adrianism...

Kangaroo meat

Aha! I had stir fried kangaroo sausages with green peas for lunch today (aiya, should have taken photo). Well, you might wonder what kangaroo meat taste like: to me it is somewhat like beef - just not as tough. Not bad actually :D Actually i did not intend to buy kangaroo meat sausage - i saw some cheap meat which i assumed was beef and just bought it. Luckily it was not dog meat or cat meat....

Oh, my final year project is again changed and thus finalised - this time it is more of something that i am interested in: solar panels. The project involves the designing of a single-axis tracking system for a PV array. So must start doing my research already. My supervisor will be Dr. Sumedha Rajakaruna.

Also got the chance to attend daily Mass at campus today. There were only 5 of us there. What a joy to be able to attend Mass right in campus, to receive Jesus :D Planning to go again tomorrow :) Here, there's Sunday Mass at 1130am in one of the lecture halls in the architecture building and also daily Mass from Tuesdays-Fridays at 1210pm at the campus' prayer room. The RC chaplain for Curtin is Rev. Fr. John Gandini, a Salesian Priest.

 

In the evening, went cycling with Sam. We first cycled to the banks of Swan river near Victoria Park. Man!!! The river is full of jellyfishes of all sizes!! I wonder if they are poisonous. That aside, the best thing is that Sam and i managed to cycle to the city side nearer the river banks. So we made a big round from my flat to Vic Park, crossed the causeway, into Riverside drive, and then aross another bridge into South Perth and from there back to the flat.

At the moment it only gets dark at about 830pm in Perth. And shops here generaly close at 5pm...so missing the times where i could go for a late night supper in Miri - to one of the kolok mee stalls. Well, new life :) GET USE TO IT ADRIAN!!!!

In Perth

I'm finally in Perth! And yeah, i'm trying to revive this blog again :) See how it goes.

Let me start with some personal reflection. As I look back into my almost 24 or so years on earth, i realised that when i was younger, i never dreamt of going to uni, taking an engineering course, and what more to say of coming to Perth to study. And just a few days ago, i received a call from Shell regarding the outcome of my internship: the outcome is positive, which means i passed the assessment and will be offered a job once i graduate (of course if i meet the conditions attached). Again, it was never my dream to do an internship with Shell or to work with Shell...

Considering all these, i really thank God for all the opportunities. My years of uni studies wasn't a smooth one - but the experiences gained from it is invaluable. Somehow through all these, i begin see two things:

1) God constantly guiding me and providing a way for me, be it directly or through my family and friends.

2) I need to learn to dream and take the necessary steps to achieve the dream.

Important to add is the that God must always be a part of my dream. Just sticking to no. 2 will make me my own god. Thus no. 1 and no. 2 must always go hand in hand. However, no. 1 is most important of all.

Okay, enough reflection. "So how are you in Perth?" many people ask. Here's my standard answer:

I'm fine here :) Just getting use to:

1) weather - it can range between 15 degrees at night to 38 degrees in the day during summer. Some nights are hot too though. And the sun is merciless - so daily ritual includes applying sunblock (SPF30), and the air is dry (and so are my eyes and nose - the "taik hidung keras2", hehe....)

2) food - food here is super expensive (if i start converting). Actually if i don't convert it still IS expensive. Imagine spending on average AUD$8 per meal which is about RM24 per meal... And of course i dearly miss mum's food, kolok me, laksa sarawak, roti canai, mee hoon goreng arrrggh!!! I feel like hiring someone from home and starting a stall here in Perth :P

3) Money matters - learning how to budget aka manage my money, which i never do back home. Just being here for a week, my bag tore, so had to buy a new bag. The shoes i brought from Miri also started to show signs of premature aging, and so i got a new shoes. And then there's the new bike and lock and lighting (spent $420).

4) Transport - i miss my car...so now i'm fully utilising my legs, and occasionally with the help of my bicycle, the bus or the train. Public transport here is super good (well, at least to me :P)

The prep-week and orientation event was good - it really helped me to get use to the uni and also to Perth. The campus here is also very much alive as compared to the Miri campus. There are so many organizations/clubs and many freebies to get during the Guild O-Day, hehe :)

Accomodation - I'm staying in Erica Underwood house (EUH), together with 5 other guys: 3 Malaysians and another 2 Australians. I've no regrets staying here because the flat is nice, the surrounding is nice, it's near a shopping centre (Waterford Plaza), it's pretty close to campus, and my housemates are nice people too :D Thank goodness!

Church - There's Mass on campus evry Sunday at 1130am, and there's even daily Mass from Tuesdays till Fridays on campus!!! And there are a few churches not very far away.

Classes have begun - and i can feel the stress slowly creeping in. My final year project (FYP) will be on Renewable energy - Hydrogen fuel cell (again not a topic which i dreamt of). I just pray and hope (and of course do my part) that everything will work out fine.

Since i mentioned that i must learn to dream, so my dreams (erm, let's term them goals now - sounds more concrete) so my goals for this sem are:

1) Do well for the semester.

2) Find a part time job during the sem (don't worry - i won't work long hours).

3) Attend World Youth Day in Sydney this July and volunteer (i'm waiting for final confirmation from the volunteer office).

Hope all goes well. Wishing everyone the best for the new sem! :D God bless us all.

Truth Or Belief?

THIS IS MY 100TH POST!!! I've not been posting for a long time.

Anyway, Gen was telling me something interesting she read from a book. I paraphrase the author (and Gen - Thank you for sharing Gen :D):

1) Do we believe something because it is the truth?

<or>

2) Do we hold it as the truth just because it is our belief?

The next question we might ask is then, what is truth? Can we know truth? Is truth objective or is it subjective? Something for all of us to think and ponder upon...

THE PHONE LINE'S BACK

Yup it is...... :D

Between Valentine and CNY, and Lent begins

"Adrian, do you know that today is Valentine's day?"
"Is it? Oh ya...hehe :D"
So far for me, every 14th of February has just been like any normal day, although i do connect this day with a very special day for people in love :) Besides that, i would also connect this day to St. Valentine, the reason behind this day. One story maintains that he was a priest serving under an emperor who forbade his soldiers to marry. So St. valentine, taking pity on these poor soldiers would secretly continue to perform their marriages. The emperor soon found out, and Valentine was put to death, hence the connection of love with St. Valentine's Day. Anyway, since i'm still single (and enjoying it :P), so i do not have to worry about doing anything 'extraordinary' on this particular day, haha! But this year, i bought a medium chocolate bar each for my sisters (Decided to show my love for them - very rare for Adrian to buy things for his sisters :P and that's the only extraordinary thing i did!) Anyway, on that day too, i fetched Joel from the airport. On the way back, he wanted to buy something from ToysWorld. I spotted this funny sign posted at the teddy bear section:

WHAT??? DO THEY NEED SUCH A NOTICE? YOU MEAN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KISSING THE BEARS? LOL! I just couldn't believe my eyes. If the notices stated 'DO NOT CUDDLE/HUG/TOUCH THE BEARS' i could understand, since it's normal for people to look, select, hug, touch the bears. But to kiss the bears.....my gosh. The management must have recorded quite a number of people kissing the bears on the surveillence video camera :P

And time flies.....it was Chinese New Year's eve. People have been starting to play firecrakers and fireworks, and i noticed that some of the fireworks display were awesome! So i decided to fully utilies my digi camera and take a few shots of the 'free' fireworks display. It was quite hard to capture the fireworks in action, because my house is surrounded by other houses, but anyway, thanks to the tripod and whoever played the fire works in that 'particular' spot, i managed to capture quite a colorful and beautiful display (of course it would be much nicer to be there and witness the display live! :D)

I really enjoyed the show which started a bit before 12 midnite and lasted for about 20 minutes or so. My neigbor on the left was also snapping pictures/video (eh yakah Bonus?) and some other neighbors were also playing firecrakers. But soon, i discovered that another group of creatures were also enjoying themselves - in fact having a good, sumptous buffet supper - yes mosquitos feeding on my blood. So i decided to go in my house. Furthermore, the air soon became pretty smoky, as you can see from the picture.

By the way, i'm sure we all know that the playing (and buying and selling too) of fireworks and firecrackers are actually banned in Malaysia. Few years ago, this law wasn't in effect. in only came into being following cases of injuries and fires due to fireworks and crakers. On this issue, i feel that the government should not totally ban it. This practice is part of culture and in fact the playing of fireworks and crakers only adds beauty to the celebration. I just feel that people should be extra careful when playing with them.

Then came Chinese New Year. As usual, the round of visiting friends. On the 2nd day, went out with a group of friends. Visited Gen, then Sharlene, then back to Gen's. At Gen, we had a really good time snapping photos sing Bonus' camera - his cool camera could do all kinds of things, the most famous being the '10-shots' :D Besides that, Larry was asking tips of what to do on a first date and meeting a girl's parents for the first time. We all came out with funny scenarios and answers which kept us laughing all night! :D I hope to get some of the photos soon :) Anyway, here's a picture of us at Sharlene's place:

Driving in town on the 3rd day, i spotted a banner outside CB (Cherrie Berries) by Guiness Stout. It was a Chinese new year greeting, but with some extra message:

I couldn't agree more with those words of wisdom. Personally, i feel that drinking alcohol-based drinks are okay, as long as one knows how to control him/her-self, and they realise heir own limitations, as an elder man once mentioned "i've seen people drinking and drinking, but yet they are in the office tomorrow morning". 'Drinking' has long been associated with merry and joyful occasions. It is sad that many do not know how to control themselves, and end up becoming 'high', drunk, and doing lots of stupid stuffs which makes them look like fools, big fools, which they later regret (this includes figthing, having sex, some even killing, or peeing in their pants, talking nonsense.......yeah, as if i know :P but that's what i've heard and read). So know yourself, know your limits and drink responsibly. Don't blame the drink - blame yourself for not drinking responsibly. If you think that a bit is enough to make you go wild, then don't drink! (ah, easy said than done. Ah well).

Later in the night, i attended a friend's thaksgiving dinner. She recently graduated, and so in thaksgiving to God and all those who helped and supported her along her acadamic years and life, she hosted a Chinese-style dinner in Grand Palace hotel. The food was great, although i didn't eat much (my stomach wasn't very good). Then there was the Karaoke session (my gosh, Mel, her bro and sis can sing so well!), Mel's brother joked that he only sang to Oil Palm trees in the estate, and my friend Gen whispered to me saying that "no wonder the trees so 'subur'" HAHAHA!!!! SO FUNNY LA GEN! :D I decided to represent my table to go and sing. Now, this is the first time i did karaoke (if singing in the bathroom doesn't count), and i was a quite nervous. But for the sake of my friend, and also to try karaoke (otherwise when?), and since the crowd was pretty small (about 40 people), i gathered the courage to go up and sing. I sang "MY WAY" and a Malay song by Ella "GEMILANG" (which i learnt 10 years ago in one of the camps - KEM BINA INSAN 1997). Haha! What a night! Anyway, i'm so proud of my friend Imelda who is now a medical Doctor :) "You're an inspiration!".

Before ending this post, a picture to share. Don't be surprised soon if you find 'Made-in-Curtin' pineapples in DPS or E-mart or in the market (JK) :P Look what's growing in our university's garden (so cute :D i spotted 2 fruits, but they're pretty small though):

p.s. the season of lent has come. I attended Ash wednesday Mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral. The Church was packed, and there were many 'outstanding' Catholics :D (i.e. Catholics who stand outside during Mass). Well, couldn't blame them because the church was packed.

My prayer and hope, that we may continue to grow deeply in the Lord and also bring that growth to others - spritually, materially, emotionally.

problem with friendster blogs....

oh no!!! it seems that in friendster blogs, i can't upload a picture with the same file name, even though they are in different post. Because if i upload a picture with a similar name with a previous picture, it will overlap that picture. Hmmmm.... *adrian is contemplating to use a different blog service*.

Summer nightmare...

And the summer i'm referring to is the summer course, to be more specific, the Electrical System 204 (ES204) Summer Course. summer course refers to units offered to students for study during the summer break. I was thinking about this course right after my finals in 2006, so much so i brought the course materials to Australia during my holiday (at least i studies a bit there.It helped a lot with my understanding process suring the summer course).

Whenever people in campus meet me and ask what i'm doing, i'll say that i'm taking summer course. "Ei, but i though you're engineering. Engineering got summer course meh?" Haha! Yeah, i guess first time in history - SUMMER COURSE FOR ENGINEERING! The fees we pay is for a 25credits subject (i.e. RM2500 + RM150).

In the past, i used to wonder why summer courses were only offered to Commerce and Business students. I envied them because they had the chance to either speed up thier studies (by taking units in advance), or space it out (by dropping some units during the normal semester and take it during summer) or take things a little easy (because if they failed a unit, there is a possibility the particular unit be offered during summer...hehe)

But soon i began to realise that unlike engineering units, commerce and business units runs more of like typical clasroom setting - lecture, tutorial, perhaps some presentation. On the other hand, engineering units will include the usual lecture, tutorial, and labs (and reports) - and i tell you labs are BIG things for an engineering student. Just to figure out something sometimes take so long! Add on the assignments, mid-term test, quizzes... So imagine a summer course for an engineering unit. But still, why not offer summerfor units that do not require any lab experiment, such as renewable energy principles?

So how come i've got summer course?
Answer:Because we asked for it.
"Your class must be quite big in number, like 20 or so" some say.
NOPE! THERE ARE ONLY 5 OF US IN OUR CLASS!
"WHAT?!!" (so surprised!)
Yeah. It all began like this. Once upon a time, i mean 2 years ago (2nd sem 2005), a group of us failed this unit. Somehow, some of my friends had a brilliant idea to request from  our lecturer, Dr. Nader, to consider giving us summer course for this subject. After submitting a formal letter of request to him, amazingly, he agreed to it, on condition that we can find a minimum of 5 people from our batch. And yes, we got 5 people :D So instead of resitting this unit in the 2nd sem of 2006, we were to take this unit during the (southern hemisphere) summer break of 2006. I guess he agreed to give us this course partly because we have gone through the unit previously - we weren't a newbie to the course.

So what's so 'nightmarish' about this course? What makes it a nightmare:
1) The time frame of the unit
2) The workload of the unit
3) I just dread studying... (have to fight this feeling)

Believe it or not, although the course is run through 3 weeks (only), the number of class-day contacts are only 9. In other words, WE ONLY HAVE 9 CLASSES!!! Generally, we have lecture in the morning, followed by tutorial, then lab in the afternoon (we need to write report for the lab). We also have quiz (worth 10%) and a mid-term (worth 20%).

Well, actually i personally feel that having been through this unit before, i can sort of grasp the knowledge much better, This is true for me - every time i repeat a unit, i seem to get much higher marks as compared to my previous marks.

But this time, really thanks to David & Victor, who are so kind to assist me by lending me their study material for this course. Also thanks to Dr. Nader. You know, this course made me realise that Dr. Nader is a nice guy - he's actually very willing to help students pass. their units :) (although he appears moody at times. Who doesn't anyway?) On my part, i hsould study and try my best. Thanks also to Hafis and Adrus who made this summer course possible by coordinating our request. Thanks to Navyin and Don for signing the letter too :D.

As i write this, i've gone through 95% percent of the course time - what's left is our final exam (worth 50%) this Thursday. We will be sitting the exam together with those sitting for their supplementary exam. Wishing all my mates the best for the finals & supp!

A lesson learnt from the whole thing:
1) Don't be afraid to ask for help with regards to studies.
2) Have a preview and a fast read-thru of the subject before studying the actual unit.
3) Just try my best.

I hope to be able to continue to apply the lesson i've learnt from here. I MUST!

Prime Minister's Visit to Curtin

It seemed to me that the Prime Minister's visit to Curtin was quite a last minute decision on his part (he happened to be in Miri to open the PBB assembly). But well, he came! :) And we Curtinians (and some orang luar :P) got to meet him (for a while).

The crowd that gathered in Curtin were basically Curtin staff & their families, Curtin students (mostly the diploma and IEP students, and some degree students who happen to be around), representatives from the contruction company which is suppose to built phase 2 of Curtin, members of the press and some members of the public. It was actually raining heavily on that day, and although he was scheduled to arrive at 2pm, as usual, VIPs in Malaysia arrive much later (i was made to understand by my grand-uncle, who is a reporter, that there was a delay in the PBB assenbly, so hence the delay in Curtin).

I couldn't recall what time he arrived, but everyone was anxious to meet him. For my part, i was hoping to at least shake his hand (which i did!!! Not everyone got to shake his hand - ah well, i was just lucky because a group of students from Dubai in their national clothing happened to stand in front of me. And somehow, these group of Curtin students got so much attention from the ministers, haha! And there i was, standing behind them :D).

His arrival was a rather silent affair - no MC to annouce his arrival. The only sign of his arrival was the sudden rush of photographers to the main entrance (click-click, flash-flash). He then got to sign something (which loked like a black tile), and was ushered to the mini-exhibition on Curtin Phase 2 plans (in the process, stopping to make a few hand shakes). From there, the entourage went upstairs to the council room for a formal session (which was live-telecasted to the library reading area, where we sat to watch (while eating, hehe) what was going on in the council-room). Datuk Sri George Chan gave a speech, and then Pak Lah delivered his. Then there was presentation of some memento. By then, Tiang told us to move outside to say bye2 to him. And so we gathered outside, waiting for him to come down. He did more signing, this time to officiate the commencement of Curtin's phase 2 construction (in other words, now, construction is really going to start! I HOPE SO!!!). It was a nice opportunity to meet him :)

 

p.s. International students were told to use their national costume, while local students, their local costume. So i used a 'Tapong' a Kenyah hat :) Wished i had more 'Kenyah Gear' :)

Just as i was about to rejoice....

Just as i was about to rejoice, that my phone was alive, but now, IT'S DEAD AGAIN! After merely 3 days (and 2 nights) since Telekom contractors were seen busy fixing back the cables, the 'cable thief(ves)' has struck again! Well, i really don't know how TM is going to deal with this problem, but this problem sure is causing lots of hassle to the users (especially those who do not have handphone, and those who use the internet a lot, and those who rely on the use of fax service). I'm really curious to know who are those behind these events...

Anyway, are other reasons to rejoice! The Prime Minister of Malaysia will be visitng Curtin University, Miri Campus on Saturday the 10th of February 2007. i will definitely be going - it's an wonderful opportunity to meet the PM :) For those interested to come, know that YAB Dato' Seri is expected to arrive campus at 2pm (we should be there at least half an hour before he is expected to arrive). Btw, Dato' Seri was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Curtin University of Technology of Western Australia sometime in 2006.

Today as i drove to campus, many people were busy preparing for the PM's visit: the road sweepers were seen busy sweeping the road leading to the uni (from the roundabout near DPS), the grass cutters cutting the 'lallang' beside the 2 sides of the road nearer Curtin, the 'makcik' cleaners wiping the outer side of the doors of each room (well, at least for the G2 block - i saw this with my own eyes ok, no exageration), and Mr. Rama, the director for Media studies was also busy preparing the media lab (it was the only time i saw the doors to the media lab open, and i managed to peek into the room and look at the spohisticated media instruments, video cameras, lightings, and that huge 'apple computer' which only the media students have the privilage to touch :P) And other staffs seem to be busy as well.

Oh ya, and on Sunday (11/2/07), the Higher Minister of Education will also be visiting Curtin. He is expected to arrive the campus at 10:15am. Not sure if i will be able to make it for this one though.

I've always liked to meet VIPs - especially leaders. The last the when Tun Dr. Mahathir visited Curtin, i was very happy to be present as part of the campus' community and at least shake hands with him :) However, i missed the King's visit to the uni.

Ah well, getting back to the phone line story. i just hope that this time i won't have to wait for another 3 weeks before my phone line to be restored. It is very inconvinient, especially when i'm the only one having a handphone in my family. I really hope that this issue can be resolved. On the other hand, i'm looking forward to shake hands with the PM :)

i miss my telephone! (line)

Okay, okay. Let me put it straight: MY HOUSE PHONE IS DEAD!!! Not because i didn't pay the bill (i mean my dad) but because,  (according to Telekom Malaysia a.k.a TM) the phone cables have been subjected to theft. It seems that some people have discovered that phone cables are made from copper, and copper has high value. So to earn some cash, why not "harvest" some phone wires that are hanging nicely from the poles, or "dig out" the ones that are nicely submerged underground? After all, a kilo can fetch to about RM18-RM20 (no, i don't have experience doing this. i got the info from BP. Go find out what's/who's BP). Sigh, it has now been 3 weeks since my house became somewhat "phoneless".

Poor TM - they loose money because they have to replace the cables. Poor customers - they can't make phone calls or use internet. Poorer those customers who needed to make an emergency or important call, but can't do it. And poorest the cable thefts - even thought they get some money, they have caused the others to become "poor" by disrupting businesses,  communication and day-to-day affairs. It's sin you know to do such thing? I don't know what reasons you do it...maybe you have a family who has been starving so you resort to this technique to get money. If so, come and see me. I can bring you to the welfare. Or maybe i can give you some money. If welfare doesn't do anything, i'll fight for you! (talking about welfare deparment - hmmmm, i feel that they have to be more proactive. If people don't come to them, go and find people who they can help). Argh!

Okay back to topic - so what needs to be done to address the issue of cable theft? Again info from BP: Some suggests to make copper wire a controlled item. TM suggested that they might go wireless! WOW!! (Terbeliak mata!). Another said we need to amend the current laws. And i know a group of TM workers in kuching set a trap to capture a few culprits! An dthey did it! They manage to catch 2 culprits! These TM workers ought to get some kind of recognition for their bold initiative. But i fear for their safety. I hope they can cooperate more with the police where this "catching" business is concerned.

Ah well, what say i? i think i would do what the group of kuching TM workers did. But do we have to go cathing people forever? I think there must be a shift of mentality among our people. I don't kow why these culprits do not think a step further - that their actions can cause so much difficulties to others! I was surprised when i was told that phone disruption occured this time in the whole of Lutong area and spread to some Pujut areas as well!!! My goodness. Don't we learn pendidikan moral in school?

Anyway, thank God for handphones. Thank God for this "experience" of being "telephoneless". I begin to appeciate the telephone - a gadget which i always took for granted. I miss my (slow) internet connection too. So nowadays, everyday when i reach home, i'll walk towards my telephone, lift up the reciver (takes a deep breath), put it towards my ear, and when i don't hear any tone, %^*$^%%###$@& (translation of %^*$^%%###$@& - AIYA, STILL NOT WORKING!!!) :P

Phoneline, i really miss you. i miss your tone. Phone, i miss you too. Even though i see you, i don't hear you. So please, come back soon, k?

Travels in Sydney

i developed a liking for travel after i visited Kota Kinabalu (KK) with my family in November 2004. i was blessed to be given another chance to go to KK in November 2005 to attend my cousin's wedding in Ranau and Bundu Tuhan (which is near to the mountain area). From there, i discovered that i enjoyed travel (not to mention food!). In July 2006, i was given an opportuniy to go to Kuching to attend a meeting, and a month later, i found myself travelling to Kuching again - this time to participate in the march-pass for the national-level national day do. And what a great time i had in each of these travel!

And this time, i was going to Sydney! Never in my entire life (so far) i imagined stepping on Australian soil. Although i study in an Austalian university which is based in Malaysia, i thought that was the closest i can get to Australia....hehe. When i told a friend that i was going to Sydney for holiday,he told me that "Australia is an expensive place". It's true, bearing in mind that Australian $ is 3 times our Ringgit Malaysia. Thank God we didn't have to worry about accomodation and food as we would be putting up at my aunt's place in Camden, about an hours drive from the city. I'm very thankful for my aunt, uncle and cousin's hospitality and generosity!

"How come going to Sydney?" My aunt (my mom's younger sis) stays there with her family. And for a long time, they have been asking us to pay them a visit. Rumors where circulating in my home that we might (the keyword is "might") be going to Sydney end of 2006. That was in June or July '06. Only about a month and a half before our planned travel, we started to look for airline ticket. Boy! End-of-the-year sure bring smiles to airline companies! So many people go for vacation. When we booked our ticket via Royal Brunei Airlines, we were told that we will be put on waiting list, and subjected to screening. We passed the first screening and got a seat to Sydney. But there was still problem, because there was no seat for us to come back between Dec-end and early-Jan. We prayed about it, and when all hope of going to Ausralia seemed to be gone, we got a call just 3 weeks before our planned travel saying that our seats have been confirmed! So we were to leave Brunei for Sydney on November 26th and come back on Dec 22nd (too bad, we couldn't experience Christmas in Aussie....what to do?) By the way, i thought Sydney is 2 hrs ahead of Miri (which is correct) but wrong when i arrived. I didn't know it was daylight savings, and so we had to add another hour in advance - which means Sydney is 3 hrs ahead now.

Lesson learnt here: BOOK SEATS EARLY! PLAN VACATION IN ADVANCE! Travel tip: Brunei Air offers lower travel rates as compared with Malaysian Airline Systems (MAS).

We drove from Miri to Bandar Seri Begawan on 26th November morning, left our car with my friend David's parents. Then we boarded the 840pm flight for Sydney. The journey took 7 hours. We arrived Sydney at 640am Sydney time on 27th Nov. Here's a summary of the time spent in Sydney:

27/11 - arrived Sydney International aiport. weather was cool, about 19*C. Aunt fetched us and drove home to Camden. Used highway, and also went thru a tunnel. 1st experince of going thru a tunnel :) Had pizza-hut for dinner. taste the same like home :) realised that it only got dark by 830pm.

29/11 - Took train to city. Visited St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral. Cool gothic design, both exterior and interior. Went for confession and also attended Mass. From there, went to walked to Sydney Opera House and also to the Botanic gardens. Walked around city. When to a shopping mall, and realised one stall sold Malaysian food. Funny thing the proprieter is from China!

30/11 - Went to MacArthur's square, Campbelltown. Lunch and some shopping.

1/12 - Summer officially begins today. My goodness! i thought that the weather change would not have been so drastic! It was super hot today! Funny thing i don't sweat much even though it is hot! The weather is not humid like back in Miri. (However, the next few days were pretty cold, and of course some days were hot. My uncle said the weather is unusual to be cold in summer, because it was rather a bit like winter - blame it on global warming. And Australia has been experiencing severe drought, till the point some farmers are committing suicide. Even the churches start to pray for rain now.)

2/12 - Botany Bay National Park. uncle brought us for 'Yum-Cha' at Regal Chinese restaurant in the city. The waiter literally threw our plates across our table when serving us wonder if he was in a hurry or was he showing off some kung-fu. Also went to the Sydney Paddy's market (place for souvenir, clothings etc. at a lower lower price).

3/12 - Sunday Mass at St. Pauls Cathlic Church, Camden.

5/12 - Took a ferry across to visit Taronga Zoo. Saw many animals! After that walked to "The Rocks" australia's first and oldest English Settlement.

6/12 - Visited some show houses in Mt. Annan area. The design of houses in Aussie is so much nicer than the one back home. So get some idea from the showhouses :)

7/12 - Uncle brough us to Harvey Norman (something equivalent to our 'Courts Mammoth'). Gosh! So many goods to see!

8/12 - Visited Anglican Cathedral. Then Met Valerie and friend in the City outside Townhall train station. Valerie belanja lunch! (Oporto Grilled chicken, yum!) Went to Queen Victoria Building - beautiful! Walked to darling harbor. Got the opportunity to visit Macquarie University, about an hours bus ride from city. If not mistaken it is in Ryde. The uni looks kind of old because of the bare cement walls...but i guess it's done on purpose. Had a bad experience on the way home. i reached the Campbelltown train station at 855pm, just in time to catch a bus home, and guess what, i met a drunken man on board. thank God the bus driver was kind enough to warn me about the man and asked me to sit away from the man. the whole way the drunkie was cursing and swearing........and at that point i prayed all the prayers i could :)

9/12 - Visited University of New South Wales (UNSW). Visited Coojee Beach. Uncle brought us 'Yum-cha' at another Chinese Restaurant - delicious food!

10/12 - Sunday Mass. Then visited IKEA at Homebush Bay. WOW! I like IKEA's concept of allowing customers to sit and test their furnitures. Btw, IKEA is a Swedish based company specializing in home furnishing. Their design are cool and also comfortable.

13/12 - Went to Sydney Aquarium. Got to see sharks :) Exam results out. Yahoo!!! Passed all!!!!

15/12 - Lunch in Hungry Jacks in Liverpool. Then, uncle brought us to another suburb, Cabbramatta. Lots and lots of Asians in this suburb!

16/12 - When to visit dad's old friend, Mr. Riley. He drove us to Sydney University. Dad studied here before. Being the first and oldest uni in Aussie, the set up of this uni follows that of Cambridge in England. Beautiful buildings!

17/12 - Sunday Mass

19/12 - Uncle drove us to Canberra, the capital of Australis. 3 hours drive from Camden. Had breakfast at McD along the highway. Got to visit the parliament house and joined a guided tour :) It was a great opportunity to walk and have a close glimpse of the house of representatives and the senate. Visited a lake with a high fountain. Lunch at KFC Canberra. To me, KFC back home taste better :P

20/12 - Went to Mt. Annan area to see houses decorated with beautiful Christmas lights! wow! reminded me of Hari Raya back home. But the some people here really decorate their homes with so many lightings!]

21/12 - Meet Mr. Riley again. He brought us to St. Lukes Anglican Church because 30 years ago, dad left some belongings there. but too bad, his belonging is no more there. Anyway, got to visit the place where dad lived when he studied in Sydney - St. John's college. Wew were honored to be allowed inside and to visit the chapel, dining hall and reading area. Dad had lot's of memories there. Bid goodbye to Mr. Riley. Went to town and visited Jewish Synagogue. A dream come true to visit a Synagogue. Weren't allowed to take pictures inside, and we had to use the skull cap when we entered.

22/12 - Journey back to Miri. Home sweet home (but i do miss Aussie...I DON'T SWEAT THERE!!!!). As the plane ouched down at Brunei airport, tropical weather immediately took it's toll on me - I WAS SWEATING AGAIN! ARGGGHHH!!!!

Btw, whilst in Sydney, my aunt really fed us well! I was 78kg when i left Miri, and i brought home some 6kg extra of weight! (That makes me 84kg. So i HAVE to go on a diet now :P) Blame the ice-cream, chicken, double and triple-servings, huge servings! As far food is concerned, there's plenty to eat in Aussie! All the supermarkets are well-stocked! Anyway, my aunt ket on reminding us that "you should not go on a diet in Australia"! I was pretty surprised that Australia is a country which produces a lot of their own things. For example - they plant their own mangoes, bananas and even lychees! i wonder if they plant their own durian?  hehe! Had a good time eating juicy kiwi fruits, strawberries, mangoes, peaches, nectarines.......slrpppp!

Well, this trip was a real eye-opener for me. i learnt so many things. was exposed to a different culture and environment. don't mind living and working in aussie one day.....maybe yes? maybe not? Anyway, i do i hope to travel the world some day :)

Exam results

i was in Sydney when i got my results for this semester. Well, i was pretty anxious waiting for it because i figured out that the atmosphere of the rest of my vacation in Sydney depended on my results. if it was bad, naturally, i wouldn't feel good, and so my family.

I got a first glimpse of my results from Joel:
78 - Engineering Law 201
76 - Engineering Project Management 304
69 - Signals & Systems 202 (i thought the most i could get was 50 for this one)

and the same results were on the monitor screen when i rechecked it at my cousin's house :)

Thank God i managed to pass all my exams again this semester! That made all the difference! I felt extremely happy! Everyone was happy, we had a good dinner to celebrate not only my results, but also the good results of my cousion for his yr 10 paper.

But at the same time, my thoughts when to my other friends - how did the rest do, i wondered.... Having gone through failure every semester for 3 consecutive years was a very painful experience for me. Thank God for the people who constantly supported and believed in me: Gen, John, David, Mei Ling, dad and mom. To those who did not make it, i've been in your shoes. i would say, just try again, and if you think the particular course is not suited for you and have the opportunity to pursue something different, go for it. If not, try again - YOU CAN DO IT!

Next sem i would be taking another 4 subjects - this time all 'real' engineering subject. i hope i'll have the motivation to do well. Just have to remind myself that - YES! I CAN DO IT! (and for goodness sake adrian, please put in effort and also study smart!)

the waiting continues....but meantime,

Exam was over on the 22nd of Nov, the last paper being Signal & Systems. My goodness - it was HARD! i just hope i can pass - it's my 2nd attempt at this paper.

Mean time, while waiting for the results which will be out sometime in mid December '06, i hope to enjoy my trip to Sydney with my family :D

Exams coming - all the best!

It's been a long time since i last blogged. lots of events happened actually, but hadn't had the time to blog. Exams are just round the corner - wishing everyone the best and may God bless us all!

1st time at a scene of fatal accident

Last Sunday, around 315pm after buying some things from servay Hypermarket i was driving towards Lutong when i saw what seemd like a scene of an accident. immediately, i wanted to take my camera - but of all the days, i did not bring my camera along with me at that moment. So i slowed down and being a curious person, i decided to park and see. I guessed the accident just happened because i noticed there were not many people gathered yet and many were just starting to park their cars coming out. The car, a dark brown Proton Wira, looked quite bad, and i notice that there was smoke coming out from the engine. And there was no one near the car - people all seem to be standing far away. i though either the driver is already out, or the people are afraid that the car will explode any time. So i decided to watch from the car. But when i saw a man getting close to the car, i decided to come down and go and see for myself the accident, and who know i can be of help there. A group of us men walked towards the car, and to my surprise, the driver of the ill-fated car was badly pinned. He had a big tattoo on his arm. His face was actually stuck to the tree-bark, and the dashboard was pushed to the front passenger seat. There was blood from his ears. I didn't dare to look more. I guess the driver must have already died by then looking at the condition of the crash (i told myself that it would require a miracle for him to survive the crash). Although the car engine was still running (in fact it was still raving), and smoke was coming out from the engine and the exhaust, we decided to pull the car away from the tree to free the driver's head. One guy suggested to take out his body, but i said we should wait for the Bomba. Earlier i tried calling the police and bomba - the police already knew about the accident, but the Bomba, no one answered. After that, i decided to leave the scene, since i could not do anything anymore. As i left, the police and ambulance came. That was my first time being at a scene of a fatal accident, and i was quite shaken. That night, i kept on thinking about the driver.....so kesian.

p.s. The next day's papers carried the story, and it was confirmed that the driver died on the spot. O Lord, have mercy on his soul.

Curtin Updates!

"Centrale Banco de Curtin"

When i stepped into Curtin Students Services a few weeks ago before the semester started, i thought i was standing in a bank :D i wasn't use to the new system yet. Anyway! Congratulations to the management on the implementation of "Que Management System" in the Students Services Department. I believe this improvement will better the efficiency of the department!

ps: Thank God they don't have the 'annoying voice' announcing each number. Imagine "TING TONG! - EMPAT-SATU-TIGA-DUA, KAUNTER EMPAT"

Cheaper Printing

Also newsworthy is the IT Dept introduction of the "10cent-per page" printing policy. It used to cost 20cents to print 1 A4 page - and so that's a 50% discount! Congratulations!!! :D

Curtin Phase 2 nearly completed......is it?

I was just talking to a friend a few days ago, and we were wondering where phase2 of curtin will be built? We were expecting some development over the semester break, at least see some pilings being done. Anyway there were some development over the holidays, and believe me, it's almost completed! Very promising :D I'm just not sure if this is Curtin phase 2, but let's cross our fingers that Curtin phase 2 is more than this!:

 

Farewell Nicole...

Nicole Chin! I guess you have mix feelings leaving Miri..... (kesian Jerome...:P)

It so happened that on the last day of the men's conference which i attended, it was also the day Nicole would be going back to KL. So i was to send Jerome (who was to return to Kuching for the holidays) and Nicole to the airport. It seems that they had a surprised in plan - hehe, they gave me an early birthday gift (a CUTE teddybear) and also 'chia' me to dinner at Riam cafe (opposite the army camp). I didn't know that there Riam cafe actually served so many kinds of food, and the western food which we ate was delicious (although a bit tough).

Well, I knew Nicole thru her mom before she came to Curtin, who called me to say that Nicole would be coming over to syudy at Curtin, and she hoped that Nicole would join CSS. Well, eventually, Nicole did join us at CSS :D, and in the end found her 'love', Jerome (or is it the other way round? haha!). Nicole is a nice girl and her presence in CSS deffinitely made a difference :) Too bad you have to go back to KL la Nicole....we surely miss you :'( I must appologise that i did not do any farewell for you.

Anyway, take care and may God bless you Nicole! Wishing you all the best with your future undertakings. Oh ya! Hope to see you baptised soon too :D

Catholic Men's Conference

Ow man..... i've not been blogging recently. I haven't even blogged about my trip to Kuching *sigh* (i should write soon). A lot of things happened actually and i have been very busy lately. Classes have begun and i am again taking 3 subjects this semester.

Anyway, i attended the Catholic Men's Conference, and it was a good one! My favourite talks were:

++ The crisis of manhood/fatherhood - what happens when a man doesn't play his proper role? What qualities should a real man/father have?
++ Discovering/Rediscovering the real, unique & special me - No family is perfect, and because of that many of us are hurt. Nevertheless, we still can make a difference in our family once we recognise who we are and what common mistakes not to fall into.
++ Healing of self-image - to accept myself and also change the way i look at myself.
++ Understanding communication between men and women - this was hilarious! Most of the examples were adapted from the "Venus & Mars" series.
++ Theology of the Body - how is the human body actually a reflection of God.
++ Qualities of a Man of God and how to develop them - 2 levels of developing manly qualities (1st stage St. John the Baptist, 2nd stage St. John the beloved)
++ Mission of a Catholic Man in Today's society - what roles Catholic man should play in today's world.

Actually this conference is more suited for married men, but nevertheless, a few "orang bujang" attended - i believe to prepare ourselves :P But i went to because i was interested in a number of the talks. I think the main things i learnt from this conference was to accept myself. Also, i realised that as a man, i have a very important 'active role' in the family and in the society - it's all about playing my role properly as a man and also making a difference. There was a pharse by Pope Benedict used during the talk which goes.... "a father is 'not a mere biological phenomenan'". It means a father isn't just there to make babies. He's suppose to play a very active role together with the mother to raise the family :)

Catholic Men's Conference

You are invited to the Catholic Men's Conference 2006
====================
= Theme: "Be Masculine, Real & Responsible"
= Dates: 21st-25th July 2006
= Venue: St Francis of assisi seminary Chapel, Brighton, Miri, Sarawak
= This conference will provide YOU with insights into:
++ The crisis of manhood/fatherhood.
++ Questions of: Who am I? What is my purpose in life?
++ Discovering/Rediscovering the real, unique & special me.
++ Healing of self-image.
++ Understanding communication between men and women.
++ Theology of the Body.
++ Qualities of a Man of God and how to develop them.
++ Mission of a Catholic Man in Today's society.

Don't miss it :)

Exam results out

Hooray! I passed all!!! Somehow i kindof knew i will pass all subjects this semester (i felt peaceful after i sat for my last paper, and also throughout the holidays). Results were officially out on 12/7/06.

Throughout my degree life in Curtin (that's 3 years in total), my each semester exam result would be marred by either 1 FAIL if not 2 FAILS :( (out of the SUPPS i got, i only passed one). So this time, sem 1 2006 was history for me - i know, i know. i only took 3 subjects (2 are repeats) and i passed all 3. well, it's an achivement for me, and that has motivated me to continue, although i still have fear of facing my studies again (Lord, pls help me). Anyway, here are my marks:

=Engineering Economics 401 - 56
=Engineering Electromagnetics 201 - 69
=Mathematics 277 - 77

Thank you Lord! (i know my parents, especially my mom has been praying extremely hard for me. this time their prayers are answered, after like 5 semesters of praying? :> Well, i just hope to maintain the passes.... again i feel so fearful to face my studies. i find it tough and not of my interest, that's why. but since i'm already halfway, beter just continue)

At least this semester i didn't have to go thru so much emotional roller-coaster (phew!). To my friends who either got SUPP or FAIL, don't give up. i know you might fell awful and bad (i went thru those feelings - SO MANY TIMES!) Just treat it as an experience in life and strive to do better the next time.

SK Bintang choir gets 3rd placing in inter-school choir competition!

I got a call on Friday (7/7/06) around lunch time when i was in Kuching...
"Hello! Adrian, this is Cikgu Jagjit. We got third place"
"THIRD PLACE AH???!!!"

Wow! imagine the thrill i went thru when i heard that SK Jalan Bintang school Choir managed to get third placing for the choir competition :D i was so happy!!

A week before i left for Kuching, i was asked to help the school choir prepare for a choir competition. Last year, they got the last placing in the competition (9th placing). So this year they decided to get some help from outside. My sister's teacher, knowing that i conduct the church choir told the PKKK about me. That's how i was called. Anyway, since i am not a professional (and never have any experience working with children and being involved in a competition), in my heart i was telling myself and hoping and praying that as long they don't get last placing again this year i would be happy enough. I did tell myself it would be nice if they could get 3rd placing. True enough they got 3rd this year! :D

Anyway, i had a really good time working with the kids (primary 4-6). Since it is my ambition to be a teacher, i got some firsthand experience (even though only for a few hours for 4 days) in teaching. I loved it!!! On my last day with them, 2 of the students were crying (normal for some children to miss their teacher...kekeke....:P). i really thank God for His guidance and also for helping the choir do their best!
Tahniah semua!!! :D

I'm back in Miri

I'm back, after a week of travelling. So will be doing lots of posting the next few days :)

been up to... and surprise!

Been up to:
1) Going to campus.
2) preparing talk for Worship! Camp
3) erm... staying home

Anyway i got a surprise yesterday - Esther came home and told me that her teacher asked if i could help with their school choir. i was really caught by surprised. i wanted to reject he offer because i felt that i was quite busy (or rather going to be) since i'll be involved a little in the Worship! Camp, then i'll be going to Kuching next week for a week + to attend a meeting - Malaysian Catholic Students Council 3 (MCSC 3). It's my first time attending anyway.

But then, her penolong kanan called in the afternoon. i told her i was busy, but i tried to think of some friends who might be able to help out. Tried Abel, but i guess he might be busy now, or rather not in the best mood. In the end, i decided to help, but i mentioned to the teacher that i could only help for a few days. and i've never met the students, don't know their standard...so well, i guess i'll just go and see and what i can help with. i also consulted Jonathan, a friend from Carmelite church choir, since he has experience in this.

so this morning at 8am, went to breakfast with Lionel Goh - wanted to pass him some books to read. Aiya, he said he'll be moving to KK....adui....so we were just sharing a few things there about life. So around 10am, i arrived at Esther's school. Hehe, i got the chance to feel what's like being a teacher (makes me love my dream profession more - but sometimes i have doubts about mysef....) Anyway, after hearing the students singing. i feel that the problem has to do with their dynamic. No power in their voice. They already started singing in parts, but it was a bit out of tune, but more of no power. i don't really know what to do. But i got them to sing only in 1 voice and tried to improve ther dynamics. So hopefully tomorrow, i can try putting voices, once tey have improved their dynamics. The choir competition will be on th 7th of July. I just hope i can contribute to help them succedd, even if a little i'm happy, since such a short time frame was given.

*yawn*........really sleepy now.......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz oppss!
almost fell aslept in front the pc.

Rabbit, R.I.P.

Sad news.....Esther's rabbit died yesterday... *sob* :-( I think it died due to coldness (remember the 2 nights ago the wind was super strong and it was also raining?) Well, the cage was covered with canvas, but i think it was still too cold for the rabbit. Poor thing...

When i woke up yesterday, i saw the rabbit numb in the cage. It was still alive, so i took it in and wrapped it with some clothes, then gave it a warm bath, but i think it was already half dead.... anyway, i wiped the rabbit dry and wrapped some clothes again and place it in a box in my room. Went out for a while (still hoping the rabbit will pull thru), but by the time i came home.....it has died..... WAAAA!!!!!! (i think i feel more sad than Esther). Anyway, it was nice to have a rabbit in our life. Here are more photos of the rabbit:

Farewell for Edmund

"Edmund! When are you leaving? What are you going to do next? Where are you going too?" Somehow i never get a complete answer to those set of questions. Biasalah - Edmund is MYSTERIOUS :P. And he'll be leaving Miri on 23rd June 2006. Anyway, met him thru Curtin and CSS. He's been an active member and since he's leaving, decided to bring him for dinner. So we (a group of us) went to Michael BBQ Steamboat.

RM20 perhead, we could cook (whatever they offered) how much we wanted :) It was fun la, i mean to cook your own food and eat them :) I din know they also offered free ice-cream-in-a-cup after the meal :)

Anyway, farewell Edmund! Hopefully you 'kanyang' last night. It has been nice knowing you. Thank you for eveything. Ampun maaf for anything. We're definitely going to miss you. All the best in life :D and God bless +

*sedihnya rupa....

Cycling

Yester-yesterday morning (that means the morning after yesterday, which is Wednesday morning), i wanted to go cycing up to the golf club at Pulau Melayu...but it seems that i got tired along the way (don't know what's wrong with my stamina...) So instead of going that far, i stopped by the riverbank after the Piasau bridge. i noticed there was a jetty there and so was curious to check out the scenery there.

From the jetty, It was quite a beautiful scene (the sun was just rising) and i could see some ships and boats berthed at the opposite side of the Miri river. The only setback was that Miri river looks so dirty - the water is murkish, and plenty of rubbish floating (yuck!)

And yesterday, went cycling with Edmund, Joel, Lehrman, Lionel and Elle, the roses among the thorns :) Brought them to Sribima beach. Was thinking to bring them cycling along the beach, but instead, the guys were already prepared for a swim! La....i din bring extra clothes (esp pants), so wasn't in the mood for a swim. So just duduk with Elle at the beach. Macam2 la we buat there. Anyway, i guess we had a great time, although time was really limited.

Tuesday nite-out

After cycling to (Jonathan), (Valerian) & (Gary, Elli, Edmund, Joel) house, i found out that Joel (and kawan2 sewaktu dgnnya) all going out for movie. Actually, the whole afternoon i was thinking to go out that night, and since they were going, so decided to join them :) Before going to the cineplex, we dropped by 'Nasi Lemak' shop in town (somewhere opposite Kafe Perwira). My first time there, and hence, camera must come into action :P

L-R: Jonathan, Lionel, Elle, Gary, Edmund, Nicole, Jerome, i, hehe...Joel cameraman. And this is their nasi lemak which they offer (click the thumbnail to see full picture):

I've tasted better ones. But anyway, i think the teh tarik is just a bit too expensive - RM1.80. I think the 80cents is the service charge for 'tarik-ing' the tea. Okla, as long full it's ok.

After dinner (supper for me), we went to watch "The Fast and the Furious - Tokyo drift". The only thing about the movie is the drifting part - gives the thrill! So i told myself "i must learn how to drift :P JK", hmmm, maybe i should! :D Let's see, maybe one day in future.

After the movie, it seems that Joel was in the mood of drifting. Just see the picture on the left! See how he drives (click the thumbnail to see anime :P) (iboh manas Joel)

hehe...

i've got a new toy!

So says Lionel..."adrian's new toy". Yup! I got a new toy! I bought a digital camera last Monday night from Victoria photo shop at Imperial Mall (thank you Bonus for recommending that place), right after my last exam paper (after waiting for one for time immemorial - if that's the right expression :P)

it's a "coolpix L4" model. i'm not a tech wizard, so visit Nikon M'sia to see more about this product.

Well, i bought it for RM698 - that's the retail price, but i was given a free 256MB card, and it also comes along with 2 AA rechargeble batteries and the charger itself :)

I almost went for a Sony, but it cost RM899 (i wasn't willing to pay such a high price). Furthermore, Nikon cameras are good (so says Joel too). Well, I think it's a good buy! And now, i can go around snapping pictures - preserving events in life :D

So here are a few pictures i took with the camera:

In front my house, there is a ladybug family. When i first the creatures in the leftmost photo, i couldn't believe they were actually baby ladybugs. So hairy and it seemed like somekind of burnt seedlings. But how come these 'seeds' appeared crawling very slowly and it seems to be eating up the leaves? Eventually, those creatures turn out to be ladybugs! I don't know, but since iwas young i've been very fascinated by ladybugs. Cute insects indeed :D Since i was in the garden, so i decided to take pictures of some of the plants around and near my house:

hehe.... ok next assignment. Take pictures of places i cycle to :>

fevers - different kinds

While most people are embracing (some are already sufffering) from the 'football-fever', i am going through a different fever - it's called the 'pre-exam fever'. Once 'pre-exam' fever subsides, 'exam-fever' comes :P

Haha! It's study week (in fact the last day of study week - i omit Saturday and Sunday, cos i may or may not study)

To all my exam-friends 'ALL THE BEST' with your exams! God bless us all!

Trip to Lambir

The last time i went to Lambir National Park was in 1998 - 8 years ago. Actually, CSS wanted to organise a trip there, but due to overwhelming academic assignments, we cancelled it. But since aunty Margaret & the ChristTeens & the comformandis were making a trip there, might as well CSS join in. a total of 11 of us from CSS went. But in the whole crowd, there were about 120 of us.

Thank God that we were blessed with very good weather. We arrived the park at about 845am. Had breakfast, then the comformandis participated in a treasure hunt until about 1115am. After that, we began the jungle trekking towards 'Pantu Waterfall' It took us about 1 1/2 hour to reach the waterfall. Then had lunch at the waterfall, and because there were too many of us and we were chasing for time, we had to start trekking back towards the park headquarters right after having lunch.

Well, it was fun - met lot's of people, got to be close to nature (i like nature, and also hiking/jungle trekking) and also it was the first time i saw leeches sucking blood from humans (should have taken photo :P) and had the chance to apply first aid skills in such situation (first i used a burning paper, then i saw aunty Margaret using salt).

Left Lambir about 3:30pm. Then CSS went to have ABC to cool ourselves down and also ate some 'kuih udang' at Krokop 5. Later in the night, i went to develope some photographs, then rented some VCDs and went to Jonathan's house to watch 'i not stupid 2' since he said he's alone at home. Then Joel and Edmund came along later.

Had a great day! :D Praise the Lord!

Meeting the Devil

i was just wondering the other day - how come i never meet the devil?  You know, i've heard stories of people encountering the devil, or some evil forces.

As i thought further, then this question came to my mind: "Who says i never meet the devil?"

i may not meet the devil face to face or in his actual form... but i do meet him (very often in fact) through my daily temptations. i do meet him when he disguises himself to tempt me, to attack my thoughts with his fiery arrows.

i once heard a talk on cassette given by 'Bro. Juni' from the Phillipines, in which he said "how come some people never meet the devil? Well, they must be walking in the same direction with the devil! So if you do bump into him, aha, that's a good sign because it means you are walking in the opposite direction of the devil". He went on to give examples of how sometimes when we are on a journey to do something good, and all of a sudden, unnecessary problems start to pour in. Mr De-Vil must be trying hard to block us.

So, should we fear the devil then? NO! Because with Jesus, we need not fear the devil. After all, the devil is merely a creature created by God too, although he does have a certain degree of power. With Jesus in us and with us, we need not fear.

Thus, in times of temptations, in times of trials and even in good times, prayer must always be our constant weapon to defeat the evil one. Prayer is our communication with God, and in God, there is infinite power! Amen!

"Lord Jesus Christ, i thank You for the victory You have won for us through Your suffering, death and resurrection. Guard me against the evil one. Mother Mary, pray for us your children who are at war with the devil. St. Michael The Archangel, defend us! Angels and Saints defend us! Amen."

Esther's Birthday

My youngest sister Esther celebrated her birthday on the 17th of May. There are 2 May babies in my family - Clare (1st May) and also Esther. (Suppose to have another sibling born sometime in May 2000, but he was miscarried :( we assume that the miscarried baby is a 'he', since we already have 2 girls, and we named the baby Jesse).

We went to have dinner at Dave's Deli and then went to 'Coffee Bean' (first time going there) to try out the cheesecakes (carrot, blueberry, chocolate, coffee). my gosh! A piece cost RM8.80! But it was DELICIOUS!!!

And when we got home, there was a surprised for esther from Genevieve & family - they gave Esther a baby rabbit! (first thought that came to my mind - OH NO! THE CAT!!! How if it makan the rabbit???) But the rabbit is SO CUTE!!! :D Gray in color :) So that means we now have 2 pets - a brownish-greyish cat and a grey rabbit =)

hehe...