Matthew Chong's blog

The Day To Be The Luckiest Guy

2009-10-26T16:22:00.016+08:00

(This is for the author's record, cuz he does not want to forget the details, as much as it is for others to share in his & her joy)

This was it. The big day.

I have been practicing some trial runs of the tealights, christmas lights and camera-positioning on the tripod before but alas, what proceeded in reality was still different from what was planned. Having said that, in hindsight, those trial runs were really useful.

About 2-3 weeks back, after I obtained some of the proposal decorative items, I began a couple of trial runs in my room which turned out pretty chaotic to say the least. Those new fancy wind-proof flame jet lighters aren't suitable for what I call "dozens-of-tealights-heavy-duty-work". After a few minutes, they won't function anymore. Instead the old school generic disposable Aladdin or Cricket lighters with "soft" flame work best for this case. Of course they also burn your fingers in the process!

Through trial runs, I have also discovered that if I'm to propose in the day time, the light coloured curtains in my room won't provide the same romantic atmosphere as it did at night. The daylight would be too bright for the dim tealights to have its effect. Hence, note to self, switch to dark blue, light-impending curtains.

Another note, IKEA tealights won't burn as brightly after first lighting. Upon second and consequent lightings, the tealight's flames weren't as prominent as the virgin flames. Interesting. But also benggang-ing. So fresh new tealights had to be used for the proposal instead.

Another thing discovered through trial runs is the realisation that I am merely human. Not even the quickest dexterous person in the world could light up 150 tealights, bring them into the room, set them into place, hang the christmas lights, position camera, sprinkle petals, position gummy bears and etc all without waking her up. She's a light sleeper to begin with. My big clumsy feet weren't to my advantage as well. I even contemplated constructing a sound-proof cubicle around the bed to keep the noise out...or give her earmuffs.

At this point, you might wonder what I meant by waking her up. You see, I had planned for her to be asleep in my bed while I decorate the room and then wake her up from dreamland into a special surprise! Man, that would be sooo cool I thought! Well...so would the case of Thierry Henry making a comeback to Arsenal. But in reality both of them are near impossible to happen. Well...I'm still hoping for the second one.

So the sleep-surprise plan evolved into a distract-surprise plan. Show her my normal-looking room and then bring her downstairs and distract her while I'm upstairs doing a room makeover. Then bring her back into my new plastic surgery transformed room. Tada! Not bad too I thought.

So back to the big day. In the morning I greeted her with a cheery sms and picked her up for work. She was dressed in her usual work top but matched with a nice grey skirt. We had breakfast at the nasi lemak stall by the road. As always after dropping her off at work I went back to my office to work. But halfway through I sneaked off back to Subang to retrieve the flower bouquet I had booked earlier in the week. However Ms. Christine the florist wasn't finished with her new design yet. I didn't want to rush her work so I came back to my place to get ready some things.

Most of the items were ready and placed in my sister's room, next to mine. Tealights neatly arranged on trays with wick facing the up, lighters within reach, christmas lights in an untangled bunch, gummy bears & jelly beans decor tray unpacked, tripod and camera with fully charged batteries all set. I swept the floor clean and made sure the CD playing her favourite song "Somewhere Out There" was already in the player. I changed the bed sheets (dark blue to a lighter colour) at the last minute because I realised that the red and pink rose petals wouldn't be seen or stand out amidst a deep dark background.

Then I headed back to the florist to collect the bouquet of red roses + pink daisies. Also picked up a basketful of rose petals from the shop. I dropped off the bouquet at the Soos' place. Suet Beng was the flower guardian tasked to bring it to the restaurant later that evening but she wasn't in so I passed it to Mun Keong instead. Thanks guys!

I quickly made my way back to office just in time to pack up my things and to fetch her from her workplace nearby. Phew. I managed to catch my breath as we drove back to my home. My mom had invited her over for a lunch of chicken porridge. I had, a couple of days ago, told her my mom would like to have her over for lunch, to which I knew she couldn't say no to. Hence after that simple lunch I brought her to my room to show her how clean and organised my room is. Which is in fact the truth! Few days ago I spent the whole night cleaning, dusting, wiping, washing, unpacking, repacking all the stuff in my messy room which was overdue for cleaning. It wasn't just for the proposal but rather, the proposal was the catalyst. It was also a good excuse to bring her up to see how clean it was now!

After going back downstairs to rest and relax, my mom chatted with her as we watched TV. This is it, I thought, any moment now I shall go upstairs and do what I have been planning for all these months now. This is it, I'm going to propose to my girlfriend whom I dearly love and take this big step towards a whole new level in our relationship, our lives. The proposal was a planned thing but man, it certainly brought about life-reflective thoughts at bad moments! I remember the calm yet surreal feeling I had...it was a mix of anxiousness in my mind and peace in my heart...or was it the other way around? Haha. I imagined that this would be how being in the SWAT team would feel like seconds before a crime-busting operation. Sweat and guts. Anyways, it was very dream-like. I do remember praying to God. Praying and kept praying. Then out of the blue, I just said it. I said to her that I needed to go to the toilet. She acknowledged. That was the cue. Green light! Go go go!

I went upstairs coolly then picked up speed as I went out of sight. I transferred some furniture to my sister's room while on the way back bringing over decor items to mine. At a couple of points I panicked and even locked myself out of my room by mistake. So much for trial runs. With my room floor cleared, I made ready for the tealights to land all around the room and also in a heart formation in the middle of the floor. The lighter started clicking away furiously and flame by flame, each tealight candle was lit, with the new wicks frustratingly slow to burn I might add. As I made my way scattering the tealights over the floor, some wax were spewed by accident and my fingers also burnt by lighter flame. No problem, can clean later. Next I hung the christmas lights around the walls, positioned the camera for video-taking, and put Theophilus and Butsey (her teddy bear and puppy soft toys) on my bed. I then placed the gummy bear tray and decoy pendant on the table while the ring and speech paper was tucked away in my pocket. Rose petals were then sprinkled all over the place, the floor, in the heart shaped formation, on the table and bed. And finally the camera video was turned on. All set!

Meanwhile she was downstairs, waiting for 40 minutes, wondering what happened to me in the toilet, if I had fallen into the porcelain throne. Yes, it took 40minues, more than twice the time I had planned for! When I was finally finished I was left sweating and tired. I meekly poked my head from the top of the stairs and bid her to come up. I pretended to look sick (my actual tiredness helped) and told her I wasn't feeling well, so I asked her to help me take my handphone from my room. Throughout this time, she was just smiling and ruffled my hair. As she smiled cheekily I knew the jig was up. It turned out she could smell the tealight candles! And she could see the lights flickering from under the door gap! This is what happens when you have a girlfriend who have super keen senses and inhuman powers of observation.

Nevertheless, she proceeded into my room and even though not fully surprised by the general surprise of it all, she was still nevertheless pleasantly surprised by the greeting of a suddenly brand new decorated and romantic (I would hope) room. The dark curtains darkened the room well and in return, it was flooded by a mass of dim lights from the flickering tealight candles and colourful christmas lights. The rose petals also added to the atmosphere with its red and pink colours all over. I remember feeling excited as I watched her entering my room. Consequently I closed the door after us, turned on her favourite song to her delight and led her to sit on my bed. I then got down on my knee and took out the ring box. It was again so surreal, I couldn't quite believe it was happening. Anyways I did try to trick her first with the pink sapphire silver pendant in the ring box but she seemed too happy and distracted with what's going on around.

Oh by the way, the pendant was a gift from a free lucky dip ticket that was given to me as I bought her Estrella diamond ring from Diamond & Platinum. Thank you to Cindy and Suet Beng for accompanying me to buy the ring weeks ago, brainstorm ideas, look for teddy bears, find out rose petal prices, and etc.

Back to the proposal, by then I had turned down the volume on the CD so that the song played softly in the background while I took out my speech. It was long, about one page. In retrospect, I wouldn't recommend too long a speech for guys planning to propose on bended knee. After 10 minutes it really starts to hurt and cramp! Perhaps a knee guard would help. But anyway, I began slowly reading out what I had to say to her. It was a collection of thoughts, reflections of when we first met, strong feelings, affirmations and determinative hopes for the future, all compiled together. There were moments when we were both just choked with emotion but just so you eager beaver readers know, no tears were shed. However it was a touching moment for me and with each line spoken to her, I felt and knew it was indeed true as ever. Meanwhile she was clearly in much happiness and enjoying herself because she couldn't stop smiling. She had this big glowing grin on her face the whole time.

When I finally popped the question there was this little odd sequence of a dialog :-

Matt : CKYC, will you do me the honour, the privilege that is beyond my merit, to marry me?
YC : *smiling* Awwww...how could I say no?
Matt : *feeling happy but not fully convinced* Umm...is that a yes?
YC : *big grin* I guess so hehe..
Matt : *thinking this girl haven't watched enough romantic movies* Guess so? What do you mean you guess so, eh cannot lar, either yes or no lar.
YC : Oh ok ok! It's a yes! It's a yes! Shy mah...hahaha

Fair enough an answer haha. I revealed the ring and put in on her finger, which was actually a bit too loose. It's ok, can be re-sized. What followed after that was one of the loveliest most significant hug I could have ever receive which lasted for an eternal short moment in time. Not to reveal too much, but after some TLC, it was followed by a big relief session of finally being able to reveal to her all the secrets I had to keep from her, sneaking around to buy stuff, planning and conspiring with friends and etc. However, of course, there was still one last surprise for the day for her yet.

We took some photos together, and after that I sent her home to shower and get ready for our dinner on the pretense that I'm bringing her to some place nice for just the two of us. As I went back to my home to shower and groom as well, I was frantically sending final reminder sms-es to close friends of ours, who will be gathering at a restaurant called TJ Haus to surprise her, to be careful and not be spotted when they arrive there. This surprise dinner plan was hatched about a couple weeks ago when I invited them and planned with them all to gather at this place.

As the evening approached, I went to pick her up from her house. She was dolled up real prettily with diamond earrings and a necklace with a cross to match her stylish black dress and high heels. She looked stunning. As I was ahead of schedule to pick her up I was afraid that earlier at the restaurant might spoil the surprise, so I told her that where we were going to was a surprise and hence she had to close her eyes for the duration of the journey. Despite an initial protest, she played along nicely and I purposely drove us all around Subang and USJ to distract her into thinking it's somewhere else and to buy me time.

After 10-15 minutes of directionless driving, we arrived back at TJ Haus in SS18 where she could finally open her eyes. Haha. She was surprised by the place itself already, not thinking it was back in Subang. Irregardless, as we lighted the stairs and entered into the cosy restaurant we have went to once before, she was greeted with a big surprise by our bunch of friends! This time it was truly a great surprise for her as she did not see it coming at all. Mission accomplished! There were lots of happy smiles and warm wishes all around, and of course hugs too. Suet Beng presented to her the flower bouquet as Edward gave her the bunch of red and pink helium balloons. Thank you Edward and Sandra for helping me get them!

As it was, we had a great fun time together, chatting and laughing the night away. The food was good, the service even better, and the atmosphere of the place was quaint, cosy, and warm with romantic music playing in the background. But best of all, our close friends were there to share with our joy in this significant milestone of our lives and we were more than glad to have them there. Although some couldn't make it, it still remains a special night for us.

Hence as the night eventually came to an end, after the dinner I sent her home, somewhat reluctantly. There in her garden, one last short but lovely hug before the day ended. We both said our prayers in our own separate times before sleeping that night. As I returned home into my room still "decorated", littered with tealights and petals all over, I realised that that was it, the proposal was finally over. It was, dare I say it, fun despite the uncertainties, worries and setbacks. Even when asking her parents for their consent and blessing a few weeks back it was nerve-wrecking. There were also times when things didn't go the way I hoped or planned it to be. But in the process I have relearned a lesson in trusting God and that in all things He is there for me, my good Shepherd and loving Father. The proposal was such an experience, one that I would treasure and encourage others to do as well, as it is not only for the girl, but also for the guy to know and realise that yes, she is so worth every bit of it.

So the proposal's over, but our journey has just begun, and I am very excited and already am looking forward to it! More challenges and joy awaits us that's for sure, but in all things we know that our God loves us so very much and there is nothing to be scared of but everything to hope and rejoice for. However, as for now, I have my whole room to clean up and spilled wax to scrape off!

It Was No Accident

2009-10-26T16:22:00.006+08:00

A relatively unknown but lovely beautiful song with even lovelier lyrics. He took the words right out of my mouth. Dedicated to Yuen Ching =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJSR29XjGyQ

THE KEEPER OF THE STARS (Tracy Byrd)

It was no accident me finding you
Someone had a hand in it
Long before we ever knew
Now I just can't believe you're in my life
Heaven's smilin' down on me
As I look at you tonight

CHORUS:
I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars
He sure knew what he was doin'
When he joined these two hearts
I hold everything
When I hold you in my arms
I've got all I'll ever need
Thanks to the keeper of the stars

Soft moonlight on your face oh how you shine
It takes my breath away
Just to look into your eyes
I know I don't deserve a treasure like you
There really are no words
To show my gratitude

REPEAT CHORUS

It was no accident me finding you
Someone had a hand in it
Long before we ever knew

Smile Bringer =)

2009-03-20T15:00:00.005+08:00

I first met her in 28 March 08. She sat by the 3-seater leather couch, cross-legged, near the right side, wearing a white T, smiling brightly and cheerfully to everyone. She smiled a lot. That was all I could remember from that night.

She still smiles a lot! =)

TPM

2008-09-09T17:41:00.004+08:00

Easter, March 2008. My church CBC Subang-Sunway produced a play/musical entitled "The Perfect Murdered". In my opinion it was one of the best, if not the best, play that we as a church have ever produced. There weren't any big glitches and it generally went smooth as a baby's bottom. Good memories, good fun, good play, but most of all, people got saved.

While the script itself was entertaining and serious at the same time, the play also engaged the audience with its memorable songs, beautiful set displays, props and elaborate costumes as well as the truly innovative dinner scene which takes place away from the stage, smack in the middle of the audience's seating arrangements. It was a pretty cool idea which really captured the viewer's attention and gave them the surreal feel.

The butler.

The little girl.

The chef.

One of the dectectives.

From left : the other dectective, and two brothers of the house.

Cast and crew. Well done!

Behind-the-scenes stage team.

Here's looking forward to next year's Easter play!

Photo update

2008-07-24T18:07:00.015+08:00

Take a load of some of these Penang food photos. It was taken a couple years ago but they still look delicious nonetheless =)

Wan tan mee with generous amounts of "liu".

Crunchy chicken chop.

Thick chicken soup.

The famous cendol.

Fried assorted rojak with century eggs.

Kek lok si asam laksa.

(Har mee) Prawn noodles.

Not food but still nice to look at...lighting ornaments.

Ice kacang with ice cream and banana.

Beef noodles.

Curry noodles with coagulated pork blood. [cue vampire laugh]

Chee cheong fun with har kou.

Pork bread and peanut butter bread.

Cool, thirst-busting iced coffee, from Ipoh actually.

Chee cheong fun, Hong Kong style, also from Ipoh.

A collage of yummy, artery-clogging Penang char kuey teow.

O'Chien! (click to enlarge and drool)

More nice photos from Ipoh and Pangkor below. Taken during Chinese New Year of 2008. This whole post is making me hungry.

Yee sang with lot of the "crunchy stuff".

Ipoh chee cheong fun.

Ipoh char kuey teow.

Ipoh beef noodles are really really good.

Hor hee fun.

Huge assorted "liu"s.

Really beautiful sunset from my aunt's garden.

Taken from a dimsum restaurant. Ipoh is well known for good food, but obviously not English comprehension.
However, having said that, these are wise words to heed indeed! Beware people!

Fisherman at the beach of the jetty to Pangkor island.

Sunset at Pangkor Island Beach Resort.

Pangkor town actually consists of a couple rows of shops!

Beautiful beach sprinkled with crispy fallen autumn leaves.

Below are some photos of kuih-muih in the town of Pusing. City-living folk are unlikely to have heard of such a place, but it's renowned for its delicious kuihs and desserts which are sold in large amounts. Look at all them colours and varieties!

Three-In-One

2008-06-28T11:43:00.007+08:00

In my attempt to breeze through my very lagging updates of my life in the past year, I've decided to cut short and browse through several events in one go.

September 07 : Every year during mooncake festival, my family will have dinner together, usually a home-cooked meal and then we would sit outside in the garden (or what's left of it since we tiled the whole area outside) while sipping tea and nibbling mooncake treats. We would then light up colourful paper lanterns and hang them around our house. Haha.

Aluminium-foil-wrapped table. As romantic as romantic gets. Haha.

Steamed grey sweet potatoes and pamelo ready to be consumed.

October 07 : Apart from the free-stay at Genting, we also had a free-stay at Awana Porto Malai, Langkawi thanks to Sam Yee. My family went along with my sister's then-boyfriend's (now he's her husband) family. It was a pleasant trip with many interesting sights. Langkawi is a nice, peaceful yet interesting enough island. We rented two cars and drove all around the island visiting places such as the Gunung Raya cable car ride, jetties with large yachts, the black sands beach, craft musuem, and Dataran Lang where there was a huge statue of an eagle. Oh and of course not to mention the duty-free stalls!

A calm and misty morning by the sea.

A lake by the foothills of Gunung Raya.

Don't you wish you could hijack one of these and sail across the world?

A quaint homely looking bakery called "The Loaf".

November 07 : Our cell decided to make sushi on Deepavali. Haha...go figure. Having said that, it was a real fun time making sushi with everyone. It was a first time for many of us. We also had a frying pan to cook stuff, korean BBQ style. A fun and relaxing day.

Home-made sushi!

This is how we fellowship @ fei-lou-ship.

Genting round 2

2008-05-17T13:06:00.012+08:00

August 2007, my family and I went for a two day trip to Genting. BA and Tai Yee came along as well. It was the first time in many years since Hong Kong that we've actually went for a trip to anywhere as a family. I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable, perhaps not so much in the fun and exciting sense, but rather that the time spent with my whole family was great. And I could see from their faces that they missed it and enjoyed it lots too.

Our small but can-do hotel room.

We got to stay for free at First World hotel courtesy of one of my aunt's membership in the Genting shares. She generously gave us a stack of coupons which gives us benefits of all sorts such as free hotel stays, free buffet, discounts at certain places and etc. Thank you Sam Yee.

No, we did not stay here but just a nice backdrop photo.

Pretty sunset sky.

We sat some rides, walked around, had a sip of coffee and basically just chilled out. Then as usual, we got hungry in the middle of the night. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you view it) with my family, food is rarely of shortage. My theory is that after so many years of our ancestors starving and striving for food, we somehow inherited the innate drive to keep our stomachs well-fed, all in good means in order to justify all the blood, sweat, and hardship that our ancestors went through to ensure that the future generation may blossom. Justice is served with each bite. Hahaha. Perhaps a terrible excuse but anyways, here are the photos.

Pops hungry and waiting with chopsticks ready for...see below.

Very tasty Indomee with canned pork.

The following morning included more food. This time at a morning buffet at this restaurant in Genting Hotel. We sat near the balcony and had a pretty good view of the scenery outside. Below a photo of a plate full of awfully sinful eggs, bacon and hotdogs.

Bad for the heart, good for the soul. Don't try this at home.

Have a seat at your very own personal spying spot.

After noon, we went for a short visit to the mushroom farm and consequently headed back for home. We dropped by Leong Kee restaurant at Gohtong Jaya, famous for its soft yet slighty crunchy "fa lam pou", brinjal with "har mai", and steamded catfish. Their frog's legs are pretty good too but we did not order it. Overall a pleasant and relaxing trip for all.

Fa Lam Pou. (claypot cooked pork strips in sweet sauce)

My fav brinjal with "har mai", garlic and cili padi.

Fresh and plump Pak Sou Gong. (steamed catfish)

Dog's Head Trip

2008-04-16T13:04:00.028+08:00

In the mid of July 2007, I went to Sabah with a couple of my old school buddies (Nick & SieakMeeng) and some new friends. This would be my 3rd time going to the Land Below the Wind. When I was a young I've always wondered what it meant..."Below the Wind? Under the wind?? Kentut issit..." Hahaha. Well, it actually means that the land is strategically located below the typhoon belt which makes Sabah somewhat climatic-disturbance-free. Aptly named, but honestly, who would have figured it out unless they looked it up? Hence the post title Dog's Head Trip for more visually obvious reasons. The trip lasted for 5 days but we really made the most of it. As with my previous trips to Sabah, this one was just as enjoyable.

Sleepy Nick dreaming of Tuaran mee.

On the first day, we left in a very early morning flight to Kota Kinabalu which lasted a couple hours. Quite a pleasant sleepy flight. Soon after arriving, our hired Toyota Innova van driver, Mr. Au (no, he's not screaming in any kind of pain), picked us up to drive us to our backpacker's lodge, Velvet, in KK town for a very quick check-in. He then brought us to the town of Tuaran to taste the famous Tuaran noodles which was very tasty. Food photos posted at the end. After filling our hungry bellies, we proceeded to our journey to Mount Kinabalu on this long, narrow & winding road, which was filled with lots of tricky turns and unbelievably slow drivers in front of us which constantly prompts for dangerous overtaking. Our skillful & patient Mr. Au was kind enough on our ears not to say any "chow wa" to the sluggish road hoggers. Haha. En route, we stopped by a scenic photo-taking spot, probably to make sure we have photographic evidence that we're not being kidnapped.

The cool bunch (left-right) : Sandra, me, Ee Ling, Edward, Yee Weng, Yew Kong, Nick. *1

The scenic view these hill-house residents have each day.

Handsome Sabah dog on guard duty!

Mesilau Nature Resort was our destination as the place where we would spend the night before embarking on the mountain climb the next day. The Mesilau resthouse, situated at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu was a pretty decent & comfy place with many bunk beds. Since there weren't many climbers around, we had virtually all the 8 dorm bathrooms to ourselves. Haha. As seen in the photo below, we were quite happy to have finally reached Mesilau and being able to stretch our cramped legs.

Look fellow citizens! Petrol price increasing again! Yew Kong looking angry about it. *2

On the second day, in the early morning around 8.30am, we started our journey towards Laban Rata, situated a long 6km away. We took the longer but scenic Mesilau trail instead of the shorter but dreary-looking Timpohon trail. No regrets about that.

At the start of our journey. *3

It would take close to 8 hours of climbing to reach there. Along the way there were various life-saving pitstop pondoks, each of which has a water pipe to refill your bottle with fresh although untreated mountain water.

Part of the climb feels like the secret stairs that lead to Mordor. *4

With a Gandalf-ish stick and a tiny waterfall behind me. *4

The climb to Laban Rata was steep and sluggish. It was a monotonous and stamina-sapping journey. However, there were really scenic views if one stopped and took a look around.

I love these mountain photos. =)

We had to drag ourselves up the final 1-2km as the air was getting thiner and the rocks were getting steeper, but we finally reached Laban Rata around 4.30pm. The relief of seeing the white building walls of the Laban Rata resthouse was a truly welcoming sight.

Our Laban Rata resthouse...with heater! Yay! *4

Ahhh! Who stole my blanket!!? *4

Frozen smiles was the on-going theme here. *4

The SMKSU gang.

The sunset at Laban Rata was wicked awesome! As Laban Rata is strategically situated in between the layers of clouds, thus with the sunset's rays reflecting from the top of the lower fluffy layer together with higher blanket of clouds, the atmosphere was simply amazing! The photo below really doesn't do justice because it simply doesn't reflect the full wonderful absorbing experience of actually being there in the midst of it all. We snapped a lot of photos but also had to be quick because the sunset would be gone in a matter of minutes!

God made this.

On the third day, early in the morning around 2.30am, we started our final climb towards the peak. The night sky from the Kinabalu mountain was simply remarkable, a huge encompassing blanket of countless shining stars of various sizes & luminosity, magnificently spread out before my eyes. It just makes you stand in awe of God. Unfortunately my camera wasn't able to take a decent photo. This time the climb was extremely tough for me & much steeper than the previous day, in addition to being very dark. There were parts where I had to pull myself up using ropes on a very vertical rocky climb up and there were also parts whereby the steps were just a few inches wide! Having a fear of height is not a good thing to have. Haha. The steep climb was extremely exhaustive. Eventually my calves finally gave way and cramped badly as I limped my way towards the 7km mark nearing dusk. Seeing the condition I was in, the mountain guide prevented me from carrying on. He didn't want to have to carry me down! It wasn't easy for me but that was it, my Kinabalu mountain climb stopped there. Morning broke soon after that.

Morning from the Kinabalu mountain side.

As the morning light filled the night sky, I slowly started my way back down to Laban Rata. My cramping calves made even the descent down the mountain agonising.

Some bright green funny-looking moss.

However, the rest of the group made it to the top just in time for the sunrise. Perfect timing.

Happy Nick at Low's Peak. *4

After meeting back at Laban Rata, we continued our descent down the mountain using the shorter but quite boring Timpohon trail. It was still a real knee-busting experience for everyone.

Misty forest during our descent.

We reached the Kinabalu Park gates after a 4-5 hour descent. We were all exhausted and glad to see Mr. Au waiting for us. Most of us slept all the way back to the Velvet lodge, where we had our shower and cleanup. By then we were very ready for dinner! Our aching legs made us walked like penguins as we searched for a place to have seafood. We found this place nearby where several seafood restaurants are circled around a big stage in the centre. While some traditional folk dances ensued on stage, we gobbled down our dinner heartily. Surprisingly, Klang seafood tasted better.

Our fourth day of the trip was spent at the nice sandy beaches of some of the famous islands nearby. We took a boat ride from the KK jetty to Pulau Mamutik, one of the main islands, where we had a fun time snorkeling and picnic-ing on the beach. It was well-needed nice & relaxing time spent at the beach and just soaking in the warm sun & breezy sea.

Upon arrival at Pulau Mamutik. *3

Our comfy picnic spot.

Beautiful beach at Pulau Mamutik.

Posing & looking cool. Yes, that's a sand chicken on the bottom right. *3

Three ma lat lous snorkeling. *3

On our last day in KK, we didn't do much except that a few of us went for a leg massage which was pretty painful due to our aching legs from all the climbing we did. We cringed and made faces each time they massaged our sore leg muscles but nevertheless it was an oddly relaxing sensation. Haha.

Our bunker beds at Velvet, comfortable and with air-cond.

The wonderfully torturous leg massage. *3

Aerial view of KK City on the flight home.

That's it for the Sabah trip 2007. Even though short but it contained good memorable times. Presenting the Sabah food photos below.

Mango slice chicken. Funny name but tastes very "hoi wai".

The famous Tuaran mee, this one with char siew.

Thick curry chicken at Mesilau Nature Resort.

Paku-pakis @ ferns. Popular vege dish in Sabah.

O'chien in KK town. Not bad but can't beat Penang yet.

Yummy beef noodles with assorted beef parts.

Tuaran mee with some "stuff". I can't figure out what some of them are, but it tastes good.

Beaufort noodles always have loads of vegetables on them.

*1 Photos courtesy of Edward Ling
*2 Photos courtesy of Sandra
*3 Photos courtesy of Ee Ling
*4 Photos courtesy of Nicholas Hoh

10 Months Ago

2008-03-28T17:38:00.010+08:00

The title sounds like a movie in flashback mode. Haha. I'm not a big fan of blogging but I enjoy reading my friends' blogs. In fact, I treat this blog as more of a summary report on the events in my life which, without the intention to be but, can be made public.

The next few posts, including this, will about what happened during my 10 month blogging hiatus.

In late June, I went to Genting with some church mates for a short one night trip. Hotel Theme Park had pretty nice rooms. It was enjoyable riding those indoor and outdoor theme park rides again. Their new Spiderman ride was a unique & exhilarating experience! Oddly they call it Spiderman even though it resembled Superman more as I don't recall Spiderman being able to fly. Haha. Overall a nice short trip.

View from a cafe in Casino Genting

Early of July, I went to Port Dickson with another bunch of church mates for probably the record shortest trip in my life. We reached the beach nearing midnight. The BBQ food was good albeit with a good dose of crunchy sand and charcoal added in, but what the heck. It was extremely dark and with bottles of beer around it didn't seem to matter. Not long after, we went back to Ocean View Resort to sleep. Right after waking we left for Pasar Besar Seremban to have their famous beef noodles, which we found out was famous indeed but the taste doesn't match the hype truth be told. We left Seremban in the afternoon, thus making it my shortest trip which lasted around 12 hours. Quite efficient really. Haha.

* Port Dickson...or as far as we know.
Doesn't matter really, there's food

The famous Pasar Seremban beef noodles

* Photo courtesy of Foong Yin

Fortunate Fortuner

2007-05-29T18:10:00.000+08:00

I still remember that late Friday in April. That evening, I went home early, it was cell night. Dad stayed back at the office. I had just finished dinner when dad called. He sounded distressed and was breathing heavily. His car was missing from the office parking basement! It was a brand new Toyota Fortuner. (Yeah the cruel irony of the car's name being Fortuner haha) I remember telling myself "Oh no, here we go again". Our family had the unfortunate experience of loosing a vehicle. Just six years ago we lost our Ford Ranger right in front of our house. It was towed away. Anyways, thankfully pops himself was alright. I told him to calm down and be careful just in case the thieves were still around. I gave a quick shout to my mom about the car as I sped off to the office. She was in the bathroom and kinda freaked out TVB drama style. (quite funny now that I think about it. Heheh=) Dad and I searched the whole basement and office area head to toe. We weren't expecting to find it but we had to try anyways. Later that night we lodged a police report at the Kelana Jaya police station. Apparently we weren't the only recent victims...in fact our office security guards were actually aware of these thefts and yet they didn't take any precautionary measures to prevent it from happening again. So much for what's left of our trust in them.

We went home late, tired, hungry and with a mix of emotions from angry to glum. If anything good came out of this episode, it was our family & relatives' caring attitudes in time of need. My dad was very touched that throughout our little family's ordeal, we urgently pulled together to help out, gave comfort, consoled & cheered him up. Many concerned relatives called up from our Ipoh hometown to England to US.

Then in mid-May we got a very surprising & unexpected news. Dad's Fortuner turned out to be quite fortunate after all. During a raid on the seaport in Singapore, the Singaporean police recovered several stolen vehicles, inclusive of our Fortuner, ready to be shipped off in large containers to Dubai! Imagine that! However the thieves got away. The very fact that they intended to fully export these vehicles to another country meant that our car was harmlessly still in one piece instead of being taken apart like Lego. Truly a blessing. Aside from some scratches, a cut steering wheel and missing side mirror, our Fortuner was in pretty good shape. Though it would take an additional 3 months for our car to be fully repaired & returned to us due to the long queue of recovered cars at the Toyota workshop, our insurance has fully covered all the expenses involved.

All in all I thank God for guiding my family through it all. Looking back, I believe I gained something from that experience, though obviously not monetarily, but rather a stronger sense of trust in God & assurance that even though life can't always be in my hands, it doesn't always have to be. Sometimes when we can only do so much, we have to learn to leave the rest to God. Faith & works.

Mediterranean

2007-04-25T18:04:00.000+08:00

No really big news or events happened during March 2007, just lots of little big events. Here's one.

March was a month of birthdays for me. Some of my friends and also my dad. We went to Sheraton Hotel for dinner buffet. It was and probably forever will be a very expensive buffet but pop deserves every bit of it. Every few months or so, Sheraton's brasserie (which still sounds like brassiere to me) will change their buffet theme and during the time we went, it was Mediterranean! I have been waiting for it to come along since the last few years, which were mostly local or Asian themes. It was as close as I could get to a purely Italian one.

As the theme goes, there were many western & middle-eastern dishes such as fluffy breads, lasagna, pasta, salmon, lamb chops, cheese mushroom, mixed vegetables, a whole BBQ set in the open air outside, oysters, prawns, beef/chicken/lamb briyani, satay, and a lot more unnamable appetisers and dishes. The pasta was truly the highlight. It was custom-made, meaning it was totally up to my spoilt choice to select the various pastas, ingredients and sauce all lined up in front of the cooking counter. After pointing my gleeful fingers at which pasta to mix with what ingredients to go with which sauce, the chef would whip up the order right in front of me, Teppanyaki style. My sis and I asked to add extra extra cheese on the pasta...but ultimately it still wasn't enough for us so we took matters into our own hands & added more of the grated cheese ourselves, much to the chef's amusement. Hahaha

They had a variety of deserts too such as cakes, pudding, kuih-muih, soft bread, cookies, ice kacang, teh tarik, and a few choices of ice cream. Tasty as they were, they were also too sweet for comfort. The other only downside to the buffet was that the lasagna turned out to be a weird sour-tasting vegetarian lasagna. What a tragedy! Haha... All in all, we had a good time there dining, sipping coffee/tea, chatting and enjoying the atmosphere. My sis and I shared the bill as a birthday gift for pops. It was well worth it. Hopefully they will have an Italian theme someday.

Cakes

2007-03-24T10:28:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year 2007 in February

Went back to Ipoh for a few nights, with the usual dinners, angpows, and greetings to relatives, and sometimes unknown relatives who I have no idea what to call them by in Cantonese. It's so much simpler in English - uncle or auntie, that's it, period. (it should be made the law) That's my last resort when I can't figure out how they are related to me. Hahaha..

Anyways, it's the usual CNY customs and all but I still enjoy having it once every year. This year though, my sister had the "feel" of making cakes, after a very long cake-making hiatus. It was a rare moment whereby she had the mood to bake cakes, as rare as it is to film the endangered and elusive Siberian tiger in snow. I gladly helped her out. After all, I had too much of Astro. I found out it was quite a task to stir the cake mix by hand, but after you get the hang of it, it's quite cool to see all the ingredients and colours blend together in swirling patterns. Plus, it trains your arm muscles. Haha..The best part of the cakes, apart from their freshly baked aroma, was definately the crispy edges and crusts. In total, we made five types of cakes over two days - chocolate walnut, coffee, custard, sugarless, & malaiko. I'd put in the photos but I don't have broadband yet.

Overall, it was a nice and pleasant CNY this year with quite a cool weather in Ipoh, surprising to say. Maybe next year my sister will return from her even longer pizza-making hiatus.

Wedding 2007

2007-02-13T15:43:00.000+08:00

This post about MunKeong and SuetBeng's wedding in January 2007.

Before a wedding, there is a bachelor's night or a buck's night. Munky's buck night started off with a dinner at TGIF with his OCF friends. This was actually my first look at a bachelor's night cuz none of my close male friends have married. I had the juicy Jack Daniel's medium-done burger, which I thoroughly enjoyed. After that we made MunKeong dress ridiculously and perform some embarrassing stunts around Subang Parade and later at Sheraton Hotel, details of which should not be mentioned here but suffice to say that it was totally hilarious, although some were quite disgusting! Hahaha!

Their wedding day went smoothly. They had the flower kids, pretty decorations, soft background music, lots of photo-taking and all that wedding jazz. SuetKeong looked their best. The wedding dinner at Sheraton was great too. I got to see my friends from CBC there, all dressed smartly and elegantly, smiling widely and cheering for the newlyweds. Funny thing, I had four types of drinks on my table that night, red wine, Coke, chinese tea & water. The food was very well presented, nice atmosphere, with some fire-sword-wielding waiters even, but as usual these dinners are of good quality not quantity. Nevertheless it was a very enjoyable time. I'm waiting for our next cell member to tie the knot. Haha!

Christmas Eve dinner & New Year trip

2007-02-10T11:57:00.000+08:00

I'm very lagging in my blog updates. Hahaha...I just realised, isn't that an ironic contradiction? "Lagging updates" Haha! But seriously, here I am writing about my December events in February.

Christmas Eve dinner was great, as every year. Though it was more fun last year when Ben was around to celebrate with my family but then again my auntie from Ipoh is here with us this time. I cooked the majority of the food, such as hot dogs, ham, scrambled eggs, & mushrooms. Dad handled the main meal of beef steak while mom & TaiYee made the ABC soup & salad. The turkey was a tad dry though. It was a nice, enjoyable, cosy Christmas Eve dinner and of course the presents were nice too! In fact, the only thing that was bugging me was that I couldn't go for my church's Christmas dinner. My cell was in charge of the games and door gifts (coconut candy) this year, which I helped out, but in the end couldn't experience it for myself. I even bought a gift for exchange and I wonder who got my spastic-looking turtle. Sigh...if only there were two Christmas Eves every year!

On New Year's Eve, I went on a 3-day trip to Lumut, near Sitiawan with Sieak Meeng, Nick, and some others. It was quite a relaxing trip and we ate lots of Sitiawan food. We didn't do much because it was a very low-activity trip. We basically ate food, toured around, went to some beaches, ate more food, played some fun board games, and ate more food. We also went to the kampung area where I ate/drank two whole freshly picked coconuts! Then we spent New Year's Eve playing Pictionary, which I found out, is a very fun board game. Maybe I'll get one someday and bring it to cell for welcome.

The Vacation

2007-01-19T17:51:00.000+08:00

In Dec 06, my church organised a musical entitled "The Vacation", some time before Christmas. It comprised of 2 musicals & 1 narrative story. Initially, I volunteered as a bouncer, but my scaring services weren't needed. Hahaha!

Instead, I was in charge of lighting, spotlights to be specific. It was a funny & tiring experience because we had to make do with what little we had. Standing on a plastic chair with the power unit hung around my neck by raffia string and with coloured filters in a plastic bag, I manually navigated the spotlights to focus light onto the actors/actresses.

Enough bout me. The play went very well, in fact the play was entertaining to watch even after I've seen & heard the actors/actresses recite their lines for countless times during rehearsals. The large crowd was quite beyond my expectations too, despite the rain & traffic on both nights, there were still so many around. Let's hope the audience received something meaningful from the stories. I was quite tired after all the standing & inconspicuous navigating of spotlights. But it was worth every bit of it to see the fun & joy in the eyes of everyone involved.

I believe there was a cheeful applause in heaven on those nights. In the end, it was a very successful musical for our little church and I'm looking forward to what's planned for this year.

Discovery Days

2007-01-18T18:22:00.001+08:00

Quite a number of events has come and gone during my blogging absence. Here's one from Nov 06:

Matthew volunteered in CBC's Discovery Days children's camp. It was a two day camp, but I only managed to help out on the 2nd day, Saturday, when the kids went to Zoo Negara. I've not been to the zoo since the night safari a few years back. Not too much has changed though. Truthfully, I thought I was gonna be terrible with the kids but it actually turned out fine. They were quite controllable (emphasis on QUITE) and it was a great & fun time at the zoo. It was such a funny time after we got back from the zoo to church. The kids were enjoying all the dancing, mad scientist, clown act, and etc. I myself enjoyed the acts too! Hahaha!

I was pretty tired after the whole day out but truly, it was worth it. In fact, after all that, my only regret was missing the previous day's events! Never thought I'd say this but I think I might consider lending a helping hand in the children's ministry one day.

New Wife

2006-11-14T17:06:00.002+08:00

My new "wife" finally arrived about 10 days ago! Aww man, I tell you...she glows of cooling flourescent blue from her partial see-through casing. As you glide your hands across her surface, you can feel the sleek, smooth, shiny black surface that looks so truly sweet:-) Hmm...sounds like something from a romance novel! Hahaha

BUT, she's not merely a looker, mind you. Her awesome casing is pretty spacious & totally screwless. Cool huh. Don't judge a book by its cover, but this one's an exception haha, cuz she's a new Core2Duo boasted by 1GB RAM and 160GB hard disk. However, graphics card is a relatively late ATI Radeon X800. I didn't want to spend too much on the graphics card cuz they've a very high turnover. Nevertheless, it works fine with current games.

In the future (after much saving enough moolah) I intend to get her a flat-screen & subwoofer audio to complement her charm. She'll work well for the presumably next couple of years & hopefully more. So a toast to my new wife:-) I've been waiting for more than a year for her!! Cheers!

November

2006-11-01T17:05:00.000+08:00

During October I went for a couple of short holidays.

1st my cell mates & I went to Penang for an unofficial food trip! Ate lotsa lotsa good stuff there. The Gurney Hotel apartment was quite above my expectations. And also went for my first spa experience...hahaha

2nd trip was back to hometown of Ipoh for a short three day break. Just lazing around, tasting nice Ipoh food, & watching some shows. Pretty relaxing.

Oh, and also cut my hair at Spazio before the trips. Haha. All in all, October went by pretty fast as a result of the trips & Deeparaya holidays. Cool!

Tomorrow I'll be 24

2006-07-28T17:25:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow I'll be 24. What can I say about being 24?

Well, the mists are clearing & I get to see a better picture of my journey, of where I'm heading. I think I'm going to like it.

They say what defines a man are the choices/decisions he makes. Bla bla...of course it's not wrong lar but somehow upon closer inspection, it sounds very judgemental & merciless. As we all know, no one can say that he/she had never made a poor/doubtful choice ever. Anyone in/out of a relationship, in business/managerial or a decision-making position would know well enough. I'd rather say that what defines a person are his/her priorities...because sometimes choices/decisions are made forcefully or lacking information & that's where we get mistakes, & I don't think a person should be defined by their mistakes.

In 24 years, I'm sure I have my share of poor choices & mistakes. But I'm happy & doing well with my priorities! & it gets better as I age!