Blind....
A lot of people are blind... not physically... but mentally. they're not aware of what the main issue is about, and refuse to listen to whatever advice from a friend, whatever public announcement, whatever their hearts tell them. why? the first time round of doing that, sure, shit happens. but if it happens numerous times... a big middle finger to your face.
blind 1
Lately, i see a lot of blind people. first of all... Malaysian Idol. wow... Daniel huh? he can sing? sure he sings better than i do. but what about farah? what about nita? oh come on. and yes the majority vote comes from teenage girls who are head over heels over daniel's cute face. if they dont realize it already... let me tell you this... he is soooo gay. even if he isnt, he sure acts like one. sigh. there are so much more better people than him, why'd be ignorant, and let him represent World Idol.
blind 2
the past week, i had a privilage of swimming with a turtle. it kind of dawned me, when i was a kid, i was one of the ignorant kid who enjoyed the turtle eggs. nice slurp with some soy sauce... yummy!! but then, it was pretty hard to obtain for anyone who sold it would be fined or jailed atau kedua-duanya sekali. then the cravings just went away, and then conscience starts kicking in. these are endangered species, and we as humans, as individual have all the right to keep the turtles live, these beautiful creatures, who get to live up to 200 hundred years old where, if you think about it, not only you get to see it, your kids, your granchild, and even your great grandchild would have the chance of seeing these amazing beauties dance in the ocean, and go up land once every 2-3 years, and tear out their hardwork, and only hoping to see their spawns would travel the world and experience it as they did. however, some of these blind, bloody immigrants, would tend to dig up their eggs, and devour it, and then selling them at a very costly price. big time. regardless how the public denounce such act, and penalize others who do such mindless act, some people would still prefer to turn a blind eye, and take the risk, not caring what this world might lose one day....
blind 3
dont you think hiphop is overrated? strangely enough, my sisters do not enjoy hiphop. which is good. but i know, how most of current young generations, like nodding their heads to hiphop. and i am mostly talking about the eager young minds of our country. most hiphop lyrics, videoclips, still evolve around how you flash your blings, how your rims spin, how many asses you get to smack, and how many ladies get to play with your magic stix. kids... (i think its high time i call them kids)... please... pay attention to the lyrics. no matter how uncool i may get, these songs arent only offensive to women, but also to the public. but there are some great rappers there with great mind who create the rhymes that actually matters. kanye, eminem (well most of his songs is about killing his mom, but there are other rhymes that talk about hard living and struggles as a discrimanated white trash), BEP, Jay-Z (although some of his songs are still about rims, hoes, blings and what not). but then again, i guess, its a way for the african americans say 'you can now kiss my big black ass white people!!' just another way of having their debts repaid after 100 years of struggle for their people. so people, listen and understand the song that you're listening to. its worth the brain cells.
blind 4
love? depression? alone? yeap... these are other criterias that could actually make a person blind. and individual even with the most beautiful intellectual mind, would be blind from such occurences. you might be missing someone so deeply, madly, and yet the other doesnt even care what actually happens to you. you might be having a crush on someone for years and years, and tend to oversee what the person would want to treat you as actually... an object. you might be depress and clouded by your current job, current assingment, that you tend to oversee that your relationhship is currently crumbling. Even your life is actually sinking deeper into the quicksand with you not noticing with the abundant workpile, whole sea of loneliness drowning you if you dont get a grip on what is real, what actually matters, and that your friends are the ones who are actually there for you, and listen to you, and remember... your friends now the best, no matter how you think that they just dont understand what you feel.... worst comes to worst... He is always there, even if you dont notice. He may not seem to be there... but then, you're still breathing arent you? are you one of those people who had their homes crushed by big fat katrina? sigh... if only i could make myself listen to myself.....
Thursday, September 22, 2005
DIVERS INC....
I've been dreaming of this moment probably half of my life, and ive been wanting it more than i could ever imagined when i graduated from RPI. It's one of the rush ive been looking for, the excitement, the danger, my testosterone list, and definitely one of my ways of viewing one of the things Allah has created on this earth. After three days of learning, adventure, sunburn, equalizing my ear, checking out asses as i come up the water from the beach, i have finally completed my courss to be an open water diver. and believe me my friends, insya Allah, i will not stop at open water. my next target is to be an Advanced Open Water diver FOR SSI, that way i could learn how to do a rescue dive, do night dives, and go to further lengths than an open water divers. and honestly, this are one of those times ive never been more confident. when i start work, i'll save money for one dive session at the end of the month.
my first day was boring, just intensive academic course, and sit down watch 5 looong VCDs and do quizzes and tests. it wasnt hard, but it was pretty tedious. but by the second day, things were starting to get pretty interesting. on the first day, i learned how to gear up my divng equipment, my air, my regulators, my BCD, and my favorite part of the whole gear, my wetsuit. honestly, there are only two types of clothing that i am not embarassed at all for wearing, and that is my Abada Capoeira pants, and my Wetsuit. heck, the wetsuit even made me feel like wolverine. aside the sixpacks and the whole cool beard, i was feeling pretty comfortable, and i could even float easily as the suit adds buoyancy. note to everyone, for my next birthday, please buy me a wetsuit, size LARGE. thanks. hehe.
the whole thing was alien at first, i had to start applying all the techniques from what i saw in the VCD, and it was actually quite easy. but i was never comfortable with the fact that i had to purposely fill my mask with all the salt water to simulate if the mask would cease to function properly. my eyes sting. but then things were just getting better and better. the next day was kick ass. we went in for 6-7 meters, and my instructor showed me this clownfish (the fish that was in NEMO), which he calls Mickey. Now mickey is a very cute fish. what happened was my instructor placed a pebble on his hand, and the mickey would start peeking out of his anemone, and looked at it. after that he'll take the pebble away, and place it on the ground. and he did it so many times as well. quite a rush. or so i thought. by the way, on my way to see mickey, my instructor grabbed an ikan sebelah or in english, flounder. i wondered how the hell did he see it. but man, ive always seen these creatures in documentaries. never knew i'd be experiencing it.
finally, during my final dive, at the early part, i saw something ive always wanted to see. a turtle. she was swimming by the corals, and man i was trying to catch it, but here, under the sea, im the turtle, and she's the hare. it was the best rush ive had in weeks. well actually the last rush as when i got to see the fireflies, but not as cool as this one. i was curious, looking aruond for barracudas. but sadly none, my next option would probably be diving at pulau tiga. the island where survivor season 1 was filmed. sigh. i wish i was diving again today, but probably my nitrogen level is high today. anyway... it was great. wish you guys were here....
by the way... im sooo gonna get you....!!!! hehehe. wish i'll be working soon..... sigh.
Membakut... an old style chinese outlet, pretty cool....
on the boat after first dive....
me, zurie (my nephew's cousin), and ben (guy from australia).....
on the way back on the first day.....
mr wolverine in my X-men suit....
me in my scuba gear....
my last dive, still estatic from seeing mister turtle and lil mickey....
I've been dreaming of this moment probably half of my life, and ive been wanting it more than i could ever imagined when i graduated from RPI. It's one of the rush ive been looking for, the excitement, the danger, my testosterone list, and definitely one of my ways of viewing one of the things Allah has created on this earth. After three days of learning, adventure, sunburn, equalizing my ear, checking out asses as i come up the water from the beach, i have finally completed my courss to be an open water diver. and believe me my friends, insya Allah, i will not stop at open water. my next target is to be an Advanced Open Water diver FOR SSI, that way i could learn how to do a rescue dive, do night dives, and go to further lengths than an open water divers. and honestly, this are one of those times ive never been more confident. when i start work, i'll save money for one dive session at the end of the month.
my first day was boring, just intensive academic course, and sit down watch 5 looong VCDs and do quizzes and tests. it wasnt hard, but it was pretty tedious. but by the second day, things were starting to get pretty interesting. on the first day, i learned how to gear up my divng equipment, my air, my regulators, my BCD, and my favorite part of the whole gear, my wetsuit. honestly, there are only two types of clothing that i am not embarassed at all for wearing, and that is my Abada Capoeira pants, and my Wetsuit. heck, the wetsuit even made me feel like wolverine. aside the sixpacks and the whole cool beard, i was feeling pretty comfortable, and i could even float easily as the suit adds buoyancy. note to everyone, for my next birthday, please buy me a wetsuit, size LARGE. thanks. hehe.
the whole thing was alien at first, i had to start applying all the techniques from what i saw in the VCD, and it was actually quite easy. but i was never comfortable with the fact that i had to purposely fill my mask with all the salt water to simulate if the mask would cease to function properly. my eyes sting. but then things were just getting better and better. the next day was kick ass. we went in for 6-7 meters, and my instructor showed me this clownfish (the fish that was in NEMO), which he calls Mickey. Now mickey is a very cute fish. what happened was my instructor placed a pebble on his hand, and the mickey would start peeking out of his anemone, and looked at it. after that he'll take the pebble away, and place it on the ground. and he did it so many times as well. quite a rush. or so i thought. by the way, on my way to see mickey, my instructor grabbed an ikan sebelah or in english, flounder. i wondered how the hell did he see it. but man, ive always seen these creatures in documentaries. never knew i'd be experiencing it.
finally, during my final dive, at the early part, i saw something ive always wanted to see. a turtle. she was swimming by the corals, and man i was trying to catch it, but here, under the sea, im the turtle, and she's the hare. it was the best rush ive had in weeks. well actually the last rush as when i got to see the fireflies, but not as cool as this one. i was curious, looking aruond for barracudas. but sadly none, my next option would probably be diving at pulau tiga. the island where survivor season 1 was filmed. sigh. i wish i was diving again today, but probably my nitrogen level is high today. anyway... it was great. wish you guys were here....
by the way... im sooo gonna get you....!!!! hehehe. wish i'll be working soon..... sigh.
Membakut... an old style chinese outlet, pretty cool....
on the boat after first dive....
me, zurie (my nephew's cousin), and ben (guy from australia).....
on the way back on the first day.....
mr wolverine in my X-men suit....
me in my scuba gear....
my last dive, still estatic from seeing mister turtle and lil mickey....
Sunday, September 18, 2005
What's Up....
For the past week, i've been going out a lot... going to CC's and finally let out the nerd i was when i decided to tuck him in 11 years ago. my days consists of online games, mainly Counterstrike, and amazingly... im getting pretty good at it. but still never that good in changing my weapon from primary to secondary as i reloading my primary. and damn it, i am not satisfied of last nite's game as me and my nephews ass got kicked by a bunch of nerdy kids who thinks they rock the CS world. as much as i hate to admit it, they're sooo good in organizing their strategies and attacks. very good teamwork. id say CS creates a leadership competency n oneself by interacting with his teammates and organizing what formation, or system they should encounter the problem. but then again, when the problem builds up and keeps on coming, the leader would also tell you to camp and get the damn wuss snipers....
here are some random thoughts ive thought about what i had the past week. strangely enough, ive heard in the radio that the malaysia is thinking of voting for the first malaysian astronaut via sms. WOW! that's soooo exciting!! might as well you put mawi in the run again and make people vote for him to go up the space next!!! oh COME ON ppl. dont you think the sms thingy has gone a lil too much? do you honestly want to do that to our country? what if you send the wrong person up to space? he or she could be the same case of what happened to War of The Worlds. their stupid RND screwed up on the fact that they cant drink the water on earth. this time its up to professional selection. brawns, intellectual skills are actually required to go up there. if i could vote sms, who should go up there in space, heck id vote for me. everyone wants to go up there right? we should tone this sms thingy down and just stick with singing competitions.
btw... im going scuba diving tomorrow my dear friends... MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA. selepas ini, udah memanggil aku irfan/ipeng... panggil aja aku ini... PENDEKAR LAUT.....
For the past week, i've been going out a lot... going to CC's and finally let out the nerd i was when i decided to tuck him in 11 years ago. my days consists of online games, mainly Counterstrike, and amazingly... im getting pretty good at it. but still never that good in changing my weapon from primary to secondary as i reloading my primary. and damn it, i am not satisfied of last nite's game as me and my nephews ass got kicked by a bunch of nerdy kids who thinks they rock the CS world. as much as i hate to admit it, they're sooo good in organizing their strategies and attacks. very good teamwork. id say CS creates a leadership competency n oneself by interacting with his teammates and organizing what formation, or system they should encounter the problem. but then again, when the problem builds up and keeps on coming, the leader would also tell you to camp and get the damn wuss snipers....
here are some random thoughts ive thought about what i had the past week. strangely enough, ive heard in the radio that the malaysia is thinking of voting for the first malaysian astronaut via sms. WOW! that's soooo exciting!! might as well you put mawi in the run again and make people vote for him to go up the space next!!! oh COME ON ppl. dont you think the sms thingy has gone a lil too much? do you honestly want to do that to our country? what if you send the wrong person up to space? he or she could be the same case of what happened to War of The Worlds. their stupid RND screwed up on the fact that they cant drink the water on earth. this time its up to professional selection. brawns, intellectual skills are actually required to go up there. if i could vote sms, who should go up there in space, heck id vote for me. everyone wants to go up there right? we should tone this sms thingy down and just stick with singing competitions.
btw... im going scuba diving tomorrow my dear friends... MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA. selepas ini, udah memanggil aku irfan/ipeng... panggil aja aku ini... PENDEKAR LAUT.....
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Random thoughts....
in my normal life as a single, unattractive, lonely sabahan, i kinda develop random thoughts so suddenly. so i'd share with you all my sudden random thoughts.
Reality Singing competition....
sigh... this season's malaysian idol sucks. big time. the singers are either not so good, or plain gay. in fact, i sincerely think, AF3 is waaaay better. and heck, mawi is waaay better no matter how much i cant force myself to actually like him. so yess... Malaysian Idol sucks. come on laa the best singers were voted at the first round. please laa people. vote them for talent. not face. sigh. but Rockstar: INXS... now THAT's a KICK ASS competition. they sing these old rock songs, and the fact that they RE-ARRANGE the songs themselves, well mainly their idea, and then write their own songs for the new episodes, they just blow me away all the time. and somehow, strangely im sooo attracted to jordis unga (and you have to say it fast). see that's what i dont understand. why does some of these rockstars have such cool names. some of them are real names. like jordis unga, MiG Ayesa, Dave Navarro, J.D, Brandon Boyd, Eddie Vader, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Van Halen, like dude... there's just sooo many more down the list. its so kick ass. if i was a rockstar, my name would be... hmmm Adrian Mode.... hehehe.
Healthy Eating
Man i can talk so much about this. as most of my friends know, im a freak when it comes to eating healthy... most of the time. nasi kalau bleh tak nak tambah... except when im invited for dinner i.e at dear ferr's. especially now being in malaysia, i rarely eat chicken. RARELY. nasi? kalau boleh nasihat saya kat korang sumer, kurangkan laa. not that im carb conscious or anything, but honestly rice has carbs and actually sugar content that could affect your health in the long run. also, kalau makan luar, mintak laa nasi separuh, kalau boleh mintak nasik suku pun, lagi elok. you see how much do they put rice on nasi campur? like a LOT. A LOT! you get fat just by eating all those rice! soda's? NO!! its NOT GOOD. especially kat malaysia nih. the sugar content here in a normal coke is actually higher than the states. TRUST ME. gatorade ke aper, like DAMN. sedey sial, since im a big gatorade lover. big time. but i had to force myself no to drink it when i arrived in malaysia. all i drink outside is warm water, with tea with no sugar. sad? yes... do i feel healthier... yeap. friends, ppl do actually die with heart attack at the age of thirty something now. please, cut down on sugar, cut down on teh tarik, cut down on fatty foods, try to eat healthier. sometimes i break my diet, but rarely. mainly because once in a while i know i have to pig myself out, because im a normal person. but then, health still matters to me. please friends... think... you are what you eat... and how much you eat.....
Cool if i was a VJ
it'd be soooo cool if i was an mtv VJ. heck if i made it to the final 5, i am already grateful. it'd be cool, to interview famous ppl that i adore myself, that i have celebrity crushes myself, and just meet new people all over the continent. be adventurous, and probably try starting my life as a host for travel and living like asha gill or jamie aditya. i dont even mind if it's something like warna2 malaysia. i'd definitely be adventurous, and heck, i'd jump in a big pile of bullshit if its a culture somewhere in africa. it'd be so funny to see reaction of ppl in KL to see me walk in with abe and faidz into a mamak with just pagoda shirt and a selipar jepun, and they'd whisper 'wey, to bukan VJ tuh ke? chet, tader laa hensem sgt pun. pakai pun rilek jekk'. it'd be a great experience to know that when i go to kedah, or sarawak, or sabah, peoeple would shout out 'VJ IRFAN!! DUUUUDE!!'. basically... its the life i want... basically... it'd be great to be a VJ. if only.....
Peti Ais....
wey... apsal peti ais kan, the freezer tuh... tader lampu? Apsal wey? ko bukak peti ais belah bawah, ada lampu, tapi biler kau bukak yang atas, tader lampu. apsal tak nak buat tuh ada lampu gak? aku pelik giler apsal. bongok punyer design saper yang start buat peti ais....
Family Guy....
haha... lawak sial. im going to download the fourth season. heck, i still watch the old ones on my DVD, and i still crack myself up. ALL THE TIME. his awkwardness, his idiocy, his ignorance, his family... a timeless CLASSIC.... and the baby? oh damn, who doesnt adore that little runt? i said runt....
Denise Kellar....
sigh... susah betol awek aku nih. comel sangat, pastuh kurus, tinggi, kiut, tapi tak call2 aku lagik. taper laa... sayang punya pasal... sabar jekk laa.
Denise Kellar....
Sappy songs....
very good... but just takes my soul away all the time... especially about being lonely, or being dumped, or bla bla bla. boo hoo. fuck off....
friends....
damn it... i miss you guys. i miss hanging out in Troy, with the whole lot of green teas, watching DVD on weekends, talking about problems, watching cheesy malay movies, gossiping... of course in a MANLY way. i miss hanging out in KL, and bitch about women, trying to get hot women, and why is it always the three of us hanging out at the same bloody place. those times... priceless.
well that's a lot of random thoughts... i'll return with more random thoughts in the future.....
in my normal life as a single, unattractive, lonely sabahan, i kinda develop random thoughts so suddenly. so i'd share with you all my sudden random thoughts.
Reality Singing competition....
sigh... this season's malaysian idol sucks. big time. the singers are either not so good, or plain gay. in fact, i sincerely think, AF3 is waaaay better. and heck, mawi is waaay better no matter how much i cant force myself to actually like him. so yess... Malaysian Idol sucks. come on laa the best singers were voted at the first round. please laa people. vote them for talent. not face. sigh. but Rockstar: INXS... now THAT's a KICK ASS competition. they sing these old rock songs, and the fact that they RE-ARRANGE the songs themselves, well mainly their idea, and then write their own songs for the new episodes, they just blow me away all the time. and somehow, strangely im sooo attracted to jordis unga (and you have to say it fast). see that's what i dont understand. why does some of these rockstars have such cool names. some of them are real names. like jordis unga, MiG Ayesa, Dave Navarro, J.D, Brandon Boyd, Eddie Vader, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Van Halen, like dude... there's just sooo many more down the list. its so kick ass. if i was a rockstar, my name would be... hmmm Adrian Mode.... hehehe.
Healthy Eating
Man i can talk so much about this. as most of my friends know, im a freak when it comes to eating healthy... most of the time. nasi kalau bleh tak nak tambah... except when im invited for dinner i.e at dear ferr's. especially now being in malaysia, i rarely eat chicken. RARELY. nasi? kalau boleh nasihat saya kat korang sumer, kurangkan laa. not that im carb conscious or anything, but honestly rice has carbs and actually sugar content that could affect your health in the long run. also, kalau makan luar, mintak laa nasi separuh, kalau boleh mintak nasik suku pun, lagi elok. you see how much do they put rice on nasi campur? like a LOT. A LOT! you get fat just by eating all those rice! soda's? NO!! its NOT GOOD. especially kat malaysia nih. the sugar content here in a normal coke is actually higher than the states. TRUST ME. gatorade ke aper, like DAMN. sedey sial, since im a big gatorade lover. big time. but i had to force myself no to drink it when i arrived in malaysia. all i drink outside is warm water, with tea with no sugar. sad? yes... do i feel healthier... yeap. friends, ppl do actually die with heart attack at the age of thirty something now. please, cut down on sugar, cut down on teh tarik, cut down on fatty foods, try to eat healthier. sometimes i break my diet, but rarely. mainly because once in a while i know i have to pig myself out, because im a normal person. but then, health still matters to me. please friends... think... you are what you eat... and how much you eat.....
Cool if i was a VJ
it'd be soooo cool if i was an mtv VJ. heck if i made it to the final 5, i am already grateful. it'd be cool, to interview famous ppl that i adore myself, that i have celebrity crushes myself, and just meet new people all over the continent. be adventurous, and probably try starting my life as a host for travel and living like asha gill or jamie aditya. i dont even mind if it's something like warna2 malaysia. i'd definitely be adventurous, and heck, i'd jump in a big pile of bullshit if its a culture somewhere in africa. it'd be so funny to see reaction of ppl in KL to see me walk in with abe and faidz into a mamak with just pagoda shirt and a selipar jepun, and they'd whisper 'wey, to bukan VJ tuh ke? chet, tader laa hensem sgt pun. pakai pun rilek jekk'. it'd be a great experience to know that when i go to kedah, or sarawak, or sabah, peoeple would shout out 'VJ IRFAN!! DUUUUDE!!'. basically... its the life i want... basically... it'd be great to be a VJ. if only.....
Peti Ais....
wey... apsal peti ais kan, the freezer tuh... tader lampu? Apsal wey? ko bukak peti ais belah bawah, ada lampu, tapi biler kau bukak yang atas, tader lampu. apsal tak nak buat tuh ada lampu gak? aku pelik giler apsal. bongok punyer design saper yang start buat peti ais....
Family Guy....
haha... lawak sial. im going to download the fourth season. heck, i still watch the old ones on my DVD, and i still crack myself up. ALL THE TIME. his awkwardness, his idiocy, his ignorance, his family... a timeless CLASSIC.... and the baby? oh damn, who doesnt adore that little runt? i said runt....
Denise Kellar....
sigh... susah betol awek aku nih. comel sangat, pastuh kurus, tinggi, kiut, tapi tak call2 aku lagik. taper laa... sayang punya pasal... sabar jekk laa.
Denise Kellar....
Sappy songs....
very good... but just takes my soul away all the time... especially about being lonely, or being dumped, or bla bla bla. boo hoo. fuck off....
friends....
damn it... i miss you guys. i miss hanging out in Troy, with the whole lot of green teas, watching DVD on weekends, talking about problems, watching cheesy malay movies, gossiping... of course in a MANLY way. i miss hanging out in KL, and bitch about women, trying to get hot women, and why is it always the three of us hanging out at the same bloody place. those times... priceless.
well that's a lot of random thoughts... i'll return with more random thoughts in the future.....
Monday, September 05, 2005
Weekend of Getaway....
It started out where the night before, i was saying goodbye to my nephew and his cousin after 2 hours of counterstrike. his father owns a beach house in Binsuluk, which is after Bongawan, and before Membakut. or in layman terms, roughly about 2 hours from the town of Kota Kinabalu. So he invited me for a 2 days 1 night stay there where we'll be fishing most probably, and taking some of his mom's parent's around.
so the next morning, nicely packed, but only to realize i forgot my toothbrush when i was at my cousin's to wait for the others to meet up there. after a long wait and a long dull drive to binsuluk, i was amazed to find out it was a very big beach house, and really beside the sea, hence, the beach house name. after some lunch, i was already imagining myself fishing my ass of and laughing to myself thinking taroi would be so envious of me by now. hehe. but then my nephew told me we'll be going to see some proboscis monkeys. my eyes twinkled with excitement. if you dont know what a probscis monkey is, its actually an almost extinct species of monkeys, where their fur are brown, with red face, and this is what disinguish them the most compared to other monkeys. they have really long noses. btw, my nephew's mom's friends, turned out to be 2 Japanese volunteer sensei, and 3 other students. and i must say, i was brushing up with my ni hongo a LOT. hehe. loved it.
soshite, we went to see the monkeys, WHICH, was very very difficult, as we were not in the mangrove trees as they are. we were cruising in one small boat that my cousin owned and drove it there to the primates habitat. but before leaving, we dropped some binturs in the river. binturs are a 'bubu' version of crab catching system. pretty cool. so we drove to the monkeys habitat, and as we were cruising there, we saw some fishermen working hard in their boats to look for their halal rezeki. somehow that moment reminded me, how you know, when the boats drive by, in the movies, these locals would wave at random strangers and smile politely as if u were driving in a housing area where every knows you. and you know what? they really do DO that. i mean, they waved nicely as we pass by, and gave us honest smiles and nods. didnt think that was a fact until today. next thing i need to find out is whether african kids really do chase your car as you drive into their village. who knows, it might be true.
so we arrived at the mangroves, and like i said, it was really difficutl to see them, as they were jumping, running around behind thick mangroves trying to avoid contact from humans. but the second time when i saw them the next day, there was one monkey, who was sitting, red-faced, and stared at us curiously. at that time, i felt like i was jeff corwin or steve irwin explaining to the tourists the facts about the monkeys, the food that they eat, the defensive system, the hierarchy somewhat. only problem is, my knowledge was based on baboons that i watched from national geographic. eheheh. but they did almos the same thing. and their normal diet is very healthy, where they eat petai (like anyet, that's why she's a monyet), ulam, basically all bitter types of plants. and the monkeys only seem to go out around sunset by the river. probably like humans, they enjoy watching the sun setting in west.
that night, kondo sensei gave me the chance to wear a yu katta, a traditional summer casual attire for the japanese. and i must say, again, from my TV observation, i thought the reason they walked with small steps were just because of their culture. BUT as i turns out, the attire actually constrains one's movement and hence you can only take small fast steps if you're rushing to the groceries. eto, that nite, totemo yokatta desu yo.
i thought we were just going to retire for the night, only to find out later, we went kelip2 watching, or fireflies watching. i must say, it was so breathtaking. all we did was sit in the dark, by the docks at the river, and watch at fireflies that spark in the darkness on the mangroves' leaves, and they were like christmas trees that just sparkle in the middle of nowhere. i was looking up the dark sky and saw stars sparkle and looked down, and felt that the stars were down here with me and it was moving around probably mating, probably trying to look for something, and all i could say was... Subhannallah. it was great. later in the morning i could not imagine if the small lights in the distant in the forest were some potheads smoking some blunt and are amused by themselves and started waving their blunts around to entertain themselves with the light. hehehe. but it actually is fireflies, because i caught on, so rest assured.
the next morning, woke up at 5, and we started a boat ride again, this time not in the river, but to the middle of the sea. so i brought my fable fishing rod with me. we went to a 'bagang' where, it actually is man-made platform in the middle of the ocean on the deep waters, just right before it goes down all the way into darkness. the size of the bagang was roughly about a size of a family room, one might say like the room i used to have in colonie apartments. in the middle of it is a small pondok with a roof over it for the fishermen rest as they stay there and wait for schools and schools of fish. and i must say, there were a LOT of fish. i fished a lil but not for long because the tourists were getting bored. they probably dont know the value of fishing. heheh. and i must say, ive only casted like 6 times, and i got 1 fish. and that was only because i used a big hook on the first few times, and changed to a smaller one later. it was not much of a fight though, mainly because a barracuda had already injured the fish badly. and i must say, this weekend, i'll be going again insya Allah. huyeaah. i got to see the sunrise, and went back in the speed boat but through the river this time instead heading towards the that was beside the beach house. it was... breathtaking. all i ate there was fresh fish, fresh fish all over again. and it was so relaxing staring at the ocean and sip one cup of tea, and look how much ive been through in just one whole weekend. the feeling... priceless. later at night, as i was driving back, i was staring at the ocean in the darkness again, but was so amazed, where, like fireflies, lights were being lit up on the bagangs by the working fishermen, in the middle of the ocean. there were so many bagangs along the coastal line of the west side of sabah up ,until the end of daerah Bongawan. like fireflies, like vegas, heck vegas lights cant compare to what i experienced the past weekend......
on a barge heading to Kuala Penyu
on a boat to see Proboscis Monkeys. (no pics for monkeys though, google it up. so hard to snap the camera)....
Pakcik Puteh, the guide to our tour, while pakcik eddie was manuvering the boat....
Kondo Sensei to Watashiwa (yukatta o hakimasu) to Amy San, to Asaka sensei.....
The crew....
an example of a bagang....
It started out where the night before, i was saying goodbye to my nephew and his cousin after 2 hours of counterstrike. his father owns a beach house in Binsuluk, which is after Bongawan, and before Membakut. or in layman terms, roughly about 2 hours from the town of Kota Kinabalu. So he invited me for a 2 days 1 night stay there where we'll be fishing most probably, and taking some of his mom's parent's around.
so the next morning, nicely packed, but only to realize i forgot my toothbrush when i was at my cousin's to wait for the others to meet up there. after a long wait and a long dull drive to binsuluk, i was amazed to find out it was a very big beach house, and really beside the sea, hence, the beach house name. after some lunch, i was already imagining myself fishing my ass of and laughing to myself thinking taroi would be so envious of me by now. hehe. but then my nephew told me we'll be going to see some proboscis monkeys. my eyes twinkled with excitement. if you dont know what a probscis monkey is, its actually an almost extinct species of monkeys, where their fur are brown, with red face, and this is what disinguish them the most compared to other monkeys. they have really long noses. btw, my nephew's mom's friends, turned out to be 2 Japanese volunteer sensei, and 3 other students. and i must say, i was brushing up with my ni hongo a LOT. hehe. loved it.
soshite, we went to see the monkeys, WHICH, was very very difficult, as we were not in the mangrove trees as they are. we were cruising in one small boat that my cousin owned and drove it there to the primates habitat. but before leaving, we dropped some binturs in the river. binturs are a 'bubu' version of crab catching system. pretty cool. so we drove to the monkeys habitat, and as we were cruising there, we saw some fishermen working hard in their boats to look for their halal rezeki. somehow that moment reminded me, how you know, when the boats drive by, in the movies, these locals would wave at random strangers and smile politely as if u were driving in a housing area where every knows you. and you know what? they really do DO that. i mean, they waved nicely as we pass by, and gave us honest smiles and nods. didnt think that was a fact until today. next thing i need to find out is whether african kids really do chase your car as you drive into their village. who knows, it might be true.
so we arrived at the mangroves, and like i said, it was really difficutl to see them, as they were jumping, running around behind thick mangroves trying to avoid contact from humans. but the second time when i saw them the next day, there was one monkey, who was sitting, red-faced, and stared at us curiously. at that time, i felt like i was jeff corwin or steve irwin explaining to the tourists the facts about the monkeys, the food that they eat, the defensive system, the hierarchy somewhat. only problem is, my knowledge was based on baboons that i watched from national geographic. eheheh. but they did almos the same thing. and their normal diet is very healthy, where they eat petai (like anyet, that's why she's a monyet), ulam, basically all bitter types of plants. and the monkeys only seem to go out around sunset by the river. probably like humans, they enjoy watching the sun setting in west.
that night, kondo sensei gave me the chance to wear a yu katta, a traditional summer casual attire for the japanese. and i must say, again, from my TV observation, i thought the reason they walked with small steps were just because of their culture. BUT as i turns out, the attire actually constrains one's movement and hence you can only take small fast steps if you're rushing to the groceries. eto, that nite, totemo yokatta desu yo.
i thought we were just going to retire for the night, only to find out later, we went kelip2 watching, or fireflies watching. i must say, it was so breathtaking. all we did was sit in the dark, by the docks at the river, and watch at fireflies that spark in the darkness on the mangroves' leaves, and they were like christmas trees that just sparkle in the middle of nowhere. i was looking up the dark sky and saw stars sparkle and looked down, and felt that the stars were down here with me and it was moving around probably mating, probably trying to look for something, and all i could say was... Subhannallah. it was great. later in the morning i could not imagine if the small lights in the distant in the forest were some potheads smoking some blunt and are amused by themselves and started waving their blunts around to entertain themselves with the light. hehehe. but it actually is fireflies, because i caught on, so rest assured.
the next morning, woke up at 5, and we started a boat ride again, this time not in the river, but to the middle of the sea. so i brought my fable fishing rod with me. we went to a 'bagang' where, it actually is man-made platform in the middle of the ocean on the deep waters, just right before it goes down all the way into darkness. the size of the bagang was roughly about a size of a family room, one might say like the room i used to have in colonie apartments. in the middle of it is a small pondok with a roof over it for the fishermen rest as they stay there and wait for schools and schools of fish. and i must say, there were a LOT of fish. i fished a lil but not for long because the tourists were getting bored. they probably dont know the value of fishing. heheh. and i must say, ive only casted like 6 times, and i got 1 fish. and that was only because i used a big hook on the first few times, and changed to a smaller one later. it was not much of a fight though, mainly because a barracuda had already injured the fish badly. and i must say, this weekend, i'll be going again insya Allah. huyeaah. i got to see the sunrise, and went back in the speed boat but through the river this time instead heading towards the that was beside the beach house. it was... breathtaking. all i ate there was fresh fish, fresh fish all over again. and it was so relaxing staring at the ocean and sip one cup of tea, and look how much ive been through in just one whole weekend. the feeling... priceless. later at night, as i was driving back, i was staring at the ocean in the darkness again, but was so amazed, where, like fireflies, lights were being lit up on the bagangs by the working fishermen, in the middle of the ocean. there were so many bagangs along the coastal line of the west side of sabah up ,until the end of daerah Bongawan. like fireflies, like vegas, heck vegas lights cant compare to what i experienced the past weekend......
on a barge heading to Kuala Penyu
on a boat to see Proboscis Monkeys. (no pics for monkeys though, google it up. so hard to snap the camera)....
Pakcik Puteh, the guide to our tour, while pakcik eddie was manuvering the boat....
Kondo Sensei to Watashiwa (yukatta o hakimasu) to Amy San, to Asaka sensei.....
The crew....
an example of a bagang....
Friday, September 02, 2005
hush....
yes... its been almost two months now since ive been in Malaysia, where, 1 month and 1 week i spent in peninsular, where 3 weeks of it i spent so sooo happily in KL. and frankly, in a MANLY-ish way, i miss the manly bonding of talking about unsolvable problems at mohsin, secret recipe, hartamas, nasi lemak ganja and all other food joints the trio can actually find.
so ive written about serious issue, and thus im moving to a less serious issue, which is.... okay im thinking about it... thinkiiiing.... not there yet, okay im lost. need a break for a sec.
so, its my best buddy's bday, and hope you enjoy your present, and sorry i cant be there to celebrate it with you as i always did in the past two years. but hope you loved the online flowers as well as the real ones. i dont know exactly where we're heading now. but i hope its somewhere better than where ive been the whole year.
hmmm... i still cant figure out any unserious topic. i could talk about myn's blender :P, but i dont have one. well one thing i have a great attachment to now. is my pick up truck. id wash her almost everyday. take her for some slow drive, and just enjoy giving smoke up jackasses who thinks they're bagus. then just crank up the mp3 player, and lay back and relax while i look straight in the ocean while wearing my ray ban's aviator. the car is so cool that id just smile and frankly i dont mind spending the night in the truck itself. i maybe have too much attachment to this car huh?
time for me to shadaaaaap
yes... its been almost two months now since ive been in Malaysia, where, 1 month and 1 week i spent in peninsular, where 3 weeks of it i spent so sooo happily in KL. and frankly, in a MANLY-ish way, i miss the manly bonding of talking about unsolvable problems at mohsin, secret recipe, hartamas, nasi lemak ganja and all other food joints the trio can actually find.
so ive written about serious issue, and thus im moving to a less serious issue, which is.... okay im thinking about it... thinkiiiing.... not there yet, okay im lost. need a break for a sec.
so, its my best buddy's bday, and hope you enjoy your present, and sorry i cant be there to celebrate it with you as i always did in the past two years. but hope you loved the online flowers as well as the real ones. i dont know exactly where we're heading now. but i hope its somewhere better than where ive been the whole year.
hmmm... i still cant figure out any unserious topic. i could talk about myn's blender :P, but i dont have one. well one thing i have a great attachment to now. is my pick up truck. id wash her almost everyday. take her for some slow drive, and just enjoy giving smoke up jackasses who thinks they're bagus. then just crank up the mp3 player, and lay back and relax while i look straight in the ocean while wearing my ray ban's aviator. the car is so cool that id just smile and frankly i dont mind spending the night in the truck itself. i maybe have too much attachment to this car huh?
time for me to shadaaaaap
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