2011 in review

In approximately half an hour, the new year will begin. Looking back, 2011 has been a relatively decent year for me compared to the previous two years which were rather turbulent.

I hope the new year brings with it plenty of new opportunities as well as an abundance of happiness. While some people might be obsessed with the notion that the end is nigh, I think it is important to live each day to its fullest and to appreciate those around us as if we are living each day as our last.

Christmas isn't Christmas

I love my classic Christmas songs. They're just fun to sing even though some don't even mean a thing except for ushering in a festive mood such as "Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree", "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "Jingle Bells".

Perhaps it's because they are only heard and sung once a year in the month of December. Or perhaps it's because their tunes are created for easy listening. Whatever the reason may be, I still love them all, including the more contemporary ones such as "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and "Miss You Most at Christmas Time".

However, one song I heard in church this Christmas really struck a chord. "Christmas Isn't Christmas" by Jimmy and Carol Owens really stood out among all the other songs both from a lyrical and melodic perspective. I find that the lyrics have are simple enough yet have a very profound meaning. The chorus goes like this:

Christmas isn't Christmas, till it happens in your heart,
Somewhere deep inside you, is where Christmas really starts,
So, give your life to Jesus, you'll discover when you do,
That it's Christmas, really Christmas for you.

I have discovered that I am attracted to songs with a rather active chord progression and where the bass moves in a semitone sequence. It's really fun to experiment with chord inversions by substituting the bass with either the third or the fifth note and even more fun when replacing notes with unconventional notes not usually found in classical pieces.

What I find exciting about listening to a new song is that I like to reconstruct the song from memory and experimenting through trial and error until I get the chords or notes to my liking. I try not to search for the sheet music unless I am absolutely dumbfounded and stuck.

Here's an audio only file I found of the song on YouTube. I hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as I do.

Twas the night before Christmas...

It's Christmas eve tonight and I will be going to bed soon so that I can wake up early for tomorrow's Christmas service in the morning. My left ear is killing me due to an ear infection from not drying it properly after a shower before I go to bed.

This year will be a quiet Christmas with the passing of my grandfather. My aunts have also moved to Australia so it will just be us and my grandmother who lives in a nursing home as she requires constant attention and is suffering from dementia.

There will be no lavish Christmas meals of roast turkey and lamb. We did not even play any Christmas carols. The only visual signs of Christmas at home are the wreath hung on my front door and the Christmas tree I set up and dressed it with my favourite little ornaments complete with running LED lights.

It's been about a week since my grandfather passed away. Part of me would like to move on with life while part of me is still holding on to dear memories of old. At times in the still of the night when I'm all alone in bed, I shed a tear or two thinking of the happy moments I shared with my late grandfather. This is actually the first time I have had to deal with the death of someone dear to me.

Only time will heal the sorrows that I now bear...

The Funeral

The wake service was held on Saturday evening at a rather posh funeral parlour in Cheras. The crowd that arrived was larger than I had expected. I never knew I had so many relatives on my mother's side. I met distant cousins, uncles, aunts, grand uncles and grand aunts whom I have never met before. My grandfather had outlived his friends so it was only kin who attended the wake and funeral services. The wake service was led by a pastor from Wesley Church KL. The congregation sang some hymns and listened to the pastor's preaching on how death is not the end. Later we were invited by the pastor to give our eulogies. My mother was the first, followed by my first aunt, myself, my grandfather's brother in-law, my grandfather's first brother, and lastly my grandfather's niece.

The funeral service was held the next day, Sunday at 3.00pm at the same venue. I was asked to read the scripture from the book of John, chapter 14, verses 1 to 6:

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The pastor then interpreted and explained the verses line by line. We also sang a couple of my grandfather's favourite hymns such as "What a Friend We Have In Jesus", "How Great Thou Art" and "Because He Lives". After we had taken our last look at my grandfather and paid our last respects to him, the coffin was sealed shut and wheeled off to a white hearse to be driven to the crematorium next door. My grandfather will be cremated and then buried together with his late wife and child at a nearby cemetery in Cheras.

Rest in peace, Grandpa

My grandfather has finally passed away peacefully at around 9.15am this morning.

Rest in peace, Grandpa.

Cry me a river

Yesterday afternoon I cried. I cried a lot. The tears pouring down my cheeks could have filled an ocean. The loss that I felt as my father relayed the news to me via mobile phone was overwhelming. My last words to him before this misfortune was "Get well soon" but he never did. I tried to be strong and hid my tears since Thursday, but I could not hold it in anymore. It all burst out like a dark, dense, heavy rain cloud raining down onto the earth. All the pent up tears of 6 days. I cried so much that I got a headache, felt dizzy and went to bed early. I felt sad and disappointed. Sad to lose my grandfather and disappointed that my long-awaited holiday would need to be cancelled.

Dear Grandpa,

Death. Some view it as an end, while others view it as just the beginning. As I write today's post, my maternal grandfather is lying unconscious in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of the hospital with his closest kin around him. He has been on life support since last Thursday after suffering a heart attack. But today the doctors have confirmed that his brain is indeed dead. The pastor is there to perform the final prayers and rites. Only time will tell when his heart gives its final beat.

Dear Grandpa,

You have lived a long life. I remember how proud you looked in the picture of you carrying your first newborn grandson. I remember very well when you came to visit my home in Sydney and the BMX bike you bought for me. I remember you lifting me up in your arms when I was chased by a dog one early morning at the park. I remember when you took me visiting around Malaysia when I came back during winter break. You took me to museums and taught me that the national flower of Malaysia is the hibiscus. When my family returned to Malaysia for good, you used to send me to school and pick me up. Your old red Ford Laser stood out like a sore thumb in a school of wealthy kids with luxury vehicles but that didn't matter to me.

Dear Grandpa,

I always adored your twin wooden elephant sculptures in your cabinet. They were the best playthings when all my toys were at sea on a shipping vessel en route to Malaysia. I remember you took me swimming during the school holidays. For an old man, you could still swim well and liked to pull me underwater. I remember the first time you exposed me to Indian food at a neighbour's open house. "Puttu mayam" looked very much like vermicelli with brown sugar and coconut. I could never understand your love for mutton curry. The smell used to put me off. I remember when I stayed overnight at your place and you weren't keen on me playing with my SEGA GameGear. I remember walking to Hankyu Jaya with you. I remember the set of world flags you gave to me and I set it on display on top of the shoe cabinet. When I first got my brand new red car, I remember driving you to Lucky Garden to run some errands and you did not want to fasten your seatbelt so I had to drive slower. You were quite a stubborn old man.

Dear Grandpa,

I am sure you do not want to see me weeping at your departure. If I were dead, I would want the same and not see anybody crying over my dead body. For the body is useless without a soul, and your soul would have gone to a better place. To a happy place where there is no more suffering. To be reunited with your late wife and son. Though you may not be with us any more, we will always remember you in our hearts. Go in peace, Grandpa.

Lots of love,

From Your Grandson,
Jaded AL.

A night at the orchestra

Last night I attended a concert at the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) featuring songs written by Rodgers and Hammerstein (R&H). Rodgers and Hammerstein's names are synonymous with American musicals such as Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific, The King & I, and The Sound of Music. Being an 80's kid, I grew up watching The Sound of Music and The King & I. I wasn't too familiar with the others except for a few songs such as "If I Loved You" from Carousel and "Bali Hai" from South Pacific. However, at the end of the show, I learnt two new songs. "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" and "People Will Say We're In Love" from Oklahoma are my current two new favourite songs.

I was rather surprised that R&H songs appeared to be popular over here as it was a full house last night. The stars of the night were Jacqui Scott and Andrew Halliday who provided vocals for the selected R&H pieces. Both are West End/Broadway performers who have taken leading roles in many well-known musicals such as Chess, CATS, Evita and Phantom of the Opera. It was a great performance last night and the crowd was really entertained.

The Jaded Violinist

Did you know that the Jaded Accountant used to play the violin and earn a living teaching music? Does it surprise you?

If I still remember clearly, I was first introduced to the instrument when I was selected to be the minstrel in a school play. Later on I thought I saw my classmate in a TV ad playing the violin. It looked and sounded complicated and cool!

I first learnt the violin when I was six years old. My first teacher was a second violinist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra from Beijing. He was rather stern and old-fashioned in his teaching and had wanted me to stand in front of a full-length mirror to practise everyday. After he left, my next teacher was a young lady who played with the orchestra as well. She made lessons really fun by showing me that the violin could mimic all sorts of sounds such as a bird calling, or the siren of a fire engine. She also promised to play me a song after every lesson.

I stopped violin lessons when I left Sydney and only resumed lessons five years later, now in Malaysia. By now, I had outgrown the quarter sized violin and needed a full sized violin. It was back to learning how to hold the violin, bowing and fingering. Boring stuff if you ask me now, but extremely important to get right in order to obtain a strong foundation to progress to more advanced matter.

For the advanced student, there comes a time when average intermediate lesson-grade violins just won't do anymore. While preparing for my diploma, I realised that I needed a better violin and bow - one that would respond more sensitively to how I played, and also one that would produce a quality of sound pleasing to the ears. I purchased my first real deal violin while on a holiday in Sydney. The instant I tried it at the violin maker's shop, I fell in love with it. Its higher register sounded smooth, bright and sweet, while the lower register was deep and mellow. It was my 'holy grail' of all holy grails!

I completed my grade eight examinations five years later and was halfway through preparing for my diploma when I decided to further my studies in Sydney and had to stop lessons again. After a year of study in Sydney and then joining the workforce back in Malaysia, I now find that I do not have the time (and patience) to pick up the instrument I so loved again. It is now lying in the case with two of its strings snapped and wanting replacement...

Under my bed...

No, I'm not talking about monsters under my bed. There are none. There's no space for them in my world. The empty space under my bed has become the most strategic place in my bedroom. If there's anything I can't find a space for, I chuck it under the bed. If there's something I need to use frequently but can't be bothered to put it back at its proper place, it goes under the bed. Let's see now - I've got books, dumbells, CDs, magazines, toys, empty boxes, some rough paper and occassionaly my glasses and mobile phone. It seems like the most convenient place to store things. When I'm lying on my bed, all I need to do is to just reach under and feel for it. It's as simple as that. I don't need to put my feet down onto the floor to walk to the desk or the bookshelf. It's all within reach.

As a kid, I'm sure most of us would have been through the phase where our wild imagination created a realm where monsters dwelled under our beds and would come out at night to catch us - thanks to horror movies of the late 80s and early 90s. Thankfully, I never believed in those, except for Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street who gave me the creeps. I remember I was just 5 years old when I watched A Nightmare on TV at my friend's home before going to school in the morning. The most memorable scene was the blood fountain spurting out from the bed where Johnny Depp had slept. I'd always imagined Freddy hiding somewhere inside the bed or between the hollow walls of Australian homes.

That's enough. I think I have disgressed far enough from the original topic now!

The day I left a Big 4 accounting firm

After watching this YouTube video and literally rolling on the floor laughing my ass off, I highly recommend this video as a 'must watch' for anybody considering a career in accounting. This video speaks the bare naked truth of life in a Big 4 after peeling off all the superficial layers of glamour of a high-flying career with a Big 4.

17 September 2010 is the date I left a Big 4. To date, it's only been barely 15 months and I have no regrets, except for missing a few good friendships I'd made during my brief stint as a Big 4 accountant. Words cannot express the joy I felt the moment I walked out the office doors, into the lift and out of the lobby, never to return again! I felt liberated of all my grievances! To be free to see sunlight again! To be free to feel the warmth of the sun caressing my pale skin! Freedom to breathe fresh air again! I felt like a prisoner released from prison! Too long have I wandered lost in shadow!

COACH

Mum just bought herself a black patented leather COACH handbag yesterday. She's always wanted a COACH bag but every time she walks into a COACH retail store, she walks out empty handed complaining that it's too overpriced. Yes, I agree with her. Luxury goods are always overpriced here, thanks to the high import duties. It costs double to buy a COACH bag here, than to make a purchase from the US. Mum's original intention was to wait until we go to Hong Kong to look for some good deals but since she managed to get one from a friend who just got back from the US, I don't think she will be getting any more unless greed gets the better of her. Anyway, I couldn't help but try out her new handbag last night by slinging it over my shoulder pretending I'm a sophisticated woman, and prancing around the living room showing off the new COACH handbag.

Spring cleaning in November???

At last the long awaited long weekend has finally arrived! The last long weekend I had was a mere 3 weeks ago but it felt like an eternity waiting for this one to arrive!

So, what have I been up to today you might ask? Well, I started the day early at 8.30am which is very unusual for me. I went jogging this morning and did 5 rounds around the park. The fresh cool morning air plus bright sunshine somehow energised me to do more than my usual 4 rounds.

After that, I did some wardrobe spring cleaning. The pile of unfolded clothes in my wardrobe sits precariously high that one day an avalanche might happen! I have a lot of unused clothing lying in my wardrobe - some old, some hardly worn, some untouched. It's annoying every time I open the doors of my wardrobe and see lots and lots of clothes that I need to dive in head first to search for something to wear.

While sorting out each and every piece of garment in my wardrobe and separating the 'wanted' from the 'unwanted' in neat piles, I discovered that I have 2 brand new pairs of unused black socks for work, some unworn black T-shirts and a pair of Adidas trackpants and shorts and a pair of Arena swim shorts. Haha! No need to buy new exercise gear. More cash to spend on other things (wants, not necessities)!

What I put aside were mostly clothing from 2005 and before from high school, college and university days. Some are so old and faded, some don't fit, some just look terrible and not befitting of a working adult, and others have just lost their appeal. These days, my clothing choices are very limited. For 4 days, it's working attire (long-sleeved shirts and black trousers), Fridays are casual and the weekend is mostly shorts and T-shirts, with the occasional jeans and dress shirt (but I hate wearing those!).

I feel alot happier now that my wardrobe looks relatively bare compared to before the spring cleaning. I hope to keep it that way for a while until clothes start piling up again, which I predict would be in another 5 to 6 years. I shall donate my unwanted clothes to the less fortunate. Mum's colleague is going on a Mission trip to Cambodia next weekend. I hope they will find a new owner who will appreciate them more than I do now.

The Venetian

In 3 weeks, I will be visiting Hong Kong and Macau for a brief winter holiday. At first I wasn't too excited about spending a night in Macau because I would have less one day of indulgent shopping in Hong Kong, until my family decided to upgrade to a night at The Venetian. Oh yeahh... I know I'm spoilt for the finer things in life! XD







And so, I did a little research on the accommodation, facilities and entertainment on The Venetian's website. It's certainly a privilege to be able to visit the world's largest casino which is also the sixth largest building in the world. There are no such things as standard rooms - there are only luxury suites with the Royale Suites starting at 70 square metres of floor space!



The Venetian can never qualify in namesake if it did not have an authentic Venetian themed interior. It boasts of over 300 shops built around 3 canals complete with gondola rowers, street performers and a vast painted ceiling that resembles a sky with enough lighting to match the time of day. I ran through the directory of shops at The Grand Canal Shoppes which are enough to rival that of a large world class shopping mall. Needless to say, I marked the ones which I intend to visit:

1. Coach
2. Adidas
3. Armani Exchange
4. ck Calvin Klen
5. CK Underwear
6. G2000
7. Hugo Boss Orange Label
8. Massimo Dutti
9. United Colours of Benetton
10. Zara





I hope to have sufficient time to explore The Venetian since I will mostly be touring around the ourdoors to visit some famous landmarks with Ruins of St. Paul being the foremost. I will be arriving and departing Macau via Hydrofoil so I will need to watch the weight of my luggage and not go overboard with the weight of my shopping bags (pun intended)!

In dreams I run away...

I have not been able to sleep properly for the past couple of nights. I'm either running away from something or getting in fights with people, or getting very emotional and breaking down in tears.

If there was a dream interpreter, the interpretation would be that deep down inside, I am running away from some problems in my life. Currently, I cannot see any reason for me to run away from anything. I don't think I am trying to escape from anything at the moment. I'm quite happy with my life. The only time when I constantly dreamt I was running away was last year when I was working in a Big 4 accounting company. Everything about the place was negative to me from the people, the work, the culture and the environment. And so I left to save my sanity!

However, leaving that place hasn't really made me forget about it. It still gives me the shudders whenever I think about it. Just two nights ago, I dreamt I was trying to escape from the Big 4 office stealthily during work hours - silently moving along the corridors in the dark, my body pressed tight against the wall and sneaking into lifts undetected. And I successfully escaped and ended up at the LEGO aisle of a large toy store!

MOOOooo...

Moo Cow Frozen Yoghurt is a relatively new dessert bar concept here in Malaysia which serves frozen yoghurt with flavours and toppings of your choice. After making 10 purchases and accumulating 10 stamps for each purchase, I finally qualified to redeem my free serving of frozen yoghurt. My favourite is the original flavour which tastes subtly sweet and sour, just like how decent yoghurt should be, except that this has the consistency of soft serve ice cream. It’s smoother and lighter than gelato and each spoonful melts in your mouth. Of all the toppings available, I prefer dried cranberries since it gives some kick to mandibles wanting some bite and is not too sweet and overpowering that it detracts from the original flavouring of the frozen yoghurt.

Sanma Kabayaki

There's always a first time for everything. Tonight was the first time I tried a 'sanma' fish at a local Japanese restaurant. The first time I was exposed to a sanma was at a Japanese restaurant in the city. Their pretty menu had a picture of the cooked whole sanma fish, shioyaki style, which looked pretty intimidating to me since the head, body and fins were still intact. The sanma fish is known as the 'Pacific saury' in English. It has a long, elongated and slender body and is a pelagic schooling fish. I have a keen interest on learning about the fish that I consume. So far the common local fish that I eat are coral cod, mangrove snapper, flounder, mackerel and leather jacket. If you hadn't already read my older post on fish, I am a bit of a nutter when it comes to fish but lately laziness has gotten the better of me and I have decided to take a long break from fish keeping again.

I decided to order the sanma this time because the dish pictured in the menu showed a sanma that was cut up, kabayaki style, as opposed to a whole gutted fish! I am always rather hesitant when trying new fish because I have no idea how the flesh would taste. There are several fish which I dislike eating, most of them freshwater species because they taste of mud and stagnant water, and pomfret because of their fishiness. I was pleasantly surprised at how similar the sanma tasted to a mackerel. It wasn't fishy at all and the flesh was nice and firm. The sanma is another oily fish (just like the mackerel) and it did have a distinctive smell similar to cod liver oil. Call me strange or what, but I do enjoy cod liver oil. In fact, I love popping the capsules in my mouth just to feel the oil spurt all over my mouth, and I then lick my mouth clean with my tongue!

Will I order sanma again? Definitely YES! And this time, I might go for the whole fish, shioyaki style!

Two bananas in a banana republic...

It's a long weekend and my friend invited me out to The Gardens for some retail therapy. You see, she had been travelling in Italy for almost two weeks but did not have the time (and Euros) to go browsing for Gucci and Prada in Rome. Off we went on a lovely sunny Sunday morning with very light traffic on the Federal Highway.

I bought a cool preppy looking slate-coloured half-zip four-button pullover from Banana Republic. It's got a high collar that is fastened with a zipper and 4 large buttons. It was also my very first purchase from Banana Republic since I was always under the impression that their clothing was very overpriced. But I was very surprised with what I found today and I can't wait to show it off next casual Friday at work although it's really for my trip to Hong Kong next month.

Halloween 2011

I look forward to Halloween tomorrow even though I am much too old for trick or treating. For those who have outgrown tick or treating, there's always the Halloween party where one can dress up in a fancy costume and still have fun. I do look forward to attending one (even though I have never been to one before) but tomorrow, I am looking forward to coming back from work and parking my fat ass in front of the TV to watch the Simpsons Halloween Marathon. It only comes once a year and I am thrilled with the randomness of the Simpsons although in my opinion, Family Guy is even more random!

There's really nothing too amusing on satellite TV this weekend to help me get into the Halloween mood but I did find some classic 80s horror movies such as Poltergeist and Nightmare on Elm Street, so I spent the last two nights watching them. Tonight, the third instalment of Poltergeist will be airing in about half an hour so I shall be quick to end this post.

This year, my online Halloween persona will be Barrel from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas although I like to call him 'the skeleton boy'. He looks eerily cute with that pale round face with sunken eyes and an extra wide grin.

My neighbours are idiots

I am rather unfortunate to be living next door to inconsiderate neighbours. Early this morning at 6am, the neighbour two houses away let off some fire crackers. Do they not think that the rest of the neighbourhood is still asleep at that hour since today is a public holiday? Imagine being woken up by the sound of explosives going off with a BANG BANG BANG!!! I thought there was a war at my door step and shot straight up out of bed! Next, at just after 8am, I was awoken again but this time by the irritating knocking of a hammer on the walls. My next door neighbour on the right was making some repairs to the house. Isn't 8am still a bit too early for some hammering? And no, it's not just a couple of intermittent knocks but it lasted for about half an hour. And now at around 9.30pm, my next door neighbour on the left is burning pieces of paper in her backyard and stinking the air with the putrid smell of ash and smoke. Sometimes I think I live next door to selfish, uncivilised barbarians and I am at a loss when plotting my revenge. Should I blast the speakers to Lady Gaga songs at 2am just to get even with them? Or should I throw rotten eggs into their compounds? Ahh... vengeance is sweet! On a positive note, I think I might look forward to the day we shift to our semi-D in an expensive suburb where the property costs at least RM1 million and most neighbours drive a luxury vehicle.

The Empire Strikes Back

There was an explosion early this morning around 3.40am at the local shopping centre called Empire Shopping Gallery (The Empire). News reports mention that the 'force' could be heard as far as Bangsar, which is roughly 20km away. Wow! Now that is some force to be reckoned with! Talk about exaggerated news reports... tsk tsk tsk...


It looks like I won't be going to The Empire any time soon until the damages have been repaired and the building certified safe. Early reports say that the explosion was caused by a fire and a gas leak at a F&B outlet. According to some sources, the explosion ripped through the Ground and Lower Ground floors and collapsed the entrance of the grocery store.


This is really bad news for me as I was hoping to make a visit to the grocers to stock up on my favourite breakfast cereals - 'Honey Smacks' and 'Nutri Grain', plump English breakfast sausages and a carton of omega-3 eggs with bright orange yolks. Sigh... Well, at least nobody was seriously hurt. Only four treated for minor injuries and zero fatalities.

Escape to Bali Ha'i

Back in January 2009, I made a trip to Tioman Island. Tioman is an island approximately 32km off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, situated somewhere in the South China Sea. Its rustic charm and appearance reminiscent of some South Pacific island with its twin peaks, lush greenery and splendid beaches made it a filming site for the 1958 movie 'South Pacific'. Not surprisingly, it made it to TIME Magazine's most beautiful islands list.


There are several ways to get to the island, but I decided to splurge a little and opted for the direct flight from Subang Airport which has a total travel time of 55 minutes. The flight is operated by Berjaya Air. Back then, the airline used the DHC-7-110 Dash 7 which is a neat little turboprop plane that seats about 50 passengers in a single class configuration. Be warned that turboprops are a little bumpier and noisier compared to jet engines so don't be alarmed if you get the 'butterflies-in-your-stomach' sensation.


The aircraft cruises at 15,000 feet so you can still make out features of the terrain and landmarks down below. Once we have crossed the west coast of the peninsular to the east, we start our gradual descent to the island. The further you get from the mainland, you will catch your first glimpse of the bright blue-green South China Sea variegated with patches of cloud cover. As the landing gear is extended downwards to prepare for landing, you can actually make out the tiny white dots of marine vessels out at sea.


As we prepare for final approach, we make a sharp bank to the right to align with the runway somewhat similar to the old Hong Kong Kai Tak approach. The pilot reduces speed and tilts the nose downwards a little further for steeper descent, then flares the nose upwards as we are about to touch down. The aircraft bounces a little as the tyres hit the runway and the roaring sound of reverse thrust is heard as the aircraft screeches to a halt at the end of the runway and taxis to the little airport full of happy holidaymakers awaiting their return flight.


While waiting for the ground crew to unload the baggage at the terminal, it is a wise idea to pay your marine park entrance fee. As Tioman is a designated marine park, the government charges a small sum of RM5 to cover maintenance and conservation costs. Once you exit the airport, you will be greeted by representatives of the hotels and resorts waiting to whisk you off to your accommodation of choice.


As I mentioned that I was on a 'splurge' mode, I opted to stay at Berjaya Tioman which is a 4-star resort owned by the Berjaya Group, and also the largest resort on the island. I think the only other resort to rival that of Berjaya's is the 5-star Japamala located on the south-western part of the island, but that's a story for another day. Berjaya has a complimentary pick-up service from the airport to the resort and uses a windowless mini bus. The brief ride is very breezy as the strange looking vehicle chugs away down the narrow village road, crossing a bridge and then up and down undulating terrain around a cliff overlooking the balmy sea.

In just under 10 minutes, we arrive at the resort's main reception to check in. After some paperwork and being handed over the keys, I am then whisked off to my chalet on what looks like a sightseeing safari truck which has rows of seats in place of a void area for transporting goods. The chalet's aren't too far from the main reception area which houses a souvenir shop, restaurants, a business centre, gaming arcades, a business center, a gym and a swimming pool, but it's just a little perk they provide to reduce the burden of you personally carrying your (heavy) luggage in the sweltering heat and humidity of the tropics.


I chose a standard chalet, being the most economical for a single traveller like me. The chalet is decently sized with two single beds, a dressing table, a built-in wardrobe, television, coffee table and still has ample room for romping around on the wooden plank floor. Outside, the chalet is tastefully planted with lush foliage that adds to that rustic ambience.




Just behind my chalet is a jungle pool fed by a creek. It's a medium-sized natural pool teeming with what appears to be barbs and cichlids. There is also the occasional water monitor - a huge water lizard that grows to approximately 1.5 metres long, that takes a dip in the cool tranquil shallows of the pool. The pool flows out to the sea via a stream. Often, one can see schools of juvenile Monos, Scats and Sweetlips making a dart from the sea to the pool and back again.


It was a very tranquil afternoon walk exploring the beach. The gentle warm rays of the golden sun bathing everything in rich yellow hues made for a picture perfect postcard with coconut trees fringing the smooth golden sand of the beach. As the sun plays hide and seek with the low-lying clouds, radiant beams appear to emanate from the cotton-ball clouds. As the sun sets silhouetting the foreground, one cannot help but feel a sense of that elusive peace and quiet not found in the hustle and bustle of city life. Dusk gives way to night, and the dark of night is lit with twinkling stars high up above.


The next day brings with it a low tide - perfect for beach-combing and exploring. The sun is high and the tide has receded, leaving miles of exposed sand sculpted with wavy patterns by the ebb and flow of tides. In certain tidal pools not left high and dry by the receding tides, the pools house an assortment of sea life. Among the coral rubble there are crabs, limpets, periwinkles, sea cucumbers and even colourful damselfish.

I found this little guy stranded on the sand and returned him back to the water, but not before taking some photos for identification purposes. This one looks like a damselfish by the name of Dischistodus fasciatus.





As tonight will be my final night on Tioman, I decided to splurge one more time on a RM60 semi-buffet dinner where I get to choose my main meal to go with the assortment of salads and desserts on display. I chose the 'assam' fish (fish served with a mildly spicy and tangy tamarind sauce). Not too bad really! There is nothing better than seafood freshly caught from the waters surrounding the island!


The next day, I bid farewell to my favourite island beach resort. Feeling heavy hearted as I return to reality, I am left with nothing but fond memories of my brief escape to Tioman. As my air-worthy vessel roars down the runway at full speed and takes into the sky, I peer out the tiny cabin window as we begin our climb. The jetty at Kampung Tekek seems to diminish in size as we increase our altitude. We make a turn westwards and I get a final glimpse of the twin peaks of the Gunung Mukut mystically shrouded in low-lying mist at the southern tip of the island, as if beckoning me to return once more.

Fly me to the moon

It's Mooncake Festival (otherwise known as Mid-Autumn Festival) tonight, and I am listening to the bossa nova version of Fly Me to the Moon by Olivia Ong as I type each word for tonight's entry. There are many lores as to how tonight's celebration came to be, but the occasion is usually celebrated by having mooncakes to eat and colourful paper lanterns lightning up the night sky.

The day before tomorrow

My nice long break ends today. Tomorrow, it's back to work on full throttle. I anticipate a lot of unread emails in my inbox and urgent work to be done after an absence of 9 days. Prioritise! Prioritise! That's the key to surviving and not getting overly stressed and burnt out from work. After all, work is just work. There's so much more to life than getting stressed out over office work. Perhaps this is my optimistic motto to surviving in the workplace.

As a wise and really nice-guy senior manager once told me "Tomorrow can worry about itself", I will not worry about tomorrow tonight. Instead, I will switch on my air-conditioning in my bedroom, lie on my psychedelic ESPRIT bedsheets in my new Urban Spirit and N2N pyjamas and read Fujio F. Fujiko's Doraemon comics. What a nice way to chill out on a Sunday night!

Doraemon was the very first comic I read during my primary school days back in the early to mid 90's. It would also be the only Japanese manga comic that I truly appreciate. My brother's a huge fan of Japanese manga comics, especially Ranma 1/2, Keroro and Dragon Ball but I just can't see the appeal. Doraemon is very original as the gadgets in each mini story are out of this world. My all-time favourite would be the "Everywhere door" as it has the ability to take you anywhere and everywhere. Extremely useful here since I hate driving through the peak hour traffic congestion in the morning and evening.

It ends here...

Nope, this is not my final post for the blog. I'm talking about a TVB drama series entitled "The Life and Times of a Sentinel". I still have 4 minutes more before the 2 hour finale starts, aired via satellite TV. The series is set during the Qing dynasty in imperial China, and revolves around some of the events during the rule of the Shunzi Emperor and the Kangxi Emperor.


Tonight also marks the first day of my long 9 day break. What better way to start the holiday than to start blogging again? Now that I have ample time for the next 9 days, I can have all the time in the world to do anything I want. I'll start tomorrow by singing Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song". I can even sing this song for the next 9 days as my anthem! I don't have any solid plans for the week so I will most likely just laze around at home in my pyjamas, doing nothing at all!

Haircut

Haircuts. It's always the same. I walk into the salon asking for a change in style, i.e. something very short since I HATE medium-long hair styles because of the heat and humidity of the tropics, but the hair stylists always counter my request by saying that I can't take too short a hairstyle because I have a high forehead, and that if I wanted a change in style, I would first need to straighten my fringe because of my natural waves.

I was always under the impression that I had dead-straight hair just like most oriental Asians. However, it was only within the last 5 years that I discovered that my hair actually curled at the ends when I let it grow long, especially at the fringe, the sides and the back. I am not one who diligently grooms my crowning glory. After a shower, I just let it be - all messed up, no blow drying and no styling.

However, ordinary human beings will almost always never appreciate what they have been blessed with. Those with straight hair want curls, those with curls want it straightened. I gave in to temptation and spent a fortune (relative to my usual haircut costs!) to straighten the top part of my head and the fringe. I looked drop dead gorgeous from Lady Gaga's point of view. Oh it was a disaster! It took me 5 whole months to be completely rid of the straightened hair effect.

Perhaps, next time I should try going bald just for a change? If it turns out a disaster again, I'll just put a wig on :)

4 months down the road and...

It's been more than 4 months since my last post. Some things have changed. I went back to my old accounting job in March after bumming around in a consultancy role filled with internal politics and poor management and I have never felt happier!

I have also moved on to a new hobby. From tropical fish-keeping I have now started collecting Lord of the Rings miniatures produced by Games Workshop. Well, it's more like expanding my collection rather than starting afresh. I started collecting these miniatures back in 2006 but had a really small collection since I was a uni student living in Sydney with a tight budget.

Galadriel, Protectress of Lothlorien.





Thranduil, King of Mirkwood





Gandalf the White, Head of the Order of Wizards