Merry Christmas!!!

The Christmas tree is up and decorated.

The dogs are ready to party too...

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Blessed Christmas & Happy New Year!!!!

Twelve Days to Christmas...

Wow... It has been a busy December.

The Christmas decorations are up and I've been going around to take some photos...

Here is my favourite one so far.

Twelve days to go... Have you done your Christmas shopping?

Merry Blessed Christmas & Seasons Greetings

I'm taking a break from all the Sekinchan postings...

Anyway, it is that time of year again where hedonistic consumerism may consume us all, or the spirit of giving redeems us... Yes, it's Christmas.

I didn't have a lot of time to make my way around the malls to photograph all the merriment and decorations. So, I'll just post up what I have.

I finally did put up my Christmas tree. Although it isn't as big and as lovely decorated as this one, the tree gives a warm glow to everyone in the house.

Here's wishing everyone a Merry, Blessed & Joyful Christmas! May you enjoy the festivities & good cheer with your loved ones around you...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Before I forget, here's wishing everyone a very Blessed and Merry Christmas!! May God keep you and your family close during this season of blessings.

Remember to stay safe and not drink and drive!

Also... Happy New Year!! Hope that 2009 will be better than what was forecast.

Dear Santa...

Yeah... Yeah.. Christmas is around the corner - I GET IT!! 

I've been procrastinating my Christmas shopping as I got distracted by the lovely Christmas decorations at all the malls. LOL!!!

Gosh, I still need to shop for the Secret Santa event in my office and the dinner is this week! Alamak! Really cannot procastinate any longer!!!!

Anyway, going through my Flickr page I discovered that one of the shopping centres has put up a mailbox for Santa Claus. Now, we don't have a very active "Dear Santa" tradition here in Malaysia but since Bangsar is an area where a lot of expatriates shop; I'd guess this was quite relevant. :-)

If you could write to Santa, what would you ask him for?

Christmas Walkabout @ Pavilion, KL

This post is a bit delayed as I have been quite busy last week. (^ ^)

Anyway, my Christmas "Walkabout" this year took me to Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur. Well, I wouldn't go to Pavilion on any day although it is within walking range from my office as I don't have the luxury of taking long lunches.

But, since I wanted to watch Bolt in 3D and I've heard so much about GSC Cinemas there; I thought to watch it there. Well, Bolt was a pretty heart-warming movie although it wasn't as funny as I expected it to be. It reminded me about the bond between animals and humans; more importantly it reminded me about my dogs. Sure, Snoopy and Rusty drive me crazy at times but they love us unconditionally and are loyal to the very end.

It was raining the entire day and so, I couldn't take a picture of Pavilion's Christmas tree. The decoration in the main concourse area were hung giant Christmas chandeliers which looked like baubles without the tree.

The merchants set up a Christmas sale at the main concourse but I couldn't find what I was looking for, i.e. a Christmas star or angel to put on my family tree at home. Nevertheless, there were lots to see.

Parkson Grand also did put up beautiful trees too, some of which costs around RM3,000 and above (wow!!), i.e. tree with trimmings and all. Very exquisite but I prefer to have the family tree decorated with trimmings which are as old as I am. :-)

With all the walking around, EV and I decided to have a little snack. Since it had been raining the entire day and we were both feeling cold, we felt that having some chocolate at Theobroma Chocolate Lounge would be perfect.

We shared some strawberries with melted milk chocolate. The sweetness of the strawberries complemented the milk chocolate. If we had it with dark chocolate, the dark chocolate would have overpowered the natural freshness of the strawberries. Yum! Absolutely!

Although I was supposed to do some Christmas shopping, it turned out to be a day of walking and just taking photos. Gosh! I have but 11 days left!!!

Christmas @ Work

Christmas is clearly underway now. Even though the economic situation seems quite dreary, but we do all we can to give ourselves some hope.

My office has started to put up some decorations for the upcoming Christmas party. It will be a fun time with some dinner and "Secret Santa". (^ ^)

This is a new Christmas tree which we put up this year. For many years, the office has been putting up a very small tree where we have to place a large box so that it looks better. So, after talking to management, management has decided to fork out some money to get the tree and new decorations. Yay!

I wished that the candy cane was real... ;-)

Even the shopping centres are outdoing each other this year with the Christmas decorations. This year, Suria KLCC has done away with the typical purple decorations and had decorated the tree with ornaments related to Christmas and the winter wonderland.

As for the attraction, Suria KLCC has scheduled performances of Christmas carols by different musical performers. For tonight, a string quartet performed in front of an audience. A string quartet consists of performers using four instruments - 2 violins, 1 viola and 1 cello.

I did not stick around for long as I had to go home. I do hope to capture more Christmas decorations at the other shopping centers. If you do have time, do try to stick around to see some performances as it will be worth your while. 

That reminds me, I will need to get the home ready for Christmas too!

Getting In The Mood - Last Christmas

Are you looking forward to Christmas yet?

My family has not yet figured out what to do as some relatives will not be around during this Christmas as they will be flying off to Perth. Thank you Air Asia, now everyone can fly. ;-)

I've been compiling my Christmas song list and realized that my favourite song "Last Christmas" from the Beatles was not there. Oh well, got to add that song somehow.

Anyway, I got this flash from a friend some years back of the song I liked. Someone posted it up on YouTube.. Yay! Have a look, the flash animation is just great...



Well... Last Christmas, my family hosted the family get-together and it was the first time my family invited the in-laws for dinner. We got to celebrate my cousin's birthday too. We had a fun time singing carols and also karaoke.

Christmas is about 22 days away. Yeah, time to get crackin'!

How's Your Christmas Preparations?

Traditionally, the Christmas season for me and my family begins the 1st week of Advent.

This year, my family doesn't seem to have any big plans except for a couple of things...

1. Rusty's Neuter Operation (ugghh)
2. Rusty and Dad's B'day a few days before Christmas (yeah, they share the same b'day)

My eldest cousin is very lucky to share the same b'day as our Lord, Jesus Christ. And because of that, he's always felt a very deep and special connection with our Lord.

Snoopy finds it hard to get into the Christmas Mood...

I know I have a tonne of things to do during the Christmas season. It's not the parties with family and friends but also to do some works for those who need it more than ever. Gosh, I got to talk to my Dad about that too.

I think I may have harped on this many times that Christmas should not be the one time of year to do all the good works we need to do, but it should be done all year round.

Anyway, with the impending recession and bad times ahead; I find it hard to get into that Christmas mood. More so, after this morning's meeting at work where the bosses harped over small issues. *sigh*.. It's not a good sign when that happens as it pisses off the employees which just speeds up their exodus from the company.

Can You Get Into The Spirit of Christmas Now?

You know its close to the end of the year when you start seeing Christmas decorations spring up in the beginning of November...

This is odd because usually, the hint that Christmas is coming in the US comes around mid-November when Thanksgiving is celebrated there.

Anyway, since Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Deepavali festivities are over, retail outlets here in KL have turned their attention towards Christmas.

I just happened to pass by some interior decoration shop at Bangsar Village 2 after my workout last night and noticed that the shop has started to sell Christmas decorations. Besides that, the shop has put up the usual secular message of "Seasons Greetings" at their storefront. The customary Christmas tree with lovely red, gold and white coloured ornaments adorned the Christmas tree.

Yep, Christmas will be coming here in 46 days, 23hours and 38 minutes... at the time of writing this blog entry. (^_^)

This year will be especially hard for everyone as the global recession makes its way around. Parents will have to explain to their kids about cutting back on holiday reverie, employers have to tell employees not to expect a big bonus at the end of the year, and lots of people will be struggling to make ends meet.

A depressing picture, when you think about it, huh?

However, the retail outlets will be EXPECTING consumers to pick up on spending for the holiday season. A tough message to sell when people are losing their jobs and homes now.

When I think about it, I'm also starting to feel a bit depressed because it will be a gloomy Christmas for a lot of folks out there. But Christmas is NOT about the material things, it's also about family, friends and above all God; how He loved us so much to give His only son to save us.

Officially, the church is winding down the liturgical year and soon, we'll be entering the season of Advent. A time to get close to God as He gives us His only Son, Jesus Christ.

Well, at the end of it all, despite the doom and gloom of what is going on in the financial markets; perhaps we should take time to lift our heads up and march towards a brighter future. Let God lead us, like how He led the shepherds that night with the light of the star towards Christ.

I hope to get into the spirit of Christmas. For me, the season will be a time for me to reconnect with friends and family after going through such a busy year.

Merry Blessed Christmas Everyone!!

I'm back!! ... If not, just for a short while.

This December has been a very hectic one for me since my workload has gotten a lot heavier since November when my team's manager decided to leave for greener pastures. So, for a while, I've been trying to keep the team together as well as trying to get things to run "business as usual" too. It can be a hassle.

Anyway, I hope to come out of this intact... That is just my Christmas wish this year. (^^)

I managed to make my rounds at the shopping malls this year since I had to do a bit of Christmas shopping this year. Some of the malls did a fantastic job with the decoration... Here are some of the pics I took with my little camera phone (an ancient SE K750i)

I didn't manage to go to all of the malls and also, I didn't manage to take a lot of photos as well...

This was taken from 1Utama, where they put up a large toy drummer at the new wing of the mall. I was shocked at the amount of deco they had there. In some sense, it looked cool from a far, but then, as you draw closer, the trees tend to be overdecorated. Nevertheless, I'm sure the kids and adults enjoyed taking photos at this place.

Another view of the Drummer Boy...

I managed to also visit the new part of Sunway Pyramid and they put a lovely display too. They had a railway track setup around the Christmas Lodge where kids and also small-bodied adults may sit on the train for a fee. Hmmm... Very enterprising indeed.

Lastly, I managed to visit Midvalley where their theme was a fairy-like Christmas. They had a lovely set of trees setup in the main concourse area but due to the overwhelming amount of humans, I couldn't get a shot of it. At the other concourse, they placed trees and I caught a nice pic of it.

The pics were not clear as I was using my camera phone and didn't spend enough time focusing on the shot before pressing the "trigger". Nevertheless, after looking at the deco, it certainly whets my appetite to shop. **kekekeke*

Anyway, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a

Merry Blessed Christmas
&
Happy New Year!!!!!

'Tis The Season To Get Fattyyyy...

Ahh... Christmas is indeed in the air.

I managed to capture a few photos while at a shopping mall tonight but am a little lazy to upload it. I'd guess I shall save the photos when I want to describe the amount of effort invested by some malls to entice shoppers to part with their hard earned $$$.

Anyway, it occurred to me that when Christmas comes around the corner, there are a few things we can't escape from. The eating, drinking and extensive merry-making we indulge ourselves during the festivities.

So, time to watch what we eat!! Although some of us are working our butts off at the gym to try to get ourselves to fit into a dress two sizes smaller than what we usually wear, it is during these festivities that the most "damage" occur. I'm finding myself getting tempted by the lovely chocs and Starbucks Toffee Nut Latte but have to admit, I can only take at most two out of this entire month!! It's too sweet for me! I'd rather go for something which tastes fruity sweet rather than sugary sweet.

Just remember to eat in moderation, and although that lovely chocolate fountain is calling you, try to remember how difficult it is to shed those pounds every year come Jan 1st. (^^)

Anyway, I know its very hard. But do try to keep yourself healthy by exercising and eating right?

Remember, the New Year is around the corner and its time to dust off the old Resolution List!!!

1st of December.. Is Christmas Upon Us?

This will be a rather short post. No photos yet as I've to decide which photo of Snoopy to pick out. She's already in the Christmas mood... sort of.

Anyway, I've fallen ill again. This time, it's my stomach. I think I'm having diahorrea since I had passed some soft stools... err, I'd best stop at that. It's probably some bad fish since I had sushi last night.

I tried to put up my usual "snowflake" JavaScript but the "new" Blogger template complained about some invalid XML. So, rather than trying to figure out the sometimes mysterious error message, I've decided to just leave it at that and just modify my existing banner. So, that puts my blog in the Christmas mood.

For me, the season of Christmas does not begin until the 1st week of December, when the Catholic church's Advent calendar begins. What does that mean? Advent is the start of the holy season to welcome Christ into our lives. While the season of Lent was a time of repentance and a start of our journey to return to Christ, Advent is about welcoming Christ again. It is also the time, when we should remember about the 2nd coming of Christ.

Hence, the reason why I waited for this weekend to put up my Christmas trimmings. (^ ^)

Around this time last year, I was away in UK, feeling rather homesick and was sad about missing Christmas with my family. However, I had a really great manager there who decided to ship us home to Malaysia for two weeks since everything (including the office) was closed for two weeks.

Anyway, I had been following a journey with Christ using a little booklet and it was wonderful. I got closer to God and the true meaning of Christmas came through. The spirit of giving and peace upon all of us.

I usually place a lot more emphasis on Easter as it symbolizes new life but when Christmas comes around, I get sentimental and feel very warm and fuzzy thinking about Baby Jesus in his swaddling clothes, in the manger. I don't have the Nativity Scene as a Christmas decor in my house... :-P

So, has the spirit of Christmas caught up with you yet?

Merry Blessed Christmas 2006!!!

Shinny, Bright... O'Christmas Tree...

Christmas is finally here and I'm sooooo glad that I'm back home.

For me, Christmas is a time to remember to welcome Christ into our hearts. This is the time of year when we begin our journey with Him, from the time of His birth to His death and rising again at Easter.

Christmas for me is about spending precious moments with family and friends. It is a time to cherish each other. Many people travel from near and far to be with their loved ones.

When I was a kid, it was all about the presents, but as I get older, the presents are now the time spent with my close friends and family.

I found a very meaningful verse:

"The Word became a human being and lived among us. We saw his glory, full of grace and truth. This was the glory which he received as the Father's only Son." - John 1:14

We must be reminded that Christmas is not just about presents, food and parties, it is also a time to show love and care to one another. For, God so loved the world that He gave us His only son. God gave His son to restore the connection which was broken between the world and Him.

So, what are you doing for Christmas?