new moon 2

pergh!

i was prescribed these: Paradeine tablet (paracetamol 500mg + codeine phosphate 8 mg), Prochlor (prochlorperazine maleate BP 5 mg), Fesin 200mg capsules and antibiotic. my head is throbbing.

what i really need: deep slumber and a day off. which i will do after posting this.

so, ya. new moon. not so good.

new moon

i reread my recent post and think: damn! apahal pula sy tulis title dia mcm tu? mcm apa saja.

we won the battle. not as a champion, but in spirit, we knew, we are better. the kids (5 bands- performed their best) and from the mouth of one of the jury (that handsome drummer- sepa sudah dia tu? that Bidayuh man yg saaaangat good looking that!). he said: awesome bands. indeed, you guys, great!

so, today, i have a sore throat. (3 hours of constant screaming last saturday). thank God, my monday, no class.

Philip and Jenny tied the knot last saturday. congratulation.

28 days to decide on the plan : Java Jive 2010: 1-10 october. OOOOO God, i'm giddy with expectation. a backpacking tour. i am so not me!

pick me up!

The Murum dam, located about 470km inland from Miri, is the first of 12 new dams that are to be constructed throughout Sarawak The Star online, 29 Jan 2010

in 2008, we did a Sanitation and health promotion project among the Iban folks down the river of Batang Ai, Lubok Antu, Sarawak. specifically, we were in Ng. Delok (nanga (river) Delok), some 2 hours boat ride from the jetty of Batang Ai Hydroelectric dam.

if you can imagine a small island of approx 5 km in diameter, put the longhouse (of 14 doors) (approx 5mX15m per door) at one corner, you're imagining Ng. Delok. it used to be the pinnacle of a hill, but, ever since the 'flood' in 1985, their hill has been reduced to a small island as it is now. these people are those who refused to relocate. (and, i guess, those who chose to relocate, fare no better).

the Batang Ai dam is a water catchment area and a hydroelectric generating dam. ironically, no electricity, no clean, treated water for any of the settlements scattered over the vast artificial lake.

i spent about 3 weeks with those folks down river (in 3 visits). they are the most contented people i'd ever mingled with. they tap their rubber for little money, catch fish, hunt for meat, take the jungle produce (whatever little left for them- they're living in a buffer area of a National Park), tend to their patches of paddy field and make tuak. (O! i survived their merriment procedure with my dignity and mind intact).

but somehow, somehow, i wish, instead of wasting time and energy arguing about the legality of some words to be used for certain group of people. maybe, its time to consider giving people more choices/ options in life. like, maybe giving those folks down river options of having or not to have electricity/ treated water, and maybe the options to keep on writing/ calling the name of God in any way suited to ones liking.

i know, those folks down river wont mind a change or two. electricity will mean all night through karaoke session with an opening prayer to Al lah Ta'ala (God in Iban)

i sincerely hope, Sarawak will listen to the voices of its people and not being bullied by a white hair ape or the trans-sea-monkeys, and certainly not being pressured to win the rat race of so called development. in the end, we're only trying to give people more options in life. its up to them to pick their choice.

(this morning i was presented with a choice to pick a red/yellow rambutan, i took both. we can be too selfish, sometime). and yesterday i picked KWSP instead of pension option (to the dismay and stringful of good advices (against) from our PT). and now, i'm doubtful over my choice.

the latest story of Bakun Dam

cheerful monday

it's a very good monday morning (drizzle just a bit) and it's payday! (so, everything seems to be naturally extra cheerful today!)

battlefield #3~ manang! yay! (apalaitu?- if you knew my hatred for injection) you'll know, this is indeed an achievement!

Battlefield #2 - done

Banh Pho

Pho Bo

it's quite ok (not exactly satisfied with the result) . i'll make another batch this week. most of the herbs needed to make the soup distinctly Pho were missing. but, roughly, i got the idea, of how the taste should be. (sawtooth herbs, bone + marrow, tendons, cilantro, corriander seeds, daikon, hoisin sauce).

Battlefield #1- this saturday. i wish, i wish, i wish!

it was saturday night when we worshiped, i'm positively sure, He's there. Roney, Bro. Peter Paris, thanks. kirim api, angin, hujan dan minyakMu.

p/s : sekali lagi Tuhan, kirim api, angin, hujan dan minyak Mu.

Battle field

we survived the audit. Barely.

looking forward to win Battle of the Bands (30/01/2010). Yay! we even have a yell for our team. (i want nobody, nobody but you!) ya.. the wonder girl's (Korean) new hit. we certainly will have a blast! 5 teams from our college. we want the title for best guitarist, best performance and most popular band of the night... (buli kah itu kids?) (nahhhh.... just enjoy the whole thing pun ok sudah)

them!

I'll be out this evening to buy ingredients for Pho. (a friend keep on nagging about it ~ so, bah). Wish me luck in battling my way to those ingredients and putting it to a decent (enough) meal. i'll brag about it later.

battle of fear tomorrow. derma darah!

of being a dog

last weekend, i had a good time with a good sister (who, despite her busy schedule, dropped by Kuching en route Sarikei -KL to be with her friends). and also Dy! (i enjoyed the jalan2 macam tourist di carpenter st). HAVANA is not a bad place to chill out, especially if ones prefer loud music. plenty of 'good stuff' to feast on too. hahahhahahahha.. i'm referring to the cool bartenders! (and i really should go out more often.. sigh*)

we'll have our SIRIM surveillance audit on 19th january. so, ya... work like a dog.

and we got 94 boys for our january cert intake. 28 sabahan. (i hate to say this, but ya: i'm nervous to teach their class~ it's intimidating!)

i'll start writing a travelogue for our Jakarta-Bandung trip. (we do our research mostly on other's blogs/ travelogues ~ loaded with small but important pointers).

a reminder for myself : january is a good month to Proverbs 27:23

2010!

congratulation Asrind and Caro! we had fun at your wedding reception. alangkah bergayanya kaibigans ku pakai lawa pi majlis korang. kami sangat-saaaaaaaangat seronok.

and also to an old friend of mine, Lily! congrats. sorry lambat datang ko punya wedding. tidak sempat pun p church. u knew about the flight and so on...

janny and betz, thanks tejumpa korang juga. wah! lamanya tidak jumpa korang!

and kaibigans ko. maraming salamat!

iya.. kamulaitu biawak2 sekalian.

huhu. aku indatau apa theme ni korang pny posing ya.

wish for loads more fun this year. semoga kita semua lebih berduit untuk berjalan-jalan dan berfoya-foya. semoga kita lebih sihat dan berusaha lagi mencapai BMI yang sepatutnya. semoga kita lebih berjaya dalam kerjaya masing-masing, thus more income, for semoga nombor 1. semoga kasih kita berpanjangan dan kita ada masa untuk menghargainya dengan lebih, dan lebih, dan lebih lagi.

kimchi

i finally get hold of "The Catcher in The Rye". after about 20 pages, i almost vomited of raw and straightforwardness of phrases. which is very refreshing (but, at the same time dizzying). i need to have a break. i'll catch on later on the Catcher...

made my first batch of Kimchi last night. i tried to get common chili flakes, but got Paprika instead, so, the greens look real red. and i cheated by adding rice vinegar. i love it sour (the lactic acid from the fermentation will make it sour, but i want extra). (i hope, it'll work). 48 hours to go!

ya. i should be writing about Cha Gio, Nuoc Cham, Pho... (and i will... ooo.. when?)

*************************************************************************

the "catcher in the rye" = very good. (2 days me in melancholic mood ~ according to mimi)- i didnt even realized the effect! duh!

the kimchi = not so good. after standing in room temperature for 52 hours. the acids more than my own liking. (next batch~ i'll add on a bit of binagongan, substitute for fish sauce. hahahha)

we'll try out a Vietnamese restaurant in KK next week. i have two in my list. (maybe, i'll eventually start writing of Cha Gio, Nuoc Cham, Pho.. etc.) iyalah..

after sometimes

home after some 18 days missing. i miss my little nest. bad.

i should post more pics. and i'll do tomorrow.

right now. i want nothing but a hot choc and good rest. instead, ISO audit this Dec 2nd. lesson plans to complete and minutes to update. there's nothing better than a good shaker on the first day at work after leaving it for quite awhile. yeah.. life's like that.

p/s: jen, nanti kita pigi lagi jalan 8 km k..

living in slow motion

a man wrote a book and dedicated it to his oldest and strongest pipe. a man with such affection should be a really interesting person ~ thus, interesting writing style. so, i bought the book and read on his ideas. it was full of hilarious thoughts and i have to say, i'm in love with the man.

do read his work, Jerome K. Jerome.

p/s; i miss my bed bad!

the holiday..

i survived the holiday with my parents (i knew, it sounds like a bad horror movie). it's a very tiring, heart-wrenching (hahahah!- mostly embrassing moments- like, only parents can do to their offspring) trip. but, i'm glad we did it. (really..really glad)~ sampai rasa mau menangis

i promised a friend, to blog about Viet Nam's food. mare, nantilah ho!.. ni janji tarang bulan. mau upload gambar bapak gwe takot naik cable car yang dia bilang rail car.. mati mati lagi tu mempertahankan pendapat dia.. padahal sana atas tu station ada kena tulis CABLE CAR STATION! adaka?

adei.. mau merawat hati dulu ni

muli oku, muli oku walai

trip 2- Ranau

i decided to blog only of 2 trips in October (sibu and KL omitted).

Boss: au ko muli makan durian ogou?

Togou: au kanto boss. sibuk ti bulan ti

B:ooo.. nga ogumu ma rambutan

T:naansak no toi ngawi? ( i flipped through my calendar. 23-27/10.)

B: om.. mumbal no moti somiratu durian om bambangan. ngam noh muli.

T: aiya boss. bukan sya makan juga tu durian tu.

B: muli gia, moi pomonsoi jeruk bambangan

T: kalau sya tidak dapat balik?

B: om, kuroiyon podi. nga milo nopo om, muli no.

so, i went home and glad i did.

(mulau!)

and my favourite

3 events in Ranau ~ Pesta Kobis, Kundasang~ Pesta Durian, Ranau~ Mt. Kinabalu Climbathon, Kinabalu National Park. (simultaneously, during the weekend i was there. 24-25/10).

i chose to go kebun lado opurak and wait for sunset, gossiped with my younger brother and captured this. (Tuhan! to call this place, home. i can't thank YOU enough)

trip 1- kelantan

a quick updates. October was a busy month for me. a few series of trips, and plans for future trips. which can only leads to an emptier pockets. but, i had fun. looking forward for more blasts of fun next year! kaibigans?

ok. here goes... the trip to Kelantan. Thank you Jane, Fread, Dawn, Viossi and Niko. next time we stay in Tumpat ya. i need to go jogging around all those beautiful Wats. btw, its way nearer to Pengkalan Kubur, nearer to cheap Pistachios, biji ketereh, Corelle, Tefal, Supor, Luminarc..

main reason for me being there, was to witness a dear friend's wedding. Congratulation Mie!

and aktiviti sampingan...

makai..(and no.. she's just a model. we ate the food with her. and.. its almost midnight when we proceed to this ritual.)

(the model's muka cuak makan lewat malam.. hahahhaha!)

sweet sticky kuih-muih (Fread, aku tau ko rasa-rasa macam mau cari air kosong ni sekarang)

these were actually taken in KL. at my new, favourite place to membantai.

thank you kaibigans.. again for, the good time we've had.