Sunflower gives the connotation of cheerfulness, bright, jolly, merry... you get the idea! However, if any content in this blog didn't fit the cheerfulness implied by its name, look at it this way... I'm putting down all the wretchedness, gloom, melancholy feeling in here so I can continue living up to the expectation of making the association to the sunflower.
It seems like rock balancing is a favorite past time for people at Taman Negara :)
Before...
After...
Hubby trying his luck at balancing rock. I said if he can balance the rock, he's going to get a full body massage session that night. Since the rock lies horizontally, the masseuse will lie horizontal too :) Only if he can get it to stand in vertical position will the masseuse stand. I lie down most of the time that night hehehe... ;)
I wasn't sure if I had fully recover from diarrhea on the day we're departing to Kuala Tahan, but we're going anyway. I wasn't vomiting after the visit to the clinic but the thought of food still did not excite me even after a few days. No food channel on TV please, no cook show of any kind please. No hot food, no curry or dhal for my roti canai that I had for breakfast either. Hubby just laughed when one of the waiter at our favorite Mamak restaurant brought my roti canai sprinkled with sugar. He said this one must be a trainee and this must be the first time he got a request for roti canai and sugar. After breakfast, we headed towards Kuala Tahan aided by Garmin from hubby's new hand phone. I've downloaded some static map on my hand phone too just in case. Departure time, about 15 minutes before 10 a.m.
The view at Kuala Tahan by the river.
The road was clear and wasn't too winding but I kinda felt dizzy so I tried to remain static as much as possible. No sharp head turning to avoid any throwing up incidents. We reached Kuala Tahan around 12:45 and the place was packed with cars and bus loads of tourist. I hope most of them will check out the afternoon we checked in. Thank God I've made reservations earlier. The room was very basic but clean and convenient. There's a friendly Chinese guy hanging around near our chalet. He's very informative. We chit-chatted a bit, ask questions about the place and ended up booking a rapid shooting trip with him. It's still early so we went to have our lunch. The masak lemak cili padi was extremely spicy and I had the first taste of the place's specialty i.e. Gulai Asam Rong. Only a few place in Pahang cook this dish.
As for the place, Kuala Tahan has a special charm very different from most places I've been too. We have no idea of what to expect. Even some pictures we saw from websites and brochures didn't prepare us for the real thing. But I got excited anyway when I saw something recognizable from pictures I've seen. Photography can be misleading. It may capture only part of the real thing. Don't get me wrong. I'm not disappointed at all with the big picture. It's very charming indeed.
The intersection of Sg. Tembeling and Sg. Tahan.
Any dizziness I felt was immediately forgotten once we were on the boat for our rapid shooting trip and the wind swept my face. The boat took us upstream the Tembeling River, zig-zagging to avoid rocky areas. The skill of the boatmen doing tricky maneuver were amazing. Despite the fear of getting drenched and spoiling my camera, I still took the risk of taking photos and videos of the trip. We were on the boat for about 45 minutes before the boat make a u-turn.
The boat made a stop near Nusa Holiday Village for a short picnic trip. There's a small stream going into Tembeling River called Sg. Abai. 'Abai' means neglect or ignored in Malay but this river surely is not ignored or neglected in any way. There's also a rocky area that will be submerged during rainy season. It was quite a view. Thank God I kept my camera on the way back because we really got drenched. I think the boatmen purposely do that to give us some thrill.
After dinner, we went across the river for a video show session by the Perhilitan Taman Negara. Before that we took some time going around the exhibition area looking at some photos. They have quite a lot of interesting information especially about the exploration of Gunung Tahan. The video was nice and a must see if you want to know what to expect and what's the place to see around Taman Negara area. However, we thought they could improve the video a little bit with some welcoming and closing message since there's no one doing it. Show some Malaysian hospitality there with some message about preservation and appreciation.
A very nice photo at the exhibition area.
Night view from our chalet.
Day 2
Morning view.
Yesterday there were so many people so the next morning, our first agenda is to get to the canopy walk before throngs of people crowd the place. It was a pleasant walk and the weather's nice.
On the canopy walk we heard cries, "tak nakkk... tak nak naik... uwaaa...". That's from a young boy behind us. His sister seemed OK with the whole idea of walking across the forest few hundred feet above the ground. After going through several platforms, he's getting braver. When we reached the end, we overheard the siblings talking to each other, "best lah kan" said the boy to his sister :) There's a little girl behind us walking so fast like walking on the playground pressuring us to walk faster. Hubby's behind me. He got pressured by the little girl and in turn pressured me to walk faster. Sigh! I told hubby to ask the girl to wait. I want to enjoy the view from up here.
When we reached the ground, we decided to trek to Terisek Hill. The signboard said only 1.5km. That shouldn't be a problem. Right? Wrong! It's going uphill and hubby has to stop many times to wait for me. We're like the tortoise and the hare. Hubby's the hare, I'm the tortoise. Well... I do stop more often to take photographs :) And I'm wearing my rubber Asadi sandal instead of sport shoes. Excuses... excuses...
Hubby.
The sun peeping through the leaves.
Amazing tall trees.
Interesting looking Lianas.
The first view on Terisek Hill.
We walked a few hundred meters from the first stop to see this second view.
On the way up to Terisek Hill, we saw a sign that shows the direction of Lubok Simpon. There's some information about Lubok Simpon at the exhibition we saw the night before but I wasn't really paying attention. It's not mentioned in any of the website about Taman Negara I've visited. But since we're there already, we might as well just trek to the place and surprise ourselves. It was downhill most of the time which worries me if we have to trek back uphill afterwards.
Don't get fooled by all those sign that shows 1.2km or 1.5km. It can actually be quite a distance in the jungle since you have to maneuver the roots, trees and going up and down the hills. It took us about 1 hour and hubby said how nice if there's a boat that we can take to ride back to our chalet when we reached the place. I told hubby how much I prayed he's right because there's no way I'll have the energy to walk back up the way we came. Hubby discovered a leech on him. I told him maybe because he stopped to rest and wait for me so I'm not stopping for whatever reason. Still a leech managed to just get stuck on my feet before I flick it away. Hubby's too far away to do it for me and I was too tired to screech.
Is the trek worth it? It does. There's a boat there and two groups of people having a picnic and fun splashing in the water. Lubok Simpon is actually a spot at Sg. Tahan and according to the boatman, we're quite near to Kuala Tahan. That's really good news for us.
This is the color of Sg. Tahan because of the existence of shale stones at the river bed.
Can you see the little fishes?
The water at Lubok Simpon is so cool and refreshing. Hubby took a dip. I just dipped my feet. We left the place about 12:30 to head back to our chalet. As we started walking, we saw a group of family carrying picnic baskets with small children making their way to the picnic spot. That means we're very near to civilization. Thank God! We reached one of the floating restaurants at Kuala Tahan about 1 p.m. for lunch. We must have burnt hundreds of calories walking and trekking from 8:30 that morning.
After lunch, we rest for a while before going to Lata Berkoh. Yesterday during rapid shooting we went upstream the Tembeling river. To Lata Berkoh, we will go upstream the Tahan river. We will also pass by Lubok Simpon. The rusty color of the Tahan river is very interesting with green trees on each side of the river. We stopped at a spot on Tahan river which has become a sanctuary for Kelah/Mahseer fish for fish feeding. There were lots of them.
I have a boat under my name :) Look at the name on the jacket and cushion.
All the boat going to Lata Berkoh will stop here. We have to trek for about 700m to reach the waterfall. After all the trekking we did this morning, what's another 700m right :)
The current is so strong, only strong swimmers should swim in this area.
Hubby swam for a while there, then we went to a tamer place so I can play in the water. There were parts where the river is so wide and shallow, its incomparable to rivers we normally went to. Hubby said he could stay there for days and enjoy the scenery and serenity. I would too. On our ride back, I feel like I can't get enough of the beautiful and refreshing greeneries.
Hubby saw a big iguana he initially thought a crocodile on the river bank. I missed that. Then, not far from Lubok Simpon, all of us can't miss the big snake crossing the river. It's probably about my arms length if not more, zig-zagging across the river. Very, very near to Lubok Simpon and there were quite a number of people picnicking there. I managed to take a photo but in the water, it looks like a streak of light.
Anyway, we reached our chalet some time before 6, took a bath, change and pack in record time because the owner is waiting for us. Someone wants to check in. I'd love to visit Taman Negara at Kuala Tahan again. Taman Negara is one of the place I've always wanted to visit and to have a dream come true with amazing sceneries and experiencing nature almost untouched, sharing it all with hubby, the moment were priceless. Very early the next morning when I heard the sound of car or motorbike engine from our bedroom, I told hubby that's the sound of Kuala Tahan's engine boat :) Sigh! Back to the hustle and bustle of the city.
If I thought my lousy days were over, I was wrong. When I reached home yesterday, I felt weak. Really, really weak. I thought maybe I ate something or got a little dehydrated so I took charcoal tablet with 100 plus. That should take care of something wrong with tummy and dehydration bit. When hubby reached home, we went to Tesco for dinner and to buy few things. I told him I don't feel good. The moment we reached the parking, I throw up. Nothing much, just gas and phlegm.
We chose an eating place nearest to the toilet. Actually hubby made the choice just in case he needs to run to the toilet. But I'm the one who needs it most. While waiting for the order, I excused myself to went to the toilet. Throw up again. Just gas and phlegm. Our dinner was served and I ate a little bit. I excused myself again and this time I really throw up. I ate very little and whatever come out was definitely more than what I just put in. I can even see bits of the charcoal tablet. After dinner, we walked around to buy things on our list. Nothing more than that. Just go and grab. We also didn't want to get caught with the crowd shopping for CNY.
I started to feel nauseated again. It feels cold and I have goosebumps, I hang on to hubby's hand for my dear life. While walking back to our car, I throw up again. Luckily I found a drain opening at the parking lot. Thank God the ride home was a short one. I ran to the toilet immediately when we reached home. I don't know where all that thing I throw up came from. Lots of them. Yucky...
Hubby has to stay up to finish his work. I lie down near him and managed to fall asleep for awhile. Then up and ran to the toilet again. Sigh! I decided to take the medication prescribed to hubby. He's already feeling well and not taking them anymore. Bad move. I throw up everything again and this went on non stop until there's nothing in my gut anymore. Even plain water will be purged out.
I noticed hubby came to bed to lie down for a while but he got up again to continue with work. He only came in to really sleep some time after 4 a.m. and not before rubbing some lotion on my tummy. All the while I was alternating between sleep and running to the toilet. I felt really thirsty but dare not drink anything. My gut was still churning.
We went to the clinic at about 7:30 am. The same doctor who treated hubby two days ago. I told the doctor about taking hubby's medicine and throwing them all up so she gave me a jab to prevent from purging. She asked what do we ate which is hard to answer because we didn't fell sick on the same day. What are the odds two people in the same household catching the same bug few days apart? I have no idea. Fever maybe but I don't have fever. Hubby started with fever then he has diarrhea. I don't have fever. Just diarrhea. Hubby said I felt warm maybe I'm down with fever too but I don't feel feverish. Maybe the body heat is due to lack of water. The doctor changed some medicine and said I can continue taking some of hubby's medication. As we were driving back, I felt like purging again. I have prepared some plastic bag with me. Nothing much came out. Just gas and phlegm.
I felt slightly better after that. The thought of food still makes me want to purge but I fancy the green apple in our fridge. After lying down for a while, I got up to cut two apples. Ate a few pieces and took my medicines. Hubby's still around. He has emailed his work and don't feel like going to office. Poor hubby. Just two days ago has his gut churning out, has to go to work the day after and stayed up all night to finish work.
I fell asleep after that. Woke up and fell asleep again. I remember looking at the clock in our bedroom. It showed 10.30, then 11.15. I saw hubby working at home. Replying some emails and what not. When I woke up feeling hungry and thirsty, I just ate a few more pieces of green apple left beside my bed. I soaked them in water plus salt earlier so they still look nice. I felt like purging once but nothing came out. Hubby said must be because I have nothing in my stomach. I told him I don't fancy eating anything. Hubby has to leave around lunch time. I told him I'll be OK. I was asleep most of the time anyway. I remember I have to woke up at about 3 pm to take my rehydration salt, it has to be taken every 6 hours, but I don't have the energy. I finally woke up at 5, finish all the apples, took my medicines and felt much better I even have the energy to blog :)
I hope the 'not my day' thing, it's over. What am I going to eat tonight? I felt like taking something cooling and easy on the tummy like yogurt but doctor said not to take anything with milk for a while. Jelly? There's no jelly in the fridge. Hmmmm... Rice... NO! Porridge... NO! More apples... NO! Milo... NO! Oats... NO! Now I know how hubby feels. Despite not feeling like eating anything, he still took a few spoons of rice with chicken soup I fed him when he was sick. Since he can't cook, he must be at wits end trying to make me eat something earlier :) I still don't know what to eat but at least I feel like drinking a glass of cool Sunquick orange.
I have two appointments today. Both with old friends.
Appointment 1
Reached the place but not sure which one was the office exactly. Give Friend 1 a call on his handphone. No reply. Errkk... SMS him to ask for his location. Maybe he's in the elevator or something. No reply so call again. "You have reached the mailbox for the number..." Call again and again. "You have reached the mailbox for the number..." Now what??? Called Telekom Directory 103 for the office number. I got the Cyberview Lodge Resort number instead. Hmmm... decided to drive around the area. At the very least, I got to familiarize myself with the place. Who knows I have to be at this part of the world again.
After half-an-hour, went to refuel and check my car's tyre pressure. At least I'm doing something useful here. Yeah right... going miles and miles away from home just to refuel and check tyre pressure. SMS Friend 1 to reschedule meeting and headed to my 2nd appointment. I know hubby's in a meeting this morning so SMSed him. I decided to take LRT to town. Since I have to take both STAR and PUTRA, I may need some time to get there. I wasn't really concentrating on the road as I was SMSing hubby and ended up taking the Serdang/Sri Kembangan exit and go through Equine Park area. I've used this road before so I didn't really panic but I wish I didn't because of the jam. Sigh!
Friend 1 finally called. He said he's using another phone with another number because the phone with the number I've been calling and SMSing has run out of battery. Duh! He asked for my location and I told him I've reached Sri Kembangan since I have another appointment. He was incredulous. Why didn't I ask around. Just ask anybody they should know where his office is. Ask the guard of any guard house, ask the food operator at the food court. Errr... OK... since he didn't answer my call, I'm not exactly looking forward to go to his office. He might not be around. If he's around he should answer my call right? I didn't know he has another number. And I don't get it with people who has two or three numbers. I've been using mine since the day I bought my first handphone. The one and only.
And then he asked me some questions about what our meeting was supposedly to be about. "OK... how many units do you have in mind? Do you need it now or a near future? Say like... 2 months time?" My jaw almost dropped. Errr... OK I think we have some mis-communication here but didn't say it out loud to him. I can immediately see how the mis-communication happened and have to rethink how to approach him with my real intention. Probably it is a good thing we didn't meet as it will be funny. Not really a disaster but maybe close. Sigh! I told him I don't need it urgently and set another meeting date.
In Between Appointment
I needed to go to the washroom. Went to a washroom at the LRT station and has to wait for ages. All 3 cubicles were occupied. Heard sounds in the cubicles I waited for but no sound of water and flushing. Waited and waited and heard the sound of noisy plastic bag. What on earth is this person doing. I saw the lady that went into the cubicle earlier. Waited and waited some more and finally... the sound of running water and a flush. Eh... a different person coming out from the cubicle. She changed clothes. From t-shirt and jeans to a very nice looking blouse and skirt. Got a date is it? After the initial shock of seeing a different person coming out from the toilet, this gave me another shock.
Now, which stupid fellow decided to design the toilet like this? If you want to use this loo, you have to remember to slouch. Sit up straight and you'll hit the steel rack. If you're tall, you have to slouch even more or you'll hit the steel rack. Slouch, slouch, slouch, and the moment you stand up be careful too as your head might hit the water knob. I normally get really mad if I found a stupidly-designed-toilet. Whoever did it, should get peed on. It is a blessing to get a clean toilet when you're using a public toilet and to also have to deal with badly designed toilet is like pushing it too far already.
Appointment 2
Reach the place 20 minutes early. SMS Friend 2. Waited and waited and waited... no SMS reply. Give her a call. She said she has to attend a meeting so she might be a little bit late. I'm famished. I went to the restaurant we're supposed to have lunch and ordered first. If we're going to have a nice conversation, I might as well eat something before I turned green. My morning appointment and the toilet incident didn't really help with my temperament. An empty stomach and a late friend would be too much to handle. So food first! After I ordered, she called about 10 minutes later saying she can't escape the meeting. The office has ordered lunch to be brought up to the meeting room. Errkkk... I can't exactly cancel my order. Sigh!
Called hubby. He's still in a meeting :( I don't really want this lunch. I have a nice curry squid at home which wasn't eaten yesterday because hubby's down with fever and diarhoea. I cook chicken soup for him and I ended up eating the chicken soup too because he ate too little. Anyway, I still need to eat something so I ate. For RM23 lunch, it wasn't even nice. I've been wondering what's the point of today? If things happen for a reason, what's the reason of today. I still haven't found the answer.
Maybe so I'll appreciate the time when a day is My Day? Sigh!
I really appreciate yesterday. Not to say yesterday is My Day but it is a nice day despite hubby's condition. Hubby's not well so he got all the tender loving care he needed. Wet towel to cool down his fever, body massage for the aching joints, head massage for the headache, apple juice, plain water, 100 plus, chicken soup, lots of hugs and kisses, massage again, a good cuddle and then after all the hard work, the 'nurse' fell asleep in the patient's arm hehehe... Not all nurse got to do that :)
I also found out hubby is a good patient. Not just because I fell asleep in his arms. He's a patient and considerate patient :) He's impatient with himself for being weak and sick, and for not being able to finish some work but not to the nurse. That is a good thing to find out considering we'll spend the rest of our lives together. The few male examples in my life has shown what a lousy patient they can be. Hubby has no choice but to go to office today. He sounded OK over the phone so I hope he'll fully recover. Anyway, that's a different story.
I have planned something with hubby on CNY. Well... not exactly a plan. We plan to go for an adventure called 'Redah jer'. But after what happened to me today, I called the place we're going to make sure we will at least have an accommodation. After a few phone call, I don't think that will be a problem. So hopefully things will go our way on CNY holiday.
We're going to have a balcony full of vegetables hehehe... But not all plants can grow well way up on our balcony here. Mom gave me a pot of lemon grass, pandan and curry leaves each and they don't seem to like the weather much up here. We'll experiment with other plants after the kangkung and ladies fingers success :)
Few weeks ago I bought some kangkong but never got to cook them. I felt bad having to throw them away. What a waste. As a kind of redemption, I cut the root and plant them in one of the few empty pots on our balcony. What a feeling watching them grow. Hubby said it's about time to cook the kangkong but I'm going to wait for a few more days so they'll grow a bit more leaves. Then I probably can make one vegetable dish from my first kangkong. Otherwise, it'll be too little and I may have to add it into a fried rice or something.
I think I should make something special with my first kangkong. Hmmm... maybe a sotong kangkong dish :) Not the Penang style sotong kangkong. I prefer white squids. Hopefully I'll remember to take some photos before we gorge it.
Have you taken a look at the list of Israel-related-products-and-brands to boycott? Some of the links to the list is here and here. What goes through your mind as you look through the extensive list? There are many familiar brands isn't it?
As I've mentioned before, I'm not against boycotting at all. I don't use many of the brands that can be referred to as luxury items or the want-list items. Most of the items I bought would be under necessary items or the need-list items only. Even then, there shouldn't be any problem to switch brands on most of the product if an alternative is available. Having said that, I'm not going to throw away my N73 and laptop that proudly displays the Intel logo as that would affect me economically and that's not wise at all but I won't be a proud owner of those items.
What occurs to me as I look through the list was... what a strong economy the Israel must have because people all over the world has been using these products and brands for years. They can make many head government a puppet because of their strength. How did they attain such strength? What do they have that other countries can't emulate and become as strong economically and politically?
Most of the time we will cry boycott only when something happened to our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We will cry boycott only when we saw on TV all the babies being killed and all the massacre done by the Zionists. When there are ceasefire or things are relatively calm in Gaza area, we will continue using those products again because we thought our voices have been heard and there's no more war, even if temporarily. Thank God I can have McD or Starbucks coffee again or thank God I can buy Donna Karan or Calvin Klein again. Didn't we realize we're enriching them as they sit and plan for their next action?
If we are serious, we shouldn't have let all the boycotted product thrive in our beloved land at all. Then there would be no issue of what's going to happen to all the Malaysian workers if all the McDs and Starbucks franchise, Nestle and Maggi factories, the TGV that played many 20th Century Fox movies, closed down. Then Aminah Hassan, Safi, Puteri, Mi Ku and all the local brands wouldn't have to worry about where to sell their products because Carrefour never existed. They'd have make a different arrangement to market and sell their products.
I'm not against boycotting. I just hate it when people cry boycott this and that only when things like this happen. I also hate it when people cry boycott without thinking of Malaysian worker's fate. What??? Losing their job is not as worse a fate as those people being killed in Gaza? Of course it is not. Let's just call it civilian casualties. Let's just call it Jihad. But you know what? A country has economic strength when their people has economic strength. A country can rule the world and make other head government as puppets because they have economic strength.
What options, what alternatives do these workers who works for a company that produces boycotted product and brand names have? How can they strengthen their economy while the ruling government only enrich their cronies coffers? What are our long term stand on these boycotted products and brands? What are our politician doing for the long term other than parroting boycott this and that now to score points for the by-election?
Having said all these, I hope those workers affected will start looking for a new job or open a business for their own peace of mind. There will be a lot of business opportunities we can look at if all those products and brands are being boycotted forever. If Malaysian wants to boycott products and brands that have been enriching Israel, let's do it continuously instead of only when a certain atrocities happen. Otherwise, let's just not do it at all. There's not much point.
If you ask me what is a well known Malaysian NGO body that wouldn't mind going to war territory, I'd say MERCY. May Allah bless them for their bravery. But I just heard about another organization called Muslim Aid Asia. Maybe I'm the ignorant one but if you are too, just would like to let you know about this organization and instead of talking and talking about Israel's atrocities, let's contribute what we can to either of these two organizations. Read about their success bringing in medicine to Gaza here. Let me know if there are other similar organization doing these kind of aid too
While I'm not against the idea of boycotting products, I still think it has to be done with full knowledge of where the profits went to and how it was spent. Even in times like this, there are people who have no qualms about taking advantage of the situation. And it is very easy too. Let's spread rumour about this and that organization contributing to the Zionist regime or what not and it will spread like wildfire via email and SMS. Who got lucky in the case of SMS? The telecommunication company of course. Let's spread this ayat and that ayat so every Muslim who reads the SMS will start praying and that will help our brothers and sisters in Palestine. No doubt the SMS is a good reminder but on a monetary side, the telecommunication company makes the big bucks.
And I do believe many organizations who operates internationally would rather be associated with a cause to protect the environment or child labour and what not instead of a big bully like Israel. We have companies of international brand with(Malaysia) Sdn Bhd after the brand name because they are established in Malaysia and as far as Bank Negara is concern these are companies with Resident status who set up company here, hired workers here and pay taxes here in Malaysia. Of course there is another classification called Non-Resident Control Companies where the directors are Non-Malaysian / Non-Resident and the revenues and profits going out would be scrutinized more than that of a Resident Controlled companies and before we go into too much detail I'd just like to bring your attention that things are not that straight forward.
Boycotting on a whim, without full fact would only hurt these companies that hired Malaysian workers, utilized local resources that benefits other local organizations and pay taxes to our government. Boycotting without truly verifying information we heard might cause a lot of chain reaction that will hurt many local industries and Malaysian employees. Even without the boycott, many factories are already reducing their production time due to economic slowdown. Many Malaysian workers are already suffering from lower wages due to less working days. So let's be a more informed human on this earth while trying to do our best to do what we can to help our Palestinian brothers and sisters. Continue spending on what we need, reduce spending on what we want and contribute to organizations that can do what we can't do.
It's cloudy and windy today. Not hot, or maybe because I was indoors most of the time and didn't feel the heat. However, I can't stop thinking of colddd.... really... really... cooollllddd icy drinks. I know it is not good for me it can cause sore throat, cough, flu or even aching body so I drank yogurt instead. Yogurt is supposed to be healthy for us right? And yogurt has to be kept cold. So it's not like I purposely drink an icy cold drink. However, everything has to be in moderation and I can't be drinking bottles and bottles of yogurt drink.
We have a big bottle of 100 plus at home that's not so much left in it anymore but enough for a glass of water with few ice cubes so I drank that too. 100 plus is good for us and I have just received an email that says not to eat Panadol or pain killers for headache but take diluted 100 plus instead. I don't have a headache but I'm sure it will be good for my thirst as I think there could be some salt imbalance in my body or something that explains this thirsty feeling and cravings for icy cold drinks.
I now have a bottle of plain room-temperature-water next to me but it can't seem to be satisfying my thirst. Sigh!
This is a photo of honey lemon drink I made and photographed a while back just to tempt myself with it. Hmmm... honey is supposed to be good for us too right? Now that has given me another idea hehehe...
2009 is going to be a great year in my career. I did not have any New Year resolution this year except on the career front, I'm going to follow my passion. By hook or by crook, I'll have to make it happen. Oftentimes, I'll use the excuse of no time to follow through with things I wanna do due to career and life demand. Oftentimes, I find the stress level getting more and more ridiculous and difficult to handle. This year, things will change.
Many successful people around us will be spouting about passion in what they do. Just watch Oprah show and you'll see world's celebrated carpenter, gardener, chef, stylist, fashion designer, and many more normal people like you and I, who loves doing what they're doing and are very passionate about it. Not all of them will be world renown about whatever they are doing but there is one guarantee for each and everyone of them who do things they love and passionate about, they'll be much happier and contented than most people in the rat race.
I started in such a gungho manner yesterday, meeting many people and rushing here and there for appointments, making calls to set appointments while waiting for the traffic light and all the adrenaline feels good.
Today however, I'm on MC sdn bhd. The sinus attack since early morning is almost unbearable. I called mom and when she heard my voice, started telling me to do this and that to ease the problem. Thanks Mak. I did the clarytin, I did the honey and lime, I did the balm... I still make some tissue paper towkey very happy. I can't make calls with a voice like this so only managed to do some follow up email to a few people. When I called hubby, he mentioned the words MC to me. So OK lah. I'm on MC sdn bhd today, sdn bhd because I take it upon myself to be on MC as per Dr.hubby's recommendation :) hehehe...
I have some plans today but it has to be put on hold for a while and it can be quite frustrating. Instead of being hard on myself which will not do the passion-happiness agenda any good, I'll have to make some changes to my plan. I'll get there insyaAllah. When I was in the university, I wanted to complete my studies one semester earlier so I can find a job earlier and have a lot more choices than if I waited to join the job market with throngs of fresh graduates all attacking the job market at the same time.
Despite some repeat papers, despite the economic situation in the year 1998, I made it. I completed a semester earlier while many of my friends still struggling with assignments and examination. So despite some setback, if we changed plan accordingly to suit the condition and situation having in mind our ultimate goal and vision, insyaAllah we'll make it. I'm feeling better from my sniffles already so tomorrow will be another new day :) Ops Career with Passion on the way...
My brand new laptop Dell Inspiron 1525 was delivered on 27th Dec 2008. I thought how thoughtful of them to deliver it on a weekend. I have my reservations about the model of my choice initially because there are some reviews about the noise and heat but decided to purchase anyway since Dell has a return policy. Other than the noise and heat, the rest of the reviews are good so I decided to take my chances.
Another reservation I have is on Windows Vista. It has been like 2 years it was out in the market and yet we still hear negative comments about it. And Windows 7 is said to be on its way but I'm not holding my breath because Vista was delayed many times before. Besides, if I have to upgrade, I'll upgrade. I need a laptop now and Windows XP downgrade rights option is not available with Inspiron model. My other choice is a Vostro 1510 model that has the Windows XP downgrade rights but the specs selection was not as impressive as Inspiron.
I have not fully explored all the features available in my Vista Ultimate version and has not use it on heavy duty stuff yet so I have no comment about the performance. One problem that I discover is it can't install Yahoo Messenger properly. It will either freeze halfway or freeze at 100% which can be so frustrating. I managed to download Yahoo Messenger full installer which is a few points older than the direct web installation version but I have to make do with it for now. Just google Yahoo Messenger and Vista, I'm sure you can find a lot of forums discussing about this issue.
As for the aesthetic part, I have no complaints so far. Here... take a look at my desktop. I love the uncluttered look and I love how it make my portrait photo looks great on landscape view. I'm one proud photographer :) Please excuse me... I'd like to continue admiring my desktop :D
Normally, when I moved to a new place, I'd explore it looking for good photography opportunities. Have not been able to do much of that lately. It's nice when we finally have the opportunity to do so yesterday. I've never been to Sg. Congkak. I've explored quite a bit of Hulu Selangor area but not Hulu Langat. Sg. Congkak is a good starting point. Here are some photos.
The nice cool water...
A lot of people, especially kids having fun.
Green canopy...
It is a loooonnnggg river so you can choose your favorite spot. You have to walk further up if you don't like a very crowded area and it is a flat, tarred road suitable for family of all ages. It is relatively clean and has acceptable facilities but I wish for Batu Caves changing and shower place. It will make the experience so much better.
