31.12.2008

We are already counting our days to 2009. Most of the days of 2008 had gone and they are not coming back nor can I get it back. Anyway, I’m glad I’m still alive to welcome 2009 and also am glad that everything I went through had made me a better person.

For the year 2008,
1. I drank too much on the first day of new year 2008, after attending my ex-boss wedding.
2. I had picnic at the beach with family members.
3. I started giving tuition classes and hope to see my students to excel in their studies.
4. I had 18 HOURS journey from Tungku- Lahad Datu- Sandakan-Telupid-Ranau-Telupid-Ranau-Kundasang-KK.
5. I involved in a car accident and luckily i broke only my car plate number and I got RM100 as compensation, to get a new plate number, which cost RM30. The balance, I used it to repair my air- cond. ;D
6. I had my first futsal tournament. The TEO vs. The GAN. And we lost 4-19.
7. Had a great Chinese New Year in Menumbok and had our boidea.blogspot first gathering there. =)
8. Found the best ngiu chap ever in Menggatal.
9. Cam-whoring in the town for the first time, in the middle of the night, where people are preparing for the next day’s business in Gaya Street and it was fun!
10. Had the most terrifying news ever- my parents and my uncle and auntie involved in an accident which was quite bad, on their way back from Sandakan
11. Started a new hobby and passion which is BAKING! And tried lots of new recipes. I’ve tried chocolate cake, banana cake, carrot muffin, strawberry jam Swiss roll, mango upside down cake, blueberry muffin, durian Swiss roll, cinnamon cake, cheese cake, fruit cake, vegetable cake, etc.
12. Had uncomfortable heart issues. ;p
13. I went to KL, Melaka, Genting, etc on my own fund- for the first time. Shopping and enjoy to the fullest!
14. Went to KL for the company’s annual dinner and we got to stay in the hotel in the shopping mall. Isn’t it heaven?
15. In spirit with all the athletes for the Olympic games and cried every time I saw the happy faces of those athletes when they won gold medals for their country. And I’m proud to be a Chinese!
16. I went to Labuan for Merdeka celebration and got drank too much again- for the second time of the year- and made a promise not to drink too much anymore, until next Chinese New Year.
17. Proud of my siblings and most of all, proud of my parents for everything and the last of the four of us FINALLY graduated.
18. I had the biggest burger in my life in New York New York, 1Borneo.
19. I’m glad that Obama won!
20. Supported Joyce on her decision and finally she went through it.
21. Got ‘so-called’ promoted to be the person in-charge of the lab
22. Had a very sad experience where my uncle passed away just a few days before his birthday, and he actually had promised his daughter to celebrate it this year. May God bless his soul.
23. Baked wedding cake for my old friend, Joyce.
24. Had FINALLY able and had the courage to go for the Rite of Penitential.
25. Met some new friends, in the office as well as outside the world. Hehe.

Erm..i think a list of 25 are enough. Let me keep the rest for myself. As I go, I realized that there are so many things had happened throughout the year and yet the time seems to past so fast. anyhow, I’m counting my blessings and above all I thank God for everything that had happened in my life. I know, things happened for a reason.

28.12.2008

Day 1
(26.12.2008)

This Christmas, we had our family gathering in Panorama Resort in Kundasang. We were there from 26.12.08 till 28.12.08. It was a relaxing holiday i can say, and our tummy were 24/7 full. what we did, was mainly, cook-eat-sleep.. and guess what?our stock of foods were packed into 4 big cars..

can u imagine that, for only three days two nights. we brought lots of tit-bits, sauces, chickens, lambs, lots of vegetables, potatoes, fish, salted fish, spices, noodles, bread, drinking water (this is a must la), carbonated drinks, 4 cartons of beers, 12 liters of red wines, two cartons of eggs, cooking utensils, clothing, blankets, mat, rice cookers, pots, etc etc..THERE WERE LOOOOTsss OF THINGS!

we departed KK at around 12pm. initially, the plan was to depart at 10am, but we didn't realize that we spent too much time on loading and packing all the things, especially our stock of foods onto the car. we reached ranau at around 3pm and stopped for a while at the Kundasang junction to get some fresh vegetables (more food to add to our collection) and also to get some fresh air..

dad's car lead the way because the map to Panorama was with mom. and, we lost our way, because the map drawn on the brochure was wrong. but, luckily, there were a few orang kampung there having their evening coffee- break and the showed us the way. and we arrived at the resort at around 4:30pm. The way there was not so good, but luckily we arrived there safely. and, then loading all the things into the house was another problem.. it was so tiring because the stairs were quite steep.

then, time for to eat..our mission started at around 5pm. we burn the charcoal (though our plan for BBQ, is the day after), and everyone started helping out for the dinner. deche and koko choo had already cooked their dish in KK, so they don't have to do the cooking. but, they still helped to do the preparing of ingredients.

and, that night, every one was very full to the max! and there's still lots of leftovers..but, our mouth never stop chewing. after finished dinner, we continue with drinking and eating again.

Day 2
(27.12.2008)

most of us woke up early, to prepare breakfast and also food to eat during the outing. our plan were to visit the sabah tea plantation and also the fish spa. dechim prepared sandwiches, while some others marinated the chicken wings and lamb for the BBQ.

after finished with all the preparation, we start with our journey for the day.

we were at the back of the truck until the kundasang junction

we went to sabah tea plantation and wanted to visit their factory. but, there were some students from perak came before us. and, by the time, it;s our turn to go into the factory, it was already 1pm, and some sections in had already stop processing. the person in charge advised us to come again next time. luckily they showed us the video, and we have some idea on how the tea leaves are being processed.

next, we went to fish spa. the so-called fish spa. every one of us thought that, the fish will come to you and eat away all the dead cells on our body..but, mana tau, we have to buy them feed and feed them. then only the fish will come to you. anyhow, all of us enjoyed the experience. the fish were so tame...hmm, i like!

then, we went to the memorial park, where you can see all the names of those who were killed during the WWII when the British and Japanese were against each other.

at night, we had our BBQ until around 10pm. there were still much food but everyone was already tired of eating and very full. then, we had our gift exchange activities. i think everyone was happy with the gift that they received. (erm, i hope so..hehe)

Day 3
(28.12.2008)

today, most of us, woke up late because every one was tired from the previous day. but mom woke up early to prepare soto for breakfast. and ah meng was also early, so that she can have her hot bath..haha.

after breakfast, we packed all our stuffs to get ready for home. luckily, most of the food (i think 2/3 of them) had already been eaten, or else we will have headche again to think on how to bring back all those foods.

and, at night, we gathered again in No.29, to finish up all the foods.

in the end, all of us enjoyed ourselves very much!
(maybe except for ah ma, because she sprained her ankle and ben because he had diarrhea and he cannot eat as much as he wants)

26.12.2008

the tree in warisan square

Christmas this year was a very meaningful one. though i've been celebrating Christmas since young, but they were celebrated with different meaning. Now, i celebrated Christmas with totally different feeling and i see it from another angle of life..and to be exact, it was since 4 years ago, when i accepted Him into my life.

the christmas dcoration in warisan square

however, ever since i came back to KK, after my studies, i have never attended Mass during the Christmas because of our usual family tradition which is to gather in Labuan..somehow, this year Sache and family went to US for their Christmas. thus, the plan had changed, where we are going to Kundasang for family gathering and i went for Mass in the morning on Christmas day.

got stuck in the traffic, down the hill to church

i woke up early in the morning, afraid that i'm going to miss the Mass, and i got ready as early as 7:30am, where the Mass started at 9am. i went there early so that i'll get a very good place to park my car. haha. but, to my surprise, there were lots of parking space. i guess it must be because most of them attended the midnight Mass.
the Mass was fantastic! not only the message of Christ is here was delivered clearly, the Choir was also great! honestly, i shed tears, listening to the song sung by the Choir team. they have the voice of angels! and it's another factor that make my Christmas more meaningful.

it snowed in 1Borneo

then, the rest of my Christmas day was spend with an outing with siblings and cousins..hanging around in 1Borneo until night.

we really got nothing to do!

the conclusion for the day : WONDERFUL!

23.12.2008

the tree in the office..i like.

the warmth of Christmas is so comforting and the feeling of being loved is so great! i received gifts and cards from friends and not forgetting those wishes, and i think these are enough for me as a perfect Christmas! but, it's not because of those material things that i'm happy for, it's of the thoughts that counts! i believe, if i'm not in their mind, i wouldnt get anything from them.
owh~ i'm so glad and thankful for the gift of friendship!
and i thank god for that.

erk..i look like the Grinch..

22.12.2008

i went out for dinner just now with Joyce and her family and friends. if i dont go, means i dont have chance to have meal with he before she leave for China on Saturday. so i said Yes, and i have to cancel my initial plan where i planned to go Centre Point to look for some gifts.
They fetched me from the office. We went to Salut for seafood. Then, to 1Borneo to have a look. They went to island during the day, and everyone got sunburnt-where everyone looks like prawn. Haha. Kevin was laughing at Kim because her nose was red and he called her Rudolph. and he doesn't know that his nose is red too!

me, joyce, michael and wan lu

i was happy. the last time i had the same feeling was during my university life in UKM where it is slightly different when you have dinner with your family. no, i'm not saying that i dont like to have dinner with my family, but there is something different when you are with friends and i have not have the same feeling for such a long time.

miss those good old days. hmm...

22.12.2008

Last night was the Dong Zhi Festival. according to Wikipedia,

the making of tang yuen

The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至; Pinyin: dōng zhì; "The Extreme of Winter") is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the Dongzhi solar term on or around December 22 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the Dongzhi solar term The origins of this festival can be traced back to the Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fù (復, "Returning"). Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of Tangyuan (湯圓, Cantonese jyutping: tong1 jyun2; Mandarin Pinyin: Tāng Yuán) or balls of glutinuous rice, which symbolize reunion. Tangyuan are made of glutinuous rice flour and sometimes brightly coloured. Each family member receives at least one large Tang Yuan in addition to several small ones. The flour balls may be plain or stuffed. They are cooked in a sweet soup or savoury broth with both the ball and the soup/broth served in one bowl.

Okay, to make it simpler, according to TEOpedia (i just created that, hehe).. Dong Zhi means special dinner, tang yuen and family gathering. Well, we dont go far from the original meaning of Dong Zhi Festival and i'm proud to be a Chinese! =)


i was planning to bake my last batch of Fruit-Ol Cake, mom was busy in the kitchen preparing ingredients for the dinner. then, it came to mind that the festival will not be meaningful without having tang yuen. yesterday was Sunday and kakak was not at home because she went out to bring Koko Ann, Aivy and Alvin to 1Borneo, so no one could help us to do tang yuen, unless we do it ourselves. Since Milia is at home at that time, i asked her if she wants to make tang yuen. we checked the cupboard, to see if all the ingreedients needed are there. luckily we still have 3 packets of flour. so, we started making tang yuen, right after i've done with my Fruit-Ol Cake, hehe.

red tang yuen with red bean paste filling

mine (the red balls) are filled with red bean paste, or famously known as tausa. while milia's (the white balls) are filled with tiramisu paste. but, both taste almost the same.

white tang yuen with tiramisu paste filling

Then, at night they (i used 'they' because i was not in..i went for Joyce wedding reception at Royal China Restaurant, huhu~) had all the good food (well, i had good food also la) and also tang yuen.

tang yuen in sweet ginger broth

Oh ya, another thing, according to the Chinese belief, if it rains during Dong Zhi Festival, then we will have a dry Chinese New Year, next year. But, if it's a dry Dong Zhi, where there's no rain, then we will have a wet Chinese New Year. i do not know how true is this. But yesterday, it was very dry..still i hope it wont rain during Chinese New year.
Let's do the experiment. and the time will tell. haha.

tang yuen ready to be served

Prediction: It will rain during Chinese New Year.. *waiting patiently for next year*

20.12.2008

Joyce and Michael was legally married in October and has already had her wedding celebration in Beijing. And she came back to Malaysia, during the early of December to celebrate and bless her marriage in the church with all her relatives in KK. The phrase that they chose for their souvenir book is 'Our love is God's gift to us..Our marriage is our gift to God' which i think is very meaningful.

she looked beautiful in her white gown. i pray that she will be happy with the life she has been dreaming for. may God bless her and Michael, as husband and wife that they will be granted with joy and love forever.

they were exchanging their vows and make their promise towards each other in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. one of the song that i like which was sung during the Praise & Worship session is this;

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
o what a fore-taste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Saviour all the day long

Perfect submission all is at rest,
i in my Saviour am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

i like it because of the chorus. first, because of it's same as my theme. hehe. and also, the song is very significant.

after they had their Holy Communion, the children from Praise Kid Team performed a dance especially for the newly wed couple. they are so cute..

they will be here until 28th December and after that, they will continue their journey of life in China. and then with all their future plannings. may God will always bless them.


before they leave the church for home. their request is that all the single and available to gather and catch her bouquet of flowers. Kevin wanted the flower but he was way too far at the back. and the lady in pink got it. hehe.

...and they live happily ever- after..