Boxing Day 2013

As I have said in my ultra short Christmas post that I'm going to write a new post soon right? Here it is!! (I do try my best to keep my promises :D)

It's Boxing Day today, the day after Christmas. In Brunei there's rarely the Christmas feel unless you make it yourself. Oh well. I'm looking forward to the next Christmas already just so you know but there's 364 more days to go...

So... how has everything been for everyone? Good I hope. As for me, I think I'm doing well here except that I've been sick for the past week which hasn't been fun at all. I caught the sick bug on the second last day of my family vacation in Singapore which left me running a fever, coughs, runny nose and I even broke out into hives for like 2 and a 1/2 days! No worries though, I'm clear from my hives and fever. What's left with me are just the runny nose and coughs. Bummer... (can you imagine having these symptoms for Christmas? I couldn't enjoy my Christmas meal to the full but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.)

I've pretty much disappeared from the blog for the most of December... or pretty much the whole of this year. There are less posts as compared to last year but there were reasons behind this. I've had to go through many new experiences and to put it simply, they were not all easy. I'll expound all these further in another post that I'll do to wrap up my 2013. So look out for the new posts to come!! :)

Just a short story that I'd like to share. Pretty interesting, this one below. Hmmmm......

Mwehehe, just an update and a heads up,

Hannah

Merry Christmas 2013

Have a Blessed Christmas everybody!! Best wishes to all!!

From me to you,
Hannah :)


p.s. I promise to update the blog with a new post soon ;)

First few days of 2013

This is only the 3rd day of the new year... but it doesn't really occur to me that it's 2013 and no more 2012 now. Why? Because, I DO NOT HAVE SCHOOL!! Yeah.. while both of my brothers are waking up everyday at 6 AM to prepare for school, I'm still in bed.. only maybe waking a few hours after that. Ahhh.. the relaxing days of my life. I could get used to this. Somehow, I kind of envy my brothers having to go back to school... although I'm loving my non-school days very much. :P

However, there's a guilty part in me. There's this inner voice in me that always tell me not to rot away everyday and instead do something useful. So, I'd always have a book with me that I can read apart from spending my time watching TV or going online for hours. Well, I might start a couple of new activities or maybe go do some work outside of home. I shall see how things will work out for me. :) 

I went to the movies with my 2 of my aunts a few days ago and again yesterday with another aunt. (Yes, BIG FAMILY results to you having many relatives) Both of the times, I watched Les Miserables!! I love it!! It's another musical made into film that I like besides Phantom of The Opera. It's amazing - with a star-studded cast and a few fresh faces that all sings very well. Who knew Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe could sing?! (Okay, maybe some of you might have known them doing something involving theatre in real life. I checked Wikipedia. But I seriously have no idea. ><) And Anne Hathaway really went all the way to cut her luscious long locks into a pixie cut just to get into her character, "Fantine". How can you say NO?!?!

Anyway, I love how well the actors and actresses can act and sing at the same time. I love how the emotions run through this movie and the cast really brought out the emotions of the story very well. WOW!! As I was watching the movie, I can feel the sadness and the pain of the individuals. It's not every movie that does this to me. In summary, Les Miserables portrays the sacrificial love of a mother to her daughter, a father to his adopted child and a woman to a man who will never love her back. Just amazing, a masterpiece!

One of the funny reviews that I've stumbled across. Just for laughs. ;) [I enlarged the photo just so that the comment below is readable ;)]

Also, I love the music from Les Miserables. Having their music covered by so many singers previously. I love this Film soundtracks. Not bad at all and the cast sang it live while filming. They're not even lip-syncing or anything, only the music and the orchestra were added in later. After watching the movie, the songs from the film have been stuck in my head... EVEN TODAY!! Here's the trailer to the film : Les Miserables :)

Go watch it if you haven't yet. :)
Hannah

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013

I just want to wish everybody a HAPPY NEW YEAR!! A new year has dawn! A new year, a new beginning. Here's to the year ahead. Have a great day and a wonderful year ahead full of beautiful moments and memories to treasure.

2013, please be good to me. :)

Hannah

Last day of 2012

After me being missing in action for this past half-month, I'm back!! :D Well, I've been back in Brunei a week ago and things have been great. I missed posting on Christmas, so even though it's a little late (better late than never right?), I just want to wish everybody a MERRY CHRISTMAS!! :)

I came back the day before Christmas eve to spend my Christmas back here in Brunei with family and friends. I had a wonderful Christmas dinner at Uncle Alex's and Auntie Jo's residence on Christmas eve with a few other families. You know, just to catch up with one another and to have fellowship. I, as well as all the others I'm sure, are all very well fed that night with all the delicious food that Auntie Jo prepared. Turkey, salmon, lasagna, salad, sushi, cakes... a delicious spread. :) 

I had a nice Christmas day as well. Had a Christmas service and I saw many of my friends being back in Brunei from their studies, winter break or just a nice short holiday. My family and I even went for a movie outing that Christmas night. We went to watch "Ah Boys to Men". Another Jack Neo's masterpiece. I love how the movie is hilarious, heartwarming and educating at the same time. I briefly tweeted after the movie and tagged Irene Ang (an actress from the movie whom I like since the Phua Chu Kang days), and never would I have expected, Irene Ang tweeted me back!! What a nice lady she is. Anyway, it's a really good movie to watch. My family and I love it a lot! It's almost a week since we last saw the movie... and we're still talking about it. Can't wait for the Part 2 of "Ah Boys to Men" to be out next February of 2013.

I've been spending my days back in Brunei well. Had many family moments and even went out to catch up with a couple of close friends. Little did I realise that THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR IS TODAY!! Can you believe it?!?! I'm not sure if I'm ignorant or rather, living my days a little too well, that I didn't catch on soon enough that today is NEW YEAR'S EVE!! It wasn't that long ago since the last new year's eve right?? 

WOW!! What a year!! For the past 365 days (well, there's 366 days this year since it's a leap year :P), I've been on what-others-might-call-it, a roller coaster ride. I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one experiencing it this year. There have been many ups as well as the many downs that I've faced. Trials and challenges, happiness and blessings, I've seen a lot this year. But, I'm very grateful to have come to where I am now. There has been many times where I would feel like giving up, especially this year for me, I've been having exams for THE PAST 11 MONTHS!! Yeah, you read it. 11 months of school based exams and public exams. Thank goodness it's over and done with.

I'm never one who has always excelled in my studies but I do try my best in whatever that I was doing. It was hard but thankfully, through prayers and support from many of my friends and family, I finished what I had to. It was really a challenging path. Oh boy... I can still remember doing maths until the wee hours of the night, crying so much because the maths was so hard and I couldn't do them. Haha.. what an embarassing moment to share but it's now a memory. Hopefully, my results would be satisfying so that I wouldn't need to retake my exams. *prayingeverydayforsatisfyingresults*

Anyway, there's just a BIG part in me that's just SO RELIEVED that this year is finally over!! 2012 has been a challenging year, I have no idea what 2013 holds for me. I'm praying and hoping that 2013 would be a year full of blessings and thanksgiving for me and everyone else. 23 hours more to the new year. So, just enjoy the rest of the day, have fun, raise your glass and ring in the new year! HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 EVERYONE!! :)

Big love,

Hannah

Mid-December

How have you been? I'm sorry for the lack of post. I'm currently still away on my solo vacation. There's limited internet access so, I shall leave my writings until I'm more free. :) Have a happy holiday everyone!!

11 more days to Christmas,

Hannah

FIRST solo adventure

[UPDATED: 14 December 2012]

I am now sitting in a cosy corner of Coffee Bean at Wisma Merdeka which is in the city centre of KK, writing out this post and watching the city get more busy, with increasing population and cars on the road as people commute to work. It so happen that I wanted to go out to sightsee and do a little shopping, but my aunts are all working so, I'm left to wander around on my own. Since most of the shops are only open by 10AM, I'm taking my sweet time at Coffee Bean having a Smoked Salmon Norwegian Sandwich with a cup of Hot Double Chocolate for my breakfast. I'm now too full to even have my lunch on time. 

I was woken up early by my aunt to get ready so that we can leave together. Well, since her workplace is in the city centre also, might as well. Anyway, today would be the very first time that I'm going around in a foreign country alone (even if KK is my hometown - my birth place and my dad's home, I grew up all my life in Brunei. So, I can consider KK as a foreign country?). There's always a first for everything right? 

The last couple of days, since I arrived in KK has been great. The moment I got out of the airport, my aunt brought me to eat my favourite dumplings at this coffeeshop at Hilltop. I have also met up with my other aunt and cousins over a Korean dinner at City Mall yesterday night. 

I'm going to walk around the nearby shopping malls a little later to see if I can grab any good shopping deals and enjoy the solitude. My first solo adventure begins now. :)

All by myself,

Hannah

p.s. I shall upload pictures of my trip a little later when I have the time :) 

FIRST solo trip

I'm really excited today!! Finally, the day has arrived. I'm going on my FIRST solo adventure!! There's many FIRSTS going together with my trip. I'm excited yet nervous for the yet-to-comes. I'm actually going back to my hometown - Kota Kindabalu (KK), Sabah, Malaysia, for a short getaway and yes, I'm going by plane.

As this post is published onto my blog, I would be hundreds of feet up in the air (because I scheduled this post to be published around the same time of my flight :P). It'll be my FIRST time riding on a plane alone. All by myself. And this is coming from me, a person with  anxiety issues. For the past couple of days, some scenarios flashed across my mind. What if I forget this? What if I that? Would I get into trouble for this? What would happen to me if that? However, despite all those, I'm just going to place myself in God's hands. I'm sure that I'll be okay and I'll reach KK safe and sound :)

It's also the FIRST time that I'm going back to my hometown alone. Usually, I would go back together with my family or my aunt. But this time, it's just me who's going back. I can't help but feel a little nervous and scared because this time round, there's no parents who's gonna look out for me or siblings to help me or entertain me. I guess this is what growing up is like. Although I'm staying with my aunts and grandma in KK, I still feel like this is an independent trip for me.

There's actually many more FIRSTS to come when I'm in KK, but I shall blog more on those at a later time. Until then, goodbye Brunei for a little while and HELLO KK!!

Flying solo,

Hannah

Freedom!!!

Yeap, you've guessed it! Judging by the title of this post, I've got my FREEDOM back! I'm finally done with my A Level exams and I'm really happy and relieved about that. The past 2 months have been a really challenging and stressful period but now, it's over! I've been looking forward to the end of my exams for as long as I could remember.

I finished my last paper on Wednesday afternoon. The feeling of me, actually finishing my exams, didn't quite hit me just yet until the very next day. I spent my Thursday morning yesterday, back in school, to complete all the documents and things necessary for me to leave school. When I returned my locker back to the school administration, it hit me that it's real now, it's the end.

Oh, and a BIG THANK YOU to Kenny for being such a great friend, driving us out to get the things we needed done and to Dean, for being a nice company the whole time. :) I think I'll miss this a little. The school life, the friends, the escapades. It's the memories that binds us all together. 

Anyway, I watched Pitch Perfect yesterday afternoon at the Times Cineplex. I think that this new Times Cineplex would be my new cinema to hang. It's really convenient since my dad's office is just nearby. I get to spend my free time waiting at the office instead of spending $7 on a cup of coffee so that I can wait at the coffee place to kill time until my transport to come fetch me.

Pitch Perfect was AWESOME! Haha.. kidding you, NOT. I love movies like these, all the singing, the chick fights, the music, the good amount of romance = good chick flick. I loved how they mixed and mash up their songs. I like the actresses and actors. Any movie with Rebel Wilson in it, is worth watching. So far, all the movies that I've watched with Rebel Wilson in it has not disappointed me. It's just hilarious! Oh, and the actor Skylar Astin, a fresh face, who plays Jesse in the movie has this nerdy kind of cuteness. :)

Other than that, I started reading "Catching Jordan" by Miranda Kenneally yesterday. This book was lent to me by Maria a few months back but due to my studies, I couldn't really find the time to read it. But when I started reading it, I CANNOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN! That was just how good and captivating the book was!

I found myself giggling, laughing, tearing up, getting angry and frustrated as I was reading the book through. I have the habit of putting myself into the shoes of the character, which allows me to fully understand the story better. It has a nice story plot with a good amount of high school football and a little bit of high school romance. A great read and I recommend it. :)

I finished the book this morning. Time taken to finish this book, less than 4 hours. I'm liking this author. This book was my first from Miranda Kenneally and I'll definitely be looking out for more of her books now.

This is how I spent the last couple of days post-exam. It's wonderful and I have more activities lining up for me which I can't wait! Looking forward to the fun except for the dental appointment which I have for tomorrow afternoon. I never liked dentists. 

Having a ball,

Hannah

Belated Monday Fun

Counting down 3 (4 including Sunday) more days until it's officially another school break for us students in Brunei. I know it seems recent that school has just started for me after the second semester break but how time flies! It has been more than a month already. This upcoming school holiday would be the third semester break which would be 2 weeks long. However, I don't think it'll be holiday time for me since I'm having my mock exam right when school reopens. What a bummer!

As I've mentioned in my previous post, Monday was a public holiday for us in Brunei. It was a well spent day for me. It's sad to say that I didn't spend my day studying, like what a good student should. I kind of went out the whole day - Morning with the family, afternoon through evening with my friends. What fun! :) 

Mom woke me up on Monday morning after my parents have sent my youngest brother to tuition asking if I would like to have breakfast with them. Being such a big lover to food nice daughter, I agreed and we went out for DimSum. I love DimSum and having DimSum originating from the Chinese makes me so proud! :D It was a great breakfast which satisfied my DimSum cravings. *Have I ever mentioned that I have a lot of cravings just like a pregnant woman?* I skipped grocery shopping with the parents after breakfast, reason being it's really crowded these days and I'm claustrophobic or it simply being that I was just so lazy. Sorry mom and dad! 

So, Sophia came and pick me up around 3 in the afternoon because she had planned a movie outing with a few others to sort of "unofficially" celebrate Zee's belated birthday. We watched Total Recall. I have heard tons of reviews from many people about that movie saying that it's a must-watch, really good, interesting, awesome movie. As you know, I'm just not an action movie watcher but to me, Total Recall was pretty good. It's all in the future with flying vehicles, floating buildings and the sorts (which totally reminds me of Avatar. LOL).I wouldn't want to spoil the movie for those who have yet to watch it, so I'm not going to blab all about the whole story plot.

With Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel as the protagonists, the movie wouldn't be that bad to watch. Guys just ogle at the ladies whereas Colin Farrell is a pretty good eye-candy to the girls. No? I would suggest you watch it clear-headed otherwise you would end up not really understanding the whole thing because it's just so darn complicated at first. Sophia and I were asking each other during the first half of the movie if we understood what's going on. We both shrugged and only caught the ball on the second half part of the movie. Just go watch it if you're just so curious. ;)

After the movie, the group of us went for sungkai (the breaking of the fast) at Buffalo Steahouse. The whole restaurant was packed with customers when we arrived. They served a whole lot of food, ranging from asian to western. Rice, pasta, fish and chips, ikan bilis (anchovies?) burger. The food smelled great and the taste was good. Good only because some of the dishes fell short of my expectations. However, it's worth a try. Eat all you can for only $16.90 per adult. I forgot the kids price but it should be reasonable too. There's soup and salads for appetisers, tons of main courses and there's many cakes and drinks for dessert too. Sounds pretty good right?

Sophia sent me home later after dinner. Throughout the entire day, Sophia has encountered her own series of unfortunate events. A total of 9 of them. It was mostly pretty funny but a couple were quite scary. A couple of them I remember it vividly. It was when we were going home, just right when Sophia turn out from the junction in the ever, crowded Gadong, a woman dashed out right in front of the car wanting to cross. Sophia immediately braked of course while the both of us were screaming inside the car. Hey woman, there's a pedestrian crossing further down the road, why just cross the busy road, full of cars and try to make a run for it? It's so dangerous!! If you don't care about your own life, think about others. If we didn't braked in time, there would be severe consequences. Even the Beatles used pedestrian crossings. LOL.

Then just right after the woman dashing out in front of us, the car directly in front of us made a sudden stop as well. A group of woman wearing black burkhas were crossing the road just like the lone woman did. Like woah!! We almost banged into the car in fornt of us as well because of the sudden brake. See, this is a perfect example of using the pedestrian crossing. It's a short walk to the pedestrian crossing. Save you life, save others as well.

Oh, another neighbour's domestic helper found a kitten in the wee hours of the morning today. She couldn't keep it so she just gave it to my domestic helper hoping we could keep it. This one is a female kitten which is a good companion to Tigger, my other kitten. Both are so hostile to each other. Any tips on how to make them get friendly at each other? Because if they're still hostile at each other after a couple of days, we might not be able to keep this new kitten. :( My kittens are exactly the same colour as the last 2 kittens in the picture below.

So, I should get back to my books now otherwise, I'll be in big, fat trouble in a few weeks. Shall be back soon. :)

Trying to study,

Hannah

Gratefulness!

I have had a nice weekend! It was just what I've always wanted during school weeks. A nice weekend to recharge myself so that I will have sufficient energy to work through the whole week. And thankfully, all thanks to a Public Holiday that falls on a Sunday, I get another day off, Monday! Sunday was a public holiday for us folks in Brunei because it's our king, the Sultan's 66 birthday! Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik!! :D

Every year during our Sultan's birthday, the whole country gets a day off! How nice is it? I always enjoy my holiday and I enjoyed myself today. Even if I wasn't actually participating in the whole birthday celebrations myself, I do feel the whole festive mood the country was in. I slept in for the day but it was still really nice to catch some bits and pieces of the birthday celebration through the TV, the radio and other SNS (Social Networking Sites). For the day, there's the birthday procession at the Taman SOAS, the Sultan's Titah (Titah = the King's speech) and the dinner banquet at the Istana (Istana is the Sultan's palace).

After the Titah, there was this giving out of medals or bestowing honors to some of the people who have contributed to the country or something. (I know I'm really terrible for not knowing this but I'll try my best to understand the whole thing soon). Also, I've always wonder, every year during the Sultan's birthday, His Majesty is always giving other people especially His citizens something in all sorts of ways... but does anybody gives the king anything? It's like his birthday right? Haha! That's just my random thought. :)

I'm really grateful to be living in such a peaceful country where it's relatively safe everywhere if you're being careful. The Sultan has blessed the people Brunei A LOT! The citizens of Brunei receives FREE health care, FREE education, SUBSIDISED petrol, rice and oil and many other things. By His Majesty's grace, even I receive free education! I don't need to pay school fees in my college that I'm in. It's just wonderful. :D

On Saturday night in YF, we learned about being grateful and how we ought to be grateful. To our families, our friends, the people around us. Are you grateful? I know I am! In my previous blog posts, I have written about being thankful and grateful for so many things. Even though there's still some of the little things that I'm always taking granted for, I'm still learning. Learning to be grateful for many things and everything because EVERYTHING in this world is God's blessings to us. We should be grateful to God too for this! 

I've done some thinking and reflecting myself. I feel really good if other people praise me and thank me for the things that I have done. So, I should learn to praise others and thank them, be grateful to them for the things that they have done for me too, be it big or small. That way, they'll also feel appreciated right? Nobody would like to be taken for granted because I know how that feels and it SUCKS BIG TIME!! So, I MUST learn to be more thankful and grateful to others so they'll feel good too. (this is not sucking up!)

Apart from what I learnt in YF, today during my Bible Study lesson, I learned about David. How he's willing to admit that he's has done wrong by committing sins like adultery and murder even though he's a king. This lesson has impacted me. It suddenly hit me like, "Hey, if David who's a king can admit that he's wrong, I should be able to do the same right?". I mean like I'm just a normal person who does wrong in little ways or in big, obvious ways. I should learn how to apologize and repent for my wrongdoings, even if it means putting down my dignity. Wow! I think that this is going to be a hard lesson but I will have to do it.

Also, during bible study, I also learned that if we have sinned or done wrong, the person that hurts the most will be God because we are God's children but God will always forgive us because He loves us so much, just the way we are. One earthly example will be like if we have done something wrong, our parents will be hurt too right? This hit me once again. I hate seeing other people hurt or upset. It kinda kills me on the inside.. and that feeling is pretty horrible. So, I must try my best to become a more pleasant person so that I won't hurt others.

This is such a lengthy post. So much reflective words. I also don't really know why I've chose to post this up here but I feel that it might be helpful to the readers to read my post. Maybe it'll impact them too just like how the words impacted me yesterday and today. It was such a blessing for me and I hope that it will be a blessing to you too. 

I'm glad that I don't have school tomorrow so I can stay up later and sleep in. This week will be a rather relaxed week and there's another long weekend coming up for me. Will explain this in a later post. Have a nice week ahead!

With love and gratefulness,

Hannah