Sunday night

My weekend started with a bang and escalated to frenzy heights. Come Saturday morning, partially hungover, I got some work done, ran errands as instructed and slept the day away. Sunday was productive during the a.m (i woke up at 7am mind you) and mellowed through the day as I got more stuff done. It's 8:30pm and I'm trying to get one more article done cuz i'm trying to stay up late. For tonight...

Arsenal meets Chelsea.

I'm not a hardcore football fan but i do enjoy the occassional game. For the record, I am an Arsenal supporter, simply because they play beautifully. Ok, Van Persie might have something to do with my interest (it used to be the pink-haired Ljunberg, heh heh).

Go Gunners!

Out of tomorrows.

I get plenty of fwd mails, especially those "Woe to he who does not forward this to 96 people in the next 20 seconds!" kind of e-mails. But I have to say, sometimes I do get forwarded e-mails that make you go hmm.

A couple of days ago, one of them told a story about a woman who always saved her special dress or perfume for a special occassion. She didn't want to 'waste' it by wearing them on a regular day. Well, one day she died and she never got to wear that dress or perfume. And her husband decided her funeral turned out to be that one occassion she was 'saving' all her treasures for.

Wow. It was just a lightbulb moment for me. How many times have we put something off or taken something for granted because there's always tomorrow? Or we're always waiting for the 'right time' to tell someone something or to do something meaningful. Why can't we give flowers just because or tell our parents we love them for no reason at all?

It's a scary thought, to die tomorrow and go, "Oh crap, I shoulda woulda coulda..." I'm not being fatalistic here but we rest on the thought that we've got a good 50 years on earth. Praise the Lord if that's the case but don't get too cocky I say. I could walk out of my office building and a signboard could fall on me and I'd die on the spot, none the wiser. And then what? Have I told the people I love how I feel about them? Have I said sorry to the people I owe apologies too? Have I forgiven people who have hurt me? Have I finished editing the magazine for the January issue? I still have a black dress hanging in the closet with its price tag on and I'm saving it for a fancy party or important event. What if that 'event' never comes around?

It scares me. The thought of dying now. I may bitch about work and the weather and life in general...But nothing is so horrible that life is worth ending. I still have things to do, places to see and people to meet. It's so easy to take everything for granted. If I had to make a New Year's resolution, it would be to not wait for tomorrows when I can do it today. In fact, I'm not even going to wait for the New Year - I could be dead by then. Ok enough morbid thoughts. So if I start hugging you on the street for no apparent reason, kindly ignore my crazy outburst - I'm just having a 'c'est la vie' moment.

Don't live in yesterdays and don't count on tomorrows. You have today.

Four.

Dear Job,

It's been exactly four years and a day since we got to know each other. And what a ride it's been. Remember when we first met? I didn't know what to expect but I was lucky to have great colleagues to help me learn the ropes quickly. So much to learn and do that sometimes I felt it was such an uphill battle I would never win.

But through it all, it was important I got to do what I love most: Write. And I later learnt the icing on my cake was the travelling. Oh wow...the places you brought me to! Everyday, I fall in love with Sabah more and more. I love the Tip of Borneo...

And Mataking holds a special place in my heart...

I was actually embarassed at how little I knew about my own hometown! Thank you for opening my eyes. I've also had the chance to see other parts of the world - in your own special way, you created amazing globe-trotting opportunities for me.

Mel does Macau!

Along the Chao Praya river in Bangkok, back in 2004

Fuji-yoshida, Japan in 2005.

Your network is amazing. I can't rave enough about the wonderful people I've met through you. Sure, there have been characters that proved...challenging...but I guess that's what makes being you more colourful. Remember the time I met Ian Wright? It just blew me away to be in the same room with him. Now HE has a dream job!

Sure it hasn't always been easy. Gomantong cave and its roaches will be forever etched as the most terrifying moment for me! Wences, not helping.

I remember working on my birthday at the Tip of Borneo, but being with great workmates made it all worthwhile. Sometimes stress takes its toll but with the right equipment and right people in the office, there are remedies as you can see:

But I must say...I can't complain about other aspects of you, Job. Heh heh. As you can see, it's a tough life sometimes but someone's gotta do it!

My favourite event each year, the Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon. I'm gonna miss the 4am wake up calls!

But the biggest blessing I've had in the last four years is the great bunch of people I work with. Yes, we have our moments but I couldn't ask for a better 'family'. I will miss them greatly.

The Sabah Tourism Women's Futsal Team.

The 2004 Annual Staff Party at Blue Note

Every year, not a single birthday goes by without a thoughtful gesture from my colleagues.

Welcoming 2007 with the most fun-loving and hardworking people I know. They taught me the art of working hard and playing harder!

If I've ever been ungrateful, I'm sorry. The truth is, I will always look back and count my blessings having met you along my path. You are more than a Job to me - you bring me more satisfaction than you'll ever know. Oh, and I do have to thank you for one more thing which I get to keep:


Happy anniversary, Job.

Love,

Missy