I want to learn Spanish.. But lessons are too expensive I guess and of course, time issues. Talking about time. I won't be updating most probably till next week. Sorry... Will be in K.L. from the 1st till 5th July for DATUM! YAY!

This is so not planned. Thanks to the Firm I work for, I get to go for DATUM! Will explain when I get back. So, pretty excited and happy about this. Tick tock tick tock.... Time is running out on my holidays... Sighs!

Transformer 2 - Rise of the Fallen

Have you watched the new Transformers movie?

Well, I have. And I do understand there are some mixed reviews on the movie. Well, it was awesome to me. Though the ending sucks but the climax and the plot is very interesting. I don't want to spoil the movie for those who haven't watched it yet so please, go watch it for yourself. It is an awesome movie. Yes yes, there are not as many Autobots scenes as the last movie but still, its jammed packed with cool cars and hilarious moments. I love the Twins. So freaking cool. OH yea, I am not sure if you noticed, but besides Megan Fox, the actress playing "Sedusa", Isabel Lucas is hot Hot HOT! Not to mention, it sucks watching the movie if you heard that Megan Fox is/was a guy. HAHAHA....

I don't want to spoil the movie.... Soooo.....


Enjoy it... Cry (because Optimus died).....

And just be in awe when you see 2000 pounds of explosives go off.

Boom baby!

My review.......

9 / 10

The other 1 mark goes to being the movie moved a bit too fast and there were less robot "rendering" scenes....

I WANT TO WATCH IT AGAIN!!!!

Celebrating local Traditions......

Yesterday, dad was invited by one of his Iban friends to go visit his longhouse which is around 45 minutes drive from Sibu town to Sungai Bintangor to celebrate the last day of Gawai; which coincidentally clashes with Fathers' Day. The 45 minutes drive in the country side was fun. I manage to capture the beautiful sunset while waiting for dad's friend to arrive so we can drive to the house together

We had to pass a toll after crossing the bridge.. Freaking RM 3 to cross the river.. Gosh, worse than the toll money we have to pay in K.L.



But the sunset by the country side is magnificent ..... Well, not really. The sunsets in Sibu is always nice. Its just that I always missed it or was just too lazy to take a picture of it.

It was dark when we arrived at the house. And boy, was the air fresh because of the rain and of all the trees around us. And the thing that caught my eye when I walked into the house, besides the beautiful hand crafted house, was this tree.

Wondering what it is for? Try to guess before you scroll down for the answer at the end of the post.


Well, the men went straight to the "bar" and enjoyed the "tuak" (Iban Rice Wine *click*) made by the host and his community.



Then, there was the food. And I thought we were going to be served this for dinner. Leaves? Kuih? HAHA.. Just kidding. The food stuff as shown above are for the Traditional Rituals of the Ibans called the "Miring" Ceremony or better known as Offerings to the gods. Or in this case, because our host is a Catholic, it is to God.

Here is a better description of what "Miring" is about, I found it on a local blogger's blog *click*.

"Miring, or offerings/sacrifices, are usually made and prepared for important functions and celebrations by the Iban community. You can be certain that some sort of miring will be done before the Gawai Dayak, or the Dayak New Year cum Harvest Festival. This ceremony varies in degree of elaboration – the more grand the festivities are organised, the more elaborate and bigger the miring may be. The size of the household or longhouse, too, comes to play. The traditional purpose of the miring is to offer sacrifices and offerings to the Gods and souls of past. Back then, appeasing the various Gods and spirits as well as the departed was necessary to ensure the undertaking flow smoothly."

So here is a rough explanation of what I saw.

It started with the food stuff I shown above being arranged on the floor. Then a Chicken ( a cock) was presented to the host and prayer were said.


Then the chicken was passed to another local to cut the crown off the cock.


Then 8 people were called or asked to volunteer for the ceremony (including the host, there were 9 people) *Please note that "miring" is performed differently in different tribes. Each have their own ways and rituals to follow. The blood from the crown was dabbed on the hands of the others (anyone can explain why?) I didn't really get what they were saying because I for one am not an Iban.


Preparing the tuak.


For our part (the guests), one of dad's friend's Japanese client represented the guests as one of the 8.






Each plate have its significant number of food things. Further information is needed after I find a book explaining all these. Sorry. I am just telling it how I saw it.


The "tuai" rumah ( head of the longhouse).


9 plates of offering.


Next, was the speech of blessing. A neighbour was invited to speak and bless the family and may the host have a plentiful harvest and a blessed life. It was basically words of blessings and good words.


It was long... And I DIDN"T UNDERSTAND ONE WORD!


The host and his grandson.. What a nice Fathers' Day moment huh?


The Cock without his Crown... Ouch... its was still bleeding. But the surprising thing was, it didn't struggle, it didn't make any noise.

Then after all the good words, the chicken was brought outside then moments later, a few feathers and the head were brought in and placed on the 9 plates.


After that, a guest was invited to put one of the plates in a basket and was covered with a locally made cloth. Signifying blessings on the room. The other 8 plates were also done in the same matter but in different rooms of the house.


Here is a nice shot... Happy Fathers' Day! To the coolest Grandpa in the world! Unique huh?


Not wiskey. Tuak! Filled in a wiskey bottle... According to the Japanese, its very strong Sake.

After the ceremony. It was time for dinner. Everything was cooked in its native way.

All of the food you can see on my plate are all "Pansuh" cooking except the "Ikan Bilis" salad. Meaning, food cooked in bamboo. Very tasty, very good food. This is a must try when u come to Sarawak and have the opportunity to visit the longhouses. The best dish of the night was the bbq-ed Wild boar meat which I didn't get a picture of but it is Roasted to perfection though it was a bit chewy.


And what goes very well with the "Pansuh" Soup is the Lemang (rice cooked in Bamboo).

After dinner, the drums started playing. Time for Ngajat. (Najat, if you are reading this, its not a dance to celebrate you. LOL). Well, Ngajat is the Ibans' warrior dance.



And this is where the tree comes in. But hold on... Ngajat is inspired, by, yes, nature, as most native dances are. Usually, the women will dance the Burung Kenyiling or the Hornbill dance where as there are many different ones for the men. Like the tiger, boar.... Or even...

The monkey Ngajat as demonstrated by the "Tuai Rumah".


Guests were invited to Ngajat with the locals as well. So here is the story of the tree. As you can see, food is hung on the leaves of the tree which symbolized bountiful harvest. As the men Ngajat around the tree, a native "Parang" or sword is passed to them to harvest the "food". Only till all the "fruits" are harvested and the tree is chopped down thus ending the ceremony of the harvest festival. Too bad I wasn't there till the end due to having to drive back early because my younger brother have school the next day. Besides, the roads were dark and dangerous so it was better to drive back while no one is drunk with "Tuak" yet.

Well, this is my experience. And yes, sorry about the quaility of the pictures. Since my other camera is in the hospital, I had to depend on my compact to capture the event. And guess what, the battery went dead after taking some of the Ngajat photos.. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed reading this post and hope whoever haven't visited Sarawak before will be inspired to visit my beloved state when you have the chance.

I LOVE SARAWAK! Because I love the food! HAHA...
Joking.. I love the culture and of course, it is where I was raised..... Have a great week ahead.

Set me free........

Just came back from my Dad's Friend's Longhouse to celebrate the last day of Gawai and guess what! It falls on Fathers' day. Well, I will post it up a.s.a.p but need to prepare for work tomorrow thus the title... I WANT TO BE SET FREE!!!

To my dad, Happy Fathers' Day. You have been great in supporting me in my decision in pursuing architecture. Its long and yes, its expensive so From the bottom of my heart, Thank You and I love you very much.

Feisty Lovebug.....

My camera (the big one) is in the hospital again and this time it is to fix the fungus problem I had for almost a year now. I am expected to wait for 3 weeks before its return and that only meas, it is back to the small one to take the responsibility of keeping me happy for the rest of the holidays till the other returns. Okay, this has nothing to do with the title so here is what this post is really supposed to be about. Felt like writing it so why not right? Suppose to let out my feelings once in a while before I explode form the inside out.

Something I found out during this break is that there is something very deep and dark that I can't let go. And yes, that is love. Love is suppose to be bright but yea, somehow it seems dark to me. Everytime you feel that you have let go, the feisty lovebug have to bite and confuse you a bit. And I guess most will know, this feeling will only go away when a stronger bug bites you.

Ever had that feeling that when you lost something, it is all a dream? Maybe not a dream but a nightmare you just want off but in fact, it is reality? This unwritten song keeps echoing in my head :"Wake me up from this nightmare, take me away from reality." And part of me also keeps yelling in my mind "Twas a mere dream, wake up and face reality."

I don't know.

I feel like those artists who faces a season of blues and blacks. Those emotional moments in life. They may look happy and cheery but deep inside, in their paintings, it is all blue and black. Paintings of despair and hurt. Of a heart so broken that it affects the mind and the soul within. Of a dream left shattered and un-mend-able. Whatever is going on in reality is just a fake smile and fake hopes. Even those happy things can't seem to cheer you up enough. Like, I did good for my studio but I just can't find the emotions to be happy about it.

I think I need to apologise to someone I misunderstood. Whoever you are, I guess you know I meant you. I understand how it feels now, the period of time you were facing. But I guess, all I can say now is "Oh well..."

And just hope the sun will shine a little bit brighter than today!

*SIGH*

"New Devide"

Linkin Park – “New Divide”


Watching this just reminds me more that Transformers 2 is out next week. I can't wait.. Uber excited! Anyone in Sibu who wants to join me? I don't going again and again if it is good. HAHA...
What am I saying...

IT IS!

Models anyone??

Its my first time taking model pictures so bear with me if it doesn't look great and all. And since I don't have the permission of the models, I am just putting a few of the shots taken today. The only reason I went for this photo shoot/competition is because its for experience sake and the other reason was because Philip asked me to join but I only found out he was out of town. So, I went down to Jubilee Park at 8 and registered. Payed RM10 as entrance fee for the competition and waited for the members of the Sibu Photography club to come and also, the models for the day.

Who was I up against?

Photographers and journalists by profession with their 100X professional gear.... I am wondering if I stand the chance of even getting consolation. HAHAHA.....


But the most important thing is I gain experience and enjoy myself. I met two Sibu bloggers. The picture above is Abana. *click*
And the other one is Steve Ling (I couldn't get a picture of him). *click*.


Everyone was busy snapping away when we were given the cue to start. Everyone was like.. "Miss, can you pose like this?" And the dumb part was, I was just quietly snapping photos... Minding my own business....

Well, that was the IDIOTIC part!!

I DIDN'T EVEN TALK TO ANY OF THE MODELS!!!!!

How stupid am I right? Its the best reason to talk to a pretty girl and I was so shy that I kept my mouth shut the whole time.
Idiot! BAKA-SHI NE!!!!

But, at the end of the day, at least I took some nice shots to share. Not many and I don't personally think I can win anything with these shots. HAHA... But, at the end of the day.. It was fun.







Anyone got their numbers? HAHA... Joking la..... So what do you think? Comments please? So I can improve my skills. But actually, I am not comfortable taking these genre of pictures. Because the models were shy shy too.. Ter-influenced...

Well, it was a nice morning out. Almost missed church beacuase I lost track of time. Thank goodness I didn't. Well, weekend is over. Back to work in the morning. Haih.......

Oh yea... Thank you models... If you read this that is for allowing me to take your photos. And to the Sibu Photography Club. Nice to meet you guys. If you want the original photos, just send me an email... I will email the original to you.. Sayonara....