Waterbug II

I was reading this early post of mine in 2007 and i had said i wished to go to Padas for a whitewater rafting trip. Well, i've since been there twice!.. the first time was last year in March, and the second time was on the 16th of July this year. How about that? COuld there be a third time?

Pics on my first trip, last year...

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Tenom Pangi Dam


I fell overboard... and drank Padas water by the gulps..




Donno where I put the cd given by Riverbug...I could only find these..

HamChimPeng

Or kuih Ham Chim Piang...or Kuih Lingkaran Nyamuk (so named by people from other parts of this country)..

Learning how to make this kuih was one project I undertook a few months ago. There's this stall selling local kuihs and lauks in Putrajaya, Telipok. There are many other food stalls there, mind you but what made her an exception was that she (the stall owner) didn't sell the typical local Malay kuihs normally sold in food stalls like kuih Lapis, pulut panggang, wajid (wajit), kuih lenggang, ABC, Sugarcane drinks and many more. Hers was the only stall that sold Piang Masin, traditional kampung lauks like the stir fried Lemiding with belacan, young Yam stalks with bits of dried salted fish, and soto. Oh and of course HamChimPiang.
This HamChimPiang of hers sold like hot(cakes) HamChimPiangs! She would roll the dough and make them just behind the stall tables. Most of the time customers would order them while the HamChimPiangs were still being fried. Sometimes you'd have to book early just to get one or four.
She made it look so easy...making them. I'd ask her what the ingredients were...and she'd say..."Senang ja ba ni.." So, after a few weeks of contemplation.. I finally tried. Not so easy le...
My first attempt didn't go so well.. had to throw them out to the dogs...TOO crunchy (keras like anything!)for my taste..
The second try was...ok.. brought it to my uncle's place...and surprise! surprise! THey kind of liked the think crunchy texture to them...
Before
After
Which led to a family project of making HamChimPiangs for all at Grandma's.
Nice...
Finished (this was my Aunt Betty's result
What say you? Heheh... delicious..with Kopi panas..

Bedtime Books..

Has it been that long since I last blogged? Yes'm it has.
I felt that I had nothing that was worth writing about. Having said that though...
I watched the whole Season 1 of this new hit HBO series, Game Of Thrones.. of course the ones showed on tv had certain scenes cut so I did the next best thing..and bought the complete Season 1 DVD - the complete scenes within..
Watching the last episode of Season 1 left me wanting more of the evilness that lie in the Seven kingdoms. I love the witty mishappen Tyrion. Such strength in that halfman in being able to accept his many shortcomings and wearing it like a badge of honor. wish i could be like him in that sense.
I couldn't bear the thought of waiting next year for Season II so I went to Times and bought the whole collection. I'm almost finished reacquainting myself with the characters in the first book. The people who play the characters in the book are so THEM. I understand why George R.R. Martin was so pleased with the casting.
oh well...

Bz bz bz... no time to stand and stare..

June bug

Is it Sunday already? One more week of holiday left. Of waking up in the morning without worrying whether I'll be able to drive and reach work before the punch card turns red, of taking each minute doing just about anything without being aware that one minute has passed, of not having heavy thought processes going on each day of working week.. ya... till next week.

Nizam's wedding reception last week was a wonderful event. It was unfortunate that I did not have the chance to catch up with him. It was understandable though.. he was just so busy doing the arrangement for the reception. He and the bride did everything on their own. The akad nikah was performed at the Putrajaya Mosque on the 28th and the reception at Taman Botani, Putrajaya the next night. Where did I put up for the night? (Two nights actually.. I took it for granted that the reception was going to be on 29th morning.) At the Shangrila Putrajaya. What luxury!! To me..anyway. Loved the bed, Loved the pillow (goose downs), Loved the bathroom..and I enjoyed the breakfast spread. I wish I had four stomachs then, the better to be able to enjoy all the different sets of tables..all laden with all the food I loved to munch.
Anyways.. went jalan-jalan at Alamanda..met up with old fren Teresa, who's working right across the building opposite Alamanda. Wah..5 mins of easy walking everyday from your workplace to Alamanda. Too bad she's a workaholic.. If it were me, I'd be hanging out at Alamanda during breaks...but then again she's been there ages..maybe the thrill had run its course ..:).. Had lunch with her and traded stories about friends and updates about ourselves. She's a treasure..she's among a handful of friends whom I can be honest with and be candid about.
She accompanied me for a couple of hours of mani-pedi at one of the outlets there. The Nail Parlour's the name..but this kedai mani-pedi has apparently created a name for itself, being featured in a few local mags as THE Nail place to go to for a mani-pedi. Yea...having one's nails pampered once in a blue moon sure felt good!
Teresa was flying back to Kuching the next day so it was a wonderful pleasure to be able to see her. Don't know when we'll be able to meet up next!

Oh..haven't been taking photos. The camera's not a constant companion as it was before this. As mentioned, I stayed in Shangrila Putrajaya, as Nizam and Farah were. Since the reception venue was a drive away, I gleefully managed to hitch a ride with one of Nizam's entourage. Farah's sister's car.. I think.
Nizam was in a very ligth colored suit..It looked light grey to my untrained eyes, white shirt, lilac neck tie. All must've been tailored because they all fit him like a glove. Farah was beautiful. Dressed in white, with a sheer lilac selendang to cover her bare shoulders. What a picture she made with Nizam! And sure enough, there wasn't a moment where cameras were not constantly clicking and shooting away when they reached the reception area. Before they walked down the red-carpeted stairs (which were laid out for the special occasion), the DJ made the announcement over the mike. Lovely love ballads- a list especially compiled by Hashim aka Shima complemented the ambiance. I only recognised Anita Sarawak's voice but the rest of of songs were such music to the ears. Nothing harsh, nothing traditional. Very chic, modern, out in the open, night reception. I could go on and on and not have an end to this post.

Yusmaniza@Kechik was the only ex-coursemate who came at Nizam's akad nikah the day before. That night, there was me, Alias, Diane and hubs, Izah and Achok, Aina and hubs and perhaps other college-mates. There were shrieks of surprise and wonder from the other girls when they saw me. Met Diane just last year. Haven't met Izah and Aina ever since graduation. Izah was trying to pin-point what exactly was different about me..apart from the hair, apart from the fine set of teeth. I coulda told her about the surgery that I had, but I felt that it wasn't the right place and time. It was a mini-reunion with a time limit and plenty other things could be talked about. (I told Teresa about it and told her the blog address. The one I did about my surgery and stuff).

Nizam n Farah and us

These few pictures are ones taken from Nizam's facebook profile pics... They were wonderfully taken outdoor pics of them... I simply adore these!! (Sorry Nizam ;)..pinjam k?)

I love this!!





All in all..I'm glad I attended Nizam's reception. I don't expect a reciprocation on his part, if ever my day comes. Just not into that kind of celebration, I guess. Have I deviated from the social norm, thoughts and custom? perraps..

One more week. One more week..

end of May..

Cuti oledi...
Flying to KL later today to attend Nizam's wedding reception. After setting the date of his nikah, he then formally invited me to come to the reception..and that was last year. Now how could I refuse that? and the date was conveniently set on a school holiday. Booked the flight only last month. Coulda gotten a cheaper flight if I had been vigilant enough of cheap online flight websites..like some people. I know of some..no many.. who log onto MAS or Airasia or the new Fire Fly as soon as they get connected to the net.

Oh well.

Me and procrastination..a constant battle. Haven't packed yet. I'm planning to travel light. Very light. The only heavy stuff would be the make-up kits..and they're not that many.

Wish me safe travel people.



Photo of me taken sometime at the end of March. Finally after keeping long hair for 3 years? I had them shorn at A Cut Above, in Karamunsing. Two days ago, I had yet another haircut. This time it's much much shorter. No pics of this new do yet. Tinguklah if got time to take self-pic.

Movie time

Decided to watch this movie yesterday when Gareth and I went to Megalong. Best Rm16 i've spent so far. I love this movie! The lines were funny and hilarious, the soundtrack was uplifting and infectious, the romantic element was sweet. Wouldn't mind buying one for the album!


Before going back to my house, I felt like watching another movie. Went to Cathay for this. Bummer.. I actually felt like walking out the door when Baby Doll was about to shimmy her way on the second so-called dance scene cum escape to dreamland. The soundtrack was incredible though. i sort of felt that the heavy rock theme in the soundtrack overpowered the fighting scenes and not complement them. Yea.. too much of the fighting scene purist in me. Eye candies fighting the tough fight..machine guns and samurais.. too heavy for school-girly tweens. I endured the movie to the end..just to see how it turned out. Ok lar...

Pamper Thyself..and loved ones.

..whenever your pocket allows it.
It has been awhile since I last took out mum n bro for makan-makan. Yesterday at Oldtown IBorneo, saw the table laden with food..due to inability to stick to one meal and one drink. You know.. hungry stomach = rambang mata.
I picked the toasted peanut butter bread AND the kaya bread. And paratha with chicken curry, And two half-boiled eggs. and of course Oldtown white coffee kaw kaw.
Mum was undecided.. it was her first time dining at Oldtown Cafe. Later she chose the french toast and because she'd already had coffee at home, decided on the peach yoghurt smoothie.
Gareth, upon hearing that breakfast was on me, decided on the Western Platter (beans, sausages, eggs, toasted bread..the works), and the Kuew Tiaw Hor Fun, and being a newbie health-nut (*giggle*) , picked the Wheatgrass drink.
My paratha was the first to arrive, and so all of us nibbled on them. Yum...sedap.
Then the toasted peanut butter and kaya bread came. Then Gareth's wheatgrass, followed by Mum's smoothie and my coffee kaw. Wuaah....
Kuew Tiaw Hor Fun came and Gareth took a few bites..and decided it wasn't to his liking, saying that it was a bit bland... Um...yea.. I tasted some of it and agreed. The chicken was a bit tasteless, maybe it was left in the broth/soup too long.
Soon, the rest of the ordered food came.. and we ate those that agreed with our taste bud, tapau-ed the toasted bread that was uneaten, and ignored the ones that wasn't as appetizing. (Gareth's opinion : OldTown food..next time no need to go)
Next, we went to Times Bookstore. I had already bought three books on Friday.
1) Dr M's memoirs 2) Robin Sharma's The monk who sold his Ferrari 3) The Secret History of the World.
Dr M's memoir, because of curiousity, and I have always been intrigued by this genius of a man and I just want to know the reasons he did the things he did.
Robin Sharma's, for the heck of it. Hopefully if I manage to finish reading it, I might be a better person (eyes looking sideways up..hmmm).
The third book, what can I say, I'm a lost soul.
Gareth (like most teens who grew up with Japanese anime), chose basic Japanese. i think he just wants to impress his schoolmates with some Japanese phrases. He says some of his Korean-mad friends speak a smattering of Korean- garnered from wathing Korean dramas, and this infuriates him..because he doesn't know what they mean.
Well, I bought another book. Basic cantonese. Something to occupy the noggins.
Mum didn't buy anything. She just browsed around. She thought of buying the 5th installment of the Earth children book, the Ayla story, written by Jean M Auel, but she was unsure if she already had that copy or not. Oh well, there's always a next trip. Oh ya...paid for Gareth's book too. I thought that was that until mum found this half-inch thick illustrated guide to cats. Bought that we did.
On to window shopping. And then Mum said she wanted to go to Daiso. Ok.
Now, Daiso is the place where if one were to go, would not go out of without having bought something. These Japanese people think of everything. I ended up buying 70ringgit worth of knick knacks of which some I haven't even sorted out today.
I bought 'privacy window plastic sheets' with lace design, some aromatherapy incense sticks (sheesh...I already have air freshener at home pun...), a water spray container ( the one that I had for spraying the flowers I had ignorantly filled with some cleaning liquid, thinking that the smell would go away after use- it didn't)..aiyah..and a few more things.
Anyway... what else we did.. we had us some massage session using the Gintell massage chair. RM1 would give you 3 mins of massage time, RM5, 15mins,and RM10, 30mins. Mum went for the half-an hour massage while Gareth and I went for the 15mins. Since both of us finished earlier, we popped over to the indoor Archery thingy. Robin Hoods wannabe we were, donning the smelly leather onto our fingers and arms. Ok lar... I wasn't aiming for perfect bull-eyes..not that I can..not if you count fluke shots, just an activity for sister-brother bonding. We finished in time to see mum rising from the massage chair. Smart la these people.. cannot sell individual chairs to people.. so they come up with this kind of strategy to get money out of 5mins, 15mins, and 30mins usage. Plenty money come...
We parted ways soon after, as I had another personal thing to do.
What is it? Yay...I went and got meself a haircut..a short do. Went to Karamunsing, at 'A Cut Above' with my significant other. I flicked through the hairstyle mag and pointed to a style. An hour later, voila.. a new me. My head feels so light now. A feeling of freedom..freedom from having to spend so much time figuring out what to do with my thick hair, from spending so much time washing it. Yadayada..I've had short hairdos before.. HE suddenly saw me in a new light..glad he liked it.
After we went our separate ways, I headed over to Damai for my much needed facial. I pity the skin on my face. So lama didn't pay much attention to it. Ramlah's expert hands gently scubbed off the dead skin. An hour or so later, I emerged from her secluded beauty parlor with a better complexion. Must remember to come next week for a lulur session.
Sigh.. that was my saturday. Well spent.
Next week will be another challenging week. Here's hoping it will be a manageable week.

SPL first leg 2011

Yea.. Sabah Paintball League was a two-day event from the 13th till today, 14th. However, I went only on the first day. What a day it was. As a novice marshall, I have a lot to learn. Not about the rules, but learning to make split second decisions when and where a fault occurs in the field. I am embarassed to admit that I may have let a few faults slip away because of nerve, of being afraid to be on the wrong. In marshalling aspect, I have high regards for Angel Bear and her crew. Apa gia saya.. macam once a year only turun padang..
The game started late so it ended late, way into the late sunset. The weather started to well but ended up raining. The rain had started at noon and it alternated between light showers and cloudy. But the game had to go on.
Some great teams, some funny novice teams, and a drama was the talk of yesterday.

It was around 7pm when everything wrapped up. One or two games had to be postponed to today because of the late hour. Too dark to see. I was super exhausted and could barely drive back home. I also could sense a migraine cropping up then. Reached home, had a hot bath. Ate a half-boiled egg, ate my ubat and went to bed.

Sore muscles

Is what you get for not paying regular attention to your muscles.
I attended the refresher course for paintball marshalling last weekend at the Likas field. After some revision session on technical sides of marshalling, it was time for in-field practice. Gawd I was huffin' n a puffin' on the first few runs. The two paintballer teams were also doing their practice run in preparation for the 1st leg of the Sabah Paintball League which is coming up in mid March.
I didn't bring my facemask and had to just borrow the Company's rental ones. What a mistake that was. The visor did not give a clear view as it was with scratches- no doubt from other many other players renting. The sky decided to let down a slight misty shower and THAT fogged up the visor too. What a disadvantage that was for me.
suda la calar-balar visor, foggy some more..
And..by the end of the training session, I managed to get just one visible bruise from the many stray pellets. But the muscle soreness.. sigh.