Jarod’s Den

Mum’s Birthday

Yesterday, mum celebrated her 51st birthday.

The family, consisting of mum, myself, uncle and his wife, had a simple dinner at a Taiwanese steamboat restaurant. I’m not sure if it’s authentic Taiwanese steamboat but that’s what I was told.

It has been some time since the four of us got together to have dinner. So mum’s birthday was as good an excuse as any.

The Food.

That’s the food up there. Don’t be fooled by the size of the dishes. It’s actually a lot of cabbage at the bottom that made it look like a lot. The food is pretty decent though. Everything is fresh. I had the prawns set while uncle had the beef set. Since women tend to eat less, both ladies shared the fish set.
We had a great time eating and laughing. Unlike other steamboat, this one gives each customer their own pot to cook their own food. It was quite an experience seeing how each of us cook our own food. Of course the ladies excel in this area. We guys just dumped everything into the pot. Since I had prawns, pork meatballs, and the beef and fish stolen from the others, my soup was the best. At least in my opinion since the others all claimed theirs is the best.

The Guys.

Here’s the men. Don’t ask me who he’s feeding. I can assure you it’s not me. We finished up everything. At least I finished up everything. Uncle had some pieces here and there leftover. The ladies, however, struggled to finish their shared dish.

The Gals.

As you can see, we haven’t eaten much yet but the ladies seems to be stopping already. Is it really that much food? They eat so little and yet complain the most about getting fat. I eat so much but yet can never be any where near the ‘fat‘ category.

The Weirdo.

That’s the weird uncle every family has one. You don’t? Oh…

You sure?

Overall, we had a great time. Our tummy was satisfactorily filled. Since we had no birthday cake (by choice), we went for durians. We had very, very good durians (and ridiculously expensive too!). Then we all gulped down a can of 7-UP and had a burping contest to burp out the excellent (debatable) aroma.

Yup, it was fun.

Tags: birthday, celebration, dinner, family, mum

Back Home, Back to Work

I’m back home and back to work after a week in Ipoh for my grandma’s funeral. Somehow, things seem different. I can’t really place what it is but it’s just a feeling. I’m aware I was moody this morning but I tried my best to be cheerful at the office. I find myself trying to get occupied cause I’ll start getting all emotional if my thoughts wanders to my grandma. Didn’t know I missed her that much.

I’m really glad I got to spend an entire week in Ipoh with the family. In the past I always go back home for short visits. Usually not more than a couple of days. This time I got to spend more time with my grandpa. He’s really sad and will cry every now and then whenever he thinks of grandma. I got to spend time with my brother, uncles and aunts too. But most importantly I got to spend the entire week with my dad. Dad has been away ever since he and mum divorced. I only see him when he comes back a few years once.

I’m also glad that I got to know my cousins better. Now that they’ve all in their teens, it’s easier to have decent conversations with them. Okay, not really decent conversations since we made fun and bullied each other most of the time but we had fun. I went to support my cousin, Joshua, at his school music variety show organised by the school band to raise funds. He plays the trumpet (I think that’s what it’s called), the glockenspiel and the keyboard. Yes, he is talented. And cheeky. By the way, my brother and I are alumni of the school. I’m really proud at how far the school band has progressed. When I left school, it was only a small band of not more than 20 with the dorky blue uniform. Now they are a military class band with a Power Rangers-like uniform. It looks cool. Believe me.

I got to know that Joanna, Joshua’s sister has a blog! This girl has talents for writing. She sure knows how to express herself in writing. I got tagged by her and I have to blog about my perfect dream girl. How on earth am I gonna do that? I have such low expectations… ahem… Anyway, that’s another story for another day.

Somehow, grandma’s death has brought the family together closer. I believe everyone felt supported and loved. Perhaps it’s grandma overlooking us and guiding us. Thanks grandma.

Tags: @Home, blog, cousin, family