Memorial Weekend Viewing

Apart from the aquarium thingy (read below), we also spent a few hours in front of the boob tube and the theater.

This documentary is a re-telling of letters written by a group of Western expatriates who lived in Nanking during the on-set of the Japanese invasion of China. Over-shadowed by the Holocaust in Europe, this is a forgotten event of great human monstrosity committed by the Japanese soldiers, within such a short period of time, to women, men, children and babies. You will be moved to tears by their stories - a little girl being split into two for resisting rape, a boy who saw his mother killed and his baby brother being skewered and flung away, etc. It also has interviews with former perpetrators/Japanese soldiers and their bitter admission to these atrocities. Read more.

If you haven't watched the above movie, just wait for the DVD release. If you can't, go to a weekend matinee. Indiana Jones meets sci-fi. Some really funny scenes but that's it. Towards the end of the movie, we thought we were watching National Treasure: Book of Secrets all over again! Quite a blah. I should have listened to the reviews but I was being stubborn. I think that's the price a lot of people pay for being an Indiana Jones fan of the 80s. What's my favorite Indi movie? Temple of Doom!!!

Short talk: After five months of temporary assignment, I have been permanently hired by an organization in lower Manhattan (of which, I am unable to flaunt my affiliation with).

Reviving an old hobby

Adrian is a goldfish lover but gave up this hobby when he came to the U.S. to continue his studies. His hobby is shared by my Grandpa who used to breed goldfish back in his younger days. These days my parents' tank is reduced to a 12+ year old Osphronemus goramy (ikan kaloi) and a few local kois.

A few days ago, Adrian decided to renew his passion for goldfish, so off we went to our neighborhood Wal-mart. We've always known that pets here lead a luxury life but who knew that even tropical fish and freshwater fish are included. Adrian was "salivating" with excitement as we walked by aisle after aisle of fish supplies. Even I the non-fish lover is now a convert.

So, this is how we spent our Memorial Weekend....

Before


After

Our tank is home to 2 black moors, 2 red cap orandas, 1 black & red oranda, 2 calico ryukins, 1 lion head/ranchu and 1 pearl scale. The tank is hypnotic! And, a great stress reliever :)

Enjoy the short video of our new "friends".

Dey Mansion

It's time to explore Jersey again. Adrian & I went on another historical visit last Sunday. We took a tour of Dey Mansion in Wayne. Dey Mansion (pronounced "die" in Dutch, or "day" in American English) was the home of Colonel Theunis Dey in the mid-18th century. The brick Georgian style mansion was used by General Washington twice as his headquarters while his troops encamped at Totowa Heights.

Kitchen - note the correlation between hunting and cooking in this photo :)

Men wore clogs with markings to signify that they were no longer "eligible"

Did you know that in the past women never wore short sleeves because exposing one's arm was deemed inappropriate. Who knew the elbow was an erogenous zone?

Dey Mansion rooms...

The front room where General Washington used as his office. It was said that he wrote about 300 letters here.

Washington's so-called "conference room" where the men would gather and discuss war strategies. Hmm...

Guest room. Who slept here? Gilbert du Motier @ Marquis de La Fayette, General Anthony Wayne, Alexander Hamilton, General Nathaniel Greene and Lord Stirling. But, whose night dress is that on the bed?!

Washington's bedroom at the Mansion. He was a tall man of about 6 feet 3 inches, but that bed is rather short for him isn't it? Nah, we were told that back in those days, people didn't lie flat on the bed but slept propped up to prevent illness such as pneumonia. Therefore, a long bed wasn't necessary. I can't imagine Washington's feet dangling from the edges.

The Colonel's bedroom @ the master bedroom. What about the kids? Colonel and Mrs. Dey had 10 children but most were grown-up and lived elsewhere so they had rooms to spare those heavy weights mentioned earlier on.

Up in the attic, we found numbers on the beams, suggesting that the house was an early modular home. Isn't that amazing?! Anyway, the attic is now an exhibition area featuring war artifacts, etc.

This is my favorite - a 13 star colonial flag used in the Battle of Cowpens, 1781. Just imagine a flag that's over 200 years old!

View of Dey Mansion from the back and garden...

Did I mention that it's spring? April showers bring May flowers?! This is the bloom from one of the bushes. Ati-shooo!!!!!!! Damn pollens.


Side Note
Recommended by our tour guide:
HBO's John Adams - this miniseries puts a human face to the men of revolution. What's that phrase -To err is human?

Filming in Dey Mansion - PBS' American Experience: Alexander Hamilton and Middlemarch.

Pope Benedict XVI Leaves His Mark in NYC

Yesterday we decided to join thousands of people along 5th Avenue, hoping to catch a glimpse of the 'German Shepherd' - Pope Benedict XVI. Not all who lined the streets were happy and enthusiastic to see the Pope but the overall feeling was a positive one. Even though we waited for 2 hours along 5th Avenue for the 10 second event, it was worth it. I am glad that we went.

As soon as we reached the east side of Central Park, there were protestors, certain groups who dissed the Pope and street vendors who pimped commercialized his trip selling buttons, flags, t-shirts, etc. Even New York City made the Pope their poster boy (see above).

Protestors --unlike certain country (which I shall remain nameless), people here are able to express their opinion freely and in a civil way

Pope Benedict XVI buttons. Would you buy one?

Welcome sign in German...

Adrian was so determined to take this photo of nuns from Mother Teresa's order

What's there to do in between all the waiting? For this police officer, he found time to give the car another good wipe down.

If you try to pull a crazy stunt, the officers wouldn't hesitate to strap your wrists with these cuffs

Snipers were stationed somewhere in the high rise and an NYPD chopper was flying about scaring the birds. Thank goodness, none of them decide to poop on the people below.

The moment has arrived. After 2 hours of waiting...

The first sign that somebody important is coming

Here he comes!

Amidst all the tight security, Pope Benedict XVI made his way up to 59 Street, 5th Avenue. Everyone was kept on their toes. From police officers to secret service agents and sanitary truck drivers (yes, I am not kidding!) Big, heavy sanitary trucks were used to block off the streets.

Another shot of the Popemobile approaching our spot. See those SS Agents in their suits and sunglasses??? TYPICAL!

And then....arghh!!! Somebody shoved Adrian just as the Popemobile passed us :(

By the time, he was ready to re-take the shot, all he got was the Pope's hand *sigh*

The Pope turned 81 recently and I thought he did really well keeping up with the hectic schedule. Just imagine going from one event to another -- he just celebrated mass with 60,000 odd people at Yankee Stadium. I also believed that he touched a lot of people's hearts during his visit here. People were overwhelmed. People were crying. People were smiling and cheering when he passed by. I am not a Catholic by birth and it was just an awesome experience seeing the Pope in flesh. What else did I get in return?

Stop laughing already!

Note: The decision to buy the $5 flag was not Serenity's. She blames this cheesy-ness entirely on her better half.

Knock, knock, who's there?


Well, it's Trish & her family. They are finally HERE en route to Palm Beach, Florida! I have known Trish since our days in Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia. Although she lived like a "nomad" (she moved so many times, I've lost count) -- we did well keeping in touch all this while. In the early 90s, I went over to the U.K. to see her and 6 years ago we met in S'pore and then she stayed with me in Kuching when she visited Malaysia.

Since then, good things have happened in Trish & Milko's lives. They are blessed with three sons Max, Ollie and baby Hugo. I haven't seen her boys and was very excited to meet them. Adrian hasn't met Trish and Milko, but he has heard so much about them through me.

On Friday night, we stopped by their hotel and had such a great time catching up with her and Milko, and meeting their bunch. They dropped by our place the next day, and we headed out to Garden State Plaza, which interestingly is owned and operated by Westfield -- an Australian company that specializes in mall business.

Err...perhaps we should have chosen a better location rather than next to the trash can???

Look who's going for a ride on the Venetian Carousel?

No doubt, we are looking forward to seeing more of Trish, Milko and the boys now that they're in Florida. WELCOME to the U.S. and we hope you'll like it here (and, decide to stay for good?). Serenity's wishful thinking... :)

Short talk: I haven't been religiously updating my blog as often as I would like but here I am. I haven't abandoned it. Oh yes, Happy April Fools Day! The Malaysian Consulate pulled a "prank" on us - passport collectors today. They made everyone take a ticket but the lines were all jumbled up so the ticket was useless... Nevertheless, this folly turned out great for me. In spite of being number 3, I was the first to collect & head out of the Consulate. However, I am now resigned to believe that people who go to the Malaysian Consulate must stay there for at least 45 minutes even though you are first in line. They love to play the game "now you see me, now you don't" with their customers. Though it was a tedious wait, the Consulate staff was polite. After paying USD93 (must be in exact change coz they don't have petty cash), I wasn't expecting any less.

Green Papaya

Recently, two interesting food establishments opened its doors for business in Bergen County. Needless to say, it is to our delight :) One being Penang -- not directly linked though distantly related to the famous Penang Restaurant owner Datuk ??? (forgot his name) and the other, Green Papaya -- an Asian fusion restaurant just 10 minutes away from our apartment. Although we have been to Penang a few times and love it (I'll write about Penang, Lodi next time), Green Papaya was quite a discovery for us last weekend. If you're looking for somewhere cosy yet reasonably priced, the latter is quite a gem!

Appetizer

The Malaysian chefs did a good job with the beef/chicken satay. Although the peanut sauce was a little watery to our liking, the taste was acceptable. The marinated beef and chicken was just as good as the Malaysian hawker stall's.

Entrees

Forget about the broccoli. I must admit, it's an unusual choice for decoration but that's secondary. Although the beef rendang looked kind of grosteque, it is really good! I am NOT kidding. Yes, looks can be deceiving. I know, I know...normally there's no potato in rendang but bear in mind that Green Papaya is a "fusion" restaurant. So, we have to expect the unexpected.

Shrimp sambal -- yummy! The sauce is a unique cross between sambal and sweet & sour. Adrian was scrapping the left-over sauce with his rice towards the end of his meal. Enough said...

The verdict: We would definitely go back to Green Papaya soon. Besides, the owner assured us of her willingness to craft out her specialty dish -- wonton noodles with char siu and black sauce (not in the menu). Apparently, this is a favorite among her Malaysian customers. And, they have hot frothy tea. I am already dreaming of teh tarik!