Have you ever thought of someone a lot and then they suddenly appear before your very eyes? Well, that happened to me today. I was thinking of a bubbly colleague who went for an operation a couple of weeks ago and wondered how she was. Since this would be my first weekend where I won’t be outstation, I thought that I’d pay her a visit at the hospital. And lo and behold, she dropped into the office today for a quick visit. I was so glad to see that she was ok!
Now, if only thinking could conjure up more dear friends to appear before me – that would be simply fantastic! Perhaps bezzie will suddenly appear in a puff of smoke (ala ‘I Dream of Jeannie‘) and we can go for our way overdue girly chat, spa session and inject some caffeine to our veins. Aaaah… if only wishes were fishes. I can’t wait till she comes back for a visit next year – hopefully sooner than that!
Kwipex, a discerning reader asked me if I ran out of Chek Hup in the comment section today. I was like, “Wah, how did you know??!”
Normally, I would err on the side of caution for the sake of my dear Chek Hup brew. I pride myself on being a coffee connoisseur and this packet of instant coffee gives me the perfect cup every time – at home, in the office and whilst traveling. Very, very convenient! I normally over pack on my Chek Hup sachets just in case I bump into a fellow coffee lover whom I can introduce this magical brew to.
So it was a shock to find myself stranded on an island quite far away with just one measly packet of Chek Hup to last me three whole days and two nights. What’s a coffee lover to do?
First, I hyperventilated silently. Next, I prayed that the hotels that I’ll be staying in will have good coffee. Lastly, I made my packet last for as long as I could – three servings. As suspected, I met a new coffee kindred spirit in the island and gave her that third serving. She gulped it down delightedly and as her Chek Hup introducer, I was saddened that I couldn’t offer her any more.
The first hotel we stayed had horrible coffee – (one sip and I went bleh!), but the second one had better ones. And my newfound coffee buddy and I made a pit stop at Starbucks near the marina (oooh, glorious Caramel Machiatto!). So things were fine, on the coffee side of things.
In less than two weeks, I’ll be off again for an even longer period of time. This time, Chek Hup sachets will be the first things I shovel into my backpack. I couldn’t contemplate suffering through another cup of bad coffee. That would simply ruin any trip!
So many things happening all at once and I feel like I’m in a lot of places almost all at once, too!
Firstly, I’ll be moving out to a nice apartment nearer to my office. I had no time to go scouting for a nice place so my future house mates did it for me. I just had to have a look at two of their final choices, made my choice, we cleaned the place up yesterday and we’ll be moving in there pretty soon. Mom and dad approved the move because they worry every time I have to drive a long distance home from work. I approve because it saves me a heck lot of time and money. So everyone’s in agreement but we’ll definitely miss each other :(
Tomorrow I’ll be off again to some island. No divers this time around but will be snorkeling about. Hope to catch up on some sleep amidst the fun activities the organisers have planned out. Happy weekend, folks!
The three of us walked into the office yesterday and our colleagues greeted us with loud cheers.
“Eh, two of them got more tan except for Ariel. Her skin color is still the same lar!” observed one dear colleague.
I needed no further invitation to regale them on my unfortunate bout of sea-sickness. “And so, while these two were busy diving, I was busy sleeping off the effects of the motion sickness pill inside the air-conditioned cabin! That’s the reason why I didn’t get tanned at all!” PL, my editor laughed at my story.
One of my melancholy tanned colleagues was aghast, “Eh… this kinda stories are embarrassing leh. No need to tell that you got seasick wan!”
Sanguine PL and I gave him an equally aghast look, “Why not? It’s funny what!”
So that highlights yet another difference between the melancholy temperament and the sanguine. One would rather keep ‘embarrassing’ stories to themselves and the other, would enthusiastically narrate them because of the entertainment factor.
If anyone thinks that cats are cold calculative creatures who are just constantly looking out for themselves, you might want to reconsider after reading this heart-rending article from one of my longest favorite blogger/website. Rest in peace, Wookie. My condolences to the loved ones you have left behind…
Aieeee, I’ve been surrounded by divers these past couple of days. These people seem to love being underwater more than they do on land. The investment is a hefty one especially if you are into underwater photography. Check out the pic below of an Olympus underwater camera gear.
Still, it has been a very interesting two days for me, learning about the marine treasures that Miri has to offer. It’s amazing to note that this one town has over 20 superb dive sites teeming with beautiful corals and marine life. Almost makes me wish that I could dive.
Oh well, we’ll see about that. First and foremost, I have to be rid of my phobia of having my face submerged in water. Not sure if that fear can ever be overcome. Hmmm.
Today when the barge stopped to let down the divers, I experienced a wave of sea sickness. The motion sickness pills courtesy of a ship mate did help but it knocked me out for six. I slept like a baby in the air-conditioned cabin on the bunk bed while the rest of the divers went underwater to clean the reef. :P
Came across this person who manages his company with tightly clenched tentacles (not mine!). No one under him dares to make any decisions big or small without going through him. It’s quite sad for everyone there because he can’t be everywhere all at once and most of everything is on hold.
And he has the gall to loudly complain to outsiders that this and that project got delayed because of the laziness of the project manager. My only thought was, if only he could see that he was the bottleneck to the efficiency of the company. Trampling the self-worth and dignity of your staff by blaming them when things go wrong is not the solution.
But he’s not the only one who is practicing this poor leadership model (if you can even call it leadership). It’s appalling. We need better role models.
While I’m enjoying my job like I never did before, it comes at a price. I hardly get to see my friends these days – face to face, that is. This weekend I’ll be off again. This time to East Malaysia. I’ll meet a whole bunch of new people again especially of the media kind. They are mostly a friendly lot but I do miss my friends.
And today, a dear friend made the effort to seek me out and bring me out for bah kut teh near my office. It was great that she lived nearby my workplace. We made plans to do this more often. One of her closest friends just migrated overseas. I so know how that feels. It was great to be able to pig out on pork meat and chat under the stars dark clouds and laugh at the experiences that we’ve been through.
I am generally the laughing type and quite a number of things amuse me. Still, there is a marked difference between laughing with newly made acquaintances and laughing with a good friend. When you laugh for any reason at all with a good friend, your soul is rejuvenated and the joys are shared, the sorrows halved. God knows I needed this. Life can’t all be a holiday, can’t it? Hehe.
On the home front yesterday, I handed my mom the copy of my company’s magazine where my first batch of articles and even my photo was featured. She held it reverently and dug into it. After reading my first article, she shook her head in wonderment. “I never thought that one of my children would be a writer. How did you learn to write so well?”
Again I explained to her with a smile – that it has been a childhood passion that never faded away. She never thought that my little hobby would turn out to be my livelihood one day. Despite the fact that I was trained and graduated in a totally different field. Despite the long road it had taken and the challenges that came about, passion still gets it way in the end. And for that I’m ever grateful to my all-knowing Provider.
It was four days of bliss intermingled with torture. If I had a choice between spending my time fending off hordes of hungry leeches (yes, there were huge groups of them the first day we went forest trekking!), trekking endlessly in the dense virgin rainforest or going shopping or be pampered in a spa, I’d choose the latter – hands down.
You can see the Thailand mountains from the Belum forest reserve
But I was glad that I went there because of a work assignment. Duty soon became pure joy. How could it not? Daily we were greeted with the calm turquoise waters of the lake, the lush greenery of the jungle, fresh footprints of wildlife and frequent sightings of the eagles, storks and hornbills. The fresh air filled our lungs whisking away all vestiges of the polluted city air that we have inhaled all these while. The delicious kampung food gave us the much-needed energy to trudge through the forest. The gummy smiles and ancient song of welcome of the aborigine folks from the Negrito tribe warmed our hearts.
An aborigine girl in her village
Previously, all the wildlife that I’ve seen were courtesy of the zoos. To encroach into their natural habitat is both an exciting and thrilling experience. You never know when you’ll see a tiger sprinting behind the bushes towards the waterfall for its daily bath. Or elephants playing in their playground. Some of us did witness that in this trip – unfortunately, not yours truly :P
I did however see my first Rafflesia. The feeling when I could finally glimpse the largest flower in the world is indescribable. It made the arduous journey of getting to that elusive flower worth the while.
Rafflesia Cantleyi – a flower that takes 9 months to bloom and about 4 days to wither
I learned a lot in this trip. How to battle my fear of heights and the deep depths of water. How to set up a tent. How to prevent leeches (Nope, salt just doesn’t cut it. Tobacco water and tiger balm does the trick. Baygon/Ridsect, too although some people went overboard and sprayed it on their socks AND legs directly. Not a pretty sight to see the rashes developing on their legs and definitely not recommended!). Most of all, I learned how to give and take and live with the strengths and weaknesses of my media team members.
I learned how logging threatens and steals the homes of these wildlife, and how much I want my children and my children’s children to see what I saw. To be able to experience what I experienced. Not to view wildlife only in the zoo.
This is what I brought back with me. A bunch of life changing memories. And I wouldn’t trade this for all the spa sessions in the world.
My Crocs-wannabe at Belum Rainforest Resort
* Pics taken with my dad’s point and shoot. Was afraid that baby might be too heavy for this trip.
