LOOKING AT OTHERS YOUR OWN AGE ..

One of my favourite songs from one of my favourite singers, Dato' Sheila Majid. I haven't heard this song for a long time now.  When I watsapped my sister about our suggested songs for the Grand Finale for our 2nd Soluoi Clan Reunion this December 21st, (the 1st Soluoi Clan Reunion, 31st July 2010)  she suggested this song too and I was like gosh yes, I remember this song, very meaningful words and would be appropriate for that occasion. Here's Sheila Majid in one of her best number. Many thanks to the person who uploaded this on youtube.





I have earlier suggested the following song by Ms Diana Ross.. 

If We Hold On Together..




The 2nd song is favoured more by my cousins.  Or perhaps we could sing both..
Meanwhile, come lets enjoy the songs..


I would like to dedicate the next song to my late mom and to all her siblings who have passed on. My aunt, the Grand Matriach (my mom's eldest sister) one of Soluoi's grandaughters just passed away at age 85 about a month ago... Rest in Peace to all.. Miss them dearly, but they are probably so busy having their own reunion whereever they may be to even think of us ..Have fun ya'll, till we meet again someday, we will hold on to memories.






  

SEIZE THE DAY....

..a view of Mt Kinabalu from Bundu Tuhan Retreat Centre one chilly morn..

To work on to look our best and feeling good is important at any age and that doesn’t change just because we have a few more grey hairs. As we grow older, we experience an increasing number of major life changes, including career changes and retirement, children leaving home, the loss of loved ones, and physical changes. How we handle and grow from these changes is the key to staying healthy and feeling good.

 Teri, one of my best buds..

 ..."in every adult, there dwells a child that lingers"  ..two years ago...

There are several tips that can be found on books or from the Net that can help maintain physical and emotional health and live life to the fullest, whatever the age.   It is important to build one’s resilience and find healthy ways to cope with challenges. This ability will help make the most of the good times and keep our perspective when times are tough.

....taken during a Staff Retreat....few days ago... 

I consider myself lucky as I am surrounded by many young people in my place of work or within the Association I am in. Yes, they keep me young and I forget my age all the time. haha... These younger friends help to reenergize and also help me  see life from a fresh perspective. 

Many things in life are beyond our control. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things we can control such as the way we choose to react to problems.  Granted there are days that one may feel like s***t,  wishing to just disappear into nothingness or just curl and withdraw into a corner or maybe take a few days of leave from life, but love for families, friends and faith in the Almighty always take precedence over everything else. These help me face my limitations with dignity which I sprinkle with a healthy dose of humour!

...the road to Bundu Tuhan Retreat Centre, Kundasang...

These 3 ladies and I, called the walkabout mission one evening after our forum sessions, 

'in search of chocolate moist' hahahaha... yes those are cow dungs..

With crazy friends like these, how to grow old? LOL..

AHOY THERE...

Been mulling over it the last few days... hmm..how to tell him.. how..how..him means my boss and my other half. No, not about choosing either of them ..LOL.  How to tell them that I want a few days off.. off means that I want to travel again..yes, end of the month.  Ayoo.. how? My friends and I are making plans, yet still I am in quandary about how to take that leave off work when I am not entitled to any leave yet.  Am still on probation and now I dare take leave?  I know, I know..what kind of employee am I ?..tsk tsk..But please, reeeally wanna go..if I do not go now, the sky could fall on me *touchwood* and I may never have the opportunity again, so there..

..May 2012, on board the Interslander crossing Cook's Strait from Wellington to Picton, NZ. The 92km voyage took 3 hours and has been described as 'one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world."

No, this was not a cruise..:)

Well, I did eventually ask my boss...please pretty please.. let me take 4 days unpaid leave?. Yes, I asked veeeery nicely..and OMG! he said ok...hahaha...so far he said ok...yaayy!  Thank you, thank you!  And my other half?..hmm.. he grudgingly said yes too..after giving me the silent treatment for a couple of days...uhuhh..

Please don't hate me, 'cos God willing, will be going on a short cruise.  Fly from KK transit to KL then off to Penang. There the ship will be waiting..hello Star Cruise...all aboard and set sail to Krabi and Phuket or is it Phuket then Krabi? Then later back to Penang again and fly back to KL - KK.  

..the ship supposedly look like this..

..the Super Star Libra...

Then yesterday, horrors, as I checked my passport, expiry date was less than 6 months! Well, nothing that a visit to the Immigration cannot solve. But there goes my RM300.00 for renewal and RM12.00 for passport photo.  Oh, well that is for another 5 years....

Ok, after this I am going on a strict diet..no eat out for lunch. Will 'tapau' lunch from home.. haha....no shoes, no bag, no dress, no nothing for a looong long time..

Cheers..

**  To all my Muslim friends and relatives, especially to my brother and sister, my nephews, nieces and their  families, "Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Be safe and God bless."  

MORNING SUN, CURTAINS AND BLINDS..

By tomorrow (that is if I wake up..LOL), I would have completed a month of working in this new workplace. Gosh, how time flies and I felt it was only yesterday that I anxiously reported for my first day of work, yet I also felt like I've been here forever.

I still recall, a day before that early morn,  I received a text message from Fane.  "Hi Angie, just to inform you. Tomorrow is General Assembly. All staff must be at the open hall by 7.45am. Don't be late else u kena nyanyi Negara Ku ..wakakakah.. Be early so that you won't be out of breath. You might need to give a speech so be prepared."  I answered.." Ahahaha thanks for that info. Adoii speech? Die lah! wakakakaah.."

My first day of work - I woke up early. I had already chosen my dress the night before. I added in a scarf and tie it in front..put on a little make up..hehehe.. didn't want to shock them. I arrived early and I went inside the office. The girls there told me about the assembly which was at the open hall below our office. I followed the ladies down the stair case  Then I saw hundreds of students all boys in their uniforms. I followed the ladies to a few seats presumably for staff near the stage. I tried to look around to see if Fane was there, but couldn't find her.  The Director (my boss saw me) waved to me to sit in front.. I was like "eek..why lah I have to sit in front." I hesitated and one of the ladies motioned me again to go there ...I noted I was the only lady seated there with a few gentlemen. Then it dawned on me,  perhaps because it was my first day and that I would be introduced and called up to the stage.  I was sweating cold ..haha..  We sang National Anthem, the State Anthem and the Institute's anthem.  Later, the Director went up, greeted everyone, made some speeches and introduced me to everyone. I stood up looked behind the hundreds of people and I gave my sweetest smile and waved.  I waited for the Director thinking he might asked me to go up the stage now.. No, he didn't...phewww.  Arghhh,   Fane, I am going to kill you hahaha...such a fright. you gave me.

The General Assembly done, all the staff went to their respective office and I was shown to a room which was to be my office. It was a nice room facing east and greeted by the bright morning sun,  but oh what a hideous curtain hahaha.. well not really bad, but it was quite old, faded but it shaded the room from the morning sun very well.. My first impression was, geez that curtain needed a wash hahaha.. The Director came in to welcome me and seemingly read my mind and said, "you may change the curtains. They have been here forever."

before

after.. :)

Well, I survived my first day.. not too bad.  The days followed..like as if in a haze. There were so many meetings to attend and so many briefings and so much to learn, so many faces to remember.  Oh by the way, I did request to change the curtains, but instead of curtains, I changed to blinds.. light green.. very sweet colour.  I brought in a couple of small indoor plants for a more refreshing look for the office, I changed the position of the desk and viola I was home.    Oh ya, bye bye hot morning sun...

Till my next post..

Cheers..

TRAVEL MEMORIES WITH THE SHOPAHOLIC LADIES..

Was blogwalking and I noticed that my youngest sista had a recent post in her lovely blog, clicked on it and viola! a most amusing and interesting way of detailing our recent trip to Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia. This trip  would be my 3rd visit to this lovely country, the last one in 2008.  

I couldn't stop smiling at all the pics... ahh.. I miss those moments. 

Bandung is a shopping paradise but more than that, I love and miss the moments that we sisters were together, my bestest friends in the whole world! hehehe.. 
  

To all my beautiful sisters, bah...kita pi mana lagi? Atur!!.. Kasi gumuk lu tu usin lah..hahaha..


Nah, go click here. Some very useful information for those first time visitors to Jakarta and Bandung, that is if you can understand Sabahan's bahasa pasar language...no, they are not in the dictionary too...hehehe....but you need not worry, some pics are self-explanatory...... enjoyy 
http://rasasayangsabah.blogspot.com/2013/07/travel-with-shopaholic-ladies-whom-i.html

AFTER THE BREAK...

After being a 'Lady of Leisure' for almost 2 years, I am back into the rat race again.  I was actually enjoying not watching the alarm clock. Did I miss work? No, not really. Well I missed the 'monthly gaji' of course, the perks, the annual bonus... hahaha...  I missed dressing up for work, I missed my desk where I would just open my drawer and drop in my handbag, I missed my friends especially, the laughters and jokes, the gossips..LOL.  ..No, I don't miss the work, the endless meetings, the endless phone calls, correspondence, the month end reports, the boss breathing behind my neck checking if I am working ...LOL.. because he is being chased by his boss, I  don't miss the clients forever chasing, where, when, where, when is my money coming out.  Working with a Financial Institution has its benefits but oh boy, it can be a tad stressful.  So, no I did not miss it.   

It was a good break from working life.. I was not idle though. There was always something to do, friends or any of my sisters inviting me for breakfast or lunch or shopping.  Then there's the association I am in... enough to keep me busy. It also accorded me time and opportunities to travel.  It accorded me time to do my hobbies stringing them beads, read a couple of books, the odd time where I got to try cook interesting recipes, planted some herbs, spent more time with my little shitzu doggy who loves me dearly hahaha...

"Oh Lord, let me be what my dog thinks I am"..lol. 
My doggy adores me..hahaha

But luck would have it, a friend texted me "Hey Angie, would you like to work for ****. They are looking for a ***. Please say yes because I think you'd be perfect for it".. huhhh, me, really? But of course, I am interested. No, I am not only interested, I am honoured!! Me of all people!!  This will be pretty exciting I thought, very different entity altogether.  A small voice within me whispered.."Are my shoulders wide enough to carry such responsibilities?"   

The next day, a Saturday,  Friday, I received a call, a sweet lady's voice.. "Hi, this is Helena, you are recommended by Fane for the post, but we would like to meet you first, say Monday? What is your convenient time?"  "Erm..yes of course!"  Wow, my convenient time? My convenient time is any time I thought to myself ..hahaha.. "10.00am would be great I said.   "Lovely, I will see you then!". 

I was thinking, Oh God, what shall I wear? ..LOL..  Come Monday, I got ready my resume, my school and tertiary certs.. a modest dress with a black jacket. I was ready.  I arrived 15 minutes early.  The place was beautiful, clean, quiet, nicely landscaped. I drove up a little hill where the office was situated.  Gosh, ample parking too.   I saw a signboard Admin Office.. I went in and the receptionist smiled and said "Angie?"  I said "yes, I am here to see Helena, but I am a little early, so I will wait." I said. 

The receptionist disappeared into an office and came out with another sweet matured lady who greeted me with a firm handshake. "Thank you for coming, please come in".  After a short formality, she brought me into another room where I was to meet the my future boss, the director. He was a young man of around late 30s or early 40s.  "I already know you"  he said smiling.  "Huhh" I said surprised.  "How, where?" I laughed nervously..hahaa.. "Oh but you were all over the papers recently." he laughed.   "Ohh that,... hahaha.. now that's embarrassing".  I said.   Yes, my team and I were in the papers for our involvement in organising the charity dinner and also the State Level Harvest Festival celebration....cehhhh... 

The formalities of interview done, they asked me if I could start immediately.   "Ermm... I am sorry but I have a booked one-week trip due next week. Can I start July, 1st?" I said obviously embarrassed at having to say no to their request.   "Oh, ok that would be great they both said."    Phew...

View from my office

... looking thru my office window, facing the east and the morning sun. 

And so... the rest is history..  Wish me luck ya..  :)

Thank you Fane for believing in me, God bless you..but most of all thank you God for giving me this opportunity.  

To all who gave constructive comments on Unduk Ngadau, thank you. We are glad that given the short time i.e. approximately 2 1/2 months to prepare, we managed to get through with the amazing teamwork from the Organising Committee and Supporters.  To raise funds to finance the 5-day program's expenses i.e accommodation, logistic, meals, medical etc  for all the contestants from all over Sabah is no mean feat.  To all the sponsors who sponsored the prizes, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!

For everyone's info. , we are all Volunteers and appointed on ad hoc basis.  Each has their own day job and other responsibilities and we do these willingly by sacrificing our time and sometimes money.   But we do this happily for the sake of our culture and traditions, goodwill and friendship.  We do not expect any other reward as the reward comes from your support and your constructive comments without antagonism.

To Whom It May Concern - For any  ideas of what an Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan should be - it should be forwarded to the proper channel and not just through Facebook as this will reflect back on you - i.e.  'empty tin' .  So you may make noise until you turn blue, but if it is not channeled properly, then it will remain just that.  So please do come forward and work on it. We would definitely support you. Just an idea - perhaps set up an Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan Institution.  You have great ideas so why waste it. Send your proposals and working papers to KDCA, but please do it professionally and with sincerity. 

Thank you also to all the UNK Participants. The 5-day program with us certainly was tiring - the photoshoots, rehearsals, seminars, charity visits  etc.  But we did have fun didn't we?. We hope you have made friends, life-long friends among the participants and learnt something from the experience. If given longer time, we  could have done more like what some people's grandiose proposals are - masak masakan tradisi, mongomot, mananom etc - like as if you don't have other things to do.. :).  But you were in a competition  not on holiday and time was of the essence. To have to win that coveted title "Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan" or any title for that matter, one have to work hard at it, no?

So once again, congratulations to all the winners and we welcome our brand new Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan 2013,  the beautiful Tati Immaculate Lojuki.  Welcome on board dear, enjoy your reign but be prepared for the hard work ahead as you are now officially an Ambassador for Cultural Tourism. You are also expected to do Charity work from time to time ..:).  

Cheers and God bless..