Click image to enter website

Click image to enter website

I was given a quick run through on the make-up accessories brought in by Cecilia of IA Salon

I always wanted to know the importance of make-up or how much difference it can make one appear. I know of a friend where their peers won’t recogniser her because she didn’t apply any make-up. I never thought that would a make-up would make a difference.

Last week Cecilia of IA Salon presented a brief explanation and demo on the make-up brands she brought it for the benefit of their customers. She believes in the quality of the products that M•A•C and Make up For Ever deliver and it’s also an advantage to use a high quality brush to get the best effect.

So if you want to get some make-up done, IA Salon (located at The Mall, next to Guardian) can do wonders and this is ideal if you want to do some photoshoot session or preparing for an occasion. Cecilia also conducts classes for make-up for those interested.

The brush from Make Up For Ever and it’s so delicate

Tons of brushes to choose from

You can blend this colour and use it as lipstick too

You can make uses of this palettes and create a mixture of colours to tailor to your needs

Another good product from Make Up For Ever

These are water-proof and cream based. Lasting for 18 hours.

Cecilia did a quick 5 minute demo

See the difference from the right and left eye?

One of Cecilia’s portfolio for her make-up

YB Pehin Dato Hj Mohammad Yasmin, The Minister of Energy inspiring those attended the session last month

You need to start somewhere. You need to be aware too if such opportunity arises. The Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office urged the umemployed graduates to commit rather than treat the recruitment as a transitional period last month during the open dialogue session which received an overwhelming response from the public.

Brunei as we know is driven by the “Oil and Gas” sector and the opportunities are there if you make the effort and put your heart to it. It was a very demanding industry said the Minister and business is a reality for the oil and gas players.

It seeems that a lot of companies are facing similar issues where commitment has been questionable. The same goes to the local SMEs in Brunei where job hopping is quite common. Perhaps it’s all about educating the public and also shifting their mindsets of individuals.

It was good to see the Minister visiting the students from one table to another and asking any questions put forth by the graduates. He also encouraged the graduates to even set up their own businesses and be entrepreneurial.

The previous dialogue session was successful where 50 of them have secured jobs as apprentices and full-time employees. Let’s hope for a better return in the recent dialogue session.

The Minister asking students of their interest and see how they contribute to the Oil & Gas sector

Total E&P Borneo BV and Total E&P Deep Offshore Borneo BV invite qualified, energetic and passionate graduates interested to gain knowledge and experience and get exposure in the oil and gas industry to apply for position in the following department under its Intership programme.

1. Corporate Communications
2. Information Systems and Telecom
3. HSE
4. Operations [Engineering]

You can submit your resume and a non-returnable passport to the Head of Human Resources and Corporate Communications to tepb.recruitment@total.com and closing date is 13 August 2012 and this is only open to Brunei Citizens and Brunei PRs. Oh yeah, don’t be mistaken that this is a recruitment programme but more of a intership programme.

I never knew my friend Cecilia Lee is very passionate of her work. She really dedicated her two months in New York for one thing – an international workshop on make-up. Now she has more knowledge and new techniques for make-up.

The workshop classes she attended cover aspects such as lamour make up, lash,lip and brow excellence,perfect beauty and understanding airbrush make up. You can visit IA Salon at The Mall if you are interested to learn make up.

Below are pictures of Cecilia during her make-up workshops in New York.

The exhibition that Cecilia attended in New York

I’m amazed by the things that kids can benefit from Fun Bee Park. It’s like a day care centre but with a bonus of educational stuff such as books and games. What I’m impressed are the books they brought in from overseas and this can create interest in kids to be more curious and wanting to learn more.

For more information on Fun Bee Park, call 2467729 or send a text to 7178232. Fun Bee Park is located at A6 & A7, Ground Floor, Sempurna Complex, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam (near Happy Star, Batu Bersurat).

Kids can choose the books from Fun Bee Park

The books are quite educational and kids will definitely love them

I love the facts that the books have pop-ups to bring create more dimensions and interests to young readers

Check out this book!!

And this too!!

Fun Bee Park is a great place for kids to learn new things

Fun Bee Park is located at Batu Bersurat.

Click image to enter website

Click image to enter website

Pazzion has recently launched the “Pre-Hari Raya” Sale with discounts up to 40% on over 80 selected designs. And for their Privileged VIP Members, they are entitled to up to 50% on these selected collections. The promotion came in time especially for Malay customers to enjoy great savings on their new Raya shoes wear.

The Sale will end on 21 Aug 12 so hurry over to their outlet at Unit 1.27A, 1st Floor of The Mall, Gadong to enjoy the offer. They have also extended their opening hours to 10pm during the month of Ramadhan for customers’ convenience.

If you couldn’t find what you like during your last visit, drop by again as they are launching more designs to cater to different customers’ tastes.

Kids’ shoes

click image to visit their website

Alan Inspiration Salon is back in Brunei and it’s located at Menglait. They provide a one-stop service for men and women hair design, facial and tattoo for woman, hair training center, traditional Body massage for female and spa. So that’s quite something to have all these facilities under one roof.

The genius behind Inspiration Alan Salon is no other than Alan himself. He has been a hair champion of Malaysia and Singapore and he has trained in London, Europe, USA, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Along the way he has won numerous awards and accolades which makes him one of the sought hairstylists in the region.

Now they have Hari Raya promotion for rebonding/digital perming for only $88 for any length and also a 50% on hair treatment collagen. They are open every day and for appointments, you can call 891 3211 or 242 7533.

They also have a VIP Room at their new outlet. Every month, Alan himself and another top hairstylist Michelle will fly in for a few days and you will be able to be attended by them too.

Alan the Artist Director of Inspiration Alan Saon with his credentials

The ongoing promotion at Alan Inspiration salon

The interior of Alan Inspiration salon

The interior of  Alan Inspiration salon

Here’s the map

A great result for DPMM FC in the StarHub League Cup

They have done it again… Reaching the finals of the Singapore League Cup which is now known as StarHub League Cup. A few days ago, Tales Dos Santos scored a late equaliser against Home United FC and force the game to penalty shoot-out as the full time finished 1-1. Wardun became the hero pulling two saves and Shahrazen scored the winning goal in the quarter-final match on the StarHub League Cup.

Tonight they beat another top 5 opponent in the S•League which is Singapore Armed Forces FC and it was a comfortable scoreline of 2-0. Santos is in fine scoring form scoring the opener, his third goal in four games, and DPMM FC sealed their fate to the finals with a debut goal for Adi Said in DPMM FC’s colours.

It was a sweet revenge for DPMM FC as the Wasp had earlier lost to SAF FC in the early stages of the competition with the same scoreline. Now they will wait to see who they will face in the finals between Geylang United FC and Tampines Rovers which will be played tomorrow evening.

Regardless who they face in the finals, let’s hope for DPMM FC to bring back the trophy for the fans. The finals will be played on the 11th August.

Adi Said, who was voted player of the tournament in Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy, finally scored his first goal in DPMM FC’s colours

Happening later at The Core

Now all eyes on Jamaican Usain Bolt on track and field. He has won gold and also broke the Olympic record in the 100m. Now he will be ready for his 200m. Photo by Mark Blinch/REUTERS.

This runner has given much inspiration to athletes and fans worldwide. He retained his 100m crown last Sunday though he had a slow start coming off the blocks. His closest rivals Jamaica’s Yohan Blake finished second with 9.75 seconds while America’s Justin Gatlin settled for 3rd with a 9.79 seconds and it was pretty amazing to see all top 3 finishers did it under 10 seconds. Usain is indeed a lightning bolt…

Gold medallist Michael Phelps. Is he the greatest olympic athelete of all time?? He won his 22nd olympic medal and 18th of them are gold in the span of 9 years. Image by Al Bello/Getty Images.

He declared he won’t be competing in the Rio De JAaneiro in 2016. Anyway, he doesn’t need to. He has proven in the pool how great of an athlete he is and Michael Phelps will be remembered in many olympics to come. His best achievement was perhaps in Beijing 2008 where he captured 8 golds in all competitions he entered. This year, he earned four golds and two silvers. Awesome!!!

Chong Wei lost the finals to Lin Dan who won his 2nd consecutive gold in badminton’s singles last Sunday.

All of us were behind Chong Wei’s quest for gold but it wasn’t to be. It’s another four year wait!!

So close yet so far.. Twice Chong Wei reached the finals of the men’s singles but he couldn’t topple his great rival Lin Dan of China. Of course, I was supporting Lee Chong Wei as I wanted him to win gold for his country. Lin Dan played superbly despite losing the first set. I was watching the finals with my buddies’ place and most of us were at the edge of our seats. Chong Wei hinted that he will aim for 2016 should he still be fit for the games. He will be 33 then. Well done to both Lin Dan and Chong Wei for delivering such an entertaining finale.

What a match between Canada and USA in the semi-finals of the Women’s football match. Canada’s goalkeeper looked at the ball as they conceded a last minute goal from USA. Canada felt robbed of the match. Image by David Moir/REUTERS.

I wasn’t interested in watching men’s football as much as the women. Surprisingly their matches are pretty entertaining too and the games were quite opened as well. I watched the semi-finals match last night and I really thought Canada would have pulled an upset over the Americans and it would be a great achievement too for Canada to reach the finals. Morgan of USA scored a crunching blow to Canada’s hope of a silver or gold. The game ended 4-3 in favour of the Americans.

It’s about time!!! Andy Murray of Great Britain always fail to win a Grand slam title despite reaching the finals. It was different this time round when he beat Roger Federer in straight sets to win gold for Great Britain. Awesome!!!

Yes, yes.. I’m a Roger fan and I was hoping him to win his first Olympic gold too. I was quite surprised that Andy Murray totally dominated the finals and he also earned silver medal in the mixed doubles. Serena Williams did a double on gold as she won in the women’s singles and doubles while the Bryans won the gold in men’s doubles. Image by Dominic Ebenbichler/REUTERS.

I saw him on TV and he is such an inspirational athlete. “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius competed in the 400m and it was one of the highlights of the Olympics. Image by Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS.

He became the first double-amputee to reach the semi-finals of the 400m but failed to reach the finals as he finished 23 out of 24 places. He will be competing in the 4 x 400 relay this Thursday in the heats. Let’s hope the best for him and you guys should watch him on TV.

Best time to be in London?? An eatery by the Royal Festival Hall in central london suffered loss of business especially during the Olympics. Image by Sang Tan/Associated Press.

Now ain’t that weird?? The Games supposed to bring in $$$ to the economy but it wasn’t to be the case in London. The east end was reported to be quite busy but it wasn’t for the west end which is Lond’s main shopping and entertaining district. Some said it was the worst two weeks ever for their business. The fingers were pointing at Boris Johnson the London Mayer for encouraging everybody not to come as it might affect the congestion in London. The message definitely got through but too well that it backfired in terms of spurring more income.

Click image to enter website

Click image to enter website

His Majesty Sultan Hj Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, delivering the titah during the national-level Nuzul Al-Quran celebration at the International Convention Centre in Berakas. Picture: BT/Saiful Omar

Today’s a public holiday because of Nuzu Al-Quran which happened last night. HIS Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam attended the national-level Nuzul Al-Quran celebration at the International Convention Centre. During his titah, he revealed a few schemes to promote and encourage the people to read, learn and understand the holy Al-Quran and to apply the teachings in their daily lives to create and achieve a Quran-following generation. Read more here.

His Majesty raised concerns that the Ummah has been left behind because of the lack of inspiration from the Quran. Reading is one thing but living it has not been manifested in their daily lives. His Majesty highlight that it’s obligatory for Muslims to seek the guidance from the Quran to achieve this glory.

From the titah, His Majesty also announced there will be a number of monthly allowance schemes for memorising the Quran. The recipients need to be recognised and approved by the Tasmik Board. His Majesty also announced that the Qari (male Quran reader) or Qariah (female Quran reader) who wins first place at the International Majlis Tilawah Quran, a Quran reading competition in Kuala Lumpur, will get $2,000 a month for life *Awesome!!*

His Majesty also announced that there will be a 3 day holiday for Hari Raya instead of the usual 2 days. His Majesty hoped that the extended holidays will give Muslims more time to be with their families and also increase the opportunity for every family to be able to organise various activities together.

The titah was greeted with positive feedback once it was shared in the social media platforms. So guys, let’s appreciate what has been given and make the best of it. Hope your fasting journey has been a fulfilling one.

Brunei Olympian Ak Hafiy couldn’t believe he beat his personal best after the 400 metre heats last Saturday

National heros they are. They represented Brunei Darussalam in the Olympics and they did more than was asked for. Anderson Lim, Maziah Mahusin and Ak Hafiy beat their personal best times in their respective races.

Anderson Lim, 200m swimmer, broke the national record by 3 seconds, and finished with a timing of 2:02.26 at the Aquatics Centre of Olympic Park on 29th July. Anderson is based in Florida, United States. He has been training hard during the Bolles School Summer Camp and that is where a pool of great swimmers were training and he gained a lot from that experience.

Up next was Maziah Mahusin who recently grew in popularity and the hashtag #MaziahMahusin has been one of the top trends among the Brunei community. She also bettered her previous record and acheived a new national record in her 400 metre run with a timing of 59.28 seconds last Friday. This was a great achievement considering that her training in London was affected by a cold and cough.

Last but not the least, Ak Hafiy Tajuddin Pg Rositi, who was the final Brunei athlete to compete and he clocked his personal best with a timing of 48.67 seconds. His previous best was 49.23s which he set at the 2012 Taiwan Open Athletics Championships in May.

So a big shout out to all of you guys for making us proud of Brunei’s presence and efforts in the Olympics. I just realised how small can be beautiful indeed. Go Brunei!!!

Click image to enter website

The Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) today announced the new opening for applications to the GRANT for development of local ICT and Digital Media industries.

One of the main objectives of this GRANT is to encourage local businesses from the ICT and Digital Media sectors including production houses to produce innovative Bruneimade products and local contents with significant commercial potential.

This opening is the fifth batch of the AITI grant, a financial initiative introduced in July 2010. It is in line with one of AITI’s roles and functions to encourage, promote, facilitate, and assist in the establishment, development and expansion of the local ICT and Digital.

Media industries in Brunei Darussalam. To date, eight ICT businesses have been awarded the AITI grant for development of products ranging from various ICT solutions, digital animation and e-learning.

Applicant can apply the following four types of GRANT:

1) Development– for developing prototypes or concept testing;
2) Enhancement – for improving and upgrading existing products;
4) Marketing – for marketing and improving existing packaging, design or labeling.

Grant application is now open

The grant amount varies depending on the type of GRANT applied and the classification of the company. Each applicant is allowed to apply for more than one GRANT type for the same product with a maximum of B$250,000 per category within two years’ project duration.

The project proposal submitted will be evaluated based on four main criteria; technical merits, commercial potential, financial resources, and project plan and capacity to deliver. Further evaluation will also emphasize on Brunei-Made elements of the proposed product.

AITI is pleased to invite all eligible local ICT-related businesses to apply for the GRANT. The deadline to submit applications will be on Friday, 28 September 2012 by 4.00pm. Application forms and guidelines are available for download at AITI’s website www.aiti.gov.bn/form/form_centre.html.

All applicants are strongly advised to submit complete required documents to expedite the evaluation process. For further enquiries, interested applicants can contact Ms Farihah Haji Md Said or Ms Siti Zaraura Haji Mohammad, ICT Industry Development Group at 2323232 (during office hours) or via email at farihah.said@aiti.gov.bn or zaraura.mohammad@aiti.gov.bn. Press release by AITI.

Now you can reserve tables, browse menu and promotions and many more from their CheezBox app

Heidi Loke of Norway clashes with Camille Ayglon and Alexandara Lacrabere of France in the Women’s Handball preliminaries. Photo by Jeff Cross/Getty Images.

The Rock Bottom??? Nicolas Delpopolo of United States catches Dirk Van Tichelt of Belgium with a leg sweep to reach the quarter-finals in the Men’s -73kg. Photo by David Finch/Getty Images.

What a punch!!! Photo by Murad Sezer, REUTERS.

Ooooppss!!! Photo by Matt Dunham/AP photo.

Spain’s Alvaro Rodriguez falls during the men’s 1500m. Image by Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS.

Noor Hussain Al-Malki of Qatar was in tears as she pulled an injury in the Women’s 100m Heats. Image by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images.

Grab me!!!! Swedish handballer collided with her opponent. Image by Marko Djurica/REUTERS.

What an action shot during the Men’s hocket between Great Britain and Argentina. Image by Berehulak/Getty Images.

Maziah during her run at the Olympics. Image taken from Brudirect’s Facebook Page

What a run!!! Forget about matching with the other competitors but all the focus was on Maziah Mahusin who made her debut at the Olympic Games in London 2012 and furthermore, her focus was to make sure that she improved her personal best. I’m not sure if it was the national record though according to The Brunei Times.

Brunei’s first female Olympian was proud to be among the ranks of other international runners and also representing Brunei in the Olympics which is a very, very rare opportunity.

Her previous best was 1 min 00.32 seconds and yesterday she broke her personal best in 59.28 seconds in the 400m heats. It was not a bad feat after all considering that she was down with a virus and cough. She bettered her previous best also which was set in last month’s 19th Open International Athletics Tournament in Vietnam.

Congratulations Maziah and it’s awesome to see how supportive the Brunei community have been towards your participation in the Olympics.

Let’s not forget our other representatives Anderson Lim who improved by 3 seconds in his 200 metre freestyle with a timing of 2:02.26 which is also a new national record and also 400m runner Ak Hafiy Tajuddin.

He will be competing later in 400m heats around 5:50pm (Brunei Time) and that will be the final event that Brunei will be participating in the Games. His personal best is 49.23 seconds and let’s hope he can beat his personal best.

Maziah’s presence on the the social media was pretty strong.. Check out her hashtag #maziahmahusin

The Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) today announced the new opening for applications to the GRANT for development of local ICT and Digital Media industries.

One of the main objectives of this GRANT is to encourage local businesses from the ICT and Digital Media sectors including production houses to produce innovative Bruneimade products and local contents with significant commercial potential.

This opening is the fifth batch of the AITI grant, a financial initiative introduced in July 2010. It is in line with one of AITI’s roles and functions to encourage, promote, facilitate, and assist in the establishment, development and expansion of the local ICT and Digital.

Media industries in Brunei Darussalam. To date, eight ICT businesses have been awarded the AITI grant for development of products ranging from various ICT solutions, digital animation and e-learning.

Applicant can apply the following four types of GRANT:

1) Development– for developing prototypes or concept testing;
2) Enhancement – for improving and upgrading existing products;
4) Marketing – for marketing and improving existing packaging, design or labeling.

Grant application is now open

The grant amount varies depending on the type of GRANT applied and the classification of the company. Each applicant is allowed to apply for more than one GRANT type for the same product with a maximum of B$250,000 per category within two years’ project duration.

The project proposal submitted will be evaluated based on four main criteria; technical merits, commercial potential, financial resources, and project plan and capacity to deliver. Further evaluation will also emphasize on Brunei-Made elements of the proposed product.

AITI is pleased to invite all eligible local ICT-related businesses to apply for the GRANT. The deadline to submit applications will be on Friday, 28 September 2012 by 4.00pm. Application forms and guidelines are available for download at AITI’s website www.aiti.gov.bn/form/form_centre.html.

All applicants are strongly advised to submit complete required documents to expedite the evaluation process. For further enquiries, interested applicants can contact Ms Farihah Haji Md Said or Ms Siti Zaraura Haji Mohammad, ICT Industry Development Group at 2323232 (during office hours) or via email at farihah.said@aiti.gov.bn or zaraura.mohammad@aiti.gov.bn. Press release by AITI.

Now you can reserve tables, browse menu and promotions and many more from their CheezBox app

Heidi Loke of Norway clashes with Camille Ayglon and Alexandara Lacrabere of France in the Women’s Handball preliminaries. Photo by Jeff Cross/Getty Images.

The Rock Bottom??? Nicolas Delpopolo of United States catches Dirk Van Tichelt of Belgium with a leg sweep to reach the quarter-finals in the Men’s -73kg. Photo by David Finch/Getty Images.

What a punch!!! Photo by Murad Sezer, REUTERS.

Ooooppss!!! Photo by Matt Dunham/AP photo.

Spain’s Alvaro Rodriguez falls during the men’s 1500m. Image by Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS.

Noor Hussain Al-Malki of Qatar was in tears as she pulled an injury in the Women’s 100m Heats. Image by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images.

Grab me!!!! Swedish handballer collided with her opponent. Image by Marko Djurica/REUTERS.

What an action shot during the Men’s hocket between Great Britain and Argentina. Image by Berehulak/Getty Images.

All eyes on Maziah Mahusin who will run today in the 400 metres heats and let’s hope she can beat her personal best. Catch her on RTB or Astro later at 7:30pm. Good luck!!!

Total E&P Borneo BV and Total E&P Deep Offshore Borneo BV invite qualified, energetic and passionate graduates interested to gain knowledge and experience and get exposure in the oil and gas industry to apply for position in the following department under its Intership programme.

1. Corporate Communications
2. Information Systems and Telecom
3. HSE
4. Operations [Engineering]

You can submit your resume and a non-returnable passport to the Head of Human Resources and Corporate Communications to tepb.recruitment@total.com and closing date is 13 August 2012 and this is only open to Brunei Citizens and Brunei PRs. Oh yeah, don’t be mistaken that this is a recruitment programme but more of a intership programme.

Dato Paduka Hj Mohamad bin Yusof, Director ADATC Sales, Anthony Lim Tiong Woon, President of ADTC Sales, Nicodemus P. Lompe, Vice President of Asia Region, Garuda Indonesia, Agus Sumitra, Second Secretary of Embassy of Indonesia to Brunei and Sukamdo, Senior Manager Distribution of Garuda Indonesia

Unveiling of the Garuda Indonesia mock plane

With the staff of ADTC Sales

Nicodemus P. Lompe, Vice President of Asia Region, gave his welcoming remarks and a new milestone for Garuda Indonesia on its presence in Brunei

A presentation for the guests and members of the media

Click image to enter website

Click image to enter website

A few reasons for you to visit Malaysia this season and the big one is current Mega Sale Carnival happening now in Malaysia. Since it’s Ramadhan, the bazaar Ramadhan is back again around Klang Valley and yes, they are known for their great food. The Ramadhan Bazaar ends on 19th August 2012.

The food at Kampung Sungai Penchala (off Taman Tun Dr Ismail, PJ) is superb. Look out for the dessert selection here as it is pretty immense. Queues of people always snake around the murtabak vendor (with its hearty fillings of meat and egg) and Kelantanese food stalls. The nearby TTDI bazaar (along Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 3 and 4) is a good alternative. Succulent roast lamb is paired with roti arab and you can find an old favourite too – smoky, scrumptious ayam percik.

Or perhaps you want to try the Kampung Baru bazaar (Jalan Raja Bot, KL) where you can find deep fried items such as stick – crabs, fish balls, quail’s eggs and fishcakes. If you crave for rendang tok and pulut durian, this is the right place. If you want Ayam Golek, then head over to Kelana Jaya (Jalan SS6/1).

Two more places that I want to highlight are Shah Alam and Bandar Tun Razak. At Shah Alam, the bazaar is located at Section 13 next to Melawati Stadium and it sells glorious ikan bakar, tempoyak and roti john. The cendol is quite well known too and it’s cheap.

The Bandar Tun Razak market (Taman Tasik Permaisuri carpark, Jalan Yaacob Latif, off Jalan Loke Yew) abound with Kelantanese delights (small treats like beko and akok) and you can pack in a full meal at the nasi kukus ayam dara stall. If you find yourself in PJ, look out for the Section 14 bazaar (Jalan 14/28) and indulge in popiah basah, sup tulang and kerang bakar.

So peeps. If you happen to be in KL, these bazaars are a must visit to satisfy your craves for local food.

Click image to enter website

Royal Brunei Airlines has been appointed the Official Airline of the Royal Trophy – Europe vs Asia Golf Championship. The Royal Trophy is an emotionally-charged and passionate competition played between Europe and Asia in a team match-play format, with the Asian and European golfing elite competing for the pride, honour and glory of their respective continents.

The Sixth Edition of the Championship will be held on 14 to16 December 2012 at the Empire Hotel & Country Club with two-time Masters Champion José Maria Olazábal and thirty-five-time tournament title winner Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki as Captains for the European and Asian Teams respectively.

Maswadi Hj Mohsin – Chief Commercial & Planning Officer for Royal Brunei Airlines, and Mr. Lincoln Venancio – Managing Director of the Royal Trophy

Royal Brunei Airlines Deputy Chairman, Mr. Dermot Mannion stated, “The Royal Trophy is one of the most prestigious golfing events in the world and it is a great honour for the airline to be part of this particularly special edition. We look forward to welcoming members and players from all around the globe to enjoy golf in the uniquely lush and tropical environment of Brunei Darussalam.”

“We are very pleased to welcome Royal Brunei Airlines as the Official Airline of the Championship. Royal Brunei Airlines partnering with the Royal Trophy scheduled to be held in the Sultanate of Brunei is a clearly natural alignment. We are certain that the visitors attending the Competition and travelling on Royal Brunei Airlines will be enraptured by the majestic experience and class of service, will witness the very best of professional team golf and will be enthralled by the unexpected treasures of the Sultanate,” stated Mr. Lincoln Venancio, Managing Director of the Royal Trophy.

The Sixth Edition of the Royal Trophy will be held in honour of Seve Ballesteros, the late legendary five-time Major Champion and founder of the Royal Trophy.

Cecilia of IA Salon and the management team and the children of Fun Bee Park visited the RIPAS

Did you know that every year IA Salon visits RIPAS hospital during the month of Ramadhan? One reason is to bring the spirit of “caring and sharing” to the children and mothers at the said hospital.

It was also good to see children from Fun Bee Park to show their support in the activities at RIPAS. What they did was they helped bake cookies and packed them for goodies for the patients in RIPAS.

IA Salon and Fun Bee Park gave away children’s bag (150 of them) containing of art crafts made by Fun Bee Park staff, stationary, colouring books, toys, candies and dates. At the maternity wards, mothers received Hari Raya hampers with handy art crafts, cookies, dates and toys.

Also present were KFC and Fitness Zone as they gave out meal vouchers and recycling bags respectively.

Mothers received gifts from Fun Bee Park

KFC vouchers were also handed out

A souvenir for RIPAS created by Fun Bee Park

Fitness Zone also giving out goodie bags to the patients

Behind the scenes at Fun Bee Park where the kids baked the cookies

Cookies readied to be packed for gift aways

Click image to enter website

 

This is just a perfect timing to open a well known brand for kitchen and wardrobe. The Brunei outlet is one of the 3,000 showrooms around the world. So don’t worry about the quality as Oppein does deliver to your expectations. I had a quick peek last Sunday on its soft launch and I’m quite impressed with the kitchen display they have.

Just a bit of history that the kitchen cabinet is that Oppein has been in this line for 17 years and their idea is to create a modern kitchen through industrialization production. I won’t spare too much details on the strong points of Oppein but it’s environmental and user friendly too. Just drop by the showroom and the sale assistants will be able to consult you.

It’s also affordable with superior quality. Oppien also bring the world famous brand hardware uch as Blum® of Austria, RENOLET® and HETTICH® of Germany.

For soft opening, Oppein Brunei is offering a special price for all the show room display set (30% to 50%) for the first 10 customers only. It’s located at Unit 5, Ground Floor, Bagunan Majid Mohammad, Spg 235-7, Jln Pasar Baharu, Kg Kiarong BE1318, Brunei Darussalam. (behind The Arch)

This is located behind The Arch (Gadong)

Click image to enter site

Andy Law and Janet Chan officiating the opening of the salon

AL Professional Hairstylist Group opened its outlet at the Airport Mall last Sunday. It caters to both male and female patrons and they will be treated by professional and certified hairstylists.

Business partners Andy Law and Janet Chan made this possible and now they have created a modern feel for the comfort of their patrons. Have a space at The Airport Mall is such a good timing as almost all the spaces are taken up and the traffic crowd is pretty good as well.

For appointments, you can call AL Professional 220 1119. Congratulations once again to Andy and Janet on the launch of AL Professional Hairstylist Group salon.

Andy Law and Janet Chan with the hairstylists

Check out the “kain” at The Airport Mall

A very clean, bright look at the store

Per metre is $10 and you can buy a roll too

Suitable for both male and female

This costs $25 and ideal for Hari Raya

Senjang costs around $25 too

It’s located on 2nd floor, The Airport Mall… Call 880 2653 for more details

Click image to enter website

More information for Bfit soon

Brunei’s flag bearer Maziah Mahusin with Ak Hafiy Tajuddin and Anderson Lim

It’s not about winning but about being represented for a country. Brunei, Qatar and Saudi Arabia made history as they finally have female athletes competing in the Olympics. Though she may have not met the Olympic qualifying time for the 400 metres, she was given a wild card by the International Olympic Committee “concept of universality” which grants her participation.

She was recently interviewed by TIME magazine on her adventure to London 2012. She claimed that it has been a lonely journey for her because she doesn’t have a sparring partner to work with. Instead she trains with male athletes which is more challenging due to the difference in stamina and endurance.

Anyway, let’s now focus on Maziah Mahusin’s progress in London 2012. Yes, you may have heard that she’s down with a bug and she’s been recovering ever since. This may have been caused by being acclimatize to the different environment (London). She will be competing in the 400m in August 3 and this is a historic moment for Brunei and the Olympics when Maziah burns the track this week.

Maziah tried her best to overcome the viral and continued training

She did some laps recently on the track

I was fortunate enough to get hold of Maziah who’s currently resting in London and thank you for your time to reply emails and the pictures.

RA: I heard that you have been hit by a bug or viral.. What was the cause? and how has it affected your preparation?

Maziah: The doctor said it was because of the weather here (in London). Sometimes it’s too cold or too hot and I’m not used to this kind of weather yet. Hence, I won’t be able to train for a while and resting is the only best recovery. But now I really have to force myself to train, just ignore and tolerate the pain. I have been preparing for this for a long time and I don’t want this to put to waste.

RA: What was the experience like to walk in front of thousands of people and holding the flag and being watched by millions on TV? Was it the best goosebumps ever for you?

Maziah:My heart kept beating faster and faster! My teammates and I were so excited! I felt goosebumps once I entered the stadium and yeah, it was the best goosebumps ever! [Laughs] I was too happy and I was just waving at the camera. I will never forget that moment.

RA: So you had a photo opportunity with Usain Bolt.. Did you guys had a talk? and what was it about?? Who else did you come across?

Maziah: Well, at first, one of my teammates had taken photos with him at the dining hall and he showed it to me so I was so jealous and asked him whether he was still there. So I sprinted down to the dining hall to see him and he was still there! I grabbed my opportunity to take a picture with him. However, we didn’t talk because he was surrounded by a lot of people. I met a lot of world class athlete like Michael phelps (8 gold medalists in swimming in Beijing 2008), Sanya Richard-Ross (400m runner, Bronze in Beijing 2008), Allyson Felix (4x400m runner, Gold in Beijing 2008), Kirani James (400m runner, Gold in 2011 World Championships) and many more.

Maziah with one of her idols, Sanya Richard-Ross, also a 400m runner

RA: You have many fans here in Brunei (including me) haha.. I was wondering if you have a Twitter or Instagram or a Fan page for people to follow. If you don’t, are you gonna create one?

Maziah: [Laughs] I’m sorry I don’t have any of those and I don’t think I want to make one.

RA: Name a few things that have happened recently in London as in your experience..

Maziah:Training on cold weather (until I got sick :/ ) and meeting a lot of world class athletes and of course, I have been interviewed with a lot of western media – ESPN, CNN, BBC and a lot more.

Maziah has been receiving a lot of attention from international media.. Awesome!!!

RA: Many of your fans have been praising a lot about you.. How are you feeling right now?

Maziah: I’m really happy but I just want to say to all my supporters that I’m not gonna aim for any medal. I hope they understand that I’m competing under the “concept of universality” given by the OIC and this is the Olympics! I just want to focus on my run and my performance. Representing Brunei for the olympics is already a gold medal for me and whatever good or bad things that will happen during my event, just please keep on continuous support for me and the Brunei athletes. And thank you very much to everyone who has been supporting me. I feel proud and overwhelmed.

Maziah sitting on a sofa made of tennis balls

Awesome deals from b•mobile

Nasi Briyani Amal from OGH. Proceeds will be donated to Pusat Ehsan

Brunei’s flag bearer Maziah Mahusin holding the national flag as she led the contingent in the athletes parade during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium. Image taken by Mike Blake, Reuters.

Wooww!!! Just wow!!!! Last night was a historic moment for Brunei Darussalam as Maziah Mahusin becomes the first female Bruneian to participate in the Olympics. Though this is considered as a big hurdle to make the cut, Brunei’s participation was already a huge bonus itself. Who would have thought our 19 year old will be representing Brunei in track and field?

The name Maziah has been echoed through various source of medium and perhaps the most obvious medium is through social media. She has been grabbing headlines in the newspaper and she was also interviewed by BruneiTweet. Though there are three representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Maziah’s presence has been taking the limelight and perhaps the historical moment for Brunei as she becomes the first Brunei olympian.

It was also announced a few days before their departure that she will be Brunei’s flag bearer for the athletes parade during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. How awesome is that?? I can tell you that there were a lot of Bruneians who actually stayed up to witness the Brunei march and it was pretty evident as my instagram and Twitter feeds were mentioning her presence on TV.

I’m a proud Bruneian and it was a honour to witness the historic moment that lasted 10 seconds which overwhelmed the disappointing opening ceremony (my take 6/10) and let’s hope we can catch the Brunei athletes in action.

Maziah with her family and the British High Commissioner before heading off to London and thanks to @royalbruneiair for sponsoring their flights too

She had the opportunity to meet up with Olympic champion Usain Bolt.. Awesome!!!

The instagram feeds which happened right after she appeared on TV

The instagram feeds which happened right after she appeared on TV

My (cheesy) message for Maziah *huhu*

She was even a trending topic among the locals in Brunei and also featured in international tweet feeds. You go girl!!!

Check out the Ultrabooks from Acer at Concepts Computer

It wasn’t just pay day yesterday but there was also an extra income for those in the government sector known as Elaun Sara Hidup (ESH) or in English, cost of living allowance and I tell you that the traffic congestion was pretty terrible to begin with especially in Gadong and Kiulap area.

There was also an accident at the major roundabout which even cause a bigger congestion. With the quick showers, pay-day and the accident, it was a bad idea to be on the road in the first place. Even petrol stations were pretty packed and that’s normally the case before Hari Raya *lol*

Oh yeah, a word of advice though.. Do not leave your belongings in your car. One car was reported broken in during Terawih prayers and the other happened at Gadong pasar malam at broad day light. So be mindful and aware of your belongings. It’s already desperation measures for these culprits.

It was quite a long queue and I suspected it was due to the accident at the roundabout. Image courtesy of Rafis.

The rain didn’t help to smoothen the traffic. Image courtesy of Rafis.

The accident at the major roundabout. How the car flipped I’m not too sure. Image taken from an anonymous source.

I posted this on my instagram and it created a few commotions through the messages because some were judging them on how they should have spent on their extra monies. This was taken at DeeJay where the crowd was mostly targeting the SIII. It’s rumoured that the price will drop by Monday. So it’s worth the wait!!

Even billionaire Bruce Wayne gonna check if he received his ESH *lol*