Thursday 30 August 2007

JKR 100th Year Anniversary

It was a memorable morning for me and also to the country where JKR celebrated 100th Year Anniversary. Our company was invited to attend their celebration at ICC in Berakas. It was suppose to be my colleague who should attend but unfortunately he can't make it.

Getting a parking there was really frustrating! I was there early and I can't get any parking. After few turns around the building, I decide to break the rules for once! I parked at the side of a narrow road! Anyway, got there and there are over a thousand people attending it. The guest of honour was the Minister of Development Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Hj Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar and accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Development Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Dr Hj Mat Suny bin Hj Mohd Hussein.



Just before leaving the building, we were asked to collect the souvenir prepared for us at the foyer. I was so shocked to see that all this people pushing each other at the counter just to get their souvenir. It look like as if they are trying to get the last piece of food on earth. They could have give away the souvenir during registration.


I push myself through in slowly praying that I don't get crushed just because I need to collect the souvenir. Manage to get myself in front of the counter when a big oversized man try to squeeze himself out from the crowd and eventually I was pushed away from the counter. I tried to get myself infront of the counter again and once i'm there, another oversize man pushed me and i end up at the back of the 'queue'! After over 15mins of ordeal, I manage to get my souvenir and STILL ALIVE....hehe...which consists of an orange colour cap with 100th Year JKR logo, First Day Cover, JKR Pendant and refreshment.


>> The pictures are a bit blurry cos it was taken using my mobile phone :(

Tuesday 28 August 2007

Lunch @ Tandoor.com

One of my favourite things to do during the weekend is to hunt for the restaurant that I have never been too... and I mean Of course those hygienic restaurant. There is a new Indian restaurant opened at Kiarong 'The Arch'.

I just couldn't believe how beautiful the restaurant was. The restaurant is on the first floor and you will not missed it as there is a big sign on the wall. And above the staircase was beautifully design.



The funny part was when we were outside the restaurant. The glass door was close and just from outside, I can see how exclusive the restaurant was. Macam takut kan masuk..hehe.. So we went in and were greeted by the lovely waitress. I think they are nepalese and filipino. When I sat down, I just can't stop looking around the restaurant. It is so well decorated that I feel like touching every single thing in there. I manage to touch the curtain though..hehe..


As this restaurant is quite new, there isn't much choice in their food. So we just order buttered Nan Bread, Chicken Masala and lamb kurma. The service is reasonably fast. But what dissapointed us was the portion. The portion is quite small if I would to compare with Le Taj. Quality of food, I would give a 8 out of 10.

So I would recommend you to try this restaurant out. Overall rating, I would give 8 out of 10.

Sunday 26 August 2007

New Member To The Family

I'm really looking forward to welcome our new member of the family which will be here in early September. I never met her before and neither do anyone in the family see or know about her at all yet! I'm sure she will be one of my favourite person for the rest of my life.

The person i'm talking about is my unborn niece Chloe Yung! She will be welcome to this world in early September and Chloe will be my first niece in the family! Excited!!

Since I was working half day today, I decide to snap some of the item that's already prepared for her! Everything look so small and cute.


Saturday 25 August 2007

Ghost Festival

Chinese all over the world, especially for the buddhist will be celebrating the Ghost Festival on Monday, 27 August 2007 corresponding to the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. Honestly, I have no idea of what this Ghost Festival is all about...although I'm a Chinese. Oh by the way, this festival is also called the Hungry Ghost Festival.

I found this article on the net, so I hope for those who curious about this festival, your question is answered.


The Ghost Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. A solemn holiday, the Ghost Festival represents the connections between the living and the dead, earth and heaven, body and soul.

The entire seventh month of the Chinese calendar is called the Ghost Month, a month in which ghosts and spirits are believed to emerge out from the lower world to visit earth. The Ghost Festival is the climax of a series of the Ghost Month celebrations.



Activities of the festival include preparing ritual offerings of food, and burning ghost money (or paper money) to please the visiting ghosts and spirits as well as deities and ancestors. Other activities include burying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies "giving directions to the lost ghosts."

The Ghost Festival has roots in the Buddhist festival of Ullambana, and also some from the Taoist culture. In the Tang Dynasty, Ullambana and traditional festivities were mixed and celebrated on one day. Thus, the Ghost Festival has special meaning for all Buddhists as one of their most important festivals.

The Buddhist origins of the festival can be traced back to a story that originally came from India, but later took on culturally Chinese overtones. This story, "Mu-lien Saves His Mother from Hell," is an account of a well-to-do merchant who gives up his trade to become a devout follower of Buddhism.

After the merchant attains enlightenment, he thinks of his father and mother, and wonders what happens to them. He travels over the known Buddhist universe, and finds his father in heaven. However, his mother has been sent to hell, and has taken on the form of a hungry ghost--it cannot eat because its throat is very thin and no food can pass, yet it always hungers because it has such a large belly. His mother was greedy with the money he left her. He had instructed her to kindly host any Buddhist monks that ever came her way, but instead she withheld her kindness and her money. It was for this reason she was sent to hell. Mu-lien eventually saves her from this plight by battling various demons and entreating the help of the Buddha.

Buddhists instituted a day after the traditional summer retreat (the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar--usually mid-to-late August) as a day of prayer and offering in which monks can pray and make sacrifices on behalf of dead ancestors or hungry ghosts. The family members of the deceased essentially pay for this service, and thus their patronage is a form of charity. The deceased ancestors are pacified and hungry ghosts can eat (the sacrificial foods). The Mu-lien story ends with this festival and the rescue of his mother from hell. She ends up being reborn as a pet dog in a well-off household.

Thursday 23 August 2007

Not Again!

It was such a lovely day. The weather is just fine....cloudy....and not too hot. It's a bit relaxing in the office today. Time flies without me knowing that it's time for lunch.

On my way to Kiarong for lunch, realise that the cloud look nice with different shade of grey and white colour. So while driving I took a snap of it....SNAP....


Continue driving at a reasonable safe speed, pass the airport, pass the RBA Golf course, then suddenly i have to step on my brake really hard!!! BANG!!! Accident!!

Oh no!! No! No! No! Oh...it's not me! It's the car, not far from me, although I almost knock the car in front of me though. He brake so suddenly and I have to step on my brake that my tyres were making screeching noises! Wondering how bad the accident were, so i drove slowly passing the accident scene and I was shocked to see the cars were badly damage and what really shocked me was there were 4 cars involved!! The first car was driven by a lady. The other 3 were a saloon car.

Manage to take a pic of one of the cars....



I think i have to remove my smiley away when I take pictures! He always appear as a reflection and keep smiling no matter what happen..hehe..

Unbelievably, I have seen car accident for the pass 3 days! As I say in my previous post, if this happen everyday, our accident rate will increase and I think the right authorities have to do something about this.

Wednesday 22 August 2007

G6PD Deficiency

My colleague who was admitted to the hospital is back to work. And he told us that he have G6PD deficiency. Do you know what G6PD Deficiency is? Here is some info about it.

Extract from G6PD Deficiency FAVISM Association

What is G6PD Deficiency (and its severe case called Favism)?

G6PD Deficiency is a hereditary abnormality in the activity of an erythrocyte (red blood cell) enzyme. This enzyme, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD), is essential for assuring a normal life span for red blood cells, and for oxidizing processes. This enzyme deficiency may provoke the sudden destruction of red blood cells and lead to hemolytic anemia with jaundice following the intake of fava beans, certain legumes and various drugs (see a complete list of drugs and foodstuffs to avoid).

The defect is sex-linked, transmitted from mother (usually a healthy carrier) to son (or daughter, who would be a healthy carrier too; see a diagram of inheritance probabilities). This is due to the fact that the structure of G-6-PD is carried on the X chromosome: As stated by Ernest Beutler, M.D., "in females, only one of the two X chromosomes in each cell is active; consequently, female heterozygotes for G-6-PD deficiency have two populations of red cells; deficient cells and normal cells."

The deficit is most prevalent in Africa (affecting up to 20% of the population), but is common also around the Mediterranean (4% - 30%) and southeast Asia. Please note that there are more than 400 genetic variants of the deficiency. You can determine whether you are G-6-PD deficient by a simple blood test. To determine your variant, you must test yourself at specialized genetic labs.


The symptoms
  • Sudden rise of body temperature and yellow coloring of skin and mucous membrane.
  • Dark yellow-orange urine.
  • Pallor, fatigue, general deterioration of physical conditions.
  • Heavy, fast breathing.
  • Weak, rapid pulse.

Risks

With G-6-PD deficiency you can have a perfectly normal life, provided you avoid the drugs and foodstuffs included in our To Avoid list. It is therefore of great importance to learn whether you or your baby suffer from the deficiency, so that you can watch your diet and drug intake, and warn your physician or pediatrician.

What to do in case of hemolytic crisis

Upon detecting the symptoms listed above, you should either call your physician or pediatrician, or go directly to the nearest hospital. Avoid the intake of any drugs. You would most probably be requested to list all foodstuffs and drugs taken in the preceding 48 hours, so try to recall and list them.

Tips for parents

Any boy suffering from Favism should be informed of his deficiency so he can help himself avoid the intake of the forbidden foodstuff in various situations where he is not under your supervision (such as school). You should also inform school supervisors and, where applicable, also the school caterers who provide school lunch. Best is to carry with you the To Avoid list and show it to all those who may treat your boy.

Can it be cured

The best therapy is simply to avoid the prohibited drugs and foodstuffs. In case of a hemolytic crisis, the most effective therapy is blood transfusion. In milder cases of the deficiency, transfusion is usually not required. But in others, where the rate of hemolysis is very rapid (as in all persons suffering from Favism), "transfusions of whole blood or packed cells may be useful" (Ernest Beutler, MD). In areas where G-6-PD deficiency is common, care must be taken to avoid giving G-6-PD deficient blood to the patient.

Proud To Be A Bruneian

I was browsing through few blogs on the net and found one of blogs that brought to my attention. This blog have quite a handful of information about Brunei. But what attract me the most is the video documentary about Brunei. It brings out the true picture of Brunei and rule by a caring monarch.

Thanks to OMoB Project and I have include the video documentary of Brunei in my "Must Watch YouTube" column. Enjoy ^_^

Weather: Raining

Tuesday 21 August 2007

Accident! Accident!! Accident!!!

Let me get this straight!! Most motorist in Brunei are ignorant and selfish! I saw so many motorist just ignore the traffic light, didn't bother to use the right lane at the roundabout. All they think of is themselves and to get to their destination as fast as they can! No matter how fast you drive, it would probably take you a difference of few minutes to get to your destination if you drive in a safe speed.

Extract from Brudirect 18 August 2007:

"In the First half of 2007, 1908 motorists were caught speeding and this is more than those that were caught in the whole of 2005, which had only 1876 offenders...."

"Over 464 motorists were found ignoring red lights while 236 members were found doing illegal U-turns in the first six months of this year. About 52 motorists passed the red light in 2006 and 151 motorists didn't `notice' the no U-turn sign. ..."

"Fatal accidents have always been a major concern for the police especially with over 22 cases reported already during the last six months (from January to June) this year and 24 deaths listed..."

Does this scare off some of the motorist in Brunei? Nooooo...I don't think so! Just this morning, on my way to work I saw 3 accidents...from Beribi to Jalan Muara and both of the accidents happened at the roundabout. Can you imagine how many accidents can happen in Brunei in a day!

I am very concern about the road safety in Brunei..it can be from wreckless motorist to road work safety! I think Brunei should have a proper safety for road work. What really worry me is when there is a road work and their safety signs are placed only at the spot where the work is carried out. There are no proper signage to warn the motorist way before the work site!

There are more cyclist on the road too. Cyclist are the most favourite to get knocked off from the road at night by motorist if they do not have a proper lighting on their bicycle. Do you know that Brunei do have road safety rules for cyclist?! Well, if you don't, below is the cyclist road safety.


"Be Safe On The Road To Keep Others Happy & Safe"

Friday 17 August 2007

Friday Friday Friday

It's a relaxing friday. Nothing much happening at work until late afternoon that my boss told us that one of our colleague has been admitted to JPMC hospital cos of complication to his liver. No wonder he look sick few days ago. We will be visiting him tomorrow morning and hope he is doing fine.

I have a birthday party tomorrow and really don't know what to get for my female friend. I always have difficulty getting present for female friends! hehe.. So went round to Hua Ho during lunch time and can't find anything! So finally tonight, I went to yayasan and decide to get her a bag. It's kinda embarassing to go into a female shop. I wonder what they will think of me now!! hahaha. Anyway, got a bag and I do hope she will like it :)




Thursday 16 August 2007

La Mee Restaurant

Had a wonderful and filling lunch today. Was planning to have lunch with a friend at Selera Alam at Serusop. As I enter the restaurant, I realise that all the tables are labelled with RESERVED. So embarassing to enter and then were asked to leave the restaurant! They should have put a labelled on their door saying FULLY BOOKED. Anyway, we moved to La Mee.

La Mee restaurant wasn't our favourite. The last time we went there, the restaurant were fully packed during lunch and not much choice of food. The service are always slow!

But today is different! The waitress came to us with a book of menu! Hehe... Lots of choice! And the price is reasonably cheap. So I ordered Chicken Chop with rice. Worth $5..PROBABLY $5 or $6 for fried rice. When the food arrived, I was shocked to see the portion of chicken they put on the plate! It's alot! That's what you call, The Price Is Right! Big portion and Cheap!



I enjoyed my food and I can't even finish the food! My friend had Crispy noodles and it looks yummy too. But he is just too stingy to let me have a bit of it. hehe

So I would recommend LA MEE Restaurant to you. They have a new branch at Gadong.

Tuesday 14 August 2007

Thundery Tuesday!

The weather was so scorching HOT for the past week and finally it rain today! Not only it rained, but thundery and strong wind too!


It started to rain when I was about to leave the office at 12 noon. Drove to Hua Ho to get something and suddenly I heard a loud bang!! I thought someone in their storeroom dropped some huge item on the floor! The girl in the counter was shocked and I sort of giggle to see her reaction. hehe. Then she was told that it is raining very heavy outside! That's the problem working in a closed surrounding! We do not know what's going on outside.

Was in Hua Ho to get a fluorescent bulb. Went to the counter and there was only a lady there paying her stuffs. Expected it to be quick, in fact I waited there for few mintues cos her credit card doesn't work!! So I was assist by other staff to another counter. Short queue..I'm the second in line and in front of me was this foreign lady buying so many stuffs and I was waiting for over 10 minutes and still the lady at the counter punching in the price. Did she win lottery or what?!! Then came another lady staff and bring me to the counter below. But the staffs was so polite and apologise for keeping me waiting. That's a very good example to handle customer.

Anyway, went out of the shop and I was like...the cloud was so dark and was raining so heavy! And the thunder just never stop striking! Scary eh! It keeps striking every few seconds..macam kena gambar! hehe.. Was trying to get a video of the weather but everytime there is lightning, my mobile phone video just stopped. Probably sensitive to lightning? Ah well...manage to snap a photo though.

Monday 13 August 2007

Who Like Monday?

Monday have not been my favourite day of the week eversince i started work. hehe. I know a few people who doesn't like Monday! I think it's just a human nature to become lazy after a long weekend. Or probably too much fun over the weekend that drain off your energy!

I had a relaxing weekend but I had a bad start of the week! As soon as I get in to the office, I was given few tasks to tackle! I have 3 tasks to tackle now and deadline is on Wednesday! Gosh..what a start of the week eh!
While I was writing this blog, my boss called me and another task for me to do!! Am I dreaming or what! Good thing this one is due by the end of August. I better stop complaining for getting so much work cos once I have nothing to do, I complain too!! hahahaha...
Lunch time!! Wuuuuuhuuuuuuuuuuu

Saturday 11 August 2007

Slippery Weekend

Woke up quite late today since it's a public holiday. I was busy playing with my PS2 till 3am! I feel like continue the game but my brain and eyes say I need my rest. hehe..

My parents stay over at my place for the weekend and it's good waking up in the morning and smell the fresh brewed coffee by my mom. Had "cucur udang" and coffee. Yummyyy... After breakfast, I helped dad fixing our washing machine. Good things my dad is here so he can help out. The problem with our washing machine is that after every washing, there are black pieces of stuffs sticks on our cloths and doesn't know what it is. And last night, our housemaid show me the big pieces of stuffs that came out from the washing. It look like algae!! Yuck!! No wonder our cloths doesn't smells good. And that algae causes so much pain on me! I steps on one of them and I just flew off the floor and slam on the floor! Good thing my bones are strong..hehe..


Me and dad dismantle the washing machine and to our disgust that inside the tumbler is full of that black algae stuffs! Read the washing machine's manual and found out that it is caused by softener and washing liquid. Since we always do cold washing, that's what happen! So we need to flush it with hot water once in awhile to prevent that from happening again! Gosh what a hassle! Anyway, it's all clean now :)

Snap a few pictures of my aquatic pets. I might have to let go of my pets to someone else soon :(

Friday 10 August 2007

I'm Backkkk

Gosh...i have not been updating my blog for over a week! I have been in and out of the country for the last few weeks.

The only time I manage to update my blog when i was at the Singapore Changi Airport. Was in Singapore on 22-23 July 2007 for a training course and then flew to Sydney on 23 July and stayed there till 28 July 2007. Was there for another training! Then flew to Singapore again on 28 July and flew back to Brunei on 29 July 2007. Internet cost in Singapore and Sydney is just too expensive and not worth it as I rarely in my room.

On 5 August 2007, I flew again to Singapore for a seminar. Stayed there for 2 nights. I was so dissapointed with my visit to Singapore. Stayed at Park Royal Hotel @ Beach Road. I stayed there a couple of times and this time I was so disappointed with them. Got in the room and wanted to take my shower and there is no hot water! Called the technician and they say "Just leave the water running for few minutes and the hot water will flow through!" Waited for few minutes and YES I have hot water. Same problem at night and this time I leave water flow for over 10 minutes and no water! Called the technician and the say leave the water running for few minutes! I was like "Do you expect me to do that everytime I need a shower?!" Then I complained to the Manager and he came personally and apologise and assure me that the hot water will be fix by the next morning. Good thing he kept his words!

Requested for morning call and didn't get my morning call at all! Luckily I set the alarm on my mobile phone! Complain to them and all they can say is " We are so sorry Sir!"

Check out time was the time when it trigger my anger! This nice lady entertain me and I query about my bill regarding breakfast charges. She explained it well and I understood when this bloody male staff who entertain my colleague just interrupted and talked to me with an unpleasant tone to me! I just ignore it and don't bother about it. Just before we leave the counter, my colleague make a comment to this bloody male staff and he didnt even bother to acknowledge him! Instead the lady who entertain me answer him! What a rude service!

Me being the unhappy customer, I wrote a complaint email to the hotel! And to my surprise they reply the next day and apologise. For sure, if I see this guy again on my next stay over there, I will surely shout on his face and say "I Don't Like You!"

Wow..I feel better and relieve now after expressing my feeling in here. hehe

Note: Click RCKP Travel Photos to see the photos I took in Sydney.

Saturday 4 August 2007

New Layout

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Due to some technical problem, I have not update my blog for few days. Just bear with me as I am trying to sharpen the look for my blog. So dun be surprise if the layout look weird today and look different the next day...TRIAL AND ERROR...

See ya!

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