Mom Time

My mom and I were just looking through some of the old photos..I sat there with her and flipped through the old photo albums with her. I cant believe how big I was when I was little, bigger than the other kids my age. Believe it or not, I was once overweight. Saw some funny pictures, pictures of me with poses which I would never do now.. Ahh.. Those were the days...

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After that I asked my mom to join me for ice-cream while watching "Heroes". I really enjoy eating ice-creams at night, curled up on the sofa, in my PJ's while watching a movie or something. And I would especially enjoy it if it is Haagen-Daz ice-cream. YUMMY!!
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This is Rose Mattus (90 yrs), who is the founder of Haagen-Daz. I'm sure most of you, if not all, don't bother to know her at all. I mean, not that I do care, it's just that I bumped into this picture.

Bye Krystal

My Kay-Ma wanted to treat us all for breakfast as a farewell for me and my cousin, who is the same age as me. We went to WK Restaurant yesterday and had some Dim Sum.

.My uncles and my cousin. Don't ask me where I'm looking.

A group photo of almost all my uncles, aunties, cousins from my mom's side who were there (+ my mom and sis of course)
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Final words:
Bye Krystal.

See u next CNY :)

Pantyhose Anyone?

I know this may sound absurd to some of you, but here I go.
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Today I bought pantyhoses for me to wear during winter, in case I need it when it gets too cold. I've never worn it before, and I tell you, you would NOT enjoy putting it on at all. So ma fan and then scared it tear lagi. And it itches a little, probably because I'm not used to it..
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Now I truly understand why Princess Mia (from Princess Diaries) had such a hard time putting it on when she was in the car.
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I'm sorry bah.. Memang have to wear lor..

Be-earlied 18th Birthday

Mom planned out a surprise birthday party for me, cos she didn't want me to spend my 18th birthday alone in Perth. But I really wasn't thinking about my birthday at all, I was more concerned about Christmas.. So she tricked me la, saying that it was a farewell for me and my cousin, who is gong to KL a week before I leave for Perth.

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Here are some of the pics we took on that night:

.Guess where we were :)

My dinner, all-in-one lamb (medium raw to very well done). The chef say they did it "purposely" so that the fat gets burnt off so I eat "low fat" lamb. He could've just cut the fat off..Just that it won't have so much flavour in it.

My beautiful cake.
When the cake was still in the box, I was telling my mom i hoped it the cake had strawberries or chocolate. And I got BOTH! Well, it was actually a cheese cake. When they brought the cake out, they started singing the birthday song, even the Italian chef. He even did like a weird cheer after the song, a bit like the football cheer..

The slice of cake they gave me (I got the first slice)

The slice of cake they gave the others (see the difference? hehe..)

All those who were there to celebrate my be-earlied 18th birthday,

at GRAZIE :)

I can drive, legally..

Yay!! I finally passed my driving test, after going through it for the 3rd time. i'm so thankful, cos it was act my last chance to pass before i leave. Thank God!
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The officer said that i should have failed (I know..) But I see him mark the paper LULUS. That was all that mattered. I was so happy and relieved that I didn't manage to see what marks I got. But it doesn't matter, cos I PASSED!!

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Things that happened THE DAY BEFORE driving test:

1. Had driving lesson with instructor
2. Janice gave me some tips "Step on the oil!"
3. Mom prayed with me
4. Prayed
5. Prayed more

Things that happened BEFORE driving test:

1. Prayed
2. Waited for my turn
3. Prayed
4. Was shocked to see how BIG one officer was, compared to the others
5. Sang the "Prayer of Jabez" song
6. Found out that the BIG officer is my invigilator
7. Thankful for no.6 cos he looked like a nice guy

Things that happened DURING driving test:

1. Forgot to use signal lights
2. Went pass the small hill at the junction without "mati enjin"
3. Avoided a brown dog
4. Almost missed a turning at Jalan Peter Monjuntin (spelling correct?)
5. Almost got crushed by a lorry while switching lanes (the officer ask me to switch then I stress ba.. Luckily he brake fast fast) (Mom prayed for protection last night so I'm alright :p )
6. Kept saying sorry

Thing that happened AFTER driving test:

1. Was happy, relieved and thankful
2. Called mom immediately
3. SMS-ed
4. Call from Janice
5. Sms from Calvin "...now you can go and study with peace of mind."
6. Played Solitaire
7. Remembered to say my thanks to God =)

MOST IMPORTANTLY

What I learnt:

1. Trust in God, He knows what He is doing (even though it has been 3 times)
2. God does things in His own way and in His own time.

Isaiah 55:9 (NIV):

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV):

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.."

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Extra lesson:

Think twice before letting me drive, even though I CAN drive, legally..

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-A quote from mom: "You still cannot drive even though you passed"

(I shouldn't have told her about the lorry)

Valentine's Day

(I get hyped up everytime I hear/sing this song =p )

John 3:16 -

......For God so loVed the world,........

..........That He gAve...................

.............His onLy....................

.............BegottEn....................

.................SoN.....................

...................That whoever..........

..........Believes In Him................

............Should Not Perish............

..........But have Everlasting life......

*Extracted from Our Daily Bread

Nexus Lagoon Trip

11 of us (Alvin, Calvin, Carrie, Cynthia, David, Derrick, Eric, Janice, Raymond, Vincent and me) went for an outing at the Nexus Lagoon on 4th Feb. We had breakfast at Menggatal, where the food was sooo expensive, and Calvin stepped on something not very pleasant (you figure it out).

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After we played for a while, we sat down and started eating "kam" which we brought because there was so much left from Praise Kids. We had lunch there.

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Lunch Menu:

1. Tuna Sandwiches
2. Curry Tuna Sandwiches
3. Tuna and Plain Bread Sandwiches

And then a few of the guys added another to it : Butter cookies and Plain Bread Sandwich

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Alvin lead us for a round of warm-up session.

That's me and Janice(right) resting in the shade.
Janice: "Uh-huh.. Uh-huh.."

All of us in our life jackets (except Cynthia) before kayaking.
P/S: The person on the lower left corner is Carrie, in case you can't recognize her. She's darker in this pic cos I edited the pic (she wasn't in it before)

As you can see, I'm doing all the work. That was why we were last to arrive on shore. By the way, that's Alvin.
Resting after a long day under the sun.
We pulled the chairs together so we could be in the shade.

Us girls who were on the trip, together with our funky hats.
Mine's a racoon :p

That's Alvin's new billion dollar look.

I think our brains got affected by the sun.

*Batman, Superman, Ali Baba, Chicken-man*

Janice brought us to a new place for dinner.
It was beside the beach where the water lapped onto the shore.
So got background music la.. hehe..
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I enjoyed myself, thanks Janice for bringing us. Janice was attempting to give herself a tan but as you can see, she's gone all red instead (pic above). I'm so glad that the sandfly bites are starting to fade. Hope it won't leave a scar though.

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A quote from Dr. Melinda: "Sandflies are WICKED!!"

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P/S: David, I DID get burnt on the top of my head. It was so weird. It was peeling a bit but its fine now.

Sabah's Pride-Mount Kinabalu

I decided to post something about Mount Kinabalu, mainly about the myths and legends. I found out about somethings that I never knew before.
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KADAZANDUSUN BELIEFS:
An ancient mythology lies at the heart of Kadazandusun culture. A Kadazandusun creation myth tells how the supreme deities Kinohiringan and his wife Umunsumundu made the earth while Kinohiringan created the sky and the clouds. But the clouds were smaller than the earth and Kinohiringan was ashamed. To save his pride, Umunsumundu reshaped the earth, making it smaller, and thus created Mount Kinabalu, the mountain that we know today.
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NAME:
--Theory 1--
The most popular view derives it from the Kadazan words, Aki Nabalu, meaning 'the revered place of the dead'. The local Kadazandusuns believe that their spirits dwell on the mountain top. Among the bare rocks of the summit grows a moss which early Kadazandusun guides said provided food for the spirits of their ancestor. These ceremonies were performed to appease the spirit of the mountain as well as the ancestral spirits who lived there.

--Theory 2--
Some believe Kina-balu means "Chinese widow". Kina, being a corruption of "China" and "Balu", a widespread native dialectical term for widow.

The (Kadazandusun) story: "It's about a Chinese Prince seeking a huge pink pearl that exists at the very top of the mountain and guarded by a ferocious dragon. After a terrific battle he slayed the dragon and took the pearl. He married local Kadazan woman after that. However, he got homesick and deserted his wife to return to China. The heartbroken wife wandered to the mountain and was turned to stone."
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I like Theory 2 better than Theory 1, I wonder why(in deep thought).. Of course its just a myth, esp the one with Umunsumundu creating the earth, cause Mount Kinabalu is NOT the earth.
P/S: I hope you guys learnt something about Mount Kinabalu, especially those who are Sabahans (*wink)