All That Surf & No Water

My family and my sister's planned a 'nice beach-side getaway at the Holiday Inn Damai Lagoon Resort some 28miles from here. As indicated, it is a resort owned by the Holiday Inn Group. My sister, being a federal government employee, is entitled to hotel stays at the resort (as well as its sister resort, the Holiday Inn Damai Beach).

Sunday, 2.00pm:- We checked in last Sunday afternoon - bringing with us enough food, clothes and plans that should last us the 3days/2nights stay. My sister booked us an Executive Suite, which is located at the 4th floor of the main resort building.
This is the door to the room; I will not show you the inside 'cos that would be free advertising for the resort.

Sunday, 4.00pm:- From the room, we can see the pool directly below us.The view of the pool is nice but it gets rather noisy when the pool is full of people at 7 IN THE MORNING!!! This is also where we spent our Sunday afternoon.

I guess the main attraction of the pool is the fact that it is a sand-pool. Personally I do not like that sand cos it makes the water dirty faster but my kids love it so why not?

Sunday, 6.00pm:- Alternately we have the beach at our disposal but we did not step on any sand that day. Too early, too soon.

Sunday, 7.00pm:- This is the main building of the resort from the poolside during dusk. This is a very nice picture.

Monday, 8.15am:- On Monday morning, for the first time we have been going there, we had to queue to get into the restaurant for our breakfast. Man!!! Was there a whole lot of people! We were seated nearly fifteen minutes later by a very harassed waitress and proceed to enjoy our food... until a man came and sat at the next table with his family. My niece called him the Egg-Man cos when he breaks his half-boil eggs, he literally smash the shells by throwing in onto the floor. He also did the same with his empty sugar packets.

I must say... we all waited in line too, Mister!!! So why the bad manners?

Monday, 2pm:- I should have known that is a bad-omen cos at about 2pm, Monday afternoon, the water supply stopped. When I checked with the Front Desk, I was informed that it is the work of the water authorities. So we can only wait and see.

Monday, 4pm:- That afternoon, we all trooped down to the beach with hopes that the water supply will be restored.

Monday, 6pm:- water supply was not restored and we resorted to washing off the saltiness from our bodies by jumping into the pool.

Monday, 8pm:- the sink was full of dirty dishes - dishes used for our in-room dinner. As a last resort (pardon the pun), we (my niece, hubby and I) took several mineral water bottles and trooped to the pool to get some water.

Not for drinking, since we have our bottled water. But more importantly, for flushing the toilets. On the way up, sis. met a colleague who told her that he is checking out and the resort offered a complimentary stay the next time around.

And that was when we unanimously agreed to abandon our holiday and drive back home.

Monday, 9.40pm:- I don't remember a time when our packing was the fastest but the need to get out of there and into a treated water shower made us packed at super-speed, checked out and head for home by 9.45pm.

Monday, 10.15pm:- reached the city

Monday, 10.30pm:- washed my hair and showered. Wonderful!!!

So if you wonder how the resort looks like at night, after you'd checked out, it is like this. I wonder when will be our next stay?

This Day Six Years Ago...

On 17th October six years, ago, my eldest daughter was born at Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, Ampang, Selangor. She weighs 3.36kgs and was born at 4.06pm. We named her Elizabeth Ashleigh. On 17th October 2006 @ 4.06pm, she turned six.

Her Godmother/Aunt/My Sister bought her a cake (above) with the Powder Puff Girls figures on it. She was so happy she jumped up and down when she saw it (below).

Making a birthday wish...

and (below) some of the stuff she got for her BIG day.

A pretty sandal for her pretty little feet from Gran.

A bracelet with the letters *A*S*H on it from me...

A mathematical book from Aunt Babe...

and some other stuffs which her sisters helped her unwrapped.

...she also had her cake and ate it too. And the smile says it all.

Happy 6th Birthday, Elizabeth Ashleigh!

I pray you'll be my eyes

And watch her where she goes

And help her to be wise

Help me to let go

Every mother's prayer

Every child knows

Lead her to a place

Guide her with your grace

To a place where she'll be safe

I pray she finds your light

And holds it in her heart

As darkness falls each night

Remind her where you are

Every mother's prayer

Every child knows

Need to find a place

Guide her with your grace

Give her faith so she'll be safe

Lead her to a place

Guide her with your grace

To a place where she'll be safe

On The Road Again...A Pictorial

Notice that the brake light of this vehicle is not functioning. Don't that just irks you?

There were quite a few big vehicles on the road this morning. Don't they have desginated time to use public roads? Note the fuel tanker and the bulldozer partially hidden in front of the Toyota.

Hey man! Give me space! Why must drivers (man-drivers) be so near at traffic stops? Haven't you heard of private space? The same goes for cars too, you know....

This car was so old and noisy we just had to take pictures of it. Are you still allowed on the road?

No, it is not cloudy nor is it gonna rain. Rather it is the haze caused by open-burning practised by the Indonesians and/or farmers in the interiors of the state. **cough, cough**

Whenever I see this sign, I think to myself..."You wish..." Though just a billboard, this ad has some political air to it, don't you think?

End of the road? Not really. This is Rodway Road... where the rich live (of course) as well as being the road I take to go to work. Wish it could be as lonely as this all the time...

A Photo Journey by Ashey G.

My eldest has a free hand of my digi-cam this afternoon. Somehow, unlike before, I let her clicked away as we menouver ourselves through the afternoon-lunch traffic. Here's Ashey G.'s journal of our journey home from kinddy today...

(left) At one of our many traffic junctions, this Peugeut 206 driven by a lady (of course!) blocked our way. I honked my annoyance and she just glanced at me casually. So I told Ash to take this picture...

This is the third traffic junction we encountered on our way back; being the biggest traffic junction as it serves the main road to/fro the inner city, the volume of vehicles going by this road is tremendous!

From the traffic junction, we would turn right into this strecth of road. I LOVE this strecth because of the trees that lined the road for at least 3 miles; it gives shade and a warm feeling driving through the road. More importantly, during festivals, the council will put lights amongst its branches, making it look like a wonderland at nights. BEAUTIFUL!

Along that strecth of road too we would pass by this junction; a road that leads to the house where we used to live just a year ago. This junction is also another way of reaching our present home should the road ahead is jammed with traffic.

This is the overhead bridge that joins a school with the housing area around it. Unfortunately, like all Malaysians, this bridge is hardly used because parents seems to like to take risks and cross the road. From the picture too you can see that parents park their car by the road side, causing a congestion along this strecth. Do we blame the authorities for building schools at such limited space or the parents for being too lazy to park at designated places?

So by the time I get home, I would feel all knotted up.... because of other drivers, the long winding road, the traffic jams, the traffic stops and hunger.

One Half of Me (01)

I am a Bidayuh, and I am proud of it. Having said that, please do not ask me which Bidayuh village I am from because I cannot answer you. Why? Though I am 100% Bidayuh, my parents are from different tribes of Bidayuh – Dad is from the district of Bau (Singghai- Daun) while Mom is from Serian (Tebakang). Additionally, they speak a different dialect and being raised by a home-maker, I grew up speaking Mom’s dialect, which is Bukar sadong, and totally different from Dad’s dialect. So yeah. I do not have a village per se because I was born in Kuching and Kuching is officially a city, NOT a village.









along the Serian-Tebedu road, you will notice such scenes as this (this is near Kgp Kakai)



Serian is a small town about 40miles from Kuching. Every other weekend, my family and I would drive there to spend the weekend with my parents; Mom and dad decided to settle in Tebakang when Dad retired. They are officially landowners now, not civil servants.







the Serian lake at dusk











Serian is famous for its durians (Dad has a durian orchard) so the Serian District Council erected a monument to this ‘King of Fruits’ at the roundabaout approaching the town.




my daughter knows that we are reaching Tayong's (granny's) house when we reach the roundabaout and the gigantic durian...




When back in the village, the whole family would attend Sunday mass at St Teresa’s Parish church. After mass, we would converge at a local coffee shop for kolo mee, laksa and porridge before heading home.

Some places of interest at Serian includes the Ranchang waterfall. I have not been there since the 1980s so I really do not know how it looks like today, or even how to get there. But the waterfall is nicely done by the council.








the bridge from the water's view









picture taken from the suspension bridge











In Serian town, they have only one fast food restaurant – the KFC. My nephew Abe works there and some nights, we get to eat fried chicken for free!

















The Serian market is another place which one should visit. I am not a market-person but when I go to the market there, I am assured of finding many an-interesting things. For Hubby, the pork market is a not-to-be-missed because that’s his favourite food.






Hubby is such a regular than Uncle Khong gives him discounts on his purchases...



Another interesting fact is that Serian is only 15mins drive from the border town of Tebedu and the Malaysian/Indonesian border. I must say the road there by-pass Mom’s village but we get the occassional Indonesian vehicles stopping by once a while.












the road going to Tebedua and the border is an up-hill journey. Dad alwasy say,"To go to Tebedu, just head towards the limestone hills." (as seen on the picture)



So that's the Bukar-Sadong side of me. The next time, I will enlighten all on the Singghai side of me... if I have enough info to share all.

Thank you Frankie, for KFC...

A former colleague, Frankie, dropped by at the office during lunch today. Knowing that I am usually in during those hour, he had brought along a pack of KFC Hot and Spicy Xtra for me and my EA. Between the two of us, we shared the chicken (there was two pieces in the pack) whipped potato and the coleslaw.

Kind-hearted that we are ;-), we gave Frankie the (one and only) toasted bun.





Personally, the xtra spice tastes more like xtra cili padi to me. But after a while, the xtra spiciness wore out and it tastes like the normal spicy version. Or maybe my tongue got used to the spiciness.



We also had the fries that goes with the whole serving. As usual, fries from KFC lack the 'ummmm' that fries from McD have. It was stringy and limp and cold as well as no ketchup/chilli packs to go with it.




Ehhh Frankie...where is our cola?


And next time, don't forget our chicken nuggets and cheesy wedges....



Thanks for lunch!

p/s
Frankie finished all the limp and cold fries though, so he didn't leave hungry.

Words that Sees Me Through the Day

1/. “…when it comes to thinking and writing, you are the best there is….” – the GM

2/. “…put on headphones…” – the GM (read: ignore those rumor mongering)

3/. “… (only you have ) the ability to put the organisation’s creative wants onto paper.” – the GM

4/. What goes around comes around.

5/. Things happen for a reason.

6/. © My baby is cuter than yours!

My Calendar for October 2006

Here's what my Organiser looks like for the month of October, and this is just the official stuff:

3rd: Fundraising Briefing at 9.30am; Pick Emma from School

4th: Briefing on ASLi by ASK Centre at 9.00am

6th: Comm. for Development Workshop 8.00am to 5.00pm

10th: Summarisation and Sharing on SD/ESD at 10.00am; Pick Emma from School

11th: ASFa Meeting at 2.30pm

14th: SACS AGM at 2.30pm

17th: Ash's birthday!; Pick Emma from School; Majlis Berbuka Puasa with PERYATIM organised by ASFa at 5.30pm

21st: Happy Deepavalli, all you Indians all over!

24th & 25th: Selamat Menyambut Hari Raya

31st: WCS' Conservation Education Workshop 8.30am to 5.00pm; Pick Emma from School

Kuching vs Serian

I must state here that I really dislike people asking me about dialects and homwtowns. The conversation normally goes like this:

Q: Where is your home town?
Me: Kuching.
Q: Kuching? You Bidayuh right?
Me: Yes. Why?
Q: You from Serian kah? Bau? Penrissen?
Me (seething with annoyance): Nope. I was born at Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching, so that makes my hometown Kuching.

Another conservation that really irks me would go like this:
Q: You Bidayuh?
Me: Yes...
Q: So you can speak (so-and so- Bidayuh dialect)
Me: Yes... (and the conversation ends there.
Me: No... (and the conversation continues)
Q: No? How come? Why don't you learn?
Me (annoye): Because when I was born, I forgotten to give my parents a reminder letter to make sure that they speak/teach Bukar-Sadong and Singghei with me....

Please note:
The failure of a child to speak hismother-tongue is not the child's but the parents.

I am proud to say that I speak Bukar-Sadong Bidayuh thanks to my mother. Some Bidayuh kids were raised not speaking their mother tongue at all! And the worst thing is that both parents are from the same Bidayuh sub-group!

Mind you, my Bidayuh-Indian-Chinese children are all being raised and taught to understand, speak and learn Bidayuh.

FOR SALE: Wooden Burmese Pill Box

Description:
The pill box is from Myanmar (Burma) and handmade wholly from good quality wood. The lid is embellished with a copper-plate bearing an elephant. Though made a pillbox, this item has never served its actual purpose but instead have been left sitting on my display case for all to admire. The item is not heavy although made from whole piece of wood.

Dimension:
Diameter: 1 1/5inche
Height: 1 inche
Shape: Round

Reason for sale:Bought originally as a souvenir from my trip to Thailand. But now, feel that it should be of service to someone who can/will use it as a pill box or take care of it better.

Selling price:
RM25.00
(i) RM12.00 for postage/handling charges (on Pos Laju, within Malaysia only).
(ii) USD10.00 for postage/handling to other destinations on FedEx

Payment Method:
- Direct payment to my BCB a/c
- Money Order made up to my name

* Confirmed buyer will be notified through e-mail to arrange for payment and shipping.


Interested?

Email me. lynn(underscore)michaels(at)hotmail(dot)com

FOR SALE: Bronze Indian Pill Box

I have this pill box for sale and I hope to have a buyer.









Description:
The pill box is made of bronze with jeweled lid. The box is handmade and from India (the continent). It has never been used for its original purpose - that is as a pill box - but rather, it has been sitting on my display case since I got it almost 6 years ago. It looks rather rusty because it is made of bronze and never been polished (I do not know how and I don't dare, for fear of spoiling it).

Dimension:
Diameter: 1 1/5inches
Height: 1 inch
Shape: slightly oblong

It is slightly heavy because it is made of bronze.




Reason for sale:
Bought originally as a souvenir from my trip to India. But now, feel that it should be of service to someone who can/will use it as a pill box or take care of it better i.e. polish it.

Selling price:
RM25.00
(i) RM12.00 for postage/handling charges (on Pos Laju, within Malaysia only).
(ii) USD10.00 for postage/handling to other destinations on FedEx

Payment Method:
- Direct payment to my BCB a/c
- Money Order made up to my name
* Confirmed buyer will be notified through e-mail and/or SMS to arrange for payment and shipping.













Interested? E-mail me at lynn(underscore)michaels(at)hotmail(dot)com