#281
So I’ve been away in Thailand for work in the past couple of days. It’s my first trip overseas for work since Fighter has been out of the hospital and I’ve been missing him like… a lot. I happen to sometimes tell Shorty how much I miss Fighter and this is what happens.
This is the finished product. Hehehe.
Hahaha he has too many adorable expressions.
Later on, Shorty sent me more pictures of Fighter.
Whoops I did it again.
Last Saturday Shorty and I took some time off taking care of Fighter and attended one of the most fun events we’ve been to in a year: The Nuffnang Food Fest. It’s the first event of its kind in Malaysia that used social media currency… that means all you had to do was tweet a vendor and you would get free food.
The stores we had there (vendors) ranged from big brands like Yakult, Nandos or Chatime to more indy kind of food brands like SS2 Goreng Pisang or even popular new ones like MyBurgerLab.
It was so much fun. Here are some pictures I took that day.
This was how crowded it was. People lining up for food with their smartphones in their hand ready to tweet.
This is some liquid nitrogen ice-cream I got from a new place called NBrew. They have an outlet in Sunway Pyramid.
This the people at NBrew making my liquid nitrogen ice-cream. I assumed that the guy here is the entrepreneur behind this brand just solely from the passion he seemed to have when talking about NBrew.
There were loads of other ice-cream shops too. I like this one called Cielo Dolci. They had a variety of very different ice-cream flavours ranging from Nasi Lemak to Tau Fu Fah.
I loved their Tau Fu Fah and their Coconut with Gula Melaka. You can find them any other day at Paradigm Mall.
Maggi had a booth at Nuffnang Foodfest too and this human sized packet greeted you right outside. I saw loads of people taking pictures with it.
Me with the people at SS2 Goreng Pisang.
I thought SS2 Goreng Pisang was a cool story. It was a well-known family business started long ago… then the daughter (the one in red) decided to come out and expand the business so they opened up a store in 1-Utama. Plus she started going into social media to help market their Goreng Pisangs. Cool huh.
Here is the first store that Shorty got food from. It’s called Niko Niko Onigiri.
And yes that is the back of Shorty’s head right in front of the picture here. I had no idea what onigiri was before today until Shorty carefully explained it to me. It’s like Japanese rice with salmon or chicken teriyaki wrapped in seaweed to look like a sandwich or something.
I took this picture in the middle of the afternoon while looking at the skies. Why? Because a few days before the weather forecast for Saturday afternoon was rainy with a chance of thunderstorm. We were like whaaat… if it rained it would totally mess up the whole thing. So what we ended up doing was hiring a “bomoh” (sort of like a Witch Doctor) to help keep the rain away from our event. Apparently I hear this is common practice only in Malaysia and when I tell people from overseas about this they’re like “Whaat?”.
So at the point I took this picture I was looking at the sky. There were dark clouds building up in the distance and I was a little concerned. But the whole evening flew by without rain. So I guess to some extent… the Bomoh worked.
Shorty was super popular at the event. The minute she stepped in, people were all asking to take pictures with her one by one. Some surprised and how really small and cute she actually looked in real life. This is her giving one of her readers an autograph.
So that’s about all the pictures I took at the Nuffnang Food Fest. It was the first of its kind and a huge success with over 5,000 tweets and an estimated 2,000-3,000 attendees within just those few hours. Our hashtag for Nuffnang Food Fest #NNFoodFest was the Top Trend on Twitter for the rest of the day.
Did any of you guys go for Nuffnang Food Fest? Tell me what you thought about it.
Oh and if you missed Nuffnang Food Fest, there’s ChurpOut 2013 coming up in two weeks. Don’t miss that.
#278
Shorty showing me a picture of a hot girl…
Shorty: Pretty ah?
Me: Not really…
Shorty: Oh!! How would you like it if someone said your wife is not pretty huh…?
Me: Uhh..
Shorty: Oh but of course nobody would say that… because nobody says Shorty is ugly. HEHEHE.
#279
Paying for parking at an autopay machine.
Me: Crap I don’t have change. Do you have 1 dollar notes….
Shorty: Yep…
Me: Ahhh nevermind I just put in the 10 bucks…
Shorty: I said I have 1 dollar notes…
Me: Yeah but you don’t have that many right…
Shorty: *takes out a whole stack* Ohh… doubting me huh? FOOL!
Me: WTF? Why you call me a fool!
Shorty: HAHAHAHA
#280
Watching Breaking Bad together one night…
Me: *farts*
30 seconds later…
Shorty: OMAIGAWD! FUK LAH FATTY…. DAMN BAD THE SMELL…
Me: Yep… I was just breaking bad… haha geddit geddit?
Shorty: Very funny…
Hello Fighter. How are you doing this morning….
Come play with Daddy for a while. When I say what face to make, you do it ok?
Okay here goes…. Fighter… make a surprised face.
Not bad not bad…
Ok make angry face…
Okay now make ugly face.
Touche Fighter… Touche.
#273
I’m carrying Fighter when he starts sucking on my nipple through my t-shirt.
Me: Shorts.
Shorts: What?
Me: Look at what Fighter’s doing. He’s trying to suck milk out of my nipple.
Shorty: HAHA. Daddy has no milk Fighter…
Me: Oh look he has stopped sucking. Now he’s looking grumpy again….
Shorty: Ya…
Me: I think he’s like “Dammit… this boob is broken!”
#274
In the room when Shorty is busy doing something…
Me: Eh Shorts… Remember the Lion King scene when the baby lion was born?
Shorty: Yah…
Me: NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA INGONYAAAMAAAAA BAGITHIII SHI BABAAAAAAAAAA
Shorty: So annoying this Daddy.
#275
I’m on the bed with Fighter supported on my legs…
Me: Shorty… help put back Fighter’s mitten. It came out.
Shorty: Ok… ok Fighter be a good boy ah… don’t struggle… *Fighter struggles*
Me: Come on Shorty…
*Fighter grips Shorty’s finger*.
Shorty: Ahhh look at him… how to take my finger away from him like that? Ok fine you can keep the mittens off Fighter. I keep your hands warm with my palm.
Me: So weak this Shorty… so so weak.
#276
I get dressed for golf this morning….
Shorty: This yellow shorts is like your favourite golf shorts huh.
Me: Sort of… but it’s more because I can’t wear it for any other purpose. It’ll just look weird wearing bright yellow pants anywhere else but the golf course.
Shorty: Why don’t you wear a matching yellow shirt instead of this red shirt?
Me: Well then I’m gonna look like an idiot.
Shorty: Well now you just look like Ronald McDonald.
This week marks 6 weeks that Fighter has been born as a premature baby.
So I thought I’d talk about how my past nights have been having him around. Every night somewhere around 3AM I hear Fighter cry. Then I hear Shorty wake up and go feed Fighter. I stay in bed and sleep. The next cry though will come at around 5-6AM. By then Shorty is normally too tired to get out of bed. So I would get up, pick Fighter up, have him fed and rock him till he sleeps again.
I’ve heard a lot of stories of sleepless nights from my other friends who have had babies and it’s really true. But the good news is that it’s not as bad as I expected it to be. Somehow I love hearing the sound of Fighter cry. Every now and then when I hear his cry, I remind myself of the time I first heard his cry in the operating theater. How soft it was… then now when I hear him cry loudly… I smile… because I’m reminded that he’s healthy enough to cry so loud.
The past week at work have been tough for me but it’s always such a joy coming home to see Fighter. I’ve been a Father now for a little over 6 weeks and it’s only beginning to sink in now.
Every now and then I sit with Fighter and talk to him like he understands me. I talk to him about my day at work, how I feel, how my last round of golf was and things like that. He normally just stares at me… or occasionally looks around curiously.
Sometimes of course he complains to me about his day.
Like about how he got burped again even though he hates it.
Or how he got bitten by mosquitoes.
But there are nice moments too… like when he got a package from New Zealand
Full of cute preemie clothes that fit him. (Thank you Connie)
I hope Fighter grows to be better than me at everything. Smarter, more capable, better looking, a kinder heart, a better golfer and well… a better everything. I hope he succeeds where I’ve failed and goes above and beyond what I will ever achieve in life. Then I remember how he had to fight through his first few weeks under intensive care… and how he held my finger as if to tell me he was going to be okay.
Then I realize… that this little Fighter… is going to be okay 🙂
#272
Shorty: Ahh ahh my boob hurts. I have a lump there and it hurts a lot. I think I have a blocked milk duct.
Me: Ohh what can you do about it?
Shorty: Sometimes it goes away on its own I guess.
Next morning…
Shorty: Fats… I cured my milk duct block already.
Me: How?
Shorty; Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and it was really painful. So I just Googled it and there were instructions to pump and massage it at the same time to unblock it. So last night I did it myself… damn painful but now it’s all better. And see? No more lump.
Me: Ohh… badass motherfucka huh this girl.
Shorty: No it’s just badass mother.
Me: Funny huh this Rambo.
Shorty: Now I feel more confident of my own survival skills. Like I think I can survive better on my own now… haha.
Me: Like Gloria from Modern Family. Who just knocked back her dislocated shoulder herself.
Shorty: OH ya haha.
The following day we found out that a friend of ours had the same milk duct block problem and she went to see a doctor like normal people do.
#270
Shorty: I just heard from my friend about her boyfriend. He’s such an asshole.
Me: Why?
Shorty: *goes on to tell me why*.
Me: Oh ok.
Shorty: I’m so glad my Fatty is not an asshole. Come I pat you.
Me: *bends down for Shorty to pat my head*
Shorty: *pat pat*.
Me: *raises index finger* Well the best way to not be an asshole…. is to not be an asshole.
Shorty: Giving all these stupid expressions huh. Learn from me one huh.
Me: Haih… if we keep this up, Fighter is going to be talking like that too.
Shorty: Yeah we gotta start watching our language in front of Fighter too. Don’t want him to go to school saying “MY PENCIL BROKE! FUCK!”.
Me: Yeah the teacher will be like “Fighter.. don’t say that word?”. And Fighter be like “What word?” And the teacher goes “The F word”. And Fighter be like “You mean FUCK?”
Shorty: Haha yeah… like Lily in Modern Family.
Me: Ok we better watch our language from now on….
Shorty: Man this is gonna be hard.
#271
Shorty and I have been attending a lot of weddings recently. So while we were stuck in a traffic jam today we were talking about wedding speeches by the groom.
Me: I thought my speech was good what.
Shorty: Hmm..
Me: What hmm? It was ze best?
Shorty: Well I haven’t seen a lot of groom speeches… but from what I’ve seen I guess.
Me: What? Google it. It’s on my blog. Read it out again to refresh my memory of how awesome it was.
Shorty: You serious?
Me: Yes.
Shorty: *googles on her phone* Ok I just google “Timothy Tiah wedding” and “speech” comes out at the end on its own already.
Me: Haha another search for your husband that contributed to him being #6 in the Top 10 Trending People on Google Malaysia.
Shorty: Oooh modest are we now.
Me: Ok so back to the speech.
Shorty: You want me to read it out loud ah?
Me: Yes.
Shorty: Ok I’m going to skip the beginning part ok?
Me: What? Why???
Shorty: Cuz you were saying how much alcohol you drank etc etc…
Me: Oh ok skip that.
Shorty: Ok here goes. I want to start with a conversation I had with my father many many years ago. When I was young, I used to tell my father that I would grow up to do many things. I had many dreams. I dreamt of being a soldier, a postman or even a pilot. One of the dreams I had though was to marry a beautiful girl. My father had a different point of view. He said “Son.. you don’t marry a girl just because she’s beautiful. You marry a girl who can be a good partner for you in the many ups and downs of life”.
After having spent the past 28 years watching my parents and how they lived their marriage, I began to understand. I saw them live their lives through the ups and downs. I saw how my Dad and Mum were there for each other whenever one needed the other, I watched them build their careers together, watched them make money and lose money together… and more importantly I watched them raise a family. In the many times that I would say hurtful things to my father or my mother, I would watch them take turns to console one another. My parents don’t know this… but it is from them that I learned the meaning of marriage. Marriage is not about romance or not just about love. It’s about having someone who will always be there for you through the ups and downs of life… and it’s about finding happiness.
Me: Hor accurate right?? That marriage is about having someone who will always be there through the ups and downs.
Shorty: Aiyo aiyo ok la ok la this Fatty good la. Anyway to continue…. I have imagined this moment all my life. I would be standing here up during my wedding in front of my closest family and friends and giving this very speech. The only part that was missing in my imagination was who the person standing next to me would be. Tonight I see her. And she is beautiful.
Growing up, Audrey and I were taught that we should be perfectionists in everything we do. From our studies, our work and yes… eventually find the perfect somebody and have the perfect wedding to start a perfect marriage.
That didn’t work out. Audrey and I are very far from a perfect couple. She’s short, I’m fat. She’s forgetful, I have a bad temper. She falls sick once every two weeks, and I have recurrent medical problems with my eyes. We annoy each other almost every day… but somehow in the weirdest way that I nor the universe can understand… we make each other happy.
Audrey and I have been together for almost 4 years now and till now each and every day together is like an adventure. Not a day goes by where we don’t make each other laugh or smile. In these 4 years we learn about the good and the bad we have in each other. We learn to treasure the good and embrace the bad…. And that’s why we call each other Fatty and Shorty.
We are one of the most imperfect couples out here… but we think we’re perfect for each other. So that’s why we’re all here today. To celebrate the wedding of an imperfect couple that is perfect for one another.
Shorty: Hor this last line became a quote or something right?
Me: It did?
Shorty: Ya I see some people quote it when they talk about us. “an imperfect couple that is perfect for one another”.
Me: Heh… maybe.
Shorty: Ok back to the speech…When I look back in life, so many things had come together to bring us to where we are today. I owe a great deal to my father and mother who have been to me the best parents any boy on this Earth could ever want. My Dad taught me how its okay to make mistakes in life, but to never let the mistakes keep you down. My Mom taught me to be kind and forgiving to others. Together they taught me to be humble in whatever I do.
In raising me, my parents never asked that I score straight As or have a successful career or make a lot of money. Their only wish was that I grow up, to be a good person.
Mom and Dad, I hope that after 28 years of my life, I am as good a person as you want me to be. I promise to care and love you both for the rest of my life.
From today on I no longer have just 2 parents. I am blessed enough to have 4. Aunty Joyce and Uncle Ooi, it is for the first time now that I will call you Dad and Mom. You have both done an amazing job raising Audrey and I can only wish that I will be able to raise my future daughter as well as you have raised Audrey. I know how precious Audrey is to you both so thank you for trusting Audrey with me. I promise that for as long as my heart beats, I will take care of her.
Shorty: At this point my Dad started crying.
Me: He did? HAHA…
Shorty: Ok then…
My last thanks tonight goes to our siblings. To my brothers Kong and Liang, my sister Li, thank you for always being around and for putting up with me. There are no better siblings to grow up with than the 3 of you.
To my brother-in-law Barry… I know we started off like oil and water, but thank you for opening up yourself to me.
To my dear wife Audrey: Today is the end of our courtship but the beginning of a new adventure. Yes just like any adventure, it will have ups and downs. But from now on we will always have each other to laugh together in the good times and cry together in the bad. What matters is that I love you and I know that we will make each other happy.
So my dear wife…. our Adventure is out there.
Shorty: Hor so good huh your wife. Chose you the right wedding theme so you can end the speech well. (Our wedding was themed UP, after the Pixar movie.. hence the colours and all).
Me: What? More like I good because I ended the speech that jived with our wedding theme.
Shorty: Whatevahh!
We carry on spending the next 10 minutes fighting for credit.
So recently one of my colleagues at work decided that they wanted to do something fun. Instead of doing the usual tech work they wanted to do something totally random.
They decided to do a game called “The Ultimate Friend Test” and today they just launched it. It’s really a game that you play with your friends to see how well you know your mutual friends on Facebook.
Shorty and I have been playing it and it got addictive. The one thing it needs to be more fun though is for more people to play it so please download The Ultimate Friend Test on the Apple App Store or Google Play. Do me a favour and rate it too 🙂
And of course tell me if you like it and I’ll give the feedback to my team in case they plan to do more games in future.
Thanks guys.
Today was a happy day for me. Happy because tonight as I write this blog entry on my laptop, Fighter is in his cot right in front of me sleeping (or at least trying to sleep in between his stretches and grunts). After five weeks of being under intensive care, Fighter was finally discharged from the hospital and brought home. My brother took this photo of the moment we walked out of the intensive care unit.
The nurses were all sad to see him go. I guess taking care of a premature baby for over five weeks and watching him grow would make anyone feel some sense of emotional attachment to Fighter. He was like a star. The nurses all grouped together to say bye to him and take pictures with him. It’s amazing how Fighter has impacted their lives when the truth is they truly have done the same for Fighter… giving the care and attention he needed to grow from a 31 week preemie to the 36 week (still preemie) but healthier and bigger baby he is today.
When he was born, he weighed only 1.1 KG. And today he’s at 1.88 KG. Our confinement lady came today too. Not to take care of Shorty anymore since Shorty has passed her confinement, but really to help take care of Fighter. She said that in her 17 years of doing this, she had never seen a smaller baby. The smallest she had seen before Fighter was 2.3 KG.
I feel overwhelmed with joy today… that I can sleep in the same room as Fighter tonight. I also have many of you readers to thank. For those of you who left comments in the hardest times, thank you so much for them. In moments on darkness, the light and positivity you shed Shorty and me was priceless. Thank you.
Now I have to go back to my little boy. The one little boy who had to fight hard to be in this world and the one who has and will continue to bring me and Shorty so much joy. He’s little… but he’s ours… and he’s a Fighter.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space