Backdated Diary of 28th Dec

OK. This new year's eve, let me tell you a story. A story of the things that happened on the day of my engagement =) (terasa macam fairy tale narrator pulak.. haha)

We all woke up early that day. I could not sleep so well because my hands were aching from cutting the pandan leaves to be made into bunga rampai. Mom wanted to have bunga rampai as it is one of the Johor customs, to give them away to the guests later. Moreover, Fairuz's relatives mainly hail from Johor. So I thought it was a great idea. Thank God Auntie Rahmah and Opah were there to help. Kalau tak, sure pagi tu dah nyanyi 'jari-jariku sakit semua, kerna memotong daun pandan.. lalala~'

The canopy man came quite early to install the scallops around the canopies and to arrange the tables and chairs. My mom's ex-student-cum-chef then came to send the chocolate cake that I ordered for the hantaran. It was (self-proclaimed) really pretty. Why chocolate cake? Because Fairuz loves it. I have posted the hantaran pics in Facebook, if you guys wanna have a look at them.

About 1 pm, Qin my makeup artist came. Then Mel my photographer came with his assistant, Shah at 1.30 pm. I received a message from Fairuz saying that they have already arrived at the nearby surau. Well, I was starting to feel a little excited, with Mel beginning to snap and snap. Fatin came at 1.45 pm, which was to my relief, cuz I needed a companion around. Kira macam my VIP la.. haha.

My cousin Mona appeared shortly after that. She was one of my VIPs too, since she was appointed to accompany me to the dais. Qin continued to make-up my face, without me looking at the mirror. It felt really awkward when I looked at myself in the mirror with heavy make-up, but I knew I had to trust Qin, Mel, Ain, Fatin and Mona who said that I looked pretty. Oklah, percaya je la kan.. tengok2 Fairuz's families have arrived. And I have not yet dressed up! Actually I was taking my own sweet time, since I thought that the discussion between the two families will take long. Thank God Ain urged me to get dressed. If not, I would have gone down late!

After the discussion and doa ended, then it was the time for me to go down. I was excited at first, especially when I saw my dad and my Uncle Shah. But as I arrived into the living room, and I saw unfamiliar faces, I started to tremble. I was trembling even more when I saw Fairuz's aunts and cousins in front of the dais. I was like "My God, ramainyeee aku tak kenal..~" They were all dressed in red. Gigil seyh! Haha. But then, when I saw his sister smiling at me, I managed to cool down a bit.

Then Fairuz's mom came to the dais to slip the ring onto my finger. It was really touching inside. But I promised myself no matter what, I would not wanna cry, because I would look ugly if I did.

And so the rest of the day was filled with taking photos. Fairuz came later, in Baju Melayu attire of the same color like mine. Yeah, it did feel like as if we were getting married, haha. But we only wanted to make the day a little special for the both of us, and so, we chose to wear the same color.

I managed to get to know a few aunts from Fairuz's side, which I think is a good start for me. I can't wait for the official photos to be edited by Mel. Kinda excited to look at the photos and recall back the wonderful day.

I just want to express my deepest gratitude to Auntie Che Yah and family for the wonderful sirih junjung and potpourri and for the help they offered to make the ceremony go smoothly. Special thanks too, to my most beloved uncle and aunt, Uncle Shah and Auntie Ju, Auntie Ain, Mak Long and family, Uncle Yem, Auntie Adawiyah, cousins Aris, Alisa, Mona, Nazrin and Fendy for staying back and for the nice chat with me, Dib, Fatin, Liza and Zuhairy. Thank you too, to Zuhairy for being the unofficial photographer after Mel has left, you made it at last to my house :)

My deepest gratitude goes to Fatin, Dib and Liza for coming. Believe me, our photos captured by Mel were really pretty. Tak percaya?

Sweet tak, hehe..

And to my parents, thank you so much for making this possible to happen. May God always speed His love and blessings for you both.

Last but not least, to my friends, thank you for the wishes. I'm deeply touched :) Peace from us!

Feliz Año Nuevo

You know I have totally forgotten that there will (always) be celebration to welcome the New Year. Well, yes, one of the reasons being I never actually celebrated one, and I can't really see the joy of being another year older.

Yes, 2008 has been another great year for me. Conflicts, tears, laughter, new people, experiences and places, different jobs, everchanging bosses, a new status.. it was all complete. And I can't be more thankful to Him for helping me going through everything patiently. The different perspectives in handling them somehow taught me maturity and control over myself. I'm glad.

Life's short. With the increase of age it would be shorter. And for many, with the increase of age, the number of things we wanna do before we die also increase. And as years pass by, we come to notice that time is ticking even faster than we imagine. And yes, everyday, we are running out of time. And yes again, my mind is quite troubled thinking of it.

Lately I have been thinking about problems. Well, they are not exactly heavy problems that I have to crack my head to think of solutions. They are everyday issues that I have to deal with. Work, commuting, money management, relationships, conflicts, bills, etc. Yes, I call them problems. Realize it or not, problems will never subside. Only that the complexity of the problems differ from one to another, and not necessarily the older we get, the easier we can solve or deal with the problems. Problems are just everywhere in life. It is how we view them and how we take proactive actions to make things okay. Woh, I am starting to speak like a motivator, duhh.

But, yesterday, watching the burial of Yang DiPertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan made me think, that the worst ever problem for a human is when he is going to face God. Especially if he is not prepared to die. There, there will be no room for corrective actions anymore; only reward or punishment we will get for the deeds we did during our lifetime. And personally for me, yes, death is scary. Even though I recite the verses everyday, I know I won't be able to compete with others who perform better as a Muslim. In the end, I am just hoping for His forgiveness, if He can grant me that.

We never know how long we will live. That's the scariest part. It is either we live everyday to find His blessings, or wait till we are left with very little time to prove that we are among His worthy slaves. With accidents and diseases here and there, the uncertainty to live longer is definitely high. We can't say we are not going to be affected because we can't predict the future..

So, for the New Year, I wish to improve myself to be a better Muslim. I know I have the right people around me to help. I will keep reminding myself of these resolutions. How to gauge? Perhaps by the way I think, speak and act. Or perhaps by the satisfaction I would feel at the end of the year. God willing.


(Fairuz, you can help me with this, I know..)


SALAM TAHUN BARU~

Smiles :)

Welcome tahun baru Hijrah 1430! Welcome to the soon-arriving 2009. Welcome to a new status: engaged :)


Another year to go. I wish us every happiness for every day that we are together =)

Thank you to my parents, family, future families, cousins, friends and neighbors who came to witness and cherish the day.

May the coming days teach us maturity, patience and understanding, and may love grow.

Above all, thank you Ya Allah. Nothing encompasses Your power and Your blessings.

Sg Buloh Country Resort = Bukit Antarabangsa??

The nation was struck with grief when Bukit Antarabangsa stole the front page with the landslide tragedy.

Remember my Auntie Rahmah? She has evacuated her house now.. and I basically don't have any idea to what extent her house is affected. But since Dato' K's bungalow is still alright, so I presume her house is okay, cuz hers is just nearby.

My ex-boss, Kak Zi, whose house was the place where we held our midday barbecue, has also evacuated her house with her family. Thank God they were not in when the landslide occured (oh, I texted her to check). Since the houses in Taman Bukit Utama were reported to be damaged, I suppose hers is damaged too.

Oh well, talking about other people, I guess the hazard is not that far from my family at all. Today, as reported in The Star, the hill behind my neighborhood experienced soil movements, though less vigorous compared to that of Bukit Antarabangsa. A few neighbors were already told to evacuate their houses to ensure safety. And there is also a water tank on top of the hill. I hope that it won't tumble down. I pray everything is gonna be okay.

(now I really feel like singing the old nursery rhyme "Rain rain go away, come again another day!")

-the picture of the linkhouse opposite my house lane, with the covered slope behind them-


God, save us, please..

Tales in Yangon

(I post this especially for you, Iman!)

Well, it has been a week since I got back from Yangon, visiting Carigali for the Risk Assessment. Here we go, some pics that I have taken and some stories to tell while I was there. More pics in Facebook, definitely.

This is how Yangon city looks like from my room. Simple township I would say. No skyscraper.



I stayed in Traders, which was really near to the market where I did most of my shopping. You can get halal food here, and there are Malaysian chefs working here. Even nasi lemak is served! So I didn't really feel that longing for Malaysian food, hehe. The staff were really accomodating. But if you happen to have a trip to Myanmar and sleep in hotels, be ready with huge notes of USD since they only accept that currency for payment.


I just took this photo to appreciate the Burmese efforts to advertise their products on billboards, haha. You will see most of the billboards in Yangon to be advertising local-produced food. Apart from being a nation of closed-door policy, which does not really welcome imported goods, I sincerely think this is a good effort to cultivate the entrepreneurship within the local community.



Two significant things you can see in this picture. Firstly, the pagoda. Though there are so many pagodas around Yangon, but I think each pagoda has its uniqueness, which I can't tell cuz I don't really know what it is. Secondly, the cars. No new BMWs nor Mercs, very few cars of the 90s even. Why? Because those cars are too damn expensive in Myanmar! You will mainly see cars of the early 80s like Toyota Corolla or Datsun Sunny crowding the streets of Yangon. Even though they are old cars, but each can cost you up to USD$15k ok! Seriously car prices here are bloodsucking. House prices too, are the same. An old apartment (as in the upper levels of shophouses) can easily cost you USD$100k. Info obtained from local Carigali driver.

Well well well. This is a view of a cloth outlet inside the Pojok Market. Some call it the Scot Market. I'm not so sure how to spell it correctly. Here you can buy lotsa things. Precious stones like jade and ruby, various types of Vietnamese-like cloths, t-shirts, ornaments, kain pelikat (or longyi - as in 'long-ji'- as they call it here) and other souvenirs locally made. But one thing for sure, you can't show that you have lotsa money to shop here, or else the beggars will be crowding you. And they even accept RM notes for that matter.

This amoi was so happy that I bought a few pieces of cloth from her shop. Believe me, after I bought one cloth, she still held my hand tightly asking me to buy some more. I was sweating, thinking of how to let loose from her, haha, as I didn't want to spend my money entirely on buying cloth only. So, I came with the idea to take a pic as to end the bargain, and I moved on to other shops.


A photo with the helpful Carigali receptionist. I must say the staffs here, including the Malaysians, were very hospitable. It felt like home going to the office, and the receptionist was really helpful in helping us to change our currency notes from USD to kyats. USD$1 = 1250 kyats, if you're fortunate to get that rate.


Here I was, standing in front of Carigali bungalow. It looked a little bit aged, but the interior is superb, especially the wooden carvings along the staircase. Oh, yeah, the toilets are clean too. In fact, too clean that even KLCC and Dayabumi is not a comparison. How cool is that!


The only place besides the Pojok Market that we visited: the Yangon Zoo. Here I was pictured with Tin Zaw Myint, Carigali offshore technician who was so kind to bring Alina and I around the town. Notice him wearing the longyi to the zoo. In fact, this kind of attire is called the executive/ formal attire in Myanmar. And some of the longyi sold here are made of silk, to add to the aesthetics. The awesome thing about Burmese guys wearing longyi is that, no matter how they run or walk or sit, the longyi seem to be firmly tied without the men having to tie over and over again. Unlike Malaysian guys who wear kalin pelikat eh, haha.


Last night in Yangon, Carigali Myanmar was really kind to organize a farewell dinner at MiCasa Hotel. There were like 5 teams from Carigali KL, PMO, SBO, SKO and GTS KL visiting Yangon that week, and it was really good to have them around.

After the dinner. Alina was trying to take my photo when these kids suddenly came out of nowhere to take a pic with me. Pity them, they were still begging at this time of night (about 9.30 pm local time, 11.00 pm Malaysia time) Since kyats is so much smaller compared to USD, giving donation here is not an issue for us (berlagak orang kaya la kunun..)


I was about to leave the airport. This is the newly-built Yangon International Airport. From what I was informed, it was built by the Singapore contractors, in which you can tell the taste by looking at the design. It is a pretty airport, but not as big as KLIA. Things here are only sold in USD. I didn't manage to finish my kyat notes. Perhaps I will be back in Yangon to finish all those notes, haha. Guess who did I meet at the airport? The Malaysian football team who lost to Myanmar 4-1 the previous night. Seeing me a Malaysian, they said hello. Thank God I didn't slip my tongue and claim "Eh, you guys lost the game kan?" haha. Tak2, I'm not that bad.

Yoga? No thanks.

Well well, now Majlis Fatwa is in the heat again. Yoga is bannned, and as usual, some defiant groups are forever ready with their missiles and bombardings to prove that the newly announced fatwa is not being given full thought.

It's normal to have people opposing to ideas and new things, what more if it is going to be implemented as an enforcement.

Well yeah, some may say "Hey, I have been practising yoga for years, it has not affected my faith in my religion!"

And I will say "Good for you then :)"

As much as people are sensitive about sexism, racism, languages, and of course religions for that matter, but I notice that many Muslims here are the ones who are defiant or wish to appear ignorant of their own religious rulings. Why? Just to appear cool? To look universal? To reflect open-mindedness? I'm not sure. Well, to me, ignorance is never bliss.

Hm, since the parties who opposed the ban of yoga are the ones who usually oppose what is being said by Majlis Fatwa, I suppose they just love to oppose. So I guess the opposing parties can do no harm. Just that they can't keep their mouth shut when it comes to opposing. Mungkin ada excitement atau adrenaline rush dalam hobi membangkang ini.

On my part, I always thought it's a common sense to know that yoga IS some sort of a devotion way of another religion, which is why I have never wanted to practise it, though many said that it brings goodness to one's being. So I guess I just should go on with my skipping routine then.

From observation: Lesson #1

If you are 25, a degree holder and hold a career as a professional, and you are not knowledgeable about even the simplest general knowledge (like 'Who is the current DPM?' It's not even 'Who sat in the position of the United States Secretary of State before Condoleezza Rice?') even a school-goer knows, it is definitely NOT COOL.

Do not exaggerate on your ignorance. It is obviously not something to boast about.

People may not think your mind is too occupied on something else; people would just think you're dumb. Even a pretty face won't be able to cover it.

So don't show your dumbness just to appear cool. It won't work. Especially with me. It won't elevate my impression on you.

Perfection in difference

Okay. Great, I have just enough time to write something tonight.

You know, when I am alone, I think about a lot of things. Not necessarily those things have close relation to myself. Mostly it's about the things that I observe right from the start of the day until the time I call it a day.

From standing next to a guy wearing a Cartier watch in the LRT, to passing by the usual beggar sitting at the end of the staircase of Pasar Seni station, I observe the vast differences. Not only the difference of the environment of Dayabumi area compared to that of KLCC, but also the people: the races, nationalities, attires, way of life, etc.

Sometimes, I have this kind of perception towards people around me having observing them. Either good or bad or neither, it depends. But then, normally, when we observe things, we tend to forget to observe one thing equally, perhaps more importantly than the rest of the things we can see and evaluate in our sight. Yes, it's ourselves.

Most of the time, I perceive nothing is wrong with me. Nothing is wrong as in I watch what I eat, I manage my cashflow, I do brisk walking everyday (as a reason to stay away from the gym!), make sure that I am on time for work, keep my face away from pimples and blackheads, keep in close touch with my good friends and my other half, less of fooling around, do beneficial things for myself.. and the list goes on.. completely normal.

But at times, I try to observe myself from the eyes of other people. As in, If I were a guy, would I date a girl like myself? Or, i I was another girl, what would I (as in that another girl) think of (the present) me? Or, at times when I actually am fidgeting, and I try to cover it, and when I thought I could manage it, can people still see that I am fidgeting?

Someone will probably reply me "Ah, why should you care about what others think of you.. People will love you only when you love yourself first.." Hmm.. is it true? Most of the time, I face the pain of hating people who love themselves too much they forgot to think of other people around them.

But, has any of us realize, sometimes we hate others because they do things different from our paradigm or mindset..? The fact that it is hard to accept others' difference of paradigms, purpose and principles. Each of us may want to prove who is the best by competing, showing off, debating, etc. in which none of us wants to lose in any of those, because when we lose, that indicates that we have become a minority.

Of course, humans are not perfect. But we only say that because we can never find two humans physically, mentally and emotionally alike to each other. Yes, I am not perfect if I were to use the definition of 'perfect' of another person, and yes, I am not perfect at all if I were to see myself from an enemy's eyesight. But, from my point of view, I am living my life the way I want it to be, with the companies I love and by doing the things I wanna do. Just perfect for me.

I just think if we are ready to accept the differences others have, then it would be a perfect condition for us to clear our minds. We can find that perfection within the assimilation of differences in each person we meet.

How macho are you?

I thought that I could break the record of posting more than 4 posts per month in October.. gawd I was wrong!

I was away for the whole last week. The only fact that I hate when traveling is that it is hard for me to get connected to the Internet. I paid nearly RM 60 just to get myself connected for less than 30 minutes. That was at Hyatt Kuantan. So expensive.

After this, you guys should really understand why I call myself macho, hehe. Well, this is what I did today:

Visiting Energy Commission building site in Putrajaya

.. alongside my GTS senior engineer and her former boss. Sorry the pics are not that pretty since my phone cam is only VGA.

The view of Palace of Justice from the site rooftop

The fragile staircase that brought us to the roof. It was shaking when we were climbing upstairs. Never imagined I could get myself stepping on it. One thing I know for sure, heights don't shiver me anymore (habis la lepas ni abah suruh panjat tangga bersihkan drainage kat atap)

Hey look! I'm stepping on structural steel! (yang mana dahulunya saya sangat scared kerana risau kaki berdarah terpijak besi, he he he..) The white tubes are cooling tubes, to chill the soon-to-be-built concrete slabs for the ceilings and floors ( first time la nak pakai kasut flat macam ni. Kalau tak pergi site visit, jangan mimpi la nak beli..)

This is a close-up view on how the cooling tubes are mounted on the structural steel. Cooling tubes are an alternative to using air conditioners as coolers for this particular building.

This lady is one of a kind! Aneeta, or Kak Ita as I call her, a mother of four, and yet she still can brave all the heights inside the plants and this building site, just to increase her understanding. She took me to 4 GDC plants in two days, and she made me climbed one of the cooling towers inside GDC plant in Putrajaya. She's truly my GTS Idol! Seriously, it feels great to know a macho engineer-cum-mother.

Hm, I do have a topic to talk about. I am waiting for THE enlightenment to come.. soon!

THAT Question

Alas, today this particular guy in my class just popped me the question I wouldn't want anybody to ask.

"I see your finger is empty.. so you are not married..?"

Damn. "Well, soon!" nodding my head, "In fact, very soon.."Haha.

At times, I won't mind to fake it and say I'm already married, rather than being asked by a guy whom seems impossible to my liking. Haha.

Did I appear bad when I say that?

But there was an extended question to it. "Oh, not planning to get engaged?" Duhh~

I did this before: I wore a ring when I went to conferences or trainings to avoid people asking me that question, and most importantly, to avoid undesirable men from coming my way (definitely!). Afterall, the piece I have does look like a real wedding ring. Anyway, it is not an ideal thought to stop people from wondering. Many asked me if I was engaged.. (>_<)

C'mon guys, I'm still in the 'early 20s' category. Perhaps I look too matured.. or have I aged? Hmm..

The highlight of my weekend (^_^)

Introducing my nephews and niece, the cutest in the world!

Mukhriz and Marsha

and little Mirza

This Gen-Y lady gets a low score

I have this kind of behavior. Anything that has to do with the zodiac Capricorn, the Pig year (yes, I was born in the year of Pig! Though the Chinese say that it is a year of good fortune, I'm not proud of it), January, 16, 1984, the month of Rabiulawal, blood type O.. name it, anything that has to do with me, anything that helps me understand myself better, I would love to learn it. Somehow I enjoy being classified, but sometimes over-generalizing decreases the validity of a claim.

I came back from work when I saw the front page of the Malay Mail: No fears for the young: World-wide credit crunch a non-event for Malaysia's Generation Y.

Haha. Generation Y. Obviously it has something to do with me. What caught my attention was this profile of the average Gen-Y person. And on behalf of myself, I would love to compare the mentioned profile to myself. Let's see how well I score as a Millennial (another name for Y-ners)

1. They spend around RM300-RM500 a month on entertainment and leisure - definitely not me, where 'life' is sought at home, not outside. No point.
2. Their love for shopping has earned them the label of "dream consumers" - hmm, the 'dream' word cuz maybe I can only dream of buying an authentic LV or Marc Jacobs. At least for the next few years to come. Well, yeah, I love shopping. 1 correct point there.
3. On a good day, they hang out at designer coffee outlets and indulge in good food, which easily comes to RM15 per meal - Well, I have stopped visiting Coffee Bean and Starbucks since I got the emails that informed they are financing 'that country'. But eating out at a place where a meal is RM 15 is normal. So okay, 1/2 correct point for this.
4. Many own the newest handphones, equipped with the latest technology. Doesn't matter if they are not technologically savvy enough to utilize all the functions; what is important is that they own something at par with what their peers have - Not true. I only call, send SMS, MMS, Bluetooth, surf the Net, download songs, take a pic, make a recording, organize my calendar, listen to the radio and wake myself up (whoa.. so many functions ah??) only by using Nokia 2630.. and I bet even schoolkids will laugh at me for having a very cheap, basic phone. I can imagine the moment someone sees my phone, he/ she will go like "Ler.. guna fon tu je.. tak up-to-date nyerr". Okay. Not applicable to me.
5. Two-thirds know the price of an iPod, but three-quarters have no idea what a carton of milk costs - Hey, of course I know, I still drink milk! No points.
6. They have hundreds of illegally downloaded songs - Who doesn't? CDs are so damn expensive. Neways, we all have thousands of free downloaded songs. Another correct point here.
7. One in 20 spends more than RM200 a month on mobile phone bills - I must be one of the 19. My bill seldom exceeds RM50.. hehe.
8. A number of them have more than one phone - Used to. Not applicable anymore.
9. Many do not read the newspapers, or watch the TV news - Well, I will read the national and international news, but very seldom on sports. Like football for example, tau nama pemain je. Which club pun dah tak tau. Still, sports isn't everything. So no point for this.
10. They are heavily dependent on 'helicopter parents' who hover protectively over their offspring - Well, I stopped being dependent since I finished school. So again, no point here.
    

Wah.. 2.5 points/10 or 25%. Well, can't say that I am not a Gen-Y, but I guess this profiling is over-generalized. Perhaps it is more right if I was still in the varsity. Yerp, back then, phone bills were high, and I seldom read the papers or even watch the news. But still, shopping excessively was obviously out of the question. What more owning a hi-tech handphone? The percentage may still be more or less the same, only that I would have answered the questions with different answers.

P/S: Iman, this is not the topic I mentioned to you about.

Hiccups on 1st Raya: Maaf Zahir Batin!

1st day of raya: MY REPORT


I'm writing this in the interval to wait for the next chore to end the day: basuh pinggan! after the final guest makes a move.

Tomorrow we're heading north to my dad's hometown. Excited or not? Hmm.. although it will be just me, Ozal and my parents, I am hoping that it would be a good visit. Today's beraya was ended with an ultimate anticlimax. ULTIMATE anticlimax. Pengalaman pahit, kelat, semualah.

So what's left for me to feel excited about raya this year? I would wanna say the TV shows lined up for the celebration SHOULD be most likely (whoa.. LOTR is being aired now on 8TV.. tapi saya dah mmg ada koleksi LOTR trilogy pun.. so.. hm, not so much of a surprise..) but then, the movies lined-up by TV3 and TV9 were already being aired last year (see what do I mean by being glued to the TV during raya? I can remember clearly what was aired last year!) Plus, too many Siti Nurhaliza's clips turned my mood off (walau mcm mana susahnya pun saya mencuba, namun saya rasa takkan boleh menerima minah yang satu ini) So on the first day of Raya, I spent the entire noon on bed, reading.. until I dozed off. I need that okay, since last night was a busy night in the kitchen main masak-masak!

Since I have been working for almost a year, there is no argue on why I am not eligible anymore to get duit raya this time around. Yes, it's my time to give. And yes, I'm kinda fortunate that I don't really have that many little cousins or nieces or nephews to entertain. Well, not to say that I don't like little toddlers. Let's rephrase. I like little toddlers who are cute and well-behaved only. Naughty ones will get some 'twisting on the skin' for being so 'happening'.

(Oh, sekarang TV9 tengah air movie 'Rock'.. cerita last year jugak ni.. isk)

(Ok, berbalik kepada 8TV, LOTR. Smeagol tengah gila cakap sorang2)


Hmm, takpelah. Mungkin dengan sedikit kesabaran, Syawal akan menjadi masa yang bermakna juga.. I will need to pack after this, and sambung menonton LOTR while waiting for the guests to balik.. arghh sleepynya.. >_<

In between Ramadhan and Syawal

Ramadhan is nearing its end quite soon, and the heat of Syawal is definitely here :) Like the past years, we are going to celebrate Aidilfitri here in KL first. After that we will visit Opah in Abah's hometown, Sg. Siput, Perak. Believe it or not, Abah has not decided when to go back, either on the eve of the 1st Raya, or on the 2nd, or on the 3rd (I don't really prefer travelling without planning though..) but it's okay, cuz Abah's gonna drive, and we'll definitely sleep along the way, hehe.

Today we finally ended our series of shopping for Aidilfitri, in KL and Shah Alam. It has been a few years since we last shopped together in KL (usually we siblings do our own shopping cuz my parents were always too tired of following us around) and this year, I have no idea what made my parents braved the effort to buy the things for the house in that busy Jalan TAR.

Yes, it was busy indeed. Anyhow, the atmosphere of the shops were not the same as three years back. I was taken aback by the condition of the once-glorious Globe Silk Store, which has been taken over by another label called Sarah Hughes. I thought, hmm, cool name. So we went to the home furnishing level, cuz Mom wanted to buy new drapes and cushion covers. When we got there, we were surprised to see that there was no visitor (except for us!) and what was even worse, the cloths sold were the old stocks. I guess they lost the challenge to Gulati's and Jakel la. Feeling down, we descend the stairs, and went to Sogo instead. Ain and Aishah got their stuffs, and Ozal and Abah got themselves new shirts.

We headed for Bukit Antarabangsa after that, to get the cookies that Mom ordered from her cousin Auntie Rahmah. Our Auntie Rahmah has deep passion in baking, and she spends a lot to experiment on new recipes. She even dragged me to her fave supply shop to show me her fave items to bake cakes and cookies during my last visit to her place. Believe it or not, she is now probably 64 years old, and she's still standing strong in her kitchen!

Auntie Rahmah was checking which cookies that Mom ordered

These are just a portion of her cookies. There are more in her kitchen and on the other half of the dining table!

(Sorry if the pics are not so pretty. Phone's of VGA cam je..)

Shah Alam was our final destination for the day, as Ain, being the most unsatisfied one, wanted to find a 'glamorous' kurung moden for our cousin's upcoming wedding. We called it a day after she announced her hunt a success. Finally!

The great thing about Ramadhan (apart from being His most blessed month) is that Ramadhan is a month where rezeki is abundant. It is during this month where, we can see Ramadhan Bazaars are everywhere, the increase in charity to orphanages and old folks' home, invitation to fast-breaking, iftar at the mosques and surau, exchanging dishes among neighbors, the opportunity to get extra pocket money through selling Raya biscuits, scarfs, opening stalls at places where crowds gather.. and the list goes on. Amidst the political instability and the rise of the price of goods, we still manage to keep the Ramadhan spirit alive, though modesty in spending is still the priority.

But believe it or not, this is my first time of not visiting the Ramadhan Bazaar the whole month. Why? I dunno myself, but the drive just wasn't there.Perhaps getting home late was one of the reasons, compared to last year when my office was nearer. Or perhaps, I am getting used to curbing my spending on the extras! Well Sharifah, let's call that a good progress =)

To everybody who reads this post, I just wanna wish you Selamat Hari Raya, and maaf zahir dan batin. Do drive safely back to your hometowns ya :)

Ahhh.. esok kena kemas rumah lagi~ penatnya... (>_<) sendi-sendiku sakit semua.. lalala..~

A perfect mini reunion

It's been twelve years since we left our primary school. But yet, we never forget our childhood days.

Today is my most awaited weekday, and that it has been a while since I had a great Friday night. Thanks guys.

Well, I didn't know that I would be the only girl turning up. I thought Diba or Hazlinda would come along. Thank God Faizah and Nurul were there =)

Standing from left: Edzuan, myself, Arshad

Sitting from left: Zuhairy, Azraai, Kamil, Faizal

Arshad with his girlfriend, Nurul, and Edzuan with his wife Faizah

Me the photographer: We were about to leave the restaurant

TQ Nurul for this pic =) I was dwarfed by Kamil and Azraai.

The idea to break fast together sparked when Hazizi placed our Std 5 picture in his Facebook. Thanks to him for tagging most of us, we came up with the idea to meet up, since it has been really long since we last met.

There were twelve of us initially, including Hariz, his wife Marlina and the 3-month old Hana. But they left early. We didn't manage to take photos with the three of them. But nevermind, Raya's around the corner, we might meet up again.

Well, it's great that most of us are now employed. Faizal (or should I call you Dr. Faizal? hehe) just got back from Russia and will start his housemanship soon. Azraai will be going back to Germany for his final year in Mechatronics. Zuhairy will be a lawyer soon. Kamil just got back from Cardiff, and he's now looking for a job. Edzuan's working tomorrow (takpe, SLB kerja dua hari, cuti dua hari Edzuan..) and Arshad is progressing with his production thingy with RTM. Cool huh..

Thanks for a great fast breaking gathering guys :) I'll upload these pics in Facebook definitely!

P/S: Fadli, Zaki, Zamila and Hazlinda, you missed this!

Watch your words, boy!

When you think what you say matters the most, that is when you might be prone to making mistakes in conveying it. Due to excitement maybe, that made you too occupied to think about the impact of what you say. Yeah, you just gotta say something, don't you?

When you think that what you say can really reflect your intelligence, especially when commenting a debatable, open ended topic, that is when you will succeed in making yourself appear to be a thoughtless person. Yerp, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but of course, MINUS unintelligent opinions.


Too many slip-tongue cases happen, especially to our politicians eh.. what a pity.

Example 1 (Cerita lama): Perhaps because the Info Dude felt he was superior to the De-Facto Guy that perhaps he felt because he is one of the current Dudes, that he forgot to strategize the way to rebut the De-Facto Guy's arguments. Couldn't imagine how people bombarded his blog the day after.. with all the shameful words of not proving his credibility. That was indeed a shame..

Example 2: Datuk X must have said it wrongly.. I believe he actually wanted to address the word 'immigrants' as something else. But perhaps, because of the excitement he felt of being broadcasted, and that perhaps was the only chance for him to comment something on the newspaper before God-knows-when he gets to do it again, he used the wrong word. Well, the irony is that, the ones criticizing him are not really the politicians from other races, but mostly, it was done by the Malay politicians.

Tak kasi can langsung kan.. dapat je peluang belasah, belasah cukup-cukup. Sian Datuk X..

To join any political party, especially those that practise money politics, I think, can be analogized like this: You are a billy-goat, inspired to join the big group of tough billy-goats. You just have to be like them, follow them, not taking the lead, lead when requested only.. only then can you be pals with the rest of the group members. If you try to do something different or act smart (or even act stupid for that matter!), you'll be knocked out. As humans, not only it's painful to be kicked out, it's humiliating too! But.. hmm.. politicians ni tau malu ke eh? Entah!


Drama
"Datuk Si Polan bin Si Polan is demanded to apologize...." Mainstream newspaper reports politician X as saying.

"I'm sorry, it was not my actual intent.." and the reasons go on and on for the Datuk Polan.

-"Jatuh ego aku.. dem! Haisshh susahnya nak mintak maaf nih.." seraya berkata si Datuk dalam hati.

1 Ramadhan =)

(1)
You know.. whenever I encounter some 'gelabah' feelings when I'm about to deal with people that I am not used to, I like to picture this scene in my head: that the work can get done if the fear is not there. That I can just go and discuss a few things, get the finalization, and tada~ kerja siap!

To get that pictured in mind is easy.. but to overcome it, why so hard?

I like to imagine myself operating without any emotions. Perhaps it would be a lot easier to accomplish things. Say, the boss says "Do this and submit it next week.." I really hope that employees can just respond " Alright boss, next week it is." without the intervention of "Alamak.. next week aku nak cuti la.." or "Can't my boss speak a little softer to me..?" or "Why is it that I get to do all the chores.. mamat sebelah aku ni tak kena pun!"

Imagining this, I remind myself that it is best not to whine. Because of that, I view people who complain as loathing. So, if I have a few grumbles, I'll just keep it within.

(2)
Generalized list of people's idea during the fasting month:
- terawih every night (dapatkah??)
- hmmhmm.. apa ada di Bazaar Ramadhan petang nanti? hehehe..
- Malam nanti nak berbuka apa/ kat mana?
- Hotels giving good Ramadhan buffet deals.. let's go!
- Baju Raya/ kuih raya dah beli belum?

Hehe.. regardless of whatever that we think about, I just wanna wish my friends selamat berpuasa and selamat beribadat =) tiada gangguan untuk sebulan ni kan.. kerana si 'dia' kena unpaid leave sebulan.. hehe.

I swear~

Mungkinkah selepas ini, perlakuan bersumpah demi Al-Quran akan dipertikaikan kesahihannya?

In my case, I am thinking like that because I doubt him. (ok.. mungkin selepas ini, aku akan dikata shallow lagi, huh)

My concern is that, when he swore in the name of the holy Quran, and when he stated that he is willing to accept any consequence, i.e. dilaknati Tuhan, did he really mean it?

Yeah, some may say that I doubt him due to the fact that I dislike him. No, it's not like that. I don't hate him, nor like him even. It's just that I doubt his faith.

If his faith is really strong, if he is really God-fearing, and if he feels that swearing by the name of the holy book is the only way, then I would say he is telling the truth. (But still, what took him so long to reveal he was a victim after a few times being the toy? Well, perhaps his contemplating took him a while to do so la kan.. PERHAPS!)

If he is not that God-fearing, has never seen God's damnation to those who swears in falsity by His name, I would say his decision to swear is based on something like this: "Alah, laknat Tuhan tu bukannya immediately taking place, so boleh la ada masa senggang to finish the case before I am really grounded by God". That is my perception je la.. Budak-budak muda ni bukan boleh dipercayai sangat. Especially yang iman tak kuat ni.

Sama ada he is really God-fearing or not, I don't have the say. There are too many munafiqs around, which makes it hard for ordinary people like me to really see right through them, whether they perform their obligation purely on sincerity, repentance and succumbing to His divinity, or just to maintain a good name in the eyes of people, so that they will benefit something out of it. Politics.

Entahlah... there is always interesting political story when it comes to Anwar's case, since 1998.

What is exasperating about it is that, now, swearing in the name of Al-Quran has been politicized. If that boy is true in his swearing, fine. If, the swearing made by him is a swearing of a munafiq, then, nobody will trust the swearing in the name of Al-Quran anymore. Again, the pride of Islam will erode bit by bit. I don't wanna witness all those, I wish I won't have to.

What do I tell..?

I could weave a thousand chronicles
perhaps a tale or two will make you fumble
I could tell you many many stories
that I know could make you chuckle
... but I didn't mean to make you frown
... nor to keep you in elusiveness

don't you know I'm just a clown?

At times I wonder what's best to tell you
'Cause you know a lot more than I do
... Perhaps to keep it inside would be good,
but then that will undeniably eat my mood

So tell me what do I do..?

Honesty and truth,
Choose to know, it might open your eyes
Facade and pretense,
and you will hurt knowing that they are lies
or should I analyze
your desire
and only tell what you want to hear..?

On the 10th day of August

Waarrgghh~ haha.. stretching jap.

Ohho.. I am 10 days late in greeting my most-awaited month. I was a little bit occupied with extra-curricular activities (which I really love~ haha) and handing-over process, since my replacement has just came in.

These two weeks have been great for me definitely. The fact that I still have that emceeing voice (3 days of emceeing in a week for PETRONAS level!) really made me feel good. Plus, meeting Faridah Merican in person was a great experience I should admit. She delivered a really good speech that day during the Future Leaders Forum, which even made the CEOs impressed. I reckon great minds come with experience.

August has been a special month, last year and this year too hopefully. Last year, my prayer was answered in a blink of an eye, and I am forever thankful to Him for listening so closely to me. Yerp, soon it will be exactly one year since I gotten the best gift. This year, let's see.. hmm, my transfer to GTS R&T and Ain's graduation, among those written in my calendar.

My complaint for this time around: It's kinda hard nowadays to taste good nasi minyak. Many of the weddings I went to, the nasi minyak tasted bland. A sigh for the ceremonies definitely. Sorry for having that sort of criticism. Or perhaps, the most suitable reasoning for that is because different people have different tastebuds.. and that their tastes differ from mine.. heheh..

Oh well, nothing so significant to write about. I escaped from reading the news for a few days already. Tired of the politics (and the Bar Council issues too!)

Of pot-luck gathering and currypuffs... and Tein's birthday

Sorry for the long~~~ pause ya (especially to Iman!) Saya tidak berjaya menjadi pengkarya pilihan anda minggu lepas ya, hahahaha~

Oh well, maafkan saya. I'm GLAD that today ended the series of my Mo0Ody Days I had this week. I guess this time, it was the most terrible mo0Od swing I had! I'm relieved it's over!

We had a great pot luck time at my boss' place @ Bukit Antarabangsa today (penat lalu depan Rumah Dato' K, tak pernah2 terserempak, haha!) Most of the department staff were there, with each of us bringing our specialty meal and delicacies. Spaghettis, nasi ayam, sate, nasi impit... all the good and fattening food. Me? I brought my self-made currypuffs. Kak Nadia said they were good (of course la, acece..) She tapau-ed a few to bring home. Heehee.. I'm honored, and delighted, of course!

Most of my colleagues brought together their spouses and children. Haha, my fave baby would be Zeti's. Iman, nama baby Zeti pun Iman.. tapi it's a boy la.. hehe. All he did was chuckled to all of my weird and funny faces. Tapi, sayangla.. lupa pulak nak took his photos. I will post the pics of the day in my Facebook lar..

Very soon enough August will arrive. I will wait patiently for the passing of the first half of it. I am eager to know what will be the story for me starting from the second half and onwards. It may be exciting. It may be the other way round too.

Hmm.. lastly.. siapa nak tahu recipe kepada pastry karipap yang sangat sedap dan crunchy?? (siyes beb sedap.. ni my Maktok yang ajar ok! Please do try. Intinya, buat la sesuka hati anda ye.. hehe)

The currypuff pastry ingredients: Flour, cooking oil, butter, water, condensed milk, salt. (Sukatan? Terpulang kepada tukang masaknya, asalkan kena dengan selera anda)

The method:

1. Pour the flour into a mixing bowl. I used the whole packet.
2. Heat the cooking oil together with the butter. 2 tablespoon of butter to be heated with 1 cup of cooking oil. Turn off the burner after the butter has fully dissolved in the oil. Let it cool down for a while.
   
3. Pour the mixture of fats into the flour, a little at a time. Mix well until the flour texture turns into somewhat like damped sand.
   
4. Mix the water with a tablespoon of condensed milk and a pinch of salt. Taste it before pouring, so it matches your taste. Then pour it slowly, still a little at a time, so that the portion of the water mixture is just right for the flour-oil mixture to form a dough.
5. You will see that the dough can not be stretched that long. The texture is kinda choppy. That is a sign that your dough is good (good as in it will be crunchy after you have fried the currypuffs) Your dough is ready to be rolled into thin pieces now!
6. Tips: When you are about to fry your currypuffs, make sure that you place them into the frying pan before the cooking oil gets hot. Better if you place them before turning on the stove, so that the fried surface will not have 'bubbles', and your currypuffs will look good =)

Iman, try ok! Untuk gathering birthday Sarah ;) Ke, nak aku buatkan... hehehe...

Hari ni birthday Fatin. Happy birthday Tein =) I will not mention yang ke berapa, cuz even for myself, it's sensitive now, haha ;) sorry aku lambat sket wish (>_<)

Mom's new celebrity student~

I know my mom had a few ex students who now became popular celebrities: Awal Ashaari, Aishah Sinclair, Dynaz, Faizal Tahir and TV3 newscasters Azawate Zenol Abidin and Shahida Azad Jamaludin. Yeah.. maybe Mass Comm students have this desire to appear on TV after graduating. Maybe they wanna be called as graduate artistes kut.. mungkinlah..

She told me again of a student whom she is teaching now. But at this point of moment I am feeling a little bit frozen over the story that my mom just blurted.

Her current celebrity student now is JANNA SYARIZA. Yes, JANNA SYARIZA. The most-talked-about girl in Malaysia right now. The girl whose blog(s) received hundreds and thousands of critical comments in just a few days. A pilot's dumb daughter who lets herself continue to be the fiancée of the good-for-nothing, popularity-obsessed, university-dropout, potential-bisexual, can't-even-defend-himself-from-being-molested-by-a-sixty-year-old-man Saiful Bukhari.

I'm starting to feel the heat of living in a small world again!

(Iman, tidakkah anda berasa ingin menemani saya ke UiTM untuk melihat secara dekat minah ni?? Haha..)

This is definitely gonna be interesting ok. Who knows she would come to my place one day, bringing her fiancé along. Haha.. I'd love to imagine =)

Wanna know more about her? Ala, just Google la kay. Access to her blog has already been denied for unauthorized personnel (I just checked).

(well really, I would love to comment on that Saiful guy, but since there are too many informative posts here and there in the blogs, I will just read them instead of commenting too. But the fact is, he is already a gay, if he was really being s*******d)

Rantings on a Sunday

A SMALL WORLD

Okay. I must admit that I haven't been to sooo many places there are on the surface of Earth to call it small. But lately, the phrase 'what a small world' seems to be occurring for quite a few times already for me.. which you know, ignites the jitters at the back of my head. This is an example.

Like a month ago, I attended my distant uncle's wedding (he's my mom's second cousin) in Bangi. I was really eager to have a look at his bride cuz he was sooo adoring the laydee (how did I know..? I checked his friendster and blog la. Okay2.. now I sound like I was stalking, haha. No lah, not that kind of intention) When I came to the wedding and saw the bride, it came across my mind that she was someone kinda familiar to me. I totally forgot about it until last week when Nona aired the wedding ceremony. Indeed, she was really familiar. So, I did my usual searching method: seeking on Google.

And so, I came across her blog (yeah, she blogs, haha!) Reading her page from top to bottom, I managed to find the answer to my wondering. We lived in the same neighborhood before! And we even used to cycle in a group too.. only that I think she didn't really fancy me, and the same case was for me too.. and that we didn't really talk to each other.

And now she's my uncle's wife.. blimeyy.. (>_<) or should I say "eeuuuwww..~~~"

Nope, wouldn't try to make her remember our childhood stories though.. it's better that she doesn't even know that I'm related to the husband. Oh, my families are like that. We rarely do even yearly visits on Raya time. The ties are getting looser with the growing of globalization. Perhaps when I have my own children later, the aunts and uncles they will only know are my officemates, besides my siblings and in-laws.


OF MARRIAGES AND GETTING MARRIED

The elders said, "bila dah sampai seru nanti, berjodohlah.." I buy that =)

The second half of 2008 has already started. Wedding invitations from my fellas pour in like there's no time for me to breathe until I get the next invitation. So alright, I am starting to feel like I am in God-knows-which-poll-position-it-is, in terms of winning the race of who-gets-to-reach-the-status-of-being-wedded.

I dunno why, but the sense of competition is coming back to me. Believe it or not, I surrendered during my time in the varsity cuz I knew I would never beat Tpot or Rahimi, or better, I didn't wanna spend my time like they did. And that I thought, if I were to continue being tied-up in the competition mentality, I would lose the fun things that I could do. So the past 5 years, everything was done 'under my interest, capacity and self-drive'. Yeah, it went fine. Varsity years was great. But I guess now, being just 'fine' is not what I want any longer.

I have this cousin. Pretty and educated. It can be said that we competed on almost everything: UPSR, PMR, SPM, which university we attended, what kind of job, who knows how to cook what, who bakes better cakes and biscuits on Raya.. those kinda stuff. I guess it was because of this competition idea which made us strangers to each other. Only now that we're grown ups, we are trying to mend the ties between us.

And so, this coming August and December, she will get engaged and married. Yerp.. again, that makes me feel I am in God-knows-which-poll-position-it-is-to-reach-the-status-of-being-wedded. Darn~ I hate this feeling. I wish that I could think of buying her a sweet present for her big day. But the sense of competition is killing me. Darn darn..~!

I confided in a friend about this. He told me just to chill and relax. Yerp, I should realize, it is after the wedding where greater responsibility will be carried.. and getting married is not just for the sake of the life record. I guess it is better for me to equip myself with better knowledge and and conscience before taking this next important step.

Oh well.. I know I'm learning everyday.. hmm..


CLASSIFYING YOURSELF

During the induction course that I underwent in February, there was a fragment of the course that enabled us to identify what type of personality each of us had. I was classified as 'The Shark' that reflected me being dominant. There were 3 other types: The Owl, The Teddy Bear and the Sheep. I can't really recall what the three others specifically mean, but they are something like this: The Owl: the thinker, who pauses, takes time to decide; The Teddy Bear: carefree, likes to have fun, sweet; The Sheep: rather shy, needs to be pushed, makes the Shark type angry, haha.

Okay, so I was then classified as The Shark. I was quite comfortable by being classified as so, because I thought, over the years, I haven't actually lose that part of me. I was always the dominant type. I didn't wanna lose it.

Lately, I did a few reflections on my actions, behavior and doings. I guess this Shark attitude could actually drive me up the wall. It's like, I can anticipate, in a few years to come, I might be diagnosed with having high blood pressure or some other diseases related to that. So I think, it is best if I were to revisit my inner self again.. which I have not properly done for a couple of years.

I read somewhere, that everyone at present needs to be agile to the call of globalization. And that, the key to globalization is to be fast, accurate and competent, so that one can stay competitive and relevant to the present world. And I feel, that Shark attitude is overwhelming me, because I thought I wanna answer the call of globalization. But there are times when I actually don't.

There are times when I loved to answer numerous work calls. And there are times when I wish I was somewhere peaceful and quiet. To learn to better serve the Creator.

Yeah, it's good to keep abreast with the modernization, but I am afraid all these will take away the person i would wanna be.

There is an old saying 'Dunia dikelek, akhirat dijunjung; agama dididik, moden dibela'

I hope my conscience will be better..

Malam boring

2145 hrs

At this point of time:

- I'm amazed pemimpin-pemimpin senja ni pun ada Facebook.. kalau blog tu boleh la tahan lagi. Gilers impressed! Nak scout berapa ramai penyokong ler tu.. (>_<)

- rasa amatttlaaa bercinta kerana esok terpaksa pergi Bintulu.. haih cepat la masa berlalu.. takkan la Julai pun akan jadi miserable month kut.. seems to me it will be affirmative .. nooo..~

- pelik kerana dalam dua hari ini telah terserempak dengan seseorang yang tak mahu dijumpai who looked at me as if we have some unfinished deals.. apa hal la mamat tu..? Jealous eh.. haha~ *wink*

- rasa amat la boring kerana dalam dua minggu ni hidup akan terkeluar daripada kebiasaan.. sedikit keseoranganlah..

- i thought i have been quite honest. Agaknya tak cukup lagi untuk membuatkan my Big Ma'am notice.. isk2.. or dia saja buat begitu so that I would change my mind.. hmm.. neverrr~

- dua colleaguesku telah menamatkan zaman bujang (sunyi je office lately.. they are on leave) and because of that I get to be the target of that 'boring' question.. ye, sampai seru saya kawen le.. bawak sabaq sket..

- Hidup Gs di KLCC telah menjadi sedikit mellow dengan pemergian Nadi ke Kerteh untuk menyahut seruan menjadi engineer semula.. ye, pas ni my turn dengan Iman pulak eh.. amin.. (^_^)

- I promised myself that I won't spend as much as last month. But I just bought myself a pair of comfy sandals.. for the sake of comfy walk in Bintulu (-_-) abes la kena leter sebab tak save..

- I have missed quite a number of engagements + weddings. Sorry la guys.. tak sengaja.

- I haven't packed my things. Gotta go.


2235 hrs

Of plants and pets

My fave spot in my house and its compound would be the lawn.

Though the bougainvillea plants are not really budding that many flowers, I never give up hope to see them popping new petals.. and I always wait for the next weekend to come, to see if there is any good progress.

Yerp.. the greeneries around the house helps me to calm down somehow.. there is pleasure being surrounded by green growing trees and plants. Furthermore, the longan tree is starting to bear fruits. We also have a few tapioca plants, and they are growing fast. Siapa nak free sayur pucuk ubi, bolehlah mintak ye.. no charge at all :)

Ooops.. hehe.. that is Ozal in the top-left pic. I am not sure what was he checking on.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When I came downstairs this morning, Mom told me that our 2-week adopted little mynah which we called Chipchip has died. It didn't really eat since yesterday morning. I thought Chipchip was getting bored of the bird palette that we have been feeding it. Chipchip's death added our bad record in raising pets.. sigh.

We had a few pets before: 2 kittens, a cat which we called Minah, 3 Oscars, a mynah (which we didn't give a name) and Chipchip.

We had the Oscars as Ozal's birthday present. I think that was back in 2002. They were really aggressive, and they fed on small fishes and tiny shrimps. They died at the same time my grandmother was stricken by dengue in 2003. We didn't know if the Oscars were infected also, but yeah.. it was sad that we had an empty aquarium after the incident. Mom didn't wanna have fishes as pets anymore.

THE OSCARS

Minah was a special stray cat for us. The fact that she always dropped by in the morning and at night ignited our affection for her. A few days after giving birth to her two lovely kittens in our kitchen, she behaved really differently. She vomited and excreted everywhere in the lawn, and the last time we saw her was when she was lying under the pudding plant at the corner of the lawn. We were very sad and buried her. We gave away her kittens to my aunt, who is a better caretaker of cats compared to us.

Chipchip came after about two years after we didn't really have any pet. She was an orphan nestling, left abandoned on my room ceiling. My dad took it off the ceiling and brought it down, since she was making noises up there. For the first two weeks, she was okay. I didn't really know what went wrong.. but I suppose she must have been needing something that we can't give her: a mother bird's treat. Today, she left us.. I felt really bad..

That mynah.. oh she was an even more fragile story.. I can't really recall though..

But all I know, I wouldn't wanna be so auspicious of taking care of animals again.. Though the intention is good, but I would prefer if their life span can be prolonged if they stay in their own comfortable zone.. that even cushions and expensive palettes can't compare.

I wonder if I can keep these words..

Lookout! (if I have tagged you~)

Okay. So last week was a busy week for me and KLCC fellas.. especially on answering-the-emails thingy. I'm not gonna defend my employer here.. cuz I think I'm done with it, and how it drained the energy out of me.. I guess I'd better be doing something better. Angry people won't access their rational heads anyway.

But the thing is, no one was there to help clear the fact, officially. That interview with Tan Sri was a wasted opportunity by the TV station to help clear the facts, thanks to the two (shallow) journalists and the (err) chairperson. Except us, the employees who at most, could only reply the allegations thrown to us.. but of course, never to the satisfaction of the bombardiers. I guess the premier enjoyed it very much since people were diverting their blame elsewhere, whereas all the blame should be put on him.

Ah.. just gth, premier.

Aite, so now, I need to unwind for a while. Let's play the game of tagging. Those whom I have tagged below, you can answer these (or should I say, you must! hehe..)

7 facts about me
a) I am the eldest of four
b) I'm half Perakian and half Johorean, but I claim myself a full Selangorean.. hihi..
c) I have about 9 moles on my face (and counting..)
d) I love singing a lot. Nevertheless, I don't like karaoke competitions.
e) My shoe size is 8 (ye.. sgtlah besar ye.. >_<)
f) I am actually not that talkative, trust me.
g) My fave item when I was in school was my box of oil pastels. Yerp.. I loved art.

7 things that scare me
a) Cockroaches (the most!!)
b) Ermm.. almost all insects (minus ants)
c) Ghosts (though I have never encountered one, but nevermind)
d) Big-built, rough-looking man (ala2 the villain in Mulan animation). Ramai seyh men like that in KL
e) Death
f) Illness
g) Stormy weather

7 songs playing in my mind
a) Stop and Stare
b) Teardrops on My Guitar
c) Aku Lebih Tahu
d) Damaged
e) Sempurna
f) Aku Skandal
g) Pagi Yang Gelap

7 valuable things in my life
a) My family
b) WND 2204 driver
c) My Gs
d) Good friends around me.. you know who you are =)
e) My gadgets and accessories
f) My certificates
g) My resume

7 'first times' in life
a) Singing in front of a crowd at the age of 6
b) Became the class monitor in Standard One
c) Khatam Quran at 11 years old
d) Rollerblading when I was 11
e) Won a debate competition at 12 years old
f) Go-karting at 15 years old
g) First time staying in a hostel at 18 years old in Asasi Sains UM

7 best gifts received
a) A white gold ring
b) A brown pashmina
c) A silver pearl bracelet
d) A purple pearl bracelet
e) A pink pearl bracelet (three bracelets from three friends okay.. isn't that sweet :D)
f) A coin bank. Helps me save more :)
g) A hand-made photo frame

7 friends that I wanna tag :)
a) Kak Zufina (or en. Dayat yang tolong buatkan nanti? haha :D)
b) Eija
c) Radzi
d) Hafidz
e) Enol
f) Adrian
g) Iman (kalau hang rajin la..hehe)

Ngok ngek hari Jumaat

Ok.. after a while tak update blog, I promised myself that tonight I would jot down anything that I can think of.. even though it's crap!

Hari ini dalam sejarah
I dunno what will my (future) children read in their history books.. I dunno if Kementerian Pelajaran will write all the glory of the nation sahaja.. Tak aci la kan macam tu.. semata-mata nak cover kelemahan pemimpin yang teruk.

I just viewed the video on the parade against the fuel price hike tu.. i think it was led by Salahuddin Ayub, among other leaders. Kalau aku jadi Paklah la.. malunya aku if rakyat want me to step down. Bukan setakat written protest atau invade website PM ye. Ini dah terang-terangan menyuruh step down. Aku rasa Paklah ni bukan aje tak pandai (memang sejarah pengajian dia pun memahatkan yang dia tak pandai sejak muda-muda lagi kan) tapi bodoh sombong lak tu. Dah tak reti nak melukis, tak payah la berangan nak lukis painting mengalahkan Yusof Gajah atau pelukis Central Market sekalipun. Dah tak reti nak mentadbir, bagi sajalah pada yang lebih berkepimpinan dan berfikiran seperti seorang leader.

Dan selain rakyat Malaysia who have my sympathy, my support also goes to my Tan Sri.. people who are not enlightened can say what they want.. tapi I suggest kenalilah custodian minyak dan gas negara ni dulu.. baru la hentam beb.. nampak berasas sket (kalau argument tu berasas la kan..)

Hmm.. akan adakah coretan tentang perhimpunan sebegini dalam buku teks Sejarah 10 -20 tahun akan datang..? Or some writeup begini "Paklah gagal menjadi pemimpin yang berkesan sehingga memaksa rakyat menukar kerajaan kepada Pakatan Rakyat"

Ntah la.. takpe2.. mak ayah boleh jadi storyteller, haha!


Nak emo jap..
Hmm.. when I was in Form 4 and Form five, I permitted my friends calling me Kak Pah (though I was used to 'Sharifah' all the way before that!) because they justified that it was a symbol of respect towards the headgirl (yes, I was the headgirl!). Later, bila masuk universiti, entah siapa la start calling me Kak Pah (which I recently found out that it was Thana!), boleh kata most of the varsity mates who can be called distant friends called me by that nickname. I hated it actually. Nevertheless I managed to change the nickname to Ira for those close to me. So yang mana panggil Kak Pah tu, they are of course not my close friends, or I personally define as 'member angkat-angkat tangan je'.

Now, kat KLCC, jangan mimpilah I wanna respond to any Kak Pah calling anymore ya.

There is this friend of mine, I wonder why he interchangeably call me Ira and Kak Pah. Recently he needed my help to get into my company. I gave him the contact person and I expect him to liaise directly with her (be independent la wei~). But he kept on bugging me to ask for the updates, which he can easily do it himself. Last Wednesday, he opened a chat conversation with me, by calling 'Ira'. I didn't respond because I was away from my workstation for quite a few hours. Then yesterday, he opened a chat conversation with me again, by calling me 'Kak Pah'. Hell no, I won't respond ok. Nasib kaulah..



Tolong kawan.. ?
To what extent can you help a friend? I used to be inspired of being a good Samaritan, but now, I guess no more miss nice girl. I seldom ask for help from my friends because I don't wanna trouble them, and I don't wanna put the value of friendship on a favor not being fulfilled. But I realized that there are a few friends who take me for granted. Since I can't really confront face to face, I'll say them here
- bila nak bayar hutang?
- see me when you miss me, not when you have problems only.
- I will just be honest, cuz honesty is the best policy, either you like it or not.

Once I read this somewhere.. "Friends come and go, but friendship is there to stay".. I wonder what it means.. seriously I can't figure out any sense there..

But I'm glad so far, I have never encountered this with my Gs. I hope I never will. God willing. Gs, thanks for the sincerity.. =)

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

Esok..??? I ada date di post office~ haha.. see you there!

Sabtu Malam Ahad

Today is the final day of May.. and I'm glad it ended with a feel of happiness inside =) though I don't really like May, and it felt like forever to reach this date. Alhamdulillah tomorrow is June.. well, not that I like June either.. but I would love to see what will happen to me in June :) (bunyi mcm saspens jek eh.. ececece..)

When I started this blog, I told myself that I wouldn't want to write about myself.. I mean, I don't wanna get that personal. Hmm, I guess I would wanna ask for an exemption for this post, boleh? Sure la boleh kan.. this is my blog pun :P

Currently mood:
I am a little excited. I will not reveal the reason as yet.. but I know for sure it will make my sleep to have less tossing and turning after this. I know I could smile more eventually.. pray hard!

Current wish:
To make some people know that I am actually not that dependable (yes!) Why..? Cuz I wish those whom I reckon could be independent could actually be independent. I don't nag, but don't presume I will just accept. Since I don't really express myself that clearly face-to-face (tak sampai hati beb..) I'll just say it here. Please Grow Up. I have my life to lead too.

Current indulgences:
One Republic (they are sooo good! It's so hard to sing Stop & Stare like the vocalist does..) and health matters. Do you know that is it wise to vary your cultured-drink because if you drink the same type of cultured bacteria everyday, they will get used to your intestinal tract environment, and that is not so good for your stomach (err.. correct me if I'm wrong kak Zufina..) haha.. if you are interested, you might wanna read more details on prebiotics and probiotics. Important for babies. Mommas-to-be, please take note!

And at present, I take different cultured yogurt drink daily (^_^)

Current lesson learnt:
Honesty is the best policy.. I should admit that the statement holds. I think I was honest enough these two months to tell my superior what I wanted to tell for the past few months. But nevertheless, my honesty, without His help, would still mean nothing.

Current nostalgia:
30th May 2007: Modern Control Engineering was the final exam paper I sat for. I missed the time my coursemates and I ran for the library to shoot some photos after the exam ended.


Current issue:
Our KPDNHEP minister is kinda slow in solving the hike in the price of rice, isn't he? I thought he was this really effective leader.. sigh (abes la I kena ISA kalau salah cakap). I would not buy rice for the time being if I were Mom. Makan roti hari-hari. Boleh diet! (perhaps only applicable to the unmarried.. {>_<})

ermm.. mungkin itu suggestion yang lame.. huhu..

True Colors

During my recent trip to Bintulu with my new senior manager, she posed a lot of personal questions to me. I don't usually welcome questions about myself, because none will ask anything about you one question after another (I think so!) unless he/ she is trying to understand or make an impression about you.

Five of her points that I could recall were:

'it is really a miss if you don't enjoy what He has given you'.. (yeah.. I missed rollerblading with these fast legs -_-!)
'have you ever looked at yourself long enough in the mirror and admire His gift?' (ece.. lawa sangat ye aku nih.. haha)
'you should learn to take from those who wanna give you..' (personally, i prefer giving.. cuz 'tangan yang memberi lebih baik daripada yang menerima..')
'you should not try to cover yourself.. it's like wearing an unseen hijab.. you should not be timid to show your true colors..' (it's not because I'm timid actually.. but as a woman, 'pandangan itu perlu selalu direndahkan..')

Well, I guess everyone's opinion should be listened to. And yeah, people who know you for a short while tend to focus more on the displayed traits rather than the underlying attributes and persona. And i guess that was what happened in my SM's case.

Okay, the feedbacks will not have any function if no intervention plan to figure the corrective measure is taking place, am I right? Hmm.. it's not that I have any intervention plan already.. I didn't say I agree with the feedbacks she gave me. But then, it's worth my time to think, why did she think like that?

Most of her points, I guess, commended on the way I behave and how I manipulate my appearance in public. The way I behave in the office, she said, is best summarized by one word: serious. Yes, I don't really smile that often when I am at the office, especially when I receive new assignments to be done.. well, it is definitely not because I am not enjoying it.. but rather, looking serious helps to preserve the drive to work in me (i have been like that for ages~ ask Dib or Fatin!) Also, not being too friendly helps to keep my relationship with the male colleagues to be maintained at the platonic level.. it works at least for me, especially when there are many in the office who are still looking around.. huhu. But of course, I do smile when people drop by at my workstation asking for assistance on HR matters. No doubt about it.

Remembering Cyndi Lauper's True Colors,

"But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful,
Like a rainbow"

I believe in those lines. I believe that our true colors can be better seen by those of special ties with us. It is exactly not my idea to spill myself wherever I go. Because our true colors, sometimes are not being displayed directly. Sometimes it needs certain ability in other people to see right through us. It is how they see our true colors, without us making the effort to really show them. Because at times, we are not that aware of our true colors too.. and we may need help from the people who understands us best to show to us that we are really this or we are actually that.

For example, some friends will laugh at me if I say 'I'm gonna spend my weekend trying out new recipes' since to them, I don't look like this maiden who spends her time in the kitchen, in which in fact, I do. Nevertheless, I'm not gonna waste my time convincing them that I love to cook. Yeah, I know that many distant acquaintances would take me for a rough girl, which I actually love to hear. However, it breaks my heart if anyone close to me would think so. I deliberately create that kind of impression in people who knew me for a short while though, because it is easier to keep the distance in that manner. At least I think so.

Well, I guess everyone has their own way to express and appreciate themselves. I do too. It's just that I don't do it as often as searching for new recipes during the weekends. Also, it is not that easy to find something that really satisfy myself. Not even winning first runner up in Euphonious okay (and it was definitely not because we didn't win first place either..) maybe the last few great things that happened to me were EDX and Convo Dinner.. where I got to sing the songs that I really wanna croon in public. But that was last year. This year, I'm still searching for it.

Perhaps the differences among people is what makes them question a lot about other people's doings. Yerp, differences are interesting, and liberating too. It only becomes a problem when we have problem adapting, if not, understanding.

Examples that I can think of right now:
"Euuww.. why you like to wear pants..? It's not feminine maa~ Buy skirts lorr", or "Kenapa you pakai Maxis? Bukan Maxis macam sosial sikit kah trademarknya?" Judgmental~


.. atau adakah aku terlalu angkuh untuk menerima soalan begini.. hmm..

WHUTEVER.. (>_<)