moving across continents p2

The last few hours as they disassembled the bed had an almost slo-mo effect. It was quite surreal watching Daniel dismantle the bed. This was the very first furniture in the apartment, and fittingly the last to go too. For some months I lived with this bed as I went around searching for other furniture.

I didn't realise so much dust could accumulate beneath those wood panels! I've moved the bed few times to clean behind it, but the area under the mattress was impossible. I was already not feeling well for weeks, so the dust didn't help!

Daniel worked quietly and diligently while I just sat there trying to take everything in. Now as I recall such memories, I feel so grateful for their help.

Finally (almost) everything was gone. Still can't believe such a tiny compact space could hold so much things.

I was surprised to get this from Nittsu when they first came to pack. It's to hold valuable items when the packing is done. Makes so much sense - especially when things get chaotic and things aren't in their original locations anymore. So I put my mobile phones, keys, passport and commuter pass in here.

I didn't get to capture the truck when they came on the first day, but on the 2nd day when it was mostly furniture. They're going to the storage, in the event that I should return to Japan after my assignment is done.

I've already waved goodbye and said my thanks to the movers but I stood by the apartment entrance as they locked the truck.

There goes my things, in a truck to a warehouse, then to a ship or plane or storage, as they relocate to their new accommodation. I think I was half-dazed by then. Not sure if it was me trying to recover from my cold, or the stress of relocating, or the overwhelming feeling of nostalgia and reluctance of uprooting again.

I guess this time it was different. When I moved from Malaysia to Japan the first time, I was amongst many who wished me well and I was super excited. When I moved from Tokyo back to Malaysia, I had housemates and church friends who came to help. When I moved from Malaysia to Japan for the 2nd time, there was still family like always.

This move, my family offered to help too. My mum, who had just visited me in April, said she didn't mind flying to Kobe again to help me pack. She even offered my dad to go with me to Amsterdam, so that I didn't have to carry everything by myself. I was really touched by their gestures, but I had to tell them the multiple flight tickets wouldn't justify it all.

I needed to grow up (more), (continue to) be independent and really trust in Him. If this was a life lesson, and a phase that would draw me closer to Him, I'd have to go through it this way.

hosting mikatan

This time around, I've had more activities packed into my year-end break compared to previous trips. Some of them have been quite impromptu, and I'm glad in many ways that I've been able to spend time with people whom I believe I needed to meet.

I had the pleasure of hosting some Japanese friends the previous week and last week, and also able to squeeze in a mini escapade to the Pearl of the Orient in between. Mikatan, who was in our dance group, had told me quite last minute that she was coming to visit Malaysia during our last Bible Study group of the year.

She was supposed to spend the night at my place and had wanted to meet my family, but due to some stomach discomfort decided to rest instead. She typed this message to my parents as we sat there at the backpackers hostel lobby.

セラのお父さん、お母さん、今日はお家に呼んでくださりありがとうございました。お会いするのをとても楽しみにしてたのですが、日本の冬からマレーシアが急に真夏の暑さで体調が悪いので今日はホルテルにおります。残念です。いつも、セラにはたくさんの励ましもらったり一緒に祈ったり本当に感謝してます。だから、今日は、ご両親に、セラを日本に送ってくれてることお礼を言いたかったたです。が、メールになってごめんなさいね。今度お会いできるのを楽しみにしてます。セラのご家族がますます祝福されますように。祈ります。感謝。祝福。美智子

I was so touched by her message, I wouldn't have known her thoughts until she came here. There were some other plans at first; and I wasn't sure if I could host her or even be around, so I was hesitant to promise a grand tour.

In the end, we managed to cover quite a lot of places; some I have not even been myself! I even brought her around different places to try some local delicacies.

Unfortunately, her stomach had a cultural shock, but she kept thanking me for bringing her around even after she left.

Recalling last Sunday's message on the topic of Hope, I thought how apt it was that sometimes the little that we do might have a big impact on others without us realising it. Sometimes we may need to go out of our way for someone, and it's easy to just stay in our comfort zone; but perhaps it's better to take that extra effort and look back at life without regrets.

quilt of love

I woke up today realising that I have been covered with Granma Wong's handiwork these few weeks. It was nice to just feel the fabrics as I wondered what must have gone through her mind as she worked the old sewing machine, matching the different pieces and sewed these blankets for her family members.

Even though she is no longer with us, her memory and legacy remains in our hearts. It's too bad the one she made for my parents' wedding is too tattered to be saved, but at least we still have some of the newer ones in good condition.

I wonder if I can not use them, so they can be preserved even longer!


Note : I realised after taking the picture, how the sunlight fell upon some parts of the quilt, in particular the golden and purple pieces. How notably royal.

my patriotism gone down the drain

The previous post about KLM was sitting in drafts for some time because I thought it was not worth sharing, since I didn't actually get to use the voucher. That was, until I had an encounter with another airline.

This time it's somewhere closer to home. As might be aware, there has been much negative press and perception about Malaysia Airlines after the double tragedy last year and the overall organisational situation.

Despite that, I chose to be patriotic and support our local airline when I booked my flight home for Christmas/New Year's. I could have gone for Korean Air for 2 main reasons : inflight service and airport ambience.

When checking my mileage upon returning to Japan, I realised some points were expiring in March but the link to the online shop to redeem products have been down. I tried to go through the MH website to see if there were other links, but there was only one where I could get a RM50 voucher. The options weren't many, since they seem to all belong under the YTL umbrella of hotels and restaurants.

Clicking on the link led me back to the members page, where I was faced with the same problem. In fact, I was asked to login again even though I was already logged in on a separate tab. When I did finally found myself at the voucher link, it only mentioned voucher for extra luggage, and not the hotel/restaurant mentioned on the website.

Sending an email to the online shop bounced back, even though it was the only email address given in the notification. So I sent an online enquiry trying to find out what else I could do.

I got this reply :

Dear Ms.Lee,
Greetings from Enrich Malaysia Airlines.
Please be advised that you may redeem RM 50 vouchers via the Enrich Vouchers tab in your account or directly at our ticketing office at KL Sentral. 
Please note that these vouchers are valid for 6 months.
Thank you for making Malaysia Airlines your travel partner.
We look forward to assist you again in the future. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any additional inquiries.
Kind Regards,
Ann

Enrich, Malaysia Airlines

I replied to "Ann", telling her that I only enquired about the RM50 voucher because the online shop was down. I also told her that since I was based overseas, I expected the basic functions on the site to work. I imagine there must be other non-Malaysian residents and foreigners and even Malaysians-gone-overseas who are Enrich members.

Then this reply :

Dear Ms.Lee,
Greetings from Enrich Malaysia Airlines once again.
Please note that as per our edm sent out in June 14, Temptations has terminated its partnership with Enrich. However  this is temporary  as we are in process of reviewing the offering  to enhance the benefits to Enrich members. Please bear with us and do keep a lookout for our announcement for Temptations  soon. 
Thank you and kind regards
Ann

Enrich

I think "Ann" didn't get it. She assumed everyone received the EDM, I'm not sure if she checked with the marketing guy who was managing CRM. If the said EDM was sent in June and it's now April and the problem is still there, it's beginning to sound more than just "temporary". I imagine there must be some high-flying Datuk traveling very frequently on MH with many more points which might have expired between the period of June 2014 and April 2015, who must have had to redeem many RM50 vouchers.

It seemed "Ann" did not understand that my points were about to expire and I wanted to know if there was another way I could get a hand on the catalogue so that I could select my product. It seems like I'm being forced to redeem my soon-to-be-expiring points for some voucher I could probably never use.

This was the last reply I received :

Dear Ms.Lee,
Greetings 
We are in the process of reviewing the offering  to enhance the benefits to Enrich members.
We will advise of the progress as soon as we have finalised.
Thank you and kind regards
Ann
Enrich

How nice of her to remind me in bold that they are trying to enhance benefits to Enrich members. I'm sure there will be some EDM sent to me that the "temporary" inconvenience will come to an end.

As I write this, my March points would have expired if I wasn't "forced" to redeem them for the voucher. I guess there's no point writing back - you can easily see the difference between the email below and the correspondence I've had here which doesn't seem to go anywhere. Not merely the email, but overall customer experience.

I can sympathise with companies who are not in the best shape, and I'm more than happy to help suggest some basic customer service etiquette and communication tips. There's been many colourful promotional banners and exciting promotions on the MH site, but what's the point when their loyal customers are not getting basic customer service? =.="

whom should i meet p2

During the unexpected Christmas dinner, Alex asked if we should catch up properly. I thought why not, he had been my sorta-mentor during some down times in Niigata and Tokyo, and he was one of the few respected family in Christ whom I trusted.

Would be great to kill 2 birds with stone, since the next day was Sunday, and I'd need to attend church anyways. Plus ACTS was a church where a lot of my uni friends were still attending. I was hoping I could catch up with a bunch of other people there too.

Surprisingly, he had introduced 2 more friends, Pam the Singaporean and her neighbour-friend Bernard from the US. I hardly expect to make new friends when I'm back to be honest. My days are usually packed with appointments with old and current friends!

So was nice we even went out for lunch after service. It's funny how I have not tried Thai Thai, quite a superb restaurant at Sunway Pyramid. Of course, how can I not order the real coconut juice. And stuff myself with South East Asian food.

Later found out that Bernard used to study and live in Kansai for about 7 years and speak fluent Japanese. And we have mutual friends here in Kobe, what a small world.

The pastor's message that morning was quite relevant, being the last Sunday of the year. He talked about things having an expiry date, even bad days and tough circumstances. How insightful, as I looked back at the challenging year that was 2014. Even more so when that day itself we got news that the AirAsia plane QZ8501 had disappeared.

whom i should meet p1

My trip back home this time was a little different from the years before. I didn't manage to meet some of the people I wanted to, or would usually do. On the other hand, I was pleased that I was able to catch up with old friends whom I have not met for some time.

I did pray that He would guide me to whom I should meet, where I should be, and what I should be doing this time around.

Throughout last year, I've been thinking what I should be getting for loved ones back home. I didn't want to repeat the mad rush of Christmas shopping just a day before flying, and fretting out if I got enough gifts for everyone.

Since I'm not such a sports person, I thought it a waste that I wasn't enjoying the benefits of our company's products.

I decided to ask around my marathon friends if they were interested in any shoes. From my personal experience, they are good and worth the price, even if it's premium. One of the persons who responded was Eric. He wanted to be the first in Malaysia to own a Kayano 21. Speaking about being kiasu!

I was delighted that the Japan site was offering free gift wrapping and delivery due to the upcoming holiday period. It came nicely and carefully packed; again thumbs up Japanese quality of service and delivery.

The Christmas gathering that he invited me over turned out to be such a mix bag of surprises. I managed to meet up with Alex whom I have not spoken in years, a little since we 3 did Run Nat together. Bumped into Sam, didn't know he knew both of them! He was the one who consoled me when I lost Granma Wong while in Tokyo, especially when I was still new there. And towards the end of the evening, we had the pleasure of hearing how Eric had just proposed to his fiancee that day itself. Plus many new friends I made who were curious about my life in Japan.

despite

Its funny how some things have changed, but they remain the same at the same time.

I'm grateful for friends that remain as friends despite changes in seasons, for friends that seems like sisters especially when you have none, and for friends who remind you not to take yourself too seriously.

Of course, they don't realise it, and sometimes I don't too. So pictures are a good reminder.

thai for memories

We finally met. Through a series of unexpected events, I managed to pull along Cindy and Eva who were her former dance students.

After paying respect to her husband, we brought her to Busaba at BSC. This was one of her favourite dining places with her husband. I can just imagine them dining here as she regaled us with tales of how they met and what she liked about him. Couldn't help but coo over the fact that she married her middle school sweetheart.

We found out later that she had been feeling depressed over his death, and was intending to take her own life. This might have been a reality if not for a mutual friend's friend who found her walking around on her own. She was seen carrying a picture of her husband, going around to the places they had been together.

I cannot begin to imagine how that must feel, but I can sympathise a little with the fact that being a foreigner alone can be daunting especially when there's language barrier, and no closed family members around.

I didn't get to take up her offer of using up their massage vouchers, but I was glad I got to spend time with her a few times over lunch and friends. She seemed to be in better spirits when I called before leaving for the airport. I hope she finds her true purpose for living, and leaves Malaysia with fond memories.



On a separate note, I found Busaba pretty posh but approachable enough for a nice meal amidst plush interior. Food arrived promptly and service was good, but perhaps we came on a weekday past regular lunch hours. Though this was not on my list of must-eat-when-back-in-Malaysia, I wouldn't mind going back again.

still home

Only a few more weeks...

I usually don't announce my going back, but it feels like it's been a long year this 2014. I have made a list of what I want to eat when I get home. It's a working list of course, and I'm surprised that there are still many things I left out the last trip. I'd better stop typing, my stomach is gonna make some noise just imagining all the yummy food it's gonna have soon!

oh the innocence of childhood

I didn't realise I had saved this picture in my Dropbox... Looking at the date, I wonder if my dad had scanned this for me before I came to Japan.

I couldn't help but smile at how cute my brother was back then. And we had almost matching cardigans, pretty cool retro when I think about it.

Some questions came to mind - Weren't we cold, me in dress and my bro in shorts? What was happening then that immortalised our expressions as such? Did we buy strawberries on the way back? Were we in Cameron Highlands because my dad had a business trip?

selamat merdeka, malaysia tersayang

The last time I did something patriotic was joining the Jom Balik Undi FB group, and then taking a flight home to exercise my right as a voter.

I felt a sense of responsibility encouraging fellow Malaysians living abroad to go home and make a difference. I had missed voting the previous election as I was in Tokyo then, especially it being my birthday wished I could have done it anyways.

I made sure to register myself as a voter, and then when the chance came, to fly home to vote. I wish we made a difference this time around.

Even though we didn't topple the ruling party, it kinda brought us together. The voting stations were full of people, many of us had to wait in the hot sun to get into the proper queues. People from all walks of life, various ethnicities, languages and faith, all chatting to each other while waiting for our turns.

The recent tragedies of MH370 and MH17 saw the country united against unsolved mysteries, wartime atrocities and spotlight from the rest of the world.

I wish we didn't need to have big events such as these to bring us together. Even the humble nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaf, mamak food in the middle of the night, and the ubiquitous chicken rice bring us together on a daily basis.

On this 57th National Day, even though I'm far from home, my heart still longs for homely comforts. I wish I could be there when they light up the fireworks; but I guess I'll keep on praying for this country which has so much potential, for more love and tolerance all around, and for His hope and light to shine.

can't take the malaysian out

The things I do when I have my cravings. Proof that I'm a typical Malaysian willing to go the extra mile for the sake of food!

September 2012, California : Kangkung belacan at Malaysian restaurant recommended by an Indian colleague working at our American subsidiary

February 2013, Amsterdam : A variety of Indonesian dishes at a restaurant called Pelangi with a Portugese friend, during a snowy business trip at our European subsidiary

July 2013, London : Vietnamese restaurant near our hotel at Islington, my last meal just had to be rice because I had missed this staple item after too much chips and sandwiches

July 2014, Taipei : Fried oyster omelette during an exploration of the night market with my ex-Tokyo housemate, now it makes me want to eat the Malaysian/Penang version!

myriad malaysia

I can never have enough Malaysian food. If there's one thing that I'm proud of our country, is the variety and vast array of food that we have. I like seeing the looks of foreign friends and colleagues when I tell them that Malaysians eat 6 times a day. Yes, if you don't eat 6 times a day you're not a true Malaysian! >.<

Asam laksa for Christmas. I know, people usually have the usual turkey and Western do for this Yuletide season. Well, mum did buy loads of lamb and ham home, which I indulged in. Miss the tangy spicy combination with the chewy noodle and fish broth. I cried of course, sadistic that I am.

Saravana Bhavan vegetarian Indian food. If you see curry in Japanese, you could most likely be having the milder version which is sort of like gravy rather than the more diluted curry that gives you the kick. Oh rasam too. Great for colds.

Missed the gobi cauliflower and fried bitter gourd.  Both great with sliced onions and lemon. Think I ordered too much, so Ms Barbie made me take away.

Dosai with the usual sides and sauces. They should have put a disclaimer here, the midly spicy here actually was bits of cili padi hidden in between the dosai. Needless to say, I had to down loads of ice water to salve my tongue.

Their special set which comes with papadam and rice. What I like about Indian vegetarian food is, they are truly vegetarian. I don't get Chinese vegetarian food that tries to look like, and taste like fish or pork. No offense, but, if you missed steamed fish and sweet and sour pork, why did you become vegetarian then? (=.=)

This is not actually Malaysian or even Asian in origin, but some lovely teatime at Publika with the grrlfriends. We had dinner at the food court, which surprisingly have pretty good local fare.

To make up for a lot of other pictures that I didn't get to take because I was too hungry to savour my beloved Malaysian food.

Fat Spoon in Damansara Utama is one of those little cafe which I find appealing - a mix of homely, vintage, creative eatery that puts you at ease with their eclectic interior and fusion Asian food. This was a tamarind shrimp angel hair pasta which made me wish I could eat more of this. My ex-colleagues seemed to enjoy their choices too looking at how fast they finished theirs.

Of course, who could NOT miss nasi lemak? To make sure it's the real thang, I went to this one at the USJ Taipan area which has a queue especially in the evenings. Just as how I like it, with a quarter half-boiled egg, some sprinkles of ikan bilis and nuts, and generous topping of sweet spicy sambal. And all wrapped in fragrant banana leaf.

Only RM2. Okay, so maybe that's a bit expensive but nothing is cheap in Malaysia anymore. Well, except for kangkung, if you know what I mean :)

The other thing that I missed a lot was dimsum, especially Hong Kong chee cheong fan. Well, any types of chee cheong fan is good enough for me. Something I can't get here at all. Sure, there are some Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, and even stalls that seem to sell dumplings and such, but I have not found anything close to authentic.

I was glad Lai Ying was game enough to indulge with me. Though just writing about this post now makes me salivate again... I wish I had more!

So this is not Asian, but I wanted to remind myself how pasta tasted like in Malaysia. There are plenty of Italian restaurants in Kobe, and some are kinda Japanese-Italian, or even pseudo Italian, so it's interesting to try the different variants.

I had missed the Winter Solstice event, so Dad made some extra for me. I didn't manage to take the actual photos, and these are another type with red bean fillings in them.

I'm so glad my Mum actually took the trouble to make the one dish that I really missed - her mushroom sauce chee cheong fan. It's not too difficult a dish actually, but there's just something about simple home cooked food. Sprinkled with onion oil and a dash of freshly ground pepper, it's best eaten fresh from the steamer.

One of the recommended Indonesian restaurant, Ayam Penyet in the Curve. By this time I was getting accustomed to the spices of South East Asian food, and enjoyed the soto. I have seen some Indonesian restaurants around in Kobe, but I have to ask my Indo friends for recommendation so I don't be disappointed!

Last but not least, mamak food! One of my usual mamak hangouts at SS15, the K3K Benta Kaya was closed down and replaced by, of all things, a burger joint! Had to opt for something next door, which felt like another Old Town Cafe. Nevermind, at least their nasi goreng kampung was pretty reasonable. It was about 10pm+ by the time I got there but was amazed I could finish this plate.

Others that made my day included Nyonya dishes, Taiwanese food, Peking duck, Cantonese stir fry, Nando's, Shanghainese, Szechuan, and Penang food.

I'm thankful for my parents who tried to feed me with as much chee cheong fan as possible >.< And I made sure I included delicacies from all the major ethnicities! I know talking about ethnicity in our country at such a time may well provoke "passionate" reactions, but I'm proud to have all these food that I can freely eat and indulge in.

If only the people in power could appreciate this - the myriad glorious food that we have are just like the people that make them, and live on them - without them, there is no Malaysia.

doing my duty

Some of you would have seen the "poster" I appeared on FB for the Jom Balik Undi campaign. Long before it appeared, I was in a dilemma whether I could actually fly back. Price of flight being one, and ability to actually go back to Malaysia was another.

I prayed that both would be settled by God, and I'd take it as a sign to go back to vote.

After a few weeks of searching, thinking and strategising, I finally got very reasonable tickets, and managed to work out an arrangement with my boss despite the hectic work schedule.

My flight ticket back was about 1/3 of the usual costs, nevermind it's the airline that I still can't see eye to eye with! I was still working back in Malaysia, but still managed to take some time off to run personal errands and spend time with loved ones.

Yes, so this was my first time flying AirAsia X. And that's the food I get for a no-frills airline. No complains there, though of course what you actually get when you open the aluminium lid is really quite different from what's displayed on the menu. I had been craving for nasi lemak, but surely this was not the best way to satisfy my craving~!

One of the reason my flight was so cheap was a late night flight, which enabled me to arrive on voting day itself. Here you see my badly done manicure job.

With my groggy self from lack of sleep on the plane, and then having to wait 2 hours under the sweltering tropical sun, and with no food nor water to keep me happy, I was relieved I did my duty as a Malaysian citizen.

Lots of events happened on that day, and many days following that, as you can read from the news. I was kinda caught up with it while I was in Malaysia. My brother almost wanted to go for the rally in the Kelana Jaya stadium!

And, this is how my bathroom looked like when I came back to the house! My mum had warned me the house looked like a war zone.

My parents decided to do some renovation work because of some piping problems and to solve a host of other issues in the house. It was really messy, dusty and noisy during the day. Pity my dad who's at home most of the day. Pity my mum who has to clean up the house everyday.

Since I had to help my parents during this period, and having to still work, I didn't to really go out. Good excuse to just bum around I think! But of course, I managed to catch up with the 7D4 babes :)

run for the nation 2009

Helping out at tomorrow's Run for the Nation event. RunNat2007 saw about 100 people participating, this time we will have more than 10 times of that!

This year's event will cover 14 states, each with teams of 3 running together, and upholding the nation in prayer. I was asked to help out in the Klang Valley section.

We have at least 25 areas in the Selangor/KL region, each with their respective Area Managers (AMs).
Each area comprises of 8 teams, each with their respective Team Managers (TMs) who will be driving along with the runners.
Each team will have an average of 3 runners who will be given prayer cards, which will be passed on to the next team, somewhat like a relay run.

The total distance covered by each area will be 40km, so each runner will run for 5km. Hence, it is open to anyone who is willing to run and pray. All routes will end up in PJEFC where earlier teams will welcome the last team from all 25 routes, where there will be a time for corporate prayer and worship, and also giving out of certificates and refreshment.

When Alex came up with the idea of a "Running Task Force", he wanted me to be their Team Manager. His teammates are all seasoned runners, having run in marathons all over and going for weekly runs as part of their routine. This special team would step in to help any team that have emergencies or are lacking in runners.

It's somewhat like a backup team that sends professional runners to run alongside and encourage them, and to fill in the gap where necessary.

The planning committee thought this was cool and gave them the go-ahead to be part of the backup team.

However, that meant I would have to know where everyone is and what route and schedule they would be on in case they suddenly call me at 6am to tell me one of their runners had just fallen ill and need to be hospitalised.

Oh, did I forget to mention that the race starts at 5am? (@.@) I have to be at PJEFC by 4am to finalise routes for my team, since I'm still getting emails with last-minute changes.

So anyways, we've just made calls to all AMs to send in a complete list of contacts for their Team Managers and also the routes that they will be running in. We've already had requests coming in for additional assistance. I've deployed all my runners to high priority teams (eg : there's a group with only 1 grrl running, another with just senior citizens, and some even without TMs).

One worst-case scenario will be if I have to go pick up my runner in Wangsa Maju after his 5am slot, drive him to Shah Alam for the 7am slot, then meet him again at the end of his route, and bring him to the final run at Petaling Jaya. Thank God I have a driver who doesn't mind doing all the driving.

I will be arming myself with my brother's Garmin GPS, Alex's new MAC with 7 hours of battery life so that I can refer to all 25x8 maps that everyone will be sending in by tonight and have 25x8 phone numbers in case additional deployment is needed, and tonnes of paper to jot things down.

If I am to leave the house by 3:30am, I don't see myself getting any sleep tonight! (0.o)