There is a messy pile of half opened mail sitting on the kitchen counter downstairs. This evening when I passed by, I happened to see a colorful, glittery card peeking out of a baby blue envelope. It intrigued me. I opened it.

It was a birthday card to my mom from Ryan’s family. How sweet! I thought to myself with a smile. It’s one thing to even remember someone’s birthday… sending them a card takes it up a notch.

I peeked inside and found exactly what I should have expected – signatures from each of the five family members. That’s what got me thinking.

I remember the first time I learned of his mom’s unique and very efficient greeting card system. She keeps track of all important dates in her calendar, buys a large stock of greeting cards for every occasion, and creates a stack every month of cards to send out. Then, she passes the stack to each member of the family so they can sign their name.

On one hand, it is a brilliant system. Let’s face it, not that many people take the time to send greeting cards to every single friend and relative. I can barely even send cards to my circle of closest friends. On the other hand, it seems rather impersonal when you see Ryan going through a pile of cards and signing them without even looking at who they’re addressed to.

Anyway this ritual makes me think of the family as an organization, with the mom as secretary/vice president (among many other roles). Ryan’s mom is the queen when it comes to efficiency. Her Christmas presents are bought and wrapped by like… December 10th. I’ve always admired her for that. I’m far from organized but it would be really cool to run my household like that someday.

1. My 11 year old cousin (who punched me in his sleep) being his normal silly self.

2. Have I mentioned how much I love my new 16-35mm ultra wide angle lens?

3. If you look closely you can see my two cousins running ahead to see the animal show.

4. Composition of this shot isn’t the best, but the colors are so bright!!

5. Forgot what this is. Monitor lizard? Iguana maybe? I think it looks like a dog with its tongue sticking out. And what the heck is that round thing under its chin!?!??!

6. We took a cable car ride over the water park.

Leaving for the airport in 3 hours… T_____T At least I’ll get to see Ryan at the airport.

Lord I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I’ve found in You
And Lord I’ve come to know
The weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the power of Your love

Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side
And as I wait
I’ll rise up like an eagle
And I will soar with You
Your spirit leads me on
By the Power of Your love

Worship this morning was so, so good. There is something about a room full of people singing that brings me to tears. I always have to struggle to hold back from crying at church… I can’t help being moved by the genuine flow of emotion from the people around me. My cousin especially – he sang with such joy and freedom, there was no denying that this was where he was meant to be, this was what he was meant to do.

Most of the songs they sang today were new to me, but this one was a classic. What a sweet, familiar melody. I could sing this all day.

This mansion in downtown Penang showcases the luxurious lifestyle of the Babas (Peranakan men) and Nyonyas (Peranakan women), the elite Chinese living in the British settlements of Malaysia and Singapore.

1. Dining room – the master of the house would sit at the opposite end of the table and look into the side mirrors to see what was happening in all the other rooms. I might go back and take a photo from that exact spot.

2. Beautiful courtyard.

3. Parlor room with a mahjong table.

4. Chair to lay and smoke opium.

5. By far my favorite shot! I couldn’t get enough of the red ribbons hanging from the ceiling. It was awesome putting my new ultra wide angle lens to use.

6. Back of the mansion.

7. I like windows and doors.

8. The ancestral hall

9. Door to the ancestral hall – there is a raised platform you have to step over to get in. When you bend your leg to step over it, you automatically bow down – a gesture of respect to your ancestors.

I only have two days left here. I don’t want to go home… T________T

It happened just before my shower. I hopped into the bath tub and turned on the water. It was cold. Which wasn’t really that big of a deal, but I’m a wimp and prefer not to take cold showers unless my skin feels like it’s emanating heat.

I called for the maid in the room next to me and asked her to turn on the heater. No response. I called again. Maybe she had left the room.

That’s okay, I could easily do it myself. I swung open the door to the room and saw her standing a few feet away from me, her back turned, with a silky white bed sheet over her head. I laughed out loud. Just as I opened my mouth to ask “What are you doing?!” it dawned on me – she was praying. I froze, whispered “I’m sorry”, flipped the heater switch on and cowered back to where I came from. Even after I laughed and apologized, she didn’t move a muscle.

I AM SO DUMB.

Augh I fail at updating. I was doing so well, too.

I haven’t posted any photos of my trip to the other side of the world. Here are some shots from the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore. My relatives stayed there for a short weekend vacation (they’re from Penang, Malaysia). Only hotel guests have access to the roof so they invited me up to take night shots!

1. View to my right..

2. That ferris wheel is the Singapore Flyer.

3. Take it all in! There are two decks.

4. Closer shot.

My parents and I left Singapore the next morning so I didn’t get to swim in the infinity pool.

Hello Xanga,

Sorry I haven’t been updating lately. My internet access was limited and I would spend all my time on facebook instead of xanga. ^.^ Two nights ago I moved over to my uncle’s house, the same place I stayed last year. It is so wonderfully familiar. BEING here in Malaysia is strangely familiar yet foreign at the same time. It doesn’t really seem like a year has passed… it’s like I was just here.

But still, every street and house and alleyway holds mystery and new sights to see. Whenever I’m in the car I pass by places I would like to explore. I haven’t been carrying my camera bag around. And it’s too hot to spend much time outdoors anyway! I’ll have to start planning morning and evening excursions to make sure I produce as many compelling photos as everyone expects me to. Haha. All my friends say things like “Take a million photographs!” “Hope you take lots of photos!” … and here I am sitting inside next to the fan, blogging.

I think my grandma just gave me a funny look because I was smiling at the computer.

It is 11 am Wednesday morning and the day is still young. Beside me on my left is my ipad (Sonlay, it’s your turn now) and on my right is a stack of books that make me happy. Maybe I’ll write about those in another entry. Have a lovely day/evening wherever you may be, and I promise to post photos soon!

I couldn’t think of a title. Hard to describe the physical and mental confusion of traveling for 24 hours and adjusting to a new time zone and climate lol.

I feel half delirious. I took a nap with my contacts on and now they’re dry and my vision is blurry. And I’m still tired. It’s 9:21 pm in Singapore… I’m sitting in my mom’s friend’s living room on my laptop, struggling to stay awake. My eyes are droopy but I’m not passing out… yet. It’s been a lonnnnnng day and a half of travel.

I didn’t eat on the plane. I hate the smell of airplane food, it makes me nauseous. After a 14+ hour flight from SFO to Hong Kong, we stopped for an hour (I gulped down a bowl of ramen) and continued on our journey. I don’t even know how long the 2nd flight was… 3 hours? 5 hours? I slept most of the time, which makes me wonder why I’m sleepy now.

LOL my mom just pointed out – there are six of us now in the living room, all on the internet. Karyn, Nicole, me and my mom are on laptops; mom’s friend is on her iphone; and her husband is on their ipad. Welcome to the future.

It was so wonderful to leave the airport and step outside. You know you’re near the equator when humidity hits you like a brick. I couldn’t help grinning as we drove through the city… I can’t get enough of the lush landscapes. Even if we’re in the middle of the city, there are still patches of green between and alongside the roads that look like jungles. The tree-lined highways are beautiful. They make the highways in the Bay Area look ghetto in comparison.

*yawn*

Well, so far the jetlag isn’t too bad. Nothing like my arrival in Japan 2008 – that was like being on drugs, I was so disoriented. Sorry about the incoherent post, just wanted to say hi!

Hello from sunny San Francisco!

My days have been semi-productive work days. For the past week I spent a lot of time in my room, in front of the computer, sleeping in and tackling to do lists. All that work has led up to a final chaotic weekend right before my big trip to Singapore and Malaysia!

This weekend has been a whirlwind and it’s only just begun. Yesterday one of my roommates from college came to my house to meet up, then I drove both of us to San Francisco to meet with three other girls. I wish I could see them more often – we’re all spread out. We all stayed at my parent’s condo last night. Yay sleepover! Just like old times. Honestly this was probably like the worst weekend to take time off from work but… like I wrote about earlier… I couldn’t say no.

Being here reminds me of the time I was here with Alex and Dee over the summer. I thought my friends had plans but it turns out that we had lots of free time to fill… so I found myself happily turning into a tour guide. More on that later.

Right now they’re shopping downtown at the Westfield San Francisco Centre and I’m alone in the condo, hoping to get some work done. As much as I love shopping, I’ve probably done enough of it in the past month lol. And I only have a few more days to finish my work before I leave the country. I have a list of assignments from Junshien, three sessions to edit/upload online and a photography blog to publish.

Sometimes I wish there was a way to escape my job. I mean I take breaks often (too often) and I don’t work ALL the time, but whenever I’m out with friends or family, work is in the back of my mind. It makes me feel guilty for not working. My favorite phrase for the past two months: I should be working.

Like now. I should be working. I’m tempted to take a nap instead… -.-

Tonight Ryan took me out to Hana Japan for dinner! It’s one of those cool teppanyaki restaurants where the chefs do tricks and make jokes to entertain you as they cook your food in front of you. This was my 2nd time… first time I went was for my birthday in August (we went to get the free birthday meal and I left my ID at home. Typical!).

The tables are designed to seat 8 people in a U shape around a rectangular iron griddle. We were seated on one of the short sides next to a family of three. Across the table from us was a young boy and his mom. Even though we all shared the table, we didn’t interact much… until I took out my camera.

I took a couple of lame shots of the “onion volcano” when the mom sitting beside me turned to me and asked, “I noticed you were taking photos. Is this a special occasion for you two?”

We looked at each other and laughed, saying no, it wasn’t. Then Ryan quickly added in, “She’s a professional photographer.” As if that would explain taking snapshots of flaming onions on a grill.

The mom was immediately engaged in conversation. “What kind of photography? Do you have a business card with you? You know, we’ve been thinking about getting family portraits done but didn’t have time…” I whipped out my ipad and showed her examples of family portraits I took last month. She loved them. She was really talkative and wanted to talk about everything – the food, her son’s college, the cost of living in the area, how hard it is to find a job these days. It got to the point where I began to feel bad that my entire body was turned away from Ryan, absorbed in polite small talk with the mom.

We finally came to a break in conversation and I leaned in close to Ryan. The mom had asked about what we ordered. “You should let her try your scallops,” he whispered. “… And kiss up to the MAX??!?” I whispered back. I’m happy to talk to strangers and even share food with them, but it seemed wrong to do it because of ulterior motives.

I did it anyway. She traded it for a piece of her chicken. At the end of the night she said, “We’ll be seeing you again soon, I hope!”

Kinda sad how my romantic date ended up being more like a business meeting lol. By the end of dinner my face hurt from smiling so much. Talking to her made me nervous, probably because Ryan made me more aware of the fact that I was buttering her up. Speaking of which, the food was drenched in butter. It was delicious.