A sneak preview of what’s to come for the Spark

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This is the first batch of prize presentation for the Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Blessing Rewards 2 campaign. The campaign was launched last March and it will be running for 3 months until 19th of June. The responses have been overwhelming ever since the 2nd campaign kicked off. The grand prize for the Blessing Rewards 2 campaign is a new Lexus IS300 convertible.

Ten winners were presented with prizes though only eight were present. Siti Zulwati Abd Razak, Zurina Hj Ismail, Othman Hj Jaluddin, Mohd Firdaus Hj Roslan, Ak Hj Mohd Amirol Fairuez Pg Hj Sulaiman, Dy Emas Mahmud, Junaidah Hj Mahmud, Juneri Hj Murah, Marina Ahmad and Hjh Kamsiah Hj Ismail received their Luminox watch *niceeee*

The prizes were presented by the Brannch Manager of BIBD Kiulap Branch Hj Suhaimi Hj Hashim.

There are other fantastic prizes to be won such as 60 inch Samsung LED television and packages of Apple products too. So how to be eligible?? It’s easy… just sign up for any BIBD product such as BBA Home Financing, Education Financing, BIBD Debit Card and many more.

Do visit their Facebook page too for constant updates of activities and promotion.

Holding the awesome prizes for the 1st round winners

Now these are awesome watches to start off with.. Congratulations to the winners

One of the winners of the Blessing Rewards campaign presented by BIBD Kiulap Branch Manager Hj Suhaimi Hj Hashim

One of the winners of the Blessing Rewards campaign presented by BIBD Kiulap Branch Manager Hj Suhaimi Hj Hashim

Group photo of the winners with BIBD Kiulap Branch Manager Hj Suhaimi Hj Hashim and BIBD Head of Marketing, Ben Lin

Who will win the grand prize of the Lexus IS300 convertible?

Registration starts 12th May at any b.mobile branches and stand a chance to win $1,000. The 1st Kick off will be 25th May 2012.

The cool prop of Dark Shadows at The Mall Cineplex

Dark Shadows. Ah.. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp combined again for the … eerr, I lost count here… but I have to say it’s not the strongest movie from Tim Burton. I felt this was just a passable movie for my taste. I’ve seen their other collaborations and I enjoyed most of it. Visually this is pretty good and I love the classic soundtracks too.

What disappointed me is the flow of the story and the lack of character from the other casts. Those I thought that would made significant screen appearances only appeared here and there and I felt the relationship between the characters lacked the special connection. There are some highlights in this movie but can be easily forgotten once you leave the cinema unlike The Avengers where people will boast about Hulk/Thor scene or how Ironman/Stark was awesome etc. As for Dark Shadows, there was nothing worth to boast about really.

Their collaboration had so much potential but Dark Shadows short changed me. Verdict: 6/10. Del Goh and Sophia gave it an 8 surprisingly.

O3 is back with its Sporting Cap Surprise for the 2nd season!!! O3 Sporting Cap Surprise 2 promo, which kicks off from 1 May– 28 December 2012, will see consumers of O3 smiling home with grand and major prizes including the latest iPhone, iPad2, Samsung Galaxy Note, Netbooks and LED TVs. Other instant prizes to be won in the promo include Easi-cards, KFC/Rasamas vouchers, pendrives and more than 8,000 free O3 drinks.

Speaking to announce the kick-off of the promo, Ms Sun Yeo, Marketing Manager, Aiking Trading Co. Sdn Bhd, stated that the promo was conceived to reward as many loyal consumers of O3 as possible. In her words: “This Promo has one main and only objective, which is to say thank you to our loyal consumers. We want this promotion to touch our consumers’ lives in a way that only a real O3 drink will do. That’s why every lucky consumer with the letter cap don’t just get 1, but 3 chances of winning.” O3 Lemon Tea and Green Tea, according to Ms Yeo, “has established itself as a credible choice of healthy yet tasty drink”. She also thanked the consumers of O3 whom, she said, were responsible for making O3 one of the fastest growing drink in the country.

Ms Yeo stated that consumers only have to buy any O3 drink, twist open and redeem any O3 bottle cap with either “S”,“P”,“O”,“R”,“T”,”I”,”N” or ”G”, at O3 roadshows to qualify for 3 chances of winning – an instant draw, a Major Prize draw and the Grand Prize draw for the iPhone. While giving details of the promo, Ms Yeo stated that a roadshow will be arranged on the 28th of every month during the promotion, to provide convenience to the consumers and at the same time, allow public draw, where winners can take home their prizes instantly.

Now this is interesting.. Well, not sure if it’s called the iPhone 5 but the grand prize will be the next generation iPhone for sure. Click image to enter Facebook page.

The roadshows will be held on 28 June at Jaya Hypermart (Gadong), 28 July at Sim Kim Huat (Airport Mall), 28 August at Millimewah Department Store (Berakas) 28 September at Sim Kim Huat (Kiulap), 28 October at Sim Kim Huat (Sengkurong), 28 November at Millimewah Department Store (KB) and 28 December at Jaya Hypermart (Gadong). The Grand Prize draw will be held on 28 December at Jaya Hypermart, Gadong. So do keep these dates on your calendar.

O3 Lemon Tea and Green Tea are available in all major supermarkets, department stores, mini-marts and kedai runcit. For details, consumers can visit Aiking’s website, www.aiking.com, or Like O3 on Facebook, @O3GreenTnLemonT or Follow O3 on Twitter, @O3Sporting.

The draw is organized by Aiking Trading Co. Sdn Bhd and supported by Jaya Hypermart, Sim Kim Huat Department Store and Millimewah Department Stores as well as ranoadidas.com.

So be adventurous and you will never know if you will be the lucky one 😀

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You can now enjoy a selection of healthy baked breads from Mr Baker’s Bakeshop at Fitness Zone Serusop; that is delivered to the premises fresh everyday. Mr Baker, well known for it’s healthy bake, is one of the corporate partners of Fitness Zone for jointly promoting healthy living lifestyle to the community. The breads displayed on the shelves are not only for Fitness Zone members but all are welcome.

According to Wu Chun, “Fitness Zone is not only about health and fitness! We are always searching for exciting and innovative ways to make the experience as a member of Fitness Zone more enjoyable and fulfilling We have more than 50 corporate partners whereby FZ members are entitled to special discounts or benefits from our partners.”

Fitness Zone chose Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop because they are the healthier choice and due to their strict policy of no added preservatives, dough improver and as much as possible, no added stabiliser / emulsifer is used. For instance, you may notice that the sponge used in our cakes is less spongy but firm in texture and most of our cakes are less sweet.”

Wu Chun added, “We are thankful to Mr Baker’s Bakeshop for allowing FZ Members to have the privilege of having their cakes made to order and have them delivered to Fitness Zone free of charge.”

Wu Chun, Managing Director of Fitness Zone, holding one of the healthy buns from Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop

A small counter of Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop at Fitness Zone Serusop

According to Eric, the founder of Mr Baker’s Bakeshop, “In conjunction with the upcoming Mother’s Day celebration, we are having a 15% discount on our top selling cakes, Fresh Fruit Vanilla, and on top of it, we are also giving complimentary gift voucher worth $140 to the first 50 customers which entitles holder for one-week free entry to the #1 Health Club courtesy of Fitness Zone.”

Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop is also baking their biggest fruit cake ever baked specially for Fitness Zone’s Mother’s day activity which is to be held on 12th May Saturday at their Serusop Branch. This coming weekend, there is also a ‘Surprise’ Mother’s Day promotion and Fitness Zone will also do an open house for all families to enjoy their state of the art facilities plus free gifts as well! Start living healthy and start SAVING MONEY by becoming a member of Fitness Zone today!

Also, Wu Chun says, “Good health not only add years to life but also add life to years! Quality of life is so important to people nowadays and this month, we are giving very good promotion for all mothers which we believe it’s one of the proudest ‘Gift of Love’ that a mother can own on mother’s day!

Wu Chun and Eric Pui of Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop with a huge Fresh Fruit Vanilla cake

LOL.. I never expected this to happen in the first place. It was just from a normal conversation between YC Lee and I as he offered $200 for my head to be shaved and he will donate $200 for the cause for my #walkruncycle2012 initiative. Before it could be discussed further, he stood up and brought it to the attention of the 40 people who were at the lunch gathering few days ago.

This time, it was a bigger agenda.. He raised the stake to $2,000 for my bald look and within minutes, we managed to collect half the amount. Only last night, it broke past the $2,000 mark and I ended up being shaved by my buddies *lol* The money raised will be accumulated as part of the #walkruncycle2012 donation card which I will have to return tomorrow (Saturday) as it is the deadline.

A big thanks to YC Lee for making this possible (out of the blue) and the support from my friends too as they were anticipating to see the outcome of the ordeal. The last time I had a bald look was back in 2003 which was quite a long time ago. So peeps, don’t be startled when you see the bald version of me. I’m definitely growing it back to normal :p Once again, my gratitude and thanks to those who contributed as this means a lot to the charitable foundations.

Within less than 48 hours, an amount of $2000+ was raised to see my bald look for the upcoming #walkruncycle2012

YC Lee did the honour of shaving off my hair

And others joined in to shave off my hair

I was a bit worried about the razor blade part.. Didn’t know YC Lee was pretty skillful in making sure I didn’t bleed

Half an hour later, this is my new look. The donation was handed over to me officially for #walkruncycle2012 funds

The awesome bunch who contributed and witnessed the shaving ceremony

Ironically many of them wanted to have a feel of my bald head

My donation card – thank you to those who contributed. Every donation counts 🙂

Dato Rahman also donated for the cause.. Awesome!!

And so did Jake Ten.. thanks dude 😀

Mother Day’s promotion at Intimate Secrets and Lilli Lingerie

Special promotion for Zell-V during Mother’s Day

In conjunction with the upcoming Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebration, Zell-V (Brunei) would like to let all to express their gratitude to their parents by giving them the health, vitality and beauty from ZELL-V and enjoy FREE CELL CHECK at our store (1st floor, Rizqun International Hotel).

And for all mothers and fathers, they would like to urge them to start pampering themselves by giving themselves a chance to improve their health wellness.

The following are the promotion packages that they are offering now.

Package 1 – 1 box of Zell-V with FREE $50 product voucher
Package 2 – 3 boxes of Zell-V with FREE Travel Pack with FREE $50 product voucher
Package 3 – 6 boxes of Zell-V with FREE 1 box of Zell V with FREE $50 product voucher
OR 6 boxes of Zell V with FREE Zell-V Wonder Cream and Phytocell Serum with FREE $50 product voucher
Package 4 – 36 boxes of Zell-V with instant enjoyment of 20% VIP Purchases, and additional BND80 off

The product vouchers can be used in their next purchase which can be on the same day.

For more info, you can call 821 9221.

This is my daily dosage that I’ve taken for almost 3 months now and I feel superb as of late

The only concern for me is the size of the pill of Zell-V.. I still haven’t mastered the swallowing part *lol*

So I normally experiment with different types of food to help me swallow the gigantic pill. This biscuit cracker failed on me.

Now this won’t be good idea to drink along with.. Otherwise I might be super double charged by the end of the day. Then again, any liquid form has proven useless to help me swallow the pill

This is still the best choice to date to help me swallow Zell-V pills. The banana has never failed me once 😀

Zell-V has somehow increased my endurance and stamina especially during my afternoon jogs. I noticed how I was more motivated to increase my jogging distance.. Awesome!!1

Who knows one day once I get super charged up from Zell-V, I might apply for a role in the WWE as The Rock wannabe *lol*

As the most anticipated event is drawing near, HSBC announces that Saturday (tomorrow) is the last day for all HSBC Walk Run Cycle (WRC) participants to return their donation cards together with any funds collected to any of the HSBC branches in the nation.

100% of all funds collected will be donated to the four organisations that provide training and education to special needs children of Brunei Darussalam, benefitting Pusat Ehsan Al Hajah Al Maryam, SMARTER Brunei, KACA and Learning Ladder.

HSBC WRC participants, who return their donation cards together with any funds collected, will be given a goody bag which comprises of a 2012 Walk Run Cycle themed T-shirt. Also by doing this, participants have the chance of winning the lucky draw dip that has 70 prizes up for grabs, valued at BND$ 20,000 in total.

Participants returning the donation card at HSBC counter

The charity event which is held for the first time in the evening, will kick start at 8.30pm sharp at the Taman Hj Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien (SOAS) on Saturday, 19 May 2012. As an additional safety measure for the event, participants are advised to wear their reflective bracelets which can be collected from HSBC booths at the venue.

A carnival of games, bouncers, and refreshments awaits WRC participants at the finishing point. Fun games including the latest iPad giveaway that goes to one nominated winner for the best costume, and, a family pack hamper that is to be given away to one family who wins the best costume wear for family. Text courtesy of HSBC Brunei.

Thank you Wu Chun for donating to #walkruncycle2012 charity

Thank you to Eric Pui and Jan Shim too

To celebrate BRUNEI Darussalam its first National Family Day, LANEIGE has organized family bonding activities for its members and family members to participate and the participation responses are overwhelming. “Our slots are fully booked, we are so pleased with all them to share the happy family bonding moment with Laneige”, said Pat, Marketing Manager of LANEIGE. There are over 25 families from as young as 2 years old, as old as 65 years old grandfather participated the photo shooting activity at LANEIGE,The Mall and this photo shooting activity has been carried out for the 2nd year.

LANEIGE aims to encourage Bruneian with busy life should slow down and spent some good quality time with family. To build strong family bonds is the backbone of life, the secret to happy, well-balanced, quality of life for the youth and the adults.

LANEIGE has been carrying out charity works with the objective of youth development and encourage a wide spectrum of youths today on the need to be more caring and compassionate. Throughout this year Family Days activities, we wish a positive and caring family background can be developed for our youth in the country. We believe family values are important to both adults and the youth, it is greatly impacts of who we are as a person.

Hamidah, one of the participants at the activity says, “this is my 2nd year participate Laneige Family days photo shooting activity, it is really a great moment for me and my mum, without the belief and support of my family, most of us wouldn’t be where we are today. Sometimes in our life maybe up and down, family can get you through anything with their love and support.” Don’t taking things for granted that their family is supposed to be there to provide for them. These principles are passed down from generation to generation and have to be taught to each other. Another participant, Hjh Yanti says, “Family is more important than anything else. We sometimes take our family for granted and not realize how valuable they are. Family are the ones you bonded to growing up, and you have memories that you share with them. After some years, we may never see them again, but they are what you possibly call “family”, because they are the only true family you knew when the bonds were being forged, thank you LANEIGE to organise this lovely bonding moment for us.”

Click image to enter LANEIGE Brunei Facebook page

In addition, there are another activity on LANEIGE Brunei Facebook page encourage facebook fans to create family bonding with LANEIGE. on LANEIGE Family Day activity. It very easy to join and there are 2 winners going to bring home the limited edition of LOVE IN BLOOM set woth B$300 each set. All facebook fans base in Brunei can join simply:

1. Take a photo at Laneige Dream Garden of “Love in Bloom” at the Mall Laneige
2. Upload your photo here on Laneige Brunei Facebook wall
3. Ask your friends to LIKE your photos

The MOST LIKE photo, 2 winners will bring home the complete set of this Love in Bloom Collection (7items in each prize worth B$300 each set)
Deadline to LIKE the photo on: 13 May 2012, 22:00GMT (10pm)

Every one of us play an important role to in the community with positive family mentality, we don’t take it for granted. All efforts count, even at an individual level, we should start today and have family gathering every week not only during National family days, so that it will becomes a norm for our next generation. Happy Family day everyone!

In conjunction with the upcoming Mother’s Day celebration, Secret Recipe Brunei is inviting all families to come and celebrate the auspicious day at their outlets.

On this special occasion, patrons will enjoy an amazing discount offer of 50 per cent off, on any whole cake purchases for Mother’s Day starting from May 11 to 13. The offer is valid for advance bookings not less than three days before collection. With over 23 varieties of delicious cheesecakes and cream cheesecakes to choose from, patrons will definitely be spoilt for choices.

Whether mom is a chocolate fanatic or a cheesecake enthusiast, there is surely one cake from the Secret Recipe selection that will satisfy her sweet tooth. “With this amazing Mother’s Day offer, we believe every mother in the country will get to enjoy a special treat by Secret Recipe from their loved ones, in celebrating this very special occasion,” said Mr Thompson Tan, General Manager of Secret Recipe Brunei.

Apart from the great deal, patrons will also enjoy a dine-in and take away promotion where spending B$20 and above on any of the main meals (à la carte) in a single receipt will entitle them to a lovely mystery gift.

Both promotions are valid at all Secret Recipe outlets at The Mall Gadong, Tanjung Bunut and Seri Delima. For details and information contact or visit any Secret Recipe outlets. Text by Rokiah Mahmud and image courtesy of Bahyiah Bakir.

The cakes and the mystery gifts await

50% of cakes until 13th May 2012

Free gift upon spending $20 on any meal stated

Mother’s Day, falling on the 2nd week of May every year marks an important day for Times Square Shopping Centre, a shopping complex that emphasizes on families, being “A Place for Everyone”. Times Square will be celebrating Mother’s Day with all the beautiful mothers out there this Saturday to Sunday, 12th May to 13th May 2012.

There will be several games and activities for this Mother’s Day with Times Square, such as the “I Love My Mummy” Card designing contest with Best Eastern, where children from ages 5 to 8 and 9 to 12 can stand chances to win amazing prizes from Best Eastern, such as a $125 cash voucher and a gift pack, to name a few. Forms can be retrieved at Best Eastern bookstore as well as the Registration Counter at Times Square Shopping Centre starting from today to Sunday. To participate, contestants simply have to attach a receipt of a minimum of $25.00 from any branch of Best Eastern. There will be 2 sessions daily, from 10:30AM to 12:30PM and 2:00PM to 4:00PM.

Kofom will also be having their “My Mummy and I” Photo contest where contestants have to send in hardcopies of their photos consisting of a Mother and Her Child/ Children to Kofom, Times. The Contest will be ongoing from now until the deadline, which is on Sunday, 13th May 2012 at 5pm. Contestants can stand a chance to win a $200 cash voucher from Kofom just in time for Raya this year. To participate, simply attach a receipt of a minimum of $30 with the registration form.

Lastly, to bring out the beauty of all the mothers in Brunei, Skin Food will be organizing their “Most Beautiful Faces” contest which will run from 11AM on Saturday, 12th May 2012 to 5PM on Sunday, 13th May 2012 at the Skin Food booth at the Atrium. With Skin Food makeup provided to the contestants, they will have to do makeup on their teammate and then have their photos taken. The team with the best makeup will bring home a Mother’s Day DIY basket. To participate, simply attach a receipt of a minimum of $30 with the registration form.

There will be a prize presentation on Sunday, 13th May 2012 at 7:30PM for all 3 activities. For more information, please find out more at the respective stores today. Head on down to Times Square this weekend, and bring along your families, especially your beautiful and deserving mothers! Times Square Shopping Centre, an innovative and family-orientated shopping centre is constantly finding new and more ways to reach out to the public, making it “A Place for Everyone”. Text courtesy of Times Square Shopping Centre.

Eat and Sing all you can this Sunday 13th May. Mother’s Day Lunch & Buffet $15 only (children 1/2 price). Make your reservation now, call 223 1788

Designed by @kurapak, the t-shirt was just announced last evening and the bookings were gone within an hour

This was by initiative which I proposed to HSBC CSR team in order to create more funds for charity for the upcoming WalkRunCycle event which is happening next weekend *can’t wait* And I thought of releasing a special limited edition #walkruncycle2012 for my followers and the prints are very, very limited with a price tag of $50. All the orders were snapped up within an hour or so and I will like to thank them for the support.

Yes, I’ve heard people have been calling HSBC branches for the t-shirts but the point of contact is through me and not HSBC. Since the responses have been good, there will be another limited edition design which will be unveiled soon (hopefully this weekend) for those interested. The design won’t be the same as the one above but there will be an element of glow-in-the-dark if I’m not mistaken.

So do stay tune to my updates through my blog, instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Thank you to all those who contributed for the limited edition t-shirts. With 10,000 people participating, it is quite an honour to have you guys as one of the few :))

Minister of Development attended the 13th Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) Meeting on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Image courtesy of The Brunei Times.

I’m never a big fan of open burning because of its implication and the negative impacts they have on our environment. I read yesterday’s paper where it talked about more stringent enforcement (punishment) on “big companies” that conduct open burnings during the Second Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) Forum on Transboundary Haze (click here).

I guess the awareness is very weak here in Brunei and there’s not much publicity that has been done to get into the mindset of the public. Yes, I’m aware of JASTRE’s involvement (from the Ministry of Development) in this issue of open buring. I remember reading their brochures too a few years ago but this is something that needs to be educated from time to time.

Why I’m saying this is because it is still happening in Brunei. I posted a picture on my instagram, Facebook and Twitter of an open burning scene and this was taken on Monday late afternoon. The ironic part was that the burning took place in the compound of a Police station home quarters. So i guess we shouldn’t also be wary of big companies but also the government agencies too as shown in this picture. Well, I don’t know if Royal Brunei Police Force fall in the category of government agencies but you get the picture.

So I hope action can be taken on this issue as this is not a good example to be shown to the public that “open burning” is a no-no. Let’s hope I don’t get to trouble for this post *haha* but then again, I’m doing this for a good cause as a citizen. So you guys want a haze free environment? Do more enforcement before this becomes a norm.

This was taken inside the compound one of the Police home quarters last Monday. Open Burning is still happening in Brunei and also at government own places

Deals Restaurant at the Radisson Hotel

Have an amazing Mother’s Day celebration at the Radisson Hotel Brunei Darussalam this Sunday, 13 May from 11.30am to 3pm with two dining options.

At Tasek Brasserie, our famous Sunday Brunch includes whole roast lamb on the spit and sizzling barbecue by the pool with special kids’ buffet such as mini burgers, hot dogs, pizza, mini fish and chips bundle.

Priced at only B$30 nett per adult and B$15 nett per child from 4 to 11 years old. Children 3 years old and below is free. Cake decoration activity for all mothers and our first ever Radisson Lolly Scramble for the kids will be available. Standard Chartered Bank credit cardholders can enjoy a fabulous discount on the total bill when you dine at Tasek Brasserie restaurant from 11 to 13 May.

Meanwhile, have a relaxing Long Lunch at Deals restaurant, an Italian tradition where you will enjoy the company of your family, friends and good food whilst celebrating Mother’s Day in style. The Italian dishes starts with antipasto platter and progress through 3 main dishes ending it with Dolci, a heavenly mouthwatering dessert. This is available at only B$60 nett per adult and B$30 nett per child from 4 to 11 years old. Children 3 years old and below is free.

Diners at Tasek Brasserie and Deals restaurant will stand a chance to win lucky draw prizes.

For more information about the promotion, please contact 224 4272.

A sneak preview of what’s to come for the Spark

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Remember this classic Push-Up ice-cream where you can play top spin after you finish eating it. Image taken from Google images.

Aren’t we all craving for this ice-cream? Back then, it wasn’t such a phenomena because it was considered a norm thing to consume Push-up ice-creams in schools. I’m pretty sure… back in the 80s …. that other schools also sold this particular ice-cream and Mr. Softy wasn’t even around then.

I remember growing up and enjoying Push-Ups during my St. Andrew’s era and this came to mind when I saw someone posted the ice-cream picture on her Facebook. Ahhhh.. it does bring back the good old memories and I happened to share it on instagram, Facebook and Twitter. The responses I had on the post created many responses from my followers.

So it does tell me from the responses that many of us have tried the Push-Up and fell in love with it. People were asking where I could find the ice-cream but I just have to keep telling them that the image was taken from Google *lol* I’m not sure what actually happened to why it stopped selling in the Sultanate.

But if someone knows of its existence, do share with us.. But it’s a very slim chance or perhaps the brand has discontinued the said ice-cream. The Push-Up is definitely a definition of “awesomeness”.

Fund raising efforts through the recent Standard Chartered Brunei Half Marathon held on 8 April 2012 totalled a phenomenal BND160, 555.80.

Proceeds were presented to the two benefitting charities, the Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah Fund for Orphans (DANA) and Standard Chartered Bank’s Seeing Is Believing Programme at a cheque presentation ceremony held at Radisson Hotel, the Official Hotel of the Standard Chartered Brunei Half Marathon.

Standard Chartered Bank was delighted and honoured to have the pleasure of Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Brunei Darussalam Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah binti Pengiran Salleh Abd Rahaman grace the event as Guest of Honour as well as present the cheque to the benefitting charities on behalf of the Bank. Receiving on behalf of DANA was Yang Mulia Awang Haji Brahim bin Haji Ismail, CEO of DANA and receiving on behalf of Seeing is Believing was Jennifer Kang, Seeing is Believing Champion for Standard Chartered Bank.

Also attending the event were Yang Mulia Datin Paduka Hajah Adina binti Othman, Acting Minister of Culture, Youth & Sports, Lai Pei-Si, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, event sponsors and partners.

Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah presented cheque to Haji Brahim, CEO of DANA

Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah receiving a special memento from Lai Pei-Si, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank

Dubbed “Run for a Reason”, one of the main goals around the Standard Chartered Brunei Half Marathon 2012 was fund raising. All participants of the event were given donation cards to raise funds towards the Run. At the same time, part of the registration fees for the Run was also donated to charity.

Lai Pei-Si, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank said in her welcoming remarks: “Today, I am extremely proud and happy that together with the support from everyone involved in the Standard Chartered Brunei Half-Marathon 2012, we have raised a total of BND160, 555.80 towards DANA and Seeing is Believing. This amount will be split equally amongst both beneficiaries and we are positive that it will go a long way in helping those in need.”

“At Standard Chartered Bank, being able to contribute positively towards the communities we are in and to do good by them, is important to us. After all, it is our brand promise- to be Here for good. We look forward to Running for a Reason with Brunei again in 2013,” she added.

There was a special prize of an iPod Nano 16GB for the top donation collector for the event, Elysia Wong, who singlehandedly raised a total of BND7, 412.

BEDB staff also made a special contribution from their salaries towards the cause. In total, from this initiative, they collected BND 5,000 which was presented by Dr. Manaf Haji Metussin, Deputy CEO of BEDB to Lai Pei-Si, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank.

One of the major sponsors, TOTAL, receiving token of appreciation from SCB

One of the major sponsors, TelBru, receiving token of appreciation from SCB

Dr. Manaf, Deputy CEO of Brunei Economic Development Board, presented a mock cheque to SCB. The BEDB associates made special contribution from their salaries towards the cause.

Additionally, during the event, certificates of appreciation were presented to sponsors of the Half Marathon.

The Standard Chartered Brunei Half Marathon 2012 attracted 4076 runners, an 87% increase from the number of participants who ran in the Standard Chartered Charity Run 2011. Asides from runners from Brunei, there were also runners who flew in especially for this event from 13 other countries, namely, Australia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Total amount of funds raised also increased by 48% from BND108, 355.19 in 2011 to BND160, 555.80 from the recent 2012 event.

The Standard Chartered Brunei Half Marathon 2012 was organised by Standard Chartered Bank with the strong support from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the Brunei Athletics Association. The Standard Chartered Half Marathon Brunei 2012 was proudly sponsored by Telbru, TOTAL, Borneo Bulletin, Media Permata, GetFit CrossFit, MixMediaWorx, Radisson Hotel, Royal Brunei Airlines, Suci, Sunlit Advertising and 100 Plus. This event was also supported by The Royal Brunei Police Force, The Traffic Control and Investigation Department, RIPAS, Bandaran, JKR, Jastre, Jerudong Park Medical Centre, Gleneagles JPMC, Humanitarian.Emergency.Aid.Response.Team (HEART), SOAS, Maktab Duli, Maktab Sains, Seinenmaru Event Management Services, Maktab Teknik Sultan Saiful Rijal, Sportbikerz Association and Brunei Polytechnic and ThreeG Media Sdn Bhd.

Lai Pei-Si presented token of appreication to the official partners of “Run for a Reason”

A special prize of an iPod Nano 16GB for the top donation collector for the event, Elysia Wong, who singlehandedly raised a total of BND7, 412. The prize was collected by Elysia’s father

Jennifer Kang presented a short presentation on the journey of “Run for a Reason”

Rach and IIie of BEDB at the event yesterday

The Orchid Garden Hotel (OGH) Penang Food Promotion at the Goldiana Cafe is a hit amongst food lovers in the Sultanate. The exciting promotion launched on May 2 and will continue until May 12.

During this promotion, local foodies can get a taste of the city known as the food paradise of Malaysia. Penang food is unique, thanks to its diverse mix of cultures, bringing about plenty of mouthwatering dishes.

From ‘bak kut teh’ to ‘nasi kandar’, delicious ‘laksa’ to yummy ‘nasi lemak’ and the city’s famed ‘char kway teow’, one can be sure that a visit to the buffet table will lead to a culinary adventure.

Aztie, the food and beverage manager of the Orchid Garden Hotel stated that since it was first introduced, the Penang Food Promotion has attracted 80 to 100 customers daily.

The price is $22.80 per adult and $12.80 for children under the age of 12. The Penang Food Promotion is available until May 12. Text by Adib Noor of The Brunei Times.

The management and staff of Concepts Computer unveiled the Acer S3 model prop which is positioned at the signboard area of the Concepts Computer outlet at Kiulap branch. The mock model is to commemorate Concepts Computer 13th year anniversary and the best model to showcase outside the outlet is the Acer Ultra S3 notebook which has been a big hit among Burneians.

In conjunction with their 13th anniversary, they are running special promotions until 20th May. One of the items on promotion is the Acer Aspire One, which entitles the buyer to a free upgrade of warranty for three years. Every purchase of Acer products (excluding storage devices) will entitle the customer to a free 4GB Apacer pendrive. There is also a special discount on Acer Easystore 500GB, from $128 down to $88 just for this promotion period.

Microsoft products are also included in the promotion; for every purchase of genuine Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office software and Microsoft Windows operating systems and wireless touch mouses, the customer will receive a free Microsoft Sling Bag.

For the purchase of Epson products, excluding inks and other consumables, customers will receive a full body-sized bath towel free. Epson products under this offer includes the full range of printers, scanners and projectors.

The local press waiting for the moment for the Acer mock model to be unveiled

Reciting of the prayers before unveiling

Zul Abd Rahman, Marketing Executive of Concepts Computer announcing the launch

The unveiling of the mock Acer Ultra S3

This is how it looks like

Group photo with the management of Concepts Computer

The special promotion from Concepts Computer. Hurry!! Last day on 20th May

Richard and Vincent being interviewed by the local press on the success of Acer products

The media received some cool goodie bags from Concepts Computer

A good idea to check in for the weekend during #walkruncycle2012 event. I know I will 😀

I never knew that there’s a growing number of freelancers that handles and repairs iPhones, iPod Touch and iPads too. And one of them is my friend @cibui on Instagram and he’s been getting many inquiries right after my posting on instagram, Facebook and Twitter (ah, the power of social media).

Yes, it’s a common problem that these Apple devices can up being faulty on some of its function. The most notable is the “home” button where some of them became less responsive over time. So my friend came to the rescue as one of my friends’ iPhone needed attention and @cibui did on the spot and it took a merely half an hour. The cost of the repair including the parts is very competitive. So don’t even bother ask for a discount as it’s worth the money.

Some local vendors may be charging way more expensive and some places maybe even 3 to 4 x fold but of course, you are paying for the extra service and it’s a proper service centre and perhaps there are more perks and benefits that I may not be aware of. But for a reasonable price and also my trust on my buddy, he totally delivered and my friend was all smiles after her “home” button was being fixed.

If you wanna contact him, you can call 872 0848. Oh yeah, he has new born baby recently so he can be pretty tied up but it’s no harm asking him if he’s free to help you. Congratulations on the new born baby.

The little screws that helped to keep the iPhone intact

How the inside of the iPhone looks like

The iPhone needed the “home” button to be fixed

This is the important component that makes the “home” button functions and responds

The battery inside the iPhone. This also can be replaced if your battery cycle has declined over time.

@cibui’s iPhone kit for repairing iPhones

Back in January, I cracked my screen and spent over $200 on the repair at one of the shops at The Mall. My friend charges less than $200 for this.

LOL.. nice illustration by Benjamin Wang, taken from behance.net

Times Square Shopping Centre had its first ever Technology & Lifestyle Fair 2012 on Thursday, 3rd May and ended on Sunday, 6th May 2012.

During the four day event, PEMKAR organized an RC Racing Competition, generating much interest and attention from the public. There were two types of races: Mini- Chassis 3HR Endurance Race and RC Drift Challenge. The first place of the Mini-Chassis 3HR Endurance Race went to Team Penyangat Purple with 1102 laps at a total time of 3:00:16.575 with a best time of 7.714 while second place went to Team XXL with 1059 laps at a total time of 3:00:23.173 and a best time of 7.949. Third place went to Team Sbbb Alfa with 1055lapsat a total time of 3:00:19.175 and a best time of 7.483. For the RC Drift Challenge, first place went to Hj Birin while second and third went to Patt and Fathul respectively. The top qualifier went to Hj Birin while Best Body Shield went to Hasrin.

In addition to the interactive games and activities, Times Square also organized the Tag & Race Contest where contestants had to use their smart phones and search for Tags placed around Times Square, and the one who finds all 30 tags first will be the winner. The first place went to Teddy Ahmad, who won himself an MP3 Headset Player and $50 cash voucher- both from Current Enterprise, while second place went to Azri Al-Rashid, winning himself a Laser Light and $80 cash voucher from Current Enterprise while third place went to Nur Halijah Bte Md Alidin, winning herself a $50 cash voucher from Current Enterprise.

First place for Mini-Chassis 3HR Endurance Race goes to Team Penyangat Purple

First place for RC Drift Challenge Hj Birin

Group photo with the participants and organisers

There was a Lucky Draw with fabulous prizes up for grabs. Prizes included Hua Wei Ideos S7 Slim, Ideos U8500, Ideos U8150 sponsored by Ten Ten Communications, and other prizes sponsored by TelBru, Current Enterprise and WR Electronics. 8 Lucky winners were called up to determine which prize they have won for themselves by playing a short game. The winner of the first prize, which is a Hua Wei Ideos S7 Slim was Lau Kong Chiong, while Dk Aaliyah Hannah won herself an Ideos U8500 and the 3rd prize, Ideos U8150 went to Ibrahim Hj Bakir.

The activity partners of the Times Square Technology & Lifestyle Fair were University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD), Pemkar, AIA Insurance, LiveWIRE Brunei, while Activity sponsors were Ten Ten Telecommunications, Current Enterprise, Ezy Printing, WR Electronics and T.H.A. Enterprise. The Official Social Media Partner of the event is Brunika and the Official Instagramers Community of Brunei Darussalam. Text and images of courtesy of Times Square Brunei.

First place for the lucky draw was Lau Kong Chiong

Group photo with the lucky prize winners

One of the funniest moments in The Avengers. Image taken from Behance.net

I’m always hyped up about box office performance and how well the movies performed in the box office especially in North America. Any blockbuster movie that made less than $100 million is considered a flop or a movie that didn’t cover its costs is also a flop.

One of the most expensive movies ever made in the 90s was Titanic but the budget paid off handsomely and it held the record for the biggest box office earnings with $600 million alone in North America, only to be beaten by Avatar ($760 million).

The Avengers was recently released in the States a week after Brunei premiered it. The production budget for the movie was $220 million and guess what… the superhero movie broke the record for having the biggest box office weekend opening with an outstanding $200 million in the first three days. It bettered Harry Potter, Death Hallows 2 by $30 million. Internationally, The Avengers scored huge earnings with $441 million in just 10 days. Phenomenal. Do expect The Avengers to break the $1 billion mark worldwide in the next few weeks or so.

I recently watched The Avengers again for the second time but in 3D. This is still a great watch and if you haven’t seen this, by all means please do.

Top Opening Weekends of All-Time
1. The Avengers (2012) $200.3 million
2. Harry Potter … Deathly Hallows 2 (2011) $169.2 million
3. The Dark Knight (2008) $158.4 million
4. The Hunger Games (2012) $152.5 million
5. Spider-Man 3 (2007) $151.1 million
6. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) $142.8 million
7. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 1 (2009) $138.1 million
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: DMC (2006) $135.6 million
9. Iron Man 2 (2010) $128.1 million
10. Harry Potter … Deathly Hallows 1 (2010) $125.0 million

It hasn’t gone the way for my favourite teams in Europe – Barcelona, Liverpool and AC Milan. Barcelona don’t look invincible as before though Messi can’t stop scoring but it was the points the cost them the La Liga title to bitter rivals Read Madrid. Barcelona also failed to beat Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League. The performance of Barceolna this year hasn’t been up to their best and this also has result in Pep Guardialo, Barcelona’s coach to end his reign once the season ends.

Liverpool have spent a bomb USD 100 million but only managed to squeeze in one title – the League Cup and they are also beaten finalist in the FA Cup. However, their league form haven’t improved since last year. Now they are in 9th place and they have lost 13 games which is not a familiar trend for the Reds. They are definitely one of the flops of the season, having spent millions but never reflected on the league standings.

AC Milan lost the important derby match to Inter Milan last night which gifted Juventus the Italian league title. Well done to Juventus and I know Mas Idris is a huge fan of Juventus. Did you know that Del Peiro is still playing for Juve though he’s not in the first team? Well, there is always a next season.

I can’t wait for Euro 2012 and I will talking more on the EURO 2012 Poland-Ukraine sticker album by Panini. Remember that this was a big hit during the World Cup 2010 and I still have my complete album book 😀

I shall be updating you more on this EURO 2012 sticker album soon and there will be some activities as well for sticker collectors

Real Madrid won the Spanish League Title with 3 more games to go. Finally a win for Jose Mourinho and he also won with Chelsea and Inter Milan. Awesome achievement!

I’m not much of a Dutch league supporter but Ajax won the Dutch title. Most of the top Dutch players are playing in major clubs.

Yes it’s definitely down to the wire. The final game of the season which will be this Sunday. Who would have expected this outcome where the Noisy Neighbours have matched Red Devils this season. It’s all about the mental pressure now and I hope for a new breed to win the title to bring some freshness to the competition for next season.

What can I say about this lad? He has overdone himself in the scoring charts, breaking records but his goal achievements were overshadowed by Barcelona’s failure to win the league and also reaching the Champs League final. Their only consolation could be the Spanish King’s Cup against Bilbao end of the month.

Brunei DPMM FC are enjoying the summit in the league. They have a 3 point cushion with a healthy goal difference. I’m starting to question the S-League’s competitiveness. Two nights ago DPMM FC had their biggest win of the season with 5-1 thrashing of Hougang United FC.

How did Di Matteo turn the tables for Chelsea? They had a troubled season under the leadership of AVB and now they won the FA Cup, in the finals of the Champions League and chasing fourth spot in the EPL. Last Saturday, Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 in the FA Cup.

Well done Juventus on winning the Scudeto last night

Last week, Brunei DPMM FC beat Woodlands Wellington FC to reclaim top spot in the S-League and tonight they will face another tricky opponent Hougang United FC with a 3-2-6 record so far in the S-League.

Expectations are high on DPMM FC as they are yet to be beaten at their home ground. It’s also very rare that Brunei dropped points at home too. The only points they dropped was against Tampines Rovers where they drew 2-2 back in February. Ever since then, DPMM FC have won 5 successive matches at home.

Let’s hope for another comfortable win for DPMM FC or perhaps what is more important is the 3 points. Good luck, DPMM FC.

DPMM FC celebrated in style after their 3-0 victory over Woodlands and it was a perfect birthday gift for coach Simunic. Image courtesy of Hayatdee.

Last Thursday, Times Square Shopping Centre held its first Technology & Lifestyle Fair 2012 which ends on tomorrow (Sunday). The Guest of Honour, Datin Paduka Hajah Rokiah binti Haji Zakiah, President of Brunei Women’s Business Council officiate the event together with the Times Square Management, Ms. Amal Majidah, Properties Manager and Ms. Chiu Siew Yii, Marketing Manager during the opening ceremony.

Some of the exhibitors ranging from Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam where they will be heavily promoting their online banking. There’s also Ten Ten Communications which focusing on selling their products such as the Ideos series. For those who wants to register for “The Run” event, there will be a Pusat Ehsan Booth at the fair too.

There will be lucky prizes to be won sponsored by Ten Ten Communications, WR Electronics, Current Enterprise, Ezy Printing and TelBru.

There will also be a “Tag & Race” Contest where contestants have to utilize the art of technology and fight against time, to come out as the winner. There will be Tags hidden all over the shopping centre, and to win, contestants have to find all the tags in the shortest time span on Sunday, 6th May 2012. Registration is open to all members of public.

Activity Partners including University of Brunei Darussalam to demonstrate the brief brief process of making a basic short animation clip that involves rigging, morphing, compositing, and lip syncing and editing. AIA will give a talk about “The Importance and Benefits of Life Insurance” daily, where LiveWIRE Brunei will share some Business Talk on Saturday and Sunday. There will also be a ‘PEMKAR RC Fun Race and Drift Challenges”. In addition to that, Drift and Touring Car Demo will also be featured daily during the four days event. For those interested in participating, please call Sham at 8841299 / 8838983 or Hasrin at 8225989. Images courtesy of Times Square.

The guest of honour and representatives from Times Square cutting the ribbon to officiate the opening of the fair

The guest of honour and representatives from Times Square cutting the ribbon to officiate the opening of the fair

Datin Paduka Hajah Rokiah having a look at Ten Ten Communications

Datin Paduka Hajah Rokiah was BIBD booth where they are promoting their online banking features and registrations which include the new Department of Electrical Services top up service. BIBD will also be showcasing their new corporate internet banking where they do their banking services at their own convenience.

Representatives from “The Run” committee for the Pusah Ehsan charity run explaining to the guest of honour. You can also register yourself for “The Run” here.

The promotional poster for “The Run”

UBD lecturer Dr Hj Zahari Hamidon explaining on animation

Group photo after the tour of the exhibition

In just a matter of few days (or even hours), we made new friends and the friendship bridge was instantly built with friends coming from all parts of the world. It has been such an amazing week and a big shout to Cris who celebrated her birthday last night at Bombay Palace.

The random smiles

Cris blowing her birthday cake last night

A cake fight almost happened but it didn’t *lol*

Cheers and toasts from the guys with Sehat water

Awesome energy from these guys last night

Rano says this week has been interesting in many ways. My sense of judgment seems to get the better of me. Well, in the first place, I shouldn’t be judging anyone for that matter but I’ve slowly became more aware that I’m still judging though I thought I didn’t. I only found this through my reaction on certain things and it showed that I was having different expectations on him/her. This, for me, it’s still a growing process. We may think it that way but are we actually living it (is another question).

This was also another great few days as I saw a few familiar faces taking that extra courage to learn something new and I was in that position a few years ago and the feeling was rewarding for me though there were lots of fears feeding me prior to the course. The leadership/self development course I took opened up a whole new world and perspective for me. I also ended up finding my best friends along the way and I never felt more grateful in my years because of this.

This week, I’ve also picked up my jogging training which I’ve neglected for the past week because of my traveling period. Then again, I did promise to myself that I would jog when I was in Singapore which I ended up didn’t. Hence CR won’t believe me if I want to jog the next time I travel to Singapore :p The HSBC #walkruncycle2012 is happening in two weeks’ time and I’m getting my fitness in time for the run. I’ve yet to try the 12km training as I’m slowly building up my endurance by having 6km runs to start off with. My goal is to complete the 11.5km race that I’ve signed up and it will be the first time that I’ve entered in a longer route. My previous run was 5km at the SCB’s “Run for a Reason”.

So the latest Samsung S III was announced last night.. I couldn’t be bothered to wake up in the wee hours for it. They were rumours saying it could be the iPhone killer. But after going going through the features, specs and all, it’s merely an upgrade of the popular SII and they have also included the S Voice which is similar to the Siri. The camera boasts 8 megapixels and it uses a Quad-Core process too. The S III surprisingly have been compared to the impressive HTC One X which also have been getting rave reviews. Reading from the comments too that many weren’t happy with the design and the “plastic” feel of it. But nonetheless it’s the most power S series so far but it will be exaggerating to say the S III is the iPhone killer for now.

Before I end my post, I’ve been receiving a few inboxes on my FB with regards to a bully incident from students alike. This is not the first time such incident has happened and I remember the Chung Hwa video went viral two years ago and it created a lot of controversy among the community. Recently, a boy was attacked by a group of boys and the victim was helpless as all he could do was shielding himself with his arms from the punches and kicks. I ain’t gonna post the video on my web but this is something that needs to be addressed by schools and parents alike on bullies and what needs to be done. I’m pretty sure the related schools won’t be happy to see their names being published and I hope the MOE is aware of this situation and come up with a guideline or framework so such violence can be avoided in the future.

Anyway, have a greet weekend peeps!! I’m looking forward to it 😀

Deadline for Animasi is 21st May

Brought to you by GHK Motors

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A MEMORANDUM of Understanding was signed between B-Mobile Communications Sdn Bhd and Fitness Zone (FZ) on Monday, at the Fitness Zone branch in Kiulap.

Signing on behalf of B-Mobile Communications Sdn Bhd was its Chief Executive Officer Lim Ming Soon, while signing on behalf of Fitness Zone was its Managing Director Wu Chun.

Acting General Manager of B-Mobile Hjh Nurul Haniah Hj Jaafar and GohKim Tian represented both parties as witnesses to the signing. Also present at the signing were representatives of the Health Promotion Centre (HPC), Ministry of Health.

According to a press release from B-Mobile, a collaboration is in the works for a mutual programme to be conducted by both companies on educating the public on how to live a healthy lifestyle. The joint effort is a part of both companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility activities.

The ‘b.fit’ programme, a name play of both companies’ names, will be unveiled sometime in the middle of the year, said Hjh Nurul Haniah during a press conference after the signing ceremony.

Wu Chun stated that the programme is just the start of many more projects between the two companies.

Lim Ming Soon said,”We hope the project will help inspire healthy living by making health a paramount factor in our everyday life.” Text and images courtesy of Anway Rosly of The Brunei Times.

Wu Chun, Managing Director of Fitness Zone, Lim Ming Soon, CEO of B-Mobile Communications Sdn Bhd and Hjh Nurul Haniah Hj Jaafar, Acting General Manager of B-Mobile Communications Sdn Bhd

The exchange of documents between B-Mobile and Fitness Zone

The workout session with Fitness Zone and B-Mobile

Ok guys.. I highly recommended you this drink “Pop Juice” from Country Patch (free publicity here *lol*) and I’ve posted this on Instagram twice because I just enjoy this drink. SY introduced me to this drink 3 years ago and this is just awesome!! The content inside is fresh orange juice with fresh polemo. However, I always asked the waitress to crush or blend the ice and add extra pomelo to have a better drinking experience. My last dosage was 2 Wednesdays ago.. I’m getting this later for breakie 😀

It has been a while since I hiked at Tasek Lama. My previous hike was with @cuterabbit84 a few months ago and she was fitter than me *lol* Lately I’ve been jogging but hiking is a different ball game. It was a good hike with Amalina and she’s a frequent visitor to Tasek Lama and Bukit Shahbandar.

Last week I watched Cabin in the Hills (Verdict 9/10) and I was deciding whether to buy Silent Hill or Mass Effect 3 at ETA Games before the movie. After watching the movie, I straight away purchased Silent Hill *lol* and the game is pretty good too

Finally I caught up with @cuterabbit84 who’s currently working for Mint in Singapore. I was in Singapore for the weekend for an assignment. Thanks babe for the company and truly inspired by your commitment in your volunteerism role on weekends.

I’m a regular visitor to Doc John’s shop at Lucky Plaza, Singapore, where he’s quite known for altering pants and jeans. I kept sending my pants here for altering and the price is quite competitive too. I love his workmanship.

I made a visit to Kinokoniya at Taka and this is one of the places that I never miss whenever in Singapore. However, I forgot to bring my privilege card. I also ended up buying this book.

While I was in Singapore, my friend Jowyne launched her new shop Laqvin, a boutique bag shop located at The Mall. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your opening and her shop carries Zkin bags.

As I said before that I was on an assignment before and my assignment was hotel hopping where I will be doing reviews on the hotels under the Far East Hospitality group and the hotels I stayed are pretty good. Ok, this was my vain moment at Oasia Hotel and the timer apps on the iPhone did wonders to make this shot possible.

I ended up buying this running shoes for two reasons. Not because it’s Adidas but the reason it’s black and orange, my current favouriate combination and secondly this will be my running shoes for HSBC’s #walkruncycle2012 and I didn’t realise these new Climacool pairs are slightly expensive

Great discounts and promotion at Adidas store in Singapore. I ended up applying for a new Adidas privilege card because I couldn’t find mine in my room. Now I have one for Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

When I walked out of Wheelock Place, I saw this view of the ION and the suite apartments and it reminded me of Titanic #justsaying

Debbie Too was on the same assignment as well as Jan Shim. Thanks guys for the enjoyable company and let’s for more trips to Singapore in the future *cough cough to Far East Hospitality group*

I’m proud of my buddy and LFHW partner Mr. Kurapak for winning one of the categories in “I Love Brunei” photography competition organised by The Brunei Times. This is the winning picture as it was announced last weekend. Last year, he also bagged a few prizes in the photography competiiton organised by TBT too.

Alex Chan (right) of Far East Hospitality was the host of our trip and thank you very much for taking care of us during our 3 night stay in Singapore. I hope you have recovered from your flu and catch up soon.

I met up with my mirror in Singapore. This is @superadrianme and the best description is that Adrian is the RA of Singapore and vice-versa. A truly dedicated lifestyle blogger and his readers are very international too. It was a great catch up and I shall see you perhaps in May or June.

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Do you know we are always busy but sometimes we never take notice of our well being? Well, another fact is that everybody ages and sometimes the ageing process depends how fast each individual ages. Bring in other factors such as unhealthy lifestyle habits, insufficient sleep, irregular meals, stress etc, these can contribute to a faster ageing process.

Hence, to rejuvenate myself, I have been consuming Zell-V tablets for the past two months and hoping for a positive result.

So why Zell-V? This is because they have a cellular therapy. It is used as complementary medicine as well as preventive medicine. So it rejuvenates the body systems to optimum working conditions and as a result allows them to work synergistically to combat premature ageing. In other words, this is anti-ageing.

Did you know that normal Western medicine generally treats the symptoms but occasionally, not the problem itself? Let’s say you have a headache, you will take aspirin or pain killers to relieve it but the underlying problem is still not addressed.

Hence the cell therapy is not about treating the disease but instead rejuvenate the system and allowing it to heal itself. Mind you, it takes a longer time to achieve results since restoration does not occur overnight.

So any improvement so far from my side? Well, my energy level has surely improved for one. I won’t say it has a “Red Bull” effect but overtime I don’t feel burnt out as I used to before. So that’s pretty cool considering the field that I’m in. I’m sure there are a few things that I might not be aware of but this one was pretty obvious.

I’ve been jogging as well and I could last 6km or more though it wasn’t my personal best. You know lah.. that I don’t work out that much before but because I’m now preparing for HSBC #walkruncycle2012. I shall be continuing my dosage of ZELL-V till the 6th month and check up with my blood cells too.

You can get them boxes that will last your for a month

This was the topic that we brought up during our dinner conversation last night while enjoying the Penang Food promotion at Goldiana Cafe at OGH (You should try it.. not bad). It was kinda nostalgic to bring back the past of the mIRC days where it was one of the main channels where strangers will chat with one another where we all think back then was “safe” and it was also the era where broadband haven’t existed yet.

I signed up for mIRC back in the year 1997 and wow, I was so addicted to it and I could spent hours in front of the screen, connecting with strangers whom later became my friends. I have to say honestly that mIRC opened doors for me in terms of my circle of friends and it expanded from there. Well, to be more specific the people that I know most from mIRC was from #JISCAFE channel.

Little did I know that the founder and the manager of #brunei channel is @BKiD who is no other than our prominent blogger @anakbrunei and there were many regulators or what we call “Ops” who will monitor the brunei channels in case any chatter would abuse or create unnecessary incidents in the said channels.

For your info, my old nicks were “slothnezz” (because I happened to love the movie se7en back then) and [HHH] because Triple H of WWF then was my favourite wrestler. Lame right if you ask me *lol* Oh yeah, most of us chatters will always request to be “voiced” where you will be given the + on your nick so you will be positioned below the “Ops” Well, it’s more like a status and privilege haha and we all fell for that.

How the channel looks like on mIRC

The familiar names of the Ops that I could remember from the top of my head are @simontemp @gatorz @D’Anarchy @BKiD @Apachez @WaRLoRD @Beowulf.

For now, I’m not too sure how active are the “Ops” or how happening the #brunei channel is as of now. @BKiD is now operating as a bot and he said it has been a while since he entered mIRC. I’ve stopped mIRC ever since I signed up for Microsoft MSN Messenger and chat with my familiar friends that I made on mIRC.

I did try to download mIRC but apparently it only works on Windows.. Or perhaps I didn’t explore further if it is also compatible with Mac. Thank you anyway to mIRC for creating new opportunities and friendship then. Now with MSN, skype, whatsapp, twitter, the interest of mIRC has faded long ago unless the new breed of youngsters continue the legacy…. which is unlikely.

This was the latest information that I received from @BKiD though it’s back dated 2007

Wanna catch four superstar icons from Malaysia – Zainal Abidin, Sheila Majid, Jamal Abdillah and Amy at KK in a few days’ time? Well, it’s just 30 minutes away (by air) and S-Team, the Brunei Sole Ticketing Agent, have created a package for the Brunei market. Further more, if you can check out their Fanpage for more details. 

The venue will be at UMS, Chancellor Hall, on the 5th May 2012. For more info, you can click on the link – http://legendary.gbs2u.com – or call 2345 999 or 2342 999 for more details.

Catch all the legendary singers in one night. Click image to see more details

Last weekend, Zainal Abidin did some voluntering work with the Beach Bunch for the Jerudong Beach Clean up.. Awesome lad 😀

Zainal Abidin was recently in Brunei to promote the Legendary Concert and also met some fans along the way. Image by Muiz Matdani.

Zainal Abidin with some Bruneian fans. Image by Muiz Matdani.

It’s pretty scary yet amusing to know that Brunei ranked the highest in terms of usage of Facebook according to the population ratio in Asia. This shows the high level of internet penetration in Brunei due to the accessibility of technology to almost all age group. Well, let’s not count baby infants. Now you can see two year olds playing with iPad or other tablets and they become their new toys as they grow up.

According to statistics by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) of the United States, 79% of Brunei can be categorised as active online this year alone. Though these numbers look promising, this also can create possible dangers on children that fall in the hands of online sexual predators.

Recently AITI organised a two-day workshop, Child Online Protection (COP), at the Rizqun International Hotel. As of now, there is no existing framework which concerns this issue and the workshop is the first step in better understanding the underlying problem that can help the community to tackle sexual online predators. The good side is that there are educational material on tackling this issue but lack of distribution of the said materials to schools.

Representative from ITU was in Brunei for the two day workshop. Carla Licciardell, an expert and moderator from the ITU, gave a quick presentation on how Child Online Protection was carried out and she was aware that Brunei has started creating awareness programme for schools.

Another expert was also brought in for the workshop. Marco Gercke – a Child Online Protection expert who is also the Director of the Cybercrime Research Institute, said that Brunei is on the right track and taking this matter seriously to the national level. He also said that it’s difficult to create a standard legislative framework because of the emergence of different platforms of social media. However, the main focus should be on COP and Brunei agencies are studying ways for the benefit of children and parents.

The Minister of Communications delivering his keynote address during the Child Online Protection workshop

The stakeholders and invited guests listening to the key note address and presentations by the speakers from ITU and Ministry of Health

The Minister of Communications said that development of the COP framework comes at the right time when we need to address the importance of safeguarding our children’s online experience and activities.

The minister also hopes to see a strong collaboration between all the stakeholders involved and come up with their own key initiatives, programmes and measures to tackle online risks for children and young people and protecting them from accessing risky contents as well as engaging in negative online behaviour.

He highlighted that have an obligation to protect our children and online safety for children must be given a priority.

Let’s hope for the COP framework to be ready and enforced in the near future. I’m not quite sure how long the process will take. AITI hosting this workshop is already a great start and hopefully the framework can help to educate both children and parents on Internet usage.

Carla Licciardell, an expert and moderator from the ITU

Dr Marwani from Ministry of Health presented her slides

Group photo with the Minister and the participants of the workshop

The committee for the COP 2-day workshop

Some of the participants during the workshop

Stay connected with your family during Family Day through bmobile

The FACESHOP Brunei expanded its presence here with the opening of its fifth branch last weekend.

The new branch at Mabohai Shopping Complex is the latest addition to complement a store in Kuala Belait and three stores in Bandar Seri Begawan situated at The Mall, Gadong, Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex and Times Square in Berakas.

What’s special about this branch is that they have a new range of Club 20 that offers skincare and beauty products, catering to 20 years olds (or younger), offering everything from skincare, beauty to nail care.

Last weekend, the FACESHOP also had 25% discount on their products in conjunction with the launch of their 5th outlet.

The new outlet at Mabohai Shopping Complex

The new Club 20 range that was recently introduced

Loving the colours here

The FACESHOP had special promotions last weekend

There was also some free makeover and skin analysis

The fire affected 5 families. Image courtesy of The Brunei Times.

SWIFT action and immediate response from the Fire and Rescue department successfully managed to douse the flames of a burning house in Kg Kiarong in six minutes yesterday.

Unfortunately for tenants, the six minutes were more than enough to destroy what little they had.

On-the-scene interviews with victims and eyewitnesses say that the fire begun shortly around 4.30 yesterday afternoon. Albert, a tennant of the house for more than a year, said he was shocked to find his house in flames when he came home yesterday.

According to Albert, a Filipino national, the house was rented out to several families by the local home owner Hj Yakup Hj Ludin. A nearby neighbour, Hjh Fatimah, said she was resting quietly after Asar prayers when suddenly she heard loud noises and screams from outside.

Situated right next to the burning structure, Hjh Fatimah was alerted of the fire by her children who were fuelled by fear of the fire spreading over to their house. Click here for more details. Courtesy of Syed Rory Malai Hassan of The Brunei Times.

The fire took place late afternoon. Image courtesy of @snrpablo