Election is Coming!

Dear Folks of Kingdom Of Sarawak!

Hear 'ye hear 'ye. The election is coming 'ere soon. All over the internet, ye hear folks rambling their thoughts of the tyrant government and unjust treatment of the native caretakers of the land of Hornbill. Hear ye then if ye want a change for the better. Ye decide!

Ye go to this website and ye see if ye is registered as a voter. If ye 're, then go forth and vote when the time comes. But if ye is outside Malaysia then how?

This website says ye try to REGISTER at the Malaysian embassy or High Commission. I say try 'cause this service is not always available overseas. Heck, even in Malaysia ye would have trouble registering what more to say overseas. I was just reading some comments on website about some people trying to register but they were told that they ran out of form in Malaysia!! What the hell, just photocopy more of the form idiot! For that matter, they need 'special' forms printed from KL to be used!!? ('special' means the forms are printed using normal printers but since the job is contracted to some cronies of the government, they charge extra $ for that little piece of paper, which then the information is transferred into computer and then the paper will be left to decompose, forgotten and filled with cobwebs)

If ye 're overseas as I mentioned just now, its only to register as a voter OK? Under the overseas voter category if ye 're a civilian then ye have to go back to vote during the actual day. Not very fair and productive ye think? Only government servants get to do postal votes. Queer (as Enid Blyton always puts it) don't ya think?

Good luck folks! I'm registered and I'll see what changes I'll make! How about you? Time to stand up and be heard!

Sarikei and Brisbane

If Sarikei is located next to the sea.. it'll look like Brisbane! (minus the population of course). Some part of the rivers that I see is murky, there's plenty of mangrove growing near the rivers. The weather is tropical and hot, with plenty of vegetation around. You get what I mean for Brisbanites or Sarikeian readers.

Other similarities? Sarikei has couple of interesting bridges as well the lastest two being one over Nyelong river that's just completed and opened for public use and on the other end is the 'Red Bridge'. This Red Bridge is nearer to Bintangor but its like smaller version of Storey Bridge here. Everytime I drive under these bridges I can't help but feel amazed and start looking up instead of keeping focus on the road.

Brisbane is also home to the crocodile hunter... whereas Sarikei is home to the crocodile which is caged in Murudu temple next to the Sarikei River.

Actually what I'm trying to imply here is that I miss Sarikei for once during this time of the year when everyone is going back for Chinese New Year. This will be the 2nd year I'm missing CNY. In fact, this year will be a near miss. I'm scheduled to finish flying here on 26th January itself which is the 1st day of CNY. There's another similarity here. That very same day... its Australia Day which means its public holiday here! Due to that.. even myself can't conclude what's gonna be the plan later...

What does CNY mean for most of us? It used to be visiting open houses and enjoying the foods there. Foods range from chicken curry, rendang to red dried cuttlefish, bakua, kuachi (dried sunflower seed) and pistachios. But more recent years, as all the friends start to work out of town, it becomes a social reunion with family and friends. Its an excellent idea and time cause everyone will be back at that time unless situation does not permit that (like me!!)

Oh well, I guess CNY and life still goes on.. Happy Chinese New Year to everyone especially the 5Sc1 guys Class '96 (you guys know who you are!). Hope to see you guys soon, will try to edge my way back soon..

Good ol' times

Kota Tinggi trio (photo from Jimonge)

Looking at some old photographs, (it so happens that most of the photos we took were topless and we pose like monkeys) can't help feeling ticklish reminicing about Lewis' trip back to Malaysia after so many years abroad. It was the first time we met after parting 4 years earlier after our Form 5 SPM (equivalent to O levels).

I guess Lew, Jim and myself were the lucky ones to have chance to meet up and went for trips. I guess it helps all of us loves outdoor and adventure and thus during Lew's trip to JB, we brought him to places like Desaru beach and Kota Tinggi waterfall. We wanted to plan for off Mersing trip but I guess time doesn't permits. After JB, we went together to KL to meet his sister there.

But I guess the fun is in the company itself. So, with that in mind... hmm.. end of the year is coming and I'm planning a trip. One of the idea is to visit either Lewis in UK or Jim in Rio. Lewis would be more accessible with direct flight but Jim is coming back permanently soon which means he's the only chance for a guided tour of Rio.. decisions decisions!

See no evil, hear no evil speak no evil

Bibi and Mickey

That's the name of my 1st pair of dogs. I didn't know what breed they were so I'm looking it up on the internet. Somehow at that point of time we never bothered to know. What I know is that our family really love them. Even the egg vendor loves them and would always spare an egg or two raw eggs for them. He'll crack raw eggs and Bibi will just lick them up in no time!

Saw online Akbash (which means white dog in Turkish) which looks similar to my dogs (RIP) but it doesn't have pointed ears. Gotta keep on looking...Saw Samoyed which was similar but it has longer fur than what Bibi had.

Then I saw American Eskimo Dog which looks right! I guess there's always a slight variation because the one in this picture looks quite small. Then I found out that this particular breed has 3 different sizes from toy to standard. I think I found my answer. No wonder I didn't know the name its because not many people I know have it and the people who kept such breed it in Sarikei doesn't care about the breed and normally just feed them with leftovers (buying dog food was unheard of or reserved for the ultra-rich people last time).

Dogs in Sarikei were mainly kept as watch dogs. I guess it was partially true for us. We'll know there's guest coming when the dog barks. No need for doorbell. But the breed was tainted when the dogs mate with neighbourhood dogs (for you see, Mickey's a bitch). After that, we kept some of the offsprings which were mongrels. This lasted for few more generations of Bibi's lineage until at one point, we stop keeping dogs. But in future, I would like to have dogs as pet and company once again. And this time, if I go to the pet shop, I would know the breed I would like to have....

This is not Bibi but the closes lookalike photo. Will try to get hold of some actual photos

The Past...

Bird's eye view of Sarikei and majestic Batang Rajang

I realize I haven't been focusing on my past. Then I read the blog of an old friend (she's not that old.. its just a figure of speech). Then I realize how much I have missed in the past. How many friends I did not keep in touch with.. or try to keep updated with.

It is them who influence us to become who we are today. I guess the way she wrote the blog reminded me that how fragile a life can be and we should take every opportunity to grasp it, to keep it near to our heart. To live like no tomorrow... I know its very hard to believe this coming from a person like me. If you're hanging around me, you'd know that I'm wasting my time away by sleeping most of the waking moment of my life... hehe....

Home is where the heart is

But the urge is there to know what's happening in other people's life (not to kepo but to keep in touch). To know how they doing and to wish the best in their undertaking. Facebook is a good place to do it, but I think we are clouded by the various applications that they introduce... I say no to the applications but yes to the connectivity!

So, if you know me from you previous life or current one, YES, I would like to know how you're doing! I know Gideon actually posted a comment and I am indeed happy to hear from him! I'll probably try to dig into my past and see if there's anything I can write. I would say that the Sarikei blog is doing a very decent job, reminding me of where my origin is from. I'll revisit it even if not physically...

Good ol' Sarikei town centre