I personally think that Muay Thai - Thai Boxing is possibly one of the coolest sport in the world! Okay, so i'm pretty much still a newbie at it...intermediate level now. Still, I seriously never thought much abt this sport before. Never seen myself picking up such a sport. Wanted to pick up a new sport, something different from the norm, something challenging yet gives a good all rounded workout and simultaneously providing some fun. (i make myself sound like some psycho!) But I'm really enjoying it so far despite my mum being kinda unsupportive of me picking up such a violent sport....she thinks that i'll turn into some she-man person. Dad on the other hand thinks otherwise and reckons that so long as it can keep one healthy, why not! hahaha! Okie....maybe i'll let u in on a brief history on Muay Thai: The history of Muay Thai is interwoven with the history of the Thai people. A gentle, peace-loving people, for centuries Thais had to defend themselves and their land from aggressive powers. They developed a form of close, hand-to-hand combat best suited for the kind of rough-terrain battle they were fighting. Over time it moves, and became a rite of passage for Thai men to take up training in this martial art. King Naresuan the Great (1555-1605), one of the country?s most celebrated warrior-heroes, is believed to have been an excellent boxer himself, and it was he who made Muay Thai a required part of military training. Another milestone in the history of Muay Thai was the triumph of Nai Khanom Tom over 10 Burmese boxers in 1774. Taken captive after the Thai capital fell in 1767, Nai Khanom Tom was picked to fight before the Burmese king. After defeating ten of them in a row, he was freed and returned home a hero.
Honestly, it's not as violent as it appears to be.... punches, kicks, elbows, knees, hooks, uppercuts, grapplings.....that's why one has to master all the techniques , and my favourite move would have to be the knee while my favourite part of training by far has gotta be the pad work part. My instructor - Lana has gotta be one hell of a boxer man. Eh, dun underestimate her k....she might be 44years old, female, but she's a mean fighting machine i tell ya! Role model man! She's been training since young in those mauy thai camps back in thailand. Can't believe she's a mum to 4 daughters....imagine ur mum being a pro-thai boxer! Now, i wun wanna mess with that mama! But she's a great instructor, patient yet strict and serious....safety always comes first. She's just great!
She was just talking to me after one of our lessons that day and it really just inspired me all the more. She mentioned a few things, it's may sound so simple and logical yet many a time, esp in such areas of sport where it's aggressive and violent tendancies may arise, these simple things can just 'soowsh..' over the top of one's head.
Firstly one has to be patient to learn and master all the steps, moves and techniques.....there's no point in rushing as getting all excited and 'ON's'. It's good to be motivated and strive to reach goals but u've gotta take it step by step, coz wrong moves can turn out to be fatal moves in the end. And one thing intersting she mentioned that honestly never came across to me was that during a fight, a fighter has to leep calm and cool. No point showing a fierce looks and appear all aggressive and all....it's one mistake that many make....they think that by doing so it's frightens the opponent....true in a way, but if u put on a cool front, isn't that even better? It just goes to show u're all ready and prepared to take on anything..... It's good nonetheless.....she's gonna introduce me to this guy , according to Lana, is her 'tu di' and apparently he's really good and all , to continue teaching me muay thai , and just like train together when i go back to Perth. So yea, at least i wun get all rusty when I'm there studying....still gonna continue when i come back though! Well, off to muay thai now..... *kick, kick, punch, uppercut!*
Elbow..... 
Knee....
Head kick...
Yup, so I've been staying home the past 3 days helping daddy out in the kitchen backing away....it's good fun....despite the fact that the kitchen kinda turned into a suana for that baking period. I can safely say that my kueh balu skills have definitely improved....fine i know i'm bragging away here....but yea, i've nothing much to talk abt that practically what i've been doing over the last few days! So yea....i'm not forcing u to continue on reading......
Amazing how some flour, sugar and eggs can make loads of yummy stuff to eat.....
Ahhhh.....the final product....
I reckon this was my favourite kueh balu....hahhaa....it looks almost perfect man....then again, dun ask me how i picked it out of thousands of em'
*slurps..drools..yummy!!!*
There's like tins and heaps of containers lying in my living room filled with kueh balu....dunno how many thousands of kueh balu were made man! I reckon the crispy ones that just come out of the oven...all hot and freshly baked are the best! I kinda like them a lil' burnt...coz they get crispy! I'm not sure if one sits infront of the oven for long, and all the heats coming out....as i mentioned the kitchen really felt like a suana....would it have and serve the same purpose a suana serves....like make u sweat and lose ur fats kinda stuff.....well then again....i dun really think that works coz i think i've gobbled down a good 40 or more of those yummy out of the oven kueh balus....u know...like as u help take them out....the aroma enters the nostrils....u hallucinate and hear the kueh balus crying out "eat me, eat me!" and finally the itchy hand reaches out and pops one into the mouth.....it just repeats itself and soon enough...u realise u just eat like a few dozen! CRAP....all my jogging has not served its purpose....
Tins and tins and tins filled with kueh balu.....it's kueh balu heaven man....woohooo!
A very Happy 22nd Wedding Anniversary to my beloved parents!!!
Yup, that's right....22 great years of marriage for them. Cheers!
There was kinda like a mini celebration for them this evening at this family gathering that's held every month.
Was so sweet of them...coz they had a small simple ceremony on the renewal of their wedding vows.
As u guys know, my family's catholic....so yea, there was the blessing of the rings, renewal of vows and stuff.
But i guess as simple as it was....the most important thing was that it was symbolic....
and i could see thru my parent's eyes that it meant a whole lot to them!
I'm happy for them for having survived 22 great year together....and I'm very sure there are more great years ahead awaiting them down the road.
Actually my sibilings and I were kinda like...wah lau, why must do these kinda thing one...so bo liao! I guess, at our age, especially since we're all not married, we dun really see the great significance behind this special ocassion celebrated by married couples. Especially since the number was 22....i mean, not like it's 30 or 50!
Well, at least I never did....never seen it as such a great big deal that u had to go all out and make known to everyone how long u've been married. But i guess after today, my opinion has kinda changed.....
I can't really remember, but someone was speaking to me today during the gathering, and she mentioned that i was really lucky to have such parents. She was also asking me on my opinion on their simple ceremony and i was like telling her i just went along with it for the sake of making them happy, not that i really gave a big deal towards it anyway, coz i didn't see how it really had to involve me. I think she was pretty surprised when she heard what i said....but then again...i was speaking the truth! Then i guess what she said next really struck me and changed my entire perspective of wedding anniversaries.....she mentioned to me that i shd count myself super lucky that my parents have been married for 22 years and that despite all the ups and downs they've been thru, what they have and still share surpasses all other boundaries. Especially in the present world that we live in......with so many case of divorces, broken marriages, single parenting, spouse abuse and affairs..etc The fact that i have such great parents who have brought my sibilings and myself up so well already tells the entire story. I'm not sure, but whatever she said really left a deep impact within me...silently even up to this very minute, it just left me reflecting and thinking abt it. It's made me think back...how they brought me up and the many thing and the endless love that's being showered upon the entire family....it's like a secret formula that no one else can replace and match up anywhere close....that has moulded me and made me to the person who i am today.....
It's Hari Raya Haji today.....
Well Selamat Hari Raya to all my malay friends out there....
Anyway, that's not the main thing i wanna talk about!!!
I'm like super pissed and damn highly insulted today lah! Damn...
Maybe highly insulted is not even the word to use...coz i'm just super duper...like super highly bogusly insulted...
Hmmm...ok, so did that just sounded really incoherient???? Well I dun really care....
Went to the market early this morning with mummy and daddy to buy some stuff and to have a nice breakfast at the hawker center just behind. I simply love the market's hawker center food...it's like the good old days....all cheap and good...
Esp having been in Perth the last year, it's just simply delicious and yummy....
Really love the soya bean milk, you tiao, char kway, mi zhnag kway...or how ever u spell those stuff...
Ok....so then comes the story of the day....
Was sitting at one of the tables waiting for my parents to buy their food...mum went off to buy her favourite noodles. Then this ah pek...ok maybe in his late 60's or ealy 70's came up to my table and asked if he could sit. Bring a public holiday, the market was like super crowded as compared to the norm. Bring the nice gal i am...i gladly acknowledged and nodded my head with a nice smile. Dad then stood up, handed me some money and went off to buy his food too....so yea, just me and the ah pek sitting at the table.
Ok, so i was pretty unglam looking for a start....HELLO....it's the market for crying out loud...was in like shorts, a pretty oversized shirt, had my hair tied up in a pony tail and just wore my glasses....
Then, sitting there happily sipping away on my soya bean milk, waiting for my parent to return so that i could buy my stuff, another old man approached and asked if he could sit, but i told him nicely that the seat was already taken, so yea, he moved off. The ah pek then spoke to me in teochew, just commenting that the market was really crowded today and i agreed....then pointing to the seat that i mentioned the the other uncle earlier on wa taken, he asked me (translated directly from teochew) "oh, who's sitting there? U're child ah?"
I think my eyes nearly popped out at that moment and i just looked at the ah pek, all stunned, it took me quite awhile for watever he said to absorb, after which i shook my head and said no...and continued sipping my drink....then he spoke again..."So, u waiting for ur husband to come back issit? went to buy food? that's nice!" (mind u, he was already seated at our table and saw my dad passing me the money)
Jacinta's Mind: (takes a split second for the info to process...stunned again, eyes open even wider...looking at the ah pek) Do i really look that old to the extent that this ah pek sitting here at the same table would even think it possible that my 50 year old father would be my husband!!!! For crying out loud....he's 50!!! He's my dad...my daddy, father, PAPA, fu qin.....goodness, was that ah pek blind or what! Is he living in another era? No more matchmaking leh....goodness....i'm gonna puke!
(jacinta to the ah pek in teochew): " eh uncle, i'm only 20 years old, that's not my husband, he's my dad, and the other person sitting here is not my child, she's my mum! (ok, dun worry i didn't raise my voice although i think i did sound kinda scarcasrtic! hehee)
Ah pek: (looking a little loss, but emotionless): "Oh...."
Jacinta's mind : (is that all u can say...oh??? Hello uncle, u just insulted me leh....do i really look like 30 or something that i can be mistaken as my dad's wife...surely i can't be that old...or am i? get mistaken as my mum's sister not so bad....kao, WIFE....!!!!! *pengz* *wacks head against a brick wall*)
(so mum and dad returns to the table and sits)
Ah pek: ( looking at my dad and pointing to me): " oh u're daughter ah? (dad nods in approval) but u look really young leh!"
(dad grins from ear to ear and gives out a laugh, while i look at him out of the corner of my eye feelin highly insulted)
After breakfast, while walking home, told the entire incident to my parents and all they could do was laugh away....kao! Never even sayang me! And my dad can still say to me "isn't it good, he's saying i'm young...good what! At least i dun look 50! But,...haha, he's saying u're old!"
jacinta: "DADDY!!!!!"
I've been too lazy to blog recently.... things are still pretty much the same as per normal.
Since the new year started, I guess i've been trying to spend more time with my family and friends, since I've only got say another 1 1/2 months before i have to head back to Australia to start yet another new semester in uni. I think i've been feeling really weird inside and confused...not in the sickly way, just the kinda troubled and moody feeling u get. Guess there's lots in my mind...bloggling around...yet sometimes u just don't want to admit the fact that u're being bothered by something, when in actual fact u already know the souce of u're worries and problems, but just shove it aside and pretend not to know it even existed. Confusing???....well i guess i'm placing myself in that spot right now. Easier said than done man!
A new year, a fresh start....one major thing that i've decided to finally do is to try and forget about HIM. It's been like 4mths plus already, yet sometimes u find it so hard to just get the special someone out of ur mind. U know it just can't work out and continue, yet there's this longing somewhere deep down inside that keeps u in this sense of hopefulness....WELL enough of that for now...well at least i'm trying....!!! Hopefully it works out overtime....it's not really doing me any good.... Right now, i shd just be enjoying my summer holidays back home....
Anyway, started learning Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) with Narissa. I must say its really fun and physically demanding. For now we've just been learning all the different moves...punches, guards, elbows, hooks,uppercuts...real cool. Feels good....great way to relase all the tension and troubles within....can't wait for my next lesson....more moves and skills to be learnt and mastered. Just wanted to pick up a new sport that was less common...something different from the norm....anyway I've been complaining that I've been feeling handicapped having not played sports for so long....so at least now there's something to do.
Been meeting up with Mel pretty often the past week, just been chilling ard at places like coffee bean and catching movies. Watched the movie - Meet the Fockers with her.....was really funny and corny. Thought that it was much better than the first Meet the Parents. Been catching up quite a bit....great to just talk abt the good old times back in college and secondary school....talked abt the friends, teachers, troubles we've caused and all the spastic things that we used to do. Just cracks u up when u think back on those things....great memories. Well...yet another meeting tonight with Mel and the rest of our girl friends....gonna meet for dinner in town, then we'll head for Chinablack to club the nite away....ladies nite anyway...free entry and free drinks....hahahaha...wooohoooo....