.: I am Irfan :.

Mama and Ayah think I've got a chance to be the poster-boy for READ! Singapore '09. Ya think?



Riiiiiiight ... Let's wait till I figure out what THIS one says first, Mama, Ayah ...

Good luck, Tok! Good luck, Nenek!
Prepare to burn off some calories with us around! ;)



cute, innit?
I hope the 3 of us won't look back at this in years to come only to say ...
"where did it all go wrong??"

Ayah's note: Choy!Choy!Choy! Touch wood!

Gosh ... I am picking up so many words nowadays Mama and Ayah's heads are spinning just trying to catch up!

Mama says my Chinese pronunciation, in terms of tones, has been pretty zhun.
And that's apparently a big deal. Heh.
We'll see how zhun it is when it really matters, Ma. See also: PSLE, "O" Levels, "A" Levels

Anyways, here's a sample few additions to the original list:
Jiu Jiu - "Uncle" in Mandarin
Ah Cheem - "Ah Gim" is Hokkien for "Aunt"
Ahlong - Malay for "eldest". Here, it refers to Ayah's eldest brother, whose real name is .... errr .. Ahlong? I think ...
Moto - Motorbike
bù jiàn le - Mandarin for "can't see it already"
duduk - Malay for "sit"


... and Mama's favourites:
PoPOto
Mamana

Guess what those two are.
Here's a hint to help you: the first is what french fries are made of, and the second is a term commonly used to refer to an angmoh-cised chinese. fiiiiiiine, I'll make it simpler: the second is a long and yellow fruit.

Tokyo ...

savouring food that is to die for ...





in the company of the ones you love to death.

oh, and one last thing ...



Happy 1st Birthday to me! :)
Thanks for celebrating my birthday together with me Mama, Ayah and my bestest buddies in the world: Elmo, Tang-tang and Penguin!

We were hoping it wouldn't, but the day had to come.
It was our last full day in the Big Apple and there was still so much left to be done, sights to see and smells to be savoured!
*Sigh*
I DO *heart* NY!!!


Aboard the ferry to Staten Island to bid "Adieu" to Madame Liberty (She IS technically French, after all)


Pretty picture of Mama ... heee ... love ya, Mama!! *muacks*


Okay, you can open your eyes now, Mama?
Tada!! Behold ... the Brooklyn Bridge!


View from the Top of The Rock



Ayah HAD to, just HAD TO, savour NYC's chicken-and-rice for one last time. They are, to quote Ayah:"BRILLIANT!! Just ... BRILLIANT!!"



Watch out, Tokyo!
Irfan-san's coming your way!

Since it's been almost 3 months since we came back from New York/Tokyo, I figured it'll be appropriate for me to continue the travel journal that was abruptly stopped roughly around 2 months ago (don't blame me, I have an attention span of a 1-yr-old. Oh wait ... I AM a 1-yr-old!!)

...

First, for the shocking bit ....
Day 4 .... DID NOT .... involve any SHOPPING!!
I mean, I didn't travel halfway around the world just to watch Mama and Ayah shop, ya dig?.
So, armed with the trusty NYC Official City Guide ...






















Me, myself and I decided that we're gonna get us some CULTURE and abit 'o the SUN.

So, off we went to the American Museum of Natural History ...
































































... and Central Park!!


























































Day 4 ... I liiiiiiiiiiike

as of 17 July 2008

Mamma (spoken in various pitches. see video here) - Mom
Yaya - Dad (Ayah means "Dad" in Malay)
Ma' - Grandma (Ah Ma is Grandma in Hokkien)
Tok - Grandpa (Datok is Grandpa in Malay)
Nenek - Grandma (Nenek is Grandma in Malay)
Jatuh - "To fall down" in Malay
Pecah - "To break (into pieces)" in Malay
Ten - 10
Mom-mom - Food
Nen-nen - Milk
Mai - "(I) do not want" in Hokkien
Vroom-vroom/po'-po' - Motorcycle
Kah/ po - po (nasal. like the sound of a horn) - Car
Bur-bird - Bird
Mao-mao - Cat
Byeeee - Bye. See video here.