will i am's delayed diary

Since I had two and half days of annual leave to clear by the end of 2010, I took leave last Friday to meet some friends and settle some banking. Updated my accounts and activated some that had become dormant. In case you don't know, an account that has no withdrawal activity for a year will be flagged as dormant and a fee will be charged on it annually for seven years before it is closed and the money sent to the central bank. Turns out that I actually have more money than I think I have. LOL. Need to consolidate my liquid assets. All over the place and unaccounted for. After finishing my banking at Bandar Park, I made a call to JJ. He gave me directions to Armanee Condominium in Damansara Damai in the most unconventional of ways: "When you see the Sri Damansara sign, DON'T turn in. When you see the SD 1-5 sign, DON'T turn in." Goodness. I double-checked with Google Maps. However, Armanee Condominium does not exist in the online map, only Armanee Terrace in M...

Ånn half-bath sink Swiped from kbreenbo . If you've been to The Gardens, you most probably noticed the Premier Toilets on the 1st floor. One either pays MYR5 for a day's entry, or flash your Isetan or Robinsons card. Nothing special about it, just that there are hand towels instead of paper napkins and you get L' Occitane products to use. Another thing to note about it are the sinks. They're round and at a waist height, making them quite passable as urinals. My colleagues reported that they saw two uncles urinating into the sinks one night! One fella was even having problems, needing to tip toe to make sure he hit the mark! Oh my. So if you smell something unpleasant at the sink one day, do move to the one next to it. Would be fun to nonchalantly walk up to the sink and wash one's hands while the uncles were doing their business ... Then pull a big smile for them. :)

Picture taken at Cathay Cineleisure, Singapore I know it's not cool to make fun of someone else's name, but I just had to highlight this... It's the first time I've seen such a surname! Seen anything similar?

Swiped from MGM Photography Nothing much happened on Sunday. Brought Cyan to church. Wasn't a troublesome affair as he was lulled into sleep halfway through. Went for lunch then made a stop at Jusco Taman Equine to restring my crystal bracelet. Unfortunately the crystal store went bust. Ugh. That kid is really quite difficult to manage when in malls. He doesn't walk~ he jumps here and there. And when roams, he takes for granted that you would be following closely behind him. He won't look behind to see if you're around. Pening . In the evening, I went for a swim. Took a chance though the sky was getting a bit gloomy. Only managed nine laps before it poured. Dried myself off and watched the rain at the gazebo. Several movers were dismantling some tents that were used for a pool-side function in the afternoon. The heavy rain did not stop them. A lala zhai and an Indonesian worker stripped off their shirts. Got an eyeful of wet bodies toned from daily manual labour. Yu...

Fishballs Swiped from williamnyk . My sister and my BIL had a two-day photography workshop so mum and I had our hands full taking care of little Cyan during the weekend. 8:00 in the morning and the kid was so active when I opened the door. I had barely wiped the sleep out of my eyes. I lazed on the sofa while I sat the kid in front of the TV to watch the Saturday morning cartoons. Mum on the other hand went to the wet market. Was glad that he was entertained by "Barney", "Kim Possible" and "Play Dough" advertisements. Unfortunately, he was kinda freaked out by "V.V Argost's Weirdworld". Told me to change the channel. By that time, mum had come back with breakfast. Fed the fella his favourite wantan noodles and nasi lemak . Boy, that kd can really eat! Then it was back to the TV. "Barbie: Mermaid Adventure" was also pleasing. Amazing what the kid likes. At about noon, brought him to my new apartment as I had gotten my keys...

Merry Christmas! Today we celebrate the coming of the Light of the World! Give thanks to the Lord for his saving grace and His generous blessings upon us ( hunk above included ), although we are unworthy. Plant the seeds of love, and where it has started to grow, nurture it till it bears bountiful fruit. Remember how blessed we are and remember those who are less fortunate than us. Have a Blessed Christmas!

Low Key Christmas To mark the fourth week of Advent, here's an example of Christmas cheer in Bandar Seri Begawan. The picture on the top was snapped at the lobby of my hotel. It suddenly appeared after I came back from work one day. They used a dingy white table cloth to set the display. And the snowman... looks like a bleached "Angry Bird" crossed with Eric Cartman. The picture below was snapped at Lucky Restaurant. They put the Christmas tree on the stage, right in between the dragon and phoenix carvings! Kinda like its under attack. That's all for Christmas over in Brunei. Hopefully all the Pinoys there will make things livelier.

Language of Love Here's a little glimpse of my tardy posting behaviour! Did you miss it? Gonna talk about the birthday card that KH sent me last October . You see, the cards that he sends me are quite standard~~ not big on visuals, but heavy on the words. This card was no exception. A special card for a lover's birthday. A breeder couple's birthday to be more exact, as you can see from the silhouette of the man and woman walking on the beach. But KH was quite creative really. He pulled out a pencil and started transforming the woman into a man! It was a botched job of course, but he tried to make it up by drawing a heart in the centre. Hehe. He can be so cute at times.

Picture taken at Restoran Phongmun, Bandar Seri Begawan I can imagine belting out "Shanghai Bund" on this stage. If I did my wedding banquet there, I would most probably be wearing a red cheongsam with phoenix embroidery. Hehe.

Peephole Swiped from suavehouse113 . On Saturday, I went to the market as usual. Nothing changed except that the roads are now mostly one way. A change for the better I reckon. Breakfast was a mediocre bowl of curry noodles at Kuchai Lama. Mum went out to visit a friend after lunch, so I did the same. Drove all the way to the Solaris Dutamas area to visit Jase. According to him, it had been one year since we met. How time flies! Was really impressed at the way his brother and sis-in-law lived. When I saw her, she really reminded me of a painted doll. Basically hung out in his room, hiding in the comfort of his air-conditioned room. In the end, I managed to drag him out. Told him to bring me to the pool, but it was overrun by expat kids. Ugh. On a whim, we decided to investigate a shop named Rainbow that was in nearby Plaza Damas. We spotted it on the PluGuide website. Walked up and down Block E to find the place. When we found it, it was just an umarked door with a door card se...

iPhone57 Swiped from williamnyk . Coming back from Brunei, I had three days of replacement leave to clear-- two for the month-long trip, and one for Deepavali. Took the opportunity to visit the commissioner of oaths to get some legal documents signed. "You know what you are signing ah? You understand Bahasa Malaysia right?" Legal things suck. A long-drawn affair between my late uncle and my late dad. That was quick and painless. Then went to the post office to renew the car's roadtax. Waited and waited for quite some time. The counters were busier than usual because of the whole traffic summons discount exercise. When it was my turn, the clerk told me that the insurance had not been renewed yet! Alamak ! Got the number from mum, and settled with the agent. Waited for my number again! Ugh. And all the while little Cyan was running up and down the post office. Lunch was at Restoran Goon Wah . Naturally ordered their famous XO fish head noodles and stir-fried pork i...

Jaan1 Swiped from williamnyk . Breakfast was oats and more skanking. Did some packing too. Before lunch, took some time to hunt for SK's Xmas present. Got her a cute little pink Skagen watch. KH made reservations for lunch at Jaan , Swissôtel The Stamford Hotel. We took the train to City Hall MRT station and tried to get in to the hotel via Raffles City Mall. Went around in cirles. Giving up, we backtracked to the lobby instead and took the express lift to the 70th floor! Ohmigosh. Greeted by several ang moh service staff. So uncommon in a South-East Asian country. The view was amazing! The waiter took us to our table and he assured us that we had the BEST view in the house. It definitely was. One could see The Eye, Marina Bay Sands and The Esplanade at one glance! I wonder if the waiter was surprised that two guys turned up instead of a straight couple. Hehe. It was very easy to order. Either take the three course set lunch, or settle for the full five course. As simple as...

Both Worlds Swiped from williamnyk . Without a window in the room, I really could have went on sleeping if KH wasn't there to kiss me awake. Was so lazy to get up... But he nudged me downstairs and we had the breakfast at Beach Road Prawn Noodle House . Much better to eat there during weekdays. A good crowd, but minus the chaos. This time round, I ordered the pig tail variety. Been quite some time since I sampled that smooth variety of meat and skin. Having filled our tummies, we packed up and checked out. Our next destination was the Jurong Bird Park . Trying for it since our last attempt was a failure due to the rain. The ride to Boon Lay MRT station was still as long as ever and the train was packed at an off-peak hour. Ugh. From Jurong Point, took Bus 251 to the park. Luckily, the weather was great. We practically walked around the whole place. Saw the penguins, parrots, starlings, pelicans, lories, emus, swans, flamingos, etc. Took plenty of pics especially at the walk...

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul Swiped from williamnyk . On Sunday, KH and I got up early to have breakfast at food court near his place. A famous economy noodle stall that has a perpetual queue of customers. Nothing special in my opinion, but I guess Singaporeans are a deprived lot when it comes to decent hawker fare. Quickly rushed back up to prepare for mass at 11:00am. Ended my streak of sinnin' by celebrating mass at The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in town. One of the oldest churches and oe could really tell from the way the paint was peeling off the vaulted ceiling. Not a big turnout of parishioners. After mass, we took some pictures. The interesting feature of the church is definitely the statues of St. Peter and St. Paul flanking the entrance. One can easily recognize 'em from the keys and book they respectively hold in their hands. Then we hopped next door to the Singapore Museum of Art . A promotional junket for the Singapore Toy, Games and Comic...

Having spent thirty four days in Brunei ( the immigration officer's screen flashed red~ "Overstayed for 4 days" ), I found it apt to end the business trip with a trip to Singapore. It was for my sanity, my super full balls and to make up for me missing our Deepavali rendezvous in KL last November. I bought the ticket at about a week before departure and only Tiger could give me a decent price. Price is still the determinant in the end. The night before flying, I packed up most of my stuff and passed unfinished detergent and my local SIM card to Cutie #2. Disappointed that he did not open the door only clad in his skivvies. Bah. So, I departed from BSB at 9:30am and arrived in KL some time after noon. SK was waiting for me at the arrival hall. Since my connecting flight to Singapore was at 2:40pm, we had some time to kill at CBTL. The month's challenges had truly drained her a bit. Did some catching up and she sent me on my way. Usually, the flight to Singapore only ...

Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin bin Mohd. Yassin Swiped from ainst . An excerpt from this article in The Star : “Selangor, for example, though it is already a developed state, the Federal Government still provides allocations. “That is why we have Datuk Ghani (Salleh, Federal Secretary in Selangor) here to ensure the money is spent properly. “The important thing is the rakyat benefits from the funds. “If we channel it to the Mentri Besar, I wonder how he would spend it,” Muhyiddin said. I'm making a guess that if the MB was actually given the money, he wouldn't build a Balinese mansion with it.

Promo Shoot - 2nd and 3rd Wives Swiped from Neta07 . Note: Yes, I'm back! Was I missed? Here's a little apéritif to get things going. Need to collect my thoughts first and get back my sea legs ! I've only been to Empire Subang once. From my initial observations, though it may be small, it has a posh clientele supporting it. Looks like Subang folks are rich. Heh. Can already tell from they way they dress and carry themselves. Unlike The Gardens and Pavilion that have a mixed crowd, The Empire seems to attract less peasants and riff-raff , with the exception of myself la. LOL. Affluent though some may be, but the behaviour... oh so classy . I had noticed a small family unit that was shopping at KitchMate. The wife really knew how to buy the expensive stuff and the hubby didn't even bat an eyebrow at the prices. Overheard from the well-dressed Tai-Tai in a mixture of Cantonese and English: "What la you! Hui sei lah nei! Everytime act like a barbarian!...

So near yet so far 056 Swiped from tomylees . My incarcetation in BSB is finally over. Packed my stuff, finished up the perishables and gave away the stuff that I did not fancy lugging back to KL. Will be getting out early tomorrow to catch the earliest flight out of Brunei. On arrival at LCCT, I will be meeting SK for a bit. But my journey does not end there! I have a ticket for Singapore a couple of hours later. :). Have to make up for my missed appointment last Deepavali. Hehe. FYI, I'm gonna be flying Tiger again. If you remember, I flamed them the last time . But they were best choice seeing that Air Asia and Jetstar are charging more than MYR100 extra. :S. Sad to say that I did not visit Miri. I was not keen on the bus ride there and friends there weren't keen on coming. A classic case of so near, yet so far. :(. But the most disappointing was KH's friends in BSB. After more than a month I was here, they could not find the time to meet up. Aww shucks. Did no...

Hotel -> Makan -> Bus! The most famous Japanese cuisine chain in BSB is undoubtedly "Excapade Sushi" . Why? It's the only one I know of. Hahaha. Anyway, ventured out to Gadong on a lazy Sunday to try it. The four walls of our room were starting to feel very stifling. My roommate and I walked out and tried waiting for the bus. We chatted. Skirted the red ants that had colonized the road shoulder. And waited. And waited. And waited. After fifteen minutes, we caught sight of the company car! With the project manager back in Malaysia, several colleagues had commandeered the Innova. They were going for a jam session. Erm. Okay. Whatever. They dropped us off at the place and we quickly headed upstairs to the restaurant. Quite a good crowd inside. Mostly Chinese. Sat down and looked at their menu. A good selection. Ended up ordering the salmon sashimi ( BND15 for 250gm, thick slices, but not exceptionally sweet ), butteryaki beef slices with asparagus ( the meat was ro...

Boating in the Rain Swiped from Jeff Hurd Photography . A conversation with DanielH got me thinking about the rain... Nowadays when it rains, we immediately frown and think about traffic jams. When I was little, the rain was much more welcome. During the monsoon period in the East Coast, the rains would come frequently. It would be cool and I remember that my siblings and I would take the chance to slip into yukata-like robes that my mum sewed. Sometimes, when the rain let up a little, we would wear clogs and venture out onto the grass ( the amazing smell of rain on the grass ), purposely stepping into the puddles. And most of the time, the rains would cause flash floods. My old house had the front door cemented up a bit to avoid flood waters from flowing in. However, the toilet would still get flooded and the poo would escape their dark prison. ;). To pass the time, my siblings and I would fold paper boats out of waxed paper and see them float off. A constant source of entert...