the mountain we need to conquer

here we go, chaiyen and her impromptu trip. i think sometimes i do things like this, because i know if i have more time to think about it, it will never happen. this is one of the thing i never thought i will do in my life but heck im hitting the big 3 zero in months, so i better do it now before physical unfitness and age both become a burden. i only have less than 2.5 weeks to prepare for it and it rumoured to be raining season, i was stressed. so you can imagine i prayed out of my desperation. it is a miracle i made it and the weather turned out to be perfect.



the following few photos are what i had to walk through. i had to say every time i looked up, it did look terribly scary...

LESSON NO1:
i think just like life, sometimes the road ahead can look a bit intimidating but i went through it all just fine. on a hindsight, i actually enjoyed it. oh yahh, and the fact that i can eat 8 chocolate bars in the name of "energy bar" was totally cool.






we took the mersilau route and after 6.5 hours, i made it up to laban rata. i can't tell you how excited i was seeing this iconic building.




i love the most the hike up the peak. i walked this path all alone because i left my room a bit late and i was totally glad i did. there were a few moments i was just speechless while i leaned back on the rock. i looked up the sky filled with stars, i couldnt hold my tears as i chat with the one who created all this.



photo: chaiyen

walking alone is not without a cost :) if you take a closer look, i hurt my chin because i was walking alone and i couldnt see the path clearly. it seems to be no end to it because it was dark, i couldnt see the peak. i kept asking porters who passed by me "berapa lama lagi? (how far more)". i remembered the last porter told me "dekat saja. 5 minit (close, 5 more minutes only)". i challenged him again... "betulkah? (really)". i didnt trust him because most of them kept saying it is close... so that we push on. but before i know it, really i was already there. it was so close but i couldnt see it. after 3.5 hours i finally made it up to the peak, just in time for the sunrise. i have to say, i didnt really want to come down that mountain. in my opinion, mt k till date is the most beautiful place in malaysia i have ever seen. totally breathtaking.

LESSON NO2:
some of us are in darkness and it seems that life will never get better, take heart and keep walking we will be on the mountain top before we know it and we shall see sunlight very soon.







LESSON NO3:
mountains in life are meant to be conquered. intimidating, but every time we conquered each of them, we feel a lot greater and confident of ourself. so maybe there are there for a purpose, to strengthen us. impossible is nothing :)

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to anna, the babe in the photo with me, the one who made this whole trip possible for me. i wouldnt have done this, if you are not going with me. thanks for bringing me around kk, it is really serene and beautiful. love the whole experience, including getting to know your family. i was rejuvenated.

all photos courtesy of anna-rina unless indicated. for more scenic photos visit her blog. WARNING: it is breathtaking.

a whole new world

perhentian 30apr to 6may:

here is the whole gang bang from my cell consisting of fresh-from-the-oven 10 new divers and some existing pros. except for merv, the guy in black tshirt behind, one of our DM; and Ben, DM-on-training, carrying his daughter, lele.


the guy with tattoo on the left is my instructor, cum owner of bubble dive resort - ronnie. he builds a play pan next to the dive centre for his almost two-years-old kid. what can i say, he is a really cool guy. oh ya, 'the wees'... look what he is wearing around his neck. i think i want to get one of those for my hand. the blackT guy on the other hand, quit his job and is staying on this island as a DM for a season (8months). that is courage.


here we go!!!


i am on the far right. survived the underwater.


i am back, certified. satisfied.

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all photos courtesy of of kevin and adele.

the 5 days just past by so fast, i wished i had more time to read, to moonbath under the stars, journal, nap and just chill out with my friends. it is beyond my wildest dream to even imagine doing this. wouldnt have taken this step without all of you, thank you for giving me courage and lending me strength.

i could not help but feel the strong presence of God that comes with the wind everyday. it makes me think, maybe i am meant to live on a island.

when busy get crazy

from today till next weekend:

4 WEDDINGS AND HAPPENINGS
1. i have two weddings to attend
2. guide two couples thru their wedding planning/program
3. design a wedding invite and lots of prep for another wedding

COLLEGE
4. webpage design: convert at least 3 pages of my artwork to dreamweaver
5. 1 minute flash video: suppose to complete all my frames. 20 frame per second means 1200 frames (faint!)

WORK
6. half a magazine to do
7. proposal for a coffee table book
8. 3 other small jobs to follow up

FRIENDS
9. 2 different friends from singapore that i really want to meet up

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sorry, there are just so many thing... i need to list it down to decide which to do first. the funny thing is, none of it is a chore. i am looking forward to do all of it, i only wish i have more than a week to do all this. now BREATHE.

cigar, baileys and some music

this valentines, i spend the night with these ppl...

these are just some of the boys from the cell i had been faithfully attending. forgive us if we all look like AA group. we r all fella ragamuffins in the pursuit of righteousness.

when we are not drinking and puffing... we are all really nice ppl. these really sweet boys actually prepared dinner for us girls that night. they started at the market at 8am and when on preparing till 7.30pm, you wont believe how much food they prepared.



yum yum... cigar chocolate.

my girl is back

my cutie girl is back.


her parents have very small eyes, looking at their photos she thought smiling-till-you-cant-see-your-eyes is the way to go. reminds me of dejelly




so happen, my boy is staying over at my place for the weekend. so i arranged a play date. they started with a shy "hi" and ended with a big hug. oh yahh plus the unending names calling session "bye, char-lotte", "bye, sam-uel", "bye-bye, char-lotte"...

the great adventure

last weekend, we headed north to this place.


our room, or should i say our barn is pretty small but it is enough for the night.


this is me...


and my team.

part1: white water rafting





though you can barely see us except for our helmet, we are all still in the boat. this is what i found out after this trip, that white water rafting is not as scary as it looks like. but maybe because we only went for level3. it is really fun, and we really want to do this again.

part2: night tracking
we were busy grabbing branches and holding our torchlight. so no photos heheh...

part3: paintball

we almost name ourself camp-whore (since they were cam-whoring the whole trip) but we went with the company name team hot


my damage:


i pull through the whole thing with just one o-chia (blue black) and minor bruises. oh yahh... one lesser pair of shoes.

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all photos courtesy of yeow mei ann.

people

i just came back from my church young adults camp.

the fact that i am there is a miracle in itself. i had not been to camp for ages, especially one that needs to leave the compound of my church. over the years, i somehow get a bit fearful of this idea of going for one. i didnt feel like packing my bag and heart to go to a foreign place and be drown with a speaker i barely know and make conversation with a bunch of ppl that i probably wont talk to after that. i didnt want to go gambling again that i may or may not encounter God. i didnt want to weary myself with all the above and very often chose not to go at all.

but i dunno is it because a whole bunch of the committee are my friends and i want to be supportive, or was it a nudge from God. i signed myself up, i made arrangements to make sure my sis sleep with me, actually to even make sure she will be in my games group but i failed to arrange the latter. i went with preparation that it might be difficult. i confess that the logos word has not awaken much within me. i only scarcely feel the tangible presence of God, much probably due to my lack of sleep and expectations. but somehow or not, i enjoyed the camp.

1. the first night, when i cry and cry without knowing why. i wasnt even responding to the speaker. it might be the fact that i am finally making baby steps to be part of this bigger community, or the thought that God has gracefully pull me through till today, or maybe even the simple gratitude that i am still a believer after all this. didnt really care which of the above is the reason, but i reckon some process of healing must be taking place.
2. the good mix of old friends, new crazy friends and weirdo to blame for those many continuous tearful laughters and increase of wrinkles. to say hi, smile, make conversations and putting names to faces that i have seen many times in that big auditorium of my church unknowingly gives me great satisfaction.
3. the 2 nights sleeping with my sister, is believed to be more than the total up conversations we made in the beginning of this year. definitely loads of bonding including sharing bathrooms, yes we have not grew out of that. the many gossips ended up to be probably most valuable lessons i get -- observing how love changes one girl who is deeply in love, witnessing a marriage proposal (the beauty in the words and commitment of the one who ask for the hand), how a girl handle herself around her ex with his new girlfriend, and so on. hearing the many drama of lives open my eyes to why ppl behave they way they do
4. seeing God works in a camp not like the way He used to do so create a bitter sweet feeling. that God might has change the pattern of how He does things make me even more fearful to tread on ministry ground again.
5. overcoming the fear of attending a camp (or not), actually from i-dunno-anyone to liking my games group was way beyond what i expect, touching/transferring a whole box worms during my games time must be one of the most fear-factor-ish thing i had ever done.

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i seriously forgotten what crippled me, when all this fear creep into me but the last few days i seem to be making discovery. may i find the cause and find freedom to them.

the capability-to-eat is a blessing

BREAKFAST 10am
2 half boiled eggs with roti bakar (bread), iced milo

BRUNCH 11.45am
seremban beef noodle, chinese iced tea
dessert: sea coconut




LUNCH 1.30am
malacca laksa, assam laksa, chicken curry
dessert: baba durian cendol






TEABREAK 3pm
beers and oreo cheese cake
dessert: ice cream




instead of burping, we put our air to make this new creation


JOURNEY BACK TO SEREMBAN
jco donuts, seaweeds

DINNER 5pm
pack seremban siew pau
dessert: apple pie and ice cream

SUPPER 10pm
tomyam maggi mee
dessert: more baskin robbins ice cream

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my partners in crime:


our tagline:

che de shi fu (the capability-to-eat is a blessing)

RESULTS = +0.5kg