delayed camp post mortem

Must blog before 2009 ends!

Am back in PJ, but couldn’t help missing home at times.. Only Jong and me in the hse.. so u can imagine how quiet the hse was besides occasional creaking sounds of the old house + our shrieks on meeting old friends Cockroachy and Lizardy..

Oh yea I mentioned Joshua Youth Encounter Camp, so gotta post some pictures here! It was 3 days and 2 nights.. and we slept in church! Quite a new experience haha cuz you know like your hse is just a few kms away and yet you cant go home! Initially we planned it in Permai Beach Camp and finally had to change the venue due to tight budget.. but never did we realise that it was God’s plans from the beginning because our speaker, Rev Ho, had had a vision or revelation from God calling him to preach in Kuching even before we planned the camp and said it would be in the church! How great is our God who knows all things!!

And when we knew we’re on the right track, we worked hard and full speed for it in 2 weeks to get things ready! The deco of the church, to make up to the change of venue hahah.. Thanks to Samuel and gang, the stage was sort of transformed~~ I should have a before and after pic here.. Our theme was more on praying for the city and nations, so Sammy got Joshua and Paul and Federick and gang to set up a City of God in the middle of stage.

And when they turned on the lights.. wheeee~ it was just bee-yoo-ti-full! 

Morning devotion.. very enlightening!

Indoor team building on the first day… Forming the longest line with whatever you have on you! And the next day we had a Treasure Hunt + Amazing Race thingy… Ooh and I love the last station! Are you patient or not?

This is really testing your patience! It’s not easy okay…

If you’re not patient then you’d better be brave.. blow and burst balloons! I couldn’t help laughing coz Henry kept covering his ears and Sammy was like trying hard to stick their bottoms together.. You can hear the balloon screaming ‘No! No!’ on the verge of bursting..

And a surprise birthday for Amanda.. Happy 13th bday girl!! So the young!!! My 13th bday is like.. 9.. almost 10 years ago.. >.<

And.. that’s all! Haha.. really didnt get to take many photos.. have to wait for Samuel’s masterpiece.. Anyway.. it was truly an awesome encounter with God.. what I thought to be trivial or unnecessary in life.. God shows how important it is to deal with them.. and when He comes, you just can’t run, because our God is a chasing God! Sounds scary? Yet I’m thankful for it.. because I dont want to be lost and end up in the boiling sulfur pool..!!

Joshua Youth’s very first Encounter Camp.. though not everything go as we had planned.. the theme and topics for sermons.. but God knew what’s best for us, and He knew better to cleanse us before we go on the long way for Him.. and I witnessed a dramatic change in us on that Saturday during Youth Worship Service! Truly no one could change and renew us completely except for Him!

So keep up the fire and passion Joshua Youth! See you next February! ^^

food again.. and some updates

Posting some more yummilicious pictures and hoping that they can be posted up later..

I found another not-bad place for Sarawak laksa.. guess I should start a laksa blog and rate them! It's called 六福 at Jalan Song.. The place where I got a taste of smelly kueh-chap.. Hahah.. It's like the usual coffee shop with many stalls.. but the environment is definitely better than ordinary shops.. Maybe it's because the place is new and clean.. and it's painted a dark brown colour with dark square tables which reminds me of OldTown (ooh, by the way, I heard we have the very first OldTown in kuching at the airport ^^).. Anyway.. cut the crap and here's the laksa.

..4 bucks..

And up next is the ever famous Teh C Special.. the best ones tasted so far is at the BDC and Jalan Song Expert hawker centers..

4 layers..! Stir well before sipping!

And some self-attempts..

Baked a chocolate cake for my daddy's bday... His first birthday as a grandpa.. Haha.. It's great when it's still warm.. But I must admit that I did a bit of cheating.. Coz I bought those instant cake mix to ensure success.. Hahaha.. So if you think you can't bake, this is the solution!

Long time didn't take pictures with Daddy dy...

And of course Niny can't be missed out in photo shooting! You know the way my dad carries his granddaughter is exactly like how he carried my twin sisters last time! We had a family photo when I was 5, when my sisters were just born.. and the difference of that pic and this is that my mom had another baby in her arms.. Haha.. and of course, they lookED younger!

More shots of Niny.. a bit blurry because she moves a lot! She seems to be able to recognise the camera and she doesn't like the metal box in front of her..

I guess my sister hugged her too fiercely.. Haha

And now a bit of updates.. Am helping in the preparation of the Youth Encounter Camp.. I'm sure God's gonna do GREAT and BIG things among the Kuching 611 Youth! Oh yeah, recently am starting to drive.. and attempted driving alone in both manual and auto cars, thanks to my mom and sist and Jong (she's a real good instructor)!! Hope I get the chance to get behind the wheel a few more times before going back..

Lots of things happened lately.. Looking forward to go back to PJ sometimes.. Hmm, well, only 10 more days to go!

the yummy post

It's always when I've got a bunch of photos that I'll be reminded of blogging... haha.. and now my photos are like so mixed-up that I dont know which is when.. sigh.. guess I'll just post pictures of food.. though I've not got many here..

To begin with, this is the beef noodles (from the hawker stall near my house) I mentioned that day.. Went with Jong that day.. I've been convincing her how good it was.. Turned out.. Not bad.. but I can't help feeling it has downgraded a lil'.. so I have to agree that up till now, nothing beats her Taiwanese beef noodles.. hahaha

Sarawak laksa~! Though they differ from place to place, but I guess they'll never miss out the very ori, genuine Sarawak taste.

This is from Sing Garden (really, really near my hse).. RM4.. not really worth it I feel.. coz it's quite small and there's nothing special.. :P

Another one from 3rd mile.. nice..! RM3.50 only..

Ooo.. and I found a not-bad tom yam at Jalan Keretapi.. near BookCastle the second hand bookshop where I had swept clean all Mary Higgins Clark's novels (really, there is not any to be found!)... The place is called Tea and Cheese.. I thought initially that it's a place only for snacks and tidbits.. but they sell 'real food' too.. haha.. This seafood tomyam soup is just soup without rice or noodles.. but it's quite worth it for RM4.50 or RM5 or RM6 I can't remember.. tastes a bit like ladna..

Next up is the kueh chap (consisting of pig's internal organs) which existence I have forgotten! I ordered that day because my friends did, and I was like, "Oh yeah, I haven't tried since I came back here!" But bad, bad choice of the day because I don't think they cleaned the intestines properly that day.. or is it that particular stall.. ugh.. really tasted like poo in the mouth and I don't think I'll eat that anymore for quite a while..

The next yummy thing is Niny the ginseng fruit.. hahaa... She's really growing bigger! Most people say she looks big for a 2-month baby.. Now her eyes could focus more and she could look at us in the eyes! And she coos and gurgles more often and louder now.. as if she's responding to us!!

Really feels like biting her sometimes.. Hahaha

Sigh.. how can you resist such cuteness?!

kids BLESS camp

And now for my most recent update.. *sounds like an anchorwoman pulak*

These two days Jong & I helped out a bit in the children BLESS camp in church.. mostly in games.. I'm really amazed how much work it takes to organise something.. there're two major types of games: one was sth like a telematch that was supposed to be held outdoor and the other was a mini Amazing Race in church.. really, the workload of just these 2 games was more than enough to crush you flat.. I wonder how it's gonna be like for the Youth Encounter Camp in mid-Dec..

Jong filling the water balloons

Didn't take many photos.. but the first day when the telematch was to be held.. it rained cats and dogs!

The kids arrived at the field only to be told to get back into the cars/vans.. so in the end 30++ kids & facilitators had to cramp at Pastor James & Karen's house but we managed to play 2 games..

The must-have.. Looking for candies in flour.. It was really adorable, especially when the kids turned into teddy bears with white muzzles when they got the candies hahaha... but most of them rushed off to wash their face after that.. show how self-conscious kids today could be!

Love this picture! ... a station in the Amazing Race yesterday where the kids are to eat four apples without touching them. The facilitators joined in to help so that the kids could finish faster.. The love here seems tangible.. hahah ^^

One of tidbits for teatime: gingerbread! Besides this they had scrumtious cakes and al that.. Karen said most of the food was sponsored.. It's like one of the blessings for joining BLESS camp, where they learn to grow in the Body, Labour, Emotion, Social and Spiritual aspects.. ^^ and we, though just mere helpers, gain as much blessings.. coz Pastor Karen's gonna hold a steamboat party for all of the faci's and us next Monday! Yay~!!

two birthday gurls and a bday celebration

And yup, as mentioned, this post will feature Doreen and BeeGuat, the two bday girls who turned 22 officially on the 9th and 10th.. so this was a belated celebration...

Welcome to the (old girls) club, ladies! I believe they are the youngest in the SC14 family.. am I not right? And this is their very first bday in the new house! Anyway, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to DOREEN & BEEGUAT!

The tiny 4'' cake.. We didnt dare to get a big one coz everyone's going home the next day and this thing will rot in the fridge..

Cake cutting ceremony still had to go on despite the cake size..

Savouring the rich chocolate.. And they've got more chocolates for prezzie..! I know the background's an eyesore.. please forgive us.. students ma..

And lastly, photo snapping with all the rest of the old girls.. otherwise we'd be mentally & psychologically imbalance.. hahaha don't know what I'm babbling here.. it's 2.26 AM and I'm typing crap here.. argghh... 'Nyways, A42 rocks~! Yiieeehhaaaa~

updating outdates.. ^^

Back home for almost a week and could only find the time to write now.. Keep snapping photos and now most of them are like outdated dy and I'm wondering like 'Should I still post them...?' I guess I'll dump some of them here.. but I can't seem to post everything straight in an entry because the pictures would not load.. guess I'll have to do double & triple & quadruple job. >.<

PIZZAS! I don't know what's the first one, but it's the one they keep advertising on TV now, and the other one is Royal Masala.. The first one with the fried shrimps and cheeses was like, oh-my-scumplicious~! I wished we had ordered two of that one hahaha...

See how Jong advertised to you the creaminess of the cheese.. and how excited I looked.. you'd know how tasty the pizzas must have been haha..

and of course not forgetting the group photo.. looked like squatters... aiks and Doreen missing.. she went to church.. she'd show up in the next post.. because it's her birthday!!

kuching or kl...?

I'm back in PJ... only for 2 days and off I go again..! Was a lil' surprised at how easy I felt just now on the way to the boarding room. Guess it's the knowledge of home sweet home again in 2 days' time..! But I'm gonna miss him much when the real holiday starts, even though it's only like.. 1 and a half months..? But when you've gotten used to seeing somebody every day, it's weird not to see him for a while..

Well, on second thought I praise and thank God that there're things to miss on both sides--Kuching and KL. I love the church here, love being in the cell group which we've all gotten familiar with, the fellowship with the gang (the Fantastic Four? ahaks), the Internet connection & the computer(!!), and last but not least, he's around! On the other hand, haha, nothing beats being with dad & mom & loud sisters (add-on: a niece), home-cooked food, and knowing that there's no assignments or exams nagging at the back of your mind.. and you don't have to worry over how much to pay for your meals! Yay~!

Quite a balance, isn't it?

And that's a bit of headache when I think of posting next time.. Well I guess just let God decide where I should be..

By the way, I guess my mom's quite concerned with my posting issues. Cuz that day she asked me if I wanted to get engaged, or just sign the legal papers.... haha I wonder if she's serious.. and I wonder if I'm ready for it..!!?

beef noodles date

Went for brunch today with Jong & Kevin and became the very huge light bulb.. I felt kinda bad coz they didn't see each other often and I had to tag along.. :S Met up with HawFou as well.. Havent seen him since CNY.. I wonder why we didn't take pictures.. haha.. but we're gonna see him like next year CNY too.. guess it's the only thing that brings us together.. our annual traditional visiting.. :)

As promised, here's the 'food review' of the new beef noodles place Jong has discovered in The Spring food court. Looks very inviting indeed.. ^^ but the service is a bit choink.. they prepared our food but didn't know which was which.. and in the end the frustrated boss had to serve us himself..

This is homemade beef noodles special, so it comes with all the meatballs and stuff.. Not bad for RM7, but the soup is kind of bland, or maybe it is just today.. haha.. Actually Jong recommended the tom yam beef noodles which HawFou ordered, but since I'm facing some ladies' crisis today, I guess I'd better not make myself suffer... but I still prefer the Jade Pot beef noodles and another one at the hawker stall near my hse.. hehehe

We went 'shopping' after that, such a weird way of spending time with old friends.. My fault, my fault.. Got some baking ingredients and that's all.. Hmmph.. Came back and slept off for a few hours.. and surprisingly Niny has been sleeping for 6 hours without fail from 11.30am.. and she is still sleeping! We changed her wet diaper and she didn't even wake up! I hope she sleeps through the night like that tonight!

zzzz...

This is just a random shot of her sleeping in my elder twin's arms. My sister's getting professional in becoming a nanny or a mom.. haha..

I'm going back to KL this Sunday evening.. and I haven't studied! Put it more correctly, I don't know what to study! =.=''' and I don't know what to get for him for his birthday.. :SSS

scrawl.. scrawl...

Went to church this afternoon and had a meeting on the upcoming children bless church camp... So malu~ I thought it was supposed to be tomorrow, then unexpectedly got a message from Karen saying "I'm coming now"... and I was still messy and dirty... so poor Karen had to wait for me to shower and get changed... So soree~

Came back exhausted and real sleepy... don't feel like bathing.. don't even feel like moving... Guess I'm starting to feel the strain of not sleeping properly these few days.. but for Niny, it's worth the 'sacrifice'... haha..

Have a brunch date with Jong & her beau & an ex-classmate tomorrow.. am going to have beef noodles! Haven't had any since I came back.. Laksa, yes! Jong said there's a pretty good one in The Spring.. Let's hope it's superb! I'll see if I can get to take any pictures..

Gosh, how I miss him!

after lunch...!

Niece Niny

Been home for almost a week and I must say anything at home beats exam and doing printscreening! Very well-fed with laksa and home-cooked chicken soup and steamed pork in soy sauce and pig-tummy soup and don't know what else... and so up goes the figure in the weighing scale as well.. (hey it rhymes! ^^)

Things have definitely changed at home, with the arrival of a new member in the family.. Presenting Sarah Ho Niny~!

Haha.. actually Niny's not the real name, but I don't know when and how we just got comfortable with that nickname. And she looks so much more adorable than the pictures that I got from the father when she was just born. I guess all babies just get prettier and prettier as they grow!

And although it has only been a week, Niny has taught me a lot! You see, when my twin sisters were born I was only 5 then, so it did not feel like there were babies at home. So coming back here is like a 'training practical' on motherhood for me... hahaha... coz eventually I have to learn to prepare milk for her -how much hot and cold water + how many teaspoons of milk powder-, how to change and wash diapers, how to get her to calm down and go to sleep, how to dress her... and the list goes on..

These few days Niny's Daddy was outstation, so I got to accompany her and the Mummy at night.. and for the time being Niny's meal schedule is half a bottle of Enfalac every 2 hours, so you can imagine how tired Mummy is! Sleep is never enough and we steal some forty winks whenever Niny dozes off.. sometimes she chooses not to sleep after meals but coos and gurgles instead.. and sometimes it's kind of irresistible to coo and gurgle together with her.. :P

hahah.. I think most adults turn babyish when babies are around! And I always feel kinda sympathetic for Mummy when she was so tired that she could just doze off in whatever angles... and Granny too coz she's always alert in the middle of the night to check on Niny's 'performance' (hahah :D type of assessment: incidental observation)...

Caring for Niny's is definitely not an easy task, especially when your eyelids weigh a thousand tonnes and she just stares at you wide-eyed in the middle of the night.. but these few days it got me really pondering on how great a mama is.. and up till now I couldn't imagine how my Mama managed all five of us last time! It involves tremendous sacrifice.. and sometimes the stress and strain is beyond comprehension of those who have not gone through it..

And I'm reminded of how I have always wanted a family and kids in the future, and the realisation of how I'm not ready for it now.. :P And it got me thinking of those single moms, it must be even harder, especially when it's accidental and one is not ready for motherhood at all!

Just some thoughts and that's all for now... Tata~ and regards from Niny!

Catzilla attack!

Last update was in August??

Sigh.. there has never been a term as hectic as this! Lots of things to share, lots of pictures taken, but there’s NO TIME to do it..!

Let’s not go into any lamentations.. because I’ve learnt that things could have been worse! When you complain about a lecturer, beware that there’ll be a worse one coming! So the moral of the story is: be thankful when you meet a ‘superb’ lecturer.. *can’t help rolling my eyes at ‘I can’t talk now! My blood pressure is going upp!!’*

Anyway, after the killer subject TITAS today, I thought I could finally heave a huge sigh of relief, only to come home to find this!

No, no, there wasn’t any break-ins.. but there WAS an attempt to break in.. by the infamous ungrateful orange cat which tried to find a place for her 3 little kittens by going into my house through my room through the windows and tearing my mosquito net until it became such a pathetic sight despite our KINDness to prepare a box filled with cloth and newspapers for her and her babies… *breathe in & roar* AND THIS IS HOW SHE REPAYS ME!!!

Hmmmph~! And according to a reliable reporter in the house, when we got home she was lying nicely in the living room (we still wonder how she got in!) and wouldn’t budge when they tried to shoo her out!

To the thick-skinned cat that has gone overboard.. and deserves a great whipping & spanking,

If I ever find you at my window again, you'll regret not thinking twice bout your action!

Sincerely, the Great Spanker!

korean feast…

Want to dump in all the bits & pieces while I still have that couple of hours with access to GOOD internet connection..

Went to Dae Jang Gum that day for Korean food.. It was like an on-the-spot decision thingy, because Christina sort of craved for Korean meals that weekend.. Haha.. So off we went, with not more than a few bucks in the pocket, and Louis had to go *kaching* first..

If we were miserly enough, we could have just ordered bowls of white rice and shoved it down with the side dishes.. they come with any order and is refillable.. ^^

I ordered Kimchii Soup with Ham, which was actually hotdogs.. Arhhh~

 

Louis’s was better.. Cuz there’s beef~!

Jong’s sotong.. Reminds me of the horror movie with giant squid.. Ergghh~

This is like the best part of everything! I just love the desserts! The drink tastes like cold barley with ginger and I havent figured out what it is till now..

We agree that Louis looked quite ‘miang’ here, hahaha

Yam cha~! Chung cha~! Bla bla~~

 

choo: So how, Christina, what do you think of the food?

christina: ok la.. I can cook better than this..!

Whooops.. Haha.. but frankly I still prefer Japanese food. But if you want a good taste of Korea, go to Seoul Korea at Tmn Desa, there you can eat to your $$’s worth! Well, the food wasn’t really up to expectation (speaking like a top chef), but the bonding was gr8.. :D

~e.n.d.~