Happy

October 2009, somewhere in Pelangi Damansara, playing Taboo on Jaden's 2nd birthday party at the poolside.

Tioman/TGIF/70's porn/Evoke/Club 7

These pictures are way, way old.

Pre-braces, can you imagine that?

Circa 2006 to 2008.

Images of yore

Xiao Liu and Sky took me out to dinner on my first night in Beijing and they ordered enough to feed a small village of 50 people.

This was the first set Chee Kong built without Jimmy. The shoot lasted till morning and it was probably on that particular day the resentment grew.

Somewhere close to home, I saw a sunset that looked like splashes of bright orange paint. But of course, the result of taking a picture with my phone while driving wasn't as picturesque.

Heather and Remco flew in to Shanghai from Portland a couple of days before our big print shoot with Liu Xiang. They turned out to be a lot nicer to me than the locals were.

I have no idea who this is, but this is part of the sports complex in Shanghai where Liu Xiang came from. It's like China's 139346th wonder of the world.

Happy Birthday to me II

Exactly a month after my actual birthday, I had a pretend birthday celebration with the girls.

Basically it was really a face stuffing session and an event to commemorate the end of Emily's seafood fast.

I was surprised the cake said "pixie" instead of my name.

I loved it.

Thanks girls.

23 Nov 08 to 25 Nov 08

The Lee family's grand escapade to the Highlands.

Steamboat. Must. Eat. In. Cameron. Highlands. Must. Tasty.

Once we started eating, the jackets all came off.

Three generations. Minus some parents. Can you believe the eldest boy among the children is already 12 years old?

That picture you see in brochures and websites. I was there 20 odd years ago.

This boy came home 2 days before we left for the grand family holiday. This boy came home bearing gifts for me. YESSSSSSSS.

Spot the auntie.

One jump outside the Orang Asli Village for the album =)

The obligatory visit to the Boh Tea plantations.

This reminds me of Charlotte's Web.

My favorite.

Ingenious fly trap. Gross, but ingenious nonetheless.

No trip to Cameron is complete without strawberries. The kids had fun picking them but we all knew they were gonna be sour anyway.

Zucchinis?

I've always had a soft spot for forget-me-nots.

The supposed bee farm was such a con job. But I ended up buying a jar of pollen for my sinus anyway.

We stopped by a vegetable farm on our way home and they children helped their grandaunt pick cherry tomatoes.

I have no idea what this plant is called but it had strange fruit-like sacs that are just filled with air.
And this is when we all waved goodbye to Cameron.

Coming up: Family getaway 2008

Ah, another 3 days and I'll be off for a long overdue holiday with the family. And some =)

I haven't done this in, maybe 10 years, possibly.

I'm really looking forward to tea, fresh air, steamboat, kids, and too much laughter.

Waiter, my dinner is moving

My very first proper meal in Japan. We had okonomiyaki in Machida and the jakun that was none other than yours truly had so much fun watching the papery thin bits wave.

Could you imagine how exciting dinner had been for me?

Is the lamb coming along?

A picture post because I'm getting a little too busy to write. Properly.

Behold, items in the menu that I found in Beijing when ordering dinner with Xiao Liu, Sky and David.

The fresh sheep gone to the head. RMB38.

Best quality goods mutton chop volume. RMB48.

Diamond small fat sheep. RMB68.

Comes along the lamb. RMB58.

Lamb's genitals. RMB20.

They probably sound really good in Chinese. I'm sure. Very.

But I'm not paying RMB20 for something that translates as lamb genitals.

No.

Dinner at Italiannies with the girls. Tania felt underdressed because I felt like being overdressed. December 2007.

The first month of wearing braces still saw a huge gap in my teeth. But to be fair to what braces had done to me in the first month alone, my two front teeth were aligned in just about a week. December 2007.

Sharon the Ah Lian from Kluang. Hahahaha. We love making fun of her and her crazy hair. December 2007.

Flowers from The Gardens @ Mid Valley. We shouted, we fought, we cried, we made up. And we were proud of the end product. September 2007.

Was supposed to catch the sunset but I don't think my phone camera managed to get anything. Somewhere in 2008.

When words fail me

Carol is one of my favorite EPs of all time. She looks like an assuming auntie-next-door. But once you get to know her, though still the auntie-next-door, she can swear like a sailor, demand a cigarette from me and weave in and out of traffic well above the speed limit. 2007.

Lina is back in KL once a year. And she always made it a point to meet up and we've always had at least one meal together when she's back. Siva was our class's sole prefect and accomplice in hiding all our barang larangan on days when we have spot checks. January 2007.

While waiting for the queen herself at Quant's surprise party. We couldn't order and we were starving. She turned up about an hour later. January 2007.

The day I met Wendy, we went shopping together but walked away empty handed. She invited me back to her house after that where she whipped out a bunch of presents and told them they were for me. January 2007.

These are lilies. They are my favorite flowers. Do not give me red or pink roses because they are cheesy and they look cheap. Remember that these are lilies and they are my favorite flowers. Picture taken during a shoot that saw many arguments and tears. September 2007.

Confused in China

Here's a sneak preview of what I did in China.

Pre-light for my first ever print shoot. Sorry guys, no pictures allowed of the talents.

Super hot camera assistant from Portland, Ron Loebb. Hot lah =) And super nice client from LA, Heather Amuny.

My first meal with Julius in a Hongkie restaurant in Heng Shan road. Julius kept me sane (and alive) in Shanghai when times got tough.

Freedom, movement, happiness. Shanghai-based tattoo artist Shen gave me everything I asked for. Plus, he's cute, too =)

Wool gloves, wool scarf, 3 layers of clothing, Ugg boots. In -5 degrees Celcius. I almost wished I died before the weather got to me.