The Grand Finale

Remember all that travelling for work I did back in May? Well, that was a national level competition that the company had organised for schools. Travelling to the the different states was actually for the regional level selection of the competition. After we had identified the winners of each region, of course, there was to be the Grand Finals to pick the best of the best. And, that happened on the 8th of July 2008.

The run up to the finals was (naturally) crazy! My colleague, Jasmin, and I worked late and over the weekend before the event (she more so than I actually!). The finalists arrived on Sunday, 6th July and we had to be at hand to welcome them. The only plus is that we got an apartment to stay in at The Zon where the kids were staying. I must say the apartment was pretty nice - great view, a real stove (as opposed to hot plates at some places) in the kitchen, spacious room.. Check out the pix below..


The living room.. and beyond that window is a great view of KLCC Park..

The view from the window.. nice, eh?

Here's Jasmin checking out the bed in the master bedroom. It was only the 2 of us on the first night. We ended sleeping in the next room because..

..we loved the walk-in closet! Haha.. Ah.. how great is life when the little thingas make you happy! Haha.. Plus, Jasmin & I have had enough of having to share a bed! Haha..

We had rehearsals the whole of the next day. I went for that, while Jasmin headed back to the office. Shamini and Nan joined us at the apartment that night. Yes.., they got to share the room and the bed!

Jasmin, Shamini & I stayed up till about 3am and awoke at about 6am to get ready. All seemed fine at first until we looked out the window... horror of horrors - it was raining a zoo! Aww.. man! This could be bad! Eventually, it did stop but many people, including 2 of our judges arrived pretty late. It all workd out in the end (phew!) and the event, I dare say, was a success!

One of my duties in this event was to jaga the judges apart from keeping time and tabulating the scores.

Here I am, hard at work, in the "deliberation" room with the judges (not seen here). OK.. tabulating the scores is not the hardest task in the world but between Munir (above) and I, we checked the score sheets like 3 times each to make sure we got it all right.. I mean, all these kids worked so hard and all of 'em, of course, wanted to win and Munir and I were definitely not going to deny them a win due to our carelessness! Oh, I ain't gonna have that on my conscience, man! So, we checked and re-checked and, finally, got our top 3 finishers. Phew!

Pictured here with Puan Hasnah, horsing around with the winning school's crown (from their play not a prize ya.. no, we're definitely that corny to give out crowns!) And, in the next pix I'm talking to my fellow Penangite, who is also the grandfather of one of the boys from the winning school. Yes, the winning school was from Penang.. if I seem not too excited it's 'coz I was actually rooting for a school from another state..

After all those months of planning, preparation, travelling, etc., it's finally over.. for now.. Yes, there's more - the top 3 winners all won themselves trips - the 1st to Hong Kong, 2nd to Singapore and 3rd within Malaysia, which means there's still the trip to coordinate. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it..

Kitty settles in..

Tried asking around if anyone wanted to adopt the li'l one but... Now, 2 weeks later, I reckon it's a little too late and unfair to send her off to start all over again, especially since she's already been getting along with Girl and particularly with Mechi. Looks like the li'l one's here to stay la.. Yes, now I can give it a name! Since I still can't tell if it's boy or girl, I've decided to call it Aboo if it's a boy and Boo if it's a girl. I have a feeling it's the latter.. Either way, Boo is good..

Anyway, Boo's settle in well and gets along well with Mechi.. I reckon Girl still finds her a bit too hyper.. Girl's very motherly and wants to groom Boo but the little thing never keeps still long enough and Girl just loses her patience and walks away.. Boo has actually mellowed considerably and is not the psycho kitty that she was. She's definitely more affectionate now and the funny noises she used to make have been replaced with audible, gentle meows..


One of her happy places, be it alone or with Mechi - on the arm of the sofa..

New best buds..

Aww.. so adorable.. one of the are occasions when Boo is mellow enough to not make Girl bolt off!

Something on TV obviously caught Boo's attention.. Boo reflecting... literally!

I've read in books that when a cat exposes its stomach it means the cats feels safe and comfortable.. If that were true, then Boo is a happy kitty!

The month of June 2008..

The month of June went by really quickly.. what with all the events and work..

On the very last day of June, I received an email from my friend Lisa telling me that her colleague was looking for a home for a little kitty. Apparently, his cat was very upset by the little kitty's presence. So, I agreed to let the li'l one stay with me till I found a home for it. No worries about Girl & Mechi - I knew that they won't be happy but they're non-confrontational, meaning at worst they'll just leave the li'l one alone.

So, that night Eugene & Janis dropped by with the li'l one. As predicted Girl & Mechi were not too happy and kept their distance but you could see that Mechi was definitely curious and it was just a matter of time before they got pally!


The li'l one.. not named as yet just in case if I were to give it away.. Mechi showing keen interest!

This little fella is a handful.. very hyper.. a bit psycho.. makes funny noises but of course like all cats they look like angels when they sleep! Since I won't name it unless I decide to keep it (still not very sure if it's a he or she la.. too young to tell!!), I'm calling it Psycho Kitty for now!

Mona had her baby on June 27.. a healthy baby girl named Asha Josephine Davies. According to Mona, she's very pink and hairy.. Hmmm.. I don't think I wanna try and imagine.. I'll just wait for pictures..

Mechi.. posing for the cam but gave in to sleep midway..

Finally, got word from Caroline via email. She's up and connected but I suppose with her busy schedule she won't have all that much time to actually be online all too often. She sent belated birthday wishes and a recent pix of the family - just a shame we can't see li'l baby Yasmin's face here..

What d'ya know.. another belated birthday pressie from my colleague, Azni! SO sweet!