What Type of Blogger am I?

You scored as The Photographer. You don�t care about words. The function of your blog is basically, a photo displayer. A little more than an album, because by posting photos in your blog you KNOW that others will see them. You take photos of yourself, of your pets, of everything. Everytime you go out you must take a camera with you, and you certainly have more than one photo album since one cannot hold them all! The Photographer 84% The Shouter 84% The Journalist 84% The Philosopher 75% The Addict 75% The Paparazzi 59% The Copy-Cat 50% The Writer 33% The Lover 25% Which type of Xangan/Blogger are you? created with QuizFarm.com

It's a long time since I posted a quiz (result) on my blog. I chanced upon this rather interesting one from Sivin Kit's Garden. Well, I don't know how it determined that I'm the `Photographer' for I scored equally as a `Shouter'(?!) and a `Journalist' - the latter my profession. Anyway, I would say that overall it's quite accurate! Try it for yourself! :)

Sleepy-Smiley Jelly

These photos were taken the night after she was sent for grooming last month... aint she cute? my little (fat) Jelly..! ;)

Being at Home...

The week has been busy (again!) and I haven't had much inspirations to blog.. Dad and mom left for Australia for a 2-week holiday and I'm now left `in charge' of the house! Well, it's not exactly freedom, as I have the responsibility to keep an eye on grandma - who is immobile. Our maid Wati has to both take care of her as well as do her housework - and since Ronah left, the new maid STILL has not arrived.. Indonesia seems to be having a LONG holiday since Hari Raya!?

Before parents left, I've been repeatedly told to be at home at most time.. To be honest, I don't have plans to go on a rendevous but there are just days and times I need to go out - ie church commitments, personal training. and then the necessary shopping (groceries esp), running errands etc... Well, I'm trying to keep a balance as best as I can.. but must admit I really hadn't spent that much time home in the last three days mainly due to pre-scheduled commitment in church! In fact, tonight is the first evening I'm eating at home since last Tuesday.. :p

Coming week I'll try to be a home-body as much as I can.. primarily to fulfill the promise I gave to dad and mom and also, I do have work to do - will conducting phone interviews from home. Thank God for the Internet too!

Besides grandma, I also want to spend more time with my two Js. Dogs are very sensitive creatures.. I could tell that both Jojo and Jelly are missing dad and mom respectively! Jojo would keep dad company every morning while he (dad, not Jojo) reads his newspaper in the garden and also for the occasional walks. Jelly meanwhile would sneak into mom's room in the evening when I'm not around and mom would always feed her meats from the soup etc..

Dad and mom had only left for three days and it felt kinda long.. I was telling dad that I'm so used to having them around now that I do miss them quite a lot when they go on holiday! Home feels different.. And this is coming from an independant person who has been in borading school since 11 plus and then lived three years in England (only coming home once a year!) It feels quite funny and ironic. But no, I know I'm not less independent - my work has trained me to go around by myself and I really don't mind at all.. I enjoy doing things on my own most of hte time - including shopping, eating, and even going to movies... I basically like my own company...

But on the other hand, I have been having the luxury of living with my parents that it'll take quite an adjustment to live on my own. There are pros and cons to stay with your parents but I'm lucky that they do not interfere with my personal freedom...and I always have someone to talk to at home.. But I constantly remind myself not to take things for granted. I do feel very blessed when i had to work late and when I return home, the food is already on the table and I just need to microwave it.. after eating, I mostly don't even wash up but just put the dishes in the sink..

But like a Chinese saying roughly translated as `when the horse dies, you walk by foot'.. meaning that I know I CAN survive by myself shall the situation requires... So now I'm telling myself to do as much as I can to contribute to the household and helping Wati especially I'm not working now..

I've not been spending much time at home when I was working.. it's time to try to be a home body again..

Chef for an evening...

I just had to blog about a `culinary experience' again.. as it felt like a great achievement! I know, many people cook daily so what's the big deal? But for me, it's more like a `once in a blue moon' affair.

Yap, I chose to cook Western again. Somehow.. it just seems more interesting, not necessarily easier. As I decided to cook dinner for my family tonite, I had gone through a few of my recipe book (mainly for quick and simple meals) and found what I wanted to cook.

1. Grilled vegetable and Balsamic salad.
2. Cream of mushroom soup
3. Rump steak in Whisky
4. Roasted baby potatoes

And they required some particular ingredients so I went shopping at Village Grocer after lunch and ended up spending a bomb - on other things too!

I spent like a hour plus in the supermarket and got almost everything the recipes required.. However, I couldn't find fresh rump steak so I got rib-eye steak an it's actually more tender I believe.

With my maid as my assistant, I started at 4:45pm with the mushroom soup, which I did once before to rave reviews! Alas, this time I put too much chicken stock and it was too salty! So I had to add more mushrooms and cream and water.. (not as successful as last time)

I also think I've put too much garlic as the marinate for the steak.. Actually I'm still confused as to what a clove of garlic mean? Is it the whole round garlic (consists of many smaller segment of garlic)?

Half way through, I realised we ran out of aluminium foil! And almost all my dishes needed to be in the oven for grilling! thankfully dad was kind enough to go out to get it for me..

I think the most `successful' dish was the salad.. And I like it too although I think the quantity was a bit too much. The baby potatoes took ages to cook, and the waiting time caused the steak to go cold.. And I think I've over-cooked the steak.. it was almost weldone! :(

Finally, everything was ready and we ate almost three hours after I first started cooking - there were much preparation to do for some.. washing and cutting etc..

The verdict? It wasn't that great nor was it that bad.. and it was a nice change from the normal Chinese food we eat daily. Dad and mom enjoyed it (I think) and finished everything on their plate! even grandma said it tasted good - don't know whether it was just to make me happy.

I felt pretty exhausted! It was not an easy feat but as I managed to accomplish what I set out to do, I felt quite happy...:)

So, of course I had to take pix (again) of what I cooked.. but I think the pix look a bit better than they actually tasted.. :p


Fresh and grilled vegetable to go with balsamic dressing


Mushroom soup that was still a tad bit salty


Grilled rib-eye steak in Whiskey sauce with roasted baby potatoes


Not forgetting the wine that accompanied the dinner..

Jobless Joy

Time flies.. it's the end of the 2nd week of `jobless-ness'! :p

And i'm having fun.. not that my days are idled away or anything.. In fact, i've been pretty busy this week and I can see for the next week to come too!

Quite happy that I've completed an article tonite. A nice editor friend from another paper has asked me to do a couple of beauty-related stories - more stories to come too! Besides the money factor, I think it's important to keep writing - (no, blog excluded as I tend to ramble here.. :p) - so that I won't be rusty. And I do enjoy interviewing people and on top of that, got some freebies too! hehe

Called up the salary department to check on my final payment this afternoon. And was told he just banked it in and it should be in my bank account by tomorrow.. AND the amount was quite a lot more than I've expected! I think it must be due to the backdated new collective agreement.. Cool! So I have more to spend.. hahaha.. (ok, i know i have to be careful)

Anyway, I have a few more freelance jobs in the pipeline as well.. but don't really want to over burden myself with too much work. This period is supposed to be a rest/travelling/pondering-future-direction period.. and also, I want to try to spend more time at home with grandma and the two Js!

I plan to start work again only in March next year.. because I was told to wait for three months at least from an editor who offers me a job (can't divulge too much yet as also nothing in black&white at the moment). So I thought might as well delay another month for Chinese New Year! Hopefully things will turn out well..

Oh, oh.. I will be FINALLY going to Bali!! I have been wanting and pining to go for two years or more now.. Even bought a guidebook quite some time back already. Have initiated and planned a few times but somehow some potential travel companions have let me down.. but now that i've the time.. I told myself I had to go before I start work again.. and even contemplated to travel alone..

But.. I'm glad that I found two fellow-journos friends who are quite flexible with their leaves. I did all the research and bookings - somethink I like to do anyway. Booked this nice hotel in Kuta and since there are three of us, it's pretty affordable. The whole 4-nite trip costs less than RM800 for flights and acoomodation!

I just hope my expectation of Bali is not so high that what I see and experience will be a slight let down.. .

Anyway.. I am going to Taipei and Hong Kong first in December! :)

Yey, it's so so happy to have the time for yourself to do the things you like!! (ok ok, I shall not keep gloating cos many of you reading are actually slogging at work.. sorry.. :p)

My elephant `massage' and Edgar's close encounters with orang-hutan

A whole week has passed since I left work. And what a busy week it has been... with many outings right till yesterday - when my sis and the kids went back to Hong Kong.

The highlight of the week was no doubt Friday - when we went to A-Famosa Safari Park. All the three kids love animals.. it was a fun and fruitful outing as we covered most of the areas and watched FOUR animal shows - well, the first was a Wild Wild West show, followed by multi-animal show, bird show and culminating the elephant show which ended up a torture for me!



What happened was, after seeing the elephants performing stunts like painting, playing basketball and shooting soccer goals, they asked for two volunteers - a man and a woman. A man volunteered himself but they still needed a woman. My sis asked me to go for it as indeed I am not afraid of the animal.. so after giving it a short thought I raised my hands.

What I was supposed to do was to lie down on my stomach on a mat to receive an elephant `massage'! But HELP!! I got wacked on the bum (never mind that) and then on my upper back by his/her trunk and it was SO painful. The trunk was hitting onto my head too and I had to use my hand to cover it... i think it lasted probably less than a minute but it felt too long and after that the elephang massage my back with his/her foot - that wasn't too bad...


I felt my head still throbbing a bit in pain.. and it was kinda embarrasing (well, I decided to be sporting and show the pix no less!) Oh, but if you think I had it bad, the poor man after me had it worst! He was asked to lie on his back and the elephant proceeded to `massage' his lower abdomen area! and even stepped on it..! :0


Another highlight of the visit was orang hutan's affinity for my eldest nephew Edgar, who is practically fearless of any of the animals! We came across a female orang hutan sitting on a bench and when Edgar went near to her, she couldn't stop touching him and holding his hands not letting go. So yeah, you can say that both of them had a close encounter.



Later when we went to Monkey Islang, Edgar also made friend with another orang hutan (a male on this time) who appearead a little tired. He was on the same `raft' on the way back with us and Edgar sat right next to him!


Indeed Edgar, 8, was really taken to the animal while younger nehpew Sean, 4, was not so daring.. but it must be quite a fascinating encounter for the kids as even for me, this was the first time I got upclose with an orang hutan and indeed their antics were very much like humans!



We also went onboard a tram, secured with grills all over to take us into the `safari area' of the park and saw some wild animlas including lions and tigers but they looked pretty scrawny and thin.



Then there were the tamer animals which were all over..



And the boys and my sis went on an elephant ride


We were blessed by good weather generally and it was not very crowded at all which made the trip more pleasent. But of course, with three young kids around, the adults also got quite tired!

We all had fun.. although it's not a place i would go by myself to visit but I too enjoyed myself - despite that torturous ordeal which in a way is an experience - but hey, who can claim to be massaged by an elephant? :p

for more pix on the A-Famosa trip, go to my Flickr pix via the badge on the right

Busy (Work-Free) Days!

I'm FREE from work but so far the days have been very b-u-s-y indeed! And I feel even more tired out than when I'm working..! :p

A diary of highlights of the last few days:

Friday: Last day at work.. finished off whatever I needed to and packed up things. Just a little sentimental feeling but mostly happy! ;)


at my empty desk just shortly before leaving!

Left office by 5:30pm to go for my first personal training session - which almost killed me! (the arms and abs were hurting till a few days after) Went to Alpha in CCF followed by supper - was in a real good mood!

Saturday: Re-joined our small group vocal class after stopping since beginning of the year. Need to really work and practise harder - but happy that we're actually singing Christmas song and not the usual `a-a-a-a' technical vocal work that we were doing for so long! Had yummy Ipoh white coffee with friends and chit chatted for a while and then killed time at a mall before going to Bukit Jalil for David Tao's concert.. This was the first time in many years I was not reviewing but just watching it.. so I couldn't get clear pix as I was seated quite far away! It was a great concert - I liked the stage setting of a tropical forest - and of course his creative genres of music and superb showmanship - such a talented artiste!



I thoroughly enjoyed myself but left just before the end to beat the traffic jam.. reached home in time to say hi to sis, bro-in-law and Edgar who was still awake. Yep, they're back here a week and just great timing that I was free to bring them around!

Sunday: just a time for family and eating.. went to two restaurants nearby for lunch - to feed Doug char kuay teow AND Cantonese fried meed - and dinner at Hakka restaurant.. Felt that I had over-eaten again..! argh. Took some photos of the kids..



Sean and Alexis having fun in the jacuzzi!


Monday: celebrate mom's birthday with lunch at Jogoya at Starhill. The place was huge and we practially have to `work' for the food - quite a bit of walking around. To be honest, the food was a bit disappointing, but the two boys really enjoyed themselves running around and refilling their bowls with ice creams etc.. the cake cutting time was an `exciting' one as Edgar wanted to blow the candle off and Sean managed to cut the cake for mom! :p





Doug has to leave after lunch and the two boys were getting all sentimental and Edgar even wanted to cry!



Well, they cheered up more when I took them to see the creatures of the sea at Aquaria in KLCC.. yep, it's the start of the mall-crawling season..




The shark and stingray taken by Edgar!




Tuesday: Mid Valley Megamall - kids can't miss Megakidz for their trip here each time and I have arranged for my second PT today too.. so while I worked out - this time the lower body - they were at their own gym. After that, dad brought them home while mom, sis and I continued to shop.. it's meant to be for sis but the shopaholic in me could not help to buy things for myself too.. got some nice earrings.. ;) then volunteered to buy groceries while they continued to shop and only got home about 8:30pm for late dinner

(forgot to take photos today)

Preview: Tomorrow we will be going to 1 Utama and Thursday to Berjaya Times Square. If weather is good, Friday will be an outing to A-Farmosa Safari.. at least it won't be in the mall!

It's THE day!!

FINALLY, the time's arrived!

Yep, today is Oct 27 - - my last day of work at a company that I've been in since Sept 15 1994.

I have just a bit more work to complete since my ed requested I do advance..hmm.. and then just pack-up the last bits of stuff.. I've already been packing up in stages over the week..brought back one or two small boxes and folders. But most things went into the bin. As I went though the stuff that i've accumulated over these last 12 years... press releases of noteworthy assignments, booklets, photos, CDroms, draft of research and work, letters and cards, pay slips from way back (what, I earned so little then? but not so much now too!) etc.. etc.. , and gosh, the sense of nostalgia was quite overwhelming.

Many of these I've kept either they're quite useful so just in case I might need it, or simply, I wanted to keep them for memory sake..

Anyhow, I ended up throwing more than three-quarter of the stuff - filled up all the bins around, and brought about quarter back.. But one day, I know they would probably go into the bin too..

So this will be the LAST day! quite unbelievable as it finally comes.. In a way, I am glad that there was the 2-months notice period to get me prepared and the reality of no longer with this paper/company sink in.. Feeling nostalgic aside, the feelings of joy, happiness and relief is even stronger! And yes, I know it's definitely for the better! :D

I will be surrendering my compaq laptop that was once stolen (loaned by the company and now in disastrous condition after me using it for five years) and the company tag. But will keep the expired gov press tag as souvenir.

A photo for memory sake...btw, we're no longer part of the company stated there- and it's my 3rd or 4th tag as the previous ones got snapped!

Fun festive break

Selamat Hari Raya! and belated Happy Deepavali!

Most of us have a stretch of holiday thanks to Deepavali which fell on last Sat. To those of us who are not Hindus nor Muslims, the five days off (weekend plus public holidays) just means rest and time to have fun I guess!

Now, it's only one more day left and it's back to work for me - more like wrapping up work!

Must say I've had a good time so far.. from last Friday night to today.. - nothing very extraordinary but just spending time with family, relatives, going out with friends, movie, shopping, and had a pretty strenuous workout in gym today! (and of course online as well..)

Thanks to my fitness freak friend who's also a member of CF (S'pore actually).. I did more than my usual today! But I know I needed to as my trainer just called and said the first session of P.T. will start on Thursday nite!! Anyway, it was a great workout.. and then because of the rain, we went to Starhill and it was the first time I explored the eateries there (yeah i know, am ulu these days..) the deco was interesting but pretty pricey places!

Already I can feel that my muscles will hurt tomorrow.. already feeling quite exhausted physically and plan to retire to bed earlier than usual..

Tomorrow will be going out again! (mom already commenting I'm always out.. :p) Will be treated to a long due Sashimi lunch (yummy) by uncle and then a massage session followed by tea with a friend and dinner with a couple of church friends to discuss our peer group's Christmas celebration plan.

Well.. there will be more days of outing from this weekend onwards as sis and the kids are home! But guess what? their main agenda is to visit all the major shopping malls in town/PJ! dejavu.. ;)

Final Countdown 2

It's happy time for me, praise God :)

3 more rest days followed by 2 working days ..

And I'll be FREE!!

(have already brought back one box-full of reference books from office desk - more stuff to pack!)

The `Art' of Naming Yourself.. :p

(ARGH!! earlier post got wiped-out when my PC hanged! here's a repost)

Last night, with the effect of some alcohol, we had a hilarious time in the car on the way back home from dinner.

Didn't know how the conversation went to Christian names.. and mom disclosed that both her elder sisters each have one. And she wanted one too! So she asked me to come out with Christian names that begin with `P', as her Chinese name is Pooi Yoke.

So I suggested from the top of my head names like `Patricia', `Pauline', `Polly', `Peggy', `Penny', `Priscilla'.... Bingo! she likes the sound of Priscilla! But there's a slight problem. Mom can't pronounce it - she said `pes-cil-la' and had to repeat me a few times to try to get it right!

Dad, listening to all this in amusement, chipped in to make fun of mom.. and then suddenly announced that the name `pes-cil-la' suited her. "But it sounds better to add a `ya' in front. Your name should be `Ya-pe-ci-la'," he said and went on to laugh and chant `ya-pe-ci-la', `ya-pe-ci-la' nonstop!

I burst into laughter!! I shall not divulge what that `name' means in Cantonese but those who know the dialect know it is not something nice!!

Mom was not amused.. but she still liked the name Priscilla although dad has twisted it to `Ya-pe-ci-la'. She is now officially Priscilla Chong.

Then we decided to give dad an English name! And now, that wasn't easy as he wanted a name unique and descriptive of him.. any John, David or Michael won't do. Well, I suddenly thought of something and suggested to him jokingly that since he loves his beer, he might as well call himself `Anchor' or `Tiger' or `Calsberg'!

Guess what? Dad liked the name Anchor and said it was great for him - since Anchor sounds like `anger' (which he admits to being angry much) and of course, Anchor is his favourite beer! So yeah, he said he is now Anchor Chow!

Hmmm..

Anyway, we also wanted to give my sis a Christian name - as everyone in her family has one - but finally didn't come out with any as she would have her own idea!

Then I announced to them that I was thinking of changing my Christian name too! Ok, I have given myself the name Jessica since my teens but everyone who knows me in person - from relatives to friends to colleagues - call me by my Chinese name. Jessica or Jess for short (and I prefer that) was used for pen pals (yes, I had from way back), subscriptions and posts in England and later as an online name/nick. Even my blog is so named now.. and my two dogs also have names beginning with J.

But I think around the beginning of the year, I started developing a fondness for the name `Erica' and thought I want to use it myself - simply because it sounds nice.. And to be honest, as I'm getting older, I feel the name Jessica doesn't suit me much.. or maybe I just get a bit `bored' of it?!

I won't trade anything for my real Chinese name (as it's pretty unique!) but now, I am considering changing my so-called Christian name to Erica! Mom said she liked Erica better too!

But if I do.. I won't have that `bond' with my two Js - Jojo and Jelly - anymore. Of course I wont rename them - they would be utterly confused! And besides changing my email address... I would probably need to change the name of this blog - hmm.. will call it `EC's two Js' - EC stands for Erica Chow.

So, what do you think? `Jess' two Js' or `EC's two Js'? Those who know me.. do you think I'm more a Jessica or an Erica? ;)

p.s. btw, Jessica means `wealthy and blessed' and Erica means `powerful and regal' - but not like ppl care much for the meaning.. mom didn't bother to ask what Priscilla mean and Anchor?! ok.. it can be means a support and security I guess :p

The Final Countdown

3 more (working) days to go...

and I'll be FREE!! :D