“Sorrie, u’r not in the list”

Seriously, how does one convey this without sounding impolite? Or offensive?

I constantly find myself in this predicament when folks dish out self-invitations to my parties. Most of the time, I believe they don’t even realise that they’re doing it.

- “When’s your party again?”
- “What time do I come over?”
- “What shall I bring this year?”

Erm….answer to all of the above : “But you are not invited wor..”

Now don’t take this the wrong way.
It’s not because I do not value your friendship, or that you are not good enough a friend.

It’s mainly for a very simple reason :
- I’d like to enjoy my own parties without having to worry about hosting too many friends and their friends.

I’ve been down that path and I learnt enough to know that I don’t ever wanna go down it again. Ever. It’s just too damn tiring and well, I throw parties for the sole reason of getting to enjoy them. Not slave through them.

So I’ve thought about it long and hard … and figured the best way is to be honest and direct. Because it works best and because that’s how I am wired up inside (those who know me well will vouch for this).

If I go to you and tell you that you are not in the list, please do not take it personally, k?

I still love you.

Happy 冬至

That’s wishing you “Happy Winter Solstice”!

Go here and here to read more about this festival.

There are many ways folks remember this 2nd most important Chinese celebration (after CNY, of coz).

• Shortest day & longest night
• Winter’s peak
• Family reunions
• Paying respects to ancestors
• Time-off
• Yummy glutinuous balls

As a kid growing up in a Chinese-dominated island in an Asian country, all of the above have been deeply ingrained in me (although the last one was what I truly enjoyed the most!).

Today, what makes the festival so special to me is this :
- A promise of renewed life.

Surely, no one can fault with that.

差不多

In Mandarin, it’s “cha bu duo”.
Translated to English, it means ‘Not far off from”. A more popular but loosely-translated meaning is “More or less”.

Moving on to our mother dialect -

I say – “Ch’a Poot Toh”
He says – “Cham Poei Toh”

He insisted his family has been saying “Cham Poei Toh” his entire life, and I couldn’t stop laughing ‘coz it sounded so damn weird. As far as I remember, it has always been “Ch’a Poot Toh”.

Now that he’s gotten me curious, am so gonna be bugging my Hokkien friends on their version of that phrase.

What is yours?

Big BC Day

Heart-thumping
Confidence-building
Energy-zapping
Memory-testing
Chorry-mixing

That’s how it’s gonna be like from today onwards for the next 3 days for some of our closest BC buddies.

For the 1st time ever, Asia’s one & only Master BC Instructor from Bangkok is in town for a BC workshop. To train a bunch of BC enthusiasts and turn them into certified LesMills BC leaders. How cool is that, huh?

As a treat, the Master Instructor scheduled a BC42 (the latest release that’s not been offiically launched in M’sia yet) class this morning and of course we grabbed that GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY!  I mean, to participate in a BC class led by Asia’s Master BC Instructor is like the next best dream (best one is to meet Dan & Rach in person, of coz) come true for BC fanactics like us.

To our BC buddies, enjoy the workshop kau-kau, ok?

We will be there on Sunday to cheer you for your final certification presentation.

GAMBATE!!!

Merry “Duwan” Christmas

Can’t believe it has been 2 whole years since this happened.

Last weekend, I met the stud again after so long.

…and this time, he was all ready. Handsome, cheeky and definitely a lady-killer in the making.

Except that when I called out to him, his first words to me were : “Duwan”.

Needless to say, it cheesed me off and I couldn’t stop giving s**t to his mommy for his bad manners but to my delighted surprise, he turned into the most charming stud after I offered to help him make shapes out of the watermelon in preparation for our first X’mas party for this year.

We became the best of friends.

The next time I come a-visiting, I am sooooo gonna crash his Ben-10 bedroom!

And I can already imagine him going “Duwan!!!!!”
*LOL*

Sneak Preview

Here’s a peak at what we have brewed up for our X’mas party this year. Amongst many other things, of coz.

Irresistable, huh?

I know we’ll be having a hard time keepng these babies safe from folks before the end of the night.

More details coming up.
Stay tuned if you don’t wanna miss out on all the FUN.

P/S – Go here & here for proof of past years’ madness.
BUT view them at your own risk, ya?

X’mas Door

As I walked into my office this morning, this greeted me.

(thanks, my secret elves! For decorating my door when I was away last week)

Which served as a strict reminder that my X’mas tree at home is *still* not up yet.

Ok ok. Will put it up by this weekend lah.
Not entirely my idea to have jam-packed weekends for the past 2 months.

Blame it on those buggers who organised the parties
- birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, reunions, etc…

Friends are bugging me left, right and center on the theme for our tree this year.
Well, all I can say is – it’s YUMMILICIOUS.

Stay tuned, ma amigos!

 

Sorry

Honestly, it’s not about the trust.
Neither is it about the availability nor the capability.

After all, it’s really not too much to ask for.

But….

He insisted that it’s not supposed to work that way.
He insisted that it’s against our principles.
He insisted that it’s just … wrong.

And sadly, I have to agree with him.

As much as I care about you, I have to do what I have to do.
And say what I have to say.

Please do not take it the wrong way.
I still care about what happens to you – alot.

Road to Happiness

Enroute to 72 hours of bliss.

Not sure if it was just me, but the mangoes (from Sg Perak rest-stop) were sweeter, juicer and downright yummier. 

Or we’re just happier knowing that the next 3 days are gonna be AWESOME!

Full Throttle : A Gala Affair

Heart-throbbing.
Mind-blowing.
History-making.
Love-overflowing.
Soul-enriching.

That’s how our next 72 hours is gonna be.
And this is where we rest our heads at night.

Be jealous. Be VERY jealous.

Considering the packed agenda we have in mind, it’ll be amazing if we get any sleep at all!

Happy early weekend, ya’ll.
I’m starting mine right about NOW.