Vibrantkitty

Manila, Philippines 11 - 14 December 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sun, 16 Feb 2014 07:57:00 +0000

Guess what?

I have slowed down ALOT on updating all my social medias.

I guessed my life is just not as open and declare-able as other bloggers. I do not like to be in the limelight, chasing for attention and not a selfie fanatic. Hardly a person crazy of taking pics, I have not much pics to show or create envy on others. Instead, my medias are slowly accumulating and following posts nearer to my personality and of stabbing concern to my conscious. My surroundings are changing where there are more pressing issues that should be dealt with. I am evolving and becoming a......... FOLLOWER!! OMG, a LIKER!! OMG, goddamnit, a READER!! WTF! Okay lah, I have become a behind the scene person. You all go out and conquer the stage la, I'll just stay backstage and play with the curtains. Hahahaha, so pity meh? Hahahaha, okay la, I play with the props. :PPP

Flight Z2 502, ready for boarding

I have a goal though. My ultimate goal is to one day be able to make a greater impact in my life by being the secret angel to the needy. What's a secret angel? Hahahaha, I adopted this term from the HK drama "The Hippocratic Crush II". Hahahaha, those who have watched the drama would know lah. Dun wanna explain too much here. Go and watch it youself. Hahahaha.

I do not need to be recognise, I do not need to be acknowledge, I just want to help in silent and maintain my peace. Bearing in mind, I have my naive and silly side geh, with my occasional random entries. Okay, enough of me me me me, shall we move on to........ more me me me me? Hahahaha.

Air Asia Zest.......... Good, not bad.

So as per the title, I flew to the capital of the archipelago Philippines. Metro Manila, very fascinating le, totally out of my "perception" of how this country is. Can't help it as the medias are always showing the country plague with natural disaster and their dilapidated lifestyle. I am sure the majority of us have the same perception coz people find it weird that i decided to make Manila my holiday destination, a place that's perceive worse than Kota Kinabalu. Little did they know, this metropolitan city is actually very vibrant and very much flourish with its local commotion.

Not only was it once, but on 2 occasions, I thought I was touched by angels. The people are friendly and willing to help. I'll tell more next time, coz I wanna share pics of my trip now. Kinda lazy to elaborate my experience for now. Hahaha. I had earlier compiled my pics in a slide presentation, but the presentation didn't go well. I was frustrate at that time which had caused this post late. It was supposed to come out in Dec 2013. Anyway, dun wanna dampen my positive attitude. A little upset should not cause my whole life to crumble down. Yo!!

Perfect weather for a window seated view

I have all the intention to embed my video here. But being youtube retard, i opt for the easier option. Of course, didn't turn out as expected. :( Do not understand why they like to smudge some pictures of mine.... do not understand why its always targeting the face area. :((( Heck, if you do not mind our ghostly appearance, here's the link. Yea, by link. Enjoy!!

♥ ♥ ♥

** RM59,724.26 Oh, well, its back to the drawing board. Time to surpress my spending spree.

** To know my last balance, click here.

gDayX at Kota Kinabalu on 24 November 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 17:22:00 +0000

I may be the last person to stick my neck out declaring I'm a geek. Correction, I do not need to make a shout out, 'coz I'm no computer freak, yo. I'm just a plain Jane on a rat track rut being the typical woman with a typical lifestyle..... with the occasional spicing up of my version of vibrant and fabulous. ;D But saying that, it doesn't mean I avoid the many technologies that is fast advancing and speeding before me. I am afterall, neither living in the caveman age nor high up in the trees in the virgin jungle.

I am a modern person living in a modern world, and within this modern world, people kept inventing new ways of making life better. Hence, one of the fastest growing invention known to men is the technological advancement of the computer age. There is no avoiding that these days everyone owns one or more of these intelligent gadgets. With such means, people aim to enhance their productivity. Yet productivity doesn't mean owning only gadgets, you need to maximise their functionalities by knowing and getting familiarise with the various productivity functions available. And that is exactly why you should know about this upcoming event:

Google is coming to town!! Right here in our doorstep, Kota Kinabalu!!

Google needs no introduction, If you have seen the movie "The Internship", you would have known how much commitment they put into improving life with technology. But nearer to our shores, you should know about the gDayX event which will be taking place soon. Here, I copied and pasted the event information from its source, you are welcome:

"GDayX is a community-organised event that is supported by Google. This event brings together Google employees and influential voices of the industry to engage with Google users, the students, startups, entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals, to learn and share insights on web technology and Google tools".

"Whether you’re looking for networking opportunities, want to know more about Google tools and what it can do for you or leveraging Google technologies for online presence and business expansion, this GDayX is the perfect place to get it started".

Sounds good doesn't it? Well, what I am about to reveal to you may even blow you up. Ready?

ITS FREE!!! Hurry, grab your seat now. Register yourself here.

Here's the event details:

Date : 24th November 2013 (Sunday)
Time : 9am to 6pm
Venue : GSC Hall, Suria Sabah, Kota Kinabalu

Some other additional information can be obtain here:

The agenda : http://gdayx.org/gdayx-kk/agenda

The Speakers : http://gdayx.org/gdayx-kk/speakers/

The Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/gbgkk

The Google+ Page : https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/118259170393520756546/118259170393520756546/posts

And you know what? There's a mystery guest appearance too. Guess who? Or rather, What? Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever in Sabah, the unveiling of the Google Glass will be made here during this event. Exciting!! Here's a sneak peek video:

So, do not miss this opportunity. You'll never know,..... the next time, you may need to pay!! Again, register yourself here.

See you there!

In Pursuit of the Glorious Burger 2 : Grabbing Hands

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 04:40:00 +0000

Hello!! Its me again for another episode of the Cheeky's adventures. Check out my last adventure here.

Mommy said there are alot of burger joints mushrooming around the city lately and she wanted to continue with her glamorous "Glorious" title wa. And what better than to visit the latest burger restaurant in Kota Kinabalu's latest completed commercial development i.e. Metro Town. The development is located at Kolombong industrial township along the main road of Jalan Lintas.

Grabbing Hands, that's the name of the restaurant we went to. Unique name, isn't it? What's unique about this place is its ambience with pretty arts on its walls. So pretty are the arts that upon careful observation, they are actually made from rubix cubes.

Here's mommy acting cute. @_@ . Behind her is a rubix cubes art of Bob Marley.

By the way, mommy wants you to check out her new hair colour. She was at the hair salon that morning and thought the outcome looked fabulous. Oh So Vain! *rolls eyes. Anyway, back to the topic, the arts are for sale. This particular one behind mommy is yours for only RM9,500.00.

The ambience of the restaurant with more rubix cubes arts on display

Grabbing Hands : Love Food, Love Art. We Design Our Own Burgers & Hotdogs... These are their professes. The art part, mommy was fascinated. The whole concept of the restaurant was cozy and welcoming. She even started building images of spending time with friends playing catching up and gossiping. :P

As for the food part, with hungry pangs hitting our stomachs, we ordered the followings :

Chicken Maryland Burger, RM20.00

Beef Mylo Hotdog, RM18.00

Hi! Hi! Hi! Its me!!! I ordered the Chicken Hotdog in bolognese sauce, RM18.00

Mommy liked this photo and said she was artistic too as she managed to get nothing of the background except of people's....... ~~asses~~ legs. :P

Wicked Wings

I guess the verdict falls on my partner in crime who's a picky eater, my li'l brother, Manja. And from the way things wrapped up for the night, its going to be one of the places to revisit.

My partner in crime

This time, my mommy said her photo taking skills are better. Instead of having a background nearing the floor, it has gone up and now its of ~~breasts~~ chests. :PPP

And that concludes another episode of Cheeky's adventures. Till then...

Peace!!

Photos captured using mommy's phone, this particular one taken outside the restaurant. Above us is the signboard illuminated by light bulbs. Tsk, tsk, tsk, mommy's photo taking skills.

Grabbing Hands
Metro Town, Block J-0-25,
Jalan Bunga Ulam Raja,
88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Tel : 088-387 787

Operating Hours:
Mon - Thu : 12.00pm - 10.00pm
Fri - Sat : 12.00pm - 11.00pm
Sun : 12.00pm - 10.00pm

Year 2013 : My Mid Year Review

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:43:00 +0000

Hello there!

Some of you may know that I am on my office annual leave for 3 days. Well, its ending soon with Monday just around the corner. Its back to working mode by then.

With this break, I took the liberty of spending some quality time being at peace with myself, and doing the things that I like or even catching up some tasks I had delay for some time. Hence, the 1st thing that I did was to send my car for a badly needed service. Oh boy, you would not have believe how much a Kelisa could cost you for a thorough service. I paid RM430 + RM225 + RM80 + RM50. So how much is that?

RM430 for engine and under the car (what do you call that part where they hoist your car up and check the gadgets beneath your vehicle? I don't know. So I'll just go with under the car then :P)

RM225 for servicing of car air conditioner. Its now Brrrr-ing cold ;D

RM80 for the car being lifted back to workshop when one of the replaced part was not functioning IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY ROAD!! This was on the 3rd day after servicing it which had cause me missing a bloggers meet up opportunity >:(

RM50 for cleaning, vacumming and polishing. I added polish coz my car has lost its shine. From the way I see it, more polishing is needed. Sigh :(

Fine! So I paid a hefty sum for car servicing. And more to come too. Yet, this does not happen everyday. Its just a small fraction to pay when you realise how much it has given back to me. Bringing me to places where I needed to be and accomplishing my everyday task because it has been loyal to me. Its just something I need to do to allow myself to travel further and accomplish more.

So here's a pic of how my baby blue car looks like now.

Duh! Look just like any other ordinary Kelisa. Lololol :P

Then there is also the badly needed clearing of my stuff from Cheeky's room. My growing child needs to have his own space. You wouldn't believe how messy these stuff had accumulated to.

After some loving, tender and caring-ness, the full of mommy's way, this is the end result:

Some of my stuff are still there. Sorry Cheeky. But mommy is helpless of ideas where to store my stuff. Hence still needing a tiny bit of your shelf space, pls *battering weepy eyes.

Of course I've done many more other things during this break, but I guess the better part was having my big day just the way I enjoyed it. Quiet time enjoying my dessert"S" (literally) while watching the busy commotion across the street from my seat. I was at the Mosaic, Hyatt Regency Kinabalu at that time. A good reflection to myself to not fall into the trap of what's at the opposite side of the street but to keep focusing on reaching my intended destiny.

One fine birthday.... err?.... day :P

Oh, and 1 more accomplishment unlocked, this is my 52nd blog entry. A year ago, I aimed to hit this number by last year's end. Of course, I didn't make it. Today, I have finally done it, albeit late. But hey,.....

I'VE DONE IT!! Yes, successkid.jpg.

♥ ♥ ♥

** RM44,552.62 No lah, not as sad la. A need to buck up lor. Or is it??

** To know my last balance, click here.

The Hyatt Touch : A Very Bandung Ramadhan Buffet

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Hello and a blessed Ramadhan month.

Click here to know better about the muslims' holy month of Ramadhan.

Ramadhan is a month long practice of blessings and thanks givings. In Malaysia, irregardless of our religion background, we respect and embraces each others differences. We come together in gesturing this differences where everyone understands and observe the meaning behind this holy practice.

During this period, temporary bazaar stalls are set up in many designated areas. You will get the chance to taste the array of food unique to the muslims. Not wanting to miss showcasing themselves, our local hotels are joining the bandwagon preparing their own specialties and promotions. I am very fortunate to get to taste from one of our local boys, the Hyatt Regency Kinabalu, on the very first day of this meaningful month.

The Hyatt Regency Kinabalu, my first stop for my year 2013 Ramadhan

Hyatt Regency Kinabalu launched their Bandung Ramadhan promotion with the ultimate in buka puasa (breaking fast) feast featuring an astounding array of buffet choices, featuring mouth watering dishes from Indonesia, brought by their guest chefs from Hyatt Regency Bandung.

Spacious area showcasing their buffet promotion

Indonesia cuisine is known for its use of fragrant spices. Chef Aries Tri Suhandoko and Chef Sandy Nur Hidayat prepared a diverse flavours of Indonesian food. From flavorful salads and appetizers, to tasty soups, aromatic curries, fragrantly spiced meats to delectable, whole some desserts.

Decorative display with influence of the Indonesian culture

Sweet dates surrounded by local delicacies

In consistence with its theme, the spread was of warmly Indonesian with a selection of appetizers such as Asinan, rojak buah and tauhu telur. Not forgetting the serving of soups of Soto Bandung, Mee Siram and Rawon Jawa Timur.

A row of flavourful condiments

The salad and dessert bars

Kerepek

Hyatt Regency Kinabalu's aim is to provide an unforgettable buka puasa experience with a wide choice of cuisine delightful to family and friends. Their welcoming very Bandung main courses - Empal Daging Sapi, Udang Balado, Gulai Kambing, Ikan Bawal Bumbu Bali, Nasi Goreng Jawa, Ayam Rica, Nasi Goreng Kluwek, Kambing Guling, Gulai Nangka Muda and many more are of abundance to fill everyone's stomach to satisfaction.

In addition to the Indonesian specialties, Hyatt Regency Kinabalu are also serving their much-loved favourites including local and western cuisine, not forgetting the chinese and indian dishes too.

Also included in this buka puasa feast is the hotel's own Chef Govind using the tandoori oven to prepare his famous fluffy and crisp naan, tikka masala grilled meats and north Indian curries along with lamb kebab and beef shawarma.

The feast was delightfully concluded with an extended dessert selection, from local specialities like kuih penjaram, ondeh-ondeh, kuih ketayap, kuih lenggang, kuih sapit, kuih lapis, apam balik to cheese cakes, creme brulee, strawberry sponge cakes, jellies and much more.

The Bandung Ramadhan at Hyatt Regency Kinabalu is available throughout the fasting month at RM110++ per person between 6.00pm and 8.00pm. For those who comes in after 8.00pm you can enjoy the same at RM100 per person. Children are chargeable at half price.

The feast was enjoyable accompanied by relaxing ambience and friends' laughters. The extensive varieties were enough to leave me with a bloated stomach. Thankfully, this bloating issue was soothingly tamed with a cup of the hotel's smooth teh tarik. It was a pleasant drink to end my dinner.

You and your family and friends can enjoy this "A Very Bandung Ramadhan" buka puasa feast by making your reservation/s now. Just call the hotel at:

Hyatt Regency Kinabalu
Jalan Datuk Salleh Sulong,
88991 Kota Kinabalu,
Sabah

Tel: +60 88 22 1234.

The hotel does catering for private functions too. For this month only, chefs at Hyatt Regency Kinabalu have created a delectable, tantalizing buka puasa menu featuring the best Ramadhan specialties. Trained banquet staff will be on hand to take away the stress of cooking, organising the event, serving your guests and washing up so that you can concentrate on being the perfect host. Menu price starts from RM100++ per person.

Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadhan

dan Selamat Berbuka Puasa

2nd Most Common Cancer in Women

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:59:00 +0000

Jab of Life

I took this picture of myself with a jab a few months ago after being persuaded by my gynae for the longest time. What sort of jab is this? Its none other than the HPV (Human Papillomavirus). Its a vaccination to prevent cervical cancer.

Some facts ** :

- Cervical cancer is the world's 2nd most common cancer in women.

- In Malaysia, cervical cancer is the 2nd most common cancer affecting women.

- In 2002, cervical cancer accounted for 12.9% of all female cancer in Malaysia.

- Every minute, one woman is diagnosed with the disease somewhere in the world.

- Virtually every woman is at risk of cervical cancer, regardless of their age or lifestyle.

- Vaccination against the causes of cervical cancer and regular screening could help you prevent it.

Information leaflets available in all clinics

Probably, one of the most famous super star succumbed to cervical cancer and passed away is Hong Kong diva, Anita Mui. She was only 40 years old then. That year was 2003, the year I sealed a lifetime commitment to Beary. I remembered very well during her passing, how I realised I need to take charge of my health, especially since I have a family history of my dear ones battling cancer, some of them survived, while others were dearly missed.

The good news is, in Malaysia, HPV vaccination is in the National Immunisation Programme and is provided by the government to 13 year old girls. Women like me could obtain the same by paying a visit to the gynae, nevertheless at an affordable price.

4 years ago, when it was first introduced to me, my immediate reaction was how expensive it was. I could not recall the price mentioned at that time, but with such pricing, I have procrastinated. 4 years later, I am glad that besides myself improving my financial capability, the price has since reduced. I got mine at RM199 per jab. A total of 3 jabs are needed to complete the entire course.

I've recently completed the entire course *successkid.jpg

Life is priceless. I saw the pain when my loved ones were battling cancer and I experienced the pain when I was helpless to lighten their burden with the sufferings. On top of those physical and emotional pain, it had also put a dent in my family's finances. Needless to say, I felt this price is a small sum to pay in exchange for a healthier body condition and minimizing the potential of inflicting emotional pain towards my family.

Consult your doctor on immunizing yourself from cervical cancer. Prevention is better than cure. Love your life, you've only got one. Protect yourself, protect your loved ones.

Just me & my jab

** All facts were extracted from the leaflets made available in all gynaecologists' clinics.

Life's Pleasures @ Flames, Le Meridien Hotel, Kota Kinabalu

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Fri, 10 May 2013 02:56:00 +0000

Life at times presents itself with surprises, and just 2 weeks ago, I had one of the most pleasant evening which I truly enjoyed. I have been saying again and again of my hectic life, and often is blinded in slowing down my pace to enjoy the simple and finer things life presents. That evening, my life was splendidly spent in both ways.

Sabah is truly a blessed land. She is showered with beautiful scenery, breathtaking most of the time. Unfortunately, my hectic life has made me forgotten. I have constantly immerse myself in a sea of infinite work. But that evening, I thank Le Meridien Hotel Kota Kinabalu for reminding me, that work and pleasure can be balanced. And indeed it is possible, as I view with awe how marvelously Sabah is from the hotel's 12th floor Club Lounge.

That day, I witnessed the sunset :

From this...

.... to this

Panoramic view from the 12th Floor Club Lounge, Le Meridien Hotel, Kota Kinabalu

Sourced : http://www.lemeridien.com/kotakinabalu

All splendid things come to an end, and soon, the sun set beyond the horizon. I look forward to experience it again as I aim high to elevate myself over and above my current state. (The Le Meridien Club Lounge is for the exclusive use of guests staying on the Le Meridien Club floors).

Me and my fellow friends were then led to their lobby floor, specifically a cozy corner away from its reception area to one of their flagship outlet, FLAMES Steak Restaurant.

Flames Steak Restaurant is one of the hotel's latest addition to its many dining options. A casual yet stylish steak restaurant that showcases the best quality, prime steaks for Kota Kinabalu diners. This intimate corner of 24 seats caters to please lovers of luscious, prime steaks and most things non-vegetarian. Acclaimed as the only international steak restaurant in Kota Kinabalu with a serious effort to truly please the palates of KK city's steak aficionados.

We were presented with the following menu:

Behold herewith images of the array of dishes in sampling sizes presented before us:

Our opening dish (not in the menu)

Jasmine Tea Infused Duck Breast Confit with shaved fennel, caramelized fruit,

cress and peach dressing

Cappuccino of Jerusalem Artichoke and Macadamia Nut,

Truffle Oil and fresh herbs

Avocado tapenade, Japanese tofu, garnished with mandarin orange and miso dressing

Baked Fillet of Cod, Porcini mushroom, asparagus, strawberry and red wine reduction

Maltagliati Pasta, Chicken Fillet with cherry tomato and basil pesto

Passion Fruit Sorbet

Slow Cooked Black Angus Beef Fillet, braised red cabbage,

baby vegetables and shallot reduction

Swiss Milk Chocolate Mousse, Crispy Rice and Raspberry puree

The night ended with the selection of either Illy coffee or Ronnefeldt tea. My choice is of course the aromatic tea:

Served in a pot

This experience had been rare and overwhelming. The servings, though in sampling sizes, were enough to capture the attention of us ladies that Flames offers more than just meeting of the eyes. On top of its cozy restaurant ambience and food presentation, the price itself came as a surprise. Gentle on the pockets, a good main course may surprise you with its very affordable pricing starting from RM48 (≈ USD17). Flames uses the freshest of ingredients which instead of frozen meat, they defy the norm by setting a prominent standard using flown in chilled meat.

I found myself enjoying that night's dishes especially the soup (RM25 ≈ USD9) which was delightful to my taste and as a seafood lover, the carefully prepared baked cod fillet (RM78 ≈ USD26) was splendid. The other dishes were just as pleasant and enjoyable. I was afterall, in a place accompanied by food loving friends, prime steaks, great wines and great times. ♥♥♥

FLAMES, Kota Kinabalu's only international steak restaurant, is located at:

FLAMES Steak Restaurant
Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu
Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens,
Sinsuran, Kota Kinabalu,
88000 Sabah, Malaysia

Telephone: +60-88-322 222
Website: http://www.lemeridien.com/kotakinabalu

Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu is a five star hotel and a part of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. loyalty programs, allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. For more information, please visit their website : Starwood Hotels.

Credit to Social Media East Malaysia for the evening's great arrangement.

Updates 20130331 & The Movie: The Croods

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 09:14:00 +0000

Today is the last school day break for Cheeky & Manja. And frankly, I have again not make much of time for them. Manja spends most of his time with the bbsitter & all other children under her care while Cheeky was between tuition and swimming lessons. Yet, I am grateful for there are people around me who have been helping in the caring department, ensuring there isn't less love to spread in this family.

As the new year 2013 turns out, I am ever more busier with my day job and personal commitments. I took up some projects be it for my office or myself. If you are asking whether all these are worth it, I would say YES. How is this worth it? For the family, I am a provider, ensuring a roof above our heads. Sometime ago, I read a post on a family's financial hardship, that nothing was right for them, that their family was without choice and were left to defend for survival. I empathize for them. The comments that came along with the post were suggestive solutions, yet because of rage, nothing was pick up from the comments. The rage also causes others not to comment further. I was a side spectator, though empathize, but if suggestions are just by-passing, well, I'll just remain as a side spectator. Y being caught in cyber bullying? Not worth it. I'll just keep enjoying my latte instead.

Back to my worthy topic, reason no. 2, 'coz I am on a learning curve to handle adversity. They say if you stay stationary, you learn nothing, you do not progress. And soon you'll be by-pass by others who are willing to accept challenges and are willing to build a very very strong vault that no situation is able to shake their superiority. You become wiser with the experience gained. You practice wisdom of the wise.

I am lucky for I have great mentors guiding me. This personal development is slowly bearing fruit. What I have visioned my future no longer is a pipe dream, but getting closer and closer to the light. Which brings me to this movie:

I watched this movie last night with my kids (So I wasn't totally not spending time with them, eh??). The storyline was simple and easy to understand. It has somehow touch the simple meaning of if we remain in our comfort zone i.e. staying stationary, we'll become extinct soon.

The truth is situation and environment is always evolving, we can't ignore it. Ignorance is why your comfort zone is getting smaller and tighter. Ignorance of change equals limiting yourself. So why set the boundary? Why live in a cave?

I am glad I watched this movie. Its rated PG13 in Malaysia. You can refer to other sites for movie review. As for me, I'm going to purchase and keep it in my movie library once release and available in DVD. There are alot of great movies out there. But those with positive message and values are what I appreciate most. 'Coz these values are the very essence of what humans are supposed to be.

No cyber bullying. No road bullies. No bearing grudges for people moving ahead of you. Selfish people thought time will stop for them and every other people will have to wait for them to move before they do. Y should progress be deter?

If everyone is willing to put effort in making life better, don't you think heaven is on earth?

♥ ♥ ♥

** RM41,266.98. Life has been good to me ♥.

** To know my last balance, click here.

苦中一点甜~ The Dynasty Healthy Herbal Tea House

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 07:09:00 +0000

Did you know that chinese medicine is always about balancing your energy? The "chi" they said, should be made accord for the entire body to function harmoniously ensuring a healthy body. There are lots of ways in practicing chinese medicine. Not touching on the more complex cure, the daily consumable herbal drinks are featured here.

Introducing the Gui Ling Gao (龟苓膏):

Chilled Herbal Jelly With Sea Coconut and Longan

Most herbal shops sell this particular dessert by the jelly with honey. However, for Dynasty Healthy Herbal Tea House (黄朝), they believed the dessert should be enjoyed in many more varieties than its original presentation. Hence, after trying this concept, I would say, it definitely redefined the meaning of creativity to a dessert deserving more attention than just by its bitter jelly. The accompanying sea coconut and longan bits with lemon/lime juice brings a refreshing taste to the dessert. No longer bitter, a touch of sweetness enhances the flavour bringing out a pleasant taste to be enjoyed. Hence, if you are wondering what's the meaning of the chinese characters on the title of this post, it means "In its bitterness, sweetness is present". 粘切 mah? #close_enough

Dynasty Healthy Herbal Tea House offers more than meets the eyes, for besides their bestseller Gui Ling Gao, they serve Foo Chuk Barley (beancurd stick with barley), Luo Han Guo drink, Mango Cream dessert, and many others. Just have a look at part of their menu captured here:

So many smiley recommendations & they serve homemade cakes too.

In case you are not aware, here's the list of benefits when consuming herbal drinks which I extracted from their shop's display area:

- Improving your skin complexion
- Strengthen your immune system
- Detoxify the body
- For damp heat (湿热), dry skin, pimples, insomnia & lack of appetite.

An array of choices served before us

The logo / mascot

Dynasty Healthy Herbal Tea House is a new herbal tea drink shop (since 12 Jan 2013) located at Lot 17, Block B, Ground Floor, Damai Point Commercial Centre, Jalan Damai, Luyang, Kota Kinabalu. Telephone contact no.: 017-866 0026.

The nicely decorated shop. A pleasant atmosphere to enjoy healthy drinks.

If you are into some healthy, pure & concentrated yet enjoyable drinks/desserts, why not give Dynasty a try? I truly enjoyed the cozy interior setting of the shop and according to the owner, free wifi will be made available soon.

Follow Dynasty Healthy Herbal Tea House on their facebook page. Promotions are made periodically. Do not miss them.

I shall be coming back for more.

The Corona Extra Beach Party 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 08:30:00 +0000

Did you know there were 2 parties? Which one did you join? Or did you join both?

Can't bring your bar to the beach? We'll bring the

beach to you! ~ I LIKE-Y ♥ ♥ ♥

The Friday Sunset Beach Party was all about........... WET. Well, that's all I know about the event as I was not there. Its a party by the beach, with the attire theme of beach wear, singing bands, DJs churning up some hot dancing music, and not forgetting the spraying of WATER GUNS. I could imagine the event being absolute fun. OF COURSE its lots of fun. Then why am I not there? Maybe its my flabby tummy, maybe its my sagging boobs, or maybe I do not have a bikini for that matter. Whatever it is, I can't remember and won't be recalling. Let's just say its my unfortunate Friday.

But the party didn't end at the beach, they continued on the next night which was a Saturday. WOOHOO!!! That's my call to rave, yeah you betcha!

The made up photo background with real sand......where? At the bottom of our feet :P

Follow the sign

Do not forget your bucket ;)

If you think the "opening" was awesome, the party that's raving inside the venue was ever more smashing. Multiple talents displayed their expertise:

Talented DJs spinning some of the best dance music

Korean Beatbox Jaekweon in the house

Flames showcased entertaining the partygoers

Gotta have a Corona

The crowd in the big make shift event tent

My partygoing kaki-s

More photos can be seen at the Corona Extra Full Moon Beach Party Facebook page. All photos featured here are from their facebook page except for the last with my partying kaki-s.

This Beach Party is an annual event. First brought to KK beach bummers and partygoers in year 2011. Why not make a date for the next? Just click "Like" on their facebook page and you are all set to know when's the next event will be.

Till we meet again in the next party!! Muaks ♥

2012 Year End Trip to Genting Highlands

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 08:26:00 +0000

Hola,

I am back from my holidays. Took me a week post-trip to update here. Was at Genting Highlands & Kuala Lumpur for 2 nights each.

From my tiny room @ First World Hotel, Resorts World, Genting Highlands

1st stop Genting Highlands :

The trip involved besides the vkitty family, I brought along dear dad and dear mom. The whole trip was decided late which costs me a BOMB!! Yup, yours truly sponsored the return airtickets and accommodations throughout this trip. Hence, the surge use of my cc which was shown in my last update :P.

Nevertheless, the consolation must be the tiny room I stayed at Genting which was free from the points exchanged from my parent's Genting cards :PP. LOL, they have been accumulating points from the several sessions with their "friends", the ka-ching ka-ching machines. The Genting casino was their main agenda when passing time, while I brought my loves around the indoor park with all the amusements and rides. The outdoor park was closed 'coz of the weather. Throughout our 2 nights stay, it was cold and windy. My Gosh!, the place was covered by THICK FOG! Brrrr!....... well, at least it feels kinda christmas-y, I guess??

I didn't managed to snap alot of pics for this trip. No one was interested in taking pics T___T. Everyone were there for the fun element.

The fun-s!

Indoor theme park at RM102 for 2 adults and 2 children : Neh, been there before, rode many-many times, the same rides since my previous trip before this. Genting, y u no new rides? Oh BTW, everyone were hogging the indoor rides since the outdoor ones were closed. Yes, the queues were very, very, very, veeeeeerry LONG!

eZICash for arcade games : I think there's either RM4 or 8 left in the card T_____T

So you r the tallest, eh?

Ripley's Believe It or Not Exhibition : Paid RM80 for 2 adults and 2 kids. I'm swaying towards worthwhile to spend this amount as there are some really weird stuff on display there. So weird that Manja was begging to leave and wouldn't wanna finish the entire exhibition. In the end before Manja goes hysterical, I had to hastily leave and return to the entrance with him while Beary & Cheeky were finishing the exhibition and exiting from the Exit way. The result was me given an ear full from Beary for Manja's manja-ness. Soooo worth it, right??? T______T. (Pun intended. But really, its a good exhibition).

Digiphoto : Pics taken by others to claim at their pic booths. I think this needs to be paid. Dun know the price. See, got pics taken oso didn't wanna grab them.

The trip has been a delightful experience for everyone. A tiring one, nevertheless, packed with lots of fun. And my fun started even before I reach KL.

Shopping!!

TANGS LOVES ME!! The TANGS Sale was at Genting!!

Thank god I bought something there as I didn't make it to Pavilion nor create my inaugural journey on the bridge linking KLCC. Thank you TANGS for bringing your sale to me ^_^. Really needed to get new shoes as my loafers was killing me by biting my heels.... Both!! I ended wearing my sandals the whole time.

Before I reach Genting, my dear sis was whatsapp-ing me:

Me : Oh yes! Arriving KL 15 mins earlier.
Dear Sis : Bah sdah sampai big city jgn macam Sam pa lau k!

Well, sorry to disappoint you Sis, but my instinct was to be comfortable and not to allow further damage to my feet. So here's a pic of me in my sandals, my Sam pa lau style ;D :

Freakin' cold with love......... from Genting Highlands

Ending this post by wishing everyone and counting down to : HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!!

♥ ♥ ♥

** RM46,711.87. ~ Did I give you a shock? That's a major difference from the last update. Feels great to end my 2012 with the cc reduction. YES! More MM posts soon ;).

** To know my last balance, click here.

We T.A.B.'ed! ~ The Awesome Bloggers Gathering 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 14:22:00 +0000

First of all, I have to apologise for coming up with this post late. I am usually tied down more intensely on my day job nearing the end of the year. I was so immerse in my job that I don't even remember where did I transfer the pics taken during the gathering :O

Well, I managed to trace some. The ones that I could not trace are those taken with my phone :(

Yet ultimately, its the memory and my experience from the event that counts. And I shall tell you my side of the story about this event more famously known as:

This happened on a cozy after rain evening on the 10th of November 2012. It was a Saturday, and the event took place at Party Play, Jalan Lintas. Everyone was requested to abide by these 2 rules, that is to turn up in a single colour wardrobe and to get a no lesser than RM30 gift for exchange. Equipping myself with both "weapons", I turned up at the entrance of Party Play. And hoo boy, did I coloured myself in red..... Red dress, red shoes, red lipstick (duh!), red hand bag and a somewhat pinkish wrapped gift in hand.

All the gifts <3. The checkered one that looked like a Burberry ;) is from me

We kicked start the night with an ice breaking session, by randomly picking a name from a tiny container, and I got this :

Everyone were requested to introduce the person whom he/she has picked. One by one the names were called and soon it was my turn. And there she was, Edith.

Hello Edith. Can you tell I was nervous?

Yes, I was. Its like a student meeting a teacher. :P...... okay, I'm exaggerating, nevertheless, I was somewhat nervous as prior to this, I have not meet her before. And so, instead of me introducing her, I passed the ball and let her self introduce :PP (yea, I was thaaaaaatt nervous!)

This was reciprocated with Nowriz introducing the Vibrantkitty.....

Hello Nowriz, nice meeting you :)

After everyone intro'ed, it was time for dinner. Here's mine:

Party Play's Club Sandwich with Lemon Pink Soda

The rest of the night's programme was accomplished quite fast with lots of games and laughters.... with thanks to Chegu Carol for organising the games. Soon it was the gift exchange programme and as per similar to the ice breaking session, we picked a name from the tiny container. Again at random. And so he got hers, she got his, she had hers, vice versa, etc. etc. and....... Aemy got mine, and I got Aemy's. Hahahaha, what coincident that we exchanged each others gifts.

I looked like a giant beside petite Aemy :P

The rest of the programmes were the best dressed male and female bloggers which went to Chegu Carol and Armstrong, not forgetting Aki who closed the event with his all mighty speech (Fuyoh!!). Yet because of the night ended faaaiiiirrrly early, we did what bloggers do best, snap snap snap photos away.........

Credit: The Rungitom

Such gatherings are truly fun when like minded people who share same interests group together. Unfortunately, I didn't get to know most of them. Ambience was kinda noisy and due to the sitting arrangement, a few were sitted quite a distance away. But I truly had fun, so much fun that I look forward to more of such gatherings.

So, do you wanna find out what I got from Aemy?

First of all, what did I get for her? I got her a box of water sheet mask, a box of 10 sheets of Hello Kitty masks. And in return, sooooo concidentally, I got a kitty too!!!!

A kitty coin bank.

I absolutely adore my gift. In fact so adoring that I'm going to plant a kiss on my pretty kitty.

Muaks!

Thank you Aemy. The kitty goes oh so well with my brand name ;)

I'm Watching : The Last Steep Ascent "天梯"

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 07:12:00 +0000

Have I mention of my hobby before?

Of course I did, It's under my "About This Blog" page. Well, other than my infatuation on skincare, I also love catching Ns & Ns episodes of Hong Kong TVB dramas. And so I am currently on my heels with the 19th of the 25 episodes of this:

TVB Drama, The Last Steep Ascent "天梯"

Allow me to tell you why I'm dedicating a blog post on this here:

1) It's been ages since I last catch a TVB drama. The last time was in May 2012 when my face and slender figure (ahem!!) were decorated with some of the biggest & gunkiest chick pox. OMG!! Nevertheless, I love the 2 weeks rest constrained by my doctor. ♥

2) The acting casts consist of some of the most talented artistes. ♥

3) Some parts of the drama were based on a true story. I did not know about this. The sales lady told me so when I was making a decision on purchasing this drama. Yet, little did I bother what she mentioned to me though.

Hence, as I was leisurely going through episodes of the drama, my sub-conscious mind kept reminding me of what the saleslady said. By my 8th episode, on a fine November 2nd evening, this news crept up in our local newspaper:

click for larger image

Okay, I do not read chinese, but my outburst of love (COUGH!! AHEM!!) melted Beary's heart which he interpreted for me :-P . The title of the news said of "The Love Staircase" woman passed away at age 87.

It was then that I got to know more about this love story. The man passed away in 2007 who was 10 years younger than her. During their time, there were alot of stirs and pressure because of their background, hence, they've eloped to a remote area on a hill to avoid this shaken situation. The woman left behind her 4 loving children. Because of the man's understanding of her love for her children, he started in building the 6,000 steps stone staircase with the minimal tools he had. He has dedicated a great amount of his life in HANDCARVING the stairs (made of STONE!! Did I emphasize myself??) and taking care of her. But due to his chronic illness, he succumbed to his death.

The TVB drama drew similarity to the love story, but as its a drama, of course the storyline was ever more dramatic with the added salt and vinegar. After 2 days of spending what little available me time I had, I am almost finishing my chase of this drama. 6 MORE EPISODES TO GO!!! I have not come to the part of him carving the stairs. Not even 1 single step!!! I'm crying in agony D-:

When is my next available me time???? D-:

Sometimes, I feel my life would be better being a yellow faced aunty so that I could enjoy my hobby and start kepoh-ing with the other aunties. U know, nowadays, even the yellow faced aunties are having rosier cheeks than me. Obviously, they have a not as stressful life when compared to mine. Not meh?

♥ ♥ ♥

** RM59,006.62 If you think this is alot, wait till the next few months figure. I am anticipating, r u? Lololol.

** To know my last balance, click here.

In Pursuit of the Glorious Burger 1 : KK Burger Bakar

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:59:00 +0000

It was once asked "Can you make a better burger than McDonald's?" The answer till today is "Sure". The then next question asked was "Can you build a business and deliver as efficient as McDonald's?" Thus, this is the goal of Iskandar & Ayu, the owners of the KK Burger Bakar (KKBB), are aspiring. Franchising it may yet attain, but the demand for their chunky burger stuffed with various assortments can be seen by the crowd that throngs to their stall on that day.

Ms. Ayu conveying the customers' orders to the kitchen. Notice the crowd behind.

From a humble idea inspired from one of their trips to Australia, both owners decided to defy the odds and opened up the stall. Indeed, within months in business, and after numerous feedbacks from customers, they continue to refine their creativity by coming up with new dishes.

The Menu

KK Burger Bakar, HOMEMADE Burger inspired by PURE LOCAL SECRET RECIPES as advised by EXECUTIVE CHEF!

The owners were determined to served the very best hence every step of preparing a juicy burger from its raw chunky homemade beef patty to the final serving on its plate were showcased.

Of patties, sliced meat and cheese

Toasty hot buns

Barbeque-grilled patties

Adding the final few touches before being serve

Lo & behold, presenting to you, the Lava Gunung Kinabalu Full Blast.... :

RM34.00

.... and all the rest on the menu:

The Lava Kinabalu accompanied by other varieties

Top image, L - R: Double Six, Taj Mahal, Angry Bird & Salsa Chic

Mr. Iskandar explaining the idea of the business & the aspiration

So, how to do you like your burger? Why not try out the KKBB?

Location:

Open food court next to Plaza Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

(Note: This is an open air area with KKBB operating its outlet as a stall. I entered from the Plaza Tanjung Aru entrance and went behind the building to get to the outlet.)

Operating time:
Tues - Sun : 5.30pm - 11.00pm

To find out more, follow KKBB on their facebook page.

This outing had been fun and interesting. It is also a good ice breaking meet up with bloggers. I'm ending this post with my fav pic of the day:

Image by Dinoza. L - R : Nathalie, Beverly, Myself, Charlotte, Calista, Tom, Eric, Margaret

& the comparatively bigger than a Samsung SIII, The Lava Gunung Kinabalu Full Blast.

In Pursuit of the Glorious Burger

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:02:00 +0000

Mouth watering ma?

How about this one?

Are you drooling mei?

Oh boy!! Such tempting pics of burgers.......... (I drool, I drool),............. (I drool, I drool, I drool) :-D. So where to get them?

Fret not for I shall reveal to you where to get these glorious, yummy, lips smacking juicy patties dressed in their fluffy buns soon.

Stay posted by following me via Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare or Instagram. But you know what? Its best to follow all ;-)

Muah, muah!

Pics by The Wendy Wong / Breeze Magazine

Malaysia's Own Oktoberfest 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:16:00 +0000

Dear class....... errmmm??....... my dearest readers,

We are going to learn some German language today. Trust me, it'll help ALOT ;-D

Word no. 1 : PROST!
meaning : gan pei (mandarin), yam seng (cantonese), cheers or beer toasting (english)

Word no. 2 : STEIN.
meaning : jiu bei (mandarin), zao pui (cantonese), beer mug (english)

And with that, you are all ready to join me for this fun filled celebration:

What? The events are not in Sabah? It WAS la, LOL! It happened on September 28 @ Shenanigan's Hyatt Regency. Should I call this a roadshow? As Carlsberg Malaysia is travelling throughout the nation bringing Germany's most renowned beer drinking fest while encapsulating the Bavarian style ambience with a distinctively-styled Malaysian twist.

Click here to know more on the Oktoberfest celebration

"And so on the heels of last year's success, "Malaysia's Own Oktoberfest 2012" promises even more excitement and loads of fun. To commemorate this rousing occasion, Malaysia's most preferred beer, Carlsberg, and three authentic German brews namely, Erdinger, Franziskaner and Lowenbrau will be offered to beer enthusiasts". ~ I copied this from the handout given earlier *grinning vkitty*.

So how was it?, you may ask. The event was lively, very celebrate-ful, corny in a way with the again and again chicken dances, yet lives up to its claim as a drinking fest, and then there's the German Oompah band where band members, besides the usual musical instruments, were cladding an accordion and flute blowing in a pub!! (Yes, they can sing. The usual rock / house music and German songs too!!). Corny as it may be, but lots of high-energy carnival spirited event, beers, sausages, stein-carrying, dirndl-clad ambassadors..... etc etc, all catered to the bavarian styled celebration. LOL, wanna see me with my chicken dance move?

Beware, pics overload begins:

Goodie bags, with the humongous steins inside

le stein

Ladies in Bavarian themed outfit

Erdinger, Franziskaner and Lowenbrau. Brought to you by Carlsberg

Oopss, that's me ;-D

le German Oompah band

Mr. Accordion and Mr. Flute

The high energy celebration begins

Let's do the chicken dance

le dirndl-clad ambassadors

le dirndl outfit. Love love love the mid length socks <3

Colin of Borneo 360° & myself wouldn't wanna miss taking a pic

with a girl in the costume.... kawaii ne.

Dunno what game???..... but looked familiar

Nath and her stein

More chicken dance

Did she just photo-bomb me?

How I wish I have taken a photo like this....... regret max :-(

Lucky Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!

Dances and games on stage

Look who're the two joining the dances & games?

Everyone is a winner. Yay, my mini beer tower ^_^V

And not forgetting.... PROST!

There are still alot more exciting pics that you can view from Malaysia's Own Oktoberfest and BorneoColours.com. The pics are testimony of just how happening the night was. So what are you waiting for? Check out the next happening venue by visiting Malaysia's Own Oktoberfest facebook page. Who knows I may bump into you ;-D

** Respective photos with watermarks are sourced from BorneoColours.com and Malaysia's Own Oktoberfest.

** More pics taken by myself at my facebook page.

Grand Finale, Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 01:06:00 +0000

I had a fun, fun, FUN night on September 22nd. It happened at the BED, Waterfront, Kota Kinabalu. It was exciting, it was star studded, it was VIBRANT, it was awesome, & & &..... it was everything you could imagine of a great singing competition. Carlsberg Marketing S/B, being the organiser of the singing competition, coined this the Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2012. Opened to all young and aspiring singers in East Malaysia, this 2nd edition competition offered more than RM30,000 of attractive cash prizes!!

It all started way back in July during which the launching of the CDI event was made. Since then, out of the near 200 entries received, it was narrowed down to 12 grand finalists with 2 contestants each from Sibu, Miri, Kuching, Tawau, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu city itself. Anyway, fast forwarding, with all the grooming and polishing that contestants went through in the 1 week preparation camp, the grand finale day finally came & I was there!!!

The stage is set. It's up to you to step up.

LOL, my partner in crime

The competition took off at the strike of 8.30pm with an awesome opening performance by the 12 finalists.

That opening performance certainly wowed me. What wowed me more was the panel of judges. They are Stephen Lim (I drool) who collaborated with some of Hong Kong's greatest artistes, Eric Lim (I drool, drool) winner of Astro Talent Quest 2001 and Nikki Palikat (I drooooooll max). Oh Nikki, you were my fav contestant in the 1st season of Malaysian Idol competition <3. Oops, sorry Jaq & Dina.

Nikki, Eric & Stephen

All 12 finalists performed their own choices of songs. As a Sabahan, I myself was all rooting for the Sabahans. Yet I couldn't help but noticed the competitiveness of the Sarawakians. Soon, the judges made their decisions & the emcees announced the Top 5. YES!!, Yee Fui Sun from Sandakan, the only Sabahan in the Top 5. Woohoo!! Sing to your might, Yee!!!

All Top 5 continued in serenading the crowd with their final songs selections.

Ng Chien Chien of Kuching, Sarawak

ATTENTION!! YEE FUI SUN OF SANDAKAN, SABAH

LOL, vkitty cheering a Sabahan :-D

Sarah Adiba Chong from Miri, Sarawak

Andy Hadrian Mamong from Sibu, Sarawak

Esther Thian of Kuching, Sarawak

All 5 gave their best performances. There was nothing much they can do after delivering their final songs for this competition. It was all up to the judges now. As the scores were being tallied, and while some dance moves were performed on stage, I took the liberty to snap a pic with these guys:

♥ ♥ ♥

And that made my night. Thank you Nikki & Eric.

So who won the Diamond Idol 2012? The title goes to:

Congrats Esther Thian

I wasn't as disappointed as I thought I would have for Yee did not capture the title. Instead, I am glad Esther won for she had really performed well that night...... okay, I am glad coz I predicted her to be the winner O.o........ okay, so I had just made a very random prediction....... & no, do not trust my predictions :-P. Congrats to Esther once again. She just grabbed a cash cheque of RM8,000, a trophy and a certificate. The rest of the prizes went to:

2nd, Andy Hadrian Mamong
3rd, Ng Chien Chien
4th, Sarah Adiba Chong
5th, Yee Fui Sun (YEA, u r just as great!!)
& Walter Wong who walked away with the Most Popular Award

The Top 5 winners & Mr. Popular

I love this pic. Spirit of sportmanship

A great group photo

And that wraps up my fond memory of the event. Oh, one other, I was not alone, and neither was I with one partner too, but a posse of us event enthusiasts:

We were the medias. Wheeee!!...... and fun was that night.

For more pics and event information, please log on to www.diamondidol2012.com.my or follow on Facebook/CarlsbergDiamondIdol2012

Watermarked pictures credit to BorneoColours.com.

W.H.O.'s World Suicide Prevention Day, Sabah Level

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 09:00:00 +0000

"World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September promotes worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides. On average almost 3,000 people commit suicide daily. For every person completes a suicide, 20 or more may attempt to end their lives" ~ World Health Organisation

Click on this link to find out more about this movement.

Over the past Sunday (September 9, 2012), I joined this awareness campaign which was organised by the Befrienders Kota Kinabalu (BFKK). In fact, besides Befrienders, our government and other NGOs were having similar awareness campaigns on the very same day. I joined BFKK 'coz my office was supporting them :P Okay, so it was not all self initiated, but I definitely made the effort to help as I sacrificed my Sunday rest all for in the name of volunteering. The volunteering part is....... self volunteer lar. My office did not push nor insist us to turn up on that day, but I kepoh and was there, Ha ha ha ha! & I am very very very glad that I did! Yes, 3X very and proud of it. Ha ha ha ha!

Here are some of the pics I took. Pics are kinda lousy as I was using my camera phone:

Tweeted the programme a day earlier only to find out this is an outdated one. WTF!

The organising team members were required to assemble by 6 a.m.

I was there before 6 a.m and was alone. FML!

The break of dawn.

I helped in the registration and collection. We started off from the car park leading to the indoor climbing arena and Likas lake before ending at the indoor badminton / basketball hall of Likas Sports Complex. While the majority of the participants were assembling in the hall, a few of us adjourned to another section of the complex for the treasure hunt programme. This is my first experience in handling such programme.

The briefing. What to do and not to do while treasure hunting.

The clues.

While waiting for the teams to return for their next clues, I played with my phone.... LOLOLOL!

The BFKK bands on my ~~wrinkly hand~~ wrist. Ha ha ha ha!

I also managed to snap some pictures of our Federal Minister of Health, YB Dato' Sri Liow Tiong Lai, upon his arrival. He's the guest of honour for this event. I snapped nonstop like a paparazzi. Ha ha ha ha! #like a boss

The hunt took 1 1/2 hrs to complete. After the completion, its time to tally the score:

Of trivia quiz and treasure quest

After tallying the score, we rejoined the rest in the hall where the remaining programmes were conducted. I guessed one of the most anticipated and programme highlight of the day was the zumba dance, led by one of KK's well known zumba fitness instructor, Michelle Koh.

This, I did not expect. There weren't as many people when we flagged off for the walk. Everyone who joined the dance were on a high with tribal music and were shouting enthusiastically.

At not only once, but TWICE the Oppa Gangnam Style song was played and everyone were jumping around like PSY. WTF!

Soon, all things must come to an end. The very last programme after the departure of the guest of honour was the lucky draw. The draws were made after the prize presentation for treasure hunt winners.

I was never a lucky person, but there is no harm in hoping to get something since there were 50 giveaways and I've got 17 tickets in my hand, right?. Guess what? Luck did bestowed on me. And I went home with not the iPad, but this:

My Ayam Brand hamper. Lots of canned food. Ha ha ha ha!

To end my post, here's a message I copied from Befrienders KK's facebook page:

You're Not Alone. You Matter. Regardless of how you feel, talk to us. All Calls are Confidential. Meaning we are not going to ask you for your name and contact number. You decide how long you wish to talk and when you want to end the call.

Tel no.: 088-255 788
Email: befriender@bfkk.org.my

Life is Precious ~ Befrienders KK's year 2012 motto

2/3 Gone, 1/3 Remain

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 02:08:00 +0000

One day, I saw this and re-tweeted on twitter-sphere:

Without realising, 2/3 of the year 2012 had just gone by and now with only 120 days left at my disposal, which quickly reminded me of the resolution I made earlier. So a swift reference to what I have determined way back in January 4, here's what I have done (unveiling the good and the bad O.o) :

1) To blog twice a week.

PHAILED!! Terribly failing in this department. Before realising how mad busy a person I am, I thought I was able to do it. When the initial signs crept up signaling that it is no longer possible for my situation, I thought "Okaaaay....., how about by averaging, it doesn't have to be 2 posts a week, just as long I have 104 entries a year". Guess what?

PHAILED!! FML!! I got busier than anticipated. To have 104 entries is totally out of reach. To compensate, I slashed the target by 50%, 52 it'll be which by averaging, its 1 post a week. To date, am having 37 entries including this, so, I hope this adjusted target is reachable. Even if it does not, as long as the posts are with content, I am happy. So, a minimum of 15 posts to go before year end. Can I do it? FML! FML! Major F-king my life!

2) To reduce my credit card debts.

Needless to say, I have been updating every month of my latest figures. And the most updated numbers are shown at the end of this post. Although I have somewhat made progress, but you will soon find out I may be going back to where I started. Approaching year end is always an out of pocket situation in this yearly life cycle of mine. WTF, mucho F-king my life again! Awwww, sucking my yearly dejavu rendesvous *blackened long face*.

3) Making this world a better place to live in.

At times, I see progress. Other times, it gets worse. Just where are we heading? My hope is all for moving forward positively. Make this a better world to live in. Help as many people as possible. There are people in need, much more needing attention than I do. Hence, I'm putting on my "for life betterment" hat by helping out in the coming KK Befrienders World Suicide Prevention Day Awareness Walk, to be held on Sept 9, 6.30am at the Likas Sports Complex, Kota Kinabalu. The theme is "Life is Precious". Indeed its precious, so come and assemble at the carpark fronting the Indoor Climbing Centre. I'll be passing you one of these bands. ;-) Click on the above link to find out more of the programme. Lucky draws include winning iPads and other peripherals.

4) To do more travelling

I did. I went up to Ranau to enjoy the cooling environment & seeing the majestic Mount Kinabalu at a near distance and I went down to Kinarut to enjoy the beach side which still quite untouched as compared to the beaches up north near Tuaran. Yet, they do not give me the satisfying ummph of enriching my knowledge nor life. So, I made a 180° diversion and arranged a year end trip to KL which is totally unintended for. AND NOW YOU KNOW WHY my item 2) is mentioned as such. YEAR END TRIPS ARE NOT CHEAP! Well, even KL may not be the ideal place to go to as I have been there for Ns and Ns of times. Sigh, at least the H&M store will be opened by then and I may leave my footprints on the corridor/walkway leading to KLCC from Pavilion. :P What a lame life I have. I just hope this trip will fulfil my emptiness and meet my need for enrichment. Oh, and also to give Cheeky and Manja the much needed adventure and discovery beyond their usual locality. The boys have only travel on planes not more than the count of fingers on 1 hand. FTL & FML, I'm a bad mommy, lazy in planning and packing luggage :P.

5) To get a purse.

This is easy. And is supposed to be the 1st to achieve. But guess what? Here's the purse I'm still using :

Well, maybe I'll finally find one in KL. Or maybe the right one will appear before my eyes soon. Just do not understand why it is so hard for me to get one that I like. Did the world ran out of things I want? Ya, I'm all grumpy, but that's okay. On a forethought, I love window shopping. So visiting shopping malls and their stores again and again is a pleasure stroll for me. How about you?

So, with 120 days in our pocket, that is if you're counting from Sep 2, or lesser if you believe in the Nostradamus prophecy and Mayan Calendar, how awesome will you make this year to end? Lets buck up and drive our life to awesome-ness! I'm all for the win!! FTW!!

♥ ♥ ♥

** RM49,899.52 Progress is slowing down. Year end is approaching

** To know my last balance, click here.

MM : The 3 Buckets (Part 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 08:11:00 +0000

How many rich people are there in this world?

According to a published statistics in 1996, which at that point in time, being a millionaire was the measurement yardstick, this group of well-off are only a mere 5% of the total population in US. (sourced : The Millionaire Next Door : The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy).

Whether its America or any other countries, be it the past of year 1996 or even at present, the above information doesn't really matter. The real question is:

WHY ARE YOU NOT IN THIS WELL-OFF GROUP?

Most of us are groomed to the belief that as long as you have equip yourself with education, life will be good. ITS TRUE!! As long as you are equip with FINANCIAL education, YES!, life will not only be good, it will transform to be BETTER and ultimately BEST. So:

1) Why stay at just good?

2) Why being part of the 95% of the population?

3) Are you not worthy to be among the financial elites?

95% of the population remains at buckets 1 & 2 i.e. the NEEDS and WANTS. After toiling much and finally getting out of college/university, there is the tendency of assuming you've reach freedom and that you have obtain all the education required to survive. How many of you have this thinking?..... Only to find, the road ahead is much more difficult.

Most people after satisfying their NEEDS bucket, would go for immediate gratification. This is facilitated with the convenience of credits, loans, easy payments....... you name it. If you are unable to get whatever you want in cash, these facilities are there waiting for you. Is this good? YES DEFINITELY!, you get whatever you want now, hence the WANTS bucket, but the consequences is it erodes your future earnings. Every month comes in, the salary/earning goes out to service these facilities. The pinch may not be as hurtful if you have limit yourself from these facilities, but the burden is greater when you are having big amount and long repayment period. This situation is made worse when you are limited by your salary/earnings. If you are selling your time, health and attention to your work/business for the salary/earning, and you can't simply walk away from it, then yes, you are categorise as the 95% of the population.

Did your education help you? Yes, in getting a job with limited income. Jumping from job to job will not solve your dilemma as you are still selling your time, health and attention. Be it if you are being paid a handsome amount, but if you fail to grasp the meaning of financial education, you are just that, selling your time, health and attention. Do not be surprise if the guy who is being paid/earning better than you is actually suffering from credit nightmares. Do not be surprise your boss may be that guy!

Oh, how I miss the days of carefree life. I can take a longer time for lunch with good meals, spend more time with my family instead of just quality time, having more fun and go anywhere and where ever I want at anytime, spending hours away doing things that I like and brings more meaning to my life. I miss my HK TVB drama!! (Ahem, this applies to me). Another thought provoking question:

WHY DO I NEED TO APPLY AND GET APPROVAL FOR MY FREEDOM?

The answer is, b'coz you have sold your time, health and attention, remember your job appointment letter? B'coz you have a business to run, a day not attending your business is a day lost in income. You get stressed, you get tired, you burnt-out, facing uncooperative staff and the demand to perform/deliver all the time. And one more thing, you are not focusing on your own well-being.

Why can't I meet people that I like? Why do I have to mind other people's business?

The 3rd bucket, functions itself otherwise. Just like the previous 2 buckets, there is no limitation to its size. In fact the bigger the size of this bucket, the better you are. When the bucket is so filled and overflows, just like your first faucet, it creates another faucet, a source of income. When this faucet starts flowing, it brings new meaning to you. The outcome from this bucket are CHOICE & FREEDOM. And this is exactly what the rich focuses at. This bucket consists of 2 modes to achieve freedom i.e savings and investment.

You can put aside a large amount of money in preparation of your retirement. Period!. When I drew the 3 buckets drawing, I was thinking that savings provides interest which contributes to the faucet flowing. That was about 5 months ago. 5 months later, although interest do help, but it is very insignificant seeing how inflation rises faster & eroding interest. Nevertheless, this is one option.

The other option is investment. There are all sorts of investment products available out there. For the purpose of me explaining, I shall touch on unit trust/mutual funds 'coz Malaysians love unit trust, especially those from PNB/ASNB. Some people see it as savings, but I beg to differ. It gives out dividend. By virtue of you investing, you are filling the 3rd bucket. By virtue of receiving dividend, you are creating your 2nd income i.e the 2nd faucet. The bigger the size of your bucket, the stronger the flow of your 2nd faucet. If on top of unit trust, you are taking part in other vehicles of investment with handsome returns, imagine the flow of this faucet. WOW!

All these comes at a price. The price is financial education. Are you willing to learn more? Are you spending more time on yourself or your job? If your mindset is not prepared to accept the above, take time to condition your mind. If you are not prepared, the various mechanism behind the 3rd bucket will look very very complicated.

Do not shut your mind, as I have met many many people who simply push away opportunities without knowing what they are and how they work. Tiredness and burnt-out kept them away from learning more. Do you like learning? Are you learning for the benefit of your boss (your job) or for your ownself?

This has been a very long post. I wonder whether this post helps?.

BTW, have you guess the name I've labelled for the 3rd bucket yet? I called it:

♥ ♥ the DREAM bucket. ♥ ♥

Click here to know more of the NEEDS bucket.

Click here to know more of the WANTS bucket.

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember,

you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion

to reach for the stars to change the world ~ Harriet Tubman

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you have imagined ~ Henry David Thoreau

Updates 20120818 + of Meows & Purrs

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 04:15:00 +0000

Meow!

(Hello!)

Meow me m me, Meo m m meow. Meow meo, meo, MEOW!! Fsk!! Fsk!! Meeooowww, m me m m meeow. M m m m me meo m meow, Meo meowing me me meo meo m meeowing m me meeoooww. M meeoow m me me meo me meows m purrs :P Okay, m m me me meo, meow, me meow meow meeoooww meow m mmeeeeooowwed m meo me meo-ed me meo meow meow meeeeoooww. :PPP

(What can I say, I'm on a hiatus. That's bad, bad, BAD! Grr! Nevertheless, I try to be creative. Be it on a dry spell of ideas, I'm putting on this silly post by inventing a new language. I present to you my kitty cat meows and purrs :P Okay, so I did not invent, rather, the feisty feline mammal sort of influenced and make me made up this kitty cat language. :PPP)

M MEOW!!, m m meo, M m meow leh? Purr, purr.

(U SEE!!, be it silly, I am creative leh?)

I'm cute! I'm bored! I'm self obsessed!

Meo mmeeoow, mmeeeoowing m meo meow, meo meo meeoow M me me m m m meow meo. Meow m meoow Malaysia, meo m meeoowing m meowing m Syawal, meow m meo meo meeoowed meow Aidilfitiri meeeoowww, m m me m meeoowing meeow meow me me meo m m m-moew. Whoppeeeee!! Purr, purr.

(But seriously, cutting the crap short, some fond formalities I still need to put in record here. Since my country Malaysia, will be celebrating the coming of Syawal, besides the very much anticipated muslim's Aidilfitri celebration, it is also a welcoming holiday break for the rest of us non-muslim. Whoppeeee!!!)

M m meow meow:

(To my muslim readers:)

Maaf Zahir dan Batin

M m meow, me meowing meo meo me m meow meowing m meowing, Me meowing m meo m meo m m me me m meow mmeeeooww meo. Ha ha, meow meow meow meeeoowwing meo meow me m meeeooowed meow me Fsk! meow?

(As for myself, I'm taking this time off to besides eating & resting, I'm going to grill my brain and get done with my money management post. Ha ha, have you been guessing what name did I labelled for my 3rd bucket?)

♥♥♥

** This post is not to be taken as offensive towards humans nor animals or any other form for that matters. Life is not meant to practice hatred, sometimes, the moderation and light-hearted ways are better.

My July 2012 Wrap-up

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:24:00 +0000

This post will be similar to my supposed weekly blessings posts which I have........ er, er........ infamously failed to produce one for each & every week. :P My attempt to create a fix intervals for scheduling & updating myself failed tremendously. Not only did I not blog at least once a week, I have also broke my 2012 resolution to deliver what's pledged. I cry..... Wahhh, WHAAHHH!!, wahhhhh :'( (Yup, i just wailed :-PPP) Okaylah, stop with this pathetic attention seeking wailing!!

The truth is, there are blessings every month. Each and every month everyone is showered with blessings. Some may come in the form of spiritual, others may come as satisfaction or even material sake. Even when I face grunges and disappointments, I take them as opportunities in learning something new and strength by strength, I build up my wisdom and confident.

Opportunity often comes in disguised in the form

of misfortune, or temporary defeat - Napoleon Hill

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist

sees the opportunity in every difficulty - Winston Churchill

The month of July has always been special to me. Full of excitement, nonetheless, before I appreciate it, it breezes through before my very eyes. This time, I'm going to make sure its being broadcast and with it, me expressing my gratitude. Hence, here I list my top 3 blessings for July 2012:

1) Meeting and Getting to Know Peers of Common Interest

The path is often lonely when travel alone. But when in group/s, this traveling becomes more meaningful and interesting. I am glad my scope of friends is getting wider. Having friends of common interest is a plus bonus. This interest I'm talking about is non-other than blogging. Yes, we are fabulous!! ♥

2) My Surprise Party

Never have I thought this would happen to me. I treated this day the same as everyday. At times, I disregard myself as a unique individual with a special day dedicated to me every year. I thank my colleague for thinking otherwise. And with her initiative, cooked up a surprise birthday gathering in my office. Thank you Siti! ♥

3) Supporting My Homegrown Local Talent

I MET HIM AGAIN! I don't always get to know or to even come close to any entertainment industry artists. They seem so far away and vague to my comprehension. But this guy is warm, friendly, and cheerful. His talent is more than just singing, he composes music and writes lyrics too. His performance is beyond just good. He is worthy to be notice. And being a thriving Sabahan, I am all to support our local talent. He is Appy!

Sabah is a land of beautiful wonders, and he is no exception. I support! Thank you for the music ♥.

That's my top 3. Have you count your blessings?

♥ ♥ ♥

** RM49,955.28 I almost did not make it. Phew!

** To know my last balance, click here.

Dinner @ Bicycle Cafe Veggie

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 01:39:00 +0000

ROAR! I'm a meat eating machine. I ensure my daily food intake comes with at least a dish of meat, be it poultry, lamb, beef or similar. Although I am fond of meat, I am conscious of the consequences whenever over consuming one in favour of the other. When I said other, I meant the greens. Vegetables and fruits are just as important in our daily diet. Afterall, we are aiming for health, right? Hence, the keyword here is "balance".

Having a balance diet is what I desire most. It could not be describe any better than when riding on a 2-wheeler - The bicycle. And that is exactly what the owner has named his cafe:

Tucked cozily on the ground floor in one of the few available corner lots of Karamunsing Capital, Mr. Lee Mun Fei, the owner of this vegetarian cafe, is redefining the meaning of vegetarian food. A look at the cafe's facebook page, they have varieties of food preparation which include the Asian Fusion, Burgers (O.O), Fast Food (O.o), Hot Dogs (O.O), Italian food, Taiwanese, etc. Yes, I know. I am baffled as well with such description.

The interior with a mini (non-alcoholic) bar

The dishes can be as conforming to the authentic vegetarian ones, to as the everyday common dishes on the streets. The followings are the varieties that we tasted:

Variety of buns

Fried Tofu Puff, comes with its own unique sauce

Bicycle Combo, variety of fried entree

The above are just simple dishes as initial debut for our taste buds. The following got me more excited coz each dish tastes better than the other as they being served:

Piping hot veggie lasagna @ RM12.90

Pattaya Fried Rice. This is only RM8.90.

And the final 3 dishes are of my favorite:

Spaghetti Alfredo @ RM12.90

Perfectly made. Neither too creamy nor too watery. I like how the spaghetti had maintain its slim & tender feel instead of the soggy and soaked-fatten ones some vendors still serve. That is one important criteria I adhere to whenever I crave for pasta.

Indian Style Fried Mee

The noodles was spicy, which I totally love. Not having tasted indian fried mee before, I find it abit wet?? Maybe its supposed to be that way. Anyway, be it wet or dry, this one comes under my "re-ordering list".

Vegetarian Bah Kut Teh

This soup definitely blew my taste bud. How can an originally of meat dish became sooooo tasty when replace with veggie? The soup was well flavoured, sweet (see the wolf berries a.k.a gei zi floating in the soup?), and filling. This is a fulfilling dish. Definitely one of my recommended item.

Yummy session in progress

All these were concluded with an un-named dessert which has yet to be featured on their menu. I say, the dessert was all sweet and berrylicious.

How to find out when this dessert will be available?

Follow them on their facebook page. Periodical updates on what's available and on promo are mentioned there.

Bicycle Cafe Veggie, newly opened with it being made official just recently in the month of July 2012 itself. This lifestyle vegetarian cafe breaths new meaning to the interpretation of being a vegetarian and staying healthy the vegetarian way.

Found hung on the cafe's wall

BICYCLE CAFE VEGGIE

H-0-6, Ground Floor, Karamunsing Capital,
88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Tel : 088-448 711

Operating hours: 10am - 11pm (Monday - Sunday)

Come on! Let's ride on a bicycle to affordable, delicious & healthy green food.

Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 01:00:00 +0000

I must have done a very very VERY good job (LOL!) for Carlsberg 'coz I was once again invited to blog for them. My last Carlsberg post was on "The Triple Launch Party" which is currently sitting handsomely as one of the most popular post in this blog of mine.

This time round, I'm being joined by not only Tom (Rungitom), but other bloggers as well:

From the Left: Sherrie, Margaret, Chloe Tiffany, Nathalie,

Calista, myself &........ Tom on the camera :P

Organised on July 20, at Firefly bar & grill, a press conference the event was & it being named "Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2012", hence a singing contest it shall be. Some facts about the contest:

Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2012 is organised by Carlsberg Malaysia Sdn. Bhd,
The 2nd edition offers more than RM30,000 cash prizes.
The open audition will be held at selected outlets in six areas (starting from 17 August):

Sabah - Sandakan, Tawau & Kota Kinabalu
Sarawak - Miri, Sibu & Kuching

Participants will have to perform any 2 songs in different languages (English, Bahasa Malaysia or Mandarin)
The best 10 participants from the audition will compete at the respective Area finals.
The details of the Area finals and more can be obtained from www.diamondidol2012.com.my or follow their facebook page.

Carlsberg Diamond Idol's objective is to promote young talents with singing skills. This is their 2nd edition since introduced in year 2011. 12 grand finalists will be going through special classes in a training camp where the singers will be able to improve on their singing skills by getting pointers from the professionals in the industry. The professionals are none other than Professor Dr. Fred Chin as the motivational trainer, Victor Lee - a well known local singer as vocal trainer and Skyler Liew - well known dance intructor in Sabah.

Mr. Kenneth So on the podium

Mr. Kenneth So, General Manager of Luen Heng F&B (a subsidiary of Carlsberg Malaysia), in his opening speech "We are once again proud to be part of this magnificent opportunity to use this as a platform to be closer to our consumers. We anticipate through this sponsorship programme, Carlsberg is able to provide a platform to showcase the talented young singers in East Malaysia".

The night's event was magnificently made official with the unveiling of its official jingle (at the end of this post) produced by Stephen Lim - a well known producer who has collaborated with Hong Kong artistes like Jacky Cheung (SCREAM!!! I LOVE........... his songs <3. Did you know he just went to KL recently? ^_^) , Eason Chen and Daniel Wu.

The official launch

Toasting to the launch

The night was followed by introduction of the judges and tuned to the talent of Agnes James - 2nd runner up & The Most Popular contestant of Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2011:

Official judges joining on stage

Strong vocal talent by Agnes James

The press conference was all of happy faces, laughters, some free flows ;-D & more photo taking:

This time I did not pose with the Carlsberg ladies. Guess who were I with?

Whoa!! He ain't a nobody, he is Mr. Popular

TADAH!! The bravest 4 on stage - WE ROCK!! Next to me is Melisa

So, cutting short on pics, a reminder here, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

If you got the singing talent, don't miss out.

More than RM30,000 cash prizes!

The stage is set. Its up to you to step up!

** Photos credit to BorneoColours.com

Sabah Beauties @ Miss Malaysia Earth 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Vibrantkitty) — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 15:07:00 +0000

Sometime about 2 months ago, I blogged about our Sabah beauties i.e. the contestants of Miss Earth Sabah 2012. I ended the post with ways on following their progress and achievements. Have you been following them? ;-)

Well, I did! I am glad to follow their tweets and on facebook. There were constant updates and lots of stunning pictures. Following every step of their activities and preparations for the coronation night, the journey had been one of most meaningful. It was a testimony of their dedication in raising awareness of the need to protect our one and only beloved earth. Following their progress, it is also a reminder to me, as the guardian of this beautiful land, that I should not destroy our only breathable planet but instead, sowing the seeds of caring for our environment.

And hence, after what seemed like endless events and activities, with all its fringe prizes, the crowning of the winner was finally made on June 16, 2012:

#01 : From the left, 2nd Runner-up (Water), Grace Chang Siew Ling.

1st Runner-up (Air), Deidre Ann Walker. Crowning Winner, Joanna Marie Faurillo.

3rd Runner-up (Fire), Xandria Ban Kah Yee.

If you think the coronation night marks the end of these beauties journey, well you have just made the wrong assumption. Instead, their quest had just begun as they continue in raising environmental awareness whilst vying for the Miss Malaysia Earth 2012 title. The event was recently held in Ipoh, Perak.

All four beauties were further trained, groomed, advised and motivated to face the greater challenge, the challenge to face all the country's states' crowning beauty representatives. There wasn't a minute to waste as upon touching down in Ipoh, they visited various places around the state of Perak, such as the nursing home, coal factory, BOH tea plantation, vegetable plantation and strawberry farm in Cameron Highlands, and also competing in many of the subsidiary prizes**. Their quests were pleasantly reported in this :

#02 : Borneo Post, July 13, 2012

#03 : All the beauties of Miss Malaysia Earth 2012

The coronation night on July 15 proved to be oh so suspenseful as their tweets kept coming in. It was the first time for me to experience such beauty pageant without even seeing on television!! With Joanna, Deidre & Xandria making to the final 10, that is already a major achievement for Sabah. Hooray!!

To receive news of Deidre being crowned the Miss Malaysia Earth 2012 1st runner up, the excitement was beyond just happy. I WAS ELATED!!

#04 : Deidre, 1st runner-up (Air), Miss Malaysia Earth 2012

#05 With the newly crowned Miss Malaysia Earth 2012, Deviyah Daranee from Kuala Lumpur

The success of our Sabah beauties cannot be describe complete without the hard work of Mandy Nandu, the Director of MNE Productions who holds and organises the State's Miss Earth Sabah. Mandy is also the national crowning queen of Miss Malaysia Earth 2009. She responded in an interview of her happiness and proud of the results gathered as it has always been what she visioned, to have representatives of high-quality, equipped with not just beauty but also talents and intelligence to compete in the National Level.

#06 : Deidre & Mandy

The Miss Earth Sabah 2012 titleholders dedicate their year as the Green Ambassadors to promote environmental projects and to address issues concerning the environment to the community of Sabah. As the state organiser, Mandy continues to arrange environmental programmes and activities for the winners where they are able to contribute to the community by spreading the awareness of environment protection.

Even by recording the Miss Malaysia Earth 2012 event in this post, I can feel the gratifying sensation & how proud I am of our Sabah representatives' accomplishment. I could not contain myself when I read this very thought provoking answer Deidre gave during the Q&A session. I end this post with a picture of our very happy Sabah representatives and Deidre's powerful answer:

"Do not wait until the last tree has been cut, the last fish has
been caught and the only last river polluted, then only mankind
realizes that money cannot be eaten" ~ Deidre Ann Walker

#07 : From left, Xandria, Grace, Deidre, Joanna, Mandy & Crystal who is also

a Sabahan (won the title of Miss Malaysia Earth 2011 - 1st runner-up)

** The subsidiary prizes:

Miss Earth Media Gorgeous 2012 - Deidre Ann Walker

Miss Yee Hup 2012 - Deidre Ann Walker

Best in Talent - Xandria Ban Kah Yee

Miss Charming 2012 - Joanna Marie Faurillo

& many other prizes' 2nd & 3rd placings. Congrats!!

# Photos sourced from Miss Earth Sabah facebook page (#01) & @MissEarthSabah tweets (#02 - #07)