I’m finally back online. After two weeks of treacherous and torturing revisions and exams, and also MC stuff going on there and here. As promised earlier, I’m going to post up about Level Up Fitness first.

Congratulations! Best Entertainment Blog!

Level Up Fitness, a brainchild idea of Kenny Sia, or fondly known as Kenny, our very own celebrity blogger from Kuching. Coming from a background of IT and business, setting up a fitness centre takes quite a while and lots of planning. But of course, with that, good business will start rolling, isn’t it?

I was there during the Bloggers/Media session, it was weeks ago, and honestly, I’m very very impressed with the setting. Being the first fitness centre offering Body Combat and Body Pump, Level Up Fitness offers the best in quality and quantity of the services. Quoted from Kenny, “Kuchingites prefer good stuff and cheap!”. Can’t agree more, that’s the current market in Kuching.

Level Up Fitness isn’t like any other fitness centre, using standard and internationally recognised exercise machines from Cybex, Level Up Fitness, is certainly a ‘level up’ and sets a benchmark to all other fitness centres in Kuching. I’ve tried out myself on the treadmill, bikes and steppers, all are easy to use and safe as well. They have classes for pilates, body combat, and etc. every week for the members! Isn’t it great?

Models trying out the bike machine.

 

Uncle Francis Ho on the treadmill.

 

“I’m NOT giving up yet!”, Anna.

 

Dexter Bong, crowning champion of Mr. Asia (Bodybuilding).

Group Photo!

Think no further, as the saying goes, “Seeing is believing”. Try it out yourself, then you think about it. I’m definitely going to sign up, that’s for sure, offering the best price in Kuching. Currently, it’s at RM119 per month, if I’m not wrong. Check out the website here. And remember, only at Level Up Fitness, if you’re looking for a fitness centre, that’s it.

 

For more information:

 

Opening Hours:

Monday to Friday : 7am to 10pm
Saturday, Sunday, Public Holidays:
9am to 6pm

 

Address

Level Up Fitness Sdn. Bhd. (850591-U)
Wisma Everrise, Lot 376, Jalan Petanak
93100 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Tel:  082-233 222
Fax: 082-415 367
E-mail: info@levelupfitness.com

Will be back shortly after my final semester examinations. Lots more to post. Ouch..

 

Last paper tomorrow!!

It’s here. The Malaysia Global Business Forum, Bosnia and Herzegovina is finally here in Kuching, Sarawak! Held in the humble city of Kuching, the capital city of the state of Sarawak, located in the heart of Borneo.

 

First of all, great thanks to Mr. Nordin Abdullah, the Managing Director of Glenreagh Sdn. Bhd., the main organiser of the forum, for inviting myself, Fahri, Cyril and Amiey to cover the 3-day event, and all access pass to the events. Thanks once again, it is indeed a great opportunity.

 

The opening dinner was held on the 8th November, first day of the forum itself, to welcome expatriates from Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as local entrepreneurs to the business forum. As once said, “This is the gathering of both worlds!”

 

“Don’t judge the book by it’s cover”. Yes indeed. No doubt, that Bosnia and Herzegovina used to be a war torn country during the war in 1992. Even some said, when anyone mentioned the country Bosnia, they thought it’s going to be like Iraq and Afghanistan, or should I say, even more graphical, it should look like this:

 

Source: Wikipedia (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Nevertheless, Bosnia and Herzegovina went through a hard time back then during the war, it was disastrous. Before putting on a judgement immediately about a country, take a look at Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina:

 

 

 

There you have it. This is what Sarajevo looks like. Quite similar to what you see in Austria and Switzerland. Does this change what you think about Bosnia and Herzegovina now? I’m sure you are.

 

Now, back to business. Fahri, Cyril, Amiey and I carpooled to the convention centre. As usual, we got to be there earlier meet up with Ms. Anne and Lily. We dressed up pretty well, in line with the dresscode for the opening gala dinner. It’s great to dress up formally sometimes though.

Borneo Convention Centre, Kuching

 

We reached at the venue at about 7.15 pm, as usual, we have to be earlier isn’t it? That should be our culture when it comes to such high profile event.

And there, we found ourselves a seat at the media table, while waiting for the guest of honour, The Right Honourable Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to arrive. I was quite busy taking photos of the event, I could only remember some of the things mentioned during the speech. Sorry for that. But, enjoy the photos!

 

The arrival of Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to the Opening Gala Dinner.

Welcoming dance. 

 

Welcoming speech by Mr. Nordin Abdullah.

 

Speech by The Honourable Dr. Selmo Cikotic, Minister of Defence Bosnia-Herzegovina.

 

Opening speech by The Right Honourable Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, Chief Minister of Sarawak.

 

Mr. Nordin presenting a momento to Pehin Sri Abdul Taib.

 

Entree!

Just reached home from a meeting with Ms. Anne, the Director of Projects of Glenreagh Sdn Bhd at Four Points Sheraton. Together with me, were Cyril, Amiey and Fahri.

 

I was surprised to know that Ms. Anne is actually Mr. Noordin’s mum! Gosh, that’s cool right? Anyways, we had a long chat about the programmes lined up for the global forum. Sounds cool isn’t it? Not many youngsters will be interested when it comes to business. Yikes!

Media Pass. The life of a photojournalist. Cool…

 

Set all that aside, got a pass for myself and Fahri, thanks to Cyril! And the best part is, we get to join the closed session with Tun Dr. Mahathir. I have loads of questions to ask him.

 

On a note, I’ve been busy these days, and I would like to apologise to Kenny Sia, I’ll be putting the photos and report up about Level Up Fitness. I’ve been busy these days with assignments and presentations. Too many things in hand though. I have a lot in my hard drive, and blog posts yet to be posted up, and that includes Halloween themed photo shoot with Joash Kong. Stay tuned for that guys!

 

Oh yes, I’m currently on Blackberry! It’s Blackberry Gemini 8520. Loved it, and it has a name, Kylie. Not Kylie Minouge, it’s just Kylie. Sounds awkward when I tell my friends that I’m currently ‘fingering’ Kylie. Eww…but it’s my Blackberry. Lols.

Blackberry Gemini 8520, Kylie. How lovely she is…

Invited a friend of mine to try out for a photoshoot. And….in my newly renovated studio at home. Theme? Black and White.

Not bad for starters. Got to direct him on the poses. Not an easy task to shoot. Without using any strobes, just natural lighting.

 

 

  

tHe Spring Ambassador Hunt audition to find the Top 16 to compete for the spokesperson of tHe Spring has attracted more than 60 would-be ambassadors. The audition carried out for 3 days at the Centre Court along with UCSI University and Alvin Leong.

“I see a lot of potential contestants throughout the audition period but I don’t have a favourite contestant so far. I’ll see how the Top 16 selections will go and how they will perform throughout this competition,” said Marissa who was one of the judges at the audition.

“It is a tough audition because we were first interviewed by the host before proceeding to the judging floor. Judges were quite strict and the questions they asked were really challenging. One of the contestant before me didn’t even have the chance to finish and he was sent home. That got me really nervous and worried,” said Mohammad Khairul from Kuching.

The whole process of the audition was recorded on video with Joel Ngeaw as the host, playing the role of Ryan Seacrest from American Idol. Shortlisted candidates will be called in for a final interview this coming Saturday and the Top 16 ambassadors will be announced on November 1.

I had this photo shoot ‘aeons’ ago, I think. Thanks to Alvin, for letting me to tag along during the shoot to test out his Leica M8. I joined in partly though. I was rushing to do some stuff. Anyways, the shot was taken at 2 particular places in Kuching. Try to guess, I think some of you may have seen this place. Hehehe. Models: Demie and Effa.

 

This time, I’ve tried to edit the photos but keeping the natural colours of the photos. Tell me what do you think?

 

 

I’m so sorry for such a delayed post. Thousand apologies. Work never seem to stop even for a minute these days. I’m currently attached to the acute unit of male surgical ward in Sarawak General Hospital. Great experience, but I don’t even have the time to sit or drink!

 

His Excellency Ensar Eminovic, Ambassador of Bosnia-Herzegovina to Malaysia, with the attendance of Mr. Nordin Abdullah, Managing Director of Glenreagh Sdn Bhd, the organiser of the coming Malaysia Global Business Forum – Bosnia, which will be held on the 8th to 11th November 2009 at the Borneo Convention Centre, Kuching, Sarawak; invited bloggers including myself to have a ‘special’ sharing session with the honoured guest recently at Starbucks, The Spring Mall. In a nutshell, it was a very productive interview and sharing as well.

 

Little did I know about Bosnia-Herzegovina. Let alone the public in Malaysia. Nevertheless, whenever we mention about Bosnia, the first thing that came to our mind is that Bosnia used to be a war torn country. I suppose, we can actually set that aside from our heads. Trust me, I’ve not been to Bosnia myself, but I’ve seen the photos in Bosnia….it is the Gem of the South East Europe.

 

His Excellency Dr. Haris Silajdzic,
President of Bosnia-Herzegovina

With 50% Muslim population, that doesn’t deter the image of a plural society. Muslims, Christians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Croatian, and Jews, all living together in the same society. Reminiscing his days as a student back in Malaysia, he was very grateful of Malaysia’s help during the hard days in Bosnia. And now, H.E. Ensar, serves as the Ambassador of Bosnia-Herzegovina to Malaysia, he said,

“I’m more Malaysian than a Bosnian.”

Graduated from Malaysia, with a degree in Political Science, Mr. Ensar pursued business and joined international organisations for several years before being personally appointed by the President of Bosnia-Herzegovina as the Ambassador to Malaysia. He was very grateful, and of course, he shared his close relations with Malaysians. He said, “Saya Buatan Malaysia!”. Wow, how many of us are proud to be a Malaysian? I believe we should learn that strong spirit of his. Even his son, was born in Malaysia. He intended to send his son to a public school than to a private school of elites.

His Excellency Ensar Eminovic,
Ambassador of Bosnia-Herzegovina to Malaysia

 

The purpose of the meeting session with the bloggers is to give a brief view of the Global Business Forum later in November. Mr Nordin mentioned that, “The goal of each Malaysia Global Business Forum is to create tangible business results and the fact that Bosnia’s top decision maker is attending the event will facilitate this process.” In addition to that, the President of Bosnia-Herzegovina, His Excellency Dr. Haris Silajdzic, has confirmed his attendance and together with his entourage of ministers to Kuching, Sarawak.

 

Ms. Diong (BCCK Sales Manager) and H.E. Ensar Eminovic.

 

Mr. Ensar stated that Sarawak has a great potential of generating lots of business collaboration with the rest of the world, and he foresee that more will come for the Land of Hornbill. I had the chance to ask him about some of the key areas of collaboration in such global business between two countries. As stated by Mr. Ensar, one of the main sector in Bosnia is Tourism. Many may wonder, how did Bosnia generate income after the post Bosnia War in 1992? Yes, that was 17 years ago, and Bosnia-Herzegovina no longer recognised as a country with the aid of international humanitarian mission. According to Mr. Ensar, Bosnia looks like Austria and is the second Switzerland. Located neighbouring to Croatia, Italy, Czech, etc., it’s not a problem to get a flight to visit around Europe through Bosnia. He reiterated that Malaysian business partners could also regard Bosnia as the gateway to Europe. I was told that recently, the European Union imposed a ban on Malaysian seafood, and that has caused huge losses in millions of ringgit. He believed that great partnership with Malaysia would be a win-win situation, not only to boost the market in Bosnia, but also Malaysia per se.

Lovely Georgette Tan.

Timothy & Cynthia, listening attentively to H.E. Ensar.

A quote from the press release,

“Bosnia has fast positioned itself as a gateway to the broader European markets. Bosnia has FTAs with Russia and Turkey and CEFTA Agreement, it is also a signatory to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU which allows for the free flow of goods into the EU without tariffs, duties or quotas.”

Mr. Nordin Abdullah, sharing his thoughts with the bloggers.

When I was informed by Mr. Ensar about the benefits of mutual business cooperation, I’m very sure that through Bosnia, we can penetrate European business to greater heights. In fact, the main gateway to a more lucrative business. The coming Malaysia-Bosnia Global Business Forum held in Kuching will be a great success and put Sarawak in the global stage, as the hub of the central South East Asian region.

Tun Dr. Mahathir
(photo from Mark Fallander)

According to Nordin, Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad will be delivering the keynote address with other speakers include:

Amer Bukvic – CEO Bank Bosnia International – who is recognised as Europe’s leading Islamic Banker.

Amer Jeralgic – CEO of Elektrpravada, Bosnia’s largest and most profitable company which is equivalent to TNB and is involved in the energy and mining sector.

Sam Osmanagic – Discoverer of the Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids and Bosnia’s Indiana Jones.

Tarik Dodic – Secretary General of Foreign Trade Chamber Bosnia who is leading a strong delegation of Bosnian business leaders.

(photos courtesy of Malaysia Global Business Forum)

And as from the session with the bloggers, here are some of the photos taken:

H.E. Ensar Eminovic & Uncle Francis Ho.

 

Rose & Georgette.

 

For more information about Malaysia Global Business Forum – Bosnia, visit www.malaysiaglobalbusinessforum.com or contact the secretariat on email info@malaysiaglobalbusinessforum.com or +603 – 4251 1850 or +603 – 4251 1853.

A shout out to Ms. Lee J. Diong, for inviting fellow bloggers and myself to this event. Thank you very much, it was a great experience indeed.

Not to forget, His Excellency Ensar Eminovic, Ambassador of Bosnia-Herzegovina to Malaysia, & Mr. Nordin Abdullah, Managing Director of Glenreagh Sdn Bhd. for inviting us to such high level meeting. Thanks!

This is a looonggg delayed post. Sorry man…haven’t update my blog for so long. Same goes to my Project 365. And yeah, I’m damn tired.

 

And, here it goes. Swinburne Prom Nite was held on the 27th September 2009, at the Four Points Sheraton Kuching. Theme? Masquerade Night. Pretty cool right? But I don’t like masks. Anyways, thanks to Ron, I attended the dinner as VIP, together with Ben, Fahriee, Morgan and Eugene. Morgan and Eugene are guest performers for the opening show. Great show man!

 

Besides that, Dave PeiJie was specially flown in to Kuching (wait a moment, he was a former student from Green Road School) to perform during the show with Dennis Gan, 8TV host. Dave was the winner back then in 2005, the very first show of DiGi Celebriteen. But now, he’s signed under Maxis Hotlink. Lols. I had a chance to have a photoshoot with Dave in the afternoon before the dinner. I will post that up soon.

 

Now, before the dinner, I had to bring Ben to do his hair at McPhee Hair Studio. As usual, their artistry never fails to amaze me, especially their director, McPhee. He’s very good at styling Ben’s hair. Yups, for those who have seen Ben’s hairstyle that night, it was the work of Antonia, their Senior Stylist. McPhee couldn’t be there, unfortunately.

 

About the night itself, we reached there about 6.30 pm. Still quite early though. Ben looked kinda awkward, not because of his looks, but he doesn’t really know anyone from Swinburne there, except for a few. Kesian…

 

All in all, it was a great night, I’m typing this with my sleepy eyes, and I got to wake up at 5.30 am to go to hospital for my clinicals. Sigh. Nuff said, photos ahead. Oh yeah, congratulations to Aprilia and Jordan Wui, crowned as the Prom King and Prom Queen of the night!

 

   

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

 

Right, back to the main topic. Fahri and I had a photoshoot session for Morgan on the first day of Raya. Ironic right? But I guess, we got it on the right time. Results? LOVED IT! I won’t say much about the location…teehee…let you figure them out yourselves!

 

 

and compare that to the original performance:

 

 

 

What do you think?

The Breeze Model Search is finally over. An astonishing end to the show. The cocktail event was great with superb performances from Julie, Morgan, Eugene Yeo, Talib, Jaynsen, Karen Chin, Sharon Lugun and also from our finalists, Firdaus and Aprilia. Kudos to them.

 

Results are as follows:

2nd Runner-up:

Firdaus Affandi

Sapphire Wong

 

1st Runner-up:

Richard Yu

Effa Izzaty

 

And, the winners of the Breeze Model Search goes to Ben Sim and Aprilia! CONGRATULATIONS!

I suppose most Kuchingites have not heard of the name Julie Chan in the music industry, yet. Well, our very own future songstress, hails from the city of Kuala Lumpur, at the tender age of 16 years, was invited to Kuching recently as a guest performer for the Breeze Model Search Cocktail @ Original Carwash for Sarawak Hospice Society. Ahem! As for her portfolio, she performed regularly during Royal Banquets, for Her Majestry, Tuanku Raja Permaisuri Agong, our former prime ministers, Tun Dr. Mahathir and Tun Abdullah. Oh yes, she performed during the private function for George Benson too!

 

Trust me, try to get to know with her, she’s very bubbly and fun to be with. Right, she has the voice comparable to Christina Aguilera, Fergie, and Alicia Keys. I should’ve recorded her performance that night. Shucks.

 

Anyway, Fahri and I arranged a photoshoot for her on Sunday and yesterday afternoon. Sunday’s photoshoot was mainly outdoor, while yesterday’s photo session was held at Soulis @ The Park. Nice and cozy place. On Sunday, we first headed to the Girl Guides Headquarters near Bampfylde Road. She’s a natural raw talent in singing, and modeling too!

 

After that, we went to the temple near Star Cineplex, yeah, most of you have seen that right? Yups, I just love that place. The right time, at the right place.

And this is, Julie Chan, the Diva in making.

 

 

The Original Car Wash and MerkWorld(www.merkworld.com) will be holding an event, Cocktails @ Carwash, on Saturday, 12^th September 2009, to raise funds for the Sarawak Hospice Society and in conjunction with the Finale of the Breeze Model Search (“BMS”). The BMS, which is managed by MerkWorld, started in April and with the support from LimKokWing, Intimate and other sponsors and partners, the competition has attracted hundreds of people to the audition. From the original contestants, 6 finalists remain and the winners of the BMS will be announced at the Cocktails @ The Original Carwash, located at Rubber Road, Satok.

 

The Sarawak Hospice Society (“SHS”) is an NGO having an active partnership in several projects with the Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology of the Sarawak General Hospital under the chairmanship of Dr. Tang Tieng Swee. One of the project is the Hospice at Home Care Programme. It is a programme of care aimed at improving the quality of life of terminally ill cancer patients and families within the home environment by (1) giving to them support and advice on symptom control as well as emotional and physical support, (2) Patient and family counselling when required; and (3) loan of equipment (free of charge) for use by the patients at home. It is comprised of nurses and doctors who are volunteers, as well as lay volunteers.

 

The event is a Corporate Social Responsibility program conceptualised by The Original Carwash and MerkWorld. The Original Carwash is a restaurant and premium carwash – the first of such concept in Sarawak. The tickets to the event are available at RM80 per person and include dinner and entertainment. Proceeds from the sale food, beverages and carwashes will be donated to the Sarawak Hospice Society. Entertainment for the event includes fashion shows and performances by the BMS Finalists as well as guest artistes, Julie Chan and Morgan Then and culminates with the announcement of the Breeze Model Search winners.

Ben Sim, Richard Yu, and Firdaus. Male Finalists of Breeze Model Search. Photo by Alvin Leong.

 

Julie Chan is a 16 year old singer who has performed for HM, the Permaisuri Agong and former premiers, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (including as the opening act to George Benson and Al Jarreau at a private concert that at Seri Perdana for the latter). Julie has starred in several musicals and was also involved in the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KL Pac) musical, Kaki Blue, as a member of the dance ensemble and supporting cast. Her music ranges from pop, rock, jazz to funk, soul and classical opera.

 

Accompanying Julie will be award winning musician, songwriter and music composer, Morgan Then. 18 year old Morgan, has performed at the opening of the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) for two consecutive years and he recently won two awards at the Kota Kinabalu Music Festival (KKMF) – Champion in Classical and also World/Duet Category. Morgan plays more than 6 musical instruments including piano, djambe, guitar, Chinese Er-hu and electronic keyboard.

 

Those who are interested to join in this good cause can contact MerkWorld at 082-416776 today, tickets can also be bought on the night.

 

Sapphire, Aprilia and Effa. Female Finalists of Breeze Model Search. Photo by Alvin Leong.

A big thanks to Ron for inviting me to tag along with him, but in the end, he couldn’t make it. So, I asked Fahri and Aprilia to go with me instead. Anyways, it was a blast. The interior were great, spacious, and classy. Trust me, this is the same standard as Tanjong Golden Village Cinemas and Golden Screen Cinemas.

 

Consists of 8 halls, with the Hall 5 as the largest one in the whole of Sarawak, with 400 seats! Huge right? Not to forget, Dolby sound system, great quality of screen, just adds up the spice of every films to watch. We watched Gamers by the way, and it was great! Never enjoyed so much! And warning! Bring sweaters and coats along, we were shivering in the halls. It was damn COLD!!

 

Nuff said, look at the photos to savour the beauty of our new cinema in Kuching.