“I love you, Kenny. You’re the only person I can rely on to wake up as early as I do on a public holiday.”
I hear these words often, said without a hint of irony or sarcasm, courtesy of my beloved Datin (also sometimes known as The Divine Ms. Henny). My reputation for being an early riser even on weekends and public holidays, sometimes even earlier, is not without merit. Sure, we could sleep in like the rest of the populace, especially after a hard night’s partying and ringing in the new year, but we do things differently, the Datin and I.
In other words, we are completely barking mad.
However, considering it is now 2008, and how often do we get to start the first day of a fresh year with the same fervour we hope to greet each of the 365 other mornings? (Leap year, this one is.) And the Datin knows she can rely on me for a decent breakfast or brunch companion, even after the most draining and demented of Nights Before.
So of I went and ferried the lady from her domain, heading to this dim sum place I had promised to take her many a time before but never quite having the opportunity till today. The crowds awaiting a table was a sign of more than decent fare, no?
(Disclaimer: This is not a food review, for my foodblogging friends out there, so you need not clutch your chest in shock at me finally doing one. Not yet, anyway. Ah, he’s being coy, they whisper. Very.)
Conversations didn’t differ too much from our normal topics — bitching about work, speculations concerning the sex lives of colleagues and celebrities, pets undergoing major surgery, prices of property we couldn’t afford, why the Vietnamese waiters (didn’t they used to be Burmese just a few months before?) couldn’t understand a word of English/Malay/Cantonese, you know, the basics of good gossip.
Then, partly due to the whole new year cheer that still enveloped us, we got nostalgic and pondered the resolutions we made in ‘06 and argued whether we fulfilled them in ‘07. Or at least the Datin did. I remember vaguely that I had no such resolutions — not real ones, anyway — at the start of last year, and am still very pleasantly surprised at how most excellently things turned out.
Which made me think, what will I see when I look back at this year, twelve months from now? Would the lack of direction or goals impede my progress? (But what progress, when you have no destination to journey to?) I’ve regularly said No to resolutions, but I have to admit, dear friends, I am very seduced by the idea; it has a most responsible and adult glamour to it.
Yet lest we get too practical and stuffy, let us not forget also that sometimes the making of resolutions need not be a time for frustration and fretting, of doom before deed — why not see it as a chance to return to some of our forgotten dreams?
Did you want to pick up a new language (but was afraid you’d simply sound silly)? Did you want to finally lose those ten pounds (but were afraid of giving in and giving up again before you were even halfway done)? Did you, did you, did you…
Maybe it’s time for us to dream some. A whole year lays ahead of us. Everything is possible. I truly believe this, folks.
Tell me, what is your dream?
56 Comments
Is she your gf? Just being curious.
I would love to pick up a new language. I would love to gain (not lose) 10 pounds, no, make it 10 kgs.
My dreams are endless! I wanna flee from this worldly piece of land to somewhere secluded, remote, pristine and absolutely scenic, where I could truly relax without those worldly concerns.
Oh ya, though I’m somewhat late, but still, HAPPY 2008!
dream? i have been dreaming ever since i stepped back from my first holiday last year..err which was january? my my..its been a whole year since i woke up i guess
tell you what..dis is my dream
to get your urgent kind help on my blog header..
hahaha… vietnamese or burmese waiter unable to understand english… yeah… plenty around these days.. even in posh restaurants.
dreams for 2008? i have learnt this year that good health is very important.
resolutions? as much as i respect them, i dont think they work for me. i rather dream on (which comes naturally given my star sign) and conveniently work on it when the time comes. less stressful that way.
what a deceiving title! no pics of the dim sum? not even ratings and address? darn! thought the whole gathering of floggers experience had converted you in some way. haha!
Where’s this dim sum place? Are you gonna introduce it to me seeing our poor track record with 80% of all restaurants?
I still don’t have any resolutions leh. Too late. It’s already 2nd Jan and the magic of the new year has disappeared. Never mind. There’s always 2009.
heya, happy new year kenny
my dreams…shall remain as dreams and try not to realise them so that i can still dream on…
My dream…is to be happy! To have a better end to this year than the last. To be loved back as intensely as I love. To be cherished as deeply as I cherish. To be always surrounded by the company of good friends, family and good food
To be wise in my judgement of those to call friends and those who are only using me. To find that inner peace and strength.
Seems like my hopes and dreams are somewhat intertwined
kyh
Wah, why so curious one? The Datin is but one of my many girlfriends, hehe… but no, she’s not The Girlfriend, if that is what you mean. By the way, she is very single, very attractive and very available… any nice, decent gentlemen out there who’ll be sweet enough to ask my dear Datin out on a date? Matchmaker Kenny at work here, haha…
And wah, you also trying to gain weight? That makes two of us… Skinny folks unite!
Okay, okay, will come and take a look-see…
lotsofcravings
Why so dreamy still? And what’s up with your blog header now?
zewt
Good health? Most definitely very high up on my list too, bro. And a clean mind in a fit body, no?
Nic (KHKL)
I did add a disclaimer that this wasn’t a food review ma… Me converted? Not so easy! Hahaha….
Lyrical Lemongrass
2009? Haiyo… (P.S. It’s Hong Kee in D’sara Jaya lah…)
xiulongbao
Another dreamy dreamer, huh? Hehe…
Piggles
Good dreams! May all of them come true in 2008… and beyond! *hugs*
As Freud once said “All there is to life is love and work” …
and I’m hoping to survive both, when either is threatening me with neglect and the other suffocation, respectively.
and to coming to accept that 30 isn’t the age to “get your act together” even though our immediate environment tells me so.
and learning to accept my own advice sometimes.
…
We’ll see.
OMG dim sum!!!! *sobs* i belum “buka puasa” yet… waiting for tonite
Happy New Year to you Kenny!!!
Resolutions? haha…
My resolution remains at 1280 by 1024 pixels. for me, they are the best for viewing food blogs. :-p
lots of dreams :)*the greedy me*
Just hope all of them can become realities ;P
but… I just gotta work hard for them rite?
Dreams do come true. Just depends on how we want them to be
Hope your dreams come true too in year 2008!
Eh.. I just had dim sum on 30th December in SS2! Dreams? I have lotsa weird dreams that I think I could compile them into a book and it would make an interesting read! Haha! Oh… not that kind of dreams.. I just hope, this year, I would find joy in simplest things.
G
No offence, but sometimes methinks Freud is a bit of a nutjob. Wasn’t he the same guy who said that an intimate friend and a hated enemy were indispensable to his emotional life?
There is more to Life than simply romantic love and work, though they may take up much of our attention, esp. the latter. “Get your act together”? — maybe, but maybe we should love ourselves better first.
You are a fine person, bro. May this new year be kind and generous to you. *hugs*
babe_kl
“Buka puasa”? Haiyo… I had to have a couple of beers with my CEO in KL before joining The Family (Datin & Jason, sans Nisa) for dinner in TTDI much later tonight. But good food and great company are always worth the wait.
keropokman
Ah, but this isn’t a food blog (not yet anyway, hehe). Nice to have you dropping by!
Christine
Ya, the working hard for the dreams part, so easy to forget hor? Thanks for reminding me, haha…
Gina
Ooh, that’s one book I don’t mind reading…
i’d like to be really happy in 2008
I’d like to have a complete mini studio I guess .. and keep on blogging.
Nice eh? Ah .. a matchmaker .. Cool .. ehem ehem .. 
Ah-Ha!! Now I know who is Datin. Hehehe. My dream for 2008 is very simple..that is..”whatever I wish for will come true”. Hehehe…so simple rite?? Riteeeee???
carrot
Simple. I like that.
cibol
A mini studio… for music? I’d like one for art and design and writing, please. Hehe. And what’s with all the ehem ehem’s?
Precious Pea
… … rite.
Happy 2008! This year, I plan to make my blog into something profitable, increase my readership and get a proper day job! Here’s hoping your year goes as well.
Sorry I kam here late wish you hapi new year!!! I oso bring some warm hugs for you my dear friend.
ah… so THAT’S why the waiters couldn’t understand a word of burmese after i painsakingly tried to learn a few phrases in order for them not to confuse my order with someone else’s ;p
“what progress, when you have no destination to journey to?”– sometimes, the beauty lies in not your destination, but the journey into the unknown. have u ever taken a train and intentionally missed ur stop so that u could see wat lies beyond ur usual point of getting off the train?
deceiving name for this post..thot there were something dim sum-ish in your post..hehe..
dreams? my dream would take years for it to even materialise…oh well..for now, i can only dream.
Kelly Mahoney
Nice to have you drop by, dear! Those are great goals, and I pray you will meet all of them!
Firehorse
Late late nevermind so long got kam one. Very warm la your hugs… tankew tankew… *hugs back*
Jun
Aiyo, you learned Burmese phrases? Hats off to you, my dear! And as for the journey into the unknown, oh I love those, especially when I’m backpacking solo… such freedom and surprises.
Still, having some destination is also good; it’s something to look forward to, to work towards.
sc
Got dim sum what. See the first photo: got four bamboo boxes of freshly steamed dim sum… I no bluff one…
Your topic’s so catchy and I thought I’d see some dim sum pictures.
Dream… let’s see… maybe have my own apartment with good kitchen so I can do weekend dinners? Does that count?
My dream for 2008 is to
1) marry a billionaire
2) marry a billionaire who is head over heels in love with me
3) marry a billionaire who is head over heels in love with me and happily let me have all his money!
muahahahahaha …
next question?
hey… isn’t that d place we was s’posed to do breakie??? no fair.. . i wanna eat dim sum too
i guess i made a new record for myself this year. started it with a bang. literally. am stuck at home with suspected rubella. not allowed to go out anywhere and still hv to work from home… am literally dying with boredom… but too lazy to blog… akekeke
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
na nite.. need to sleep now… eyes acting up on me again…
Why, why the early mornings? It’s so difficult for (normal/sane) people to rise at such ungodly (we’re talking up to 8 am here) hours. Unless of course your biological clock’s a little loco.
I’ve tried, really I have, to wake early. But 90% of my attempts resulted in me being extremely edgy through the rest of the day.
And speaking of resolutions, I’m blogging again
I know it’s a weird one to have–blogging. But it’s as much as I can promise myself, considering what a diet-breaking, cigarette-relapsing bum i am 
jason
I share your dream too… a nice lil apartment of mine with a well-stocked kitchen for weekend dinners with The Family and friends. It most definitely counts as a dream, bro.
FoodieLianne
Next question: Will you adopt me after you marry a billionaire who is head over heels in love with me and happily let me have all his money? I make a very good lil godbrother…
asstha
Yup, that brekkie place. Ah well, always next time. And do get better, from rubella or whatever it is you’re having. At home but too lazy to blog? Hmm… how can one?
kG
8am? That’s, like, late for me, man…
Happy New Year!!:D
I truly believe that dreams can come true…only if we DARE to dream!:)
Happy New Year to you, Kenny!
May 2008 brings lotsa happiness, fortune, wealth, love and good health to you! Awww… both of you so sweet looking =)
Christy
Yes, only if we dare to dream AND act on them!
MeiyeN
Happy New Year to you too… wah, you wish me so many good things… thank you, thank you. I wish the same in return for you. And both also sweet looking meh? I’m sure she looks sweeter than me!
Kinda forgotten what my dreamS are. Perhaps there were too many of them (plus some were nightmares). Let me see if I dream of something tonight
My wildest and unrealistic dream gotta be …wishing those I love, and myself…indefinite longevity yet healthy and happy. :O Is that a dream?
Happy New Year! (though 5 days late!)
I dream … i just forget them by the morning and all evidence I have goes straight down the toilet in a rush ….
ok, too much sharing.
I HAVE A DREAM! (Che wah like Martin Luther K.) I dream that I will be a millionnaire!!
tigerfish
Yes, I wonder what will turn up in your dreams tonight, hehe…
G
Some dreams may get flushed down the toilet, but the true ones never will. I believe…
*listens to some marching anthem roaring out*
Nastasshea @ Nesh
Only a millionnaire? I think someone else has a bigger appetite, say in the billions… *looks at comments above*
My dream is to quit my day job and be a professional foodie and traveler with the same level of income I make now? Tough one, I reckon, but never say never, right.
did you pick up a new language? you said…
i did 2 years ago! but only lasted module 1 of the simplest French. too complicated! haha…
Rasa Malaysia
Never say never is right. I’m sure you’re already well on your way there, dear.
keropokman
Well, at least you started something… Trying is success in itself!
I would do anything for someone like that, waking up early is “sap-sap sui”
you are right the food din appear only got glimpse of the datin.Suppose thats food good enough for us !
if early riser, that means yr time zone is close to perfection with only a margin of error of maybe, 2 or 3 mins ? but we believe your great passion for reflections will make you a most awesome culinary critic/connoisseur if you choose too ! so we await
Big Boys Oven
Would you now? Cos I’m all ready to introduce the Datin to the big, wide world…
team bsg
Me? A culinary critic? We’ll see… that would indeed be the day!
Seriously though, I do take it as a compliment! Danke, danke…
Your offer does not sound as simple as it is leh ;-p btw, billionaire’s no where near, unless you’ve any recommendation ? Am sure we can work out some deal kekeke
dream some dim sum?! i dreamed banana leaf ytd! hahax!
FoodieLianne
Oh trust me, if there were billionaires just lying around, I’d earn a bundle matchmaking all my friends to them, hehe.
yammylisious*
That’s one fine dream too!
Hey, Kenny. Thanks for the timely reminder. I would like to write many more short stories and a few children’s stories, and learn more German and how to be a teacher of English as a foreign language.
All the best for a fabulous year! (Can’t you just feel it in your bones?)
Mine’s been the same for years. “Be Good” hahaha!
Aiyoh..!! no food ka..?? disappointed..
i cry..!!
Argus
Those are wonderful dreams, and I’m sure you’ll get there! And yes I feel the magic of this year in my bones, fer sure!
jadedwhistler
And have you been naughty or have you been nice, then?
Mama BoK
Got food what… small lil dim sum baskets if you squint your eyes… hehe. Don’t cry, la, Uncle Kenny buy you some lollipop okay?
heh…disclaimer konon. In a few months (maybe weeks) the poison will get to you ;p
teckiee
We’ll see about that. I truly doubt it, but we’ll see…
Kenny. I lolled. Does she know you have like a picture of her on ur blog???
Oh wait. Ignore that. D: I replied at the wrong thread. DELETE DELETE
Atifi
O you crack me up, you do. And yes, she knows…
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