To Be A Child

If I could be a child

But for a day

Oh, what a day it would be

To be young and carefree

To play and be merry

To laugh and be happy

Chasing butterflies

That flutters by

Lying on the grass

Watching the clouds sailing by

Searching for dragons and castles

And warriors in battles

Among those giant cotton balls

To jump in the rain

Those puddles of delights

Oh, to see the wonders

Through a child’s eyes

If only to be a child

But for a day

Chris Anakapai

August 2009

~ A poem I wrote while I was invigilating examinations.

I believe that, at least once in our life, we long to experience the innocence of our childhood again. To relive the memories we hold so dear in our hearts. The childish games, be it wading through puddles or the rough and tumble play that seemed never ending. A time when we were still unfazed by life. Where there were no worries other than making sure we never miss any episode of Gaban/Ultraman/Maero Attack or if Mum's cooking another vege feast. An age when trusting others is so easy. When every day is an adventure itself.

If given a chance, what childhood memory would you like to relive?

p/s: 500th post! Woots!!!

Food: M.M.P (Mushroom with Minced P*rk)

This was what I had for lunch yesterday. Lyana thought it was choc cornflakes with raisins at first glance. LOL!

This is a fairly easy and straightforward dish and it's heavenly paired with hot rice, glutinous rice and plain ol' bread... Hehe.

The Ingredients:
1 whole bulb of garlic (minced)
5 - 6 dried mushrooms (diced)
minced p*rk (can substitute with other meat ~ I think)
oyster sauce
sweet soy sauce
dark soy sauce (kicap masin la ni)
white/black pepper

The Steps:
1. Heat some oil in the wok. Add the garlic. Sautee till fragrant.
2.Add the mushrooms.
3. Add the minced p*rk. Stir everything together till it is well-mixed.
4. Add a little bit of water, not much, just to ensure that it's not going to burn.
5. Add the oyster sauce, both soy sauces and pepper to taste.
6.Fry on medium heat until the water is all gone. Remember to stir it once in a while.

There you have it... I like to eat this together with glutinous rice. Layer it on top of the glutinous rice... Mmmmmm... Yummy!

Do you like it?

Travels: Miri Roadtrip

I've always wanted to visit this place :-)

Don't we all love holidays? I sure do when I have things to occupy my time like *cough* Farmville, BarnBuddy *cough* and also travelling.

I've never set foot on the oil city of Sarawak. So kesian kan? Dulu-dulu kena offer study in both KDTH and SMS Miri, parents tak bagi... Kalau tidak aku sudah jadi akak senior yg 'penyayang' to Hornbill. Huh...

So I managed to hasut a few friends to go for a road trip during the Raya holidays. Apart from the few glitches before we set off everything went well during the trip. Kat managed to find a driver a.k.a. Bodyguard for us. Thanks Dhilang!

The travel gang

The drive were fairly uneventful but darn it! There were so many big vehicles on the road! Keretapi je takde. It was a hair-raising experience trying to overtake all those gigantic vehicles on the 'patchwork quilt' road that we called 'Pan-Borneo highway'.. tsk.

Had lunch at Bintulu (tak sedap!), I didn't finish my food. Then we continued our journey using the coastal road. Saw one fatal accident where the car looked more like a scrap of metal after it crashed onto a big lorry.

Luak Bay

While we were in Miri we visited places like Luak Bay, Tanjung Lobang, Marina Bay, Grand Old Lady, Taman Awam, City Fan and some of the shopping complexes there. Bought some clothes and sandals (now that I can't wear heels)... Bought some vodka and a mini bottle of Icewine too (for my collection).

I must say that I like the beaches. I love the feeling of the wind blowing from the sea. The smell of the sea with the salty tang and the cool breeze from the sea. Ah, peaceful... if not for the noisy chatter of the other visitors. Hruummpphhh!

The journey back was quite smooth as it was the 2nd day of Raya, if not for the fact that my front tyre was punctured by a metal nut... Dang! Had to make a U-turn to Bintulu and tried to find a tyre shop but none were open that day. There has got to be 5 tyre centres in that area but none were open. WTF!!! Luckily there was a workshop that was open and the proprietor was very kind to help us change the tyres. Made another stop at Tatau and there was a tyre shop open for business and I changed my tyres there. *sound of money flying again*

In all, I enjoyed myself during this trip. I met my juniors: Sam, Shera, Alex & Marde. Alex & Marde invited me to go to Long San next time. Hehehe... I'll see what I can do about that.

I'm already thinking of where to go for my next roadtrip..Haha

Mini-Shout: Octavious Saran

It feels like just yesterday that I was eagerly waiting for his arrival from the hospital.
Soon, he'll be one year old. He's already starting to take a few steps and he can stand on his own. Soon he'll be running and then the terrible 'hobi-panjat-tangga' age will soon be here.

And real soon, he'll be a big brother to twins.

Yes, my sis-in-law and bro are expecting twins this November.

*smiles* More pics of Saran here.

Snapshot: Choc Fix

Want some?

Nothing beats having delicious chocolates for that sugar fix at the end of a (very) hectic day. I bought these during my vacation in Langkawi last month. (Got some cheap booze there too. Next time I'm going there, I'm going to get myself a bottle of Absolut Apeach Vodka. Sedap...)

Today was a very tiring day for me with a little bit of fun and pain thrown in for good measure. I enjoyed delivering my presentation on Continuous Writing Techniques for the SPM Workshop. After the presentation, I spent 3 hours with 37 students (my own class + another class: both Mickey Mouse - students) to teach them how to answer Paper 2. The students from the other class behaved themselves rather well. I guessed it must be either my colleague's doing or the kids memang naturally scared of me. Well, if that makes them behave, sit and actually learn something, why not?

The pain?
Standing for long hours is definitely unkind to my poor knee. At one point, it felt 'locked'/'jammed'... I had to hobble. Hate! Hate! Hate!

Looking forward to Saturday. Another road trip with friends. Yay!

Dad Says The Dardenest Things (Sometimes)

I recalled this phone conversation I had with my Dad last Sunday over the phone. My Dad had asked me to buy dog shampoo when I went to Sibu for my facials.

Location: Wonderpets, Sibu

Me: Nama bansa shampoo ukoi asuh nuan beli nya?
(What's the shampoo brand that you want me to get?)

Dad: Enda aku ingat, ba rumah Lin aku diatu.
(I can't recall, I'm at Lin's (my sister) house now)

Me: Bah, bakani aku ka meli deh enti enda temu bansa ni nya?
(How am I supposed to buy it if I don't know which brand?)

Dad: Nya botol iya, ke bisi gambar ukoi...
(The bottle has a picture of a dog)

Me: Enti shampoo ukoi mesti la gambar ia ukoi... (dalam hati: enda patut gambar unta..cess)
(If it's dog shampoo of course there'll be a dog in the picture... (mentally: would it be a camel? cess)

LOL!

Anyway, Happy Birthday Aba and Mak! (Sept 10 and Sept 11)

My Dad's 64 and my Mum's 58.

The Birthday 'Boy' and 'Girl'... Hehe

Dad surrounded by (some of) his grandchildren

The food

Took them out for dinner last night. Actually wanted to have steamboat dinner but the restaurant was booked for a function so we went to a seafood restaurant. The food was ok, although I thought the sea cucumber soup wasn't sour enough. The butter prawns were good and I like the garlic kangkung. The perut ahem was just ok for me... Didn't take the midin though.

Health: Love Thy Knees

Hi folks :-) *waves*

Been away as I was bogged down by work, loads of it, and most of the time I couldn't be arsed to think of blogging, let alone to actually write a post. Haha... Tanam sayur kat BarnBuddy rajin la aku... LOL!

Another reason is that my left knee was giving me trouble. At first I thought nothing of it as I have been experiencing knee discomfort for quite some time albeit being on-off. But when the 'clicking' sound/sensation every time I walk gets louder / amplified, and even my hips pun ter'click' also sometimes, I finally decided to see an orthosurgeon. I thought that it was something that the doctor would be able to fix by twisting my legs this way and that way... Mana tau...

First, the examination. I think the room must be sound proof as my parents didn't hear my screams from outside. Yes, I screamed. Siap pukul2 dinding lagi tu.

Next, the X-ray... 3 X-rays were done on my knee. Wah, mesti lutut aku rasa macam celebrity je...

Finally, the BOMB. My X-rays came out normal because the bones and stuffs were found to be in their proper places. So the doctor explained to me 2 possible causes for my problems... Either abnormality or injury.

Plica syndrome or Meniscal Tear.

Both may require surgery to ensure permanent curative effect. In the mean time, I must take medications and see if it helps. Ubat lagi. Dah la aku benci ubat!!!

Huhu, the surgery alone will cost me an arm and both legs (even my knee pun kena jual). But as my friend say, duit boleh cari... yang penting sihat and better quality of life.

The doctor advised me not to go up/down stairs (Dad/Bos, bila nak install escalator kat rumah/sekolah?) and no squatting. No jogging, long distance walking, etc (Gee, I haven't jogged in years la) and do low-impact exercises.

Baz Luhrmann's Everyone's Free:
" Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone..."

I like this song. =)

Mini Shout: Cramps

I don't know why recently I get frequent leg cramps while I was sleeping. It hurts so bad that I'd wake up from the pain. Usually it affects my right calf.

Asai ka putus wei...

Any tips that helps?

Mini Shout: Post Holiday Blues

Back from holiday.
Back to the hectic pace.
Work. Work. Work.
Busy weeks ahead.
I need to readjust.
Be back soon folks!

p/s: Good to see the kids again.