Saturday, December 17, 2011

A miraculous blessing, no?

So, I was on a road trip from Kuching to Sabah for about 2 weeks. It was my very first time sitting for hours in a car instead of travelling on a plane for a couple of hours. I saw and learned many things along the way.

 Princess Arabella and Aunty Fris <-- Not a typo.

Princess demands a hug!

What can I say about Sabah? This would be my third trip to Sabah since 2010. I love Sabah (not the price of the food though). So, what made this trip so memorable? Two things: Being with my boyfriend's family and that very uncanny day.


Brunei is so magnificent! Too bad I didn't get to take a lot of pics.

What happened? I was sitting at Gaya Street's SugarBun, minding my own business. I had finished wandering around the Pasar Tamu and I decided to wait for my boyfriend's family there. An old man had already occupied the seat next to me. I didn't give him any much thought. Suddenly, he turned and told me that he was from Sandakan and he was from the Sungai tribe. I replied with a short oh. He then proceeded telling me that he had come to KK to meet with his son who was on his way from Lawas. 



 At Murut Cultural Centre in Tenom.




I listened to his story. He only had enough money for the bus ride from Sandakan and he slept at a nearby mosque the night before. The bus ride cost him RM 43. He told me that he ate this morning with his last few ringgits. I immediately felt sorry for him but I felt scared, too. What if this was a scam? What if he was a drug addict? 


But, he looked very normal and he did look very starved. He asked if I could spare him a few ringgits just to survive through the day. He also added that he would understand if I didn't do so. I wanted to reach into my purse and hand him a RM10 note, but my conscience told me not to. I was afraid that if I gave him the money, I'd do more harm. 


 Satay in Sipitang.

One for the album. :D

So, I explained to him that I was waiting for my family and I would appreciate it if he would wait for my family to come back. He agreed. We didn't talk for a while, when he suddenly told me that he didn't want to trouble me. So he said goodbye and left. I felt relieved somehow, but I really did sympathize for that man.


A minute later, another old man came. He was carrying a few plastic bags filled with vegetables and food. He kept staring at me and he seemed to be anxious at some point. He sat next to me. I thought he was there to wait for his wife or his family. He then stood up and started walking around Sugarbun, with his eyes fixed on me. I wanted to leave, when he suddenly walked up to me and asked if I was alone. I told him my family was at the tamu and would be back soon. He then asked if I was hungry and if I needed food. 


 I touched an elephant for the very first time!!

Sunset at Pekan Nabalu.

I thought to myself, am I wayyyy too skinny that I look starved?? 


I politely said no and that I just had my breakfast. He didn't seem to hear me, so he asked the same question again. I said no, and told him I needed to go. 


 Breakfast. :D

Aelred's birthday!

I don't know if this is God's way of letting me know that He always has my back no matter what, but what happened next really stunned me. 


That old man said, "Kalau ko mo makan, sia kasi ko duit. Sia kasian sama ko, duduk sorang sini. Sia bukan orang jahat. Nah." Translation: If you want to eat, I'll give you some money. I feel sorry for you, you're sitting alone here. I'm not a bad man.


 Ranau's POW camp.




He then reached into his pocket and placed some money on the table. I rejected the money profusely but he insisted and then he left. Dumbfounded and completely speechless, I stared at the money for quite some time before I finally realized what had happened.


I wouldn't mind to give that old man RM 10 if I had these earlier.

I counted the money- RM61. Now, which stranger would hand you that amount of cash without anything in return?? I quickly left SugarBun to find my boyfriend's family. 


I was thinking, what other things can happen if I stay there any longer?? 


Maybe another old man comes by and hands me a credit card?




A new way to charge your phone!

Ferry ride in Lawas. What a waste of time just to cross a small river. 

 Please build a bridge!

That day, I truly understand the meaning of God works in mysterious ways. 



Thursday, November 10, 2011

Hi you!

This is just a quick hello at all of you! :D I'll blog about something real soon, probably something about Justin Bieber. Say hi, Bieb's fans and haters! I'll not update on my life though, I think Twitter's doing a pretty good job at it. 

But, I just have to say this, I got myself a Tabby point Siamese kitten about a month ago. Finally my grandma opened her heart to this amazing little thing and allowed me to have it.

 My favorite pastime? Disturbing my mama anytime I can, especially when she's busy with work.

*I'm dreaming of kitty rainbows and Ferrero Rochers.*

See you all soon!

Friday, July 22, 2011

What and If.

We've all lost something, or someone in our lives. Some pain fade, but some never go away. Sometimes, the same pain just intensifies. Sometimes, we feel as if we are all alone in this world. And sometimes, we build walls around us, just to see who cared enough to tear the walls down. 

But, people often get tired of tearing down the same walls over and over. When my mom passed away, I was overwhelmed with grief and I had that moment where I wanted to just lock myself in my room and never come out. I just wanted to leave the commotion outside of my room, and to immerse in my own self pity. I wanted to blame people for what had happened to her, and I wanted to blame myself. 


I had so much pain in my heart. I wanted to sit in a corner, to cry, and cry, and cry again. I didn't want to hear condolences, I didn't want to see the sea of teary-eyed people. I did not want any of those. All I wanted to was to blame someone and to shut myself out from the world. What would my life be without her? How would we survive without her? She was everything to us. She was always the strong one. She never faltered and showed her pain to us. If anything, she made it seem easy to be a supermom. 

As I sat in my room, trying so hard to admit that she was gone, I felt the strongest urge to get out of the room and to be amongst those who were grieving near her. The silence in my room was deafening. 


I lost my mom the day after Christmas. A friend of mine is constantly trying to make the ends meet at home. Bills to pay, car loan to settle every month and mouths to feed, all because of an inept father; with such meagre pay. Child trafficking. People at war. Homeless. Hunger. Death of someone beloved.

I would be selfish if I were to shut myself away from people. I didn't need people to worry about me. I needed support, I needed comfort. 

Everyone goes through pain. Without pain, people won't see life differently. And yes, people deal with problems the way they are most comfortable of. Some run away from them, some face them, and some just sit in a corner, waiting for them to just vanish. 

But there is a world that still revolves around the Sun and it never stops. Not for anyone. We get on with life, no matter how hard it is. We can't weigh our lives based on others. There is another side of their lives you may not know of. 
And most of all, count your blessings. Be thankful for parents who are there for you. Be thankful for friends who tell you the truth about yourself. Be thankful for lovers who show their love for you. Be thankful for encouragements that are whispered in your ears.

And most of all, what doesn't kill you only make you wiser, if not bolder.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Swan Teem Steamboat.

So, I have this story I've been longing to immortalize in my blog. I hadn't been able to do so, as I couldn't find the free time to log in to blogger.com. Blame work. T_T 

On Mother's Day, my boyfriend, my brother and I decided to have an awesome dinner at Swan Teem Restaurant, because it serves pork. My boyfriend is pork fanatic. We were eager and all cheery when we arrived. We saw an empty table, as everywhere else was full and chaotic. We were like, Oh hey, there's a table and there's no RESERVED sign on it. 

So, the hungry-and-cheery trios sat down and waited for one of the waiters to take our order (drinks, that is). We waved our hands at some of the them, and one finally came to our table. He had this "You're not supposed to be here" look on his face. He told us to wait for a while, he went to, I don't know where, probably to pick his nose. He came back a few minutes later, and he told us, "Kamu tiga orang saja ka?" Just the three of you?

So, I said yes. He replied curtly, "Tidak bole woo, mesti mau manyak orang punya." I answered, "Hah? Maksud kamu?" Then, another waiter came by our table with a group of people and told us, "Ini meja orang, mereka mau duduk sini. Mereka datang dulu."

I began to see flames in front of me. Like, figuratively. "Habis, kalau mereka punya, mana sign RESERVED?" My boyfriend was already pissed, so we were moved (not we moved) to another free table. Read: No RESERVED sign on the table. We sat down, and a few good minutes later, another waiter came, this time a really young boy. 

"Kamu tiga saja ka?"
"Ya, kenapa, tidak bole meh?"
"Errrr,.... (he whispered something to his friend) tidak bole woo, kamu 3 saja. Mesti mau manyak orang duduk."
"Kamu sapa?"
"Errrr.... Sekejap ah. (He went to his friend at another table and came back) Sorry, tidak dapat. Kami penuh oh." You think I'm blind or what??

My boyfriend replied, "Fuck this shit!", and proceeded to drag my bro and I away. He was aggravated and I could hear my heart beating crazily. 

Being the obstinate me, I decided to confront the manager or supervisor. A woman who appeared to be in charge was taking care of the counter, so I went up to her. 

"Boss, itu meja tidak ada orang, kenapa kami tidak bole duduk sana?"
"Tidak bole owh, itu reserve punya." 
Then a worker proceeded to put the RESERVED sign.
"Yaka? Tadi kami disuruh duduk sana, tidak ada pun? Kenapa sekarang you baru mau letak sign? Kenapa tidak tadi?"
"Kami suda letak tadi. Kami full woo."
"Kamu ingat saya buta ka? Saya tahu, kenapa kamu suruh kami duduk sana tadi kalau itu meja sudah direserve orang??" 
She avoided any eye contact with me by counting money.
"Tadi suda, kami suda letak."
"Saya tidak buta, kami tidak nampak sign di sana. Saya pandai baca."
"Kami memang full sekalang."
"Kenapa you tidak benarkan kami makan sini 3 orang?"
"Meja suda di-book woo."
"Saya tahu, kenapa kami dihalau la?"
"Full woo sekalang ini. Itu meja suda orang punya."

My boyfriend asked me to stop and to forget about it. I wasn't ready to let it go yet.

"Kamu ingat kami tidak ada duit ka? Mentang-mentang kami Dayak."
"Full woo!"
"Kamu ini memang, dahla rude, gila duit, ambil kesempatan. Apa business macam ini? Go to hell la your restaurant!"

People were staring so I decided to leave. To Swan Teem Restaurant, thank you for the ultimate discrimination experience. I couldn't have experienced it any better in other places. 

When business is blooming, they take full advantage and waste no time in gaining lots of profits. Ignore those who come in small groups, take only big ones, they bring in more cash.

Your new theme song: It's all about the money, money, money. We sure need your money, money, money. It's about the cha-ching cha-ching.

Pic taken from a blog.


Monday, January 03, 2011

Challenge of the year!

Do you want to try something childish and new this year? Well, I do! It's good to reminisce what childhood was once like. I got this idea while watching Easy A and I was inspired by the MOST cutest movie scene ever. 


If you're up for this challenge, here are the steps!

1. Find a pop/country/R&B/love song that you really dislike (especially the one that you swore you'd never listen to again!) 
For me, it would be Sean Kingston- Beautiful Girls. God, I freaking hate that song, and any songs from that dude. So nasal!

P.S: Heavy metal songs must be excluded!



2. Pick JUST a weekend every single month that you'd be completely free. Just you and your room.
Download that song (if you haven't done so) and play it out loud in your room. If you have speakers, that's even better!


3. Cringe so much the moment you click 'Play'? 
Set it as your ringtone or message tone! 

4. Dance around the room to the song's beats. 
Vary your moves, not just hip swaying or head bopping. Jump on the bed if you must!

5. Still not liking it after the weekend is over?
Google up the lyrics and print it. Paste it all over your room. 

If all else fails, watch this!



Disclaimer.

“Apa-apa komen, permintaan, cadangan atau komunikasi lain yang lucah, sumbang, palsu, mengancam atau jelik sifatnya dengan niat untuk menyakitkan hati,menganiayai, mengugut atau mengganggu orang lain; atau memulakan suatu komunikasi dengan menggunakan mana-mana perkhidmatan aplikasi, sama ada secara berterusan, berulang kali atau selainnya, dan dalam masa itu komunikasi mungkin atau tidak mungkin berlaku, dengan atau tanpa mendedahkan identitinya dan dengan niat untuk menyakitkan hati, menganiayai, mengugut atau mengganggu mana-mana orang di mana-mana nombor atau alamat elektronik, adalah melakukan suatu kesalahan, tindakan boleh diambil”.

AKTA 588, AKTA KOMUNIKASI DAN MULTIMEDIA 1998





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