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Hello! If you don't mind, this page will load kinda slowly due to some pics of mine. Anyway, let's start with
the boring details, shall we? My name is Elizabeth Tai Siew Lin; I'm a Malaysian,
born in the state of Penang, 10th December 1976. I'm 5"4, and I'm a
descendent of a race of Chinese called the 'Peranakans'. The
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'Peranakans', or rather, the 'Straits
Chinese' lived in the states of Penang, Malacca and even Singapore. Uniquely
Malaysian, these Chinese have adopted the local Malay customs. Although
they dress and eat like them, their ancestral heritage still lives. I 'belonged'
to three states: Penang, Johor and Selangor. Moving from place to place,
but thankfully, in a span of a decade instead of a few years.
Dreaming of owning the 3C's (Condo, Cash,Career)
since the age of 12, I've cycled through a strange series of careers: At
12, I wanted to be an Astronomer, when I was 15, a doctor, 16, a UN medical
corps ambassador, 17, an exec and when I was 18 an advertising exec. Since
my career 'ideas' changed so much, I realised that there must be a good
thing to my only constant in life: The fact that I loved writing. So I addled
my already confused parents further when I told them I wanted to be...a
Journalist. Now, to know why they are confused is to know the South East
Asian mentality -- namely those of urban Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia.
The 3C's, the pinnacle of every parents dream for their child, has been
the trophy for all young adults like me since the Boom years of the '90s
(though now, its going through a major overhaul). It's every parents hope
to boast about their RM50,000 p.a. daughter who's a lawyer/doctor/successful
executive. 
These 3 categories are the acceptable careers for the reasonably
educated. Plus, it ensures a good husband/wife and a promising future. I
won't go on to say that the Clan that was my family was a tad concerned...so
I embarked on my own crusade to discover whether Journalism was the thing
for me and to prove to them that it was. I started by writing articles and
sending them, no matter how trivial the topic. So when one (The Age of
Rebellion) appeared in November 1995 in a national paper -- I knew I
had a glimmer of hope. I remember scoffing at the words of a friend: "Who
knows, first The Star, next Reader's Digest." Well, I
do not want to scoff now --I'm thanking God for the blessings he's given
me along the way. From a mere contributor to the Star, I became one of their
freelance writers, then, I got a chance to actually write some scripts for
a TV show. To get the verdict of my life in the present...look at the