On a recent trip to the rumbia@sago festival in Kuala Penyu..a worthwhile visit, I would say – at least I got away from city life for a while.

A first timer to the festival, my mind was filled with butods, butods and more butodsss on display and for sale (a friend of mine was on butod – mode and was really hungry for the milky creatures) – well..ta..pun ja la a..my dear..for not one was for sale. A colleague told me that butod is not a favourite delicacy in the Kuala Penyu district.
A lot of people may have been blogging on their own experiences at the festival – count me in.
Kuala Penyu - a small town with quite a number of folks. The trade mark for the place would of course be the turtles. There’s a story behind the name of this district. Read on below if you want to know J
The festival was more of a TV3 Jom Heboh plus big tamu kind of thing. With lots of stalls selling foods, drinks, vegetables, clothes,,and even cute animals. One thing for sure was the visitors of the festival had been entertained with lots of water sports activities and dangdut music filling the air.

The great thing on the Kuala Penyu visit was crossing the big hanging bridge from the main town to the stalls and display booths area. One can find the rumbia and sago booth and try the traditional sago – making tool themselves. It’s the only booth as well where you can get your hands on live butod@vutods!!

Anyway, my favourite booth had to be the Pulau Tiga Survivor Resort and Sabah Parks. Bought myself a nice RM2 Pulau Tiga postcard that I have never seen in KK. Hmm..next destination..Pulau Tiga!!! J

After a few hours in Kuala Penyu, we head on to the Rumbia Information Centre which was located about 700m from the Kuala Penyu roundabout – only to find that it was closed. It’s a Saturday. The government does not work on Saturdays. BUT!! We made ourselves at home anyway,,the entrance was opened (more like abandoned..). It’s a nice big place with lots of rumbia trees planted surrounding the area. Really fell in love with the wooden walkways that surround the building – reminded me of my hometown in Kg Tanjung Aru Lama.

Yep, got myself a remembrance there too – got too close with a little caterpillar@ulat beluncas. I didn’t realize it – was busy taking pictures of the walkway..and OUCH! I thought I was bitten by the big red ants. The students were busy touching my hand and looking at the beluncas bite@sting@bulu.

“call the ambulance” one of them joked. Aikkss..sia tampar la ko ni gaman.

“ada racun tu miss..bahaya tu”, another girl student said, which made me a bit worried.
..but,,,I think its going to be fine la. Just a beluncas ba,, but the pain was quite stingy.

My hand had turned red that time. Luckily one of the student offered me to pour some minyak kapak@cap kapak onto it. I was doubtful that it was effective, but it did work. The pain and redness gone. Thank you dear, and THANKKK you minyak cap kapak. Now I know another useful benefit of this longtime oil. Lesson learned – macam promosi iklan pla!

(^_^) Enjoy the pictures.

welcome to Kuala Penyu everyone..so,, how about this picture. Hmm..blh tahan pose a..kiddo (^_^)

sasat di roundabout kuala penyu tp masih blh senyum juga a..- kunun

How kuala penyu got its name..
the muara..

where u can park ur boat in the river,,n park ur car..beside the river :)

the big hanging bridge (pictures: courtesy of ms Grace)

ni pn gmbr dari si grace - one of my colleague that went with us on the trip. nice view a..ada ferris wheel ba..

the crowd..

display everywhere..dont ask me where's the other half of the mannequines

one of the traditional tools to get sago from rumbia

ok, demo. this is i think how they do it..hehe

happy dorang sya snap time dorang ber demo2..hehe

i wish i could say that..thats my hand!! holding the butod..nahhh..

my favourite booth - the SURVIVOR booth

mesti la posing dlu..

booth of one of the school. cantik the drawings..remind me of myself when i was primary school..cehhh..

aha!! thats MY hand..holding the rabbits..auwwww..too cute

Ayu kn this rabbit

some landscape view of the river where water sports activities were done

lumba perahu..

trails of disaster..UNnatural disaster - man made kn, shame shame on u

the Rumbia Information Centre

the nice wooden walkway. cantik leh..I got my beluncas sting here juga la,,can..tikk..

Yum yum!
Eating out has been my little life’s pleasure nowadays..(^_^) it’s a great way to taste life and ..not to mentioned, a fast way indeed to burn a big hole in your pocket.
Thank God its Friday – and that means another day to spoil my taste buds – for lunch time that is! Penat wat..working all week,, so give urself a break n have a good meal at least for the job well done along the week ( a pat on the back doesn’t really work any more these days)

Well, a choice out of the blue.. and here we were at the Buffet Restaurant, 5th floor Fun Square, Centre Point. It’s a very cool, modern, comfy, and spacious.. restaurant , for a buffet meal. And the great thing was, everything cost at RM15 nett for all the food you can savour within 2 hours. Yes, 2 hours only. So, that means less chit chat.. and more munching J PLUS, be careful not to over indulge your self in taking TOO MUCH food in your plate(s),,if u r unable to finish it, pay for it then.

Hmm..a too – traditional buffet restaurant? Perhaps. But business operators have to be very smart these days – it’s a survival thing.

Lets rate the food on the menu,,ok.. - chicken soup, chicken craw, chicken wings, fried chicken, chicken ear..oops...hehe,, no chicken ear la, of course. But it was mainly chicken. The choices for salad are also not as much as what u can imagine at Pizza Hut. But I love the fried rice..yum yum yum..really reminds me of the Shangri –La’s trade mark fried rice that I used to serve to guests when I was working as a waitress (with little fresh prawn n colorful vege)..alala..n u thought it was when I used to be SERVED as a guest..hahaha.. (^_^) I guess I will give the choices of food a 3 star. OK la..it’s worth the price that u pay. Considering the atmosphere provided..so, BOLEH la..

On the customer service side..hmm. I’l give it a two star. For a theme and buffet restaurant such as this, customer service should be more than just opening the door or clearing ur table (hey, im a great complainer..) Service from the hostess counter was a mere sleepy afternoon smile (n u can even catch a glimpse of that eye- thing that they do most of the time – rolling eye ba..). But it’s the supervisor@ captain’s eye – thing that I could never forget. He was looking at our table so many time,, with a Ripley’s – Believe – It – Or – Not – these – people – can – finish – the – food – on – the – table!! Not even a smile or cared to ask us whether we were enjoying our meals or not. Gestures like this make people feel unwelcome la..for your information Mr Supervisor.

We didn’t take too much food anyway,,mau rugi meh..kena bayar if u cant finish everything??

Despite all this, I guess its still a pleasureable day,, because of the environment..and because we managed to take quite a number of pictures while eating,, haha..maybe that’s one of the reason the supervisor made that eye – thing. Anyway, I was quite disappointed because I didn’t get to try all the food,, especially the ice cream n sweet bun. A call came from the office reminding me of a forgotten appointment at 2pm. It was 2pm.

Wow, was he on time!!

All aboardddddd!!!

Welcome to the buffet restaurant..where u will get a cinema - ticket like entrance coupon and dazzle ur eyes for the next two hours with the OK LAH choice of food and posters of blockbusters movies – wish I can have all the posters..hahaha.

Enjoy your meal, sir.

Nicely arranged chairs and tables make the place cozy and cool.

Take your pick from here..while admiring beautiful movie posters adorning the wall. After 9.30pm, this place will be a dance floor!

Wat are u waiting for?? dont worry about the eye - thingy.. ;)

We invited a couple of students to accompany us..they paksa - rela join us,,haha..thanks girls.

Nice background eh..

The stage.

The new duo that will be entertaining after 9.30pm (^_^)

Once upon a campus, 5 young ladies believed that hotel management was running through their veins

(* wink wink*).haha..presenting 2 u..batch 4 of HE08.

From left to right: Teng, Mia, Cath, Uzoiey n simply me .

This picture holds so much memory.
It was early morning before lecture that we were overtaken by craziness thus took a lot of pictures with silly actions – one of it was this one. Maybe it was the breakfast thing..hehe..for we were not really in FULL mode that morning.
A friend of ours used to joke telling us its like picture of handphones advertisement..hahhaa..of coz we were just pretending holding the hand phones at that time ;).

Teng: The cutest n one of the smartest HE08 student that time. Was pretty much busy in the love department until the end of study year…but.. hehe..well, One of our friends said that we look- alike, n gave us the thumb up as a ‘buy 1 free 1’. Damn. Now, a teacher, mother of a baby boy and happily married to another teacher..perfect couple.

Mia: My room mate. Couldn’t believe we could actually talk about anything n everything!!from serious to the stupidest thing on earth..or at the back of our home , n laugh crazily– haha. Auww..i really missed those days. Now, pregnant with child number two, she’s an occasional lunch companion in a get- together or mini reunion held..of course in KFC!! J
Cath: or famously known as Khairunissa@kay now, is a cikgu – mithali to be,,was actually very friendly n down to earth person after getting to know her. My source of inspiration in the blogging world. Having a very Chinese look, people always misjudge her as a Chinese girl before..haha..amoi…ni hao ma..

Uzoiey: one of my close friend until today. Was a very happy go lucky lady in campus..and an active outing companion then n now..that is before u need to juggle work, marriage n family la..hehe. well,, now a mother of a baby boy. My collegue, my friend.
Me:?? What else can I say? I wish I was a little wiser and work harder in campus. But..as a phrase says..”never regret something that has once made u smile”. So, im not going to complaint. Hmm..looking at the marriage – o – meter..its just me n cath left. All are proud mamas n wives now. Ba cath..u first..i don’t mind. Though happily engaged with mr fiancé now, I really wouldn’t mind waiting for some time when he will be transferred here in Kota Kinabalu..so that married life will be like a married life.

By the way, none of us stayed in the hotel lines. Haha..

My fav pic of campus life. i wonder who took the picture that time..may be it was Jacky..,

O jacky..jacky..where art thou..now

Really missed those days..young..free..lazeee..hehe

And how could we forget this one..mocktail making in front of the lecturer's room?hahaha

Friends come n go..some..gone..forever. but some remain in the heart..warmer n warmer everyday.

BUt..there's a saying that says..

"dont worry about your the people in your past. There's a reason why they didn't make it to your future"

and..that's why..i would agree to the saying that goes..

"Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're always there!"

o my blog.. (^_^)

Its been a while since I last blog.
A bit busy living life and seeking the way of everlasting happiness. – I guess.

Not depressed or anything, its just that..life, can sometimes bring you to the point of thinking what really is your destiny . - I remember asking myself when I was a kid,,was I really a being, and how a weird feeling it is to be alive and breathing . – that was innocence, speaking.

Life goes on.

--

Yep, life goes on.

And for me,, appreciating the simple work of art and photography is a way to make life goes on more meaningful..fun..and satisfying.

(^_^) I was about to delete a few of these pictures that i have taken with my handphones before..(the random pictures of kids and friends not in their best smile - they say)..since there's nothing to be proud of from it.

Fortunately i did not. :)

Challenging my creative side is pure satisfaction for me.

so,,these about-to be deleted photos are to here to stay anyway :)

..trying my best to put the moment of truth in a different perspective - which was a great challenge. Made it.

and got it into black and white mode with a wide black background, hopefully to give it a more classic touch (^_^) haha..hope it works.

Introucing 'Jason'. - the name of this handsome child.

' Innocence'

'Mother & Child'. One of my close friends, with her son.

'Bliss'.

A few nieces - happy, sweet and cute.

'Michelle'. My niece.

'Sweet'

One of the blissful kids just now.

'Mum'

My hardworking mum with her favourite cat, which is often spoilt by the whole family ;)

'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' - i luv my friends.

and i would simply call this one 'Joy'.

TODAY

If we knew that life would end tomorrow,

would we still waste today on our

quarrels? would we fritter the precious

hours away, taking refuge behind that wall

of icy silence, creeping out only to hurl

another barrage of angry words - invisible

missiles, but in every way as deadly as

broken bricks or bottles?

If we knew that life would end tomorrow

would we keep a tally of wrongs,

determined not to be the first one to give

in? Or would we cease to care who had

started it, knowing that no one is

completely in the right, and that in this

kind of war we shall both end up as losers?

If we knew that life would end tomorrow,

surely we would treasure today. Fill the

hours to the brim with love and laughter

instead of anger and bitterness, creating

jewel - bright memories which would

lighten our hearts instead of dark regrets

which could twist and destroy.

If we knew that life would end tomorrow...

but who can say that it will not? The only

time of which we be certain is today.

So today I will reach out for your hand.

Today I will say "I'm sorry" and "I love you".

Life is harder on the sea of love nowadays - not smooth sailing as it was. Been out and about with my partner this week in mad town (where people go crazy over small things..that dont really matter) :(

Not such a memorable Kaamatan this year i would say. more of a sad n full of resentment days with mr fiance (*sigh..)..wondering the 4W 1H question on live and love. - What, Why, Where, When, How.. + nokuro(s)..

TODAY, i accidently found this beautiful piece of art slipped in one of my Customer Service book - borrowed from a friend since last year, which he has just given back TODAY - ok, not going to comment on that one.. ;) A very meaningful poem (writer unknown) simply called TODAY.

What a coincidence. Could this be God's soft intervention and calling to me today? (thinking deeply now..)

Each and every words just hit me in the face :(

Forgive me o Lord for i have sinned.

p/s: o ya, kounsikou to my dear friend Ervina for the very cute,,melancholic picture of a panda.