Lea's Birthday

Lea, my sister is now 26 years old.

As usual, family gathering for such birthday occasion has always been on a list of the my priorities.(my boss always say that we are no godfathers but we always want the best for our family!)


Lea, ( sister no 6) helped me a lot . She loves shopping and the trendiest clothes of the latest designs so i was rather nervous if she would approved of what i got for her present.

A pair of lovely stiletto for an Enchanted Cinderella.

I knew she would look good on them, but then again she is pretty and kind too :)

All of us came to rejoice her 26th birthday plus certain family to-be extension.. Hey Lea, we like your Majedee!!

We invited an Imam to read special prayers... and he loves the food too!


and as you can see.. somebody tried to help with BBQ but then ended up burning all the chickens to crispy black, even in flavour.. but it still taste good though haha

Mikael left this world - AlFatihah

Amidst our ever busy life, the world is triggered by the news - Michael Jackson is gone. Michael Jackson is dead.

There goes another piece of my childhood memories.

I grew up with his music. I was eight years old when hit songs such as 'Beat It','Thriller' and 'Billie Jean' introduces me to the passion that music can offer. Back in the 80's, The Jacko Craze had a big impact on Brunei. Before CD or VCD was here, Bruneians would consider it cool to play his cassette and it was almost every child's dream to get his red jacket on 'Thriller' video's, nagging their parents to buy for them. The red jacket became a fashion hit, even in Brunei. I vividly remember a guy who always walks around Bandar with his jacket in the 1980's.

I was one of those children who would play the Beat It song over and over again during those years. I remembered how my school mates would try their best to do the moonwalk although no one was really able to imitate his moves perfectly.

It was 1996 when he came to Brunei and perform a big concert at the then-glamorous Jerudong Park Playground. I never had a chance to meet him in person but my late grandfather was lucky to shake hand with this legend a day after the concert.Thanks to Awang Yunus.

A humanitarian and a music legend, Michael is a martyr for he has done a lot to the people and music but he gets accusations, bad publicity and forced to create his own little world just to be normal. That's what i think. However, news of his conversion seem to be a plight in a bid to find peace and tranquility he had yearn so much of. He finally found peace.

A lot had been said about his religious beliefs but as Jermaine Jackson had stated in a press statement to the media following the death of his brother- "and may Allah be with you Michael, always" and so it has been confirmed that he died as a Muslim.

There goes another childhood memories and indeed May Allah bless him.

Walkabout - Let's....

I would like to apologize to Izyan Naqibah for the delay. However, here are some memoirs which i manage to grab from Bukit Tinggi, Pahang last year.

Number 12 underwent an intensive 3 weeks training programme so i flew at the last minute to meet him. We decided to take a few days to relax, enjoying the cool temperatures of the exotic hill - at The Colmar Tropicale.

A view from our room window...



Kids feeding swans


It was raining that night... most people stayed indoors



Dinner and breakfast was marvellous. ... Good Morning Chateau!


After breakfast, climb the tower to witness a view from the top of french village


.. Number 12 was eager to visit the Japanese Village.


Just 2 km from Colmar, the buggy transports us to the Botanical Garden and Japanese Village..




Coming up - Botanical Garden and Japanese Village

That Rule of Thumb

I've realized this blog is growing cobweb hehe.. but what can i say, i have been pretty busy lately.

The hectic days are never ending. Infact, i also find it hard to get a proper 'holiday'.. if you know what i mean.. ... But no matter how much hectic things can be i have this rule of thumb adhered by members of my household.

"A Family That Eats Together, Stays Together" - yes this rule of thumb i do consider quite important since everyone is all busy working their * off haha

But anyways, this is what my parents taught me since i was just a child. Since family is of great importance to me, the dinner table is a place for all of us to at least sit together and share that moment in a day.

I guess we all need to do that. Don't we?

25 years of glory - 'Kedewasaan Bernegara'

Its 23th February in Brunei. The silver jubilee - 25th National Day Celebration. I can say i am among the thousands of proud bruneians who attends the event at the Stadium this morning.

Before this, attendance on such celebration was never my interest. However,this year is different mainly because of few reasons. I think the celebration reminds me of my childhood in a way.

Back in 1985 (2nd national day), i remembered taking part in the flip cards presentation together with the rest of my schoolmates. I was only 9 at that time and with the excruciating heat of the sun during the rehearsals, it was quite a task. But it was an experience.

In 1986, at 10, i joined the march past with the rest of members of the Girl Guides Association.

Now after 25 years, i thought that who knows if i will still be here to witness the Golden Jubilee in the future. So perhaps this may be one of those chances you don't want to miss.

Another reason for that 'sudden interest' (believe me some of my friends did made fun of me about being patriotic all of the sudden hehe) was that i wanted to be there for my dad and my two sisters who were taking part in the march past.

My Dad marched past the celebration with members of the 'Kejiranan Kampong' (Neighborhood watch). He was kinda looking forward to it, judging from his look of excitement everytime he left for the rehearsals - he always came over before proceeding to the stadium. I guess retirement perhaps bored him a bit. In 1984 (Day of Independence), my dad was a government school principal before he transferred to the ministry until his retirement in 2004.

Susi, my sister too took part in the march past with the Red Crescent Society. She was leading her students from Sekolah Menengah Jerudong who were Red Crescent members. During the Independence day, she was only 4 years old.

My other sister, Dahlia and her colleagues joined the ministry of defence on the march past and field presentations. In 1984, she wasn't born yet.


Since my mother and my other two sister and hubs were equally interested to attend, then why not jump on the wagon and enjoy the ride..

I was calculating at first, because i do not want to wake up very early just to beat the congestion while all roads to the stadium closes as early as 7 am. But then hubs announced that a day before, he was given a parking pass allocated in front of the swimming pool complex, just outside the stadium so we don't need to leave too early. And so mom, my 3 younger sisters, me and hubs had a fun time.

Meanwhile, hubs shoot some photos and it was a so and so attempt hehe...



p/s what amazes me the most was the 1984 veteran singer .. Cikgu Haji Husin bin Tuah who sang the national day theme song this year. The announcer said since it was Silver Jubilee so the theme song will be sung by 2 singers - the major who sang the 'Brunei Bumi Bertuah' in 1984 and the young singer from this generation. However, i find the legendary old school in his 60's sounds better than his subordinate ... amazing huh.

Yes We-Can

I was a bit sad that i couldn't attend Siraj's birthday party but i managed to see him after the party. He looks happy to see me and i gave him a big birthday present, better than the one he told me he had wished for earlier hehe..

Meanwhile, my sister had decided to celebrate her birthday on the same night. Believe me, i only have 15 minutes to change and then off to Gadong ..




I had my ups and downs, but family gatherings usually brightens up my day..







Happy Birthday NurIzyan Naqibah

January Specials - Mom and Dad 34th Wedding Anniversary

Wow... so it has been 34 years of successful marriage for my mom and dad. Again, this calls for a celebration. Lea seems to be determine this time as she reminded me again and again not to miss it.



I was sick but the gathering got me all excited. So was Siraaj and Syahmi who helped blew the candle..




...and so the night continues with food fest.





that was when an intruder came to visit.