Strong as the Wolf Pack

A wolf pack is like the Mafia. Everyone has a position in it. 

An alpha wolf is the leader of the pack. This is the mob boss, the brains of the outfit, the protector, the one who tells the other wolves where to go, when to hunt, what to hunt. The alpha is the decision maker, the capo di tutti capi, who, from 10 feet away, can hear the change of rhythm in a prey animal's heart rate. The alpha's actually far too valuable, as the decision maker, to put himself in harm's way.

Which is why in front of every alpha is a beta wolf, an enforcer. The beta rank is the bold, big thug who's pure aggression. He'll take you down before you get too close to the boss. He's completely expendable. If he gets himself killed, no one will really care, because there's always another brute to take his place.

Then there's the tester wolf, who's very wary and suspicious, who doesn't trust anyone he meets. He's always scouting for change, for something new, and he'll be hiding out at every corner to make sure that, when and if it happens, he's there to alert the alpha. His skittishness is integral to the safety of the pack. And he's the quality-control guy too. If someone in the pack doesn't seem to be pulling his weight, the tester will create a situation where the other wolf has to prove his mettle. Like picking a fight with the enforcer, for example. If that beta can't knock him to the ground, he doesn't deserve to be the beta wolf anymore.

The omega wolf was thought to be a scapegoat and at the bottom of the hierarchy, but he plays a key role in the pack. If 2 animals are fighting, the omega will jump between them and will clown around, until suddenly the 2 angry wolves have taken their emotions down a notch. Everyone gets on his job, and no one gets hurt. The omega holds the critical position of peacemaker. Without him the pack couldn't function; they'd be at a war with each other all the time. 

Say what you will about the Mafia, but it works because everyone has a specific role to play. They all do what they do for the greater good of the organization. They'd willingly die for each other. The other reason a wolf pack is like the Mafia? Because, for both groups, there's nothing more important than family

- I get this from Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult. It's an amazing story. You can read my review here. 

And I've also learned that there are 3 types of wolf howls: a rallying howl, which is a vocal beacon to bring back a missing member of the pack; a locating howl, which is like a voice message to give the placement of any pack that's in the area; and finally, a defensive howl, which is much deeper, and used to protect your territory. Amazing huh?

Most Memorable Photo

My favorite and most memorable photo that I've taken:

It was during a 5-day holiday trip to Manila, Philippines with my friends. We went to Manila Ocean Park on 2nd day and among all attractions, Jellies: The Dancing Sea Fairies was my favorite. Yes, they're real transparent jellyfishes that dance like fairies.

It's not like there's a lot of amazing stunts you can see. Their dancing was more like a slow waltz rather than hiphop dancing, for example. The changing colors of lights in the tanks made me feel magical as those jellies amazed me with their serene floating. I didn't even read the names of each jelly type because I was too mesmerized, it's like I was hypnotized by those sea fairies. I could spend a whole just watching them, honestly. And it's also one of the best times in my life. Travelling to a foreign country for the 1st time with my buddies was really great. We had so much fun. ^^

Come Home, Kitties

After 3 weeks, I am finally home and find myself crying really, really hard. It's been a while I didn't cry so hard since the last time when my deary cat, Asmara, died on the road. Now my 3 kitties and a mummy cat have gone missing. Mom said we lost them almost a month now. A month! And I never knew it till today, I am the last person to know about my missing cats. My heart shatters to pieces.

It's quite hard to believe, so I went knocking every door of my neighbors & crossing the dried paddy field to find my kitties. But they're nowhere to be found. If they're just wandering around, they would've came back. My kitties are either lost in somewhere, being kidnapped or donated. Either way, I should've known from the start, my family should let me know. I deserve to know! But I don't blame my family though..even I could  be angry at them.

Whoever has my kitties now, he/she better be nice to them & love them as much as I do. If I ever found that he/she is treating them badly, I'd make sure he/she lives in miserable. But if they're still wandering somewhere and couldn't get their back.......... *sobbing*..I hope they're safe and sound. 

My deary kitties, please come home..... :'(

A Perfect Closure

So here I am in my hostel apartment on the first night of final semester, reminiscing all the memories made in holiday. Heh. I miss home already. I miss my friends. We don't just say goodbye without having something memorable to share on the last day, you know. Just to make a sweet farewell. It's not like we wouldn't see each other again, but the next holiday is way ahead. So as a closure of semester break, last Friday me and The Baks went on a trip to Kundasang.

We rented a van and Ifo's cousin, Juan, was the driver. The best moments of this trip were when we're doing fun things together inside the van along the journey. We're telling stories and riddles, talking about politics (seriously), making fun of each other, playing ukulele, singing, taking pictures and enjoying the stunning scenery of natures. It's great. So we reached at our 1st destination, Desa Dairy Farm, around 11 am. We're too early and didn't get to see the milking process as it starts on 3 pm. But we got to meet and touch some adorable calves and goats, and even feed them. I wasn't into goats because they smell like.....you know, goats.

in Nissan Urvan

lets buy some milk

Ifo wants to adopt one

we are young

Then we went to the other side of Mesilau where we saw a beautiful golf court that looked like a garden. I think they better turn it into a garden instead. Besides, I didn't see anyone playing golf. And then there's a beautiful big house surrounded by pine trees (I'm not sure if they're really pine trees) that looked like the Cullens' house. So we called it as Twilight house. 

this is not sinetron

We dropped by for a little while at a river that flows from Mount Kinabalu. It was so beautiful but dude, I could be frozen even for 5 minutes. The water's ice cold. 

After having lunch at Ranau town, we headed to Poring Hot Spring. I didn't do more than feet dipping, because I didn't feel like jumping into the pool. But I was amazed by the beauty of Kipungit Waterfall, despite feeling tired of walking through the jungle trail to get there. Then we took off to Luanti to experience the fish massage at Tagal river, but unfortunately it's already closed by the time we arrived. I was actually relieved because their descriptions about the vacuum-like fishes were quite intimidating. 

Kipungit Waterfall.
pay no mind to those mermaids

these guys have been my brothers (except Ifo..well, he's more than that). awesome day.

It's already dark and we headed home. We stopped at Kundasang green stalls to buy some fruits and vegetables. I bought long cabbages and some mushrooms for mum and sister. My dear friend, Lan, bought 2 pieces of pomelo flesh (limau bali), but I was the one who ate them till finish. :p It's my favorite. Heeee..

I was half asleep on the way back. Actually I was trying hard to sleep because I didn't want to listen to their ghost stories, but I can't. Telling ghost stories at night on a long journey? Really? They're so mean. :p

We had dinner at a restaurant in Tuaran before saying goodbye to each other. 

Although it was only a day, the trip was awesome. ^^

Dance like The Sea Fairies

Manila Trip: Day 2

One of the best things during the trip was eating daing na bangus (marinated milkfish) with rice and spicy sauce. It's a Philippines signature dish and I really loved it. After the brunch, we walked to Robinson Mall to buy sim cards. I bought a Sun broadband sim card with unlimited internet for P150 total, which was enough for me to whatsapp my brother and sister. 

Waiting for our new sim cards

By taking a cab, we went to one of the must-see attractions, Manila Ocean Park, where we can watch the animals do wonders. I never thought that sea lion could be the cutest thing ever. We're entertained by 2 sea lions named Vincent and Isabel. They can dance, laugh, clap and act like human which made me go "awwwww...so cute!". I actually wanted to record a video but I was too busy enjoying the show. We also had a photography session with Isabel. ^^

Waiting for sea lions to come out

With Isabel

Next, we entered the Birds of Prey Kingdom where we met many types of eagles. I was a bit scared because we're actually entering the big cage of eagles, so those birds were flying just above our heads. My friends made joke that one of those eagles might catch a small person like me. That's quite intimidating somehow. :p The bird trainers let us feed the eagles by wearing a leather glove, holding a piece of meat and putting the hand up in the air. I thought the birds might not see me, but hey, do not underestimate the eagle eyes, an eagle came and caught the meat right when I lifted my hand. It's just a blink of an eye. I also got the chance to had a Brahminy Kite stood at my arm. The bird's bigger than my head, how can I not be nervous? 

ggrrrr....

After that we went into Oceanarium. It's quiet similar like Aquaria KLCC. But what KLCC doesn't have is the dancing sea fairies a.k.a jellyfishes. Dude, it's the most amazing live show I've ever seen. I could stay there forever watching the colorful jellyfishes swimming and dancing to the mellow music. It's calming and I was hypnotized. No wonder why Spongebob has a fascination for jellyfish. Lol.

And then we headed off to a huge wholesale mall where you can get a blouse as cheap as P100 (around RM7). I got myself some, the others got theirs and Ifo got an ukulele..of all things, I don't know why he bought that. :p Getting famished, we went out to have some bites of halal wrapped beef and pandesal (classic Filipino bread from Pan de Manila). Then we walked along the road of Binondo a.k.a Chinatown. It's known to be the oldest Chinatown in the world, and yes, they're mostly Chinese. 

We went back by taking tricycles and jeepneys. The fun didn't stop there after having dinner with roasted chicken, because we went out again for mid-night karocks at a KTV near our hotel. Everything's awesome. ^^

RIP Cinta

Family and I are in the mourning now. We just lost a kitty today. It's mum's favorite kitty, Cinta. She was vomiting twice on Monday and refused to eat. It was a public holiday, we can't bring her to vet as it's closed. Then my brother took her to vet this morning and the doctor said she had got stomach flu. Maybe because of something she'd eaten outdoor. So they did gave her medicine, but it's too late. She died this evening at 5.30 pm.

I cried when I got call from mum and messages from sisters. We're all mourning for the loss of Cinta. She's different from her siblings because she's the only one that has thick fur and loves coconut. I used to call her Tupai because her thick fur especially on the tail makes she look like a squirrel. She's special. Now she's gone forever.

When she's still a baby

Cinta :(

Her last photo

I'm so sad.

RIP Cinta.