Rome was not built in a day, the same way success does not come easy. There will always be trials and errors, small achievements and a number of failures. Let's not sugarglaze it - a failure to achieve something, is not the "unsuccessful way" as people usually put it. It is what it is, and it was a failure. The most important thing is to keep trying!

As you walk the miles day by day, learning bits and pieces, earning your keep, you develop your own conscience. By virtue of instinct, you add to your conscience things surrounding you - effectively creating your own persona, your own style, and your own existence.

But instinct and conscience alone will get you nowhere. And even if it does, you may end up exactly where you want to be if you're lucky - or in a race just struggling to keep up with your peers if you're not.

What you need next is a goal - a definition of your destination. Although it is said that the journey is more important than the destination, you may find yourself agreeing that if you fail to reach your goal, the journey seems like a wasted effort.

After deciding your one true goal, you can decide on the more tangible ones - earning your first million before reaching 30, promoted to a manager before 35, etc. In any case, a goal requires resolution. A strong will that drives you in whole to achieve that goal, be it the one and only or so many, be it measuable achievements or implied success, a resolution is an important element in realising one's goal.

My instict and my conscience is clear, and my goal is defined. My destination is to live with the beautiful woman that held my heart since last October. Everything, and I mean everything that I do is done to achieve that goal. I work day in and day out to earn my keep so I can make that goal closer to achieve. I work out at the gym to loosen up and prepare my physical and mental being for the journey. I study so that I can be in par with her and her peers. I talk with people and express myself so I can gain confidence in my own ability to look her in the eyes and tell her "I'll be with you til the very end". I pray so my spirit is at peace, to keep my conscience clear and strong. Such is my resolution

But what happens when the very core of me is challenged? That the way I am right now is not bringing me as close to my goal as I want to be? That the direction I'm heading is the long way round? I begin to waver. Self-doubt, questioning every single action I take. The biggest question that lingers - was my resolution not strong enough?

I'm not good with such confrontation as this. I avoid them like a plague. Some insists on tackling a problem head on, I ponder around it, dragging my feet and in the end opting for a more subtle approach to solving a problem.

And after two day jailed in my head, I came to a conclusion that there are a great many ways to achieve my goal. It is designed to fit my personality - and extrovert, a feeler, relying a lot on intuition and a strong need to justify myself and my surroundings. I'll take on a different view - just one - to feel a little less and to think a little more.

This is my journey - you are my destination - I am me, an ENFJ aiming to be an ENTJ.

Day in and day out, days and days gone by, I find myself swept away by the tides of time. Barely having any time just to sit down and write a post. Couldn't steal an hour or two just running my imagination over the chapters of a book. Tending less and less to the friends I miss all too much.

A good rest was well earned, and rested I did at BB Bunkers, Damai Central. A fresh change from the typical hotel getaway, BB Bunkers offers a hostel-style place to stay (hey, they didn't come up with the name 'Bunkers' just for the sake of a name, did they?). With all basic amenities well built at an affordable rate, one can just dump their luggage and start enjoying the nature straightaway without much hassle. 

And boy did I enjoy myself. Credits to BB Bunkers, along with co-organizers Damai Central and Escobar for hosting the Bloggers Night out! Not only did they invite us bloggers, but we also get to bring a guest of our own too! Much fun!

Honestly, after a helluva week at work, a break like this is just in the nick of time. I arrived at Damai Central just in time for dinner at Escobar. I managed to just catch up with fellow bloggers I met almost a year ago at the Rainforest World Music Festival 2013, snapped a few shots and popped my head into some of the amenities available in BB Bunkers before making my way to dinner. Owh the food was very delish. What's even more funny tho, is that when the food arrived, everybody tried to sneak a picture or two of each dish before they were all enjoyed. At first, everyone was shy, barely catching the macro shots of the food - but when we all realized that most of us are bloggers and we all will want good food shots on our blogs, the shyness evaporated and it was as if "NOBODY TOUCH THE FOOD! WE NEED TO GET PICTURES! THIS IS SPARTA!!" kind of moment (well obviously I exaggerated but nonetheless, it was hilarious to be in that situation!)

Later that night was when things got interesting. Because of the configuration the 'pods' in BB Bunkers, there is very little privacy. If you're looking for a quiet getaway - honestly, you're looking at the wrong place. If you're not into mingling with others and prefer to be left in your own peaceful and quiet self, this isn't the place for you. But, if you're looking to meet new and random people, spend the whole night awake chit-chatting and merry-making, boy you couldn't be any closer! BB Bunkers, as the name suggests, offers 'pods' as oppose to rooms. 

Pod Types and Configurations

1 x Family Pod (1 x double bed & 1 x sofa bed)

6 x Double Pod (1 x double bed)

2 x Single Pod (1 x single bed)

2 x Twin Pod (2 x single bed)

3 x Triple Pod (3 x single bed)

1 x Dorm Pod (5 x single bed)

Rates

Weekdays: Single bed (in any pod) : RM50 Double Pod : RM80 Family Pod : RM120 Entire Venue : RM1200

Weekends: Single bed (in any pod) : RM60 Double Pod : RM100 Family Pod : RM150 Entire Venue : RM1500

RWMF 2014: Single bed (in any pod) : RM110 Double Pod : RM180

Damai Central as the co-organizer lined up the activities for us to try out. At first I opted for jungle trekking - but considering the drizzle and that most of my fellow bloggers signed up for the bicycle ride, I jumped ship and joined them instead. I can't remember when was the last time I rode a bicycle, but it was so very worth it! A few runs up and down the hills, we arrived at Kampung Santubong, after visiting the tomb of Sultan Tengah, the first and last Sultan of Sarawak. That hour and a half, about 10 km ride in the drizzling rain made me forget about the troubles I was carrying and even though I was completely and utterly exhausted by the time I got back, I was completely refreshed! I managed to get some spheres too! 

BB Bunkers | Damai Central | Pantai Puteri | Klinik Kesihatan Kampong Santubong 

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com 

If you're planning ahead to attend the Rainforest World Music Festival 2014 this coming June, BB Bunkers is definitely a good choice. It is strategically located just opposite of the main entrance to Sarawak Cultural Village where the annual international music festival is held every year. Or if you're just looking for a simple night out with some outdoor activities, do book ahead. You'll find almost all your needs met - from 24 hours 7-Eleven convenience store just next door, Medan Food Court, Bayridge Seafood Restaurant, Escobar, Movie Night, to kayaking, bicycle ride, jungle trekking or a good visit to Sarawak Cultural Village! All-in-all, a great experience. 

classy  .  chic  .  cosy

BB Bunkers

Unit C1 Damai Central 

Pantai Damai Santubong 

93050 Kuching Sarawak

T : +608.AT.HOTEL (+6082846835)

F : +60.82.846835

E : talk2us@bbbunkers.com

W : www.bbbunkers.com

Note : 

* All information is correct at the time of post. 

* Some photos courtesy of credited photographers :
Lets ngerepak ... with Tia

NTGravity

PreciousMad Photography

Did you know that the 4th of March is the National Grammar Day? Bet you didn't! The part of the world that I live in has little concern over National Grammar Day. Having said that, the schools I've attended when I was younger; as in about a decade ago (OMG! that's young?!!) still has English Observation Day for one whole day every week. I never had too much problems with it, but I do remember my classmates and friends struggling a little - having fined 10 cents per non-English word spoken. I digress. >.<

Sometime not so long ago, I remember posting a blog entry of The Chaos, a poem by Gerard Nolst Trenite. The poem itself highlights about 800 irregularities in the English language. You can have a go at it here.

This time round, I'm going to be talking about grammar and how some sentences can sound crazy, but are grammatically and sensibly correct.

Let's start off with a line from Grucho Marx :

One morning I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How he got into my pyjamas I'll never know. 

Those with a perverted mind (like me) gets it the first time. For those of you who are innocent, let's corrupt you! Muahahaa!!!

Take advantage of the fact that the same sentence can have more than one structure. Consider the first sentence :

[One morning] [I shot an elephant] [in my pyjamas].

[One morning] [I shot] [an elephant in my pyjamas].

Got you thinking yet?

Let's move on, shall we?

The horse raced past the barn fell. 

hamaigaad.. what the fish?! (as my good friend would put it). Hold on to your horses, readers - I promise you will be amazed! If you do study grammar to the letter, then you would know all about reduced relative clause. In a nutshell, this particular clause allows us to restructure our sentence from, for example, "The mobile phone that his uncle gave got broken" to "The mobile phone given by his uncle got broken".

Has the realization setlled in yet? No? Well, consider the following :

The horse [that was] raced past the barn, fell.

I added the comma before fell to help you out. Get it now?


Let's move on. I promise I have a lot more baffling sentences that are still grammatically and sensibly correct!

Let's try this one out.

The complex houses married and single soldiers and their families. 

This one is simple. >.< . I'll give you a hint : Try to identify the nouns, verbs and adjectives.

---------Hey, no peeking! Give it a go first!----------

---------Can you make sense of the sentence on your own?----------

"Complex" is so commonly used as an adjective - a complex problem, a complex arrangement etc. However, consider it as a noun - a housing complex, an apartment complex etc.

"Houses" is also commonly used as a noun, but in this sentence, it played the role of a verb.

As for "married', it usually is a past tense of the verb "marry", but let's change it's role here to an adjective and voila!

[The complex] [houses] [married and single soldiers and their families].

Feel free for laughing your butt off for reading that as

[The complex houses] [married] [and .... well you didn't even finish the whole sentence, did you?


March 4th!!

The rat the cat the dog chased ate the malt. 

Hehe! Let it be known that by now, I am smirking at your misery and pain! (yeah I'm sadist that way).

This is a good example of multiple center embedding in English language - meaning putting a clause in another clause. In this case, look at the 'malt'. What happened to it? The 'malt' was 'eaten'. By what? Can you continue from there?

If you can figure out the sentence above, take a piece of paper (or copy and paste this next sentence into a word processor and try to make a sense out of it.

Anyone who feels that if so many more students whom we haven’t actually admitted are sitting in on the course than ones we have that the room had to be changed, then probably auditors will have to be excluded, is likely to agree that the curriculum needs revision.

If you've made it this far (with maybe one or two extra wrinkles), CONGRATULATIONS!!! Here's a riddle to just relax yourself. Just remember, sometimes, it's ok to take things literally.

What is a word made up of 4 letters yet is also one made out of 3. Although is written with 8 letters, and then with 4. Rarely consists of 6, and never written with 5. 

<<< Good luck! >>>

This has not been working out lately - both personally and professionally. I realized how my social life shrunk. I barely go out in groups anymore, preferring to stick to no more than 3 person (including myself) and all we do is just eat, whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's not because I don't have the time or whatever, it just happened.. 

At work - as much as I enjoy it - my productivity decreased drastically. What used to take anywhere between a couple of hours to a couple of days, now took two weeks to complete. 

The weekend getaway invitation could not have come at a better time. I felt stumped. I began to question myself, seemed like I was losing faith. The thing is, I don't know what triggered it. Furthermore, what is this 'faith' that I had seemed to lose? Passion for life? I still enjoy my life.. The pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place, but I can't seem to grasp the bigger picture. 

Then I began to question everything I stood for. Faith, as it came to me, is what I believe I wanted to keep - for myself. It's probably the worse feeling ever - even worse than feeling depressed. When you feel depressed, you can identify what the cause - later and eventually if not soon. But to question yourself. To doubt yourself. Man, this feeling sucked balls!

Something triggered it. I cannot figure it out. Being true to myself, if I can't figure out something, I mull over it. Keep it in the background, but that dragged me down further. I tried shoving it aside - hoping one day the epiphany would kick in. The day is yet to come.. 

Maybe it boils down to the fact that I am an emotionally unstable and unpredictable guy - even to myself. What I do know now is that I need to up my game, put out all my best cards and play them right. I have the ability to shine - as long as I can get over myself. 

Just like what they say - When you hit rock bottom, there's nowhere else left to go but up!