All posts filed under: Random

Something about Philipus Jani

Published by

** Picture above taken from Yayasan Inovasi Last week, a Sabah-born saxophonist made it into Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s Facebook account after the PM snapped a picture of him playing a bamboo saxophone at the 26th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur. The photo attracted a lot of comments and over 11,000 likes. Shortly after the photo was uploaded to Lee’s Facebook, Philipus made it into the news. Apparently the duo had a conversation where the musician asked the Prime Minister where he came from. This was however not the first time media picked up stories about Philipus. I do believe not many people have heard of him until recently. So, who is this saxophonist and why was he invited to serenade top leaders at the Asean Summit event? You may learn about him here. ### IT took Philipus Jani 13 years to fine-tune his  saxophone made from bamboo.  These days, he can make one  in five days. The 44-year-old multitalented Dusun from Tambunan has now sold 70 bamboo saxophones around the world and has made a profit of over RM100,000. “I only produce the instrument upon request and many have placed …

A souvenir kind of day

Published by

I was feeling a little unproductive this morning. Maybe because I had to attend a boring assignment – Goods and Services Tax briefing by Sabah Customs Department … … And no, I am not going to talk about GST. So, I arrived office at 12.15pm, bringing in only one news. As I settled back in my seat, my colleague approached me. Olivia was holding a box of some things. As I looked closely, there were five or six fridge magnets, and five or six thin boards with pictures on them. There could be more than five and more than six too. My eyes were fixed on one of the thin boards. It was the one with two tiny holes and a rope attached to one of the holes. There was a red building painted on the board with caption written Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan). I was not sure what to do with it but I took it because it was unique. “How long were you in Taiwan?” I asked. I knew Olivia was on leave for the past few days. I just didn’t …

Planning Indonesia

Published by

I have been to Indonesia thrice. Next month will be my fourth and this time, I will be exploring the country with my mom. The thing about this daughter-mother trip is I don’t know where to begin. I have the starting point and I know where it will end. I do not have the in between. I definitely want to revisit Jogja and Borobudur. When we should do it, I do not know. The other day, mom asked whether I had everything planned. I was flipping through the LP guide book and shrugged. “Nah, read this.” It has been two weeks now. I am still waiting for my mom to tell me about places she wants to visit.

Planning Denmark

Published by

On a fine Monday afternoon of May 26, I am already thinking of December. It has been decided and everything that has to do with making a booking will be done real soon. As I am typing this, I am also thinking about moving and the exquisite smell that my hair produces. Not that it smells bad but somehow I am smelling December. Sitting towards the end of May, the 12th month of the year is not a long way to go. This means I need to plan now on what to bring and items to avoid bringing to Denmark. It will be winter and it will be my first solo winter travelling. So I wouldn’t want to exceed my weight limit by stuffing all heavy coats and sweaters in my backpack and bringing you-think-you-need-them-but-you-don’t items. On places to go, I do have my list but Denmark is so expensive, so I am avoiding places that will suck-dry my pocket. But while I am at it, I am also now thinking whether I should go Oslo …