Hark-the-Harold

The next day we went to Bay of Islands, it was a great trip because we drive on our own. I got to become the navigator of the trip. I just love maps and giving directions so even i got only 4 hours sleep before that i managed to stay awake until the end of day.

I wanted to go see the dolphin as soon as we reached Paihia but thinking that i have been spending quite a sum of money i decided to join the budget group to Urupukapuka Island. It was a 25 mins boat ride from Paihia and the view there was very good too. iwe climb up to the hill top of the island and see the seaview and also the small resort on the island. And the hill side is full of sheeps and their dungs as well. We took pictures like crazy. however, one bad thing was that the day was quiet bad and it was grizzling all day. although it makes the atmosphere somewhat melancholic and sad ( i always like the desolateness), i think the view could have been better with all the hills.

The night came my biggest challenge- driving long distance in the dark. I never drive long distance at night and it kinda freaks me out whn i actually tell my friends that i wanted to drive. Thank Giidness for Justin who stay with me as i drive the two hours distance from somewhere after Whangarei to Auckland. Thanks bro. Even though some of my friends were on panic mode whn i drove. I have concentrated and learnt along as i drove. I was so into the driving that i didn’t feel that i have not taking enough sleep on that day and i only felt the lethargy after i got back. I had to pass the Mount Eden trip the next day so that i can recover from tiredness.

We did not send the folks off on saturday because we have the Malaysian Auckland carnival. It was fine and my performance went along smoothly. I was happy that Teresa and Chris from the 18+ group came for the performances. today i went to work at Vector. Mostly coolie work but i was happy to finally earn some money for myself thought the amount is not so much.

Crazy week for the holiday, what a contrast compare to the almost bored to tears days in the week before. Tomorrow the lectures start again and i will continue my study.

Hi. this is the poem that was presented during Choon Wei’s birthday. It was a combination effort by him and I. It teases him about when he is getting married since he is older now. Well he said he doesn’t have looks nor fortune.

Ini le pantun hasil nukilan saya dan rakan sekampung saya Choon Wei yang anda dengar semasa majlis harijadi Choon Wei. Kebanyakan rangkap adalah ilham dia, saya tolong beri kata-kata yang sesuai je tapi dapat nama. hehe!

Asam pedas ikan keli,
Bekal dibawa ke pantai Merang,
Bertandang tamu jauh sekali,
Berseri majlis hati pun girang,

Nikmat rezeki kongsi-kongsikan
Nikmat budi balas-balaskan
Rahmat Ilahi syukur-syukurkan,
Saudara ChoonWei kita raikan,

Merindu kasih beria-ria,
Hajat di hati ingin bersua,
Dua dekad hidup di dunia,
Pahit manis ditempuh jua,

Berkilat sinar tiara permata,
Molek dipakai si gadis Lingga,
Dewasa sudah saudara kita,
Bila pula berumah tangga?

Datang sekawan dari seberang,
Menghilai tawa bergurau senda,
Siapalah saya di hati orang,
Berharta tiada wajah pun tiada,

Manis sekali si anak dara,
Diusik teruna berpaling malu,
Buka dada tanyalah selera,
Pinta di hati janganlah silu.

Yesterday we started the cuti-cuti auckland programme after a week of careful planning of the auckie folks. Our welli friends (justin, Aiman, Wooi leong and asyraf a.k.a usher) arrived safely on monday night. i was assigned to pick them up at the terminal. It was a funny felling when i was waiting expectantly for people to arrive. the feeling of seeing friends coming down from bus is quite queer but its nice. Guess that feeling comes because that was the first time i ever went and picked up somebody from a terminal.

The next day we went to Mission Bay after the guys had their taste of bungy jumping. They said it was fun and of course we were glad that they did. At the mission bay, we had fish and chips and took tons of photos (i took a very wedding getaway type photo for justin and Eva and i think it was sweet). Later we planned to go on a trip to Bay of Islands. and the cool part is that we are renting a van and will drive up there on our own! It was a very interesting trip for me, justin,Audrey, jess and Alvin (Lindsay too) to Penang and Taiping last year and i seriously cant wait to go despite having to wake up at 4.30 am tomorrow.

Last night after Mission Bay the guys gathered for a game of Risk. it was fun even though i almost got into argument with aiman over the rules. we started again after what i called was an unfair game but we had fun in the next game. we just finished the game when the bad news came that Jess had lost her purse. I could really feel what she felt , coming from my own experience of losing a laptop myself. Thankfully all her friends (including me of course) have tried to help her find her purse. we backtracked the whole downtown Auckland but we had no luck. I wished i could be of more help rather that just searching and praying for her(calling the intercession of Mary, St Anthony and even St Jude) to no avail. but i believe everything happened for a purpose and God surely has something in store for Jess, so GB Jess!

Today we had great fun at Waiheke Island. the scenery is breathtaking and of course tons of photos were taken as well. however, the dance rehearsal for the Malaysian Auckland Carnival will be held tonight and having missed quite many practices, i thought i could be in trouble though actually i am not so worried about it since i am ’star’ dancer (eleh, ‘perasan’nye saya)haha.

well wanna take a shower and get ready. actually i am quite lazy to go down but the interest, passion and commitment await me. Au Revoir! Will be posting soon about the second part of Cuti Cuti Auckland

Its only Easter monday and i am yelling ‘i am bored’ already. I went dinner at choon wei’s flat and his flatmate Natasha, then watched Shakespeare in Love and Miss Congeniality back to back until 2am. then sleep trhen wake up and cook for lunch. now i am in front of the computer, thinking what i should do for the few days to come.

let’s see, no tramping trip just yet, work has not started yet, assignment got but i don’t want to do, clean up the room i am too lazy, i should finish the sci-fi novel that i brought, singing…..getting sick of it now. maybe watch dvd, Railway has this service where you can borrow dvd to watch, and the selections are quite good too. i plan of borrowing ‘2001 a space odyssey’ and ’star trek: nemesis’ not that i am Trekkie but i love everything sci-fi.

oh still got grey’s anatomy to finish, Stargate. but i cant stay roombound for the whole week right? dance practice may only get hectic next week, and that’s when my welli friends are coming and we might bring them around. nothing exciting from the 18+ group yet. sigh* maybe i just stay in the room after all.

Sigh* After two weeks of crazy life, finally i am a free man. imagine working on four assignments that have to be passed up in two days back to back. Well i passed them up today and i am looking forward to good plans for ths Easter break. Any ideas folks?

I thought i was crazy when i decided to go tramping and kill off my whole sunday when i still have the assignemnts to do. Well i doubt my fitness level to do the tramping as it takes about 6 hours of walking on 15km loop track. I went for it anyway and it was superb. The scenery is wonderful and breathtaking. I have no regrets going for the trip. Not only i get to enjoy the wonders of nature and improve my fitness level (and burn some fat in the process), i also get to know some locals who are tramp enthusiasts. One amazing lady was Judy, she was in her 60s and she still goes tramping and her stamina is even better than mine., i was almost embarassed by that. The day was fine until somebody broke his leg while on his way down the valley (errr, we tramped at Koromandel, some place called…let me check…here goes…Kauaeranga Valley. ) so it got a bit sad, as the guy was sent out from the valley to Waikato hospital and is scheduled for an operation. Hope he is alright though. Nevertheless i would love to go for any weekend tramping trip.

This week is i think the most emotional week for me. I snapped yesternight. i actually threw my papers at the door after somebody left. I guess i have never experienced the stress some much. i always though i can never be brought down by stress but i guess i was wrong. Today i said the wrong things and was fired straight back by my friend. Suddenly feel so alone in this world. Thank god for Jesus who still stays beside me and hear my sad story. such a friend in need.

Talking about Jesus, this week is holy week so i expect a lot of action in the church. Tomorrow’s Holy thursday, good Friday, Easter vigil are all packed with nice rituals and hopefully nice singing too (st. Bens people like to sing the same song again and again. I have lost count how many times we sang ‘now we remain’). Then Jackie is joing us for an Easter break. i might want to go help out at the prison service too.

Happy Easter and have fun!