I have booked online through Air Asia to fly to Kota Kinabalu (KK) from 20th to 22nd June 2008. It is on a Friday to Sunday where there is less work. I did try to check out malaysianairlines.com of MAS Zero Fare advertised in the press now but found that it was about RM100 more expensive with transit in KL. With Air Asia, I can fly direct from Penang’s airport to KK in Sabah. The the cost? For 2 persons return is RM814 including taxes and RM3 per bag to check in per person. After I have gone to KK, I would have been to all states in Malaysia. I was in Bintulu, Sarawak in late 2006 and early this year, I went to Terengganu by car. I have been to Kelantan many times for business previously. And I have also been to all the other states in the west coast from Johor to Perlis. I have also stayed in a local hotel in Johor some time back, also for business.

Since I hate walking, I don’t plan to hike up Mount Kinabalu which will take at least 3 days. My plan for the trip is purely for holidays with my boyfriend. What I have heard about Mt. Kinabalu is that it is about two times higher than Penang Hill and the path there is not as steep and difficult compared to Penang Hill. So, next time I can boast to my grandchildren that I have hiked up Penang Hill by foot. Because of the MAS zero fare, my youngest sister and her church friends plan to hike up Mount Kinabalu sometime in November. And you can book online until 19th of this month of May.

I am currently in KL and have been here since 4 days ago. That’s why I have not been blogging to often or writing paid articles. It was a good break though I am here for business. In a short while, I will be going to Sunway Pyramid for 3 nights in a row as I love the shopping experience there. And I just discovered they have Teochew and Hakka restaurants in the new wing. I went to see the Japanese buffet nearby and my gosh, they have so many varieties of Japanese food that I wonder what will happen to them if they are not eaten up by diners. For RM55 per person, you get to dine here. As I am keeping watch over my weight, I shall give this a pass and dine other restaurants with ala carte food.

I was surfing the web site when I came across a blog that sells t-shirts on Christian theme which is based in Singapore. Check out the link as it has a YouTube video of American Idol 2008 singing “Shout to the Lord”. The blogger reminds me of my years staying in Singapore from 1988 to 2000. He also happens to attend my former very annointed church, New Creation which has more than 15,000 members. So, if you are looking for Christian apparel, you can click on the link. It has been 8 years now, since I left Singapore for Penang; and the only thing I miss is the window shopping in Ngee Ann City and not being able to attend New Creation Church live in person at The Rock, Suntec City. But luckily I still get to listen to his sermons by purchasing CDs and books from www.newcreation.org.sg

Besides collecting stamps, I also look out for rare coin for my private collection. I have an album of coins dating back to my father’s time. And they are getting rarer because they are no longer in production. They are a form of investment besides being a hobby of sorts. Rare coins are hard to come by and only the trained eye can tell its value. I am still learning to tell the difference by reading widely from books and the internet. Sometimes, you can go to ZoomCoin and look out for such items that are worth collecting. And you get the genuine stuffs. They are compact and easy to keep in a coin album.

The whole of last night and until this morning, I lay awake all the time, shutting my eyes but I just could not fall asleep. Perhaps my mind was too active from reading a book in MPH plus the fact that I am enriching my vocabulary by trying to remember difficult words which I come across in the newspapers. Since I could not sleep, I naturally went downstairs to begin blogging at about 6:00am. My dad thinks that I have paid posts to do, but far from it. I have given up hope of doing paid posts anymore and have ventured into writing articles for lower payment. Not as lucrative as paid posts previously but it is still moolah in my Paypal. Now I am feeling groggy and less alert.

I was paid USD36 for a week’s work of writing 10 articles for a client from India. She has overflow work from USA, and sub contract them out to me. She used to be a medical transcriptionist earning USD750 a month until her hearing problems due to repetitive work and now she is into writing articles for USD450 a month. Not bad for someone who works from home with a young daughter. I am now into working with words for my part time job. And I love to write and read widely for a richer vocabulary. I keep a list of the vocabulary that I have learnt from the newspapers and search out the meanings from Google and from my own dictionary. This make reading all the more fun

Last Saturday, I went for an ice-skating performance in PISA. It was Disney on Ice. We sat right in front and got a very good view and we could the skaters’ expressions. I ordered the tickets online at RM135 per person and it was well worth the money. I paid for my ticket while boyfriend paid for his. Disney on Ice comes to Penang once in a year. We saw many award winning figure skaters doing flips, turns and twists in mid air. It was all so exciting with the props and giant blow up cartoon characters with fireworks and other special effects.

There was Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Daisy. I especially like 101 Dalmations with the lead skater Cruella De Vil. There’s also Lilo & Stitch, Peter Pan, Ariel the little mermaid, amongst others. The show lasted about 2-3 hours.

English is the lingua franca and international language used worldwide. You stand a better chance of being employed, presenting oneself and communicating better if you are English educated. Besides, for myself, I can write more convincing blogs after studying in Convent Green Lane, and learning English. For today, I just completed an online job writing a scholarstic research paper on System Framework for Psychiatric Nurses in an Acute Setting for USD16, for 4 pages, double spacing. Since the big PPP is running dry for me with no more opps to take up, I have ventured into writing research papers for students. It pays just as well, but with more research needed and I supposed a bit tougher. It also requires hours and hours reading, and hence, more time is needed researching and revising the paper. Just like PPP, there is ranking for writers and if you are caught plagiarising the material, you will be banned from the system. Just hope that I can get off well in this new venture of mine plus getting to earn some pocket money.

I was in KL for 3 days 2 nights with my boss for some business venture. We stayed at the rented condominium in Subang Jaya and also went down to Melaka, and exit via the Ayer Keroh Toll. It was a visit to a factory there for a sports project. My boss measured the sports court to confirm the size for the pending project. The next day, we visited an old friend and potential client in Star Bucks cafe in The Submit, which is just a stone’s throw away from our rented condo. Hopefully the project in Terengganu will materialise giving out workers constant jobs to support their families. It is very relaxing to see all the greenery, the oil palm estates and hills on the way to KL and back. There are a few rest areas such as Tapah where we go often during out outstation trips.

I was in Kuala Lumpur a couple of days back and will be going to Kuala Terengganu by car on Easter Sunday. Though I heard that the roads leading to Terengganu is not good, I hope the ride will not be bumpy. My boss and I plan to meet up with our client for sports project over there and hopefully the sale can be closed on the same day. This will be my first trip to Terengganu, the only state that I have never been in West Peninsular Malaysia. Also, I have been to Bintulu, Sarawak before, leaving Sabah as the only other state that I have yet to visit. We plan to stay 2 nights there in Grand Continental Hotel.

I prefer to travel using the North-South Highway that is smooth and easy flow of traffic. Going to the East Coast gives me jitters whether the car will break down halfway in the God forsaken place. There is very little traffic and asking for help from PlusLine is almost impossible. So, I better pray for a smooth, unhindered drive down to Kuala Terengganu.