Birds of Prey

The Dummy's Introductory Guide into the World of Kite-Flying

(illustrated by Maurina H)

Disclaimer: No one was physically harmed in any possible way during the making of this quasi-photo-documentary. All actors are acting voluntarilly under no coercion nor rasuah. (Fortunately for me)

1. This sport is usually more popular among teenage boys aged 12-21 years old, particularly if they are frustrated with boredom and burdened with stresses of unemployment.

2. The 'sport' is more often than not facilitated by hand made 'kikiks' (pronounced key-kicks) which are crafted and aerodynamically tested with purely traditional means - by instinct.

Basic things needed are; Temiyang (a sort of lightweight bamboo) for the main chassis (more commonly called alok-alok) of the flying instrument, glue (usually ambuyat is used), some lightweight oil paper usually of unusually bright colours and a roll of strong tangsi.

NB: seasoned kikik makers might dispute me on the things part. Please do not hesitate to add if I've left out some important bits.

3. Knowing the strength and direction of the wind is a great advantage.

4. With almost no effort, a skilled player can get a kikik up flying in the clouds within 5 minutes.

5. Within the next 10 minutes the player will keep the kikik floating in the sky, being careful not to let it get swept by the wind, and constantly making sure that their tangsi is not corrupting any unsuspecting phone lines in the process.

6. During the kikik season, kikik enthusiasts will constantly be on the look out for idle kikiks in the sky.

An idle kikik is call for a challenge.

7. Thus, begin the pulut battle. These two opponents acknowledge each other's presence. A mutual understanding is reached through unspoken discourse.

The challenge is accepted.

8. These two kikiks will try to cut off each other's lines or tangsi.

The action is done with utter skill, sufficient knowledge of physics, aerodynamics and strong basic instinct.

9. If a match is particularly exciting (e.g. between two people notorious for their pulut skills) people would convene.

The match now has an audience. Additional pressure is added to the opponents. Wagers are thrown and shouts and yells of support are heard.

10. Eventually one kikik will break and the one still remaining up there would be hailed as the winner.

The floating kikik would be lost forever, free for anyone to salvage and admire.

...and all that is left, is a neck strain and a broken tangsi line.


The End

These Boots Are Made For Running

Peekaboo. Grass, football jersey, football boots. That can only mean one thing!

Haha! Apparently I play football now! Not that I am neccesarilly even remotely good at it. In fact, I am absolutely crap at it though I frequently flatter myself to boost my ego. BUT yes, the invite came andI don't know if it was the weather on that particular day in that specific part of Brunei but for some reason I practically jumped at the opportunity. As of today, I officially play for Laviosa FC (and yes, it is the Laviosa the Levitating Spell but with an 'a').

Completely out of character no?

I suspect the reason why I am having absolute fun doing this is because, it is freakin' whole load of SIUKNESS buying them accesories!!!

I'm going to make them Kadai Sport Kalings rich! Watch out for an economic boom in sports accesories revolving around women's football (like size 5 pastel colored football boots specifically tailored to suit the delicate form of a woman's feet which are totally different from the physique of a man's) in the near future.

.....after Ramadhan of course. (Everyone know that all human activities halt to a deafening screech when Ramadhan comes - it's a Brunei thing~)

Shoes

Now what is that I have recently purchased?
EGAD! Football boots perhaps?

Baker's List

Happy Bithday Amy! :)

***

I. am. still. alive.

This (picture below) ALMOST killed me. Sixteen page behemoth of man made creation that sucked out all my brain cells. I practically need a protein shake every morning and night to recover.


I apologise for not updating. This MAJOR assignment shown above basically feeds on the portion of my vertebrate central nervous system that is enclosed within my cranium.

On a more cheery note, I Love Papaya Milkshakes. Fruities at the Mall. :) (Cuba kamu liat tu rambut ku ah, inda lagi terurus kali ah.. Be-puaka banar assignment atu.. Bari menangis!)

To celebrate me actually completing the thing that shall not be named above, I did this:


Beaches. I love. I grew up next to a beach. Actually I grew up on a sandspit. Do you know any of Bruneian sandspits? There are two actually. One in Kuala Tutong (Pantai Seri Kenangan - on the other side of the road is the Tutong river) and another at Kampong Danau. (Geography students and those with better knowledge of this may contradict me if I'm wrong)

Anyway, it is really great living on a sandspit. My front lawn is a beach, and my backyard is the Tutong River. I spent a lot of time on the beach naturally, it is too dangerous to swim most of the time because the current is VERY (a few people have died actually) strong. There is a whirlpool nearby that's why - where the sea meets the end of the river. So anyway, since swimming is a big no-no, me and my cousins play on the beach.

Can you imagine? Running around with the salty sea air blowing in your face, the sun though is shining brightly, we didn't care. If we're bored of running around and digging heart shaped holes in the sand (the theory is to make a swimming pool), we take the coastal path to an uncle's house which is basically two minutes away.

He had swings made of tyres! And under those swings are jasmines. The sweet smelling flower that never fails to bring me down memory lane everytime I catch a whiff. My aunty used to put these flowers in her hair. The jasmines are not there anymore, neither are the swings. Well, its in my head, and I suppose that will suffice.

Happy Teachers' Day

HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY!

:D

...and as of today, my Shoutbox has reached 10 pages of tags.

By the way, answer this:

"Why do you think has so few pupils passed their O'Level English?"

Comment if you have an answer.

Katrina Aftermath

Why did I see this coming?

Meanwhile, in Memphis, Tenn., residents told News Channel 3 they saw Hurricane Katrina survivors purchase designer jeans, high heels and purses with their $2,000 emergency debit cards. According to the report, one Katrina victim was spotted at a Cordova clothier buying stacks of $65 designer jeans. Another viewer reported spotting a survivor buying "over $700 in high heel shoes and purses" at a Memphis department store "while (her) younger children, most of them looked under the age of 3, looked like they haven't showered in weeks."

What do you think? Read the full article here.

Grey Gurey

Dear Readers *coughs*Tina*coughs*,

As I've observed in the tagboard, there has been an overwhelming demand from the masses (!) that I should publish something about my cat. Since I am too lazy to do so, I've asked the kitty itself to purr away on Turquoise and Roses. However, due to the nature of her paws whereby there lies the absence of opposable thumbs, she is unfortunately unable to type on the keyboard with sufficient agility and rhythm. As the bestfriend that I am, I gladly volunteered to type for her while she dictates relevant information about her life.

Fatale Feline

The name's Gurey. My pet, Maurina, had named me after the deliciously rich coat I have wrapped around my perfectly sleek body. Well, what can I say, she is quite the unimaginative human. How could she not notice my best feature are my eyes? But, even so, I keep my coat shiny, and clean. After all, seventy percent of my waking hours are well spent on - grooming.

I live on the warm television set in the kitchen. Indeed I know every detail that ever came on screen. When the twin towers got bombed, I gasp. When the Tsunami of the century hit Acheh, I wept. When Hurricane Katrina wiped out New Orleans, I sigh. I am a witness of the Brunei Government's reshuffling of ministers. Then when the news get simply too heavy and ludicrous for my feline brain to conceptualise, I tiptoe off the television set to sit in the fruit basket with the delicious smelling green bananas. Indeed, I did that quite a few times. Humans are beyond understanding.

I suppose you want to know how I ended up living in a house with nine humans and three other cats. I honestly cant remember. The earliest memory I have is one where I was put in a lavender bassinet with an atrociously rude white masochistic male cat afflicted with an eye infection. He thinks his phallus is the centre of the universe until he got sterilised. Now he's just insane and schizophrenic, prone to bouts of depression. Ugh, I hate him.

Anyway, I have to go. Midnight is here. So are CICAKS!

Gurey (pronounced GOO-ray) is a Cancerian. I've had her since she was a baby and although she snores, I love her to bits. I've given her full access to Turquoise and Roses. So, expect rants about "an annoying white cat" and bitching on "that Burmese queen who never talks to anyone and eats with her hand".

Ciao!

Kitty's Snout

My kitty's snout.

Round brushes

Have you all been to the new Manggis Hua Ho?
Well what can I say. It's quite clean. Aside from that, there is definitely not enough parking space for every one and the whole store does not sell a decent round hairbrush. In fact, only one place does. Hypermart! So, if anyone wants to open up a business selling varieties of hairbrushes and all matters and utensils concerning the head and hair, you are most welcome. I need a bigger diffuser. I definitely see a market.

But the red shoes are the gorgeous. Rich rich red. Absolutely luscious no?

***

ANYWAY, UBD is having a mid-semester break where students (including me) start scrambling to do their assignments. I don't know what is it in particular that the caterers are feeding the lecturers but mine are incessantly giving me homework. Not that I mind much. (I wanted to know what it feels like to complain on a blog.)

***

"Awu si dayang makan di SCR lapas atu!"
PARUT comes first! As if you don't know. MIB kali ah - Makan Inda Beranti.

***

By the way, heard his majesty's new wife came home from New York yesterday(apparently she tagged along) in really hot pink pants. Ouu, dare she add glamour in the Family?

***

On a more serious note, the French has fallen out of love with wine.
Egad! Izzit ze end of ze werld!

Wurlies to Pokers

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

--Marcel Proust

Nothing much to post today. My hair is currently straight. Absolutely no one salon in this world can challenge the expertise of Hong Hong's in hair washing. I almost died crossed eyed of pure dripping pleasure.

Hong Hong is next to Singapore Chicken Rice in Gadong. DEFINITELY RECCOMENDED.