childhood craze

7:07 PM

Not something new to me, in fact this has been something thats been nagging at the back of my head for a while now, ever since I watch my cousins while they play, the younger ones that is. Its ... well, I can't say its not too serious, but at the same time, not earth shattering. What is it? Well, technology. Now, before any of you say anything, I'm going to call myself a hypocrite first, because I for one love technology. I mean, c'mon, just look at my blog. To blog you need a computer, and the internet. Technology is so deeply integrated in our lives. But at the same time, I can't help but wonder if it has been taking away childhood. Real childhood.

What do I mean? Well, whats your fondest memory of your childhood? I grew up as an only child, my brother darling was 12 years older then me and had no time for my games. Its probably why I grew up adoring the time I get to go home to visit my cousins. My fondest memories of childhood are mostly centered around the games we play. No, not Nintendo, not computers, not even watching TV.

Everyday when the clock strikes 5, the second we get permission from our parents, the whole horde of us will pile out of our grandma's house. The old floor before it was fixed and all smooth as it is now, was cracked and full of bumps and ledges. Its because the house use to have two homongous trees in front, whose roots grew against the floor and cracked them. But we were so used to them, its like second nature. We played chasing games, tag, ice and water, and there was this perfectly round crack we use to sit around and play the handkerchief game.

Our greatest toys were a piece of cloth and a rubberband. We used the rubber band to throw, and then jump on one feet on the boxes we draw to pick it up while keeping our balance. I think the game is called hopscotch? We used to call it an aeroplane game, and we drew the boxes using chalk. Oh god forbid we get our hands on chalk, we'll go wild with them. Its a good thing rain is a common occurence, because we'll scribble all over the floor. We would always need bathes before the end of the day, because we'll be covered in sweat.

Cycling, running up and down the empty roads (grandma stayed in a dead end, hardly any cars came up. If any, they would be relatives/friends.), we'll race each other to the playground just opposite the house, and see who could swing the highest. And if we get tired of all that, my grandma's house is overgrown with green, we'll pretend we're playing house and go hunt for fruits and berries for dinner! All pretend of course. Even while we weren't out, we'll play things like hide and seek, and design our own treasure hunt and games to play inside my grandma's huge one story banglo. Best memories, ever.

But these days? My younger cousins are all stuck on computer games. Its not bad, but it saddnes me to see how kids these days don't know fun. I admit, I love my NDS and I would love to play PSP, but... shouldn't they know the fun of running wild outside? There's just something about being breathless from playing catch and ice and water, waiting anxiously to see if the handkerchief would end up behind you, and basically playing in midst of a sunset that no computer game or console could ever replace.

I guess I'm just a very traditional girl. Regardless of whether my cousins see the beauty of playing with the simplest objects around, I still adore them, young and my age alike. I would put my life for them, but at the same time, I wish they could go out and just be kids once in a while, instead of be cooped up in rooms fiddling away with game consoles.

Labels: Kitsfamily, Kitsmemories, Kitsmisc

ala restaurant!

10:24 PM

Ahhh. So tired. Lack of posts lately? Well I've been mostly sitting at home rotting yet again. Luckily enough, I've gotten the time and stuff for my orientation, so one less worry off my mind. On another note, what am I doing updating? Just had a cooking session with the stepcousins, and... fun! And also cause at least its something to update about, other then letting my blog rot. Excuse the unprocessed pictures though, i'm feeling too worn out.

Its technically the first day of spring for us, so its something to celebrate, a way to explain why we had such a huge meal, but anyway! Started with the shopping at Jusco in One Utama for the ingredients. I have to say, its not often you see men shopping, so one girl walking around with three guys? Not a normal sight. Its amusing though, watching them shop. And Mr. Accountant aka Teh Beng Wei sorta counted our budget wrongly, so we went a little over the budget, but it doesn't matter.

We started cooking around four? Lotsa chopping. Ginny spent 20 minutes dicing tomatoes alone, while Beng You took the same time to cut up all his mushrooms. Only because those two were making bolognese pasta sauce and mushroom soup from scratch, no cans and prepacked stuff allowed baby. >D

Beng Wei's mustard... something chicken baking in the oven. I don't remember the name, I hardly remember the ingredients he told me to use (which reminds me, i have to ask him again sometime. >.<), but daaaamn. The chicken was good. I love chicken and I love mustard. Mustard + chicken? Heaven!

Garlic bread! I made the spread, but its more of a joint effort ish thing. The only thing we did altogether actually.

Table set. Ah! Did I mention we were doing it restaurant style? Ala course by course, which also meant we had to get up before everyone finished. Not that I minded. After cooking by yourself, you really don't eat much. ... Or maybe its just a few of us. Oh, that reminds me. We went for lunch at One U before grocery shopping. I ordered one twister and one cheesy wedges. The guys EACH had one burger, one chicken breast, one serving of fries and cheesy wedges. O-O

The way guys eat scare me sometimes. But anyway, food time!

Our garlic bread!

Beng You's mushroom soup. Our food comes complete with garnishing goddamnyou! >D

My broccoli and cauliflower salad! Simple to make really. I didn't really know what to cook when Ginny and Wei decided on a western menu, since... well, frankly I'm really more asian. I know way more chinese dishes then western. So yeah, salad ftw!

Beng Wei's mustard chicken, the ultimate nomz

Ginny's bolognese pasta, the sauce made from scratch and with chicken meat. Honestly, I think beef goes with bolognese better, but since the momma doesn't eat beef, we'll go with chicken.

The lemon yogurt cake with ice cream and jam provided by Beng Wei! The most awesome baker in the family. :P

The three of them... plus me. But I just edited myself out because really, after a day of running around, shopping and cooking and being all sweaty and sticky and tired... I hate being taken pictures. So no. I'll save your eyes and not include myself in the picture. But i was there! See my hand? /shot

Awesome dinner, and an even more awesome day. On another note, my hairs been really oily lately, like very very oily even after I bathe. I did everything I could find on the net, minus washing it with detergent, because hell am I going to let a chemical like that near my hair. Any suggestions to get rid of its oiliness? I love my hair, and I hate it in this state.

Labels: Kitsfamily, Kitsfood

pretty anna!

9:04 PM

Long period of no update = Kitty is rotting away at home. Rotting away at home usually equals repeating the same procedure each day over and over again, and unless you wanna know how many balls of rice I eat everyday or how many steps I take every hour, I really have nothing to update. =\

Oh, but look what came home to my arms today?

Look! Pretty box! Peacock! Its Anna Sui! The name Sui actually made me go 'wtf?' and then laugh at first, but it rolls off the tongue easily. Why? Because Sui in Hokkien means pretty... and well, I guess the name fits, because everything's so pretty there! Its not a top of the line perfume or make-up manufacturer, but its pretty!

This one is Flight of Fancy, a... not a perfume exactly, but you can use it as perfume I think? I just like its pretty bottle. The stepdad bought it back for me enroute back from Jakarta where he went for a job last week. Pretty pretty!

Okay, end of rant. Now its back to rotting at home waiting for Monash to send me the time of the orientation. They said it would be up by Friday, but I'm not seeing it anywhere! D<

Labels: Kitsmisc

make a teddy!

9:53 PM

My momma's birthday is this Monday, and i had been wracking my head for what to give her, because seriously, the momma isn't the easiest person to please. She's picky on her clothes, particular about her perfume, and very selective on her make up stuff. So... yeah. I wouldn't want to get her something she didn't use, so guess what I ended up giving her?

I gave her a teddy! Not just any teddy, a teddy I made myself. There's a shop in Sunway Pyramid, topmost floor of the old wing, near the bowling alley. Its a shop filled with teddies, and you can make your own personal teddy there!

First you pick out a teddy from the many available there for you to choose from. There are more then what's shown in the picture, my camera's just not wide enough to capture it. Once you choose your teddy,

Then you pick a music box! Or you could opt for a voice recording too, but that will cause extra. There really isn't much selection on the music though, so I'll recommend going for the voice recording, which costs 12.90.

You'll also be given a heart, and a birth certificate! The heart is for your teddy, make a wish before you put it in! 8D

And then proceed to stuff your teddy! Can't make a teddy without its meat now can we? There's no limit to the stuffings you can use, so just shove as much as you can inside. Put the music box in to, wherever you want to put it. I put mine in its hand, a conventional one, but you can put it in its ear if you wanna. Remember to put the heart in!

Then fill in the birth cert! The shopkeeper will tell you the height of your bear, and actually weigh your bear for you once you're done! xP

But poor teddy looks so naked no? The boy needs some clothes, so go pick some for him!... Or her. They have a wide variety of clothes, though its not included in the 'Make-a-Teddy' package. The clothes are separately priced, but not overly expensive.

Miss Shopkeeper will help you dress teddy up, lest you tear his poor clothing.

And you're done! Teddy comes along with its own house, the box you see my teddy leaning on. My cost didn't surpass a hundred, but I can't reveal the real price here cause darling teddy is meant to be a present and I don't want Momma to find out the price. But its not overly pricy, and a handmade teddy bear is special! So... yeah, go try it? xP

Labels: Kitscute

japanese fast food, the bestie, and contacts

1:42 PM

Monday afternoon was a scheduled outing with the bestie after the ages of not seeing her. Okay, ages here being a couple of weeks, but it was long enough. Went for lunch at the new Japanese fast food place. Hey, i'm a japanese junkie okay. xP I took the burger curry rice, which was ... surprisingly good. Japanese curry is the sweet type usually, but the curry here was very fragrant and nice. Not sweet, very typical Malaysian curry. I guess its too suit our tastes?

And the bestie had... beef black pepper rice? I think?

Our food was prepared on hot plates, but we have to cook some of it ourselves. Like for Mei's plate, the beef that came was raw, so she had to cook the beef on the hot plate. My curry was cold, but once you pour it on the hot plat, it sizzles and crackles. Very nice, though you have to be careful and not touch the plate. Overall, I'd love to go back there for lunch again. :P

Went home at three since I had an appointment for swimming! I almost didn't go, cause the stepdad was feeling sick before then. But momma came home in time, so its off to swimming I go with Aunty Lai Lai and Beng Wei. Its been an ageee since I last swim! I missed it so much. So yay, I get to be a waterbaby again.

Got my contacts today! I spend an hour learning how to put them on fml. I hate my asian eyes sometimes, so darn tiny they are. But I put them on! So now I haz contacts. For a month. Before they decide if I can continue or not. D8

Doesn't matter. At least I now can has contacts. 8D

Labels: Kitsfood, Kitsfriends, Kitsmisc

outing! plus family.

7:32 PM

Not together, technically? Dinner on Wednesday was the pwnsomeness of Rakuzen at Plaza Damas... or somewhere near there? I'm not really sure. Rakuzen is one of the more expensive places where you can have a Japanese dinner, albeit its nicer and more authentic. I was a little shocked when Uncle Tong said he wanted to bring the family for dinner there though, because the prices are absurd.

The raw sashimi plate, which I have no idea how much it caused. But would you look at the size of the roe! Bloody huge. Biggest roe's I've ever seen around.

Kee Jin's sushi plate, taken after he vamoosed everything, because I didn't wanna interupt famished people from eating. But this little baby here costed at least 75 ringgit malaysia, horribly expensive... though yes, it is nice.

My sukiyaki set, which was around 38 ringgit malaysia if I'm not mistaken. Huge chunk of meat, and a lot of stuff inside the pot... sort of worth it? I'm a lil frugal though, so forgive me if I say its still expensive.

Overall, I'd say the food at Rakuzen is good no doubt. Stepdad particularly liked the mackerel, and Kee Gin also said the sakura bento set was really good. Their portions are pretty big too, but I'd say its not a place you can go to often if your pocket isn't overflowing with cash. xP

On a brighter note, the sakura bento came with pink sugar! Amazing, no? :P

Met up with this girl on Friday! She's my best friend during primary school, and still remains a very good friend. She's as tall as I am, and I haven't seen her for a solid five years! It was good seeing her again, and I brought her to eat ddukbukki for her birthday the day before.

She also came with me to make this, but since its supposed to remain a secret, its for another post.

Dinner on Friday night was with the family again before Kee Jin flew off back to Australia. The picture above depicts the signature dish of Greenville, the place where we had dinner. Godayum the prawn noodles was good! Its called 'sang ha mien' in cantonese, and I have no idea how to translate it, but its basically noodles with thick sauce and tiger prawns on top. Its utterly scrumptions.

Really liked the fried squid too! Its a lil salty sweet and slight spicy, but not overly so. Minus the fact that I had to painstakingly pick out the cilli padi of which i have absolutely no love for, this was awesome too.

Beng You makes the best cakes, be it cheese, sponge or otherwise. I should make the guy my teacher, i swear.

Oh, and on impromptu decision today, we went to get my contact lenses, or at least book them. I'll get them by Tuesday, like finally after years of begging to get contact lenses. And on the way for a bite at AC, we passed by ICLS language learning centre. Impromptu. Not planned. So..

I'm now enrolled as a Japanese learning student, beginners of course. But its a start. Wee!

Labels: Kitsfamily, Kitsfood, Kitsmemories

binging

11:53 PM

I've been on a binge lately. No not on chocolates, not on ice cream (as much as I'd love to, its fattening wuwu.), but i binge on CNY! Songs, cookie making, decoration making, you name it I do it. I've been listening to non-stop chinese new year songs and just generally getting in the mood. So much so my friends have all been asking me the same question, why in heck do I love CNY so much?

Well frankly... I really am not sure. Maybe its cause of the songs? I always find CNY songs super upbeat and generally cheerful, my favorite genre of songs. The one I posted up there is an old one, released in 2006 or 2007? When I was fifteen or something. I remember that was one of the few times I literally stayed for months at me grandma's house in Penang. Cousins and I were getting ready for CNY and they bought the pirated copy of the Four Princesses CNY album. I loveee this song. In recent years though, Astro, 8Tv and other stations have been releasing songs too!

Or maybe its just because of the atmosphere in general? You gotta admit, CNY always makes people feel super excited. Loud songs, cheerful colors, new clothes! I got a whole cupboard full of new clothes just begging for me to wear them. Sadly I have to wait till CNY before I can even open them. Alls the pity. ;_;

Angpaos? Maybe. Money is something no one turns down, no? And you'll get so many different red packets from your family, its enough for me to get a new album. >D But money isn't everything~

So maybe its just the family. Without fail each year, I'll definitely spend CNY with the family. The reunion dinner here in KL with the family here, and then back to Penang for cousins and aunts, where its a week of general lazing around, eating and sleeping and eating, playing... oh! And watching the lion dance troupe that comes around every year too!

No matter what it is, i'm just a very asian girl who enjoys an adores CNY every year when it rolls around. Its a mixture of time with family, laughter, enjoyment, freedom and inflow of cash all around... so whats there not to enjoy? I can't wait!

Labels: Kitsevents, Kitsmisc, Kitsmuses