GRRRRRRRR SNOW GRRRRRRRR BLIZZARD

OK, people! What is the deal? It is freaking March 8th, 30 miles north of Kentucky, and what do we have? A foot of snow on the ground! Blizzard conditions! WTF???? Look at this stuff!!!?!?! [[image:snow11.jpg:Snowdrift in back corner:center:0]] [[image:snow12.jpg:Snow hanging off:center:0]] [[image:snow13.jpg:Snowy basketball court:center:0]] [[image:snow14.jpg:Cracking open the side door:center:0]] [[image:snow15.jpg:Look at that snow!:center:0]] [[image:snow17.jpg:Lamp is not spared from snow build up:center:0]] [[image:snow18.jpg:The back stairs:center:0]] [[image:snow19.jpg:The driveway:center:0]] [[image:snow16.jpg:Believe it or not, this is the front porch:center:0]] Dang it! I was looking for a picture of the front porch without snow, and all the pictures from last years are either vacation, food, or cat. Huh! I will have to take a picture of it when this snow stuff is over (if it ever ends!) and put up a picture of the front porch to compare with the last image here, just so you can see the difference. There are 3 stairs […]

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A prominent landmark

Where Have I Been?

The last week or so, I have been on a trip. Any guesses as to where? It’s in the Middle East, populated by friendly folk, and the food is fantastic. Here are four photos all laid out to be more clues to the location. Stay tuned for the answer as well as more photos.

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Boy or Girl? DON’T TELL US! – Part 2

So, seven weeks after the first ultrasound, we are at 21 weeks and 3 days for our next ultrasound. Again, Vin and I do not want to know the gender, so if you can tell from the pictures, don’t tell us!!! 🙂 As of today, (s)he weighs in at 1 whole pound. I just checked the previous entry, and (s)he was 3 ounces only at the time! (S)he is growing at a normal rate. We will see the OB next week to review the progress. Anyway, here are the pictures: [[image:likely_face_0306.jpg:Facial View:center:0]] The right-hand sphere is the head, (s)he is facing us. You can see the eyes, nose ridge, (s)he is getting pretty fleshy and formed there, compared to seven weeks ago! The two black dots on the abdomen (the larger sphere), I believe, are the kidneys. [[image:likely_foot_0306.jpg:Foot:center:0]] Obviously, that is his/her foot 🙂 [[image:likely_profile1_0306.jpg:In profile:center:0]] Now (s)he is showing […]

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The Halfway Mark

I have been a total spaz about blogging lately. I’m so behind on all kinds of entries that I’ve been meaning to write and have been writing in my head. But as you might imagine, Vin and I have been occupied with other things lately. 🙂 Monday February 25th was our “official” halfway mark. Twenty weeks down, twenty weeks to go. Here’s what I look like, twenty weeks along: [[image:halfway.jpg:20 weeks:center:0]] I’ve been told I don’t look too pregnant yet, but you tell me! 🙂 In the meantime, some random thoughts on this whole experience: 1) How do men with potbellies deal with it? I mean, I no I’m not beanpole skinny-girl, but I was at least proportionate. I carried the weight in a balanced fashion. This whole belly thing is upsetting my equilibrium and not to mention the expanding belly does force one to compensate and walk differently or […]

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7-11

The Return of Ashley Joan Ting… and Parents

On his birthday I got a call from Teik Sing. He’s back in town for the Chinese New Year, accompanied by Michelle and a nearly 1 year old Ashley Joan. We met up for lunch at a nasi daun pisang restaurant in Petaling Jaya and here are the photos of the occasion. They only had 2 weeks to visit Sitiawan, Melaka and KL, which is no time at all. Next year, Teik Sing hopes for a month’s vacation for CNY. Maybe there’ll be more time to plan activities and such. It was great to have them around for an hour or so, and Ashley is one awesome little lady. I can’t believe it’s been almost a year!   They return to Australia next Saturday.

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scc02

No Fate But What Josh Friedman Makes

We last saw the saga of Skynet’s time travelling cyborg creation in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Well, you can forget about all that cause showrunner Josh Friedman’s tossed most of the third movie out the window (or is now alternate universe version of the Terminator millieux). I remember hearing about the announcement of the upcoming TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and feeling underwhelmed. But after viewing the first few episodes, this show has now made my regular viewing list. The TV series starts 2 years after the events of the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Sarah Connor and her son John, the future leader of the leader of the Resistance against the machines, are living out their lives under the name of Sarah Reese. When they decide to move to another town, trouble begins. John is attacked by a substitute teacher Mr Cromartie, who happens to […]

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Hishgraphics H

And now it’s Yope’s turn!

February 1st, the day that Wilayah Persekutuan gets off, Hisham graced us with his presence thirty-five years ago. (Well, I wasn’t there at the time) Happy Birthday, bro! May you be happy and healthy always. You’ve been the best brother anyone could ever ask for, and thanks for being there for us. Love yas. *p.s. – I know the entry says February 2nd, but it is STILL February 1st over here, k? 🙂

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Hishgraphics H

Oh, For the Thirty-Third Time!

Happy Birthday Missus Renstrom. You’ve made it this far, now keep swimming another 33 years and more to get your prize at the end. Which according to Sree is a pair of Eastern European leather shoes on sale. Also, Happy 36th Anniversary Atok and Opah Irfan! Ain, Irfan and I thank you for your love and support all these years.

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After 6 long days, we're going home

The Last Time…

… I saw my phone was when I powered it down before getting on the flight at Gate 316, Stuttgart Airport. So long, faithful communication device. That ought to teach me to bring my mobile phone with me everywhere. What?

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Welcome, humans

The Mercedes-Benz Museum

After the second day of training, we were all brought on a bus through the cold but sunny afternoon weather from our training centre out near Hausen to the city of Stuttgart where we came upon this futuristic looking building: The Mercedes-Benz Museum. The entrance door of the museum greeted us like some Federation building of the 23rd century. After paying for the tickets you have to take the awesome looking lift there which will transport you to the top floor. From there you will have to slowly walk down the building which is engineered in a double helix structure on the outer walls, taking you past some fantastic Mercedes-Benz vehicles from old to new. There are also pictures on the wall that show famous historical events pertaining to the era of the cars featured. From 1895 is the Benz Omnibus. It only goes up to 12mph so I have […]

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It's cold

Kehren Sie Nach Deutschland Zurück

It was a cold Sunday morning when we arrived in Germany. It wasn’t as cold as it was two Februaries ago when snow surrounded Munich airport, but it was chilly enough for a bunch of Malaysians. But instead of staying over at Tiefenbronn (which was close by) I was given a room at Hotel-Gasthof Hirsch. And no, I can’t speak, read or write in German. The title came about after a quick visit to an free online translator website. Here I am freezing my butt off on a Sunday afternoon, when the town seemed as if it was totally deserted. I wish Kuala Lumpur would be like this every Sunday morning: The Hirsch is a series of three buildings. The middle and the main building (where reception and the restaurant is situated) is where the sign hangs with the figure of the hart. The balcony is connected to Sudriman’s room. […]

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Boy or Girl? DON’T TELL US!

This is Vin’s and my new project. If you can tell the gender, please don’t tell us because we want this to be a surprise, something we will find out after (s)he arrives in the world. Here’s what (s)he looks like as of today (14 weeks and 3 days), and (s)he weighs 3 ounces: [[image:likely_macarena.jpg:Facing us, one arm stretched over the head:center:0]] Doesn’t it look like (s)he’s doing the macarena?? And this one: [[image:likely_flexing_bicep.jpg:Head down, showing off one arm and fingers:center:0]] Flexing the biceps?? 😉 (S)he was very active when being scanned, and was just dancing and turning around and around! It was just amazing!

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Perth – Part 4

It’s now our third day in Perth, and it is one day before EJ and Indra’s wedding. We start off the day when EJ came to pick us up in a rental van. We then drive down to Cottesloe where Hsu and David are staying. [[image:oz45.jpg:EJ and Vin by the van:center:0]] [[image:oz46.jpg:View from the street:center:0]] [[image:oz50.jpg:Beautiful beach:center:0]] [[image:oz47.jpg:Pete, David and Hsu admiring the view:center:0]] [[image:oz48.jpg:EJ and Vin by the beach:center:0]] [[image:oz49.jpg:Group photo:center:0]] We did have to walk on the beach and feel the water (which was a little cold). [[image:oz51.jpg:Walking on the beach:center:0]] We decide to have lunch by the beach. Can you blame us? [[image:oz54.jpg:EJ and Hsu:center:0]] [[image:oz55.jpg:Pete and David:center:0]] [[image:oz56.jpg:Vin, EJ, David and Hsu relaxing after lunch:center:0]] [[image:oz53.jpg:Unexpected and rowdy guests:center:0]] I guess, Down Under, pine needles grow upwards for a reason? [[image:oz52.jpg:Pine tree:center:0]] This one is for Abah: [[image:oz57.jpg:Some kind of MG?:center:0]] After we hung out for […]

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Perth – Part 3

After our nice outing, we hung out some more with EJ until he dropped us off at Mei’s place – he was off to the airport to pick up some more people. Can you guess who they might be? 😉 In the evening, Mei, Colin, Vin and I piled into the mini and drove to EJ’s for dinner. BTW, when trying to fit Vin and 3 other people in the mini, always place Vin either in the front passenger seat in front of Mei, or behind the driver’s seat if Mei is driving. Everyone has plenty of room with this arrangement! 🙂 Here are the pictures at EJ and Indra’s place (please mouse over the pictures for captions): [[image:oz29.jpg:Vin and Colin:center:0]] [[image:oz28.jpg:Peter and a bit of Hsu-Yi:center:0]] [[image:oz44.jpg:Mei manning the barbecue:center:0]] [[image:oz30.jpg:Hsu doing the dishes:center:0]] [[image:oz31.jpg:EJ and Mei:center:0]] [[image:oz32.jpg:EJ gawking at the tomatoes:center:0]] [[image:oz33.jpg:Sasha and Boris:center:0]] [[image:oz34.jpg:Indra on tippy-toe and […]

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