Day Before Tomorrow

Hey everyone. I'm kinda nervous and excited at the same time. I mean, I can't just seem to sit still anymore...much less concentrate on work.

Imagine by this time tomorrow I would be in Bangkok...to switch planes and off to LA. I don't know what to think...I don't know what to expect...I don't know what to do. I feel as if there is a million things to do and I've done them all but I have this naggy feeling that I'm forgetting something.

Don't you just hate that feeling?

Things are changing at work and I can't wait to see what the changes are and how it's gonna affect us all. I mean, I've stayed with this company for 5yrs now and day in, day out, I see the same thing over and over again. The only thing that break the monotony are the customers.

5 years...

Wow, that's a long time but I nvr realised it. I wonder where I would be in another 5 years time? I will surely be with the same group of friends I have now. Imagine. Iaman would be 6yrs old then and a holy terror. XD Danish would be 5yrs old and follow after Iaman. Both of them up to gawd knows what.

Rozi just got back from a trip to Berlin. She get to see the left overs of the Berlin wall and a life sized giraffe. She even got to meet Jim Lee!!! The guy who did Wild C.A.T (oh, I loved that cartoon so much that I drew fan art of it), worked on Uncanny X-Men and X-Men, Fantastic Four, Batman and Superman. ARGH! JIM freaking LEE!



Alright! I googled up the events that are gonna be in Florida while I'm there. Out pops, Anime SUPERcon. Aha! Supercon again. I scanned the guests who are gonna be there and guess what? They are starring STEVE CARDENAS! STAR OF MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS as ROCKY "THE RED RANGER" (1994-1996)



*spew blood and faints*

Aw, come on! *sighs*

Seriously though, they got some pretty impressive ppl there as well. Such as Tiffany Grant, voice actress. She starred in anime memorables such as Neo Genesis Evangelion, Chorono Crusage and Fullmetal Alchemist. Another big name in the con is April Stewart, also voice actress. She starred in South Park, and did the voices of Liane Cartman, Sharon Marsh, Mrs.McCormick, The Mayor, etc, etc, etc. There is also Chris Ayres, voice actor of Gantz. (I love Gantz, the comic ver.)

Not sure if I would have the time to go to the con but I'll try to make it. I mean it's my first con, it would really be a great experience.

So people, wish me luck in my training and hope that I will ace the whole thing without screwing up (well, at least not too badly.)

~KYAH!~ Over and out!

Guess What?

You know… I never would have thought that I would be picked for such a thing.

What thing?

The training thing.

What training thing?

The training in Fort Lauderdale, FLORIDA, USA.

Oh-my-gawd!

Yeah that’s what first popped up in my mind too.

Yeah, the company is sending me to the states for training. I would have never thought something like this would happen. I mean yeah, I have been bitching for years now about how outdated our training material was and how we desperately need some retraining. I guess all that bitching paid off, eh?

Okay, here are the details.

I leave Brunei on the Nov 25th and then transit through Thailand and California. (Argh! Hollywood! I hope I can see the sign when I pass through.)

It’s not all fun and games of course. We will be arriving at our destination around 5AM Monday morning, on THE SAME DAY when our training starts at 9AM. OMG! >_< That means we’re gonna try catching as much snooze as possible in the 14hr flight from Thai to Cali. Plus this is an absolute one-in-a-life-time chance and I for one am not gonna screw it up. The ppl at the office makes sure of that as well, as they arranged meetings with me based on budget and business planning.

Ah, accounting is like the 7th level of hell. Thank gawd I took POA in Form 5 and Business Computing in Focus.

We’re staying at the Westin Hotel. I don’t know much about it except that it’s a very health conscious hotel catered towards business men/women. The place looks nifty. It’s only 15 mins away from the local Borders. (Argh! Books! Must control, only get what I usually can’t get in Brunei and Malaysia.)

The training will last 7 days and it’s a shame that we leave immediately after. *sigh* I mean there’s the Miami beach, Seaworld and Disneyland! (Although I am more inclined towards visiting Seaworld than Disneyland, dunno why.) Well, at least we get the nights off. Good enough to let us go roaming around, try out the night life. Oh, I just can’t wait. It’s just too bad they can’t extend our stay in Florida a bit longer. It turns out that if they change the flight schedule it would cost an extra thousand dollars. Woah…

The weather in the states shouldn’t be too bad though. I wiki-ed it and turns out its only cold during night time at 19°C. Mom is being a bit paranoid though. She wants me to take my cousin’s winter jacket, something she bought while she was studying in Englang. Wah lau le. =.=

Good news is that they allowed us to extend our stay in Bangkok when we switch on the way back. Provided we pay for our own accomodations of course.


Ah, four whole days in beautiful Bangkok.

I know everyone thinks of one thing when they think about Bankok.

Shopping!!!

(Okay, guys, stop snickering. I know there’s also SOMETHING ELSE everyone thinks about as well. Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on in that lopsided brain of yours.)

Anyway, there will be no shopping spree for me. Why? Well, several reasons really. You see, I have a trip to KL that I’ve been planning to go since July. So I’m saving up for that. It’s no fun to be broke during a trip, everyone knows that.

Another reason is that I know I’m gonna be exhausted both physically and mentally by then. I’ll need all the R&R I can get out of my little break in Bangkok. I’m talking about enjoying eateries, witnessing the sights and sounds, really relax to the max and just totally chill. (Ah…sounds like a panda or more like a sloth? Maybe more like a doped up monkey. Haha!)

Although, I’m definitely shopping the Christmas presents for my family in both USA and Thailand.

I’ll be staying most probably in the Diamond City Hotel. I’ve read some reviews and it sounds like a pretty good place. I don’t care much about the service or how many stars it’s got. I’m just concerned about security. I don’t want to come back and find some things MIA. *Choi! Choi!*

If anyone got any tips about travelling, pls let me know. I’m sure when it comes to long flights and foreign countries I’m the most sakai of the Sakains from Sakai Island.

Selamat Hari Raya!

Dunno why I like joining in their festivities so much. I guess it’s because somehow it reminded me of my childhood years. You see, during the Chinese New Year, it would always be a big fuss. My aunts would make cakes and biscuits with my grandmother (Father’s side).

There would be endless shopping for decorations, new clothes and foods. Eveythough everybody was busy to the max but everyone enjoyed them. Then on the first day of Chinese New Year, all the relatives could come to my grandmother’s house and we would hang out there the whole day and play fire crackers at night.

That’s what I miss the most.

Ever since my grandmother died, relatives have less and less reason to drop by the house to say hello. Who could blame them? Especially when my dad disappears to go fishing and mom goes off to Merudi for the first few days of CNY. Which is why last year I went to Miri with my mom, it’s more festive there but I still miss visiting all my cousins.

I promised my other grandmother (Mother’s side) that I would be in Merudi for the next coming CNY. That is, if my mother and siblings are going too, she can’t expect me to go alone, does she? The boat ride alone from Miri to Merudi is tiring as it is and noisy as hell too.

I didn’t realise I would be so occupied during the Raya season this year. I was confident that I would only be visiting Shikin’s house on the first day of raya and that’s it. Cuz my work place only close for the first day of Raya. I wasn’t planning on doing anymore than that.

Since Effy came back from KL I thought I would just drop by sometime and chit chat, spend time with Shikin also, since darling Danish keeps her house bound 24/7. And it was fun hanging out at their house helping out whatever.

Haha, instead of a normal chit chat, we surfed, traded guitar lessons, put up the new curtains, arranged the furniture. Macam macam ada.

The next day I visited, they were so busy that I ended up cutting cake and putting them in trays. Effy was also tired out, until she lost her temper on a modern broom. Haha! Poor girl was so tired (she only slept at 4am in the living room the previous night.) out that she threw the broom in frustration. Lol! First time I see someone frustrated over a broom. If can, I’ll buy for her a Harry Potter broom stick instead. But remember Effy, Sean Biggerstaff is mine. He’s Andrew’s father you know.

But it was all fun throughout the Raya week. Until mom asked where I’ve been cuz she hardly sees me at home. Haha, even Shikin’s dad joked to his relatives, “There’s the chinese daugther I adopted.” Ai, uncle, from where did you pick me up then? Aku ni dari sampah mana kan? (omg, come to think of it, there’s a huge dumpster around that area too!)

At least uncle’s joke is better than his own daughter. Shikin lagi tah, called me “Amah Shanghai.” Boleh. At first she called me ‘Amah Guang Zao’.
Then I dunno why I replied, “Eh, my ancestors not from Guang Zao ah, they are from Shanghai le.”
Ok, why not? She immediately changed my title to ‘Amah Shanghai’. Not much improvement there. *sigh*

Dammit, for all this I go through, she better freaking give a generous, big fat green packet of ‘duit raya’ to Andrew.

I think it was also partly because Shikin’s grandmother was telling me a little about the past. That back in Shell’s glory days, all the ang moh employees had shiny cars, lived in the bungalows or the Canadian houses and all of them had employed Cantonese maids in white uniforms and long braids. Dun play play, these Cantonese maids could speak good enligsh yo. Haha.

Man, I love talking to old people.They have such interesting stories to tell.

Whatever May Be, May Be ~

I’ve been transferred to the Seria branch for two months now and I can tell you so far, it’s been real peaceful and quiet. I enjoy the time I get to spend with my family. The stupid arguments I have once a week at least with my brother.

Mom and I somehow have come to a truce of some sort. If I don’t mess up her kitchen and she doesn’t butt into my personal business, then all is well. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I dislike talking with mother, but she has way of speaking to me as if she was throwing verbal daggers laced with poisonous sarcasm. I know she doesn’t mean to speak like that with her children. Mom is just never comfortable with showing her emotions. Between the bluntness, the sarcasm, the critisms, she genuinely cares. I’ve come to understand that. However, that doesn’t mean I am an expert at dodging all her verbal daggers like Neo in Matrix.

Ah well, home isn’t home without her. Why even last week she and I made chocolate chips cookies together in a ‘mom and daughter team’ moment thing. It wasn’t unpleasant but I won’t be doing it any time soon though, it’s like making cookies with the last dowager empress of china. Terrified at the thought of a wrong word I could be sentenced to a death of a thousand cuts.

You know my brother and I have a code for when Mom is in a bad mood and starts scolding everyone till they turn black. We would say, “Careful, Mom keluar power today. Nag skill + 85% critical rate.” Man, we are really horrid children.

Oh yeah, while I am in KB, I read in the papers about the first Animal Shelter in Brunei. I can’t tell you how glad I was to find that people out there actually did something about it. You see, I’ve been reading forever in the papers in the opinion section about the complaints of the strays wandering around and breeding freely in public. Typical, a lot of people wrote in about the problem but no one has taken the intiative. Finally now I see that there is someone in Brunei who genuinely cared enough to do something about it. I joined their worthy cause and they tell me that they need more help in BSB than in KB. So I will report in for duty when I return to the capital. They need a lot of help so volunteers are always welcomed.

Speaking of pets, I got a friend who has quiet a few pets but no worries about abandament there cuz those are quality purebred dogs. The latest addition and my favourite is Cola, the American Cockerel Spaniel. I’ve always been partial to cockerel spaniels from the early days of watching Lady and the Tramp. Cola is really an adorable whirlwind of puppy flesh. I love his floppy ears but I’ve read somewhere that they need careful handling and proper care esp those ears cuz that’s where bacteria breeds most.

Also, speaking of careful handling and proper care, I’m happy to announce that Shikin gave birth to a lovely baby boy. Danish Daniel (DD for short) is just coming to a month old and he’s the cutest, most capi capi, adorable little munchkin. Pat, Shikin and I were talking baby stuff (well, they were, my last exp with raising a baby was 10 yrs ago.) and Pat suggested they both bring their boys out go Raya visiting together. But then what about me le? Nvm, can also, I bring Andrew! Who is Andrew? My baby la! 100% cotton yo. Made in China again. Steady le? *lol*

Sigh, it seems just a while ago I was blogging about Shikin and Pat’s weddings…and now I’m talking about their babies. Pural some more! Aiyah, makes me feel so old la, friends getting married and having tiny tots. Wait, dun get the wrong idea. I don’t feel like having a tiny tot myself or anything like that. Goodness no. Not yet anyway. What I meant was that I was feeling a little sad and nostalgic of how time flew right out of my hand just like that. I don’t know where I am anymore. I am in the present but it feels like my heart is in the past while my mind is on the future.

Que sera sera?

Haiz ~ Monotony

Everyday is the same. I wake up, shower, have my cup of coffee, get dressed and go to work. It doesn’t matter if I was on morning shift or afternoon’s shift because I always just wake up enough time to just get ready for work. XD

After work I would go online, chat with my friends from Ragnarok or Magic the Gathering. Download manga to read whenever I’m bored at work.

There are only two restaurants I go to near work and I’m such a regular there that they know what I like. If its mamak, then it’s always the ‘the tarik, roti kosong with telur mata lembu.’ If it s the Trader Inn restaurant, then its always coffee. Food is optional in that one cuz I only like their noodles and the vinegar chilli.

Then I go home, shower, take a cig and watch a movie or the numerous series that are available. American, Korean, Japanese. Three countries producing endless streams of action, drama and comedy.

Heroes, house, prison break, ugly Betty, black adder. Sassy girl, my lovely samsoon, my girl. Not to mention the endless Anime stretching to high heaven. Naruto, Ghost Hunt, Code Gaess, Claymore, Full metal alchemist.

The list just goes on and they have seasons again.

Which is good because lately I haven’t been sleeping well, which is ridiculous because I always drink strawberry milk before sleeping and its common knowledge that milk helps to induce sleep.

I would be in my bed staring at my ceiling fan thinking, “why is there's a fan on the ceiling when I got an air con? Is that my reflection from the metal hub of the fan?” Then I moved my foot, “Hey, it is my reflection!” …

At least I’m not short of entertainment.

The other night I switched off all the lights including my floor lamp. (I like to leave that on usually, well, for the ambiance. No, that’s a lie! I leave them on because I have a vivid imagination especially when I can’t sleep. Which is one reason why I don't watch scary movies alone at night, because I tend to replay them in my head over and over again esp in the dark.)

So there I was, in the dark, when suddenly James Brown’s ‘Play that funky music white boy’ popped up in my head.

Spent that night with ‘Friends’ season 9. Ross is so nerdy cute.

Welcome To My Life

by Simple Plan

Do you ever feel like breaking down?
Do you ever feel out of place?
Like somehow you just don't belong
And no one understands you
Do you ever wanna run away?
Do you lock yourself in your room?
With the radio on turned up so loud
That no one hears you screaming





No you don't know what it's like
When nothing feels all right
You don't know what it's like
To be like me





To be hurt
To feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like
Welcome to my life





Do you wanna be somebody else?
Are you sick of feeling so left out?
Are you desperate to find something more?
Before your life is over
Are you stuck inside a world you hate?
Are you sick of everyone around?
With their big fake smiles and stupid lies
While deep inside you're bleeding





No you don't know what it's like
When nothing feels all right
You don't know what it's like
To be like me





To be hurtTo feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like
Welcome to my life





No one ever lied straight to your face
And no one ever stabbed you in the back
You might think I'm happy but I'm not gonna be okay
Everybody always gave you what you wanted
You never had to work it was always there
You don't know what it's like, what it's like





To be hurt
To feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like (what it's like)






To be hurt
To feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around






To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like
Welcome to my life
Welcome to my life
Welcome to my life

Where Did the Little Girl Go?

When I was a school girl I’ve always planned my actions. I would map out what I would do or what class I would attend afterschool or when I’m gonna save enough for an item.

Sometimes I miss that girl. She also has this large blue folder that acts as an organizer since she was primary 6 and continued using it till she graduated form 5.

She also had a cute calender filled with birthdays, exams and other important events of the year. She was also quiet a pack rat. There’s like 6 shoe boxes filled with junk locked in her closet.

How I wish that girl is here with me right now. She would know what to do, when to visit the museums and library of the capital, where and what to eat and she would never be late for work.

I bet she would have recorded in their diary on how living alone without friends or family aroudn has taken its toll on her. How the four bare walls in her room made her felt claustrophobic.

She would wonder who would bring her chicken ginger porridge when she is sick and who would worry about her if she never returned home from the night before.

A few times she wished there was someone with her when she cruised the capital at night enjoying the beautiful night lights reflected in the waters of kampung Ayer.

Thinking how monotonous her job is and only a steady stream of customers would make her shift go a little faster.

She loves her independence but the freedom has made her numb. There is no school to go to her shifts are forever changing so she seldom plans for anything more than which days to sleep in and when to do her laundry.

Well, basically there's not much for her to do now anymore.

Should I go for more activities? Maybe meeting new people is always an exciting thing but its not kindergarden anymore. It’s not like I could share the same sandbox with someone new and we instant become friends.

I can’t stand superficial people and do you know how many are they roaming the capital? Lots!

You can toss a stone into a crowd and hit no less than 3. At Chills or at Dome, they are there, ready to judge.

So yeah, no sandbox for them. Thank you very much.

Its hard to make new friends. Friends I can trust, friends I can hang out and laugh about the same stuff with. I’m not that all easy to get along sometimes. I mean sometmies I lose my temper and sometimes I tend to put my foot in my mouth and a lot of times I tend to overreact (yeah, drama queens would love me.)

God, I miss my pals back in KB. Effy, Shikin and Pat, guys, I can’t wait to see you all again.

ANIME REVIEW

Title: GHOST HUNT
Episodes : 1 – 25
Rated: 7.5/10

Taniyama Mai, a young energetic 1st year student who has a passion for the supernatural and horror stories, accidentally injured a strange person while she was snooping around an old haunted school building. The person turned out to be the assistant of Shibuya Kazuya, head of the Shibuya Psyhic Research. Since he turned out to be such a narcisstic, arrogant and cold, he was thus nick named by Mai, ‘Narcisstic Naru-Chan’.

For some reason she was convinced to work in place of the injured (sprained ankle) assistant. They are joined by the following spiritual specialists.

Takigawa Houshou, a monk or more precisely hakaisou (a monk who left his, er, monkly duties?) from Mt.Kouya. Incidentally Mt.Kouya is a place in Japan that is considered to be scared and holy, with powerful spiritual essence. That’s why monks from there are revered and considered to be the real deal.

Matsuzaki Ayako, a miko (Shrine Maiden), and was immediately questioned by the rather arrogant Kazuya on her authenticity. I would too, because I’ve always thought shrine maidens are young pure innocent virgin girls. She looks a bit too saucy and ‘mature’ to be a genuine miko.

John Brown, an Australian priest specializing in exorcism. Why John Brown? If they added John Smith, it couldn’t be more typical example of a western name. John Brown… seriously although I liked this character more than the others. I don’t know why. Maybe I have a thing for priests? *sweat*

Hara Masako, a spirit channeler. This character is just about as narcisstic and arrogant as Naru-chan himself, so it’s not suprising when she shows signs of attraction towards Shibuya Kazuya himself.

Lin, (for those who understand chinese, plz don’t make fun of Lin’s name or else he’ll become tu lan lin) the capable assistant of Naru-chan. Later in the series you will see what his skills really are when it comes to the paranormal.

The concept is simple, they are like detectives and people hire them to solve unexplained mysteries and occurances.

Basically the whole series is a collection of ghostly or paranormal cases presented and solved by the Shibuya Psyhic Research. The overall quality of the animation is passable and not very original when it comes to character designs but this just sets the stage for the extraordinary storyline. The script is written well and leaves little room for further questioning as each story is revealed.

If you liked the ghost stories you use to hear about as a kid, I’m sure you’ll find that the Japanese animates your inner child well.

For further info here’s the wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Hunt_%28anime%29

Where Have I been?

It’s been a while since I last blogged. Well, more than a while even. I didn’t even finish blogging about my trip to KL last year which I felt was getting a bit draggy.

The only thing left worth mentioning was the trip to Genting Highlands which was very cold and very interesting. I got an ang pow there thanks to Uncle Lim. Hehehe. There are several rules to abide to when one is at the casino (it’s nothing james bond about it, no tux, no cocktails, but got free milo) that is not to stand behind anyone looking at their hand, not to make noise or bump or ask “why he do that for?”. Seriously, some people who go there to gamble are really into it, don’t play play. Also absolutely no picture taking allowed, unless you want to be escorted to the VIP back room for a little chat.

I loved the scenery in Genting Highlands though. Misty and wet, even the vegetation changed somewhat to more fern than flora. Overall, it was a nice trip,

There are no excuses for my long absence, just that I took a needed break from the blogsphere. All the loading of the pics, thinking of what to type about even when I don’t even feel like typing anything at all is just taxing.

So here I am again after nearly 5 months to blog again. Nothing in particular though, just a few things here and there that I thought is worth mentioning.

The past few festivities were of nothing much worth mentioning. Christmas came and gone where I got a monkey figure & monkey cup from my family. Grandma came to Brunei from Merudi and we all went out to take pictures at the NBT display. New year’s eve I spent alone at the hostel toasting to the dawn of a new year with vodka ice and a fruit cocktail dessert.

Chinese New Year was more interesting when I decided to join mum to go Miri to visit my relatives there along. Grandma was there, active as ever, chatting away with us all. I visited my uncle’s new house which is pretty nice but looks exactly the same as all the others in the neighbourhood. What can I say, suburban development. Sure wasn’t easy to find his house.

One thing that makes it worth going all the way to Miri to spend CNY is the fireworks. Oh, the fireworks. It was amazing. Maybe I’ll go again next year.

Other than all that, there’s really nothing much interesting been happening to me lately. I miss my friends in KB terribly and I don’t hang out late as much as I use to. I just stay cooped up inside my room playing PS2 games most of the time. Even my RO time has taken a step back since I no longer plan my own shifts and that I cannot play RO in the shop anymore. (Not with my exec around and online 24/7 on her laptop. *sigh*)

I don’t go online after 12 usually because there isn’t a phone line in the hostel at my disposal. So yeah, socially in real life and online, everything just kinda took a step backwards. Only now I have a car. I just go back and forth from work and that’s it. I don’t have that many friends in Bandar as I used to. So yeah…it kinda made me wonder how I survived those two years living in BSB without a car. *heh*

Anyway, I’ve been meaning to get back into blogging action so look forward to more posts in the future. ^_^

Window Shoping : Lady Knife's Way of Lepak-ing

Hmm, nothing much happened on that particular Wednesday. I woke up around 10 at a silent house…ah, everyone is either at work or busy doing their own thing.

“Today I’ll be travelling to KLCC on my own for the first time! *Determined look* Yes, you can do it!”

After washing my laundry, I went of lala-ling outside. Don’t worry, Quin left me the house spare keys, so I wasn’t locked in and I could lock the doors when I go out ...unlike my own uncle from Canada who once stayed with my family, locked his own nephew and niece in their own house after escaping with the spare house keys while they were asleep. *swt* Not funny you know, we were locked upstairs and the toilets were downstairs.

One thing I noticed about Quin’s neighbourhood was it reminds me of those alley ways you see sometimes when you watch Japanese anime or movies. They were narrow and populated with kitties all over. I wouldn’t mind living in a place like that, friendly and safe, even with a park and school nearby.

Okay, other than being accident prone, I’m also a person who has no sense of direction whatsoever. When I wanted to look for the Malaysian Embassy to get my visa done, it took me an hour to get remotely close to the area then for some reason I ended up at Hua Ho in Muara. *swt* I went an entire circle and didn’t even reach anywhere near the embassy. In the end because I was such a lost cause and there wasn’t much time, I asked my uncle for help. *sigh* So much for trying to be independent.

So this time, I really tried my best and paid full attention the night before when Quin showed me where to go and what to do.

Right, see the large LRT station. Get ticket, go wait for the LRT and then board all the way to KLCC.

I think it was about 6 stops?

Finally reached my destination, hee, what to do, what to do? It was lunch time, so how about some lunch? I picked up a chicken and mushroom pie, got my trusty bottle of water and spent the next hour or so munching and day dreaming at the fountain.

Some of the pictures I’ve taken here turned out quiet nice.

Then it started to rain. Bugger. I couldn’t take any more pics. Oh well, what else is there better to do when it’s raining outside and I’m stuck inside a building full of branded bags & blings? Kinokuniya! ^_^




Hey, I’m not so hopelessly addicted to Kino la, this time I went there with a true purpose! To purchase ‘Thank you’ gifts! I don’t know about other people but I just don’t feel nice when I don’t get a little something for friends who have been so (maybe too) kind to me on this trip. I was thinking of a bottle of wine at first but then I don’t know enough about it to be able to choose a nice one. So, what do I know best about? Books of course! ^_^

So since I’m alone I picked this opportunity to hunt for the right books. After I found the right ones, I spent the rest of the afternoon lepak-ing and reading comic books. Most of the books are sealed but there are always some lying about free for all to browse through. Ah ~ I spent an afternoon in bookwormy bliss.


Later I returned the same way I came back. Wah! The train was packed to the max! Of course to the KL people it’s the norm but not for me! The last time I felt so smushed between people in a small compartment was when I was in Singapore’s MRT at 6pm.

Finally, I reached Quin’s place, then quickly showered, packed my overnight stuff (cuz I was going to stay over night at Spire’s place) and stashed the books somewhere.

PB, Quin and I then went for woe. Sorry I can’t remember much now about what happened at woe that day, except that it was fun and we got two castles, I think, Gary went and took the emp at Pron 333 at the very last few seconds.

Then at night, they sent me to Spire’s place to stay overnight. There I met her cousin (Spire – Sorry that I forgot your cousins name) and had a preview of her latest cosplay costume. (It’s sweet I tell ya. Sometimes I wish I can cosplay also. Haiz. But that would only scare people.) Then after I read a comic she had lying about, I immediately went to sleep.

Coming up – My Hobo Holiday at Pyramid.

To Be Continued…

The Perfect Storm

I remember that morning I woke up around 6 something because it was too hot in the room to continue sleeping comfortably. During my stay there, the fan in the room broke down for unknown reasons. Heck, I didn’t even verbally abuse it. It just gave out this pathetic sputter of life before it died. Since it was my last nite in the apartment, I couldn’t be bothered with complaining about it to the receptionist.

Looked outside from the balcony for a moment, the sun was still sleepy also and the sea water just looked tempting. It made me felt like visiting the beach one last time because it was our last day in Penang. Thing is everyone was sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake them up, so instead, I try to go to go back to sleep in the living room. It turned out to be too cold there, back to the room, then too hot, then back to the living, too cold, and so I alternated until it was 10 in the morning when Sala said I looked like I had a hang over.

-_-"

We all got busy packing up everything and getting stuff down into the cars. Then it was off for some breakfast. This time I ordered the famous Penang Prawn Mee. Sorry I didn’t take a picture of it this time, I was too hungry and it was too delicious. Heh.


The trip back to KL was kinda somber partly because everyone was kinda tired and because Penang decided to bid us farewell with a perfect storm. It rained heavily most of the way to KL where it only got worse, with thunder and lightning all over. At one time I was seriously scared ok, cuz the lightning was so close and the thunder was booming everywhere.

We all headed straight for dinner at EuroDeli where I was so tired I hardly remember what we talked about that time, was very blur. Then we finally reached home. Quin took me out again though, for a quick stop at HSBC and to show me where the LRT is and how to use it to go to Kino-, er, I mean KLCC. This is because the next day Quin and everyone else would be busy working liao and I would be left to my own devices. Heh.

Returned to her house and we managed to catch up on zzzs.

To Be Continued…

Play Play In Penang

I woke up around 10 something to see, of all things, people playing RISK. After a quick shower, a group of us went off to visit the beach at the Rasa Sayang Hotel.

I saw a lot going on the beach, there were some japanese folks sun bathing, some guy was parasailing (eee...parasailing...I wonder if I would have enough guts to do that one day.), there were also this lady learning to do tai chi from this old fella (I presume one of the hotel employees) and there were even people set up some kind of tent to provide foot &/or back massages.

Penang beach was kinda pretty cuz it glitters a bit from tiny pebbles. There was also boulders…I don’t know what’s my sakai fascination with the boulders on the beach. I guess my imagination subconsciously assumed that all boulders protruding from the waters has something mystical about it, something that’s just sitting there, begging to be explored. I mean who knows right? Maybe eons eons EONS ago a mermaid sat on one of these boulders while all her pretty mermaid friends swam and played around.

Okay, that may have been a tad overboard, heh, I mean if it’s long, long, long ago the boulder prolly was still part of a cliff or something.

The sand is very different from Brunei sand, ours are soft and powdery whereas Penang sand is kinda rough and exfoliates while you joyfully burrow your feet into it. It has more feel to it I guess. I wouldn’t mind being buried from the neck down in that sand, no need spa lo, 100% natural.

Still, have to be careful where you step, cuz joy of all joys there are horses on them beaches. A ride on them was about RM40 which was no fun since mostly what you do is sit on them while they lead the horse around by the halter. Bo-ring! Hee, I would rather ride the horse on a full gallop right down the beach, and perhaps break my neck along the way. XD Sadly though, the horses looked thin and malnourished even though they were all sporting shiny coats and a full mane. Cicak kinda got stuck on top of one. Hee Hee.

After visiting the beach, we had breakfast at one of the many cafes along the road. I dunno if I was hungry or what, but it was one of best omeletes I had in a long time. I love trying out omeletes in new places that serve them. I like to think a simple omelets can tell the diner a lot about the chef who made it. What I don’t like is the French fries. Why do people always serve French fries with omeletes? A toast would be nice or even a salad maybe, but French fries for breakfast? Meh.

Afternoon we all head out for lunch. Penang chow kuay teow wasn’t at all what I expected. I love chow kuay teow, next to kolo lau shu fen and kway chat soup, so I was kinda looking forward to it. Turns the Penang chow kuay teow is a lot of chow, little soy sauce and lots of little extras like mussles and small prawns. Keeps the meal interesting I guess.

Quin ordered laksa for herself but she let me have a bit of taste. Oh, that one taste was as good as it smells. I’m actually salivating from the memory.

Okay, that green drink right there, I have no idea what it is. I think it was either nutmeg or guava, or both, I dunno. The fella asked me what I wanted to drink first in hokkien then I went something like “Huh?” in mandarin, then the fella kindly repeated what he said in mandarin and I was like “Huh?” again. In my head though, I was thinking, “Siap!” I heard something like suan mei in there somewhere so I said, “Er, suan mei…” The man nodded and disappeared into the back of the café. What just happened? A few minutes later he brought my drinks along with the others. *sweat* It was green with one sad looking 'suan mei' blobbling in it.

I knew I should’ve ordered something simple like cendol or barley. Thing is they put black sugar or gula melaka in their cendol so it’s something I just haven’t gotten used to just yet. The cendol I usually have at Simpur KB contains syrup, not black sugar…although some of them do but I always request them not to…like I said, I haven’t gotten used to the taste of it yet.

We went biscuit hunting after that. Terror some of the shops there I tell you, a simple biscuit shop with a nice looking lau pan in front can also sell a shopping catalogue displaying the latest in samurai swords and katana. Steady la.

After we secured a few boxes of biscuits, we all went off to spend the afternoon at a shopping plaza. Again don’t ask me where it was, cuz I have no idea. Poor PB had this ridiculous verbal misunderstanding with the basement parking ticket booth attendant. I think they need to re-educate that guy cuz he can’t seem to understand a bit of what PB was saying, in malay or otherwise. In fact, I don’t think the guy is registering that someone is speaking to him at all. He could be an android repeating the same words over and over in his built in recorder. Then the smart fella, who didn’t have enough change in his cashier to pay PB the balance, went off to the other booths to look for change. Good. Smart. Rajin. BUT, he left his cash register full of $$$ wide open. Good. Smart. Rajin. Employee of the month I tell you.

We were going bowling but then last minute changed to playing pool instead. I was kinda relieved, cuz I have no idea how to bowl and not really sure if I would like it, you know, that a clumsy, accident prone person like me, tossing a heavy dangerous object around. Not a good idea I tell you. Pool, I really like cuz I injure less people that way, including myself. You see there’s a lot of pool & snooker places around Brunei, so my friends and I spent many our college nights out in them. (Of course, always during our free time when there were no classes held, when exams were either over or not due and especially after we all finished our homework and assignments.) :P

So, when we’re done with that, we all went back to the apartment to shower or just relax. Then Sala and gang presented Pictionary the board game.

Omg, Pictionary…rofl. The rest is history. We spent a good hour or so laughing our heads off pointing at each others’ artistic monstrosity. Poor Eekie, she was already not feeling well at the start of the trip and there she is laughing so hard in her hoarse voice. But she couldn’t help laughing and neither could the rest of us. Haha. Even now while I’m typing this I’m still smiling at the memory. God, I have to get that game one day and have a go at it with my friends.

Memorable Artistic Highlights of Pictionary:-

‘Da Foot’ by Sala
‘Dic-tator’ by PB & Eekie
‘Down Under’ by Mareen (me)
‘West Monster’ by Quin
‘Accelerator’ by Mach
‘Dysfunctional Dolphin’ by Quin
‘Shark Dog’ by Gary
‘Air Rage’ by Eekie
‘Tedious Teddy’ by Spire

Sala has the original drawings and if he scans some of them, I will put them up in this entry but for now you will just have to use your imagination. ^_^

Only hunger drove us all out of the apartment and into Gurney for more hawker food. I will always remember the roasted chicken feet PB bought for me. Eeee, I want to go back and have some more. We also had one ton mien, (wan tan mien or what we call kolomee over here) where they fried their wan tan instead of boiling it.

Before you know it, it was already time to bid Pozart farewell. As Sala, Eekie, Spire and Gary sent Pozart home, PB and Quin decided to bring me to do some tourist-sy stuff. There’s a street where vendors would set up their stall and er, vend. There was some usual souvenir stuff like carved out wooden boxes or arts and craft things made in Penang. Then there were also some UNusual stuff there as well, samurai swords, short yakuza swords, copper knuckle dusters and even a tazer was for sale. Interesting, no?

Then the storm came. I tell you that was really a treat. To see the lights, from the little town area and the hotel, diffused and blurred by the rain…it’s really…something.

With all of us cozy inside the apartment, it called for a few more rounds of Pictionary. This time we were joined by Ben who is a hell of a guesser. Don’t know how he does it. He didn’t stay overnight though, but Gary did as he claimed the couch in the living room.

As Sala, PB and Ben started another round of RISK (they tried to convince me to play but first, I dunno how to play, second, I’m crap at rolling the dice and third, I was damn sleepy.) so Quin in the end took over while I went off to lala land.

To Be Continued…