0 Simply Kota Belud

Yeah! This is my hometown though i wasn't born here. I was born to a closest sibling to this town. Ranau! 

I came to this town when i was 13 years old following the year of my dad retired from Mamut Copper Mining back in 1999. I absolutely love visiting my cousins, my great aunts and uncle, my dearly late grandpa during those years. But there is no single thing that i really remember about this town back in those years. 

I do have a lot of friends maybe more than in town friends. There is one out of three when i was asked about where am i from , i would get that somekind of look. It's not people of Kota Belud are bad like that, it's that people from out of town always cringe when thinking about the town. 

The town feel small but, it is always crowded with vehicle. You don't see lot of people walking around, though you see lot of car and it is really hard to find a single vacant parking in this very town. It is like everyone in the house got in a single car for each to get to their destinations. Don't get me wrong, because i truly understand that people always got their own errands to run.. their destinations are not that one way due to the lack of proper town development planning in the old days. Because! If we see it nowadays, it is getting better and better by years when the city council added more shop buildings. 

People of Kota Belud are kind and very helpful, though the out of townies always said that people here could be such an idiot when they always claimed for the loss of their livestock when their cows or goats got knocked down by crazy , intoxicated, wannabe F1 racers  drivers. Yes, these townies let their livestock wander around the lanes, even the main roads (!) when we knew that roads aren't supposed to be the bed for these animals to rest and chilled. To our surprise too, not only during the day, but also at nightime. These cows and goats let alone slept or sleepwalking (God knows i don't care what they did because they don't belong there, on the road) at night , and must i say that there are not many roads were built with road-lights, so it is dark and drivers either the townies or not, have to stand by your leg to knock on the brake pedal anytime! Hey, these so wannabe police animals even wandered and slept around in town , just outside the shops. But very often , they will clear up, going to nowhere i know, and left their poops outside the shop they 'rent' for the night.

I know, this situation can be quite frustrating especially if you have to always going  passed this town. And there is not much changes over the years.

Well the reasoning why these situation happens because we do feel that Kota Belud is the ultimate hometown whereas most townies make it like their home. Like we do what we like with our home. We put whatever mess in our own room and clean it up again when we feel like it. Thats why townies park their car regardless the 'NO PARKING' logo and parking boxes. Townies are busy with their errands thus got no more extra time to find available parking boxes. It is time consuming and sometimes could be frustrated. Especially when there were drivers who decided to take on 2 parking spaces for single vehicle. Yeah he is that busy.

About the cows and sometimes the glorious horses. I gotta warn to those either you are a townies or just another passers by that you should hold the urge to slam the honk of your car to avoid these animals from kicking up your car . We are concern about the welfare of the passers by. We know you have sophisticated cars that you are most likely feel like it is a waste to drive it at 60km per hour thereby we decided to stop you from speeding by letting the cows to replace the police during the day. Then drivers will drive more carefully when passing through this cowboy town. Now who needs AES here? Well, if you persisted to speed more then, you will end up hitting the cows (or horse) and the damage could be major one.

There! You could've find the bright sides if the cringy situation when you sre staying in the town. A lot. And might make you more happier person then.

Despite all of these downsides, this town still very much in touch with their culture. There are still Tamu Besar held every November and you actually can find a lot of stuff here. From traditional delicacies to handicraft for example. Nowadays as the townies getting more advanced in their lifestyles you can also find roadshow from leading car brands. Though however this annual event does not eliminate the bad situations of this narrow roads and impatient drivers and pedestrians of the town, this is the time when you are actually have to integrate all the bright sides behind the situation so you can enjoy your time here in Kota Belud.

0 Samsung Galaxy: Note 2 vs SIII

Which one do you prefer? Both were said to be the second most powerful smartphones after the iphone 5. For some reasons i am just not a fan of Apple. Not a hater, just too crazy for Android phones by the way therefore this  craze overlook Apple. Before, i was a fan of Blackberry but then , Android just mesmerized me , swept me away. I got my Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus early this year just a week after its launching but, now i am putting it on sell on Muday.my. And while going through the process of bargaining, i do my homework as i am eyeing on one of these two newest from Samsung smartphones.

The SIII, left versus Note 2 , right. Identical like siblings from same parents.  Like a brother and a younger brother.LOL, forgive me for my dreadful metaphor.

  Lets go comparing these two powerhouses by their, of course we judge the book by reading its title, author and some descriptions on the coverpage first. What i meant is, the display.   Note 2 :Has largest screen display among Samsung's smartphone now. It also called as the phablet. It does not called by this enormous names for no reason, pal. Check it out:

  - 5.5" screen display (BIG! AITE?)

-lightweight as 183 g

- 151.1  x  80.5  x  9.4 mm

- Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen,

- 16M colors720 x 1280 pixels,

- ~267 ppi pixel density

- Multi Touch

-Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protections

 

Meanwhile,

 

 S3 has,

- 4.8" screen display

- lightweight as 131g , lighter than the Note 2 but you have to consider the bigger size of it that contribute to its heavier weight.

- Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen,

-16M colors720 x 1280 pixels,

-~306 ppi pixel density

-Multi Touch

-Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protections, same with Note.

 

 

Now the soul of these powerhouses, the software im talking about,

Note 2 has Android OS, v4.1.1 (Jelly Bean)CPU: Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A9Chipset: Exynos 4412 QuadGPU: Mali-400MP, Internal storage can be16/32/64 GB storage, 2 GB RAM, External Memory: microSD, up to 64 GB...

 

S3 has pretty much the same software only that for model from China and the previous model version, GT-I9300, has only 1 GB RAM. So before you are buying, check out the model number too.

 

These go useless if you don't connect to the worldwide web. However, there are not much differences in connectivity too. For many features , these smartphones are almost identical except for the display. Both has, GSM , GPRS, EDGE, 3G/4G Speed: HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DLWi-Fi: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth, v4.0 with A2DP, LE, EDR, NFC, USB, microUSB (MHL) v2.0,and the USB Host support.

 

  Keep in mind that S3 models from China and as i mentioned earlier, does not support the 4G LTE! , and you will find that the prices of different models of S3 are different too. In Malaysia, the Note 2 can be more expensive compare to the S3 with model number GT-I9300 and those of China made, GT-I9308. HOWEVER! The S3 with 4G LTE is more expensive than Note 2! So, the S3 can be much confusing since, countries like U.S, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and China produces different models  from each other therefore, have slightly different software, screen  and memory, though i am convinced that if you are a moderate gadget geek, you won't mind about them.

 

 

So, you like to take pictures and post it straight to your facebook page. Check out the camera's specifications,which both has the same features as the following:

 

Primary camera had 8 MP with 3264x2448 pixels,

- autofocus,

-LED flash.

-The secondary camera has 1.9 MP,

-Video, with 1080p@30fps

- feature simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection.

 

In conclusion, in most aspect they have the same features except for for its screen display. AND THE S PEN for Note 2. I can't believe that i almost forgot to tell on this pen. Well, the Note 2 can be so intelligence that it can take action according to what you write on the screen with the little pen. So the basic of choosing between these two are most likely for the size (and the pen). If you have small hands and prefer to put your phones in the pocket then the S3 might just be for you. Meanwhile, the Note 2 is more likely those who like playing media on their phones. If you asked me, i like the one with lukewarm size that is easy for caring around , flexible to be kept in my arm candy yet satisfying great screen display.

 

Which one do you prefer?

 

The Note 2 or the SIII?

0 Grey Blue Eyes and Orangey Eye Shadow

I have been practicing the theory of color wheel on my make up color selection either to match with my contact lenses or my outfits. Which also bring me to write this entry. I wear on my grey blue contact lenses, which i love so much then wear orangey eye shadow to compliment thecolor of my contact lenses.


If you are clueless with what i am talking about, check out my entry on the color wheel here.

 

Lotsa photos of my face , in this very entry.

In my opinion i think that i looked younger with this color, and the pink blusher adds on the radiant look.  I also use the pink blusher on my cheek to add radiance effect. I know that most people will pair this color with bronzer or coral shades but, i really think that this look works. He he he, i donno if you are with me in this, it's really up to you what color to wear. Fyi, i did not edit this photo a bit except resizing it to smaller pixels.

Please ignore the pimples on my forehead. It's the bad times for my skin though.

On my face: Za Total Hydration BB Cream UV, Oxy Face Powder In Natural Beige, In2It eyebrow shadow in Striking, In2It Long Wearing Eye Color in Natty, Elianto Baked Eyeshadow in Pink Sherbet, Lancome Color Fever Gloss in Dazzle in Pink, Wet n Wild Coloricon blusher in Pearlescent Pink.

And ...I am learning to camwhore in front of the mirror. I saw people does it flawlessly. If you feel me, my fingers there kinda struggle to hold the camera the right way while snapping picture of my entire self there.

What do you think of this look? How do you usually pair your eye color and eye shadows or your outfit?

1 A review: Sinister

So , this is rather a late entry on this movie review because i believe that this movie is no new to any of you there. And it's been two weeks(?) since i actually watched it with my sister.

It is a horror story that revealed about an ancient cult that prey on children after the children killed their families brutally. This story started when a true crime novelist found a box with Super 8 films and projector at the attic of their new house. He watched the films that contains horror stories which at first all showed happy innocent families finally killed brutally in various ways. This novelist , Ellison then used the story to write his new novel.

The story was kinda flat at first as it focused on the footage that this novelist, Ellison watched in his working room in the house. The footage of course disturbing enough to watch but somehow, i do hope at first that this novelist could unfold who was responsible towards the murders and why it was done so and produce a hell of a novel based on these murders. For some reasons , Ellison thought that they were all related. My hope was kinda twisted when i preferred Ellison to bring his entire family to move out as what his wife, Tracy insisted when their children , Ashley and Trevor were terribly disturbed with bad nightmares , ghost of a girl, Stephanie, and eerie sleepwalking.

The story reached its climax when as we had watched tonnes of horror movies before ,(if you are a fan) the hero himself would be greatly affected. But it is not like we thought that he would be tempted to murder his family because we should keep in mind that this cult preys on children only. So, Ellison was also disturbed probably the worst than his family did. Irony is, his wife was never gotten into any disturbance. The only thing that she concerned of is  her children and her annoyance over her husband when she found out that the house they moved in was the house where all the families in the footage was killed. 

Well, since the Bughuul, owh, i didn't explained about it. It is the boogie man in this story that preys on the children. He has to get either one of Ellison's kids. I was first thought that if it has to be, it got to be Trevor since he was the one who was badly affected by the moving. But, guess who found new friend in the new house? Ashley found Stephanie, a ghost of a girl that hung all four of her family at the front yard of the house. 

I wouldn't say that you would be happy for its ending, because the history would always be repeated in horror movie since the films and projector just can't be destroyed. Eventhough so, all the thrills, the screams that you would be having a lot, a quick laugh when Ellison and Tracy was arguing about the house, watching this movie would worth it. Well,  this movie was claimed to be the most scariest horror movie of the year. 

I said, 3.5 stars.

1 Being a Parent

 Being a parent, would you bring your young children to see R , P13, SG18, SX 18, SP 18 movies? 

My sister and I went to see the movie Sinister last Thursday night and we picked out the center seats well, to get a clear and balanced wide look at the screen. From the counter when we were picking out our seats, we could see that next to both of our seats was fully booked.  We thought that it was okay to bunk in and went with the packed row by the way.

We were 10 minutes late to go into the cinema, and when we got to our seats finally, i was taken a back when i saw the row was actually seated with 5 young children ,3 boys and 2 girls with a father and the mother. The father sat at the end while the mother sat at the other end of the row. The children by the way were separated by our seats. We took it as they didn't come together to the movie, like two different families that liked it so much violence movies. 

Holy crap. 

What was these parents thinking when they decided to bring out their children on weekdays night, it is not even a school holiday night to watch such movie with their children? lacking of knowledge of the movie's content? It was clear that the GSC put rating on the movie Sinister, P13. Means parental guidance is suggested for viewers under 13. Those children , for God's sake was like 6-9 years old ,obviously. 

Have these parents actually just lost their mind? No babysitter? 

Or is it because the cinema should have put R rate on the movie, so that it will be restricted enough for children to go in. I was surprise by the way, the movie Ted was one of the movie that was put in the list that they displayed for parents not bringing their young children to watch. Sinister had been MIA in the list. Shocker.

Throughout the movies, I can't be more frightened, more shocked, more suspenseful for the storyline, for i was being so busy checking out the girl's expression who sat next to me and the father. FYI, the movie claimed to be most scariest horror movie of the year! O boy, she sat there covering her face with her jacket throughout the movie. Her brothers, were doing the same too except they were occasionally peeking out from their shirt to see where the story goes. There's none interesting scene in the movie entertaining for these children.

I saw once the boy who sat next to the father pulling his father's shirt several times, I don't know  how many times he already did that. But, the father seemed like , he just shussh the kid and the boy was back covering his face with his shirt. The father steadily seated as if he was watching the movie with a damsel in distress in the cinema. I can't enjoy the movie enough seeing this real scene happening next to me. 

I almost asked the girl to bring her father home if she can't take it anymore to be sitting there. But, I was scared that the parent would yell at me for being busybody and accused that i don't know a damn thing about hardship on parenting, giving me the no-babysitter speech. Huhhuu...so, i chose to keep sitting in uneasy, until the movie ends. 

Do you have such experience ? If 'parental guidance' are stated , how do you draw the line of the explicit contents to allow your children to watch such movies. Should the personnel in the cinema ticket counters responsible to remind parents who wishes to bring in their children ? What if the parents snap back? I think what taken most of  these personnel (like my guts) aback with this action, are the reaction of the parents. We were scared of how the parents react, for we always heard parents know what's best for their children. But , parents are human too...

The dilemma goes, parents raises their children differently.

Stay tuned, I still have review for the movie. For another entry, of course. I hope parents will read the movie Sinister 's content review (even if it's not from me), first before bringing their young children to sit together on the couch for a Halloween night , or any days.

0 Sunday Beauty Ritual, DIY Facial

What do you do on Sunday night before starting off your week?

I always have my beauty ritual on.

It just something that i always do to get through the Monday blues on the next day. Sounds shallow but, well you gotta look good though your heart and mind are not really ready for work yet.

I called it the DIY facial at home. Anybody can do this at home and you might have heard this zillion times before reading yours truly entry on how to do DIY facial. I myself couldn't do it completely though, i have to watch my mood. If i had a quite productive Sunday, i might skip few steps. 

First, wash your face thoroughly with your regular face cleanser. Just remember not to rub it to your face roughly. Enough with gentle massage to the face. Massage is important to your face as it promotes good circulation to your face. 

Then, scrub your face, GENTLY. Your skin is your biggest asset and you wouldn't risk it for love too. You gotta love your skin , no. 1. Hahaha.. This step is optional as i don't do it in regular basis. This is the step where i tend to skip. Some say that scrubbing your face can be bad for your skin. It is not, unless you're doing it in daily basis. The most frequent you might do is once or twice a week. 

Then, boil water. After it is boiled, pour it a medium sized bowl. Take a face towel, circle it around your face , the hairline until your chin. Face down towards the bowl's mouth. BE CAREFUL NOT TO SCALD YOUR SKIN WITH HOT STEAM. Ensure that your face is at least 5 inches further from the surface of water. Do this for about 10 minutes. Steaming your face makes the pores more opened ( but not yet removed impurities in them, as people usually said) and ensure that impurities easier to be removed then.

After this, take your favorite masker and smooth it onto your face in circular motion. My favorite masker is by Himalaya Herbals Neem Face Pack. This is the kind of mask that needed to rinsed off. This is also the kind that suits best one with oily face. Meanwhile, the peel off type is best worked with dry to normal skin. However, as i said it earlier, use your favorite. All mask works the same way. It might claim that it fairs, tightens the pores, lifting up the skin and so on. Well, that's up to you to believe it. But, what's important is your mask must effectively removed impurities from your skin pores. This in turn, will give you that radiant and fairer look regardless of what brand of masker you are using. Unless, there is ingredients in the mask that you are allergic too, avoid it. 

 I don't mean to scare you with this photo but, this is how it looked when you are using my favorite mask. It feels muddy and rough to the touch but the smell of the mask is so relaxing. It is made from herbals (Neem - has antibacterial properties and Fuller's Earth- soothes and cool the skin, now who does not love the feeling?), and turmeric.
There was this one time that my son saw me in it, when i bend to kiss him, he actually screamed  in terror. Poor little boy..he thought he seen a ghost.

Looked very ugly but, in 15 minutes, radiant and clean face would be revealed! Tadaa..

Nah, u got me without my make up on! I must say that i don't have the perfect smooth skin going on though. Despite all my beauty ritual. But, hey not having perfect skin does not mean that you have to let it be. Maintain it. And you still can look good regardless of your skin type.

I rinsed the dried mask with a cellulose face sponge that i usually bought from Guardian store. After that, i put on my skin's BFF, Oxy 5 Vanishing Formula, an acne-pimple medication. I had been using this since i was a teenager. If you asked me if it works to get rid of pimples, i would say yes though you might doubt it. I got it if you have doubts because if it works, i wouldn't need it anymore now. Here's the thing. Pimples don't just go away, okay. Especially if you are born with oily skin type. There are times when you looked absolutely radiant, and there are times when your skin feels like falling apart. Trust me, those bad skin days will passed as long as you don't squeeze it and stick to your skin regime. 

5 or 10, these are my skin's BFF

If you are using any pimple medication, massage it gently to the problem areas of your face in circular motion too. Yes, everything done gently and massage in circular motion. Oh man, how i like to stress it here. It makes a lot different okay than randomly rubbing your face all over. 

Then, wait for the acne cream to absorb into the skin for about 5-10 minutes before applying moisturiser. No matter you have a dry or oily skin, you have to moisturise it at least during the night. I love Za True White Emulsion. Been faithful to this moisturiser since i was still in uni. Just pat it on your skin and let it be absorbed naturally by the skin. 

Finally, sleep well before gearing up for the whole week. Enjoy your weekdays.

0 Night & Day

 Took both these photos from 6th floor Tang Dynasty Hotel, the one located at Plaza Wawasan, Kota Kinabalu.

  The Night view.

I gotta say that the room provided for me has the bestest view. Well, i was on a 4 days meeting in this very hotel. I did not include any photos of the room as my room was in a total mess. I couldn't find once seeing my hotel room any tidier unless the time when i walked in after housekeeping done. Ha ha ha, i guess i am just making full use of the service. 

The Day view.  

I was thankful that my room doesn't overlooking the overrated busy bus terminal of KK.

Until then, bye. Huggies and Kisses.

5 KK Burger Bakar

Heard of it already?

KL has this since forever. And this just in KK. Where to find it? Well, before i say it all, i like to proudly say it first that i found out about this burger from a post in Facebook, and then i search more on it from a blog, named Everyday I Love Food , if i am not mistaken. Just to find out where the hell it is located in Sabah.

Well, i find it located in the most unlikely place. It actually has a quite good promotion on the net and Facebook. You can like their Facebook page too by clicking here.They have their banner on the roadside nearby. Well, did i mention the place already?
Next to the Tanjung Aru Plaza.

They has kinda open food court there so, lots of stall opening in the evening right till midnight over but the KK Burger Bakar located just next to the police station. But, i was confuse there is no sign , of the KK Burger Bakar there. There were empty seats everywhere and the grilling tools looked like it was just been filled with charcoal.

So i was doubtful if we get to the right place because i was in disbelieve. The stall does not looked like as i expected it to be. Yeah. I do have high expectations on it because of its promotion. It seems like the promotion does not go with the real stuff.

So, when we get there in doubtful, and the car smelled poops. Yeah, i actually brought my son out with Steven. I made Steven walked around the food court while i fixed my son's diapers to check the right stall that makin' the  burger since there were lots of stall there that was just getting started their bussiness.
  Less than 5 minutes, he came back and told me that's the right stall, pointing the one just next to the police station, with atap nipah. You wouldn't miss it because it is the only stall with atap nipah.I cannot believe they forgot to hang the banner that day. So i was told by the owner. The staff went to work late that day when they were supposed to start their bussiness hour at 5 p.m. therefore, the stall were quite in a mess that evening. Indeed it looked like that.

Despite the messed up ice breaking, i ought to be slow on them since they were just opened 3 weeks ago. Good for them having a master chef right next to the barbeque all the time.

So, when the owner greeted me when we were just finished the food, i said those burgers are fabulously seasoned and tasted original. I think that they had their signature recipes for those fat meat burgers. Unlike those street burgers we always find in night market every where in town of Sabah that used the ready molded , frozen meat burgers from supermarket, this KK BURGER BAKAR molded their own meat burger.

They grilled the burgers in this hottie stuff.

They even put funky names on each of their burgers. They had quite limited choices but, I do looking forward that someday they will extend the choices gradually.

With all the Angry Bird craziness going on, it is contagious right to the menu card. Seriously?

Steven had the Taj Mahal one while me, had the Titanic. It was relatively higher than the regular burgers we always had in other places, which at first, i was hesitated to open wide my mouth to even took a bite. Unfortunately, the stall was supposed to provide us with suitable tools so that we can enjoy the burgers with decent table manners which they only offered a plastic spoon to us when we were half way finishing the towering burgers. Too late we enjoyed the traditional way of eating the burger already that we declined that sweet offers.And how could you eat your burger with a spoon?

Taj Mahal burger. It comes with fried egg in it.

Titanic burger. What differs it from others, it comes with bacon with it. I think each of the burger has their own unique ingredients with it. They have their signature black pepper sauce and chilli ketchup.

I said to Steven , " i swear i don't want to start over again to figure out how to eat these with spoon. I am fine with being impolite on the dining table and get messy with these ketchup all over my cheeks. You?"
Steven answered , struggling with his own burger in his full mouth, "yeah i thought so too. Oh, you really had ketchup on your right cheek. Wipe it yourself cause i am eating too right now, darling." Yeah i kept on wiping off my cheeks while i am eating that monster.

Fullfilling satisfaction. Third best after sex. Ha ha ha. Did i just type that?

The banner finally hang after they settle everything in the kitchen.

If you are finding yourself trapped with nowhere to go tonight , if you are happened to be in KK importantly, (because it looked like they have not any branch of this burger bakar anywhere else but here and if you are fan of street burgers, street lepaking, tired of roti canai and nasi goreng kampung with teh tarik, this is a way to go. Get down and messy with KK BURGER BAKAR. You'll love it.

While waiting for the burgers. My son looked more impatient than me. As if he could eat a burger out of his little stomach. To ease it, i let him scoop his favorite finger biscuits on his own.

Before we were heading to Tanjung Aru.