Oli's & Larry's engagement party

Olivia is the youngest and only daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Peter Howell while Larry Lian's the only son of Mdm Awing. Mr. Peter Howel is a political secretary to the Chief minister of Sarawak.

Here, the newly engaged couple displaying their skill in doing the Kenyah Ngajat.

Mr. & Mrs. Peter Howell, Oli & Larry,D & Sebugey.

Ms. Marjorie Dunggat & husband. ( sorry 'wee,enda nemu nama gelaran Dutch/German seduai nuan.)

Oli, Larry & Oli' parents

SPDP members,enda nemu nama iya ke laki..iya ke indu,Indu Emun Gaya aka Nancy Embal & Betty Peter Pan.

Another SPDP strong supporter,Benika & hubby.

Patrick Ngumbang aka Ming & his wife,Sylvia Man.

D,SD Noel Brooke & wife, Evelyn Brooke & Mrs. Florence Enau ( another proud grandma/nana who always has an album of her uchu/grandson,Creek's photos with her each time she attends a gathering.. Hi,you guys,wanna see some photos of Creek? ya..ok. Where are Suzanne & family residing? In Tennesse,ko tudah Florence. Suzanne's expecting a girl & I'll be going there end of May to visit my siblings and Suzanne & fmly,ko iya.)

Jill & ex classmates & their partners

Oli's ex classmates

Ms. Florence Julian Jolly, Ms. Sylvia Dunggat & anak dara & laki Marjorie

Peter Howell, Doria Gulang,Mrs. Norie Leonard Martin Uning( Peter's sister) & another of Peter's sister.(enda nemu nama)

Pretty Oli & handsome Larry

Oli & Larry exchanging rings

Larry's mum,Larry,Oli & Peter& Gulang

Oli,being the youngest and getting hitched earlier than her two older brothers has to give them some tokens for 'overtaking' them.

The guy on the left is Catechist Philip from St. Joseph's Cathedral,Miri. He's been giving them lessons on 'How to behave..the Roman Catholic' way. Well,you know,the Ovulation Method.... here you see poor Oli & Larry having to declare that they would behave themselves. In short,no sex before marriage,lah.

Cutting of the engagement cake

Baxter & Lis betanda..Mrs. Lengidai belagu.

Nyadong ai tunang...

SPDP Women's Wing berpoco-poco

Akademi Fantasia 6 Fever

It's Akademi Fantasia season again. I still remember how crazy I was when AF first started a few years ago. I never missed the mid noon and nightly reporting about them but lately,the last season, my interest almost diminished because I just couldn't stand Tompel's son and A Daud's daughter. Their comments and criticisms were just too much. Since they are actor/actress,I wonder how many box office films have they ever made. Maybe they want to be like Simon C,whatever. Another reason for the lack of interest in AF is that S--i--h. Don't you think that she's 'too over..ter over' sangat. If she wants to be funny,don't be stupid. I hope somebody tells her that.The repeat of AF's 2nd concert last night is still showing on channel 104. I started watching just as Stanly was finishing his song and also the other reason why I wanted to watch was because I was told that Cordelia,Nand & Endun were watching the concert at the hall and they were sitting 2 rows behind Ning Baizura. Yep..saw them. The camera focused on them a few times.
I hope to gather some interest in the coming AF concerts so that I can support poor STANLY because Cordelia wrote: He represents St. Thomas'....Kuching & Sarawak. So readers, AFUNDI STANLY. For the benefit of those who do not know Stanly,here goes...His name is Stanley Maringai David Impi,25 yrs old and is among 12 contestants competing in a reality tv show. He's the first Iban to be selected to join AF and inorder to stay at the academy til the end of the season,he needs the support of all of us and hopefully, he will be able to win..win BIG.
So AFUNDI STANLY...start sms-ing now.

Happy Birthday to Debbie
God Bless

Malaysian Cheese

Ikan lumik @RM5/- per kilo.

Yes, it's bubok season again but not that many bubok yet. ( Bubok/bubuk is that small fine shrimps that the locals make into belacan or 'Malaysian Cheese' as Joe calls it. He could not stand the smell.) The price still stands at RM5/- per kilo this morning when I went to Batu Satu,Kuala Baram Road. Talking about the smell of the bubok,...gosh..the smell is overpowering. Everything that comes in contact with the bubuk air is bound to smell like belacan. The car,the clothings that you hang to dry when they are near where you pound/dry the bubuk and you yourself or the whole house. I remember last year somebody we know made belacan and even though he already took his bath, he smelled of belacan. you guess right,he put his washing out to dry near to where he dried the bubuk. (anang ketawa nuan Naie ti nuan macha tu.) Another time some ladies went for a dinner,dressed to kill but smelled of belacan and swore that they did not touch any belachan that day but of course this belachan aroma reached out to them...to their hair.

No photos

For those of you who are hoping to see your mum's/Ini's face in my postings, I'm sorry to let you know that I did bring the camera but I forgot to take the card from the card reader. Habis cerita..no gambar..no photos.

Easter Sunday

We went for the Easter Service at St. Faith's and I thought we were early;others were even at the church much earlier. It was good to hear Fr. Ugas's voice again after his last sermon at St. Columba's a few years ago before he left for St. Margaret's,Seria. A lot of familiar faces were seen as they lined up to receive Holy Communion and needless to say,they were happy to see me.
Breakfast was somewhere at Ban Hock Rd and again the place was packed with relatives and friends who just came out from the church.
Since it's the 40th day after Gen's passing,a prayer cum thanksgiving do was held at the house and again friends and relatives from church came. Fr. Ronnie led us in the prayers. Fr. Ugas & family came as well. They seem to be settling in alright by the look on their faces.
Oh ya..forgot to mention that I went to Serikin twice ( saturday & sunday). The Indon vendors are not what they used to be..they 'jual mahal'..very difficult to bargain with them. It's "Take it or leave it' attitude. They no longer go after you when you walk out the door. They are spoilt by the West M'sians,according to some regulars to Serikin. The West M'sians really go all out to buy when they are in Cat City for courses or seminars.
End of story..I want to go for a walk at Bulatan Park....

Congratulations!!!

To Oli & Larry who would be getting engaged on Saturday,29th March,2008.......May God Bless the two of you always.

A Blessed Easter Monday

I hope it's not too late to wish each and everyone of you a Blessed Easter. I was away in Kuching since Saturday and just got back this evening. The weather in Kuching's like what it is in Miri. It rained the 2 nights I was there but sunny & hot during the daytime. The trip to Kuching was for D to have his injured eye di laserkan this morning. Appointment was slotted for 8.30am but the eye specialist only got to see him at 12.40 noon. It would be nice if Pak Lah could allocate a budget for another hospital to be built as a present for the people of Sarawak who 'stick' to him through thick and thin. You should see the traffic jam leading to the Sarawak General Hospital & the lack of parking spaces. ( I wonder who's the bloody idiot who suggested having a basketball court right in front of the entrance of the hospital where else it could be be used for parking cars....it's a court for various games,I gather). There were 'thousands' of sick people going for their various appointments.Most of them had to be dropped off near the gate of the hospital. It was pretty chaotic. It is HIGH TIME for another BIG hospital in Kuching. D had to be referred to SGH because Miri General Hospital,even though it has now a resident eye specialist,the hospital hasn't got a eye-laser machine for the eye-specialist to use. How pathetic can the Health ministry be!!
This time the trip to Kuchintg was really a time for bonding with D's other relatives as our usual makan guide,Ini Christopher's very sick because of a recent knee cap operation. Jimmy & I managed to persuade her to join us for breakfast at a nearby eating spot. After she finished her chicken rice,she asked to be sent back because she felt sleepy after countless of sleepless days & nights. I really certify that she is vey sick because she did not talk much and the volume of her 'radio' was only at one bar;it used to be full bars. Anyway, I wish her speedy recovery.

21 yrs old......

A very Happy Birthday to Joe who's just turned 21yrs old on 16th March. Two years ago Joe celebrated his 19th birthday in Miri. How time really flies....Glad to hear you had a great time celebrating your 21st birthday and hope you enjoyed the laksa.

Easter Eggs

Couldn't resist putting 4 Cadbury's Creme Eggs in the shopping cart while shopping at Supa Save this morning. It costs BD$1.90....cough..cough... You are RIGHT...ate 1 already.

Randau kin kitu.....

Manah Bali,Nie? Safe,kah?Berani endar kita kin? Kada enda udah din kaban kitai ke rari ari S'pore,ko siko? Datai ga siko ke enda kala pansut ari menua Miri,ngemba bala kami ke ka kin. My answer....when God wants you & I to be by His side,no matter where you & I are,be it at home watching tv or brisk walking at Bulatan Park,ti visa or paspot udah ka mati,mati meh iya. Apalagi Pak Hj Bahkil kami,semina Samu & Kuching aja ke safe places,ko iya. There's nothing that you & I can do about.. if life is short...but die.
Sinu aku menati ke tudah niang Sinam,a cousin,who died while I was in Bali. Benong syiok nyual mata meda utai ke di bai tour bus pansa kami,dia deh munyi phone aku ari Indai Maie madah ke tudah Sinam nadai. Nasib aku bisi nyengok tudah tuai ba spital.
Aku tu baru pulai beganjuh ari Kuala Belait..sinu ga aku meda mak aku ke ka raun,so bai aku ke KB pagi tadi. Nama utai di beli? Meli clorox 6 botol besai. Clorox aja utai ke murah din. Bisi mansa Batu 1 tadi,dia meh kami bisi meda urang begau meli bubuk..agi mar..asai ke RM4/- sekilo.
Results SPM pan udah ga pansut. Rindu diri ninga result Madonna Nobel Anding ke bulih 11As,sida Melissa Augustine enggau iya ke bukai. Ngarap ke sida ulih bulih scholarships enggau berkat Tuhan sama enggau sida. Ngagai bala ke enda puas ati enggau result ke ulih sida, arap bersabar meh....maioh agi peluang ke bukai.

According to Pak Nyoman...................

Ari aki-ini nyintok ke bala uchu endang diasoh diau begulai sama ba siti rumah,munyi ko Pak Nyoman. Anak lelaki ke biak sekali nya sigi ngibun bilek,ngibun semua bala bala sida sebilik,ukai sida anak lelaki ke tuai. Laban ko Pak Nyoman,anak lelaki ke biak disadang panjai agi umur ngibun sida sebilik. Rumah alai sida diau mesti bisi pagar lalu bisi patung-patung tuhan sida di gaga sida ba tiang pagar,ngambi utai ke jai,utai ke enda manah enda nuntong sida sebilik. Nya kebuah rumah urang di Bali di pagar semua. Kenu ko cerita Pak Nyoman tu..

Selamat Hari Raya Nyepi

Ogoh-ogoh or effigy of negative energies were seen almost everywhere at Ubud..most were quite frightening to look at.. Bala sida Balinese balat endar begaga ke piring,nyau abis kena indik laban piring ditaroh sida ba merata tempat..sebarang alai. Pun kayu kara pan maioh din,sida lalu mungkus pun kara enggau kain petak chelum enggau putih. White to signify good and black to signify evil.

If you had come 2 days earlier, there was not much Ibu Ibu could do,said the girls at the spa centre. Why?,I asked. Well, we celebrated the Balinese New Year which meant,for the Balinese,shutting themselves out all that is familiar for just one day: No talking,no venturing out of the house,no wordly activities,no eating or drinking...NOTHING happens on that day. Sepi..nyepi..total silence..everything shuts down,even the airport..no firecrackers to usher in the new year..no activity at all..abstinence from all worldly pleasures,from travel & movement,from lighting of fire and from work.By abstaining from all these for just one day is said to bring the universe and mankind renewed spiritual energy and a closer connection with the Divine.

Belanja 'bu..belanja bu

Maioh diri bala ke bejual T shirts ngasoh kemi meli utai sida tang kami nadai meli. Sinu ga meda.

Another stop at a batik factory outlet

A must stopover was a batik factory outlet. Nice pieces available here.

Silver & gold jewellery

Ngambi credit card aku dulu,ko Endu.

We did make a stop at a gold & silver Work centre at Celuk. Even though Bali has no silver or gold mines, they are being crafted in abundance here. A lot of interesting pieces like bangles,earrings & necklaces for purchase. The ladies did quite a bit of spending here and so we were given a glass of aqua each to quench our thirst.

In & around Ramayana Resort & Spa Hotel,Kuta

at the entrance of Ramayana Hotel

Shopping Mall down the road

Shops nearby the hotel selling T shirts,souvenirs,etc.

Standing next to a statue in the garden of the hotel

Another part of the hotel's garden

Endu seems to be saying,"Bintang beer is good for you." ( Actually,it's just a Fanta orange drink.) Kate & Khalo posing while we were having dinner at another outlet of the hotel called 'The Stadium' where football enthusiasts can watch football Live on the big screens. The steak sandwich which Endu had was/is highly recommended.

We couldn't resist posing on our way to our rooms.

Just to show you some more nice Balinese furnitures.

Standing next to another Balinese centre piece