random update

Philippines welcomed me with rain.

And more rain.

And more rain.

I wish I had taken photos of the rain, just for effect. But it was so dampening on my mood that I just sat in Eush's very green house, watched Heroes and A Fish Called Wanda, played with her adorable dogs, and slept A LOT.

Thankfully, Manila decided to reward me with somewhat good weather. At least it wasn't raining. And I got to see Steph!!!!! :D

We went on a tour by Carlos Celdran, a celebrity (by Stephanie's standards). For more information go to http://celdrantours.blogspot.com/. It was an extremely good tour. Carlos managed to keep ADD me entertained for the hour he took us through the history of Manila, from the Spanish occupation up to present day. I even got to try ChocNut!

Steph also took me on a wild tour of Manila's shopping malls. I now know Bench, SM, Greenhills, the Surplus Store.. but Greenhills is my personal favorite :)

Chinatown was also on the menu. On the way there, we passed by this slum area with the amazing sight of children and dogs playing on roofs.

I don't think the Philippine government would like this on their tourism website.

Random cat in Chinatown.

Also.. lots of food. Steph stuffed and stuffed me with food. I had the super value meal set at Jollibee, halo-halo at Chow King, but did not have balut. Sigh. How could I have missed it! To be fair, Eush's dad got it when he was at the bus stop, but after an entire day of coconut-flavored food, I really couldn't stomach another local delicacy.

Jolliebee is more popular than McD in Philippines.

The Filipinos love their pork!

All too soon, my trip ended.. and I headed back to Malaysia. Whew. Whereupon the sun is shining in Philippines again....

*A distinct lack of photos in this entry. Wasn't in the mood to take photos when I was in the Philippines. Regret it now though :(

Missing Dog Report

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS DOG??

He has been missing for 3 days. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts, kindly leave a comment!

NAME : Lucky aka Lucky Houdini
CHARACTERISTIC : Cowardly, shies away from all contact, runs real fast, has broken chain round neck
REWARD OFFERED: This lovable dog will be given to you if you find him!!!

Bumming = bliss?

View of Gunung Kinabalu

Have been neglecting this of late. Things have been happening at such a fast rate that I can hardly record it all down fast enough (very convenient excuse for a lazy bum like me).

Am currently in Sabah. Kota Kinabalu has changed a lot since 3 years ago when I visited. It's still pretty laid back, but there are more buildings coming up. And... malls -_-. Yes I do not know what is it about Asians and malls, so shush! :P

Got to KK on Sunday, and went to eat this wonderful fish noodles. HUGE serving. Was absolutely stuffed when I finished, but then my brother of course had to go buy some super famous and crispy pisang goreng. Hmmmm.. I think that just set the trend for my stay so far.

Fish noodles

Went to Kudat to the tip of Borneo. Slept most of the way, got there in time for the last rays of the sunset. Tip of Borneo

This is what I don't get in Ohio.

Seafood dinner followed, where brother commented on my increased appetite. What, so I've decided to stop obsessing about my weight -_-. Or so I say until I step on the scale again.

Kudat's a small, quiet town. Nothing much really. Good training ground for me to practice driving a manual (stick We took a relaxing drive back home, went to the Rungus longhouse, honey-collecting village, and the gong-making village. Quite a different thing for this little city-girl eh o_0.

I want that little wagon!

Rungus Longhouse. Stay there for RM 50/night!

Gongs. Perfect for announcing the arrival of guests or the serving of dinner.

On the way home, we stoppped by different food stalls. Pity I didn't take more photos of it (didn't want to act more touristy than I already was). Had jagung bakar (yes even though I loathe eating it in Ohio usually), kelapa bakar, puding kelapa, honey straight from the comb. Haha. Apparently it's all bakar 'cos roadside stalls have no running water. Haha.

Sinfully sweet honey, straight from the combs.

Coconut pudding! and in a genuine coconut too :P

Kelapa bakar. It basically tastes like warm coconut juice. An acquired taste indeed.

Scuba diving tomorrow! Yay.

DONE!!!!

Okay I swear this is the last post about my bionic arm - which is bionic no more :(

Just cannot resist posting pictures of the hardware.. I mean... it was in my body o_O. How crazy is that?!

Two plates, 11 screws.

Infamous 'six-sided star' screw heads.

Even surgeons need directions :P

Okaaaay. Done!

*whew*

I feel morally obliged to publish these photos.



May they stop ruling my life! Mom's gonna make me bathe in 'flowered' water to stop the current of 'sui'-ness that seems intent on following me around. -_-

home = food :D

Three weeks has passed. Two weeks since my botched surgery, and the screwdriver is STILL NOT HERE. I am getting thoroughly sick of how this piece of hardware is ruling my life. Am going to give a USPS a call today.

Why didn't they send my screwdriver via UPS?! :(

Three weeks of gastronomical adventures. I have been snapping photos of everything I eat, and places I go, much to the amusement of my friends and family.

Things I lust for in college...Char Siew Pau

Teh Tarik!

Sesame balls for Caitlin, Saki and Eush

Beef Murtabak, Tandoori Chicken

Fried noodles, Lor Bak, Or Kuih, Bai Tang Gao, Lemon Tart, Yam Duck, Spring Rolls - Typical Chinese family celebration spread

It seems as though I have a much greater appreciation for all things Malaysian now that I've been away for awhile. Obviously, there is no comparison to the food-Malaysian food will always hold the #1 spot in my heart.

But even my greedy soul agrees that it's so much more than that. A friend of mine claims that Asian countries 'smell' different than Western countries. While I don't have quite as sensitive a sense of smell yet, I suppose there is some truth to that. It's just..different. The sights, the smells, the people, the sounds.

Gurney Drive - sadly they're reclaiming it to make more land

Uncle reading newspapers at dim sum place

Ahh.. the biscuits! (yes we call them biscuits not cookies)

This time home I've been rather confined to the house. Partly because all my friends are working, partly because I'm just lazy to step out of the house, partly because I haven't sat around and done nothing for awhile, so I'm stocking up on that experience before charging on for the next few years.

Must... be.... productive. I swear I will.. just gimme a few more days :P

summer bliss

It just struck me that I've been back for a week by now. Time flies when you're doing absolutely nothing. And it's even better when you have a legitimate reason NOT to do anything! Whee.

Looks like I'm going to not be able to use my left arm normally for the entire month of June. Which sucks, because I had such big plans to enjoy the sunshine and humidity here in Malaysia. Right now, I haven't really ventured outdoors since my botched surgery. Initially it was due to the fact that I couldn't really bear the pain. Whatever possesed me to think that it wouldn't hurt?! =_=

Now, I'd rather not go outside because my dogs will jump at me. And right now, I definitely do not relish the thought of my left arm being mauled by this fat golden retriever and skinny Alsatian. Both are hyperactive, and get extraordinarily excited by me just poking my head out of the house.
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I really should buck up and start being a little more productive than sitting on my ass in front of my computer, or watching movies, or reading trashy detective novels. Seriously.. the plot of every bestseller detective novel always falls along the same lines: hot-shot cynical detective who's down on his luck meets case of his life. Along the way meets another Mr Super-detective/Ms. Super-detective. Sparks fly. Both are antagonistic at first sight, but with strong feelings of attraction to each other. As case progresses, both are drawn together inevitably. Finally case is resolved, with some bloodshed, and detectives proclaim love for each other. The End. Or something along those lines.. the boy/girl theme is always there. Why am I still reading them?!

I briefly considered looking up MCAT stuff online, but just as quickly dismissed the idea. Am not quite THAT ready to face up to reality yet. Surely I deserve a few weeks of rest?

Was also re-reading my previous blog posts since it's conception. Have realized how bloody emo I sounded. Heh. At least I can look back at those times ruefully now.. it's always nice looking at things in retrospect and realizing that they weren't really as bad as your foolish then-self thought. Yet there's nothing in the world that would make me relive those horrible times (okay I'm sounding ridiculously melodramatic here).

Zhijun commented yesterday that she never would have thought I would start blogging. Well neither did I.. I think I'm famous for being super private =_= Still, I guess it's kind of a relief to just write and type and bang away at the keyboard. I think at some basic level I'm just another one of those narcissitic, attention-seeking emo people who wants people to NOTICE them. How sad to realize my shallowness!