As Suanie Sees It

It’s the third day of Chinese New Year and I’m at Starbucks @ City Square JB. Might as well utilise their free wireless service and post some photos.

Mom cooked up a feast of everything I like for our traditional reunion dinner.

Since we are Fu Chow people, we always have the zhao kuey for breakfast on the first day of Chinese New Year.

It’s rice wine thing with chicken and mee suah, someone feel free to explain it in proper English.

After breakfast we went to my grandmother’s place for the maternal extended family get-together.

That’s my grandma and I (duh)… she gave me a very big angpow this year, yay!

I also met up with my high school mates, Melissa and Shee Teng.

I did drink with my auntie and uncle with the fridge full of expensive alcohol. I also drank (a bit) with these fellas:

Somehow I get the feeling that Jimmy is afraid of me.

I wonder why.

Then today I drove down to Johor Bahru to meet Pinky.. coz my passport expired and so I can’t enter Singapore, she came to JB instead.

She’s gone back to Sing-kah-poh, I stayed around a bit for the wireless access. And now I seriously need to pee then drive back to BP. Bye.

… also known as the state of ridiculous-ness in many ways, also known as what I did, saw, blah.

Yesterday I went to Bangsar to get my eyebrows threaded, then thought of going to Blook for last minute clothes shopping… what the heck, might as well make my mother happy and not wear black all the time…

But I turned in the wrong lane and got honked by some impatient driver in a 4 wheel, so at that time I was too embarrassed to turn into the right lane, and that embarrassment made me leave Bangsar… a bit ridiculous come to think of it… but I ended up at 1U.

At 1U I wanted to buy a birthday+retirement present for me mom. I did, and also ended up with…

a pair of jeans, a pair of shoes (which I totally don’t need), two pairs of ridiculously colourful socks, some beaded accessory thingy and the Dior perfume for me mom. Ridiculous.

Then Paul came over and we went to Dave’s Pasta and Pizza Vino for beer and dinner.

Hoegaarden… BEST T HING EVER!

When we left 1U, we were stuck in the parking lot jam for 45 minutes. FUCKING RIDICULOUS OK!!!

Then I came home and someone showed me this:

Korean sex noodles… wtf… ridiculous!

And I also came home to this:

Because the night before on MSN…

Suanie: [bla bla bla] I’m dead inside
Friend: I’m sorry [to hear that]
Suanie: send flowers [to my funeral]
Friend: what do you like?
Suanie: lilies
Friend: nice

I am now officially dead. Anyone else wanna send me flowers? I’ll give you my house address

Ridiculous lah… but they smell nice and I’m bringing it home to my mom.

Speaking of which, I’ll be going back to my hometown for nearly a week for Chinese New Year. It is an extremely remote place where there’s no Internet connection and we all live on tree tops and shit wherever we like…

… fucking noobs. Of course we have Internet connections and proper houses and toilets. I just seem to have to answer this a lot whenever I tell some noob that I’m from Batu Pahat, or even Malaysia. Noobs.

But anyway it’s the Chinese New Year soon, I won’t be updating till I come back to wherever I am, I’ll probably be drinking with my uncle and auntie who have a fridge totally devoted to expensive alcohol, and when I come back I’ll be 10kg heavier. It’s all good.

Mwah.

We were at Desa Sri Hartamas, had dinner at Flags as recommended by ST, it was this little corner English pub tucked somewhere. At least not visible in the main areas so we had some difficulty finding it.

The place was nice though, quiet and cosy but they didn’t have Hoegaarden on tap… grrr….

We played Scrabble while waiting for our food to arrive.

I had duck. It was good.

FA had steak and kidney pie. She seemed to enjoy it.

Then we walked to Souled Out to join the Hantu Bola peps for a couple drinks while they worshiped football.

Question: How many bloggers does it take to pick up a girl?

Answer: None. We are all busy taking photographs.

The alcohol at Souled Out was disappointingly unsatisfying. So we left the footie freaks to their ball loving selves and went elsewhere. Ended up at Finnegans, had something to drink, then went home.

I slept like a baby.

Students sue over teaching in English

KUALA LUMPUR: Four students have filed a suit against the Government over its policy to teach Science and Mathematics in English.

The students - Mohammad Syawwaal Mohammad Nizar, Mohammad Fadzil Nor Mohd Rosni, Nur Najihah Muhaimin and Syazaira Arham Yahya Ariff - are seeking to declare two circulars on the execution of the policy dated Nov 27, 2002, unconstitutional, null and void, and of no effect. [...]

Source: The Star Online

If they’d spent more time revising their studies instead of thinking of ways to sue the gomen…

We should be proud of our national language, but we should also be realistic. [insert all the reasons why Science and Maths should be taught in English if our people wish to pursue their education in these two languages in other countries who... let me see... publish their texts and research results in ENGLISH]

Kids these days… I tell you… kurang ajar betul.

Two years ago ST gave me The Chinese Dilemma by Ye Lin-Sheng as a Xmas pressie.

It was one of the most difficult books I’ve had to read. Not just because the writer had to be slightly delicate when it comes to ’sensitive’ issues (hence some ’roundabouts’), but he also had some illuminating points that made me look hard within myself as a Malaysian of Chinese origin. The plot being that reverse racism (or affirmative action) is not as bad as portrayed, but understand that crutches must be released some day so one could walk properly on one’s two feet.

But like Vincent and S-Kay observed here, the Chinese is not always right. Crying foul whenever opportunity arises without really understanding why — well no doubt a lot of it is due to our shared history and to this, nevertheless we are no angels. Our culture maketh us, our culture breaketh us.

I found a review of the book at Aliran Monthly, Khoo Boo Teik has this to say about Ye Lin-Sheng:

Born of immigrant parents, Ye lived the transition from British to Malay rule, a kind transition in Ye’s experience of race relations. In the 1960s, he left the civil service for the private sector. It was a successful switch way ahead of Mahathirist privatization.

Now an international investor, he makes hardnosed comparisons of the costs and benefits of living in different places. He’s loyal to home but not uncritical of domestic defects. He’s global but not seduced by western hypocrisies.

Surely this is the profile of a growing Chinese social type who pragmatically and sincerely rejects any suggestion that the grass is greener on many other sides.

If I’m correct, Ye’s (Chinese) readers, even if they’re stung by his strictures, will find The Chinese Dilemma to be confirmatory of the times in which they live.

More…

Ye isn’t timid or blindly partisan. He tackles what others shun as sensitive issues. At heart, he’s aware of a pervasive Chinese sense of hurt. Still, he refuses to excuse the crassness, dirtiness and corruption of the ‘Ugly Chinaman’, or, more apropos, his tendency to belittle Malay capability and achievement.

He praises Malay leadership. Yet he scorns the antics of the ‘Ugly Malay’ who threatens politicians and officials, thumping tables to make Bumiputera claims on contracts, licences, concessions and land or wish[es] to be seen as being tough on the Chinese in order to gain a Malay following.

Read the full review here.

I’d recommend this book to every Malaysian, especially Malaysian Chinese who love to moan and whine about the ’sad’ state of affairs in this country Available at your local bookstores.