Wednesday, October 31, 2007

kNow yoUr huMan riGhts!!

If I ask you a simple question, ‘What is human rights to you?’ The most likely answer you will give me is, ‘the right to freedom, the right to speak out your mind, the right to choose your own religion etc’. For me, I’d like to add in some more such as the right to live your life, the right to make your own decision, the right to choose your husband, the right to choose your friends, the right to wear whatever you feel like, and the right to eat whatever you want hehe. But seriously, I think most of us (even the adults!) have a very vague idea on what our human rights are. And I have the Era Consumer to thank for organizing a human rights seminar for us clueless people. Not to bore you with all the details throughout the seminar, I’d just like to share with you guys some of the interesting bits which could be important for your knowledge. For example, if you get arrested (palis-palis…), what are your basic rights? Ha! We must know about that, don’t we?

To start off with, let’s look into what other human rights are there in Malaysia besides the main three I’ve listed above. According to the Federal Constitution, there are the right to personal liberty (this is when you get arrested), abolition of slavery, right to equal protection under the law, rights in respect of education, protection against racial discrimination, right to property (big issue here), right to citizenship and to vote (another big issue!). The speaker, who talked about the Federal Constitution, remarked that our view on what the Government is like is not what we think it would be. We think that the government is all about rankings such as the PM, deputy PM, and the other ministers right? Wrong. Look at it in this way. There is the Constitution (Perlembagaan) on top, which is divided into the Courts and the Monarchy. Under the Monarchy, we have the Parliament and below it is the Executive. So who decides the laws? Normal laws are made by the Parliament, but the Courts can decide on whether to enforce or abolish the laws. Sadly, this is not the case in Malaysia. According to the speaker, the Courts are described as ‘conservative and are still British-colonized’. They feel that the Parliament is powerful and are in favour of the Parliament’s decisions. Another way to put it, the Courts ‘tutup mata sahaja’ (just close their eyes). Another very interesting (and über sensitive) issue to look at is the freedom of religion. Freedom of religion exists in all democratic countries, but here in Malaysia there’s a bit of twist into it. Whatever religion that you are in, you can always convert into another depending on your beliefs, right? I mean, it’s a matter of you and God, and not anyone else’s business. But it’s not in the case of Islam. Once you’re an Islam, you can never convert into other religions. Why? As commented by the speaker, according to his sources, in the Muslim world, being an Islam means that you have made a pact with God in the ‘heavenly courts’. Obviously, there’s no court more supreme than the heavenly courts. So if the person wants to get out of the religion, it’s like an act of offense against God. Another simple way to see it is that you will be in God’s ‘black list’. Actually, freedom of religion is a human right and not one of those laws made by people. Like what the speaker said, human rights do not require laws, they are inherited. Hmm…so what do you guys think about that?

Anyway! Let’s get onto the next best part. OK, how will you react if you get arrested? Let’s see…panicked, scared, freeze to the ground, faint…anymore? I think I’ll faint hehe. Right, the first main thing is to ask WHY you have been arrested (mana tau salah orang or maybe the police guy just want to have some fun teasing you!). If the police gives a perfectly logical explanation, then you have no choice (sob!) but to follow him to the (nearest) balai. However, potential witnesses are NOT ALLOWED to be arrested. So if he/she wants to drag you along, tell him/her (in a nice way) to properly re-check the police arrest manual. And what happens when the arrested gets locked up in jail? Some important things to note: you can only be detained for 24 hours (check your watch!), and you have the right to make calls (your lawyer, family, or friends). The police can’t force you to make calls if you don’t want to. But there’s one niggling thing, though. The speaker said that if you (a husband) have been caught in entertainment outlets with a group of giggly, well-endowed girls, don’t call your wife, but a friend instead. Why ah? I also tak faham la. Also, when you are discussing with your lawyer in jail, the police are not allowed to listen to your conversation but can watch from afar.

Another interesting bit to chat on is the types of body search techniques. Did you know that some of the techniques can only be performed by police with certain rankings? Ok, the most basic body search is the pat down search which can be performed by all police officers. A similar example would be when you are being ‘searched’ in the airport whereby when you pass the metal detector, a ‘ping’ sound emerges. Another type would be the strip search whereby you may be required to, basically, ‘strip’ (but not remove all your clothes at the same time la, and it’s conducted in a private room)! But only police officers with rankings of Inspector and above can only conduct this type of body search. The third one, which you guys may be familiar based on a newspaper article, is the intimate search. Remember when the girl was forced to do squats naked? That’s an example of an intimate search. The squatting process is to determine whether illegal weapons or any evidence are being hidden in the ‘intimate’ areas. But one mistake on the scenario is that the girl is naked. According to the procedures, the arrested person does not necessary have to remove all of his/her clothing. And this type of search can only be conducted by the Assistant Superintendent of Police and above. Lastly, would be the intrusive search whereby evidence or any weapon have to be removed from inside the body. One example would be whereby the arrested person is given laxatives in order to ‘give out’ evidences such as drugs stuffed in condoms. This can only be conducted by a Medical Officer with the approval of an Officer in charge of the Police District. Well! That’s quite a whole lot, isn’t it? An advice for avid clubbers out there, if the club you’re in has been raided by the police, they have the right to conduct body search on you without you being arrested. The Inspector must be there in order to authorize the body search. However, DO NOT let the police to put their hands in your pockets or bags. Instead, volunteer to empty them and let them have a view of your belongings. After emptying your bags, turn them inside out in order to show there’s nothing inside. You cannot be forced to strip naked and they should body search you with gracious decency.

So, I bet you guys had quite a lot to learn today about some of your basic rights, isn’t it? It is better to know rather than not to know at all. Those who had gained some knowledge from this article hopefully can passed ‘em down to their family and friends. Let there be a more educated community! =)

nice signboard hehe

a view of the participants...that's my sweet lydia smiling!

group pic of le komluakans...that's the 'Chief' sitting down!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Budget = Boring?!

Ever wondered why people complain about the lack of commitment of the authorities in improving the development of the road system in rural areas? Or perhaps why there is still a large amount of unemployed youth in the society? And of course, the most talked about issue would be the ongoing serious problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah which had been going on for decades and sadly remained unsolved. Well, part of it comes from how the budget for each sector was being used. Using common sense la, you want to solve a problem, you have to have the money. In this case, the budget could either be misused, or not enough of the budget is being given.
When I was told by the ‘Chief’ himself, Mr. Ewon the talented speaker, about attending a “Perbincangan Round Table Belanjawan Negara 2008”, I’m like, ‘Okayy…so it’s about a bunch of figures being presented on Power Point??”. Thing is, I’m not a fan of numbers. Back in high school, I’ve never passed on any math subject (I managed to score during the finals though, thankfully!) and whoever asked for my help in book-keeping or accounting, I tell them to just get outta my face! Mum was invited too, but since she was reluctant to go, she insisted that I go ahead and attend it.

le komulakans in their most well-behaved poses hehe
On the early morning of 18th October, I drove to the venue, which was the Penampang Library, prepared with expectations that it’s going to be another boring talk of figures, figures, and figures. But surprisingly, I was wrong. Each of us was given a list of speakers representing their own area and the topic they were going to discuss on. There were altogether 26 speakers (each present their speech for a duration of 10 minutes), but only 17 turned up. Still confused, I asked one of the Komulakan members on what are the speakers generally going to present on. He told me they would talk about on whether they are satisfied with the budget being given for the particular sector and what are the improvements can be made to develop the sector even more. From there was when I generally had a basic understanding on what it is all about. Another niggling thing I noticed about the list of speakers was that out of the 17 speakers, only 2 were ladies! Looks like we still have a lot to do in order to prove that we can be at par as the men, ya?

the speakers viewing out their opinions!

Anyway, some of the common problems being discussed are the lack of computer & technology knowledge among the kids and adults, lack of water & electricity in most rural areas, illegal logging activities, underdeveloped transportation system, lack of teachers in rural areas and their ability of being fluent in English, and the problem of domestic violence against women and the increasing migration of women to West Malaysia for better job opportunities. One issue that caught my attention is the yet to be developed arts & film industry in Sabah. When’s the last time I’ve ever watch an original Sabahan film? Never. Why? ‘Cos they never properly advertised them in public. I know some of you will say, ‘Haiya, Sabahan actors where got handsome and pretty one!’ Or ‘Some more, I don’t even understand Kadazandusun. So why should I watch it?’ But the speaker of this topic gave a very good point whereby if Malaysians are willing to watch Japanese, Korean, Hindi, or French movies in which they are completely not fluent in, why won’t they give Kadazandusun films a chance? But in my opinion, expertise, creativity of the script, and promotion of the film is vital to success. So, for all aspiring local actors and directors out there, you must take action first before whining all day that you are not able to outperform Western and even the Malay films. It’s a loooong way, but miracles do happen =)
Another ‘hot’ topic discussed was the corruption situation in Sabah. The speaker for this topic may looked like a fudey-dudey old man, but when he speaks, Whoa! , everybody listened to him with rapt attention. It’s because he spoke with such enthusiasm (not in a positive way of course) and threw in some jokes here and there to lighten up the grim atmosphere. He remarked that the three most corrupted agencies are… (drum roll, please) (1) the Police, (2) the Army, and (3) the Majlis Daerah ( Council). He said that because of corruption, illegal logging activities are still going on, the PTIs (Pendatang Tanpa Izin) or just simply known as the illegal immigrants from Indonesia and the Phillipines, are still seen walking around the streets and their houses are shamelessly build in the public eye. Also, because of corruption, drugs like Syabu can be smuggled into the state through the ‘insiders’ and that top senior positions in the government are still held by West Malaysians in Sabah, and also that the distribution of scholarships among high-achievers in Sabah are very, very limited.

group photo with YB Donald Mojuntin!

But of all this, I think the main problem which has reached a critical (almost in a coma!) state in Sabah is the PTIs issue. I think everyone will agree to that. Maybe some of you may not realize that the amount of PTIs has actually outnumbered our Sabahan population, which happened in just a mere of 30 years, imagine that! Why are they so eager to come to our state, I don’t know. They have acknowledged themselves as true Sabahans by producing their so-called ‘ICs’, saying that they were born here, and that they are eligible to be voters during elections. There was one PTI who claimed that he was born in Ranau and had been living in Sabah ever since. But when he was interrogated, found out that he could not speak a word of Dusun (ha!). So you guys out there, be careful that your IC’s are not being ‘cloned’ by them. An example would be two different ICs but with the same passport picture and thumb prints. Imagine your identity being taken by someone else…such a big violation against human rights, isn’t it?

Anyway, I don’t want to say more on this, nanti kena kutuk pula for saying too much hehe. But I must say that I did not regret in attending this discussion event as I (the usually clueless one) can get a few insights on what is actually going on in the neighborhood surrounding us. So, next time before you complain on anything, look into the facts first, then you decide whether you can contribute something into it =)

Sunday, October 21, 2007

It’s just isn’t complete without Kuih Lapis during Raya

It’s my 2nd time being able to spend this auspicious occasion in KK since doing my studies over(South China)seas for 4 years. And it’s been 5 years since my last Raya visit to Membakut, where all of my Mum’s ‘old’ chums are at. They’ve known each other for nearly 30 years and still keep their friendship intact. Now that’s what I call true friendship. For me to actually have a proper Raya celebration, I have no answer to that (perhaps 10 years?). I remember cruisin’ around with Mum, Uncle M, and my cousins, N & N, and visited 12 houses in just one day! God knows how bloated our tummies were, and we little kids ended up snoozing at the back of the car on the way back.

This year, I kinda hoped that we could do that again (visiting the 12 houses part). Unfortunately, during the 1st day of Raya, we had to attend a relative’s wedding and found ourselves going back nearly 10 that night. It was quite fun though. After the reception at the community hall, we continued to ‘aramai tii’ (basically mean to party!!!) at the groom’s house. As usual, there was the ‘live’ singing part and One Uncle Walter taught me the ‘foxtrot’, which is different from the usual cha-cha, joget, sumazau, twist or ‘slow dance’ (where couples just sway from left to right hehe) which are normal dance routines during Kadazan weddings. Me being a first-time learner, I was a bit scared ‘cos obviously there were steps to be followed and I might ‘injure’ him with my stilettos. Plus, I was wearing a really (really!) short black mini. If I trip and fall, you know what will happen. It will be the Major Embarrassment for the Night. He dismissed my fears and told me to just relax and follow his direction. At first, my whole body was rigid and my movements awkward. But good ol’ Uncle Walter told me to visualize as if I’m a lifeless doll and that I let myself being ‘led’ by the partner. After a few tries, he said I was doing really good and that he’d like it if I were to be his dance partner! It turned out that he made lots of complicated turns (just like in the ballroom dancing scenes in old Western movies!) but I still can get along with his pace. Frankly, foxtrot is much more interesting than other dances. Its movements are graceful, elegant, and sophisticated. It might look easy, but it’s not. It really does take a lot of coordination of rhythm and timing, and ample airs of grace.

Anyway! Seems like I’m out of my intended Raya topic hehe. So, during the 2nd day of Raya, we planned (with fierce determination) to go a road trip to Membakut. Unfortunately (again), Mum must attend one of her friend’s son’s wedding during the afternoon. Apparently, her friend is one of her ‘supporters’, and so it is compulsory to attend, even for 20 minutes so be it. Luckily, her friend was understanding and we managed to leave after grabbing a quick, light lunch at the reception. It’s surprising sometimes that wedding receptions at home are much better than those in grand hotels and community halls. Hotels may have gorgeous decorations and atmospheric layouts, but it is always the food that matters. Am I not right? *winks* In this case, who cares about bumpy roads full of potholes when you can get yummylicious food of black pepper beef, sweet and sour chicken (the yummier version) and just nicely cooked mixed vegetables? But the music was thumbs-down though. I mean, who sings emotional rock songs at weddings?!

Right, back to my Raya topic. After that, we fetched Uncle M and there we were: Mum, Uncle M, me, and my lovely Si Gatal, getting all ready for the trip. By then, I had changed into my new sort of goldish in colour Kebaya. Some things I like about wearing kebayas and baju kurung are:

(1) You can sit with your legs wide (not that wide!) open and not worrying that onlookers can get a view of your knickers,

(2) You can be assured that your knickers is not going to show at the back of your waist as compared to wearing low-cut jeans,

(3) You can hide your legs when you realized that you forgot to shave them that morning,

(4) You can be sexy without showing too much flesh e.g. through the body-fitting kebaya and kebarung,

(5) You have loads of cloth materials to choose from which looks expensive but is not e.g. cheap polyester which looks like satin, and lastly,

(6) It’s pretty convenient for your husband/fiancé/boyfriend/boy friend to undress you when you’re both in the mood for some luuuurve *grins cheekily*.


Uncle R and Us!

The Amazing Kuih Lapis

V and the cute li'l girlsss

It was most unfortunate that the raining season came into the month of October ‘cos it had caused massivetraffic on the roads, not forgetting to mention blurry views of the cars ahead due to heavy flow of raindrops.Luckily, Uncle M was driving and Gatal and I got to catch on our beauty sleep at the back. As we were reaching Kg. Brunei Membakut an hour plus later, the only memory that I have about this place is the little bridge that we had to cross in order to reach the kampung. Our car was just crossing the bridge when I woke up. I realized that we were on the bridge and I was like, ‘Oh my God! We’re here!’ Uncle R’s house, Mum’s old chum, still looked the same as it had been 10 years ago. It was still raining heavily and I was devastated of the fact that my peep-toe heels will be drenched in mud. But as soon as I saw Uncle R’s familiar face, I felt a whoosh of happiness and gave him a big bear hug. I mean, Mum only gets to meet him once a year! Apart from him and his dad (quite a good-looking old gentleman), I don’t quite remember his siblings and their kids. Anyway, after the exchanged greetings of ‘Selamat Hari Raya’ and salams to one another, we sat down on the plush sofa and I eagerly waited for the yummy Malay delicacies to come out (gosh, I’m such a pig aren’t I? But hey, I am born in the year of the pig *grins*). We were served kuih lapis, home-made satay and its peanut gravy, home-made pulut, Raya cookies and cakes, and aromatic tea and coffee. Based on the topic that I have posted, I really have to emphasize on the kuih lapis. They were so COLOURFUL!! Like rainbows but with different version of colours. I’ve never seen anything like it, and it’s really tasty too. Gatal commented that Sarawakian kuih lapis looked much better and Mum told me that this is the Brunei version of kuih lapis. Well, I don’t care what Gatal says, I’m all for the Brunei version *smiles*. As we were helping ourselves with the kuihs and drinks, Uncle R and Mum couldn’t stop chatting about their recent developments and of their other friends. They also giggled endlessly of what ‘pranks’ they did in their heydays. More people dropped by after sometime and we decided to visit another of Mum’s friends at a nearby place. There we had really delicious rendang and curry while watching Garfield on Astro hehe. We would’ve gone to a few more houses but since Gatal had a business appointment to go to, sadly we had to leave early. Thankfully, the rain had stopped but there are still a lot of cars so Uncle M drove at an insanely super fast speed in order to get Gatal to be punctual for the appointment. There was one time he overtook a few cars while heading for a bridge and we can’t even see incoming cars from the other side. Talk about nerve-wrecking (even Gatal was shell-shocked)! But Uncle M was an expert (he should be a car racer) and got us to our safety in KK in about one hour. After sending Gatal back, the remaining three of us went for drinks at a kopitiam (I still managed to add some more satays into my tummy!) before heading back home. Our Raya trip may be short but it’s being able to meet your friends that matters. It shows that we still care and appreciate each other, isn’t it? =)

Ok adios for now, need to catch on with my beauty sleep!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

youNgsteRs witH a cAusE

Don’t you ever wish you had more friends (not that you don’t have any!)? Or perhaps get involve in activities like leadership seminars, outings, and even learn about basic social etiquette but never get the chance? Maybe you’ve always wanted to help those around you but don’t know who to approach to provide your assistance more effectively. Or else you just want to know what exactly are the issues that have been going on in the neighbourhood that you are living in. You keep on hearing people complaining about this and that, and because you lack the knowledge of the source for the issues, you don’t know whether to agree with these people or defend the authorities. Because of these reasons, the Komulakan is created.






Simple but effective banner hehe

V and Dipin the Bos

One big happy family =)



Did I get your attention? Hehe…basically the Movement (in Bahasa Malaysia it’s known as Pergerakan Komulakan) is kinda like a youth group/club (opened to anyone between 18-28 years old) and is specially catered for the KDMs (Kadazandusun Murut) but other races are accepted to join in as well. It was formed in 2005 but is only officially launched this year. Recently, on 12th October (just last week!), was the official launching of the Komulakan in the Moyog area. There were 110 new members and I see it as a good sign. According to the Chief (something like big boss! He’s very young [my age!] but is super talented and very driven and focused to achieve what he wants. To you I bow!), there are altogether around 6,000 members in the whole of Sabah! Wow, that’s a big number, hope I got the figure right! Anyway, I don’t know much about this movement as I only joined few months ago. Actually, Mum got me to join and she was really persistent about it, so I just went along with it. In these few months, I began to see the benefits of being in this club. One vital advantage is that being a member of this movement definitely makes your resume looks more promising. Why? Well, in these few months I was given the chance to speak (more like giving a debatable speech) in front of hundreds of people (or did it reach a thousand?). Of course I had my paper to read from, but most importantly is how I present my speech to the audience. From here I can tell the interviewer that I have good presentation skills. Secondly, I am selected to be in the committee, and from here I am able to sharpen up my skills on how to conduct an actual meeting and how to handle the other committee members. From here I can tell the (already impressed) interviewer that I have excellent communication and handling people skills. Thirdly, in these few months also I had the chance to go on a few trips like going camping in the natural habitat where we had conducted some seminars (the informal way) as well. And from here, I get to know loads of new friends and do some networking for future purposes. As for current issues, we haven’t focus on any yet, but I think the ongoing one would be the unemployment problem among the youth. I could use some advice myself, since I’m temporarily ‘on a leave’ heehee! But seriously, I want a job which I’m able to relate myself to. Like ‘V doing accounts?’ No way! Or perhaps being stuck in admin typing letters and do photocopying work everyday…not my cup of tea.


Anyway, not to bore you with all this! Just wanted to spread the word. If you’re interested, just let me know! I know you’ve always wanted to be someone with a cause ;)

Monday, October 15, 2007

just another normal monday

Well! It’s been a while I’ve done any blogging. My former blog used to be in friendster, but i don't like the formatting and is always prone to errors. anyway, all my friends are using this so here i am! OK, back to my lack of commitment to blogging ehehe. Blame it on the 3-month long dissertation (some of you call it thesis, to the oldies they refer it as ‘project paper’ hehe). Without the help of my supervisor, my parents, and my friends, I wouldn’t have able to complete in time and to maintain my sanity as well! Thankfully, the amount of words of my dissertation is ngam2 according to the word limit of 20,000. Before you go, ‘Wha…?!’, 20,000 isn’t actually that much. Once you start writing, you just can’t stop ‘cos there’s so many things that you wanted to say. Anyway, if all’s good I might be able to graduate next January!

source: girlscouts.org


Completing (hurray!) your studies is one thing, packing your stuff and moving out is another totally different story. One of my least favorite things to do since I started traveling around is packing, especially in terms of toiletries. I don’t know why I find it a nuisance when it comes to arranging all the little bottles into the vanity bag. Perhaps it’s because there’s so many of them. There’s the cleanser, toner, moisturizer, make-up remover, shampoo, conditioner, hair treatment, body lotion, hair spray, spot serum, hair serum, hand sanitizer, sunblock lotion, nail polish, nail polish remover, eye gel, deodorant, massage oil, contact lens multi-purpose solution, toothbrush, toothpaste, face sponge, AND hair roller! Hmm…and I don’t think the list ends there. Don’t even think about cosmetics heehee! The whole packing debacle took nearly a week of my time, knowing that I like to take my own sweet time in deciding what goes to which suitcase, what should go straight to the bin, and what can be ‘passed down’ to the cleaners. Heck, I even offered some of my CDs to them!

source: garmentcare.info


Anyway, I had dear old Mum to thank as she decided to fly over and help me to ‘share’ the burden of bringing back all the stuff. She’d say to her friends, “Oh, I’m flying out to help my daughter as she’s moving out and I’m sure she’ll need my help.” My guess of her actual version was, ‘Yayy! Shopping malls here I come!!’ We stayed in the city for a couple of days doing nothing but shop, shop, shop. Initially, I was determined to stick to my to-buy list of working clothes. As it goes, I did buy some cloth materials for the tailor to make some nice pants and skirts out of them ‘cos I could never find the right size of pants for my ‘improportionate’ waist-down figure. Either the waistband is too high and makes me look like an ‘auntie’, or else it’s too wide for my waist. Unfortunately, I’ve also added a black shirt dress, a three-layered strapless flowing dress (for my cousin’s wedding next month!), a strapless blue floaty top, yet another sheer flowery minidress, yellow pointed heels, a little gold-studded bag, another brown satin evening clutch with beads, and three belly costumes to my shopping list! I just can’t resist the costumes (2 tops and one waist shimmy) ‘cos they’re so pretty and they’re at half price! One top (bikini-style) is black decorated with golden beads and sequins, and the other one is entirely gold-studded heehee. The waist shimmy is gold in colour as well and the hanging coins add the lovely finishing touch. I haven’t worn them yet though, I’m still waiting for our upcoming performance which is yet to be scheduled!


Shopping apart, we also went to good ol’ Hard Rock café upon Mum’s persistent request. Did I tell you my mum’s the coolest? She brought me clubbing when I turned 17…seriously! But I doubt she’ll be able to stand the outrageous atmosphere of Zouk or Nouvo, that’s why HRC is her favorite place to stop by whenever we’re in the city. We went on a weekday whereby the crowd’s not so pack and the atmosphere was not heavily reeked of cigarette smoke. We had a nice meal of fried rice, steak, and lemonade and stayed on to watch the band which only performs at 11pm. The band, from the Philippines, wasn’t bad at all. There were two lead singers, and the guy was pretty cute in a boyish kind of way with his cap, blue fitting tee (Nice enough to show the manly curves hehe), and jeans. He’s a bit on the short side, but good enough for petite 5-feet frames like me! They sang my requested songs by rihanna and dashboard confessional, and someone asked for ‘beautiful girls’ but luckily they didn’t sing it! That song is so irritating and overplayed, don’t you think?! They also sang some old 90’s songs which are still a pleasant listen to your ears, like ‘nice & slow’ by usher. If you like steamy songs to get you into the groove but are sweet to listen as well, get usher’s earlier ‘my way’ (or is it? I’ve forgotten) album and there are some nice songs like ‘bedtime’ (very sweet song! Sing this to your girlfriend as a lullaby guys, hehe), ‘nice & slow’ etc.

source: dinosounds.com


ANYWAY…here’s the interesting bit!!! There was this waitress who’s really friendly who dutifully got our drinks, passed along my song requests to the band, and even gave us complimentary snacks to go with our drinks. I’ve forgotten her name, but she was from Penang and had been working there for 5 years (funny, I’ve never seen her around). During the final set of the band performance, one of the guitarists (who never sang in the previous sets) came up to the mic and crooned to a vaguely familiar song. I decided his vocals wasn’t bad at all when the friendly waitress suddenly materialized by my side and she said THIS into my ear, “See that guy singing? He’s dedicating this song to you!” I got all flustered (but trying to keep my cool) and I was like, “Really?! Are you sure?” The waitress practically jumped up and down gleefully and added that he’d like to know my name and perhaps get my number as well, commented that I’m cute AND whether I had a boyfriend! Gosh, and I was wondering how was he able to see me in this dark ambiance, and from the light-blinding stage no less! Mum remarked it was a pity that I didn’t get hit by the boyish lead singer ‘cos he’s cuter. I rolled my eyes. Mum’s always about good-looking guys with babyish faces, beautiful eyes, and gorgeous skin. Btw, I did some searching and found out that the song is ‘you and me’ by lifehouse. Very impressive to impress a girl. The lyrics go like this:

What day is it? And in what month?

This clock never seemed so alive

I can't keep up and I can't back down

I've been losing so much time


Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do

Nothing to lose

And it's you and me and all of the people

And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you



All of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right

I'm tripping on words

You've got my head spinning

I don't know where to go from here


Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do

Nothing to prove

And it's you and me and all of the people

And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you


There's something about you now

I can't quite figure out

Everything she does is beautiful

Everything she does is right


Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do

Nothing to lose

And it's you and me and all of the people

And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

and me and all of the people with nothing to do

Nothing to prove

And it's you and me and all of the people

And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you


What day is it?

And in what month?

This clock never seemed so alive


In conclusion, I AM flattered, but not interested thank you very much hehe. However it’s definitely a nice feeling when someone dedicates a song for you and sings it personally. Before going back to hometown sweet hometown, we celebrated my aunt’s first baby (I called him baby Ryan) baptism day at PJ. He’s only 3 months old, but looks unbelievably like a 6-month old baby and we projected that he’ll be a 6-footer in the future, just like his daddy =) Height aside, he’s also one of the most well-behaved babies I’ve ever known (he should be no. 1 best baby in the world)! He doesn’t cry (even when he’s in the bath!), is not choosy when it comes to who’s carrying him, and even knows how to look straight at the camera for picture-taking! This is one intelligent tot. The small family plans to come to kk during Christmas…can’t wait to see baby Ryan again! I expect he’ll be able to crawl around on fours by that time. That’s where the trouble begins, ‘cos he’ll want to go everywhere and all over the place, as long it’s anywhere!


Source: wellonwheels.com

And now, I’m back in ol’ good kampung taking a nice, long break. Currently I’m just doing some house chores, helping Mum with errands, going for belly classes, and learning to cook up some new recipes every week! I think it’s really exciting to prepare the ingredients (all those chopping, slicing and pounding!) and to create a tasty home-made dish which is way much cheaper than those served in shops. So far, I’ve done soups, curries, and stir-fried fish with sauces. It’s not exactly fine dining, but at least it’s edible and Mum being my critic, commented I’m doing ok but needs more practice! We’ve got loads of cookbooks at home ranging from Malaysian, Australian, Japanese, Chinese, Philippines, to even Mongolian! For now I’m just concentrating on simple Malaysian dishes and hopefully I’ll be serving my own dishes to actual guests in the future! My current ‘food-testers’ are just Mum and my cousin hehe. Cooking aside, Mum’s giving me language ‘lessons’ which we young generation are shamefully not knowledgeable in. Yup, we can’t even speak our own mother tongue – the Kadazan language. I’m not saying all of us, but perhaps there’s 70% of the young Kadazan generation who are not fluent in the language. If you’re not up for tuition classes, just ask your parents to teach you through everyday conversation. It’s much faster to catch up and master the language in that way. I’m just in the beginning stage, whenever Mum’s says something in Kadazan, I’ll just reply with an ‘Oh’, which means ‘yes’. So it’s Mum going yada yada yada, and I’m like ‘yes,yes,yes!’ hehe. Well, at least, I’m learning, isn’t it? *winks*

Talking about us young generation, we’re (my group) having an official launch of our youth club soon and we call ourselves the Komulakans (basically means youth). It’s specially catered for the KDMs but other races are welcomed to join as well. Hopefully this club will get lots of support from you guys out there. More info on this in my next entry!

Meanwhile, I’ve just learnt a new sentence, ‘houson zou’, which means ‘I’m hungry’. It’s a really useful phrase ‘cos of its flexibility. You can use it when you’re hungry (for food), and you can use it when you’re ‘hungry’ for some hugging and smooching sessions, and other possibilities as well hehe!