Having Lunch at A-Plus

I am not a food blogger but I do take photos of food wherever when I am having eat out. My siblings think that I am crazy when doing this, taking a snap of our menu. Oh well, they are yet to know the life of a blogger.

Today, as usual, I was sleeping until afternoon. Suddenly, my cousin woke me up and asked me to get ready as mom is going out to town and apparently wants to bring me along. When I went down, it turned out that my aunt is the one who wants to bring me out. Guess I didn't hear the word "my' when my cousin told me.

Anyway, we went to A-Plus. Guess it is newly-opened cafe in which I hardly hear about until my family told me about it. It is my aunt's treat. So, I just ordered what I want. What a bad nephew I am. xD

Tom Yam Noodle

Milo Latte

Pudding

Save the best for last,

Coffee with Chocolate Chips Ice-Cream

Bintulu does not have Baskin Robin or any other franchises that specialise in ice-cream but at least we have these shops.

Around 1.45pm, Serena came and 15 minutes later, Sze Mei was there, too. We planned to meet there in the first place to discuss the itinerary for the upcoming Bintulu trip when our fellow Chindians reach here during the weekends. Later, we were having sort of window shopping around the shop lots. The girls went to shops which seem only sell girls' stuff. Just to accompany. Moment later, each of us went home.

Just know that my aunt loves this song so much, even though she does not know the lyrics since she is illiterate. The song is "Stay The Same" by Joey McIntyre. She tells me that the melody of the song is nice. I couldn't agree more. This song gives me goose bumps too. Also, this reminds me of Minggu Aluan Siswa, which was the early last year, when we just arrived in UTP. Still so innocent and wear Matrix card, 24/7. haha.

Don't you ever wish you were someone else,

You were meant to be the way you are exactly.

Don't you ever say you don't like the way you are.

When you learn to love yourself, you're better off by far.

And I hope you always stay the same,

'cause there's nothin' 'bout you I would change.

I think that you could be whatever you wanted to be

If you could realize, all the dreams you have inside.

Don't be afraid if you've got something to say,

Just open up your heart and let it show you the way.

Don't you ever wish you were someone else,

You were meant to be the way you are exactly.

Don't you ever say you don't like the way you are.

When you learn to love yourself, you're better off by far.

And I hope you always stay the same,

'cause there's nothin' 'bout you I would change.

Believe in yourself.

Reach down inside.

The love you find will set you free.

Believe in yourself, you will come alive.

Have faith in what you do.

You'll make it through.

Don't you ever wish you were someone else,

You were meant to be the way you are exactly.

Don't you ever say you don't like the way you are.

When you learn to love yourself, you're better off by far.

And I hope you always stay the same,

'cause there's nothin' 'bout you I would change.

Just be yourself. :)

Off to Sarawak Trip tomorrow. So excited. See you all in Kuching. =)

Missing You

There is always distance.

No matter how far, how close.

There is always time.

No matter how long, how short.

There is always bond.

Be it close or distant.

Despite of all that,

missing someone always makes the friendship special,

regardless time, distance and bond.

^_^

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

Was having gathering with my ex-schoolmates last night. The idea was claimed to be mine but the host of the event would be my toughest competitor back in high school, Elayne. At first we planned to meet up at Summer Tea but it was closed. Then, we changed the venue to D-Junction, the only food court at the only mall in Bintulu, Parkcity Mall.

It has been almost 2 years we didn't see one another ever since we left school except for Hon. Pretty much updates to catch up of how is everyone up to now. I don't even know some of them are coupled up now. Things change but at least, they don't change.

From left.

Hon Lian Hung: Schoolmates since primary 5. Now he is my coursemate in UTP.

Yong Kung Tung: Schoolmates since primary school. Currently studying form 6.

Me

Felix Goh: Schoolmates since form 1. My first tablemate in high school. Currently taking diploma in Nursing at Sunway University College.

Leong Kai Shen: Schoolmates since form 1. Currently studying form 6.

Irene Ling: Schoolmates since form 1. Just completed A level at Sunway University College.

Samuel Ling: Schoolmates since form 4. Currently taking mechanical engineering at Curtin University, Miri.

Christopher Ting: Schoolmates since form 1. Currently studying form 6.

Law Tzee Huei: Schoolmates since form 1. Currently studying form 6.

Elayne Kuek: Schoolmates since form 1. My toughest competitor back in high school. Top achiever. Currently studying in INTEC. A doctor-to-be.

Ding Sie Nin: Schoolmates since form 1. Studying form 6

Jeniffer Ling: Schoolmates since primary school. Studying form 6.

Not in the picture: Wong Pik Sieng. Schoolmates since primary school. Studying form 6.

The gathering didn't stop there. When I have uploaded this photo in Facebook, the gathering became virtual when we started to spam the photo with comments. Within one hour, more than 100 comments were made and still counting.

Love the spirit. Miss schoolmates. Miss old days. =)

Quote of the day:

"If you see me in Bintulu, that means I am on holidays. Just ask me out."

Michael Jackson Died

I am not a big fan of him but I do listen to his music. This celebrity has a lot of scandalous and controversial issue. Nevertheless, he was one of the phenomenal pop singers that ever lived. He died on 25 June. He was 50.

May his soul rest in peace.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

As the title of the movie speaks for itself, it is about the revenge of the Decepticon, you will know what I am talking about if you have watched the first one. A very typical idea to make the sequel for such movie, I would say. It is predictable if the premier movie makes a box office. Undoubtedly, the director would desire for the same outcome for this one. Or else, he will not waste so much time by directing such film which requires advanced and high definition of visual effect or creating the real auto bots, perhaps.

The movie was 2.5 hours long and it was the longest movie that I ever watched in a cinema. Visual effect is quite astonishing, when the auto bots transform. Well, guess that is what the movie about in the first place. The director adds high sense of humour in the movie, expected from what I can watch from the first movie. I am not sure how many times I have laughed, like, LOL-ing? But, the story line is not so well-written. The period of the movie is somewhat too long as the plot of the movie is sort of long-winded. Around one hour of the movie is about retrieving Matrix (some gadget in the movie) to revive the Optimus Prime (yeah, he was dead). Afterwards, within a short while, the villain was killed, not even in five minutes, I think. And, the movie ended, just like that. -.-"

I give it a 3 out of 5. The credit is mainly due to the visual effect. This is purely my opinion.

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

I was hanging out with my high school friends these few days. Just to meet up after so long did not see each other ever since SPM result was announced. Curious to know what is everyone up to ever since each of us goes for our own paths. We share lots of things: life in matriculation was like a hell, university lecturers are so horrible, study, study and study. Not to mention, all of us miss the moment back in high school.

Patrissa – Universiti Tekonologi Malaysia (UTM) – Chemical-Gas Engineering

Victoria – Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) – Manufacture Engineering

Margaret – Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) – Electronics and Communication

Azfar – Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) – Microbiology

Congratulation to my dear classmates who get accepted into Universities. Everyone is now scattered all around Malaysia and the world. All the best to all. For those who did not get it, it is not the end of the world. When one door closes, the another opens. Anyhow, thanks to technology for diminishing the distance among us, no matter where we are. :)

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

Was watching “The Reader” which features Kate Winslet, the heroine of Titanic. Wonder if anyone knows about this movie. It is adapted from a novel, by the way. Other than being sexually explicit (very, very sexually explicit), the movie has a deep thought and implicit meaning behind it. A movie about how a woman is capable to keep her secret, regardless what could happen to her, even she has to imprisoned for life. May not as eye-catchy as Transformer, at least this movie can make me to think, to have some thought. No, not the sex scene, mind you. Also, I can see the reasons for Kate Winslet won both Golden Globe and Oscar. Her performance in this film is overwhelming.

3.5 out of 5.

I want to be a teacher

I was tagged by the Chemistry King of my batch, none other than Yi Herng. Well, that is what his high school friends call him. We just merely continue the tradition.

1. What is your ambition? And you ended up with what field now?

My ambition is to become a teacher, teaching Mathematics (or may be Chemistry) to be exact. Now I am taking Chemical Engineering. I believe things happen for reasons. This is not my dream course but something good may come out from it.

2. Do you think that girls and boys can be best friends forever?

Yes. However, I do believe close boy-girl friends cannot be lovers. They just, can't.

3. What type of girl/guy do you like?

No idea. They say love is a powerful and funny thing. I may like her despite of all the weaknesses that she may have. Well, I don't demand more but just hope for an understanding and thoughtful partner.

4. How about physical appearance? Honestly la..

Erm, cannot judge a person from his or her look. Perhaps someone who may have couple-look when we become one. xD

5. Do you ever have any encounter with Police or any Authorities (guards)?

UTP has a lot of guards. See them everyday. -.-"

6. Do you ever 'belanja kopi'?

Ada kesalahan tatabahasa ni sebab kalau ditafsir, lain maksudnya.Belanja kawan ada juga lah. Kopi, apa yang mahu dibelanja?

7. Do you ever cheat people? Why?

Guess no. I think.

8. Name 3 persons you don't like. (not hate):

(i) Change minds at the last minute

(ii) Procastinate

(iii) Insensitive

Luckily, I don't keep anger for long. So, I don't have the habit of don't like people. Well, at least that is what I am trying to do now.

9. View on friendships?

Friendship has a wide spectra of perspectives. I don't believe in best friends (for now) but I have close and special friends that I have my own definition. I believe that friendship is not about spending time together. It is all about care and appreciate one another.

10. Believe in love?

Yes. There are always love around.

11. Who is your 1st love?

Hmm... nobody. If talk about family love, it is my parents, and I do love them. Just that I don't have love of my own, yet.

12. How do you describe yourself?

(self-absorbed question) I would say I am lazy and do things last minute (try to change this). I just plan things sometimes but never get them done, timetable for study week is a very good example. Good side of me, what do you say? (if I have any)

13. Ever hate a person? Why?

At particular instant, may be yes but no.

14. Do you do house chores at home?

Mom is going to yell at me if I don't.

15. What's your current nickname?

Friends start to call me "Baba" now, in which only my family can call me that actually. Can only be called by those who have close relationship with me.

16. What is your main principle in life?

Things happen for reason so just go with the flow and don't ever look back. And, don't let ignorance and blindness hinder great things to happen to you. =)

17. What is the proudest thing that happened in your life?

When my family is proud of me. :)

18. What is your most satisfied achievement?

Hmm... get into UTP?

19. What is the thing that you regret the most in your life?

Being ignorant and blind. I almost lose the most precious thing in my life.

20. Did you take any initiative to make up your regretness?

Thanks to STE. I start to appreciate things even more.

21. What is your happiest moment in life?

Being at home with family. Hanging out with friends.

22. What will you do, if you are doing a thing that is not good to a person, and that person happens to find out and sort of caught you 'red-handed'?

I don't do such thing, even I detest the person. :)

23. The person that changed you.

I would say there are three persons in my life that change me, to become a better man I am now. :)

24. The incident that changed your life.

Get to pursue studies in UTP. Not the academic matter but more to relationship with others.

25. What's your plan now?

Finish my studies, get a job and settle down. Haha.

Happy Father's Day

It's the third Sunday of June. It's Father's Day. Wish all the dads in the world, "Happy Father's Day".

Daddy, I know we are not close and hardly talk. There are things that Daddy does makes me upset sometimes. Despite all that, I know Daddy loves us. :)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

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

Daddy was away at Johor Bahru, so we didn't do any celebration for that. Today was Indonesia Super Series finals. I can say I watched all the matches. This time, Lee Chong Wei gets the title over Taufik Hidayat. But I find his performance was just so-so. If his opponent was Lin Dan, I think he would have lost, again. Women double was won by Malaysian contigent pair, Chin Ee Hui and Wong Pei Tty. (never heard of them even though they are the top seed)

Anyway, the most breathtaking match would be the men doubles, CHINA vs KOREA. Man, the performance of both teams was really awesome. Most of the rally were fascinating. The smash and defense made were truly breathtaking especially by Lee Yong Dae from Korea. Well, this is the opinion of below average badminton player like me. The Korean pair won, by the way. For your information, Lee Yong Dae also competed in Mixed Doubles, gets into final as well but lost to China.

The winner for woman single is from India, Sainal Nehwal. She defeated Wang Lin from China. She is just 19.

Half Way There

Exactly one month I am homed now. I have been busy with stuff lately. Only God knows what it is. May not busy with Uni stuff, yet but I still have the responsibilty of being the eldest and as a son at home: tidying up the room, sweeping the floor, washing the dishes, cleaning dogs' poo, observing my youngest to have his homework done (he is so addicted to computer games, I tell you, until a point that he pushes me away when I try to stop him -.-") et cetera.

Well, I do online everyday, but most of the time I am in Facebook, playing Restaurant City. Plus, more and more schoolmates are using Facebook now. Facebook is getting popular, I see. Guess more people realise Facebook is a better tool to stay in touch if to compare with Friendster. I am not sure about My Space, Hi5, Tagged and others. Even Reader Digest keeps on mentioning Facebook and also Twitter. E! has always broadcasted news the Hollywood celebrities are using Twitter. Have the account but I have no idea the fun of it. That's why I plurk.

Last few days have been eating out quite often. Went to Pizza Hut, the most fancy fast food restaurant that you can find in this humble small town.

I think it is Mediterranean Chicken Pizza. New menu, I guess. It has been two months didn't go there. And also, craving for Starbucks, Secret Recipe and Big Apple at the moment, I am trying to gain weight. Seriously.

I have just installed Kapersky Antivirus: Complete Protection into my laptop. It is so protective that it even wants to block my laptop from connecting to internet using my USB modem. Overprotective. Anyway, good news for me: can play perfect game (yet) for O2Jam since my keyboard is fine now. Practising V3 (level 6) at the moment.

Update more later. :)

*Congratulation to my schoolmates who managed to get their places in respective Unis. All the best in your Uni life.

**Forgiving is about forgetting someone's trespasses and not hating them. Well, it is easy to say but not to do it.

***OMG! Someone reads my blog and even leaves comment. Better do something before he finds out! -.-"

Car Dies

Just want to continue practising with my driving today, alone with no expert's guide. No mom. No dad. Just me. I was not so sure how many times the car engine died even while I was still reversing my car. Need to forward again to get the direction right and started whole over again. Upon reaching the road, I work on my steering. Good angle of turn and rotation but not with the release of the clutch, again. At some point, I forgot to press on accelerator. Again, the engine dead, in the middle of the road. -.-"

Thank God there was no car. If not I would be "hon" and how humiliating would that be. Changed my gear and moved forward. I think I pressed too hard as the car speeded for a while and I didn't hit any dustbin nearby. That's why break is invented. Anyway, I parked safely in the end. Well, it was just that. Guess how far is the distance?

Only 5 or 6 houses away..

just to park it here.

Anyway, went to school this morning to get my SPM certificate. The officer and teacher still recognizes me after more than one year leaving the school. To my surprise, the officer (an old lady) can speak fluent English. I was like, "wow". Guess there is no excuse for us if not able to speak in English, isn't it? Didn't get to see my class teachers since they were still busy with stuff. Miss them. :)

Watched this movie, twice ever since I came back. Nice movie. It is on ASTRO, no longer in cinema since it was released in year 2006. What am I kidding? ASTRO only broadcasted movies like one or two years upon their releases?

Imagine you switch body with opposite sex. How would you feel, huh?

*If I could photoshop and put someone's faces there? That will be so cool. xD

It's Laura birthday.

Happy sweet 19! :)

Stop Blogging

#1: Writer's Block?
I am not really into blogging lately. I am not a blogger who blogs about politics, economy, social et cetera that do not influence my life so greatly. I am not that ignorant though. I know that Malaysia is now having its sixth Prime Minister already (but still feel like he is the fifth one, may be because "Pak Lah" did not hold the post long enough or Mahathir became the PM for too long.) Not to say they don't have some significant effects. I have been a blogger for a year and as you can see, I have been posting quite a lot, be it crap, my thought, personal stories and so on.

I won't say my holiday is boring, despite that I keep on carrying on the same routine: wake up at 12 or 1 pm, having lunch, staring at laptop (online & O2Jam), watching TV (some Singaporean dramas), laptop again, back in bedroom with my dear brothers around 12am, yelling and spanking one another, and finally sleeping at 4am. These are things that keep me occupied day by day and they are not boring, at all. :)

*Yi Herng, I am still trying to wake up early. Break my promise that day. *paiseh*

Anyhow, I just could not find something to post about though. Nevertheless, if I don't update my blog, feel that something is missing. Need inspiration. No, I won't stop blogging yet. The post title is just a hook. It works, it is not?

#2: Reverse, Accelerate, Brake, Parking
It has been a week now ever since I start to learn driving. Yet to drive on big road with other cars. Mom says since our car does not have second brake, so better not to. Plan to practice in the middle of night where no much cars but melatonin keeps on making me drowsy. Where is it when I need it so badly when I want to sleep?

At the moment, I am practicing to reverse and park. Sound like easy task but the pedals really get on my nerves, especially the clutch. I always forget to release it. My car is always static in the beginning.

This is my dad's Matrix car, the previous picture I get somewhere from internet. This is the real car that I used to practice driving.

UTP sticker :)

By the way, people, this is my house. Easy to recognise if you feel want to come during your visit to Bintulu. I am just saying, not necessary to come.

#3 I am dying to playing THE SIMS 3!

Yes, I am really desperate at the moment to play this game. Has been released since 2nd June. Everyone starts to play the game except the pathetic me. Need it so badly right now.
Back in Foundation First Semester, I am so, so addicted in playing The Sims 2. It is kind of fun to see the character that you control grows in front of your eyes, virtually.

Start from an infant...

to become a child

then, a teenager madly in love

Grow up, has a job, settle down and has his own

and this process goes on..

This is only small part of it. It fascinates me. It has been long time I didn't play since I cannot install the expansion packs.

But now, I am having "The Sims 3 Desperado Syndrome". Need help!

MadTV

YouTube can be really a great source of entertainment. Last few days I have discovered this MadTV thingy. It is sort of parody of real people. The target are usually the famous celebritites like Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama and the list goes on. The one below is one of them.

There are more of them. I could not stop laughing. :D
*You have to really know the celebrities to get the joke.

Model of the day: Ruby

It is now 10 of June. I thought it is still 9 though, well, guess it was. Since June has only 30 days, meaning to say, less than three weeks to go, this month comes to an end. The time is fast passing by just nicely.

Anyway, do some photo shoot today and the model is my dear pet dog, Ruby. Beginner photographer, don't bash me. :)

Looking into the eyes

Empty

Excited?

Left

Right

Scared

Can't get down

Chewing

Again

Imprisoned

Location: My home
Time: 5.30pm (local time)
Photographer: me
Camera: N70, 2 Megapixel

Losing

宝贝，你该醒来了~
不要再睡了，我们还没完成我们之间 承诺的一切！
等你康复了，我们一起去完成，好吗
快醒来，好不好？别让那么多人等你 ~大家都很想你啊！
你说过的，你没那么容易倒下的，不 让我担心的！
拜托你快醒醒啊！
对不起！T.T


Today Is D 4th Day...
My Hp Expired Already...
I Don Hav Car To Go Out...
Everytime If This Is The Situation, U R D One Who Helped Me To Reload...
Really Miss U Very Much...
We R All Waiting 4 U...
And U R Not Alone...

The One Who Miss U Very Much,
Miss Fish...


Wei...Ding Ling Dear....
2morrow Is Saturday D... Thought We R Going Out Again Moro...
Will B Waiting 4 U...


喂~贞铃！！该醒了咯~你忘了上次我说 过请你们吃KFC吗？你再不起来我不请 噢！快快啊~太阳晒到屁股了啦~我在 着你噢！！


Dun Be So Lazy La... Get Out Of The Bed Le Lo...
Every1 Is Waiting 4 U... Nw Hurry Up N Wake Up Le Lo...
Wake Up Le Jiu Accompany U Say More Fei Hua...^^


Wei...
I Really Miss D Time I Play Straw Wif U La...
I Only Wan To Play With U La...
I Don Wan To Play With Other Ppl Cos They Will Laught Me Childish La...
Wait 4 U To Play With Me O...
Jia You O...

The One Who Always Care About U,
Miss Fish...


Hey...
Mr Shark...
Tat Day U Said U Wan To Copy My Pa Correction...
I've Done It Liao...
Waiting 4 U To Copy Frm Me Liao...
I Believe Tat U R Strong Enough To Face It...
I Will Always Support U De...
Jia You O...

The One Who Always Support U,
Miss Fish...


Hai Ding Ling... I Luv N Miz Ur Jokes Very Much.. I Hope Dat U'll Fine... B Strong N Hv Faith In God... U Such A Good Friend 4 Me...B Strong My Pal...

These are the comments I get to read when I was browsing through my friend's profile in Friendster. One of my primary school classmates met an accident and yet to recover from her unconsciousness. She was admitted into specialist hospital. Guess that her condition is sort of serious. I am not close to her yet after reading the comments above, I do feel the sadness of those who really care much about her. It makes my heart sobs. Hope she recovers soon.

Sometime when we about to lose things, we will start to miss them. Till then you realise who is the most important one in your life. :)

Objects are replaceable when we lost them but not souls.

Learn Driving from Mom

Yet to get my official legal license, I have been begging my mom since the beginning of my semester break to teach me to drive, well, at least the basic of driving. In fact, I have been asking since last year. Eventually, my mom agreed. My lesson has started yesterday and today is the second day. I would say so far everything is fun and exciting. And, it is a bit scary too.

Since this is not an official lesson, we choose the zone which is police-free, obviously. For Bintulu people, we have an abandoned old airport near to the town in which the building is no longer be seen. But, the thing that still remains is the runway, a very wide long runway. Some others seem to be there to practice driving as well.

After familiarizing with the gears and pedals, we started to get the car moving. It looks easy when I saw mom demonstrated but not when it came to my turn. Just realize that I have to be real alert. Out of the three pedals, the most problematic for me to get to use to it is the clutch. Every time I changed gear, I always forget to release it (since we have to press it while changing gear) and so, the car hardly moves even with the accelerator is being pressed. And the sound of engine “drooms” scares me every time when I press the accelerator too hard (which I think is too hard). Still a beginner anyway. Now I am just practicing on the runway with hardly any cars. Yet to get driving on the big road yet. Well, just 2 days, it won’t be that fast, eh?

Another thing, I am practicing using my dad’s Matrix car, quite a big car. Everyone started using “Kancil”.

Then You Look At Me

Laugh and cry
Live and die
Life is a dream we're dreaming

Day by day
I find my way
Look for the soul and the meaning

Then you look at me
And I always see
What I have been searching for
I'm lost as can be
Then you look at me
And I am not lost anymore

People run
Sun to sun
Caught in their lives ever flowing
Once begun
Life goes till it's gone
We have to go where it's going

Then you look at me
And I always see
What I have been searching for
I'm lost as can be
Then you look at me
And I am not lost anymore

And you say you see
When you look at me
The reason you love life so
As lost I have been
I'll find love again
And life just keeps on running
And life just keeps on running
You look at me and life comes from you
From you.

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

Went to my teacher's house today to learn a bit of Adobe Photoshop. It' is fun and interesting but at the same time, it is challenging and complicated. Take time to really master it. So far, I learn it for the sake of designing poster and stuff, not really to the extent that I could photoshop my own face so that I look pimpleless in pictures. Sort of chatting my teacher for a while too, expressing my concern over my studies life and he shared his. He is my Chemistry teacher, by the way. He says he scores better in Organic Chemistry than Physical Chemistry.

Hang out with high school friends too. Get to meet them after not seeing one another for so long. They don't change much. It is a good thing. Somehow, I feel like I can be my real self again when I am with them, because that is the way I used to be. Miss those days.

*Hate when negative thought creeps into mind. Never like the feeling.

These are the truth

Being tagged by Justin, again.

WHAT WAS YOUR:
1. Last beverage: Green Tea
2. Last phone call: Friend
3. Last text message: Same as above
4. Last song you listened to: Then You Look At Me - Celine Dion
5. Last time you cried: Not crying, tears shedding. Almost every night?

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. Dated someone twice: No.
7. Been cheated on: No.
8. Kissed someone & regretted it: No. I mean, I am yet to have my first kiss. (excluding my baby brothers)
9. Lost someone special: Hope not.
10. Been depressed: Sort of.
11. Been drunk and threw up: NEVER.

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLOURS:
12. red
13. blue
14. green

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2009)
15. Made a new friend: This year? Not really new friends, but getting closer to the acquaintance that get to make last year
16. Fallen out of love: No.
17. Laughed until you cried: No.
18. Met someone who changed you: Yes.
19. Found out who your true friends were: Not were, it's "ARE" and hope it will stay that way.
20. Found out someone was talking about you: Just now at the mall, meet old friends. They were talking about me.
21. Kissed anyone on your friend's list: Obviously no. Not even virtually.
22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: Most of them.

23. How many kids do you want?: It depends.
24. Do you have any pets: Dogs, hamsters.
25. Do you want to change your name: It's just nice.
26. What did you do for your last birthday: Being treated by my friends. Went to lectures. Doing assignments. Typical day.
27. What time did you wake up today: 12pm
28. What were you doing at midnight last night: Singing and dancing
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: Back to UTP! (seriously?)
30. Last time you saw your Mother: Err... now?
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: Quite a lot, but I am grateful of what is given to me. Things happen for reason. They won't just happen.
32. What are you listening to right now : The music from Restaurant City in Facebook and sound of the fan.
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: I don't have friends named Tom.
34. What's getting on your nerves right now: Nothing. (perhaps the slow internet connection)
35. Most visited webpage: Facebook, Blog, Plurk, Friendster, YouTube
36. Whats your real name: Steward Baba
37. Nicknames: Close friends call me "Baba" now
38. Relationship Status: Single but not available
39. Zodiac sign: Taurus
40. Male or female?: Male.
41. Primary School?: SJK Sebiew Chinese Bintulu, SJK (c) Choong Hwa Gurun, Kedah
42. Secondary School?: SMK Bandar Bintulu
43. High school/college: Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
44. Hair colour: Black
45. Long or short: Short.
46. Height: 170cm ++.
47. Do you have a crush on someone?: Don't know.
48: What do you like about yourself?: Everything?
49. Piercings: No.
50. Tattoos: No.
51. Righty or lefty: Righty

FIRSTS :
52. First surgery: No.
53. First piercing: No.
54. First best friend: Don't believe in this anymore.
55. First sport you joined: Badminton or Taekwondo?
56. First vacation: Kuching
58. First pair of trainers: Trainers?

RIGHT NOW
59. Eating: Nothing
60. Drinking: Green Tea
61. I'm about to: doing nothing. Perhaps reading Reader Digest that I have just bought.
62. Listening to: I have mentioned.
63. Waiting on: finishing this.

YOUR FUTURE
64. Want kids?: Of course.
65. Get Married?: Yes.
66. Career?: Oil & Gas, Education, Management

WHICH IS BETTER :
67. Lips or eyes: eyes
68. Hugs or kisses: Hugs
69. Shorter or taller: Taller
70. Older or Younger: Younger
71. Romantic or spontaneous: Spontaneous with a bit of romance
72. Nice stomach or nice arms: Nice arms.
73. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive
74. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship.
75. Trouble maker or hesitant: Hesitant

HAVE YOU EVER :
76. Kissed a stranger: No, not even accidentally.
77. Drank hard liquor: No.
78. Lost glasses/contacts: I don't wear any. Good eyes.
79. Sex on first date: Never have a date. Mind you, won't have sex on the first one either.
80. Broken someone's heart: May be.
82. Been arrested: by Mom?
83. Turned someone down: Maybe?
84. Cried when someone died: Need not to wait for someone to die for me to cry.
85. Fallen for a friend?: Erm, so far, no.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
86. Yourself: 50-50.
87. Miracles: Yes.
88. Love at first sight: Sort of,
89. Heaven: Yes
90. Santa Claus: No
91. Kiss on the first date: Never date.
92. Angels: Yes

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time: Never have one.
95. Did you sing today?: No.
96. Ever cheated on somebody?: No.
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go?: High school
98. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, what would it be?: Lots of them.
99. Are you afraid of falling in love?: Because afraid that may fall out of it and fall apart.

100. Posting this as 100 truths?: I am not lying.

Tagged

First Tag: by Yi Herng

1. Besides your lips, where is the favourite spot to get kissed?
Erm, cheek?

2. How did you feel when you woke up this morning?
Lazy. Feel want to sleep all the way.

3. Who was the last person/people you took photo with?
My brothers.

4. Would you consider yourself spoiled?
A bit.

5. Will you ever donate blood?
I will if I can.

6. Have you ever have a best friend who was of the opposite sex?
I don't believe in "Best Friends". "Close friends" and "Special friends" are preferable. And, it is not "WAS". It is still "IS".

7. Do you want someone to be dead?
No

8. What does your last text message say?
This message is quite long. For the sake of this tag, I will type it out.
"Love from A~Z

Accept
Believe
Care
Devoted
Enjoy
Freedom
Give
Honesty
Independence
Jealousy
Kiss
Love
Mature
Natural
Observe
Protect
Quarter
Relax
Share
Try
Understand
Vow
Willingness
Xpression
Yield
Zest"

9. What are you thinking right now?
Nothing except tagging.

10. Do you want someone to be with you now?
Yes.

11. What was the time you went to bed last night?
Lying on the bed around 2.00 am but only feel sleepy, hours after that.

12. Where did you buy the tee you are wearing now?
It's a gift from a plant visit.

13. Is someone in your mind right now?
Yes.

14. Who was the last person who text you?
Michael Hii, a friend from Miri that I get to know back in 2007 during Nurturing The Eagle (NTE)

Lazy to tag.

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

Second Tag: Justin Wai Khan

Upload your favorite picture and answer the questions below:
Erm, this is hard. I have lots of favourite picture. Don't know which one to choose. Anyway, I choose this one.

Why do you choose this photo?
Cute and meaningful picture. :)

When was the last time you ate pizza?
19 April 2009. Pizza Hut. Jaya Jusco, Ipoh. I still keep the receipt. :)

The last song you've listened to?
Nobody by Wonder Girls

What are you doing besides answering this tag?
Listening to songs

Besides your own name, how do you like people to call you?
.........................

I like to do tags but not tagging people. Sorry.

Rotting

This will be post with words only. No pictures. No graphics. Just plain text. It will be monotonous.

I won’t say my holiday is boring since I have lots of things to do, actually. No one to blame but me if I am rotting at home and doing nothing. Very hard for me to kick off the habit of sleeping late and waking up late. I can only sleep when the clock passes twelve and same goes for the time to wake up, if you know what I mean. Somehow my biological clock has distorted. The homeostasis of my body is not able to revert to its normal state. How pathetic. I need regular sleep, please.

My BMI is not normal, it is below normal range actually. Thinking of getting some fat so that my width is proportional to my height. Think that my body itself prefers staying thin. Some more, two months without Starbucks, Secret Recipe and Big Apple is kind of torture for a guy like me who comes from a humble town which doesn’t have much fancy restaurants yet get exposed to these. And no bowling court for me to bowl. Another torture.

The Gawai season is still on and so whole my family members was out to “ngabang” (visits friends & relatives’ houses) but I choose to stay at home. Somehow I do feel that the heat of celebration is getting lesser and lesser, year by year. I am not mentioning Gawai alone,same goes for others. Think that the modernization starts to take over the tradition that we used to have while celebrating these festivals. Invention of new gadgets and the progression of this technology become the new interests of youngsters these days. Not to mention that I myself fall for it. Nevertheless, I am still glad that everyone is still able to gather to celebrate the big days together. We should always remember where we come from.

Free from assignments, projects, lab reports, books or whatever something-to-do-with-studies makes me get addicted to play games lately either PC Games or those applications in Facebook. The only PC Game that I am playing now, well, is none other than O2jam. Discover a lot of songs that I like. It is getting fun. And, The Sims 3 has been officially launched yesterday. I am dying to play it right now. Very, very desperate. I am back in playing My Heroes Abilities in Facebook. Now my day is occupied by games, for now.

Thinking of reading the lecture notes that I download from DC++ that day, IMSE & SPDS. Am I crazy or what?

*I dreamed that I get 2.5 for this semester. Has strong instinct that it will happen. Or may be worse, who know?

Selamat Ari Gawai

1 June. Not a big day for those who reside in Peninsular Malaysia but is is the big day for the local people of Sabah and Sarawak. For Sabahan, it will be Pesta Keamatan. As for Iban folks like me, it is the time to celebrate Gawai festival. The time to balik kampung. Back to my long house.

We started off our journey with this Hilux. This vehicle is tough enough to endure the bumpy ride that we about to have since we would be heading to the place which is far, far away from urbanization, with irregular road surface and surrounded by nature.
Too bad is that the capacity is not really adequate for a big family like me which have 5 siblings. Five of us have to squeeze ourselves real hard throughout the one hour and rocky ride.


The journey was too rocky till that I almost vomit and my head hit against the ceiling (do they call it "ceiling", by the way? I am not really sure.) Around one hour later, we finally reached the harbour or port or whatever-the-name-is where boats dock. My grandparents have been expecting us.

In Iban, we call this as "jelatung"

Get ready to sail

It has been a long while I didn't have a ride on a boat. The last one would be three years, I guess. The weather was kind of hot but it is also the best time to really enjoy the nature.






The boat ride was about 30 minutes and we finally there.

My long house

Well, it is not really long if to compare with other longhouse. Mine has only six rooms while others can have up to 50 or even hundred of rooms, which is very, very long, I would say. This is the place where my dad was raised since he was an infant. Imagine how long this long house has been there.

Till today, my long house still doesn't have constant supply of clean water and electricity. The residents here rely on generator for electricity. The generator is using oil to run. Although this place is out of civilization, we do depend on oil for daily usage, in the sense that we don't use much oil for transportation like the city people but we do need oil for other purposes. To save oil, there is no electricity during day time. Imagine how hot can it be. Those who are used to air-conditioned living room would keep on cursing throughout your stay here. But, there are long houses that do have constant electricity but not mine, unfortunately.

As for water, the source come from rain and river water. Life could be very hard if drought strikes, just like what is happening currently. It has been a while it didn't rain here. Sometimes we need to carry pails of water from the river everyday just for the sake of water. Of course, the river is also the place for us to take bath. Well, if you ask me, it will always be public bath. We do have bathroom indoor though.

This is the place we called as "Tanju".

I am not really sure the real function of this but my grandparents use to dry their rubber sheets here or their "belacan". You can say it is a drying spot. As you can see from the picture above, it can also a place for us to gather, eating coconut. :)

"Ruai"

This is the part that connects all the rooms in the long house. This is the place when we are having reunion dinner. This is the place where the visitors will be when they come. This is the part that distinguish between typical terrace house in the city and long house.

View outside of long house

My grandparents rear pig. Meaning, they have pig farm. They are for sale for those who wish to buy them. When it comes to Gawai celebration, there would be a pig to be slaughtered. Poor pig.

Being tasty and cute at the same time is a curse.

"Bandung"

A mobile shop that travels from house to house. This is where the residents buy their daily necessities. Well, they are not limited to this service only. The residents can also use boats to the nearest town to buy their stuff as well.

It was Gawai Eve. Me, my brother, my mother and my aunt went for mushroom hunting.

"Kulat buah"

The hunting was not easy as we were looking through the bushes in the middle of the jungle where exotic animals could come out and eat you up. No, joking only. But, mosquitoes are irresistible, and not to mention the scorching heat.

What is the name for this plant again?

Abandoned hut aka "langkau"

All the sweats. All the tiredness. All the pain. All the bites. Finally, this is the fruit of our labour. :)

Eventually, we had our boat ride back to our long house.

What I like when it comes to long house is the food. No, it is not only about pork, mind you. One of the food will be the prawn. My grandpa would always caught some river prawns and they are absolutely free. Somemore they come in big sizes. They are juicy. Yummy!

Another fact about me is that I love to eat sour stuff. The one below is one of them.

"Buah Maram"

Mixed together with "belacan" is nice. Enjoy the sour sensation in my tongue.

Preparation for GAWAI.

"Ranyai"

Christmas has its own Christmas tree. Gawai has its own tree which we call it as "ranyai". Foods and stuff would be hung on it instead of decoration.

I am not sure what is the name for this but every room will hang this up when it comes to Gawai.

This is will be a part of "miring". I think it is for sort of offering.

When the clock strikes twelve, which indicates 1 June has finally arrived, the residents usually will be drinking "ai pengayu" which means long-life drink. It is usually "tuak", rice-brewed wine. I don't drink though. Then, there would be a reunior dinner (midnight supper) for every resident in the house at "ruai".

After that, the old folks or even some of the grown-ups will be dancing "Ngajat", surrounds the "ranyai".

With the knife in the hand, they would cut the stuff off from the tree while they are performing their dances.

I am yet to learn "ngajat" though. In this modern times, some of the latest entertainment has become a part of the celebration. One example will be "poco-poco".

Others may include karaoke, modern dancing and so on. Even now "ngajat' is accompanied by music from player instead of traditional musical instrument.



Anyhow, I still like the sounds produced by the musical instrument the best. It is more original and real, to hear it live.

"engkerumung"

"gendang"

"tawak" & "bendai"

The compilation of these instruments will produce a music which is known as "Taboh Iban". I have included a short clip of the music if you wish to listen to them.


Guess that's all I can say about my celebration this year. I admit there are still lots for me to explore more about my own culture as I am not really well exposed to these. If you ask me, there are still stuff that I don't really know.

Anyway, I am glad that Gawai can bring all the family members to gather together in on occasion, no matter how far where do they live. They will always come together in one house to celebrate the festival. It is all about family. :)