Someone's asking for trouble

KK 3596-black spacewagon

That's the license plate of the vehicle that tried to hard to make me crash with another car.

I will spare the details, but this cunt of a prick is seriously asking for trouble, and I do ask for my dear readers to respond this post if by any chance you know who is the driver of that car. I did not get a good look on the driver but he's a skinny man who has his hair shaved.

Sp please do fill me in if you happen to know who owns that car. And no, I will not simply "deal with" anyone who you may say owns the car. I know vaguely how the person looks like.

And also, to fellow drivers, please be careful if you see that car on the road. Because that person spells trouble.

This post serves both as a request and a warning.

=^.^=

One again, the disease of procrastinating has struck me... I was suppossed to finish the post updates on "Hari Pelanggan Belia dan Sukan 2008" but a ciouple of weeks has passed and it is still not updated..

Reasons:
1) I wasn't in the mood to update anything
2) When I did, something else came up
3) The site wouldn't allow me to post any pictures, for some reasons
4) I got fed up due to previous reason

But yea, will try to finish the post as soon as possible... Actually have two more events to cover, but they took place way back in July, so perhaps will put them under one post... Will see...

RESULTS!!

May/June 2008 results [O/A/As level] are out today...


Follow the link below for download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?o3hf50ou8et


Link found from http://www.ranoadidas.com

Congrats to those who did well, and for those who did not, don't give up!!
Failure is an important part of learning...

And this applies to me as well!!!
Not happy with my results :( But what's done is done and cannot be undone but the future can be changed from learning your mistakes... (haha.. here i go talking like i know what i'm talking about)

Anyways, yea.. CONGRATS!!

Next is the battle of the A-levels...
Polished your swords yet? ;)

WHAT A BLAST!!

Had one of the greatest time I've ever had last night...

It was the Annual Kendo Dinner, which was held at Asma Hotel... It started at 8pm, but we left home at around 7.10pm... And traffic didn't help us at all to reach the venue on time... So our sempai/senior called me on my phone and asked where we were... What's worse was that after the call, there was even more cars than there were previously.. So that slowed us down more.. But luckily the highway was clear, and we managed to arrive around 8.10 pm.. So we didn't miss much, other than some parts of the video slides of kendo's events, such as the workshop and the trip to Japan..

When we went in into the dining area, saw a table full of KB-ians.. Knew some of them were coming, but didn't expect to see some faces there... So it was really great to see a lot of KB-ians coming all the way to Bandar for the memorable event..

I couldn't comment much on the food, because I didn't eat any there, due to the lack of seats and especially the lack of plates... But it doesn't matter.. Think it's better that way, to not eat before a performance...

Then there was the award giving ceremony for the Young Kendoka Of The Year, Newcomer Of The Year, Kendoka Of They Year 2008 and Kendo Club Of The Year.. For the first two awards, we were all given a piece of tiny strip of paper to write our votes, but for the third award we simply have to raise our hands to vote the nominees..

The results are as follows:
Young Kendoka of the Year - Kaza
Newcomer of the Year - Alvin
Kendoka of the Year 2008 - Zool Sempai
Kendo Club of the Year - KB Kendo Club (for that night)

It was great to see them win, because they deserved it.. Especially Alvin, who had made great improvements.. Wish I could beat him in shiai one day.. All the winners are all those who I voted for, so was great! Kaza was the one who first thought me kendo during the BSRC demo last year.. I learnt the basic cuts from her and the basic ashi sabaki... And I still remember how difficult it was to make a good fumikomi and kept on jumping instead of stomping... Zool Sempai is our club captain, so to see him win in a way reflects how his hardwork has paid off, especially in forming KB Kendo Club, which started with maybe 15 members, and has now grown to more than 30 members (or was it more?).. So, yea... Shin Chan FTW!

As for Kendo Club of the Year, the voting system was changed.. Lim Han Sempai made a good point on how we will end up voting for our own club anyway, so he decided to give a review for each club in hope that would change our mind and vote according to the reviews... But that failed, since we voted for our own club anyway... So in the end, each club has to send two representative, and for our club, Alvin and me were told to represent.. So all the representatives went on stage and Sempai Lim Han asked a question to us...


"WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MOKUSO?"


Everyone seem to know the answer to this one, and Alvin stated the answer for our club.. And after everyone had stated the answer, turns out that the question was not used to determine the winner... 'There is no right answer to the purpose of mokuso" stated Lim Han Sempai..

After explaining the purpose of Mokuso (' a wise man once said....'), he announced that he would keep the award for now and the clubs have to fight for it next year, during the FIRST EVER INTER SCHOOL KENDO TOURNAMENT!!

Then after a few seconds, he said that he would just give out the award that night to the club which he thought should get the award...

He said:
"The club that will take this award, in my opinion, and if you would agree with me... Is.... *drumroll by Shin Chan) KB Kendo Club... This is because they treat each other like a family (or something like that, I don't remember the exact words, but he mentioned about us working together like a family)"

I took the award for our club, and all the KB-ians were really happy about the award... So went to the KB-ians table and passed the award around... They have to touch and see it for themselves... It's theirs! It's ours! It's KB KENDO CLUB AWARD!!

However, I think the whole kendo tournament thing is still on, so the other club might be able to take the award from us next year... So what do we do? We train harder! We will strive to win the tournament and keep the Best Kendo Club Award!!

Then it was on to the band performances... Was really nervous at that time even though it was Zool Sempai's band who performed first... Their band was really good, as expected from experienced musicians.. They said that they'll be releasing their album next year, so will look forward to that...

Up next was our band.... Oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The main reason why I was nervous was because:
1)I had to sing two songs
2)I tend to forget lyrics
2)The last time I was the vocalist was back in 2004
3)I haven't performed since 2006

But.....

WE ROCKED THE NIGHT!!!

The crowd was not all that responsive to the first song, and I forgot some of the chords (was the bassist)... But that didn't matter... On to the next song, which was when I had to be the vocalist...
Was glad that I didn't forget any of the lyrics and interacted with the crowd a little... And when the song ended, we got the crowd cheering for us (some "wooooooooo!!!!").. What they didn't know was that there was not any break between the second and third song.. This is because the last chord of the second song and the first chord of the third song is the same, so we decided to just continue to the third song...

Now, this is when I saw them nodding their heads to the music... After all, it is HOLY DIVER!!!
After the first chorus, I tried to get the crowd to be more responsive and gave them some \m/... And those int he back did start giving us \m/\m/.. So that was great... And the ending of the song was changed a bit, and I ended it with an ascending vocal, and the crowd cheered on... Was so great..

But the peak of our performance has got to be the last song-Smells Like Teen Spirit... Our vocalist, Khairul, did well in making the crowd jump around and go wild... Was just great!! We wanted to do an encore, but time didn't allow us... But that doesn't matter... The crowd was great and supportive! There was even some technical problems in between the songs, but the crowd didn't stop cheering us on... So for that, thank you!!!

Everything ended at around ten pass eleven, but we left at midnight... Went to talk with the other kendoka and then had some photo sessions... And then received more compliments on our show...

We left when the clock strike midnight, and went to see if any cinemas are still open... But all are closed, so we went straight home... But the driver (Khairul) started to drive off lane so we all told him to stop and rest... We ended up in Jerudong Park and saw some stalls still open late that night... Some of us were hungry, so we decided to eat there...

As usual, the stall workers will bring the menu to a table when they see some customers, so some of them sat at one table and the stall worker went to them to give the menu... Seeing that the table is almost full, I decided to move to another table, only to see that another stall worker was waiting there.. Then before I could approach the table, the previous stall worker said, "sini saja.. jangan tah kan duduk tempat lain lagi" (just sit here, there's no need to sit at other table)..
That was downright rude! As a customer, I have every rights to sit at whichever table I want, and from whichever stall I like... Yea, sure, it's tough competition out there, especially late that night, but saying that to customer will not improve their business.. If I ever have to eat in Jerudong Park again, I know which stall that I won't be buying from now.. There, you lose a customer!

We then rested for a bit at the parking area, while Khairul took a short nap, since we all forced him to...

At around 3++ am, he woke up and we all left and went home... I arrived at my place just a few minutes before 5am, so was really tired at that time...

But it was all worth it... We even got a certificate for the show! So, it was a great night and had a lot of fun... \m/ (=^_^=)\m/

Two sides of a coin

Was just told by my dad that the current maid will leave in two days time, and so we won't have anymore maids (permanently i think, instead of temporarily)...

Think this is a good thing because I've never felt comfortable when there is a maid around in the house... Still remember when we used to have that one maid who kept on giggling everytime she sees me, and went "hehehe" every single time i pass her by... I have no idea what that was about... She used to work for us for about ten years i think, or was it eight...

Another positive thing about this would be the fact that dad would cook more often.. YAY!!! I've always liked his cooking.. Always so flavourful, especially the sweet and sour fish.... *drools*

The negative side of this would be, isn't it obvious? There's no need for those things to be stated here i think...

Sure that it would take a few days to adapt, so will see....

Out with the old, in with the new

As the previous post had stated, my 6233 broke down last night...

But as much as I miss that phone, I'm less pouty than i was because I now have a new phone!!
Dad bought me an N81, which I honestly did not expect.. Was only hoping for a much simpler phone and I got this! So I was beyond happy...

Domo arigatou, otou-san!

Just need to familiarise myself with the feature because I haven't got a symbian phone for such a long while... But so far, it's good :)

Oh no!!!!

My phone broke down!!!! It's not one of those high-end gadgets, it's just a Nokia 6233, but it is my phone that I have had since 2006!!

Now I have to change my phone.. That is a good thing in a way, because it's a new phone... But i will surely miss this one...

*shrugs* Will see what phone will replace this one...

And I still have some posts that need to be published here, such as the night out at the nightstalls and the cat show... and how today is my last kendo training for a while :(

will cover them all soon enough....

A Much Regretable Purchase

As usual, I'm bad at intro, so will jump right onto the point...

Was a usual day at school.. Ws late again, as usual... But at least I'm not late for any classes, just for registrations.. Which I personally have no idea why it would take 15 dreadful minutes just for the sake of taking attendace.. I mean, could they not come up with a better system? Or at least shorten the registration time... And just because I'm late for my registration, that doesn't mean that I need to get the discipline slip, just for the sake of getting my attendance checked... Think about it for a second, just because my class tutor let the students out early for the other classes and I was a tad late (a couple of minutes), I had to get a discipline slip.. Yet there were some other classes which still had not been allowed to go by their class tutors... Which time are we following here? Which time are the tutors following? Could they not synchronise all the clocks??

Needless to say, I did not maintain punctuality for long and still arrive exactly at 7.45 am... That's when the lessons will start..

Anyhoos...

Had quite an interesting time in History class today (what a shocker!).. Had a new teacher who took over the class yesterday.. And she was experienced, or at least it seems... Made us listen in class and had some random/awkward moments too-such as calling a group of guys as 'homos' and a classmate as 'the joker' (elaboration needed, but I don't feel like stating them here)

Freaky was when she was taking our attendance and she had to ask who is who... She knew some of them, as they know her too- vaguely.... Then after that, she looked at me for a while and said, "You're Fatin, right?", i nodded and she ticked my name... And all that while I was thinking, "Just how exactly did she know my name?!"

The rest of the lesson went well enough... And she still keeps on telling us to feel super.. But today she told us to be sensitive and emotional... So excuse me while i go to the corner and cry my heart out... *walks over to corner and stabs the emo who got there first*

Lesson ended.. And on to business studies...

Just as i stepped foot into the class, bould feel this heavy vibe and tension... No idea why.. So casually walked over to my seat when a friend told me that the other set had a test..

....

............

WTF?!

No, I did not prepare anything.. No, I did not revise.. No, I did not know about the test... Well, it was a surprise test, but Noooo, I did not know about the other set... So the whole time I was hoping that it wouldn't be given to us too... Thought, "if you believe in something hard enough, it will come true"..

"no test"
"no test!"
"NO TEST!"

Then the tutor walked in and said that there will be a test...

Did I not believe in it hard enough?!

*shrugs*
At least I could answer some...

Class is over..

*********************************************************************************************************

Had plans with a few friends to have lunch with them at Fratini's, and went there right after school... Been there a few times and all those times, that place is almost empty... But today, it was packed... We didn't bother for a reservation, as we thought it would be empty... How wrong were we! So we had to sit outside, which is good enough... Then before we ordered anything, one of the waiter told us that there's an empty table for six inside and asked if we would like to go there, and so we did... Though wasn't sure about that at first, since we were bloody loud and did not want to disrupt the other customers inside... But when we went in, they were all loud themselves, so it was fine..

Ordered two Pizzas-tuna and meatlover, at which both have a 50% discount... w00t!
Also ordered two plates of garlic bread (with lots and lots and lots of cheese), cream of mushroom, and some drinks.. Milk shake for me as usual...

All went well until the cream of mushroom order arrived... It was not what we expected.. It looked like quaker oatmeal breakfast cereal! Not the cream of mushroom that I expected... And it was the blandest thing I've ever tasted... So we improvised it a little... And it tasted a touch better... But still not as good... But that was not the worse part... A bowl of that bland soup costs $9-according to Zee... We did not bother to look at the prices in the menu and simply ordered what we wanted... So I didn't know how much a bowl costs..

After an hour, we finally finished off our orders, aside from the two bowls of cream of mushroom soup...We then asked for the cheque, and when I saw it, it was not the amount that I expected...

It totalled up to $85, with the cream of mushroom costing $11 each...

11 bloody dollars!! It was not $9, but with an additional two bucks..

I will never, ever, EVER, forget that price and taste of the most regretable purchase that I've ever made..

We then spent another half hour splitting the costs... Was a touch embarassing, and I couldn't help giggling the whole time... We didn't want to pay more than our share (or at least I didn't want to), so everyone had to pay the exact amount... A pain in the rear-end, but it's money! Luckily there was Dini's boyfriend to help us solve the whole matter, and finally got the right amount...

Was a fun day as a whole..

Wonder where we're going to eat out next... We're thinking of Buccaneer, but none of us had been there.. So if anyone who had gone out to eat at that place, do give a review on the food, and some recommendations...

Doing what I'm best at

Was just posting a comment at another blog and decided to look at my own.. And I just realised that I have not been updating it in such a long, long while... The last post was back in April, s that's more than a couple of months back...

I'm such a good procrastinator... If only they have an award for that... *sigh*

Anyway, I believe that I promised that I would post more picture "soon"... But I have yet to do that until now... And because it's already a long while ago, I've decided not to post them here... Those pictures can be found at my galelry:  http://eyushekoura.deviantart.com

I update that gallery more often than i do here..

But will try to post more in this blog page...

Some updates so far:
I've been trying to practice on my photography skills..
I've been assigned as the Graphic Designer for our kendo website (yay!)
I've been searching for models who are willing to be my subject for my photoshoot sessions!!
I'm once again in a band

24/03/08 - 26/03/08

Tadaima, minna-san

Came back on Wednesday, but haven't been writing about it until two days after. And even that 
wasn't complete. So will try to complete it now. 

Now to write about what happened during those days in Japan...

24/03/08 (Monday)
Arrived at Brunei International Airport at around 9.30am, and was the first one to reach there. In about two to three minutes after getting down from the car, Sempai Zool arrived with his brother who sent him to the airport.

After that, it was picture taking time. Sempai Lim Han was there, but unfortunately he was not coming along with us to Japan due to some reasons which he was not too happy about.

Left-Right (top): Zool, Alvin, Yours Truly, Farhah, Hakeem, Naif, Yazin
Left-Right (bottom): Idzni, Amir, Nadzif, Kaza
(Picture was taken from a paper, didn't ask someone to take the picture using my camera)

There was actually another person who was joining this trip and he's from Sabah, Malaysia. So he did not leave with us from Brunei, but we met him at the Hotel in Japan.

We left Brunei for Singapore at around noon, and arrived about 2 hours later. Then we had to wait for our connecting flight to Japan for 9 excruciating hours. Some of them went to Orchid Road to do some shopping, but I would rather just save those money for Japan. Why would I shop in a country I've been to when I could've shop for more in a country that I've never been to.

So instead, Farhah and me stayed at the transit hotel in Changi Airport, so we could get some sleep. But we eventually decided to walk around the transit mall. So many temptations! They sell PSP and NDS at a very low price, and i didn't expect the 'transit mall' to be that big.

In the end, we only managed to get about an hour or so of rest in the hotel before the others came back.





Waiting for the boarding gate to open


At around a few minutes before midnight, we had to board the plane for Japan. I still wasn't sure if we were really going to Japan, because it didn't feel like it. Not that there wasn't any enthusiasm or anything, but merely because it just doesn't seem believable. Japan? For Kendo? With Friends? Seriously??? JAPAN?!?!

The flight took about 8 hours so most of them were sleeping during the flight, but I couldn't even get any proper shut eye. Maybe only slept for a few minutes before waking up again, and going back to sleep.


25/03/08 (Tuesday)
Still in the plane...

Still...

Still...

Almost....


Finally arrived at Narita Airport at around 7am and it was freezing cold. Before we get down from the plane, the captain told us that the temperature at the destination was about 3 degrees celcius. Did not expect that at all! Internet told me that it's about 9 degrees celcius on average and 3 degrees is much lower than 9. Freezing cold!





View from inside of the aircraft as we were descending to Tokyo

We were greeted there by Mdm Hashimoto, the two Morishige's, Tomoi-san, a man I forgot his name, and the bus driver Suzuki-san.

We had a private bus for ourself and think that the seating arrangement was nice. At the back of the bus, they didn't have the normal row-seating arrangement. Instead, they were arranged in such a way that about 5 seats at the very back, another five at one side, facing the right, and another 5 at another side, facing the left, with a table in the middle for drinks and food.

We then went straight to Tokyo Bunka Junior Highschool, WITHOUT CHECKING IN TO THE HOTEL FIRST! So after hours and hours of flight, we didn't get any rest except the one we got in the bus, and the first thing that we did when we arrived in Tokyo was to train. Exhausting, yes, but a lot of fun as well.

There, four of the kendokas (Idzni, Alvin, Farhah and Myself) did not have to go through the kind of training that the others received, mainly because we did not have Bogu (Armour), so all we did was the basics.

However, I really wished that I had the bogu at that time because they had this one 'game' during the training which I've never seen before. All the kendokas, Bruneians and Japanese alike, were separated into two teams. Then, the two teams had to go against each other in a group without any official referees or whatsoever. It was more like a mock war. So anyone who got hit, had to be eliminated. Was so much fun to watch. Hope that they would do the same for the Kendo Workshop in June.

Also, in that Junior Highschool, each and everyone of us were given a new Shinai, which was lighter than the first one that I had, but slightly heavier than the one that I reecntly bought before I went to Japan. We were also given a piece of Tenugui, but three of us, including me, did not get it, because we were away when the item was given out. But no matter, have a brand new shinai and that's all that matters.

We left the school at around dusk, and Sensei Ninomiya brought us to a kendo shop nearby. Wnted to buy the bogu there but it was too expensive that I could save a couple of hundreds if I just order it through the Sempais when we get back to Brunei. But I did get a new leather shinai bag, with my name on it and it costed me USD 50. Well worth the money.

After that, we had to take the station and walk back to our hotel. Thought that it would be a 15 to 20 minutes walk, but I was wrong. So damn wrong. We had to walk to the hotel for almost and hour, carrying heavy bags with us. On the brighter side, it might be a good post-training for us. But the drawback was that, my feet and shoulders hurt! Practically had to drag my feet after a while.

At last, we reached the hotel! It was not as spacious as I thought it would be. A narrow way to the front desk. And our large luggages had to be carried to our room by ourselves, without any help. Been to a lot of hotels before and this was the first time that I've seen such a 'hotel'. Also, the door to the room was made of aluminuin/tin. The kind that we have here as washroom doors,long long time ago. Weird thing is that, the door to the individual toilets were made of glass and wood. Shouldn't it be the other way round?

But other than that, the hotel was not all that bad. Just like anywhere in Japan, they have vending machines near the front desk, which sells anything from mineral water to coffee to beers. Also the toilet was automatic! Everything is automatic! But... Something's not right about the notice on the toilet.

Riddle me this

So.... where am i suppossed to sit?!


26/03/08 (Wednesday)
It's Fuji time!!

It was a long ride from the hotel to the station where we had to take a train to the Fuji Hakone Izu Park. Some slept in the bus, while others (like me) were busy taking pictures of the sceneries. Wish I could take at least one of those trees back to Brunei. But, it would be oversized and I would be charged for excess baggage. *sigh*

At the station. We all look so tired


Still, at the station


View from the train

At the arrival station. Just had to take that picture.

Also at the arrival station

After arriving, we had to walk for a few minutes, stop by some souvenier shops, and then get onto our bus again, which will then bring us to the park.

Such a cutie. Saw this along the way while walking to the bus. Wanted to wake it up so it would look at the camera, but didn't want to bother its nap.


Also found along the way. Pretty.


Found outside one souvenier shop. Handcrafted mini figurines.

That's what I like about Japan. Everywhere you go, there's always something nice to see. Even though they are simple, but they are just something new to the eyes. Unlike here, where everything is the same, no matter where you go. The urban looks no different than the rural. Just plain boring. I want to move to Japan!

After hours of and hours of bus ride and train ride, we finally arrived at the park. And it was freezing cold!! So cold.. TOO COLD in fact. And the wind made it much more colder than it was suppossed to be. Had to cover half of my face and tuck my hands in the sweater. But even so, it was still so very cold. The wind was so strong that it literally can push you or even pick you up and send you up in the air. Not forgetting the stinky, stinky smell of sulphur from the hot spring (no, we didn't get to bath in it. If we did, it would've been great, especially with that cold tempearture).

But they did sell eggs at the stand, which are boiled in the hot spring. Tasted like normal chicken eggs, but the shell was black. METAL EGGS! \m/\m/

Excuse me.
View of the Hot Spring Park

It was really a tough task to try to smile with that strong wind.


Another view of another angle of the hot spring park.


That smoke from the hot spring looked so tempting at that time. Really wished we could've splashed ourselves with the water. The stinky water.

After about an hour of freezing in the cold, we went to the souvenier shop. And that was were I spent most of my money in total. There sold bokkens, pretty handkerchiefs, handmade products, tiny little rattling things, rubber nunchuks, toy knife, a mini mock katana keychain, parasols, and so on and so forth. I bought so much that they even gave me a free gift. A handmade bracelet. And even though I can find the same type of bracelet here, but that one was special. It was from Japan! And it was free!

Then, we headed to a small restaurant we I had Udong for the first time. It was good actually. And for the first time, we sat on the floor/mat, and no chairs. Real Japanese experience that one was. Had nice, hot green tea there too.

Then Sempai Shin Chan wanted a bottle of Coke, just the standard bottle of Coke. And it costed him about $5 Brunei dollars (when converted). Just because it's imported. But they do have the cheap Cokes, from the vending machine. 

Cute! Found inside the restaurant


Taken from outside of the restaurant

We then went to Hakone Skyline where our tour guide told us that it has a great view, and she was not kidding. Was cold, but not as cold as the hot spring park. And the view was just breathtaking.  
Everything was natural. And everything had a great angle to each other.








Think that the place would be spectacular in Winter.

Then we went back to our bus, and I thought that we would go back to the hotel and get a bit of rest. But no. We went staright to the Brunei Ambassador House.

And it felt like Brunei.

The house, the seating arrangement and just that place have this 'Brunei Vibe' to it. The people there dressed in Baju Kurung (traditional malay dress), and they spoke in, not just Malay, but Brunei Malay. Even the food was malay food. And really, after eating only fish and seafood for three 
days, you tend to appreciate chicken. And I did. And all the malay food, rich in spices. All the 
chickens.


Didn't take a lot of pictures at the ambassador's place, because my camera's battery was dying :(

After dinner, we went back to the hotel. Finally! After a long day without any 'real' rest, finally I could have a good night sleep.

Yea, that's what I thought.

Before I could take the elevator up to my room, Morishige-san told me to come with me. So I followed her outside th hotel. Then there was a car, and it was Alvin's foster family. Kept on wondering why I had to be there. Then turns out that his foster family lend us 
two set of Bogu, one for Alvin and the other for me. And even included a free Tenugui. No idea what was written on it, but it looks nice. My first Tenugui! FREE!

Loving Japan even more!

Then instead of sleeping, went to search for someone who could teach me to wear the Bogu. And that took at least until midnight. Not that it was a long difficult task, but just that we already arrived at the hotel at about 9. So leaves little time for anything else to be done and to be finished early.

Then it was back to my room, and had to pack up my things for the next day, because I had to stay for a night at my foster family's place. And only went to sleep at around 2 am.


-to be continued-