If there be anymore reasons as to why I'm still in JB...

I couldn't sleep on Saturday night - just felt so awake, I might attribute it to the teh-o-ais-limau (ice-lemon tea) I drank at Kassim after church service. Never before has that happened. The only time caffeine got the better of me was when I drank too much green tea at Nyijumaru (the best Japanese food outlet in JB).

I stayed up the whole night with no other choice but to watch TV. Something I hadn't done in ages. I was amazed that Singapore Channel 5 had so many programmes on throughout the night. I managed two reality shows 'The Swan', 'The Apprentice-Martha Stewart'... Hungry for more action, I watched a covert TV series 'E-ring'. Then I called it a night with 'Ellen' - a really fun talkshow. It was dawn and the TV transmission ended anyway with the Singapore national anthem 'Majulah Singapura'.

By the way, I stay in Johor but our TVs are blessed with Singapore channels As my boss puts it, there is no need for ASTRO (satellite TV) here.

Yesterday being Sunday, I already had a full day in church, plus cell group... Felt quite sluggish throughout the day since I didn't sleep the night before.

At 3.30, the TNT gathered at church for the orphanage outing. I was late because I overslept We brought the kids to the hillock beside the Pasir Gudang Muzium Layang-layang. In my five years working in Pasir Gudang, I have never been to the internationally renowned museum or its vicinity... Kite enthusiasts from all over the globe gather here for the annual ritual - kite flying competition. By the way, Layang means 'Drift in the wind', so Layang-layang is the Malay term for kite.

What is a kite? Wow, you must belong to the noughties generation (2000+). Well, a kite is a paper or plastic structure designed to be easily air-bourne if sufficient wind is present. Of course, it is attached to a fly-wheel (just like a fishing rod) so that you can control its flight. Some kite competitions involve cutting the string of the opponent's kite. So in such competitions, the kite string is coated with glass fragments which can cut your fingers if you are careless.

I felt like I had achieved something. I have never been to this part of Pasir Gudang before and it was quite fun to see so many families gathering around to make full use of the park facilities.

We ended the outing with a picnic - delicious sandwiches and guilty fried stuff (thanks for the KFC).

My Sunday didn't end there. Four of us (Boon Fei, Angela, Benny and myself) played Risk till 2 am. I lost miserably in both games... So did Benny. Boon Fei and Angela conquered the whole world. The fun part was I learnt to play the Mission game in Risk. Never played it before. Each player is given 4 mission cards. I lost both games because both times I got the Control Asia card which is near impossible! At one point, Angela conquered Asia though. And by the way, I never seemed to draw a set-of-three match the first time around, so I never got to claim extra troops. Which really crippled my game!

Back to the topic of why I am glad that I am still in JB! Well, I have managed to accomplish a few more things:

1. TNT Outing with Orphanage kids
2. Kite-flying
3. Picnic at the park area by Muzium Layang-layang in Pasir Gudang on a weekend
4. Play a version of Risk I didn't know existed
5. Enjoy dinner and hot coffee courtesy of Boon Fei & Angela's hospitality
6. And maybe, go to Sandakan after all!

Let me explain #6. Well, I made a promise in September last year, to bring my mom to Sandakan to visit her brother. My uncle's retiring mid-year and returning to Malacca. So this is the final chance to visit him at Sandakan. But since my Aussie trip was announced, I thought I had to cancel. My mother would then go alone.

My decision is... if (hopefully) there is no mention of my Aussie trip by Wednesday, I'll go to Sandakan after all!