34 Years Later..

Yeah, a few days ago, on Feb 11th, it was my birthday. Man oh man, hard to believe that I'm old. In a few years time, God willing, I'll be 40! So, one of my friends had suggested that we should go for a trip. She said:
"Hey, why don't we go to Bali?" I said "Sure, that'll be fun. Let's"

So, it was then decided that Bali it is. Unfortunately, timing is all wrong. So, we then decided to shelve it until May. And so, we'll be going to Bali. But wait, if it's Bali, I should at least shave off a few kilos of my fat. Yes, I am flabby. I need to lose it. Especially my 'cushiony' tummy. I don't want to end up like a washed up whale! NO.

So, 34 years later..I've come to this:

What will next year brings? 

:) 

Goodbye, Great Mandela

On December 5th, 2013, the great and charismatic Nelson Mandela died. Leaving behind a great example of a man who had ever walked the face of the earth. He was 95.

RIP, Great Mandela. Your legacy lives on.

Dream Vacation, What's Yours?

Hmmm... mine is Santorini Island, Greece!

With its aegean sea, thousand years of history and great weather, that's heaven on earth. I've always been a history buff. I love history, I even scored straight A's during my school years (yes, that's the 'vain' in me talking!)

I have always been fascinated with islands, histories, cultures and arts and this comes from a non-artsy person. I can't draw a single line. Give me a crayon and I'll probably 'kill' it before managed to produce a decent straight line!

It probably sounds cliche but being an Aquarian, I have fondness for water. I love islands. I love the emerald and sparkling blue sea. I love everything about the ocean. Relaxing on an island is my top pick for vacations. Luckily, in Sabah, we have many islands to choose with. Within KK City's distance itself, we have the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, a cluster of islands: Manukan Island, Mamutik Island, Gaya Island, Sapi Island and Sulug Island, forming a marine park. These islands can be reached by speedboat rides under within 20 minutes! They're a big hit among local and international tourists. My personal favourite is Sapi Island. A nice place to indulge in water sports and I love their yummy grilled buffet lunch!

Now, back to Santorini Island, I won't go in details about its topography and history. I'll let Wikipedia does the explaining. Click Santorini Island, Greece for info. I first saw the island in the hit 2005 movie, The Sisterhood of The Travelling Pants, where Alexis Bledel's Lena Kaligaris went to Santorini to meet the Greek side of her family. Oh.My.Gosh! I was totally bowled over by the scenic aegean sea, its surroundings,  the people and the whitewashed building structures of its principal city, Fira. The bluest of the blue sea. Totally heaven on earth! I could imagine myself sitting in a sidewalk cafe, basking in the Santorini sun, having conversations with friends while sipping wines and feasting my eyes upon the scenic natures banquet!

I have this idea of celebrating every milestones of my age in islands. Well, celebrating my birthday each year in an island is not a bad idea at all. Even it isn't, at least maybe every 2, 3 years? I remembered during 2011, I celebrated it at Mabul Island in Semporna. It was one of the best birthdays ever! Next year, I'm planning to head up to BALI!

Sunset at Santorini, Greece (images courtesy of Places To See In Your Lifetimes )  To see more stunning images, click on the link)

Here are pictures of my birthday vacay in Mabul Island (Feb 2011)

Stayed here, backpacker lodge Sipadan.Com. I always travel in backpacker style. Easy on your wallet & more laid back

The map of the island

Sipadan Mabul Resort (SMART) jetty. Day 1, Feb 9th  (Arrived at noon)

The very first (morning) day 2, Feb 10th. Woke up & straight to the deck. It rained the night before, still a bit cloudy..

Relaxing on the lounger with my friend. High tide. It 's a pure bliss!

Reading and lounging at high noon!

Low tides..about 2.00pm.

Looking forward for the sunrise! About 5.40am. Day 3, Feb 11th (D-Day!)

Sunrise, playing hide and seek..

About 6.15am, after sunrise

Me, in glorious sunset silhouette..

There are tame dogs in the island. This one was really friendly towards me, it literally dogged my steps :)

Early morning is normally high tides. You wanna have a morning swim? Just jump into the ocean :)

Just like them! It's about 6something AM, during high tides. They just jumped off from the deck and splashed around

The Sea Gypsy or Badjao Laut, a.k.a Palao children..it is said that in the gypsy's tradition,  newborns are normally thrown into the sea in a quick dipping ceremony so that they will grow into a strong and courageous sea warrior.  This is one of my favorite shot. They paddled from their boat to our deck in the early morning, begging for money. That boy was around 9 years of age and that little girl was about 3 years old. This was actually during the high tides. 

This is one of my favorites (like the pic above!) I think I, managed to capture this child's expressions quite well. Colors are gorgeous, too! 

Just beachy.. :)

Brown! After just an hour or so..

Morning dip! 

Went snokerling. This was about 18-20m deep!

Divers surfacing..

....and here are the collages...I got hundreds of amazing pics but hey..I can't possibly upload them all...so there..

One of the figures (diving & swimming among the fishes) is my friend. She did the night-diving activity.

                         This was me, getting wasted on my birthday, Feb 11th! Drunk & browned!

Last fill before going back to KK! 

The Brownie Effects!

Waiting for our ride!

Kg. Pakalangan's jetty! A short cut to Semporna town. This is normally where the boat docked when it's low tides in Semporna's jetty. It's about 20-30 minutes ride by road to the town.

Checking-out. The backpacker's office is located at Semporna Jetty

All in all, it was a very memorable birthday vacation ever! I'll definitely visit Mabul Island again.

Meanwhile, Santorini, you're my dream and I'll step on your soil one day, certainly!

An Adieu..

After about four years with School Of Medicine, UMS, the verdict from "twin towers" finally arrived. It says:

"Dear Miss...you shall be rotated to a new department and shall be reporting to commence duties on the 3rd June, 2013"

Translation: I've been rotated to a new department, in a new building. This time around, I'll be the 'sexytary' to a Director and will no longer be serving my former bosses (Deputy Deans). Now, my employer's policy is:  for every three or five years interval, Secretaries, Assistant Registrars and Senior Officers are being drafted for service rotation program. No exception. So, this year, my time has finally came.

Of course I enjoyed my four years working relationship with my former department but at the same time, I'm craving for new environment. For 6 years (the previous 2 of the 6 years, I've worked with a similar department back in KL) I've been working with two medical schools for two higher learning institutions and I felt that it's time to explore new avenue. This time around, I'll be working in a department which develops and monitors students' co-curricular activities (CCAs). I think, I'll enjoy working with students. We'll get to go places and GET PAID doing it. Travel and get paid, who doesn't want it? I knew I do! :)

So, here's to a new working relationship. May it'll be an interesting and fulfilling years!

Oh Leo! (Image courtesy of www.buzzfeed.com)

My farewell party. A momento with a co-worker

Tokens of appropriation inside the goody bag

“What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”  - Jack Kerouac, On The Road

Another Milestone!

A short, simple entry..

Happy birthday to self. Another milestone. The good power of being is still blessing me with another year to be in the universe's statistic. The past year has been fair and kind to me, I think. The good and the ugly were thrown to me in a more or less fair manners. There were hiccups along the way but I managed to overcome it. I'm lucky to experience all of human's feelings: joy, pain, courage, sadness, frustration, struggles, confusion. Basically, the facts of life.

Looking forward to another awesome year. I might be 33 and single but it doesn't bother me much. There's more to life than burying oneself in the 'mud of desperation and depression'. I'm happy to count my blessing, each and every single day of my 33 years and beyond...

I'm having a wonderful date with life! So, we'll be celebrating. Each day counts.

..and, Happy Birthday to dear ol' me!

XXX

A nearly forgotten letter that I wrote to an editor

I was clearing old emails from my gmail account this morning. At the bottom of the inbox, I came across with a copy of my letter, written to an editor of an independent online journal (newsletter) based in Sabah. The editor had sent me a copy of my published letter.

Wow, it was nearly three years ago and it's still in my inbox. How time flies!

Here's a copy of that letter:

Dear Editor,

I'm writing in response to Lonely Sabahan's article,. Please Listen to Sabahan Voice

The writer echoes my sentiment, totally. I am also a Sabahan, moonlighting in KL. Often times, I came across with not only prejudicial sentiments but also the common assumption of Sabah being a backward place. I personally experienced one incident which had totally left me feeling flabbergasted. I was riding a cab going to work when this cab driver asked me about where I came from. I dully answered that I'm a Sabahan. Upon reaching my workplace, I was about to reach for my wallet (for the required fare) when he suddenly asked me: Miss, can I have Sabah currency? I was totally taken aback and to say that my jaw went slack off was a total understatement! I quickly clarified to this cab driver: Uncle, Sabah is a part of Malaysia too. We're Malaysian and we use the Ringgit currency too. To which he replied: "ohhh" I am at loss of word because, looking at the cab driver, he didn't look like someone who is totally clueless. His English was quite good, albeit spoken in Manglish (Malaysian English)

My point is: How far behind are we in terms of development? It doesn't take some rocket scientists to figure that out. Even some of the moderately educated people of West Malaysia have this 'cocktail mixed up of geographical and nationalism facts' muddled in their heads. As the only Sabahan in my workplace, it's a normal occurrence. Some of them think that KK is in Sarawak and I have to remind them all the time that 'no, you got that wrong. KK is Sabah's capital while Kuching is Sarawak's.

Yes, it's an undisputed fact that Sabah is painfully lagging in terms of job employment opportunities. Oh, there are jobs but given the fact that most of them offered with relatively low paychecks! This of course, as we all know, has prompted the young generations (including myself) to make a cross over to WM to seek greener pastures. However, it's still come out as a rude shock, well at least to me. Living in the metropolitan city of KL is a stressful affair. The high rates of rental properties combined with equally high living expenses tend to slash a huge chunk off your monthly salary. After settling the basic living expenses necessities, where does that leave us? Yes, it's depressing...

That's why, after spending 6 odd years in KL, I now have finally came to a decision of leaving KL for good. It has been a 6-year long of stressful living, at least for me. The euphoric feelings when I first set my feet here have now dulled to a 'been-there-done-that' feeling. However, having said that, I do not mean to discourage young people to try out their luck in WM. After all, some of them are young, fresh and newly graduated and what choice do they have in Sabah? Employment is a big issue here. Our 'home' is still, most parts are underdeveloped whereas, young generations crave for job stabilities. The only logical choice is to cross the South China Sea.

As for me, goodbye WM. I came to KL as a young adult, but I'm coming back to my beloved Sabah a matured person. I had my fill of metropolitan life, learned to be independent, collected some valuable lessons in life and now I'm proud to say that all the city glitters have simply failed to compete with the 'black-outs' cities, towns and kampungs of Sabah. It will be hard to start over again but I will cross the bridge when I reach it.

From,
The Wandering Sumandak

Note: At a million years ago, this humble blog of mine was named thewanderingsumandak.blogspot.com.  Well, since I'm not a restless vagabond anymore, I had long since changed it to enniebelle :-)

Reading this copy of letter, I could't help but felt a bit nostalgic. I left behind some treasured friends and bittersweet memories behind, amidst the wild concrete jungles of KL. But, I'm happy to say that I've made peace with my old wandering soul. 

Saying Hello To New Year 2011

This is gonna be a brief entry.

I am not making some new year's resolutions.

I just hope that the painful memories of the previous year won't stop me from becoming a better woman with a positive outlook for life.

I want to celebrate life! Be it happy, sad, bitter, sweet, sour or millions other emotions - if such emotions even exist!

Lastly, hello life! May we have a wonderful journey together..

Adios to my old room

Thanks for sheltering me for the past 7 months, albeit it's a bit of a love-hate relationship. Of course, I'll miss having all those 'kitchens' just  a few stairs down but that's okay because I'm now currently on a mission of getting my old shape/weight back after heaping on those extra kgs and adding extra love handles. Ha!

Packing up was easy because most of my stuffs are either still inside boxes or my big luggage! I didn't bother to unpack, I just fished out whatever clothes that I'd be wearing that day and with some quick ironing, voila, I was ready to go! That's the sum of my 7 months life with you. Nah, I ain't gonna miss you.

To tell you the truth, dear old room, your replacement is much better. Much more airy and spacey, enough for two persons. I'm also given free reins to invite whomever I like with no extra charges! I mean, how cool is that? It's even closer to my sister's house, that I could just holler out her name. My new room of course is still in a mess now, what with all those barang2 but once they're sorted out, it's gonna be good. Well, it could use a new coat of paint though because I don't really fancy the current one. Not really into that orangy-peachy combo. I prefer the shades of soft lilac..

So, adios my old room. You have served me well but no, I've always known that we won't be together for long.

Simple gestures and courtesy will bring you everywhere

at least that's what i've been led to believe, and yes, i am still holding on to that value and hope to pass it down to my next generation. that's it, if i am to reproduce mini-me(s) la!


this morning, while i was on my way to work... (conversations between a cab driver and myself)

Me: good morning, i'd like to go to..

Cabbie: morning, ok. 

Me: thanks.

Several seconds passed....

Cabbie: miss, are you malaysian?

Me: ah? oh yes, i am. why?

Cabbie: oh, i thought you’re a foreigner.

Me: eh? what made you think so?  i'm malaysian, all right. i'm from Sabah.

Cabbie: oh, Sabah. no wonder. no la, just that i've been driving taxi for so long and from my personal experience, only foreigners greet me when they hail my cab. that’s why i thought you’re a foreigner. local passengers never bothered to do so. i never expected this, it’s really nice of you. i think your parents have raised you well.

Me: why, thank you. actually, sabahans are generally friendly. (yang kambang lubang idung kijap ni)

Cabbie: ya, you’re right. i heard that a lot.

Me: thanks (smiled)

it’s a good feeling when someone compliments you on your simple courtesy, and you didn’t even see it coming. you think that because it’s a daily fixtures of life, people won’t notice your simple routines but there are some, who actually noticed it. yes, it is such a good feeling indeed.

just wondering whether malaysian kl-ites are that stuck up..or maybe it's all about the 'simply can't be bothered' attitude. hmmmm...

LESSON - simple gestures & courtesy will bring you everywhere.

Dear Mr. History

I know you're probably checking up my blog.


to answer your question, no, i don't hate you. hate is such a destructive thing!


i just, never think of you anymore.


i don't keep track with my past bfs (not that i have many x-bfs!)


please move on with your life..i've moved on with mine.


closed chapter remains closed chapter. our 'book' had been edited from front cover to back cover, published and it wasn't a bestseller. it's a total flop! 


please stop sending me text messages. i don't like it, nor will i ever reply your messages.


do erase my number from your contact list. 


i don't harbour any ill-feelings towards you. after all, we were once in a relationship. 


when i said 'let's break up' it meant: love don't live here anymore. 


hope you'll find whatever you're looking for, be happy.


once again, no, i don't hate you.

The downside of having males housemate

yes, it's a breach of freedom to femaleland's turf. worst still, if the male housemate is a total stranger. you don't know him from ADAM! i think almost half of my life, i spent it living with the fairer sex. my highschool days, my uni days - it's hostel, hostel and you can call it "femaleland orgasms".  throughout my whole adult life, i spent it by being ensconced in the "femaleland orgasms" (btw, i'm talking about co-habiting with females housemate, of course)

currently, i'm co-habiting with two total strangers. a malay woman and a chinaman (yes, he's from China). the atmosphere? well, beyond the occasional hi/hellos, we're pretty much aliens to each other. having a male housemate, my days of being 'comfortable in my own skin' around the house was pretty much put on the 'stop/eject' buttons. the two major hiccups are:

1. no more prancing around half-dressed/naked around the house
2. have to share the bathroom - which leads to my bathroom blues - la tortura

whereas before, dressed or naked  - the whole house is yours for the exhibition, honey!

geez, not happening at all!

Men's Characteristics That I Hate..

1. Critical in almost everything about me: for example, the way I dress up, talk (especially my slang – don’t tell me on how to pronounce the ‘R’ consonant. Can’t do anything much about this, since it’s my tongue! ) once, I reprimanded a friend because he told me “itu ‘R’ jan kasi takan, bah”. I said to him, “aih..camana juga mo ubah, I talk like this, since..always. It’s my tongue, can’t do anything about that” man, don’t do that! It irritates me to no end..

 2. Constantly Cracking up dirty jokes! I mean, heck, I can handle dirty/sexy jokes (every now and then) but please, must you do that all the time? Remember, I maybe a good sport but first and foremost, I am also a lady, not a randy-goat sailor. Got that, cowboy?

3. Loudmouth & “look at me! Look at me!” guys - it’s like wanting to announce to the whole world that he’s the man, 'I’m the coolest among the packs, next to me the rest are pale in comparisons'. They actually believe that it’s a guaranteed charm in snagging women! DUH! In short, boastful men turn me off. Eating humble pies once in a while is ok. Otherwise, you’d be permanently chewing on the bloody crows! Yuck, damn disgusting visions!

4. Abusive – whatever actions or words that coming out of his mouth, all reeking with abuse. Puh..lease, grow up now or just GTH!

5. Clingy and whiny men – gosh! This is the worst among the worst! they need you to report to them about your daily schedules. Where you went, with whom, why not answering my text messages, why didn’t pick up the my call..and the list goes on and on and on.

6. Snobbish – yes, I was born into a very modest family. I’ve known hardships. Spartans living is no big deal. i can possibly live, eat and sleep in backward places. I love street foods. So, if a guy cringes to all these and says: ‘what? Gerai tepi jalan? apa kelas!’ or ‘I don’t socialize with hillbillies and hick people’ then I say: boleh blah!

7. Neanderthal men – they think women are slaves. women’s existence are solely to serve men. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no feminist. I don’t hate men. In fact most of my friends are guys. Don’t be surprised, in today’s world, there are men who still cling to the ancient conviction of: men gather and bring home the kill, cooking and washing are for women! Orang perempuan, tempatnya di dapur! well, then, shall I serve you dirt?

8. Men who are lazy, disheveled and look greasy all the time. I don’t care if you’re not a greek god. do take care of your appearances. if you’re presentable, decently dressed, wear cologne/perfume and know how to carry yourself well, then you can have my number :)

Well, I’m not searching for a perfect man. There’s no such thing as a dream guy! I’m no Cleopatra. I have shortcomings too. If you’re not all of the above, then you are most welcome to be my friend :)

ciao..

The Man With The Scarred Body

I was riding the bus from work one day when my eyes caught upon a man standing in the bus aisle. At that time, the bus was quite full. At first, there was nothing unusual about him. He was dressed casually in jeans and shirt, and on his back was a backpack. That was before I saw his left side of a body (at that time, his right side was facing over my direction). On his left hand, from wrist down up to the neck (below the ear) there was a trailing of burnt marks. And it’s not a thin and normal burnt mark. The healed burnt mark is very obvious, some people might even call it ‘hideous’. For me, it’s the total opposites. For a man who suffered and survived that kind of agony, it takes a lot of courage and determination. This man knows the meaning of ‘herculean’ will and I had a feeling that for him “nothing would ever scare him again. He suffered the unimaginable pain, came out from it alive and after that agonizing episode of his life, he could face almost anything”

What I admired about him was, he walks and stands proudly. He didn’t try to conceal his scar by wearing a long sleeves shirt, or even a turtleneck shirt to disguise his scar. He carried his scar like a badge of honor. That alone had me thinking that all this while, I’ve always been complaining about my own lack of physical appearances. Why God has given me with this features, more and more WHYs. God, I’m ashamed with the old me…

Sometimes, we tend to overlook the beauty in imperfections…

First entry of 2009

My, it's been a while since I wrote my last entry! The thing is, my 'creative writing' completely ditched me, for a while . So, here goes...

wow..see how fast the time flies! Double wows, it's February already! Ok, i know it's a bit too late for me to write about my 2009 resolutions. i normally don't make new year's resolutions, knowing that they will end up nowhere! anyway, just for the 'heck' of it..

"2009 Resolutions -???"

#1 Get a new job with a good pay (what? in this current "recession is when your neighbor lost
his job, depression is when you lost yours" siuation? get real!

#2 Reduce alcohol consumption! (it's getting there)

#3 Get a driving licence

#4 Widen my network (my facebook's friendlist is pitiful!)

#5 Find a real & comitted boyfriend, not one who is fonds of disappering acts, i hate being
Houdini-ed all the time! i think it's time to cut him loose..it's tiring, really!

#6 Complete kampong house (well, it's in progress and hope it'll be ready by Christmas)

#7 Buy a car (if it's possible!)

#8 Save money...

#9 Save more money...

#10 ...again, save more money!!

well, those lists aren't that difficult to achieve. Hope by the time I bid "adieu and hello (2010)" i could at least say "checked" to one of these lists :)

fingers crossed!

Why do GF's / wives always trying to fix their men?

Apparently, this is one of the biggest mystery that my male friends wanted to 'kaow tim' with. Honestly, my standard answer would be:

"Ooo ye fair knight, it is time for you to throw down the gauntlet"

hahaha....women are mysterious creatures. You can't never understand them. You might want to spend the rest of your life trying to figure out women but at the end of the day...when you're like: "Eureka! I've found the answer..." Well, hold your horses laddie, cause your answer will reach another big, chunky stumbling block!

I remember a Malay idiom "gali lubang, tutup lubang" (English intreptation: someone who digs holes on dirt ground hoping to close the previous ones he made) well, I don't know if I translated it correcty. If not, then tolong terjemahkan utk I...hehehehehe, my engrund is very the terrrrible one..


What I'm trying to say here is, it's like being trapped in a maze. You're desperately seeking your way out of the damn maze and when you've finally found an opening, you race to it excitedly but upon reaching it...alamak, another dead end!

But hoh, I think not all women are like that. Well, maybe some of them are trying to 'fix' their men for the better according to their standard and in the 'fix-you-up' process they didn't realize that they might have taken the wrong method/approach. Words of advice to ladies, don't be a radio buruk. Don't be a "miss-know-it-al". Don't compare your man with other men. Nanti bf/laki you lari, hah...yang tinggal you sendiri yang tergigit-gigit jari. Time tu menyesal pun tak guna. Apa nak buat cik oiiiiii...cempedak dah jadi nangka :-D

cartoon of the day: