2 Weddings

0909 ~ is an auspicious month to tie the knot. On my recent home trip, I've had 2 weddings to attend in a single day, on the 19th. I had only managed to attend the morning wedding reception of my old friend & ex-schoolmate, Marvin at St. Thomas Church. He's travelled all the way home from Dubai, to marry his sweet heart.

From Events

From Events

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My fellow ex-Thomian mates from more than a decade ago...

From Events

From Events

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Congrats, Marv & Ivy... that's a lovely nest to start a new family! =D

On that night, I was another wedding reception & dinner, that of my cousin, Ian's. He too flew back from overseas; from Aussie to be exact, to wed his beloved who originates from Singapore, & coincidentally goes by the name of Ivy as well. The wedding dinner was held at 4 Points Hotel, Sheraton with almost half of the congregation from different continents; it was quite an international affair. It boasts a very grand ballroom, but unfortunately the dim-lit ambiance wasn't lighting-friendly to my speedlite-less DSLR with standard kit lens, hence I've only got a handful of photos to show...

From Events

From Events

From Events

The highlight of the event was the charming rendition of a duet (i couldn't recall the name of the song) followed by a ballroom dance by the bride & bridegroom. Congrats, Ian & Ivy! =)

Back Home Again~ ^_*

Back home sweet home & glad to have access to streamyx connection that actually works & allows me to log into my yahoo mail in less than 5 minutes. As of late last week, the streamyx connection at my place in miri has crawled to a halt ~ i've been disconnected for a good couple of days since; can't do any blog updates, can't check my FB... This time i'll be back for a longer 5days, due to the Raya holidays which, conveniently falls on next monday & tuesday. During this span, i'll have 2 weddings to attend tomorrow, of my cousin's and an old friend's. Am split between the 2; so i can only attend the church service of one, & join the wedding dinner of the other... Got back in time last night, to attend Salsa @ Basaga last night, despite having my flight delayed for a good 1 & 1/2 hours. I really enjoy watching people dancing, but it's going to take me lotsa effort & passion to get good at this...

From Activities

From Activities

From Activities

Photos courtesy of Jong Saw Kang... =)

Shortest Home Trip

Was back in my hometown for a short-48 hour stint, leaving barely enough time for me to spend with my family & loved one, usual catch up sessions with my buddies (gunpla kaki *valen to replenish my gunpla stock; siong who was a great help with my work-related excel macro & also one of my anime source *bleach*; brought back my faulty adjustable coilovers to my mechanic *hopefully he'll improvise ways to salvage it; last minute drop by to louis' place to copy P90x vids *to get my started on my gym routine again; patsda & hubby *thanks for the laksa & great VIP ride!*; not forgetting the usual familiar faces i've come to miss) over a couple of drinks & visiting my favourite food haunts (laksa breakfast!) & trying to get ample rest after our unique road trip marathon; which means, this time i'm back to miri on my own without the company of someone i'll sorely miss ~ at least for the next 6 months or so... =(

Quick update: from sunrise to sunset...

I'm home adi, finally! =) Phew! that's a huge relief; especially after a grueling 13.5 hours road trip, from first day light in my place in Lutong, Miri to arriving in my home in Kuching well past sunset ~ a distance of 874.6 kms travelled in slightly over half a day... thankfully with a wonderful companion & co-driver, we made it home safely. It's the 1st experience of such for both of us; both exciting to be venturing into new places but were left utterly fatigued by the end of the long day... long distance drives like this really puts ur stamina & concentration span to the test, to the max! Heck, now i've got a glimpse of what competition driving in the 12-hour Merdeka Millenium Race feels like; the only difference is that they're probably averaging 100km/h faster! hehe...
Almost got cramped right leg from long hours of driving on treacherous pot-hole filled so called highways, avoiding getting caught in between or behind slow-ass big heavy trucks on the hill climb & trying to make it home in one piece. That's my first time on extended long haul drive, & probably my last too... =p

Quick update: Long way home tomorrow

Will be embarking on a 800km plus southwest-ward bound journey back home with my baby; *she's got a new assignment back home* that's averagely 12-hours of grueling drive; given the kampung-standard condition of our so called highways in Sarawak; for certain streches that is. Gonna catch some sleep for we will be setting out by dawn ~ wishing for a safe & smooth journey home. Happy Merdeka! =)

New toy on the block...

My hometrip this time coincides with another round of Gunpla group build at my Snoopy's place. It's a good session for catching up with quite a number of my ex-colleagues like the the old time., and also to collect the newest addition to my big-boys-toy-craze =p

Valen's tough looking RX-93 Nu Gundam.

From Gunpla

It must be the matte paint (undercoat) color scheme... It's got a huge frame & feels nice to hold, thanks to the added weight from the extra accessories in the form of a set of die-cast metal joints for the waist & ankles ~ making it more sturdy; can't wait to see it's final outcome after full completion soon!

From Gunpla

Vell's custom colored SD Zaku & half-completed HGUC Rick-Dom in the background...
Another SD collection i would like to have

From Gunpla

~ the SD Force Impluse Gundam *sorry about the blurry pics, i haven't brought back my 450D with me this time; and i'm still figuring out how to shoot properly with my new K770*
This is what i'm talking about

From Gunpla

~ Takara Tomy Drift Package Light: R-03 D1 Yuke's Cusco Team Orange Lancer Evolution IX 2007~! Initially wanted to get the RE Amemiya RX7, but that was quite a tough hunt as it was a limited edition release; finally got this orange EVO instead for a good deal less than the market price... soon after i found that buying the 5 AAA rechargeable batteries required to power it is going to cost almost just as much! More review coming up soon; i'm still busy playing with it right now... hehe =p

short update: back home again...

~ feels good to be back home again, although only for a short while over the weekend... to be around my family & to sleep on a familiar bed; i'd prefer to have an aircond in my room here as well ^_* The flying back and forth part can get a little tiring though, despite miri being only an hour away by air *thankfully*; i'm not a big fan travelling long hours on planes or by buses... Of the frequent domestic flights i've made mostly recently only, i've run into a couple of flight delays, simply because for some unknown reason, some people CHECKED-IN their luggage & but DID NOT board the flight... WTF??!! On this particular flight back, there were 9 M.I.A passengers like that! NINE!! That accounts for 25 minutes of delay to endure in the plane before takeoff... Thankfully the arrival was on time.