2011 Primary School Gathering

Date: 29th January 2011

Venue: Delizze, Premier 101

It was another round of gathering for friends from Class of 1998 at SRB St. Theresa Padungan, Kuching. I made reservation for 20 pax and by 6.00pm, more and more came. We had dinner with lots of questions to ask everyone and laughter when thinking about our childhood time in school. A few didn't come as well but it was a great time catching up with long lost friends again. After dinner, we went over to Jase Tea House for a drink while waiting for Rapelson and Joel.

HOPE TO MEET EVERYONE AGAIN SOON!

*when are we going back to school to take photos?*

Work from home?

It's 28th January...wow! time really flies!

I got back home to Kuching on the 2nd January to start 2 video projects and had been driving around the city - interviewing, finding footages, hunting for solutions to all the camera transfers, purchasing hardwares. I even have my own working area (underneath the stairs, next to the storeroom). It was quite a busy 1st week back home with lots of things to do; not to mentioned having breakfast, lunch, dinner dates with family and friends as well!

2nd week was AMAZING! I was off to Kota Kinabalu for a week - getting my licenses, log more dives, venturing with friends from all over the globe. Got burnt really bad and now, my skin is peeling and I look horrible, especially both my arms *sigh*

After the week holiday, I came back and continued my work and this time, I spent most of the time at home - editing. Lots of footages to go through, lots of cuttings, separated them to 4 different language versions. It's a few days to Chinese New Year and I don't seem to have the time to help mum and dad around the house but managed to spend time helping mum with Ngo Hiam and giving ideas to dad for his decorations.

1st video is almost done. 90% more to go...

3 more days to submitting the video in full and its off for about a week's holiday for Chinese New Year!

I love working from home~

My Solo Backpacking Trip...to Kota Kinabalu

Finally, the long awaited backpacking trip was here! I started planning of this trip 5 months ago and waited ages for it to come. The date 11th January 2011 came with a slight change of plans. Instead of flying to Kota Kinabalu from Kuala Lumpur, I flew from Kuching which was why I had a 40 hours delay of flights. Why? On the night of 10th January, an AirAsia plane skidded off the runway in Kuching International Airport that had all flights into Kuching cancelled. It was a bloody long wait, checking out for my flights 3 times in a day and only to find out that I can fly to KK on 12th January 2011 at 10.45pm.

Wasted 2 days in Kuching; had to cancel my job interview and 3 leisure dives but the adventure started that night itself. Boarded the 10.45pm flight and reached Kota Kinabalu at 12.30am and checked into Borneo Backpacker at 1.00am. The best sight of all was to see the cozy hotel I was staying and the comfortable bedroom I had for the next 7 nights!

My first day started with a slight headache (couldn't sleep that night). Had toast and a cup of Sabah Tea for breakfast before heading out into the sun, walking along the seaside, taking photographs and smell the fresh air. I headed straight to Diverse Borneo at 9.00am to meet with Mark Hedger to start my Emergency First Response class. It was an entire day in the office with readings, knowledge reviews, DVD and practical training. My day ended with Bak Kut Teh for dinner before heading back for Rescue Diver Chapter 1 readings.

Day 2 was a bit more exciting. Mark took me out for my first Rescue Diver training at Sapi Island that morning and we had a little bit of time to head out for a dive at the House Reef before heading back to mainland. After the short sun bathing moments in the island, I took the DVD and went over to Coffeebean and spent 88 minutes watching with a glass of Americano. It was a tiring day as I had to digest so much readings and it continued on that night after Fish and Chips dinner at Upperstar.

Day 3 - an entire day in the island! Met up with Gina and Matt again but we had our own schedule for the day. Gina and Matt were both doing their Open Water Course. My instructor was Ian who spent the entire morning training me in the shores of Mamutik Island...also not to mentioned my 'victim' as well who plays dead so well! I finished up most of the training before lunch and later, Ian and I headed out to Mid Reef for a good dive. I had a hiccup - I couldn't equalize and had nose bleed after 45 minutes in the water...but it was a great reef and I saw a Squid! *laughs* We went back to mainland after the dives and that night, Gina and I met up with Matt and later with Mel and Joel for Banana Leaf dinner and later to bowling at Central Plaza. It was fun~!

Fourth day - last day of Rescue Diver training. Ian and I did a short 20 minutes dive at Sapi House Reef while waiting for a 'victim' to complete my training. At the end of the day, I carried Ian who is 20kg heavier and 20cm taller than I do, up from the water to the beach! *hurray* I scraped my knees real bad but I made it! After lunch, we headed back to office where I did my test and I passed! We had a celebration at Hunters with the divers before Lynley, Matt and I walked to Waterfront for a good dinner.

Finally...my leisure dives! Day 5 was awesome...though I was really tired but heck! I passed EFR and Rescue Diver courses and now it's time for some fun. Woke up at 6.30am to take a walk at Gaya Street Market. It was a good walk and before I headed down to Jesselton Point, I bought a packet of nasi lemak for breakfast. My buddy was Lynley from Melbourne and my dive master was Joe from Sydney. We had 3 dives that day and it was awesome! (photos will be uploaded after I digitize them). Though the weather was not great; with rains and big waves and strong currents, it was no doubt an amazing dive and I saw lots of nudibranchs and had fun counting them under the sea. Later that night, the divers met up at Upperstar for dinner cum drinking sessions before Matt and I went to Suria Sabah, intending to catch a movie but the cinema was closed at the time we were there, so we paid RM10 for tokens and played arcade games.

Last dive day in Kota Kinabalu. Was supposed to do 2 dives but ended up with 3 dives instead. We went further off the islands and the sites were beautiful~! I enjoyed every bit of the dives and had great discoveries. Lynley and I went to Upperstar for a drink that evening before heading back to our hotels to pack up.

Last day in Kota Kinabalu...I had local noodles for breakfast, chicken rice for lunch and took a stroll down the Wet/Dry Market and the Philippine Market to get some souvenirs and black rice for mom. I went back to the hotel to pack up and took a van to the airport with Lynley (whose flight was 15 minutes after mine to Johor).

It was an amazing time and experience I had backpacking by myself and achieved my certifications. I met so many friends from all around the globe. I went for a job interview. It was just...AMAZING!

A big thanks to Diverse Borneo especially Mark, Ian and Haled who was there to guide me throughout my courses. Thank you to Joe who brought me around the sites for such great dives, to my 'victim' who helped me play dead while I victimized you during my training. Thanks to Gina who accommodated me and brought me around for good food and a nice bowling game, to Matt and Lynley who share the same interest - diving - and hope to dive with you again! Keep in touch! *smiles*

...Panoramic Shot of the Island and the Mainland...

It's been great and definitely there will be plans to return again to Kota Kinabalu for more dives in the future!

Lost Laundry!

In my laundry bag was:

1. Green beach pants

2. Blue plain tshirt

3. LifeGame tshirt

4. Pulau Payar tshirt

5. 2 pairs of socks

I sent my laundry to this shop in Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu for wash and was told that I don't need the receipt to collect my clothes the next day. I felt odd and questioned the shop owner about it and he assured me that I don't need it. I was told to come and collect my clothes the next day and I went at 4pm and was told that it's not ready. I came back the following day to find out that my bag of laundry is missing! All the shop owner could do was to say he's sorry and pays me RM50 for it...and I was furious. I made a big scene in front of his shop and demanded that he must find my clothes at all cost. I gave him another 3 days and as I have predicted, he didn't manage to find it.

He compensated me RM150 eventhough he promised that he will pay me RM200 on our first confrontation. I took the money in anger and decided that there's no point to have another fight with such people.

So...an advice...

DO NOT SEND YOUR LAUNDRY TO THIS LAUNDRY SHOP IN GAYA STREET - THE ONE WITH A SMALL FRUIT STAND OUTSIDE THE SHOP, NEXT TO A SHOP THAT COLLECTS OLD TVs!

Completed! Certified!

I started with my Emergency First Response course on 13th January 2011 with Diverse Borneo in Kota Kinabalu. The plan of taking up the courses happened months before and finally, it happened!

Spent an entire day in the office; first with readings and knowledge reviews with the book and then an hour plus of DVD to watch before lunch. The afternoon later, was filled with practical training; hands-on on CPR, bandagings, AED, ketchup gloves challenge. The class ended at about 6pm that evening.

I received the Rescue Diver manual that evening and had to read up on Chapter 1 for the next day's dive training...and...I dozed off after completing the knowledge review for the first chapter.

The next day was awesome! I went out with Gina, Matthew and Alex who were doing their Open Water course while I did my Rescue Diver course. It was more to refreshing my skills I did in Open Water. Had a really bad sunburn that morning before leaving back to the office to do my EFR exams and continue with an 88 minutes DVD watching at Coffee Bean with a cup of Americano and later with readings and knowledge review through the night.

Day 2 of dives with Ian was fun! I had to learn all the skills to rescue responsive and non-responsive divers on the surface and in the water and I completed everything before lunch. So, Ian and I went out for a fun dive at Mid Reef with the other divers later in the afternoon.

Day 3 of dives was rather short and simple. We started with a 20 minutes bubble while waiting for my 'victim'. I finished up the rest of the training and redo one part of it where I carried Ian out of the water to the beach...and I did it! *awesomeness* I went back to office to do my Rescue Diver exam and I passed with flying colours! I had to finish an assignment - Emergency Action Plan - and finally I completed the course and is a Certified Rescue Diver!

2 days in class, 3 days in dive, a deep cut on my middle left finger, a bad coral scratch on my right knee, a very bad burn on my face, hands and legs

Everything is worth it!

Next stop: DIVE MASTER

I'm a Certified EFR!

Had an 8 hours class with a whole book of readings, 2 chapters of knowledge reviews, 11/2 hours long video, practical training on dummies and humans and a final exam...I'm officially a certified Emergency First Responder!

Another step closer to getting my Dive Master license...

It was a great-one-very-long-day but it was superbly fun!

Where am I? In Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. A solo-backpacking trip here for 1 week to complete EFR and Rescue Diver licenses and logging more dives in the islands of the Land Below the Wind.

More stories of this solo trip of mine to come...

KIA Closed!

Wonder why I have that photo in this post? The AirAsia Flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching late Monday night skidded off the runway...this is the photo of that accident. And because of this, all flights to Kuching and leaving Kuching are cancelled and Kuching International Airport is closed for the day.

Why am I posting this? I am stuck in Kuching and have missed my 6.10am flight on Tuesday morning to Kota Kinabalu. I went to the airport and found out that all flights are cancelled and the earliest flight out is at 10.50pm but it is a stand-by flight. I changed the time and came back to the airport again at 1.00pm to check and still there isn't any good news.

Now, as I'm posting this post, I'm sitting at home waiting to go to the airport to see whether the stand-by flight is flying or not.

I cancelled a job interview, cancelled a meet-up with a friend, put my hotel on hold (not to mention I'm still paying), putting my dives tomorrow on hold as well. HAIH!

Curtains coming down for St Theresa Padungan?

Article taken from Borneo Post dated 10/1/2011

SRB St. Theresa Padungan has stopped running Primary One classes. Some quarters have speculated that its Primary Two to Primary Six classes would be closed in phases, beginning next year until 2016.

A parent brought this to the attention of The Borneo Post because her daughter was supposed to study in Primary One there this year. She had enrolled her kid two years ago but last November she and many others were advised to send their children to the nearby SRK Jalan Lumba Kuda instead. "There was a notice at the canteen stating this. It also notified parents of the transfer. But the notice did not state the reason. I won't be surprised if many parents were caught pants down. Fortunately, I came to know about this is November," she said. The mother said she had managed to transfer her daughter to SRB St Theresa Jalan Tun Haji Openg, instead of SRK Jalan Lumba Kuda. She said she was saddened by the whole episode because SRB St Theresa Padungan is a good school, and one of the most popular ones in the city. "The school has a rich history. I will be sad if it is phased out," she lamented.

She said she believed what is happening to SRB St Theresa is also happening to SK St. Faith in Kenyalan Park. The whole thing seemed puzzling now because during the recent school holidays SRB St Theresa Padungan was seen undergoing renovation and everything had looked fine. She quick check with an Education officer yesterday confirmed that St Theresa Padungan was "phasing out" but she was unsure of the real reasons behind it.

SRB St Theresa Padungan, which is situated next to St Peter's Church Padungan, opened its doors in 1940 with 80 pupils and three teachers. Its first headmistress, who served from 1939 ro 1941, was Rev Mother Sebastian. The school was closed from 1942 to 1945 by the Japanese during the Second World War. It reopened in 1946 with 160 pupils and three nuns. The headmaster was Rev Padre Harry Van Erp. Today, the school can cater to more than 500 pupils at any one time.

St Theresa Padungan is a popular school because its pupils can easily continue their secondary education in either SMB St Joseph or SMB St Theresa. Its students have also done well in public examinations annually.

Never expected my Primary School to close down in a couple of years time. So much memories we shared through the years. I still return to school once in a while to meet my teachers and see the changes in school but looks like after another 5 years, there will be no more teachers around.

Gym in Kuching

Tangan and kaki so gatal...

Had to freeze my gym account in KL for one month and was supposedly gym-less for the entire month. Only until, I dragged mum and Aaron to check out Level Up Fitness one night. Influenced Aaron to sign up for gym and he did! Managed also to drag Tiffany to go for the 1-day free trial with me and we had a great time working out and laughing at ourselves throughout the Body Jam class.

Though there aren't much of equipments at the moment, it was a great 2 hours workout *relief* Will be heading to gym for the next 2 weeks after my Kota Kinabalu trip this coming week (Aaron's free 1 week voucher) *evil laughter*

I just can't stay out of gym!

2011 Girls Nite Out Reunion

Date: 2nd January 2010

Venue: Basaga

It was a very sudden meet-up because Jessica's flight back to KL was on Monday and this will be the only gathering we all have before another one year wait. I went around picking Adeline, Tracy, Jessica and Tiffany before heading to Basaga.

...a hotel and restaurant...

The night started with a glass of Jack Daniels neat while having lots of chit-chats around the table. We ordered 5 bottles of Heineken too! ...and we had an unplanned birthday cake cum candle blowing for Jessica's pre-early birthday celebration. Not to mention it was syok-sendiri photo taking sessions!

...the replacement for a cake and candle...

It was an amazing night with fun and laughters and catching up with the girls. Though we were all very sober, it was a night to remember especially how we celebrated Jessica's birthday!

Love ya all, gals!

Back home! ...working

YEAY! I'm finally back to HOME SWEET HOME...KUCHING!

This time, it ain't a holiday for mua. I'm actually working! From 2nd January to 16 February 2011...and having holidays in between too to Kota Kinabalu between 11th to 19th January and later for Chinese New Year!

I'm Lovin It!

First Day of Year 2011

We were invited to Soo Ching's for BBQ and New Year countdown. Hours before the New Year's was rather busy; meeting up friends for work purposes, shopping for external HDD, getting tarts and making plans for home. It was rather a quiet night but the company of friends made the night worth while. The night ended without any sight of fireworks but managed to at least hear the bangs.

New Year day...

Started the morning in the gym with Lynn (my last session in the gym before freezing my account for one month). The 1 hour in the gym was relaxing; working out the sweats and burn calories! Had chicken and cheese paratha and blackforest cupcakes for brunch before heading home for packings and cleaning up of my room and the living room. As the night folds, I ordered McDonalds Delivery of Double Cheeseburger while watching Alice in Wonderland DVD.

I never liked Alice in Wonderland's cartoon back when I was a kid. It gave me nightmares. Even until today, whenever I watched the cartoon, it gives me goosebumps and a terrible nightmare after. My friends had been pestering me to watch the movie in 3D when it first came out but I strongly disagree to watch. It was rather a boring day after packing so I decided to just give it a try...and somehow, I still don't like it!

It was a slow but great day to start of the new year.

Looking forward to what's next in this year!