Kap Pa

I don't know what to call these clams. "Clams" is way too general and I do not have a more specific English term at my disposal. I'll just adopt the Hokkien name for these. Kappa/Kap Pa. Kappa is a brand. So Kap Pa.

They live in muddy beaches. And when I say they live in the mud, I mean they live IN the mud. You won't get to them unless you wade your way through the sticky, gooey stuff and stick your hands straight into it. I fully understand why most of the people I know do not fancy digging for these. As for me, I spent a large chunk of my childhood digging at the beach and messing in the mud. My dad says I even caught crabs when I was little, but I have no memory of that.

So before I leave for Perth for the second leg of my adventure, I decided to relive part of my childhood. At the same muddy beach I dug for Kap Pa more than 10 years ago.

The place did not change much.

One thing did change though. The Kap Pa were significantly smaller compared to those found during my excavations 10 years ago. The locals told us it was due to development close by. The bigger ones appeared to have left for greener pastures. Or greyer pastures, since it's mud they live in.

The bigger ones selected for a photo. 10 years ago, I would have called these "small".

We all know who did the selecting...

Dad said, remember to bring your kids to dig for clams. Other kids would probably never get a chance to be so close to nature.

I said, kids? Wait till I get some of those. :P

Random Bird Photos

A few days ago a little yellow bird that was learning to fly crash landed on my neighbour's garden. Unfortunately the only thing the bird knew about flying was crash landing. My neighbour figured the bird was going to be a resident of his garden for a few weeks, so he decided to adopt it as a pet. For simplicity, I'll call the bird Tweety.

Tweety was given a new home.

Perched on my neighbour's son's bicycle.

That's where it spends most of its time.

Tweety soon became friends with my neighbour's son...

 ...who calls his new playmate 小黄鸟 (little yellow bird).

And if you're wondering what Tweety will grow up to be, well it should look something like this in a few weeks:

credits: wikipedia.

I saw Tweety's parents about 2 days ago, so I know it's a Burung Kunyit Besar (Black Naped Oriole). A common bird in my neighbourhood.

Emigrating from the Blogosphere?

I decided to check which members of my blog list were still active, and ended up deleting more than half of my original blog links. It appears many are no longer interested in blogging/do not have the time to update their blogs.

I joined the blogging community as a latecomer, I remember. While most of my friends started blogging in secondary school (it was the craze then), I only started in 2009 when I enrolled in college. The main reason I started blogging? Nothing to do, itching to write. Simple as that. I was once a very good writer. Yup, once. Sadly over the years I've lost some of my creativity. I think the process is called growing up.

Man, I sound old.

Of course, I haven't finished growing, and I doubt I ever will. So I probably would retain some of my humour and creativity for the long term. This will allow me to continue blogging, and the only reason I believe I'll ever stop is to survive the audit peak season (if I decide to go for audit). The idea now is to keep my writing skills polished, even if no one is reading the nonsense here.

I therefore conclude I will continue being a member of the shrinking blogosphere, and this hell-bound nutcase of an asylum shall continue its operations, regardless of whether its residents are mad.

For those who have been following this blog and continue to wonder who I mean every time I say "residents of the asylum", I'm just referring to the voices in my head. And rest assured, one of them sounds exactly like you :-)

Georgetown CNY Street Festival 2013

Shingun and I are starting a tradition of attending this event every CNY. Mainly to see the Kongsis and enjoy our very own little heritage walk, but partly also to catch a glimpse of our dear CM Mr Lim. This year we got exactly what we wanted, except the bit where it rained a little.

Khoo Kongsi, with a pretty stage for performers.

I never get tired of visiting this place every year.

 During the street festival, you get to explore the little lorongs of Georgetown.

Pretty ladies in Cheongsam.

A souvenir for everyone!

Chingay: The art of balancing a heavy flag.

The Great Wall of Chinese Surnames. See yours anywhere? 

 Saw this dragon flying above the crowd.

If you ever attend any street festival in Georgetown, go for the awesome heritage trails, pretty lights, colourful costumes and to enjoy the deco. Don't go for the street food. The best food is in the coffee shops, not on the streets during festivals full of tourists. Take this piece of advice from a Penangite!

 Booths set up by hotels.

I think Eastin did pretty well this year.

And of course, the day isn't complete without meeting our CM...

Here he is. I managed to shake his hand. Syok la.

 

This was taken at one of the jetties. 

I wonder what temple this is. Looks like a nice place to visit.

All in all an enjoyable day on the streets. And since CNY lasts 15 days (yay!), I'll wish you Happy Chinese New Year. Again.

Happy CNY!

Another year comes and goes...

I'm not a professional baker, but I think I didn't do too bad. I baked that one (points up). Honestly, it tasted good. No kidding :P Happy Chinese New Year everyone!