Satu Kepala

Why It's Important To Have Friends On The Same Wavelength...(as seen on Yahoo IM)

fridaycat13: i'll probably regret never taking diving lessons (for free lagi tu) years from now.

fridaycat13: then again...

fridaycat13: maybe not.

Selina Yapp: u know mel, if you go for diving lessons

fridaycat13: so scare oh.

Selina Yapp: i'll have to go too

Selina Yapp: yeah, freaky

yo.graham: ha??

Selina Yapp: i'd rather have gills implanted

fridaycat13: ya its beautiful and all...but i find it so scare la.

Selina Yapp: and kasih webbify my feet

fridaycat13: ya me too sel.

Selina Yapp: cool

fridaycat13: let's get gills

Selina Yapp: then we can outswim Yo

fridaycat13: and stay underwater longer

Selina Yapp: and then and then we cari penguin and train it how to imitate yo

yo.graham: i'd rather learn diving than get gills and webbified feet

fridaycat13: aha Yo, BUT...

fridaycat13: we only get webbed feet and gills when we WANT to dive.

fridaycat13: TRANSFORM!

Selina Yapp: Yeah!

yo.graham: kha khu khi kho kha

fridaycat13: *kook keek keek kook kook*

Selina Yapp: kur kei ker kee koo

Mel's Great Sukau Adventure

As promised, I am back with photographic evidence of my trip to Sukau. FYI, Sukau is in Sandakan, a wildlife haven along the banks of the Kinabatangan river. Just google it la. And now I bring you, picturegraphs!

It started with an invitation to the Abai Jungle Lodge few months ago (ok in May. Yes, I am a proscastinator) and I finally found the time to haul my ass to Sandakan. And boy oh boy am I glad I did! Anyway, me and six other colleagues made our way to Sandakan at 7:30 am and upon arrival, we made our way to Sepilok Forest Edge Resort, mainly to do an update on the new tourism products in the area.

These are some of the lodges. I was quite impressed at how well-maintained they were and the surrounding greenery is really nice.

We had breakfast there, followed by some really purpley dragon fruit. I was hoping it would be sweeter though. Oh and the host shared some interesting info: The fruit turns your poo purple, so don't panic. *erm, ok*
And then we were off to Abai! It's roughly an hour by boat from the Sandakan Jetty at Jalan Sim Sim. L-R: Jungle Mel, Angeline (her first trip to Sandakan, woo hoo!) and Jusliah.

Our humble abode in Abai. So quiet and jungle-y. There were macaques right outside our lodge.

After lunch, we were off on our first wildlife cruise for the trip. Basically, we cruise the riverbanks with our guide - Junior- in search of the 'local residents'. The nature guides have AMAZING eyes. I couldn't spot half the things they spotted.

One of the earliest things we saw were a family of macaques. Hi cousin! Turns out we didn't have to go far to look for monkeys....

...I spent the whole weekend with a bunch of them. See background for proof.

The next morning, we visit the village, Kg. Abai. The lodge has a great programme whereby local villagers actively participate in tourism activities. For example, Abai Jungle Lodge has a Tree Planting activity where visitors donate RM1.00 to plant a tree in their name and the villagers are in charge of the programme. From the programme, the participating then gets RM10.00 in return from each tree planted. It's a win-win situation: sustainable development at its best with the tourism industry giving back to the local community. The tour agency, S.I Tours, have even helped some young scholars through university while many find career opportunities working in the lodge or with the company. Cool huh?

Another 'not-so-wild'life of Sukau. The Lazinus Sleepingnuss Feline.

I planted a tree! Grow big and strong my little one...

This was the existing public toilet in Kg. Abai....

And now thanks to Sabah Tourism Board, this is the spanking new toilet facilities! Me so proud.

Anyway, I'm not meaning to show off but....WE SAW ELEPHANTS! An amazingly rare sighting. In the wild and in the flesh!

"I'm an efelun...See me swing my big trunk."

And then it rained. Yolanda still sempat squeezing in a smile before getting drenched.

Enden I get to do what I'm never allowed to do back home...MAIN HUJAN! i'm playing in the rain, nyeh nyeh. Pneumonia schumonia.

Heh I found this funny. This is what happens when everyone gets excited and they rush to the side to check out the spotted animal. "Oooooops...relax everybody...back to your seats...We'll turn the boat around."

So yes, I had a blast. I don't have much wildlife shots, I relied on the photographer du jour on that - his camera more canggih. I leave with a shot of my group in our sarongs - The lodge had a rule: No sarong, no dinner! It was a fantastic trip - made new friends, saw ELEPHANTS and the like and it was just great to be outdoors. Till the next trip!

Quick week.

I love how this week has flown by. It's been a flurry of activities and if the mood strikes, I'll illustrate it with photos one of these days. It's Deadline Week, hence all quiet on the blogging front. This Friday I'm off to the Kinabatangan River - yep, work beckons. I'm looking forward to getting out of town and into the wild for a bit. And no leech socks required, yay!

Half of September is gone. I'm super happy about that.

....

Ok I'm officially out of words for now. I'm gonna read a book and hit the sack. Ciao peeps.

Haw The Colleague

Everyone knows I miss Haw The Boyfriend. But what people might not realise is how much I miss Haw The Colleague.

Before we became an item, we were office mates for three years. During that time, we got to know each other's working styles and habits (hey, he sat in front of me all those years so he's kinda hard to ignore). And I quickly discovered he was the best colleague anyone could ask for. Ya ya I know you all think I'm biased but ask anyone from my office. Haw was easily the Employee of the Year, heh heh. Not only was he brilliant in what he did (he was Head of the Graphic Dept. in my office and his designs were fantastic), he was so easy to work with. You know how they say creative minds are usually messy people? Haw is what you call 'organised chaos'. Things LOOKED like they were all over the place but he had a system and he was definitely more organised than me.

But I digress. Lately, when things get crazy and a bit messy in the office, there's no Haw to save the day. I miss his efficiency. His reliability. His integrity. His work. Our department used to be the cream of the crop and we made a fantastic team: We had a manager who would hear us pitch our ideas, get excited about them and convince the Higher Powers, a graphic team who wasn't afraid to think out of the box and, well, I was proud to provide the writing where needed. And I especially miss how he could 'see' my idea in his head before I could finish describing it...Voila! Our projects were often effortless. We were a well-oiled machine who worked hard and with heart.

Things change. And I miss our glory days. I miss Haw the Boyfriend, but I also speak for my team when I say I miss Haw the Colleague just as much. You never know what you have till it's gone. And boy are we feeling it now.

How to slaughter a song.

I heart my friends very much. Presenting Sel, Yo and Mel with their rendition of Unchained Melody (as seem on Yahoo!IM):

Yolanda Graham: as tiiime goooeees by
Yolanda Graham: so slooooowwwwlllyyyy
Yolanda Graham: and time can doooo so much
Yolanda Graham: aaaaare youuuuuuuu stilll maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAiiiiinnn
Melissa Leong: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiin....
Melissa Leong: i neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed your lovvvvvvvve
Yolanda Graham: aaaaaaaAAAhhh neeeEEEeeddddd yourrr loooove
sel: aiii neeEEEEEED yor lufffff
sel: God speEEEEED yor lof
Yolanda Graham: god speeeeeeeeeeedddddd yourrrrr lovveeee
sel: tooo--hoo hoo hooo-ooooOooOOOO meeeEEEEE-heeeee-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
sel: *pengsans*
Yolanda Graham: toooohoohoohoohoooooooo meeeeeeeeeeeeeee
sel: LOL
Melissa Leong: tengkiu tengkiu

Okay, back to work.

Top 10 Turn Offs

Guys, a word of advice. Before you start hitting on a chick or, worse, make a total ass of yourself with catcalls and just being plain obnoxious, please take a long hard look in the mirror. Chances are, you are not all that. This isn't a do-or-die list but it's worth taking note of:

1. Bad breath
You can look like Johnny Depp but if your mouth smells like something crawled in it and died, you might as well look like John Howard in a thong.

2. Body odour
Seriously, if we can smell you BEFORE you enter the room, it's not a good thing. If showering is such a chore, may we suggest alternatives: Deodorant, anti-perspirant, cologne, air freshener, moving to another planet...

3. Visible nose/ear hair
They invented nose/ear hair trimmers for a reason. Use it. Personally, I'm not too fond of facial hair in general but hair coming out of your nose as I'm about lean in and kiss you is a mood killer.

4. That long fingernail on your pinky
Unless you are actually a triad member, this look does not bode well for you. It just gives us women the impression you dig your ears (and nose) with ease. A lot.

5. Sexist remarks
This isn't the stone age. If you're so insecure about your manhood, strap on a pair and shut up already.

6. Being 'too' pretty
If he's more concerned with his looks than his date with me, I'd sooner stay home and talk to my cat. Groom, don't primp.

7. The Me Show
You say: "So I spent seven years in London where I was the top student in my class and everyone thought I was going to graduate with honours for sure..."
We hear: "Me bla bla bla me me me bla bla bla me me me..."
Tip:Sometimes a conversation involves two people.

8. Disrespect
Such a no brainer but taken for granted so easily. A good sign of how a guy will treat you is how he treats the people around him. The waiter, his mum, his sister, the guy selling chicken rice, your dog...If he's nice to them, there is hope yet.

9. Mama's boys
I dislike men who flaunt their status, wealth and so-called ambitions when in truth they still have to ask their mommies, "Where's my Transformer undies?" Being close to your mother will
always be a big plus point in our books but being tied to her apron strings will have us running out the door.

10. Greasy hair;
If you are not auditioning for a Brylcreem ad nor did you fall into a vat of pork lard, there is no good reason to have greasy hair. It has never been a good look and never will be. And who in her right mind would want to run her hand through THAT?

Ok i lied, I have 11:

11. Too much jewelery
Are you a black recording artiste who makes millions a year rapping about shooting people and bein' with all 'dem shorties'? No? Then you should not be wearing more jewelery than your girlfriend, period.

So...what turns YOU off?

September

Ah September. I thought you'd never arrive. September is a good sign of things to come. First of all, we finally enter the months of Er (you know, SeptembER, OctobER, NovembER...) which means the year is going to end!

September rocks because this is the month where I'm not so busy event-wise. Ironically, this is the time where Sabah is playing host to a gazillion conferences and conventions but fortunately, I'm not involved in them. So...yay! Therefore...

September rocks because it's the time of the year where I can travel a bit more for work.

September rocks because the weather looks like it's picking up.

September rocks because Christmas is only four months away!!!

September rocks because in a few more months, I'll have cleared a significant amount of my debts, phew.

September rocks because this month we celebrate my dad's 63rd birthday and he's in good health. God bless.

September rocks because we can lots and lots of mooncakes!

But most of all, September rocks because it means Haw will be back faster than you can say, "Honey I'm home!"

Cheers to September.

The Office.

Please don't tell me for the hundredth time what a great job I have. It's like telling a tiger he has stripes. I KNOW already. And don't tell me I'm an ingrate because despite my 'great job', I still complain. Today is Complain About My Workplace Day and I don't give a hoot who reads this because I know most of my office colleagues found my blog anyway (I really should consider moving...).

It's been two days in a row that I start my morning with a bullcrap e-mail from the Powers That Be, nagging about one thing or another. I know I should be doing things even if they are beyond my job scope because it's good for my own 'growth' or something like that. And trust me, I have. And yes, I've learned stuff. And if I wanted to be SO Government-y, I would be whining about how I don't get paid for all the 'other' stuff that's not in my job contract when I signed up.

But I don't.

BUT today I will. First of all, it's common knowledge that we get paid peanuts. And yet we're expected to work beyond our hours AND put in the best we can AND go out of our way to excel in every little thing we do, even if it's wiping someone's ass. If i were to put everything in dollars and cents, I don't get paid enough for the crap that comes out of my bosses' mouth. Seriously. The mental abuse, sarcasm and the condescending attitude really isn't worth getting out of bed on most days. If they're SO smart about everything, why don't they do it themselves? Because they only know how to bark orders but when it's time to get down and dirty, that's where your executives come in, right? I admit I don't know everything (who does?) but give me some motivation to WANT to learn. Telling me, "That's lousy! That's bad writing! Those captions are just not attractive enough! Use your brain!" isn't exactly going to get me super-excited about working for you, bozo. I used to love coming into the office but as of late, the air in the office is suffocating. Everyone is demotivated, tired and just negative. It's like a festival of Eeyores around here. Where is the love, people???

I need a break from this monotony.