2011 in a glance & 2012 resolutions

Here goes some flashback...

2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Family & Friends...

I'm very much thankful that I'm posted in Sabah instead of KL now that I'm closer to my family and school friends. I guess I've been away for too long to remember what a wonderful place Sabah is. In addition to the less traffic and crowd, I've my family and friends that are always there to support me through ups and downs. I no longer have to only listen to my mom stories about their picnics and get together because I actually have the chance to be there to join them. I was thinking maybe if I am in KL, I won't get to see my UIA friends as much as I can hang out with my school friends here. I love the 'classic' SMSLian hang outs; we just sit in a restaurant, chat, reminisce SMSL memories, observe and appreciate our surroundings, have a hearty laughs, karaoke and movies. In 2011, I had many of those hangouts that I lost count. Sweet!!!!





Career...

On the 1st half of 2011, I was still on training. I was shifting to a new department in monthly basis and I found it hard to cope with that especially when I started my clinical pharmacy training. But then when the training ends and I was officially a fully registered pharmacy, things started to get into my way :) Alhamdulillah. I was given the post of my preference which is inpatient pharmacy. So, for the 2nd half of 2011, I found joy in my work. One good thing about working in a setting with lack of facilities is that you get to be more independent and that also means that you get to learn more. Yes, I have to deal with more work loads, have to keep up with manual recordings and have to browse through references every now and then because there's no compilation of things that I'm searching for. But that's just one of the 'places' from which the joy radiates; the opportunity to learn something new in daily basis. Doing something in an endless routine without gaining anything new is boring and I don't like that. I was really depressed during the 1st half that I actually read these books to be motivated again :p

Climbing...

I'd put a lot of commitent into climbing. Like A LOT! I trained 3 to 4 times a week to improve on skills and techniques and also to build strength. But still, other climbers actually climb more than I do so I actually really really optimize my training though sometimes I do get distracted and only spend about an hour on the wall and the rest was chit chat.. I achieved quite a lot for climbing too last year. I won titles for 2 events and 1st runner up in one event. I went to 3 outdoor climbs last year; Kironggu, Berhala and Bat cave in Kuching. I think I'm more into the outdoor climb than the gym. I found it easier to finish outdoor routes than the gym because sometimes the route in the gym is meant for men so being short is a setback and I needed more energy and more power to execute a move to reach a higher hold (ok bahasa climber..).. But then in one point, after I end up second that is, I found that I'm not improving. I stayed at the same grade for many months so I thought it was time to rest and start anew after that. So I stopped climbing from October to December...

Travels..

I travelled a lot last year but most of it are short trips since I can't take long leaves during training. The more you are absent, the lesser your marks babe! So, where did I go???


Brunei-->> Sandakan-->> Kuching-->> Singapore -->> Bali -->> Tawau and the islands in Seporna

The Brunei trip was with my family and I drove all the way from Sabah to Brunei. Tired babe!! I won't do that again until that annoying ferry service that connects Limbang and Brunei is replaced by a bridge!

Sandakan and Kuching were climbing trips. They are very short, you know. 3-days trip. They felt like a dream but I really love them! Love the experience and love the new friends I made there :)

Singapore and Bali were my first looooooong vacation since working. Took 5 days leave and since it was Deepavali, that accumulated to 10 days holiday! I applied for the leave like 2 months earlier hehe That was the best long holiday ever because it made me feel young again with all the thrill rides (not that I'm old~ just that it felt like student years). Bali was an adventure since there were only two of us. We were like a real explorer!! \(^^)/

And islands in Semporna is a dream came true!!! A whole new experience with those school fish and scuba diving!! (^^) It's a pure relaxation too especially the night we sat on the deck gazing upon stars. I said to zeq as I look at the starry sky, "I just can't understand how some people don't believe in God.."

All in all, 2011 is full with sweet memories.. Now let's go to my 2012 resolutions!!!!!!

Family & Friends...

I hope to maintain the good ties and closeness.. Hope to spend more quality time with them (^^)

Career...

There are many areas to improve in my career. Need to expand my clinical knowledge because it really helps a lot in being the last person to check on the medication errors. Like if you know more, you have this gut feeling that there's something wrong in the prescription and you just naturally go and double check with the case notes. This happened a lot lately; the power of gut feeling~ (^^) I already manage to lessen procrastination on 2011 so my target this 2012 is to be committed to PUNCTUALITY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Climbing...

Since there were no improvements towards the end of 2011, so I'm hoping for one at the beginning of 2012. I'm going to do a lot of work out to increase strength. I won't get bulky, okay.. Climbers have lean muscles (^^) So in these first few weeks, I'm going to do 30 minutes traverse!!! I won't climb the walls if I have to. I need to rupture the muscles to make them renewed and strengthened hehe

Travels...

I already have at least four travel plans for this year. I won't mention it here though because I want it to be a surprise hehe. Actually, to me travelling is to explore and not merely for relaxation. I can relax during public holidays and just lie flat on my cozy mattress. Travelling is when I get out of my confinement, out of my coccoon to explore what is there outside of my comfort zone of work, home, family and friends. It's the time to see places, experience the culture and meet people. Although tired after all the trips made, I will always have new energy to start again with my usual routines after that. Can't wait!! \(^^)/

Others..

Love?? Keep it for another year.. I need to see my options in other continents before I decide to have one from here hahaha

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Mabul-Siamil-Sipadan (^^)

Hurm.. Let me think back when did Sipadan become one of my dream destination.. Yup! It was in form four when Z and KA found out that they've met when they were much younger; when KA and his family went for a vacation and had stayed in Uncle Chang's. I recalled them telling me the beauty of Sipadan, the coconut crab (that I didn't see), turtles (that I didn't also except the new babies that just hatched that was kept in a polystyrene box), the colourful fish and the water that has four colours...

So I've waited for approximately 9 years for it to come true. Bravo!!!! Patience is golden :p (tukar sket~)

First and foremost, I want to thank Z for the wonderful weekend. She was the best host ever. The trip was flawless except for no turtles and that was not her fault at all. It was me; the unlucky one :P

So the schedule was actually like this

KK-> Tawau -> Semporna -> Mabul -> Siamil ->Mabul -> Sipadan -> Smeporna -> Tawau -> KK

I took the night flight to Tawau and spent a night in Semporna. We depart from Semporna to Mabul the next evening

This is what Z called 'Floating'. I saw the sign board that writes the real name but then I just can't remember. Maybe she'll tell us in the comment for this post :P This is a very famous place, I presume. Those who visited Semporna will surely have pictures taken here.

We had lunch at this restaurant which I also don't remember the name..

(Haziah, laen kali tulis dalam buku!!Travel blog kunun.. Semua ko lupa.. (-_-"))

They serve delectable seafood!!! We had fried squid, mayonaise prawn and blackpepper chicken.. I miss the mayonaise prawn!!!! Where can I find it in KK???

So, this is Uncle Chang's place in Mabul. We stayed in one of these chalet on our first night. The boat ride was great; the water was surprisingly calm \(^^)/

Nothing much on the first night. We just relax and enjoyed the sunset on the deck. This is the same deck where we gaze upon the stars on the second night. We waited for a shooting star to make a wish. I thought I saw one and wished to see a whale. But then I didn't even get to see a single turtle (-_-")

We departed quite early to Siamil the next morning. Z arranged a Discovery Scuba Dive (DSD) for me. Luckily I'm used to carrying heavy bags during my mountain adventures in the past. The gears are like insanely HEAVY!!!! I had this weight belt strap around my waist. And there was the oxygen tank on my back. I freaked out, of course. I was like as heavy as a hippo with not enough fat to give me buoyancy!

Okay about Siamil, I think it's a beautiful island. We don't really explore the island because the main purpose was to explore what's lying beneath the water surface. So yeah it's beautiful. Nice beach for sun bathing hehe

This is a picture of me scuba diving. This is not at all deep ok.. Y?? Because I suddenly had claustrophobic once I submerged. The fact that I'm surrounded by water scared the hell out of me!!! I went as deep as 3m and when I saw Z's leg on top of me, I realized how deep it was and I just stop breathing :P Another weird thing is that I need to touch the sand to feel 'connected' to the ground.. I don't have such need while climbing, though :P

But then I got use to the breathing and depth during the third dive. I don't have any problem in equalizing too. So, I guess I'll consider taking a diving licence in the future but I won't do this a lot. It's a rather costly hobby and I think it's just tedious to remember all the hand signals and those safety things.

We reached Mabul at 4.30pm after that dive in Siamil. Z then took me for a walk around Mabul for sightseeing. We went into the village and look at how the locals live. They were apparently happy with their simple life. We went into the compounds of the most and the second most expensive resort in Mabul and took some pictures there. I think this picture is superb!!! especially that sun ray from the other side of the island hehe O ya, that night, there was a live band in Uncle Chang's (^^)

So the big day is of course SIPADAN!!!!!!!! \(^^)/

Z warned me about the big big fish and their large numbers. I was quite nervous to be honest hehe The boat ride from Mabul to Sipadan was around 20-30 minutes; depending on the weather. In sipadan, Z and I just snorkel. But it was not the type of snorkeling that I use to do; snorkel in shallow water. This was snorkeling in deep water!!!! Like 5-10m deep, I think.

So these are among the beautiful corals of Sipadan. There were so colourful and they cover quite a huge area of the ocean bed. And you can see tiny fish swimming inside those corals. At a deeper side, we even saw Sharks!!!! White tip if I'm not mistaken. I just froze when I saw one baby shark lazing on the ocean bed. But then after two to three encounters, I got use to seeing them already. The last Shark that we saw was quite huge! Maybe my size or even bigger. From my distance, I saw the shark was as big as the French diver who was diving right in front of it.

I say, this should be my most exciting encounter of all \(^^)/

These guys are like soooooooo fast. I was reluctant to jump into the water when I first saw this huge school of Baracudas. I was afraid I'll be eaten (-_-") And guess what, in mere minutes,while I was thinking whether to jump or not, they were gone!!!! Then, we manage to find them again hehe do watch the videos below

And this is a school of Jack fish (^^) When I saw them, I thought of Nemo. You know, the part where Nemo taught this school of fish to "Swim down!!!" That's them!! hehe This is a very very huge school. And right in the middle of this swarm was this one alpha Jack Fish who is obviously bigger than the other. And once, I saw 3 Jack fish swim out of the school and then suddenly that huge Jack fish went to chase those 3 fish back into the school. Woho!!!!!

Now lets watch the videos!!!! BARACUDA!!!

JACK FISH!!!!!!!!! \(^^)/

AND SHE IS MY BEST FRIEND WHO MADE MY DREAM COME TRUE

P.S. My waterproof camera is Nikon AW100 but I used my Sony cybershot for outdoor pics except those with dates on the right side.

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Mornings in Jenin

Yup! I just finished another book :) But before I go on with my review, I've a story of my own..

Recently, one of my staff went to Israel for pilgrimage. I was excited to see the pictures. I wanted to see what the land of Palestine have become these days. As I was browsing through the album..

Staff: Saya rasa bagus lagi bha dorang di bawah Israel. Maju.. Yang bahagian2 orang orang Palestin ni semua miskin..

I'm very bad at hiding my facial expression. I think I gave her a frown that says "What da..!!??" I, of course, don't agree with this. Never! The Palestinians are gradually being banished from their own land and this has been going on for almost a century. Just imagine if Sabahans are being exiled from their own land by some intruder.. Owh how sad that would be. Being colonized is a different thing. You're still staying in your own land but have to abide to the rulings of strangers.. But when you're being exiled, you have to abandon your own land and could only live with memories~

But then... Many people are not aware of the issue. They heard from the news that Israel is the bad guy but don't know what it's all about...

Sooooo.. Now about the book... I like it very much!!!

The characters are fictional but the chronology of attacks on the Palestinians are true. The author goes back to the days when there is still Palestine. She described how they'd lived in normalcy; nothing to be afraid of and can just go on with daily living without fear of death.

The story actually tells about the story of a family of 4 generations. The ones who'd lived in Palestine, the ones who have to deal with exile, the ones who have to deal with massacres and the ones who'd survived and have to deal with loss.

Actually, books like this are in a way kind of similar to each other. There'll be fear, uncertainties, longings, rage and whatnot. But the cliche' never bore me because that's the reality; those are the definite emotions that will arise when you're living the life of those in the stories.

The part that touched me most is their unwavering hope to go back to their own land. Like in From Beirut to Jerusalem, the characters in this book are also persevere and very good in reconstructing life.

I also like the author's style of writing; poetic and very detail that you can clearly imagine the how it was before the war and after that.. (^^) If you like Kite Runner, you'll like this very much

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