My Ginger Girl March 31, 2008

   

This is my beloved mutt who’s turning 4 this year. She’s got short pudgy legs and underaverage in size – pretty much like the owner herself. Her unfriendly disposition to most anyone especially to strangers can only be intepreted as being fiercely protective of her owner and her territory. Her favourite napping place in the afternoon is under my little car and she would growl even to the birds for coming near. When she was a young pup I brought her to the vet for her immunisation shot and she almost nipped the doc. Hehehe I was quite embarassed at her show of civility but she has never been hostile to me even when she had her litter of pups last year. She hates bathes so I leave her be in her natural lovable stench.  Once a while I would let her in the kitchen, give her some dog biscuits and accompany me while I do some kitchen work. Of course, this little info should never reach my mother’s ears. She hates animals in the house :) Which is a pity cause animals make very very good friends. Anyway, here’s to the animals that go beyond mere pets. They should be part of our lives.

No More Nights March 27, 2008

No More Nights
(Glen Campbell)

The timeless theme
Earth and heaven will pass away
It’s not a dream
God will make all things new that day
Gone is the curse
From which I stumbled and fell
Evil is banished to eternal hell

No more night
No more pain
No more tears
Never cryin’ again
And praises to the great I Am
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb

See all around
Now the nations bow down to sing
The only sound is the praises to Christ, our King
Slowly the names from the book are read
I know the King, there’s no need to dread

No more night
And no more pain
No more tears
Never cryin’ again
And praises to the great I Am
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb

See over there
There’s a mansion prepared for me
Where we will live with my Saviour eternally…

No more night
And no more pain
No more tears
Never cryin’ again
And praises to the great I Am
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb

* * * * *

This is the only comforting song I can think of now. The passing away of someone you love especially of a young innocent child is very difficult to accept.  And for a brief moment we surrender ourselves to the pain of loss. We said goodbye to little Owen today but there is always hope beyond what we think is a full-stop to life. Thank you Father for the gift of a second life when You come.

The Day I Didn’t Miss My Flight March 17, 2008

My last day in KL! Aaah. It’s been such a treat to meet up new and old friends during my trip. Well, after a few days my holiday came to an end. Did last minute shoe shopping at The Curve and rushed to take the taxi to KL Sentral where I would take the bus to the LCCT (the AirAsia airport). By the way, KL Sentral is the place to go if you’re new in town. You can pick your mode of transportation that would bring you pretty much anywhere in KL. The monorail, the LRT, the train, the taxi, the bus (although this is only good to and from the airport – including Kuala Lumpur International Airport).

I checked my flight schedule: Flight AKXXX leaving at 1730hrs and arriving Kota Kinabalu at 2200hrs. I looked at the time – 3:30PM. Aah still got ample of time. Even have time to shop a bit at KL Sentral and take the 4:45PM bus to the airport. And that’s what I did. Took a taxi from Damansara and daydreamt while Pak Teksi weaved his four-wheeled machine through the traffic. Even after three days here I still feel overwhelmed seeing a four-lane highway. But I guess given more time I probably could get use to this craziness too. I thought about how Ben has adapted well to this city life. She could even speak the local vernacular – the dreaded West Malaysian Malay. Haha. Well, when in Rome do as the Romans do yada, yada… So I tested my tongue with it on a few occassions but somehow felt as if I was betraying my Sabahan origin :D Got tired after a while and didn’t bother with my pronunciation after that.

Anyway. So eventually I got on the bus heading towards the airport. Arrived about 6:00PM and quickly queued up at the counter. Man, I was so ready to get home at this point. I miss my bed and my dog. Vacation time is over but the feeling sucks having to teach the next day. I’ve got RM30 left in my pocket just enough to get some gas for my car when I arrive KK. After a long wait it was my turn. And I gave my detail to the counter man. He paused a bit and asked me two questions.

Well. Guess what. The next thing I knew, I was heading back to KL on the next bus. I called up Flo as she was suppose to pick me up that night. This was the gist of my conversation.

Ita: Flo, I’ve got one more freaking day in KL! My flight is not TODAY but TOMORROW!

Flo: What?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH

Ita: I’m soooooooooo stupid. And sooooo ready to go back home. #$@%#$!

Flo: That’s so funny!! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

Ita: #$@#($*!&#$

But I had no choice but to return to the four-lane city feeling mighty disturbed at how my mind has been working. On top of that I was broke! Anyway, to cut the story short I headed for Cheras where Ben was staying, stayed one night, borrowed her money and resorted to laughing at my foolishness at every possible rememberance of what had happened at the airport today.

Foods and Friends March 16, 2008

Woke up sometime after 8AM. So use to having the sun by 6:30AM but over here the sun doesn’t rise until after 7:30 or so. This is indeed a holiday lah :) Anyway, went out to see a friend who was leaving for Thailand in a couple of hours. Later went out to meet a few girlfriends at Bukit Bintang. Shop a bit, ate a bit, walk a bit, etc.

By now, I still can’t decide if I love KL or hate it. Love the varieties, hate the hunting. Love the shopping malls, hate the travelling bit.  Most of the taxis that I’ve been on so far do not have proper metering system so they just charge passengers whatever they hell like. I got “mugged” a few times. Well, at least that’s what Marlin told me. A ride from the nearest LRT station to his place in Damansara shouldn’t cost more than RM10 but I guess taxi drivers could really sniff a newcomer. So they charged me RM20. #$!@# I like the LRTs though. Wished the lines went through every possible parts of KL that are of interest without having to ride the taxi. It’s been an eye-opening experience though. Multiple highways are just too foreign to me. And the massive crowds uhhh. They just give me a bad headache. Hehehe. Guess I’ll never be a city person :) I miss the country road leading to Kg. Pengasaan already. The crooked trees. Including the buffalo shit that sometimes lined the roads.

Anyway, here are some pictures from today’s outing.

   

  

Zoo Negara March 15, 2008

“Let’s go to the zoo, there’re lots of things to do, and the chicken is finger-licking good!”

Who would forget the jingle from Kentucky Fried Chicken advertisement on TV many, many years ago? Well, to the zoo I went today and it was pretty good! I am currently in Kuala Lumpur till March 18 for a little getaway. Initially I wanted to be with my buddies for an Angkor Wat trip in April but heck some outstanding bills due next month will not permit me to travel any further than this. Anyway, here are some pictures from Zoo Negara in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Didn’t get to take pictures of the zebras, giraffes, elephants and orang-utans. It started raining really hard then so just had to go back to the main gate :( Overall impression of the zoo? Not the best I’ve seen so far but a good effort in providing the sights and scenes of wild and not-so-wild animals to the public. Frankly, I still feel sorry for the caged animals. Those that has ample ground to roam isn’t too bad. Especially when provided with what looked like its natural habitat. Meeh.

  

   

   

  

    

   

  

Lazy March 13, 2008

I’m over my flu and throat infection. The weather this week is much better. It was dry yesterday and I hope the sun continues to shine today. I’d hate to miss the swimming class again. Boooo.

Well, half of the month is gone and the things on my to-do list hasn’t really been met yet. Some days I’m so aware of my laziness and my overall sense of helplessness over matters that I thought can never be overcome. It’s really a disease of a mind to think that I can’t reach the unreachable from where I’m sitting when in fact all I need to do is stand up, take a few steps and reach out. And I really should stop procrastinating also. God knows how many times procastination has landed me in pig’s dip :) Hmmm. I guess it does help as far as motivation is concerned to psyche oneself with this thought: what if I have only 14 more days to live? I probably would die a miserable, unpeaceful death knowing that I have not done my best or have not resolved some of the important issues in my life. Hmm. Yeah, sombre thought indeed.

Anyways, back to the to-do list. No.1 Stop being lazy.

Kids Stuff March 7, 2008

Mother, mother I am sick,
Call for the doctor quick, quick, quick,
A-B-C-D-E-F… yadda yadda

This was one of the many rhymes that we would chant while playing skipping rope – or more correctly, skipping stringed-rubber-band rope – when we were young and innocent. The person who doesn’t mess up by avoiding being tripped by the rope/string get points for his/her group. I’m still sick and what better things to do but reminisce about the good ‘ole days when sickness was just far far away. I remember a few more rhymes and funny songs that I kids had just amuse ourselves or to accompany some other games like The Paper, Scissor, Stone deal.

Here’s one in Dusun that’s just plain fun nonsense.

Here’s another chant. Similar to how you’d say e-ni, mi-ni, mai-nee, mo.

King-ki-mai, ming-ki ma-ul
Lun-sit da-mai dan-di ka-sut.

Hoho. That one was plain, plain nonsense. I have no idea what language it was but you know how kids are. Too creative too be understood.

One cool chant I remember is the story of Ali Baba and Queen Ratu. The cool thing was (well, at least I found it cool) the story is made out of the alphabet in order. A for Ali. B for Baba and so forth. Here goes:

Ali Baba curi duit emak fikir gaji hari. Ia jalan Kuala Lumpur. Makan roti orang putih. Queen Ratu sapu tahi untuk vitamin W, X, Y, Z.

There was one particular song that we tried to harmonise in parts. Just like the old mamas at a in the church ladies trio. Hehehe. I think we were only what 10 or 12. Funny I still can remember that song even after 20 years.

The melody.

 

 Our Take-6 version. Haha.

 

Fun days they were. Sigh. Pretty amazing how time flies. People grow up and grow bigger and move places. No matter where I am, I know I’m still a kid inside in many ways and will find delight in such simple things such as kids songs.  I think we all need to learn a song or two that would keep us young. Maybe a song that we used to sing when we were kids. I sure it will keep us young at heart as well.

Blrgh! March 4, 2008

I’m down with some kind of bug. Not really sniffing or coughing just that uneasy sensation when I swallow and the swollen glands at my neck. Hope it’s not the beginning of something terrible though it does make me feel sick and dull. Spent my entire morning watching a movie “Stardust”. Thoroughly entertaining. A story that includes princes, wicked witches, a magical kingdom, a handsome nerd turn hero, discovery of love, etc etc. Always love fairytale. Makes me forget about work and responsibilities. Heeh.

There was another movie I watched last night. “Provoked”, starring the beautiful Aishwarya Rai, is based on a true story about a traditional Indian wife who killed her husband after suffering 10 years of abuse in his hands. Such stories will never end I believe. Just have heard and read too many stories to believe the condition of the world is getting better. AAaah.

I should go rest. Feeling quite sick now.