The Entourage

The pride of the school.

One little vision; to fulfill the obligations of a cluster school conglomerate by establishing international linkages.

One little mission; to sing in the neighbouring land, Thailand.

Today the school sends an entourage to Thailand to deliver her mission and to expose the choir members to another international performance.

The have been training hard. Their persistence and determination are evident in their practices and committment. It is with much pride as you witness them belting out the renditions in unison and harmony. They will be visiting a school in Phuket; another in Bangkok and a final performance in the Malaysian Embassy.

May they win the hearts of the audience and the Malaysians in Bangkok.

Listen to the medley.

They are international indeed.

Everyone should be proud of them.

All the best dear children.

The Seafield Entourage.

Teachers

To the teachers of SMK Seafield;

A day to remember you by;
A day to say thank you for the hard work each day;
A day to realize that you are indeed jack of all trades and master of everything too;
A day to appreciate your motherly and fatherly duties in school,
A day to laud you as the artist and performer in class,
A day to salute you as the one who teach us values to maneuver us in life,
A day to call you "teacher" ; and utter " thank you" for teaching us.

The morning staff

 The Afternoon Staff 

Happy Teacher's Day 2013

Devi

 She is a simple soul with very simple needs; that's how I read her.

I look at her as I would at my own girls; they are all of the same time.

She finally made her decision to tie the knot; a commitment to another phase of life.

So, it was with great pleasure that we plough through the traffic jam of Kuala Lumpur to reach Sentul.

 

 This beautiful piece of art greeted us as we entered the hall at 7.00 pm.

Many happy faces of children and relatives excitedly gathered together for this special occasion.

 I am ashamed to admit but it is true that this is the first traditional Indian wedding that I have attended.

 But I gather I would have more to attend what with my colleagues' children coming of age.

I watched with interest at the display of traditional rites and steps accorded during a wedding.

 The packet on the left contains sweets and beans; Doris told me that the beans denote that either the groom or the bride is the last child of the family. We know that Devi is the youngest of the family. The yellow rice is to be thrown at the new couple like confetti for a call of blessings.

 We do look matured but nevertheless elegant ; any denial ?

Some of us have been colleagues for the past 20 years...
Periachee, Sulochana, Latha, Hargopal and Malar will give us more chances to witness Indian weddings.

We are truly ancient in the school.

 That's the handsome groom being led into the hall for the rituals.

 That's the pretty bride being led into the hall by a dance.

 After a full hour of rites and change of attire, we finally had the chance to go near them for this famous shot.

It was indeed a happy occasion for us as we witnessed Devi finally married.

She was smiling throughout the night.

So, here's to Devi and the groom; a toast of good things in life.

May both of you love each other with great understanding and care.

Congratulations.

Precious Moments

 Home.

I told dad that we left Muar some 30 years ago and have resided in Subang Jaya ever since.

However, we do not know why the attachment to the town is so strong that we somehow would always give our allegiance to this place first; Muar is so special in our hearts.

 Needless to say, your growing years are the most impressive in one's life.

So, the memories of childhood, school days, classmates, church and the neighbourhood are strong strings; you will find it hard to discard.

Perhaps the greatest attachment is the familiarity of quaint memories and most importantly when your loved ones await your coming home with open arms.

 Even before reaching the door, the smell of food and voices can excite you.

This is comfortable feeling and happiness.

When I was little and life was hard, I never knew we siblings could have the privilege of staying in such a comfortable environment.

Those growing years were tough; we had to snuggle together in small rooms and shared almost anything; passed down clothes, textbooks, school uniforms and shoes.

Pocket money meant getting ten cents and sometimes five.

But we siblings understood and never dared asked for anything more.

A hard life teaches the best lessons; struggles toughen us and tighten unnecessary spending.

So we learn to save and thrift.

But now, these are hard to come by; I don't have to explain.

 Kong Kong and his cheeky grin is glad to have his grand daughter doting around him; though in his 90s took the girl for a ride in the afternoon after arriving from Singapore and while waiting for us to arrive over the weekend. Kong Kong says Derlyn has grown into a boisterous lass while the older sister has grown more sober. He must understand the vocations they are in have moulded their behaviours !

One is carefree; the other is bogged down by patients !

 Yes, whether we liked it or not, Por por insisted that all of us join in their Senior Fellowship gathering ...

So, to make everyone happy, we trudged along and pretended to be very happy hearing oldies sing and dance !

 It has been a while since we have been entertained in this way. You sit through the evening with tables of people from 50 and above ; and see how they make others happy.

 I was observing this lady; in her 70s perhaps but exceedingly in tune and does not dance with two left feet. She swayed, hopped, skipped, jumped and name all dance movements with grace. Derlyn asked me " mum, who would be interested in knowing all these?" Well, we belong to different generations and I find it amusing that people of this senior citizen era still find so much zest in life.

 Actually, I was imagining myself dancing up there ! Can I make it :))?

We really thought it was good experience spending time with the older citizens and enjoy their presence.

That's Por with her good friend; Mr.Lim who sponsored many tables for the evening.

 Then we were entertained by another good dance.

Very Malaysian; Chinese Nyonya dancing to the tune of a Malay tune. 

I like it because this is this the real essence of the true Malaysian culture.

I enjoyed watching  the dance.

We went home with memories of dance and songs; hard to come by. 

Another precious gesture; to smell the concoction of Chinese ginseng and red berries slowed cooked for hours by Por por for her loved ones; she protects her children like a tiger; no one escapes her care.

 She got up early in the morn to make sure her aim of getting everyone a bowl of ginseng achieved.

No one will leave without that.

 

 She packed home-cooked food; bought fruits and local delicacies as though we never grew up; always children in her sight.

 While Por prepares the food, Kong goes out early in the morn to line up for the famous Muar 'kueh kat' ...

The vendor kept asking Kong for his age and inquired why he did not grace his store for a long while to which Kong replied that the waiting put him off...

 This is worth the wait; so Kong had to oblige his children and waited for his turn.

 Another typical Malaysian scenario; to find this Indian lady queuing up for this food too. She told me she was from Penang and she missed the street food of Penang. She found this store similar to that of those found in Penang and made it a point to buy and splashed in with her Penang hokkien ...lua lua ah...meaning she want it real hot ! I find this very heart warming; another Malaysian assimilation of cultures.

So, after we have filled out stomachs with all sorts of local and home-cooked food, it's our turn to do our parents some favors.

 The boys adjusted the TV set; taught them to tune in to channels...

 Dad saw to the working of the air-conditioner ...

 Kong and grandson John spoke it all; the best ever assimilation of Malaysian culture. They conversed using the Malay Language; no other language could they use to communicate. Isn't this true assimilation? Even the older generation did not mind the grandchildren not speaking Chinese to them. The Malay Language is acceptable in the home; I find this heart warming too. 

The banana grandchildren are not reprimanded; the old folks love them as much.

 Good times last very short while; in the twinkle of an eye, it's time for good byes. So fast; yet we had to leave.

 We came home to celebrate Mother's Day; but we were celebrated more by our parents.

Such is the love of my mother.

My brother from the States sends her a bouquet of flowers every year.

This year was no different.

 Happy Mother's Day, Por Por.

We love you.

Before I left, she reminded me to bring back the container of biscuits for my colleagues; she knows they love them and makes sure she has a container ready for me to give my friends each time I go home.

My friends tell me they love my mother too.

Thank you for being my mother, Por Por.

The Lord's good grace be ever abundant in your life.

God Bless My Mother.

The Yam Cake

 Chinese yam cakes come in all sorts of concoction. Some are starchy while the crave is for the 'yammy' ones. If anyone has learnt one of the best concoctions, Allie has done it.

 On several occasions, she has made the yummy yam cake to the glee and delight of my guests. Not surprisingly too, she has been asked to make it to grace other friends' parties. So, today is one of such days.

So, we went to the market to get the right yam.

It's a simple recipe with hands on experimentation until the best is concocted.

 Only she knows how to pick the yam; of a certain round shape and size after which she cut it into cubes.
How big was the yam? It cost RM 8.00.

 Besides the yam, she prepared and cut shallots, dried shrimps, garlic and chinese suasage. The amount is seen in the illustrations above. Make your own good guesses.

 Start the wok and heat up some oil to brown the shallots.

Remove the shallots and keep it aside for garnishing.

 With the fragrant oil, add the chopped garlic.

 Add in the shrimp and the chinese sausage till right.

 Add in the yam cubes and after stirring till yellowish in shade, add some salt and pepper.

 Cover it and let mixture simmer; then add in a little sugar. Allie says not to add in the sugar at the same time as the salt and pepper. It will be different in taste. I wonder ? But follow instructions.

 Next, add some water and cover it again before bringing it to a simmering boil.

 The yam has to be soft and reduced to very small sizes before it is ready for the next step.

Must not be impatient.

Then, we do the Thai brand rice flour a favour; buy it and add to the soft yam mixture.

About 2 cups of flour is needed or better still, till it reached a texture that is shown below.

 Yes, when it is sticky and does not slide from the spoon easily, it means it's the right concoction.

After a good stir, remove it unto a round pan.

 Spread it well on the pan and it's again steaming time.

This time you have to steam it for 30 minutes.

You see, all palatable products need a lot of patience and time.

So to have a mouthful of the end product is a taste of a good wait.

 Meanwhile, the garnishing come in. Stir fry the peanuts till light brown and pound till fine. 

Allie loves the old fashion pound.

 Finally, the 30 minute wait is over. Remove from wok and garnish it.

The spring onion leaves are to be added much later until the yam cake is totally cooled down to prevent the colour of the leaves turning yellow. 

Allie's  yam concoction will make you want more and more.

Try it.

At the courtesy of this Mother's Day celebration.

Happy Mother's Day.