*This was a scheduled post, and was written before 16 October 2015, hence the reason why it still sounds so upbeat. I've amended it a little only to reflect the current situation, but left almost all of it as initially drafted.*

I just realized, but 31 October 2015, marks the 10th Anniversary of my blog. 10 years!

What a long way I have come, since then.

I apparently started this blog on 31st October 2005, whilst I was in my first year of Law School / University.

(I know for a fact that I meddled with the date of the first post, so this blog's actual birthday is either before or after that date, but I can't remember the exact date - so let's all just forget bout that technicality here lol) 

The design of this blog is thanks to ccymie who kindly designed the current outline of the blog in 2007 according to my specifications, and I have not been inclined to change the design at all all this years. (Though if and when he has the time I may need some help with some html codes on the sidebar for outdated apps.)

The theme for the blog, being "Flow" where I chose water as the main premise, since water is ever changing, and conforms to whatever container you put it in; it can be gentle and it can be cruel; it's unpredictable. 

Which, is in line with this blog's main focus of being unable to see what the future will bring us i.e. I still stay by the theme of this blog that the 'future is unpredictable'; and that the 'fight to rise once again' is till ongoing as a daily battle. But that's a different story for maybe another day, and/or different audience.

While due to work commitments I had became less active over the years in posting anything at all.

Since I rather spend my spare time catching up on my sleep or other things than racking my brains thinking about posting anything. I've honestly also become more reserved about what I want to share online with people who know me, and what I would like to share with strangers, if any, do read what I write.

I also went through a lot career wise. My direct superior and senior left the team at the same time i.e. in April 2011, forcing a 3 man team into a 1 man team, with the same amount of workload, if not more. Hence the lack of posts from that duration on wards. I did write intermittently during that tough time, so maybe I will retrieve what I wrote and post them later. Those will be backdated though, I think..

And also due to some ex acquaintances, who for a lack of a better word were nosy, stalking, gossip mongers, I had for many years made this blog only available for private viewing - it's public again now, and if you don't like what I post then just don't read or follow this blog.

(I'm in a position now where I seriously don't give a damn about your opinions. It's not like you are losing anything financially or your quality of life by what I post here. So don't waste your time reading something you don't like. i.e. No one is forcing you to read my mindless and lengthy ramblings...)

I did skim through my posts from this past 10 years and all I can say is that, the me of the past 10 years, rambles a lot, curses a lot , procrastinates a lot (I probably still do all three a lot?), has a weird sense of humour(?), freaks out a lot close to exams, took a lot of random online quizzes, and again... Rambles a lot.. Ahh, those were the days... 

Amongst my favourite posts from the past that I found during my skimming - be wary of Manglish - I had this habit of not checking what I wrote for grammatical/spelling errors, and used SMS spellings all the time as well:
Poems I wrote: here, here, here, & here.
Me freaking out over my revenue law assignment
Mother's Day in May 2008
Me Freaking out before the CLP/Malaysian Bar Exam lol
Sister's Birthday Card in August 2008
Precious in his Younger Years in August 2008
My Singaporean Cousin, who is the first to classify my alien-ism as an Amoeba, lol

Anyway besides all the random ramblings, whining, complaints, weird posts.. etc..  (I actually read Shakespeare.. Such a nerd! lol) I apparently live a very uninteresting life, since all I do is work; I don't hold interests in things long enough usually (read: short attention span.. lol..), and I'm apathetic to almost everything that won't cause me or people/things/other living beings, I care about, any financial, physical or psychological harm. I guess overall, I am just not that attached to this world.

But I digress... Back to the topic at hand...

This Blog's 10th Anniversary!!

~~

Well, in this year of 2015, to be more precise 31 October 2015 (darn forgot those html codes to make the words blink =.='), 10 years has come to pass since this blog officially had it's humble beginnings...  

So.... After 10 years..... What's different? Besides the recent loss of Baby (which I will not address further here).

I've started a new chapter of my life, since as of 1 April 2015, for a duration of one year I was stationed in the land of the rising sun.  In a so-called secondment by my firm to work as an assistant professor in a certain university here.

After this stint i.e. in April 2016 I'll be going back home; don't get me wrong, while I love Japan, I don't love living here for the long term due to various reasons that I decline to mention in this post, or it will be never ending.

All I can say is that after Japan, I will need to seriously rethink my future, do I want to keep slaving away at my current law firm, or review other options? (Which are all probably in-house options.)

One thing I can say for sure is that in 2005 when I started law school, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, and I never considered being a lecturer. So I didn't bother with a LL.M.  (that's the minimum educational requirement to be a lecturer - besides my bar school offered an LL.M from some Australian University that I've never heard of till this day). 

I did consider doing a masters, maybe a LL.M or MBA, since it seemed it might be better for the corporate world, if you hold a directorship or something, (your profile would look a little nicer in the prospectus lol) it could be advantageous, but I've met some lawyers who don't hold any masters at all, and they are doing fine... So I digress...

Anyway back to the topic at hand, now 10 years after the start of law school, I spent about 7 years of that being a corporate lawyer and now I'm an assistant professor at a Japanese University, in Japan obviously, and I must say, to be frank, I still cannot imagine myself in the teaching profession. 

I rather be out there as a lawyer or an in-house counsel. I honestly prefer drafting/reviewing contracts to preparing power points. Talking to clients than to students. You could say I've rediscovered my love for drafting here. 

Maybe I'm still considered young; maybe I like the corporate world better than the academic world; maybe I'm too used to what I have in the corporate world that moving to the academic world seems like something I can't get accustomed to; or maybe it's a case of who moved my cheese. 

The corporate world isn't all rainbows, chocolates, roses, puppies or sunshine either, the long hours I spend slaving away, dealing with crazy people etc. The toll on my health... Both physical and psychologically... But I think in my personal view that it's more challenging and interesting as compared to where I am now. 

Maybe I'm not being utilized to my full potential here at the university, so I feel this way, but I digress, that is a can of "what ifs" that I will probably never have the chance the open in this lifetime.  

Or maybe, if I ever do fall in love, get married and ever have kids, maybe.... Just maybe.... I will find what I have now more appealing....

So here's to another 10 years! To the future where I hope that this blog and/or I'm still around then, or that still remember about this blog and will post something. Cheers!

-サヤカ-

from the 26th of april 2010 (Sunday) till the 2nd of May 2010 (Sunday) i was in China with my family and my aunts (from my mum's side) on a tour...well holiday..

overall it was nice... scenery was beautiful... food was ok, learnt new things bout the culture... they have 52 minority tribes.. and wow... the women wear the pants in some of those tribes, (and the men.. are damn lucky...house husbands... imagine..)

and there's a well... really interesting tribe... (men didn't need to take responsibility at all,) haha... weather was okay too.. loved the cool/cold weather.. well downside? with china... you know it's the toilets... then again back home here we have really disgusting toilets too... so what the heck... at least 50% of the toilets we went too were okay.. i notice they have a problem with flushing.. it's smelly and disgusting, cause they can't flush... water system has a huge problem =.='

souvenir wise it was really difficult to buy anything.. why? well, cause everything is made in China, you can buy it back home... as for the food stuff.. i went to kun ming, dali, li jiang, and one more place... can't really remember.. but there was a hot spring there? haha... i guess that's what you get when you mandarin is only 40% usable??

anyway... i couldn't buy tidbits either for my colleagues, cause it was almost all yak meat... which i don't think my indian colleagues can eat, cause it's like a cow?? and my muslim colleagues either.. cause i'm not sure if it's halal.... =.=' so in the end i bought whatever i could... some preserved... sourish, saltish thing.. (shin mui kind of thing...)

also along the way i didn't really get quite a number of explanation from the guide, and had to rely on the tour leader and relatives to explain what was going on... but in the general sense... i got what was going on.... so guess it was ok?

but on the 2nd day? i think.. i fell ill.. it was a bit too cold for me.. and smart ass me, didn't wear a jacket to sleep. so i practically freezed to death... and caught the cold.. arghh suffering... especially when i had to fly (from li jian to kun ming... and the worse was kun ming to home..)

it was so dry, my throat ended up so damn sore, i almost lost my voice.. and my skin broke out in rashes, cause it was so damn dry... (either it;s the dryiness or the flu medicine.. which i think could be the medicaiton...cause i didn't get this rash in hte UK) and am still suffering the effects now as i sit here, sweating like a pig here typing this... (cause i got used to their weather, ours is too hot now.. practically bathing in sweat ) =.='

so again, the scenery was really beautiful, especially at the lake and mountain shall upload to Face book when i've the time. oh yeah, i made a new friend too... it's nice :)

but a little weird thing happened.. on friday night (30 april 2010), i dreamt that my boss was unhappy bout something, and then after that he seemed happy.. =.=' (it was like, he was unhappy i wasn't in the office? and happy again when i was back in - guess that's cause i'm back to do the work...?? =.=' i get that feeling.... i swear honest to god, it really felt like he was happy again in the dream cause i was there to do the work... =.=' weird right?)

so when i got home on the 2nd of may (at night, tired like hell, and still down with the cold...not really done unpacking...) you know that naggy feeling you get??

so okay, i check my email, and i see something from him... a number of his comments.... and you know.. (i'm a really impatient person), i don't profess to be a genius.. i admit i learn slow... and i'm a visual learner.. that's why i learn faster when i've something to read/compare, like a text book, or a sample document... (lately my attention span is quite short too.. and usually i don't like those really thick text books anyway, but the simple straightforward books)

so yes, i don't like the damn thing either, and would like to get it done and over with too.. i didn't stay till 11pm on the 23rd of april to finish it so that i had to redo it/add on to it, and make my dad have to come all the way down to the office to pick me up, cause it was 11pm and no one could drop me at the train station.

so thank you very much for your comments. i've been doing the work from the start, and forgive me, but my brain really can't process anymore, i see it as it is.... and you as a fresh brain... well thank you for your comments............................................. really.......... i don't know if it's inexperience or what.. but i really couldn't pick out the points you did..=.='

anyway, another point of annoyance.... oh wait.. ermm, let's say the good stuff first... a nice old malaysian chinese man... okay not that old, maybe bout my dad's age, let me cut the line, so that i could board the plane with my family.... thank you nice chinese man...

on the other hand, the annoying point? was this malay man... maybe about... late 30's? or mid 40's? was an ass.... when the plane landed and people were disembarking, he was pushing me trying to get into the lane to get out.... hello?? you really shouldn't wear sunglasses in a plane on a night/evening flight, cause obviously you can't see that the lane between the seats was so congested with people, that i couldn't get out either, so all your idiotic pushing was for naught....

i don't give a shit if you are going to wet your pants there, you were just plain rude, so a big no thank you to your rudeness you middle aged malay man, and for irritating me, after a sort of pleasant flight...

(sort of, cause well... my cold made my ear hurt really bad during landing, and the fact that there was a problem with the plane's audio system... and the food was reallly, really horrible i couldn't eat it, and the air stewardess english was horrible... and.... that the plane was really small and cramped, and fully booked and had only two toilets..... yeah i think that's the end of the complaint)

yeap, i think that's it... i had a fun trip, slightly dampened by my lack of understanding in manadarin, and due to my cold, and the fact that no one.. i repeat NO ONE, would accompany me to the hot springs :( then again, i was already down with the cold then, so it was in some sense a blessing in disguise...

i bought a number of things for myself.. at a cheap price (hey it's China right?), namely? a name card holder, cheaper than what you can get it for back home... a blouse, and a jacket... well with the clothings, i hope they don't shrink after being washed.. (they kept me really warm too, so i think they should be ok?)

other than that.. there's really nothing much to buy there, (cause we can get it back home)... so it was a lot of scenery pictures.. it was a pity the cable car for the snow mountain was under maintanence... i miss snow... but it was still okay?

alritey... really tired from the trip, so need to sleep as tomorrow it's back to the office, i'm starting to wish that i had taken an extra day off =.=' but then again. i'm taking a day off this week for my physiotheraphy... sigh.... so i didn't take that one day....

so back to work tomorrow to face the shit... err work... and yeah.. drowsy from the cold medication.. going to hit the sack.. good night world...

sorry la... if this post sounds angry again, my dreams have been telling me that i've been holding in too much shit, and need to let it go.. hahhahaha... nitey all :)

i hope i can come home early.... cause tomorrow my dad is going to pick my precious up, i missed him so much throughout the whole trip =.=' baby~~~ come home to mummy ;p hehehhe

again, nites :p

-Oracl3-

Update….

I don’t seem to have much of the mood to write… or maybe it’s because I feel the onslaught of motion sickness since I’m typing this in a car haha…

On the 17th of September 2009 I went to Italy with my parents. We went to Rome, Florence, Venice, Verona and Milan, beautiful place. I drank water straight out of a fountain, and nothing happened to me, haha. The water was really what I’d called pure mineral water.. It really had no taste.. It felt really pure and refreshing, and it was amazing that it was cold as well, as in icy cold, when the water came all the way from the mountains. The wonders of nature and the roman aqueducts haha..

I remember reading bout them and all, and it was a sort of dream as a child to go to Rome, so one thing off the bucket list (catch the movie, it’s a good one) haha..

On the 23rd of September we flew off from Milan to Athens, where my sister was, and we headed to Santorini from the 26th till the 29th. We left Athens on 1st October and touched down back home on the 2nd. A really tiring journey, at least 30 hours wasted to the travelling. It was fun, I really enjoyed it, especially Santorini, where we went to the beach. Sorry, the museum in Athens was splendid, but I’ve been jaded haha..

I haven’t been to the beach in years to play in the waters. And the water at the beach was so damn clear.. I only got a slight tan though cause we didn’t really spend that much time at the beach. It was fun.. I got to wear my bikini again haha... and had loads of fun playing in the water.. It was so clear I could see the little grey and green fishes in the water.. And the thing about Santorini is, because it was volcanic?? The beaches aren’t white and sandy, but black and stony, so it was an interesting experience… the stones were so hot, that when you came out of the water you were practically jumping, whereas the water was icy cold, and you would be screaming before entering it haha..

So yes, that was my holiday before starting work again on the 12th of October… and toodles for now, before I throw up from all this movement.. erghh…

-Oracl3-

Update….

I don’t seem to have much of the mood to write… or maybe it’s because I feel the onslaught of motion sickness since I’m typing this in a car haha…

On the 17th of September 2009 I went to Italy with my parents. We went to Rome, Florence, Venice, Verona and Milan, beautiful place. I drank water straight out of a fountain, and nothing happened to me, haha. The water was really what I’d called pure mineral water.. It really had no taste.. It felt really pure and refreshing, and it was amazing that it was cold as well, as in icy cold, when the water came all the way from the mountains. The wonders of nature and the roman aqueducts haha..

I remember reading bout them and all, and it was a sort of dream as a child to go to Rome, so one thing off the bucket list (catch the movie, it’s a good one) haha..

On the 23rd of September we flew off from Milan to Athens, where my sister was, and we headed to Santorini from the 26th till the 29th. We left Athens on 1st October and touched down back home on the 2nd. A really tiring journey, at least 30 hours wasted to the travelling. It was fun, I really enjoyed it, especially Santorini, where we went to the beach. Sorry, the museum in Athens was splendid, but I’ve been jaded haha..

I haven’t been to the beach in years to play in the waters. And the water at the beach was so damn clear.. I only got a slight tan though cause we didn’t really spend that much time at the beach. It was fun.. I got to wear my bikini again haha... and had loads of fun playing in the water.. It was so clear I could see the little grey and green fishes in the water.. And the thing about Santorini is, because it was volcanic?? The beaches aren’t white and sandy, but black and stony, so it was an interesting experience… the stones were so hot, that when you came out of the water you were practically jumping, whereas the water was icy cold, and you would be screaming before entering it haha..

So yes, that was my holiday before starting work again on the 12th of October… and toodles for now, before I throw up from all this movement.. erghh…

-Oracl3-

First week back….

Warning: huge crap-ology ahead… do not read if what you lack is time… or interest.. it’s okay I understand.. Still love you all the same… haha

It’s been a while since I wrote anything in English, and well something this lengthy haha… nothing much to blog about (in English as of late besides random ramblings in Japanese… causing me to lose readers, since only one fella.. I think, can read Japanese, and I think he couldn’t be arsed since my grammar is horrendous hahaha)

Oh well, life goes on…. As it must and will, whether you like it or not, it will not, and cannot wait for you…. The same goes for my muse… another reason why I haven’t been blogging lately…? No muse? haha… although by default, I don’t think I really need one…. I need a better internet connection at home (pages aren’t loading..sobs), time and… Ermm.. But that’s another story…

So my first week back at work has finally ended.. With…. More to come… that being beside the point, I guess… haha, since I’ve already worked at this same firm during my chambering time, the familiarity is there, and there wasn’t much adjusting in to do. Since I’ve already known and worked with the people that I’m working with now when I was chambering there, during half of my chambering duration. (Spent first half in corporate, next in litigation)

What can I say... going back to work, after 2 months of not - so - active brain usage…. Hmmm~ well.. Going through documents now… is a bit of a pain on the eyes.. Literally… I don’t know if it’s my astigmatism or something…. (Guess I’ve to go back to printing them out to view rather than stare at the computer, or risk going blind =.=’ or make a new pair of spectacles, that hopefully doesn’t increase my headache..) But oh well….

Ermm, work wise… well corporate is corporate.. To be honest I find it a tad harder than litigation, (learning wise) in terms of understanding and documentation, because well, stuff in litigation, we basically covered in CLP, (not everything, but at least we had a basics of sorts to start with) but corporate… well, let’s just say… university didn’t really equip us for it..

But in a sense, that’s cool, it makes it a challenge, cause you have to learn everything from the ground up…. (Searches really hard for her brain haha) not to say litigation isn’t cool… haha.. I already miss going to court…. (ermm only that particular court though… haha… I miss my dockbrief days.. days where I had to run between court rooms to enter judgements... sigh, those were the days my friend…we thought they’d never end… la la la la…)

Either than that, learning is learning.. And I believe I will get a hang of it sooner or later.. I managed it before; I believe I can do it again… what’s life without a few challenges? Need to un-blur myself haha…

Oh, and also… in the office I’ve to remind myself.. I AM NOT USING A MAC!! And at home… I AM NOT USING WINDOWS!! ….. Makes me feel kinda crap sometimes… sigh..

What other difficulties I’ve been encountering?? Hmmm well, waking up in the morning, and trying to get the brain to function at that time, is another challenge… a real huge one, might I add haha..

I’m a nocturnal creature, forced to live under the glare of the shining star….

Although, after last night… I take that back.. This so-called nocturnal creature has sort of adapted to living under the shining star, that sleeping at 5am last night, was a huge torture to me..

Why?? Cause my body kept trying to wake up around 7-8 am… and I had to force it back to sleep, only to have it wake up again round 9 something and then 10 something…. Till finally my friend called me at about a quarter to 12.. I gave up… but damn… The mind and the body… cooperate!!!

You know you got home late, you know you slept late… stop trying to get up early.. It’s a freaking Saturday for crying out loud… gosh!!

Oh which reminds me speaking of Saturday.. Happy Deepavali to all my friends! Especially Shanie *hugs* you need that! ☺

Right, another thing, adjusting my sleeping hours was also quite difficult due to some miraculous jet lag I experienced…

I just don’t understand why… when we go over to Europe, we don’t experience jet lag, we can adjust to the time there so nicely, but when we come back home.. by golly, I don’t get why the jet lag is so bad…

In all my years of travel, I’ve never, and I repeat, never experienced jet lag this bad…

Err, why jet lag? Well, since no one in particular has been wondering about my disappearance…. It’s cause I was on holiday in Italy and Greece, a week before I started work…

Ooh yeah… living the high life, as some friends had teased haha.. But anyway yes, was in Europe, took almost 30 hours to get back from there to home.. Door to door, I mean.. With all the transits… =.=’ cause we had to fly from Athens to Milan, from Milan to Bangkok, and Bangkok to home…

One whole day of airplane food… managed to cause me to lose all the weight I picked back up in Italy and Greece, and my appetite as well, which hasn’t been well since I fell ill and stayed ill a few months back.. (Still not fully recovered actually… sigh..)

So yes, stuck in airplanes and airports for more than 24 hours, having nothing but airplane meals took their toll on me, and when I touched down, I had to immediately make arrangements to meet a friend who would be marrying the next day, and we had to go over the wedding plans, since he kindly requested that I co-emcee his wedding XD (Thanks Ray & Ivy, for that opportunity and Shane for the books..)

Anyway, slept a measly 2 hours or so, woke up feeling like the whole body was made of lead… forced myself to get ready, headed over to the groom’s place… discussion with the other wedding planners.. bla bla… home to bed, woke up early for cousin’s wedding… on the 3rd of October, it ended in the afternoon, rushed home, got ready in under an hour for the next wedding… (Ray’s wedding).. Rushed there, went through stuff with co-emcee, and everything went from there..

After the wedding dinner at about 11 something, headed to Mel’s house for a Mooncake festival gathering kinda thingie.. Stayed till round 2 something before heading home, and finally.. Rest…

Rest of the week was adjusting my time back to wake up in the morning… and then work started… such is life… when things get hectic, they are hectic… but it was cool… loved it all.. Tiring and torturous as it was..

Now the goal is... to gain back some weight apparently, although I don’t mind the weight I have now, but if I lose anymore.. I was told by a friend that it would be the death of me.. He’s not cussing me, don’t get me wrong, it’s true anyway… so yes, no more losing weight for me.. It’s either maintain it as it is... or gain 2-3 kgs… and maintaining it at that…

First, I need to find my appetite again.. Which seems to be cured by not so spicy food, which again, my stomach seems incapable of taking after not taking it for so long.. haha… I should really lay off my C2-O5-OH haha

Only good news for the time being is… my appetite seems to be returning a bit, but it’s not what it used to be.. Due to the stomach ailment.. so one step at a time.. That’s what I do with everything now a days…

-Oracl3-

P/s: oh, by the way, did I ever mention that my first day back to work started out bloody?? How’s that for a first day back to work… =.=’
あれはねロスコちゃんの血いです。たく始めて見てだよ、びくりした。。。ベビのうしろう「backside?」はきずがある。。。大変な，私のベビ。。。

Stupid Maxis, stupid internet connection.. sigh…this is a Mac.. not windows.. damn the short cut keys…

We all know what I go through when the weather is this unbearably hot.. thus is my life... Sigh...

Got back from the South 2 days ago? Was in Singapore, seeing my cute nephews and well.. maybe it's my last trip since I'll start work next week.. NEXT MONDAY to be exact.. that will mean even less time then now to do all the stuff I've usually been doing...

Of my list..

1. Sort pictures from 2006-2007 for developing Not even 10% done I think.. sad..
   
2. Finish photo album with current pictures (Where the heck did I put the pictures??! Damn!) Well there's about 30% more to go I guess.. maybe more..
   
3. Translate the Ghost Hunt Manga Volume 10 Haven't translated a thing for almost 2 months?? 20 more pages... and well. .the other parts haven't been uploaded...
   
4. Wash bathroom It obviously needs to be washed again..
   
5. tidy room... (Well only one corner is messy....) With my sister here.. it got messed again.. and well.. I did some messing too..
   
6. Iron clothes.... Non at the moment..
   
7. Tidy up cupboard...g I messed it up a tad..
   
8. Practise musical instruments? Does playing twinkle twinkle little star on the violin once count?
   
9. Blog about my excursions etc.? Well, when I find the mood.. and time... Time, time... and well.. mood... plus blogspot stop being an ass and let me upload pictures.. I can't even write reviews for CA as it is =.=
   
10. Tidy up the "Work" room next door.. well after I'm done with it.. Never touched it.. and my sis messed it up too..
    
11. ... Anything else I deem fit to enter into this entry.....

I'm a failure... it's hopeless..

Not many pictures from Singapore.. unless you count the countless nephew pictures?? ermm well... that is all for the time being.. feeling really tired.. am gonna hit the sack early before i burst a vein over my retarded adium (It works as My IM.. allows me to sign in to MSN, YM and google talk at the same time..).. so sorry if you see me signing in and out of MSN, and am not replying your messages.. It's honestly not my fault...

Mel wants to have a halloween party this friday.. i.e. 31st October 2008, means I'll miss my badminton again.. and well I don't know what to go as.. any suggestions?

I have a traditional Japanese summer dress a.k.a the Yukata and I thought of going in that(saying I'm either going as Jigoku shoujo, or some lame thing such as.. the background character in some periodical anime, where everyone wears a yukata)..

But mel suggested going as a Japanese school girl.. in which this would involve my old high school's marron tie, a white shirt, my mini red checkered skirt.. court shoes.. and white socks if I can find it... so which one should I go as...??

some "Japanese student" or some Japanese in the traditional Japanese summer dress? inputs are gladly appreciated and very much needed. Thank you

On another note.. my iTunes has been fixed.. I really got to love the guy at IT Planets at the curve.. though I feel sorry for bothering him so often.. =.='

and some earlier posts below.. will be edited to include pictures.. that is.. when my connection allows me to upload pictures... =.='

-Oracl3-

P/S: My IM is being a really HUGE pain in the ASS!! Grrrrr!!

On the 23rd of December 2007, my parents decided to bring Junko up to Genting, well since we were in Bentong anyway... So after breakfast, I think we headed off to Genting...


Maybe because it was December, near Christmas and it was the school holidays.. There were helluva a lot of people there... =.='

Waiting for out turn to ride the cable car up.. never in all my years of going to Genting... by cable car, have I seen such a long line.. Then again, I rarely go there...

Since I was taking the picture above.. it's my turn to be in the picture now...

With that, we arrived at our destination, and headed into the building, we weren't here for the theme park, apparently my parents wanted to bring us to the Casino to play...

But no cameras are allowed in the casino so there are no pictures from the Casino.. besides.. I did not like the casinos one bit...

The feeling it gave off was horrible.. There was a casino full of cigeratte smoke, and well one which wasn't... it didn't matter whether there was smoke or not.. the feelings there are too strong..

I could feel, things like fear, excitement, regret.. etc.. Maybe those are lingering feelings or spirits or whatever.. I don't know.. sigh.. but I couldn't stand the place and wanted out...

So we headed to the indoor themepark.. to Look around... and took some pictures..

A mini ferris wheel behind us..

An Oscar anyone?

Statue of Liberty.. so called.. haha

No idea what it was.. due to the sheer amount of people, it took us a few tries to get a nice picture like this.. That woman in the picture with the Oscar, kept entering our pictures.. so annoying.. wonder if she was doing it on purpose.. felt like smacking her... =.='

As it was so warm inside, we decided to head out.. because Genting is on a highland.. it's supposed to be cooling.. Yes, you read right, supposed! Global warming is so bad...

Next to us is the theme park...

So we walked around outside for a bit.. then decided to head home.. since there was nothing to do there.. since we didn't play in the Casino.. Sorry, if I was the cause.. we could have gone to the theme park.. but my parents are too old for that.. and it wouldn't be worth our money to go at that time..

I'm sorry, it was all because I was afraid of that place... we should have taken the opportunity to gamble a bit... sigh...

With that, we headed back to the cable car station...

Waiting for the cable car...

Me taking hold of the camera so that my dad can be in the picture...

My parents in the cable car..

Me, Junko and デブさん haha my brother.. in the cable car...

And that was our trip to Genting.. We headed back to Bentong, to pack up and pick up precious before heading back down to KL..

-Oracl3-

I'm really irritated with my connection, it was only 3 more freaking minutes, before the download is finished.. but Noooooooo MAXASS just had to kill itself for 2 minutes and kill my download.. I wouldn't be that pissed if it wasn't like the 5th time I was trying to download that SAME FILE!!!!!!!!! SCREW YOU MAXIS!!! the file is only 60.5mb and you need close to a freaking hour just do download that????!!

On the 29th of December 2007, since we had a foreign guest with us, we decided to make a trip to Melaka.. To allow Junko to learn a bit more about our country.. Well, if I'm not wrong, our Sultans all originated from Melaka, so it's fitting that we go there... and besides.. we wanted to let her try Melaka's famous food...

So in the late morning we headed out to Melaka...
we arrived around lunch time to eat this...

Enjoying our Chicken Rice Balls :) Hope Junko liked them, they're yummy :) My brother was taking this picture.. so he isn't in it..

Then it was back into the car, and we parked near.. St Francis? [I think, can't remember that church's name..] church? and walked over to Christ Church...

The 2 couples posing near Christ church.. There were a lot of beca/rickshaws here and souvenirs shops.. with outrageously expensive prices.. [I was the only single..sigh how sad...]

This was before we headed for the Stadhuys, and Junko & I went into the musuem.. I don't get a distinction in history for no reason, as I explained the things in the musuem to her as far as I could remember.. but then you know.. I studied it in Malay, and the explanations or name plates were in English etc.. At first I was wondering what's VOC, then it hit me.. it was that Syarikat Hindi something we studied in school =="

While waiting for Junko & I to be done in the musuem, the remaining people, who

1. Didn't like history [well, in general..]
   
2. Can't remember our history
3. Couldn't be bothered to spend money to learn things he/she already knows
4. Maybe all of the above

Waited outside.. and took some pictures while waiting.. Junko & I took a while.. maybe it's because I tried to explain almost everything to her, you know about Parameswara... etc.. Kesultanan Melayu.. etc..

Brother & mom just taking pictures to pass time..

Looks like dad decided to join in too.. I'm sorry I took so long and bore you guys.. =.=' But it's history you know, and we should explain things properly to our guest :)

After the museum we headed of to the ever popular A famosa and St Paul [I think] cathedral ruins...

That's the St Paul's cathedral behind us.. it was a hot but windy day.. not bad weather we had...

Basically in the ruins all we get are tombs...

A pretty tombstone :p I like the crest, that's why I took it...

Then we walked down to the A famosa...

And just posed away...

With that done, we walked around the place a bit.. Coming across this...

Some oversized Kereta Lembu? haha.. It's only for decorative and tourist purposes..

And well, there's only so much in Melaka, I guess it didn't help that it was a day where quite a number of things were closed? And well, unless you want to spend all your time in museums, there really isn't anything much.. so we headed back to the car..

Even with nothing much, we spent a good many hours in Melaka, and as we had a dinner appointment. We decided to leave early, to get home in time to freshen up & rest..

The Ladies outside Christ Church again... [We had to pass by it to get back to the car, so we took some more pictures :p]

On the way back to the car we even had cendol.. that was right after we took this picture[s]. It was just opposite the road :p Really sweet [Have my moods for sweet stuff] if you asked me... and I'm not really a cendol fan [Don't know why, either I don't like the taste.. or a trauma haha]

Well and that's what the whole trip encompassed, it was only for Junko to see more of Malaysia while she was here, and to eat the famous Chicken Rice Balls..

After we were done sightseeing, we headed back home to have dinner with Aunt Penny & Family

-Oracl3-

On the 2nd of January 2008, we decided to go down to Putrajaya, to show Junko Malaysia's administrative centre. It isn't much actually, that place unfortunately is kind of like ghost town, as most of us still prefer the city centre i.e. Kuala Lumpur. But Putrajaya, if I'm not wrong is Malaysia's first planned city, and a lot of money was wasted, spent on the landscaping..

So in the morning after our breakfast, we headed down to Putrajaya....

The first stop, is the ever popular mosque built over a man made lake. This supposedly makes it really cooling and all in there...

The 2 couples outside the Mosque...

Obviously, it's unfair if I'm not in it too.. :p

From the outside of the Mosque, if you were to turn to your right.. presuming you are taking the pictures above.. from you position, if you turned to the right.. you get...

This is the administrative building? I think the Prime Minister's office is in there..

It looks small from this distance, but trust me.. It's really big, as it's the administrative building, you can't go in unless you have official business...

So after taking pictures outside, we decided to enter the mosque, to allow Junko to see what it is like inside of a mosque. All mosques are different, there are big and small mosques, and well, this is kind of grand for a mosque I would say...

For females to enter, we of course have to respect other people's religion and adhere to their rules. So since females are prohibited from showing their Aurat [Basically it means, we can't show any skin except our feet and the palm of our hands, and our face... Even the hair has to be covered]

Hence you get, 3 pink riding hoods :p

Junko & I close up in those little pink robes..

As it was almost prayer time, we were not allowed to go to close to the mosque and in fact had to keep our visit short...

So we decided to head to a place where we can view the man made lake in which the mosque rests/floats[?] on..

That mansion like building behind us.. Is... a hotel, if I'm not wrong, and you can see the geometry bridge at the left hand corner... It was really, really hot.. .Global warming really is very, very, very bad... =.='

Turning to the right, you get the back of the Mosque...

Well, as there was nothing much to see in Putrajaya, and it's shopping mall i.e. Alamanda is kind of lame, compared to KL & PJ's shopping malls, we didn't go there. Basically after that, we took Junko for a drive around the official government buildings. It's nothing much to see really. If you've been following my blog since I opened it, you will recall that there was this one post, about we law students going to the court of justice and taking those pictures? Well, it's just those buildings..

We can't enter unless we have business usually.. And well it wasn't anything much, basically Putrajaya is driving around looking at architecture and the landscaping.. which was dying from the absurd heat....

After Putrajaya [As there wasn't anything much there.. we headed back home..], we decided to bring Junko to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre [KLCC] to see the tallest twin towers in the world [Well since the empire state building is gone.. I think we have the tallest twin towers currently?]

So when we arrived, we went to one of the exits in an attempt to get a shot at the twin towers..

Alas, we were in too close a proximity, that if I had not learnt my photography skills while travelling Europe, I wouldn't had been able to take this picture..

Don't they all look so cool? [Ada gaya, takde mutu? haha translates as, there's style but no quality.. haha] Am I great or what..? it takes real skill to take a picture like this.. And it isn't easy.. I think I did it in the 2nd or 3rd shot.. :p [Don Play, Play]

It really takes skill, as can be seen when you compare with the picture my brother took below..

Muahaha, he's lousy.. he only got the humans, he didn't get the whole 2 towers in haha. :p

Here is one of this attempts.. As the towers are tall, your camera has to be as low as possible to the ground to take the picture.. trust me it's no mean feat.. look at this fella trying so hard and you know..

Here is another attempt by him.. I was laughing so hard.. :p He looked so cute and funny haha :p

Once we were done trying to take pictures outside KLCC we entered into the shopping mall to walk around... and to snap more pictures..

The Cheong family posing in front of the KLCC sign taken by Junko.. :)

Brother and Junko posing with the KLCC logo in the background..

After walking around for a bit in the shopping complex/mall [We didn't have anything to buy, cause, well stuff there are expensive, and Junko had already bought what she had wanted to buy at Bandar Utama..], we decided to go out to the KLCC garden. It's a nice little garden located in the heart of the city centre... A perfect place for taking pictures...

My brother tried so hard to take the pictures of us and the twin towers.. but when we entered the garden, we actually had some really nice shots of the twin towers... [Well with part of the shopping block there.. it didn't look that nice... Besides the one I took, made everyone look so cool hehe :p]

All his efforts were in vain? haha.. He can't beat my skills in taking such pictures.. :p

All of us with the KL tower in the back... it's the 3rd tallest tower in the world? or was? Now a days countries are so kiasu [a word which describes a person who is afraid to lose ], and want to have the tallest building... =.='

My brother & I...

Here is Junko posing with the "whale" in the background...

We walked around the KLCC garden for a little bit more, before deciding to head home to rest, and freshen up...

Later we headed to Damansara Kim to eat Claypot Chicken Rice for dinner, and we had satay too.. Yummy, unfortunately, we finished the Satay, before I remembered to take any pictures.. sigh...

But we do have the satay sticks in the right hand corner, and a bit of the satay sauce in the left hand corner for viewing??
And well a picture of the claypot rice.. it looks plain and simple, but don't be fooled by it's appearance. it's delicious :p

Here they are enjoying the food.. sorry, my hand shoke... =.='

And now me too :)
[What's with my mom's expression?? Don't like the food? or did she eat a salted fish]

It was a tiring day, since we were out the whole day... but we ended it with good food :)

-Oracl3-

For a shorter version of the wedding.. i.e. less posts (it's only one post on the other blog), less commentary, and less pictures.. head on over to Generation Lim --> Here

That is for those lazy souls who think my blog has too many pictures& words.... And are lazy to wait for all of them to load, because generation lim consists, of the same pictures and an almost simliar commentary, just that, i cut out quite a lot of words and pictures from that post..

but well if you have time at your leisure, than you might just want to go through all three posts about the wedding, but if you are one of those unfortunate souls who do not possess that time, then head over to generation lim, and read just one post..

and also again, i apologise for all grammar and spelling mistakes on both blogs, because i didn't read through to check, as i'm lazy? and well.. it's so damn time consuming, that i'm sort of fed up..and it's already 210am.. so yeah.. you know why.....

-Oracl3-

Finally!! The last post for the Lim Family's September 2007 Australian Saga... Posting this on two sites is kind of tiring, (since i had to sort, and edit both posts to fit both blogs, or sentences might have been left hanging etc...)

Although i'm only loading the pictures once, but my connection uploads really, really slow, or i think it's blogger's fault, because even last time (when i was in the UK) when i had to post pictures, it takes eons to load.. so that's it for the Australian trip, and maybe later i will post somthing here bout my tour guide stint for my brother's girlfriend in December.. but that is another story...

~~

And now time for the commentary & pictures...

The night before the wedding, saw us being invited to a brewery called the Mash brewery for a round of drinks & snacks sponsored by the bride and groom.. it was a very lively event, as the friends and relatives of the bride and groom sat down together to drink, and chat... (the Snacks weren't bad either..)

It even seemed as if the bride and groom were having a reunion with their friends.. it looked fun, and as for me, i tried different types of brew (beer?).. and discovered there is more to beer than just barley hops, but the combination of many other things.. an interesting event...

Yen Ping and I standing outside the brewery's sign.. so that i would remember what that place was called, and wouldn't have to call it.. "that brewery" or "some brewery" haha...

The travelling companions... (haha, ok part of the Lim Family, the other part of the family were seated about 2 tables away.. and i don't know why i didn't take a picture of them... =.=')
All of us were sitting together at a table, enjoying the drink and food... Picture taken by uncle HP, that's why he isn't in it.. :p


Yen Ling, Me & Yen Ping, posing for a picture inside the brewery..

The three cousins, with our uncle Robert who decided to join in after seeing us taking some pictures... :p

Well after that we left quite early, as we were all tired from our flight, and besides, we had to wake up early for the tea ceremony the next morning...

-Oracl3-

Unfortunately, i don't really have any pictures of the tea ceremony as PK and the professional photographer were taking the pictures, and from my stand point, it was very hard for me to take the pictures. (The pictures from the professional, wasn't very nice so i'm not using them...)

Hence what i have here are the pictures that I took, while waiting for the groom to come over, to begin the tea ceremony....

The groom was staying in the apartment next door, and i guess we were waiting for the auspicious time to begin the ceremony, the improvements made, to satiate our chinese customs were really interesting....

For example, since the groom did not have to drive to the bride's house, instead of getting the youngest male member of the bride's side of the family to open the car door, they replaced that with the door of the apartment...

and well, i think because space was constricted, the bargaining at the door instead of being done by the bride's best friends (zhi mui, sisters? girl best friends?) it was done by the bride's brothers.. haha.. totally interesting...

anyway, here are the pictures...

Ling and i taking in the view of the golf course while waiting for the ceremony...

Uncle Robert and i, striking a pose for the camera, it was during this time that i learnt a few new tricks about using a camera, since my uncle likes to take pictures..

Three cousins, braving the morning's chilly air to take some pictures together... tsk, tsk, those two don't have very good standing postures... then again, i think i look like some lady from the 18th century, with this posture.. (with my hands clasped infront of me..) haha :p

The bride in her pretty green cheong sam and i... waiting ever so patiently for the groom to come over, for the ceremony to begin... i like the way my hair falls over on my shoulders on this picture hehe :p

The boquet of roses for the bride..

The boquet of roses for the bridesmaid..

Since i had nothing to do while waiting for the ceremony to begin, i decided to put into use the new found knowledge taught by my uncle :p the effect is quite nice, as the florist had sprayed the flowers with some water to keep them fresh, the way the water captures the flash of the camera, (especially for the red roses) makes it look like there are daimonds on the flower, doesn't it? :p

Photography could really become a hobby of mine, haha, but it's only a fluke that from time to time i manage to catch beautiful pictures, thanks to the angle of the lighting at the time.. i sitll remember a picture i took in St. James Park, London. the sunlight was at the right angle, that it looked like a beam of light was shinning down..

Well maybe it's a fluke, maybe it's instinct.. or maybe a combination of both.....

-Oracl3-