will i am's delayed diary

Believe it or not, KH and I woke up at 2:30 AM to have sex . Our slumber was interrupted by a power outage! Pitch black, except for the lights from the motorcycle of the maintenance guy. We went out to the patio to take a look, and were rewarded with a sky full of stars. KH's smartphone did a better job of capturing the night sky. In half an hour, the power was back on, and we went back to the warmth of the bed, and each other bodies.  Actually, our room booking was inclusive of breakfast, but KH kinda missed that detail. Still in our jammies ( not tanktop and jockstrap la ), we walked out the main entrance to a few shops that were located on the other side of the access road. The Poring Station Restaurant served breakfast to the staff at the Poring Hot Springs. We had a delicious plate of fried noodles with a piece of fried chicken. The local coffee was Sabah standard ( read: diluted ).  KH and I decided that we weren't going to soak in the hot springs. For one, the tubs were

With no concrete plan for the day, we headed to Mount Rosary on a whim. Took a short hike in the blazing hot sun. Along the trail were wooden crosses used by pilgrims as a prayer stop. In the end, we were greeted by a locked gate. The locals suggested that we try the main entrance, but that was locked too. Disappointed, and drained, we headed to Ranau. Looked around the Church of St. Peter Claver ( lively youth group here ), and then headed for lunch at the  Ranau Hakka Food Court . Super popular judging by the crowd and the chaotic traffic and parking situation. Not impressed by the food and the price though. The Mee Tuaran was disappointing and the guy from Gerai Abang Sado was not  sado  lorrr. Sabah Tea Resort is the poor cousin of West Malaysia's Boh Tea Plantation. Our arrival was greeted with the deafening sound of cicadas, much louder than what I experienced in Hokkaido during the summer. The parking lot was vacant, but at least the cafe was open. The cafe gave a view of th

Woke up before 6AM to catch the sunrise. Had to be dragged from beneath the covers. Our room had a balcony with an amazing view, but the horizon wasn't very clear. We weren't the only ones up and about, our PRC neighbours were also awake. And some fella was already banging away, starting on renovations ( the horror! ). Once we were satisfied with our photos, we freshened up and made some coffee. Took a short tour around the grounds after that. When it was time for some proper exploring, I realized that the rear tyre of our rental was kind of flat! Gosh. Drove down to the Shell station at Pekan Kundasang to get it inflated before hunting for a place to get it patched. It was a Sunday, so we had to pray hard.  Made a stop at Kinabalu Park, paid the conservation fee, and pretended that I was there to climb Mt. Kinabalu. Circled the grounds on foot, and surprisingly KH was not in the mood to explore the mini trails found along the way. At the main entrance, a whole bunch of hikers

In early March, the general populace was still very cautious about traveling although most COVID restrictions had been loosened. KH jumped on the opportunity and got us a couple of flight tickets to Sabah. A mere RM300 for MAS return tickets. At the boarding gate, I realized something strange~ our fellow passengers were lugging around large plastic bags of bread! Did a quick check on Google and this headline popped up:  "Did You Know Gardenia Products are Sold For Almost 3x the Price in Sabah and Sarawak?"  No wonder. But still, I didn't verify this fact while I was in Sabah. While boarding, a Sabahan made small talk with a tourist who was planning to explore the whole state in 3 weeks. She was obviously amused. We cleared immigration using our NRIC. I stuffed the white immigration slip deep into my wallet because losing it is a big hassle. KKIA was pretty quiet, and some areas of the arrival hall wasn't well-lit. The first thing we had to do was collect our car from

On the exact date of KH's birthday, we still met up although it was a work day. A simple dinner at a nearby cafe  just to mark the occasion. And of course with a slice of cake thrown in. But no present for him. Bwahaha. Is this what happens to  old married couples ? The coming Saturday, we went for a nice dinner at Azeta Kitchen in Bangsar. A really quiet restaurant in Bangsar. Enjoyed the modern Italian cuisine there, and server was really friendly. Took us a while to get our heads around the mix-and-match course menu, but I think we found the sweet spot. Half way through the amuse-bouche and the cold cuts platter, we were practically full. Even so, we braved the dessert menu and had the server bring us a deconstructed panna cotta ( my brother would roll his eyes ). Whatever the case, it was delicious! 

COVID was seemingly getting better, so mum, KH, and I went to get our much delayed annual body check ups done at a clinic at Taman Equine. No red flags from the resting ECG ( just some love bites on my chest ) and abdominal ultrasound. Would have to wait a few days for the blood work to come back. Finally went to the pet shop to get some fishes for the water hyacinth outside. Needed the fish to be hardy, can survive without a water filter, and suitable under the sun. Got some guppy-like fishes in red and yellow. According to the owner of the shop, business was much better during the MCO because people who were cooped up found more time for hobbies like Betta fish and aquarium landscaping.  March is KH's month. Arranged a pre-birthday celebration in Kepong. Being too early for our dinner appointment, we loitered at a nearby cafe called KAPE . Very popular with the young crowd. I was happy with their RM8 Americano. Our dinner appointment was upstairs, a Peruvian Japanese restaurant c

The pandemic was still in full swing, so my brother was still stuck in Singapore. 2022's reunion dinner was just my mum and I. Even so, we had a table full of food. Mum downgraded the menu a littttleeeeee bit. On KH's end, he arranged dinner with some relatives at Copper Mansion. For some years now he had been hoping that we can join our reunion dinners, but my mother still prefers it to be a 'family' thing. A quiet affair, but we still enjoyed dinner and drinks. Even took a short video to share with the Tribe. A little later, KH came over to spend some time. Mum dug out the Monsters' old stash of firecrackers, and we got started on the King Cats, Small Bees, and Pop-Pops, I even set up a tripod for some light painting. Took some photos together, and KH chose one of the more lovey-dovey shots to send out as his WhatsApp CNY greeting. *sweat* 

Fifteen years had passed since KH and I got together. Once again, he organized a wonderful celebration, although he admits that it stresses him out. Am I so hard to please? Little ol' me?? To placate him, I told him that I would take over next year. Hopefully he'd forget. XD. The celebration began at home with some hot and heavy action. The proper way would be to have a round for each year we were together, but ..... Haha.  KH made lunch reservations at Hanaya , a Japanese restaurant in Grand Milennium Hotel, Bukit Bintang. When making the reservation, he told them that it was for an anniversary. Not sure if KH was expecting a table with scattered rose petals and a violinist, but all we got was a small vase of artificial flowers. XD. At least the food was good, and reasonably priced.  Moving on, we visited LaLaport BBCC, which was built on the historical Pudu Jail. All that's left is the main gate. As expected, LaLaport was a shopping mall with a whole lot of boarded up lot

In October, Cutiepie gave me a gift certificate from Energy Spa for my birthday. Procrastinated utilizing the gift certificate until the very last minute. Always thought I had more time. By the time I made an appointment, I had only a few days left before the expiry date. Booked a couple's room, and enjoyed a wonderful 2-hour massage with KH at Energy Spa ( didn't stay longer to enjoy the highway construction view at the lounge ). As usual, KH planned the whole day around it ( although he habitually claims that its stressful :P )-- lunch at Cata , tea time at Kenny Hills Bakers , and dinner at Cafe Chef Wan .  Food at Cata was generally good, but the mishandling of our reservation left a bad aftertaste in my mouth, kinda like their patatas bravas. "Your reservation is wrong, you can't use the Eatigo discount.". "Sit here.". "No, please sit here.". In the end they gave us the discount anyway. Zzz. Anyway, the iberico ribs were yummy!  The experi

'Twas a short trip, we check out on Boxing Day. We picked up mum as well, as The Tribe was not done with their travels. First activity of the day was breakfast at the famous Cecil Street Market . Many stalls were not open, and it was a Sunday. Does not compute. We found a table near the entrance, and went hunting for food. I queued for Lum Lai Duck Meat Koay Teow Th’ng , while KH joined the queue for Chulia Street Curry Noodles. My queue cleared pretty quickly, and I managed to carry the hot bowl of soup noodles back to the table with my shaky hands. KH didn't enjoy my success, and gave up because his line didn't move. He returned with Hokkien Mee instead. Many of the market's kuih stalls were near our table, so we had an easy time to make a selection. I made another round, and randomly bought a packet of nasi lemak from a grumpy old lady. I didn't quite get the price, so I just gave her RM50, and I got a balance of RM47.50 back. The price shocked me because it came

Bright and early the next morning, we ventured to Kafe Ping Hooi for breakfast with The Tribe. The place is home to Tiger Char Kway Teow, KH's top pick for his Penang CKT fix. The place is definitely maintains an old school vibe with wooden booths and vintage mosaic flooring. The Loh Bak is also quite amazing. Cutiepie's parents had invited us to a Christmas lunch at their house, so we had find a place to kill some time. Queensbay Mall was pretty close to Paya Terubong, so that was our pick. Their creative director's choice of fire-red Christmas trees is really out of this world. Wonder if the decision is related to the fact that CNY is hot on the heels of Christmas. Did some aimless shopping, and later ended up at Coffee Bean for our daily allowance of caffeine.  It was nice to visit Cutiepie's childhood home, and see how a traditional Catholic household celebrates Christmas. Glad to see her parents, and I got to meet her sister too. The hot day was remedied with cold