Thaipusam 2014 at Batu Caves shows a remarkable changes compare previous years.
Below are top ten highlights that I've personally encountered.
1. A free carpark charged with RM10, each corner is guarded by so called "rowdies", well organised 2. These "rowdies" consumed alcohol and disturbing/flirting passing by girls with "sweet" words 3. Girls wearing partially transparent white t-shirt with vibrant bra, brilliant way of attracting Lord Muruga 4. Cups of free nestle and fernlips mooru scattered everywhere, feel free to throw
5. Impatient devotees overtake pal kudam and kavadis bearers rushing to see Lord Muruga earlier than others.
6. Im confused, taking pal kudam while facebooking or facebooking while taking pal kudam?
7. Local Shivan and anjenaya steal the show.
8. Devotees bought archanai ticket gurukal insist still need to buy yellow 'archanai set' bag to perform archanai, wise side business.
9. Rela with 'rotan' behave rudely towards elderly and devotees, peace keeper.
10. At a point felt PM is more pompous than Lord Muruga, political agenda at it best.
10 June 2011, a day I've been waiting for almost a month but it just ends so fast. I wake up early but ended up rushing to airport since my friend who supposes to drop me at airport wake up late. Thank god that we made it, i can’t afford for a new ticket especially in Malaysia Airlines. Once weighted, our total luggage weight is 66kg for 3 people. It suppose to be 20kg per person, luckily the kind-hearted person in charge didn't include the extra weight. Each extra kg would cost us RM15.
Upon entered into the flight, i notice the flight is kinda different from other flight that I took before this. It was the new Boeing 737-800. It has a new dynamic livery, higher ceiling and mood lighting.
Once settle with my hand-carry and sat on the comfortable seat, I notice something on the back of my front passenger seat. It looks like a mini LCD TV. Being curious, started to use it, it is pretty easy to handle. It is the new in-flight entertainment digital LCD screen.
This time i felt the traveling is much less hectic. Next time i gonna travel, MAS would be my 1st choice. They provide comfortable, food and entertainment at reasonable price. Since i'm back to KL after so long, its time to relax and enjoy with family and friends =)
When I first came here, I know I would come across this day. All this while, I’ve been so excited about it, but now, as the time for me leaving this place getting lesser and lesser, my heart feels heavier. As I’m packing my stuffs I feel something is missing in my luggage. Try to find for it all over my room but I’m sure I left nothing behind. Am I leaving something so important in here? A feeling I felt when I had to leave my home 4 years back. Feeling which say u belong here.
Although our acquaintance wasn’t long, u guys made a big impact in my life. The friendship that you guys have given me, the joy you guys bring my soul has filled me with such strength that would resides in me until end. We maybe start like total strangers, have different opinions and judgement, different culture, race and belief but I’m glad we manage to establish friendships out from all this. A friendship that I hope would last forever.
To think now, 4 years seems like such a long time.Many ups and downs but we manage to get through all. Thanx for the memories, for the laughter and the tears. They would linger in my heart. When I have a glance of it, feel like it’s all a dream, I couldn’t help but think and I realized then this was no dream, all those years that passed us by when I feel what I did was just a blink.
No matter what, I need to move on, there is a future waiting ahead for me and so do u. I’m not sure where it gonna lead me but along the way, I wish I have the chance to meet u guys at least once again in my life. To cherish the good moments we had together. I’m not perfect, if there is any resentment along our journey together, please accept my sincere apology as it is not intended. Thank you everyone..
-I won’t say goodbye my friend, for you and I will meet again-
Dedicated to everyone who been a part of my 4 years life in Sabah..
Been 4 years in Sabah, but didn’t even once get chance to be a part in the Kaamatan Festival. Kaamatan is the Harvest Festival for Sabah ethnic tribes such as Kadazans and Dusuns. The essence of this festival is as thanksgiving for a plentiful harvest. It is held on the 30th and 31st of May every year. Usually, I’ll be home during this period but since this is my last year here, I’ve planned to attend this festival.
On May 1st of each year, the Kaamatan Festival is launched. This gives chances to numerous ethnic communities to promote their unique cultural heritage as well as multi-cultural peace, understanding and harmony. 30th and 31st is the final days of the Kaamatan Festival.
Enterance of KDCA
We went to KDCA, Penampang where the festival is held. It also sometimes referred as Hongkod Koisaan (Unity Hall). Here, we can visit all the ethnic groups at their respective houses. The style and design of the houses varies according to their native costumes.
I even come across bouncing floor that really amazes me. It’s a lifetime experience.
Bouncing floor
To the multi-sounds and tempo of traditional music, multi-ethnic cultural dances are performed to show guests and visitors the rhythm of life that they too can experience for a moment in time by their participation in action.
All around are cheap sales of local products, where one can have the best of choices and great bargains in purchasing the finest native handicrafts direct from the producers themselves. I didn’t get one since already got few but my friends spend quite a time there.
Numerous varieties of unique traditional food and beverages are served too. Various local deserts and delectable rice and coconut wines are completely free until they last.
And lastly for the main highlight of the Kaamatan Festival, Unduk Ngadau. This event stirs the crowd towards the main hall. I didn’t get a good spot to enjoy watching since it is packed until full capacity. But I manage to sneak in for few of the Unduk Ngadau selection.
Pretty girls, not from the Unduk Ngadau
To the Kadazandusun, paddy is not only their staple food, it is also a sacred plant, a living symbol of Kinoingan's love for his people. Many believe that “without rice, there is no life”..
1st of May, Labour day? It happens to be Malaysian Royal Navy (TLDM) Open Day 2011 in Teluk Sepangar Naval Base. It was my first time being there. Kinda excited since I missed my chance last year. The place is quite big, with tight security. We were asked to park nearby the front gate. luckily shuttle buses were there since its a long way to the event venue.
The warship, transport vessel, destroyer and assault are open for public to view. I have a friend working in Navy. He gave us a short tour inside his warship.
Many activities been done on that day, some are;
Maritime exhibition
Boat ride
Concert by local artist
Fishing Competition
Dart competition
Car show
Mini Superbike race
There were also a lot of stalls selling from foods, fruits and souvenirs.
Me inside a Top Anti-aircraft mount gun. I may look comfortable inside it, but the space is so compact. Have trouble getting in and out. Not everyone can fit into it.
Weapons are displayed for people to view, touch and take pictures. I didn’t miss my chance to grab few of the weapons. Love the Glock 17, wished could bring it back. Other than that, FN minimi, M4 carbine, stery-AUG, chain gun and flare gun were also spark my interest.
There was once in my life i thought wanna be a navy, but now i changed my mind, even though it is exciting to work in ship and vessel with accommodation, weapons etc, i find it quite boring job. Can't imagine myself working months on sea. Of all the forces, if i given a chance, would like to "TRY" Air Force..It look more cool but then i might change my opinion once i went for their open day..lol
Finally have my own sweet time to update this blog. My time in the other side of Malaysia is getting less as my studies going to finish. I’m really going to miss this place a lot, especially the friendly people. But now it’s time to enjoy my last days here. It start late with lunch in Kahve 1Borneo.
Kahve
G820, 1Borneo, 88450 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Tel : 088-448897
The interior design is nice. Not very comfort but got a lot of space.
Spaghetti Carbonara was satisfying. The pasta is nice, made using cheese and egg.
I am not the sort of person who would look for black pepper anything but this one is worth trying. Grilled Chicken Black Pepper. I kinda like the light black pepper source.
After that, we went to GSC. Watched a movie that I’ve been waiting so long, Fast and Furious 5. Well, this is one good movie to miss. Really enjoyed every scene of the movie. The theater is full even though it was weekday. Next movie on the list would be Transformer! Can't wait for it. Hoping for more good times while i'm still here =)
Think of the last really memorable talk or presentation that you attended. Now, was that easy to do, or did you really have to rack your brains to remember one? Sadly, too many presentations are easy to forget. And that's a big problem because the only reason the presenter gave the talk was to communicate something to you.
However, there are four basic things that you can do to ensure that your verbal messages are understood - and remembered - time and time again. Although somewhat obvious and deceptively simple, these are:
Understand the purpose of the presentation
Keep the message clear and concise
Be prepared
Be vivid when delivering the message
Understand what you want to achieve:
Before you start working on your talk or presentation, it's essential that you really understand what you want to say, who you want to tell and why they might want to listen. To do this, ask yourself: Who? What? How? When? Where? Why?
Who are you speaking to? What are their interests, beliefs and values? What do they share in common with others; how are they unique?
What message do you wish to convey? One way of answering this question is to ask yourself about the 'success criteria'. How do you know if and when you have successfully communicated what you have in mind?
How can you best put across your message? Language is most important here, as are non verbal cues such as body language and expressions. Choose your words and non verbal cues while keeping your audience in mind. Plan a beginning, middle and end. If time and place allow, consider and prepare audio-visual aids.
When? Timing is important here. Develop a sense of timing, so that your contributions are seen and heard as relevant to the issue or matter at hand. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.
Where? What is the physical context of the communication in mind? You may have time to visit the venue, for example, and rearrange the furniture. Check for availability and visibility if you are using audio or visual aids.
Why? In order to convert hearers into listeners, you need to know why they should listen to you – and tell them if necessary.
The Importance of Simplicity:
When it comes to wording your message, less is more. You're giving your audience headlines, too much information will overload and bore your listeners.. They are not expecting to become experts on the subject as a result of hearing your presentation, therefore simplicity is best.
If you're using slides, limit the content of each one to a few bullet points, a single statement or a very simple diagram.
Preparation:
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. In fact, it is the most important factor in determining your communication successes. When possible, set meeting times and speaking and presentation times well in advance, thus allowing yourself the time you need to prepare your communications. Each minute of a presentation deserves thirty minutes preparation.
Of course, not all communications can be scheduled. In this case, preparation may mean having a good, thorough understanding of the office goings-on, enabling you to communicate with the knowledge you need to be effective, both through verbal and written communications
Successful Delivery:
The manner in which you deliver your speech or presentation has a lasting impact on your audience. Again, preparation is paramount here, in order to hold the listeners attention. Some useful tips for keeping your presentation vivid include:
Use examples to bring your points to life
Keep your body language up-beat - don't stay stuck behind a rostrum
Don't talk to fast. Less is more here too. Pauses are effective.
Use a variety of tones of voice
Use visual aids.
Presentations and public speaking, although daunting, can be a very enjoyable, rewarding experience, once adequate time is taken to prepare and rehearse them. An enthusiastic speaker who is confident with their material will make a lasting memorable impression on their audience.
