The one about the Birthday celebration photos...

Here are some choice shots from Raphael & my 40th birthday celebrations... better late than never!

The gang busy with the dinner...

Birthday boy & wifey!

Old friends (in more ways than one?)...

Awww... all say cheese....

The surprise turnout at Bagan...

Jo, the consumate hostess...

Jo, Phee and Karen, sharing a laugh...

Jo & I taking time off to pose...

The whole party in wide angle...


I had a fantastic time, and thanks to all who made the night what it was, especially Jo who worked so hard to organise it all. Thanks. It really meant a lot.

The one about Aunty Joyce...

I just want to pay tribute to Jo's Aunt Joyce who passed away peacefully on Tuesday 7th November 2006. She was always a lovable and approachable person and will be very sorely missed.

In Memorium

Joyce Philomena Holloway

survived and always in the thoughts of:

her sons - Johnny, Godfrey, Christopher & Richard
her daughters-in-law - Debbie, Celia, Rostina & Swee Kim
her grandchildren - Keisha, Shanice, Namisha & Timothy

May she rest in peace and ocassionally look down upon us just to make sure we're ok...

The one about the last two weeks...

So, how did I spend my first fortnight as a 40-year old? It was a fairly eventful time, with happy and even very sad moments.

Instead of my usual diary-like narration of events, I'll run thru the last two weeks in this blog entry and "report" the more important events separately in additional blog entries.

The day after my birthday was of course All Saints Day. Jo and I went for noon mass at the Holy Spirit where we met lots of people. Seems everyone's got the right idea of this lunch time mass. Convenient and purposeful.

The next day was All Souls Day and mum wanted to be at the graves for the blessing. So, Jo and I came home early to watch Ethan. Spent the evening working from home which I discovered was truly do-able with technology in my hands.

We brought Ethan to work the next day - the first time we've done that in a very long time. He had fun as usual.


The next week, was mainly a blur. I remember having to rush thru a few urgent things at work. The gang had planned to celebrate Raphael & my birthdays this week.

The celebrations were great and I must say, I had a lot of fun indeed. We had dinner at Beach Blanket Babylon - a set dinner for the usual ten of us. This was followed by drinks at Bagan - where Jo invited a whole lot of my friends as a surprise! It was really great to see all of them there. Must admit I got a little caught up in the emotions of the night. Got really cool gifts too! Will post the photos up on a photo blog after this.

On a sadder note, we received bad news this week. Jo's aunt - Joyce Holloway - passed away in KL. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's for some time. Aunty Joyce's youngest son Richard is close to Jo and myself and we were sorry to hear the news. Unfortunately, due to unforseen circumstances, we could not attend the funeral. Jo and I have agreed to go straight to Malacca next weekend to pay our respects.

So, the new week starts and it'll be a short one for us. Friday morning, we'll be driving down and headidng straight into Malacca. Only my second trip there ever. We have a few exciting things lined up for the weekend, hopefully, and will be looking forward to it. But before that, its back to the grind.

The one about the beginning of life...

Ah, yes. Today my blog description changes. Since I'm no longer approaching the big four-0. You guessed it - the old birthday has crept up and smacked me in the face and now slowly fades away. What does it leave behind? A messed-up mid-life crisis-ed out middle aged guy? Hardly. In fact I don't really feel any different. My birthday passed by without me staring death in the face or embarking on some life changing journey of self-discovery. I didn't attempt the impossible nor did I challenge my good senses. Yet, today was special. The rest of my life begins, today.

As it turned 12midnight and the date changed to the 31st of October 2006, Jo wished me and surprised me with a cheese platter, crackers and a bottle of wine. We enjoyed the midnight snack while surfing on the net! A little later, Jo brought out a small gift - the first of a few, I was told. It was a very appropriate book entitled "The Top 10 of Everything 2006". It will remind me of what was "Top 10" when I turned 40! I also got to open the gift which Jo and I went to pick out from the shops - a brand new blue tooth headset by I-Tech. Loved this type cause you don't have to stick the ridiculous looking contraption on your ear at all times, pretentiously waiting for the phone calls.

This morning, I woke a little late, an indulgence helped by Ethan waking up later than usual. Jo brought Ethan to me to wish his dad a Happy Birthday and I got a pleasant gift indeed... a kiss from the little fellow. Now that's worth more than anything I can imagine. Jo then produced the rest of my gifts. Two more intricately wrapped presents. I got a "Liverpool FC" DVD and a gift book, meant to be my gift from Ethan and from Jo the coupe de grace - a very bold and stylish Armani watch! Thanks Sweetie, I really loved everyone of my gifts!

Later, I spent sometime on the computer working - rushing a document which some clients needed for their meeting in Singapore on Wednesday. Then Jo and I left Ethan at home and headed to the office. It was business as usual until lunch time when we went to Gurney Plaza where I got my hair cut. My usual stylist May decided to experiment with a slightly different cut and my hair did look different then. However, once I got home and took a shower, it didn't seem too different after all!

Just before dinner, we had a little family private cake cutting thing - Ethan was amazed by the candles and the cake but it was meaningful to have that especially with mum and Ethan there together.


Jo was taking me out to dinner - she says to the 1885 at E&O. However, I was certain that she had booked a Winemaker's Dinner at the Hardwicke as I had noticed she was looking for the phone number to the place. We got dressed up and started out towards the E&O but as we passed the Hardwicke, Jo asked me to drive in! We were going fo that dinner after all. It was an awfully expensive dinner with an Australian winemaker showcasing their wines to accompany the set meal. With a good sample of wine for every course in the meal, we were in for a "high time" after all!

I think it was suffice to say that the meal was exquisite, the wines excellent and the whole dinner - simply awesome.


After dinner, Jo had planned to meet the gang for coffee and cake at Dome in Gurney Plaza. We arrived a little late, as the meal had dragged on a little longer than expected. Unfortunately, Raphael who was there first didn't chose to wait and left without informing us. Sue & Yan were there when we arrived while Mel and Stacy got there only a few seconds after us.

Suffice to say, there was drinks, some birthday song singing, cake cutting and great chat between friends. A fine close to a wonderful day.


As I reminisce on the events of the day, there wasn't any earth shattering phenomenon which would make this day one which lives in infamy. Instead, there was sentiment, caring, laughter, happiness, gratitute and most of all love. What better way for life to begin...

The one about the calm after the storm...

The Hari Raya holidays proved to be a quiet one for us after all. The first day of Raya, Tuesday 24th October was spent mostly vegetating at home. Almost felt guilty for doing absolutely nothing.

That evening, Jo and I ventured out to Gurney Plaza to meet Jinny & KH for a movie. This time we caught "World Trade Centre". A bit about the movie - the 9/11 terror attacks provided the background for this show about the will to live. Two Port Authority cops (this is a true story) were buried under rubble when the first tower collapsed and survived two other tower crashes only to be found by a scary-looking ex-marine volunteer and brought out by rescuers. The two cops practically willed each other to live on. To me the real trial may have been the countless surgeries each had to undergo after the fact on the road to recovery. Pain.

After the movie, we had dinner at the Fish & Co. and then proceeded to Coffee Bean for after-dinner coffee and chat. Celina and Chus joined us then and we had fun making up names for each other. Don't ask.

The next day, second day of Raya was supposed to be visiting day. However, Jo and I got real lazy and spent the whole day at home. Its amazing how easy it is to do nothing.

That evening, it rained and rained, justifying our decision to stay at home. Mum was out with my uncles and aunts and they too stayed put. Ethan was getting restless so we decided to set up his pool and allow him a quick swim. Since it was kinda cold, we dressed him up in his full suit - a present from his Aunty Carolyn. Think he felt strange being fully dressed yet allowed in the pool!



Thursday 26th October was basically back to work for us. The staff were mostly on leave which left us with a hectic time in the office - running around like headless chickens.

Friday was more of the same as clients decided that they would all want their matters done at the same time. We managed to stave off the onslaught for the time being anyway. That night I got home tired, worn-out but relieved. Enjoyed mum's famed spaghetti laksa dish which she prepared for my uncle and aunt that night.

Saturday morning was a slow one for me. I got up lazily and spent part of the morning playing with Ethan. Since the planned party for my birthday was no longer, there wasn't much anticipation for the events of the night. Later in the evening, we heard that most of the gang - Sue & Yan, Mel & Stacy were all going to Nazriah's house for a Hari Raya function - so we decided to accept the invitation as well.

After mass at the Assumption Church, we used the new highway to Nazriah's house. It was surely much faster indeed. Her place wasn't too crowded yet, but then she had spaced out her guests over three days. Soon we were all tucking in to yummy rendang, curries and tomato rice. We stayed on till about 9.30p.m. before deciding to adjourn to E-Gate for coffee. Sue, Yan Jo and I chose Starbucks while Mel & Stacy joined us later after their shopping at Tesco's.




The next morning, we returned to some semblance of routine - bringing Ethan to Tumbletots and then to Jo's parents for lunch. Jo and I then headed out to Little Penang for some browsing - and early Christmas shopping. We then visited our grandparents' graves at the Western Road cemetery - beating the crowd that would be there this Thursday (All Souls Day).

The rest of the weekend was spent in relaxed mode at home. I do dread the coming Monday - with an early court matter - and the pile of work lying on my desk. At least I'm looking forward to a great birthday ahead. No swimming with sharks (like Ralph did on his 40th last week), but I'm sure my "landmark" birthday will prove to be memorable in its own special way.

The one about the long festive break...

The Deepavali & Hari Raya holidays came rushing at us as the week before seemed like a blur fuelled by the anticipation of much needed rest ahead.

Wasn't a spectacularly eventful week. Forgot to blog on this last time around but on Monday 16th October, the Protem Catholic Lawyers' Society Committee paid a courtesy call to the Bishop of Penang. We had lively exchange on several key subject areas and spoke on the future direction of the society.

Wednesday 18th October was a busy day at work. Jo & I stayed back late to finish up some outstanding work and I had a conference call of sorts that evening too. But the feeling that things were winding down for the long bbreak ahead began to show.

Friday 20th October, proved to be a quiet day after all. We allowed the staff to leave earlier than usual and Jo and I packed up, locked up and headed for Gurney Plaza for a spot of shopping that evening. I must admit I had been pretty stressed thru the week and the slight feeling of trepidation remain even as I stepped into the complex. The promotions in the concourse area greeted us with full force - loud music blaring over the PA system, sales personnel attempting to sell you more of what you don't need and unneccessary glitz and glitter strewn across the exhibition areas. One can't help being caught up in all that marketing. Including me! In short, I ended up buying a couple of T-Shirts, two pairs of pants and even a pair of boxer shorts. Oh well...

Our trip home that night was quite an adventure. Due to a heavy downpour, there were flash floods everywhere - including in front of the State Mosque in Air Itam. We were caught in a crawl and had to divert ourselves thru Green Lane and Batu Lanchang Lane to get home. Nearly an hour and a half after leaving Gurney Plaza, we arrived home, battered and worn. Ethan must have wondered why his parents were so late that night.

Saturday, 21st October was Deepavali. The festival of lights. It came along soon enough and proved to be a quiet day throughout for us. Jo stayed safely at home with Ethan as I brought mum and our maid out to Tesco to do some grocery shopping and also to get something for our maid for Hari Raya. The place was as expected - busy and noisy but it wasn't packed like sardines.

That evening, Jo and I went out to mass as usual and then on to dinner with Jinny, KH & Raphael at Ribs Barbeque next to the Penang Plaza. It was still good there, one of the few places you can get real good pork ribs. After that we ventured on the the new and revived "Beach Blanket Babylon".

The old favourite haunt started its legendary life along Bishop Street when I first started working many many years ago. It had gone thru many a transformation and ended up closing its doors quietly a few years ago. Well, its now back - located right smack in the middle of the "happening" Upper Penang Road belt (former lot of Gloria Jeans Coffee). The place had the look and feel of the old, with a notable improvement of a quaint but not unique area upstairs which had been converted into bed cubicles resembling a boudoir. It had a darker and more sinister feel about it as compared to the Bed Supperclub in Bangkok which played strongly on the all-white theme. Still, it will be pretty popular amongst the "chill out" type crowd. The drinks were as you would expect for a place like that but it wasn't overly crowded. I guess it will take time for the place to slowly warm up to the younger set.



Sunday 22nd October - we left home early that morning, around 9.30p.m., for breakfast at Bali Hai on Gurney Drive with KH, Jinny, Raphael and another of our old schoolmate Chong Yean. He came with a Singaporean friend of his - Patrick. Bali Hai is a fairly new place serving dim sum in the mornings and sea food in the evenings. We brought Ethan along and he did have a good time running about and even spent sometime on his dad's lap by the sea front promenade. Bliss.

Later, we dropped by Gurney Plaza again. This time, Jo and Jinny wanted to catch up on gift buying for a planned birthday party the coming weekend. This left me to watch Ethan and so I took him to his usual haunt - the kiddie ride area on the 4th floor. He had a ball of a time, playing with the kids there and then riding on his usual car ride no less than five (5) times!

We eventually left and headed back to my in-law's place for lunch. After lunch, we left Ethan with his grandparents and met up with Stacy and Mel for a movie. We watched "The Prestige" starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. The movie was pretty good. I enjoyed it as it had the right amount of intrigue and twists to keep me thinking throughout.

After the movie, we did a bit of grocery shopping and then left to pick Ethan up. Later back safely at home, we had a quiet dinner, deciding to give Jo's friend Celina's invite for dinner a miss.

Monday 23rd October was theorethically a public holiday. We decided to sleep in a little. Till 9.00 a.m. anyway, cos that was when Ethan screamed at us to wake us up! We got to spend some home time playing with the little fellow till later that evening when we went out to do some grocery shopping and ended up dropping by Jinny and KH's place bearing some goodies for tea. We spent the good part of the evening there till 6.30p.m. That night, dinner was with my Australian relatives - Uncle Walter and Aunt Evelyn were treating us at the Double Dragon Restaurant on Gottlieb Road. Uncle William and Aunt Peggy were also there and so were Aunt Florence, Aunt Daphne and Uncle Paul. Ethan proved to be quite a handful as he decided to run around the whole cramped and crowded restaurant. He also turned doorman for a while opening and closing the main door and going in and out as well. Phew!

Jo, Priscilla, Aunt Florence, Aunt Evelyn & Aunt Daphne in a row...

Uncle William explaining the intricacies of the double boiled soup!

Jo trying to keep her son from doing the four chopsticks drum ovation...

Mum saying "cheese"...

Ethan trapped by his mummy...

It has been a great holiday so far and what with Hari Raya still to come, I'm beginning to feel a little re-charged to face the tiring season ahead. Oh, and the planned party this coming weekend to celebrate my birthday has been postponed for sometime due to unforseen circumstances. I guess Jo and I will be able to spend some alone time on the actual day itself. Am looking forward to that...

The one about more birthdays...

Before I continue on with my usual ramblings, I would like to wish Jo's sister Abby a very Happy Birthday - 16th October. Hope it was a great day for her.

Now on we go...

Tuesday, 10th October - my other aunt and uncle from Australia, Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Walter arrived for a holiday. Uncle Walter's mum passed away last year and he's back for a special memorial mass and to help sort out things here. They booked themselves into the Paradise Sandy Beach Resort.

The coming Friday was the tentative date for Stacy's birthday celebration. On Wednesday 11th October, Mel went to the Bee Won Korean Restaurant to organise the dinner. Jo went along to help out and she then went on to catch a movie with a few others. I had bowling league again. Nothing particularly eventful.

Friday 13th October, the day went by quickly as the anticipation of the night ahead ushered the otherwise routine day along. Jo and I headed home earlier to maximise our time with Ethan before getting dressed and off again to the dinner.

As usual, we were the first ones there. Getting a little fed-up always having to be the first ones to arrive. Anyway, the others trickled in slowly with the birthday girl and family the last to arrive, a good 35 mins after the designated time.

The food was fairly quickly served up and we enjoyed the usual banter during the meal. Korean food wasn't really the favourite of a few of them there but I must say it was fairly tasty although a tad expensive for what it was.

I took the opportunity to take many photos and will let them do most of the talking.

Tucking in...

Some serious talk going on...

Birthday girl enjoying her food...

Naomi wants more?...

Present time! Stacy's new coin pouch...

Relaxing after a good meal...

After dinner, we all adjourned to Jinny & KH's place for cake cutting, coffee and games. Most people chilled out then and some even changed into more comfortable clothes. We continued with the drinks and soon the "Chocolate Cheddar Cake" was brought out. The mix was unusual but not bad at all. With the compulsory Happy Birthday song out of the way and the cake well digested, we brought out the board games. "Cranium" was the choice as we hadn't played that for ages. It turned out to be the perfect choice as we laughed ourselves silly throughout. It certainly was a hoot to try and figure out Yan's humming of "It's Raining Men" or seeing Jo doing kickboxing! Needless to say, we all went to bed with smiles on our faces.

All chilled out...

Happy Birthday Stacy...

Fussing over the cake...

Er... It's raining men? Yan's version of beat boxing...

Takes a woman to hum "It's Raining Men" says Jo!


Saturday 14th October was the calm after the storm as Jo and I had a very restful day and night. Dinner after Mass was at Koca Steamboat and we had coffee over at Starbucks in Island Plaza thereafter.

The next day, Sunday 15th October, we were invited to Wendy Lim's birthday lunch at the E&O. Wendy's Sue Khoon's friend who had gotten to know Jo well. It was a nice relaxed lunch as Wendy invited Sue & Yan and also a few other of her friends. One of Wendy's friends was Andy - a lifelong Liverpool fan. We had a good chat about the match the previous night. For the record - Liverpool drew 1 - 1 with Blackburn at home.

Jo gracing the hallowed hallways of E&O...

The party in full swing...

A lazy Sunday...

This coming week has started pretty mildly. Nothing much happening as we head towards a long break with the Deepavali - Raya holidays. Most of our friends are off on holidays and it looks like a quiet time ahead. Still, I could do with a good break. The end of every year is always a busy time at the office. I would want to re-charge in time for the madness. But then, there's always Ethan...

The one about new feelings of love...

It's been as usual a busy busy fortnight since my last blog entry. Really must blog more often since in my haste to record all the activities, the quality of my writing has suffered, or so I was told! So I'm going to attempt to provide detail, clarity and entertainment within these pages. Like real.

Anyway, picking up where I left off last, Wednesday 4th October, Jo went for a movie at night - "The Banquet". I had my bowling league on, so had to miss it. Lucky me. Jo gave it a thumbs down but these arty farty chinese dramas aren't my cup of tea anyway.

Friday, 6th October was also the Chinese 15th day of the 8th month. Mid-Autumn Festival. Time for lanterns, moon cake and weddings. In the morning, driving past France & Taipei Bridal Salon, traffic was held up for a mass wedding. Strange anomaly that. We had planned that night to take Ethan to Stacy's parent's place where they were going to the Traffic Garden in front of Bodhi Avenue for a "lantern carrying" fun time.

That morning, I had noticed the return of an old enemy - the Haze. By mid afternoon, its intensity has not dissipated and although I checked with the Department of Environment website, by 5p.m. the Air Pollutant Index on the island was around 69, we decided not to take Ethan out that evening. So his mum and dad got all the necessary materials out, lanterns, candles, matches... and we had our own little fun time.


Later, after getting Ethan ready for bed, Jo and I headed off to Jinny & KH's place for our own little grown-up mid-autumn party. Having said that, Stacy & Mel did bring Naomi there. We just sat around, chatting, having moon cake and other strange traditional tit-bits. It was the first time I had ever seen the so-called "dragon's horns" - a black, decidedly evil looking nugget which revealed a white nutty centre. Nothing to die for.


The next day, Saturday, 7th October was spent at a relaxed pace. That night, Jo's dad had a dinner for her visiting aunt from KL and also Abby was back for a break. So we decided to join them for a quick dinner before adjourning to Bagan for drinks. We were meeting Celina, her new boyfriend JESÚS (that's pronounced "he-SOOS") and their friend Fran (no pun intended). Mel was to join us too and also Carolyn was going to be there with Peng Onn.

As we arrived at Bagan, it was just as well we had booked a table. The place was busy and fast filling up. Carolyn and Oon were already there having dinner, so we left them alone and took our seats in front of the band. The rest arrive in trickles and we were soon introduced to Celina and Chus' (their shortform for JESÚS) friend Fran. The two Spanish men then rattled off in their mother tongue which was pretty much drowned by the band anyway.

Mel, Jo, Onn & Carolyn

Chus, Fran & Celina

We did have a good time, with Onn puzzling Mel with his "two-cork" trick - not a bodily disfigurement but rather a sleight of hand using two wine corks. I must say here that the diva that is "Roz" the in-house singer at Bagan has built up a formidable repetoire and as such has become fairly entertaining.

Sunday, 8th October, would be a memorable one for most of us. We had lunch at the Spice Market, the brand spanking new restaurant at the newly re-opened Rasa Sayang Resort. Guess we will always remember the first time we laid eyes on the new Rasa Sayang. It has certainly gotten a face-lift and truly befitting its resort class status. However, the hotel seems to have priced itself out of the reach of the locals. We may be able to afford the odd buffet lunch at over RM70 per person, but it won't be a regular exercise. The spa there, named "Chi", had a distinctly oriental feel about it. Looking at the menu there, one can't help that the hotel had indirectly taken a no-locals policy. It's very unlikely that any local person would pay RM600 for any kind of treatment. Sadly, nearly 50 years after our independence and we still have this western elitist attitute.

The early birds at the Spice Market...

Celina & Jo...

The gang on the way to Chi Spa...

What!? Six Hundred Ringgit ah?... In Bangkok can get...

Jo and the gong...

One for keeps...

Corny as it may seem, I left the Rasa Sayang feeling no love whatsoever. The place just felt cold and untouchable. Sure hope these people know what they are doing.