“Pedal to the Metal”

That would be how I would describe the speed of my life right now…

Every day seems to be cramped with activities – from the rising of the sun to well after the sun sets.

Its a given that 8-5 is “work”, every free time after that is “social work”…

NOT THAT I AM COMPLAINING!

I have been working here for 9 months and counting and I spent the better 7 or 8 months complaining I had no life (apart from work) and was desperately bored.

Now, I don’t even have the time to even think I am bored!

I don’t even have time to cook my own meals anymore, much less to update my blog!

Admittedly though, I do miss my free time sometimes…at the speed I’m going, I think I’m gonna “burn out”...

For example,

I drove the 1-hr journey back to Seria for the weekends after work just now. (Now I am in Seria, thus able to get online and update my abandoned blog!) A few hours later, I drove another half-hour and took my family for Steamboat Dinner to celebrate Mom’s birthday. Drove another half-hour back home and here I am sitting in front of my brother’s laptop.

I intend to sleep in tomorrow because in the evening I will be driving 1-hr back to Bandar with my brother. We’ll be watching Transformers with some other friends at night. It would be too late to go back down so that means Sunday morning will have to drive another 1-hr back down in time to make it for Mass. And then Monday morning drive 1-hr back up to work!

GOSH! I anticipate a body-aching and sleepy Monday next week…

I have an “escape” (somewhat) to look forward to very soon though…the Firm’s trip to KK 18th-20th July. Woohoo!!!

However, there is the H1N1 issue and we are advised to get “flu injections” before we go…it’s not to prevent you from getting the bug but to boost the immune system, so they say…

If so, can I just choose to take vitamins, fruits and veges instead of being poked? (I never did like injections…)

Well, time for bed now…

May God Bless & Keep Us All…

And, Michael Jackson…may he Rest In Peace.

Amen.

A to Z

Three weeks since I had  a “decent” post…but whose counting right?

Anyways, I just wanna thank those who have been dropping by eventhough I have been MIA for a while now…really appreciate it! I have recently updated my other blog too so you can check that out as well.

So yeah, tomorrow I’ll be headed to Sibu with my Mom to send my brother back to school since the schools hols in Malaysia is over…(whereas here in Brunei it just began)…so, just wanna settle a tag while I have this speck of “free time”…hehe…

Tagged by drumsticks:

“Begin Copy Here”

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Start copy from “Begin Copy Here” until “End Copy” to your blog.

2. List your favourites from A-Z.
For example, starting with the alphabet A, you can list down your favourite Actor, your favourite Anthem, favourite Aerobic exercise or even your favourite ABBA’s song. As long as it starts with the letter A.

Then move on to alphabet B. You can list your favourite Book, or Bag, or Blog, or even your favourite Boxer shorts! It’s entirely up to you!

Repeat the same with alphabet C, D, E and so on until Z.

If you can’t think of a word that starts on that particular alphabet, you may visit Foongpc’s Very First Blog for a comprehensive list of words.

3. Tag 7 people.

“End Copy”

So here goes…

ALBUM: Photo album hehe

BOOK: The Book of Tobit (I strongly suggest you to read it. It’s AWESOME!)

COOKIE: Chocolate Chip

DONKEY: The one in “Shrek”!

EXTREME GAME: Paintball (that’s the most extreme I’ve done so…)

FOOD: Anything with cheese

GADGET: Internet-surfing mobile phones

HOUSE TYPE: Beach House?

I-WORD: Internet

JOKE: Witty ones

KING: Arthur (in “The Adventures of Merlin”)

LANGUAGE: English

MUSICAL: Sound of Music

NETWORK SITE: Facebook

OPERA: “Phantom of the Opera” counts?

PUNK BAND: Simple Plan

QUESTION: Watcha doin?

RESPONSE: Whatever, Mana-mana

STAR TREK CHARACTER: (in the movie) Spock

TRANSFORMER: Bumblebee

UNDER-THE-BREATH COMMENT: Right…

VAMPIRE: Edward Cullen

WIZARD: Harry Potter

X-MEN: Rogue

YAWN: The one that is followed by sleep

ZOO: Never been to any yet…

And I tag…

• Clement
• Cyril Dason
• Damyanti
• Elvinado
• Lola
• Man-D
• Nono

Enjoy the weekends y’all!

P.S. I did the A-Z thingy first before I read drumstick’s and we had only X in common…guess not a lot of words start with X huh? LOL!!!

The Last 2 Weeks

Aramaitee! KOTOBIAN TADAU TAGAZO DO KAAMATAN

&

SELAMAT ARI GAWAI! Gayu Guru Gerai Nyamai!

…hw ur gawai will b dis year?..y u so silent since last week? bz kah?

- my BFF via sms early last week.

Yes, I owe everyone an explanation why I dropped off the radar after my birthday…but where do I begin? Well, if you want to know the details…read on. Be warn, it’s very very long! Otherwise, skip to the “FINALLY” part at the bottom…

Indeed, the past 2 weeks have been very busy! Let’s just say I have an alter-ego, 2 separate lives, a secret identity…Career woman by day, an active member of the COLA’s Young Adult by night!

My usual weekdays (apart from the “career woman” part) would be somewhat like this…

After work, I would head straight to COLA for daily mass and spend the remainder of the night there, usually arriving home 10pm (earliest!)…After mass, Monday nights, we have Bible Study. Tuesday, Holy Hour. Wednesday, Adult Faith Formation. Thursday is usually “free” (my 1 night in a week which I usually spend at home doing chores). And on Friday, I would take the 1hr drive back to Seria for the weekend and come back up on Monday morning…and that cycle begins.

But the past 2 weeks was a lot MORE than my usual weekdays…

Week 1: 18th May-24th May

That Thursday, I was NOT “free”. We had to go shopping for food for the young adult activity that we were having on Sunday. So after mass, we went shopping (Part 1) and had a late dinner at the newly-opened branch of Escapade (a popular chain of Japanese Restaurant in Brunei) in Kiulap before calling it a night.

Friday, after work, I did not attend mass (and also missed the 1st day of the 9-day Novena to the Holy Spirit in preparation for Pentecost) as I had to go to for the Firm’s badminton session and after that, went for dinner with colleagues. This was the FIRST weekend whereby I did NOT go back to Seria for the weekend.

Saturday, spent the day doing chores (in place of Thursday) and in the afternoon, after some minor hiccups, went shopping (Part 2) and late lunch. Another mini shopping spree (Part 2.5) and just enough time to get home and bath, attended the 2nd day of Novena - a few seconds late at that. After Novena, went for the final shopping session (Part 3) before 5 of us went to tapau some late dinner from WYWY (another well-known chain of eatery in Brunei) and went to A’s house where we would be preparing the food for the following day. More like the next few hours actually as it was almost midnight when we actually began our “preparation”…

Sunday, midnight. In the midst of the “preparation”, we took a few minutes to surprise one among us with a birthday cake for it was her birthday on Sunday! “At least this is better than spending my 28th birthday alone in my bedroom” she said gratefully, not realising that she would perhaps regret saying so in a few hours! Anyways, we were finally done with the food around 2am and after bathing/washing up, all retired to bed. Between 2am-3am, the 4 of us (1 slept in a different room) were far from asleep. We were talking and laughing and joking around and at one point, well TWICE actually!, 2 of them decided to form a human pile crushing the birthday girl, fulfilling her birthday wish? Haha! However, I was beside the birthday girl so I was partly crushed as well. LOL! It was only at 3am that we actually slept…

And we woke up at 4am!!! Only 1 hour of sleep! Why so early? Because our Sunday activity was “Easter SUNRISE Beach Party”…meaning we had to be at the beach to watch the sunrise! I know, we are one crazy bunch of young adults!

So yeah, we left for the beach when it was still dark and rays of the sun gradually crept from beyond the horizon as we made the half-hour drive to the beach. And we were the first to arrive in time to watch the sunrise. Only about half of the people managed to catch the sunrise as the others only arrived when the sun was well up. I admit though, I was kinda dissapointed that the “beach” wasn’t quite as I expected. This was my first time to Serasa Beach and well, it had a lot less sand and a little more grass than you’d expect at a beach. It was more like the side of an isle(?) rather than a beach beach if you know what I mean…but that didn’t prevent all 20-odd people of us of having a great time all day!!!

The eating (there was lots and lots and lots of food!), the company and the activities were super AWESOME! Bishop even came to join us for a while after he was done with the Sunday Mass!

Some had to leave earlier as they had other activities to attend to in church, but the rest of us left around 2pm. I reached home at around 3pm, washed the pots and etc from the BBQ, bathed and freshen up and managed to take a 1-hr nap before it was time for Mass. During Mass, most of us were well exhausted and had body aches from all our physical exertions that day. After mass, a quick dinner at the nearby stalls and then its the 3rd day of Novena. After that, I immediately went home and slept. It was 9pm.

Week 2: 25th May-31st May

Only about 9 hours’ of sleep later did I wake up (more grudgingly than usual!) and spent a torturous Monday at work trying to stay awake! Gosh~ After work, I immediately went home to grab a quick 1-hr nap as I still have not recovered from the previous weekend. Then after bathing, went for the 4th day of Novena and began work on the activity for this weekend – “The 43rd World Social Communication Day”. A contest had been run for the Friday and Sunday School children and the COLA Youth and we needed to shortlist the entries to be passed to the judges. Imagine this: There was 3 of us, all exhausted, and it was late (and we still needed sleep!!!)…we resorted to judging ala American Idol, “YES!”, “NO!”, “THAT’S A DISASTER!”, and shortlisted 6/40 essays and 10/40 posters.

Tuesday, I intended to go to mass but missed it as I had to buy paper for the contest certificates – for ALL 80 participants and the winners. So I went home to bath and then left for Novena. After Novena, printed participation certs for those that were not shortlisted but had to stop as the printer ink ran out on us. Also, it was already 10pm+…and we still needed sleep!!!

Wednesday, finally managed to attend mass and before Novena managed to print the participation certs for the shortlisted entries. However, we still had the winning certs to print which we could only do the following day after they had been judged. But that was minor considering we already printed MOST of them already…and it was only on Wednesday that I felt I had fully recovered from the previous weekend…

Thursday, after mass before Novena, we obtained the winners for the essays and posters and after Novena printed all the winning certs. But there was 1 more category which have not been judged – video making by the COLA Youth, and that was the following night. On top of that, the full preparation for the weekend began…setting up the venue, etc etc…

Friday, after mass before Novena, we got the winners for the videos and after Novena printed all the certs and finally we were done with the certs! However, we still hadn’t secured the prizes – to be done the next night but on this night, the setting up was in full-swing and almost everything was in place for the weekend! – THIS being my 2nd weekend in Bandar…

Saturday, took the opportunity to sleep-in and spent the day doing chores (in place of Thursday) and in the evening, went to COLA to help out with the gift-wrapping. It was also the beginning of the “The 43rd World Social Communication Day” and we had the exhibits going on as well and our special edition magazine was off the press! My first article in print! and it was the final night, the 9th day of the Novena to the Holy Spirit. Only after Novena managed to continue with the gift-wrapping – which unexpectedly took a really long time as I had to make 45 small paper bags to keep the small indiviual prizes for the members of the winning videos as the entries were by class…we ended up staying till past midnight! That was a first!

Sunday, woke up at 7am and got ready for the big event. Went to COLA a little early to set up the prizes and certs before making it in time for the 9.30am Mass, after which the event was in full-swing up until noon. Main item for the event was the LIVE Video Conference between the 3 parishes in Brunei. This was the theme of “Communication” and it is the first time such a big-scale link-up was tried, and it was successfully accomplished!!! We were thrilled! And of course, all our hard work paid of and all our winners got their certs and prizes…

FINALLY

Finally, after the most exhausting-but-fun 2 weeks of my life after I started working in Brunei, I could go home for the weekend (since today is a public hol here)…it might be shorter than my normal 3 nights weekends but at least I am with family. Furthermore, when I reached Seria yesterday afternoon, it was a nice surprise that my MOM and BRO had arrived from SIBU!!! They arrived Saturday and didn’t tell us earlier cos they wanted to “pay back” for our surprise…

All in all, the past 2 weeks have been very busy indeed huh? Now, its time to go to bed and hibernate…

HAVE A BLESSED PENTECOST!

She

My attempt at writing a “novel” (so bear with me?)

~~~

Foreword: The following story has everything to do with real life characters and real life events!

Waking up that morning used to be one of her fave moments. It was like waking up on Christmas morning, knowing there was a treat waiting under the Christmas Tree…

But that morning, it felt like any other day. If anything, it felt like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed and that a terrible day was ahead! All the greetings in her inbox used to be enough to plaster a smile on her face all day. But this time, they did nothing at all…

It all began the previous night…the feeling of loneliness was so strong then. She could hear the deafening silence that was in her heart…and she would have spent the following day dwelling in her own feelings if it were not for some friends suddenly remembering that the following day was her birthday…

She was never like this before…

As soon as it was her birthmonth, she used to already be smiling and was practically on Cloud 9 almost the whole month through…but this year, she felt very different…She didn’t feel the excitement she used to…She didn’t even make it a point to acknowledge that “Hey! It’s May!” like she normally would…

Yes, that year was a real turning point…yes, “it is just a number”…but, it was a very significant one. The number told her that she had been alive and kicking for a more than a quarter of a century already and Yes, she was very thankful for that, but at the same time, it scared her! To look back at all she had achieved (and not achieved) in such a period was just…overwhelming. But most of all, it made her realise how lonely she was…to be without her loved ones, family and close friends by her side, especially on that day…and what of the future? She wondered…

Inspite of her feelings, she tried to be positive about the day. She decided, rather as an afterthought, that she would wear something different to work. She decided to wear a skirt instead of her usual pants. She turned quite a number of heads and received quite a number of compliments that day. It was a good feeling, albeit briefly. It also meant a lot to her that her close colleagues remembered her, wished her and gave her a gift. But the day was far from over and aching on really slowly to her disdain…But gradually, the many more wishes that came pouring in through sms, facebook and friendster managed to make her smile a little smile…

Fortunately for her, some of her friends the previous night had insisted that they made plans to celebrate. She really didn’t feel like celebrating at that time (which was so unlike her!) but they insisted so she consented, almost grudgingly. So after work, she went over to meet them. She was touched that they made an effort to inform a few others as well, and they too came. From feeling totally lonesome the previous day, the last-minute dinner plan turned out to be just what she needed! The company was nice. The memories, cherished. And by then end of the dinner, she felt better than she had all day…

How ironic that when she didn’t want the day to end, it was…

However, that dinner changed everything and the next day she was back to her usual not-miserable-self. She was glad her friends didn’t let her let that day pass by like any other day. If they had, she would have regretted it her entire life and her “miserableness” would have taken over…forever…But love conquered that, and for that she was truly thankful…

A few late wishes still came in the following day and the best was the “surprise party” the same friends from the night before had planned for her…although due to her “miserableness” the previous day, they had accidentally let the “secret” out early…but still, she enjoyed the surprise – especially the unique and special “cake” they got – and everyone who was there.

And then icing on the cake?

When a father-figure unexpectedly gave her a birthday present…

Indeed, she would never forget the emotional rollercoaster that was her birthday that year.

~~~

P.S. So, how was my “novel”?

P.P.S To everyone who remembered…THANK YOU for saving me from myself… Mwah!

X is Awesome!!!

I truly sympathise with those who DID NOT get to experience this during their childhood:

Ah…I miss those cartoon watching days of long ago…*sobs*

Thankfully, for old-time’s sake, many of them have been made into movies: X-Men, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Ironman, Fantastic Four, Transformers…

But for me, the best of them all is the X-Men Trilogy, 3 films in the space of 6 years (2000-2006)…which ended with the death of Professor X. So sad!

…but now they are doing the Star Wars thingy and going back in time to show us how it all began…SUPER!!!

The first spin-off or prequel (and according to wiki, its not the last! ) X-Men Origins starts off with Wolverine…

Last week, me and 5 others watched “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” at Seri Q-Lap Cinema. The tickets were a lot cheaper compared to The Mall and we had the best seats in the house (smack in the center of the big screen!) – awesome!

I’m not gonna reveal the plot of the movie, you can click here for that, but I simply LOVED it!!! However, if you have not watched the movie, I doubt you will understand what I am talking about after this…

Thanks to wiki, I now know (what I didn’t realise when watching the movie) some very interesting and important facts that practically made me slap my forehead and say “OH!” in enlightenement!

Talk about sibling rivalry!

1) Logan/Wolverine’s brother Victor Creed is the future X-Men villain Sabretooth!!! – who is, by the way, in “X-Men”, the 1st of the Trilogy! The role was played by two different actors though.

2) Wolverine’s girlfriend’s sister name is Emma Frost, future X-Men known as White Queen – an X-Men I have no recollection of. How odd…

3) The villain here, Colonel William Stryker is also the villain in “X2″, the 2nd of the X-Men Trilogy (although 2 different actors played the role). I really need to rewatch the Trilogy!

(L-R): Wade/Deadpool, Remy LeBeau/Gambit, Logan/Wolverine, Victor Creed/Sabretooth, Kayla/Silverfox

4) One of two possible endings appear following the credits of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”. The first depicts Deadpool/Weapon XI’s hand reaching out from the rubble of the nuclear complex to touch his severed head. The second alternate scene shows Wolverine drinking at a bar in Japan. The female bartender asks if he is drinking to forget; Wolverine replies that he’s drinking to remember.

Ours was the second…thus I did not realise the importance of Deadpool. Apparently, he is important enough to have a spin-off as well, and this has been confirmed following the success of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”! According to wiki, in the prequel, it is understood that Deadpool, a surgically altered Wade Wilson with the ‘pooled’ abilities of other mutants, would regain the ability to mouth off, with the movie going back to the roots of the character, known for his slapstick tone and propensity to break the fourth wall. Does that mean he can “talk others to death”? Haha!

5) Upcoming spin-offs or prequels will be “X-Men Origins: Magneto” (the title is self-explanatory), “X-Men: First Class” (intended to be about the young Cyclops, Jean, Beast and others who attended Xavier’s school with them) and “Deadpool” (mentioned above) and the inclusion of Gambit also leads to the possibilities of his own spin-off. Nice!

In summary, I LOVE X-MEN and I can’t wait for whatever prequel/sequel - there is a sequel planned for Wolverine, set in Japan (note the second ending scene which we saw!) and possiblity of a sequel after Prof. X died in “X-Men: The Last Stand”, the 3rd of the Trilogy - they can come up with!

Yes, I am X-cited alright!

P.S. In “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, there were a quite a number of good-looking guys. Agent Zero was cute, Remy LeBeau aka Gambit was hot (reminded me of Capt. Jack Sparrow of “Pirates of the Caribbean” – another set of films I love watching!) and also featured will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas for his first major film debut!

P.P.S. My fave scene was…ALL of the fighting scenes!!! Super effects and stunt-work(?)

P.P.P.S. Above all, my fave X-Men since the very beginning is Rogue, Gambit’s love interest. I guess I can relate more to her character…Hehe. Anyways, this character hasn’t yet been portrayed much in any of the movies…one day hopefully.