A hot summer, a long break.

On January 2008, we had a poll to survey what our fellow members are up to during the summer.

THE RESULTS:

We had altogether 99 votes from 40 voters.

WORK is the no. 1 priority (22 votes), assuming we are students so we need the money money money to survive the year.

Travel is the next popular activity (16votes) - but where is my souvenier guys?

Many are counting the sheeps during summer, catching up on the lost sleep due to last minute assignment work (don’t deny it) - 14 votes.

So we have many drama addicts here - 12 votes. (korean or japanese or anime?)

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

Welcome all old and new members!

              

When: 8 March (SATURDAY)

Where: meet at 9am @ Recreation centre (gym)

Attire: Preferably sports attire / something comfortable for games

We’re going to have some fun games for you, our KOOKIE WACKY game, guaranteed fun by our very own Shermayne. Gasp- don’t believe me? Read HERE for her message to all! There’s even a prize for winners of the games!

Not forgetting the golden prize: FREE FOOD!!! (our handmade kuih bingka if you missed it on lantern fest, freshly baked from the oven).

PS: Remember to bring your UMSA card to verify you’re an UMSA family member (and also of course change for the real UMSA card)

who is coming say I

*UPDATED 3/3* 

Come one come all!

UMSA will be open for membership registration in UoA and AUT starting this new semester.

                          

When: 3 March - 5 March (UoA)

Time: 10am - 3pm

Where: UoA uni Quad

AUT registration: 6 & 7MArch (thurs &fri)

                                 at AUT  quad @10am-3pm

Ps: Registration might extend on Thursday and Friday. Details to be notified - watch this space!

REGISTER ONLINE, read on

(4 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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Wave your hands if you were there this year!

Lantern Festival is a annual joint event organised by Asia New Zealand Foundation and Auckland City Council.

   

So what is Lantern Festival? It falls on the 15th of the lunar calender which marks the end of Chinese New Year festival, or what we Malaysians (or singaporeans) know it as “chap goh mei”. Do not confuse this with the Lantern Festival that we have back in Malaysia (or singapore) where kids light up lanterns later in the year - that is Mid-Autumn Festival.

On the 15th day of the first lunar month (marked by Chinese New Year), you can see the first full moon of the lunar calender. Some ancient Chinese beliefs describes it as the day that celestial spirit can be seen flying in the light of the first full moon. To aid them in their search for spirits, they use torches (aka lanterns) .

Can you find your way?

^ angry monkey says: What are you looking at!

May the Rat force be with you!

The less creepy side of it, introduced in Song dynasty, lantern owners will write riddles and post them on their lanterns for people to solve. (I bet you’ve seen this in tvb dramas). If you guessed it right, then you’ll get a gift.

UMSA was there again this year, showing off our fantastic Malaysian yum yum food.

Roger takes a pip: Welcome to UMSA stall, satay satay satay!!

Between 10am to 3pm , we got ourselves ready. BBQ pits are fixed up, tables, tent, food and everything ready to go.

Sales on Friday was a little slow. Rain coupled with heavy rain deterred many people from coming.

Our mamak styled stall - too bad banner was soaked by the rain we had to remove it

 However, thanks to our kuih making team (Sher Mayne, Shamaz, Naomi and Marilee) our ondeh-ondeh sold out by 7pm! Many were back asking for more, we were so flattered that they enjoyed it so much that we had to double our production for the next day! Kuih Bingka sold out on Sunday by 8pm. A lady even came over and asked whether we have a shop outside of here that sells it. Sorry guys, we only, ONLY made it for lantern fest.

Our Kuih Bingka and Ondeh-Ondeh: finger licking good

Come one come all, we have cute ladies and fantastic food

Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t any kinder the next day. Mr Wind and Mrs Rain must have had a quarrel which caused lantern fest to be cancelled on saturday! We couldn’t believe it when we heard it. We had to console ourselves to free kuih bingkas we had made that morning. Sobs sobs.

Satay sold like crazy on Sunday, we couldn’t stop production for about 6 hours straight. People were swarming at our stall to see what the smoke was all about (no, it wasn’t a fire).

“satay! 4 for $5, 10 for $10″ we chanted at the top of our voice.

Health inspector, we are doing great here!

^Rayvin on the verge of crying: I’m so touched everyone is working so hard

^ the team who sang “satay” song

UMSA sold out everything we have (except a few can drinks) just in time to see the fireworks! Such a sweet taste of victory, we were screaming and singing “we are the champions” all the way!

We want to especially thank everyone who helped in the Lantern fest: all committees, ex-committees, and friends!

Thank you, thank you, see you next year!

Click to see more pictures from lantern Fest

(6 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)

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You might be wondering, what is UMSA up to in the summer?

Besides skin dipping at the lake (kidding..) , we spent 2 whole days (saturday and sunday) skewing satays in preparation for Lantern Festival.

Our host and coordinator Roger Bobson got us kicking in on the chicken at about 9.30 am.

Off comes the chicken skin for those on diet, then washed and chopped into pieces. Powder of lemon grass and spices flying in the air as the chicken is being marinated. Then, the blocks of meat are professionally skewed to the stick and frozen for preservation.

 We did about 120kg of chicken which comes close to 4000 sticks.

We want to specially thank the non-committees that dedicated themselves to help:  Celest, Jasmin, Pui Li, Shaun, Sharvin, Cheryl, David, Dallas, Irvin, Shaun (Irvin’s brother), Yam and Hwei Gjin - we appreciate it!

Lantern Festival : 22nd (Friday) to 24th (Sunday) February

  @ Albert park road

COME AND SUPPORT UMSA !!!

    
 you ready for some action?

 
Don’t mess with the knive maidens (oops, i mean ladies)

 
“Roger, what in the world are you doing?”

 
*holds* “Having my moment with the chicken breast meat. “

 
^the food tasters of the uncooked satays

 
^Dallas: “let me eat before Celest sees me”..

Click to comment

(4 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)

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Freaking out ? Rush packing ? Lost about Auckland? Curious?

We, UMSA, the cool people says “COOL IT MAN!”.

Throw your worries away cause UMSA is here to save the day. (sharks, that even rhymes!)

Here are some tips from the experienced UMSA members in helping you prepare for your departure and living in Auckland.

           

Introduction to Auckland

Population 

Auckland, the City of Sails, is the most populous (and popular) city in New Zealand. It’s the home to over 1.3 million people (1/4 of the population of the whole nation). Most of the immigration is concentrated in Auckland.

Weather

Auckland weather is unpredictable. The sun may shine and within 5 minutes, rain starts pouring insanely. When it rains, the strong winds force you to just chuck your umbrella in the garbage. Some of us even had our umbrellas wrecked more than three times. (bring waterproof coat/ raincoat/ something with hood).

Landscape 

Auckland’s landscape is hilly of various degrees, and people get to places using car no. 11 very extensively.

Cost of living

For first time Malaysians, don’t be shocked. Foremost, though NZD is roughly 2.5 times bigger than Ringgit, to live without freaking at all the prices, you’ll need to consider it dollar to dollar (ie don’t convert!).

- Food:  one meal outside = at least NZD 7

Cook yourself will save you a lot. Rough estimate of cost per person per meal = NZD 2-4.

- groceries per week = roughly NZD 40 a week (buying only essential things)

- rent

University accomodation = at least NZD 180 and above

City apartments = range of NZD 130 - 240 depending on what kind. One bedroom apartments are the most expensive per person. Two bedrooms to three bedrooms are a bit cheaper.

- one textbook = at least NZD 50 (for both first and second hand)

What to bring

• at least a piece or two of warm clothing. Auckland doesn’t snow, so temperature will range between 10 to 20 degrees celcius. Hood jacket recommended.
• your own stationery and supplies (art supplies here are expensive)
• at least a pair of sports clothing for games
• some toiletries for starters
• formal / function clothing (just for the ball - if not can rent :-p )

What NOT to bring

• live plants or animal product of any kind
• dairy products to be avoided, else sealed commercially
• electronic products (eg printer etc ) not necessary

Tip: Maximum weight of luggage you can check in is about 20 kg. So weight conservation is essential. Bring one or two small luggages and the rest pack in boxes. Suitcases can weigh up to 3kg (what a waste!). Separate food items or items that might need to declare from clothings etc for easy checking.

Read on for more info about Custom checks

(10 votes, average: 3.6 out of 5)

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*click on picture to enlarge* 

Auckland Lantern Festival ( 2 March - 4 March)

The eighth Auckland Lantern Festival, organized by the Auckland City Council, was held at Albert Park on 2 March - 4 March. This event is one of Auckland’s most popular summer events to bring Chinese New Year celebrations to glowing finale. UMSA sold our famous chicken satay, teh tarik and can drinks. The purpose of this event  was not only to fundraise for club activities for the year but it was also an excellent opportunity to promote our Malaysian culture to Auckland. In addition, it was a time where the new committee members could bond. It was successful event for UMSA as we managed to raise sufficient funds for our members.

What more did UMSA do in 2007? Read on…