The back breaker

I've been tagged by Nick with this - to write about household chores I hate. This is an interesting topic for discussion - especially since a guy tagged me with it. I've been reading other people's blogs about this whole household chores things and I must say that I've been quite pleasantly surprised! Everyone enjoys doing one chore or another, but there's always that pet peeve of a household chore.

For me, I'd be in seventh heaven if I had a maid who would cater to all my whims and fancies and I didn't have to do any kind of household chore. But since I don't have one, I help my wife with the housechores now and then. I usually clean the dishes and I must say I'm a pro at it. I've been doing it for over 20 years and I foresee that I'll be at it for many more years to come (at least until Adelle is old enough to for me to pass the torch to!). Sometimes, I'll do the vacuuming, or clean the bathroom, or the electrical appliances, or put clothes into the washing machine and hang them out to dry.

I'm also the designated ironing person (yes, I usually iron both mine and my wife's clothes) and Adelle's porridge cook. I'm also the official cockroach killer. Every time my wife spots a coackroach scurrying around in the kitchen, she'll call me and I'll come rushing with my weapon of choice: the slipper. Then, the cockroach and I dance around a little: me trying to get it into a position which would offer me a good, clean kill; the cockroach trying its best to run behind some cover. It's an ego-boosting job (my wife always calls me 'hero' after a succesful battle with one) but it's one job I'm not very fond of, especially since I'm actually terrified of those pesky pests.

But, if I had to choose one chore that I'd rather not do, it's mopping. Small, three-letter word but oh, so bothersome. You see, I'm rather tall, you see. And the thing with anything that has a stick attached to it is that they're designed for the 'average' person, and like I said, in terms of height, I'm not exactly average. So, it's a back-breaking to mop, plunge the mop into the bucket, squeeze the mop, and then repeat the whole process countless of times. Living in a double-storey house doesn't help things very much, and neither does mopping the whole place twice - absolutely necessary to make the floor have that nice, clean feeling (just goes to show how dirty the floor can become, eh?). So, if I'm required to the mop the house, I'd usually drag my feet and put on my mopey face.

But here's the thing: household chores - if you don't do them, who will? It's your house.


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Rendezvous at Mango

As I'm writing this, the rest of Malaysia is tuned in on the Olympic finals of the badminton game between Lin Dan of China, and our very own Lee Chong Wei. Why am I not watching? I'm a badminton fan. I play badminton twice a week. So, I should be watching the game, no? But, the thing is, my tv is not connected to the antennae. Neither is it connected to Astro. And Adelle is asleep. So, being the responsible, sacrificial dad that I am (do I hear a groan somewhere?) I'm home manning the fort while my wife has gone to a friend's house to watch the game. So, I write.

Last night, my little family and I decided to take my parents out for dinner at a new-ish place called Mango Cafe. I got to know about it on Jacq's blog and they have their very own blog as well here. It's a Thai restaurant, located in Kompleks Asia City (another one of Kota Kinabalu's shopping complexes, but it seems like it's not doing very well. A lot of empty lots either for sale or rent). The restaurant has a simple and attractive enough deco with shades of yellow and green on the walls. I've heard good things about the food so that's why I wanted to try out the place.

Since they were five of us (Adelle included), so we could try out a bigger variety of dishes. For starters we had Ta Koo. I presume it's some kind of soft coconut pudding on top with water chestnuts underneath, wrapped with around with pandan leaves. Very good just to whet your appetite. Mom was keen on trying out the Phad Thai so that was the next dish that came out. Slightly different from your usual plate of char koay teow, this noodle dish has a slightly sourish taste to it, but it's really refreshing, not to mention delicious! Next, came the prawn on lemongrass stick which was deep fried prawn balls skewered with lemon grass. This wasn't too bad.

Ta Koo

Phad Thai

Kung Ho Takrai

After that, the main dishes arrived along with our rice: green curry with chicken, mixed vegetables with garlic, and pandan chicken. We all agreed that the green curry was very good (I had the honour to finish it up!) and very appetising. Just the curry sauce is enough to make you go for a second helping of rice. The curry is pretty mild, and apart from the chicken pieces, there's brinjal and also, this small roundish thing (a mini eggplant we're told by the owner). The mixed vegetables was the usual fare. Tasted very Chinese but that was to be expected, so not much to comment there. As for the pandan chicken, I thought it was alright. But my mom thought it tasted a bit bitter. And my wife was quite surprised to find only chicken skin when she unwrapped one. We reported this to the owner and he generously offered to give us another whole set. This time there were no problems.

Geng Gwio Waan Gai

Phad Phak Luem

Gai Hor Bai Dtoei

For dessert, we tried out Red Rubies. The dessert consisted of several pieces of red jelly-like balls (just like the ones topping the ta koo) complemented with thinly-sliced jackfruit all submerged in some pink water which reminded me of air bandung. Not too bad, I say.

Thap Tim Krab

And that was dinner. When we arrived the place was rather quiet (it was already about 8 pm then), but about half an hour later it got rather busy. So, it did take some time for our food to arrive on our table. But, we didn't really mind since we weren't on empty stomachs and we were'nt in a hurry. Just something to consider, if you do plan to visit.

All in all, we're quite satisfied with the food there, and it's reasonably priced. For all the food that we had, we paid slightly over RM50. We'll definitely go back again.

Oh, and on the way out from the place, who should I see but people whom I met at the Sabahan Bloggers Gathering. Julian, Fara, Dinoza...and I'm quite sure there was another person but I can't recall who. Hmmm...it didn't occur to me until later that I should have taken a photo with them. For remembrance, and also to help jog this brain to remember.


p.s. Just got word that Chong Wei has lost in straight sets: 12-21, 8-21. Well, the elusive gold medal for Malaysia still remains that: elusive.

Something happened on the way to work...

Is there something about today? This morning on the way to work, I almost met with an accident. The traffic light was green, and I was happily driving along in my lane going towards the traffic light when all of a sudden, this grey Proton Saga attempted to cut into my lane. The driver had the courtesy to turn on her (yes, the driver was a woman) blinker but she might as well didn't do it as it only started blinking for like for 2 seconds before she made the maneuver to come into my lane. It wouldn't have been a big deal if I was some distance behind her, but she did this stunt when I was just there beside her!

I know, I know. I'm probably being harsh. she probably didn't see me in her side view mirror because of I was probably in her blind spot. And she probably got the shock of her life as well when I blared my car horn for all it's worth when she started her move. But, that's just it, isn't it? Failing to check properly if the roads are really clear before you change lanes can be hazardous - to yourself and other people. Not only that, how are you side view mirrors positioned? Do you see the sides of your car?

I read some years ago how that is the wrong way to position your side view mirrors. You can google how your side view mirrors should be adjusted for a more detailed description but here's the gist of it: your side view mirrors shouldn't duplicate what your rear view mirror shows you. They should show you what's on the lanes on either side of you. So, if you haven't done it already, push your side view mirrors out so that you can see the next lane. While this does not completely clear all the blindspots while you're driving, it gives a much greater coverage of what you'll be able to see around you without having to turn your head. Of course, the other way is to buy those small rounded mirrors and stick them to your side view mirror. But I find them quite distracting, so I don't use them.

That's my story of my near-miss. But at work, I got news of a colleague of mine who was not so lucky. He was riding his motorbike on the way work, and he met with an accident. I'm not too sure about the exact details of how the accident happened, but apparently whoever hit him didn't stop to help him and send him to the hospital (sad thing to hear isn't it? Aren't Malaysians supposed to be warm and friendly? Helpful even?). It took another person to help and send him to Queen Elizabeth Hospital (that's our main hospital here in Kota Kinabalu). And from what I hear, my colleagues hurt pretty badly. One of his legs is broken in three places (ouch!). He's got other injuries as well, I'm sure.

So, there was just something about today...but, whatever it is. Be safe on the road people. Drive responsibly and carefully!

I was going to do something else but I suddenly remembered about a funny incident. This actually happened last Sunday but I was contemplating whether to post it. Then I thought, why not. It's kinda funny (I think). Remember my post about us buying mooncake? Well, Adelle had her first taste of it last Sunday. We were all in the kitchen and my wife suddenly decided to let Adelle try the mooncake we had bought. She asked me to get my camera ready to capture Adelle's expression of her first taste of mooncake.

We gave here just a bit to try and did she love it! When my wife asked Adelle to share the mooncake, she turned her back on her! And Adelle actually stood up and went further away! So funny! So, anyway here are the pics!