To you, Granny.

Nei nei, which is the address for grandmother in Hakka, is what I used to call when I got home from school everyday.

I've been living with my granny for 18 years since I was born. I used to say "Nei, 我回来了" when I got home from school, even during the days she started to have dementia and can barely hear what we said. And I still remember she would always respond "乖, 去洗手" which I'm still practicing till today. 

Nei nei was a loving grandmother who loves us with all her heart. When I was in my young age, my brother and I would always run to her when we were to afraid of the thunderstorm or when my mother was about to cane us, she will always wrap her arms over and protect us. Nei nei was very talkative, probably that is why I'm talkative now. We used to sit down in the dining room and have our chit-chatting session while I was doing my homework, and she'll start her story-telling session. She talked about everything, her past, her story. I even knew how she survived from the World War II! She loves to joke around with us and once tricked us that she was the principal of the school, and believe it or not, my brother and I did actually believe her until my dad told us the truth few years ago.


I can still remember I was a drama addict (or maybe I'm still a drama addict now) and I used to watch TV dramas with my granny. When I get scolded by my parents, I would respond "Nei nei wants to watch too!". But I do not have the chance to watch drama with granny when her eyes condition get worsen day by day. Granny was just like other typical grandmother who was too afraid that her grandchildren would suffer from hunger. During my secondary school time, she used to ask my mother to change her big notes into RM1 notes. She would roll everything together and tie it with a rubber band and keep it in a little safe box. Everyday after dinner, she would call my brother and I to the room and pass us the money.

But people aged, and her body gets weaker as years passed by. Granny was admitted to the hospital when I was at the age of 15, and that was when dementia started to kick in. Her memory started to fade and can only remember things when she was younger. At the same time, her eyes and legs condition started to get weak as well. Things got worse 3 years later. Granny started to shout and scream in the middle of the night, telling us that she wants to go home. We couldn't help but to wake up and comfort her till she was too tired and fell asleep. 

Things need to be sorted out when our last maid decided to resign. Nobody can take care of granny during the daytime when we were in the school or my parents were working, and also during the night time. At last, everyone agreed to send her to the old folks home. 

After staying there for 1 year and 9 months, granny passed away.

I came to the news when I was having my lunch break with my uni friends on the Tuesday afternoon when I got a call from my mum knowing that my granny's condition was very critical and they had to go back to Malacca for awhile. But never did I know that granny will passed away because she was admitted to the hospital countless times before that. I got the news when I was having my last lecture (luckily the last) and I was literally stunned when I saw my dad's message. My heart started to pound hard and I was trying so hard to hold back my tears in front of everyone. 

My brother and I couldn't go back to Malacca right after we got the news because we both had exams on the following days and we can only go back on the Friday morning right after my brother's exam. I was emotionally and physically stressed out throughout that 3 days dealing with exams at the same time. 

During the funeral, I was given the chance on behalf of the Liow's cousins to deliver the eulogy in front of friends and relatives who were present that day and it wasn't an easy job. It wasn't easy just like how we did presentation in class. And it wasn't just reading words out from the draft but it shows how much I miss granny in my life. But thank God everything went well and I did not have a breakdown in front of everyone because I told myself to do it one last time for granny, making it a perfect one. 

Nei nei, everyone in the family will missed you dearly but it's even more heartbreaking to see you deteriorating in health, In each visit, we all know that you are home with the Lord and you are in a better place now, You are free from all suffering and pain and we just can't bear to see you going through all the pains.

The bible verse from 2 Timothy 4:7
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race and I have remained faithful to the end."

My grandmother have finished her race in life and have certainly remained faithful to the Lord. We clearly know that she is resting in heaven and would like all of you to keep up the good fight just like what she did in life. 

#MyTravelBlog: The Eastern Venetian and Historical City - Macau, Part 2

I thought it was the weather change that caused me to feel a little sick on the first day, but I never thought that the fever will get worse. My fever get a little high in the morning, ate medicine and get breakfast at Mcdonald's. I decided to follow the group since my parents had spent so much money on the hotels and air tickets, and also I want to explore the Macau city too.

We get a bus from the hotel and stop at one station for interchange and finally arrive at our destination. Hotels in Macau provide free shuttle bus for the visitors to travel around the city, how convenient it is! For your information, Macau is divided into 2 islands, just like Hong Kong. I didn't know that until I saw the large map of Macau. 

One of the best Portuguese tarts cafe in Macau. Too bad I didn't get to take a picture of the tarts but don't worry, you'll get to see it in the video. Despite of their very bossy boss at the counter, their Portuguese tarts are really good, with crunchiness on the outer skin and the extravagant egg scent on the inside.

Along the street, there's a few coffee shops and we had our brunch there. I remember there's one coffee shop that serve the best fried rice just right beside this cafe!

I can't believe I get to see trishaws in Macau. I thought these only exist in Penang and Malacca!

Look at that lobby and the architecture of the building! This is Grand Lisboa Hotel by Stanley Ho, one of the millionaires (or billionaires) in Macau and Hong Kong and he owns the largest casino in Macau. 

Streets in Macau particularly look like the streets in Hong Kong, with tons of people walking and the road are very small. 

The architecture of the church there are so pretty and most of them are Catholics.

我們來做一個文明的旅客唄!

Found this cardboard while I was resting in front of one of the shops along the streets because my fever got high after a number of "ba gua" food testing. Fyi, along the streets up to St. Paulo, there will be tons of shops selling Macau specialty and there's food testing for every product, especially the "ba gua".

K.O. after taking this picture and I felt very cold even with 3 layers of jackets on and it was raining at that time. I went into Hui Lao San, one of the dessert shop and ordered 龟苓膏 and hope that the fever get better but it didn't. My legs get so cold and had to buy the wool sweatpants to wear on the spot (also because my leggings are too thin). But my fever doesn't seem to get any better after the 龟苓膏 and medicine so I had no choice but to go back to the hotel and have a good rest with my dad. 

Here's the second part of the video, a short one!

Love,
Jacynthe

#MyTravelBlog : The Eastern Venetian and Historical City - Macau, Part 1

Hello blog! It's been a long time.

I went to Macau on last December right after the school holiday started. I was having my very long break at that time (8 months, fyi) before uni starts. I quit my job for this trip because the boss didn't allow me to take leave, which leaves me with no choice but to quit. This was my first time to Macau, people usually go there to taste the legendary Portuguese Tart freshly made from oven and also to see the very unique architecture of the historical buildings along the streets, to get a taste of the western ambiance. I didn't get a chance to visit Macau during the last trip to Hong Kong because the ferry ticket was too costly for a whole family. I was extraordinarily excited for this trip because I hadn't got a chance to travel abroad after for so many years! But unfortunately I got sick right after I reached Macau and couldn't join the group on the 2nd day sigh.

Have a look at my naked face without any makeup. Our flight was at 6:45 a.m. and we need to get up at 2 a.m. to get things prepared. 

The food there is extremely expensive especially in the hotel. We reached the hotel around 11 a.m. and decided to wander around the hotel before we get to check in at 2 p.m.. We found a food court and thought it was cheap so we decided to have our lunch there. We were so wrong and this bowl of beef noodles cost us around RM 60.

A large candy store around the hotel. I was amazed by how they arranged the candy by colours!

Venetian. I get a little touched when I reached there. This is the exact place where Lee Min Ho acted in Boys Over Flowers!

After searching for a number of hotels while planning, we decided to stay at Sheraton because they have this special offer at that time. We booked the deluxe room, which is the lowest rate among all but never did we know, we get to upgrade for free to this family suite which is so spacious and it comes with 2 rooms! Hands up to this room and I love the Madagascar theme at the kids room. Fyi, the kids room comes with a LED TV with Wii. We were more than just happy to get this offer and everything was worth it. Oh, and look at the queen size bed on the double-decker, that's my bed. 

Take note of this restaurant name when you got a chance to visit Macau. They serve authentic Portuguese food which is sooooooo goooood. Didn't get a picture of the food because I was kinda sick at that time. We get to try western, Japanese, Korean or even Italy food in Malaysia but not Portuguese, which is a very special thing for us and I never thought that Portuguese food can be so good. It's abit pricey but it's worth the price. 

I always have an idea of how Hong Kong police officer looks like through HK drama but have you ever thought how police officer looks like in Macau? 

So that pretty sums up my first day in Macau. Here's a video if you are too lazy to read.

Love,

Jacynthe

Mum's Knitted Cardigan.

(Mum's Knitted Cardigan / H&M Dress / Tizio Shoes / H&M Hairband )

Hello everybody, I know it's been some time since I last post an entry. Was really busy with my exam, and of course, work too! Yeap, I was studying and working at the same time for the past few months. Although I had a hard time doing 2 important things at the same time but thank God it's all over now. I've quitted my job to have time to think about my future and also, I just came back from my 1 week holiday in Macau and Hong Kong. Would probably blog about it, maybe? But anyways, I'm free from everything now and probably will blog more.

Jacynthe

My Working Experience : The First Job In My Life

Me, working at Burger King.

As I mentioned in few of my previous post, I'm having my long long holiday right now. To use time wisely, and at the same time to earn some pocket money because my parents refuse to support my 'financial' anymore after my holiday has started. My mum suggested me to seek for job opportunity to work as a part-timer to fill my free time, and also to explore more as well. After my holiday has started in June. I've been searching for part-times with good pay of course, but things didn't turn out well.

So one day, I went brunch with Krystal at TTDI and since TTDI is so near to One Utama, she suggested to go for a little shopping session at One U. We were walking, talking and laughing all the way and out of the blue, this poster that is posted in front of Burger King caught my eyes. It's written there "RM9 per hour, minimum 8 hours, work for only 6 days". RM9 PER HOUR! The highest pay I heard of for part-timers in shopping malls is only rm8 and you need to work for the whole day from 10 a.m to 10 p.m. And you only work for 6 days, I mean I'm sure that I do not want to work at a fast food restaurant for a long term period right. So, I immediately called Leyi after I reached home to tell her about this, because she is finding for part-time as well, just as we wished. Of course, I wouldn't want and my parents wouldn't allow to, for me to drive all the way to One Utama because the cost for petrol could kill me and it's not worth it at all. Since in the poster it's stated there AT ANY OUTLET, the nearest Burger King outlet from my house would be Sunway Pyramid.
And this, became the first job in my life, working at a fast food restaurant chain.
The day before the first day of work, I was afraid that I couldn't communicate with the people there, because my BM is so sucks that I barely speak in that language. Fortunately, the people there is so friendly that they actually understand (maybe?) what I'm trying to express! Working for only 6 days in Burger King, I thought my job scope would be just sweeping the floor, wipe the table, and some trifling stuff. But I was wrong. On the first day of work, I was assigned to Kak Mimi, one of the senior worker there. She taught me patiently in how to punch orders, how to make drinks and how to differentiate burgers with different packing, practically in how to become a professional cashier haha. Whenever I did any wrong when I was dealing with the customers, example like when the customer order chicken burger and accidentally I punched beef burger, the managers there would help me to solve the problem and they will just say "continue the next order", without scolding me. After 2 days, when I get used with the cashier machine, they actually trust me and ask me to handle one of the counter myself.
The people there are so funny and friendly, surprisingly me and Leyi can actually click to them in just a few days! The workers there are so cooperative, they are not working just for the sake of working, but they work as a team, as a family to bring more business for the company. Not only that the people there are friendly, we as a worker of Burger King get to have free burger set (the small one of course) for lunch! We also get to have any soft drinks we want, at anytime.
After such long wordy post, I shall show you some of the pictured I took with the colleagues there.

Me and Leyi, on the first day of work.

She purposely posed for me to take picture haha.

This is Prema. She is like the core of the kitchen because the speed of her making burger is incredibly fast.

This is Nisha. 

This is Priya. She is so funny that the joke she told can actually make us laugh till our stomach ache.

This is Nana, the assistant manager. She cooked for everyone of us during the first day of Raya!

This is Syafiq, one of the night shift worker.

Me and Leyi, again, on the last day of  work.

Despite of the tiredness for standing for 8 hours and dealing with some unruly customers, it was a fortuitous and remarkable experience, to meet different kind of people. I mean, who get to experience this job like me for a short term period?

And guess what, I just went back to visit them yesterday. *wink*

Jacynthe.