will i am's delayed diary

After a year of soreness and discomfort in my left thumb , and one useless trip to the orthopaedic specialist,  I decided to let my chiropractor look at the problem. Judging by the way the chiropractor tried to diagnose my condition, I don't think that he had the expertise. Still, that didn't stop him for trying dry needling on my palm. He chose 4 points-- 2 at the fleshy base of the thumb, and another 2 above the webbing of the thumb. Dry needling of the hand is very different from what I experienced for my back. It felt like an immense pressure going through my palm, bordering on pain. My left hand felt kind of numb after the treatment. And after I got home, there was some bruising at the area. Felt more sore than usual, but after a few days, the familiar chronic discomfort returned. Guess it didn't help at all.   

Before 2022 ended, KH insisted that we have a BFF gathering. Managed to round up Janvier, The Chief, Jaded Jeremy, Bunny, SimonLover, and ForIHaveSinned to join. Our dinner location was at Seppia & Polpo at Starling Mall. Having happened nearly a year ago, I really forgot my opinion about the food. And I forgot to leave a Google Maps review. In addition to wrapping up the year, it was an impromptu birthday celebration for ForIHaveSinned. Although he is my senior, his plump and perky ass puts many young boys to shame. Coincidentally, we bumped into TummyFull at the mall, as he was hosting some 'interest group' friends from out of town. The heavy rain outside limited our choices for dessert to the cafe inside Book Excess. Hang in there, I should be blogging about 2023 before 2024 arrives!

At the end of 2022. my neighbour's daughter got married, so mum and I received an invitation to their wedding reception. Been a while since I've been to a Malay wedding, and I must say that times have changed. Back when I was a kid, the typical Malay kenduri ( banquet ) was not done in a buffet fashion. Guests dined in quads, where when four guests sat down together at a long table, food would be served. Following the theme, there would be four dishes with a washing jug in the middle ( food tastes better when you eat with your hands! ). Typical dishes are ayam masak merah , rendang daging , acar , and papadam . And of course there would be rice, usually nasi minyak . At my neighbour's wedding, some of the traditional dishes were present in the buffet spread,  but there were many added bonuses. like an apam balik station, cendol station,  curry noodles station, and  roti jala.  Also the traditional door gift of bunga telur  ( hard-boiled egg decorated like a fl...

Started a new job in December 2022, and I'm blogging about it 11 months later. Guess its an indication of how crazy it has been for me at the new place. Collected my brand new Macbook Air on the first day and commenced my honeymoon month of internal training. All the while I was pscyhed up about jumping into the thick of things, but now I understand why my mentor asked me to enjoy my first month. My new role can be condensed into a few key words: Amazon Web Services Pre-sales Migration Malaysia region Colleagues are generally approachable, and my boss is very down-to-earth, and defiitely not the stingy Chinaman variety. The environment is fun, but things get pretty fast-paced at times. With AWS as our principal, it is both a blessing and a curse. Just have to work within the parameters. Although I am supposed to be pre-sales, I eventually got sucked into project implementation due to lack of manpower and role segregation. Guess I'll talk more about those things in my future pos...

With not much planned for the day, we had a leisurely breakfast buffet at the hotel, and later did some exploring of the grounds. One could really wear a tuxedo with pin tails, pair it with a top hat and walking stick, and not look out of place at The Majapahit. But then, you could be mistaken for a poltergeist. My favourite spot is the Cafe 1910 with its grand stained glass windows, and antique furnishing. Too bad we didn't have time for the pool.  Later in the morning, we took a Grab to Masjid Cheng Hoo , a Chinese-Muslim mosque that looks like a Taoist temple with its red Pagoda-like design. Its namesake is Admiral Cheng Ho, who had traveled to the  Malay Archipelago to trade and spread Islam. The mosque is actually pretty small and located behind a basketball court ( many Chinese temples in villages also have a basketball court ), so we were quite baffled when the Grab driver told us that we had arrived. Finished looking around in less than 30 minutes, and we were off to R...

At midnight, Pak Sulaiman drove us out to Paltuding , which is the nearest stop to the Ijen crater. For 2 hours he navigated pitch dark roads, while we dozed in and out of sleep at the backseat. Unlike Bromo, there isn't much decent infrastructure in the vicinity of Ijen, hence tourists have to stay at Bondowoso.  Everyone would wait at the many waroeng s near the carpark, sipping thick local coffee. Met up with our local guide who gave us a couple of 3M respirator masks, and headlamps for our impending trek into the sulphur fumes of Ijen. The hike up was 4KM over a tarred road. Our guide knew every bend of the road, and would update us about how easy or difficult the upcoming stretch was. Such intimate knowledge was picked up from his decades of mining sulphur in Ijen. His shoulders are scarred from carrying 70kg baskets of sulphur in and out of the crater daily. If your legs fail you, you cam pay to use modified carts ( the locals call it 'medicine for the knees' ) that t...

Pak Sulaiman navigated a slew of dark and winding roads to get us to Bromo. Lots of hotels and amenities in the area. The altitude is high, and its so cold that we could see our breath. Our guide is actually from thereabouts. Checked in to the Cafe Lava Hostel at dinner time. Lugged our luggage up a steep flight of stairs, jumped into the shower with its gas powered water heater, and put on our warmest jammies. Sauntered down to the hotel's cafe for a simple dinner of vegetable soup and coffee. Wake up call was at 2:30AM where there was a line of jeeps waiting to take tourists to Bromo to catch the sunrise. At around 3:40 AM, we arrived at a rest area with a lot warungs . Sitting on low stools, we huddled around a small charcoal hearth to keep warm. A lady served us banana fritters and hot coffee. While waiting for the cue to go, we chatted with a Malaysia couple who were in the same warung . Although I was pissed with Batik Air for transit fiasco,  the couple had it way worse with...