The reason why "study group" ain't working for us anymore.

Back at our univ-days, study groups are so 'in' that sometimes we had it over a few times in a week. Well,come to think of it, it never really worked for us anyway. Flash forward to today, where by a twist of fate, we're given home assignment as a requirement for our induction course, tackling it as a group might make our task less arduous. Ah,well..when 4 girls got together over frappucinoes and green tea, the said task were soon forgotten. In exchange of serious discussion, laughter and jokes. And of course, gossip. At least, we flipped through the ridiculously thick Perintah Am book. In conclusion, study groups are so 90s. For us. :-P

Oh Lucky Night!!

13 November 2010.

A day where the stars aligned and the Universe bestowed upon me the once in several years streak of luck.

This very night, at our school's end-of-the-year dinner I was awarded the Anugerah Guru Kreatif Dalam Pembelajaran&Pengajaran. I also received a RM30 voucher and a certificate.As the icing on top of the cake, I was the only recipient of the award (other awards has at least 2 recipients). Yeay!!

 Receiving the award from our PK Kurikulum.

 

My certificate. Here's to more innovation and creativity for P&P..WoooTTT!!!

And I also got...one UNEXPECTED, UNSANGKARABLE prize....

I didn't know that we have a lucky draw that night. I was just finished licking my fingers after eating a blueberry cake when suddenly the emcee called out my name...

"Cikgu Jacinta....mau hadiah kah?"

Mati-mati sia ingat sia kena suruh cabut tu nama dari tu bowl. Rupa-rupanya si Cikgu Valentine (who drew the names from the lucky bowl) telah mencabut nama saya! Yuiii...

When I reached the podium, I was asked to pick out a number from another bowl. I picked a number and opened it and lo and behold...I won prize number 9. In my mind, I thought I won the gigantic hamper. Sekali....

I won this one instead ^___^

A semi automatic washing machine!!!! I JUST WON MYSELF A WASHING MACHINE!!!! 

ME!! 

"ORANG YANG NDA PERNAH DAPAT LUCKY DRAW" GOT THIS!!!

Yeay!!!!!

For all these material blessings, I say thanks to God!! AMEN!!!

Flying Solo: Sandakan!!

Like I've mentioned earlier, my Deepavali holidays were spent at Sandakan. Well, even though it was only for a night, thanks to my friend (and tour guide) Mei Ling, I had tonnes of fun!

I've been to Sandakan for several times already but I was confined to my uncle's house and the town (where the shops are). I never had the chance to visit other places of interest like the Agnes Keith House and St.Michael's Church. So far, I've visited the Crocodile Farm and a Buddhist temple (I can't recall the name). So, part of the reasons I selected Sandakan as a starter for my solo trips is because of those places ;-)

Day 1 of my solo trip was started with a grumpy uncle teaching me how to use the self-check in kiosk. Adeh, uncle...kalau sa selalu naik kapal lain la cerita kan? Maybe he just had too much clueless costumers that day hahaha...tiapalah, kasi can sama tu uncle.



Upon arrival, Mei Ling was already there. She brought me to a Chinese shop to eat Char Nyuk (Cha Nyuk? I don't know the spelling!). Sedap owhhhhhh....

 

After lunch, we checked-in and rest for a few minutes. Then, we went to St.Michael's Church, the centennial church in Sandakan. I immediately fell in love with the surroundings. My shutter bug began to bite as I went clicking away...check out the piccies below...


 

 
 
 
 
After St.Michael's, Mei Ling drove me around St.Mary's Church. The last time I went there was for the Pesta Belia Keuskupan camp in 1998. To my surprise, the place where the youths gathered was quite small. I remembered how big it was to accommodate 1000++ youths at that time. Or maybe, I am the one getting bigger..hohohoho...



The school we used to sleep during PBK were already torn down. I guess it was for safety reasons.



Next, we went to the Agnes Keith House. I think it has a certain charm to it. When we entered the main gallery, it smelled like my grandmother's house. Not in a bad way, rather in a nostalgic one. I saw several things that remind me of the "artifacts" at my grandparents' house in Kuala Penyu and Tenom. Upstairs I saw a book about the ghosts in Agnes Keith House. Being a natural guntalau, it sends shivers down my spine that I wished I had never read that book. Ihhhh...

Have a look at the piccies...



 


 
 
Then we went to a 100 year old Buddhist temple. It's a temple within a temple – the community build a new temple over the old temple. I was awed to see the beauty within the temple, it feels so peaceful. The smell of incense permeated the air, I guess those are prayers submitted to heaven.



 
 
That night, we had a seafood steamboat dinner at Tyg Hill. For a mere RM24, you can eat as much as you can. Oh, did I mention the restaurant has an awesome night view of the city? Daphne and Bedely joined us for dinner. Siok mau catch up sama dorang J Daphne as usual, humourous. Bedely, kau memang cool! Heheh


 
 







The next morning, I can't believe I was dumb enough to buy the 11am flight back to KK. So Mei Ling decided to stop by at the War Memorial after check-in and breakfast. 
 

 
 
 
 
Sempat lagi bah, walaupun kena tulis boarding time jam 10.35am! When I arrived at the boarding hall, I realised I was the last person to arrive there...hehehe...



With a heavy heart and a rejuvenated mind, I leave Sandakan with fond memories and lovely pictures. So where am I headed to next for a solo expedition? Hmmm...will think of it soon!

I want this for my birthday!!

My birthday is coming soon and I want this digital lomo camera!!!

It is called...

Digital Harinezumi 2++ Chinon with Auto Iso!

I have always been a fan of old school photography such as vignetting a photo, create a lomo-ish look to a photo and desaturating the pictures in monochromatics...

This cute, sexy, colourful, fun camera does all this!

Features:
- Digital Lomo camera!
- Takes still pictures as well as videos.
- Black & white (monochrome) mode for both pictures and videos!
- Retro effect videos and now it records sound as well~
- Random effects for still pictures.
- Small, lightweight and easy to use!
- Don't have to develop your films anymore!
- LCD screen to preview your pictures (live view).
- CHINON special: auto ISO mode (extracted from www.theclickshop.net)

You can see one of the photos taken using this lomo camera down here..

  or go to this link.

Adeh!!! Wo Yao!!!

Flying Solo

I have been spending a lot of time in front of my computer today. I feel like today is Friday. It was so obvious that my head has been reprogrammed to believe that all holidays should begin with a Friday. Hmm...too much work? I don't know. But anyway, for the deepavali holidays, i will be spending it in Sandakan. Yeay! This is my first solo trip. Can't wait to meet up with my friends there! Mei Ling, Marlina, Daphne...get ready!!!

"Lost" in Maliau Basin Part One...

I never thought that I would ever step foot in the Lost World of Maliau Basin until recently when our Kelab Staf organised a trip there. I was so excited about the trip and I can see that my colleagues share the same excitement as well.

We left Sook at 2.40p.m. I thought the road was going to be smooth sailing but, I was wrong. One and a half hour later, we experienced bumpy rides which is quite ironic with the slogan "Dunia Kini Rata". We stopped by at Salarom Taka to stretch our legs (and ease the butt cramp).

At Salarom Taka...

After the pit-stop, we proceeded to Maliau Basin. After 2 hours and 30 mins, we finally arrived at our destination...Pintu Gerbang Maliau Basin Conservation Area!!

Before we enter the conservation area, we have to register ourselves at the "security hut" ;-P

It was raining quite heavily that time, I was so afraid of getting my camera wet, so pictures were quite limited at this area. After all of us registered, we continued our journey to the "actual" area, which is 25 longggg kilometres away from the main gate. Since it was raining, the road was slippery and muddy. The day slowly turned into night and that made our journey there difficult.

Despite the rough ride, we were lucky to spot a nocturnal animal called the Binturong. First time sia nampak Binturong secara live!

 Finally, after nearly 2 hours, we reached the conservation area safely and muddy.

Me at the Reception area..

After checking-in, we went to dinner and sleep at our room :-). You could hear the authentic sounds of the jungle nightlife there...cicadas, crickets, monyet..you name it..heheh

The next morning, I terbangun awal at 6.00a.m. Unable to sleep back, I took my camera and went outside...

 

Our resthouse. Looks refreshing ;-)

 Me yang baru bangun (tapi sudah cuci muka and berus gigi ah), since there was no one to snap my pic, terpaksa la guna self-timer...

 Enjoying the view from the VVIP suite. Nice oh...

 Ini la yang sia nampak dari suite VVIP...

 Ni pula tangga dia...

 Kupu-kupu...

That's me and Suzanah enjoying our breakfast before exploring the trails in MBCA. Although my back has shown signs of pain, I just don't care. I'm ready to explore!!

More pictures in Part 2!!