36-24-36

 

 (nice shirt,... errr this is definitely not my size... 

image taken from the web, randomly)

FRIDAY. JUNE 24th, 2011

Today I am 36 years old... Giving the life expectancy of an average male is 60, you might say I have less than 50% of my life to spend with... isk isk isk

How do I feel now? Well, mixed feelings... happy because today is my birthday (go figures!) and I am finally got a stable government job (fuhhh).

Not so happy because my life is finally just started ... and tons of catch-up I need to do, personally... With a few ups and downs for having started a bright future (hopefully) this late, I hope a could persevere and achieve my goals.

Thanks for all your wishes and support throughout my life... I will try to do my best from now on, with occasional quirky attitude just for sake of fun. (pardon me!)

Assalalammualaikum and God bless you all! 

Now, if only I could find those massage ointment...arrghhh

Orientation

ALHAMDULILLAH... I have arrived to my destination in Institute Tadbiran Awam (INTAN) Kemaman, Terengganu...

Very cosy place... situated by the beach and with 3-star rated room for us... I was paired with another Sarawakian.

But out schedule is darn pack... as early from 0700hrs till midnight... Just forget about any plan to visit Kemaman areas...

We are busy with the fun orientation today... good thing free wifi is available here.. yahoo!

Dramatic

BEFORE I start, kindly watch this video first...



Eheheh, now I got your attention to reckon with...

Swan sculpture during Sibu Lantern Festival 2009

Whoa! Got a lot to do these few months, and thanks to facebook again, I am too tired to blog anything.

Posing during the Lantern Festival.
I know, I know,.. I'm not photogenic

Went to several places these past few months... A week after Raya, I drove my family to Kuching, the farthest journey I drove so far. Abah (dad) is supposed to have an eye operation in Kuching since the ophthalmologist has moved there. To my dismay, the specialist postponed the operation because my father is still not well enough to undergo such procedure. The scar of his previous right toe amputation has not completely healed.

Sarikei is famous for it's pineapple

Town of Sarikei

Pineapples are everywhere

An express boat in Sarikei

A week after that, I went to Sarikei to meet a friend. Stayed overnight there and went back to work on the next day. One and a half hour journey by bus is quite relaxing, except that I have to hold on my bladder for a long time... Note to myself: create an apparatus so I can discreetly relief myself when the unexpected happened. Ahaks

3 days ago, Lai called me for help. He decided to transfer to Sibu again,..

My good friend, Lai

"What happened in Tanjung Manis?" I asked.

"Aku dah sik tahan diam sia... (I can't stand leaving there any more...)"

So, I took an emergency leave (hik) and took an express boat to Daro, meet Lai there, and drove straight to Sibu. Arrived back to Sibu exactly at 0000 (midnight). Ahaaaa... I loves travelling a lot.

Road to Daro (image: Flickr; onggon's photostream)

Daro (image: Flickr; onggon's photostream)

Believe it or not, this is Chung Hua Fire Brigade, in Daro. :P

Sometimes, without any excuse, I would help any friend in distress, indeed.

Unplanned Getaway

HAD a sudden urge to go elsewhere, anywhere, as long I could forget about Sibu for a while.

This is Lai, 36.

Then, out of a sudden, two nights ago Lai asked me to accompany him all the way to Daro. He is transferring to Tanjung Manis and wanted to send his Avanza back to his home town, to his wife's home in Matu, to be exact. He do not dare drive there alone since it was a long and tedious journey. Quite risky too, because we will taking the same route which has claimed the life of his cousin. Turn out, his late cousin was the same friend (Supian) I had lost early of this year! Small world, indeed.

(Click here and here for previous post on Supian)

Next day, with all the thought, I approached towkey-nyior, asking for half day leave for the day and next, promising her that I will be back on Thursday. Asking for a leave is almost impossible for me.One thing that I have learnt by working with these hard-working people, that there is no such thing as leave nor rest! And this is one of a reason why I need to find another job. I do need a break!

Guess what excuse that I have to conjure this time? Ehehe, sudden death of close family, and I have to drive my family all the way to Matu. And guess what my towkey-nyior excuse for not letting me go this time? "Lu mesti pegi meh?" (Do you have to go?). Wah... even if this is a real situation, even if my parents died, or even if I was killed in any god-forbits accident, I will be still required to come work. Gees,.. I really need a break.

Reaching home, I told my mom about my unplanned journey and the excuse I had to tell to my towkey-nyior. I have to tell my family about this, hoping that they will not show-up unnecessarily at my office. gulp!

So, my journey with Lai, supposed to start at 1400, was late yesterday, around 1630. True to a Malay customs and believe, I invited Lai to had a quick late lunch at my home, because he told me he have not touch any rice since two nights ago. He was too busy packing his stuff that he only managed to buy MacDonald's and KFC's takeaway. Doesn't wanted him to get poonek or kempunan (jinx), especially with me around...

The fact that Lai asked me to accompany him has a unique twist with it. Because of his phone keeps ringing every five minute, I offered to be the driver for a while. For a while? Turned out, I was the driver of the Avanza all the way to Daro. I think it is Lai that accompany me to our destination, not the way around. ehehehe.

1800. Arrived at Selangau for a short refill of fuel. Erm, Sadly the Shell petrol station here does not participate in Bonuslink points reward yet. We then proceed our journey to Mukah. Did I tell you that I was the one woh drive the Avanza? ehehe

Selangau-Mukah (via Sibu-Bintulu route) was and still under construction and very precarious. I never push the pedals more that 30km/h. It was like driving off-road. 4WD vehicle is recommended for this type of road. Even though the Avanza is an automatic transmission vehicle, I keep using 2nd level gear just for a safety and easy control. One amusing site we have encountered is after the dust ahead of us was cleared, an ugly dog stood in the middle of the road staring at us. It reminded me of a cowboy one-and-one scene.

1700. The sky was long darkened and we are still stuck in this road. Like a scary movie, the Avanza was the only vehicle that still moving at this hour, with occasional one or two big lorry passing us by. Now I understand why Lai asked me to accompany him, or was it he to accompany me? Note to myself: Next time start the journey very early in the morning!.

2030. We finally reached Balingian Junction. Wow, this is the best straight and smooth road I have came across so far! Imagine that, two hours of straight road.

Finally, we've reached Mukah

2215. We reached our first destination: Mukah... A pretty quiet town at this hour. Finding our bearing here was a nightmare. Good thing Lai's cousin was waiting for us. We had our dinner at one of a Mamak (indian-Muslim) restaurant that was still opened. The Avanza was very dirty as you can get. From this time onward, if I saw any dusty vehicle pass by in Sibu, I will assume it must be from Mukah. ehehehe. Lai's cousin work the Water Treatment Building, giving an opportunity for Lai to wash his Avanza there. Free water! We stayed overnight in Mukah and I snored heavily due to tiredness... ZZZZZZ (I guess you must be sleepy reading this unofficial report)


July 30rd, 2009

0630. Woke up very early today just to sample the fresh air of Mukah. Very refreshing indeed. Very clean town. This time I am a total alien in this town. Most of the people here speaks in Melanau, a language that I have yet to mastered.

1015. After refuelling the Avanza we continued our journey to Daro. Erm, finding an exit from Mukah is like a fish in a trap. Easy to get in, very hard and confusing to get out! The journey was smooth with occasional bumps. Open burning is still visible along the way. Taking the old route to Daro is rather fun for me.

Straight Road from Mukah to Daro

Embarking a Ferry to cross the river

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
An old road to Daro.
There is a new one, but we mistakenly used this route.

1215. Sadly I have reached my final destination, Daro. Lai dropped and thanked me here just before I managed to take the next express boat back to Sibu. He continued his journey to Matu on his own this time. Along the way, my phone keeps ringing. The office just wanted to confirm if I could reached Sibu in time.

On board of Ekspress Begawan Laju, Sibu-Daro-Sibu.
Fare: RM17 per trip

Reaching Sibu, Wisma Sanyan is visible.

1430. Reached Sibu, feeling sad, yet refresh, and went straight to my office to work.

Thanks Lai,.. I really need this type of getaway.

P.S:// Towkey-nyior asked me what happened to my family's car? Just answered her that I went back alone. Another cousin of mine would drove them home... hik hik hik