Happy 光棍节

Weather: Cloudy

Temperature: 12 c

One is a lonely number. It is so lonely that, when 4 of them line up together, they become a day specially dedicated to bachelors. Yes, 11 Nov (or 11.11) is "光棍节" (or bachelor’s day) in China. On this day, the bachelors will organize meetings (or 联谊) with the opposite sex, and try their luck to put an end to their bachelorhood. If they fail, they would have to try again next year.

Of course, my bachelorhood ended without any untoward incidents or surprises 2 years ago. Therefore, though I am on leave today, I was not invited to any of these 联谊. Anyway, even if I have gone to these 联谊, I would not be that stupid to write about it here. Engtee is one of the loyal readers of this blog, remember? Blogging about one’s own indiscretion is outright brainless, if not suicidal. I am not Chua Soi Lek.

Years ago when I was in Klang, out of boredom and curiosity, we did organize a 联谊 somewhere in Bukit Tinggi (to prove how boring I was, Engtee was there). One of my Rotaract Club members promised to bring her female classmates, and my guy friends went crazy. We went to the restaurant with an overly excited heart. Our hearts were pumping furiously. We were imagining what kind of ladies with whom will we be chatting. Were they hot? Were they cute? Would they give us their phone number?

Minutes later, the ladies came, and all bubble burst. Fantasy became reality, and we never organize such kind of 联谊 ever since. I don’t think I have to elaborate further in this regard.



This evening, my good buddy’s sister, Xueyan, was in Shanghai. We managed to meet at one Italian restaurant for dinner. She complained about the food in Shanghai, and she already missed nasi lemak after spending merely 8 days in China. She didn't like the weather too, which is too cold. She will be flying back to Malaysia tomorrow, and one of the first things she will do is - eat nasi lemak!

Who will visit us next?



.

Harnniann is back!

Weather: Fog

Temperature: 19 c


Here I am facing my blog which has not been updated for more than 2 months. What could I say, other than apologizing to my readers, who have come to my blog only to be disappointed again and again?

Exciting events have taken place during the silence of this blog. Beijing successfully held the Olympics and Paralympics, my parents came to visit me during the mid-autumn festival, Anwar failed in his bid to oust Pak Lah, Abdul Razak was acquitted, Najib won the UMNO presidency uncontested, Obama will be the next President of the USA etc. There are hundreds of things to blog about, but I did not. Using the word of my ex-boss, I must have been “brain-jammed”. On many occasions, I wanted to write; but when my fingers touched the keyboard, no words came out. My mind was completely blank. I don’t know why. Maybe I have not been thinking for a long time.

Anyway, here I am, happily blogging again. So mama, please stop complaining about me not updating the blog. I know part of your daily ritual is reading your son’s writing.

I will not write anything substantial now, as this is just a warm-up entry. More will come soon once I am into the mood of blogging regularly again.

Thank you for your patience, understanding and support.

My parents and Mr and Mrs Leong were in Shanghai

Engtee is 28 now

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Temperature: 29 c


Let’s forget about the Malaysian sodomites for a while and do some lighter stuff.

Last Friday (July 25th) was Engtee’s 28th birthday. My great friends in Shanghai threw a simple but meaningful party for her. Thanks guys!

Bom booked a table at a Malaysian restaurant somewhere near my office. The food was great and authentic. We felt like we were having dinner in Kuala Lumpur (except that we had to take bus home after the dinner, as opposed to driving our own cars). We even summoned the chef (who is a Penangite) to personally thank him for the great food. It temporarily cured our homesick.



After the dinner, we continued our Malaysian chit-chat at another Italian restaurant. Bom’s wife was gracious to arrange a birthday cake for Engtee. It was a tiramisu cake. Not bad.



Yes, Engtee is 28 now. May your wish come true!

Back in Malaysia!

Dear All,

I am going back to Malaysia! But only for a very short period.

From 31 May to 3 June, I will be enjoying the food and sunshine of Malaysia. Anyway, it is sort of a business trip - I have to go back to my "home" country to sort out my visa applicaion as Hong Kong has stopped issuing work permits for foreigners due to the Beijing Olympic. So, "home" country that is!

I will be using 013-3777000 during my stay in Malaysia.

Hope to see you soon :)

Niann
Shanghai

Welcome to the club!

Weather: Fair
Temperature: 14 c

I really wish I was there.

There are events in our lives which we really wish we were there – my great pal Bom’s wedding was certainly one of them.

Bom was the third king among the 4 heavenly kings to get married. I was the first, then Lan Tat, then Bom. Borrowing the words of my former boss, Bom has been inducted into the Married Men Club without knowing the rules and regulations.

Fate must have played us both. Almost a year ago, Bom was not able to attend my wedding and be my best man in Malaysia because he was in China. A year later, I couldn’t attend his wedding and be his best man because I was in China. 2 great buddies who failed to attend each other’s wedding. He was not in my wedding photo album, and I was not in his.

Fate also must have played tricks on us both. Bom and I were classmates while our respective wives were also classmates. Bom has chosen his future in China while I later followed suit. I must admit that without Bom’s selfless assistance during the initial period of my stay in China, things would have been 10 times harder.

Bom and Stella, I am not sure you will be reading this because probably now you are enjoying your honeymoon in Bali. This article is specially dedicated to both of you, newly married couple. Bom and Stella, we have walked together the path of growing up, now together, we will walk together in China into the future. “不管世界尽头多寂寞，你的身边一定有我，我们说过不管天高地厚！” – 信乐团.

When a man holds his lover's hands before wedding - it is passion

When a man holds his lover's hands on the wedding - it is formality

When a man holds his lover's hands after wedding - it is self-defence

Good luck brother!

Annoucement: Halloween Party

Temperature: 20 c
Weather: Fair

Dear all,

A quick announcement: I will be going to a Halloween Party tonight with my Malaysian Gang. My brother Stevo, please don’t have nightmare. This will be my first ever Halloween Party because until now, I still don’t know why the Westerners celebrate Halloween and why the pumpkins are made into scary faces. I hope I could find out tonight. If the party turns out to be a cool thing or a complete disaster, I will surely blog about it here.

Right now, at this exact moment (Beijing time 2.30pm 27 Oct 2007), Bom and the gang are happily shopping for funny costumes. Unfortunately, I could not join them because I am stuck in the office for OT. I can only join them later this evening. So, I will not have anything funny on me.

Bro Steve, I will not be doing the Matrix Neo stunt for 3 reasons:

1. I really do not want to wear a cashmere overcoat in an indoor party; I will be soaked with sweat just for the fake of looking good;

2. I do not have a “煞” sunglasses;

3. Pretending to be someone who is so good looking is too much pressure, much more than I could handle.

Engtee and I will just go to the party with our normal clothes on, maybe with a mask of a pig or a Dracula. Have you seen a Ah Pek going to Halloween Party? Well, you will see one tonight, it will be like 阿牛出城 …

Enjoy your weekend!

.

Just a quick note

Temperature: 29 c

Weather: Fair

Just a quick note to my friends and family,

Engtee and I are fine and happy in China. Do not get misled by the hidden negative massages in my articles. The articles are written to record my thought at that particular time which may not accurately reflect the quality of our life in China.

Mom, I am sorry if I got you worried but I am really ok. There is no reason to worry about me. I have no regret coming to China. Come heaven or hell, it was my decision to be here. I was not forced by anyone to be here. I voluntarily walked into the airplane and flew here. Nothing is stopping me from going back to Malaysia but I choose to stay on in China.

海上升明月，天涯共此时

The moon last night was very bright and beautiful. It reminded me of my dad who I was sure was appreciating the same moon at that time. 独在异乡为异客，每逢佳节倍思亲. Dad, if at all possible, please cut down on your smoking and take care of yourself.

I may be able to drop a longer entry later tonight, but now I had better go to work.

p/s: Stevo, Shindy, Harley, Rosie, Lloyd, Timmy, thanks for your comments. I wish you all well and happy.

I am going to Shanghai on 28th August

Dear everyone who tirelessly visit this blog,


I must apologize for abandoning this blog for so long. But I have a reason for that: this Blog was created to record my journey in China. Since I am in Malaysia now, I see no reason to publish my Malaysian lifestyle here.

Nevertheless, I wish to inform you that I will be going back to Shanghai soon. I just paid and collected my flight ticket. I will be flying to Shanghai on 28th August 2007 at 0125 hour. Estimated time of arrival at Pudong International Airport is 0625 hour.

Once I reach Shanghai and locate internet access, I shall start my blogging in China.

So stay tuned!

More exciting articles about China are coming.

Am I blocked from entering this blog?

Weather: Foggy
Temperature: 30°

I heard many times China government regulates their internet. You are prevented from accessing certain websites if the government sees it a threat to the national security or not “government friendly”. Whether this is true, I still can’t confirm.

But very strange, I could not enter into my own blog!! I tried since yesterday evening. Not only I could not access to this blog, I could not enter any of the BlogSpots too! Including RAC Port Klang Centennial’s official blog.

The good news is: I can still blog. I can go to the dashboard and post articles there. However, after posting them, I cannot view the published blog or see the comments. Don’t ask me why. This is beyond my little knowledge on IT. I just hope some of you there can give me the answer.

But keep your comments coming, though I can’t see them through the blog, all your comments are sent directly to my email, so I could read them indirectly via email. Stupid I know, but that’s the only cleverest solution I could think of right now.

I am not sure whether this is because of the censorship by the government. I do not want to speculate.