My personal thots and views...

weekend

2010-10-22T20:11:00.000+08:00

it's friday today and I feel free and relax.....time to rest.

Jakarta

2010-08-14T18:32:00.001+08:00

Off to Jakarta for work really soon....sighing...

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crappy lot

2010-08-11T00:21:00.002+08:00

Life is full of crappy people..when will it be when we are free of them!

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Do not assume

2010-08-01T00:47:00.002+08:00

I was stuck in a meeting a few days back when I heard the conversation between a few people I know. This particular person who is known for her passion for talking was rather self absorbed and quiet. She was quite and seem to be preoccupied with the reading material. All of us at that time knew she was undergoing some problems as her dad's health is deteriorating. She was badly affected. I couldd hear the following conversation:-

Miss a: You know miss b you have to learn to let go. You shld pray hard that your dad goes fast and easily.

Miss b: Kept quiet and just looked into space

Miss c: Yeah you shld let go ..may be that is the best

I just sat there and kept quiet. I have been in that situation and yes it is easy for one to just say let go when it doesn't involve his or her dad. Sometimes it wld be helpful to be just there for the person. Don't just assume what u think is good for you is also good for others. When it comes to losing an important person in your life......others should just shut up.
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2010-08-01T00:32:00.001+08:00

Testing
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managing people is never easy

2010-06-17T11:08:00.004+08:00

Oh boy for the past few years I have been drained. Managing a group of people can be taxing and challenging for me. It drains the energy out of me….every single day when you have to deal with people's feelings, attitude, behavior and so forth.

May be I am not a people person, hence that explains why managing people can be stressful for me, working or doing things alone is what I prefer most because at least you can control most of the things that are coming your way. If mistakes are made, you take charge because you are in control of yourself. When mistakes are done by others...how do you react to that? How do you put your points across to the other person that he or she had made a mess and he/she screwed up “big time”.

Arrgghhhh, I really hate to be that “bad” person to always have to point the mistakes and the mess. At the end of the day, I feel crappy when I am forced to be hard and forceful in order to say my peace and get them to clean the mess.

When I am mad and upset, hell brakes loose and I know I can be very strict and direct.

I dunno sometimes I feel the more cool and relax I try to be, it never works! Someone I know told me that it doesnt matter how you handle it ...cool or mad....what's important is the results you produce...:)

I guess I need to count to 100 or even more when I decide to say my “peace” and get things done! Everyone has their own way in getting the plans executed smoothly. I really need to read all the management books I can get my hands on…may be the anger management class would help.

Oh well, life goes on..that's life….have a good weekend y’all.

HELLO 2010....

2010-03-02T13:14:00.003+08:00

Gosh, I can't believe it has been ages since I last blogged, the last time I wrote was when I first switched jobs sometime in January 2009. It has been a year and a plus, workwise I am doing ok...surviving and giving my best. I love my job but at the same time I do hope to have a balanced life. I gave up on having any goals when the new year sets in but may be this year it will be slightly different. I wanna improve the quality of my life.....I am gonna travel as much as I can this year round and be selfish! I wanna do everything for me, myself and I ..I think it is time I care for myself....:)) ..so here goes a better me in year 2010....oh and not to forget I will be blogging again! yippi yayeay

Movie Review - The Women

2009-01-18T11:26:00.014+08:00

When I was on my 2 week break, I managed to catch up on a few movies, I didn't really fancy the latest movie starring Keanu Reeves entitled "The day the earth stood still", the movie is about aliens making their way to earth with a mission to protect the earth from humans they believe are very destructive. Way too much for me but as usual Keanu Reeves never seem to disappoint me la kan...heh!

Apart from the movie about aliens and Keanu Reeves, I managed to complete The Duchess, Mama Mia, The Deception and a few more. One movie worth mentioning here is the movie "The Women".....starring Meg Ryan (my fave!), Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, Eva Mendes, Candice Bergen and many more talented actors. I strongly recommend this movie to all my female friends. The movie has a little tinge of romance, comedy, drama and I felt it did also touch on the importance of sticking to what one believes in especially when it comes to one's principles and moral values. The importance of having true friends no matter how life treats a woman. Friends should stick together thru good and bad times. After watching "The Women" it made me realised even more that when one intends to settle down, one should marry someone who is also his or her best friend. Let me see, do I have a best friend who is male and single?! Wonder whether it's too late..hahaha...just kidding:D

The synopsis of "The Women" can be found here. Do check it out....:)

Hectic, hectic and hectic...

2009-01-10T08:41:00.004+08:00

I have started my new job on the 2nd of January 2009, people say the first week will be a breeze as you will be asked to read manuals or policies. However, not in my case, first three days was full of reading and settling admin issues as my boss was on leave, once he was back in action...I was assigned with a big project and eventually more tasks were given and yesterday itself, I had three meetings to attend to. I love the fact that I am in a new place with new things to learn and new things to achieve in the long run, there is definitely a steep learning curve for me. I can see that all these assignments and issues I will have to attend to will be a tough process but I am sure if I were to remain consistent, resilient, patient and agressive in my own way, am sure everything will go out as planned, InsyaAllah.

Making new friends is also an interesting journey, I met a few fun people who are also my new colleagues. I am eager to go thru the learning process, getting to know my new boss and adapting to new changes. Interesting but at the same time can be very tiring, but I think I am gonna enjoy the new ride.....wish me luck!

2008-12-29T08:20:00.004+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

and

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT MAAL HIJRAH

lets hope the new year brings us more joy, happiness, serenity and prosperity.

Since 2009 is a whole brand new year for me in many ways, I have listed my new year's resolution as follows:-
to live my life as happy as I can by working harder, stay in contact with all of my good friends, to socialise more, always be true to myself and to lose more weight and lead a healthy life.

what's your new year resolution?

btw, I will be changing my url to http://precious-notes.blogspot.com in a week's time.

Saying goodbye is the hardest thing to do

2008-12-21T06:11:00.013+08:00

Friday was my last day working with the bank. After 12 years working with the bank, and the bank being the first stop upon graduation, definitely it would affect me emotionally. And yes it did....I felt soo sad! No words can describe how I feel at the moment. The good friends that I managed to build close and honest friendships with are the ones that I will miss the most. They are my daily pillar when I am at the office. It was a sad feeling when I had to shake their hands and say my good byes. When they found out about my resignation, most of them were shocked. It was tough for me personally and as THE day approaches, my weeks were filled with them buying me lunches...oh boy it was tough...laughing with them, kidding around with them, knowing that in a month's time I will be working with a new set of people. People say - don't worry, your friendships with all of them will not end here, you can still keep in touch and meet up after work. Yup, but then again it will never be the same. When you work together, you go through many experiences together, the tough and shitty moments as well as the good times when things fall into place..that really bonds good friends and colleagues closely together....:(

The day before my last day, we had a divisional farewell for me and my two other colleagues who are leaving to be house moms, I was asked to give a speech, I really thought I was gonna be okay...but when I opened my mouth, I knew they could hear me trembling when I said my words....I specifically thanked my close teammates for their support. After the speech I saw my two close sidekicks' eyes were all teary... Their eyes were red, so was mine...:( Sedihlaaa......

And on the last day itself, I kept telling myself, keep your cool and don't cry... I couldnt't take a sad scene... I worry coz when I cry....I can cry buckets ok!!!! I managed to hold my emotions and tears till the end. How to layan perasaan when I had to transfer knowledge and info to my colleagues till the last hour and to top it of, I was still doing my management reports for board submission..hahaha! My teammates called me at 4pm for another surprise farewell, they bought me a gift...lagiiii sedih....apart from the divisional gift, they made sure that I was given a personal gift specially selected by them......mana tak sedih lagi :( Too much to handle!!

The toughest is saying good bye to one of my very close colleagues, whom I have worked with for almost 8 years, through our working years, there were many times when we both would laugh like crazy about silly issues or silly gossips, we would fight (heheh) about work matters..and he has always been patient with me...always giving in to my keras kepalaness...we stood together when we had to go through many changes, group transformations, colleagues leaving, we had to pick up the bits and pieces and move on....and do whatever it takes to ensure a smooth working process for our juniors...., it was tough but we made it somehow. So that explains why we were teary eyed when I did my speech and mentioned his name..I know, I will still keep in touch with him but knowing that we both will be moving separately in our career paths makes me all sad.....:(. Althoughh, I did tell him, we can't both be retiring in the same department right?..hahaha! "So fren, I wish you all the best in your future undertakings and keep in touch! Oh and be prepared, I will definitely call you when I am in the new place whenever I need your help and advice :-P.. Oh and you said I was so strong for having that strength to contol my sadness and you asked if I cried when I went home, yup quietly! ssshhh...don't tell anyone. I won the bet, coz I didn't cry in the office on the last day but off records...I was crying inside :-P You know how I would look like if I cried buckets right..you saw it when you came during my arwah mother's funeral....it can be an ugly scene. Thanks again !" Ohh...and I thot it was very cute of you to call me like a zillion times on my extention saying that after the last day, you wont be calling that extention for me anymore....I never thot of that you know. And the mission to make me feel guilty for leaving the department by hanging out in my cubicle day in day out showing me that sad look...and being soooo nice! Hahah! Oh well, we'll keep in touch...not that either one of us is migrating..:-P..Since you said the drive to my new place only takes a few mins, so make sure you have lunch with me ok?haha.

I am currently on a 2 week break before I start work in January. I need to unwind and rest, till I start anew. So I guess I will be celebrating year 2009 with a new job at a new place! Wish me luck....coz I think I will be needing loads of it.

Merry Christmas to those celebrating and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am gonna miss all of you to bits

2008-12-18T20:26:00.006+08:00

Dear colleagues @ good friends,

It's time for me to bid farewell to all of you. Trust me, saying good bye is the hardest thing to do. After all those years working with all of you through thick and thin, there is nothing more I can say except thank you for your kindness, support and most importantly your friendship. I am sure I will miss all of you very much. Last but not least, thank you for making my journey in XXX a memorable one.

Once again, thank you and do keep in touch.

N.A.B

Why now...

2008-12-11T11:19:00.006+08:00

I have soo many things to settle at the office before my last day next week...BUT I am on MC for 2 days till tomorrow. I have conjunctivitis..My eyes are red, swollen and itchy!....Streesssss....why does it have to happen when I need to wrap things up before I say my goodbyes!

Nasi Padang, Senayan City and a wedding!

2008-12-05T11:06:00.005+08:00

the bride and groom taking their seats.

the entrance that leads to the pelamin

that's the pelamin

the lay out of the reception

Once we reached the hotel area which was located in Jakarta Selatan, we had our dinner at our normal favourite restaurant, “Nasi Padang Sederhana”. As usual, my must have list would include the ayam pop and sambal terung! Sedap sehingga menjilat jari. My dad, sis and me have been to Jakarta a few times, pretty much familiar with Jakarta but not my brother who was a little at lost for the first few hours. Lepas tu dia lagi pandai dari we all :-P

My cousin’s wedding was scheduled for the following night at Masjid Al Bina in Senayan. The drive to the masjid took us about 10 minutes, itu pun due to the machet if not we would probably be there in 5 mins right on the dot. Again the culture was different, as expected we were supposed to mingle. Spread of food can be located in the few islands around the area. The pelamin or dias was extra long as compared to ours. We had to queue to greet the bride and groom. The only thing I spotted is the heavy head gears the couple were wearing I asked my cousin….is that heavy?? He nodded and said Beraaaaaaat!! Found out later that the bride fainted twice due to the heavy headgear and poor air ventilation. Oh boy, one thing’s for sure if I do get married, you won’t be seeing me with that headgear..hahahah :D

Shopping spree for me in Jakarta would be buying original CDs of Indonesian artiste. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate Malaysian artiste, but I still think that the songs they produced in Indonesia is to my taste and I think they are very talented and the songs composed are just to good to ignore. Again this time round, I got a good collection of CDs of talented bands and singers.
Layan........

my fave hang out, Senayan City.

fave food, bakmi GM, lurve the fine noodle..yummy!

I love Senayan City sooo much. I was there the whole day but couldnt believe it that I didn’t get to really check out the other mall on the opposite called Plaza Senayan., the biggest mall I have seen so far. Told my sis, I am definitely going to back to Jakarta soon to check out Plaza Senayan..Haha! Also did another round of shopping at ICT kuningan to check out the latest DVDS that cost abt 7000 Rupiah per unit (RM2 plus)...and was shocked to note that CLEAR gila!

that's the kids toilet in Senayan City

infront of the hotel

me and my bro and dad checking the tokos in Senayan City.

By the way, I finally went through with my plans! I will be starting year 2009 with a new job! Yesss....time to move on eh…..:)

I am off to Jakarta. Again??

2008-11-26T12:47:00.005+08:00

The last time I was in Jakarta, it was last year, for a relative’s wedding. I had fun back then, learning about the different wedding culture and tradition. The food they serve at the wedding slightly differs from what we serve here in our Malay weddings. In Jakarta, all the guests would have to queue to greet the bride, bridegroom and their respective families on stage, wish them happiness yada yada yada. Once the couple makes a grand entrance on the red carpet, everyone will be on standby mode to go up the stage. We, coming from PJ were practically at lost during that special event until my uncle who resides from Jakarta said "quick lets stand right in front so we can be the first few ones to wish them" and also be the first few ones to eat right after that…haha! True enough…we were the first to eat…Terukkan all of us? when it comes to food, semua jalan!

Food prepared is something like our normal buffet spread however without the normal tables for guests to sit, eat and gossip. You are expected to stand and mingle with the rest of the people. Food is in abundance and it is spread out and in a way that everyone is expected to stand and move from one table to another. For those who need to sit, you will have to look around for empty seats probably located at the corner of the ballroom.

This time round, I am heading for another wedding. Yes again! I am expecting the same thingy but then again it depends coz the last time we went the groom was from Bandung, so there was some elements of “Sundanese” culture and tradition in the ceremony. This time, it is our side, so more of the “Mandaling” culture I think. Will update with pictures when I am back.

Till then, have a good week all!

pic courtesy of www.fundraw.com

Mama..

2008-11-19T10:08:00.005+08:00

Today is my arwah mother’s birthday, if she had lived, she would be 70 this year. Another year, another birthday but memories of her are still fresh in my mind and I still miss her more and more. It’s been a year and a half since she left us. The slight thought of her makes me all teary eyed. There are times when I just cannot believe that I am going thru life without her and most importantly without her love, guidance and wisdom. The toughest is going to places that reminded me so much of her and it makes me feel lost. Even now when I am heading for a change in my life, she is not there to see me through it. I know she will be happy if she is still around, I hope I will be like her – strong in many ways. She is very strong in facing any challenges in life.

What can say, losing a mom is never easy, but that is ketentuan Illahi, yang hidup pasti akan mati, and as a daughter, I am glad and thankful that my mother was always there for me, “Semoga rohnya sentiasa dicucuri Rahmat dan ditempatkan bersama orang yang beriman”.

Al-fatihah.

Happy Birthday Ma! I love you.

Another escapade.......Penang!

2008-11-16T20:09:00.009+08:00

lil niece trying out her swimming skills..hehe

the swimming pool on the rooftop..the breathtaking view of the sea

from the penang bridge

We decided to spend our weekend in Penang last night. We drove there on Saturday after Subuh and reached there at noon, had a good session of food binging with Penang being famous for its nasi kandar, char kuey teow and seafood. I simply love Batu Ferringhi, love the cooling breeze and amazing scenery.

Have been waiting for this break....

2008-10-27T21:48:00.015+08:00

I was in Awana Kijal for 3 days during the Deepavali weekend, spending some quality time with my close friends. At the same time I had an important issue at the back of my mind that was pretty much bothering me, an issue that I know would change my life in this near future.....in my mind, I was weighing all the pros and cons before deciding on something .....and nothing has been decided just yet even tho I am already back in KL....am still thinking hard. Oh well, let it flow, thot that being away from my life in KL, a decision can be made..Tough luck!

Anyways, talking about sandy beaches and good company....I can't wait for my trip to Penang next month.....:-D. Any suggestions where I can get good food, authentic Penang food?

The trip to Terengganu took us more than 5 hours. What would normally take us about 4 hours to reach Kijal, unfortunately for this particular trip, it took us girls more than usual, we left KL about 11am plus and reached Terengganu around 4pm. We stopped at the Temerloh R&R for some food and spent almost two hours talking and gossiping and we totally forgot about our trip. Haha! My friend drove half way and I took over and drove the remaining half. The weather was a little bit gloomy but I like it that way, as it was very relaxing.

Once we reached Awana, we checked in and went straight to the in house Spa and made our reservations. Talk about being soooo vain…hehe! What do you expect when it comes to girls, vacationing and Spa? However, I was pretty dissappointed with the facial because the face massage lasted only for a few minutes. Comparing it to my normal facial sessions here in PJ and KL, I would rate their service below average. It is supposed to have a Spa resort quality service right? Anyway, when the receptionist gave me a form to complete, I made a point to tell them how dissappointed I was.

We also went for a few rounds of beach strolling, walked about 15 minutes to see the jetty..told my friends...this is like walking non stop..penat giles, the beach is private, so that explains the clean and beautiful sandy beach. We also managed to check out the Jacuzzi as well as the huge swimming pool. After the pool and "hot" jacuzzi we then sat under the Kabanas for hours, chatting and laughing our lungs out. The sea was kinda rough in the mornings and evenings, but then again it is currently the monsoon season. I love the sound of the beach and rough waves when I am still in bed.....very soothing :)

The restaurants in Awana were closed for some UMNO makan2 and gathering on the first night, so we had no choice but to scout for food outside, we had our dinner at an authentic local warung with the locals (this place has the most pak ciks in kopia hanging around)....and food court in the new and only mall located within the vicinity called Mesra Mall.... they have Giant but it was not opened to public just yet. They were still doing minor renovations here and there.

But on our last night, we went to check out the live band in the club. They had a local band performing till about 12 midnight. I bumped into the male singer earlier when I was in the convenient store (located outside of Awana along the main road) buying my yogurt and he was at that time paying for his cigarettes. When he introduced himself to me in the club that night, he said “ macam pernah nampak je”…I just smiled…talk about having good memory eh :-D

Driving along the stretch between Awana and the other small towns can be a little bit spooky because of the almost non-existence of any street lights. Street lights were pretty much scarce along both sides of the road. The street lights will only appear when you reach a certain town. Imagine, having to depend on your car lights, which I find is extremely dangerous especially when there are only a few cars on the road. I really hope the Government can do something about this. Siapa yg ada problem with vision at night should SKIP driving at night. So taht explains why I ended up being the ONLY driver when night came..the rest were scared to drive...hmmpp.

We reached KL on Sunday at 7 pm…I think! Feeling rejuvenated and happy that we got to spend some quality time with each other. Oh and not to mention I have keropok lekor to keep me occupied. Hehe!

Salam Aidilfitri 1428H

2008-10-01T18:26:00.004+08:00

"Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri

&

Maaf Zahir Batin"

to all my blogger friends!

definitely a challenging Ramadhan for me, was down with gastritis..end up throwing up for two consecutive nights and as a result I am not able to enjoy the raya dishes....:(

Pictures snapped during Ramdhan that would be close to my heart!

2008-09-16T12:59:00.003+08:00

Padamu ku bersujud

Ku menatap dalam gelap,

tiada yang bisa kulihat

selain hanya nama-Mu,

ya Allah

Esok ataukah nanti,

ampuni semua salahku

lindungi aku dari segala fitnah

Reff:

Kau tempatku meminta,

kau beriku bahagia

jadikan aku selamanya

hambamu yang selalu bertaubat

Ampuniku ya Allah,

yang sering melupakanmu

saat kau limpahkan

karuniamu dalam sunyinya

aku bersujud

Singer Afgan

(To check out the song , do click on the player on my left sidebar)

Have a good weekend y'all!

2008-09-13T09:45:00.004+08:00

I am currently hooked on to this song by Agnes Monica, "Matahariku". I didnt know she is one "gorgeous" lady, been listening to a few of her songs but never bothered to check out how she looks like. Hahaha! Talk about being ignorant...I am guilty! May be because I always think Agnes Monica is Melly Goeslow :P

My close friend aka office mate just pop out the question - Lets go to Bandung?? I was speechless. Frankly after my second trip to Bandung in January'08, I didn't feel like going to any parts of Indonesia for the time being. I wanted to be Indo free for a year or so...:D But with this offer, I cant refuse..So here goes, we are planning for a trip in Novemberjust US girls InsyaAllah. Next month after Raya, I will be heading to Awana Kijal with my girlfriends for some Terengganu delights and "cuci mata" and after that to Penang with my family...Yippieee..definitely a nice way to end year 2008!

10th day of Ramadhan

2008-09-10T12:18:00.008+08:00

credit to kuihraya.wordpress.com

Today marks the 10th day of Ramadhan. It is getting easier, I would say, I mean getting used to fasting. But what I am not used to is the massive and bad traffic jam every morning when I leave for work and when I leave the office at 5.15pm. I normally use the smart tunnel at Jln Tun Razak but amazingly by 5pm, there is already a long queue. Sigh, the traffic gets really bad year after year. Everyone is rushing to go home for breakfast. Oh well, what’s new in KL, local transport sucks big time during the fasting month and getting caught in jams just makes me wanna scream my lungs out. Ohhh and the KL drivers are also kiasu during fasting month, bagi signal je, dia ingat dia boleh masuk. Kita pulak kena buat emergency break BUT I do try to avoid confronting these sickos, coz they can be really nasty during fasting month. Hmm, I wonder, doesn’t fasting count? You are supposed to be extra sabar and bersopankan? Apa dah...

I plan to make a few changes this time round for Raya, mainly on the Raya cookies, I have cut down on my gila kuasa-ness when buying kuih raya! Last year, was bad, when I tasted the cookies during the sample period, they all tasted good. Unfortunately for me, when they were delivered to me, most of the cookies didn’t taste as good as before. So this year, I will only buy cookies from those who I trust and I know the taste will always be consistent. Oh and not to forget, the kakak who sells the yummy tarts has increased the price to RM30 for 50 pieces. Well, I do love her tarts coz they are normal bunga shaped tarts not the rolled ones but but but I mogok tak nak beli this year coz it is sooo bloody expensive, like hello …60 cents per piece? No way I am gonna agree to that!

This year’s Ramadhan is still not the same without my mom. I miss her so much! No words can describe how much I miss her. Having both your parents around for Raya is definitely what every anak wants but then again it is not for us to decide. Semoga rohnya sentiasa dicucuri Rahmat. Al-Fatihah.

On a brighter note, I have a new nephew…we call him Iz. I was hoping for my sis to deliver baby Iz Rayn on National Day but I guess lil Iz decided to surprise us a few days earlier. Welcome to the family and we love you so much. I thank God for all his blessings, Syukur Alhamdulillah that I have a family that cares.

Selamat berpuasa! Jangan puasa yang yok! Hehe :D

Till my next post, take care and selamat beramal ibadah!

Latest addition

2008-08-30T18:03:00.003+08:00

My new lil nephew Izz Rayn...Welcome to the world!! :)

Born on 28082008
Weighing 3.14kg

Yesss......I just love babies!

A start to a new dawn for Malaysia?

2008-08-26T23:25:00.002+08:00

The Permatang Pauh results is out:-

The PKR advisor won with a majority of 15,671 votes in the parliamentary by-election.

Anwar obtained 31,195 votes while Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah received 15,524 votes and the Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (AKIM) candidate, Hanafi Mamat, had only 92 votes.

Lets wait for September and see what comes next!

I was here, here and there

2008-08-15T09:58:00.005+08:00

I was here last month for 2 nights, I loved the private beach, the traditional Terengganu delicacies served during breakfast & lunch, the spa, the HUGE swimming pool and the scenery. It was a good gateway but not really a private gateway and escapade as I was accompanied by more than 50 people for a team building session.

I love Awana Kijal to bits.. Will blog about the team building event in a later entry but enjoy the pictures for now.

Pics courtesy of a fellow colleague of mine, Shamsuri.

I plan to go there again with my galfriends....this time round, I will be spending most of my time either at the beach or the pool :)

Remember Rick Astley?

2008-08-03T11:16:00.010+08:00

Wow, I was checking out youtube and I stumbled upon these awesome videos of Rick Astley, Never Gonna Give You Up, She wants to dance with me and Together Forever. When the songs were topping the charts, I was probably in my teens...haha! I was very much into his songs and the last time I heard of him was when he made a come back with the song Cry For Help!

Check the videos below:-

Were you a fan of Rick Astley back then? I wonder what ever happened to him after all the success? Is he still singing??Hmmm...

backdated entry - birthday gathering for the June/July babies

2008-07-22T09:22:00.008+08:00

We had a small birthday gathering sometime in late June for my brother and elder sis , sorry people lambat post. Life has been rather crazy, everything is asap for me, everything is urgent. Anyways, here are the pics and as usual the kiddos are the ones who are the happiest as they just love cakes, candle blowing, cake cutting and not to forget the birthday song.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UDIN & UMI!!

fishy adventure

2008-07-20T11:22:00.004+08:00

Have you guys tried out the fish spa. I have, I tried for the first time....and all I can say is geeeeeeeellllliiiiiiiii. I am pretty much a ticklish person. As soon as the fishes gathered near my heels...I went all geli geliman. My lil niece was with me and asked me whether she could try it as well. So we lowered her to the pool, and put her small feet in, all the fishes started to gather...she went like tak sakitla...best best nak lagi....:D

I need a longer weekend

2008-06-29T22:47:00.004+08:00

My weekend will be over soon, it was a relaxing weekend indeed where most of my time was spent on the Korean drama series My Girl...I think it was pretty popular back in 2006...as usual am always the last to watch.....Love the storyline and am still thinking of the hot main male character..heheh:D Mebbe it is time for me to migrate to Seoul and learn how to eat the traditional kimchi! :D

How was your weekend? Hectic?

ramblings of a couch potato

2008-06-20T11:48:00.011+08:00

I guess the global warming is making its way to almost all parts of the world. Last two years when I was in Japan on two separate occasions during the winter and summer season, I thought it was the worst ever. The summer was sooo hot that I couldnt stand the heat and the winter was on the extreme, pretty damn cold. The same goes for Malaysia itself, you can see the difference in terms of the heat and the unexpected thunderstorms all over. It can be very hot and humid one day and gloomy with massive thunderstorm the next day. Last weekend I dreaded leaving my room as the weather was HOT and humid. I am sure under the hot sun, I can easily fall sick with a massive headache and sore throat. I worry for the future generation and how Malaysia willbe able to sustain in 10 or 20 years down the road.

Life has been rather relaxing and fun as I have been on leave since yesterday. Been sleeping in late, lazing around like a couch potato and having some arty crafty time with my lil niece. Currently I have been busy catching up on movies that I have missed. Have you guys watched the movie What happens in Vegas? I had so much fun laughing, scenes were hillarious :) Hope to catch the movie Made of Honour starring the gorgeous Patrick Dempsey later today.

On a sad note, I had a chat with my ex uni mate last night. She messaged me to ask how I was doing. So we chatted for a while till she dropped a bomb on me. She told me that she is in her eddah and just went through a divorce. She sounded very strong she told me about how she found out that her hubby at that time was having an affair when she was pregnant. Such an ass****. According to her he is still in his angauness phase and seem all determined to continue his relationship with the younger woman. I hope he knows what he is loosing out!! Tak sedar dirila tu. Anyway my doa is with my friend and her kids. I know it will not be easy for her but I am sure setiap yang berlaku tu ada hikmahnye. Be strong girl!

What is happening to this world, imagine the little kids are the ones who will suffer and the father is just so full of himself. These selfish acts makes me think 10 times of why people should get married in the first place. Oh well, life is not a bed of roses, when you marry a person, it is a risk you have to take right?

I gotta get going now, time for Dora and friends with lil opie. Take care all!

Lil opie busy painting.

Have a good weekend.

Always appreciate what you have infront of you.

2008-06-15T16:47:00.006+08:00

Happy Father's Day Ayah!

I am a lil bit emo this year coz I can only celebrate father's day this year and not mother's day. I am happy that we managed to celebrate mother's day with my arwah mother last year, I can still recall how she told us to go on with the cake cutting while she took her nap as she was too tired to wait. She smiled when she ate the cake last year not knowing that would be the last one for us and her. The promise I made to myself this year is never to forget father's day as long as I have my dad.

For the fathers out there, Happy Father's Day!

random rantings

2008-06-08T12:48:00.007+08:00

We are now half way through year 2008, time really flies before you know it, here comes 2009! Life has been rather hectic for me lately, my colleague who has always been with me through thick and thin at the office finally said her good byes to all of us as she will be going over to the greener pestures. I wish her all the best and hope that our friendship will last till eternity. I am sad and worried at the same time as all of us will have to take over her job functions. I am gonna miss having her around, my partner in crime.

Apart from the work load, I have another important task to complete, which is to ensure that our division's away day is rolled out sometime end of July in a far away land. This is another challenging event to organise and it will definitely require loads of energy and commitment as the committee members will have to pay extra attention to the small details and to ensure all goes as planned. I was hoping that I will not be chosen as committee this year as I have been a part of it for 2 consecutive years already, but again this time, I did not have a choice..:( ..Urgh!

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We did a small tahlil for my arwah mother yesterday to mark the first anniversary since she passed away. It was a small one for family and close relatives and Alhamdulillah it went smoothly. It was great to see my aunties from my dad's side since the last time I spent time with them was many months ago. They have always been very supportive of us since my mom's passing and I really appreciate it. Oh and the kuih-muih brought by the relatives were just lovely. Larilah my diet for the weekend..heheh :)

this is a snapshot of me and my arwah mama many years ago in Sydney..I was too lazy to scan the pic..I just snapped from the photoframe :)

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My weekend for the past few weeks were just spent on book fairs and jigsaw puzzle solving. I was supposed to follow my bro to Singapore but cancelled last minute as I could not take leave. My collegue tendered and she didnt gave us much time as well. I had no choice but to rush work and meet the dateline. Crap eh! Well thats life..kerja pun makan gaji.

books I borong from the book fair

my completed puzzle on the wall..pheewww!

I foresee another long week ahead of me, wishing you guys, selamat berkerja and bersabar-sabar di jalanraya as kids will be back in school, there will be traffic jams everywhere, price hike on most stuff/food as a result of the high oil petrol.. good luck all! I am back to LRTing again...:D

Taking a break!

2008-05-14T09:20:00.005+08:00

I am taking a break from the blogging world. I am not too sure when I will be back blogging again. I have so many things on my mind lately, work and life issues. Blogging used to be therapeutic for me but not anymore. Anyways to all my blogger friends, keep on blogging eh...I will be reading you guys whenever I can and most importantly take care & luv you all!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T15:34:00.003+08:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there!

*pic taken from here

Ku Berserah

2008-04-30T10:31:00.016+08:00

Lately, I have been in a crappy mood, this lovely song seems to be in my mind most of the time. This song somehow sums up how I feel at the moment. "Berserah" is how I am facing life at the moment. Taking one day at a time at my own pace. Hmm, am still wondering what is with this crappy feeling of mine…may be it is the weather!

This song not only has a beautiful melody but the lyrics are pretty powerful too.

Click on the play button on my side bar under the song "Berserah" if you wanna check out the song.

Berserah
Gerhana meliputi segala
Tiada lagi sinaran cahaya
Keinginan tanpa kepastian
Tak mampu rasanya ku teruskan
Ku meneruskan…

Biarlah ku relakan segala
Walau hidupku sebuah tanda tanya
Mengapa…
Biarpun tak mampuku bertahan
Tak akan pernahku akui kalah

Masih terdampar ku disini
Tiada jalan mungkinku lalui
Haruskah hidupku dipersenda
Mengharungi dugaan melanda
Ku berserah…

Biarlah ku relakan segala
Walau hidupku sebuah tanda tanya
Mengapa…
Biarpun tak mampuku bertahan
Tak akan pernahku akui kalah

Tuhanku ku relakan segala
Takkan pernahku akui kalah
Percayaku yakin padanya
Dia yang menentukan semua
Ku berserah…

Song & Lyrics by Taufik Batisah

Saturday morning activity

2008-04-26T13:29:00.006+08:00

Let me see, apart from work, I have been busy with the following,

I love to keep myself busy with jigsaw puzzles as it is a good and relaxing therapy for me whenever I need to destress myself. I am planning to get all 3 of the Geisha collection. Above picture is only one of them.

Here is a picture perfect of my father and lil niece.

My new found passion for Korean dramas

2008-04-17T22:21:00.020+08:00

Orang tengah demam AF6, me on the other hand tengah demam Korean drama series..hehehe! I was down with a terrible flu and was instructed by my doctor to rest at home for two days. She said to me, "I can give a big plastic bag of prescriptions but it will not help if you do not rest completely". So I had no choice but to follow her orders. I was sneezing non stop and was having a tempreature. I couldn't sleep coz my nose was blocked and it felt so uncomfortable.

Kept telling myself I need to distract myself from the running nose and splitting headache.....so I ended up layaning all the 20 episodes of the latest Korean drama series DVD I got for myself over the weekend from the Giant hypermarket (managed to doze off a few minus while watching..thanks to the cold medicine). When the DVD guy told me this Korean series is good, I was not convinced but I bought it anyway as I was tired of the normal movies.

And nowwww...I am addicted to the series...best giles. The two main male actors are hot, really hot!..:P...You can read about the series here. Watching the series reminded me about my family trip to Seoul, South Korea many years ago when I was 15. The trip then did not leave a great impact on me as I was not a fan of the extreme cold weather (really cold I tell you!) and the ever so famous kimchi. My arwah mother loves kimchi but me being a typical melayu kena makan nasi so that explains how we ended having nasi beriani at one of the hotel restaurants which cost my dad a bomb (RM50 for a plate). Another lesson learnt was never ever go to Seoul during the new year holidays. We were there for the new year and was surprised that the public holiday for the new year's celebration lasted for a whole week. Imagine with all shops and offices closed for a whole darn week, all we could do was laze in the hotel room and switch channels between the korean dramas, movies or news for days..boring!

But now looking at the fishing village and the awesome scenery and the hot actors in Bad Love...I might consider revisiting Seoul again!!! Haha..:P and I am also hooked on to the series soundtrack...hmmm, definitely not an easy job to pick up the korean language though...terbelit lidah.

Kwon Sang Woo & Lee Yo Won

Kim Sung Soo

For those who are interested, the synopsis and cast can be found here. The official site is here.

A satay story

2008-04-10T10:44:00.006+08:00

(hanya gambar hiasan)

Apart from traveling, eating or food binging has always been my favourite pass time activity. Unfortunately, food binging can only be done once in awhile or it would definitely put a toll on one’s health and diet. Two nights ago, I had this craving for the ‘burger special’ by the abang burger operating opposite 7 Eleven. It was the normal Tuesday pasar malam night, so there I was waiting for my burger special when I saw a satay stall operated by an Indon lady a few stalls away. I saw her placing the satay sticks nicely on the table and she was holding the satay fan waiting for customers. Looking at her made me recall back a satay story that till now gives me the goose bumps. It involved a satay seller in a different area and I can’t really recall which area it was back then.

Anyway, this story was retold to me my elder sis involving my brother in law (BIL) and a satay-guy in a minor accident. This incident happened many years ago when my BIL unintentionally hit a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist, an Indon guy was ferrying satay for his pasar malam business. Fortunately, no one was badly hurt but the Indon guy fell off his bike and the satay sticks stored in the normal metal storage at the back of his bike also fell to the ground. My BIL was worried if the guy would have suffered any internal injuries hence he was adamant to drive the guy to the clinic for medical examination, but the guy refused profusely and kept stressing that he was fine. Feeling rather responsible, my BIL offered to drive him back home and help him with his bike. This time, he agreed.

The next encounter was what shocked my BIL to the max. Boy, was he shocked to see how dirty the guy’s home was. He was staying in the rumah panjang and the area was pretty unhygienic and the thought that the satay sticks were prepared in the area just gives him the creeps. Euwwwwwww.....gross out. He said he wasn’t surprised if there were rats running around. After that story I told myself, never take things easy. Thank God, all through my life I have never tried those pasar malam satay…but then again you will never know unless you see how they actually prepare the satay, even if it is prepared in Restaurants. Since.,I can’t go without satay, I have no choice but to be extra careful and hopefully learn how to do them on my own. The second option definitely requires loads of patience and skills, especially when it comes to grilling those satay sticks..Haha!

pic courtesy of http://www.evilgeniuses.ca/category/food-drinks/

Daylight robbery

2008-03-31T21:45:00.014+08:00

Let me just start my entry by saying, I hate Mondays!!!..Don't we all eh? Anyway, when I got to the office today, I was shocked when my colleague whose cubicle is next to mine told me how she was robbed on Saturday morning. I felt sorry for her and her story pretty much affected me the whole day today.

As soon as I sat in my chair I heard my colleague saying, Nour, I was robbed during the weekend. I just looked at her and went totally blank...our conversation was as follows:-

Me : What!! When?? Are you okay?

She: I am ok but the basxxxx had a long parang with him.

Me: Oh my God...must be traumatizing for you. Were you alone?

She: Yeah I was. It was at 7.30am on a Saturday morning, I dropped my kid for his replacement class and stopped by at the bank on the way back. And the worst part is I don't normally withdraw money in the early morning. Just did not know what got into me.

Me: Which bank, which area?

She: Puchong. I lost cash amounting to RM3000. The basxxxx made me withdraw 3 times.

Me: Thank God you are okay..money is not everything...glad that he didn't do anything bad towards you.

She: The only thing I was worried is that he might force me into a car after that and dont know what he will do to me...scary..

Me: Speechless...(to scared to even think abt it).

She: When he forced me to withdraw for the fourth time and the machine just rejected the card, I told myself, do or die I have to run for my life. So what I did was as soon as the ATM rejected my card, I threw the cash and my wallet at the other corner and while the basxxxx was scrambling for the notes, I just dashed for the door and ran as fast as I can and never looked back.

Me: Nasib baik, you can think straight at that crucial point......thank God, you were fast.

She: I just had to do it...I just stayed away and hide myself behind the wall till I saw the basxxxx leaving the bank. I went back to the ATM room and saw my wallet there but my credit cards were not in my wallet. Called the bank after that and was told that the bastxxx had done a few transactions at the petrol station. Damn.

Me; Still speechless..............

All this while I have been reading about robberies in the newspaper..and now it just happened to someone I really know. I hope by sharing this piece of info, you and me can be extra cautious and careful when withdrawing cash from the ATM machine. Scary eh..and I am still speechless. This incident can happen to anyone you know. So please be careful.

Opps ..Happy 2nd Bday my little Blog! How can I forget??

2008-03-21T12:55:00.016+08:00

Can't believe that my lil blog has already turned 2 on the 18th of March. I can still remember how complicated I thought blogger was back then. My first try to create a Blogger account was when I was in Nagoya, Japan for the summer. I wanted to have a journal then to list down where I was, what I did and places I have been to. However, I found it pretty troublesome especially when I had to practically update my memo pad every night before I hit the sack. I found the functions pretty tough back then and later gave up on the idea of having a blog of my own. However, when I was back in KL, I tried the blogger again (this time round, I had plenty of time to play around with Blogger) and was amazed with what it did and wallaaa...I did my first entry in March, 2006 and have been blogging till today. I hope there will be many more blogging years ahead! There are times when I just feel like quitting!

I just love Fridays, especially when it is an off day for me and I so look forward to the extra long weekend. Don't we all eh?? hehehehe. Yesterday, I went to Sunway Pyramid to watch Akhirat. I don't really fancy watching movies at Sunway Pyramid coz there will always be tonnes of people hanging out there. I can't really stand crowded places....have that thing for being Claustrophobic.

My verdict for Akhirat is a SO-SO movie, I will give it an average rating. The main actors, Nabila, Adi Putra and Tony Eusoff did well. Vanida Imran did not perform anything that is extra ordinary. I find her acting pretty plain and standard but then again her character showed a lot of emotions. Akhirat is worth watching as it has a good storyline and it had a message behind it on how we as friends, sisters, mothers should always be supportive. With the proper medication, HIV carriers will have a better chance of living and it will take a longer time to have the AIDS virus. Knowledge, I believe is th essence, only then HIV carriers and their families would know what are their options and the right steps to be taken. Well, I can't say I have any experience with this important issue (Ya Allah , mintak jauhkan) but I am sure it is an undescriable feeling and it can only be told by those who have gone through it. Like the saying goes "berat mata memandang berat lagi bahu yang memikulnya". When my arwah mother was diagnosed with end stage renal failure in 2003, I could see how destroyed and disappointed" she felt. What we, the family said or do could never change how sad she felt at that point of time. But then again with the family support and love, we managed to care for her and hold her hands during those 4 years of dialysis. I felt her frustrations but yang menanggungnya lagi sakitkan . So, I guess I got the message loud and clear from the movie, AKHIRAT. Nothing beats having the support of your friends and family.

On a happy note, I am still in my holiday mood. I have got to do the following list of chores:-

Watch Akhirat - done
Go for reflexology/massage - done
Pasar Tani - done
Start on my 1.5 mth project (find info and source) that will Insyallah give me some $$$$
Finish up on my books (2 of them)
To get a new dig camera-done
Spring clean my bedroom - done
Slot old pics into the new album-done
Pay bills - done
Physical exercising

my crib...oh gosh it might take me days to clean :D

Wish me luck..take care folks!

pic courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkcakebox/1099454450/

I need to take a break

2008-03-19T10:58:00.013+08:00

Yeay!!!, my long weekend starts tomorrow. I am planning to fully utilize the 4 day long weekend so as to catch up on my reading. I am all excited to start on a new “hot and scandalous ” book I got as a gift from my elder sis entitled, Jakarta Undercover II. From the backcover, I can gather that it is about the “night and dark” activities of some Indonesian society (a best seller in Indonesia). Hmm, may be when I am done, I can write a short review on this book. Lets see how it goes.

I also plan to watch the latest local movie, Akhirat, premiering tomorrow in 40 cinemas nationwide. The two main actors are Vanida Imran and Tony Eusoff. I just love watching Tony Eusoff, he is so natural and I just luv the character he played in the local law drama series - Sadiq & Co. Akhirat, a film produced by S Baldev is based on a true story evolving around a sweet couple, where the lovely wife was diagnosed with HIV without the knowledge of her husband. She was a victim of a traumatizing incident and as a result of that dark moment she has to live her life as a HIV carrier and suffer through as the husband is clueless about the whole thing. I stumbled upon the special episode "the making and behind the scenes" of this movie a few days back on Astro RIA and it really caught my eyes. Told myself, this is one local movie I should watch. May be it is too early to evaluate. It is only fair that I do go and watch the movie first, shall let you know about it later. Nevertheless, you can read about the film here.

Vanida Imran and Tony Eusoff as the loving couple

For those of you who are planning to balik kampung tomorrow, have a safe trip!

lil ones...happy birthday!

2008-03-16T10:16:00.011+08:00

Last night, we celebrated two additional March babies, lil Opie and Tina. Lil Opie is 3 y.old and Tina is 4. We had our very own barbeque session and some food binging event..Yikes, I feel so guilty that I am planning to go for a jog today...:)

We had two birthday cakes, you know how kids this generation have minds of their own. Lil Opie is soo into the disney character Snow White while Tina wanted the Mickey Mouse character on the cake. So we opted for two cakes and a dozen of cupcakes from wondermilk for the adults..Hahaha! This is what I call party!!!

the "snow white" cake for Lil Opie and "Mickey" for Tina.

lil opie and Tina in action...and more cupcakes for everyone.

HAPPY BDAY LIL ONES!!!HOPE YOU GIRLS HAD A GOOD TIME!

Apa sudah jadi

2008-03-10T21:02:00.016+08:00

It was the second time for me voting this year, I was already queueing at the dewan ss3 at 9.30am. It was such a breeze I tell ya as I did not have to wait that long to place my vote. I guess SPR did a good job this time round for the 12th general election. The election results is already out and I have mixed feelings about the outcome. The hot topic for today and yesterday was definitely the election results...yada yada... I am done with the post election analysis, penat dah and all I am looking forward to is what the govt will do next to improve. What are the steps they are gonna take? Is it for the better? It is definitely a wake up call for those who have not been performing. And for the opposition..what is their next step?....I really hope they will keep their promises and do what is expected of them! I know it is not gonna be easy but lets wait and see eh......

On the same day of the election, I had to attend a wedding reception at Tabung Haji, KL....we had to rush from PJ to KL for the reception and after that to Ulu Langat as my dad is still registered at his home town. The number of people who turn up for the reception were pretty disappointing as I was sure many were not in KL for the election. There were many empty tables, the bride's mom told us that she booked the dewan many months ago even before the election date was confirmed. Nasib tak baik betul.

Nonetheless, the wedding couple looked happy together and the nasi minyak served by Tabung haji was damn good!! The bride is related to me via my dad, she is probably in her late 30's and the groom is a British mat salleh approximately 10 years older. They were introduced by a colleague in KL and eventually fell in love with each other, sparks and chemistry were everywhere and a year later they decided to settle down. Both are now residing in the UK.

Ohhh before I sign off, thought of sharing with you this song I am so hooked on to, Yovie and Nuno entitled Menjaga Hati, when I was in Indonesia, this song was top on the charts , am glad I managed to get their album while I was in Bandung. I couldnt find the album here in KL though.

Happy Burpday..this time it is for me, myself & I

2008-03-05T20:49:00.016+08:00

yeap...it was a very quiet birthday affair today, called my Dad to tell him I will be late today as a close friend of mine had plans for some cake binging at Mandarin Oriental after work, my Dad then said, "ayah dah beli birthday cake la, ni nak celebrate kat rumah"...it was so sweet of my dad to do that...he actually went through all the trouble to get the Manhattan Cheese Cake. So, I ditched my friend and went straight home..hehehe :)

We had a small makan session at home with my lil niece there all excited to blow the candles...heheheh as usual!

Lil sis and niece got me my favourite bodyshop bath collection..yiipiieee my favourite jasmine scent! Thank you so much..:) Nothing beats having your family around during your special day ya. For me, my family is and forever will be my most treasured asset. Love you all!

And to all my friends, thank you for those lovely messages and gifts (in real or virtually), I love those facebook gifts you all sent me ..:) Thank you...a year older a year wiser??? Hmmm.....

lovely gifts from a very close friend, the miracle perfume from Lancome and my favourite jasmine collection from my lil sis and niece..thank you, thank you. Love the scent...lovely :)

not again...

2008-03-03T17:36:00.008+08:00

It is that time of the year again, in two days, I will be a year older! yikesss!! As for a year wiser, I am not so sure.....heheheh! A lot has happened since last year, I lost my mom, my rock. This year, I am sure I will be reminiscing all those birthday parties I had since I was little when she was still around. This year I feel lost and all I can picture at the moment is me going thru life without my mom... Sad but true!

updates

2008-02-26T09:48:00.006+08:00

I feel as though it has been ages since I did an entry for this blog of mine. Sorry, I have been neglecting you my lil blog. Life has been rather monotonous, work, more work and more work and my weekends are such a breeze. I am all happy and excited when Friday comes and all tensed up when Monday comes knocking on my door. At work, my current boss will be retiring pretty soon and we are going through that uncertain transition period with the new boss having his own ideas and ways of managing while we on the other hand are so used to the old boss, his ol’ ways and style. Sighh…it is never easy to adapt to new management and culture eh!

On a brighter note, I am also contemplating on whether I should join my brother and his family for a vacation in Gold Coast sometime in May. Hehehe, tengah calculate budget and also checking out Gold Coast…places to go and spots to visit. As for tix, Air Asia sounds good but then again I might also wait for the Matta fair in March, MAS would probably have good deals for Gold Coast. So, any recommendations or pointers, people?? I am sure many of you have been to Gold Coast right?

BTW, Happy Voting all!

Happy Burpday!...3 Feb 2008

2008-02-13T21:53:00.003+08:00

My dad's first birthday without my mom, I am sure it was tough for him but being him, he will never tell or show his sadness. I guess it helped a great deal by having his grand kids around.

Be thankful..

2008-02-05T15:37:00.001+08:00

got this from my lil sis via email..thot it was pretty cute and would be really nice to share this piece of poem with all the female bloggers and friends out there :) So, here goes :-

A POEM ABOUT OUR GIRLFRIENDS
Someone will always be prettier.
Someone will always be smarter.
Some of their houses will be bigger.
Some will drive a better car.
Their children will do better in school.
And their husband will fix more things around the house.
So let it go, and love you and your circumstances.
Think about it!
The prettiest woman in the world can have hell in her heart.
And the most highly favored
woman on your job may be unable to have children.
And the richest woman you know,
she's got the car, the house, the clothes~~~~
might be lonely.
And the word says, "If I have not Love, I am nothing."
So, again, love you.
Love who you are.
Look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say,
"I am too Blessed to be Stressed and too Anointed, to be Disappointed!"
"Winners make things happen ~~ Losers let things happen."

"Never regret anything that made you smile"

Bandung...

2008-01-31T22:20:00.002+08:00

It took me awhile to get a hang of the Bahasa Indonesia newspaper.

I have been wanting to blog about my recent trip to Bandung but couldn't as I fell sick as soon as I reached home and when I did recover from the nasty flu bug I was back on my feet, busy with work. The viral fever I caught was pretty nasty I would say and all I did was sleep in for a few days immediately after I got back home and I had to see my doctor twice for consultation to change my medication. I think I did not drink as much as I should when I was there.

Oh well, on a brighter note, Yeay!!! tomorrow is a public holiday for KL'ians, the Federal Territory Day, being a KL'ian myself, I get a day off eh....so I guess I have plenty of time to blog about Bandung tonight and load a few photos here and there.

We left for Bandung, Indonesia on the Air Asia flight on the 20th morning and flew back here on the 23rd, had a very hectic shopping spree in most of the factory outlets and gosh, not only did I shop I also had a wonderful time checking out the Dago Forest Hill housing area...awesome I tell ya...the security guarded residential area is right on top of the bandung hill and the houses are extremely huge and beautiful!!Lovely...:) The trip this time round was a combination of shopping, sightseeing and food binging...hehehe!

Me checking out the man made air terjun @ Dago Forest Hill.. breathtaking view!

When my family and I were in Bandung, the main topic in Bandung (or should I say the whole Indonesia for that matter) at that point of time was the frail condition of Pak Suharto (Allahyarham passed away recently)....news flashes every hour on most local channels reporting his state of condition in Rumah Sakit Pertamina. I am sure Indonesia is still mourning for their sad loss. I am glad that I did have the opportunity to watch a few documentaries on him and discovered the wonderful things that he has achieved for Indonesia. If you were to compare him to the other various ex- President, he is definitely the man for Indonesia's Pembangunan.

the view from the apt

the kitchen, bedroom and living room

L,R:me at the entrance and in the lobby

M: Check out the factory outlet with the "forever sale" banner!

lil opie checking out the pool..grrr..it was cold since Bandung is on top of the hills...

We stayed at the Grand Setiabudi Service Apartment, located along Jl Setiabudi where Rumah Mode is also located. Rumah Mode is one of my favourite outlet as it has many facilities ie, kids playground, reflexologi, awesome sunda restaurant (bumbu desa) and a cafe to just chill and lepak...and not to forget their balinese ambiance and landscape. Apart from Rumah Mode, the Cascade is also another outlet I luv checking out. It is next to Heritage..:)

they will always include the chicken head when frying...

Dad and lil niece @ Rumah Mode

my favourite brownie kukus is either from Kartikasari or Amanda....but this time round, we didnt go to Kartikasari..we went for Amanda Brownies instead..:) the pic shows the blueberry brownies kukus.

Some handcrafted keramik(ceramic) for my colleagues...:) The Indonesians are pretty artistic.

Another wajib place to check out is the Pasar Baru, that is where the beautiful telekungs are, the sundanese kebaya and many more interesting materials/kain.

Hmm, damaged done?...not that bad! I did not go beyond what I have budgeted for the trip and I managed to get what I wanted. I shall KIV Bandung for my next trip...after that nasty flu..I think it would be a while before I head for Bandung again...:D

Take a break..

2008-01-17T11:35:00.000+08:00

I am off to Bandung again this weekend. Will be there for a few days…yeay! I am mentally and physically tired, just need to escape from work for a while and spend some quality time with my family.

My only hope is for adik Sharlinie to be back with her family, safe and sound.

Take care folks :)

pic courtesy of members.virtualtourist.com

Lets pray they nab the as*****

2008-01-12T14:09:00.000+08:00

Time flies and before you know it a week has gone by eh. I was really caught up with work and at the same time I was down with a bad flu. Only managed to go on MC for a day last Monday and had to drag myself out of bed on Tuesday to the office. Work was piling up. I could not afford to take a few more days of MC and leave my colleagues to cover for me. I did not have the heart but I knew if I told my doctor about it she will be very unhappy and I can never leave her clinic without her lecturing me on how I should stay at home and rest. Anyways, soon I will be off to Bandung and will be away from office for a week or so…:)

On a serious note, I am sure many of you are aware of another missing child case, Sharlinie Mohd Nashar, 5 years of age from Taman Medan. She was found missing at 11.45am on Wednesday from the playground where she and her elder sister normally hangs out with her friends. I really hope and pray they find the bastard(s) this time round!!! Enough is enough la.

L: Photo fit of suspect , R: Missing child : Sharlinie

It is pretty disturbing to note kids at age 5 are allowed to hang out at playgrounds without an adult’s supervision!! You don’t expect an elder sister or brother who is not even fit to take care of him or herself to mend for their lil sister or brother’s safety. With what had happened to arwah Nurin last year and the sorrow and sadness that her parents had to face, it should be a reminder for all of us, right???? Sadly enough I still see one or two kids mending for themselves at the playgrounds. But I guess being humans we tend to take things for granted ie, thinking playground is just a few stones away from house hence it is okay to just monitor kids from a far. Unfortunately in today's world, the bastards are more aggressive and sick. They will go the extra mile to get whatever they want.

My arwah mother used to remind me…"biar susah-susah dulu and never take things lightly, when bad things happened, menanggis air mata darah pun no point!”. But then again, the world was probably safer back then but now too many sickos lurking around.

Once and for all, I just hope the police are doing something ASAP and not give us the same statement every day “kami masih menyiasat”. My prayers are with adik Sharlinie and her family. They must be worried sick and I am sure all of us wish for her safe return and the culprit is brought to justice.

The sick bastard(s) just don't know when to stop. I bet he thinks he is above the law. May he rot in hell!

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P/S: I think I am extra pissed b'cos I love kids and I can't understand why anyone would want to harm them. I have nephews and nieces that I love so much and I cannot imagine how life is gonna be for them if they are forced to stay at home and be afraid of sickos 24/7. Sigh! One great news is that there will be an addition to our family..my lil sis is pregnant with the second one..hehe lil opie is gonna have a partner in crime!! She is happy!

Happy 2008!!!

2008-01-06T19:46:00.000+08:00

I hope it is not too late to wish my family and friends,

I hope for so much more in 2008,

I hope

to be a better sister, aunt, friend and daughter.
to live life the way I want it tobe because at the end of the day, it is you, yourself who has to fend for yourself not anyone else..be it at work or in life.
to be happy and content with me, myself and I. No extra money or material stuff makes one happy till eternity!
to learn to say NO to unnecessary pressure or worries! (wish me luck on this!)
to travel as much as I can....flying off to Bandung in a couple of weeks..hopefully this would lead to many more trips...:)
to be able to kick asses without feeling guilty :D
to make my dad happy! And make my arwah mom proud of me!
to socialise more (I am a domesticated cat after all..oh and not to forget a couch potato and a bear rug which was what my bro used to describe me as...hmm)
to learn to lead a balanced life (all work and no play makes one a dull person eh!)
to eat healthily, more fruits and vegetables...oh nooo...beware... all lembu and kambings :D
to take up extra art and craft classes (been putting this down for so many years...but never end up doing it though hopefully this year wld be different)

2008

pic from aberdeen.hk

Gak Bisa Pulang Sihhh.......

2007-12-30T10:58:00.000+08:00

I feel like strangling someone!! Grrrrrr...

Me and my lil sis were all geared up to pass the baton to our kakak bibiq supposedly last night when her flight was supposed to touch down at 10.00pm from Surabaya @LCCT. All I could think of is yippieee, no more aching feet and house chores. Unfortunately my happiness was shortlived when I received a call from her at 7pm our time (Indon time 6pm) telling me that the she had missed her flight!!!!!! Urggh!!! The conversation went like this:-

Me: Hello....

Her: Adik, saya punya pesawat sudah bertolak...saya terlepas!

Me: Huh...apa??? (Taking a few seconds to compute what she just said)

Her: Iya, bila saya sampai, counternye sudah tutup...gate sudah tutup..ada 30 org lagi yg tak dapat naik juga.

Me: Macam mana boleh sampai lambat?

Her: Saya keluar pkl 2, ada banjir lumpur di sini...Jam teruk. (Since she normally goes back every year...we all thought she could have anticipated all this!!!My blood boiling already!)

Me: Damn....kakak tanya boleh guna ticket sama untuk pesawat satu lagi tak?? (Yayaya...thinking that Air Asia was kind enough to allow that!)

Her: Sudah...tak bolehhhhh dik..Macam mana ni???

Grrrr.....and now she is still in Surabaya waiting for her next flight out this Tues which I am sure she will remember for the rest of her life. One way ticket is sooo damn expensive and I bet it is an expensive lesson for her. The banjir lumpur is pretty bad nowadays, and she of all people should know thatla kan. Well, I hope this is a lesson learnt for her...oh and wish us luck...I hope we can sleep soundly on Tuesday night knowing that she is back!!

pic courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/piez/995290158/

December babies...

2007-12-21T23:30:00.000+08:00

It is that time of the year, the month of December...where I am normally busy with birthday parties and not to forget the tedious part which is preparing the party favours for the lil ones. I love hunting for stuff ie chocolates or novelties to be put into those goodie bags. Well, I hope they like what me and my lil sis prepared for them...something to keep their spirit up and high for the coming new year and with school pressure ahead....hehehe... Happy Birthday kids, have fun....we love each and every one of you ! You are all special in your own way!! No fighting okay, I am not good with screams which will eventually lead to severe headaches. Just kidding guys, kids are just kids eh!......:D

the party favours I did for the lil ones..:)

a whole batch for another party at A & W

the blueberry cake we got for my lil sis (her daughter did the cake cutting...Happy Birthday...I know, I know you are forever sweet 21!!!hehehe :)

my lil nephew's b'day party @ A&W btw where is the birthday boy??

doing the dance :P

Apart from the birthday bashes and cake binging , December is also the month for lovely Christmas decorations, this year I love what they have in The Curve..lovely indeed!

The decorations @ The Curve and Sbg Parade

For those celebrating,

MERRY CHRISTMAS HO HO HO!!!

The 1st Asian Idol...

2007-12-17T13:04:00.000+08:00

If I can I recall correctly I was never a fan of the Malaysian Idol, however as I was seated in front of the TV on Saturday night, flipping through the Astro channels, I stumbled upon the Asian Idol for the first time on channel eight. I saw the Indonesian Idol, Mike Mohede’s performing and was mesmerized with his beautiful voice. He has that soothing voice that makes one's legs go all wobbley…to think of it, he sounds a little bit like Glen Fredley. hehe!

The Asian Idol contest comprises of the six idols from the Asian countries ie, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Philippines competing amongst each other to win the Asian Idol title. They were all pretty good with their own individual strength, be it their voice, personality, looks, power and energy.

Although I never really fancied our very own Jaclyn Victor but I really thought she would stand the chance to win the first Asian Idol yesterday. But then again when I saw her perform, I felt a tad bit disappointed, she did not communicate well with the audience and her voice I would say “timbul and tenggelam” most of the time. She looked as though she was in her own world and her voice was not consistent through out the night. There are times when her vocals sounded powerful and strong and there are other times when I could not hear her at all. Just not like the powerful Jac we always see on TV. Even when she did the “duet” with Hady Mirza (Singapore Idol) he managed to outshine her.

My personal fave is Mike Mohede from Indonesia. I thought Mike would win and honestly did not expect it minutes later when they announced Hady Mirza to be the first Asian Idol. I cannot deny the fact that Hady deserves to win as well as he has his own style. When he sings, no matter what the song is, he does it his way. I guess that is definitely a plus point for him as I am sure that is what got him more votes apart from his looks and humble approach.

Hady Mirza with the song "berserah"

My personal favourite, Hady and Zainal singing Hijau (APM2007)

To read more on the asian idol, please check here

p/s: since I am half Singaporean (arwah mother was a S'porean and me born in Singapore)...Am proud of you and Way to go HADY!!!!!hehehe

A year is almost gone..

2007-12-13T23:11:00.000+08:00

We are almost done with year 2007! A significant year for me with a mix of sweet and sad memories. I can’t believe how time flies. It is still fresh in my mind how busy I was back in January planning for year 2007 and soon I will be doing the same thing for year 2008. Looking back, I guess I will never forget the important or those unexpected events that happened in Y 2007. My beloved mom passed away in June and an uncle of ours passed away a week ago in Singapore. Two of my close friends lost their mothers as well. All I can say is this year has been the most challenging year for me especially. I do hope year 2008 will be a better year for me, Insyaallah..:)

I was hoping that work would not be too demanding this month, since Aidil Adha and Christmas are just around the corner. Yayaa..wishful thinking! Boy, was I wrong, due to the long break and festive season, all board and committee meetings are pushed forward in January next year, which as a result, people like me will have to rush for papers and reports to be submitted way on time. I have no choice but to rush like mad as I will be going for my long break next week till end of the year. I am currently scratching my head thinking of a way to get things done smoothly. Sigh…that’s life....you have to face all those cubaans and dugaans...!

I am on leave tomorrow as I need to switch my profession from being a banker to the kakak “bibiq”. The kakak left for Surabaya last Tuesday for her yearly balik kampung session, so my lil sis has been busy mending the house and taking care of her lil daughter. So tomorrow will be my day to do the babysitting and the house chores. The only one benefiting from the bibiq being in Surabaya is lil Opie. She just loves having her mom around 24/7 I tell ya. Hahaha but tough luck, she is stuck with me tomorrow..:D Talking about babysitting, did I tell you how amazed I am with the toys the kids have nowadays. The toys invented for the current generation are soooo cool. One particular toy lil Opie has that I thot is awesome is this cleaning set she got from her Dad who bought it for her in Japan…..check this out……

the vacuum cleaner for kids operates just like the normal ones we adults have at home..but it operates on batteries. I tried it and was amazed that it actually sucks in the dust okay..Hahahaha :) Now I am trying to get lil Opie to vacuum my room..hahahaha. The Japs are really good with their hi tech technology and inventions even for kids... love it!

Okay people..I better get going and get some sleep. I need all the energy for tomorrow! The banker cum bibiq is out to complete the house chores and babysit a 3 yr old kid tomorrow. Wish me luck :P

Ohhh before I forget, Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all my muslim friends and Merry Christmas to thse celebrating! Drive safely and Have fun.

Why is it so hard?

2007-12-06T15:14:00.001+08:00

I miss my mom :(

2007-11-29T12:30:00.000+08:00

I was tagged by the lovely Theta. I found the questions pretting interesting and decided to give it a go...It has been ages since I did a tag entry. Hmm, lets check this out:-

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night.
My lil niece, Sophie (we all call her Opie). She was in her pjs wearing her swimming head gear over her head while looking seriously at her mom's handphone.

.
she was too engrossed with the phone..

2. What were you doing at 0800?
I was in the car driving to work.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
I was checking my inbox.

4. What happened to you in 2006?
My senior left for another job, I was asked to take over her tough job scope and was literally left to swim on my own. I believe things that don’t kill you will only make you a better and stronger person.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud?
No way!

6. How many beverages did you have today?
None, I am sticking to my plain/mineral water.

7. What color is your hairbrush?
Baby blue, I just love all shades of blue.

8. What was the last thing you paid for?
Paid for a chicken mayo sandwich for breakfast.

9. Where were you last night?
At home, relaxing after a crazy day at work.

10. What color is your front door?
Hmmm, let me think…dark brown.

11. Where do you keep your change?
In a small purse I normally keep in my handbag

12. What’s the weather like today?
Unpredictable.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?
Vanilla.

14. What excites you?
Books (am no geek ok), earrings, scrapbooks and novelties.

15. Do you want to cut your hair?
Hmm, may be next month when it's longer.

16. Are you over the age of 25?
Do I have to answer this????:D

17. Do you talk a lot?
It depends, I guess only with family and close friends. hehehe

18. Do you watch the O.C.?
Nope, gone were the days.

19.Do you know anyone named Steven?
None that I can think of as at now.

20. Do you make up your own words?
Yesss…….and sometimes it makes people laugh.

21. Are you a jealous person?
It depends on the situation.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’.
Angeline

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’.
An ex-colleague by the name of Kamalriah. We call her Kak Mah.

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list?
My dad, this morning when I reached the parking lot.

25. What does the last text message you received say?
From my service provider - Sistem kami akan dinaik taraf pada 04/12/07 dr 12-6 pg. Semua servis akan tergendala termasuk panggilan keluar/SMS/MMS. Kami memohon maaf diatas kesulitan ini.

26. Do you chew on your straw?
Whatever for.
Can be tiring, don’t you think?

27. Do you have curly hair?
Wavy yes but not really curly.

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to?
To the ladies.

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life?
Hmm, can’t tell you.

30. What was the last thing you ate?
The Guava fruit.

31. Will you get married in the future?
Yeah when the right guycomes along

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks?
Watched a few movies but what caught my eyes is the movie, No Reservations starring Catherine Zeta Jones.

33. Is there anyone you like right now?
Yesss……:)

34. When was the last time you did the dishes?
Last night after dinner.

35. Are you currently depressed?
I tend to get a little bit depressed when I am having my PMS or when I think of my late mom.

36. Did you cry today?
Yes when I woke up from a dream I had. Saw my mom in my dream. In fact it was the first for me since she passed away in June 07.

37. Why did you answer and post this?
I wanted to have some fun :)

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey.
I am sure there are many who would want to try this….Go on…give it a go y’all!

Is facebook a craze??

2007-11-20T09:50:00.000+08:00

I didn’t think I would be addicted to Facebook until I registered myself with it a month ago. It is pretty addictive I tell you and I read in the papers recently that Facebook is a growing craze among users. What I personally like about Facebook is the applications they have and what I can do with them. Awesome! My favourite application is the ilike and the selection of gifts they have that you can give to your friends online. Oohhh and not to forget the yummylicious pictures of the ice cream selection. The ice cream pictures look almost real and pretty disturbing la. I stared at the ice cream and chocolate lists all day long yesterday (Since I was on leave and I had plenty of time to laze aroud!:D). Oooopss, looking at them is better than going to the nearest ice cream shop and feasting on them right? Hehehe!

However the setback of having an account with Facebook is bumping into people from the past who you have been avoiding. People who you intend to avoid forever (hehe) or somehow "vanished" from your life for many years. Long lost friends who had probably hurt your feelings or betrayed your friendship. So I guess being on Facebook has its advantages and disadvantages. It is up to us on how far we want to re-establish those long lost friendships that went haywire during those transitions etc. If we are uncomfortable with it, there is always the “private settings” application, hence to curb the unnecessary viewing by strangers or others.

So folks, have fun with Facebook! Those who have not registered…do give it a go!

We miss you...

2007-11-19T12:20:00.000+08:00

Today, the "19th of November" as always is a very special day for me and my family. It is my arwah mother’s Birthday. Sad to say, from this year onwards there will be no more birthday preparations and gatherings to celebrate this extra special day except a small tahlil we did especially for arwah yesterday and Insyaallah for many many years ahead. We miss you mama more and more each day but we know you are in a better place and Allah loves you even more and Allah the Almighty knows what is best for all of us.

Al Fatihah. Semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan bersama-bersama orang-orang yang beriman.

As always, we love you mama!

Awesome teambuilding and my body aches like hell!

2007-11-07T15:44:00.000+08:00

Since we are already in the fourth quarter of the year, many of us might be rushing to finish up our annual leave entitlements while many companies/organizations are busy hosting their respective teambuilding or away day sessions locally or abroad. The division I am currently attached to, organized a conference cum dinner in A Famosa, Malacca last Thursday and Friday. We were asked (more like forced to..heheh!!) to come up with singing/sketch/karaoke performances. We were split into groups/teams and were asked to perform or participate in groups/teams. Oh well, you know that time of the year where you are given the opportunity to humiliate and make a fool of yourself. Hehehe!

My team, we were pretty horrible when we were on stage, we only managed to choreograph our stage performance 10 minutes before the show. We suck BIG TIME I tell you but totally enjoyed ourselves…hahahah! Oh by the way, the theme for the night was the 70's style.

I was appointed as one of the organizing committee at the very last minute. So when my number was called for the first round of lucky draw…I could hear my friends teasing, “ohhhhh man, what is the probability of a committee member winning the first round of lucky draw ehhh’’…:-P..Yayaya, how can one manipulate the numbers when the big boss was the one who picked out the number right? Apa dahhh…How I wish, my number was called for the grand prize. I got something cute and handy.

I stayed in the studio apartment...

that's the kitchen and two double beds...all to myself :)

I have never considered myself as a sports person. In fact I have never fancied outdoor activities that involves any kind of running and streneous sports. However, this time round, I did enjoy the telematch and teambuilding sessions. We had to build rafts from scratch and was told that the pond is like 30 feet deep. When I saw the river, I went like ..NO WAY!!!. We had 12 people in a team and only 10 are allowed to go in. Two bosses were not fit to join in. So I had no choice but to go in and sit on the raft. Scary! The rule stated was:- we need to build the raft with the bamboos and tali rafia given and three big tyres. It doesn’t matter what shape the raft turns out to be but it has to float. Life jackets are given and we need to transfer all ten of us from the starting point to the pitch stop - the jetty and the no of rounds we need to make is 6 (back and from) with one paddle for each team/group.

Our team won second place in the overall games. But I still think we were actually the winner because our raft reached the pitch point ahead of the first place team, but the game instructor thought otherwise he said although we reached the jetty first those other guys were on land first, they stopped at the side of the pond. Sigh!! Oh well, like my team mates said what matters is we know we are the winner..hahahah..sour grape betulkan.

Cuti-cuti Kuantan...

2007-10-30T22:23:00.000+08:00

Time flies really fast when you are enjoying your weekend right? I was in Kuantan for a short vacation with my family and at the same time we had a wedding reception to attend. It was a wedding reception held by my arwah mother's cousin for her daughter. We bumped into my arwah mother's relatives from Singapore. They kept asking about my arwah mother's passing etc. I can't help but shed a few tears when I heard them talking about her. My eyes were all watery when I hear stories of my arwah mother's childhood years and how they all miss her. Hearing how my dad was explaining to them about her last few days...I felt numb again. Al fatihah.

Anyways, we decided to stay in one of the hotels in Kuantan. We are very sure that the 4 hour driving can be time consuming and tiring. Which is true, the long distance travelling put a toll on all of us. Oh my, I can'tbelieve it after all those years living in PJ, I am so malu to say that it was my first trip to Kuantan. So ancient kan!

Me and lil niece, Sophie ( look at her hands, you just can't separate her from her calamine lotion). She is allergic to mosquito bites !

I like Kuantan very much, the town is pretty laid back, not many cars (less jams) and most importantly it is clean. I envy you Kuantan people!. Hmm pretty impressive la to note that Kuantan is simply a quiet and relaxing town to visit, my conclusion for the quietness could probably be that the "Kuantarians" might have houses located out of town. Teluk Cempedak the main tourist spot in Kuantan is rather clean and the beach is beautiful. I wouldn’t say that the water is crystal clear but it is so much better than PD or Malacca beaches. The sandy beach is well kept. The beach originates from the South China Sea hence that explains the thick and heavy waves. We were enjoying the fresh air while digging into our lunch boxes at the bench overlooking the sea. I wish I am given the chance to do this every weekend when I am in KL :D Oh well, no harm in dreaming right? hehe.... :)

Pic snapped at 7am in the morning and was surprised to see the empty main roads.

View from the hotel...quiet and peaceful @ 7nish am.

The wedding reception was done in the afternoon and the team colour was turqouise

The pelamin, we did not stay for the berstanding...so no pics taken of the couple :(

another snapshot of the pelamin

this is where the meja pengantin is located.

the professionals

We borong the "dried stuff" from Kuantan. We bought all kinds of "dried fish" and "keropoks". I for one was into the keropok ikan parang and my dad was soo into the prawn crackers...I think with the stuff we bought we can probably open a stall at one of the Pasar Malam here. :)

All types of "ikan masin"...everyone went like...oh wow, macam-macam ada!

Seafood is rather cheap in Kuantan, I was told by friends that good Seafood restaurants can be found along Teluk Cempedak and Tg Lumpur. We had all kinds of seafood for dinner and the bill came to only RM85 plus which I am sure back in KL it would cost a few hundred bucks!

On the way back, we saw the signage which indicates the exit to Tasik Chini...all of us were curious on how Tasik Chini looks like in real, apalagi we then said step on the gas and exit. We went on the narrow road heading towards the Pengkalan Tasik Chini...we saw thick and massive greeneries, monkeys playing on the road and goats crossing the road dengan selambanye. The drive in lasted more than 30 minutes. We then saw a huge lake with still waters. It was pretty scary, the water was really dark and the area was rather remote. I would NOT recommend anyone to go there either alone or as a couple. Pretty deserted during weekends. Need be, go in big groups. The area is very remote!

Tasik Chini, somehow looking at this part of the lake just gives me the creeps...the water is still and you just don't know what's underneath it..yikesss!!

My lil niece kept asking me..ada dinosaur tak??:D

I can't wait for my next cuti-cuti :)

Welcome Back!!

2007-10-24T11:37:00.000+08:00

Although NASA recognizes our Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor as a spaceflight participant, I still see him as our first Malaysian astronaut. Well done and Welcome back!

pic courtesy of http://www.spacefacts.de

pic courtesy of http://www.nasa.gov

You can read more on him here and here.

Vegetables and Raya pics...oh my..what a combination!

2007-10-20T12:24:00.000+08:00

My lil sister's SILs went to Cameron Highlands during the Aidilfitri break and got us beautiful fresh flowers and veges, I personally adored the roses and lilies, they were just lovely. The flowers were selling at very reasonable prices. Oh man, the veges were not only fresh and juicy but also huge..check this out! Looking at them, makes we wanna go and "borong" the whole kebun sayur! :D

the extra large (XL) capsicum

yummy..jagung!!

By the way, I am glad that I did manage to snap a few pictures for the Raya album. Taken while we were doing our rounds of visiting....:)

me and lil nieces, hannah (L) and hanis (R)

the three lil ones, hannah, sophie and hanis

my dad with hannis (she is such a shy girl!!)

Selamat Hari Raya...

2007-10-09T22:13:00.000+08:00

Wishing all my muslim friends and fellow bloggers .......

Selamat Hari Raya

Maaf Zahir Batin

Who said baking was easy??

2007-10-02T22:11:00.000+08:00

Just like everyone else, my sisters were busy baking cookies for Raya. They did the kuih makmur and biskut arab. Much to my surprise, the cookies turned out nice..hehe :)

While they were busy baking, I was busy in my room hibernating...the cosy bed was just too much to resist. The weather was extremely hot and humid during the weekend which indirectly contributed to my malasness. All I did was help them mix the fruits with the butter and flour to make the fruit cake.

biskut arab ....ours turned out to be crunchy too :)

biskut makmur (minus the icing sugar)

Normally, our kuih raya comprises of kuih "tunjuk", that is the easiest way eh! This year we decided to bake a few which happens to be my arwah mama's favourite just to remind us of her during this holy month of Ramadhan and Syawal.

the bunga api kids....

Happy Baking y'all!

Bila main bunga api tu, berhati-hati la ya!

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dnas, a fellow blogger, this kuih makmur recipe is for you:-

Bahan:-

1kg tepung gandum
500gm minyak sapi
250gm kacang tanah
250gm gula aising

Cara menyediakan:-

Tepung gandum diuli bersama minyak sapi sehingga sebati dan boleh dibentuk
Kacang tanah digoreng dan ditumbuk kasar kemudian digaul dengan aising
Bentukkan tepung sesuka hati dan isikannya dengan kacang tanah tadi
Bakar kira2 15 minit pada suhu ketuhar 15oC dan setelah sejuk gaul dengan gula aising.

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......

2007-09-25T10:01:00.000+08:00

I miss my mom so much especially during this fasting month.

I can still picture her sitting in the kitchen during breakfast and sahur.

I can still remember the dishes she loved eating ie. nasi rawan/laksa johor & sup tulang. We will always make sure she gets what she wants from the Bazaar Ramadhan.

I can still remember her telling me all of a sudden last year to go to Kamdar and shop for new curtains and sofa covers. Not knowing it was her last year celebrating Aidilfitri. Alhamdulillah, she managed to see the olive coloured curtains and sofa covers :)

I miss having her around for family gatherings. She has always been the main person during those sessions of good food and kecohness. Without her, it will never be the same.

Whenever I think of kuih makmur, I think of her. She loves them but when she was diagnosed with kidney failure, she tried to avoid all those cookies as well as kuih makmur. She loves to bake, her specialty was fruit cake and durian cake.

As I was in the train on the way to work today, I cried quietly, missing every bit of her. Oh boy, I thought I was stronger since it has already been more than 100 days since she left us , but no I still get teary eyed whenever it hits me hard that she is no longer with all of us.

Al fatihah.

Semoga roh arwah mama dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan di kalangan orang-orang yg beriman.

I will always miss you mama.

A story with a sad ending..Al fatihah.

2007-09-20T15:44:00.000+08:00

I just got back from a 2 hour training with Reuters this afternoon, in one of the offices in Petronas Twin Tower, all giddy with so much info/knowledge and yummy chocolate bars that they always have at the counter for people like me to enjoy. (Oh well, since it is fasting month I took back a few for “berbuka puasa”) Muahaha! I look forward to it whenever I am there for short classes. I bet my colleagues will agree with me on this :D

Anyways, that’s not what I plan to blog about today, I am still dumbfounded and am very sad when I read the following email a few minutes ago which was forwarded by a friend:-

September 20, 2007 13:49 PM

Test Confirmed Body In Bag Is Of Nurin
PETALING JAYA, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- DNA test confirmed that body stuffed in a sports bag on Monday at a shophouse at Jalan PJS1, Petaling Jaya Utama as that of Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, 8, who had gone missing a month ago, said Petaling Jaya OCPD ACP Arjunaidi Mohamed.

-- BERNAMA

I really hope that they will nab the bastard(s) who did this to her. For the past few weeks, I have been hearing several comments from others that sound more or less like this “ I blame the parents for letting her go alone”. Well, I am not here to judge her parents, because only God knows what they are going through right now. My main corncern is that the culprit with the sick mind is brought to justice for his beyond animal behaviour!! So SICK that it makes me wanna puke!

I am sure the nation mourns with the family for their sad loss :(

For adik Nurin, Al fatihah. Semoga rohnya dicucuri Rahmat. Amin.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st update:

DNA tests show body found in the gym bag is Nurin.

But parents adamant that it is NOT her.

Second test scheduled.

Final update:

Nurin's parents accepted the first DNA test after going thru the DNA report with the police and on the following day, her father claimed Nurin's body for burial. Apart from the DNA test, Nurin's dental records showed a 95% match. People from all walks of life cried their hearts out for her as it was such a sad tragedy.

Many visited her family's residence to pay their last respects. Malaysia mourns for the sad loss. We pray that her father, mother and sisters will be strong in overcoming this nightmare. I pray and hope that the sick bastard will be caught! It is a big loss not only to her family but to everyone who knew her, and the way she was killed is so unbelievable. Good bye you, little angle and may you rest in peace.

Al fatihah.

Talk about being a victim of fashion!!

2007-09-17T12:01:00.001+08:00

I was in the LRT train this morning on the way to work when I saw this petite looking girl in her “winter clothing”. Muahahaaha! I kept looking at her with her white “turtle-neck” top and a long gray jacket with a belt across her waist. I did not blink my eyes even for a second as soon as my eyes caught her standing right in front of me.

My god, it is so hot and humid in KL. How can one wear a turtle-neck top with a long jacket to work? It is not like it is snowing here in KL, you know. Anyways, this is what I call a victim of fashion. Hmm, to think of it, she looked identical to the girls in Seoul or Tokyo during winter.

Oh wow, definitely a fashion statement.

I would never succumb to this just to look good or different, would you?

Crash Boom Bang!

2007-09-11T23:13:00.000+08:00

I wanted to write about this unexpected ordeal which happened less than three months ago but never really had the time to do it. Anyways, what happened to me was pretty scary plus funny. Hmm, how is that funny and scary?

I was seated quietly at my cubicle when suddenly I heard a soft cracking sound. Upon hearing that sound I looked down at my chair to check it out. There was nothing different so I continued doing my work. Then suddenly I heard a big cracking sound, and before I know it, my chair swayed to the left and the chair base just snapped. It happened so fast that all I can remember was me still seated in the chair but the chair just broke and fell right on the floor. I was caught off guard and that explains why I did not utter a single word or even scream for help. The first person who came to my rescue was this new male colleague of mine. Malu sungguh saya! Thank god when I fell with the chair I was in a very decent manner..kalau I flipped backwards...tak tau la apa nak jadi!:D

My workstation with the new chair

Then all the guys came rushing towards my cubicle. They had worried looks on their faces. They even told me what got them so worried was the possibility that I might have fainted due to my fragile condition since at that point of time I had just lost my mom. But now when they talk about it, they can't stop laughing and they even said,"Wahh..Mr X was really fast when he came to your rescue, apa tunggu lagi, good candidate tu since he is nice, responsible and still single!"......etc

Well, one thing's for sure, I did not faint people, I blame it totally on the “faulty and flimsy" chair! It was definitely too worn out to be used. Muahahaha! By the way, I got my new chair today and before the new chair came, I was using the normal VERY comfy bosses' chair for the three whole month. Well, since they had an extra, I can’t help but use it temporaryla kan.

The faulty chair...all broken! Bye-bye!

I was talking to my sis about it and she said it happened to her once when she first joined an organization..Hahaha!..what a way eh to welcome a new staff! Another story I heard was a guy whose chair gave way during an important meeting. That is scary!

I wonder whether any of you out there experienced anything similar to my crash boom bang episode?

P/S: Selamat berpuasa/Happy fasting to all muslims, this time round, ramadhan will be very challenging without my arwah mama around, like always I will take one day a time.

A messy prawn affair..

2007-09-06T20:33:00.000+08:00

I had a wonderful time during my cousin's wedding in Ulu Langat last Saturday..I did something I never knew I was capable of..muahahaa..I can't believe I help prepare the dishes for the meja pengantin! Check this out I was the one who had to cucuk the prawns to the pineapple.. :)

the prawns look as though they are about to dive into a swimming pool..muahaha! my aunt kept telling me..asal ada dah :D

the meja pengantin.

both my sisters' masterpiece...the telur puyuh disusun ala ala twin tower je! ..was definitely challenging..:D

the orang kampung bergotong royong helping with the food preparation..I love this part!

chaotic

the couple

Goodnight Malaysians, wherever you are!..hehe

2007-09-03T10:30:00.000+08:00

I was stuck in the aftermath massive traffic jam of last nights Merdeka fireworks in Putrajaya. The fireworks lasted for a whole 10 mins and the journey to Putrajaya took us about 1 hour plus! I saw stream of cars entering at around 9 nish and started to leave at 10.30pm. Since it was the last night for the fireworks, we wanted to experience the beautiful fireworks with our realtives who are currently on vacation from Jakarta. Oh and all the way through the massive cars, I can only pacify myself with this song we kept playing in the car from Dewa 19.

Dewi aku mohon beri kesempatan..
’tuk bisa menebus dosaku kepadamu
Maafkanlah aku telah menyakitimu..
Aku tidak pernah menyangka bisa begini

Ooh..dewi..dengarkanlah

Reff :
Dewi kaulah hidupku..
Aku cinta padamu sampai mati
Dewi belahlah dadaku, agar kau tau..
Agar kau mengerti..

Semua terjadi begitu saja..
Tak ada yang serius antara dia dan aku
Tidak ada cinta dan tak ada hati
Hanya karena aku lelaki dan dia wanita

Ooh.. dewi..dengarkanlah

Reff

BTW hope it is not too late to wish all you Malaysians out there, SELAMAT MENYAMBUT HARI KEMERDAKAAN!

Sakitnyee.....

2007-08-29T10:38:00.000+08:00

When I went into my late 20's, I was so happy to realize that I was amongst those lucky ones without any wisdom tooth. I once asked my dentist and he said, oh you are lucky indeed! Research says that wisdom teeth will normally come in when a person is between 17 to 21 years of age and I have heard so many painful stories of friends or family members seeking dental treatment and minor surgeries for their problematic wisdom teeth.

However my little happiness was short-lived on Monday, when I discovered that my wisdom tooth is currently forming on my upper part of my gums. I think it is only one tooth for now. Damn, I can feel the tiny teeth in my gums waiting for the right time to emerge. Oh boy at the age of 34 and I am experiencing this, isn’t it too late??

Alhamdulillah, there is some space for it to form but I do hope it would not create much problem for me. Currently, there is no pain but a little swelling at the very back of my mouth

My brother had his first wisdom tooth in his late 20’s or early 30’s and my lil sis is still without any!! Muahahaha! I wonder is it a “turun-temurun” thingy or it just differs from one individual to another.

So when did you get your first wisdom tooth? Was it painful for you??

A hot and humid day..

2007-08-26T19:34:00.000+08:00

Phewwww, what a hectic weekend! It was tough I tell ya to wake up sooooo early on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. On Saturday, I was already up at 5.30am to send my lil sis and family to the airport. Yayaya, they are all in Bandung now having a wonderful time shopping! Coming back only on Tuesday and they called to say they just love the “Rumah Mode" factory outlet…:D

Well, today on SUNDAY morning, my dad had to wake me up at 6.30am, as we had to drive to my brother’s place in Kemensah before heading for my cousin’s wedding in Changkat Jering, Perak. By the way, why is it called Changkat Jering eh??? May be because it used to be famous for its supply of jerings? Muaahaha! I am so curiousla..anybody??!

it was slightly foggy this morning

My cousin got engaged in June this year, so imagine the short time frame given to us to prepare for his wedding. Since both his parents are no longer around, so we as his close cousins would definitely try to help as much as we can for the wedding preparations. I know my dad and aunties would be there to help as much as they can. In fact today, I was teary eyed too when I saw him shed a few tears when the nikah ceremony was over. I understood how he must have felt since his parents were not there to share his happiness. I know my arwah auntie-alang would be proud of him today. Dengan sekali lafaz, he was pronounced a husband. Alhamdulillah, syukur!

I got my friend to bake me her lovely cupcakes as one of the "hadiah" to be put on his dulang hantaran for the bride.

I love these cupcakes.

We are also happy that the wedding at the girl’s side turned out okay plus minus a little communication error when we were told that the bride is ready, so it is time for the rombongan to walk to the house but much to our surprise when we got there the mc guy told us that they had made a mistake, she was not ready!! Imagine, I was holding the dulang under the hot and humid sun with the kompang guys banging on their instruments!! I was hot and humid inside....macam nak meletup dah! Fortunately food was OK. The theme colour for today was lilac and for our side next week, it would be bronze/gold. Alamak, to think of it, baju pun I tak beli lagi, hmmm I need to look for a nice baju kurung with little patterns of gold here and there, any suggestion ladies?? Do you know where I can get lovely ready made baju kurungs or kebayas??

the nikah ceremony

meja pengantin

Enough about weddings for now...Will think about it later next week.

Even though I was busy all day today, I still have my arwah mama close to my heart. Normally she would be the one attending all these important weddings and I would just follow her. I will have to continue her legacy, I guess. I miss her so much and will always pray that I will be given the opportunity to visit my arwah mama’s grave every weekend. I keep talking about her to my dad, sisters and brother whenever I feel like it. I don't cry as much as I used to but Alhamdulillah I am hanging on to all my memories with her and hopefully continue to have the strength to be a good person as she was. Al-fatihah. Semoga roh arwah dicucuri Rahmat. Amin.

will always be remembered!

Have a good week ahead y’all. I just dread Mondays!

What a coincidence eh!

2007-08-22T13:19:00.001+08:00

In our daily lives, we are bound to bump into people we have never met before and most of them either end up being our friends or continue being strangers. Well, this story of mine till now amuses me and when I think about it and remember the details it just makes me laugh.

It all started 7 years ago, when a friend of mine wanted to introduce me to her friend’s friend (lets call him Arif*). So she started of by giving me his cell no and Arif my no. Arif called and we chatted for awhile. We talked about ourselves and mostly about work. We thought what a small world since we discovered that we were in the same industry and specializing in the same area. Oh wow, talk about what a small world it is eh. However we did not get to meet and the short-lived friendship somehow just died off. Well that happens often especially when I think I don't have chemistry with a person. But I still remember his first name and the organization he was working with. Surprisingly, we did not bump into each other when we attended seminars or courses. Normally, we are bound to meet since the area that I specialize in, there are only a handful of us.

Anyways after 7 whole years, early this year, my boss told me that a new male staff will be joining us and was I shocked to discover that the new guy sitting just behind me is the Arif I lost touch with for so many years. I was more surprised when he continued to ask me whether did I realise two years back that he was one of the interviewers when I attended an interview with the organization he was working with. Oh gosh! What a small world! He said as soon as he saw my name on the resume, he did not know what to say. What a coincidence la huh!. So unfair he must have known then how I look like as for me I was clueless about him until he became my colleague. I told him, yeah I remember the quiet interviewer! The one who did not ask me anything but just smile when I was about to leave.

So moral of the story is, the world is small, you may never know what will happen next and who will end up being your colleague. The guy who I spoke to for awhile ended up being my colleague. Scary!!! :D

*Arif, not his real name

Dewi aku cinta

2007-08-17T21:05:00.000+08:00

Apart from being sick and feeling all crappy as I am down with flu. I had to attend a 3day bond trading course. Phewww, thank god today was the last day of the course and all I can think of right now is my comfy bed and room. In fact the whole family is down with the flu bug. Even my niece, lil cophie has been having fever on and off.

lil cophie does not look as though she has caught the flu bug eh!!hehe..

Since it has been a crappy week, I guess my weekend will be filled with massive sleeping, recouperating and hopefully I would be able to recover asap. Ohh, let me see I guess I will have the time to check out all those CDs I bought in Jakarta. Back in December when I was in Jakarta for the first time, I realized that the CDs are relatively cheaper than here. Hehe so as soon as hit the CD store I knew I had to get the latest album of Dewa 19 featuring the song Dewi, the greatest hits of Harvey Malaihollo, even my dad found one particular album that he really like listening to..:)

It is good to be back!

2007-08-08T22:55:00.000+08:00

A 4 day hectic trip. Let me see what I did in Jakarta eh...

Attended an equisite wedding reception....food was just excellent. We had something like a buffet concept with good quality hotel food. The decorations were just beautiful just like in a garden full of flowers. And the adat istiadat was an exposure for me especially when it was a first for me to experience the Jawa Sunda wedding.

the bride and groom on the way to the pelamin

full of adat istiadat

sis, dad, me and nephew

the free flow of satay..yummy yummy

the mandaling dishes

me in jakarta

Went shopping after the reception, me clad in my kebaya..Haha! I was in ICT Cempaka Emas with my kebaya and after that we headed for a new mall Block M and Hard Rock Cafe at Plaza EX. Oh boy I cant believe I was in HRC with my kebaya!....Oh boy!

Spent the whole day in Bandung checking out the factory outlets and I love the Rumah Mode outlet, built with the Balinese concept.

the breathtaking view with railway tracks which starts from Jakarta to Bandung..

This trip is definitely a memorable one for me because I sat almost like an hour with my uncle and he shared with me the stories of our ancestors back in Medan, the Mandaling clan..how difficult it was for all of them back then to make a living and be successful in life. I stayed at both my uncles' place in Jakarta city and Cengkareng. I sense the vast disparity between the rich and the poor in Jakarta. It was definitely heartbreaking and disturbing to see little kids walking around aimlessly begging for money, they play at traffic lights, running around and they seem not to fear the buses and cars. I was dumbfounded as I can never understand why innocent kids are used as a mode of generating income. I wonder when is the government gonna stand up and help eradicate this social illness and ensure that these kids are given opportunies like others in their lives. As they are the future genaration.

look what I found, one of the little things that makes me have goosebumps..haha!

Oh well, I shall continue with this entry later as they are so many things to write about.

Have a good week y'all!

Flying on a jet plane....

2007-07-30T16:38:00.000+08:00

I will be going to Jakarta in a few days time for a wedding reception and Insyallah for some shopping if there is anytime. Catch up with y'all later and keep on blogging eh!

Will she die??

2007-07-27T10:01:00.000+08:00

I can’t stop thinking about the recent episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Aired on NTV7, every Wednesday at 11pm. The episode where the ferry ran into a container ship due to a thick fog. Many people were thrown out of the ferry and into the ocean, many were killed on the spot and those who survived needed urgent medical attention.

Alex, Lizzie, Meredith, George and Derek were asked to provide assistance at the accident area as fast as they could. Most of you might have already watched the later episodes after this particular one! :) As for me, I am so backdated la, never consistent, I just need to know, did Meredith survive the big fall?

The guy who she was attending to was so much in pain that he accidently knocked her off guard and she lost her balance and fell right into the deep waters. Did the doctors manage to resuscitate her even after Derek pulled her out of the water?

I am too lazy to google to find the answer, so whoever has the answer, let me know okay....:D

In remembrance.....

2007-07-18T11:57:00.000+08:00

As soon as my eyes were wide open in the early hours of the morning today, the first thing that hit me is the fact that today is the 40th day since my mom passed away. It is true that as time goes by, it does not hurt as much as it used to especially like those first few weeks but it still hurts since I miss my mom dearly. I still breakdown when I am with my sisters though. Just like what our family doctor told my sis, she said, “you will miss your mom all through your life, no matter what!”.

My sis (L), nephew Ayol and arwah mama (R)

Memories I have of my arwah mama are still fresh in my mind. I can still remember the important role she played in my life:-

I can still recall how she single handedly organized a birthday party when I was a kid. Where we had party favours in the shapes of gigantic sweets, 'pin the worm to the apple' kind of game etc..

How determined she was back then to help me with my Geography paper when I was preparing for my SRP. She knew how much I really hated Geography. Months before the exam she would sit with me while I did my revision. She was strict but at the same time I knew she did it with all her heart. Eventually I realized, how important education is to my mom.

I am glad that she was strict with me when I was in high school.

She insisted that I had my hair cut when she visited me during my first year abroad.
She sent me a dozen of roses when I was working for the first year on my birthday and she did it very discreetly as well.
She sent me the one and only birthday card she bought from Beijing when I was studying in England. Signed off as from: mama and ayah. My mom expresses her love always by actions seldom by words. She loves to write via the blue coloured Pos Malaysia aerogram when I was away, I remember having a box full of them when I graduated.

I used to watch Bold & Beautiful with her all the time. We would always compare notes when one is not able to catch a certain episode.
I can still remember how happy she was when she went for all our graduations.

I miss her nasi goreng with isi ikan. Simple but sedap!

I miss having her sleep in my bed and tell me what she thinks and how she feels while I laze around on the floor playing with the notebook.

I miss her strength, she has taught me to be independent and never to expect much from people, take charge and never be afraid to make decisions.

The most important thing I learn from her is whenever you are lost, open your mouth and ask for direction. She will always tell me “jangan takut tanya orang, that is how you learn".

I miss helping her get dress and I miss bathing her with the cream body wash.

I miss everything about her.

I just feel the need to write about her as it helps ease my pain.

She will always be close to my heart, every time I miss her, I will close my eyes and I can picture her.

Al Fatihah. Semoga Roh Arwah dicucuri Rahmat dan ditempatkan bersama orang-orang beriman. Amin.

Something to cheer you up on a Tuesday Morning..

2007-07-17T09:37:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, a man in a hot air balloon realized that he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted. "Excuse me, can you help me ? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am.

"The woman below replied. "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 50 and 51 degrees north latitude and between 114 and 115 degrees west longitude."

"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.

"I am," replied the woman. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I've no idea what to make use of your information. The fact is, I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip."The woman below responded, "You must be in management."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is, you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, you've managed to make it my fault!!

makan-makan

2007-07-12T20:48:00.000+08:00

Being half Singaporean I guess that explains why my family and I have always had this thing for Singapore food i.e Nasi Beriayani Gam, Murtabak Singapore, Kacang Phol and “roti perancis” (baguette). When my dad told us about Victory Restaurant (they started off in Arab Street, Singapore) and they now have a branch in USJ, we were smiling from ear to ear. My arwah mama tried the nasi beriyani once and she had no complains at all. I am sure she loved it and since it met her taste requirement. With that in mind, I can assure you memang sedap la nasi beriyani Victory. No more traveling down south for us as those murtabak Singapore are now within reach.

Two weeks back we went to Victory Restaurant again for breakfast and the kacang phol was yummylicious! Burp! The murtabaks they serve are not like the ones you normally see here. It is covered with beef, onions and eggs and the texture is so crunchy…for those of you who would want to give it a try, Victory Restaurant is located at No:21-1, Jalan USJ9/5Q, Taipan Business Centre, Subang Jaya (right turn after the mosque).

the yummylicious kacang phol

the beef murtabak

lil cophie with her roti canai..

Ayol my nephew was still in a sleepy mode...

Apart from the murtabak mission, my weekends have been hectic with an engagement in Taiping which I really fancied, groceries' shopping, entertaining my hyper nephew and niece who usually get on pretty well with each other :P and an uncle who was here visiting us from Jakarta.

the two chiwawas who went groceries' shopping with me.

on the way to Taiping

My uncle’s first question when his plane touched down at KLIA airport was “Sudah musim durian di KL?” So that is when all the durian sessions started for him and the rest of the family. But not for me though as I do not fancy durian eversince I was a kid. However this uncle of mine managed to enjoy all those "killer" durians from Taiping and also the juicy ones my dad got him when they went balik kampung to Ulu Langat. Oh gosh I have never seen someone who can eat durian that much. And the last time I checked he had more of those durians when he went to Chow Kit!! Unbelievable :D

BTW just to share the info below with the durian lovers out there :-

Hmm...me, losing weight?

2007-07-06T09:52:00.000+08:00

When I was at the clinic yesterday, one of the nurses said to me, Cik Norxxxx, you lost weight la! I smiled and said yes, and you are not the first to tell me that!:P Before that, the secreatary to the big boss also asked me the same question. Her question was, why you lost weight?? :P

Ever since my mom passed away, most of my friends who I have I bumped into at the office building and canteen tend to say the same thing. I dunno, I did not realize the difference until it was pointed out to me a couple of times. Now to think of it, almost all my pants, baju kurung, sarongs and skirts are “longgar” believe it or not. Phew, all those years of dieting and exercising did not do much but now it happens without me knowing or anticipating. My lil sis told me, when it comes to sadness and matters of the heart/feelings, somehow or rather it would affect one’s physical. Nowadays, I eat for the sake of staying healthy but I do not binge more than the normal eating routine. Well what I can say, what a way to be losing weight eh?

*******************************

I was at the masjid last night for my arwah mama’s bacaan yasin and tahlil. I always feel at peace and ease when I am at the masjid :)

I sat there and just could not believe that 27 days has gone by without my arwah mama around. I keep telling myself to be strong, she is at a better place InsyaAllah and Allah loves her more.

Al- Fatihah.

So to all, have a good weekend ya!

Drink plenty of water as it gonna be a dry and humid weekend. I will be heading for Taiping for my cousin's engagement...yikess I hope the weather is cooler there!

Which one can you relate to??

2007-07-02T11:19:00.000+08:00

I found the funny piece below simply irresistable when I was clearing my inbox , thot of sharing it with the rest of you...so here goes,

When I take a long time to finish, I am slow,

When my boss takes a long time, he is thorough

When I don't do it, I am lazy,

When my boss does not do it, he is busy,

When I do something without being told,
I am trying to be smart,
When my boss does the same,
he takes the initiative,

When I please my boss,
I am apple polishing,
When my boss pleases his boss,
he is cooperating,

When I make a mistake,
you're an idiot.
When my boss makes a mistake,
he's only human.

When I am out of the office,
I am wandering around.
When my boss is out of the office,
he's on business.

When I am on a day off sick,
I am always sick.
When my boss is a day off sick,
he must be very ill.

When I apply for leave, I
must be going for an interview
When my boss applies for leave,
it's because he's overworked.

When I do good,
my boss never remembers,
When I do wrong,
he never forgets.

My favourite is the point on when I am only leave, I must be attending interviews :P

Which one is yours?

A Message of Comfort

2007-06-29T14:22:00.000+08:00

I found these lovely words written on a card I received from a lovely & thotful friend very comforting,

God, in His great mercy knew when loved ones had to part,

Something special would be needed to bring comfort to the heart,

So God gave us each a precious gift not even time can fade

Of reliving tender moments through the memories we've made.

Written by Emilly Matthews

Memories...

2007-06-27T00:15:00.001+08:00

I was driving on the fed highway this evening when I saw Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and I could not stop the tears from gushing......I can recall clearly the early morning when my mom left all of us.

Sometimes I am OK and sometimes I am not. I am human afterall.

Al Fatihah.

A fishy episode

2007-06-25T22:42:00.000+08:00

I had ikan terubuk last night and went thru a nightmare when a fish bone got stuck in my throat. I tried almost everything under the sun to remove the bone even ate more rice to force the bone down. Unfortunately, the bone remained stuck and I had to endure the discomfort the whole day attending a conference. I drank gallons of mineral water trying my best to flush it down. Tough luck, it didn’t work, the only good thing came out of it, is me heading towards the restroom every 10 minutes.

It got me worried so I drove straight to my favourite GP and Alhamdulillah he managed to remove the fish bone :P When he showed me the bone, I was soo relieved.

I wonder whether any of you might have encountered the same “tulang ikan tersekat” problem. Any tips?? I guess I will NOT be having fish for the next one week, taubat!!

Happy Birthday Sis...

2007-06-23T21:10:00.000+08:00

I know it was not easy for you to celebrate your birthday today without arwah mama around...but then again she will always be close to our hearts and I am glad we managed to spend some precious time with you on your birthday. From all of us, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MI!

A very difficult time for me...

2007-06-20T10:19:00.000+08:00

Almost 2 weeks have gone by since my mom passed away. I still miss my mom so much, flashback and memories of her keep lingering in my head. I really miss talking and joking around with her. I miss taking care of her and especially touching and holding her. The toughest bit of all for me is when I had to go through her stuff and reorganize her clothes. I could not stop crying. When I am at home, I can still remember how it was like when she was walking around the house, hanging out with me in my room and we would always talk about anything under the sun.

Arwah has always been my pillar of strength and without my arwah mama, I feel as though I am carrying a big hole in my heart. I still wonder how I am gonna face life without her encouragements and motivation. She has always been there for me when I went through all the important events in my life as well as those times when I did disappoint her. My mom never fails to amaze me with her inner strength, determination to see her kids grow up to be “orang yang berguna” and her unconditional love for her kids. My aunt told me last week that my mom’s only wish was for me to get married when she was still alive. I am sure all mothers worry for their single daughters (sons) when all other siblings are married with kids. But ajal maut jodoh pertemuaan di tangan Tuhan.

I had to drag myself to work yesterday and Alhamdulillah work has somehow managed to distract me a little bit from my grief and sorrow. My close friends at work have been wonderful they stayed with me and shared with me my sadness. It helps a great deal when people you know acknowledge the fact that you have just lost a mother. I know a few people who would just look from a far trying their best to stay away as they couldn’t handle if they were to ask and I would end up crying.

I am planning to just face the future gradually like the saying goes, face one day at a time. Right now, my dad is everything to me. I am sure my father misses my mom more than anything. But Alhamdulillah he is strong and I am lucky that I still have him.

I still cry buckets but I guess I need time to pull myself through this dugaan from Allah S.W.T. I am sure many of you had lost your mom or dad and definitely it takes time to move on.

To my friends who came for my arwah mama’s funeral and tahlil. Thank you so much!

Also to those who called, visited, sms-ed, email-ed, sent flowers and cakes/kuih etc, THANK YOU, hanya Allah S.W.T dapat membalas budi anda semua.

Al fatihah.

Semoga roh arwah dicucuri Rahmat dan ditempatkan bersama orang-orang yg beriman. Amin

Redha

2007-06-10T06:48:00.000+08:00

My greatest fear of all is losing either one of my parents. So when my mom passed away yesterday at 2 plus in the morning, I felt that the whole world had collapsed on me. I feel numb and I cannot stop crying and I hope I will never runout of tears. Mama I love you so much. Ampun for all the wrongs that I might have sedihkan hati mama. Halalkan makan minum. And I just do not know how I am gonna move on. But all of us redha as you have suffered a lot.

Al fatihah.

Semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan bersama org-org yg beriman. Amin.

Singapore Trekking...

2007-05-29T21:20:00.001+08:00

My three days escapade in Singapore ended yesterday, I felt it was such a breeze and was contemplating to extend a few more days (wishful thinking)..Hehehe. Unfortunately my work load does not permit and also staying a few more days would definitely cost a bomb. I was there for the Grand Sale and somehow noted that only certain items were on sale. Those who are techie and so into ipods, handphones etc might find it worth buying. As usual I was at the DFS Galleria, Marks & Spencer etc. The massive crowd were mainly heading towards MNG and Zara. I bought a few items that I thought were definitely cheaper than KL :D

I like the name of this tower located somewhere near Orchard Road..hehe

Since my mom originates from Singapore and me, myself was born in Singapore...I still miss the lontong, roti prata, mee rebus, kacang pol, murtabak etc. So what I did was to try out all those food. Those food are sold here but believe me they don't taste as good as the ones in Singapore! The only thing I could NOT get was the daging dendeng...sedihhnye!

Correct me if I am wrong, one thing that bugs me till now is the fact that paper napkins or tissues are never made available for free in the restaurants or stalls I went to in Singapore. You need to pay for them. Why is this eh??

the all time favourite...roti prata..a lil bit different from our normal roti canai.

The family went for some fun at the Singapore Zoo. It was soooo tiring (We were there for almost 4 hours!!) but very educational especially for the kids. My personal favourite is the Polar bear. Awesome! I think I covered the whole area, both my kaki hurts like hell..told my brother that my feet felt like "berbuah"and soon it will go berbatu..!Haahahahha! The kids love the penguins but we were unlucky since as soon as we reach the sealion and penguin showtime spot, it was already full. We only managed to get a glimpse of the penguins swimming around the pool. They are so cute and adorable. I like! It was extra tiring may be due to the distance from one animal spot to another and the hilly structure of the zoo area. Nonetheless, I would definitely recommend the Singapore zoo for all kids.

The man made elephants at the entrance of the zoo

my favourite view of the lake A short story on the pregnancy process of mommy kangaroos..

Oh no…not another one..

2007-05-22T17:21:00.000+08:00

I was down with gastritis on Sunday night. The first attack was on the first day of Raya last year and this time round is the second one for me. I didn’t sleep at all that night and felt restless, I couldn’t sit still. I had abdominal pains accompanied by heartburn and a splitting headache. Even the normal over the counter medication did not help ease the pain. Monday morning came, I went straight to see my doctor and she gave me some strong medication for the gastritis and a day off to recuperate at home.

Today I feel a little bit better but my stomach still hurts a little bit and sadly, I am back at the office. I tried my best to avoid fatty, oily and spicy food for the past few days with the hope that I will be back to my normal self for my Singapore trip this Saturday with my big brother and the rest of the gang! The Singapore Grand sale is back from May till July 2007. I am planning to take a break from Sat to Monday. So looking forward to the sight seeing, shopping, food binging (alamak how la with my gastric!!) Oh and I cant wait to see the busy Orchard road, Sentosa Island (if there is time I hope), the zoo etc.

By the way as I was resting at home, look who I found busy typing away her own blog entry...lil cophie at her workstation!

Oh well, till then have a good week ahead!

So what do you think??

2007-05-15T22:44:00.000+08:00

Me driving in the smart tunnel :)

I managed to check out the SMART tunnel today and was pretty impressed with the duration it took for me to reach home in PJ from my office located along Jln Tun Razak Selatan. I left the parking area at 5.55pm and reached home at 6.25pm. Not bad, the normal duration would normally be at least 45 mins but today it only took 30 mins. I was not stuck in any traffic jam except when I wanted to exit to Jln 222. But then again, it didn't take more than 2 mins. However, a few of my colleagues told me that the Smart tunnel which exits at Jalan Tun Razak from Jalan Sg Besi is somehow pretty congested as drivers have problems changing lanes and another obvious reason is the fact that the so called civilised and smart Malaysians just love to jump queues. What I hate most is not only they jump queues but shamelessly put on a poker face after that. Like they didn't do anything wrong! Urggh!

The tunnel was very well lit and pretty spacious...but since it is new I do hope that drivers would drive within the speed limit and stay on the right lane, the exits can be pretty confusing..you need to read the signages as fast as you can.....now I sound like the "Menteri Kerjaraya pulak!".

So what say you? Are you planning to opt for the SMART tunnel?? Oh and the toll is expected to be on the higher range as well. Alamak!

I might just continue taking the LRT train la...since it is the most convenient way to travel nowadays (minus the technical problem once in awhile).

So have fun people, enjoy the free ride and for those of you who have not tried.....go la!

To all MOTHERS...

2007-05-12T19:03:00.000+08:00

To all fellow bloggers, my close friends, colleagues, sisters, sis in law, aunties who are 'mothers' themselves and especially for my mom,

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

thank you for your unconditional love..

you are simply the BEST!

pic courtesy of :http://www.sharedinspiration.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=152

Ouch!!

2007-05-10T14:29:00.000+08:00

So, are you into Reflexology??

Yikes, after what I went through during the last visit, I don’t think so. No more Reflexology for me! :D

Schmucks, I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I decided to sit in for a 40 mins session of Reflexology, two weeks ago. It was pretty much a nightmare for me. I can handle body massage or body spa for hours but when it comes to foot Reflexology…Ouch, I can’t take the pain. Reasons being whenever the person starts to touch my toes, I get ticklish or “geli geliman” and secondly, it hurts like hell I tell you.

As we all know, Reflexology is a health therapy through which pressure is applied to reflex areas formed by 7,200 nerve endings in each foot. By putting the pressure on those nerve points, the body will eventually go through a natural healing process. Attending one session will not be sufficient enough to see or feel the impact. You need to go through several treatments to see or feel better results. It also improves the blood circulation of the body. A friend of mine told me, “good la it hurts at least you know Reflexology works on you!” …yeah right! hehe :P

Through last two week’s experience, I realized that the point that makes me go all sakit is the point which connects to my stomach. He told me while pressing the point, this leads to your stomach ya!..at that point, I was practically at the verge of jumping out of the seat. Adoi..sakit!

And as the session ended, the guy told me, “Miss, when I press the connecting nerve points, I can tell your problem is your stomach, manyak angin, ini mesti pergi Reflexology manyak kali la”…Oh damn…what now?? More sessions of sheer torture?? NO way!

Goldilocks and the "FOUR" bears

2007-05-07T21:27:00.000+08:00

Look who I found in my bed a few nights ago....yikes!!

What helps....??

2007-05-04T12:25:00.000+08:00

I don’t feel good lately, probably feeling all bloated and uncomfortable due to the PMS thingy and my month end work load. Some women I know crave for chocolates when it is that time of the month but for me I would get very emotional, angry and sad. My feelings will go all crappy. Sometimes I would cry for no rhyme or reason. I don’t know why but that’s what I noticed about myself recently. It was not that bad when I was a teenager or in my early 20’s but as soon as I hit the big 30, everything went downhill muahaha:P Hence when it is that time again, I get irritated, upset, short tempered and emotional really fast, little things that people do around me affects me completely. Yikesss! one character who has managed to irritate me to the max is my BOSS. Schmucks, all I can say is he drives me up the walls with his “how are you doing?” question. He keeps asking me the same question over and over again. Each time he would ask and all I would do is nod…It all started when most of the seniors left the department for greater pastures and he is now left to worry about the remaining senior staff that he can really count on. And the thought of my colleague and I scouting for other better prospects worries him completely.

Do you by any chance know what is the best cure for PMS??? Exercising?? Evening Primrose Oil??

Scenic Melaka...

2007-04-29T18:54:00.000+08:00

Karma rules...that is SO true!

2007-04-26T21:25:00.000+08:00

Do you believe in the ol' saying, "What goes around, comes around"? I...do!!! I was having a chat with a friend a few days back and she was telling me about how evil her ex colleague was in backstabbing her when she first joined the department. Her ex-colleague was so mean and evil that she made my friend's life a living hell. My friend had bad nightmares back then, traumatized by the bad mouthing and "cucuking" but I guess in life one will never know when all that evil/negativity actions would probably do a U-TURN and hit him/her back when she/he least expects it. Luck was on my friend's side where she was fortunate to have gotten her promotion twice and the backstabber currently has been instructed to report directly to my friend, ie. her portfolio, KPI, personal target etc, she needs to get my friend's approval. Life is fair eh. Muahahaha.

So I guess the moral of the story is: Be nice to people, be it your colleagues, friends and especially your parents. Never take them for granted :) I still remember the interesting story my ex-boss used to tell me of a despatch boy who became a prominent guy in one of the major banks in Paris! Oh well, in life you will never know what will hit you next.

picture courtesy of http://www.sarahbaingallery.com

Down memory lane....

2007-04-22T22:35:00.000+08:00

Surprisingly, I had a very productive weekend. I managed to run a few errands which I had planned earlier prior to the weekend. I was at the bigger Giant Hypermarket in Kelana Jaya with lil Chopie for an outing on Saturday morning since my sis and bro in law had to work and later at One Utama trying to get a wedding gift for a close friend who is getting married next weekend in Tmn Tun. I found something I think she would love in Aussino. A beautiful bed sheet set! Hehe..and I could NOT resist the temptation to get a quilt cover set for myself as well with butterflies as the main motive. I like! :)

Lil Copie trying to be a Queen...or was it a King??

I finally did the gift wrapping..Pheww..done! So I don't have to rush for it next week since I will be in Malacca before the wedding.

My new Quilt cover set....butterflies everywhere :)

Apart from the gift hunting and babysitting, I am also happy that I finally managed to reorganize my already chaotic closet…It took me a whole damn two hours to get everything in place. Managed to organize my tops in their respective colours and those baju kurungs which I did not feel like wearing anymore I had to give it away. And now, wallaa…my closet looks tidier and well within control :P

Then I got my hands on the old photo ablums which I have been dreading to replace for a few months already and boy those albums really had to be replaced with newer ones. I looked at those photos I took when I was travelling, I was probably in my secondary school and university years…I had a good laugh looking at my bad “hair” years..Oh gosh, it was fun, my lil sis joined me with the laughing and giggling while reminiscing. We were comparing all the photos and laughed like crazy. We also saw old pictures of my brother and elder sis and said to ourselves, “well it looks like we are not the only ones with the bad hair stlyes………muaahahaha”, but don’t worry you guys I won't be posting your pictures for now!haha...:P

I am glad that all my photos are now nicely placed in new albums, all I can say is that those pictures just made my day! Gosh, it really has been ages since I really had a good laugh!

By the way below are a few photos that I managed to pull out...they were taken back in year 1996 (spent my easter holiday with my sis in NY, flew from Heathrow) and 1998 (with my family for her graduation).

Niagara falls ....pic taken from the Canada side, Ontario.

The awesome New York view, pic taken from the Empire State Building.

Hahahaha..thats me in year 1996, taken somewhere in Columbia University .

During the NY worst blizzard! My flight back was delayed..I was soo happy!

My dad ...statue of liberty in the background.

I would never be caught dead with that hat again - pic taken infront of HRC, Tijuana, Mexico.