New Year & Rose Parade in Pasadena

Thank you to our hosts NurulSyam & Azura kerana melayan kami dengan baik nya semasa kami di sana. Also to En Rasli & family ... This picture is taken in front of Syam & Zura's home in Pasadena before we leave for the Rose Parade on New Year's Day. Baru anak2 dia orang nak bermesra dah kami nak balik. This young family came here about the same time as we did. Iqbal dah fasih 'speaking', siap slang lagi. Children catch up so fast! Even his younger sister is coming along fine understanding the language. I find that children who like to watch cartoons grasp the language faster. My son loves to watch cartoons unlike his sisters, and I believe he is better off in the English department than the two girls. My daughter Anis, on the other hand, is from a boarding school in Kuantan. I suppose her English is fine but I hope she'll get better in it when she makes more friends at De Anza College. She's brave so I have no worries. Somehow, Atiqah's English results are alright but she's a bit shaky in the Maths department. She has always been under her mother's armpits (bawah ketiak ibu..he..he..), nak buat camno...anak bongsu! Best nya tengok swimming pool rumah nie... but, not used this time of year sebab sejuuk - even in L.A! Wish we had one in Cupertino... :] The night before was New Year's eve.. 2008. Tak ku sangka berada di Los Angeles menyambut tahun baru. Tup - tup dah setahun kami di bumi Mat Salleh nie.. time flies so fast and waits for no one. Wish I had been more productive! Maleh dah nak berazam.. After dinner at Restaurant Haidar Baba we ventured out to the streets wanting to see how 'Angelinos' celebrate New Year. I was surprised seeing them booking a place & camping out along the streets on the side walks as early as that afternoon. Siap ada folding chairs, tents, sleeping bags, blankets... barbeque sets. At first I thought ......ramai nya homeless... Not only yang muda, yang tua2 pun ramai. In fact, one whole family - mak, bapa, anak2 even the likes of grandmothers and grandfathers pun ada - camped out on the side walk to welcome 2008 and to watch Rose Parade on New Year's Day. I don't know what their youngsters will learn into their adulthood from this experience. It's ok to sleep on the streets...? It's true polis bagi permit, but what sort of values are they giving to their children? Jangan la kita ikuut.....alhamdulillah, kita tak boleh tiru sebab kat K.L panas & banyak nyamuk! he..he.. In case you're wondering... Rose Bowl is a football stadium. American football.. kat sini the English football is called soccer. Soccer is being taught early in schools and it's popular among young girls. Currently, the US soccer teams are not world's favourites but give them time and who knows they might be a force to be considered. Atiqah now has P.E classes 4 times a week and ada exam pulak tu. Jadi for the class dia terpaksa lari at least 1 mile, - if the weather permits - and terpaksa main games like soccer, basketball. Soon they will learn about American football...dah la kena balik jalan kaki. Tiap2 hari kena pujuk suruh bersabar... There was going to be a big match between University of Southern California - Trojans and University of Illinois - Illin on New Year's Day. Of course that wasn't our choice to watch... I have heard of the Rose Parade since the 80s lagi when M.A.S was at the peak of the airline game. We were so proud of Malaysian Airlines System - our biggest carrier then - when she won the Rose Parade. I heard from someone in the consulate at L.A that M.A.S menang 3 kali. Of course now we understand why M.A.S is not winning any awards....looking from her state of affairs! Anyway, flowers are sooo expensive. From the name of the parade, one would expect to see tons and tons of roses, berbagai-bagai bentuk dan warna, bersemarak wangi nya di udara.. But, not all 'floats' were decorated with just roses. There were many other kinds of flowers too..one thing for sure, memang colorfull! Oh ya, what happened to our Pesta Bunga? Is it still on? Haa...... Rose Parade ni macam tu la sikit sebanyak. There were also other international participation in this parade: Taiwan, Japan, Mexico.... uuuurrgghh tak ingat... and United Nations. We did spot our Jalur Gemilang among the group! People come all over to watch the parade... just look at the campers or mobile homes. Patutla ramai yang book tempat seawal petang semalam. We heard that seats at the beginning of the parade - where they have speeches and shows - costs 40 dollars and more. And, this parade was covered live.. tapi tak sampai ke tempat yang hujung2 where seatings / standings were a little unorganised. I guess the footage will also be aired in many countries.

I like this float....macam kereta Back to The Future. Also looks like 'transformers' ... ready to fly...