Life Without Limits

During my January trip to one of my favourite country, Singapore, I bought Nick Vujicic's books - Life Without Limits and Unstoppable. I bought them because I've read the previews and they seem like a really good read. So when I stumbled upon the books in Kino, I bought them immediately.

I'm currently taking my time, reading Nick Vujicic's 1st book - Life Without Limits. By taking my time, it really does mean taking my time - slow and steady. I love reading and I can read pretty fast as well. I was trained into speed reading (since I was 7 years old) but still fully understanding the texts while reading them fast.

I'm reading this book at a slow pace because I can be very emotional and very, very overwhelmed when reading "Life Without Limits". I find myself bawling my eyes out after reading a page because EVERY SINGLE WORD in the book MAKES SO MUCH SENSE TO ME! It felt like that book was written just for me but of course, it's not.

This is the first time that I've cried so much while reading a book. I can only manage a couple of chapters at a time, to not overwhelm myself. After reading those few pages, the words tends to dwell in my head for hours and hours. I felt like my insecurities and doubts were spoken to.

This is for those of you who does not know whom Nick Vujicic is.

Nicholas James "Nick" Vujicic (born 4 December 1982) is a Serbian Australian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability and, at the age of seventeen, started his own non-profit organization, Life Without Limits. Vujicic presents motivational speeches worldwide, on life with a disability, hope and finding meaning in life. He also speaks about his belief that God can use any willing heart to do his work and that God is big enough to overcome any and all disabilities.

- Excerpted from Wikipedia

Nick Vujicic, you really inspire me! Despite having physical disabilities, he lives life much  more better than I do. 

God really does work in mysterious ways to answer my doubts. I was really self-doubting myself about a particular incident, thinking that, "Nah, it's impossible for me to do it because I'm never clever enough or good enough."

Then while reading "Life Without Limits", on Page 61, there's this paragraph. It's like magic or something. Does the book knows what I'm thinking? It's a little creepy there. It goes :-

Hold that thought: Anything is possible. When you feel wiped out and blown away by a huge challenge, trust that anything is possible. You may not see a way out at the moment. You may feel that the whole world is lined up against you. But believe that circumstances can change, solutions can appear, and help can arrive from unexpected places. Then anything is possible!

Tears just came down after reading that paragraph. I mean, I was like just only thinking about it a couple hours ago, and this just came to me. WOW! Can you believe it? I was a little creep-ed out then. How did the timing work out that way? Like was I meant to read that at a particular time?

God never fails to amaze me. Whenever I'm praying, in need of some encouragement to go on, there will always be words of comfort and support given to me. Be it from family, friends or from unanticipated people or places. There's just always enough courage to continue my journey on.

This reminds me of one of my favourite song from Hillsong - God is Able. I've included the song below for your listening pleasure. :)

Blessed, I am.

Hannah. 

Another year older...

Yup!! The title says it all. I'm another year older as of 2 days ago. I've hit the last year of my "teens". That statement just gave off my age. Well, nothing has changed apart from my age and this year, it's just a busy, normal day for me. No celebrations, no big family dinners, no nothing. It's just a nice, yummy family dinner at an Italian restaurant for the occasion :)

I have received many birthday greetings and well wishes through text messages, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and a couple more SNS that I have. It's nice to see messages that makes you feel warm all over or ones that makes you smile like a fool or the ones that makes your eyes well up because it's just so touching. I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all who have taken a little bit of your time to wish me a "Happy Birthday". I'm truly blessed and grateful with such wonderful family and friends all over. :')

On a fun note, I have been living 6940 days on Earth since birth until my birthday on the 14th January, 2 days ago (which makes me 6942 days old today :P). Wow!! Almost reaching the 7k mark. All the years that went by.. oh my, how time really flies. The next thing I know, I'd be 40.

THANK YOU all,

Hannah

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

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

Birthday Shout-out : Maria

Happy Birthday Maria!! You're 20 today!! How time flies. We were still little girls not that long ago and in a blink of an eye, we're all grown up now! 

I've known you all my life. You're a great sister, a cheche and a friend to me. I will remember all the times we spent together, your nagging, your love, your care and your comfort. You've always reminded me that you're just a text away no matter where you are and where I am. Thank you so much for being there during my good and also my bad times. 

Today, you're embarking on a new journey. I wish you nothing but the very best with your music, Eia. You have always shared your love to us through your music and now, it's time for the rest of the world to feel your love too. I'm sure that you'll be the bright, shining star that you've dreamed of. You dreamt big and now, YOU DID IT! I can't be anymore proud of you!

It's not going to be all easy on the upcoming roads ahead, but I pray and hope that you'll be able to place your trust in God. You have a big support system behind you. Your family and also your friends. Bring out the best in you! I believe that you'll be able to touch the hearts of others with your music. 

Dare to dream big! All the best and I love you!

Hannah

To Tigger, with love

To those who have read some of my Twitter tweets a few days ago, I have found my cat, Tigger. Unfortunately, Tigger was found dead. It was pretty sick when I last saw him, vomiting clear liquid quite frequently and it won't take in any food or water. We suspected that it was either poisoned, or ate something deadly beforehand. The next thing I knew, he went missing and we weren't able to find him around and we were  keeping our fingers crossed, hoping that he would come home soon.

As some of you might know, I found Tigger in a drain late at night while it was raining. He was meowing very loudly because he was at the edge of the drain. If he falls, it would be the end of his life but he was so tiny at the time that he couldn't climb out of the shallow drain himself. My dad rescued him out and then he ran off. A couple of weeks later, we found out that my next-door neighbour was keeping him but due to certain circumstamces, they weren't able to keep him anymore so we took Tigger over.

Tigger was my favourite cat out of the 5 cats that I have. =) He was my favourite because he was the first cat that I took care of since my last cat who ran away a year ago. Tigger was the only male out of the litter and also the eldest and largest, so he took care of the other 4 young female kittens. Tigger was best friend with *Lily, good friend with **Snowie and was a fatherly figure to 2 very young kittens, ***Patches and Laces.

* Lily was the 2nd cat which we took in because it was abandoned and is kind of blind in one eye.

** Snowie is the 5th cat that we took in which was also abandoned outside our house during a night where it was raining heavily.

*** Patches and Laces were the 3rd & 4th cat that was abandoned outside our house with giant red ants all over them which left them swollen and in pain.

All of the cats that I have are all abandoned cats. They were all in bad condition when we found them but after some tender, loving care, they are now well. A few of them had cases of worms maybe because they were strays and were abandoned, not sure what they actually ate before they came to us(We did de-worm them though (= , so no worries). We feed them minimum 3 times a day with cat food, water and occasionally milk. The cats are bathe at least once a week. So, they are all taken good care off.

Well, it was sad thing that Tigger is now gone but at least he's no more in pain or suffering now. Tigger, thank you for giving me a beautiful memory to remember you by. :)

To Tigger, with love.

Hannah.

Disclaimer: All photos do not belong to me unless stated so. Credits to the original photo uploader.

3rd last day of school

I would always wonder how time flies. Don't you? It goes past so fast that you can't help but wonder what happened to the extra time you thought you had. Today is the 3rd last day of my A Level schooling. It scares me somehow, knowing that with me finishing with school, it would be the start of the BIG FINALS! I mean, it was not very long ago that I just entered into a new school, new environment and now, I'm getting ready to leave.

Well, some classes of mine have been the very last today due to some events happening tomorrow and on Saturday. It has been a bittersweet feeling, parting with the friends you've made, the teachers you've known and the attachment to certain places that we frequently hang out in school and all.

Somehow, this 2 years of school life will leave with me as a part of my "crazy teenage" memories. I hope that one day I'll be able to look back at these days in the future with a smile even though A Level is a really tough one to get through.

Persevere and endure.

Hannah

2 Birthdays and a Royal Wedding

I haven't been using the laptop for the past week and hence, the no post for last week. I've been busy, you know, with the finals coming up and all. I'm currently bogged up with assignments and revisions which I'm not liking and enjoying as much. But even with all these dull activities, I still spared some of my time for a few more exciting stuff. (I'll be writing on the dates itself, so, today doesn't really means today. :P)

21 September 2012, Friday:

Today is my daddy's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!! However, it's rather boring and sad today because my dad isn't exactly at home. My dad went back to KK, Sabah which is our hometown. Dad is the peacemaker in my family. With all the constant fights and bickering between siblings and the defiance against mum sometimes (not that my siblings and I are very naughty but there's always these moments right?), dad is always there at the end to fix everything out. So, daddy left on Wednesday evening and will be back Saturday noon, so hopefully he comes home soon. 

Well, dad had to go back to KK to attend the funeral of his elder cousin which is also my uncle and this is not a very nice reason to go back home to. As far and as much as I can remember, there have been 4 funerals of the people whom I know of this year, as of September 2012. They were family members and friends. Well, it is a hard time especially to their respective families but there's always the fond memories spent together to cherish on. That's what I told myself after the passing of a dear family member of mine. It is painful but as time passes, things would get a little better. :) Below is something that I  said and wrote, not forgetting you, baby chubbs, as each day passes by. :')

"Remembering you every single day, keeping you in my heart. The memories still fresh and the love for you is always there. I miss you. "

Okay, enough of that and moving back to the main story. Since dad's birthday falls during his stay back in KK, he had the honour of celebrating his birthday with his mother, sisters, nieces and nephew, simply speaking they're just my grandma, aunts and cousins. :P They had a birthday dinner together at a Korean restaurant and I sort of gatecrashed their party. Hehehe.. the restaurant, coincidentally, had WiFi and dad was whatsapp-ing me with pictures of their food and fun. So, I was a little jealous because I wasn't there so I FaceTime-d my dad. When I FaceTime-d my dad, I was just in time to sing the birthday song and see my dad cutting his birthday cake! Thank God for modern technology! 

After the cake cutting, my aunts and cousins were surprised at this FaceTime thing and also they haven't seen and heard from me a long time, it became a catching up session for me and my aunts, cousins and grandma. Haha.. it's like stealing the spotlight away from my dad to me. :P But I had fun, they had fun and I led them to discover the wonders of FaceTime. Even when we're miles apart, it can make you feel like you was there too. I had a nice day seeing my KK family. Can't wait to go back to my hometown for a stay after my exams. :)

22 September 2012, Saturday:

Today is Mel's birthday. Yay!! You're finally 19!! I'm so happy for you. We had a normal school day but I for one, was excited about the party happening later tonight. School went well as well as everything else. I carpooled with Alicia and Bums to the party. However, in the car, Alicia informed Bums and I that Mel had gotten into a car accident. Further details weren't known at that time. So, when we arrived at Mel's residence, Mel still wasn't back. She had to go to record a police statement as a result of the accident and to the hospital to check on her injuries.

Mel came home not long after we arrived. Thank goodness that nothing serious has happened to her. What a birthday for her to remember. Poor Mel. Other than that unfortunate event, the party went fine. She had invited our school gang as well as other schoolmates. It was a fun party and I got to talked to friends whom I haven't talked to in a very long time even though we see each other in school. Mel, of course, was in a lot of discomfort from her injuries but it didn't really stop her from having a good time. What a champ she is!

Mel is one friend that I appreciate a lot. She and I share a lot of similar situations in life, though being different in personalities and all. She's always the one who talks practical sense into me for I sometimes have a fantasied view of life. Mel has a unique persona. She's a very straightforward person, so don't get offended by what she says really and she's a bubbly and happy-go-lucky girl. I've known her for 9 years and it's been amazing getting to know her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL!! You're the bomb and I love you! 

23 September 2012, Sunday:

In Brunei today and for the past week, people have been busy and getting ready for a big occasion. There's a royal wedding in the Sultanate today! One of Sultan's daughter, Princess Hafizah, is getting married. Though there's no wedding procession along the streets this time, we can still watch the wedding through TV. Wow.. I'm ever so amazed by how grand royal weddings in Brunei can be. It's really great. I've seen the repeat telecast of the wedding at night and  I can feel the excitement of the royal wedding.

This wedding has been full and rich in Bruneian rituals and culture, as like the many other weddings in the past. The items that I see in the Royal Regalia is used in the wedding and all. There's also so many people being invited to the royal wedding being held in the Royal Palace including foreign dignitaries. One thing that attracts me most is the outfit and the many blings. ;) 

You can clearly see how happy the Sultan is. When I looked at him through the TV, he's smiling from ear to ear, seeing his princess (like literally :P) get married. Ahh.. so heartwarming. SELAMAT PENGANTIN DIRAJA! :)

What an eventful weekend!

Hannah

Disclaimer: All photos aren't mine unless stated so. Credits to the original photo uploader.

Last week of the school holidays

This week is the very last week of the school holiday for us students in Brunei. Even the international school students are finishing up their summer holidays and getting ready to get back at school. This last week of holiday for me is the last week for me to do my revisions for my upcoming school-based exam before the BIG ONE in October! This freaks me out a little. You can ask almost everybody whom I know, they will say that they're not ready for the exam too. Oh bummer...

So, as yesterday was the 1st day of raya, I went to Sophia's open-house, so to pay a visit to her family, to have a look-see at her house, and most of it all, to catch up with each other! The both of us haven't seen each other in more than a week. Yesterday was definitely a great catch-up session for the both of us. How us girls can talk on and on and on, I don't know but it was all great and I appreciate the bonding time. :)

It was my first time to Sophia's house, though I've met her parents before, it was he first time meeting the rest of her family. Her parents were so ever hospitable and they were so nice! When I first stepped into the house, I greeted and wished her mum, and her mum asked Sophia to usher me to the Dining Room to eat. Eating was practically what I did aside from chatting with Sophia and playing with her nephew. Sophia's mum is a really good cook who cooks really nice Soto (a type of Malay soup noodle dish) and the chicken curry was great! Yums~ No worries, I've been fed well the entire time I was there.

Playing with Sophia's nephew reminds me of having younger cousins. He's just so adorable. Have you met a 2 year-old who can sing the National Anthem by heart? Brunei's National Anthem of course. He's a smiley and happy boy. I can see that he has been the joy of Sophia's family. Active and a little naught of course, but aren't most little boys like that? Because I stayed for a couple of hours at Sophia's house, her nephew and I got along well, and the 3 of us including Sophia's brother-in-law who is also her nephew's father played with sparklers. What a night! I enjoyed every bit of it. :)

My parents were urged into Sophia's house when they came to pick me up together with my youngest brother. Haha! My family was invited as well but they didn't manage to come together with me. It was all great. My parents love Sophia's mum's chicken curry the best whereas my brother love the Soto. He had 3 big bowls of it! Now, you can imagine how nice it was. It was also wonderful for my parents to be able to meet Sophia's parents and family because Sophia has been such a great friend to me.

So, after all the talking and eating at Sophia's house, it was time to depart to another open-house. My mum's friend's house. Even though I was too full, I still manage to stuff a little more food down in me out of politeness. They have great food too! Haha! Bruneians and their love for food. Food makes us all unite eh? It was a wonderful day full of celebrations and food. I love food and one of the things in my bucket-list is to try the food of all the different countries around the world. ;)

Happy 2nd day of Raya!

Hannah

Disclaimer: All photos are not mine unless stated so. Credits to the original photo uploader. :)

Summer Escapades 2.0

Okay, some might wonder why I've titled this post with a "summer" in it since Brunei has no 4 seasons at all but only a hot and wet climate most all year round. But due to it being summer in most part of the world, also how I've named my previous post similarly and how the international schools here in Brunei are all having their "summer" break now, the summer part can stay. :P

And so, I've spent my week full and hectic but I did manage to squeeze out some time to chill for a little and socialise with a few of my friends. Something that I will miss very soon when I start my full revisions and preparations for my upcoming mock exams which is in 3 weeks. I'm pretty scared for the upcoming exams because I'm not quite ready but hopefully, the situation will be able to change for the better in the course of the 3 weeks.

Monday:

After school, Amy and I went out together because we wanted to go check out the Ramadan Stalls which is happening outside the National Stadium. The urge to visit the ramadan stalls was caused by the many nice food pictures that both Amy and I have seen in many of the SNS (Social Networking Sites). But before that, the both of us kind of detoured to the nearby shopping complexes aka Times Square and the Airport Mall. We went to try out the latest food craze which is the ice cream mochi from Belluno Gelato Mochi. I liked it a lot because I love both ice cream and mochi since like forever however, the expensive price tag may be a reason of my unfrequent visits.

We also went to ShareTea together to try it out. They have pretty interesting flavours such as drinks with rock salt and cheese. It might sound a little gross but hey, it does taste pretty good. The milk tea was nice too. It has this nice, milky, tea fragrance that I adore plus, it's not too sweet too. I love milk tea and I can't forget the milk tea I had in Hong Kong. Mmmmm.. the taste, oh-so-fine.

Amy suggested that we pick up a friend from the airport who's there to send a friend off for further studies. So, in the end, it was the 3 of us going round the ramadan stalls. The food that I bought that day was only okay, in my opinion. A little disappointment with some of the food but maybe it's because of my high expectations to it due to the high ravings of them. Hmmm.. a lesson learnt perhaps to not put expectations too high?

Wednesday:

I had a busy Tuesday, full of homework and hence, no appointments made. But on Wednesday, it was decided that Sophia and I would go to do a little gift shopping for a friend's birthday. After we bought what we wanted, we went to pick Zee and then go to the Ramadan Stalls again because Sophia and Zee wanted to go to have a look-see. So, I kindly accompanied them since I had some free time. I only bought cakoi or youtiao (a popular asian deep fried dough snack) this time round and it tasted really good. HAHA!! Maybe it's my big love for cakoi. 

I remember my grandma bringing me to the morning market on Fridays in town when I was a little girl with my brother. If we were behaving well, she would buy us cakoi as a treat and I have always loved cakoi ever since. Cakoi and I go way back. However, due to the high content of flour and oil used to make and fry it, it's rather unhealthy to have it often. I don't eat cakoi frequently hence, this cakoi was a nice treat to myself. :)

Sunday:

I spent the morning sleeping in after a midnight show watching the 3 stooges. I didn't really like the movie except for the last few parts of the entire movie, maybe it's just me not that into these kind of movie genre. Went to have a delicious chicken rice lunch then off to church for the afternoon.

I went to a Sungkai (breaking of the fast for the Muslims) Buffet at Excapade Sushi. Oh boy, were there a big crowd. The food was great and the plus points was that there is a free flow of sashimi and there's also snow crab legs!! My family enjoy eating seafood so we had a glorious time savouring the crabs. Hehehe.. our dinner was made comfortable with the 2 waiters whom we're on first name basis. If there was some kind of "Best Employee" or something, I would have definitely give the award to the 2 of them in a heartbeat. They are so ever nice and it's a pleasure to have them serve and entertain us. They are the kind of waiters that will make us, the customers, crave to go back there. :)

In a nutshell, these events have actually made my week better at some point after having a couple of really down-in-the-dumps moments. It's gonna be another public holiday tomorrow today (a past midnight post on a Sunday) in lieu of the Nuzul Al-Quran in the nation. So, I'm looking forward and praying for a nice day tomorrow.

Good night,

Hannah