Visit to Johor Bahru

Mee Rebus Johor...one of my favorite! ^^

I am back home again...though not for long. A short weekend to visit a friend in Johor Bahru with a friend of mine has truly given me some insight of the city. Walking the streets, seeing the people, shopping, tasting the food. I never stopped by in JB before, just happened to flew down to Senai then directly off to Singapore, that is, before there is a direct route from KK to Singapore via AirAsia.

Anyway, I had booked my ticket since August for this trip, partly to visit a good friend of mine, Liza; partly is to release my self, from the bonds of the past relationships that still has its bits and pieces grips on me.

Along the way, I recall all those things that I went through with the friend of mine that followed me...things that happened to us. Yes, I promised that I will tell exactly what is going on in my previous post a couple months ago. To make long story short, previously we both loved the same guy without knowing each one of us existed. Today, we both loathed the same guy after found out the whole ugly truth.

How we managed to stay calm and yet still able to go for a weekend holiday together you ask? We both had moved on since the day we found out about him. The day we found out the lies that he has given to us. The day we found out that we both were fooled, completely. So did either one of us to blame? No. Does it worth it to go for a cat fight for a worthless guy like him? No. Is it worth it to fight for him, to see which best woman win? Definitely NOT! Want to know what we did...? We both dumped him~ hahahahaa.... ^^ I will be lying if I said I didn't feel a thing. True, I do feel the pain, I do feel the heartache. But I knew that I don't deserve to be treated in such way. A girl got to do what she's got to do.

So, 2 ladies whom has been moving on, building new friendship and having fun in JB! Hahaha...anyway, we are planning for a trip together again next year...destination? Haven't decide which one yet. Still need to check for the calendar first.
Owh yeah...I will be leaving for Paintball World Cup Asia 2009 in Bukit Jalil with the teams from Sabah tomorrow. Will be back on Monday. 10 Teams plus 1 Marshal tagging along from Sabah...hehehe...

And off course..here's a slideshow of the photos taken during my visit to JB. Hope you all enjoy!

P/s: Special thanks to Liza for your kind hospitality during our stay. ^^

Paintball World Cup Asia 2009 Team List

Photo taken on 12th November 2009 in the office of State's Youth and Sports Ministry with Datuk Jahid Jahim, the state's Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports. 10 teams from Sabah had officially signed up to join the Paintball World Cup Asia 2009.

Paintball World Cup Asia 2009 is just around the corner. Here's the final team list:

DIVISION 1 (24 TEAMS)
1)Team Kaos - Aust
2)Team Ku - Japan
3)Team SWAT - Aust
4)Team Highway Star - Thai
5)Team Datis - Iran
6)Team STK - Aust (Perth)
7)Team Menace Kids - Aust
8)Team Demonz Red - Mal
9)Team Xtioneer - Mal
10)Team Macdev Ronin - Mal
11)Team Raskal - Mal
12)Team Nemesis - Mal
13)Team Tsunami - Aust
14)Team Delta Rovers - Mal
15)Team Boonie Dogs - Guam, USA
16)Team London Shock II - UK
17)Team Real Pinoy - Phil
18)Team Xtreme - Aust
19)Team Hostile Intentions - Aust
20)Team Belligerent - Mal
21)Team Raskal Gold - Mal/UK
22)Team Persian Legend - Iran
23)Team Infernal - Thai
24)Team Isi Rimba - Mal

DIVISION 2 (28 TEAMS)
1)Team Legionnaires - Mal - D2
2)Team Splatmasters - Phil - D2
3)Team Dodo Flingueur - France - D2
4)Team Pink Sausage People - UAE - D2
5)Team Baraj - Guam,USA - D2
6)Team Evolution - Guam - D2
7)Team SYN - Aust(Melbourne) - D2
8)Team Matrix Entourage Junior- Mal - D2
9)Team Warrior - Mal - D2
10)Team D'Mercy Kidz - Mal - D2
11)Team Beezwax - Mal - D2
12)Team CMX - Mal - D2
13Team Victorious - Aust - D2
14)Team Ryukyu Kings - Japan - D2
15)Team Melbourne Mayhem - Aust - D2
16)Team Mission to Mars - Thai - D2
17)Team Syn Retribution - Aust - D2
18)Team Dark Angels - Mal - D2
19)Team High Rollaz - Aust - D2
20)Team Hoodlums-Z - Mal - D2 (SABAH)
21)Team Raz Legion - Mal - D2
22)Team Hytorious - Thai - D2
23)Team Volcano 62 - Thai - D2
24)Team Enigma - Mal - D2
25)Team Alien 11 - Thai - D2
26)Team Matrix Entourage - Mal - D2
27)Team Global Pinoy 2 - Phil - D2
28)Team DOA - Mal - D2

DIVISION 3 (48 TEAMS)
1)Team Damnation - Sing
2)Team RedSevens - Sing
3)Team Splatmasters Gold - Phil
4)Team Cryptic - South Africa
5)Team PPS Syndrome - Mal
6)Team PGX Syndrome - Mal
7)Team PPS Deadstar Syndrome - Mal
8)Team PPS Headhunter - Mal
9)Team PPS Troopers - Mal
10)Team Osiris - Mal
11)Team 3nity - Mal (SABAH)
12)Team A Zurie & The 4 Horsemen - Mal (SABAH)
13)Team Labuan Fighter - Mal
14)Team Splatz1 LPC - Mal (SABAH)
15)Team Jesselton NSX - Mal (SABAH)
16)Team Kinabalu Legion - Mal (SABAH)
17)Team Crazy Hunter - Mal
18)Team Eastsiderz - Mal
19)Team Festina OLX - Mal
20)Team Hornets - Mal
21)Team JB Syndicate - Mal
22)Team Oscar Legio X - Mal
23)Team Hoodlums - Mal (SABAH)
24)Team CMX II - Mal
25)Team Miri Mix Blood - Mal
26)Team Rainforest 7 Tigers - Mal
27)Team Bamboo Bullets - Mal
28)Team Splatz1 - Mal (SABAH)
29)Team GHRT Labuan - Mal
30)Team Young Guns - Aust
31)Team Red Komodo - Mal
32)Team BananaFish Bone - Mal
33)Team NPL All Stars - India
34)Team Nitamago - Japan
35)Team Nitamago 2 - Japan
36)Team VWW - Mal
37)Team Ghost Destructo - Mal
38)Team 3nity Blade - Mal (SABAH)
39)Team Urban X - Mal
40)Team Holy Divers - Mal
41)Team Zerofreaks - Mal
42)Team Fearless - Mal
43)Team United Nation - Sing
44)Team SSC Killer - Mal
45)Team Kingdom - Indo
46)Team Veteran SST - Indo
47)Team Global Pinoy 3 - Phil
48)Team University Malaysia Perlis - Mal

DIVISION 4 (20 TEAMS)
1)Team Contract Killers - Sing - D4
2)Team Overkill - Mal - D4
3)Team Spunky Militia - Mal - D4
4)Team Infidelz - Mal - D4
5)Team Dominators - Mal - D4
6)Team Rukun 13 - Mal - D4
7)Team NPL All Stars - Bangalore - India - D4 (IPLChennai All Stars)
8)Team Red Indians - India - D4
9)Team Yin Yang - Mal - D4
10)Team Vindicated - Mal - D4
11)Team Rocknrolla - Mal - D4
12)Team Mushroom - Mal - D4
13)Team Crossfire - India - D4
14)Team Shoot'in Rage - Mal - D4
15)Team Predator Sabah - Mal - D4 (SABAH)
16)Team Jogja Unite - Indo - D4
17)Team Soutehrn Pirates - Mal - Div 4
18)Team Karma - Sing - Div 4
19)Team Seekers - Sing - Div 4
20)Team Red West - Sing - Div 4

The total teams based on division are as follows;
DIVISION 1 - 24 TEAMS
DIVISION 2 - 28 TEAMS
DIVISION 3 - 48 TEAMS
DIVISION 4 - 20 TEAMS

GOOD LUCK! ^^

The Day Cancer Invaded My Family

When I read Eugene's post about his encounter meeting an old friend and his wife that is currently battling with cancer, I remembered the days where me and my family encountered the same thing once.

He used to be a strong man. Loves being outdoors, keen on hunting and fishing whenever he got the time. A man that once carried me on his shoulders when I was a little kid. A man that I looked up to. He might not be perfect in some ways, but for me - he is a great guy. He is my dad. He's my Pop, as what me and my siblings called him.

He fixed broken toys, broken items at home, good in cooking and always had funny stories or imaginations to tell. He enjoys watching cartoons as much as we did and loves music, plays guitar very well and could sing too. Bee Gees and ABBA, he said, is the group that has the best music of all times.

Then one day, something funny happened. A series of frequent migraines that sometimes made him unable to get up and went late to work, went to high fevers and headaches at happened nightly. Then he began to become forgetful. Yet, he still insist that he would be fine. After all, being in the medical background for so long, when he said it's okay, means it's okay, right? Perhaps he is busy. Perhaps he got lots of things to do, that's why he forgets stuff, right? Until now, there are lots of questions that still lingers in my mind, but the answers to it was no longer matters to me now...

Before we knew it, one day he woke up, speaking gibberish, and said he cannot see anything. His memories, as if being deleted from his mind just in an instant. He no longer remembers things that happened in the present. Though there are certain things that he still remembers, like us, but he often speaks and mentions about people during his youth, and only remembers things that happened back then. I was scared. Helpless.

He was warded immediately. He was restless, unable to sleep and keep on talking nor was wide awake all the time. He didn't ate much. CT Scan shows that there is a growth in his brain. Doctors advised us to send him to the general hospital in KL for further checkup. 3 days before Chinese New Year, me and my mother arrived KL with him.

Waiting can be so painful. In KL, he was warded in the neurology ward, but still needed time to wait for his turn for biopsy as such. We never stop praying, hoping that things will be okay. Seeing some of the fellow Sabahans that also sent their family members there for same reasons, or other cancerous illness and return home safely brings us hope that the same thing will happen to us as well. After almost a month in the ward, he was operated to take a sample of the growth in his brain for biopsy.

But that's not going to happen. After the results came out, my father was confirmed with brain cancer. To add salt to the injury, there is no longer can be done. Doctors said he won't last more than a year. Our world is crushed. My world is crushed. I am going to lose my father? How should I cope? How do we cope with it?

After almost 3 months in KL, my dad returned back to Sabah with my mom with the devastating news. He was temporarily warded in the Palliative Care Unit in Queen Elizabeth Hospital and then was bring back to our home, where he was cared for. I hardly recognized him. He can no longer walk, wash nor feed himself. Let alone to see. My heart is crushed to see a man who once so strong, so funny can no longer do the things he used to do.

I still remember the nights where my mother and my siblings would gathered up and pray the rosary every night by his bedside. Deep inside, I do wish a miracle can happen. I wish a miracle will happen. But it didn't.

One day, he fell into a coma, and once again he was sent to the Palliative Care Unit in the district hospital where my mom worked. Me and my brother rushed home from KK to see him. The day we arrived, we spent the night sleeping in the ward with him. The next day, I went home to clean myself and waiting for my mom to pick me up to the hospital in the evening. That late evening, we received the call. He was gone.

It was 13th August 2001.

I had mixed emotions during his funeral. Sad to lose him, angry that miracles didn't happened, yet relieved that he was no longer in pain. Along the way to the church for his funeral mass, my mind rewind back all those memories I shared with him. The happy memories that I had when I was a kid. His old guitar no longer strum beautiful melodies that filled the house. No more of his laughter in the living room when we watch our favorite cartoons together.

Years has passed since he was gone. Am I still grieving? Yes, I still had this emptiness in my heart. A hollow that will never be filled. I still grieve for his loss in my heart. You might tell me to move on. When you experience the same way as I do when lost a parent then you would understand. I sensed his absence greatly whenever there is a family occasion or celebrations. I miss to see him in his usual place. I still and will always do. My family had moved on now. Though we never talked about it, I am sure that they still hold him close in their hearts as much as I do.

During my brother Aaron's recent wedding thanksgiving lunch in Beaufort last October, I heard more than once where our relatives and guests told me, "Your father is a great man." I couldn't agree more.

Maybe he is not perfect in some way, but seeing all through the years when there are people still remembers him after he has been long gone shows that he had touches the lives of the people who sensed his absence as much as I did.

He might be gone, and lost his battle over cancer. But he has left us a great gift - he made us - my mom, me and my siblings got closer together through our nightly prayers beside his sickbed, laughter still fills the house whenever all of us siblings were together way back to the old days when he was still around. He never left us, really. He still lives close in our hearts.

I miss you, Pop. RIP.

(In Loving Memory of John Michael Sunam, 20/10/1956 - 13/08/2001)

Still - Hillsong United

I feel uninspired and somewhat down lately. So as I was browsing through Youtube to find songs to put in my current play list, I found this song, entitled 'Still' by Hillsong. A song of hope, and courage.

"When the ocean's rise and thunders roar, I will soar with You above the storm..."

Hope this will give you hope as well. God Bless.

Praying for Our Dearly Departed On All Soul's Day

Today is a special day where special prayers were offered to our dearly beloved friends and family members that had departed. You will notice how clean the graves, and people flocked from all around to return home to visit and offer prayers and putting flowers on the graves of people who once were still alive, living and breathing among us, but now, only lingers in our minds and prayers.

All Soul's Day, as it was known - the day that comes after All Saint's Day (1st November), is where the faithful Catholics would held a special Mass to pray for the souls of the departed, hoping to assist the souls from Purgatory to Heaven. This day too, where the blessing of the graves will take place.

But in this day of praying for the souls of people who are dear to us, let us also not forget to all souls in the purgatory where no one ever prayed for them. Souls for the babies whom were died of abortion, killing or miscarriages, for all of them has soul too. They might be still waiting, hoping someone would remember and pray for them as much as we pray for the souls of the people we knew.

The late John Paul II once stated "Christian love knows no boundaries and goes beyond the limits of space and time, enabling us to love those who already love this earth."

Let us not also forget, that praying for the souls of the departed is not only during All Soul's Day, but each and every time we pray, do remember them in our prayers as they really in great need from us. God Bless.

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they maybe loose from sins." - 2 Maccabees 12:46

Prayer of St. Getrude to the Holy Souls

O Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today for all the holy souls in Purgatory and for sinners everywhere -- for sinners in the Universal Church, for those in my own own home and for those within my family. Amen.