My Maliau Story....

Lovebirds

The convoy

19 September
-Packed breakfast and lunch in separate containers especially for the kids. Also prepared sandwiches to be munched along the way...and we were off at about 8 a.m. from SASS.

-Filled in gas at Keningau and had to tapau chicken rice as I had carelessly forgot to bring rice...shhh..

-Sweeper for the convoy...so we ate dust (ha!), well not exactly..;P . Drove after Nabawan to the Maliau entrance. Flat tyre along the way...thanks to a Vigo driver who pointed it out, if not...hmmm...

-Kononnya, we (Haris (driver), George (tukang suluh yang buli tahan tau!), Romeo, Beevy & I) went for a night safari...only spotted a tonduyutung, a damn big rat which at first we thought was a pelanuk. We caught sight later a payau just around the studies center.

20 September
-Went up the canopy walk and the observation tower.

-Enjoyed Romeo's hot tea while playing cards.

-Did the night safari again but...again another disappointment...spotted deers but was not able to get satisfying pictures of them. Saw lots of musang....and never got to see the infamous tambadau they (those who were luckly) saw.

21 September
-Those who were out from midnight till about 3 a.m. were the last ones to leave (ha! siapa lah suruh kan)

-Romeo's car broke down as we were nearing Keningau. Had Hari Raya lunch at Archeley's aunt's place.

-Left Keningau around 6.30 p.m.

Although there was disappointment in not being able to see the animals, I appreciated the fellowship the convoy shared. Our kids had a great time and to me that is what matters most...

Stay Young People

Hey, it's been awhile. . .been on the fast lane these days. Anyway, here's something that a friend sent to me.

We all need to read this one over and over until it becomes part of who we are! HOW TO STAY YOUNG (hmm!)

1. Try everything twice: Loved it both times!
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches;)
3. Keep learning : Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.
6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them,at every opportunity.
11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time. Lost time can never be found. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Gettin' older, ma cherie!!

Well. . .Edward's back from 'saya pigi buang sampah dulu sambil sambil test itu jeep'. I can hear the vroom killing the silence of the sleeping Kg. Pangasaan. That would then mean, as Tigger puts it, TTFN. . .

Good night Eyes. . .

How quick are you. . . .

How quick are you to ask for forgiveness or to forgive others?

A few months back, a girlfriend and I were talking about that. . .forgiveness and how a particular incident involving a friend of ours had somehow brought us to that crossroad. The question or rather the phrase "Aiyah, I just cannot. . ." clearly reflects our holding back on the issue. During a meeting recently, I leafed through a book brought in by another friend and the letters of the following sentence came alive sending a pricking sensation into my state of falling into unconsciousness (I was really trying not to fall asleep over a very boring agenda!!)

"There are a number of reasons we struggle to truly forgive others."

1) Fairness. It's true forgiveness isn't fair. But if we all got only what we deserve, none of us would have a chance to be at peace with God and others. . .and probably with ourselves(?)

2) Pride. We also struggle to forgive because of our pride. If we 'let someone off the hook', we wonder how we can feel good about ourselves and whether others will just take advantage of us. Tidak mau minta/mengaku kalah(?)

3) Deep hurts. Some people have hurt us deeply and really aren't looking for forgiveness at times. This makes forgiveness extremely difficult and painful. In some cases, forgiving others doesn't guarantee you will have a good relationship with that person - or should even be around them. But even if forgiveness doesn't change that person, it does change you for the better in your heart.

Observation #1

First observation for the trainee today. I didn't want to make her life as a 'soon-to-be teacher' like hell and so I sweetly and kindly (duh!) told her I was escorting her to class. She was more than prepared to battle the odds in the class with all those colourful, attractive teaching materials with her that got the students glued to their desks. They were extra obedient, extra hardworking, and extra attentive! She got the students down to do summary while I, on the other hand, attempted to look busy scribbling comments and putting down that number. My designated task was done in matter of minutes and my mind was begining to wander elsewhere (ha!).

And sooo.....to keep myself within the boundaries of observation/evaluation, I pen down the contents of the article "A Good Lifestyle" which was given to the students.

1) Have a good exercise. Don't just exercise but throw in the element of fun and you will enjoy it more.

2) Take up challenging and stimulating activities as it adds zest and excitement to your life.

3) Listen to good music.

4) Some people risk their lives a great deal by rushing around on a daily basis. Stop and enjoy a cup of coffee or watch a sun set or even smell a rose.

5) Have a good dose of laughter and thought.

6) Fill life with the things that matters and not with things that come from a store.

7) Set your priorities right. There will always be time to clean the house but you may not get the chance to see a rainbow.

I'm okay. . .

Mid June and the first day of school after a two-week break – a break away from the chaos of ‘abc’ and ‘123’. The time spent with the kids and hubby was rewarding in many ways. Apart from that, I also had time for myself – doing my own stuff and the likes of it.

Time – I took advantage of it trying to help Edward with the continuation of building what we call home. Ha, here again I find myself on that. We do get into squabbles on the tone of colour, the design, the landscape and just about everything. In the end, of course, we do come to an agreement. We definitely found time to just stroll along the beach holding hands (^_^) watching the sun set while the kids run ahead of us in their own merriment.

I also spent it watching the kids grow. . .and they still are! I’d just sit and be a spectator of their inquisitiveness exploring what to me was just our yard but to them it was a world of their imagination. There were a lot of ‘ooh’s, ‘ah-ha’s plus their shriek of laughter reverberating within our yard and the kagataan (rubber trees) nearby. Enya, assuming her kakak role, sometimes giving in to the cries of ‘Enya, help!’ from her brothers. Nell, the abang, cycles over the rutted ground hoping to gather the speed to conquer a slope on his hand-me-down bicycle. And well there’s Baby Ed (no longer a baby!!) with his hair matted with grime and sweat pushing/pulling his toys over the sand. Joie de vivre! *sighs*

As a parent, I've grown personally with them too! They've taught me in their own ways. We heard of the passing away of a girl. The daughter and only child of someone we knew. She was the joy in her parents lives but was snatched away at a very young age. Her mom was overcome with grief that amidst her (the mom) cries she would just lose consciousness. Well, you know in situations as such we hear bits and pieces of cries from the mom especially on how the girl was too young to be taken away and that they haven't spent much time with her and so on. *sighs* I recall watching a CSI series when in one case Gary Sinise (as Mac Taylor) ended by saying something like 'find the time to be with the ones you love.'

I was jarred awake from my thoughts as I saw Nell skidding on a stone and in like slow motion fell off the bicycle. Having sat there for quite sometime, I clumsily stood up, almost falling myself, and hurried off towards him. He looked up with that indelible smile on his face and said "I'm okay mommy."

Awesome. . .

I got tagged by Olla Chas, an SAUC-ian friend whose blog I enjoy reading! It's been days and it still has kept me thinking about it. . .being awesome! I've been tagged a couple of times and so this time I decided, just to amuse myself (*giggles*), do this.

Here goes seven. . .

1. I guess being married to Edward is awesome. He is awesome in so many ways. . .and that makes me awesome(tumpang awesome lah!)

2. Having given birth to three wonderful children (and I hope that's it^_^) makes me an awesome mom. The package that goes from the conception till they're out. . .I tell you, would make any woman awesome!

3. I asked Edward what he thinks about this "awesomeness". He was in deep thought (and I was like hmm....nothing awesome?) and then gives me this answer "Supermom slash superwife." Well, why not? Am a working mom with three kids, with chores at home (no maid ah!) to do, keeping up with unplanned activities on the spur of a moment, while trying damn hard to find time for myself. Pheww! And this leads to awesomeness #4.

4. I am a passionate lover (*giggles*). . .Edward can vouch for that.

5. I trust my instincts.

6. A very close friend said that I am a someone who she could talk to for hours. I was her echo when she laughs and was a shoulder to cry on when she felt like it. (Hmm, gotta keep my shoulders padded more ofteh lah)

7. Altruistic!

I am gonna be awesome by tagging friends who are awesome in their own unique ways.

*Trixie
*Ita
*Debbie
*Misz
*Miriam

. . .and it's back to my awesome SAUC-ian friend Olla.

Peace. . .

On hiatus mode for about two months!!! I give credits to the laptop which decided to crash (probably at the right time) and the bundles of papers to be done with before the hols (I had to!). That hiatus mode had its own busy-ness plus the multi-levels of stress to handle. It was as if I could almost burst and explode into a charging bull by just the act of a flaming red cloth. . .aww!!

I find myself online again from home after the long wait for the man to fix the lines since. . .well dunno exactly what the problem was. The guy said "Itu wayar sudah putus. Itu urang yang sambung dulu tidak kasi bikin bagus-bagus." And so the rambling of the flaws of the not-present-colleague begins.

"Home is where the heart is." That would really be true especially if you are still in the process of completing what you call home. Thus the dust, sand, chips of cement, pieces of metal are strewn all over the place and what makes it more unbelievably frustrating is sweeping the place wouldn't make any difference to cleanliness/tidiness within minutes. The children, on the other hand, are oblivious to that so-called surrounding. They consider it part of their playground and place their mom wallowing in various degrees of guilt - if they get hurt or sick or something?! Hmmm, anyway. Still its our very own home.

After the fuss of the day, I would sneak up to the attic, lean against a beam, let the cool night breeze carress me as I look out into the twinkling lights of neighbouring houses - the advantage of having it perched on a hill. In that blissful silence, I found my peace. I may have been 'terputus' from the peacefulness during the day but before drifting off to zzz land that's all I needed - a reconnection to it!

Peace Eyes!!