Chinese New Year

How did I spend it? By surprising everyone back at home!...well almost everyone because *ahem* I lied (it was a white lie...) that I wasn't going home for new year and I appeared at the door step on the First day. Many were surprised..some thought that I was some sort of hideous creature hiding in the bedroom when they were asked to go into the room to help my cousin sister get her bag...Their expressions..priceless..how I wished I held a camera in my hand at that moment. But those moments will be engraved in my memory forever. Thinking about it now still makes me smile.
First day of chinese new year...the obvious activity..gambling...I lost about RM 16 in half an hour by just playing in-between...

I went about Penang like a tourist/driver again this time...filled with loads of booze as well..because 2 big bully cousins were in Penang for hols as well.

The famous Kek Lok Si lights that are only switched on for 15 days a yearDrinking and drinking and card games and dares at UPR with friends and cousins.

And for the first time, my camera went underwater. I haven't had the chance to test my camera until we went to Rasa Sayang to stay for a night. The hotel is great....service is good...room is good...view is wonderful..
A glimpse of the room..this is just the balcony. You have a big outdoor bathtub and you have blinds that are remote controlled for you to block out the sun when it becomes too hot.
I practically was only at home to sleep. I lack sleep and rest back home and I now paying the price for it by dozing off in class. So now, I'm off to bed by midnight and I try to nap as much as I can in the afternoon.

P.S One week for new year was way too short but I guess that's what happens when you are enjoying yourself. Didn't have enough time to spend with everyone.

Pre-CNY 09

Back after my hiatus. Went for a field trip last weekend. Trying really hard to finish up my assignment...the lecturer just made it worse by extending the deadline. He really shouldn't have extended....just makes me procrastinate....haihs.....

CNY is just around the corner. Trying to plan out how to spend my one week's worth of CNY holidays to the max because after this holiday, it's work work work till the end of the semester in May without any break in between.

There's like a tonne of things to do after this one week break. I have labs to attend..which practically equates to staying out of the room from 8am-5pm. Tutorials to attend. Physics alone is taking up 6 hours a week! This semester is all about calculations for me. I NEED help. I hate calculations. Haihs. Trying my best to keep up with calculations...I practically everything that I learned back in high school. That is how much I hate calculations with all those ridiculous formulas.

Enough about boring stuff...Now for the highlight...A playback of my field trip

I went to Kota Belud. Go search up your old sejarah textbooks and you'll find that it is the place where orang Bajau live. Bajaus are the famous horsemen among the aborigines.

We stayed at a place called Kampung Tambutuoan...It's really in the outskirts of Kota Belud. It's so far fetched that you can't get any handphone signals there..unless u hold up your phone and try to locate some spot that have a bar of signal.

This the chalet that all 40 plus of us stayed at. The place is actually very clean and serene. I think the villagers built the chalet themselves...including the double deckers in the room.
This is my attire for 2 days in Kota Belud. Don't you think that I look like someone working in the market..Reminds me of Family Outing...
This pair of wellington boots costs me RM14. Protects me from the stones in the river bed.. There's nothing much to do there...actually there is nothing to do. Our mission there was just to take water samples, measure the river flow rate etc...I have a feeling that the lecturer is just trying to prepare us for the second fieldtrip where we would have to sleep in tents for 3 days..without any facilities/toilets. Every au natural...River for bathing...bushes for big and small businessesThis is the brigde that connects this village to its opposite bank. Not more than 10 person at a time to go across...The river is about 27m wide.

One thing to take note of thought...although they are so far out..all the houses have Astro. That's something that I find amazing in Sabah. All the outskirt places that I've been to, all the houses have Astro.

The people here love dogs, the entire village is filled with dogs but 90% of the dogs have skin diseases.

They still work with their hard labour. They also use this wooden cone-shaped basket to carry all their stuff...

The next day, we went to the city.We had a few hours to ourselves to wander around since we were way ahead in our schedule.So my friends and I, we went to the Tamu mingguan. This is called pencarak..not sure about the exact spelling but it sounded something like that. It's pan-cake like...deep-fried. The red one is brown sugar..green is pandan. RM2 can get you 9 pieces of this pencarak. It actually taste good...

After filling our stomachs, we went to Kampung Siasai
The craftmaker-a Bajau aborigine. Apparently the entire Kampung Siasai residents are Orang Bajau.The final product-Parang made by orang Bajau. From the sword to the wooden sleeve is handmade. We wanted to watch the horsemen show but we missed the time. They only perform once a day. On the way out, we were told by this guy and some others to stand at the side because they were trying to capture some wild cows. They are just equiped with some thin rattan sticks with a huge rope at the end. And they are all stick thin themselves. While walking out, we saw that they succesfully caught one young cow.

From the river, in the beginning of the trip, we ended up at the delta leading to the sea. The thing that I love about Sabah is that no matter which beach you go to, the water is crystal clear.


Took this just before it poured really heavily. Sabah's weather is gloomy nowadays, it's raining every evening. So it's actually cold here. Heard it's cold back in Penang too..maybe because of the winter winds from China. Bangkok is down to 4 degrees.

Now that it's the festive season, I miss home and family and friends. Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

New Year, New Semester

Today is the third day of my 2nd semester...and I already have 2 assignments on hand. One is due next week and the other due just right before chinese new year! WTH! I thought I could get a bit of rest in the first week due to all the errors in the registration system. Things don't always go the way you want it to be.

I have 2 field trips coming up. Next weekend is a 2 days 1 night trip to a village for an ecology project. Another trip, so some jungle for another project for 3 days 2 nights. BUSY BUSY BUSY. Each of this trips come with lab works and reports.

Plus this semester, we're starting with tutorial classes which means I'll be out of my room from 7am till god knows what time.

I'm back to the life of a hermit I guess. Wake up, attend class, go back, laundry, assignment, sleep and the cycle repeats.

I'll try to blog about how I spent the last few days of my holidays in Penang by being a tourist together with my relatives. It was a new experience for me altogether.

Last Day of 2008

Today is the 31st of December 2008. This year has been a roller coaster ride year for me personally. A recap?

The first 3 months were spent working at Delta. Tried to save as much as I could to make my holiday trip to Taiwan/Hong Kong possible.

February : Chinese New Year...nothing much. Had family reunion dinners..the usual stuff. Then we had a friends reunion dinner. At the end of February, 3 girls flew all the way to Taiwan/ Hong Kong. Very exciting and fun.

March : My grandmother passed away. She lived to a ripe old age of 80. I would say that she lived a full life. My STPM results came out as well.

April : Searched for a few private colleges and universities just in case I could not get a place in public universities. Went to Jakarta for 3 weeks.

May : Half of it was spent in Jakarta. I had a great time there.....shopping was good...eating was good as well.

June : Worried about university entrance. I got in finally. Prepared stuff for university and left Penang.

July - December : Longest time I ever left home. Stayed in Sabah for 6 months. Studied. Went sight seeing a bit in Sabah. Some days were great. Some days, not so great, but I pulled through

December : Went to Singapore with a lot of my closest friends for the very first time. A lot of relatives came to visit. Practically, I only at home just to sleep. I leave my laptop to download movies then I'm out the entire day then come back and sleep. and the cycle repeats. Ate a lot as well. All those hawker food that I missed so much. The downside, the moment I came back to Penang, everyone has been telling me that I gained so so so much weight.

Sad but true. I'll be leaving for Sabah this coming Sunday. Won't be coming back until May 2009. So, that is another 5 months away from home.

It's surprising (MAYBE) that time passes by so quickly. One moment I was worried that I would not secure a place in university and the next moment, I've already finished one semester in Sabah. Growing up (old to be exact) happens in a blink of an eye. Without noticing it, another year has come and gone.

My 2009 new year's resolution...

Top priority : Lose all those pounds that I piled on in Sabah. I've had enough of words torment from my family. But the truth is..any fatter and I'll have to start shopping for Plus Sizes.

Second : Train up my stamina so that I'll succesfully conquer Mount Kinabalu in May.

Third : Go holidaying in someplace new. Bali is in the plan somewhere. Just a matter of realising it. Kids...are you guys reading this? Start saving $$$$$$

Fourth : Improve my grades further or at the very least, maintain them. Improving is much better of an option though.

And that's a wrap for the year 2008.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope that the coming new year would be much better for everyone (despite the economic recession) $$$ money wise and healthwise. If you're low on the $$$ side, be grateful for staying healthy and being able to live and being around your loved ones. Money is not everything (but without money..there is nothing)

12.24.08 ,12.25.08

12.24.08
Just before Twilight

What have I been up to on Christmas Eve? Nothing much actually. Just went to watch Twilight..I know I watched it like 3 weeks later than the rest of the world and people have been talking so much about it. For me, the movie could have done better. The scenery and music were great. It's just that it lacked the sparks to make a great and memorable movie for me but I wouldn't say that it was a total flop. Anyways, we headed to Korean Palace after that. Dinner at 9.30pm. Can you imagine? By the time our food arrived, it was nearly 10pm already. But dinner was good. Everyone enjoyed it. Luckily, because I recommended the place. I wouldn't want to spoil a christmas eve dinner now would I...
We drove all the way up to Sunset Bistro. Parked the car without even having to look for a parking space. We left 10 minutes after that though. The place was so packed even after the extension and all. So we went over to a family gathering nearby and saw a belly dance performance. Wished everyone merry christmas and then we left again as it was too scary an occasion for my friends to handle...way too many relatives of mine. Then we wanted to head home but because we all dressed up to the nines, we felt it was a waste to go home. We went to UPR. First, we went to Fame..FOC..because friends were there. Then we decided the songs were not nice, we headed across to Mois...FOC as well. But the sad part was, Mois was way too packed to even dance and everyone there were already wasted. You see people drunk and sweaty and the place was stuffy. So totally not enjoyable...I miss Singapore Clubs now. Smoke free and cleaner. After about 10minutes, we could not take it anymore. So, we left again. Next, we headed to QEII. It was nearly 3am already..so we went in..FOC again. We actually went to look at the scenery at QEII. I know this is the lame-st christmas outing ever. We went home after that. Slept the moment I hit my bed. Ju overnighted at my place. I think it was the first time my friends actually slept at my place

12.25.08

Went to a family friend's Christmas party. The food was good. Lots of alcohol. But what I lacked were friends. Mostly were guys there because the family friend has 4 sons..so you can imagine how friend-less I was. But I enjoyed the food and watching tele and drinking alcohol there albeit a little lonesome. Things started to heat up a little after everyone filled their tummies. Talked a bit. People were giving me career talks. Future plans etc and not to forget...Alcohol. I tried something new that night..which I like a lot. It was a mix of Red Bull and Jagermeister. You some sort like drop a shot of Jagermeister with the shot glass together into another glass half-filled with red bull. Then you just finish the drink ASAP. It was new and interesting..well as least for me. At the end of the party when they ran out of booze, they just mixed every alco that was left on the table into a coke bottle and then everyone drinks up. They had a few rounds of those. I just had 1 round but a very big glass. The taste wasn't too bad but right after you finished, you'll feel dizzy. But I wasn't drunk..guess that's the benefit of having inherited high alcohol tolerance genes.

X-mas In Singapore

This is the first time I went on holiday with so many of friends. Finally after years of yakking about it...The theme at Orchard this year was sweets, candies and everything sweet. I have seen nicer decorations at Orchard...is it because of the economy downturn?

We went to a lot of places... Sentosa Island, Science Centre, Orchard Road, Bugis, Esplanade, Suntec City.
The infamous fountain at Suntec City. We all bought the similar t-shirts. I'm Mr. Tall...how ironic...hahaahah

We even went clubbing..It's called The Arena. They hire a group of Black Eyed Pea wanna bes to sing live. They are actually good. And instead of girls joining dance competition, they make the guys do it. One guy actually took off his pants..with the boxers still on. The atmospere is much better than the clubs at home as they are smoke free. So for once, I didn't stink like cigarretes at the end of my night out. The cover charge is $22 for 2 drinks. And it was the baby's birthday! So it was like a birthday + party. One funny thing though, you see alot of old uncles in their 50s perhaps inside dancing to When I Grow Up.The presents to BABY..it does look like present to a child doesn't it? hahahahaha

We spent a lot of money especially me.... Bought a lot unintentionally because even after converting the price back to RM it is still cheaper to shop there....The MRT is kind of expensive to me though..I think I spend nearly $10 a day just for MRT which is equivalent to RM24.20...just for public transport.

This was taken at the Esplanade. Nice right? We placed the camera on top of an electric box to get this pic. Talk about risking lives for the perfect picture.
Does the pose look familiar?? I want nobody nobody but you!
Our failed attempts at trying to capture ourselves jumping up in the air.This was at Vivo City.

Science Centre...I like the Omni-Theatre..although a bit dizzy...It is similar to Petronas Science Centre.This was at Chinatown.

That was a summary of my 5 days 4 nights trip to Singapore. No pictures from the fifth day though.

What I've been up to after exams

KL-Debate


Learned a lot although we didn't even manage to squeeze into the top 8. Competition was too tough. When you are there at the competition itself, then only you realise that you only know so little compared to others. My political, economical, social etc knowledge is so limited that I feel like a frog under a coconut shell. And their English are so good that I felt inferior about my own English.

Oh. I found out another thing.... I lack persuasive skills and also I'm not sharp with my words. I could not really make my opponent sound ridiculous.

Washing Machines and Snakes

I went rafting just before I came back to Peninsula. It was at Sungai Padas. It is at the Tenom-Pangi Dam. If you still remember your geography that is. It is in Sabah. The river was running really fast as it was monsoon season and the water level was high as well. The guides said that we came at the right season. Rather than during drought, you'll be feeling bored when it really should be adrenaline pumping.

Though the pictures show that the sport is dangerous, it really is not. The first time I was in the river was because I was pulled into the river by my boat guide. Then the second time, he asked if I wanted to jump into the river again and I did. It was FUN! and EXCITING!!!

We rowed for 23km down the river going pass washing machine and snake rapids and some other rapids that I forgot the name. The river is labelled Level 4. It is the highest level of difficulty that you can find in Malaysia. Any higher, you'll have to go to New Zealand for it. For Level 5 or 6 I think you'll be rowing down a waterfall according to the guide. We took about 3 hours to finish the ride.
This was the first picture taken. A few kilometers after we set out.
When you meet a rapid, you have to row harder and faster to build momentum and release your boat from being trapped in the rapids.We got panicked when 2 of our passengers got thrown overboard at the first rapid. Nothing happened. At the end of the trip we realised that falling out of the boat was something lucky and fun, to say the least.

Free....not really

I finally finished my exams today. A shocking news to announce though. My room mate quit uni. She went back to her home town today. She wants to redo her A-levels and go into the course that she wants.

In my opinion, if she had knew it from earlier on, she should not have wasted her time coming to Sabah.

Anyways, another one week and I'm off to Kl then after 5 days I'll be back in Penang. I heard that gurney's new wing had opened. I can't wait to go home and eat and shop.

Penang in 13 more days!

Still Exams

It's has been a week since the exam started. The last 4 papers that I sat for, I felt they were ok, but I still haven't even taken a single paper for my major. So I'm not sure how I would fare.

What have I achieved this past 2 days? Well, except for some concerts that I managed to grab from my friends, I think that's about it. Studies have been sidelined for 'a bit'. I was watching the Asian Song Festival 2008 last night. I was shocked how Fahrenheit even became a singing group. Ok or should I say idol group. In my opinion, they were practically the worst performer on that night. I hope I don't get bashings from Fahrenheit fans for saying this.

But I did something different though. I went jogging. After saying that I would for about the past 5 months I've been here, I finally went. The feeling is just great! I sweated and actually got out of my usual routine which is eat, sleep, study, watch movie and the cycle repeats itself. I plan to go again today but it just started drizzling but the sun is still up.

Its another 3 weeks before I go back to Penang. I have so many plans that I'm afraid that I won't have enough time for everything. Actually the main thing is to eat. I miss TASTY food. Christmas is about a month's time away. Although I don't celebrate it, it does signal that the year is coming to an end and a new one is about to begin.

I have something to let out here though. Why does it seem to everyone that I'm a studious person? How come coursemates ask me what's going to come out in the exam when they are the ones that got the news and later ask me for confirmation when I myself have not even heard about the info? If I say, I don't know. will they think that I'm just some selfish brat that is unwilling to share ?

Exams

Exams are starting soon..as in TOMORROW... and I still have not studied for the subject tomorrow. I hope common sense can pull me through the exam.

I just came back from Ranau for my golf practical. I'm dead tired now. Body aching. Anyways, I hope the practical evaluation will help me for my finals(Then I don't have to study so much).

I haven't had good sleep for 2 nights already. The night before the Ranau trip, I couldn't shut my eyes for more than 2 hours...I woke up every hour...1am...3am...4am...5am...then I had to climb out of bed at 6am to prepare myself for the trip. At Ranau, they practically squeezed 6 people into a room with only ONE queen sized bed. Luckily they rented extra beds. I was the 'lucky' one that got to sleep on the bed. The other 2 girls on the bed were moving around the entire night that I couldn't sleep(sensitive me..) and the girl beside me kept coughing the entire night.....And the fan was so cold and I didn't have a blanket.

For golf, I think I walked about 5km in 2 days? Under the scorching sun.

Bookssss....Studiessss...

Something called studying

Last night was debate again. Anyways, we finished at about 2am. Then walked about 20+ minutes back to the hostel. Today, I got up at about 7.15 for sports, but then it was raining, so I skipped the training. It is still raining now though.

Debate still hasn't got any results. UMS suddenly changed their minds. Now, they only want to send 3 teams to represent them in KL. The seniors are trying to fight for 4 teams. But the main thing is, I still can't confirm when I'm going home. This is so frustrating.

I just found out that I have to go for my golf tournament next Wednesday and Thursday at Ranau(the place I went to during the previous hols). Then, there goes my study week.

I still have 2 assignments to type. I have not even started because the lecturer decided to give the assignment at the end of the term. Another frustrating matter. With all these and the tournament, I seriously DOUBT I have any time left to myself for rest and studying. There goes my so called study break.

Since the study already started, my friends are all back in Penang. And I do mean ALL. They have already planned so many things ahead. Which, again, I'm left out again because I'm all the way here. It's not that I'm complaining about being alone and etc, but sometimes, the friends that you get here isn't just the same as the friends at home. It's similar yet different at the same time. But the good part is that all the friends I have here are really good and nice to me.

Finally, THE 14th Week

This is the final week of the semester. (Not) Surprisingly, time really flew by. Exams are in another 2 weeks. I;m so totally not prepared...as you can see, I can still find time to blog, meaning I have not really started studying..

This coming week will be Deepavali cum study break holidays for a week. Then on the 5th of November, I'll officially start my first paper. My last paper will be on the 20th of November. But here comes the problem, I have not booked my ticket home..because of debate. If I am to represent UMS for Royals Debate in KL, I'll only be back in Penang on the 4th of December which leaves me exactly one month to spend in Penang. Take away about 5-7days of holiday in Singapore, that leaves about 3 weeks in Penang.

Today, I listed a couple of things that I want to do and buy when I'm back. Top priority : CAMERA

Since I dropped mine into the sea, I haven't been able to take pictures. I have to rely on others alot...plus, my phone is already so old that the camera quality is seriously lousy.

I'm having another test this coming Thursday, but I'm still here blogging and downloading. I even took time for a nap in the library in the afternoon.

The weather has been bad with strong winds and heavy rain anytime of the day but usually at night. So, it has become very stuffy in the afternoon.

Last night I found out a shocking news...which I disclosed to a few people only. I'm still surprised now. Although I need to thank the 'caring' friend that insisted on looking up the info albeit meeting a lot of language barrier and the never give up attitude.

Books..here I come...Earthquakes form because of the elastic energy accumulated in the rocks due to the plate movements are released abruptly due to the breaking of the friction bond between the rocks.........

Tests

I had 2 tests within the last 4 days including today. surprisingly I managed to do quite well. One was Study skills and today was ethics.

The ethics lecturer is scary. He chased everybody out of the class yesterday just because one person flipped the exam paper without his permission. he recollected every paper and left and said that he's gonna fail everybody. Today, another guy did the same thing but then luckily he didn't chase everyone out. He just took down the name.

Anyways, yesterday was UiTM vs UMS. And UMS won!! hahahaha..I Know....I sound like a debate freak now but then, it wasn't my intention. It started because I wanted to have a place in hostel for my 2nd year, but one thing led to another, and I actually find that I enjoy debating and the circle of friends in debate....at least I have a social circle now. If not, my life would just be attending lectures and online and online and sleep and lectures again..

Anyways, I'm now in Secret Recipe to online..out of desperation. Connection is the library and the hostel sucks totally. Too many people online nowadays...Anyways, today's short update is over. 3 weeks to FINALS and 6 weeks for me to step foot on Penang!!!

Picture

This is the ONLY picture that I took when I was in Labuan. These are all the faces of debaters. Took this picture right before leaving Labuan

Hectic

Today :
Debate training at 4pm
Study skills test at 6.30pm

Monday:
3pm-10pm - UiTM Debate Friendly Competition

Tuesday:
11am-1pm - Ethics Test

Thursday:
8am-10am - Earth Science and Planets Test (tentative)

Saturday :
7pm-11pm - Some gala night organised by one of the schools which I'm accompanying my friend to
* Maybe going to Ranau for golf tournament since it is the 3rd week of October if the plans runs smoothly. So, it's either the gala night or a 2days 1 night golf tournament in Ranau.

Any one weekday morning, golf replacement training for today's class is canceled.

My lecturer suddenly came up with the idea of giving us an assignment with the title only coming up next week and expects us to hand it in by finals which is 2 weeks away.

Apart from all that, I need to study for the finals as well.

Whole of November : Finals Examination

So there goes ,my last 2 months in Sabah. Hectic and punishing. Now, I can't wait to go back to Penang

Silly

'Hui Ting, Aren't you going for the HACCP fieldtrip today?'.....'Huh? Is it today?'....'Yes, now to be exact. We'reall here waiting for you'...'What?!'....

Then I looked at the time. Its 8.05am. They were waiting since 7.30am. I TOTALLY forgot about the field trip. I got dressed and rushed down to catch a bus to my school. Then I ran helter skelter to the bus from the bus stop..about 200m. Luckily I wasn't the last one. Apparently, there was another 2 that didn't know that their names were submitted for the field trip.

Anyways, I went to a crackers manufacturing company. We looked at how the processing went. From making the crackers to packaging them. My duty was to keep a look out if the workers or the company broke any health rules, making sure the entire process is done under hygienic conditions and that the workers all wore gloves, caps and masks....The best thing is..at the end of the inspection, the manager of the factory gave us each a BIG bag full of crackers. All their products were in there. We were so happy. Everyone else was so envious of the packs that we got. It suddenly felt like primary school kids again. hahahahah....Pictures from this trip will be uploaded later because, the pictures are all in another coursemate's phone.

Then when I came back, I had my ethics assignment to pass up. I had class from 2.30-4.30pm. Deadline was %pm. I finished class at 4pm. So Cav and I thought that walking to pass up the assignment then take the bus back to the hostel. But due to my carelessness, I didn't realise that I didn't number the pages and didn't change the spacing to double spacing. So we wanted to reprint. One friend that wanted to reprint went to the library and told us that the queue is too long. So we decided that, I'll go back to print in the hostel and Cav will wait in front of the lecturer's office. If I don't come back by 5pm she will hand in the assignment. So, we spilt ways. I decided to try my luck at another place further away from the library. Walked there with my friend that wanted to reprint. But when we reached, the shop was CLOSED! So, now it is already 4.40pm.

We walked back to the lecturer's office. Cav was so happy I made it back on time but the thing is, I didn't reprint. So we handed in to the lecturer and told him the truth. All he said was 'How could make such a silly mistake?'. Ok, after we passed it up, we decided to try our luck in the library again(what perseverance huh). By now it is already 4.45pm. The queue at the library, to our discovery wasn't that long after all. If we had line up at 4pm, we would have managed to reprint and handed in time minus all the walking. So, we lined up and waited. It took longer than we expected because everyone was editing their things at the computer. I mean, hello, this isn't your personal computer, if you want to edit it, edit it before you come to the printing place. By the time we finished printing it was already 5.05pm. I ran all the way from the library to the lecturer's office. Climbed up a flight of stairs as well. Luckily he let us changed the assignment.

So, overall, it was a 'running' day. And all that could have been avoided if I wasn't that careless. I don't know what got into me. I'm usually not like that. So dissapointed in myself for making those silly mistakes.

Holidays

Since now's the Raya holidays, the cafe food just could not get any worse than now(I hope). I didn't take dinner yesterday and no lunch and dinner today. I survived on chocolates from Labuan, biscuits and oats and milk and raisins and milo.

Enough about the bad. Now the fun part begins.

Labuan
Upon arrival at the Labuan UMS campus, I was shocked. It is so small compared to the main campus. It is practically like 10% the size of the main campus. But one t hing is that is it a lot cleaner and the facilities in the school is better. The hostel is abit dirty though. It's sad to see how university students' ethics and behaviour are just like primary school children.

Anyways, it was 3 days of debate non-stop. The first day, we debated until about 11pm. But I watched Made Of Honour till 1am and I rolled on the bed till nearly 3am before sleeping. Crawled out of the bed at 7am. Debated from 9am till 1am. Actually we finished at 11pm. Then the seniors came up with a game called Mafia. It was so addictive. Before the game, the juniors were all sleepy and tired but once the game started, everyone was alive. The next day it was 7am again and debated will 11am. Then we went to Labuan city to shop. I bought a 4-liter wine box for only RM28. Then I tried Budweiser too. Its only RM2.40 a can. And I bought chocolates worth RM60.

We only took one pathetic photo at the Waterfront before leaving Labuan. We were too busy with debate.

Ranau/Kundasang
This is Nabalu Stop. There are cultural shops there.

We went on Wednesday and came back on Thurday. We followed a tour. But it was a rip off. Next time no more following tours. But the scenery and air was totally worth it. It was way better than Genting or Cameron Highlands. I bought 2 ethnic necklaces and a musical instrument.
This was taken at the War Memorial. It was the place after the Death March of British and Australian soldiers during the Japanese Occupation. Out of 2000 soldiers only 6 survived.

We went to Poring Hot Springs as well. We climbed up a hill...went for canopy walk then went down to the hot springs.
This was the view from our homestay place. We did not stay in a hotel. We stayed at someone's house. It was comfortable. Isn't the view wonderful? I like it so much. This was at the foot of Mount Kinabalu. It was raining heavily and misty. So we couldn't see the top of the mountain.

Before Labuan/Ranau

I am in the library once again. Surfing the net and trying to finish my one last report before i go on my holidays which is tomorrow.

Anyway, two weeks ago, my friends and I went to take pictures wearing yukata organised by the Japanese Culture Club of UMS. Today, we got the pictures already. Just right before the holidays. Maybe the yukata design we're wearing are a bit outdated but who cares. We just did it out of fun. I'm going to post some of pictures here.
This is us trying to get a candid shot. The photographer was trying to make us do something more anime-ish but we kept on insisting posing our way. It took us some time to get this shot. This was the photographer's idea. We laughed so hard that we had to hold in the laughter for this pic.

These 3 girls are the ones I mix around with here. They are all in the same course except for me. The one in pink is my housemate and a huge TVXQ fan. hahahaha. She's from Kedah. The purple one is very smart. She got 3.83 CGPA for STPM. The blue one, is seriously very daring and crazy. These two came from Bintulu, Sarawak.

Off to type my report now. Adios. Have a nice holidays everyone! Selamat Hari Raya!

Oh and since I won't be around to online...I just wanna wish

HUI PING AND SIAW PING! HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY. HOPE YOU GUYS HAVE A NICE, WONDERFUL AND MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY. (although I know without me, it won't be as much fun) hahahhahahah....

Labuan, Ranau, Kundasang...here I Come !!

ok..this one week Raya holidays is just going to busy busy busy for me. First up, I am going to Labuan, the tax free island of Sabah (aka Langkawi of Sabah). I will going with the Debate Club. It is a some sort of debate workshop in Labuan. So, everything is paid for, from food to transport and accomodation. The things I need to spend my money on are chocolates(lots of them) and hopefully alcohol(I don't want to be caught by the uni). I'll be there for 3days and 2nights. Hopefully, I get to do some sightseeing apart from debate training.

Second, after coming back to KK on Monday at 6pm, I'll be leaving at 7am the next day to Ranau for its famous hot spring and then the next day to Kundasang(aka Cameron Highlands). It is very nearby Mt. Kinabalu. This trip costs me RM150 for 2days 1 night inclusive of food, accomodation and transport + tour guide.

Speaking of Mt. Kinabalu, the price previously to hike up Mt. Kinabalu is Rm350-Rm400. Now the price just hiked up to RM480. I've heard rumours about the price hike but didn't expect it to be so soon.

So, by the end of the holiday trips, I'll be damn broke.

The only regret that I have now is that I don't have a camera. I searched on the internet about Ranau and Kundasang. The photos that I saw were really pretty. It's just too bad that I can't take my own pictures. I need a new camera..URGENTLY. But it is not possible to get one here as the one I'm aiming to buy is more expensive by RM200 here.

I'm off to bed now. Going to watch Mama Mia tomorrow!

and I have another good news to announce. I found out that my cousin gave birth to a baby girl on 18/9/08. Then another cousin is 4 months pregnant. Just like what Eve said, it is the baby boom season. I can't wait to see the babies soon! But they are so far away.

Dull

Life is currently on the low. Nothing much exciting except that i just had 2 mid-sem tests. speaking of tests....i just made my 30% flew away for Earth Science just because i don't know why composite volcano happens at convergent plates and shield volcanoes happen at divergent plates. This is sad. Yesterday i had TITAS test. 10 objective questions but the lecturer was so lenient that 'discussion' was allowed. it didn't take more than 20 mins to answer the paper but when we left the exam hall to go home, everyone was rushing for the bus. imagine 1000+ in my hostel all squeezing to get on the bus. it was scary..just like what happened during orientation. but luckily i managed to get on a bus.

another 2 friends left to study. one to india another to aimst. by now, reading the place youa ll should have guessed that they are going to be future doctors. i heard that they are loving it there. but the one at aimst already missed home when she gets to go home every weekend and penang is only an hour away. please think about me then jo, 3months away. totally can't go back until another 2months. now the proposed date for me to go home is on the 3rd of december after debate competition.

i just realised that debate is really taking up alot of my time but without debate my life would be too free. as in at nights i would not much things to do.except for my reports and assignments and studying which i always delay until the last minute. i still can't seem to get rid of my last minute syndrom.

i just went to eve's blog. i just realised that she changed her layout and it looks good. and she went on shopping spree. when is my turn? first it was kiddie ju and then now eve. i want it too....

Anyways, HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY Kiddie MING!!!!!!!...you are finally 20!! hahaaha. no more spare change from 20cents. hahahah u catch what i'm trying to say?

i'm actually in the hall right now..supposingly listening to some ceramah insaniah for kokurikulum but in actual fact, i'm sitting behind tapping away on my laptop as i've been deprived of the internet for a week. i have so much to catch up on.

Money $$$

Today I went to check my CIMB bank account balance. PTPTN still hasn't given me the money. I called them in KL. It blardy cost me RM8 just for waiting and because they were giving me different instructions each time I called. I called last week as well. The person refused to check the reason. Today they told me apparently I gave them the wrong account number so they couldn't bank in the money for me. Sobs.. Anyway, they directed me to fax them my new account number and to confirm with another person from another department that was on LEAVE. They didn't tell me that until I called to ask if they gave me the wrong number as no one was asnwering the call. Arrggghhhh...RED TAPES..hate them...SO I have to call them again tomorrow to make sure they received my fax and ask when they are going to put money into my account.

Life currently is not so hectic. But there is no guarantee when it is going to change. Debate training has started after a week's break.

Since it's puasa, there are a lot of stalls in the cafe..I mean those that aren't around during normal days. I have been indulging myself these few days. Wonder if I have piled on the pounds. I had Bak Kut Teh too, last Friday after my mid-sem exam.

Speaking of my mid-sem exam, I made a stupid mistake. I wrote the right answer, then cancelled it, and wrote the wrong answer. How dumb can I get?

There has been some gruesome incidents happening lately. Then all those old stories are resurfacing. Last week, the police found the body of a 3rd year TESL student. Her body ( I heard) decomposed and had alligator/crocodile bites as they dumped her body into the river. Then the seniors started to tell us about the cases that has happened in the past (just last semester). The girl got kidnapped while on her way to church with a group of friends in front of Giant. Can you believe it? She got gang raped really badly. The police caught them while they were trying to flee and met an accident. She finally went crazy, was sent to Bukit Padang (Tanjung Rambutan of Sabah). Then rumours are circling that she suicided. Another case, which happened last week as well, there was this girl, she was walking back from the sports complex, which is very near to my hostel at 2pm, and some people tried to pull her into the car. Luckily, our cafe caterer was passing by and saved her. Then there's another one, a daughter of an inspector. She was kidnpped, gang-raped and had her genital cut and killed. How sadist can these rapist be?!!?!?!

Today I went for my english class. I heard a girl telling her friends that in her hostel there is this underwear thief. He steals underwears and leaves a note behind with his phone number on it! She called the number. It was a malay guy apparently, and he had the guts to tell her that the reason he stole the underwear was because he wanted to smell it..GROSSSSSSS. There are cases in another hostel that is outside of the university compound. He leaves a note there as well.

Kiddy Ju has bought me an alarm right after she heard the story from me. She worries so much about me(THANKS!). Even Eve also wanted to buy me an alarm when she heard the stories. And she gave me some advise as well. Fatten up or be aneroxic so that you won't be kidnapped. But I think these kidnappings are just random.

FOOOODDDD!!!!!!!!! FINALLY

After the debate finals ended, the whole debate club decided to go out dinner at a place called Gayang Seafood. It is some where in the outskirts. The road is tarred but no lamp post. So it was really dark. But it is famous, even among tourist. It's cheap and good(anything that tastes slightly better than hostel food is considered good). We ordered lots of dishes namely fish and prawns. Chit chatted alot. It was a fun night out.

These are all the junior debators, meaning all my opponents during the tournament. My team member are sitting in the front, the first 2 from the right. Both are pretty girls right. Don't you guys agree???

Notice the shirt I'm wearing? I bought it the day before. It burned a big hole in my pocket but I happen to like it a lot. It is limited edition Nike for Olympics Beijing. The special thing about it is the sleeve. One side is printed with chinese motives and written China. During the entire 3 day merdeka weekend..I spent like a total of nearly RM250. Talk about budgeting...always a failure for me. I ate a RM10 char koay teow here as well. It tasted similar. That was all I got nearest to home here. I plan to stay in the hostel for the next 2 weekends. If I don't go out, I won't spend money.

Today is the second day of puasa. Although the cafes are open as usual, the choices during lunch are a lot lesser.