In Transition

33 days to go...

2008-05-13T22:22:00.003+08:00

dag dig dug..dap dup..beledupp..wedupp.. dup dup.. dab dab..gedebub

tu bunyi jantungku.

33 days to go.

p/s : humongous butt could not fit into baju nikah. warghhhhhhhhhh

Look out for the silver lining

2008-04-07T23:13:00.002+08:00

Betul orang kata, kejayaan lebih bermakna bila kita bersusah payah dahulu.

Remember those days I cried tears, sweat blood for my Master's degree?

Alhamdulillah, I've just been awarded with the Best Student of (UM) by Persa*tuan Pust*akawan M*alay*sia.

And to make things sweeter, himself was there with me.

Ermm, actually he was not in the auditorium, but waited in the car. He reached PN*M just after I received the award. This morning, he drove 1hr 45 mins from JB to KL just to fetch me and drive me home. "Kesian awak naik turun bas aje".

The best Supir is awarded to HIMSELf!!

Perginya seorang perwira

2008-04-01T23:07:00.000+08:00

On Monday March 31st, at 6.30pm, Atok has finally left us.

Al-fatihah.

2008-02-22T13:10:00.004+08:00

Dukacita dimaklumkan bahawa blog ini mungkin akan ditutup untuk ~~sementara~~ ~~sampai bila-bila~~ sementara waktu.

I'm not being fair with thou, ye faithful readers. There are many stories to tell, many pictures to share, but currently I am too caught up with my work.

In the personal department, things are fine. Life as 'tunangan orang' agrees with me tremendously. Alhamdulillah, even though we have only 112 days to go, major planning and preparation are being handled by the wonderful Atikah Studio. Tanpa mereka, akan ku jadi pengantin yang bermata beruang panda dan paling stress di muka bumi ini.

Let's have a quick recap of major events from the last post till now.

On the 13th Oct (that was before the engagement), Kakak gave birth prematurely (she's 1 week short to 7 months) to Izz Irfan bin Izhar. After 3 months stay, Izz is back at home and he's the cutest ~~thing~~ boy, with a potential to be a heart breaker with those lips and chin.
Nearly being cut open - on 9th December, I was wheeled into Putri Specialist Hospital to see the Obgyn Doc, after experiencing a very sharp pain at the lower right side of the abdomen. Ceritanya bermula begini - Pagi tu, time angkat barang beli kat pasar da terasa sakit. Ingatkan muscle tear. Tapi bila sampai ke petang tak baik, i've sensed something is wrong. Macam sakit senggugut (tapi belum time pon) tapi dekat belah kanan je. So off to the doc, and was diagnosed with functional ovarian cyst. Menangis time tu jugak. Put under 24hrs observation. Sakit tu puncanya sebab the cyst is leaking blood. Kalau tak kurang jugak sakit, petang tu jugak dia buat laproscopy surgery. Alhamdulillah, tak jadi and for now under observation je. The wonderdul doc told me, there's no need to worry. There are too many hormones in the system, too fertile katanya.haha.So selagi the cyst x besar lebih 5 cm, no need to operate OR wait until a year after kawin, kalau belum conceived then operate. I've heard soooooo many horror stories about other people with 'relatively' same condition as me, and I have one thing to say to them - IT DOESN'T HELP ME FEELING ANY BETTER. For now, have to say goodbye to gym session - no rigorous exercise, angkat benda berat2, high-impact aerobic, running or jogging for me.
End of Dec - menghadiri kursus pra-perkahwinan with himself. Stage 1 dah settle. Proceed to the next stage.
January - appointed Atikah Studio as our wedding planner. Made orders for bakul telur from JARO. Mid Jan - menghadiri kursus kenegaraan. :)
February - Atok is being warded at HKL. Scheduled for operation to remove the tumour in the bladder. Last time I went to see him, Atok is a shadow of his former self. :( Lost an aunty to heart attack (Mak's SIL). She was 48 years old and left behind 8 children, the eldest is 27 years old and the youngest is 8.

Work wise, I'm threading this journey with utmost caution. I've learn a lot - and quickly too in the 6 months of being part of the current organisation. You just never know what to expect in the next turn. The key words are - sedia dan redha. :). Oh yeah, and stay calm. That, I have to work on. ;)

Wish me luck people. and thank you.

Let's hope we'll be seeing each other soon.

Hugs and kisses.
Syana

The best birthday present!

2007-10-31T13:04:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, there's an anak dara with her anak sedara dressing lawa2, waiting patiently in a room...

Suddenly...
Finally, after all the waitings and dramas (nak masuk 9 tahun tauuu), we're advancing to the next level..

Doakan kami, agar jodoh berpanjangan hingga ke jinjang pelamin dan seterusnya ke akhir hayat kami. Insyallah.
The engagement was held last Saturday, 27th Oct 2007 - on my birthday. :)

Nurin Jazlin

2007-09-21T21:59:00.000+08:00

It hit home this time. The news about a body of a little girl, stuffed into a bag, badly battered, bruised and sexually abused.

It's her. Nurin Jazlin. May Allah rest her soul, and place her among His beloved.

Nurin. She had the same first name as my niece, Nurin Salma. Seeing her pictures in the newspaper, those sweet smiles, innocent laughters, reminded me so much of my Nurin. I could not imagine, how would I be if I were in her parents shoes.

Spare the parents additional grief. They have lost a child, in a gruesome way. Let's not judge them. It could happen to anyone, anytime.

Nurin Jazlin. She's an angel now. Rest in piece sayang.

Don't Mind Me

2007-09-18T20:54:00.000+08:00

I wish I'm in the office right now. Yeap, at 9.05pm, that's where i want to be right now. I think I am turning into a workaholic. And I don't mind a bit.

As of right now, that's the only CONSTANT thing in my life. Got up in the morning, go to work, read newspaper, check mail, start cataloging and go back at 5pm.

In the end of the month, make sure u achieve ur target, and SURELY u will get paid. that's it.

NO UNCERTAINTIES.

If I could duplicate the key to the office, I would stay there until God knows when. Provided no momok mengganggu.

Seriously, it's much better than mopping around the house doing nothing. Losing in my thoughts.

I'm this close.. thhhiiiiiissss close to lose my grip. thiiiiiiisss clooooooose.

Format Peluru

2007-09-08T14:29:00.000+08:00

Nak update guna format bullet boleh? x larat nk elaborate lah.

just got back from 3 days of 'cuti rehat' last wednesday. Go KL utk bertemu dgn kekasih lama, si Na*zrin. Utk kali keduanya, dpt scroll dr dia. Nasib bukan madu I yang kasi. hahahaha. So, dgn rasminya tamatlah zaman postgrad.. buat masa ini lah. :)
Mak got me a huge bouquet of sunflower with red berries. she said sunflower reminded her of me on my good, cheery days. obviously not during my mood swings lah. tersentuh hati ku. reminder to self : kena happy selalu.
work wise - gosh, pegi keje dua tiga hari org tanye nape x ceria. PMS kot. and having some glitch concerning my assistant.. assistant baya mcm mak2 kita, satu cabaran weh. sabar sabar.
ape lagi?
oh.. hari tu mkn sotong goreng tepong ok je. x nangis pon. ;) begitu juga ketika mengopek udang. im such a drama queen.
a week aftr puasa da start keje duty malam. jeng jeng jeng. jaga reader advisory desk. jeng5x. semoga saya berjaya. jeng6x.
Done for now. more updates bila rajin.

Nak gambar grad? nanti nanti laaaa....

Tears and Prawns.

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

I have a confession to make.

I nearly cried during dinner, while shelling a prawn on my plate.

Why?

Himself used to do it for me when we eat out. He taught me how to shell the prawn using fork n spoon. No fingers.

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

Two Thursdays ago ( i have a knack blogging basi story eh?), while driving home deciding whether to hit the gym or go straight home, I received an sms from Himself.

"Awak, meh la turun GH. Saya tunggu."

He was in town. Visiting his makcik who was transferred from KT Hospital to HSA. Upon receiving his invitation, I felt excited (who doesn't at the thought of meeting your better half rite?) and anxious at the same time. As it turned out, he's not the only one who was waiting for me, there were his mom, and uncles, aunties, cousins from his extended family.

Uh-oh. Me versus 20 of them.

His Mom, I can handle. His Mak Ngah also can. I'm pretty likeable. hehe. But, what made me so red in the face was how his Mom and Mak Ngah introduced me to their big, jovial extended families.

They used the 'T' word. You know, T as in tunang.

"Inilah t*****nye An. Syana namanye," said his Mom to them, while Mak Ngah grinned and winked at me.

Then, I started to sweat profusely.

Himself was standing at the other side of the room, with a huge grin/smug on his face.

Things looked rather promising on that Thursday. The relatives were meriah, loud and witty; even at the face of adversity. We hit it off quickly. My anxiety weaned off bit by bit, and by the end of the visit we went out for dinner at the nearby Dataran Bandaraya (or Jam Besar, as he affectionately called it). Me, Himself, his Mom, Mak Ngah and Pak Ngah. The mood was warm, filled with laughters, endless teasing and friendly banters.

In between Sotong Goreng Tepung and Udang Black Pepper, Mak Ngah made a joke, "Na.. nanti ckp dgn bapak, pelamin tu buat lebar sikit tau. biar kuat sikit. Tgk ni Si An makin sihat. Kembang dah perut dia".

To which he replied, "Nanti perut ni transfer kat dia la Mak Ngah".

I nearly choked on the Ikan Siakap Masak Tiga Rasa.

I felt so at eased, and Himself looked so relax, so attentive and I swear, by just looking at him made my heart melt (all over again).

I was high. It felt like walking on air.

He even said those three magical words, over the phone, before we went to La-la Land.

Tapi itu cerita last week.

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

Now, I'm at the lowest point.

He's a good man. Wanting to be the knight, protecting everyone he loves. But the load he has to carry, is too heavy.

Tengok udang je dah sedih. How am i going to go thru the rest of the days, nites, weeks or months? Or even years?

I would certainly bawl my eyes out, the next time I see Siakap Tiga Rasa.

Or Sotong Goreng Tepung.

Or Jam Besar.

*sigh*

Hippy Librarian

2007-08-11T11:14:00.000+08:00

Clinical School Library

*cough cough*

It IS a bit dusty here.

A lot of things has happened since the last post. I resigned from my 1st monthly paycheck job on the 28th July, packed my things from the office and still came for work till the 31st July (I should get paid ok!).
Had a mini farewell sessions given by the students. Lunch at Fig & Olive with Diyana, tea & cheesecake at Secret Recipes with Fadli. Darlings they were, I would miss them tremendously.

Pinky and the brain (surgeon) - me with fadli.

Reported to the new workplace (new ke? I was there about 11 months ago.) on the 1st Aug. Got sick on 2nd Aug and terribly sick on the 3rd, 4th and 5th Aug, with high fever. Asal masuk keje tempat baru je mesti demam dulu.

New place is fine. cume have to say bye-bye to my slacks and blouses. hehe. First thing i did, stock up on baju kurungs. For the first 2 weeks I would be attached to the officers, learning the ropes of working in the bigger, established library. Once in a while I do get anxiety attack. That strange sensation at the pit of my tummy? It was frequent. Haha. And the funniest thing is, since I'm assigned to the Cataloging Dept for my first 3 months, I had been dreaming about cataloging, subject headings even kena marah pasal salah cataloging for the past few nights!

Now, that's workaholic..to a new level.

Wish me luck and success at the new place. :)

p/s: I'm thinking of moving to a new blog or seize blogging. Why? Cos it would be hard to retain my anonymity with the current URL. So, there could be less chances of ngumpatan in here you see?? hahaha.

Two More Days To Go

2007-07-26T12:25:00.000+08:00

Two more days to go and suddenly the list of THINGS TO DO gets humongous!

Before Saturday, which is going to be my last day, I have to:

fill in staff confirmation appraisal for the two subordinates working with me.
make TWO proposals. One for their training schedule and another for hiring student helper.
Budgeting for next year.
handover notes
reports
dan etc etc etc.

Have to forgo gym again la today gamaknye :(

You Were Always on My Mind

2007-07-19T15:24:00.000+08:00

9 more days to my last day working here.

And I'm already being nostalgic. Jiwang jiwang. Dengar lagu pun slow-slow. Keep on playing Michael Buble's songs. Dok ulang ulang ulang ulang.

Maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should have
Maybe I didn't love you
Quite as often as I could have
Little things I should have said & done
I just never took the time

But you were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

Haiiizzz..

The R Letter

2007-07-13T13:14:00.000+08:00

Gosh, it was so hard to tender the 'R' letter. It took me a week and many sleepless nights just to compose one.

And I actually printed 6 copies. Three of it I mistakenly addressed the HR Manager as Sir when her last name was Kaur. Dah terang2 it should be Madam, but somehow my mind got twisted. Luckily a friend volunteered to proofread it for me. So I printed new copies, double check "Dear Madam". If not, malu besar. malu semalu malunya.

I anxiously await the month of August.

Fig & Olive has arrived in JB!

2007-07-08T10:32:00.000+08:00

My family and I really appreciate good food. We wouldn't mind parting with our big bucks if the food being served fulfills our standard. Knowing Baba, the standard is of course bukan calang-calang ;)

Being in Johor Bahru, we couldn't experience much fine dining. Oh yes, there are plenty of upscale cafes or bistros. But we are always dissapointed with the dishes. The reasons range from the prices being too expensive , small portions, serious tak sedap which sometimes even Kak Supi and me could prepare it trillion times better. Yang paling menyampah, ada dalam menu tapi bila nak mesti dah habis.

There's another category, restaurant perasan upscale. They are trying sooo hard to sell western, mediterranean or mid-eastern dishes but FAILED miserably. I could easily give you an example. Chismosa at Jln Kolam Ayer. They can fool others, but not us.

Their Shatsuka is baked beans, too much onions and meat. Where's the spices? fenugreek, all the jintans and everything? and baked beans? geez. Nek Wan could easily taught them how to cook proper mid-eastern dish. When arwah Nek Aki was still alive, he would brought his Arab friends and they just loved Nek Wan's cooking. Just like back at home.

Their Fajita? Macam lempeng kering served with black pepper beef on hot plate. Out of 5 stars, I would give Chismosa only 1 star. 1 sahaja. Sebab kesian.

Mama chops and Papa grill? My dad tak sebut2 pn nak go there again, so I don't know how they fare (according to piawaian Baba).

Sometimes those upscale restaurants also serve liqour. Some of the dishes also being cooked with liqour (when requested). Therefore, we would have our was-was. Eventhough the chefs are muslims, and they stated that the ingredients used are Halal, what about the utensils and everything. They gave us our assurance, but still.... We always wonder why could not they just serve 100% Halal Food? Could not they survive if they don't serve liqour?

So, imagine how excited we were when we found out about Fig & Olive opening a new branch in JB. They are located on the 2nd floor, City Square JB. Beside Se*dap Corner. Originally from Singapore, Fig & Olive is an upscale, cafe and bistro serving food items representing a blend of European and Mediterranean origins. Come and indulge yourself with Fig & Olive healthy, nutritious and delicious meals. - quoted from Fig & Olive website.

Everything they say and show on their website? Bukan cakap-cakap kosong. Confirmed.

And the pictures of the dishes would not do justice of the real thing being served. Confirmed.

The prices are very reasonable. Wait until you see their portion. For the Chicken BBQ, 3 scoops of mashed potatoes. mane mau dapat 3 scoops? sedap pulak tu.

Healthy and nurtritious? Bet they are. They would give you healthy portions of salads, ni bukan salad bodoh setakat timun sekeping, tomato sekeping, daun salad layu sekeping tau. It's really good quality salad sebanyak2 nya.

Delicious? Tok sah cakap lah. Go there and eat. Experience it yourself.

Apa yang kitorg makan ek?

Chicken BBQ Pepper (Kak Supi)- 1/4 roasted chicken swimming in BBQ-ish pepper-ish - not sweet sauce, with carrots and broccoli, and 3 scoops of mashed potatoes = RM12.90.
Fish Melted Cheese (Adik) - Fish and chips with a twist - 3 big chunks of dory fish with melted cheese on top (we wish for more cheese! hehe), carrots and broccoli, coleslaw, fries selambak-lambaknye = RM 14.90.
Grilled Fish Romesco (me) - grilled dory with romesco sauce - spicy and sweet - sambal tumis with a twist ;), with salads (huge portion. I LIKE!), plenty of fries. recommended for orang yang kalau makan, x pedas x boleh go, like me! hehe = RM21.90
Zafirah Zaytoon Steak (Baba) - TWO piece of steaks (dua tau!), with baked potato and salad and olive. nyum nyum. recommended for those who doesn't like pepper-ish meal. = RM23.50
Fiqo BBQ Pepper Steak (Mak buyung aka Kakak) - TWO pieces of steaks and 3 scoops of mashed potatoes berenang-renang dlm kuah. and salad = RM22.50

Our comment would be:

Appetizer should be served first instead of last. Same problem with other restaurant too. We ordered Moroccan Chicken Drumlets but it was too salty. Very salty indeed. Upon receiveing our complain, they offer to cancel it from our bill. Masin-masin pon, 2 out of 6 drumlets hilang.
The cashier needs to be more efficient with the transaction. They have to familiar themselves with the credit card machine - both with chip or magnetic strip. Since most foreigner use the magnetic strip version.

We are the example of VERY satisfied customers. We give Fig & Olive 4 and a half stars! terpaksa deduct half for the 2 comments above.

Kak Noha, bila mau turun and sample Fig & Olive? ;)

Disclaimer : All images are from Fig & Olive website.

The Week It Was

2007-06-30T17:30:00.000+08:00

kalau org lain yg pegang camera, mmg muka aku jd gini. with wani and lemy.

No matter how long you have not meet your good friends, once gathered, we would simply continue where we dropped off previously. No moment of hesitation, awkward greetings, 'how are yous' sort of things. It's just..

"Woi!! pe citer? sampai ati eh kau biarkan aku present hari ni. tak tido malam aku buat slides tau. benci seh"

And laughed ourselves silly.

I got the chance to gather with my MLIS buddies, Wani and Lemy as we were forced (hehe) by our MLIS Sifu, Prof Zainab to present our papers at ICOLIS. How I miss those days when we were still students, chasing deadlines (datelines?), burning oil after oil preparing for exams, copying each other assignments. haha. Covering for each other if Prof Zainab asked on our whereabouts. Seriously, I miss you guys.

The conference was held from 26th-27th of June. It was my first time attending and presenting a paper, in an academic environment. being surrounded by professionals, professors dan segala PRO. Betapa pucatnye muka sebelum present. Makan pon tak lalu. Tido langsung jauh sekali.

The best part attending the conference was, we're able to see the fun and relax side of our lecturers. Yelah, sebelum ni nak hantar assignment, hutang tesis je. Of course they are serious. Tapi ni bila dah sama2 kumpul, I did not feel misplaced at all.

I think I grew up already. *giggles*

Best jugak being away from work once in a while. :)

Anyway, on my way back to JB, I have received an order for cupcakes. Dalam bas pn sempat berbisnes. I made those last nights. Lama tak masuk dapur and baking. It takes a while jugak la nak panaskan sendi2 yang dah lama tak sukat2 tepung ni. hehe

Feeq requested for chocolate cupcakes, warna yellow and green. nak corak2 cute. that's the cutest i could get, consider umur dah jauh bonar dari kategori cute. hehe. hope she likes the design!

Hmm.. once dah get into full swings, terasa nak baking lagi! watch this space. hehe

********** UPDATE 1/7/07 **********************

Remember kisah nak pergi interview with tangan sejuk, kecut perut and brand new golden/black heels but kain berlubang tuh?

I got it. :)

Alhamdulillah

Bila Jac Merajuk

2007-06-21T11:27:00.000+08:00

Bila Jac merajuk, dia akan baca La Tahzan = Don't be sad.

There's a thing or two which humans can learn from their pets.

Chopp..chop.. nak enter frame. I was viewing Michael Buble's video on YouTube, and among it was an interview on his new album. Dalam sekelip mata tu, keluar satu image yang menggoncang hatiku.

Jeng Jeng Jeng..

Ntah camne, posing si Michael ni bleh tersama plak dgn himself. dgn bulat2 pipi nye tu.. Hahaha. Nak mintak otograf kat dia pas ni. ;)

What if...

2007-06-18T16:19:00.000+08:00

WHAT IF..

1. your bf says you can't meet your
guy friends?
- ask him to tag along then. free ride!!

2. your parents like ur siblings more?
- why mak? why pak? i ruined ur
honeymoon ke?

3. your bf spends more time with his
friends then you?
- im going to tag along next time he
meets his friends.

4. your bestfriend backstabbed you?
- aku menjadi talam lapan belas muka kt
dpn dia. siap ngko.

5. your bf's ex keeps calling?
- let me answer the phone.

6. your mum says she hates your bf?
- which bf mak benci ni?

7. your gfs dump you for theirs bfs?
- tak tergolong dlm gf aku.

8. your loved ones passed away?
- doakan kesejahteraan di akhirat.
sedekah al-fatihah byk2.

One of many favourite pastimes I indulged in, fill in surveys to post on Bulletin Boards on Friendster. Above, are excerpts from one of the postings, entitled What if..

Never would I imagine, one of the questions above, happened to me last weekend. The number 7.

I could not fathom how a person would acted that way in front of me, I gave her a smile and all I got back was an icy stare. From a person whom I regard as a sister.

I was told, all that because of a very immature reason.

Sigh.

From The Desk Of...

2007-06-15T14:55:00.000+08:00

Today is the last day of the semester for the students, which is also the beginning of their 1 month semester break. Being a kind and friendly souls they are, they wished us happy holiday. How I miss those days, 3 months long of semester break.

I had my time. :)

With the start of the holiday means normal working hours for us. Clock in at 8.30am/9.30am/10am, out at 5.30pm/6.30pm/7.00pm, instead of opening the library till 10pm. This also means, proper gym time for me.

Seriously, the jeans are way too snug.

The interview I had last week went ok for me. But, the new heels keep on tersangkut to my kain which, alas made a hole in it. Yes, I went to the interview with a lobang in my kain. Kain berlobang, tapi kasut brand new. I also made acquintances with the fellow interviewees. Found out that one of the interviewees was a candidate for my current post.

No wonder she looked so interested to know where I'm working at.

Btw, the basic salary being offered for the new post, with similar qualification like mine is way way attractive. WAY WAYYYYYY more, belum campur those allowances/COLA etc etc.

I hope the interviewer didn't see the dollar/RM signs flashing on my eyes.

Anyway, I was squeaking with glee while doing the weekly grocery shopping with Baba last weekend.

Setelah lama ku cari dan ku tunggu2, baru kini ku menjumpai mu..

Apa yang seronok sangat tu?

To be continued....

Wish Me Luck!

2007-06-06T18:06:00.001+08:00

After having conversations with the colleagues at work, Baba and himself, I have decided to go for the interview tomorrow, with an open mind.

Wish me luck. Geeez, I feel like dolu-dolu again. Nervous, sejuk-sejuk hujung jari tangan and kaki.

Bought a new black/gold heels. Hehe. Pemberi semangat.

Anyway, after work I went to a dinner with the colleagues and doctors working at the school. It wa sthe director birthday and he treated us for dinner! Wee! Sanggup tutup library orang belanja punya pasal ;) We were having authentic northern indian dishes at Chakra Restaurant. One of the doctor mentioned that the restaurant is also being frequented by the royalties. The food were superb. The coconut ice cream was delicious. But I drank too much masala tea, i was jollier than usual. Heh.

And when I came back home, went to the kitchen to wash my hands at the sink and.. and..
I deliberately put Jac in there. Cos there's a paralyzed/semi-concious cicak in the sink. I don't dare to see what happened to the cicak afterwards. Perhaps i will wait until everyone else is back home from KL.

Biarlah berhari-hari cicak tu kering. Jangan harap la aku jenguk. I would do all the dishes in the bathroom sink.

Still In Transit?

2007-06-05T18:27:00.000+08:00

I went to the "Pusat Pos Laju" just now, to claim a letter which were send to the other house. What letter I didn't know. I was curious. And after getting the letter, I'm feeling jittery all over.

The letter is from the workplace which I did my practical. Calling for interview.

Confuse, joy, nervous, confuse - are the state of my mind.

I am now sitting here, re-reading the letter over and over and over and over again.

Am still reading it.

p/s: btw, the pic above is taken with *ahem* my new phone *ahem*. Went handphone hunting last sunday with himself and each of us bought ourselves a Sony Ericsson. Woo! * I don't know la kan.. penyakit ape handphone pon nk sama brand*

Typo

2007-06-02T23:55:00.000+08:00

I hae no speifi subjet to blog about I just bored out of y skull

As you an see there are seeral issing letters fro y post Its not a deliberate typo anyway Its just that the lappy deided to slowly dwindle and die on e

Try to gie it a guess whih letter is issing

ABDEFGHIJKLNOPQRSTUWYZ

In addition to that I issing puntuation arks too

Family Day - The Aftermath

2007-05-28T10:03:00.000+08:00

Oh yeah. What a weekend. Can I have a repeat please?

Last Saturday went to the O*ilTank*ing Family Day, accompanying himself. It was held at D*owntown East, Pasir Ris. Drove to S'pore in the morning, had a glorious Bagel Omelette at McD (was breakfasting alone though), fetched himself (who just finished his night-shift) and off we went. Had fun at the theme park (though we purposely avoided all the vomitting-induced rides), and getting all wet from Wet n Wild ride. Haha. What a funny sight. With my tudung plastered to my face, us walking around in our drenched clothes and laughing most of the time.

And the Daytona Go-Kart ride? I left himself behind and 'eat smoke'.

Wadahek. It was fun. But my right hand 'asyik gatal-gatal' throughout the day.

Get to dressed prettily and handsomely for the Dinner, and guess what? It was worth it. He got the 3rd grand prize - 1K - cold hard cash!!! Yay, it goes to Nak Kawin Fund i guess? hehe. patutla tangan aku gatal2.

Nak selit some story, it seems that the chances for us to win any lucky draw is higher whenever we're together. There were 4 occasions where we won something (tapi tak semestinya dapat the prize la kan? heheh).

Back in 2001, we were dining at TGIF when we decided to fill up a contest form. Since it's for Malaysian, aged 20 and above, (I was 19 at that time), I altered the birthdate on my IC number while he provided the answers. Many months later, I received a letter from TGIF, stating that I won the consolation prize (a hat, t-shirt or something) when I never won anything before. But I didn't redeem tgose prize, remembering that I forged my birthdate. haha. surely they would demand our IC as proof right? hehe. Nasib consolation. kalau grand prize, die-die I tuntut. hehe
We were walking along Orchard Rd, and were stopped by these 'Survey people'. We have to enter the survey as a couple. So we happily provide them with whatever answers, and at the end of the session we had to draw a scratch-and-win card. Mine shown nothing, but his - to the 'survey people' shock (diorg ingat no one will get anything), he won a 2D/1N stay at one of the expensive hotel in Orchard Road for 2 people. Gubra the survey people, they even called their supervisor. He came, and said that we need to give our details to claim the prize. Tapi yg kurang asamnya, since its a survey for couples, we were not eligible for the prize since one of us (obvioulsy me) is not a S'porean or even a PR. Told my dad about it and he said, we have a right to claim that prize. Haha (Yelah, claimed it and give it to any of our parents la kan, kite belum halal pe.. hehe)
Again, survey on Orchard Road. And this time, after answering some q's, the lady offered to give us a $200 Takashimaya shopping voucher if any of us owned a Visa. Bila that lady mention shopping voucher, aku dah drool da.. imagine what i can buy with those vouchers. Tapi berkecai harapan when he said he DID NOT BRING HIS. kecewa gila. and lagi kecewa when i found out later, he actually BROUGHT HIS VISA but PURPOSELY TAK NAK MENGAKU sebab TAK KUASA nak jawab soalan2 yg selanjutnya. shopping spree beb?!! shopping spree went down the drain. aku kecewa tau tak.
the 1K cold hard cash. and he happily announced (and i kembangly accepted) me as his lucky charm. wah sehhh.. and a friend of his told him, "eh Pi, congrats!Seribu seh! (then said to me) lepas ni boleh beli cincin berlian untuk tunang". WAY TO GOOOOOOOO PAKCIK!!!! *hint hint hint hint hint*

Definitely looking forward for his next family day. hehehe

2 weeks worth of entry

2007-05-24T16:00:00.000+08:00

In two weeks since the last post, I have :

1. joined the gym - which caters for women only. How good is that? I can get fit after joining it, instead of get fit first then sign up for (unisex) gym. No need to be concsious of the butt!! the gLooOrriOuuss BUTT!

2. started to get into my job, which means starting to like it and be annoyed with it.

3. seen another dead body, this time already on the police truck, wrapped in a body bag.

4. received 3 wedding invitations - classmates at SIGS and matrix pilah. Ok, no need to get panic YET.

5. my mature-beyond-her-age cousin, got married. OK. IM NOT HAVING A PANIC ATTACK! haha

6. 5 minutes ago, i defended myself against aggressive salesman from Grolier, "I'm sorry Sir, I agree with what you're selling is a good investment. But, it's not one of my priority yet. Any amount of money I save each month will go to my 'Nak Kawin Fund'." End it with a smile. And look him in the eyes. And I WON!!

Whatever it is, in two days time, I'm definitely going here and get crazy:

Am looking forward for the weekend.

Fasten Your Helmet

2007-05-12T23:04:00.000+08:00

Thursday 6.50 a.m, Senai.

I was in a taxi on my way to the airport when I saw a wrecked motorcycle in the middle of the highway. Not far from it, a man lying face up with blood trickling from his mouth. He was right in between of the 2 lanes road, in line with the road marker. About 20 metres from there, at the road shoulder, a black helmet; and a couple of metres away, a car with shattered rearscreen.

The man was lying still on the ground. No one has stopped to help. The traffic whizzed by as if nothing's wrong.

From inside of the taxi, I could see the man. I looked at him, at his face. It was a big mistake. His face etched deeply in my mind. In those mere seconds, I could recall his feature vividly. And to this day I keep seeing him.

Is he dead or alive?

Who is his family? Wife? Any kids?

We could not stopped. The driver wanted to, but he could not as he was driving me to the airport. I wanted to tell him to, but both of us were so shocked, we were speechless. We drove in silence the rest of the way.

Later in the evening, in the hotel I was staying, I phoned Mak and told her about it.

"Mak, I keep seeing him."

Baba advised me to recite certain ayat and doa, to make me feel better, calmer.

It's a good thing a colleague decided to accompany me that night.

I kept seeing his image. The way his hands and legs sprawled on the road.

I cried myself to sleep that night. I dreamt about him too.

In my dream, a group of people stood around him, their arms linking around each other shoulders to create a protective cocoon for him.

I wanted to share with himself, about what I saw but I know I would, could and should never do so.

It's his one of many pantang.

He is afterall, my knight on a shiny Super Four bike.

Ride safely Sayang.

One Eyed JackHimself

2007-05-02T21:50:00.000+08:00

Earlier today I went to Singa*pore Nationa*l E*ye Centr*e accompanying himself for a day surgery. An incision and drainage procedure to his left eye. He has been suffering with a 'ketumbit' for months. Adalah dalam 2 bulan. Hai.. ngendap sapalah tu sampai kena ketumbit tak sembuh2 ek? hehe

I drove to SG *wah, skang da pandai drive savvy masuk SG youu..sendiri sendiri lagi.. kembang montot kereta ku* and fetch him from his place dalam cuaca yg sungguh tidak memberi sokongan moral *hujannnn la katakan*.

So we went there without an appointment, and being told that the waiting hours was between 2-3 hours. Takpelah, we were all ready pon. I was with a Jodi Picoult's book, while he was with his mp3 and fisherman's hat (konon bleh cover muka utk tido).

Tapi, x sempat pn kitorg panaskn kerusi, he was called. From examination room, to consultation room and lastly *my favourite* to the treatment room. Haa.. time ni la mata dia akan dibedah dgn jayanya. About 30mins later, he came out of the room, walking a bit unsteadily with a huge bandage over his left eye. I could not help but to laugh. I teased him a bit, "nangis ehh?".. and he just nodded his head. hehehe. Ciannyeee...

"Awak... sakit tau.."

Dengan jln hoyong hayangnye, I told him to take a seat while I went to the cashier to settle the payment. In the middle of the transaction, he came near me. Abis nurse tu buat satu statement to him which i donno whether to laugh or marah.

"How are you? U can sit over there while MOMMY make some payment".

Ape?? MOMMMYY?? NURSE TU KATA AKU MAK DIA??

We looked at each other in disbelief. Ini betul2 ke cobaan2?

Emo Alert

2007-04-29T20:36:00.000+08:00

Oh well, it's not good to dwell on ur misery for long right? So, let's move on. (erm, im actually entertaining myself since he's suffering frm PMS, which could last for days.that if im lucky. if not, it would be weeks then.)

Tee-he-heeee. I'm evil.

Anyway, today have to deal with another person who is suffering from major mood swings. Aku ni yang tgh PMS, belum ade chance to exhibit my mood swings. Chet.

Since, my siblings and I were very young, we always had someone who would babysat us during the day. So, our nanny would come over to our house from 9am-4pm. I remembered Kak Esah, who always brought me for evening strolls before she went home; Kak Rahmah with her verrryyy long hair (and over zealous and abusive husband); and arwah Tok Temah, who dotted on me sooo much, i could do away with almost everything while Kakak and Abang weren't so lucky. Arwah Tok Temah was the one who taught us to keep pets, starting from cats then moved on to mermut or rabbit. Tok Temah ni banyak songeh orangnye. Sebab dia makan sirih and songel. Hehe. I was always fascinated with her makan sirih rituals. Starting from wiping the leaf on her batik, calit with some kapur, put on the gambir, fold it, and munch munch munch away. Then she would spit orange/red coloured juices *erk*, before taking the songel, and tucked it behind her lips.

I don't know how could i let those lips kissed my cheeks. heheh.

After her, Mak started to hire full-time helpers to help taking care of us, and with the household chores. But we never ever address them as Bibik, orang gaji or even maid. They are known as pembantu rumah. Once, when i was 5 or 6 years old, I was scolded by my parents for addressing them as orang gaji. We are obliged to help with the chores too. Setting up the tables, washing our school shoes. Kalau nak panggil, bukan melaung. We treated them as part of the family. And most of them stayed with us for years. Alhamdulillah, we never encountered any incidents such as them running away (with the money etc etc).

Every one of them has come and goes, each of them has their own plusses and minusses. And so far, the best helper we ever had is the current one. Kak Supi. She is the epitome of professional maid. Kalau lah ada pangkat mcm gomen, silap2 dia S48 kot? hehe. She cleans well, cooks well (tak nampak aku makin SIHAT ni?), even pandai berjimat when it comes to buying groceries (she followed Mak to the market every weekend). She has her own ISO in doing things. Am not kidding. She even folded plastic bags ok?

Only that, after her mom passed away last year, she has been suffering from mood swings. We could understand her sorrows, sadness for not being able to be by her mum's side. We had offered to send her for a month break, on our expenses but she refused. Even now, once in a while we told her, to go ahead and visit her family, again she would refused. Takde duit katanya. The thing is, we have decided we would pay for it. Sebagai hadiah/balasan atas bantuan dia selama ini. Tapi dia x nak.

And she never moves on. Setahun dah berlalu, and she could change dari ceria nyanyi2 to really quiet. Tak makan. Tak cakap. Kdg2 tu tak masak. Bile tanye nak masak ape hari ni? Dia jawab.. "entah". Then senyapppp je. Tak cakap pon ape benda yg kurang ke.. nk kena beli ape ke. Kadang2 tu kalau ckp sepatah2, pastu mumble2. Not only to me, but even to my mom. Itu yang kdg2 buat kita hilang sabar. Tapi tak pernah marah dia, except once sebab Mak dah geram sgt. But that's it. And we tried to understand her and give her some spaces. I even brought her for occasional retail therapies. Cuma at times, her moodiness was too overbearing. Sakit dada wehhh..

Like siang tadi, she made roti jala to eat with leftover kari ayam. Memang la superb. Approaching noon, I asked her could we have something simple for lunch today. "Nak masak ape. Xde menda"She mumbled. Berasap la jugak. I mean, kalau xde, cakap la kan? We didnt go to market today sebab Mak pegi KL with Kakak. Igt brg2 masih cukup lagi. So I asked her, ape yang x ade. Satu-satu dia jawab. Example:

Me: Kak Supi, ade ape nk pesan x?
K Supi: Tak tau.
Me: Takdela, sayur2 ke.. lauk2 ke.
K Supi: Sayur.
Me: Lagi?
K Supi: Lauk lah.
Me: Lagi?
K Supi: shjkeuhfbvd (incomprehensible mumblings)
Me: Apa dia?
K Supi: adhkjefhfje (refer above)

Fed up.. i end up buy ape2 je yg patut.. kurang ke lebih ke.. lantak la kan..

In her good mood.. she would write the list herself, and happily give it to me. Sambil gurau-gurau.

Tak ke poning kepala aku asik layan orang emoooo je.

I Told You So

2007-04-28T22:24:00.000+08:00

Major ranting ahead. In a very PMS mode. The possibility of this entry to self-destruct is very high.

Why is it that men can't accept that WE, at times (if not most) are right?

Scenario A -

Martian: Awak, nape x pergi/buat sana/macam tu?

Venusian: Ala.. nevermind. Takde menda.It's oklah.

Then unluckily, something bad did happen.

Martian: See. I told you so. Napelah awak ni degil sangat. Susah betul nak cakap dgn org mcm awak ni. Saya dah tak kuasa nak cakap ape.

Venusian: (shows remorse). Yah.. i should listen to you.

Martian: bla bla bla bla

Venusian: (shows more remorse) Sorry.

Martian: bla bla bla x1000

Venusian: (Do anything to ambil hati)

Scenario B-
Venusian: Are you sure you want to park here? Why don't we park in the lot instead? I don't feel good.

Martian: Park inside? Have to pay you know. Besides here is nearer. If i park inside, later when i want to send you i have to 'pusing' all the way.

Venusian: Hmm. Ok.

When we got back to the bike an hour later, there's a summon waiting for us.

Martian: (....)

Venusian: (shakes head & keep quiet)

Macam gataaaaaaaaaaaalll je mulut ni nak cakap.. "See, i told you so". But I did not. He was fuming alllllllllllllll the way. Didn't look me in the eyes even when he dropped me off at the checkpoint. As if it was my fault for 'meramalkan' it. Sedih tau x babai pon kat kite.

The martians prinsip (sp?) - Don't say out loud any bad/unlucky things to him. If not, kalau betul benda tu jadi nnti kena label "tulah.. cakap x tahan2.. kan da betul jadi"

What la dey!! Just pay that damn summon lah.

I told you so right?

Parking only 1 dollar. now?

I so malas nak cakap ape la kan.

I told you so.

Sunshine After the Rain

2007-04-22T22:43:00.000+08:00

Look what nurin salma gave me when she visited me in KL.

"Ini cik ana dgn uncle bob" *she called 'himself' uncle bob.. gerek tu* "Uncle bob sayaaaang cik ana", she explained.

Macam nak menangis aku dengar dia ckp gitu. menangis terharu. She drew it for me after i told her i miss 'himself' terribly during the 2 weeks of on the job training in KL. Sangat la unsangkarable, i didnt ask her to draw anything for me. What i remember was, i gave her a paper and a whole collection of coloured pens.

And later, she presented me with that.

Yang best tu, dia lukis my face, complete with the hair parted in the centre, and bangs. And for himself plak, kelakar betul dia buat dotted lines keliling kepala kartun yg botak tu. as if mcm ada aura plak. haha. and i asked her, mana rambut uncle bob?. sambil ketawa terkekek2 dia kata, "Uncle bob da botak.. haha".

kurang duit raya ko tahun depan kalau ko ckp gitu dpn uncle bob, nurin oii..

And if you look closely at the drawing, seakan2 those two characters are looking at each other. at the bottom of the drawing, supposed ade hearts, tapi x keluar plak bile di scan.

Macam mana la aku x sayang budak kecik tu. She really made my day.. no wait.. let it be weeks.

Oh.. lepas dah habis draw.. da tunjuk2 kt semorg, suddenly dia nak ambil balik the drawing.

"Jap.. nurin nak lukis nenen cik ana". Chet budak ini.. kecik2 da pandai anatomy pulak.

Cepat2 aku ambik lukisan tu, simpan. sebelum ade ketumbuhan yg x diingini.

p/s: i met him today, and showed himself the drawing. tersenyum lebar orang tu. katanya, "nanti si kecik (nurin) dtg jb, ckp uncle bob belanja makan".

pp/s: kak noha, kalau nurin ade adik kelak, training diorg supaya pandai ambil hati jugak eh. hehe

More Bla and Bla

2007-04-14T20:35:00.000+08:00

Week 2 in KL.

Woke up at 6am every morning, to beat the morning madness.

Reach home at 7pm, every day. Caught in the jam.

The upside is, I lost 1 kg (je).

Yeay.

Demam and More Demam

2007-04-07T12:23:00.000+08:00

It feels sooooo great to have that spare minutes just to lie on your bed without feeling guilty. Since you're the one who is holding the key to the office, extra minutes on the bed equates extra minutes your colleagues being locked outside.

Hah. The colleagues are very rajin I'm telling you. Tee-hee.

I was down with fever (again).. or is the flu bug has not really being terminated before. The somewhat dormant bugs, decide to attack poor ole me on my 2nd day at work. The bug even invited the very loooooong lost 'friend' of mine aka Migraine on Day 3! It was sooo long ago, I even forgot the throbbing sensations I had on my left side of head and eye are actually migraine. And the terrible stuffiness of the nose is actually the symptom.

With the sengau-ness, the colleagues had trouble in understanding what im talking about. Try that with a visiting librarian from Aussie. It was so kind of her, trying to make sense of the incoherent warblings from me. She was with us for 2 days, to help us (mainly me) with the library collection development, as well as giving me guides and insight in becoming a medical librarian. I have to watch more of Dr House, Grey's Anatomy and revisit ER, just to familiarize myself with the medical terms.

Day 4, i finally had time for myself, to go through the notes, process, procedures.. did a study of my own on the library.

Day 5, did my medical check-up during lunch break. Only to realize that the clinic closed at 1pm-2pm. Went to Vivo for what I thought a quick lunch of sandwich, mushroom soup and garlic bread. 20minutes later, the soup and the bread came (what took them soo longg?). Another 10minutes for the SANDWICH. Yes, 30minutes for a sandwich? It's not like i ordered cooked food. Vivo Pelangi really had the worst service. I was piss off, even asked the waitress to cancel my order. "On the way kak.. on the way", she said. I told her, "Saya nk cpt sbb tu saya order sandwich ok? Orang lain after me ordered baked spaghetti/rice bla bla dah dapat. APe benda ni?" (Please include mata fishball and flared nose)

Oh yes.. hungry syana and mad syana AND sick syana. Not a pretty sight.

Oh well, it's Saturday. Need to speed up those correction I need to do for the thesis, start writing the article for ICOLIS and prepare for ob the job training this Monday in KL.

Phew.

A New Beginning

2007-04-02T21:28:00.000+08:00

It is my first day being officially employed.

Not only I have my own table and pc *with internet connection. haha*, i have my own room to.

And the best part is, the building is facing Selat Tebrau.

Hellllooooo Singapore! *waves frantically to himself*

Alhamdulillah.

And certainly i'm facing a new challenge, a new beginning.

Wish me luck.

Kisah Benar

2007-03-27T22:50:00.000+08:00

*gambar hiasan

Misah* (yang ketika itu sedang senggugut) dan Abu* sedang berjalan-jalan di sebuah pasaraya, apabila Misah ternampak sebuah kedai bunga.

Misah: Abang, cantik bunga tu. Bile nak kasi me bunga? It would be nice to receive fresh flowers as a gift kan? *flutters eyelash*

Abu: Huh? Bunga? Mana? *checking the surrounding*

Misah: Tuuuuuu *points toward the flower shop* yang kt bawah escalator tu.

Abu: ooh.. nape? Awak nak ke?

Misah: Duh? (Dalam hati). (Laughs) Iyelah.. kita dah bertahun kenal, u never gave me flower. Best pe.

Abu: Buat ape? membazir je. Bukan boleh makan.

Misah: Yelah.. it's the thought that counts ape.

Abu: Kalau kasi bunga tu tandanya romantik ke? Romantik boleh cara lain ape. Bukannya kenyang kasi bunga. Abis nanti layu.. Baik belanja makan lagi bagus. Awak kenyang, saya pun kenyang

Misah: .... (no point arguing)

*Bukan nama sebenar

Kakak's Wedding

2007-03-21T08:37:00.000+08:00

let the pictures tell its story.

The celebration for Kakak's wedding started on Thursday, 15th march 2007 with the solemnisation ceremony. It's also the groom's birthday *himself celebrated his the day before. hehe. in the future there will be 6 pisceans in the family!*. Tears of joys and sadness flowed freely especially during the sakinah, which symbolized the 'handover' of the bride from the parents to the groom, the transition of responsibility from being a daughter to a wife.

Syahduuuuu..

The celebration continued on Saturday, with the reception at the bride's side, a garden wedding of which Kakak has always wanted. It was a very colourful wedding indeed, with bright colours that reflect the joyous moods.

On Sunday, sesi bertandang to Singapore. Our jaws dropped seeing a convertible merc arrived, at Cik Apit's block; complete with 'Just Married' sign at the back of the car. Warghhh... suited for the King and the Queen of the day. Intimate but grand wedding at the groom's side.

The cake hantaran in the making.

For the kek hantaran, it was a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, and later covered with specially made *i made it myself!* chocolate marshmallow fondant. I searched highs and lows for the recipes, as i wanted the fondant not only to look pretty but edible as well. Since the fondant is soft, it's very easy to work with and very forgiving.

The cake wasn't bakery-perfect though. It had some blemishes and open pores and even numerous thumb prints contributed by curious kids *haha*. seems eveyrone wanted to contribute something huh? hehe. but with Ucu's helps, none of the imperfection could be seen, only bEeautifuLLL cake made with LuUrVvvVeeee for Kakak. =) it's the thought that counts right?

the cupcakes

These are the only pictures i have in my collection. Punyelah sibuk, lupe nak ambil the finish product which looked 10 times better than what i have. hehe. have to wait for the pictures from the official photographers. The mocha cupcakes are topped with vanilla buttercream tinted with orange and burgundy, to match the colourful theme.

3 days and 3 nights works, making 300 cupcakes. Without Adik's and K Noha's helps, i surely would die standing lahh.. hehe.

Now the question everyone keep asking, who's going to make the cakes for my wedding?

Any takers?

More wedding pictures can be viewed at this url: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/syanaraqi/albums

UPDATE!

Look out for the cute pari-paris at the green door!
http://saifulnang.fotopages.com/?entry=1111239

Never Been Tagged

2007-03-20T00:50:00.000+08:00

..yeah right.

hoookeyy.. hmm it does look a bit dusty here huh?

been very busy preparing for Kakak's wedding. it was a blast!!! everyone had a great time. pics will be uploded later.

oh and the kek hantaran, my first attempt in making wedding cake? it turned out great, for a very novice baker with no formal training. well, except for a frequent visit to baking101.com ;)

and the 300 wedding cupcakes? 3 days of baking, baking, icing and decorating and a swollen ankle later, it was a success with the help from K Noha and Adik. Thank youss. got some enquiries too from a prospect customer. :D alhamdulillah

picture later la eh.. serious maut x larat. hehe

To Anne, here goes Six Weird Things About Myself.

1. I belch like a man, sneeze like a cat - I've been known as the 'wind breaker', for the ability (or inability?) to burp very very loud. Deliberately or not. It is disgusting, i know. Well, the wind has to go somewhere isn't it? it's either the upper end or the lower end :D. While the sneezing part, instead of going "AHHHHCHoooOOOOoo", the furthest i go is "ahhtch". But it hurts my nose like h*ll. and brain too.

2. Do Not Disturb Me, I'm on a Mission - applicable while i'm baking cakes. Unlike bread and cookies, cake making has the higher possibility to go wrong. Good mood = good cake. Too much questions being asked (i.e what are you baking? what is that? what is it for? it looks a bit runny etc etc) = foul mood = bad cakes. Oh, and after all the hard works, please do not comment if it doesn't taste right. Unless I asked for it. For i would certainly notice any imperfection first, and i don't need any reminder of the failure. I don't take criticism gracefully. Boo me

3. I Meowed - i (think) that i have the ability to communicate and connect with cats. Everytime i see one, wherever, the first word would be 'meow.. come here cat.. meowww', while extending my arm, beckoning the cat to come out. Even on a moving bike, in the food court, bawah kolong blok, even in the market. If the cat looks reasonably clean, i would stop to stroke the cat and play with it. Himself used to find that particular behaviour 'cute' but now it irks the heck out of himself - "Awak, jgn buat malu saya lah, org semua tgk" muahaha.

4. Expressive I am - When i speak, I will use every part of my body to express myself. With weird hand gestures, and crooked eyebrows.

5. I like the smell of belacan, ikan pekasam, ikan masin dan petis. It's not smelly, it's yummy. Sangat membuka selera. Bring it onnnn!

6. New Beginning - is symbolized by hair cutting. Bad exam grades, and trying to forget about it - go for a haircut. Bored out of my skull - potong rambut siap perm. Big fight - trim rambut. Hahaha, but i won't ever do a 'britney'!!

And the next 6 victims are *drumrolllll pleaseeee*

1. K Noha - nurin salma sr.
2. Kathy Kay Hey Hey
3. Kak Zafa.heheh
4. Eisha - the pregger laydeh
5. Fifie - where have u been
6. Nuwaini - the faraway cousin

Overdue

2007-02-28T22:14:00.000+08:00

I have many events to tell, but am currently down with flu.

Runny nose, throbbing headache, a very sore throat and aching body.

However, the flu hasn't succeed in suppressing my appetite. geeez.

Will be back when the flu has subside.

Poligami Lagi

2007-02-20T10:56:00.000+08:00

Tersentuh dan hiba menonton Buletin Utama malam semalam.

Tergamak seorang ibu, menjerut 2 anak lelakinya yang masih kecil, hanya kerana tidak mampu membendung nafsu amarah terhadap suaminya.

Suaminya yang hanya bekerja sebagai pemandu lori, dan mendiami rumah flet, tetapi mempunyai keinginan untuk berkahwin lagi?

Seorang ibu muda, berusia 30 tahun. Seorang suri rumah, isteri yang mampu memikul tanggungjawab sempurna. Dua anak lelaki yang comel, seorang berusia 5 tahun dan seorang 1 tahun 5 bulan.Apa yang menyebabkan isteri yang dari raut wajahnya kelihatan seperti seorang yang tenang, melakukan ini semua?

Berbakti kepada suami tercinta, membesarkan dua anak lelaki yang masih kecil, yang pelbagai ragam dan kenakalan. Sudah pasti dengan suami yang jarang pulang ke rumah, dia tertekan. Menjaga rumah dengan dua anak lelaki yang kita sedia maklum tahap aktif dan nakal mereka. Di waktu tertekan begitu, apa yang diharapkan adalah sokongan si suami, namun dia dihujani pula dengan keinginan suami yang ingin berkahwin lagi.

Kasihan, anak-anak yang tidak berdosa menjadi mangsa.

Buat Muhammad Aliff Haqimi, 5 dan Muhammad Aliff Hazmi 1 - Masya Allah, indah sungguh nama bidadari syurga ini. Al-fatihah.

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Isteri enggan bermadu jerut mati 2 anak

Oleh NURUL HUDA HASSAN

MEMILUKAN... Suspek yang disyaki menjerut dua anaknya hingga mati dalam kejadian di Bukit Kecil, Pulau Pinang, menatap jenazah mereka sebelum dia dibawa ke balai polis di Batu Maung, semalam. – Gambar Mohd. Naim Aziz.

PULAU PINANG 19 Feb. – Seorang isteri yang berang kerana suaminya dikatakan hendak berkahwin lain, bertindak menjerut leher dua anak mereka yang masih kecil sehingga mati dalam satu kejadian menyayat hati di Bayan Lepas, di sini malam tadi.

Dalam kejadian kira-kira pukul 11 malam itu, suspek yang berusia 30 tahun dipercayai menjerut leher dua anaknya, Muhammad Aliff Haqimi, 5 tahun 7 bulan dan Muhammad Aliff Hazmi, setahun 5 bulan, ketika mereka nyenyak tidur.

Difahamkan, selepas menjerut leher dua anaknya, suspek menyelimutkan mayat mangsa sebelum si suami pulang ke rumah kira-kira pukul 11.45 malam.

Ketua Polis Daerah Barat Daya, Supritendan Hatta Md. Zin berkata, siasatan awal mendapati dua kanak-kanak itu dijerut dengan wayar seterika.

Katanya, mayat dua kanak-kanak itu ditemui dalam keadaan terbaring di atas katil di salah sebuah bilik tidur di rumah berkenaan.

Menurutnya, sebelum kejadian, suspek dikatakan menghantar khidmat pesanan ringkas (SMS) kepada suaminya sambil mengugut hendak membunuh dua anak mereka, jika si suami yang berusia 28 tahun itu enggan pulang segera ke rumah.

Bagaimanapun apabila SMS itu tidak berbalas, kemarahan si isteri semakin tidak terkawal lalu menjerut leher dua anaknya hingga mati di rumah mereka di Flat Taman Indah, Lebuh Batu Maung, Bayan Lepas.

‘‘Namun begitu, si suami tidak membalas SMS tersebut dan hanya pulang ke rumah kira-kira pukul 11.45 malam,’’ katanya ketika ditemui di tempat kejadian hari ini.

Menurut Hatta, sampai di rumah, si suami terus masuk tidur dan tidak mengetahui apa yang telah terjadi kepada dua anaknya itu.

‘‘Pada pukul 7.40 pagi ini sepasukan polis dan Unit Forensik bergegas ke tempat kejadian sejurus menerima panggilan daripada jiran keluarga terbabit,” katanya.

Difahamkan suami suspek yang bekerja sebagai pemandu lori hanya mengetahui dua anaknya dibunuh sewaktu polis tiba ke rumah berkenaan untuk menangkap si isteri.

Beliau berkata, ekoran kejadian itu, polis kini menahan suspek dan suaminya bagi membantu siasatan kes bunuh berkenaan.

Katanya, mayat dua beradik itu telah dibawa ke Hospital Pulau Pinang (HPP) untuk bedah siasat.

Menurut Hatta, kes ini disiasat di bawah Seksyen 302 Kanun Keseksaan iaitu bunuh yang boleh membawa hukuman gantung sampai mati.

Ini adalah kejadian kedua melibatkan pembunuhan anak oleh ibu atau bapa dalam tempoh seminggu apabila 14 Februari lepas, seorang bapa menjerut leher dua anaknya selepas dikatakan berselisih faham dengan isterinya.

Dalam kejadian di Villa Angsana, Sentul, Lee Tian Siang, 39, yang tertekan selepas gagal memperoleh Ijazah Kedoktoran (Ph.D) ditemui mati akibat meminum bahan pencuci lantai selepas menjerut leher dua anaknya, Lee May Shan, 9, dan Lee Wei Shan, 7.

Sementara itu, Pakar Patologi HPP, Datuk Dr. Bhupinder Singh berkata, dua kanak-kanak itu disahkan mati ekoran sesak nafas akibat dijerut.

Katanya, kedua-dua mangsa telah mati 12 jam sebelum mayat mereka dibawa ke HPP untuk bedah siasat.

Dalam pada itu, jiran suspek memberitahu, kira-kira pukul 6.45 pagi ini suspek datang ke rumahnya sambil menangis tanpa henti.

‘‘Dia datang ke rumah tapi tak cakap apa-apa... cuma menangis dan kemudian mengajak saya ke rumahnya.

‘‘Saya tanya lagi kenapa dan apa yang terjadi... dia jawab, saya tak tahu apa yang saya buat... anak-anak saya sudah tiada,” ujarnya.

Menurut jiran itu, dia mengucap panjang sejurus melihat keadaan mayat dua beradik itu yang kaku lalu mengambil kain dan menutup mayat tersebut.

Katanya, dia kemudian menyuruh suspek mandi dan mengambil wuduk dan meletakkan surah Yasin pada kepala salah seorang mangsa.

‘‘Saya kemudian memberitahu suami saya yang terus menelefon pihak polis,” katanya.

Sementara itu, jenazah dua beradik itu selamat dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam di Masjid Batu Maung selepas waktu Asar hari ini.

Senyuman Kuala Lumpur

2007-02-20T00:44:00.000+08:00

Am currently in KL.

Wish me luck.

Penjara Pecah

2007-02-16T12:42:00.000+08:00

Let's see if I could blog while watching Pr*son B*eak Season 2 *winks at Kat and shouts Thank you !!* muah muah

oh wait.. wahid is hotter than the last time I saw him. He's the other person besides 'himself' who could bring me down to my knees only with his stares. those set of eyes.. *sigh* and those low manly voice.. *double sigh* i think i should stop here.

So who is this Wahid guy? People, meet Wahid aka Wentworth Miller. He played Michael Scoffield in the Prison Break. Super genius guy, a former engineer who robbed a bank in order to put himself in Fox River prison. The prison which he formerly designed, which he later intended breaking out from together with his brother who was in the death row allegedly for killing the Vice President. Yes, his brother was being framed by the higher people (read: the government). But, it turned out that he needed more than himself and his genius brain AND the tattoes on his *ahem* body *drool* to break out from the prison. He ended up breaking out with another 7 prisoners including his brother, and now the government is conducting a manhunt for them.

Ok. Now I need to concentrate. Oh, he was shirtless just now! I missed it. Gotta rewind those parts. *wink*

Oh no! ~~Sara Tancredi~~ Veronica has just been shot! She was great in it! dang

Ops, did i spoil anything for anyone? *grins*

Newlyweds!

2007-02-12T10:49:00.000+08:00

Bagai pinang dibelah dua. From left: Rita, Shila, Me and Wawa with Afidah and hubby.

A shout out to my friend from SIGS days, Nurul Afidah Zulkifli who is married during the weekend. Congratulations to you and Bijan *erk, forgot the groom's real name.. haha*. Beautiful bride and groom, in a simple and yet grand ceremony *it was followed up with a reception at Hyatt for VVVVVIP at night*, and DELICIOUS spreadddddddddddd!!

The briyani kambing rawks. At least one lamb rib for each guests. Never had I attacked briyani with such gusto, that the buttons of the kebaya i'm wearing, nearly popped itself open! Well, Lisa's did. *lol*

It was also a reunion with friends from the secondary school. Ahh.. how they have all mature beautifully and succesfully. I felt a sense of pride *and a tiny tinge of jealousy..in a gd way!!* when learning of their current situations, with good paying jobs and etc. Most of them are now working and living in KL/PJ, as engineers/auditors/banking. Another one is going to work in Singapore soon as an architect. Another one is a potential Mak Datin. hahaha *jgn marah Wawa*

At one of the two pelamins in the house. With Rita, Dayah, Wawa and Ayo. With Lys control cun at the front.

I enjoyed myself tremendously chatting, kecoh-ing as always especially when meeting friends from the school days. How I miss Shila aka Ayo, and her soft talks. When talking to her, it's Kita and Awak, instead of the usual kau and aku. I'm the only one who is still calling her Ayo, and I would for the rest of her life!! hehe. It had been nice seeing you! Too bad Dadar, Nabilah and Bay weren't there. You could not imagine the havoc which would be created if Nabilah and Bay met. Hilang segala vogue and grace. haha

Lisa looked much happier than the last time I met her. Ade glow ok? Infectious weh kau punya keriangan tu. haha. Lys, I like that guy too okay. Take good care of him, and tell him to do the same to you, which I believe he already did. Both of you look good together. I mean it! *you could belanja me Chilli's to pay me back.. you know utk segala pujian melambung tu. haha*

Goofing around with Lisa. Her bf nearly fell down the steps while taking our pics. Pengorbanan tu. haha. Oh, and in real life, i am way way shorter than Lys.

I'm glad i went to the wedding. I nearly cancelled the plan, due to the crisis surfaced just before the wedding, as shown below.

Deciding what to wear. Jac's not much of a help anyway.

More pics here *for some unknown reasons, the labels for the pictures in the album are inaccurate. Blame Yahoo. Boo*

We Went to Holland!!

2007-02-08T12:22:00.000+08:00

I'm blogging from Holland. Biru langit kat Holland ni. Sebab tu negara ni dikenali sebagai pengeksport bunga2 hiasan terbesar di dunia. Holland pun dikenali sebagai negara yang banyak kincir angin. Ni je gambar yang kitorg sempat ambik semasa berkunjung di tempat2 menarik kt Holland semalam...

Cuba tengok gambar kat atas tu betul2. Macam ade UFO kan between the tree and the windmill?

Nak tau tak ape benda tu?

Itu lah layang2. hehe

Kitorg gi Pasir Gudang laa.. ahah.. Muzium Layang-layang Pasir Gudang.

We were on our way to drop him off at his place kt Pasir Gudang, but when we saw the kites from far, teruja pulak nak ke sana.. maklum lah kata pesta layang2 antarabangsa, nk jugak tgk ape yg ade kan? dekat je dgn rumah die.. adalah dalam dua pelaung. Sampai kat sana, sangatlah jakun. Tak sangka ade taman rekreasi yang besar, cantik dan BERSIH (siap dgn tasik), very well kept, and w/o org berendut; kat JB ni. sangatlah jakun sampai lupe nak amik gmbr taman dan tasik, tapi langit je. hehe.

Bila dah sampai sana, layang2 yang besar semua dah dibawak turun. Hari dah petang lah katakan. yang masih terbang mcm dlm gambar tu pn tinggal 3 biji. Ade satu yg kecik macam tahi lalat tu sebenarnye layang2 bear.. iye.. yg mcm teddy bear tu.. bila dah dinaikkan tinggi, nanti bear tu keluarkan berjuta-juta (exaggerate je ni) lolipop. Budak2 kecik best la dok kejar lolipop yg jatuh. Sampai ade yg tergolek2. Kesian nasib ko dik..

Dalam kejakunan yang teramat tu, masa nak balik tak sedar ade org yg menegur. rupe2nye kawan se-UM, nama glemers Didi. sama2 duduk 3rd kolej dulu. dah keje kt pasir gudang ghupenye. kecikkk je orgnye tapi engineer tauu.

Maybe we will go there again. And ambil gambar tasik die yg sangat inviting. Eventhough pesta layang2 dah takde tapi boleh beriadah dgn berjogging. erm..tapi boleh (larat) ke aku jogging (tgk butt)?

Finding Direction

2007-02-05T14:27:00.000+08:00

No 'clogging' (blogging about cooking.. hehe) this time. Im in doubt, and i hope when i blog about it, it may help me review the decision i have made.

I received a phone call around eleven-ish this morning. It was from the faculty. I thought they wanted to inform me the date to present (and defend) my thesis. Was relieved it wasn't. But.. the matter they relate to me, was.. the one that made me in doubt now.

A Prof and a Dr asked me to send my application for SLAB (SLAB is a scholarship program for Bumis, the Uni would sponsor your study and in return you have to work for them, for a minimum of 5 years). Being selected as a SLAB tutor, memang menjamin masa depan. No need to susah payah apply for job etc etc. Study ditanggung (wherever you wanted it to be, local or oversea), and placement for job also terjamin. But, i could not accept it. Main reason was, I don't intend to stay and work in KL. Study for Phd would take about 5 years, and another 5 years you have to serve the Uni. If u break the bond, you have to pay. A lot. So from the start, I know I could not commit myself. 10 more years away from JB? i just could not. 1 or 2 years maybe.

I had the same conversation with Prof, last year. She e-mailed me twice, asking me to apply for PhD slot from the fac. I came clean about the real reason for not applying the post. That I plan for my future to be in JB. That I wanted to get married first and then baru fikir about continuing study. Oh boy, she was a bit dissapointed. She even said "Alah.. nanti you belajar you boleh cari calon". Hehe. When i told her, i already have my calon, she grilled me with so many questions regarding himself! hehe. Seriously, even my own mum didn't bombarded me with so much questions at a time concerning him. haha. But I know she meant well. And would expect it since she was a very dedicated person to her job, and to the MLIS field.

I didn't want to apply, just for the sake of applying and later when being offered, i backed out without accepting it. I did that for the SLAB for Master's degree (i was being offered to continue my study in.. Software Engineering.. warghhhh.. among the reason i decline. hehe). Wasted. The same opportunities could be offered to others. So, for this time, I decline sebab, as i told the Dr "saya sudah mempunyai rancangan utk tinggal dan kerja di sini". And she left me at that, saying that she understand and would tell Prof about it. sigh of relief.

But after putting down the phone, terfikir lagi. Here I am, selak2 suratkhabar hari2 searching for a job. And there, right before my eyes, an opportunity waiting for me, and yet i would not take it. Mak said that SLAB is an opportunity. I agreed with mak, but it wasn't my opportunity. It involves making a huge turn in my life. Sugul jugak dibuatnya. Tapi terfikir lagi, i can't have both. If i want SLAB, i have to say goodbye to whatever i have in JB. That part yg memang I tak sanggup buat. I kejar yg itu, what about my life and what i wanted? I talked to Lemy about this, and he gave me the answer, yang sangat menyedapkan hati, "rezeki dtg bermcm2 cara, x semestinya apa yg jelas di dpn mata"

Mak ckp, i am the one yg belum tempuhi cabaran. Kakak had hers at her previous job. Napi had his too, changing from one job to another before settling with his current job. Mungkin cabaran org berbeza, and this is my challenge. Challenge in choosing the direction of my life.

It's mentally challenging.

Black Pepper Chicken Bun

2007-02-01T21:39:00.000+08:00

Projek minum petang this week. This time around, I only provide the recipe for the soft butter bun (which was taken from Cari Forum Recipe) and 'supervise' the bread making session (Chewah, mcm dah Pro je nk supervise org. hihi). Kak Supi did the filling (recipe from one of Asmahlaili recipe book, courtesy of Mak Long S'pore :) ) as well as the bun, from measuring ingredients to kneading sebab die nk cuba buat roti. dan di atas itulah hasilnya. Cantik kan?

One good thing about baking your own bread is you know what you put inside and are sure there's no additional preservatives. No bromate too! No bread softener or improver, which i found most bakery are using.

The recipe's portion is suitable for us, 12 biji bun yang mana separuh darinya hilang within 10mins. The bun is soft even until the next day. Boleh simpan the recipe, for next experiment with sardine fillings pulak. Here's the recipe utk siapa2 yg ingin mencuba. :)

p/s: the bun is even good on its own (mcm iklan gardenia plak)

Soft Butter Bun
250g high protein flour/bread flour (i used pau flour)
50g superfine flour
50g castor sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp milk powder
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 small egg
30g butter, room temperature
140ml lukewarm water

For Glazing:
1 egg lightly beaten
Melted butter
Sesame seed (optional)

Method:
1. Combine all ingredients except butter and knead till a dough is formed.
2. Add butter, and continue kneading until the dough is smooth, soft and elastic. (Note: the dought might appear a little bit sticky, so you may add some flour, but not too much. Alternatively, you could coat your hands with some olive oil)
3. Leave the dough, and cover with a towel, for about 2 hours until it has double in size.
4. Punch the dough (to let the air out) and knead lightly. Divide into small even sizes (About 50g per pieces, less for smaller buns).
5. Add the fillings, and place buns in greased and floured baking tray. Leava it to rest until it double in size.
6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 200dg C.
7. Brush buns with egg wash, and sprinkled some sesame seed. Bake for 15 minutes or until brown.
8. remove from oven and brush with melted butter (for shiny and yummy effect ;) ).
9. Cool buns in tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
10.Cover with a towel, for a soft crust bun.

For Filling:
150g chicken breast, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 onion, diced
1/3 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced button mushroom
Abt 1 tspn black pepper, or more.
Olive oil for saute
Abt 1 tbspn black pepper sauce, or more
Some water
Salt to taste.

Method:
1. Heat the olive oil, and brown the garlic and onion.
2. Add in black pepper sauce, carrot, chicken breast and mushroom.
3. Season with black pepper, salt and sugar.
4. Let the fillings cool

CupCakes and More!

2007-01-26T20:34:00.000+08:00

Was in KL from Wed, 24th until today. ni jut got back from KL ni. *stretch kaki*. Time kt KL, menyempat la business cuba2..

Received my first real order from Wani :) thank you dear for giving me the opportunity to test and perfect my deco skills! Dia nak kasi 'yang tersayang'.

I made Marble Cupcakes - combining Chocolate and Golden cupcake recipes. Lepas masak, amik la satu makan and the taste was delicious. Tapi esokye, termanis plak. Sememangnye selalu kalau buat kek, i would substitute the sugar with brown sugar. Malangnye, stok brown sugar habis. Note to self: start stocking up brown sugar.

The frosting is Chocolate Buttercream. The hearts are edible! malam2 experiment, sbb tu ade yg terpeleot sket (see below). Bunga pulak terap from rolled fondant.

Yang bawah ni plak, buat utk birthday Atok yg ke 78.Mak Lang pesan malamnye kita sampai KL tu. nasib baik masa naik KL, i brought along the cupcake liners and also the whole box isi brg2 masak. haha. Iye, org lain travel bawak beg isi baju. Saya plak bawak kotak isi tepung, gula and whatnots. haha

Perlu perbaiki lagi tulisan guna icing. tgn lom steady. :) anyway, ini je la gambar2 yg ade. nk close up semua tu da x larat.. penat! tapi seronok.

Ginger Beer and Horlicks..

2007-01-20T21:21:00.000+08:00

are used to made this..

Ginger Butter Cakes with Lemon Ginger glaze icing.

Mak requested the cake, as it reminded her of the old days - simple butter cakes with crusty top. But being the 'out of the box' baker *hehe*, i would not settle with the usual butter cake recipe so Mak suggested the above, which she found among the growing collection of my cooking books.

The cake tasted simply delicious, and somehow reminded me of banana cake. Without the aftertaste of bitter ginger we would usually get when baking any cookies/cakes using it. Some people might be put off upon seeing the glaze icing, berenang-renang di tepi kek. hehe. But rest assured, the cake itself wasn't too sweet, and the lemon ginger icing provided the adequate sweetness.

Another keeper definitely. Oh, one slice was not enough, as Mak and Adik said. hehe. Eat with your eyes close, and altogether now.. "MMmmmMmm"

Pau Gebu

2007-01-17T01:27:00.000+08:00

Tak sangka Kathy Kay Hey Hey da jadi blog patrol. hehe. Just joking. Thank you for reminding me to blog about another experiment during the weekend. Instead of baking, I switched to steaming!

It was raining non-stop, from Friday, which drag to Saturday. What else could be more comforting than having a soft, steaming hot Chicken Curry Pau with a cup of Kluang Railway Coffee-O?

Actually, I was in need of any reason to venture into the kitchen, playing with the flour. hehe

It has been awhile since the last time I made breads, buns or pizzas, or anything involving yeast. And with the wet weather, I was a bit afraid to try any yeast-based recipes; as the dough need to be left out in warm place for it to risen well. But, being a 'rebellious' baker.. hehe.. I decided to give it a go. Rain or shine, my dough will rise!!

The night before, I searched for recipe which would produce soft pau - putih dan gebu, if possible with smooth surface too. I chose the most recommended recipe from http://www.cari.com.my, Forum Food and Recipes and strictly followed everything.

Kueh Pau
500gm all-purpose flour / Pau flour
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
1 Tbspn sugar
1 tspn instant dried yeast
2 Tbspn shortening (I used Crisco brand)
250ml lukewarm water

From my previous experience, dried yeast are usually being soaked with warm water and sugar to activate the organism, which would turn into frothy and a bit smelly mixture, and mix it with flour. But the recipe didn't call for that, instead everything was dumped into a bowl, gradually add in water while kneading until smooth. Very simple. Covered with a wet towel and leave it (at warm places) for an hour for it to rise twice it original size. Since the whole house was super cold due to the weather, we decided to put the bowl of dough next to the stove. In the meantime, Kak Supi was in charged of making the fillings - when it came to on the stove cooking, it's not my forte.. yet. :D.

After the dough has kembang, punched and divided into 16 smaller balls (each weighs +-50g). Flatten the balls with your palm before stuffing with curry fillings. Sealed and put on a piece of wax paper. Leave it again, for app. 30mins or until it risen twice it size. Steam for 10 minutes.

Pau beratur untuk sauna

the gebu pau. yammy yum.

The recipe is definitely a keeper as it produced a soft and gebu pau! Just as I wanted! Oh, and look at what we did with the leftovers.

cheat Man Tou. hehe. The white part is mango flavoured, while the purplish/pinkish is vanilla flavoured.

So Kat, there you have it, Chicken Curry Pau! Give it a try, anda pasti berpuas hati! ;)

Oh yes, I've been busy with a new hobby too. Everyone in the house has been bitten by the Scrabble bug, including her:

Oi Jac, mane aci tengok dictionary while playing scrabble!

Perihal Tesis dan Raya Haji

2007-01-04T21:15:00.000+08:00

Selamat Aidiladha dan Selamat Tahun Baru untuk para pembaca yang budiman (cheh.. mcm ramai je yang membaca ni. hehe). Kejadian banjir di Johor Bahru turut mengakibatkan kerosakan talian telefon di kediaman saya, dan juga kawasan yang berhampiran. Oleh sebab itu, saya mengalami simdrom 'withdrawal' yang agak kronik akibat tidak dapat menggunakan Internet hampir seminggu. Sehingga kini, saya difahamkan situasi telefon masih belum berubah. Maish belum dibaiki. TELEKOM DI MANA KAH DIKAU?!!!

Okla, banyak benda yg nk distorykan. So, let's make it short and concise. Style buat abstrak utk tesis tu.. hehe

1. Finally, i've submitted the THESIS for examination! waahh.. lega nyaa.. but but.. this is only merdeka peringkat pertama. i've to wait between 1-2 months for Viva. (Viva= sesi tembak menembak dan mempertahankan diri serta kajian yang dibuat). dan setelah itu, buat lagi minor correction before printing it for one last time, and bind it, hard cover. haa.. lepas tu baru lah merdeka yg sebenar2nye.

Nak hantar thesis tu pun byk dramanye. I planned to submit it last friday on the 29th dec. Tapi apalah nasibku, ofis fac tu bleh nye tutup. iye.. tutup pada pukul 3.30ptg atas alasan diorg semua pegi function kat hotel. sakitnye atiii.. x tampal notis.. nothing.. tau2 je setelah ku daki tangga 4 tingkat, mengusung tesis 130pages sebanyak 5 copies, sampai kt opis nk tolak pintu, then i realized the door is locked. mmg hampeh kn? dah ler, the next day tu plan nk go back JB for good. disebabkn nk submit tesis tu je, naik balik KL from JB this morning, terus pegi fac just to submit the thesis.. semua tu settle in less than 15mins. Alhamdulillah selesai jua akhirnya.

2. Celebrated Raya Haji at JB. Jd sebelum bertolak ke JB on saturday tu, sempatlah masak kek and bagi2 kt Atok at Kg Baru, Neni (my nenek sedara) and also to Kak Noha. Time beraya kt JB adik beradik Baba semua datang dr S'pore, since Nek Wan is staying with us for this month. Meriah lah dgn makan2nye, Kak Supi masak Nasi Beriyani Ikan (saya cume potong bawang aje), kuah dalca, ayam goreng je ada 2 jenis - goreng rempah dgn goreng style KFC; Kak Mas (pembantu Nek Wan) bawak pudding gula hangus, satay goreng, sambal satay, ketupat; tu belum Mak Uteh (yg mmg terror masak) bawak trifle - kek, kastard and jelly. Disebabkan kepenatan drive from KL-JB, i only managed to buat baulu gulung or nama glamer nye Pineapple Roll (sebab nk menghabiskn jem nanas left over from raya hari tu)

Atas: made Kek Zebra (recipe adapted from Jo's and Resipi.net) for Neni and Kak Noha. Namanye kek Zebra, sbb bile dipotong, nnti nampak la belang2 kt kek tu. Namun, mine x begitu menjadi belang2nye, since I preferred using melted choc instead of emulco for the choc stripe. Jd choc batter to berat, it sinked to the bottom. but tastewise - agak kembang la bontot dipuji. hehe

Bawah kiri - Pandan Layer Cake, resipi from Cari.com.my, forum Food and Recipes. Dalam tu kek chiffon pandan, di layerkan dgn Puding Pandan Kaya. Mak Lang ckp, tastewise ok, cume kek x melekat dgn pudding. I think I should reduce the amount of agar2 powder next time, and also add some green food colouring, biar striking sket.

Bawah Kanan - Itu la homemade baulu gulung @ Pineapple Roll. Guna recipe Swiss Roll, and jam nanas tu left over buat tart mase Raya. Bakal mak mentua kata sedap, so ok la tu kan? ;) hehehehe

3. Hari Isnin tu, buat Hazelnut Mocha Profiteroles yang sekian lama diidamkan oleh Kakak.
Profiteroles ni recipe and adunan sama je mcm Cream Puff. Cume this one letak ground Hazelnut, and it used more eggs (to make the batter lighter and softer). Kiri - profiteroles in making, Kanan- profiteroles sebelum dimakan. Only manage to amik gambar die solo sbb bile siap aje, semorg terus ngadap. hehe. Profiterole ni I sumbatkan with Vanilla Ice Cream, sebelum dimandikan dgn Mocha Choc Sauce. Heavennnnnnnnnn.

So itu je lah projek Raya Aji. Skang soalan cepumas - Ada sesiapa nak tawarkan Jawatan Kosong pada saya? in IT/Library field. Kalau nk suruh jadi tukang buat kek atau roti pn boleh. hehe

Uhukkkk..uhuKkkk

2006-12-22T22:53:00.000+08:00

Saya demam. Dah masuk 2 hari dah ni. It started from a sore throat, which turned worse each day. Apatah lagi apabila disirami dgn vanilla coke, dan berembun di malam hari. Tu yg jadi demam tu.

Takat demam tu x lah kesah sgt, tapi yg x best tu tekak ni perittttttt ya amat. I woke up sounded like a very hungry ogre, with hair and all. I replenished myself with a lot of water, i really mean a lot! i could finish 1 litre of water every hour. With trips to the toilet every 30mins. Mau patah batang flush tu asik kena tarik je. hehe

Uhukkk uhukkkk... Koh kOH!

Ali Baba - The Musical

2006-12-21T00:04:00.000+08:00

Yesterday night was the opening night of “ Teater Ali Baba” at Istana Budaya. I went there with Mak Ngah and the cousins to provide morale supports to Mak Ngah’s youngest daughter as this is the first time for her to perform in Istana Budaya! Istana Budaya mind you.. the same stage where Boney M, Stomp and PGL has performed!

As we all know, there are many versions of Ali Baba and this play is adapted from Ali Baba we all grew up with, witty lines and songs which would stuck in our heads for ages! It’s the P Ramlee version of course. The stars of the theater are mostly kids of 10 to 12 years old, with Aznil as Ketua Penyamun *need to selit some star somewhere huh?* It was full house, and we secured fabulous seats which offered us the best view.

Watching kids performing has always been entertaining, who cares about tarian berterabur by the penyamun as pointed out by my cousin, or even the cute Sarjan Penyamun who got up a tiny bit early after being killed by boiling oil just before the lights were dimmed? The beauty lies in the confidence exhibited by each of them, and their perseverance in training for many many months; which in the end produced a spectacular performance! Bravo for these kids. :)

the one with the snake costume, ngam ngam kat tengah2, is the cousin as Mak Ular.

My favourite part of the acts are with the boisterous penyamuns, with this cute little boy who would turn 6 in a week time as the Sargeant. With Aznil being..well Aznil, the little boy sort of complimented his act by providing most of the awww-so-cute and hilarious scenes.

The Ketua Penyamun. I hope i didn't piss him off with my camera flash. hehe. Oh, and i heard he's living in the same apartment compound as me! helloooo neighbour!

The sleepy 6 year old Sarjan Penyamun after the play with his dad. He was being carried around either by the Ketua Penyamun or other penyamun in most of the scenes. All together now... "Awwwwwwww"

However, the 2 hours play (which is consider as a standard) is deemed to be a bit long-ish by my niece and some of the kids in the audience. “Banyak nyanyi-nyanyi lah”, said a cousin and the niece. Well, it did say “teater muzikal” :) Just sit back and enjoy the songs.

The tickets are sold for RM10 for all seats *cheap cheap* until 28 Dec. There will be a show every night, starting at 8.30pm. Do bring the whole family. And if possible, secure the aisle seats to be up close with the bellydancing penyamun in tempayan! *lol*

Cream Puffs

2006-12-19T12:12:00.000+08:00

I made those for my cousin's kenduri doa selamat on Sunday. Orang kena sunat la katakan. heheh. I have always wanted to give this recipe a try, but was put off with complicated instructions. But the recipes I obtained from marthastewart.com, are actually very simple, with professional looking outcomes. *angkat bakul sendiri lagiiii*

i still have the fixation with icing tips. Sebenarnya the batter can be shaped using spoon aje. Saja gatal tgn

Some changes are made with the flour. I used part all-purpose flour and part superfine/cake flour. Cake flour is used as part of the flour to prevent excessive gluten formation due to the long beating time. As a result, the puffs remain soft not chewy even when it has cooled. Thanks to Jo's Deli Bakery for the info!

I made simple custard fillings from Alice Handy's Book, kitab memasak Mak dari zaman 70an! I chose the recipe which does not used any egg since the cream puffs used a lot of it. The custards were creamy, with the right amount of sweetness, and most importantly tak muak.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Curd and Meringue

2006-12-19T11:34:00.000+08:00

The whole famiy was in KL last week. So, on Saturday Baba decided to invite some relatives over for tea. Since K Supi was on holiday, Mak with the helps from K Noha and Kakak did most of the on-the-stove cookings, while I was the self-appointed Patissier or Pastry Chef *heheh*.

The menu of the day consisted of Spaghetti Goreng, Sate Ayam, assortments of Samosas, Otak-otak and Chicken drummets. For desserts, we had Fruit Cocktails and cupcakes inspired by Lime Key Pie Cupcakes from 500 Cupcakes by Fergal Connolly.

Presenting Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling and Coconut Meringue Toppings. "The name was too long indeed. Anyone wanted to provide me with a shorter and trendier name?". The contrasting taste of sweetness (from the cuppies and meringue) and sourness (from the lemon curd) definitely gave us some kick!

The original recipe called for condensed milk as the filling. As the family is not a big fan of anything too sweet, I decided to make Lemon Curd instead. "Another reason was, suddenly there were 3 lemons in the fridge, tak tau nak buat ape with them"

When the cupcakes has cooled, made tiny holes in it and filled with Lemon Curd.

Replaced the top and piped the meringue and sprinkled some dessicated coconut.

Lesson learnt - I made a mistake of pre-toasting the dessicated coconut, therefore when I browned the meringue in the oven later, the already browned-coconut nearly burnt. Maka tidak golden lah my meringue topping.

Where's The Sunshine?

2006-12-18T00:08:00.000+08:00

No words could do justice to what I'm feeling right now.

Is it PMS *God knows how much I wanted it to be PMS, the 'bestfriend' is being erratic lately* ?

Is it the realization of the holidays are over, and it's time to hit the books? For crying out loud, I only need to make minor amendments!! what the heck with the delays??

Dang. I just want all these to be over with. and go back home.

No amount of endless internet connection would bring me any closer to him. no amount.

Well, at least the Lemon Curd Cupcakes with Coconut Meringue and Cream Puffs turned out great. That, I will blog later. Am in the mood to wallow and bury myself in misery.

We are Eight

2006-12-13T22:17:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, marked the 8th year of 'whatever'-ship between me and him. You could replace 'whatever' with friend/relation/court.

I knew him during my days chatting in Alamak. Every weekdays, 4pm-6pm. I was 16. He was 17. I was overweight, he was not. I had two chins, and still have, while he had one. I lived in JB and still am, while he's from SG.

We never really chat online. He was an Ops, while I was the 'ordinary citizen', always harrassed the Ops for font colours. He was one of my usual victim, "Bro HuLk.. nak kaler boleh?"

Oh yeah, he still teases me about the Bro thingy.. He once asked, "Why you never called me Bro Hulk anymore? mcm dulu2.".. ape romantik panggil Bro.. ape je tauu..

The first time I met him was at a small gathering in Singapore, the first I ever went to, meeting strangers in person. He was the last person to arrive. Konon fashionably late. I did a double take when I saw him, saje nak kasi confirm "HuLk ke tu?", I asked a fellow chatter. You'll know what I mean from the pic below. Oh, and try to guess which one is him.

And so, bila mata bertentang mata, (I didn't really get to bertentang his mata, since he was so shy-shy cat, sengih2, cakap sepatah dua saja, when i asked him many years later, he said he was 'observing'..yelah tuuu) dari mata turun ke hati, dalam hati kembang bersemi.. two weeks later we decided to meet again, and 'accidentally' go steady.. and the rest is history.. eh OURstory.

Doakan kami.

What I did Last Weekend

2006-12-06T22:07:00.000+08:00

In Transition Again

2006-12-05T20:34:00.000+08:00

submitted final draft for thesis on thursday, 30th november. the night before, i only managed to sleep for 3 hrs.

went back to jb on friday, 1st dec.

2nd and 3rd was in singapore.

4th in jb. received mail from my supervisor, she wanted to see me asap.

5th already in KL. panick attack.

Sunyi dan Cemas

2006-11-27T13:35:00.000+08:00

kesunyian - berasa sunyi (kerana keseorangan)

Contoh ayat : Segala yang berlaku di sekelilingnya ketika itu tidaklah dapat menarik hatinya, ia kesunyian, rindu akan si dia yang kebiasaannya menemaninya di laman siber bila pulang dari kerja.

Contoh situasi : Si dia pergi 'reservist' selama seminggu. Berkhidmat untuk negara.

cemas - ~hati berasa takut dan risau (gelisah, bimbang)

Contoh ayat : Dalam kesunyian, hatinya turut berasa cemas ketika menyiapkan tesis sarjana sulungnya.

Contoh situasi: paham-paham sendiri je lah.

waiting for the green
man to appear beside his nick

Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcake

2006-11-26T14:19:00.000+08:00

The deadline is looming. Nearer and nearer. Terasa macam nak bernafas pon tersekat2. Jadi, bile stress teramat sangat, ape lagi.. ke dapur lah!

Been wanting to try the recipe for Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcake from Jo's Deli and Bakery. The ingredients are quite simple, and it did not use a lot of cream cheese. (Iyelah. harga seketul (250g) ard rm7, kalau satu kek mintak 500g, x ke pengsan.heheh.)

The original recipe called for large muffin liners. But I used patty tins, for cuter and smaller portions. It yields 22 small cupcakes. Syok sangat nk get the right angle for this pics, x sedar kek dah nak hangus. heheh. time membakar kembung mcm ikan buntal.. bila da kuar, it's expected to sunk a little bit since the cream cheese mixture is quite heavy.

Taste wise, it was extremely nice, not too sweet with a subtle tanginess. 3 kali ngap, dah abis. heheh. Surprisingly, the texture was soft and fluffy. Personally, i would love the cake to be a bit on the sour side. So for some of you, be generous with the lemon juice ok? hehe. For the icing, i mixed in some Apricot and Raspbery jelly for added sourness, without being overwhelmed. The chocolate ganache is what was left from last week. The cupcakes are best for beginner cheese cake enthusiasts. :)

This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Ok, time to get back to work!

Hard Work?

2006-11-23T11:14:00.000+08:00

Ok ok.. and so i didn't exactly follow the deadline (or is it dateline?) which i set for myself. See, how poor my time management is. ditto for self-discipline. erghhh.

This week was spend rather not so productive. Been stuck in the same topic, without making much progress. And i have received an email from *gasp* my supervisor. "Can i have your complete final draft by the end of this month" OMG, being a queen of procrasti-nation *smirk* the end of this month would be 2359 on the 30th november. heheh. HOPE NOT!!

And himself had giving me some hint of "come home will you?for good?" heheh. Ok.. ok

And also, i have received an e-mail from another lecturer, informing about a vacancy for Research Assistant for 3 months!! 3 MONTHS (from dec-feb)! and the $$ quite good too. the timing is perfect, since im sort of waiting for a vacancy advertisement from a certain academic library, which i was told would be published around next year. Do pray for me that i would get the RA post. do i sound desperate? you would if u're 24 and still being support by your parents! *sigh*

im feeling a bit stressed out now. hmm, it looks like it's time for another cupcake baking session this weekend!!

Chun yip or Bake with Yen, here i come!

p/s: yeap, that's my working space up there. the whole living room.

Mocha Cupcakes with White Chocolate Mocha Frosting

2006-11-19T21:04:00.000+08:00

Ta daaa.. experiment numero duo for project cupcakes. Presenting Mocha CupCakes with White Chocolate Mocha Frosting. Everything's made from scratch. :) Planning to make the cupcakes for Kakak's wedding. She already gave her thumbs up. Maybe with a different colored frosting to suit her wedding theme (tropical paradise cacamarba..heheh.. think of orange and green.. hawaiian garden la gitu).

The kitchen smelt similarly like Rotiboy's or Papa Roti's kitchen.mcm buat mexican bun, padahal mocha cuppies. heheh. To get the coffee flavour, i used serbuk kopi kluang! heheh. since that's what we have in the pantry. The frosting's recipe was actually a creation of mine. White chocs would be a bit muak and sweet for our taste, therefore i add some nescafe to it. no coffee emulco for me! selagi ade the real thing, better use it kan? Oh, and this is the first time i use the proper piping tips. tangan masih gigil lagi. heheh. Practice makes perfect kan?

Kak noha, dont worry, im planning to do another batch of cuppies for next weekend, new recipes of course! ;)

Now, feast your eyes.

The cupcakes are made into two sizes, small and large.

Fuhh legaa

2006-11-17T14:19:00.000+08:00

one down, another one to go. yeay!

after that.. holiday yayayayayayayyy!!

wish me luck eh.

The Overachiever's Guide to Cope with Stress

2006-11-15T16:18:00.000+08:00

15 minutes session of cardio-workouts on elliptical machine, twice daily OR beberapa minit yang anda suka sampai lutut tercabut OR seberapa lama yang anda suka sampai lah dapat idea nak teruskn writing. choose whichever comes first.
a trip to Lorong Haji Taib. heheh. ini lah lorong aktiviti "kupu-kupu malam" dan "akak2 berhalkum". heheh. dan kat situ jugaklah my de-stress shop, Bake with Yen. The baking shop is like a treasure trove. Disebabkan cinta yang mendalam to any things/ingredients/utensils related with bakings, just give me any time of the day, sanggup pergi tempat tu sorang2. Last Saturday I went there and spent 1 hour (and $$), in that shop alone. Among the things i've bought:

cupcakes liners!! they have soooooo many cute and pretty design. I've lost count how many designs are in my collection. Nampak cantik or unik je.. gue sambarr
stainless steel ice cream scoop. me goooooodnesss this one cost me rm12. erkk.. the plastik one is only less than rm5... xpe xpe.. tahan lama
more colourful sprinkles. heart-shaped dah ada, striped choc chip pn da ade, bintang2 da ade.. bunga2 pn da ade.. wahhh
Piping tips! kalau ikutkan hati nak angkut satu plastik drawers tu. hehe
Mini spatula.. selama ni nk rata kan icing guna butter knife atau belakang sudu je. ni nk kasi more professional finish la ni..
ingredients yg ntah hape2.. saje penuhkan stock

Among the things yang i geram sangat nak beli tapi belum ade budget

3 tiers stainless steel cake stands. jaga ko nanti. but im still looking for the cup cake stands which look like this. This one is available from an online shop based in aussie. mana la nak cari kt sini (mesia/s'pore) ehhh?
The shop even sell Wilton's product!! arghhhhh.. yang selama ni nampak kt online shop aje.. meleleh air liur tgk satu2 decorator's equipment.. sebab tu x nak balik..
Chocolate mold - leaf and sunflower pattern. thinking of putting edible choc flower on top of the cupcakes instead of fondants (yg hanya indah di mata, tp x sedap di mulut)
cookie press bentuk kupu2. mesti kakak sgt suke sekali ade rama2 atas kek die. hehe

dah-dah la tu.. sambung siapkn thesis balik. nak hantar next week kan..

My Wish List

2006-11-10T21:17:00.000+08:00

I wish I have a brilliant mind, churning intelligent words after words, constructing brilliant sentences.

But I have no problem at all writing my blog. Cheh.

I wish I have a brilliant mind, keep coming up with brilliant ideas for the thesis and assignment.

But all I have now is brilliant idea for kakak's cupcakes. Cheh.

I wish I have more time for my hobbies.

But those times are for the above mentioned!! The thesis laaa

I wish I am baking cupcakes or biscuits now.

But I loathe the cleaning up part.

Better Late Than Never

2006-11-01T11:48:00.000+08:00

Here are the obvious signs of being missus procrastinate:

1. Makcik eccentric and the drama queen would like to wish everyone, a joyous Eid! ;) This makcik eccentric (read:me) still eligible to receive the green packet tau! Selagi sumber pendapatan belum kena income tax. heheh.

2. A happy belated birthday to me! i turned 24 *gulp* on last 27th oct.. it was a quiet celebration, wishes from friends and loved ones were pouring in. Did have an early celebration with himself the day before. Since "gaji belum masuk" we settled for lunch at the food court in Haig Road. I'm certainly going to present him with my wish list the next time we meet. hehe. tuntut hadiah birthday!! ;)

So what did i get for my birthday? A couple of green packets *grins*, the kenwood mixer (self-proclaimed birthday gift frm Baba, since i had it in October), a beautiful mug from my colleague in psz *got this on the last day of my attachment, 13th Oct*, and a recipe book from Kakak (500 cupcakes - i go crazy the next couple of days, experimenting with the recipes).

On the day itself, me and Kakak went to KL for raya visit by bus. Mak, Baba, Adik and K Supi has gone off earlier by car. My goodness, boarding the bus was like being in a gas chamber!!! there was a guy in front of us, who took out his yellow bandanna and pooooff.. baunye.. aduhhhhh.. hapakkkkk!!! You know the smell some men tend to have; sweat, baju berpeluh terkepam plus wet un-shampooed hair with a dollop of hairgel??? Kakak and me, ended up sleeping covering our head, with shawls. Haha. it was a funny scene, imagine dua anak dara tidur kepala berbalut. Kepala je tau. hehe. Nampak mcm ninja pn ade.

Reached KL and had some b'day supper at kg baru along with Baba and Mak Lang who had birthdays in october too, the drama queen (read: nurin) sang me a "Happy birthday puyuuuu" days later..

3. Im still contemplating the date to go back to KL. dang.

Pantas ritma jantungku

2006-10-29T20:39:00.001+08:00

Maka bermulalah saat dan tikanya
Pada waktu ini tetap ku tidak diam
Jasad di sini jiwa melayang
Imbau kembali perjuangan

Hampir kah saat itu?
Genting rasanya ritma jantung
Sekejap pantas laju tak teratur
Aduh.. resah
Aduh.. gelisah

Aduh.. susah

Mundar ku ke sana.. ah tidak kena
Lalu ku mandir ke situ jua
Pun tidak kena

Aduh.. resah

Ku gapai cebis nota ku
Ku baca baris satu persatu
Namun hampa buah fikir tiada yang baru
Hati ku berdetak makin laju

Lepaskan aku dari genggaman iniiiii
Tidak sudah-sudah menjenguk ku
Mampir takat ku ingin mengecap kebahagiaan
Hati ku ingin lapangggggg
Minda ku ingin ringannnn

Berikan aku peluang
Tolonglah..
Ku merayu
Bantulah..

... aku masih mood raya, tapi deadline/dateline(s) are loooooooooming.. lOoooOOOoomiNnggGG

Bliss

2006-10-21T12:47:00.000+08:00

And so, i've finished the attachment w PSZ, UTM. An eye opener experience, priceless knowledge. Hope to be able to work there, one day.

Been busy finishing orders for Double Choc Chips COokies. Alhamdulilah, order has been pouring in eventhough was busy with work. Today would be the last day of baking cookies, and after this x larat nk tgk choc chip lagi.. hehe.. well maybe for a month or two ;). After this, im going to bake kuih utk rumah, experimenting w new tart recipes which is 'tart mangkuk'. kalau jadi nnti nampaklah gmbr kt blog.

Anyway, i had a new helper courtesy of Baba (thank you!). Helper ni merah menyala you. Been wishing to have one for yearsssss.. An early b'day present from Baba perhaps. Alhamdulillah, x la berpeluh2 nk mengadun kuih, jd kurang masin biskut tahun ni. hehe.

Oh, and mak bought a convection microwave oven before puasa. Kononnye senang nk panas2kn lauk nk bersahur. Since it has dual functions (microwave and convection oven), ended up im the only person using it. In addition to existing oven (yang meragam, bleh masuk only 35 pieces of cookies at a time) cepat sikit biskut2 tu dimasak. Amin..

On top of it, the choc cupcakes w choc fudge is a hit among adik's schoolmate. alhamdulillah. After raya, going to experiment w new recipe (from a new recipe book kakak bought for my upcoming birthday!!) :)

:)

Fertile Fashionista

2006-10-11T08:57:00.000+08:00

Have u ever had a moment, or certain days when you put a little bit more effort on dressing ups, wore your favourite dress/baju kurung/skirts or kebaya and being more feminine than usual? You picked up brighter colours, rather than those bleaky or subdued ones. On that day, you suddenly feel like putting an extra dab of powder on your nose, new shades of lipsticks, or even put more accessories than usual? And you appeared more fashionable than normal days!

I had those days. I would choose long skirts over jeans, heels over flat sandals, kebaya over baju kurung. Even rummaged through mom’s treasure chest and slipped one or two beaded bracelets on my wrist.

According to a research done by U.S researchers, fertile women dress to impress!! Hah!! So, that’s what happening huh? Unlike animals, which would emit certain scent or display some changes in skin colour when ovulating; human, on the other hand showed no clear sign of it. Hence, the existence of ovulating test kit for women who wants to get pregnant but unaware of the likeliest time to conceive! However, that would not be the case anymore, as reported by the studies, “Women would frequently wore more fashionable or flashier clothing and jewelry when they were ovulating, as assessed by a panel of men and women looking at their photographs.”

And so, when there comes a day someone said “Hey you look beautiful today,” “Wow.. mcm mak datin lah”, or get more cat or wolf whistles than usual, what do you know, you might be ovulating!

So, for those who have bite the dusts (read: married), work harder eh tonight? Ahah.

As for me, I would wait for the elusive ‘best friend’, which suddenly decided not to visit me during Ramadhan. How convenient.

Oh, haven’t I tell you, women are more likely to flirt and look at attractive men when they ovulate? Haha. Now ladies, we have our reasons!!!

Black Is Not My Color

2006-09-30T21:41:00.000+08:00

Yesterday i decided to wear an all black baju kurung kedah, black tudung with black open toe wedges. Friday la hari yg agak kurang semangat nak go work sebab x tau nk buat ape with 2hrs++ lunch break. Jd sebab tu la kena pakai baju ikut mood gitu..

Bulan puasa ni x minum kopi. Jadi bile pegi keje pagi2 tu, mata mmg syahdu panjang. And at the same time, still being a speed demon (yg tetap ikut speed limit lah, cume lebih 4km/h je dr limit..). It was a bit late, as shown by the less congested traffic on jln skudai highway. Waheeyyy dlm hati. Took a left turn, masuk jln pontian..drove straight sampailah kat second traffic light yg nk u-turn tu UTM bile tibe-tibe je.. *SCreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech*... muaaaaah

Maka hampir la gue tercium punggung kereta kt depan.Naza Sutera kaler ijau JJU 499. HAMPIR. the word is HAMPIR.

Pas2 da insiden tu, i got off the car quickly, malas nk create a scene kt tgh2 jln yg sesak tu.. akak keter depan punye la lembap kuar kereta. i inspected the bumper, thank god xde scratch walau sebesar kutu kucing pon. i swear!! legaaaa hati den. so i told the akak abt it as she got off her car and i apologized profusely. But the akak in front insist mmg i cium punggung kereta dia. Katanye "KALAU DA ADE BUNYI TU MEANS DA LANGGAR LAH!!!" dgn mata beliak dan bibir lipstick merah nyala die tu die tengking aku.. adehh sakit jantung gue.. Sabarrrrr

"Akak, buat pe saya nk tipu akak. Saya ckp betul, akak tgk la sendiri. Kalau betul langgar mesti ade kesan kt kereta saya jugak," kata gue.

She stomped her way to the back of her car, crouching.. belek2 bumper.. usap2.. x puas hati camne according to her.. 'bleh ade bunyi tapi langsung xde kesan kt keter die'.

So i cakap.. "mungkin bunyi tu dr tayar saya. sbb jln pn berpasir and saya press brake kuat2"

And dia sambung lagi.. "Tapi tadi ada bunyi!! Takkan la x langgar!!"

And then die buat sesuatu yang sangat la menyakitkan hati gue yg da mule panas tu.. ye lah jln sesak abis x nk lebih kurang.. ckp pn ganas aje..

Nak tau die buat ape??

Die pegi la tekan2 bumper dia.. tolak2.. tarik2... and sambil tu telling me.. "HAA TGK NI.. BUMPER NI MCM DA LONGGAR!"

"hanginnnnnnnnnnnn.. mmg laaa kalau bumper keter biasa pn kite tekan2.. tarik2.. ade goyang!! da namanye buat dr fibre glass.. keter akak kn buatan CHINA plak tu!! xkn la keter akak buat dr besi kelui plak!!!," kata gue.. dalam hati la.. eheh

dlm ketidak puasanhatinya, die pn berkata sambil mengembangkn lubang idungnye.. "Ada nombor tepon x.. bagi je la in case kalau ade ape2."

Dalam hati gue plak "ape 'in case tu'? balik ni nk g terajang tu bumper kasi cabut and then said my fault lah eh?".. tu kata2 gue.. DALAM HATI

Reluctantly i gave her my number, cos i was already late for work, org kiri kanan dok tgk2 dua lady driver ni tersadai tepi jln tanpa ade kesan ape2 kt kereta masing2.. Seriously langsung x bleh lebih kurang ni akak.. sambil bagi no tepon tu ade niat nk kasi salah nombor.. heheh.. tp nasib baik la bulan pose xde setan, so bagi je la nombor tu..

I salam her and mintak maaf agn.. die langsung x genggam tgn gue.. Sabarrrrrrr

And so i sped off.. dgn hati yg membara2 tapi insaf.

pas ni nk pakai baju kaler OREN plak.

Minggu Ini

2006-09-29T00:08:00.000+08:00

ini la pertama kali pengalaman bekerja dalam bulan puasa. satu soalan je nak tanye pada para2 veteran semua, how u all tahan ngantuk eh?? seriously, kol 11.30 pagi je da weng weng.. melayang2 dah.. nk tido tghari xde tempat.. tambahan pula now i am without my coffee.. sebabnye kalau minum kopi pas sahur, jawabnye berjaga la terus dr kol 4.30pagi tu sampai la ke petang.. without nap.. kongsi2 la petua ye?

btw, now i have my own desk, pc (pentium duo tuh) and scanner yg besarnye mcm anak dinosaur tapi lajuuuuuu.. im involved dlm projek mendigitalkn semua photograph in the collection dr zaman tok adam dulu sampai la now.. time scan gmbr x ngantuk.. tp time nk categorizekn gmbr2 tu yg x larat.. dok tenung pc lama2..

gitulah kesahnye..

p/s: x nk order biskut?

Bisnes misnes

2006-09-16T21:52:00.000+08:00

This is the latest craze in Adik's class, which made me the most famous sister. muerhaha. Presenting.. Choc CupCakes with Choc Fudge Icing. They actually paid for it. kachinggg!! Initially, i made this as a sample for Hari Keusahawanan at her school next week. Since the cost of making it is quite high for a student, so i'll be making a smaller version for them to sell instead. And those in the pics.. utk jualan umum. tu yg diorg dok mengorder buat makan sendiri..

best x best tu. eheh

anyway.. projek choc chip cookies sudah kembali utk syawal 1427.

Bilik beku

2006-09-14T21:34:00.000+08:00

ikhs.. rase mcm nk demam ni.. sebab seharian dlm bilik bersuhu 18 degrees celcius. minggu ni im doing inventory on media resources mcm compact disc dan barang2 zaman jurassic park seperti piring hitam, microfilm, tape VHS yg besau tuu... haa.. dinosor barang2 dlm tu.. benda2 tu sensitip w suhu.. tu yg sejukkkk manjang..

adeh...

I've Finally Found You

2006-09-11T20:53:00.000+08:00

i've found my yawn buster!!! well, actually i was reunited with my daily fix of Kopi Pearl Kacip Fatimah. It seems Nescafe Breakfast aren't kao kao enough for me.

The only downside is, u could smell the caffeine while doing number 1 in the toilet.

Oh, and hey.. guess what? I've found a pink slip on my windshield. This time from the Pejabat Keselamatan. cheh. for not having the car sticker obviously. haiyaaa.. stresssss.. i was a bit late this morning, and since all the "kenderaan awam" space for library patron has been taken up by the library staff themselves, i had to park a bit further from the library.

Esok, kena buat muka kasihan. *praktis tgk cermin*

Yawn-o-mania

2006-09-10T01:01:00.000+08:00

I have a question

What is the best yawn-buster? I’ve lost counted how many times I have to stifle my yawns, in anyway I could. Nose rubbing isn’t working anymore. I tried to bit my lips, but the nose blew my cover. I just could not control the ‘pengembangan lobang hidung’. Sigh. I do not want to appear rude to whoever talking/explaining/briefing me at that time. How how how? Bukannya boring kat sana tu. In fact, what I have learnt so far will benefit me for the future, very interesting and valuable; but I just could not stop yawning. Coffee?? I was not a coffee drinker before this, but since I started attachment, that’s what I have every morning. And still… yawnnnnnn tak sudah2.

Penyakit betul lah ni.

I Found Serenity in Her

2006-09-08T20:53:00.000+08:00

the phone line was down yesterday. well, that was what we thought, when actually it's the phone acting crazy. anyhoo, last nite i had some serious case of 'terlebih makan sampai perut tegang'.. or is it because of the increasing speed in eating as exhibited in the past few days during 'sesi minum pagi'?

whatever. thank god for eno halia. a half glass of it, and i break wind for the rest of the nite. legaaaaa rasanya.

yesterday had a very interesting counselling session with a colleague whom i would address as Cik L. She's an all-black-purdah clad lady, but with a very caring soul, kind face and a wicked, wittiest sense of humour i've ever seen. she's similar to an ex-roomate of mine back during my 1st yr in UM. the purdah wasn't oppressive. she would lift the veil covering her face when she's in the office. oh. and with her black-rimmed spectacles, she even looked kinda ranggi and cool. impossible combination isn't it? and she's 46.

i was assigned to her, to learn some technical procedures in journal/series acquisitions in the library. with her being so kecoh most of the time, the lesson turned out to be more entertaining that i thought it would. oh, don't worry.. what needs to be learn is learnt. and i got more than what i initially bargained for.

i would say that the conversation i had with her, is a muhasabah session for me.

all these while, i've been surrounded with these kind of people, with caring souls, soft approach in giving dakwah, a good combination to my sometimes hard headed/heart. who have love for the religion, without being political. the people who always being generous with their smiles and advices without being judgemental and pushy. without 'i am holier than thou' persona, i am drawn to them, attracted to the serenity shown in their faces and spirit.

they are not affected by people around them, which seems to be engrossed with the rat race, climbing ladders, making money.. but somehow they're truly happy. wealthy not with materials, but with knowledge and wisdom. generous, again not of materials, but advices and loves. but they live comfortably.. and more content than those who have all...

i always look forward to see her smile each day i come for work.

Minum Pagi

2006-09-06T21:35:00.000+08:00

Saya ada satu senario.

Waktu minum pagi. Pegawai ajak minum bersama-sama. Minum dalam konteks ini bermaksud, naik kereta untuk pergi ke restoran dan menikmati ‘minum pagi’ itu. Restoran itu pula terletak di luar kawasan kampus. Heh. Tapi saya dengan pegawai, dari setengah jam, akhirnya sejam waktu minum saya itu.

Dia membawa saya ke Restoran L di kawasan perumahan berhampiran untuk menjamu Nasi Kerabu pada pukul 9.00 pagi yang agak buta itu. Sebelum ini saya akan mencari soto atau pun makanan yang agak ringan sebagai minum pagi, walaupun saya tidak turun makan tengahari kemudiannya. Dalam hati saya, wah pagi-pagi makan besar! Berat mata saya nanti ni. Tiba di restoran itu, saya pun memesan makanan yang sama dengannya iaitu Nasi Kerabu berlaukkan daging goreng dan telur asin, bersama segelas limau suam. Masya Allah, sedap sungguh Nasi Kerabu itu. Hidangannya pun banyak. Terkial-kial untuk saya menghabiskannya (saya ni kalau makan memanglah sangat lembap).

Dia telah pun menghabiskan makanannya, sebelum saya. Apa lagi, yang tinggal dalam pinggan terus sahajalah saya kunyah dua tiga kali, suap, kunyah dua tiga kali, suap. Air limau suam pun dua tiga teguk saya habiskan. Bukan apa, segan. Saya keluar bersama pegawai, sudahlah melebihi tempoh yang dibenarkan, makan pula lambat-lambat. Nanti dia ingat saya ini orang yang suka melengah-lengahkan masa pula. Tiba waktu untuk membayar, saya bertambah lagi segan. Dia telah membayarkan makanan saya.

Soalan saya adalah:

Bagaimana untuk bertanya pada yang membayar, adakah dia bayarkan untuk saya atau sebaliknya?
Kalau saya bertanya, takut tersinggung pula. Ya lah kan, dia adalah pegawai, makanan saya pun jumlahnya tidak sampai RM5. Tersinggung, sebab saya yang masih berstatus pelajar ini ingin memulangkan duitnya yang mungkin nilainya tidak seberapa itu.
Kalau saya tidak bertanya pula, nanti takut dia pula berfikir, “Eh budak ini diam aja, bukannya nak offer duit dia”. Hati manusia kan, kita tidak tahu.
Kalau saya terus berkata terima kasih pada nya, takut nanti “Eh, sejak bila aku cakap nak belanja, pandai-pandai aja dia ni”.

Jadi, sepanjang perjalanan pulang ke kampus tadi, perkara ini yang bermain-main di fikiran saya.

Dan saya tahu, situasi ini akan saya hadapi lagi pada masa akan datang. Saya cuma inginkan pendapat, bagaimana untuk menghadapi situasi ini dalam cara yang tidak menyinggung perasaan siapa-siapa, dan pada masa yang sama tidak kelihatan seperti saya mengambil kesempatan.

Apa pun, sebelum berpindah ke jabatan lain tengahari tadi, saya telah pun mengucapkan terima kasih kepada dia. Semoga rezekinya semakin murah, semurah hatinya membelanja saya makan Nasi Kerabu yang enak itu.

p/s: Untuk Ham dan Wani, hari ini saya ditempatkan di bahagian 'cataloguing'. Teringat kenangan bersama-sama Sharon si mata bulat mengajar kita membuat MARC record.

Teeeeet!

2006-09-05T20:45:00.000+08:00

Oh hey. Who whould have thought, a childhood dream (or in my case dreams) could come true? I get to use the bar code scanner. finally!! and i am feeling euphoric.

1st thing in the morning, had a meeting with a senior officer, and i barely able to stay awake. i stiffled my yawn many times,while pretending to rub my nose. being in a fully air-cond room, with the rain beating hard against the window, certainly didn't help much either. and i was in my "buat macam paham mode" which involved nodding my head occasionally while trying to comprehend everything being told.

thank god for "minum pagi" break at 9.30am.

things started to get more interesting after the break, fiddling around with the keyboards entering some datas into the system, being able to be part of the actual process of book acquisition in the library, processing the book i.e stamped, putting the magnetic strip, sticking the barcode and scanned (yeay!!) it. i just love being surrounded by sooo many books.

there goes my 2nd day. :)

First Day

2006-09-04T22:05:00.000+08:00

i'm so tired.

but the experience and knowledge that come with it is priceless.

i have blisters on both feet, and i need new shoes. the one i wore (which i bought 2 years ago), has broken into pieces. literally. the heels are fine, so is the sole. but the exterior, has peeled off. kesiannnn ko.. mcm keje keras je kasut sampai terkopek2..

tomorrow is another day, different department.

i'm going to hafal all the short forms they use in there. jsp, jps, jpm, psz, sps, bla bla bla. hehe.

wish me luck

Practicum

2006-09-03T21:09:00.000+08:00

Im back in JB. and am having a mixed feelings. Shouldn't being in JB is the happiest? Well I have my reasons.

Happy. for being back in JB obviously. Drove down yesterday, accompanied by my bro and family. Let me tell you one thing, if it's not because of rising cost of petrol and toll, i would definitely drive the length of Malaysia, for the sake of relieving stress. But long distance driving is certainly not good for your back though. Oh.. and.. being the driver, seeing the passenger dozing off to lala land is certainly something to be envied about. Ahh.. see the different now? People actually trust me behind the wheel now, sebab tu mereka tidor. Maka dgn itu, saya pn membuat satu aksi (i.e membuka kasut while driving at 110km/h.. it's a shoe ok.. not sandals where u just could kuis2 with the other foot), the car did swerve a teeeeeeeeny bit to the left and woke EVERYONE up. haha. tulah.. tido x ajak orang lagi.. kan da kena.. hihi
Anxious. On the friday, i frantically tried to finish my writings. Alas, i could not. I've burnt midnite oil, scented oil, aromatherapy oil.. well into midnight. Dah seram2 sejuk fikir how am i going to submit it before i go back to JB. I thought 3 days would be enough to produce an 'intelligent' summary, conclusion and discussion. But i was wrong. So, on saturday morning instead of printing whatever i've finished, i spring cleaned the house.. thesis tu nanti later fikir camna. I think i am going to post it to Lemy and ask for his favour on this.
Nervous. It's my first day on attachment tomorrow! *big gulp* . Mmg masa undergad dulu pon pernah go for attachment/practical, but during that time, people won't expect much from you (dah namanye undergrad kn). Well, now it would be different as people's expectation is wayyy higher, and most postgraduates are professionals. The only thing i'm PRO at right now, is being a student. Yes, i am a professional student by now, without a salary.
Happy. I'm only 20minutes away from himself !!! (excluding traffic jam on the causeway).
Sad. I'm going to miss my weekly mobile entertainment unit aka nurin salma. No more 'winkle winkle little tarrr'. *sob sob*

Dilanda Cinta

2006-08-31T22:38:00.000+08:00

Halwa telinga yang terkini. Tak kira pagi, petang, siang atau malam.

Love this song to bits, from the very first time i heard him on Thursday Night Live on NTV7. The song reminded me of the good ole song, with beautifully written lyrics, so simple and yet meaningful, and his voice is ohhh so lush and classic. hearing him singing, is like falling in love over and over and over again.. *en shanon, ermm.. if i want you to sing during my wedding.. ermm.. ade discount x?*

He deserves the AIM-Best Album Award. I am going to hunt for his album. Original okeh?

Enjoy the song, along with the lyrics (for those who want to sing along)

Dilanda Cinta
By Shanon Shah

Tidur jaga mu tergendala
Kau terpaku di jendela
Langit yg gelap tak mampu membawa tidur padamu
Hatimu bergema
Gemuruh nafsu rancak berirama

Jelas kini kau tak mampu bertahan lagi
Semua yang telah berlalu
Semua yang akan berlaku
Semua tak menentu

Kerana kau dilanda cinta
Naik saja matahari
Hati mu gusar menanti
Saat bertemu senyuman manisnya menghantuimu

Dan setiap langkahmu
bagaikan merentas laut bergelora

Takut tapi suka
Kau mengidamkan belaiannya
Semua yang telah berlalu
Semua yang akan berlaku
Semuanya tak tentu
Kerana kau dilanda cinta

Sikit lagi kau akan percaya
Bahawa cinta mu berdaya
Mencetus sebuah kuasa
Yang mampu mengubah seluruh dunia

Ramai yang telah jatuh
Pabila semangat rapuh
Gagal tuk faham
Cinta tidak boleh digenggam
Dan kau sudah risau
Kau akan disumpah dengan kemarau

Jangan takut
Lembutkan hatimu
Semua yang telah berlalu
Semua yang akan berlaku
Semuanya tak tentu
Pabila kau dilanda cinta

Cuti-Cuti Malaysia III & IV

2006-08-30T18:18:00.000+08:00

Have to roll everything into one entry since my time for blogging is very much limited. This story is way too 'basi' by now as it happened nearly 2 weeks ago.

Let's skip part III, (that's the jalan2 in jb part.. same ole story) and go to Part IV - Cuti2 Melaka.

Let me tell you this, Melaka with it's glory of being a historical site has lost it.. LOST it's charm.. All due to the fact that the cab drivers, all 4 of them charged us RM10 for EVERY trip we made. Dekat ke jauh, semua rm10.

I was fuming, thus lost my interest to explore Melaka on my own. It certainly did not help when the hotel is not located in the city. The historical Sungai Melaka and Kg Moten was nearby. Did experienced fireworks display from the comfort of the hotel. Terubat duka ku walau sedikit.

But still, RM10 for a 'eff'ing trip by cab, will put off anybody.

Now, back to the thesis, the dateline is Friday. Wish me luck.

Cuti-Cuti Singapura - Part II

2006-08-24T11:37:00.000+08:00

Day II – Singapore

Had a late wink the night before and as a result, waking up was really difficult. Dragged myself outta bed at 8.30am, had a good shower and picked a blouse from Adik’s wardrobe. Had a cup of coffee, called up the cab and headed to JB checkpoint, not before making a stop at MBJB in Kebun Teh to pay yet another summon.

After the usual scanned passport-boarded the yellow bus-alighted-run, huff and puff-queued up in SG checkpoint-made few friends while waiting for passport to be stamp-run,huff and puff-boarded the bus-alighted at Kranji MRT; I reached SG at 10am and waited for my knight on shiny bike. The night before, he offered to send me all the way to NLB, which I gladly accepted. He came, and off we went to NLB, dropped me off and made his way to his workplace in JI.

Oh, by the way I didn’t bluff about the shiny bike part, it was shiny with polished exhaust pipe and rims, the leather on the tank (which they called tank-bra!!) and even the seat gleamed under the sun. Tapi yang kelakar tu, nape lah gi polish itu seat, dah lain kali nak naik motor kena pakai anti-skid patch on my butt. Xdela asik menggelongsor je tiap kali brake.

NLB in all it’s glory!! Went to level 7, deposited my bag (darn, can’t bring the bag inside anymore.. geez), and take a seat by the large window, overlooking the busy street and a mixture of old and modern buildings which surround the library. Went to the LIS shelves, and selected armful of one book after another, and… the rest of this part isn’t interesting at all ;). Oh yes, I did hog the Xerox machine. Hehe

Had a 30mins lunch break in Bugis Junction, did some window shopping and bought a small Jollibean soy drink and karipap bunting and sotong cocok from Old Chang Kee. Continue doing the not so interesting part.

At 3.30pm, my knight came and we went to, where else but Beach Road to have cholesterol and calorie laden foods. We ordered 10 satays – babat, hati, ayam, daging, kambing; Soto Campur for him and Mee Odong for me. Mee Odong is similarly like mee soto with a twist. Chunky meat pieces are used for garnishing instead of the chicken bits. We were being carnivorous that day. Meat, meat all the way. Jangan kena gout sudah.

Makan pun sudah, kenyang pun sudah. And it’s time to get home. He dropped me off at SG Checkpoint and again, repeat the half walk(x larat nk run this time)-huff and puff-queued up-made friends-passport stamped-half walk, huff and puff-boarded the bus-alighted etc etc. Reached Larkin at 6.00pm, bought some radish to make Fried Carrot Cake (as requested by him) and waited for my dad.

Terbongkang the rest of the nite. Dog tired.

To be continued.

Cuti-cuti Malaysia Part I

2006-08-23T11:21:00.000+08:00

It’s four. Not three as initially planned. That’s the number of states I’ve been to since Thursday until Monday. One day, one state.

On Thursday evening, after Zohor, I made my way to Seremban from KL Sentral boarding a commuter train (RM6 per journey) which took approximately 75-80 minutes. It was a nostalgic journey as it reminded me of the same route I took for weekend getaway to KL when I was a student in Kuala Pilah back in the 2000. Nothing much could be said about the view throughout the ride. Except for a makcik, whose house was beside the railway, hanging her laundry on the clothesline, wearing a kemban, bra strap showing, both shoulders and on the back. Talk about pencemaran budaya, in all it’s glory.

The chugging of the train was hypnotizing. Managed to get a few shut eyes before being woken up by a man talked LOUDLY on the phone, as though he was talking to ANOTHER person on the OTHER side of the train. Phone etiquette 101 – even though you’re talking to the person who is on the other side of the world, across 7 seas, 7 continents, 7 wonders of the world, for goodness sake, you’re talking on the phone, within your earshot. Maybe the other man on the other side is hard on his hearing. Geez, don’t have to enlighten us with the content of your conversation though. Oh yeah, irritating ring tones don’t help much either.

Journey by commuter 101 – ALWAYS, and I do mean ALWAYS secure a seat facing the same directions as where the train is heading when boarding the train. Or you’ll risk alighting white faced (or green faced) with the content of your stomach halfway up your throat. As it was in my case.

Seremban is not much different than my last visit, around 1 and half years ago. My mom’s hotel stood majestically on top of the hill, fronting by the green lush of the Lake Garden. In between the hotel and the train station, there’s a shopping mall, a fast food restaurant and the garden. I was tempted to walk all the way there. You know, a bit of retail therapy in Seremban Parade, cross the street to quench the thirst with an A&W Rootbeer float, then burn off the calories by brisk walking in the garden, huffing and puffing my way up. It would take around 30mins of walking (and panting) including pit stops. But I was green faced remember. So I took a cab and pointed (yes, pointed) my destination.

RM5 poorer (it seems, that’s the flat rate or minimum rate for a taxi ride, just like in JB), I arrived at the hotel lobby, greeted by the cold rush of the air cons. While waited for Mak, went to the spacious surau and after that headed to the café (not before counting the RMs in my wallet, making sure there’s a decent amount left for me to pay for the meal). Carefully (I mean really carefully, since I only have rm15 left) I made my selection of bagel with tuna and mayo stuffing, with cheese, served with salads and fries which I swear tasted so similar to Mcd’s. All that for rm6.50 after tax. Which is cheap for a hotel standard, plus the serving size is wayyy huge. Only ate half of the bagel, and dog-bagged the rest for the journey to JB later in the evening.

Took a seat as secluded as possible (I hate eating alone in public), but somehow ended up beside a group of tubby and ciggie smoking YBs / pakciks, with thundering laugh, guzzling teh tarik one after another. I tried to look equally important too, so I took out my scribbling pad, reading, occasionally paused, looked up the ceiling as if in a very deep thoughts, jot down a line or two in an attempt to not looking displaced. Heheh. The meal came, and I tackled it with such gusto that I didn’t realize Mak’s waving at my direction. Paid and packed. Together with Mak and her friend, we made my way to JB, departed from the hotel at 6.30pm.

Arrived JB at 8.30pm. Mak did a 120-130kmh all the way on the highway. Salute!

To be continued.

Hence the Name

2006-08-16T17:07:00.000+08:00

fuhhhhhhhhhhh *huge sigh of relief* no no.. i haven't finish the thesis yet. but at least the humungous *or so i thought* problem/trouble/mistake before this is clarified/rectified/solved after a borak2 intelek session w prof zainab.

anywayyyy..

am going to be in transit, in 3 different states and 2 countries starting from tomorrow until the weekend.

where im heading? HOME of course. but not before making a transit in seremban and meet my mom there, before together continuing the journey to jb. followed by a day in s'pore on friday.

what? go s'pore shopping ah? no budget la *jgn ckp xde duit*.. going to bury myself in the books at NLB sebelah bugis junction tu.. apa lagi. then will hog the photostate machine all day loooong.

who says childhood ambition will never come true? I used to dream working as a Xerox/photostate machine operator. muerhehe. dah dapat dah.

cume cita2 nk tekan2 cashier machine je x tercapai, since now guna barcode je. *teeeet*

till then, JB here i comeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Sesi Mengadu

2006-08-12T16:14:00.000+08:00

Balik jb postponed to next week. Still ok la tu kan. at least i could use the weekend to finish my chapter 5. Mid of next week nk kena pegi mengadap da..

Semakin nk siap tesis ni, makin mcm2 plak yg jumpa.. as if the data collection i did before this is not enough. either the sample is too small or i didnt choose my sample randomly enough.

Ikhs.. sakit pening da ni.. end result, only 5 shows significant difference. ONLY 5!! and only 4 of them is related to the main research questions i posed in chapter 1.

da nk kena go back to chapter 1 adjust balik. and dig whatever past research from chapter 2 to supplement n support my findings yg 5 ketul tu je. To make it appear 'intelligent' and 'valid'.

chapter 4 end up 20 muka surat je. doploh!! aduh..sakit jantung.. camne nk citer dgn prof. i think max i can go for chap 5 pn 20 jugak. total page semua agaknye 100 including appendix.

ikhs.. harapan setinggi gunung

time gini, kalau dicampak lg satu dugaan sampingan, mmg la.. mmglaa..total system breakdown.

tulah, lenkali jgn heppi2 sgt..

sekian, sesi mengadu tamat.

Niat di Hati

2006-08-10T21:18:00.000+08:00

Allah itu maha mengetahui, maha pemurah.

Sejak jd lone-ranger, most of the time makan ikut ape yg senang nk dimasak. one pot cooking. tu yg slalu end up makan pasta n tomato sup, mee sup, bubur campak e'thing inside.

Ada lah sekali tgh makan2 ni.. cam sedih sendiri.. lama aku x makan complete meal.. nasi dgn lauk masak kt umah.. nk masak lauk pauk x kose nk basuh segala periuk.

Tau2 kan.. esk nye dpt lauk kambing masak kicap dgn dalca dr mak k noha. Amiiin..

Kedian, ade lah skali ni.. tgh chat2 dgn himself.. tibe2 kt tekak ni terasa nk makan kuey teow goreng kt ampang point. die panggil kuey teow banjir kerang.. sedappp.. banjir as in kuey teow goreng basah yg dibanjiri dgn kerang2 tergolek..

Esoknya, k noha dtg dgn my bro.. tau tau.. bawak la kuey teow sebungkus.. nikmattttt..

Mcm semlm.. da boring dok makan pasta dgn nasi.. agn, teringin nk mee goreng yg sdp.. bile melawat Mak Lang kt kg baru, tau2 ptg tu Mak Is *maid Mak Lang* masak mee goreng special die.. amiiin rezeki lagi...

Tadi plak.. da beberapa hari seblum ni rasa da boring dok ngadap ayam memanjang.. lama x jumpe sang ikan sebagai makanan.. selalu lunch mkn iwak lele *ikan keli* dr fac, tp past few days da lama x ke sana.. tau2 k noha tepon td nk dtg.. bawak sambal petai dgn IKAN GORENG..

Nikmatttt..

Allah mmg mendengar..

K noha is one heck of a mind reader oso. heheh.

Mekasih ye.

Betul, kalau kite nk ape2, berdoalah pada Allah.. mintak pada dia. Dia maha mendengar.

Update Tak Pikir Panjang

2006-08-09T22:19:00.000+08:00

exactly 2 years and a day ago, this picture was taken at my place. few days after my convocation for bachelor. Bagus tu rombongan dtg dr s'pore as moi present grad dulu. Now, 2 of them are getting married (ye.. kitorg bukak agensi cr jodoh sg-mesia.. nk join ke? heheh), some of them has lost/put on weight or grew their hair longer or no longer clueless about roads in KL. the curtain certainly has changed. so is the room is fully furnished now. yg x tukar is... my face masih berminyak mcm 2 tahun lepas.. dan tahun2 yg sebelumnye..

oh.. si kenit tu.. no longer dukung-able. patah tulang wehhh.

anywaysss..

happy n-day to the s'porean. to moi friends who's graduating this year, congratulations (am seeing Azah tomorrow aftr the ceremony.. she is my buddy2 since my days in Kuala Pilah matrix throughout UM). happy happy to me, sbb x dpt grad this year, muahaha. thesis pn lom siap lagi. prof zainab da nk balik da next week. *peluh dingin*. tapi yg bestnye, my application to do my attachment kt UTM Library telah pn diluluskan. yippee yay yay. JB here i come!!!

oh.. harap2 next yr dpt grad. ape plak eh present utk grad master ni? *goyang2 kening*

oh ye.. went to see Mak Lang who just being discharged frm the hosp td. sempatla masak apple layer cake utk die (tesis x siap.. tp bleh masak cake eh). hr tu die masuk spital sbb low blood pressure. kurang potassium katanye. jd pas ni am going to buy all the pisang in the world to load up my potassium. sbb simptom2 yg dia ckp tu mcm ade je kt me.. mmg la my blood pressure mmg slalunye borderline rendah. kdg2 ade jugak berpinar2.. pening2.. kalau mabuk2 tok sah citer la.. tu mmg selalu.. mabuk cinta.

anywayssssss (again)

saya nk balik jb jumaat ni. atau sabtu. saya heppi sekali.

sekian, terima kasih.

Malas Update Ver 1.0

2006-07-31T13:52:00.000+08:00

1. How's life lately?
teeny bit organized than before. But under massive pressure from the disseratation of course. The supervisor has gone off for her hoilday. I was in JB from friday till sunday to - celebrate Kakak's b'day, met himself at my doorstep for 2 minutes (AJE!!!), drove back to KL w Mak and later to Genting to send Mak.

2. What food do you miss the most?
air kathira abu bakar. only during ramadhan, only in jb. I miss karipap dinosaur at Secret recipe's too. Hmm. Ikhs, time puasa ni ade je byk benda nk ngidam

3. Do you usually paint your nails? What color?
the only time was when I got 2 bottles of nail colour frm estee lauder as a free gift. Nude pink n plum. It was nice. Before that masa kecik, used magic color pens to paint the nails, only to be whacked by ustazah bile pergi skolah agama. Permanent plak kaler tu kt kuku.

4. What do you think about belly dancing?
that’s the only time when having ‘the butt’ is an advantage. gelek gelek gelek!!

5. When was the last time someone told you
he/she likes you?
2 nites ago, somewhere before he ‘ter’dozed off to sleep while on the phone.

6. Are you afraid of mirrors?
I love ‘em. Especially those at cik wa’s place. It makes u look slimmer n taller. haha

7. Do you still remember you first job interview?
yes. In s’pore, with a man named Fisabil who, while interviewing me pissed off at the wife for calling him at work. In an ‘investment’ office where 95% of the workers are men, tubby and beardy (except for Fisabil). He calcutaled my expected salary using a calculator (byk x byk tu). And in the office it has soooo many pictures of wali songo, it’s this close to being a shrine. Did get the job. But didn’t show up the next day. Haha.

8. Do you still write letters to friends?
I type faster than I write.

9. What cheer you up?
my ‘mobile entertainment unit’ aka nurin salma. The only downside is, it doesn’t come with a switched off button. Oh, and grocery shopping.

10. What hair products do you use?
audace.

11. One of the scars on your body, how did you
get it?
1990. On Friday afternoon, under scorching sun, on hot tarmac (aka jln kerikil), me n my bro, sitting on a skateboard descending a steep kerikil hill (pakai selipar aje), when somewhere midway my right foot got stuck under the board and we were drag all the way down. Only to realize part of my skin was also left behind.

12. When was the last time you had noodles?
semlm. At my bro’s. mihun tomyam. Or as nurin said, hun hom sam.

13. Can your tongue touch your nose?
x boleh. saya sdg berpuasa.

14. Do you like reggae?
ok-ok lah.

15. Will you ever donate one of your kidneys?
Yes I will. For immediate family member. Insyallah.

16. How often do you cut your finger nails?
bila ade kesan kunyit.

17. When was the las time you changed your
handphone?
hrmph. Nearly 2 yrs ago?

18. Do you like to wear heels?
Not the after-effects.

19. World Cup is over, are you sad?
Nay. Sad for himself and Adik i guess? hehe.their fav team only managed to be 2nd runner up. oklah tu pe

20. Susan Myer, Gabrielle Solis, Lynette Scavo or
Bree Van De Kamp?
Lynette Scavo. Sgt sneaky on pursuing what she wants.

Miss Universe 2006

2006-07-25T20:43:00.000+08:00

Did you know, after being crowned this year Miss Universe, Ms Puerto Rico fainted on the stage??

In my humble opinion, her stick thin body just could not hold the weight of her bOObs and the crown altogether eh?

It is just not fair. How on earth those walking twigs earn perfectly rOund, bOuncy, fleshy bOObs and yet remain fat-free on the rest of their body?

Is there some kind of mantra well-guarded by those 'beauties' that could direct every fat on the body to go to the boobs instead of the tums, bums n hips?

How, how, how?

Oh, and she is only 18. I remember being 18 and still have plenty of baby fats. Where is the rest of hers?

Do enlighten me.

Research Lab

2006-07-21T16:51:00.000+08:00

am blogging now from *ahem* "Makmal Penyelidikan Sains Maklumat".. muahaha..bunyi mcm hebattt je. it's been existed for many2 years, w many2 computers, w 2 printers which one of it is a laser jet printer! no more dot matrix for me! free printing free printing!! oh.. Lemy's (my coursemate) been hogging all these for awhile.. now he has a labmate.. haha. he no more can relax2, as me being a constant reminder for him to cepat2 siapkn tesis. heh. *smug*

was back in KL on wednesday and that's also the day my trusted and beloved laptop meragam. haizz.. bus-lagged agaknye. that explains why im here in the lab most of the time now. mcm org masuk opis gitu.. masuk at 9++am.. balik ard 5pm..

kalau dok umah pn bukannye bleh focus buat keje.. type sebaris terpk nk masak ape la.. nk basuh baju la.. nk cuci toilet la.. nk tgk tv la.. nk baring jap la.. godaan banyak sgt.. hehe

penat mmg penat.. tp inilah pengorbanan demi nk dptkn segulung ijazah. insyallah

The Sun is Shining

2006-07-14T21:16:00.000+08:00

Alhamdulillah.

Been in KL for 3 days , and so far everything has gone smoothly. Drove here with Abang on Tuesday night. Been busy from Wednesday till friday. Managed to settle payment of fees (shriek! Thesis submission fee has increased to 1k!! woargh), paid overdue fines for library books (Ham, RM2.70 je.. ;) ), received letter of application for practical training (Thank you Ma’am for preparing it in less than an hour!) and had a meeting with Prof Zainab to discuss my chapter 4 and 5 (she has been very helpful. Bless her). I even managed to see Puan Zawiyah and asked her the status of our application for Postgrad Research Funds. Dia kata, dia hantar surat dalam seminggu ni. Kalau itu rezeki kami, dapatlah cover utk bayar submission fees yg da mencanak2 naiknye tu.

Oh.. sempat jugak semalam went to Ikano Power Centre and Damansara Curve. Jadi tour guide to Ham window shopping style orang berada. Heheh. We bought a gift for Kak Nad’s wedding too. (She’s our coursemate during bachelor and was also our self-appointed Cik Supir.)

The only glitch was – while wanting to submit Thesis submission form, I was told to attach the abstract as well. Aisehmen.. Wani and Ham were lucky, diorg hantar last week w/o having to attach anything. Tsk tsk tsk. It’s ok.. itu keje next week. Ms Papu pulak on leave. Kalau tak boleh dapatkn surat pengesahan and slip results (tu la.. slip result ltk bersepah2..ilang da). Tu semua perlu sbb nk apply dermasiswa under Kopenas.

So now, I have to finish chapter 4 to show to Prof Zainab 5 days from today (That’s the deadline I’ve set myself. Heheh. We’ll see whether Miss Procrastinator succeed in meeting the deadlines or not). Going for Kak Nad’s wedding on Saturday and on Sunday pulakk.. jeng jeng jeng.. head back to JB.. wehoo!! Tp bukan utk bercuti ye. Need to submit those application letter to do practical training to UTM plak. Moga moga dapat. Insyallah.

KL isn't that bad. :)

It's Time

2006-07-05T13:21:00.000+08:00

It's time!! It's time!! dah kena balik KL daaaa... banyak benda nk kasi settle. Tesis (still stuck in gear 3.. tersengguk2 da ni... ), nk register for practical (awat laa x leh reg online ni!!), nk amik surat dr my lecturer, bayar fees (ham, jd bodyguard lagi okeh?), nk register hantar tesis lagi (warghhh)..

NAK KENA BALIK DAAHHHHH!!!!!

Tapi, the family needs me here. Mak is going to be admitted today and going for some minor op tomorrow. So, Mak will be out of action for a week? She really need some *some ke?* MUCH rest though. Jadi kenalah selalu sedia for another 2-3 days at home.

And the next question would be, SAPA NK TEMAN KAN SAYA BALIK KL?? I need a co-driver to accompany me. Any takers?

Stressss Stresss Stressss StreeeSsssssssssssssssssss!!!

p/s: Maybe it's time to get one of this :
What do you knowwww.. maybe it could help pop some of the acnes too.. its not a bad idea after all ehhh??

A Place To Stay in Singapore

2006-06-29T15:23:00.000+08:00

Anyone could provide me some information regarding renting apartment/HDB flats in Singapore? Preferably near public transport i.e MRT station. Any names or tips would be greatly appreciated. :) Leave a comment or email me at syanaraqi@hotmail.com.

Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift

2006-06-28T14:59:00.000+08:00

Watch it if you're a car buff. Oh.. and u know how to drive. Last time when i watched Too Fast and Too Furious (2nd movie), everything was like a blur (most of the scene mmg blur ape..), nothing they do piqued any interest within me. So what if you can tumbled, screeched, burnt the tyres, exhaust sebesar peha lembu.. blahhh *yawnnnnn* and managed to escaped unscathed, make up unruined. *yawnnnnn* mase tu pk nk guna driver je...

Unlike now bile da tau nk appresiasi kenderaan dan seni memandu. i watched Tokyo Drift semlm w himself kt TGV, Tebrau City.. aiseh mannn.. baru faham the excitement that u feel Dadar. Baru aku paham 'drift' in race lingo tu ape. seblum ni cume tau drift into dreamland je... But still, the spoilers, or sport rims or huge exhaust or skirts (on the car eh... bukan on the ladies) or NOS engine or gleaming shiny cars still didn't managed to pikat me (though i winced everytime those lovely berkilat2 cars crashed onto something.. x sayang kereta ke wehhh). What attracted me the most is their driving skills!! waaaaaaaahhh... negotiating sharp bends by drifting alllll the wayy.. betul mcm synchronised swimming la..

*drool*

Epp.. buah hati ku sayang, keep your hands off the handbrake ok??

Why do we hurt the most.. the ones we love the most?

2006-06-26T01:14:00.000+08:00

Yasmin's has precisely summarized the feelings I had everytime there's "a drama" or emotional rollercoasters going on.

My answer would be, the ones we love are the ones who is susceptible to our very beings - physically and emotionally. They have awareness towards our feelings, who could detect our emotions just by the look in our eyes, the quiver in our voice, the unspoken language of the body. Who knows the state of our minds, our well beings. These are the people who care to include us in their lives, know our worthiness and our parts in their life. Thus, any slight tumbles, hiccups, sneezes or falls (read:misunderstandings, miscommunications) .. would be noticed and affect them greatly.

In return, they wanted you to acknowledge them - giving care, concerns and respects. In a way, love is not very different from the way a business is being conducted - invest, and gain profit. You give and you take.

They wanted the best for you (and from you) , they have hopes on you. When there's a glitch, it could be catastrophic. IT IS A BIG DEAL. Because you have a role in their life. A big role. A big portion. And you have their heart (well.. close to their heart that is).

Just like a mother scolding her child for misbehaving. She's frustrated despites of nurturing the child with great TLC, the child somehow doesn't manage to behave appropriately. She is hurting as she has hope for the child - being the best mannered child of his/her peers. In the end, all is forgiven, the child learn the lesson, hope is re-instilled. Love? It will only get stronger.

Try to do the same towards other people - they wouldn't give even a second of their lives bothering about it. We would never lose some sleep pondering about what we did.. how or what went wrong. We simply don't care. Simply because, their lives and ours are not connected - by love.

And that's why we ended up hurting those we loved.

Marah kerana sayang.

Cemburu kerana sayang.

As Requested

2006-06-25T13:25:00.000+08:00

7 stuff u want to know abt me(or maybe nt..wateva)
1. I still have another semester to finish my study.
2. I am still stuck in chapter 4 for my thesis.
3. My deadline is Mid July.
4. My supervisor is going to retire in August (after holidaying in London.. she yg g holiday not me!)
5. I haven't send even ONE application to any of the libraries for practical training. Im dead.
6. I'm scared and at the same time, im tired of all these.
7. I've done this survey before la Kat. heheh. but in an attempt to be a not-so-lousy friend, i'll do it once again. ;)

7 things that scare me
1. deadlines.
2. not being able to graduate end of this year.
3. accidents.
4. death of loved ones.
5. cicak which choose to perform a kamikaze act on me. tibe2 jatuh dari siling, land in front of me. mmg nk mampus.
6. dissapointment.
7. people losing hopes on me.

7 random music im listening to at the moment
1. Put your records on - Corrinne Bailey Ray
2. Hips Don't Lie (sesuai for my hips) - Shakira
3. Dream, Dream, Dream - Everly Brothers
4. Bad Day
5. whatever on mix.fm
6. or on sinar.fm
7. or on Gold90.5

7 things/persons i like/love most
1. the family has to be on this no. 1 spot.
2. himself. with all my heart.
3. eilda. she's my rock.
4. the ring he gave me.
5. savvy oh so lovely.
6. cats and tigers.
7. prison break. every monday, 1030pm, on 8tv.

7 things i say the most
1. sepok nanti
2. ussikk nanti
3. orait
4. kong asam
5. ape je
6. i know
7. marvellous

7 people you want to do this
1. Osama Laden
2. Bush
3. Dr M.
4. Wani
5. Ham
6. Eilda
7. Wentworth Miller.

SIAP!! Satu hutang dah dibayar! TUNAI

I Am a Lousy Friend.

2006-06-25T12:46:00.000+08:00

Period. Tell me if you could find any of your friends lousier than me especially in 'keep in touch/contact' department.

I'll pay you a 100bucks. buckwheat that is. *see.. lousy am i?*

Why would, I, named as above, judge myself as a lousy friend? Here we go:

Point numero uno: Wanie emailed me on 8th of june. When did i read her mail? 2 days ago when all the berita isnt exciting anymore. Stale. Basi. Berkarat. That was on Friday, 23rd around 10pm. No point of replying as she'll only read it on the following monday. But i did draft a reply to her but stopped halfway as i decided - heck, let's blog about it.. Wani, hot news send to hotmail. hence the name. forwarded/chain mail leave it in yahoo (tell that to Ham).

p/s: Referring to your mail about that guy, dia pasang pancing with multiple mata kail. he's a slob n that makes him a loser. Whatever fish yg sangkut, he'll take it AND at the same time, still keep a lookout for a bigger better fish. one pancing, multiple kail. he's not a man or lelaki or a guy (let's reserved those for someone better.. like En. Ali Fauzi or Wentworth Miller.. or even better ur man or mine.. haha ) . he's a jantan.

pp/s: the aloe jelly is working fine. the whole house is using it. Did try to put some on Jac's cuts (fyi, die telah dicabul oleh seekor kucing jantan, in front of my own house. HOW DARE HE!). Anyway, i didnt use it much on my face as now im experimenting w Proactiv which costs me my 1 month allowance. In 2 months time, if i don't look either like britney or jessica, im going to send an application to extreme makeover.

Point numero duo: Kathy left a msg on my tagboard a week ago. on my blog. MY BLOG. i only realized it YESTERDAY. itu pun lepas Kat asked me to drop by her blog (oh btw, Bau Bau Bau is HILLARIOUS.. check out the vids in her blog ) So, at this point, i'm owing her a Meme/survey. hehe.

Point numero tres: I owe Yatie a girl's day out. She wants to go to S'pore. I haven't been able to fulfil it.

Point numero empato: It didnt make u feel any better when your bestfriend during primary school is ALWAYS be the one sms'ing u first.. rather than the other way round. ALWAYS.

Point numero five-o: I dread to go back to KL to rejoin Wani and Ham. The thought of it makes me seram sejuk. brrrr.. im sorry of leaving u girls in KL. im strugggling hereeeeeeeeeeeeee to write in proper technical/scientific language!! warghhh

Yours truly,
Ms Lousy

Bad Day

2006-06-08T21:33:00.000+08:00

i feel so irritable today. irritable, impatience, intolerable.. every evil feelings are consuming me. and im this close (yes, do that thing with the finger n thumb) to lose my marbles.

with no apprent reason. and that makes me angrier. being angry and in a foul mood without knowing what causes the anger in the first place only makes me angrier.

so, i better shut up. Sit in the corner, and shut up. and don't talk to me. im in no mood to talk.

Bual Bual Selasa

2006-06-06T22:54:00.000+08:00

am now in JB!.. been 3 days already. and having the time of my life.. but unfortunately, am down with the flu bug. iyee.. selsema dan sakit tekak. been srootsrettting all day long. tapi yg bestnye, sakit kt sini adelah org yg nk jaga kan? hehe..

drove down to JB w Baba and Adik on Sunday. Lepas gian bawak laju kt highway. hehe. but with Baba beside me, bawak sopan2 je.. kurang 110 je.. x leh lebih2.

Monday was spend unproductively.. biasa juga.. went to settle some things for mom, and accompanied her for an appointment with the chiropractor yg iras hans isaac. later in the evening, went to car acessories shops w Baba. he said he's bored n "nk relax2 la.. jom kite g kedai aksesori kereta" (who says men don't don retail therapy, my dad does). dan hasilnya, my savvy had a minor makeover. lurvee it

and today, accompanied Baba.. again to settle some things, then in the evening accompanied Nek Wan plak to see the chiropractor. Nek Wan ckp, doctor tu muke mcm Dj Dave mase muda2. hehehe. Nek Wan has been suffering from aching leg since december last year. Every morning, kaki nek wan msti bisa2.. n it's a torture for her just to get down from the bed. Every 3 days, she has to take painkillers or else the pain is unbearable. That's when Mak decided to introduce her to the same chiro that treated Mak's backpain some time ago (due to early symptoms of osteoporosis). And i've been treated by the chiro too before this.. for the cracking sounds my knees made. punye lah kuat, malu bile solat kt surau.. time rukuk or sujud sbb org msti terkejut nye "eh bunyi apa tu".. adeh.. sabar je lah.. nasib x gelak wehh.

Maka, sekian sahaja laporan hari cuti saya di JB. Khas utk tatapan teman seperjuangan (Wani dan Ham)

Minirant

2006-06-01T21:52:00.000+08:00

I didn't go to any of the classes. Frust. A tad too late, the classes were full. Have to wait for next season..

*sigh*

It's getting lonelier in here. I want to go home. Home is JB.

In Two Minds

2006-05-23T21:10:00.000+08:00

She’s at it again!! Rohani Jelani returns with loads of new classes. Remember her? I went to her class last year and returned with 2 cakes, 4 recipes and a desire of wanting to be her maid after spending time in her kitchen. This year, punye lah banyak kelas baru yang sgt menggoda perasaan, I do not know which one to attend.

Calon-calonnya adalah (kopipes frm her e-mail ):

BBQ PARTY
Sunday 28 May 2006, 3.30 pm – 8.00 pm
RM 220 per person

A barbecue party is a great way to entertain – it’s fun, casual and simple to put together. This class offers a broad range of interesting recipes for marinades, salads and breads. (Kindly that this is an evening class.)

Prawns with garlic and herb butter
Tandoori chicken (served with homemade naan)
Ginger honey chicken
Lamb with basil/garlic marinade
Chicken (or beef) satay with peanut sauce
Chicken or Beef Fajitas (with homemade wheat tortilla)
Baked potatoes and sweet potatoes
Potato salad, green salad, tomato salad, mango salsa
Grilled vegetables

Students working in pairs will make 3 items and several accompaniments (breads and salads). Kindly indicate choice at time of booking.

GRAND FINALE
Wednesday 31 May 2006, 9.30 am – 1.30 pm
RM 200 per person

When you’re in the mood to impress, do it in a spectacular way - present a heart-stopping dessert and hear and oohs and ahhs ….

Strawberry layer cake
Flourless chocolate cake (topped with fresh berries, caramelized almonds, edible flowers, etc …. )
Toffee banana cake on layered espresso chiffon
Chilled (unbaked) mango cheesecake

Students working in pairs make 2 cakes to take home. (Please indicate your choice at time of booking.) A light lunch will be provided.

GORGEOUS BREADS & SPREADS
Sunday 4 June 2006, 9.30 am – 2.30 pm
RM 190 per person

No fancy gadgets or expensive contraptions needed – we’ll to make these wonderful, wholesome loaves by hand.

Breads Spreads and dips
Rosemary focaccia Seafood & smoked salmon pate
Mini Dill loaves Smokey eggplant spread
Multi-grain loaf Herb cream cheese spread
Fruit & nut loaf

Each student will make the rosemary focaccia and two other breads of their choice. They will also make one spread with a partner and take their breads home. Lunch will be homemade soup and some of the breads and spreads made in class. (Please indicate your recipe choices at time of booking.)

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

Yang kat atas tu cume sekelumit daripada kelas2 yg dia buat.. hampir everyday through out may and june ada .. kaya si rohani tu.. jgn memain2.. sbb tu dapur die ade Kitchen Aid. 5 oven Spain mari. 4 stoves. hehe. Eventhough her class is a bit on the expensive side but having her as the teacher, everything looks super duper easy to cook and yet the end result is enough to impress anyone! Trust me.

Now, help me as I am in two minds.. or should I say THREE on which class I should take. Can only choose one!! ONE! (unlike the tai-tai’s and beautiful wives of so and so or hot mamas to bus load of children.. heheh)

Or should I say… any sponsor?

Lelaki Dari Marikh

2006-05-18T22:34:00.000+08:00

Scene 1

Kakak : Ana, wedges ni cantik la.. yg kt dlm paper ni.. look at the design
Me : Ikhs.. a'ah la.. cun nye.. ala tapi ni kt s'pore
Baba : La.. kat Giant kan ade jual wedges.. banyak kat sana.. murah je
Me & Kakak : Huh? Giant ade jual wedges?
Baba : Baba nampak ada banyak.. macam2 lagi.. banyak kat frozen section.
Me: Wedges as in kasut la baba...
Baba : La korang ni pon..

Scene 2

Kakak : Ana, aku nk carilah wedges ni. Tak tahan..
Abang : Ape die? Kentang eh?
Me : hahaha. sebijik macam Baba. Kasut laaa

Stop Press

2006-05-17T09:50:00.000+08:00

Im having eye twitches and is suffering from a sleepless night. I ~~didn't~~ couldn't sleep last night. At 7.30am this morning, i finally managed to get some but was woken up by phone rings at 9.30am.

It was from UM. From the faculty. They wanted me to email the research proposal as they'll be having the meeting tomorrow. Hopefully, i'll received the grant, in a justified amount. Insya Allah

With the load im facing, it's a wonder my back didn't break. I certainly could not afford an emotional system breakdown. Eventhough, Im already at the verge.

Ya Rabbi, give me the strength, give me guidance, give me the will to continue on this journey.

Amiin