Thank You

Thank You Lord for the bright sunny sunshine that shines through my window and wakes me up this morning. Seems like a perfect day to do laundry.

Thank You Lord for the noisy (not nosy tho') neighbors that became the most original soundtrack of my life here in this apartment. Housewives gossipping and scolding their children yang malas mandi. Some tone deaf neighbor enthusiastically sang their lungs out. They make me feel at home..a second home.

Thank You Lord for the good health. Coughing here and there but nothing serious.

Thank You Lord for family. Where else can I find another brother who buys his 22 years old sister a NERF gun? Baby bro, a DRESS is much more appropriate than a toy gun! But its fun nonetheless.

Thank You Lord for friends and facebook. Long distance friendship are made easy with fb. Who knows commenting pictures can be the outlet of our creative literature? And lets not be a hypocrite, fb allows silent stalking...feeding the curiosity of what's happening with *friend's name*, who's *friend's name* with, etc. Btw, I stopped approving friend request from strangers because I have my real friends, thats all I need. Really.

Thank You Lord for friends and 1Borneo. Pizza Hut moment, Old Town White Coffee moment, *name all the stores you want* moment. Shopping, laughing, eating out are proven to be a therapy. True friend buys the same jacket together (and get broke together by the end of the semester). lol

Thank You Lord for the State of Sabah that gives me scholarship. That's how I can afford an ESPRIT handbag. Someday when I am jobless, I am gonna miss this free money. *sigh*

Thank You Lord for snickers. And the person who bought it all the way from Labuan FT. haha..

Thank You Lord Chelsea won against Birmingham City. Totally off-theme, I don't know why I included this.

Thank You Lord for nigahiga, my YouTube obsession now (i'm outdated). Crazy fella.

Thank You Lord for Sabbath School lesson on the fruit of spirit. Love-what love does and doesn't do; Joy in tough times; Peace-Finding it in knowing God; and tomorrow's lesson: Patience.

Thank You Lord for all the complications I am facing now. If life's easy, where would all the adventures be?

Thank You Lord for love. Made me want to be a better person all ways always.

Thank You Lord for mummy. I don't think I could ever be as strong as she is. She's fifty tomorrow, and I am off for cupcake hunt later.

Obligatory thank-you image

Life is too short to be spent in ingratitude. Count your blessing, and share them!

Cherry Tomatoes

Friday is class-free. I love Friday!

I attempted a new dish today. Wholemeal noodle chicken soup! FIRST ATTEMPT and it's not bad..edible but definitely lots of room for improvisation. I seriously can tolerate with the blah-ness taste of ANY meal. Baby bro tasted it and said "napa ni teda rasa?"..haha..indeed it tasted blah. But edible. Everything is acceptable when you're hungry.

Cherry tomatoes adds up color (and a bit sour-ness) to that dish. I fell in love with the cuteness of cherry tomatoes and kept adding it to my dishes throughout the week. Even with my mi sup--which is rather unusual. Noodles and tomatoes are not compatible. Except for spaghetti. But that's pasta. Not noodle. Or is it the same thing?

Ok. I have nothing else better to write than about what I had for brunch?

Here's something..Something happened yesterday that drove me to tears, crushed me into pieces and caused emotional instability. Something that would be the reason why I can't graduate. And no, it is not about my major. I tried really hard to pass all those mind-blowing maths thingy--and I will be fine, I believe. I even finished doing Project 1 & 2. I frankly think I did a good dissertation-though one of my objectives were not met. My overall pointer was not excellent but I'll get through. That's not the problem. Pointer is a nuisance but I have bigger issue. This one subject will be the reason why. It has been the biggest bump on my road to graduation.

I almost got it solved last week when miraculously I finally got a class on Sunday. I can't stop thanking the Lord. But then yesterday, I was told that the class is closed or cancelled for the whole semester. Words can't describe what I felt. Class on Sunday are so damn hard to get and now, THAT happens? I have every right to be outraged and to blame anyone. But that won't solve it. I put on my brave face and tried to negotiate with the authorities. I believe that guy tried to help, but the solution he offered was not an option for me. Never will be. So, that's it. I hate saying this, but I might not be able to graduate because of that one day of the week. It's painful and I am crushed! But no, I am not discouraged.

Well, that two paragraph, brown-colored font above is not the main point of this post ok? I am talking about my future, my bachelor's degree which is obviously an essential in my life yet I decided to entitle this post as cherry tomatoes. Why? Because I shall divert my focus on those cute, bright red cherry tomatoes instead of continuously nagging about the possibility of not graduating.(some people may think not-graduating as the end of the world..IT IS NOT..it's even worse..lol)

Circumstances are doing me injustice. But complaining I shall not. I really need to be home and be with my family who will keep reminding me that this is not a stupid decision as what the world would see.

Beside that red cherry tomatoes, I now have a red fun-sized teddy bear that someone dropped in yesterday. It made me smile despite all those frustration and it is so hug-able! Lovin' it.

Thai Food and Mitch Albom

The endless rain must have been the reason why sista suddenly crave for Thai foods. I understand her, she lived there for four years. Sure thing she misses the food.

Sundays are our siblings' official dine-out night. So, we went to Nok Thai restaurant at Damai plaza yesterday. Cozy, neat little restaurant, ran (probably) by Thais. They have Thai deco, and they play Thai songs. You can feel a little piece of Siam there.

Their som tam or green papaya salad (go google it) is heavenly. Sangat sedap!! It tasted just nice, perfect for my tastebuds. We are definitely going back there some of these days.


On the other note, I finished Mitch Albom's latest book. After reading the last line, I had a quiet prayer. It is beautiful, and it makes me ponder upon my own faith. Thinking about the true measure of religion and why I keep upholding my faith. We all believe in something greater than ourselves, and I'm thankful I know God through Christianity.

One classic question: "Why do God let bad things happen to good people?"
Typical answer would be: "Trials, to test you, etc".

But in this book, the answer is: "No one knows why."

I like that answer. A LOT! God's plans are not ours to ask. Our human mind cannot comprehend His will. Whatever we believe, just have a little faith.

About Books

I grew up reading Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys series. So, it is no surprise why I am a bookworm to this very day. Me and my siblings loved detective+mystery kinda books. Then, I had the comics+manga age, Ahadiat Akashah, etc. My preferences changes proportionally with time. It grew up with me, I guess.

Being a book-lover, I enjoy being in a library. Sadly, UMS library does not count, it is way too cooool (cool as in freezing!) and too academic for me. I love hanging out at the foyer and watch people though. (^.^)

And, sure enough, MV Doulos or any kind of book fair will thrill me. Mind you, I still have not read some of the books from 2007 Doulos..and yet, I can't stop buying new books! From the Popular Book Fair in 1B last Dec, I got myself And Never Stop Dancing by Gordon Livingston. Have not read it yet, but judging from its cover, I categorize it as self-help. And from the Times Book Fair in Suria (still on now), I got Mitch Albom latest, Have A Little Faith and The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. I would love to have all of Paulo Coelho's, Jhumpa Lahiri's and Bill Bryson's..but those can wait. Mum's budget does not allow me to exceed the given limit. Mum bought her fourth (or fifth) Jean Sasson.

It's funny how we used to have Mum buying us all the Enid Blyton's series-of-whatever-it-is. These days, we buy books according to our own preferred genre..and it's not the same anymore.

In Like A Flowing River, Coelho wrote something about a book shouldn't sit on the rack after it is read once. He believes in passing the book to another so that whatever in it would be shared. Yeah, I second that..but at times, I find my books are too precious to be given away. *oh, i can be so damn luki*

I stopped reading and buying fictions (except for Coelho..The Alchemist is my favorite!!) and chick-lit. I can't really define what kind of books I like, but realism and travels/journey-like are the best.

And let us not forget the Greatest Book of All. The Scripture, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 is my favorite-est of all.

Emptiness

Feelin' empty.

Void.

Almost lifeless. (cis, exaggeration)

Nothing excites me as waking up is just another routine.


Since..

I quit Farmville, and the likes.

Fun Madness

Mempersembahkan......gambar-gambar-gambar-gambar tanpa motif yang nyata.


Disember 27- Selamat Hari Jadi Kakak!
Lokasi: Riverbug Rafting punya ending station di Kiulu..Tujuan ke Tamparuli adalah menghadiri majlis perkahwinan, tapi church was damn full..Maka, kami berphoto-shoot sambil menanti masa reception..bijak..bijak..

Disember 31- Dari 2009 ke 2010!
Lokasi: Gereja..makan besar+barbeku+tumpang menyaksikan persembahan bunga api oleh jiran.

Performers of the night..hebat tu violinist.. :p
Diingatkan..gambar-gambar ialah tanpa motif.
Sila membuat spekulasi sendiri mengenai aktiviti ini.

ditto

Januari 1- Kepulangan yang dinanti-nanti
Lokasi: Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu. Uncle No 2, isteri & dua orang anak tiba from the States via Korean Air (transit di Seoul/Incheon) pada 11.30pm. Kepulangan mereka adalah sangat menggembirakan, setelah 14++ tahun di perantauan.

My darling cousins, Ezron & Eziel..sori Eziel, kakak din noticed ur eyes were covered.
Akhirnya bertemu dengan Jaime & Joy yang berwarganegara Amerika! Bidayuh+Dusun blood in the family, and they are first cousin both maternally and paternally. Go figure!

Januari 2 - Pabila Ibu Mengetik Kamera
Lokasi: Halaman rumah, di tepian highway KB-KK.

Serius, gambar ini tiada motif.
Keseluruhan gambar dalam album Januari 2 tersangatlah obscene dan tidak sesuai untuk tatapan umum. Berguling-guling ketawa satu urang..Maka, ini sahaja la..

Januari 3- Keramaian Keluarga Besar-besaran
Lokasi: Halaman rumah juga..sebab rumah sebenar belum siap pembinaan. Tujuan keramaian ialah gathering keluarga besar Sakandar, ulangtahun perkahwinan ke-50 datuk & nenek, welcome home kepada Uncle No 2 & family. 14 tahun itu sungguh panjang, mereka boleh sesat di kampung sendiri..terlalu banyak perubahan telah berlaku.

Adik-beradik yang lengkap. Ina, Nina, Mama, Aki Dupalan, Aki Apal. Ok, gambar ini dan yang seterusnya mempunyai motif.
The first cousins.
The second cousins.
The BIGGG family.
Oh, jump shot ini sangat wajib.

Januari 4 dan ke atas..kembali kepada kehidupan bukan bercuti lagi. *sigh*.

Percutian kali ini sungguh mengujakan! Tidak perlu melancong ke mana-mana, ternyata there is no place like home~