A dreamer's muse

of carts and coaches

2012-02-11T11:39:00.000+08:00

While reading a book with the background of the story written from the 19th century Britain, I found several words referring to the main transportations of the dwellers at that time and I could not imagine how they look like. It is quite interesting to look up on those things, at least I can imagine the stories better in my mind when I read them.

And so the means of transportation in question are the brougham, hansom, trap, and dog cart. Well, perhaps we are more familiar with the coach as it is the most well-known and well-shown in any 19th century period movies, like the one below...

A coach - google image

A coach is probably the highest standard of transportation and able to transport more than 4 persons in it and drawn by 2 to 4 horses (or even more). The bigger or the fancier the coach, the richer and higher status the owner should be.

So, how about a brougham? A brougham is a 4-wheeled, boxlike, closed carriage for 2 to 4 persons and the driver's perch is just behind the horses.

A brougham - google image

While a hansom is a low-hung, 2-wheeled, covered vehicle drawn by one horse for 2 passengers, with the driver being mounted on an elevated seat behind the reins running over the roof, just like this,

A hansom driven by a handsome driver..haha - google image

Then, there's the trap. A trap is a light 2-wheeled open carriage for 2 persons.

A trap, definitely not for rainy days - google image

Finally, there's the dog cart. Of course, by its name, it can also mean a small cart drawn by dogs, but I cannot imagine that dogs can carry a lot people in a coach. Except that if it's a sledge and that only for 1 person. The dog cart here is actually a light, 2-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle for ordinary driving, with 2 transverse seats back to back and originally having a box under the rear seat for carrying a dog. So, this dog cart is originally for carrying the dogs, not drawn by them.

A type of dog cart - google image

The definitions which I've written is taken from Dictionary.com and photos taken from searching through Google Images. Yep, although I've been on top of a horse just for a few seconds when I was 6 years old, uncomfortable it was as I sat without a saddle and also fear (mainly my mom) that the horse would be galloping around, I've never been riding on any of these. I think it will be an interesting and exciting experience. However, coming back to our local coast, I should be reminded that I also haven't been in this one too.....

credit to owhpic.blogspot.com

A bullock cart!

Oh well.....just cruising with my mousedeer, Kancil is enough...i guess.

Sherlock Holmes The Complete Novels & Stories

2012-02-10T09:21:00.002+08:00

When I was a young girl, I've read a few stories of the most famous fictional detective in the world, Sherlock Holmes. Just not so long ago, I watched the Sherlock Holmes movie directed by Guy Ritchie and starred by Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law as the detective and his doctor companion, and I thought, "Is this real?" Of course not, the movie is a mixture or a concoction of the bits and parts of the many stories Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had written about him. And so, it roused my interest to enjoy Holmes's eccentric manner and wonderful methods of investigation once again, and read up the other stories that I haven't read.

Title : Sherlock Holmes The Complete Novels and Stories (Volume 1) - the Bantam Classic Edition

Author : Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (with an Introduction by Loren D. Estleman)

Publisher : Bantam Dell (first published in 1986)

Pages : 1,059

Price : Bought for RM29.90 at Popular Bookstore

google image

Bantam Books has reissued the stories in 2 volumes and so far I only managed to lay my hands on Volume 1. Hopefully I can start on Volume 2 very soon. In Volume 1, you'll be entertained with the collections arranged in chronological order of the publishment. There's the 2 first novels where the first one, A Study of Scarlet (1887) introduces Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson together as roomates in the famous 221B Baker Street. Then continued with The Sign of Four (1890) where Dr. Watson met his wife. The rest are short stories as compiled in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1891), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1892) and The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1903). All this brilliant works of Holmes are portrayed as if it is chronicled by Dr. Watson about his roomate and from all of Holmes successes, we also get to read when Holmes is kind of beaten in his investigations by the equally sharp Irene Adler in A Scandal in Bohemia, his little blunder in The Yellow Face and his dangerous assignment involving Prof. Moriarty in The Final Problem.

A valuable collection indeed. And in my wishlist is Volume 2.

Haywire

2012-02-09T12:47:00.000+08:00

google image

Haywire is a story of a diabolical scheme gone awry a.k.a. haywire. Mallory Kane is an ex-mariner who works as an agent in a private firm. The firm's boss, Kenneth, who's formerly Kane's boyfriend, assigned her and several other agents, on a covert hostage rescuing mission in Barcelona. Apart from a little slip caused by the capturer's attack, which is then skilfully terminated by Kane, the mission is a success. The hostage, Jiang, is then delivered to the firm's contact, Rodrigo.

The Barcelona mission is supposed to be Kane's last mission with the firm as she wants to resign, but her plan has to hold as Kenneth asks her to take on one important mission before she resigns. She is to pose as a wife to a British agent, Paul in Dublin, as the latter carries his mission with a guy named Studer. Perhaps Kane is having her own doubts as to who Paul really is and what is his actual mission, her own investigations leads her to a barn in Studer's house and found Jiang, the hostage she had rescued before, dead, and on the scene, there's a planted evidence to incriminate her for the deed. Since then, Kane knew that she's been double-crossed. And since then, her mission is becoming personal, as she tries to find out who is actually betraying her, what is the plan and what's the motive, using all her might and abilities.

This movie is an action-thriller in fast pace. It boasts of many famous names such as Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Ewan McGreggor and Magneto's Michael Fassbender, among others. Gina Carano as Mallory Kane is unknown to me. What I like about this movie is that there are two things less shown in this movie compared to other Hollywood movie of similar genre. One being the over-sensualisation and sexualization of the female character, and the illogical fighting choreography with gravity defying moves or unworldly special effects. To my untrained eyes, the fight scenes are rough but clean, and exciting. The dialogues kinda flat though, and not enough emotion on Kane's character. Probably because she is supposed to be a toughen up ex-mariner or commando.

At the end of the movie, we get to finally know who is the double crosser(s), how they plan it, but motives? Hmm, a little under-developed for a movie which only takes about 90 minutes. But I would like to think that since the higher people in the firm made a double-end deal, both with the government and also the criminal thugs, they need to destroy all related link involves in the process and that means the brightest, strongest and highly skilled agent they have which is Kane. The movie doesn't have enough weight for thinking matter, but enjoy the action!

eye on the sky

2012-02-06T21:00:00.000+08:00

The most striking difference that I’ve experienced since the transfer to this eastern land compared to my previous domain is the view, or actually, the view that lay beyond my eyes in everyday trip to work. In PJ, all that I could see was cars, cars and cars, and also roads, buildings and all sort of concretes save the beautiful sunrise in the eastern sky when I started off quite early in the morning. It is the city, where if you start your day a minute later than usual, you’d found yourself testing your patience in the traffic congestion. Here, my 20 minutes drive to work is blessed by the vast view of the open sky, the majestic hills and mountains, and the green land. In the earlier time, I foolishly thought that “My...the sky is surely more beautiful here, I’ve never seen the sky so blue, the cloud so white, fluffy and as if conquering the sky, the vast land filled with trees, green fields and oil palm plantations”. Foolish, as the sky is always blue and the clouds are always white wherever we are. Just that sometimes, we forget to look up.

Not forgetting to mention, that the air is so fresh. And the manner of driving in this long road, I am sort of cruising with comfortable speed to feel the cool breeze be it in the morning or in the evening when I go back home. All I need to do is just roll down the window.

Another difference, a difference that I have come to adapt, is the time change. The sun rises and sets earlier by almost an hour, means the day is bright as early as 6 am and becomes darker 12 hours later. By 7pm, it is completely dark. At first, I wasn’t quite alert of the time and that caused several missed prayers. But after a fortnight, I finally got used to it and manage my time better.

Alas!...at work, it's a different story altogether...but not so interesting to be written here. Till next time.

prison of the heart

2012-02-03T07:29:00.000+08:00

The Great Magician

2012-01-21T16:47:00.000+08:00

google image

Famous actors, catchy tagline, got nothing better to do, OK...lets see this movie...without first knowing what kind of movie it is, and so with no expectations other than to be entertained.

Starring Lau Ching Wan, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Zhao Xun, with the theme set around old China of perhaps in the 18th century weaved with a speck of magic and optical illusion, The Great Magician seems to be promising a great story....but, after watching it, for me it's just a light fantasy movie good for releasing stress. So, it's a fantasy movie, don't take it seriously.

Chang Hsien (Tony Leung) is a scholar turned magician (or conjurer) who comes back to China after being abroad for so many years, training in the arts of magic. He returns to set free his old mentor and his mentor's daughter, Yin (Zhou Xun) who is supposedly to be his wife if he didn't go abroad. However both are in the clutches of an 'evil' warlord, General Lei (Lau Ching Wan). The mentor is a prisoner in Lei's castle while Yin has become Lei's 7th wife. Chang Hsien accommodates a run down theater house and turn it into a new and attractive magic show place with his team, while setting the baits to get the general, which scheme is also involving Japanese spies who's all bent to get the general too.

'Evil' warlord as he is, General Lei is also such a sensitive and kindhearted guy when he is around children and especially when he is around Yin, who he tries so much to capture her heart and make her fall for him (but unsuccessful to this day). So much for 'evil' right? Still cares for a woman's feelings. However, Yin, having no love for the general she is forced to marry but stand it anyway for the sake of finding her father's fate and his whereabouts, she managed to somehow 'control' the general from touching her. The general seems to care for her the most while managing his other six wives.

However, General Lei might not be all evil as most of the 'evil' works are done by his right hand man, who is actually the one who holds the mentor in captivity. His motives, other than politically-motivated, also involves finding the scripture of 7 magical wonders. We will find out soon who is the real Japanese spy in question, and who's actually the one who wants to topple General Lei so much.

For, Chang Hsien, General Lei and Yin, the relationship of these three characters somewhat changes from the earlier part to the end of the movie, when things didn't go exactly as planned and when each character gets to know each other more. And the ending? Darn! This movie is all about fun and good laughs. So don't expect to be awed so much. However, it's still enjoyable with good acting and great CGI. Fun!

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

2012-01-20T14:09:00.000+08:00

google image

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows...hmmm, what can I say about this movie. I am familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved detective, having read quite a number of his Sherlock Holmes stories and enjoy them so much. I haven't seen the first Sherlock Holmes movie in 2009, being a little doubtful about whether it's a direct adaptation from the books or non-related at all (I'm talking about the ones Guy Ritchie directed, played by Robert Downey Jr.). However, I've come to terms with it, so direct adaptation or not, I'll watch it anyway.

True, the characters, the settings, the base of the story has its grounds on the actual series of books but the storyline itself is stand-alone and independent from the previous movie or any of Sherlock Holmes' stories. It's action-packed, smart and funny (on Holmes' eccentricity). In this one, Holmes and Watson face Prof. Moriarty, an evil professor in his attempt to take monetary advantages through the instigation of a world war.

For me, I like the cinematography and The Matrix-like slow-mo (forgive my lack of movie-technical knowledge) in certain parts of the movie. One of the slow-mo scene enhances the portrayal of Holmes' sensitive observation and another scene that I enjoyed was when Holmes and Moriarty is fighting on a balcony, referring their every moves to chess game and then Holmes make a mental analysis on how the fight would end up by considering his disadvantages (due to his injury) and his adversary's strength. I think it's brilliant.

Although Guy Ritchie's version of Holmes in his movie is a man of action and perhaps, adorably crazy compared to the cool, reserved, action-is-saved-for-the-last literature personality, the movie is endearing to watch, and so, I wish to see the previous movie as well. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows? Enjoyed.

Note: This review lacks so much of worthy description due to the fact (from my point of view) that Sherlock Holmes has a very deep and complex character and personality and this movie version of him is somewhat straddling between his well-known traits and the foreign nature. Please feel free to read this other review, as I totally agree with the writer and he wrote it so well. Enjoy.

the green connection

2012-01-19T21:22:00.001+08:00

Venue: The Green Connection, KM2 off Jalan Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Date of visit: 16 January 2012.

While surfing the internet for attractive places to go and spend some free time while doing my errands in KK, I came across some information about this place, The Green Connection. Located not far from the main city center of KK (10-15 minutes drive), it is, as I understand, a conservation and educational center about rain forest and its inhabitants, particularly marine life in Sabah. Visitors can enjoy the aquariums and tanks filled with unique marine life designed to imitate the real condition down there so the visitors can see them as they would be in their original home.

And so, with curiosity, I went there by taxi (from the city center, it would take around RM10-15). If by bus, take the bus heading to Tuaran and get off at Km2 off Jalan Tuaran, near the Wisma Wanita building. Then walk a little further in (8-10 minutes) to reach the place. The entrance fee is RM15 for adult MyKad holders. You can search the internet for more information about the rates and the place itself.

now i know the difference between a turtle, tortoise and terrapin

life in the green connection

Reaching there, I felt a little bit dismayed by the condition of the place. Supposedly this place is quite new as I understand it was opened in 2010. However, it looked a little bit unkempt and not well managed. The water inside the aquarium was so dark green that I couldn't see the fishes inside well unless they swam close to the visitor's side of the aquarium (or is it meant to be like that to represent the real condition under the Borneo rivers?). However, I tried to search for past reviews about this place in other blogs and when I compared their photos with what I had seen, I was assured that the past condition of the tanks were much better than what I had seen during my visit. Some of the enclosures were also empty without any animals inside. Some tanks are in renovation or upgrading phase, so keep your fingers crossed for something interesting to come up later, I hope.

the tank water behind is as dark as the night

information boards

There are nice information boards about rain forest and animal conservation which I considered very informative and educational. However, there are not enough information being put near some aquariums and it left me still uninformed about the marine life that are inside there.

However, there's still something good and enjoyable there. I enjoyed my experience holding a 4-year-old female python. It was my first time, the python is a tame one and perhaps being handled by the staff there everyday.

me and ms. python

I also enjoyed the open tanks of starfish and 'belangkas' (horseshoe crab). I could feel and touched the starfish and 'belangkas' while the staff there briefed me a little bit of information about them. It is said that the horseshoe crab is perhaps one of the animal with the least evolution process since the dinosaur era.

the first time i saw inside a horseshoe crab

the activity room

The highlight of the visit was probably the feeding show at about 11.30am. There's a massive tank with fishes, turtles, stingrays, sharks and the current attraction, the guitar shark (ikan jerung pari, as the locals call it). It is said that there were stories about the shark that was evolving to become a stingray but it wasn't complete so there are still features of both the shark and the stingray in one body.

the guitar shark

So, in the show, a diver dived in the tank to feed all marine life inside there. It's interesting to see everybody swam around the diver, rushing and scrambling for food. And the diver affectionately patted them after feeding them. The center is currently running a campaign to reduce the demand for shark's fin for consumption. There's a big banner about it there and the staff there briefed about it as well.

feeding show twice per day

And so that wraps up my post about The Green Connection. This place is supposed to be a very cool educational center, however it really need to be revived and add more crowd-pulling attractions. With novel objectives, this center should be the place to educate the people mainly the younger generation about the importance of protecting our rain forest and the life flourishing in it.

stick notes on the board of life...

2012-01-18T14:18:00.000+08:00

all of my past postings, i've been in places where i am in the same place with my boss. but the current post i am in, my boss is more than 500 km away from me. i cannot see him on my whim, i cannot see if he's occupied or away or if he's in a good mood or not. i can only call or e-mail. perhaps there's only a few opportunities when we can meet, and that's the chance to have an eye to eye talk. it's a good thing to see your superior once in a while, provided you have a good superior with ample leadership qualities. sometimes you need motivation to keep on doing your work, and from him you can get that motivation. sometimes you need advice, and from him you can get the advice. and i like it better, to have a private conversation.

==========================================================

earlier in a person's life, age is a benchmark for achievements. the first 5 years in your life is perhaps the period where your parents keep tabs on you the most, as when you could start focus with your eyes, respond to sound and gestures, roll on your tummy, crawl, sit, walk, run and talk. the next 5 years your parents then expect you to grasp the basic learning abilities of read, spell and count. and after that, they will bother you with academic achievements, right up until your early adulthood and when and where you will land on your first career. and then you go on towards your personal achievements.

perhaps you've achieved everything you want to achieve. perhaps you've also left out something undone. perhaps you're not successful in a certain thing.

then the age stops being your mark for achievements. it becomes the gauge of your preparations towards The End.

sunset at tg. aru...

2012-01-16T21:24:00.000+08:00

Tanjung Aru...about 15 minutes away from the city center of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah...might not be a white sandy beach, but it sure is popular. I spent the time watching the sun sets here, at this beach today (15th January). Arrived around 5.30pm and there's lots of people, at the main 'lepaking' area where there are bars, stalls and restaurants, and also along the beach, for the whole stretch that I could see with my eyes.

mari, mari kak....jagung, jagung manis!

At the stalls you can find many sellers with their sweet corns, peanuts, pickled fruits, sugar cane drinks and lots of other tidbits.

part of the park near the beach

Nearby the beach, there's a park with playgrounds, gazebos and many people picnicking there when I walked through the park.

a mini show by sabah ukulele group

As I walked along the nicely paved 'anjung', I came across a group of youth, probably college students, performing several easy going songs, with their ukuleles. It seems that they are members of the Sabah Ukulele Group, and they belted out current, popular songs (I knew the songs are popular and current but unfortunately I didn't remember any of the title.. :) ), there were bikers hanging around, a group of young bboys practicing their dance moves, and lots of people walking around and hanging out.

That's on the pavement only, on the beach itself, there's a lot more to see....well, the people of course, other than the beach.

Off with the socks and shoes, walking barefoot on the soft sand, feeling the rush of the waves caressing my feet, enjoying the sound of the waves and the softness of the evening breeze. The vast sky is of blue and white with streaks of bright yellow turning orange and red as the sun sets. I enjoyed not just the walk and the view, but also the other visitors.

Visitors, locals or foreign tourists, doing all that you normally do on the beach. Sand-bathing, snapping photos with that popular 'flying' or 'jumping' pose, jogging, playing beach ball, wedding photo sessions or just enjoy the ocean waters. Families, couples, naked ...er..children, and gays...(well, a pair of guys walking while talking sweetly and holding each others hands, fingers crossing...very unmistakable i think), a group of senior citizens and a lone ranger like me, all part of the growing number of visitors as the evening said hello.

There's a large area for eating with many food stalls offering delicious and tantalizing food, perhaps seafood is what you should be looking forward the most. I didn't stay for dinner, but I had it packed, just a simple seafood fried rice, but a marvelous one. I finished it all although I wasn't really hungry.

Pantai Tanjung Aru is surely popular and nice to spend time here for relaxing, chillaxing or lepaking...whatever you want to do.

retracing my steps...

2012-01-14T16:48:00.000+08:00

~ sentimental value~

~ i'll never forget you ~

To Cut A Long Story Short by Jeffrey Archer

2012-01-13T14:11:00.000+08:00

Alhamdulillah....last year I managed to write 15 book reviews, although I've enjoyed more than 15 books. Anyway, at least I can say that I've read not less than 15 books on 2011, right? Still, it's such a small number. So, one of my 2012 wishes is to read and review a minimum of 24 books, that means an average of 2 books per month, and write about it here, InsyaAllah. Let's say that this blog also serves as my report card, savvy?

So, the numero uno book for this year is a collection of short stories written by Jeffrey Archer. This is the second short stories compilation from Mr. Archer that I've read. The first one is in here.

Title : To Cut A Long Story Short

Author : Jeffrey Archer

Publisher : Harper Collins, 2001 (Paperback Edition)

Pages : 419

Genre : Short story

Bought at : Book Xcess, Amcorp Mall, PJ

Price : ..opps, forgot...but definitely not more than RM20

There are 14 original selected short stories in this edition, 9 of it are based on true incidents and 1 is a translation from an Arabic story (somehow I think I've read this one before but dunno when and where...). I enjoyed all of them but my best choice would be ..... er....almost all! Haha. Well, the ones that I fully enjoy reading are as follows....

The Endgame, an honourable mission brilliantly executed by a rich man and his lawyer to know which of his family member deserves a good place in his will; Chalk and Cheese, the tale of 2 brothers who each have a different start in life and end theirs in the opposite ways; Both Sides Against The Middle, about a cunning con man making use of the land and law to get away from being caught but finally lost; and finally The Grass Is Always Greener, an interesting chain of stories about one's perspective about the others and how they always think that the other person is luckier than him and so on and on.

google image

There's also the story that moved me such as A Change of Heart, about a white South African who's into apartheid but has a change of heart after an accident; the story that made me cry hate to gold digger men in Too Many Coincidences; terrorized and chuckled at the same time with Something for Nothing; and lauded a diplomat's daring effort to provide for the people by using all resources he could find in Other Blighter's Efforts.

An interesting collection, this one. A truly enjoyable one. Smart and brilliantly written, catching the reader's interest all the time by the wonderful story-telling, regardless of the theme whether it's a court drama, crime story, love affair, family drama etc. and etc. Love it!

adapter hidup

2012-01-10T20:38:00.000+08:00

i have a powerful adapter.

it is me.

i AM the adapter.

well, don't we all? we are the live adapter, the most efficient one, no need to be SIRIM certified. coz we're already certified by The Creator when we were born.

life is full of changes. life is mobile. life is a network of a gazillion things. and in life, there's us.

kita sentiasa menyesuaikan diri dalam persekitaran kita yang selalu berubah. biar lambat atau cepat, kita tetap akan menyesuaikan diri. kita mungkin akan blur blur dulu (seperti saya), atau mengambil masa yang agak lama untuk rasa selesa (seperti saya), namun kita tidak mengalami masalah besar. sesetengah orang dikurniakan personaliti yang cukup indah, meriah dan mesra. orang-orang seperti ini boleh ngam dalam sedetik cuma, bukan sedetik lebih. sesetengah orang seperti saya mengambil masa untuk mencari titik penyesuaian itu.

i have been at ease with my personal life here. i have acquired the freedom i've been wishing before. however, i'm still finding peace with my working life. i am slacking in many places. i am enduring a 180° of change, with little idea of innovation when all i could think of is survival. talking about work is like trying to put a value to my self-worth.

adaptability? no problem.
development? need to work it out.

justice is served...with a doubt

2012-01-09T18:51:00.000+08:00

just dropping by...
the trial result is out today...he's acquitted
so, what will happen next?

ini bukan kes yang pertama. sebelum ni dah ada tapi dengan orang lain. kenapa ya asyik kena 'attack' dengan kes sebegini je?

that was a very serious accusations. it involved the morality, image and credibility.
even humanity.
it's more tarnishing than bribery or power misuse.
the truth (or untruth) of it is really hard to swallow
so, is he innocent or not?

the court of the law said yes.
the court of D-day....wallahu a'lam bissawab

whether it's justice served or not, one thing had happened for sure...
another life will never be the same again
doubts arose
and it may never dies with time

so, who's the real victim?

get on with life

love need no rhyme...

2012-01-03T20:21:00.000+08:00

I don't need a Gucci or Prada handbag,

just one or two that can be multipurpose.

I don't need a mountain of shoes,

just enough pairs for all occasions.

I don't need a wardrobe full of clothes,

just enough that fits my personality.

I don't need so many jewelries,

just a wedding ring, full of meaning.

I don't need a big mansion,

just as long as it can keep our family safe.

I don't need expensive furniture,

just nice and sweet, not forgetting durable.

I don't need a big box of cosmetics,

just enough to make me look pretty to you.

I don't need a luxurious car,

just as long as it can safely take me from A to B.

I don't need a charming prince, a powerful ruler, a famous actor or a soccer player,

as long as I have you, who fill my heart with happiness.

I don't need anymore wishes,

other than that one wish....to be with you, forever.

I don't need to hear a lot of promises,

other than 'I love you' and 'Will you be mine?'

tiada tajuk

2011-12-30T21:20:00.002+08:00

sudahlah...
jangan kau layan perasaan-perasaan itu
buatlah apa yang kau termampu
jika kau dah cuba, tapi tak mampu mencapai harapan orang lain
anggaplah itu ujian bagi kau,
supaya kau belajar

capailah harapan kau sendiri
walau tak sealiran dengan yang lain
kerana itu akan membuatkan kau rasa bahagia

jika kau bersedih, sabarlah
sabarlah...dan sabarlah
kau mampu menghadapinya...

from west to east ... KK

2011-12-24T15:35:00.000+08:00

on the 2nd week in Sabah, i had the opportunity to fly to Kota Kinabalu to attend a meeting. i was kind of excited to go to another new place even though it's just for a short time. as recommended by a friend, i stayed at Cititel Express Hotel, which i think is conveniently located near to the meeting place and right at the city center of KK. i chose perhaps the smallest room they have, a standard single room with single bed, which is probably the cutest room i've stayed in so far in Malaysia (coz i've experienced staying in small-sized cute rooms in several hotels in Japan before). it doesn't have a mini fridge and coffee/tea making facilities, however there's the hairdryer, shower stuff, nice tv...and what i like is the layout of the room, just fit for one person. Breakfast there is simply marvelous but if you don't want to spend RM12 (the room rate is not including breakfast) for breakfast, you have quite a plenty of choice outside of the hotel for cheap and also nice food.

Since I still have a few hours of daylight after checking in, I decided to stroll around the city.

Yep, as you can see, I walked around where my feet (...or as a friend said..bus no.11.. ;) ) would carry me, first to look for the place where the meeting would be held, then found a few city landmarks as I went along such as Padang Merdeka, the Istana Negeri (just the entrance hehe), Atkinson Clock Tower, Gaya Street (too bad I arrived on Sunday afternoon, just after the morning market closed) and the KK Esplanade.

Atkinson Clock Tower, Signal Hill Road

Why is Atkinson Clock Tower significant? By reading a little, I found out that this tower was built in memory of the first District Officer of Jesselton (former name of Kota Kinabalu) in 1903 named Francis George Atkinson who died because of malaria at the age of 28. Perhaps the late Mr. Atkinson was quite popular back then? (I couldn't find any information about him.) Structure-wise, the clock tower is constructed using only wood and without nails. Formerly, it served as a lighthouse to aid the ships and it is also one of the few surviving pre-WWII structures that had survived the air raids during the the war. The clock is still working until today.

near the KK Esplanade

Upon arriving at KK Esplanade, I was greeted by the fresh cool evening breeze. It was so nice, there were lots of people hanging out but it wasn't crowded. At that moment, it seemed so nice to chill out there, at the wooden platform, overlooking the waters and small islands beyond.

Walking down a bit south, from KK Esplanade I crossed through what seemed to be an array of markets. Later on I found out that area was of Central Market, the Sinsuran night market (is it the same to what they call Filipino market? i'm not so sure..) and handicraft market. Tempted, I "tapau"ed some roasted seafood and local kueh before walking back to the hotel.

yumm..yumm..imagine me finishing off 10 squids in one seating

on the next night, my colleagues and i had dinner somewhere in an area called Austral Park, still in KK. a colleague took us to Pak Man Resipi restaurant where they claimed to have menus from all states in Malaysia. after spending quite some time choosing what to eat, we finally settled on two tom yum gongs, sweet and sour tenggiri and sinigang na isda. I didn't know what the hell is sinigang na isda other than that it is a kind of fish dish in some kind of broth, but when i tasted it, i thought macam singgang (nama pun lebih kurang). there's sour and tangy like taste, in short, like singgang lah. quite nice actually, all of the dishes.

so, that's all in my short visit to KK. i surely want to come here again and go to other places there in other times. till then...touch down again in Tawau to continue life...

from west to east ... the first week

2011-12-17T19:40:00.000+08:00

aaaahhhh ... it's the second saturday here in this new life..but at some point it feels like i've been here for ages..

first five days in new office. so blur. however, i have to straight on working on the final campaign event for this year which was going to be held at the city's municipal hall on friday. i also have to sort out other business as well. as the day goes by, one after another task coming in, while i am still in the state of still-blurry-where-the-heck-should-i-start phase. i have met some of my staff but not all yet. i have made some identifications as well; some mix and match game i'd say of the people and the issues, but not all too. i have initial impressions on some people while some i don't have any idea yet. whatever it is, being new in a place where everybody else there have been there for ages is not easy. yeah, it's not quite an easy transition for me. however, i can say that the people in the office have been kind and helpful so far.

i have not yet understand fully how to do some things related to my tasks here. of course, in general, i know what to do, but how exactly to do it, the procedures, the permissions that i can give, the permissions that i have to acquire...that one is confusing since it involves staff of different divisions. yeah, i'm not used to it yet. a certain people might experience fatigue in having being asked by me about the same thing for a few times. i just not getting it yet, haha.

perhaps i am also feeling a bit stressed out. but i don't want to be eaten up by that prematurely. it's kind of difficult to carry out someone else's aspirations or someone else's work. therefore, i still think i need to give myself more time to take one thing at a time and observe things more closely. the reluctant boss who is not actually a boss, is who i am now.

ohh...never mind, now lets enjoy some photos shall we?

when i arrived at my new office, somehow a li'l bit of memories fly back to Bayan Lepas, my first office in the service. maybe because the environment is quite similar. when i seat, i always open the blinds on my right so that i can see the vast sky and the open field where the observation field is outside. and at my back is another open view of the airport runway which i cannot always see as my seat is not facing it.

mi officina...

Sup payau...which at first i thought that the soup tastes 'payau', is actually deer's meat soup. For me, it's not much different than sup daging (beef soup) or sup tulang, however the meat is quite tender. Nice. But quite pricey lah...can eat it perhaps occasionally... I was told that people need a license to hunt deer and so only from them we can get the deer meat. But then again, I am not sure how many people in this area is licensed and whether it is easy to obtain the license. The soup below was enjoyed at Bibiq's Corner, near the airport, where its sup payau is quite famous.

the soup is in the bowl, of course...but i scooped out some there on my plate

One day before the campaign event, several colleagues brought us to lunch at Restoran Wakaf Thai in the Ba Zhong commercial area and here i tried another famous menu in Tawau, nasi lalap. Of course, when eating out, i would try to order something that i haven't heard before. So, nasi lalap is actually rice + fried chicken (ayam salut tepung) + boiled cabbage and long beans + soup + sambal. The sambal is quite nice.

sorry...i had one or two bites already when i realized
i haven't snap a pic of it :)

Two days before the campaign event (i seemed to be telling the story backwards, eh..), while thinking what we could buy for souvenirs, i was told by someone that this (picture) place is preferred if you want to buy chocolate products. Chocolates? Why chocolates? Only later it came to my knowledge that other than fishery, Tawau is also industrially famous for cocoa. So here in Teck Guan Trading, we headed.

Teck Guan Regency...the home of Hoko chocolate products.

When I was told that in here we could have more choices to select, i half expected that the place would look similar to chocolate shops in Langkawi, where there are loads and loads of products stacked on shelves. But the real thing is, we only have to look here (picture) and make our selections.....huh, seriously?

the menu of Hoko chocolate products

The products ranges from cocoa and coffee beverages, handmade chocs, chocs stick, chocs spread, chocs syrup, cocoa powder and even cocoa shower foam.

So, that's it for now. Until my next experience and new encounters.

the long long empty road....to go here and there

lapar...

2011-12-13T20:39:00.003+08:00

8.32 malam

tepu. kuyu. laporr...

lokasi: opis

dem !

dah nasib menumpang kete orang...kot tak dah lama balik rumah. jumaat ni kena jadi speaker. dah lama tak speaking-speaking. speaking malay je yob...dah nasib kena menunggu ni sempat la mendraf powerpoint. campak-campak bahan je dulu...~~masaknya~~ susun aturnya kemudian. nak praktis lagi.. hadoih, sempat ke ni..macamana aku nak bercakap ni..tapi audien tak le sampai seratus pasang mata..silap-silap limaploh pun tak sampai..dan semuanya keje gomen...ok lah..citer pasal benda yg aku tau, bukannya pasal menatang SBPA tu...

SBPA..apa cerita ah..minggu depan meeting mesti boss akan explain la tu...

adoyai..sabar menunggu..kalau dah makan dan mandi, selesa nak buat keje balik, tapi kalo dah kena menunggu macam ni...terbuang masa xleh concentrate..

hujan pun dah berenti..

bosan?

2011-12-12T21:29:00.000+08:00

kadang-kadang
...bosan mendengar sesuatu cerita ... boleh menimbulkan pra-prejudis
...bosan memikirkan masalah orang lain ... lebih aman menguruskan sesuatu yang tidak hidup seperti manusia
...bosan dengan two-face type punya orang ... tarak boleh percaya punya orang
...bosan dengan kerenah orang 'rumah kata pergi, kubur kata mari' ... tak sedar diri
...bosan dengan orang yang tidak amanah bekerja ... tidak amanah dengan Allah, kerna kerja itu ibadah
...bosan dengan orang yang suka usik-usik ... leave me alone in peace!
...bosan dengan had diri ... i want to go the distance!

from west to east..goodbye n welcome

2011-12-11T15:15:00.001+08:00

09.12.11

The final day in the peninsula was graciously closed with a hearty dinner at Seoul Garden, Plaza Pantai, KL....all thanks to the courtesy of my housemates. Boil and grill anything you like for RM36.88++ for dinner. I like steamboat and grilled menu, and so I like this place. The only misses might perhaps be that the choices of steamboat menu are not as much as the other places that I've visited (MAEPS Serdang and d'Priok, KJ) and also I couldn't differentiate the taste of the marinated chicken and meat, they all taste the same after being grilled even though some were marinated with black pepper, some with sesame, some with plain turmeric etc. etc. Maybe it's because they were not sufficiently marinated? I wasn't really sure. Whatever it was, I still enjoyed them and my belly was very full, seriously.

sssmokeyyy....

10.12.11

The flying day. My buddies kindly fetched me from the house and drove us to KLIA, where we met up with another buddy and had lunch together.

thanks guys!.... :*

MH2664...bound to TWU...the plane was full. I bet it's because of the school holiday and also the haj pilgrim group, those on the later schedule, is going back home.

late afternoon meal..served around 3pm:
black pepper noodle+1 cake slice+chocolate snack+drinks
succeeded by a Mini Magnum ice cream (not in picture)

After arriving in TWU right on time, it seemed to me that all passengers need to go through the immigration counters. I was given a tiny piece of paper, just the same as any shopping receipt paper, which is evidently a social visit pass that entitles me to stay in Sabah for 90 days and the paper need to be shown to the immigration officer as you leave the state. Upon receiving this (and read it as I leave the counter), I immediately asked an officer for information, therefore, learned that I need to apply for a work permit since I am here to work. Ohh! Why's that I wonder...ain't I still in the same country.... anyway, since I can do it within 3 months time, there's a lot of time to settle it.

guess what...i didn't realize that i was queuing directly
behind Sheila Rusly's family when i snap this.

family members of the hajis and hajjahs..lots of teary eyes i saw...

11.12.11

Early in the morning, I went to Bandar Tawau with a few colleagues to know the way around. It is about 30km or a half hour journey from the airport to the city, driving the straight road of Jalan Apas with views of oil palm plantations and scattered buildings here and there. The nearest sundry shop is about 10 minutes drive from the airport.

just saw the signboard first..perhaps the biggest
shopping place here..

on our way, a little jammed because of an accident..

After meeting up with a friend of my colleague, he brought us all for breakfast at this place....

packed with people...definitely a popular spot, but only open for
breakfast

and I ate this.....mee tahu (tofu mee). The noodle is fried perhaps with some soy sauce, served with a fried egg sunny side up, the tofu and some chilli. The tofu is cooked in a kind of soup with taucu (marinated beans). Quite nice I'd say and kept me full until late afternoon. And here I learned that 'nai' means milk, so if you order coffee nai means you are ordering coffee with milk, not coffee 'O', okay..

quite nice i'd say....

After that, we went to a big wet market (tamu) and Century market near Sabindo Square to buy some things. They say in Tawau you can find cheap periuk belanga (darn it..what are those in english? haha) with a price haggling effort, of course. But okay...I'd say it might be similar to Pengkalan Kubur, or Rantau Panjang in Kelantan.

So that's all for now. After the short trip in Bandar Tawau, I've noticed and located some offices, hotels and places that I might need to visit for various purposes someday. After this, might be a tad busy with the main business. So, welcome to meself in Tawau! Savvy!

Budak Kelantan

2011-12-06T22:22:00.001+08:00

google image

My brother lent me this dvd a long time ago but I only watched it just about 3 weeks ago. I haven't heard of this movie until then. Probably because I was not in the country at that time (the movie was produced in 2008). Anyway, I will write a little bit of the story in here.

From the title, it is unmistakable that the whole story revolves around Kelantanese people, with full Kelantanese dialect spoken by an all-Kelantanese cast. Perhaps I can only recognize Danny (X-Factor) and Bienda from the casts list, the rest I haven't heard before, and one of them might probably be an ex-primary schoolmate of mine. However, acting-wise, I'd say good and natural.

The story is said to be based from a true story. It tells about 2 Kelantanese young man, Buchek and Jaha, best friends in their childhood reuniting in Kuala Lumpur (KL) after so many years separated. Buchek is a good, pious young man, just graduated from university and selling burgers in KL while looking for a better job. Jaha, on the other hand, is a 'graduate' from Henry Gurney School (a school for juvenile delinquents), living in KL selling drugs and pimping. The story starts with introductions of the two main characters in their own life, until they two meet by chance at Central Market, both unaware of each other activities. For old times sake, Jaha invited Buchek to hang out with him and stay the night at his house. From there, Buchek finally got the gist of Jaha's activities. As he tag along, Buchek experienced being beaten by some rival thugs, tasted cough syrup mixed with drug and saw Jaha picking on women. However, with all that, Jaha still respects Buchek and let him perform his daily prayers.

The climax of a-day-with-Jaha-experience for Buchek is when Jaha and his friend tries to kidnap a Chinese woman who's jogging alone. During the getaway, they have to stop the car as the petrol is running low. While both Jaha and his friend are out of the car, Buchek, who they entrusted to take care of the woman, let the woman free. Friendship turned cold. At other time, Jaha tries sweet-talking a girl, not knowing that the girl is actually Che Nor, Buchek's girlfriend. Jaha, feeling guilty towards Che Nor and Buchek, wishes to apologize. Buchek, who values his friendship so much and wants to help Jaha to return to the right way, senses that Jaha has a heart with Che Nor. Supressing his own feelings, he tries to coax Che Nor to meet Jaha and to give a chance to Jaha to mend his mistakes but Che Nor (being a sensible woman, to me) adamantly refuse.

After an unfortunate event that leads Jaha into killing a man one night, Jaha is being tracked by the police. While riding away from the police, Jaha met with an accident and died. With Jaha's death, the story ends, (and so is Buchek and Che Nor's relationship, I guess). From the start until finish, the story goes along with Buchek's narration about life and relationships between people and people with its Creator.

In short, the story revolves around the good friendship between two people, who although each lives a different life, they still respect each other and value each other for old time sake. Jaha, who probably never finds true love or meet a woman with high principle such as Che Nor, is perturbed, intrigued or even touched by her, so much so, that it leads Buchek went as far as asking his own girlfriend to accept Jaha (kinda outrageous to me). Buchek, although witnessing his old friend's dark life, instead of shunning away from Jaha, he still tries to save him. From the story too, I think people like Jaha and his friends are a confused lot. As depicted in some scenes, they have no qualms ruining other people's life but they are like vigilantes when a sister of one of their own is disturbed by some thugs.

This story is a real life drama. A reality that is not supposedly related to Kelantanese people only. It's a global reality. Life is all about choosing....of which way to take, or to stay...or to get out of a wrong choice.

Ladies, I am more cautious of my surroundings after watching this movie.

hijrah

2011-12-03T21:56:00.001+08:00

sekarang sudahpun disember. di hujung tahun masihi, tak lama lagi nak tahun baru. inilah musimnya untuk membuat azam baru. untuk mempunyai semangat baru. dan perasaan ini berganda lagi kerana dalam tahun hijrah, kita sebenarnya telahpun masuk tahun baru. buku baru kita dah terselak 7 helai muka surat. kerana hari ini (hari saya mula menulis artikel ini) adalah 7 Muharam 1433 H.

bagi saya, perkataan hijrah kali ini memberi makna tersendiri. kerana saya akan berhijrah, betul-betul berhijrah secara fizikal. dalam masa beberapa hari ni, saya akan berpindah ke tempat baru demi keperluan perkhidmatan, bagi melakukan tugas baru (walaupun majikan masih sama). Saya akan tinggal di tempat baru, berjumpa orang baru dan merasai suasana yang berbeza dari suasana yang saya hadapi ketika ini.

**********************

perasaan saya?

teruja, kerana saya tidak pernah lagi menjejakkan kaki ke daerah itu. sudah terbayang di kepala saya yang saya akan merasai pengalaman baru dan menghirup udara baru (yang harap-harapnya lebih nyaman).

nervous. kerana tugas baru ini memerlukan saya mengetahui lebih banyak perkara. all-rounder. sana sini orang berpesan. sana sini orang bercerita. sesuatu perlu diperhatikan. sesuatu perlu diperbaiki. seperti pesan bapak saudara spiderman kepada spiderman, 'with great power comes great responsibilities'.

keliru. sedikit keliru. mungkin kerana saya seorang yang setia. saya tidak biasa menerima arahan dari pelbagai pihak apabila jelas di dalam carta bahawa saya di bawah satu bahagian yang spesifik. namun, 'since that is how the system works, then lets work in that system'. bukankah orang yang tahu lebih banyak perkara lebih baik dari orang yang tahu satu perkara?

buat masa ini saya tahu apa yang perlu saya lakukan. mungkin sebahagian daripadanya. tetapi saya tidak pasti lagi bagaimana harus saya melakukannya. dengan masa, saya akan belajar. sedikit demi sedikit, saya akan terbiasa. saya harus mempunyai strategi. saya tidak harus cepat merasa kecewa. cepat merasa kecewa akan membunuh keyakinan diri saya.

**********************

ada masanya saya berperang dengan perasaan sendiri. jauh di benak hati saya, saya agak keberatan. lebih-lebih lagi apabila tempoh masa yang diberikan kepada saya untuk membuat persiapan terlalu singkat. setelah berusaha melakukan apa yang patut saya lakukan, dapatlah dilambatkan sedikit agar saya masih boleh bernafas. saya kurang berpuas hati dengan cara 'mereka yang di atas' memberi penjelasan kepada saya tentang tempoh masa yang tidak munasabah itu sedangkan telah saya luahkan dengan sokongan fakta. katanya jangan campurkan dengan urusan peribadi. memindahkan seseorang dari satu tempat ke satu tempat lain sudah pasti akan melibatkan urusan peribadi seseorang itu. kerana kita adalah manusia yang bernyawa, yang mempunyai keluarga, yang mempunyai tanggungjawab ke atas orang lain, bukan sahaja kepada negara. cubalah jelaskan dengan lebih baik, jadikan saya lebih faham tentang apa sebenarnya yang menjadi 'concern' tuan/puan. fahamkan saya tentang apa yang perlu saya kejarkan sehingga saya diarah berpindah seolah-olah saya mempunyai kuasa untuk melakukan 'teleportation' seperti dalam filem Star Trek.

namun, tidak apalah. saya pasti semua ni ada kebaikannya untuk saya. saya yakin dengan hikmah Allah swt. dalam nada yang lain, hijrah ini seperti 'answers to my prayers', cuma saya tak sangka bentuk dan caranya sebegini. Allah swt tidak akan menguji hambaNya dengan sesuatu yang tidak mampu dihadapi.

**********************

dengan itu, saya haruskan betulkan niat dan tetapkan minda. find the good in others. hijrah itu pengorbanan. hijrah itu perjuangan. hijrah itu persaudaraan. hijrah membentuk perpaduan.

Misteri Jalan Lama

2011-12-02T09:05:00.001+08:00

google image

Sometimes I make a decision to watch a movie based on my 'trust'. It may be the trust on the director, the actors or the producer. Based on my trust to Afdlin Shauki's working mind, I went to watch Misteri Jalan Lama. Afdlin may have said that his latest movie has a sombre tone, different from his other movies, but it didn't make me leave the cinema feeling sombre. Instead, I left feeling entertained.

Two brothers of different personalities undertake a journey back to their hometown for their father's burial. However, in the middle of their journey, they meet with an unexpected accident (not a car accident, ya). Lost, or so they seem, they try to resume their journey despite encountering mysterious people and creatures beyond their (and our) understanding. But finally, we will come to understand the story. It's quite a straight-forward one, actually. Indra and Ilya are the brothers ~~grimm~~. However, Indra has been estranged from his family for a long time. When their father passed away because of a car accident which happened mysteriously, Indra received a letter previously written by his father to drive Ilya back to their village. Prior to the accident, his father left Ilya a birthday present (which is supposedly to be on the next day, he will be 25), and the present being a strange looking locket. When Ilya hold the locket, it shines and made Ilya sees some kind of vision that he cannot understand. And so, the journey. Indra is portrayed as an ex-car racer turned loser who's always in trouble due to his gambling habits. Ilya is the hope of the family and he helps his father's company to grow and succeed. However, Ilya has several health problems and he also cannot drive. That's why they have to go back together. An unfortunate event caused them to lost their car and they have to continue on foot. In the middle of the forest, scary things happen as well as encounters with two different kinds of ghostly creatures. They seem to be waiting for them, but each with different intentions. What are those creatures? How are they related to the brothers? What is the secret behind the locket...and their father's instruction? We would know it at the end of the movie. But we would have guessed it as the story goes on. We would wonder, does this person actually knows more than what he seems to show?

The story? Quite straight-forward as I have said before and understandable. The actors? Great, the two male leads are not disappointing. The dialogues? Nice and at some point, can make you laugh. Yup, some scenes that are meant to be scary, they do scare me. There are elements of surprise. And some dialogues that are meant to be funny, they do made me laugh. However, I'm kinda intrigued by the scenes at the climax of the story. There is a war. There is suspense. However, I couldn't stand the costume. It made me laugh. Oh, Afdlin...are the costumes meant to make us laugh? Because I did. Personally, I think he could make the costume better and nicer, I think the scenes there deserve more serious tone and perhaps induce some jaw-dropping moments from the audience.

But anyway, a good and entertaining movie. An mystery-fantasy tale of two brothers.

fear and will

2011-11-20T19:21:00.001+08:00

life.love.fear.willpower

thirty years graciously given to me to live this life. and little do i know how many more will i have. i have went through many episodes in my life. i remembered almost all of my 'down' times. my heartbreaks. my unfulfilled wishes and expectations. i also remembered .... some good times.

sometimes i feel that i have let my past 'down' moments cloud over my viewpoint about myself and my future. sometimes i wished that things were different before, hoping for a different turn of events, wishing them to be better. but it's just a waste of time and emotion.

every time after i heard or watch a motivational speech, i always feel high-spirited and ready to save all the knowledge parted to me in my mind, ready to use it when the time comes. but there's a little bit of feeling inside blaming myself and people related to me for not doing the right thing before to form a better me.

but really, i can't really blame those people, can i? i can't expect them to know everything. they are humans, and so am i. humans cannot run from the traits of nisyan (forgetfulness) and ghaflah (negligence).

coursing through this life, sometimes it's just going with the flow. don't know for sure what i really want. at loss for a solid direction. perhaps it's because lack of guidance. maybe because of fear. fear to venture into the unknown. maybe because constantly being in a safe enclosure, never being dared, never being asked what do i want. never being coached. never being understand. even not having enough willpower to understand myself.

love. if Allah swt gives me the chance to have my own family, my mission is to not let the same fate engulfing it. my mission is to make it better, to make my children happy, happy in their souls. i will try my best effort, to give love, to show love, to stay together.

i have to teach myself, to assess my feelings, to not allowing my fear overcome my senses, in order to venture into this world, and let the experiences enrich my life. i have to be strong. and i have to be close to Him. everything happens for a reason. just imagine how it could impact your life, when you are willing to think and learn.

....and there's a steady listener...