little bitty girl

Every holiday season, it always feels a little more hectic for my family because usually a couple of days after Christmas, we celebrate the Queen Bee's birthday. Who is the Queen Bee, you ask? My grandma, Mama Kang's mama.

Back in the day, Mama (grandma) and Kong Kong (grandpa) weren't so into birth control and this is the result. This is a picture of my Mama with all her grandchildren and great grandchildren. And this isn't even the full crew! It's amazing that I can keep everyone's name straight although I think at some point I am going to have to start writing names down.

more »

Comments (0)
Posted in Family Shenanigans

Sometimes I feel that CNN is low on stories or they can't seem to quantify the ones they have that they need to exaggerate facts. On Boxing Day, Toronto experienced a shooting tragedy that left a 15 year old dead and 6 others injured. It has been an incident that has shocked a city, not used to violence.

Then to make matters worse, CNN's Miles O'Brien makes this really outrageous statement, warning people not to come to Toronto because there is crime spree and our murders have doubled. We're at 58 murders for the year. Isn't that the weekly rate in LA and NY?

I am not saying that it's a good thing that we're so low in comparison. Murder is murder and a terrible thing. However, we should put all things into perspective, taking into consideration that we are the largest populated city in all of Canada. With a larger population, disproportionate distributions of wealth, cutbacks in social programs, all problem that larger cities face, violence is not wholly unexpected.

We're trying to figure out what went wrong with our city and it never helps when newscasters are misinformed or want to sensationalize issues. I feel like it's like the whole SARS problem again where CNN claimed every single person in Toronto was wearing masks. I never saw a single person in the city wearing a mask other than the people who worked in hospitals.

It's actually upsetting because CNN used to be one of my favourite sources for the news but having twice been the focus of extreme sensationalism, I think I choose to be more educated and find my sources somewhere else. One wonders what else they exaggerate. Watching CNN is starting to feel like watching one of those entertainment shows. All pizazz and no substance.

Comments (0)
Posted in What's Buggin' Me

I haven't had a chance to post about my own family Christmas dinner yet because, frankly, I am still digesting all the food. There is nothing quite like celebrating with the people you feel most comfortable with in your life. It's really strange and I know that I always seem in awe that my family and I get along so well. I think it's because throughout the years, I have just come to notice how lucky I am to truly enjoy the company of my family and that not many people have this. Don't get me wrong, it's not always hunky dory as we're all also a bunch of opinionated hot heads but we always make up in the end.

more »

Comments (0)
Posted in Family Shenanigans, Homage to Hunger

I was watching one of those "baby birth" stories on TV. I am not really sure why I do so because it just makes me more determined to either adopt or be "too posh to push." Regardless, it's almost like watching a car wreck. You don't really want to stare but you are completely riveted.

This particular one seemed worse that others. The poor woman was whimpering and crying in agony. The doctor and nurses didn't tell her so that she would not freak out, but the baby was coming out, not just its head as normal but with one shoulder as well. Halfway through, she cried out, "Someone PLEASE help me!" to which her husband replied, "Sweetie, you were the one who decided not to take any pain killers. You can't turn back now."

W-H-A-T?

It immediately brought to mind a Margaret Atwood contribution in an anthology about women. I loosely quote this because I don't have the book on hand but she said something about men's brains not being wired the same way as a woman's. The left brain and right brain has it's own compartment and there is a very small connection between them, letting very limited information through -- unlike a woman's brain whose two sides are connected by a huge infomation superhighway.

I mentioned the show to Stefan and asked him whether he would ever say such an idiotic thing if I was in the midst of pushing out his 11lb child and he just said, "Do I look stupid? I like being alive."

Smart boy.

Comments (0)
Posted in Glued To The Tube

I've always been crafty. Not as crafty as some other people I know but you could not grow up in my mother's household without being somewhat able with a needle and thread. Growing up in Asia, my mum was a teacher, and she taught English. Then she went to work at a poorer school and also took on Home Economics. She thought it was important for all kids to be able to feed and clothe themselves. She always said even the boys were always so astonished how little effort could produce so much. All of us kids, with the exception of Kelvin (who used to burn water but is getting better) are either really adept cooks or bakers and can at least do basic mending.

more »

Comments (1)
Posted in Family Shenanigans, Joy-Friends, Needles, Bows and Toes

YAY! Canada Post didn't screw me over! The package got delivered today. Who woulda thunk they delivered on Saturdays, on Christmas Eve, no less?

Thank You, Canada Post!

Comments (0)
Posted in Much To Do About Nothing

Dear Canada Post,

I had a very important present to send out. I knew I was running late and had told the recipient of the gift that she would not receive it until the week after the festivities. We were both a little sad, we might have even shed a tear but we were both reconciled with the fact that she would not get the package.

When I went to the post, the service person told me that because I wanted to insure the package to trace it, that I might as well send it by express post. AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE RECEIPT, IT STATES QUITE CLEARLY "XPOST." It was merely a $12 difference and my friend would receive the gift latest by Thursday. I told Marie and we both giggled with glee.

Thursday came and went and no package. We still both had high hopes. There is NO WAY Canada Post would screw us over! Friday, after all, was another day.

As the hours ticked by today, we finally had to give up. Marie said she was leaving work when she noticed a Canada Post van come by her office. She made her boyfriend turn the car around and raced back. Turns out, the package was for the building next door.

She walked dejectedly back to the car.

So, thank you Canada Post. Thank you for ruining our joy. Merry Mother Fucking Christmas to you.

P.S I want my extra $12 postage back.

Comments (0)
Posted in What's Buggin' Me

I know everyone has thought this and sometimes you actually say it out loud.

Just doing my usual reading of news and came across this story of Toga, the penguin. Someone has stolen it from a zoo. The penguin is an endangered species and was the first of it's kind to be bred at this particular zoo. Latest reports state that an anonymous phone call was made to say that the penguin is in a plastic bag, and has been dumped in a nearby dockyard. Zoo officials state that the penguin will not live much longer without its parents.

Questions that arise -

What do you need a penguin for?

How does someone walk out with a penguin without any zoo officials noticing?

Why don't people get hobbies?

In the same news site, there are some people looking for their stolen dogs and others looking for their stolen donkey. There seems to be an epidemic in the area.

Comments (0)
Posted in Weirdness, What's Buggin' Me

How bloody cute is this thing? I found this during my daily reads. Jenny, who I believe I have mentioned before created this. I thought I would share for those of you who don't randomly surf as often as I do. This is such a good idea and I am going to try to do it next year as a centrepiece for my table. I usually get flowers as I love arranging those but this year, I got really lazy so I just have oranges with cloves. Bo-ring.

Comments (0)
Posted in Needles, Bows and Toes

I am not sure what it is about me, and I assure you that I do not do this out of spite, but I love to teach Stefan non-useful words from my language. I can speak a mixture of Chinese, Malaysian and English. Growing up in Asia, where everyone speaks at least three languages or dialects, it is not uncommon to mix them up. It makes for very funny conversations. At least, it sounds like that to the ear.

more »

Comments (0)
Posted in Family Shenanigans, Stefan

What a completely novel idea!

I don't know why I never ever thought about it when this is such a good solution to a sometimes extremely frustrating endeavour.

As you all know, especially these past few months of gift giving that I have been attempting to be crafty. Sometimes it goes ok, but usually it goes like this -

• Joy at finding the perfect yarn
• Inspiration ensues
• Work begins
• Add a stitch accidentally
• Unravel
• Rework
• Drop a stitch accidentally
• Unravel
• Rework
• Tension is not the same as previous
• Unravel
• Rework
• Unravel
• Rework
• Knitting needles flying in the air
• Sulking
• ...repeat...

At least, with this option I can just walk away from a project without doing anything detrimental to my anal retentive self. After all, it doesn't mean that I've lost, it simply means the yarn has lost its right to be a scarf.

Comments (0)
Posted in Needles, Bows and Toes

I am not really sure who started the whole box-exchange-gift thing but I am quite sure it might have started with Marie. Our boyfriends have never forgiven us since for continuing on this vicious trend.

Marie and I exchange gifts through the post. We have a rule about how big the boxes can be and we try to cram as much as we possibly can into them. I look forward to my boxes with much anticipation. The boxes usually consist of a bunch of "big" item gifts and a bunch of miscellaneous funny gifts. It's always laugh out loud, pee-in-your-pants good fun and for however long it takes to go through the box, I feel for that brief time, like a 5 year old all over again.

DISCLAIMER: Some parents or underage children might feel a little uneasy with content after the jump. Do not read further if this might bother you.

more »

Comments (2)
Posted in Joy-Friends

I always find pasta to be very comforting winter food. It's got a heaviness that I always feel I need or want when it's cold. I discovered this pasta quite by accident and it has turned out to be one of my all time favourite pastas to