Guess what? You can now order Sarawak Laksa Paste online. And yes ,it’s from the Blue Swallow Brand although repackaged.

How much? No idea. It’s not listed on the website. You’ll need to contact the manufacturers for it.

Site is designed by RedBoxStudio duo, Nic and Krista. I met them a couple of years ago at cooknengr’s New Year Party. Nice couple. 🙂 Then again, when one is that tipsy, everyone seems nice. *waves to Nic and Krista!*

Sina’ and Dad were around during this CNY celebration in Kuching. So, I’ve been following them around with the various lunches and dinners around Kuching town. Never easy looking for a place to eat during CNY as most restaurants are closed.

Anyway, here are some of the conversations that we were all having. It was a “challenge” to actually continue some of the conversation while still trying to enjoy the meal.

1st day dinner : Eldest Uncle’s home. My cousin was supervising the kids dinner : both his kids and his sisters.

Cousin : J, you can’t leave the table until everyone has finish eating.
J : Awwwww… *sad face and big big eyes*.
S : Man, this feels like jail.
R : We’re all in jail together. Humph!
C : *Concentrates really hard on eating*.
Cousin : So, hurry up and finish eating first.

2nd day lunch : With Sina’s friends in Kuching. Uncle sure has a lot to talk about what it’s like living in the jungle interiors of Sarawak. So, it was definitely a lively conversation.

Uncle : People go missing in the jungle while trekking. It’s either the hantu (ghost) or the python has caught them.
Wena : Wow! The python can attack that fast?
Uncle : Yes yes. They squeeze you until you faint. Then, they will choke you by putting their tail into your mouth. For the people living there, they would quickly raise their arms over their heads and let the python coil around them first. Then, they would reach down and grab the parang (huge knife) and kill them. The python can swallow wild boards and even a huge cow. Very possible for a human being to be eaten as well.
Wena : *Looks at ice-cream dessert*. Sigh. Very hard to finish my ice-cream now lah.

Uncle also related another story about Government workers in the smaller rural towns. You see, a lot of people living in the jungle have to travel a few days just to get government stuff sorted out. It can range from permits, paying fees, renewing licenses, making ICs, etc. The problem comes when the relevant officer is not even present. The general outlook is :

8 am : Report to work
8:30 am : Go for long morning break.
10:30 – 11 am : Come back to work.
12 pm – 2 pm : Go for lunch.
4 pm : Knock off home

Wena : Uncle, sounds terrible.
Uncle : Yes, and these rural folks can’t complain to the relevant authorities because everyone is like that. I just advise friends to go after lunch. It’s easier to get them in the afternoon, rather than in the morning.

Hmmm…the sad part is that most of these rural folks won’t know who to complain to or are too bashful to even make a complain about it. And it’s also not cheap for them to stay in the town inns an additional day just to sort out their government-related issues. Not all of of them have friends or family that they can live with for free.

Chinese New Year brings a host of SMS beeping into the phone. Some of the more interesting ones :

“Dog dog Chiang”
“Dog dog Chiang”
“Dog dog Chiang dog Chiang dog Chiang”
May this year of the WOW WOW bring u GOOD HEALTH, HAPPINESS & PROSPERITY

woof woof, woof woof!
The dog year is here.
receive it with open mind, generous smile and kind heart,
you will be rewarded with “riches” beyong your imagination.
Xin Nien Kuai Le, my friend. 🙂

3 pm Looking for Lunch.

Wena : *sip* Wahliaw! Your kacangma ah! Phew!
Granny : What what? Sweet or not?
Wena : Yes, sweet.
Granny : Can taste samsu (rice wine) or not?
Wena : Ya.
Granny : Then? Why you shout?
Wena : Strong lah. Cannot walk afterwards.
Granny : Eh, I got put water lah. Not like last time, only put samsu.
Wena : Last time, I cannot wake up one.

11 pm Noisy sounds outside the house.

Uncle Cyril : Wah! Garbageman also come at night today.
Granny : Eh! Stop them! Gotta put out lah. They don’t come on Sunday but on Monday.

*Frantic rush of Wena and Granny pulling rubbish bin outside.

Wena : Wah! Working tonight also ah?
Garbage collector : Have to! Too much rubbish tomorrow how?
Wena : Ah ok. Thank you ah!

Gosh, before you know it, Chinese New Year is right at your doorstop. It’s been a busy month for Wena, hence the lack of regular updates. (Plus the fact that I have that new toy to keep me company.)

As for the Lowepro bag, I finally settled on the Lowepro Compu Rower AW after many emails discussion with Mr. S and Ian’s comments (Thanks Ian). Will be getting it some time next month from Cathay Singapore. As my Uncle Rubin would say, “This is starting to get very serious.”

Other than that, the run up to Chinese New Year has been pretty quiet on the shop. As my Granny grapevine pipes, “People no money to spend this year. Petrol expensive so no money for new year lar. Even no new car on the road.” However, there are the usual mountain of biscuits to finish as Granny retorts, “Aiya! Cannot just give one! Have to fill up the tray!”. Also, the crate of beer that is going to take more than 1 year to finish as we don’t get many visitors – I can’t tell Granny that I tell my friends not to come because she gets stressed out too much, even when she’s not serving them.

I put up a Frappr page for Chinese New Year Greetings and also just to find out how many Chinese New Year practices (or all it superstitions and beliefs) are out there. I bet some are going to be pretty funny. Anyway, do drop a pin there. So, this can be a really dissapointing experiment or a funny one.

Gong Xi Fa Chai everyone! May 2006 bring you Prosperity, Health, Wealth and Happiness!

… well, for my family at least.

It looks like the kiddies are coming up with plans to get hold of a Sony PSP. I’ve heard of plans from not having a birthday party to not having an annual end-of-year holiday trip.

And then I saw this. Nice promotion but sadly, the credit card exclusive… aduh. Still though, it’s a bit more expensive than the shop prices because of that Image Converter software which is really not needed unless you’re willing to get a 4 GB Memory Stick. So, Mr. T, which one would you want to get : black or white?

BTW, anyone seen a UMD movie around in Malaysia or Singapore yet?

On another note, Little Miss AB, have you tried your hand at making music on the DS yet?