Lunch by the sea @ Siar Beach, Lundu

Such a nice view, isn't it? This was taken from the patio of  hotel in Lundu a few months back. My colleague and I were involved in this research in the area, which requires us to be there for data collection rather frequently in the last few months ....during our first visit, someone recommended that we tried this hotel for lunch ...not only for the food, but for the view :-)

and he was right! The view is awesome ....especially on a bright day like the time when this photo was taken

a choice of a swimming pool (foreground) and the South China Sea (at the background)

The food was alright ..i love its triple club sandwich ...a bit messy to eat all those layers, but it was worth it ...the cafe is often rather quiet ...but the food is prepared when you place your order, so it is hot and fresh!

my fav club sandwich ...I order this everytime I come here ...hehehehe

the cafe also offers a selection of freshly made fruit juice ...one of my fav is its watermelon juice ...a refreshing drink on a hot afternoon by the sea ....if only this is not a working visit :-)

Am planning to take my family here for a short break soon ...but I have to wait till end of March or April ..as it is currently the monsoon season ...with dangerous sea conditions ...dont want to go there if there is a risk of us not having fun! Safety first .......


by the way, don't you wish this is what your lunch should be like everyday of the week? huh?

Wordless posting: sushi

Sunday outing with mum @MJC

Mom has been bugging me about the fact that I promised her that I would take her out on an important errand

the errand is to find the material for curtain - for the longhouse

since we were always busy over the weekend, this mission was put on hold numerous times before

till this morning ...

When I woke up, the sun was shining ..
no rain was in sight ...looks like a good weather
so, I asked mom if she wants to go out
her response was immediate "of course..."
dad did not want to come with us
he is still unwell - from his recent gout episode

Mom said she wanted to go to MJC
there is this one shop that she likes
arrived there at 10am, and realised that the shop was closed
Bet the owner is still in CNY mood
which is bad for my mom
hehehehe .....

so, Plan B ....she said she want to have a look round
meaning, she must have something to buy (REGARDLESS) ...
LOL that is what I inherited from her ...
it is in the genes ......
must buy something
must buy something
must buy something
hehehehe .................

in less than 20 mins, she bought a couple of batik sarong
which is another obsession of hers
she bought batik sarongs everywhere she goes!
Perhaps, I'll do a posting on her batik collection soon ...

then, she said she was hungry coz we did not have anything before leaving the house
ended up at mamak's
having roti canai and roti telur ...
so, my plan to go to Secret Recipe or McD was cancelled
she did not want to go there ...

after late breakfast, we continue with her shopping mission
not just at MJC ...but drove to BDC and Kota Padawan as well
as per her request!
ended up going back home with lots of (what I think as unnecessary) stuffs
but she was happy
so, guess that was a good outing :-)

she refuses to look at the camera :-)

Ba Ba Black Sheep

That is the favourite song in the house at the moment ...Ba Ba Black Sheep ....and someone sang this song off key and at the top of his voice ...who else if not my dear darling nephew Alistair ...and everyone in the house is expected to sing along with him ....even my sister, who lives in KL, was not spared ...she was told to sing when they were having phone conversation with Al ...and this boy is stubborn! He always say three bag schools (instead of three bags full) ...and when I told him he was wrong, he said - mama, please be quiet ...mama is not at school ...mama dont know the song ...Al knows ..." emmmmm mama dont have the heart to tell him that mama does know the song by heart! But that was during his first week at school ..now (after more than 10 days), he no longer said bags school ...but now know the righ lyrics (yeahhh, and it is 3 bangs full) ...

hehehe since he started schooling he comes home with new knowledge everyday ...he has a lot of new songs, some of it are ok but most of the lyrics are completely out of sync ...some of his fav songs:

Twinkle twinkle little star (pronounced as twakle twakle little star)

Open Banana (this one complete with dance move!)

Kucing belang di dapur (cat in the kitchen) - but he said balang kucing instead

ABC

itsy bitsy spider

and something about shooing away some chickens (and the move is similar to a chicken dance)

delicious watermelon (i think - Al is still not really clear on this lyrics)

I went to pick him up today, and when I asked the teacher about Al's progress (me being a kaisu aunt), i was told that Al loves singing so much ...which is evident from his continuous singing and dancing at home! //but one thing that surprises me was that the teacher told me that Al often talk about his aki (his grandad) ...to qoute the teacher " he always talk about his aki ...it is like aki this ...and aki that ..." awwwwww so sweet ...my dad was touched when i told him ...hehehehe ....

other than that, Al is also imitating his school environment ....we were asked to raise our hand when he call out our name ..and to say yes teacher when he is doing the roll call ....my goodness, such an enthusiasm from a little boy whom I thought was shy and maybe not really keen on school ...well, he proves me wrong ...which I am happy to acknowledge ...well done Al, keep up the good work!

Fruits and Vegetables of Sarawak: Terung Asam

Ever heard of Terung Dayak before? It is also known as Terung Asam ...and so far, I have never seen this vegetable apart from in Sarawak ...I maybe wrong coz I am not a fan of wet market or vegetable market :-)

what it looks like

It is also known as Solanum ferox ...and has a bright orange colour ...sizes vary and its prices also vary. For example, one can get 3-4 of these for RM2-3 back in Sri Aman or small villages ...or around RM5 a kilogramme ....but in Kuching, it is more expensive...in 7th Mile, for instance, the sellers often sold it at RM8-10 a kilogram ...

my sister loves this, and often asked me to bring some to her everytime I go to KL ...i, on the other hand, do not really like this ...it has a sourish taste ...often used in hot and sour fish soup dish (using terung asam instead of tamarind juice or tomato) ...and the most common dish, or rather the most popular Dayak dish is terung asam with salai ikan (dried fish) ..its sourish tang is rather refreshing ...hehehe even though I only drank the soup and not eat the terung itself ...

There are quite a few recipes using this ingredients available on the web ...if you are interested :-)

Wordless posting: iPad savvy boy

this is his favourite activity ...watching his fav youtube cartoon character ...using my iPad, which he said is his!

Adik's pet fish

I almost forgotten about this till I saw the pictures in the folder ...I was planning to write about it before but somehow did not find the photos ...if I am not mistaken, this was way back in Nov when we went back to the cottage for a long weekend ...or was it for Raya Haji? can't remember exactly ...

But, what happenned was Al and the parents went back to Jane's village ...but adik was left with us as they were rushing and did not want to make adik tired at the time ...so, it was just my parents, adik and I ...adik was a bit asthamatic at the time and we kept him indoors ....poor boy was a bit cranky ...

but his crankiness disappeared when he saw the fish ...mom bought six little fish (ikan betok in Iban) at the market ....her intention was to replace the fish that was eaten by our neighbour's cat (i was blamed coz I did not put the cover properly when I put the fish in a new aquarium!) ....anyway, back to the new fish, it really made adik's day ...he and the fish cannot be separated ...he even pushed the bottle which contained the fish towards the telly, when he wanted to watch the telly ...and he made sure that the fish was facing the tv!

he even brought the fish with him on the mattress when he was supposed to take his afternoon nap ....and not long after this was taken, he accidentally pushed the bottle upside down ...was crying when he saw the spilled water ....

6 fish in a big cooking-oil bottle - sold to my mom for RM10

adik loves the fish so much ...that was the first thing he sought after when he woke up ...and the last thing he played with before he fell asleep at the cottage ....now, the fish are in Kuching, in a big pot at my car porch ...Al and aki are the ones who feed the fish, clean its water and so on ....adik would only play with the fish if it is in the small aquarium inside the house :-)

First lunch together in 2012

Instead of marking, I am blogging ...i really need a break from it all ...my question number two is really confusing the students (or was it me who was confused?)..i asked for two alternatives forms of CPT, but instead of giving me the answers (which are transport principle, whereby k= 4; market and supply principle with k=3, or administrative principle, where k= 7) all (and I mean ALL) of the students gave me two concepts of CPT (most popular were market range and threshold population) ...hellooooooo ...i am really confused now ...i am asking for alternative forms - so, why are you giving me concepts??? is the question too difficult to comprehend ...or did they just take for granted that the question is asking for any two of the concepts ...and stop reading the question properly??? as a result, i have to give them a really low mark for question 2 ...the most they will get is 5 (for correct explanation of CPT and the chosen terms) ...and that is 5 out of 20 ....i felt bad!but all is fair in marking ...

anyway, enough of that ....here are some photos of our first lunch together in 2012 ...when I said "we", it refers to Haslina, Bemen and myself ...ohh, and that day, we also had the pleasure of Iris's company at lunch ... we haven't seen each others like 2 weeks prior to this lunch as all of us were taking a long break for Christmas and New Year ....

Went to Pizza Hut ...as I was craving for some pasta ....and the rest was ok with the choice (as if we have THAT many choices of places to eat here in Samarahan) ...i ordered speghetti with meatball sauce, and that satisfied my cravings lol ....

The reason I ordered the dish was because I craved it so much ..wanted to cook it at home but nobody want pasta for dinner at my house ....so, it sort of wasteful if I were to cook meatball pasta (Delia Smith's recipe mind you!) just for myself ....the best solution is to have it elsewhere!

I still prefer carbonara dish at Elephant Bistro though ...but this is a good substitute since Elephant Bistro is so far away ...

Haslina ordered pasta carbonara ....which was nice as well ....but she was distracted coz she was trying to make sure Iris ate something, but the cutie pie was busy playing with Uncle Bemen's phone ....

It was a great lunch - we had time to catch up with each other's news ...before the start of a really busy month ...coz a few days after this took place, we started to get busy with various invigilations and marking marathons ...and we have not been able to go out for lunch again since then! so, the next lunch together will be after CNY break ....

In the meantime, am wishing all my Chinese friends a Happy Lunar New Year ...may the year of water dragon brings good luck, prosperity and happiness to you and your family ...

Life at the cottage: Mangoes and Dabai

There were plenty of mangoes back at our orchard the last time we were there ....all we have to do was going down the river bank and pick up the fruits ...the ripe mangoes tend to fall off the tree ....so, there wont be any need for us to climb the tree or to pluck it ....

pick of the day ...from our own tree :-)

My mom and dad planted lots of fruit trees in our orchard ...if i am not mistaken, they started planting these trees way back in late 1980s ...I was still at school then ...and since then, they had planted numerous variety of fruit trees - rambutan, durian, mangoesteen, longan, jackfruits, tampoi, dabai etc etc ...and those trees had already mature and started to produce lots (and i mean A LOT!) of fruits ....those who benefit from this are us - the children and grandchildren ....

the mangoes - sweet and fresh!

besides that, we also went to pluck our dabai ...for those who do not know what it is, or who have not seen dabai before, it actually tasted a lot like olive ...and the colour is more or less the same ...dark purple-ish colour, with oily flesh ...

dabai ( Canarium odontophyllum of the family Burseracea)

This fruit is very popular in Sarawak ...often fetched around RM18-29 a kilogramme ...my friends who have never seen this fruit before often asked me how do we cook it ...well, there are a few ways to cook this ...well, the truth is, you don't really "cook" it ...here are some tips on how to prepare your dabai dishes:-

(i) soak the fruits in hot water till it soften ...and then eaten as it is, or with a dash of salt ...and some people might prefer to take it with a dash of soy sauce ...accompanied with hot, steaming rice ...; or

(ii) alternatively, you can take out the flesh of the softened dabai (throw away its seed), and sauteed with onion, garlic,and a little bit of fresh chillies (if you want it hot); or

(iii) dry the soften dabai in hot heat (outside, under the sun) for 1-2 hours, then marinate it with lots of soy sauce (thick or light soy sauce), dash of sugar, a bit of olive oil and leave for an hour or so; or

(iv) you could preserve it in salty water ...and it can last for 6-12 months (but it became salted dabai).

A friend of mine told me that she made pesto from dabai flesh - just replace the pine nuts with dabai flesh. I have yet to try this, as the dabai season just ended. Perhaps I could try it next year :-)

Childhood Memory: Going to the dentist

Jane was having a bad day coz of her toothache recently ...she had no qualms about visiting the dentist to get the problem sorted ...i was like .."what???!!! you voluntarily going to the dentists?" ....the reason for my response was that, unlike her, I was terrified of going to the dentists or doctors ...yup, that is me ...a 30-something, career lady who just too afraid to get her teeth checked ....the fear of the needles is just too much ...people close to me know that I would rather enduring the pain, than going to hospitals or dentists ...

why oooo why??? I mean, I know it is ridiculous ...i know that you must get your teeth checked every so often ...i know that, but the fears refuse to go way ....

thinking back, i remembered that in my primary school days, we were given appointments to see the dentists during the school holiday ..it was a compulsory thing at my school at the time! I still remembered our dental nurse ..a Chinese lady (quite pretty) by the name of Elizabeth (same as my sister's name, that's why I remembered her!) who looks really fierce ..especially to those who cried when she checked out our teeth ...i hated those times when I had to go for my appointment coz she looked so fierce ...and very impatient with scared children ...perhaps that started my phobia of dentist???

I remembered one time I ran away from her room before she can get me to sit on the dreaded dental chair ...she scolded me and pulled me inside the room ...since then I was terrified of her ...but I cannot run away from her and her evil dental tools ..i tried to hide my appointment book once, but she called my dad to ask why I did not come for my check up ..i ended up being scolded by my parents ....

so, yes - I guess she could be one of the triggers of my dental-phobia ....even now, we had allowance for dental treatment - I have not use that allowance for a few years now...I make sure I brush my teeth ...follow dental hygiene properly ...so that i can avoid the dentist chair ....and now, I also make sure Al brushes his teeth regularly ....hehehe I hope I can spare him the "torture" of going to the dentist ....

Al's fav toothpaste is the one with strawberry flavours - picture from Mr Google

Busy days ....

Had had a busy day today ...i planned to work from home coz I wanted to make headways in my marking ...if I mark at the office, there bounds to be interruptions ...so, markingvat home means I can start marking early in the morning, in my pyjamas ....and while having breakfast etc etc ....nowadays, working from home is convenient as everything can be checked via internet ....i checked my mails online, to see if there are urgent matters ...contacted students and advising them via sms or online interaction ... So, i can mark at home at ease ....

morning:
Apart from work, I also had to do some filial duties ...dad went for his check up early this morning ...since he was a bit drowsy, he didn't want to drive ...and asked me to send him to the hospital ....after a few hours he rang to say that he was ready ...and off I went to pick him up ....

Due to the same reason, dad did not feel like driving at all, and I ended up sending our helper home ....i don't mind coz it means i can take a break from my marking ....


Afternoon:
Spent the afternoon with the boys ....Al decided that he want to draw and write using my red pens ... In exchange he wanted me to use his crayons to mark the papers ...emmmm am wondering what the exam committee will think if they saw my comments in crayons!


Early Evening:
Decided to stop marking for the day ....my head was spinning by the time, after reading endless scripts ...and dechipering horrendous handwritings ...took dad to Giant for some grocery shopping ...he wanted to stock up some food items for us to bring to the cottage this coming friday ....ended up buying a table fan, to replace the old one which fell of the table a few nights ago ....and getting a dvd player for the boys ...i promised them that i will buy a dvd player for them (for the cottage) as their combined presents for adik's birthday ....it was longgggggg overdue coz I forgotten my promise ...hahahaa, i only remembered today while browsing the aisles ....

late night:
Now I am blogging to get a break from my marking, AGAIN!!! Yup, marking is my middle name till I completed the whole scripts ....and maybe, just maybe, after this, I will go to the kitchen for some coffee ...and am going to have some of the cinnamon rolls that i bought earlier ...hehehehehehe ...

Craving for fish head curry

Another entry about food ....took my parents out last month and we decided to have lunch at our usual place i.e. SCR....but the place was full and difficult to get parking spaces ...so, told them that Bemen had tried this one place and it has fish head curry ...my dad's response was immediate - let's go he said ...and mom was ok with it as well ...so, off we go to this place at Jalan Song ....

The place was nicely decorated ....the staffs are friendly ....and service was quick! we were hungry and ordered our food quickly ...

fish head curry (RM40) ...the portion was rather big, even for the three of us!, who was rather hungry at the time!

prawn dish ...succulent prawns with yummy, lemonny sauce

my parents enjoying their lunch ....they love the fish head curry!

Dad complained that I took so long taking photos ...and he cannot wait for me to finished coz he was hungry ...at the time I whatsapp photos to my sister and the gang ....and then using my camera to take more photos ...ended up with this photo:

dad's hand spoilt the photos ..coz he cannot wait ..and he was famished!

Looking at this photo make me crave for fish head curry ....perhaps we could have lunch here tomorrow?

Last day of exam

Yesterday was the last day of the exam for our faculty ...and so happens that my own paper was scheduled on this very last day ....so, I came to the office to see my students taking their exam .....they all looked busy ...too busy writing their answers hehehehe ....nobody was smiling, everybody had their head down ...

Now that the exam are over and done with, it is now our turn to mark the exam scripts ....i had 38 students this semester, and they are supposed to 3 essays each ...meaning I have a total of 114 essays to read and mark ...all in a space of less than 2 weeks .....sounds stressful? hehehe I had had worst than that ...when I first started  teaching, I made the mistakes of asking the students to do 4 essays ...choosing from a list of 6 titles ...for a group of 70++ students ...hahaha that was a stressful time ...trying to mark so many essays ....in a short time given ....and i also asked that same group of students to do online forum and discussions for their assignments ...and that TOOK TIME to mark as well ....

after their last class - 20th Dec 2011 ....

so, comparatively, 38 students with 3 essays each is not too bad ... i just need to concentrate on my marking ...the momentum must be there ....with lots of patience, and a good eyes to read their miserable handwriting!

Japanese dinner

My dad loves japanese food ...he loves sushi, but he can't stand wasabi ....if he is unwell and does not have any appetite for food, he always requested for some sushi ...mom, on the other hand, is a complete opposite ...she can't stand sushi ...hates wasabi ...and cannot understand what the fuss is about when she looks at sushi rolls ....

One evening, before Christmas, I took them out for dinner ...because all this while, we always go to places like SCR, Nonya restaurants etc etc ...this time I asked dad whether he has any preference for dinner ...automatically, he chose Sushi King ...hehehe mom said ok ...as long as she gets out of the house and out of babysitting duties ...

he knows that I'll be taking photos for my blog, and told me to do it quickly as he wants to enjoy dinner

Because mom doesn't like sushi, she had a thorough look at the menu ...she hates eel ...she doesn't eat seaweed ..she said japanese noodles look wierd ....and she must have rice ...at the end, she ordered this beef dish with rice and vege ...and complete with miso soup ...

 the verdict: the beef dish was yummy ....the beef was tender and easy to eat (her word!) ..but she said miso soup smelt like burnt dishes ...i love miso soup, so I finished that one for her .....

close up of the beef dish (I forgotten the name)

Dad and I had fun choosing our dishes ...dad was game enough to try all sort of sushi dishes ....and the plates were piling up ...hehehehe ...

was too busy eating and talking that I only took this picture of our food ....

Dad was saying he would like to go again, but mom was not that keen ...can see it from her expression!

Pampering oneself with foot spa

Been meaning to write up a posting on my foot spa experience but have forgotten as we (or rather me!) have been too busy with other things - namely meeting a new soon-to-be family member (posting will follow as soon as I can fit it in) ...

I was determined to have a manicure at the time coz my fingers were really ugly especially after sepnding a few days gardening ...the nails look dirty and yellowish ....it is not helped by the fact that I kept on eating rambutan (and peeling it using my hands instead of using a paring knife!) ...so, a trip to a nail bar was really necessary ...so, after sending our domestic helper home that Monday (2nd Jan), I went to search for a nail bar ....i did not know that everybody in Kuching was doing their nails that day!!! Well, it seemed like everyone is going to the nail bars as three nail salons that I went to was full ...not accepting walk-ins etc etc ....so, the search continues ..I went to BDC areas and found one nail bar that is opened and with no customers waiting ...unfortunately, the beautician was on her lunch ...i waited for 20 mins (the manager assured me that she will be back in 10 mins!) and then gave up ....i was already planning to go home, when I saw a signboard with promotional informations on massages, nail treatment etc etc ...decided to make a try for it ...lo and behold, they are free! nobody is waiting and there is a beautician available ....just my luck, so in I want ....

Decided to have a manicure and pedicure, and also to have a foot spa ..to treat my cracked heels ....i never have one before, so it was an experience! First of all, the beautician immersed my foot in a milky bath ....which feels nice as the water was warm and scented ....

step 1: milky white foot bath

Then my foot was washed and scrubbed .....and then rubbed in some sort of mask ....the cracked heels were padded with soothing lotion ..and wrapped with cling film ..i looked at my foot and it reminded me of a turkey wrapped in cling film in the fridge!

Step 2: cling film wrapped

after 45 minutes, she washed off the mask  ....followed up by foot massage ...it was nice ...(no picture for that step!) ...after that, she started on doing man manicure and pedicure ....my God ...my nails looked really awful in these pictures ....

the before pictures:

chipped nails ....after a few days of gardening and housework

ugly!!! ugly!!! ugly!!!

The after photos:

black cherry ...i think this was after the second coating

chose pink for my fingers ....a contrast from my toe nails :-)

so, what do you think? hehehehe ...the foot spa was on promotion that day ...I got it for RM150 a session, and also there was a offer of buy 2 get the third free ...so, i bought the second one as well for future use. Am planning to take my mum to try the foot spa with me :-)

a good start to 2012, me think ...hehehehe

Al's first week at Kindy

yeayyy yeayyyy a week has passed and Al's first week in kindy went amazingly well, after a slight hiccup on 3rd Jan .....he loves going to school, wakes up earlier than anyone else ...and always always keen to go to school every morning .....my goodness, it was well beyond my expectation!

before school, he played with his Top Loader ...already eager to go to school in his brand new uniform

3rd January (Tuesday):
There was a slight hiccup ...a bit of confusion regarding start date, when Jane registered Al in Nov, she was told that the start date will be 3rd Jan ...and we forgot to re-confirm the date ..and with all the balik kampung trips (Kuching - Sri Aman - Kuching -Betong - Kuching), we did not call the teacher ...so, Al was ready to go to school on that day ...he was very excited and was just waiting for me and his daddy to send him to school ....suddenly Jane came rushing back saying that she dropped by the school on her way back and was informed the school will start the next day ....we do not want to spoil Al's fun as  he was really excited to go to his yellow-school as he puts it (the school is a bright yellow building with blue gate) ...so, we went .....and meet the teachers ...

 Al & Teacher Belinda - see how excited he was!

mummy at the background 

The teachers were nice enough, apologised for the confusions and asked us to let Al stay for a couple of hours, despite the fact that Al was the only pupil in that day ...they wanted Al to be familiar with the school and also not to disappoint Al ....at first I told the teacher that I would be coming back in 5 - 15 mins ...and the teachers said that is too short, end up letting Al stayed till 10 am (it was 8.00-ish when we were there) ....

he was crying when Jane and I left him ...poor baby ..I was so tempted to just run there and grab him and take him with me ...hahahahahaha but, I come to my senses .....it is just too much ..reminds me how I hated kindy ...my first week (or was it months) in kindy was really awful ..cried all the time hahaha ...


4th Jan (Wed)

 waiting for daddy

This is the first official day at school for Al .....Jane did not take any leave, so it was just me and my brother sending hi to school ...since it was his first day...and meeting new friends, I expected a bit of drama or tears from him ...so the plan was, if Al cried, I will be the one to stay behind with him etc etc ...but, much to our surprise, he went to the front door, said good morning to his teacher, and while taking off his shoes, a little boy (shorter than him) came over and that was that ....he completely ignored us - who were very anxious - and just waved his goodbyes ...he walked to the desk with this new friends and became completely engrossed ...wowwww, talk about feeling unwanted and useless ...hahahaha he did not even look at us that long hahahaha ...all in all, sending him to school that day was a very anti-climax ...expecting tears, tantrums and shouting and crying ...but none materialized ...what a sweet little boy ...so proud of him!

That was the longest 4 hours for us ....everyone cannot concentrate on what they were doing...keep glancing at the clock ...and my brother and my dad told me to go to pick him up at 11.30 ....since it was near (less than 10 mis drive) I had to circle the area a few times coz I was early ...do not want to be seen as an anxious aunty LOL ....he was shouting "mama ...mama ....mama" happily when he saw me approaching the school ...I asked the teacher about him, and was told that he was ok ...mixing well with other kids and did not cry at all ...whewwwww a great relief to all of us :-)


5th Jan (Thurs)
This was the morning when Al woke up so much earlier than any of us ...he woke up and told his daddy that he wanted to go to school ...then went to my room coz he said he wanted to brush his teeth and shower (Jane had already left for work by that time) ...i managed to persuade him to have an extra 10 mins lie - in ...by giving him my iPad so that he play his fav Crocodile game ....while I tried to get my bearing! See, how excited he is about this school thing!!!

Daddy sent him to school ...he would be dropped at school before daddy left for work ...it was a wet rainy day ...this was actually the day when it was flooding real bad in Kuching (we did not realise it at the time) ...I picked Al up, and noticed that the drain along the main road was overflowing ..and some parts of the road started to get flooded ...so after taking him home, that was that ...nobody leave the house anymore ...

Anyway back to Al's story - the teacher informed me that Al is such a good boy but the only problem was that he would be greatly distracted when he saw us picking him up ..he was excited to tell us his news that he no longer listen to his teacher ..or forgotten to pick up his bag! emmmm ...maybe time will change that ...

6th Jan
no picture today ....as i was rushing to go to work ....my brother sent Al to school (his duty from now on) and my dad and my sister picked him up from school .....this was worst than the day before ..Al had not seen my sister since last July ...and seeing her picking him up from school was so exciting that Al was shouting her name! hahahaha i bet the teachers are now saying that this little boy is so pampered that there are so many people involved in sending him to school and picking him up from school ...hehehehe


All in all, a great week ...it is a milestone for him ...he makes us so proud of him ..i hope he will continue to love going to school .....

First week in January

First week in January has come and gone ...felt like it was a very quick one ...started work on 3rd January ....i only went in the afternoon, as I was sending Al to his kindy in the morning ....Which I am going to detailed out in another posting ...but basically, I had to stay at home doing my unfinished markings ...yup, it is that time of the year again ....where we will be overwhelmed with markings of assignments, exam invigilations and marking of exam scripts .....

I have to say that i really did plan to do my marking during my break ...but it was not meant to be ...too many distractions ...our cottage was broken into by robbers who only took our gas cylinder and 4 brand-new pillows ...of all thing, these are the only items taken ....so, was distracted with cleaning up, going to find contractors to replace the door and commissioned grille for our doors ...trying to get contractors to do so during Christmas break is no fun ....but, thank God it is done now ....so, with all the palava, markings were put aside ...and now, am still trying to catch up with this unfinished business ...the whole of week one was spent doing just that ...and guess what, I have yet to finish ....

Exam invigilation is another bane of my life at the moment ....i had to do 4 slots of invigilation this year, in addition to my own paper this coming Saturday ...yes, Saturday is also an exam day ...none of us were spared ...nearly all of the faculty members have to go to work last Saturday ...my goodness, i was initially tasked to do a back to back invigilation, but i asked then to reschedule my slots as i do not want to spend the entire day away from the family ..... I mean, weekends are for personal time and family time ....

One thing that i have been putting off is my SKT ...i.e. My performance review...i just hate doing that ...i mean, it is tedious ...i have to recall what i have been doing the entire year...have to fill in the online forms ...etc etc ....i am not at all fond of this SKT ...it is essentially people judging you. ..sometimes the judgements may not be accurate ...one case in point, 3 years ago, I was reviewed by someone who do not know me at all, or of my work, but he was appointed as the HOD for my programme ...i was given a below par mark for my performance the entire year ...i was really low at that time ..but the following year i work my butt off ...doing research, publication etc etc ...i want to show this monkey that i am more than the 69.5 that he gave me! Guess what, i did sort of show him ...well, i got APC last year for my performance ..and that counts for something ....I know it is wayyyyyy out if my topic today, but hati ni masih membara setiap kali teringat peristiwa itu ...like the saying which says elephant never forgets ...lol am i an elephant here?

Anyway, now that we are in the second week already, and the dateline for the SKT is just round the corner, i wold have to start thinking about filling in my SKT form ....not looking forward to that at all!!!!

Mental note to self : check the dateline and get your arse off the chair and do the SKT!!!

Welcoming 2012

It is 2nd January 2012 today ...only two days into the new year ...and it also means that it is my last day of relaxing after a long long break ....will be back at work tomorrow ...but tomorrow is another day ....am planning to be less complaining and producing more results ...lol ...

But, what I wanted to share today is a few events which had happened and will happened this week ....the most significant is that tomorrow, yes tomorrow, my dear darling nephew, Alistair is going to kindy ...he is 4 years old and has been looking forward to school and riding the school bus ...but he was adamant that he will not be going to school if he is not using the yellow school bus ...emmmm, that is a dillemma coz he will be sent by his daddy tomorrow ..and throughout the year ...his aki or myself will pick him up from kindy ....so, tomorrow is very exciting for all of us ....my dad was a bit apprehensive ..he was saying, if it is not about education and the fact that going to kindy at this age is a lifestyle nowadays, he would not let Al go to school ...dad justified this thinking of his solely on the fact that he could not bear the thought that his eldest grandson will be expose to outside influence, where he may be punished if doing something wrong, or being treated unfairly etc etc ...if possible, my dad want to put Al in a bubble wrap ...but he said he knows that it would be best for Al to mix with other kids ..and being exposed to different learning environment ...he said, now he understood why my grandparents were not that strict with my attendance and homework durng my pre-school years!!! Being a grandparent and a parent are two different role apparently ...

Since Jane could not take any leave tomorrow, my brother had asked me to go with him to the school ....am keeping my fingers crossed that Al would behave himself ..and that he would love school ..unlike me at that age!!!

Another significant event this week is that my sister is bringing her bf to meet our family. So far, I am the only one who have met the guy ....they will be arriving here this friday ...so, my parents - my mum, especially - is getting ready with a list of questions ...hahahahaha....

Will keep you guys posted on both developments ...

Goodnight all ..and Happy New Year to you ...may this new year brings us joy, happiness, great health and prosperity ...