Long Distance Love Triangle

Favourite Entries Understanding Women 77 Comments

Last evening as I was talking to a friend, I was told of a friend’s father’s mother’s son’s wife’s daughter (heh) who apparently is caught in a love triangle.
Its a classic scenario. A recipe for disaster.
Girl has boyfriend back home. Girl goes overseas for studies. Girl meets new boy overseas. New boy goes after girl. Girl hooks up with new boy. Old boy oblivious to the whole thing.
(Btw, ppl who knows me or them in real life… much appreciated if you don’t luan luan guess who I’m talking about. ;))
Sydney Cityscape in sunset

Girl goes to big city to further her education, and gets more than she bargained for.

I was shocked by the whole thing. I knew that the new boy has been going after her for a few months now, in full knowledge that she has a boyfriend back home. It was a few months ago when her boyfriend was visiting her that I saw them hugging intimately in front of the new boy. And now, the new boy is with the girl.
I asked Nicole.

“Can meh?”
“Can… the boyfriend not here. And he doesn’t know bah! Why not?”

Gee. Thanks for making me feel better, my long-distance girlfriend!
Can this really be done? Can a girl have another boyfriend overseas, when she has a boyfriend back home? Can she be allowed to subscribe to third party insurance, before the current insurance policy expire? Can she allow multiplayer for a game that’s meant to be for single players only? Can she install a back up hard disk, in case the current hard disk becomes corrupted?
Sorry for the cheesy analogies. 🙂
Is love a multiplayer game?

Is love a multiplayer game?

It reminded me the wise words of my friend Alston back in 2001 when Nicole and I were having our first bout of long-distance relationship. The wise one said “You are qualified to have another girlfriend if your current girlfriend is more than 500km away from you.”
Of course, this is coming from the same person who once said “A girlfriend’s expiry date is exactly one year from the first day of usage.” Well, Alston has been dating his gf for more than a year now. So I take what he said with a grain of salt.
My friend Alston

Alston and his theories on long distance relationships.

I am worried. With Nicole in Perth and me in Kuching, she is in a perfect position to “find another one” if she wanted to. After all, she’s this smart, beautiful girl its only a matter of time before someone decides to hit on her and make her totally disregard my existence.
But she’s my girlfriend of four years. I should trust her. I know I should trust her. We had 1.5 years of long distance before and we survived dammit!
Then again, if she wanted to, she can do it and I wouldn’t even know about it. It makes me really vulnerable. I probably knew why the girl did it. The new boy is a fun and caring person, a great alternative to her boyfriend. She needs someone to fill in the void left by the current boyfriend when he’s not physically by her side.
Maybe I should be involved in a scandal myself

Maybe I should be involved in a scandal myself.

Yet, she’s not willing to part with her current boyfriend because he’s someone she sees herself having a future with. The new boy is just a temporary one to fill in for the job, but she wouldn’t discount possibly having a future with him if he can prove himself right.
I could never approve of what the girl does, nor what the new boy did. I symphathize her current boyfriend for not knowing anything. And even if he knew, there’s nothing he can do about it.
I know many people would disagree with me, telling me that my thinking is old-fashioned and stuff.

“They are all young 20-something people, why restrict themselves to one person? All is fair in love and war, whattttt.”
“If she doesn’t mind, he doesn’t mind and the boyfriend doesn’t know… Why you so busybody?”
“Sometimes people know what they are doing is wrong, but they do it anyway… That’s called LOVE!”

They say it as a bright golden halo appears over their heads and a single tear rolls down their cheeks.
I say BULLSHIT lah! Now you get two for the price of one, and you find it so fun. Next time people do it back to you, then how? Are you gonna kau peh kau boo over it? At least you should break up with your current boyfriend if you were to pursue this new relationship bah, right? What if your boyfriend find out? Then how? And how long can this go on? Forever? I don’t think so! In the end you have to choose and when that happens… at best you have one broken heart, at worst you have three broken hearts!
Maybe eventually they can settle it WWE style in a 10-foot-high steel cage ladder match.

Maybe eventually they can settle it WWE style in a 10-foot-high steel cage ladder match.

Then again, that’s just what I think. Judging by the number of people going overseas for studies, I’m sure many people would have experienced long-distance relationship at some point. So I’m interested to know what you think.
Is my notion of love and relationship too traditional to be applied in the 21st century? Are we allowed to have a temporary partner if our current partner is overseas, provided everyone keeps hush about it?

Hair Port ’86 Hair Saloon Review

Reviews 35 Comments

One thing that constantly amuses me with Kuching is that businesses here can come up with rather funny names for themselves. Examples include Nemo Bistro in Jalan Ban Hock, or Titanic Lounge in BDC, complete with Finding Nemo and Titanic themes respectively. There’s nothing wrong with that, but somehow I’d find it funny if someone were to ask me “Hey! Wanna go Nemo Bistro drink beer?”
Hair Port '86 - Silly Name, Serious Hair.

Hair Port ’86 – Silly Name, Serious Hair.

There’s a hair saloon in Jalan Ong Kee Hui (near Soon Onn Furniture) called Hair Port ’86. The first time I saw that name, I thought “What a stupid name. Hair Port… sounds like AIRPORT! What lah! The hair dryer like aeroplane so noisy one is it?”
It did pique my curiousity though. Perhaps Hair Port was meant to be like a central point for all things hair! That’s why its named like that.
Anyway, I’m about to start work again next Monday and I hadn’t visit my hairdresser since before CNY, so I figured its probably time for a hair cut. As I’m always up for trying something new, I popped in the saloon earlier today for a hair cut and wash.
The interior of Hair Port '86

The interior of Hair Port ’86, stylish and contemporary

I am rather impressed by the interior of the hair saloon. The variety of bright colours marry well with each other, and the design of the furniture are all stylish and contemporary. The soothing music playing in the background makes it all the more inviting. This contrasts other hair saloons I’ve been to that’s usually filled with patches of hair on the untidy floor, and the stench of hair care products permeating through the air.
I was greeted by Ling, who quoted me RM30 for a men’s hair cut and wash. That’s rather expensive by Kuching’s standards, but considering a similar 15-minute service in Perth would cost AUD23, I thought the price is rather acceptable.
Comfy Chairs of Hair Port '86

One of the nice comfy arm chairs in the hair saloon

I was seated on one of their comfy chairs in front of the mirror. Ling placed a stack of Cleo magazines in front of me, which I never touched. Here’s a shot of me before my hair cut.
Kenny - Before Hair Cut

Kenny – Before Hair Cut

To my horror, Ling proceeded to pour shampoo and water onto my head while I was still sitting on the chair! Holy Cow! Wouldn’t that drench my top? I would have though that they would wash my hair in one of those basin instead. But apparently, that’s the SOP for hair wash here. Talk about a culture shock.
In Seat Hair Wash!

In Seat Hair Wash!

Somehow Ling managed to defy gravity and removed all the foam from my hair before it reached my tee. I was also treated to a good 20 to 25 minutes of head and neck massage, which was so good it made my neck numb. I was then led to the basin for a rinse of my hair. Ling wrapped a towel around my head, which made me look like Osama bin Laden.
Kenny bin Laden

Kenny bin Laden

This is what I look like after the towel dry. I reminded myself of a young Aaron Kwok. Teehee.
Kenny Kwok

Kenny Kwok

The actual hair cut was done by the taukeh-nio (proprietor) herself, Lina Chung.
Hair Wash by Ling, Hair Cut by Lina

My hair is done by the taukeh-nio herself.

Lina is friendly and chatty. I learnt that Hair Port was established in 1986 (hence the ’86 suffix in the name) and used to be located in Kuching Plaza until December last year. As patrons to Kuching Plaza dwindled, Hair Port relocated to this new area. Lina’s father is the owner of Soon Onn Furniture, and the interior of the saloon was designed by her nephew Ronald Chung – coincidentally also a graduate of Curtin University.
Here’s Lina’s name card.
Hair Port '86 Name Card

Hair Port ’86 Name Card

After Lina skillfully snipped and buzzed my hair, I was once again led to the basin to rinse off the residual hair. After a blowdry and some minor touch up, Ling returned to apply liquid hair wax on my head.
And this is what I ended up like.
Kenny - After

Kenny – After Hair Cut

So what do you reckon? Good? Bad?
Or had I just wasted RM30 looking exactly the same as I did before?

Kuching is owned by Maxis, DiGi and Celcom

Distinctively Kuching 15 Comments

Celcom, Digi and Maxis banners are everywhere in the streets of Kuching

Maxis, DiGi and Celcom banners are everywhere in the streets of Kuching

I was just driving around Kuching today, trying to re-acquaint myself with my hometown, when I noticed a rather disturbing trend. It seems as if no matter where I travel in Kuching, I am bound to encounter some form of promotional material by Maxis, Digi and Celcom – the 3 major mobile phone carriers in Malaysia.
Bahhh... Siti Nurhaliza!

Bahhh… Siti Nurhaliza!

I can’t go shopping without walking past a life-size cardboard cutouts of Siti-freakin’-Nurhaliza promoting Maxis. Lamp posts that were previously just lamp posts, are now adorned with banners advertising DiGi’s 1c SMS promotion. Overhead briges that used to be in plain cream colour now bear the logos of Celcom instead. In fact, I couldn’t drive 5 minutes in metropolitan Kuching without encountering any one of those ads.
Telco ads are everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!! ARrgghhhh

Telco ads are everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!! ARrgghhhh

Its terrible. I had expected Kuching to be that laid-back, relaxing little city that I grew up in – not some over-commercialised town who happened to have sold its soul to the highest bidding corporate company.
Some people may say, “Its not that bad whattt… just some posters here and there. At least we don’t have to pay so much taxes!” Well of course, extra money is always good. But as an example of how too much of something is a bad thing, see Kuala Lumpur.
During my last trip to Kuala Lumpur, I had the experience of taking the new KL Monorail (which finally re-opened after one of its wheel fell off). The experience was great. But to my horror, I noticed that the naming rights of almost all the monorail stations are owned by major corporate companies.
Coca-Cola Bukit Bintang Station

Excuse me, its not Bukit Bintang Station. Its COCA-COLA Bukit Bintang Station!

Bukit Bintang Station became Coca-Cola Bukit Bintang Station. Imbi Station became Maxis Hotlink Imbi Station. Even our national telco company joined in on the action – Titiwangsa Station became Telekom Malaysia Titiwangsa Station. Bloody ridiculous!
I don’t know, I’m just very much against selling the naming rights of our public properties to private corporate companies. Unfortuantely, almost every single government entity is privatised these days.
Why stop there? Why not sell the naming rights of, say, our police stations to Celcom?
Celcom Sarawak Police Station

Celcom Sarawak Police Station

Maybe we should increase the Sarawak General Hospital’s funding by selling advertisement space to Maxis?
Celcom Sarawak Police Station

Maxis Sarawak General Hospital

How much is too much? Who knows, maybe one day this website will be big enough to be able to afford purchasing the naming rights to the Sarawak state.
Welcome to kennysia.com Sarawak!

Welcome to kennysia.com Sarawak!

Maybe. Just maybe! 😉

My Final Moments in Perth

Reflections on Perth 22 Comments

I’m back in Kuching, Sarawak. Nothing much to say except everything up to this point was very hectic. I had not had a proper sleep for 2 days, and my body was overdosed with Red Bull. My last few days in Perth was spent selling off everything that I can’t bring, packing everything that I can bring, helping Nicole move to her new place, driving Nicole’s parents around, and removing 8 years worth of junk in the house so that the new owners can move right in.
The amount of junk in my bedroom

The amount of junk in my bedroom

Nicole’s parents are such a cool bunch. They were in town to attend Nicole’s graduation on the 26th February. Funnily, her parents seems to be happier on that day than Nicole herself. Her mom and dad are ever so ready to pose for my camera, whereas the graduation girl would hesitate like its no big deal. “Its just Curtin Business School, not Harvard Business School.” Sheesh, KL girls! 🙂
Curtin University of Technology Graduation Ceremony

Curtin University of Technology Graduation Ceremony

The graduation ceromony was held outdoors in the courtyard on campus grounds. The weather that evening was cool and soothing, which makes it ideal to hold such event outdoors. The ceremony itself followed the SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) – boring speech, give out some awards, inspirational speech, give out more awards, one more trying-to-be inspirational speech, the end.
Fireworks

Fireworks! Oooooh…. Ahhhhh….

Probably the funniest moments during the ceremony was listening to the ang-moh MC trying to pronounce the long and complicated Indian and Thai names with great difficulty. The ceremony concluded with a spectacular fireworks display.
Asian food stall

Maybe the Asian food here was meant to be for the Kwai Lo?
There were several foodstalls serving international cuisine later that night. Here’s the photo of the Asian food stall. Pardon my rusty Mandarin, but I think the Chinese word on the stall said Gui, which means literally – Ghost. Whoever designed that food stall must be a very disgruntled employee. 😉
Perth Cityscape on the 28th February 2005

Perth Cityscape on the 28th February 2005

By Sunday evening with a few hours left to board the plane, we managed to clear everything out of our house. Without a bed to sleep on and reluctant to rent a hotel room, Nicole and I went on a car ride around the city and ended up in King’s Park where we had a brief heart-to-heart talk. I took one last photo of cityscape of Perth.
The taxi to take me away from my home to my home

The taxi to take me away from my home to my home

When we returned home, the taxi was already there waiting for us.
I arrived at Perth International Airport, still relatively calm. Perhaps I was sedated by the fact that I did not sleep for 2 days. Ignoring calls asking passengers of MH126 to go through the gates, Nicole and I spent our last minutes drinking coffee at Dome Cafe. I was still calm.
Perth International Airport

Perth International Airport

We hugged, and I walked through the sliding doors into the departure hall. Then I remembered how long it was going to be before I see her again, and all of the sudden I just lost it and cried. Say what you want about men crying, but I teared and wept even when I presented my passport to be stamped. What made it even worse was that Nicole’s parents were at the departure hall as well waving at me happily like nothing happening.
Kuching International Airport

Kuching International Airport

So now I’m back in Kuching. Hot, wet, humid. And for someone like me who have been away for 8 long years, I’ll probably experience reverse culture shock. As much as I try not to, I’ll probably inadvertantly try to compare Kuching with Perth. Well, things are more or less back to normal now, and kennysia.com is more or less back in action.
Only this time round it’ll have more of a Malaysian laksa-flavour.

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