spring

spring marks the transition from winter to summer. spring is also seen as a time of growth, renewal, of new life (both plant and animal) being born.

my backyard, middle village, new york.

southampton, new york

middle village, new york.

upper east side, manhattan

91st street, park avenue, manhanttan, new york.

buang sampah

garbage collection day on my street in queens is every tuesday and thursday. tuesday is also the day when they collect all the recyclable materials. don't know how they do in sandakan now (kadazanman's hometown), here we normally put them out on the curb the night before they come and collect the garbage. and yes, you have to separate them all.
whereas in long island, you also have to separate your trash but pack your household refuse in special green bags, load them in your car and then bring them to a dumping area. then at the dumping area, you have to unload them all and place them in a respective compactor. the green bags are not that cheap. i think its about us$15 or us$20 for one roll which contains about 5 or 6 bags. so, the trick is to squeeze as much household trash as possible in the green bags using whatever ways you can. apa boleh buat, mahal bah itu bahai hijau!!!

tanam bunga

went to checkout plants at a local garden nursery. never been to one back home, or i probably did and just never pay attention to anything to it but this is how they do it here. i remember back home when you see something that you like out in your uncle or aunt's yard, they simply pull it out from the ground and give it to you. then you have to keep your finger cross that the plant will survive when you plant it in your own yard. whereas here you simply pick any plant that you like, almost fully grown, take them home and three months later, it is still alive.

bikes and church

someone gave me a pamphlet about the 11th blessing of the bikes at the cathedral of st. john the divine. apparently this is like a yearly thing where people would bring their bikes, scooter, roller blades etc. and have the priest bless them all. i guess for protection or buang pahala lah kot. at the beginning of the ceremony, everybody gathered at the front of the church and then slowly entered the church in a procession with their bikes. during the ceremony, they also read out names of bike riders who died in an accident in the past years, which i thought was a nice thing to do. don't think i'll be seeing this kind of thing happening in malaysia any time soon. oh, and by the way, the ceremony was open to any body from any religious background. p/s...make sure you check out the video i took from the ceremony in bikes & church - part 2.

bikes and church - part 2

this is part of the ceremony previously mentioned captured on video. for some odd reason, i accidently edited and put the same video together. just watch the first 3.41 min of the video. the other half is just a repeat of the same stuff. i will fix it later.

this week

just to recap, the following are the churches that i went to during the holy week. pictures borrowed from various sources except for the resurrection and ascension church, rego park, new york.

for palm sunday, i went to resurrection and ascension church, rego park. its about 5 blocks away from my house. so, i can just basically walk to church 10 mins before mass begins. its like your neighbourhood church and always packed with people from the surrounding areas and some familiar faces that i have seen around where i live. oh, and i also went there for good friday.
whereby for holy thursday, i went to university parish of st. joseph church near new york university. it is located in west village and mostly caters students at nyu and the surrounding neighbourhood. its a small church but something about it that makes you feel comfortable sitting in through mass. the church has a good choir too and that is why i went there on holy thursday.
and for easter mass this evening, i went st. patrick's cathedral. its a huge and beautiful church but the thing i hate about going there is the presence of tourists and visitors to the church. so, you don't get that feeling of going to a mass and always feels like i am rushed through the mass. nonetheless, i decided to go there since i got up late this morning and decided to take it easy today and maybe do some work. but of course, i didn't get any work done. located on fifth avenue and it is also the largest gothic style in the country. the inside ornaments and design is simply outstanding.

mamak place

this is your typical mamak place-new york style. its alway run by indian guys, pakistani, bangladeshi or moroccan maybe. however, there is something about this particular mamak place that i don't understand. eventhough there are other mamaks at this particular corner but the line to this particular stall is always a mile long and there will be nobody at the other place. i bought their rice and beef but seriously there's not much different compared to the others. they are like that the soup nazi in seinfield. but hey, at least i know its halal:)

pegi makan di new york

following are some of the typical price you have to pay when going out to eat in any malaysian restaurant in new york. as far as i know, waktu duduk di malaysia dulu lima belas tahun yang lalu, i honestly never had fried rice with salted fish. rice with salted fish on the side adalah. pineapple fried rice? where do they come up with this recipe and consider it as malaysian food. nonetheless, the best thing is that kangkung belacan is about $9.95. dulu-dulu i remember kita pegi petik kangkung di tepi longkang or di belakang rumah for free. but now, i have to pay rm40 for a plate of kangkung.

NASI LEMAK US$5.50
Coconut rice flavored w. cloves & screw-pine leaves. Served w. chili anchovy, pickle, curry chicken w. bone and hard boiled eggs.

FRIED RICE WITH SALTED FISH $5.50
Salted fish fried rice w. egg, pork, chicken & shrimp

PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE $7.95
Fried rice w. pork, chicken, shrimp, eggs & basil leave, dried shrimp.

BEEF RENDANG $12.95
Tender pieces of beef simmered w. exotic spices (cinnamon, cloves)

MASAK LEMAK $11.95
Chose of beef, meat, checken sauteed w. green & red peppers, onions, carrots, dried red chilis & ginger in a spicy aromatic chili gravy.

KANG KUNG BELACAN $9.95
Sauteed convolus w. spicy Malaysian shrimp paste sauce.

SHRIMPS W. LADIES FINGERS MALAYSIAN STYLE $9.95
Sauteed okra with spicy Malaysian shrimp paste sauce.

ASAM LAKSA $5.95
Spicy & sour thick rice noodles served in chef's special lemon grass broth w. fish flakes & vegs.

CLAY POT PEARL NOODLES SOUP $5.95
Pearl noodles w. minced shrimp, pork, squid ,bean sprouts and egg in a clay pot.

CHOW KUEH TEOW $5.95
Malaysian famous stir fried flat rice noodles with shrimp, chive, squid, bean sprouts, eggs, soy sauce and chili paste.

INDIAN MEE GORENG $5.95
Indian style stir-fried egg noodles in an authentic mild dried squid sauce w. tofu, potatoes, shrimp, egg, bean sprouts & peanut.

SINGAPORE RICE NOODLES $5.95
Singapore style stir-fried rice noodles in special mild sauce w. shrimp, onion, bean sprout, egg and Chinese sausage.


source - http://www.penangusa.com/location_nyonyagr_menu_in.html

spring is here

few signs that spring is here. daylight saving time begins for most of the united states at 2 am on the second sunday of march. plus spring officially starts on march 20. daylight is getting longer and temperature hovers around 50F/7C, and plants just can't wait to push their buds out.