The Balloon Girl

 This mural grabbed my attention when I was ambling around the Straits Quay promenade. 

I thought the artist's style was vaguely familiar. 

Turned out, I was right. The artist is Lithuanian Ernest Zacharevic of international fame.

I find the artist's signature style of involving real props in his street art fascinating.

From the archives (2013)

More photos here.

How to order Kopi 101

Me : Kopi-O *satu, Kopi-Ping satu, Kopi-Cham satu, Kopi-Si satu.

Waiter: Okay, boss!

 *satu in Malay means one.

A typical kopitiam 

Yep, that was coffee lingo and I had just ordered black coffee for myself, iced coffee with condensed milk for hubby, coffee+tea for Josh and coffee with evaporated milk for Rodney in a Malaysian kopitiam (coffee shop).

Suffixes to the word 'Kopi' are codes to indicate to the waiter how you like your coffee.

O = black with sugar

Si = with sugar and evaporated milk

Cham = with tea  Yes, coffee mixed with tea for those who can't make up their mind and want both!

Ping  = with ice

Kosong = without sugar

Kaw = extra strong

These codes can be interchangeably used for 'Teh' (tea in  Malay). 

So if you want a cup of black coffee with ice, you would say Kopi-O-Ping!

And if you don't want sugar in it, say  Kopi-O-Ping-Kosong!

Now you can order your coffee or tea like a boss in a local kopitiam!

Interestingly, kopi or tea without ice is always served in this standard ceramic cup and saucer set with the traditional Chinese green floral design in all old-school kopitiams wherever you are in Malaysia.

Snoopy

My younger son Rodney volunteered at an animal shelter recently with a group of his former high school classmates.

Together, they bathed 200 + dogs!

Meet Snoopy, one of the dogs at the shelter.

Isn't he adorable!

Hungry Ghosts

Oh, oh, it's that time of the year again when the gates of hell are open and  ravenous ghosts are released to wander the earth!

In case you are wondering what the heck I am talking about, you can read about the festival here.

During this period, offerings of candles, joss sticks, food and drinks to fete the wandering spirits are seen on roadsides.

Throughout the entire Ghost Month, several superstitions and beliefs are observed and wandering out after dark (more so when you are alone) is totally taboo, lest you bump into one of  'them' !

Interestingly, I noticed that starving stray dogs do not go near these food offerings in the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival —  they would rather scavenge the trash bins nearby!

You reckon they see something we humans can't see??