Tuesday, September 30, 2008

When September Ends

Anticipating Aidilfitri With Fireworks


Ramadhan is about to end very soon. We had a little fun of our own at home with the 'bunga-api' my little brothers bought earlier yesterday as our Raya mood was steadily peaking up. We've spent the entire night lighting up those things outside the house last night.





Monday, September 29, 2008

Recalling Raya '07


Got the Raya mood already? Same here. We're all pretty excited. I'm gonna make this year's aidilfitri more meaningful along with my fellow classmates and colleagues. After all, this is probably gonna be the last Raya we'll ever celebrate as fellow schoolmates of The Business School. Here's a recap of our Raya celebration held last year.






Our annual visit at Rena's.


Open house at our group coordinator's place. (antik uniform kami atu ah! hehe)


I really like this picture.


All images courtesy of Marriz

Majlis Khatam Al-Quran & Penyampaian Derma


I attended a religious activity held yesterday afternoon at a Mosque in Kg Pintu Malim of Kota Batu. I was called by my dad to make a coverage for this event which is the Majlis Khatam al-Quran and the donation to the orphans of Kg Pintu Malim. The activity was organized by the Takmir Committee of Masjid Kg Pintu Malim led by Imam Awang Hj Ali Yusof Hj arshad.

The ceremony was held to glorify the fasting month of Ramadhan where religious activities were performed to seek divine blessings. A khatam al-Quran activity marked the completion of the recital of the Holy Book, which started during the early month of Ramadhan. The readers completed the recital of 30 chapters of the Quran. They also performed a tahlil and Surah Yaasin recital dedicated to the members of the Kg Pintu Malim who had passed away.
















Gifts and hampers



Among the guests who attended the ceremony was Pehin Orang Kaya Maharaja Kerna Dato Paduka Seri Awang Hj Yaakub who presented donations and hampers to nine village orphans so they could spend a merry Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Gifts were also given to those who have liven up the night of Ramadhan throughout the holy month with the Tadarus at the mosque.







Sunday, September 28, 2008

Our Last Sungkai Together As Fellow Schoolmates


Finally, a reunion sungkai with my fellow schoolmates in the final week of Ramadhan, after a long 3 months at work attachment. We had our sungkai buffet at KTM Restaurant in Jerudong yesterday evening. KTM serves thai delicacies, but the menu served on the buffet table yesterday were entirely comprised of local dishes with a bit of spicy Thai touch. The place was really packed but it's a good thing we got our seats reserved in the first place.

All shots below were taken with my SB-600 attached on my camera. I was so excited to take photos with my new flash unit. hehe.










Aidilfitri is just around the corner. I can't wait to 'beraya' with my fellow colleagues when that time comes. It's gonna be like the good old days. I still remember our previous years celebrating Aidilftri 'beraya' together, way back since our Pre-National Diploma days. We were much younger back then.


This was probably the last time we'll ever have sungkai together before we all go our separate ways after graduation

First F1 Night Race Tonight


Tonight is when all the fun begins. The Singapore Grand Prix, the first ever night race in the history of Formula 1 racing, will set to stage later this evening in the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore. The entire track will be illuminated by a series of lights and projectors which adapt their output to match the shape of the course and it will look astounding with the colorful lights of the city in the background.

Those who are flying off to Singapore this weekend are surely lucky enough to witness this astonishing event later tonight (and they'd better be bringing their cameras along with them). As for the rest of us, we could only witness it on TV. I think I'll head over to Blue Eden tonight. Sucks no Astro at home.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Testing SB-600

I'm really enjoying this flash unit I bought 3 days ago for my camera. Lately I've been experimenting portraiture shots with my new SB-600 at home in order to learn the proper techniques of using a flash unit, and I had my little sister as my model. She's a real sport. Hmm, when was the last time I did portraitures and posted them in my blog?


Taken with SB-600 bounced at 75 degrees
(with diffuser)

Raya's gonna be exciting for me this year. I'm definitely gonna carry around my entire gear and take lots of photos every chance I could get during 'beraya' with my friends and family next week. For now, I need to keep on practicing with flash photography.

Friday, September 26, 2008

London Kebab For Sungkai


Nyanyat! That's the exact word I would describe after trying out London Kebab at Lambak Kiri. I know, London Kebab has been around in Brunei for over 10 years now and has several establishments all around Brunei as far as I know. After years of just passing by along the Lambak Kiri road, I've finally tried the place for the first time last Tuesday along with my friends. Earlier this evening was my 3rd (technically because I had a takeaway lamb kebab late last night for sahur *LoL*).

There's a history about London Kebab that's quite fascinating. The owner got the idea from UK while he was studying there a decade ago. He followed the concept and started London Kebab here in Brunei and the response have been very positive. I gotta say, the kebabs that I ordered last Tuesday were unlike any other kebab joints I've tried in town over the years. For $4.90, I could get the incredible Lamb Kebab that'll surely get me full. Pure satisfaction!

Dengan penuh kusyuk...

So earlier this evening, Sai and I went to London Kebab in Lambak Kiri for our sungkai. This time, I tried a different dish. Word has it that its Fish n Chips are excellent so I gave that a shot. Ezam came a few minutes after Sungkai and joined us.




This was exactly what we all came here for


Pure western style Fish n Chips, now that's what I'm talkin about!


A nice beverage we bought all the way from Easy Way Serusop


The countdown


Another excellent Sungkai today. I'm rating London Kebab a 4 out of 5 stars for its excellent dishes and its nifty outdoor environment. I absolutely love dining outdoors. However, they could use more tables. I'm totally coming back here again for a nice Lamb Kebab. Oh yeah, the Fish n Chip I had earlier this evening? Awesome!

Is it just me or don't they look so adorable doing the exact same thing together? *LoL*

The SOAS Mosque 50th Anniversary


Today is the 50th Anniversary of the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in Bandar Seri Begawan. The SOAS Mosque was officially opened on Friday, September 26th, 1958 (13th Rabiulawal 1378 Hijrah). Now it still stands in all its glory, and after a major face lift to commemorate its golden jubilee, the Mosque looks much more magnificent than ever before, especially at night.

I used to live in the capital when I was a kid at the now-demolished Flat Stoney in Jalan Stoney (behind the RTB building) from the mid 80's up until the mid 90's, and I got to live very close to this magnificent mosque. It only took me about 5 minutes walk from the flat to the mosque during Friday Prayers. So much has changed since then.

By the way, did you know that there was actually a cameo of the SOAS Mosque in the old film Tiga Abdul? (During the introductory part of the city of Isketambola)

Thursday, September 25, 2008

3rd Month Coming To a Close


Sir Abu and Sir Sofian finally made their visit to my attachment place at Armada Properties Sdn Bhd yesterday morning. Nothing much really, just a brief interview with my supervisor and I as well as reviewing my logbook.

In just a few more days, I will be entering my 4th month in my industrial attachment. So far so good. I've learned a lot from work, particularly on critical planning and dealing with customer complaints. I'm really getting the hang of it. I can't wait to wrap everything up so that I could graduate already.

Sometimes I miss being in class...

New Equipment Has Arrived


2 months of saving have finally paid off. Now I can sleep soundly at night.


I bought it from Han at Rose Photo Studio in Tutong yesterday afternoon while I was on my way to sungkai with my grandparents in Lumut KB. After 4 months of flash-less photography, I've finally got myself a proper flash unit for my D80. Although this isn't the high end model of the Nikon Lighting System range, I chose SB-600 over the high end SB-800 due to the following advantages:
  • cheaper
  • a little lighter
  • does all the things the SB-800 does that anyone really cares about
  • recycles faster and provides more flashes at it's lower maximum power: 2.5 seconds and 220 flashes (Ni-MH)
  • clearer LCD
The only drawback is that the SB-600 cannot be used as a commander flash, only a remote slave. No big deal. Strobing can come later after I save up for my next commander flash, the SB-900. (That's right, more flash units are needed to produce quality studio lighting results). Pelahan-pelahan...

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Farewell To Ms Pg Shikin


We went to the airport yesterday evening to wish Ms Pg Shikin farewell. It was the last time we got to see her this year as she embarked on her flight to UK where she will be taking her Masters for a year. Ms Pg Shikin has been a wonderful tutor in The Business School, and there's been so much memories with her. We'll never forget her kind advice to us, and we will surely miss her.


We've managed to get to the airport half an hour before her 7pm flight. We surely didn't wanna miss her departure, so we bought some stuff from the Gerai Ramadhan at the stadium and break our fast in the car on our way there. It was also great to see familiar faces at the airport like Ms Susi, Ms Nelia, Ms Zaitun and several of my juniors from the Business School.




Our last group photo with Ms Pg Shikin


So many great tutors had left the Business School during my time there; Ms Nelia, Ms Halimahtun, Ms Susi, and now, Ms Pg Shikin. It has been a totally different atmosphere in campus without them. But, like us students, they had to move on to pursue bigger achievements in life. We've started to move on as well, pursuing our dreams and careers in our young adult age. Our journey continues on.






P.S. We had to park so far, banyak kerita yo... Next stop, London Kebab!

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