And Between The Sand & Stone, Could You Make It On Your Own?

Has it been over a month since i've last updated?

OMG TIME FLIES!

i had exams and then i had a few days break before class began.

and OH

the highlight of my days has to be my solo trip to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on the Canary Islands in Spain. 

I DID IT. I FLEW THERE AND BACK FOR A TOTAL OF 10 HOURS, STAYED 3 DAYS AND MADE IT BACK ALIVE.

people who used to call me needy and clingy and dependent on my ex can kiss my ass.

hahahaha i kid

that was not the purpose of the trip, not in the least

i have just always been wanting to do this, always. since forever really. i've wanted to travel on my own, to put myself out there, to risk my life where no one can find me; to be alone, to be independent, to marvel at the wonders of a place so unknown, the more obscure the better.

i don't know where i get all these dreams and these unusual tendencies from. i don't suppose it's THAT unusual but certainly for a bimbo like me it might be. i'm thinking maybe it was all the subliminal messages embedded in all those rock music i listened to in my adolescence haha just a random thought LOL.

oh also, it probably stems from my feminist tendencies :) which i'm sure you will agree with if you are yourself a feminist.

but regardless, i made it alive. i got lost, i figured things out, i spoke in a different language, well... uh... phrases of it, i discovered my love for communitarianism- the reliance on strangers who do not resemble me in race or colour or language. and i depended on nothing but myself, my plan and my good God whom i know was guiding me the whole time.

this is such a milestone (: this is something i will tell my kids, something i will remember for the rest of my life.

thanks to all my friends who whatsapped and facebooked me when i had wifi in the hotel. really appreciate your having faith in me and your kind thoughtfulness :)

i still embrace with disbelief that i, Sarah Jane, have done this in this lifetime. i used to have a grave fear of getting lost as a kid, very grave i even got nightmares of it. but that has now been overcome. i am giddy happy!!! 

there is nothing greater, nothing more liberating, than the feeling of knowing with certainty that you can make it on your own.

i can now safely say that i have known the meaning of freedom at its truest :)

i might update more on this when i have the time, probably with entries from my travel diary ;) but for now, just one of my favourite pictures.

"and between the sand and stone, could you make it on your own?"

xoxo

sj

KK Pt 1 Tanjung Aru

After my hectic law internship, i decided to join my sister in KK for a 3 night stay at the beautiful Shangri-la Resort in Kota Kinabalu Sabah. She was there for a work-related conference so technically she was all work and i was all play. WHEE!

The resort was beautiful. packed with europeans, hongkies and japs this time of year, ie summer. let's get on with the pictures!

the dimly lit lobby when i arrived at 12am hahaha on friday night after i finished work at 5pm in kl lol.

the design incorporates a very tribal and cultural feel. malaysia as a whole is known for its racial diversity as well as the preservation of its cultural heritage. sarawak and sabah are often depicted as places with people from the outskirts living in long houses, doing traditional cultural dances etc.

honestly, i'm not sure how i feel about this because the angmohs totally LOVE the uniqueness of this emphasis whilst a fraction of locals from more developed states in malaysia just LOVE to misconstrue easterners as people who live on trees! which is absolutely absurd! my friend kris once did an entire blog post about sarcastic replies to people who ask "so how do you get around in sarawak" Reply : "Oh just on crocodiles" :p something like that.

on the way to our room, we were greeted by several of these interesting figures. it kinda gave sis the creeps. these statues were made in the olden times to honour the gods... i think

more culture-infused art

and a traditional instrument player

so the place is divided into two wings, we were on the kota kinabalu wing so we made our way there. i was told it costs RM550 just to stay for a night!

entering the hotel room! teddy under the spotlight HEHE

tv, that's hell's kitchen !

couch and coffee table

greasy me

sis was up and out early the next day so i woke up at like 1 and ordered in. that costed like.. err 50 bucks or something. could've been better

that's the bathroom glass window which reflects back at you

bathroom. there's a bath tub too

ME

before going for a walk to check out the place

fish pond!

fishes

swimming pool. you guys, the pool is really pretty. when you swim around you get to see this view below!

the view of the sea. it's amazing just soaking in the pool watching parachutes :D

very chic patio couches

lifeguard seats

milkshake/fruit juice bar!

kiddy pool! there's another kiddy pool connected to the adult pool for convenience. the adult pool has the typical fountain splashing thingie and there are also steps by the side for safety. there are also nooks and crannies where you can stand up top to check out the sea view

water slides :D

tipping bucket!

more slides! i wanted to ride em but i was really shy cos i was alone and there were like NO adults at all on the slide AHAHAH and to make things worse, there was this lifeguard helping the kids up when they landed hhahahah damn.

found my way over to the other wing and saw this pretty rock fountain in the middle with the rooms surrounding it

beautiful beautiful beach

bikini

japanese family.

cute romper lol

sitting by the beach! oh yes i bought that hat at the hotel shop! sis claims it makes me look korean. does it? i also bought sunblock because i hate being dark

and then it got cloudy and started to drizzle so that's when i retreated back to my room.

so what i did that day was basically, go check out the place, change to my bathing suit, went to sit by the pool, placed a book on the pool seat to save it, went to the beach, placed my flats on the seat to save it, went back to the pool, had a super long nice and relaxing dip (where some random dude took my photo, I SWEAR he did), and then went back to the beach in a robe to chill till it rained.

oh and that guy who took my photo, he had a child under his care! if he's a father i'm gonna be sick! but he might just be the very old brother though? hopefully?

and then at night sis and i went for dinner with her friend + husband. we went to Little Italy. it is apparently one of those famous cosy italian places in KK where all the angmohs are as well. and i ordered this lasagne roll thing because it's so interesting but i didn't like it that much.

apart from everything captured in photo, there was also a range of different facilities. such as a gym, a jacuzzi, a nail bar, a spa, a massage parlour, barbequed goodies by the beachside, restaurants etc etc

i would've gone for the jacuzzi, the gym and the spa really, if my period didn't have to come the next day! boohoohoohoo.

oh yes but some places like the nail bar and massage parlour charge for their services and the prices were kind of crazy so i opted not to go to those places. i think a massage could cost up to 250 bucks?

that was all i did on the first day. will post another entry next time just cause i think this entry is long enough!

xx

The Splitter

I went to the beach with pol and grace a few days back.

The beach was our favourite puak place in the past ;) we used to go there all the time!

in the car on the way there, we saw this cute little lorry HAHAH which spelt enterprise as enterprais XD

it reads pure(suci), clean(bersih) and of high quality (berkualiti)

are you getting the essence of the malay language yet? for the last bit lol

pol said the chicken isn't suci at all.

check out her breasts! yum yum (literally)

she looks pretty happy for something that's gonna get slaughtered

oh just take a look at that.

what a stunner she is

grace

me

look what we're wearing! oh i have missed this attire !

pol

:)

panda

grace's sexy legs

ok forget the debate about how fat i am

i have DEFINITELY put on face weight. T_T but what happy smiles :) grace likes this picture because she says her neck looks fat XD

we tried to take a couple of shots but they all turned out pretty damn ugly XD which we took pride in and ended up concluding we aren't vain enough to have the nice picture taking of self skill.

but that one above is kinda nice, except the shadow across grace's face. it has the sunlight reflecting off our skin.

sunset

Next up, food!

midin. i'm not sure if that's how it's spelt =/ but it's a type of fern only found in east malaysia ;)

fish with sambal ! the last time i had this it gave me intimate rashes :S

posing with a bear showing a kungfu stunt ;)

laksa sarawak! i don't actually seem that fascinated by it anymore somehow. weird.

another beach someplace far away which i've only just discovered thanks to dexter who drove us.

nothing much going here recently.

except i have taken chores to a new level ;) LOL i do the dishes 3 times a day, hang/fold/iron clothes, cook the rice, sweep the floor, fix michael's table, teach the boys studies and piano, replace the bedsheets, season the fish, make drinks for mark's tuition teacher, put the chicken in the oven...

i get so anal over oven timers.. and then i start to remember i'm no longer learning physics or chem ever again and relax a bit over the accuracy of the length of time the chicken goes in the oven :S

i don't actually mind the chores. at least my mother in law would love me! wtf. how ambitious of me.

Oh yes! Let me introduce you to.... The Splitter. Ain't it just the coolest!!!! My family members eat apples after cutting them (and usually after peeling them) and sometimes with salt (don't ask me why) so now that i've discovered The Splitter, my life is complete! I no longer need to use a knife and risk cutting off my fingers!

The Splitter

Anyway i have a few stuff planned ahead;

1. playing the keyboard in church this sunday

(which is pretty much a big deal for me considering the last time i played, i pretty much scared the entire congregation with my amen from hell) - which is why i'm only starting with ONE song.

2. taking driving lessons starting next week after the green light from mom to let cinderella roam in the ball XD

3. PASSING the driving test

(MAN I AM JUST TOO OLD TO FAIL)

4. and getting a job! i am keeping my fingers crossed for an available maid to skip on over to join our happy family by then so mom would have more time to send me around cause i wouldn't have a car to drive.

and some ideas for my job are:

a) work in a law firm just to get a gist of how it's gonna be like ,for free(because nobody would hire a temp who hasn't even started studying)

b) work as a tuition teacher to practise my talking in front of crowds

c) work as a cashier LOL

i really want option c) because *drumroll*

when i was a kid, i said, "when i grow up, i want to be a cashier" XD

I used to play cashier with our old computer mouse with the red light and would scan barcodes over the red light. i would even swipe my mom's expired credit cards over the keyboard cracks and punch in those credit card numbers.

hahaha i was so funny.

oh yes i also wanted to be a teacher. because i liked marking books and writing on the blackboard.

anyway i hope everything goes according to plan. working for money would be good for me cause i'm kinda trying to not depend too much on family finances considering what happened recently.

and yes! another thing, i've been watching lots of movies recently and coincidentally, two characters in different movies both had dreams of going to LAW SCHOOL.

I am so psyched about how coincidental it is because i'm lame like that but honestly, law school sounds so chic~

hey y'all, i'm going to law school.

I get to be like kate hudson from bride wars.

or the legal team in Apple!

Ok you got me, i only said the latter (with a !) so i wouldn't sound like a bimbo but that is actually someone else's dream i saw on facebook which sounds kind of cool now that i think about it.