exploring kellie's castle and new band colours

a visit to batu gajah for a briefing related to job brought my colleague and i to this beautiful castle in the late afternoon.

kellie's castle, a castle i have heard of many times but not visited....till last tuesday.  we arrived at 4.30p.m. when the sun was still shining brightly and there was not a cloud in the sky. the bright sunlight made all the photos taken here on that day turned out so gorgeously stunning.

the entrance fee for adult was only rm5 which is really reasonable. the castle is well-maintained after the restoration and it is really worth visiting. however, i won't really call it a castle......it is more like a mansion.  the place was built by william kellie smith who was involved in the estates in the kinta valley pre-world war 1 for his family. unfortunately, his mission was uncompleted when he died of pneumonia in lisbon. this place was also one of the locations for anna and the king when it was filmed here in ipoh. can't remember the scenes from the movie.

anyway, i had a fun time exploring the three levels of the castle and the different rooms here although they were all empty. paranormal activities had been sighted here, but if you don't think about it, then you won't feel spooked. thank goodness it was a bright sunny day. i wouldn't feel all brave and excited if it was a cloudy and gloomy day. my mind might be thinking of something else as i braved myself to walk through the whole castle haha.

at the back of the castle, is kellas house, the house where the smiths stayed in when they were at the estate.

this was a replica of their living room in kellas house which was on display in kellie's castle.

i love the heavy moorish influence of the castle and coudln't stop taking photos of all the window and door arches.

here is another one.

i am happy to see that there is enough information displayed for visitors to understand the background of the place.

this is the only room i did not enter....my colleague refused to go down to the cellar with me. it should be all dark and gloomy and the tunnel? i wonder if it could be explored. i read that the tunnel led to an indian temple.

now, this is a room i would like to have in my house....linen room.

i wonder how much linen they planned to stock here.

a view from the second storey of the castle. this is the backyard. i did not go all the way to the back. it was simply too hot.

another photo showing all the arches. ;)
i am glad i made that stop on the way back. a friend mentioned that this would be a good place for wedding photography. it is if one likes ruins.....and who knows....a ghost here or there. haha.

and here is some excitement for the kids....new rubber bands in glow-in-the-dark colours!! they were so excited to know that they glow in the dark....but i had to calm them down and asked them, how often were they going to see their bracelets in the dark?

some of the bracelets made with the new bands: i still have two more sets of different colours yet to come

gorgeous colours eh?

the charms have a few fans too.

and i have found my favourite arm chair in my friend's house. went down to kl to help 'warm' her new house. it was just us,  6 loud women in her condo and it was a great night doing nothing and just hung out and drank. they played their game of gim rummy of course and i sat here on this arm chair watching frozen. now i know why this animation won so many awards. it was a really good movie.  had 4 glasses of red wine and slept like a log at 2.30 while the rest only hit the bed at 3. and we all woke up at 8a.m. for breakfast. haha.....so lack of sleep.

and now i present to you my neat stationery drawer at work:

neat right?? the partitions were done by a colleague hahaha. you wouldn't believe it if i said i did it myself anyway. we follow the 5s system which was introduced by the japanese. 5s is a workplace organization method where everything has its place. the 5s stands for seiri (sorting), seiton (straightening or setting in order to flow), seiso (shining), seiketsu (standardize) and shitsuke (sustain). yes, our office has to shine too....spick and span. i am happy with this system as it reduces clutter in the workplace. so far, i have kept my desk clean and clear but i can't say the same about my other colleagues.

imagine if i practise this with my work space at home. everything will be so neat and orderly right? haha....but first where am i going to fine the time to start it.

well, i am off to kl for the week. no work!! just going to sit in the hotel and listen and learn. i will take this as a small break to make me feel better. chao now.

bumping in the interior

looks like blogging weekly will be quite a routine from now on. i don't think i will have the energy and the time to do so during weekdays. although i have said that doing the job now is less hectic, but looks like things are going to change.

as the days passed, more places are visited, more people met, and that means the work is pilling up and more problems need to be solved. i can already feel a big rock growing on one of the shoulders. and having an authoritative colleague who has been nominated to be the leader of the group is not helping either. that was a so wrong choice. haiz.

this week, went on an adventurous trip to the interior...a place i have never thought i would ever get to go. it was 40 minutes on bumpy and unpaved road on a 4 wheel drive. i had lost counts of the times my head knocked the sides and top of the truck. i really wished for a helmet to protect my head.
3 rivers were crossed before we reached our destination.

the first river....with a bridge only for motorcycles.

we crossed the river of course. the bridge was made by the locals themselves.

the second river-

there was also a bridge for motorcycles.....

and the last one.....we crossed on a bridge instead of a river. can you spot a local washing her clothes there??

we passed palm-oil trees and rubber trees and of course...big ferns, fallen trunks, and jungles.

this is the most spacious area i saw...the rest was dense jungle trees.

and this- really made me hang on for dear life.

soft eroded gully made by flowing water. imagine manouvering the tyres along them and making sure they don't get into the gullies. at some parts, the narrow dirt road was just wide enough for the width of the truck. there was no room for mistake there. one minor swerve would land the truck down the slope already. oh boy.

when we finally reached the destination, and i sat down on a chair, the head was still spinning and stars were twirling. i can't imagine travelling there everyday for work. i know most who work there travel on motorbikes....but imagine the way after rain. some parts are definitely flooded and slippery. the extra allowance might not be that worthy when accidents occur.

anyway, in most of my trips, i have received warm welcome and kind hospitality from the hosts. sometimes we were feted with breakfast during break with food specially prepared for us:

and at the interior school, we got to feast on durian ;)

it is the end of the season now but durian is still available in this part. i dared not take too much as there was still the way back to think about. vomiting or belching in the truck....haha....try to imagine that.

what an experience....and it won't be the only time i am going in. i still need to make a few visits to sort things out.....gosh....won't be thinking about that till next month.

had found an afternoon to catch a movie in ipoh with a few guys.

donuts!!! how i miss them. i have controlled myself for quite a while from getting them....and that day, i rewarded myself. well, i did not really pay for them....a kid paid haha. yummy.
watched the lego movie and it was hillarious and cute. seeing all the blocks coming to life was like bring brought back childhood time. it is a movie suitable for all ages....lego fans especially.

my handmade bracelets have been getting quite good responses and i am actually running out of them. have found a website where i can buy and get them send to my house....well, work will stop for this week as i wait for the bands to come.
here are some of the bracelets made this week:

i call the above simple design....and it is one of the most popular as well. they just love its simplicity and all the different colour combinations they can make. i did not fathom this to be so well received. so happy to see those smiling faces when they put them on.

ok...time for bed. it is almost 12 now. sunday is the busiest day!!! what a different day compared to others who have it as their rest day.

all work and no play makes jack a dull boy

the first week of official work had been going smoothly so far. i had nothing to complain about at all.

they are starting to get our desks equipped with the necessary things and this document tray is one of them. the office is spacious and clean and the colleagues are fun to work with. job scope is very focused and i don't have to work like an octopus where i am involved with almost everything in the organisation. i only have to concentrate on doing my job and making sure that all my reports are up to date. that is a lot of reduction compared to my previous job. but of course, the responsibilities in this present job now is so much more and i hope i can really perform and show some results. please please let me be on the right path. this is the most daunting part and i am scared that i might steer of the parth. fingers crossed.

meanwhile, i haven't steered off any path while driving and managed to reach all the new destinations i have never visited all in the name of job.

the day started early in the morning driving to the selected destinations with a partner who is the kindest man ever.  i am so lucky to be paired with him. on good days and on accessible roads, this is what i can see along the drive.

however, not all days are clear and sunny. there are days when i have to go to really rural places and it is made worse after the rain. see that big pothole filled with muddy water?? that was a not good day and the night before it only rained a while. so imagine travelling  there after a heavy rain? i will definitely cancel the trip. lucky for me, my partner volunteered to drive as his car is higher than mine. phew! i owe him a few meals for this.

on drier days, the road will be like this...all laterite. we will pass through palm-oil plantation, guava plantation, papaya plantation, streams, etc. the sight of the majestic mountain was one to behold too. i will try to capture that next trip.

monitor lizard was also seen in the trip. i think that is the only wild animal i will be seeing.....don't think there will be wild boars here. eeekkk!!

and since the current job has made me more idle, i guess the mind has been wandering a bit.

and when dear cousin sent me an advert on speed dating to be held in publika on feb 22, i shared the blast with my girl friends and all were keen to go just for the fun of it. everyone was raring to register already but of course, more digging needed to be done on the event first. and of course, the duty fell upon me. and after some digging, we decided not go join........the reason??? only one- we don't want to be seen as cougars!!! most of those who responded to the advert on facebook were all college students and all in their twenties. no sir, this event is definitely not for us, well, unless we want to be cougars. hahaha. so no fun event in february.

well, no problem there. i can find ways to keep myself occupied.

this came in on valentine's day....well, it is a gift i bought myself using the money pooled from colleagues who wanted to get me a farewell present. haha...and i still have money left from that pool. i never thought that there would be so many chipping in to get me a present. gosh, i am really touched. i have uploaded songs on my apple shuffle and it will be put to test tomorrow when i go for my brisk walk. the red is striking eh? it is a special colour in aid of a charity supporting aids in africa.

and another thing to keep me very very occupied is this:

my rainbow loom bracelets. ahaha....all the above are special orders and i spent a few hours making them. i have more than ten bracelets to make before the weekend comes. gosh, i did not expeect such good demand for them....and quite a few from boys too. the above are all ordered by girls....you can see right from the colours? boys won't choose white. please don't say that i am making money from them. the time and effort spent is the more taxing thing.

yawn! time to call it a night. i have to get ready for tomorrow's work and clothes are still unironed. have to look meticulous and neat and strong yet approachable  haha.....can't let myself be bullied and don't want to look like an idiot. have a good week to everyone.

breaking the bank to start new job

i had officially started clocking in at the new job and the new office on friday afternoon at 3p.m. and then i clocked out at 5p.m. hahaha two short hours......well better than 2 other newbies who did not show up at at all lah. they will only come on monday. thanks to 3 other new colleagues who went to the office 2 days in a row and they had sort of sorted out some things. phew...it made my job easier.

had some wonderful farewell celebrations by the kids and colleagues. gosh, what the kids did were really touching. singing auld lang syne and you raise me up. buying cakes and food. asking for photos with me. awwwww....how could tears not well up when they did all these??? i am going to miss them so much.

there is no turning back now....there is only the path in front to explore now. i am still quite confused in what is required of my role since i haven't gone for any induction course. will only follow what others who have gone do since they know more. but i of course won't keep quiet when i see things not going right.

and since i have to clock in at the office on certain days of the week.....that means a slight change in my dressing. more covered up pieces and no short skirts/dresses and sandals or sport shoes. hence, had to go shopping for clothes and shoes- both online and at the mall. hu hu hu.....wallet thinning!!!!

here are the things i got:

three sets of baju kurung...all from zalora.com and all the images are taken from their website. all on sale! i won't pay retail price!!! really good bargain....and i don't even have to alter them. yippee! my size is M.

this set is from melinda looi's emel collection. still available on fashionvalet.com and it is on sale. haiz....my other set from this collection is also on sale now. should have waited and not rush next time. the bottom of this set is slightly longer, so i will have to fold at the waist. won't want to cut off the beautiful prints at the bottom edge. this is the most expensive of all the baju kurungs bought online this time.....but it is also the most beautiful and most luxurious.

next, shopping at station 18 in ipoh after watching a locally produced movie 'the journey'. a very touching movie and quite hillarious. a wonderful piece of work by the director. a must watch this chinese new year!

so the things i got for the office are:

black shoes....covered....how boring!!!! have to rebuild my shoe collection again. i think this is the third time i have done so. first time was when i had lots of heels and then had to chuck them all away when i was dianosed with plantar faciitis. i went to buy all low low heeled shoes and sandals. now, i have to push all my sandals aside and get all properly covered pumps. will have to organise my shoe racks into 2 sides- can wear to office and cannot wear to office. how fun.

next- black blazers.....and i managed to find 3 of different lengths, colours and materials. geng ah!

this is mid-length.

this is the short one and dark grey in colour.

opps....not a blazer but a shirt...definitely can wear to work this one.

this is the long blazer.....half price from the original one and my favourite because of its material. its from mng in their best buy corner.

so i guess my new wardrobe is quite complete already at the moment. the only thing missing now is more batik pieces! so expensive!!! wait for next pay-day first.

i am ready to start. i have a lot of encouragement and support from the kids, present and past and from colleagues and friends....i am really touched.  that means i have lots of shoulders to cry one when i am lost and in despair. hahaha. be positive!!! and change more lives!!!!

a quiet entrance into the year of the horse

 it's the second day of chinese new year and it has been all right so far. well, nothing out of the ordinary....similar like last year when we also did not celebrate the day with all the normal festive stuff.

it was a solemn affair for the indian neighbour 2 days ago, on the eve of cny when there was a death in the family. before the death was confirmed by another neighbour, all the signs were there showing there was a funeral going to take place from the obvious signs. and all the signs that i observed, reminded me of the poem by emily dickinson- there's a death in the opposite house.

There's been a death in the opposite house 
As lately as today.
I know it by the numb look
Such houses have alway.
The neighbours rustle in and out,
The doctor drives away.
A window opens like a pod,
Abrupt, mechanically;
Somebody flings a mattress out, -
The children hurry by; They wonder if It died on that, -
I used to when a boy.
The minister goes stiffly in
As if the house were his,
And he owned all the mourners now,
And little boys besides;
And then the milliner, and the man
Of the appalling trade,
 To take the measure of the house.
There'll be that dark parade
Of tassels and of coaches soon;
It's easy as a sign, -
The intuition of the news
In just a country town.

the indian neighbour had a white canopy in front of the house and friends and relatives started arriving at noon in normal clothes and not any wedding fineries. there are only 2 things to associate with when there is a canopy outside a house - wedding or funeral. the funeral was quite a simple affair but it was considered grand by indian standard as they also had musical instruments playing when conducting the last rites before the body was being sent for cremation. i wasn't spying at my neighbour but i could hear all that was happening. see, death could just happen in the midst of all celebrations. the neighbour was only in his 60s and he died of asthma attack. how fragile life is.

our cny reunion dinner was only a simple affair as usual with all food home-cooked.

these were all the dishes we had and i did not even have any rice. burp!
we spent quite a lot of time in front of the tv and computer this year. my brother and i went out with friends but i am not keen to go house visiting this year. we are still in 'mourning' period as grandpa's death happened less than 100 days ago and it is not apt to go to people's house. there are some who do not believe in all this kind of thing and have insisted that i just go, it was all right. for others, i try to avoid as a sign of respect.

hence, i do have quite a lot of time in hand to do my stuff. am thinking of finishing my book, but all the colourful bands attracted me instead and i had finished making bracelets using one whole packet of bands that i got someone to bring back fro australia. here are the results:

which is your favourite?? i am thinking of starting the second packet now. haha......the kids will have quite a lot of choices to choose from after cny. it is satisfactory to see all the happy faces and to get all the compliments when i show them my collection.

well, my nap comes first before i start the second packet. it is late night every day and waking up at around 9 in the morning being jolted awake by all the sounds of exploding crackers.

spending time with little callum is important too since he will be going back in a few days' time. awww.....we are so going to miss him.

just look at al his cute expressions. he loves playing in the play ground opposite and going for a ride on dad's motorbike.
and the serious expression in the second photo, sitting on my lap watching youtube children clips.

wishing everyone a good year of the horse.

there is a career change for me and i hope it is going to be a good one. i am reporting at the office on monday again to get my official briefing and to get my staff tag made so i can enter the office with a blip of the card. fingers crossed for the year of the horse.

good end to the year of the snake

i thought that january was really a mundane month and that i wouldn't have anything interesting to update that i would have to be forced to update on some chinese new year cookies mom baked,

a dvd of sammi's movie 'romancing in thin air' which a colleague had so kindly bought for me when he went to get his own dvds,

or talking about the new scent in my rented room now- rose. my room does smell like a rose garden now.

i won't mind talking a bit more about this haha......just couldn't get my mind off this scented oil from france when i first smelt it few weeks ago and ever since then, had made up my mind to get it. so when isetan had promotion, buy 2 and free one, i got 2 and gave one to my sister. she din get the rose one though, she got herself another flower scent. this is one of my favourite purchases to start the year.

and now to 2 interesting things which sort of popped out of nowhere and which will mark a great end to the year of the snake, my own horoscope. i totally feel wonderful because of them and i still feel in a daze and like floating on a puffy cloud.

the first one was meeting my favourite malaysian author, mr tan twan eng when i went for my knee treatment yesterday. well, i don't read that many malaysian writers to be frank, so i guess his place is easily sealed. haha. his book- the garden of the evening mist meant so much to me and i remember writing about it and how it made me remind me of beloved grandma. and i guess now when i think of my knee, i will think of my meeting with him? lol. he is such a humble man and i am glad that i braved myself to go say hi. i really pushed away all my fear and made a go for it. phew! it was the best 15 minutes of my friday morning. i wonder if i gibbered like a fool because we did have so many things to talk about.....anyway, he din make me feel like one. i even got an autograph. yeah!

the second good thing came today. see....wonderful 2 days in a row! i was preparing myself to face the boss and tell him that i had forgotten to get an MC due to my excitement of meeting the author, but before i could say a word, he congratulated me. i was like 'huh'? then he asked me whether i had got my letter. and of course my reaction was 'what letter'? well, i have got what i applied for! another post in the ministry but i will still be with the same district. it would be a change from my current job now and instead of dealing with teenagers, i will be dealing with adults soon. i am looking at this change in a positive light. frankly, i had kept the hope of me getting the position after not being called for the first round of training in december. i did not give up inside me and i knew that one day, i would get the offer letter. i am glad that i did that and the letter finally came on my lucky friday, 24th january.

i have not told the kids about this yet because i really do not know when my new job will start and when i will leave the current job now. these are all unanswered questions which hopefully will be answered when i go to ipoh this coming wednesday for my briefing. will i miss the kids? of course i will miss those smiling faces but in life, there are many junctions that we  will have to branch into in order to find greater heights. dad is quite apprehensive about this new job, but i won't be deterred by that. i need to have faith in myself and believe that it is for the better to make the path easier. my fingers will be crossed all the time so that i will have a good year of the horse and will be 'galloping' my way to greener pasture.....but not with my weakening knees of course. sob. sad story about the knee......not to be shared in this happy post.

so far, not good

it hasn't been a really uplifting new year so far career wise.

it started on quite a bad note and it still hasn't improved. the new system that i have to deal with is driving me mad and bonkers. i am so frustrated with the way the education system has turned out and how it is robbing the kids of their future.

the new system being implemented is not helping them at all. they are only drilled to pass the bands they are supposed to get and there is no learning imparted. they are turning like robots who open their mouths as the spoon is being brought to them. there is no thinking on their parts at all and it has made their brains just an inactive organ in their bodies.  it really saddens me and my heart bleeds for their future and how things are turning out. there is nothing much i can do because i also have to complete what i am supposed to do, following the orders set. i am directionless still and don't know how i am going to start. i really do want to teach and make them learn, but my hands are sort of tied. sad sad.

i did not expect myself to be so affected....but i guess SULK will still be quite a common facial expression one will see me with.  i better get my things organised fast so the wheel can really start turning. gosh....there are so many things in my bowl too. those duties they have given me are drowning me. i have complained and voiced my disappointment and unhappiness, but will i be heard? let me wait some more and see.

on a brighter note....my cute little nephew is back and he has been keeping everyone busy with his active antics. he is sooo adorable and warms up quite quickly to people.

we went to kl twice in the weekends and boy, it was hard trying to keep him still. he would throw a tantrum when we forced him to sit in his stroller.  but lettting him run loose is also a nightmare despite it being the only thing that would keep him happy.

chinese new year decorations are up in all malls already too. yup, less than a month and the year of the horse will be galloping in. but of course, there is still no celebration in the house for the 3rd year. hehe...nothing to do. can just relax.

had the chance to eat at ippudo hakata in pavilion, a ramen shop. heard how long queues formed when it was first opened and how good things were. well, we went there for dinner and there was no queue at all. the ramen was ok not like making you go ga-ga. the broth for the ramen was rich enough but the price one had to pay....gosh......one bowl of special ramen is between rm30-36. so it is quite an expensive affair for a bowl of ramen. special means the addition of seaweed, and egg. how expensive can these things be?? don't think i will be making a second visit there.

after all, 2014 will be a year to tighten the belt with the rising cost in almost everything affecting the lifestyle. can't say i won't be affected. it is time to make more money in order to have more saving.