As I begin to wind down to another year, I will take this time to rejoice in the friendships I have cultivated throughout the year and be thankful for my blessings.... for what I have been given, my families, my colleagues, health and happiness.
2008 will be a year that will not be forgotten easily, with unprecedented turmoil leading to unprecedented levels of stress. But it is only out of these ashes, the proverbial phoenix will arise. It is at times like this that the true meaning of friendship, fellowship and family becomes apparent. The trepidation and anxiety of losing a job I've held for 32 years still flashes within the recesses of my mind. I would have found it difficult to make it through this year without the dedication and support of all.
All in all, this has been an astounding year. It's a year I re-discovered spiritual closeness, embarked on a new journey of cell groups and Christian courses, excavated my culinary interests from years of neglect , found the true meaning of physical obsession (gym hopping of course, what were you thinking! ), fell headlong by default into the technology highway and into the world of blogging, facebook, MSN, and Skype….and many more lesser but nonetheless significant milestones and firsts in my life.
To my family...I love each and everyone of you to bits. There is no better gift that that I can possibly ask for other than the one I'm grateful and honored to call 'MY FAMILY'.
To my friends...You are God's angels sent to me, the sugar to my coffee, the cherry to my cake, the ponstan to my migraine, the kerang to my Char-Kway Teow, etc etc.
May Wan......signing off for the year. Happy 2009!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
It's Christmas Time
It's the time of year again..... of resolutions, year-end parties, carols, turkeys, presents, Christmas trees and tinsels, and family gatherings. A most wondrous time of goodwill, mushy wishes, kisses, hugs and long year-end holidays. How can I ever get enough of such feelings of love, festivities and smacking good time, albeit deemed a trifle commercialized and Mickey Mouse-influenced.
I'm so glad that we took the step of celebrating Christmas more than ten years ago. I can still remember the time we had our first turkey in Desa Pandan. Nothing fancy - just the bird, sparkling juice, warm buns and mushroom soup. But what a memorable feast it was! I was absolutely enthralled by the mere size of the gigantic "chicken". It looked different, it tasted different, but a chicken nevertheless ...a very expensive chicken. The kids were still young then so we had quite a struggle trying to finish off the bird. The act of putting out the cutlery, laying the table and putting on the Christmas songs for ambience was remarkable and totally heartwarming. I remembered we had to invite mum-in-law, Mike and his kids over to help us to demolish it. Even then with the additional mouths, we had quite a fair bit of leftovers for Christmas morning.
Things sort of moved on to the next level since then. It is now a family affair and has been embraced into the annals of must-have family get-togethers. The Christmas eve menu has evolved into a lavish spread of east and west and somewhere in between. The turkey's still there (heck, it's Christmas after all and woe betide a Christmas dinner without the turkey - absolutely no compromise on this). The tree and presents are still in the package. The only difference is that the original batch of kids are now taller (except the 2 small ones), the sparkling juices have mellowed to something stronger, there are more cooks contributing to the gourmet potluck , Christmas carols are sung with gruffer karaoke-trained voices and the family's coming in more than 1 car. Other than this, nothing has changed. The merriment and camaraderie of the Christmas spirit continues to withstand time and age and hopefully for many years to come.
Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year! XXXOOO
I'm so glad that we took the step of celebrating Christmas more than ten years ago. I can still remember the time we had our first turkey in Desa Pandan. Nothing fancy - just the bird, sparkling juice, warm buns and mushroom soup. But what a memorable feast it was! I was absolutely enthralled by the mere size of the gigantic "chicken". It looked different, it tasted different, but a chicken nevertheless ...a very expensive chicken. The kids were still young then so we had quite a struggle trying to finish off the bird. The act of putting out the cutlery, laying the table and putting on the Christmas songs for ambience was remarkable and totally heartwarming. I remembered we had to invite mum-in-law, Mike and his kids over to help us to demolish it. Even then with the additional mouths, we had quite a fair bit of leftovers for Christmas morning.
Things sort of moved on to the next level since then. It is now a family affair and has been embraced into the annals of must-have family get-togethers. The Christmas eve menu has evolved into a lavish spread of east and west and somewhere in between. The turkey's still there (heck, it's Christmas after all and woe betide a Christmas dinner without the turkey - absolutely no compromise on this). The tree and presents are still in the package. The only difference is that the original batch of kids are now taller (except the 2 small ones), the sparkling juices have mellowed to something stronger, there are more cooks contributing to the gourmet potluck , Christmas carols are sung with gruffer karaoke-trained voices and the family's coming in more than 1 car. Other than this, nothing has changed. The merriment and camaraderie of the Christmas spirit continues to withstand time and age and hopefully for many years to come.
Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year! XXXOOO
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