one hot CUPPA..and thinGs

dilema ibu bekerjaya global

2011-05-05T14:06:00.003+08:00

salam

skrg dkt opis memang bz manjang. sebabnya bos saya yg haritu dah resign lepas setahun je. too much pressure kot ek. umur dah 63 tahun nak report to big boss la, spend duit yg juta2 swiss franc la. baik dok rumah je jaga cucu. so now ol*v dah berhenti dan accept a fellowship assignment dkt university oxford. lebih tenang kot. so sementelah, makcik la yang boss dkt sini. cuma ade la rakan sekerja mat saleh yang teringin nak jadi 'bos bersama' walaupun jwtnnya cuma regional officer sahaja dkt suva sana. Suva dekat mana tatau? tu dekat Fiji dok dekat lautan pasifik dekat2 dgn Australia. Hmm hari2 aku di skype nye. Aku pun ye la nak kerjasama pasukan sentiasa la tanya pendapat dia kan, tetiba dia feeling2 boss lak...layannn.

sebenarnya mat saleh ni pandai cakap aje..lain2 tu kita lagi pandai dr diorg. sebab kan kita kurang cakap banyak kerja. diorg banyak buang masa dgn bercakap, last2 kerja tak siap. tapi part bodek bos kita le kalah sbb tak pandai ckp...hmmm tengah belajar la ni mcmana nak balance between pandai kerja dan pandai cakap..

hampir 3 tahun aku dlm program ni aku makin dihormati dan disegani la (apesal mode bongkak je arini). tak sangka lak ramai orang minta pandangan input dan tunjuk ajar. terasa diriku tua nyeh. tapi disebabkan makin pandai, aku terpaksa la travel ke sana sini sebab kwsn jajahan kerja aku ni adalah 36 negara di asia pasifik. kalau tak berjalan alamatnya tak berbelanja la duit suku juta Australian Dollar yang kitorg dpt utk tahun ni.

Contohnya minggu depan aku kena pegi training org dkt Singapore, minggu berikutnya ke Manila pulak. Bulan depan kena sertai planning meeting utk team aku dkt Geneva. tu belum campur beberapa projek yang bakal habis dan kena g tutup dekat Pakistan dan nepal. Masak !!.

Dulu masa single memang bestlah kalau kerja kena pergi sana sini. masa takde anak pun best jugak walaupun rindu2 suami kan. sekarang ni...hmmmmm

izzah alhamdulillah masih lagi full bf sampai sekarang hampir 7 bulan. ada lagi setahun 5 bulan nak lengkap 2 tahun penyusuan. dalam tempoh tu pasti banyak cabarannya kan. masa pegi manado haritu 3 hari 2 malam, memang sengsara mak dia ni kerinduan, bangun malam nak perah susu, dapatlah bawak balik setong coleman tu. tapi dah berjanji dgn diri sendiri taknak tinggalkan izzah lebih dr 2 malam. kesian dia. sekarang pun dah makin attach, malam2 mmg nk mak aje. hmmmmm....

jadi solution utk singapore adalah pergi balik hari, which is fine, tak payah bermalam dkt tempat lain. utk manila, memang kena pergi seminggu no less, tapi nature training ni kamu duduk dlm hotel saja organise nya. so feasible la jugak nak membawa anak daraku itu. tetapi trick dia adalah sapa lak nak jaga izzah masa aku tengah bertungkus lumus di bilik meeting. mula2 nak bawak mak tersayang tetapi makku itu diperlukan oleh 10 lagi adik2 saya, dan jugak atok saya, hmm. alhamdulillah adik saya yang di USIM tu bercuti jadi sesuailah dibawa ke Manila. kena la sponsor tiket beb...berkorban apa saja

now, Geneva...2 hari ko duduk dlm flight saja. meeting nya 3 hari. tengah buntu tatau nak buat apa.

tu belum Pakistan, Nepal which are so not conducive to bring small babies

Maybe I have to learn to let go...

CARA SIMPLE BUAT PUREE...

2011-03-28T11:44:00.000+08:00

Kanda. Dinda. Rayyan: CARA SIMPLE BUAT PUREE...: "CARA BUAT PUREE BUAH/SAYUR: 1. Rebus/stim buah/sayur. Kalau rebus, kena rebus satu2 buah/sayur... gunakan sikit je air dan api kecik ye. Kal..."

our little najwa izzah

2011-03-04T15:55:00.004+08:00

2 months

2months rilek atas katil

dah mula bam bam, chillex dgn atok

main2 dgn abah

one month

jumpa besfren nama nurul hana sakinah

i'm a one month baby! i'm 3.4kg

3 days to one month

23 days

9 days - baru sudah cukur botak

4 days - kuning sikit

life just happens

2011-03-03T14:48:00.003+08:00

catatan below is my 'surat update hidup' kepada my bffs. just to share with you guys!

many things happening in my life lately. latest my wan meninggal ahad lps. so my wan ni dia paling kurang sakit2 compared to atok. tp last week thursday dia masuk KBMC (tpt aku bersalin tu) sbb mengadu sakit perut. mak aku jaga full time. mak kata tgklah wan dia sakit sgt tak penah tgk wan sakit mcmtu. selalu dia buat2 tak sakit je tau. kalini mmg nampak dkt muka dia kerut2. so hari sabtu aku gi tgk wan. dgn izin Allah masa azan maghrib, mak aku takde kt wan aku sbb dia g solat. so wan tiba2 batuk and wet her bed. i had to papah her masuk bilik air, tukarkan kain, pakaikan pampers dgn makndak, clean her up, and amikkan wuduk. lama aku dok dlm bilik air dgn dia. pastu papah her back to katil. pakaikan tudung, and socks so dia bole jamak maghrib isyak. menginsafkan sgt masa tu tp i was glad Allah buka jalan utk aku, sebab about 12hours pastu she passed on. abes sume tu aku nak g jln2 KLCC so i said goodbye to her, she smiled at izzah and kissed izzah and i kissed her suh dia cpt baik. aku g KLCC g belikan vicks dgn minyak yu yee cap limau utk dia cos dia ngadu tekak dia pedih rasa luka2 seluruhnya. pas balik KLCC dlm jam 11 aku singgah KBMC hantar ubat tu dan fetch mak. masatu wan dah tutup lampu tidur ditemani paklang. hmm never that i know, subuh tu wan pergi selama2nya. Ya Allah terima kasih sebab buat aku tak terkilan and got the chance to be with my Wan even only for short time.

so now atok stays with us (umah mak). he cant bear staying in tampin house cos asik teringat2 arwah. tapi aku tatau arrangement mcmana minggu dpn when we depart for aceh. aku terpikir nk sponsor je tiket atok ikut kitorg tp dont think he larat jalan2. ksian kang.

lagi..i received a news that i have to travel to manado (indon) 16 march ni. aku dok doa tak jadi..if yes this will be first time aku parted dgn izzah at night. huuu sedih. aku dah terpikir possibility of bringing her, tp ksian dia kot nanti. travel ni bukan senang. aku nk bwk brg aku pun kelam kabut..so i will pump and bring back stok susu..kena plan logistiknye lah..ade je banyak mommies yg travel for work and still continue bf, kena cekal banyak lah.

hmmmmmm..izzah plak mlm smalam jatuh tilam (nasib kitorg belum ade katil!). terjerit ok. asalnya aku bf dia then peluk dia kt tgh katil, tau tau dia dah takde dan terjerit dkt bwh. omgg sian. dia baru pandai roll over and roll back..so dah merata2 atas katil. dia kalo seblom tido akan roll2 sampai dia selesa baru tido huhu..so kitorg tgh dok consider nk beli baby cot..haha lambat kan.., wpun maybe last2 tido dgn kitorg juga, at least ade option lah.

alamak aku kena g sambung keja..bubbye dulu guys

heeeeeee

i am still alive and i need new motivation

2011-03-02T16:32:00.002+08:00

hi everyone, assalamualaikum!

yes, i am still blogging. everyday i blog in my head. hehe.

not too busy at work, but i am just wordless. izzah is soon to be 5 months old. she is already a cheeky little one, very2 lasak. motherhood treated me fine. except for extra tiredness, i dont have any complaints, izzah doesnt cry or scream alot. she's such a chill baby.

have gone through ups and downs of health and emotions lately, but still hanging there.

will write more!
daaa

the birth story

2010-10-28T12:24:00.004+08:00

so the baby has arrived!

she is 20 days and currently fast asleep. now that she has developed her routines of sleeping and feeding, and i have adjusted to my own sleep catching up, i could update this blog on the historical day - and the days leading towards it!

eversince my 37 week checkup, i have imagined that baby is on its way anytime very very soon. my doc said, 'all is good, head is locked, your amount of water is just nice'.. so everyday, i use the toilet or go to sleep with some anticipation of bloody show or water break. it became a real paranoia when you actually reach 40weeks, and nothing happens. everyday i tell people that it could be any time soon, but when people see me the next day, they will ask ' ahhh you still pregnant?!!' p.a.r.a.n.o.i.d

so on my 39th week checkup that was on the 4th October, doc said that my placenta is very matured, and my water looks a little less than it should be. anyways, doc gave another 5 days, and she'll see me again on friday the 8th and 'get me delivered', if nothing happens. i got an MC for the whole week, and the waiting continues.

i was so not easy at home, waiting for 'something' to show up, every little second. so i decided to make myself busy with mak visiting my new nephew, Uwais who was born on the 3rd October, and entertaining my 2 other cheeky nephews. I would tell Uwais' story next, which still leave me in tears, until now...

anyways..on Thursday, i went to see mak and abah's house which is still in renovation, before going shopping clothes for Uwais. that night we played dress up with Uwais and took family photos. I'm glad i did that the day before i send myself to hospital, at least, some of my memories with my baby nephew..ahh, i'll tell his story in the next entry..

so comes Friday the 8th Oct. our doc appointment was at 9.30 am. i only managed to eat 2 slices of toast, before heading off to hospital. hubby was fasting cos his blood needs to be taken for some other tests. so we planned to have a full breakfast after checkups.

during the checkup, doc told us that the baby needs to be delivered that day and i had a 3cm opening. so she arranged for check-ins, and prepare for labor. my hubby insisted that we have something to eat first, cos it will be a long day. but the nurses said no, doc has instructed me to start the labor process. so i was showed my bed in the ward before hubby went out for breakfast alone. i was asked to change into hospital attire.

a nurse came and inserted something into my anus- she said for bowel movement. sure enough it took only 5 minutes before i ran to the toilet. and before i knew it, i was whisked away into the labor room. my doc came and set the IV drip. She put me on pitocin (to induce labor). that was 11.30am.

and then she broke my water. doc said that if my water comes out clear, we can go ahead on the induction and go natural, but if its greenish in color then we need to have emergency labor (means that the baby is already in distress and meconium was already present). i was praying that i would not need a c-sect. but my water came out clean, so we will just wait for the labor to kick off.

my husband came and accompany me before he had to go for jumaat prayers. He was contemplating to go or not to go, but the doc said, ohh it will be a while...yikes. i did not feel anything painful from then until 3pm. and i didnt know what to expect. i know from the look of my doc that she asked the nurses to put a drip at a 'higher dosage' since 'i could still laugh'. arghh. i keep on reciting prayers of Nabi Yunus, zikrullah and played surah maryam on my phone. my family and close friends checked upon me, and hubby answered that i am still in labor.

a nurse on the next shift came in and checked my opening - still 3cm tight, and she said please tolerate the pain a bit cos she 'wanted to help'. she did something that was so painful and uncomfortable at my cervics while reciting selawat. i cried cos that was the first painful experiecned i felt that day. and finally she said..'ok kak now it is 4cm' oh she was expanding it i see..i still had nightmares of that process till now!

3.30pm - i started feeling some tightness that was somewhat painful every 5 minutes, but it is still tolerable. because i could still laugh. i had another 'expansion' thing after that, and at 4.30 doc said she wanted to pick up her daughter (my cousin) at school- remember my doc is my aunty. i asked her would she manage..she said yeah sure there's plenty of time. hubby gave me a piece of vadey and i took some dates and air zam zam. That was the only food i had for the day.

5pm - the contractions started to feel quite painful, but with long intermittent. my phone is already dead, and i just do not want to pick up any calls at that point of time. the intense contractions made me so hopeful that i will be more dilated and labor could progress faster.

6pm - i was only 5cm dilated, thats halfway to go. the nurse said for first time mothers, 1cm normally is equivalent to an hour, so if i still not fully dilated at 10pm tonight, 'we will have a different story'...argh

7pm-9pm - my body starts to feel achy and weak. i could not lay flat anymore, my bum is painful as hell. doc and nurses put on a CTG machine to check on baby's heartbeats. for a while, baby seems to have a weak count. i really dont like the look on my gynae's face- thats the disadvantage when you have your aunt as your doc, you can read what they are thinking..the contraction is now so so intense, and all i can say is, sakittt sakittt sakittt..my husband stayed by my side, even though i know he's also panicked.

10pm - i really could not tolerate the pain anymore. it came at 2 minutes interval and very very intense. i did not have time to breathe. i really dont care whats happening around me, i dont think i could survive to push when the time comes. from the pain i guess i could be fully dilated by now. doc came and checked my openings..what a horror when she said '6cm aishah'..oh Allah, please help me. doc asked me' we take epidural ok, you are have your own contraction, no drugs'..i was hesitant for a while, in pain..before i succumbed and said yes..i mean how long more i could tolerate this, i had no room to gain strength for the big push later. nurse came and asked me to sign on the dotted lines, meaning i have agreed to take epidural.

10.45pm- the anaesthethist came and put me on epidural. she took quite a while to find my spinal canal before inserting the cathether..in between 3 intense contractions, gosh..she was abit cynic about me taking epidural, when i am already a 6. i told her i wanted to experience birth naturally and the pain, and i felt it. i immediately felt numb and painless, my doc put me on the highest pitocin dosage (and i dont feel a thing). i laughed, and everybody in the labor room was relieved. the nurses clean me up a little, give me something to drink, and even asked me to sleep for a while to gain energy to push.

11.15pm - i felt something warm down there, and doc said hey you are fully dilated..get ready to push!..nurse stopped epidural for me to feel the contractions to make it easier to push. they asked me to put my legs on a steel bar and ask me to pull a leather handle while pushing. i cant remember how many pushes i did, on the sides and flat..everybody in the room were like cheerleaders..'alright aishah thats gooddd, come onnn..'

11.45pm - the baby came out..so beautiful, and so loud. her body was full of meconium, and there's plenty in her mouth too (we were just in time, thanks to epidural). i was laughing, sweaty, happy and relieved. baby was taken away, and i birthed the placenta and had episiotomy (not much)...

Najwa Izzah was born at 1145pm, weighing 2.88kg..healthy alhamdulillah.

the guessing game

2010-09-24T10:17:00.003+08:00

salam everyone! Selamat Hari Raya

38 weeks 3 days..

and the guessing game starts!..both husband and I are excited. think most of preparation is done and just waiting for the little one to pop out.

pregnancy

baby is now engaged and her head is locked to the birth canal. amniotic fluid is also lesser, a sign that she is ready for delivery anytime. our baby is just around 2.5kg, a cutie pie. I dont worry too much about her weight because i believe she could just be my size when i was born (2.6kg). my body is growing less comfortable by day, and aching everywhere. i cant sit on the floor, or sit for a long period of time, and i would have trouble walking properly when i stand up. i could feel its becoming heavier and my movement is now slower. i have breathing challenge, and get tired easily.

work

but still go to work, ..i plan to work until i see the signs. furthermore hospital is just a stone throw away from the office, and i prefer to be here busy rather than sleeping at home entertaining my dreams of scary labor hahaha. husband has been sending and fetching me from work lately. my replacement is coming next week, and handing over all my work to her hopefully. then i will basically off-work mode till the end of the year.

raya
it was as usual but i insisted a photo session to 'document my state visually'. and so we did

everything has blown out of proportion, my nose, my chest.everything.

and this year, we missed the opportunity to visit my husband's kampung in perak, as it will take at least 3 hours drive. sorry mak mertua. but we had our balik kampung trip to my own atok in Tampin N9. So it was a blast..!

my aim was to eat all i can before the little one arrives. hehe

so i hope to update about my birth story in the next post..make sure u guys stay tuned, pray for us OK?

makin hampir

2010-08-11T12:36:00.003+08:00

salam ~~123 58......~~13 ramadhan. (berapa banyak kali dah save draft)

selamat menjalankan ibadah puasa kepada semua pembaca- pembaca blog ais ni. best tak berpuasa? semoga dapat menggunakan masa yang sibuk dan suntuk dengan urusan dunia untuk beribadah kepada-Nya kerana ganjaran di bulan ini berganda- ganda lebihnya berbanding bulan biasa. suasana nya juga berbeza kan.

saya juga memohon ampun kerana mood penulisan saya akhir- akhir ini agak negatif hehe. semoga saya kembali menjadi lebih positif sihat dan ceria. di kala ini saya sedang melawan perasaan kantuk di pejabat, maka saya rajinkan diri untuk menulis buat tatapan pembaca budiman.

sayugia, saya sudah pun masuk ke bulan ke lapan kehamilan. 34 minggu! tak sangka perut yang dulunya kecil sudah menjadi besar mashaAllah. bayi juga di saat ini sedang mengetuk- ngetuk dinding perut, mungkin hairan ibunya sudah 2 kali 'miss soru'. sudah dipesan kepada baby, ibu mahu berpuasa sebulan ni nak, izinkan ya.

hairan orang- orang barat di pejabat saya ni pabila melihat saya mahu berpuasa di kala kesaratan sebegini rupa. saya pula serba salah tidak mahu dikatakan Islam itu tidak fleksibel malah kejam apabila ibu yang hamil begini juga disuruh berlapar dahaga. ada pula yang membangkitkan isu hak asasi kanak-kanak, malah ada juga yang 'tolong' googelkan dalil utk saya berbuka puasa . oh nooo...walau berapa ratus kali kukatakan yang saya ini masih kuat dan tabah berpuasa mereka masih belum berpuas hati kerana bagi mereka saya harus memastikan anak yang sedang membesar ini mendapat nutrisi secukupnya.

jika difikirkan Allah tidak akan memfardhukan puasa ini kepada semua orang dan memberi kelonggaran apabila diperlukan jika tubuh manusia yang diciptaknanNya tidak dapat menanggung kewajipan ini, tetapi haruslah mengikut sunnah yang telah diaturkan (e.g lewatkan bersahur , awalkan berbuka). Perempuan mengandung tidak tergolong dalam golongan yang diberi kelonggaran kecuali dia risaukan kesihatannya sendiri. tetapi bila berasa lemah dan perlu iftar, maka hukum rukhsah yang terjatuh padanya adalah seperti hukum rukhsah untuk orang yang sakit. hujah ini pun sebenarnya tidak sesuai dibangkitkan kepada non-believers. so saya cuma berdiam diri je tak bercerita sgt tentang ibadah yang saya sedang jalankan, dan saya sembunyikan juga wajah- wajah letih dan tidak bermaya supaya tidak diganggu dengan persoalan- persoalan berikut drp mereka.

ohh sepanjang bulan puasa ini dapur saya memang berasap2..lebih berasap dari bukan bulan ramadhan..alhamdulillah pejabat melepaskan kami jam 4 petang, maka sempatlah sampai ke rumah jam 5 lebih. by this time, saya dah pandai rancang, apa nak masak, dan ada sesetengahnya saya sediakan bahan semasa hujung minggu. contoh hari ini kami nak makan soto ayam. ketupat dan ayam dah pun siap rebus semalam. balik karang tinggal buat cili, dan bergedil. mudah kan??!..hati lebih gembira dan puas pabila berbuka puasa dengan mknn dari air tangan sendiri.
mungkin ada baiknya blog saya ni jadi domesticated.blogspot tajuk dia (matiler tiba2 nak tukar)

hujung minggu juga dihabiskan dengan membeli barang- barang bayi seperti botol susu, melihat keperluan jamu, dan membasuh baju- baju baby yang baru. bila melihat baju- baju cute, lampin, tuala bersidai untuk dikeringkan hati ini rasa bercampur baur, gembira, sayu, tak sabar, nervous dll. hehe.

oklah lepas ni i post resepi masakan saja lah yer, atau stok EBM..hehe. from a jetsetter(konon) to a domesticated mom. i'm ready..

mode menyampah

2010-08-06T14:26:00.003+08:00

hadoi tak tahu lah beberapa hari ni banyak sangat komen- komen sinis yang terlintas di kepala bila buka Facebook. adakala nya dlm kepala saya ade bunyi *yawwwwnnnn* menguap, like duhh..saya macam terasa saya dah patut menutup saja akaun Facebook ni kerana saya rasa lebih banyak pula dosa apabila saya terlintas benda- benda macamni.. sebenarnya tak boleh salahkan sesiapa ya sebab Facebook tu kan hak peribadi. macamana mereka nak gunakan tu terpulang kepada hak peribadi, betul tak. tapi pernah tak korang semua terasa menyampah dengan golongan seperti yang disebut di bawah:

1. status puisi/kata- kata hikmat dengan bahasa inggeris tahap tinggi, dan tiada kredit terhadap pengarang asal
orang- orang macamni memang dikenali (maaf) tidak berbahasa inggeris dengan baik dan apabila disuruh membuat ayat dalam bahasa inggeris memang akan terserlah kelemahan itu. tidak mengapalah, tak salah pun. tetapi apabila quote2 itu dikomen oleh rakan2 nya yang lain, sebagai 'ahhh indahnya kamu berbahasaaa'..bukan kah itu mengundang tanda tanya?..dan tidak pula dia menafikan bahawa itu bukan hasil karyanya. dia diamkan sahaja dan malahan kadang- kadang dia ckp terima kasih!!!saya tidak tahu dari mana datangnya semangat untuk saya copy quote itu dan google, hasilnya saya dapat karya penulis asal yg diplagiat orang2 seperti ini. mungkin mereka mahu dikenali sebagai seorang yang berbudaya dan articulate, padahal palsu!..

2. Gambar- gambar terbaru yang ~~sangat cantik dan ayu~~ biasa- biasa saja, dan diberi komen sendiri seperti 'ahh gemuknya saya'
pasti akan ada rakan-rakan sebaya yang memberikan komen 'eh tak gemuklah, cantik dan sweeet saja' atau ' makin cantik lah kamu ni'. nampak tak golongan ini sebenarnya perlukan keyakinan diri dengan memancing pujian dengan umpan kejian terhadap diri sendiri. bijak betul

3. banyak bercerita di atas kejayaan/kelebihan diri untuk memancing komen berbentuk jealous(i know i'm mean)
ayo ais ni.. biarlah diorg

4. perasan diri banyak peminat - update semua aktiviti harian dan menerima pujian tak henti- henti dalam ruangan komen
dunia berpusing di sekelilingnya sahaja. tiada orang lain. mungkin yang bukan pujian semua telah didelete???? arghhh

5. benci itu benci ini, semua adalah propaganda
rasa macam semua benda adalah salah, dan ada hidden agenda. kadangkala nak mengajak orang menyertai sesuatu propaganda/kempen haruslah dtg dgn personaliti jua. bila kita benci sesuatu perkara, kalau malas nak membaca lebih lanjut dan nak ajak orang percaya bulat- bulat, instead of org dtg kepada kita, orang akan melarikan diri. hmm itu kalau sayalah.

6. berharapkan sesuatu dan Tuhan makbulkan sekian lama, lepas tu komplen
ade yang sudah lama menantikan jodoh, anak. memang saya gembira bila Allah kurniakan mereka ini semua, tapi jangan lah komplen pulak lepas tu. contoh 'asik muntah- muntah sahaja tak sanggup dah rasanya badan ini menanggung' ini lepas berbulan2 merintih masih belum dikurniakan zuriat. ini nak komplen gembira atau mmg hobi dia whininggggg??....

dah ler..

bikin darah naik

2010-07-30T16:44:00.002+08:00

One fine evening

woman : hi cik ais, saya dari Link*discount card
ais : ye hello
woman : saya nak tanya ada tak cik apply credit card baru2 ni
ais : hmmmm ada (teragak2 ni m*ybank ke yang call nak check kad tu dah sampai ke belum)
woman : saya tanya ada tak cik terima credit card baru2 ni, (dia macam naik suara dia ingat aku tanya 'apa')
ais : ada..ini call dari bank ke?
woman : bukan, kan saya cakap tadi saya dari Link*discount card
ais : ok tapi kad tu saya belum pick up lagi dari rumah mak saya.
woman : bila cik ais nak ambil ya
ais : tak tahu lah
woman : agak- agak bila, takkan cik tak tahu bila nak ambil
ais : hee tak tahu lah ek, busy betul sekarang ni. kenapa puan sarankan saya cepat2 ambil ke kad tu.
woman : oh takde lah kan..terpulanglah bila cik nak amik kan cuma saya nak tahu saja
ais : ntah nya, suka hati saya la bila saya nak ambil kad tu (mula naik darah ku)
woman : boleh tak saya tahu cik apply credit card tu dekat bank mana
ais : *terkedu*..hmm saya tak ingat
woman : what ??? (sambi tergelak sinis) takkan la cik tak ingat bank mana, CIMB ke stanchart ke maybank keee
ais : betul saya tak ingat, mungkin awak yang lebih ingat
woman : heee peliknya (suara dia sangat memandang rendah ok kepadaku)
ais : boleh tak saya kata kepada awak, saya pilih untuk tidak disclose info tu
woman : ape dispose??
ais : disclose (dlm hati : ko call center mana ni belaja english tak abes)
woman : oohh personal sangat ke info tu..hmmm takpe je lah terima kasih

*terus letak telefon
** ada dalam hati aku nak berceramah jumaat sebentar dalam tema 'tak rugi berbudi bahasa apabila hendak meminta informasi peribadi pelanggan yang berpotensi'..too bad you lose

28 minggu

2010-07-06T11:11:00.008+08:00

dah 28 minggu! selamat datang trimester tiga!

kebelakangan ni saya mula rasa agak letih macam semasa trimester pertama dulu. padahal saya tak ada kerja sangat pun di ofis. balik rumah buat kerja yang biasa seperti basuh baju, sidai baju, lipat baju, gosok baju, kemas- kemas, masak pun dah jarang huhu..dah tergolek. mungkin bila masuk trimester ke-tiga kepenatan ini akan bertambah, semoga dipermudahkan la harap- harapnya.

from womenhealthcaretopics.com

During the third trimester many women start realizing some of the same discomforts they did during the first trimester. Among these include more frequent trips to the bathroom and greater fatigue. Many women also suffer from poor quality sleep during the third trimester, mostly as a result of trying to stay comfortable during the evening.

checkup
hasil ujian darah dari pemeriksaan sebelumnya, saya didapati berada dalam kondisi anemic. ini kata doktor maktam kerana saya adalah pembawa gene talassemia trait. doktor juga menggalakkan suami untuk membuat ujian darah untuk memastikan baby tak terdedah kepada kemungkinan 25% talasemia major, jika kedua- dua kami disahkan pembawa gene talasemia. Na'uzubillah. jadi sekarang ada 5 jenis vitamin yang saya ambil berbanding satu semasa mula- mula hamil dulu.

1. Pramilet - presediaan multivitamin bersama asid folik

2. Calcium Lactate - untuk tambahan kalsium (sebab malas minum susu) dan persediaaan penyusuan

3. Iron - anemic condition - blood supply?

4. Vitamin E - baby's growth (sejak makan ni perut makin besar mendadak, kebetulan kah)

5. neurogain - untuk otak baby

oh sekali lagi baby kasi tengok dia punya 'tut'. saya girl lahh mama, abah! hehe, tanya doktor, boleh tak tekan butang yang tulis 3D tu, dok maktam kata, haish next checkup la yer..wawawawa.. (saya dah lama nampak butang 3D tu ..mcm geram nk tekan kan?)

beli barang baby

dalam hal ini, saya agak rileks read: berlengah. suami yang asik tanya, hey kita ni bila nak shopping barang baby. saya rasa sudah 50% barang yang dibeli termasuk baju- baju dan kelengkapan bayi baru lahir. pembelian terhebat dan paling emosi setakat ini pastilah ~~pam payudara~~ breastpump - *bunyi nya agak grafik dalam bahasa melayu haha. kami berjaya mendapatkan pam terbaik dengan harga terendah (lebih kurang rm1,000 lebih murah). tips akan diberitahu jika ada yang bertanya. *motif kekwat.

nantilah saya sambung di entri berikut. macam malas aje nak tulis lagi. sekian dahulu!!

Trip Le Geneve

2010-06-18T14:19:00.004+08:00

this was quite a special trip for me. I always knew in my heart, by working in a humanitarian organisation i will one day get a chance to be in Geneva. Why is it so special? because all these years I have been working according to Geneval plans, Geneva directions, Geneva time zones, Geneva rules. Geneva is where everything started, where all the declarations being signed, the place where all the HQs are, the place for the big bosses and secretary generals.

and furthermore, i was not travelling alone this time around. I carry a little person in me. Now that she kicks, i sometimes talk and communicate with her. It is surreal and wonderful at the same time. plus i have to take extra care of myself so sikecik wont suffer inside. i need to eat properly, take vitamins, wear proper clothings, regular exercise. basically i live for another person now, not just for myself.

i got to meet with my other colleagues from other regions (South america, africa). there are only 8 of us around the world, so it is quite a small team to begin with. all of them are lawyers who decided to chose a different path by doing humanitarian work. it was a really cool eye opener to listen to different countries experience as much as sharing my own from Asia. i met my bigger boss in Geneva too. when i was introduced to her, she was beaming with smile. i still remember her words

" oh you are THE aisha, i have heard a lot about you!"
..............*whatt? i stunned
"..of course all the good things!"
"oh..thank you "*blush*

cool to know that my work has been appreciated, though i always feel underqualified (i.must.get.my.masters.soon).

food was not a big problem for me. as precaution i have a pack of bread and serunding in my suitcase. but fortunately i could find alot of fish and salads. if i go to town, i will find alot of halal doner kebabs with fabulous choice of fillings - lamb, falafel, chicken. they eat big dont they? i wanted to try the swiss cheese fondue which looked simply irresistable - until i discovered two things : 1. pregnant women are not allowed to eat soft cheese 2. they melt the cheese with wine , OK lets make a pass on this. But swiss chocolate is a must.eat.must.buy. enough said.

the highlight of my trip was surprisingly A VISIT TO THE MUSEUM. can you believe this? a bimbo trip to the museum? hahaha. anyways..
the museum has the historical background on how my organisation started, how people has sacrificed their lives in the name of humanity, and how different races and religions got together to form this big organisation, made me feel proud to be where i am. i spent close to two hours walking alone in the museum. inspired. POYO tak??!! * i am imagining myself looking at a flying flag with tears at the corner of my eyes....argh
and hope the baby understnds too because the visit includes watching some horror war videos, and disaster stories. she was kicking away, saying 'mommy,,,get out of hereeee, i'm scared'

i think i was in the best stage of pregnancy to travel. the only thing is i need to select seats in the plane where i could stretch my legs. the thing is some flights charge you for extra leg room. and they wont allow pregnant women sit at the emergency exit. bummer. but actually nobody noticed i was pregnant. so much for my preparation with doctor's letter and all. so i got an emergency exit seat, near toilet, and pantry which i liked very much, at first. until the space in front of me were crowded with old chinese men trying to also stretch their legs (like me) by doing tai chi, going to toilet every 15 minutes, peeking at the air hostess..goshhh. it became so noisy and irritating. this time is when the eyecover and ear plugs are god sent. it really were!

and i got cramps after 2 days in Geneva from too much walking. so i just take it easy and ride the bus. after getting to know Geneva's bus and tram system, it is very easy to get around.plus i got a free travel card complementary from my hotel. i just visited Manor (a nice mall) and Balexert (mall opposite the hotel) planning to buy some baby stuff. nothing is cheap here, but just to get some memories of Geneva i bought 2 cute rompers from Orchestra.

and you need to speak french to be able to survive here in Geneva. even though many people speak English, but i would sign up in a french class in a whim if ever i have to live here. so i learn to greet people with bonjour, s'il vous plaît and practice 'merci beaucoup' for thank you..that would be enough for a short trip!

breastfeeding and worries

2010-06-04T13:27:00.008+08:00

look at sikecik's activity when mommy ~~hardly~~ busy working in the office. now she's listening to surah al-mulk by Syed Alghamidi in Youtube.

i am so lucky to be born to a mother who stayed at home and breastfeeds. little did i know that during the 80's, the formula milk derived from the cow were intensely promoted. what i knew was the propaganda sounded like 'give your baby formula milk so they will grow healthy and fat'. when siblings and I were small, we tend to make fun of kids who drink bottle milk. 'mak dia lembu pasal dia minum susu lembu' (evil right)..i dont know where that teasing came from but i still remember some of the occassions.

so, of course as the saying goes 'breastfed babies will breastfeed'

At this stage of pregnancy (i'm 22 weeks), i am beginning to worry a lot. yes i am sure some of you too, as parents, you worry about everything. worried about whether she gets enough nutritions in there, worried if i cant feel her move yet, worried if she really grows properly, worried about her health, worried if she is too cramped inside haha, worried if i cant give the best to my child, worried about almost all silly things!..

so i want to give the best for her/him, i want to breastfeed! People say, have the will first and there will be a way.determination is enough, comes the worrying part.i will be a working mother, who occassionally travels the world. i live 40km from the office and i have a new boss who is 63 year old norwegian man, who has forgotten completely how challenging it is during the child bearing years. for him it was at least 25 years ago!

OK, as husband knows me, whenever i worry, i will start reading and reading and reading. if you look at my google history, you will find quite hilarious search phrases e.g

' 22 weeks no kicks '

' 20 weeks belly small'

'breastpump cheapest'

~~' petua anak comel '~~

'eczema pregnancy'

'babysitter vs nursery'

'nama baby bagus'

and the list go on!

so i started reading the experiences of working moms who fully breastfeed their child. i even have many hardcore breastfeeding mom friends who pumps every hour at the office, to ensure there is enough milk supply for their beloved children. i started to get curious about the management of expressed breastmilk from pumping, transporting, freezing, warming and storing. then comes the gadget stuff, which breastpump to buy, sterilizer, warmer, bottles, nipples and so on.

but i still cant find solution if let say i need to travel out of the country for a couple of days and i can't say no too. i know i worry too early but it is a real concern right now. how will my baby survive? i was praying there will be women somewhere who actually live up to this challenge.

i finally found a couple of amazing ladies whose jobs require to travel frequently but still hardcore bfers! yeayyy..one of them even bought an in-flight special coleman icebox for her breastmilk stocks. cool!!! i bookmarked these blogs and hopefully these people could help me if ever i wanted some advice some day.

but now ICE, lets just purely pasang niat and prepare....tolonglahhh

talking about working and travelling, i am flying to Geneva tomorrow and guess what i would purchase? please let there be the cheapest.....

medela freestyle 2-phase expression breastpump!

cerita sedih (baca sampai habis)

2010-06-02T10:40:00.004+08:00

azmi (bukan nama sebenar) adalah seorang graduan muda diploma IT. dia baru sahaja mula bekerja di organisasi saya hujung tahun lepas. IT department ni terletak beberapa langkah sahaja dari department saya. maka saya selalu juga berbual kecil dengannya. pada pengamatan saya, azmi seorang budak yang baik, boleh diharap, sopan, pendiam dan tak banyak kerenah. selalu juga terserempak dengannya sewaktu beliau dalam perjalanan ke surau yang terletak di belakang bangunan pejabat ini. semasa parti krismas anjuran bos besar tahun lepas, kami ada upacara pertukaran hadiah. azmi membelikan rakan saya sebuah buku agama popular yang bertajuk 'La Tahzan' (jangan bersedih). agak lain pilihannya berbanding kami yang lebih suka memberi barang- barang hiasan rumah dan sebagainya.

Azmi orangnya pendiam, tetapi apa juga kata- katanya pasti yang baik- baik sahaja. melihatkan umurnya yang baru mencecah 24 tahun, kami selalu melihatnya sebagai pemuda yang mempunyai masa depan yang cerah.

beberapa bulan lepas, Azmi ditimpa malang kerana ibunya jatuh di dalam bilik air lalu dimasukkan ke hospital Ampang puteri, dan kedengarannya agak kritikal. selepas bercuti beberapa hari, beliau kembali ke pejabat dan memberitahu ibunya masih belum sedar. kami tidak berkesempatan hendak melawat, apabila 2 minggu selepas itu, beliau pulang dalam keadaan tergesa- gesa dan berkata bahawa ayahnya telah kembali ke rahmatullah akibat kemalangan. Kami amat terkejut kerana dari sumber ceritanya ayah nya terlibat dalam kemalangan di Paris semasa lawatan kerja. mengetahui keadaan ibunya yang terlantar dan ayahnya yang telah meninggal, kami di pejabat menyampaikan sms takziah dan sokongan kepada anak muda malang ini.

2 minggu berikutnya, azmi sekali lagi terkocoh- kocoh pulang dan sms disampaikan kepada bosnya mengatakan ibunya telah menurut jejak ayahnya. kami sangat sedih untuknya. bayangkan dia kehilangan 2 orang tersayang dalam masa yang singkat. ceritanya kondisi ibunya merudum sejak diberitakan tentang pemergian ayahnya. ibunya tidak dapat menerima keadaan lalu menyahut panggilan ilahi.

tinggallah azmi bersama 3 orang adiknya. dia anak yang sulung, tetapi punya adik perempuan yang baru 2 bulan berkahwin sebelum kematian ayahnya. sekarang dia harus mengambil tanggungjawab untuk menjaga dan membesarkan adik- adik. adiknya lelaki yang bongsu masih di tingkatan 2 sangat rapat dengan arwah ayahnya. hari- hari awal kematian ayahnya, menurut azmi, adiknya masih menyediakan minuman panas milo untuk ayah setiap pagi. dia akan marah jika sesiapa minum kerana katanya itu adalah untuk ayah. luluh jiwa mendengar cerita- cerita anak yatim ini.

minggu berikutnya saya terserempak dengan azmi di pejabat. wajahnya semakin cekung dengan mata yang berair kemerahan. saya hairan apa yang dibuatnya di sini. bukankah dia sepatutnya bercuti untuk meredakan kesedihan akibat pemergian kedua orang tuanya. katanya adik- adiknya sekarang sudah dipindahkan ke melaka supaya dijaga oleh pakciknya. hanya tinggal dia seorang di bangi, rumah tempat dimana mereka sekeluarga tinggal.

' saya tak sanggup nak tengok barang- barang di rumah tu, peninggalan arwah
berdua, saya boleh jadi gila'...kata azmi dalam keadaan sebak menahan
tangisan.

saya pun sebak juga dan memberikan kata- kata semangat. apa lagi saya boleh lakukan.

azmi diberi cuti 3 minggu untuk menguruskan keluarga dan mencari kekuatan.

setelah kembali, beliau seperti biasa, dan mungkin harus teruskan kehidupan demi adik- adik.
minggu lepas, saya mendapat kabar dari bos azmi yang adik bongsu nya meninggal akibat pendarahan dalaman selepas pergaduhan di sekolah. kabarnya dari rakan di HR, adiknya ditukarkan sekolah kembali ke Bangi dan mungkin diganggu sehingga terjadinya pergaduhan yang meragut nyawa.

Allah, apa lagi lah ujian yang hendak Kau turunkan kepada si Azmi yang tidak berdosa itu. saya ceritakan kisah Azmi kepada Mak juga. tiada siapa yang tidak simpati bila saya kisahkan cerita duka bertimpa yang dialami Azmi.

setiba saya di pejabat esoknya, saya lihat gadis- gadis berbaju kurung sudah bersedia untuk ke melaka melawat keluarga azmi. mereka bertanya jika saya mahu turut serta, saya menolak baik dan menyampaikan salam kepada keluarga azmi. tetapi setelah 3 jam saya lihat rombongan ini masih di pejabat dan cuma berkata 'ada sesuatu berlaku' bila saya tanyakan kenapa tak jadi pergi.

saya sangat curious dan terhidu sesuatu.

kisahnya saya ketahui pada petang itu, hasil siasatan seorang teman baik. gadis di bahagian sumber manusia menelefon adik perempuan azmi sebelum mereka memulakan perjalanan untuk bertanyakan alamat. adiknya terkejut bila mendengar berita ayah, ibu dan adik bongsunya diberitakan meninggal sedangkan tiada siapa pun meninggal katanya. dia mengesyorkan supaya menghubungi ayah mereka (yang sepatutnya sudah mati di Paris). Maka laili (HR - bukan nama sebenar) pun menghubungi 'arwah' dan telefon berjawab. ayahnya diberitahu mengenai penipuan demi penipuan yang dilakukan oleh anak lelakinya.

bila segalanya sudah terbongkar, kami amat terkejut! apa sebenarnya tujuan lelaki ini memperdaya kami semua mengenai kematian ahli keluarganya? kami sangat merasa tertipu walapun tiada wang yang dicuri. sebenarnya ada, apabila pejabat membuat kutipan kami tanpa berat menderma puluhan ringgit untuk membantu azmi. tetapi kenapa azmi sanggup mengorbankan gaji yang ribuan RM untuk duit derma ihsan, dan nama yang buruk terpalit?

pada saya, anak muda ini mungkin menggemari penipuan dan mahu menguji sejauhmana keberkesanan penipuannya. dikaburi dengan imej alim pendiamnya, azmi memang berjaya menjadi con-man. dialah con-man pertama yang saya jumpa tanpa syak wasangka langsung.

beliau dibuang kerja serta merta dan diminta memulangkan wang yang diambilnya hasil derma ikhlas orang ramai. dalam pada itu sempat dia meminta gaji akhir (tak malu), belas kasihan. tetapi tidak dipenuhi kerana beliau bukan sahaja menipu dan mengambil cuti panjang, tetapi juga mengambil wang derma.

apa lah nak jadi orang melayu islam, sedih OK

planning to move

2010-05-25T10:26:00.007+08:00

salam!

currently we are renting in a house (read : a seriously compact flat) that is starting to get quite suffocating. How to explain this : everytime i fry ikan masin in the kitchen all my curtains, sofa, fresh laundry will smell ikan masin for two days. it is annoying. but i still love the house cos it marks our humble beginning as husband and wife.

we need to move soon for the arrival of the little one..

in early 2007, i bought a walk up apartment, located just beside the Federal highway. That time i was working in Aceh ~~and was stinky rich~~. i actually was interested when a close girlfriend told me about it as soon as she bought it. I mean if I decided not to stay there, it looked like a pretty good investment. We both bought a unit in the same block. we were thinking, if we are destined to be single ~~(and HOT)~~ forever, we would have a crib to ourselves and have each other as neighbours! How cool.

and came 2010. The development has completed for ages but the CF has not been granted. I was initially annoyed because the interest payment is setting me back, and we still need to rent elsewhere. but now instead of gruntling i decided to count my eggs before they hatch (channelling positive energy). The later they call me for the key handover, the more they have to pay me the 'Late Issue of Deed of Assignment'...means more rezeki for sikecik...alhamdulillah. They have promised the handover by July

that means, in July:
1. I will be 7-months pregnant, and moving house is not funny
2. furniture shopping, putting up grills, kitchen cabinet, fans, light bulbs
3. baby shopping
4. puasa raya

wow, what a year!
I know we are blessed

next year, we are moving again, hopefully to a better crib

gambar hiasan ni

btw : guess what we saw on the sonograms on 22 May, IT LOOKS LIKE A CHEESEBURGER!! (we are going to shop pink!! *danceeee)

perut kecik perut besar

2010-05-06T11:18:00.006+08:00

week 18!

kelakar lah photo ni sebab.......haha eh takde kaitan pun dgn saya, sumpah ;P

bump saya sudah terserlah. kalau dari tepi perut ke timur, punggung ke barat.
haritu masa 3 bulan lebih, saya pergi ke spa yang saya selalu kunjungi,

beautician saya (tak larat ade beautician) kata

'yenadey betul ke u pregnant, u tipu ke, apsal perut
flat?'

- never in my life perut flat kecuali skrg ketika 3 bulan hamil T_T

manakala suami juga kata 'betul la perut awak kecik sangat...'
maka hati ini sudah risau. dan risau.

so tanya lah mak. mak cakap

' hey untunglah perut kecikk..karang kalau besar nanti
mesti kaklong
ckp..kalau 3 bulan besar ni nanti 9bulan nak besar mana
lagi!..'

- sgt tepat makku..u know me too well

maka saya pun gembira dan menerima keadaan ini.

minggu lepas anakku sudah keluar dari persembunyian, kerana ade seorang hamba Allah menawarkan tempat duduknya kepada saya di dalam tren LRT. bercampur baur perasaanku. kerana selama ini saya kan perempuan besi dan sombong. walaupun berterima kasih saya ada rasa helpless sekelumit. ingat tak entry saya dulu2 hahaha

beberapa perkara juga terjadi seperti jatuh terduduk di surau midvalley, masa tu saya nak membeli belah seluar ibu mengandung di Jusco. Alhamdulillah takde apa yang dirisaukan berlaku.

beberapa perkara yang diperhatikan:

kadang2 terasa sengal di tempat berbeza pada perut. ini mungkin yang dikatakan round ligament pain, atau dr maktam kata 'your ovary / tummy adjusting tu'

selera makan sudah kembali with a vengeance, tetapi tidaklah teruk sangat. saya masih tak mampu menelan mi goreng dan yang sewaktu dengannya. nasi juga cuma sehari sekali memadai. kadangkala tak habis. tetapi cepat lapar. jadi mungkin baby suka small healthy meals 6 times a day. jadi saya cuba jadualkan sayuran, buah2an, dalam 6 kali tu. pandai la baby ni ikut cakap JM :P. selain itu saya juga dah mula minum air zam zam. nk beli kurma dah habis, x beli2 lagi..haiya.

kuat tidor. sesajala kan nak salahkan kehamilan sebab asik nak tidurrrr sahaja. asal dalam kereta je dpt aircond sikit tidor, dalam tren tidor, habis makan tengok TV tidor, lepas mandi nyaman- nyaman sikit tidor, haiyohhh apa nak jadi

eczema yang agak teruk. selalu saya pakai elomet (steroid based) cepat je baik dia. tapi sebab hamil saya elakkan. maka eczema ni makin teruk!..kadan2 gatal dia rasa nak potong je tangan (nasib kt tangan saja). so suami saya belikan gamat healing Derma X. setakat ni ade perubahan sikit je la

nak minum kopi nak minum kopi nak minum kopiiiiiiiiii..waaaaaaaaaaaaa. tp tak bole

bercakap pasal seluar maternity dan sewaktu dengannya. sejak 2 minggu saya dah mula memakainya. kenapa tak ada siapa cakap seluar maternity adalah sangat selesa, pasti saya akan memakainya dari dahulu lagi. terdpt pilihan- pilihan yang murah juga dekat jusco. lagipun buat apa nak mahal. bukannya lama pun nak pakai. (yeke)

sebut pasal baju, banyak baju lama yang masih boleh muat lagi, sebab saya kan memang category L. T_T tetapi saya terasa makin selekeh pula. saya mmg tak boleh terima baju2 gaun pregnant bertali di belakang dan yang sewaktu dgnnya. commonlah kita hamil bergaya bukan potato sack (sorry!) ..so sekarang saya beli saja baju biasa yang berkenan, tanpa memikirkan masih boleh muat atau tidak lagi 2-3 bulan. banyak juga potongan moden skrg yang sesuai dipakai oleh org hamil. nanti bila dah besar sangat kita cari cara lain. tetapi sekarang azamnya adalah 'Say No to SLOPPY PREGNANCY'

food aversions

2010-04-25T01:15:00.004+08:00

this is a week 16 note.

i still feel like i'm in my first trimester. eating is a chore. i never feel this way towards food eversince zaman batu (thats how i put it, cos it is a NEVER). i do feel hungry but i no longer have this obsessive appetite towards anything (yeah the exception for the Bangkok Durian).

During my early weeks, i completely lost interest in everything. i did not fancy nasi lemak, mee goreng, bihun goreng. there will be icky feeling in my throat if people talk about roast chicken, karipap or even desserts. my tekak could only swallow fruits, juicy things which is really surprising. I never experience the urgency of eating a pack of guava after paying at the fruit stall. OMG fruits are not my thing..come on!..*oh yeah maybe that explains the Bangkok Durian

I did not experience nausea or vomitting like most people do. i crossed check with mak and she confirmed she was exempted from those things too when she was pregnant. So i'm pretty confident i will be OK. I was just anxious if i skip those sickness i would eat like no tomorrow and will gain triple my original weight. *mati

see one of my posts on BabyCenter, i was 8 weeks at that time.

but now at 16 weeks, appetite is getting better, but i can only eat a little. I could lose appetite totally in just a wink. result : my old clothes are baggy and looked so outdated, even though bump is starting to show.

now i have a wardrobe dilemma. *am i trying to get excuse for more shopping?

arggghhh - this issue will be discussed in the next post, i promise

wassalam

The King and I in Chao Praya

2010-04-15T15:19:00.012+08:00

this post was drafted a week ago, excuse the outdatedness TQ!
-----
mommy talk at 15 weeks : yesterday we saw sikecik on the screen and he/she was squatting under my huge placenta moving only her/his fingers. naughty huh..planning something smart darling?

anyways, i've been in some rough weeks lately. work has definitely take a toll on my body. so i had to organise a big training event in Bangkok. i was running on adrenaline i suppose. i had too much energy during the bangkok meeting and lost it when I reach KL. I became a Zombie a week after!

I always promised my husband, since my work has this travelling perks, we could use that to have our own time away from KL. So we planned to have a weekend in Bangkok that was after my big training event. Even though I could get special rate at the hotel I used for my meeting, I decided to find a much cheaper lodging option just to have more cash for my favorite activity - SHOPPING. I mean come on....tell me who does not shop in Bangkok???

So i searched for some cheap hostel just like what I did during my Europe solo trip in 2008, and found a nice guesthouse located nicely in the city center in Silom called Sunflower Place. we booked a double room with a bathroom ensuite for RM78 per night. it is clean, central location, close to a skytrain station, newly renovated, and has a small balcony!..it was run like a B&B by a Thai couple, whom were extremely helpful. they made a personal call to our room just to ask if we need info about some halal eating place around the vicinity, isnt that sweet?..the bad point is just the rock hard mattress that will not be too inviting for honeymooners, even more for babymooners :P like us

so the theme for this trip : shopping, food and chao praya!

Shopping

our guesthouse is just a stone throw away from the famous Patpong. i know its not the most decent place to be in. even everybody is talking about the 'pingpong show' (which i think i know what), but it has rows of cheap stuff similar to Petaling Street. The difference is the rows of shops on the road sides run some business you dont really want to know about. we were not too interested in the items sold there, so we decided to go to Suan Lum on a tuk tuk

Suan Lum night bazaar is located about 50baht away from Patpong on tuktuk..(haha i do not know how far so i use the tuktuk fee equivalent). it is a big bazaar selling all kinds of souvenirs, and most targeted for foreigners. the price there is quite competitive, but all looks kind of the same. thai purses, silk, t-shirts, handicrafts, house decorations and so on.

If you want to find nice cheap handbags, jewelleries, chic clothes, try strolling along Siam road. Get off at Siam BTS station and have a walk towards the ever popular MBK shopping mall. You could see alot of eyecandies (i bought two nice handbags on my way)..and there is Siam Paragon, Hard Rock Cafe along the road too. If you come out from MBK at 9pm plus you will see alot of small stalls selling very very nice things. i have got cool beaded maternity shirts for RM13 in different colors, and hubby got himself a classic bike t-shirt. fridge magnets also sold for RM1 each..cheap eh???

If you visit Bangkok you must never miss Chatuchak Market. It is like the must-visit shopping heaven i must say. It sells everything that anyone could imagine sold in the whole world. they even sell puppies, kittens, fish, and plants. find very cheap thai silk, skirts, shirts, jewellery. dont ask me what we bought there, but imagine my shirt went all wet and needed to calm myself down at a park nearby before continuing the trip around chatuchak (iwascrazy). the place was HUGE i tell you.

chao praya

apart from sky trains (BTS) and underground train (Metro), Bangkok also has water public transportation. You could get on a public boat taxi for THB13 (RM1.30) and board the boat to wherever destination you like. it could get very crowded during rush hours. we chose to go on the boat and see places from the river when it was close to sunset. you could see some main attraction beside the river e.g Wat Arun, Grand Palace. it reminds me alot about Venice even though its way so different. i mean we dont have such thing in KL huh.

food

i am a huge sucker for food (eh i always say this kan..think in some other previous posts too). Its just that during my pregnancy, i do not have too crazy appetite . But it doesnt bother me much, cos i still love finding place to eat and try out weird stuff (as long as it is halal).

i had some funny craving with Durian when we were there. we were at the fruit and flower market when i saw a durian stall, and i said i want that badddddlyyyyyy...i was planning to eat it there and then, but hubby says, lets tapau and eat wherever. i was like OK,, yeayyyyy..

So the durian journey starts. we walked around bangkok city till it was dinner time. We had difficulties in finding a place to eat, until we found the place, i was really in need to sink my teeth in the fluffy durian (i sound like a vampire). and i plead to my husband if i can have it in the restaurant. he gave me a look like telling me..'hey the smell will get everywhere and we will be thrown out from this restaurant, please behave'. i was like ookayyyyyyy....

then we finished dinner and decided to shop in patpong and took a tuktuk to suan lum night bazaar. the durian was with me all the time..ergh. even one t-shirt seller noticed my durian and i told him 'dont touch it, its MINE'. after all the shopping and sweating and yet we still have the durian UNTOUCHED. we decided to head back home to the guesthouse and use the underground subway (Metro). an old Thai lady saw me carrying the durian and 'mengadu' to the Metro security guard. and husband and I were asked to go outside 'SIR, NO DURIANS ALLOWED HERE'..Buggerrrrr. i was so upset and nearly cried because i want to go back but i still need to have my duriannnnnn..husband decided to hide the durian somewhere and carry the precious. he was quiet, like also upset - but with confidence asked me to follow him in. and we managed to get in the train unharmed and unharassed.

husband asked me to put the durian outside at the balcony. and i straight away had my own private time enjoying my ong awaited durian feast ALONE. husband not interested, maybe after all the agony and misery. whatever. but its so satisfying and fulfilling having durian in this nowhere, i felt insatiable (apekah).

the next day, the durian smell starts to creep inside our room (maybe the sun and heat triggered the gas and ...) . so thinking of how to dispose the durian unnoticed by the guesthouse ppl. husband again became the saviour (whoelse is there? i'm hopeless remember?) and make a big marathon to the dumpsters and throw away the smelly durian. (while i distract the receptioninst by asking stupid question)..we were like Mr. and Mrs Smith kan hahahhaa..Thank you darling for all your sacrifices and stunts in ensuring my pregnancy well being taken care of..huhuh..love you.

anyways..i was planning to review food rightttt..i digress like alottt.*sigh

learning from my past trips to Phnom Penh, i cautioned myself that this trip would be a busy working trip that will make it hard to even catchup with meal times. i dont have the luxury to go out and find food, and finding halal food will be even more excruciating. so i tapau from home a pack of Gardenia bread and a jar of peanut butter. i dont want to starve myself and it so not good with the little one trying to survive inside my tummy.

but when i reach my hotel, i saw a sign just beside the alley - USMAN MUSLIM FOOD. i wanted to cry with joy! this is going to be easy. so this trip turned to be a Jalan Jalan Cari Makan trip, and i think i would do you people good by reviewing some of he halal places we went. so lets have a look:

USMAN MUSLIM FOOD

It is located just beside the hotel where i stayed, the Imperial Queens Park at Sukhumvit Soi 16. It is a very small family run restaurant, offering excuisite Thai food. The owner is a Muslim from Southern of Thai. I had Spicy Pad Thai (Kuey Teow) with blackpepper. I was bawled by the extreme spiciness. imagine they put fresh blackpepper with it branches (rantings) and lots of small cili apis...FIRE!!

If you go there you will have a chance to meet at least one Malaysian. Some of them have been working there for years and some just having a short trip for holiday/work. And funny thing is we will exchange looks and greet each other before starting conversations across the table

'kerja kê'..'takdelah..jalan2'..' panaskan'..and so onnnnn

i went again with husband, and we had a full course tom yam kung, garlic kangkung and lots more. its cheap, delicious and marvellous!!

MBK Shopping Mall

Apat from the many things sold here, this mall has a proper prayer room and a couple of halal eating place in the food court. You just have to go to level 5, and find international food arena. the stalls inside offer halal indonesian food, middle eastern and thai food. But you just have to pick the stall with Halal sign, OK.

Islamic Restaurant beside Haroun Mosque

Another tips when you travel is find a mosque (and experience praying there), then there must be some good makan place around. We tried that in Bali and now in Bangkok. we googled before searching the place. It was so confusing, and hard to find. by the time we reach there, I am already dead hungry and sweating like a pig. It is an Indian restaurant but also offers Thai food. My husband had his Briyani and i had some spicy meat dish with rice. We had strawberry lassi and some samosas too...

Lebanese restaurant near Sala Daeng BTS station (Patpong)

This is the restaurant recommended by the guesthouse owner. its just walking distance from our GH and its in a small mall in ground floor together with KFC. This place is locate just a few steps away from the Patpong night market. It has a lot of affordable choices of Lebanese food. I had Sandwich Kebab and husband had chicken grilled. They serve really big portions with generous amount of fried chips.

Restoran Cili Padi (ITF Tower - Intersection of Silom-Narathiwas)

The last night in Bangkok, we found this Malaysian restaurant on google. Hey how cool, its walking distance (again) from the guesthouse. It was near 9pm when we found ourselves hungry. Husband was actually too tired from our chatuchak fiasco, but he immediately woke up when i read 'WE SELL NASI LEMAK, TEH TARIK' haihh..i told him 'like you have been in Bangkok for 5 years kan???, who's the pregnant one????^'*roll eyes*

OK so we walk and as usual sesat abit - read:too much. i kept on calling the restaurant telling them 'dont close yet OK, you have some hungry KL people coming, but we dont know where your bloody restaurant is' . When we arrive, we were already too hungry to talk i ordered Nasi Goreng USA and Bandung Ais while husband had Nasi Lemak and Teh Tarik...with Siti Nurhaliza's songs as the background music. The owner was a Kelantanese who has been running this shop for 3 years now. The verdict : Nasi Lemak not really like what we expected, but any Malay food when we are overseas is GREAT.

So overall- this trip was wonderful after so many problems faced at first (boss disapproved my extra day leave, husband's tight work deadline fell on the trip day). we also learnt some lessons to not prioritise souvenirs shopping on top of the objective of the trip - to relax, unwind and see places.

pengumuman pengumuman

2010-03-31T00:06:00.004+08:00

salam semua..

akhirnya terbuka hati nak buka blogspot. bukan apa, sebelum ini asik tak sempat nak meninjau keadaan rumah i ni *sambil buang2 sawang* setiap kali lapang tak online pulak, tu yg rasa macam teringin nak sambar BB atau iphone, kot- kot la boleh jadi blogger tegar, update blog dlm LRT ke. tapi tak best juga bila terlalu selalu online ni, bak kata seorang bijak pandai ahli fikir

when you are too connected, you lose the mystery factor ~~ aishah, 2008

mati la sendiri punya alasan sebab tak mampu memiliki blackberry (bukan tak mampu la..not a priority...cewahs)

berckp psl priority, banyak yang berlaku dalam 2-3 bulan ini. mesti korang dah boleh agak kan?

alkisah, i masih terkinja- kinja bersenam setiap hari. sampai putus getah pedal basikal itu. maka slow down lah bila tiba waktu 'cik RED'..tetapi tak berhenti ya..saya masih kekalkan momentum setiap selang sehari. Agak- agak 2 hari sebelum tarikh cik RED dijadualkan tiba, seorang sahabat yang prihatin tak habis- habis menyuruh saya membeli stick untuk menguji kehamilan. risau melihat keaktifanku bersenam sampai bergegar-gegar flat kediaman haha.maka saya pun periksa menggunakan stick kedua dari kotak pertama pembelian. (oh tak pernah pun saya gunakan sebab ^cik RED sentiasa tiba tepat pada masanya). mungkin kerana sudah terbiasa hampa kecewa di akhir bulan, saya cuma melihat keputusannya sepintas lalu. nampak sahaja tanda 'negative' saya terus campakkan stick itu ke dalam tong.

maka saya teruskan rejim dengan lebih kejam lagi. haha

dan cik RED lewat.

sehari
dua hari
tiga hari
hmmm menarikkk..harapan semakin berbunga

hari keempat..aku hentikan senaman, tetapi berjanji akan mulakan semula bila cik RED muncul.

hari kelima - saya bertemu dengan sahabat- sahabat karib di KLCC. kebetulan masing2 ada anak perempuan yang comel- comel belaka. dua orang bayi tidak mahu bermain malah takut dgn saya..hmmmmmm..di KLCC saya belilah stick paling murah (kononnya takpe lah bukan berharap sangat ponn). saya dah bercadang untuk menguji keesokan pagi (ahad).

teruja sungguh nak tunggu siang..tak lalu nak tidur malam. bangun subuh lantas ke tandas. terkial- kial nak buka plastik baca arahan sebab pepundi dah penuh...makkk complicated nya arahan stick murah ni. yang kubuang haritu disuruh kencing kan saja huhuhu...

kalini harus ada dua garis yang muncul. mataku cuma nampak satu garis. kecewa.

aku bungkus stick dan solat subuh terus tidur kembali di sebelah suami.hmpphhhhh.

bangun pagi. sediakan sarapan. makan. minum. kemudian aku buka kembali stick yang telah dikapankan itu. aku tenunggg lama- lama. ada satu garisan samaaar sekali. oh..harapan bunga2 dafodil kembali.

aku pun uji sekali lagi dengan stick kedua. kali ini garisannye jelas. ini bukan mimpi!!! suamiku kata 'eh awak mengandung la'

waaaaa

maka bermulalah sesi teka meneka. eh kita mengandung ke tak ke. boleh caya ke. stick ni murah. ade ke klinik bukak ahad ni..betul ke mengandung. napa tak rasa apa- apa. bukan patutnya i muntah- muntah ker. kenapa i rasa sihat walafiat aje..haha (we are 30 something OK T_T)

maka dipendekkan cerita, kami ke poliklinik yang-tak-mahu-dinamakan di depan stadium yang kdg2 peserta sehati berdansa ade pergi check kat situ, dan ade dlm citer spa Q ulangan masa i tgk aritu (mati la detail pulak)

sanggup kami tunggu 2 jam untuk dptkan gynae perempuan.

akhirnya namaku dilaungkan untuk datang ke kaunter..alhamdulillah!
sampai di kaunter wanita india tu pun tunjuk sebatang stick dan kata 'RM10'
%&*"
'ehmm..maaf aci..saya taknak stick ni ..kalau saya nak stick ni saya bole beli 40 btg dekat farmasi tak payah la saya duduk sini 2 jam.'
'oh ..'
'saya nak jumpa doctor plsss'
T_T

pepundi semakin penuh..setahu aku doktor akan uji air kencing untuk sahkan kehamilan. kalau aku buang sekarang pasti tidak ada yang tinggal untuk dia periksa. maka dengan siviknya saya menjengah ke bilik jururawat yang sedang bergosip.

'akak saya nak ke tandas, doktor perlu tak air k%&/ saya'
' eh tahan je dik, nanti senang nak tahu usia kandungan'
hmmmppphhh *muka hijau*

setengah jam kemudian namaku dilaungkan kembali...yes!!! tanpa memikirkan masalah pepundi kami berdua melangkah masuk ke dlm bilik doktor dengan bangga. eh mana gynae perempuan seperti diminta???

' hai saya dr rafi, maaf isteri saya ada delivery'
nooooooooooooo..suamiku sudah tarik muka
'tak apa jgn risau saya tak periksa di bahagian sulit'
this is awesome T_T

jadi soalan2 biasa dikemukakan. brp hari lewat, bila kahwin.
kami kata dah dekat setahun kahwin..'aha lambat jugalah ya lekatnya' balasnya omg
dia memutar2 kalendar hamilnya dan kata 'kamu mengandung 5 minggu!'
hmmm doktor ni taknak check ke..mcmana dia tahu saya mengandung? ke saya yang kasitau dia saya mengandung?? *confuse*

'ok mari kita periksa rahim tengok elok tak untuk janin membesar..skrg belum boleh nampak lagi ya dalam ultrasound sebab terlalu kecil'
lalu dia pun melekapkan belalai ultrasound tu ke perut saya.
'aha bagus sihat rahim kamu-gooood one'
'wahh penuh ya pepundi kamu'
' bagus siapa ajar kamu tahan kencing macam ni'
aku jwb sambil muka merah menahan - 'akak kt luar tuuu'
' ok ok dah, pegi la..tak tahan saya tengok..penuh sangat'

omg malunyaaaa
'ha sebelum tu ..nurse kasi adik ni botol, saya ambil air kencing'

okkkayyyyyy

keluar dr bilik doktor kami masih belum percaya apa- apa.

nurse panggil dan kasi asid folik, dan bayar rm52.

suami : 'jadi isteri saya mengandung ke tidak?'
aci : 'hmmm ye mengandunglah, sbb doktor kasi asid folik'
suami: ' ...tapi kami yang kasitau dia isteri saya rasa dia mengandung..mcamana nak sahkan'

rasa cm nak nangis je sbb mengelirukan sgt situasi ini

nurse tergesa- gesa masuk ke dalam. 10 minit kemudian dia datang dan ckp..
'a'ah doktor kata betul la awak mengandung'

ok. i mean saya selalu bayangkan kita akan dapat berita yang kita mengandung dalam keadaan yang dramatik.mcm dlm drama melayu.

' tahniah encik. encik akan menjadi bapa tak lama lagi' ....
dan suami saya mengalirkan air mata kegembiraan lantas memeluk saya dan kami pulang dengan perasaan yang mengujakan

itu semua hidup yang ideal dan angan- angan sahaja rupanya hahahaha

hari- hari seterusnya menyaksikan pembelian lebih banyak lagi stick2 untuk membuktikan kebenaran bahawa saya adalah wanita hamil!... walaupun katanya buang duit, tapi suami saya layankan saja gila saya... thank you syg.

Alhamdulillah itu semua berlaku pada 31 Januari 2010.

Hari ini genap 13 minggu usia kandungan. lagi seminggu tamatlah trimester pertama. sekarang kami mengunjungi maktam sahaja yang juga seoarng pakar perbidanan, lebih selesa kan dengan saudara sendiri. baby dah gerak guling2 dalam ultrasound..tapi baby bump saya tak nampak sgt..macam buncit aishah yang biasa tu aje lah..

Terima kasih yang mendoakan..perjalanan trimester pertama amat selesa. cuma perkara kecil seperti kurang selera makan, keletihan dan eczema (agak serius)..tidaklah menjejaskan prestasi kerja dan kehidupan.

Saya juga doakan adik ipar yang sama usia kandungan supaya sihat sentiasa, dan dipermudahkan kehamilan. seronok pula bila saing pregnant!

20 fakta menarik tentang tuan tanah

2010-01-14T11:24:00.005+08:00

bila tengok title dekat atas kan, saya menyedari saya tak punyai apa- apa hartanah, cuma yang di blog ini berbentuk maya (dan ia percuma) isk.

apa pun, fakta menarik tentang diri saya di kala ini.

1. saya sedang menggemari kumpulan wondergirls dari Korea selatan, setelah 3 tahun adik saya bercerita mengenai mereka. pasti beliau sedang mencebik ke arah saya sekarang.

2. saya masih membaca the 'Twilight' saga, buku terakhir. Rasanya sudah lebih setengah tahun sejak bermula. tetapi setiap hari satu mukasurat. Gigih bukan.

3. saya masih bercita- cita menjadi tukang jahit

4. tahu tak menjahit adalah hobi paling chic tidak lama lagi, maka saya harus be in the crowd

5. kadangkala di dalam bilik mandi saya berangan menjadi Nigella Lawson. saya sudah ada sedikit ciri2 beliau (bahagian yang boleh disembunyikan di bwh kaunter dapur, dan suka merasa makanan semasa memasak ~~dan pretend it never happened~~), dan harus menajamkan skil- skil lain (seperti memasak) untuk merealisasikan impian mempunyai sebuah rancangan memasak yang digilai ramai.

6. saya nak beri ikan siakap stim (yang tak habis dimakan sebab tak sedap) kepada kucing Kak Ani jiran depan rumah bila balik sekejap lagi

7. saya lupa tutup suis pemanas air kah pagi tadi

8. saya sudah asik lupa ulang bulan perkahwinan (semalam ulang bulan ke-10). macam inikah bila sudah lama berkahwin? oh dan masih belum ada tanda- tanda ice kecil di dalam perut. mesti.berusaha.

9. projek yang disebut- sebut pada entri sebelum ini satu hapa pun tak jalan.

10. saya di senarai pendek untuk biasiswa kerajaan british, tetapi saya bersikap agak sambilewa

11. saya sekarang tidak ada bos, dan saya boleh buat apa sahaja sesuka hati. oh bos lama memberikan gaji baru kepada saya sebagai hadiah perpisahan. Alhamdulillah.

12. saya sudah membeli sebuah apartment yang dikongsi bersama suami. tetapi tidak siap sehingga 2012.

13. apartment pertama pembelian sendiri sudah tiga bulan siap tetapi masih belum menerima kunci

14. agak membebankan

15. amat tidak gemar dengan orang yang mengamuk beremosi tanpa mendalami ilmu. kosong.

16. suka memasak walaupun selalu tiada idea.

17. memasak secara sihat dan kreatif (dan pedas dan sedap) juga adalah amat membebankan

18. benci trafik pada bulan januari

19. tidak memahami kenapa saya masih berulang alik pulang ke shah alam setiap hari

20. saya sudah sebulan setengah memulakan kembali rutin senaman (JM), disertai diet tegar. setakat ini sudah hilang 6kg dan sudah harus membeli jeans baru.~~dgr tak laling~~.

virtually conscious

2009-11-12T10:36:00.004+08:00

blog ni dah berbau mayat cengkerik..(sebab cengkerik yang brbunyi dah lama mati)

sebenarnya saya rasa mcm conscious la nak menulis. rasa mcm nak tutup blog ni pun ada (mcm ade berjuta2 je fans yang ikut blog ni..hmmphhh)..

mcm facebook tu nak update status pun berkira2. dulu friends ada duoploh tigeploh..now ni dah ratus2 dan mcm2 jenis profail dan kaitan. hinggakan generasi ibu saya juga adding saya (nak reject kang kira kurang adab!). dulu kalau nak update status mcm twitter

ice is ...baru balik dari toilet, ahhh leganya

atau

ice is .... memikirkan baju apa yang sesuai dipakai untuk berjumpa boifrennya
(contoh aje ye)

sekarang fikir balik..relevan kah status ini dibaca oleh seorang kenalan yang baru dikenali di lapangan terbang. atau rakan baik makku yang nanti dia yang tau saya ada boifren dahulu dan bagitau mak saya sebelum saya perkenalkan kepada mak saya. sungguh tak patut kan.

Jadi saya terasa setiap kali meng update status saya seperti mendedahkan keseluruhan hidup saya kepada dunia. walaupun ada option filter itu..ya saya tahu..tetapi adalah malas.

adapun, saya sekarang ada beberapa aktiviti ko-kurikulum yang sangat menggembirakan (pabila diangan2 kan)

Projek ini dimulakan oleh seorang rakan online saya yang sangat ceria dan bijak berkata-kata http://hanakirana.com/ apabila beliau memperkenalkan saya dengan seorang gadis yang juga sama intelek dengan beliau http://tuantanah.wordpress.com/ ..untuk bergabung memulakan projek 'mari gila glamer'...projek itu underconstruction, jadi pasti akan dicanang- canagkan pabila selesai kelak..
p/s : hana kau tak serius kan psl deadline 22hb ni *peluh jantan*
Bisnes!!..ye saya 'agak' serius..oleh kerana terlalu ramai orang memuji pembelian saya dari luar negara (bukan kes masuk bakul ok)..maka saya akan memenuhi keinginan dan menghentikan air liur meleleh dengan mencari pembekal dan agen untuk tujuan ini. projek ini berjalan agak perlahan kerana saya sedang mencari keserasian dgn agen2. sudah tentu saya akan menghebohkan perkara ini apabila initial networking ini selesai..(initial networking juga termasuk seed money eheh eheh)

Lepas itu, saya mempunyai keinginan yang bukan2 lah skrg...(saya x mengidam mknn2 masam..ya belum lg)..saya mengidamkan kasut clarks wedge ituuu(yang bertanda new arrival dkt outlet bangsar village 2)..

haih T_T

dekad ke-3 hidupku bermula

2009-10-20T10:18:00.003+08:00

salam..

today is my 30-th birthday. i am grateful to Allah for the gifts and blessings He has rewarded me with. I could not be more thankful. i dont know why, as i lull myself to sleep last night, i keep on thinking about my parents. turning 30 as their first child would bring significant meaning to them. it would be different for me as a child in treating them as they grow older.

anyway..i just had a gruelling week. i spent most of last week in Phnom Penh even though not seeing much of the city. i organised a regional Mekong forum with participants coming from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thai, Myanmar and China government. it was a great experience working on high level meeting mingling with old people from indochina. learning about their government protocols are quite interesting too. only oval flower bouquet is allowed on the table (what??) and a whole group of translators for the only khmer speaking minister (wtf)..but i tell you, from my experience, Malaysian government's protocols are way beyond funny it is ridiculous. so i was quite happy dealing with the oval bouquet, thank you very much!

and shopping is quite fun, even though only 2 hours was available. careful planning and good network is vital for the limited timing. the taxi driver i used to pick up the forum participants was kind enough to send me a lady translator to accompany me shopping. it makes life so much easier because i get lost easily in the russian market maze. but i do all the bargaining myself. i got so use to their tactics after my 1st stop at a stall. 1st get to know their price and drop the price 50% and request for two of the items. If they say too cheap..just walk away. if they try to catch you back..bargain some more!!!!..u could easily get till 90% price off!!!..i became quite good at it after half an hour. And anothr tips - go early in the morning..they have this so called 'morning price' - money to get them through the day..or we call 'ibu duit'.

i got cambodian silk purses for souvenirs, laptop bag, sling bags, backpack, cambodian silk kain pasang, fridge magnets (i realised when i got back, i bought the same ones in thailand, the difference is it says cambodia..dang!!)..

i arrive home on saturday and spent the rest of the day with kenduri, and family outing. on sunday hubby and I invited some friends for makan2 raya (not open house) and i bravely prepared sup tulang, nasi impit (which hubby rebus while i'm still in PP), makaroni bolognese (ala mi rebus), bubur jagung...was fun..but so memenatkan(we both slept at 2am - terbongkang di ruang tamu).

yesterday i planned to take half day..so i slept after subuh and sending hubby off to work..hoping to wake up around 11am..BUT my body shut off completely until ....3.30 pm!!!!......

i felt terrible realising i just MIA from work, and from the world. but i really needed the sleep..i did not feel groggy at all. the lagging jet lag..why am i so weak?? (travel to jakarta also jet lag..erghhhhhh)

bencana sebagai kerjaya

2009-10-12T11:22:00.006+08:00

typhoon sana earthquake sini tsunami situ...
sudah tiba masanya kita hidup dengan menghayati sunnatullah..

bila bencana- bencana ini berlaku, saya pasti diajukan soalan, 'kamu tak pergi berkhidmat ke xx kah?'

saya tahulah nature kerja saya kelihatan seperti sentiasa merespon bencana tetapi tak semestinya saya ke sana maka saya membantu ya kan. (kadangkala mendatangkan lebih banyak masalah lagi adalah). pada satu masa dahulu saya memang mengimpikan melakukan semua itu. menjadi penyelamat dan pemberi kasih sayang..akan tetapi perlukah saya menyebok di situ, nak suruh balut luka pun tak tahu. angkat kotak pun x larat. nak suruh pasang anduh pun terketar- ketar. balik saja lah. ekekekkekeke. kalau ada lesen doktor oklah juga, kalau punya tenaga 8 lelaki boleh lah..ini seorang wanita comel graduan IT. *ko buat apa kat sini shuh shuhhhh*

Akan tetapi semasa zaman saya menyebok di kawasan bencana dahulu saya ternampak pelbagai peluang dan fenomena menarik (jiwa opportunist). di kala ingin membantu ramai rupanya warganegara asing yang menceburkan diri di dalam bidang bencana. sesuatu yang asing bagi rakyat Malaysia kaedahnya. kalau bencana di negara ini, kemahirannya semua berada pada bomba, team SMART, Majlis Keselamatan Negara..ia bukan lagi kerjaya yang diagung- agungkan. di tempat lain, ramai yang sudah 20-30 tahun berpengalaman dalam pelbagai arena post-disaster, seperti livelihood, sustainable development, shelter etc. kita tak tahu kerana kita kan negara yang sentiasa di luar lingkaran berapi (ring of fire) maka kita tak perlu kepakaran dalam negara. selepas ini adakah kita terkecuali??

jadi sekarang saya lebih suka menumpukan dalam bidang lain yang bukan ~~glamer~~ respon tetapi masih berkaitan (dan memerlukan lebih banyak perahan otak). amat menarik kerana ia membuka banyak kajian akademik, dan membuka banyak peluang melanjut pelajaran kelak (kalau ada rezeki)..dan banyak cabang kerjaya harap2nya lah.

tapi saya ini bukanlah bercita- cita tinggi sangat pun..kalau kerjaya ini menemui jalan buntu saya ada cita- cita backup yang lebih tinggi (tukang jahit dan tauke cup cakes)..

OK TAKK...

hal- hal raya saja

2009-09-16T11:26:00.002+08:00

Pagi ni semasa dalam perjalanan ke tempat kerja dengar la isu 'balik kampung suami atau isteri' dalam radio diperbincangkan. ada macam- macam jenis rupanya hal balik raya ni. ada yang siap sign surat agreement takmau mungkir janji punya hal. ada yang seusai akad nikah dah bincang nak balik belah mana raya ini. huuu..saya dan suami sampai kan seminggu nak raya pun masih belum ada keputusan. bukannya bergaduh. tetapi sengaja tak mahu bincang hahaha..

adapun pastinya raya kali ini berbeza untuk saya. sebab persediaan tu kena buat sendiri. hajat nak menguli tepung membakar biskut raya dilupakan untuk tahun ini kerana faktor TIADA OVEN. beruntung juga semasa majlis perkahwinan tahun lepas, maklong kasi hadiah 2 alat elektrik misteri yang sama saiz. satu ditampal kad bernama kausar, dan satu lagi aishah. maka aishah telah mendapat ketuhar mikro, manakala kausar mendapat oven. jadi teka siapa yang gigih membaka kuih raya dan siapa yang gigih memanaskan makanan dlm peti ais..hahaha (gelak jahat).

Alasan tidak membakar kuih raya juga diperkukuhkan lagi dengan suami yang telah berjanji tapi asyik tak sempat nak membeli oven (i tau u rasa bersalah ;)), manakala saya pula kalau nak beli oven jangan lah yang ~~murah~~ kecil, biar jadikan pelaburan masa depan (mana tau nak jadi tauke cupcakes ker)..

tetapi saya memutuskan untuk membeli sahaja biskut- biskut yang ada di pasaran (bila lagi kita nak tolong IKS, HIDUP MELAYU), dan cuba memasak perkara- perkara lain yang selama ini dimasak oleh ibu sahaja...

cubaan pertama aishah (dan mungkin dibantu Fazali ketika rajin):
1. Rendang (salin dari kitab resipi mak)
2. Ketupat segera (mati lah)
3. Kuah kacang (yang kaklang ckp laju2, nanti sms ek)
4. Kek Coklat kukus - 2x (yg resipi kak badariah - tah sapa tah ni)
5. Puding pelangi rantaian kasih (nama ni rekaan semata- mata)
6. Kuih Gunting - ni kalau sempat dan ade org menolong

banyak juga boleh masak tanpa oven. saya cuma ada sabtu sahaja untuk semua ini. sempatkah???..nantikan kesudahan di episod berikutnya...

SELAMAT HARI RAYA- MAAF ZAHIR BATIN!!

alahai boss

2009-09-14T12:41:00.000+08:00

salam,

keadaan agak sibuk sekarang. bukan sahaja di rumah tetapi juga di tempat kerja. apapun saya agak menyukai apa yang saya lalui sekarang, walaupun kadangkala saya agak homesick (heeee apakah)...

di tempat kerja saya adalah sangat sibuk dengan persiapan forum Mekong pertengahan Oktober. maka saya akan bercuti raya dengan keadaan yang kurang selesa, memikirkan apakah beban yang akan menimpa sebaik pulang dari percutian. Dan saya akan berkunjung kali pertama ke Phnom Penh ibu negara Cambodia untuk tujuan ini. Apa yang best ~~untuk shopping~~ di sana yer. sila nasihatkan (please advise).

saya berada di dalam kesedihan minggu lepas selepas bos saya memecahkan berita (break the news) yang dia mungkin akan mencari kerja lain. saya amat terharu beliau memaklumkan saya perkara ini tetapi ini membuatkan saya terduduk seketika. bukannya apa..beliau merupakan bos paling baik, pandai, cool, sporting, pernah saya ada. beliau merupakan seorang wanita Australia berumur 32 tahun yang disenangi semua orang. beliau tidak pernah marah, menyakitkan hati saya, atau merahsiakan apa jua perkara berkenaan kerja daripada saya.

beliau amat menghormati agama dan praktis saya, beliau akan mengingatkan saya waktu solat (malu ok) dan beliau tidak mahu saya berlambat2 pulang ke rumah pada bulan Ramadan walau sesibuk mana sekalipun. beliau juga tidak mahu saya datang ke pejabat walaupun saya cuma batuk- batuk manja. beliau tidak pernah berkata buruk tentang orang lain. jikalau kakitangan malaysia sering menuturkan perkataan F&%& , S&%! , a!! atau sebagainya, beliau tidak sekali- kali menggunakan perkataan2 tersebut sepanjang saya mengenali beliau.

akan tetapi beliau sudah lama memegang jawatan ini dan beliau mahu mencari keseronokan baru. saya belum puas ~~bermanja~~ menimba ilmu pengetahuan darinya, walaupun jarak umur kami tidak lah terlalu jauh akan tetapi profesionalism kami jauh berbeza..hoho. saya ingin belajar bagaimana bercakap dengan lancar ketika membuat presentasi, bagaimana menulis laporan dengan ringkas, tepat dan mudah difahami, bagaimana menstrukturkan pemikiran supaya boleh mengendalikan situasi yang memerlukan diplomasi, bagaimana hendak menjadi cool, bagaimana hendak mengendalikan bos yang tidak tetap pendirian (di Geneva), bagaimana hendak berkomunikasi dengan baik, bagaimana hendak merancang secara strategik.

waaa~

di ramadhan ini

2009-08-20T16:17:00.002+08:00

assalamualaikum!

"kumengharapkan Ramadhan kali ini penuh makna. Agar dapat kutempuhi dengan sempurna"

sayup- sayup kedengaran suara nasyid Raihan dari kejauhan...........*the end*

haih tak reti la tulis cam novel, walaupun satu hari saya teringin nak menulis tapi mungkin saya akan menulis seperti mana saya bercakap. saya suka idea untuk menulis seperti sophie kinsella itu tetapi dalam berbahasa melayu. itupun kalau ada yang berminat nak membaca.

ok saya melalut..apa tadi..

Apa pun tahun ini adalah amat berlainan untuk saya. sekarang saya menginsafi pengorbanan dan kegigihan ibu saya. memang ibu tempatnya di syurga.

senario Ramadhan tahun lepas (dan tahun2 sebelumnya):

saya dikejutkan pada jam 4.30 pagi. ibu mengajak membantunya di dapur. akan tetapi saya tertidur semula. dan abah mengejut pada jam 5 pagi. saya turun ke meja makan. ternampak lauk dan nasi panas dan milo panas. saya menggosok gigi, dan terus mula makan. kadang- kadang saya terus naik untuk tidur kembali selepas makan, tanpa mengemas meja. kemudian menggosok baju untuk ke pejabat. kadangkala saya sempat juga tidur barang setengah jam. Adapun saya pulang dr pejabat pada jam 6.30 petang. ibu sudah hampir siap menyediakan juadah berbuka. tetapi saya harus mandi dahulu. saya turun ke meja makan memeng tepat untuk berbuka. kadang- kadang saya membantu juga tapi jaranglah sangat.

malu nya, menjadi anak dara pemalas. ~~ini cerita suami saya masih belum tahu lagi.~~

senario tahun ini pasti berbeza. kerana saya harus bangun, dan menyediakan sahur. bab berfikir nak masak apa untuk berbuka itu juga adalah cabaran besar. Oh ini adalah kerana saya akan menjadi isteri sepenuh masa ya. sebelum ini saya merupakan isteri separuh masa, cuma di hari minggu. di hari biasa, saya masih anak manja mak dan abah.huhuhu...sekarang baru lah saya rasakan penangannya. bersempena pula dengan bulan mulia. hmmm..

tetapi saya merasa sangat gembira, cinta hati saya akan bersama saya sepanjang masa...........*sila muntah*

Oh bulan puasa ini ibadat dan amalan tambahan harus dibuat dan harus ditingkatkan. Iltizamku:
1. Berterawih berjamaah
2. Bacaan dan tadabbur Al Quran
3. Solat sunat - sebelum selepas, solat Dhuha
4. banyakkan berzikir
5. Bersedekah
6. jaga pakaian dan aurat *isk*
7. jaga kata2,
8. tidak selalu menjejakkan kaki ke pasar ramadhan- memasaklah untuk kebahagiaan berpanjangan
9. Kurangkan perkara lagha seperti FB, TV
10. Berjimat cermat, tidak mengikut nafsu (mkn, shopping dsb)

Akhir kata semoga Ramadhan ini merupakan pesta beribadah untuk kita, dan kita sempurnakan Ramadhan dan menjadi insan yang lebih baik, bertakwa dan bahagia.

ameen ya rabb...

jurulatih peribadi saya

2009-08-13T10:45:00.007+08:00

macam britney spears lak ada personal trainer..hahaha..

Pada mulanya saya memang bercadang untuk menyertai program ~~bina badan negara~~, dengan mengupah pelatih peribadi. tetapi paling murah pun program- program macam ini harus lah disertai dengan keahlian gimnasium, yang tak berapa nak murah.

kalau keahlian RM150 sebulan - signup untuk setahun = RM150 x 12
= RM1800
lepas tu RM120 setiap sesi latihan - signup untuk 10 sesi RM120 x 10
= RM1200

Jumlah harus bayar sekarang = RM3000 (saya memang banyak duit)

Lepas tu kiralah harga parking, harga professional man-hour, harga masa bersama suami+keluarga, harga sports bra baru, harga track pants baru, harga kasut sport, harga tudung jersey baru = infiniti

peningggg...

OK la kembali kepada niat yang asal.

1. start small

2. you dont have to spend a fortune to be healthy and fit

3. when there's a will there's a way

4. it is 30% them and 70% YOU

banyak la kata- kata motivasi.

Maka saya pun menggoogle cara paling murah, mudah, dan efektif untuk memulakan gaya hidup sihat. result - mana ada.

maka saya terjumpa sebuah forum yang disertai wanita- wanita yang memberikan peer support dalam usaha menurunkan berat. ada juga wanita- wanita yang baru melahirkan yang berusaha mendapatkan 6-pack kembali. i like.

jadi mereka mencadangkan perempuan ini sebagai jurulatih peribadi. jadi saya pun beli la DVD ini dengan harga RM19.90 dekat kedai speedy. asalnya nak download je dari youtube tetapi suami saya bertindak agak lambat, maka sementara sy masih panas, saya rembat aje dr kedai video. (apalah sangat RM19 dibandingkan dengan RM3000, ahahahaha) *dengan penuh berlagak*

jillian michaels. dia ini adalah trainer rancangan The Biggest Loser, kumpulan hitam. mulut cm h**am. tetapi she gives result. dia mengaku dia adalah sgt bi&"*y. tetapi i likeeeee..

jadi cara menggunakan DVD ini adalah dengan melaksanakan Level 1 untuk 10 hari berturut2, level 2 untuk 10 hari berikutnya dan seterusnya. Di samping itu kawallah pemakanan, minum air kosong banyak2 dan tambahkan dengan aktiviti- aktiviti chargas lainnya. seperti mop lantai, berjalan ke pasar malam, parking kereta jauh2, jumping jack masa bos pegi lunch dan lain2.

Review JM 30 Day Shred

Setiap level cuma 20 minit sahaja. tidak memerlukan peralatan gim langsung, kecuali dumb bells, lantai, dan kasut yg comfy. biasanya setelah habis 20 minit kita akan berasa nafas seakan- akan hampir putus, dan lantai semestinya basah dengan peluh (kemudian sambung la aktiviti mop lantai). 20 minit itu selalunya seakan- akan sejam ya kawan2. kerana torturenya mak datuk. Konsep nya amat mudah, 3 sirkit yang menggunakan teori 3-2-1 iaitulah 3 minit strength, 2 minit kardio manakala 1 minit abs.

Setiap hari bila tengok muka JM (nama panggilan aku dkt personal trainerku), aku memang kecut la skit tetapi lelama kira bonding bagus la. tapi sampai skrg on level 3 pun aku masih x tahan lagi (aku mute je tv tu kdg2). *love-hate relationship*

JM30DS Level 1

Hari 1 adalah sangat mengujakan. i masih boleh bergelak ketawa apabila dia mengatakan ' i have 400pounds people who could do jumping jacks in a breeze, and i dont see why you cant'..tetapi hari 2 dan 3 adalah terasa seperti membaling dumb bell ke arah tv, kerana akibat dari hari 1, muskul- muskul yang sudah lama lena berehat dikejutkan..maka muskul teras (core muscle) sudah bengkak (sore). hari ke-4 saya dah tak mampu berjalan, sehingga bos mencadangkan ambil MC saja. (penyakit cari sendiri). tetapi forum wanita peer support kata..teruskannn walaupun sakit. maka pada hari ke-5 dan keenam saya berjaya mengatasinya dan meneruskan perjuangan. cewah. pada hari ke-10, saya merasakan level 1 mudah la sangat. tak sabar nak ke level seterusnya. untuk level ini, i hate push ups and jumping jacks.

JM30DS Level 2

jumping jacks yang dibenci pada level 1, sudah dijadikan warmup sahaja untuk level 2 ini. manakala sirkit- sirkit nya sudah ditingkatkan intensitynya. di level ini JM suka sangat suruh buat planks, (ala- ala kedudukan push up tapi takde pump, tetapi jacks la daki gunung la)..ha try lah..menggigil lutut lepas habis 20 minit ni. kardio dia pun bukan setakat menambah degupan jantung tetapi toning juga..seperti lompatan pusing2 dan skiing. saya paling suka abs yg 1 minit lepas kardio, sebab masa tu la kalau nk baring pun..tetapi dia kata jangan rehattttt..no restttttt, i dont want you to rest..siap sindir, ko kata ko nak workout 20 minit je kan, malas pegi gym berjam2, ha skrg aku nak setiap minit berguna'..x cukup dgn itu dia sindir lagi..'ko kata nak pegi shopping jeans baru kan..jangan berhenti..kalau teruskan bukan setakat jeans, bole beli pakaian mandi sekali'..apekah..

JM30DS Level 3

jumping jacks di upkan lagi dgn ditambah dumb bellss..huhu.. dan abs scissor workout itu adalah sangat intense sehingga saya menjerit kesakitan..bila masuk level 3 ni saya banyak pulak kena travel2 jadi saya memang buat dalam bilik hotel bersama botol2 aqua (sebagai dumb bells). perhatikan botol aqua (indonesia). tetapi kardio dalam level ini banyak melompat lah..memang tak berapa sesuai kalau tinggal di apartment yang dibawahnya didiami orang2 tua. Takut kena serangan jantung, ai tak tau..atau kadang- kadang kena juga ketuk dr bawah..sbb mcm nk runtuh siling diorang. Dia kata sepatutnya by now dlm level 3 ko dah dapat 6-pack abs, tapi i nye abs masih 1pack lagi hahaha munkin akibat makan malam lewat dsbnya. ape pun push up semakin kacang ok. jumping jacks pun adalah hadiah dari Tuhan. di akhir level ini JM cakap kat saya 'amazing job amazing job u guys..see you tomorrow' sampai bila nak see ko hahaha..

so itulah pengalaman saya 30 day shred dengan Jillian Michaels. saya sekarang ikut suka saya nak buat level 2 or 3, kalau rajin saya combine level 1 sekalik, atau kardio atas basikal baru (yeee..i beli hahaha)..hemm..resultnya belum banyak tang kilo2, akan tetapi saya rasa lebih bertenaga, kurang tercungap2, kurang mudah diserang flu (kalau tidak pasti saya akan dpt semasa travelling)..maka cuba lah jadi fit untuk mengurangkan risiko jangkitan H1N1 (huuu scary nye kan)..ya Allah jauhkan lah bala ini..nauzubillah amiin

wassalam

people who touched your life

2009-08-04T15:58:00.007+08:00

salam

ada sesiapa yang merinduiku??..perasan, *padehal tiada sesiapa pun yang membaca blog ini*

ooh malas nya nak update blog sampaikan saya malas nak bukak blog sendiri dan orang lain juga.

anyways..

goodbye my dear Dr J*I*M..she finally announced the news which she told me in Bali last May. I wish her the best in her future undertakings. she finally accepted one of the many positions offered to her from UN, and she did istikharah and lots of thinking..she thinks a position in UNFPA would suit her skills, expertise and experience the best, which will mainly focus on reproductive health.

and it's late to write about this, but i have always wanted to, in the mode 'nanti bila next blog update aku tulis psl ni'

about the people who passed away, in different endings.

arwah yasmin ahmad

i bet she does not remember me. but i remember my little acquaintance with her. about how she was different and unique. i prefer not to talk about who she really was, it does not matter to me. but what i knew is she has a heart of a gold. in 2004 i was tasked to do a corporate video for my previous organisation. yasmin offered her service pro bono. and i had to visit her nice balinese office like many times. one day i had to bring new photos and video clips to her office. i arrived there and she asked me to sit down and wait till she finishes work. its almost lunch time. she asked if i want to go and have a quick lunch. i said ok. then i followed her while she greets some of her staff politely. i thought she would bring me to some fancy cafe for lunch, but boy i was wrong. she said ' i tak suka lah pergi tempat makanan kecik2 tu, jom kita pergi gerai'. so i said ok..no problems. so i ordered nasi goreng and she had nasi goreng kampung. she asked me 'adik..u tahan pedas tak?..u ambik cili i ni' , and kutip all her cili padi and transfer to my pinggan. hehehe..mcm no stranger lah.

and i had to give some volunteer names, which were in the photos to her cos she thinks some of the volunteers are 'kencang' haha i dont know what that means.

and then in 2005, my boss asked me to come along to Kobe, Japan for the World Disaster Reduction Conference right after tsunami. but of course the organisation did not have the funding to send me to Japan. so i guess i would not have a chance. but one fine day my boss came with a good news and said, 'hey you are going to Japan, yasmin gave her enrich travel miles points to buy your ticket'..i was dumb strucked. What a nice Random Act of Kindness..

but thats who yasmin Ahmad was.. and she will be remembered forever for that

The late Teoh Beng Hock

he would remember me if he was still alive. because he was nobody. just like me. he became a celebrity right after his body was found sprawling below the Plaza Masalam building believed to have fell from the 9th floor. his death became a high profile case that claim a front page news everyday.

we were plain colleagues last year. we were both holding the same profile to different politicians. nothing special. we normally met each other in meetings, where we represent our bosses. we have a 'state exco's special assistants movement' where we demand pay raise, even though i know i was not staying long.

normally in meetings, i will sit beside Teoh because we like to chat about nothing in particular. one fine day, i was out in the canteen having lunch, and i saw him alone, also having lunch. so i decide to sit and eat with him.

me : wey boring kan, our work so much stress, lets talk about personal life

teoh : ya lor, where u live

me: nearby onii, what car u drive

teoh: ala simple one avanza..

me: what u do before this stressful job haha

teoh : another stressful job lar, i was a journalist

me: aya exciting, why u enter politics

teoh : i just ermm..love politics

me: so you have girlfriend?

teoh: yeah we both same college

me: aaaa..when u want to get married

teoh : ayaaa kena cari duit dulu laaa

me : hahahah

i can't remember anymore but that was a fun 'getting to know' chat..as i remember, he was a harmless, kind person. i would never believe if he commit suicide or other unlawful acts. and i never know he is going to end like that. apa pun, i hope he will rest in peace altho his mysterious death is unlikely going to be solved soon.

terkunci

2009-07-06T14:44:00.003+08:00

malam tadi saya memang sangat rajin. walaupun saya tidak memasak, saya kemaskan baju suami untuk seminggu punya stok. (rutin sejak kahwin, laundry untuk suami dilakukan pada hujung minggu). kemudian saya menggosok baju kerja suami dan untuk saya. pinggan mangkuk pun dah basuh. jadi besok paginya bila suami mengejut untuk subuh, saya cuma tinggal mandi dan bersiap sahaja.

selepas bye bye suami sebelum dia bertolak ke melaka jam 7 pagi, saya pun terus bersiap untuk ke pejabat. sebelum keluar dari rumah saya ambil beg plastik tong sampah untuk dibuang. saya memang tidak gemar bau sampah setiap kali pulang dari pejabat. kemudian saya capai kunci kereta dan kunci rumah.

semasa kunci dimasukkan kedalam lubang pintu pagar (grill) saya merasa pelik kerana terasa longgar. saya pusing beberapa kali tetapi masih belum terbuka kuncinya. bila dikeluarkan kunci itu telah patah! wahh..

cuma ada satu lagi kunci pagar ini iaitu bersama suami saya yang mungkin pada masa itu dah melepasi seremban. saya terduduk seketika mengenangkan saya mungkin akan terperangkap di dalam rumah sendiri, dan tidak boleh ke pejabat..waaaaaa

kakak jiran depan rumah pun baru nak keluar kerja saya minta dia bukakan pintu grill mana la tau kuncinya sama..tetapi tak bolehh.

saya pun telefon mak dan mak datang bersama adik saya mencuba kunci grill rumah. pun tak boleh..

hmmm..mak terpaksa pergi ke kedai kunci untuk meminta bantuan, dan akhirnya saya dilepaskan dari kurungan..timakasih mak.

pastu sekarang saya bermalasan di rumah, kerana saya dikurniakan cuti kecemasan atas sebab terkurung di rumah sendiri huhuhuhu

p/s : rasa mcm pernah jadi je sebelum ni, bezanya dulu mak hulur biskut sebab saya terkunci dlm bilik huhuhuhuu

abahku

2009-06-23T12:25:00.003+08:00

salam..

dari mothers day dah teringat nak buat entri khas untuk abah masa fathers day. rasa cam banyak sgt nak tulis. tapi bile pikir point2 dia ai jadi sebak, terus takde mood nak tulis. tapi bila baca post kaklang, i will try to share my bit. sempena hari bapa ni, walaupun dah lepas.

abah saya ni Dr. Mohd Amin Mohd Sura orang panggil Dr Amin Sura, atau Amin Sura aje..sumer orang ingat tu la nama dia penuh, cam pelik kan. padehal mohd sura tu nama atok. Abah ni dr kecik mmg cam genius la gak, masa dia sekolah VI dulu org gelar dia King of Math. abah dapat PHD masa umur dia 27 tahun. takde siapa la lagi anak dia mewarisi kehebatan dia setakat ni.

masa kecik seingat saya la, abah ni selalu jadi orang harapan komuniti malaysia dkt Liverpool tu. kalau ada gathering ke atau acara, abah mesti jadi orang kuat yang memasak. so abah kalau kasi kawah besar sure jadi punye. memang abah saya pujaan ramai la. abah suka bawak kitorg g lake, tengok swan, bawak naik basikal yg ade tempat duduk budak kecik kt belakang. mmg mcm siti di alam fantasi je kehidupan masa tu. (ni dari gambar2 koleksi yang ada la)

pastu bila dah balik malaysia, abah balik kemudian sebab mak nak lahirkan suhaib (adik no. 4). memang rindu gile kat abah masa dlm tempoh abah takde tu. masa tu baru la start nak kenal- kenal bpk sedara, mak sedara. sorang tu rupa mcm abah..(rasa masa tu ler)..so saya dgn kaklang manja gile dgn paktam. sian paktam terpaksa layannn menyamar jadi abah sekejap..

pastu kitorang pindah Seri Serdang, masa tu saya dah pandai membaca. pun merasa lagi naik basikal comel tu belakang abah sebab abah hantar gi rumah sorg pakcik tu yang akan membawa saya ke sekolah. masa tu masuk darjah satu sekolah di shah alam. waaa jauhnya pergi sekolah. oh sekolah tu abah dengan kawan- kawan yang usahakan sebab abah rasa sistem pendidikan kebangsaan banyak kekurangan dan tak ada balance islamic education. maka saya pun mula la bersekolah di Sekolah Rendah islam Hira'. bila adik- adik semua pun masuk sekolah tu, abah rasa kita kena la pindah dekat sikit. tu yang pindah ke shah Alam sampai la sekarang.

tu abah sangat pentingkan pendidikan sampai sangat ambil berat apa yang anak dia pelajari di sekolah. sekolah tu tak hebat sangat pun sebab swasta yang sengkek, bukan nak perah duit orang matlamat dia tapi nak lahirkan insan yang seimbang dunia akhiratnya. abah support sekolah tu sebagai pengerusi lembaga sampai kan bila mudir sekolah resign ade sekali tu abah yg jadi guru besar (sementara). masa duduk dlm perhimpunan kt belakang tu rasa cam kembang kempis hidung sebab abah kita jadi guru besar lah..

kalau takde duit sekali pun abah tetap nak kitorang sekolah situ juga. duit boleh cari. masa lepas PMR, saya dapat keputusan cemerlang dan ditawarkan untuk ke sebuah sekolah berasrama penuh yang sangat hebat dan di impikan oleh semua pelajar lah. tapi sedih tau masa dengar perbualan abah dgn atok, ' bah aishah takdo g memano, dok sekolah yang samo jugaklah'..huu saya simpan tau surat tawaran tu sampai sekarang. tapi tak menyesal pun abah stay kan saya dekat sekolah yg sama sampai habis SPM..i love Hira'!

dulu selalu aa g jalan2. masa kecik kitorang pernah road trip ke utara. masatu kakcik kecik lagi (sebab saya ingat anda kena tukar lampin dlm kereta)..tapi renyah tau bawa anak 5 orang kecik2..kalau orang tanya pasal anak ramai, abah bangga je jawab dia nak sepuluh. mak sengih- sengih aje..tengok2 dapat over budget jadi 11! pastu ade masa tu tiap2 tahun mesti gi pangkor la, tioman la..bila semua dah bersepah masuk U la, kerja la, aktiviti keluarga tu jadi bowling tiap sabtu malam. memang tiada siapa la bole lawan abah nye score, err 1/4 pun tak sampai kalau kes saya..dapat over 100 markah pun bole buat kenduri kesyukuran. tapi abah ok je tak berkira langsung kalau kitorang nak tambah game (yakin boleh over 100 kalau main 3-4 games)..yang penting anak- anak dia gembira.

abah ada darah tinggi, tapi selalu jaga kesihatan. dulu- dulu abah amik ginseng korea, memang rajin la minum. dan abah memang selalu amik health supplement. lately ni abah selalu demam sakit2. aritu abah sakit perut yang amat sangat, sedih la gak tengok. pastu telinga abah pun sekarang ada problem, tapi abah gagah jugak pergi kerja siang malam. cam tak sampai hati nak tengok abah. selalu kena kerja keras sebab kitorang semua. adik pun ramai lagi belajar. kalau la saya kaya, mak abah boleh je buat apa yang korang suka tak payah susah cari duit. buat apa ada anak ramai kan.

abah ada impian. nak buka restoran nasi briyani. tapi belum lagi kesampaian. dengar plan bisnes dia mcm gempak la. memang abah suka memasak untuk orang ramai. kalau hari raya tu memang abah akan offer masak dekat kampung. even kalau ade sedara kahwin, abah mesti menyumbang makanan dan kami akan membantu dalam proses itu. masa majlis pertunangan saya pun abah memang berhajat nak masak, tapi saya pula membantah dek kerana abah kena fokuskan sebagai Tuan rumah yang menerima rombongan. cadangannya panggil katering saja. semasa di pattaya (bekerja), dapat sms daripada abah "abah dah cadang nak masak masa tunang kaklong, boleh kan"..saya cam sebak seketika. masa kenduri tu dia tak makan pun. dia puas tengok orang lain makan. itulah abah saya.

dan sudah tentunya sebagai anak perempuan, abah sendiri nak menikahkan saya. mula- mula tu saya agak cuak. sebab saya ni kalau sebak kang, no turning back. dia terus hujan lebat. lagi- lagi kalau abah pun tersebak juga. tapi alhamdulillah takde la kejadian ribut petir tu terjadi semasa majlis pernikahan. akan tetapi semasa cium tangan abah semasa majlis bertandang berjurai juga air mata gue..sedih woo rasa nak kena tinggal..waaa..

pastu abah kalau pasal kereta memang tak banyak berkira. kalau dia nampak tangki kosong je dia mesti amik kunci dan pergi isikan minyak. lepastu abah selalu serviskan kereta saya. haritu siap cat semula kereta saya dan ketuk di sana sini. memang lah anak dia pandai melenjan je kereta tu. tapi segan la kan, saya bukan tak mampu nak isi minyak ke, servis sendiri ke, tapi dia buat tanpa banyak soal.

kalau nak cerita lagi memang banyaaak sangat. apa pun aishah doakan abah diberikan kesihatan, kesenangan dan rahmat-Nya sehingga akhir hayat. semoga apa yang abah lakukan selama ini mendapat ganjaran dan kesenangan di akhirat kelak. i love you so much abah!!

something needs to change

2009-06-04T12:42:00.002+08:00

you know why i kept quiet.

ok the result -

i have a very fit and slim body now..no bulges, pouches, flabs, love handles whatsoever. i even went down 2 cloth sizes. my waistline is now 25 inches. just like a 18-year old teenager. i lost my double chin and i can now run 4km without stopping and panting. what a journey!

all of the above are lies. sorry guys!

i managed to shed 2.5kgs with the menu below and now back to normal life. it was mental torture more than the hunger. i was blessed with the support from my husband and family. one menu suggested carrot stick with cheese. yucks. i nearly throw up. whatever.

so i decided something needs to change. will tell you my next project later. aim before ramadhan..*berusahaa!!*

-still in progress-

blogging my diet - day 2

2009-05-28T15:36:00.002+08:00

yeah, i'm serious.
i just weigh myself this morning and it is whooping..lemak berkati2..hohoho
i seriously need to get in shape again (if i've ever had one in the first place haha). i cant fit in my size 10 dorothy perkins pants anymore, and not my M size padini khakis. think when i go shopping i have started to belek2 L size shirts. and i am 'upgrading' my size 12 to size 14 now...why why whyyyy..

so some friend has recommended me this diet called - the Max Planck Diet. she has lost 8 kgs on this. after some time thinking, i guess i will try. it is for 14-days with a strict consumption of food. afterall, i think i am through with food. maybe just mak's cooking will be my biggest enemy hohoho.

ok so after coming back from bali, i decided to go onto this diet

http://loseweight.haktanir.org/2007/07/20-pounds-in-two-weeks-max-planck-diet.html

DAY 1

BREAKFAST: COFFEE WITHOUT SUGAR
LUNCH: 2 HARBOILD EGGS, SPINACH WITH LITTLE SALT
SUPPER: 1 STEAK BBQ, GREEN SALAD AND FRUIT OF YOUR CHOICE

DAY 2 - ITS FOR TODAY !!

BREAKFAST: BLACK COFFEE WITHOUT SUGAR, 1 SMALL BUN
LUNCH: 1 STEAK, GREEN SALAD AND FRUIT OF YOUR CHOICE
SUPPER: COOKED HAM

DAY 3
BREAKFAST: BLACK COFFEE WITHOUT SUGAR, I SMALL BUN
LUNCH: 2 HARBOILED EGGS, SALAD AND TOMATOES
SUPPER: COOKED HAM, GREEN SALAD

DAY 4
BREAKFAST: BLACK COFFEE WITHOUT SUGAR 1 SMALL BUN
LUNCH: 1 HARBOILD EGGS, RAW OR COOKED CARROTS, SWISS CHEESE
SUPPER: FRUIT AND NATURAL YOGHURT

DAY 5
BREAKFAST: BLACK COFFEE, CARROTS WITH LEMON JUICE
LUNCH: POACHED FISH AND TOMATOES
SUPPER: 1 STEAK, WITH GREEN SALAD

DAY 6
BREAKFAST: BLACK COFFEE WITHOUT SUGAR, 1 SMALL BUN
LUNCH: BBQ CHICKEN
SUPPER: 2 HARDBOILED EGGS, CARROTS

DAY 7
BREAKFAST: TEA WITH LEMON WITHOUT SUGAR
LUNCH: 1 BBQ STEAK, WITH FRUIT OF YOUR CHOICE
SUPPER: FREE YOUR CHOICE OF ANYTHING YOU LIKE

DAY 8
THE DIET STARTS ALL OVER AGAIN FOR ONE MORE WEEK.

After that you continue with REGULAR MEALS. If you stick EXACTLY to this DIET PLAN, you may loose up to 9 Kilograms in two weeks.

This DIET changes your METABOLISM and you should not gain back any weight for 3 years.

It is recommended do drink large quantities of Mineral water during the whole diet and time.

ALCOHOL IN ANY FORM IS STRICTLY DURING THE ENTIRE TWO WEEKS

THE UNDERLINE MEANS YOU CAN HAVE AS MUCH AS YOU WANT. Eg: SWISS CHEESE

i need motivation and moral support.
thank you yeh belikan ai electric grill itu..bila nak beli basikal pulak wahahahaha

undersigned
hot woman in progress~

updates!

2009-05-27T16:33:00.009+08:00

salam..

i just got back from a work trip, that was followed by a honeymoon. *bliss*.. was exhilarated when i knew that this meeting was going to be held in Bali. so my husband joined me and we extended our stay there for a couple more days. the work part was ok (as usual) and the leisure part was fun fun fun(as usual).

work

it was an AS*E*AN meeting on disaster management coorporation and stuff. the highlight of this trip was actually 'accidentally' getting together (again) with my former boss who i was once referred to as 'her dayang'. it has been 3 years since i resigned from my job in her organisation and while some things have changed, some stays the same. she is now the power to be reckoned with among the disaster players globally and at home. she speaks about the issue as if it is close to her heart. she is the person who people sought after for advice on strategic partnership and role of civil societies. she is going to be some one important in the UN soon, and i am so proud of her.

the most obvious thing that remains familiar was the warmth and chemistry we shared. talking to her after all these years brought back special memories which i would treasure for the rest of my life. we went on so many trips together, cold hard missions and the nicer places in Japan. in Bali, we had the chance to sit and talk, and she told me that i have grown so much and matured since the time i left the organisation, and she talked about her deepest feeling and fear. we shared practical jokes and good old memories. i even kept her dark secret in tact (even though now i think i have to ventilate to a husband).

she asked me if i want to come back, but i think i moved on and i moved forward!!! good memories are nice to keep, but i'm not sure about going through it again.

leisure

my husband had the most leisure days when most of the time spent 'berendam' in the pools and beach while i crash my brains in the meeting room. i joked to one of my colleagues that my husband is checking out girls at the pool, but he added ' ..and thinking of how he is lucky to have you'.hmmm how sweet michael haha..

we stayed at sanur bali hotel, which has pretty small room but exotic resort and nice beach to go with it. it is definitely not like kuta which is more hip, noisy and youngish. at sanur, we have the old timers showing off the cellulites and sagging whatever. lest i felt better hahaha..but it is such a tranquil peace and quiet place to be...

we signed up on a tour reccomended by my sister who went in march, but we took a different paket that covers some barongan dance, kintamani and batur volcano, tirta empul, ubud, pura uluwatu and jimbaran seafood. it was a perfect tour especially the sunset in Uluwatu. this is the one place that no one should miss. it is so breathtaking..mashaAllah.

and the food..who said theres not much halal food in Bali. there is plenty but not bali's specialty lah which is babi guling huhu.. we had nasi padang first then i really wanted to eat ayam bakar wong solo again (missed it from aceh time)..and we had it. my husband had ayam penyet wong solo, which turned out to be better than ayam bakar... nasi taliwang (lombok special food) which is highly reccomended, nasi ayam lalapan, the best pecel ever, and nasi reumba (cant remember the name)..and the hearty hotel breakfast???..iskk alhamdulillah

and now i am on D:I:E:T..erghh

harga wanita

2009-05-11T13:54:00.003+08:00

minggu lepas kan ada dua kisah yang menyayat hati mengenai dua orang wanita hamil yang diragut kemudian mati terbunuh. khabarnya yang seorang baru sahaja 6 bulan berkahwin kali kedua dan hamil anak pertama dengan suami kedua, manakala kes kedua hamil anak kelima tetapi dalam proses berpisah. dua kisah yang sama tapi tak serupa.

peragut sialan itu mungkin berfikir wanita mengandung sasaran paling fragile untuk diserang/ragut. saya sedih mengenangkan hilangnya hormat kaum lelaki terhadap kaum wanita (bukan kaum yang lemah). cuba bayangkan ibu, isteri, anak perempuan korang yang kena ragut dan kemudian mati pulak..best tak best..lu pikirla sendriik..

hukuman paling best kat diorg ni adalah taruk diorang atas motor/ kereta yang bergerak laju tanpa pemandu dan nasib koranglah.

saya teringat perjalanan pulang saya di dalam komuter yang padat. saya berdiri di sebelah seorang wanita yang saya rasa paling kurang 7 bulan, melihatkan dari saiz kandungan beliau. dalam keadaan itu tiada siapa pun menawarkan tempat duduk. ya lah mungkin masing- masing penat baru pulang dari tempat kerja. tetapi yang paling menyakitkan hati adalah wanita ini berdiri di hadapan seorang lelaki mungkin berusia akhir 30-an yang sihat tubuh badan, melihat dari pakaian beliau baru pulang dari pejabat..dan..pura- pura tidur. memang tak patut jika lelaki ini tidak menyedari kewujudan wanita hamil di hadapannya kerana perut wanita ini hampir berlaga dengan hidung lelaki itu (dek kerana padatnya tren ketika itu). telinga saya memang terus jadi panas, dan mula berkira- kira untuk 'berbahasa'.

saya mencuit bahu lelaki itu seraya berkata , " encik, " dan menunjuk kepada wanita hamil di sebelah

lelaki itu menjegil lalu menutup mata lagi..

ohohoho..darahku tersirap..hangin ok..saya terus menyinsing lengan (untuk bertumbuk) memang pejuang hak asasi wanita la. tapi saya berfikir juga kalau jadi bertumbuk saya nak lari ikut pintu mana. hohoho..

tapi akak hamil di sebelah berkata, " eh tak pe lah dik..hari- hari macamni..dah biasa dah"
huuu kasihan ya, dah biasa diperlakukan macam tu.

saya pun (kalau hamil) tak de lah hadap sangat nak duduk kan. tapi dek kerana nak tengok lelaki malaysia beri penghormatan kepada wanita, saya akan claim tempat duduk tu.

apa pun benda ni basic saja dari kecil patut dah diasuh, bahawa wanita itu perlu dihormati bukan ditindas. bukan juga untuk direndah- rendahkan. bukan lah kami ni lemah tetapi special pasal Allah kasi mengandung. Cuba kalau lelaki yang mengandung, kami mungkin akan beri penghormatan yang sepatutnya juga.

entri untuk mama

2009-05-06T09:57:00.003+08:00

hi..

inilah mak saya. saya tak panggil dia mama. mak lah.
entri kali ini adalah untuk mak tercinta sempena hari mak yang disambut seluruh dunia.
mak seorang yang sangat istimewa kerana banyak perkara. antaranya:

- mak berkahwin dengan abah ketika umurnya baru menjangkau 21 tahun. mereka berkahwin di sebuah masjid di Liverpool dalam upacara yang amat sederhana. ketika itu mak dalam tahun ke-2 pengajian di Universiti. saya dilahirkan 9 bulan selepas itu.

- mak melahirkan 11 orang anak ~~yang sihat, bijak dan comels~~. tak ramai wanita akhir zaman ini yang mampu melahirkan anak seramai itu, dan membesarkan mereka sendiri tanpa pertolongan pembantu rumah. mak mampu melakukannya. tidak mudah. hanya kau yang mampu.

- mak menyusukan kami penuh selama 2 tahun atau sekurang- kurangnya sebelum adik berikutnya dikandungkan. jarang ada di antara kami yang menyusu botol. agaknya itu lah sebabnya kami semua best.

- mak tidak bekerja sepanjang anak-anaknya membesar walaupun mempunyai Ijazah Sains Pengaturcaraan (Computational Science) dari Universiti luar negara. Jika mak bekerja pasti sekurang- kurangnya beliau adalah guru besar sekolah sekarang. Tapi tidak. beliau tetap pendirian untuk tinggal di rumah menjaga kami adik beradik yang bukan sahaja ramai tapi bermacam kerenah. beliau tidak pernah berasa rendah diri tetapi berbangga dapat tinggal di rumah dan mendidik anak- anaknya sendiri.

- mak selalu berkata kepada saya bahawa suatu hari nanti beliau akan bekerja. saya tidak percaya bahawa beliau benar- benar bermaksud untuk bekerja. apabila adik bongsu menjangkau umur persekolahan, mak mula mengajar matematik di 2 buah pusat pengajian tinggi secara separuh masa, dan mendapat pendapatan sendiri.

- seperti mak- mak orang lain, mak juga pandai memasak. semasa kami masih kecil mak suka mengumpul resepi, tak kira lah dari rancangan masakan di TV, majalah atau kawan- kawan. dulu mak suka mencuba resepi pastri tetapi semakin lama beliau lebih berminat memasak kuih muih tradisional. baginya kuih tradisional jauh lebih susah untuk dihasilkan berbnding masakan barat. mak sangat pandai memasak sambal petai, cili api, asam pedas..tetapi sebenarnya abah juga pandai (tunggu entri hari abah pulak)

- mak juga akhirnya memandu kereta setelah saya pandai memandu

- ketika umur saya belasan tahun saya sering disalah anggap sebagai adik kepada mak saya. kerana wajah mak yang tidak dimakan usia.

- mak adalah anak yang tengah dari 9 orang adik beradik. beliau mempunyai 2 abang, 2 kakak, 2 adik lelaki dan 2 adik perempuan..cool bukan?

- mak sangat berbangga dengan asal usul, nilai budaya dan adat Negeri Sembilan. memandangkan abah juga orang negeri maka kami juga orang Negeri Sembilan yang asli lah kan.
- mak gemar membaca biografi, mak paling suka dengan topik sejarah lebih- lebih lagi dari negara China, dan juga peta- peta dan geografi. mak juga gemar bermain Sudoku. pernah kami adik beradik menghantar mak memasuki pertandingan sudoku anjuran NST, walaupun tak menang tapi pengalaman yang sungguuh menarik.

- mak kadangkala membuat kami adik- beradik tak kering gusi dengan telatah selamba dia. mak sangat comel ok.

- mak adalah seorang yang sangat tabah. saya bersamanya ketika waktu yang sangat menguji kesabaran seorang wanita. dan beliau mengatasinya dan menjadi lebih kuat dari sebelumnya. saya tidak tahu bagaimana saya boleh menjadi setabah itu. u taught me how to be strong and not losing it mak!

dengan ini saya nak mengucapkan selamat hari ibu kepada mak saya. terima kasih kerana melahirkan mendidik dan membesarkan saya dan adik- adik tanpa rasa penat dan jemu. memang tak terbalas jasa mak. semoga mak dikurniakan kesihatan dan kebahagiaan dunia akhirat..huuu..i love you so much.

he's just not that into you

2009-04-16T09:32:00.004+08:00

i watched this movie yesterday.

the first time i heard about this was in the Sex and the City a couple of years back. After that it was widely talked about - even oprah talks about it, it's the cold-harsh truth about women and love. the concept is simple. if he doesnt call..'He's just not That into You'. (and i imagine the author of this book is a cash cow by now, just by writing this..damn)

you know women love to analyse every gestures, words, signals made by men. especially when we are in the 'looking' mode (read- desperation). hearing words like 'dia taknak kau lah tu' is so painful making us feel like a tiny street cat wondering 'what is wrong with me?'. so your closest friends or mom, will say ' oh you are such a wonderful person, he doesnt know what he's missing'. these so called morale-lifting pep talk is dangerous because, in silent, you are hoping that the guy will finally come to his senses and call you, and the waiting continues..

I admitted i have once become both the best-friend and the GIRL.

Many of my girlfriends went through rough patches and couple of jerks before meeting their soulmates, and they will call me every other day to analyse every single thing about the guy they are dating...and i'm sure being the 'Julia Roberts-as some ppl refers to me as' i would always say things like:

' he has not call you because he's busy looking after his sick mother'

' he might be a bit scared to call you cos you are so smart, he might be fiddling with his handphone by now thinking whether he should call you'

' if he doesnt call you after a week, just miss call him'

~~crap..what advice???

i went through a couple of jerks too..haha... you know when you start getting to know someone, your girlfriends will always call and demand an update, and you will go ' you know he calls me but thats it..nothing more..MIXED SIGNALS kannn'

urrmmm let me break this out to you..there are no mixed signals..it is 'he's not just into you' darling..wake up. and if he's not into you, its his problem not yours. maybe he's not into you because he likes girls with yellow teeth or girls who look like men..hahaha..This concept is a genius. it gives you a set of boundaries on when to stop hoping after meeting someone.

so the movie was star-studded but so-so. i liked the part when Drew Barrymore got the voice mail from the musician she dated the night before. it was hilarious. and scarlett johansson, can't i get her body?

my husband cant stop mumbling : ^'oih apesal desperate sangat perempuan nih..'
i was wondering : ' i was her once'

hiks....

tag by makcu

2009-04-14T09:18:00.004+08:00

makcu saya telah men-tag

Go to your photos folder in your computer. Go to the 6th folder of photos. Go to the 6th picture in that folder. Put the picture on your blog and a description of it. Invite six friends to join the challenge. Link them in your blog and let them know they have been challenged!

tada...suka lah gambar ini. inilah adik beradik saya yang perempuan. 5 orang kesemuanya. biasanya kami akan berpeluang berfoto 'bareng' begini semasa hari raya. tak kiralah di rumah sesiapa pun yang kami pergi kami pasti berfoto beramai- ramai. bukan senang nak berkumpul begini. jadi bila orang tua berbual2 (mudakah saya) kami pun mula buat hal sendiri. ini lah hasilnya. kalau tak silap ini rumah tok Chik..nasib baik ingat dol..

hiks..

saya tag semua adik2 saya kat sini. ha siap.

dekat tetapi jauh

2009-04-07T14:34:00.003+08:00

kehidupan saya amat bercuaca sekarang (weatherly). betul ke. saya tidak menyangka hidup berjauhan setelah berumahtangga adalah pahit untuk ditelan. mungkin ramai yang faham apa maksud saya. sebelum berkahwin dahulu saya menyangka mungkin ada bagusnya berjauhan seketika and i'm cool with that arrangement. dulu, jika terdengar rakan- rakan yang tidak boleh langsung berpisah, hatta yang seorang ke kedai dan seorang menunggu di rumah sekalipun, saya pasti memberikan komen berbaur liberasi wanita..alahai lemahnya kau nih, suami pergi kedai pun nak berindu-rinduan. yucks.

rupa-rupanya kenyataannya terkena batang hidung sendiri. sekarang saya merasai penangannya. hari-hari berkerja amat mendung untuk saya, manakala hari-hari minggu terang benderang bercahaya, sebelum mendung kembali pabila ia berakhir, dan begitulah seterusnya.

bila lah saat itu akan tiba, haih.

p/s: posting ini bersifat peribadi la pulak yer..sila abaikan..

kami dah kahwin!!

2009-03-23T15:56:00.003+08:00

alhamdulillah..
kami selamat diijabkabulkan pada 13mac2009.

terima kasih kepada sesiapa sahaja yang menjadikan hari- hari kami sangat istimewa dan penuh bermakna. tidak ketinggalan untuk mereka yang mendoakan kami, baik yang jauh mahupun yang dekat.

foto preview majlis walimatulurus kami di sini. enjoy!!

pari-pari di atas angin

2009-02-25T10:14:00.003+08:00

majlis yang bakal berlangsung adalah sangat istimewa, kerana:

1. ibu bapa saya bakal menerima dua menantu lelaki serentak
2. ia adalah perkahwinan saya
3. perkahwinan berkembar bersama adik perempuan saya

lebih kurang sahaja poin-poin di atas kan.

pendek kata nya 'SAYA BAKAL BERKAHWIN' dalam masa 15 hari..errrkkkkk..
kalau ditanya apa perasaan saya sekarang, saya tidak ada perasaan..rasa content dan girang barangkali

cuma apa yang boleh dikatakan, perkahwinan menjelang umur pangkal 3 ini sebenarnya tidaklah terlalu teruk seperti yang saya selalu risaukan semasa saya mencecah pangkal 2. saya selalu merasakan jika saya berkahwin lewat saya akan:

1. berkahwin dengan lelaki asing
2. berkahwin dengan lelaki yang pernah berkahwin atau masih
3. dan sudah mempunyai anak
4. dan saya harus menunggu giliran
5. sambil kucing- kucing menemani saya di rumah
6. ....jika ada tikus/lipas/katak di rumah siapa nak tolong...

Alhamdulillah semua itu tidak berlaku, malah sekarang saya merasakan hikmah dan kelebihannya saya berkahwin agak lewat..

1. kewangan lebih stabil
2. saya sudah kecapi impian kerjaya saya, and i want nothing more
3. memudahkan ibu bapa - saya tahu apa yang saya mahu, dan dapat membantu mereka membuat keputusan
4. tetapi agak fussy kadangkala
5. almaklumlah ada perkahwinan impian sejak kecil..dan terpaksa menanti hingga tahun ke-30
6. semua perempuan begitu, bukankah

apa pun, I thank You Allah for your Gifts and Blessings..

doakan urusan kami berjalan lancar.

p/s : Sesiapa nak kad online, (kot terlepas pandang) email ya aishah.amin@gmail.com

learning english

2009-02-23T10:18:00.002+08:00

dok leka layan pakcu nye Along Bukit Beruntung video,my favorite clip is this one....
tengok ramai2 dgn adik2, gelak sampai kuar air mata.. lawak

'si pelantun cindai'

2009-02-19T09:25:00.008+08:00

i kind of busy. you know...with stuff.

i was in jakarta again last weekend (this time for work). it was for the grand closing of the tsunami operation facilitator, BRR. lots of work stuff, i wont bore you. but i gotta chance to stalk Mr.President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a.k.a EsBeYe.

What amused me was their special performance for Mr.President!..watch and listen carefully

No wonder i once heard an Indonesian politician said ' Kita Serang Malaysia tetapi selamatkan siti Nurhaliza'.

i'm glad i went to Jakarta this time around cos i managed to do my wedding card distribution to many frens...

and couple of us went skydiNing in Semanggi on the crowded night of valentine..*skydiVing belum lagi (in the process). We were forced to order and SHARE 'couple meals' that looked so cheesy (not literally). i nearly choked on the heart-shaped toast swimming in slimy spinach soup. yucks!..ergh

stating the obvious

2009-02-05T14:42:00.005+08:00

malaysians love to state the obvious.

this morning, i was still dizzy from the train ride, when i caught a colleague having her breakfast at a restaurant. i smiled at her and find some nice words to greet her. at last i asked her ' are you having breakfast?'..like what is that question..and i don't blame her if she answers ' no i am having dinner, duhhh' *rolling eyes*

hehe..what is it with that.

ok another scenario. when my mother was watering her plants, a neighbour passes by and asked..'haii siram pokok bunga kee'..emm isn't it obvious what she is doing.

oh or, if a cute girl walks pass a group of *hormonal-raging* guys, ' hai cik adik..sorang aje ke'..*tak..berdua, dengan penumbuk ni, nampak?*

pesanan penaja: 'hai korangg..tengah baca blog i kee'

my piece on the impossible peace

2009-01-20T10:06:00.006+08:00

i find it hard to even glance at the news stands nowadays. AP photos from the war sites sangat meruntun jiwa. many people have talked about the plight of the palestinians ranging from the issues of ceasefire, israeli total holocaust, the UN defunct, boycott israeli and american products. we saw massive protest everywhere in the world. would it even tickle israel to stop? no.. even the obama-mania going around also ceased to see his next move on this issue. believe me, he is no moses, people.

the other day, as I play monster-ultraman with my two nephews, i managed to catch Ehud Olmert's despicable speech on tv:

"We genuinely never wanted to cause any discomfort, to attack any uninvolved civilian in Gaza. We regret very much the fact that there were so many who, in spite of the genuine efforts made by the Israeli Army, suffered from this confrontation. And I want to apologise on behalf of the government of Israel for everyone who was unjustly affected in Gaza, by this operation."

shaitaan, you dont need to waste your saliva by saying this, whoever believe this might be the stupidest people on earth. this goes back to the 2006 attack, which he claimed was an accident..maybe askar israel sedang mengasah senjata untuk mempersiapkan diri untuk 2009.

"I want to take this opportunity and say that I am sorry for the grave accidents in which innocent Palestinians were killed. This is not Israel's policy, but malfunctions," he said.

are you a satanic cow? an accident? like oops i did it again, ehud olmert and britney spears singing in red tights.

on the boycotting part, i'm not too idealistic even though agree to certain extent, if we pull this together it could cripple the US economy ONLY IF this is done in a big scale and include long term education and awareness, it might take a few decades, and the victory could be seen during our children's time. stop buying now means stop funding more wars in the future. you already supported the current war!

i mean we should boycott them totally not just for palestinians but also for all the horror and damages they have caused around the world. so i adopted the 'buy american last' approach. don't tell me you could boycott everything if our country is still dependent on them. personally it works for me to stop myself from wasting my money in those starbuck lattes, and high calorie fast food. Plus i am going back to our slogan 'Belilah Barangan Buatan Malaysia'. marilah kita memabukkan diri dengan Kopi Hang Tuah, nasi campur dan kerepek pisang sahaja.

additionally, taking advantage from the current worldwide rage, advocacy efforts should be launched towards the sympathethic governments on their guidelines on giving out license to US companies/products. this would curb excuses of certain reluctant group on the issues of 'locals will lose their jobs' , hopefully. it really should be a concerted effort, so to say.

apart from do'a, wouldn't it be nice if persatuan bomoh nusantara can do up some retreat and send some santau angin to Bush and Olmert or even the whole israeli troop. i mean it shows your support to the cause rather than wasting time sending devils to innocent people. it would be nice to see them die a slow death. but i heard the 'santau signal' gets weaker by distance so you might want to JV with voodoo spellers in another continent.

ok dah merepek.sekian.

jakarta anecdotes

2009-01-13T22:24:00.007+08:00

it was such a lovely ~~and costly~~ weekend indeed!!

my jakarta weekend trip in point forms

1. last day of end year sales. RM317 was equivalent to Rp1,000,000. two new cool malls- pacific place and grand indonesia. u can imagine my madness at the shops. bought zara tops, la senza stuff, telekungs, cds at very cheap price but run out of cash in the end. was a bit panic when discovered only Rp100,000 left in the wallet. resorted to surrender every currencies in my wallet to the money changer and got another Rp500,000. pheww..then i shop again.

2. oh the reason i was here was to attend my friend's wedding*lupa*. i went straight from the airport to Pasarbaru but got abit lost before finding the correct 'gedung'. it was the henna party for girls. my friend is an indonesian Sikh who was about to get married to an australian guy. she was my housemate when i was working in aceh. the look on her face when she saw us was priceless. she was doing her henna, and everybody else was singing and dancing. oh i got myself henna as well..

3. i had the best lontong in the world. like seriously...i would recommend anyone who wanted to try this to go to Pacific Place 5th floor Betawi Cafe...its served with ketupat, not so thick masak lodeh, seketul ayam and the sambal had this small chunks of petai which is absolutely out of the world!! kenyang sampe sore..wahaha

4. this was a very spontaneous trip that i did not plan where to sleep. imagine i was at the henna thingy until 8pm and still had my luggage with me. when the groom came to the party, he was accompanied by his best man who happened to be one of my colleagues at the office!!! his best man was a woman by the way. what a small world!! so she said i could bunk in with her (since the groom sponsored the hotel room). lucky me!

5. Palestine demonstration - hands down to the indonesians. it was massive and a different experience. It was unique when I see people from PKS (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera) lining up with orange bandanna and shirts on the busway lane. i also joined them when they assemble at the streets to show solidarity.

thats all for now peeps..

accident bcos of guilt

2009-01-09T11:26:00.003+08:00

over the week, i am feeling guilty for not being able to attend my bestfriend wedding this weekend. its happening this sunday in jakarta. i was composing all the reasons and excuses for not attending and preparing myself to call her and spill the bad news. among the excuses are :

1. wedding is on sunday night, and i have important meeting on monday morning

2. dont have enough money to go jakarta. need to save for my own thing

3. palestine rally on saturday

4. my nephew just got his new tooth, i cant pass by a day without looking at it

~~4. siti nurhaliza's birthday party~~ *what the fish*

i know. lame.

*just so u know we have this girly oath that since we settle down late we should go to each other's wedding..no excuses*

before i manage to dial her number and preparing for the worst blow of the bride, another best friend called, she said 'hey are u in jakarta already?'. i said, 'err..no..listen..', and she replied 'hey k**ti is expecting you alright, dont say u r not coming..i tembak karang'

huuuuuuuu

then without thinking..this happened

o.m.g i'm flying off tomorrow!!..

travelling tips for girls

2009-01-07T11:03:00.005+08:00

this entry is dedicated to the people who wish to do the same as i did. oh its almost a year! it feels like yesterday. here goes:

a muslim malay girl dummy guide to travelling alone in europe.

1. travel cheap

- plan your travel way in advance, so you get the best and cheapest out of everything. plan where to stay, mode of transportation (i wanted to experience all modes flight, bus, train, ship and i got it all).
cheap KLM flight to europe www.klm.com
cheap flights in europe http://www.ryanair.com/ , http://www.easyjet.co.uk/ , http://www.sterling.dk/
cheap hostels http://www.hostelworld.com/

- museums, parks, and shows have their free admission days. watchout for that girls

- no-shopping policy. this is the first rule. u only want to go and see places. but strictly no shopping. *but i did not follow this one actually

2. travel safe

only travel when there is sunlight, but sometimes you do want to maximize travelling e.g in winter when night is longer than day time. after dark, select a crowded place e.g mall and put extra cautions when you walk back to the hotel/hostel.

dont bring too much cash with you. bring lots of small change. make use of your credit card, before your journey remember to retrieve your pin number from the bank cos many european countries use machines that needs pin and u dont need to sign. find out how to use travellers cheques. i found out cashing out at the money changers using your credit card is also possible with an affordable fee.

organise your cash properly - this is important especially when you are paying for a 1 euro coffee people might peek into your wallet to see whatelse do you have. and travelling to different countries using different currencies will make it even more difficult. you will look clumsy looking for the right coins/notes and shows that you are unfamiliar with the country(that is a safety threat as well!!). what i would do is every night i will stash away unneccessary currencies and separate large notes with coins. e.g left pocket with coins, right pocket with small notes and the larger notes in wallet. i will count how much i have every night so i know roughly the next morning how to 'display my spending' properly.

wrap and lock your luggage before checking in, and dont lose the keys!!

if you want to ask for directions, ask as if you are meeting your husband / another friend there, so people do not think that you are travelling alone

have a list of contact of the nearest Malaysian consulate/embassy with you

bring all your important things e.g passport, cash, keys with you all the time. even into the toilet. buying a wallet that you could hang on the neck would be useful

airport security - it is always neccessary to take off everything from your body e.g jacket, mufflers, belts and shoes. it will be quite a hassle cos we dress more than usual during winter. ensure that you have everything back after it passed the screening machine. take time to do this.

you dont need to bring your IC, just leave it in Malaysia. you would never need it.

have your itinerary shared with your family members and friends, so they know your whereabout.

stay out of trouble with the authorities by knowing the rules and regulations in the country. the simplest is making sure your train tickets are validated before boarding. apparently they dont take bribery, and kampung excuses...ooooohhh..i live too long in Malaysia

3. travel smart
- a checklist of where you want to go, what you want to do, and what you want to eat. challenge yourself. have a good read of the place before you go. its good to read travellers discussion forums on whattodo and whatnotto do.

Wheather forecast is important to decide your clothing, and your activities

bring some food and snacks just in case you cant find a proper and Halal eating place

Prayers guide to muslim women- it is mandatory wherever you go. have a qiblat compas and a small handkerchief handy in your bag. print out prayer times before you start the journey. i perform prayers in secluded places, people never disturb me or bug me or anything when i do that. i sometimes pray in mall's fitting room without anyone knowing. mind you i never do it in Malaysia though sometimes tempted when suraus are always full with people (good thing that people pray!). wudhu' will be quite tricky though, when our two feet are bundled up in thick socks and big boots. i adopted the khuf method, where you dont need to take it off.

order muslim meals in flight. find out on their website whether it is available

4. travel with a breeze

pack carefully. u dont wanna attract attention by carrying funny stuff in your bag. remember the liquid TSA regulation always (only 100ml and below is allowed and it has to be packed in clear zip lock). europe has very tight airport security so watchout.

pack light - i only brought 3 pairs of tops, 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair housepants, and a night T-shirt, and 3 tudungs (u dont wanna look the same in all photos ha ha)..cos we normally can afford only 1 winter jacket. buy disposable undies. i also have the penchant of disposing my socks cos i cant bear carrying unwashed used socks with me. i buy new ones on the streets. packing light sometimes mean no shopping..so not putting SHOPS in your travel destination checklist would be helpful huhuhu..

poo-poo stuff. u will always need to use the toilet. their toilets are normally cleaner than ours (this is well-known)..but they dont provide water taps to wash. they are the 'wipers', and we are the 'washers'. it is useful to bring with you an empty mineral water bottle for this purpose. fill it in outside then bring inside the toilet. when i travel i usually have two bottles, one for toilet one for drinking. sometimes i accidentally mixed up..eywww

hostel - travel cheap means sometimes you will need to bunk in with strangers in the same room. Mixed-sharing dorm means you might need to share room with both females and males. it will be very hard for muslim tudung girls like us. BUT they normally entertain special request if we ask them to check us in all-girls room. i never met a hostel owner who did not entertain my request.

sandals - bring it. very important. for shower, toilet visits

5. extra tips to enjoy your journey and make it a memorable one

MP3 player, books, magazines, handphone - a good distraction on long flights and train journeys

make friends - the best thing about travelling alone is you bound to make friends. the people sharing the dorm might have infos that you need, as they might arrive earlier than you.

tour guides - most cities in europe have what they called 'walking tours' where you will walk on feet to enjoy the city with a tour guide. some of them are even free. you only pay tips to the guides. you can also make friends and catch up on Facebook afterwards.

bring little souvenirs from Malaysia. i give away this whenever i meet new friends. i also got alot of little things from other countries in the world. means its a common traveller's ethics and practice.

taking photos would be hard when you are alone. tips : look around and see if you can offer some help at other tourist in taking their photos. and then ask them to return the favour lah..easy hah..

good shoes and clothing - remember we are not used to the weather. do not take things lightly when it comes to these things. we do not want to fall sick unneccesarily while enjoying the big trip. invest on good warm shoes, socks, thermals and jackets. remember : health comes first before style

shower and be pretty - oh now i'm in CLEO mag mode. you dont want to travel like a crappy bad-dressed sardine seller (how did i come to that ). even though it is freezing dont forget to perform our Malaysian's twice-a-day ritual ok. mandi manda and look your best. you never know what come your way..you might get lucky (this advise is only for singles hoho).

OK if anybody would like to add more, please do so, and have a pleasant journey for those who is preparing for their trip of the life. i had a blasttttt...
Kaklang, and Hana..good luck ..*bring pretty things for me hoh**

2008 : walking down the memory lane

2008-12-31T22:47:00.003+08:00

just short notes for 2008 :

1. January - the new year started with a pleasant surprise and sweetness, marking perfectly how my year was going to turn out. i wrapped up my consultancy assignment in putrajaya, and prepared for my big trip to europe.

2. February - a month-long trip to europe, covered most part of copenhagen of denmark, a little malmo in sweden, berlin in germany, venice in italy, paris in france and some amsterdam in holland.

3. March - back in Malaysia, it was only days to the general election. lazed around at home while enjoying the color of change in the local political arena. was looking for job opportunities. even considered joining an old organisation again. oh the family also received a new member, a healthy and handsome baby boy - muhd faqeeh aiman

4. April - i was offered a PA job to a new state exco. i decided to give it a try hoping some day i would land some permanent government post. it was hard as a start because not everyone accepted the change and the process include lots of growing pains.

5. May - lots of hard work. meeting people that i didnt like, compromising a lot of my principles for the sake of politics. i grew to dislike the environment, and the people around. but i decided to give it some time, as i am used to developing something new. on top of these, my boss was a very understanding and a promising politician i could learn a lot from her but somehow, the job did not fit me, character wise also intellectually

6. June - i started scouting for jobs. sending out resume, hoping to land something similar to what i did before. i was shortlisted for two jobs - 1 in a UN agency as social policy officer and another as a disaster law officer in an international agency. i was hoping to get the first one even though i know its going to be tough (i worked there last year). but the 2nd one called me to say i got the job. my boss (that time) signed up for a policy conference in france in a small city called Tours, and decided to bring me along..there i was - got lucky twice with France in a year.

7. July - a tough month cos i resigned from the job after coming back from france, and nobody approved. i know i was bad for leaving at the toughest period of time, when everything just starting to pick up. but i have tried my very best, but unfortunately i cant do something which i did not have passion in. i hate saying goodbye but i know its for my own good and they deserve a more passionate person in the cause than i was. so i joined my current organisation and everything is just so familiar....i was in my element again..yeayyy!!

8. August - new job is wonderful. a whole new perspective and different kind of people. it is a proper job, with elaborated job scope and responsibilities. i got a great superior who is the guru of international disaster law. En.F and I was planning to get engaged, when i heard the news that i had to travel to pattaya. i reached KL on the night of 29 August and the engagement happened the next morning.

9. September - ramadhan was quite tough this year. because commuting between KL and shah Alam everyday in the midst of the rat race was not funny. many people opted for public transport since the petrol price hike. many times i felt like vommitting in the train, thank god it never happened. if not, there goes my fasting..

10. October -its the raya month, with too many food to eat. oh i went to singapore for my first training experience with the national societies. and i start to get busy with my regional training and workshop

11. November - the regional workshop and training took up most of my time this month. it was actually the breakthrough achievement since i started work.

12. December - wrapping up the year. i did performance appraisal, and got a pay raise!! weehooo..weekends was spent with my wedding preparation that will be happening quite soon

its almost midnight now. i pray for a blissful 2009, more iman more taqwa and more syukur.
for all of you, happy new year 2009!

a 'communifaker'

2008-12-30T10:21:00.003+08:00

i learnt a new word today.

communifaking = when you pretend to be talking or texting on your cell phone when you're not.

for example, when you are seated with a bunch of lawyers, and they start talking about treaties, law articles, jargons and then they start laughing. and of course you can't laugh together because u cant follow what the heck is funny, then u start to disassociate. silently you take out your handphone and pretend to text. who? some invisible friend. ahah.

i'm glad there's finally a name for it, cos i do it all the time.

According to research conducted by England's Mobile Network 3, 43 percent of women and 32 percent of men are guilty of communifaking. The number of people age 18 to 24 who communifake is even higher, reaching 74 percent. There's no indication why women are more prone to communifaking than men.

So, why do I communi-fake?

1. to avoid struggling in getting around a tough conversation. e.g. what Ban Ki Moon has done since he was elected UN Sec Gen, Barrack Obama new world orde, Southeastasia pandemic AVI/Influenza preparedness. err..i'm not that clever ok.

2. to avoid people think that i'm a loner. yeah, if i chose not to have a lunch-gossip combo with the makciks, i dine alone..with my cell of course. what i do normally is deleting my old messages while i'm eating. that might also be considered communifaking.

3. to avoid people. if i stumble into some people who i wish i dont have to talk to, i will hold my phone close to my ear and pretend talking happily..'like i'm so hot ~~and you're-not~~, and i-have-no-time-talking-to-you' ..and will just raise my brow and wave to that person..*keji*

4. for safety - this is real. i had a situation when i was dining alone in berlin. i was eating kebab at the foot of the TV tower alexanderplatz at night, when a group of arab men came and sat at the benches not far from me. they were talking very loudly and sometimes stop and look at me, then roar with laughter*what so funny mister* i was peacefully eating and reading my book, when my security alarm sets. this does not look so good, baby. so took out my handphone and pretend dialling. then i made-up a conversation (pretend it was with a friend).
'where are you?, i'm tired waiting ok'
,...'almost finished'
...'aaah? outside? where?' *and look around*
....'aaa ok,i'll pay now..wait there..i come now'
...'ye lah ye lah' *nampak sangat kwn tu melayu jugak*

then i quickly pay and say this to the waitress, 'u know my friend is so impatient'! *rolling eyes*
and stormed out from the restaurant..pheww..

in short : communifaking is sometimes neccessary..

Salam Ma'al Hijrah 1430 - Semoga Tahun ini menjadi lebih baik dari yang sebelumnya, InshaAllah...

perihal kursus kahwin

2008-12-23T09:33:00.007+08:00

menjelang majlis yang akan tiba tak lama lagi..banyak yang harus difikirkan. baju, kad jemputan, tempahan dewan, makanan, hadiah untuk tetamu, fotografi, brg hantaran, permohonan nikah dsb nya. kenapa saya tak rasa tertekan eh *berdebar ade la*..mungkin belum masanya lagi nak tertekan, ntah la. 'Ya Allah permudahkan lah segala urusan kami, dan jauhilah kami dari anasir yang memecah belahkan' i mean urusan kerja kahwin ni kadangkala boleh mengundang perselisihan faham, dan ketidak sefahaman..maka keterbukaan dan sifat toleransi itu sangat lah penting..

antara persiapan yang utama adalah dengan menghadiri kursus perkahwinan. saya dan en.F pergi ke sebuah pusat kursus kahwin di damansara. punya lah ramai peserta sebab err.. ramai yang nak kawen agaknya. dan seperti dijangka kami jugalah yang paling ~~tua~~ matang dalam ramai2 tu. yang lahir tahun 1990 pun ada kaedahnya. jodoh dah sampai..

sebelum ni dari feedback yang diperolehi dari kawan2 yang dah hadir..katanya bosan kecuali satu bab, ada yang kata 'ala pergi je terpaksa, kan wajib pergi kalo nak kawen, kang x diterima pulak permohonan kawen'..

for me, i take whatever in the course seriously. it is a good move to make the course compulsory to all future husbands and wives. kadang2 ada org tak tau kenapa mereka berkahwin, atau maybe tak pernah diam sejenak dan berfikir. walaupun semua perkara yang disebut tu adalah common sense, atau berbentuk refresher (benda asas yang dah mmg diketahui). setiap orang perlu diperingatkan supaya tidak lalai. walaupun ada orang yang persoalkan keberkesanan kursus seperti ini dengan mempersoalkan berapa banyak peratus penceraian berkurangan setelah kursus ini diwajibkan, tetapi saya tetap rasa apa jua bentuk basic education adalah penting bagi bakal pengantin. tiada sesiapa pun yang terlalu pandai dalam hal ini.

Cuma..mungkin kadangkala penyampai tu perlu lebih moden/progresif. saya tak rasa lawak kelucahan atau lawak poligami masih relevan pada zaman sekarang. saya yakin peserta kursus boleh dapat lawak yang lebih bermutu dengan menggoogle di internet. mungkin itu saja cara untuk mengelakkan peserta tertidur. saya tak mampu ketawa apabila lawak2 seperti ini dikeluarkan, walaupun hampir pecah dewan tu, ~~mungkin juga kerana faktor umur~~. saya mmg suka perkara yang lawak, tetapi cuma yang bermutu, please.

dan bila difikirkan objektif sebenar kursus ini diwajibkan saya menyedari tidak dihuraikan saluran- saluran dan opsyen bagi aduan, kaunseling. apakah agensi yang terlibat. apakah langkah yang harus diconsider sebelum berfikir tentang perceraian. ke mana wanita dan lelaki mangsa keganasan rumahtangga boleh mendapatkan bantuan. seperti One Stop centre di hospital2 kerajaan yang beroperasi 24jam utk menerima wanita/lelaki seperti ini, tak penting kah informasi seperti ini eh.

OK, post saya pun serius plak kali ini..hehe, anyways saya cadangkan sesiapa yang belum hadir eloklah hadir bersama pasangan kerana senang kalau apa2 nanti , ' eh awak tak ingat ke masa kursus dulu ustad cakap...bla bla la' huhuhu

Later people...

kenapa tag kena jawab

2008-12-19T00:09:00.003+08:00

oklah since takde modal nak tulis apa2 saya bersetuju untuk menjawab tag yang pertama ditujukan kepada saya. dulu saya suka kutuk org jawab tag skrg sy plak jawab..ohhh maknanya kalo takde benda nak tulis jwb le tag...oooooooooo..
ni ha datangnya from my sis.

7 ciri wanita/lelaki idaman anda:

1. cool
2. rajin
3. comel
4. bijak
5. penyabar
6. kelakar
7. hormat org tua

7 wanita/lelaki yang pernah anda minati sepanjang hidup:

1. rashid sidek - haha korang jangan taktau, masa jaman thomas cup 1992 tu ade hati berangan nak jadi gf rashid sidek yang kurus keding tu. mwahahaha..cam ala2 rambo kan konon, sikit lagi mesia nak kalah pastu dia jadi hero menjuarakan malaysia. poyoooooo

2. josh hartnett - ni masa jaman aku baru masuk U. kuar le citer Pearl Harbour kt wayang. masa tu jakun tengok mamat hensem ni besar2 dkt skrin, ada 3 kali lawat cik panggung semata2 nak tengok pearl harbour lagi dan lagi...pastu sume magazine ade gambo dia aku sebat..pastu dah makin femes, dah byk lagi kuar gambo aku dah tade duit nak koleksi hahahha

3. cikgu kalkulus algebra masa asasi sains - incik bakri - dia ni cikgu nerd, pakai spek mata ade misai2..tapi pandai mengajar, terang satu persatu. aku pun duk depan je dlm kelas. dapat A manjang. yg bestnya dia jadi mentor grup aku, sume budak kelas akan dipanggil satu persatu untuk sesi kaunseling pelajaran..berdebar222 je tiap kali kena panggil samo incik bakri

4. michael scofield - yg ini jgn cakap le siapa peminat prison break pasti kenal dan jatus cinta jugak..mmg ciri2 khayalan yg lengkap le cuma belum mengucap dua kalimah syahadah aje hehehe..

5. takuya kimura - dia ni rambut kusut masai, keanak2an tetapi sangat la sempoi..dan ade Xfactor (tatau apa yg menyebabkan dia menarik). ni masa gila citer jepun dulu ade la jugak berangan nak terbang ke tokyo dan disambut oleh abang takuya di airport.

6. Rajnikanth - ha ni jangan gelakk..tapi ini adalah lelaki paling macho di india. mampus la kalo korang rasa datuk shah rukh khan tu nampak lagi wangi, tapi apppa kain sebat2 ni juga menjadi pujaan hatiku..padayappaaaaa

7. Horatio CSI Miami - haaa ni seluruh ahli korgaku, dan rakan2 serumah dkt aceh mengetahui isi hati yang terbuku sebenarnya daku meminati CSI Miami kerana mau menonton abang horatio ku..hohoh..kalau diperati wajah dia terdapat keistimewaan dan unik, yang aku panggil 'weather beaten' face (wajah yang dipukul cuaca)..hohoho..dan kalau dikaji gaya lakonan dia amat la tyco especially kalo nengok mayat baru kena siat2, dia pandang ke tepi skrin dan meng'utter' kan killer line, menanggalkan spek mata lalu berlalu keluar dr frame tv dari kesemua arah dlm satu episode..tak caya cuba korg kaji muahahhaha

dah panjang plakk..tp korang tau le sapa yang aku paling minat skrg kan hahahahaa...adeh

7 perasaan sekiranya keluar dengan seseorang yang anda minati :

1. berdebar - asik check2 muka dkt cermin
2. malu
3. segan
4. rasa cam nak cancel la
5. tapi kalo tak cancel kang
6. eh cancel la
7. redah je laa

7 tempat istimewa yang ingin dilawati bersama pasangan anda:
1. Makkah/Madinah
2. se-round trip ke portugal, morocco dan spain (sebulan ok)
3. hokkaido Jepun
4. bhutan / nepal
5. hawaii
6. Ulan Bataar Mongolia
7. istanbul

7 barangan/sesuatu istimewa yang mungkin akan anda hadiahkan pada pasangan anda:
1. tiket penerbangan percuma untuk menemani saya ke salah satu (satu sahaja ok) destinasi di atas
2. PS -
3. spek mata itam
4. ~~stokin~~ Wii Nintendo ( ni aku pun bole curi main)
5. keychain dari salah satu destinasi di atas
6. gambar kenangan saya yg paling manis di salah satu destinasi di atas
7. masakan kegemarannya
*if u notice - in order semakin sengkek*

7 tajuk lagu yang akan anda nyanyikan untuk pasangan :
1. destiny - xtina aguilera + jim brickman
2. if i were a boy - beyonce
3. aku dan dirimu - ari lasso + BCL
4. tercipta untukku - ungu
5. sempurna - andra and the backbone
6. Whenever u call - mariah carey + brian mcknight
7. selimut putih - copyright reserved (untuk sama2 mengingati mati)

Tag 7 rakan yang anda mahu mereka buat PERIHAL 7 ini
1.takmo la i segan. kalau org tu x jawab tag tu malu la kan ...*mati le inferior plak*
2. sesapa nak tag diri sendiri silakan

Legislating Disaster Risk Reduction

2008-12-10T15:42:00.005+08:00

MashaAllah sejak bila i bercakap bahasa- bahasa ini.. haha
Yeahh..thats my bread and butter (tak abeh2 entri mknn), my profession and my career *cewah*

Since its DISember the month of DISaster and in conjunction with the ugly landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa *eh rhyme la*, i think babbling about it would suffice *matiler kalo bos dgr ni*

The thing which i always see outside of the country now is happening in my own backyard. the ironic thing is just 3 days before the tragedy, Malaysia hosted one of the biggest get-together of Asian ministers discussing Disaster Risk Reduction. how we need to be prepared for disaster, in terms of policy, regulation, budgetary, climate change..it was convened in the midst of a very heavy rain. no one knows.

why people want to live there? would they spend millions to construct their luxury homes if they know their risk? what is a lush greenery view with a balcony facing KL on the hills compared to the lives of your loved ones? why the education or even awareness only raised when there's death and mourning involved? where is this so-called National Plan on Slope Management? *i heard the minister speech during the conf, irony ahh..boasting psl ni then lps 3 ari jadi landlisde besar2an*..

Oh i read a very good one in the SUN today..from an old man (i dont know whther he is really old, but i always think people who write witty comments to newspapers are wise retired folks who go brisk walking every morning to buy newspapers). Some of the excerpts..

" In Malaysia, the joy of buying home surrounded by hills and greenery may be short-lived. at 60, instead of having a good walk in the morning and nap in the afternoon you may be called upon to join a fight against development in your neighborhood.

P*kL*h in his statement said that banning hillside development would deprive people from having a house with a nice view and fresh air.

Is Abdullah saying that the government is only interested in the welfare of the rich and be damned with the poor? In other words he is saying that in market system like Malaysia the government must protect the ONE PERCENT because they are the ones who are creating the wealth for the country whereas the 99% are nothing but parasites and freeloaders

I sometimes find statements from our leaders mind-boggling"

Saad Hashim, KL

*I THINK SO TOO ATOK*

my body is fat wonderland

2008-12-09T10:47:00.002+08:00

after 6months of love-hate relationship with this so-called makanan ~~palsu~~ kesihatan, i decided to go AU NATUREL..hahaha *macam selalu dengar je* maknanya melantak er.. conciously, yeke. at one-point last week i was so down cos i did not achieve what other people have achieved. like 8kg in two month?? or 14kg in 3 month??..why la so hard..

i am such a sucker for food..i love all types of food, u name it...masakan kampung, italian, japanese, indian (banana leaf), chinese, fast food, slow cooked, makanan pelik, sumer la...no wonder i have always been tembam all over. but shedding off kilos has been a breeze, bila ala2 dah termkn byk je crash diet la, then i lose the buns..centuu..but with the ageing process, and the slowing metabolism i could feel the effect down there at the tums and bums..not pretty hokay.

i love eating out, i love all high-calories delicacies... and i love desserts tops the list. if people treat me with hotel lunchoens or dinner buffett, i would check out the desserts first. and i want to taste everything on the table. and i must have COFFEE, with creamer and sugar.

and i believe eating will develop you socially . i believe if i dont join the makcik2 go to lunch, i will miss out the office gossip or worse they will gossip about me. i've tried it, when ppl ask me if i wanna have lunch together gether i said ,oh no u go ahead i'm just gonna grab some fruits from the uncle..like duhh, like i so wanna have ONLY fruits for lunch. but it sucks ey..and i am a true believer of when you eat together with the people you love, it gets you closer, awwwww.

when i diet, i normally exempt myself from dieting only on weekends, the days to celebrate special occassions like birthdays ( which counts my 10 siblings, mak, abah, fiance, 2 nephews, best friends, office mates), on hari raya, the day mak cook sedap2, balik kampung, travelling, dinner invitations, conferences. err..is that like everyday??so in short - i dun actually diet. will power very weak.

tp to give due credit, makanan palsu ini banyak mengubah cara pemakanan saya, bukan mengubah makanan kegemaran yaa....makanan kegemaranku masih sup tulang berlemak, dan baru2 ini semasa hari raya haji saya membelasah lemang dicurahkan pengat durian pekat dengan banyak sekali..muehehehe. oh berbalik kepada gaya pemakanan..saya sekarang harus meminum 3 liter air sehari, dan AIR KOSONG, ya betul you heard me, walaupun saya juga penggemar Starbucks Grande Toffe Nut Latte yag ade whipped cream di atasnya, tetapi lepas makan saya dah boleh minum air kosong dengan banyak sekali. (dan melawat cik tandas serta menghabiskan toilet roll dgn banyak sekali). saya juga tidak skip breakfast lagi, dan saya memastikan pembuangan berlaku dengan lancar setiap hari.

yesterday was my mom's, uwan's birthday celeb and also Eidul adha. u must guess what i ate...

pagi (masa org solat sunat raya - kena tinggal sebab lambat siap..ade org dlm bilik mandi laaa)
ketupat - kuah kacang +rendang
ketupat - sup tulang
lemang taruh pengat durian
lemang - rendang
(ni sume rasa2 ok..tp konon nak rasa sume combination..kalo bole nak mkn ketupat-pengat durian skalik mwahah)
teh tarik

mid morning (join org baru balik solat raya makan)
nasi eropah, stew daging, ayam panggang

tengahari - lunch
ketupat - kuah kacang
ape tah

petang
swiss roll
kek bday uwan SR choc indulgence - 1 slice
kek bday mak SR Yogurt cheese - 2 slice
teh tarik (again)

malam (konon kenyang tp uwan ajak teman makan)
nasi eropah + daging (yg dah terkorban) msk cili api

alhamdulillah ..brp

I’m lucky I’m in love with my best friend

2008-11-21T10:44:00.004+08:00

Do you hear me,I’m talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky, oh my, baby I’m trying

Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

I’m lucky I’m in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again

They don’t know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I’ll wait for you I promise you, I will

I’m lucky I’m in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again

Lucky we’re in love every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I’m sailing through the sea
To an island where we’ll meet
You’ll hear the music fill the air
I’ll put a flower in your hair

Though the breezes through trees
Move so pretty you’re all I see
As the world keeps spinning round
You hold me right here right now

I’m lucky I’m in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again

I’m lucky we’re in love every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

-----
call me ketinggalan cos i think this song by Jason Mraz and Colbie Callait has been playing for a while now...but, i just cant stop listening to it over and over and over again.....sorry office mates!!!

it's over, and i'm in year end holiday mood

2008-11-18T09:00:00.003+08:00

my month-long extravaganzza has ended with flying colors, alhamdulillah.

i have had sleepless nights worrying and preparing for this regional training. the suffering paid off and was worth it when the 40-odd participants gave me a standing ovation. and i got little souvenirs and tid bits from different parts of the region! a cute keychain from mongolia, an elephant pewter frame from laos, a peacock painting from myanmar, gem stones from myanmar, dried mango and 'kacang tumbuk' from philippines, love letters from thailand, and yummy chocolates from geneva.

my bigger boss in geneva came down to KL and i met him for the first time. i have always been communicating with him through phone conferences, and i always fell sleep through his mumbling and think-aloud thots. sometimes i even go back quietly while he was still speaking on the speaker phone - with my AP boss. hehehe..sometimes he sounded like he's mad at me or something?..when i finally met him in person, i found that he is actually a kind and nice guy *i have to add that just in case he googled my blog* and its just his nature that he sounds like he's frowning all the time..

oh and some big news...i'm BROKE.

when i look back at my spending which leads to my 'broke' situation..it was 100% vanity motivated. see what i mean

The OverRated Venice in February : Finale

2008-11-04T11:43:00.005+08:00

I dread talking about Venice. U know how much i dreaded Venice in the end? i bought my airport shuttle ticket 2 days before i suppose to leave, and kiss the precious and keep it safely in my pocket..thats how.

on the last foggy day in Venice, i did my usual lets-board-the-vaporetto and see where it goes. its nice, just like a ferry ride to tioman plus the KL haze of course. very dangerous sometimes because we cant see other vaporettos nearing, and the vaporetto supir will honk honk and swear the italian way. but if u go, do check out the 'bus conductors' whose job is to tie the rope and release it when it harbor at every station.eyecandies.

i was packing my stuff happily when i saw a japanese girl and jorge (see part 1) in the computer room. think that man needs some lesson. i was staying with 3 canadian college girls who were very loud. they did all sorts of sorority stuff in the room including cutting each other's hair, manicuring, hair blow etc. think they thought i was mute (bisu) cos when i finally talk they were so attentive and ask me so many questions. i told them to beware of Jorge and lock the room at all times. after that i heard they were planning to trick jorge into something. i leave it all to them. my job is done.

i cant wait to get on the plane and head to the magical city of PARIS, my next pit stop of the race around the world..hehe..

the fog was getting from bad to worse when i board the shuttle bus to the airport. misery. i was thrilled to leave, i even wrapped my backpack at the airport-normally i so malas to wrap my luggage but listening to horror stories about malaysian girls travelling alone being trapped into carrying drugs, i wont risk my own.

after checking in (i took ryanAir btw), i delved myself into the book i borrowed from ijad. then the boarding time. all of passengers went inside the boarding room, and waited. one hour has passed since our original flight time, but there were no announcement.

2-hours passed. everyone is getting restless. i have even finished reading the book. cover to cover. they announced that the plane had some difficulties to land cos of the bad fog condition.it was 8pm, and its already dark. i thought i could have already arrived in Paris by now.

after the 3rd hour, the airport announced that all flights are canceled and they ask us to pick our luggage up. i was dumb struck for a while and thinking they must be joking. there must be a replacement flight in say, 2 hours?..*i got back my nicely wrapped bag thinking of meeting it again in Paris, duh*

no it doesnt work that way missy. 'canceled means CANCEL. you have to go back to your home in venice, cos u not gonna get out from here tonite'. i got no HOME in VENICE demmit..my mind felt so empty, and i dunno whattodo..it seems like there are no public transport operating in this kind of weather. but if it does, where do i go?..i just missed my flight..no my flight just got canceled. not potsponed, canceled. pocket burned again. it costs me 22euros btw.

at one time, i was sitting at a corner and cried. i'm trapped in a foreign place which i hate and LONELY. i'm so desperate now. and i felt i need a shoulder, and i dialled ijad in copenhagen using my maxis. she did not pick up. she must be sleeping already..i texted her, and she called me back. God knows how relieved i was when i hear her voice, and she was online trying to book me a train to Rome the next day, so i could catch a flight to Paris. (i must get to paris, cos i have another ticket going to copenhagen in 2 days).

but the train was not a great option cos it will take me 13 hours to reach Rome and then getting to paris, i might risk missing another flight. and not enjoying Paris will be a big No-No..i mean going to europe is all about Paris, no?

The passengers who are stranded were busy looking for other options. some of them even go back to central venice. i dont think that would be an option for me. i must think of something...i need internet!

so i dragged my rock-heavy bag (which is still in the wrapping) to the second floor and suddenly i saw a small shop with a couple of PCs..good lord an internet cafe at 10pm. an african guy who is operating the PC station was swamped with desperate people who wants to use his PCs. i went up to him and make a pity face (muka kesian), and he actually give way for me to use 1st before a white couple. thanks dude, i owe u!!

i quickly search for flights..there are only a couple of seats left for Venice-Paris on EasyJet at 1pm the next day (costs 200euros!!!!). to avoid going through the same ordeal like tonite i went onto the weather forecast 1st before confirming the ticket. if its 100% foggy the next day, i dont wanna risk buying this, cos flights would never take off by any chance. i might need to opt for the train to Rome. but it says half sunny half foggy..wow thats a 50-50 chance..i decided to buy quickly cos i know its selling fast looking at how desperate everyone is rite now. i searched for my credit card and charged it.Done.

half of the misery gone. but there are a couple of issues left. how do i go to another airport from this airport (cos easyjet flights land in another airport which is far away from this airport). And where i'm gonna sleep tonight?

i drag my bag again downstairs and enquire at the counter on how to get to the other airport (maestre). the first bus only comes at 7am, public bus i mean. so i could take the bus and then take train from st .lucia and then bus again. whoaaa..thats a handful to remember. it is far..about 2 hour journey.

that means i'll be trapped here until 7am tomorrow!!!..many passengers have lied down on the floor to sleep. i guess i might as well join them. let us taste the sweetness of sleeping in the airport. i felt so terrible and dirty cos i didnt get my hot shower today. i just lied down feeling sick without taking off my boots. i got a sleeping spot near the glass window. The discomfort and cold made me so sick that night. i cant stop caughing, and sneezing, which irritates some of my sleeping mates.

i woke up at 5 and rushed to the toilet to wash my face and wudhu'. after performing subuh in one corner i decided to leave the terminal. oh i did not brush my teeth cos i dun have a toothbrush..it is all wrapped in my bag, plus i dont care cos i cant wait. the mmorning was still foggy. i crossed the road in front of the terminal and waited at the bus stop. the bus was full with school students and working people, so interesting to see their everyday life in a public bus.

i stopped at a train station and bought a ticket. the man at the counter was so friendly making me warmed up a bit that morning. he said good things about Malaysia that is, after knowing where i come from. then i took the train and stop at a small town to take a shuttle bus to maestre. i didnt know how i did it cos it was complicated. but when i arrived in maestre i felt such pure joy.

my body starts feeling weak by hour. think i caught a vicious cold from last night. i had to wait for 2 hours before checking in. i saw some pessengers who were stranded with me last night also getting on the same flight.

the flight was delayed for one-hour and i had cold feet that whole time. it was the bad weather again, but when it did take off i was really happy, feels like kissing the passenger next to me (huh?)

and off i go to paris...

p/s : no photos taken cos it was such a sucky day

and thats the end of my venice trip. going there again? no thank you

google republic

2008-11-03T12:15:00.004+08:00

everybody googles nowadays. U can't say you dont know anything when everything is within google-reach. i believe that is true sometimes. the baby boomer generation would never understand why google is such a craze among the Generation X.

my mak has tonnes of recipe books she kept from her university days. she even subscribed to recipe magazines, where they snail mail new recipes to her door every week (that was back in the 70's in the UK). so she has all types of pastry recipes,dishes, lauk pauk, traditional kueh (she starts collecting malay recipe after coming back to Malaysia). the database is in her head btw. so the searching mode was flippin through every single document. so classic.

now, if i want to cook nasi lemak, i just google 'resipi nasi lemak' and i get all sorts..even when we bake kuih raya, the recipes were derived from google search, and we select the best based on the feedback written at the bottom of the recipe (sometimes they even put rating and stars)

that was useful BUT sometimes we could put Google to a better use

Just now i googled "designer dress kahwin for less" -hoping for some designers would want to lelong some of their 'baju bersanding' or giving them away for free??. who knows kan.. yeah i know pathethic..but hope is never a crime huh hehe

and have you ever google yourself? not to see how well known are you in the cyber space. just in case people google your name and found some raunchy photos of you in some party somewhere..hehe..you better be careful. hey, 1st google-impression is also important nowadays, no?

for girls, it is beneficial to google your date's/potential guy's background to see what is his google-impression like. a close friend of mine tried googling a potential date and what she got was his wedding photos that is 3 months old!!, some other friend even found the guy's thesis title from his university days (whats that for, i donno..emm to start a conversation maybe..'so what did you do for your thesis in uni, electromagnetic in water?' hahaha)

a friend of mine blogged about her interview experience in a company (she was bitching about the MD's hair, office dorks etc.) When finally she got the job, on her first day at work, everyone in the office gave her a warm but strange welcome. She found people are whispering amongst them and laugh behind her. Eventually she came to know that everybody in the office have read her blog, because apparently the MD googled her, and showed the blog posting to everyone!!!!!*gasp*

oh- dont get me started with google-earth, the sayings 'tengok bumbung pun jadilah'
has now has a different meaning kan?

*So Let's Google Away*

p/s : i bet now you want to google yourself already ..

cerita rojak

2008-10-29T14:50:00.004+08:00

last weekend pergi last kopek raya open houses, suami isteri ini, mak buyung ini dan ramai lagi ...nasib baik lah perut saya ber elastisiti tinggi

oh skrg di opis orang memanggil saya dengan gelaran 'miss haphazardly'..menandakan saya merupakan pemandu berbahaya dan mempunyai tabiat memarkir kereta dengan sengaja menghalang lalulintas. sebenarnya ramai rakan sepejabat yang terkejut dengan perkataan- perkataan yang digunakan oleh penghantar email itu. baru saya ketahui bahawa dia adalah seorang yang 'english challenged' - bermasalah dalam penggunaan bahasa inggeris. maka berdamailah kiranya.

oh pelik sungguh yang lagi seorang ini. sudah 3 minggu tidak menegur sapa saya di ofis. sebelum ini mahu saja dibawa saya ke mana sahaja. makan tengahari lah, beli aiskrim di 7-eleven lah, minum kopi lah. skrg kalau nampak saya *cricket* *cricket* - bunyi cengkerik. baru tadi saya dapat tahu dia marahkan saya kerana tidak pernah menulis di atas 'facebook wall' nya. okkkaaayyyyyy..am i in high school here? hahahahaha

presentation dekat sing*pore hari selasa lepas tu sebenarnya presentation untuk sukarelawan doktor dan jururawat nusantara (regional) tentang apa yang mereka perlu faham mengenai undang- undang di dalam bencana. apakah perkara- perkara yang berkaitan dengan undang- undang yang mereka patut sedar dan faham ketika berada di negara lain ketika memberikan bantuan. memang waktu penyampaian itu peserta baru sahaja selesai makan tengahari maka ramai lah yang ~~terangguk2 tanda faham~~ tersengguk2. setibanya saya di pertengahan sesi, seorang peserta dari Nepal berdiri dan menawarkan diri untuk mengajarkan kami semua Chicken DANCE -bagi mengelakkan mereka yang mengantuk terus terlena (aihh boring sangat ke)

tetapi saya mendapat 3 pujian tulus daripada peserta mengatakan presentation saya sangat bagus..*huhuh*
dan lebih menyeronokkan lagi apabila 2 orang bertanyakan umur saya
" you must not be more than 23 years old"... katanyaaa. kembang bontot ni..
atau mungkin presentation tadi nampak benar amatur nya..oh bukan pujian kah?? hahaha

adapun saya pada malam itu berjalan2 seorang diri cari makan ~~(dan pakaian baru)~~ di sekitar Geylang dan Orchard Road.

sekian..

what's wrong with me today

2008-10-24T08:37:00.002+08:00

yesterday was one of the freak days where i bring my car to work. i parked at one of the spaces which is allocated to my office. at 3pm i saw an email addressed to #AP-KL Everyone@IFRCS

Subject : Perodua Kancil -BGAxxx - parked at Basement B 1

Dear all,
I noticed that the above car parked at Basement B 1 which has been
parking at the parking lot no. 15 found to be parking haphazardly.
If any of you who do know of this car owner, do let me know by today, 23 October 2008 before/by 3 pm and I will approach he / she accordingly (as this car owner might not know that the car is obstructing the traffic).
At the same time, I may approach the building management to consider clamping the particular car.

Thank you very much.

Best regards,
finance&admin dept

*dang* clamp???

i called the person who shot the email and she lectured me about how i should park inward instead of blocking another parking space which was empty. *they have stupid double parking box in this building* but its not like i'm obstructing traffic, my car is parked properly in the box!! and accusations using words like- 'haphazardly'- is too much.. ergh..

alright i'll move my car - but dont call the parking management and clamp HIM, oh fyi, i name my car with a strange male name, so he knows how to behave, and will treat me nicely and keep me safe at all times. *i know i'm weird'

so i bumped into a mat saleh colleague from logistics in the elevator and said

me : ' i have to move my car away' *smirks*
msaleh : 'aw, that was you. xx can be nasty sometimes huh'
me : *fake laugh*

then it was settled. i moved my car. case closed.

so this morning, i bumped into a lady colleague who offered to give me a ride to the office. so when she was parking the car..suddenly she brought up the yesterday story.

akak : 'u saw the email yesterday? how can those inconsiderate people park like that'
me : actually it was me akak hahahahahahha *my voice was so low she could barely hear*
akak : nasib baik the finance girl tu baik nak tanya thru email, kalau kasi kat akak la, keta mangkuk tu dah kena clamp, tow sume dah...tu masalah tak sekolah la tu bla bla bla
me : eheh eheh eheh, betul tu kak..kasi mampus sama dia *forget it*

then 2 hours later, i was talking to another colleague, a nice indian girl..i know she works in which department. she was talking about a person from another organisation.

girl : huuu that man is so garang, the last time i did his claims, he shouted at me and membebel membebel
me : yeah, u know finance people can sometimes be pain-in-the-neck
girl : i think i'm not a pain

*shit, i forgot she's in finance*

note : lenkali jaga mulut.......................

happy birthday to me

2008-10-20T17:55:00.004+08:00

i turn 29 today. i have to say the older i get the better life gets. can't complain much. alhamdulillah. and thanks for all the good wishes, and prayers (and the pretty surprise by delivery, thanx awk :-*)..may Allah keeps us all in His blessings and Imaan and reward us with good endings.

------------
i am still in the office at 6pm, doing my speech notes for tomorrow. this will be my breakthrough presentation for my job. even though i have heard my boss doing the same presentation over and over again, and i thought i have understand the issue good enough, i still am not confident with the one i'm giving tomorrow.

i am doing a presentation on legal issues and i have zero legal background *nada* i feel like talking about something i dont totally understand. u know how it is when u try to look as if you are the expert but in actual fact you dont know a single thing.

at first i rehearsed the slides with my boss, and feel like it is so fakey and superficial. my boss then said dont you try to copy someone else. use your own style and approach. my boss said that i am at an advantage position cos the audience will be people from around Asia, they connect with me. whereas if she gives the presentation, it would look as if this white woman trying to teach them something they already know!!

right then i realised i should just be myself. say whatever i know, tell them my real life experience, get them to ~~like me~~ connect with me and laugh unshamefully if i make mistake. so i do up this little games of true and false, brainstorm exercise..more to a sharing session rather than i-give-u-lecture session. hope it will work out.

if everything goes well, i would reward myself to a shopping trip in Orchard Road (i would still do it even if it fails haha..)

later people

The OverRated Venice in February - Part 2

2008-10-15T00:40:00.000+08:00

it was unfortunate that the vibe was wrong since the very beginning i arrived in Venice..
since i travel alone, i had to find ways to make my stay a memorable one..create the excitement, fun, make friends, eat good food, shop!!

things are very expensive here in Venice. it is not a city where you could just opt for McDonalds, dinner @ kebab joint, breadsticks. it only has classy retro cafes..and alot of chinese owned restaurants..weird

after that jorge situation, i decided to spend most of the day-time outside and only come back very late to avoid that strange guy..

i had a set of to-do list, to-see list and to-eat list especially for Italy and specifically Venice..very important to go back and see all the checklist are striked 'done'..

the whole time was foggy, cloudy and gloomy when i stayed in venice. the mood was really down but see what i achieved in 3 days

Gondola Ride & Venice Tour

i had hard time searching for the best way to get a ride. normally the gondola driver (who are dressed to kill in stripes, cowboy hat, boots and handkerchief) will woo you to pick their boats. but it cost 40-60euros. normally a group of 4-6 ppl will share one gondola. i was not feeling so friendly so i just watched. so i thought why not check out the tourism center and see what i can get. they have this tour packages which i signed on called 'Gondola and Chocolates'....it cost me 40euros *yikes*

so i dont have to be friendly, just follow the tour group wherever they bring me. the guide was a nice lady who has been doing this for 3 years. later i was joined by another couple from the UK. so its a group of 3 ppl only. perfect..first, the guide brought us along the streets of venice and told us the history of venice..good thing that i do this cos at least i got the chance to know venice (if not loving it)..they have all sorts of supertitions which is extremely ridiculous.

but the funniest was when we arrived at a statue (there were so many statues around, normally some warriors on horses). Statues were built as a symbol of appreciation of the person's good deed to the society. that statue that i mentioned was self funded by the owner. he requested the society to build one for him to remind him because he has 3 testicles!! ..hahahahah..i wonder what good deed would that be

but anyways, to respect other ppl historical culture, i did not laugh at all*slow chuckle*

..and move along. we stopped by at a cafe to drink hot chocolate and have some biscotti..wahhh i love this part..i chatted a bit with the brit couple, and found out they were from liverpool. so mcm jumpe org kampung la konon2..her name is Kim and the husband named Ken ..ken said he was impressed with my engrish, and keep on repeating that i speak very good english (i talk very malay style , just maybe he never met asian speaking english..kampung juga depa ni)

then the ultimate gondola ride. yup Haja was right..it did smelt like longkang..i just enjoyed the scenery during the sunset*while texting my bf at home*, and the off-tune singing by the driver, and became the un-official photographer for Kim and Ken.

Vivaldi Le Opera

since i'm already here, i just want to check out what the musical is all about. i mean the great musician, Antonio Vivaldi was born here in Venice so i'd better just spend some money and check it out. since its winter, they have little concerts and musical shows indoor almost everywhere in Venice. i was spoilt for choices, and contemplating between Vivaldi's Four Seasons (Le Quatro Staggioni), Baroque, and Le Opera...at last i chose to watch Vivaldi Le Opera, that is happening at 8pm that night. i was so kiasu and got a front seat.

i was in awe the whole show..my god.. it was hair raising, enchanting, romantic and entertaining all at once..even tho i did not understand a word of it..i managed to sneak out some video the malaysian cinema-pirates way (dats why the front seat *ehem*) - both the soprano singer and the tenorist are super hawt!!

Sight Seeing and Getting Lost in Venice

before coming here, i read somewhere that 'getting lost in venice is fun'.
so i tried getting lost in their estranged maze-like street, and think that statement is true. the must-see-venice are all located in one place, Piazza San Marco.

but i must say being a muslim in venice, i felt lost and distant. everything is built on christianity faith and way of life. i long for my own..Makkah..inshaAllah, soon..very soon.

Italian Food *Must-Eat*

when it comes to pizza, trust me, we all had the real deal. nothing special about pizzas in italy. but the margherita pizza with hot chocolate in Ferrovia St Lucia Train Station was superb. i had them twice hahah..and some spaghetti, daily dosages of latte (@chinese cafe beside the hostel), and GELATO. No it does not contain gelatine, it is a delectable traditional italian ice cream which is simply divine....i had 'em so many times.

~~Window~~ Shopping
i wanted italian leather..but it is too expensive. i went in and out Furla, LV, Guess, Gucci..all are exhorbitantly pricey. just for the sake of having it, i bought a 15euro leather stripe handbag (i've checked..no 'Made in China' tag)..thats it..oh i regret for not buying the CIAO BELLA t-shirt. 'ciao' in italian means both hello and goodbye, whereas bella means beautiful..hehehe

the last part of venice will be something that i would remember for the rest of my life...stay tuned!!

crappiest : Datuk Shah Rukh Khan

2008-10-13T14:14:00.000+08:00

kenapa le kecoh2 nihh..kan handsome itu Shah Rukh Khan *nalla reke*

Kita sepatutnya berbangga dengan keterbukaan pihak kerajaan Negeri Melaka dan khususnya pihak Tuan Yang diPertua. Ini bukan sahaja akan mengangkat darjat anugerah pingat kebesaran itu sendiri tetapi juga, lebih penting lagi, meletakkan ia sebaris dengan anugerah "Knighthood" di Britain.

Dalam konteks tempatan, sumbangan SRK sememangnya layak diberi penghormatan. Bayangkanlah apa lagi yang isteri2 pembesar2 negeri dan negara nak buat kalau tak ada filem SRK. I mean, suami2 sibuk dengan urusan mentadbir dan mengkayakan ~~diri sendiri~~ negara, sibuk dengan urusan biasiswa untuk mereka yang tidak layak, sibuk dengan ~~meletupkan dead people~~ pencalonan bahagian. I mean, who are they going to hug and kiss huh? Untunglah ada SRK. memang patut diberikan datuk. *mwah*

me: simply moronic - morons giving out to morons. whatelse can we expect from them pea brain-thugs

*aishah..deal with it already*

the first pmr..

2008-10-13T09:13:00.000+08:00

PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah) starts today

talking about first times..

this is the first time where two of my siblings will be sitting for PMR (Siddiq and Soffiyyah)

i was in the first batch of students who took PMR after SRP was abolished (takde kaitan)

~~i was the first in family who took PMR and i got 9As~~ (takde kaitan jugak)

but ..just to make it more interesting

this is the first time a national exam candidate in the family is sitting for it in a hospital!!

siddiq was admitted to HTAR yesterday after he was diagnosed with dengue (blood platlet count dropped to 85). hope he is well taken care of by the doctors and nurses and could sit for the papers properly.

and hope sofiyyah could stay focused cos she was bit disturbed when she came to know about siddiq's condition.

hope u guys do well in the exams, all our prayers and love for both of you...

shafakallah siddiq

ma'an Najah

The OverRated Venice in February

2008-10-09T10:09:00.000+08:00

reading the news headlines today : i am wondering how it is like to be remembered as the ~~incompetent~~ outgoing Prime Minister? hmmm..

anyway, hari ini terbuka hati untuk berblog psl La Venicia, Italia..continuing my previous posts pasal europe. boleh kan..

remember my berlin stay was superb. so i was verry nervous to go to Venice. dont want to be let down or anything. i got mixed reviews abt venice from diff frens. haja said the venice Grand Canal smells like longkang (drainage), but ijad said hey thats the place u should go in italy..

so i took EasyJet flight (which i believe AirAsia imitates) from Berlin to Venice. Very cheap flight it just cost me 20 euro after tax. I bought the ticket during promotion of seats for 1euro (see i told u AirAsia is a copycat)

The journey was short 2 hours and 20 minutes, but i got a great view of the snow on the alps!!!

i arrived Marco Polo airport (aeroporto) quite late. and i waited for the airport shuttle. paid 8 euros and climbed the bus. wow it is italy, i said to myself, and people look different with dark hair, dark eyes, and the italian men!!! i cant wait for pizza, lasagne, gelato, the leather and so on.

the ATVO shuttle bus dropped us off at Piazzale Roma, a bus station like our Pudu Raya but the difference is it is situated just beside the GRAND CANAL!!!!! when i arrived there i jumped and run to one of the thousand bridges and snap photos of GONDOLAs!! i can't believe those are real!!!! huhuh..but i have to move fast and proceed to the great search of my hostel which will be a challenge, cos the sun will set soon.

my hostel (according to HostelWorld where I reserve it) is called B&B Rota. The description says it is near Rialto Bridge and just walking distance from San Marco Piazza where most of things are located (including the shops!!)...

so i hopped on a boat taxi called Vaporetto. (In Venice, they dont have the normal taxi, all are water taxi). I stopped at a huge bridge that is Rialto Bridge and cross to the other side. It was close to dark. I could see many restaurants on water with posh candle lights on each sides of the canal. I walk down the road - it looks alot like Petaling Street - and follow the instruction until the end and i could see the road became narrow and narrow...

I finally found the address and what i saw was creepy. the place looks almost a century old. i ring the bell and the housekeeper was expecting my arrival. when i open the door, it was dark and i climbed the creepy staircase. a bald italian guy welcomed me, and check me in. His name is Jorge (pronounce HORHè) he was a little bit chatty but i just ignore him cos i was so tired and needed rest.

i went into the room and saw a blonde girl with short hair, who looked very sick. Jorge followed me in and gave the girl a mug of hot drink, and ask her to rest. i got a single bed just beside the electric heater. i was thinking 'perfect' cos this place is freaking freezing!!! the room was a miserable basic 4-bed with very dim light, uncarpeted tiles, just one big closet for everyone to share and the window faces a very noîsy bar. this wil make me home sick or at least missing ijad's pplace in copenhagen.

i put my backpack and marked my territory (bed)..and put my valuable stuff in a smaller sling bag, and shoot out..i ws planning to find dinner and sightseeing a bit. it was totally dark at 6.30pm. i traced my way back to Rialto Bridge where the lively happenings are, and chose a restaurant beside the Grand Canal. they have very romantic set up with the candle lights and soft music.

at first i was so thrilled, u know seeing gondolas passing by with music. then i was given the menu, and i was shocked to death. nothing is below 20 euros. i am already seated okayyy. the waiters looks south asian, just enough to spoil my italian mood..so i just ordered some spinach raviolli and perriere (plain water)...the food came and it was just 5 pieces of raviolli pasta stuffed with spinach and it cost over RM100..damn my pocket burned..

whatever,
i just eat..org kata dah terlanjur..then i realised people around me are all couples. young couple, old couple, asian, white, negro..ok i felt displaced for a while..and that romantic night is no fun anymore.

i left the restaurant and walk around Rialto to find some maps, but it was expensive (3 euros). i believe i could get free maps so forget it. i went back to the dreadful hostel.

they have this common bathroom for guests so i had to wait for a while before my turn came. Jorge came and i kill time by persuading him to get me some Venice maps..he asked me if i'm tired..then he ask me if i want to check my mails, he has a PC with some internet connection. i said great i'll do that later..then i got a map from him(finally)..

after finish using the bathroom i went outside again to use the PC as promised, and then Jorge joined me and asked me out!!!, whadda..he wanted to take me out and drink some wine and get on a gondola cruise at 9pm and freezing cold!!! whaddaaaaa..my mind went like red alarm 'SECURITY ALERT'..he was persistent asking why i dont drink, why i dont go out bla blabla..at last i said i'm tired and needed my beauty sleep..

i wrote the incident to Puteri and ran into my room, and locked the door. and i went straight to bed, but of course i couldnt sleep..first because i was scared of the italian guy, and second it was very cold..the heater system apparently did not work, the third, - the noisy bar outside..waa i feel like crying, secretly hoping tomorrow wd be a better day. i read all sorts of surah and maa'thurat sughra until i fell asleep.....

post raya trauma disorder

2008-10-06T14:26:00.000+08:00

i am defrosting my brain.. it's 132 emails and counting..

i had memory loss over the week......

arghh..back to work again.

----

my raya was a blast, hows yours?

enough said ..let us feast..

SELAMAT HARI RAYA!!!!!!!!!!

living on a public transport

2008-09-23T15:40:00.000+08:00

sebagai rakyat golongan pekerja peringkat bawahan, saya juga terkesan dengan harga minyak yang melambung tinggi 4 bulan yang lalu. Maka saya berasa amat berat sekali apabila ditawarkan pekerjaan di tengah kotaraya Kuala Lumpur. walau bagaimanapun demi memujuk diri yang merasa tertekan di tempat kerja yang lama (yang cuma 4 saat perjalanan kereta dari rumah), saya gagahkan jua semangat saya untuk ke KL setiap hari demi untuk menimba pengalaman dan keseronokan baru.

maka begini lah kehidupan saya setiap hari di atas LRT dan KTM Komuter (and not forgetting the crazy-but-will-get-u-there Metro Bus)

-merasa amat 'intim' dengan rakyat Malaysia

pengalaman terkepit pintu tren, kasut dipijak orang, tren jadi gila (seperti yang berlaku 2 bulan lalu sehinggakan PakLah campurtangan dengan mencuba menaiki tren, dan hingga skrg tiada apa perubahan- tidor kaaa *dingdong*), hidung tersalah posisi pada bukaan lengan yang menghala ke ketiak penumpang yang sudah lelah bekerja, penumpang yang tidak bertimbangrasa melepas angin dan macam- macam lagi..

ada beberapa tips yang saya ingin kongsi bersama orang yang baru berjinak- jinak mengharungi kehidupan seperti saya, atau mungkin juga boleh kongsikan pengalaman anda bersama :

TIPS menaiki pengangkutan awam di Malaysia :

1. Sepatu yang selesa - sebelum ini saya memakai kasut tumit tinggi yang bergaya dan 'haute couture' yang menampilkan trend dan gaya masakini. apa saja namakan peep toe, stilettos, boots?? *tiga saja pun yang saya ada*. tetapi pendekata jika berdiri selama sejam setengah memang tercabar ibu jari kaki nak menampung berat badan saya yang ala-ala maria tunku sabri ni. dan kerana masalah saya yang cemerkap (penah dengar tak perkataan ini), saya sering di'tell off' oleh penumpang lain kerana terpijak kasut mereka yang haute couture juga itu. maka saya cadangkan belilah 'Scholl Loafers' untuk kemaslahatan kaki, kuku-kuku jari kaki dan tumit anda dan orang-orang di sekeliling anda. *tp pakai loafers ni sama baju kurung tak cantik la*

2. cara menaiki tren yang padat- tips ni saya perolehi hasil diskusi bersama adik perempuan saya, kaklang yang juga satu ketika dahulu menjalani hidup seperti saya sekarang. katakanlah anda beratur menunggu giliran untuk menaiki lrt/komuter dan anda berada di belakang sekali. dan 5 orang di hadapan anda sudah berhenti dari menaiki tren kerana ia sudah terlalu padat. jadi tunggu apa lagi, anda lihat ke pintu tren, jika masih ternampak 5cmx5cm lantai tren maknanya anda masih boleh sumbat diri anda ke dalam. lurukan diri anda ke penumpang di hadapan yang sedang pasrah, senyum kepadanya dan loloskan diri anda ke dalam tren. anda dibenarkan menolak sedikit ke hadapan walaupun menerima tohmahan dari penumpang yang lain. apabila pintu tren ditutup, keadaan akan jadi lebih selesa. oh sebelum tren bergerak jangan lupa melambai ke arah orang yang berada di hadapan barisan td (yg pasrah itu)....*keji*

3. pakai la deodoran *enuff said*

4. Cara untuk mendapatkan 'spot' di depan pintu tren komuter - ini adalah sangat penting kerana jika anda berada di hadapan pun, peluang untuk menaiki tren berkurang jika kebetulan pintu tren berhenti di tempat lain. masyarakat yang menaiki komuter ini lazimnya lebih ganas dan tidak bersopan santun berbanding LRT, ialah tren nya hanya datang setiap 15 minit, manakan tidaknya (paklah taktau ka...tidor lagi). maka cara ini memerlukan bahan-bahan mentah seperti kapur atau lebih bagus lagi marker selama-lamanya (permanent). anda melihat komuter yang tidak dapat anda naiki (dek kerana terlalu padat)..dan kaji keadaan pintunya. bila tren berlalu pergi calitkan kawasan platform itu dengan kapur (ala- ala marjinah ali baba bujang lapok), atau dengan marker tadi. tren seterusnya yang datang pasti peluang anda cerah. *ko percaya ke aku buat ni*

5. Letakkan ring tone anda pada volume MAX, dan pastikan menggunakan ringtone yang standard saja. Tak perlulah menggunakan suara kanak-kanak menyanyikan 'beautiful girl' atau 'u have a bad day' seperti yang diiklankan di kaca TV swasta tempatan. Kita tidak tahu mungkin ada di kalangan penumpang lain yang akan have a bad day apabila terdengar ring tone murahan seperti itu, dan mungkin akan pulang ke rumah dan memukul isteri mereka *ops over plak*

6. Haha ini khusus untuk yang mendengar walkman, henpon MP3 ketika dalam train. pertama pastikan wayar headphone tidak terlilit kepada tiang tren *seperti yang terjadi kepada saya, hampir saja terlepas stop*, kedua - matikan MP3 player sebelum menjawab henpon kerana anda akan menjawab dengan volume yang max juga saperti MP3 player anda. ketiga - GUNALAH HEADPHONE kerana terdapat kaum kerabat yang gemar menghiburkan orang lain dengan memasang speaker phone memainkan lagu- lagu kegemaran mereka seperti lagu SER SER SER - Ifa Raziah, Dangdut Leleh - Inul Daratista, Aku terjatuh cinta selama- lamanya - Achik Spin, Kau yang kupuja sehingga akhir hayat - Farahdiba. Tips untuk penumpang lain, dapatkan MP3 player anda sendiri jika nak mengelak daripada terlibat dengan kejadian ngeri di atas.

sebenarnya ada banyak lagi tips yang saya nak kongsi ..mungkin pada edisi akan datang..sehinggu itu, salam sayang

Libra - main2 zodiak..jgn caya tp

2008-09-22T21:54:00.000+08:00

I found this on MSN - wah let's see..
*apsal org suka baca Dr Fadzilah Kamsah nye menda tu..aku taknah caya dia tatau nape..anyways bwh ni just for fun for the librans like me... PUTs, my sis poyah and my bro imran

-----

Balance is the keyword for this sign, and when it comes to keeping everything on an even keel, a Libra will lead the pack. Peace loving and judicial, this sign abhors being alone. Partnerships are very important for the Libra, especially those on a personal level. With their winning personalities and cooperative style, they aren't apt to be alone for long!

Friends and Family

Fun loving and willing to help out, the Libra makes an excellent friend. Even though they can be late (hard to get up in the morning) and indecisive, once they're on the scene, they're ready to go (kelam kabut). This flexible sign loves to spend time with friends and family and doesn't hesitate to initiate gatherings (TRUE). Sociable and suave, Librans naturally draw people to them (ehehe). They have a way of creating a compelling aura of harmony around them. When it comes to challenges, this balancing sign can see both perspectives in a disagreement, making them excellent problem-solvers. Companionable, they're apt to keep their friends and family busy.

Career and Money

Harmony is the keyword for this sign. For the Libra, maintaining this is of the utmost importance. They can be excellent leaders and will work hard to earn and deserve the privilege. Truth and justice always prevail for Librans as they go about their days. Working with others or in a partnership is ideal for this social sign. Artistic and persuasive, these folks are gifted talkers who do well in any position that provides a platform for them to chat.

Careers that involve justice such as police officer, lawyer (ahah i'm working with laws stuff now...), or judge are excellent choices for Libra. They will also succeed at such occupations as diplomat, civil servant, interior decorator, composer, and fashion designer. Group settings pose no challenge for Librans - in fact, the more the merrier. Their strong sense of diplomacy serves well in almost anything they do.

If you go shopping with a Libra, best to plan some extra time! This sign can be terribly indecisive when it comes to purchasing (mmg betul). Balancing their money, however, is a snap for Libra. Keeping a good balance between savings and spending money is a real talent for these folks (but i dont buy anything also i broke every end f the mon th!). Their love of fashion and housewares can see them out and about in stores quite often (isk out and about and ended up empty handed cos of indecisiveness)). One of Libra's favorite pastimes is to shop for someone special.(ngee)

Love and Sex (hah ni bes)

Finding the right partner will be a priority in the Libra's life.(done :P) For those already in a relationship, maintaining the peace and harmony takes center stage. A Libra alone is a sad thing indeed, not to mention unnatural (mmg pon). They need to connect with others. As lovers they are expressive, creative, and balanced(ape tu balanced). They love to make their partners feel completely and thoroughly satisfied from conversation to lovemaking (hmmm..the latter has not been tested yet..hahahks). Librans' charm and dedication to striking the perfect balance with others makes them wonderful partners. (hopefully)

LIBRA TIDBITS

Health

Each sign has a part of the anatomy attached to it, making this the area of the body that is most sensitive to stimulation. The anatomical areas for Libra are the kidneys, lower back, adrenal glands, and appendix. (how do u stimulate kidneys and appendix???tell me tellme....hahahahhah)

Ruling Planet (hape nih)

The ruling planet for Libra is Venus. This planet's action is gentle and harmonious. It governs beauty, charm, emotional contacts, possessions, unions of all kinds, singing, art, culture, sweets and sugar, and moral character.

Color

The color of choice for Libra is blue. (i don like blue)

Gemstone

Libra's star stone is the sapphire.

Lucky Numbers

Libra's lucky numbers are 1( i always being called the first at school cos my name starts with A), 2 (i always got no.2 kt sekolah..never no.1), and 7(err..).

Compatibility

Librans are most compatible with Aquarius and Gemini. (sape eh dorg nih)

Opposite Sign

The opposite sign for Libra is Aries. (my best fren is aries)????

The Perfect Gift

The best gifts for a Libra are music and items that create relaxation. (ingat tu ye awk, hohoho..tambah lg ..dan mknn2 yg bes, dan beg, dan baju dan perfume dan kasut)

Likes

Pleasant conversation, beauty, balance, fairness, romance (hahaha..isk )

Dislikes

Being treated unfairly, ugly places, rough people, making a final decision (anyone will dislike all these)

House (hapo nih)

Natural sign of the Seventh House. This house focuses on marriage, partnerships, public relations, open enemies, and other people.

Famous Librans

Will Smith, Gwen Stefani, Matt Damon, Eminem, Sting, Viggo Moretensen (they are cool and nice ppl..and one thing common they stick to their relationships!!! or obsessed abt their exes (eminem))

Best travel destinations

Tibet, Japan (checked, my fav), Burma, Austria, Johannesburg(nxt one), Copenhagen(checked), Vienna (ni bukan kt austria jugak ke bodo la)

Strengths

Social (a'a i'm a social butterfly), fair-minded, cooperative, diplomatic, gracious (lemah lembutsss sampai jadi klutz)

Weaknesses

Indecisive, will carry a grudge, avoids confrontations(THIS IS EXACTLY ME), self-pity (hoh..maybe)

Charismatic marks

Attractive, graceful, medium build (a'a pakai baju saiz M), no sharp features (yup no sharp, everything roundddd)

Best environment

Any place that is beautiful where the company is harmonious. Very social and happiest doing things in the company of another.

entry fast fwd

2008-09-09T23:09:00.000+08:00

got a new planner/diary (dah nak abes 2008 haha). as weird as i am, i filled the 2008 planner with events that happened the whole year. wah bz juga haku neh rupanya

after a long santai @ home, in April i got myself a new job in a state government (it was a NEW govt following the election)...had a fair share of challenges being inexperienced and all..

after 3 months, i found myself loathing it.

i was desperate for a new job.

oh oh i went to France (again) in June for a conference and this time i climbed The Eiffel!!!

i finally landed a nice job in an international agency doing something i love...even it involves bit more of globe trotting (which i start to dislike)

when my soul finally at peace, i am now happy to sign up on a new personal project which will be revealed early next year........

the magical berlin - part 2

2008-05-14T00:02:00.000+08:00

weather forecast is the most important thing to look at before you plan your travel, especially if its winter time. you would one good photos, therefore sufficient sunlight is trivial. if you have a short stay then it became much more important. cloudy days should be best spent indoors e.g museums, whereas sunny days would be best for canal rides, walk at the parks etc. the temperature stated should also indicates how would you want to dress, e.g less layers or more layers etc. normally the hostels will provide you with these infos.

berlin was raining on my day 2. i have decided to check out the free tours and spend another day going outskirt to visit a nazi memorial camp. since the free tour starts at noon (and i know the tour would cover most of the East Berlin), so i decided to check out West Berlin in the morning. oh before that i had mcEgg for breakfast.

took the train to Schlossgarten Charlottenburg, it looks like just a plain castle. it was so cold (cos of the rain), so i decided to roam around the West Berlin Metropolis in Zoologischer. lots of cool shops and cheap stuff. but think i wouldnt want to bring extra kg of luggage to venice and paris, so i stopped myself from going into the shops.

i took the train back to my hostel and thats when my day went wrong. i assumed my train ticket lasts 24 hours since the time i stamped it. but apparently all day-ticket expires at 3am in the morning. the officers never really check yr tickets, but i happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong assumption!!! i saw a digit 3 written on the ticket despite everything else were written in german. mind you i also read somewhere about the ticket expiry, but i took it lightly.

so the officer came in and checked everyone's tickets and stopped and look at me..oh noo..she speaks in german and signalled me to follow her. all eyes were on me, and we stopped at the next station. i had this cold shivers trying to find excuses... 'oh no i'm so dead'. maybe i should lie about not understanding german, or i could say i just arrived the day before, so i could be forgiven. when we step out the train, we were joined by 3 tall muscular guys writing on a machine as if they just caught a deadly criminal. i tried those excuses but they did not accept. they said 'if u dont understand u should have asked' etc etc. i was so scared i almost wanted to cry. i was just being fined 40 euros!!!, that is like a price of 3 nights at the hostel!!!!..i plead to pay using credit card so it wont affect my cash, but they answer fiercely 'excuse me missy we are not a credit machine'. so i succumb to my fear and paid cash.

i went back to the hostel with a heavy heart..i skip lunch and perform my two prayers!! .. u really need HIM when you are travelling alone like this. i joined a free walking tour, that eventually became a paid one cos they were unable to get enough participants for the free tour. so halfway we were combined with a tour group on 'Third Reich Tour'. It turned out to be quite interesting when they went into details of hitlers life, jewish quater and resistance movements as well as Nazi sights. it covers the everyday life for the jewish community under Nazi's rule.

among the places which i remembered were hitlers bunker, checkpoint charlie, reichstag, jewish girls school, brandenburg tor, the synagogue, tv tower and alexanderplatz, hackesher markt, potsdamer platz.

after the gruelling trip (cos its cold), i had dinner with 3 fellow tourists who also stay in the same hostel, an aussie girl, an argentinian guy and a brazilian guy. i had vege pasta and the brazilian treat us with nachos..the aussie (milly) is a journalist, and took a 5-month unpaid leave and bought an around the world ticket. The argentinian guy named santiago keep on asking why i did not want to order some alcohols, and why i dont eat meat. the funny part is he starts all his questions with 'sorry if i'm being bloody ignorant..'..the other guy named enrique (they have movie stars and soap drama names hah)..is studying and working part time in ireland and also travelling elsewhere after berlin.

so we decided to go on a tour to a nazi concentration camp the next day.

we went to oranienburg an hour off berlin in sachsenhausen concentration camp. it is one of the chilliest, cloudy day in berlin for me. the rain was drizling adding to the effects make it even creepier to see the remains of the torture chambers. There is a big field for role call, we were shown how the inmates were tortured ,executed, and incinerated. that took a whole day...and really spooky..thank god i went with a group, i wouldnt do it if i were alone.
that night i treat myself at a fast food joint (which has been promoted by lots of friends who have been here) called NordSea..it sells all kind of fish and it was cheap, and delectable...yumm.i had a grilled dory with mushroom gravy with lots of vege.

the next day was crazy..the theme was, lets that board the train and see where it goes. i decided to stop at one of the last stations of UBahn, and it was Potsdam!!..i did not know this city has a garden full of beautiful and historical castles. i thought i was in a dream, i walked and walked and did not realised my ticket of 2 hours had expired.

k thats berlin..i should have posted this 2 months ago..i just realised i kept em as draft..hikssss..my bad..will load the photos later...

the magical berlin - part 1

2008-05-09T00:02:00.000+08:00

i took a bus ride from copenhagen to berlin. It was 630km, 6 hour amazing journey across The Baltics. so it was bus+ferry ride. coolness!! everybody should try this. I bought a one-way ticket costs around RM150, which is way worth it....

the bus departed from copenhagen at 6.30 am and by 9 we have already board the ferry crossing to germany. i had a lonely breakfast, omellette with coffee cost 6euros and tried catching up on my reading (ijad was kind enough to lend me books from the library). nothing to see outside cos it seems that the wave was rough. when we arrive Rostock (port city of germany), it was 10.30am, and the ride continues.

arrived Berlin city at 2.00pm, and bought a 4-day ticket for U-Bahn, S-Train and buses. I followed the instruction given by man at the counter to find my hostel. I had to get to the 'Ring' and find Rosenthaler Platz U-Bahn station for my hostel.

The Ring is the famous U-Bahn train route (U means Underground and Bahn means train), where it forms a ring, so you will never get lost. If you are not sure just follow the Ring they say!!!..their transportation system never failed to amaze me.but i got into trouble with their system, i'll tell you later.

i reached the Circus Hostel at 3pm and checked in. I would say this is the best hostel i've ever stayed in europe. its even better than a 4-star hotel in Malaysia. i requested a 7-bed room, but got upgraded to an all-girls 4-bed room for the same price. Apparently there were a couple of japanese girls booked for an all-girls room and i would be staying with them that night!!!!..how fun. The price is 17 euro per night but it worth much more..ok enuff praises for the hostel.

i went up and freshen up, prayed my zuhr and asr, then i decided to go and scout for slippers/sandals: the one thing i forgot to bring , should be useful for shower. i just realised i didnt have one on the way. i asked the friendly counter staff about where i should go for slippers..she said since its sunday the shops are closed, so she suggested me to try and look at the 'HauptBahnHoff' that means Central Train Station. So i took a tram, but got lost, then i walked..i found myself at a deserted area and it was creepy. tried to trace the train line but failed. it was 4.30 and its gonna be dark anytime soon. I finally found the way to the HauptBahnHof after an hour and was relieved to bits..feel like kissing the floor mannn...

the hauptbahnhof was coooollll ok, it has all sorts of modern restaurants and shops unlike copenhagen. i got myself a 1.99euro sandal and 1euro for shower gel at the pharmacy/apotheque. I went to a fish shop for dinner. then i took the train back to the Circus..no more tramsss..tobat.

i had a nice shower and prayed. and decided to retire early that night and start fresh the next morning. But when i was about to fly to the dreamland, 2 japanese girls knocked the door, came in and we chatted a bit. they also just gotto know each other at the counter. They insisted to take me out for dinner, and we went down to the cafe and had nachos. I discovered both of them can't speak english that much and they only bring guides in japanese. They are really young, almost 22 years old, and travelling solo in europe on a budget. They apparently are students and did part time job to find money for their europe tour. wow!!..one of the girls even did not have any plans on where to go next. she went to liverpool to see 'The Beatle's' place, and berlin to see if there is anything interesting. the next morning the girl dissapeared...

but i got quite close to Fumiko the gutsy cutsie japanese girl cos she stayed as my roomie longer than i expected. She wakes up so early, and had all this Harajuku stuff before going out. She even put on eyeliner and mascara in the dark..'cos she said she scared to wake the roommates up'..how curteous!!..yeah lessons learnt..don't forget to be pretty even when u r travelling.

right, i spent 4 days in Berlin, and it was really cultured. i will tell u more in the next entry if i rajin ok..i need to document this for myself, if not for you..heheheh

Auf Wiedersehen!!

enjoy the photos lah..i so lazy nowadays

2008-05-08T23:31:00.000+08:00

europe trip : copenhagen part 2

2008-03-27T13:36:00.000+08:00

the first word i learn in denmark was SLUT SPURT ...(sounds bit funny huh) and UDSALG...means that something heavenly is going on in a shop. over there, Mega Sales (like we have 3 times a year in Malaysia), are real crazy. it was winter sales, the end bit.

i coped with my jet lag by exploring the shopping street called Stroget. think i also conquered all the malls in copenhagen and greater copenhagen. There's Field's (the biggest shopping mall in Scandinavia), Frederiksberg Centret, Fiskertorvet, Waterfront Shopping Mall, and the great Magasin. That's basically it. think we have more just along Bukit Bintang hehehe. Lyngby also is a nice shopping area.

i'm so amused with danish' language, and the way they speak. it sounds a bit arabic i must say. one thing is you can't pronounce a word the way they are spelt. for example, Kongens Nytorv is pronounced Kong niutorv, and stroget is pronounced as strot. when you think u already can converse, they still couldnt understand you. and not many people could speak english properly. so i just prefer to use the conventional way, sign language.
i got some cheap stuff from Zara, Monsoon and Topshop. i finally bought myself a good winter jacket (Monsoon) at RM170 after a 70% discount, and a good walking boots for RM100. That will be a good investment for my next destinations = cities in Sweden, Germany, Italy, France and Holland.
to guide me on where to go, and what to do, i signed up on Yahoo! travel planner. it is a very helpful website they even give you maps. in denmark, i gotto do a whole lot of stuff, since i stayed the longest over there.

1. Castle hopping
yeah, just like island hopping in our country. Europe has sooooo many castles. at one point i became so obsessed with castles. the place i like most was the hamlet castle in Helsingor which was immortalised by Shakespeare. it was built in the 16th century by some King i don't care to remember hehehhe.

2. Museum trips

there is a tip i would like to share with you, when it comes to museums in europe. u need to check whether they have a 'free admission' day. u could save 8-10 euros if you have this info, cos not all museums are good ya know. but also ensure that the museum is not closed on the day you plan to go. like what happened in Paris, i'll tell you more on that later. i visited 4 museums in copenhagen - the bymuseum (copenhagen city history), calsberg glyptotek which has massive sculptures and busts till i wish i have my own bust too , err..bust is the sculpture of the head to the chest down normally made for prominent figures as a tribute. then i went to the national museum and finally the kunst museum (arts museum where i learn what still life is). i had too much of museums till at one point i felt like throwing up..i'm so not cultured..

3. canal tour

one of the ways to see the best spots of european cities is by going on a canal tour. most of european major cities have canals, historically as their means of transportation for trading and businesses. canal tour during spring or summer would be less cold than of winter's. but they have specially heated and covered boat tours during winter. the guided tour starts from nyhavn (where Hans Christian Andersen lived), going through an area of posh apartments, Maersk empire, christiania, charlottensberg, the national library, the round tower, architecture centre and of course the little mermaid.

4. The little Mermaid

it is a must to visit the symbol of denmark, the little mermaid. it is a tribute to the famous fairy tale about a mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea for her love for Hans Christian Andersen. she is called Den Lille Havfrue in danish, and had suffered multiple vandalism attack. apparently Danes love to vandalise their national symbols. Neither Big ben in London, The Eiffel Tower in Paris , the Statue of Liberty in New York or Manneken-Pis in Bruxelles, can match the number of attacks the Mermaid has suffered.The Little Mermaid lost her head twice, one in the 60's and another in the 90's. She was also knocked down and drenched in paint several times. how funny. look at me posing with the miserable mermaid.

there is more on copenhagen in the next entry

europe trip : copenhagen part 1

2008-03-25T16:29:00.000+08:00

u know everytime i plan a vacation it always ended up canceled because of different reasons; travel buddy not ready (leave application not approved), or he/she did not have enough cash, or it's just me delaying and got lazy. searching for an appropriate travel buddy is another hassle. some of them might not have the same free time (to travel) or they might not have the same head (sekepala) with you when it comes to travelling. so i decided to go with me and myself. lots of people do it anyways...

how did this thing came about? i accidentally (yeah, i closed my eyes) bought a KLM E-ticket to copenhagen in October (for a trip in February) and charged my card online. from then on there was no turning back. I have to plan ~~to find enough money~~ to make this happen. i mean you dont go to europe and stay in one place only. u must get around and see places, castles, parks, canals, and snow!!!!

so it was a 15-hour journey to Copenhagen (stopover in Amsterdam). it was night and dark the whole journey. oh something funny happened during the flight, where i ordered Moslem food. From my experience being on a non-MAS flight, whenever i ordered Moslem meals, i know i will be served cos they will stick a tag on your seat and send your meal first before everybody else. so i was confident that i will get mine, even though it was long after everybody finished their meals and fell asleep. how stupid. i did not dare asking the stewardess because she was an old Dutch lady with a fierce look that you think she's able to eat you up. (unlike your typical Asian flights where they have cuter, younger looking flight attendants). so i ended up hungry the rest of the flight. i slept through (partly because my stomach was growling) till the Dutch couple beside me thought i passed out or something.

my 2-hour journey, Amsterdam - Copenhagen was better (cos they gave me breakfast - i decided to take whatever they gave and eat the ones that is Halal..hehe). i almost believe they never serve Moslem food after the KL-Amsterdam flight hahaha..oh it was sunrise and the plane flew low, so i could see stuff down there e.g windmills, orresund bridge (16km linking Denmark and Sweden) and lovely Scandinavian landscape.

ijad waited for me at the arrivals. she snapped a photo of me pushing my trolley out to the hall (omg it's so like what you see in dramas). she met me with Sufiya, her 1 1/2 year old daughter who were sleeping soundly in her pram ( i did not meet her til we were home cos she was too bundled up). think i havent met ijad for 2 years, and she looks happier with her new life, kid and all. things were pretty rough when we were working together.

anyways, did i say i arrived there during winter?..i did not have a winter jacket to begin with. so i just wore a layer of thermals and cardigan. ijad brought with her a jacket for me to borrow till i buy mine. oh i was planning to get one there, believe there's better bargain than buying in KL.

So we hopped on Metro train, and it took only 14 minutes to reach her house from the airport. how convenient!!..we nearly missed the stop cos we were busy catching up..hehehe

ijad's place is located in Frederiksberg C, top floor of a 7 storey building WITHOUT elevator. how fun isn't it. i had fitness and breathing challenge climbing up the stairs. we arrived her beautiful apartment and straight away had breakfast (did u notice it was my 2nd one?), getting to know Sufiya, and text everyone at home that i have safely arrived.

Travelogue : Prologue

2008-03-24T01:31:00.000+08:00

for those who have been following on what i've been up to...and kept on bugging me to blog it.

yeah, i will be updating my dusty blog with the little project i worked on..

i've been travelling around EUROPE!!!!
a month, solo (well, part of it), and loving every single minute of it

stay tuned for more!!!!!

neglecting the least priority

2007-10-27T00:45:00.000+08:00

See.. i told you, i'm gonna neglect this site for a while. It's so cliche to give this excuse, but i really am busy. btw, selamat hari raya and maaf zahir batin. I havent had enough of lemang, rendang and tat nenas ok, this might go on till another month. some updates abt me:

happy birthday to moi!!..i turned 28 on the 20th October - i'm a big girl now!!! (Age-wise...physically-still in denial state) it was an easy day, where abah cooked some special dish for me, and the whole family went out for some outside treats.. another 2 years for the big 3-0!!! ~~can't wait!!~~ i think i pretty much enjoyed my 20's, really truly enjoyed it. I wish for more love and blessings coming my way in the years to come, god willing InshaAllah (hope ones involving diapers *smug*)

Job hunting - i am gonna be out of job, in 3months time, and i need to think fast. My hunches are, i am not gonna have problems securing any, but what do i really want to do next is the big question. my ex-bosses had came and asked my plans after this stint, but i can't figure out an answer that is true to my heart. I decided to scrap it and look forward for my europe trip (please god make this one happen) in Feb. Its gonna be a freezing winter trip!!!!

Social Life - considering i still have any, i'm sticking to my BFFs now. they are just my rocks, and prefer to spend more time with them rather than hogging on new friends. But since I am more comfy at home, after a redesigning exercise and my cheeky nephew running around slapping my butt..i'm pretty much domesticated nowadays - no, this is not a personal ad

Raya - one word to describe : SAKAN..emm not sakai ok?..imagine how we got ourself into this roadtrip,coming back from tampin, with wonderful sinful stopovers at Rembau, Rantau, Seremban, Serdang with each and every stops made us choked with lemang, rendang, ketupat, F&N orange, tarts, and everything you could eat. Felt like a babi (excuse my french), but its true.

Diet - haha does this correlate with the one above?..yes..i have been dieting for 1 week, and its so not fun. Think have to start puasa 6 now!!!

Bangkok Trip - oh, there is a foundation called World Youth Foundation called me saying that they nominated me for a humanitarian affairs conference in Bangkok from 15-17 december. I hope this will happen cos my feet already itchy to step on the plane....

Kerispatih - that's my fav CD in the car now. The lead's voice is just so sexy, and husky, and make me wanna ..whatever

whut else huh..i'll write a proper article next, about either language or HIV/AIDS (do u really believe i'm gonna?). or u want me to discuss about hot guys?..hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. anyway no promises ..till next ~~year~~ entry. wassalam

it's me day!

2007-09-19T09:57:00.000+08:00

this happened a week ago (before ramadhan started), when i had 2 meetings scheduled in KL (5 hours apart). so i decided not to drag my self to

yeah, my office in putrajaya, cos ermm..will waste petrol, waste time. and i have my laptop and all documents with me, so realistically why should i go back to the office. acceptable excuses right?

so my meeting in Damansara finishes before noon. and the next one will be at 5pm..

i pick up my phone and dialled an old friend who works in KLCC, and arranged to meet her there. one thing about me, i have this sneaky way of arranging my time, and sometimes i lie to my innocent self. hehe, in this case, i actually wanted to go to KLCC, not entirely want to meet her, and if she cancels on me, i could go and do my bit of err..shopping ?hiks

so i reached

and met her.

we had

at

yummm...the bills are near RM100, haha

then my(innocent) mind reminded me of my responsibility, its a working day

so i picked a place with wireless internet

and had

with

and ~~chatted with frens on YM~~ work.

so, the internet was not as good, keeps switchin off..so i decided that i should go and make myself useful,~~in the shops.~~

so off i go ..to ISETAN

i laid my eyes on this

and fell in love, with the beauty

and i'm RM300 poorer that day

and guess what, i was late for the 5pm meeting..busy day!

Ramadhan Bliss

2007-09-17T09:56:00.000+08:00

been down with flu, cough and cold for 2 weeks now. now i know how precious it is to be healthy, and fit and i can now appreciate the sense of taste and smell. i rarely fall sick like this and when i'm down with it, it seems like i'm taking it too hard. ergghhh..*sniffing mucus*..

anyway, happy ramadhan to everyone. my Ramadhan has been good, despite not being able to fast the first day because errr..u know. emm, i always love the spirit of the month, not because i could go a size down for my pants haha, but how my family and myself celebrate it. i always have problem replacing my fast, during normal day, cos i can't get myself up for the morning meal (sahur) and i cant stand the hunger. But during ramadhan, the day goes by easily, and waking up in the morning is not that hard. i believe its the blessing of the month.

ok let's see what i like about Ramadhan. hmm just fyi, i don't really fancy bazaar ramadhan cos my mom's cooking is just perfect. Bazaar Ramadhan is just for those who suck at cooking..(mati la mengutuk bulan posa hehe)

1. Waking up..4 in the morning
ok, i would love an extra 2 hours in the morning before going to the office, but, i love sahur, when we start to mumble one-liners in front of the hot meals , when our eyelids are still heavy. Then the conversation starts, and when one of us start cracking jokes, and we laugh.and somebody shot back another dirty joke, enough to make us all actually wake up. i normally can't go back to sleep after that. i might as well head to the bathroom and shower and go to the office earlier than usual.

2. everything on time
the best part of ramadhan is nothing important can be dragged to exceed MAKAN time. if you sahur, you can't exceed imsak. if you want to go back, estimate and plan your journey back properly , so u can reach home in time for berbuka. as for me at home, berbuka all you can and stop before 7.45 to perform maghrib prayers, and we must rush to the mosque before 8.15 to avoid trouble searching for parking space. Terawih will end at 9.20 and go back. So the day finishes there, and it starts all over again the next day.

3. Berbuka
yeah, of course. my mom (with the help of us the girlss) will prepare one kuih, the dishes (nasi, lauk, sayur) and one dessert - and fruits. Drink musthaves- milo panas, teh tarik, and a cold drink(cincau, orange juice etc. ). So everytime berbuka, we will have a table full of yummy stuff. my parents dont believe in buying , even when i suggested curry puff or martabak, my mom will start flipping through her recipe book! hiks

4. Terawih
i just love the big blue mosque, the crowd, the imaam, the quranic readings, the kids running around, the lights, the atmosphere, and the sweetness, nuff said

but i hate the traffic jams. why dont they have extra highways for Ramadhan? its just so heavy during the month, u move inches by inches, u could count the grasses besides the highway.

anyway, have a blessed ramadhan all of you!

to malaysia - a jolly 50 years and many more

2007-08-30T11:41:00.000+08:00

happy birthday Malaysia!

today i'm going to blog about how i feel about my nation, as tomorrow is her golden birthday. and i think she's still damn good looking even though some parts of her are , err how to say, not really natural. over the years, she had gone through many constructive ~~surgeries~~ works, face lifts and i could say she is prettier, but not as exotic looking as before.

i have never appreciated my country that much until i travel the world. i would like to quote some of my experiences during my past journeys, which i could still vividly remember and made me feel proud to be a Malaysian.

1. KLIA, the country's gateway
there was no specific experience in KLIA, but more of how it has changed my perception from a closed rigid protester to appreciating its being. before it was built 1998, i was one of the groupie jerks who protested (and detested) the multi million project which have costed poor malaysian money and taxpayers. yes it did cost a bomb, but it turns out to be one of the national treasure. why do i think that way? for me, i judge a country from the first impression it gives me once i land and step foot on it. in any cases, airports should be as un-intimidating and as friendly as possible and most important of all it is reflective of the country's image. of all the airports i've been to, i must say KLIA is the place i like most. yes most of the time after a gruelling mission or a long period away from home, i felt a tinge of pleasure when i land in KLIA. but not because of that. it has a classy, beautiful design, well thought architecture, clean, well maintained and cool airconditioning. everytime i meet people overseas, they will definitely talk about KLIA and...urmm Mahathir..let's go to my next story.

2. Mahathir in Persian
in 2003, over at a remote village of earthquake-strikken Bam, Iran. nobody speaks english. neither they have seen a caramelled-yellow skin complexion of a southeast asian. they usually referred to me and malay friends as chinese or indian. i've been called an indian and a chinese depends on what they think i am. anyway, an old man who lives in a tent spruced up by the red crescent after he lost his family and home, asked me in persian where i came from. When i told him (with a help of a cute translator) that I am from Malaysia, he quickly replied, ' oh i really like Mahathir, do you know him? can you send my regards to him and ask him to come here?' i was thinking, this is a random person from a remote, far away area, who do not even speak in other languages other than Persian, but is able to admire my own countryman. Tun Mahathir has definitely build a good image among the Muslim world, and they surely look up to him.

3. three races in a tent?
Bagh, 160km out of Islamabad, Kashmir border. Ramadhan 2005. another earthquake, and i was thrown out into the realm of the scene,again. but the conversation took place in Urdu. there was 10 of us, and 2 tents. i mean u prefer to stay in tents rather than in a building when violent aftershock could bring down the remaining of cracked buildings, even though the temperature reached 2 degrees at night. there was chinese, indian and malay in my team and we don't have qualms in sleeping together in one tent. even my 'compartment-mate' was Dr Lai, a chinese paediatrics surgeon. i even prepared lunch and breakfast for my non-muslim teammates while i was fasting and they break fast together with us muslims. several kashmiri locals looked at our team and give a displeased signal. when one of them came up to me asking whether we are really friends, 'are you not fighting?' i was laughing my ass off on this statement, but suddenly a surge of pity crept in me, they (kashmiris) have never understand the meaning of peace. for them life is a constant struggle and fight. wow, i am blessed to be born in Malaysia, we might have our own disagreement but we are not in a state of a battle. i can still date a chinese guy, without causing a cold war in my country hiks..

4. acehnese warmth
despite their struggle of autonomy, aceh has survived the greatest tsunami ever seen in the history. many times have i been ~~proposed~~ 'chatted up' as soon after they overheard my accent. i can't hide my non-indonesian slanga nor can i get away with my lah, and kan postfix in my every sentence. aceh has long struggled for authority to create an independent muslim autonomy. they look up to Malaysia and its ~~secular~~ progressive Islamic approach. not just that, acehnese seeks medical treatment in Penang which is way cheaper, and professional compared to Jakarta or Medan, or even Singapore. they always think i would know the hospital 'Lam Wah Ee' (what?) because they think that's the best hospital ever. i guess they did a good job in marketing their hospital overseas, hence the response. in reconstructing aceh, many experts were brought in from Malaysia (including me..hiks), to assist, because of our similarities in terms of culture, language and practices. many acehnese even asked me how to become a Malaysian citizen. i have a standard answer for that (because afghanis, pakistanis, palestinians also asked me the same question)." your country needs you and your expertise to be able to progress, why thinking of moving to another country, when you could be the agent of change". this reminder also goes to Malaysians who left the country and build a new life elsewhere.

as you can see, Malaysia is in the eyes of the world, even in a bad light by the West, we are still adored by the fellow Asians. i pay a tribute to the Father of Independence, Tuanku Abd Rahman, and his subsequent counterparts.

my hope for Malaysia in the next 50 years - a balance socio-development, Bahasa Malaysia as the language of pride and a true Islamic Nation.

Alhamdulillah, long live Malaysia.

IKEA not that suckie after all

2007-08-21T12:09:00.000+08:00

From: -me-
To: customer.service@ikeastore.com.my; joseph.lau@ikeastore.com.my (General Manager)Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 11:24:30 AM
Subject: Unsatisfied Customer

Dear IKEA,

I shopped for the first time at IKEA on Saturday 18 August, where i bought two wardrobe and a double decker bed worth over RM2000. I paid everything including home delivery and assembly service of 5% during check out. The cashier asked me jubilantly of why i did not came earlier as i could have received the goods on the same day. But i decided to make space for assembly, and receive the items the day after, on Sunday.

On Sunday, the delivery and assembly guys came on time (even earlier). While they are assembling the parts, they discovered that one part of the PAX DRAMMEN Wardrobe was faulty. They said it is not their fault, as this comes from the store. He said that he will report back to the customer service department and IKEA will send over a replacement the next day. So they only assembled one wardrobe and the double decker, whereas the faulty wardrobe was left at my house taking all the space in the bedroom, when we expect everything would be ready by night and we could clean up the space. I was asked to put in a comment on the delivery note and sign it.

So we waited for the replacement to come. I was actually waiting for a call, saying that the replacement item is going to come anytime soon, but to no avail. I called the customer service and they say nothing has been reported back, and i will have to wait for the replacement on FRIDAY!

I do not know IKEA is very careless in protecting their customers. When speaking to the customer service assistant, i do not feel that my issue (that obviously not my mistake) is important and urgent enough for them to react and resolve. How can you treat other deliveries while pushing the UNFINISHED responsbilities behind.

Do you know that my family needs the space to sleep, when the half rotten faulty wardrobe is still lying on the floor? And you asked me to wait 5 days, because the other deliveries are very important? when you havent even finished your delivery to me, and i have paid full for it?

I am very upset with what happened and the way the customer service assistant handled my problems. It has not been a great experience shopping at IKEA, if you want to make it a memorable one, you have been successful miserably.

Please act or i do not hesitate to return and get refund of my items - HD 137247, post order 761094

Angry customer
-me-

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

not more than 5minutes after that i received this

Dear Ms Ice

We sincerely apologise for the problem you had with your recent IKEA purchases. I will personally get Sukhdev Singh - Customer Service Manager to attend to you problem immediately.

Best Regards

Joseph Lau
General Manager
IKEA
--------------------------------------------------

not more than 5 minutes after that,i received a call from Sukhdev, the customer service's father

Sukhdev : i'm really sorry for what has happened
me : you should
sukhdev : the items will be sent today, and we will waive the delivery fees and 5% assembly charges, would you like a gift voucher or a cash refund?
me : u think m gonna shop again in ikea? i prefer cash refund (happinesssss *..*)
sukhdev : ok, i will send a letter to authorize the cash refund, and you can take it anytime at IKEA.

YEAYYY!!!
-------------------------------------------------------

and u think u prefer PERABOT AH SENG than IKEA?..hahahhaha, i got back my RM150 for their mistakes and poor coordination. serves them right

orange is the new pink???

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

this morning i passed by my new apartment construction area and was flabbergasted.

it's ORANGE!

it's O-R-A-N-G-E, hear me ?

how on earth did anyone think orange is pretty for buildings? I saw a tinge of orange last week and i tell myself, oh maybe they are playing around with color. they will take it off and paint beige, or light yellow, or white would be nice as well, but ORANGE?....they have painted the whole block and it's grinning ORANGE.
can i just raise a complaint or get my money back? it is far different from the artist impression, and it looks cheap. cheap enough that you can throw up, faint and throw up again by the sight of it. huh?!

anyways, i have a new hobby, that keeps me busy. i will punch in at 8 am and storm back exactly at 5. my attendance record to the office has been good. never once i get a red stamp on my punch card. thanks to my new hobby. my hobby involves music, aching muscles, giggling girls and lotsss of sweat. think u can guess.

and MATTA Fair is happening in September. i'm thinking of Spain, Portugal and Morocco in January, next year. whoever wants to join me raise up their hands.

till later

I never pretend to be something I'm not

2007-08-10T10:19:00.000+08:00

i do appreciate good music. normally, the melody and beat will capture my attention first before the lyrics, cos i'm not really poetic nor i am into arts. i dont care what the song is all about as long as they have unique and catchy tunes. i am soooooooo loving this song. and it just so happen the lyrics are awesome.

Real Girl - Mutya Buena

If I had one chance to
In my life again
I wouldn't make no changes
Now or way back when (yeah)
And if everything turns out
The way I hope it goes
But I cant wait to find out
What it is that God knows

But I don't wanna think about
What's gonna come around for me
I'll just take it day by day
'Cause it's the only way
To be the best that I can be

I never pretend to be something I'm not
You get what you see, when you see what I've got
We live in the real world, I'm just a real girl
I know exactly where I stand

And all I can do is be true to myself
I don't need permission from nobody else
'Cause this is the real world, I'm not a little girl
I know exactly who I am

And nothing's ever perfect
There's no guarantee
And if I knew the answers
It would put my mind at ease (no)
So I'll just keep on going
The way I've gone so far
And maybe I'll end up
Tryin' to catch a fallin star (yeah)

But I don't wanna think about
What's gonna come around for me
I'll just take it day by day
'Cause it's the only way
To be the best that I can be

I never pretend to be something I'm not
You get what you see, when you see what I've got
We live in the real world, I'm just a real girl
I know exactly where I stand

And all I can do is be true to myself
I don't need permission from nobody else
'Cause this is the real world, I'm not a little girl
I know exactly who I am

Baby this is who I am
Don't need you to understand
'Cause everything is right where it should be
It wont be long til you know about me,
'Cause I don't give a...
Even when I'm out of love
'Cause everythings just how it should be
And it wont be long till you know about me

I never pretend to be something I'm not
You get what you see, when you see what I've got
We live in the real world, I'm just a real girl
I know exactly where I stand

And all I can do is be true to myself
I don't need permission from nobody else
'Cause this is the real world, I'm not a little girl
I know exactly who I am

I never pretend to be something I'm not
You get what you see, when you see what I've got
We live in the real world, I'm just a real girl
I know exactly where I stand

And all I can do is be true to myself
I don't need permission from nobody else
'Cause this is the real world, I'm not a little girl
I know exactly who I am

depression, liz lemon and me

2007-08-03T09:33:00.000+08:00

have u experienced this before?

weak, no drive, no passion on anything, no energy to even walk, over-eating, gets sleepy as early as after dinner, hard to wakeup in the morning, and sleep through the day.

wow, it just hit me big time and i hated it. i think the routine of my new job is killing me softly inside, and i have to bear with it at least until i'm adjusted to the job. at the moment, lots of things that i planned to do, gets halted simply because i'm too impatient, red tapes and bureaucracy.

so, yesterday i made new resolutions and i felt better. i could even still be awake at 11pm, that's considered impressive given my sleep time for the whole week was 9! i aim for only a few achievement for the day, write down a to-do list first thing in the morning and once i scrap it off at the end of the day, it'll make my day. i also terminated my gym membership, and signed on a new one, to avoid becoming bored. and the most important of all, to get out of the above misery is of course...RETAIL THERAPY.

yes, i'm back girls. remember i said i have enough of shopping?..to hell with it, it only leads me to depression huhuhuh..i need shopping for my sanity..so yesterday i bought 2 baju kurungs ( i really need new ones for my job), and an apple strudels to pacify myself..omg i'm so single hahah

anyway, have u guys watched 30Rock?..i always enjoy it eventho i never watched it religiously. theirs is a dark comedy about office life in a media and broadcasting company. but what i love about the show is Tina Fey as 'Liz Lemon'. i felt some connection with her character, as some of the lines really poked me bullseye.

e.g she got confused and depressed and told her boss "ok i need to talk this thing out with the food" how brilliant is that? let it out to the food?..huh i love her. another one when she bumped into the guy who she secretly admires, and he is making out with her own staff in the elevator, and the guy then appologise on his act "inappropriate to do it in a workplace" she replied non-chalantly "oh never mind ..its inappropriate to do it in front of ugly people"..i just love
the hit-on-me lines.

according to the Wikipedia, Fey stated that Liz is "five or six years ago when I first started at my job and had to figure out how to deal with big, strong personalities and get through the day, being sort-of scared of everyone... but acting like you're not scared of everyone."

bullseye.that's me.

the going ons

2007-07-22T16:05:00.000+08:00

i'm happy to be back. seems like i've been away for years. i'm just craving for my comfort (fatty) meals, the city life, shopping sprees, night activities, sleepover at girlfriends and the most special is getting together with mak , abah, adik2 and the my cutesy, cheeky nephew.

anyway, i got my 2 months rest and now start working again!

life is now different from before as i have toned down in terms of getting out and about. i prefer to be at home or out doing something beneficial rather than wasting my time in the mall, or stopping by at cafe's meeting friends after work. maybe i've grown up a bit, and grew tired of those places. even though now i can afford those stuff i once yearn when i window shop,it just doesnt work for me anymore.

u can grow tired of malls, can you?..or i'm just plain weird

at a junction

2007-03-30T19:04:00.000+08:00

can't believe its the end of march!

i've spent the most wonderful 9 months in my life volunteering in Aceh. i could not ask for more. what i could tell you about this stint? it's priceless. getting to know people deep beyond their facades, their hopes, aspirations and ambitions. understanding their similar yet different language, indulging in their sinful tasty delicacies and trembling with fear during the aftershocks!

i received a bad news saying that i am not successful for a scholarship. i was planning to pursue my studies in the UK, in September if possible. But i guess this not going to happen. i am going to leave Aceh in less than one month, and i have to figure out what to do next.

i will not dive into career or studies straight away once i'm back in april. first thing is to mend broken relationships, catching up with my family, friends, indulge in my favorite dishes, lepak with my girlfriends, or might be nursing my sick grandparents.

not just that, aceh has made me 'blossomely' overweight (which i still figure out the reason of this ballooning effect), and scarred my face with acne (which is NOT a pretty sight). so i need to work on that for sure.

so i'm at a junction of my life again. what life beholds of me?

a blind date

2006-10-07T17:10:00.000+08:00

i decided to give it a go.

anyways, i have had a blind date once in the university. he was two years my senior and we talked on the phone for nearly two months. damn, i was a nervous wreck before meeting him. i kept on imagining the horror things such as him sneaking and have a peep on me, and decided to run away and pretend to forget about the date, or he turns out to be a real sex psycho path etc. i spent 2 days ogling through the cupboard finding something to wear for the occassion. sheesh.
i end up loathing about the date. what a turn off!!

8 years later, here i am..blind dating again. in a different set up altogether. he has been texting me for a week since getting my number from a close friend of mine. so we decided to meet. i did not have any nerve wracking episode of soughting all the what-ifs through my mind. i dont worry much about my appearance, whether my clothes is flattering enough or do i need to put on some kissable lip gloss.., i dont worry if i bring my bag of toiletries and laundries together would do any harm towards his justification on me. I'm turning to be a real adult!!..

it turns out to be pretty much amusing discussion on interesting issues. not about what do i wear to work or what kind of pets do i have. ermm..not also about global warming or transmigration..hahaha. what?..oklah no sparks (at least not on my side), but i'd blind date again

the search is still on

wardrobe malfunction

2006-10-06T17:48:00.000+08:00

well yeah, the house is big, three-storey, balconies with view of carpeted green paddy field and mountains- cool wind breeze and all, designer tiled floor, air conditioned rooms, fine bathrooms, helpful ibu(s) who gracefully cook meals for berbuka, wash our dirty laundries, clean our rooms and the list goes on..perfect life

but what do seven of us do without electricity and running water?

all of us decided to talk about nothings till midnight on the balcony, there goes 4 packs of cinnamon flavored cigarettes, 5 bags of tea and 3 packs of pringles. the topics range from why tsunami victims refuse to move in to the newly built houses to how to prostitise (sp?) your french housemate to make money so we can pay our rent.

it's the time of the month that i need water!!! (my guy housemate #1 thinks that i feed him too much information)

i woke up the next morning to find that the tap still got no running water!..i decided to be outraged and change from my pyjama to my lovely (crisply ironed) mustard frilly top. I packed my towels, toiletries, undies and makeup to bring to the office. for what??..to shower lahh

i quickly stormed downstairs to get the car and rush to the office only to find housemate #1 staring at me.

me : i know i have not showered, i'll see if my office has water, don't look at me as if i have not showered for a week!!
housemate #1 : yeah, go ahead, but is that a fashion or what..u have an opening at the side of your shirt?

me : *fuck* (who dare not zip up my shirt after ironing!!![the zippers is sewn at the side of the shirt]...so there, half of my body exposed to a fasting pious *ehem* man)

housemate #1 : i did not see a thing *grins*
me : well, you can consider that as your luck today, jeez

have u ever experience any exposs'e stunt lately??

prologue

2006-10-06T17:08:00.000+08:00

nobody will actually believe i keep so many secrets. Not just my own's but also juicy stuff about other people. it is not my fault that for those reasons i am compelled (driven) to initiate this site.

it's a journey on love, life and people. and what lies beneath every hatred, frustration, anger and humiliation... are the secrets you keep.

i'm going to reveal mine..would you dare to tell me yours???