592. Gathering of Friends

A bunch of us decided to take a drive up to Cameron Highlands. Word got around & in the end, we had a huge group that went. Waking up @ 5am for the drive was a real challenge. Esp after having Ruyi's b'day party the nite before.

591. Ruyi's B'day

Seng decided to have a BBQ to celebrate Ruyi's b'day @ home.

Ruyi; Fen, Ruyi & Seng

Mom, Ruyi & Isaac; Opening her presents

I'm gonna play with this one first; Phew! Opening presents is sure hard work!

happy happy, joy joy

The kitchen set she got from her aunts

590. China & HK

Had to visit a customer in China, so took the opportunity to see a bit of China & HK. Shenzhen was an eye opener. Stayed in Miraton Hotel which was very nice and relatively cheap. The food was really good and the massages equally good. The food and massages alone has made up for all my bad experiences there. Managed to get a new phone & a bluetooth headset. It was remarkably cheap @ RM400.

Miraton Hotel; Phone & Bluetooth headset

My arrival to HK was plagued by hotels being fully booked (becoz it's fashion week) & also my friend's schedule not being confirmed. Good thing roaming around HK wasn't difficult at all thanks to the MTR service (I think Penang would benefit from such infrastructure). After checking with a few hotels, decided to check into Ramada Inn. Nothing to shout about except the price (RM600 a nite, and that only if i stayed 3 nites or more). A bed and a bathroom (which smells) is all I got. A far cry from the "suite" I have in Shenzhen which was a fraction of the cost! After settling in, it's time to decide what to do & where to go. Had to scrap Disneyland & Ocean Park due to time constraints. So decided on Avenue of Stars, Temple Street Market, Victoria Peak, HK Island, Harbour City, Nathan Road and some computer & camera shops in Mongkok area. It was nice to see Ming & Angel after a good 2 years or so. Also found that electronic gadgets isn't as cheap as I was told. Price diff is only about RM50. For that amount, I'd rather get them back home. Probably it's because there's no sales at the moment.

HK - Daytime

HK @ Nite


Bank of China (Taken with my new phone's cam); Apparently I arrived in HK during Fashion Week, nice ;)

I found a 7-Eleven store dat's actually closed @ nite

View of HK Island from Avenue of Stars

Symphony of Lights

Bruce Lee; Clock tower @ Avenue of Stars

During the day @ Avenue of Stars

Going up to Victoria Peak; View from The Peak

While waiting for the tram

The Tram; The Tsing Ma bridge

Waiting for them to unload the baggage of a missing passenger

Leaving HK; the gloves left behind by the inspector of my luggage

This is what happens when you buy an el cheapo watch

The stay in HK was fun, but it's time to pack up and head to the airport. Everything went smoothly & I was a good 2 hrs early. Check in went without a hitch and soon afterwards I am at the shopping arcade. About an hour before my flight, I decide to head to the gate. It seems there's a long que to pass thru airport security. No worries, I still have an hour right? WRONG! by the time they got to me, I had 15mins to get to the departure gate. I can still make it...........but security decided to check my luggage! I explained to her I was a bit late, she looked at my ticket and said don't worry, they'll inform the gate to wait for me. So after checking my bag & sending it through the X-Ray again, she said I'm clear. She then told me to run as the gate is closing. So I had run with my roller bag and all. After reaching the gate, the lady hurried me onto the plane. Phew! In the nick of time. After finding my seat, I heard the captain over the speaker announcing they have to wait for security to remove the baggage of a missing passenger from the plane. He went on to explain how it's a safety precaution and all. I'm thinking to myself, I hope they're not removing my bags! Anyway, my bags were the least of my worries, I'm just glad I got on the plane. I took a glance at my watch to congratulate myself on making the run in such a short time. Then i realised the lining around the choronographs has delaminated! Bloody hell! Did they sell me a counterfeit? I'll give them a piece of my mind when I get back to Penang. The flight back was uneventful. Touchdown Penang! Sigh, back to the kandang.

589. The sun will set for you...............

Another classic! This here is Linkin Park's Shadow of the day.

Shadow of the day
Linkin Park

I close both locks below the window.
I close both blinds and turn away.
Sometimes solutions aren’t so simple.
Sometimes goodbye’s the only way.

And the sun will set for you
the sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in grey,
And the sun will set for you...

In cards and flowers on your window,
Your friends all plead for you to stay.
Sometimes beginnings aren’t so simple.
Sometimes goodbye’s the only way.

And the sun will set for you,
the sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in gray,
And the sun will set for you..

And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in gray,
And the sun will set for you..

And the shadow after the day,
Will embrace the world in gray,
And the sun will set for you.


Here's another Linkin Park's song but (I really shouldn't say but) covered by Ms Marié Digby. Half Irish and half Japanese......plays guitar, piano, writes songs & sings. Yummy! But it's her rendition of Rihanna's Umbrella dat made it for her!

Another song she did very well is Maroon 5's Makes me wonder. Imagine a girl that beautiful telling you that. Ouch!

588. Family Time

It's family time again after having a hectic schedule (more like staying out really late last nite with the boys!). It's always nice to have some family time and just appreciate their company. I always have to remind myself what's most important in my life.

Took a photo sometime back and called it Nurture, today I had a chance to take another uncannily similiar photograph! I shall dub it Nurture '08!

Nurture '08; Nurture '06


Why r we here? Is there a supreme being? Have aliens visited us? Does it matter?




Hanging out with the boys the nite before :)

587. I can only imagine

Heard this song by Mercy Me some time back, it didn't strike me too much then. But when Yippie told me his grandma passed away a few days back, I kinda recalled this song. Recently had to attend several funerals, makes me wonder.........

I Can Only Imagine
Mercy Me

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

[Chorus x2]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

I can only imagine [x4]

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship you
I can only imagine

586. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

Decided rather last minute to celebrate the countdown in KL. The pilgrimage began early sunday morning. Once we reached KL, it's off to Pavillion, Starhill and The Gardens. I remember vaguely walking for a few hours and learning the intricate details of choosing a handbag. What poses to hold while checking how it'll hang. After an expensive bread from The Loaf (apparently owned by former PM Tun Mahathir), met up with Chuwy at GSC Mid Valley to watch AVP 2.

Hmmmm, to sum up the movie in 1 word, CRAP! The story line is rushed and it's basically just too damn dark. I don't mean the story is dark, i mean the picture was dark. It was basically rather blurred and confusing (I hope it's not becoz of my old age that I can't focus). I came out of the cinema rather dazed. Chuwy shares the same opinion of the movie adding that the extras were killed off almost instantly. And the other quirk is that in the history of Aliens movies, whoever gets speared by an Alien's tail dies! Dat's the rule! However, in this movie, one of the main characters gets speared and survives (not only dat he manages to limp his way (a long way) to a helicopter and even then, after the helicopter crashes, he's still alive!):) So bottomline, I wouldn't recommend it. After supper with Chuwy, it's back to CL's place and the ever smiley Snowy. :D

Starhill; Smiling Snowy

On the 31st nite, after a day @ Ikea meeting up with Chuwy & Family, Giden & Jeremy, we had dinner at BiBiChik in SS2. The place serves nyonya food. Really delicious food actually and there's a man (I think he's the owner) who serenades the crowd with the classics. Nice ambience. Kudos to Chuwy for picking the place.

Subsequently we ajourned to DUMC for their watchnite service. It's my first time @ the DUMC Dreamcenter. It's gotta be the biggest church I've ever stepped into in Malaysia. Everything went smoothly and I was quietly glad that I came here instead of some crowded bar celebrating nothingness. As I always say, the company is more important than the venue. (Also after receiving some reports of how some of my friend's celebration was ruined by the rain and also the massive traffic congestion, I was doubly glad I went to DUMC).

The venue, DUMC Dreamcenter

The company

Spent new year's day @ The Gardens. Surprisingly it wasn't crowded. Guess everyone is still @ home recovering from the hangover. Today, I learned that there's a designer brand from London called Ted Baker. I kinda liked their wallet, so while I was at it, I was told their shirts were very nice too. So decided to do my CNY shopping there & get it over with. Had dinner @ Italiannies and then it's back home to pack for the early flight back to Penang.

The crowd @ The Gardens; The crowd @ Itallianies

Stuff I got from Ted Baker's

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

____________________

My Random Thots:

Well, another year has come and gone. it's time to reminisce and also set goals. It's been another interesting year for me. As always, There are new places I visited and ppl I've met which adds color to my rather mundane life thru out the year. I've learn more about the ppl around me. Some I've realise to be true friends, while some lost the priviledge. Some places are pleasant, while some leave a bad taste in my mouth. All will be cherished nonetheless.

Well, here's to another year of adventure..........and to those who have taken the journey with me, thank you for being there! My sincere apologies to those I've unintentionally rubbed the wrong way and hopefully this year will be a smoother one. :)