It's 2012!

I know it's already the end of January, but still Happy New Year to everyone. Better late than never, right?

Times really flies! Regardless if you are having fun or struggling through something difficult, we have no choice but to follow the flow of time. At the end of the day, it all boils down to whether you have used the time as best as you could. So, how did you spend the year 2011? Was it a meaningful year for you as it was for me?

Japanese Singers

People who know me will know that I will find myself attracted to certain things at certain times. Like previously I just couldn't get enough of Taiwanese dramas. I'm at the Japanese phase now, so I listen to various types of Japanese music. I find that their music really piques my interest, maybe because I haven't really listened to Jap music much last time (other than Utada Hikaru) or maybe because their music is just different from Western music nowadays. I find that Western music nowadays are somehow quite similar and is without much variety, its either black-sounding music, R&B, or rock music. Most music arrangements don't sound as detailed and doesn't take as much effort as it should be. Me and another friend dub this kind of music as "instant music" (instant as in like instant noodles). And I really hate it when they go auto-tuning most singers even those that can sing really well without those additional tuning. The effect: it all sounds so digitalized and fake. There's even one Michael Buble album that the sound engineers compressed his voice so much, it sounded like he had a short tongue. I really hate that! I'd rather they let it sound more natural and have a few out of tunes here and there than everyone sounding TOO perfect and digitalized.

Anyway, enough complaining there. I've actually derailed from the main topic of this post. Sorry, guess I got a bit carried away!

In my Japanese music quest, I have found a few cool artistes that I want to share with you:

YUI - altenative/poprock music, she's only 21, cute and is a singer/songwriter
Visit her Official Site here
You can preview her songs here
Some nice songs I recommend 1) Che.r.ry 2) Goodbye Days 3) Help 4) I Remember You

ANGELA AKI - piano-based pop songs , has a really nice mellow voice and is a singer/songwriter
Visit her Official Site here
You can preview her songs here
Some nice songs I recommend 1) This Love 2) Kiss Me Goodbye 3) Kiseki 4) Kiss From a Rose

Ji Mui Gathering at Doreen's

Many apologies for my long absense. I have not found the time to update my blog. I'm now back in Penang, so I hope that I can update my blog much more frequently. :)

Earlier in January we had a BBQ gathering at Doreen's home in Seremban. It was really GREAT to catch up with all my Ji Muis. A picture speaks a thousand words, so head down and see the story for yourself from the photos below. :P

Meaning of a Name

Ever wondered what your name means? Being an inquisitive person as always, I decided to look it up on the net. As it turns out Sandie is derived from the name Sandra which originates from the name Alexandra. Alexandra in the ancient Greek language means "protector of mankind". Cool right? To think I'm the protector of mankind. Hahaha, maybe in the spreading the sunshine/humour aspect? :P

I took the liberty to find out the meaning for some of my friends' names and listed them below:
Reese - Ardent, fiery (Welsh); Enthusiatic (English)
Doreen - Gift (English); Moody (Celtic); Blonde (French)
Sally - Princess (Hebrew & Israel)
Adeline - Noble & kind (French) Pleasant, of nobility (German)
Stephen - Crowned once, wreath (Greek)
Scott - Wanderer (Scottish); Of Scottish origin (English)
Simon - It is heard (Israel); Obedient, little hyena (Hebrew)
Dolores - Lady of sorrows (Latin-America)
Kevin - Handsome, beautiful (Irish); Gentle (Celtic)
Ann - Gracious (Hebrew & Israel); Merciful (English); Priceless (Irish);

If you are curious about the meaning of your name you can check it out from this site called Meaning-of-Names.com

Do you think a person's name affects a person's character? I think it does to some extend. But more often than not I believe that a person's character is formed based on their upbringing and the environment they are exposed to throughout their lives. Friends also influence you in a lot of ways, maybe sometimes you don't even realise it yourself.

Despite all the differences in our names and our personalities, the most important point is that we live our lives to the fullest so we will not have any regrets later on. Treasure your family and your friends, spend your precious time wisely and most of all thrive to bring happiness to others more than hurt others. I always believe that it is better to make more friends than enemies. :)

Steamboat! The Story of Pey Shen's 2008 Birthday Gathering

Venue: Pey Shen's House
Style: Steamboat

The "ji muis" met for a special early celebration of Pey Shen's birthday. All except Ms. Ng Siew Kheng lor. Yet proven again that it is so difficult to get a date that everyone can agree on. It was nevertheless very fun because we haven't met up with the whole bunch of us for some time. I am hoping that we will have more of this kind of gatherings. Maybe next time we'll have barbeque. :P

Look at our "leng lui" birthday girl!


















We all met up earlier at Giant near Kinrara for ingredient shopping. We ended up buying a lot of stuff, including lala, prawns, all kinds of balls, veggies... etc. Dinner started approximately at 7pm. We had to split into two sessions because apparently we overbought the ingredients. So we ate first, then rest and chat for about an hour and then resumed.

It was a fun and fulfilling gathering. One which is a definitely must once in a while. It was so great to catch up with everyone! In case if you are wondering how come there's no photos of us eating. Well, you'll have to wait for the photos from Doreen's camera. I forgot why I didn't take any photos of people eating. Must be caused I'm too busy eating. *grin*

Check out the photos:




























Cheshire's special fried onions!














We managed to capture a nice sunset. Doesn't it look as though there's a castle in front? :P














I think we took too much time posing that by the time this photo was taken, the sunset was nearly gone. (Note the unusually bright light behind.)

Sweet Potato Doughnuts?

While I was bunking over at Cheshire's home the other day, we made sweet potato doughnuts. It was thoroughly fun to make together. I think it goes to say that whatever you do, as long as you it together with close friends it will turn out to be extremely fun. It tastes quite good too.

Check out these great looking homemade sweetie yummies.















We got a bit carried away with our creativity as well. :P

Siew Kheng's Birthday Photos

Check out the photos for Siew Kheng's birthday gathering here

I just managed to upload it. :)