The Best-est of the Best Holidays...

Redang! Yes, Redang!

Date: 15 June 2010 - 17 June 2010
Participants: Ka Yan, Xiao Ying, Elaine Gan, May Chung, Win Shi, Maggie, Max, Edmond Mok, Kar Choong, Jun Sheng, Wan Fong, Wai Meng, Kah Wai, Allen Ho Ming En, Fish Kerk, Swee Chuan, Jian Wei, Khe Lok, Zi Xin.

14 June 2010, 7.00 pm: Departure
Up the bus, into KTM, up another bus, made noise, slept.
Bus condition: cold cold cold.
Surroundings: dark dark dark.
Everyone slept I supposed, more or less.

15 June 2010, 4.30 am: Arrival at Kuala Terengganu Bus Station
Everyone looked for sleeping spots. Some got food, some just stood.
Toilet condition: No good.
Station condition: Not bad, not good either.

6.20 am: Headed to Merang Jetty
Bus: SBU 90
Everyone got up. Slept again.

9.00 am: Ferry ride
It was a fun ride! Bumping all the way, splashing all the way, Smiling all the way.
Took about 45 minutes to arrive at the blue-paradise.
Checked in. Missing slippers found buried under sand by dear Max and his girlfriend, Maggie.

Lost count of time: PLAY TIME!
Went out the sea, guys played volley ball, girls took photos. haha! Then, it was lunch time. Had lunch and prepared to go for our first snorkeling trip. All gears up, ready to go! Boarded the boat, off we went. *my watch was certified dead at 1.45 pm. >< I wore it into the sea. Genius!

1st snorkeling trip went well. Except for a few minor injuries. Gan cut his toe, Max hurt his foot.
The rest of the day was filled with our own activities: canoeing, simply immersing ourselves in the sea, drinking salt water.
Canoeing was a brand new experience for me, went off with edmond, thank god we didn't fell off the canoe but we did crash into people. Sorry! my bad. ><
After dinner, we planned a surprise party for xiao ying, my dear room mate. Unfortunately, she was too smart to be fooled. She sensed something was not right before we even took action. Hence, an awkward moment: me screaming cockroach, she ignoring me. In the end, we still sang her a birthday song and revealed our pre-prepared gift: 18 eggs with cute drawings.
A sweet moment.
Spent the night playing cards and violin.
*The neighbouring uncle came out and reminded us, me in particular, to be quiet. No violins at night. haha!
Cold night. Froze.

16 June 2010, morning: A Fresh Start
Early in the morning, a few of us woke up to catch the sun rise. Sadly, the rising sun was blocked by a mountain. Saw nothing. Enjoyed the morning sea breeze though. Another funny incident: Allen Ho, singing "This I Promised You" early in the morning, was again being requested to lower down his volume by the same uncle last night. haha!
After breakfast, to Marine Park we went. Saw a sea cucumber after being told by jian wei. Went far out to the sea with JW, Edmond and Chuan. Saw no turtles unfortunately.
Yet another nice experience.
Lunch. Rest. 3rd and final snorkeling trip. Brought along bread for feeding fish this time. Was fish-thirsty initially, went chasing after fish. Not so much after being bitten by a blue-stripped-white-fish. Screamed under water, was heard by kkc. ^^" paisehnya... Edmond was fortunate enough to have spotted a shark, none of us saw it after rushing over. Too bad.
That evening, it rained. Stayed in with May Tze, Laine and Xiao Ying.
Allen Ho was posing, or rather, enjoying himself sitting on the wooden fence with his earphones on. Went to talk to him and was later joined by Khe Lok, Wan Fong, Wai Meng and Xiao Ying. What a talk about our pasts. ><
Later that night, we went out with umbrellas to get souvenirs. Allen and Wai Meng bought the same necklace and was crowned "The Gay Partner".
Back to the hotel, the guys played Dare-Or-Dare in their room. Crappy things happened: jumping into the pools, licking hairs, etc. etc. In my room, there were May Tze, Laine, Xiao Ying and Kah Wai, munching on titbits and chatting. I went out for a talk with Jun Sheng.
Rainy night.
Cramped on the single bed with Xiao Ying that night. Just for fun! =)

17 June 2010, morning: Time to leave
Early, May Tze and Xiao Ying went off to watch the sunrise for the second time. Elaine and I slept until they came back. Packed our stuffs and were ready to check out. Need to catch the ferry at 9 o'clock.
Again, photo sessions on the ferry. Beautiful sea, clear sky, perfect combination. Goodbye, Redang!

A lifetime memory, with life-long friends. =)

Thanks to everyone who made this a success!

What used to seem so faraway is now so nearby...

It's 30th May, 2010. Few months away from flying to Canada, years away from the little Ka Yan who used to dream of owning a vet-clinic-with-vast-green-land-behind (still am thinking of that). Yes, it is true that I'm nearing my dream, but the road seems to get rougher as I go. Along the way, there are bumps, cliffs and spikes. Heck! Life's never easy. Glad that the flame in my heart is still burning though time and again, people don't see things as I do. I am telling you now, "Yes, I like animals! What's wrong with that?!" I have no idea where that passion comes from, but it's there, buried. I have no way to dig it out, why should I, anyway? I embrace that as part of my life, my target. It makes my life all the fulfilled and meaningful.

Mummy is getting ready for my departure though it's still months away. I, myself, am ambivalent. To be happy or not? Truth is, I am pretty excited about going to Canada. The thing is, I am reluctant to leave home. ==" Yea, I suck!

Feeling lazy lately, especially after obtaining offers from universities. I shouldn't be, I know. But I can't help myself. The bed is too tempting for a good nap! >

* Had fun with friends! You know who you are. Those who made me laugh like siao po... Thanks!

The battle in the kitchen!

Few hours ago, I was fumbling in the kitchen, battling with chickens, herbs, lady fingers and soysauce. The battle was not as fierce as a fight with a tiger, but it was really demanding, especially hard for someone who cooks not even once in a blue moon.

Menu of the day:
Herbal chicken
Lady fingers

Things started off pretty well, I didn't break anything, didn't burn anything and didn't cut myself. Just that it took quite some time to gather all the herbs because for god's sake, I never knew there are a myriad of them. I was rummaging through the refrigerator and guess what? I discovered many unknown little things that I suppose edible. It was like treasure hunt, looking for the one thing that you've never seen but you want it so badly. I had the recipe with me, but the herbs sure don't have names labelled on them. Hence, I decided to trust my olfactory sense, poking my nose into all kinds of weird looking herbs, I smelled. Yeah, like what my dog does best. Having all ingredients ready, then it's show time! Haha... It was easy then, I literally threw everything into the pot, including the chicken and the rest was the stove's job. Oh, before that, the "dong xam" (a kind of herb that looks like a twig) needs to be cut. To cut something never was a laborious task, I took the scissors and cut! Then, the horrible thing happened... That "twig" was as hard as stone, it just won't break. ==" I've thought of putting the whole thing without cutting but in the end I came up with an idea, a brilliant one I would say. I broke it with my hands. Genius! ><

When everything was done, then it's time to eat, the ultimate purpose of cooking afterall. So, everyone feasted and it was not bad. ^^
Just that I had mistaken "bak hap" for "yuk jok". haha...

I am hereby glad to announce that I've won the battle!

And the lesson learnt: learn your kitchen, learn the herbs, love the one who cooks for you. ^^

Love - the mysterious wonder.

It's late at night and I can't sleep. I've just watched two movies in a row, both romance: Secret and Titanic. They both end with a considerably happy ending; both show how great the power of love is; both open up the room of imagination. But they make 'love' seem too perfect to be true. In fact, real life situations have taught us to be realistic and stop dreaming of fairy-tale-like love stories.

It has always been a mystery how love arises. Love of a parent for a child, love of a dog for its master, love of a pianist for a piano. The bond is formed in a way that no one ever knows how, at least I don't. It builds up so naturally, sometimes, unknowingly. Explain it with whatever scientific theories that you have, if you happen to know one. Yet, you can never deny that feeling, the unseen, the undescribable but existing feeling.

"Love is unconditional, if it is conditional, it is not love."
I've read this somewhere and it has provoked some thoughts for it holds if not all, some truth in it.

Life's unpredictable...

It was supposed to be a day filled with joyous laughter and warm blessings. Yet, incidents do happen sometimes without any foretell.

Today's my cousin's wedding, everything was expected to be perfect. When everyone was happily chatting in the hall, my grandma fainted in the bathroom. After a while, she had awaken and seemed to be alright.

Everything looked just fine, ostensibly. We know in our hearts that this is not a good sign. Although not said, it was obvious that everyone got a shock out of it. I know, people age and they die, but the thought itself to think of losing my grandma makes me tear every single time. Trying as hard as I could, many times had I pushed that thought out of my mind and pretended like the day is never coming. But that day will come, I am just glad that today is not the day.

Maybe it's just some minor food poisoning this time, like what all the adults claimed. Maybe it's not. I hope it is.

Right now, I hear her voice, as sonorous as usual. That is a lot of relief. Things will be fine, somehow, someway. I know.

Cleaner of the day...

Woke up near noon today, had brunch and started my life as usual. Switched on the laptop, surfed the net aimlessly. Realising that I was wasting my time, finally I took the initiative to do something more meaningful - tidy up my table. My table was a mess, there were stacks of books and papers scattering everywhere. Spent almost 2 hours doing that seemingly endless chore. I never liked cleaning, and I still don't. Throughout the whole process, I was sneezing like some seriously-flu-infected-patient. My nose looked so red and it felt as though it's going to drop off if I do not stop rubbing. Thanks to all the dust and those tiny particles in air. Irritants! ==" But anyways, the end product was gratifying. My table looks tidy now, exceptionally tidy. Feeling a bit strange to be sitting at a table so clear-of-junks. Haha...Tomorrow, I'll be tending to my bookshelves. I hope by then I could still recognise my room.

Just some thoughts, sometimes, it feels more like home when things are less ordered. >< Anyhow, my dad was pleased to see the wooden surface of the table to 'resurface' after being buried for what seems like ages. haha... ^^

Rock climbing...

Woke up in the morning feeling lazy. The thought of rock climbing, however, gave me the energy to get away from my cosy little bed. Had bread and a simple sandwich for breakfast, then off my brother and I went to the LRT station. It was a long journey before we arrived at the Kelana Jaya station, where we met with Edmond. While we're waiting for the train, there was an unscheculed delay due to the testing of train, new train I guess. Anyhow, we made it there in the end and took a ride in Edmond's car to 1 Utama. Thanks, dude! Spent a long time searching for Camp5, the rock-climbing centre, with Edmond. Then, we met up with Syazwani and headed for rock climbing! ^^

Let's rock with rock climbing! haha...

We were provided with climbing shoes that made us feel weird when we first put them on. We started with the beginner session, climbed up a small mountain-like figure. Then the heights increased, so did the challenge. Safety straps (if that's what they are called) were put on around our waist and thigh like diapers, haha... Up we climbed... Getting to higher heights. Grabbing the stones, hauling ourselves up, we made our ways to the top. Then, we abseiled our ways back down. On the first attempt, I knocked the wall. haha... but it didn't really hurt. After that, it went pretty smoothly. Everything was nice and cool, only tiring. But it's definitely worth the fun!

Special emphasize: The gradient of the wall is near infinity! haha... it's vertical, people...

A great day! Enjoyed climbing, though I probably looked like a monkey. ^^