Year Of The Ox

Last night at twelve, I stayed up with my dad to watch Chinese New Year stuff. At twelve o'clock sharp, we could hear sounds of fireworks. People that live up on the hills must be burning fireworks. Luckily, we did not go to Central and stroll in the flower markets, because there are too many people. Although I guarantee that it would be extremely fun, I still did not go for once in my 9 1/2 years of life. As I think back to the beautiful memories of my younger years, I remember a lot of Chinese New Year celebrations with my grandparents and great-grandma. We ate Chinese cakes and candy, flower seeds and chicken. I most loved the radish cake and brown sugar cake because: 1. The brown sugar cake is fried with egg, my favorite way which is scrambled egg. 2. The radish cake is made my my 92 years old great-grandma. It gives me a lot of joy to know that she is still able to make things unlike other elderly that cannot walk or eat. It's a good thing schools are closed during a time when we most likely would go visit our relatives. To me, Chinese New Year is very important because it reminds me that only in Asian countries people celebrate this festival. Especially because I am a Chinese, this festival tells me that Chinese people have the strength to start a very unique festival with lots of food that the Chinese had invented themselves. This year, it is the year of the ox, and I hope in the year of the ox (2009), the workers that were affected by the financial tsunami would quickly get a new job, the people that had survived in the Sichuan earthquake would have some more people help them in reconstructing Sichuan, and that Mr. Barack Obama would do a good job to help the Americans go through financial problems and governmental problems.

Math (Multiplication)

Math is hard for a fourth grader like me. Especially when it comes to double and triple digit multiplication. Well, now I find it easy in a way, and hard in a way. Math is easy, when someone else teaches and guides you through hard problems. This is what happened last night: my dad taught me several ways to multiply more than 1 digit multiplication. He taught me how to be careful when we come to tricky problems, and he showed me different examples of trick problems. Then, he taught me different ways to solve number stories using division and multiplication. Although we were both very tired that night, we both knew that we should keep practicing because practice makes perfect. Math is hard, when you are alone, struggling to find the answer to a difficult problem that no one told you it was that hard. I was doing a math problem, and it says to solve the problem using the lattice method. I had been listening in class, but at home, I suddenly forgot how to do it. For 15 minutes, I was just trying to think about the strategy. It was hard for me to turn in my paper without a explanation of the lattice method. I had to admit that I was a little bit daydreaming in class. (Sorry teacher!) Math can be tricky, but just as long as you remember that practice makes perfect, then when you keep practicing, you will make great progress.

That Hurt

Morning my aunt left Hong Kong and aboarded the plane to go back to Toronto, and I had my last lunch with her before she left for the gate. Then, my family went to Whampoa Jusco and played on the rides that cost us some toy coins. Happy times past really quickly, and we headed for a clinic that belongs to my parents' good friend. Since right now the Flu Vaccination is very important, we decided that my brother and I would take the shot. My brother needed to take 2 shots, because he is still very young. I admit that I had cried for 30 seconds, but I stopped quickly after my brother finished his 1st shot. He is a very funny baby, because he didn't cry a lot when the needle poked through his skin. Luckily, it didn't hurt very much, because I had to take it in the arm, but my brother can take it in the leg. Right now, the scar still hurts a bit because of the medicine and needle. The shot was in my right hand, so only the right hand hurts. The arm is numb and does not have strength. So, if you take a shot, you'd better tell the doctor to be quicker, because that's what I said to the doctor.

Family Time

On January 13th, my parents had their wedding anniversary. We ate a cake together and took pictures. Family time is very important to our family because we know that the more we spend time together, the better fun we are having. My uncle has just left, so too bad he couldn't eat the delicious cake. If our family is together, we usually talk or watch TV while eating snacks. To me, family time is the most important event in my life because since our family is not small, I would like to spend my time with them for the most. The first day my baby brother was born, I went to the hospital and gave him a weird look. At first, I thought he didn't look so good due to his rash, but then as I got to know and learn about him more, he is a sweet guy. Although sometimes my family doesn't always agree with one idea, we always work together to get the job done.

Hahaha! (to you)

Hahaha! I have some very funny and exciting news to share about Hong Kong and around the world for those of you who haven't been watching the news lately. First of all, the headline is : Rachel Tam and Samuel Tam is not very happy with each other! For the past few days, Samuel was always so naughty as usual and he now knows how to slide open the kitchen door and go into the kitchen while my helpers are cooking. First, he looks around to make sure if we're watching him. If we are, he smiles cutely at us. If we aren't, he puts his plan into action. He runs in quickly, and slides the door close. Second, the other important news is that at school, the seats are not what I expected it to be. They are not moved. I think it's weird because in lower grades, the teachers always moves our seats during the holiday , but I'm a little glad my teacher did not move them, because I like where I sit right now. I have people around me that can always help me. These are the two main news of these few days. Any other news heads towards you!

Unbeautiful Beautiful Eyes

Samuel, my little brother, nicknamed "Sam bean" by me, has eyes that are beautiful when they're open, but quite un-appetising when they are made into "beautiful eyes". What is "beautiful eyes"? Well, when Sam bean was around 1 year old, I showed him how to keep blinking and making a cute face. I didn't know he would take it so seriously and copy my actions. Maybe because he doesn't know how to blink fast, the "beautiful eyes" became ugly eyes. Sam bean's eye's were almost like swollen when he was doing the "beautiful eyes". At first, we thougt Sam bean was so cute and funny for following how I looked, but then, my dad started to think that his "beautiful eyes" was ugly. Soon enough, my mom and I also thought it wasn't so cute. When we were taking a picture of Sam bean, he would do that "beautiful eyes" and let us take a picture of him like that. The picture next to this article is a picture we took of him whilst doing his "beautiful eyes". You might as well think is as a not-so-great picture!

Kowloon Shangri-La

Oh my gosh! I am so stuffed! My family had just finished a buffet at Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel. The weird thing about my appetite is that I eat more dessert than main courses. I had some Chinese dim-sum, fried chicken, and potatoes as my 1st plate of main course. Then, I had a bowl of noodles in soup as my carbohydrates. Here it comes, the 1st scoop of ice-cream (also the first dessert)! Vanilla flavor is my favorite, so I definitely got that! Next, I had a plate of creme brulee, grass jelly, chestnut chocolate cake, and bread pudding. That rocked! My second plate of dessert is a baked egg white with fruits, orange jelly, and cake. The orange jelly was not so good because I think it tastes mildly bitter due to the orange . My last portion of dessert was a vanilla ice cream cone. I had to eat a second ice-cream because my little brother Samuel ate almost half of my 1st bowl. The more I eat, the higher the risk of me vomiting on the car, so I watched the adults eat and talk. My uncle suggested that we should try fried ice-cream, and I told him we should ask the man at the ice-cream bar to tell us what it was first. That man told us he would just mix the ice-cream in a frying position and add in toppings while the toppings would be smashed. It was just like McDonald's McFlurry. Everyone ate enough, and so we paid for the dinner and left. My grand parents got into our car with us, whilst my aunt and uncle went for a Happy Hour with their friends. I really liked tonight's buffet. My dad actually hardly had to pay, because he had saved up some coupons that valued up to $2200! Thanks to my dad for paying. I wouldn't be so happy if he hadn't paid for the buffet!

Tease Your Brain

When it comes to jokes, I am best at telling them, but worst at guessing them. After I hear the word "jokes", I also think about Brain Teasers. These are a type of riddle. You guess a common phrase by looking at a picture. Below are some of my favorite Brain Teasers.

1.Tttttiiiiiiiiimmmmeeeee

a b d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z



Answer:Long time no see (long time no c)

2. 1st can of soda $6

2nd can of soda $0 (FREE!)

Answer: Buy one get one free



3.A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Answer: Noel (no L)





One joke that I liked besides the 3 Brain Teasers is : Why did Mama rabbit not let Baby rabbit be friends with Baby zebra?

Answer: Mama rabbit thinks that whoever has tattoos is not a friendly animal! ( That means the zebra has tattoos because he/she is striped!)

Updated Christmas Carols

I have been inspired by some changed Christmas carols. They are funny and appropriate. I found these carols in Reader's Digest, and they are by Leonore Skenazy. Here are 2 of them.

Deck the Malls, to the tune of Deck the Halls.

Deck the malls with stuff from China,

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

Hats and Bratz and Dad's reclina,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Don we now U.S. apparel,

Fa la la, deficit, blah blah blah!

Shrug, "Oh, well," and watch Will Ferrell,

Fa la la la la, and la di-da!



Grand Theft Reindeer, to the tune of God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen

God bless you, Uncle Benjamin.

That's what Mum said to say.

She said to write a thank-you note

For giving me that clay.

It's really great, but next time if

You're wond'ring what I play,

O games where I blow bad guys away,

Hope that's OK.

O big-boy games where I blow guys away.



Hey, thank you, Grandma Washington,

I sure do like those socks!

They're better than your cookies,

Which Dad says taste like rocks.

I know I am your precious pet,

So why not sell your stocks

And buy me games for my Xbox, (also the box)?

Why not buy me games and an Xbox?



Dear Santa Claus, I love you so,

You made my Christmas Day.

I put my bike on eBay

And auctioned it away.

I got that Grand Theft Auto game,

The one set in L.A.,

But my parents refuse to let me play, took it away.

So I made you this cute reindeer out of clay.



Ha ha ha! So now you can laugh and sing your heads off, because they are so hilarious that you

God's Love

This article is for those of you who are not yet Christians. It will talk you into being one of God's followers. A long time ago, God had created this world, and it was perfect, but the first humans Adam and Eve had turned the world into sin. Then, God sent His son Jesus to earth, and He started as an ordinary baby, but grew up to be one of little that had asked many questions about Christianity. After about 33 years of spreading the Gospel to people everywhere, He knew that on this day, He would be showing His love for us by being nailed to a cross and letting His blood save us from sin. That was what happened, and after 3 days, He rose from the dead, and told His disciples that He would be going back to His Father up in heaven. A cloud lifted Him up to heaven and He was never seen again in the past thousand years. Although He has not come back yet, He had wrote to us in a holy book that someday He would come back. If you did not pray to God yet and ask Him into your heart, you should accept the privilege of being with Him when you die before it is too late. To those of you who had, you should keep your faith in Him and pray to Him always and ask Him to help others that had not yet accepted Him to be brave and do it. There are 3 main points of being a christian: 1. To work for God. 2. To get the gift of having God in your heart. 3. To show others your good example. Some ways that you can encourage you neighbors to be a christian is to tell them why it's good to be a christian, what you get as a reward when you die, and how good it feels to be a christian. I can feel it when God is in my heart. One night, as I was praying, I felt it like God was responding to my questions. He would tell you what you should do that is right, and not tell you exactly what to do. That way, you can learn more as you are trying to get the answer. When you are a christian, God would give you a reward up in heaven for your hard work for Him.

My Family

This article is about my special family. My baby brother is now 1 and 1/2 years old. He is always quite naughty, and he doesn't like to eat. The special thing between my brother and I is that in between us, we have 8 years. This gives me a great memory because I was there the first day he was born. My mom loves to buy and try clothes. She can even spend her lunch hour just shopping for clothes and shoes. The special thing about my mom and I is that we can wear the same clothes sometimes. She gives me clothes that don't fit her, and she let me borrow her stylish stuff. My mom is a doctor and she works in Wanchai. My dad always care for the whole family. He is especially careful because he is also a doctor and he has to be very cautious when he does operations. The special thing about my dad is that he always sees us first before anyone else (except God). His wish is always to eat dinner together every night. I like the way he thinks because this tells me that my dad really loves us. My family is very special, because we are always together through everything.

Sai Kung

Today's weather was great, so my family decided to go to Sai Kung and take a walk. My dad drove on our Honda for about 25 minutes, and then we got there. At first, we saw a car park, so my parents suggested to park here, before the car park was full. Halfway up the slope to the car park spaces, a man knocked on our car window and said we had to leave, and of course, my dad would ask why. The man told us that this car park is under government control and does not welcome visitors before 7:00 pm. As the car was going down the slope to head for the exit, another visitor car came in. This car made the same mistake as us. It also thought there were visitor car parking spaces, and the security guard can hardly explain why the car can't park here, because the driver was an American. The security guard told us that there was a car park behind McDonald's, so our car headed towards there, and we successfully parked the car and strolled for a while, then had lunch at a small cafe. After accompanying my mom choosing clothes, we had dessert at a small shop and left for home. Sai Kung is a great place, and I guarantee that I would come again.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all! At the last minutes of 2008, people are shouting, "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!'. My family do not count down, because we are too sleepy to feel the last minutes of 2008. I would spend my last days of my Christmas break getting ready to sleep earlier and to wake up earlier. My schedule is very flexible, but I have to wake up at 7:00 am and sleep at 10:00 pm on school days. On Fridays, Saturdays, and on holidays, I could sleep later and watch TV or surf on the Internet. Readers, please note that I have just started this blog, so I am not much of a great writer.If you didn't know yet, I'll tell you that I am only an elementary student, so if you find this article interesting, do not thank me, thank my teacher, Ms. LeFeber. She's a great teacher, and I don't say this to make her happy, I say this to let her know she is doing her best to help me learn new information. I hope this doesn't make you laugh, but I am a bad sports player. Every time I am on the field in kickball, I do not know who to pass it to, and of course, by mistake, I would give it to the wrong person. Hahaha! I laugh at myself sometimes too, just like you might laugh at yourself.