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I had my first conference in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah over the last weekend.. to me, it felt more like a holiday cum break-from-hectic-PhD-life.. being delegated as a poster presenter, as opposed to some who had to deliver presentations orally (phew!), i merely had to put up my poster for those other members of the conference to look upon.. not sure how many people actually looked at my mini little poster (which i adhered to the size limitations given..), but oh well..
my poster (top), "belittled" by others non-conforming sized posters..anyway, having stepped upon this faraway land on the east side of malaysia, it felt like a totally different country... the place seemed to be 10 times more slow paced, as compared to the ever bustling city of KL... it even took me almost 30 minutes just to check in, and there was completely no other guests at that time...but i guess, for those who look forward to retirement with a calm environment, leisure and pure tranquility, this is definitely the place.. abundant with beautiful golf courses (as said in the Tour Sabah DVD) and merely watching the sunset helps you cast your problems aside.. just for that day anyway..haha
sunset at 6.30pmthanks to my colleague who was born and bred in this serene place, we were brought around to witness several "tourist spots".. if you are in Kota Kinabalu, the Filipino market is one spot not to be missed... for the ladies anyway... =)here, you can get most of your souvenir shopping as well as those famous crystal and pearl accessories Sabah is so well-known of... of course, you will need to be good in negotiating to get the best deal here... being a fan of bracelets and bargaining like an ah-sam, i eventually got off 4 beautiful bracelets for quite a good offer.
the ceiling is compensated by all the handicraft soldfor the locals, you can even get your clothes altered here, by professional men...
something you will definitely not see in KLjust next to the Filipino market, the interest will shift to mothers and aunties if they were around...the fishy smell fumigating the air as far as a 100m radius away is unmistakable...
the Pasar Ikan Masin... an entire market dedicated to this delicacy...
you can even get real sharks fin, still with its grayish blackish skin intact...
one of the climax to this trip was the beef noodles that became famous overnight after a talk show on Astro... located away from town and away from everywhere else (don't ask me where is it because all i did was sit in the car and get down when i arrived at the place), this shop sells only that.
beef noodles..
i must say, the beef was really tender... and it was indeedly good .. especially when you are hungry.. haha
beef balls, tendons, brisket, stomach, sliced beef... the 4 days "trip" really ended fast, with 2.5 days dedicated to listening to conferences ("supposedly educational talks")... i will definitely miss the cute fish figures at the Waterfront... it would have been nice to sit and watch the sunset from there... 
the Waterfrontwithout knowing it, it was time to fly back to reality and hit the labs again...
yup, back to putting these on in the labs...hey, i wasn't the only kia-see one around okay...
for the past two consecutive nights, i had weird dreams. first night, i dreamt of my convocation. no, not my undergrad, but of my PhD graduation... haha. talk about sick-of-studying-and-can't-wait-to-graduate syndrome..it was so surreal. the environment, the friends who came, the people, the lecturers and even the round mortar hat! and then **poof** i woke up and found myself, still stuck in the midst of my PhD... far away from graduating. sigh...
my undergrad convocation, and my proud mum =)then last night, i was brought back to the times of when my granddad was still around, 8 years ago.. i could see his face so clearly, his soft white hair, his eyes looking deep into me, with those aging wrinkles on his face which only intensified more when he smiled.. we were chatting away in his room at the geriatric center.. and he was eating the jelly that i always made...plain jelly, minus the nata de coco coz it was too tough for him to chew on.. and it was those last words that was so clear to me that repeated again in that serene dream, those words that all grown ups will give to their younger generation.. to study hard and work well.. and his hope before his final breath, to pursue that PhD... and then i wonder, if these two dreams had some link in them... maybe, this is what i needed to regain that motivation to move on and persevere..
having plunged into the deepest of my life slump, a trip to cameron highlands over the weekend was a bliss.. the weather albeit a bit wet, was perfect. chilly. just the way i wanted to be in..
yes, there is Starbucks up there! =pbesides the usual things you do up there like enjoying the coolness with a cuppa coffee and steaming up the air with some homemade steamboat, the height of the trip was my strawberry moment...
steamboat fair..fit for a kingpassing by the unmistakable huge road banner that says 80m ahead, we took a trip in..
this is only the menu. wait til you see the actual thing...and my, the amount of sweet savouries you can do with strawberries... i stood there stunned.a couple of minutes passed and i could still not decide what to eat. practically everything there looks tempting...
strawberry savouriesafter much thoughts, and considering the distress of our already filled-to-the-brim stomachs, we decided to share a few..
clockwise from top left: strawberry cuppucinno, strawberry honey crepe, chocolate strawberry crepe, strawberry strudel
my parents-in-law having a couply moment with strawberries.. the fruit of love?what more can i say to this havenly place?
the aftermath.my sweet tooth was obviously very satisfied that day...and i'm evidently still craving for more as i write this blog..
sometimes, all it takes is just a simple hug to cast those fears and worries aside..
my little mochi, asking to be hugged to bed..
