Soooo... my trip was amazing.  Perhaps, a little too good!
It could be a phase, one that I'm definitely not enjoying right now, but I'm pretty sure I've
been changed somehow.. whether or not for the better is yet to be determined. 

This trip was originally about.. well, a trip! A timely vacation where I could finally
relax, see a buncha places, meet a buncha people, and eat a helluva lot of food. Instead,
it ended up being about people and the rediscovery of my roots. I'd always believed that
Malaysia would be a great place to visit, but that my parents had made the right choice
coming here ..and I couldn't imagine moving back. I spend a couple weeks in Malaysia,
and all this thinking gets a kick in the ass. I was received by some great people, some
absolutely amazing people, and it was just comfortable. No fronts to put up, I'd never
felt so at ease with my surroundings.  A foreigner at the start, but felt like I
was leaving home by the end.  Sure, it was time to go...but the people definitely
didn't make it easy.  I have this great appreciation for family now, and realize how
much it's been missing in my life all these years in the big city. Not just having
relatives around, but people that actually care and look out for you, whose company
you look forward to enjoying.  Anyway, I'm in a strange place now. I find myself
re-evaluating what I want in life, and a whole lot just doesn't seem to matter as much
anymore.
Did I mention I can't taste anything? So, I got to Singapore and pigged out! I thought,
"man, this is good.. i've have been waiting too long for this!" Little did I know,
the food in Malaysia would be crazy better. Forewarned by my uncle, I didn't believe that
it'd be that different at first. ...I hardly ate the last 3 days in Singapore before
flying back to TO...and now, I eat to live...and for those who know me, you know that
this_isn't_me. I'm slowly re-bland-ifying my palate, but it's an annoying process. A few
days ago, some colleagues asked if I wanted to order Chinese for lunch...not
CHINESE Chinese, but like chicken ball/chop suey-Chinese... I laughed..but in a polite
way..heh heh..and declined. Before my trip I probably would've joined in, but now, it's like

wasting money on SHIT (No offence to you shit-..uhh..chicken ball lovers!).

I MISS:
-my relatives in Malaysia.. maybe not ALL of them like crazy, but they know who they are..haha  

-my cousins bothering me (the correct term is "kacau" ka-chao!) while i'm in bed
-supper..the meal after dinner
-eating outdoors at 1am at this place where they tie fluorescent tube lights to the trees
-jamming at the piano with my favourite cousins

People that made the difference:

Auntie Nancy, Caleo, Poh Poh, Uncle Joe, Chloe

Uncle Danny and Auntie Jeannie

 cousins Caleo and Chloe

the KL connection on my mom's side.. hehe..

Cousins Chin Anh, Sue Mei, Sue Kim

Uncle Tony

Andy

Wee Ping

Adeline, Chuan Tat, Wen Ni

That's it for now.. I'll probably post the rest of the pics SOMEtime..

greetiings from HK

Betcha didn't think you'd be hearing the likes of me this soon, eh?

Damn was that ever a long flight!  Waiting for my flight to Singapore now .. HK's airport is huge.. and puts some of our malls to shame!  Buy a bbtea, get 3omins free internet... this is what i'm doing.

The flight was uneventful for the most part.. 2 crying babies in the rows in front of me.. but at least they weren't competing with each other .. just intermittently throughout the 18 or so hours -_-  .. and, luckily, I've realized that older Chinese people may in fact NOT be the loudest people.. it's actually the Vietnamese elders.. heh. .. I swear, i heard the tremendous lungs of the babies, then I heard this one woman behind me just cut through, she might as well been talking to the pilot.  The penetration of the Vietnamese voice is quite impressive .. all of them .. and they were all on this flight, apparently!  I traded my aisle seat so this girl could be closer to her friend on the other side of me ...worked out well cuz the other side was an empty seat and i got to put my feet and stuff on it.  It just seemed like nobody had ever been on a plane before.. that, or they had no common sense .. EVERY take-off or landing, somebody felt the need to wander off to the washroom .. and you'd THINK after the first person got yelled at by the flight attendant to sit down, they'd learn ..   nope..  and these are young people.. seatbelt light on means have seatbelt on .. sounds pretty straighforward.. guess not, though it was funny to watch .. even if the girl beside me was one of them.. heh heh..  And the staff .. i thought they'd be nicer .. they're alright .. more .. dutyful than anything.. there was this one girl, pleasant when she was serving you, but always looked like she was on this crazy mission walking up and down (see syd's yuppie pictures).  Food was good.  Braised ribs, veggies, rice, that tofu sushi thing, eggs, hash browns, sausage, yogurt, banana bread, fresh fruit, sandwiches. didn't get the instant cup noodles cuz everyone kept asking for it and they were out by the time i wanted some.. coffee kinda suck though.  Sorry for making such a production of just the flight, but this is how bored i am right now .. none of the stores are near my gate.. just this place!  Catch you when i'm in Singapore!

It's been a while since the last time we had a good ol' men's(okay, boys)-night-out.  Die Hard, followed by hockey and UFC over a pizza, then Casino Royale with m&ms and gummy bears (okay, so that wasn't that manly .. I told you they'd laugh, syd!)  topped off with timmies till 3 in the morning .. for.. ..man-talk... you know, cars, sex, uh..  ..sex in cars?  Actually it was a heartfelt sesson of sharing feelings about fears, insecurites and how our bodies are starting to sag. .. okay, maybe not the the boobs.

It was nice to finally hear "Yippiekiyay MothaFUCKER" and not the censored shit on TBS . . usually they would time it wrong and only censor "mother" anyway.. heh..  I've probably watched it 13 times, and we'll rent it again next Christmas. 

Times are alright right now.  Friends are around, apps are in, trip around the corner, some interesting occurences here and there, and blood-caffeine level is at an all-time high.  Things are lookin' up! 

Today I was wiped.  Even the secretary said I looked so, and she said I NEVER look tired, not like the death i did today. -I'm usually singing and dancing, you see- I said, "thanks, 'ppreciate it!"   Perhaps I was tossing and turning last night, maybe it was the zero carbs i ate last night... i felt like shit.  It's hard to keep a friendly demeanour when all you want to do is take the patient's dose and jam it in your neck. .. but I did it ... and even earned a "You know, there should be more people like you in the hospital."  heh heh ...if there were more like me, we'd have an effective method of population control.  Poor, pleasant old lady!  Simple courtesy and politeness does go a helluva long way, though, and that's why on my shittiest day, I'll still have patients requesting me when they come back...heh..heh..  people are silly.

Leaving on a jetplane:  January 20 - February 24(tentatively)!  I have my ticket.  Toronto -> Singapore (then Malaysia, hopefully Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, MAYBE Australia) -> Toronto.  Anybody wanna come with? I'll be missing my dad's b'day, mom's b'day, my b'day, and chinese new year.. but i hear CNY in Singapore is pretty fun.

The almost-Maple-leaf

So my sister had tickets to yesterday's Leafs-Canadiens game and I thought I'd lend her my "Captain" Sundin jersey to wear.  I said, "yeah, if you run into Leaf players, it'd be cool if you could get it autographed."      Big mistake.

She calls me after the game, all excited: "Guess who I got to sign your jersey!"

It was noisy at both ends of the phone, but I heard GRETZKEY, so naturally I got all excited too! 

"Wayne Gretzkey was there?!"

"No, no, Walter Gretzkey, his dad!"

 .  .     .         .       .

"Why the HELL would you get Walter Gretzkey on my LEAF JERSEY?!" 

No disrespect to Mr. Gretzkey, but, he never played a game...he raised a son that was a great player .. who never thought of playing in Toronto.

I think she knows I'm pissed. haha..

Guess I have to get the rest of the players' dads on there to accompany Walter's.

I'm sorry, Mats, I didn't know ... that this was the way my sister thought!

The Wedding Singer Con Artist Strikes Again

I was also at a wedding. yesterday.  A perfect autumn's day for an outdoor wedding... the justice of peace that resided was hilarious.  The dinner was also really quite interesting.  I'd never met the bride and groom before, but for some reason, with a dinner hall filled with at least 15 tables, Winnie and I found ourselves at the table with the parents.  Even the maid of honour, who was apparently a real anal woman, double checked the seating plan, and looked noticeably annoyed.  heh heh..   Anyway, the table was situated directly in front of a speaker...and there was much drunked Chinese karaoke-ing to be enjoyed.  People, please do not have karaoke at your wedding!  All in all, it wasn't too bad a night.. one eardrum less, a desire to shoot myself in the FACE, but some new friends, an overfilled belly and a seat between two cute girls...it all balanced out.