31 December 2007: Last Day of the Year!!!

Last day of the year!!!

I cannot really tell how I feel about this, but hey, it is the end of 2007, and soon 2008 will begin!!!

Another year has passed............. ________________ Wow.....!!!!!

I survived another year!!! =__________="

Okay, I am getting older by the second.

Man, see how much rubbish I am talking here....

Coz it's the end of the year!!!!

I'm not high on booze, I have not even started drinking yet!!!

It's just me being disappointed not getting the chance to go diving on new year's day!!!

Damn!!!

Happy New Year to you all Johns and Janes!!!! May you have another GREAT year ahead!!!

Fed Up

I have been working late these days, and the work load is starting to get to me.

Don't get me wrong, I still do get my rest, and I get enough of that.

What is getting onto me, is the monotony of my work, and the lack of companion to actually discuss about it.

Yes, I work alone in my place.

I am just starting to get very fed up with my job situation, which seems to be getting nowhere. Whenever there is a problem, I have only myself to handle it. Forget about getting help or support from the head quarter. I am happy enough if they did not give me more trouble to deal with.

Yes, my head quarter does not support their staffs at the other end of the country. Not only do they not provide help nor support, they create more problems and damage for you.

Yes, I not only have to manage my own problem, I have to take and clean up the mess that they create for me.

I am so f****** fed up with all this.

One Weekend Some Time Ago

I was sitting in front of SOHO one Saturday night, sipping little sips of Black Label from a plastic cup (the pub had run out of glasses, it was a weekend night), while watching the people coming in and out of the place.

This really was an interesting place.

Like my friend Jude once told me,"People come in a couple, or they come in a group. Some come alone. Some come to make a group, some come to be in a group." This was very true for SOHO during weekends. (Jude was actually referring to another pub when he said that, but I guess that was the truth for most places.)

SOHO was packed that night. It was like the whole town of young people were there. The age group that came here each night seemed to be getting younger and younger. Everyone was drinking and laughing like a maniac all around. Yet, I still see a young girl sitting alone by the flower pots in front of the place. It was nearly midnight, and she was looking tired and bored. I guessed not everybody enjoyed the place.

I wonder if the people there were truly happy.

I suddenly felt tired. May be, I should just go home.

People Are Like Sea Urchins

Let's face it. Life is a bitch, and I am like a sea urchin.

Ever saw a sea urchin before?

Let me put this picture in your mind. It is a circular piece of organism, with spikes as long as 3 to 20 cm all around it's body (test, to be exact, the "hide" of this organism is called test), and it moves around with their adhesive, tube feet around the bed of the ocean. Their colours vary from black to brown, green, olive and dull purple. Some have spines (or spikes, as I like to call it) that are so sharp that they could poke through one layer of 4mm thick rubber into your skin. The tip of the spikes will then be broken off and be embedded under your skin, in certain cases, through your flesh.

These creatures lives in a community. They group together in one colony to keep the predators away. That is how the human community lives, isn't it?

So, now you have an idea what a sea urchin is.

Right, so where do I fit in?

I cannot live without people around, yet I cannot bear to be too close to one.

Get it?

No?

We are all people with our own quikes and quirks (i.e. characteristics, individuality, uniqueness etc. etc.). Our quikes and quirks are like the spikes on the sea urchin. We, our hearts, our feelings, our emotions, or whatever it is that people call it in the similar sense, are like the body in the centre. The body is soft and fragile, and thus is vunerable to any kind of attack.

People are like sea urchins. They cannot live outside the community, for they need one another to keep one another safe, yet they cannot live too closely together. You get stung by the spikes of the other.

So, is it possible for us all to live together, without hurting the other?

Of course!

I stood there on the jetty stretching out from the Pom Pom island that day, and looked at the colony of black sea urchins under the jetty. I saw that each of the sea urchins kept a safe distance in between one another. This way, they are able to keep the community safe from predators, and yet live peacefully with one another.

I guess we all have to learn from the urchins, eh?

Hair Wash, Another Unsatisfactory Job Done

I was wondering about the area in Crowne Tower (天阁）the day before, and I suddenly decided to have my hair washed.

So, I walked up to the saloon on the top-most floor of the shopping complex, went in and sat down.

The layout of the saloon was not too bad. The main colour was white, which gave the whole area a clean look. Even the chairs were white.

The attendant that came up to me was a boy advancing into his twenties. He had short hair that was dyed wooden-orange, and a pair of dark-rimmed spectacles. He asked what I needed, and I told him that I would like my hair washed.

I was lead to a chair and handed two magazines: "iFeel" and "风采". I was quite alright with "风采", but did I look like I was still a teenager? (Note: "iFeel" was a magazine for teenage girls).

The attendant then asked what shampoo would I like to use, the better "professional" shampoo, or the normal, standard shampoo. As they charged an additional RM 6.00 for the better shampoo, I opted for the normal one.

The shampoo boy was very strong with his hands. I had to tell him twice to stop squeezing my head because it was hurting me.

The wash area was behind the counter, and I asked for warm water. The water mix of the shower tap was not working as well as other saloons, as the hot and cold water were not mixed evenly, and I got periods of cold and hot splashes on my hair.

When it was time to blow-dry my hair, another guy, whom I presumed was the owner, or the stylist of the premise, came to the shampoo boy's rescue. He was doing an awkward job with my hair, tying too much hair up and pulling strands of my hair out.

The stylist was no better. I only asked for a normal blow-dry, straight hair, and he was awkward in doing that too. I noticed that he did not dare to pull my hair down more to straighten the tip, thus leaving it frizzy.

My bangs were done in yet another awkward fashion. I looked really weird in that.

When I paid at the counter, the lady charged me RM 18.00 for such unsatisfactory results. At the side of the counter was a certificate showing that one of the stylist was from Inspirational Alan Saloon. I had to resist rolling my eyes at that certificate. A stylist who could not even do a straight hair well dared to present to the world such certification, or was Alan no better?

The saloon was called McPhee.

FaceBook

I have finally got myself into FaceBook!!!

Sigh...

Hehe....

When I first received an invitation to join FaceBook back nearly a year ago, I was thinking, hmm... not another "Friendster" or "Hi5" .....

Getting into these networks, it requires one to spend a certain amount of time to maintain it. From updating one's profile, to uploading your pictures, and reading your mails and comments.

Sometimes, most of the mails are junks.

But after a few invitations, I finally relented, and clicked join.

Now I am getting hooked trying to familiarize myself with the new thing, and it is fun!!! Haha!!!!

So, gals and guys!!! See you in FaceBook!!!

Sprained Muscle... Ouch!!!

I sprained myself yesterday between my shoulder blades while I was about to take a shower. Can you believe that?

I never thought that one could sprain the muscles in between the shoulder blades. But if Dumbledore could be gay, and Harry Potter coming back from death, I guess anything's possible, right?

I took the day off, as I was not able to drive properly with my neck unable to twist at an angle of more than 30 degrees. I am wondering what my boss would be thinking about me taking my day off. But what the heck, he did not think about me when making stupid decisions and asking me to execute them. I felt so foolish.

I'll be home resting.

Annoying

Miss, welcome to R***!!!

-Nod to the attendant.-

Hair cut?

No, just a hair wash.

Please be seated here.

-I walked over and sat down.-

The shampoo boy got busy with the shampoo and the water.

Miss, we have a special promotion for hair treatment, it's only RM35.00 only. Would you like to try it.

No, thank you.

Miss, why don't you curl your hair?

No, I like my hair the way it is.

Miss, the curl is the fashion now.

No, I'm fine as I am.

Miss, you could try to dye your hair.

No, I'm fine.

Miss, you should try the hair treatment, your hair seem a little dry.

No, thank you.

Miss, it's not expensive, only RM35.00....

Hurgh........!!!! *Roll my eyes*

...........

I am not coming back to this saloon ever again.

Miss, this is your bill.... RM 22.00 your wash.

What!!!

I am SOOOOO not coming back to this saloon EVER, EVER again!!!!

To Love A Selfish Lover

I am down, and I am back in life.

A friend text me this evening and asked if I wrote that post "Selfish Lover". I said yes.

He said that he knew how that felt like, for he, too, was going through the same process. He then asked if there was any advice for such relationship.

I said I did not know any.

The one and only way to make a relationship work, is for those involved in such relationship to really want it to work.

Nothing can really work if there was no heart (sincerity) and effort.

In any relationship, the most that one could do, could only make up to 50% of the total effort, though that might take 100% of one's effort. The other 50% would depend on the other party.

This is why most that are involved in such relationships will constantly feel insecure. When one's effort exceeds the other, there is an imbalance in the give and take of the relationship, tipping the balance over. The one that gives will eventually get tired of giving, and the one that was given will feel the burden of the giver heavier and heavier.

We can never be sure of our partner unless they truly love us.

Loving someone who only loves him or herself is always and will forever be painful.

Please bear the pain if you truly love that person.

For, if you did not give up, there would still be 50% of chance for success.

Good luck, my dear friend. I hope that you will never abandon the love and hope that keep us all moving forward. May love and hope be with you throughout your journey.

Blog on the Riot in Myanmar

CNN had reported from London a blog that told about the inside stories of the clashes between the monks and the military juntas of Myanmar.

(Click here for the story by CNN.com)

Ko-htike is a blogger that moved from Myanmar to the United Kingdom seven years ago for his studies. Now, he wakes up at three o'clock in the morning to view through e-mails and photos sent out from Myanmar telling the violence and inhumane treatment suffered by the Burmese people.

Ko-htike said that these people were putting their lives in danger just by doing that.

Few foreign media are allowed in the country. The latest news was that the internet had been cut off in Myanmar.

(Click here for Ko-thike's blog on the Myanmar situation.)

The blog is now calling for the action of foreign aids to help the people and stop the violence in Myanmar, which has been for more than one week now. The monks and the burmese have suffered much.

Selfish Lover

You know how it is like to be in a relationship, where one of you is always the one to take one step back and let the other has his/her way?

Em-Hmm.. (Sorting through my documents)

Whenever there is a problem, you just do not want to say it out, for you are afraid that he/she would be unhappy, and you fear losing him/her.

Yeah... *I know, I've been through that,*(continuing with my work)

But keeping the problems inside does not solve the problem. Instead, it only adds tension to the relationship...

Mmm... (looking at my documents, *these numbers are wrong*)

With all the problems inside you, you are rigid when you are around him/her, or very quiet, or uneasy, or unhappy. And when you are like this, he/she will be affected. And he/she will feel like running away from you.

(Look up, then look down at my work again)

If you say it out, then he/she will say that you are giving them a lot of burden, and he/she will use that to break up with you.

Sigh...

So, the conclusion is, this is not a healthy relationship. He/she just does not love you that much. Not even enough for you to be yourself, to say whatever it is that you want in front of him/her. Given the chance, he/she will use every little reason to leave you, even petty ones.

These are the people who love themselves and only themselves.

Just let it go, bro.

Repentance

Does she still call you?

Nope!

Why? What is the problem?

I don't know.

Hmm....

Right. Hmmm...

There will be times in your life, when you meet with people who will become your friend, then your good friend, then you close friend, and all of a sudden, for certain reasons, the two of you become enemies.

Now why would that happen?

It could have been due to those certain reasons, something that you said or did had hurt him/her. It could have been a misunderstanding. It could have been anything.

But whatever the reason is, whatever the mistake is, there will always be a way of resolving and amending. Nothing is unsolvable. And nothing can't not be forgiven. Even the death of Jesus.

I like the part of the bible, where Jesus asked the people who wanted to stone a sinner to death, and Jesus said, "Whoever has not sinned, can throw stones at this woman." Nobody in the crowd dared to throw the first stone.

I know that I have done many wrongs in my life, and that I am still unknowingly (sometimes knowingly, like sleeping in the afternoon when I am supposed to iron my clothes and cleaning my room ;P) making many of the mistakes known to mankind. But I also know that I am not a perfect person, that making mistakes is part of my journey in life, from the beginning to the end. I try to be good, and learn the good. I try to practise them in my daily life, though in many ways it brings a tougher journey than the other.

But I am bound to make mistakes, for I am still young and naive in many ways. There are many things that I am not taught right in the beginning, and I have to suffer on my way with that. For those things that are dark and nasty inside me, life has a way of cleaning it out. Through life itself, it presents difficulties and trials. Through difficulties and trials, it brings growth, cleansing and betterment.

We are a better and stronger person because of what life has to offer to us. Both the good and the bad, they help us to learn and grow strong. I am a better person because of what happened to me in the past. I may not talk about them to anyone else, but they stay in my heart, and I cherish those experiences.

My wish is to do right by my loved ones, my family and my friends. I may make mistakes, and I am bound to, and I will always take responsibility for what I have done wrong, and bear the consequences.

But please do not give up in me. For all the wrongs that I have done, that is the worst punishment.

I am not the best, nor the holiest. I am a commoner, and I am learning, and trying to be good.

Please forgive me for what I have done.

How Can It Be Wrong?

There are a few things in life that I resent.

One, it is to be taught the wrong values in life.

Two, it is to be taught the wrong attitute in life.

Three, it is to suppress my original self and be forced to become someone or something that fits the "proper" way or behaviour of the community.

There are more, but these are the only ones that I can think of for the time being.

Many of us are brought up not knowing how to think for ourselves. We are taught that if something pleases, then that is the right thing.

We are not taught to stand up or stand by for what is right, but to think about our own benefit and stay the h*** away from any thing that could bring trouble to yourself, even if you know that there was something that you could do to help. Helping is troublesome.

We are taught to be selfish. When there is an accident on the road, slow down only to look, but don't pay any mind to that man laying there on the ground. If you gave him a ride, his blood might just dirty your back seat.

I believe that helping can never be troublesome. How could helping an old lady or a blind to cross the road be troublesome? How could slowing your vehicle for a pedestrian to pass be annoying?

When there is a break-in in your neighbour's house, should you just close you windows and pretend not to see it?

We are afraid of getting involved. We are afraid that if we tried to be the hero, we would get ourselves into greater trouble in the end.

No one is asking you to be the hero. Heroes only exist in the stories and the movies.

I believe that there is always a way of helping people, and turning things around.

Helping will only bring trouble if you did it the wrong or stupid way. Do it right, and you will minimize your risk of getting trouble.

But there will be incident when you help, you will have to pay a little, like letting your back seat being messed up with blood.

There will always be a way to help and contribute, as long as it is done right. If you do it the smart way, the effective way and the productive way, you will never go wrong.

Harmonious

This is one picture that I love from Madonna and her three children/adopted children.

Each individual is unique, yet there is a sense of comfort in the presence of one another.

Even with differing skin tone or hair texture, love can make us all live harmoniously together.

Happy Birthday!!! Shun!!!

It is the birthday of a friend, Shun, and I am writing this post to honour this day in which he was born 25 years ago.

He likes to photograph himself. Not a bad hobby, eh?

This is the Shun with the "executive look"

He can be cute at times...

His "specky-look"...

His "poster-look"...

And, His, erm..., "Greek-God look"....

:D HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Shun!!!
May your days be as bright as the sun shines!!! :-)

Pom Pom Island: The Group

9 guys + 4 gals = 13 in a group

This is us!!!

Pom Pom Island: The Introduction

Last August, I was very lucky to join the "expedition" group to explore the reefs of Pom Pom Island. Pom Pom is near the Sipadan island. From Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia, it took only forty minutes of boat ride to reach the island.

Pom Pom is an island undergoing the process of being developed into a holiday resort. The owner of the resort, Mr. Peter Tiong, bought 30 acres of land on the island for such development.

The resort is still under construction, and Peter gave us a good price to put up in his luxurious resort, with minimal facilities. Though minimal, we had all that we needed to survive, even hot showers at night (but only at night).

Pom Pom island is absolutely beautiful. A haven for all who seeks the tranquility and serenity of mother nature. White sand beaches, crystal clear blue water, smooth like a mirror, and the soft quietness of the island land habitat. This is absolutely the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life, to have a moment of peace.

We came here to dive, to explore the reefs all around the island, and we were all in for some "surprises". We did not initially have thought of such situations to be.

The view from the chalet that we spent our nights in. We were having a blissful time as a nature seeker.

There will be more updates of my Pom Pom trip in my following posts. For now, this is only an introduction of what mother nature has kindly and generously offered us. Please stay tuned for more. :)

All pictures in this post are contributed by Monsieur L. Longeau, who takes the most wonderful pictures I have seen. Thank you.

Kudat's Diver Down

While I was hanging out in Edward's dive shop last night, I heard them talking about one particular diver who was sent to Labuan for decompression illness's treatment. Sources said that this man suffered from decompression illness after an one-hour dive in Kudat. It was believed that he stayed too long at a depth of 50m.

After starting diving myself, I have always being asked this question, "Diving? Is it dangerous?"

When I first attended classes for my "Open Water Diver"'s license, I was told that diving was one of the safest sports in this world. Statistically, there are more deaths and injuries in driving than diving. :) As long as the diver practises all safety precautions necessary, and have respect for the nature, I doubt that anything worse than a coral bite or a cramped muscle would happen.

To me, the only danger in diving is the STUPIDITY and ARROGANCE of a diver.

Teresa's 150th Dive Celebration

Last night one lot of us gathered in Edward's dive shop to celebrate Teresa having done 150 dives!!! That was just incredible!!!

Congratulations, Teresa!! Hope you keep up that good work, and keep on diving.

Diving is living, living is diving!!! (That's her tagline...) :)

Oh, and she operates the smallest hostel in town...the BORNEO SEAHARE HOSTEL. Only online reservation is entertained. No walk-ins.

The Yoo Couple

Dr. and Mrs. Yoo C. Y. came visiting 13 September 2007. I was able to take this picture of them in Cafe Cino, Hilton, while having a cheese cake and cappucino. This was the second night of their stay. They left on 15 September 2007.

I was able to ask some questions, which helped me in clarifying some of the issues that was bothering me for a while. It was good to have someone experienced to guide you.

Always respect your elders, even though they may not be as strong as before.