~ MV Doulos ~

YESTERDAY evening we took a trip to see the Floating Book Fair on board the MV Doulos, which has made its fourth (and perhaps final) visit to Kuching. It arrived at Sim Kheng Hong Port on Thursday, December 11 and will be berthed there until January 2.

Considering the fact that this was probably going to be the last time we'll get to see the ship here, taking our soon to be three-year-old daughter on board the grand dame was a rare and golden opportunity indeed. I took a photo of her in her papa's arms on deck so she can look back when she's older and say that she's been on the historic MV Doulos.

When we got to where the books were, her eyes grew wide open and demands for this book and that book started spilling from her mouth. She wanted EVERYTHING! Our darling little girl loves books and I dare say she loves them more than toys.

The bookshop was full of people pouring over their choice out of the 6,000 titles available. We slowly made our way from shelf to shelf, eyes darting from one book cover to another. There were so many beautifully illustrated childrens books available. It was obvious our little girl had a blast albeit feeling tired and icky from the humidity.

The prices of books ranged between RM2 and RM80. I felt it was reasonably cheap considering they were of good quality. Price lists were made available everywhere for easy referrence. The books were all tagged in "units" so if a particular book was tagged "100 units" meant it costs RM8 based on the given price list.

We initially grabbed an arm load of books for her but in the end got her two storybooks plus a farm theme sheet of reusable stickers (to be wrapped up for her birthday and Christmas prezzies) a colouring book that came supplied with crayons, a Backyardigans easy Sudoku book (she just wants the 200 stickers in it) and a musical Winnie The Pooh book that cost only RM8. Sola got himself a dog care book (don't know why, we don't even own a dog) and I got myself a coffee table book on MV Doulos herself plus a little notebook with an illustration of an adorable basset hound on the cover. We spent exactly RM98 for all the stuff.

There were other things sold there as well including Bible covers, stationery and MV Doulos souvenirs like pens, nylon bags, neck cords, magnets to name a few.

All in all it was a worthwhile trip and was definitely a welcome change from the usual way we spend our weekends.

- Photos by: Carol Ujan 2008

- standing out in a multitude of clones -

SOMETIME ago this one particular yellow blossom caught my eye and prompted me to whisk out my compact digi to immortalise it in all its beauty and simplicity.

It got me to actually stop and admire it before carrying on with whatever it was I was doing that day.

I suppose being in the right place at the right time really makes a world of difference for one common flower to be noticed and appreciated above the many other flowers growing on the same plant.

I also suppose the same principle applies to just about everything and anything we do in life. Some people are born to shine while the rest of us just have to work a little harder. But regardless of which category we fall into it all boils down to the aforementioned principle. - Photo by: Carol Ujan 2008

- durian season -

DURIANS are now in season! You'll find these prickly fruits gracing your panorama almost everywhere you turn in Kuching. Prices vary from one fruit trader to another so it's best that you hunt around for a bit before making up your mind on where to buy. My parents bought four huge ones for only RM20 while scouting around Serian yesterday afternoon.

Now, if you have never tried eating a durian before, it's time you gave it a go. It really is not all that bad. Sure it has a really pungent odour, which to the "virgin" nose, sometimes can unfortunately smell quite like fart. "It stinks to high heaven!" said the famous travelling chef Anthony Bourdain upon coming across this King of Fruits in Indonesia. But he did enjoy every last bit of its sweet and creamy custard-like flesh in the end. Mind over matter folks, mind over matter.

I love durian in all its form (durian cakes and tempoyak are to die for, believe me) but I'm no expert in choosing the crème de la crème from the pile. I've seen various people with "selecting techniques" that I found pretty amusing though. One such observation was of an old man who gingerly picked a fruit from the pile and carefully lifted it to his ear as if the durian was whispering something to him. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me then.

Despite the temptation to gorge, the durian is best eaten in moderation. The fruit is very "heaty" and eating too much may cause you to get a sore throat if not a fever and cough. One way to "cool down" your system, according to my mom was to mix some warm salt water in the empty durian shell and sip a little then gargle with the rest. Personally I don't care for involuntary "lip piercings" so I usually have mine in an ordinary glass.

- Photo by: Carol Ujan 2008

- kung kung's birthday -

MY little girl couldn't have been more pleased when she found out we were heading to the bakery today to buy a birthday cake for her kung kung (grandpa). Just like most toddlers her age, she loves singing the Birthday Song, blowing out the candles and of course cutting the cake ... even if it wasn't hers.

We got a lovely chocolate fudge cake with strawberries on top. We paid up and the shop lady packed it into a carry box together with one candle and the standard plastic cake server. All the way to her poh poh (grandma)'s house she couldn't think of anything else other than the birthday.

It was nothing fancy really and my dad actually said we didn't have to get him a cake at all but after we told him that Nani had wanted to "celebrate" his birthday he agreed with a smile. The look on her little face as we sang the birthday song was precious. She didn't stop smiling for a second. I took some pictures which didn't turn out too good but the video of Nani with her poh poh and kung kung singing, blowing the candle and cutting the cake was beautiful.

It was a wonderful evening and all of us had a great time. Everybody agreed that the cake was delicious too. Most importantly Nani was happy she got to share the joy of celebrating her kung kung's birthday - the video of which she would want to watch over and over again.

- Photos by: Carol Ujan 2008

- new seat, new threat -

REMEMBER my previous blog about the unfortunate events surrounding my hubby's old motorbike seat? Well take a look at this picture (above). Yeah he got it fixed. Actually after I took the photo of the mangled seat previously, he sent the motorbike to a workshop for an overhaul. Yesterday evening he got it back and guess what the most expensive part to fix was - the seat.

And if that isn't enough reason to always, ALWAYS remember to cover his bike seat from now on, maybe this photo would serve as an apt reminder for him to take it more seriously. If one cat could do so much damage on its own, imagine two cats digging their claws into that brand new seat! Yesiree, this strange cat has been hanging around our car porch for weeks now acting like as if we owe him 10 million bucks. We don't know where he came from or if we'll ever see the last of him for that matter.

Murrie, that's what our daughter - who's grown really fond of the cat - named him, made himself right at home with us and litterally tries to take over everything belonging to Mamau. By the way, if you're wondering what he's crouched on in that picture ... ladies and gentlemen, it's the brand new motorbike seat with a yellow raincoat draped over it to "protect" from itchy claws.

- Photos by: Carol Ujan 2008

- it's raining, it's pouring -

THE early morning rain today was a relief from previous days' humidity. It only lasted a few hours though, so when the sun started shining I quickly got some laundry work done. Dark, gloomy rain clouds started gathering again at around 5pm by which time I had already wheeled my nearly-dry laundry to a dry spot.

Heavy rain began pouring down at around 7pm just around the time my hubby got home from work. The rain was so heavy in fact that our kitchen flooded with brown, icky water from the clogged monsoon drain - as usual. I think Master Shifu from Kungfu Panda aptly summerised what I felt about the whole flooding thing: "You know what the worst part is? The worst part is cleaning up afterwards." ... sigh.

In spite of the heavy rain we still had to get something for dinner so we bundled our little girl into the car and braved the watery wrath with caution.

First stop was the ATM machine. Good thing we found a parking spot nearby so my hubby didn't have to take the umbrella with him. While waiting in the car with my daughter I passed the time taking some pictures. The two I posted here looked pretty in a wierd, abstract kinda way.

After the banking was done we drove to a nearby hawker food court where we used to hang out at back in our dating years. The char koay tiaw ham there is really yummy and guess what, the old woman that fries it is the same person whom we bought it from all those years ago! I wonder if she'll still be around, frying that signature dish of hers when our little girl has grown up and is old enough to date ...

- Photos by: Carol Ujan 2008

- kitty's pad -

TAKE a good look at this picture of my hubby's old motorbike. And when I say old I mean really old - it's been serving him for like over 30 years or so.

This bike may look pretty much condemned but the truth is, it's still running very smoothly. And you might think that the seat looks that way because well, the bike's old enough to be sitting in the museum to begin with so why would the seat look otherwise?

To be honest, my hubby had that seat changed only a few months ago so you can safely assume that what you see in the picture isn't the result of normal wear and tear. And no, he didn't leave it out in the open at the mercy of a freak hail storm either.

What you see here is the result of Mamau (our cat)'s daily claw sharpening activity which he feels is best done on a brand spanking new motorbike seat. Talk about expensive taste. Oh by the way I always refer to my cat as a "he" rather than an "it" because it gives him more of a personality somehow.

Yes, that's him in the "WANTED" poster. The truth? Well, okay. In the beginning there was a motorbike. Then a kitten arrived on the scene as the sole survivor from a litter of four (if my memory serves me well) whose mommy was cruely murdered by our neighbour two doors down. We named the kitten Mamau (don't ask why, we just figured it sounded cat-ish). He grew up AND grew fond of sleeping on my hubby's motorbike seat so much so that he made it his bed and scratching pad all in one, wheeee!!

Obviously not happy about the whole thing, my hubby gritted his teeth, threw his hands up in the air and rationally decided to have the seat changed and vowed to cover the motorbike every night with his raincoat to discourage Mamau from sleeping on it. The raincoat didn't stop the determined feline from jumping right back up there and making himself even more comfortable but it did stop the scratching.

All was well up until one night when after coming home from a very tiring day at work, he forgot to cover the motorbike ... dun dun dun!! *insert Norman Bates suspense music here*.

- Photos by: Carol Ujan 2008

- the sound of music -

MUSIC is the language of the heart. It is, as one unknown author puts it: "... what feelings sound like."

Personally I am one person who cannot live in the absence of music. My day would just feel incomplete, like there's a gaping hole in it that nothing other than music could fill.

Music is an awesome pick-me-upper when all I feel like doing is bang my head against a brick wall. It is, for me the ultimate stress remedy.

Back in my senior high school days I used to listen to music on my Walkman whenever I did my homework and revisions. It helped me concentrate better and definitely prevented me from falling asleep halfway through. Remember the Walkman? Yeah, those cassette playing babies were the coolest thing ever back in the day.

These days I just tune in to my favourite radio station whenever I need to drive anywhere with my toddler (who also loves to listen to "mommy's music" as she calls it). One of these days I'm going to get myself a nifty iPod Nano!!

Here are some quotes on music by famous people that I found interesting:

- Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~Berthold Auerbach

- Without music life would be a mistake. ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

- Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. ~Maya Angelou, Gather Together in My Name

- Music's the medicine of the mind. ~John A. Logan

- Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without. ~Confucius

:+: quotes taken from http://www.quotegarden.com/music.html

- Photo by: Carol Ujan 2008

- another chapter in a little girl's life -

TODAY marked a new milestone in my little girl's life - she had finally outgrown her need to take naps in the yau yau. It was certainly cause for great rejoicing at least for me because it meant that my baby was taking another step toward independance.

A yau yau is a traditional hammock-like cradle which a lot of mothers in my country use to rock their babies to sleep in. It is made up of three main parts - the spring coil, metal hanger and the sarong fabric which cradles the baby. It is called by many names through various languages. Yau yau is what it is called by my Hakka speaking mother and her mother before her.

The assembly of the yau yau is fairly easy. The sarong is looped onto the metal hanger which is then hooked to one end of the spring coil that is then attached at the other end to an appropriate length of rope to a strong, sturdy hook screwed into the main beam of the house hidden in the ceiling. And for obvious safety reasons, the yau yau is never hung too high off the floor.

Nowadays, however, most of these traditional baby hammocks are sold with its own metal frame from which it can be hung. These frames also come with wheels that enables moms to wheel the sleeping baby to wherever she is in the house so she can do her housework and still keep an eye on her baby. Also worth a mention is the availability of specially designed mosquitoe netting for these baby hammocks which are indeed useful in keeping the baby safe from being bitten. These days the sarong part can also be swapped for a soft, pre-designed net-like material that comes in typical trendy pastel colours like blue or pink like the one I bought for my little girl.

Her yau yau was attached to the main beam in the ceiling of our master bedroom just next to our bed. We did buy the metal hanging frame but soon decided the contraption was somewhat too big and clumsy to be placed in our bedroom. So we had it dismantled and stored away.

When she was an infant I used to place her in it to sleep in the day time. Back then I used the actual sarong material since I had so many in my possession. She slept so soundly in it, maybe because it was nice and cosy inside. It also cradled her quite snugly and the gentle bouncing, swaying motion probably made it feel like she was still in my tummy.

After her second birthday she started napping on her baby mattress placed in a safe corner on the sitting room floor. Eventually I realised that I could dismantle that old yau yau of hers without her even missing it.

So yesterday as soon as she fell asleep I hurried upstairs and took it apart and bundled it into the cupboard with its mosquitoe netting and her baby pillow. I tossed the pink hammock into the washing machine for a good wash. When it's dry it'll join the rest of its "gang" in the cupboard. Truth be told, I did get a little emotional over the whole thing as I remembered how adorable she looked sleeping in it.

The old yau yau has served us well indeed but certainly has not out lived its purpose. One fine day, when by God's grace we have another addition to our little family, the old yau yau will once again see the light of day. And when that day comes, I wonder if my little girl will still remember how she used to travel to dreamland in it not too long ago ...

- Photo by: Carol Ujan 2008

- different place, same old friends -

WHEN I signed up for Facebook I never imagined finding as many long lost friends as I did, with most of whom I had not seen in over 18 years!

As I poured over the many familiar names and faces there I found out that an old schoolmate of mine had opened her very own cafe called Five Loaves Cafe located at Jalan Keretapi in Kuching.

So earlier this evening I drove over with my hubby and daughter to check the place out. It was raining so we had to hustle out of the car a little.

Taking careful steps to the little corner shop (wet, slippery tiled five foot ways and worned out flip flops don't go well together if you know what I mean). The moment I stepped into the cosy ambiance of her shop she spotted me and waved.

Much to my pleasant surprise another school friend, Annabelle (whom I also found on Facebook) was there as well, seated next to her. She too, waved and I waved back at the both of them.

My hubby and I ordered drinks and a bowl of cheesy chips and I did some catching up with them. Before we left, I ordered this amazing Beef Rendang with Nasi Lemak (picture) to go and boy was it awesome!! I practically had to fight the urge to dig into it before taking some pictures to post in this blog.

It was basically your regular nasi lemak with the usual peanuts, crispy fried anchovies, quartered hard boiled egg, cucumber slices, sambal and chinese parsley. The twist is they swapped the deep fried salted fish with beef rendang. Now, I'll have you know that I'm a tremendous fan of rendang so pardon me if I seem a little biased with regards to the dish. It was a winning combo in my book. Wonderful, wonderful flavours. Neither too spicy nor too bland. Even the sambal wasn't overpowering at all. I'm making it a point to go there and only there if I ever need to satisfy my hankering for nasi lemak again.

- Photo by: Carol Ujan 2008.