Tuesday, April 25, 2006

FAMILY FUNTIME

PD was a blast for the kids :-)

Kecoh gak, 6 families in all. We were supposed to have a bbq picnic lunch on Saturday, tapi everyone started out late from their homes, sampai ke PD dah pukul 12 lebih dan perut dah berqasidah. So we decided to have the picnic lunch (lotsa food!) minus the bbq, and have the bbq later in the evening. OK jugak macam tu, takde la berebut-rebutkan ayam, ikan etc bbq tu.

Yummy bbq chicken!

After the bbq, sempat gak pegi pasar malam PD. Beli kuih, jagung bakar, makan sambil gebang.

The hotel apartment we stayed at was quite good actually. Rooms were nice & spacious, aircond & hot water OK, TV reception OK. One thing it lacks though, is a private beach. Kat tepi hotel tu ada public beach, boleh access dari gate tepi hotel. Tapi gitulah, public beach tu a little crowded and not very clean, tapi OKlah kalau just nak lepak for the bbq. Nak sewa kayak boleh, waterski, banana boat ride, jetski pun ada.

View from the balcony of my room

Views always look nicer from a distance *sigh*

Kiddies apa lagi, terjun tiruk kat swimming pool, berjam-jam sampai kecut jari pun masih tak mau keluar. The pool is very family-friendly, ada tiga separate kiddies pool, each with a waterslide and waterjets to keep 'em entertained. Senang nak monitor depa.


Ajiq very happy on a waterslide

Yana & Awin, sakan!

The hotel also has a volleyball court, kids playground, and gardens to stroll around in, siap ada gazebo kayu berkelambu kain kasa putih, so romatic. Tapi tak syok la jalan-jalan sorang kan :-( Oh yeah, there were pony rides too - f.o.c for kids under 12 years. Rasa cam nak join, tapi kesian plak tengok kuda padi tu, sakit pinggang lak dia nanti hehehe.

Sunset...

Check out at noon Sunday, parted ways after a nice lunch, everyone chatting happily and wearing smiles on their faces.
How I wish my smiles were genuine.


Another view from my balcony, I like this one.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

WHAT'S THE WEATHER LIKE TOMORROW?

Really, what's the weather gonna be like tomorrow? I really wanna know. Sebab? Sebab esok nak gi family holiday in PD, yay! So OK, PD tu tak le exciting sangat, sebab pantainya dah tak berapa ummph sekarang ni. Hak yang private beach tu, eden tak tau la. Tapi hak public beach tu... takpelah kita mandi kat swimming pool je lah. But we're planning on having a BBQ picnic lunch tomorrow, so I really hope the weather's gonna be fine.

Meanwhile, here's a good weather forecasting tool :-D


Have a good fun-filled weekend, everybody!

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGAH

19th April, Happy Birthday Angah!


Sampai rumah lewat tadi, jalan jem sebab hujan, tak sempat singgah Secret Recipe untuk beli cheesecake yang Angah suka. The nearest cakehouse is King's, so I bought her a blueberry cheese cake, like in the pic. OKlah, sedap jugak. Dah tua-tua ni, segan plak nak tiup lilin, so potong je la kek tu hehehe.

My growing up years shared with Angah, were sometimes happyville, and sometimes turbulent. Beza umur aku ngan Angah cuma tiga tahun. I seem to recall masa Ibu dodoikan Angah yang masih baby, aku asyik nak menyempil dan mintak didodoi juga... hehehe jeles le gamaknya tuh!

Tapi jeles gitu-gitu je le, mom says tak pernah la pulak dia nampak aku cubit ke cocok mata dia ke. Oh no, we reserved the violence until we were school-age, hah! :-) Weh, gaduh sampai cakar-cakar, cubit, tarik rambut bagai. Tapi kejap je gaduh, lepas tu we had no choice but to make-up, kalau idak mati kutu dibuatnya. Being city dwellers cooped up at home in a new residential area with not many kids around, most of the time we only had each other to entertain us hehehe. Also, we were schooling in KL, where mom used to teach, so takde le kenal kids in the neighbouring area.

My parents always showed fairness to both of us. Masa kecik dok boria la, baju sama, kasut sama, haircut pun sama. Equally share mainan, share makan, but that didn't stop us from berebut, of course! Then, I went away to boarding school. Bila balik cuti sem, punya la seronok jumpa Angah, pokpekpokpek dari pagi sampai ke petang. Masuk 5-6 hari, mula la bocokak balik hehehe :-) But by then, the fights were usually verbal, takde cakar-cakar dah. Ada satu insiden tu, kalau tak silap masa aku Form 4, Angah pernah jerit "Pegi balik asrama la! Angah lagi suka kalau Along takde kat sini!" Adeeehhh... terhiris boto ati den dibueknyo, den nangis sampai bongkak bijik mato laie.

But all that is water under the bridge la. Sekarang dah dewasa, we are much closer, we help, communicate, share opinions, confide in, seek advice more with each other, and I truly enjoy her company. I still remember the tender moments, one of which was just as she was being wheeled on a gurney into the delivery ward for baby Ajiq's birth, I held her hand, kissed her forehead and wished her the best of luck. *alamak, dah rasa syahdu plak isk isk..*

Baby Ajiq, Angah & Bangah

Sesekali tu mesti la ada gak muncung sket, biasa la, sisters. At a time when I was most emotionally-fragile, Angah & hubby had been very kind in 'sharing' their baby Ajiq with me, and for that I am grateful. But I suspect the sharing, especially during Ajiq's poopoo times, is sometimes due to her malas-ness to cebok her son hahaha :-D

Whatever it is, I love my sister very much, as I love the rest of my family! My do'a for you, dear sister, is to always be in Allah's rahmah, blessed with good health, happiness & prosperity, for you & family.

And oh, you'd better buy me a nice cake for my birthday plak nanti, ya hear?

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

MINDARAYAU... MINDAKACAU !


"sad days indeed"
Asbjorn Lonvig
154,5 x 122 cm.
Acrylic on hardboard.
US$ 45000
inspired by a state of mind - sad days indeed
Inspired by keywords like mental health,
state of mind, manic depression, major depression,
bipolar condition, serotonin syndrome...disintegration...
...then red paint has been thrown temperamentally...

Let's hope this state of mind is temporary
Hah!
Meanwhile...

Bermula sebuah cerita
Di zaman dulu kala
Mudahnya sederhana kehidupan
Mereka riang sentiasa dan gembira
Tanpa duka
Waktu berpesta pawana pun melanda

Meresap fikiran dan jiwa
Berubahlah semua
Jadi sombong serta alpa
Semua inginkan kuasa
Rebut dengan sengketa
Yang lemah jadi hamba

Berpecah antara mereka
Musnah di hembus pawana
Begitulah kisah hidup
Dari zaman ke zaman
Pawana menghembus akan hati insan

Cinta musnah dihembus pawana
Keinginan menghancur manusia


Sorry guys, stuff happened at the office earlier this afternoon, kinda disrupted my mood today.

Friday, April 14, 2006

LIFE, AS IS

Had a nice lunchdate today, with Kaez & Nore. Face-stuffing and bitchfest, of course we had fun la hehehe. Biasalah orang gomen, hari Jumaat lunch-hour menjadi lunch-two-and-a-half-hours. Muslimin melangkah ke masjid untuk solat Jumaat, muslimah melangkah ke shopping complex *sigh* life, as is.

Kaez was pi$$ed at an ex-classmate whom we've known for 17 years. When you've been friends for that long, if you need to ask anything, just ask it to my face, right? Don't try to play coy, pretend you didn't know, drop hints and hope I take the bait and start pouring my heart out to you. I know for sure that I prefer candid honesty. Either that, or just shaddap. I'm with you there, Kaez.

Moving on.

Some conversations today made me sit back and think. Yes, I DO think on a regular basis tq v much. Kaez was saying that despite all the seemingly unfavourable happenings in her life lately, she's pretty much happy & satisfied. Nore also says that she's happy as she is now, even though people might think her life to be 'incomplete' (a.k.a unmarried).

Me? Maybe I have less of that positive aura at this point of time. I'm not satisfied. I look around and observe other people, and the green monster peeks out. There is so much that I want that's just outside my grasps. Yet I can't (and shouldn't) put any blame on anybody/thing, que sera sera. (*whiny whiny whiny* I need to let it out, ok?)

They say 'you are what you make of yourself'. If you are positive and thrive to make yourself happy, life would be all that sweeter for you. If you are negative, life would be miserable. Well, I think I'm kinda 55:45 on the satisfaction percentage scale, being just a little less than satisfied.

Obuden, that scale is very individual. I mean, if you want 10 things in life, and you get only 6, than you'd be unsatisfied. But if you had only wanted 6 things in life and you obtained all 6, then you would have gotten your fill. It all depends on whether all those things matter or not to you. Well then, does wanting 10 things instead of 6 things in the first place, make you a greedy person? I dunno, I really don't. There's a much bigger Force at work here, ya know?

Please oh Merciful, show me!

Pasrah.


Mood tonight : Sombre

Thursday, April 13, 2006

TWO-LINE RHYMES

Got this email today, funny lorrr hehehe :-) I'm about to reproduce it verbatim, but dunno who I should credit it to. So whoever the original author is, please don't sue me ye!

These are entries to a poetry competition, asking for a rhyme with the MOST romantic first line, but the LEAST romantic second line. Entah hape-hape entah, tapi kelakau la.


Love may be beautiful, love may be bliss
But I only slept with you, because I was pissed.

I thought that I could love no other
Until, that is, I met your brother.

Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you.
But the roses are wilting, the violets are dead,
the sugar bowl's empty and so is your head.


Of loving beauty you float with grace
If only you could hide your face.

Kind, intelligent, loving and hot;
This describes everything you are not.

I want to feel your sweet embrace
But don't take that paper bag off of your face.

I love your smile, your face, and your eyes
Damn, I'm good at telling lies!

My darling, my lover, my beautiful wife
Marrying you screwed up my life.

I see your face when I am dreaming
That's why I always wake up screaming.

My love, you take my breath away
What have you stepped in to smell this way

My feelings for you no words can tell,
Except for maybe "go to hell."

What inspired this amorous rhyme?
Two parts vodka, one part lime.


Beddy-bye, Jie dah ngantuk... zzzz......

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

ANIMAL LOVE II

I once wrote about my pet cats in this post. I really am a cat lover, yes. But along the years, cats aren't the only pets I've had.

Ayam Origami. Paling mudah untuk dibela.

Let's see. When I was a kid (dinosaur years ago.... sheesh), we used to bela ayam kampung, even though we live in PJ. Tak tahu la kenapa, at that time memang ramai neighbours yang rumah sederet ni, minat bela ayam. Well, my parents being from kampung, memang suka bela ayam, kalau boleh itik pun nak bela. Bagus bela ayam ni, nasi yang tak habis dimakan, taklah membazir sebab dijadikan nasi ayam - nasi untuk makanan ayam daaa. The chickens were reared for our consumption, but me being a kid, of course treated the chickens as pets la.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo... ayam patuk, itik suduuuu...."

The usual number of chickens we had adalah dalam 20 ekor kot, silih ganti antara yang baru menetas dengan yang jadi lauk (masa awal-awal tu, aku tak tau ayam aku jadik lauk). Me & sis named all the hens & roosters. Petang-petang keluarkan depa dari apartment depa, and we played with the jinak & manja ones. Tak percaya ayam boleh jadi manja? Huuu.... memang boleh la. They recognize their names (or maybe actually just recognize the intonation of our voices kot), datang bila dipanggil, makan dari tapak tangan, let us hold them and actually endured our petting & cuddling, even kisses (kat atas kepala la, bukan kat molot, giler aperr? mampuih bibir kena catuk hehehe). Eh, ni cakap pasal ayam betul tau, bukan ayam 18sx ye.

"Che Yam, meh rapat sket, ada gosip baru nih.... soksek soksek..."

My sis punya fav were Miss Snowy and King. Miss Snowy putih melepak, lived a long life sebab dia pandai bertelur (hence, lambat kena semelih hehehe). King was the biggest rooster with a beautiful red carnation-like balung and long beautiful plumes pada ekornya, ala-ala jalak lenteng la ni. My fav was a hen, named... Isabella Rochester. Hahaha...! Aku pun tak tahu what was in my head when I named that particular hen. Siap ada nama manja lagi, 'Bel Roche'. Hey, I was 8 years old, OK?

The chicken rearing lasted a couple of years, they all ended on the dinner table somehow.
My pet! My pet! Oh nooooo.......!

Masa tu, ibu tak kasik kami nengok bila ayam kena semelih, so we didn't realize we were eating our pets. Masa first time tahu, aku punya lah sedih, berkoyan air mata jatuh dan terus mogok tak mau makan. And since then, ibu makes it a point to inform me if the particular lauk of the day is one of our own chickens, so that at least I wouldn't feel 'tricked' into eating my own friends.

Dig the cute chickas!
Can you tell which are males and which are females?


OK, aside from cats, hens & roosters, I've had various other pets including several tankfuls of fish, birds, and sea-monkeys. Tapi tak tau la, semuanya tak serasi dan aku tak minat. Aku rasa mungkin sebab aku tak dapat appreciate pets yang cuma untuk dilihat dan bukan untuk dibelai. I think I need a two-way communication, an ability for expression of love for and from my pets. Hmm... same principal applies for a.... hehehe :-)

Beddy-bye Jie, toksah nak merapu panjang-panjang!

"Huuuaaarrgghhhh" * big yawn, like the bear in Grizzly Adams tv series dulu tu, remember? *

Good night, everybody.

Monday, April 10, 2006

POST-KURSUS

Ah... two weeks outstation, and I missed a lot of goings-on in the blogworld. I missed the birth of a fellow blogger's sixth child - so very de cute one, rasa nak cubit pipinya. Tahniah Jo! There were so many updates in my favourite haunts, that I spent all of last night just catching up with them. Someone wrote a series of some sort of love story, which may or may not be true :-) Another someone wrote about a recent heartbreak (hang in there, sis!). Someone's parents started blogging (u rock, uncle & auntie!). Someone met Ujang (of the famed 1980s 'Aku Budak Minang') .

Anyway, last 2 weeks aku berkursus di KB. Isnin lepas masuk ofis, ada surat tawaran untuk kursus lain plak for the whole of last week, in a reputable hotel in KL with a buffet spread that stretches 'lunch hour' into 'lunch two-hours' *sigh* Macam ni, bila aku nak kurus? So petang Isnin tu balik keje terus gi check-in kat hotel tu plak.

Selalunya orang berebut nak gi kursus and bos usually kasik kat staff seniors. Kat ofis aku plak, orang yang indispensable to the boss tidak dibenarkan berkursus away from the office, ala-ala kena pasung emas gitu. Memandangkan aku bukanlah dah-ling medem, sebab tu kot aku & some others dapat peluang berkursus hehehe takpe, at least kami dapat belajar benda2 baru untuk diaplikasi dalam kerja harian nanti.

Oh ya, tak lama lagi besday medem. Aku sebagai bekas ajk kelab, menjalankan tugas dengan memberi 'reminder' kepada adik-adik ajk yang baru. Yelah, nak sumbangkan RM, rasanya idak le kot, cukup le sekadar mengingatkan depa. Kita tengok la plak camana sambutan besday medem tahun ni, gilang-gemilang tak?

Situation at the you-know-where has not quiten down much. We are constantly bombarded with 'wahyu-wahyu' dari langit. Buat ini, jangan buat itu, who cares about procedures? Polisi? Eh semua kat tangan dewa la. Kompeni keroni aku nakkan projek juta-juta tu, kasik aje lah. Aaah.. tak payah tender-tender la, buat lambat je tu. Oh projek tu tak masuk dalam RMK9? Takpa, hang slash bajet dari projek lain, cekau mana-mana yang dapat, janji projek keroni tu jalan. Ni projek dewa-dewa, siapa berani bantah? Certainly not ikan bilis! Saya Yang Menurut Perintah!

On a personal note, well the time has come for me to acknowledge my current status to my officemates, I guess. Sebelum ni very few people yang tahu, then rahsia aku terbocor kat medem masa isi borang declaration harta tu, then masa kursus tu ada orang terdengar Chemin bercerita dengan Chefah tentang status aku [mana minah ni dapat cerita ye? aku pun tak tahu]. Dan Chefah yang aku kenal karektornya sikit lebih kurang pemancar parabola tu, aku boleh agaklah efeknya. True enough bila aku berdepan dengan Cheda dan Cheti, depa dua-dua tak surprised sebab dah dengar dari grapevine. [Nasib la Jie, nak buat camno klu persekitaran hang ni memang banyak 'pemantau' tepi kain orang lain] Takpe, heroin tenang, beb. Yang penting, time has healed a large part of my wounds, so kalau orang nak bercakap sekarang pun, insyaAllah aku boleh senyum kat depa. Oh well, perhaps it IS time to start afresh, kot.

Aik, graf mood penulisan aku makin merudum malam ni hehehe....

OKlah, meh sini aku letak gambar buah hati penawar duka aku. Just looking at his photo makes me smile and lightens my mood :-D
No, bukan anak aku, anak sedara lah.


Haziq, age two and a half. Love him to bits!

How I wish I have one of my own, though *sigh*.

Beddy-bye Jie, sleep now, while your smile is still on your lips, and your tears are not yet in your eyes.

Mood tonight : Solemn

Saturday, April 01, 2006

MAGHI KELATE

"Mek, u kena pegi kursus minggu depan." [Eh, bila plak aku jadik 'mek'?? ]
"Kat mana?"
"Kelate. Ni ha surat tawaran kursus." [Ohhh... eh, yabedabedu!]

Pergh, seronot! Sebab Kelantan is the only state in Malaysia yang aku belum sampai lagi. Aku scan last page surat tawaran, ternampak a few nama peserta from department lain yang aku kenal. Eh OK la, ada geng nih.

Tak lama pas tu, Cheni call, ajak aku pegi saing naik bas. Yelah, officer cabuk cam aku ni gi kursus tak layak naik kape terobang. Memula ingat nak naik Air Asia (own expense), tapi bila dah ada geng, seronot gak naik bas ramai2. So terpaksa le pulak menapak ke kaunter teket bas... RM30.80 OK la, tak mahal.

Beautiful greenscape, taken on the third day, view from inside a bus.









Life at the riverside.


To cut a long story short, kitorang naik bas malam, sampai KB pagi buta, check in kat hotel, rehat sket, mandi, solat, dan kemudian bermulalah pengembaraan... SHOPPING! Tak senonor betul, kursus belum mula, dia dah shopping dulu.... hehehe :-) Tak ganggu jadual kursus pun la, just kena atur jadual perjalanan dengan bijak la.

We stayed at this hotel, OK room & service, good food.

OMG! Rambang mata aku tengok banyak-banyak kain tudung yang cantik giler and A LOT CHEAPER than those sold in KL. Tu belum kira shopping kain batik lagi tuh. Cash abis, gi cucuk ATM. Cash yang tu pun abis, bantai card plak. Adeehhhh..... Tapi takpe, berbelanja tu, masih beringat jugak, ikut kemampuan. Beli banyak pun, bukan untuk kita sorang. Yelah, klu yang ada anak remaja pompuan 5 orang, takkan nak beli tudung selai je. Che abang pun nak jugak shirt batik. Kengkawan pun ada yang kirim. Siapa yang ada semangat keusahawanan tu, boleh buat niaga bila balik ke KL. Pasar Siti Khadijah, Pasar Buluh Kubu, Pasar MPKB semua kami round. Rantau Panjang pun sampai juga, dan ada juga yang sempat pegi Pengkalan Kubur. Weeiii... jangan kata pompuan je, yang lelaki pun dok shopping gak tau!

Checklist aku :-
(1) Tudung = 14 helai. Oooopp.... aku punya 2 aje, yang lelain tu untuk mak, adik, makngah, kawan dan orang kirim.
(2) Kain batik = selai je, untuk diri sendiri. Nak beli banyak tak mampu, sebab taknak over-budget.
(3) Murtabak spesel = 6 bijik, memang sedap giler, besar, tebal dan sangat berbaloi dengan reghenya, 2 untuk rumah, 2 untuk makngah, 2 untuk kawan.
(4) Serunding / sambal daging = 3kg, buat pek kecik-kecik dan distribute.
(5) Pauh mah ite = 3kg, sedap weh!
(6) Telur penyu = 8 biji. Aku tak makan, beli untuk mak aku.
(7) Keropok = 5 paket, buat stok.
(8) Selainnya, barang makanan i.e kuih-kuih (ye, aku sejuk-bekukan kuih akok dan angkut balik KL), snek (gajus, asam etc), pulut hitam. Nak beli beras siam, rasanya tak dibenarkan kot.

Beli tu je pun, dah habih enam ratus lebih. Start minggu depan, kena makan roti je la kat ofis.... hehehe :-)

Cakap sal makan ni [dia dah start dah.... favourite topic nih!], masa di pasar dan di pasar malam, aku jadik orang peghak. Banyak betul makanan yang aku tak pernah jumpa! Sibuk amik gambar & beli sikit-sikit untuk rasa. Here's some pics. Eh, kalu aku silap tulih namanya, hangpa pebetuikan, ye?

Kuih Akok, yum! Tapi le ni depa buat kurang manis sket



Pulut Dakap - comelnya, dibuat sebesar ibu jari pastu diikat dua bijik sekali.
Tepung Pelita, kuih biasa tapi lebih besar & murah, singgit lima bijik. Sedap!


Yang ni semua aku tak ingat nama, apa ye?
Tapi rasanya main ingredient is pulut kot.


Sate Perut! Tapi perut ayam daa... aku tak pernah jumpa kat KL.
Buah Tanjung dibuat dari kuning telur & dimasak dalam air gula.
Too sweet for me lah.



Nasi Tumpang - layered rice-lauk-rice-sambal etc, exciting discovery!
Kuih Sekaya dibuat dari telur, gula, santan.
Perrrgh.. lemak berkrim disukai ramai!



Jala Mas, made from egg yolk & boiled in syrup.
Au contraire, the second one, Tahi Itik, made from egg white.
Interesting, kan?

Mak aih... tu belum kira nasi dagang, nasi kerabu, solok lada, tomyam, laksam segala yang aku bedal kat cafe hotel tuh. I'm in food haven! Seminggu je aku kat KB, bila balik, tak berani nak dekat dengan weighing scale aku ataupun buat blood sugar/cholesterol check, sure kantoi punya!

Thank you Darul Naim, for showing me ur peaceful greenscapes, ur beautiful batiks, ur delicious foods, ur friendly people, a totally enjoyable stay! Eh, aku takde pun citer pasal kursus yang aku hadiri tu kan? Ahaks :-D