anakbrunei

About a month ago, an old buddy and I decided we should organize a dinner with some of our old friends from sixth form some of whom we havent seen for nearly 20 years! So we began to put the plan into action. During the course of the next few weeks, what started out as a small informal dinner among old friends, became twice that and from a range of batches from 1986 to 1989. It was pouring with rain when I arrived and on top of that there was a wedding happening in the hotel. Naturally the parking spaces in the basement filled up pretty fast and I was worried about people not being able to find parking spaces. Mental note, next time choose a venue with much larger basement parking. The venue was VIP1 on Level 1 of Orchid Garden Hotel. It was very well laid out and the buffet spread was excellent. It wasn't much later before people started trickling in as the crowd built up, screams of joy and laughter erupted whenever an old classmate we hadn't seen in ages walked in. Throughou...

Following on from my previous post , I had a few discussions with others regarding the blogging phenomenon. Some of the questions raised were what constitutes a responsible blogger, the answer to which I put in a response to my previous post. But another interesting question that came up was, "Why do people blog?" Below are some possible answers: Ego gratification. Some people need to be the center of attention. It makes them feel good about themselves to tell the world what important things they've been doing and what profound thoughts they've been having. Curiously, while this looks like the most obvious reason for a Web log, I think it's probably the least likely reason, since it's too trite and shallow. Antidepersonalization. When people begin to think that they are nothing more than a cog in the wheel of society, they look for any way to differentiate themselves. The Web log proves they are different. Just read it. You'll see. Elimination of frustra...

Mum used to cut chicken, slice eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't get food poisoning. My Mum used to defrost mince-meat on the kitchen sink AND I used to eat a bite raw sometimes, too. Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper, in a brown paper bag, not in icepack coolers, but I can't remember anybody getting e.coli. Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake or the fast flowing river instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring). We could have all been drowned in such dangerous places. The term mobile phone would have meant an extra phone plug in the house so you could actually move the phone and a pager was the school PA system. We all played sport, and also did PE... and risked permanent injury with a pair of Dunlop runners (only worn in the gym or the sports ground) instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion soles and built-in light reflectors.. I can't recall any...

Interesting article in The Brunei Times today regarding the Blogging phenomenon. Apparently there are over 500 Bruneian bloggers so far in Blogdom. It sure feels more than that. Anyway, here's to blogging and may "big brother" never see the need to censor or worse still prosecute us "responsible" bloggers.

These shots were taken during the PDS Sportsfest 2006 which took place at Berakas Sports Complex this morning. It was a fun morning which was marred slightly by the heavy rains which fell towards the end of the festival. More pics at my other site . Everyone had an enjoyable time despite the rain and the parents were so sporting (I had the excuse of being behind a camera hahaha) to join in the fun by participating in the "ride my log" (I know, it sounds kinky eh) for the daddies, and the obstacle race for the mommies. Many in the crowd felt it should have been the other way around. The mommies should have been riding the logs, and I couldn't agree more!

These pics were taken when I had a few really old friends over for dinner and I thought I'd make something special for them... I made black ink pasta with garlic tiger prawns (Gamberetti con pasta nera) in a creamy basil sauce, baked seabass with olive and parsley sauce (Pesci con salsa verde oliva), and steamed garden veg. It was a fantastic night filled with laughter and reminiscence. The food was good, the company was good.. doesnt get any better heheh! Looking forward to the next one!

The current terror alert on civil aviation in UK and US brings a chill to my bones... Its really scary to think that whenever we travel by air, there is that risk of some deranged individual - who thinks blowing up a planeload of innocent civilians will bring him closer to heaven - is gonna perform his final act of martyrdom and be on his way to the pearly gates... Came across an interesting rant about this at SPG's site . While I don't necessarily agree with her views on religion, I certainly agree that indoctrinating religion into working the wrong way is not healthy.

This event took place this morning at Manggis Mall... There was a huge turnout and the organizers seem overwhelmed with the numbers. It was chaotic but in the midst of it all, I calmed myself by taking these shots heheh.. phototherapy always helps... More pics at my other site .

Dear friends, Right now a tragedy is unfolding in the Middle East. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed or wounded in the bombings in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel and the death toll is rising every day. If the US, Syria or Iran get involved, there is a chance of a catastrophic larger war. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of international troops to the Israel-Lebanon border, and been strongly supported by almost every world leader. This is the best proposal yet to stop the violence, but the US, the UK, and Israel have refused to accept it. I have just signed a petition calling on US President Bush, UK Prime Minister Blair, and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert to support Kofi Annan's proposal. If millions of people join this call, and we advertise our views in newspapers in the US, UK, and Israel, we can help pressure these leaders to stop the fighting. Click here and sign up now!

RIGHT SPEECH There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that "A speech will either prosper or ruin a nation." Many relationships break off because of wrong speech. When a couple is too close with each other, we always forget mutual respect and courtesy. We may say anything without considering if it would hurt the other party. A friend and her millionaire husband visited their construction site. A worker who wore a helmet saw her and shouted,"Hi, Emily! Remember me? We used to date in the secondary school." On the way home, her millionaire husband teased her, "Luckily you married me. Otherwise you will be the wife of a construction worker." She answered,"You should appreciate that you married me. Otherwise, he will be the millionaire and not you." Frequently exchanging these remarks plants the seed for a bad relationship. It's like a broken egg - cannot be reversed. NO OVERPOWERING Many relationships fail because one party tries to ov...

Exactly a month ago, G and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary... I thought today I'd put up a tribute to the woman I love... the mother of my four wonderful children: By the time God made woman, He was into his sixth day of working overtime... An angel appeared and said, "Why are you spending so much time on this one?" And God answered, "Have you seen my spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable and able to run on diet coke and leftovers, have a lap that can hold four children at one time, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart and she will do everything- with only two hands. Angel was astounded by the requirements. "Only two hands!? No way! And that's just on the standard model? That's too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish." "But I won't," God protested. "I am so close to finishing this creation th...

When I read BobbyGoodegg's review of Sate Ala Jawa I had to try it out and true enough, it ROCKS! I love the sate kambing lah.. very generous pieces and it actually tastes like lamb. And the gravy tastes great with the added tang of lemongrass although it could have been a little more pekat... Overall 4 out of 5 from me. On a second outing, I really enjoyed the Ayam Penyet and the Daging Penyet. Both were pretty good. The chicken was nice and smashed and very tender. The beef was marinated in kecap manis I think before deep fried. The sambal just nice, not eye-wateringly hot like in some other places. Oh, you're right, the service was rather curt but despite that, there were people waiting for seats! People must be still flush with cash from payday eh? ;-)