Fidelia's Friday - Route to Kuantan

I am a small woman born in a city called Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak. Sarawak is situated on Borneo and it is a multiracial state. So, I am so used to being around a lot of races. I come from an Iban family, which is the biggest race in Sarawak. To learn more of the Iban people click here.

I grew up with four of my other siblings. We are all girls. I am the second one and the one who always gave my dad a big headache when I was a teenager. I was a tomboy for a good couple of years during my teenage years. I played football with my neighbours (not that I was good at it) and most of my friends were boys. I never missed watching live football when my state team called the "Bujang Senang" (otherwise known as Sarawak) played at the stadium. Back then they were good with a few  foreigners playing but now they are quite rubbish. Sorry to say! I am more interested in Manchester United now after I got married. My husband got me into English football and taught me everything he knows about his favourite team. To my surprise, I was a fast learner! So, I have been supporting Manchester United for more than 5 years now!

Anyway, after I finished high school at the age of 17, I continued my studies to pre-university. There I was learning foundation in Science. I spent a year on an island called Labuan. This beautiful but small island is not far from a state called Sabah, which is also on Borneo island. I loved my time there! The only memory that I don't want to conjure up is the frequent shortage of water! I had to get up at 5am to fill up a bucket of water from another hostel. We had to walk down our stairs and up the stairs of another hostel. One good exercise after we filled up our buckets! 

After I finished my pre-university, we were given 8 choices of universities we wanted to apply for. So, one of my choices was University Malaysia Pahang which is here in Kuantan. I got that offer and I studied here for 2 years before I met Duncan in Kuching during my semester break. We got married during my 3rd year of university and he came to Kuantan to be here with me! After 6 years of hard work and ups and downs with my studies, I finally graduated. 

After graduation, I don't feel like being a chemical engineer because it is a very demanding job. It has tight schedules as well. I chose that career before I was married because I didn't think I was going to get married at the age of 21. Things changed along the way. I have other commitments now. My highest priority is being with my children and taking care of them. I want them to have the memories of me being with them when they were young. Something they can tell their friends when they are older and say "my mother was always there for me whenever I needed her!"

So, here we have been living in Kuantan for more than 5 years already. I thought we would be moving out after I completed my studies but no, we didn't. Kuantan is our home now. The home to both our children because they were born here.

So, have you ever thought about moving out of your hometown to settle somewhere else? I never thought about it but here I am! Born in Kuching, settled in Kuantan!

Zenith Hotel and SAS International Convention Centre

It's been a while since I blogged about the famous Zenith Hotel where I was privileged to be

•  taken on a tour of the developing hotel by the General Manager

• and later where we attended the New Years Eve buffet and official opening 

• enjoyed a wholesome food sampling session

• and finally were treated to a free one night stay by the General Manager

• February was the last time I took you into the SAS International Convention Centre (SASICC) which is attached to the Zenith Hotel

I must admit that those were good times indeed as I discovered that being a blogger can bring rich rewards! 

Last weekend there was a "perfectlivin" exhibition at the convention centre which I attended, if only to do some window shopping and snap a few pictures. I'm pleased to announce that the Zenith Hotel is almost completely finished with work going on on the 23rd and final floor. Here's how it looks:

There is lots of greenery lining the Zenith Hotel

Looking up the 23 floors of the Zenith Hotel

East Coast Mall, in the bottom right corner, has had a change of paint since the last time I was at Zenith Hotel and SASICC

Inside Zenith Hotel, the San Feng restaurant has opened it's doors on the first floor

A scene from the ground floor of the Zenith Hotel

Here are some of the highlights and images from the perfectlivin exhibition at the SASICC, which was covered over two floors.

I was attracted to this piece of Islamic art which portrays the 99 names of Allah (God), as found in the Holy Qur'an

The detail was beautiful

Aquariums

Garden landscaping

Plenty of taps!

My favourite thing to see was the lighting booths. Here are some real cool lights:

And here's an image from upstairs

Don't miss Fidelia's Friday tomorrow! Make sure to tune in . . . 

The early differences between Lauren and Leah

Today we were looking back over the wealth of photos of Lauren in her early days of life. I'd love to be able to post them all on my blog but that would take an eternity to upload!

Anyway, we came across a couple of pictures which can be compared with ones we have snapped of Leah recently. Here we can see the differences between Lauren and Leah. What do you think?

Lauren spent 4 days under the UV light in the hospital following her birth, to counter jaundice

And here's Leah's time under the UV light - but she only stayed there for a day

And here are our two daughters in identical positions on my shoulder at about a month old:

Lauren

Leah

What are the main differences? Or comparisons?

Beserah Beach and Siti Nurhaliza

In the Beserah area, a main road that runs along the beachfront, we went to eat at Pak Su restaurant. It's a seafood restaurant, but my throat was sore so I didn't eat much.

But what I did enjoy was the beach. It was really hot so I only spent around 10 minutes out there, but I did come across this very old fishing boat complete with the marine life attached to it.

I wish the sun wasn't so stinking hot so I could spend a bit more time snapping away! But I could feel the headache and neck ache coming on, so I stopped with what I had and made a move.

Today I will share another music video with you. This time it's distinctly Malaysian. Meet Siti Nurhaliza. Those of my readers from Malaysia will know all about her. If you don't, she's the most famous singer from Malaysia and has a beautiful voice, singing songs in both Malay and English. Here she is performing her famous song, "Bukan Cinta Biasa" ("No Ordinary Love")

Wishing you all a happy Tuesday!

Lauren's Developing Talents

So Lauren is growing quickly and we are starting to see her talents which she is developing. First of all, she's pretty good in front of a camera - will she be a model???

Secondly, she's equally as good behind the lens. Here she is in action with the camera on Fidelia's hand phone - will she be a photographer???

She snaps dozens of pictures at a time - just like her daddy!

Thirdly, Lauren has been trying her hand at teaching. Frequently she asks me if she can teach my tuition class. Sometimes I permit her and she sits in my chair and tells my students what to do! Will she be a teacher???

Next up, Lauren was watching the swimming on the TV with us yesterday while she was having a nice warm bath. We heard her voice saying "Look at me" and this is what she was doing - will she be a swimmer???

Lauren has also taken quite a shine to sports, in particular tennis, and here in this picture, football - will she be a sports star???

Finally, Lauren really enjoys drawing and colouring, and her pictures have been progressing rather nicely over the last few months. Here's her latest drawing which she presented to me - will she be an artist???

What do you think she'll be?!

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon. Don't feel like doing anything. Leah is asleep on the couch. Lauren is walking around the house not sure what to do. My wife is watching me check my email, facebook, and blog. It makes me uncomfortable but she too has nothing to do!

By the way, I have accomplished 500 blog posts since I opened this thing up two years ago. 

So on this 501st post, I'm sharing with you this nice video. It's Nelly featuring Tim McGraw, (who recently appeared on American Idol singing with Scotty) singing 'Over and Over'.

Sit back, relax, and happy Sunday!

Mydeal.com

I enjoyed my wife's first blog post yesterday, I really did. I think it's refreshing to have another voice on my blog, especially when it's that of my best friend, my dear wife. A lot of people attached to our families are looking forward to Fridays now!

On to today's post. I have recently discovered a website named www.mydeal.com.my which is very exciting. It is a website serving people in Singapore and Malaysia with various deals each day on food, eating out, holidays, events etc.

You simply choose a deal which tickles your fancy, select the location you will redeem it at, and enter your info and payment method.

The site will be open to Kuantan residents within the next 3-4 weeks. It is currently available at selected locations in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Ipoh, Malacca and Miri.

So if you live in any of these locations, go and check out www.mydeal.com.my

Fidelia's Friday - Being a blogger's wife

Hi, I am Duncan's wife. I will be writing a blog every Friday starting from today. This is my dearest husband's idea of course. He wanted to spice up his blog by asking me to write every Friday. I wasn't sure if it is a good idea or not. Anyway, I thought I will give it a try today.

When Duncan first started his blog, I thought it was a waste of time. He was on the computer for 4-5 hours every day to try to attract more visitors to his blog. He tried a lot of websites to post his newly made blog. I was always nagging him about how much time he had spent on the computer.

Then he started to write about the Zenith hotel, which I thought also a waste of time! Anyway, after two years of writing his blog, he has achieved a few awards and benefited from it. We got a free night stay at the Zenith hotel and he found a few new students for his English tuition. He also met some good friends here as well.

I always love his photographs especially when he takes photos of our children.He is no doubt a very talented photographer even though only with a normal digital camera. I can only imagine what he can do with a real camera! Maybe someone here reading this blog can buy him a good camera for his upcoming birthday! :)

So, keep reading his blog because he is good in writing and taking pictures! I always enjoy reading his blog. I've been following him for 2 years now!

I AM PROUD OF MY HUSBAND!

"See" you all next Friday!

P/S: My English is not as good as my husband. So, forgive me if my grammar is all over the place. My husband is not here with me right now to correct my English! :D

Me and My Girls

We've been taking a few pictures since the birth of our 2nd daughter, Leah. Here is a selection of some of my favourite ones:

I wish they would stay like this forever, but they're going to grow up fast!

And finally, on a hot afternoon, as snapped by my wife...

All asleep on the bed!

New flower patch at Kuantan Old Town

So as I was leaving the post office I noticed this new patch of bright flowers by the roadside. Kuantan Old Town is full of old buildings and shops, but these vibrant new flowers give it a new, dazzling look. I think they're a great addition. Let's hope they are still standing in a month or two.