...

Dreams may come true...

2010-12-16T20:47:00.003+12:00

I had quite a dream last night, dreamt of Prince Harry looking for a date for his brother Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton's next year. Woke up feeling the need to find him a date if he's not already seeing Chelsy Davy. If things were that easy, just a call away, or a text to let him know, not to worry as I will be unoccupied and available for sure AND would love to be his date. One can only dream. Will update you how it goes in my dream sometime in April. I'm on conz269@gmail.com

Back to Basics... AGAIN!

2010-10-12T14:36:00.003+12:00

Reasons why women date the wrong guy:

Loneliness and insecurity
Believing that the relationship is the solution to their problems
External pressures to get married
Thinking that “he will fix me” or “I will fix him”
Ignoring red flags and gut feelings
Focus more on chemistry than on character.
Do not share common life goals and priorities.
You get intimately involved too quickly.

Let this be a reminder to me.

This is what i'm currently reading:

2010-06-13T04:35:00.000+12:00

WHY do men just disappear??
The biggest peeve is not the fact that men disappear, its the fact that they disappear without warning... its the most terrible feeling in the world to have no closure. To go from hot to cold without warning... its maddening! would even appreciate an email saying that a person's simply not interested and wants to close contact. At least you aren't wondering if the bloke is dead.... Regardless, we always move on; but it never makes it better... just makes us all more cynical.

Cheers!

I hate cos I'm envious

2010-03-24T06:17:00.003+12:00

I can't sleep. I think the previous post got me thinking a tad too much. I'll be 26 in 26th Sept. When I was 11, I told myself that I will be madly in love, married and live happy. Time is chasing up on me and I know I can't live up to my childhood dream. 11 was when I first saw a couple making out at the back of the school and people around didn't matter. I stared and thought, I'll get there some day. 5 months to go and I'm no where close. This saddens me. I hate the fact that people say, be patient, your time will come, maybe you should focus on your career, go back to school, move countries, he'll come soon, etc. I hate going to movies with couples. I sit alone with no one but the popcorn bucket to hug. I hate valentines cos I get no gifts. I hate those matching coloured couple t-shirts. I hate PDAs! I hate it when girls say 'my boyfriend bought me this bag/jewelry/car'. I hate weddings. I hate births. I hate the fact that I've forgotten how to smile genuinely.

Fortune Teller Experience:

2010-03-24T04:50:00.001+12:00

He wasn't that old, was like my dad's age. Mid 50's maybe. He has a business card too! He didn't find me nor did I stumble on him. A friend who's crazy about the 9th dimension introduced me to this character. The fortune teller lives in a shack, 1 room and that's it. That 1 room was decorated with relics, hand carved statues and manuscripts. He is chinese. I was pretty nervous as it was my first time. He could be phony, I mean what fortune tellers have business cards? Someone who cares about the important element of their visual identity? Or could he be the real-deal and has god's telephone number? Let me rundown to what he actually did:

He asked for the time of day I was born, went through his library and looked at the water, fire, etc elements. Next, was palm reading. Then it was me shuffling a deck of cards. All this went by so slowly and cos he spoke hockien, I was a bit lost. I wished I had google translate with me. I have jotted down most of the things he said and the numbers he gave me. Those numbers were considered as lucky numbers, so I went to buy 4D for two weeks and won nothing (not-so-lucky-aye). He told me I would lose a lot of blood this year, and to avoid that from happening I should donate my blood. I went to the hospital the other day, the nurse took a sample of my blood and I'm not a suitable candidate for blood donation cos of my low blood platelet. That didn't work out well. Instead I came home with a packet of 30 5mg folic acid tablets. He told me my boyfriend is around me and I will come to be aware of it 6 months down the line, that will be in June. So far I have had nothing but really bad dates and dry spells. Hmm, what next, he told me there is someone out to get me, to take me down and ruin my life. I can't think of anyone else but two of my ex bosses. Boy did I hated them so much. Plus job wise, he told me I am working in the wrong country because my talent is put on limitations. There were a lot of other nice things he said, like I know what I want and my future is secured and all. Funny thing is I don't even like my full time job at the mo. I'm always miserable. I tipped him 20 brunei dollars. Maybe tipped is not the word to use? Donate maybe? For him to buy more incense :) Was a rather weird feeling for me.

I'll hit you with something random: Just a week ago, I dreamt of a massive snake, it bit my hair. Last night, I was in my friend's car and I spotted a snake down town. Some passer bys tortured it with bricks and stuffs. Creepy.

Guess Where?

2009-12-19T20:43:00.006+12:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been busy. Will fill you in with what's been happening with me soonish. For now enjoy the pics readers, that is if I have any. Anyone?

Halloween Weekend, The night before.

2009-11-05T15:17:00.004+12:00

Here are some pics, I'm too lazy to blog. Knock yourself out.

Hottest Halloween costume

2009-10-06T13:57:00.008+12:00

Joker and Sarah Palin were last years. Would MJ be this years? or blood-thirsty vamps?

OMG says this year's hottest Halloween costume: Kate Gosselin.
Her wig resembling her amped up, asymmetrical hairdo is now available online ($14.99; www.buycostumes.com). You think I can pull off a Gosselin? The stylish "hairpiece" will make people think I have eight children. Lol

Aside from the hairpiece, that I can do without and still have 8 kids. I could be Octomom, seems easy to full off...I got the locks but I gotta purchase those dolls.

KIDS: Little boy from Up would be a good character for the kids. Easy to dress up. or you could be a sexy scout.
I have no interest on being Jacko, Vamps, Dorothy, Lady Gaga or Potter. Apart of me wants to be preggers and thinks Juno would be a really good character. Seems pretty outdated though. ANY IDEAS? FILL ME IN!

Mid Autumn Festival a wet affair

2009-10-03T14:43:00.004+12:00

The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar and is celebrated today 3rd October. We held a run in conjuction to this and almost everyone brought their bought or homemade or junglemade lanterns. My lantern was soaking wet as I didn't shut the top of my convertible again. I never really do learn my lesson, do I. I have taken only two pics that night and will upload more once I get hold of better quality pictures. As much as I want to say we ate mooncake under the moon, well, we didn't. Instead we had our mooncakes and laksa under the tent that was squashed up with front runners, snail pace people like us and some fresh blood. A wet affair in BSB's Mid Autumn Run. You must be wondering which function to the blurry effect on my cam. A pro wouldn't tell.
Here is a DIY lantern, the best being showcased that night. If only i had the talent, determination, if only, if only...

The Samba marches on.

2009-09-25T08:27:00.004+12:00

It was June 28 2006, late it was that night i remembered. Cold too. I parked my car. Walked to the lounge. Sat on their chunky couch. Their airconditioning unit continued to give me the chills. He was worried as to why i didn't help myself to the food. As to my reply, I recall saying I had food poisoning a day before. It was unfortunate timing but that was what made every second of what happened a life moment. He persuaded me to select a team, from the lounge's massive screen. I ,after a lot of thinking, had picked Brazil. He, on the other hand, without much of a choice, automatically had Ghana. It was the world cup. It was also the day I came to be aware of such global event and it too was our first date. Brazil scored 3 goals and Ghana none. I predicted the victory and in turn the chills were non felt. Three years later, as to now, the chills have started to slowly crept back, breaking my bubble, creating a mess. I had feel, felt, found and forgotten how fragile i was. Tomorrows rain will wash the stains away. But some things in our minds will always stay. Happy silver natal anniversary to me.

A lil' change is good for the heart

2009-09-20T07:27:00.007+12:00

This is going to be a blurt out whatever comes to mind post as I am test driving my new layout. Very messy compared to my previous organised lil' compartments if you ask me. I've been m.i.a lately and so have the comments on this blog. So do help yourself with the shoutbox on the left and type in some kind words. I had a long day yesterday as my VW you see on the earlier post died on me. I came home in a tow truck from the skate store. Thanks Ahmad (he's my tow truck driver and he gave me his business card...does that mean he wants me to call him?) Lol...Ahmad was being cheeky on me as he kept bending down to reveal his butt crack. I guess he wanted to do the 'skanky-thong-hanging-out-of-pants' move. The ride in the tow truck was 15 minutes but it felt like one of the longest ride I have ever been on. Ahmad left my car 'topless' in the garage, dad immediately took the keys and tried starting the car. IT WORKED FINE! I felt so sorry for myself that glacierly slow night. This here is my sudden stop, pull the hand breaks as I cruise into bed and park myself next to Mr.Boxster, I mean Bolster.

Thanks Mr. Biker

2009-08-20T03:44:00.002+12:00

I don’t know if you’ve heard of a joke about a blonde and her convertible. Well, guys often crack a joke on blondes driving in the heavy rain with the convertible’s top down. I was that blonde an hour ago as I took the convertible out with top down and cruise my way back home from work. I had to pull over under a bridge and put up the top. Thankfully a biker helped me out with the canvas. I was drenched in my own car, nothing in comparison to a topless woman in the rain; obviously she tends to look better. You will never know when it is going to shift from sprinkle to downpour. Now I’m just keeping myself warm, so much for a joyride.

On the run, On the blob updated

2009-07-31T19:58:00.008+12:00

Updates: I finished the run. Yay! So proud of myself. I tend to give up midway or an hour in and do a u-turn out. It was the good company that kept me going. That helps a lot. I have lots of events to attend this week. Will up date soonish. This week's skip along will be in conjunction with Singapore's National Day, August 9 , we will be dressed in Red and White on the run or at the On On. Here are more pictures and mind you, we look our worse when hashing...kinda scruffy looking...think I forgotten to shave that day :P. The pictures will sort of depict a guide to the social life of an early man and I threw in a surprise for you readers as well! Hah!

Not-so-old news:In an hour fifteen, I will have to run the hills of Diplo. Not too energetic about it as I am on the blob. Sun, sweat, mud, streams, twigs, bugs, all I have to combat as I storm into the woods. I spotted a chameleon in the woods once but have not seen a komodo or monitor lizard yet and I do hope it will not show itself today as it can sniff blood from miles and hunt me down.

SURPRISE! Ya didn't think I was gonna throw in a picture of my part time job as a track girl at the autoshows, did'cha?

Smack me with a telephone directory

2009-07-23T04:17:00.007+12:00

I have three assignments due in…(choose to not remember dates), hence the very appropriate title to my post. Nikki said most of the postings on my blog are ‘too serious'. Thanks for your feedback Nikki and here are some Eskimo Kisses for you, just the way you like it. Now, the little fun post dedicated to my already wide range of audience. I’m going to start with some statistics:

Over half (56%) of women polled said they would be more than happy to propose to their boyfriend, with seven in ten women day-dreaming of getting married at least once a day. (So ladies, to pop or not to pop, that is the big Q!)

Low fat camel's milk chocolate is due to hit shelves.(Yes, you read right, camel it is.)

Now an official line up on how uneventful my day went:

6.00 am: Ti, ti, ti, ti, ti (mobile alarm)
6.15 am: Ti, ti, ti, ti, ti (snooze)
6.30 am: Shower and replace bands on my braces
7.10 am: Drive to work in my 4X4
7.20 am: Temperature scans 35.7 deg cel.
7.30 – 12.30 pm: Work mode + trying to spot the 6 min solar eclipse
12.30 – 2.15pm: Cook instant noodle + NAP
2.30 – 4pm: Back to the office
4.00 – 6pm: REST
7.00 – 11 pm: On air 95.9FM
12. 40 am – now: blog posting + Tim Tam Slam

Done with my very electrifying itinerary above, now time for some pictures of...Yeap you've guessed it!

Nikki did my make up. She gave me the elegant/innocent look. Pic taken by Devin. HEARTS.
Pretending to sleep in the terminal. Aww... look at those cute toes! KISS.(massage pls)
I was an extra in one of the scenes of the Bollywood movie. Pic taken by Rano.

Ngirup tuak - Gawai Festival

2009-06-06T03:00:00.010+12:00

The smell of Tuak(s) is/are like perfumes, some you love, others are acceptable and some you loathe them! Does Tuak smell like armpits to you? I can bring to mind the smell of Tuak in my shot glass that night. I made sure I was not hallucinating. It seems to me like Tuak is made from rice, stuffed in the armpits while you do some vigorous exercise for many weeks. Mind you, that is just one of the 5/6 senses to deal with; the taste on the other hand is unbearable (for me). Wiki describes Tuak as ‘an alcoholic beverage made of fermented rice, yeast and sugar and drunk in Borneo and East Malaysia. The beverage is a popular drink among the Ibans of Sarawak during the Gawai festivals. The same word is used for other drinks in Indonesia, for example the palm wine of the Batak people of North Sumatra.’
Somehow my description of tuak has upset many indigeneous people and now knows why my write up has been declined by Wikipedia. That night, the wannabe natives and I did our task in the décor department hanging banana leaves around the premises. Celebrated 1st June, known as the harvest festival,we sang, dance and drank just like New Year and Christmas. It was a truly remarkable experience for me.

Tossing for LOVE

2009-05-29T20:43:00.005+12:00

Mom, typical Chinese lady from Ipoh, small town, big family. I spoke to her recently about the hype of this Ba Chang festival. I went to two Chinese restaurants and ba changs were all sold out. She told me ladies who throw ba chang out into the sea are those seeking for love, a husband perhaps. Mom, lady with so many made-up theories, you can never quote her on it. I may not agree with mom but I have to say I like the idea of it. There are a number of theories about the origin of this Ba Chang Festival. But before we get into that, let me describe the perfect ba chang filling that would make my day. It has got to be in a pyramidal shape, I don’t like those in rectangular form. It has to have half a salted egg or duck egg. There must be no peanuts! No chestnuts! Mushroom is a must and pork is mandatory. That’s how I like it. Now back to my very limited knowledge of Chinese folklore, Raymond whom I had lunch with told me tossing ba chang into the sea is to ward off disease or evil. It made perfect sense to me as I tried to sense a collective nostalgia of what my Popo or Kung Kung would have said to me as a form of their folklore. But really after a lot of googling, the reason why we toss ba chang out into the sea is because of this ONE MAN! He must be someone really special innit to have people all over the world do that. Here is one of the many theories of the origin. It is meant to honor Qu Yuan (340-278 BC.), the pioneer poet of ancient China. Qu Yuan was a famous poet who was also concerned about the fate of his government. Unfortunately his stature aroused the jealousy of the king, who banished him to a remote area. The poet despaired of the government and its policies. When the state's capital was captured by enemies, he committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River (on May 5th according to the Chinese lunar calendar). The Chinese people felt this loss deeply, as he was a much beloved poet. Local folk searched for him in the river, meanwhile dropping dumplings of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves into the river in order to keep the fishes from attacking Qu Yuan's body.

Another story I heard had something to do with the king’s mistress. The King’s interests were in wine, women and songs. And this man who cared for the kingdom delivered his advice to the king but it fell on deaf ears. He drowned himself as a way of proving to the king that the intention of the King’s mistress was not genuine and to create bad blood in the kingdom. There are so many different takes on it but I have to say mom’s story really hit the roof. All my friends laughed as I told my family’s version of the story. It was a good day nonetheless; we had fun, watched the sunset, made a wish and toss our ba chang into the sea. Raymond challenged me in a game of making an egg sit. It is one of the many other traditional activities that are still practiced in this festival.

The future of Sarawak's Penan

2009-05-26T15:25:00.007+12:00

Last week’s charity skip along took us past rows of bright, glossy, firm Asian cucumber-like gourd known to me today as Angled Luffas. I met some of the farmers working on their crops and it was sun down. Never have I seen such dedicated farmers in my years of living. The walk along the beach shores had a gorgeous view but it made us clamped our nose. I can bring to mind the smell that drifted through the air. It smelt like salty dead fish, seaweed and Joey’s cologne drenched in sweat. What really hit me hard in that week’s skip along was the slide show projected in the woods of the Rapier Range. The commitment of two expat English teachers in Brunei that I had newly acquainted with spoke to me about the Penan children of Sarawak, part of their Borneo Project. The Penans have one of the lowest rates of education in Malaysia with 40% never attended primary school and 90% never made it to secondary school. L&M had dedicated their off-hours offering assistance to the Penan of Sarawak. The stories made my heart weep and I sponsored a Penan child for a year that night, this would help in his/her medical and educational needs. I was amazed with L’s accomplishments. She has written a set of story books in native Penan language and had distributed them to indigenous preschools. This would help the children to slowly make a transition to public schools taught in English and Malay, languages they are unfamiliar with.
The Penan are the last surviving hunter-gatherer tribe in South-East Asia, they have received more international attention than the other tribes of Sarawak. There are about 10,000 Penan in all, around 350-500 are nomadic but due to the impact of logging on their lands, less than sixty families are now able to continue the traditional way of life . The rest are either semi-nomadic or live in settlements. Life for the Penan is now extremely difficult because of the destruction of their forests.

An escape to AmiriCA

2009-05-16T02:08:00.010+12:00

I did an escape to the border today. Drove my way past 30 hectares of burnt land that supposedly happened over the last two weeks. The sight of the post bush fire somewhat looked like it was caused by man. With the vast land, illegal farming activity is suspected and ignition risk is predicted. But really, I like to rewind the story and take you into my border experience. With the AH1N1 at loose, both the Malaysia and Brunei borders stationed health officers at location. The Brunei border carried out verbal Q & A on where did you come from, are you feeling well and were you from the airport check. The Malaysian border however distributed yellow A4 sized paper with two sections, one of which was about identity and the other was a health related check. I did section A easily but just as I got to section B, I tuned out. It was written in the Malay language and no translation were given. Its not because the language used was complex but the real problem is that the questions were lengthy and required a lot more comprehensible input. Essay type questions for a health check? Really it should have been easy straight to the point questions or maybe, just maybe, this virus is deadlier than I thought. I guess the sold out hand sanitizers might have added up to the hype.

So now its 202

2009-05-12T02:09:00.005+12:00

Yes, I have not been blogging. I have got 101 + another 101 reasons to why I have been MIA. Its not easy being me that's for sure and I don't just say this because its a line used by most people these days but I genuinely mean it. The issue with my blog and I is that we would like to share so much but an ounce of peace was what we opted for. It seemed to us that the kick start to type was like an enemy we had to gun down. Funny that because I have written numerous essays months before and months to come. Essays? Yes like 1500 word write ups and books as high as Shahbandar Hill to put my nose on. The ICELT is currently what I'm busy waging wars on. Fortunately, the fight will end in September just in time for my natal silver jubilee anniversary. This is however depressing because through my adolescent years, my aim was to get hitched at 25. Time is chasing up on me and suitors are low in supply. How can we overcome my demand? When equilibrium is not met? Let me put this into another context, just as Obama celebrated his first 100th days, swine flu affair sets in and the principal obstacle is the lack of vaccines. Which is equitable to: I am the swine and the lack of vaccines are my suitors. Politically romantic implicated much?! The deprivation bubble I bum in is taking a toll on me. I will stop here for some ounce of peace to charm in again. Till my next post, bless me with some love and disco sticks.

Will Gayana be next?

2009-04-05T03:09:00.006+12:00

Manukan Island. This is one of the popular resorts at Kota Kinabalu and is the second largest of the five tropical islands. The island is known for its sandy white beaches and snorkeling. Being the backpacker I am, discovering things on my own, I didn't sign up on the tour packages but instead went on doing what I like to do which is exploring. With that I saved at least a 100 bucks.
What we had to pay for:
RM 50 - Boat ride back and forth per person
RM 20 - For goggles, snorkel and life vest (but you can rent them at the island itself at a cheaper price). You can pay a bit more for flippers if you want to swim faster.
RM 50 - Take away food for 13 people at one of the food stalls. Not bad. Unless you want to dine at one of the restaurants or buy the package tour.

* Note that we had to deal with an agent from Jesselton Point but do make sure you have proper goggles. Otherwise, you might be unlucky to get sea water leaking inside your goggles while snorkeling.

We didn’t try rafting and the banana boat looked tempting. Maybe next time? I, however, tried the parasailing (RM180 for 10 mins —> expensive aye?) but I really enjoyed the 10-minute parasailing. Two thumbs up. A friend of mine had a bad experience with the parasail in Empire. It may be cheaper but I do NOT recommend you to Parasail there after hearing the story, imagine falling high up from the sky crashing into the sea. Because their motor got jammed?! That's just mad. Inexperience. Which was why I rather pay a lot more for my safety.

All in all, it was great fun especially the snorkeling bit. A recommended island to visit if you happen to be in KK.

I have never seen a dozen shades of green!

2009-03-30T03:12:00.012+12:00

Although we didn't get a change to get hold of the KNK Passport provided by our friendly neighbourhood officers at the Tourism Department, we felt that the feeling of satisfaction is more than enough to leave a stamp in our heart. It is my second trip to Temburong. First one was strictly work related with some emceeing job I had to do and this second one is a strictly have-fun-go-wild-run-around-naked one. We took the monster truck to Limbang, crossed the ferry to Temburong. I know a lot of people are hoping for a bridge to be built so that it would be easily accessible, saves time as well and that's clearly understandable but its people like me that don't get to ride on ferries and is loving every second of the 2 minute ferry ride. Hey, if they put two ferries together, they don't actually need to build a bridge. I think two ferries connected is about the width of that river. We drove to the Trandie Marina Resort and took a longboat to the National Park, registered and paid $5 (comes with a park ranger). Then we disembarked into the best preserved tropical rainforest of Borneo. We climbed the very high scaffolding of the Canopy Walkway, the structure rises over 50 meters high on top of 850 meters high hill. That's from the ridge top to above the tree tops. Once you get to the top, all you can see is the amazing and panoramic view of the tropical rainforest, the clouds, the sounds of birds (you'll spot a few hornbills) and insects. The primary rainforest carpets about 78 percent of Brunei’s land area, most of which you can see from the Canopy Walk (Don't trust me, I tend to exaggerate).

Here is a video I made...Its really crappy. My first time using the video function in my camera. I didn't even know what to say! Please ignore my I love NY t-shirt. My sis bought it for me when she was living there.

Notes:
1. Please bring the OFF or any form of insect repellent.

2. Do not wear perfumes, bees will love you and you don't what that do you now?

3. 50 meters on a 850 meters hill, not recommended for people who are afraid of heights.

4.Once at the top, don't look down the forest floor, you'll feel dizzy. If its OK for you or you like the dizzying perspective then, look down...its amazing to know how high you've climb.

5. If you've not done any form of exercise, you'll NOT make it! Turn around and dip your feet in the river and wait for your buddies to get back and tell you all about their non-stop stories.

6. Oh yes, wear proper shoes, the track gets a little muddy.

7. If you missed out on it, don't meet your friends for 1 week because that's all they're going to talk about.

8. Have FUN!!!

The treehouse at Trandie Marina Resort. There are a few treehouses there and other abseiling activities.
The boat ride to the National Park, it was a whole lot of fun with the rapids. Recommended for rafting.
The Canopy Walkway above and the KNK logo. Photo by Spacemonkey. He was the first to reach the hilltop.
Sungai Apan waterfall. The water was soooo COLD! I kid you not. Photo again by Spacemonkey.

Spirit Snuffed Out

2009-03-10T02:55:00.002+12:00

On Sunday, Theycallmeck blogger CK was spotted with a mystery man in a football match and left just before the half time.

The blogstress have said to have a major illness!

She took to her blog to announce her news:

Well, as many of you know I have been having trouble with my health lately but it didn’t stop me from going to a football match. The doctors thought I had tonsillitis, but when I wasn't feeling better after some rest, I decided to get an intensive checkup. When I heard the results I was in utter disbelief. The doctors told me that not only I had tonsillitis, but both of my cheeks were exhausted!! He said my left one was particularly bad, all this because I was smiling way too much for the cameras!!! He said I had just over done it with the excessive smiles over the past few weeks and so my muscles became fatigued and transferred the overload of stress to the bones around my cheek area - causing them to be stress! He says that type of injury can happen when celebrities step up the amount or intensity their smiles. Typical me- I throw myself 1000% into anything I do- that's how I went from being homeless to where I am today- but I just had no idea I could over-do smiling!
Shock does not begin to describe it. I am heartbroken to say I will not be smiling in this season of Football fever. I'm sad I won't get to go through the rest of the experience smiling with my mystery man. I don't really know what to say. I am sad and mad and disappointed and just blown away at all that has happened. I also feel particularly upset for my partner. This wasn't the way I wanted to go, but my health must come first. The good news is that my doctors say with rest and care, I will recover completely with no long-term damage. I hope I will be able to come back and with a new set of smile after my injury heals.

Such a bummer.
Get well lady!

P/s: I seriously think I’m coming down on something. My throat feels very hot, row and scratchy. I’ve got the snizz’cold too. I think I had too much salt yesterday.

My weekly dozes of On Ons

2009-03-07T18:01:00.008+12:00

The Pain. The Drive. The Satisfaction. Yeap, it's my fourth skip along in the scenic rural sides and still trying to grasp the idea of picking out thorns in my finger with a needle every week. I am a clumsy one really and that’s the one impressive quality the blokes seem to find classy these days. There is this one gentleman I find quite sexet. I know you will never slip into this site of mine, but if only you can slip into my arms. Jeg synes du air flot. Jeg vil gerna kysse dig. I tend to talk Danish when I’m feeling all…you know. Back to my skip along in the woods, the best thing about it really is having a Britney right after and...hmmm...talking about the pearl necklace!? Hmmf…its best I didn’t know what it meant.

Dear readers, I’ve noticed my hits seems to be escalating like a mad woman chasing after a rat in the kitchen and if I somewhat do not make sense in this post, my apologies. Sometimes fantasy takes control and there's only little you can do about it.
This is a picture of One-Tonne-Man (wan-tan man) a.k.a Kungfu Panda a.k.a I'm-so-in-love-with-my-headlamp

Know-it-alls

2009-03-03T02:15:00.002+12:00

Conversation from know-it-alls must eventually draw to a close rather than offering my opinions, leading to him/her being defensive and causing him/her to dig in his/her heels. Most times, I like to be left alone and spare myself from all these dramas. Boy, do I not fit in, so I've been practicing these lines over and over again for conversation enders. I'm pretty sure the know-it-alls will like the sound of my lines as they need not prove their brilliance to me once heard.

1) "Obviously you know your stuff,"
2) "You always have something intelligent to say,"

Whatcha reckon?

Commentating A Historic Event

2009-02-26T07:40:00.003+12:00

The rain is still dominating life in this tropical island at the moment and made it rather interesting. Our island has been in the headlines concerning the mythical Nabu snake of the Baleh river (in terms of picture fakery), attacks on the Penan indigenous communities in Sarawak and now even endangered species, pygmy elephants VS palm oil plantations. Conservationists for years have shown interest to baby our island and with that we’ve been getting a lot of attention from others. In our fraction of the isle, on a much blissful note, we celebrated 25 years of independence from Britain and that morning we had endless blue skies. It was quite a beauty from where I was stationed at, the top end of the stadium terrace. I did my part for the nation as a commentator, reporting on this historic event on the airwaves. Boy was I feeling patriotic despite not holding a yellow-card…yet. 

And Oh yea, I’m a product of a 1984 baby and as my colleagues call it ‘Anak Merdeka’. At 25, life for me continues along the same path and sometimes with unavoidable dirt, all part of the rain and shine excitement living in home land.

This is where I was stationed, top end of the stadium terrace. Our Broadcasting Booth.

Now, That's ART!

2009-02-09T19:10:00.011+12:00

Beautiful. Pleasant. Artsy. Nikki showed me this video when she got back from KL last month and I thought it was one of the cutest stop motion video clips I've ever seen. First thing in my mind was, How long did it take to complete the video! Looks really simple but trust me, the complexity involved is mad! It is one of those happy-feel-good-make-you-smile type of video. It compliments well with the song too. The vid reminds me of the end of Adele's Chasing Pavement, my favourite song from the playlists these days. Incredibly creative use of sheets, pillows and socks. I love the part when she is walking down the stairs (pillows) and jumping from one pillow to another, swimming with the fishes (socks), in a train, hanging from a cliff, lets not forget the 'hair movement' in all the frames. With all these shots, the Israeli actress/model must be really exhausted after all that stop motion. Watch it and be impressed, be very impressed! This vid makes me want to sleepwalk.

Fun Facts:
* The video was shot all stills - roughly 3225 still photos for the entire video, using one camera, hanging from the ceiling for the main body of the movie.
* It took 4 weeks before shooting to create an animated computer generated storyboard for the video, with 3d dummies for the characters.
* It took only 2 days of shooting for the live actors on set to re-create the 3.5 minutes computer sequence, frame by frame.
* Some of the bed sheets used in the video were taken from Oren’s own bedroom and are now considered collectors items, worth at the moment not very much and therefore used as bed sheets.
*Each of the wonderfully talented people above have worked on the video for a fraction of their normal rates (except Oren who worked for his normal rate of zero).

Great Barrier Reef island caretaker

2009-02-05T17:57:00.008+12:00

I remember reading an article on the radio about the Barrier Reef caretaker job thinking how great it would be if i were to apply. Me, CK in Australia's tropical island paradise, the sand in my feet, surfing the waves, fine dining, scuba diving, sailing the Great Barrier Reef to picking up the mail all for a $150,000 salary! It is truly indeed the best job in the world. The application process doesn't really demand much, just a minute video explaining why you would be great for the job. Advertised as the "Great Barrier Reef island caretaker" the role includes cleaning the pool, collecting the mail and feeding the fish in exchange for free luxury accommodation on Hamilton Island and a $150,000 six month position. Steven, the guy in the video, popped into the studio one night after hearing his favourite NERD tune on the radio, told me he heard about the job from his mother and decided to why-not-give-it-a-go. I have smacked his job application video with 5 stars.
This is where you can view Steven's video and rate it 5 stars! But it looks like Steven is up for some stiff competition with one of the world's wanted man. How oh How can you ever defeat a man who is "outgoing", "familiar with sandy areas", experience with videos and delegating tasks? But really there is nothing for Steven to worry about. Best of Luck!

Friendster not so friendly

2009-01-31T17:22:00.009+12:00

Good old Friendster, my buddy, always known for its edginess! Used to be the most popular social online network in the days. Yeap, you heard me, it’s sure not a typing error. I am really talking about Friendster. Why? Randy asked me the other day when was the last time I was on my Friendster account. I seriously can't remember. Just like everyone else, I instantly fell in love with Facebook and have to admit, an addict too. Sorry buddy for the negligence, met a new mate. Today, I decided to check if my account was still up and running or has good old Friendster shut me down. As expected, it was working well. I added a couple of friends. Read tons of random massages on my inbox. Had some comments to approve. One comment really caught my attention. It was about my profile picture, info and my shoutouts. I was just so excited to wait for my profile page to load, can’t even remember what I wrote and the pictures I have in there. This was what I wrote in the shoutbox as a joke years back in 2004. The cheeky me then. American television comedy-drama series, Desperate housewives of the street of Wisteria Lane was huge then and I decided to switch roles in my little play head to look for a house husband myself. This was the info on my profile page along with an old picture of me in gigantic bug eye sunnies just like how Nicole Richie likes it. Had to blur off certain details, I think i have enough people stalking me already. Certainly do not need more. ...This Ladies and Gentlemen, Readers, Fans and Bloggers is HOW I GOT MY ARSE KICKED IN FRIENDSTER!

Cu Chi Tunnel in Vietnam

2009-01-30T22:54:00.005+12:00

The Cu Chi Tunnel is about 70 km to the North-West of Ho Chi Minh City Center. This was during the 1960-1975, The Cu Chi Tunnel systems are currently conserved in Ben Dinh Tunnel and the Ben Duoc Tunnel. The Cu Chi Tunnel is the strong base of the Military Zone Party Commitee, Saigon-Gia Dinh Command Post, Cu Chi District Party Commitee, and all the People of Cu Chi District. The site shows how the people of Cu Chi lived and fought before and during the resistance against the American imperialists. American bombs and wrecked tanks can also be seen around the site. The Ben Dinh Tunnel which is part of the Cu Chi Tunnel system is a well known revolutionary hictoric relic. This was the base of the former leadership and Party Commitee of Cu Chi District, for their accommodations and meetings, a place of unique tactical deployment contributing to the national defending resistance against the enemy.My first experience firing the AK47. Bullets are cheap and you can get to keep the empty coils. Yay.
The Ben Douc Tunnel which is also part of the Cu Chi Tunnel is a unique architectural structure, this is a system of tunnels deeply underground, with several floors, a labyrinth of intricate ways and windings over 200 km long, wherein are sections for accommodations, meetings and preparing battles. The tunnel system embodies the undaunted will intelligence and pride of Cu Chi people, a symbol of Vietnamese revolutionary heroism. Hence, Cu Chi has been awarded the title of ‘Iron Land and Broze Citadel’. Inside the Cu Chi tunnel. The guy in front of me is from Boston, Massachusetts.
Booby traps are everywhere and this trap is attached to the door.

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself

2009-01-30T14:30:00.009+12:00

"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (3. Moses 19:18 / Matthew> 19:19 ) This/It's a citation out of the Bible. It's one of the most important phrases in the Christian tradition, Jesus himself called it the "highest command". In the Bible this phrase means to simply love your human neighbours.

Here is my story: We’ve come to know our neighbour’s nature when they first moved in to the house beside us. Told us to get rid of our terrier, that one house dog we had. Selfish and inconsiderate but this I have to say was never expected! Our side of the equator was hit by stormy weathers for days and is expected to run till February. Parts of the country’s power and water supplies were disrupted. We were out of water for 4 days in total, imagine the difficulties! The department of water services didn’t take long to provide each neighbourhood with water tanks and we were wondering when they would provide us with one. Only to know when we got back from work, a water tank was placed at my neighbour’s kitchen compound and was only accessible to them. While the other side of the neighbourhood, a water tank was placed in an open space and was accessible to everyone. I saw people filling up water in their buckets. I mean seriously, to have the heart to conceal water from your neighbour and selfishly keep water where it is out of reach to people who are in need. I have no words to describe this act. From one drama to another, I don’t know how much I can take.

First it was my one dog they requested to be put away so they can let their 20 cats roam around free and poop everywhere, not to mention breeding babies in my garage. Second, they literally broke the license plates of my car into three pieces claiming the bumper of my car touched their fence. Third, they built a roof over our fence and the water runoff lands on our compound creating a waterfall effect. We had to install a water guard because they just don’t care. Forth, we’ve been dealing with the excessive noise every morning because our neighbour runs some sort of a catering service and the van will drop by their house every morning to pick up the food. We’re talking about the screams of the neighbour’s wife ordering her workers to do this and that, making it impossible for us to sleep in. Pa would always tell me, being a good neighbour involves accepting a certain level of inconvenience. But really, not everything has to be tolerated and I called up the police once in front of my neighbour to lodge a complaint. He threatened to slap me, his arm swung at the direction of my face but stopped a few inch from my face. Pa and the neighbour had a long talk afterwards, the stupid man said he couldn’t control his temper and said sorry! Pa gave him a warning and only to know when Pa returned from Jakarta, our neighbour kept a JKR water tank in his kitchen for his use and we were living with no water supply for four days! This has escalated into another bitter confrontation. I hope it’s not going to be like…Till death do us part! This I say is bad faith.

Hello, Can You Hear Us?

2009-01-26T15:40:00.001+12:00

The feeling of solitary echoes back over and over. The family unit is nowhere to be found. Ma and Ah boy, my brother, are in Ipoh. Pa is in Jakarta with his sister. Sonny, my sister, is staying at Pa’s house and where am I? At Ma’s crib. Two words to describe this: Divorce Aftermath. Chinese New Year has always been a huge celebration in our household ever since we were born. Ma would really bring out the festive mood with tons of food, karaoke, black jacks, poker, fireworks and we would get big plumy angpows from both our parents. However, Sonny and I knew that this was going to be the very first year that we would be celebrating it together without the family. The biggest thing about CNY is the eve, family members would return home for a reunion dinner. I suggested to have a little dinner with Sonny, at least one member of my family is in town. If she was still in Denver, I’d be all alone! We decided to eat out, bought some clothes, you know just spending time together and we played some fireworks! I think we really lived it up making sure we weren’t feeling lonely this occasion. Although we didn’t have a proper reunion dinner with all the must have food, the night ended with us decorating Pa’s house with some Ox décor we bought from Hua Ho. Lol. It’s funny cos Pa is Indian, guess we decorated the wrong house.

Officially, the year of the rat departs today, January 26 and with that the Ox arrives. Here is the prediction for those born in the year of the Rat.

Yearly Prediction for the Rat
Jan. 26, 2009 - Feb. 13, 2010
Beware of burnout this year, dear Rat. You're such a hard worker, and this year you may feel even more pressured to put your nose to the grindstone. Keep in mind that you're naturally resourceful, which means you can stretch resources further than most people. By drawing on this talent, you can avoid exhaustion. Your social life may take a back seat to work responsibilities and it's possible you will be lonely for friends. When you do get together with your nearest and dearest, let it be casual and inexpensive. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have fun. In fact, you'll enjoy yourself much more at informal gatherings, when you can let your hair down and put your feet up. Fortunately, this trend sits well with your frugal nature.

This isn't a good year to splurge on fads; sensible, durable items will bring the best value. One thing you will have to guard against is idle chatter. In 2009, actions speak louder than words. The Year of the Earth Ox poses a wonderful opportunity to expand your family. Get married, have a child or invite an older relative to come live with you. "The more, the merrier" should be your motto as far as your home life is concerned. What could be nicer for a family-oriented animal like you?

Money for the Rat
Your best bet for making money this year is to acquire valuable skills. The more you know, the more attractive you will be to prospective employers. If you've been thinking of going back to school to get an advanced degree, this is the year to do so. An ambitious animal like you won't need much prompting to go back to school.

The Earth Ox year favors long-term ventures of all kinds. It may be necessary for you to take a thankless part-time job as a means to work your way through school or up the career ladder, but don't let that get you down. Although you may not have an impressive position with a huge salary, you will be paying your bills. You can even put some money into savings with a little thought and planning. Keep the big picture in mind at all times in 2009.

Love for the Rat
If you want to make a good impression on somebody, you need to demonstrate your worth. Bragging will get you nowhere. When you want to strike up a conversation with someone, talk about substantive issues like religion, politics, books and movies. Making a serious commitment is highly favored for Rats this year; getting engaged or married could be in the cards. If you do decide to take the plunge, do it soberly and reverently. Eloping at a Las Vegas chapel could have disastrous results in an Earth Ox year, so opt for a traditional ceremony instead.

In the event you are single, you could meet someone special at work or at a professional gathering. Take things slow, as the Ox frowns on impulsive behavior. If you're in a relationship, you may decide to start a business with your beloved. That may greatly appeal to you, as Rats enjoy spending every spare moment with the one they love.

Sailing...me? Yeap

2009-01-13T03:03:00.000+12:00

Away from seriousocity and into some leisure, I went sailing! Yeap, not on a tiny three seater sailboat but rather a ten seater or more sailboat. I met the owner of Petima, the boat, Captain Peter and his wife Aideen who is from Ireland. I've been on so many boats in the past from a small wooden craft to a dinghy to a big white boat. Dad's a wannabe fisherman, he fishes in his spare time, hence the different types of boats we have in our very own little yacht club in Berakas, minus the sea though but we have plenty of beer! So that's a good thing. The dinghy experience was a dreadful one at first but eventually turned out to be quite an adventure especially on Brunei rivers. Ya just don't exactly know when the crocodiles would bite/eat the inflatables off the dinghy, if you know what I mean. The experience of boarding a sailboat, to add up to my boat list, is very different. In a sailboat, you do away with engines and only dependable on wind power. It makes the roaring of the engines at mute and all you can hear is the boat parting the river when it moves against it and the ooohh sooo wonderful feeling of the breeze in your hair and not to mention me, Ck, basking in the sun with the boat moving on motion. Its was simply relaxing or how the teenagers these days put it 'Chillaxing'.
You can go day sailing or catch the Brunei sunset and even have fine dining on the boat. Or perhaps you can have your pre-wedding shots too...I was thinking more of having a Poker Night in the boat. Whatcha reckon poker buddies? Yes or a no go? I take it as a Yes. We took off at Menteri, walked bare foot into the boat. Just kicking it in, basking in the sun, had some orange juice, listened to some music, had some laughters. It was all good fun. And oh yeah, the boat is indoors and outdoors, fear not if it rains. There is a kitchen, dining lounge, toilet with shower, master bedroom if you're feeling a little bit cozy or snuggly. Ahem. Cough. The service has been endorsed by Brunei Tourism and you can make your bookings at 8722 347 or email bohariabd@yahoo.com.

Choeung Ek Genocidal Center in Cambodia

2009-01-12T17:45:00.000+12:00

It takes about 40 minutes or less from the Residence of the Brunei Embassy to get to the killing fields. Admission to get into the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center is USD$2 / person. I guess the price has gone down a dollar because the ticket states USD$3. The entrance fee paid for will contribute to development and conservation of the center and sponsorship for the poor and talented students which is all well worth it. The Choeung Ek Genocidal Center is an unique and special place which reflects the most barbarious and cruel crime committed by the Ultra Communist Khmer Rouge during the 1975-1979. My visit starts with paying respect to the spirits of the victims by offering flowers and lighting an incense in front of the Memorial Charnel, with that I donated a dollar. The Memorial Charnel was built in the center in 1988. Here about 20000 people including foreigners were executed and murdered. There are about 129 mass graves and about 8000 human skulls at the site bear testimony to this unspeakable crime, in order to remember the spirits of victims at the site and as well as over 3 million victims throughout the country, a charnel was built. Friends have been there two years ago and they describe the center as a place where you can literally walk on human skulls and bones. Right now, it has all been cleared up and only remains of clothing are left on the grounds of the site. Towards the end of the visit, I bought 2 books, How Pol Pot Came To Power and The Killing Fields. I also bought the winner for Best Documentary, Cannes and New York Film Festival 2003, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine S21and The Killing Fields DVDS both for USD$6. The tree above was used as a tool to hang a loudspeaker to make the sound louder to avoid the moan of victims while they were being executed.

Extreme poverty, 1/3 of Cambodians live on less than $1 per day

2009-01-09T06:41:00.000+12:00

‘I never see that adventure side in you, I never could have guessed It.’ said Reza. It is not the very first time I’ve heard that line, let’s just say one too many to remember. This crazy idea of mine started when my friend Ireal told me that he had met Ram Bahadur Bamjan, the budda boy who lives in the jungle of Southern Nepal. The meet up with Bamjan and tapping Ireal on the head known to many as the “touch of the divine” has let Ireal plans to build a school in one of the remote provinces of Nepal. His story was so inspirational that had let me to soul search and find out my place on earth or my calling. Stories of my journey may not be as inspirational as Ireal’s but it has led me to be a much calmer person. This was my third backpacking trip after a big one in Japan four years ago. From Kuala Lumpur, I boarded a plane to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, did my city tour with a map provided by the guest house. The next day, took a bus down to the Cu Chi tunnels and the Cao Dai Temple, it took us 10 hours, a whole day’s trip to complete the sights with stops for loo breaks of course. The next day, we took a seven hour bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where I was held up at the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. I was stranded for an hour and the bus left with my food, wet tissue and water bottle. When things were settled with my documents, I had to take a lift from another bus, f.o.c. doesn’t exists in countries like this so it wasn’t really like a hitchhike, I had to pay USD 20 for my bus trip to Cambodia as I had another ferry to cross. I spent Hanukah in Phnom Penh before heading to another seven hour bus journey to Siem Reap, home to one of the world’s most famous heritage sites. Looking back at my whirlwind trip in December of war memorials, tunnels, land mines, acid throwing, the Mekong Naga, remnants of the Angkorian capitals, and the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, the prisons, the killing fields, art and civilization, I learnt a lot from the trip even by looking at heart-wrenching children begging on the streets with no clothing on their body and how the Muslims live in the banks of the river, in their boats with only minimal food to feed on…I really have gotten to appreciate how blessed I was. January 11th marks the 30th anniversary of the overthrow of Cambodia from the brutal forces of Pol Pot.

Tuol Sleng Prison in Phnom Penh

2009-01-09T06:12:00.001+12:00

Depressing. Upsetting. Disturbed. The tragedy that many suffered during the era of the S21 (1975-1979). It takes about 20 minutes or less from the Residence of the Brunei Embassy to get to the genocide museum, known to many now, was a former Khmer Rouge S-21 Prison and it was formerly a school. The entrance is only USD 2 per entry. The historical museum of genocide opened to the public in 1980. The Khmer Rouge (KR) regime used to prison to detain individuals accused of opposing. The word Tuol Sleng literally means a poisonous hill or a place on a mound to keep those who bear or supply guilt. The first sight of the museum, I told my friend it looks like a school and indeed it was a high school turned into prison cells.
Till today, the windows are enclosed by iron bars and covered with tangled barbed wires. This was to prevent possible escapes by prisoners in the days. The victims in the prison were taken from all parts of the country and from all walks of life. They were of different nationalities and included Vietnamese, Laotians, Thais, Indians, Pakistanis, British, Americans, Canadians, New Zealandees and Australians but the vast majority were Cambodians. The civilian prisoners composed of workers, farmers, engineers, technicians, intellectuals, professors, teachers, students, and even ministers and diplomats. The figures of estimated number of prisoners from 1975-1978 were about 10, 499. This does not include the 2000 of children killed by the KR regime at S-21. I bought the S21 DVD documentary to know more about the regime.
Chained Up The gallows...they hang the prisoners upside down, torture them and dipped their heads in pots of dirty, smelly piss.
Individual Cells

CK is hopelessly in love, a big shocker to some.

2008-12-06T09:08:00.000+12:00

So Christmas came early for my neighbour. Sister unwrapped her gift given by her mate. I saw the excitement on her and decided to jump into the whole x mas spirit asking what she was going to get me for Christmas. She quickly answered, ‘I’m getting you months and months supply of Jaffa Cakes’. It was then my heart dropped to my feet, for I knew that was exactly NOT what I want for Christmas. Why the feet? That’s because I’ve fallen deeply madly ridiculously recklessly head over heels in love with the signature red sole of Christian Louboutin. Here’s the link to my love and It’s sold out. It’s either I start thinking of another gift or Jaffa Cakes will be sold out from the shelves this Christmas.

Heaven smiled down on us tonight

2008-12-02T04:02:00.000+12:00

Pa woke me up from bed at 7.30 pm. To clear the air, if you are wondering why I was asleep at that hour, I'm on holiday so it’s excusable. Back to Pa waking me up, he doesn't normally do this unless he needs help with jacking up the car. But tonight was something rather beautiful, it was two stars above a half-moon forming a smiling face. We gazed at it for a bit admiring how charming it was and as Pa puts it 'heaven is smiling down on us'...cheesy but since its Pa, the line is acceptable for his age. I quickly took my tinie weenie cybershot and snapped a picture of it. It has said to be Venus and Jupiter and a crescent moon forming a smiley face, with the planets forming the eyes and the moon forming the mouth. Stargazing and birdwatching have always been my past time and I was glad to be able to witness the best view of the effect, with the moon appearing closer to the eyes. Beauty captured…with a lousy camera ): I just googled on the beep beep sound of Sputnik. Pretty awesome. Mother of Light!
SAY CHEESE!Now Say 'Chris Martin's a Socially Awkward Douche'

without a guide...

2008-12-01T03:18:00.000+12:00

In my impending spectacular act, random and unexpected, I won’t dub it adventurous, not just yet. I’ll know in two weeks time. I have decided to book a flight from Brunei to Kuala Lumpur – Vietnam – Lao – Cambodia. I just hope my so called 'stunt' won’t backfire on me. I know its madness, well for me it is. I have done nothing close to this before. Staying in Tokyo/Chiba for a month and taking the bus from Singapore -Johor Bahru -Kuala Lumpur then a train to Ipoh then renting a car and driving to Penang were in my checklist for the most exploratory thing I’ve done. Lately, I’ve been feeling rather meh, I figure it’s got a lot to do with the journey. Trying to plot my route with domestic flights and buses, not even thinking of trying out the crazy boat rides where you cram 30 people in a tiny wooded boat with their entire luggage. So yeap, I’ve been burdening myself with too much googling getting restless the day after triggering the snizz’cold.

I’ll take you down with the travel costs:

2 Guests, Return tickets from Brunei – Kuala Lumpur B$706
2 Guests, One way ticket from Kuala Lumpur – Ho Chi Minh MY$591
2 Guests, One way ticket from Phnom Penh – Kuala Lumpur US$210
Bus tickets to Vientiane and Phnom Penh $?

To my dear friends telling me of 'CK, what sorta stunt are you pulling? Look what happened to Bangkok and Mumbai!'. Worry not missy(s),I'll be fine. In the mean time I have to get back to racing with my iron board in my spare bedroom which is my walk-in closet. Should see the mountain high pile of washing. No wonder my cupboards are empty. It’s all on the floor. I want to sack this lousy amah of mine…problem is…It’s ME!

Puedo ir al bano, por favor?

2008-11-24T00:26:00.000+12:00

Hola. Como estas? Doña Materia, a Señora living in Borneo, was always mistaken as a Mexican girl when she was much younger. Friends in her swimming team, The Dolphins, would help Dona to combat The Barracudas when Dona was bullied because of her looks. Only to learn when growing up, it is ok to look like a Señora. Family would take Dona to Amigos, a Mexican Place in Brunei for dinner outings and Dona would always be the first to finish the complimentary Nachos. Even when Dona was not in town, she would go to Al-Patio in Singapore and have burritos for dinner. Last night, the Dona spirit came to life; she was dressed in her Mexican Kahloism skirt that floats to the ankle, a brown top and accessories complementing it. She had some fajitas and other dishes that tasted too good that she couldn’t remember. The only thing missing from her meal was… tequila.

I do trust you with a pair of scissors

2008-11-14T02:37:00.000+12:00

Goodnight you, my spiritual, wickedly funny and devilishly handsome gent. Grrr...nom nom nom...A sex addict, diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder...Why do I have the hots for him? He has resigned from his Radio 2 show over that prank call he made to Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs, we all remember the actor as the much-abused Spanish waiter, Emmanuel. Here is a picture of my love at the Hare Krishna temple. I heart you Russell!

Getting to know my mama's hometown:

2008-11-13T15:26:00.000+12:00

Its not the birthplace of my mother but Ipoh, third city of Malaysia, is where mother spent most of her adolescent years. Mom's sister was classmates to Ipoh`s famous citizen, Michelle Yeoh. We all know the actress from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and former Bond girl in Tommorow Never Dies. I headed back to my roots a few months ago to attend a wedding and cousin Joanne took me to a few of the limestone caves. The caves are mostly Buddist temples with an impressive work of art with statues of Lord Buddha interspersed among the natural stalactites and stalagmites. The use of lighting helped a lot in the caves as it gets darker when you climb deeper inside, however made it harder to snap pictures of the karst formations with my mini cybershot. Once you reach the opening of the cave, you can just sit down for hours, do your meditation and enjoy the splendid panoramic view.

When religion collides

2008-11-10T18:50:00.000+12:00

Was watching this episode of Comedy Central the other day, this comedian was talking about how great it was when Tiger Woods won his first major, The Masters, becoming the first winner of an African-American descent. How great the African-Americans felt to have its first black golfer to make a mark in history. Tiger Woods went on winning more tournaments and the world too wanted to be associated with him. The Asian part of the world would have headlines going ‘The first Asian-American to win the Masters’. As you know Woods is of African and Asian heritage. The more titles he won, the less black he would get. The only time when he was really black was when his father was standing next to him. And if ever Woods did something terrible, headlines would go, ’Black Golfer …’ That’s when Woods is back to being all black again.

I started to think about the recent elected black president of the United States. Barack Obama’s father was from Kenya and his mother was a white Christian. His middle name is Hussein and his late, estranged father was of Muslim descent. The global media started questioning whether Barack Obama is a Muslim. He however identifies himself as a Christian and responded that he was not raised by his Kenyan father but rather his stepfather from Indonesia. The world knows that Obama is moving towards his Kenyan heritage, even the Kenyan government called it a public holiday when Obama won the election. But is he all that black after all?

With a middle name like Hussein, the Islamic law would say, ‘if your father is a Muslim, so are you. And once a Muslim, always a Muslim. You cannot go back. In Islamic eyes, Obama is certainly a Muslim. He may think he's a Christian, but Muslims do not.’

The media questioned: How would it be like when America is fighting the war of their lives against Islam?

"What you won't hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon -- that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize." – Barack Obama, June 3, 2008

I guess, there may be many Americans who are scared of Muslim terrorist; the numbers who are scared of Muslim congressmen is small indeed.

My pink Obama 'HOPE' tennis ball

2008-11-06T15:32:00.000+12:00

... After a 2 year study, the National Science Foundation announced the following results on America's recreational preferences:
1. The sport of choice for unemployed or incarcerated people is: basketball.
2. The sport of choice for maintenance level employees is: bowling.
3. The sport of choice for blue-collar workers is: football.
4. The sport of choice for supervisors is: baseball.
5. The sport of choice for middle management is: tennis.
6. The sport of choice for corporate officers is: golf.

Conclusion: The higher you rise in the corporate structure, the smaller your balls become. The day will come when I decide to take up golf but just not today.

Soul Searching

2008-11-06T04:39:00.000+12:00

Pap and I took the 4WD down to the northern side of Malaysia on the island of Borneo which is easily accessible by road from Brunei Darussalam. It has been yonks since I’ve last been to Miri. It took us longer than expected to get to where we were heading. The slippery road and damned weather condition were not only the reasons slowing us down but the roads from Tutong , Seria and Kuala Belait were shielded by men and women in uniform awaiting for the arrival of Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla at the helicopter base of Seven Flight. FYI, I’ve got the hots for Prince Harry, soo…dreamy. Pap and I were just passing by witnessing numerous helis in the air thinking how great it would be if the helis were performing some sort of an air show. Back to the road trip, the first place we went to was the Gurdwara Sahib. It’s a temple for the Sikhs built in the 1974/75. I had no clue; the Gurdwara was in our itinerary of places to visit. I, who am of mixed parentage, Sikh and Chinese, do not really have much of a clue on how to perform the prayers. Pap really caught me by surprise this time, he yanked out a green ‘chuni’ (Punjabi headscarf worn by Sikh women)from underneath the car seat and instructed me to put it on before I enter the Gurdwara. He demonstrated how to perform the prayer and told me I can do my prayers in English or Chinese as I wish. It was truly a surreal experience for me as it was my first time in a Gurdwara and being 24, some say ‘dontcha think you’re a little too late’ but it’s never too late to officially perform my first prayer in a temple. I just wished I came fully dressed in a Punjabi wear instead of my skinny jeans and indie top. Then again, maybe one day I’ll own a Punjabi dress that comes along with the matching shoes! I wonder what my Chinese mother or my siblings would think about this. They had no clue what went down in Miri. Sat Sri Akaal.

Clock Restoration Repair

2008-10-12T14:03:00.000+12:00

I extracted an article off our local papers to read on air. It was just a little something to share with the listeners.

Some of what the listeners said:
I work in town, and most times when I look at the clock, its either I'm late for work or too early or it doesn't make sense.

One time when I saw the clock in the morning, I was like 'Oh My God, I'm Late For Work!'. Then I drove round the tower, and all the 4 faces of the clocks showed different times.

Its a historical landmark and the authorities should get the time synchronised correctly. We shouldn't confuse tourists.

The authorities do sometimes fix the tower clocks, I see ladders and men trying to get the clocks sorted out and they did. It was the right time but the hands of the clocks slowed down after 20 minutes. Guess its getting old. Historic indeed.

I never realised the four faces of the clocks showed different times. I thought it has always be right.

Although the clock tower doesn't really show the right times, we still love it. Take it away, we'll be missing it.

Here's the article:
Baffled Public Want Clocks Set Right
Bandar Seri Begawan - Authorities are urged to correct the time to the four clocks located in the heart of the capital. According to observers, the four clocks show different times, and none of them are accurate. Korean tourist Ahn Jo Na told the Bulletin that he first thought the clock showed the local time, and set his watch accordingly. Later, he realized the other three clocks showed different times. Ahmad, a worker from India, said, "I thought the clocks showed different times in each district in Brunei. But there were no labels to indicate which time for which district." The confusion created by the clocks led Haji Mohammad Haji Ismail to call on the authorities to attend to the matter as soon as possible. He added that the authorities should also monitor the clocks diligently to avoid confusion among both locals and tourists. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Non Syariah Compliant

2008-10-08T01:48:00.000+12:00

The holy and blessed festive month for our part of the equator clearly has not made much of an impact on me and not even in a spiritual sense too. Ramadhan has only brought me to one buffet and a one-time trip to the food stalls before its expiration and Syawal has brought me to one open house but unlike Ramadhan, Syawal has only just begun. The Hari Raya rush, no not the shopping rush but the rush to return to the villages has turned drivers to road ragers. Staying home where peace and serenity is at and away from gore and blood is definitely a much better idea than to be on Brunei roads in this occasion. Eid Mubarak!

Here's an update:
4 Deaths, 53 Accidents In First Week Of Raya

Thought it was my paranoia, but it was in the papers a couple of days back.

Communicating with Scandanavians

2008-09-29T00:36:00.000+12:00

I'm on Day 1 of trying to speak Danish. So far so good, pronunciation is a little bit of a problem. Why Danish? I was watching The Sleeping Dictionary last night. It's about Iban ladies who were used to teach the British colonial administrators to speak the Iban language. In bed. Naked. This seemed like a good idea so I got myself my own sleeping dictionary to learn Danish. In bed. But minus the sleeping. This is how far I got:

Jeg vil gerne kysse dig = I would like to kiss you.
Jeg synes du er flot = I think you are cute
Jeg synes du ser godt ud = I think you look good.
Vil du har noget mælk? = Do you want some milk?
Jeg vil gerne sutte din pik = I would like to suck your cock.

So, now I am ready for a job in Denmark in at least one profession. Kan du førstår mig?

S.H.O.P Much?

2008-09-20T19:49:00.000+12:00

Maybelline Perfect Concealer
Camera
~~Mobile Phone~~
Tennis Racket
Car Headlight

...the list goes on.

Unpleasant

2008-09-09T13:36:00.000+12:00

Having to wake up to dreams of your partner cheating on you is just the worse way to start the morning. The dream felt so real as if I was watching the whole thing from someone else’s eyes. When I woke up, I wished I could just shake the person next to me to demand answers but I was all alone.

This could mean I'm very insecure and my dream seems to be based upon anxiety or somehow feeling inadequate in the relationship.

Or maybe, possibility this could happen:

Scenario 1: While dating a man about 15 yrs ago I often had dreams he was cheating or running away with another gal. Turned out he was attached to someone and I was the other woman. That was total humiliation to put it mildly. I was sensing the truth somewhere within myself and the dreams obviously had meaning.

Scenario 2: I was going through the same as you. It took months, but it turned out that my husband was cheating. INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.

On a lighter note, this was one of the recommendations:

I recommend that in your dream you hire a private investigator to follow your boy friend and take pictures. This way in your dream you'll have proof.

Oh No! Maccas Only!

2008-09-09T02:39:00.000+12:00

My tennis buddy was in Singapore for two weeks and had Burger King for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday. Not good for a tennis player's diet aye or anyone for that matter! Thank god for the never ending walks he took to BK, he gained only 2 kilos in 2 weeks. Now he's back in Brunei feeling dissatisfied and craving for more. Its the fasting month and he couldn't take it no more, so he decided to write an email to BK. Read below:

From: XXXXXX [mailto:XXXX@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 10:57 AM
To: Burger King
Subject:

Dear burger king,

I'm a big fan of your delicious products as well as the brand itself, I'm from Brunei and there is no burger king here. =( I sometimes even have to get a friend who is going overseas for holiday to get me your delicious burgers back home for me.. hehe Is it possible for burger king to be available here? hehe how much is the franchise? maybe i can try persuade the rich businessman here to open up one.. hehe thanx.. =)

BURGER KING REPLIED...

Subject: Franchise enquiry - Brunei
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2008 16:15:28 +0800
From: @whopper.com
To: XXXXXX @hotmail.com

Dear sir/madam

Thank you for your enquiry concerning the establishment of a BURGER KING® franchise in Brunei. BK ASIAPAC, PTE. LTD.(BKAP) continually reviews the strategic opportunities that may exist in the Asia Pacific region and welcomes expressions of interest. At this point in time, BKAP has no immediate plans to expand with franchisees in Brunei. However, this situation could change at any time. Should you wish for your particulars to be recorded in our database for future expansion into Brunei, we welcome your written submission/proposal.

Please ensure you provide detailed information outlining your business experience (particularly quick service restaurant), financial resources and your specific market business plan including your restaurant development expectations. We will ensure your submission is considered and your particulars are recorded on our database for future reference.

Yours sincerely

...& guess we'll have to stick to McDonald's!

CK went on a stroll

2008-09-03T01:07:00.000+12:00

Weekend: From the wealthiest state in the island of Borneo, we flew to the northwest coast of the island, Kota Kinabalu, also known as KK. Recognized for their tropical monsoon climate, it was pretty sunny on their 51^st Independence Day with also rainfall in the evening. Then again, rain and shine is truly a Borneo experience anyway. We have yet to visit the cultural, historical, leisure and conservation areas but instead shopping and entertainment were in our itinerary. Ooh and also, thumbs up to the Kota Kinabalu International Airport for their beautiful interior and exterior structure. It looks so much more ahead of its time compared to the Brunei International Airport!

Today: The first day of the holy month of Ramadhan and also a public holiday for Brunei Darussalam, we took a road trip down south, towards the Tutong district with 'The Beast' (our adventure car). Though we had to manually choke the car for it to start on two separate occasions, it was amazing how The Beast was able to handle the not-so-smooth road surface leading to the lake in Tutong, Tasek Merimbun. Along the way numerous buffaloes grazing on grass can be spotted and even monkeys can be seen due to the heavily forested region. The moment I got out of The Beast, I was welcomed by a crocodile (hah you wish!) but a dazzling blue butterfly rather. It being a heaty day, the lake was beautiful and calm, we might go back to the lake but maybe with new sets of tires next time. More on our Borneo quests in the future, hopefully with more new exciting destinations.

CK on a not-so-bad day

2008-08-25T01:57:00.000+12:00

Bad days just happen sometimes. Some are days when you wake up in a very bad mood and this is one of those days that I knew up front that ‘I hate being me’. But, I swore I didn’t wake up at the wrong side of the bed. I’m in a sour mood, but I keep telling myself one or two things that happened today that aren’t that bad. Rehearsing lines in my head that ‘today was not all that bad after all’. Somehow, Monday blues has started to kick in. Got through a busy week and another one to go. I wish I had the love to go to work, that will definitely help me advance. Here's to Monday meetings and dumb presentations. On an exciting note, I’ll be out of town for 3 days. I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

A bus full of screaming, pooping, crying, children

2008-08-24T22:52:00.000+12:00

Your car won’t start, dead battery.

You got busted at work, not your fault.

It’s raining outside, you're drenched.

Aaaarrggghhh!

Beef, It's What's NOT for dinner

2008-08-15T17:11:00.000+12:00

This post is a little insight to my personal self. Friends call me CK, hence the blog name, and they all know I do not consume any beef related food period. I am half a Sikh and I do take ‘not-eating-beef’ a serious affair. It has never been in my diet from birth and I don’t feel the need to put it in now or any other time. A lot of people have their misconceptions to why we, Sikhs do not consume beef. The Sikhs believe that we should not eat meat that are ritually slaughtered and I don’t think there is any philosophy of worshiping the cows has got anything to do with it as Sikhs do not give any animals, any higher status over others. The Hindus however, do not eat meat for a different reason; to say the Hindus worship cows or consider cows holy would not be completely right but, rather, in times when food is scarce it would be shortsighted to kill a cow for food when it can provide milk for many years. It took me years to grasp the idea to why beef was never served at the dinner table and most times friends would say, “CK, you’re missing out on sooo much!”…but really am I? I don’t feel it though. I took some time to think about the food I cannot eat. Here’s the short list and what’s your say?

NO: Nacho melted in beef sauce, Big Mac, Spaghetti Bolognese, Sirloin Steak, Oxtail Soup, Ribs, Sheppards Pie, Lasagnia, Beef Satay, Tapsilog, Cornbeef, Rendang and I think there's many more.

If you're feeling like this...you're not alone.

2008-08-13T15:40:00.000+12:00

Was I excited...

2008-08-09T22:53:00.000+12:00

...for the Olympics? Hell yeah! What did I think about it? It was amazing just like how amazing that every product you pull off a shelf is ‘Made from China’. You reckon London can outdo them in 2012? We’ll just have to wait patiently now but what I do know is that it would be less controversial compared to this one. A question that everyone keeps asking would be, ‘Did Brunei send anyone?’ The answer to that question days before would be ‘I don't have a clue’ and the answer to that now is here. My friend told me that his country has got 200 or so people taking part and expecting to bag 5-10 golds or so but you know how, the Olympic is in Beijing, I wonder if the Chinese would dominate? With over a billion people surely they can ruffle up some big feathers but I’d seriously be disappointed if a Chinese wins the 100m finals. That’s just wrong. Poor Africans running everywhere in search of food, wives, running away from the police, etc etc. They have had free training and I mean it in a way that it's a good thing. I love Africans. Super endurance, naturally built for speed and marathon runners.

The Remedy?

2008-08-09T21:56:00.000+12:00

My friend Reggie from Wellington was listening to me over net radio (streaming was terrible so he could only hear jack all) and I have not heard much from him in months! I used to dominate him in a game of pool. Was soopa good at it or maybe he was just that bad. Reg is an intern. He just started on a new rotation of paediatrics and checked up on an 8 week old today, she smiled at Reg like he was her dad. That must be intense! It was quite emotional for Reg. He told me docs have to hold it together at least in front of the patient at times. He also recommended me to listen to one of Kiwi’s best radio station. Apparently their breakfast show is hilarious.

Here are recommendations from Dr. Reg when feeling sleepy at work:

Do a little dance, it'll send blood to your brain or alternatively hit your head on the table. Reg will be certified next year so his suggestions are almost fully valid. In fact it's actually gospel so you shall adhere to it. After all docs know best.

CK’s recommendations when feeling sleepy:

D.A.N.C.E also. Try this something I call fishing, just pretend you have a fishing rod and that you are using it. That’s a dance move. Do it to the left, right and centre and the back. I’ve got plenty of other moves which I can only show you, it’s hard to describe Oh the pop drop and lock is a good routine too. I also like a 4 step routine like left foot forward at an angle to the left, right foot follows, then right foot to the right horizontal and left foot follows. Ahh it's too much to describe.

Murder Still Haunts

2008-08-02T03:16:00.000+12:00

Photo seen around the world: Grieving villagers carried Senkwekwe, a 530-pound silverback, from Virunga Park on July 24, 2007. His murder, and that of half his family, ignited worldwide outrage.

Remember this from last year? This photo led tears to my eyes while reading last month's issue of NGM . Mountain gorillas are an endangered species with some 700 alive. Nearly half of these animals live in Virunga National Park which borders Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The gorillas are caught in the middle of the Congo’s ongoing civil war between militia groups and the Congolese Army. 700 remaining and counting down. Shameful conservation corruption.

Who Murdered the Virunga Gorillas ?

Heavily armed militias shatter the stillness in this central African park. Desperate refugees crowd park boundaries. Charcoal producers strip forests. Then, last summer, someone killed seven of these magnificent creatures in cold blood.

What shall we do with the dead iPods?

2008-08-01T05:29:00.000+12:00

Have had my iPod Video for two years now and still haven’t figured out how to use it yet! Ok, I haven’t tried that hard since the initial few tries. The problem is I can never understand how to sync my iPod with the itunes. I'm an idiot to pay for an iPod as a fashion accessory and I speak for those who have dead iPods cluttering dust. If Apple products are overpriced and over-hyped, why is that I want an iPhone 3g too? All in the name of fashion? (please ignore my retro mac template, its just pretty)

Hey Hey, Dalai Lama, How many ppl did u fool 2day?

2008-08-01T04:46:00.000+12:00

Read an article on the “Eight Don’t-Asks” When Chatting with Foreigners. Some people find this a laughing matter but other people say it doesn't deserve the mockery. Now, why don't the Beijing Olympic committee just come up with "Eight Do-Asks" questions instead as a more approachable friendly gesture to avoid cultural clashes. Taking a look at the list, what is it that one should ask instead? Somehow, I'm sure the locals are well aware of the differences in cultural etiquette, conversation openers and small talk taboos. Here are the 8's. Read on.

Don’t ask about income or expenses.
Don’t ask about age.
Don’t ask about love life or marriage.
Don’t ask about health.
Don’t ask about someone’s home or address.
Don’t ask about personal experience.
Don’t ask about religious beliefs or political views.
Don’t ask what someone does.

p/s: Read also etiquette for interacting with handicapped athletes and proper behavior for commuters and pedestrians.

Rendezvous Connection

2008-07-31T13:53:00.000+12:00

“Sweets”/ “Candies” / “Delicacies” in French. Gourmandizes was released in August 2001, this is the fourth single by Alizee. The French pop princess self-titled album writes about teenage life, doubts, love and her greediness. As for my own personal consumption, luring some French men challenging the deadly scorching Borneo sun is the pipe dream I perceive from listening to this bubblegum chic. Thus becoming potential “urgent sanitary repatriation cases back to France needing consular assistance”. Doubting right now, I rather selfishly not have any dangerous men from France and avoid the extra work load and keep my not-so-peaceful mind just listening to J’en Ai Marre, Alizee’s fifth single (Feb 2003) which means “I’m Fed Up”. This brings me to why J’en Ai Marre, it’s to do with the innumerable suitors already in line in the Asian region. (I don't need some extra French men in the local Brunei scene now do I?). Charter away the flight full of French toy boys’ sweet talkers Chippendales from Champs Elysees cos’ I’m clearly not equipped for this. Instead, I will have 2 croissants, a cup of café au lait for breakfast and for evening tea, 10 sips of wine to my good health. Salut!

Are you hooked on it?

2008-07-31T03:50:00.000+12:00

We are! Every weekend, we would have friends over, rocking the game. Having two guitars are great. I would be playing the bass. The rest would be just drumming and singing. Its great that we have a mic stand too incase we're short of one band member. Other than that, I'm pretty new to rock band and lets just say its addictive. The game may have a steep price tag but its worth every penny. Just like what Nickelback said in their fifth U.S single, "Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars. Livin in top houses. Drivin fifteen cars. The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap. We'll all stay skinny cuz we just won't eat." Ya' feeling what I'm feeling? Time to bring out the wannabe rockstar in all of us, are you musically challenged?

Me & my kissy kisses & smoochy woochies!

2008-07-05T03:31:00.000+12:00

I have been bumming in my room a lot lately. Dad on the other hand was smacked with divorce letters three days ago. I guess things will be finalized soon. Mom however has fallen ill. Brother has moved in with his girlfriend and is going to stay in India for 6 months. All the drama going on in the family and sis who is in Colorado has no clue about everything. I’ll fill you in with what happened few days ago: NJ and I went to the pantai restaurant to have our seafood feast. Food wasn’t all that great but it’s been a while since I’ve dined in there. We went for a stroll down the beach. It was calm and dreamy. NJ is like the man with lots of plans and tonight he has a Bruneian themed party to go to. I wonder how he looks in a songkok. It would be hilarious with his blonde hair and all. He reckons I should come in a tudong but na…I’ll skip this one out. Instead I was out with Beckim, we talked about how sexy the chics at Kosovo was and how complex it was for Beckim to get hold of a girl in Brunei. Beckim is of Turkish and Kosovian mix, been in Brunei for 7 years. We’re friends from Uni, 4 years ago. It was good catching up with him and to know that Damier is now married living in Finland. I have so much more to talk about but we’ll leave that for next time.

just.another.face

2008-07-01T00:48:00.000+12:00

At first I thought it was a rather cute picture but when you really look at it, its much of an upset. I was told that this was a reflection on the culture of the modern society. Everyone's toonie expressions looks like they've got the blues. The highlighted one might be a reflection of loneliness. Loneliness is a norm in this current day of life compared to our fathers' days. Could technology be to blame? The colour blue maybe depicting the blurring of boundaries between self and the people around. Questioning about society would be what everyone is thinking.

3rd times the charm baby

2008-06-30T22:27:00.000+12:00

I've shut down 2 blogs over the years and lets just hope I can stick to this one. Here is something romantic for you to read, a friend of mine who is staying in Chiba (not-bumble-fucking-no-where), Japan sent it to me.

p/s: Its 'They call me CK' NOT 'They call Meck'

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