National Day 2014

Brunei National day: 23rd February 2014

I know. I know. I'm extremely late.

I think it's one of the most tiring shoots I've ever done. So I had a closing shift at work that day, which means that I leave my work place at 2.30 a.m, reach home at around 3 a.m-ish... did some laundry and stuff and finish at 4, confirming plans with my partner and everything is settled at 4.30... and I had to wake up at 5 in order to be able to catch a bus from PTET (my former school) to the national stadium.... So I barely slept... and I also skipped my breakfast, somehow. I almost fainted towards the end, half because of the lack of rest.. and the other was excitement... and the other was the crazy 30 something degree Celsius weather.

But enough complaining, it was, in my opinion, one of the most YOLO shoots I've ever done as well. Aside from all the complications, we actually managed to enter the stadium without a ticket... and access all the "press only" area. HAHAHAHAHA we almost got kicked off, but thank god we were fast runners. See, being photographers comes with the perks of having strong arms and good stamina. LOL

Anyway, this year's national day is themed "Generasi berwawasan", or in English... "visionary generation". It was wonderful, the patriotism bounces off every single surface of the stadium, from top to bottom. It was an amazing feeling.

So, here are some pictures. :)

the youngest patriot in the house!

Look at these sea of people!

The royals

Ridiculously photogenic people EVERYWHERE

More pictures in part 2, stay tuned!

Missing pictures :(

As you may have noticed, some pictures, including the background of this blog, is not showing up anymore. either because the link is broken.. or blogspot hates me.

I'm looking into fixing this issue soon. Thanks to the people who noticed and notified me.I'll come back soon.

Habits die hard.. "so.. yeah!"

In the last few post, I reflected on my good habits. On this post, I'll reflect on the opposite.

But first, a little background: I can speak, very well, in fact. But, when I have to speak in front of a lot of people, and the conversation is very impromptu, my brain goes haywire. And I can only speak in tiny bits and tiny pieces that makes no sense... and a habit I picked up from everyone in my final high school year, is to say "so... yeah..!" afterwards.

It's not a good thing, I admit. I regret it on so many levels, on how in every conversation.... my proper response would only come afterwards. I regret the fact that I'm awkward. I regret the fact that I couldn't do many things impromptu, either because I'm too OCD about it or I need more specific questions.. I have no idea why my brain works like that, maybe it's because I'm an overthinker.

To some, I may be a lady with little words. To some, I put my heart in my words. But to me, I'm just stupid.

I feel bad, and sad that it's really hard for me to say exactly what I wanted unless I have visuals. gah. my head is like a road network. Or maybe a computer, where things are all sorted out into tiny little folders that takes a heck lot of time to load.

and what's even more interesting? I'm posting more reflections on this blog now rather than pictures. oops!

Thank you... for making me feel alive!

I know I'm a little late on this, but I just wanted to share this little quote I found. It may be a little cheesy on some level. haha just read. Be warned, I'm just putting down what ever 2 A.M thought I have.

"Sometimes you meet someone, and it’s so clear that the two of you, on some level belong together. As lovers, or as friends, or as family, or as something entirely different. You just work, whether you understand one another or you’re in love or you’re partners in crime. You meet these people throughout your life, out of nowhere, under the strangest circumstances, and they help you feel alive. I don’t know if that makes me believe in coincidence, or fate, or sheer blind luck, but it definitely makes me believe in something." —Brandon Oda

thank you for the amazing few days in Myanmar, thank you for making me feel alive. thank you for kicking my idea gears in to action. thank you for the amazing friendship that we have built in such short time. Passion, love, bravery, perseverance and hope, are few of the many values that I will bring home with me.

I've met various people from various background through this program. There's a doctor, advocating for better and more equal medical care for people in the rural areas. There's a communication expert, a very resourceful young lady who ended up as my roommate. There's my knight in shining armour (or maybe angel) who comes to my rescue for the moments I feel the most lost.There's a video guy with pickle coloured eyes, whose passion were as big as his heart. Then there's a guy who in an instant can light up the whole room with his cheerfulness. There's another person who looks really quite, but is just like a little basketball when he's excited. There's a curious little lady who put on a headscarf. There's a crazy girl, who laughs very theatrically. There's another that has a sparkle in his eyes whenever anyone speaks to him, it's like listening is literally his passion. There's a teacher. There's another persistent idea bag. There's one that helps wake us up every morning in the best way possible by helping us get closer to one another, interestingly filling the room with chatters and laughter.

I could write a book to describe everyone. I am extremely thankful to have met these amazing people. I've felt a heck load of emotions on my journey there. Fear. Anxiety. Happiness. Love. Excitement. Adrenaline. mainly excitement. Amazement. Amused. Thankful. Touched. Truly, they have truly made me come back to life.


The force is strong with this one!

a few last words....

Myanmar, 

The home of thousand pagodas

Splashed with a tsunami of golden souls

A nation built through perseverance and the raging hunger for equality

If you were a person... You would hold a scarred appearance..

eyes lined with the age of worry

but like the soul of your people,

your heart is made of gold.

If you were a texture..

you would be soft

Just like a blanket, your softness gives me warmth

I am so inspired to write and do so many things right now. It's like I have ADHD (I don't, but it feels like it). And all these exam things are like... the ADHD pills. 

okay. bye. wish me luck for my next papers.

I Should Be studying

I'm currently sitting in the corner of a coffee shop, after my job interview. I'm supposed to be studying for my exams, but instead.. I finished writing my reflection entry for my last Myanmar trip... and am currently contemplating on the beauty of languages... and life. #DeepMoment

Yes, study is so daunting that being Adele is so much better.

Language is beautiful, while I am alive, I strive to learn as much as possible. I currently speak mandarin, hokkien, a little bit of crappy cantonese, english (duh), malay. I'm currently learning some sign language (for my lovely nephew, bless his soul) and also tagalog (for the abundance of good Filipino friends I have all around me. And also for the heck of it. And also for how beautiful this language is,  something about it is making it feels so natural to roll off the tip of my tongue.).

Now let's put aside my showing off for my language capabilities, I love language. I feel like it connects us more than anything in the world could, next to music and passion of course. The sense of connection, the sense of bridging.

Now speak of language, check out this movie. You'll understand exactly what I meant by then. here's a trailer.

Of course there's more I would like to learn, I just need teachers :P So each time I learn a new language, I have this in my head: "language is love". Literally is. :)








and I also probably make no sense. I should probably go study now. My coffee is running out. lol just kidding, I don't like coffee. It's chocolate.

Blogger background and header

Is it just me, or does it not load anymore? I'll try to get this issue fixed A.S.A.P

UPDATE: issue fixed. *throws confetti*

MORE HIATUS. YEAAAYY NOT

The title says it all. More hiatus. I'll be having exams... again. But this time, I might need to concentrate more, it determines whether or not I can pursue my degree, so wish me all the best of luck. But I get my official independence on the 29th, so I should post more by then... right? I definitely will though, I have a load of pictures and stories to share ;)

1. I just came back from Myanmar. Myanmar had been super awesome and lovely.
2. I worked with the local youth council as soon as I came home, some photos coming up as well.

Until then.

I might post when I'm procrastinating my studies. maybe. I don't know. But I know when my mom read this, she will probably tie me to an anchor and throw me to a river, so no matter how good I am with swimming, that won't save my life either. hahahaha joke lang.

See you in the next post, I am determined and motivated to post the soonest. So let's keep the fire burning...!

I'm starving!

Since I'm hungry, and I've also found some food pictures on my laptop, I'll let you in on some things I've been working on very recently..................... and also, my sole purpose... To make you hungry too ;)

So recently, I've worked with a bunch of students from Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB) for their project entitled the "Kuali Brunei", literally translated to the "Bruneian Pan". Pan as in the cooking pan, not Peter Pan. I am so funny. Anyway, they asked me to take youtube styled cooking videos. I gotta admit I am not happy with my outcome, but I'll put up links for you anyway because I am kind like that. Anyways, here are some pictures.

Ayam masak Kicap (Chicken stir fried with soy sauce)

Sambal Cacah Ambuyat (Ambuyat's chilli paste dip)

Pais Daging. (I don't know what this is in English. Seems like grilled beef wrapped in banana leaves)

Ikan masak Kari (Guess........ can you guess it? Curry fish head. duh)

I dunno the malay name, but this is prawn stir fried in chilli.

So.. I'm not sure how many of you have the general knowledge that there are very little online/offline/book resources there are in Brunei. So the students' goal in this project is to basically raise awareness... and to make people cook more, I guess? It will be a shame if these amazing food goes extinct. So to overcome the extinction issue, they designed a website to make the unavailable to become available. (The web is not available for the public unfortunately).

What do you suggest that we can do to stop these super-amazing-stuff-that-can-keep-me-away-from-the-brink-of-starvation-kind-of food from going extinct? Or on a less drastic note, what do you think we can do to at least make the very original and rich flavour to not be altered too much? 

On that note, your starving writer shall sign off and wait for her flight to take off now.

Dried mangoes

No, this post is not about fruits. Or mangoes. or bananas. I just bought some dried mangoes to snack on because I'm starving. And hence the title. I'm currently sitting here at the boarding gate somewhere in Bangkok, anticipating my flight back home. Half an hour to go, YAWN. And oh, I am also currently watching some random cat videos being shown here at the little TV. So random.

I'll write something soon. I'm too hungry to think. Should I post up some pictures to compensate on how much I've been NOT writing? hahaha this is by far the stupidest thing I've ever written on this site.

your weirdo signing off!

maybe. we'll see...

Part time job

As promised, I'm going to write about my working experience. Probably expired now. I feel life has been super busy for the whole year, one hella roller coaster ride in juggling between a student, photographer, traveler (yeah right) and also a fast food chain worker. I'll be talking about the last one. In case you need me to point it out, I'll be talking about the full stop. No I'm kidding.

Thank You - through working at this fast food chain (let's call it the James Bond restaurant (JBR), just because.), I realised how little we say thank you to one another. I mean, don't get me wrong, while working there, saying thank you has played such a crucial part in my everyday life. For example when a colleague asks for one large fries, or maybe asked for one random burger, we had to response with "thank you" to acknowledge the call. Then there's the customer-worker interaction. Slowly, saying thank you has become a very awesome habit of mine. Being genuinely thankful for every little things is now a prominent part of my life. I like to over-thank people for the most minor of things. If we don't thank one another enough, how is the other person going to know how much we appreciate their effort?

I'm sorry - Need I say more? Putting other people ahead of us is one of the basic duty of a fast food chain worker. Right or wrong, we still need to put our customers ahead. Although many fast food workers are not keen of this, you gotta admit that it actually gives you a great sense of responsibility. Just like saying thank you, how often do we tell each other "I'm sorry"? or has the phrase become something overrated and meaningless, making it just two pieces of words?

Teamwork - This may sound a little cliche, but teamwork is important. All the way from the cashier, to the kitchen and back to the customer, it all requires teamwork... and understanding. Without all that, everything falls apart, even saying "thank you" or "I'm sorry" would be meaningless. Teamwork is like a bridge, without the bridge... You can't cross from one point to another.... unless there's a tight rope and you're a tight rope expert.

Listening - Listening well, good communication skills basically, is as important as anything else. Listening is like the level 1 bridge, to get to the level 2 (teamwork) bridge.

Perseverance - I had to admit, working at a fast food chain is easy. Very tough at times, it even have the ability to push me off the edge of emotional breakdown, and many times, I actually fell off. Whether it be work place bullies, or some things you screwed up with... But it takes perseverance to stand up against your bullies, it takes perseverance to fix your mistake, it takes perseverance to even get through the day. I'm thankful that I usually have a strong heart, I'm thankful that I have role models and people with great leadership to look up to.

Love and Friendship - sending in my resignation letter was tough, it is especially tough keeping it a secret. I have a strong sense of attachment with many many things there. Goodbye was painful. I was thankful to be blessed with such amazing team, people who taught me leadership, people who became my workplace father figure, people who taught me the importance of time and speed, people who taught me how much a smile means to a person, and people who help me see the way I see the world today.


That's just the things I learnt and gained while being in that working environment. Aside from the many back aches, butt muscle pain from the many many squats we had to do while reaching for bread, foot sores... I've gain so many important knowledge. I also get to improve my chinese speaking skills, I just realised how there are still so many parts of the language I still have yet to learn.

Walking/Trekking

So miss Fleur (I hope you remember her, I've mentioned her a few times in earlier post. Great teacher, great friend) came up with a project idea for us to do, I won't disclose anything just yet, aside from the fact that this project involves a heck load of walking and jungle trekking. And it is super fun, what with the abundance of forest in Brunei and all.

So for the first part, we went to Wasai Labi (Labi waterfall) and also Tasek Luagan Lalak (Luagan Lalak Lake).

We went through the trekkings, the hikings or walks or whatever you call it, with ease. The tracks at the waterfall were ruined by some landslide, making the journey a little tougher. But we made it in just within half an hour, cool huh? :)

Once we reached the waterfall, the peace and the serenity... wow! all those "hardships" we had to go through, WORTH IT :)

At the entrance

We had to cross these slippery rocks because there's no actual path at that time... and well, I actually feel like Bear Grylls. HAHAHA no.

This picture makes the place look mystical.... and look like it's from a fairy tale or something

Not a good photo. But but spider D:

I love this the most :)

Looks like I should swing on it or something

That ant was almost as big as my pinky

Baby ants

♥

And then off to the lake we go!