Living in a suitcase (Travel & Technology)

iPhone Disaster :(

2010-04-07T13:27:00.003+08:00

Beginning this year I listed iPhone in my wish list and that wish came true in January when I bought a 32Gb iPhone from Singapore. I was so happy with it until yesterday >.<

I went home for lunch and stupidly brought the iPhone with me into the toilet. I placed it on the glass shelves near to the sink. The sink still has some water in it as it was draining out when I grabbed my iPhone from the shelves. But the casing got wet and it somehow got suctioned onto the glass shelves. Applied a bit pressure to pull it and that’s when I lose my grip of my iPhone and in it go into the sink! I think there was few seconds gap before I realize my iPhone was swimming in the whirlpool! I quickly grabbed it and try to remove the water as fast as possible. It was still working for a few secs before the lights went out but still manage to see the screen and quickly send the message that I typed halfway before entering the toilet. I switched it off, quickly dry off the excess water and placed in a container and filled it in with rice grains. That was the solution I got from the Internet. Rice grains acts like a desiccant, which absorbs moisture.

Felt really sad and depress after the incident. It took me months to save up for it and I only bought it last January! Well accident and carelessness happens and I’ve to blame myself for the stupidity. sighhh…

Anyways, I left it in the rice container overnight and switched it on this morning. Good news it still works! Bad news there are some problem with it :( there’s no sound, when I press the volume button it shows the headset is connected, probably a rice grain is stuck in there. Last I checked there wasn’t anything in there, the speaker works fine (using the recorder application and playing it on speaker mode) and the sound will only play when I plug in the headphone. Secondly, there is still some moisture on the camera lens. And lastly, some part of the screen has shadows. Sighhhhhhhhhh I plan to bring it to the Apple store for servicing, hope they will be able to help.

At the meantime, I’m using back my 1-year and 1-month-old Nokia E63 phone. Ohhh iPhone :'(

2010 Trip No.1 (Purpose: Gadget shopping)

2010-01-29T09:26:00.009+08:00

My first trip for 2010 was to Singapore with my fighting partner, Stephio. We planned it sometime late last year & the objective of the trip was gadget shopping.
Initially, she wanted to get a iTouch but later changes her mind when she finds out that her favorite phone, LG Lollipop, is available in the local market. I, on the other hand, was eying on the iPhone 3Gs.
After weeks of waiting & countless numbers of text messages & price checking, the day has finally arrived. We were both very excited! I took the afternoon off from work to catch the 1.20pm flight on RBA. We laughed & talked a lot in the plane & was hungry too!
We arrived in S'pore 1hr 45mins later & was so happy to see the sun! (it was raining in Brunei the whole week!). Took the taxi to our hotel in Clarke Quay. We stayed at the newly build Park Hotel. The weekend offers was good but the hotel is quite far from Clark Quay MRT & the room is small, just enough for 2 person with small luggage. Anyways, we didn't spend the whole time in the room. After checking in, we went to Good Shepherd Cathedral to look for our Bishop, who was also in S'pore after attending a meeting in JB. Went into the Archbishop's residence to look for him but he was no where to be found. We texted him a couple of time but there was no reply. We decided to go to the nearby Raffles City. Sometime later we received a text from him saying that he was in Funan IT mall, sitting in McDonald trying to get the wi-fi and that is where we found him. We spend the next 2hrs shopping for gadgets...it was super fun! hahaha
Next we headed back to Raffles city for dinner at coffee club and afterwards, we had coffee in Starbucks...to have coffee and the free wi-fi. hehehe
Second day of our gadget shopping, we went to Sim Lim sq. Roamed around the ground floor to look for the phones. Stephio was literally screaming when she found her LG Lollipop. I bought my iPhone after a longggggg conversation with the seller and Steph bought hers too. One of the happiest day of our lives! hahaha After all the shopping, we pop by the nearest fastfood...Burger King. Funnily, we had a quiet lunch and the previous night we had a quiet dinner hahaha we must have been really hungry! No one was talking to each other!
After lunch, we plan to watch a movie and the nearest cinema is at Bugis Junction. We have to passed by Bugis street where the open market is located. The smell of durians on sale attracts our attention hahaha we almost didn't make it to the cinema! We had a long wait before the movie started so we waited in kinokuniya bookstore. Oh yah...the movie is The Spy Next Door (Jackie Chan). We laughed so much and was really enjoying ourselves!
After the movie, we walk all the way to Queen st. and have coffee at DOME which is nearby the cathedral. Bishop was going back that night and he suggested we go to the sunset mass so that we'll have a free sunday :) We were sitting down quietly (again) when I realised something about the iPhone that I've bought. I wanted a white one but due to excitement and blinded by it, I bought a black one! ptttfff -___-'
In the evening, we went to Orchard rd and had dinner at Tambuah Mas, an Indonesian restaurant in Paragon and headed to Shaw House to watch another movie, Avatar in 3D! Meet up with Pinqey at Starbucks on Scotts rd. and she join us for the movie. Too bad Steph had to leave after 15mins into the movie because she was getting dizzy from the 3D effects. But the 3D effects was awesome! Good for action type of movies...if it was a horror movie...I think everyone will faint! hahaha
On the last day of trip, we went to Vivo city. Did a bit of shopping and took some pictures of Sentosa Island from the rooftop. The Sentosa World Resorts was still in construction at that time and is due to open in March this year.
That morning in the hotel, I couldn't find the simcard ejector tool for the iPhone. I tried calling the shop but the guy was not there. After we went to Vivo city, we decided to go back to Sim Lim sq. and Pinqey meet up with us there. Went to the shop and the guy showed me where the tool was in the box... *felt so stupid at this time* hahaha stupid excitement! Did one last minute shopping; bought a wide angle lens for my SLR camera for less than $300!
Head back to the hotel to pack and check out ard 1.30pm and off to the airport for our 4pm flight back. I really enjoyed my trip and especially with a friend who is as crazy as me hehehe Hope for more trips to come!

Things to do this year

2010-01-04T19:09:00.010+08:00

Here are my list of (MUST) things to do this year and some of my opinions in ()...

Get an iPhone (woohooo)
Get flu-shot or the H1N1 vaccine (a MUST!)
Settle all my bills (booooo...)
Travel less (errr.... will try)
Save my annual leave for WYD2011 (it's a MUST!)
Save some $$$ (woo...well...yeah it's MUST too!)
Take leave during Christmas and enjoy the holidays (woot woot)
Look for my Nintendo Wii which is packed somewhere in a box by my mom! :(
Play badminton regularly (gulp! ok will try!)
Get my left foot check again after the 'great fall' in East Timor last Sept (boooo...)
Avoid seafood (prawn and crab especially!) due to eczema allergies (so so sad) :(
Try to get less 'sick/fever' this year (last year was a record of 4 fever! boooo....)

Wish Me LUCK!

Happy New Year 2010

2009-12-30T11:02:00.011+08:00

Ok my bad for not updating this blog for quite a while. But firstly, I would like to wish everyone

A Happy and Prosperous New Year.
May the new year brings you happiness, joy and good health.

2009 has been a very hectic year for me. Some good and bad things had happened last year but a friend told me to look at it (the bad things) in a positive way. Thinking back of the things that had happened, I must admit that I was very occupied with everything from traveling, family, office work and church activities.

I lost both my grandparents last year; just two months apart (Feb and Apr). I miss them so much and often think about them.

And then on church activities, wow...where do I begin? Maybe with the latest one that I can remember is the Christmas preparation. It was truly a nightmare before Christmas. We were to have an open house on Christmas day but with a new twist... we're going to serve Christmas theme food. I managed to get 3 turkeys and send it to the restaurant to cook it. And then for the rest of the food, we didn't have a choice but to cook it ourselves because it was too expensive to be catered. After the Christmas eve mass, few of us stayed behind to cook and prepare the food. It took me 2 hours to cook 9 packets of Macaroni! We also prepared the green peas and carrots, spaghetti, mashed potatoes and macaroni salad. We were worried that the food will not be enough to cater for about 150 people! We are not expert or have any prior catering experience. We just try our very best to do what we can. Anyways, we went home at 4.30AM on Christmas morning. I only had 2 hours of sleep and then I was up again to pick up the turkeys, prepare the rest of the food and to go to mass at 9am. We were still working on the food until the very last minute and thankfully, the food was enough to feed the crowd. Everyone was happily fed and the turkey was a hit! hahaha
In the evening we had the migrant nite and we were back in the kitchen again to do some more cooking. I managed to cook baked cheese broccoli and cauliflower even though I don't eat them. We had another 2 turkeys and had a lot of leftover. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted but nevertheless satisfied and happy. It was a good experience and we really enjoyed it. Hopefully this year we will do catering! j.k.

On the traveling side, I've been to two new countries last year: Bali and East Timor. I hope I will have the chance to visit East Timor again this year. My other plans are to visit one of the orient countries (Hong Kong, China, Korea or Japan). I'm already booked to go to UK (again!) this coming March.
I've been traveling every month since June 2009 until November 2009. But as for December, I only went to Miri because my passport ran out of pages (I've renewed it already) and I ran out of my leave. Anyways, I'm sure there'll be more traveling this year. Oh yah I'm off to Singapore in two weeks time with my fighting partner. There'll be no peace in Singapore when we'll be there! hahaha Purpose of visit: Gadget shopping! iLike!

I guess that's all I can update for now. Once again, Happy New Year. Till then....Adeus! Atelogu! XOXO

Weekend in Sporapora

2009-11-06T13:05:00.002+08:00

Yipeee..its the weekend again and I'm off to 'Sporapora' hahaha a new word created by my fighting partner, Stephyhoo.

I was looking back at my last year blog entries and was surprise to know that I went to 'Sporapora' last year and almost on the same date!! I went on the 7th to 9th of November and this year, I'm going on the 6th to 8th.

Sometimes this blog entries can be very useful to remind us of the events in the past especially for a forgetful person like me.

I'm looking forward to the trip. Gonna have my chili crab and IT gadgets shopping hehehe wuhooo....

over and out....

A year older

2009-11-04T20:27:00.006+08:00

I have something typed out for my blog already in MS Word but somehow it got corrupted and the words are in alien language so I'm just gonna type out a new one now.

So what have been happening lately and what's gonna happen in the next few weeks....
Latest happening: I turn a year older early this week. Did not had a celebration or anything like that. But my thoughtful friends celebrated it 5 days early. Thanks peeps! Really appreciate it. And then my 'fighting partner' greeted me every single day via text messages (she eventually give up on the eve of my birthday because she was tired hahaha).
Anyways, it was a quiet one for me this year. I also went to the cemetery for a prayer service for the dearly departed (All Soul's day) after work and was teasing my friends and family that I was celebrating my birthday there hehehe. My parents bought me a birthday cake (sorry no pics!) and for pressie, my dad paid for my airfare to UK next year... YIPEE!

Gonna happen: I'm going to S'pore for the weekend and maybe go on a crazy shopping spree (but I've not figure out what I'm going to buy yet though an iPhone sound really tempting at the moment!). And in 2 weeks time, I'm going to the Philippines (pray that the weather will be good by then). hmmm... wat else? My passport is running out of pages after only 3 years from the date of issued and extended pages last year =(

I had plans to go somewhere in Dec but most of the flights are full and expensive so I'm not bothered now. I guess its a sign from God that I need to take a break from traveling hahaha and to be continued next year.

Anyways, here are some of my IT gadgets targets for Christmas or next year:

The new iMac

MacBook Pro

iPhone 3Gs

iLike ;)
and yes I'm turning into a MAC person

Bali, Indonesia - Two stops in a week

2009-10-25T21:36:00.007+08:00

I was supposed to go to Bali last July with a friend but due to some reason I was unable to. But instead the opportunity to visit this island came during the trip en route to East Timor.

We arrived in Bali at 8.30pm from KL on AirAsia. It was about 3 hours journey. We only stayed for one night at a hotel by the beach in Seminyak as we were only in transit before our next flight to East Timor the next morning.

Approaching the island of Bali

There was an earthquake in the morning at the north part of Bali in the Nusa Dua area. According to a taxi driver, it caused panic among the tourists and locals who ran out into the streets (some with no clothes on) but no injuries or death were reported.

With little time to explore the place, we decided to go to Kuta for dinner. The place is packed with tourist and traffic jams. I can’t help feeling the fear for my safety when I was there especially when we pass by the Bali Monument where 202 tourists and locals were killed when a bomb exploded in a pack nightclub in 2002. The places are surrounded with bars and nightclubs blasting loud music and few blocks away from it and in between some shops there’s a temple, which is sacred to the Hindu believers.

A temple at the hotel

No... I didn't drink this.

The traffic in Bali is as crazy as the one in Bangkok. The drivers drive in the middle of the road and will only slow down or swerve when there’s an incoming car or motorbike. Some of the roads are narrow and could hardly accommodate two vehicles.

On our return trip from East Timor, we stayed another 2 nights in Bali and this time we stayed at a hotel in Kuta. Apparently, it was a peak season in Bali so most of the hotels are fully booked. We hired a van and driver to drive us around for sightseeing.

We went to Tanah Lot, which is a ‘must-see/visit’ place to go in Bali. It’s a sacred Hindu temple and only their Hindu priests are allowed to be there. We can only see the place from the rocky beachside. A lot of tourists flock to this place at sunset. Apart from it being a sacred place, it has also become commercialized. There are rows of open market along the way to the beach selling various handicraft and souvenirs and bargaining is a must!

At Tanah Lot

From Tanah Lot, we went to the Nusa Dua Beach hotel for dinner, which is owned by BIA. The Nusa Dua area is a popular place because most of the luxurious hotels are there like Sheraton and Novotel.

At Nusa Dua Beach Hotel

The view of the beach is very serene. We arrived just before sunset and there were few people on the beach. We went down to the beach to dip our tired feet. My injured foot was now purplish red and still swollen (I slipped and fell on some stairs on our last night in East Timor) I thought I might have a broken foot or toe but I didn’t think much about it because I was in BALI! hahaha The sand on the beach is quite different from what we have here. It’s rough and it sticks to the leg. There were a lot of broken shells and the sand was quite thick and deep, we could hardly walk 'normally' on our way back to our table for dinner.

My purplish/red/swollen foot
At Nusa Dua beach

Walking back

We spend the evening having dinner before going back to the hotel to freshen up and hit the town again for last minute shopping. One shop that I couldn’t resist going (apart from Starbucks) is Billabong. I couldn’t decide on two Roxy wallets so I end up buying both and I also bought a Billabong bag because my luggage was full. Too bad they don’t carry big sizes for the clothing unlike in Australia. We walk back to our hotel, which are about 20 or 30mins away. By the time we arrived at our hotel it was already midnight and after showering and packing, we only had about 2 or 3 hours of sleep. We left the hotel at 3am because our flight was at 6am to KL. Strangely even in the wee hours there is still traffic jam! The driver told us that people are going home from the nightclubs because it closes at 5am O.o We arrive at the airport around 4am and two tourist told us that they are not open yet *yawn* so we end up waiting outside the door. I was so freaking sleepy!!! And there were no luggage trolley available. We saw a family sleeping on the floor outside the airport; I guess they decided to stay overnight at the airport. It was a full flight to KL and it was a quiet one too because almost everyone fell asleep throughout the journey. I woke up an hour before we landed in KL.

Anyways, I really enjoy my first and second trip to Bali. I do hope I can visit there again; explore more places and go for a Balinese massage!

East Timor – Part II

2009-10-25T19:47:00.007+08:00

I must admit East Timor is one of the best travel adventures that I’ve ever experienced. I met a lot of people and spend time with children in the orphanage. It was truly an eye-opening experience for me.

I learn a lot about the history of the country from a Filipino priest who has been serving there for a very long time. He witnessed the brutal massacre and the turmoil of the country. The violence are in the past now but it has left deep scars on its people. They are slowly building their life back and it’s a long way to go. It’s truly a heart-wrenching story to hear but what I truly admire about the East Timorese is their strong faith.

The country is rich in resources but some of the people are unskilled. They are seeking opportunities to gain experience from abroad or from their local technical schools but because of language barriers or limitation (they speak Tetum and Portuguese and few words of English) only few are able to go through it.

Along the way to Baguia, in the District of Baucau, we saw a lot of places or scenery that looks like a part of another country (or maybe we were just hallucinating because of the long car journey hahaha). We saw places like Saudi Arabia, Japan, Malaysia, etc. Some of the areas are covered in green like the padi rice field, or a golf course and some look like the dessert.

It was a long journey to get to the orphanage in Baguia. But the moment we arrived there, we were in awe. The environment is way different from the capital, Dili. Life is not as busy as in the city, it’s more laidback and life is simple.

Looking back at the places I’ve visited and the people I’ve met in East Timor, it makes me realize or more like a reminder that how fortunate we are to live in this peaceful country and we often take it for granted. The children in the rural areas in East Timor attend school few days in a week which is run by the government. They are not provided with any transportation so they have to walk, which take them about an hour or more and often, the teachers don’t turn up due to some reason. It’s quite disappointing to hear about it because the children are so eager to learn and are willing to walk that far just to go to school to learn.

“Life may be hard but it’s simple and they are happy” said a friend. This quote is stuck permanently in my head! I saw for myself how they run their livelihood and indeed there are simple. They grow their own fruits, vegetables and sell them to earn a bit of money to buy other necessities. There is no electricity in the morning and the generator is only switched on at 7 in the evening till midnight. And they collect their water daily from a well or water source which is few miles away. Basically these are their daily routine.

To see and witness this lifestyle is truly an eye-opener. Other countries may be well in advanced with technology but there are still some countries who are still living in the past. The internet, mobile phone or computers are alien to them. But who knows one day things might change for the good of the people. And hopefully somehow somewhere we can help to make that changes.

Jetsetting

2009-10-07T08:18:00.005+08:00

Wow I didn't realize it has been a month since I last posted anything in here. I just didn't have the time or just being plain lazy to update it hehehe Anyways, I've been traveling lately, trying to conquer the world hehehe

Being an avid traveler can be exhausting (physically, mentally and financially!) but it can also be rewarding. I recently went to East Timor a.k.a. Timor Leste with a group of friends with stopover in KL and Bali. It never cross my mind to visit East Timor but I'm glad I make the decision to just go ahead and see it for myself what is it like there.

Despite its violent history, East Timor is a beautiful country, rich in natural resources and the locals are very friendly. I was there for 5days and spend two nights in Baguia in the District of Baucau.

I hope to visit this country again next year. Somehow the beauty of this country captures my heart.

At the capital, Dili.

Will update more soon...

Travel, Fever, Cough and Flu – the whole package!

2009-09-01T12:50:00.001+08:00

I’ve been travelling again... this time to Bangkok, Thailand. This is my third trip to Bangkok for three years in a row! I went with my parents for a short break during the long weekend. We just went there for shopping. The weather was terrible. It was very hot and during the night it rains heavily. The road to our hotel was flooded one night and we had to walk as the taxi couldn’t go through. The drainage system is not that great there and with millions of people living in the city, the surrounding is not clean either. I make a habit of washing my crocs shoe with dettol when I return to my hotel.
Unfortunately upon my return back home, I caught the cough and cold. My dad was already coughing badly when he was there (he ate too much of the longan fruit even before we went to Bangkok!). I had the fever as well and was given 2 days sick leave from work. Thank God it’s nothing serious like the H1N1. It is just a common cold and I’m still recovering from it.
My next trip will be in 2 weeks time. I need to recover fully first and get some vaccine shots as well. It’ll be an adventurous one and I’m pretty excited about it. I can’t wait! Will update on it soon...

View of Bangkok from the airplane

Arriving at Bangkok airport

View from the 43rd floor of the hotel

Down below

Police on segway at Chatuchak Weekend market

Coconut Ice-cream Sugar rush at Dunkin Donuts (had this on the first day)

The road to the hotel flooded!

Night view
In front of CentralWorld
Durian Mooncake from Starbucks

12:34:56 on 07.08.09

2009-08-07T12:46:00.002+08:00

Its 12:34:56 on 07.08.09
That's 123456789
cool!

Some stick figure drawings

2009-07-30T22:07:00.003+08:00

Crazy Month

2009-07-30T20:43:00.007+08:00

Not been updating my blog lately because I was quite tight up with a lot of things. I was away to Singapore for the weekend to bring a friend who recently got back from the UK to surprise another friend who is working there. And it turned out really well. We stayed somewhere near to Clarke Quay which was an excellent choice because of the night life there and also because of the food! Oh yeah and I also went on the Singapore Flyer which was amazing though I was afraid of height!

The Famous Singapore Chili Crab

Baked Tiger Prawn with Cheese

The view from my hotel balcony (Singapore River)
Below: my attempt to sketch it

On board the Singapore Flyer

The following weekend I went to KL to watch Manchester United in action against Malaysia. They scored 3-2. I thought they will not win! I would be very disappointed if that happen. Anyways, I enjoyed KL cos' the last time I was there was about a year ago. I was going on a shopping spree... unbelievable! I spend so much in just one day before going to the stadium to watch the match in the afternoon. Never thought I could actually find something to buy there hahaha I never fancy going to KL for shopping but this time round it was different.
My airasia flight back was delayed for an hour. There's nothing much to do in LCCT except shopping (again!) at the duty-free shops and eat, eat, eat. Thank God they have free wi-fi and I was constantly updating my FB status and checking my emails. Amazingly, my luggage only weighs 11kg in total (I had a duffle bag and backpack checked-in). The plane finally departed at 7pm.

The very next day after I arrived back from KL (20th July was a public holiday)I went to Ulu Belalong, Temburong with a group of friends. I've never been to Belalong before and also, I did not came prepared...physically!! My friend who lives in Temburong did not tell me that we need to hike. We took a long speed boat to the place which takes about 30mins and then we hike and climb ALOT of stairs (385m to get to the canopy walk). Upon reaching (I swear I felt like I was going to die while climbing those stairs!) we need to climb the scaffolding which is about 45m high to be above the trees. The view was amazing up there but getting there was hell! hahaha Nevertheless I enjoy the trip though it will be my first and last time! My hands and legs were shaking after the climb. We rested and have lunch by the riverside which was very cooling and proceeded to enjoy the waterfall which was about 10mins walk into the forest.
It really feels good to be away from the city once in a while and enjoy a nature walk. Oh yeah... I was wearing a CROCS shoe for the hike...very convenient I might say...you can just dip your feet in the river after the long walk hehehe and get it clean at the same time ;)

Bored Saturday

2009-07-04T20:18:00.003+08:00

Just another day

2009-07-03T17:42:00.003+08:00

Manchester United Asia Tour 2009

2009-06-25T12:19:00.008+08:00

So Manchester United is coming to town... well not my town... I mean to KL.

It will be a dream come true for me to watch a ManU live match. I've already fulfilled my other dream which was to visit the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester itself.

Call it luck or coincidence, I book a ticket to KL on airasia from Brunei early this year but due to some circumstances I couldn't go so I changed the ticket dates to 17th - 19th July.
While surfing the official ManUtd website, I found out that they are coming to KL on the 18th for a match. I waited patiently for the ticket to be sold online on June 1st.
I did not managed to get the numbered seating which was priced at RM308 instead I got the RM68 tickets which is good enough as long I'm in the stadium and I've a seat.
It took me 3 trys to get those tickets because there was a problem with the payment process. I had the tickets send to me by courier. So now I'm just waiting for d-day to arrive :)

Glory, Glory Man Utd....

To show that I'm a big fan/ supporter, I also ordered a personalised ManUtd jersey with my initial - KT and my number - 2 :) which I will wear to the match. hehehe

Weekend in Singapore

2009-06-25T12:14:00.003+08:00

I guess you have must seen a lot of my entries on Singapore by now. Yes I'm a frequent traveller to Singapore every now and then.I don't know what attracts me to go there over and over again.

My flight (at 7pm) to Singapore on RBA was delayed for almost 2 hours. They were having some mechanical problem, probably it was the 'filangy' (as Pheobe from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. says it! Though no such thing exist! hehehe) We board the plane at 8.00pm and was told to disembark again cos' they still can't fix the problem! We finally depart at 9.50pm and arrive in Singapore about an hour and a half later. Checked into the hotel shortly after midnight... I was already cranky, tired and sleepy...just needed a bed to crash on!
Woke up at 8am by the construction noise outside. The hotel I was staying at was under renovation. Anyways, we had breakfast at a nice restaurant in Paragon and kick-start the shopping spree.

I'm not an excessive shopaholic. I only buy what I need in terms of clothing and shoes but for gadgets.. I'm guilty as charge. Fortunately, I didn't buy any gadget during this trip. I was even surprise myself. hahaha I wanted to get a small compact camera but then it didn't really attract me. It was more of a 'want' rather than a 'need'. And usually I will read reviews on a certain gadget before buying it.

I managed to get two sport shoes at SGD50 for a NIKE and SGD60 for a PUMA. Good price for me! Couldn't resist the offer and they have my size :) UK6. Next was to try my luck in getting an 8Gb Apple iPod Touch at half price at Epicentre in Wheelock Place (for tourist only. I read this promotion in the Great Singapore Sales website for the first 250 tourist) but unfortunately, I'm not one of the 250 customers. :( Anyways, that's not important.

I bought for my mom a new arrival GUESS bag which she really, really likes and keep pestering me to get it for her as a pre-bonus treat! Bought it quickly before she changes her mind hahaha
requested a new stock, have mom checked it and straight off to the payment counter! The end! hahaha Bought for my dad a Liverpool t-shirt (eurgh! I'm a ManU fan). The Liverpool t-shirts are selling very well there because the Liverpool FC are coming to town to play a match against the Singapore national team. (I'm off to KL for the ManUtd match on July 18th).

I brought my parents to explore Chinatown as well. It has been years since we last been there (16 years to be exact during our family vacation!). The place are quite old and antique but I love the colorful buildings around there. During our taxi ride to Chinatown, the taxi driver start a conversation with us asking where we're from, his first impression was that he thought we are from Indonesia. I told him that we're from Brunei and I was surprised when he asked 'which part?'. So I just said Seria. The taxi driver told us he worked in Brunei during the 1960's in Tutong and have been to Seria and even to Miri. He was very friendly and quite old probably in his 70s. We gave him some extra tip for the fare before he drop us off at the open market.

I think its Chinese New Year all year round in Chinatown

On Sat night, I meet up with a good friend of mine (who is currently working there) for dinner in Paragon. We always hangout together everytime I visit Singapore. She always tempt me to eat the Chocolate Mud Pie from Coffee club but this time we just hang out at Starbucks. hehehe

We went to Borders to look for some books and hangout at Starbucks till midnight, taking advantage to surf the internet with the free wi-fi and updating our facebook. We always have a good chat together which I enjoy and laughter is a must. We strolled along Orchard road at midnight under the full moon. We look as though we just came back from the club or bar hahaha The streets were empty, no traffic, etc. took some pictures along the way to my hotel. Upon reaching the hotel, I heard something 'plop' near me and guess what was it.... birdshit... at 12.30 midnight!!! Damn birds! It landed on my left shoulder but on my backpack straps. And instead of helping, my friend was laughing hysterically at me! I said to her it may be shit but it may also bring me luck hahaha (but so far no luck in anything so I guess its really shit then hahaha)

Earlier that day, we were waiting to cross the road to Sim Lim sq. but because it was raining we took shelter at a nearby building. When the light turns green, we quickly make our way down a tiled slope. My mom was using her brand new slipper and I was using my brand new PUMA shoes. I told her to be careful because it might be slippery but before I could finish my sentence... my left leg slipped forward and I landed on my right knee (it was something like a split...yeahh..go ahead and laugh!). My jeans was wet and I was in agonising pain. I quickly got up, cross the road and act as though nothing had happened apart from my parents laughing at me! I had a beautiful red bruise later that day and the pain comes and go but that did not stop me enjoying the rest of the day.

Well anyways, I'm off to Singapore again next month. Might need to get a flu jab first to boost up my immune system (as it is crap at the moment!). And the week after that I'm off to KL to watch the ManUtd match against Malaysia. I can't wait! And I hope this swine flu pandemic will end soon.

Visiting my second home

2009-06-05T12:37:00.001+08:00

I'm off to my second home, Singapore for the weekend with my parents. Just joking about the second home part. Just that I'm used to S'pore by now.
It'll be my 3rd oversea trip this year. I really need a break to unwind and relax after being busy for the past two months.
My monthly travels will official start with this trip. Next month I'm off to KL to watch the Manchester United match and probably I might be going to S'pore again in the first week. In August, I'm off to Bangkok. September - KL, Bali and East Timor. No travel plan for Oct yet. November - Philippines. And lastly, December - probably KK, Sabah.

I definitely have to make the new biometric passport by next year!!!

Signing out..xoxo

A visit to the Theatre of Dreams

2009-06-01T10:08:00.000+08:00

A visit to the Theater of Dreams was indeed a dream come true for me as a ManUtd fan. I could not stop smiling silly and in awe while touring the stadium. It was my second visit to Manchester, the first was in 2001 during a study tour to the UK but we did not get the chance to tour around the stadium. Thanks to my best pals for driving me here.

ManUtd players dressing room:

Corridor leading to the field:

Sponsors signboard

Exiting to the field:Special lighting to help the grass grow:

After the tour we shop at the Megastore, which is just behind me in this pic. Would love to go and visit it again!

Spoiled Weekend :(

2009-05-25T19:43:00.000+08:00

Out of the 7 days in a week, I have to fall sick on a weekend! A weekend!!! I had plans for the weekend and it all came tumbling down on Saturday morning :(
I woke up early that morning but still felt tired so I slept back again and end up waking up with a fever and a cold! Took my temperature and it went from 37.5ºC to 38.5ºC in the afternoon and 39.2ºC in the evening. I didn't went to the hospital or clinic (crazy! I know!) I just took paracetamol for the fever and try to rest as much as I can.
I was supposed to attend a bbq/picnic in Serasa beach on Sunday but due to my condition I was unable to :( I must have exhausted myself last week. On Monday, we had the Langkah Sihat and we walked for 2.5km, that evening I played tennis with my cousins, the next day I played badminton with my colleagues, on Wednesday I had sore throat (but took some medication for it and I was ok) and then on Friday, I played badminton again. I felt well throughout the week but I guess it was too extreme for my body to handle all the activities and chose the weekend to shutdown.
I feel much better today except the cold is still there. I'm taking a break from all the activities this week and make sure I'm 100% recovered. I don't want my sickness to be mistaken for swine flu because I've all the symptoms (unfortunately that was the joke of the day among my friends during the bbq) :P

Disruptive sleeping pattern

2009-05-15T11:12:00.000+08:00

My sleeping pattern is so screwed lately. It started since the death of my grandma. I don’t know why but probably her death affected me badly in some ways without me realising it.

I would normally sleep around 10pm+ or 11pm and woke up in the middle of the night around 4am+ just for a short while and then goes back to sleep. I know the exact time because I can see my clock glowing in the dark. Then I will wake up as usual around 6am+ for work except for Saturday where I usually wake up late.

Apart from the sleeping pattern, I also had some scary dreams. In one dream, I was longing for someone to come back but I knew that the person had already died. I refuse to accept it and eventually burst out crying and I cried for real! I woke up shortly after that.

And last night, I dreamed that I was about to be admitted to the hospital. I can only recall some part of the dream now. I think I was brought to the hospital in an ambulance and was sitting on a bed. I don’t feel sick or anything, but when my dad asks the nurse if I can go home she said I need to be admitted because they are some swelling on my mouth or face. And I woke up after that to get ready for work, apart from waking up earlier at 4am+.

I know something is bothering me that causing me to experience all these but I just don’t know what it is. It could be something physical, emotion or feeling but whatever it is... I just want my normal life/ sleeping pattern back. *sigh*

Maybe I just need a break!

When life depends on drugs

2009-05-05T22:28:00.000+08:00

I have to depend on some medications for my health nowadays. Apparently, I've a perennial allergic rhinitis, eczema & high blood pressure. And it has to happen now at this age! I'm allergic to dust & pollen which cause me to have flu-like symptoms for days. And for my eczema, it comes & go depending on the food I eat & also the hot weather. My sensitive nose started when I was on 2 weeks spring holiday to the UK in 2007. I was not (as far as I know) allergic to anything at that time. I remember I was admiring some flowers & the sakura tree in St.James' park. Few days later, I was in Paris watching the news on TV which reports that the pollens from the sakura tree are making people sick (hayfever). I was having stuffy nose by then but was blaming it on the cold weather. I continue to have runny nose when I return back home & it got complicated. I had high fever, runny nose and a perforated eardrum. The pain radiates to my jaw & I couldn't open my mouth wide. I lost weight (which was a good thing) because I can't eat properly. It was the worst fever that I've ever experienced. Months later, I suffered partial deafness and had to be referred to a ENT specialist in JPMC. They did an endoscopy in my nose on local anesthetic and found a swelling at the back of my nose. I underwent a biopsy surgery few days later and thankfully, the outcome of the biopsy was negative for cancer. To cope with my sensitive nose, I've to depend on a nasal spray for the rest of my life.*sigh* so many health problem at this age! I hope & pray that I'll be able to overcome it. At the meantime, the medicines are my side dishes!

For my high BP...

For my eczema...

For my sensitive nose...

To get rid of phlegm, which I'm currently suffering from...

Adau Gayoh - May 1st

2009-05-01T14:18:00.000+08:00

Today the Dusun community celebrate Adau Gayoh (translate 'big day'). Its something like thanksgiving for the harvesting season. Families usually get together, have big feast at their houses and kids enjoying themselves playing on the bouncers.

This year my family are not celebrating it because of the recent loss of our loved one and also it coincide with the 14th day since my grandma's passing. We will have some makan-makan tonight (as part of the tradition) and tomorrow we will visit her grave.

I'm sure my family feel the loss *sigh* I'm still missing them both badly. It'll never be same without the both of them now :( R.I.P.

Anyways, wishing all Dusun people : 'Selamat Adau Gayoh'

Rest In Peace Grandma

2009-04-28T13:50:00.000+08:00

I was not able to type out an entry so soon to follow up on the previous one because my family suffered another loss of a loved one recently.

My dearest and beloved grandma passed away on Friday morning (17^th April) in RIPAS hospital. She collapsed and slipped into a coma the previous day and never regained consciousness. She was 97. Just 69 days apart from my grandpa, who passed away last February this year.

On Thursday, most of the families were at the hospital eagerly waiting for news on her condition. We met the doctor and were devastated when he said there was no hope left and just be prepared in the next 48 hours.

She was admitted in the SICU and only two visitors were allowed at a time. All of us took turn to go in. I was anxious for my turn and keep asking my relatives about her condition but none said anything. When my turn came, seeing her lying on the hospital bed with tubes everywhere broke my heart into pieces. I was expecting her to be sitting upright in her bed, smiling and welcoming us but that didn’t happen. It pains me so much to see her that way. I shed more tears the rest of the day and went back home feeling gloomy. I was really praying and hoping for a miracle to happen.

The following morning, I got up as usual to get ready to go to work but I was feeling in doubt and knew something was wrong. I wanted to take another emergency leave from work that day. My dad was also on his way to work when he received a phone call from my uncle informing us my grandma was in a critical condition. This saddened me more. I left home just after 7am and received another call from my dad… the news that I dread to hear… my grandma had passed away. I made a turn and called my niece first. It took a while for her to answer it and when she finally did, I couldn’t speak because there was a lump in my throat. Eventually I blurted out that our grandma had passed. We both cried on the phone and there was nothing left to say.

When I reached home I woke my mom and told her the news. My dad came home a few minutes later. We busied ourselves that morning getting ready to go to my grandparent’s house in Kg. Lamunin. Her body was brought back to the house that morning while my uncle and cousins arranged for the coffin and other funeral arrangement.

I did not want to believe that she was gone. I expected to see her walking around the house, spraying ridsect on some ants or sweeping the floor…her regular activites. It pains me so much that even up till now I’m still regretting for not visiting her for the past few weeks. My last visit was before I went to the Philippine and the UK for my holiday. Now I will only have memories of her to cherish: her sweet laughter and beautiful smile.

Dearly missed by loved ones

Love you always grandma.

Country Hopping: Philippine

2009-04-13T18:25:00.000+08:00

It has been a while since I last update my blog. Well anyways I'm back home now and thought I should spend some time updating it. So where have I been lately? Hmmm... let say 'country hopping'. I've been traveling a lot lately and I've raised few eyebrows here and there when I told them about my unusual hobby hahaha... I was in the Philippine last month for a couple of days to attend a meeting in Tagaytay for an upcoming event to be held there this November. It was my third trip to the Philippine. I've been there before in 2000 and 2006. We arrived in the evening on a direct flight from Brunei.We stayed at a very nice place called Bukal Ng Tipan (no idea what it means) upon our arrival. It is situated on top of a very high hill just outside of Manila. It has a very nice and peaceful environment and a great view of the city.
We arrived a day earlier so we had the chance to go around Manila for sightseeing and shopping. We first went around Quezon city looking for a shop that sells priest vestment and for lunch till in the afternoon, we went to the Mall of Asia (MOA), one of the biggest shopping malls in the world. Went around the mall and manage to do a bit of shopping here and there.
We left for Tagaytay on the same day and it took us about 2½ hours because of the traffic. It was a long and tiring journey. We arrived safely at the meeting venue by nightfall and rested for the night.
I recognised some familiar faces during the meeting. I met them during a conference I attended in Johor in 2006. The meeting went smoothly and I really enjoyed my short visit there. The people were very helpful and kind and also, the food was amazing! Our meals were prepared by two Italian nuns and a Filipino nun.

Sadly we had to leave a day early because there was no flight the next day and also, I had another flight to catch the day after. There are a lot of preparations to do and I'm looking forward for the next trip =)

Bye Bye iPod

2009-03-22T15:22:00.000+08:00

I'm a bit frustrated now because I accidentally left my ipod at the back of my jeans pocket and in a rush, put it in a washing machine and the rest is history... *sigh* I can't believe I was that careless. And to make matters worst, just this morning I found my pendrive was in there as well!!! But thankfully the pendrive still works but, sadly, not the ipod :(
I arrived home at midnight from bndr and was exhausted and sleepy. I almost doze off while driving! I rushed to get my laundry done that night because I'm leaving for Manila later in the evening. I totally forgotten about the ipod and pendrive in my pocket, I put it there when I was getting out of the car. Did my laundry, took a shower and while showering I heard a loud thud from the washing machine. I stop it and have a look in it but found nothing then I let it continue. I can't think straight at that time because I was extremely tired. I look around my room and saw my phone on the desk so that couldn't be it, my wallet..nope, watch...nope then finally it clicks...my iPod in the back pocket!! aarrgghhh.... it was at the bottom of the washing machine with no sign of life...I quickly dried it and place it in a container of rice hoping there's a chance of survival. Last I check... it still hasn't work :( I'm trying to be optimistic now and leave the ipod for another 24hours in the rice container. Hopefully it'll works by tomorrow! Just have to remind my mom about it. Moral of the story: don't do your laundry when you are sleepy or at least check the pockets before loading it in the washing machine!!!

Wii hii yii pii

2009-03-16T09:50:00.000+08:00

Finally the wait is over hehehe I finally bought the one thing I've been eying for soooo long and that is....

a Nintendo Wii
[yipeee... :)]

Bought it second hand for $350 which include an extra nunchuk and controller and 30 games. I've actually no idea on how to connect it or whatsoever but amazing due to 'iski kan main' I manage to get it started within 10mins hahaha
I've been talking about it for quite some times now and I even tell my parents about it (hinting lah tu kan minta bali for x'mas or birthday present but to no avail). I only told them about my recent purchase on the day itself during breakfast hehehe I thought they would freak out (because they know my habit of collecting things/gadgets) or something but rather they say 'what are you going to do with the other one? (my PS3) Baik tah jual.' No way man!!! I bought that for $550 and that's the cheapest I can get around here. I will decide when to sell it.
Anyways, I'm enjoying the wii but it seems like my parents are enjoying it more. They're competing against each other in bowling and my mom won 3 times in a row!!! My brother got hit by my dad while he was playing tennis hahaha talk about wii related injuries!!! I'm just worried that one day the wii controller will fly out of the hand and hit the tv or something!!! Not sure if I want to introduce other games to my parents yet, at the meantime I let them stick to the wii sport first hehehe

The only weekend that I am FREE

2009-03-13T09:39:00.000+08:00

This is the only weekend that I am free to do whatever I want. And I choose to sleep on Saturday till God knows what time and then on Sunday, I’m planning to attend a classmate’s wedding in Tutong and visit my grandma.

I’ve been quite busy during the past weeks commuting between Seria and bandar to attend meetings for some upcoming activities. Last weekend, we had two visitors from the Philippines and I offered to bring them for sightseeing. I stayed for two nights in bandar because we had a retreat and then I stayed overnight at my grandma’s house in Tutong on Sunday night before heading back to Seria early on Monday morning to attend a continuation of the retreat. The retreat was brilliant and I’m glad I attend it. The speaker is a very well known guy and has been invited to give talks around the world. Our WYD group was very lucky to attend his catechism during the WYD in Sydney last year. And I have met him during a congress in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2006.

It was a bit tiring but nevertheless I still enjoyed it with company of friends. It keeps me occupied rather than feeling bored and thinking on what to do.

During my stay that weekend, I take the advantage to do some shopping. I bought a new computer table for my room from IKEA. And I’m planning to get a new desktop pc and laptop to go with it. I still have not assembled it yet because I’m just too tired this week. Hopefully it will be a DIY project for my dad and me tomorrow. We usually assemble out-of-box furniture together. Although the instructions are provided we still end up putting it up wrongly or drill an extra hole in it!!!

Next week will be the 30hr Famine in COLA and after that I’m off to Manila to attend a meeting. After the Manila trip, I will be flying off to UK for a vacation and be back in time for Holy Week. My weekends will be fully occupied in April. The following weekend after Holy Week, I will be in Miri to help out in a programme for working adults and then the following weekend, I will be flying off to KL with some friends. I guess the next free weekends will be in May!!!

I will have more trips in the coming months and none of it is a company business trip. I just take a couple of days leave from work and make it my own personal business trip. Hehehe Will update again soon.

Dude, you're going the wrong way!

2009-03-03T08:54:00.000+08:00

I went to bndr last Sunday with my cousin and niece. As usual, we were talking, laughing and singing to the latest songs on my recently updated ipod :)
There were a lot of cars on the Ttg highway that day and I was behind an army bus and van. We were talking about their license plate and debating what's the difference between MOD and MinDef. I was getting annoyed because we were on the fast lane and the bus was going slow! I divert my attention for a while on the opposite lane and got the shock of my life!
A small car was driving against the incoming traffic (from bndr to Seria)!!! Called it stupid or utter crazy but what the heck is that car doing? I kept on saying 'OMG!' and the others in the car was surprised too. The car was on the fast lane and coming towards a right bend (its a left bend coming from bndr); incoming cars flashes their headlights and some managed to avoid the car just in time by swerving to the other lane. The car was going slow with its signal indicators on.
I guess the driver must have been 'lost' and in panic! Gosh...of all things that I've to see that day...a suicidal car!!!

Broken Strings

2009-02-28T23:32:00.000+08:00

Its Saturday night and the time is 11:33pm. I'm making the most of my Saturday because tomorrow going to be a busy day for me. I'm currently updating my 8gb iPod Nano Video (like the one on the right side of this blog) it has been months since I last update it and my favorite song at the moment is Broken Strings by James Morrison featuring Nelly Furtado. I don't know why but I just love the song.
Went to the travel fair this morning. Oh yah I woke up early this morning arrghhh *curse* and was in front of the pc till 10am before getting ready to go to the travel fair. Sadly, the flight to Manila is full on the dates that I was planning. It's really frustrating. So now I might have to buy the full fare instead which cost over $500! grrr..%&#$
I won a RBA notepad during the travel fair for answering a simple question the host was asking. The question was 'what is the name of the RBA inflight magazine?'. But before I can answer, she asked me all sorts of questions like my name, who was I with and where I plan to go. I was quite nervous but then again me being me... I enjoyed it! hahaha Being a frequent traveller (even some of the travel agent knows me by now), the answer to that question is 'Muhibbah'.
Next, she asked another question: what is the RBA website? And the host automatically said 'lets ask Cathy's friends'. It was embarassing and funny. My niece answered it and she won the same thing. I'm planning to go there again tomorrow, not to win another prize, but try to get a ticket. I'm planning to go to KK, Singapore or/and Bangkok in the next few months. Sound bonkers (crazy) right? Well I can't help it, I love traveling. Back living in a suitcase.

Its the end of February already?

2009-02-27T08:22:00.000+08:00

Yeah TGIF... I've been longing for this day to arrive all week. Looking forward for the weekend cos' there will be a Travel Fair going on in OGDC and I want to get a good deal. Wouldn't want to miss that! I really want to go on a holiday now...

Its been quiet lately in the office. I just finished some work few days ago and now I'm just waiting for new ones. So at the meantime, I'm enjoying my free time, surfing the internet, etc. Been reading some articles on World History and I was hooked for hours hahaha really interesting. Also I've been going through some undergraduate courses offered at some uni. overseas. I still can't decide what to take! Electrical? Computer Science? History of Art? Will need more time to decide on it but it is unlikely I will be pursuing it this year.

Hmm...what have I been up to lately?

Went to JPMC last Friday for an appointment to check on my persistent cough and runny nose. Was given cough syrup and antibiotic for it and also a sick leave :) hehehe.
Meet up with Steph and Sam for lunch to discuss our tasks for the upcoming 30hr Famine. Then we managed to convince Steph to skip her tuition class and go out with us hahaha Went to the Apple store and bought myself two iPod transmitter. I couldn't decide on which one to buy so I get both. Problem solved and thanks to Steph for her opinion hehehe. Next we head to Hua ho Yayasan cos' I wanted to get some photo papers for the Fundraising carnival the next day. Our first stop was at the sport dept. and we end up buying IPANEMA slippers. Sam bought another brand cos' he couldn't find his size hehehe Then we had high tea with Fr.A at his favorite restaurant there.
Oh yah I forgot the funny and interesting part of the story. While I was reversing my car into a parking spot, Steph was telling me that she wanted to get a car but couldn't decide which one and she said that I already have this car (my beetle) and she called it 'mambang'. There was silence in the car for a few seconds and then we burst out laughing. I told her that its not 'mambang' but rather it's called 'kumbang' hahaha *lol* that became the joke of the day. And we name ourselves: Mambang Ungu - Steph, Mambang Putih - Me and Mambang Hitam - Sam after the color of our slippers that we bought. We were constanly laughing the whole time we were together. We drop by at the church after our shopping trip and Steph drove my 'mambang'. I reminded her that the signal indicator is on the left but...well u know...the wiper was activate instead hehehe. After another laughing session, I send Steph and Sam to Gadong where they parked their cars and they were surprised to find a flag on their cars hahaha Steph's expression was priceless! She was shocked because she mentioned that she didn't want to have the flag on her car. Oh well Steph too bad... be patriotic for once ;) hehehe

I dropby my gran's house on my way back. My family was busy preparing for the 'makan 14 hari'. I left quite late that night because I was hooked playing cards with my cousins hahaha
On Saturday, I helped the youth to prepare for the carnival. By late afternoon, I went back to my gran's house for the makan that evening. Went back home again that night and woke up early the next morning for the carnival. Thank God the fundraising went really well. Weather was good though super hot! My arms and legs were tanned! We had good food too! Went back to my gran's house after that (again!) and stayed overnight since it was the public holiday (National day) the next day. Had fun playing cards (again!) with my cousins till 1.30 in the morning and woke up aching badly the next day. I was so exhausted...

Nowadays I sleep early. I only watched tv once or twice a week for 2 hours max. I make sure I've enough rest so that I can recuperate fully. I've a lot of activities in the coming months which include traveling. I hope and pray I'll be ready for it ;)

Over and out...

..::: 2 weeks later :::...

2009-02-25T14:13:00.000+08:00

It's been an emotional, tiring and exhausted two weeks for me and my family. We've been busy lately, mostly on weekends, had few hours of sleep and lots of work to do. But nevertheless we enjoy each other company and it brings us closer together.
Two weeks had passed, the day seems to past by so quickly nowadays. I still miss my grandpa. I think of him quite often and can't help feeling that sense of loss every time I'm at my gran's house. My family still talk about our grandpa, sharing fond memories and stories. I'm sure his memories will live on and we will shall forever cherish that.

"Life goes on..."

             _                                                     _
              _(_)_                        wWWWw   _                _(_)_                       wWWWw   _
   @@@@      (_)@(_)   vVVVv    _    @@@@  (___) _(_)_   @@@@      (_)@(_)  vVVVv    _    @@@@  (___) _(_)_
  @@()@@ wWWWw (_)\    (___)  _(_)_ @@()@@   Y  (_)@(_) @@()@@ wWWWw (_)\   (___)  _(_)_ @@()@@   Y  (_)@(_)
   @@@@  (___)    `|/    Y   (_)@(_) @@@@   \|/   (_)\   @@@@  (___)    `|/   Y   (_)@(_) @@@@   \|/   (_)\
    /      Y      \|    \|/   /(_)   \|      |/      |    /      Y      \|   \|/   /(_)   \|      |/      |
 \ |     \ |/      | / \ | / \|/      |/    \|      \|/\ |     \ |/      |  \ | / \|/      |/    \|      \|/
   |//   \\|/// \\\|//\\\|///\|/// \\\|//  \\|//  \\\|// |//   \\|/// \\\|/\\\|///\|/// \\\|//  \\|//  \\\|//
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

R.I.P. Beloved Granpa

2009-02-10T07:11:00.000+08:00

My beloved grandfather passed away peacefully on Saturday morning 7th February 2009 at 9.40am in RIPAS hospital. He died of an old age at 100 years old.
I received the devastating news at 9.45am from my cousin who text me saying that our grandfather had left. Wanting to understand the message more clearly I called her and asked what she meant and she told me that our grandfather had passed away that morning. I was speechless and in shock. The news of his death haven’t sunk in yet. And then my dad called me and told me the news again. At that time I was in the church office, as usual on Saturdays I prepare the Sunday church newsletter. I break the news to the auntie who works there and she offered her condolences. I felt so numb and the sadness crept on me slowly. I still continue to work on the announcements for the newsletter and our parish priest came in the office and ask me about my grandfather’s passing. He asked me if my grandfather was a catholic and what are we going to do next. I told him he was a free-thinker and I didn’t know what are we going to do next. And after saying all that, I burst into tears. I went back home still crying. The pain of losing him hit me hard and tears kept on flowing.
My grandfather’s body was brought back to the house that morning from the hospital. Some people was already there at the house to prepare for the funeral. My uncle arranged the coffin and transportation from Seria. At first, I felt afraid to see my grandfather’s body but I told myself this will be the last time I will see him. I’m glad I chose the decision to see him, he look as though he was sleeping and knowing that he died in peace gave me and the family a lot of comfort.
The day went by quickly. As part of our tradition, someone must accompany the coffin throughout the night (wake) and to make sure the candles continues to burn until day breaks. Having gone through this funeral ritual during my grandmother’s passing (my mom’s mom), I’ve some knowledge on it though I don’t fully practice it (as I’ve my own religion). I was one of the 5 people who kept vigil by my grandfather’s coffin. We took turns and at the same time helped my aunties to prepare the food for the next day. I was peeling garlics at 3am!!! My grandparents' house was packed with my relatives that day. Most of them stayed overnight because of the long journey back. (we have to use another way to get to my kpg because the other way was badly flooded). By 5.30am, I went to sleep but it was more of a nap. As day breaks, we were busy again preparing the food for the day. Friends and relatives came and offered their condolences. The funeral was held at 1pm on Sunday, 8^th February. After lunch, we make our way to the cemetery on a nearby hill for the burial. We had one last look of our grandfather before his coffin was finally sealed. We offered our prayers and burn candles on his grave. Coming back home was a blur. Most of us end up taking a nap that afternoon because we were exhausted. Friends and relatives continue to come by the house in the evening and we busied ourselves preparing for dinner.
I stayed at my grans' place for a couple days as I was on compassionate leave from work. We are still adjusting ourselves to the situation of not having our grandfather around anymore. The first few days was difficult and often we shed tears even just by looking at his photos. We have to be strong for our grandmother now and take care of her just like we did for our grandfather with tender loving care.

Gone but not forgotten. Forever missed.
May his soul rest in peace. Amen.

Thanks to everyone for your support and prayers.

Frustration Mode

2009-02-05T20:36:00.000+08:00

I'm really having a bad week this week. From Monday and up till now, I'm not feeling any better, and now in the office work are piling up; emails are flooding my inbox; currently doing a virtual course which has an assignment and it is due today and I've forgotten about it arrgghhh I'm very frustrated right now !
The weather is very miserable today. Its been raining for the past 8 hours now. Flash floods, landslides are expected in some areas. What a gloomy gloomy day!

*still raining as nightfall*

Now I'm really trying to do the assignment but I don't understand any of it. WHY DO I HAVE TO DO THIS COURSE??? There are lots of pages to be read and all the jargons are in there. I've to burn the midnight oil now just to finish off this assignment. I hope this will be the first and the last virtual course I attend! =/

Stuffy nose and chesty cough

2009-02-04T17:24:00.000+08:00

It's the time of the year when the body immune system is on a holiday break. I'm having running nose and chesty cough since Monday and by Tuesday, I had a slight fever. Went to the dr and get the necessary medications. I'm still not feeling well now but still can survive through the day. I took the afternoon off from work today. I thought I should give my body a well-deserved rest. We came home quite late from visiting my granpa in the hospital last night and it was raining heavily all the way home.
Been a hectic week for me and my health is effected because of it. Thankfully my work is not that busy at the moment. I hope to get back to my old self again soon and catch up on lost times.

When there is no much hope left...

2009-02-03T12:10:00.000+08:00

My families are on a rollercoaster ride right now. There are fear, mixed emotions & feelings. No one wants to be in this situation but sometimes in life we will go through it eventually.
My grandfather is facing the last chapter of his life now. For someone who have lived for a century, I would say he have lived his life to its fullest. He's still hanging in there but the thoughts of what going to happen next sadden us deeply though it is expected.
But whatever happen, we hope & pray that he'll go in peace.
*sigh* =(

New gadget for the new year... I mean...the other new year

2009-01-30T19:41:00.000+08:00

Famously known as a gadget freak/ geek/ nerd or whatever you want to call me... I recently bought myself a new phone. As mentioned in my previous post (so called wish list), it is the Nokia E63. It cost me four hundred and twenty bucks (bye-bye $$$) from a shop at the Mall.
I was actually eyeing to get a guitar hero world tour for my PS3 but unfortunately the shop that sells it cheap ran out of stock *sigh* So why not get something which will make me happy for the new year?
The last phone I bought was in July 2008 in Singapore on my way to Sydney. So now I've to let go one of my phones as part of my new year resolutions. No point in keeping it. It will collect dust eventually.
I hope my new phone will last me for the next 2 or 3 years! Oh yah btw forgot to mention its blue in color...ultramarine blue. Specifications in brief: It's a 3G phone. It has wifi connection and 2.0MP camera. Comes with 1GB microSD card. It runs on Symbian OS. And it has a QWERTY keyboard. Ta da....

A Good Cause

2009-01-30T19:17:00.000+08:00

I helped out to clean the old folk’s home recently. This was something I never thought I would do this year. But I must admit I enjoyed it!
It was raining heavily on that day and my tasks were to clean the small drains outside the kitchen and the walls. It takes a lot of work just to setup the jet spray that I brought! I was drenched wet because of the jet spray and the rain.

*Drenched wet from the rain and the jet spray!!!*

Thankfully my immune system is still strong and I didn’t get sick afterwards. I suffered a ‘mild’ electric shock from touching (with wet hand) a faulty light switch at one of the old folks home. Apparently I was not the only one, my other friends got shocked too. My hands were still tingling after we finished cleaning up. There aren’t a lot of old folks staying there. The old folks are friendly and always smiling. One even took photo of us and in return, I took a picture of her.

*Official photographer*

We’ll be doing this again, hopefully, on a monthly basis. And I hope the next time it won’t be raining!

Things I do when I’m broke and bored on a weekend

2009-01-14T15:15:00.000+08:00

I wanted to watch a movie during the weekend but had a change of plan at the last minute. Instead I went window-shopping with a friend at the mall. Hopefully some of the things will not end up in my shopping list for this year.

First stop was the Apple store. I wanted to get an FM transmitter for my ipod to connect in the car because the old (and cheap) one is not that reliable anymore. Unfortunately it is out of stock and I’ve to wait for at least 2 weeks for the new stock to arrive.

Second stop was the computer shop. I’ve been eyeing and waiting eagerly for this particular gadget since last year and finally it has landed here. It’s the HP TouchSmart Home Desktop PCs. Now what is so interesting about this pc you ask? Well…it’s TOUCHSCREEN! It is more of an entertainment pc for videos, photos, etc. If you watch the TV series CSI, you’ll know what I mean. Its fun to be able to drag and drop files with just one touch! But it comes with a heavy price tag of BND2828! Will need to consider about this. I might end up eating grass!

Second eye-catching gadgets are the Sony Vaio, HP and NEC laptops. I need an upgrade from my 2+ years old Acer laptop. There are a lot of models to choose from but I think I would prefer something, which is just nice and affordable (or else makan rumput again!) and it can support programs like Photoshop, videos and photos editing.

The third eye-catching gadget is an accessory to my now dust-collecting PS3. I saw a friend’s pic playing the Rockband or Guitar Hero World Tour and it look fun and interesting! Since one of my New Year resolutions is to learn to play a musical instrument I guess that can still be counted hahaha

Last but not least, a mobile phone. Currently I own 3 mobile phones: SE K750i – this phone has sentimental value so I’m not going to let it go, bought it with my first pay check. A Nokia N95 – bought this 2^nd hand from Singapore, very reliable when I need to go online. A SE W890i – also bought this 2^nd hand from Singapore, small and compact. Now the phone I’m eyeing is the Nokia E63. I read few reviews online and the phone is just a basic phone with a QWERTY keypad. The only difference between this phone and the E71 is the camera. It has 2MP while the E71 has 3.2MP. Both phone are 3G and has wi-fi connection, which is good enough for me. But I still need to let go one of my current phones (one of my new year resolutions)...so which one should it be?? hmm….

So far its been unsuccessful

2009-01-06T17:40:00.000+08:00

It is day 6 into the new year and I've not even started on any of my resolutions! >.< Just last night I was so stressed out in the car because I can't get a parking in town. Apparently, parents are busy buying school books for their kids because the books just arrived that morning. And instead of dieting and exercising, all I do is exercising my mouth and hands! This is really bad....and plus I've been receiving a lot of nice goodies (namely chocolates) for Christmas gifts. Very tempting *sigh* but don't worry I'm not planning to eat the whole thing by myself. Hopefully I can start at least one or two of my resolutions by next week!

very tempting isn't it???

New Year Resolution

2009-01-02T09:50:00.000+08:00

Eat and live healthily (meaning to say DIET & Exercise)
Take up photography lesson (get to know my SLR camera better and how to use it properly...atm antam saja asal ada gambar…antam focus this and that hahaha)
Learn to play a musical instrument (Guitar? Violin? Drum?)
Travel to a place where I have not been to (oh wait…I’m going to Bali!)
Save some of my annual leave for next year so it will accumulate more and I can take more or longer leave (this will be hard but will try my very best)
Stop collecting gadgets: ipods, mobile phones, cameras, and laptops. (but I didn’t say stop buying hahaha)
Learn to swim. Atm I can swim on my back (so-called backstroke)
Stop swearing, be more patient, and learn to relax more. (again…will try my very best.
Clear my debts and claim my I.O.Us
Lastly, make sure I’m doing these resolutions!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

2009-01-01T01:19:00.000+08:00

Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year
with good health, joy, happiness and peace.

Year 2008: What have I done so far?

2008-12-30T09:59:00.000+08:00

For me, personally, the year 2008 have gone by so fast. I can't remember all of it now the things I've done but I am sure each journey or adventure I went through this year was a memorable one.
I celebrated the end of last year (2007) and welcoming the new year (2008) in a nightclub in Eastbourne, East Sussex with my best friends. This year I'm celebrating it with my friends and family and with $100 worth of fireworks hehehe
I think I travel more than 10 times this year. I've already lost count of it! My most unforgettable holiday would be attending the World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia where I got the chance to meet the Pope in person. I was there for 2 weeks in July and it was a remarkable journey for me and my friends. Oh yah not forgetting, I meet a lot of new friends this year too which I will forever cherish our friendships.
I must admit it has been a very hectic year for me. Both office and church work have been demanding and it really challenge me physically, mentally and spiritually. After having some self-reflection, I guess all the hard work (sleepless nights, meetings, racing against time, etc.) are worth it. I have the opportunity to find my self, capabilities, talent, etc. despite the busyness of life. There are some things that I want to change or at least try to change in the new year; that'll be part of my new year resolution.
Hope the New Year will bring you happiness, peace, love and joy. God Bless!

Christmas Celebration @ Home

2008-12-29T21:26:00.000+08:00

My Christmas celebration wasn't that bad after all apart from getting lesser sleep, I still managed to survive on Christmas day itself. I went to the dawn mass at 5am (the last 9th day) on Christmas Eve, woke up at 4am that morning and I still have to go to work. Then I attended the midnight mass at 10.30pm till 12.30am and then back to church again for the Christmas Day mass at 9am. We have Christmas open house in the parish hall after the mass and head back home to have our own open house. It was raining heavily that morning and I was soaking wet and cold (my dad just installed 2 new aircon in the extended living room and dining room).
All I wanted for Christmas was to sleep! But we have a lot of guests that day, it was hard to catch even a short nap. We had visitors until 10.30pm, I was on my feet all day and I was really exhausted. I woke up at noon the next morning!!! I had a lot of text messages on my phone when I woke up, mostly invitation to open house and I could only manage to go to one house.
Anyways, I enjoyed my 5 days holiday and now I'm back to work. I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to the new year but it is better not to have any expectation or else I'll be disappointed. Just leave it in God's hands to decide for He knows what is best.

Some pics from my Christmas Open House. Thank you for celebrating this joyous celebration with me and my family.

Our Christmas tree - My mum decorated this tree 2 wks before x'mas

My cousin addicted to my Nikon SLR camera

View of the living room

My extended family

Kitchen invasion

Yummy food

hey! where's my drink?

Baby Lizam 1st Christmas visit

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

Christmas Eve - Eve

2008-12-23T14:56:00.000+08:00

Well its 2 days till Christmas. Most of the things that needs to be done are done for now but I still want to do some last minute shopping later in bandar.
To be honest, I'm not that excited about Christmas yet. I don't know why but maybe because of fatigue. Been running around like headless chicken for the past few weeks; been busy with the ordination preparation and now Christmas. I'm exhausted!
I went for retail therapy to Singapore with my family recently. I really enjoyed the time we spend together and plus the shopping hehehe feels good to be away from 'work overload' once in a while.
Oh yeah...gadget update! To pamper myself this Christmas, I bought a Sony Cybershot H-10 which I've been eyeing since last Oct. It comes with 4Gb memory stick and pouch for less than $500. so yeahhh :D very happy!
Will try to update and post some pics soon. Till then I wish you a happy and blessed Christmas and a happy new year 2009.

Mid-Life Crisis

2008-12-02T16:50:00.000+08:00

We celebrated a friend’s 25th birthday recently and we talk about mid-life crisis. We were thinking at what age a person would face this crisis. For example, age ranges from 0 to approx. 100 years old so if it is ‘mid’ meaning we’ll face this crisis at 50 years old? Hahaha well this is just a thought. And I was teasing my friend that we face mid-life crisis when we turn 25 and she went O.o hahaha just joking!

Been a pretty hectic week now. I’ve been in the church office almost every evening now. I don’t remember when was the last time I had a nice sit-down dinner with my family. Anyways my family understands it. Looking forward for the short break with my parents next weekend and also the Christmas season. Tis the season to be fat falalalalalalalala…

Ok back to the blog…

I think I’m physically exhausted (but my mind don’t think so). My weekday routine goes like this (for now): Wake up at 6am, go to work at 7am, lunch from 12 to 1pm, go home at 4pm, on my pc or watch the tv or have tea with my family for about 30mins or less, take a shower, go to church at 7pm, go home at 10pm, do some chores or on the pc again, sleep around 11pm or midnight and back to square one all over again.

I also notice that my brain and hand coordination are not functioning that well too. Whatever is in my head turns out wrong when I type it out. So please excuse me, if some words are missing or the sentences are not in order… screw the grammatical errors! And I tend to forget things easily which shows how tired I am :(

My granma is still staying with us. She’s not been feeling that well (due to her age and some other things) and that makes me worried. As you can see I’m juggling between a lot of work and responsibilities now. The term is ‘multi-tasking’. Thank God I don’t have a mental or nervous breakdown in dealing with this entire situations. Hahaha --> Laughter is always the best medicine.

So anyways I’m sorry if I don’t ‘layan’ (entertain) you for the past and next few days. I’m really trying to sort things out for the upcoming big events. I guess you’ll be seeing me running around like headless chicken on those days. Will catch up on lost time when I’m relief of my duty hahaha

oh yah and just for the record, I'm not having a mid-life crisis.

Ciao!

Granma in da house!

2008-11-27T22:26:00.000+08:00

Like what the title says... my granma is staying over in our place for the next couple of days while my granpa is still in the hospital. I was surprised to see my granma sitting outside at our porch yesterday after I came home from work. I'm glad that she's here and that we can take good care of her.
Anyways, I went to the CROCS (the famous shoe brand) shop in Pandan 7 after work and I bought a slip-on shoe for my granma. It is highly comfortable and light. I wanted to get one for myself but since I'll be going to S'pore soon I'll just get it there (they don't have my size and the shoe that I wanted at the shop anyways). A well-spend $60 I must say hahaha the moment my granma slip on the shoe she neatly packed her old slippers into a plastic bag and kept it aside. She's now wearing her new pair of CROCS around the house. I never expected to buy it but I wanted my granma to be comfortable while staying with us. And this morning she told my mom that she slept really well last night which make us feel relief! Well u know..it's difficult to take care of old folks.
My granma is 96 (I think) years old and my granpa is 99, they live a very long life. I have a lot of fond memories with my grandparents as a child. I grew up balik kampung every weekend and visit them which I still do till now. My granma will look for me if I seldom visit them and plus she knows how much I love durians hahaha I miss the good old days but some things have change now. Nevertheless I'm glad to be here for them.

TGIF

2008-11-21T10:34:00.000+08:00

Thank God Its Friday!!! I'm bored out of my mind sitting in the office all day long not doing anything.

My offshore trip was canceled yesterday due to rough sea (big waves, etc.) . I wasn't looking forward to go because I dread the journey to the platform, it takes about an hour and end up feeling sea sick in the boat :S
I bought a nausea relief tablet from Singapore and took 2 tablets 30 minutes before the trip as instructed. I woke up early that morning to prepare my things and then left home for KB port at 6.30am to avoid the traffic but the traffic was still slow that morning! I don't understand how ppl could stand driving at a constant speed of 60km/h???
After check-in, we had a safety briefing and saw the boat arriving at the port. They told us we can't proceed with our trip due to the rough sea. Some were disappointed because works will be delayed and some were happy... like me! hehehe
Went back to the office as usual and I was very, very sleepy. I took a nap after I came home from work but end up waking up at 7pm!!! My sleeping pattern are so screwed!!

Anyways, I went for a blood test last week and I just got the results today. Everything is normal (thank God) except for one thing... my bp. My dr asked me to start on a medication for the next 2 weeks. Hopefully it'll work!

Yeahh...its the weekend tomorrow.

When You Wish Everyday Was Like This...

2008-11-19T11:02:00.000+08:00

I'm in my office now feeling really bored *yawn*

I don't have any work to do at the moment.

Sometimes I wish everyday was like this but then it really bores you to the core hahaha

I'll be going to offshore tomorrow for a safety site visit so at least I'll be out of the office!

Ok the reason I've nothing to do at the moment is because I'm still waiting for some project files from the engineers. Without the files, I can't start on anything.

So now I just have to show up at work everyday, sit in my office sipping tea, wait for work to appear from God knows where, read emails, watch videos, read bulletins, etc. till it's time for lunch or to go home. Tell me that isn't a boring routine.

....
....
....

A bit of a sidetrack here despite my utter boredom:

I had my end of year performance review with my boss last Monday and it went really, really well. Thank God for that! All my hard work this year are being appreciated and recognised. The sweats, wearing orange coverall (or pyjamas as my boss calls it) for a week, going to yards in the hot sun and attending meetings every week are all worthwhile! I'm now involves in more project discussions and meetings, which has spark an interest in learning more especially in the electrical discipline (my dad is an electrician so I guess its in the gene). I hope one day I can pursue it and what comes after that... I'll leave it in God's hand.

The Weekend Project

2008-11-16T20:53:00.000+08:00

Surprisingly I'm at home today. I've been away on most days during the week so it feels good to be at home now. I was in church this morning to help out in the gotong royong; did few cleaning here and there, polished some metals and got few cuts on my fingers from the sharp metal tip.
I went home after lunch and spend the day upgrading my old desktop pc. I installed the new motherboard, processor and RAM which I bought last weekend in Singapore. I have an existing 320GB harddisk which I bought last year, a dvd-rom (just there for decoration) and a dvd-writer so all that can still be re-used. My desktop casing is quite old now, it's 8 yrs old to be exact! I still have the sticker at the back of the desktop to prove it. It's still in a good condition after surviving years of abuse hahaha I now have more cuts on my fingers from installing the hardware. Took me about an hour to assemble everything and to install the operating system. I installed an original window vista home premium which I bought few months back during an IT exhibition in the Mall. Finally I won't be getting that counterfeit warning from Microsoft!
I still have to install the office 2007 but I don't have the CD for it yet. Anyways, I'm happy with my desktop now. I hope it will serve me well for years to come hahaha

New motherboard, processor and RAM

After assembling it

Installing the O.S.

What does your birthday mean?

2008-11-10T18:34:00.001+08:00

I got this from Facebook and its about 90% true hahaha so here it goes. My comments are in red.

Your birthday means that you are an early morning person. (True. I wake up before 6am on most days)

You like water (It depends. I like swimming.) and water sports (err..no) , and your best colors are blue (So true! I love Blue) and gray (Yes for a car color). You are artistic and love to express yourself in many different ways (err... I don't know about this one). While you tend to be more of an introverted person (again true), that does not mean you sit at home (hehehe). On the contrary, you have the best ideas when it comes to going places (oh so true! hahaha) and finding things to do (sometimes). You are very innovative and excel at creativity (err I don't know about this. I would say maybe..).

That was fast...

2008-11-09T20:43:00.000+08:00

Wow the weekend have gone by so fast and here I am typing this blog back home. I wish it could be a little bit longer. Anyways I enjoyed my short trip to Singapore. I managed to get some stuffs which I have been longing for quite some time. Bought some hardware to upgrade my desktop pc which I can't wait to install! Finally an upgrade after all these years... (my pc still runs on Pentium 4!)
I must say Singapore are very 'semangat' to celebrate Christmas every year. It's only early Nov and they have already put up the Christmas decorations and trees in front of the shopping malls. Not much sales going on and I couldn't find any nice working clothes :( My luggage was 80% full of M&S biscuits and chocolates hahaha and some other people's stuffs.
Oh yah and I bought my first LEVI's jeans at the airport this morning. I managed to do a bit of shopping at the airport (a request from my mom). I'm tired and aching now from all the walking and I even have blisters on my palm! That was one intense one-day shopping. My advise to you if you want to do what I did.... be physically prepared! hahaha
My parents picked me up from the airport this afternoon, had a short lunch and went back to Seria. Then my parents decided to balik kampung because my granma was looking for me and its the fruit season. I just had one whole durian for dinner, I hope I still have my voice tomorrow for work hahahaha I love durians... thanks granma!
Overall it was a good and enjoyable weekend... cheerios!

Off to Singapore

2008-11-07T16:12:00.000+08:00

I'm typing this post in the car on my way to the airport. My brother is driving me to the airport.
This is the day I've been looking forward to after postponing and planning for months. The sad part is I'm only going for 3d 2n.
I went to work as usual today, work thru lunch and went home an hour earlier. I need this break because I've been extremely busy at work lately. I was given a task by my boss to look for a subsea cable which is over 6 yrs old and its repair kit (not found yet). Not an easy job but thankfully I managed to find the cable and was awarded an achievement cert and token from the manager yipee...
Today's work was quite frustrating as well. Both of our secretaries are on leave and they expect me to look after the office and it is also the same day that I'm going for my short 'stress-free' break!!! Wat are the odds!! I couldn't settle some things in the end because I had to leave early so I end up leaving it for next week. What can I say? It's not my job looking after the office. :S This things always happen everytime I go on leave, something important at work will turn up.
Ok I will stop talking about my work now, I'm almost at the airport now... will update soon...cheerios. Have a nice weekend.

27 candles x 4 cakes = 108 yrs old!!!

2008-11-03T16:53:00.000+08:00

I celebrated my birthday last Sunday. I didn't have any plans for it because it was a day of obligation in the church (All Soul's Day). The night before I had a meeting in SJC. We started the meeting late after dinner. Steph & Al joined us through videocall from bandar. The meeting ended at about 11pm and I was really sleepy because I woke up very early that morning! The team had planned a surprise birthday cake for me after the meeting. (Thanks peeps!) I was speechless and more than surprise....I was shocked! I really didn't expect it. Dot spilled the beans on our way home. They have been planning it all along through emails. I don't have a pic of my birthday cake but I think it was chocolate fudge. I really enjoyed the night though I was very, very sleepy. Text messages started coming in till 2am but I was already asleep.
I went to Sunday mass as usual the next morning. My mom have a bad cough and she wanted to avoid the aircon in the p.hall so I sat beside her to 'shield' her from the cold air!! (At this point, I think my fats comes in handy hahaha). I don't think my parents remember it was my birthday. Bshp celebrated the mass and he mentioned the date 2 Nov - All Soul's day, pray for the dead, etc., etc. and my mom started to repeat the date and I guess that's when it clicks her hahahaha

At breakfast, my cousin gave me a cake and another cousin gave me another cake.The cakes are
still in the fridge now. No idea how I'm going to finish it but I did manage to eat some of it

Cake No.2 (cake no.1 - no pic)

Cake No.3 - the fruit on top fell off

I received a text from a friend and she asked what was my plan for the day. I said I've no idea, at that moment I was sitting in front of the TV watching Spongebob cartoon hahaha Then she texted me again saying that I should go out and enjoy and don't be like an old person sitting in the house doing nothing. Well I did plan to go to bandar to do 'something' that morning. So I decided to go ahead with the plan. I pick up Dot on the way and she said she wanted to watch High School Musical 3. So I agree to watch it too even though it was not my kind of movie. We made it on time for the 3.20pm show with plenty of time to spare that we ate dimsum at the foodcourt! The movie was ok. Lots of singing, well duh...musical. Most of the time I was yawning and the cinema was full of kids!!!

I can't believe I went to watch this movie!

We had dinner with few friends at Swensen that evening. And I had another surprise!!! Thank God it was not a cake! It was a one scoop of chocolate ice-cream with half of a banana and it has 3 chocolate chips on the ice-cream that makes it look like a smiley face (again no pic). And again I was really caught by surprise, the other diners also sang along too. It really make me blush and thank God I was facing the window hahaha another great time!
I had another surprise birthday last nite by some of the seria youths at escapade sushi in KB. And again, it caught me by surprise! I was talking to Ann and Josh about our recent stay in Subok and all of the sudden the waiters and waitresses started to sing just outside the private room where we were having our dinner and it made me jump from my seat. Ann was surprise too and she thought I was singing!!! hahaha They were singing the birthday song and half way through the song, one of the waiter asked 'who is cathy?' it was hilarious! And so I had my fourth birthday cake last nite. Thank you so much Ann, Josh, Eileen, Agnes, Rach and Phel.

Cake no.4

Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes, greetings, love, prayer and support...

There goes the internet...

2008-10-17T19:40:00.000+08:00

I'm using my wireless broadband now to connect to the internet at home cos' my modem and wireless router went kaput after last night's storm. The thunderstorm and lightning was really scary and the power went off for quite some time.
I was already in bed watching the Simpsons on my laptop and it was raining heavily, didn't expect it'll get worst than that. A loud cracking thunder made me jump out of my bed and away from the windows. I'm not taking my chances to strike by those lightning last night.
Anyways, I'm not been feeling well again. It all started from the long meeting I had last week, I was feeling feverish the next day and then I got a bit better for the rest of the week. Then I've been sneezing all day in the office and end up with a bad cold on Wednesday morning till now. My voice is hoarse and my nose is stuffy :S thank God I don't have a fever or sore throat to add to that or else it might get a bit complicated like before.
We had our departmental meeting this morning and thankfully my boss didn't ask me to present on HSE. I think I've infected everyone in that room. I didn't manage to go to the doctor either because I can't get through the reception to make an appointment. We also had our department Hari Raya 'open house' after the meeting. The food was ok, not my type of food though and also I can't taste a thing! The rest of the day was a bit boring... but finally its the weekend again and I can rest and recuperate. I'm suppose to have a meeting tonight in COLA, but I don't feel fit to go anywhere. I even turn down some open house invitations.
I'm just going to have a relax day tomorrow and hopefully I'll get well by then.
Over and out...

My back is killing me

2008-10-06T22:40:00.000+08:00

Ok..an update from the previous post. Raya fall on Thursday. Thank God for that. I was in bandar that evening to run some errands (not last minute shopping) and stayed overnight at a friend's house because it was too late to drive back to Seria.
On the first day of raya I drove back to Seria hoping I could join my parents to visit my aunt's house in Bear Hill. But my allergy kicks-in and my hand was swollen red and itchy so I decided to stay home. I didn't realise I was alone at home, my cat was sleeping on my parents' wardrobe and I thought my brother was in his room (he went out for raya-ing too). Some annoying kids press the doorbell, inda nampak kali rumah kami nada cucul!!! Kan ambil duit saja pikir ATM kah rumah ku anie?. I spend most of my time playing my PS3 hehehe it was a holiday well-spend.
On 2nd day of Raya, I went to my cousins' house in bandar. My final stop was in Rimba and I took the opportunity to go to Giant as I've never been there. The place is huge but boring. I was having headache on the way back to Seria maybe becos of the hot weather.
On Sat, my sister ask me to drive her and some friends to Miri to buy liquor. So we went and make full use of our quota then head to town to my beloved Starbucks at Bintang Plaza and ends the trip with a dinner at Secret Recipe. I bought 2 books from Popular: one is about the history of the world (very interesting but I know some of you finds it boring) and the other one is a travel book on Bali (cos' I'm going there nxt year). So basically that's all I get from my Miri trip. Looking forward to go there again to buy more books and some Halloween stuffs.
And last but not least, the last holiday... Sunday. Came back from church that morning and was hook on the internet for hours and watching the Pink Panther movie. It was hilarious. And again I was left all alone in the house with the cat, which was of course, sleeping! I don't take naps in the afternoon which is a good thing or else I'll sleep at work. So I'm now back to work as usual. Sitting in front of the PC for 8 hours.
Oh with regards to the topic, I just attended a meeting in church and it lasted for 2½ hours. It was a dreadful meeting. I just kept quiet throughout, just don't bother to open my mouth. I'm at home now and my back has been aching lately and it bothers me a lot. I guess it is just one of those time when you are just too tired and everything don't feel right :/

Long Holiday Ahead

2008-09-30T13:04:00.001+08:00

It's the festive season (Eid Muhbarak or Hari Raya) and if the moon is sighted tonight, I will have 5 days leave from work including one day ‘forced’ leave meaning to say it will be deducted from my annual leave next year :(

Anyways, I can’t believe I don’t have any travel plans during this long break. I would have book my tix to Singapore but the hotels are so damn expensive because of the GP season. I’m still deciding where I should go (Miri? KK?) Or I’ll just stay home and play my PS3 for countless hours.

I’m really dead bored right now with no plans in mind. Been surfing the Internet for hours now in search of something interesting that can occupy my boring spare time. I’m taking a break now to write this blog. Thought I should update it.

I went to Kuching about 2 weekends ago with some friends. I can’t say much about it because its top-secret hahaha didn’t went anywhere interesting not even to town. We had other things to do there so it wasn’t a leisure trip. I went to Kuching twice before, it’s a nice place rich in history. There are a lot of road constructions going on there which never seems to end ever since I first visited there. Other than that, I’m happy that they have Starbucks coffee at their airport.

Ok what am I going to do next? I’m not in the mood to go shopping because it’ll be difficult to get parking; the shopping places are crowded; traffic jams everywhere, definitely not my cup of tea. Hope there's something to do during the holidays besides eating!!! Will update soon.

WYD@SYD2008

2008-09-05T18:51:00.000+08:00

So I've not been keeping to my promise lately to update this blog dutifully. And I don't know how many people do actually read this boring blog of mine. But anyways here I am now trying to spare some time to update it after being idle for quite some time.
I've been traveling on a monthly basis now (not for work) ever since my trip to Sydney in July (which btw was awesome!). I was in Bangkok two weeks ago, commuting between bandar and Miri (not far, I know) last week and next week I'm off to Kuching. Though it is tiring I enjoy every single bit of it.
Like I mentioned earlier my trip to Sydney was awesome. I was there for about 2 weeks to attend the World Youth Day and met a lot of people from all over the world (my facebook friends are growing in numbers now). Explaining where my country is located was a bit difficult, some thought it was in South America and some thought it is Bolivia??? Anyways I've my Nokia N95 with me and show them the exact location (a tiny dot on Borneo island).

Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera house

On arrival in Sydney, we went to Broken Bay for our Days in the Diocese event. We stayed with foster family in the Australian outback. It was a great experience! The weather was extremely cold for some of us, funnily I felt warm on the first day we arrive until night fall. It was almost 0 deg C during the night. We attended some music concerts and workshops but sadly I had to leave early for Sydney just after 2 days in Broken Bay as I was part of the International Liturgy Group. I felt so sad to leave everyone and to be separated from the group.

@ Mingara

I took the train from Woy Woy station to Central Station in Sydney which is about an hour journey. Took a cab to the ILG headquarters at the University of Sydney. The oldest university (I guess) in Australia at 150 years old. The building architecture is so beautiful, just imagine its like Hogwart in the Harry Potter movies. Anyways, I have my own room at the girls' dorm which I'm very thankful of hehehe Next, our names and tasks were posted on the board in the common room even before we arrive! My tasks was to receive Holy Communion from Cardinal Pell during the opening mass in Barangaroo and Papal stage escort during the evening vigil. Seeing or meeting the Pope has always been part of my life mission! I went to Rome last year during Easter sunday just to see the Pope but didn't get the chance(to cut the long story short, it was the final blessings by the time I was in Vatican city). Everyone were pretty excited about their tasks and along the way we made new friends. They were 142 of us from 59 countries. The day goes by like this in the ILG: talks in the morning, grab a packed lunch from the cafeteria and either walk (from the uni.) or take the bus to rehearsal site in the afternoon till nightfall. We have rehearsal almost everyday and it was tiring and also freezing especially when we had our full dress rehearsal (some of our clothes were not meant for cold weathers). Nevertheless we enjoy each other's company, most of the time talking and laughing.

Some of the ILGiers

I keep in touch with the group via sms and phonecalls. You do tend to miss your own friends from home at times. I remember the time when I finally meet up with them at Hyde park, they were queueing up to go in the merchandise shop and some of them were in St. Mary's Cathedral. They were screaming and hugging and soooo excited when I told them what my tasks was. I was so happy to see them, it felt like ages (it was abt 4 days to be exact).
Barangaroo, the site for the opening mass, was fully packed on Tues 15th July. We had to go through the VIP entrance and security was really tight. We waited for more than an hour in the dressing tents before we were allowed to go to our seats near the stage. It was nightfall when it was our turn to be on stage to receive Holy Communion, and we were shivering to our bones because of the cold wind from the sea. Thank God you can't really see it in the video hahaha After the mass, we rushed back to the tent to have our 'pilgrim' dinner (which was curry chicken 'soup' and bread) and taking advantage of our VIP pass we took a shortcut through the barricades to meet up with the rest of the group. It was soooo difficult to look for them as there are more than 100,000 people in the crowd. And when we finally did find them we were overjoyed and they kept saying 'we saw you on the big screen'. We dance, sing and jump throughout the concert, having a great time together. The group was staying at a school in Merryland which is about half an hour from Sydney Central station.
The days goes by so quickly that week. The Papal arrival (on a boat) was at Barangaroo on Thurs 17th July. The place was fully packed and of course excited to see the Pope. The crowd was chanting 'Benedetto' followed by the clapping. The atmosphere that day was just tremendous and I felt so proud to be part of it.

L to R: The stage at Barangaroo, The Pope on his way to Barangaroo on a boat, The Pope on stage.

My next task was the Papal escort during the evening vigil at Royal Randwick racecourse. We have rehearsals three days in a row at Randwick at freezing temperature but the cold didn't put us off. We were to escort the Pope from under the stage (papal tunnel) onto the stage and all we have to do was to wave like mad. Then light up the tiki torch and spread the fire to the rest of the crowd. Sound easy right? Well it was not... the stage was bigger than in Barangaroo and its 20ft high so we have to see where we're going and make sure we don't get ourselves burnt from the torches, etc. After the rehearsal we have to find our own transport back to the uni. I think I'm getting the hang of the transport system in Sydney.

L to R: View of Randwick, behind the stage and under the stage in the Papal tunnel.

Anyhoo every night after the rehearsal I really try my best to be with the group. On 16th Jul was the Asian Youth Gathering (AYG) at the Olympic Park. A group of us board the train at Central station and try to get to the venue on time. Unfortunately the event was over by the time we were at Lidcombe (an interchange) and I saw my group getting onto the same train to Merrylands. I got drag in by them leaving my other friends behind at the station. Wat a day! It was my first visit to their accommodation and the school staffs are very friendly. I only stayed for a few hours and took the train back to Central alone before midnight! It was scary but thank God I met some good people on the train.. One lady start a conversation with me and asked me if I'm from Brunei because I carrying the Brunei flag on my backpack, coincidently she was from KB but have move to Perth about 20 years ago. She told me she will be visiting Brunei at the end of the month. Small world after all. I didn't get her name though.
We attended catechesis at St. Benedict's church about 15mins walk from the uni. (I took the bus instead) and experience the great Aussie style bbq for lunch. I meet up with the group a couple of times after that though for a short while only as I've to rush off to rehearsal or to another WYD event with the ILG.
On Friday 18th July, we attended the Station of the Cross. It was very beautiful the way it was acted out and we were in reverence.

L to R: The Last Supper, The Pope saying a few words, St. Mary's Cathedral

I had to leave as soon as it was over and rush back again to Randwick for the final rehearsal. After the rehearsal, I rushed back to the uni. pack few of my things and took the train to Merryland (alone) because I wanted to be with the group for the 9km walk the next day. My sleeping bag was already the Uni. of South Wales (UNSW) our changing place, near to Randwick. I spread out my jacket on the classroom carpeted floor and doze off to sleep as it was really late by the time I reached Merryland.
The next day we got up early and prepare ourselves for the 9km walk. We were to start from North Sydney and all the way to Randwick. Took the train from Merryland and head to North Sydney, along the way some of us got confuse and board off at the wrong station. When we arrive at North Sydney, we waited for the others before embarking on our journey. It was fun and a good experience.

Passing through the Harbour bridge

9km is not that near especially when there are hills involve! Not having enough sleep, energy and stamina really challenge all of us during the walk but nevertheless we overcome it. Upon reaching Randwick, I overstretched my left ankle tendon. It was an old injury I guess I must have stressed on it during the walk. The group entered Randwick through one of the gates but I had to go to the Uni. which was way up on the hill. I wanted to cry but I just carry on despite the pain. After walking for about 10minutes, I finally reach the uni. alone (again!). I freshen up and rested my ankle. After getting few mins of sleep, it was time to move. Got into my national dress and limp all the way down the hill to Randwick. It was painful but I couldn't back out now. I didn't have the chance to go to the first aid tent to get it checked!
We were escorted to the papal tunnel and waited and waited and waited for which seems to be 2 hours. We prayed the rosary together, took photos and waited again. We could hear the performance above our heads on the stage but unable to see it. Then we were asked to standby near the door, everyone was nervous and excited to see the Pope.The Pope quietly make his way behind us, we turned and stood in awe. At first he look scary but then he smiled and gave us the blessings. We managed to say 'We love you, Papa' before we went out and that widens his smile. He didn't look scary after that hahahaha but in fact he look cute like a small child. And of course I noticed his red loafer which was very striking.

Escorting the Pope and carrying the tiki torch

The atmosphere that night was exhilarating! There were thousands of people, screaming, chanting and all I can see was flashes of camera lights. I didn't feel the pain anymore when we stepped out onto the stage and I was saying out loud 'wow look at that' and I even forgotten that the Pope was behind us! It was an amazing experience for me and I can't believe my first world youth day will be this way! What an opportunity!
After the night vigil we were to sleep under the stars on the Randwick ground. It was cold, a bit noisy but who cares when you're so tired. The loo (toilet) was far from where we were sleeping and I could feel the pain in my ankle again. So I decided to go to the first aid tent (which was also far) and get it checked. They put my ankle on ice for 20mins but it was still swollen so they had to bandaged it. I went to our group's sleeping area but some was asleep and few were missing. I wanted to meet up with our Bishop but he was not around yet. I've not seen him for more than a week when we were there but we kept in touch through phonecalls and SMSes, which surprised some people in the ILG. hehehehe
I did manage to get some sleep after tossing and turning. They woke us up at 6.30am for breakfast and then morning prayer. We rushed to the performers tents and use the loos there as it was cleaner and more private. My hair was in a mess and decided to use a beanie to cover it.
The final mass was attended by almost 400,000 people; celebrated by the Pope. I was taking some candid shots of everything then as I was focusing on the stage, I thought I saw a familiar face and it was none other than our Bishop! Standing in the middle of the stage taking photos and he was also projected on the big screen! Not believing on what I'm seeing I asked a friend to look through my camera lens and confirmed it. Even some of the priests in front of us was laughing and asking us what he was doing. It was really hilarious.

15secs of fame, the Pope during the Final mass.

The Pope gave a very touching homily and some youths got confirmed on that day as well. He announced the next world youth day will be in Madrid, Spain in 2011 and look forward to see everyone there. As he bit farewell (which was the saddest part) we cannot help but to chant 'Benedetto' and scream 'Viva El Papa'. It was such an amazing moment and I just couldn't believe I was part of it.
My first trip to Sydney and my first World Youth Day have been the greatest trip of my life. I have new friends and a close bond with the group. What more is there to say but to look forward to another great adventure...

There's more to this story, will try to upload some pic in another post.

Counting the days

2008-07-05T07:27:00.000+08:00

I'm getting both nervous & excited for the trip next week for the World Youth Day in Sydney. Only 3 days to go and I've not packed or prepare any of my clothes yet. It will be winter in Australia at this time. I have my winter jacket from my previous trips to UK last year so I'm about 10% ready.
I've never been to Sydney before but I've been to Perth in 2006. Rummaging through my drawers I manage to get hold of AUD12.30, I guess I can use that to buy some drinks or snacks in the airport.
We'll be leaving on Wednesday on SQ flight via Singapore and then another 10hrs before our next flight to Sydney. Unfortunately the flight to Sydney won't be on the new Airbus 380 because it leave early in the morning. But the good news is that we'll be in it on our way back from Sydney. *excited*
Oh yah its the weekend today and thankfully I'm at home this time. I guess I should start packing bit by bit now. I just hope everything will fit in my luggage!!!

Coughing, aching & deprive of sleep

2008-06-30T19:21:00.000+08:00

Greetings fellow readers or bloggers. It has been awhile since I last post an entry. Due to my infamous hectic schedule at the moment I find it hard to just sit down in front of my pc but now I can spare some time (by skipping dinner) just to type out this post.
I'm not feeling 100% well at the moment. I've a very sexy voice because of coughing too much. My body aches because I participate in the tug-of-war in the Panaga Highland game last Saturday. Didn't warm up before the game hence the result = aching! I spend my weekend staying overnight in Subok with some friends to discuss for our upcoming trip to Sydney..9 more days!!! *excited*
My weekends are very occupied this month. I was away from home most of the time. Two weekends ago, I went on a road trip to Sibu with few friends. It took us about 8 hours with pit stops in between. The weather wasn't permitting too. It was really hot at first but then it got gloomy and started to rain. Upon arriving in Sibu, we were all exhausted and needed a good shower and sleep! We had the chance to go around Sibu town which is pretty big with a lot of shopping mall compare to Miri. I did not bring my camera with me hence no photos :( anyways I'm sure it won't be my last trip to Sibu.
This Thursday I'll be taking half-day off from work in the afternoon to attend high-tea with the Australian High Comm. at her residence. Cool huh. It'll be first time doing a diplomatic thingy.
Lastly I'm desperately looking forward for my 2 weeks break to Sydney. I need to get out of the office!!! Till then...ciao!

Weekend: Where art thou?

2008-06-19T21:58:00.000+08:00

Well it's the weekend soon but I won't be around for it. I'll be spending it in Sibu. Kinda excited about the trip to Sibu because it'll be my first time to go there. Though I'm not looking forward for the long journey, it's about 5 or 6 hours drive from Miri. But when you're with friends, I think it'll be a fun road trip ;)
Last weekend was Father's day. Since I've $150 worth of Empire vouchers I decided to treat my dad and my mom to the Sunday Dim Sum brunch at Li Gong restaurant. The place was fully booked that Sunday and thankfully I have a reservation. My dad receive extra points/miles on his Royal skies membership and also a key chain from BMW. I wish they give the car instead!!!
There was a BMW roadshow at the hotel and great offers on the cars like a BMW 5 series cost $92,800 from its original price of $113,000++. I so want that car!!! But nahhh I already own two cars maybe in the next 4 or 5 years time.
Sadly, I'll be away on most weekends from now onwards. Will try to update this blog and upload some pics from my trip.

Ciao...

A long week

2008-06-10T14:36:00.000+08:00

It has been a very long week for me. I attended a 5-days course in KL recently. I must say I was a bit worried because I don’t know KL as well as Singapore. Didn’t know where to go in town or use the monorail, LRT, etc.

I stayed at Concorde Hotel, which is just next door to Hard Rock café. The last time I went to HR Café was 4 or 5 years ago.

On my first day, I took a taxi to Bukit Bintang and built up the courage to walk around town alone. I even went to the new shopping mall, the Pavilion, which is not far from Lot 10. They have lots of branded shops there like Gucci, Coach, Burberry, etc. Had my first dinner from McDonald’s and went back to the hotel before dark. (I use the taxi)

My course started on Monday and I forgot what time it start. But I woke up early like I use to when I go to work here. Had my breakfast and went to look for the room for the course. It was held in the same hotel I was staying. After settling down and meet some new colleagues, a familiar voice saying ‘Oh no. Not you again!’ came through the door. And it was a friend of mine who is working in offshore. He talks to me so loudly that everyone in the room knew instantly that we are friends. Ironically we seldom meet in Brunei and we often bump into each other overseas. And it happens to another friend too. We either see each other in the airport or in Singapore.

11 people attended the course. Lunch was provided at the hotel and it serves good food (hence the weight gain and rounder looks). The course was very interesting. I enjoy the ‘lecture’ and I learn a lot on the equipments I’m dealing with at work and plus we did a lot of calculation too which is something I like to do.

It rain almost every day in KL with thunderstorm and lightning included. The traffic is bad as usual and the monorail is always packed with people. I took the monorail at Bukit Nanas on my own and meet up with my friend at Bukit Bintang station. My friend brought me to Petaling Street in Chinatown after getting off at the Maharajalela station. It looks a bit different from the last time I was there. But bargaining for the imitation things is still in practice hehehe and I suck at bargaining! I bought a ‘Prada’ sling bag for RM40 from RM85! And two Puma shoes for RM70. I’m happy with my purchase :) especially the shoes. I didn’t have to bargain for it because it was the last pair so it was sold to me for RM30!

I went to Low Yatt plaza (IT mall) to look at some IT gadgets. Nothing interests me there I don’t know why but I did return back there to buy a hard disk for my laptop since I have some extra cash left. Bought some t-shirts and the highlight of my shopping were the 55-200mm Nikkor VR lens (RM750) and flash (RM350) for my SLR camera. Like I said I’ve nothing else to buy so why not invest in something to support my hobby (photography).

Oh yah my parents join me in KL on Wednesday and we went back together on Saturday. They went around town on their own (telling them to take the taxi to wherever they want to go) while I attend the course. When I return to my hotel room after my course on Thursday I was in awe and they were happily smiling and announce they bought RM600 worth of ‘kain’, ‘batik’, etc. from Jln. Masjid India and my dad was complaining it was heavy to carry. I already forewarn them that I was not going to follow them shopping and it was for this very reason. You know how mothers shop right? It’ll take them ages and they will ask about 10 questions on one item. Imagine if it was 10 items = 100 questions!!! Anyways I’m glad they enjoyed it. I even give up my hotel breakfast to them because I was already bored eating hotel food for the past few days.

I decided to return home early because I’ve another prior agenda during the weekend but I look forward to go to KL some day again. Who knows, I might be going for another course again next year.

Off to KL

2008-05-31T22:34:00.000+08:00

I'm away to KL this week. The last time I was there was last year and it was only for a day after transiting in from Bangkok. Hope to get more out of it this time.

Some pics taken during last year's trip in KL

The Petronas Twin Tower

Berjaya Times Square