Sentral Residence is located next to KB Sentral Shopping Centre. Last weekend, I had a quick look at the new service apartment. Well, it’s affiliated with Garden Sentral Hotel. This has the best location if you ask me since it’s by the main road. It’s very convenient if you also want to cross the border or drive to Bandar.

It’s fully furnished and the rates given are inclusive of being furnished. Three types of apartment will be available for rental which are one-bedroom type located on the ground floor of the unit, two-bedroom type at the floor above it and and four-bedroom (two-storey) type.

Below are the rates.

           Daily      One Week     Two Weeks     One month     One year(per month)
One-bed     150            900               1500               2500                   2300
Two-bed     190           1200              1800               2800                 2500
Four-bed     290          1700              2800               3400                 3100

The apartment is catered for business and leisure. The perks that you can enjoy are such as housekeeping, maintenance and complimentary transportation within Kuala Belait (interesting). You will also get access to the gym and swimming pool (Garden Sentral Hotel). Not to worry about security as there is a 24 hour CCTV and you will see get a sheltered car park.

Other perks are also like special discounts at all F&B outlets at KBSentral, namely Freshco-owned eateries and Sugarbun.

For more information, you can contact 3333 833 or email them at sales@gardensentralhotel.com

 

Yang Mulia Hjh Noorashidah binti Hj Aliomar, Acting Deputy Director of Information Department (right) the guest of honour receiving a token of appreciation from Abby Lim, the General Manager of KB Sentral Property Management during the launch of the Sentral Photography Exhibition to showcase His Majesty’s royal visits to the Belait District

Sentral Shopping Centre (KBSentral) in Kuala Belait in cooperation with The Information Department as well as the National Archive under the Museums Department will hold the former’s first Sentral Photography Exhibition, set to be held from 28th July to 7th August with the gallery time starting at 10am to 9pm for the duration of the event.

Organized in conjunction with the celebration of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s 70th Birthday Celebration, the photo event will showcase His Majesty’s royal visits to Belait District from previous years’ occasions as well as photos of the old Belait Town from the early days.

The photo showcase is entitled ‘Reminiscing Belait’ and aims to evoke memories of how the old Belait Town used to look like, and along with pictures of His Majesty’s previous royal meet-and-greet visits also aims to portray the loving care and contributions of His Majesty’s government towards improving the standard living of the Belait residents as well as the development of Belait District as an oil town that has successfully contributed to the employment of local workforce in the oil and gas industry and other key areas in the private sector.

In addition, the event is meant to engage with local communities here so the people can show their affection and appreciation towards His Majesty. The progressive development set by the government has significantly helped the oil town to modernize Brunei Darussalam since oil was first discovered here in 1929.

Officials from the Information Department, National Archives from the Museums Department, sponsorship clients, teachers and students from various schools in Belait District are expected to attend the opening ceremony o the 28th July at 2pm in the afternoon at the atrium area of KBSentral.

For further information, please call 3339889 or email to kbsentralmarketing@gmail.com.

Invited guests viewing the gallery

Some of the pictures of His Majesty the Sultan in the past

The guest of honour speaking to the press on the exhibition

Group photo with the officers from the Information Department and management of Sentral Shopping Centre

 

Abby Lim, the General Manager of KB Sentral Property Management and Anwar Rosly, KB Sentral Marketing and Event Manager with the staff at their Hari Raya celebration last weekend.

The staff of Shopping Centre (KBSentral) celebrated Hari Raya last Saturday with good food and entertainment. Those who attended had the chance to win prizes ranging from meal vouchers to hampers in the lucky draw.

Garden Sentral Hotel’s housekeeping personnel and event management staff also joined in on the festivity, and provided entertainment with live singing performances. General Manager of KBSentral Abby Lim in a speech conveyed her gratitude to those who attended the gathering. According to Lim, the turnout was evidence of the strong bond between each department and staff. This will in turn help to realize KBSentral’s vision to become a shopping mall that advocates the theme ‘family’, she added.

During the same event, the general manager also congratulated selected staff who had received the ‘Employee of the Month’ award, and brought the crowd together to sing a birthday song for May, June and July celebrants. The best dressed male and female were also awarded at the event.

On the sidelines, customers can still take part in the KBSentral lucky draw when they shop, dine and watch a movie at the shopping centre. The next grand draw will take place on August 28, and customers are eligible when they use their Baiduri credit or debit card at any outlets at the centre. Text courtesy of Hafiizah Maiden of The Brunei Times and images from KBSentral Facebook Page.

The management and head of department from KBSentral welcoming the staff

It was all smiles from the attendees

Singing performance from the staff of KBSentral

Abby Lim presenting a prize for the best performance

Anwar Rosly handing over a hamper to one of the staff

 

The all-new generation Audi A4 Sedan #A4lotion

 

This is the time of the season.. The second of Syawal (Hari Raya) where there will tons of invites from corporate companies. Well, not all of them I could attend for sure and of course, I was snubbed from some corporate companies. Below are some of the corporate open houses that I managed to drop by and I’ve been getting many similar comments – “Rano, you seem smaller” or “You’ve lost weight”. Awwww.. thanks for the comments but mmmm, looks can be deceiving, my friends.. Standing is the best way to hide all the fats but sitting down is an easy giveaway *lol* I can already fill the tiny increase of my bulge after not controlling what I ate during Hari Raya.

Enough of that.. Just enjoy the pictures and captions from my recent Raya visits.

At Tourism Malaysia (Brunei) office with Puan Purina Abdul Samad, Director of Tourism Malaysia (Brunei)

Registering ourselves at Tourism Malaysia Brunei Open House

The host mingling with the management from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Caroline Sim, Head of Great Eastern Brunei branch mingling with guests

The Great Eastern Brunei team posing for the camera

My photo pop with Great Eastern team. Thank you, Caroline and the rest for your warm hospitality and the small gift 😀

Their neighbour, the team from Concepts Computer, dropped as well

The day before was the invitation from Concepts Computer

I’ve always admired Vincent Pao’s vision for his company (Concepts Company). All that hard has paid off and he hasn’t stop growing.

The guests at the Brilliance Hall at Concepts Computer

Vincent Pao and Alice Chan with the members of IFB

The team from Brunei Shell Marketing at their open house hosted at Radisson Hotel

If you are not shy, you can sing too. The happening bunch of people 😀

Many of BSM corporate clients, retailers dropped by

My photo opp with the team from BSM

Finally get to meet up with Catherine Muller, Director of Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy to Brunei Darussalam (3rd from left) at the U.S. Embassy reception of welcoming Catherine and also celebrating Hari Raya at Rizqun International Hotel. Hope to meet you again over the course of your stay here and welcome to Brunei Darussalam 😀

Azhani with #POTUS moment :p

My visit to the iCentre where they had organised a potluck Hari Raya. Yea, things have truly changed and perhaps for the better. I actually missed the pioneers (the management then) – Ogy, Rayner, Diwi, Danial and many more. It’s good to pay a visit to iCentre again. Loads of good memories.

Simon and Faezal displaying their upcoming event – Weekend Warriors. It’s actually an app where you can play futsal at your own convenience… well, depending on the court availability too. Let’s put it this way.. if you have a team or even just you alone, you can play and be part of a team. Interesting.. I shall share more of Weekend Warriors pretty soon. Good luck, guys 😀

 

V-Class prepared for anything – Mercedes-Benz original. Check it out at Jati Transport.

 

A rumour that circulated last weekend. Do be careful in releasing an information are not true. If you are in doubt of any information in relation to BSM, try and contact their BSM Call Centre 224 4739

 

Coming to you this August. Registration ends on 27th July 2016 (Two more days). Don’t forget to register [Click image to enter]

Are you ready for an awesome gimmick run? After two months of break, running events are back!! Perhaps this race is something more exciting than previous runs that have been organised. This is because of the items that runners are expected to receive as part of their race pack. The items themselves look very collectible especially the medals and even their running attire where a top and a sock will be given depending on your choice of superhero.

Apart from that, you can also pre-order merchandise of Batman V Superman which are available on their main website such as mugs, watch, t-shirts and many more. Hence, I would say there is a lot of thought being put into this racing event.

The closing date of the registration will be on the 27th July 2016 as well as the payment for the Batman V Superman Brunei Darussalam Run. As for the running event itself, it will take place on 21st August 2016 at the Jerudong Park Amphitheatre. Click here to go to the official website and register there.

The event is organised by Heroes Brunei (under Armtrix Enterprise) and it’s supported by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. All the best and I’m pretty sure there will be a good turn of this event.

The top for Superman

The top for Batman

The top for Wonder Woman

One of the socks (Batman)

There will be medals given to all categories. This is a sample for the 3.8 km run

Certificates to all the registrants

 

Among the attendees at DST “Social Media” Raya was the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports (2nd from right).

DST has been quite particular with invitees and all attendees will have to register their names for attendance

Interestingly enough DST hosted a so called “Social Media” Raya theme last week and it was held at the usual spot at JIS Arts Centre at Jerudong International School. I kinda like the venue though and the set up this time has much improvement from last year – more space to wander around and mingle.

As I mentioned the theme is “Social Media” Raya, inspired by the ongoing lifestyle tread of social media tools used for social interaction in a tech savvy society. You will come across familiar names such as WhatsApp, Google, Facebook and so on. Furthermore, the guests were entertained by a 6-piece orchestra (Malcolm and his friends) and I truly enjoyed the occasion.

There were nice range of food vendors, popular on social media and the one that caught my eye.. I mean, my taste, was the delicacy from @piasau.glace (must try). The set up of all the vendors were uniformed and it showed a simple nice touch to the Hari Raya event.

According to Radin Sufri Radin Basiuni, Assistant General Manager of Group Corporate Communications, the team enjoyed setting up the Raya themed event and it was a fun challenge to incorporate social media into the event. It’s also an opportunity combined with the spirt of Hari Raya to meet at one time and provide them with hospitality.

Aside from DST’s annual celebration, the leading telco had organised a series of Hari Raya celebrations including DST Hari Raya with Special Needs Children and also for Corporate associates from the Belait District.

Hosting the event were Awang Abdul Lattif, member of the DST Board of Directors and Suhaimi Hussain, CEO of DST.

Ah, the one I mentioned earlier… from @piasau.glace (instagram)

Great music 😀

Malcolm on the keyboard and I’ve always enjoyed his passion in music

 

Times Square Shopping Centre has concluded its 3 days Board Games Weekend on the 24th of July 2016. The 3rd edition of the Board Games Weekend highlighted three different competitions which included a Chess Tournament, Tamiya Super Series competition and Hot Wheels Drag Challenge in collaboration with different organizations such as the Brunei Chess Federation and the Department of Co-curriculum Education for the Chess Tournament, and PEMKAR Brunei for the latter two competitions. Moreover, the public were also invited to join in the fun in playing a variety of board games such as Monopoly, Snake and Ladders and Jengga to name a few.

The event ended with a prize presentation for both the Chess Tournament and PEMKAR racing competitions. Present as the guest of honor at the prize giving ceremony yesterday for the Chess Tournament was the Acting Director of Co-curriculum department of Education, Ministry of Education, Awang Haji Aziz Bin Hj Nayan. The Chess tournament consisted of 3 categories; the rapid category with 25 contestants and Blitz category with 78 contestants, whereby for the Interschool category, there were 9 contestants. Meanwhile for the Tamiya Super Series competition and the Hot Wheels Drag Challenge, both competitions were open category which consisted of 3 winners for each competition. Team Sakura was present to give out the medals to the winners for the PEMKAR racing competitions last weekend.

The Chess tournament last weekend at Times Square Shopping Centre

Open Category:
1st place: Mohammad Aliuddin Haji Azahari
2nd place: Pengiran Sallehin
3rd place: Awangku Hafidzon

Junior Under-14 Category:
Champion: Kamarularrifin Haji Kipli

Student Under-20 Category:
Champion: Mohammad Zekree

Veterans above 50 Categories:
Champion: Japar Timbang

Furthermore, for the Blitz Chess Competition, the winners included:

Open Category inter-school blitz:
1st place: Sekolah Menengah Saidina Hassan
2nd place: ST John
3rd place: Sekolah Menengah Jamalul Alam

Junior Under-10 Category:
Champion: Qadir bin Haji Norman

Junior Under-14 Category:
Champion: Kamarulariffin bin Haji Kipli

Student Under-20 Category:
Champion: Mohammad Zekree

Veterans above 50 Categories:
Champion: Leong Voon Choon

The winners of the Chess tournament

For Tamiya Super Series competition, the winners were:

1st place: Mohammad Asnol
2nd place: Zulfakri
3rd place: Mohammad Juntao

As for the Hot Wheels challenge, these are the list of winners:

Under 35g Category:
1st place: Mohd Johji
2nd place: Hj Boy
3rd place: Hafuza

Under 50g Category:
1st place: Dini
2nd place: Colin
3rd place: Colin

Under 65g Category:
1st place: Hafuza
2nd place: Ang Kal
3rd place: Jamri

Open Category:
1st place: Hafuza
2nd place: Ewan
3rd place: Hasrin

The winners of the Tamiya Super Series

Lastly, Sekolah Menengah Saidina Hassan won Champion for the Best School Award for the Chess Tournament.

The event was a huge success with more than 100 contestants present during the last day of the Chess tournament last weekend.

In the nearest future, Times Square will be having several events in August such as the third Lucky Draw prize presentation on 14th August and Family Time Out on 19th to 21st August. You may also find out about all upcoming events simply by following Times Square Shopping Centre’s pages on Facebook and Instagram. Press release and images courtesy of Times Square Shopping Centre.

 

Managing Director of BIBD, Mubashar Khokhar, receiving guests in yesterday’s BIBD Open House

Another on the check list of corporate open houses. To be honest, I love the venue of Indera Samudra Grand Hall when it comes to a large scale of open house. More than 2,000 guests showed up yesterday at the BIBD Open House.

The theme was “Majlis Gema Syawal” and among the invitees were ministers, senior government officials, foreign diplomats, SMEs, and many more and of course, not forgetting the media 😀

I’m quite impressed with the Arabian cuisine and I almost had my seconds but I was just too shy. I spent more time mingling with friends and thank you SY for the company too. The most popular section is the Photo Booth area.

Hosting on behalf of BIBD Open House is the Managing Director of BIBD, Mubashar Khokhar. Thank you, BIBD, for the invitation. Till next year again.

All smiles after the delicious Arabian cuisine

Hello SY 😀

Rayner Tan mingling with Ben Lin, Head of Marketing of BIBD

The many among the guests

The long queue at the photo booth

Son and mother enjoying a moment behind the camera

Both of us posing for the camera

Sue Sue, why are you alway camera when it comes to me? #since2001

 

I didn’t have the chance to talk to Malcolm Lim but he’s always a great guy, feting an internal open house for the management and staff of Kingston Beverage and Creamery Sdn Bhd at their main office.

They also had some mini games to interact with the staff before meals were served. Thank you, Kingston for the Open House invitation.

Malcolm Lim, Managing Director of Kingston Beverage & Creamery, with his family, and also the management and staff of the company at their Open House this morning at their headquarter

 

Looking for something special this Raya Season? At the Peugeot Boutique in our Kiarong Showroom we have a special promotion on a wide range of exclusive and limited items! #Peugeot #Brunei #HariRaya2016 [Click image to enter Facebook Page]

Customers checking out the Peugeot merchandise last weekend

 

Operational hours during Hari Raya at petrol station [Click to enlarge]

 

Unveiling of the Acer Predator showroom at Concepts Computer by four Concepts Computer representatives, Mr. Vincent Pao, its General Manager, Alice Chan, its Financial Controller and with the presence of Richard Soo, Branch Manger for Acer Sales and Services, Miri.

The much anticipated Acer Predator series of gaming PCs, notebooks, monitors and tablets are about to WOW the IT consumers in Brunei Darussalam. Hard-core gamers will be queuing up to get their hands on the new no-compromise experience in performance and design, as they can react faster in-game and be immersed in true to life over the top visual display and audio performance.

Acer, with the support of Concepts Computer, is proud to show-case the Acer Predator series in their showroom with floor-space dedicated to these models, especially ready for users seeking an immersive sensory experience and powerful computing. These computers are built with cutting-edge graphics and speedy processing power, allowing them to tackle even the most demanding multimedia for realistic entertainment. The whole Acer Predator line-up are also stylish and sophisticatedly designed.

With the Predator line, Acer was the first to also release gaming-centric monitors which combines nVidia’s G-Sync technology and GeForce GTX GPUs in what is rapidly becoming the platform of choice as it delivers an ultra-smooth experience across multiple spectrums of gaming and multi-media. Part of the gaming monitors released will be curved, ultra wide monitors which gives a wraparound visual experience. Designed specifically for serious gamers, the curved 178-degree curved viewing angle of the ultra wide gaming monitors delivers an immersive experience.

Richard sharing on the advantages of powerful CPUs from the Predator line

Do you know that Predator tablet does vibrate depending on the games you play? Cool 😀

The powerful CPUs for gamers

The Predator line also boasts one of the first Android gaming tablet available in the market, the Predator 8 will feature top of the line Intel processor, Intel HD graphics, 8 inch FHD screen, and 4 powerful speakers; all combining to provide the best gaming experience in the palm of your hands. Gamers will appreciate the raw power found on the Predator 8 gaming tablet. The newest generation Intel processor with Intel HD Graphics deliver extraordinary graphics and performance, while 802.11a/b/g/n wireless with 2×2 MIMO supports fast connection speeds, processing data at up to twice the speed of traditional 1×1 solutions.

Predator TacSense provides tactile feedback which makes the gaming experience more engaging and enjoyable with a real sense of vibration. And with up to 64GB of on-board storage and expansion capabilities via a microSD card of up to 128GB, gamers have room to take their games, videos and music with them wherever they go.

Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer, speaking to the media, said, “Concepts Computer is proud to bring into the Bruneian market, the ACER Predator line-up, built for the future and combines power and vibrancy in a package that puts you in control of powerful computing performances on-the-go.” He continued, “Concepts Computer will always step-up to provide the perfect solutions from Acer, making sure that it is affordable and well-built, and we believe the ACER Predator series are an excellent addition to our portfolio of ACER computing devices.”

I’m liking this curvy monitor from the Predator line. Apparently the two different monitors at the showroom are quite popular.

The rugger Predator bag

Richard with the team from Concepts Computer

Spend on Concepts Computer, maybe on the Predator series and you can get yourself a carton of drink from Kingston. So far it has been a popular gimmick and Concepts have given out a few hundreds of this coupon. You will need to spend at least BND 200 to be eligible for this coupon.

Zul Abdul Rahman, Marketing Executive at Concepts Computer, also added, “With Acer’s cross-platform offering of Predator gaming products, it represents our relentless pursuit of the best for the Bruneian market. And with our outstanding team, we hope to bring passion and precious gamer insights into the PC gaming industry in Brunei Darussalam.”

The ACER Predator series will be available from Concepts Computer, where the Acer Predator 8 gaming tablet will be on offer for all Concepts member for only $488 (usual price $508) while stocks lasts. For more information call 2233551, 2233552 or 2233553 or visit your nearest Concepts Computer showroom.

 

Yay!!! The sleepless nights begin today until Hari Raya. Why? Because of Euro 2016. I have to say that I’m not that excited for this year’s Euro 2016 tournament. Firstly not so much hype about it even among my peers. I was more concerned of the transfer market of who’s who. Secondly, I didn’t know that the opener of the Euro 2016 until 10 hours before kick-off, thinking that it will happen this Sunday. Lastly, I didn’t bother to buy any Panini stickers for Euro 2016.

My personal favourite team is still England though I doubt they will go that far in the tournament. Records haven’t been in their favour and plus they don’t have what it takes to be taken so seriously. They are simply not as consistent like other countries such as Germany and Spain. The favourites are still these two and also the host France who beat Romania 2-1 in the opening game.

It was a pretty good effort from Romania and they gave the host a few scares. In actual fact, Romania could have shared the spoils as they had two great chances that went begging. It was the efforts of two Frenchmen playing in the Premier League that settled the score – Giroud and Payet.

It’s good to see a football tournament back again! However, for the Copa America, I’m not as excited as Astro isn’t showing any live telecast of that tournament. Boohoo..

Payet scoring a screamer and the eventual winning goal against Romania. Image by Clive Rose/Getty Images.

Giroud opened the scoring with a header. Image by Darren Staples/Reuters

 

The crazy sales happening tonight until midnight at both Tungku Link and Batu Satu branches

At the Tungku Link outlet.. Don’t forget that Batu Satu also has the crazy sales in conjunction with the upcoming Hari Raya

The Crazy Sales are back and it will come back from time to time during the period of Ramadhan. Yes, Galleria YMRM are always great in doing awesome promotion and sales. Just recently last Monday, they brought back the $1 sale for the benefit of the regular customers and today (Saturday), the crazy sales are back starting from 8pm till midnight.

Ramesh Jiwatram Bhawnani, the founder of Galleria YMRM, expressed his sincerity in holding such sales and promotion and it was a gesture of giving back to the community after the many years of support they have given to the establishment. It was also another way for the local spenders to support local retailers and help to improve the local economy.

Despite the turbulent economy, Ramesh was surprised with the recent growth in sales at YMRM. The reason being is that the locals and even expats know what they are paying for – affordable and still of good quality. YMRM has become a household name for offering such great offers and not compromising on the quality. Even members of the Royal Families frequent to buy materials for baju melayu and baju kurung.

So grab this opportunity for the Happy Hour sales at YMRM Galleria (Tungku Link and Batu Satu).

One of the branded fabrics (high quality) for the ladies

They have more new collections that just came from a new shipment

A simple design with high quality material on discount

The super affordable section, a good choice for budget spenders

They even have cheaper senjangs for young boys

The below $20 range of Senjang

Sending from Trengganu and the designs are pretty unique

The high end Senjangs with delicate workmanship

They also sell Kain Songket if you wanna make baju or dress out of it

Ground Level of YMRM.. There is also the mezzanine floor

Don’t forget the lights too outside YMRM Galleria

Cucul for your home to lighten up for the festive season

 

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam (C) in action during yesterday’s His Majesty’s 69th Birthday Polo Cup at the Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club in Jerudong. The monarch’s Black Team is through to today’s final after defeating Yellow Team 11-4 in the first day of the four-team tournament yesterday. Image courtesy of Ridhwan Kamarulzaman of The Brunei Times.

It’s never easy when you have a lot on your hands. One reason why I had to forgo my traveling trips for this month especially Denmark. Two big weddings and a Toastmasters competition coming up and not forgetting His Majesty’s birthday celebrations in all the districts. It’s a month that will test my endurance in my late 30s *lol* I still feel I have much to offer (physical and mentally). Oh yea, there are still some corporate Open House invitations before end of August. So I need to squeeze in for that too.

Everyone keeps asking me “How’s the (Brunei) economy?” If someone asks me that particular question then it could be implying that the local economy is going through a transition. Spending power has been lesser than usual. It was evident during Ramadhan where bookings for restaurants didn’t top their benchmark of last year’s. Well, this could be down to another reason (too many new cafes and restaurants). Even purchasing of cars lately have been mediocre to say the least. How so? Because of the new directive from Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) that consumers have less flexibility in applying car loans. If you look at it in a positive way, there are good points to why this can benefit the end users in a long run. For me, I am very grateful of our stability in many areas including the economy in Brunei and not forgetting the harmony and peace. After reading what other regional countries are experiencing, it gives me a higher level of gratitude to His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan and His Majesty’s government.

I kinda enjoyed Hjh Normah’s presentation. She’s the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and she gave an insight on the current business environment in Brunei at a different perspective. We shouldn’t just use excuse such as the size of small population or the size of the country as Brunei have untapped opportunities through means of natural resources and culture. It’s never a disadvantage as well being a Muslim country as Brunei can be one of the international hub for the halal market where she highlighted the presence of Bruneihalal brand in the UK, specifically their distribution centre in Birmingham. The other big opportunity is Bio Innovation Corridor (BIC) which serves as base for manufacturers of halal products including food, cosmetics and medicinal and health supplements. She kicked off her presentation by saying Brunei is a good place to detox (mostly from entertainment).

Tonight I will be busy with my gadget(s) taking live feed and snap chatting on Azeez Jaafar and Nisaa Suresh’s Berbedak ceremony tonight. I have been having lack of sleep for the past two weeks or so but it has been fun.

Hari Raya celebration at BIBD Open House with Hj Rozan Yunos and his spouse

The Brunei Robotics Olympiad on the Regular Category. The Open Category will be on 29th August. I shall be covering that event.

Hjh Normah Suria Hayati Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri Maharaja Dato Seri Utama Hj Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (3rd from left) was the guest of honour at LBD forum yesterday, hosted by Asia Inc Forum and Baiduri Bank and Brunei Press as partners

The DJs from Pilihan at BIBD Open House. It was indeed a very packed event.

Finally the BBA got rid of the dirty mattress. Just a note though that there isn’t any cushion to soften the impact in case a player runs too fast.

Ah, the mini Zinger from KFC. I’m glad they released this as part of their ongoing menu.

Our toastmasters club at Brunei Speakers’ Club is growing week by week. Last night we had the strongest in terms of numbers and it was a wunderbar experience. Keep up the great work, lads!!

My favourite dish of all the Open Houses I’ve been 😀

Always inspired to know a passionate barista/entrepreneur

After my posting on IG, her green tea creme brûlée has been one of the popular items in her cafe. Must try.. Love the texture. Available at Piccolo Cafe (bandar)

My toy, Slyer, watching Minul and I in action on the court. I’ve been losing five straight times against him. What gives?

At Royal Brunei Airlines Open House

Check the new facelift for the Citroen DS3. The price is slightly higher. However, now the current DS3 is selling at $25,750 and it will be sold at that price until all stock is sold.

Now the Acer Iconia Tab 8W is back in stock and it also comes with Microsoft’s new Office 365 (one year subscription). Teachers and students will be able to enjoy the privilege as they will be given a special discount. Now available at Concepts Computer.

Two inspired runners who ran the Sundown Marathon 2015 in Singapore recently and both are using Polar watches. Do follow @polar_bn for updates. More stories on Polar (Brunei) on the sponsorship of local athletes.

Good thing about Snapchat

Thanks AB for the hospitality last week.

A Marvel adaption movie ruined by Fox. How could they?

The logo of my sister’s wedding

Best part of family weddings is gathering and reunions 😀

Now our inside driveway has been transformed into temporary tents

My siblings 😀

My chubby lil sis in her excusable pyjama

Been busy preparing with invites and the protocols for the upcoming events at home. September please come sooner 😀

Group photo with the guys during Azeez Jaafar’s Bedak-Bedak Mandi. It’s one of the first ceremonies for Azeez Jaafar and Nisaa Suresh’s wedding. Their next event will be the Nikah night this coming Thursday

Yes, I can’t wait to catch Fantastic Four. It’s more of a reboot and they have plenty of shows on Wednesday evening before the actual release on Thursday at The Mall Cineplex. The next few evenings will be very tight and busy for me with weddings coming up with toastmasters in the mix. Speaking of toastmasters, I will be the host (like an emcee) for tonight’s session at the Brunei Speakers’ Club and all are welcome at SEAMEO Voctech starting 7:30pm.

Birthday shouts to my buddies – Aminul, Saifol, Ning and Syazwana – the birthday celebrants earlier this month. I haven’t been up to dates with my greetings but sometimes being late has its perks because they tend to reply to your greetings 😀

I managed to sell of my old lego sets (unboxed ones) because I just lost interest. Sometimes you never know you can lose interest in something in matter of months. I can’t even find some of the old zombie mini-figures that I collected two years ago. So there goes my old collections of Lego but I’m looking forward to @indie95’s collection of Lego 😀 And thanks for buying my old stock of Lego too. Right now, my favourite Lego mini figure is Ant-Man and I know my Rulkie is not impressed *lol* I still love both of them.

I just subscribed to WWE Network on Kristal Astro. So far I am impressed as they are showing the classic shows and also personal interviews with former wrestlers. You will get more insight of what’s going on during those times. The only thing I’m upset is that it doesn’t show RAW live as I thought WWE Network would in the States. But we do get privileges of live feeds of Raw pre show and even Stone Cold podcast. Then again, I’m hoping for a Raw live event which supposed to be aired at 9am Tuesday.

Before I sign off, congratulations to Abang aka Ashadi Nasir and Rafidah on your new born baby last night. I’ve known Abang for quite some time and he’s always a bubbly person. It’s amazing how he now is married and with a healthy baby. All the best to both of you and enjoy the journey of parenthood.

Have a fantastic week, peeps!!

My old time friend from the era of e-circles back in 1999. Yes, our friendship goes way back. Congratulations 😀 You can follow our updates on their ceremonies with the hashtag #nowANforever2015 

Group photo with the whole bunch and missing a few people. Taken after the Bedak-Bedak Mandi function.

You see it when you see it

Getting full attention to the max

So I’m trying different avenues of social media. If you want to get a live update of the Nikah event, it will be live on Periscope this coming Thursday evening. Just download Periscope app on your smartphone and follow @ranoadidas. You will be alerted once I do my broadcast.

A new born baby girl of Ashadi and Rafidah last night. Congratulations and I’m happy for you both 😀

The winner of last night’s table topics Naz who turned up as a guest and didn’t expect to be voted the best speaker.

My new toy paying attention during a toastmaster meeting last night at Inspiring Hall, UBD

He’s been following me around

The article has been read with different interpretation. What are your thoughts?

Too bad the match only last 34 seconds and she is still the champion with a 12-0 record

My iMac was being serviced as it needed my HDD to be replaced. Thankful to Apple Care to cover the expenses and I don’t even have to pay for service charge at AV Electronics.

My new pair making its way from Singapore.

My ray visits at Fauzi and Nana’s recently. Bumped into two retirees who were involved in the telco industry.

The CEO of Pondok Sari Wangi and CEO of Standard Chartered (Brunei) having a talk at my neighbour’s open house last weekend

Selfies at Darussalam Holdings open house at Royal Berkshire at Polo and Riding Club. Thanks for the invite.

My vain buddies at Mizan’s home

Sandwiched between two local celebrities 😀

Our inside joke. Let’s wait for the special edition, bro 😀

Review of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation featuring Del Goh and Nee Khern

 

There are many things that I would love to share here on my blog. The Brunei-Singapore relationship for the past 54 years (Wow) or my first visit to greet His Majesty the Sultan and the members of the Royal Family. Well, just have to find the time to focus on those areas and just type away. I guess it’s easy for me to slack off the keyboard since I’m my own boss. My discipline level can easily waned and it will be tough to get back the groove. I’m climbing back up and I just can’t wait for my iMac to be fixed. Apparently my HDD has a bad sector and it became a hardware problem.

I recently caught Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and I quite enjoyed it. It’s on par with MI: Ghost Protocol and I would highly recommend you to catch it. I shall have a full review of it soon on my blog and of course, on my sound cloud (The Popcorn Panel). I’ve been loving the summer movies so far and next up will be a reboot of the Fantastic Four 😀

Next month will be a busy month indeed. Two big weddings that will steal the show for me and I will be back and forth to help out both my sister’s wedding and also my good buddies Nisaa Suresh and Azeez Jaafar. I even had to forgo my Denmark trip which will be sometime in August.

Anyway, have a great weekend and I’m happy that my family is back so the house won’t feel that quiet 😀

I’ve been catching a bit of the Mum’s Bakery Basketball Competition and I can’t help but admire the mattresses used as a cushion to prevent the players from banging to the wall. The mattress have been there for many years.

Well done to our Brunei athlete of getting bronze medal in the 200m run in the Special Olympics at Los Angeles

I introduced this game to my friends and they were hooked. The Werewolf game is awesome!!

The Heng Tai boys dressing up for the occasion last weekend 😀

My visit to the Tourism Malaysian Open House yesterday. Thanks for the hospitality.

It’s good to be back at the court but my level of fitness needs more work

Have you tried the Tumpi at Tati’s cafe at Jalan Babu Raja? Yummy when crispy

With Ak Danny of JPMC at DST Open House yesterday. Thanks Norliha Din for featuring us in The Brunei Times.

I’m going to the Toy Fair at Hua Ho Manggis. Image courtesy of Stephen Chiam

 

A slow rays. I have mentioned this before that Hari Raya hasn’t been all that this year. I didn’t hear any fireworks since the beginning of Raya. So things have been mellow indeed. Another surprise factor is that many Bruneians opted to fly away during the Hari Raya season. It reminds me of Chinese New Year where my Chinese friends would also choose to travel abroad. I won’t be surprised if this will be the new trend for upcoming Hari Raya seasons.

My raya marathons are over. Friends have been asking me how many houses I have been to and thinking that I would be soaring with high numbers of house visits. Well, I have remained consistent for the past few years – an average total of 10-15 houses total. That’s excluding the corporate Hari Raya open houses. Back in my younger days, I could clock at least 12-15 houses a day and my highest is still 102 visits. Those days, there weren’t even the term selfies and all the pictures I took was with my SLR *lol*

I managed to get my butt off my bed and make my rounds to most of the invites. Yes, it’s tough to get back to the groove when I’m already set in my comfort zone in my room, carrying on from the fasting period. Even my blog has been affected in terms of my updates (sorry, readers) but I feel my mojo is returning and I shall be blogging and updating from time to time.

If any of you want me to pose Hari Raya photos (especially those overseas), you can email me at ranoadidas gmail.com And for fun facts, I find this rather amusing posted on brublahblah post (refer image below) with regards to our Brunei behaviour during Hari Raya. Classic!!

Taken from brublablah.com