a while ago,

what a week! the 'high' of being in HCMC still not fade and the bug to go travel and makan-makan hit us bad. until.. the credit card bills sobered me up.

i appreciate the dinner with this person and sorry to this person, aku lupa birthday kau. fail sungguh kawan kau ni. sorry.

i attended a full week (21-25/06) on 'ilmu-ilmu kedukunan'. i wish! (Bimbingan dan kaunseling) bah actually, (seeing ears, listening eyes). not my thing, but, in the end, i found it fascinating and well, i do love Simon Baker in the 'mentalist'. nah kan... macam dukun.

the dress

malam kebudayaan (26/06), i planned to wear the dress (tailored in HCMC~ mikirayou, because its bloody cheap) but, finally changed the plan. i settled for orang Ulu's traditional costume. (Di!, thanks for being my magician, less than 24 hours to get me one of those gorgeous costume! i cant thank you enough)

me

the 'date' with Noel and his 'mistresses?' (hahahhhah!) resulted on me knowing at least 2 of Ben's 10 Alien Forces (Heatblast and Fourarms). (Noel, aunty promise to memorize all 10)(Di, dont you think we need serious education upgrade?- you, google up V3. hahahah!)

and i'm glad i bought this. A story, in a story, in a story, of a story. (Dickens' story, in Watt's, in Matilda's by Jones). i only can think of 'Blood Diamond' (the film) to match the horror and deep, deep fear it potrayed.

the book

"phooing" session

pho bo

i love pho

good guide

kaibigans

definitely will come back to Saigon. good food. friendly people. warm city. cheap cotton. great nightlife.

5 days, and i'm in love.

Be Radical, Love Green

a friend who work at mineral and geoscience department will shun me for this post. (i knew for fact, he loves coal and mineral hunting..so, sorry in advance, mate)

chance upon Farish A. Noor's "what your techer didn't tell you-the annexe lectures vol.1". interesting, provocative and stimulating. i dont entirely agree with some of his opinion, but, its his book. his says. (after all, his articles are havily padded with back up literature-- evidence enough to tell, he knew what he's talking)

honestly, i picked up the book because i need inspiration to write my PTK essay, which is due 17th this month. and i only have today and tomorrow for the 'groundwork'. wednesday, i'll be away for a 'phooooooooooooing' session with my sista!

this morning, i'm still leafing through this book (still nothing for my PTK essay..). googling Farish, (o! so he's a radical), ended up here and here

the 2nd here is the story that will irritate that good friend of mine. the coal plant proposal in Sinakut, LD, Sabah. my initial decision is to go against. (as i am for excessive making of hydroelectric dams in Sarawak).

in the long run, NO COAL MINE in Sabah will benefit the state much more. read the borneo post article about the alternatives. and.. no, i wont give you the link fo Najib's blog in 1malaysia website. go search for it. (he made interesting comment tho)

Sabah kita bah ini. kita punya.

mid year

we're having our 2 days off for Gawai celebration. reread Frank McCourt "Angela's Ashes", found a lot in common with Andrea Hirata's "Sang Pemimpi". both are semi-autobiography, of their early days, poverty, hardship and aspiration to make a better living.

McCourt of Limerick's slum and drunkard, useless father. him, presenting his faith (birth control, the church's control, --you really need to read the book to understand the nauseating helpless i felt for him--) and his way of getting the fare to USA (as a telegram boy at post office and some other odd jobs)

Hirata of small island (pulau belitong) in between west kalimantan and Java island (Indonesia). here he showed his background of 'sekolah pondok', presenting his faith (people resisting the traditional schooling system and opted for structured schooling system--which is for me, a better option--) and his journey to Jakarta, and eventually to Sorbonne (he worked at a post office in Bogor as a postman to pay for his univ tuition fee)

both are inspirational. just, when we thought, we have had enough hardship. mine, are certainly nothing in comparison to those two. relatively speaking, i'll vote McCourt for a nastier childhood. by just reading his book, i cried for hours. i cant imagine how he lived through.

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i'm reading Mark Haddon "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time". ya. another reread. lack of good reading material. i'll be in KL next week. hope i can find some books at a flea market. and hopefully a wonderful holiday with my kaibigans.

my patchwork top cover almost done. i've yet to buy a fabric for the backcover. (not too happy, the colour coordinations not really to my liking. i dont have fabric with solid colour!) (hahhah! 3 negative statements). but, its my first, hand-stitched patchwork. (reason enough to make me happy)

my living room smell wickedly of lavender. i sooooo love! and decided, its a lavender room. theme colours: lilac, pink, brown, white and green.

no picture. my camera not with me.