இ The Tortoises

A tortoise family decided to go on a picnic. The tortoises, being naturally slow about things, took five months to prepare for their outing.

Finally the tortoise family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second month of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last!

For about six weeks they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements.

Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed.

After a lengthy discussion, the youngest tortoise was chosen to retrieve the salt from home.

Although he was the fastest of the slow moving tortoises, the little tortoise whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little tortoise left.

Three months passed and the little tortoise had not returned. Five months...six months... then on the seventh month of his absence, the oldest tortoise could no longer contain his hunger.

He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich. At that point the little tortoise suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, 'See! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt.'

Moral of the story: Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we do not do anything ourselves.

Author unknown..tQ to Linda Tan.

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இ 1111 ~ 1 夫 1 妻 1 生 1 世 1Husband 1Wife 1Life 1Lifetime

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” ~ TS Elliot. Very profound indeed never mind just to make the opening for 1.1.11 looks sophisticated *chuckled hehe*. We just have to start somewhere or probably 'nowhere'. Why not the latter, let's start NOW & HERE on a clean fresh page. Guess many would have a great start already making new resolutions about how to clear the resolutions for the previous years or indeed taken action immediately. Bananaz reckon all bloggers would wish for good health and here taking the opportunity to wish all the very best of the *besterest* and may all your wishes come true with super abundance.

Talking about wishes and dreams well well well 111 couples have their dreams fulfilled picking the special day 1.1.11 to tie the Nuptial Knot which was held at the Klang Hokkien Association, Selangor. Oh what a feeling a moment of excitement and joy for the exuberant 111 couples and their families. The auspicious 1.1.11 has created lovely and romantic promises in the local newspaper quite brilliantly written. Words like "愛妳一生一世" ài nǐ yī shēng yī shì [lit. Love you one life one lifetime *can anyone confirm if translation in English is correct please? tQ:)] equivalent to '..for better or worse, for richer for poorer..' and "一夫 一妻" yī fū yī qī [lit. one husband one wife] *This phrase strikes a chord, thought I saw something like this ~ "A Papa of two, a Husband of one and Boyfriend of none" somewhere, sounds very familiar, Eugene?. (Not sure anybody thought of adding flavour to the 1 something for some 1country?). For those who have missed tying the knot *Bananaz included hehe* on 1111, there is another opportune date look out for 11.11.11 whoa even a better date with 6 Ones or settle with 1.11.11 with 5 Ones then.

Image courtesy of Guang Ming Daily

It starts with 1\1\11,

After 10 days 11\1\11,

After 10 months 1\11\11,

Then 10 days after that it will be 11\11\11.

Isn't that amazing??

Now take the last 2 digits of the year you were born add the age you will be this year and it WILL EQUAL 111.... How's that?

Have an amazing One-derful 旺得福 Wàngdéfú & Prosperous Year!

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இ Countdown ~ II : O : I : II

Countdown-Clocks

The first love is the sweetest, but that first cut is the deepest. Bananaz has gone through the rough patch of blogging when BananazPeople emerged into cyberspace on Nov 03 2009. Glad to mention Bananaz survived the one year of blood sweat and tears with sincere thanks and gratitude to all fellow bloggers and readers for saving its skin. Shall be looking forward for another year of excitement and sharing, digging and learning together. Its time to bid farewell 2010 and hello 2011 and wish to call upon all fellow bloggers and readers to join in the countdown for a better two jilo one one. Weeweechu all the best of the best.

The very first blogger to hop into the countdown 2010 is இ +Ant+ aka "Gratitude", a blogger with plenty of quotes and background music. இ "Globetrotter" you are one super 'flying' lady probably your flying time is much more than some pilots haha. இ Aaah next is "Merryn" the unsinkable submerryn who refuses to submerge always remain above waters mainly in 1Utama with her two darlings Ethan and Darling himself. Today 28 Dec is Merryn's sweet 16 birthday.

இ "Alice Law" trying her level best to grow and cultivate her 2 big trees Juan Juan & Ah Xuan with loads of patience and TLC *tender loving care*... hoping that they would shade and contribute to others in the future! இ "[SK/0617]" just received the scripteaser of the year award for 2010 became a multi million*dong*aire overnight after changing job on his first official trip to Vietnam. 0617 is his bird-day OK. இ Hopefully she does not change her anime avatar love the big sparkling eyes of "HappySurfer". Cannot take my eyes away as it was love at first sight and also love her Friday Frolics Quiz.

இ From Russia with Love our temporary Russian Mr BOOH ЧyH XИAГ, none other than "CH Voon" who faked winning the lottery first prize and still betting. Keep trying *cantonese - sum seong si seng* (word for word translation ~ *heart think think can happen*) never give up its coming soon. இ Now what? Here comes the Big Bozz from Sibu, "suituapui" meaning 'pretty fatso' (as claimed by himself) and still crazy after all these years. He is also pretty *besides being fatso* well known for his foodiegraphy *foodie + photography* and humour. இ Another Bold Talkin' Mafia from The Pearl of the Orient, "Eugene" a Papa of two, a Husband of one and a Boyfriend of none...*Hokkien ~ oo eiah boh* got shadow or not? Can we beleaf this Godfather?  haha.

இ He claimed to be a part-time blogger but we see his jangut *beard* almost everywhere woh, the most active "Tekkaus" in cyberspace. இ A lady with green fingers, "Autumn Belle" who loves to write about garden adventures and a keen shutterbug snapping nice awesome pictures. இ Sweet Caroline says she is a friendly girl with complicated thoughts. A girl who has not enjoy life pretty much as yet but with neverending postings of "My Stories".

இ One foodie blogger "Wai Kitt" with her catchy blog name 一日三餐 *one day three meals* who loves baking and cooking. இ A hobbyist photographer who enjoys creating images and sharing her thoughts on life, food and travel. To date this is her 2.5 years into blogging and "Mei Teng" aint going places without her DSLR. இ A bonus for "CH Voon" who revisited this post for the third time. He is a father of a lovely cute little curly hair girl named Vanessa and you could see how delighted and happy when she saw her dad after a few months absence in Russia. Luckily Vanessa can still recognised him and did'nt ask "who are you uncle? looking for my daddy he's not home" *pengsan* faint.

இ Hate me for who I am, rather than love me for who I'm not. Be a real enemy, rather than a fake friend. Whoa very profound indeed for a zewty Malaysian working in Singapore "As Zewt As It Gets". இ A Penang guy who loves reading, watching movie and traveling. He writes anything based on what he reads, sees and experiences. Bite Me the Blog Idol 2010 "Faisal Admar". இ A special mention to my Chinese mentor "Meichun Jones (Jeannie)" lǎoshī who has been instrumental in guiding Bananaz with her Easy Way To Learn Chinese by introducing the MDBG Chinese Dictionary. From the bottom of my heart Xiexie lǎoshī.

இ The world of Bengbeng and Benghui flows smoothly in My Longkang, a Malay word for My *Drain*. Wanna know why is this site called My Longkang? Flush "My LongKang". இ By some previously unimagined grace, she has the time now to share things of the hearts musing on reflections, memoir, poems, and fiction "Musing By Moonlight". இ We've got someone here born in Raub, one minute having nasi lemak breakfast in her own backyard and the next eating teppanyaki lunch in Japan. Now you see "Lina" now you don't.

இ He loves to cry father cry mother *cow peh cow boo* no wonder the insane onion is making him tears. Yes "Kelvin" is nutz. Don't Cry For Me Argentina Kelvintina. இ We cant afford to miss this guy, an Engineering and Financial Consultant by day! Daddy and chef for 3 kids after sunset and weekends and probably a vampire after midnight. Loves to punch like Bruce Lee and dances the "PeteFormation" just like the King of Pop MJ. இ Netstering too long on his blog name "Netster" and wanted a change using his surname Jong. Just be careful of guy who eats domain names when hungry. Will it be The Jongle, Jong at Heart etc will depend very much on your votes. May wanna wish him all the Jongness with an early Xmas's Jongle Bell Jongle Bell.

இ Day Day is Good Day another foodie blogger with mostly comments in Chinese posing a huge challenge to Bananaz but will slow slow come to comprehend Chinese. Not to worry translators are easily available "Casendra" let the horse come over. *Chinese saying ~ Release the horse I'm ready*. இ He hails from a teeny-weeny romantic country of 2 million sLOVEnians, which gained popularity at the recent World Cup. What in the world is this "Nino" angmoh *Caucasian* doing in a Taiwanderful place winning the 3 Best Taiwan Blog Awards 2010 when he can't even distinguish his Chinese girlfriend "Lily" from a Taiwanese or a Japanese from a Nihonjinese thinking they are Malaysianese. Not all those ending with 'ese' are the same.[caution:stop googling no such wordese! *ahem*]

இ Latest addition to the countdown is Taiping mali the infamous faucet town *water dragon head* [pinyin ~ shuǐ lóng tóu] where the residents even gamble on the weather at high noon. A single drop of rain may make one richer or otherwise. From Taiping With Love is a mother of BIG CHII & small CHI who enjoys kaypoh-ing a.k.a CNN-ing and that's a perfect connexion. Show us the Rainmaker and we'll show "Yvonne" the money. இ All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances...This blog will mainly be dedicated to movies OR TV OR MV and serves as a reminder that we're all actors / actresses in our own way in the real world...A perfect mirror image of PETERGOHEKKEHOGRETEP sometimes.."MODERN-DAY ROBINSON CRUSOE".

இ Deng Xiaoping once said "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice". Somehow this cat is special who loves food, hunting, sight-seeing and read books purr-fectly well. Mamarazzi let the cat out of the bag that this aint a black or white cat but a "small kucing" who cant even catch a lame mouse. இ His first attempt in My Very First Blog who likes to blog on anything, nothing but just anything. Nicknamed the sexy Panda who only expose his hairy legs but not the face. We wonder how we wonder why he is so obsessed and easily carey-ed away by Mariah Carey. An avid believer of wind water perhaps the fengshui flows well with the name "foongpc". இ A very handsome chick magnet with irresistable charm. Also known to be thick skinned, self-obsessed and living in his own world of "Shingo T"

இ Aces go places and she has been flying around the globe like nobody's business fly on.."Life Ramblings" we love all your personal collection of travel journals & photos. இ Lesson to be learned: Find a whale and stay in its stomach for few days, and you will find your happiness. If there's something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? Not ghostbuster but "Ghosty n@na". இ A father of 20 blogs and just cant imagine how our friendly pinoy finds time and energy to feed em. Whoa 20 aint enough he wants more to fulfil his dream, you wanna more we give you more "Bluedreamer27".

இ I was born with the most curious eyes, I enjoyed looking at autumn skies. I was tickled by the rich colors of Fall, I enjoyed pumpkin pies, my grandma used to recall. Who am I? She is a superb poet, extremely good in haiku and her name "Jingle" every end of the year. இ She has a phobia of people knowing and tracking her so like the Panda can never see her face. Editor/novelist by day and blogger by night and as fairy cannot sleep after midnight coz "Cleffairy" is watching you from a distance Over A Cuppa Tea. இ Ipoh mali I care & I swear Caring Is Not Only Sharing.. with lots of passion for Traveling, huge stomach for Food, and a keen interest in making ton$ & ton$ of money keeping her "Reanaclaire" mind open to all opportunities.

இ Another Ipoh mali "Wenn"ever and where ever she goes on holiday overseas will not stop to blog and she brings home nice & sweet souvenirs for those tracking the Experiences together with her. இ Namaste! We can learn a lot from the trees never stop reaching heaven wards. Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky. And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree. I'm turning my head up and down. I'm turning turning turning turning turning around. Oh yeah now I can see it is not a lemon-tree but an "Evergreen Tree". இ Life is short, let's blog and laugh like there's no tomorrow. No matter what zone you are in always choose to be with Grandma in the "Twilight Zone".

இ You're going to the moon! What did you forget to pack? Never leave for the moon without Elmo! He keeps "EastCoastLife" warm. இ Cloudia clouded Det. Steve Mc Garrett of Hawaii Five-O to popularise Hawaii with her Aloha greetings. Check out her Hawaii Novel in "Comfort Spiral". இ Lots of hobbies one of which is blogging and photography is in his blood. Doing free lance photographer for wedding and company events in between his full time job. "Willie A.K.A. Reptoz" got feautred as June Blogger of the Month for his passion in photography.

இ From houseowner to homemaker since she got married. Founded The Sunshine Group (1997). Still a Toastmaster at heart after what she has gone through of keeping quiet when her lips are sealed with CTM *Cant Talk Much* & DTM *Dont Talk Much* etc etc. Let the rays of the sun shine through "KeatsTheSunshineGirl" and spread to the whole universe. இ By three methods we may learn wisdom: First by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and Third, by experience; which is the bitterest. A profound wisdom of Confucius that constittute the "Three Wisdoms". இ Goldfinger is undoubtedly not related to "Goldflower" inspite of both having the same surname Gold and obviously no blood relationship whatsoever with You Only Live Twice against her One Life Can Make a Difference.

இ A Civil Engineering student who seems to have a never ending studies from Hiroshima, Japan to Germany for his MBA, thereafter working in Singapore and currently doing a research project in Brazil and have lots of fun and samba in Latin America while getting his Head Permanently Damaged *PHD*. In studies he has double, triple or more degrees in name sake he's none other than the double tiger "fufu". இ ehhhh.....maybe someone with too much free time, or someone who is dreaming to be a writer one day, or someone who thinks too much lar....."Manglish", please errrr.....because we are Malaysians ar? இ From the ninth state a Mum to 2 lovely kids YX & XJ who hails from Seremban. Just waiting for them to grow up to go places together as exposure is the greatest learning tool for "mNhL".

இ The lady from DownUnder always reminds me of her nice looking adorable soap. Even though she would expect "It's Raining Ice-Cream" sorry with the change of weather condition Australia is receiving heavy down pour and its raining cats and dogs instead. Better luck next year 2011 oh one more thing I scream when I see Ice-Cream. இ Freelance copywriter working from home. Loves cats, perfumes & daydreaming but dont dream for too long dearie "Marzie". இ A Sabahan who lives in KL. The Queen of Procrastination. The Devil who doesn't wear Bra oops Prada. Thanks thanks thanks thanks "Monica". [song by Leslie Cheong]. இ LadyGaga Being Woman nope its "LadyJava" settling down smoothly & comfortably down south in the Lion City, Singapore~;)

இ He has a strong passion for #1 Traveling ~ which brings out a lot of emotions from deep inside him. #2 ~ Care for the Environment where mankind is so unkind to have done enough damage to our Mother Nature, Life Is Like That. Currently enjoying his 9 days honeymoon tour to China dont call him you might "Jam" his handphone. இ I am nothing not even "Kordo" இ You Are Never Alone sorry I lost you somehow too many of your blogs shall seek you out "Shikira".

இ "KhengSiong" Principle of Uncertainty shall also touch on life being impermanent and death is certain? இ Letting go and embracing change, gaining strength, courage and confidence LIVING and LOVING LIFE more "Inside My Bubble Today".

Special mention :
இ DBLCHIN~ MISS CAMWHORE CITY© இ Mompreneur Journey Toward Financial Freedom. இ Donna@Dolly இ Kenwooi இ Skycity இ Haus of KAKA இ Justin Choo இ James Oh இ Travel Shack இ Back To English இ Favorites Bookmarks இ Ayie இ Levian இ Glennis இ Iamthewitch இ Wazz's Up இ Artistic World இ Ishmael Fischer இ Ben இ TZ இ
Shining Voice இ cHristinA_YY இ Gorilla Hugs இ

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இ Weeweechu

Christmas Eve: Last year same time, same computer, same place, same pair of hands with enthusiastic fingers clicking good, Bananaz posted Christmas greetings with a Bollywood video clip. Click शुभ क्रिसमस for flashback. This year moving on from India to China with love presenting to you 12 gorgeous and talented Santarinas playing the ancient traditional Chinese musical instruments, check this out ~ 'Christmas Eve'. Be mesmerized by their charm, beauty and poise as well as their awesome musical performance blending traditional with modern music.

One beautiful December evening, Bananaz and his

girlfriend Mango were sitting by the side of the

ocean. It was indeed a romantic full moon, when Mango

said "Hey baby, let's play Weeweechu."

"Oh no, not now let’s watch the moon" said Bananaz.

"Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I play Weeweechu. I love

you and it's the perfect time," Mango begged.

"But I rather just hold your hand and watch the moon."

"Please Bananaz just once, play Weeweechu with me."

Bananaz looked at Mango and said, "OK, we'll play Weeweechu."

Bananaz grabbed his guitar and they both sang.....

"Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry

Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy

New Year."

Weeweechu fellow bloggers and readers a Merry Christmas
 and looking forward to a brighter Two Jilo One One in another 8 days to countdown.

聖誕快樂 shèngdàn kuàilè, 新年快樂 xīnnián kuàilè

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இ Happy Dōng Zhì (冬至) or Winter Solstice Festival

Image courtesy of Wikipedia
A bowl of tāng yuán 湯圓

The Dōng Zhì (冬至) lit. *winter arrive* (quite mouthful for me to pronounce zzzzhiiii) is one of the most significant festivals celebrated by the Chinese and many other East Asian nations. Thought Bananaz would not wanna touch on the subject of I-Ching after so much confusion then again somehow it relates back to the concept of Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony, significantly symbolized by the I-Ching hexagram fù (復), "Returning".  Dōng Zhì (冬至) solar term (winter solstice) corresponds to the 22nd of the 24 solar terms 二十四節氣 where the sunshine is usually at its weakest and the daylight shortest, falls on or around December 22. After the celebration there will be an increase of positive flow of energy due to longer daylight hours.

It is mandatory in celebrating the Dōng Zhì (冬至) Festival, making and eating tāng yuán 湯圓 lit. *soup round*, the glutinous rice flour balls, is inevitably indispensable during this festival. Traditionally coloured in pink and white however over time more colours are added to make it much more 'prettier' to swallow. Anyway no matter what colour used, it has no impact on the taste except to for the kids to have more fun with the rice balls. Most importantly the festival is also an encouragement for the family to spent time together thus eating tāng yuán 湯圓 is symbolic of family unity and family prosperity.

Here is an abstract from Wikipedia about other similarity to the tāng yuán 湯圓 found in southern Vietnam, a similar dish, called chè xôi nước, is served in a mild, sweet liquid flavored with grated ginger root. In northern Vietnam, bánh trôi (also called bánh trôi nước) and bánh chay are also very similar, with the latter being served with coconut milk. In the Philippines, the dish ginataang bilo-bilo is also served in coconut milk, and sometimes local produce such as plantains (saba), tapioca, and/or sweet potatoes are cooked in. Gulab jamun is an Indian dessert that is made of fried dairy dough balls served in a bowl of syrup.

Of course when comes to tāng yuán 湯圓 and the Dōng Zhì (冬至) festival this song is part of the ingredient and must go hand in hand blending with the festival just like jingle bells jingle all the way with X'mas. The lyrics are not in pinyin but in Roman spelling nevertheless would be quite close if you wanna sing along. Hopefully one day Jay Chou周杰倫 or Namewee黄明志 would come out with a rap version of the new tāng yuán song. Keeping fingers and toes crossed yo! yo! yo!.

When was the last time you made or ate tāng yuán 湯圓? Bananaz could not remember the very last bowl probably many many years ago. Last year, bloggers CH Voon posted how to make tāng yuán 湯圓 with style, Tekkaus with his Malaccan way and lastly Jam and his Fuzhou Snack. Sorry cannot recollect the rest if I have missed out any its non-intentional. Maybe you can give me a buzz and say "hey what about me?" ~;)

" HAPPY Dōng Zhì 冬至快乐 "

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