Is "Family" Household Slave?

In Jurisprudence class today, my lecturer brought up something that provoked my thoughts. He asked the class: Does anyone know where the word "family" come from and what it meant initially? The answer was shocking:

"The word family first referred to the servants of a household and then to both the servants and the descendants of a common ancestor. It comes from Latin familia, "household; household servants," which came from another Latin term famulus, "servant." It was not until 1667 that the term was used specifically for the group of persons consisting of parents and their children."

With reference to the above, "family" was actually a word that represents house slaves. It's ironic that the very same word used to call a slave back then is now used to call one of the closest person you'd ever have in your life.

Of course one could easily see a clear distinction between the two but in reality is it so? Notwithstanding the fact that slavery had been abolished long ago, the word "slave" now means something slightly different to me. "Slave" represents someone who is taken for granted. Someone whom you think SHOULD take care of you. Someone whom you can manipulate. Someone whom you can take advantage of.

I know talking about loving and treasuring your family is repeatedly emphasised nowadays but I myself for one need to be constantly reminded about how lucky I am to have a family. I remember a message I received somewhere which told me to wave goodbye and send my family members out everyday because you really don't know if they might not come back that very day. It frightens me very much and I then try to do just that everyday, if I can.

But I confess there are times when I just feel lazy to do so. When I just take it for granted that they will always be with me and never leave me. At times like that, a simple reminder like this would be just what I need.

References:
http://dictionary.reference.com/features/mothers.html

To Sis: Happy Easter!

Mei mei,

Check this out! SFX changed their baptising methods.

Pouring Holy Water directly on the newly baptised head

They conjured a "box" for baptising purposes. Shoes must be taken off before entering.

For the benefit of those who reads this entry but do not know what is going on, allow me to explain briefly. Previously, baptism in SFX is very simple. The Father (priest) holds a jug of Holy Water, the newly baptised tilt their heads, the altar boy will put a bucket right under their tilted heads to hold the poured Holy Water. The only area that will be wet is usually the forehead, maybe a little on the face but that's about it.

Now, they've changed it! Kneel in the "box". Father pour Holy Water directly on their heads. Wet areas will include hair, face, neck, shoulders etc. The good thing is now they have an extra white attire to cover themselves. I personally think it's an interesting change but I feel quite lucky to not need to go through the hassle of changing and making up again after that.

Oh and sis, remember our candles? I forgot to send it to you :( We could have used the same candle for Easter...

The special candle given by mum to both of us

Happy Easter!

27 Dresses

I love romantic movies. Period. Trust me and just watch it.

If only movie reviews are that easy to write. :)

Written by the same scriptwriter of Devil wears Prada, 27 Dresses is another great romance movie you don't want to miss. Starring Katherine Heigl (from Roswell! Anybody besides me watched this series???), James Marsden (the cute Cyclops from X-men!), Malin Akerman (from The Heartbreak Kid) and Edward Burns (from One Missed Call).

James (as Kevin!)

It's simply a movie about how Jane has been the bridesmaid for 27 friends, taking care of all their weddings and having no time to take care of her own. Her secret love was even "snatched" away by her younger sister!

Her wardrobe full of horredous bridesmaid dresses. Don't believe me? Check out some of it:

"Vomit" colour - says Kevin

Reminds me of cream cake

And this! Sound of Music yeah~

(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD)

One night, when she was the bridesmaid for two weddings simultaneously, she bumped (literally) into Kevin. Kevin was the writer for the Commitments column in the New York Journal but he does not believe in marriage. I suppose by now you can already foresee the ending. That's not the point.

The point is that it is awfully romantic.

My favourite part is when she pronounced her love for Kevin on stage and walked up to him, all he said was: Come here. (AAAaaawwwww...) And of course they kissed and finally Jane had her own wedding with 29 bridesmaids (27 of them with her previous bridemaids dresses + her best friend Casey + her younger sister Tess).

Oh and there's another part found also in the trailer. Her boss (her secret crush) George has this habit of saying "love you" to Jane, without meaning it the boy-girl love thing. One of the scenes when George said it again because Jane bought him breakfast, Jane actually replied "I love you too" after he left. Her best friend Casey, who was just standing beside her, gave her one tight slap (Piak!). She was caught by surprised but she said "Oh yeah, I needed that."

Damn funny lah! I really enjoyed watching 27 Dresses. You can also check out their official website and play with some quizzes. Quite fun!

The Ultimate Horrifying Picture in the Nuffnang Birthday Bash

Absolutely horrendous.

That's me.

Red faced. No smile. Thick Lips. What can be worse?
Be careful, I might sneak beside your bed tonight if you've been naughty~ *mwahahaha*

Palate Palette is Marvelously Palatable!

Palate Palette is a restaurant tugged away in a little alley. Bf and I almost missed it if not or my powerful eyesight. :p It was covered up by the their own plus neighbouring Yoga centre's trees (which makes it seem visible only to the wizarding community like the hidden London bar in Harry Potter, lol).

The mamak opposite Jalan Mesui where Palate Palette lies

The sign that saved us all from extensive searching

Entrance to Palate Palette

Almost immediately as I walked into the link house-turned-restaurant, the welcoming, colourful and bubbly ambiance washed over me. I loved it. Everything was interesting. The colourful and playful decorations, the smiling and helpful waitresses and even the very table we sat on was special. Even the weather seemed wonderful.

The grass wall! And look at the very appealing happy rainbow coloured pillows *squeeze hard*

We were having trouble between sitting outdoors or indoors and considering the warm Malaysian weather, I chose a table indoors. Let's check it out!

The bar. See the "OPEN" sign? Classic~

White washed wall touched up with creative drawings (which strongly reminds me of Grand Vessel)

Aha! My antique sewing machine style table and the pedal moves!

Now it's time to satisfy my taste buds and fill my stomach with some goodies. Variety of food served could have been more but the drinks menu is extensive. They even have a different menu for drinks itself (juices, smoothies, alcohol, cocktails, mocktails, jugs etc). I also realise that a lot of their dishes are slightly spicy.

The menu is painted on their own and you can feel the texture of the paint.

Palate Palette paper placemat

Bf's drink - Iced Mocha with Hershey syrup (super yummilicious)

My all time favourite - Hot chocolate

I have to mention something about their hot chocolate. Most of the hot chocolate served elsewhere are more milky (not my preference) but Palate Palette's hot chocolate is not. The whipped cream and melted chocolate is just perfect. One drawback however is that it is slightly too sweet.

A complimentary homemade wholemeal bun with a ball of garlic butter were served. The garlic butter is just so cute! Buns were good although I'd prefer it warmer and it goes well with the garlic butter. I like.

Two little garlic butter balls on the way to join the buns in our stomachs

That's the homemade wholemeal bun. Looks like a pau. :q

I wasn't feeling very hungry so I ordered a potato salad (potato + vegetables, yum yum~). I'm going to order the shrimps and avocado salad the next time I come here! Bf's order comes with a mashed potato side dish and let me announce that it's the BEST mashed potato I've ever tasted! It's so rich and smooth. The overwhelming potato taste entices me to finish up half of Bf's mashed potato. It's even better than the ones mom make (don't tell her that). I wonder what's their secret...

The vege is so crispy!

Bf's Sundried tomato battered chicken chop (ahhhhh...the mashed potato)

Julia, the waitress servicing us was very nice. When I told her I came to know this place through pinkpau's blog, she instantly remembers the sweet Su Ann, who brought many friends to Palate Pallete for her birthday party.

Julia and I

Our bill: RM69
Can't wait till the next time I come back. Mashed potatoes and hot chocolate, wait for me!

Guess the Picture

This was my first MATTA fair. Despite it being too crowded and too cold, I found something quite interesting. There's this picture projected on a tiny stage. Every time you walk on it, it creates a ripple effect as if it's a pool of water!

Can you guess what picture is it?


It's...
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the map of Australia!

With spongebob squarepants and don't ask me why it's there (Sam you'll like this one!). A few kids were playing enthusiastically and it took me 5 long minutes staring at it hoping to catch a moment where the picture is clearly seen. -____-

Best Pajamas Party Ever

To celebrate Nuffnang's one year old birthday, they invited about 300 bloggers to the Borneo Baruk Club (BBC). It was my first time attending Nuffnang events (as a matter of fact, it's my first blogger event) and boy was I impressed.

Me at BBC

Bf and I arrived around 7pm and it was already packed! All crowded with youngsters in pajamas, slips, night dresses and even Chipster-made-attire. In the beginning, I felt a little out of place because I didn't know anybody there. The moment I stepped into the entrance of the club, I met a pretty looking girl - Jan (thanks for giving me your link). She took a picture of my attire and I thought it was very sweet of her to make me feel like I haven't done something stupid like wearing my pajamas to a party.

This is Jan (taking pics)

As we were walking around, I bumped into a friend at high school - Xin Yi. She is the journalist covering the event for Star Metro. She was my senior who used to train me to be a prefect (which I proved to be a lousy one). I remember she used to be quite nice to me despite me being the problematic one (I apparently was the rude junior according to another senior... I hope I haven't been rude to anybody tonight *fingers crossed*) Anyway, back to the event.

Xin Yi - my senior and the journalist from The Star (Metro)

After exchanging some usual how-are-yous, Bf and I headed upstairs and surprisingly it was not very packed. Most of the bloggers were busy mingling downstairs. We took in the views from above and cam-whored (just a little). BBC is a great place with very attentive bar tenders and waiter/waitresses, who were willing to go all the way just to get me a glass of warm water. Great atmosphere because they pick just the best of pop songs. And I love the interior designed to grab attention and attract more cam whoring session if I could. Most importantly, their toilets are super clean (weeeee!!!).

Cam whoring at BBC - making myself at home

Run run alligator!

From left: Bear bear slipper, single Japanese slipper and Rat slipper for the rat year

So we found a comfortable spot to sit and began seeing more and more bloggers pour in. I struck up a conversation with Yi Peng and Joe who proved to be great companions. I also met Peter who draped a blanket over his shoulder. He manages a shopping portel - ushoppa. I also got to know Samantha who was very very sweet and extremely nice to talk to. She was the last person I officially said bye to at the party. Samantha apparently is a director of a company! *awed*

Kenny who came all the way from Bangkok and flying to Kuching soon

Suanie who posted about Milo-hardened-into-cake and her "I sleep better with Chipster" post was hilarious!

Pinkpau who was the busy organizer with her lovely pajamas ^^ (She's my favourite blogger!)

This is Samantha who brought Spongebob Squarepants (if only my lecturer sees this).

Peter from Ushoppa and to be under his blanket is the warmest feeling that night.

Joe who was very nice to speak to ^.^

Smashpop, a really fun, chatty guy(whom I've forgotten the name, I'm sooooo sorry!) and me.

Anonymous Eyeris who took pics with my bear bear and me with his potato transformer

Dinner was served after a few speeches. Food was simple and nice, not too heavy and doesn't have anything that may cause bad breathe like garlic (do excuse me for my lame jokes). Bf loved the Dory fish best and my favourite was ice creams and chips! Soft drinks (coke and sprite) were served and I heard that beer was on the house too.

Ming and Timothy (the good old days when his smelly bolster was still with him) giving their speeches

Games started even before we started eating and I must say it's a great way for ice breaking indeed. There's "Nuffnang money" given equally to everybody and we need to "fight" one another to collect more. The rule was to thumb fight or play "Rock Papers Scissors". I lost 60 dollars in just one game with one of the Nuffies :(

Two contestants competing to see who can do more push ups with a french maid/nurse on their backs.

There were so many more games which I don't think I am able to go into detail. One of the main highlights was the introduction of the 12 Malaysian Dreamgirls' finalists! Oh yeah~ they are HOT I tell you. Don't try standing near any of them or you'll suffer from inferiority complex :p They were quite sporting when asked to pose for us.

Kenny introducing the Malaysian Dreamgirls' 12 finalists to us

One of the most interesting game for the night was the Bidding Game. Basically, using all the "Nuffnang Money" we've collected so far, we are able to bid for gifts offered ie Panasonic digital camera, a plaque on Xia Xue's blog, a plaque on Kenny's blog + camera too and a kiss from Dawn Young. I remember hearing the emcee announce that one of the offers is being featured as monthly blogger at Nuffnang but I think they canceled that one later :(

Lucky boy~ He's probably the headlines for most of the blogs by now.

Ming and Timothy Tiah blowing the birthday cake on behalf of Nuffnang (too bad I didn't have the picture of them wearing undies like Superman)

Total Gifts Won: 4 movie passes to ANY movie, a shirt for Bf and I each, "I love Nuffnang" badges, plenty of small Chipsters and Twisties and abundance of laughter.

Thank you Nuffnang!!!

Please excuse the slight obscenity

[Edit: I apologise for the technical problem faced today. My pics just disappeared I don't know why :(. I've re-uploaded my pics. Thanks for visiting :)]