The year of the water snake 2013 ~ and good luck food

Say goodbye to the dragon year..
as this will be year of the snake

We've been busy cleaning the house,
getting fruits, buying new sheets, clothes and even new sofa cover..
argh i couldnt be happier..

G was such a great help too..
On the night at CNY eve, we went to have a whole fish for dinner and some spring rolls for good luck..
We ate our new year cake.. and a lot and lot and lot of sweets..
Funny thing, with all of this CNY stuff going on, G took me to this Spanish festival at Fed Square on saturday with the others..

Anyway..
I found this list of food that the Chinese believe to bring a good luck..
How many out of those did you eat?
=)

"Dumplings (jiao zi) are shaped like golden ingots, or  yuan bao, which were used as money during the Ming Dynasty. Serving them brings the promise of wealth and prosperity. The more dumplings you eat, the more money you can make in the New Year.

Noodles/ misua—for long life

Hair seaweed (fat choy) with dried oysters (ho see)—they sound like the Chinese words for “wealth and good business.”

Lotus roots (lin ngau)—for abundance year after year

Lettuce, in Mandarin, sounds like “growing wealth.”

Lengua—when the pig’s tongue is served, it symbolizes “profit.”

Platter of five meats or vegetables—“Five Blessings of the New Year,” referring to longevity, riches, peace, wisdom, virtue

Fish—symbolizes a profitable year ahead.

Vegetables—freshness means lasting fortune.

Balls: Fish (yu-wan)/ meat  (jou-wan)—the round shape of meat and fish balls symbolizes “reunion” and “togetherness.”

Radish/ Turnip Cake—Chinese for radish is tsai tou, which means “good omen.”

Poon Choi/ Big Bowl Feast—dish made of pork, chicken, beef, duck, prawns, tofu, abalone, dried mushrooms, Chinese radish, layered on top of one another, usually braised and served in a wooden bowl. Food in the bowl is shared, a communal activity, so dish promotes family relations.

Whole chicken with head and feet—boosts family togetherness, happiness.

Egg and spring rolls—shaped like gold bars, which connote wealth

Oranges, bamboo shoots and black moss seaweed—promotes wealth

Dried bean curd—happiness

Eggs—fertility

Chinese garlic chives—promotes long life.

Lychee, nuts—promotes close family ties.

Peanuts—long life

Pomelo—promotes abundance, prosperity, fertility and having more children.

Seeds, e.g. lotus or watermelon seeds—having many children

Tangerine citrus food—related to the mandarin orange and promotes good luck

Oysters, seaweed, abalone, and sea cucumber are added to the feast as symbols of good fortune."

What to do when your iphone got "wet"

I dropped my iphone5 in the water last time we went Sorrento for Christmas..
it was a silly accident on the side of the pool..
and there it goes, my iphone5 flying on top of the sky and landing flat on the bottom of the pool, all wet...

Ever since, i have been iphone-less..
and since iphone5 is using a micro simcard, i cant put the card in other phone..
meaning, i am un-contactable on that number.. which pretty much is the only number that majority of my friends had.. i do have another phone and another number.. but it almost feels like a one way communication for me.. where no one call or text me.. and there is no apps or other random stuff that i usually do with my iphone..
now i just miss my iphone terribly..

Anw.. what to do when this happen?
what to do when your iphone got exposed to water, or any other liquid basically?

First, bad news it is.. Liquid damage is not covered by warranty
so to some degree, it doesnt matter if your iphone is still under warranty or not..
bare in mind  said to some degree, you'll know why..

Now, before even thinking about warranty..
what is the first thing to do?
1. do not try to turn on (if the phone is already off after being exposed to the liquid) or turn off (if the phone is still switched on even after the liquid)
2. try to dry the phone using a dry cloth or towel - since this will only dry the outside of the phone, next step is trying to dry the inside of the phone
3. since we cant disassemble an iphone without ruining it or its warranty to say the least (unless youre an expert technician, unlike me - really), we need to find a way of extracting the liquid from the inside of the phone.. to do this, grab a bowl of rice and dig your phone in it.. try to bury your phone inside the rice basically.. The heat causes condensation and the rice will absorbs the water and dries it out..
4. leave it as long as you can since no one can ever know how much water it needs to absorb..
5. hopefully it works after peeps...

Ofc some are lucky enough and some are not..
i was one of those who are not, but it was probly my own fault cause i keep trying to turn it on when i first get it out of the water..
i didnt know these steps earlier but now that i know, i feel like i should share it..
for the sake of iphone knowledge sharing - or simply knowing how bad it can be for some people out there when they got panick and has no clue of what to do..

Anw... what are your options if your iphone decided not to come back to live? sigh..
1. If your iphone is still under warranty - go to Apple store, or any other authorised Apple service dealer..
They should have an option of buying a new phone around $200-$300 depending on which iphone you are using. Trust me this is in my opinion is the safest and smartest option there is.. Plus, you get rid of any scratches you got from your old iphone since you are getting a new one =) This is why i said earlier, warranty does make a difference still eventho we got stupid liquid in our iphone..
Note: If you decided to go authorised service centre instead of Apple store, they might have different charges and i doubt it that it would be less than Apple store.. Also, check with them if they do service for your specific iphone type.. Since am using an iphone5, atm not all authorised dealer can do service for iphone5..
2. If your iphone is no longer under warranty - you can still go to Apple store and check with them if you can opt for that option.. but otherwise.. you have all the options in the world to bring it anywhere else who claim they can fix iphone.. Might be cheaper (i did know some places here at Chinatown claimed they can fix iphone5 for $250-ish), but keep in mind they might not guarantee it will work perfectly..

I am often clumsy, sometimes dumb and that time very unlucky.. but with this post i hope i can feel a little better, and help others possibly...