Preview of next article

Here is a picture.



If you still don't get it, here's another hint: it rhymes with turds!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sexy = My Blog

Before I move on with the article, I realized that writing sexy with lower case is much more sexier than writing sexy with uppercase; writing sexy with uppercase simply makes the word SEXY look like an acronym for something e.g. Super Easy Xylophone Yodeling (I don't know what it means... Be creative)

Okay, back to the subject matter. So yes, my blog is now sexier because it had got a facelift. I did not design the template, it is a rip off from blogger. I have not found the time to design for my blog yet but I am pretty sure I will do it before the world ends. Note: my mother always says that "procrastination is the thief of time" no worries, I have nothing valuable on me. Take what you can ;)

I certify that my blog is sexy due to 2 criteria:

1. I do not believe that there are any bodies out there to give a sexy certification for blogs.

2. Only I out of the other 5 readers I have think that my blog is sexy.

Talking about people who frequent my blog, I realized through google analytics that I have a reader from California, US of A who has visited my blog several times. I used to think that the Reader was lost or accidentally switched the browser default page to my site. Only today I found out that the reader from Cali is my wife's friend. Which is of course a good thing because at least I am convinced that my content is palatable. And to my wife's friend, you know who you are ;) thank you!

I started this blog some 6 years ago for the fun of it and later used it to keep track of things that I do on a personal level. It is only lately that I decided to make this blog more public to explore my capabilities as a writer. If all goes well, I might even invest in my own domain. This really depends on you guys out there to spread the word and the love.

If you have recommended your friend to this blog, I thank you in abundance!

Cheers!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New Twitter Avatar

My Twitter handle has got a new Avatar.

Not really a big news but the reason for it is because I would like to promote my blog hence the Avatar.

I will not be carrying my handsome face anymore on Twitter so hope you guys saved my pic as your wallpaper already lol.

I hope you guys can help promote my blog too. If you notice there are FB, Twitter and Google+ buttons at the end of each post so do a brother a favour and click on the buttons to promote my blog on FB, Twitter and Google+

Below is the look of the new Avatar.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Quiz: explain the science

Okay, I have a question. To you science buffs out there; please explain the scenario below.

I have a couple of decorative pieces in my house that is made of a crystal with some salt (I don't know what salts) and a copper statue.

I placed the both next to each other over a cloth material (table runner) which is I think some sort of polyester.

What is happening now is that the copper statue is accumulating salt at its base and the table runner it producing some sort of liquid which I doubt is water.

I believe that there is some sort of electrolysis process going on because there is ungrounded current flowing from one of my appliances.

Let me explain the set up.

My TV cabinet:

Holds

1. TV
2. ASTRO decoder
3. DVD player

One of these appliances are leaking current because they are not grounded properly. When I place a crystal with salt on it together with copper, there is an electrolysis process happening which produces "liquid" due to the moisture in the air and the copper statue has some salty looking residue on its base.

I may be wrong. I wish I could get my hand on a litmus paper to check the liquid that is being produced.

Do you guys have any explanations for me?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Movie Review: Nasi Lemak 2.0 (Mandarin/Cantonese/Malay/Tamil/English)

Nasi Lemak 2.0 is a movie by Namewee (Negarakuku fame). It is his directorial debut and packs a star studded cast. This movie took 2 years to make and is a through and through comedy. The movie was endorsed by Dato Seri Nazri Aziz as a 1Malaysia film.Namewee has taken a great leap forward from doing controversial rap music to short films i.e. Potong Saga (15Malaysia) to directing and acting. The film stars big names in the local industry such as Adibah Nor, Afdlin Shauki, Datuk David Arumagam, Patrick Teoh, Pete Teo, Namewee, Reshmonu and many more.

I bought the tickets today to watch the movie with my wife even before I had watched the trailer. This movie was a must watch on my list because it is by Namewee and it is a Malaysian film. I wasn't too concerned about the language of the film because it had a multiracial cast and I was pretty sure it would have subtitles.

I would give this movie 2 thumbs up; if I had more hands, I would probably give more thumbs up! This movie is nothing short than awesome! For a first time director, Namewee has done an excellent job both directing and acting.

The movie delivers a very strong message and should not be viewed from an extremist point of view.The movie has a good storyline and it maintains a good pace. There are no unnecessary scenes and illogical moments.

Even though the movie may be in Madarin and other Chinese dialects, I was able to understand it as even the subtitles were funny! It is not easy making a film that would appeal to all in a foreign language. By the way I say foreign because I do not understand any Chinese language or dialect other than Hokkien.

The movie is very funny and it is not slapstick funny but innuendo/referential style funny. Albeit the one too many penis references, this movie has done justice!My only regret in the movies is that Pete Teo's role is too small.

I am not going to say anything more than that to compromise the movie.Please watch this movie in the cinema and please I beg you; please do not stream/download The movie or buy a pirated copy! The movie is definitely worth your cost.

Support the local industry, they have children to feed too!

Note: if you are a racist (fucking) bigot, this movie is not for you and stop calling for it to be banned!

I got DIRTY today!

Today I did one of the most exciting things ever. I rode an All Terrain Vehicle or fondly known as an ATV. The company that provides this service is called ATV adventure park (website below) which is located in Kampung Kemensah right in the interiors of Ampang (I don't think however that, that is Ampang anymore as there were Selangor flags)

How to get there: take the MRR2 all the way to Ampang to Zoo Negara. Next to zoo Negara, there is a road called Jalan ZooView. Keep going straight on that road although you may think that it will end in a parking, it will however take you into Kampung Kemensah. The road is small and single lane. From zoo Negara, the distance is about 5 KM. You will pass villages and at least one chalet before reaching ATV adventure park. Once you are at the venue, park your car by the sleeve of the road ad you cannot take it into the adventure park because I tried and realized that my car is not an ATV.


















The whole package costs about RM150 per pax which includes the ATV and the gears (gears is only helmet la actually), off road ride through the lush forest up to a waterfall where you can spend some time bathing/picnicking and also the ride back to base. Oh, and also a guide!




 They will provide training at the base which is very simple and the ATV itself isn't difficult to handle. An aunty at about 60 years of age was trained to ride one (although am not too sure if she made it through the jungle or quit). The picture is the ATV I rode.

Once done with the training, you will go through a test ride and if you're comfortable, then you can start heading to the falls with the guide of course. There were 8 of us in our team so we were split to 4 each with 2 guides. The ride I tell you my friends is an experience you will never forget. You would want to go again.

The waterfall itself is such a beauty. If you are a nature lover, this is for you however, if you are a tree hugger, you may not be too happy because the vehicles are like bikes and they emit carbon because it is fuel based and not battery operated. You have been warned.

What to expect: fun, fun and more fun! And also getting dirty with mud and also collisions of ATVs because the track is slippery and you may langgar belakang your friend's or stranger's ATV. Also you may get yourself in a ditch if you ride too fast and cannot control the vehicle. Expect to be mauled by mosquitoes so bring insect repellent. Wear sports clothes and remember it is not a fashion show, no blings, high heels, designer clothes. Best to wear three quarters and sports shoes.

This adventure has to be one of the best I have done at least for this year.




Trust me an ATV is easy and safe to use if used correctly. My wife probably rode the ATV better than me because she is a joki jipang of Bayan Baru! On the left is a picture of me after the ride. Do not comment on the helmet, I had no choice.

Here is the website for ATV adventure park: http://www.atvadventurepark.com/about.htm

Enjoy people. Hope you had as much fun as my friends and I did. Don't do drugs or alcohol before riding these machines. You may do alcohol after the adventure and talk about it over and over again ;)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

T-PAIN, I HATE YOU!

Yes, I hate T-Pain these days because now everybody and their grandmothers are using auto-tune. It was nice in the beginning when T-Pain was using it but now it is just plain annoying and worse when the mofo who is singing has a terrible voice and tries to compensate the atrocity by using auto tune.

Some may argue with me “but, Vick it was Cher who used auto tune first…” I agree, but when she did it, you did not have a bunch of other idiots doing it. Auto tune is over-rated; you even have those T-Pain apps for iPhone where you can sing to it and it will auto tune your voice. I admit, I have used it too just for the kicks J

I have to also admit that my rap group (SPR) has used it as well and I think this time around, I would advise them against it (I did not use it on my voice, but one of my group mate sings well so the auto tune did not turn out bad J). Enough is enough! The reason I do not sing is because I can’t and I do not want to use a tool to make me sound good which I believe it doesn’t as well you only end up sounding worse than when you started.

Auto tune has even invaded the Tamil music scene both locally and in India. You have Bollywood songs that are heavily auto tuned so much so the actual voice of the singer is overwhelmed by a digitized sound. Local Tamil rap has now gone mental over the usage of auto tune; almost every song I hear on THR has been auto tuned. Come on guys, you are better than that, stop auto tune. Leave it to T-Pain.

On a good note, I know that my all time favorite cum my idols, Bone Thugs N harmony are against auto tune and so is Jay-Z. Jay-Z did a song called D.O.A or Death of Auto Tune and Bone Thugs remade the song (but paid tribute to Jay Z) and stated that they are against auto tune and urging people to be more creative and also stressing the message to the extent to say if you can’t sing, don’t!

I have posted both the videos of Bone Thugs and Jay Z below for your viewing pleasure.

T-Pain, I still hate you!





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I have discovered Instagram!

No, no, I did not invent it! I just decided to explore.

As of recently, I have been using twitter heavily and find it more interesting than Facebook. You get the news faster and you rarely read soppy stories of your "friends". It is as good as watching the breaking news but in text.

So whilst using twitter, a lot of tweeps (twitter peeps (people)) have been using instagram and their picture looks fabulous. I have been seeing it for months but only a couple of days ago i decided to explore and found out that I am an excellent photographer. Pakai iPhone pun gambaq nampaq chun!

Instagram has predefined effects that you can use on your pictures to make them look retro. Any shit picture you take will look like a professional shot with the effects. The picture is also stored on your phone if you use an iPhone. I was told that android does not have the app but there are substitutes.

I know I may be a little bit behind technology but I got there nevertheless. Lol.

Quote from a Tamil actor "Simbu" "yaaru muthalle varuthu mukkiyam ille, yaaru latest-a varathu thaan mukkiyam" literally translated to say "it is not important who comes first but who comes the latest (as in new/gempaq/the shit)

Here are some pics with instagram:

P.S. I am not a fan of Simbu! If you understand sarcasm then you get the joke.







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My son called me Appa - for the first time!

I rarely blog about my family life because I think some things are best kept personal. This time however, I could not resist because my son called me Appa (dad, in Tamil) for the first time and he is 10 months old.

All this while he would make sounds that sound like Appa but I used to shrug it off as coincidence because he does not say it to me and I thought it was babbling.

Today however, he looked at me and went Appa, Appa, Appa, and was crawling towards me. He did this few times today so it is no coincidence!

For me to blog about this which to some may seem insignificant, means that I was really touched and moved with what I heard and saw.

That superman in the picture is my son and he is named Siddharthavarman Vicknesharajan. A mouthful, huh! Yeah he has a super long name! When he fills out forms, in the name section, they're going to tell him that the column is for the name and not the address.

A truly exciting moment for me today when my son called me Appa!

People with kids, you may understand what I am saying!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Do you know?

Blogger (blogspot) has its own app?! Yes it does and this is my pilot post using blogger for iPhone.

My first comment is, I do not like it.

1. Ugly colour for the interface, orange my friends, orange! Being someone of Indian descent, orange is the most typical colour; we Indians just love bright colours. But not me... I am Klingon.

2. Posting photos is a nightmare, I cannot align them as I desire. Or maybe I could but I do not see the option.

Otherwise, it is pretty okay. I still find blogpress much more user friendly. I have to pay for blogpress but I still think it is much more superior due to its user friendliness.

If blogger can make some good updates especially changing the colour, it will supersede blogpress

Movie Review: Mankatha (Tamil)

Just watched the movie and I decided to share my two cents about it.

Mankatha has a star studded cast comprising of Ajith, Arjun, Trisha, Vaibhav Reddy, Premjiamaren, Akash Aravind, Laxmi Rai and the list goes on.

I am a big fan of director Venkat Prabhu especially after the movies Saroja and Goa. He brings fresh movies to the Tamil silver screen and never fails to make you laugh till your stomach hurts.

Having said the above, I would give Mankatha a 2 out of 5. I was not impressed with this movie because it was too long, too many irrelevant scenes and songs, irrelevant characters and some plot holes.

I did enjoy the comedy in the movie and maybe the technical aspects of it but for the most of it, it looked like a Masala film. It was more of an Ajith film than a Venkat Prabhu film which I guess I had a problem with.

I do not deny the fact that the movie is a leap forward for Tamil films but it just did not impress me as much. Director Venkat Prabhu should stick to the usual comedy genre. He does very well there. I will also not deny the fact that I will watch Mankatha again for the comedy.

I have to admit that I made sure I watched this movie in the cinema because it was by Venkat Prabhu but when the movie progressed into the first 30 mins or so, I felt it was going to be a drag.

Also, Ajith should have lost some weight because his belly shows! Not a pleasing sight! But, if you look at him from belly up, he does carry the role very well and Looks stylish.

On a lighter note, it was good to see some fresh faces in the movie especially Mahat Raghavendra and Ashwin Kakumanu. They carried themselves very well in the movie.

I am not going to discuss the plot of the movie because I would say watch the movie buts do not set your expectations too high. If you are a Masala maniac, then this film is for you!dyt



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

In City-A-One and Back to KayEl in 12 hours

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I was in Sitiawan today an it was a good trip. Drove past the kampungs and the trunk road kept going on and on which reminded me of Donkey in Shrek "are we there yet?!"

I was contemplating to either take the Bidor exit or the Ipoh exit because Bidor distance wise is much nearer but the trunk road is annoying to drive on because it is only one lane to go and one lane to come. Whereas Ipoh, you get to drive faster on the highway and then take the road to Sitiawan which would take about 45 minutes from Ipoh. I however was forced to take Bidor because I wad told that Ipoh would be jammed up. Bidor, Teluk Intan, Langkap and all the towns around that area were jammed up anyway due to the holidays.

Finally reached Sitiawan after 4 hours. Did what I had to do, visited one of my relatives as well and headed back and that is when the "adventure" started. Before I move on, I seem to remember the roads on Sitiawan better than the roads in KL where I have been living for the past 8 years and I have only been to Sitiawan like maybe 4 times or so. Well, one reason could be that there are no new buildings in Sitiawan every 2 seconds which changes the landmarks. :)

Anyway, back to the story of heading back. So once again, I was thrown the choice of using the highway to go back or using the trunk road all the way from Sitiawan to Klang. Now, this is a tricky situation. It is indeed nearer to take the trunk road because these two towns are coastal towns however, the trunk roads aren't that great at least until Sabak Bernam which is about 40 odd KMs from Sitiawan. But, using the highway would mean backtracking all the way back from Sitiawan to Teluk Intan to Bidor and hop on the highway back. I decided to take the trunk road because I have never used it before and I wanted an adventure which I would regret anyway.

So the journey started of fine, I saw some weird signboards and road names for example "Menjual benih tanaman dan haiwan" I was baffled; didn't know you could grow animals from seeds and the super hilarious road name I saw was "Jalan Mat Rojak". I tell you, these are only things you can see in small towns.

Then, the nightmare started, there was a jam that begun somewhere in between Sabak Bernam and Tanjung Karang that lasted until Kuala Selangor! All because of a traffic light which was not programmed for heavy volumes of vehicles. It was bot pleasant as well because my son was not feeling comfortable started to cry for the same distance!

A journey that should have taken 2 1/2 hours top, took 4 1/2 hours which translates to KL to Alor Star at an average speed of 120 KM/H on PLUS.

So there you have it. If you plan to use the trunk road, not on festive seasons please. However, the trunk road from Sabak Bernam to Klang is pretty decent. Advisable to drive in the day time for two reasons, one is the scenery, two is the safety as only some parts are lit. I by the way travelled at night; someone kick me please!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
As

I will be in Sitiawan tomorrow

Folks, I will be in Sitiawan tomorrow for some personal event and it is going to be a long drive from KL. on the highway is not too bad but once you have to take the trunk road is when the excitement takes place.

I usually like taking the trunk roads because it is more picturesque and you get to see all the kampungs on the way which is becoming rather scarce due to urbanization.

Sitiawan is indeed a unique place especially when at least one of my friends calls it CT-A-One/CT-A-1. The story behind how Sitiawan got its name is even more unique.

So the story goes on to explain that there were once these 2 elephants in the area who were bosom buddies. One unfortunate day, one of the elephants got stuck in quick sand and was fast drowning. Not being able to see its friend suffer, the other elephant stretched out its trunk to try and pull the other elephant. However neither made it and the elephant that was trying to help did not want to let go of its friend hence the name "setia kawan" or now over time, "Setiawan". This story may not be true but it serves a strong lesson in life such as trust and loyalty. These are some qualities that are fading and people have become more impersonal.

I hope I have entertained you thus far or maybe put you to sleep but either way, you benefit ;)

Will post something if anything interesting happens in CT-A-One.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Vixstarr.blogspot.com now mobile friendly!

My blog is now mobile friendly! Please inform everyone you know to subscribe to my blog. It may be boring but worth a read ;)

We have tested it out on iPhones and androids but have not tested it on Symbians and other OSes. If you have a Symbian phone please test it out and let me know. The blog works fine with iOS and android. Nice layout and readability.

I am speaking as though I coded the whole thing but trust me, it is just a checkbox in Blogger ;)

Having said that it is still important for me to maintain the readability of the site.

I am looking for more improvements to the blog so stay tuned :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

#ITwtf

So, my wife told me that my vege mon stories are rather dry which is something I have to agree with because not many people like gardening and science ;)

In view of this, this blogpost will be something other than gardening. The problem I have is that I am at the moment "Kering Idea" the only thing that I can think is the hash tag that I started in Twitter where I am the only contributor. It is called #ITwtf . The reason I named it so is because of the blunders that we all do on a daily basis when it comes to computers or the general usage of IT.

I am from the IT industry and I have made mistakes that would make me think "what the flying fuck did I just do?"

We think machines are complicated but in reality, they are not; we just fail to read the bloody manual and this is ever prevalent especially in the male of the species!

Men and manuals are like two opposite sides of the spectrum, they can never meet! But trust me, it does a whole lot of good to read the damn manual because you will be surprised to find that you were doing it wrong all the time. /me thinks: do women come with manuals?

Anyway, #ITwtf is not only limited to me. If you have an IT blunder that you did or someone else did, please post it in twitter under this hash tag.

I would love to post all the posts under that hash tag but I will save it for another day when there is something that was contributed to it from anyone but me.

Bear in mind that IT "experts" make the silliest mistakes like clicking Shift+delete only to realize that they deleted the wrong bloody file and it cannot be brought back to life!

So please, you and I are not spared from stupidity!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Come mr. Vege mon, grow me some bananas

The title for this blogpost is to be sung to the tune of day-o (ref: beetlejuice)

The plants are progressing well especially with the spell of rain that we have been receiving. All the plants now are being grown under full sun which we in the equator are lucky because we do not really need greenhouses to plant tropical plants and plants will not suffer from frost and so on.

As you can see from the photos below, all of the plants except the lettuce have grown considerably well.

I still have one more plant to plant which is the cili padi. I have run out of soil so I have not had the chance to plant it yet and cili padi is my favorite. It goes well with any dish.

I remember back home (my hometown of Penang) my dad, elder sister and I would always have a cili padi in hand when eating, One mouth of rice and one bite of the cili padi... Oh, the bliss! Some say we northerners have a tolerance for spice, we can basically eat anything that is spicy and if it is not, you know we're not going to be satisfied. This reminds me of a colleague of mine who is from sungai petani. We were once in this kelantanese shop in dengkil where they serve some pretty good Tom yam and their signature dish called nasi goreng Malee. My colleague ordered the belacan and poured it all on his rice and requested for sliced cili padi. The waiter was surprised and he warned my colleague that the belacan is already very spicy. My colleague being a northerner said, I know, but it is not spicy enough for me so bring me the cili padi. The waiter obliged.

I know this article has deviated a little bit but hey, not everyone wants to read about plants now do they?

So yeah, I still have that cili padi seeds which I am itching to grow.

I leave you now with the pictures.







Okra/ladies fingers







Eggplant







Lettuce. See that green spot?







Tomato







Chili

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tamil Nasyid

There was this video shared by one of the people I follow on Twitter (@bmahendran) where you have 4 Malay chaps singing a religious song in perfect harmony.

Not only was the harmony perfect but the pronunciation as well. Now, Tamil is not an easy language to master because of the following reasons:

1. Pronunciation
2. Grammar
3. It is just too complicated

These boys who sang a whole song in Tamil have to be saluted because it is not their mother tongue and they actually took the time and pain to learn the pronunciation. Even my pronunciation isn't that great and Tamil being my mother tongue.

The reason why I am so amazed is because and especially of their pronunciation of the character "zha" which is pronounced "Ra" with your tongue touching your palate. See it is even complicating to explain the process. However, these boys do it with ease!

Non of our local Tamil guys have attempted to do what these boys have done.
Disclaimer: I have not heard local Tamil harmonized singing before so may be wrong and stand to be corrected

P.s. This reminds me of Boys to Men. Good R&B music. One reference would be colours of love by Boys to Men.

I now leave you with the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odH8CJ1QbO0&feature=youtube_gdata_player




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I have got my plants, now where are them zombies?

Hello and welcome to this week's addition of vege mon (pronounced as man in a Jamaican accent).

Do not quote me on this but did you know that a country is under threat if it does not have agriculture. This is something that I was told during one of my courses.

I believe that is true because the people will run out of food supplies should there be a war. I mean that statement was a no brainer but I am just stating the obvious because some people may have been attacked by zombies and had their brains eaten.

By the way if you're wondering why the title for this article makes no sense is because you have not played plants vs zombies. Do not know that one then google it. I have given out enough simple interpretations.

Well anyway, this week my plants have not made much progress Except for the okra, tomatoes and chili. Okras are sprouting new leaves and shedding the old ones whilst the chili and tomato are growing quite fast. The brinjal still looks like it is creeping on a come up but the lettuce has not grown any taller but the leaves are starting to take shape.

The problem with lettuce is that if it is not grown properly, the leaves will become leathery and not very pleasant to eat. I would not know the fate of my lettuce now so I guess would have to wait.

It has been more than a month now since I planted these crops so it is going to take another 2 or 3 months before I can see any fruits.

I will now leave you with some pictures.











Okra and some of my homemade fertilizers. I have to read up
More on fertilizers and compost because I do not believe those 2 words are interchangeable. I say fertilizer because it helps the plant grow providing it with nutrients but it ain't made of dung. So guys, please help me find the right term.










Brinjal a.k.a eggplant










Tomato










Chili.

P.s: did you guys know that okra/ladies finger is actually part of the same family as hibiscus? Well yes it is. Hence the similarities in the leaves.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Farming is my middle name

First of all let me apologize for the late post! Come to think of it, I may be very well apologizing to my self!

I was busy watching my new pet robot clean the house, no it is not like the robot that you remember from the cartoon Jetsons but more of a combination of those toys you see in pasar malam where They bounce off a barrier and move in the opposite direction and a vacuum cleaner. I am talking about the picabot. It vacuums the floor on its own and also sanitizers the place with a laser gun :p I lied, it is a UV light. Although I may understand its coding algorithm isn't that great, but anything with the name 'bot (robot) in it is cool!

Anyway, back to the perishables, so, the okra has grown taller, the brinjal has made some amount of progress and the lettuce does not look like it is going to survive. However, the chili and tomato is looking pretty good. Might be because I am using separate pots for these plants.

With the brinjal and lettuce, I had to get rid of some of them to make sure I only have the best plant. This is done so that the plants get enough nutrients. It was a difficult process because as i have mentioned in my previous post, I believe that if any plant made it that far, then they are heroes. If had more pots, chances are I would have planted more of the same plant.

Anyway, I shall leave you with the pictures.







The okra, tallest in the class.







Brinjal, creeping on a come up!







Lettuce - I'd be surprised if it makes it.

And the heroes for the week:






Chili







Tomato

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Me no vege mon today!

Hello! First of all selamat berpuasa to my Muslim friends. Hope you guys are blessed abundantly during this holy month.

This week I am not going to be blogging about my vegetable patch as I am not in Selangor but in my hometown of Butterworth, Penang. In turn if you like it or don't, I am going to blog about my mom's garden instead. Her garden is one of my inspirations for my own patch.

Although my mom's garden is not particularly only vegetables but it includes some flowers as well. All of her plants are grown in pots like mine and they do bear fruit.

Some of the plants include indian herbs such as "karpura valli" or Oregano as it is known in English. There is also "Thulasi" also known as Holy Basil. These plants come in handy especially when you are having a flu or if you need to rid your chest of phlegm. They don't taste great especially oregano which is pungent and chewing on a leaf is pretty beneficial flu or not. They grow easily and look like a shrub.

There are also a number of plants that can't be eaten and if you insist may kill you. A very good example is oleander. It is a beautiful flowering plant and often used for landscaping but beauty comes with a heavy price!

Here are some of the pictures.







An overview of the garden.







Oregano - good for curing flu symptoms.







Japanese Rose - beautiful flowers and used for landscaping as well. Don't know of it is edible and I do not want to take the risk of eating it ;)







What I believe is pineapple but never seen it fruit!







Some ornamental bamboo and I have known this plant ever since I can remember which could put this plants age at about 27 years old because moved to Butterworth when I was 3.







This pot holds two plants Pegaga (not lady gaga, no! It is used as Ulam in Malay cuisines. It is also known as Pennywort in English) and also tomato. The tomato plant is still not mature enough to bear fruit.







This fellow right here is the infamous oleander. This lil' mufacka has the potential to kill by ingesting just 1 leaf. I told my mom to throw it as we occasionally have kids in the house and you never know what they put in their mouths.







Some palm which I am not so fond of. I hate palm (except maybe for coconut) and I think I am prejudice towards palm as I do not believe they serve any purpose. One of the reasons could be because it destroyed the estate where my parents are from! It was a rubber estate until they wiped it out to make way for palm oil... Sheesh! Okay, it is not the palms' fault but hey I need some plants to blame!







Pandan, beybee! I love the smell. Also know as daun chendol. No fancy English name.







"Pasalai keerai" or also known as Indian spinach. "Keerai" in Tamil generally refers to vegetables.







"Thulasi" or holy basil. Just placing some of these leaves in a cup of water may do you some good. Hence why it is used in holy water (for Hindus)







Money plant. I love these guys. Very hardy plants. There was once when I moved to my new place and did not water it for a week and there was no rain either, but the dude survived despite having looking dried but with some water afterwards, my money plant is doing well.







And last but not least is the Feng Shui plant. These guys are lush and when they flower, they churn out a flower that looks like a mini tumbleweed. I think it looks cool.

So there you have it. A walk through my mom's garden. I have not asked her any permission to publish this so please don't tell her. I mean it. Some of my cousins do read this blog! Save me a beating :P

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone