Walking a Mile for a Smile

My siblings are blessed with small, well-structured and beautiful teeth. Well, not me.
I have been trying to have my protruding teeth to be straightened since I was 12, but end up being rejected by the dentist because of several reasons. It seems my jaw was located as such, that my teeth appeared protrude. Well, thank you very much.

That doesn't stop me from smiling. I have always been confident and happy with the way I am. I like to smile or laugh out loud and always appear to be smiling from ear to ear in most of my pictures.

Nowadays, I seemed to have lost my 'trademark' smile. It wasn't the same anymore. Thanks to my ever-determined wisdom teeth; pushing and wanting so much to grow in a very limited mouth space that I have. As a result, crowding happened and causing my teeth to protrude further.

After being convinced by a few people, I finally visited an orthodontist in Kuala Lumpur during my previous visit to Malaysia. The first orthodontist convinced me that I don't need braces because my smile is OK and my bite is perfect. However, after a second opinion and an x-ray, I was approved for braces. It was done during my second visit to the clinic. A self-ligating orthodontic brackets were fixed that day. I may need to extract four teeth in future to rectify the crowding.

Braces taught me a very important matter. Never underestimate your teeth. I could never eat, smile, chew, or even talk the same again. It was such a nuisance to be blocked by the metal, which kept hurting my gums and lips. I just couldn't wait to have it removed!

Anyways, here I am with braces at last. It better be worth all the pain and hardship I'm going!

Fear

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain.

~Frank Herbert

Hello Osaka!

We are finally here. We are located at Suita city in Osaka; a very beautiful and peaceful place. We are still adapting and hope to enjoy our stay here.

I have finally arranged our furniture and stuff in our apartment. It looks livable and hope the spring enlighten our spirit; thus blessing us to begin our new life here.

I have started a new hobby here in Osaka.
It's gardening.
I have just started. I bought a few pots and had a rough time ploughing, sowing and watering. It was a new experience as I sowed seeds into the pots. I hope to see the plants sprout from seeds and eventually grew to become beautiful flowers. Shall update on the outcome with pictures, should my gardening project succeeds.

A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit ~ D. Elton Trueblood

Departing Yokohama

The new financial year has begun. Satya's office has been relocated to Osaka, Japan. It is time to depart Yokohama, Japan. I had so much fun at Yokohama. I guess that I adapted well and was very comfortable at Yokohama. But we had to move on, leaving behind many wonderful friends; especially my doctors and nurses. I was well cared by Professor Aikawa, Dr. Ken Sakai and Dr. Hyodo, the three amazing titans that help me through my transplant.

Wishing you all the very best! Thank you so much for helping me out despite my disability to speak nihongo. We hope to see you again. I am so much indebted to you all and there are no words to describe how thankful we are to you.

Christmas 2010

Last year, my family and I celebrated Christmas at Sabah, for a change. It was a very memorable and wonderful trip as the whole family gathered after a long time and we flew to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah as a group for the first time.

It was exceptionally special to me because I get to return home and see my family members after a year. Besides, this was my first holiday after my kidney transplantation. Previously, my holidays were limited to 2-3 days due to my medical requirement (dialysis).

Anyways, we started off by flying as two groups from two different places, as my siblings are scattered around the country. We all met at Kota Kinabalu International airport around 8pm. After a loud dinner at an Italian restaurant, we checked in a double 3-room apartment. It was fun to chat and to get back on track on latest family gossips and stories. The next day, on the eve of Christmas, we went shopping around Kota Kinabalu, buying some native products. Later at night, we attended the Christmas Mass. It was a very wet Christmas as it was pouring cats and dogs!

On Christmas morning, after exchanging gifts, we checked out and drove to Mount Kinabalu Heritage Resort & Spa. It was a very beautiful place with an excellent and breathtaking view of Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in Malaysia. We spent two days at the resort and our activities include; watching the sunrise amidst the Mount Kinabalu peak, visiting the Desa Dairy Farm, Sabah Tea Plantation, dipping ourselves in the Poring Hot Spring, awed at the Mesilau Park view and so much more!

After fulfilling days at Kota Kinabalu, we headed to Labuan, Sabah. Since, it is an island, we went there by a boat. It was a bizarre experience as we took the boat at night. The sea was so dark, and we felt the water brushes us as the boat speeds up leaving us to scary imaginations. The mind blowing part was when the boat came to a curvy halt panicking us a little. The reason was a huge wooden log was floating; thus hitting it could have been disastrous. As we approached the land, we could see the beautiful lights of many docked ships. It was an amazing view as if watching the bright stars in a very dark sky. The boat trip was one of the best adventurous voyage ever! We stayed at my brother's place in Labuan. We spent some quality family time there enjoying some home-cooked food.

On the second day, we took a ferry to Brunei and stayed at The Empire Hotel. We dined, swam and just relaxed at Brunei. We also visited the famous Brunei Mosque with the pure golden domes. We headed back to Labuan after two days stay at Brunei.

We finally flew back home after a day at Labuan, with lifted spirits despite the sore and tired muscles. It was truly an amazing getaway and family gathering. Looking forward to such bonding and trips again in future :)