When spare parts and chicken feet were so cheap

Yum yum :)

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It was during my primary school years I remembered my dad brought home a few kg of chicken feet. I was really excited to see what kind of 'experiment' my dad was going to do.

First these feet were boiled(just enough to feel the crunch on the feet's tendon when its cooked). Then, the three of us (mum, dad and I) would peel out the flesh out from the bones and placed them into the bowl or pail. It was then mixed together with some chopped onions, garlic, ginger and a dash of salt and sugar into it. Another important element of course, was lime and vinegar in order to have these feet to be fermented properly.

Lastly, these concoctions were placed into a fridge for a few days just to have the flavour blend together nicely. The first time when I took it, it was nothing to shout about since it was pretty new to me. As for both of my parents, they easily finished within less than week. But after that day, there's no more of it since it was too tiring for them(and me) to make more of it. Plus the price of these parts were skyrocketing.

Now, I'm really miss that sort of 'delicacy'. So just for old time sake, my dad made 1 small portion for both of us for dinner. It was YUMMY!

If one wonders what kind of food is it, I have no idea. Unfortunately, these sort of stuff is not as cheap as it used to be. Sekali sekala makan boleh lah. :)

A Peaceful Break

A view at Pulau Ketam

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It's almost the end of my 2 days break for the week.

To concentrate what is happening during my break would be one of the happiest time of my life. It's simple dinner with my grandma, dad and my younger brother in a chinese restaurant not far from the house in Seremban.

How did you spend yours?

Maronite 2008 at Sydney

Another interesting experience when I was at down under...
One of my 'biggest' mistake in traveling is to travel without a plan. In a way, I just join any group that I would see in sight. Fortunately, as I previously said, the Malaysian group.
As I was already comfortable with the group, I had the chance to join them to attend the Maronite Mass which was held in Parramata.

Banner

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We thought that we were 1/2 hour late because we took the wrong train as it suppose to start at 10am. Not only that, we had to book a ticket to enter the stadium where the mass was held.

Either it's a blessing or mere coincidence, the mass didn't start until 11am plus there were extra tickets for all of us (appx 8-10 of us in total). I was honestly thankful for the guard's kindness and effort for us.

The guard is counting the ticket

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Priests, Cardinals, Bishops arriving

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Patriach - Mar Nasrallah Cardinal Boutros Sfeir

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Director conducting the choir

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It was a whole new different view while attending the mass. Majority of people who came were actually Lebanese. The language was in Arab but there are parts of the mass were spoken in English for the pilgrims who visit the World Youth Day. This mass is specially conducted during this event and also for the Maronites. The flow of the mass was quite different from the normal mass in the Roman Catholic Church but still we're in the same family. At that moment, there's a feeling of connection with the people around me.

Even the sign of peace was quite different in comparison to bowing to the person next to you or shaking hands. The sign of peace was started from the altar and then passed down from the altar boy until the people at the stadium. My vocabulary is quite poor in describing how hands are being held to each other first and then passed to another person next to you. A little bit like how you greet your fellow Muslim friends back in Malaysia.

A stage filled with holy people

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Communion

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One of the most anticipated thing in the Maronite mass was definitely the communion. I heard that the bread and wine were mixed together into a pulp which signifies the body and blood of Christ. And then, it'll be passed down using a long spoon into the person's mouth. That didn't happen though. During that time, I was not even allowed to hold the body of Christ and instead the priest placed it into my mouth.

All in all, that 'mistake' in terms of planning was a good one. :)

It was truly a educated experience to pray and listen in Arab. Sounds more like the when I hear the Adhan back at home.

The End of the Mass

Books for Thought

It's been a while I haven't been tagged to do this memes. I guess it was the time when I really didn't have the time to blog at all and it was all about work work work. Well, I still have some assignment to do, but what the heck.

From my cuzzy bookworm, Tine... I shall accept the memes challenge :-P

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?

When I was a kid, my mum brought a large picture book from our town library.
I couldn't remember what title was it but it's something do with one of those Disney fairy tales.
When my mum got tired of reading, i begged her to continue. Instead of continuing, she told me that I should learn how to read if I want to know what's the story like on the next page.

The moment i manage to figure out how to read, I got extremely excited to be able to to read on my own.

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What are some books you read as a child?

Story books written by Enid Blyton given by my aunts and uncles for christmas and birthdays. Fairy tales by Hans Christian Anderson.They were lovely.

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What is your favourite genre?

None in particular. It depends on the mood. Sometimes when I go to a bookstore, I just read the synopsis and if it's interesting, I may have just take it and give it a try. Then, most probably I'll promote it to my close friends and colleagues.

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Do you have a favourite novel?

None in particular yet.

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Where do you usually read?

On my bed when I'm at home or on the rocking chair when I visit my grandma in Seremban.

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When do you usually read?

Anytime except when I'm working or having outdoor activities with friends.

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Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?

No. I rarely have that much luxury ever since I started working.

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Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?

Most probably yes. I take nonfiction a little more serious and thinking compare to fiction. Usually I would skip a few sentence or a page in a fiction book.

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Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?

Before I actually earn my own money, i usually borrow books from the library.
Now, I buy them as it is tax deductable... hee hee

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Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?

Yes, I keep them.

So far, I haven't donated any. Unless if my parent's donate/sell them behind my back or my brother assumed that I donate some of the books to him.

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If you have children, what are some of the favourite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?

My very first book given by my parents was The Magic Penny from the Puddle Lane Books and love to share my kids with all the books I've collected like the ones written by Enid Blyton and Judy Blume.

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What are you reading now?

The Colour of Water by James McBride.

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Do you keep a TBR(to be read) list?

Nope. I might lose out all the other interesting books that comes in.

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What's next?

Companions of Christ by Margaret Silf - It's more like a spiritual exercise instead of a novel.

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What books would you like to reread?

Whenever I go back home in Tuaran, I would always reread some of my old fairy tale books that my parents, aunts, uncles and friends that gave me.

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Who are you favourite authors?

None in particular.

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I want to tag to thee :)

1. Cibol

2. Carol

3. Annie

Interesting photos at Oz

Here are some random photos I've taken when I was 'off duty'.
Some are just wierd..

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... (Parramatta)

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Chair pinned to the floor (St. James Church)
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Glass Blower (The Rocks)

Fabulous Fudge for Sale(The Rocks) PS- Try the Irish Cream it's nice!
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Things you can find in some washrooms

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Items are just as cute as its name (Greenwood Plaza)

What is a National University anyway?

A grand look during the Sydney visit

I was reading a friend's blog about the Centre for Students Advancement in my uni had issued a letter dated 21st July 2008 to all students stated that no religious activities could be held in the campus except for "Agama Rasmi Negara" (Country's Official Religion).

From a university which called itself as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia - The National University of Malaysia, it's a real turn off for everyone who may want to pursue the studies there. The department that is responsible for the 'advancement' for the students have no brains on the meaning of the word itself.

What on earth the meaning of university is all about? It suppose to play a role in our intellectual life. They suppose to educate the intellectual elite and professional classes of our country. In existence of universities, they provided the institutional home in which scholars carried on advance research and created most of the humanistic, medical, legal and scientific advances.

If I am still a student, I would have asked why they decided to do so and most probably request for an answer in black and white. I will also post my opinion in local newspapers or articles in public about this.

I know most students would think twice before doing this because of the fear of being 'kicked out' from their current uni, but what is wrong in getting the answers from them? It is against their authorities' rights to snatch away the student's education (without a good concrete reason) anyway.

We are in a democratic country. An executive summary that i just recently read from the US Department of State, partly it stated "The right to freedom of religion is also a cornerstone of democracy." Malaysia is a democratic country and yet the national university is not allowing the students to have a religious gathering? Of course, at least they allow them to go to church/temple to pray.

A simple gathering of friends of a same religion to learn and interact can actually disrupt the peace and harmony in campus? Does this mean, there's no trust at all to the students who actually practice a different religion? Are they being watched out because they might be fanatics or terrorists to the country?

I'm just disappointed and sad with what is happening with my own university. It was not like that when I joined in one of the religious society. I didn't turn out to be evil if that is what they are afraid of. Wake up and smell the flowers, the uni will not improve any better by doing this.

World Youth Day 2008 - As a volunteer

I manage to arrange a few photos which related to my experience as a volunteer for the World Youth Day. There were too many of the events that I didn't manage to take as we're not really allowed to take photos when we're on duty.
What's important was to be able to contribute as well as having fun during the event. It was blessing as well to be able to meet new friends along the way which we became a pack during the whole event. It's a cheeky and a fun group which includes Elizabeth from Germany, Marie from Canada, Matt(who came later tagged along Elizabeth when they were introduced) from Montana USA and me.

At Barangaroo
It was considered as our first 'official' day of work. So, everything was kinda hectic as we were in a process of building up a team to be assigned at specific area around Barangaroo. Fortunately, four of us were still together when the team was formed. :) The team was called as Super G supervised by a fun loving person from Utah, Anna B.

Me, Elizabeth and Marie (our first day of work - Elizabeth's second day)

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Group formation at Barangaroo

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Super G Team

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G3 Team with our team leader and supervisor

Being a crowd marshall was not easy. One has to be strict to allow people to be in the area or not. Some would do anything to cheat their way through to get the best view. Even a priest manage to try to had his shot by saying "Lord is merciful" to get his group into our area. Fortunately, Marie manage to say, "God is perfect, that's why he is merciful..(the rest is up to your imagination hehe)"

The worst part was that our area was where the pope passed by with his pope mobile and almost near to the stage and tv screen.

After duty, look at the crowd...

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Sitting on the floor with no pilgrims around

There were times as well when the day was extremely boring. What we did was to sit together and had our very own sharing group to play and talk about our culture and background. At the end of the day, we manage to run off and try our luck to see the dressing rehearsel at the Sydney Opera House. It was a performance composed by Beethoven on Missa Solemnis. The performance was great and truly beautiful.

Waiting to enter at Sydney Opera House

Meals

We had breakfast, lunch and dinner. I didn't manage to take photos for breakfast since I never thought of it actually.

What we had for breakfast was coffee/tea, cereal with milk, fruit box, muesli bar, a bun(same size for a burger) and marmalade/jam.

Lunch - There were a few choices with either Beef pie, lamb stew, chicken stew, vegetable stew and curry. Topped up with a bun, a cake (lamingtons - something coated with chocolate and coconut or Sara Lee cakes with 3 choices to choose from), oranges and apples.

Dinner - Almost the same as lunch but we could also choose pasta or rice with curry(depending on which day) back at Olympic Park.

Meat Pie and Banana Muffin

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Lunch almost the same every day

Randwick Racecourse

It was the last 2 days where we positioned and my body and mind were extremely tired already.

Almost everyday ever since we started, we just jump into our sleeping bags and slept. Too tired to be able to stay awake to have a longer chat. We only had to chat in the train on our way back or on the way to work.

Betting for the best horse? :-P

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Final Mass at the Racecourse

Rewards
Yes, we had rewards too hehe... it was quite simple, but the biggest reward I would say was the memories back in Sydney. I don't know whether the pilgrimage really brought springtime to the winter in australia, but it did bring springtime in one part of my life.
It's not about getting those materials or meeting the pope, it's a gift of friendship with the people I met and also the gift of experience traveling in a different places independantly.

Our rewards as volunteers

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A reward i didn't manage to attend uhuhu

World Youth Day - Around the City

The day after I arrived in Sydney, I manage to meet some Malaysian friends who had arrived on the same day. They were really kind to allow me to tag along the group and go around. 2 more friends as well from Germany and Canada joined the club as well. After a few days, the Malaysian team had to move out to another place for homestay. Which left me and the volunteers back at Olympic Park.

In travelling around the city, it's advisable to buy a day tripper (which cost me AUS$14.60) in order to travel by bus, ferry and subway. But if one is staying longer liek 2 weeks, you can buy 1 ticket for 2 weeks and save 1 week's price. I didnt' intend to buy that since my tag will be used as a ticket for transportation.

A few friends in the train

One thing I like about this place is the architecture of the buildings. Not only they retain the old buildings and statues, the architecture of it was interesting. Of course the best one would be the Sydney Opera House. I manage to watch one of the performance for free during the dress rehearsal after I finished my duty at Barangaroo. The title of the performance was Missa Solemnis by Beethoven.

Sydney Opera House

One of the oldest area in Sydney and 'a must go' would be The Rocks. There was a market and several pubs around where you can drink a few beers as well. Due to limited time(and $$), I didn't really manage to try out the steaks as I was advised that I should at least try once in one of the pubs in australia.

Market at The Rocks

Since it was a Sunday, there was a market that sells stuff just like any other market. Of course, one must not miss buying a few food that one cannot find back at home. So, I bought a few fabulous fudge (Jaffa, Irish Cream and Chocolate Mud) to bring back home, 2 insect repellent (lemon and lavendar smell) that can last for 3 years and a corn to eat. The corn was really sweet and large! I never tasted corn that has salt and pepper on it.

Eating Corn together

Just being in the city, 1 week would be enough to travel around (without working as a volunteer). I plan to come back again to fill up the other places I didn't manage to visit. Backpacking may be worthwhile if one is still young and energetic. Another thing is that it's far more cheaper than going on a tour. ;-)