spring cleaning.

Today, I was spent a rare, quiet day at home. With a celebration around the corner, I ended with the task of cleaning the windows and grills in my house. My sister excused herself as she had her nails done yesterday.

Let me say...cleaning windows is one back-breaking job....bend to reach the pail of water, then stretch to reach the window. Sounds like a yoga routine.

Actually, my back has been sore since last week when I tried out my new Yoga CDs that I got for Christmas. Good stuff!...but I was silly enough to try out some "supported" yoga poses without a sturdy bolster. I had used a rather soft pillow from the hotel. Since then, I have been nursing my bad back.

Back to cleaning....
the windows and grills were rather dusty. So, it was a tough job.

Later that day, I decided to inspect my room cleaniless. Thankfully, it is still fairly liveable space. I hate clutter! Every 3 months or so, I must have a "throw out" session. At the moment, things are in organized clutters around my room. I should think of a way to organize my ceramic pieces as the collection is growing.

Oh...check out this week's entry in Beeworks Ceramics.

Something borrowed...
I hate debts! Over the weekend, I decided to sort out my finances. Paid all my bills.
And finally.....sorted out all last year's receipts from my shoebox. Finished at 2 a.m..

I have done my preliminary Profit & Loss account for 2003. Next is to do some tax planning and sort out my income tax computation to avoid last minute panic situations.

Some things blue
A week ago, I did a rough calculation and was shocked by a few things:
Did I earn that much last year? How come my bank account did not show it?
How come my tax payable is so high? Where am I gonna find the $$$ to pay for it?

After last night's work, I can sleep a bit better. There's more to be done tho'....

At least, I will feel less blue about the matter.

Lesson 24 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"Out with the old...... and less with the new."

One PIN fits all

It's funny how "secure" the world seems to be now. Everything needs a password, Personal Identification number (PIN), authorization, permit, visa etc.

My typical day may involve...lemme count...

1. Turn on my notebook. Enter network password.
2. Open my office mail. Enter password.
3. Open my work applications. Enter password.
4. Check internet mail. Enter password.
5. Upload photos in my internet album. Enter password.
6. Update my blog. Enter password.
7. Call the bank. Enter your telephone PIN.
8. Check your finances online. Enter password.
9. Withdraw money. Enter ATM Pin.
10. Keep valuables in hotel safe. Enter PIN.
11. Retrieve voice mail. Enter PIN.

For added security, some of these passwords have to be changed regularly. It gives me great anxiety each time when the password prompt comes up. Worst still, for some, you cannot recycle your password...or have anything close to previous passwords.

So, I end up having my regular password (likely, to open more things than others)....then, top 5 passwords (my "if forget, try this first" passwords).

Lately, I have had some bad "run-in"s with passwords. I expect a few more cases now that I surrendered my notebook for repair (majority have been set to "remember password" for me)

Today...
I forgot my company chat application (ala Yahoo Messenger) password.

Reason:
I had my password saved on my notebook which was sent repair today. So, I had to temporarily set my Chat application on a desktop. The set-up required me to sign on and I forgot my password.

How come I can't remember? I was using those "Remember Password" and "Automatic log-in" miracle options.

Yesterday...
I managed to lock my internet banking ID. Now, I have to run to the nearest automatic teller machine to to key a new PIN.

Reason:
The bank decided to prompt me to change my password during the new year. I forgot and kept entering my old password.

A week ago...
I decided to get organized my credit card internet banking issue. Had not logged on for a long while as I forgot my password.

So, I went to the bank to sort out my credit card PIN business. They issued me a a new Personal Banking Number and PIN (not to be confused with my telephone PIN). But, I got confused anyway with the terms "log on ID", PIN, password.

In the end, after calling Customer Service, I got things to work again.

Reason:
I hardly ever use this credit card. So, during the lapse of a couple of months, I forgot my password.

2 weeks ago...
I locked my network ID after coming back from vacation.

Reason: Had my CAP key turn on.

I was a little prepared this time around. Before I went on vacation, I had all my IDs and passwords jotted down...just in case. Judging from the reasons, I probably exhausted the main excuses for locking a password.

Gosh! I am doing too much complaining on my blog.

For something more pleasant, check out my dream possessions. Ooh...one more piece of good news, I found my marmite, which is similar to Vegemite. Just that Marmite's a Bestfoods product whilst Vegemite's from Kraft.


Lesson 23 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"How do I love thee? Let me count the PINs..."

Cranking the engine again

It's awfully difficult to start work after a long vacation. You open your mail box and you have tons of unread messages greeting you....all work-related!

My memory failed me miserably. It's as if everything was archived during the holidays or I just left my brain in Netherlands. I forgot names (never forget faces), transaction codes, tables, interfaces, functionalities, passwords etc. Had to search through my rather unorganized archives in my head and notebook....often straining my still-on-vacation brains.

Starting the new year with Year End Close support, didn't help either. This means having to answer questions from users on things i think about once a year. On top of that, having to provide knowledge transfer to the Support Center people.

Back to work....
means back to carrying my suitcase, living in hotels and spending more time at airport lounges instead of at home. I have gotten used to living in hotels. The nice thing is you come back to a clean room, nice sheets and clean towels and you can walk down to the pool for a swim.

I don't miss the air travel though...
In the first week, I had to be in Manila and then, Bangkok. Played the waiting game at Manila Airport. Those are the times when I wish I was back relaxing in Bali.

Things are calmer this week.

Lesson 22 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"Patience is a virtual. Fretting is not."

On the 12th day of New Year...

I think I got out the wrong side of the bed since the start of the new year.
Been in and out periods of calm and restless feelings.

So, over the weekend, I found myself in 2 shopping malls looking for some answers and vegemite.

Seeing colours...
By chance, I stumbled across the shop that does aura readings that my friends wanted to do do the week before but couldn't get appointments. So, I went for my reading out of curiousity and desparation for a second opinion to the cause of my restlessness. The result was pretty good (I had braced myself for the worst!).

Was it accurate?
My reader did mentioned some things that had been on my mind recently. At the end of the session, the expected sales pitch. You see... crystals help "correct" your aura. So, a few gems were recommended to me - ammonite and aquamarine. They don't come cheap. Anyway, I was game to give it a try to see whether it works. So, I got my ammonite...a brownish fossilized rock, which is rare. It was not love at first sight, mind you.

In 6 months time, I shall go for another reading to see whether it really works!

Btw, I still haven't found my vegemite!

Lesson 21 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"You may have to sacrifice "looks" for a better future.... including wearing a fossil around your neck to correct the aura!"

Check out: Beeworks Ceramics

The boy who cried wolf

A funny thing happened the other day....

My 2 nephews were home alone with their maid when screams from the kitchen stirred a rather dull afternoon.

"Ulaar..ular..." the maid cried out.

The elder nephew ran into the kitchen to find out what was happening. In the commotion, he mistook the cries as "orang-orang". Thinking there were intruders (orang) trying to get into the house, he rushed and hit the panic button of the burglar alarm.

The alarm broke out in the house. The elder nephew was already armed with a bottle of insect repellant. The younger nephew had fled upstairs and tucked himself in his closet.

As the scene unravelled, it turned out that the intruder was actually a cobra (ular), which had hidden itself behind the kitchen door. It was already bitten by their pet dogs. Luckily, the security personnel rang the house before calling the police. They had a good laugh over the phone!

Lesson 20 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"A good dose of laughter any time, any day."

Time for change

Alas, I watched the final part of the Lord of the rings trilogy yesterday.
It was obvious to me that hobbits have some gay inclinations.
I finished Book 1 and 2 two years ago.
Found the ending confusing...so did my nephew. So, I have to read the last book to find out which bits are Tolkien's and which are Hollywood's.

I have started a new blog to focus on my ceramic paintings. I am trying to keep it stark...instead of cluttering it with remarks or comments. It should be a fairly active site, so do bookmark it.

Lesson 19 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"Everything should have a place and every place should have things."

Happy New Year

Should I do away with resolutions this year?
I am awfully tempted to make my list.
Maybe, just a tiny motto to live on for the year.

"Happiness. Love. Passion. Simplicity."

Lesson 18 in The art of Tai Tai hood
"Life is too short to worry."

# posted by beeworks @ 9:56 AM