To university

On 14 August, the entry to public university via UPU online was announced. To our surprise, Jan was offered a place in Universiti Malaya (UM), one of the top public universities in Malaysia. 

Actually this university was her 2nd option when she applied through UPU early this year. Her first option was USM in Penang but she didn't got that offer. Anyhow after juggling the pros and cons, she decided to stay put with Swinburne University of Technology; pursuing Bachelor of Science in biotechnology. 

With Sarawak government offering free higher education through FTES which covering tuition fee, it is sure easing our financial burden. 

24 August (next Monday) is the orientation day; daddy will accompany her along. One week of orientation and welcoming programmes at the university and she will officially start her first semester on 1 September. Oh my! My girl is all grown up now. I am excited and anxious for her at the same time. 

Jan has her driving license now, upgraded to full fledged driver this year after 2 years of P license. So on transportation part, she has to settle herself as I can't manage hers, since I got to take care of her younger brothers' transportation. 

Both boys aren't in same school and furthermore they are in different session. Jay will finish his secondary school this year, so I didn't bother to change Jamie's school there since he will be in afternoon class. 

Latest update on haze: as of today, all schools in areas with unhealthy API reading in Sarawak are closed since yesterday. So both boys are having online classes from home today. Praying hard that the situation will improve and everything get back on track soon. Miss the beautiful, clear sky and fresh air. 

The sky this morning

Looking back and what ahead

I have been contemplating whether to continue writing my blog for quite sometime now. Hardly have the energy and time to do so last year and during first half of this year. No inspiration and you can say I was running out of ideas to write. So pardon me if my vacabulary and grammar aren't that sharp anymore. My writing skill is kind of rusty right now. 

Life has been busy and repetitive over here. I have been operating my coffee shop for slightly over 3 years now. Other than managing the shop (now it is 2 shoplots with around 30 tables), my health hasn't been optimal in 2025. 

I went for a Hormonal IUD procedure, a non surgical procedure last October. As mentioned previously, I had a very low blood count (HGB less than 5.0) for few years and under advice of my family doctor, I seeked advice from a gynae in Borneo Medical Centre last August. The male gynae advised for IUD to balance my hormone and improve my blood count. I used to have a very heavy menstrual but after the procedure in October, my monthly menstrual was lesser and not much in pain. And after the blood test in January 2026, my HGB blood count improved to around 12.0. My health has improved since. I am less fatigue now. I am also on high blood and cholesterol medication since early 2025. 

As for Jamie's eczema, he has also improved after more than 1 year medication course. Since last month, he has stopped taking his medication as his skin has improved alot and his eczema is under control. He will be turning  13 years old next month. My youngest is now a teenager.

His brother, Jay will be taking his SPM this year. In few months time, he will finish his Form 5 studies and graduated from secondary school. Gosh, time really wait for nobody.

This month he would be celebrating his 17 years old. Of course I am turning 49 at the same time. Double birthday celebration this month. How do we plan to celebrate our birthdays? Like in the past, we will have a birthday dinner. No idea where to enjoy our birthday feast yet. But my birthday wish? Everyone stays healthy, happy and blessed, and everything is smooth and well!!

Jan has accepted the offer from Swinburne University of Technology, and she will attend her orientation on 24 August. Oh boy! And it is so coincidentally that it is my birthday as well. This is a good day to remember for me and her. Am excited for her as her university journey is beginning soon. She is pursuing her degree in Bioscience. Wishing her all the best!! 

Back to my blog, I may not going to give up. However when I have the inspiration and time to write, I will be around. The notebook that I used to write has broke down since last year, so that was one other reason for me not to write this blog. Typing and drafting a post on phone aren't that easy. However I will try to make time to blog and do some blog hopping. *fingers cross*

Time flies to 2026

My eldest Jan finished her STPM last year and scored  aggregate PNGK (CGPA) 4.0 in her exam. What a huge accomplishment for her after about 2 years of hard work in Form 6. 

On June 2026, when result was announced, she and top achievers from Sarawak went to attend STPM result announcement ceremony in Kuching. 

Photo taking after ceremony in SMK Tun Abang Haji Openg Kuching

Then the following week, the school organised its own appreciation ceremony in their hall. 12 top achievers with 4.0 this year from the school, bringing it on the Top 4 list among all the schools in Sarawak. Well done to SMK Green Road Kuching. First 3 schools are from Sibu. 

With this, she has concluded her diploma level and now plans to pursue degree in Bioscience. She has been offered by Swinburne University but still waiting for more universities offer via UPU portal. So now she is enjoying her life, helping at the shop and not to think too much about university yet. Enrolment is expected in September this year. 

With free education offered by Sarawak government this year, we are encouraging her to study in local university here. But final decision is up to her. 

Wasn't well

My man wasn't feeling well last weekend; he was down with fever and cough when he got back last Friday. Stayed at home whole day on Saturday. He slept through the day. 

In the morning, he ordered from Grab a pack of pork congee from his favourite congee shop. And took the congee the whole day.

By Sunday afternoon, he was much better. However, he wanted porridge again for dinner so I drove him to this nearby coffee shop to buy porridge.

He bought 2 big packs of pork porridge and 4 side dishes for RM19. 

I liked the porridge from this coffee shop. I would tapau and heat up the next day for breakfast. Unfortunately, my kids are not so fond of porridge so usually I ended up having to eat it for one whole day. So I seldom buy porridge nowadays. 

The side dishes that hubby bought were fried radish omelette, salted fish, salted egg and century egg. I don't take the century egg, never my favourite but my man definitely loves it.

My man only went to work on Tuesday. On Monday, he took his car to workshop to fix two new front tyres as the old one has worn off. Not safe for him to drive long distance. He went to see doctor on Wednesday when he wasn't fully recovered and after checking, the doctor prescribed him new medication. Hubby has infection in lung due to accumulated phlegm and cough. He is much better after taking this medicine for a couple of days. 

Joining in the fun

September 11 was Jamie's birthday. So last Sunday, he turned 9. We decided to make it a memorable day for him and his siblings by bringing them out for a little outdoor fun to celebrate. We hardly did much for the past 2 years on his special day due to Covid-19 so we decided it was high time for a little celebration.

Something different for him. We brought him out for a fun time in Sentosa Theme Park. An indoor fun, games and sports park for all ages. RM88 per person for the kids that covered 14 activities. We added another RM45 per person for the go cart racing, which yours truly joining in the fun!!

We were very early, reached there before 10am. The centre only opened at 10am. Good idea to come early as we basically had the whole place to ourselves!! Only after 12, more crowds coming in and by then, we almost finished most of the activities!!

Started off with the EV go cart, the 4 of us had fun racing on the track. First time for all of us; we spent a good 10 minutes thrilling on the track. 

Then the kids went for archery...

Nintendo game, Sony VR, PS4, blaster game and so forth. The kids covered all the 14 activities, which last for 3 hours (including a short lunch break)

For lunch, we ordered burgers and fries from the centre. RM49.50 for 5 burgers and 1 pack of French fries. 

Then the kids proceed to the last activity, which was the 5D museum before we headed home. 

Everyone was tired after the activities and since the next day was the school day, everyone knocked out early in the evening. 

Honest remark: The place was rather run down, not much maintenance in place and some equipment was unusable. Lack of staff and the staff at present was not knowledgeable when asked on the activities. 

For three months

My girl"s school conducted a thalassemia test last month, done by the medical clinic staff. After a week or more, the result was out. However the blood test of my girl wasn't good so school advised her and other students (mostly girls) to consult doctor in the nearby Klinik Kesihatan. Happened to be the one Jamie always visited for his skin problem, so I took the opportunity to take his medication and being Jan to see a doctor.

The lady doctor mentioned that this wasn't a thalassemia marker so we didn't have to be so concerned. Just that the blood shown low iron and folic acid in her blood, so doctor advised to take the following medication for three months before conducting a blood test. 

Geez, looking at her medication, these were the normal prescription for pregnant ladies. Iron and folic acid. 

My girl rarely sick so she isn't fond of taking medicine. The tablets and pills form, even more!! But she has been diligent in taking them every day so the next blood test result would be better.

I advised her to take more meats especially red meats and drink more water to avoid constipation and heatiness. 

Her favourite

We had an early birthday lunch for Jan last Sunday after church. Since her actual day fell on a Thursday, we decided to do it earlier when everyone was around on the weekend. 

When asked what she liked for lunch, she went for her favourite cuisine, namely Japanese!! Our venue was Zu Sakuraitei in Jalan Tun Jugah. Our previous visit was on Mother's Day few years ago. 

My 16 years old girl opted for her favourite unagi don. Her grandma also had the same dish. Both unagi don were served first. 

I also had fish for my lunch but I went for salmon teriyaki bento. 

The boys had ramen. Jay chosen spicy chicken ramen, which I didn't managed to snap but it was slightly spicy, according to him. Anyhow he finished the whole bowl. Jamie had the non spicy version, the chicken teriyaki ramen. He finished most of the ramen and few bites of the chicken, while we took care of the rest in the bowl. 

Hubby didn't ordered any set for himself. A bit of this and that for him and he was full. Chawanmushi and this sushi platter for sharing around the table. 

Our delightful lunch was RM264 plus drinks. 

After our lunch, we went to get her a birthday present. For her sweet 16, her grandma and aunt sponsored and bought her a new notebook!! RM2788 for this ASUS notebook. 

Kids!! How lucky they are!!! They get expensive present on their special days!! When I was small, I would be crying with joy and be contented when my parents bought me a birthday cake to celebrate on my birthday!! 😅Notebook was my mil's idea as she knew my girl complained on her old, slow notebook. So, she and my SIL decided to buy Jan a new notebook!! If you want to know what was Jan's biggest present, it was on her 9th birthday!!

My sweet girl

It is my eldest child's birthday today. 16 years ago, she was born in Normah Hospital Kuching. Weighing around 3.58kg, she was the apple of our eyes. Everyone adored and loved her. 

Now 16 years on, she has grown into a young, sweet girl. Time really flies!! 

A simple minded girl, with cheerful and likeable personality. She loves to sketch, play pianos and online games. She isn't that choosy when come to food but she loves Japanese and Western cuisine. Her favourite food right now is American breakfast!! 

Happy sweet 16th birthday, Jan!! May God bless you with greatness, health, peace and many wonderful blessing.

It's her turn

A short entry today. Jotting down my girl's vaccination story.

It was her turn to take the Pfizer vaccine yesterday. Her school allocated a day for Form 1 to Form 3 classes to complete their first dose and Jan's spot was 12 to 1 pm in PPV Dewan Majma (behind Wisma Hopoh). 

Before we went out, we took our lunch around 1030am. No cooking for me as rushing for time, so I ordered chicken rice through Foodpanda app. Out of concern for traffic and parking, we went out at 11am. I wasn't that familiar with that area as it has been many years since I drove to that area. The last time I was there was a visit to my gynae when I was pregnant with Jay!! 

I remembered it was a pain to find parking there but God was on our side yesterday as I managed to find a decent parking space with just one round. The last time I needed to go two or three rounds to find a spot! We parked just behind the Dewan Majma but a 2-minutes walk to the front entrance.

We reached the venue before 1130am and have already bumped into few of her classmates there. Looked like some like us was pretty early to arrive although it was not yet the allocated time slot. Anyway, everything was smooth and in order; by 1215pm, we were done and left the venue. 

Jan was fine, no adverse side effect. While she was in the observation area and I was at the separate parents' waiting room, she commented on a schoolmate who wasn't feeling well after the vaccination. Dizziness and vomitting, according to her. Thank God Jan was alright. Hope that student was fine after that. 2nd dose this month end.

Nurturing sport passion with Milo® Champions Clinic

This post summarises the 1-week school holiday for the boys.

I enrolled the boys in Milo® Champions Clinic (MCC) a week before the school holiday started on 11 September. Option of futsal and badminton was given; the boys chosen the latter sport. 

The kit arrived a day before school holiday, which consisted of 1 Milo training jersey, 1 badminton racquet with bag, 6 cones, and 6 synthetic shuttlecocks for each participant.

It is a 5 weeks of at-home training, where each week, the children will learn basic skills at home by watching a video clip, submitting homeworks to coach, then followed by a weekly online coaching session with an experienced coach, where the progress will be monitored to ensure that they learn the right techniques. So, from 11 September, my boys have been watching the Week 1 training clip, and learnt the techniques at home accordingly.  

Both are enthusiastic to learn, as one is a novice  and  of playful nature while another has exposed to the sport back in school previously. With the current pandemic, it is hard to get the children to sweat and get active while cooping at home, but thanks to Milo® Champions Clinic, there is a new way for children (age 7 to 12 years old) to learn and pick up sports, safely at home during this difficult time. 

Yesterday, the boys had their first live e-coaching session with their coach via video conferencing. It took around 15 minutes, where 3 participants interacted with their coach. Over 200 participants this round, where they are divided into groups of 3. Each group is assigned to one coach and a specified time for e-coaching every Saturday. 

I like the fact that the e-coaching is more personal, as not many participants so the coach could guide each participant well via video conferencing. The boys had chance to show the coach what they had learnt; and correct tips and points from coach were given. 

Over this 5-weeks of home training and e-coaching session with Coach Tan Shau Heng, I hope my boys not only have a fun time but at the same time, learn new useful, practical techniques through this programme.

Thanks to Milo® Champions Clinic, this school holiday isn't totally spent and wasted on TV and online games, but getting my young, growing boys to stay active and nurturing their passion for sport. At the same time, this mummy also get to practise along too!!! Years have passed since I picked up a badminton racket!! 😊 The boys' eldest sister also joined in the fun, playing with them! A nice bonding time for family, away from TVs, phones and gadgets.

If any parents are interested to learn more or want to sign up their children for the next session, please log onto Milo website.

Last Christmas

I have a Bidayuh aunt. To be specific, this aunt is my dad's older sister. She was adopted by a Bidayuh couple when she was very small (pretty common practice back then). I have another aunt adopted by Malay as well.

Anyway, back to my Bidayuh aunt, I saw her many years ago when we visited her house in kampung with my parents, siblings and my family.

I was closer to her eldest daughter as she used to take care of me when I was a baby and visited us when we stayed in Kenyalang during my younger time. So, on Christmas day, we visited this cousin and family in Kampung Semeba, which was about 15 minutes drive from our place. 

Her Christmas lunch cum house warming party. My aunt was there as well. For her age (78yo), she was still healthy and in good shape. My cousin's husband happened to be in the same company as my hubby so they knew each other but has since retired.

Only close family members of my aunt were there. 2 cousins of mine as well as many nephews and nieces. Most nephews and nieces can speak Chinese well as they studied in Chinese schools. Of course my aunt and cousins didn't know much Chinese so we conversed in English and Malay.

We spent more than 2 hours there. A nice villa, mostly designed and done by my cousin's hubby. 

The male cousin made mojito to go around the table. I had a glass, while hubby went for beers at the patio.

All dishes cooked by my cousin. Pansuh, lemang, stewed lamb, nasi lemak as well as innard porridge and turkey.

Babi Pansuh (bamboo pork) 

Liver and intestine porridge

My plate

Turkey, waited to be carved

It was great to catch up with my relatives after all this while. Hope we meet again soon. 

Ranting on last month

October has been a busy and eventful month.

Kids have started to go back to schools in September and just 2 months, they are back to online classes due to closure of schools this week. Two weeks of closure for the red zone Kuching and Padawan districts.

My beloved father-in-law was laid to rest and now is in a better place early last month. Hubby drove all the way from Kuching to Kapit and vice versa using the new road. After many years of long wait, Kapit is now connected by road. No longer a secluded and isolated place, where only can be reached by boat in the past. 

I had been busy with Jamie's eczema issue. He had severe eczema attack which prompted me to send him to see dermatologist last month. 3 visits to the dermatologist sounded a lot but luckily his skin problem is under control now. A visit once a month is in order now. Otherwise we will be served with big medical bills!!

My mother-in-law is staying with us for the first time. She has been with us for a week now and will be back sometime next week. Hubby and the 2 older kids will be sending her home by driving back to Kapit.

That is all for time being. Not much going out lately due to concern of soaring Covid-19 cases in Kuching. So, not much food adventure from me. Shall not post much but once I have anything interesting, I shall share with you.

For now, take care and stay safe, everyone. We can go through this together! 

Demise

It was a sad week last week. My father-in-law passed away last Wednesday.

Hubby drove all the way from Kuching to Kapit on previous Sunday to visit him in hospital. However by that evening, he had internal organ failure and vomited blood which prompted the doctors to do tubing. Injection was administered as well but my FIL never regained consciousness since.

He passed away peacefully on Wednesday evening in Kapit hospital. Relatives and close friends attended his funeral service on Thursday before he was transported back to Kuching on Friday. More than 8 hours drive, his coffin was safely transported to the 7th Mile funeral parlour.

The funeral ceremony was held on Sunday morning. His body was finally laid to rest in the church cemetery in 18th Mile. 

Rest in peace, dad. You may no longer around but your memories will forever be a part of our lives and be remembered and missed. 

Happy 14th

My eldest is celebrating her 14th birthday today. Happy birthday, Jan!!

My baby girl has all grown up! Strong minded, mild tempered and friendly young girl, her interests are in arts and music. The artistic lass in the house.

Early in the morning, I cooked chicken mee suah for her and family as breakfast. Added in 2 hard-boiled eggs for her. 

After breakfast, I started to make a chocolate birthday cake. Her favourite flavour (and the only flavour this mummy knows how to make!).

Before this MCO started, we have planned on where to celebrate her birthday. Her special request was dinner at BBQ King Seafood, Stapok but due to the lockdown, we could not do it.

So on her special day, we have a food delivery for dinner.  Food is from Sharing Planet Stapok.

Happy birthday, Jan. Best wishes always; stay healthy, happy and great forever.