SMILEY MOON

Smiley Moon. A rare phenomenon when the moon decides to develop a face - a pair of sparkling bright eyes and one hell of a smile. The moon - Jupiter - Venus...

It was the first of December of 2008, I fell asleep again on my super mini ikea sofa. Eventhough the sofa is super mini, I still cannot resist lying on it. Neither can the cats, especially alien who insist on a spot in the far corner.

It was on this lovely night when May got a call from a friend who asked both of us to look out the window and check out the moon. There it was, the moon bright as ever and with its two sparkling eyes. Of course we rushed for the camera and for the best angle. Who wont! While May was busy snapping away, I was busy smsing everyone - "Look up to the moon, its smiling!"

I was glad I lived to see the moon smile. It certainly made all of us smile in our hearts...if the moon can afford to smile, why not us?

Satelite Teddy

Teddy. A tri-colour calico cat. Also known as teddy-meneddy or at one time - SATELITE TEDDY. Found crying on the streets looking for a mommy.

A year and a half ago, teddy was found by May who immediately fell in love with this 'raccon' eyed kitty. The story was, May found her on her way back from work and seeing the little kitty lost and pretty sad looking, she brought the poor thing home. Everywhere she goes, Teddy would follow, carried in a small pouch/bag.

All grown up, Teddy made a silly mistake that caused her mommy to worry. She decided to jump out the window of the 2nd floor and got herself in a bit of trouble. Raped by tom cats and probably harmed by others, we found her hiding and shivering in the dark under the stairs of the apartment. Upon hearing our voices, she came out and cried. I looked at May, I knew....at that moment how she felt. But all I could do was to just help to pick Teddy up and hug her close to my chest.

Teddy was rushed to our favourite lady vets. There we opt for teddy to go through some x-rays and a mini operation. That how she got her new name - Satelite Teddy.

Why the name, well the picture says it all. The phone connection in my apartment is usually terrible. But somehow since Teddy got her satelite collar, my connection improved and I got to chat on the phone with no interruptions. Nowadays, I no longer have to sit in a locked position or hang around the windows, I am free from worrying whether halfway through my conversations if the line will get cut off. Its so much easier now with a satelite in place.

Do not get me wrong. The collar did come off after 2 weeks. So far, the connection is still good! Until the next time if the line gets all wacked again, Teddy is free from being our satelite....

THE MYSTERIOUS BOTTLE FIZZ...

Lonchang, a bottled orange or sarsi flavoured drink that is less fizzy than other carbonated drinks, and bottled in a brown coloured bottle that looks like our 'bottle kicap', or also known as soya sauce. Mainly found in 'kampung' areas.

It was after bringing the bunch of crazy 8 student attachment to our maritime academy in melaka, when we stumbled upon this drink. The first mention of the name Lonchang, some of us were unsure what the lady was saying. To us, it sounded alien..some of us even heard she said 'loncat' (jump). To me, seeing the bottle brought back nostalgic memories. I can still recall the stories my mom use to tell about this famous fuzzy drink she and her friends used to drink as kids. Surprisingly they still serve the famous Lonchang.

From the academy, it was only a 20 mins drive to the beach of Pengkalan Balak. Somewhere around 5 to 10 mins away from my moms hometown. Passing by the village, I caught a glimpse of my gradfathers' house. I thought to myself and wondered how was the old man doing? I know he has asked for me a few times but, why is it hard for me to gather myself and pay him a visit. Was it fear? Or was it just pure ole procrastination? I do hope to visit him soon...I do.

Its nice to see that some people preserve the traditions. For me, to again taste the flavours of the Lonchang...i suddenly felt like I was the little girl again who used to run to the small hut behind my grandfathers house. There, me and my cousins bought our treats, from chikadees, din dang to lonchang. And if my memory serves me, it only used to cost us less than RM2.00 for all the fun we had. The good ole days..................