Recap of the Decade

This is the txt I sent to all my dearest friends. So, its the same to you too.
" Before the Christmas cheer diffuse into thin air like my morning fart, Have blessed Christmas & 2010. I don't mean to be late or rude, i know you know i love you!"

With a blink of many eyes,The new "it" word has change from Millennium bug to 2012. This morning, with the accompaniments of the thunderous monsoon storm. I woke up with a random thought hoovering above my head. "Why so much fear of the unknown?" Man kind seem to have survive & thrive for generations but the apocalyptic nonsense always creep up on us in the turn of every century. Strange huh?

From 16 to 26, I've lived to....
Meet some friends that have lasted a decade
Listened to some extraordinary musicians
Talked to some really amusingly weird & inspiring characters
Cant' wait to grow up
Wore some fuck- me pumps ( Excuse me.. its a passing phase )
Got me some mind blowing nookie ( lets hope this ain't no passing phase )
Go through some gut wrenching break-ups
Seen the fall of my super mum
Accepted that my mum is only human
Hate the fact that its time to grow up
Met a great man
Met the great god who created the great man
Married the great man.
Moved to a town I really hated
Learn to love little slithers of paradise in this town
Worked for the best
Learned how difficult it can be to be the best
to see BERLIN & SWEDEN ( Love it, love it , love it! )
Worked with the great man who created a great jungle retreat
Seen 2 heck of a pandemic flu,a giant tsunami & hurricane.
grieve the lost of MJ by secretly trying to moonwalk on a soapy tub
Watch the rise of a new American power
Seen the weather go wonky
Fought for what i believed
served people good food & potion of intoxication
& LAST BUT NOT LEAST - OWN A WORKING MOVING , STILL NOT BREAKING VERY WELL VOLKS WAGEN T2!

Yet I look back to the past 10yrs with great gratitude for god. A few close shave, a few deep cuts & lotsa good people have made me what I am today. I hope i'll never loose that quirky curiosity of a 9yr old as i brace myself like many others on the fast track to adulthood. There's never a better time to be alive.. ALIVEE! ROOOOAARRRRR!!

If you made it to this point, you have made a difference in my last decade.So Thankyou & Happy New Year!

PS : If you don't see ANTON with the babe Mobil..its prolly back in the workshop. Cant promise we'll get you to destination on time, but I can definitely promise you heck of a ride!

Every one had to give it a go. & Puks just couldn't wait to get in.




Even Puks tried to give it a go.

NOO not the BFG.

Just watched the " Redwood – Anatomy of a giant." by National Geographic.
Redwoods are these coastal trees that grow into 400ft giants. They take in moisture from the canopy instead of the roots..cuz obviously its too much work to carry the water up 40floors without a lift. Man its amazing. Even trees in our rain forest don't grow so big. Like all other beautiful things on earth..its depleting fast.

I was brought up by an incredibly spiritual & eccentric woman. If my homeopathic practitioner mother had thought marijuana could ease labor pains, I would’ve been a full fledged mini hippy while I was in her womb. Believe it or not, I’ve never had asprin till I met Anton, I never had anti-biotic till I moved away from home, When I fell, my mum would spit some saliva on my wound & make me believe it has magical powers. Fevers were a treat for me, Not only do i get to skip school, I also get to stuff my face in a freezing watermelon all day long! So, my mum was way cooler than Mary Poppins & her supercalifragilisticexpialidocious jibberish bull.

We grow up listening to Tibetan mantra & hear things like “to attach is to detach” & that’s how you attain nirvana alllllll the time. At that point I was thinking, fuk! If that’s how it works I'm gonna burn in hell for a long long time cuz I could’nt even sort out my Velcro shoe straps.

I was exposed & encouraged to explore the intangible energy & spirituality that nature provided. We were probably the original tree - hugger. After their divorce, she brought me to the park & ordered me to hug a tree because she believed we needed healing. At that point, I was one of those self – conscious teenagers dying to melt into the mainstream & secretly thought my mother was a mad woman. But as strange as it sounds, it was extremely comforting when I finally put my face against the stalwart tree. The security & spicy somewhat earthy notes from the tree bark obviously reminded me of the father figure I missed dearly. So that’s how I developed a certain fondness over big trees.

The scientific version is that there’s ions... cant remember if its +ion or –ion in the Jungle Canopy & Beaches that encourages the surge of happy vibe in us.. hymm quite similar to what chocolate does. My romantic theory is that we are all build with a soul that longs to be one with nature. So till we understand the true blessings that nature provides we won’t stop raping the forest & my guess is that we won’t. I’m glad I’m dying in 50yrs or so. My heart will absolutely break into pieces if I have to watch our planet deteriorate to an ugly state.

Oh Yea, my mum taught me about birds & bees with a beautifully made Karma Sutra docu-movie by Nat Geo too! & hey it worked, at a very young age I understood that sex was meant to be a beautiful exchange of energy… & reserved for a HOT, Keanu Reeves looking Indian man..yea, I find it hilarious too.

(Just in case you are wondering)
Till this day, Anton is still a lil bit freaked out by my mother.

No strings attached

HOOOT HOooooT guess who’s back!? Twinkle the barred eagle owl is back! 8days after the release! Yeeaaha our 3rd attempt & first return. Its so exciting, it was starving.. but in general healthy. We’re so happy for Lalaine. Our chef. Cuz she’s been taking care of it & she was really sad when it was time to release the dude.

He’s pearched himself on his “Fengshui Spot” ..well the usuall spot near Lalaine, behind the kitchen.. no strings attached!3rd day of return. He still spread his wings abit daily around the compound. Hopefully he can start catching some field mice.

Ney, STOP!

Puk Puk has always been a hit whenever we bring him to the retreat. Few weeks back he made friends with a little Dutch boy ,.who's been wearing that same Messi Football jersey for days.But he does look like a football star.

Puk's is usually a bunch of madness & but discovered that's because he doesn't speak Hakka/ English / Cantonese / Malay / Chinese. He speaks DUTCH! duh?! everytime "Messi" puts his hand out to say "Ney,Stop!" Puk's sits down calmly,watch & wait for his next command. as he stroke the chubby fuzz ball & speak ..in dutch to him explaining "Im just gonna pluck this giant pokey palm fruit for you". & So they happily played into the Sunset. or at least till Puk's got tired of eating palm nuts.

Looks like I'll need to take dutch classes soon.

WRONG!

Kopi Duit : Money for Coffee or Loose change that you give to people to buy yourself some convenience. ( Nowadays that loose change can get em Hummer with a Latte on the side. )

2009 is wearily coming to an end. I had a really hard time sleeping last night. Cuz this is the time I set tight deadlines, Hoping to cramp in as much as possible before the finish line. I really want make that New Years day Moet worth every bubble my RM350 can get me. I mean I don't want to look back & tell myself .. great! I've achieve nothing in 09'. & I'm just gonna go down the street & make another copy of my 06 'new years resolution.

But by lunch time today, I realize sometimes I get so caught up by the routines, that i think its wrong as a bunny shagging a duck to not want anything! Think about it, isint' wanting less the new wanting more? ( sorry, I write with annoying riddle sometimes after my double shot espresso )
Its amazing how during recession, the Asians stock up rice & instant noodles,while the Europeans take a holiday if they are fired. Most of them actually told us.. "well, its not as if I can find a job if I'd stayed back there in the cold grey weather." What is it that's in your milk that gave you people that incredible EQ??

most Malaysian enslaved themselves to the 9 - 5 job with a steady income, pay their "KOPI Duit" avoid paying the proper fine. & work double during recession. but most amazingly they've gone abroad to drink that same milk & not learned anything. . .all im saying our perspective is so fixed within the box. But then I guess to be fair,We just could not afford to be like you guys due to the weak Ringgit..Unless you want a sabbatical with the cannibals in Papua New Guinea. Ok now I know why i slog while you swing in the hammocks.

But in any case I've decided wanting less will be my new wanting more by say 2020 instead of 2010.....I've decided as much good as Oprah is doing, Sending some cute designer dude to "declutter" my life wont work..he's too cute not to be gay.Oh n that scary blonde woman who's telling you to sort out your finances??.Hello!!? Ms I'm so frugal I need a 500usd dollar spray tan to maintain that glow!..nice try Winfrey!

Time to let go

Twinkle* twinkle* little owl
hope you dont end up like a roast fowl.

We’ve decided its time to let go of Twinkle, the owl. Hopefully he doesn’t go back to Jun’s village. Lalaine’s really attached to him. But yup, the bird belongs to nobody, definitely not to us. So see you when I see you*

Flashback in a jiffy:

Jun’s got chicken,

Twinkle loves chicken,

Jun shot it

Jun say you take or I eat.

So we took.

The Babe Mobile

VW Combi Refurbishment Updates... The body work is done, we're ready to rock soon,Guest coming after September should be able to check out our pimped out ride !

All that chrome parts shopping & speaking mechanics language to some old chinese man. - I feel like Megan Fox from transformers for awhile "all anton said was - NOT!!

Btw I crashed his white 4wd truck.Yea, the truck that he tells you guys to wait for by the roadside.Its fixed now. Lost control in mile 8. Went into muddy ditches. crashed the bonnet & 1 head lamp. Anton is obses about how his belongings have to be in pristine conditions. I splurge on a Paul Smith wallet for him once..and its still..well PRISTINE cuz its still in the box. SO as you might have guessed, He went absolutely mental on me.

So im no Megan Fox. & I guess I wont be allowed to drive the combi too.

Crocodile Dundee

Compared to a normal size lizard.

Compared to Anton's Hand.


So we finally caught the lil guy who's been shitting all over our Dewan (The conference hall). but we didnt expect him to be this big. We knew it was lizard's doing cuz he keeps announcing his arrival proudly along with his trail of "Gold nuggets".But HECK! this guy is the size of a baby crickey! Ohhh mate, luk at dat beeeUuutiful creychah(If you havent' seen Steve Irvin before - Translation "baby crocodile,look at that beautiful creature ) Its stuck to our glue trap.so too bad. It's gonna die!muahahhah!

Been awhile

Hey folks its been awhile, I've been so lazy..These guys "USE TO" hold the longgest staying guest record. see that's how slow i've become. anyways all they did was played cards & chill off. - sounds like my kind of perfect holiday.

" crap, for a second i've forgotten how to upload pictures..."

I lub mama earth!

Lola : Linn's alter ego, a Wilhelmina at heart,loves rubbing you in the face the oh soo wrong way bitch & 10 complaining Singaporean aunties snatching over discounted apples all combined in 1. Yea I know! She scares me too.
(sorry aunties, I cant act like Im fond of you & your entourage of permed hair!)

Past week I feel like Spidey in his Venomous suit & Lola's been trying to break free. My body feels like a pressure cooker with double broiled sweet & sour Chinese pig trotters in me. Basically I was in a cranky mood. So we took a break & chilled out at the islands & boy was I glad we did that!

After whipping up some make shift Margaritas for the boys down at the island, They started sharing their often life threatening experience as Reef Guardians for SIMCA - These guys are serious bout walking their talk! Perhaps its the poisonous city air I grew up with,The cynic in me have thought me to spot & regretfully spat on people who don't walk their talk! It simply creeps me out when ppl join NGOs/Charity groups and claim that they are doing good when the ulterior motive really is for their own personal gain. Not sure if this practice is universal, But around this region. When you ask for donations..you are expected to give em recognition by putting their names on school buildings,on magazines,really i would think ... why not on my arse?

The Reef Guardians, do what they say they are..they protect their waters from fish bombing, cyanide fishing & achieve reef conservation works.They've had pirates shot at them, Fish dynamites thrown at them & lotsa tripping over red tapes..and it's just another day at work. One of the boys actually got recognized & threatened by a fisher man at the local markets.

Over the 2hr mental sparring sessions between Archier(she's in-charge) & her round table of conservationist. I was blasted with scientific terms, amazing cycle of growth & teased with lil sacrilegious jokes like how a diver's piss could damage the reef..& most of all confronted by myself - "What have I done to make a difference?"

Inspired by them,We started a Tree planting campaign at our Bar in town,duh off course its Anton's idea as usual..he's the thinker & im the do-er.So when you guys do drop by, Do plant a tree for merely RM20 & help us keep Sandakan the way it is for years to come.I'm not a self proclaim environmentalist nor am I ever gonna turn Raw food vegan flashie hippie blahh,But I'm definitely holding in my piss when I'm out at sea.


Thats all~
"devil wears diapers"


Inspired by them,We started a Tree planting campaign at our Bar in town,duh off course its Anton's idea as
Edited after 8 days! -

After watching the Environment Day 2009 Specials : HOME by Yann Barthus-Bertrand.We were Aw-spired to make change. Despite only gathering 50+ trees over the past 8 days, I'll like to think the project have changed my perspective of life on earth.Quite honestly I'm 1 stubborn mule,Not even the world most influential woman - Oprah & her multiple attempts to glamorize going green have made real impact that this video has. I'm ashamed to be part of the species that single handedly destroyed what was given to us. The statistics shocked me. I was so upset I felt bad about having some Haagen Daz while watching it...seriously.

The movie is 90mins long, loads of disturbing stats,but let me put things in a dead simple term where you can imagine life not too long from now ...

1) In 40yrs, there will be no more fish ...that means no sweet juicy fancy pancy sushi,no crispy fish & chips,no filet - 0 - fish with that tangy mouth watering tar tar sauce, no piping hot soya sauce steamed grouper, no sizzling pan seared salmon. NO FISH!!!

2) Then we'll need to install fart nozzles on cows to ration their farts cuz the methane they are releasing is causing even more damage than CO2..n why do we have so much cow farts.. cuz we're raring way too much cows at the same time to meet demands!..remember those times when you have to ration your fart in the lift .. yea.."hold on to that thought while I move on"

3)Every mouth full of food you have in yours is taken out of somebody else's. Can you live with that? Great Famine! & only those who can afford will have food.. ARRGH can you live with that,you monsterrrr?!

I did a small experiment on my MSN title :" Msg me if you want a better future!" and I've had way much more "beeps" than Christmas. wait till you tell em.. planting a tree today will give you a better future... ".........."XXX is now offline" It's not easy to do good these days,It seems every1 is a teenager fogged by the cigarettes mentality. "doing the wrong is way cooler than the right. I've had to consciously stop my eyes from rolling away at ppl who don't care less about their own town. At the end of the day, I realise very few people want to face the music. Nevertheless I also realise barking around with frustration is not the way to go. So start small today.. sow a seed now.

Fortune favours the brave ...& the good -
"if you don't make money at least you feel rich at heart...i guess... cuz a certain crouching tigress & hidden dragon drop by our bar...!"
*Gleeeeeeeeaaaaming out*

New webbie

Anton finally got the new website up, I love reading his fine print..I wish there was a function that checks grammar smt equivalent to spellcheck.Cuz i can never write as well as he does & he gives me crap for my bad english.

anyhoo have a go and let us know what you think
www.paganakandii.com

and here's a shout out to Lindsey & Sam,Sorry we'll be missing you guys! Roses will give you all her
carebear shine while we're gone..since we're in memory lane,I think they've absolutely over-design the transformer's face in the movie.

anyways.... autobattsss transform. %&^%&*^*^ - roll out~

From Trashy to Flashy ..Coming Soon

We reallly need a new vehicle..But instead of buying a spanking new van, We decided to re-work an old T2 Volkswagen from the 70s... Beware here we come.. n Puks can be our borneo version of scooby -d00.

our 3rd owl

We got another owl... same species..after almost 3 months we've manage to tame it.But unlike cheftain only Lalaine our chef gets to stroke it.Apparently it really puts him to sleep when she talks to him & stroke him gentlely.Once he fell so deeply asleep he fell off the pole where he was standing as soon as Lalaine let go.We are trying to let it out to the new spot more often without the leash & cage. But Bengkok keeps annoying the owl.

Sun Bird

The best time to catch good close up view of the birds are usually at around dusk. around 4.30 ish till 6.00. Or after a rain, When they come out to dry their wings. And the pavillion is a great spot to watch em swirl in & out of the big fig tree. If you are lucky, you even see wood peckers, hornbills & other endemic species of Borneo. Honestly I can go on & on describing how it magical it is in big detail fila fala vocab but, you've gotto come experience it yourself.

and when you do ...Be sure to grab a good book, make yourself a cuppa coffee or beer & make time to lay on the hammock all afternoon. You'll discover the show nature puts up daily, 24/7 is way way more happening than Hugh Jackman's abs in X-men origins...Haha who am I trying to kid''

Feline V.S Canine

We've never introduced "Bengkok" officially on the blog..so here it is... Bengkok - Crooked in Malay.
He's a got a broken tail since young..as a kitty he had some bad skin problem so nobody was giving him any love.. we got it off Uncle Jalil & brought it to a vet for a jab & now, he's blossom into a handsome jungle cat. With those maple eyes & really spoilt rotten attitude all he want is attention,attention attention!Its amazing to watch him catch birds that are flying by,then there's the not so amazing moments when he goes absolute mental with the field mice,squirrels,lizards,praying mantis n anything that moves. This cat rules our hills.

He had a close shave once. When we found him one morning with a huge gash on the belly & we couldn't believe our luck when one of our Portuguese guest was a veterinarian.She plop him on the table & stitch him back up like a Muppet. Too bad no camera around.

A came Puk puk, my 4ths old chubber. We brought him to the retreat a few times.Some days they get along some days they don't. & his close shave at the retreat was falling almost 10ft down the cliff concussed and passed out for a few seconds. Few seconds later he got up, shake it off & did a huge mount of poop - till this day I cant tell if there's any brain damage..cuz he acts like he's possessed by a kennel full of puppies all day long.

Orbituary

There's a funny little call "death". From my whimsical border-lining mentally ill point of view, I thought i'd manage to capture death in a uncannily beautiful way. It's as if the bird was playing dead like a dog would.The dramatic lighting, set up & cause of death are all natural. Technically no animals were harm in the making of this shoot.. since it was dead when I found it.

Oh and if your'e a first timer to this blog, I'm not always this morbid...sorry if I freaked you out today.