Gaya Hidup Sihat

one of the best thing living in Kuching is the abundance of fresh produces at the wet market. while in Batu 7 we have our own large daily wet market, boasting to have the freshest seafood in Kuching area and used to be the center to buy any pork related items (and that include pekasam!), a special weekend gateway is still Pasar Satok. and i heart the market with all my being.

to those planning to visit Kuching, please include a saturday and sunday in the itinerary. Pasar Satok open by late afternoon, friday and go on until sunday noon.

on my last visit (2 weeks back), i found this!

these herb grew in abundant in an any clearing off the edge of our tagad (huma/ hill paddy patch) when i was a kid. the flowers akin to flower of passionfruit (smaller in size). the leaves are smelly (really pungent) and we ate the mature fruits (whenever we managed to beat the birds to it). i never knew the young leaves to be edible. but, in Sarawak, they cook it with belacan (maybe the way we cook kangkung belacan). i was tempted to try (its RM1 per large bunch), but, didnt as i dont really have time to indulge in that experiment that week (need to read lots for an interview, plus no energy co creativity, too nervous for the interview). i am all into eating wild herbs (think of the non-pesticide advantage).

i am fueled up to do some curious herbs searching sometime soon (not this weekend, sadly). KKM, with all the sensitivity aside decided to launch gaya hidup sihat campaign on the holiest weekend in Christians calendar with gazetted holiday in Sarawak. gaya hidup sihat! my foot!

p/s anyone know the name of this herb? share it.

dreamylike

en route KK-Lawas. early dawn. the view was sobbingly spectacular.

Happy Birthday Jane!

Happy Birthday, Jane. the leading role in the pics. You have been amazing to all of us. and you deserve all happiness in the world. God bless.

golombon*

Jen, Dawn, Me, Juvi, Popong, Fread

[i like this picture, because somehow, i got a dimple (and i love dimple, instantly freshen up a look) which is not actually a dimple. it's a laughline (positive) or a deepen premature wrinkle (very..very negative)] on our recent visit Downunder. for more pictures of us, go to her

i tried not to compare the place with ours, because it'd be really unfair. it's an expensive place to live in, eating out everyday is out of question. even at the sloppiest fast food joint. but, how can one not fall in love with a place where even a construction workers spend sometime off their lunch time reading?, and where books are waaaaaay cheaper than a cuppa? their waiting area at airports are almost like a library, people read while waiting for their flights. its a culture, we must aspire to adopt.

Personally, i'm still short of 20 books to read to reach my annual bookreads of 54. reading will not make us any smarter then those who doesnt, or make us any better than the non-reader. but, reading certainly broaden up perspective and with that, better understanding of others and oneself. and i guess, that's how we armed our self to face the world.

my students are still away for their mid-term holiday. the office is quieter than usual, many of my muslim colleagues are still on holidays. truthfully, i miss my kids and colleagues. the holiday was great. Australia is a lovely country. i'll go again next year maybe (Perth). but, right now, nothing will settle me better than normal classes to attend and the mundane tasks of tending to my kids.

advice for Malaysian visiting Australia, please dont bother applying for a room at Malaysian Hall Melbourne (they still exist? they didnt reply to our numerous e-mails and phone calls and faxes). and i also dont recommend staying at Malaysian Hall Sydney (something should be done there, the place looks really rundown). but, at least MH Sydney replied to our enq promptly. and the students squatting there are mostly polite. with one exception for the golombon* kid. haiya... teda orang ambil gambar kah si golombon?

*fat/overweight

p/s: astaga.. makin golombon plak sy lepas cuti-cuti ni

SX

A boy was performing his freedom of expression at the bank of Melinau River, Mulu.

story:

he was in the river, but, seeing us approaching, he climbed on the boat, perched, put on a smile and flaunted his agile small body. i was giggling like maniac (i was at the front of the boat, so i noticed everything in front, first and it was an honour to get a free show such as this) and hurriedly took my camera from a strapped bag, just in time to captured this blurry image. good for him (and me).

by the way, along the river, in the afternoon, the Punan community have their cool bath. so, really, there're more scenic views than this flamboyant little boy, but, i, of course was polite enough to respect their privacy.

in the Dusun culture, taking picture of woman bathing in the river (without permission) is a serious offense and punishable under the sogit* law

sogit* = local law

#1 honeymoon spot: Mulu National Park

ya, i was there last weekend

to see him

and his family

with my colleagues (me, apai jang, nyonya, is)

not on a honeymoon of course, but, this would be my first pick for honeymoon venue (no doubt).

i'm packing my whole family (9 adults) to this place. robbing the bank to fund the flight tix and thinking of going to the along for other expenses. i know, the place wont dissapoint.

for those with doubt (of thinking of going but not really sure what to expect), log onto their website
send e-mail to them. they patiently answered all my e-mails (about 9 in all, i kept e-mailing them since january until june with macam-macam soalan) and secured the booking of our accomodation. i think, this is the best kept national park in the country. neat without being too showy.

pictures from the wedding

my fave pic from the wedding

ooo! never mind the P sticker on the car

ooo! look at the ruffles and the feather fan

ooo! not the most synchronize dance, but it was fun. purposely donned the selipar jepun to show uniformity?

good looking couple

as promised, pictures from the wedding we attended. the bride is a cousin from our mom's side. (we're closer to the cousins on our dad's side). i should watermark my pictures, i know.

vegetable stall near Bundu Tuhan junction, Ranau

i heard rumor of jalan KK-Ranau notuhan* again. a friend who did her masters on types of soils surrounding Ranau-Kundasang highlands aptly named the loose soil as tanah sumurong, literally means soil that move. and yet, the Environmental department approved on building up a posh hotel nearby Kinabalu National Park (but of course they can afford all those expensive safety measures, right?). they're messing the landscape of Kundasang town (much to my dismay)

i just hope, our favourite vegetables stall (near Bundu Tuhan junction) will still be there for many years to come, to remind me of my root, the hardship we endure and the comfort of knowing where i belong.

i miss home badly.

*notuhan = landslide

Youtube rules!

Caution! please dont click on the links provided if you are in a melancholic mood. These links are super-inducer to melancholism.

Jason Mraz: You and I Both

Mercy Me: Homesick

and Eva Cassidy, O! she's amazing! Song bird, Fields of Gold

and this. (i dont have TV, so i dont really follow Glee. but, i do know about their existence).

and to provide some balance in this somehow sappy post. go to this blog.

and this: keep on appearing in my mind

what's that? Elephant?

Edmund's Elephant

During the weekend, i read (finally finished) Othello and re-read Rob Yeung's The Rules Of Entrepreneurship. on it's slip cover, i jotted 'November 2008, KK'. old eh?

in the wake of my attention to entrepreneurship, i tried writing up a business plan. but, ended up, not convincing myself. the numbers are just too much too handle and the whole ideas are mind boggling. or to put it in a milder words: difficult to attain. argh! passion can wither when the going gets tough.

but then i remember a childish question of 'how to put an elephant into a refrigerator?'. answer: open the fridge, shove the elephant in, then shut the fridge. obvious answer? No. we, adult, have trained our mind to think in more complicated manner: how to chopped up the elephant? how to get an elephant in the first place? how to get a larger fridge to accomodate the bulk of an elephant? etc. now, think, is the question of how to put an elephant into a refrigerator even relevant?

in 'Othello', Othello suffered and died because he made the mistakes of making too much assumptions rather than, going to the source of his problem and he trusted the wrong person. Lesson? dont assume. get clear facts, reasoned and respond. we go back to that issue of an elephant and the refrigerator. we 'assumed' 'elephant' is an elephant, or/and the 'refrigerator' our normal refrigerator. assumption almost always leads to murky situation, which always ended not the way we intended.

Seriously, i'm trying to be practical here. i'm trying to get all the facts and build a solid plan for my venture. i am dead passionate about this and the mere thought of it make me more alive than ever. all i need now, is that tiny mustard seed size of faith to move some mountains. so, i'm shoving away all of my first assumption/plan and concentrate on a more factual, attainable, immediate goal.

All izz well.. all izz well... all izz well..idiots!

the shadow

i caught her lurking in my kitchen yesterday, fixing Zapple with load of ice cubes. its hot yesterday and today.

monday blues

last week was busy. it's one meeting after another. its almost october, and its always hectic in my college towards october. final semester examination, convocation, final list for final year students placement, and last minutes extra curricular activities (we stop all our extra-curricular activities by end of oct to concentrate on the final exam in nov)

i have trouble sleeping. so, i read and re-read. i'm writing a review of Irving's Twisted River. i'll post it sometime this week. i read twice, Farish's Quran and cricket. read Luke, and felt like i never read it before. i tried hard not to watch movies (as i tend to go marathon).

i woke early today, only to realize, its almost 7 am. heavy rain in Kuching. real melancholic feel. a good day to start my week.

i find this picture, and i cant help but to smile.