Last year Ethan was page boy (sounds better than flower boy, and he’s not the ringbearer) at an in-law’s wedding. I thought he looked fabulous in this photo taken just before making the trip to church:

As a BrideOnline mentioned:

… Pageboys (ring bearers) add an element of innocent childlike charm and warmth to any wedding ceremony. The gorgeous sight of your niece dressed in a flowing pink dress with ballet slippers is enough to melt even the most cynical of hearts.

In other words, one could say they make perfect wedding accessories, but at the same time, at the very end of the church service, where there are countless group photos being taken and the kids are expected to be smiling angelically throughout the whole ordeal, one could see the transition of angelic to monstrous, or at least smiley to grumpy.

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There are many private dentists in Kota Kinabalu, but it seems only a few of them are listed in Yellow Pages. I am sure some are better than others when dealing with kids or those suffering from odonthophobia, can vouch for that from personal experience.

A few days ago I visited one to do what I think 2 rather minor things, not really dental implants Mexico style, only took a few minutes, and it cost me RM150!

When I was a student overseas, I dealt with 2 dentists, both I’d rate first class, and with one of them I underwent the fearsome root canal.

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On 19th November 2009 I went to have lunch at one of the small coffee shops at Kepayan Ridge which I haven’t visited in quite a while.

They served drinks in recycled bottles, or perhaps more accurately, glass containers:

Personally, I haven’t seen any other place doing this – perhaps I need to go out of the country via Branson vacation packages in order to do so.

Are there any guidelines as to what eateries can use to serve food to their customers? Is what the proprietor doing allowed by law?

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For Chinese New Year 2010, as usual we had a family reunion dinner on CNY eve.

Sometime during the evening, angpau (red packet containing money) giving out sessions would commence. Some would say it’s better to give than to receive, or even giving is the best anti aging product due to the warm buzz and general wellbeing it generates.

That night, everybody who is single gets something, even the kids of the Indonesian workers:

They even got presents during Christmas!

But what happens to the money given afterwards is another story.

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I think the ultimate school reunion would be if you got together with people in the same class as you during Primary / Standard I. A second best would be revisiting the place where you spent your earliest years at school.

I went to primary school at SRK Rangalau Baru (established 1959) which is in Tuaran district and nearer to Tamparuli than Kiulu. During those days I walked about 2 miles daily to and from school. The world seemed so big then: Kg Malangang Baru, a mere few kilometres away, where we had our annual inter-school sports meet felt a world apart.

I left the school at the end of 1981.

During the afternoon of 7th November 2009 I managed to spend about 20 minutes visiting it. It was eerily quiet – it was just me and the school. This was not my first visit in 28 years, but it truly felt like it.

The building where I went to for Primary I classes was still there:

So was the other building where I had my primary 3 (or was it 4?) to 6 education. The corridor’s view as I came out of the primary 6 classroom was still very much the same:

Read the rest of this entry »

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Since last year I suspected that there’s something wrong my car’s fuel intake pipe. I first noticed it at one particular pump at the Shell station near Donggongon – its behaviour is rather peculiar – you’d have to keep it horizontal, otherwise it’ll just stop operating.

Everytime I use this pump fuel could be seen spilling out onto the ground next to the inside of the back left tyre. But if I use other pumps where you can keep the pump vertical, there’s no spillage.

However, peering into the fuel intake pipe, I could not see any holes. Nor did I notice any degradation of mileage, or any petrol smell when sitting inside the car.

On the 7th of January 2010 I decided to really check it out, and true enough, the pipe’s severely corroded and there’s not one but several holes near the top.

Got an RM35 replacment from the 76 at Kolombong. Would this be covered by any mechanical breakdown insurance?

Epilogue: after replacement, I didn’t notice any improvement in mileage!

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Nowadays my head is full of matters related to my ongoing house project. It has reached the stage where I’m looking for doors and related accessories, amongst many other things. I have visited many hardware stores in and around Kota Kinabalu, but have not seen any that sells Baldwin hardware.

Anyway one weekend I needed a break after scouring Kolombong, and dropped by Inanam to visit Kedai Kopi Jeong Hin which can be found opposite Milimewa Supermarket.

[photo source]

The coffee shop is well-known for its super-delicious home-made, fresh-off-the-oven buns.

You can choose from several fillings – tausa (red bean), pineapple, peanuts, kaya & butter.

All tastes good – guaranteed.

It’s no surprise that everytime I go there the place is almost always full.

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Back in November 2009 I wrote about some interesting creatures that lurk just outside and quite often INSIDE my house in my village.

On the 2nd of January 2010 I brought the whole family to “balik kampung” and what a new year greeting we got: a cobra was just outside and was trying to enter the house when the dog alerted everybody. It was killed by my brother’s deft blow to the head with a hoe.

The hero and the villain:

If we thought everything’s over and it was going to be a relaxing night, we were wrong: it was one of those nights where flying insects were everywhere, attracted to the lights.

We had to switch off the light in the living room. Luckily they did not come back the next night.

After considering all 3 parts of this blog post I think my Kota Kinabalu-raised kids could be forgiven for not wanting to go back there again; when the time comes, philly jobs .com could be one of the places they visit, with the intention of getting as far away from the village as possible?!

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On Christmas day of 2009 we gave out Christmas presents to the children of our workers. Here in tropical Sabah, it’s typically warm, and add to the relaxed attitude of the kids, we have the following, the most casual way to receive a Christmas present.

The receiver’s about 8, and at the rate he’s going, he might be needing hydroxycut in the not-so-distant future.

Afterwards it’s going round to see Christmas decorations at shopping malls. Again, I found the best ones are at 1Borneo, but not that I went round all of the malls

Merry Christmas!

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There’s a proliferation of pirated goods presumably from China everywhere, including Sabah. Everybody buys them, including yours truly.

At one time or another we must have bought one of those Ben 10 imitation slippers.

I never bothered to check the logo until very recently:

If ever this reaches the UK, it will surely invite guffaws, and might prompt people to tell you to give your son a testosterone booster shot.

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