final week of 2008

U start off a good day wid a good breakfast! Tat's how i feel today. Before tis, i was kinda lazy to blog about life recently, and although i had lots of encounters, i juz feel lazy to start typing it away here in my blog. Tis morning, i really enjoyed my breakfast. We bought turkey ham last nite and hubby made yummy ham sandwiches for me tis morn. The turkey ham was heavenly, together wid crusty buttered toasts, lettuce, tomatoes as well as rich mayonnaise overflowing the ham. Wow... feel so full n energetic now.


On Xmas day, we went to church and we got big packets of tidbits. Ah den was so happy, when he saw all the gift packets at the church, til he exclaimed... "WAH!" Tis was ahDen's 2nd xmas and remembering on tis day last year, we juz came over from Kuching to KotaKinabalu wid ahDen. At night, we went to KK Specialist to visit ahPau n his wife and their newborn. A baby born on xmas day itself, how special... and i saw lots of other infants there. All so cute and adorable. They were so tiny and fragile, and i really feel so glad while looking at them. They are all so innocent and so sweet, all wrapped up in their blankets feeling warm and safe. Sigh... made me think back of how tiny ahDen used to be too!


On Saturday afternoon, i went to Brix Saloon at Lintas. At first i wanted to get a perm. Okie, yes... i juz had my perm back in Sept, but now the curls all seem to be out of place. So hubby dragged me to the saloon (cox i kept on complaining), and then he left wid ahDen. I told them i wanted to perm my hair. Then they look at my really dry hair and say i shouldn't perm it anymore, cox it's really dry. Somemore they say, i still haf my perm. It's juz tat i didn't styled it wid any mousse so it showed no curls at all. Hahaha.... I told them the last perm i had was digital perm.


Then they asked me, is it the type where they put cable into each and every rollers??? I replied "yes". I guessed digital perm wont leave ur hair as dried as mine, but tat's the problem wid my hair. I have really thick, black hair and dry as well. And the last perm i had, i asked for a 'lady's perm'. I think ladies perm are the type tat ur hair wont be tat curly, but juz wave and u'll haf to style it for the curls to show. My sis told me tat ladies perm wont make u look so 'auntie' lor, cox some curls really make u look so 'auntie'. =)) So in the end, they gave me a haircut, to make my hair lesser volume. After the haircut, (which i am definately most satisfied) the curls really came back. My hair are lesser and way much stylish now, so being the 'hiaw hiaw' me, i asked for my hair to be coloured. Yippee!!! Finally can dye my hair, for i had waited a long time to get my hair coloured. ;)) I spent RM200 for the haircut and hair colouring. It was pretty expensive, but now i really believe KK's haircut much better than Kuching cox the ppl here more stylish lor. Really dare to cut...


After i'm done, I called hubby to come to pick me up. I tot he was at home, but no, he brought ahDen out. Really keng! When they came, ahDen was in the front passenger seat, wid the safety belt strapped across him. Wah... my bb being such a good boy lor. No fuss at all! ;)) Then once SH saw me, he asked "u coloured ur hair?" ;)) Now i really feel pleased ("shuang") cox tat mean my colour obvious lor, cox SH oso can tell the difference. Hubby bought me 'bak pau' (meat buns) from Inanam cox i din haf any lunch, and yes it was delicious. When i reached home, while waiting to pick up ngeebang from the bus station, i had a short nap. After we all took our bath, we went out to pick up Uncle ngeebang.


Knowing nb will be here over the weekend, really cheered me up. As usual, we talked non-stop. After we picked him up from Plaza Wawasan, we went to 1Borneo and had dinner at NewYork NewYork. Tis time really can try the Giant Yankee Burger. Really so big til nb the 'tham chiak' eater oso cannot finish lor! But before the burger we ordered Pepperoni Pizza as well, then we had dessert called "Lake Chocolate". Both the dessert and the Giant Yankee Burger were labeled as "SUPER SINFUL", so nb & I said must try the super sinful one! =)) As for the dessert, it had strawberries and fried banana fritters in a plate of chocolate wid a scoop of ice cream in the middle. Hmm... okie.... a bit too sweet for me, but the banana fritters really nice. If for piang, the dessert sure heavenly liao!


As for Sunday, we didn't do much.... we had breakfast at "Kah Hiong Ngiu Chap" at Hilltop. The beef noodles nice, and the beef soup superb. I love the beef tripe, beef tendons, stew meat..... all wah.... i told nb must try the beef noodles there, cox appeared in tv before. ;)) Tat nite we ate at Beverly Hills, then after tat went to Warisan Square to shop. Nb saw Big Apple Donuts, then he immediately bought 3 doughnuts and chomp! chomp! chomp! Finish liao! We told him to enjoy all the doughnuts by himself, cox we can get it here anytime we want but then labuan no Big Apple lor. I managed to buy myself a dress while nb help me to babysit ahDen. ;)) When we headed for home, we went to Tanjung Aru Beach to 'ta pau' steamed sweetcorn, chicken wings and satays. Really pig out lor over the weekend.


Monday morn, a public holiday, so we went breakfast at Hilltop again but tis time we ate fish head meehoon. Nb had tomyam beehoon. After breakfast, we went to Wisma Merdeka then nb saw this new shop selling Japan Takoyaki. So he say he want to eat "tako tako". Okie... he ate again but only 1takoyaki per person, then passed a shop selling 'kuih-muih', he said he wanted to eat 'kuih'. Then i asked him buy some so can eat in the bus later. So he bought some, then while we window-shopped, he ate n ate the kuih until not much liao. Hahaha.... then i saw Dott's eggtarts. I told nb tat Dott's eggtarts are the best, so i 'ta pau' 2 eggtarts and 2 chicken puffs so he can eat in the bus later.


After shopping at Wisma Merdeka, we went to Sadong Jaya and sat in a coffeeshop while waiting for time to pass. Nb's bus timed at 1.30pm so when almost 1pm liao, we said juz go to the bus station lar... then wait there if the bus not depart yet. Luckily the bus station really near, when we went there, nb's bus start to depart liao. Tat time only 1.05pm... and he really chased after the bus. Luckily the bus waited for him, and somemore he got scolded lor. Aiyo.... b4 tis we were still making fun saying if he miss his bus, then he haf to stay in KK liao or SH haf to send him to Menumbok. Phew! Thinking of nb chasing after the bus, really quite funny lor but luckily he caught the bus! There r some passengers even later than nb, really missed the bus liao.


Tat afternoon came bek home, we watched dvd and slept. Really dunno wat else to do liao. If public holiday, sometimes can oso be very 'sien' and super bored! But i had an enjoyable weekend wid nb around, i guess it juz tat feeling 2008 will slip away soon tat makes me feel 'sien'! So fast time passed lor... but hor, i know i'm still young lar. =))

xmas around the corner!

The wonderful feeling of xmas is in the air, really nearing now, bringing 2008 to an end. Today i changed all my background music to a wonderful christmas song to share wid all of u. Besides tat, i posted a xmas banner sending xmas greetings to all my friends out there, wherever u are... far or near. The xmas song playing in the background is "WE ARE THE REASON", a very touching and really nice church xmas song. Whenever xmas is around the corner, i owest haf this wonderful song playing in my mind, bringing me back to the moment where we sung this song on stage in a choir!

Back in the year 2000, i think, we performed at Perdanasiswa back in UM (University of Malaya). Tat was a christmas celebration concert held by the Christian Society of UM, and we practiced weeks to perform perfectly on stage. If i hadn't remembered wrongly, there was a mime going on while we sung out this song on stage. It was so long ago, and all the memories about xmas back then was so vague. Tat time i had juz entered UM, and it was among one of the most memorable event for me back then.

The song is about how everyone in the world always hoping to receive xmas gift, but we never realised we all had been given the greatest gift of all - tat's the birth of Lord Jesus, and Him coming to this world to sacrifice for all of us. Many ppl around never understand why we celebrate xmas every year. Xmas itself is to celebrate Lord Jesus's bday, and it's kinda sad how xmas eventually bcame a different kind of celebration among youths today... things like binge-ing out in the pub n getting urself drunk! For me, i juz love the wonderful feeling of christmas. It juz gives u this peaceful feeling deep inside u, and also all the lovely decos around, it makes u feel like u r in wonderland.

Another funny memory to share, as i sit here typing out all these, i suddenly rememberd how all my sisters n bro used to hung up old socks in our bedroom on xmas eve. I couldn't remember how this trend eventually existed in our family. And as the years passed, sis Ming & I eventually became 'Santa Claus' instead of mum & dad. As elder sisters, every year we'll try to place goodies into our younger bro & sis's old socks, which they hung up in their bedroom. Then they'll wake up on xmas morn, feeling so excited n happy and rushed to find wat's in store for them in their socks! It was really happy seeing the smiles on their faces, juz how innocent n happy children can be!

Another sweet memory will be remembering how every year b4 dad was bedridden, he'll dragged in the big flower pot where mum planted a fir tree. Then we'll decorate the tree with beautiful ornaments and blinking lights, then every nite we'll juz switched off the living room light, and sit by the tree and gazed at it. =)) Underneath the tree, we'll place dozens of nicely wrapped up empty boxes. It was really beautiful and even now i'd grown up, all those are juz the wonderful childhood memories u'll forever haf in ur mind. How i missed all those sweet moments so so so much!

Dear frens, please take some time to indulge in the lyrics of this song We Are The Reason. A little xmas gift from me to all of u, and may the new year ahead brings nothing but happiness & blessings to all of u.

"As little children we would dream of Christmas morn
Of all the gifts and toys we knew we’d find
But we never realized a baby born one blessed night
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives

*We were the reason that He gave His life
We were the reason that He suffered and died
To a world that was lost He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live

As the years went by we learned more about gifts
The giving of ourselves and what that means
On a dark and cloudy day a man hung crying in the rain
All because of love
All because of love

*Chorus

I finally found the reason for living
It’s in giving every part of my heart to Him
And all that I do every word that I say
I’ll be giving my all just for Him, for Him

We are the reason that He gave His life
We are the reason that He suffered and died
To a world that was lost He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live

He is my reason to live "

everytime

Last Saturday afternoon, i went for yoga class. I missed a number of classes tat week, so i better start replacing the classes i missed before the end of the month, else my timetable will be pretty pack. During the class tat afternoon, surprisingly all the songs Angela played are my favourites. Sometimes n somewhere in ur memories, u juz haf tis whole bunch of ur favourite songs. They can be like the songs u listen to when u r a teenager, when u r in university, when u started working.... there are juz these certain category of songs u used to listen to, according to the time they existed in ur life.

During the yoga workout, this wonderful n touching song was playing in the air... and i was cracking my head thinking wat the title of the song was. I know it's a song by Britney Spears cox i used to haf tis song back a few years ago, and the lyrics as well. Then i remembered Piang mentioned how she loves Britney in her blog, well... honestly i don love or hate her, but i juz love some of her songs and i love some of her dance moves. ;)) I'm not really particular, juz tat any nice songs i hear, suits my taste and my sense of music, then i will juz fall in love wid tat song.

Still thinking about the song, and actually i was singing the song out in my mind while working out. Well yes, sometimes when u r indulge in the music, u can perform better. But in yoga, u kinda lose ur balance, and my balancing really poor. Then i suddenly remembered the song title... Everytime. It was a really nice song, very sad and yes... if u see the music tv, even makes u feel like crying. Something to share, the lyrics for Everytime - Britney Spears:-

Notice me, take my hand Why are we strangers when Our love is strong Why carry on without me Everytime I try to fly, I fall Without my wings, I feel so small I guess I need you, baby And everytime I see you in my dreams I see your face, it's haunting me I guess I need you, baby I make believe that you are here It's the only way I see clear What have I done You seem to move on easy And everytime I try to fly, I fall Without my wings, I feel so small I guess I need you, baby And everytime I see you in my dreams I see your face, you're haunting me I guess I need you, baby I may have made it rain Please forgive me My weakness caused you pain And this song's my sorry At night I pray That soon your face will fade away And everytime I try to fly, I fall Without my wings, I feel so small I guess I need you, baby And everytime I see you in my dreams I see your face, you're haunting me I guess I need you, baby

If any of u r interested, can check out the music video at YouTube too.... juz click on the following link :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAXgGWY6X5E

Labuan & Kundasang Trip

Last few days were quite tiring, but we certainly had lots of fun. It's like a family trip since we haf little Jayden, and bringing him outing although tiring it was fascinating as well, cox he gets to see and learn new things. Uncle KingChing and family were here in KotaKinabalu for the past few days and we planned to travel by car to a few places. They reached here on Friday 28/11/08 around 3.30pm and after they checked in to our hotel, we drove them around town for a short trip. Tat nite, we drove to Gayang Seafood to haf our dinner. We had nice seafood for dinner, but i guess not for SiaoTing, my cousin sister. Poor darling... she juz doesn't dare to taste most of the weird shellfish which she'd never seen before. Luckily she still love the prawns and luckily too, Jason and Iris (ahTing's elder bro & sis) were enjoying their seafood meal. After our meal, we went to Giant Kolombong to get some tidbits. We'll haf a long trip the next day, heading for Labuan and sigh... i haven't even pack our bags yet!

Early the next morning, as early as 6.30am, we all squeezed into hubby's Ninja King. We need to reach the Menumbok Jetty before 9.30am. Although the ferry will depart at 10.30am, we need to check in an hour earlier and none of us had ever been to Menumbok before, so hubby said it's better we r off earlier so we can hunt for the place in case we got lost. He kinda haf an idea in mind where tis Menumbok is supposed to be, so off we all go on our way to Labuan. 2hrs drive and we reached the Menumbok Jetty. I tot we were early but the queue was already so long, so we queued our car and then went off to a stall on the opposite road to haf our breakfast. Hubby walked to the counter in front to check in first, and then we haf our breakfast wil waiting for time to pass. Our first time using the ferry, and it was really a not-so-nice experience.

We were stupid enuf, cox when the time came for us to board the ferry, then we all sit nicely in our car and while we were about to board the ferry, the man asked to see our passenger tickets. Okie.... none of us actually tot we need to get passenger tickets, somemore the check-in person at the counter didn't say anything at all. So my uncle & I rushed down to buy the passenger tickets, RM5 per person. The return ticket from Menumbok to Labuan for the car itself oledi costs RM116, so it's really not cheap.

Nvm... we bought our passengers ticket and after we parked our car, more like squeezed our car into the parking space (for we can only get down from one side)... then we went up the stairs to the passengers seating area. Oh My God... it was awfully packed! All the people there were so inconsiderate. Most of them didn't need tat much seats, but they were like putting their bags n plastic bags whole row across the seats from where they were seating. There were so many ppl wandering around, not having any seats at all. Imagine the management.... they juz hold out their palms, ask for money and not even providing the service they should be giving. First impression, Labuan Ferry Management sucks!

In the end, uncle paid for 3VIP seats in the lounge... which costs RM13 per person, so tat ahDen & me, ahTing and Iris can sit comfortably inside. The ferry only departed at 11.15am, imagined how much time they actually wasted from the actual departure 10.30am. So again, Labuan Ferry sucks! I remembered ngeebang telling me how 'lansi' ppl in Labuan can be. (Lansi - our term for describing snobbish & showoff ppl, 'berlagak' in BM, and 'ke leng ke si' in Hokkien) Yes, nb... i know for sure u'll be looking out for wat i'll be blogging about 'tu tu shua' . Previously, when nb was telling me about the 'lansi-ness' u can get there, i really disbelieved him, telling him it was him being sensitive. Now, i really believe him. The reason we could give was tat there weren't any competitions from other company, more like it's a monopoly kind of service. So their attitude eventually became snobbish, knowing tat u couldn't be getting similar service elsewhere, and in the end u'll still haf to go back to them!

Around 1.15pm i think, we reached Labuan. I really start to feel tired. Then everyone was rushing to get off the ferry. It was really hot in Labuan, and carrying ahDen, i really don't want him to be standing outside in the hot sun so we waited for hubby to move his car forward so we can get into the car. For his car was stuck in the middle, not having any space for us to board our car at all. Uncle KingChing, Aunt Catherine & Jason had oledi got off the ferry, and were waiting for us outside. We waited for the officer in charge of the traffic to ask hubby to move his car forward.

Finally when hubby drove his car forward, we got into the car. And then, the intolerable officer started shouting at us. He was like "u cannot board the car here. Why didn't get in juz now?" Hellooo.... mr. stupid officer, didn't u see how packed it was for us to even open our car doors.... how r we supposed to get into the car. Somemore i was carrying a baby and talking about being inconsiderate. If we weren't rushing, i'll be quarreling wid mr. stupid officer again, so after we all got into the car, meaning ahTing & Iris & ahDen & me, hubby sped off down the ferry for the officer behind was loudly shouting at us. Then another officer in front said, "Slow down, why the hurry??!!" Tis time i really couldn't hold back any longer... i rolled down my window and shouted back at him... i told him "the person behind was shouting at us, didn't u hear... so we hurried, and now, u said cannot hurry... need to slow down". For the 3rd time, LABUAN FERRY SUCKS!!!

I don't care whoever will be reading tis, but really i'm telling u all, the ferry service sucks. These are the ppl forever being stuck in small places, thinking their little island is the greatest place on earth. Try take a stroll out of ur little shell.... try looking at the world outside.... I tot Labuan is supposed to be a tourist destination too, but i am really surprised with the attitude u actually get from the ppl there. Talk about being friendly Malaysians.... talked about our culture of being 'berbudi-bahasa' , it was such a shameful thing! Where did tis virtue disappear to? We paid for ur service, and we didn't come all the way from Menumbok for free. And yet we didn't get the seats we were supposed to get onboard, but we tolerated, understanding it was profit and not customer's comfortability they are aiming for. At least, try giving first-timers there better impression of ur place.

We met up wid nb, and besides from bringing us around, he treated all of us to a great dinner at Restaurant Labuan. He actually booked the table 5days ago, knowing tat i'll be bringing my uncle n his family there to Labuan, and he said we all juz go out for a nice meal. He told me again, u need to book early, else there won't be any more tables left when u wan to dine there. Okie... u really haf to get use to the practice, "siapa cepat, dia dapat!" We had a magnificent meal, really paisei cox nb spent so much on us, but most of all was the companion we were getting. All my cousins and even my uncle & auntie enjoyed nb's jokes and laughters. My cousin sister, SiaoTing was busily asking us riddles and telling us jokes all thru our dinner, and nb was really entertaining her! =))

Oh ya, catching up on the things i missed out, tat afternoon, nb brought us to a duty free shop at Financial Park, and wow... the chocs there super cheap... and the beers, super-duper cheap! RM1 for one can, i was like okie.... even cheaper than Coke! Hahaha.... even cheaper than mineral water! Besides tat he oso brought us to the beach behind the Marine Museum. The beach was nice, and very funny cox hubby met a fren while we were strolling there.... and his fren suddenly called out "Hii Siew Hung" while we were walking face to face! Talk about Labuan being small... yes... small, then nb said hubby's fren Desmond, oso mek's fren.... then nb oso met him b4, i was like.... "WAH, Labuan super small!!" =))

So summary about Labuan, it's not such a bad place really... juz tat some ppl really 'lansi'! I rembered wat Piang wrote in her blog about the lady at the hosp giving her attitude, and how she felt no anger at all, til now i still salute her. Piang dearest forever so sweet, and honestly i m so different from her in terms of tempers. Summarize into one sentence, the nice things about Labuan... chocs, beers, beaches & TAN NGEE BANG! Tat's it... full-stop!


Photos of dearest hubby, ahDen & me at Labuan beach!
On Sunday, 1.30pm we board the ferry back to Menumbok. Tis time, smarter liao... went to queue earlier n even bought passenger tickets. ;)) While hubby, aunt & uncle went to get all the tickets, the rest of us went to tapau KFC. Then nb brought us to haf quick lunch at the most well-known chicken rice shop of Labuan, and we were really rushing. Really need to queue so long, but at least the service still okie. Sigh... why everything haf to queue n queue.... if u put KC in Labuan, i think he'll juz rot! =))

When we were back to KK, we rested one nite then the next day around 2.30pm we headed off for Kundasang. Wow... we r going to overnite at Kundasang. Uncle KingChing paid for our chalets at Mount Kinabalu Heritage or formerly Ko-Perkasa Hotel, and the view there was magnificent. Really surrounded by nature, and we had to cross a 'jambatan gantung' (suspension bridge) in order to reach our chalets. It was really cool and so refreshing, breathing in fresh air and you can even see butterflies fluttering around while we sit on the wooden bench on the verandah. Jayden was so amazed when he saw the butterflies... think it's his first time seeing butterfly. Tat nite, it was drizzling and the surrounding plus the chilling nature part, so heavenly. Although cold, but u actually enjoy the coldness. =))

@ the drawbridge leading to our chalets

Halfway to our chalets while carrying all our things up, we sat down n rest n eat buns!
When Jayden was in bed n floated to dreamland, hubby & I sneaked out to enjoy the view outside and the sound of the pitter-patter rain drops. Too bad no hot chocolate then... else really perfect! ;)) Early next morn, 6am+, we could see the clear view of Mount Kinabalu. Hubby said we were really lucky tat day, cox at times the mountain will be covered with clouds and fog and really cannot see at all. But tat morn, the whole mountain was so clear.... juz right in front of us! Wow.... really beautiful. My uncle juz keep on snapping, and snapping and snapping the photos. Hehehe.... til 800pcs+... *salute*

Magnificent view of Mt. KK!
After we checked out, we went to Ranau to haf breakfast and then off to Poring Hot Spring. My 1st time there and ah Den too, and oso uncle & his family. Little Jayden, wanted to get into the big bath tub there.... so my aunt said let him haf fun inside. I took off his long pants, let him dipped inside the water, then he started splashing. So we took off his shirt. Then, he wanted to sit down into the water... sigh.... so my aunt say better juz take off everything, and there goes his diaper and ahDen was naked in the big bath tub! =)) The funny part was when my aunt took off his diaper, he peed into the water. Hahahaha.... so the water, not only mixed with a little sulphur from the hot spring but oso ammonia from ahDen's urine! :p

@ Poring Hot Spring in the big bath tub!
Seeing Jayden enjoying himself so much, really makes me feel so happy during these few days' trip. We stayed awhile there, and then made our way down to KK, stopping at Tuaran around 2.30pm for lunch. Tuaran is famous for its noodle, and yes.... really nice. I wonder if partly bcox i'm hungry... but overall, the noodles really nice! ;)) Tat nite, we went shopping at 1Borneo. Then we tapau Big Apple Donuts, Sushi King & oso Pizza Hut and had a small feast in the family room upstairs. The next morning, only my uncle, auntie & Jason followed hubby out for breakfast and then to buy dried seafood at the market. The rest of us too tired and were still sleeping. Hahaha.... at 1.30pm, there were off to airport to board their plane back to Miri. Poor Jayden, he cried when they all drove off to airport. Sigh... he enjoyed himself too much these few days, now back to normal life liao... and lesser ppl to play wid him. Poor thing... ;))

Overall, we had such a wonderful time these past few days. Hopefully, we can make a trip back to Marudi soon, and i hope ngeebang will follow us back to Marudi too, cox my aunt say she'll introduce girlfren for him! =))