Go on a shopping spree in America

This is a 104 that I had set for myself. The real challenge was being able to afford a holiday in America, let alone a shopping spree.

But we did it! In August 2012, my sister and I met up in LA and began our shopping extravaganza. We went maaad in Vegas and shopped at both North and South premium outlets.

At one point, we had to buy new luggages. One of me and one for my sis. 

As you can tell, we love shopping!

Best part was that I got to spend quality time with my sister. 

Admittedly, there is a sequel to this shopping madness. Eugene surprised me last year with a return ticket to America and let's just say some serious damage was done. 

Why shop in America? Because of the variety. I was able to buy jeans that not only fit my waist but embraced by thighs. And things were simply more affordable there. Not to mention the food!

Like my mum says, we cannot bring our money with us when we kick it [the bucket] so enjoy it for what it is worth.

To a very enjoyable 104 experience. 

Go Jet Skiing

In 2012, Gene and I started a "fun day" that we surprised each other with on a near monthly basis. And we took turns. 

One fine day in January last year, we went for a drive. Destination unknown to me but all planned out by Mr Catchick. 

On the way there, to satisfy my curiosity, I decided to ask him where we were going [knowing very well that it was a surprise]. Considering the fact that he told me to bring my bathers, I started listing a number of activities that we could be doing. 

And when I got to jet skiing, he went all quiet. 

Jackpot!

We hired out a jet ski [as opposed to two] because it cost a fair bit for an hour's worth. I was happy being a passenger since I had not driven one before. In recollection, it was the best fun I ever had on the jet ski!

The feeling of potentially falling off the jet ski was nerve-wrecking in hilarity. I laughed all the way and loved the speed of jet ski even when it was travelling at 40km/h. 

At some point, I was brave enough to drive it on my own.

But boy it was tough. The salty water was splashing all over my face. I could hardly see ahead and kept wiping my face to get a clear vision. At one point I was lost. I could not find where the flag was. The same flag that was meant to help direct me and keep me within the jet skiing boundaries so I did not collide with the vessels that were passing through.

One of the jet ski operators had to come out and help direct me back. And when I finally got back en route, that was when the fun began. I was Miss Speedy Gonzales. Manoeuvring the jet ski like a pro. But after some time, I got tired. Time to head back.

It was such an exhilarating 104 that we went jet skiing in Miami. That time, we fell into the water! And I had only taken over the jet ski for less than a minute! We are planning to do it again when we are in Vietnam. 

Thanks bubbie for kickstarting an amazing 104 and to Jody for planting that awesome seed of thought!

Ride Scooters

The closest that I have ever been to riding a two-wheeled motorised machine is on the back of my auntie's motorcycle back in Malaysia. And even then, it was thrilling. No barriers, no safety net, no worries.

Right?

To begin with, we did a pre-start check. Went through how to start and switch off the engine. Shown where the indicators were. The luggage compartment. And away we went. 

During the trial run around the scooter hire place, I found it a bit challenging to balance the weight of the scooter. And to press the indicators while doing so. Staying on the right [left] side of the road was another issue altogether. All my knowledge and experience on the roads went out the window as soon as I sat on the scooter. 

Eugene started to worry. 

But I was not going to let my inexperience stop us from doing what we came to do so I put on a brave face and said I was ready. 

So we drove. At 40 kilometres per hour. Luckily, we were not on the main roads. It was exhilarating. I loved the feel of the air around me. The adrenaline rush. I felt free. 

We stopped by Cottesloe beach for lunch and for me to regain my nerves. As enjoyable as it was, I was tense at parts of the ride. Fearing that I would lose my balance and fall off the scooter. Eugene was so worried that he rode behind me and kept checking up on me. So lunch was good.

  

It felt awesome coming off the scooters. We commented on how easy it was with scooters. Finding parking. Free parking. And we looked cool with our helmets too. 

As all 104s go, some can truly change your life. We are now considering to buy a scooter.

Present a speech

For years now, I have fantasised about presenting in front of my colleagues. In our monthly safety meetings, we have a section called "About Me" and what it is is a 5 minutes blurb about oneself. It is a really good platform for us to get to know more about our colleagues.

And yes, I have fantasised about it. About how I would present it. About the supporting visuals. About the information that I would include. I simply love everything about presentations!

The only problem was that the presenters were always people who held more senior roles. Not your average joe blogg of a worker. Like me. But it did not stop me from dreaming.

And then came along Alicia Curtis.

Alicia is the facilitator for the Young Women's Leadership Program. I joined the three month program earlier this year and have since made some profound changes in my life.

One of which was presenting a speech. Alicia posed the challenge to us. To step out of our normal day-to-day routines. To promote what we believe in. To build our professional social profile. To be a leader in our own right.

And so, with the support of the Young Women's Leadership Program behind me, I asked the coordinator of the safety share meetings if I could make an "About Me" presentation. Lo and behold, there was a slot available and it was only weeks away.

And so I prepared.

And presented.

 

And the response was amazing. Quite a number of my workmates said that they really liked my presentation. That it was refreshing to have someone be so genuine about themselves.

Since then, people have started calling me Mon. They stop by my desk and ask me how my day is. They tell me about their lives. About their stories.

We deserve a place in this world. We deserve to be where we are right now. And it is okay if we do not feel like we belong. We cannot pretend to be someone that we are not but we must at least give it a go. Give ourselves a chance to be someone. To step up.

Here's to a gratifying 104.

Travel Alone

Somewhere in Birmingham, UK

Spring flowers in Manchester, UK

So I just got back from my first trip to the European continent last Saturday. I spent about 3 weeks in England, UK, where I headed to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, York, London and Windsor. Initially, Paris was supposed to be in the plan but prices went up as I looked too late. But its alright, London needed a lot of touring!

I decided on heading to the UK all of a sudden because I found that I had trouble moving on in Brunei after a 10-year relationship I was in ended just last year, and I'm glad I made the travel. In a way, it had helped push the moving on process a few steps further.

Manchester United Stadium, Manchester, UK

In Birmingham and Manchester, I had my cousins who brought me to Liverpool and York, but I was by myself for about 10 days in London and met an old friend in between.

I loved London the most, and went mostly a heritage tour by myself. I loved the Royal Parks and Kensington Palace. Photos will be uploaded onto my facebook account. I took about 3,300+ photos but if I took out the lousy ones, I'll probably be left with about 2000 reasonable ones.

Touring by yourself is good because you can take your time at places you like without worrying about the other. I really recommend it – travelling alone.

At Madame Tussauds, London, UK. I wasn't feeling good on the day and the crowds were massive in there so I looked a disaster in all the Madame Tussauds photos.. but nothing some Photoshop work can't fix now, can they?

She Loves You!

  I've also added a new 104 Thing to do, which is to do the splits. I think I can.. Mon, you should take part too :)

Shit Perth People Say

I know this is not a 104 post, but I really miss Perth. And one of my 104 things to do is to head to down Perth to meet the left side. – Hanah

"A lighthearted look at some of our Perth peculiarities. We asked our friends and family - you'd be surprised how often some common themes came up."

Go to a swap meet

It is no secret. Where there is a sale or a place of bargain, it can almost be guaranteed that there will be Asians. Which was why I was hesitant at first. I have a deep seeded [Asian] complex that imagines the worst. Of either being shunned by Asians or being shunned because I am Asian. 

But I woke up bright and early one Saturday morning and realised that my life was passing me by. That I was not going to get a second chance and it was ridiculous to be living by my fears. So I went home, cleared out all the stuff that was building dust in the cupboard and packed them in suitcases for the swap meet.

Swap Meet: Where people will give you money in exchange for your junk. Also known as a flea market. 

The trick to swap meets is to get a good spot. And to do so, you have to be one of the first cars in line. But when I woke up at four that morning, I still asked myself: "Why Monnie why??" You know I love my sleep.

Sarah: "my patience is running thin..." 

[insert evil chuckles here]

We were the seventh, eighth and ninth in line so we were given really good spots. The crowds were starting to build as we were setting up our stalls and even before I was done, Lauren was already making a sale. In fact, she was killing it!

A couple of people came by my table [Asians included] and I was really stoked about that. My first sale was a bag that was given to me years ago by a friend who, funnily enough, was clearing her wardrobe at the time.

Sarah was at the swap meet for the first time too. And she was working it!

At one point, I was selling my things for as low a dollar just to get rid of them. I felt terrible because these included gifts that were given to me. But I [honestly] had no use for them. It is insane how much we pay for things that will someday [soon] be of no use to us.

We are such  wasteful beings.

It forced me to come to terms with my spendthrift ways. If there is one thing that I spend on, it is on gifts. I ♥ shopping for people. But maybe it is time to start asking people what they want rather than guessing. The surprise element is great but it would be a real pity for gifts to go to waste.

Oh, if you must know, the Asians were great! They were friendly, like everyone else. And at times, super friendly. Tis refreshing to have a change of mindset!

Plus, it is not everyday that you [or rather, I] can sit back on trunk of your car and just relax under the summer sun. Watch as the crowds go by.

I thoroughly enjoyed this 104. Big thanks to Sarah for the suggestion and to Lozza for the detailed planning [down to the muesli bar]. I left with less junk in my trunk, a new appreciation for the simple yet, valuable things in life and with an additional $23 in my pocket. Noice!

Go camping

Truth be told, I added camping to the list thinking that I would ease into it without so much as a trickle of sweat. I adapt pretty well to things after all. So I booked myself in with the Nullabor Traveller for a 10 day road trip from Adelaide to Perth and thought nothing more of it.

16 November 2011: Two hours after the sun had set...

I remember falling short of breath as I stared down at the swag in front of me. My heart palpitated so hard that I had to hold onto my chest. I wanted to scream [for rescue]. But seeing that the rest of the tour group were not perplexed [as I was] about sleeping outdoors without a tent surrounded by wild animals, reptiles included, I decided to quietly accept my fate and prepared my swag. The first night brought out a whole new meaning to sleeping tight and not letting the bed bugs bite.

It involved a lot of twisting and turning in my sleeping bag which caused a "shwishy-shwoshy" noise. The sleeping bag did such a good job at trapping heat that I was perspiring feverishly. But I was too afraid to unzip my sleeping bag or the swag for fear of creepy crawlies [or worse] as I was told that they were attracted to the heat. Each time I stopped swishing and shwoshing, I would look up into the dark sky filled with stars and feel a wave of calmness. The heat of the bag however would slowly build up and the swishing swoshing would continue.

The scariest part of the night had to be when I heard creepy animal like noises from above my head. The heat from the sleeping bag could not amount to the fear that I felt. So I miserably covered my head under the swag cover and longed for daylight to come.

I woke up at the break of dawn to the sounds of the kookaburra hollering away like a monkey. I was relieved that I had survived the night without my head being torn off by an evil monster. Which, I must say, was highly unlikely but my imagination can be quite unimaginable at times.

For the next two nights, we stayed at Coodlie Park which was a farm retreat in the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. We slept in bunk beds. Three minute showers and all. Life was good. It was our only non-campsite accommodation.

We travelled across the Nullarbor and stopped over at the National Park where we would take our rest for the evening. It had a loo with no door and a yard filled with broken down [rusty] cars which were abandoned in the 70s as it would have cost too much to send someone out to tow or repair the cars.

It was there when I happened to chance upon a brown snake making its way across a footpath metres away from me. I took it as a non-optional option for me to sleep in a tent that evening. Away from the mice. And snakes. Thankfully, Katja was looking for a tent partner and with the help of Katrin and Manu, we had our first tent up and ready within minutes.

The campfire was great. One of the highlights of camping is definitely the campfires. The warmth. The mesmerising flickers of the flames. The conversations that could only be made possible with a campfire in its full blaze. I believe that it was then when I really got to know my fellow tour mates. Or rather, that they got to know me.

From this trip, I have grown to love the outdoors. I did go back to sleeping in a swag [without a tent] later on in our journey. The star filled skies continued to amaze me. And I was even brave enough to unzip my sleeping bag when I slept. There were days when we had no access to shower facilities and although it proved difficult at first, it became tolerable. Travel wipes are a blessing.

Camping is all in the experience. The pitch black darkness of night that you can never find living in the city, the sounds of nature and all that it holds and the disconnection from technology. I felt so much at peace [and at ease].

Grey [muscular] Kangaroo

First campsite

Coodlie Park with the tour group

Being daredevils under the road tracks

The infamous South Australian sign

Seriously.

At one of our lunch stops

Watching the sunset

The loo with the view

A smooth start to Bluff Knoll

Anamieke, my God-sent angel, still smiling as we continued to ascent the mountain

 Finally at the top!

Doing some light reading by the gas powered light with my trusty headlamp on

Us gurls and our lovely tourguide at Busselton

Alas, a full view of my travel accommodation

Thanks Eraj for the brilliant 104 which has left me wanting more and a massive thank you to all my ladies and [2] men from la tour across the Nullarbor. You have made my trip worth the while. Thanks for all the memories!

First time volunteering at the Frontline (A very toned down front line)

Yesterday, was a rather interesting Saturday. I followed my workmate, F, to pack food for the poor on the streets of Kuala Lumpur at this place in Kota Damansara, and we sorted out clothes to give away or sell at a flea market.






After the packing and sorting out, the newbies were brought into the auditorium for a short briefing before heading out to Klang bus station in the city.







I followed the Scottish Muslim-convert founder of Reach Out, Pete, and he explained a lot about the organization. I came to know that Feexa, the co-founder, is his wife. I found that really sweet. That they work together for this.






As an ex-policeman, he knows the streets well. I voiced out my concerns of a dangerous "crowd" and he said that if someone gave you food at 2am at night, you are a "friend".





During the ride, I learnt that it's not about only giving but its also about getting these people off the streets, to start life again.






There were loads of stories told and too many to blog it out. But they are all embedded into my head and if I remember, I'll tell it to you.









When we arrived at the place, I got a bit intimidated actually seeing the 250 recipients waiting. It sure is a different crowd. I was the first to distribute the food and as I gave them out, my heart became 'soft' and a lot more 'softer' after we entered the storm drain area.








My perception on a lot of things have changed after participating in this. If I can, in future, I would like to help out again. Inshallah.






If you're in Malaysia and would like to contribute:

www.facebook.com/reachoutmal
www.reachoutmy.wordpress.com


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Location:Jalan Masjid,Petaling Jaya,Malaysia