Charity drive meeting

 

  Early birds…

 

We have set schedule to meet to discuss on our plan for charity drive. One of our alumni, whom I’ve never known and have not met, Intan, was our VIP for that night.

Prior to her arrival, we did our short discussion.

  

20 minutes later, our only gentlemen, Genn had to leave.

Ladies being ladies…we did some posing. Everytime the good looking waiter came by to take our order, we asked him to snap our cameras. Phew..!! (waiter)At last, our order completed much..much..much ..later.

All looking stunning in those scarves, including me. BTW, they are for charity. Price RM70-RM80 each.

More posing..

Again..

and again…

and again…

 

 

Intan (Sitting in the middle)arrived alone.

 

All were glad to meet her, including me, although that was our first introduction. She is my senior, but, as usual, I DONT REMEMBER. knock..knock..

We both had no campus memory to share, so, I just listened to their conversation, recalling the good old days.

I listened to Intan’s stories with great sympathy. According to Intan, she went to Syria to take up language class. To cut the story short, There, she was diagnosed with cancer , stage 3. The sad situation forced her and her children returned to Malaysia for further medication. That was not too long ago and as of today, its leveled as stage 4. She is not willing to take the risk on chemotherapy, though. She still want to walk and talk as how she is now, she said. She told us that, should she gone on that most feared treatment, she could have been lying sickly by now. She rather go for the alternatives. I respect her decision.

I will include you in my prayers, Intan.

That was our first charity drive meeting with those stunning ladies. We plan to start on building fund for Intan.

Meeting with those pretty ex-students is always fun, but I had to excuse myself, not to miss the soccer Olympic qualifying match , Malaysia vs Syria. BUT….the game ended with 0-2 ahak.!!

Playing with colors in Brunei

 

A few days before the date, I was kinda…..

Ahah! Its time to play with colors. Its been months since my last painting activity, and the urge has returned, now that I’m back to Brunei for another project.

My poor ex-primary school mate, Narajan Singh. I had to say bye to him, when we were suppose to meet. The airplane wouldn't wait, my friend. I’ve missed  it earlier.

From the plane, while landing, I zoomed in to my first sight of mosque. Brunei welcomed me and my colleague, Marina, with a nice and clear weather.

Someone arranged for a transportation for us to Times Hotel. The promotional price of BND88 is very reasonable.It is located as Times Square Mall of Berakas area, less than 10 minutes drive from the airport.

Peaceful place, Brunei, with cooling greeneries and beautiful view of elegant looking mosques.

No traffic congestion..!!!   

My arrival, as in my previous trips, received a warm welcome from my client, Dayang. We opened the chapter with the interesting local food ‘Ambuyat’, a sticky Sago, eaten with delicious sourish dip and other dishes.

I could still feel the warm sensation when the slippery substance slid down my throat. gulp….mmmm…

 

Whenever I travel, especially to this country, I usually think of painting. I remember in one of my trip to this self meditating country, I drew pink roses. In this trip my eyes could not get off from yellow.

Yellow roses. Yes..roses again.

On the next morning, the briefing I conducted at the client’s site completed earlier than expected. As I got back to the hotel, I took a chance to do some roaming around the shopping area. Not cheap to Malaysian like me, though.

At the shopping arcade next door, where I bought the coloring materials.

Other than the yellow roses, don't ask me what were those I painted, and don't ask me what expression they are portraying. I just picked up the brush, squeezed the color out and flap..flap..flap… DONE!

While painting, I kept on taking a quick glance on the soccer match on television. It was the match of the most wanted Gold medal, at SEA Games. It was the final match between Malaysia & Indonesia.

The TV ended showing many frustrated looks on Indonesian men and women.

   

Sorry guys….

Anyway, watching Malaysian players happy faces after winning 4-3 at penalty match, added joy to me too. I thought of my son Adri and his papa. They both must be making a big HOOHAA..infront of the TV, back home.

  

 

Soccer ended. My painting work adjourned.

 

The 2nd day of briefing was short. My colleague and I were taken around the King of Brunei’s Gallery, displaying The Majesty’s collection of Qurans from the smallest to the biggest, written on leaves, pulps, leather and stone.

‘NO CAMERA’ sign displayed clearly at the entrance. We obeyed. Slowly we  strolled, amazed by those interesting items on display, guarded by a security and a friendly and informative guide.

We passed by a huge black velvety material, beautifully woven by golden thread, scripting Quranic verse. It was a blanket of Ka’abah, a valuable gift to the King.

Hah! The King and I have something in common. We collect canes. The only difference is, my canes are cheap version , while his are wow! version. Among other types, I saw cane made of bones of whale and also elephant trunk.

Its almost time to go home and time to think of what to do with those oil paintings. They were still wet. DOOSHHH..! rubbish bin is the way to go.

After lunch, we were safely sent to the airport. AirAsia flew us on time. Everyone can fly…Home sweet home.

It turned to be a colorful trip, after all.

Laughter is the best medicine

A fun person sent this to me thru email.

*****************************

MY DOCTOR...

Let me tell you about my doctor.

He's very good!

If you tell him you want a second opinion,

He'll go out and come in again.

~~~~~
He treated one woman for yellow jaundice for three years

Before he realized she was Chinese.

~~~~~
Another time, he gave a patient six months to live.

At the end of the six months, the patient hadn't paid his bill,

So, the doctor gave him another six months.

~~~~~
While he was talking to me, his nurse came in and said,

"Doctor, there is a man here who thinks he's invisible."

The doctor said, "Tell him I can't see him."

~~~~~
Another time, a man came running in the office and yelled,

"Doctor, doctor! - my son just swallowed a roll of film!"

The doctor calmly replied, "Let's just wait and see what develops."

~~~~~
One patient came in and said,

"Doctor, I have a serious memory problem."

The doctor asked, "When did it start?"

The man replied, "When did what start?"

~~~~~
I remember one time I told my doctor

I had a ringing in my ears.

His advice: "Don't answer it."

~~~~~
My doctor sure has his share of nut cases.

One said to him, "Doctor, I think I'm a bell."

The doctor gave him some pills and said, "Here, take these -

If they don't work, give me a ring."

~~~~~
Another guy told the doctor that he thought he was a deck of cards.

The doctor simply said, "Go sit over there. I'll deal with you later."

~~~~~
When I told my doctor I broke my leg in two places,

He told me to stop going to those places.

~~~~~
You know, doctors can be so frustrating.

You wait a month and a half for an appointment,

Then he says, "I wish you had come to me sooner."

Blessing in a little meeting

 

Without much preparation , it was time to meet..!!

I looked at the time. A few more hours to go. I started my laptop while my hubby took control of the steering. We were on the way to fetch Nadia from her campus. I logged into the Facebook. No cancellation. The meeting is ON.

A text message came. It was my ex-colleague, Za. oh no! She just informed that the cafe where we were suppose to meet was close for the day. Then How? Lets change venue. But who else to tell? Who has the contacts? Shall we proceed ? Shall we not? Lets just do it..!!

Opppsss…! My laptop battery ran out. How to update them thru FB?

Thru sms’s we decided to proceed the meeting at another place. KGPA, not too far from my house.

But, I came the latest, as I had to pick up another friend from an unfamiliar place, which I thought I knew.

We at last, met.

   

It was just a small group of ex-Indiana State University get together, and we had a fruitful meeting.This time we didn't meet as a student. We didn't discuss about our college assignment. We had our first business discussion.

Way to go ISU Malaysia Alumni !!

Just

I was holding on to my laptop. My fingers were all took position to type, but my mind went blank.
The next day, again I did the same think, Again, blank.
The following day.... Blank and blank and blank.

I had so much to tell , but the laziness overcame everything. Frustration of nothing. Hatred of the unknown.
I guess it time for me to follow the flow. 'Dance to the music'. Listen to the Tango beat. CUT..!!!!

When talking, I kept on losing my word. When singing (in the bathroom), I kept on forgetting the lyrics. When watching TV, I most of the time bothering others, asking what had happened.
I figured, I shall continue my reading hobby. There are so many books I read halfway through. And many I have forgotten the last part I was reading.
Enie..minie..minie..mo I picked up the striking yello cover.
Topic: How to talk to everyone. hmmm.....
If you see me talking too much on our next meeting, dont blame me. Blame the author, Leil.
Whatever......

Niece Wedding at Kulim

 

It was the 1st first time I took a bus to Penang Island (Pulau Pinang), also known as The Pearl Of The Orient. It was also the first experience for my kids. What a relaxing journey. With the cost of only RM60(USD20), we enjoyed the comfort provided in the bus, especially for my hubby who didn't have to hold on the steering at all, unlike our many previous trips.

 

I felt so high, for the first time sitting in a double decker bus.

The trip took us almost 5 hours. While most passengers were snoring, I entertained myself munching, and for my hubby, that gave him plenty of time teasing his nephew, Mikhail, thru text messages.

The Cititel Hotel looks so elegant that my kids couldn't wait to walk into the room.

However, other than the nice view of Komtar building, the highest building in the island, the room size was not as wide as expected. It was OK for us though.

  

Upon checking in and leaving our baggage in the room, we walked out to my favorite soup stall, Hameed Restaurant, located right across the road from Malaysia Hotel.

Nadia and I enjoyed out exotic soups.

But not Adri and his father. Adri didn't find his mutton curry as excellent, while his dad was disappointed getting a cold food.

The price is no longer as cheap though.  The medium size prawn itself costs RM13 (USD4). We find it not cheap or we might have turned poorer compare to those people.

We reduced the disappointment of food by enjoying our night walk along the hotel area. Its a nostalgic place for my husband. He is Penang born, so is Nadia.

    

We rushed back to the hotel when it started to drizzle.

Then, at the hotel cafe…BANANA SPLIT..!!

        

On the next day, we attended a wedding on a niece of my hubby. That was the purpose of this trip. The wedding was held in Kulim, another 1 hour drive from Penang. We reached the place at around 2:30pm.

Meeting relatives is always fun.

I could see the happiness on the bride’s parents.

Such a big size cousin, the nickname ‘Boy’ sticks to him until now. That was the first wedding of children.

  

We met up with a few close family members too. We captured the moment before entering the wedding hall.

         

It was a nice and simple wedding. I remember seeing her as a little girl not too long ago. Now she was there sitting at a special place, watched by all. Anis is the eldest’s of Boy’s children.

The food were good too.

Not too long after our arrival, we met up with a few more close relatives. The session turned into a little gathering of cousins.

     

More cousins came, but they missed the family photo session, we were to excited of meeting, that we didnt bother to snap another.

     

The more the merrier….

It wasn't easy for all of us to depart. We said goodbye a few times, but still our steps were getting slower. More and more things to say. More to share.

 

Steps after steps…..

Photograph after photograph…..

              

At last! We reached the exit.

Where is papa..?? I heard someone asked.

I looked around. I didn't see my father inlaw among us. Then I looked back into the hall. Ahah..!! there he was. My dad-inlaw was still chatting with a few relatives. He was not aware that everyone were leaving. I approached him.

Gotcha..!!!! Its time to go Papa…

We all at last left at almost the same time, including the VVIP, my father-inlaw.

Good bye all. We shall meet again in our next family gathering, as been discussed at the wedding occasion.