Éclectique

So today, Aneez, Fang, Vic, Naufal & I went on a daytrip we had planned for quite a while now.  Things only came together so it was a bit rushy.  Pulled off the logistics, though! :D The original plan was to rent a van & go to Bidor, Perak.  After a few discussions, plans changed and we opted to visit the Orang Asli village in Trolak, instead.  The whole objective of the trip was to deliver the NoKero lights we had raised funds for during our events in school. Left rather early, and made it to the Sungkai exit on time.  Unfortunately, we got a little lost thanks to a mislabel on Google Maps.  Luckily, it wasn't difficult to get back on track.  Once we were deep-er into the plantation, we turned off the a/c & rolled down the CR-V's windows.  It was fun as we weren't going that fast.  The final stretch going up was fun to drive.  Hehe!  The village itself was very quaint, and despite being rather close to the Felda Resid...

So... Blogger has changed their layout for their dashboard. The blogs themselves look pretty intact so those of you who just read blogs won't notice.  I feel so... sterilized.  Really.  It looks like some kind of sterilized menu.  Barely any color -- though I do like the orange accents.  But, it is neater.  So that's a plus.  Here's a picture attached. So... It has been literally months since I last updated.  Good lord.  Anyway, in brief I climbed up Kinabalu in the middle of my semester, failed Mechanics & Heat -- climbing Kinabalu had nothing to do with it, honest --, finished my semester break & started my 4th semester.  Oh, & I'm going to be doing a triathlon in July. Mount Kinabalu was an amazing adventure.  Outdoorsman/woman or not, you MUST try it.  The second morning as you make the ascent to the summit at 0200 hours is one of the most magical parts.  It's so punishing because you're exhausted bu...

Yesterday, we had cleaned the fishpond -- that was exhausting. Today, we planned to visit my grandfather -- or as my brother, my cousins and I call him, Atuk -- in Banting. Worrying that there wouldn't be any food, we swung by KFC at D'Pangkin to buy a bucket -- this is a rarity. We bought the one that can feed 5-6 people. Bloody expensive. RM75++. So we officially hit the road around 11:45 or so. An hour's journey coupled with bad drivers -- there seem to be a lot of those in Malaysia -- and we were at Atuk's doorstep around 1:50-ish. Amazingly, no one was home. His car wasn't in the driveway. We swung by my cousin's house which was in the area and they too weren't home. We figured there must've been some kenduri somewhere and Atuk sort of forgot about us. Huhu. Well, he doesn't get guests too often. So for the heck of it, we swung by Pantai Morib. My first time. Hehe! Before that, my dad said that if followed the sign to Pantai Kelana...

It's been sort of a while since I blogged. I have a lot I want to write but I on Thursday I forgot and on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, I didn't have a secure internet connection. Why? Because I went back to Taiping. On Thursday, I forgot because I was exhausted. Hehe. That morning, my family and one of my cousins -- he slept over -- went to swimming in Putrajaya. No, not in the lake, but in a/the public swimming pool. I'm not sure how many there are. It was really empty so my family managed to do our laps in peace without people 'berendam' there. I mean, come on, it's a lap pool, not a jacuzzi. You're supposed to SWIM, not soak. Especially to those who REALLY need to lose those pounds. There I go, straying off again. So, back to the story, the pool being empty was a really great thing. But the best part was that it was Olympic sized! Woohoo! I know, there are probbably a lot of Olympic sized pools around but I hardly go to any of them and they...

The past 3 days, my family and I have been on vacation in Port Dickson. I know, school hasn't quite ended yet but my mom already booked an apartment there. The apartment itself is owned by the company my mom works for and they rent it out at a much cheaper rate to company employees. We left for PD around noon on Saturday so I managed to recover from the intensive rugby practice the previous day. The journey there was a bit gloomy, being rainy and all. When we got there, we had lunch, unpacked, watched a bit of TV, had snack and by 6 p.m., the rain had stopped so we swung by the beach. We didn't go into the water. Yet. Hehe. I took pictures of some things you can find on the beach. A few interesting things. That night, Abah, Akid & I watched a rugby game. France against South Africa. It was an awesome game! Hehe. South Africa played rough but Chabal was awesome! Hehe. Once they put him on in the second half, he was tackling like crazy. It was fun watching hi...

It has been a while since I blogged. Where should I start? Ah yes, my raya. Hmm. How should I start? Haha. So many questions. I'd say the beginning is a mighty fine place to start, what say you? First day of raya. We woke up bright and early and went to the mosque in BJ. There was an announcement to raise funds for the new mosque to be built near the lake by Lagenda. The artist's impressions were quite nice. Unfortunately, I would have left for college by the time it is to be completed. Fortunately, I won't have to cycle there every Friday. Hehehe. After prayers, we went home, ate a little, packed my parents' rendang and some ketupat then we hit the road for Banting. Atuk seems more livelier now. Everyone was there -- a rare occasion in Banting since at least one family won't be there at the same time -- and though it was quiet, it wasn't awkward. Jokes were being cracked, laughter was heard and people were munching. Hehe. It was nice and relaxin...

There are two very important events coming up. One is Hari Raya Eid il Fitr. I know everyone is getting hyped up for it. Is it just me or do I feel more hype among my friends this year? Oh well. The second important upcoming event is my birthday!! Its in two days' time so boys and girls, I expect you to break the bank getting me all kinds of expensive presents! Muahahaha. Just kidding. A sincere 'Happy Birthday' is sufficient. And please smile. In case some of you were planning on saying it half-heartedly. There's only one teeny problem. I don't know what to ask for my birthday! Is this normal? I don't know but I seem pretty content with my life. I mean, sure there are a few things I would like but I'm afraid of breaking the bank. Hmm... Anyway, this morning took an interesting turn while I was getting ready. I was still in my towel and about to put on my contacts when all the lights in my room went out. I went to my parents room to check o...

When Ramadan came, I was excited to go back to Taiping because normally during Ramadan, at around 6 or so, my cuz and I play a bit of soccer. I always lose but hey, its fun. Not losing, having fun with my cousin is fun. Anyway, I thought we would be going back at the end of Ramadan. I was wrong. We went back to Taiping on the FIRST day of Ramadan. Hehehe. After my Add Math tuition that Saturday morning, I went back, packed up and after helping my mom a bit with the baking of two Crumbly Apple Pies -- my mom's Apple Pies are so YUMMY (Homer's day-dreaming tone).... my mouth is watering at the thought of it -- we hit the road. But first, we visited my cousins who just got back from Canada. It was good to see them again. They renovated their house quite a bit. It is very nice now. The boys are die-hard Man Utd fans and they decided to repaint their room in the same color & pattern as M.U.'s latest jersey. Yep, that die-hard. We left and hit the highway to arri...