The Move

Friday evening:

I arrived home after work at around 540pm on Friday to find my home not the same as I left it in the morning. Everything was not as it seems. Due to work, I cannot be fully updated on everything going on at home. I don't know that the kitchen tiles were all knocked off today and totally renovated again. I don't know that they decided to move in today (Friday). I did not expect to arrive home and find in an empty bedroom.



Or an empty closet...



Everything was in complete chaos. The huge lorry in front delivering what nots new thing to the new house. That guy in front who just arrived delivering the chinese new year beers. My family members rushing back and forth, up and down forgetting things, and basically just rushing about.

I was so caught up in their happy, excited, frantic packing vibes that all thoughts of tiredness and Friday nights were all gone.



I think ah boi knows that we are leaving. I don't want to see him here alone in the old house.

I went up to my room to find all the furniture and beds have arrived.



But most of my belongings are still in black bin bags...



Headache ensued..I want to shower. But where is my towel, my shampoo, contact lens, solution, clean bras and undies, and nightgown. What am I going to wear tonight, and where to find them? In the new or old house? Where are my slippers? My shoes? My socks?! It was never ending. So I start packing. Where are the clothes hangers? Back at the old house. Never mind. I will fold the clothes. And sort them into piles. Time to shower. Where the hell is my clean undies? Stomach growling. Shit its 730pm. Cs is coming to pick me up for dinner.

I decide to leave most of the pile for tomorrow (Saturday). I hope I will be more awake by then and more prepared for the battle ahead of me. Never mind that I have already forgotten where I packed most of stuff last night.

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

Sat morning.

I woke up so many times in the middle of the night because I was still not used to the new house. All the sounds and sights are unfamiliar. Dad said something along the lines of ".....its like staying in a hotel...." Unfamiliar territory.

Oh well. It's only the first night. Things will get better..

I stepped back in the old house this morning to pick up my things. As soon as I open the door, that feeling hits me so strongly: its home. This is home. I see ah boi sleeping in his usual place. I did not expect this. I mean, sure I whine about not wanting to move. But I still look forward. I'm typing this from home the old house.

Trying not to let thoughts like these enter my head.

I have to get used to the new house. In the meantime, I still have lots to do..

Moving + Xmas photos

Edit: Added some photos from Christmas 2009 below.

Short updates on the new house! The sofa set, dining table, shelves, kitchen cupboards, some beds, fridges, chairs, microwave oven, and stove are all in already. Now, the whole family is busy packing. Cramming years and years worth of clothes and stuff into plastic bags or boxes to lug to the new house.



Whine whine whine. I stood in front of my closet staring for a full 5 minutes wondering how should I start to pack?! Most of the things are up in hangers and now I have to stuff them into large, black bin bags. Whine whine whine.



Thank God we stay so nearby. Thank God we are not moving far away! Winnie and I were walking to and fro between the houses carrying clothes still on their hangers. Saves time. Some Chinese new year clothes that can not be stuffed into bin bags cos they would just get all wrinkly again.

Now that the furniture are all in, I can't wait to move in!

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

Some really backdated photos from Christmas! Yeaa I know that it is waay past Christmas. More than a month. I keep putting it off then one month later, I finally decided to update it! Stole these photos off Facebook, as usual..

We went to Blablabla restaurant. Every Kuching-kia knows where it is, and if you don't you should really go out more often hehe..



I don't really like the food there to be honest. I had fish and chips, while the majority opted for either lamb shank, or lamb chops. They were quite normal seriously and I have had better. The only exception is that they had an extra large portion of salad by the side which I don't really like..due to some vege inside (I don't know the name sorry). Nevermind.



This year, we got: a bible, and a Tweety bird toilet paper holder each. We gave out: a pretty pen (cs), and a bottle of sparkling juice (me). The other gifts which were handed out that night were: pretty plates, pillow(s), soft toys, necklace and I don't remember..



There you go, quite a lot of pillows:



After dinner, some of us went to Bar Zing, a local club. Club is used very loosely in Kuching. In truth, there are no clubs! Kuching sucks. The most we have is a pub, with a dancefloor (if any), of about err...this size below. This is the dancefloor at VA. It is exactly this large. I am standing exactly by the side when I took this photo:



Back to Bar Zing. There is no dance floor. Instead they provide several dance poles by the tables, as is typical with almost every other pub in Kuching now. Boring. No one goes up to dance. Not unless they are drunk, which nobody really wants to see by then. Cos it would mean constant shouting and ogling from the guys and eye rolling from the girls. Boring.



On Christmas Eve itself, the club was so packed full with people! We had booked two tables initially, but they only gave us one, meaning some 10 people were squeezed into a tiny table, with no room to even stand side by side fuckers! I must remember not to go out clubbing next year. Yea right! I should go to church. Never mind that I'm not Christian. I should stay home. This is even more impossible haha.

No room to dance or even move at all. The night was ruined for quite a few people quite early on already. Some of us went to stand by the bar. The pushing and squeezing crowd was not fun. But you know, the thing about alcohol is: it makes you stupid! After consuming enough whiskey cokes and shots, we somehow managed to think that we are happy, and dance happily in that tiny crowded space. Haha.



If I remember correctly, ah boon went up to take off his clothes to pole dance. Too bad no photos.



Here, Winnie is happily tapau-ing the leftover coke..

OK.

Good night.

Damai Beach

One fine day, we decided to go to Damai Beach. Actually, it was supposed to be a "Thank You" from Mr and Mrs Tan Jit Ong for the wedding dance performed on their wedding earlier this year (Please click if you're interested. Its an imitation of the famous JK Wedding Dance - Kuching style).

Mr and Mrs Ong spent hours preparing, planning and rehearsing to this song. The end result? I must admit that those guys were somewhat shy in the beginning (of the night of the dance) Can't blame them. I was so thankful during that time that I wasn't one of the dancers. If I were there, I would probably fake stomach ache or vomit or anything just to avoid the dance. HAHA.

So, I salute their courage and bravery. To attempt this in Kuching is quite a feat. They drew a lot of stares for the night even from total strangers. I bet a lot of elders were probably wondering what the hell are these youngsters up to now? Some of the more liberal minded folk were clapping and laughing along though. So it's all good.

Back to Damai...



Since it was a Saturday, and some people like Cs, Alvin and Frankie had to work still, most of us ended up going quite late in the evening. Cs and I arrived at around 530pm. No swimming for both of us cos I didn't want to risk catching a cold again.


Shit swollen eyes and face still.

This time around, we managed to book a spacious chalet with two queen sized beds, instead of one in a typical Damai chalet. There was also a larger than usual toilet and a walk-in closet thingy. I must remember the chalet number: 401, for future reference.



Some of them went swimming (ah ong, nana, ah boon), some watched fuzzy cartoon on tv (ah boon's friend), some made full use of the Wifi (ong and nana), playing Left4Dead.

Cs and I went to take blur photos of the view, using his N79. Night mode turned out like this:



Why are our beaches not as beautiful or as clean as say Redang or Sipadan? Ok. That sounds too much to ask. But why are their water so clear and so blue. Our sea water is a murky brown. Is it due to all the pee and shit from Camp Permai that is flowing into the sea wtf! haha. I'm so stupid.



The thing about Damai is that I forget how relaxing it is to be there by the beach. Despite the pee and shit filled water. Feeling the sea breeze. Forgetting that we are just a mere 30 mins away from Kuching. Not that far from all worries.

As a kid, Damai was the go-to place for most of the Simon family school-holiday trips. The night before going to Damai, I would have trouble going to sleep, and still wake up very early in the morning on the day itself. Packing and repacking my swimsuit and bag even though it was just a short 2D 1 N trip.

Over the years, Damai haven't changed much. The kids pool that I almost drowned in is still there. The parents refuse to let me forget about how I almost drowned myself in the pool. According to them: no one was holding my head under the water. But I just couldn't resurface by myself. My parents who were watching me, were wondering what is going on with Amy under water for so long? Until dad pulled me out and I was choking and gasping for breath. They still laugh themselves silly when they reminisce fondly about this. Screw. I was just what 3 years old? They should take better care of me instead of letting me almost drown wtf!!

The adult pool is still the same:



We went to Buntal seafood. This group of friends likes the restaurant Number 88. I think that is the name. In the photo below, nana with a friggin headache pulled herself up for this photo. Before this photo, she wasn't eating and her forehead was on the table. Poor thing.



The rest of us:



Sorry if the photo turned out ugly people. I didn't have take more photos.



Btw, thank you for the dinner Mr and Mrs Ong!!

After the 4,000 calories consumed from dinner alone, we went back to Damai where we had red wine with some games. Typical Damai activity. I think it is some kind of rule to have to drink alcohol whenever you are staying there. Something to do with no need to work...can wake up anytime you want...drink yourself silly with a group of friends...hehe..

Bye.

Hair matter(s)

It's a PUN! Bit lame though. Haha.

Back to topic.

I REGRET!! Screw whoever said that we learn from our mistakes. Don't regret your decisions yadda yadda. I regret.

What is wrong with me? What is with me and decisions?

The Story!

Winnie picked me up from work today. Went to McD for a McChicken Meal with Curly fries and Coke each. My McChicken sandwich consisted of over cooked chicken patty and burnt fries dammit! The bun was left more than 5 mins in the bin. Very obviously not fresh. I suppose it being 5pm would explain why the food is not fresh. Not yet Gap Buster? Or is it already? I forgot! Does Kuching have Gap Buster? (Mystery shopper code for McD)

Anyway.

530pm: Off in search of the hair saloon Cherling mentioned. She only said that it was at Padungan. The first floor of the shoplots. A very old and small place. Located at the same row with the police station. Four or five shoplots before the police station. The name of the saloon was, according to her: a person's name. HAHA. We found it though. Judy Hair Saloon.

It was located in a completely unnoticeable location. Seriously. I must have walked up and down that place hundreds of time, and never noticed a hair saloon there. Walked up a flight of narrow wooden stairs. The place was empty at 530pm. Nice. Meaning we don't have to wait. Not nice meaning wtf is this place good or not? Why no customers?

Ahh nvm. Consoled myself. Cherling's hair looked nice. That is what made both of us come in the first place. It was cheap too. RM55 for dyed long hair. Freaking cheap don't you think? Everywhere else is raising the price in conjunction with Chinese New Year.

So. I told the taukenio that I wanted red, and that she should choose the color for me. So I put my hair in her hands and closed my eyes.



Winnie requested highlights. She wanted blonde. Dark blonde.



With highlights.


In truth though, the saloon itself consisted of three workers: the taukenio, a young girl, and a man. The place was fucking cheap lar. I mean, a guy came in for a hair cut for RM 7. A family of four came in for a hair cut and left paying RM 20. Cheap lar! Winnie's fringe costs her RM 2.

Of course, don't expect good service etc. For instance, both Winnie and I thought the young girl who dyed our hair was so rough she probably yanked out much more of our hair than we would have liked. She was tugging and yanking as she please. Mum would definitely be pissed. The back of Winnie's shirt was half soaked after her hair wash.

Aftermath:


I got the blonde.


Winnie got the red. She looks so disgruntled.

We both now think that the other has the better deal. We are both complaining about our hair to each other, to our mum, to our bf's, and to Cherling. Her hair looks nice. But why does both of our hair turn out like this? GRR..I suppose its cos we both already have in mind what we want. But it turned out differently. That is why we are both so disappointed.

Seriously. Winnie's hair is so much better than mine. At least it doesn't look all dried out. Like hay.

Ahh nvm. Console myself again that for RM50, I should be happy with this:



Mum (laughing at me): don't be so kiamsiap larr (stingy). It's your hair. Take care of it.

I dunno man. 50 bucks. Is this hair worth it? What about Chinese New Year?

I dread tomorrow.

Lalalalala

Just cos I don't want to see the photo of my back in the previous post:


Enjoy the weekend!

Not yet back from the dead

Show off a photo of my unglamorous back taken earlier today:



Came home from work and decided that these meds are not acting fast enough. Persuaded eli to "gua sa" for me. Quote from wikipedia:

"....literally "to scrape away fever" in Chinese (more loosely, "to scrape away disease by allowing the disease to escape as sandy-looking objects through the skin"), is an ancient medical treatment."

Method? It doesn't look hard from the way eli does it. She uses a round-edged object to scrape at the back of my neck with some minyak kapak. (no idea how to explain minyak kapak this time so here's a photo stolen off google images)



Available virtually at any drugstore in Malaysia hehe.

And voila:



I do feel a bit better after gua sa though. The combination of the scraping and the minyak kapak makes my whole back burn but in a cooling way. If that makes sense to you. What I mean is that it feels like my back is burning due to the scraping but it doesn't hurt. Feels more like a relief as if the heat really is coming out of my body..

Not yet back from the dead yet though. As I am writing this, my bowl of very unappetizing hot plain porridge awaits me together with my meds. Argh..

This has to be the last sick post.

Hope I get well soon! Please! Please God! Please Guan Yin! Please Buddha!

Sick. Again.

I am sick. Again. I feel like shit most of the time. Don't know how am I going to go back to work! Have been on leave for two days already. I have a doctor's cert to cover till today only so I have to go back to work tomorrow. Boo..don't know how I am going to work like this. Wish I had thought of asking an extra day's leave.

Hate that after taking medication, I always suffer from gastric pains or heartburn. And I just have to wait for it to pass. My fever is still on and off. Grr..when will this end?

I hate this feeling. Like there is something stuck in my throat, like I have overeaten, and have a bloated stomach even though all that I have eaten the whole day are basically porridge and vegetables and the like. Sucks!

I have been going to the family doctor for years, ever since I was a kid. He is used to my symptoms, my sickness, and which medicine to give me whenever I am sick. But lately, I am really thinking of changing to other doctors.

Today, the nurse took my temperature. Then my blood pressure. Asked me to open my mouth to look at my tonsils. Tsked at the red, swollen enlarged tonsils. Scribbled on my medical card. Went out to take my medication. 2 mins later, doctor came in. Looked at the medical card. Asked me to open my mouth and Tsked at my tonsils again. Patted my hand and told me to drink more water. Signed my sick leave form. Left. 3 mins tops.

I wish he spent more time checking thoroughly.

Please please let me get well soon.

Pullman Hotel and Liquid

Sat: Jan 16 2009. Company annual dinner at Pullman Hotel. Thank you in advance to Duncan, Zul and Nancy for these photos. Very wtf I know. Thank you for bringing cameras, and then sharing the photos on the public folder. Noble people!

This is what the hall looks like. The ballroom itself is called Petra 1. They have pretty magnificent names for some of their ballrooms, such as the Taj Mahal and Colosseum. Sounds impressive but don't know if they match up. This is the view of half of Petra 1. View from the stage:



Just realized I could not find much photos of the food that night. Personally, I didn't really like the food that night. Not enough choices and perhaps not my type of food. I want lasagna. Pizza. Sushi. Only one plate of it as shown below and all gone by the time I went near it. When re-filled, I was full already from other crappy stuff.



Said salmon. Looks nice, right? Good camera indeed. But don't be fooled. This is not a big plate and it was gone in like, 15 seconds?



Thankfully, the MC announced that after the bosses help themselves: Ladies first. Actually no difference cos the guys just went to queue on the other side of the room where the same food are served.



There were too little desserts, in my opinion cos I love desserts! This mini tart thing below was covered with bits of papaya. Weird combination. The papaya was too bland and tasteless so that all I tasted were the crusts of the pie. They should have added other fruits such as kiwi, lychee, grapes maybe?



Some of the prizes of the night. The main prize was the 20" LCD TV. The prize itself was meant to be handed out at 1030pm to stop people from leaving. If you leave early, then too bad. No prize for you..

So that was what kept about more than half of us in our seats waiting for the damn tv.



While waiting, we take a lot of photos:

9th floor girls and a guy



There were a lot of photographers that night. So this photo turned out looking like we were being caught by the paparazzi.



Also, while waiting for the lucky draws, some guys lead the way to the dance floor.



They just dimmed the lights, and played some music to get the crowd dancing. Most people just stay in their seats and take photos, and enjoy the free beer!



So there goes another year at TJ! Time flies!!



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

Round 2 of the night.

From here on, photos are taken with cs' 5 mega pixel camera phone:

After the TV was won by a lucky lady, cs came to pick me up. Brought me to Ipoh town kopitiam, only to decide to come back to Pullman. We went to Liquid, which is the pub at Pullman Hotel. It was located by the poolside. I don't know if this is the hotel's only pool, or if there is any other pool within the hotel meant for the hotel guests..



Said pool in the background. The place itself is mostly open air, wide, and gave a very relaxing atmosphere. By the pool, instead of normal seats, they provide these canopy beds-look alike as seen in the background below:



You are looking at Alvin demonstrating how err soothing/relaxing the atmosphere really is.



Either that or he is staring at something on the ceiling, which none of us can see...

Too bad that when we asked if we could use the pool, they said it was only for hotel guests. It was so tempting to just strip and jump into the pool..



They also have these hot tubs/whirpool look alike. Also for hotel guests. Aiya screw you! We pay as much as the hotel guests for the drinks too what. Not cheap. One Tiger draft costs about RM 75 (if I'm not mistaken), should be around the price at VA. A typical pub in Kuching, it probably costs about RM35, slightly more or less..





I probably won't come back to this place anymore simply because its not worth it. It is pretty to look at, sure. But see no touch is no fun. Not cheap too. I would want to try to stay over night at the hotel, since I have never tried it yet. Just to see how it matches up with the other Kuching hotels. See if the standards really are higher or not..



Songs are normal, not very loud cos they are in a hotel. Guests would complain. I suppose that if I were staying the night in the hotel, I would be happy to spend the night at Liquid. Should be fun to have a dip in the pool while drinking..It would be nice for a private function, say an after party for weddings. What do you say, Shirley and Chris? Haha



Oh yes. The theme for the night was mini skirts. So, for the ladies who come in with a short dress or mini skirt like me, you get a free cocktail.



I don't know what the cocktail was. I tasted pineapple, lemon, and vodka + other stuff..



END!