Labuan Scenes

Some random shots taken during my limited stay in Labuan.

Feeling patriotic?









June bloom.

Sail through the remaining week, enjoy the weekend.

Just you wait

After meeting several clients at Asian Supply Base in Labuan on Thursday morning, I rushed to the airport to catch my 1210 flight to Miri.

I had bought FlyAsianXpress (aka FAX) ticket since it was the only direct flight from Labuan to Miri. Malaysia Airlines do fly to Miri but there will be a transit in Kota Kinabalu, usually a four hour wait. I am not that patient, especially considering there is an alternative, even if it means my flight risk being delayed. You see, Fax is under AirAsia, notoriously known for their ‘now everyone is late’ reputation.
I thought I was a few minutes late for check in when I read a note at the check in counter saying the flight is delayed for one hour; a minor relief since I didn’t have to rush like mad anymore. I studied the departure schedule to double check.



One hour had passed, it was 1.10pm, and there was still no sign of the plane, let alone arrival announcement. As if cued, the ground staff came to the departure counter pushing a trolley.
The chime rang and her announcement went “Dear passengers of flight D7 2243 to Miri, the flight has been delayed due to a technical problem in Miri. As of now, the estimated time of arrival is still not known. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Meanwhile, we invite you to the counter to receive your snack attack. Thank you.” As we collected our snack boxes, our cell phone numbers were recorded.






And so we waited.
Two aircrafts came and gone but our departure was still unknown

At 3pm I overheard a person at the other bench answering his phone. “Yes…. Yes…. Okay… So this six thirty, is it confirmed?... Ok then. Bye.”

“Huh, must be the call update. Ahh…So that’s what the phone number was all about. So they can face passengers individually instead of risking life and limbs with the whole mob” I thought.

15 minutes later the expected call came. I was not going to let go that easily.

“Hello, Mr. Agustus. This is Natasha from Fly Asian Express. I’m calling to inform you that your flight will be expected to depart at six thirty” she informed.

“Is that six thirty tomorrow morning or six thirty this evening?” I asked.

“Six thirty this evening sir.”

“Did they tell you what was wrong with the plane? What kind of technical problem are they fixing in Miri?” I asked.

“No sir, they only told us they have technical problem in Miri. And the flight is expected to arrive in Labuan by six pm. You can check back in around five thirty”

“Six thirty. That’s three hours from now. That’s a very long time to wait” I hinted desparation.

“Yes sir”

“Then I will have to wait. Thank you.” I ended the call.

So I grabbed my luggage and took a walk around the airport. Not that there is much to see but like the rest of the ‘waiters’, I needed some fresh air and bigger space than the departure lounge.

Around five pm, another announcement regarding my flight was aired. We were invited to collect our meal from the airline counter. It was the colonel himself.

Unpaid advertisement
Hey kids, wanna get free KFC? Buy AirAsia or FAX ticket and hope they screw you enough. You may have your fingers crossed but it will be licked.

So Misteragus, how does it feel being screwed by FAX? Why, IT’S FINGER LICKING GOOD!

By six, I paused typing this post and headed to the departure lounge. Metal detector and X-ray scan only; no one was feeling frisky. We waited patiently.

Six thirty in the evening, no sign of the aircraft. Not a gust of wind, not a hum of sound, not a freakin FAX. It was going to be another long wait. Some ‘waiters’ have inside information that the latest departure time will probably be nine thirty. People started talking. Some went down to the check in counter to get clarification. The ground staff should consider themselves lucky. People know they have done their best to cope with the situation, and there is really nothing they can do except keep pushing for current updates and get a firm result to report to the waiting customers.

Tired of just watching from the lounge, I went down to join the crowd.

A lot were exchanged. The ground staff kept repeating their incomplete and uncertain reports, like a broken record of a horrible song they go. The aircraft under repair remains just that. Another aircraft from Kota Kinabalu had to be deployed to the rescue. But not before picking up passengers from Miri bound for Labuan; our stranded counterpart. The first group of waiters of the day. We were all part of and an ugly chain of events. And the evening flight scheduled at 8.30pm, the one using the same ill fated aircraft was simply cancelled. Passengers had the option to fill in the remaining seats in the replacement. First come first served of course. Otherwise, a reschedule or a refund is in order. Some of the morning passengers opted for a refund, only to find out that their money will only be returned after 30 days. Now that’s classy. Must I tell you they were fuming mad?

I hung around the check in counter for quite some time, watching people scanning their luggage and proceeding to the check in counter only to be told their flight was cancelled.

Facing the entrance, I saw two familiar faces pushing a trolley each. They were the ground support staff.

Well, well, well, look what the wind rolled in; more dead chicken, to appease the frustrated gods. Could we take another chicky meal?

As I was typing this, it was already 9.20pm. The ground staff were getting nervous. Another promise undelivered, it would seem.

“But wait! I hear a buzz. Zee plane! Zee Plane!” I got mildly excited.

The chime rang and she went “Announcing the arrival of Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.”

Ah, false alarm. Not the FAX we were waiting for.

Soon came another announcement “Passengers for Malaysia Airlines flight MH2624 to Kota Kinabalu, please proceed to the departure hall, thank you”

“This is not going to end so soon is it…” I thought.

At 9.40pm, there was another hum. The chime rang yet again and she announced “Announcing the arrival of Fly Asian Express from Kota Kinabalu”

And,
“Passengers for Fly Asian Express flight D7 2243 are invited to the departure lounge for immediate departure”

And I started singing Daughtry’s ‘I’m going home’. I feel like an American Idol ready to be faxed home.
At 9.45pm we were ushered out of the terminal building into the waiting aircraft.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. On behalf of Fly Asian Express, I would like to apologize for the very, very, verrry long delay. Your high patience means a lot to us... blah blah...."

The apologies were again repeated by the flight attendant.

Upon landing, the flight attendant went "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment we have been waiting for. We have landed at Miri Airport. ...blah.blah..."

After this delay of epic proportion, you can only ask, could they screw even deeper?

Just you wait.

A positive life

Friend: Agus, I need to talk to you about something.

Agus: Yeah, go on.

Friend: Be very honest with me, how has your sex life been so far?

Agus: Uhm, not good, really.

Friend: Then you’re okay. I cannot stress this enough; SAFE SEX, ALWAYS. I was recently diagnosed with HIV. My result came out positive. I got the news early June, the first of June, to be exact… I’m only telling you this because, one, from being a 'friend of a friend' I have come to consider you as a close friend, … two, I don’t want you make the same mistakes I did.
… you can never be too sure. Yes, she’ll tell you she loves you and you trust her with all your heart. Of course she’s honest; she honestly has no clue she’s positive. And when you have a lifestyle like mine, the risk is higher. Sometimes you let your guards down and it slips.
.
.
the rest was all blur for a long while. I didn’t expect a routine weekend ‘teh tarik’ session during supper would be shockingly disturbing.

When I snapped back from daze, he was well into the ‘safe sex’ and ‘living positively’ evangelism. It was obvious; he was being mighty brave facing the grim reality. More than that, he is making sure others are well informed and afraid of the infectious disease instead of fearing the infected. He is using internet portals and forums, most of the times under a pseudonym, to allow discussions and outreach. His enthusiasm and dedication could be seen as channels to take his mind off the misery, regret and frustration. Either way, he is doing a good thing.

“This is very disturbing for me. I am disturbed, I am upset. Sorry. You must be getting a lot of this response by now. I am aware of the disease and I make it a point to protect myself. But having someone I know, infected, takes this awareness to another level” I told him.

“From the stories that you two shared just now, I thought you were talking about another friend of yours with HIV” I added.

“I was devastated when he broke the news to me over the phone. I couldn’t say anything for a long while. He was crying and I had nothing to say”, another friend at the table shared.

He understood, and the three of us continued talking; about the abrupt change of lifestyle to cope with the disease and medication, the additional tests to determine the level of infection, the psychological effect the news has to both the infected and the people they love, the shape of things to come, and the commitment and responsibility he is determined to shoulder. Needless to say, he was doing most of the talking.

“So, now you know. If you have any questions, or things you’d like to know, anything at all, just ask” he said.

“I will” I told him. That is for sure.

Go green

Ever gaze around your route to work? Appreciate the shades that trees give on your way to your favorite lunch spot? Taken a moment to appreciate nature's lines, even if it's human's lanscaping plans?

Here are some of my favorite angles.

I know world earth day, or week, or whatever, came and gone. But the consequences of our action turns up everywhere, everyday. Floods once seen as problems in foreign countries doesn't look foreign anymore. The cost for remedies and damage control is mind blowing. With intelligent this and that, smart here and there, it seems like we've been successful in transplanting our brains into non living machines and structures, leaving none for ourselves. The flood keeps coming in like a royal flush. If that's not a sign, I don't know what is.

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What is being done, precious?

I don't know. A lot, I guess. If you consider the treaties and protocols signed during conventions and what not.

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Does it work, precious?

Nah, it's just for show I guess.

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What happens now, precious?

Now? Well, as an individual, we educate each other. Increase the awareness. Thanks to 'Day After Tomorrow' and 'The Inconvenient Truth', I'm taking note of the changes and what little things I can do to make things better. Hopefully everyone plays their part and affect a huge drive to make this earth last longer.

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Here's another brilliant material for a deeper understanding of the real situation (as linked by Pandabonium weeks ago, and I decided to carry the torch). If you care about earth, check it out at whatever cost. Download the required Java updates to view correctly.

CRUDE

A violent death awaits our earth if we choose to ignore.

The future could be gloomy indeed.

Elane

Traffic was heavy on the Federal Highway yesterday, yes, even on a lazy Sunday evening.

While everyone was patiently moving with the slow queue, my friend and I was cruising along the emergency lane.

After many minutes I said “Hmm, the emergency lane is certainly your favorite lane, eh.”

He replied “Yeah, I must be pissing other drivers in the queue. Drivers like you.” Complete with a grin.

“Yeah. I try to stay off this lane. But there’s nothing I can do, or anyone else for that matter, about people using the emergency lane. We can only let them pass by and really hope there are traffic police up front, ready to nab offenders. Drivers like you” I said, returning the grin.

As we laughed a little, he seemed more alert, but unfortunately we were still on the e’lane.

Hot, smoking pot

While going through some old stuff I came across an old friend, my almost forgotten moka pot, bought from Ikea many years ago. The gasket is rather old and brittle. I know this because I broke the only spare that came with it. So with only the existing rubber gasket left, I gingerly cleaned every component.

Nearby was the mini hot plate I conveniently used as the heat source.
That was when I figured I could finally have espresso at work, albeit from a traditional Italian invention.

So for the past few weeks I’ve been re-experimenting and tweaking the pot, getting the correct grind setting and adjusting the pressure in the water chamber, all in the pursuit of java love.

Here’s what I got so far.

My moka pot, to be used with coffee filter paper, carefully cut into round pieces to fit the basket's opening, . Here's a Wikipedia link to learn how a typical moka pot works.

Espresso oozing from the spout, complete with crema (of the crop, I must add). Now that's what I call java lava! Yeah baby...

More crema... Oh, by the way, the filter paper I mentioned earlier is put between the ground coffe and the top metal filter. This adds to the pressure in the water chamber thus optimizing extraction to near perfection. If I could only tell you exaclty how many bars of pressure it created.

I can't. But it does the trick. And it prevents a muddy espresso too. Lovely.

Almost there. Just look at the froth! Gosh!

Pour me gently, pour me good... Pour me like a java lover would.

Good to the last drop.

After you've had your espresso, or during, it's always nice to see how the filter paper held up, indicated by the clean top metal filter. Achtung! The pot's smoking hot!

Dont forget to blow the end of the funnel to get that coffee cake out, examine it's firmness and watch it crumble as you break it into pieces. Like a crumbly cookie it does.

Conclusion; despite not giving a perfect shot like an espresso machine would, a moka pot works wonders, given good effort and attention. Love and passion truly go a long way. Just ask the Italians.

Kick that bucket!

What do you do when something gets in the way and you think there is no other option around it?

Think again. Think hard.

If you've a single track mind, Henry's predicament must ring a bell. Otherwise, it's just delightfully funny and amusing.



Is life really that simple? Or does it look complicated? The answer might just be in the bucket. So find that holey bucket and kick it!