AMIDST THE FOLIAGE OF SEPILOK

BORNEO ECO FILM FESTIVAL 2011

2011-08-01T01:05:00.000-07:00

Before I even had time to promote it on the blog, its all done & dusted. The turn out was great,a mix of friends, tourist, locals. I feel like an over-soaked sponge dripping with info. Every night,despite mulling through a long sweaty day, Anton & I have a hard time getting over the buzz as we lay in bed with our pinkies twirled into the weeeee hours.

Great big shout out to Chris Chong, Ikhwan Rivai, Inanc Tekguc,Harun Rahman, Roger Munns Yasmin & Ekonights gang,Wong..what a humbling expererience to have professionals of their calibre to believe in our vision, Thankyou for dedicating your lives to telling somebody else's stories. Roger Wang, Hezekiah Asim, Kalina his lovely wife who literally moved liked the birds of borneo, Angelina Perete, Amir Yusoff for anointing our little festival with great fun & inspiring music. Agnes,Cede, Holly, Helen & Harry, Wendell, Rozie & my dearest Anton - I know I bitch alot about work..heheh but you guys were awesome to work with. Lastly all my friend's who came to support even though I know u didnt want to watch the films :0( - they seemed more intrested in raiding my Nacho stands.But it sure feels like we've won an oscar!

What an inspiring weekend! WOopie.

The justification of "Club 27"

2011-07-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

Another amazing artist who make me bob my head like a cuckoo bird while typing is dead! which cuts my quirky music selection this much shorter. On such days I really just wanna punch a hole in my car radio.

"God, if you give Amy back to us, we'll give you Bieber & all 1.6 mill of his fans.'' - michelle lim.

A sure sign of a great artist is some one who can pull off a simple no frills, 4-6 chords, unplug session & making it just so painfully..painfully good. There's an alluring sense of darkness about her, from the smoky quality in her non-20th century voice, her confused outfit of choice, to her butt ugly ..sorry unconventional features. All good artist,from actors,singers,dancers to photographers.. have got what I call "Ostrich balls" - I mean have you seen the size of an ostrich egg!? do you know how much sperm it takes to fertilize that!? anyways yea,,, only ginormous GoNADs & guts can take you down the road less travel,in the likes of Corbain & Kravitz, Winehouse did not make it back.

Im sure you've heard choreographers,orchestra meastro's yelling " let it go ! just let it go!'' - now THAT's the nudge into the road less travel, where you no longer rely on technical know how and surrender all of your being to an intrinsic instinct. I dont know if its actually a good idea to be so real. It seems you loose footing in reality after awhile.. sorta like Natalie Portman's character in Black Swan..going bonkers!

Isnt' it strange how people get addicted to pain, Pain was design to be a warning signal.. Its quite tricky trying to pen this down.. I understand what it is emotionally.. but cant seem to term it correctly. In a nutshell people with the guts to feel every ounce of joy,sorrow,lust & pain around them look at the world from a very different perspective.

Im just sad that everyone seem to be digging out her drunk,drugged up acts & re-posting all over fb. Why am I even friend's with such idiots?! anyways...RIP Amy Winehouse.

Yellow Fever

2011-07-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

For the first time in a long time I feel proud to be a Malaysian again.When you spend most of your life in foreign country, You almost forget where home really is & what it actually means to be part of a nation. I hardly take notice of what I was about to lose.

Its so easy to take things for granted, Sometimes we look over the "charade" thats happening on the other side of Malaysia & almost feel indifferent. As though its another scene from Cambodia,Myanmar.

Power came in a form of a one legged patriot, clad skimply in a pair of clutches & a yellow T.he marched on with such fervour & conviction it brought a tear to my eye. Such courage & determination that puts all of us sittin in our well air-conditioned rooms in shame.

Today I realise, even if I lose everything, I can pick up a fist full of soil & still claim ownership. Im deeply moved & inspired by those who fought for our rights today.

Good night folks.

If you are curious - www.bersih.org

or search youtube clips bersih2.0

CSsssI

2011-07-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Few days ago the SESB (local power co ) transformer in our area exploded.. apparently it was caused by a snake..which by now have blown into sushi size bits across the road.We had a bit of power cut. But luckily nothing major. We didnt manage to take pics of the crime scene but i did find a possible reason online. heh

Tipping the balance

2011-06-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. Almost like a sea of over-saturated pictures spewed across the floor...in vivid living colours - Pro athelete, A design career, Artisanal baker,Writting music, singing riddles, building an empire of epic porportions fueled by a fiesty gumption that was me. Now, - Im just lost.

"Attention! Attention!, I want attention!" that is sorta my cry for help from god. Im throwing a fit inside, foaming by the mouth, convulting on the floor asking for a sweet treat quick fix. My head wants to get well. but my body is just confused.Suddenly I've forgotten what im good at, what im good for & everyone

seems to be talking too loud, Its like a hangover that never ends.

........................edited 2 weeks later.............................................

Now ALL THAT... was before i found out what was really happening, apparently its all the raging estrogens.just a rough patch people, eventually i'll mull through it & we'll be back on track for world domination. muau muaah muahahahhah~~~

Help me to help you!

2011-05-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

Something weird & creepy is happening to my awfully stretched mind - I was looking for some good music & stumbled upon " Nobody but You'' by the wondergirls - acoustic version. ( If you haven't' heard of em - u must be living under the little rocks under the big rock im currently residing under ) anyways that's not the weird part.. the weird part is I actually clicked on it.. & was hooked! like keep looking for better repertoire of the same acoustic relay HOOKED! - first of all, I find pop revolting. Secondly, this is 1 of those songs that perpetually raped all the charts,clubs & possibly all korean restaurants for a Long looong loooongggg time. But I guess the catchy beats are simply too infectious.So im belting out " I want nobody nobody nobody nobody " while typing this.

Personalized service really takes 2 hands to clap.Yours & mine. Nooooo, just because you are paying for a service, doesn't mean you can act like a total smarty pants!( Needed the help of a good thesaurus to tone down the angst ) The fact is nice people get great service & no spit in their meals, & mean people..well you cant blame people for not wanting to be nice to you? Off course there's a vending machine who treats everybody equally. Even then, there are days when a machine is simply not reliable. So what you gonna do about it? give us a kick too?

You'll be surprise how evil some people can be. I understand impatience, ignorance,.. but superiority complex is something I refuse to accept. They snicker & make fun at my employee, making complains about virtually everything just to get a discount, call service staff names ..We do get people from all walks of life.

At the end of the day we are all humans, all it takes is an open conversation. we are all here to make your holiday a good one, Why spoil the fun for yourself ? mistakes are usually caused by minor misunderstandings. All we really want is to make your holiday here a memorable one. Off course we are saying this with the pre-requisite of a sincere team of service staff.When people show appreciation for what we do it make us feel good too, in return you encourage the service industry to flourish as individuals push themselves harder to please others.. so isn't' that good for all patrons?

But off course there's always professionalism - That's when you really feel like stabbing the sad bastard in the eye but all you manage was attempting a MEGAWATT smile causing temporary blindness instead.. I think Roses & Jo is probably way better in this department than me, that's why we keep em upfront.with all that said,The ones who deserves a kick in the butt, by all means! anyways night folks~

Disclaimer : PAGANAKANDII do not practice or condone spitting in meals, but we do occasionally employ the help of - "the ninja assassin chubba wubba black squirel"...PEW PEW KAPOW!

Angry Bird anthem.by Pomplamoose

2011-05-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

This video reeks of my sentiment exact! So long folks i need to go crash into something..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UCm6uyzNE8&feature=topvideos_music

Keven the half naked photographer

2011-05-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

Everyone, this is Keven. - welll his muscular back to be precise.

He's an amazing photographer. Took a few really nice shots of our duplexes,

pity I didnt get to meet the face infront of this back.

more of his works here - www.fox-fotos.com

Food for thought!

2011-03-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

BRrr,What a ironic title, the thought of food literally makes me puke!
Both ant & myself caught a pretty bad stomach virus,was all curled up in painful pangs & sore joints for the past 2 nights. Ant suspect he ate traces of bird poop after wiping it off his forehead few days ago..haahaa but I can't seem to pin point down what's the cause of my case.

So anyways just when we thought we're doing better we decided to watch the Oscar winning docu film about the horrifying annual dolphin slaughtering in the hidden cove of Taiji, Japan.

Mental note to self :" never read/watch/listen/converse thought provoking materials before bed!"

The entire creative direction, cinematography & concept was ingenious. Oscar well deserved! way better than inconvenience truth. However on the contrary to most viewer's reaction, I actually understand & accept the brutality, the greed , the much propagated silly Asian pride & evilness of men ( is there even such a word that measures the degree of evil?evil is just evil right?anyways eviiillllneeess). The revelation of how little "in terms of physical action" I have done for the world that I once believed kept spinning in my head as I toss & turn all night.

Like Ric O'Berry said

" you are either an activist or you are inactive"

At some point in life, all of us die to melt into mainstream society, Everyone gets caught up in building a perfect little world encase with convenience, comforts. The amazingly effective emotional censorship board within filters out any brutal truth that becomes unbearable to us. That's when you hear classic excuses "oh what can I do about it? .. nobody is going to listen to my little unimportant voice.' yea i've seen it...buuhoo poor dolphins,period.'' - WRONG! people are just so fuking lazy nowadays. nobody wants to fight for what they believe. probably held back by the fear of rejection more than anything. I'm sure I'm not the only person in distraught watching those clear emerald lagoons turn blood red?

So this is my attempt to give you a perspective from a freedom fighting minority - dubbed "the eco terrorist " by the ILLEGAL mind u WHALERS.

there's a good old Chinese saying that briefly translates something like this -

Jin Zhu Zhe Chi, Jin Mo Zhe Hei: Near Vermilion, One Gets Stained Red; Near Ink, One Gets Stained Black. well hopefully in this case Near Anton & Linn, One gets stained green.

Like all culture, it all builds from a single thread of information, that information then reverberates through the vines of communication, in all shape & form. you accept & become what you are expose to. In the simplest possible term, all i'm trying to drive home is this -Always be of good influence to others, because at any point if you ever condone the practice of being "inactive" consciously or not, you are part of why the problem gets bigger.

2 years ago, earth hour. we screened another great docu-movie entitled HOME at our Roof Garden Bar, people were yawning left & right.Some personal friends actually even started making fun of certain scenes because they were so bored & uninterested in the message. I was so carried away looking for validation from our customers , I actually lost the plot. 2 years later same friends txt me a reminder to off the lights .. that's when I realize, it was a job well done after all!

I'm not saying we should all take drastic measures like hugging a falling tree, or physically fighting off those buff lumberjacks - in fact, you can leave that to the crazy hard core Americans. But we can all take a baby step by not brushing the inconvenience truth away, by spreading the word, by educating ourselves & the people around us, by changing the way we live, stop feeling luke warm about life, stop being an "in-activist" today!

http://www.thecovemovie.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU

AHA!

2011-03-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

ME WANTS! ME WANTS

sleepless in Seaa..dakan

2011-03-05T10:35:00.001-08:00

Im so tired i cant sleep, loooooong week. busted generator,busted tyres, busted morale,busted body..now when its all sorted I feel...ermmmm weary, yea weary its the word. I've ruled out mid-life crisis, menopause, love-sick.

Its weird, I've been up searching for good sourdough bread recipes to the company of some really strange sounds like ( Oh Land , ,Jose Gonzales , Calvin Harris- oh but this 1 I LIKE & its not weird...somebody actually left this comment " I RAPED THE REPLAY BUTTON" hahahaa its that good!

a peep in my head will reveal the below, weird & weary is such an understatement.

1) I need 1 of those over-tanned trolls with neon pink/green back-to-the-future hair & stick my pencil up its ass.

2) I'm deprive of good gigs & fun parties.

3) Man,, bjork looks dam old...oh yea she's from planet earth too!

peace out folks!

Eco Erotica

2011-02-24T22:02:00.000-08:00

Wrote this on my Jone's the grocer serviettes - best coffee ever!
Since every1 is accused of sodomising sm1 or smt these days, I guess my felic perspective on a row of innocently lined trees should be acceptable. so here goes....

The rich emerald, she lays soft against a clean canvas of blue & white.

the wind carries a thousand notes of spice & dust,

Like the spritz of fresh cologne,
the air is filled with spicy hints of the bark.

My vision throws a bashfull walk up his masculine back

dressed in a creased cloak of wisdom ,

he tames the head of ebullient temptress into submission,

and they flutter in the delights of life.

The upturn green dress leap into a mid-air pirouette,

then light as silk, she slips into the cradling arms.
With each rise & fall of the wind,
they waltz to the rhythm of the summer breeze.

I've caught on their fervent vigor of life,
my limp wick - ALIGHTS!

.....See! who say trees cant be sexy!!!

2 liner.

2011-02-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

Fresh bread , cold french butter,
A good book under the tall trees & somethingelse ''explicit'' - I can die now.

Bubbye world.

Tidings of Blessings

2011-02-03T20:28:00.000-08:00

Shouldn'e mario be wearing the official CNY colour - RED ?!
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Prelude : Our Swedish friends Tomas & Nina, drop by last week on a mission to get some holiday colour & see some rainforest. Well.. They got RAIN & then some forest. For 2-3days all we did was eat, talk & battle the stomach virus. They've flew off to Kuching chasing the sun..sorry David & Anna,we tried our best!(apparently no luck,last heard in Bangkok )

This is week 2,.. The rain have finally slow down. By now Tomas & Nina is probably happily frying themselves under the Bangkok sun. So Its time to dry those soggy feet, hang up those wellies & actually celebrate Chinese New Year. Woopie!

GONG HEI FATT CHOI! - In this simple common CNY greeting , It encompasses possibly the 2 most important values we chinese folks swear by. HEI ( Happiness ) & FATT ( PROSPERITY ). Since we also always equate the water element to CHOI ( Riches usually in the form of Gold Ingots ) With the flood & all I guess this is a good time to literally count the "tidings of blessing". For the record, I don't think they use this in mainland china, I think its gotto do with the migration & hardship, In search of better life & a better year somebody must've come up with this clever little four letter word. heee

But to me,Riches comes in all forms, This year it came to me in the form of family & friends. Because off the rain, I didn't lock myself down with work & tending the Bar..actually got a taste of what celebrating CNY without rushing off for work.SHweeet¬

I'll also be going home to see mum next week! I think its the constant baby talk from the people around me, I feel like I need some of those mum knows best even when she don't make sense kinda oxy-"moronic'' nonsense. Well I guess only adult daughters with a cuckoo mum will get what I mean. AHA! sorta like the classic - "Grey Gardens"

Also recently I found my long lost non-biological twin bro. With good-looks, great taste,intellect & constipated awkward nature to match. Feels great to have a sounding board,A lot of people dont realise its so important to have company of mutual admiration, Inspiring character who keeps you motivated. I've been playing Ping ........................ & yes, no Pong for too long. Sandakan aka Wysteria Lane is driving me up the wall,Ever since my dearie Michelle jacky chan nose left for Canada , its been a boring lonely walk. But I feel a sense of rejuvenation for the things im passionate about again! Pew Pew! Kapoww!

It's also really strange that people thinks the world of our marriage.I always thought everyone had a life-partner that they can talk to for hours. In fact sometimes I think we talk too much.But I finally realise we have something that's probably god- given & for that I'm grateful.
My boss/partner/husband/bestest friend is indeed quite a precious lil gift.

In a nutshell, If you've planned your holiday around CNY in search of some traditions & cultural fiesta this very wet monsoon, all is not lost! Because behind the sheepish mask of the red money packets, the lion dance ,the fire works, the gambling sessions, the open house parties, the crazy drinking session, the foood! glorious foood , the family gatherings, the endless string of candy & treats for the kiddies, the new clothes, the new shoes & the long line of taboos... Just like every other celebration , Its a celebration of UNION & LOVE

So have a Chubbby Bunny Year Dear All!

180hrs & still going

2011-02-03T20:09:00.001-08:00

Flood!

2011-01-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

Sandakan, Including Sepilok area have been raining for the past 130HRS - that's 5 days of persistent rainfall! On the 4th day, the effects finally made their late & much pronounced arrival in the wee hours of a misty morning.The disturbing scene of land-slides,floods,fallen trees left & right was apparent as I manoeuvred through the obstacle course towards town. I've never seen a more damaging monsoon than this! The kids camping near our grounds, had to evacuate in the middle of the night when a surge of water fromt the nearby rivers gushed into their camps.

By the time Anton reached the retreat, The main road access to Sepilok & to our retreat was already completely flooded to knee height.We had no choice but to row a boat & thread in the muddy waters to get some of our guest to the airport. Fortunately the waters receded by 1pm & we quickly had a good gauge of the damages/potential risk if rain persisted.There was some soil movements .But luckily nothing major, Some hardcore "Jungglies'' insisted coming the next day & no flood or storm or torrential rain could dampen the spirit of a good Jungle lover. Mr Tamada,his wife, 2 kids & a stray dog all stood waiting on the seats of the Sepilok junction bus stop when we finally got to them up.

As our car waded through the precarious roads near BDC/SIM SIM/BDR RAMAI
(where slumps,poorer local community are),The painful revelation of what poverty can do hit me. Even in life threatening situations poverty simply leave you with limited choice.Drove by an old apartment block, the landslide from a dangerously close mountain rushed past the back doors, crashing through the corner lot restaurant & emerging from the front door & strangely neighbours left & right from the same block just went about doing their usual routine without evacuation ever crossing their minds. Later that day we got to know the owner of that particular restaurant was 1 of 3 accounted for casualties.

It is,... STILL absolutely pouring outside.As I lay warm & snug in the covers with great gratitude for the security that god have given us,I can't help but think of those who literally have to battle through another stormy night.

Cest' La Vie

2011-01-01T06:56:00.000-08:00

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Sorry people its been awhile, I was suppose to carry on the tradition of posting a year end recap .. but I had so much work & so little help the past few months i just wasn't in the mood.

I had a look at 2009 recap & realise luckily I started 2010 from a good place,,a grateful place. Last year was so tedious i almost died. The growing pains to be dealt with was almost unbearable. Even though financially it was a good year,a series of unfortunate events bashed my ego up real bad. So its all proven.. money cant bring you happiness.

Then on new years eve,10.30pm, storm hit .. hit hard.. - our fireworks party at the roof garden practically turned into a total wet t - shirt party. That was when i decided to let loose & have fun. fu*k the sales & just enjoy the final moments with people who are important to me. Hey, if the starters was so so, the main-course is bad,dessert always makes it better yea.Right after the countdown, as the fireworks burst off in all its dampen glory,I ran up to the roof into a blizzard of rain with a few crazy customers & got to savour the sweetest of all endings.Albeit wet & cold.... but sweet.

The party continued with a great dancing crowd which included a 70yr old dancing nana..Today I realise if I hadn't let go, 2010 would have had her annoying last laugh when it rain on my parade.HAH!So good riddance! sucker of years!

I've been conned!

2010-11-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer, this is me reiterating a personal account on current India. I have no intention of making racist remarks nor have any Indians been harm in the process..even though I really wanted to slap a few individuals,& I wouldn’t care if their skin was the colour of a paddle-pop.

We're back from New Delhi, This was my third trip to India . The New New Delhi unfortunately will not be getting a “thumbs up” from me. Unlike the national marsala cola of choice, she left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth as we bid good riddance at the Indirah Gandhi airport. Almost like discovering big horrible turn-offs on a 3rd date eg: discreet scratching near the crotch area then giving it a casual sniff.

There is a huge difference between travelling on a chauffeured air-conditioned vehicle with a somewhat successful local to taking the metro with a Nepali look alike husband in New Delhi. The 2 very different path that could only be joint by awkward glares. Even having experienced India twice, I was not quite ready to stomach this. I was sucker for all that spiritual Indian Jazz akin to Eat,Pray,Love. I use to love India for the beautiful mess that she is. From child beggars drinking Pepsi , anonymous characters with missing limbs on the streets, Yogi man meditating outside the huge United Colours of Benneton flagship store to systematically disorganized traffic or any other Qs for that matter. I loved the “random order” & sassy attitude. India would feed my ADHD google eyes that no other could.

However, the arrival of the recent Commonwealth games unintentionally revealed her darker side. Corruption & sub-standards aside, the attempts to re-face New Delhi, have ironically deface the original charm that I was looking forward to. Delhi was covered with dust of unfinished infrastructure works. Ask any locals they will tell you “oh its just the weather changing for winter” But worst of all the earnest attitude I once knew seems to have changed. And it all started during the planning stages of this trip. Bed & breakfast rates shot up by the double, I mean I understand it’s the peak season but RM350 & above for a B&B in India? There was 1 who even changed the rates upon confirmation.I’m quite sure I felt a lot more welcomed few years ago. It literally felt like Prince Siddhartha as he stray off the rose petal pavements into the real backwaters of India.

We were attending a handicraft trade fair, I was deeply saddened by the way Asian buyers were treated. It was as if the years of British colonization have shackled their dignity. Many a times we were dropped abruptly so that they can greet a Caucasian buyer. Watching from a far it was like “ wow! how did we miss all that enthusiasm a few seconds ago!” After 3strikes, I was sure it’s not my little Asian low self esteem feeling the sour pangs. Anton got to a point when he finally decided to tell 1 exhibitor off & all she could say was "oh sorry about the misunderstanding, we were busy just now" & we looked around, wait for it.. wait for it... yes..the creek of a cricket.Even her little indian head shook to dissapprove as the blatant lie rolled out of her tongue. Then again when we tried to hop on our shuttle service back to the hotel,the driver who claimed it was full allowed 2 Europeans on the bus after we left..weird huh~

Buying a train ticket to Agra was the worst eveeeerr! squeezed through the Qs twice to ticketing officers who just don’t care to give proper instructions then when we finally walk up to the tourist ticketing lounge we had to pick the champion of jerks! I could tell he was a senior staff, who’s paid to figure out his mobile phone rather than serving customers. As we sat down in front of his counter, he showed no intention to stop. Most malaysians like ourselves have our fair share of crap from civil servant offices so you could imagine how our crap threshold of inefficiency starts at a different bench mark all together. So we waited patiently till he was done with his mobile phone say a good 3mins of awkwardness, Upon making payment, he didn’t have enough change ..& so we waited in awkward silence expecting him to find change, but all he did was whip out his mobile phone AGAIN! holding the same note we gave him for a good 5mins. Then when he finally got the change I had to snap & snatch the tickets off his hands, It was as though he was toying us. Again, I noticed other white tourist don’t seem to have a trouble getting their tickets. Even toilets on the train had signs that said Indian style / Western style..which was a squat & a seat respectively. So do Indians pee like a dog? & westerners don’t? Different toilets, different buying ticketing lounge, different treatment ..I see that’s why tourist pay a different rate!

I’m not sure if all this arrangements are for the Commonwealth visitors, but I don’t see the need to bend over backwards for the tourist, black,yellow or white period. Just stick to the best you can offer & offer equal service to everyone. On 3 different occasions people spoke hindi to Anton, of which 1 was a security guard who didn’t let us take the metro in a opposite direction since we missed our stop..he started blabbering aggressively. Again I’m not sure if this was because Anton look like a Nepali.

"Inflation" have also hit Delhi with the huge influx of tourist, 5 years ago, begging kids would ask for 1 rupee for chapati, At the Taj,this boy was going "Eh,Hallo! eh Hallo..10 rupee! 10 rupee!" tugging Anton's shirt endlessly. What happen to the humility of begging? I’m not saying anyone should crawl & beg on their knees before parting with my 10rupees. In fact nobody should be begging. It’s just not right. However if we continue to give without thinking we would be contributing to a generation of people who think tourist bring good source of “extra income”. We should also be more responsible with tipping or at least understand the real value of the local currency before throwing your bills "generously" A good thumb rule obviously is to tip if you receive good service.

On our last day, we went to a high-end mall. This was when we realize how the rich is really living in their own bollywoodised delhi. This fat ass guy stepped off his chauffeured porche, with door man ready to meet, greet & open the doors to his little playground. Obviously Anton & Linn made their grand entrance in a dusty Auto Tuk Tuk. At the door you of some restaurants you will even see a sign that says they have the right to refuse entry. At this point I missed home, rich or poor all of us enjoy a good roti at the Mamak together, The rich in India have closed themselves off in a world of no suffering, where they can have a taste of the hi-life of a maharaja.

Basically the point that Im trying to drive home is I cant believe what I experienced on the first 2 trip, all the hospitality & "love" is subjective, T&C applies..There is a system in India and it is according to the cast you are born into. Everyone worked around a hierarchy. When I finally draw the dots together, I realize the cast system, the intense social segregation & the current state of poverty are closely related. If you are born a laborer, there's no way of getting out. You will be exploited, & you will learn to exploit others to protect your interest. That's the key to survival. Even though im quite sure universally social segregation ,double standards & unfair treatment exist. But in India it’s smacked hard in your face just incase you didn’t get the memo.

Most people will describe India as daunting, but more accurately I think the discomfort reminds us of how little separates all of us. If the exact same life force was planted elsewhere,you get a completely different outcome. & we are blessed to have what we have. When the juice dispenser swallowed our last 50rupees & gave us no juice, it really felt like India had her last laugh. So yup, I guess you are incredible.. India!

Incredible Indiiaaaa~

2010-10-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

I dont know how many of you manage to catch the Commonwealth games.. First of all.. i dont see the brits sharing their wealth with us.. .. k saving my rants for another day.

we are all packed & leaving for New Delhi tommorow for some Chapati R&R. I love India...She's been nice to me,3 visits & a clean and very palatable record with the cuisine.. CANT WAIT.. ohh I actually went online to see if the legendary Pandit Shankar Khan the Sithar meastro was around to give us a gig.. If you havent heard about him before,I guess you just got to stick with Bieber.& nope im not apologetic about being a musical snob.

This time I must see the Taj!!!

Meanwhile our lovely team will take good care of you!like always.

Bring it on! MONSOON 2010!

2010-10-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

've always had to live with a wet, stormy ,short of chilling space monsoon season..NOT ANYMORE! We've put up a huugge canvas that took the feat of 6 strong man..1 or 2 with obscene man boobs,. But I promise you they are the strongest man u can find in Borneo!

WE're ready for the RAIN.. I hope it doesnt come though.

I've caught the desperation bug!

2010-10-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

I dont know if anyone is capable of feeling as constipated as I am right now, In an attempt to reignite with my for hospitality Im going to attempt to de-cluter & process the thoughts thats boiling within for the past 3 mths without cursing at some really people with crazy expectation....

Service industry is probably the only industry that you get to meet people from all walks of life, naturally some people make you want to work harder by giving amazingly generous compliments & encouragement that money cant buy. Then there's other's whom you wish you cauld call em a cab & send them packing.

This is not an idustry for the weak at heart . Because its the only industry that does not allow you to not take things personally. Essential what service really is, is giving a part of yourself to complete strangers , hoping they would accept you for the way you are. If you are lucky, some would even give themselves back in return. & that, is how your create an intangible & unspoken bond that would last across all 5 continents & 7 seas..thats why travelling can be extremely romantic.

However the 3 months of constant giving & receiving might have taken its toll on me. The constant lack of good sleep, the looping re-runs of random people & their ideals in my head,I almost feel like an oversoaked sponge. Ready to disintegrate into small fragile clumps. All i did for the past 2 days was baking some brownies, stuffing my face infront of crap tv programs. I'm officially lazy...grrrr!

We've had the most bazaar complaints,... even the few harmless palm tree within the compound have to take a beating for us. well,..blame it on the mass media. Palm tree is not really as bad as people think it is,( anyways I'll save it for another entry )I've become so obses with what others make of us,my heart will be pounding away while waiting for the tripadvisor review page to load. Obviously we're far from perfect & there's definately room for improvement.. but I guess i just need a chill pill & look at the complaints objectively.

So the point is, the show must go on! even if you only have 1 good audience, that should be enough to worth your while. yes,..? no? ..gaahh i need more brownies!

Anyways.... here are some pics of our guest chilling in the different decks & levels at the dining area. I must stay over night once in awhile..its so chilled out at night. nice cooling breeze..except the air smelled a little bit funky yesterday.

Its fruiting season!

2010-08-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Kacang Putih Man - typically an indian man dressed in Sarung & white singlet, Peddling sugar coated /savoury varieties of nuts & preserves wrapped in conical shaped old newspaper.Usually at the cinema or markets.Sadly its a dying trade.

Woohoo, Its fruiting season & we got some seedling from forestry department..hehe thats what I call friends of benefit... bags & bags of seeds lined up at the corridor. Alex reminds me of the kacang putih man peddling & scouraging the little precious nuggets into bags.

We've planted them in,some have sprouted! The grand p of reforesting the world 1 lantree at a time has started! by the way Anton has been playing Pinky & the Brain theme song on loop courtesy of youtube, I think he's gone mad...

Look out for more updates on our Seadcooperative site.
http://www.seadcooperative.com/

THE WHEEL OF DEATH!

2010-08-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

"Roda roda maut" - The wheel of death. Made a really good shot. saw it at Don's sawmill while
scanvenging for some old scraps.

Football fever

2010-07-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Football.. the 1 thing, il never get. Il spare another bad Paul the octopus joke. at least these guys seems to be enjoying the game..cuz they stayed up till 4am to catch the final.. & obviously they are Dutch.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

2010-07-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

The NEW & IMPROVED stilt huts are ready after a long chase to the finish line! yeeehaa..Anton now skips around the retreat with the load off his shoulders texting me non stop all day ..proclaiming to me repeatedly "who's the man, Who's the man!!" while flexing his unapparent "guns?" - he calls em.

So the new & improve came with some crazy jungle view while you do your morning no.1s & 2s. the rooms are slightly more spacious.. & some innovative lightings.Personally the straw hat light in the bathrooms freaks me out a littke bit.

Its all about the view this time.. all 8 units are well hidden in the jungle trail..there's view in the front porch, view from your bed, view while u pee, view while u poop.. I think u might get away with nude tanning at the balcony.. but I would'nt encourage that though, just because we've seen quite a few large size black squirrel around that area..They've got a notorious reputation with some of our guest..stealing chips & biscuits in broad day light! So we dont want em picking those "raisins & nuts" do we. Hehe obviously im in a cheeky mood. cuz its DONE! ITS DONE!! YOOOHOOO!

loading the pictures tonight.!

These Guys made it possible

2010-06-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

THE MYSTERIOUS CELEBRATORY CIGAR!
( found this on site, its a good cuban cigar too..but nobody own up to it..strange~)

THE HORROR! THE HORROR!

2010-06-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

So here's what happened. On a stormy night, Some branches fell on the newly strung electrical cables,sparks flew causing a minor fire..right out of a scene from horror films.Everything happened so quickly. We are really lucky the damage wasn't that bad... So we are cutting down some trees & branches to prevent future mishap.

So apart from huge delays in completion date, we have to deliver the bad news to quite a few dissapointed customers..what's worst..a few of them are uncontactable.. we're dooommeed dooooooommed

updates

2010-06-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

Its been over a month since I blogged. Not that I was particularly busy..just wasnt' a very productive month i'l say. So anyhow before I take off to Bali & Melbourne for a long awaited girl trip with my sis. Here are some quick updates.

Puk puk is making leaps & bounce... literally, we had a trip to the retreat last weekend after 1.5mths of quarrantine at home. & he cauldnt' stop jumping around.

The new chalets are coming up fast.. In fact we need them to be up desprately fast... so Anton has been working like a mad - man during the day & replying endless email enquiries late into the night while I slide some obscenely smooth cheesecake & watch by the sidelines....oh yeaaa, I AM secretly enjoying the show just this wee bit.

The Combi is down again.This time .. not a whimper when we turn the key.

When my gf grace ask for my plan of attack on Melbourne.. I told her, first of all I need a good hunka steak! then some oysters shooters. Then we can sort out the rest while a sip me cappucino made with real fresh milk...not some funky UHT long life stuff.

OH YES! I received a snail mail from Sydney yesterday, dated 19th Jan 2010. The Envelope was covered with ( Care Bear stickers..There's a card inside ... also with stickers,naturally its an enquiry about room availability but with no check in dates, just a request for a possible discount if she stays long. Whilst the care bear stickers creeps d shit outta me..its so sweet to receive snail mails nowadays. ( will post a pic soon )

& i tot Willy was weird - Our guest who had raw food diet of garlic,carrots & a pinch of salt on the side everyday.

This aint' no punk'd on april's fool

2010-04-23T03:56:00.000-07:00

On the 1st of april, Around 5.45pm I received a call from Anton saying " There's been an accident." & instantly I thought Oh no,are you ok? where are you now & blah..then he continued. "I ran over puk puk". & my heart just sank'd. The world stopped & I thought to myself.. its ok he is just a pet ,.. he is just a pet. we can get me a new pet. As the rest of the conversation unfurl itself nervously, It seems he'd survived..except he was lifeless from the waste down. I quickly rushed home, he was in the pen, his lower back n legs flat out, he looked like chubby seal.

To cut the long story short, He survived a multiple pelvic fracture,fermur breakages,a closely meeting spinal cord, 2 uncomfortable man handled x-ray sessions,a 5hrs bumpy car ride anesthesia via IV drip ( Usually pugs dont do well in this department.) Waking up with a strange pin stuck up near his butt, 3days of stuffy hospital ward full of other strange broken dogs. Pooping 4days worth of shit in 1 go with us holding his back up & 3weeks of serious boredom in compound.

My pug is not just a pet, he is a robocop pug! with pins sticking outta his teeny weeny frame he is now able to walk,pee , poop, attempt to steal food after 3 weeks. Most dog his size would've been smothered or at least paralysed. So I guess life is a box of chocolate,you never know which puppy you picked from a litter will change the way you live.

I guess you guys wont be seeing him at the retreat till end of this year or so.HE WILL WALK AGAIN! keeping our fingers & paws crossed.

We are expanding

2010-03-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

We are expanding!! Adding some Duplex stilt houses.Past two months we've been rejecting way too many request.Anyways, Similarly we gonna let nature do its thing..minimal landscaping & cut down whatever we need to cut only. Its on an adjacent hill, much more private & exclusive neck of the woods. & the view...the view is just breath-taking. Cuz you get a close & unobstructed view of the nature reserve situated 50m or so.

Hoping to finish by June. So guest coming after june,be sure to ask about the new stilt houses.

All the single ladies/gentlemen.

2010-03-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is 1 of those entries that probably got nothing to do with Paganakandii...well if you count music an important part of your travels..then this entry cauld be relevant to you. I just discovered Jorge Drexler.An Uruguayan musician that made me feel like im threading on air. I just realise he did a track from my all time favourite movie " Motorcycle Diaries." So when i popped in the cd.. & it felt as if "Ting!" the lift doors slid open..& there he was, my long lost mi amor...the greasy haired foreign dude fantasy crush that .....- I think i should stop watching "Glee"

Its amazing how music can set you up in the right mood. Thanks to the world most ingenious fruit company - Apple. My itunes " genius '' helps me make better choices when shopping for music.Man! have you seen the wish-list they generate based on your existing playlist?

Anyways , I always thought music was a great mediator to self discovery, especially if you are curiously foraging undiscovered territories.Music is probably your best company. Imagine how a travel mate from hell can ruin everything. Just when you almost had had enough , they blow your toilet apart after a dreadful asian meal & give you a woops i didnt mean to do it smirk! & you my fren...you ... my ... fren..and every ounce of your romantic escapade is left to drown under the overcast of lingering curry fart.

For me its almost an out of body experience, when something really good comes on my ipod, coincedentaly matching whatever I was thinking to myself,it becomes as if I was watching myself thinking to myself as the music rolled along with percision like the movies... again i really should stop watching "Glee". But shouldn't everyone practice talking to themselves, Its amazing how little people know themselves these days.Having the time to do that, has become a luxury to everyone..which is why everyone should take selfish holidays. Go all out, let go & act like a lunatic.. just dont stay with us while you are at it!

So to tie my probably sensely rant back to Paganakandii & even though I did say dont stay with us.... Our Longhouse dormitory are great for precisely doing the above.Open up the window at the foot of your bunk bed,plug in some great music & float away in your sea of idiosycrasis.

Happiest Place on Earth ( Pun absolutely intended )

2010-02-26T10:36:00.000-08:00

Our friend's in Sweden just told us the are suffering from the longest + coldest winter of the decade, Meanwhile here in Borneo, we are dry as a rag. No rain for the past 4weeks now.The weather forecast dude is saying we will be getting a short drought.

Anyways we took puks out to the new duplex site. for some reason he seem to be possessed by a pig! He just cauldnt stop sniffing,..as if we had truffles in the area.

Im home alone tonite..woohoo..i'd off all the lights, put on King's of convenience & maaann..its flowing in me.

I stumbled across a new perspective of earth.I was just walking around the compound,the streamers of light came through the foliage... & along came Mr happy bug. Strange creatures make me happy.

Random Purging.

2010-02-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

I've got lotsa random thoughts flowing inside me tonight/2.30am in the morning.I feel the need to purge.So I crawled out from bed & wrote these things down.
I made a new friend, I made closer ties with some existing friends...I had a meaningful chinese new year, I want to go to Rome.. I want to check out King's of Convenience Live in KL..I want to put on a superman cape.. I think my whimsical alter ego is dying to get out. I think i might be losing my mind..I think I should stop reading weird literature,its planting weird seeds in my brains. I think maybe a cat woman body suit might work better than the superman cape.

Night~

The real Eco Deck

2010-01-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

So I started 2010 with a short sabatical back home.Even tho it was too short for me to sit in lil corners back home to think.I realise I no longer fear being left behind in timbaktoo. Because as civilised as any civilisation may appear. Honestly they are just a bunch of Barbarians. So I pretty much rather stay where the simple people are.

We just reworked the shade for the Sun Deck thats overlooking the canopy...Where we had our wedding 1yr plus ago. The Cotton Linen Shade idea was really nice & romantic at first. then we realise it just didnt work.The day after any stormy night. The tattered bits of fabrics scattered around the area, the storm seem scarrier than it really is.

SO... we decided to build a shade outta living bamboo! It just clicked! Trees have always been natural shelter for animals & humans alike .. its so obvious! why didnt we thought of that earlier! This is genuinely ECO. not only did we not use extra material or chop any wood... the bamboo is actually ALIIVEEE!!! HAH! take that you fakey eco resorts who claim to charge people extra for your biodegradable shampoo????!! I have nothing against their shampoo but using it as a selling point or rather extortion point while the entire resort is built from illegal timber is just so wrong.! Not naming names here. just look out for their shampoo.... I;ve got loads more angst & teeeeeenyy weeeeny bit of jealousy when it comes to the topic of Eco resort & their blaah list of self' -acclaim awards.we'll save it for another day as for today..
its back to conquering the world with 1 less tooth! ( Just removed 1 of my wisdom tooth )

Lesson No.1 2010

2010-01-02T00:32:00.000-08:00

On the 1st of Jan 2010. Roses our Manager had her wedding in her Kampung.. Telupid..It was a wet & trecherous drive but it was all well worth it.

We had simple kampung food & took lotsa pictures. She looked really gorgeous & Happy...as always.The simply put together Canvas Gazebo was surprisingly cosy inside. I love those colourful paper tissue streamers.. brings me back to arts & craft class. They've got the Karaoke set going with some serious sound system all hooked up. I bet her Bus load full of friends & fellow villagers rocked it out all night after we left.

According to her its morning prayers, then blessing back home.. then sitting on the "throne" all day for others to take photos with.. hymm & then we got some eggs as a thankyou gift.. its a tradition on muslim wedding.. Fertility perhaps? Since they always seem to have a bus load of brothers & sister.

Its comforting to be at her wedding. That means I'm not a bitch to work with! PHEW! More importantly 1st lesson of the year was clear. Simple can be beautiful & Love is literally in the air if you are willing to see it.

Recap of the Decade

2009-12-30T21:52:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-10-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-10-22T01:48:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-10-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-09T22:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-28T05:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-28T02:52:00.000-07:00

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.

Happy Estate

2009-04-15T02:34:00.000-07:00

I’m in a queer, uneasy, random & odd mood. Ant’s gone fishing while I’m left behind to man the fort. Usually the rantings comes with an easy flow as soon as I click open the blog. But for the past few weeks I feel this strange verbal & thought constipation.

I blame it on the work load. Whilst im trying my best to keep to deadlines , Im also consciously procrastinating a lot…& obviously I know the consequences. As if I’m waiting for shit to hit the fan, I manage to catch long breeezy afternoon naps on the hammock hanging in communal hall hehehe. – Hey gotto put myself in customer’s shoes once in awhile to provide better service eh

Anyhow we finally manage to move the old signpost from the original Happy Estate and transferred it to the Retreat. We thought it would make much better sense and amuse a lot more people at the retreat rather than the original location .. watching tractors move in and tear the whole plantation apart. Most of the recycle wood we used at the retreat is also from an old barn house from the original Happy Estate…scroll down to see how we almost burn the barn house down

Every time I drive by it, In my animated little world ,I would scream – “ YOU CAN TAKE MY BODY BUT YOU CAN’T TAKE MY SOUL!!’’ and think to myself Yeeessah the Happy Estate legacy will live on.

Village Head

2009-04-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

"BAH" - The Sabahan version of "LAH"used by local & singaporean chinese.Used to exagerate or exclaimate a point being made earlier in the sentence.The pitch usually determine a spectrum voice tone - endearing,rude,condecending,CONFUSING LAH!

I had to man the fort while He's gone fishing.I must say its a pretty tough job. From driving people around to being under that humid jungly air all day. Apart from meeting really interesting folks,I guess its not that fun afterall. So,I've decided Anton deserves a "Tribute" entry in our blog. & for once let him take due credits.So here goes .....

I remember a friend of mine use to say "I dont work for ugly people!" & her boss, totally bought her over through & through..sign sealed delivered with a giant neon sign on her head blinking "chief slave". Or as we call em in Starbucks term, "A convinced partner".But today I finally understood what a great leader Ant is.

As I read through the fine prints of the new & improved webpg - Which took forever to finish!I was glad he took his time to think through & pen down his ideals for Paganakandii. Coming from a Dysfuntional, Money craze & mentally imbalance family,Nothing spells security more than a blanket full of cash!Some days the hippy in me just aint' sober enough to fight for my ideals & I get lost chasing the dough.

Apart from being a hardworking borderlining workaholic man, He's the only boss i've never called an idiot. Hey you know most emplyees thinks their bosses are idiots at one point or another but most employers thinks their employees are idiots most of the time.. so im glad im a boss now. HA! Working up there is back-breaking & armpit drowning.Cuz the humidity on a bad day is enough to suffocate your brains.

To spare everyone the nitty gritty details of the "Lewinskyness" ooozing out of me, bottom line is I wont mind being this guy's chief slave with 2 blinking neon lights for a bit..erm just for a bit BAAAHH!~

15hrs day

2009-03-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

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Xien Ka Lin - Direct translation the dickhead fairy, used to describe people who know nuts and act as if they're connoisseurs of so n so. and i hate that my name actually means Dick in Hakka. there you go, thanks dad! He's Hakka too,perhaps he wanted a dick so badly after my sis was born he'd secretly hidden the riddle in mine.

I had a long day ... long looong loong loooongg day.Haven't been in the best of moods to write & I'm absolutely burnt.I'm working long and unproductive hours.But I recon my mind needs to wind down after that 15hrs of spinning in a million directions & getting nowhere.

With a blink of an eye, its been almost 6mths since we open.Not a single complaint nor moan of any short comings. & thats a record we've gotto be proud of. Nobody is complaining and acting like the typical Sandakanite "Xien Ka Lin". And the whole global family of globe trekkers is finally coming through. No complaints about hymm your tap beer taste too strong then too soft other days, Oh your Cabernet Sauv (KABOR - NET to them)..is not chilled - DUH! and the classic"kest" as in best"est" ever was your tuna/steak is under cooked. All in all I really understood why Anton have been so fired up cuz all he got was great comments & lots of referrals daily while I was toiling soil from the wrong side of the grass. - no, the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Some days god drops inspiring characters along the way to keep your fire burning. People who genuinely appreciate what we've done.Even though Im somewhat behind the scenes of Paganakandii. I try to suck in all that positive juices every time i flip our guestbook & remind myself this is why its worth having a 15hrs day. - I call it borrowing morale.

anyhow at the end of today i've decided I cant please everyone. we just gotto stick to our guns.If anyone ask me 1 more time why our lodge is not heavily drenched in lacquer, I'll tell em to go wrap their face in a cling film n lets see how long you'll preserve the beauty that was there all along! - nvm "Xien Ka Lins" prolly thinks with their "Lins"

SANDAKAN is on its own.

2009-02-05T22:05:00.000-08:00

So no busses / or cars /bikes /bicycles or tricycle can come to sandakan by land. Wow the quality of roads we have here.. that only breaks apart by the chunk after a few days of heavy rain. GREAT ,,.no wonder we're enjoying "full house" every day!

Bye Bye Onasis

2009-01-05T21:21:00.000-08:00

We've lost a limb ever since Onasis left to further his studies..Such a great kid.Huge shoes to fit! Sigh~ ...you just cant teach someone how to be warm & friendly. Either they have it or they dont. And he has it all & a pair of good hands on the guitar! We still miss you even tho you've broken every single soda glass at the lodge!

Oh .. n thats the ice -cream war aftermath they had on the farewell party.

Hari Raya

2008-11-30T09:45:00.000-08:00

New fan reminded me why I need to keep this blog alive.

Grrr diggin thru the memmory capsule...Hari Raya. Quite honestly speaking I cant recall much about that day cept Lalaine our chef at the Retreat did a great job with the beef rendang!Everyone whom help build our place was there... To be honest,I probably felt abit indifferent about the reunion....Considering 110% of our lodge was built from pure manpower... - Now I feel bad for not taking time out to be thankfull~

The Taming of a Shrew

2008-10-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

The blind dude Cpt Jack Sparrowl Left , The Owl from Outerspace, our first ever sighting.

This is the exact same look Anton gives me everytime i screw up.

Jees he cant get any cuter than this.

Ah Lian - A female Chinese gangster,known to stare people down & start vicious cat fights.they are your wikipedia to dialect profanity.

For some reason the news of Cheftan have spread so far & wide , Everyone seems to think we are in a hurry for another owl..The villages who have help build our retreat kept saying hey don't worry boss, I get 1 for you, I get 1 for you..!!..and true enough without us really wanting 1 that badly Jun,the guy who carved our sign board caught a black 1 for us... this 1 is a little smaller same breed as Cheftan but we suspect this is prolly a female - ( Anton's logic, Male birds always looks better than the female ala Peacock/Cockerel ) but she was a feisty 1..and she was a cross between McDonald's Hamburglar and a local "AH LIAN" with that " WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" shrew face.

Anyhow we had it for less than a week,before i can name her she'd bit her way to freedom. Which inspired us to write this posting of all the owls that have come and gone by the retreat.
Owls - such beautiful and intriguing creatures.

In Heart wrenched love(ing) Memory of Cheftan

2008-10-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

Just two weeks back I was procrastinating about telling every1 the truth about Chieftain,.the origins and how we were obligated to keep him ...

FLASH BACK

We wanted to buy Capt. Jack Sparrowl thinking we should save the blind guy from absolute psycho kids in the village,deal didn't come through followed by a whole lot of misunderstanding. Uncle Jalil got us an baby owl thinking we really wanted a pet owl - we had to keep it on a leash for awhile since we cant lose the gift .I know - Asians never say no,we patronise and let the sense of obligation & discomfort slowly trickle away.Some days we even give ourselves fantastic excuses to rob the poor bird of its freedom."

Just last week,Blinded by our selfish needs for sacrilege amusement, We joked about how we would get a pretty good cut selling tix. Salamander (Giant lizard thing) V.S Owl! The lizard was prowling every night under the pavilion...before sneaking up on him,after a few failed attempts, The lizard made desperate attempts during the day as well..and our poor chieftain was so blind during the day he came to a few close call before finally perching itself on a much higher ground,Refuse to even come down for dinner.

Today Early morning , when both of us were still lazing under the soft sheets.Anton got a text msg from Roses. - saying the bird was gone. The really annoying part was how Anton delivered it to me when he got to the crime scene.His txt msg :"Hymm there's blood".Absolutely Indifferent! Where as I had burst into a stream of manic imagination.Instantly in 3D visuals ala CSI ,the murderous scene slowly played out in my head. The leash had gave way so its either 1) Salamander came,Snapped real hard and tug chieftain off the rope like how they would feed chickens to crocodiles. or 2) Chieftain in his desperate attempt while peeing in his pants (furry ass) bit himself loose. either way its bad and im sad. Chieftain was an ice breaker - total strangers would identify each other as blood bros over a short conversation about him.He would "crooo~" in a strange horny delight when we pet stroke his head gentle. He would turn around and stare into your lens shamelessly handsome (prolly cuz he's still trying to make out the fuzzy picture.) He would blink his long lashes and follow your every single movement in deep interest. Last but not least if you walk around him,He would turn his head almost 180 just to see if there's a treat for him. He was to become the face of Paganakandii. Anyhow bottomline is lets hope Jalil doesnt get us another bird.

Our Jungle Wedding

2008-09-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

Our wedding was exactly the way we ( maybe just me ) wanted it. Friends,Family in the most genuine way share a joyous occasion together. My bridal march "Somewhere over the rainbow,Ukulele version. so turn it on while browsing the pix n u'll get a v clear pic of what happened that morning.

More than ever we wanted to show people the wonders of gods creation. We were all greeted by sweet kisses of morning breeze and as I watch the fabrics flutter away & birds chirpin lightly in the backgrounds I knew,.. it was a beautiful gift from him.

Paganakandii lost her virginity.

2008-09-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

Paganakandii's First Guest

Its been a long long while.. too many new events.pass 2 mths have been the most exciting mths of my life..

Our First Guest ,our first group of skanky school kids, our first full house, our first visit from friends and family ever since we've moved here ..( yea it really feels like family reunion on survivor island) Our first dutch,aussie,american,brit,korean,bulgarian!,german,swedish,spaniards,swiss, and in the most bazaar way.. BOSNIAN... last but not n least Our very first day as a husband & wife. Official partner in dime.

On certain days you cant wait to share your baby with others,passing her around like a prized possesion,watching others amused by its every move.While you smirk away thinky yeaaa,.."yea that detail?...my idea. Oh yes yes that tooo.. was my brilliant brains..hymm what can i say!"

On other days ....you run around the houses and duplex picking on every signle piece that has been raped from its former pristine glory.,.. ARGHH! ...the tainted sheets,OOhhh!flattened pillows..and Yikes! somebody had corn cob last night!.and the perfect theme song runs in your head. - Madonna " Like a virgin!,touched for the very first time."..Its a strange cross fire of relations.i dont quite understand whats my point too.

ohh yea n somebody ask why do i use profanity on the blog...Well im sure a perfect worker ant from the perfect city of SingaPURE wont understand genuinity....We are who we are and what we are.. im not doing poncy 5star resort. In fact star ratings are absolutely irrelevant here .. how would they rate my sink which is encrusted not with 24K gold but with struck of genius. we're giving people our version of borneo n how we think people cauld best savour it - with fukin good food & blllarrdy sweeett coconuts!

Open House

2008-07-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

MY LUCKY CHARMS

Just like all other Chinese businessmen,..We always have an "open house" event before the official opening.. To us it's like a kick start to the engine.You know~..get the Human "Chii" flowing,for prosperity sake and that whole load of chinky china man bull. What's not for 'prosperity' in the Chinese culture anyways?!

Anyhow,Anton threw a lil party to thank our suppliers + contractors. The Crew gave 110% to the finish line.Thank god for sending us good helpers like Roses even tho I still feel like strangling her sometimes. Despite the back breaking 3day of mad action,we all manage glee away like proud owners do.

So far comments about the place have been good..Off course,these guys prolly exaggerated a bit cuz I bet they've never seen such a hardworking man like Anton - Good Job Partner *Pats on the head*

Yup,the toast is crisp and the butter's spread.Cant wait to take a good bite and roll in some dough!

KARMA CAMELEON

2008-07-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

KARMA KARMA KAAMEEELEEON.
you know why cameleons are sooo dam good at their job??..
try looking for it in this picture.

Saw this lil guy bobbin its head and enlarging his throat when i bum into it outside our conference room area.It can only mean a few things in the jungle world..1) He want to eat me 2) He's real turned on by me. Yup Sex and food fills 24/7 of their life.

OPENING IN 1 WEEK! Finally

2008-07-07T18:46:00.000-07:00

Shittzeerr, I cant believe its been 4 months of slacking or otherwise burning my attention for Balin - our roof garden project. will be updating those soon too..

Anyways..Its a gloomy day out there,so much has gone by the past 4 months,we've got additions of mattresses,grass,generator,conference hall,bamboo,creepers,snakes,Eagle poop...yea how often u get to see that.He was well she was...well HE, was chillin on our freshly plopped grass patch while I struggled my way up hill.Made a loud squawk and flew off as soon as he noticed me.I think i might have traumatized the big bird cuz found wet poop patch right where he was landing...well' that's a party "pooper" - pun intended for those of you who had high hopes/respect for the majestic bird.Imagine *SSSQQQUUAAWWKK brrraaffttt*

Phew that feels better,Sorry guys, Im having a bad day needed smt to amuse myself the bird pooopin..welll it's "crap" talk haha literally.But the eagle drying its wings on our new grass is true.Ohh and the loud Squawwk.

On a lazy day like this,..image speaks a million more than usual...

to the god mother's of our baby,Farah & Nina.. thankyou guys again.
ltrs.

WEE!

2008-07-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Captain Jack Sparrowl

2008-07-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

CAPTAIN JACK SPARROWL

First laid eyes on Captain Jack Sparrowl few months ago, We saw him perched on a tree branch at the sculptor's home.At first look I tot he was only sleeping.. but on a closer look, the SPCA"ness" in my blood cant help but cry for freedom for the poor bird.Story goes, Capt.been feasting on the sculptor's lil chicks,sculptor got angry,sculptor got catapault and catapault got Capt. eye,Capt fell from tree. And now what do we have?.. 1 one eyed + 1 Legged pirate bird. The kids just ruffle and play with like dog.We are still negotiating a price to buy the owl over,Keep at the retreat.He'll solve our field mice problems.I MUST SAVE CAPT.!

Freedom Fighter

2008-06-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

We Finally manage to convince Uncle jalil to free his Storm Stalk..these guys move in the most perculiar way... like an evil bald headed man,They creep up behind you and start attacking your legs like a mad man.They enjoyed a brief moment of freedom flockin around Uncle Jalil's Ponds and fields before the wild life dept. came to pick em up..I bet they're on a programme with the animal shrink.

Next on the list,..the poor crocs.

Random Images

2008-03-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Incccy Winccccy Spiderrr Climbing Up the wall........

Picture updates

2008-03-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

Yesssa,..the long awaited tanning deck is ready.Lubbin it! Though the weather was moody that day when we took these shots..but I bettcha on a sunny day,Getting yourselv fried till golden brown under the Borneon sun is an absolute understatement. You Italians probably dont stop till your skin is nicely carbonized.- Exactly the same way I like my porkchops!

All we need is some nice cushions and day beds,.Dang I'll have my piece of Ibiza glam.I mean who need beaches when you can sip your Mojitos by they rainforest canopy!If only Banana Boat sold SPF45 infused insect repellant.

The glitz n glam aside,today I've got that weird twitch.The kind you get when you see something wt great potential and worry it may flop..the same kind you get before gorgeous looking Ms Venezuela Trips and rolls down the steps.We're plannin the bbq menus and buying equipment as well..all the browsing at recipe makes me hungry.Grr im such carnivore, the deprevetion of juicy succulent ( i like mine not too bloody ) steak is driving me nuts! GRRRR WRRRr !!

Its going up today

2008-03-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! While im typing this in my ohh soo cooling air-conditioned room,Anton and crew is digging in 30+degree hot sun to erect our first signage..if you squint your eyes enough..i think our hornbill aint that shabby!

2008-03-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

Man all the painting we've been doing this past 2 weeks hav paid off,I lubb it!I've only got 1 more signage and 2 birds to finish. *Plopps head on the table like a basket ball.*

Here's the all new Lake house. I recconned it look less like a bus stop now.aint it? Ohh btw there's a resident baby python around 3ft long that loves hanging out under this shade,There's been 3 sightings already.Everytime we jab it awake,..it'll leap right into the water and u get a long trail of bubbles..blubb blub blub.. Im calling him/her Boostoot - after a stray dog in my ex company back in Singapore..just cause it bears the resemblance..a mix of whimsical annoyingness that dog had.Wookie cutesifying a snake aside,..lets hope mama dont come hissing about!

Such discoverries are actually the most exciting part of this project.When you start piecing together the entire food chain within this environment together..You get that same hi of a kid in science class again. Add A into B BOOOOMM! I've seen a dead fish on my hill top(I assume the eagle droped it as a welcome pressie.)mini white owl,a red breasted green bird that sings like the ambulance siren and Boostoot the snake.Not forgetting lotsa giant spiders with glowing legs. YESSA show me moree you sexxxy mother natuuaaaarreee thiingggy!

View From Watch Towers

2008-03-02T19:07:00.001-08:00

I must admit, the climb up the towers was a lil precarious.We will probably add more structure reinforcement and ladder handles. But the view..OMG.the View!Initially I really didn't like the way these towers stuck out like sore thumbs..and Anton's idea duo level water collection points meant we need a really solid tower.But once I got on top of the towers,the view was absolutely louder than words. Im not in the mood for a lengthy entry.till next time folks!

So this is where they are hiding

2008-02-28T19:41:00.000-08:00

We've also been working on our signage,Im not a die - hard craft lover..but i guess,like every designer,I like the mess once in awhile..its actually quite therapuethic.Gives u space to space out,know what i mean?At least this is alot more fun as compared to making 27lamp shades! So we printed out a template and got cracking so instead of getting hi on glue, this time round we both got stiffies! neck lah!

There are certain stigmas to the local foreign community..People always say the "local philipinos" has got the better skills but you'll find them tricky to handle, the Bugis people are bussiness minded but hasn't got the skills.But Chinese are the ones you gotto look out for,they will slit your throat n juice you dry if yer of any use..Im thinking every1 is just trying to find the shortest time and easiest way to make a decent buck. This past year, Anton with a lil help from Uncle Jalil,we've manage to snif out quite a few local hidden talents, From Carpenter to Wood craftsmen,Cement sculpter to Rattan/Bamboo Weaving.So,As a true yellow(blue) chinese,I gotto say I really love working to with these guys..Finding the source,not only help us save cost,We cauld probably build another using them.Gimme a E.X.P.L.O.I...u can fill in the blanks.Muahahaha! I wish!we're such softies we prolly give em the best rates in town!

Anyhow so this old craftman hidden deep within the woods does brilliant floral carvings ..So we tot,great lets get him to carve us a Hornbill,The body came out fine in the first attempt..But the head took 3 evolution before we cauld turn it from a crow to hornbill head.So im really hoping with all the mastik coating and flat single colors going on,..hope our Hornbill aint gonna look like - Heckyl & Jeckyl those friggin annoying talking magpies.

Wishfull Thinking & Hopefull Dreams

2008-01-16T17:40:00.000-08:00

You know, Sometimes I really dont quite understand how our biological clock works when it comes to counting down the months. Its as if we're programmed to feel a certain way in a certain season.

"Febuary" is the unofficial "if somebody dont give me a box of chocalate,I'll dunk my head in a fondue pot." doomed to a bad start month.
"June" is the widely known gimme a break month,You want a break from your boss,you want to break up that "jees how did we last this long" expired Valentine's date.
October's the best,Its the only month the fashion police allow overkilled eye liners,you roam freely in Toy'rus believing its ok to be an oversized kid.
November lets you splurge as if you had a pay raise, Finally December Is the only time of the year when people young n old,big n small celebrate an occasion they cant' be bothered to spell correctly.

Ahhh n then at the struck at 12am,on the final day of every bitchy year,You miraculously gain an invincible surge of energy,hopes and drive for a bettter year ahead..NOT! cuz this January was the worst ever,,..Ali's team decided to throw a mutiny at us right after new year's day.In short,we paid Ali,But Ali didn't pay the rest,and the rest thinks he's kept the money for himself,but we think he's spend it on hookers and new handphones. Since they whole team lived in the same village,technically making them next door neighbours we thought he wouldnt' do something so stupid, but I guess we made the fundamental mistake of T.R.U.S.T. Frankly I dont think Ali is a bad/evil person,He just can't quite manage his finances and he thinks with his willy.

Anyhow luckily we cleared the air and Ali's debts,...as promised he's continued to work for us for more than 2 weeks to repay the debts,we've also got the team back to kickstart other bits,Hopefully we get to open by March for real this time. I feel for Anton,he's now the contractor,the foreman and the worker's head..but then again I've gotto handle exploding sewerage problems at then hotel all the time. Yup guess I'll save the pity points for myself.

2007,a pretty year.

2007-12-30T17:27:00.001-08:00

I had to reflect 07' before jotting down my endless list and ever so far new year's resolution. Its been all tooo dam happening for my weak heart ( i can't watch ripley's,..yea its that bad)

Before I got bitten by the reality of life in Sandakan,I was full of hopes,ideals and dreams. Every bit of my pores were oozing with WORLD DOMINATION ARRRGHH!!! I never thought of myself as a big city girl,Im not a big clubber nor do I enjoy being heavily intoxicated by mindless drinking/mindless people and I would count myself an outdoorish person,loved big trees and white beaches.Besides I was getting tired of my jet setting job.As I slurp on my ice cold starbucks latte,I soon develop a serious infatuation with the idea of living in "The Nature City",Sandakan. ...Stones stroll to virgin forests...full of beautifully simple people blah blahh blahhh.NOTT!

First of all..people here are not simple ..and miles away from being beautiful..inside/out.This town is caught with a major identity crisis.Full of migrants,mostly illegal..Filipinos,Indonesians ..every1 here is looking for a better life,a quicker way out of poverty. Scheming to get more by doing less.The middle class have gone so numb with the middle name of cheap labour that they don't seem to react much anymore...even when somebody ram their cars into our walls(My hotel Staff)With the booming palm industry Sandakan is looming with uncultured overnight rags to riches plantation owners. Corruption issues in every single turn..esp in the you know departments.Even the smallest small fry official guy tries to rape its own ppl.And I never understood how the economics works itself out when living standards are 10% higher than the peninsula,but yet wages are 40% lower than given any other states in malaysia.

Heh,i think i conveniently leave out the fact that chinese hardware store owner would'nt even blink an eye when selling super glue to 9yr olds wearing a skin tone thats anything darker than yellow.When these sniffin kids grow up with half a brain left ( im being generous here.),Chinese shop owner like these would go on and on bout how stupid their staff ( now a grown up druggie ) are. Honestly I can't decide which is worst being a total racist,unethically money face or a hypocritical dumb ass?

It was untill while working with a few different contractors,When I saw 12yr old girl in the brick kiln,9 - 11yrs old boy loading up a truck that I saw the uncanny beauty of this rough lil town.Even though, many western societies would be appalled by these working conditions. But sometimes its just a way of life..a natural process for any nations to grow. Once upon a time living conditions in America was bad too.In fact much worse..Desperately in need for a kind delivery of a brutal fact..i decided to take things as it is.And work with what i've got and what I can... Except, life just ain't the same without my nonchalantly market ted ice-cold latte from starbucks. And Moral of the story is simple...

a.) Leave the Africans alone!
b.) Do not go child shopping in Vietnam like Ms Womb Raider!
c.) Dont be ripped off by fair trade labels.

To keep my new year's resolution short - 1) WORLD DOMINATION!

LINE EM UP!

2007-12-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

Im hitting KL on thursday...arrghhh lights! lights! civilisation!!grr i feel like a bug flying towards the lights...oooohhhh aaahhh preeeddy lighttts~

anyhow before all that,here's whats happening... I've been dealing with bad town planning and major sewerage n flash flood problems in Sandakan town, honestly I cant' seem to bitch enough about how they should just stop resurfacing the roads and move on the sewage problems!.. Jees some people's livelihood actually depends on em! And to think that I'm at the expense such dodos is really not hot ,..not hott at all!

so,back to our bunch of joy, today I'll like to exhibit what we call "A MASS ORGIE OF LINEWORK"! ahhhh what gives the eye and mind great pleasure. Everywhere I turn,I see distinctive lines/patterns/joineries (is there sucha word?) and it was a great day to take some wicked snaps,.loada sun,loada shadow,loada contrast. Considering we are in an era where Man lil pea brain conveniently roll out from their ear,hence easily lead on by the Media whom is doing a great job promoting adrogynous stick-insect woman as sexy...I guess PD is ohh soo soo sexy too..

Knitting aint' only for grannies!

2007-12-12T17:09:00.000-08:00

That's actually Ali's son slicing the bamboo.. he doesn't look too happy bout his job! Ha,.. anyways it was really interesting watching them knitting these bamboo thatch, I can't illustrate the full process cuz i wasn't there but I can assure you its honestly 100% hardwork..never as easy as they make it seem like. Wish I had taken more pix.

These mats will be put up as walls within each duplex. We'v tried out a few,and it looks ab fab!cept for the fact that you can actually peep thru the lil gaps into the bathroom..otherwise it's good to go hehe..will upload more pics this weekend.

2008 - "YII FATT" Cantonese tongue. yii - 2, fatt - 8. In a pretty force fed and purpposeful slang it literally translates to ( easy way to prosperity) sometimes some chinese cultures are just beyong pre-historic times. People keep asking if we had delibrately delayed the launching of this project so that we hit the YII FATT year..Even though, i guess it makes perfect sense to any other chinese bussiness man.It would prolly mean a strategic move to em. Dont get me wrong,I am excited about the new year,just dread the fact that we got thrown this far off our schedule.

Dont judge a log by its bark

2007-10-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

I must say, Uncle Jalil is like a lil Jackal sometimes..A mix of crafty fox and dorkish mongrels.This time the scavenger sniffed out a huge dead tree lying in Rudy's foster parent's home.. he's very old look almost look like Bilbo Baggins from LOTR ,whoose got a very old alchoholic wife,legend has it she's the drunken flasher in the village..haah!

Many came,and many left, most decided this was a risk not worth taking.On the outside ,The log looked thoroughly raped (yes rape not wrap!) by the the strangling fig plant,completely overwhelmed and possesed the log. There was the burnt bits all along the log hence it was priced at a very cheap price as unidentifiable timber.

But anton and his eagle eye decided to take a plunge at the irrisistable offer,We got rudy to cut it up and true enough it was a beatifull pc of Selangan Batu under the fig and burn surface..just when we thought the celebration was too soon,The owner jacked the price to twice as much. It's really annoying that we live in a integrityless world...but we had to take the price cuz he cauld easily sell it to sm1else anyways.. we even bribed the old lady some TUAK ( locally made coconut liquor - taste nothin like malibu )

We thought all will be well till Rudy got beaten up by the owner's son for introducing us..Anton had to gather the A' team to meet the "negotiate'' with the owners again,..twe they got there'.. All that old woman wanted was some Guiness ..hahhaah so anyways we got some1 else to cut the stuff up and get the hell outta there as soon as possible just incase she decides to flash.

Random Rants

2007-10-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

I've been day dreaming a lot at work,its that wretched absolutely fuked neck i've got lah..Can't sit still for more than 10mins.Jalil has got some new chicks (the cute fuzzy 1s not booties u fools)Unknowingly it set my mind on a long patient course...a long wait till the day when dad finally makes the effort to pop by. Yeah, bloody chickadees and the bitter-sweet moments.Pfftt!

Its Showoff Sundays

2007-10-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

My quintessential Hari Raya

2007-10-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

Last week was the long awaited Hari Raya Puasa Holidays,Guru and Mali invited us to their Kampung (Village) for some celebration grubb. Which consist of 18 wooden houses, 1 sawmill workshop and loada chickens/cats/dogs/veg. gardens. Modern day luxuries aside,I really admire their self sufficient capabilities. It is not uncommon to find the Bugis people combining their finances to buy small plots of land and help each other build homes to kick start their little community..In the commercially tainted world we live in where we call our era "the every man for himself age" It was humbling to have experienced their generosity.

Amidst the clutter,you could really tell how each head of the family and their character reflected on the houses/the small courtyard they build.Mali's home is nice,simple,comfortable,the locals chilling pad. In stark contrast Guru's home was flashy,cloaked in pink,quirky.he even rented the ground floor to the local pimp..hence its "chick's chillin pad",Anyways after 5 meals of chicken cooked in different curries that day,My A'hemm hole reaaly took a bashing even after I down loada papayas.

TIMBERRRR

2007-10-19T19:38:00.001-07:00

Since the last trip to the not so happy..Happy Estate ,we've been drooling over this tree and some belian pillars that were littered around the estate. Seeing there's no way we can prevent powerful ppl from raping our land,We might as well grab whatever that's left before the mob comes in. I wasn't there to catch the excitement.According to Anton, what happened was Rudy (ex Lumberjack,Uncle Jalil's ex worker,current Goat shed guard and full time drinker)had a certain highly calculated technique to falling the tree.Before you know it,a loud crack leading to flock of escaping birds.. and TIMMBURRR the 90ft giant was down.

left Anton insisted i take this pic,right villagers scanvenging for birds

Judging from Anton's pose with his prized possesion, this exhilarating operation went well except for 1 slight freakky hiccup. While they were moving the wood to the transporting truck,the chain that was holding a good bundle of wood came loose and knocked 1 of the workers off from almost 9ft high.The poor guy suffered a heavy knock on the chest. Anton sent him to the hospital immediately,luckily after a few pain killers he seemed fine. Phew! what a close call,the falling timber cauld easily squaashed him. Sigh~ brutal reminder how life is cheap here.People put their lives in danger (knowingly or not) just to make ends meet.

Malaysia Boleh!

2007-10-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

Initially i plan to post some of the '' Visit Malaysia 2007 Ads" - (for the benefit of some friends who dunno what to expect in Borneo)..even though I'm quite sure half the world have seen it being blasted on CNN/ Travel and Living ( HA! take that! Uniquely Singapore!)

but 2 clicks away,I stumbled across what could possibly be the national jewel , the equivalent of Panda to China.. a rare species of its own..Mr Sam Triggy.He's the guy who wanks his guitar like the Piano, its like watching the shabby Malaysian MAT ROCKER possessed by Steve Vai + Joe Satriani. do check it out!,..cuz this version of Poltergeist absolutely make my hair give an involuntary standing ovation! Wahh imagine cold beer,jungle breeze and live gig with this guy.

Mr Anton, never mind if you cant find Kinder Bueno Chocalate eggs with surprise toys or Burritos stuffed with scrumptious yum yum corn beef and guacamole in Sabah..I MUST HAVE SAM TRIGGY JUMPING OUT OF MY BIRTHDAY CAKE!!! you got 3 weeks, work on it! .. fine its negotiable - u got till the wedding!

Sam Triggy

2007-10-07T19:00:00.001-07:00

Sam Triggy

2007-10-07T18:43:00.001-07:00

Faux wood Nuggets

2007-09-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

OMG! I found these online,little beanie bags in wood prints. Well these cute lil buggers are 16USD each..not so cute when I'm reminded of how much MYR is worth - PEANUTS.

The 'A' Team

2007-09-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

Guess who's the bomoh? ( witch doctor .. "the good ones" )

"the pattern scraper maker thingy''

2007-09-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Ant' can be quite a handy man,ehem' I find that quite cute.Well at least he's not engrossed in dressing up barbies! So this handy man of mine decided to customize his very own cement "pattern scraper maker thingy" as you can tell,I dont' know what is it call. But its basic function is to create a rainbow repeated pattern as you swipe the wet cement in a semi circular motion. Designed to add great design details and texture to the bathroom floors.

Days before the launch of "the pattern scraper maker thingy'', the guy who soon we will bestow him with this super tool made a few booboos..In view of the possible nightmares we might have to live with and against the architech chics ( cut us some slack lah Farah,and Nina..ain't got enough skilled workers here.) wishes,we had to go for tiles instead. So we found this tile that looks like peels of stone skin.It should look real good..cept it releases these iron oxide looking powder once in contact
with air.. so its 1 bad move after another.. (try taking a poop to this view!,pic on left)

It really is a learning process, even thou both of Anton and myself came from design background..where in the big cities,you get all the resources you need within the snaps of fingers.*snap snap,c'mon give the diva wat she wants!!* mann i miss doing that.Many a time i feel paralysed by the limitations that this lil orangutan town has to offer.I guess thats just the pessimistic and my tired perseverance talking.AHA! good excuse for whipp creamed cherry topped banana boat tonite..yummy!!

GRRR

2007-08-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

Check out the grains on the flooring and the gorgeous bar top!

Its becoming increasingly annoying to blog these days,everynow and then when you feel like reading random picks. every 4clicks on "next blog" the heading pops up with hideous looking cows with gargantua moo cow tits with flashing headlines "find yourself a company in Kota Kinabalu"!..first of all,hello!! do i look like i need papayas to go with my morning coffee?..secondly if they had to stuff everybody's face with tits all the time .. can't they at least get decent looking slim models. !! Ppl come to Sabah to see monkeys,orang Utans..not COWS,get the stats rite!It is reaalllly freaaking annoying for porn peddlers to think every1's a nympho like themselves.

Anyhow here's more pix... im dying for a Burrito!

The reveal i've been waiting for

2007-08-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

After loada day,mid day and sweet dreaming, and loada "pls pls pls can i go up there now?pls pls!" - On another routine site check,I finally made my way up to the 3rd level of the Communal Pavilion. It was really worth the wait.
As soon as i rest my feet upon the wide wooden floor,tracing along each grain,a light incense like flavour fills the air,Reminensce of saw dust afloat with the beat of each step.The space presented itself in a similar aura as the long houses, Generous,unassuming and peaceful. Nestled in the heart of nature,visions quickly filled my head with snap shots of activities and faces that will soon replace the emptiness.YOGA,massages,quite afternoon read,movie under the stars,barbecue dinners,long conversations,bashful smiles,thunderous laughs last but not least in the great company of rustling trees and singing bugs.

Yea,I'm a major dreamer,a romanticist.. In reality folks will probably be spraying themselves with insect repellents half the time and shoving hankies under their sweaty underarms. But
it is not everyday we can immerse our senses in such deep trance with the absence of drugs,and I'm glad I allow the sensitivity of each pore open up,cuz as soon as we open the place to public,I'd prolly be too busy Battling againt realities for ideals.

It kinda feels like this Kenzo Amour Ad..

Kenzo AMour

2007-08-26T21:18:00.002-07:00

Owl and the entourage

2007-08-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

Burung Hantu : Directly translates to Ghost Bird, or owl in the Malay language.

Few days back, Uncle Jalil caught a baby owl perching on his barn house near the retreat.It aint' exactly a cute lil cherub at all when we say its a baby. This would probably be one of the freakiest Owls I've ever seen,I bet if any UFOs ever catch it under its beaming human sucking lights,they be communicating in to it with their native tongue.In a blink of an eye,its slitty almond shaped eyes could transforms into a huge 20cent coin when its aggravated.

Seeing how his Magnificent storm stalks been reduced to bald headed looking vultures,we finally convinced him to release the stressed out bird. When we open the cage doors,all the owl did was squiggle itself to the opposite end,after a few nasty probe,the owl again dodged to another side.By then Uncle Jalil was getting a lil impatient,with one flip and a few shakes,the baby clumsily plopped onto the ground.Before the release, I painted a stere0typical romantic picture of freeing the bird,seeing it soar freely in my head... But i guess not with this lil guy. The highly amused Uncle Jalil commented,Day time Bird blind,that's why so dumdum!

Showing Off

2007-08-10T07:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing much to talk about today,just showing

some pictures.

Our short hols

2007-08-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Sherwin and Ying pop by from Singapore last weekend for a holiday,We decided to do a 2D 1N Sukau cruise. We stayed at the Tommangong River Lodge,very lovely spot along the Kinabatangan river.

Day 1

On the first day,at around half past 4pm,we set out in search of some Pygmy Elephants and Monkeys,Unfortunately we got more than we bargained for. Seeing what a sunny afternoon it was,I slipped into my skimpy strappy top and shorts hoping to fix that bad tann.Then out of nowhere,the weather decided to throw a major ,...MAJOR bitch fit,very much like your girlfriends would - Totally out of context!down came the rain,beating against my naked flesh.To top that up mother nature threw in some really really close proximity lightnings just for the fun of it! For some reason,everyone was really amused by the heavy downpour,Every instance when the rain came harder we would laugh and giggle even harder. So yeap,no monkeys ..no elephants..just some cats and dogs.

Met a young italian geologist couple finished off the day with rounds of Oranjeboon ( "Duty Free" Beer) good food, good laughs definately great company!

Day2 ,

Once again we set out in search of some Proboscis Monkey,cruising down the river slightly after sunrise was amazing. You can almost feel the river banks and forest awakening from its sleep as the boat cruises its way down the Majestic brown river.As we enter the smaller riverbends,the water transformed into a dark almost black shade.and I was convinced,this must be how it feels like to be a Hobbit in MiddleEarth! The mystical bends gradually uncovers itself ,revealling folds after folds of vegetation and greens.Then,finally.. sightings of family lot Proboscis Monkeys,apparently the males have hard ons all day long!the call it the "red chili" and they luurrve flashing themselves hence a close friend of mine calls it the Promiscous Monkey! Maybe someday when the Chinese finally run out of black dog penis,horse penis and seahorse penis of which i didn;t know seahorses had penises,in their endless pursue of the most potent aphrodisiac, they would come to Borneo for the red chillis.Meanwhile,lets keep this as Sabah's best kept secrets.So hush,. well im only showing this post because Kinabatangan cruise is really a must see when any1 visits sandakan.

Above it all

2007-07-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

Imagine the serenity you'll find,sitting above the trees,
above the foliage and above the it all.

I need to get Waxed.

2007-07-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

completed Long House ( Almost...)

Few days back I met an australian traveller during lunch,within hours,I think i've pretty much heard his whole life story. He rare racing dogs,horses,build 3 houses,sold loada tiles,hates G.W you know which bad Bush..and some other lusciously lipped celebrity who goes global shopping for kids.Pretty much got the Aussieness oozing from his pores.To cut the whole thing short,Its amazing talking to such characters only catch is you gotto pick sm1 of similiar calibre..He just goes on like chooo choo train.

We were talking about all sorta timber finishings,it occur to me the actuall biggest challenge of building/renovating something in Sandakan is the lack of finishing options.We have close to 20 hardware shops,every single one of them have the exact same thing the door next door got but none of em sell anything matte! You ask for wax they'll give you the loook as if they just received one. "HUH?!!" with their eyes wide popped! The china man mentality at this point is really annoying me. Why would you offer the exact same thing as the shop next door?

I really hope we can keep the walls as they are for now...Anyhow,keeping it short today,not very inspired to write.