2007-2008

A lot has happened this year. Some planned, some weren't. Frankly, i can't for the life of me recall (at the moment la), anything that had pissed me off. It could be because so many good unexpected things happened and they preceded and overpowered any real disappointments that i may have experienced.

We have a choice, right? We always have a choice. Between being angry and being happy. Being late or being early (or punctual). Being frightened or being brave. The choices aren't limited to what i just listed. Whatever choice one makes will of course dictate the outcome of events. And for me, I have always tried to live up to whatever choice that i have made. There is always a tomorrow to try and rectify any wrongs done. If there is no tomorrow, then, c'est la vie. We only live once. Oh we can die a thousand deaths, but we live but once.

um... some bad memories are trickling into my head and heart now... but i'm not going to dwell on them. The pain will always remind me that this is life. It can't be all high, psychedelic, idyllic, fun times. That the pain will remind me that i can still feel. It's being numb and bored that is a danger to most.

Ah... 2008. Have i any resolution for the coming year? naah.. no need for it being a new year to do that. But i do hope health and contentment (happiness is such a selfish state). Long term plan bukan senang to follow.. can be attempted though eh?

So, a very happy new year to all my friends and family. May it bring whatever it is that you endeavor.

bitten by waterbug

I have had this fascination for water activities ever since i learned how to swim. The fascination started waaaaay early lagi i think. My mum and Ina' (grandma) had told me of the story of how i nearly drowned in the water drum (u know la di kampung, the dorom air used to collect rainwater, normally put outside the house). They told me that i always liked to play with the water in the drum. i'd get a stool or something and go up the stool to play with the collected rainwater. I'd use the gayung and just scoop the water and pour it out and scoop the water and pour it out, or just run my hands through the water.

One day, I had gotten on top of the stool to reach for the gayung lah. It hadn't been raining for some time. The water level in the drum was not up to the brim but only half full. Therefore, the gayung had floated somewhere halfway down the drum. So, i had reached down to try and get hold of the gayung. i must have reached down so far and fell headfirst in to the wated. i was alone. My grandma (bless her soul) suddenly became aware that i wasn't making any water noise and went out to look for me. When she didn't see me on the stool, she went to the drum and heard splashing from within the drum. I was flailing still with my kaki di atas. She reached down and pulled me up. So, i was saved, though i didn't realize it then.

-the dratted drum-

It is fortunate that i didn't develop any hidrophobia though. If i did, i might be leading a miserable life of being prissy and annoying and not wanting to get wet la, don't want to get into water la, takut la..

I always considered one of my greatest achievement in U was learning how to float, dive and swim. hahhaha... but of course graduating was nice as well lah. Any free time i had thereafter was spent swimming in pools of swimmable water. I even had this Benson & Hedges dream wish (remember the tv show?) to jump off a boat or jetty and dive into the sea. Quite a tame wish la juga kan? Haven't done that but jumping off a ledge near the sea suda la.

I especially lurrrvved to swim at the Likas Sports Complex before it was renovated with roof on top (yee... too cold for me). I love having sun-kissed skin. Being fair and pasty white isn't the top of my wish lists. Almost 3 years ago, i took SCUBA diving licence. Went to Pulau Sapi for the test and had a fantastic experience. I also was fortunate to go for Star 1 course for Kayak. And two days ago, i went to Kiulu for a river rafting course conducted by Riverbug. Couldn't i be any more fortunate?

Nanti lah.... pigi Padas. it'll be like the phrase on the t-shirt i got from riverbug, "paddle or die". Sigh!!:)

time kici2

Way back when i was cuter..(koff..koff..)..

1 year old ++
Wiht me sis at a rumah panjang in sibu. I was probably 10.

Powerboat Race

woke up early this morning to the sound of Mona's msg ringing into my mobile (which is always by my ear).. kok..kok..kok... read the message. i replied... Uu..uu..uuuuu... hahahah... chicken talk.

mandi2, got ready. Mona came and picked me up afterwhich we proceeded to pungut si mel. Sampai KK, Mona parked in the Waterfront parking space. Off we walked makan TomYam for breakfast at Sinsuran. Not bad..


What's the occasion for the outing today? P tinguk Powerboat Race. Bukan juga minat sangat bah. Saja want to go have a looksee how this supposedly World Sporting Event is.

one of the hi-speedboats parked near the pasar ikan area.

Mona, nice shades... what's that di tangan ko?

yes... grand marnier filled chocolates (kana bawa dari Langkawi...)

siapa tu ah yang pakai tupi tu? Korean sasat?

mighty powerful lenses there camera-dude!

ada lagi power..twice the size and length oo.. but tidak terambil gambar.

time 9 something... not that crowded yet.

Go redboat go!

Naaa nah... me first!

Driver : err.. finish la the fuel, boss..

DIGI promotion in front of Warisan Square.

Yawnn...

Wuarrghh...

Was woken up around 8 something when Mel called. She asked me where i was and whether i was going to Kiulu. Nay i said. I will be going to another friend's baby birthday party nanti petang and I didn't feel up to driving to Kiulu and driving back so soon. Told her the flying fox is supposed to start at 9am. She said she was on her way there. ok.

On any other day, i would- at the drop of a topi- be on my way to Kiulu. There is a huge sense of relief for me whenever i go to Kiulu. I would even say aloud ," hellow again Malangang," whenever i'm nearing the place. It's a retreat for me. Sure there is work involved, the work is mainly outdoor activities which would render me sighing at the end of the working day, it still is a place to release tension.

Today I woke up with a touch of headache, macam mo damam ja, macam juga mo flu. My eyes felt puffy and too big for the sockets. aih... don't la sakit. Have a busy week ahead of me.

Kem Malangang, Kiulu. View from seberang sungai. The flying Fox tower

right in the middle. wheeee.....

citizen is me

pretty soon i'll be hopefully occupying my sierra lot and be a citizen there. Cun-cun la the artisans of Johaniaga Enterprise nih. Sooo santik my ceiling, my wardrobe, my study, my kitchen.. Beauty IS in the eyes of the beholder ba kan?

ni bukan artisans yg buat, Dapan Holding heheh... view from parking lot.

my plastered ceiling with the downlight. imagine if at night dis!

Aiya... 4got to calibrate the view... malas mo tukar lagi. lambat dis laptop.. my study wall..

cabaran selangor

i was lucky enough to be one of the 20 chosen ones to go to selangor for this yearly cabaran challenge. it was made to be like a variation of Explorace. stopping by each station to complete a certain task before continuing off to another. Taman Pertanian Seri Alam was a huge compound. heheh... some friends dubbed it Bukit Celaka instead of Bukit cherakah... fun though it was, some part of the management of the whole thing was very disagreeable. Food was lousy. sudala sikit. With energy sapping activities, would anyone feel energised with a small bottle of mineral water and an apple? or sayur masak garam only? There were over 200 participants and only 2 pathetic food queues. I heard some didn't get enough lauk by the end of the line.

anyway, some of the activities..

stesen jerat n perangkap. after making some difrent kinds of traps, this one, the 'serkap' was to be used to catch some ikan keli in the sawah. Reportedly some 80 ekor of the ikan keli were released into the sawah. All members of each group were to wade in and try catch 3. I caught one without the serkap. Pakai tangan ja ba. It was easy as the keli didn't have any stings.

The triathlon team. Although it was a relay event, everyone put their best effort. The first event was kayak(7km). I teamed up with Sufryadi (yang pakai tights and short pants tu) for kayak. Next was bicycle-7km (mazlan and rahmat) and finally running-5km, kasmani and roslee.

There's me with Sufri starting off. A very calm and collected man he is. Never rushed me into paddling fast. Just asked me to paddle steady and in rhythm. 7km tu! i felt like giving up halfway and throwing the paddle and see it sink into the man-made stream. Nasib i thought of this determined partner and the other team cheering us on. Mcm mau putus my left arm.

But i won't deny that i had my share of fun. The other team members made the trip enjoyable. Next year it would be Cabaran Kelantan. i'm pretty sure many would want to lobby to go to Kelantan. What lies at Kelantan? why... a trip to sempadan of course, buy lotsa cheap stuff.

tngc

hi y'all..

i'd like to say hi to my readers, those yang i didn't know knew about the existence of this monologue of mine. feel free to drop ur comments, if u feel like it.

okay. what's been happening? lots..

most recently, tngc rendezvous. ai...sly came late (still work attired) and so the beverage didn't flow as profusely as usual. C uncle didn't have the compatriot to keep the atmosphere high. My reason for joining this crowd? had texted c uncle earlier for dinner at the Cage. He replied that he was already full but if i dared, i could join him at tngc with a few friends. well, the word 'dare' implied i was going to be bombed if i joined. 'tngc' would be the place where he usually go to to be bombed (he's related quite a few occasions where friends of his kasi bomb kaw kaw), 'a few friends' were a mystery. c uncle reassured me that i knew this group of humans, so i won't feel lost.

k lah. pg la i to the place mentioned. first thing that struck my mind was, err... not very crowded for a friday nite out eh? after scanning the place, i walked over to a corner yang macam ada possibility of c uncle and gang. Lo and behold, ala.... dorang pulak. the youngest member of the group was drinking milo-ping. te hehehe.... what a rarity. a tame and very sober milo-ping in a sea of chivas coctail. and a non-billower of smokes too.( the same persona who drank glass after glass of orange juice in my previous meeting with them at Magma)

Did i say Chivas?(Oh.. belated thank u to Mat for the Chivas.. i liiiiike). c uncle whispered to me sometime in the hour that he prefers good ol' beer- which later came dengan banyaknya and tpaksa tius2 to finish. i shall not mention the names of the merry makers. nanti kedapatan susa tu. the pet names that they have pun kiut-kiut belaka. i might just ask them one day if it's okay if i use their names in my blog. not that people would kanal kan? heheh... ok ka tu sly?

i'll continue with other stories later. havta go out in a bit. ciao babes.

hurdles...

It has been a hectic week!

Our end year dinner will be held at Promenade next Monday. 29th. Fuh... so hectic planning and arranging the small but important matters that will hopefully make this dinner flow smoothly. i'm just the ketua ajk jamuan but oooy... the nitty gritty stuff?!! mau tukar ini la... tukar itu la...

but that's not all..

i have to do constant follow up on my apartment at bandar sierra (*wink* wink*)... can't wait to make that as my habitat!!!.. so excited sampai beli this and that stuff before the house has even started being renovated. i've chosen Johaniaga Enterprise to do some of the renovation. plaster ceiling (want the down light), wardrobe, and my kitchen cabinets. and oh the mini-tv cabinet cum space divider.

that's not even all...

received a call from Tuan H asking me whether i've gotten letter to go for Cabaran Selangor. Whhuuaaattt???!!! (Yahoooo.... skippity skip). and of course i haven't. went to the SPK office to get the letter. Kak R said they had faxed it last friday 19th. you know when the lidut ofis person gave me the letter? on the 25th. nasib tau awal2. sempat get this and that stuff. needed to find a traditional costume. i have a kadazan costume at home but surely inappropriate (..yawnn...) to show my armpit to conservative people eh. Oh how the inner monologues of the old barkers would run...
i'll be going to selangor for this course. My elation slowly floated down to terra firma when i started to think about the activities that i'm going to go through. Maybe bicycling, kayaking? orienteering, swimming? (triathlon was stated in two of the time slots).. aiya.. left the cardiovascular thingy a long time ago....

to top it all, my worries about the breast and health screening i went through early this week. thank goodness it's just a benign cyst. but still...

and then the in between errands needed to be done. bayar utang credits, pay bills,

well, that's life for ya.

makan-makan at Hyatt

It was Gareth's birthday last Wednesday and Mum had wanted to bring makan2 at Hyatt on Friday but after finding out Sis was coming back from Labuan, the date was reset for a Saturday luncheon.

I've always wondered why mum liked to eat out at Hyatt. She even became a member so that dapat the vouchers to eat there at a discounted price. Maybe Hyatt reflects a bygone(?) era of comfort, status, privilege and image? My tastebuds think Pacific Sutera offers more choice, more spread, and 5 different possible eating outlets there. But hey, mum's paying.

There was a new spread today. An additional meja spread for Malay cuisine. Ada sate with the kuah-kuah, berani rice (hehehe..), ayam percik and some more lauk. I didn't take much rice but just concentrated on the lauks. Let's see, there were roasted lamb, chicken, this chicken and cumin soup that was very light and nice (i think i want to learn how to make this, me being a soup person), and japanese food!

Didn't know most of the names la, know how to lolop only. I took 4 salmon sushi and ate only the salmon, 4 small bowls of steamed eggs which was topped with straw mushroom (sis said the egg tasted diluted but to me, after drizzling the top with some soya sauce, was sedap! could eat many more bowls!), and some miso soup which Dad liked.

Had some desserts afterwards. Lots of different cakes; tiramisu, chocolate cakes, some fluffy good tasting stuff and this attractive looking jelly-like thing in a small bowl which later i agree (with sis) that it tasted like tasteless nestum.

all in all, with perut kanyang, we went home happy and contented. Thank you mum. and oh... happy belated (12th) birthday Gareth.

magma

I think Magma has quite a number of good singers as patrons lah. From my amature observation la dis. Maybe the crowds who go there are a more appreciative lot. The plentiful phewittss and claps and wohoooss that follow before, while and after a song is sung lend much merriment to the general atmosphere. Oh what am I saying, after a few jolly drinkies, any song sung is beautiful. apa lagi the ones that are really sung well. haha.. even the missed notes are fun to hear, and every one in the next table thinks that he / she can sing a better version.

but Magma's lounge is not bad. Had a few rounds of beer jugs with this good logop friends of mine who shall remain nameless. If names are divulged, turun saham nanti durang(or up, depending on who's reading). Tius and tius and more tius. Oit.. mr. Popol, you make a very good model drinker for any draughts beer ads, drinking each glass like there is no tomorrow. As is Sly. And er...ada juga kawan yang minum glasses and glasses of... orange juice. Tsk, tsk... baiknya ni budak. But, good company non the less.

Finally had a Margarita. Wasn't like what i expected it would be and taste like. because the cocktail was ice-blended, i couldn't really taste the tequila. It sort of tasted like slurpee margarita. i like a swirly feel of tequila mixed with syrup. Oh well, now I know how Magma makes it. (Note to self : never alternate drinks. Finish one type before downing another. )

So many people came to Magma last night. Tidak sempat I sing my other songs.

The joint did its last round of songs by 1 a.m. I thought, a bowl of Mee Kari at the corner kedai at Lido would make a good finishing for the outing. So, drove off we did towards Lido. Alas! the kadai TUTUP!... aiseh.... second option, the famous SALIM. Pigilah we all to Lintas. Nasib the mee goreng with telur goreng mata lembu sedap. Sangatlah sedap sampai my dear II pun tolong kasi habis...(sikit ja sya termakan...) .But hey, after minum-minum, surely the stomach would get hungry eh? Drinking takes up a lot of energy.

yesteryears

A few weeks back my ol highschool held a fund raising event. I found out bout it because Rachel Mansa had called to sign me up (sorta sign up la ni) to join her table. Rm80 per tikit. So, for a good cause i agreed. That night, saw some familiar faces. Mr. Krisnan was around. Don't think i saw any other familiar teacher. Wanted to meet Ms. Chua - the ever gutsy lady- but maybe she was backstage manning the floor. The event was ok. Wonder who the guy hogging the mike all night was. Yes la, he was reportedly a former st.mike teacher but using him to be the m.c. that night made it seem like the original m.c. bailed out last minute.

but i digress.

anyways, i was rearranging old school photos and came across class photos from 1989-1993. recognize anybody?

Form 1 biru - Ms.Florence Chin

class monitor-- Seng seng

assistant--Nining

(all muka budak-budak kan? baru 12-13 taun ba ni)

form 2 biru : Mr.Ayob (heard he's at SMK Pulau Gaya now)

the start of our reign of pengawas. ( yang lain class sikit ja, kami kunun ramai-ramai gila kuasa)

The block which is the background has since gone, terbakar sometime in the mid 90-s.

3 jingga : Mr. Ong Han Yang (also our science teacher)

monitor-- bodeng

assistant--vicki binisol

4 hijau : Ms. Teh Guat Bee (balik malaya oledi)

monitor--elaine rajah

assistant--terence claudius

(see, so many pengawas?)

and final year

form 5 hijau : Ms. Teh Guat Bee also (also ajar us Fizik)

monitor--Seng Seng

assistant-- elaine rajah

some of the class members don't seem to be around kk la. i haven't caught a glimpse of Arthur Motunjau in such a long time. Oit! where r u la? (speaking bout being around, i also pun low profile juga pula..teheheh ).

kampai....

Last night a few friends and I went for a visit to D junction. heheh... 'visit' ..

I sat down thinking i should get something to eat since i hadn't had anything solid yet. MunNa had already ordered her Singapore Sling. I took a sip of her coctail and deemed it quite tame. She agreed and commented that Upperstars serves the same drink with more kick! The other two amois' drinks arrived. uik.. fruit punch ja ka? apa niii.... but oh ya.. go slow ed, go slow.

Looked through the food menu. ran my forefinger down the list and chose spaghetti bolo. MunNa chose the same. Went through the drinks menu.... yum yumm... asked for margarita with pineapple. My air liur was already flooding my mouth. Haven't had tequila for some time. skali the waiter came back to tell they didn't have pineapple. and when i asked for mango margarita (mango??!), he said the mango pun juice in a can. so i reverted to my normal drink of long island tea. sigh..

anyway... ramai la juga the crowd last night. the music wasn't something i'd really dance to but i did, just to keep warm (do some sit-ups or power kicks, why dontcha? warm up??). The two songs i requested didn't come out so aweinspiring as i thought it would. Rusak U2's and MCR's song. sound system pun muffled. and the speaker sounded as if someone with anger management problem was beating the insides with a broken badminton or tennis racket.

let's see... my one long island tea drink, 1 jug of stout and 3 towers of draughts. by the 3rd tower most of the other friends had bailed out leaving me, MunNa and whatzername (her bf was working there and waiting for him) to finish the 1/4 leftovers. I also cannot drink already. enough is enough la. Lain la if got some other logop group of friends...

watchamacalit

right....
second entry. A recently married colleague of mine strutted around school with this fairly sedate handbag. For want of vivacious chat lines, i ventured to ask her where she got her handbag, she gushed ( she normally gushes whenever she speaks, i noticed)," oh nice kan? but very cheap dis only twenty bucks at Gaya Street you know de place near stamford kolej dat one?ya somewere near near there.got many more choice i think i go back to buy some more, si ipo also say cute dis one when she find out i buy only at Gaya street she say she also wan to go dis weekend. ..... and i showed my interest (which i was, honest!) by asking her the details of the location of the stall.

Oh. my eyebrows are raised. but you can't see them raised. heheh... a bit dramatic my fren dis.

so, when i woke up this morning, some of my mild migraine was still buzzing about but hey, got to check the place at Gaya St.! By 9 something reached KK already. had some fish and century eggs porridge at Wisma Merdeka before doing the short walk over to Gaya st. I had driven round around the Segama area only once when lady luck showed me an empty parking space. nearly missed it. nasib sampion doriboh (translated : champion driver).

went directly near the end of the Gaya St throngs and looked for the Stamford college building. planted myself near the last stall at the end of the gaya road and scanned. tutututututu....(sound of radar).. teda pun... so i walked a bit to try to look for any bags hanging from ropes. Took only seconds for me to locate. Wuu.... lots n lots of faux jenama-ed bags.... i saw the bag which my colleague has and since i didn't want to have an exact copy, i bought an almost similar one with a different color. and since my heart kena tug to buy two more, i relented and bought another two. I will consider the buys as my birthday present. Oh...yaaa right. now la call birthday present. later ada lagi tu.

those of you interested in buying nice faux ladies bags, you can go to the stalls either near the end of Gaya Street (you can see Stamford College from the stall) or the beginning of the street, near the archway. the stalls belong to one family. one stall is manned or shall i say womanned by the mom, the other one near the college by the daughter.

Anyways, the other two bags are for my sis to choose. Her birthday is also coming up, so she'll choose one and claim it for her present la. That way, i'll have TWO bags for my own!!! HUarghahahahah!!!!

MY bags.. the one my sis took not in the pic.

Ahem.

orait. enough typing for now. till then.

kay, okay, mm...

Tomorrow is hari raya. Fasted for a few days this puasa month. :) Here's wishing Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all celebrants.