Grand Sale???

I eagerly waited for the weekend to check out the Grand Sale of Brunei which is currently on-going. The first stop was a departmental store in Jalan Tutong which we frequented as they have some cool men's wear. Upon arrival, the selection did not failed us. There were lots of nice polo shirts with very good material and darn cheap. Who can complain with polo shirts going at $6.40 and $9.90!!! I manage to try out a few in the tiny cubicle and sorted out the ones that did not make me look like a pumpkin. While trying out a few of them, Bahrin pulled out a shirt that was marked with gold wordings - "House of Glamourous People". I told myself, I must have that whether it fits me or not!!! That was such a cool shirt to have.... and to top it off, it was only $16.90!!!

So, while Bahrin was trying out his selection, me with my ichy fingers decided to peel of the price tag as it was stuck on to the previous price. I wanted to see how much the original cost was, so that I can brag that I bought it for $49.90 or something like that, as the shirt looks really expensive. I was in complete shock when I saw how much the shirt actually cost and stood there frozen!!! With a big Sale sign hanging just right below me, this turqouise shirt with gold lettering screaming out at me to buy it, cost $14.90!!!

I felt so cheated and appalled at such a reputable store. Ok, so it was cheap anyway. But at least have the decency to peel off the old price tag and just paste the new price tag for goodness sake!!! I even went up to the sales lady and all she could say was, "Wrong pricing". Wrong pricing on every single shirt that has $14.90 price tag covered with $16.90 on top of it???? Do I have the word "Stupid" written on my forehead??? Please!! Give me some credit!!!

So, for everyone's sake, "let your fingers do all the peeling" especially when those lazy b@#t*?ds are to lazy to take off the old tags and paste the so-called Sale Price on every items in their store!!!

How they have grown....

Here are some photos of my niece and my friend's daughter, Sophia. I suppose I should rename my title as "Sophia... meet Sophia...."

This is Sophia Sim, about 7 months now taken during mummy's birthday in July.

And this is Sophia Zamani, about 2 years now..., taken at a recent birthday celebration of two of our dear friends, Suffian and Ali.

Ode to the happy couples...

Weddings....ahhh...... a function I dread to go....

Its always the same.... If you are single, the same broken record will be playing.... "When is it you turn".... or, from the old folks... a more direct question of, "You know I don't have long to live.... when are you tying the knot...". And it doesn't end just there... even after you have gotten married, the next question that pops out is... "So, when are we expecting an addition to the family?" or, again from the old folks... "Got problem ah?? Why no children yet???".... what a laugh...

Still, its a obligation for us as an adult to celebrate the happy occasion be it friends or family.... but I must say, I do enjoy the celebration. Its a time to meet up with old friends and in my case, my colleagues...with the recent juicy gossips or rather.. updates...

This year alone, I have attend quite a few weddings of mostly friends and I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to all!!! The latest being Aida's wedding.... I am so happy for all of you and you can also tell how happy they are in these photos!!!

Yanti & Terence

Aida & Justin

Seen the end of a Rainbow??

I have....!!! Yes people, I am back!! The financial exam was a real toughy and I am not sure whether I made it to the passing mark or not. It has been known that on average, a person sitting for this exam will need to do it twice!!! Well....all I can do now is wait and see. If I don't do well or even pass, I am sure I will be very gutted and possibly be in tears... sob...

But anyhew.... could it be a sign for me?? Or does it carry any meaning?? The same day after the exam I saw the end of a rainbow... and I manage to get a snap shot of it... kinda faint but if you look close enough, you might see it!! Yes, the rainbow ends at Batu Satu, Jalan Tutong... hehe....

Crunch time...

Dear Avid Blog Readers,

I am currently in the midst of slogging away for a really big exam in June. I apologise for not taking the time at the moment to update my blog, but am hoping that after the exam, I will take time out from my crazy schedule to have a breather outside Brunei....

So, for the time being..... adios amigos till sometime in July... but who knows.. if I do have that little precious time for me to "breathe".. I will do some updating too....

One Month

Baby Zara is now one month old and in the old chinese tradition, red eggs are given out. She's turning out to be a real cutey... very obvious Sharon's eyes....

Not for the faint hearted....

Recently, a new Malay thriller/suspense movie was showing and with all the hype of how scary it was, I decided that I will pluck my courage to watch it... Jangan Pandang Belakang... How scary was it.... well... half the time I had my eyes closed and at one point, I even had to cover my ears!!! The background music was scarier than the movie itself!!!

Going through my photo album on Maya's birthday.... I had a giggle thinking of the phrase, "Jangan Pandang Belakang" (Don't Look Back) as you can see below... Enjoy!!!

But, if they come up with a new movie for this, it should be called, "What the Hell is He wearing??!!"...

Aint this pretty...

I suppose I don't have to report about my change of character in Maya's birthday as it would all have been reported by Bandar 360 (By the way, again Happy Birthday to Maya, and also... I didnt forget... only late... Happy Belated Birthday to my "mentor" Mardi all the way in London) So, let me go a tangent to something pretty!!!

While waiting for Bak and his top models to appear on a Sunday for fitting before Maya's big day.. I decided to take pictures of pretty things, and all created by our very own Bakri....

Apart from flowers, the one I also admire is the painting of Lemons....

Ofcourse, me being "kiasu" wouldnt miss a chance of getting a painting lesson from the maestro himself and as a result.... here's my very own masterpiece... ta-da....

Behind the Scene...

It has been a long journey for Sharon & Jefri.... and with the arrival of their new bundle of joy, Baby Zara... lets rewind abit on the preparation and the anticipation.....

The Preparation

Rosie and myself for weeks have been rounding up friends who wanted to contribute in showing our love to Sharon & Jefri for the arrival of Zara.... and with overwhelming response... we manage to get a gorgeous baby crib, comforter with baby pillow & bolster, breast pump and a whole lot of baby equipment including a glow-in-the-dark pacifier!!!

Contributors to these wonderful gifts are:

Amal, Bahrin, Barry, Gerry, Hui Ling, Jasmine, Mawar, Mei Lan, Nancy, Pipi, Pris, Rosie, Suffian, Sujee, Wuei and Yazid.

And by the way, Sharon & Jefri express their deepest appreciation and thanks... including Baby Zara!!!

The Waiting

On 15 March, a few of us visited Sharon as she checked into the hospital.

The Goofing Around

Like any gathering we had, irrespective of where we are, there is bound to be food and alot of fun!!! Even the "cheeky girls" did special showing.... and thats another story....

The Anticipation

After numerous check ups, it was time for Sharon to prepare herself for the cut.....

The Joy

At the end of it, it was all worth it to finally see and hold what we have all waited for.... Baby Zara...

Baby Zara

At around 10.50pm, 16 March 2007, our dear Sharon gave birth to Baby Zara. It wasnt an easy birth as Baby Zara was due on the 14 March. After inducment on the 15 March night, Sharon wasnt dilated enough. Her water broke (also inducement) at around 10.30am but around 9.30pm (almost 11 hours later!!!), the doctor said that they had no choice but to do a C-Section on her. It was a quick operation and lasted for less then 30mins.

Mummy Sharon is so exhausted and could not stay awake after the surgery which by the way was on local!!! Yes, she was awake throughout the whole surgery.

Congratulations to the new Papa Jefri and Mama Sharon!!!!

For more "behind the scene photos", check out this blogsite on Sunday!!!!

Brunei Bean...

Even I myself can't remember when was the last time I blogged on.... my apologies....

The pressure is on for me at work but I am sure with persistence, hard work and a really thick skin, I can persevere and possibly up the performance!!!

Apart from that, work and no play makes Jack a dull boy... so, this is what I have been up to at Rosie's birthday party theme.... Red Carpet... in line with the oscars....

As usual I was really stressed out deciding what I should be coming as... I know that most of them will be glamorously dolled up.. but me being me... This is what I came up with...

And here's the birthday girl... with the boys.... (the paparazzi couldn't stay away of course...)

Round the World Visitors!!

I have been so caught up with work and training and other personal matters that I havent had the time to sit down and update my blog especially for my relatives around the globe. Recently, sometime in the beginning of February, Winnie Ee and Uncle Theo from the Netherlands were on their "world tour" and had a stop over in Brunei before heading to Brisbane to see Agnes Ee and Uncle Dave. They were very happy to see the new addition to the Sim Family, Sophia Yasmin.

And for 5 days now, we have cousin Veronica and her boyfriend, Terry visiting us all the way from Edmonton, Canada. The good thing about Brunei is that there is not much places to go to, we all end up catching up on the latest movie and tv series like Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Desperate Housewives and so on.... But of course, the best part is we feed them good!!! Dunno how much more Terry can handle the food here.. hehe...

Happy Chinese New Year - Its the Piggy Year!!!

To all my chinese friends and families, here's wishing you a prosperous, healthy and wonderful new year ahead!!!

Retina Detachment

Today, after work, I accompanied BBear to the eye clinic. He complained 2 days back that he had difficulty seeing, something like, someone had drawn a black marker at the bottom half of his left eye. The doctor, after proding his eye balls several hours later said that his retina has fallen off!!! This symptom is known as Retinal Detachment. It was the first time that I have heard of anything like this.... imagine losing your retina just like that!!!

After much research, I manage to find out more about this....

"Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blindness. It is a medical emergency. [1]
The retina is a thin disc-shaped layer of light-sensitive tissue on the back wall of the eye. Its job is to translate what we see into neural impulses and send them to the brain via the optic nerve. Occasionally, injury or trauma to the eye or head may cause a small tear in the retina, which allows fluid to seep through, and peel it away like a bubble in wallpaper"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A few sites offer good detailed explanation of what retinal detachment is all about and the treatment that follows, example is the site below from the National Eye Institute.
http://http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/retinaldetach/index.asp#6

What really shocked me was the operations that followed. Under local anaesthetic, yes local, his eye ball were injected three times to numb the pain that was to follow. Imagine having someone inject your eye whilst you are wide awake.....!!!!! Ewww....

Elvis - Revisited

Last weekend, we had our annual dinner with the theme, Superstar. It took me a while to decide what I should come as. At first I though.. hmmm..... why not, Jesus Superstar. But then again, it might open up more eyes than I would like... someone new to the institution and wearing a loin cloth to a formal function. That would be a laugh.
So in the end, I decided, since I still have my brother's costume... i.e. the Elvis look, I might as well go all out in it...

Even we had our very own "Shakira"!!!!

Take a good look at my shoes!!! Compliments and hard work goes to Paris and BBear!!! And on the other side, we have Mrs Victoria Beckham @ Mrs Prego....